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Film: Tracker
Year of production: 2010
UK Release date: 23rd May 2011
Distributor: Kaleidoscope
Certificate: 12
Running time: 98 mins
Director: Ian Sharp
Starring: Ray Winstone, Temuera Morrison, Andy Anderson, Mark Mitchinson, Gareth Reeves
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama/Thriller
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country of Production: New Zealand/UK
Language: English
Review by: Daryl Wing
English-born director, Ian Sharp’s best work is arguably five episodes for the excellent television series Robin Of Sherwood (1984). Most of his other credits have also been for the gogglebox, whether it be a movie or part of a continuing drama. It’s therefore hard to get too excited about his return after an eight year absence; that is until you discover heavyweights Ray Winstone (who also found fame in Sherwood) and Temuera Morrison (the one and only Jango Fett) star in his freshest offering, Tracker, set in New Zealand’s spectacular landscape.
It’s 1903, and Arjan (Winstone), a guerrilla survivor of the South African Boer War, has landed in colonial New Zealand and is promised a generous bounty to capture Kereama (Morrison), a Maori seafarer accused of killing a British soldier.
Being such a successful tracker, what should be a simple job for Arjan turns into a dangerous game of cat and mouse, as Kereama is no fool himself, repeatedly escaping, all the while insisting he is innocent.
As each man gains and loses the upper hand, they find they have more in common than simply a mutual hatred of the British, who aren’t far behind, by now suspicious of Arjan and desperate to capture Kereama once and for all…
Tracker is a decent enough, albeit extremely clichéd buddy drama, which marginally establishes itself with some satisfying action along the way. It takes a while to get to the good stuff, though, even after an impressive opening gambit that sees Kereama cavorting with an English girl before being framed for the killing of a soldier during a scuffle in which he manages to escape. From that, there’s certainly not a great deal of originality on offer, and not a lot to keep an audience interested until Arjan finally tracks down his man.
It’s not so much a matter of whom the killer is, which would certainly help a thin plot (this act is revealed straight away), rather how long you have to wait before he or she finally catches up with the man pleading his innocence, and what they plan on doing with him. This, sadly, is barely given time to be answered. What the film does offer to keep boredom at bay, at least for the dull opening act, is some wonderful scenery that just longs to be explored further. It really is a beautiful film, and carries you through the dire moments lacking conflict as Arjan tracks and Kereama fishes, Arjan tracks and Kereama lights a fire, Arjan reads and Kereama sleeps – exhilarating stuff, for sure.
When the film does finally take off (the edge of a cliff, no less), what it then provides is some strong performances from a cast surely thankful Winstone is on board, even if his South African accent is slightly rubbish, and probably explains why he spends half the movie mumbling to himself. Morrison has his shaky moments, too, but gamely assumes the role of wise, intellectual man slightly off his rocker, and acquits himself well, proving he does have the ability when presented with the right material.
If the two of them aren’t scuffling, they’re spouting proverbs and lines from the Book of Books, or banging on about their past lives, so we don’t have to watch lengthy flashbacks that could hinder this already plodding thriller. When Morrison grumbles, “I should kill you for just being annoying,” it would make more sense and be more fun if said in unison, then interrupted by Gollum, still searching for his ring, which in turn would explain the spare finger in Arjan’s handkerchief, and allow us to indulge in some more breathtaking scenery.
A couple of cheap gags threaten to turn the film into a Sunday afternoon stroll, the worst offender emanating from the predictable downpour after Kereama proclaims he can predict the weather. And what with the constant preaching and another lazy scene that has Winstone falling for the oldest trick in the book, when he assumes it’s safe to go for a swim, Tracker almost derails. Fortunately, after much grudging mutual respect, a bizarre brawl from the ageing warriors and the arrival of the Brits means that the film grows stronger and stronger, daring to even add a satisfying twist ending that touches on exciting.
Obviously, the movie could have ended before it even began if a prostitute who could clear Kereama’s name admitted to what she had seen, and why Arjan doesn’t immediately take his captive back as promised is never explained, while the Sergeant Major’s vendetta is barely explored, creating missed chances and more fanciful fisticuffs aplenty (Winstone is oddly agile). And yet, throughout, Tracker manages to avoid its director’s television trappings, and, at the same time, won’t do the New Zealand Tourist Board any harm either.
An entertaining if slow-moving film, Tracker suffers from a stuttering start and lacks any kind of originality whatsoever. Luckily, it’s a feast for the eyes, and its leads, Winstone and Morrison, offer enough of a presence to keep this clichéd buddy movie lumbering along. DW
Film: The Living And The Dead
Year of production: 2007
UK Release date: 21st February 2011
Distributor: Kaleidoscope
Certificate: 15
Running time: 87 mins
Director: Kristijan Milic
Starring: Filip Sovagovic, Velibor Topic, Slaven Knezovic, Marinko Prga, Borko Peric
Genre: Fantasy/Thriller/War
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Language: Croatian
Review by: Anastasia Catris
In 2007, Kristijan Milic swept the board at the Pula Film Festival, winning 8 of the 14 categories, with his Bosnian war film The Living And The Dead. His first full length production, having previously directed shorts such as Sigurna Kuca and 24 Hours, this was an ambitious project for Milic.
