May 17th 2024
The Three Musketeers D'Artagnan
IF
Fight to Live
After Death
The Way, My Way
Five films for your delectation this week. Swashbuckling adventure, bare knuckle fighting, near death experiences, trekking the Camino and even a kid's film (of course adults can also relate to this one!)
The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan
Dir: Martin Bourboulon
Length: 121 mins
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| © Palace - swashbuckling adventure |
In 1844 Alexandre Dumas wrote a novel, set in the late 1600s and loosely based upon French history. Catholic King Louis XIII (Louis Garrell) reigns. He is well guarded by his troops, the musketeers, but all around him conspiracies and power plays rage. Catholics and Protestants are itching for war and Cardinal Richelieu (Eric Ruf) holds great power. This iconic story has been made for the screen umpteen times, but I'd wager none so rich and entertaining as this latest version, which opens with young D'Artagnan (Francois Civil) riding in from the countryside hoping to join the King's musketeers. After being shot, left for dead and buried alive, he emerges from his shallow grave and heads for Paris where he is made a cadet musketeer. But not before angering three men who each challenge him to a duel: Aramis (Romain Duris), Athos (Vincent Cassell) and Porthos (Pio Marmai). These men become his loyal brothers-in-arms, the musketeers of the title, and their wild swashbuckling adventures are fast-paced and thrilling. Intertwined subplots abound, each one equally captivating, many revolving around the important women characters, the Queen (Vicky Krieps), an international spy, Milady (Eva Green), and D'Artagnan's love interest Constance (Lyna Khoudri). The musical score, the settings, costumes and the camera work are all mighty impressive, as the action moves through forests, into bustling streets, and sweeps into sumptuous palaces and awe-inspiring abbeys and cathedrals. Many of the settings are in stunning French countryside locations and in the actual buildings, all adding total authenticity. Nail-biting sword and pistol fights are seamlessly choreographed, and complementing all this is an intelligent script that is wonderfully delivered by a superb cast. This is a film to be relished on the big screen, and I can hardly wait for part 2, which is coming soon. 4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
For an interesting historical background visit:
IF
Dir: John Kransinski
Length: 104mins
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| © Paramount - sweet and touching |
Bea (Cailey Fleming) is staying with Grandma (Fiona Shaw) in New York, while her Dad (John Krasinski) is undergoing heart surgery. One evening she witnesses mysterious goings on, and meets Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who lives upstairs and has an entire menagerie of bizarre characters in his life. He explains these are IFs, Imaginary Friends, who have been abandoned after the young kids who created them have grown up. Bea teams up with Cal to try to find new kids who will be able to see and befriend the IFs. It could be easy to sink the boots into a film like this. It is at times overly sentimental, the plot has moments of total illogicality, and it is probably too long for a very young audience. But . . . there is a tenderness and charm to it that brought a tear to my eye. The magic of its appeal is not only to youngsters, who still have that ability to live in an imaginary world, but it also enables adults to reconnect with their inner child and remember nostalgically those more innocent days, and just how vital an IF could be in one's life. Some of the IFs are a bit crazy (a talking iceblock!?), others more your standard characters like dinosaurs and unicorns. They are all voiced by the most stellar cast including Steve Carrell as Blue, the big purple monster, along with Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, George Clooney, and Louis Gossett Jnr as the delightful aging Teddy Bear. Young Fleming is terrific as Bea, while Alan Kim as Benjamin, a precocious kid in the same hospital as Bea's Dad, is another most appealing human character. The revelation at the end took me quite by surprise, and overall the warm fuzziness the movie left me with makes it a worthwhile family (or even solo) viewing experience. 3.5 - well recommended
Fight to Live
Dir: Tom Haramis
Length: 104 mins
Limited screenings- google it!
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| © Screeninc - timely and cofronting |
Fresh from the Inner West Film Festival comes this compelling and timely documentary on "Rowdy" Bec Rawlings, a MMA (Mixed Martial ARTS) fighting champion and also a survivor of domestic abuse. The doco traces Bec's life from her childhood in Tasmania, where interviews with Bec's mother reveal she was trouble from the word go, and that getting into this sport had possibly been her salvation. The doco combines a mix of interviews and sequences showing Bec's fighting career. I don't profess to understand the distinction between all these fighting styles, but they are not for the faint hearted. After winning plenty of MMA fights Bec graduated to Bare Knuckle Fighting (ugh!!), and the scenes of this are quite confronting to watch. But more confronting are the interviews in which Bec describes the horrific abuse she sufferd at the hands of husband Don Hyatt, who physically and emotionally abused her. Director Haramis creates plenty of tension and energy, showing Bec's strength and fighting spirit, but also manages to get her to open up and show her vulnerability. Although at times a bit repetitive, it is a most relevant movie, especially given the current situation with domestic abuse of women in Australia. Brave Bec should serve as an inspiration to any women trying to break free from abuse.3.5 - well recommended
After Death
Dir: Stephen Gray & Chris Radtke
Length: 108 mins
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© Heritage Films - science and belief
- what happens after death? |
As a sceptic, I am not the best person to review a film of this nature. However, I must admit the early part had me intrigued, especially as so many renowned surgeons and scientists speak of their experiences with patients who were officially dead and were then revived. Medicos have been stunned that supposedly dead patients, after being revived, report a commonality of experience - feeling out of their bodies looking down on themselves. They also could recount in detail what had happened to them and what doctors said; things they could never have logically known. Later in the doco, interviewees talk about what they experienced in terms of bright light, heaven's gold-lined streets, God, and a feeling of all encompassing love. Some, it seems, ventured to the gates of Hell! At this point it lost me, with the sweeping music and visual interpretations of these experiences taking on an evangelistic, religious fervour aimed at convincing people. Of course it's thought provoking, but there is nothing especially new here, as it preaches to the converted. Such religious propaganda in the guise of scientific research would have been better served with a more balanced approach.2.5 - maybe
The Way, My Way
Dir: Bill Bennett
Length: 98 mins
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| © Maslow Entertainment - keep walking! |
Here's yet another story of trekking the Camino de Santiago, but this one feels quite different from previous Camino films I've seen. Far less dry, and much more moving. Adapted from Bennett's own memoir, he uses only four professional actors to play the roles. One is veteran Aussie actor Chris Heywood playing Bill. He brings a recognisable Aussie laconicness to the role, but also manages to expose his vulnerable core as his trek proceeds. Most of the other characters are actual people who Bennett met when he made the trek, playing themselves, and speaking authentically from the heart. Bennett's wife Jennifer Cluff also appears as herself, so it makes the audience feel as if they are actually spending time with these people. The meaningful conversations these strangers all share, the way they greet and help each other is a life lesson in itself, and the various reasons each has for trekking (self forgiveness, dealing with illness etc) are things most can relate to. The scenery, including quaint French and Spanish villages, is of course gorgeous, and the beautiful soundtrack complements everything, used sparingly but to great effect. This film is a true delight. I hope it gets a wide audience.4 - highly recommended
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