February 25th 2024

The Rooster

The Zone of Interest

Two excellent films have released this week. One is home grown- starring the marvelous Hugo Weaving, the other brings yet another take on the Holocaust. Both will challenge the viewer, but are absolutely worthwhile cinematic experiences. 

 

The Rooster

Dir: Mark Leonard Winter

Length: 101 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_v9I6smU08&t=2s

© Bonsai Films - masculine friendship and frailty
under the microscope

Smalltown policeman Dan (Phoenix Raei) is seriously shaken up by the discovery of his childhood friend found dead in the woods in a shallow grave. He knew his friend was mentally unstable but failed to get professional help for him. Seeking answers, Dan heads into the woods to discover an alcoholic hermit, Tim aka Mit, (Hugo Weaving) living in a shack. The two strike up an unlikely friendship as Dan tries to get to the bottom of what happened to both his friend and to Tim. It's a refreshing change to see a film about masculine frailties rather than the endless masculine toxicity we see on our screens. Weaving has just been awarded Best Actor at the Aussie film awards (AACTA), and his incredible, rambunctious, loud performance is the perfect foil for the introverted and somewhat  depressed Dan. Even though Tim is blokey and "matey", he somehow gives Dan the space to articulate thoughts and feelings that plague him. When Dan talks of "regret, failure and shame" and even of wanting to end it all, Tim relates to this, but defiantly crows like a rooster, announcing a new day and that he is still alive on the planet. There are many tears and many surprisingly moving scenes, along with a great deal of silence, sublimely augmented with wonderful cinematographic use of the beautiful mysterious forest scenery around Mt Macedon. The soundtrack also deserves mention, with its mix of ethereal music, unusual vocalisations, and wild jazz. I actually watched this film twice and am very impressed by it. 

4 - highly recommended

The Zone of Interest

Dir: Jonathan Glazer

Length: 105 mins

Trailer: https://www.madman.com.au/the-zone-of-interest/

© Madman - monsters, or ordinary people
committing monstrous acts? 

Based upon the novel of the same name, this powerful and deeply disturbing film is the story of a German family, trying to live a happy family life. Except the head of the houshold is Rudolf Hoss (Christian Friedel), Kommandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, and the family home, with its gorgeous garden and playful children, is directly on the other side of the camp's wall. Wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller, who also stars in Anatomy of a Fall) wears fur coats stolen from Jewish prisoners who are about to go to their deaths, while the children play with teeth taken from corpses. Never once in the film does the camera take us into the death camp itself - but there is a constant sinister background noise of shots, screams, and a dull thrumming sound, along with smoke belching into the air. Camera work is often wide and distant, giving an observational feel.  There are some dramatically different touches - like the opening long scene of a black screen, and the intermittent dream scenes of one of the children, all in a negative black and white format. Everything conspires to pack an emotional wallop, but to also make the audience speculate on the seemingly dual nature of those who perpetrated such monstrous deeds. Like The Conference (about the planning of the total Jewish extermination), Glazer also includes scenes where Hoss approaches his murderous task with detached precision, then goes home to read fairy tales to his children. This amazing film is nominated for 5 Oscars and has another 157 nominations to its name! Ghastly, wonderful and unforgettable. 

4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended

February 16th 2024

Fallen Leaves

Europa! Europa Film Festival

Let the film festivals begin for 2024! This one is a winner bringing the best and latest of Euopean arthouse cinema to the big screen. Plus Finland's most famous director brings us another quirky offering.  

 

Fallen Leaves

Dir: Aki Kaurismaki

Length: 81 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7n8IXlIcS4

© Palace - a low-key love
story of two loners finding each other

Ansa (Alma Poysti) works a dreary job in a supermarket. She is fired for stealing out of date food. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) does various manual labouring jobs, but progressively gets fired from each one because he drinks on the job. The pair meet briefly at a karaoke bar, he later invites her to a meal and film, them promptly loses her phone number. They seem to be made for each other  but will their paths ever cross again? Winner of the Jury Prize at last years Cannes FF, Fallen Leaves is the latest offering from Finland's best known director. Like Wes Anderson, I think he is an acquired taste, and interestingly, while critics swoon over this film, audiences are divided (according to Rotten Tomatoes). There is a deep humanity and an ordinariness to these two, something to which many viewers may relate. A Kaurismaki trademark is the way he employs deadpan humor, that at times for me masks the underlying depth of his themes and characters. There are plenty of fun cinematic references in the settings, a good use of music, along with reminders of the grim world political situation in the form of radio broadcasts. Yet overall, in the midst of this somewhat depressing personal and global angst, there remains a quirky core of optimistic possibility.

3.5  - well recommended  

Europa!Europa Film Festival

Now until 10th March

Classic Elsternwick and Lido Hawthorn 

www.europafestival.com.au

Here's your chance again to see the very best and latest of European cinema. 47 films from 28 countries across Europe - many of them films that you don't get to see elsewhere. Try movies from Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia, Cyprus plus, of course, the usual favorites such as France, Sweden and Britain. There is also a Yiorgos Lanthimos retrospective featuring his six films prior to the recent Oscar-nominated  Poor Things. 