Based on the novel by Josip Mlakic, The Living And The Dead follows two corresponding story lines separated by fifty years. Both in 1943 and 1993, we are presented with two very different military companies of soldiers, as they fight in separate Bosnian territorial wars: the partisan struggle of World War II and the liberation war of Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1992-5.
As the two plot lines interweave with one another, we watch the 1943 soldiers on their journey through the ‘Graveyard Field’, dealing with desertion, execution and matters of class and authority. A group of Muslims are captured by Croatian fascists and one of the soldiers, Martin (Filip Sovagovic) loots a souvenir from one of the fallen hostages. This keepsake is the only material link between the soldiers of 1943 and 1993 as Martin leaves it to his grandson, Tomas (also Filip Sovagovic), one of the modern day soldiers. Though the soldiers of 1993 follow a similar path to that of their predecessors, including that of the ‘Graveyard Field’, they are far more carefree and, oftentimes, cowardly in comparison.
As the two companies’ stories converge in their tragic fates and their realisation of the inanity of war, supernatural elements begin to surface. Figures of fallen men appear, distracting the soldiers and leading them to their own deaths, while the soldiers of 1993 are often haunted by the images of their 1943 counterparts…
Despite concentrating on two small contingents of soldiers, the characterisation of the cast in this film is minimal. Many of the modern soldiers seem to correspond to archetypes created by films such as Platoon and Apocalypse Now, which, though allowing an audience to connect via familiarity, dilutes any emotional connection they may have with them.
The emotional connection and sympathy comes through their actions and expendability rather than their individual characters. The modern characters are far more human in their occasional incompetence, fears and childish behaviour, while the soldiers of 1943 correspond more to strict authority and class structure. The one character of note in the 1943 segments is Ferid, a man who has lost his whole family to typhoid and is still expected to carry on fighting, whose emotional state leads to much of the platoon’s misfortune.
However, what the film lacks in characterisation it makes up for in atmosphere and production value. The juxtaposition between the two timelines is highlighted by the filtered lighting which appears green and blue in the present and sepia brown in the past. The sepia tones of the 1943 scenes serve to create a desiccated and dry atmosphere which amplifies the harshness of the action. The present, meanwhile, appears lush and sheltered, most of the scenes taking place under tree canopies as the platoon travel through the forest. The lighter atmosphere of the present is also highlighted by the platoon’s actions in their joking, jibing, personalized uniforms and casual drug taking. This makes the tragedies they face all the more horrifying, as we have seen moments of lightness and amusement which distract the audience from the harsh reality of their situation.
The sound in this film is graphic and exaggerated. The simple sound effects, such as leaves crunching underfoot and the clicking of guns and mechanics, are amplified, which serves to create a truly engulfing atmosphere. The music is a repetitive strain switching between a jovial and carefree staccato to a dire and haunting undertone with electronic static. This mixes well with the actions of the modern day troops, who switch between fun and care free scenes of camaraderie and poignant scenes of death and loss.
The film has been classed in the ‘fantasy’ genre by a number of different websites and journalists, yet the supernatural element in this film is minimal. It is not a ghost story or horror, rather it is a film influenced by a haunting conscience. The appearance of ghosts and spectres within the plot serves as a way to tie the two story-lines together but also accentuate the guilt of the soldiers and psychological damage of war.
Though the initial concept of the plot may seem complicated, the theme of the film is simple. It is a hopeless and negative view of war and conflict from the view of soldiers who serve as puppets to their orders. This is a story of history repeating itself and death being inevitable. The humanity of the film is not in the individual but the platoon, united by their mortality and tragic fates. Whilst some war films try to focus on the politics of the war in question, or relating both sides of the story, this film could have taken place during any two wars and still had the same impact.
Whilst an understanding of Bosnian history may enlighten you to the actions behind the two plot lines in this film, the message and theme of it is not difficult to grasp. This is a film of hopelessness and mortality that manages to be both gripping and enjoyable despite its serious message. AC
Film: 14-18: The Noise And The Fury
Year of production: 2008
UK Release date: 4th April 2011
Distributor: Kaleidoscope
Certificate: E
Running time: 100 mins
Director: Jean-François Delassus
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country of Production: France
Language: French
Review by: Matt Castagna
With its unique first person narrative comes 14-18: The Noise And The Fury, a pastiche of restored and colourised footage which serves to document The Great War (WW1) in refreshing but at times disturbing clarity. Director Jean-Francois Delassus couples archive footage from the war, with clips from one or two other mediums, in order to construct a graphic tale with a raw slant.
The film centres around Protag, a young Frenchman who enlists to fight, fuelled by little more than his own sense of adventure. A common misconception at this time was that life as a soldier was both heroic and glorious, a misconception that feeds his desire further. However, what begins as a naive soldier’s journey into the great unknown soon becomes something much darker as Protag becomes quite literally bogged down in the conflict that would shape Europe for the next century.
In amongst the explanations and general overview of The Great War as a whole, Protag’s plight remains a key feature throughout, with vivid and descriptive dialogue depicting life in the trenches. His experiences of death and destruction remain prominent throughout, as is his struggle to maintain a sense of faith in a war that is remembered less for the lion hearts and more so for the brutality of killing fields and machine-gun warfare.
