top of page
Search Results
Type
Category
806 items found for ""
- Mara (2018)In Film Reviews·September 23, 2018Whatever you do, do NOT sleep! Having problems falling asleep at night? Are you tossing and turning in bed all night? Or are frightening nightmares disturbing your well-deserved sleep? Well, in that case, I advise you not to watch “Mara“, because it could possibly get worse. Now, I myself have absolutely no problems with that and always enjoy a carefree night’s sleep. To be honest this film won’t be the cause of me lying awake in bed while staring frightened at the ceiling. In itself it wasn’t a bad movie, but I didn’t think it was too original. And certainly not scary. “Mara” is a kind of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” with a similar creature as in “Mama” who surprises certain people with a nightly visit. The reason why some enjoy this privilege is a little bland. I am certain that half of the world’s population would be eligible for this. Something unexplainable kind of explained. Yet silent about it. Kate (Olga “Oblivion” Kurylenko) is a psychologist who is called upon in a murder case. A murder case in which a wife killed her husband in his sleep. Kate has to use all her psychological knowledge to judge the suspect’s mental state. At first, it seems like Kate is a wise person who uses her analytical, down-to-earth reasoning to come to a final conclusion. But as she gets entangled in the mystery of the demon who visits poor souls during their sleep (in different stages), this intellectual attitude seems to disappear like snow in the sun. Believe me. Would I experience a few frightening confrontations with this illustrious creature, I would really believe in what those others were saying. Moreover, if I had visible evidence on video, I certainly would go to the detective who’s investigating the case to let him know what I discovered. Oh, but not our Kate. Oh no. She’s dead silent about it. No need to be scared. The fact that the succubus Mara eerily resembles the phenomenon of “Mama“, isn’t coincidental. That’s because the person who played both creeps is one and the same. Namely the Spanish actor Javier Botet. Again such a creepy, skeletal creature that walks in a staggering way. In addition to that, she also produces eerie noises. It sounds like the horrible cracking of bones. But unfortunately, she appears in the distance. In the dark, you can hardly see her. And apart from a few (very predictable) jump scares, there’s actually nothing to be scared about. I’m certain the sleep deprivation is the cause of their hallucinations. But that’s just my sober, realistic side speaking. Biggest threat? Falling asleep. No, you really can’t say this film is fascinating. There were even a few moments that it felt as if I had symptoms of sleep paralysis myself. But that’s because of the film itself. The funny thing about such films is that they always come up with a second scientist who is skeptical about the event. And even when it’s obvious that inexplicable things are happening, he approaches the phenomenon scientifically and tries to give a rational explanation for it. Apart from the phenomenal (on the physical level) acting of Javier Botet and the acceptable acting of Olga Kurylenko, it was especially Craig Conway who impressed and convinced as the war veteran Dougie, who’s fighting against falling asleep. Unfortunately, the lack of tension and the sleepwalking pace make it look rather monotonous. Are you a newbie in the field of horror, then “Mara” could make an impression. For the seasoned horror fanatics, it’s pretty sleep-inducing. My rating 4/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here0052
- Overlord (2018) - Entertaining but not what I expected after seeing the trailer.In Film Reviews·March 13, 2019The German doctor, he believes the tar in the ground has some kind of a power. He calls it his science. But it’s just an excuse to kill us. When I watched the movie “Trench 11” at the end of last year, I already said this might be the cheaper version of “Overlord“. The starting point was identical. In “Trench 11” it’s a group of soldiers who had to search an abandoned bunker of the Germans. There were rumors the Germans conducted experiments there. The Germans tried to fabricate a chemical product so they could create invincible storm troops and thus conquer the rest of the non-German-Friendly world. The biggest difference between “Overlord” and “Trench 11” is the choice of world war. In “Trench 11” they were wallowing in the trenches during World War I. “Overlord” takes place during the 2nd World War. That means a lot of raised hands and loud clacking of heels. But the rest is actually similar. A film that shows the madness of a filthy war and mixes this with non-human creatures with the madness flowing through their veins. It’s D-Day all over again. Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion by the Allies in German-occupied Western Europe. Obviously, that’s where the film got its title from. And that’s also where this film begins. A swarm of flying fortresses on their way to France to drop a load of paratroopers. It seemed as if I was watching “The Longest Day” back again. Even the ritual with the agreed code words “Flash” and “Thunder” is used in this movie (I missed the clicking though). The opening scene is still impressive and reminds you of legendary WWII films such as “Saving Privat Ryan” (although the first 15 minutes of the latter were obviously more impressive). First, it’s a genuine war-movie The first part is therefore entirely devoted to the mission of a few American paratroopers. The task they need to complete is disabling a radio tower somewhere in a French village. An extremely important assignment, it seems, It sounds far-fetched but the success of the entire invasion depends on it apparently. From the group of soldiers Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Ford (Wyatt Russell, son of) and Tibbet (John Magaro) take center stage. Boyce is the wimp. An inexperienced soldier who’s regarded by the others as useless. Ford is the leading officer who has to make sure the operation succeeds. A gut-eater avant la lettre. And Tibbet is the bigmouth of them all who brags about his sniper qualities. Something that he wants to put into practice in Berlin. He’ll put a bullet through Hitler’s head and thus end this world war rapidly. And then the horror kicks in. Their path crosses that of Chloe (Mathilde Olivier), a French resistance fighter who wants to take revenge on the German occupiers of her village. Understandable, since those Germans systematically use the inhabitants of the village as test animals. Including Chloe’s parents. From here, the film gradually transforms into a horror/zombie film. Not that it’s all so scary or nerve-racking. In my opinion “Overlord” is nothing more than a typical war film in which a commando, with a specific mission, not only battles German troops but also non-human opponents. So be prepared for lots of veined bloodthirsty creatures, blown away or crushed body parts and gallons of blood. Pulp War/Horror Movie. I wasn’t really impressed by this film. For me, it’s just a more expensive, slick version of “Trench 11“. Maybe I was misled by the trailer. The trailer suggested it would be a blood-curdling zombie movie. Ultimately, the film shows the horror of this world war in a proper way. And there are also a bunch of crazy Nazi doctors who try to create an Übermensch. Something similar as when General Ludendorff sniffs some kind of chemical stuff in “Wonder Woman“, after which he suddenly has superhuman powers. In short, “Overlord” is a pulp war/horror movie. It’s great material to create some kind of videogame from. It isn’t very original and certainly disappointing for the seasoned horror fanatic. But this much I can say. It isn’t boring. On the contrary. It’s entertaining enough. And it’s been expertly put together. It’s worth a look for sure. My rating 6/10 Links: IMDB0061
- "Papillon written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·December 11, 2018(Release Info London schedule; December 16th, 2018, Electric Cinema, 10:00) "Papillon" Based on the books 'Papillon' and 'Banco', "Papillon" follows the epic story of Henri 'Papillon' Charrière (Charlie Hunnam), a safecracker from the Parisian underworld who's framed for murder and condemned to life in the notorious penal colony on 'Devil’s Island'. Determined to regain his freedom, 'Papillon' forms an unlikely alliance with quirky convicted counterfeiter Louis Dega (Rami Malek), who in exchange for protection, agrees to finance 'Papillon’s' escape. In the glamorous world of Paris in 1931, safecracker Henri 'Papillon' Charrière (Charlie Hunnam) steals a small fortune in diamonds for local gangster Castili (Christopher Fairbank). Though he avoids detection, 'Papillon', whose nickname refers to the butterfly tattoo on his chest, makes one critical mistake; he withholds a jeweled necklace from the unforgiving crime boss and gives it to his girlfriend Nenette (Eve Hewson) instead. In retaliation, Castili frames 'Papillon' for murder, earning him a life sentence at the infamous penal colony in 'French Guiana'. On a ship bound for the remote South American prison, 'Papillon' meets meek currency forger Louis Dega (Rami Malek), who's sentenced to life for producing counterfeit bonds. There, amid thousands of violent convicts awaiting their fate, the two men reach an agreement; 'Papillon' will protect Dega and the stash of money he has hidden. In exchange, Dega will finance 'Papillon’s' eventual escape plan. Upon arrival, the shackled prisoners are met by Warden Barrot (Yorick van Wageningen), who explains the prison’s draconian rules; solitary confinement for anyone who attempts to escape; the guillotine for murderers. As they struggle to survive the nightmarish conditions, which include tropical illness, savage beatings, forced labor and public beheadings, 'Papillon' and Dega enlist the help of inmates Celier (Roland Møller) and Maturette (Joel Basman) to stage a daring escape during a torrential rainstorm. Despite their best efforts, the plan results in 'Papillon' being sent to solitary confinement for five grueling years. Emerging as a mere shadow of his former self, 'Papillon' is transferred to 'Devil’s Island', where he finds Dega waiting for him. Surrounded by prisoners who’ve been driven mad by their time in solitary, the two friends contemplate the hopelessness of their situation. But 'Papillon’s' relentless desire for freedom will not be denied. Louis Dega is arguably the most colorful role in the film. Louis is a character almost everyone will identify with because he’s someone who’s finds himself in a surprising place he knows nothing about. He’s been thrown into one of the most deplorable and miserable circumstances on earth, and has to fight his way through to survive. One of the coolest things about 'Papillon' and Dega is the way they push and pull at each other. In some ways they’re true polar opposites, and that's what helped their relationship grow into what you see in the film. The character's relationship is extremely significant to the story. If that chemistry doesn’t work, the film won’t come off the way it needs to. 'Papillon' allows the audience to see exactly how someone can snap. Not only how they can physically break, but how their mind can deteriorate as well. These two unlikely friends become so reliant on each other that a genuine love evolves between them. And that love allows them to understand not only the other person, but themselves as well. But it’s about the relationship that’s created between 'Papillon' and Dega, who initially hate each other, but who become entirely dependent on each other by the end. 