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Film: The Warrior And The Wolf
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 30th May 2011
Distributor: Universal
Certificate: 18
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Zhuangzhuang Tian
Starring: Maggie Q, Jô Odagiri, Tou Chung-hua
Genre: Action/Drama/Fantasy
Format: DVD
Country of Production: China/Hong Kong/Japan/Singapore/USA
Language: Mandarin
Review by: Rob Markham
Glorious landscapes and grandiose battles come as standard with the Chinese epic. From Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon to Hero, we have been dazzled by their beauty. The Warrior And The Wolf is a much more cerebral take on the genre, mixing the scale of the epic, the battles and the politics with an element of the supernatural.
Set during a time of vicious battles between the Imperial Court and various nomadic tribes in the borderlands of China, The Warrior And The Wolf tells the story of Lu, a peaceful shepherd who joins General Zhang’s army.
Initially scared and unwilling to kill, Lu rises through the ranks to become one of the most fearsome warriors in the army, and when General Zhang is taken prisoner by one of the tribes, Lu negotiates his release by trading the son of the tribe’s prince for his General.
When the General is sent home injured, Lu takes command of the army and leads them on the journey home when the snow comes. The heavy snow makes the journey impossible and the army must take shelter in a village occupied by the Harran tribe. The Harran are supposedly cursed, and when a sexual relationship forms between Lu and a beautiful widow, the curse is revealed.
Years later, General Zhang returns to the borderlands to deliver the Imperial Edict detailing the tribe’s surrender. When two of his men shoot at two wolves and are found dead later that night, a hunt ensues…
Initial expectations and the opening captions of The Warrior And The Wolf would seem to suggest that we are entering the realm of the epic. However, if you are expecting this to be in line with Chinese epics such as House Of Flying Daggers and Hero then you will be disappointed. Instead of the grand opulence of these films, The Warrior And The Wolf is a much more thoughtful, emotive film, short on dialogue and relying on camerawork and acting talent to convey meaning and emotion. Where in other, similar films, there would be vast battles, bathed in colour, here the few battles there are seem small in scale compared to the vast landscape on which they are played out, and the palette is very subdued, heavily reliant on autumnal and winter green, brown and white, rather than a rich, theatrical colour-scheme. The star of the show here really is the Chinese landscape. Throughout the film, we are treated to some breathtaking shots of snow covered mountains and the borderlands in spring. There is a very strong contrast between the barren and the vibrant, clearly echoing the sense of isolation the soldiers in the outpost must feel.
The performances are also of a high standard. Jo Odagiri begins suitably innocent and, under the circumstances, does a good job of conveying what it is like to lose one’s humanity through violence, using little more than facial expression and body language. Though she is given little to do, Maggie Q makes the most of a largely thankless role, and Tou Chung-hua is pitch perfect as the battle-weary General.
It’s a shame, then, that with these considerable assets, the film does not offer us much else. It is clear that director Zhuangzhuag Tian is trying to convey a more thoughtful story through his use of internal struggle, which, while played superbly by the cast, never translates into anything truly meaningful over the course of the film. Despite Odagiri’s fine performance, the character of Lu does not fully convince in his journey from peaceful shepherd to warrior, as the transition is given little development in the first act. Flitting back and forth between the past and present, we see some evidence of Lu’s compassion (his bond with a wolf cub), his cowardice (running from a training session in which he must kill a prisoner) and then his transformation proper, with a bloodthirsty rant at prisoners of war later on, but the transition is unconvincing and sorely undersold and, as a result, his place as a respected warrior is never solidified in the mind of the audience.
This problem of underdevelopment is most notable in the relationships in the film, as it would seem character development was ignored in favour of sweeping shots of the landscape and some truly awful FX work. The bond between Lu and the wolf cub is not highlighted with any real significance, despite its importance to later events; the bond between Lu and General Zhang is never allowed to breathe, and their relationship appears devoid of any meaning; and the relationship between Lu and the Harran widow turns from rape into love seemingly overnight. There are important points to be made with each of these relationships; however, the film does not give them the time of day, preferring instead to plod along, confusing and frustrating in equal measure.
