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Film: Enter The Void
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 25th April 2011
Studio: E1
Certificate: 18
Running time: 160 mins
Director: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander, Masato Tanno
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Italy/Germany
Language: English/Japanese
Review by: Rob Markham
Gaspar Noé is not known for subtlety and he is certainly one of the most fearless filmmakers working today. Considering the scale and scope of the beauty, ugliness, shocking violence, and mesmerising camerawork seen in both his feature and short films so far, it begs the question, where else will this director dare to go?
In his Tokyo apartment, Oscar gets high and hallucinates before receiving a phone call from Victor, who asks him to deliver drugs to a bar called The Void. Along with his friend, Alex, Oscar delivers the drugs only to find he has been set up and the police raid the bar. Oscar is shot and killed in the bathroom.
Oscar’s spirit rises from his body and embarks on a journey that sees him visit his past where he relives tragedy, the present and the circumstances that led to his death, and visits his friends and family as they cope with loss and the aftermath of the shooting.
We follow Oscar’s journey and experience with him love, loss, betrayal, birth and death, until he ends up back at the very beginning…
Noé himself has described Enter The Void as a psychedelic melodrama, which is apt, yet this is a film that really does transcend whatever expectations an audience might have based on that description. Noé has created a dense piece that combines his own style with that of others, most notably Kubrick.
Noé leaves us in no doubt that we are truly an inhabitant in the body of Oscar. We follow the living Oscar through his eyes to such an extent that we are even subjected to his blinking. It is a strange experience at first, but the commitment to this particular style is so bold that we soon find ourselves caught up in Oscar’s mind. His hallucinations, while on drugs, are beautifully realised and as close to hypnotic as you are likely to find on film.
It is through this style that Noé is able to convincingly tell us the story of Oscar’s disembodied spirit. For those familiar with Noé’s films, the camerawork used once Oscar is dead and floating over Tokyo will be instantly recognisable. Whilst in Irreversible, and to some degree in Noé’s short film We F**k Alone, the camera was used to disorient the viewer, here it serves a very different purpose. We become the spirit of Oscar and the camera demonstrates the freedom of the spirit, whilst at the same time being almost painfully restrained to the neon cityscape and bound to his sister, Linda.
It is a bold move, and one that could easily turn an audience off, but the calm pace and leisurely pans and swoops make for a rich viewing experience when juxtaposed with the events being witnessed.
These events are, in true Gaspar Noé style, unflinching and daring. There will be lots of talk surrounding such scenes as an ejaculation seen from inside a vagina and a close up of an aborted foetus, but to focus on the ugliness of such crude images would be to forget their place in the overall picture. As a whole, the film shows us life, and the horrors faced by those living in the aftermath of a loss. Such images as the two siblings promising to never leave each other while sitting in an idyllic field contrast with the ugliness, just as the Linda’s intense grief contrasts with the nonplussed expression of her boyfriend. Focusing on a group of foreigners in Tokyo serves to highlight a sense of alienation, but also adds to our involvement, feeling like outsiders ourselves as we swoop over rooftops and barrel along alleyways.
The star of this particular show is Tokyo itself. It’s not a Tokyo that is recognisable, painted as it is in garish neon. Noé decides not to show us the usual markers of busy high streets, prosperous businesses and mirror-like skyscrapers, opting instead for grimy alleys, cramped apartments and strip joints. When we do see a stereotypical Japanese businessman, he is lying on a stage while strippers pamper him. This is not a Tokyo that has been seen anywhere else in cinema, and our submersion in it is wholly dependent on the mise-en-scène working in partnership with the directing style. To Noé’s credit, it works.
The film is let down slightly by the performances. With the exception of Paz de la Huerta, the acting never really convinces throughout. The film is also too long. While this is a symptom of the first-person style, once the constraints of being alive are removed, the pace could have picked up a times. The lack of identifiable or likeable characters also works to its detriment.
These complaints aside, this is a film so rich in imagery, themes, morals (albeit none too subtle) and ideas, that watching it once is not going to be enough. There are too few filmmakers brave enough to attempt projects as ambitious as this. There may be accusations of Noé’s self-indulgence getting in the way of telling a concise story, but as an auteur, he should be praised for pushing the boundaries and testing both what he is able and what he is allowed to do.
Enter The Void has rightly received mixed reviews from critics all over the world. It is a film that will not appeal to everyone, and will probably be loved and loathed in equal measure, though to deny the ingenuity of the director would be a mistake. It is the kind of film that will most likely be viewed again in a few decades time and held up as a masterpiece of cinematic bravado.
The going may be hard, but Enter The Void should be seen by all those who love cinema, if only for the sheer outrageousness of Noé’s ambition and vision. It is, by turns, rich, daring, beautiful and horrific. It is films such as this that are the reason world cinema is so exciting. You may not like this film, but you won’t forget it. RM
Film: The Man From Nowhere
Year of production: 2010
UK Release date: 11th April 2011
Studio: E1
Certificate: 18
Running time: 119 mins
Director: Lee Jeong-beom
Starring: Kim Sae-ron, Kim Hyo-seo, Won Bin
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Lee Jeong-beom directs this tale of redemption through violence which went on to became the highest grossing film in Korea last year, winning national and worldwide acclaim across the board. Following in the footsteps of Shiri and A Bittersweet Life, Korea continues to establish itself as a force to be reckoned with on the action cinema front.