'Papillon' starts as this young, ambitious, egotistical man, and he ends up a completely different person. The film’s emotional journey of self-discovery expects moviegoers around the world. Nenette (Eve Hewson) is an enigmatic French prostitute who romances 'Papillon' before he’s sentenced to life in prison. Nenette is a tragic soul beaten down by life in the Parisian underworld, She’s a smart, interesting person in the way she approaches her ambitions and dreams. She’s not a delicate flower. She’s a fighter. Although Nenette isn’t sentenced for any of her crimes in the film, the character exists in her own personal prison. Nenette and 'Papillon' are partners in crime, like 'Bonnie and Clyde'. She’s desperate to escape Paris because she doesn’t want to be a prostitute anymore. Her ambition is simply to survive, which is in keeping with the theme of the film. For 'Papillon', survival means getting out of prison. But for Nenette, her prison is a life of prostitution. One of the most important characters in the film is 'The French Guiana Penal Colony' itself. Vividly described by Charrière in his novels, the location’s nightmarish qualities needed to be abundantly clear to audiences if the film is going to have the desired effect. Remarkably, there’s a fair amount of documentary footage on the subject. A great deal of history has been written about the penal colonies. In many ways, the penal colony described in Charrière’s novel resembles a Dante-esque version of 'Hell On Earth'. This isn't a summer camp in the jungle. This is a very rough place that stood for more than 80 years. So to tell the story convincingly, the film creates something that's as terrifying as the one that actually existed. For example, the jail that 'Papillon' is sent to in Paris is very different than the prison ship that takes him to 'French Guiana'. And the prison ship is very different than the penal colony in the jungle. Each one has it's own style and personality. The film captures a sense of compression, like the belly of a beast. There’s an element of rebirth when Papillon and the others are spat out onto the beach at the end of their sea journey. The prison ship has so much texture everywhere. It's dark and greasy, and there are fires burning in the background. It gives an intensely claustrophobic feeling. Although it's cold on set, you’d still sweat inside that ship somehow. Few topics have made for more gripping cinematic drama than true tales of incarceration. From the 1932 classic "I Am A Fugitive" to the 1962 biopic "Birdman Of Alcatraz", moviegoers have thrilled to stories that depict real-life prisoners struggling to survive the brutality of institutional confinement. Filled with shocking details about life in one of the world’s most hellish environments, Charrière’s autobiographical novel became a global bestseller when it was first published in 1969 and remains a modern classic in the genre of prison literature. Amid so many acclaimed titles, perhaps none has captured audience's imaginations the way the 1973 prison adventure "Papillon" has. A box-office hit starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, the film was based on the critically-hailed memoirs of Henri Charrière, a French thief who was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life at the notorious 'French Guiana' penal colony in 1931. Based on the epic true story, "Papillon" is a thrilling adventure and a powerful portrait of the resilience of the human spirit, even in the face of utter inhumanity. The story of "Papillon" is set between the years of 1931 and 1945. Whenever you tackle a remake or a reimagining of a classic, one of the biggest hurdles is trying to differentiate it from the original without losing the integrity of the story. The solutithe idea of this film is really to capture an overarching life story rather than to just focus on the escape. The focus is not just about the prison and wrongful incarceration. It goes much deeper than that. Although Charrière’s tale is widely regarded as one of the most exciting prison stories of all time, the new adaptation of "Papillon" transcends it's genre. This film is about much more than trying to escape 'Devil’s Island'. It’s about trying to escape yourself and your past. That's the true appeal of "Papillon". Essentially, it’s a story about understanding one’s true self. The result is a stark portrait of unimaginable pain that will likely move many viewers to tears. "Papillon" contains all the elements necessary for a gritty prison thriller set in one of the world’s deadliest places, but it also includes something else; humanity. There’s plenty of visceral action and compelling drama, but it’s mainly a story of friendship. It’s about people being kind to each other in a very difficult and violent place, and it’s a testament to man’s will to endure. Sadly, much of "Papillon" is still relevant today because many men and women are incarcerated under horrific conditions, and isolation is used as a way to torment them. It’s happening all around the world at this very moment. The emotional depth is one of the favorite aspects of the film. "Papillon" is the chance to revisit the topic in a historical context, while focusing on what makes it relevant to today’s world. On the surface, it’s a thrilling adventure film.00141
- "Widows" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·October 31, 2018(Release Info London schedule; November 6th, 2018, Empire, Haymarket, 11:50) "Widows" When Harry Rawlins (Liam Neeson), Florek (Jon Bernthal), Carlos (Marvel Garvis-Ruffo) and Noel (Eric Lynch), four armed robbers, are killed in an explosive heist attempt, their widows, with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities, take fate into their own hands to forge a future on their own terms. Veronica Rawlins (Viola Davis) is the lead widow of the film who must pick up the pieces of her life after her husband, Harry, dies in a failed heist. She's sort of mysterious, but at the same time she's familiar to us. When you first meet them, the couple have already been damaged by a tragic death. They very much are bonded by grief. And then Harry dies in a heist accident and she’s left with nothing, literally nothing. Nothing in terms of finances and nothing in terms of even emotional reserve. But she decides to live. She decides to live by finishing the heist Harry was supposed to commit. Step one, employ her crew, the widows of Harry’s cohorts in crime. And people can roll their eyes, but something needs to be said about it, really. Because at what point in the history of cinema, have you seen someone who looks like Veronica and someone who looks like Harry in bed together, kissing, romantic, in love, married? Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) is a widow struggling to keep her family and dress shop afloat after Carlos death. She's a Latina woman, who faces the machismo of her culture. Ultimately, it's her decision to face her fears of the unknown that make up her mind. Linda is naïve and trusting when we first meet her. She got pregnant young in life and married her high school sweetheart, and was a mother very young. So, she didn’t really have much of an opportunity to decide, really, what she was going to do with her life. Her greatest manifestation is the story you see here. She’s a woman who’s loyal and loves her man and loves her family. Alice (Elizabeth Debicki) is a 'Polish Immigrant and married to Florek. She's the least savvy, most sheltered of the widows. She has an incredible warmth and generosity and sensitivity and she's's also very exacting and instinctive in a fascinating way. She's rigorously in pursuit of truth in it's rawest form. When we meet Alice her world is very small and repressive. She's gone from living with her mother (Ann Mitchell) in a controlled environment where she's her mother's doll, to being dominated and controlled by her husband. She's very submissive, she can’t conceive of life being otherwise because she has internalized what others have told her about herself, that she's worthless and that she needs them in order to survive. She’s told she cannot be independent emotionally, financially, socially and she believes this. Alice's journey it's such a huge arc for her through the course of the story. She goes from being someone who has accepted what the world tells her she's daughter and then she's a wife, Something to be seen and not heard, a woman who mustn’t ask for what she wants or needs, to a woman taking control of her life. The process of joining up with the other widows and taking part in the heist develops her sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Belle (Cynthia Erivo) is married to Noel. She's an ally who steps in to help the widows in their quest. Her character is strong and complex. She’s very straightforward. She's from 'The South Side' so she's no stranger to the danger that happens around her area. She's now a single mother, and she's a hairdresser but she's got smarts about her and she has almost no fear. She just knows what needs to be done in order to survive. That's where she comes from, so when she meets these women, it isn't a second thought that she's able to help. The one familiar element is that all of the men died in this fire, and they're all thieves. That’s the only thing that binds the widows together. And, also the fact that they're all broke and need to survive now. They're in a survival mode. A politician who figures into the widows master plan is Jack Mulligan (Colin Farrell). His life is already mapped out for him based on his family lineage. The son of Tom Mulligan (Robert Duvall), Jack is meant to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming the next alderman for 'The 18th Ward Of Chicago'. So, there's obviously this very distinct lineage that he's supposed to fall in line with, and Jack Mulligan is supposed to carry his father’s torch, his father who carried his father’s torch, but it’s not really what he wants. It’s not really what he’s dreamed of doing. Not only is Jack dealing with his own personal demons but he's running against an enigmatic opponent. There’s a shift in the power politic that is potentially happening, and the person who’s running against him is an 'African-American' gentleman from 'The 18th Ward', who has a history of criminality in his life. And he’s choosing to go straight, but he’s running against him. And 'The Ward' he's running to represent is predominantly 'African-American', and so it’s not looking good for him at all. Tom Mulligan is an elderly guy who’s somewhat ailing physically and still trying to keep some kind of control. Even though his son, they hate each other, love-hate, is really running the show, he’s trying to tell his son we’ve got to keep this city in our hold, in our grasps. It’s our city. We got to keep control and he doesn’t want to hear this, but they've a complicated love-hate, father-son relationship. Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry) is Jack’s political opponent in 'The 18th Ward' and a man to whom, Veronica discovers, Harry owes money. Henry says he knew he had to be a part of this special project. This is his home. You know, he says that to Jack. He’s like, you know, your family is on this ward, done all these things with this ward, but look at it. Like it hasn’t gotten anywhere. What have you really contributed to us? And that’s the best thing about Jamal is that he and his brother Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya) they’re from these streets. They’re from this area. They really do care about the people there. Now, you know, as politics go, you kind of got to do what you gotta do to get where you want to get. He's also Jamal’s protector. It’s easy to think of Jatemme as the muscle, as you know, the bully or the henchman that does what Jamal wants, but Jatemme really wants the best for his brother and wants to be right there. Whereas Jamal loves him dearly, he’s using him as a pawn, but at the end of the day Jamal is going to do what he’s got to do to get where he’s going to get. But there's a true depth to their relationship there, cause it’s just been us. You basically see how they got to where they're, and Jatemme is one of the main reasons why and how they’ve managed to get the support of the community and the funding of the community through how Jatemme moves. And he basically does a lot of things he shouldn’t be doing. In addition to helping his brother politically, Jatemme is also responsible for muscling in on Veronica to collect the money Harry owes Jamal. Veronica’s late husband did something very not nice among brothers. And they want some payback. They’re just not going to let things lie. But it’s in the middle of a political election, so they've to do things in a bit more of a discreet way. "Widows" is based on the popular U.K. television series of the same name, created by Lynda La Plante. The show transported us into a criminal world where the most vulnerable and overlooked people were women. These women were deemed incapable of anything other than being judged by their appearances, yet they took on challenges against their stereotype and transformed themselves into more than capable forces, determined to take their destinies into their own hands. Their adversaries considered the widows as people who couldn’t achieve anything, and they did. The film changes the location of "Widows" from London in the early eighties to Chicago of the present. "Widows" is set in contemporary Chicago amidst a time of political and societal turmoil. This is vital in order to also tackle politics, religion, class, race, criminality and mourning, and to look at the locale Chicago and revert it like a telescope into the global. And you just don’t see Chicago enough, the real Chicago in film. How does Chicago relate to the story of the movie? And how do the film ties those two together visually and thematically and hold onto that in a way that's legitimate; in a way that doesn't feel like taking the ideas about what the place is, or the ideas about what it should be and laying it on top of what the city is, rather than trying to find out what's really here and finding out the truth of the place. Chicago has so many levels. Political, racial, religion, policing and criminality and how all of these networks at some point crossover and have a relationship to each other. You've this vibrant city with great restaurants and beautiful high-rises on 'Lakeshore Drive', and beautifully manicured lawns and, God, what a great artistic scene and all of that. But, you've the other. You've 'The Lawndales', 'The Garfield Parks', 'Fhe Inglewoods', you know, the neighborhoods that have a high crime rate. You've 'The Segregation', and that only happens with corruption. The film wants to understand when you cross lines, how things change and how neighborhoods change. Ultimately, the film showcases every part of the city. And each of the characters come from really diverse backgrounds. What's so exciting about it's the different stories of all these different women, and also Jamal Manning and also Jack Mulligan. It's very challenging