There are also issues in terms of storytelling. The use of captions to provide information rather than expositional dialogue can work in the cases of historical epics, but here, especially in one particular instance, they actually work to the film’s detriment. When the army reaches the Harran village, there has been no mention of cursed tribes, and the wolves we have seen up to that point have never provided any real threat or menace, but the caption appears on screen to tell us the rumour of a curse upon the tribe. Had this information been delivered earlier in the proceedings then perhaps it would have been cause to fear the army’s arrival. As it is, when they reach the village, we are given the information we need on the screen, so all sense of tension and any wonder of the supernatural is lost - it feels as though we’re starting all over again in a different film.
There are some very important themes to be found at the heart of this film. The idea that man is little more than a beast, and his actions lead only to de-evolution or death is a strong central premise, but it takes some effort to see this clearly through the landscape Zhuangzhuang has created. By the time the final confrontation occurs, it is obvious what is going to happen, but, by then, it’s difficult to care, as there has been no effort made to bond us with the action and the characters on screen resulting in what should have been a very personal and moving experience feeling superficial and strained.
Not awful by any means, but a difficult film to sit through. The ideas are there, but their execution is handled a little awkwardly. While it’s always nice to see the majestic Chinese landscape in all its glory, it would be nicer to have it populated by fully developed characters and an engaging story to match. RM
Film: Senna
Year of production: 2010
UK Release date: 3rd June 2011
Distributor: Universal
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 106 mins
Director: Asif Kapadia
Starring: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Frank Williams, Ron Dennis, Viviane Senna
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country of Production: UK/France/USA
Language: English
Review by: Patrick Gamble
On 1st May 1994, the sporting world lost one of its most charismatic and well-loved personalities in an accident which would resonate around the world. Travelling at a perilous 130mph, Ayrton Senna crashed his Williams-Renault Formula One car into the now infamous Tamburello corner of the San Marino Grand Prix. The collision led to a piece of his suspension flying off the nose of the car and making a devastatingly fatal blow to his helmet. It followed a similar incident during the previous days qualifying heats when Austrian driver Rolan Ratzenberger slammed into the same wall and died instantly. Yet there remains something so endearing, so mesmerising about this flamboyant Brazilian that whilst both their bodies may have been regrettably swept of the track on that fateful spring weekend, Senna’s spirit continues to live on amongst the public consciousness.
Director Asif Kapadia’s documentary of this fallen celebrity focuses on Ayrton Senna’s decade competing in Formula One. We follow his journey from lowly debutant driver for Toelman through his rapid rise up the Formula One Ladder, from Lotus to McLaren (winning the world championship an impressive three times) and, finally, with team Williams, where he would abruptly end his racing career.
We witness his struggles on the track against McLaren team mate and fierce rival Alain Prost (a sideshow which undoubtedly created an unparalleled buzz around a sport not normally followed for its personal confrontations), to the off track world of rigid politics, advanced motoring technology and ludicrous financial endorsements that many, including Senna, believe removed any true sense of competitiveness from the sport long ago.
However, Senna isn’t a documentary about Formula One but rather an intimate portrait of a global superstar who staunchly stuck to his views and refused to play by anyone else’s rules. A humble celebrity who remained fiercely patriotic and charitable to his impoverished homeland, and stood not only as a spokesman for his sport, but an ambassador for everything a celebrity should be…
The film’s most significant achievement has to be the vast range of footage that director Kapadia has managed to lay his hands on (impressively convincing Bernie Ecclestone to open the private video vaults of the Formula One archives). From intimate family films to on board driver cameras, the depth of material on show invites us into not just the professional side of Senna’s life but also his private world. Like the most intricate jigsaw puzzle, it’s all wonderfully and lovingly pieced together to create a seamless flow between scenes, making the viewer feel more a part of the story than simply a fly on the wall. We witness the hard work Senna put into helping poor Brazilian children, the close knit, down to earth family unit he would escape to, and his constant professional conflicts regarding the political bureaucracy of his sport.