The English language version features an enticing reading by Paul Bandey, whose frank voiceovers provide a foreboding feel to proceedings…
Engaging its audience via the identification of the reluctant hero Protag, 14-18 invests our interest in his plight whilst giving an overview of the story of the First World War – the players, the pieces, the grand scale game of chess played across what is now Modern Europe. No stone is left unturned in what is, at times. a difficult watch, particularly when the film shifts to the more personal tribulations. The grimy reality of living in trenches, struggling with the biting cold of the weather and the mud, the gnawing of the rats, even the agony of lice, all torturous reminders of a soldier’s daily drama.
The changing visuals of black-and-white stills combined with colour footage from films, some entertaining comedy at the hands of a Mr. Charlie Chaplin, and action on the battlefield create a stimulating aesthetic, but the most poignant tool at Delassus’ disposal is the piercing narration of Paul Bandey. The combination of Bandey’s ominous narration and the sombre musical tones makes its mark on more than one occasion, dictating the mood throughout.
Another area in which the film excels is in illustrating the true paragons of particular emotions. The glory of national pride remains prominent throughout. The scenes in which soldiers write their letters to loved ones, masking their fear with words of hope and bravery, thus maintaining the aforementioned misconceptions of heroic glory, are especially eye-opening. Vengeance is also explored throughout; in the face of such ruthless cruelty, Protag instantly becomes consumed by a thirst for revenge, following one or two terrible injuries.
Of course, 14-18 is not intended as a comfortable watch, merely providing the odd moment of respite, in which we are filled in on more general details, before returning to the first-hand experiences of Protag and his comrades. This acts as a means of identification with the soldiers, who once in a while take a short break from the battlefield and return to their home towns and cities, only to be called back out to fight all too soon. The soldiers’ faith and in turn our own is tested, and in their despair, both soldiers and the townsfolk they have left behind look to the Church for renewed hope.
Protag’s story is gripping to the end, the powerful mix of devastating action scenes combined with the damaging emotional effect on our main protagonist producing a stunning climax as the war reaches its end and Protag learns his final fate.
Many war films fall flat by focusing too much attention on either mindless violence, or one story in amongst a million. 14-18: The Noise And The Fury succeeds in tying in two primary elements almost seamlessly – the arcing story of senseless warmongering and the faithless plight of the walking wounded.
The film at times feels like a throwback to the chalkboards and musty textbooks of history lessons; however, should 14-18: The Noise And The Fury be added to the school syllabus some day, the engaging content might see a sudden uprising of the average pass rate.
Delassus’ innovative and well structured documentary provides an absorbing and, at times, brutal angle to one of the great stories in recent history. 14-18: The Noise And The Fury endeavours to deliver exactly what it says on the tin, and packs quite a punch. MC
Film: The Living And The Dead
Release date: 21st February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 87 mins
Director: Kristijan Milic
Starring: Filip Sovagovic, Velibor Topic, Slaven Knezovic, Marinko Prga, Borko Peric
Genre: Fantasy/War
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Two time periods, two groups of conscript soldiers, one haunted hillside that leads them to their destruction. Kristijan Milic’s The Living And The Dead paints a brutal, uncompromising portrait of these two bloody moments in the history of the Balkans as we see men separated by time but united by grim circumstance fight their way across the unchanging and blood-soaked lands of Serbia.
Both groups are on the run from superior forces and take shelter in a graveyard as their enemies close in around them and their final battles begin.
As their numbers inevitably start to dwindle, the men begin to question the value of their orders and, ultimately, their struggle, choosing instead to search for something of greater meaning.
The survivors are menaced by the ghostly images of their fallen comrades and struggle to come to terms with their visitations and the actions that each man has taken…
There is no specific plot as such. The film offers multiple viewpoints and no particular central character from whose point of view a story is told. Closest to this would be the duel characters of Tomo (1993) and Martin (1943), both played by Filip Sovagovic as grandfather and grandson. Martin, in particular, is the everyman moral compass of the piece and, in both time periods, he is surrounded by the usual cohort of two dimensional squaddies. One of these, Vielli (Velibor Topic), the brutal ex-boxer killing machine offers the only other true character perspective.
The rest of the troop is drawn from the war film staples: the cowardly young kid, the cynical weathered officer, the comic relief... From when the battles begin in the first thirty minutes, it is clear that the only real objective is survival. Thus the film transfers from the war genre into something much more akin to survival horror as, inevitably, the characters are picked off one by one, and the ghostly supernatural element begins to fully present itself.
Clearly aimed at a Croatian/Balkan audience, the film does little to disentangle the various factions at play. In the more modern story, the enemy is simply described as ‘The Serbs’ and ‘The Muslims’. In the past story, the enemy is the Serbian communists and our protagonists are drawn from the Croat State conscripts. This confusion, however, has very little bearing upon any enjoyment of the film, which carries as a statement nothing more complicated than “war is hell” and “we’re all going to die anyway.”