to say, how do you find each one of these stories? How do you keep them visually discreet from one another? For instance, with Chicago architecture, a lot of apartments kind of look the same, so saying okay, how you find these really radically different looking places for these different women and make them appropriate? You know, not making those random choices but finding each character in a different kind of a place. And having it be the kind of thing that the character needs. Veronica’s penthouse has a great quality, these floor-to-ceiling windows let in this incredible light that could turn the place very warm or very cold. It could be expansive and embracing the whole city, or it could be a box that's just reflecting back. That quality is something that's exciting to all of us, and the film ends up turning the glass windows into mirrors at different times to reflect the life held within rather than seeing out on the city. There are lots of different subtle ways of showing the differences, cause the story goes from the very, very rich and powerful to the poorest and least powerful members of society. And, there are subtle ways within the lighting where you try and emphasize that a little bit with the richer characters having a little bit more warmth in their life and more ordinary colors. And then, as it becomes poorer, you start to get mixed colors and that chaos within that world. This is a heist film starring four women. The story offers a twist on the typical heist film in that each character that intersects comes from different ethnic, financial and social background. These women coming together, not because one is a jewel thief, and one is a safe cracker, that type of thing, but because they just happen to all be connected by their husbands. It's a group of ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances who've to fight for their survival. What’s so powerful about this story is that these four women from different racial, social and financial backgrounds came together to achieve their common goal. They understood that by working together they're capable of anything. When you watch the film, you’ll see there’s almost a mundane-ness to some of the stunts, to some of the action that happens. "Widows" is a real crowd-pleaser. It’s one of those films in which people are never going to see anything that’s coming. The film wants people to come away with a sense of awakening.0020
- London Short Film Festival 2018In Film Festivals·December 2, 2017The London Short Film Festival 15th Anniversary is on from 12-21st January 2018. It’s such an exciting programme this year. In terms of specific events, there's a 15th Anniversary event called We Dare To Fail that really highlights the impact that LSFF can have on feature-film directors careers. Films like God’s Own Country, The Greasy Strangler, Berberian Sound Studio, The Levelling, Prevenge, Couple in a Hole, Spaceship, Gone Too Far, True West, Nina Forever represent great British films from the last few years, and there’s a retrospective event looking at the early works of the uncompromising auteur feature-film directors behind these features (for example Francis Lee, Alice Lowe, Hope Dickson Leach etc.) who all showcased shorts at LSFF at the beginning of their careers. There are early-career performances and cameos from the likes of Michael Fassbender. There’s also Brexit Shorts: Dramas From A Divided Nation which has been put together by The Guardian and Headlong Theatre, and they've teamed up to mark the one-year anniversary of the controversial decision to leave the EU. They’ve commissioned a host of prominent scriptwriters and well-known actors (including Maxine Peake, Abi Morgan, Kristen Scott Thomas, Penelope Wilton…I could go on!) from each of the UK regions have been commissioned to highlight the nation’s growing divisions in their area at a moment of seismic political change. LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 15TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMME “PICTURES SNATCHED OUT THE FRAME” WE DARE TO FAIL: 15 YEARS OF LSFF CELEBRATES FESTIVAL’S LEGACY AND IMPACT ON BRITISH FILMMAKING (2018 FESTIVAL RUNS 12-21 JANUARY) Feat. William E Jones, The Final Girls, Radio Atlas, Cookie Crew, She Rockers, Barbara Hammer, Dawn Shadforth, Simon Ellis, Christine Molloy, and Joe Lawlor LSFF Inaugural International Short Film Jury: Lucile Hadžihalilović, Katie Jarvis, Lili Hartwig London Short Film Festival (LSFF) announces its full 2018 programme, screening over 500 UK and international short films over 10 days, from 12-21 January 2018. Celebrating its 15th year, LSFF is a vital moment in the UK film calendar, a beacon of inclusive and ground-breaking film-making from a diverse range of backgrounds. The Festival will show a huge selection of UK and international short films across music, culture, and politics. The 15th anniversary content includes We Dare To Fail, a strand that screens the early LSFF entries from uncompromising auteur filmmakers. There will be shorts shown from Francis Lee (God’s Own Country), Hope Dickson-Leach (The Levelling), and Alice Lowe (Prevenge). The celebratory retrospective will also feature shorts from the directors behind The Greasy Strangler, Berberian Sound Studio, Couple in a Hole, Spaceship, Gone Too Far, True West, and Nina Forever. There are also early-career cameos from the likes of Michael Fassbender and Danny Dyer when their stars were rising. Brexit Shorts: Dramas From A Divided Nation marks the one year anniversary of the divisive decision to leave the EU, with new short films from notable scriptwriters and actors in response to the referendum. A panel discussion with Jess Gormley and Noah Payne-Frank (Guardian), and Amy Hodge (Headlong Theatre) will be followed by a performance from one of the actors in the films. Screenwriting and acting talent involved in the shorts, include Maxine Peake, Abi Morgan, Kristen Scott Thomas and Penelope Wilton amongst many others. Other highlights from the programme include trailblazing films from Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad (in partnership with MUBI), video artist William E Jones’ reclaiming of police surveillance footage of the gay community in 60s Ohio, and LSFF’s own With Teeth artists premiering newly commissioned experimental AV work. Ngozi Onwurah is the first Black British woman to have a feature film released in UK cinemas (Welcome II The Terrordome,1995), and there will be a legacy screening of her rare works, for which Ngozi will be in attendance. Pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer will be answering questions following a screening of her films. There will also be a retrospective of Dawn Shadforth’s music video back catalogue, looking at the work of pop doyennes Kylie Minogue, Bjork, Sugababes, and Peaches. Other music video events include a new visual project from Domino, in celebration of their long association with LSFF. A brand new competition strand to celebrate the 15th anniversary is made up of six programmes, all of which exemplify the Festival’s commitment to diversity and continual audience development. The 36 selected films take in migration, prejudice, survival and the darker side of family life, and dissect everything from the entertainment industry to reality itself. The esteemed international short film jury includes French filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović, international short film festival curator Lili Hartwig, and Fish Tank actress Katie Jarvis. Each LSFF 2018 Competition programme will screen twice, at Curzon Soho and Rich Mix. As always, the core of LSFF is the New Shorts section; programmes of short films selected from 2500 open submissions into the Festival, with popular, returning slots from Funny Shit to Leftfield & Luscious, from Lo-Budget Mayhem to A Winter’s Matinee of Romantic Films, alongside new themes around identity, visibility and relationships. LSFF will screen films at important cultural landmarks in London's film community, including the ICA, which has hosted LSFF every year since it began. New venues for 2018 includethe Rich Mix in Shoreditch; Regent Street Cinema Curzon Soho, the Rio Cinema in Dalston and the BFI Southbank. The industry programme will take place entirely at its new home at MOTH Club in Hackney. 2018 will also showcase new With Teeth projects. LSFF’s long-term short film commissioning fund, aims to become a solid support base for the most exciting emerging cinematic voices and auteurs, supported by Arts Council England National Lottery Funding. Tash Tung, Kim Noce and Zoe Aiano, will premiere newly commissioned experimental work that uses a range of unconventional AV techniques to enhance and communicate beautiful and nuanced stories. As a champion of diverse and inclusive film, LSFF continues to see a huge contribution from women, LGBT and BAME filmmakers, and in a Festival first will introduce a programme led by and for the D/deaf community. With an established network of sponsors and supporters who help champion the Festival, LSFF strives to become more accessible and inclusive with the support of the BFI and Arts Council England, both awarding funds from the National Lottery. LSFF is also proud to have been awarded the Screen Diversity mark of good practice for meeting the BFI Diversity Standard, which recognises the Festival’s commitment in this endeavour. Detailed highlights from the full programme are below: LONDON SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 15TH ANNIVERSARY The festival celebrates its 15th year in 2018 with a retrospective of the early works of auteur directors who all showcased short films at the festival at the beginning of their careers. With films like God’s Own Country, The Greasy Strangler, Berberian Sound Studio, The Levelling, Prevenge, Couple in a Hole, Spaceship, Gone Too Far, True West, Nina Forever representing great British films from the last few years, by uncompromising auteurs, who have all screened early works at London Short Film Festival. We Dare To Fail: 15 Years of LSFF looks at pieces by the directors of films including Francis Lee (God’s Own Country) and Alice Lowe (Prevenge), amongst many others. Filmmakers will be in attendance, and the event will be hosted on stage by LSFF co-founders Philip Ilson and Kate Taylor. Alongside BAFTA winners Simon Ellis and Joe Lawlor & Christine Molloy (The Desperate Optimists), we bring an incredible selection of shorts back to this very special 15th anniversary screening. This impressive collection of shorts come from: FREE SPEECH The Blaine Brothers 2004, 6 mins LITTLE CLUMPS OF HAIR Jim Hosking 2003, 12 mins WHAT THE Simon Ellis 2004, 7 mins WHO KILLED BROWN OWL? The Desperate Optimists 2004, 10 mins A METAPHYSICAL EDUCATION Peter Strickland 2004, 3 mins SHAME Tom Geens 2006, 4 mins LADIES IN WAITING Hope Dickson Leach 2005, 7 mins STICKS AND BALLS Alice Lowe / Jacqueline Wright 2007, 4 mins TIGHT JEANS Destiny Ekaragha 2008, 9 mins KIDS MIGHT FLY Alex Taylor 2009, 7 mins MAN ON A MOTORCYCLE John McClean 2009, 12 mins BRADFORD HALIFAX LONDON Francis Lee 2013, 9 mins POLITICAL The Guardian and Headlong Theatre have teamed up to mark the one-year anniversary of the controversial decision to leave the EU, with Brexit Shorts: Dramas From A Divided Nation. A raft of prominent scriptwriters and well-known actors from each region were commissioned to highlight the nation’s growing divisions in their area at a moment of seismic political change. A mix of noteworthy names across screenwriting and acting are involved in the shorts, with scripts and stories from Maxine Peake and Abi Morgan, playwrights David Hare and Gary Owen, and actors including Kristen Scott Thomas, Meera Syal, and Penelope Wilton amongst many others. The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion with Jess Gormley and Noah Payne-Frank from The Guardian, Amy Hodge from Headlong Theatre and a live performance from one of the actors in the films. MUSIC Dawn Shadforth: Spinning Around takes a look at one of the most quietly prolific music video auteurs of the 90s, Dawn Shadforth, who has created visuals for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Björk, Sugababes, and Peaches. A Q&A with Dawn and special guests follows. This year there’s a celebration of 15 years of LSFF and Domino, working together, It’s All Good!, is an evening of music videos, DJs, giveaways and surprises. Domino have created and curated music videos from a wealth of directors since LSFF’s inception, and this event will see the introduction of new visual projects. To celebrate the legacy of of women in British rap and MC-ing, Home Girls: Live sees LSFF team up with contemporary performers who are currently raising the bar in a scene dominated by men. The closing night party will feature a special guest appearance from Hackney-based Paigey Cakey, and special guests TBA, in a homegrown London-centric talent event. Home Girls: From Cookie Crew to Now, takes stock of the representation of female hip-hop artists over the decades, from the swim-suited video vixen to the in control and hyper sexualized. Cookie Crew, Wee Papa Girl Rappers and She Rockers burst onto the scene in the 80s and 90s with a self-defined, powerful onscreen image. A panel discussion with members of the bands, and key industry figures will follow. LGBTQ LGBTQ content this year is led by long time LSFF collaborators New Queer Visions. The first