My week in film: An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker, Don Jon and more…

Posted on by harrietwarman

At the cinema this week I saw Silver Bear winning An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker – the fifth feature by Danis Tanovic, whose earlier effort No Man’s Land (2001) was one of the most awarded first feature films in history. That Tanovic spent two years filming for the army during the Bosnian war, was apparent in the energetic vérite style of No Man’s Land which takes two soldiers from opposing sides trapped together as its subject. The same focused vitality is also present in this latest tale, exposing the discrimination towards Roma communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a cast of non-professional actors reconstruct a traumatic event in their lives. 11_Kopie_large_copyNazif and Senada live in a small village and rely on the money Nazif makes selling scrap metal to support themselves and their two daughters, with a third baby on the way. When Nazif comes home to find Senada with crippling stomach pain, a trip to the hospital reveals that she has had a miscarriage and needs an operation, but the hospital refuses to perform it unless they pay a small fortune as Senada doesn’t have an insurance card. What ensues is Nazif’s desperate attempts to save his wife’s life, in the face of indifference from the authorities. Tanovic developed the film with Nazif and Senada after reading their story in a local newspaper, and based the scenes on their recollections, with purely improvised dialogue and many of the other villagers and family also playing themselves in the film. The result is an efficiency of performance and storytelling that focuses tightly the testimony of an unwavering, seemingly futile effort to illicit even a normal amount of compassion from the hospital staff they encounter. Shot in HD, there’s a crisp beauty to the image that further conveys they humanity in Tanovic’s extraordinary film. don-jon-netflix

Home viewing included Don Jon, written, directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a deluded lothario more enamoured by pornography than sex with an actual woman. Gordon-Levitt demonstrates considerable skill in establishing the small, controlled world view of his perpetually self-stimulating charmer, but fails to develop his female characters, abandoning the potential for both Jon and Scarlett Johansson’s Barbara to learn from their one-sided approach to relationships, in favour of Jon’s singular emotional growth at the hands of Julianne Moore’s as bereaved mother Esther. Still, there’s a pleasing wit and leanings towards self-awareness in Don Jon which means I will look forward to Gordan-Levitt’s next feature.

ACOD-3Also viewed: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) once again reduced me to tears at its treatment of the parental experience of the child leaving home, and along similar lines but with a completely different approach, A.C.O.D, Adult Children of Divorce (Stu Zicherman, 2013) looked at the ‘least parented generation in America’s history’ whereby Adam Scott negotiates the wildly ridiculous terrain of his parents reconciliation in anticipation of his brother’s wedding, shot dully and with inconsistent comedic effect. Yet another viewing of Avengers Assemble (2012, Joss Whedon) proved deeply enjoyable, and has greatly increased the likelihood of my seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014, Anthony & Joe Russo).

My week in film, 20 Feet from Stardom, Calvary, The Double and more…

Posted on by harrietwarman

This post will hopefully mark the resurrection and continuation of My week in Film… (though this new instalment technically covers a selection over two weeks) after a lengthy hiatus due to my day job as a Festival/Programme Coordinator. Inevitably when working for a film festival the only films I’m able to see are those in the programme, however due to the month-long nature of AV Festival (my current gig), and an average schedule of one film per day, I did manage to see Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson). With Glazer’s unnerving film I was equally impressed and irked by the melding of documentary style shooting and stylistic, art-horror sequences, not to mention a fantastic performance by Scarlett Johansson, whilst Anderson’s latest film was simply joyous, perhaps closest to Fantastic Mr Fox in tone and noticeably more vicious (Goldblum’s fingers!) than previous offerings.  Clavary Attempting to catch-up with current releases, I saw the much-hyped Calvary in which, following The Guard in 2011, Brendan Gleeson again brings his considerable charisma to the central role for writer/director John Michael McDonagh. That the film is an allegory is clear, and the attempt to approach the subject of the Catholic church’s culpability and guilt with the director’s characteristic dark wit is engaging and entertaining, but I couldn’t forgive what amounted to a cast of caricatures in place of real characters, and a self-awareness in the dialogue that was outright smug. For a well-balanced review, see Donald Clarke in the Irish Times. 20-feet-from-stardom-review-photo20 Feet From Stardom (Morgan Neville, 2013) was everything I expected from this Oscar winning documentary – an all-star cast of contributors including Mick Jagger, Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler and Bruce Springsteen, singing the praises of the backing singers who brought depth and soul to their recordings from the 1960s to the present. Slickly edited with a strong focus on showcasing the very talent that normally goes unnoticed, what is so enthralling about the lives of these singers – including Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer and The Waters – is hearing of their less-successful solo careers and the suggestion that despite their raw talent, what prevented them from becoming ‘stars’ was sometimes their lacking in the ability to self-promote, to perhaps take on the role of the exhibitionist that seemed to come so naturally to performers like Tina Turner or The Rolling Stones. For Táta Vega, there could only be one Aretha, no matter how often her substantial talent was compared to the legendary soul singer. The film undoubtedly provides the recognition these singers deserve, revealing one astonishing performance after another, that will surely change the way we listen to songs like Gimme Shelter or Young Americans forever. the-double-trailerFinally I saw Richard Ayoade’s The Double, an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, which sees Jessie Eisenberg play a man named Simon James – a person infuriatingly incapable of even the simplest of human interactions – whose life is irrevocably harassed by the presence of his doppelganger, James Simon. Ayoade and co-writer Avi Korine create a distinctly desperate world for their protagonist, whilst Andrew Hewitt’s score provides a perfect prickliness to compliment Simon’s drab environment. Perhaps the most joyous part of Ayoade’s second feature is the fictional action sci-fi TV show seen on monitors littered throughout the otherwise grim world the characters inhabit. Appearing at crucial moments as if to antagonize Simon’s ineffectuality, Paddy Considine stars in a gleefully retro styled show called The Replicator, in a nod to Ayoade’s involvement as writer/actor in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004) which also provides perhaps the perfect continuation of Considine’s performance as a ‘psychic’ alpha male, would-be home wrecker in Submarine.

