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The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest is the explosive final instalment of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy.
Under police guard in hospital, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is charged with murder and awaits the trial that has the country gripped. Cut off from all communication with the outside world, she must rely on journalist and former lover Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) to prove her innocence - and expose the political cover up that threatens to destroy her freedom. In his way stands a mysterious group who will go to any lengths to keep the shocking truth of their actions a secret.
Film: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest
Release date: 26th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 148 mins
Director: Daniel Alfredson
Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Erika Berger, Annika Gannini, Malin Erikson
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Momentum
Format: Cinema
Country: Sweden/Denmark/Germany
Film: Lift To The Scaffold
Release date: 26th March 2007
Certificate: PG
Running time: 88 mins
Director: Louis Malle
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Lino Ventura, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France
There is no such thing as a perfect crime, and even more so in films. That is more or less the theme of the back-and-white French thriller Lift To The Scaffold (aka Ascenseur pour l'échafaud, or Elevator To The Gallows as it is known in USA), shot in 1958. The volatile auteur Louis Malle pits a typically cursed by destiny Parisian couple against the unromantic mischiefs of an elevator. Luck, greediness and Miles Davis’s unflinching trumpet do the rest.
It is hard to describe a plot mainly based on a series of misunderstandings and coincidences. Suffice to say that two secret lovers, Florence Carala (Jean Moreau) and Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet), conspire to assassinate the husband of the former, the cynical warmonger Simon Carala. Their plan is simple but ingenious.
Tavernier, a clean-cut veteran of the French Legion, makes his way through Carala’s office from the upper floor and kills him. He has not been seen by anybody. It would have been the perfect crime, had he not forgotten to remove the rope he used to enter the office. That proves to be a crucial mistake, as he gets trapped in the elevator exactly when the building is closed for the weekend. To add insult to injury, his car is being stolen by a vagabond couple hanging around.
That is only the beginning of a series of almost zany misunderstandings that bring Lift To The Scaffold at the crossroads between thriller and black comedy. To begin with, Florence believes that her lover escaped with another woman, as she spots an unknown girl on Tavernier’s cabrio. To make matters worse, the duo who have stolen Tavernier’s car spend the night with a German couple in a hotel in the suburbs of Paris. Failing to steal their car as well, they kill them with Tavernier’s gun! And that is not all…
The scenario itself is a masterpiece, even if its twists might seem to be a bit far-fetched towards the end of the film. Never the interplay between love and death has been interwoven in a more breathtaking web of coincidences, embroidered with black humour, social critique, anti-war cues and sexual innuendo. Particularly the love affair between Carala and Tavernier is a fine example of the short-lived amour fou that Godard would immortalise later in his films. Nevertheless, that is by no means the single feature of the movie that captures the cinephile’s heart.
First of all, Louis Malle had the chance to direct the French star Jean Moreau at the peak of her career, giving bourgeois arrogance a face to remember. Then, there is Malle’s camera itself, following the characters of the film as a secret observer that laughs at their predicaments and startles at their miscarriages. One can already detect there the skills of the dexterous cinematographer Henri Decaë, a later hero of the Nouvelle Vague. Not without a reason, this is the typical movie that makes the audience shout at the screen, as if the characters can hear and reconsider. Above all, Miles Davis’s trumpet solos, recorded especially for the film, capture its idiosyncratic mood with a grade of precision matched only by Bernard Herman’s scores for Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers.
The film plays wittily with the notion of time, but space does not elude it. It is a claustrophobic sense that dominates most shots, epitomised by the elevator and its role within the plot. Paris, on the other hand, has nothing to do with the grandiose metropolis of wide open avenues that French directors love to depict. On the contrary, it is a misanthropic city that traps and suffocates its denizens by making them face their own passions - most of all lust and greediness. Innocence, even for those who try to escape, is not an option. Thus, redemption can only come through another twist of luck, as nemesis castigating hubris in a Greek tragedy.
The combination of Miles Davis’ ironic music and Louis Malle’s brisk direction make this movie one of the few pieces of continental cinema that exploits cinematic rhythm up to its full extent. At the end of the day, Lift To The Scaffold stays separate from the bulk of mainstream thrillers for its originality and delicacy. Perhaps one may assume that this is the film that Alfred Hitchcock would have shot, had he been French. AK
Both the Blu-ray and DVD format releases feature brand new restored high definition transfers of both the ‘theatrical cut’ and ‘director's cut’, brand new subtitle translations, limited edition packaging numbered #/5000 (with certificate) and a whole host of new and exclusive extra features.
In a world where teenagers have no respect and adults are losing control, there can be only one solution: Battle Royale! Now, see what happens when you let a high school class loose on an island, arm them and then give them a simple choice: Kill your friends or have them kill you; with poison, cross-bows, machetes and dynamite.
‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Zatoichi) is a teacher pushed to the edge by his unruly charges. Kidnapped and gassed, his class wake up with exploding metal rings around their necks. If they rebel, they could lose their heads. Now they have three days, and only one is permitted to survive this grisly battle to the death.
Directed by the master of ‘70s Yakuza thrillers Kinji Fukasaku and featuring Kill Bill star Chiaki Kuriyama, Battle Royale is the movie that helped to define extreme Asian cinema in the 21st century.