The story follows a reclusive pawnbroker Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin), as he tries to forget a past which still haunts him. His only human contact comes in the form of Jung So-mi (Kim Sae-ron), a young girl who steadfastly refuses to give him the peace he desires and slowly starts to draw him out of his self enforced solitude.
When So-mi's mother gets involved in a drug deal that goes bad, she and her daughter are kidnapped and Cha is drawn into a race against time in order to save them. However, the deal that he is assured will see the two released turns out to be a double cross that leaves So-mi's mother dead and Cha caught between the law and gangsters vying for control of Korea.
After realising he has been betrayed and that the life of his only friend is in jeopardy, Cha flees the police and sets out on his own quest to rescue the girl. Unknown to the rest of the world, Cha was once a decorated black ops soldier, until he lost everything after a failed assassination attempt on his life.
Cha must become the man he once was if he is to stand a chance of ever seeing So-mi again. Using the skills and abilities he thought he had left behind forever, he slowly starts to work his way towards the men who took So-mi, hoping that he will he be able to prevent another tragedy before it is too late…
This movie borrows heavily from other sources, most notably from the gangster and the heroic bloodshed genres but even hints of Taken and the Bourne trilogy can be seen. Whilst the story is well written, it is nothing new and, unfortunately, predictable. However, what stops this from becoming simply a mash up of good ideas is the direction, editing and acting. Lee Jeong-beom brings the city to life with his striking imagery and settings, whether it is the poorer parts of town where Cha and So-mi live, or the garish opulence which surrounds the gangsters. His use of the colour blue, which is almost always present when the gangsters are on-screen, is used brilliantly to bathe Cha himself once he has entered their world. All this is accompanied by a mostly orchestral score that is used in all the right places, both for building tension and hauntingly setting the scene for the quieting moments in the movie.
A movie of this kind relies upon a strong actor in the lead role and in this regard Won Bin delivers. As Cha Tae-sik, he gives a performance that deserves the awards and plaudits he has received. A man hiding from the world behind his pawnshop window, the only bright spot in his life is So-mi, a surrogate reminder of the life that was taken from him. His seemingly gruff tolerance of her is offset by the fact he is the only parental figure in her life. He takes a subtle joy in that fact, whether making dinner for her or offering her a place to sleep when her mother is indulging in her drug habit. Though his anguish is evident when he fears he may never see his friend again, his transformation into the man he once was takes a lot of the emotion out of his performance, as what is left behind is a cold blooded killer. He dispassionately takes down anyone in his way, and the fact that he remains calm and never raises his voice during the scenes of extreme violence make them all the more affecting - and Cha all the more terrifying to behold.
Young actress Kim Sae-ron is brilliant in the role of So-mi. Her earlier interactions with Cha are filled with her talking incessantly about things that can only seem important when you're young yet also getting into trouble, as she tries to make the best of what life has thrown her. However, behind this tough façade, we can see a child in need of a friend and, more importantly, someone to look up to. With her mother addicted to drugs, she finds solace and refuge within the pawnshop. An absolutely heartbreaking scene where she shows a maturity and understanding of selfworth far beyond her years becomes the main driving force behind Cha's mission to save her and mark her as a talent to watch in future years.
As the gang leaders responsible for kidnapping So-mi and her mother, Kim Hee-won and Kim Sung-oh both give solid performances; even if Song-oh sometimes crosses the line and hams it up too much. They are men who deal in human lives as a commodity and never truly understand why Cha comes after them. Both have a false bravado that the violence Cha inflicts on their underlings slowly erodes. This leaves Ramrowan as the main antagonist of the piece. A henchman with a penchant for bladed weapons and the only person believable as a viable threat to Cha. His respect and happiness at finding a worthy adversary are evident and lead to two of the film’s best fight sequences.
As mentioned earlier, the editing is a crucial part of this movie and it is during the fight scenes that this is best shown. They are quick, brutal and bloody, yet always easy to follow, even with quick cutting and extreme close ups. This is especially true when point of view shots are used to brilliant affect as Cha and Ramrowan finally face each other in a climactic showdown. Won Bin excels in these action scenes. Moving with a speed and grace that conveys that he is a man trained in the art of killing as he makes short work of these apparently hard men who rely on their numbers and brute strength to deal with their opponents.
The only major problem with this movie is the length, coming in at just under two hours and aided by good pacing, it isn't so long that boredom will set in. However, with a slightly convoluted plot and too many incidental characters, it could easily have been shortened. The most obvious sections to take out would have been those involving Kim Tae-hun as detective Kim Chi-gon. He is the man in charge of jailing the gang members and subsequently trying to find Cha as he leaves a trail of bodies in his wake. Whilst he is good in the role, and brings some added black comedy to the film, he has too little to do. He spends much of the movie surveying the carnage Cha creates and all of the information he uncovers is nothing Cha doesn't figure out on his own. Even his discoveries about Cha's secret past are irrelevant as they are later revealed during flashbacks to much greater effect.