Unlike your archetypal sporting documentary, Senna has no single narrator, instead using personal testimonies sparingly with the majority of the film’s story being told by Senna himself from archived sound bites, press conferences and interviews. It gives the film a haunting quality, which creates an existential aroma around it, making the viewer feel like they’re on an incredibly personal journey with this fascinating and deeply spiritual man. There’s also none of the clichéd ‘talking head’ segments we’re used to from such documentaries, which often interrupt a film’s flow and inject too many external and often contradictory opinions. Instead, we are very much left to make our own opinions, deciding on our view of this racing car driver purely from witnessing his work and hearing him speak, as opposed to being dictated by what others say about him. This touchingly honest approach is achieved not through the director’s sure-handed guidance, but from Senna himself. Rarely are we presented with such a humble, shy but equally entertaining sports man - a man who clearly loves what he does far more than the fame and money that often accompanies (and corrupts this kind of monumental sporting success). This provides us with an opportunity to witness his contagiously optimistic and passionate personality as it positively radiates out from the screen.
There are many who believe this approach to documentary filmmaking is unnecessarily intrusive and crosses the line of personal privacy. The final twenty-five minutes of the film focuses on the inevitable ending – the incident of the San Marino Grand Prix. It has been argued that we could have been spared the in-car footage of Senna’s final moments, with many seeing this as an invasive, personal intrusion that leans towards gross voyeurism. However, this is a complement to the film’s ability to propel us into Senna’s world, making us susceptible to the full emotive force of this tragic accident - it makes this unfortunate outcome as powerfully upsetting as it was all those years ago.
The second act’s focus on Senna’s fierce rivalry with former team mate Alain Prost adds a whole other dimension to the blue print of this documentary, creating a thrilling tale about professional jealousy and conflict between two highly driven, competitive men at the top of their profession. Prost, however, is not our central antagonist, rather an example of how the political game of Formula One should be played. The main villain depicted here is Jean Marie Balestre, the then chief of Formula One. His constant struggles with Ayrton reveal him to be our classic pantomime baddie and their negatively charged relationship drives the narrative forward. This attention to the dramatic sideshow surrounding Senna’s career turns what could have been a painfully formulaic sports documentary into something more akin to a biopic, which, for a little while, creates a whole new narrative that pulls us deeper into this highly secretive world, successfully capturing the pomp and political circumstances of the sport.
The film’s pace is dictated by two important factors, music and editing, which, throughout the movie, combine harmoniously to catalyse the film’s emotional core. Considering the subject matter, the film had to feel fast, full of adrenaline and most importantly exciting – something modern coverage of the sport has failed to capture. The director’s flawless editing manages to combine these varying pieces of stock footage into a seamless collection of shots that moves so effortlessly that the film never loses momentum, only occasionally taking a pit stop to let us catch our breath. The music ranges from feverish Brazilian bossanova to frantic hand drums and all the way to ambient strings, which culminates in an emotional rollercoaster ride, constantly creating an appropriate mood to accompany the images we’re presented with.
This historical record of possibly the most charismatic sportsmen of modern times manages to not only act as a snapshot documenting the history of Formula One but transcends the sport and creates a highly emotive drama that will speak to a wider audience than those with a vested interest in the sport. It’s an exquisitely enjoyable journey that like Senna’s career, feels all too brief. PG
Film: New York, I Love You
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randall Balsmeyer, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
This is an English-Language release.
With the same template as Paris, Je T’aime, and with an array of directorial talents, comes a true Valentines Day staple. A romantic comedy featuring a number of familiar faces, falling in love in hip bars, on the sidewalks, in taxis – with its A-list clout comes a pastiche of short love stories in New York, I Love You.
Around this time of year come a plethora of date movies. Tinted with ideas of romance and with varying degrees of seriousness. New York, I Love You, follows a similar path to many romantic comedies of years’ past, of the ilk of Love Actually, Valentines Day and He’s Just Not That Into You, in telling a number of inter-linking stories, but with a twist. Each of the eleven stories run for just eight minutes or so, each one overseen by a different director.