The box set (some exclusive to the Limited Edition) includes a 32-page comic; a 36-page booklet (featuring short stories, an extract from Koushan Takami's original novel, original promotional material, including Director's statement, cast and crew biogs); 16-page booklet (including concept artwork and drawing for the limited edition set); 5"x7" Postcards of stills from the film; and a fold-out/reversible poster of the original artwork.
Film: Battle Royale: Limited Edition
Release date: 13th December 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 109 mins
Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Chiaki Kuriyama, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Noriko Nakagawa, Tarô Yamamoto
Genre: Action/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Arrow
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan
Special Features:
•
Original theatrical trailer
•
The making of Battle Royale
•
Conducting Battle Royale with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra
•
Special Edition trailer
•
TV Spot: Tarantino version
•
Shooting the Special Edition
•
Takeshi Kitano interview
•
The correct way to make Battle Royale (Birthday version)
•
Tokyo International Film Festival presentation
•
Opening day at Maro No Uchi Toei movie theatre
•
The slaughter of 42 high school students
•
Premier press conference
•
The correct way to fight in Battle Royale
•
Royale rehearsals
•
Masamichi Amano conducts Battle Royale
•
Special effects comparison
•
Behind the scenes featurette
•
Filming on set
•
TV spots
•
Promos and commercials
•
Kinji Fukasaky trailer reel
Film: Tell No One
Release date: 15th October 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 126 mins
Director: Guillaume Canet
Starring: Marie-Josee Croze, Nathalie Baye, Andre Dussollier, Jean Rochefort, Kristin Scott Thomas
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Studio: Revolver
Format: DVD
Country: France
A sensation in its native France, Tell No One went on to capture a lot of attention around the continent. Based on the novel by American writer Harlan Cobern, this really is the rarest thing: a French film of American origin. Guillaume Canet directs and scribes a mystery that promises enough twists and turns to leave you dizzy. Nothing is what it seems.
Lifelong sweethearts Alexandre and Margot Beck take a midnight skinny dip at their favourite childhood lake. Sat in the moon light on a duck in the middle of the lake, they begin to squabble, and Margot swims back to land alone. Still in the lake, Alexandre hears Margot’s screams in the distance, and desperately swims back to her rescue. However, back on land, Margot is nowhere to be seen, and Alexandre is knocked unconscious.
The narrative picks up eight years later, with Alex still coming to terms with the murder of his wife. Himself a former suspect in the case, he works as a paediatrician haunted by his loss at the hands of a serial killer. He goes through the motions of his tender life until he begins to receive cryptic e-mails that suggest Margot is very much alive.
Alexandre goes in search of the truth - he is determined to expose an ominous cover-up, and desperate to once again see the face of his beloved Margot. Along the way, he encounters new allies, possible infidelities, and one of the most gripping chase scenes in modern cinema. He is wanted by police and criminals alike, but he will do whatever it takes...
The American feel of this movie goes deeper than just its source material, and young director Guillaume Canet’s Hollywood influences are clear. French audiences clearly found this reverse globalisation refreshing as the film swept the Cesar awards in 2006; however, Tell No One holds both the good and the bad of Hollywood.
The good comes in the shape of leading man Francoise Cluzet. The similarities with Dustin Hoffman do not stop with his striking physical resemblance. Cluzet plays the part of Alex with a determination and devotion that will have you feeling his pain and fighting in his corner. He is emotionally blank when we see him eight years after the loss of his wife, but still conscientious as a doctor - thoughtful and shyly humorous. His likeability makes his emotional fragility all the more heartfelt – at any moment ready to burst into tears or fly off in rage. Canet really does run him ragged, and not just emotionally - Hoffman similarities are seen as Alexandre jumps out of windows and sprints across busy highways, recalling the likes of Marathon Man.
French film fans expecting a talky melodrama will be surprised by the action-packed nature and frenetic pace, which Canet directs with assuring confidence. The non-stop action, constant flow of incident and new possibilities do come at an exhausting rate. This is truly a thrill ride from start to finish, and installs a desperation not just in its protagonist but its audience, too - you will be forgiven for feeling like you may have missed something. As frustrating as this can be, it is hard is give up on the drive of the story.
Alex’s quest is valiant and worthy of your attention, but he does meet a fair few stale points on his journey. Despite a beautifully French-speaking part for English star Kristen Scott Thomas, and not a wooden performance in sight, we encounter a lot of standard American character types along the way. In particular, Alexandre’s unlikely alliance with gangster Bruno conjures images of a role for a rapper like 50 Cent or X-Zibet when the American remake comes about, plus there is an all too familiar mix of maverick cops and hard talking lawyers.
It is a shame, also, that the mystery of the story is explained at the end through one character’s confession. With all the red herrings and plot holes it leaves untouched, you could be left wanting a more natural uncovering of the truth. This, however, is saved both by our relief at finally being able to put to bed a head spinning mystery.
The joy of this film stems from a representation of adult love that is consistently believable and worthy of a fight. The onscreen chemistry of Alexandre and Margot shows a love and wanting that is truly incessant - Marie-Josée Croze’s angelic face holds all the pain of a shattered life. Even a soundtrack including Jeff Buckley and U2 sets a longing that elsewhere could be too sugar sweet and obvious.