Whilst the influences of American blockbusters can be seen throughout, this proves Korean talent can match and, in a lot of ways, better anything Hollywood can produce. A familiar story of friendship, revenge and redemption which is often violent and bloody, it stands above similar titles in the genre. Brilliantly choreographed fight sequences and strong performances from the two leads make this much more than just another action film. DM
Film: Enter The Void
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 25th April 2011
Studio: E1
Certificate: 18
Running time: 160 mins
Director: Gaspar Noe
Starring: Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, Cyril Roy, Olly Alexander, Masato Tanno
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: France/Italy/Germany
Language: English/Japanese
After the controversy which surrounded Gaspar Noe’s second feature film, Irreversible, it is fair to say that anticipation has been high for the French/Argentine auteur’s latest offering, Enter The Void. Billed by Noe as a “psychedelic melodrama,” and with critical comparisons to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, there’s been an eager sense of excitement for the film’s release.
On his way to deliver a package of drugs to a friend, protagonist Oscar is shot by the Tokyo police in a nightclub toilet and dies. His soul leaves his body and flies above the city, unfettered by the restraints of physics.
We see him travel back through his life, following his childhood and the relationships he had with his parents and sister, and see the chain of events unfold which have led to his demise.
We finally see Oscar conclude his journey through death into the inevitable next step…
From the very start, we know that we are in for something out of the ordinary. Gaspar Noe is not a man for who the title sequence of a film is a formality to be dispensed dispassionately before the action starts. Those familiar with his work will be used to Noe’s bizarre title sequences, and here a mind-battering assault of strobing neon images burst from the screen to a techno-soundtrack. It is an unsettling, disorientating experience, and the message is clear: Noe wants your attention and what is about to follow is something to be taken very seriously.
And indeed it is. Not to mince words: the opening act of Enter The Void is truly astonishing, and nothing short of a landmark achievement for film. The visual sequences of drug taking, of Oscar’s walk through the city, and of his traumatic death and subsequent ‘rebirth’ are astounding, genuinely original, and utterly immersive. If you want to know what it is like to die, this is the closest you will get without actually going through with it. It is an extraordinary, disturbing and magical experience, which achieves what all great art aspires to: it alters our perception and changes the way we look at the world.
How horribly disappointing therefore that what follows spectacularly fails to measure up. An hour in, Enter The Void seems to dramatically loose it’s steam. The idea of a soul set free of its earthly limitations becomes simply a tool to tell a not-very-interesting back story through banal flashbacks. This mystifying change of pace renders the opening act largely insignificant. After all, why bother to set up this extraordinary premise if you’re then going to abandon it and start plodding through a largely irrelevant melodrama? There are plenty of oedipal subtexts thrown in about breastfeeding, hints at incest, and tunnel images to signify rebirth and reincarnation, but after the ingenuity of the first act, it all feels so depressingly mundane. You begin to wonder what happened to the fearless visionary Noe from an hour before.
The film is lacking in other areas as well. While Irreversible and I Stand Alone were anchored by astonishing performances by Vincent Cassel/Monica Bellucci and Philippe Nahon respectively, the acting in Enter the Void is sadly not up to par. The clunky dialogue is delivered lazily and insincerely, and several characters – particularly Ed Spear as the unpleasant drug dealer Bruno - feel lamentably underused. Others, such as Oscar’s duplicitous friend, are simply just not believable, either as characters in themselves or as part of the story. Matters aren’t improved by the fact that Oscar’s stoned voiceover sounds worryingly reminiscent of Napolean Dynamite.
As the film draws to a close, things go from bad to worse. Anyone who caught Eva, Noe’s recent series of short films for the Grand Journal de Canal, will know that he has an unfortunate tendency to slip over the line from experimental to self-indulgent and pretentious. Sadly, this is given full reign in Enter The Void’s third act. From an explicit orgy in a neon sex hotel, to Noe’s own (patent pending) vagina-cam, showing us an as yet unseen viewpoint of the sexual act, the whole thing descends into a lavish, extravagant mess. Even a neon orgy scene was boring.
From the evidence of the extraordinary first act, coupled with his body of previous works, it’s clear that Gaspar Noe is a rare visionary, an absolute believer in his art, and a peerless exploiter of the visual and auditory possibilities of cinema. It is unfortunate therefore that what should have been one of the great films of our era has instead suffered from the ego of its creator, and has emerged as sprawling and self-indulgent. Certainly see it, because there are things here you’ve never seen before, but you’ll almost certainly come out downhearted knowing that Enter The Void could have been so much better. LB
Produced by the people responsible for the cult Nazi zombies hit Dead Snow, Norwegian Ninja is a quirky, offbeat homage to everything from James Bond’s improbable spy shenanigans to B-movie Ninja flicks and post-modern Grindhouse culture to political conspiracy theory. Malling’s film is a true original, a potent mix of fact, fiction and fantasy that is impossible to pigeonhole.