As the soldiers enter the graveyard area and the ghosts begin to appear, the film enters its strongest moments. The raw psychological effects of being alone and hunted in the dark are delivered compellingly by the ensemble cast who manage to retain the humanity of the soldier in the face of the paranormal twist. The simplicity of the ghosts who appear merely as people who the characters know are dead, staring uncompromisingly at their former comrades, allows us to retain the belief that their images are born as much of stress and combat fatigue as from any cursed patch of ground or ectoplasm. This marries with a film that is no gore-fest. The most harrowing scenes of corpses better resemble war correspondent footage than horror film gratuity.
As reflected in the numerous awards at the Pula Film Festival, including Best Film and Best Director, the film’s visuals merit the strongest praise. The Croatian location shooting contributes much to the film’s feel and style. A grey, brooding, empty desolate wasteland, helped only by minimal effects, adds to a sinister, windswept dread that makes soldier after soldier crack under its weight. Effective, too, is the choice of music that mirrors the triumphal martial dirges glorifying national pride. Played alongside the dire consequences of extreme nationalism, the irony is unmissable.
The film seems almost to go out of its way not to make sense either of the issues of the two wars or debate their rationale. Such exposition, as is offered, tends to be devoted to establishing our limited characters and including as many ethnic jibes as possible. This appears to be a deliberate tack, and expands upon the films message in presenting the senselessness of conflict regardless of the context. This is further indicated by the casual barbarity eschewed by some but jokingly tolerated by most. There is graveyard humour as items stolen from the slain are then handed on as the platoons are whittled down by enemy action and ghostly occurrences.
The film invites us to consider all its protagonists as dead from the moment they appear on screen with its opening text insert: "We are all dead, only buried sequentially." That being the case, it can be challenging to feel much beyond a general distaste for warfare as the protagonists begin their inevitable dwindling in number. The experience is greatly enhanced, however, by a rudimentary understanding of the conflicts it seeks to mirror. The film is perhaps guilty of not offering enough of grounding to non Balkans for whom much of its intricacy and allegory are lost.
The Living And The Dead might make for somewhat heavy going for the interested outsider. As evidenced by its winning reception at Pula, there is a great deal more to this film for those for whom the Bosnian conflict is both all too real and all too recent. For them, one suspects the ghosts take on a symbolism that a foreigner can never truly share. NB
Film: Primal
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Josh Reed
Starring: Krew Boylan, Lindsay Farris, Rebekah Foord, Damien Freeleagus
Genre: Horror
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Australia
This is an English-language release.
The arrival of Wolf Creek in 2005 announced Australia as a genuine source for respected modern horror cinema, but the output since has done little to build on that promise. So the release of Primal on DVD brings with it a certain amount of buzz that there is a new Australian horror with teeth. But is Primal the beast it promises to be?
Beginning 12,000 years ago, Primal kicks off with an Aborigine painting on the wall outside a cave. Unbeknownst to him, something is watching him, and it’s only a matter of time before there is more than paint splattered on the rock.
Jumping forward to the present day, we follow six friends in the Australian wilderness who are out to be the first to see the painting for thousands of years. Passing through the cave, the youngsters disturb something, and it’s not long before a dormant creature awakens - and it’s hungry.
After swimming in water infected by the creature, Mel (the blonde promiscuous one) develops a fever. Then she develops sharp teeth, and a taste for raw meat. Soon the group are in a fight for their lives as the infection spreads and the infected attack.
If they are to survive, they will have to become as primal as the infected, and battle their fears to find out what is truly happening around them…
There are many forces at work in Primal. On the surface, it is a slasher based around the idea of infection, in a similar vein to Cabin Fever. Further into the film, we get into the squelchy realms of a monster movie that seems to want to be a cross between The Thing and The Descent. Then there is the idea that if a member of the group becomes primal, the uninfected will have to reduce themselves to a similar state in order to survive. Twinned with this theme is the nature of the wild and the wilderness, respect for which should be maintained lest you fall foul of something with teeth. Shame, then, that Primal never comes close to reaching the level of the films it riffs on, and doesn’t manage to make the themes work on any level.
The opening scene offers some creepy promise; with an Aboriginal painter placing what we come to learn is a warning on the wall of a cave, occupied by a mysterious and hungry creature. It is a good looking scene, with an effective stalk-and-slash moment, which efficiently sets up the rest of the film. As in the majority of modern horror, we are then introduced to a collection of clichéd young adults as they make their way to the cave to view the painting. We meet the lone woman with a dark past that haunts her, the alpha male who can’t keep his torso covered, the promiscuous blonde and her irritating boyfriend, plus a comedy male, and a pointless photographer who seems there simply to even up the genders. It isn’t impossible to draw convincing characters in a claustrophobic horror setting as Neil Marshall proved with The Descent, however, here the characters appear as nothing more than fodder for the infection or infected.
If Primal’s comedy was genuine instead of accidental then this would work, and the film would be an enjoyable romp. What we get instead is a film short on just about everything that makes horror work effectively, such as gore, menace, escalating terror and convincing performances.