 

The Promised Land

(Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany)

Dir: Nikolaj Arcel

Length: 127 mins

Set in mid 1700s Denmark, this is the sweeping tale of Captain Ludvig Kahlen (Mads Mikkelsen), who sets out to conquer the seemingly uninhabitable heathlands and build a colony there. He represents the king, but comes into deep conflict with landowner Frederick de Schinkel who believes he owns all the lands. Kahlen is determined not to succumb to the evil Schinkel, but standing his ground will be at the expense of people who have come to mean something in his life. Without giving away too much plot here, I confess I find this an utterly engaging film, in an epic old-fashioned way that we don't see so much of nowadays. Its narrative is broad ranging (and loosely based on history), it is visually stunning, and performances are compelling - especially Mads (of course), and Melina Hagberg as orphaned gypsy girl Anmai Mus. With such visceral themes as revenge, ambition, repression, self-worth, family and love, there are all the ingredients needed for a deeply rewarding film exeprience. (note is has 17 big wins to its name). 

The Volunteer

(Spain, Greece)

Marisa (Carmen Machi) is a retired doctor who goes to a Greek island to help out with the refugee situation there. She quickly bonds with an orphaned Arab boy Ahmed, but the managers of the refugee camp are constantly pointing out to her that she must not form a close bond with any of the "inmates". The officials all seem more concerned with the rules, than with basic humanitarian values. Driven by increasing love for the child, and a deep inner loneliness, Marisa makes a reckless decision. This film raises many important and unsettling questions, not the least being the fine line between altruism and self-interest. 

Blaga's Lessons

Bulgaria Germany

Blaga (Eli Skorcheva) is a recently widowed retired teacher, who is scrimping and saving to pay for her husband's gravestone. One day she receives a phone call from a man purporting to be a policeman on the trail of a gang of scammers. Panicked and intimidated she manages to give away her life savings only to realise she has been scammed. But opportunity presents itself in the form of a dubious job, one in which Blaga has the possiblity of recouping money, only to lose her values and integrity. This is a confronting and very disturbing film (especially the shock ending). As well as being highly relevant in today's scam-ridden world, it explores the dark depths to which people will go, even those who think they are upstanding citizens. 

Stella. A Life

Germany

Often truth is even more bizarre than fiction, as in this shocking drama based upon the true story of Stella Goldshlag, an aspiring Jewish singer in the early forties when the Nazi regime ruled Berlin. After she is forced into hiding, Stella becomes desperate to save herself and her parents, and so delivers umpteen of her fellow Jews into the hands of the Gestapo. Paula Beer is wonderful in the lead role, representing a character one can loathe and pity at the same time, as she is both a victim and a perpetrator. Therein lies the interesting moral dilemma. It's a gripping tale with a strong lead performance and impressive recreation of the era. 

 February 8th 2024

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

One Life

Society of  the Snow (streaming on Netflix)

One new Australian film, one Boxing Day release that is still deservedly in cinemas, and one candidate for an Oscar  - three films all worthy of our attention. 

 

Force of Nature: The Dry 2

Dir: Robert Connelly

Length: 120 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhP05eOYbTE&t=3s

© Roadshow - good to see an all-Aussie film,
and always great to see Bana in action

Detective Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) and his sidekick Carmen (Jacqueline McKenzie)  are on the case of a missing woman, lost in the bush. Alice (Anna Torv) is not much liked by her colleagues, and when a group of five women go off on a corporate hiking retreat in the wilderness and Alice disappears, anyone, it seems, may have had the motivation to do her in. As the weather closes in, can Falk and the local searchers find Alice? There's a lot happening in this plot, based on the best-selling novel by Jane Harper. Flashbacks of Falk's past indicate his own mother came to grief in the very same mountainous forest region. Falk is connected to Alice, using her as an informant to investigate some shady dealings in a company run by Daniel (Richard Roxburgh) and his wife Jill (Deborah Lee Furness), who happens to be in charge of the retreat. Another minor sub-plot concerns a serial killer from ages ago, whose cabin still stands in the forest. Big positives in the film are Bana's measured performance, Torv convincing us compellingly of her unlikeability, and the wonderful cinematography (shot in the Otways and Yarra Valley). The novel probably has too much in it to successfully translate the subtleties of the plot to a two-hour film, but nevertheless for me it provided diverting and engaging viewing.  

