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- "Simple Passion" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·February 1, 2021(Release Info London schedule; Februar 5th, 2021, Curzon Home Cinema) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-simple-passion-film-online "Simple Passion" The story of a 'simple passion', that of Hélène August's (Laetitia Dosch) passion for Alexandre Svitsin (Sergei Poluniv), a young Russian diplomat, whom she barely knows, whom she nevertheless sees with the same intensity each time they meet. Since last September she waits for him to call her and come to her place. Everything about him is so precious to her, his eyes, his mouth, his childhood memories, his voice. The character of Hélène seems to be astonished by this state of siege, at once sweet and insidious. Pure dopamine. A drug, really. Hélène is an unfettered, free-spirited, woman. A mature, self-assured woman. Ultimately, she's a woman who submits herself out of love. But it's her decision. This is how we've to see the story of 'Passion Simple'; from a voluntary, not a victim’s viewpoint. Alexandre represents a free man, with a complex and elusive personality. He's the objectified man in the film. It's a complex vision of woman, the character is not a model of independence, because she's completely addicted to this man. And she's a bright woman, on top of that, who raises her son alone, who teaches literature at 'The Sorbonne', and yet she says that for a whole year, the only thing that mattered to her is this man. The protagonist waits for her lover anywhere, not only at home, thanks to today’s new technologies, to cell phones. So that she can wait for him anywhere in the world, even though the world is shrinking around her because all she ever does is wait for him. Yet she's always active and wanting, even if she submits herself to that man’s desire. To be an object of desire, to desire, to wait, to fantasise, isn't it the antithesis of an independent woman? It's a sexual film. Filming bodies is a way to glamorize characters. Characters who are comfortable with their own bodies. In the film, the evolution of their passion follows that of the choreography of their bodies. The film is based on Annie Ernaux’s 90s' bookseller 'Passion Simple'. It established a perfect and precise picture of passionate love. It inspires you with a lot of courage. Her words make you want to be honest without being ashamed. They give you the energy to be precise, sincere, not sappy. You've to dig really deep into your own neuroses to understand Annie Ernaux to the full extent. And when these neuroses are looked by a filmmaker who infuses passion with some radiant energy, then it's pure bliss. The ultimate power of the book is that it doesn’t try to explain things. Passion probably involves a will to submit yourself to the other person, either a man or a woman, and to put your whole self into it. Moral judgement has nothing to do with it. It's really brave to explore so meticulously female desire, passion, that place where there's freedom but at the same time a total dependence on the other person. It's scary. We've to understand where it’s coming from. We don’t judge her. It's a story about how lucky you're when you fall in love. About the emotional rollercoaster it actually is. The absolute loss of control when you meet someone, when you idealize that person. The film sparks off a debate around the issue of feminism. With today’s 'MeToo' climate, of course, But it's a precious thing that there are so many different visions of woman in films, that some might arouse controversy, or bring out tensions. The worse thing would be to have women who are all similar, to have everybody agreeing, it would mean that we've left a norm only to confine ourselves to another. We do not want to see only models of flawless independent women. The situation is interesting because it's vertiginous. Beyond morality, neither black nor white.00158
- "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
- 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
- "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
- Alice Doesn't Live Here AnymoreIn Film Reviews·August 25, 2018In some ways Alice shares a lot of the same DNA with some of Scorsese's more recognisable films from the 70's - there is support from Harvey Keitel and a young Jodie Foster, (indeed in watching this again recently you are reminded just how intimidating a screen presence Keitel was and how much charisma teenage Foster possessed) there is a great soundtrack and the film creates a distinctive world for its characters to inhabit; However, this road movie really is a departure for Scorsese from the films that would come to define him. Ellen Burstyn plays Alice, a recent widow and mother to a precocious son. Following the death of her husband Alice is freed from an unhappy marriage and she and her young Son Tommy pack up and take to the road to travel to Monterey, California, the only place where Alice ever felt truly happy. Alice wants to make it as a Singer but along the way, in order to make ends meet, she is forced to take a waitressing job in a small town where she befriends another waitress, Flo (Diane Ladd) and falls for a local farmer (Kris Kristofferson). The dialogue is snappy and it clips along at a nice pace. Alice is sharp witted and her exchanges with her son Tommy give the film a real sense of warmth and convey that they are in it together. Burstyn and Ladd are great on screen together and after a frosty to start to their friendship their relationship is utterly believable and, rarely for a 70’s New Hollywood film passes the Bechdel test with ease. Burstyn is fantastic as Alice, a Woman in her mid thirties who married young and chose the wrong man. After her husband’s death she is left penniless with a wise-cracking son to care for. Her performance manages to convey a compelling blend of world weariness and worry for the future with a spirit and optimism and great humour. The romance with Kristopherson feels a little forced and it may have made for a more compelling story if they don't end up together but rather Alice finds happiness in her independence, that being said, it is