Josh Reed, directing his first feature, does a decent job of building tension early on. The characters, while never being interesting enough to care about, are put through their paces to reasonable effect, arriving at the cave, discovering one’s claustrophobia, and another’s libido, building nicely to the moment when the first unfortunate cliché is infected by a virus that will turn her primal. The manifestation of the infection is also handled reasonably well, at first, with a fever, then loss of teeth, and finally the growth of hideous fangs. It is when the infection takes hold proper, and the horror begins, that the film falls apart. Reed’s ideas are clearly bigger than his budget, and the effects are bad to the point of unforgiveable. The direction, at times, lacks any real skill, and the underuse of the Australian wilderness is almost criminal.
Hinted at throughout is the fact that there is something living in the cave. The arrival of the characters causes it to wake up, and the infected feed it at regular intervals. This is supposed to build tension as we are waiting for the moment when the survivors flee the infected and enter the cave. When they do, what could have been an effective (if completely insane) climax turns out to be a nonsensical mess that is little more than an excuse for the most appalling CGI you are ever likely to see. Instead of the intense, insane climax hoped for, what we get is something tasteless, confusing and utterly uninspired.
Primal feels confused and cheap. Every time the film threatens to be fun, it pulls away and frustrates with its lack of genre savvy and awful characters. It’s a pity, as somewhere in the mess is a good idea waiting to get out, and a director who clearly isn’t short of imagination. Primal could have been a fun entry into a well established genre, or it could even have been a relevant, original and visceral horror. Instead, it seems the filmmakers didn’t know which way to take it, and it turns out to be neither. It would be a shame to think that Australian horror peaked with Wolf Creek, but this offering gives little evidence to the contrary. RM
Film: Red And White
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Yadi Sugandi
Starring: Doni Alamsyah, Rahayu Saraswati, Lukman Sardi, Darius Sinathrya, T. Rifnu Wikana
Genre: Drama/War
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Indonesia
Western history has largely ignored the fate of Indonesia in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. The fight to regain the country’s freedom from Dutch colonial rule is the subject matter of Red And White, cinematographer Yadi Sugandi’s debut feature as a director. The film is the first instalment in a trilogy celebrating Indonesian independence, and as the most expensive film in the country’s history, carries a great weight of expectation.
Red And White begins with archive WWII footage, alongside which we are informed that, in 1945, two days after the Japanese Emperor’s surrender in the Pacific, Indonesia declared its independence. In 1947, 100,000 Dutch troops arrived at Indonesia’s coastline in order to re-establish Dutch rule of the country. The archive footage fades and we are deep in the Indonesian jungle, as Dutch troops advance on a poor farming family, and viciously and needlessly murder everyone in sight. Hidden from view, Tomas (Alamsyah) watches as his family is murdered; and a soldier is born.
After this fast paced and intense opening, we are then introduced to a number of characters from various social and religious backgrounds, all of whom are joining the Republican army with different motivations. Amir (Sardi) is a school teacher who dreams of a free Indonesia for future generations, unaware that his wife is pregnant. Marius (Darius Sinathrya) is an arrogant ‘city boy’ who seeks personal glory. As the cadets begin their training, tensions run high between Tomas and Marius, but the two must set aside their differences and focus on the common goal: an independent Indonesia. As the group eventually bond, and graduate as soldiers, they are immediately thrust into the thick of the action, as the bombs start falling…
Red And White are the colours of the Indonesian flag, and there is a patriotism which runs through this celebration of triumph over adversity. This is very clear from the heroic exploits of the Indonesian freedom fighters, and the cold, heartless representation of the Dutch soldiers. Strange, then, that the film is written by American father/son team Rob and Conor Allyn. The older Allyn certainly has experience of working in Indonesia, having spent a large part of his career making television there, and there is a tangible affection for the country in their story. Equally obvious is the influence of American war films such as The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes, with the camaraderie within the group which gradually emerges as the film goes on. A less positive aspect of these influences is the melodrama which distracts from the historical significance of the story. Soaring, dramatic music plays over scenes of sisters and wives seeing their loved ones off to battle, and enemy soldiers utter such preposterously evil lines as: “these natives, so easy to kill,” which could feasibly be accompanied by an Austin Powers style group mwuhahaha.
Such weaknesses in the script are accompanied by equally stilted battle sequences, particularly in the scene in which the Dutch forces interrupt the cadets’ graduation night. The scene begins well with an explosion, which provides both a jolt in the middle of a mellow party and a huge and impressive pillar of fire. What follows is a series of overly staged deaths, in which extras wait around for their moment to be dramatically gunned down, and characters deliver overly sentimental dying words, all of which is accompanied by explosions quite blatantly provided by studio lights. There is no sense of the frantic, frightening brutality of war here. This is a shame as there are powerful and thought-provoking moments; particularly when a group of villagers tell the soldiers that they would rather take their chances with the Dutch, which raises questions about the nature of freedom.
The actors do a good job of evoking a group spirit and unity in the face of peril, but are again let down by the script which does not provide enough character development to reach the desired levels of empathy. Considering the film is the first in a trilogy, it would have benefited from more time getting to know the characters. A flashback into Amir’s past is well framed, and helps to explain his motivations, but it is the only scene of this kind and, despite being one of the better elements of the film, seems out of place.