This thriller provides both viscerally and emotionally. On the surface: bundles of action and adventure in chic Paris, below: a moving love story. Guillaume Canet shows why he is so highly regarded in his home country with his portrayal of lost love, betrayal and human triumph. Americanised misgivings do not stop this being a definite one to watch. LW
Film: Carlos The Jackal
Release date: 1st November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 338 mins (‘trilogy’ version)
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Juana Acosta, Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Alejandro Arroyo, Ahmad Kaabour
Genre: Biography/Crime/Drama/History/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Germany
Carlos, real name Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was so central in the history of international terrorism during the ‘70s and ‘80s that he became a minor celebrity – people feared and admired him in equal measure. His imposing personality enabled him to form his own organisation, one that famously raided the annual meeting of Opec oil ministers in 1975. With extensive cuts for its theatrical release (available on DVD as the ‘movie’ version), this ‘trilogy’ version is the original three-episode television series, tracing twenty years in the life of a notorious terrorist.
Ilich had grown tired of political demonstrations that, in his mind, did very little and didn’t mean a thing. Using more brutal methods to get his message across, it isn’t long before he changes his name to Carlos, an intimidating figure of the extreme left, and an opportunistic mercenary in the pay of powerful Middle Eastern secret services.
After a few successful (and some botched) operations, Carlos ultimately fails in an attempt to take hostage oil ministers attending the annual meeting of Opec, angering his employers who feel that he has betrayed them by taking money for freedom and not completing the mission.
Dumped for the next assault, Carlos soon realises he is no longer part of the group, but decides now is the time to set up his own organisation. Based in East Berlin, his romantic interests hinder his group’s progress, and creates conflict that could alter a certain comrade’s commitment to the revolution.
Inevitably, Carlos struggles to find the necessary support in order to keep his organisation going – colleagues are arrested and imprisoned, his partner is unable to raise their child by herself in such futile circumstances, his body is failing to cope with the physical demands his chosen path brings, and places to hide are becoming increasingly hard to find…
About two thirds of the way into Olivier Assavas’s biopic Carlos its intriguing plot veers dangerously close to running out of steam. Which is a bit of a nightmare seeing as we still have one episode to go – it’s longest, almost hitting the two-hour mark. Fortunately, after a meandering finale to end part two, the final instalment - and the director - gets back on track by juicing up the love triangle, promising conflict by the bucket load. Sadly, because the film is based on real events, interesting plot twists and the fascinating sub-plot are never explored, summing up why Carlos will never be fully appreciated – it’s just far too real, and so, ultimately, hard work.
Therefore, the resulting film is a strange beast. For instance, Assavas handles the visual aspect of the film with style, complimented by the performances – Acosta is astonishing, who gives his all to the role of Carlos, to the point where a weight gain during his spell in hiding adds simple but brilliant realism. There’s no question whatsoever about the state of his mind: he’s an arrogant man who wants to be remembered, maybe even admired, taking ludicrous measures to preserve his reputation.
The seamless fast-paced editing, mixed with a clever blending of black-and-white newsreels and footage, propels the action, of which there is plenty, into another realm altogether – so much so, the quieter moments are dull in comparison, even if they are seemingly required. A sparse punk soundtrack adds a bit of extra rebellion to proceedings, but it’s the simple use of gunfire that really gets the adrenalin pumping, especially during those frenetic hostage-taking scenes.
Jumping from country to country, from language to language, a lot of the dialogue is spoken in English, which certainly takes the pressure off this five-hour plus marathon. There’s humour here, too, whether it be Acosta’s neat one-liners, or the often-hilarious mistakes his comrades make (blowing up the wrong plane, twice, for instance), made the more amusing because it actually happened. Even better still, in the funniest moment, there’s always someone else who will take the credit for your mistakes.
The major problem with tracing twenty years of someone’s life is that, no matter how long the film is, it will still somehow feel rushed. Assavas doesn’t seem to have a problem with skipping a year or two when he sees fit, which ultimately leaves the viewer feeling a little bit lost and left out – surely something must’ve happened during such a length of time, and if not, why choose some scenes, for arguments sake the entire last hour, in which nothing much happens apart from running from one hiding place to another, in place of others that would show Carlos in a more fearsome light. At times, he does seem all too likeable, which is arguably why he was seen as such a celebrity, but also why the end result is somewhat disappointing.
Having said that, the opening three-and-a-bit hours hurtle by, with the first half of episode two a magnificent lesson in suspense and high-octane action. But once again, this brings its problems. History tells us that Carlos’s raid on the annual meeting of Opec oil ministers was his finest achievement, so what happens after that? Well, he ends up teaching, he struggles to raise a child, he decides to have liposuction, and his testicles are seriously giving him grief. Hardly worth another two hours, right? Maybe not…
Told in chronological order and with shifting levels of reality and fiction, the heart of Carlos is Juana Acosta’s outstanding performance, but the film is let down by the realities that finally befall the main man – simply, in this day and age, they just aren’t that interesting. DW
Film: Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Carlos Aured
Starring: Paul Naschy, Diana Lorys, Eduardo Calvo, Eva León, Inés Morales
Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Country: Spain
Region 1 release.