The film boasts a starry cast, with the likes of Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman (who also makes her directorial debut), Hayden Christensen and Orlando Bloom more than capable of articulating every anecdotal tribute to New York City. And, of course, as one might expect, actors who play a major part in one story often criss-cross and turn up in one or two of the others.
Much like its predecessor Paris, Je T’aime, each director is encouraged to focus his or her energy on presenting love blossoming in the big city. From tales of lost love between husband and wife, to the unspoken lust of a Jewish girl for a man of Indian descent, and the seeds of puppy love, comes a montage for the modern romantic, with many more themes explored throughout…
The film begins as it means to go on, with the self-glorifying images of Manhattan Bridge and yellow taxis, and an entertaining exchange between two men who accidentally jump in the same cab. With an engrossing encounter between a thief and a girl whose attention he is trying to attract by stealing from her soon to follow, it is easy to warm to the witty charms of each character.
The writing throughout is particularly praiseworthy, and enables the audience to connect with the characters despite their abbreviated time on screen. Interactions are usually fuelled with witty conversations, and in fact, New York, I Love You functions best when comedy is the prevailing theme. One of the most memorable stories is that involving a pharmacist who convinces a young boy to take his daughter to the prom. As it turns out, the daughter is handicapped, but the film elects to stay on the more humourous side of proceedings, building to a side-splitting twist at the climax of this particular story.
As time goes on, however, certain patterns become apparent. Each anecdote contains enough narrative and back-story to construct an entire film, and the overriding issue the film never quite escapes is that each director has been required to cut and paste each scene so that every aspect is covered in eight minutes. Cutting corners like this means that the director has to rely on certain subtleties to get their message across. Sometimes this is conveyed simply with a look we don’t quite understand, but often a story passes us by without us ever quite grasping its intentions, other than the rather unsubtle suggestion to the audience of, “Look how beautiful New York is, you should come here.”
Whereas its more popular ancestors Paris Je T’aime and Love Actually appeared more well-rounded, New York, I Love You’s style alienates its audience just as we lean forward to watch more. Every intriguing, heart-warming story is immediately followed by something so far-fetched we cannot identify with the themes.
This is not the only area in which the film struggles to satisfy its audience - sadly, in places, the film is guilty of taking itself far too seriously. Very often the stories feel far too short to have conveyed any emotion at all, leaving us with a feeling that the film may only be appreciated by a pretentious critic somewhere.
As one might expect, different stories invoke differing reactions, and although one particular snippet featuring Radiohead’s No Surprises makes for an especially moving scene, it remains difficult to feel like the sum of the parts is greater than than the whole.
New York, I Love You almost feels like a mini film festival unto itself, anthologising several tenuously linked stories. In amongst the odd charming anecdote, it is easy to become lost in what is essentially an introverted work of self-importance. MC
This is an English-language release.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever.
Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship.
Film: Paul
Release date: 18th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 104 mins
Director: Greg Mottola
Starring: Simon Pegg, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman
Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi
Studio: Universal
Format: Cinema
Country: Spain/France/UK/USA
Film: Jar City
Release date: 26th January 2009
Certificate: 15
Running time: 91 mins
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Starring: Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir, Atli Rafn Sigurðsson
Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD
Country: Iceland/Germany/Denmark
Iceland is not a very big nation. With a population of just over 300,000 and a widely recognized standing as one of the happiest nations on earth, it’s not exactly a place that you need to lock your doors to feel safe at night. People’s word travels quickly, and the streets are usually pretty empty. So when something like murder happens in a country where the police don’t carry guns…well, things get a fair bit interesting.
Jar City is a twisted, complex thriller that takes a gloomy step above your run-of-the-mill Icelandic vandalism, instead dealing with rape, murder, suicide, and police corruption.
The story is told from an omniscient perspective, but primarily follows the main character Erlendur, a gritty and almost apathetic detective, played by Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson.