Of course, a film which is made specifically to celebrate Indonesian independence is going to be one-sided, but there are questions that are never explored, such as how a nation which had itself been under Nazi occupation could commit such acts of cruelty. Such moral conundrums are not even approached by Sugandi, and we are left with a mediocre, lightweight war film instead of what could have been a thoughtful piece, which not only praised the resistance to oppression but analysed it. There is a remarkable story to tell here, but Red And White fails to do it justice.
Poorly written, well-acted and unevenly put together, Red And White is a mixed bag. The historical situation is interesting enough to hold the attention, but the film is never powerful or dramatic enough to generate any real emotion. While there are enjoyable moments, there is not enough here to make returning to the story for the sequel worthwhile. PK
This is an English-language release.
From the producer of Australia and Happy Feet, and the SFX maestro behind MI3, Blade 2 and Underworld, comes a brutal and slick horror film from director Josh Reed.
Winner of the 2010 Audience Favourite Award at Frightfest, the film centres around six friends who head out to the deepest Australian outback to track down ancient cave paintings.
But after a late night skinny dip, one of the girls becomes violently ill and slowly regresses into a vicious predatory state. She has gone.....Primal!
Film: Primal
Release date: 28th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Josh Reed
Starring: Krew Boylan, Lindsay Farris, Rebekah Foord, Damien Freeleagus
Genre: Horror
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Australia
Fifty years apart, two armies will fight to the same death...
In this award winning adaptation of Josip Mlakic’s popular novel, first time director Kristijan Milic expertly illustrates that those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
It’s the same place, the same circumstances, but fifty years apart. Weaving between warfare in 1943 and 1993, this war film highlights the haunting parallels of both: a squadron of HVO (recent Bosnian Croat’s Army soldiers) as they walk the same path and the same fate of their Domobran (defenders of the Croat Independent State) forefathers – half a century before them.
As soldiers from both eras make their way toward an eerie cemetery, the hopeless cycle of bloodshed seems to repeat itself continuously and forever. We are all dead, just waiting to be buried.
Film: The Living And The Dead
Release date: 21st February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 87 mins
Director: Kristijan Milic
Starring: Filip Sovagovic, Velibor Topic, Slaven Knezovic, Marinko Prga, Borko Peric
Genre: Fantasy/War
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: Croatia/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Film: Bella
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: PG
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Starring: Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angélica Aragón
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: USA/Mexico
This is a majority English-Language release.
Mexican director Alejandro Monteverde’s first – and so far only – feature length film is a cross cultural story of love set in New York City. Unambiguously belonging to the indie school of filmmaking, its softly paced tale envisions pain as a path to redemption. In the words of the director, “Each person’s pain becomes each person’s medicine. It becomes each other’s redemption.”
José works as a chef in a restaurant owned by his brother Manny, who trades on the chicness of their Mexican ethnicity for the restaurant’s fashionable reputation. Manny conducts himself with the air of a mini dictator in his small kingdom, indifferent to the personal lives of his staff, and oblivious to their daily trials and dramas. When one of the waitresses, Nina, is late one too many times, he fires her, unaware that she has just discovered that she is pregnant.
Nina flees the restaurant in angry despair, but José, unlike his brother, is unable to stand by and watch another human being suffer without trying to help. Amongst the urban chaos of the city, José begins to earn Nina’s trust, and gradually draws out her story.
Retreating to the tranquillity of José’s parents’ beach house, he eventually reveals, in piecemeal flashback, the story of a traumatic event in his own mysterious past. Why did he throw away a successful career as an international footballer to work in anonymity in his brother’s restaurant? Why is his brother Manny so insecure in contrast to his warm hearted family? Reflecting upon the painful events of their past, José and Nina discover an unexpected symmetry in their experiences which enables both to achieve redemption…
The film – with the exception of the flashbacks and the final scene – takes place over the course of a day and a night, with its emphasis on emotional revelation and reflection rather than any dramatic occurrences. The very gentle pace at which the relationship between Nina and José progresses reflects how slowly trust builds between two wounded individuals. This structure, and the film’s contemplative, poetic mood make it reminiscent of Before Sunrise, but while the chemistry between the two leads is convincing and tender, the film’s attempts at profundity and soulfulness are heavy handed, and lack the originality which made Before Sunrise a more authentic stab at conveying the questioning nature of youthful love.
The film’s opening shot gives a fair indication of Bella’s tone of folksy contemplation. Against images of seagulls careering over sunlit waves, José says, “My grandmother always said, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” José takes Nina to meet his parents, whose warmth and fierce love for their children clearly helped to form his open-hearted and generous character. The home life of his Mexican/Puerto Rican parents is full of dancing, laughter, tears, good food and tequila - more clichés than you could shake a maraca at, making it hard to take the intended point, regarding the importance of family life in developing character, seriously.
Eduardo Verastegui as José sports a magnificent beard in the manner of a biblical prophet, which, together with his stained chef’s overall, fails to hide his film star looks, all twinkling and crinkling eyes. His character’s unremitting goodness, while admirable, stretches the bounds of credulity, but Verastegui expresses the humility of remorse and the courage of compassion with conviction. Tammy Blanchard also puts in a solid performance as Nina, switching between prickly anger and a fierce independence and sorrowful vulnerability, although she is let down by the film’s most pedestrian dialogue when she talks about the moral dilemmas of her pregnancy. There is a strong supporting cast, whose contributions help to build the director’s vision of how the accident of personality and chance encounters create the narratives of these people’s lives.