The elements that become conventions that become clichés that comprise a genre – we often reduce a film to these fundaments, and file. Guns and horses = western. Reptilian titans gnawing on Tokyo = kaiju. Arnold Schwarzenegger mowing down hordes of haplessly moustached baddies in Commando = comedy. Well... In the case of the giallo, iconography, narrative and formal verve are distilled into a potent, frequently befuddling murder maze. An Italian thoroughbred, the form typically unfolds in a domestic, urban milieu; grubby Milanese alleyways, moonlit palazzos, glinting cathedrals of modernism. Here, then, is a kitsch anomaly that bucks this norm. Whilst aesthetically it seems to be talkin’ Italian, Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll is an entirely Spanish production. Can the stalk-and-slash mythos survive retranslation? Or has director Carlos Aured committed the most heinous crime of all – genre murder: with intent to bore?
Our tale begins as drifter Gilles (horror polymath Paul Naschy – also co-author of the screenplay) fails to thumb a ride out of barren, purgatorial Spanish plains. One despairing montage later, and his luck changes - for the worse.
Dropped in a minor town, the itinerant stranger is rebuffed by glacially indifferent locals and decides to move on. But fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic benefactor, Claude, who delivers him to her ancestral mansion, and promptly contracts him as its caretaker.
Beneath this grand façade bubbles a cocktail of neuroses; for this is the unhappiest of families: a warped trinity of three sisters. Claude, maimed in a vague ‘accident’, wields a prosthetic hand; a deformity she considers abhorrent. Sex-kitten sibling Nicole is isolated and stifled, and hits on men with perverse abandon. Eldest sister Yvette is wheelchair bound, paralysed by psycho-somatic trauma. Into this dysfunctional haven swaggers our hero apparent – a man, it transpires, with his own soul-gnawing burden. And when a black-gloved assassin begins to slay beautiful blondes – before ritualistically extracting their eyeballs – he’s quickly dropped into the frame as prime suspect. Of course, in patented giallo style, all is not quite as it seems.
So whodunnit? And why? The clue’s in the title; but it’ll take you ninety-odd minutes of chills and sanguine spills to unravel the psychotic conundrum. Thankfully, it’s an entertaining jaunt…
Initially, the film plays like a campy re-imagining of Don Siegel’s The Beguiled. Muscular Gilles (often stripped to the waist) is the singular male at the house, and quickly becomes embroiled in a tug of lust between Nicole and Claude. Reaching the twenty-minute mark, a kinky couplet of sex scenes begins to evaporate the aura of intrigue. You’ll likely reach for the DVD case at this instant, to verify that this isn’t actually “Confessions Of A Spanish Caretaker”. But persevere. This sizzling sub-plot only occupies the first third of the movie and, amidst covert trysts and cow-milking interludes, introduces us to the malaise of the cast.
Aured underscores the fleshy melodrama with a subtle undercurrent of menace, incorporating haunted house clichés to sustain the eerie ambiance. As night falls, ominous smudges of cloud envelop the house in gloom, and deafening thunder-cracks voice the muted loathing of its occupants. In accordance with murder mystery convention, each character is exposed as damaged or duplicitous, and harbours an esoteric mystery - is suspiciously evasive about their past/uses a double identity/experiences shoestring expressionist nightmares.
Added to this cauldron of despair is an unhealthy dollop of classic Freudian angst, expounded by a bearded shrink who diagnoses the girls as mentally “sick.” The miasma of decay is palpable. Thus, when the corpses begin to stack up, we’re acutely aware of the underlying corruption that rots away at the habitants of the house; each appears a feasible suspect. It’s the task of the (characteristically ineffectual) town cop to hunt him down – but not before a succession of set-piece slayings have satiated the audience.
Impeccably stylish executions are an integral part of the genre, and these are realised with some skill here. Scenic locations are atmospherically lit on night-time shoots; transformed into angular vistas of light choked and dissected by vectors of shadow. Skittish victims are nimbly trailed by the prowling camera, as an ominous soundtrack primes us for an imminent coup de main.
Composer Juan Carlos Calderón’s mischievous score is a splendid accompaniment to this exploito-aesthetic - efficiently careering twixt muzak (seductively undulating bass, teasing flute) and sombre discord. Like a sick mash-up of Herb Alpert and Goblin, his themes commence as jaunty lounge ditties, only to morph into malign, mellotron accented dirges that echo the progressive rock so vital to Italian film hits like Suspiria. Another unsettling trick – perhaps borrowed from Argento’s Profondo Rosso – is the subversion of a nursery-time melody, which becomes synonymous with the killer. French standard Frère Jaques provides this deathly lullaby, unsettlingly juxtaposing childhood innocence with murderous degeneration.
Colour is dexterously woven into these sadistic tableaux. Red is subtly employed as a foreboding motif; wine, pig’s blood and a scarlet mac are all associated with victims before their demise. Gore is sparingly rationed, but brutally served - lacing the fromage with effective shocks. A grisly throat slitting and flamboyant rake murder (blood spurting across the frame) are grand guignol intervals which thrillingly punctuate the procedural bumbling of the authorities, proving Aured a canny orchestrator of horror theatrics.