film programme, Don’t Look Back In Anger, looks at the nature of hate and positivity, with touching stories about queer characters dealing with ups, downs, and everything in between. This is accompanied by Medium Rare, a programme of medium length shorts exploring the mixed-up mind of an impressionable young man. In partnership with MUBI, Radical Softness Through A Haptic Lens is a retrospective of the works of Barbara Hammer, feminist filmmaker and one of the pioneers of lesbian film, and Chick Strand, avant-garde documentary filmmaker. The films examine the idea of ‘radical softness’, the power that can be found in in being both abrasively feminine and openly vulnerable, through a soft and kinesthetic style of filmmaking. Following incredibly rare screenings of Superdyke and Soft Fictions, there will be a Skype Q&A with the legendary Barbara Hammer. Also in association with MUBI is Cruelty and Crime, a showcase of the key works of American writer Chris Kraus. From feminist readings of Antonin Artaud to Cold War sleeper agents, via dominatrices and New York City crime scenes, these films are filled with humour, sexuality, abjection, metaphor, allusion, an insatiable curiosity and a Dadaist sense of provocation and absurdity. A collection of 1962 police footage documenting men cruising in a public toilet, was reworked and re-presented by William E Jones as a separate work, Tearoom* in 2007. The experimental video art project shows how surveillance is used as a blunt tool of oppression. The footage shown was eventually used as evidence to prosecute the men of sodomy and public deviancy. Prior to the screening LSFF will also be showcasing Robert Yang’s game The Tearoom, a cruising simulation made in direct response to the film. On release the game ran afoul of the censors and so in a bold piece of satirical provocation Yang replaced all the penises with guns. The game was then successfully passed uncut. Additionally we also welcome filmmaker Sam Ashby, who will present a newly commissioned work in response to Tearoom, and artist Prem Sahib for a post screening discussion of the themes highlighted in the work. *18 - contains scenes of real sexual activity. BAME When director Julie Dash created the groundbreaking Daughters of the Dust in 1991, a multigenerational tale of black women from the Gullah sea islands struggling to hold on to their culture, little did she know that 25 years later her work would be held up on the world stage thanks to one of the music industry’s most influential artists: Beyoncé. Given the subject matter and the detail paid to the cinematography, Dash’s film provided an obvious touchstone to inspire Beyoncé’s vision in Lemonade. 2009’s Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam refers respectively to ‘taqwa’ and ‘core’, a synthesis of an awe-inspiring consciousness of Allah, and a hard-core punk music style, and a fusion of Muslim and American culture. A panel discussion, Muslim Punk and the New Subculture, hosted by filmmaker Hammad Khan asks what happened to Taqwacore, and questions how class, race, and gender are tied to Muslim resistance to Trump and Brexit. Hammad Khan’s Anima State is arguably the most important film to come out of Pakistan in decades. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the country’s independence from British India, it is an uncomfortable, in-your-face examination of the country’s violence, to its apathy, to its refusal to recognize its moral corruption, in every single facet of Pakistani society. Pioneer of Black British cinema Ngozi Onwurah’s body of work weaves autobiographical narrative with astute socio-political observation. As the first Black British woman filmmaker to have a feature film released in UK cinemas we celebrate Ngozi’s legacy with a screening of early works and panel discussion in Ngozi Onwurah: Shorts. A rare 35mm screening of Welcome II The Terrordome will also show at the festival. The House is Black, a screening of the only known film by one of Iran’s greatest 20th century poets Farough Farrokazad, depicts an isolated community of lepers living in Northwestern Iran, and is soundtracked by a reading from the poet herself. There will be a reading of her work, translated into English, and The Oberhausen Archive have kindly donated a 35mm print of the film. CULTURE The festival will open with Adrena Adrena’s Movements of A Nebulous Dawn, supported by Arts Council England. This is a one-off audiovisual collaboration, with a 360-degree nebulous orb defying the conventions of theatrical presentation, as musicians perform in-the-round beneath multiple circular projections created by Daisy Dickinson. An improvised live set will see a constantly changing and evolving set of guest musicians from Faust, Wire, Boredoms and other experimental, electronic and progressive bands. Julian Hand, who directed the 2018 LSFF trailer, will be projecting psychedelic visuals using coloured liquids and slides. This year’s festival sees a first for LSFF, with a premiere screening exclusively for D/deaf audiences, curated by LSFF’s Deaf Young Programmer Zoe McWhinney. Save The Date, a selection of archive and contemporary short films, brings stories about D/deaf culture and experience to the screen. The screening, at BFI Southbank, will be fully supported by BSL interpreters, and films will include BSL dialogue, and/or subtitles. The Final Girls Present: The Witching Hour is a screening of two of the original 1970s documentaries that showcase the continuing, cultural obsession with witchcraft and the occult. Secret Rites is a pseudo documentary illustrating a series of initiation rites for a novice witch, while The Power of the Witch is a rarely-seen documentary featuring interviews with the King and Queen of the witch craze, Alex and Maxine Sanders. The Final Girls will host a panel discussion following the screenings. An in-conversation event around the works of the cult sci-fi author, JG Ballard: This Is The Way, Step Inside, explores the writer’s 20th century preoccupation with the machine vs. the 21st century obsession with the digital towards an anthropological take on disembodiment, honing in on how Ballard perceives both the body, and the human condition. The panel is made up of filmmakers Jason Wood, Simon Barker and Harley Cokeliss, with Ballard scholar Dr. Jeanette Baxter. Radio Atlas: Risk is an award-winning platform for subtitled audio from around the world. A place to hear inventive documentaries and aural art works that have been made in languages you don't necessarily speak. This intimate event premieres documentaries which explore the thin line between freedom and risk, taking the listener to unexpected places, with a Q&A discussion with Radio Atlas founder Eleanor McDowall. INTERNATIONAL As the international film strand enters its fourth year, a programme of four screenings brings together some of the most unique voices in fiction, documentary and experimental filmmaking. LSFF have shorts from all over the world, with entries from China, Cuba, Slovenia, and Mozambique, to name a fraction. The festival is becoming a key player on the festival circuit when it comes to showing high quality and well-curated international short film. WITH TEETH With Teeth is a bi-annual commissioning award from LSFF, supported by Arts Council England, aimed at embodying LSFF’s core principle of championing contemporary artists moving image works, diverging from more traditional avenues of funding to nurture diverse and unconventional independent short filmmaking. Following the second round of awards from the commissioning fund, the With Teeth Premiere will showcase the works of the three recipients of this year’s grant, Kim Noce, Zoe Aiano, and Tash Tung. Their films use experimental methods, including Your Mothers Are Mine! a projected live animation by Kim Noce observing the complexities of the mother daughter relationship. A multi-screen fiction explores the multiplicities of the image and female domesticity by Tash Tung in Unknown Pleasure. Zoe Aiano presents a wild and delicate documentary of a life spent communicating with the dead, in Imam Pesnu. INDUSTRY EVENTS This year’s industry programme sees experts from across the industry offering their words of wisdom on everything from getting your film funded, to engaging audiences. There’ll be contributions from Channel 4 Random Acts, BBC3, Noisey, and Bechdel Test Fest; Director of VR and New Media at Raindance Mária Rakušanová, will be sharing her expertise in ‘AR You Feeling It?’ and Alexander Karotsch of Fringe! Film Festival will be there to discuss ethical responsibility in ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’. All LSFF 2018 Industry events take place at MOTH Club, which has been turned into the festival’s day time Industry hub. As well as tips on funding, and what commissioners are looking for, the talks and discussions cover everything from driving feminist change in cinema, depicting sex on screen, how to manage the relationship between filmmakers and progammers, and an insight into how new AR technologies are being used to drive stories and emotional responses.00126
- "The Artist’s Wife" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·April 18, 2021(Release Info London schedule; April 30th, 2021, Curzon Home Cinema) https://homecinema.curzon.com/film/the-artists-wife/ "The Artist's Wife" Once a promising painter herself, Claire Smythson (Lena Olin) gave up on her own career to stand by the side of her famed abstract artist husband Richard (Bruce Dern) for over 20 years. She lives a domestic life in the shadow of her husband’s illustrious career. When Richard is unexpectedly diagnosed with dementia during preparations for his latest exhibition, Claire is thrown into a crisis; suddenly torn between her husband’s erratic mood swings and the need to shield his illness from both the art community and their family. As his memory and behavior deteriorate, she shields his condition from the art community while trying to reconnect him with his estranged daughter Angela (Juliet Rylance) and grandson Gogo (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) from a previous marriage. Struggling to regain control of her life, Claire takes up painting once again. Challenged by the loss of her world as she knew it, Claire must now decide whether to stand with Richard on the sidelines or step into the spotlight herself. Can she finds her power as she deals with the disintegration of the man she loved? Lee Krasner. Elaine De Kooning. Camille Claudel. Dora Maar. History is filled with female artists who've supported their more famous husbands or partners. "The Artist’s Wife" is a tribute to these women, a contemporary imagining of the journey of the stronger woman behind the man, and what happens when the relationship begins to crumble due to circumstances beyond either person’s control. In our cinematic landscape today, the experience of the middle-aged woman as she enters the third act of life is often ignored. In "The Artist’s Wife", Claire’s passage is about new beginnings, about rediscovering the parts of herself that she left behind during the early years of her marriage, as well as recognizing qualities she never knew she had. Stories about women spending their lives supporting their husbands are not, rightly so, where our culture is oriented today. They may strike us as retrograde or well-trodden ground, not worthy of exploration. "The Artist’s Wife" reclaims this narrative, showing the tail end of this journey of living in, and coming out of, the shadows. Though we see Claire making great sacrifices, with dignity, to the film’s conclusion, we know she has a future beyond that with her husband. Claire’s story, the part we see, is one of commitment, of sticking with the life she has chosen, at least until circumstances change. "The Artist’s Wife" honors the many women and men who've stuck by their partners, artists or otherwise, through challenging circumstances. Though the film’s story begins with Richard’s disease causing the inciting series of incidents, "The Artist’s Wife" is not an 'Alzheimer’s' movie in the traditional sense. Though there are many fine films in this subgenre, the story is instead about the caregiver, about Claire’s experience with the disease. As the years went by,we notice that in the film, the perspective of the caretaker is largely ignored. Whether one views the story as an 'Alzheimer’s' movie or not, Richard’s dementia represents to Claire a call to reclaim her own past when it's, like his memories, in danger of slipping away. His illness prompts her passage into her creative soul, not initially to protect his dignity, but to save her own. These two goals collide at the end of the film, and she must make the decision that's right for her. Society and popular culture have told us that the years around sixty are about slowing down, about retiring, a word that's originated as meaning to withdraw to a place of safety or seclusion. But why should the third act of life be one of retreating, repressing, hiding? The hope for Claire at the end of the film is that she's ready for a new chapter, one in which she will shine as brightly as her husband once did. 'The problem with being constantly surrounded by bright lights',,she says, is that they make you feel there’s already enough light in the world. May the film’s narrative allow Claire to release this belief and let her talent run free, it's brilliant beams lighting up the sky.0049
