Tuesday, 18 April 2023

April 19th 2023

The Giants (releasing Thursday 20th)
Sand Storm (streaming on Netflix)
Beast (streaming on Netflix) 
Navalny (streaming on Docplay)

Aside from the wonderful new doco The Giants in cinematic release this week, I've gone all in on streaming offerings. 

The Giants
Dir: Rachel Antony & Laurence Billiet
Length: 110 mins
© Madman - stunning interweaving of stories of a giant of
a man and giant trees so essential for life on Earth
Bob Brown - now there's an ordinary name for a most extraordinary man who has changed the face of political and environmental thinking in Australia. The stunning documentary is revelatory, inspiring and salutory. It cleverly explores the life of the iconic activist and politician, while interweaving Brown's story with critical environmental issues, with a focus upon the story of trees and their intertwinedness with all life on Earth. Shots of the magnificent trees in what is left of Tasmania's wilderness are spellbindingly beautiful, and combined with some high-tech animation, the life cycle of those trees and their importance in connecting all of the forest is cleverly portrayed. Commentary from iconic scientists like David Suzuki further the narrative. So many important issues are covered, from the original drowning of Lake Pedder for a dam, to the first major win for environmentalists in stopping the damming of the Franklin River, a campaign that brought Brown to prominence. In telling Bob's story, there are many nostalgic shots of his early life, fascinating commentary from his twin sister, the story of his struggles to come out as gay, and the rise of Brown as a politician who founded The Greens and eventually attained a seat in the Senate. The film-makers' over-arching and vital message is this: Australia is a major culprit in animal exticntion and deforestation, and that must be stopped today. Hopefully this film may wake some people up before it is too late. (Sadly, such films often preach to the converted, and those who should most see it simply don't!)
4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

Sand Storm 
Dir: Elite Zexer
Length: 87 mins
Streaming on Netflix (2016 film)
© Netflix - the patriarchy and oppression of women
is alive and well in parts of the Middle East
With 16 highly prestigious wins to its name, this may be an oldie, but it's a goodie! Interestingly, the director is Israeli/Jewish but she sets her story in a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert. There, father Suliman (Hitham Omari) is teaching his teen daughter Layla (Lamis Ammar) to drive. One could almost be deluded into thinking things were progressing for women, that is, until Suliman decides to take a second wife. However distressed, first wife 
Jalila (Ruba Blal) just has to grin and bear it. Then everything goes pear-shaped for Layla when her parents discover messages from a male school friend on her phone and start planning to marry her off. This is such a fascinating (and depressing) insight into the ordinary lives of such tradition-bound people, and a sad and sorry picture of a paternalistic society that puts women down at every step of the way.  Strong performances and a powerful story make for compelling viewing.     
4 - highly recommended

Navalny
Dir: Daniel Roher
Length: 99 mins
Streaming on DocPlay, HBO, Prime Video
© DocPlay - a revelation of a corrupt, dare I say,
evil system and a man brave enough (or
foolish enough) to stand up against it. 
The winner of this year's Oscar for Best Documentary Feature is a most worthy and highly disturbing film. From the news, we know the outcome, but even so, the director manages to present it as a gripping thriller. We are constantly on the edge of our seats expecting the worst for the brave Russian politician who tried to go up against Putin. As Navalny and his team work to expose the plot that resulted in him being poisoned, one especially striking scene has the group recording a conversation in which a chemist virtually confesses to the whole plot, believing the man on the phone is one of his co-conspirators. (It is in fact Navalny.) Investigative journalist Christo Grozev features large in his attempts to assist Navalny via his organisation Bellingcat. Navalny's wife Julia and his two kids add a very heartbreaking element to the story. Knowing what we now know about Russia, the invasion of Ukraine, and Navalny's ongoing persecution in prison, makes the film all the more powerful. Dark days indeed!  
4 - highly recommended

Beast
Dir: Baltasar Kormakur
Length: 99 mins
Streaming on Netflix
© Universal - Elba scrubs up well as 
a hero fighting for everyone's survival
 
Sometimes it's a lot of fun to just surrender to the excitement of an adventure that stretches credibility but nevertheless has you on the edge of your seat. Beast sees widowed father Dr Nate Samuel (Idris Elba) take his two daughters on a trip to visit his old friend Martin (Sharlto Copley) who manages a South African game reserve. Martin is a friend to a pair of lions he raised as cubs, now living wild with their pride. But it is another large lion, a survivor of an attack by poachers, that has turned rogue and starts striking terror into the hearts of all the humans in its vicinity. I had a good time with this film, despite some plot holes and seriously unbelievable happenings. The landscape with its majestic animals  and gorgeous views comes up very well on the screen, and the moments of heart-stopping terror make for a lot of vicarious fear and excitement. Just the film for a Saturday night in. 
3 - recommended



Wednesday, 5 April 2023

April 6th 2023

Air
EO
Mavka: The Forest Song
Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (streaming on Netflix)

This week sees a high profile mainstream release in the shape of Air. Plus a worthy school hols animation from Ukraine, a film whose main star is a donkey, and for those wanting something darker, another Netflix film on Ted Bundy. Enjoy! 