3  - recommended

One Life

Dir: James Hawes

Length: 110 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ethollg-PI

© Transmission - a true story that will
have you in tears, and again in awe 
of Hopkins as an actor

Sir Nicolas Winton (Johnny Flynn) was a young London stockbroker when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1938. Horrified at learning of the plight of refugees, especially the children, he vowed to do something, and was instrumental in getting nearly 700 kids to safety and foster homes in Britain. But as an old man (Anthony Hopkins) he is constantly haunted by the fact that he couldn't save more. This incredibly moving film is the true story of Nicky, as he was known, both then and now. The timeline moves between the unassuming old man and the ultimate recognition of what he achieved, and the fraught times in which he and his helpers risked their own lives to rescue children from the Nazis. The period is beautifully recreated, and the tension mounts with each train journey that becomes progressively more dangerous. In the modern era, the relationship between Nicky and his loving, supportive wife (Lena Olin) is gently depicted, along with Nicky's constant angst over past regrets. Hopkins again gives one of his finest performances, and I'm surprised this film has only one award to its name: the audience Award at the Palm Springs Film Festival. True, it doesn't break any new cinematic ground, but it is so deeply moving, and such a relevant story to this day, that it deserves to be seen. Fortunately it is still on in many cinemas, despite having released on Boxing Day.

4 - highly recommended

Society of the Snow

Dir: J.A Bayona

Length: 144 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDak4qLyF4Q

© Netflix - such an extraordinary true tale,
it's hard to believe! Amazingly made film. 

Nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year's Oscars, this is not a movie for the faint-hearted. It recreates the true story, in near documentary fashion, of what happened in 1972, when a plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team and its supporters to Chile, crashed in the Andes mountains. The story is fairly well known, including the ghastly lengths to which the survivors had to go to endure 10 long weeks in the mountains. What makes this film a stand-out, is the visceral way the director captures the details, from the sickening crash, through to the bone-numbing freezing conditions, the progressive deaths of early survivors, the emotions of those struggling to endure, the innovativeness, resilience and perseverance they exhibited, and lastly, most spoken about, the cannibalism they had to resort to if they were to have a chance at staying alive. Shot in the Sierra Nevada, with backdrop shots of the real Andes, the film looks amazing, capturing the vastness and forbidding beauty of the terrain. Apparently the director put his cast through a gruelling shoot, to make the experience feel as real as possible. While functioning on one level as a survival thriller, there is also a deeper philosophical subtext, as we get into the characters' emotions, and the amazing way they manage to make what is left of their lives mean something, for themselves and each other. Although challenging, it is totally worth the watch.

4 - highly recommended

February 2nd 2024

Riceboy Sleeps

May December

Two films that may not yet have come to your attention are most worthy for consideration for your weekend movie going. Both are highly awarded, and both uniquely different. I thoroughly enjoyed them both, in totoally different ways! 

 

Riceboy Sleeps

Dir: Anthony Shim

Length: 117 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcwwHKLY8Nc&t=2s

© Icon - immigrants, a mother's love
and a family coming to terms with the 
sadness of life

Single mother So-Young (Choi Seungyoon) has fled the disapproval of rural Korean society and gone to Canada to raise her young son after the suicide of the child's father. The little boy Dong-Hyun (Dohyun Noel Hwang) is relentlessly teased at school for his difference. Time shifts suddenly forward and Dong-Hyun, now a typically surly teen (played by Ethan Hwang), resents that his mother will not talk to him about his father. She works in a factory, has few friends, except a potential suitor Simon (played sympathetically by director Shim). When health issues affect her life, So-Young decides to take her son on a trip to meet his paternal grandparents back in Korea. Another much-awarded film, it tells an immigrant story not entirely unfamiliar, but told with such compassion and grace, that is becomes deeply emotionally moving, even though the characters are reserved by nature. Hwang junior is especially impressive as the feisty child Dong-Hyun. The film is beautifully shot, ranging from the close-up intimacy of the characters' lives in Vancouver, through to the sweeping mountainous scenes in the countryside of Korea. Based upon Shim's own experiences, eveything about the film feels truthful and is another worthy addition to the immigrant genre of storytelling.

4 - highly recommended

May December

Dir: Todd Haynes

Length: 117 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z3JaevxEMA&t=2s

© Transmission - Natalie Portman's character 
takes on the mask of Moore's 

Gracie Atherton Woo (Julianne Moore) lives with her husband Joe (Charles Melton), 23 years her junior, They have three kids, the last two of whom are about to go to college so Joe willl be an empty-nester at age 36! A film is now being made of the notorious scandal that erupted when the two first met. Elizabeth Berry (Natalie Portman), the actress playing Gracie, comes to meet the family to better understand her character and the dynamic between the couple. This confronting and challenging tale is loosely based around the real-life story of  a teacher who had a relationship with a 6th-grade student back in the 1990s. Touted as both a comedy and a drama, the film is way more dramatic for me than comedic, although both women do have some laugh-inducing scenes. The three leads are captivating; Moore's character alternating between control and naive vulnerability; Portman's Berry seductively and manipulatively altering lives around her, while poor old Joe remains a man-child, never having processed exactly what happened all those years ago. This is not a film for the faint-hearted or those inclined to judgmentalism; Haynes cleverly captures near-normality for a decidely not-normal situation, and one cannot help but question the values one brings, as an audience, to such a fraught story.

4 - highly recommended