- "Angel Has Fallen" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·August 15, 2019(Release Info London schedule; August 21st, 2019, Cineworld Leicester Square, 5–6 Leicester Square, London, WC2H 7NA, 13:40 pm) https://film.list.co.uk/cinema/42944-cineworld-leicester-square-london-wc2h/coming-soon/#times "Angel Has Fallen" When there's an assassination attempt on 'U.S. President' Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), his trusted confidant, 'Secret Service Agent' Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), is wrongfully accused and taken into custody. After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his own agency and outsmart 'The FBI' in order to find the real threat to 'The President'. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger. "Angel Has Fallen" is a explosive, rip-roaring thriller in which the fate of the nation rests on the very man accused of attempting to assassinate 'The President Of The United States'. The film opens at the former 'U.S. Air Force Base' at 'Upper Heyford' in Oxfordshire where Banning goes through a terrifying simulation. Banning has long been one of the stalwart heroes-in-the-shadows on whom national security depends on day in and day out, but is the always-ready warrior starting to lose it? Haunted by a lifetime soaked in adrenaline, danger and more than a few insane snafus, Mike feels his usually knifelike edge slipping. The uncertain becomes the unthinkable as he wakes up to his worst possible nightmare; The President' has fallen and Banning stands accused of conspiring to kill his friend, mentor and the man he’s sworn to protect. Now the expert hunter has become the hunted, spurring Butler’s deepest, darkest take yet on the loose-cannon action hero. On the run and with no one but his family on his side, Banning may not be able to pull himself back from the brink. But he will put his patriotism above his own as he stops at absolutely nothing to save the country that he’s alleged to have betrayed. As Banning maneuvers to evade his savvy colleagues, every quality that made him the top agent on the presidential detail is put to the test; his high-level combat skills, his ability to out-think the most twisted minds and his willingness to put himself at extreme risk to pull others from harm, only that might just be the easy part, for Banning now faces a situation for which he has zero preparation. Forced into the cold, isolated from his family, in dire physical and mental peril, the only way he can go forward is to take an unwanted turn into his past. 'Secret Service' agents live in a constant state of high alert. At any given second, they've to be ready to thwart a near-infinite number of potential threats that could come from any country, any group, or any person, without warning. Their sacrifices, the persistent danger, the merciless demands on body and soul, the stress on their relationships, are rarely recognized publicly, but they don’t do it for the recognition. They do it because they're driven to serve the highest office of the land and the bedrock of democracy. That kind of devotion has always defined Mike Banning, though, he's also a man of contrasts. On the job, he's a cunning, dogged, laser-focused patriot, but he's also a self-questioning and at times a self-deprecating man who has his dark corners of jagged regrets and frustrations. He has done and seen it all. In "Olympus Has Fallen", he rescued 'The First Family' from a 'North Korean'-led kidnapping inside 'The White House'. In "London Has Fallen", he kept 'President Asher' from harm during a terrorist attack on world leaders attending 'The British Prime Minister’s' funeral. For the first time in "Angel Has Fallen", Banning is no longer sure if he can trust his own agency. He can’t sleep, he can’t get through the day without pain killers and even his doctor can see that he’s heading at 100 mph for a brick wall. Then, the bottom drops out. He might be a trained killer, but there’s always been an everyman aspect to Mike. So, in this film, even though there’s a huge external struggle, we get to know a lot more about his internal struggles with his father Clay (Nick Nolte), his wife Leah ( (Piper Perabo) and his own future, struggles we all have. It makes the stakes of the action that much higher because we’re so inside his world. It's a portrait of a more life-sized man, a hardboiled warrior facing down his own doubts. It all starts with Banning being offered the prized job of 'Director Of The Secret Service' by 'President Trumbull'. It’s an incredible opportunity, but it’s also just the kind of indoor job that makes Banning chafe. He’s not at all sure he’s ready to be a desk jockey. Mike’s wife Leah loves the idea of the director job. She knows he’ll be safer, but Mike still loves being on the frontlines. In a way it’s heartbreaking because his dedication and courage are what motivated 'President Trumbull' to offer him this really great, prominent job; yet to Mike, it feels a little like the end of who he's. That’s exactly what Mike is thinking about as he faces a desk job. It brings up this huge question for him; 'do I keep trying to be the person I was in my youth or do I find a way to embrace who I’ve become'? It’s something a lot of people go through in all walks of life. Mike Banning is known for his badassery, and now we get to see a lot more of where he comes from. The film puts you inside Banning’s head as he goes from offense to defense, from proud warrior to fugitive, so that you get to see and feel everything he’s going through. For fans, it’s a chance to see what makes Banning tick, and for new audiences, it's a discovery of a really relatable character surviving in an extraordinary situation. So, you still get a tremendous amount of action but with a whole new and fresh point of view. It has always been Banning’s everyday authenticity and down-to-earth humor that stands out against today’s line-up of fantastical superheroes, but in this film, he's stripped down to his most human yet. Part of Banning’s appeal has been that he’s such a real-life guy. He’s someone trying to be a family man while dealing with the heavy emotional toll his work takes on him. People can really relate to that, but on the other hand, he’s one of the toughest dudes you could ever hope to meet. He will never quit. That’s how he sees himself, but that image is put to the test in this film in ways he’d rather it wasn’t. With his grit and loyalty under fire, Banning also comes face-to-face with the costs of the warrior’s life as he tries to evade mounting signs of 'PTSD'. In this chapter, you realize that this man you’ve seen go through all these firefights, explosions and crashes has paid a price. Banning has been silently struggling in his work and at home, but he’s keeping it all secret because he doesn’t want to let people down and he wants to keep doing the job he loves and believes in. It’s not the greatest timing for the whole nation to think he’s a terrorist at large, to say the least. He’s also very clear on that fact that, whatever his fate, 'The President' is in grave danger and he's the only person left who can figure out where the threat is coming from. As Banning is put under crushing pressure, it gives him more room to dive deep. It’s very revealing to watch an incredible hero you’ve always seen chasing others, become the chased and desperate man. 'President Trumbull' has taken on the mantle, and all the hazards, of being 'Commander-In-Chief'. Now his life is on the line along with his trust in Banning. Nearly assassinated and told his most trusted 'Secret Service' agent is the prime suspect in the deadly attack, Trumbull faces a dilemma that could endanger not only his cherished friendship with Mike Banning but the future of the world. In the earlier films, Trumbull already proved that he trusted Banning, and Banning has always felt a bond with Trumbull, beyond his duty to protect him. In this film, you see how much of a mentor Trumbull has become to Banning. They each look at the other as one of the few people they can talk to honestly. They can joke together, and they even rip on each other a little, respectfully, which is rare in Trumbull’s life, and to me, Trumbull becomes the center of the movie because in a way, they're each other’s lifeline if either one is going to survive. 'President Trumbull' is such a father-figure to Mike Banning and that's really put on the line. He has that mix of pathos, gravitas, and warmth, yet with a dash of roguishness that makes him a great leader and the kind of person to whom Mike can relate. Trumbull is a honorable, courageous man and a very good politician. But he’s not really based on any historical president because the situation is so unique and the decisions he has to make haven’t really had to be made by any President that we know of. "Angel Has Fallen" takes Mike Banning into his darkest hour, but also his hidden past. Things take a wild switchback into turbulent father-son territory when Banning looks for refuge in the last place on earth he ever thought he’d go; his long-estranged father’s Clay (Nick Nolte) off-the-grid cabin. Here he has to confront a man he has never understood or had the chance to question; the Vietnam vet who walked out on him as a boy and retreated from his 'PTSD' and paranoia into life as a lone survivalist in the woods. He brings a sense of frayed dignity to a man not quite sure if he’s ready for redemption. There’s a fascinating contrast between Mike and his dad because Mike is driven to keep running into war and his dad is still trying to run from it. All along, it’s been a deep regret in Mike’s life that he never really had a father, but now that he needs his father that means he also has to put up with him. He and Clay think they're cut from different cloth, but now that they’re forced together, it allows them to see their connection. Like Mike, Clay came from a proud tradition of military discipline, but it left him in distress. After two tours in Vietnam, when he came home to his wife and child, he couldn’t make it. It happened to a lot of good soldiers. You can’t go easily from the extreme survival of war back to a normal life. Your brain gets rewired and that’s what happened to Clay. He came back and felt he couldn’t be a good father, so he cleared out. The way he sees it, his disappearing was the best thing that ever happened to Mike because Clay felt he had nothing to teach but violence and anger. Clay wants to allow himself no creature comforts. He wants the barest minimum he can possibly live with, one cup, one fork, one plate, one bed. Really there's no reason to even have a chair because he doesn’t have any visitors, not until Mike shows up. When Mike does show up, the mix of anger and affection, skepticism and understanding, defiance and need is incendiary. In the scene at the cabin, you can feel so much going on inside Clag all at once; he’s broken, grief-stricken, excited, questioning, wondering, fearful, judging, hoping and more. You can see Clay’s whole life and struggles coming through in just the way he moves his face. As the characters grew closer, we also bonded in a big way. Another character who comes to the fore in "Angel Has Fallen" is Banning’s wife, Leah. She has always been one of Mike’s biggest supporters and joys, but now as a new mother, she worries that Mike is retreating into private darkness that could lock her out. Now that they've a daughter, there's a whole new dynamic between Leah and Mike, she has a vision of them moving forward in a way that will make them both happy. Much as she understands what drives her husband, Leah can’t hide her desire for Mike to take the director job that will see him still doing his patriotic duty, but safely seated within four walls. Most of all Leah just wants Mike to be home more. Their relationship is really healthy and they trust each other, but she just wants more time to have fun with him. Leah knows something is about to explode. Another key player in the film is Wade Jennings (Danny Huston), a long-time buddy and military compatriot of Banning’s, who in a time of peace has turned to the growing world of private military contractors. It's Wade who spurs doubts in Banning’s mind after a training session that leaves him battered. Wade has taken a different path from Mike. He sees himself as a ferocious lion who has been put in a cage and he doesn’t really know how to interact with the world in a state of peace. They both understand that power of adrenaline, even if they make different choices. Once the chase begins, the cat to Banning’s mouse is 'FBI Agent' Thompson (Jada Pinkett Smith). She's really smart and tough as nails. She's intense, serious and a straight-shooter, but she’s also wily enough to keep up with Banning. Of course, she’s under biggest pressure to bring in the suspect wanted to assassinate 'The President Of The United States'. To lock Mike Banning into a chaotic world of ceaseless jeopardy, the bottom line for all can be summed up in one word; groundedness. The film captures how people really move in a fight or a chase, what it really sounds like and the visceral feel of it. The idea is to immerse people completely into Banning’s 'POV' of every moment. "Olympus" and "London" each had about 13 action sequences. Here we’ve upped that to 23 sequences, which is a lot. It never stops. The audience feels every bump and