In reality, Norwegian Ninja’s main protagonist, Arne Treholt, was a former Norwegian social democratic politician and diplomat who, in the mid-1980s, was convicted of high treason and espionage on behalf of the Soviet Union and Iraq and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, in the eyes of the juvenile Thomas Cappelen Malling watching events unfold on the TV news, the handsome, hotshot diplomat was neither traitor nor spy. He was a skilled Ninja Master secretly working for King Olav V and defending the Norwegian Way!
When Commander Treholt (Mads Oussdal) and the highly trained members of his covert Ninja Force discover a sinister plot against Norway, they immediately leap into action to avert the crisis. Behind the devious plans for a coup-d'état that would effectively place the US in control of the country is Treholt’s nemesis, Meyer (Jon Oigarden), an operative of Stay Behind, an anti-Soviet force funded by NATO and with nefarious links to the CIA.
As Treholt and Meyer wage a private and very personal war for the hearts and minds of the Norwegian people, the Ninja Force must fight to defeat Meyer’s co-conspirators in the name of King Olav’s battle cry, “All For Norway!” Meanwhile, Treholt is also occupied with the unenviable task of training a seemingly incompetent member of the Ninja Force to become his second-in-command.
Film: Norwegian Ninja
Release date: 18th April 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 77 mins
Director: Thomas Cappelen Malling
Starring: Mads Ousdal, Jon Øigarden, Trond-Viggo Torgersen, Linn Stokke, Amund Maarud
Genre: Action/Comedy/Thriller
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Norway
DVD Special Features:
•
Oddities and Bloopers
•
Home Alone With Otto
•
Interviews plus Fight Choreography
•
Music video
•
Skycar and Torpedo featurettes
•
Bonus scenes
A box office smash in Korea, where it became the highest grossing movie of 2010 and swept the board at the Korea Film Awards taking honours for Best Actor, Best New Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Lighting, Best Visual Effects and Best Editing, The Man From Nowhere is, without doubt, the hottest Korean movie to come along in recent years and puts Korean cinema firmly back on the world cinema map.
Scarred by traumatic events resulting from his past, former special agent Tae-shik (Won Bin) lives in solitude running a pawnshop in a rundown neighbourhood. His only contact with the world is through his customers and his next-door neighbours, a young girl named So-mi (Kim Sae-ron) and her mother, an exotic club dancer and drug addict.
Neglected by her mother and shunned by the kids at school, So-mi gradually forms a bond of friendship with the loner Tae-shik. But one day, So-mi and her mother disappear. When it becomes apparent that mobsters connected to So-mi’s mother’s drug dealing have kidnapped them, Tae-shik is forced to leave his private sanctuary and to go out into the world in search of his one and only friend.
In a bid to ensure So-mi’s safety, Tae-shik agrees to perform a one-off job for the gangsters holding the girl. The job turns out to be a set-up that makes him the target of both a rival gang and of an intense police manhunt. On the run from both sides of the law, and risking him life every step of the way, Tae-shik moves ever closer to discovering So-mi’s whereabouts, but in doing so, he also risks revealing the hidden secrets of his past…
Starring Korean heartthrob Won Bin (Brotherhood; Mother) and newcomer Kim Sae-ron (A Brand New Life), The Man From Nowhere is a thriller that begins with a bang and hurtles to a killer climax that will leave action fans baying for more.
Film: The Man From Nowhere
Release date: 11th April 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 119 mins
Director: Lee Jeong-beom
Starring: Kim Sae-ron, Kim Hyo-seo, Won Bin
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: South Korea
Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day as a detective with the Copenhagen Police department. She is supposed to move to Sweden with her fiancée, but everything changes when a 19-year-old girl, Nanna Birk Larsen, is found raped and brutally murdered.
Along with detective Jan Meyer, Sarah is forced to be ahead of the investigation, as it soon becomes clear that Lund and Meyer are chasing a very intelligent and dangerous murderer.
Series: The Killing
Release date: 4th April 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 1100 mins
Director: Sofie Gråbøl, Lars Mikkelsen, Soren Malling & Bjarne Henriksen
Starring: Jonas Leth Hansen, Soren Malling, Sofie Grabol, Bjarne Henriksen
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller
Studio: E1/Arrow
Format: DVD
Country: Denmark/Norway/Sweden
Film: Under The Mountain
Release date: 7th March 2011
Certificate: 12
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Jonathan King
Starring: Tom Cameron, Sophie McBride, Sam Neill, Leon Wadham, Michaela Rooney
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: New Zealand
This is an English-language release.
Director Jonathan King is perhaps best known for his 2006 horror comedy film Black Sheep, in which a group of blood-thirsty sheep terrorise a New Zealand farm after a genetic engineering experiment goes horribly wrong. The film was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission. For his latest film, King delves into the realms of the children’s fantasy genre and produces Under The Mountain, once again with the help of the New Zealand Film Commission. Under the Mountain is an adaptation of the 1979 novel of the same name by Maurice Gee, which also spawned a TV series in the early 1980s.
Teenage twins, Theo (Tom Cameron) and Rachel (Sophie McBride) have an uncanny ability- they can communicate with each other without talking. When their mother dies unexpectedly, they are sent to live with their aunt and uncle on the shore of Lake Pupuke in Auckland.
