Friday 27 December 2013
BIFF Movie #8 - OXV: The Manual
After the very disappointing A Touch of Sin, I was looking forward to OXV: The Manual which promised to be a very unique Australian film. And so it was, an absolutely fascinating and intelligent little movie that puts a nice spin on the 'alternative future' sub-genre of science fiction film. The emphasis here is very much on philosophy.
The film opens up in a school with young children lining up to get their report cards for the year. We meet Marie, a young girl with an obviously high 'score', perfect and yet lacking in empathy. We also meet Zak, who has a low 'score' but is a lovely and likeable boy. Zak likes Marie, but she knows they can't spend any time together due to being in a different 'class'. However, her curiousity is aroused and she decides to experiment with spending a minute with Zak each year. At first you have no real idea what is happening, but it doesn't take long for it to become apparent. The movie is set in one of those 'not quite now, not quite the world we live in' type settings where you can't really pinpoint the date or city. There are lots of British accents but it's not Britain. There are deliberate 70s props in an otherwise modern setting with mobile phones but you know it's the future. And it's a future where society is split up not according to wealth or IQ, but luck. We now have a way to test how lucky or unlucky different people are, and if lucky people interact with unlucky people, something bad happens to the unlucky person. So contact is limited to that one minute per year or people in your own luck class.
The movie is based around Zak and his friend Theo's attempts to find a way to beat the 'luck' issue so that Zak can be with Marie. Ongoing experiments eventually yield a system that they believe works - that the energy field which causes the bad luck can be neutralised by saying a series of three letter words. The scene where Zak tries this on Marie as a grown up is fantastic, and Marie quickly falls into a happy relationship with Zak. That is until they discover that there is a downside to the system - it actually seems that the use of the words can force the person to do whatever you want with no free will. So does Marie love Zak or does Marie love Zak because he told her to love him? Is there such a thing as free will? How does this power even work and what are the implications for society which has been organised this way for so long?
The third act of the movie explores these themes in great detail and throws in a tension building storyline about the secret organisation that knows about the system and tries to keep it from being revealed publicly, imprisoning Zak and Marie and their fellow scientists until they can find a way to undo what they've done. This builds into a highly enjoyable climax which I can't reveal without giving away the mystery. It is an absolute delight of an ending though.
A Q&A with the director Darren Paul Fisher afterwards (this was the Australian premiere of this Aussie/British production) revealed the depth of thought that has gone into this storyline and the details that you may have missed in the movie (for example the fact that each class of luck (high, low, medium) wear different colour ties in their school uniforms) which now make me hungry for a couple of repeat viewings so I can take it all in. It's obviously been a passion project for the director but it's one that with the right word of mouth, could pay off when the film is eventually released in Australia. I know I for one will be going back to see it again and would recommend that anyone who likes to ponder the meaning of life and free will would be well entertained by this film. Clever, funny and endearing!
BIFF Movie #7 - A Touch of Sin
This is a difficult movie to review (especially now so long after attending BIFF) so I'll keep it short. This movie is actually four short stories woven into one larger movie, with no real connection between them and even the underlying theme is barely felt. The movie is set in modern day China and from the blurb read in the Film Festival guide it was trying to deal with a sense of alienation and the struggle of the underclass against pointless lives, erupting in random violence. However, just because you feel annoyed at the repetitiveness of your work or bosses or the big company you work for, or your lover who won't leave their husband, or your inability to keep and hold a job, that doesn't excuse the violence portrayed here which are largely senseless murders. The movie was too long, slow and could not keep up the drama which was set up quite well in the first story but drifts into nothingness as the film progresses. I walked out feeling like it was a waste of a movie ticket as I got nothing out of the film at all.
Movie #32 - The Railway Man
A very warm Boxing Day always pulls the crowds into the cinema, the day that the biggest summer releases usually come out. I heard that the second Hobbit movie had sold out screenings in many cinemas. But it seems there are plenty of people wanting to see the other serious movies that are out too. Our screening of The Railway Man was very full, almost sold out although it was a small cinema at Balmoral that we chose (love those prices!). I think this is a great achievement for a movie that would appear to be so "un-Christmas-y".
The Railway Man is a story of an English man who survived being imprisoned by the Japanese and working on the Thai-Burma railway during World War 2, but has never really overcome the suffering even 20 years on. Compressing all the pain and shame inside has not really worked, as memories and dreams invade everyday life regularly. Meeting a woman on a train who he falls in love with and marries seems to be a catalyst for him to slide even deeper rather than coming out of it. Patti though is determined not to be shut out and sets out to find out what happened to Eric so she can help him overcome it. Flashbacks to the war are used through Eric's own dreams and memories and those of his friend Finbery (Stellan Skaarsgard) as he recounts what he knows to Patti. This leads to an extraordinary series of events as Eric travels back to Thailand to confront the Japanese interpreter who treated him so cruelly.