explosion. Everything is bigger and faster in every moment; we've fast boats, fast trucks, fast drones, and huge explosions. These drones can work as a swarm to find and target an enemy. Of course, it’s all military secrets, so the film designs his own, but everything you see in the film is based on real tech. In one of the film’s most harrowing chases, Banning finds himself in a speeding semi on a dark mountain road pursued by police and helicopters, with no obvious escape route. It feels super grounded and real but also put you inside Banning’s head as he’s trying to escape while inflicting as little damage as he can. The film puts in almost documentary-like details to create what’s an incredible gauntlet run. As Mike Banning becomes a fugitive on the run, the film flows seamlessly through a real-time chase that never lets up. The 'Oval Office' colors are quite different to the ones you’ve seen before, but we learn that each president gets to pick the colors they want, so 'President Trumbull' has a great taste and makes 'The Oval' more dynamic than you’ve seen it. The third installment in 'The Fallen Series', "Angel Has Fallen" stands on it's own as a psychologically tense, kinetic thriller that never lets off the accelerator from its opening killer-drone attack. It also adds a revealing new chapter to the legend of Mike Banning, as the hazards of his work collide into his private life, pushing him to explore how he became the man he's now. It’s also exactly where we want to see the franchise go next, inviting audiences into a ride as psychologically volatile as it's filled with wall-to-wall stunts and battles. What’s great is that while this movie gets much more personal, there’s also more action than ever, so the ride is heightened on all levels. There’s brutal, crazy, epic combat, but in the same breath, there’s real drama and it’s also the funniest of the films. The film makes this mad roller-coaster ride as visceral as possible at every turn. As visceral as the action and design are, it all serves to open up a window into Banning’s soul that resonates beyond the thrills. The film puts in all the fun and thrills you’d expect from a Mike Banning story.00765
- Blackkklansman - Film ReviewIn Film Reviews·September 17, 2018Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is Colorado Springs first black cop and just the catalyst to herald a daring new mission for the sleepy precinct. Infiltrating the KkK. After Ron strikes up telephone contact through a, ‘Do you believe in White supremacy’ newspaper ad, he enlists Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) as his white avatar to meet with the Coloradan chapter. The film begins with an Americana style infomercial video, black and white aesthetic, White over Black meaning. Alec Baldwin channels his SNL take on Trump - the first but by no means the last skewering of the caustic man-child - as he offers ultra-right-wing Conservative rhetoric as The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith’s landmark 1915 film that didn’t just advocate white supremacy but perpetuated it) is projected behind him, on him, through him. This scene sets the tone for Blackkklansman. Funny, frightening and fierce. Ron’s idealism and integrity are alluded to within his initially perfunct roles as a Police Officer filing reports and doling out profiles to his racist counterparts. He insists on black suspects being called ‘human beings’ and refuses to agreeably objectify an actress that his colleague is pining over in a magazine. Then comes the self-realisation of his character when, undercover in an excited crowd to gain intel on Corey Hawkins’ charismatic turn as Black Rights activist Kwame Ture, Ron finds agreeance with the man although his duty may deny him holding those views. This being a Spike Lee joint, it is rife with social commentary, polemic politics and scathing satire. He explores much in the two-hour run time, but a central question is, What would you do when faced with this systematic subjugation? Black people must always - lest they be labelled animalistic, sub-human, inferior - exude composure in the face of animalistic, sub-human, inferior behaviour. Even when that comes from cops. And yet, they still aren't allowed to meet the white yard stick they’re always measured against. Lee understands the hypocrisy of citizenry and the expectations toward black people, of course he does – check his filmography- but here he isn’t as much holding a portrait of racism as he is a glistening mirror. One with more stinging truisms than the that which is asked, Who is the fairest of them all? The answer is screamed throughout the film by slack-jawed, blindly ignorant supremacists. Amidst scenes of police brutality, cross-burnings and many a moronic meeting, rhetoric is shown as the villain. Words don’t have to be true to brutalise. It isn’t just racism against the African American peopple on show here, as is usually synonymous with portrayals of the KkK. Anti-Semitism is rife within the drooling rhetoric and is as timely a takedown as white supremacy. The tension of the film can often be found in the infiltration scenes of the Klan meetings. Driver’s Zimmerman is a secretive, apathetic Jew and only in having to fervently deny his heritage does he realise that he shouldn’t have to. As ever, it’s a pleasure to watch Driver. Zimmerman’s arc is as moving and empowering as Ron’s and the actor’s chemistry is charged with a quiet camaraderie and respect. Blackkklansman as a whole is a little imbalanced, in pacing and humour. Whereas some of the tension during the infiltration scenes is deftly managed, some feels too forced, tries too hard to make the audience gasp. There is plenty on show to do that and those scenes showcase weaker dialogue and erratic cuts attempting to juggle the shifting tones. This is a shame as Blackkklansman has the potential to be a masterpiece, but its second act is too rickety. It’s a good film but a great movie. There are shots that miss the mark and take you out of the story, and small conceits that delve into Sit-Com which this definitely is not. But there are three great scenes for every one that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Monologues and speeches from varied Black cast - verbal gems often pouring from Laura Harrier’s Patrice) contrast those of the bigoted Whites. Empowering where the Klan’s are defamatory. Unity over division. Beauty over ugliness. Equality not supremacy. The third act is titanic. Lee and Co. showcasing the other times times lacking balance and dexterity. The power of a movie is exposed in the Third. Not only within the movie itself but about the aforementioned The Birth of a Nation. Ron/Zimmerman’s initiation ceremony is intercut with a soft yet rousing speech from Harry Belafonte’s Jerome Turner, speaking on a lynching of a disabled friend as a child. This sequence is perfectly drawn out, taking its time with the hard-hitting beats and wringing them for emotional gravity. Whilst the Klansmen whoop and holler at the ritualistic screening of The Birth of a Nation - reminiscent of Jarhead’s soldiers getting riled up from Apocalypse Now but more sinister - Patrice and her fellow activists and Panthers listen to Turner contextualise the film, revealing its tragic impact on America, then and now. The influence of Film, how it can incite and empower, coax and deny, enrich and destroy, is showcased wonderfully in metaphor and, prodigiously in the form. Whilst Blackkklansman isn’t a masterclass in filmmaking, it is a masterful insight into a social history damned to repeat itself. From the same team as Get Out, the material mines a similar vein of bigotry, social hierarchy and racial prejudices. Whilst not as thrilling as its counterpart, Blackkklansman may stand to have a greater legacy. And if ever a film should be shown at the Whitehouse to exemplify a social climate for having its finger on the pulse, its this. Though this true story happened in the 1970’s, Spike Lee has stitched it into our conflicted times with many nods to Trumpian populist rhetoric but also a sobering ending, showcasing our real world. Flip the flag and raise your fist, its time to fight the power.00100
- Rampage (2018)In Film Reviews·April 13, 2018Director: Brad Peyton With: Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Release Date: Apr 13, 2018 Based on the mid-’80s Bally Midway arcade game that unofficially influenced Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph,” Brad Peyton “Rampage” doesn’t seem to understand its own appeal. Reuniting disaster driven star Dwayne Johnson with his “San Andreas” director, this brainless big-screen monster-smash movie assumes that audiences want to see the Rock stop three enormous mutant creatures from destroying America. I left the film feeling unsatisfied and confused, the whole film was not consistent through out, at the start it starts of at the ISS (International Space Station) which shows all members being eaten/killed by a huge rat. As the film continues it the shows Davis (Dwayne Johnson) relationship with a gorilla who inhales this gene modifying substances and then goes crazy with a wolf and what i can only think is a crocodile. Rampage is not a film that i would happily say to people go and watch, unless your a huge Dwayne Johnson fan there is no other reason to see this movie. Once again Bred Peyton has failed, with his 2015 'San Andreas' the cast was amazing the actual message of the film has been lost again and the film being over dramatic, The same feeling i felt after watching San Andreas i felt after watching Rampage, it is a shame because i loved the cast, scenery, the characters and graphics in the movies but it just deliver the wow factor.0014
- "The Mauritanian" written by Gregory MannIn Film Festivals·February 17, 2021(Glasgow Film Festival: Film AT Home; Thu 25 Feb to Sun 28 Feb) https://glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-film-festival/shows/the-mauritanian-n-c-15 "The Mauritanian" "The Mauritanian" follows the remarkable true story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim), who was captured by 'The U.S. Government' and imprisoned for years without trial at 'Guantanamo' Bay (GTMO). It's an inspiring account of survival against all odds as Slahi, in his fight for freedom, finds allies in defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley). Through Nancy and Teri’s controversial advocacy and evidence uncovered by formidable military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch), a shocking and far-reaching conspiracy is revealed. "The Mauritanian" is a commentary on the importance of 'The Rule Of Law' and extremism of all kinds, but is also a tender, funny, uplifting film about Mohamedou, an extraordinary man whose humanity triumphed, leaving those around him profoundly changed. Hey this is what it’s like to be ripped apart and ripped from your family and taken to some place you've no idea where you're. The story is driven by Mohamedou who's a transcendent person, a philosopher, he’s so witty and so compassionate. Mohamedou is charming and funny and not what you expect, from an internationally wanted, excused, terrorist, criminal who's accused of recruiting people for '9/11' and financing terror. He’s the opposite of what you imagine, he’s so in love with 'American' culture, he can quote every line of 'The Big Lebowski', he knows it by heart because he watched it 110 times while he's in prison. This guy has been through hell like this and at the end didn’t hold any grudge against anyone. He's a hero, an innocent man imprisoned and tortured. The incredible grace of forgiveness that Mohamedou practices through all of that, everyone can hopefully learn through what's a very difficult time in the world. His forgiveness is what makes him so special and what saves him to not fall into madness. He’s not angry at all, it’s impressive, he has the right to be angry, but he’s not. It takes a soul that’s so strong and whatever his life brings him for the rest of his life, he’s here to move mountains, and he already is. He’s changing the world, and his effect will go on for centuries simply by the energy that he carries into every moment of his life. Nancy Hollander is an 'International Criminal Defence Attorney', who fights for Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s release. Most of Mohamedou’s contact with Nancy happened in a room identical to the cell that he occupied when he entered the torture program, and after that, when he becomes a ‘cooperating prisoner’ he's interned in the same kind of cell, but with less restrictions. Nancy feels very maternal towards him, and you can just see the twinkle in both of their eyes. It’s so obvious they really care about one another. Nancy is an extraordinarily brilliant woman who's just a ball of contradictions. She's this very structured thinker, very smart, very measured, she’s very careful about everything she says and yet she loves her red lipstick and nail polish. She loves fast cars, she likes sports-cars, she likes digital equipment and yet she's this public defender and she has this long road as an activist. So many parts of her are conflicting, and that’s what’s beautiful about real characters, real people. Real people are not all just one thing. Nancy is really a combination of so many things. She's unrelenting, she's not sentimental, and she's a career fighter. It's a tricky character. It's been very