The twins are fascinated by the strange looking house across the lake, which is occupied by the sinister Wilberforces. It quickly transpires that the Wilberforces are more than just a little odd - they are shape-shifting creatures with tentacles.
The following day, Theo meets Mr Jones (Sam Neill), who is playing with fireballs on the hilltop. Theo soon discovers that Mr Jones is not actually human after seeing his picture in a book from the 19th century. Mr Jones then reveals that the Wilberforces are aliens who are in league with the evil Gargantua, whom his people trapped underneath Auckland’s volcanoes.
Mr Jones claims that Theo and Rachel’s special power – “twinness” – is exactly what’s needed to defeat the evil creatures. However, Theo doesn’t believe in their power. Mr Jones gives the twins two stones, which when thrown, produce the fire power of his people and tells them that they must use the stones – and their twinness – to destroy the evil before it destroys them...
The television series, Under The Mountain, was largely well-received by children in New Zealand during the 1980s. Sadly, this contemporary remake feels flat in comparison. That is not to say that Jonathan King’s adaptation isn’t beautifully photographed. The aerial shots (of which there are many) of Auckland’s mountains are truly picturesque. However, these shots are used to aid the transition between scenes so frequently that it soon feels as if the film is one long advertisement for the New Zealand tourist board. Even the apartment belonging to Theo and Rachel’s aunt and uncle is thoroughly chic and contemporary.
Whilst it is definitely overused, the scenic photography is perhaps the only good feature that the Under The Mountain possesses. For a fantasy film, there is far too much exposition, as it is not until approximately an hour into the film’s 91 minute running time that characters go under the mountains where evil lurks. The film shows very little regard for the fact that young audiences today are cine-literate, and instead takes them by the hand and leads them on a heavily signposted journey through the narrative, telling them what to think every step of the way. For example, a close-up of a television news report states that there is unlikely to be any volcanic activity and that there is “no cause for alarm.” However, this is immediately undercut by an image of a volcano with sinister music over the top.
In addition to this, it’s clear that the purpose of the film’s dialogue is solely to aid this exposition and drive the narrative forwards. It’s clunky and unnatural as the characters don’t seem to talk about anything that isn’t directly related to the plot. The poorly scripted dialogue certainly does nothing to aid the performances of the teenage protagonists. Under The Mountain marks the debut screen appearances of both Tom Cameron and Sophie McBride as Theo and Rachel and it certainly shows. McBride gives a particularly stilted performance; her grief on learning that her mother has died is barely apparent. She also fails to look surprised when Mr Jones reveals his unusual fire-throwing powers.
However, the film’s forces of evil don’t fare much better. The Wilberforces are, for the most part, about as menacing as a child’s Halloween costume and engage in bizarre dialogue with the twins. Mr Wilberforce tells them that he wants to “make them dead” and “observe them to die.” Perhaps this is to reinforce the idea that they originate from another planet which existed millions of years ago, but the overall effect is jarring and irritating.
Moreover, the special effects are far from spectacular. The characters’ main source of power with which to fight evil is basically a large pebble which shoots fire. Although faithful to the original story, this doesn’t translate well into a feature film and simply can’t compete with the majority of special effects that are present within contemporary fantasy films. Also, it is worth noting that the stones are made to seem all the more unimpressive by the fact that they don’t have a fantastical name: Mr Jones refers to them as “stones with an indescribable power” and, as with much of the story, this is never elaborated upon.
Under The Mountain is a predictable and simplistic film which patronises its target audience. Thanks to modern technology, the fantasy film is continually evolving; films such as Pan’s Labyrinth have proven that they can be visually spectacular and also an engaging and complex narrative: Under The Mountain does neither. Regardless of their age, contemporary cinemagoers expect – and deserve – a great deal from the fantasy genre. Sadly, Under The Mountain fails to deliver. SH
Film: Waste Land
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: PG
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Lucy Walker, Karen Harley & Joao Jardim
Starring: Vik Muniz
Genre: Documentary
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Brazil/UK
Lucy Walker is an established director, with documentaries including Countdown To Zero already under her belt. Waste Land is her latest project and has made waves around the world. It was nominated for an Oscar this year and has won several other awards, including the 2010 Sundance Audience Award for a World Cinema Documentary.
Brazilian-born Vik Muniz is a highly successful artist in his adopted home of New York. Having reached a period in his life where he has all the material goods he has ever wanted, he decides to return to his native country and give something back to society. His initial idea is to use garbage in his art, so he seeks out the largest garbage dump in the world; the Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janeiro. He is not at all sure what sort of people he will find working there – he is prepared for drug addicts and questionable people living on the edges of society. However, when he meets the pickers, or catadores, he is surprised to find a well-organised syndicate of 2,500 workers who make an honest living and carry themselves with dignity, even whilst picking through the rubbish to find recyclable materials. He meets amateur philosophers, mothers earning money in order to provide for their children, and leaders who ensure fair payments and keep the peace in this vast group. They are more than happy for Muniz to create artworks, the profits of which will go to the Association.