FrancesHaBowieRunning

Also viewed: Celluloid Man (Shivendra Singh Dungarpoor, 2012), full review here, the glorious Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013) – just as good on second viewing, Say Anything (Cameron Crowe, 1989) – in which, though it makes obvious why John Cusack became such a big star, is actually a rather baffling film, switching from tender youthful romance to high-stakes crime dad, fear of flying awfulness. Finally the past fortnight also saw me revisit Jean Renoir’s La Règle de Jeu (The Rules of the Game, 1939), which is still just a remarkable film.

My week in film: Mud and more…

Posted on by harrietwarman

Recently it’s been very hard for me to keep up a weekly cinematic investigation: ‘My week in film…’ due mainly to my commitments at work (EIFF) and extra-curricular writing assignments. I miss my weekly blog though, so I’ll try and catch up here on what I’ve seen in past few months, albeit in significantly fewer words. Another_Earth_06I watched Another Earth (2011) – mainly because I appreciated the ambition and wit of the filmmaker’s (director Mike Cahill and writer/star Brit Marling), The Sound of My Voice (2012), which seemed to be one of a number of films that suggested 2012 was a year of films about cults (see also, Martha Marcy May Marlene and The Master). Another Earth was just as unnerving, but like the later effort, seemed to rush it’s ending andwes-andersons-moonrise-kingdom-trailer_h undermine its dramatic focus in favour of a clever twist in this Sci-fi tale. I re-watched Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012) and was bowled over by its sincerity, emotion and practically breathtaking beauty. Meanwhile, Stoker by Oldboy (2003) and Thirst (2009) director, Park Chan-wook confirmed what the trailer suggested in its heavily Hitchcock-inspired tone and plot (most obviously Shadow of a Doubt, 1943). Mia Wasikowska in Park Chan-wook's StokerWith captivating performances from the three stars – Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode – as eighteen year-old India Stoker, her mother Evelyn, and her newfound uncle Charlie, Stoker impressed with its tale of death and desire. Everything from the nuanced acting and precise costuming to editor Nicolas De Toth’s expert work, created an intoxicating atmosphere and some truly memorable images, even if its not director Park’s best work. Also with stoker in the title, Alexei Balabanov’s The Stoker (2011) was released this month by new distributor on the block, Edinburgh’s Filmhouse (more on their decision to branch into distribution here).The Stoker

A dark, dark, deadpan tale of murder and revenge in St. Petersburg, The Stoker is brilliantly simple in its premise and execution, and with a damn catchy soundtrack too. With his films only just hitting UK screens – Bradford Film Festival also recently programmed a retrospective of his work – I was sad to hear over the weekend that Balabanov passed away following a seizure. On-The-Road_04Having recently, finally got round to reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac, I decided to give Walter Salles’ film adaptation a look and came away with much the same feeling as that toward his other, road-based feature, The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) – boredom. Despite the gift of fascinating characters and an engaging plot, I was left unmoved by On the Road as it skipped over some of the most interesting parts of the book and failed to provide any reason to care about Sal and his love for Dean Moriarty.  Lastly, I saw Jeff Nichols’ celebrated new feature, Mud starring Matthew McConaughey as the titular fugitive relying on the loyalty of two teenage boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) to reunite him with his lifelong love, Juniper (Reece Witherspoon). In close pursuit of Mud, Carver (the versatile new talent Paul Sparks) is the brother of the man he killed, hoping to ensnare his target and get revenge on behalf of his evangelical family. MUD-pic-3_3-1024x585Ellis meanwhile, allows his romantic nature and confusion about his parents crumbling marriage guide his choice to help Mud, thinking that as long as Mud and Juniper love each other, its worth overlooking the inconsistencies in his story. Mud’s version of a love story – that it’s the only thing you can trust – is one of two presented to Ellis, the other being that by his father, who is frustrated that he both relies upon and resents his wife’s ownership of the riverside family home, and therefore feels betrayed when she expresses a desire to move.

A film primarily about men – male friendship, the male perspective on love, and brotherhood – it was easy to be concerned that women were being unfairly portrayed in the reese-witherspoon-mud4film. Ellis’ father manipulates him into turning against his mother, and has his opinion of Juniper soured when she fails to keep up her end of the arrangement to bring her back to Mud. That women are therefore unreliable and selfish seemed to be the message learnt by Ellis by halfway through the films running time. However, it’s ultimately the male narrative in Nichols screenplay that redeems the negativity towards women. Ellis, in his naivety, has invested in Mud, and in his childlike way, Mud has invested in Juniper – holding onto an ideal from their youth that’s impossible to grasp in adulthood. When Juniper fails to show therefore, its Mud that Ellis lashes out at – he being the man who sold him a tale of love more romantic and attractive than the complexity of his parent’s marriage – thereby disappointing Ellis just the same when the tale ends differently. Similarly, its Ellis’s mother who shows him that their family is worth more than her husbands insecurity, in one brilliant scene demonstrating that its her voice that should be heard. mud-picture04


Following the excellent Shotgun Stories (2007) and Take Shelter (2011), Nichols continues to be one of the most impressive and accomplished voices in US independent cinema, taking a seemingly small, coming of age tale and weaving grand themes about identity and loss of innocence into his beautifully realised narrative. Its also important to note the outstanding Sheridan, Lofland and McConaughey, who’s performances provide the solid emotional core of the film. I can’t recommend Mud enough.

 

 

Also watched:

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God – Alex Gibney

Ghost World – Terry Zwigoff