June 6th 2024
The Three Musketeers Part II: Milady
The Idea of You (streaming on Prime)
Forgotten Love (streaming on Netflix)
Japanese Film Festival online
CHIFF - Childrens International Film Festival
A big variety of offerings this week, from the second part of the Three Musketeers blockbuster, a couple of streaming films (a rom-com and a Polish melodrama), along with two film festivals.
The Three Musketeers Part II: Milady
Dir: Martin Bourboulon
Length: 115 mins
 |
© Palace - ongoing subterfuge and
daring deeds |
A couple of weeks ago I waxed enthusiastic about Part 1 of this adaptation of Dumas' classic novel. This second film picks up where the first left off, with D'artagnan (Francois Civil) desperate to find his lady love Constance, who was abducted at the end of the first film. Meantime Catholic King Louis has been persuaded by his brother Gaston to declare war on the Protestants, and all hell breaks loose. The eponymous Milady (Eva Green) finds herself imprisoned and then rescued by D'Artagnan, who is forced to team up with her, as, apparently, only she knows the location of Constance. The good new first: the film retains the magnificent production values of the first "episode", recreating a time and place so compellingly authentic, you can almost smell the dirty bodies. The action scenes are also brilliantly executed, and cinematography, with magnificent sweeping French countryside, is top notch. Vincent Casell stands out as Athos, who has more of a link to Milady than first imagined. The bad news for me is that I found this part less compelling, more meandering, and decidedly more convoluted and confusing plot-wise than Part I. Aramis and Porthos, the other two musketeers have little of substance to do, and the many miraculous escapes are too ludicrous for belief. So all up, this for me is a mildly enjoyable, but ultimately disappointing, follow-up to its predecessor. 3 - recommended (just!)
The Idea of You
Dir: Michael Showalter
Length: 115 mins
Streaming on Prime Video
 |
© Amazon Prime - forget the age gap; this
could be true love |
Gallery owner Solene (Anne Hathaway) is forty and divorced. Her 15-year-old daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) is crazy about boy band August Moon, and its lead singer Hayes (Nicholas Galitzine). So mother and daughter head off to a concert where, on the hunt for a toilet, Solene accidentally stumbles into Hayes' trailer. Cue instant attraction! Now, I've never been one for rom-coms, but this sweet film really handles the genre nicely. Hathaway nails it as the cautious older woman, torn between letting loose and perhaps being seen as a cougaresque laughing stock. Yet, I ask, it's always fine in films for older men to squire women half their age, so why isn't the reverse acceptable? (The patriatrchy again!) Both Hathaway and Galitzine make us believe that their characters could easily head into this unusual relationship, such is the chemistry between them, on both mind and body levels. The subsequent hounding by the paparazzi, along with social media vilification is all part of today's celebrity world, adding another layer of credibility. The songs, all purpose-written for the film are terrific, and perfectly pitched for a typical boy band. If you're looking for a light, but entertaining and touching film, this is for you.3.5 - well recommended
Forgotten Love
Dir: Michal Gazda
Length: 140 mins
Streaming on Netflix
 |
© Netflix - a sweeoping story of love, loss
and amnesia |
Rafal Wilczur (Leszek Lichota) is a highly respected brain surgeon working in Poland between the two world wars. He is heartbroken when his wife leaves him, taking their little girl Marysia with her. When he is mugged and suffers head trauma, he loses all memory of who he is and heads out in search of himself. Naming himself Antoni, he ends up in a village, where he does manual work, but on the side becomes a respected healer of locals who are ill. In the village, Marysia, now called Maria (Maria Kowalska), is working as a barmaid and is being pursued by wealthy Count Czynski (Ignacy Liss). Misunderstandings and prejudices cause havoc in the lives of both Antoni and Maria, as we wait to see if they will ever realise who the other is. This is melodrama at its best, a sweeping story of love and loss, with a gorgeous soundtrack and beautifully shot in Polish towns, villages and countryside. Unsurprisingly, it garnered 8 nominations at the Polish film awards, and makes for unexpectedly enjoyable viewing. 3.5 - well recommended
The Japanese Film Festival - FREE - online
From now until June 19th you can watch 23 Japanese films online, streaming FREE. You can't get a better deal than films for free!
I've previewed a couple that are definitely to be recommended, with this first being a stand-out.
The Lines That Define Me Sumi-e is a style of Japanese inkwash painting (extraordinary use of brush strokes in monochrome, using black ink). This film is like a love letter to the art form, showing how it can transform lives and be a total reflection of the soul of the artist. Sosuke, a uni student whose family all died in an accident, observes a master sumi-e artist, Kozan Shinoda, putting on a public performance, creating a giant piece of art in the sumi-e style. Kozan picks Sosuke out of the audience to help him, and coaxes the lad into becoming his assistant. Kozan's granddaughter Chiaki (already learning the craft) feels initially slighted, but is soon drawn deeper into the world of learning more, and competitions within the discipline. Everything about the film reflects the Japanese aesthetic of beauty from the music, to the cinematography, to the loving way in which each artwork is created (the lead actor studied the discipline for a year to do the role). You need to surrender yourself to this sort of film - it's not one for the popcorn brigade! If you can just go with the gentle storyline and open yourself to a new form of art, this will be a film to absolutely relish.
I Am What I Am: Kasumi Sobata is 30 and single. Her mother's matchmaking efforts come to naught, as Kasumi is asexual, having no feelings of love or sexual attraction for anyone. People of both sexes are friends, and nothing more. Here's an LGBTQI+ film with a difference; asexuality is not so often talked about, and is often misunderstood. Toko Miura (so fine as the introverted driver in Drive My Car) has the lead role here, as the isolated young woman who people constantly misinterpret. The story is sweet and moving and a worthy challenge to the commonly held concept that everyone should fall in love one day.
The Zen Diary: A foodie film, Japanese style, this is the story of a year in the life of widowed Tsutomo, who lives a quiet life somewhere in the mountains. He collects wild herbs and cultivates his vegetables, occasionally sharing a meal with his editor Fumiko, who has him writing about his lifestyle. His wife is dead but he has never buried her ashes, and when his mother in law dies, he's forced to confront his feelings on death. This is a lovely slow mediation on life, death, the seasons, and a simple way of living in harmony with nature.
CHIFF
Children's International Film Festival
In Melbourne from 8th June
You don't have to be a kid to enjoy top-quality children's films. With animations and live action films from all over the world, CHIFF is a festival to delight people of all ages, and with the chance to see films somewhat different from your regular Hollywood fare. With limited preview screeners available, I'll let you know the most recommended films from the curator of the festival himself, Thomas Caldwell. His top picks are: Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds, Kensuke's Kingdom, A Greyhound of a Girl, Chicken for Linda!, Lioness, Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, Just Super
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