The thing about this story is that you would never believe it was true if it wasn't for the fact that it is indeed a true story. Based on the memoirs of Lieutenant Eric Lomax, the things that the Japanese do in this movie all really happened and Eric really did travel to Thailand and confront Nagase armed with a nasty looking knife. For those who are not intimately familiar with the atrocities committed by the Japanese in World War 2, this movie will open your eyes with some very confronting scenes, although the director has mostly spared us the real grit and grime by having the impact of many blows off-screen and you feel them through the winces and sorrow on the faces of the witnesses. You're also spared the worst by the fact that Lomax and his crew were engineers with skills the Japanese needed, so they were treated a lot better than the common soldiers and the absolute misery they suffered is more of a backdrop to this story than front and centre.
For those like me who know the stories (my grandfather was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and survived being on the Thai-Burma railway as well) and who have travelled to Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass, it is no less confronting for being familiar in both story and locations. It does give you a better understanding of why these men never talked about their experiences afterwards, even with each other.
Colin Firth is superb in the role of the current day Eric Lomax, battling his demons while trying to be a loving husband. There is so much depth in this performance without ever being histrionic as it could have been. Jeremy Irvine is excellent as the young Lomax trying to keep morale up and maintain his honour in the face of extreme horror, though he gets few happy scenes. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is also excellent as the tormentor who has tried to repent for his deeds by becoming a Buddhist and guiding tour groups and promoting reconciliation.
As directed by Aussie Jonathan Teplitzky, The Railway Man is an emotional and tense ride, only slightly lightened by the few tender scenes with Patti. It's a great shame that Eric passed away last year age 93 and didn't get to see his story made into a tough but wonderful movie that audiences seem to be loving.
The Railway Man is a story of an English man who survived being imprisoned by the Japanese and working on the Thai-Burma railway during World War 2, but has never really overcome the suffering even 20 years on. Compressing all the pain and shame inside has not really worked, as memories and dreams invade everyday life regularly. Meeting a woman on a train who he falls in love with and marries seems to be a catalyst for him to slide even deeper rather than coming out of it. Patti though is determined not to be shut out and sets out to find out what happened to Eric so she can help him overcome it. Flashbacks to the war are used through Eric's own dreams and memories and those of his friend Finbery (Stellan Skaarsgard) as he recounts what he knows to Patti. This leads to an extraordinary series of events as Eric travels back to Thailand to confront the Japanese interpreter who treated him so cruelly.
The thing about this story is that you would never believe it was true if it wasn't for the fact that it is indeed a true story. Based on the memoirs of Lieutenant Eric Lomax, the things that the Japanese do in this movie all really happened and Eric really did travel to Thailand and confront Nagase armed with a nasty looking knife. For those who are not intimately familiar with the atrocities committed by the Japanese in World War 2, this movie will open your eyes with some very confronting scenes, although the director has mostly spared us the real grit and grime by having the impact of many blows off-screen and you feel them through the winces and sorrow on the faces of the witnesses. You're also spared the worst by the fact that Lomax and his crew were engineers with skills the Japanese needed, so they were treated a lot better than the common soldiers and the absolute misery they suffered is more of a backdrop to this story than front and centre.
For those like me who know the stories (my grandfather was taken prisoner by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore and survived being on the Thai-Burma railway as well) and who have travelled to Kanchanaburi and Hellfire Pass, it is no less confronting for being familiar in both story and locations. It does give you a better understanding of why these men never talked about their experiences afterwards, even with each other.
Colin Firth is superb in the role of the current day Eric Lomax, battling his demons while trying to be a loving husband. There is so much depth in this performance without ever being histrionic as it could have been. Jeremy Irvine is excellent as the young Lomax trying to keep morale up and maintain his honour in the face of extreme horror, though he gets few happy scenes. Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada is also excellent as the tormentor who has tried to repent for his deeds by becoming a Buddhist and guiding tour groups and promoting reconciliation.
As directed by Aussie Jonathan Teplitzky, The Railway Man is an emotional and tense ride, only slightly lightened by the few tender scenes with Patti. It's a great shame that Eric passed away last year age 93 and didn't get to see his story made into a tough but wonderful movie that audiences seem to be loving.
Sunday 8 December 2013
BIFF Triumphant Thursday - Prince Avalanche and Rigor Mortis
The second Thursday of BIFF was a triumph of good choices after a couple of disappointments earlier in the week and weekend.
