Biutiful (2010)

Leave it to Iñárritu (21 Grams; Babel) to deliver yet another gut-wrenching drama. This time we're in Barcelona peering into the life of a man having difficulties financially, relationally, physically - and yet, moments of lightness (very few of them) give us a reason to believe that even at the lowest moments in life, we can shine.

Disgrace (2008)

A tremendously powerful and original film that tackles South Africa's culture of violence. The Australian-made movie is based on a South African novel by J M Coetzee which makes me want to seek out this guy's work. A professor loses his status in the academic world because of some blatant abuses of his position. He seeks refuge at his daughter's ranch in rural South Africa only to be faced with a culture of violence he is not able to so easily accept as his own indiscretions. The biggest revelation of this film is its treatment of rape and how it is understood so differently in the Eastern Cape.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

David Fincher couldn't resist making his own film adaptation of the wildly successful mystery novels (I've heard they read exactly like the movies...) even though the original (released just 2 years previous) was very well made and popular.

This version is no tamer than the Swedish version. It is brutally graphic in its telling of the investigation into serial/ritual murders, Lisbeth's abuse, and the original mystery of the missing girl. The acting and style are stellar with an unrelenting pace.

I still can't figure out why they had to make another almost identical version, but it was well done none the less.

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A Dangerous Method (2011)

A peek into the lives of 19th century psychologists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud through the lens of one of their patients. The film centres on Jung's desire for professionalism and moral integrity as it is challenged by a masochistic patient who occasionally has psychotic episodes.

The film is a product of Canadian director David Cronenberg whose previous work also focuses on the the mentally disturbed or abnormal. This one seems more grounded in reality and easier to follow than say, Naked Lunch. I'm not sure I agree with his bent on pushing for us to follow our passion so that we can be released (it seems he leaned much more on Freud's side of the debate in the film).

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Animal Kingdom (2010)

This film is too over the top I think, but maybe I just don't know the Australian trailerpark crime culture well enough. The crime and the response to crime seems cartoonish without trying to be.

An orphaned teen cousin ends up living with his criminal uncles and ringleader grandmother. The police will go to any lengths to get them and they will do anything to avoid getting caught. Some rather horrific stuff really.

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Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

The narration is readings from late 19th century newspaper articles from Wisconsin's frontier. The stories are acted out on black and white film. That's it.

The title gives away the common thread of the various articles.

It's a fascinating film in that it shocks any kind of romance out of the settler/homesteading era. The madness, lack of social recourse, and ignorance in these remote locations is saddening, if not a quite upsetting.

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All the Little Animals (1998)

This film brought to mind the quote at the beginning of my film:

Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace. - Albert Schweitzer

Surely, one can see that cruelty towards animals is a sure indicator of the perpetrator's character. This film brings the idea that love of the lowliest of creatures is an indicator of real humanity, but it also presses the idea that man is the cruelest of animals deserving the least respect. I disagree with this posit, but it made for an interesting contemplation.

The film is driven by a young Christian Bale who plays Bobby, a simpleton whose trust fund is controlled by a cruel stepfather. He runs away and finds an off-grid kindred spirit whose mission it is to give proper burials to road kill.

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Missing (1982)

Missing is based on the true story of an American who went missing during the Chilean military coup of 1973. Jack Lemmon plays his father and Sissy Spacek plays his wife. Together they search for clues as to where he could have disappeared to.

It's too bad that it takes an American to go missing for anyone to care about the thousands of Chileans who disappeared in Pinochet's Chile. At least it does bring out the American involvement in the illegal government takeover.

Costa-Gavras (Amen) wrote and directed the film. It's not sentimental or polemic. It focuses on the stories of a few people and through them he reveals the horrors of the coup.

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Festen (1998)

The Celebration is a cross between Monsoon Wedding and Gosford Park with some Noah Baumbach and Lars Von Trier thrown in. The setting is a Danish country mansion where family and friends have gathered to celebrate the 60th birthday of Helge - a successful restauranteur and freemason. We learn quickly of the family's disfunction and several sparks have already flown by the time the real fuse is lit at supper.

Perhaps the most remarkable touch of the film makers is their ability to infuse such brilliant humour in such a dark film. Humour and resilient humanity.