Erlendur fits the typical grizzled Icelandic male stereotype: he wears wool sweaters, eats sheep’s head, drives a Range Rover, and smokes a pack a day. However, in the midst of this, he also has a dreadfully promiscuous daughter, played by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, who might be just as much trouble as she’s worth to our main character.
The film opens dramatically with a geneticist, Örn, who is seemingly very distraught at his place of work, who then visits his dying daughter in the hospital. Örn’s daughter then dies and the story transitions to the scene of a murder, where we find Erlendur and his, well, sidekicks: a young and inexperienced detective named Sigurður Óli, played by Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, and a down to earth female investigator named Elínborg, played by Ólafía Hrönn Jónsdóttir.
These two investigators aid Erlendur in his investigation of the murder of a local thug named Holberg, who was formerly part of a notorious criminal trio simply called, “The Trio”. Erlendur’s investigation takes him looking for the other members of The Trio, one of whom is rotting in prison, and the other of whom is found dead underneath the floorboards of Holberg’s house. A medical mystery then begins to unfold as we find out about an alleged rape and some surprisingly exciting genetic science…
This film’s location shooting in various parts of Iceland makes this a gorgeous yet bizarre film to watch; the Icelandic urban, suburban, and rural landscapes are vastly different from that of almost anywhere else on earth. But not only was the setting a treat, but the entire mise-en-scène of this film really is quite captivating, with creative and eerie lighting, superb acting, and finally, curious and intriguing backdrops in many of the scenes.
The lighting went a long way towards giving this film its eerie and almost surreal quality. Lots of glowing greens and white lights, as well as the natural dim daylight of Iceland converge to engulf the viewer in the often beautiful imagery on screen; whether that beauty be the physical setting, or the performance of one of this film’s many talented actors or actresses.
All directorial techniques and visual elements aside, this film has a plot interesting enough to grasp and hold you, but not quite enough to blow your mind. You could think of the story as a bit of a mixture between Dirty Harry and Oldboy, with much less on-screen violence, Clint Eastwood, and Koreans. There is a great degree of dialogue that drives the film, which is a plus for anyone interested in listening to a lot of Icelandic, or really submersing themselves in an interesting plotline.
The soundtrack to this film goes a long way in boosting the drama and beauty of the events unfolding on screen. It consists mainly of choruses of intensely lamenting men and women that force the audience to pay closer attention to the dramatic elements of the film, and gives it the overall feel of being grim and dark. All of the music is sung in Icelandic, perhaps adding more of a dramatic element, since the majority of non-Icelandic viewers will feel the ominous mood created by the sounds rather than focusing on the lyrics.
This film, like all others, isn’t without flaws. The acting, although very well done throughout, has its definite weak points, most notably present in people with limited screen-time. Another negative element of this film is the unsteadied camera, which more often served as a tool to involve the viewer, but at times got a bit annoying after becoming aware of it.
Jar City probably isn’t one of the best movies you’ll ever see, but it sure will satisfy a craving to see a good movie. The interesting backdrop of Iceland makes for an interesting and unusual narrative, and adds a lot of beauty to the film. All in all, Jar City is a very solid film from a small Scandinavian nation. NPW
This is a majority English-language release.
An anthology of eleven short films about seeking and finding love, all set in New York City.
The ensemble cast includes Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Shia LaBeouf, Andy Garcia, Christina Ricci, Irrfan Khan, Robin Wright Penn, Julie Christie, Ethan Hawke, Bradley Cooper and Rachel Bilson.
Film: New York, I Love You
Release date: 7th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 99 mins
Director: Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randall Balsmeyer, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, Brett Ratner
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD
Country: France/USA
Film: Paris Je T’Aime
Release date: 4th February 2008
Certificate: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Director: Gus Van Sant, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Christopher Doyle & Vincenzo Natali
Starring: Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu, Bob Hoskins, Nick Nolte
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD
Country: France/Liechtenstein/Switzerland
Paris, the city of love; and what better a location to typify love in all its splendour? But just how profound can ‘love’ be? How many different kinds of love can you count on your hand? Hard, isn’t it? This is where Oliver Assayas and Frederic Auburtin step up with Paris Je T’Aime; exemplifying all the forms of love humankind has forgotten in the hype of love being all-good, using a cohesive intensity of “stories of love, from the city of love.”