surreal for everybody, for Mohamedou and certainly for Nancy to see the recreation of 'GTMO'; to see the camp set up, to see the barbed wire, and fencing and the concrete walkways, the kind of sad air conditioners; and all of the military men in their various regalia. It’s hard not to feel like you’re back in that environment. All the dark parts of the film are cool grey and concrete, and the film slightly desaturated and darkened a lot of the 'Guantanamo' interior colors just so that photographically, it's a little bit more sombre and a bit more depressing. That part of the film is all a continuous color, whereas Nancy's world in New Mexico has warmer colors, plants, natural fabrics and wood. Nancy works alongside Teri Duncan, who's an amalgamation of two attorneys, Teri Duncan and Sylvia Royce (Justine Mitchell). Teri shares a lot, she's very open, you know it’s scary to go up against the government; it’s scary to walk into something without knowing all angles and all sides of the equation, but more than anything, Teri’s heart lies in justice and her heart lies in the simple truths of like compassionate, and neighborly humanity. That overrode any fear that maybe she had. There's that warm.energy we need from that character. Neil Buckland (Zachary Levi), a 'Federal' agent is and old friend of Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch. Neil is an old school buddy of Stuart’s who happens to also be very entrenched in this specific case and these things that went down at 'Guantanamo'. He works for one of the intelligence agencies or branches within 'The U.S. Government' and so therefore is a bit of a gatekeeper when it comes to certain information that Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch needs in order to run a fair trial in prosecuting Mohamedou. Neil proves to be a little less than helpful in that regard because of his own traumas he felt through '9/11'. It's causing him a lot of fear and unfortunate anger and hate that a lot of people are possessed with in that time. When something as tragic as that happens, trauma can really screw people up. So, that’s where Neil’s at and then ultimately also has this redemptive moment towards the end of the film which shows you that people are more than what meets the eye, we're all 360 degree of people. He's not the most savoury character in the story. Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Couch's buddy from flight training school was one of the co-pilots on one of the planes that flew into 'The South Tower', so he starts from there, as well as being a military lawyer. He’s also a 'Christian' man that wants to do justice and wants to bring people to justice. It’s an extraordinary position to be in at the beginning of this film because you go ‘well, okay I can understand why he just wants to see this guy punished’. So what happens to him in the journey of this film is he discovers through pushing and pushing and knocking on closed doors that eventually these confessions have been extracted and they include accounts of torture, of waterboarding and various other contraventions of 'The Geneva Human Rights Accord', so he then takes a stand against his superiors and says; ' I refuse to prosecute this case', this is wrong, it's unlawful, it's undemocratic, un-'American' and un-'Christian'. And we guess it’s kind of where our sympathies lie most in the film, with someone who has every reason to want to find and persecute the perpetrator of that kind of an atrocity, that unforgivable act of terrorism, but in the process of looking at the supposed rock-solid confessions realises they're all extracted under torture; that’s not the way to get evidence. That’s not the way to behave in the rule of law. He's a man who a lot of the audience will think is deeply unsympathetic to begin with but right from the beginning you feel like ‘ok this guy, is part of the group, part of the military machine' but there's something about him which is more thoughtful, more humorous. Every character in the film is not all that they’re cracked up to be, and there’s depth and complexity in all of us. The film is based on the book ‘Guantánamo Diary’, published in 'The U.K.' in 2015 by Jamie Byng from 'Canongate'. The movie isn’t a direct adaptation of the book, the book is Mohamedou’s autobiography so he can’t tell the story from the other perspectives. The film covers the first two thirds of the story, until his appeal. 'GTMO' (Guantanamo Bay), one of the world’s most notorious detention camps, is still officially a secret and the plans of the environment aren’t available anywhere a lot of imagery has got out, but it’s not very well labelled. We were all so shaken up by the events of '9/11' that there was such fear in America, but we didn’t think very much about who was being interned. We've to be fair to all of the parties because we really believe that the truest stories are the ones where there just aren’t any bad guys. Where it’s just human beings that come together, trying to do the best that they can, but they’re guided by fear and there's a lesson in this story; is that impulse, that fear impulse is so strong and unfortunately it was in the era of 'Guantanamo', and in the era of '9/11', which took over 'The American' psyche. We're making decisions, we're making international foreign policy decisions by fear instead of using the laws and the rules that we knew. It’s a movie, it’s not just a series of events that happened you know? What we all have in common is greater than what divides us. It's something about the indefatigable joy of the human spirit. It's this combination of politics and an outrageous crime against humanity. The law is something really interesting, how it works and the intricacies of it, and you know, how our country is shaped by that. How the world is shaped by that. Any type of injustice, any type of tragedy when it comes to our failure as human beings to fully see another human being and put them through fair trial and properly practiced democracy, really gets our blood boiling. It’s a wisdom that says everything that every single ancient religious, biblical or institutional text has ever said, which is ‘just be kind to one another’, ‘love your neighbour’, ‘take care of one another’, ‘forgive’, ‘show up’. It strips back all the distraction and chaos of consumerism and materialism and plants you right back down into the true seat of your soul.0022
- "Slalom" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·February 12, 2021(Release Info London schedule; February 12th, 2021, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-slalom-film-online "Slalom" 15 year-old Lyz (Noée Abita), a high school student in 'The French Alps', has been accepted to a highly selective ski club whose aim is to train future professional athletes. Taking a chance on his new recruit, Fred (Jérémie Renier), ex-champion turned coach, decides to make Lyz his shining star regardless of her lack of experience. Under his influence, Lyz will have to endure more than the physical and emotional pressure of the training. Will Lyz’s determination help her escape his grip? We see everything from Lyz’s point of view for maximum emotion. The opening scenes are fairly enigmatic. We're between a very naturalistic and well-informed work on the sporting world and, at the same time, something almost fantastical with this snow falling at night that Lyz watches from her window. There's a strong desire to plunge the audience into an intimate journey. Right from the start, the film immerses in Lyz’s inner world. We're at the heart of her sensations and as close as possible to the visions she invents for herself, in a kind of hallucinated reality. Lyz is a fighter! She wants to ski, she wants to win, she wants to be seen. She’s desperately in need of love! She wants to be recognized, she wants to shine for someone. That’s why she throws herself completely into this story. But it’s only a downward spiral, and she overcomes it. The screenplay uses the device of the spiral in which the character of Lyz finds herself. Nevertheless, the film avoids the easy solution of the spectacular. "Slalom" follows the action, to the beat of the main character’s pulse, in order to take the viewer on an intimate and instantaneous journey. In the film, there's no trial. But what Lyz lives through and why she lives through it speaks more to us. In the end Lyz learns to say no. All the action is expressed through her eyes. To learn to respect yourself, you've to learn to say no. It's very important for Lyz to say no. In direction terms, at that specific moment, everything around her exists almost exclusively off-camera. The film ends up on her face, so that the viewer is able to see her soothed and almost weightless. She renounces in order to find inner peace. During the film, she has gone through every shade of emotion. Rage, anger, pain, joy, rebellion. It’s the only time in the movie when Lyz is calm and at peace. She's really in tune with herself and emerges victorious. The film condemns sexual abuse in sports, that’s the subject, but it’s also the resilience that drives Lyz to move forward. You can feel her gradually regaining her awareness of herself and her newfound freedom. The ending is optimistic and represents a form of wisdom. Fred (Jérêmie Rénier) trains young people in a ski-study program to enter competitions, race, make it to the top of the podium and achieve their ultimate dream; to become 'Olympic' champions. He's a former ski champion who could have made it, but who probably had an accident and had to stop racing. He’s become a coach in spite of himself. That’s the subject; how can a man reach the point where he does those kinds of things when, at first, he doesn’t seem like a rapist, a psychopath, or a guy that’s sick. How do you reach the point of losing your mind, of losing a form of control? That's the subject of our discussions and our fears. So, he’s experiencing a kind of frustration up until the day when he meets this girl, Lyz, on whom he’s going to project a lot of things. They've to transmit, to put themselves in their place and fantasize about their success. For a coach, the success of your work comes first and foremost through that of your students. The character of Fred is above all a man, a human being and not a monster. He slips up, he blames himself and he too is eaten up by guilt, desire and envy. In the end, "Slalom" can almost be seen as a feminist film as the women take centre stage, such as the characters of Lyz’s mother Catherine (Marie Denarnoud) and Lilou (Muriel Combeau), Fred’s wife. This mother fascinates us. She feels love but, at the same time, she wants to live her life. Lilou, on the other hand, clings to Fred and lies a little to herself even if she wants to denounce something. She doesn’t really know how to do it. When the recent sex scandals in the sports world broke, the film was finished. With "Slalom" people will be able to understand the message. If the film had been released a few years ago, it's reception would have definitely been different. But now people are speaking out. And we know that stories like the one in the film are everywhere and in every sport. "Slalom" aims to fuel a debate and free up speech concerning the issue of sexual domination in sport. And then the subconscious need to denounce such practices came to the fore as the main focus of the film. Sexual abuse and assault in sports is a taboo subject. Cinema is an ideal medium for listening, watching, guessing what's never said, and revealing the gods and demons that hide deep in our souls. The fantastical aspect is reminiscent of genre cinema. It comes from the desire for aestheticism or fiction, to plunge into an intimate journey because that’s how we see things. The goal is to avoid all didacticism. There's documentary film on the one hand and fiction on the other. Fiction imposes an artistic and aesthetic vision. This isn’t a film with an agenda, it’s a film that’s meant to be open about the subject; it’s not a settling of scores. It’s a work of fiction, almost like a psychological thriller. "Slalom" creates a very strong visual world. The film deals with adolescence and the awakening of desire. Resilience and the quest for identity are two issues that are close to our heart. The notion of the quest for identity is very important in the journey. The heroines try to find themselves, take risks, fall and then finally get up again. There's a kind of revelation. What the film is particularly interested in is trauma and how you recover from it. Talking about emotions in adolescence means talking about what manifests itself, motivates and moves you. It’s a time when emotions are in motion, when they take shape even though we don’t yet know how to contain, name and give meaning to what's going on in us. It's also the moment when we test our limits and when, in order to exist, we project ourselves in the eyes of others, even if it means sometimes going astray. Adolescence is indecision, adrenaline and risk-taking, incredibly rich and interesting sensations to film. In life, people are contradictory and that's precisely what will lead to a journey that's certainly rocky but nevertheless rich. "Slalom" is an intimate manifesto on renunciation and resilience.0024