Bella was panned by critics on its release but won the People’s Choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, and that gives a fair indication of what can be expected from it. Visually Bella is not particularly striking, and it has some hoary old clichés in its script writing and some over familiar scenarios. But the performances are of a high standard and there is some effective intercutting between past and present scenes which give immediacy and drama to the revelations of José’s former life. It’s a wistful vision of how we should treat each other, rather than a deeply soul searching exercise; its openly and perhaps naively tender hearted approach is likely to divide viewers one way or another.
A sentimental and thoughtful rather than groundbreaking love story, Bella is the filmic equivalent of hot chocolate and churros, dabbing at emotional wounds with a cotton wool touch. KR
This is a majority English-language release.
Bella is a beautiful modern day romance based in New York and starring Eduardo Verastegui (CSI Miami) and Tammy Blanchard (Moneyball, Rabbit Hole).
Winner of the highly coveted People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, and Best Picture and Best Actor at the MovieGuide Awards, Bella is a powerful and moving, utterly unique story that will lift your spirits and capture your heart.
An international soccer star (Verastegui) is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when a series of events unfold that brings his career to an abrupt end.
A beautiful waitress (Blanchard), struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she’s unprepared for.
In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down....until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day into an unforgettable experience.
Film: Bella
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: PG
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Starring: Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Ali Landry, Angélica Aragón
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: USA/Mexico
In 1947, the war was over for the rest of the world. In Indonesia, it was just beginning.
Set against the historically authentic backdrop of Indonesia’s fight for Independence, Red And White is the story of a fictional band of revolutionary cadets facing a massive Dutch onslaught. When their classmates are massacred, the four survivors overcome deep differences in religion, class and personality to band together as guerrilla fighters.
Defeated, leaderless and on the run, the cadets rise above petty rivalries to strike a blow for the Red and White (the Indonesian flag). To become free, they become one.
From the production teams behind Saving Private Ryan, Blackhawk Down, The Dark Knight, The Matrix and The Thin Red Line comes this stirring tale of heroism, survival and brotherhood.
Film: Red And White
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 18
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Yadi Sugandi
Starring: Doni Alamsyah, Rahayu Saraswati, Lukman Sardi, Darius Sinathrya, T. Rifnu Wikana
Genre: Drama/War
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Indonesia
An international football star (Eduardo Verastegui) is on his way to sign a multi-million dollar contract when a series of events unfold that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress (Tammy Blanchard), struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she’s unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down…until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day into an unforgettable experience.
Film: Bella
Release date: 1st October 2010
Certificate: PG
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Alejandro Gomez Monteverde
Starring: Tammy Blanchard, Eduardo Verastegui, Manny Perez, Ali Landry
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: Cinema
Country: USA/Mexico
Film: Jackie Chan & The Kung Fu Kid
Release date: 9th August 2010
Certificate: 12
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Gangliang Fang & Ping Jiang
Starring: Yishan Zhang, Jackie Chan, Qixing Aisin-gioro, Bing Bai, Guo Ke-yu
Genre: Martial Arts/Drama/Family/Action
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: China
Originally and more accurately titled Looking For Jackie, this 2009 Chinese family comedy has been retitled for its UK release in a cynical attempt to cash-in on Jackie Chan’s recent Karate Kid remake. But with little screen time for the martial arts legend, does the film offer enough elsewhere to placate fans angry at being duped into picking up this DVD?
The story begins in Indonesia, with 15-year-old Zhang Yishan (played by a young TV actor of the same name) performing badly at school, showing no aptitude for Chinese language or culture, and being barely bullied by his classmates as a result. His problem? An obsession with every 15-year-old boy’s favourite kung fu hero, Jackie Chan. His solution? To track down Jackie Chan and become his protégé (obviously). Yishan has the chance to make this dream a reality when he learns that Jackie is working on a new film in Beijing.
So, under the pretence of going to visit his stereotypically strict grandparents, he hits the road. Unfortunately for Yishan, he really isn‘t all that clever. Arriving at the wrong destination several times, he eventually endeavours to fall a little foul of a family of thieves with a tragic history.
As these various obstacles and distractions threaten to derail his pilgrimage, the promise of meeting Jackie and finding some manner of personal development seems further and further away…
Jackie Chan & The Kung Fu Kid is, at best, likely to leave fans feeling short changed, given that he only appears for a few minutes at the beginning and the end. In a similar vein, whilst he does briefly show off his martial arts skills, for the most part his role is to provide advice and guidance to the not overly troublesome Yishan, telling him to respect his elders and try harder at school. The film features no martial arts training whatsoever, with our hero’s journey coming across as a pointless and meandering one that mainly just depicts him blundering around and encountering a series of decent, everyday people, who are patient enough to help him on his way. Even the ‘bullying’ aspects of the film, and his ‘dramatic’ run in with the family of criminals are underplayed, with no obvious violent, threatening or traumatic overtones. As such, the film comes across as one long after school special - essentially a lecture, and whilst most people will certainly agree that Yishan needs a good shake to wake him, spending an hour-and-a-half waiting to find out if he’ll settle down and study hard like a good Chinese boy may be a bit of a stretch.