interesting to see a gender reversed 'manic pixie dream girl' archetype playing out on screen. This was Scorsese’s first major movie following the unexpected success of his breakthrough hit, Mean Streets. He was referred to Burstyn by Francis Ford Coppola who was looking for an up and coming director to bring her vision for Alice to the screen. The fact that this is someone else’s artistic vision brought to life by Scorsese makes this an interesting film to watch in the context of his wider career. The direction is simple but effective, there are one or two visual flourishes that Scorsese fans will recognise as his but this is clearly Burstyn’s film. The combination of these two creative influences gives us a film that is full of Scorsese’s trademark vibrancy and energy but is also a thoughtful and nuanced exploration of a Woman attempting to make sense of her situation and forge her own identity. As a viewer we root for Alice each step of the way and by the end of the film are left more confident that wherever she lives she has what she needs to be happy.0027
- The Darkest Minds - An uninspired and mediocre dystopian teen movie. Shrug.In Film Reviews·October 31, 2018This is not about politics. It’s about your children. This is about our children. We will find a cure and we will save our precious sons and daughters. If you want to form a sentence with the words “monotony”, “mediocrity”, “clichéd sameness” and “corny”, you can do that without any problems along with the movie title “The Darkest Minds“. Well, I’m getting sick of the concept of dystopian teen films. Even though they mixed it this time with a kind of “X-men” mood. Apart from some crackling electrical flashes, a storm with trees crashing down and flying containers, there’s not much more to see here. And don’t expect impressive special effects either. Actually, I already had the feeling while watching “The 5th Wave” that after the successful franchises of “Divergent” and “The Hunger Games” we would be flooded with weak duplicates of this genre for years. Duplicates of which they hoped it could be the start of again some successful sequels. However, I’m afraid this is yet again another feeble attempt that will fail. Simply because “The Darkest Minds” is really embarrassingly bad. Watch out for the orange and red ones. This time it’s not a devastating war or an alien invasion that makes our planet a place where survival is priority number one. No, it’s a sudden emerging disease (Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration) that actually kills about 95% of young people. I suppose this is a kind of childhood disease of a higher level. And those who survive suddenly have supernatural powers. They are locked up straight away in youth camps by the adult world. Allegedly to examine them and to find a cure. Ultimately it’s because these adults, like with the X-men, are afraid of mutants and secondly because they are afraid to lose power. There, on the basis of their acquired powers, those kids are divided into groups. Each with a specific color, whereby those from the orange and red camp are considered to be the most dangerous. In other words, persons who’re allocated to these two groups, simply are going to be eliminated. Likewise, the lovely girl Ruby (Amandla Stenberg) who appears to be part of the orange team after being tested. It’s kind of predictable. For the umpteenth time, we see how moronic and stupid adults are portrayed in these kinds of films. Orange means that a person has the ability to manipulate someone else’s thoughts. You don’t need to be an Einstein to know how Ruby manages to save herself from this life-threatening situation. The moment Ruby escapes from this concentration camp and joins a group of teenagers, you can get ready for the most sugar-coated and predictable storyline ever. Let’s meet “The slip kid”. The group of teenagers, consisting of Liam (Harris Dickinson), Chubs (Skylan Brooks) and Zu (Miya Cech), are looking for a kind of youth camp where children are safe. It’s led by a legendary figure with the name “The Slip Kid “. And before you know it, love is in the air and Ruby finds the ultimate hint to find out where the camp is located. And finally, there’s also a mandatory plot twist. Only viewers who have fallen asleep above their popcorn, haven’t seen that one coming. The only thing I could appreciate was the end. I can’t say it was really original. But it’s kind of daring. But I came real quick to my senses when I realized that sequels with similar nonsense are likely to be released in the future. Uninspired and mediocre. To be honest, you can’t blame the film studios to release such films. After all, the profit is the most important thing for them. And when a specific genre is already a hype for a number of years, you have to continue with it until the subject has been completely milked dry. And as long as the theaters fill up with teenage girls (With helmets on because they run into walls while being constantly focused on their smartphones) who dream away while watching a film full of female heroism and who swoon when looking at a handsome Boyband-like wuss, the studios continue to produce these type of movies. Till one day when those youngsters themselves exclaim in disgust (the age of reason probably) that they’ve had enough. And despite the political correctness in this film and the moral of equality (an “It doesn’t matter what color you are”-like message), it still remains mediocre crap with superheroes in it. So even though colors play an important role in “The Darkest Minds“, it’s just a colorless (and also uninspired) teenage film. My rating 2/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here0011