Try not to be fooled by the title – translated to Paris, I Love You - which would mislead the hopeless romantic into believing they were about to view a tale of happy-ever-after romance from the passion capital, and although this is not entirely untrue, there are other surprises in store structured around love at its best, its worst, and it’s most downright bizarre!
Paris Je T’Aime takes an innovative approach to screening the model love story - by showing the good, the bad and the ugly sides in all types of dealings. Originality is the key - this film doesn’t merely account for the soppy saga of a male and a female, and their romantic journey and fruitful encounters, but does, using eighteen short pictures produced collectively akin to a slideshow, portray eighteen mini fables of how love can take on many forms – ones often overlooked.
Each one of the five minute long shorts were put in place formerly to represent the districts of Paris, and each shot therefore is named after said administrative districts, or “arrondissements” to be precise, of the city. Although, the eighteen short films, each directed by twenty-two separate administrators, are screened collectively without any headings, nor any specified introductory or ending clarification - so focus is required to ensure full perspective is gained…
The film begins with the first short set in Montmarte where we watch as an obviously lonely man believes his luck could be in a positive transition when a woman suffering from low blood sugar levels collapses outside his car where he attends to her and they appear to hit it off immediately.
However, this optimistic short is not an example of a pattern to follow, as screened subsequently are tales of love and the possibility of it, love in its peak form, dying love, and love that has already been lost. Not only focussing upon the everyday granted relationships, the film explores homosexual relationships and the relationship between divorcees, between father and daughter, between employees and employers, between strangers on the street, between a mother and a baby, between married couples, between a grieving mother and her deceased son, between fiancés, between an actress and her drug addiction/dealer, between a blind boy and his girlfriend and, also, peculiarly, between a vampire and her prey-turned-lover!
Praise must go to the opening sequence where Paris in all its wonder and exquisiteness is shot skilfully using artistic cinematography, including awe inducing long shots of the city by day and night. Slow sweeping scans hypnotise and have the ability to make us fall in love with the charming Paris, echoing the title immediately. This captivating scene further enhances our lust for Paris, as fireworks appear onscreen alongside the great Eiffel Tower, accompanied by fairytale Cinderella-style melodies. One begins the movie adoring Paris, and ends feeling still in love but sceptical of what that love truly means and its level of sanctuary.
It would appear, as there are numerous varying characters throughout, many of whom are Hollywood big timers, including Maggie Gyllenhaal and Elijah Wood, that the city is the uniting protagonist of the show. As well as a star-studded cast, which also features the more established Gena Rowlands and Bob Hoskins, the films represent various nationalities including British, French and American. Yet, this cast of Hollywood elites and diverse representations don’t exactly improve on the show’s prominence as much as they conceivably should and perchance the main flaw with the production - the mise-en-scene is overcrowded; making for claustrophobic viewing.
The entire film is innovative and, at times, truly gripping, however, it would seem rather than the good shorts out shining and thus cancelling out the bad shorts, the ghastly drag the superior down. Even so, the unison of sensations experienced whilst watching range from cheerfulness to wretchedness, from jolt to wonder, and from perceptivity to total perplexity, so commendation should be given to the twenty-two directors for making this occur.
Each short reeks of individualism and distinction from the next, making for a fine watch. If you enjoy array in a movie and tiny segments of stories rather than an extensive drawn-out single narrative then you’ll care very much for Paris Je T’Aime and will declare the title with a personal sentiment.