The film was directed by Jiang Ping and Fang Gangliang (Home Run) and has the distinct feel of being made for television. It’s full of awkward, static camera set ups and incredibly unnecessary editing effects. Also, for no apparent reason, Ping and Gangliang feel the need to constantly throw in some very out of place moments of slow motion and speeded up action, all of which only serves to leave the viewer with a vaguely amateurish impression.
What action scenes that do feature are woefully handled and clumsily displayed, and the only real appeasement for fans of the martial arts genre will be found in spotting some of Jackie Chan’s old sparring partners such as Yuen Wah or Yuen Wu. Any fleeting satisfaction gleaned from face spotting is quickly washed away again by the tide of tedium, however.
A little research shows that Jackie Chan & The Kung Fu Kid was certainly a hit at the domestic box office, setting a new record for local children and family friendly productions. The film is not unwatchable and there is some ironic fun to be had, mostly due to its stiff lipped and po-faced tone. However, for anyone expecting to see much of Jackie Chan, martial arts action in general, or even an engaging ‘rights of passage’ tale about one boy’s journey into manhood, will be left disappointed. PD
Film: Winter In Wartime
Release date: 31st May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 103 mins
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Starring: Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick Van Wageningen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Melody Klaver, Anneke Blok
Genre: War/Drama
Studio: Kaleidoscope
Format: DVD
Country: Netherlands
Based on a popular Dutch youth novel from 1975, Winter In Wartime (Oorlogswinter) is an unpretentious tale of an adolescents’ transformation into manhood towards the end of the Second World War, and he having to come to terms with the complexities of the adult world.
The story is set in a Nazi occupied village in Holland, and centres on a 14-year-old boy named Michiel (Martijn Lakemeier), the son of the local Mayor, Johan (Raymond Thiry). Michiel doesn’t conceal his contempt towards the Germans, especially since he believes his father is always ‘sucking up’ to them in a bid to keep on their good side.
Since the Occupation of the Nazis, life has become rather mundane for the Dutch boy who desires for a little excitement to relieve the hours of boredom, and the arrival of his beloved uncle Ben (Yorick Van Wageningen), a member of the résistance, only infuses his need of adventure.
On a bitterly cold night, he gets his wish when he sees a burning plane descend into the woods. By way of a friend’s brother, who is also part of the résistance, Michiel comes into the possession of a piece of paper with directions to the whereabouts of the British fighter pilot called Jack (Jamie Campbell Bower) who survived the crash. He locates the wounded airman and decides to help him escape. But his actions have devastating consequences and his innocence is lost forever...
Winter In Wartime is a coming-of-age film that uses the Second World War as its backdrop. Surprisingly this works extremely well, with much of the credit having to go to its leading player, Martijn Lakemeier, who delivers a powerful portrayal as the protagonist Michiel. His transformation into manhood takes place steadily over the course of the film, and considering Lakemeier is a first-timer, his acting ability is mature and convincing, and he steals almost every scene. The other cast members do a great job, and underplay their parts in order not to over shadow Lakemeier.
The craftsmanship of the crew must not go unrecognised either. The cinematography, photographed by Guido Van Gennep, is quite stunning. As the camera pans across the snowy picturesque landscape, we see the contrast between a beautiful Dutch village and the ugliness of war.
Although the film is set during the 1940s, it does have a contemporary feel to it. Being a story that was written for young adults, the action sequences tend to, on occasion, balance between reality and fantasy. But when it does slip slightly over into the realm of disbelief, reality soon pulls it back. Unlike many other war films, the body-count in this feature is rather low, which gives those few death scenes that the film does contain much more impact.
Up until the first half-hour of the film, Michiel’s naïve understanding of the circumstances that take place around him are perhaps typical for a boy his age in that kind of situation. He sees his father as a weak figure that’s always agreeable with the Nazis, but he is, in effect, making his judgement by looking through the eyes of an adolescent, and doesn’t fully appreciate, at this point, the predicament his father is in. However, not all respect has been lost. A tender moment shared between father and son comes when Michiel is taught how to shave, a scene that puts him one step up on the ladder to adulthood.
Through certain events, which force him to “grow up,” Michiel starts to realise things aren’t so black-and-white anymore. One particular scene, which has him being saved by a German soldier after he falls into an ice-covered lake, demonstrates perfectly this new confused state of mind he now possesses, and his altered perception of the world in which he lives. As the film progresses, the circumstances that start to develop lead Michiel to question the sincerity of those closest to him and his loyalty to his family.
The film isn’t faultless by any means. For instance, the bonding between Michiel’s sister Erica (Melody Klaver) and the English airman Jack appears a little too rushed, but, nevertheless, their intimacy is needed in order for the character of Erica to play a vital role in assisting the wounded pilot in his attempt at escape.
Winter In Wartime is an enjoyable and gripping yarn that keeps the viewer intrigued all the way through, producing an ace card by presenting a twist in the narrative towards the film’s end. A well deserved candidate for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. SLP