Pioneered by gore auteurs Mario Bava and Dario Argento, the giallo is often considered a uniquely Italian confection, but this able Spanish effort proves that the genre is sufficiently robust to withstand relocation. Pulpy, crowd pleasing fare, the film offers a cornucopia of trashy pleasures. Failing to supersede the malign artistry of its antecedents, Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll is nonetheless too well constructed to callously dismiss. Best served with a generous garnish of irony, this accomplished pastiche should prove a treat for giallo fans, and those keen to explore the seamier side of Spanish genre cinema. DJO
A myth in his own lifetime, Carlos is a central figure in the history of international terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s, from pro-Palestinian activism to the Japanese Red Army. He was at once both a figure of the extreme left and an opportunistic mercenary in the pay of powerful Middle Eastern secret services. He formed his own organization, based it behind the Iron Curtain and was active during the final years of the Cold War.
This film is the story of a revolutionary internationalist, both manipulator and manipulated, carried along by the currents of contemporary history and his own folly. We follow him to the end of his road, relegated to Sudan where the Islamic dictatorship, after having protected him, handed him over to French authorities. A contradictory character, as violent as the times he embodies, Carlos is also an enigma.
The writing and research took Olivier Assayas and Dan Franck around two years. Carlos plays out over some two decades across ten countries, with several dozen characters speaking many different languages. It is a political film, a period film, an action film, an international co-production and a film for television and cinema – a project that is exceptional in its scope.
Carlos The Jackal is being released as a ‘trilogy’ version, which features the three full-length episodes from the TV series, and as an edited ‘movie’ version, where the three episodes have been combined and over 90 minutes lost.
Film: Carlos The Jackal
Release date: 1st November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 246 mins (338 mins – ‘trilogy’ version)
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Juana Acosta, Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Alejandro Arroyo, Ahmad Kaabour
Genre: Biography/Crime/Drama/History/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Germany
DVD Special Features:
•
Making of featurette
•
Interview with Edgar Ramirez
Additional Blu-ray Special Features:
•
Interview with Olivier Assayas
Film: Carlos
Release date: 22nd October 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 246 mins (338 mins – Trilogy version)
Director: Olivier Assayas
Starring: Juana Acosta, Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer, Alejandro Arroyo, Ahmad Kaabour
Genre: Biography/Crime/Drama/History/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: Cinema
Country: France/Germany
Originally a three-episode television mini-series, Carlos has been cut down to a slightly more digestible running time for its UK cinema release. The production is rather impressive in its scale, traversing two decades and various countries around the world, giving us a glimpse of this Venezuelan terrorist in candid fashion.
The film shows how Carlos rose to prominence in the 1970s in association with the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine. He became a notorious figure in international affairs and a kind of celebrity amongst terrorist groups. His most daring and elaborate of operations was the 1975 raid on the OPEC conference in Austria.
He possessed an attitude of such self-assurance that he acted and made decisions almost independently, causing friction between himself and those who led him.
As time passed in a life without pause, Carlos found it increasingly difficult to carry out his radical agenda with his militant methods, in a world where the political climate was gradually shifting…
At a hefty running length and executed with faultless craft and attention to period detail, Carlos is a film that earns your respect. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to state whether Assayas’ film really provokes any other thoughts or responses from its audience once the two and a half hours have ceased. To not reach an audience on a level deeper than just distant admiration is regrettable, especially when viewers have followed the film through what has been a considerable journey.
This is not to say that the cinematic journey itself has been unremarkable, because to suggest that would be completely erroneous. Carlos is unquestionably absorbing. One of the key factors that contribute to the film being so engaging is the unflinching directorial style of Assayas. He moves his hand-held camera around with total authority, but without inhibition - giving us an exposing view of the life and actions of this international terrorist.
Some of the most outstanding sequences featured in Carlos are the scenes of violence. Here the director, in conjunction with his cinematographers Denis Lenoir and Yorick Le Saux, depicts several violent events that are astounding in their immediacy and power. What is noticeable in these scenes is the adherence to realism. In using this realism to establish the tone prior to the commencement of the use of physical force, the director only heightens the impact of the brutality on the audience watching. Assayas also demonstrates his technical brilliance elsewhere through his rapid pace of editing, in addition to other post-production techniques, such as the blending of black-and-white news archive footage into the subsequent scene in colour.
If there is any defining sequence or moment in Carlos that the film will most likely be remembered for, it is the siege of the OPEC conference in Vienna, 1975. Carlos’ objective in the operation was to assassinate the Saudi Arabian oil minister, thus removing the obstacle to ensuring elevated oil prices to benefit ally Saddam Hussein. Aside from the frantic pace of the carnage that takes place once Carlos and his team begin their hostile takeover, Assayas also conveys a genuine sense of menace and uncertainty in the process. The uncertainty for Carlos grows as the scene progresses, with his operation failing to run as planned, especially when his crew move the hostages onto the airplane.
