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Film: Lucia
Release date: 1st March 2010
Certificate: 18
Running time: 160 mins
Director: Humberto Solas
Starring: Raquel Revlizita, Eslina Nunez, Adela Legra
Genre: Drama
Studio: Mr Bongo
Format: DVD
Country: Cuba
In 1969, Humberto Solás - one of the greats of Cuban revolutionary cinema – released Lucía. Shot in three parts, and spanning seventy years of Cuban history, it focuses on the changing attitudes of the Cuban people through the political turmoil of Cuba’s fight for independence.
The film is separated into three stories, each about a different female central character called Lucía, and each living in politically relevant times in Cuba. The first is set in 1895, amidst the Cuban war of independence, and sees well-to-do Lucía become embroiled in an infatuation and romance with a stranger who’s hiding a politically scandalous secret.
The second story is set in the 1930s and sees socially isolated society girl Lucía fall for a guerrilla resistance fighter, and she herself becomes mixed up in the political struggle.
In the third and final film set in the 1960s, we see a newly liberated Cuba, the resistance in full swing. Everywhere, societal advances are being made and cultural freedom is flourishing. Except for Lucía that is, who’s seemingly idyllic new marriage quickly turns sour as her husband reveals himself to be an insanely possessive and controlling bully…
To show Cuba’s struggle for independence through the eyes of three different women over a number of years is a brave and visionary idea which has its fair share of hits and misses. No-one can deny Solás’ extraordinary eye as a filmmaker and his unique approach to bringing his vision to the screen. Lucía features some strikingly beautiful imagery, including some hypnotic dream sequences which rival Fellini at his best. Equally, the chaos and brutality of war is filmed with shocking realism and surprising savagery in contrast to the beauty and care he lavishes on his protagonists - and this is a film that’s clearly in love with its three female leads. In many ways, it is a film which deals with the beauty of women and how they are betrayed, captivated and often destroyed by the ignorance and fear of men and their wars.
It’s also a film about the insanity of conflict. The theme of insanity runs strongly throughout Lucía, particularly in the first story ‘1895’. Here, much is made of the mental casualties created by the awful atrocities and inhumanity of war. Its hard going at times, with some of the imagery and unfeeling cruelty proving tough to watch, but it is a subject which Solás handles compassionately and intelligently. Indeed, strangely, some of the characters who appear most delusional prove to have the most rational grasp on the events surrounding them. It’s a clever paradox which illustrates the madness of the circumstances.
Lucía’s greatest achievement is as a film primarily of the heart. Solás breathes incredible life into his characters, and succeeds in wrenching extraordinary performances from his actors, with all three of his Lucía’s veering from moments of ecstatic joy to hysterical anguish and back again. It’s to the actors’ credit that, for the most part, the performances are entirely credible and intensely soulful, with the cast clearly giving their all to realise Solás’s vision.
With so much in its favour, it’s a crying shame that Lucía’s inadequacies often overshadow its virtues. Granted, it’s a film principally about and for the Cuban market, but to anyone who isn’t well versed in South American history they may really struggle when it comes to keeping up with the plot. Solás makes no effort to explain the political events surrounding the stories for an outsiders’ point of view, so, as a result, many of the references are obscure and exclusionary, in turn making the plot almost indecipherable. You might argue that the main themes of Lucía are of the affects of war and political climate change in general, and so the specifics of the conflict are unimportant. However, since the plot often hinges on the protagonists’ political beliefs, and their roles in shaping these events, if you’re not already familiar with the events themselves, you’re going to struggle to stay completely absorbed in the narrative.
Technically the film suffers also from some atrocious editing, which results in scenes and set pieces jumping about randomly unannounced. There are many instances where it appears as if dialogue – particularly expositional dialogue - has been lost on the cutting room floor, and none of this helps the flow of the stories. It’s also lamentable that sometimes Solás slips over the line into self-indulgence, and the film undoes all its own good work, slipping almost into parody. The finale of the first story springs to mind as an example, where, in the midst of a raging battle, a posse of naked black revolutionaries suddenly appear from nowhere riding on horseback, and proceed to join in the fray. It’s an unnecessary detail, and without the relevant explanatory detail – frankly bizarre.