Air 
Dir: Ben Affleck
Length: 112 mins
© Universal - the team working on the shoe
that will change the world of basketball
It's 1984 and manufacturer Nike has dominated the running shoe market. But Nike wants more - to sign up basketball players to endorse their basketball shoes. Enter Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a "basketball guru", who obsessively watches tapes of up and 
coming players. Sonny's boss, CEO Phil Knight (Ben Affleck), wants to split the pitch money among three lesser players, but Sonny has a deep conviction that 18-year-old Michael Jordan will be the sport's next big thing. So the company goes up against Adidas and Converse to try to woo over Michael Jordan. Sonny's inspiration is to go via Michael's mum, Deloris (Viola Davis), a canny woman who, with the deal she strikes, ultimately changes the face of sponsorship in favor of a better deal for athletes. Now I'm no sports film fan, but this one is a winner! Sure, on one level it is about marketing, sponsorship and corporate goings-on, but is also about teamwork, trust, friendship, taking risks, perseverance and the ascendance of the underdog. The scripting of the dialogue feels so real - relaxed relations between certain members of the Nike team and mutual abuse (with a grudging friendship) between Sonny and Michael Jordon's manager David Falk (a hilarious Chris Messina). Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker, Matt Maher and Marlon Wayans play other important characters critical to the Nike team, and every performance is pretty much a stand out. Davis is simply electric as the intractable mother, who knows the worth of her son, while Damon shines in his impassioned role. This true story, delivered in a classic entertaining way and with a great feel for the era, generates a surprising level of emotion all round, including in something as simple as the revelation of a new shoe, the Air Jordan! The film is sure to score a lot of goals! (Did I mention the fantastic 80s soundtrack?)
4 - highly recommended

EO
Dir: Jerzy Skolimowski
Length: 88 mins

© Hi Gloss - life, as experienced by a donkey:
human cruelty, kindness and randomness
A finalist in this year's Foreign Language films at the Oscars, EO is the story of a small grey donkey who starts life in a circus. He is much loved by his trainer, but when the circus is shut down EO moves on to various different lifestyles. To itemise the different things EO goes through would perhaps take away the surprise of this unusual film. Suffice to say the animal sees humans at their worst and occasionally at their best. He sees towns where people are disconnected from nature, and at one point is rescued by a young man whose stepmother is a countess, played by Isabelle Huppert. (This is a bizarre part of the film, almost out of kilter with the rest). There is a surreal quality to much of the movie, both in the style of shooting, camera angles and colour choices. Animal lovers need to be warned there are a couple of very disturbing moments. Optimists beware, most of the people are not very pleasant and humanity is not seen in a good light. Donkey aficionados (like me) will relish the luxury of gazing at this incredible creature, all liquid melancholy brown eyes that we humans like to imbue with wisdom, and other qualities animals no doubt don't have. Ultimately maybe the film is just about the good, the bad, and the complete randomness of life. 
3.5 - well recommended

Mavka: The Forest Song
Dir: Oleh Malamuzh & Oleksandra Ruban
Length: 90 mins

© Rialto - visually lovely with some good
messages for kiddies - and the world
Here's something we don't often get to see: a Ukrainian feature animation. Based partly around a Ukrainian fairy-tale, the film tells the story of a young woman (or is she a sprite?) chosen to be Guardian of the Forest. Years earlier, a war between humans and the forest creatures caused a seemingly irreparable rift, and the forest Guardians now make sure no humans enter their domain, while the humans believe the forest dwellers to be demons. I
n the quest for eternal youth, the evil human Kalynka sends Lucas into the forest, searching for a powerful healing leaf in the Heart of the Forest. Lucas meets Mavka who has just taken on her role as Guardian, and the two fall in love. Some difficult choices will have to be made. Although many of the themes have been seen before and the film feels a bit Disney-esque, it is such beautiful animation, vibrantly colored, with gorgeously created characters, lovely music, and a very sweet heart. It's very much a family film, and littlies should get a lot out of it. It also has strong messages so relevant in today's world: the dangers of humans exploiting nature, and the hope that enemies can somehow reconcile through love.
3.5 - well recommended

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile
Dir: Jo Berlinger
Length: 110 mins
Streaming on Netflix
© Netflix - his charm and looks
belie the evil that lurks beneath
In 1969, single mum Liz Kendall (Lily Collins) was thrilled to meet a handsome man who didn't run from her having a child, and soon she was head over heels in love. Trouble was, that man was Ted Bundy (Zac Efron), America's most notorious serial killer. The Bundy story has fascinated peple for years - how could such a seemingly charming, intelligent man have committed so many heinous crimes? This time the narrative is seen from Liz's perspective. Again this is a film that has totally split the critics into a 50-50 for and against (check out Metacritic for polarised reviews!) For me it works, largely because of a rivetting performance from Efron who is so compelling as to have us see why someone would fall for him and his clever manipoulation. As the police investigation closes in, we also get insight into a woman in total denial, and Collins makes that quite credible too. The circus of Bundy's trial, in which he represents himself, sees John Malkovitch in top form playing the judge. Maybe it's not as authentic as The Ted Bundy tapes (same director), but nevertheless its a creepily fascinating insight into a psychopath and his evil charisma.
3.5 - well recommended