Movie #11 was Prince Avalanche. A small indie movie which seems to be the best Wes Anderson movie that Wes Anderson never made. Paul Rudd plays an uptight middle aged guy called Alvin who has taken on a contract to fix roads ruined by large fires in the woods of Texas in 1988. It's a lonely life camping out in the wilderness overnight and painting lines/fixing posts by day. He takes on his girlfriend's oddball younger brother Lance (Emile Hirsche from Speed Racer/Into the Wild) for company and to help with the work.
This movie is really S-L-O-W but charming and beautiful. There are some amazing shots of the natural environment and some really contemplative scenes as Alvin is the type of guy who can just be comfortable on his own out in the middle of nowhere enjoying his hobbies. This leads to the occasional clash with Lance, who like many young people these days cannot handle doing nothing. He ventures back into town at the weekends to party and the discussions with Alvin about this are gently comedic.
Gentle, slow moving and odd but charming would be the best way to describe this. One for fans of director David Gordon Green's "All the Real Girls" not his slacker comedies "Your Highness" or "Pineapple Express".
Movie #12 was Rigor Mortis. Our supernatural horror movie faith is restored after the disastrous mess of "Sapi" earlier in the week. A Hong Kong film paying tribute to Chinese TV series "Mr Vampire" in Japanese style. Way cool! You don't need to be familiar with the Chinese show to appreciate this film at all though. This is one we will be chasing up to own on DVD for it's dark and cool visuals married with an almost steampunk setting reminiscent of Guillermo del Toro.
The film opens with retired actor Sui Ho moving into an abandoned apartment in a scary looking apartment block, following the separation from his wife and young son. Depressed, he tries to take his own life, but is saved at the last minute by Yau (a Taoist priest who is trying to retire from vampire hunting) who senses that depression is not the only reason - Ho has been possessed by the evil spirits of two girls who previously died in the apartment. Ho recovers and meets the various residents of his apartment building who gather in Yau's excellent food hall. Auntie May the seamstress lives with her beloved husband Uncle Tung, the building caretaker Yin seems unperturbed by spooky events, Kau is a mysterious healer who may dabble in the Black Arts, and weird Feung is a seemingly crazy lady hanging around outside Ho's apartment with her albino son. There are also some ghostly residents.
While spooky from the get-go, events escalate when Tung meets with an accident and May cannot handle losing her lifelong husband. She works with Kau to bring Tung back to life, but his renewed self is not the expected outcome and it puts all the residents of the building in grave danger. Ho and Yau must band together with Kau to stop a major bloodbath from the now vampiric Tung and the aforementioned evil spirits.
The movie is well plotted, well acted, and the visuals are quite stunning. The graphic violence, body horror and suicide scenes will disturb sensitive viewers but if you can handle it, this is a really cool film with a bit of a headscratcher of an ending that will keep you thinking.
Movie #11 was Prince Avalanche. A small indie movie which seems to be the best Wes Anderson movie that Wes Anderson never made. Paul Rudd plays an uptight middle aged guy called Alvin who has taken on a contract to fix roads ruined by large fires in the woods of Texas in 1988. It's a lonely life camping out in the wilderness overnight and painting lines/fixing posts by day. He takes on his girlfriend's oddball younger brother Lance (Emile Hirsche from Speed Racer/Into the Wild) for company and to help with the work.
This movie is really S-L-O-W but charming and beautiful. There are some amazing shots of the natural environment and some really contemplative scenes as Alvin is the type of guy who can just be comfortable on his own out in the middle of nowhere enjoying his hobbies. This leads to the occasional clash with Lance, who like many young people these days cannot handle doing nothing. He ventures back into town at the weekends to party and the discussions with Alvin about this are gently comedic.
Gentle, slow moving and odd but charming would be the best way to describe this. One for fans of director David Gordon Green's "All the Real Girls" not his slacker comedies "Your Highness" or "Pineapple Express".
Movie #12 was Rigor Mortis. Our supernatural horror movie faith is restored after the disastrous mess of "Sapi" earlier in the week. A Hong Kong film paying tribute to Chinese TV series "Mr Vampire" in Japanese style. Way cool! You don't need to be familiar with the Chinese show to appreciate this film at all though. This is one we will be chasing up to own on DVD for it's dark and cool visuals married with an almost steampunk setting reminiscent of Guillermo del Toro.
The film opens with retired actor Sui Ho moving into an abandoned apartment in a scary looking apartment block, following the separation from his wife and young son. Depressed, he tries to take his own life, but is saved at the last minute by Yau (a Taoist priest who is trying to retire from vampire hunting) who senses that depression is not the only reason - Ho has been possessed by the evil spirits of two girls who previously died in the apartment. Ho recovers and meets the various residents of his apartment building who gather in Yau's excellent food hall. Auntie May the seamstress lives with her beloved husband Uncle Tung, the building caretaker Yin seems unperturbed by spooky events, Kau is a mysterious healer who may dabble in the Black Arts, and weird Feung is a seemingly crazy lady hanging around outside Ho's apartment with her albino son. There are also some ghostly residents.