The film reaches a peak at this point. There is little subsequently that has the same urgency or sense of purpose as this vibrant cluster of scenes. As the narrative proceeds to take us through the following decades, Carlos struggles to maintain his influence over international affairs, particularly due to the Cold War ending further into the film. While the historical and political backdrop of the film is very interesting, we do not learn much else about Carlos. It is not mandatory that Carlos explore and examine its central character, and weave a character study of the man behind his history. However, if the film elects not to do this then surely it should provide more in the way of drama to distinguish itself. This is particularly noticeable due to the fact that the thriller-esque elements of the film are much less prominent further into the film.
One of the highlights of Assayas’ film is Edgar Ramirez’s performance. A film of this kind needs a solid performance from its leading actor, and Ramirez more than satisfies the brief. His is a magnetic, dominating portrayal, infused with masculinity, dignity and passion.
Whether it is because, as a movie version, too much has been lost from the TV series it derives from, Carlos is not as fulfilling as one would hope. It does nearly everything correctly, but just doesn’t do enough to be truly great. BN
Film: The Lives Of Others
Release date: 17th September 2007
Certificate: 15
Running time: 137 mins
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Hans Bauer, Ulrich Mühe
Genre: Thriller/Drama
Studio: Lionsgate
Format: DVD
Country: Germany
With an Oscar to its credit, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s 2007 German film drama of life in Stasi East Germany enjoyed perhaps the best possible critical reception. With von Donnersmarck’s next offering, The 28th Amendment due in cinemas next year, it is a timely moment to consider the film that brought this director to international prominence.
The story follows grim and efficient Stasi secret police captain Wiesler in his task of spying on controversial playwright, Dreyman, and his beautiful actress lover, Christa-Maria. At first, Wiesler sees this work as an opportunity to impress his superiors by exposing Dreyman and his artists’ clique as subversive enemies of the State, thereby securing his position amongst the Stasi’s elite.
Soon, however, the maelstrom of passions, ideas and music he hears through the regime’s hidden listening devices lead Wiesler to see that such things are missing from his own life, and that the harsh efficiency of the State is cold comfort.
A man used to following orders, Wiesler begins to question his role, and to doubt the moralities of a system he is a part of. He becomes almost intoxicated with his subjects to the point that he will risk everything to save them…
The film is very effective in encouraging its audience to enter into the voyeuristic world of its protagonist. Like Ulrich Mühe’s Weisler, it seduces the viewer through the glimpses of glamour and passion for creativity that burns all the brighter amid the sterile setting of 1980s East Germany. Iron curtain Germany is portrayed as a paranoid, militarised state – functional and unjust in equal measure. This gives the film a more timeless narrative feel akin to the patient taut build up of a Polanski classic than a modern commercialised studio beast.
Quickly, we learn that the cold apparatus of State control is still subject to the all too human whims of those in power. Sebastian Koch’s writer Dreyman is put under surveillance by a corrupt official seeking to have his way with the glamorous Christa-Maria. It is perhaps fitting, then, that the seductive passion of their lives soon becomes the only thing that can save them, as Wiesler’s training, and even his loyalty begin to buckle under the strain of the freedom of thought, expression and desire emanating from his crackling headphones.
In contrast, the artists too are portrayed almost childlike - flawed yet romanticised individuals unable to contain the passions that threaten to destroy them. They are powerless, yet possessed of more powerful tools to shape human thought than the near Orwellian ‘thought police’ could ever hope to master.
In spite of such emotive and powerful conflict - a clash of artistic abandon and political, doctrinal constraint - the film’s greatest achievement is the unfussy simplicity with which it conveys the story.
Much praise for this belongs to the cast. Ulrich Mühe’s quiet, dignified and, at times, unsettling portrayal of Wiesler allows for the film to unfold at a steady, metronomic pace that lends much to the tension that builds to a climax in the final third. Sebastian Koch is utterly believable as a writer struggling to strike a balance between the revolutionary ideas of his friends and the cosy idyllic domestic bliss of his romance. Martina Gedeck lends a cornered vulnerability to Christa-Maria, making her own agonising choices painfully clear without recourse to melodrama.
This understated choice is reinforced by von Donnersmarck’s tightly written script - arresting, contemplative, visual direction - and Gabriel Yared and Stephane Moucha’s subtle score, which are, in combination, suggestive without being overtly manipulative.
Some of the film’s most poignant moments are born out of its context within history. Set in 1985, the Stasi officers’ belief in the unfailing continuity of their regime is never questioned even by the revolutionary artists. Whilst there is both despair and resignation in the face of the actions of the State, no-one ever suggests that it might end just four short years later, and the fall of the Berlin Wall, when it arrives in the film, is greeted most prevailingly with surprise.
Perhaps the most enduring suggestion made by the film’s villainous Minister Bruno Hempfh is that artists secretly revel in, and long for the days of creative limitation and political constraint because these are the moments in which art is truly powerful, or perhaps more tellingly, the moments in which artists are feared by those in power. History tells us that this fear is justified, and The Lives Of Others, through the story of Wiesler, the small man, the cog in the machine and his lonely, draughty enlightenment through the stolen whisperings and embraces of two flawed idealists, captures this to perfection. In doing so, it justifies the critical reward the film has ultimately and deservedly gained.