- "Ammonite" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·March 14, 2021(Regent Street Cinema, 307 Regent Street, London, W1B 2HW, ● Screening from 26th Mar) https://www.regentstreetcinema.com/whats-on/ammonite/ https://www.regentstreetcinema.com/staying-well/ (Release Info London schedule; March 28th, 2021, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-ammonite-film-online "Ammonite" 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and Charlotte (Soairse Ronan) sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever. In the 1840s, acclaimed self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning works alone on.the wild and brutal 'Southern English' coastline of 'Lyme Regis'. The days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now hunts for common fossils to sell torich tourists to support herself and.her ailing widowed mother. When one such tourist, Roderick Murchison (James McArdle), arrives in Lyme on the first leg of a 'European' tour, he entrusts Mary with the care of his young wife Charlotte, who's recuperating from apersonal tragedy. Mary, whose life is a daily struggle on the poverty line, cannot afford to turn him down but, proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, she clashes with her unwanted guest. They're two women from utterly different worlds. Yet despite the chasm between their social spheresand personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realization that they are not alone. It's the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably. When "Ammonite" begins, we find Mary Anning slightly past her prime at this point, the days of her making huge discoveries as a leading scientist in the field of palaeontology are somewhat over, and she’s a little bit jaded with the profession. She’s been much maligned by her male counterparts. She’s looking after her ailing mother Molly (Gemma Jones) and selling fossils from the fossil shop where they live. A working class woman working on the unforgiving and dangerous sea shore in Dorset, with virtually no education, thrust into being the breadwinner for the family at the age of 11 following her father’s death, and rising to become one of the leading but totally unrecognised palaeontologists of her generation, totally self-taught in a deeply patriarchal and class ridden society. Mary is remarkably stoic. She was born into a life of poverty, lived in a class-ridden, patriarchal society, and was very much sidelined. Her achievements were taken from her by her male counterparts; they would credit themselves for the majority of Mary’s finds. But she's determined, she's very headstrong, so she didn’t change who she's as a person. She's uneducated, but she learned from her father, who died when she was ten years old; it's because of the things he taught her that she found her first ichthyosaur at eleven. She has an inquisitive mind and a vast, knowledgeable brain, this self-taught ability that she has, and that she continues to learn throughout her life, is something we truly admired in her. There’s not a huge amount of literature on her, and we don’t know very much about her personal life, but one thing that we do know is that she would give the little that she has to the poor. Among the fossils she also find items that smugglers were hiding on the beach, in the caves. In those days you were supposed to turn over anything you found of a smuggled nature to the authorities; but Mary re-hides the things that she finds and then tell the poor people where they're! There's absolutely no evidence Mary ever has a relationship with anyone, whether that be heterosexual or same sex. She has close friendships with women and in the society of the time, where women are the subjects of men and where Mary has been virtually written out of history because of her gender and social status, it didn’t feel right to give her a relationship with a man. It's difficult to be open and vulnerable enough to love and be loved, particularly if you’ve been badly scarred by a past relationship. The film explores what this relationship might mean to someone who has not only been socially and geographically isolated but who has had to close off to any emotional life, where you replace affection and intimacy with work and duty. Where you’ve been overlooked and ignored your whole life because of your gender and social class. Given this world, would Mary be able to access how she feels for Charlotte? Would she be able to let her guard down to allow the possibility of something new and wonderful to enter her life? The film is fascinated by how these female relationships could flourish in this world, a world where the medical profession still believed women had no sexual pleasure organs and still 50 years before science categorised sexual orientation and then only for men. Through lighting, the film depicts the change Charlotte brings with her into this world, how she alters the environment, bringing her own sense of light into his dark, unemotional world. Charlotte has been married to Roderick Murchison for a couple of years at this point. She lost a child, and just feels empty and a bit useless, really. At that point in history the only purpose that a woman had was to marry, keep the home and have a child; so she feels fundamentally like a failure. It’s six months on from the death of her child, and she’s still in mourning, and hasn’t come out of that depression yet. So she’s brought to Lyme Regis, and she’s left there,,and she can think of nothing worse. Roderick leaves, and she and Mary don’t get on initially. But the safety of being with somebody who doesn’t want anything from her, isn’t asking anything of her, and allows her to break down and grieve and then start to come out of that a healthier stronger person. They really help to build one another up; and so get to a place where Charlotte still has this sadness, but she can live with it, and survive it. Her relationship with Roderick is really fraught at the beginning of the film; their marriage has become quite strained; they don’t have sex anymore, and even when they did, it's probably a very functional thing. What makes Charlotte quite unique, is that she’s somebody who's quite willing to take a back seat in terms of attention or being the one to shine. Her talent comes through in putting somebody else up on a pedestal and allowing everyone to see their greatness. She’s got a great sense of humility, and she’s a very giving person. She’s someone who has been very hurt and broken, but who still has a great capacity for love anddoesn’t shy away from that at all. From Charlotte’s point of view, she just wants to be held, and to have someone close to her physically who can at least try and understand what she’s going through. He’s probably going through the same thing, but they don’t know how to articulate it. There’s so much expected of them at that time, to just keep going and pretending everything’s fine, it puts a lot of strain on them. Then they've this time apart, and Charlotte comes out a different person in a way, a stronger person. And he’s gone off and had this adventure, where he’s been able to find his passion. The relationship between Mary and Molly, it’s quite tense. Mary’s mother has a hold over her. Mary does respect her, and doesn’t want to let her down, but at the same time she's held by this life, by the darkness of this world, and that’s largely to do with her mother being stuck in her ways and scared of change. Mary’s determination to carve out her own personality whist living with another powerful woman was quite difficult, but it’s also quite funny. There are funny moments, where you see Mary roll her eyes behind Molly’s back. At the beginning of the story Mary is tired, tired of living a hard impoverished life; increasingly impatient with her mother; disheartened with her profession and with trudging out on the cold beaches. Emotionally she’s really shut down, and she doesn’t expect life to deal her any nice cards at all. So the attachment she forms to Charlotte is really interesting. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with Charlotte at all, she initially finds her a bit silly and irritating, and doesn’t want to have to look after this tiny little sparrow of an upper class woman who wears the wrong shoes and puts on lace gloves to go fossiling. But her opinion of Charlotte really does change, in spite of herself. Even though they’re from completely different worlds, what you realise is that they’re equals in many ways. They’re both looking for affection; they’re both trapped in their own worlds, for a variety of reasons. Mary doesn’t have the finances to explore the world; but Charlotte is trapped by her finances, as the quiet little wife who’s very much kept. Mary brings out a feistier side in Charlotte, and Charlotte learns things about herself she never would have known were it not for Mary. She has lost a child, so she’s grieving; through friendship with Mary, she’s able to start thinking about other things, thinking beyond the grief. Her spirits lift, she gets healthier - and that’s all because of Mary. Charlotte is inspired by Mary; she’s never seen a woman like this, a strong woman who lives alone, who doesn’t have a husband to provide for her. For Mary, Charlotte is beautiful and delicate in a way that she herself isn’t. She’s got gnarled hands, she doesn’t look in the mirror, she barely takes a brush to her hair; so there are many things about Charlotte that she finds utterly fascinating. The way she smell of perfume and nice fabrics, it’s not Mary’s world at all. There’s an intoxicating aroma that follows Charlotte, and for Mary it’s something very new, something that she’s never imagined she’d stand that close to. Charlotte in turn feels like she’s almost got to live up to Mary. What Charlotte does that really helps Mary to come out of herself, and get rid of some of that coolness that she’s carried with her for so long, is that Charlotte won’t give up. She goes in with open arms, isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with Mary, and isn’t afraid to show what her feelings for her are. That catches Mary off-guard, but she’s forced into a place where she has to do the same. The physical environment is also very important, not just the exteriors but also the interiors. This world is defined by space Mary is working class and has little money, her living environment is small, with few windows, almost claustrophobic, dark and uncomfortable. In contrast, Charlotte’s interior world is flooded with light, space to escape, in other words there's choice within Charlotte’s world. It's fascinating to see each character inhabit each other’s interior and exterior live. "Ammonite" is a really good example of how the industry is changing. It’s a symbiotic change. For Mary, she ends up letting love in; and with Charlotte, there’s a sense of pride in work, an understanding of who she's, and how not to be defined by the norms of the day. "Ammonite" is shot in a linear, chronological way. Allowing each scene to impact on the next emotionally, like building blocks within the story. This is particularly challenging but it has paid off, given the strong emotional arc that's depicted at the heart of the film. The camera movement reflects not just the landscape but also the emotional state of the characters. An investigation into how to navigate a relationship from deeply lonely, disconnected beginnings. How we learn how to love again after being hurt. How we can be open enough to love and be loved. How we can accept and forgive and learn through the power of a true, intimate connection. But the world was a very different place: people’s emotions were much more hidden, things were just much more behind closed doors; religion played a much bigger part in everyday life. Throughout the history of cinema, there’s been a real enjoyment in finding romantic relationships through real people in history, from ‘Shakespeare In Love’ to ‘The King And I’. It marks our time that we can be free and open to the idea that there could have been a same sex relationship in Mary’s life, as there might have been a heterosexual relationship. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what life you're born into possibilities are out there, possibilities are endless. Being authentically true to yourself and using your voice to be who you want to be is more important than anything else in this world. Now more than ever we’re living in a time when women are absolutely obsessed with other women and when, more than what we look like or how we feel when we walk down the street, it’s about what women have to say. Women are greater together: the more strong female voices we've, the more togetherness we show, more examples we've of great women history, the more inspired we will feel as a community to support one another, to encourage one another and to inspire one another. For years we’ve been judged; still now we’re judged. We’re questioned all the time, we’re asked to justify our choices, why we wear what we wear, why we do our hair the way we do, why we work or don’t work. We’re seeing a new chapter in the history of women. We’re seeing much more equality in the workplace. We’re at a point now in society, and politics, and art, and film, where we’re definitely being given a platform to share stories we weren’t able to before. It shows a progression, and a real acceptance about the way we're now. People throughout history have been able to find a sense of self that’s not necessarily celebrated by the patriarchy of the time; people still live their lives.0031
bottom of page