Lucía is an adventurous, brave attempt to represent a nation in change through the suffering of its women. It has many successes, but sadly just as many failures. Worth seeing for the extraordinary visuals and intense performances, but if you haven’t read up on your Cuban history expect to emerge confused. LB
Film: The Leopard
Release date: 21st June 2010 (DVD release: 27th September 2004)
Certificate: PG
Running time: 185 mins
Director: Luchino Visconti
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Alain Delon, Paolo Stoppa, Rina Morelli
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: BFI
Format: Blu-ray
Country: Italy/France
No less than Martin Scorsese has hailed Luchino Visconti’s 1963 epic as one of his favourite films of all time, and now the movie has been given the High Definition treatment and made its way onto Blu-ray.
Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster stars as the ageing Prince of Salina, who finds himself over taken by events during the period of Italian unification in the early 1800s, where democratic revolt saw the aristocracy under severe pressure.
As the prince struggles to hold onto power in his country, there are matters closer to home which are also moving out of his control. Alain Delon plays his nephew Tancredi, who goes off to fight with Garibaldi’s forces and on his return falls in love with the prince’s beautiful wife-to-be Angelica (Claudia Cardinale)…
The film was famous at the time for going horrendously over budget and taking a few liberties with its original source material, a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. The director also clashed with the studio over the length of the movie. His original cut was a staggering 205 minutes, but under pressure to cut it down to a still-whopping 185 mins.
It was Visconti’s attention to detail that sent the cost of the film through the roof. No expense was spared, which makes for a film that truly looks stunning. It cost around $7m to make at the time, and you see every cent through the costumes and locations. It was filmed on location in Sicily and has a truly epic feel to it.
There were several versions of the film produced at the time, including a shorter (165 mins) edit which was dubbed in English, apart from Lancaster’s lines. This BFI print is the original Italian version and it has been lavishly restored in High Definition. It is safe to say that there are films that have been made in the last ten years that do not look this good on blu-ray.
The restored version allows you to marvel at just how good the costumes were and the scale of Visconti’s vision. Visconti used Technirama to film The Leopard, which gave him incredibly high quality and widescreen images, although as the accompanying booklet points out, this meant the shots took a long time to set up, which only added to the cost of the production.
By modern standards, the film is too long. The finale at the ball in Palazzo Pantaleone occupies a quarter of the entire film’s running time, clocking in at just under 45 minutes. Critics at the time were divided about whether the film was a masterpiece or just self-indulgent.
Looking back, these ballroom scenes are absolutely stunning. Hundreds of extras are dancing in beautiful costumes, and Lancaster is truly at the height of his powers. It could easily be trimmed and cut down, and you can see how it informed some of Scorsese’s more elaborate and indulgent films, like Gangs Of New York. It is slow paced, but when every shot looks so wonderful, you are still drawn into all the subtle nuances and lingering looks.
Lancaster delivers a truly stunning performance as an aristocrat who is unable to keep up as society changes around him. Although the famous American actor had all his lines dubbed by an Italian actor, he delivered a truly stunning performance, particularly in the closing moments of the film.
The film also has a short interview with Claudia Cardinale and a commentary by David Forgacs and Rossana Capitano. A different transfer of the film has been issued in Region 1 by Criterion and also includes documentary on the making of the movie, as well as the English-dubbed version.
As a costume drama, Visconti’s film delivers on every level. Yes, it is too long and it does take a few liberties with the original novel, but the same could be said about most movie adaptations. It’s a beautiful film with a Hollywood icon delivering one of his greatest performances. JH
Film: Let The Right One In
Release date: 3rd August 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist
Genre: Horror/Drama/Romance
Studio: Momentum
Format: DVD
Country: Sweden
Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, and based on his own novel of the same name, Let The Right One In tells the story of burgeoning love between a young recluse and a mysterious dark stranger - but this new acquaintance has a penchant for blood, and prefers the moonlight to the sunshine.
Unpopular and bullied in school, and lonely at home, Oskar, a 12-year-old outcast from a broken home in ‘80s Sweden, spends his time fantasising about the revenge he'll have against the bullies who torment him daily. When he meets the mysterious Eli one night, they form a friendship that becomes the one bright spot in his life.
All is not straightforward, though - despite being next door neighbours, they only meet at night, and spend as much time communicating through the walls via Morse code as they do face to face. It turns out Eli is also 12, but she's “been 12 for a long time."
What follows is a beautifully sculpted story of adolescent love, friendship and devotion. Of course, this is a ‘vampire movie’, so we see death, we see blood and (most intriguingly) we finally get to see why a vampire has to be invited in. The heart of this film is in its characters, though. Their relationship and growing importance to each other is so naturally illustrated that when Oskar’s reaction to Eli’s true nature is so easily accepted, you know this film has you in its thrall...