Instead of simply remaining as his subjects, as Muniz originally intended, the catadores become fully involved with the art project. Six are chosen to have their portraits turned into art, each one representing a famous work. They include Tiao, the leader of the Association and fan of Machiavelli, Zumbi, the ‘librarian’, who set up a community library from the discarded books he collects, and Irma, the resident cook who conjures up stews, salads and pasta dishes for the workers. From photos that Muniz takes, the group gets to work transforming these into giant images made from items collected from the Jardim Gramacho. The experience changes everything for the catadores involved, but it leaves Muniz with some difficult moral decisions: is it beneficial for these people to have a glimpse of another world if they have to go back to picking through a rubbish dump at the end of it?
The film unfolds as organically as the experience does for Muniz and the catadores. Walker is a sensitive director who slowly reveals her film subjects layer by layer. We are introduced to the six catadores in turn early on, and then we slowly learn more about each one. In this sense, we share Muniz’s perspective. As he builds relationships with the catadores, they open up to him and share their stories. Walker employs the same tactics with Muniz himself – we know that he came from a poor background in Brazil, but we do not see evidence of this until the end of the film. The way Walker has done this echoes the connection Muniz feels with the catadores, but for a chance event, he could have ended up as one of them.
Walker selects footage that feels natural to what Muniz and his team experience – the first sight we get of the Jardim Gramacho is a wide, sweeping view of the rubbish tips, with people moving about like ants. Only do we get close-ups of individual catadores, which starts to give some sense of humanity to the area, a feeling which Muniz expresses. Walker inserts overhead views of the dumps throughout to remind the viewer of how it is seen from outside – it becomes very easy to forget that this is a deliberately ignored corner of Rio once we begin engaging with the people who work and live there.
As Muniz finds, it is the human element which makes this a story worth telling. It is not really about garbage, or even art, but about the people. There are moments of quiet heartbreak, as individuals are able to find a voice for stories which have so long been repressed due to the daily grind of their work. However, the overriding feeling is one of optimism and positivity. Each picker we meet is dignified, eloquent and tenacious. They demonstrate a remarkable strength of mind which enables them to get through each day with a smile and a few words of wisdom. They welcome Muniz with great warmth and throw themselves into the project, spending days working on the portraits. When they finally get to see the finished works at auction and in a gallery, they make no attempts to hide their joy, and these expressions of raw and unbridled emotion have a real impact on the viewer – you cannot help but connect with the catadores on some level.
The object of any documentary is surely to give us an insight into the lives of other people and Waste Land does that poetically and assuredly. By following Muniz on this project, Walker has uncovered the potential of the human spirit in the most unlikely of places, literally in the rubbish dump. Executed with the same quiet determination and restraint shown by the catadores, the film never slips into melodrama but simply provides a faithful portrait of these people, and allows them to speak for themselves. The feeling that comes across above all is that the catadores do not need pity or charity; they are proud to earn an honest wage and they support each other. They are grateful for the opportunities and additional income that Muniz has brought to the Association, but it seems that Muniz learnt as much from the project as they did. The end result is a film which engages the soul as much as the mind and which cannot help but charm its viewers.
An uplifting, surprising story of an artist who has catapulted into the spotlight people who are usually ignored. This film will lift your spirits and remind you what it means to be human. KS
Film: Exorcismus
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Manuel Carballo
Starring: Sophie Vavasseur, Doug Bradley, Stephen Billington, Tommy Bastow, Richard Felix
Genre: Horror
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Spain
This is an English-Language release.
Manuel Carballo makes his contribution to the possession-movie pool with his second feature film. Like his debut, El último justo, the aspiring horror director explores the darker side of religion via family skeletons, pushy parents and adolescent antics as Satan makes another date with humanity.
Emma (Sophie Vavasseur) is a typical British 15-year-old in most ways but one. Her middle-class parents insist on home-schooling their little girl when all she wants is to go to school like normal teenagers. As it turns out, ‘normal’ isn’t quite so easily achieved. As soon as one obstacle is removed, in the form of her parents relenting to her wishes, another, much bigger obstruction lies in her path - in the form of the devil.
When friends and family make allusions to bizarre episodes that Emma can’t remember, viewers are treated to snatched flashbacks to support their stories. It soon becomes clear that there’s another side to Emma: the seemingly conformist teen is apparently engaged in the obligatory youth counter-culture scene. Whilst she experiments with style, music and a social life, her interest in the subversive runs deeper than even her friends realise, and with the aid of Christopher (Stephen Billington), her priestly uncle, she learns more than just how to apply smudgy black eyeliner. This is when the trouble starts. Thanks to Chris, she is equipped with knowledge more powerful than either of them anticipated; lying dormant, this ammunition is ignited in the wake of her overbearing mother. The standard possession process ensues.