Paris, Je T'Aime will have you smiling and perhaps crying, and is certainly uplifting, but mostly you’ll be left with a mood that is not just unsatisfactory but aptly uncertain and uneasy. It’s like the French take on British classic Love Actually - although, not quite as good, actually. VMF
Film: Black Lightning
Release date: 6th September 2010
Certificate: PG
Running time: 101 mins
Director: Dmitriy Kiselev & Aleksandr Voytinskiy
Starring: Grigoriy Dobrygin, Ekaterina Vilkova, Viktor Verzhbitskiy, Valeriy Zolotukhin, Ekaterina Vasileva
Genre: Action/Family/Sci-Fi
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Russia
Black Lightning is your 'typical' story of an ordinary boy, who is given an incredible flying car for his birthday. He then uses the car to become rich in order to win the heart of a girl, but becomes embroiled in a fiendish plot which could end up destroying Moscow!
Dima (Dobrygin) is the kind of boy no-one at school remembers - poor and clever - whilst his best friend is the richest and most popular boy in school.
Dima comes from a normal, down to earth family. His father is a man who believes that nothing in life matters as much as being a good person and doing the right thing, values he has tried to instil in his son. Dima is jealous of his rich friend Max who has the best clothes, the best gadgets, the best car, and, most importantly, the beautiful new girl from their Economics class.
Everything changes for Dima when he is given an old Volka car for his birthday. Ashamed at first, he may have been dreaming of a Mercedes-Benz, but never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined taking possession of the incredible car which will change his life completely.
Will Dima use his new flying car to gain wealth and success, and win the heart of the beautiful Nastya? Or will he use the car for the greater good and prevent the evil Kuptsov’s (Verzhbitskiy) plans which could see Moscow literally sinking into the Earth?
The first thing to notice about Black Lightning is that the look and tone of the film bears more than a passing resemblance to Day Watch and Night Watch. Black Lightning co-director Dmitriy Kiselev was an editor and second unit director on the aforementioned films, as well helping out with Bekmambetov’s Wanted, and the trademark car chases, slow-motion sequences, and non-Hollywood special effects are all well to the fore here. And it is a very good thing Black Lightning is so well made, because there are many familiar story elements and plot devices - Black Lightning not only wears its heart on its sleeve, it wears its derivatives on its forehead. However, Black Lightning is an enjoyable romp, so it’s not surprising a Hollywood re-make has already been mooted (with Bekmambetov rumoured to helm).
Grigoriy Dobrygin gives Dima the necessary pathos in the now familiar Peter Parker-esque role, although the paucity of his family life is illustrated without the need for clunky dialogue, which is way more successful than the Spiderman films. If there are any complaints, it is that the short run time doesn’t allow Dima an entirely believable character arc. It’s a bit rushed, but for a film aimed at the family, this is a minor quibble.
A larger quibble is that Dima’s character IS Peter Parker without the spider bite! Even his character transition is sparked by an event taken directly from the Spiderman back story, which is a shame, because Grigoriy Dobrygin’s performance may not be recognised due to the startling lack of imagination in Dima’s characterisation.
Also, as in Spiderman, Black Lightning is really a story about a girl, in this case the beautiful Ekaterina Vilkova. She plays Nastya; love interest, object of desire, and reason for Dima’s transition from nice guy nobody to selfish high-flyer. The love triangle between Nastya, Dima and Max is surprisingly well played, and it’s impossible not to really root for our heroes.
Where Black Lightning differs from other superhero films is that the real star of the show is the car. Dima’s ancient black Volka is a thing of real beauty, and the rather silly premise which enables the car to fly is good fun. Watching the car zooming above the streets of Moscow via the impressive effects is exhilarating, and there is a decent success rate for the visual gags.
Another of the features shared with Day Watch is the supporting cast, and amongst the familiar faces is the excellent Viktor Verzhbitskiy playing bad guy Kupstov. During the first third of the film, Kupstov’s relationship with Dima is especially rewarding as Dima’s moral compass is shifted by the magnetic presence of his charismatic mentor. Unfortunately, much of the good work is undone as the tension is lost when the film movie towards its cartoony climax. Saying that, we are treated to the sight of three elderly scientists being tied to a giant drill which is being used to mine underneath the streets of Moscow, as well as a flying Mercedes which bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain flying Delorean, so it’s not all bad!