Whilst modern masterpiece is a phrase that is coined all too often, The Lives Of Others is a genuine contender for such a label. A great story, subtle, artful filmmaking, and characters that leave an enduring impression upon an audience make this everything one could ask for from a cinematic experience. NB
Film: 13 Tzameti
Release date: 3rd April 2006
Certificate: 15
Running time: 93 mins
Director: Géla Babluani
Starring: George Babluani, Pascal Bongard, Aurélien Recoing, Fred Ulysse, Nicolas Pignon
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Revolver
Format: DVD
Country: France
This is the debut full-length feature from Georgian director Gela Babluani, who cast his younger brother, George Babluani, as the leading man in this harsh tale of dread and suspense - aptitude apparently runs in their blood.
George plays Sébastien, a 22-year-old impoverished immigrant from Georgia who lives and works in France. Sébastien takes jobs of general labour in an attempt to minimise his family’s poverty, but his life is evidently a dismal place to inhabit.
The film begins whilst Sébastien is working on the house of Jean-Francois Godon, who we simply see as an old man with a strange shuffle. Sébastien soon realises that all is not well in the Godon household during a bizarre instance where Godon collapses, only to have his wife refuse him medical aid as she slaps him in the face and forces him to get up and run. It turns out that Godon is a morphine addict. Sadly for Sébastien, Godon’s habit takes a turn for the worst, and his morphine-overdosed death means that he cannot pay Sébastien for his handiwork.
This is where it gets sadistic. The film’s former half is misleadingly sombre and downhearted, but the next part opens into a gaping wound of brutal absurdity. Sébastien discovers a secret game in which Godon was scheduled to participate - A game which could solve his money problems long term. And so Sébastien, fed by desperation and temptation, enters unknowingly into a situation darker than he could ever have imagined, darker even than straightforward murder. He finds himself in secluded French countryside, playing Russian roulette death games in a mansion full of callous and cold-blooded souls in search of sinister entertainment...
The title is pretty simple to decode, as ‘tzameti’ means ‘thirteen’ in Georgian, which refers to the thirteen participants in the Russian roulette game. Thirteen forearms point guns into the backs of their competitors’ heads, thirteen pistols fire, and the murdered players are out of the competition. Simple.
13 Tzameti is a colourless motion picture. It is not old, and its subject matter is not outdated. It is in black-and-white because it contains death, but it does not want to be gory; because it is bleak, but not uninviting; and because it is stylish, but not conceited. The film’s black-and-white texture means that all images are painted with shadows and expression. Smiles are almost obsolete for the entire feature, which allows ominous faces to mark the mood. Each frown extends down its bearer due to the source of light - cinematographer Tariel Meliava has managed to say a thousand words using just a well-placed spotlight.
Babluani has opted for plenty of close-up shots, projecting a constant sense of despair due to his brilliant selection of capable actors. Sébastien, in particular, shines with a powerful ability, faultlessly communicating the idea that he is utterly powerless in his circumstances. He allows the viewer to enter his world of hopeless terror, feeling the gun pointed at our own skull - our relief each time a death occurs that is not Sébastien’s.
The director grew up in his Georgian homeland at the time when the Soviet Union was collapsing, which indicates the sort of immorality that perpetually pollutes 13 Tzameti. His childhood introduction to a world doused in political violence has, however, brought us something different and unexpected. 13 Tzameti is executed with such elegance that it could easily be mistaken for the work of a classic and experienced filmmaker.
The black-and-white shadows, the stark realism within an outrageous story, the empathy drawn out of the viewer with the flicker of an eyebrow – this is what cinema should be made of. It’s good that we don’t really learn any information about the characters. It is somehow still very real, despite the inhumanity of the gamblers. There is no need for additional information; there is no need for a sequel. This is a perfectly boxed package, leaving the viewer disturbingly fulfilled. NM
Film: Humains
Release date: 9th August 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 84 mins
Director: Jacques-Olivier Molon & Pierre-Olivier Thevenin
Starring: Lorànt Deutsch, Sara Forestier, Dominique Pinon, Manon Tournier, Élise Otzenberger
Genre: Action/Adventure/Horror/Thriller
Studio: Scanbox
Format: DVD
Country: France/Switzerland/Luxembourg
After running the harsh gauntlet of critical abuse during its theatrical release in Europe, where it was routinely and universally panned, Humains finally limps onto DVD courtesy of Scanbox Entertainment, but is it as atrocious as everyone claims?
When anthropology professor Schneider (Philippe Nahon) discovers a site in the Swiss Alps containing human remains that currently defy all current theories on human evolution, he assembles a team to investigate. Schneider, along with his reluctant son Thomas (Lorànt Deutsch), is joined by one of the professor’s assistants, Nadia (Sara Forestier), for the expedition.
They set off up winding mountain roads where they come across a family of tourists that, coincidently, Nadia had encountered on a proceeding train journey. Gildas (Dominique Pinon), his life partner Patricia (Élise Otzenberger) and their daughter Elodie (Manon Tournier) hitch a ride with the researchers after experiencing car trouble.