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Fanny och Alexander (1982)

Fanny and Alexander is one of Ingmar Bergman's most celebrated films. It is the intimate account of a brother and sister born into the aristocracy of 19th century Sweden. The story begins at Christmas time where opulence is exposed as a deep root for the sadness in the family. It carries through a death into the bleak and cheerless world of a bishop's manse. The third chapter of this grand film is punctuated by the surreal inside a Jewish home.

Bergman helps us interpret these worlds through the discerning eyes of children. One does not necessarily leave the film filled with hope making it tough to watch at times. The engaged viewer should finish with more wisdom though, making it quite worthwhile.

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Mona Lisa (1986)

A tale of an innocent (but tough) man struggling with the duty of liberating the lost women of London streets. George is the antithesis of Simone and they each draw the other up, a beautiful story of concern for the other.

I like the relationship between George and his buddy who helps him get onto his feet at the start of the film when George has just gotten out of prison. They both like mystery stories and their interplay demonstrates the sweetness of children which brings out George's innocence towards some of the abuse he witnesses in Simone's world.

We don't really understand the degree of the atrocities with which we are associated just as George doesn't know how wicked his former boss is. An awakening to this knowledge should spur us into an action of redemption too.

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Good Dick (2008)

This movie stays clear of sentimentality as it deals with a couple really broken people. The first is a homeless video store clerk. The other is one of his patrons - a hermit who rents porn. He becomes fascinated with this hardened woman to the point of obsession, but in a good way. Helping her helps him grow out of his slump (plus he can crash at her place).

It is ultimately a story of redemption, and a good one at that.

Official Site | IMDB

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Not ever being a fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise or having ever seen the TV series or the following movies, I didn't know what to expect in relation to the actual storytelling in this pre-quel, but my expectations were low. I watched this movie mainly for the stunning computer graphic renderings of the apes.

The story - pretty lame, including some super cheesy performances. The visual effects - really amazing.

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Luftslottet som sprängdes (2009)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is the final installation of the Millenium series and it culminates with the recovering and mysterious Lisbeth standing trial for murders. The trilogy moves from a mystery disconnected to our heroine in book/movie I to a focus on the identity of our heroine in book/move III.

As I mentioned in the last review of Played with Fire, the implausibility of the whole story detracts from what could be a far more engaging story. That conceded, it is an exciting albeit disturbing conclusion to a fascinating character sketch.

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Flickan som lekte med elden (2009)

The intense follow up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth is now the tracked as she is accused of murders related to a sex trafficking ring. She keeps her ally from the first movie at an arms length as they both search for the real culprits.

The Girl Who Played with Fire continues the theme of independence, strength, and justice only to demonstrate again that none of these is completely possible, despite their ability to drive a superhero story like this one.

The movie is pretty cool because it's set in Sweden instead of New York or L.A. or London. It's also blatantly far-fetched which both adds to the intensity and kicks it down a couple notches in my mind because it's more difficult to buy in.

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The Killer Inside Me (2010)

No redemption here, just a reminder that we live in a fallen world and that we are all capable of the worst and best. Casey Affleck does a fine job as the selfish, psychotic protagonist.

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Reparando (2010)

This Christian documentary takes a politically and spiritually informed look at the trauma-induced poverty in Guatemalan slums. As a former resident of Guatemala, the stories were familiar and the history still heart breaking.

The film recounts the stories of some dedicated people working towards restoring their communities one person at a time. A well produced film by a small group of independents.

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Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

This is a very well made documentary in that it reveals information in such incremental and emotionally charged ways that the viewer can not dismiss anyone's point of view.

A father and son are accused of molesting children in their basement as they offered computer classes. The film documents the accusations and through home movies it also follows how the accusations and sentences affected the Friedman family. It is a raw and gut wrenching film despite the lighthearted treatment of the issues by some of the family.

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Heaven on Earth (2008)

This Canadian film explores the dark side of long distance arranged marriage.

Chand leaves her family in India to join her new future husband in a suburb of Toronto. She is quickly resented by her mother-in-law and is viewed as a liability in her new family. Chand copes with the abuse she suffers through fantasy and finds the strength to rise against her oppressors.

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Hunger (2008)

In 1981, British Northern Ireland prisons took in Irish Republican Army soldiers (some would call them terrorists). To draw attention to their cause, several of these prisoners decided to end their lives through a hunger strike. This film chronicles the final weeks of Bobby Sands in an unprecedented realism from the beatings delivered by the guards (of whom we get an intimate portrait as well) to the shut down of Sands' body functions. Hunger is terribly affecting and the film presents the Irish struggle in a balanced way.

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