March 2nd 2024
Dune Part Two
Subtraction
Four Daughters
Oscar-nominated short features, animations and documentaries
Two Arabic language films are stand-out cinematic releases this week. Plus your chance to get an insight into the best short films that are nominated for the Oscars. And where would we be without a big blockbustetr release? Yes, it's Dune Part Two, an epic continuation of the saga based upon Frank Herbert's novel.
Dune Part Two
Dir: Denis Villeneuve
Length: 166 mins
 |
© Universal - Paul Atreides getting older
and getting revenge. |
First up, yes!! It's totally worth seeing. I'm not going into great details of plot, but suggest if it's all too complicated for you, or you haven't read Frank Herbert's iconic novel, do a spot of googling to learn who's who in this futuristic desert planet of war, revenge and love. Picking up exactly where Dune Part 1 left off, we journey with Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) as he sets out to fight alongside planet Arrakis's indigenous people, the Fremen, to get revenge against those responsible for the obliteration of most members of his family. The action scenes are magnificent - epic and sweeping, while the characters are all mesmerising: the vile bloated Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgaard), his creepy sadistic nephew Feyd Rautha (Austin Butler), Fremen warrior and love interest Chani (Zendaya), Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem), Paul's mother (Jessica Ferguson), member of a mystical society, tough fighter Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) - have you noticed the stunning cast? The magnificent desert setting, stunningly shot by award-winning Aussie cinematographer Greig Fraser, draws you in, as the dunes roll into infinity and giant sand worms attack, or are harnessed and ridden. The themes of messianic religous fervour, power grabs, betrayal, and environmental exploitation are all eerily close to our everyday real life dramas. The budding love story between Paul and Chani is simply beautiful. To cap it all off is a powerful musical score from Hans Zimmer. The runtime may be long, but it held me from go to whoa.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Subtraction
Dir: Mani Haghighi
Length: 107 mins
 |
© Vendetta - a clever mind-twisting plot
of lookalikes who couldn't be more different |
Farzaneh (Taraneh Alidoosti) is three months pregnant, suffering extreme anxiety and barely concentrating on her job as a driving instructor in Tehran. To add to her woes, she believes she sees her husband Jalal (Navid Mohammadzadeh) visiting another woman in an apartment building. But truth is stranger than Farzaneh's worst fears, and it turns out that the man she has seen is Mohsen, and the woman is his wife Bita. This second couple are doppelgangers for the first pair (and played by the same actors). Where Jalal is a caring and gentle soul, Mohsen is violent and nasty. Where Farzaneh is serious and troubled, Bita is light and friendly. Bita and Mohsen have a little son Bardia (Farham Azizi). With dramatically fraught and increasingly convoluted twists and turns, the lives of the two couples become intertwined, with astonishing and disturbing outcomes. This is a cleverly crafted thriller, that will have you enthralled and constantly guessing. The two leads are extraordinary in the way they each play two such dramatically different characters. The film is also an intriguing insight into Iranian society, its gender roles and the routine of daily life. An original, gripping and thought-provoking film.4 - highly recommended
Four Daughters
Dir: Kaouther Ben Hania
Length: 107 mins
 |
© - intriguing doco that employs real
people and actors portraying the absent ones |
Nominated for Best Documentary feature at the forthcoming Oscars, this is indeed a doco, which also employs actors to play several of the characters. Why? you may well ask. It's the story of Olfa Hamrouni, Tunisian mother of four daughters. Ghofrane and Rhama are no longer with the family; the two youngest Eya and Tayssir remain. The filmmaker interviews the family about what happened to cause the two eldest to become radicalised, heading for Libya to join ISIS. Part of the film is direct interview, but many scenes use actors in the roles of the missing girls when they were younger, and in scenes deemed too emotional for Olfa to recreate (in which case her stand-in performs). But the film explores so much more: Olaf's marriage and parenting style (neither much good!), the tight bond of sisterhood as the girls grew to adolescence, and the broader Tunisian society which went from a slightly more liberal attitude to women, to becoming extremely patriarchal, and adhering to Islamic codes. Not only is the story itself rivetingly interesting (and bizarre!), but the style of filmmaking, crossing the dramatic/documentary boundaries, adds another layer of complexity. Furthermore, it's enlightening to get the progressive female perspective of living in these patriarchal societies. Unusual, creative and intriguing viewing. 4 - highly recommended
Oscar-nominated shorts
Showing at Nova and Lido cinemas until March 10th
To check session times:
We all take such interest in the feature films at the Oscars, but certain short movies are actually some of the finest film-making you'll see! The art of putting an earth-shattering concept into a tiny runtime - sometimes as little as ten minutes - is no easy feat. Here's your chance to catch some of those amazing short films: features, animations and documentraries. I've watched the nomines for animation and short live action. How to choose a winner? Near impossible!
Animations: All the nominees are so creative but two really stand out for me.
War is Over is inspired by John Lennon's song and is set on a battle field where two soldiers from opposing sides send a carrier pigeon with chess moves they can play. Within this tiny film there is heartbreak, joy, a strong anti-war message, and, of course, magnificent animation that would require an unaffordable budget to produce in real life!
Letter to a Pig uses a spare, black and white pen sketch style of animation with glimpses of real faces. A Holocaust survivor tells a group of students of his experience as a kid hiding out in a pig sty, and how the pig, detested by Jews, became his saviour. Under the seemingly simply tale is a whole raft of messages about prejudice, hatred and kindness.
Short Live Action: An entire world of life-defining themes is encapsulated in these beautifully executed short tales dealing with a range of issues from abortion, to loss of a wife, friendship, teenage incarceration and more.
Knight of Fortune has that Scandinavian quirkiness, as two elderly men meet in a mortuary to say farewell to their deceased wives. A bitter/sweet tragi-comedy of loss and friendship - all in a short package!
Invincible is a French short, thematically close to home, with issues of teens suffering in detention and what is does to them mentally. Beautifully acted and heartbreaking in its narrative.
As always, insightful and useful commentaries on an eclectic choice. I love the way you cover arthouse kinds of films with the blockbusters.
ReplyDeleteThank you Sharon! And PS. I’ve been raving to everyone about Fallen Leaves. Such a portrayal of the yearning and poignancy of people on the fringes of the mainstream .
And all my golden oldie friends are falling for One Day, me included! Judi Kiraly