While spooky from the get-go, events escalate when Tung meets with an accident and May cannot handle losing her lifelong husband. She works with Kau to bring Tung back to life, but his renewed self is not the expected outcome and it puts all the residents of the building in grave danger. Ho and Yau must band together with Kau to stop a major bloodbath from the now vampiric Tung and the aforementioned evil spirits.
The movie is well plotted, well acted, and the visuals are quite stunning. The graphic violence, body horror and suicide scenes will disturb sensitive viewers but if you can handle it, this is a really cool film with a bit of a headscratcher of an ending that will keep you thinking.
BIFF Movie # 6 - The Congress
This is quite a difficult movie to review, especially so far after the fact. But "The Congress" was so good it's not hard to throw my mind back to it. The Congress is a real mind-bender of a film, definitely one for those with more adventurous tastes in movies and you need to be prepared that half the movie has been done in animation rather than live action.
The Congress starts off as a very sharp satire of the Hollywood movie industry. It stars Robin Wright (who most will know as the beautiful Buttercup in "The Princess Bride" but she has had an on and off hit and miss acting career over time which is quite relevant to this movie) and it's important to know she was also a producer on this film. Robin here plays Robin Wright, an actress in her mid 40s who still looks beautiful but given her age and poor career choices doesn't have many prospects for film roles from here on. She is approached by the head of fictional movie studio 'Miramount' to sign a contract for a new concept whereby she is scanned, digitalised and owned by the studio to use in any movies or any way the studio deems appropriate for the rest of time. The real actress must retire and never act again. The studio boss (played well by Danny Huston) uses some very sharp personal criticism to goad Robin into signing the contract for a cheap price. The debate about whether to sign between Robin, her agent Al (played by Harvey Keitel) and her children, a son with a serious medical condition (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a precocious teen daughter (Sami Gayle) is interesting and raises many valid points about the current Hollywood system and our general fame obsessed culture. This takes up about the first third of the movie.
The next phase takes place when Robin agrees to the contract and gets scanned - an extremely powerful extended scene between Robin and Harvey Keitel. Then an indeterminate period of time has passed and an older Robin is driving to a town where she has been invited to appear at "The Congress". To enter she must take a pill that converts her into animated form in an animated world, and this is where the film a huge leap which you may or may not be able to follow. Robin is ostensibly being feted but decides to use the platform to criticise Miramount, which sets off a chain reaction of events weird and wonderful. You definitely find yourself wondering "is this all a dream" before a scene towards the end starts to clarify what is really happening, so stick with it.
While this film doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense plot wise, it is a visual treat and a very smart commentary on our current pop culture obsessions versus what is really important in life. Totally original and a lot of fun if you are willing to take a bit of a risk.
The Congress starts off as a very sharp satire of the Hollywood movie industry. It stars Robin Wright (who most will know as the beautiful Buttercup in "The Princess Bride" but she has had an on and off hit and miss acting career over time which is quite relevant to this movie) and it's important to know she was also a producer on this film. Robin here plays Robin Wright, an actress in her mid 40s who still looks beautiful but given her age and poor career choices doesn't have many prospects for film roles from here on. She is approached by the head of fictional movie studio 'Miramount' to sign a contract for a new concept whereby she is scanned, digitalised and owned by the studio to use in any movies or any way the studio deems appropriate for the rest of time. The real actress must retire and never act again. The studio boss (played well by Danny Huston) uses some very sharp personal criticism to goad Robin into signing the contract for a cheap price. The debate about whether to sign between Robin, her agent Al (played by Harvey Keitel) and her children, a son with a serious medical condition (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and a precocious teen daughter (Sami Gayle) is interesting and raises many valid points about the current Hollywood system and our general fame obsessed culture. This takes up about the first third of the movie.
The next phase takes place when Robin agrees to the contract and gets scanned - an extremely powerful extended scene between Robin and Harvey Keitel. Then an indeterminate period of time has passed and an older Robin is driving to a town where she has been invited to appear at "The Congress". To enter she must take a pill that converts her into animated form in an animated world, and this is where the film a huge leap which you may or may not be able to follow. Robin is ostensibly being feted but decides to use the platform to criticise Miramount, which sets off a chain reaction of events weird and wonderful. You definitely find yourself wondering "is this all a dream" before a scene towards the end starts to clarify what is really happening, so stick with it.
While this film doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense plot wise, it is a visual treat and a very smart commentary on our current pop culture obsessions versus what is really important in life. Totally original and a lot of fun if you are willing to take a bit of a risk.
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