August 22nd 2024

Touch

Take My Hand

Remembering Gene Wilder (streaming on Netflix)

One of my rare unmisssable films releases this week. Touch is totally up my alley! An Aussie movie about multiple sclerosis is definitely worth the watch, and couch dwellers will love the biopic tribute to Gene Wilder. 

Touch

Dir:  Baltasar Kormakur

Length: 121 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5fXuZ3ns_c

© Universal - just seeing the shorts for this film
turned my heart over! 

Kristofer (Egill Olafsson) is advised by his doctor to get his affairs in order as he is starting to suffer severe cognitive decline. He decides now is the time to try to find Miko (Yoko Narahashi), a woman he was in love with when he worked as a young man in a Japanese restaurant in London. So, just as the Covid pandemic is breaking out, he hops a plane from his home in Iceland to London. We then flash back in time to young Kristofer (Palmi Kormakur), jaded with his London-based university studies, applying for a job as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant. As soon as he and young Miko (Koki) see each other, it's love at first sight. But life doesn't always work out as one wishes, and Miko's father Takahashi (Masahiro Motoki), who survived the Hiroshima bombings,  has classified his daughter as hibakshu, (atomic bomb survivor) which determines the course of her life. Some films just nail it - the ability to tap into life's regrets, joys, and the everpresent nostalgia of a love that never leaves one - and this is one of those films. It is sublime in its encapsulation of young love, sensuality, and the grief of loss and what could have been. It constantly moves in time from the present, with  Kristofer's determined quest, (despite having lived a reasonably happy life) to the past; a time in which he immersed himself in all things Japanese: cooking, language, the culture of the people he worked with, and an all-consuming love. The time shifts only serve to augment the emotion that runs so deeply in both time frames of the film. The past (the late 60s) is presented in a rich, warm color palette, while the present is cooler, the woes of the Covid-stricken world and of a man heading towards the end, all  overwhelming. There is so much tenderness, sensuality and joy in this exquisite film. I loved it.

5 - unmissable

Take My Hand

Dir:  John Raftopoulos

Length: 102 mins

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/950594730

© Rialto - based on the director's wife's story -
shines a light on a life-changing illness

Romance and debilitating life-threatening illness can make for a strong movie combination, but this film is even more authentic, as it is based upon the true story of director Raftopoulos and his wife Claire, who lives with multiple sclerosis (MS), and who acts here as an executive producer. The story opens in rural Queensland with Laura (Meg Fraser), a keen horse rider, desperate to finish school and get away from her family. But then she meets Michael (Xavier Molyneux), and hearts inevitably get broken when she follows her plan to move to London. Fast forward 20 years later and Laura (now played by Radha Mitchell) has a successful career, and three sons with husband Jason (Bart Edwards). Her world falls apart when she is diagnosed with MS, and Jason is killed in an accident. But upon her return to Australia she reconnects with Michael (now played by Adam Demos). Partnering with MS Australia, the film-makers seek to enlighten viewers to the challenges of life with the disease. Some scenes are real-standouts in their feeling of authenticity, others at times feel a little forced. Scenery is glorious, and the main actors all bring depth to their roles, highlighting the need for compassion, understanding and love in living with this illness.

4 - highly recommended

Remembering Gene Wilder

Dir:  Ron Frank

Length: 92 mins

Streaming on Netflix

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gdbJD49t2E

© A worthy tribute to a man who
entertained so many

Fans of comic actor Gene Wilder will not want to miss this loving tribute to his life and career. I've never seen many of his films, though I adored Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. So I really enjoyed learning about his career through the clips from umpteen movies he starred in. The biopic employs an interesting narration by the man himself from a 2005 audiobook he made. He comes across as a seriously nice human being, something not always associated with big stars, and that makes the tragedy of his ultimate decline all the more poignant. This is a film to be thoroughly enjoyed, with your laughter and tears.

4 - highly recommended