Mercifully, the task of convincing Lucy (Jo-Anne Stockham) and John (Richard Felix) of the truth behind their daughter’s strops is short-lived and viewers are spared the usual 90 minutes of desperate endeavours of persuasion. Overlooking their evident distrust of Chris and his shady history with teen girls, despair drives them to accept his aid. He and his niece embark on exorcisms, the details of which are to be kept from her parents. But Lucifer’s temper tantrums aren’t all that well-meaning Chris is concealing…
True to the low-budget allure of possession horror, the mind is where terror lays, not gory special effects. Film fans either love or hate this subtle form of horror, and the lack of graphic blood and guts may reassure some, whilst hardened horror fans, who should be wise enough to know what to expect, might be disappointed.
Similarly, Carballo’s cast of unknown Brit actors fit right in with budget and, to a degree, this is displayed in their performances. Lucy is pure bossy mother material, making her an utterly flat and irritating character. John is hardly much better as the quietly-spoken counterpart who meekly reinforces his matriarch’s commands. Perhaps Stockham and Felix ought to be cut some slack, however, since it must be admitted that their script doesn’t leave much room for artistic licence. Vavasseur’s portrayal of a British teenager is convincing enough to carry the viewer along with her plight, but some might argue that she is simply playing herself. To an extent, this is unavoidable: how else can a teenager play a teenager? Nevertheless, her performance is much stronger than her filmic parents’ and, since the weight of the film rests on her shoulders, she has a big job.
Emma, as a character, is more than a two-tiered Victoria sponge sandwiched together with a jam of evil. She is an angsty teenager, and not all of her defiance can be blamed on that age-old excuse of possession. Simultaneously, though, Emma is ultimately a victim of circumstance, and this makes her a sympathetic character. The devil’s reign reaches much further than the odd attempted murder, and his presence indirectly triggers the destruction of a person’s entire world, which she is absolutely defenceless against. Whether Vavasseur manages to get this sense of ambiguity across to the viewer with as much force as she could have is debatable, but she gives it a respectable try.
Any possession-movie is bound to resemble its peers where plot is concerned. How many ways can an unsuspecting host fall prey to evil forces? Exorcismus therefore makes easy viewing for all; its accessibility naturally working in its favour and broadening audience appeal. Towards the end, however, Carballo seems to make a rushed effort to challenge viewers, which does little more than disturb the steady narrative. To the enquiring mind, hints and implications are indicated then quickly and pointlessly dismissed anyway, making climactic tension inconveniently turbulent. A conclusion consistent with the rest of the straight-forward story would have been more satisfying.
Carballo can hardly be blamed for his attempt at a twisty ending, given the expanse of his chosen genre. After all, is another addition really necessary? Exorcismus may be best appreciated as a continuation of the trend set by the likes of Carrie and The Exorcist, rather than an original modernisation. Psychoanalytical statements about metaphors and entering womanhood were all discussed by Laura Mulvey and friends decades ago, and Emma’s story is just another expression of their timeless sentiments. Carballo, though, shouldn’t be condemned for rehashing a tried and tested formula; he should be commended for creating such a strong example of a successful genre.
Carballo was clearly not aiming at originality with Exorcismus, so anyone seeking a fresh horror film will go away disappointed. But what Carballo does achieve, despite his uninspiring script and uninspired cast, is a shining example of the teen-girl possession film. Mild and modest, this is an inoffensive horror to suit the masses. RS
This is an English-language release.
Filmed over nearly three years, Waste Land follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he photographs an eclectic band of ‘catadores’ - self-designated pickers of recyclable materials.
Muniz’s initial objective was to “paint” the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.
Director Lucy Walker (Devil’s Playground, Blindsight, Countdown To Zero) has great access to the entire process and, in the end, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.
Film: Waste Land
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: PG
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Lucy Walker, Karen Harley & Joao Jardim
Starring: Vik Muniz
Genre: Documentary
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Brazil/UK
This is an English-language release.
Tom Cameron, Sophie McBride and Sam Neill star in this New Zealand-made teen sci-fi action adventure based on the novel by Maurice Gee.
When teenage twins Theo and Rachel Matheson (Cameron and McBride) investigate the deserted house next door, they discover the Wilberforces: a race of shape-shifting, slug-like alien creatures that live in the ring of extinct volcanoes beneath the city of Auckland.
With the help of the mysterious Mr Jones (Neill) and their older cousin Ricky (Leon Wadham), the twins must now evince the power to battle the awakened ancient evil before it destroys them all.
Film: Under The Mountain
Release date: 7th March 2011
Certificate: 12
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Jonathan King
Starring: Tom Cameron, Sophie McBride, Sam Neill, Leon Wadham, Michaela Rooney
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: New Zealand
This is an English-language release.
Colin Farrell stars in this drama based on the memoirs of war correspondent Scott Anderson.
After a traumatic near-death experience in war-torn Kurdistan, battle-scarred photojournalist Mark (Farrell) returns home to Dublin separated from his friend and colleague David (Jamie Sives).
As Mark struggles to pull his life back together with the help of his wife Elena (Paz Vega) and her father, renowned Spanish psychoanalyst Joaquin Morales (Christopher Lee), the shocking truth behind David's disappearance is gradually revealed.
Film: Shell Shock
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Danis Tanovic
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Sives, Paz Vega, Kelly Reilly, Branko Djuric
Genre: Drama/Mystery/War
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Republic of Ireland/Spain/Belgium/France
This is an English-language release.
