March 31st 2023
Broker
His Only Son
Linoleum
Mudbound (streaming on Netflix)
A fabulous week for films! Such a variety here, on the big screen and streamed. Don't let me hear you say there's nothing worth seeing at the movies!!
Broker
Dir: Kore-eda Hirokazu
Length: 129 mins
 |
© Madman - an odd assortment of
characters try to sell off a baby |
Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) runs a laundrette, but is deep in debt. Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) was himself an orphaned child, and now works at a baby box facility (a hatch where, in Korea, mothers drop off their unwanted babies). The men decide to take one of the babies and sell him to get some money. But the mother, So-young (Lee Ji-eun) returns the next day to get her child, baby Woo-sung. The three team up with the intention of finding suitable buyers prepared to pay a high price. Gradually the trio start to bond and become concerned about the suitability of prospective buyers, and whether to sell the child at all. Meantime two detectives are on the trail, trying to catch the baby brokers in the act of selling. Kore-eda is renowned for films that focus upon family values, and this is no exception, as a rag-tag group gradually find a family-style connection that is not defined by blood ties. The film has humour and pathos, and alludes to deeper social issues around what it takes to raise a child as well as the idea of trafficking. Every actor brings nuanced emotions to their roles, and the baby is beyond cute. Awarded the Ecumenical Jury Prize and Best Actor at Cannes 2022, this is a film that is moving, uplifting and delightful, with charm and heart, and fortunately never overstepping into sentimentality. 4 - highly recommended
His Only Son
Dir: David Helling
Length: 106 mins
 |
© Heritage - an important biblical story brought
into the spotlight |
Abraham (Nicolas Mouawad) is on a harrowing journey with his son Isaac (Edawan Moskowitz). God has commanded him to head to Moriah and sacrifice the boy. As he treks, he recalls his life with wife Sarah (Sara Seyed), their difficulty in conceiving a child, and all the conversations and visitations he has had with the Lord. His faith and obedience will be tested in the most difficult way. Anyone who watched the first two series of The Chosen (see my earlier review at http://hurstosfiveminutefilms.blogspot.com/2021/08/august-26th-more-from-indian-film.html) will know how well the team involved is able to handle complex biblical stories. Both are a far cry from many Hollywood block-busters in the past. Here, like in The Chosen, the filmmakers capture an authenticity (settings, costumes, etc) in re-imagining how people lived 4000 years ago. Because of its subject matter, featuring God appearing, it feels a bit bombastic at times, and while it is obviously a story about faith, one doesn't necessarily need faith to get inspiration from a story that forms part of the bedrock of Judaeo-Christian beliefs today.3.5 - well recommended
Linoleum
Dir: Colin West
Length: 101 mins
 |
| © Kismet - |
Cameron (Jim Gaffigan) always wanted to be an astronaut but the nearest he gets is to host a failing science show for kids. His marriage to Erin (Rhea Seehorn) is on the rocks, and he has issues with his daughter, Nora (Katelyn Nacon). Then one day a red convertible falls from the sky and almost lands on top of him. The remarkably unharmed occupant, Kent, is his doppelganger (also played by Gaffigan). Shortly thereafter, part of an Apollo rocket ship lands in his backyard. Meantime Nora becomes friends at school with Kent's son Marc (Gabriel Rush); both are outsiders. If you think this sounds weird it is! This odd but creative story straddles comedy, drama and sci fi. I believe my brain is not designed to grasp such "out-there" conceptual films, yet on an intuitive level I sense something much geater than the sum of its parts - something I can't quite put my finger on - like the meaning of life, of dreams, and of ageing. Strange time shifts seem to happen; possibly subject to varying interpretations. When the final minutes of the film come, it actually gets very moving, inviting us to contemplate the deeper things that help us make sense of the chaos of life.
3.5 - well recommended
Mudbound
Dir: Dee Rees
Length: 134 mins
Streaming on Netflix (2017 film)
 |
© Netflix - a sotry of extreme tracial injustice -
beautifully acted and executed |
The story begins with two brothers burying their father in a muddy field. We then flash back to just before the outbreak of World War 2, when Henry McAllan (Jason Clark) moves his family down to rural Mississippi to pursue his dream of being a farmer. Henry's brother, suave ladies man Jamie (Garrett Hedlund), comes along. Life is challenging for Henry's refined wife Laura (Carey Mulligan), and made worse by the presence of Henry's vile racist father Pappy (Johnathan Banks). After being conned out of a fancy house he hoped to live in, the family end up living near a colored share-cropping family, Hap (Rob Morgan), his wife Florence (Mary J Blige) and their children. In 1941, Jamie and Hap's son Ronsel (Jason Mitchell) are drafted into the army. Upon their return, both must try to come to terms with not only their war experiences, but also to re-adapt to the horrific realities of life in the Jim Crow south. Their friendship defies all social norms of the day and attracts deep disapproval. Nominated for four Oscars back in 2018, this film impressed me on so many levels. Staying true to its literary origins, the director keeps the various narrative voices of multiple characters, giving them all greater depth. Cinematography is vivid and evocative, while the cast is uniformly brilliant. But it's the handling of the ever-disturbing racial issues, along with each character's personal baggage, that is so powerful; emotion without melodrama; historical atrocities presented with honesty. It may be history, but the issues are alive today.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
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