These two loners form a bond that reminds us of just how powerful and all consuming our first love is. Oskar is more curious than frightened by Eli’s revelations, and Eli seems happy to accommodate him. At its core is a story not of blood and guts but of how just one apparent ray of light in our lives can inspire us, and make life seem worth living - at any age.
The film is elevated further by the wonderfully fragile performances of its young leads. Oskar (played by Kåre Hedebrant), the frightened youth who wishes he was tough enough to look after himself, and Eli (Lina Leandersson), the immortal who still needs someone to look after her. The ‘someone’ in question, Hakan (played by Per Ragnar), providing some darkly comic relief.
There are some very memorable scenes. When Oskar, growing in confidence through his relationship with Eli (and a burgeoning weight training regime - some truths about adolescent boys are just universal, it seems) finally stands up to his tormentors, the consequences are both painful and heart stopping.
The film leaves questions to be answered, though. Eli is a 12-year-old immortal but Oskar IS a lonely 12-year-old boy, so hints of manipulation and subversion can’t be ignored. As odd as it may be to look for a sinister undercurrent in a vampire film, there are definitely hints of a darker motive not explicitly revealed to the viewer. Eli’s almost total reliance on her increasingly inept guardian, Hakan, and his obvious resignation to a life of service (not to mention his readiness to step through Death‘s door), points to a much more complex and cynical relationship than is first apparent.
The film is visually subdued, but with a quietly overpowering beauty. A lack of background noise means that whatever you hear - a heart beating, Morse code on the walls, Oskar breathing (or not) - is eerily pervasive. This muted, almost derelict, tone makes any explosion of violence in the film all the more powerful and affecting.
Most people would say the vampire sub-genre has pretty much run out of steam, but Let The Right One In reminds us that this is a classic movie monster for reasons beyond its obvious monstrosity. PD
Film: Lourdes
Release date: 26th March 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 97 mins
Director: Jessica Hausner
Starring: Sylvie Testud, Lea Seydoux, Bruno Todeschini, Elina Lowensohn
Genre: Drama
Studio: Artificial Eye
Format: Cinema
Country: France
Sometimes calling a film strange, mysterious or puzzling is a high compliment – and this is such a case. It’s haunting, but always engaging, and will leave you wondering what it all means for many a week.
Testud plays Christine, wheelchair-bound as a multiple sclerosis sufferer, who is on a visit to Lourdes. She is bright and slightly cynical, and we learn that this is the latest in a series of visits around Europe to places of pilgrimage. Christine doesn’t believe in miracles, but goes through the routine of visiting the holy sights, being blessed with the water and bathing in the pools, but with the expression of resignation rather than hope.
Her attitude changes when she spies Kuno (Todeschini), a handsome member of the Order of Malta (who help the disabled), and they strike up a friendship. The problem is he seems rather more interested in Christine’s carer Maria (Seydoux), who lacks intelligence but has a body and face absolutely bursting with health and vitality. Christine’s face is as fragile and pale as her poor, broken frame.
Against all the odds, Christine rises out of her wheelchair. Is it a miracle? The religious folk seem convinced, the medical team less so – but it certainly gets Kuno’s attention. It also creates a huge amount of resentment – after all, some of the visitors have visited Lourdes for years with no joy, while she is on her first visit and doesn’t even believe in it all…
At its heart, Lourdes is a film about the importance of belief, over cynicism. Lourdes is portrayed as a horrendous Disneyland but with longer queues, and the Order of Malta staff are more interested in wine and playing cards than in looking after the disabled. Yet despite all of that, Christine does appear to go through a change, brought on by – well, what? Longing? Desire? Belief?
There’s a particularly painful moment when a mentally ill girl appears healed, only for it to become the cruellest of illusions, and the look on her mother’s face is almost unbearable.
Despite tackling such profound subjects, Lourdes is a consistently witty film, with a wry sense of humour, and one outright funny joke – told by a vicar, no less. But it’s the performance of Testud as the brittle Christine which ultimately makes this so intriguing. Her body may be broken but her face tells a whole lifetime’s worth of stories.
A remarkable portrayal of a character who never attracts pity or sentimentality. A puzzle, but one you’ll enjoy trying to solve. MM