Black Lightning is fun for kids of all ages, although the very young may not be able to keep up. If young children don’t like the subtitles, the dubbing is pretty good, with annoying voices kept to a minimum. The performances are decent, the story is well paced and the action is interspersed at regular intervals throughout. Even if you don’t become totally involved with the film, you can enjoy yourself spotting which script ideas have been taken from other films. SM
Film: Innocent Voices
Release date: 6th November 2006
Certificate: 12
Running time: 111 mins
Director: Luis Mandoki
Starring: Carlos Padilla, Leonor Varela, Gustavo Muñoz, José María Yazpik, Ofelia Medina
Genre: Drama/War
Studio: Universal
Format: DVD
Country: Mexico/USA/Puerto Rico
Innocent Voices, directed by Luis Mandoki, follows the story of 11-year-old Chava (Carlos Padilla) during the Salvadorian war. Based on the childhood of screenwriter Oscar Torres, it became critically acclaimed on release, winning Best Picture at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Stanley Kramer award from the Producers Guild of America.
Innocent Voices guides the viewer into El Salvador during the unrest of the 1980s, as the country was ravaged by civil-war. Political tensions had been gaining pace in El Salvador during the 1970s due to inequities surrounding the distribution of land. The enmity between the ruling elite and the criminalised left-wing political parties soon spilled over into violence, and the politically restricted parties coalesced to form the guerrilla organisation known as the FMLN in order to combat the increasingly militaristic government regime that was sponsored by the U.S. government. This is the background upon which the story of Chava is played out.
Chava is thrown into the role of ‘man of the house’ when his father leaves, charging him with the protection of the family. It is this constant tug of adulthood that is explored through the eyes of a child, who, while wanting to do the right thing, at times still yearns for the freedom of childhood that has been stripped from him by family break-up and war.
It is left to the mothers to try and protect their boys in an environment where you will be shot for being out after curfew, and gun battles between government and rebel fighters rage through the shanty towns at night. It is, however, the recruitment drives for both the government and rebel forces that pose the greatest danger for the boys of the township…
This tale of a mother’s love for her son, played out in touchingly honest scenes, cries out above the harsher realities of El Salvador during the fighting. Indeed, it is this tension that is created between the everyday and the extreme that heightens the emotion of scenes, where, for example, Kella, Chava’s mother, is simply waiting for her son to get home from playing. The pace of the film then allows a gentle yet wrenching sequence of events to take place, as Chava and his friends become more of a target for recruiters from both the military and the resistance.
As benefits the reading of such a film, the opposing forces of the government and rebels are dealt with in a manner that portrays their proximity relative to Chava and his friends. The government, although visible as an ever present force, is distanced by the lack of a focused character at the outset, and it only really come into focus for the audience as its actions begin to have a greater impact on Chava’s life.
The resistance, due to its close bearing on Chava’s everyday life, is bought into sharper focus through the introduction of specific characters that initially appear as benevolent benefactors or confidants, such as Uncle Beto and the local catholic priest. By default or design, these two role models conform to type: Uncle Beto the exciting rebel fighter, and the priest preaching goodwill in the face of violence.
Throughout the film, Chava is presented with but two choices join the government and fight or join the rebels and fight, consequently his decisions are stark and consistently defined by the rapid changes of perception he and the audience is forced to go through.
The beauty of Innocent Voices is that, while this could be a non-stop litany of pain and suffering, screen writer Oscar Torres has given us an insight into the everyday, showing us not simply the war but its proximity to ordinary life and the way in which those caught in the middle managed to find laughter and decency even when faced with destruction and death. And it is this light touch which draws the viewer into the lives of Chava and his family.
Innocent Voices shows the often forgotten personal and social struggle of those without power over their own lives, and bears witness to atrocities that are perpetrated by government and rebels alike. The critical acclaim attests to the charisma of this film and its young star. TR