After a momentary lapse in concentration, Thomas loses control of the vehicle, causing it to plummet down the mountainside, killing his father. The rest of the group survive, but are now trapped in the gorge. As they find a way out, they soon realise that they are not alone…
In response to the question posed in the opening paragraph: is Humains as atrocious as everyone claims? The answer has to be yes as Humains is a bland and dire attempt at horror filmmaking that simply boggles the intelligence. It’s irredeemable in almost every single way, and fails to muster even the bare minimum of comforting escapism that many lacklustre films are still able to achieve. This is due to a rather flat and lazy script that’s further damaged by sloppy execution.
Performances aren’t dreadful but certainly fail to rise above the limits of script functionality. Nahon’s Schneider – the curmudgeonly mentor whose involvement in the plot is cut short dramatically – is played just how you’d expect. Forestier’s token hot lab assistant routine does little to go beyond that pretence, neither does Deutsch playing the handsome, introverted old friend of said hot lab assistant who, as one would guess, is hopelessly infatuated with her – not that he’d admit it, of course.
As for the tourist contingent: Jean-Pierre Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon is surprisingly non-engaging considering his rich back catalogue of interesting characterisations – including his wheelchair-bound space pirate in Alien Resurrection (1997) – contributing little to the cast dynamic. His partner Patricia does little more than complain, whilst his teenage daughter Elodie is typically angsty.
The script bumbles along with a distinct lack of purpose. Nothing of note occurs until halfway through, with exception to a spectacularly bad car crash where the CGI rendered vehicle drives off the mountain road and falls into the gorge – if you’re going to drive a car off the side of a mountain, what’s wrong with gravity? To make things even more illogical; you’d think none of the cast would have faces left after such a horrific, mountain plummeting accident, but they all walk away from it with only a few lacerations and a hurt shoulder. Schneider’s death is highly dubious as his body has somehow been magically transported a fair distance away from the wreck, and to think if he stayed in the semi crushed vehicle, he would’ve survived. Another questionable moment sees the group crossing a river with a strong current by wading through it with the assistance of a rope that’s tied across. Patricia gets hit by a piece of driftwood and loses grip, prompting the usual pursuit along the riverbank to rescue her. Thomas is able haul her out, but it turns out Nadia was also swept by the current, not that you see that happening, nor was she in the water or visibly part of the collision.
This motif of shoddiness infects other elements of production, such as the editing, which is clumsy to say the least. Scenes end abruptly or with cheap and tiresome looking fades to black, paying absolutely no attention to the emotional resonance of the moment - not that the thin script permits it anyway. Sometimes it’s nice to linger after a final exchange of information for a beat or two to allow the audience to absorb what’s been divulged. That doesn’t happen here, instead one gets the impression that the filmmakers are trying to get through this ordeal as quickly as possible, which is commendably merciful in retrospect.
Camerawork is acceptable but not exemplary, and the film’s score is equally mediocre, failing to stir any kind of excitement or tension, which is sacrilege considering that this is supposed to be a horror film. Humains has absolutely no scares on account of each scene being poorly paced and executed. It also has a distinct lack of moments that are even designed to be scary, and only a few shocks come in the form of sporadic moments of violence which offers nothing new in an already violent and overcrowded genre - and bears almost laughable results. The antagonists – a tribe of cliff-faced Neanderthals – feel ill-conceived and half-baked, performing the usual foliage rustling and bow and arrow games that’s been seen time and time again. Even the muddled and badly executed perception shift/role reversal in the final act fails to elevate them beyond being dirty men in rags.
There are only so many ways you can say that this film is terrible without sounding overly pejorative, but for resolution’s sake: Humains is an amateurish mess of a production that fails in almost every filmmaking discipline. To hate it would be a waste of energy as what transpires is so bland and uninspiring that to have any strong emotional response to it is tantamount to crying over spilt nothingness. It really isn’t worth it, and it certainly isn’t worth your time or your money. Humains is one to avoid. MP
Gritty crime thriller by Swiss director Xavier Ruiz.
Set in Geneva, the film stars Laurent Lucas as divorced and disillusioned SWAT policeman Alex Decker, who must fight to keep his teenage daughter Lou (Chloe Coulloud) out of harm’s way after his estranged ex-wife begins a relationship with a member of the local mafia.
Film: Verso
Release date: 27th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 100 mins
Director: Xavier Ruiz
Starring: Laurent Lucas, Chloe Coulloud, Carlos Leal, Nicole Max, Julie Nicolet
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Studio: Scanbox
Format: DVD
Country: Switzerland/Luxembourg/Belgium
French romantic thriller starring Vincent Lindon and Diane Kruger as Julien and Lisa, a happily married couple with a young son, Oscar (Lancelot Roch).
Their lives are suddenly thrown into disarray when Lisa is charged with murder, seemingly out of the blue, and sentenced to twenty years behind bars.
Convinced of his wife's innocence, Julien decides to act - but exactly how far will he be willing to go for the woman he loves?
Film: Anything For Her
Release date: 11th October 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 92 mins
Director: Fred Cavaye
Starring: Olivier Perrier, Vincent Lindon, Diane Kruger, Lancelot Roch, Remi Martin
Genre: Crime/Drama/Romance/Thriller
Studio: In2Film
Format: DVD
Country: France