Exorcismus is the new terrifying film from the production company of the hugely successful [REC] and [REC]2.
15-year-old Emma Hawkins seemed like a pretty typical teenager. Suddenly, Emma's life changes in an unexpected way. She starts having frightening fits. Although her parents attribute her behaviour to psychological problems, Emma senses that something much darker is hiding inside her, waiting for it's time to break into the world...
Exorcismus is a Spanish horror film set in the UK. It’s directed by Manuel Carballo and written by David Muñoz. The film stars Doug Bradley (Pinhead from Hellraiser) as the priest who tries to drive the evil spirits from Emma.
Film: Exorcismus
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Manuel Carballo
Starring: Sophie Vavasseur, Doug Bradley, Stephen Billington, Tommy Bastow, Richard Felix
Genre: Horror
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Spain
Film: Project A
Release date: 24th June 2002
Certificate: 15
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Jackie Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Dick Wei
Genre: Action/Comedy/Martial Arts
Studio: E1
Format: DVD
Country: Hong Kong
Project A is a defining chapter in the astonishing career of Jackie Chan. Conceived and filmed after the devastating critical and commercial flop that was Dragon Lord, Chan resolved to change his cinematic fortunes. The result, Project A, is a masterful example of amazing martial arts and stunts driven by a solid fast-paced plot with the trademark Chan comedy strain.
The coastguard of Colonial Hong Kong at the turn of the 20th century is being continually humiliated by a gang of fearless pirates led by San-Po (Wei). Dragon Ma (Chan), a boisterous marine, is determined to devastate the Pirate stronghold on the South China Seas. However, the coastguard squad, after a terrible decimation of their fleet, is disbanded, and they fall under command of the police force to be re-trained by Inspector Tzu (Biao).
Dragon is frustrated by the lack of help from his new police colleagues and his former Navy superiors in taking on big-time criminals with heavy links to San-Po. Striking out to take down the cutthroats with help from childhood friend and small-time hustler Fei (Hung), and eventually Inspector Tzu, Dragon initiates ‘Project A’, a final solution intended to defeat San-Po and his gang…
Chan, Hung, and Biao (known as the ‘Three Brothers’) were instrumental in pulling Hong Kong film from the traditional kung-fu to more contemporary themes that helped ignite the 1980s boom period. Chan perhaps saw the disappointing reception of Dragon Lord as a shift in the tastes of the public, and so came up the idea of a pirate movie as a shake-up of the classic young rogue he usually played. This venture was filmed in secrecy to prevent the plot from being stolen by rival studios, and it ensured the Three Brothers, under the directorship of Chan in this instance, became the most-loved actions stars of the era.
Project A is flush with excellent stunts and slices of comedy gold that thankfully do not get lost in translation. The opening fight sees the coastguard take on the police in a local bar. As the teams square up on either side of a stage-cum-catwalk, and bottles are broken, Dragon sees sense and downs his weapons. But a sliding police officer bashes into the gramophone, and with a tremendous blast of classical music, the melee look to the record-player, then to each other, before a classic scene kicks off. Chan and Biao showcase polished acrobatics and martial arts expertise. A much-loved slab of humour sees neither want to lose face after smashing chairs across one another’s backs, and they each slip in a corner to rub at their beaten spines before bravado puffs them up and back out to the riot.
The statuesque support from Sammo Hung gives the viewer a much-appreciated lesson in what it must’ve been like to live, grow, and train together at the Peking Opera School as the Three Brothers did. Due nods are dropped to Chinese opera as Dragon and Fei infiltrate a gun deal. They use masks, face-paint, and sing to disguise their face and voices. However, Dragon and Ma fall out after learning they can’t work together to sabotage the supply line to San-Po. They put aside their growing animosity to brawl side-by-side and move-for-move in a tea house fight scored to opera beats. To see a man as big as Hung move with such agility is always a delight, as well as his incredibly strong acting and comedic support.
Chan’s determination to inject freshness into the kung fu genre is best displayed with his homage to other physical comedians, as well as using fads of the time. A high-octane bike chase through a labyrinthine collection of alleys sees Chan tap into the BMX craze of the 1980s, spinning wheels being used as effective weapons. A rumour is that it’s not Chan who climbs up between two walls and throws his front wheel out to knock-out a hoodlum, but Yuen Biao.
Project A’s most infamous scene sees Chan pay respects to Harold Lloyds role in Safety Last by hanging from a clock hand on a tower. As he loses purchase and falls in front of a huge shocked crowd, he plummets through two sets of awnings to the floor. No crash mats or safety nets here. Replayed again (a motif used in the electrified pole slide in Police Story) shows a different landing. As with Police Story, this doesn’t disrupt the story flow, instead it demonstrates Chan savvy. He understands what pleases an audience, and here it’s a terrific stunt done for real.
Jackie Chan undoubtedly is the backbone of the entire piece, not only in terms of acting but physical action, martial arts skill, and comedy turns. The quite sublime support of Hung and Biao mix to create one the greatest movies in the modern history of Hong Kong film. A genuine classic. JM