- "Minyan" written by Gregory MannIn Film Reviews·January 1, 2022(Minyan • 2020 ‧ Drama ‧ 1h 58m • Showtimes London • Tue 18 Jan, Genesis Cinema, 5,6 km·Whitechapel, 93-95 Mile End Road, LONDON E1 4UJ, United Kingdom, 21:00) https://genesiscinema.co.uk/GenesisCinema.dll/WhatsOn?Film=25625632 "Minyan" David (Samuel H. Levine), a young 'Russian Jewish' immigrant in Brighton Beach at the height of the 1980s, caught up in the tight constraints of his community. While helping his grandfather Josef (Ron Rifkin) settle into a retirement facility in the tight-knit 'Russian Jewish' enclave he calls home, he develops a close friendship with his new neighbors, Itzik (Mark Mogalis) and Herschel (Christopher McCann), two elderly closeted gay men, who open his imagination to the possibilities of love and the realities of loss; and explores 'The East Village' where he finds solace in like-minded souls. A world teeming with the energy of youth, desire and risk. He finds and quietly blossoms. When Itzik dies and the neighbors want to throw Herschel out, David must stand up to defend his discoveries about himself and where he belongs. The film is based on David Bezmozgis book. The short story is about a young man whose grandfather is struggling to find a place to live, and the only reason he gets an apartment in this building is because he's a pious 'Jew' and will show up to make a minyan for prayers. The protagonist of the short story is not gay, but there are pieces of 'DNA' from Bezmozgis's writing that feels foundational to who David is; the immigrant who doesn't fit into his community, and who doesn't have access to language. The elements pertaining to the yeshiva school David attends in the movie appear as a set of observations in parts of other stories from the same collection. The notion of wanting to be able to live a physical life, and to experience sex, David in the movie wants that, because lust and desire are things were supposed to feel as young people. Coincidentally, his neighbors are two closeted gay men, and one of them dies. A question emerges of will they throw the surviving partner out or not, because his name isn't on the lease. The movie contains a scene of unprotected sex that adds a layer gravitas to the story, considering it's time period. It would be naive and false to claim that the only sex gay men have after the discovery of the virus is safe sex. Gays and straights continue to have unprotected sex because passion and sexuality often overrule our better judgments. How we deal with uncertainty is an energy that all the characters in this movie feel in different ways. They all feel threatened. David has little or no idea at first what's going on in the world just a few subway stops away. But once he knows, he can never really shake that fear off. The movie is in some way about those moments, trying to be who you're in the most authentic and vulnerable way, even if it ends up being a threat to your survival. In the '80s 'Brighton Beach' is also more heavily religious than it's now, something David would have wanted to get away from. It feels like 'Old Country Jews'. It's a story about the tests of freedom, or the tests of empathy, in the free world. NYC in the 1980s as 'AIDS' took such a terrifying and decimating hold on the community, "Minyan" is a powerful story of rebellion and self-discovery, sexual and spiritual awakening, and survival. A story of strength in numbers, as one young man wakes up to the realities of a new life, where youth, desire and risk collide with the indelible specters of the past. There's a particular way that strangers move through strange lands. 'Immigrants', 'Jews', 'Homosexuals', in order to survive, they've learned to be keen observers, listeners more than talkers, always on the lookout for danger and openings. They carry history under the skin, and make do with less to fulfill a promise in the future. This is the 'DNA' and the ethos for "Minyan"; and very much the way we've moved through our own life. Trying to figure out who's required navigating grief and sexual exploration. What's shadow and what's light. We're comforted by and fascinated with the stories our grandparents told, their secretive crying and mysterious 'Yiddish' whispers. There's a strong connection in "Minyan" to this idea of 'The Jews' being the people of the book, reading the Torah, saying the prayers, the story of 'King David', which is an incredible story itself. On one hand, a minyan refers to the simple rules of prayer, you need ten men to make a quorum to say certain prayers. As a pious Jew you say prayers alone from the moment you wake up and wash your hands, but those are private prayers. These big signpost prayers like the Kaddish have to be told in a group, and with 10 people it takes on a different dimension. We believe that with the group, prayer is changed into belief. We're attracted to the edges of things, moments held in mesmerizing balance, the surface tension, here between fear and freedom, between seen and closeted, between newness and inexperience of youth and the gravity of old age. Go back to where you started, or as far back as you can, examine all of it, travel your road again and tell the truth about it. Sing or shout or testify or keep it to yourself. It's about what people feels on the inside versus how they come across on the outside, and that in many ways all of us share a certain set of feelings; loss, despair, impossibility. The main one is the looming sense of existential dread, the idea that just living your life authentically, being who you're might be the cause of your own death is a staggering heaviness to deal with, not knowing who's going to live or die, this is part and parcel of being a 'Jew', an immigrant, or a homosexual. We don’t like to equate the 'Holocaust' with anything, it’s sui genesis in terms of the brutal, cruelty and terror and mass killing, there are parallels to what 'AIDS' did to the gay community, the wiping out of almost an entire population; and we feel like survivors share an emotional landscape with other survivors.0050
- Superfly (2018) - The movie itself wasn't superfly though.In Film Reviews·February 12, 2019God is great. God is powerful, yeah. But even more so, God is all-knowing. And that is what makes him scary as shit. Do you understand what I’m saying? This remake of the movie “Super Fly” from the 70s, with Ron O’Neal as Priest, isn’t really my favorite kind of film. There’s already a multitude of this genre of movies. The so-called blaxploitation. Perhaps the older films sketched a better picture of the Afro-Americans whose future wasn’t too rosy. Because of discrimination and racist measures, the possibilities to succeed in life were reasonably limited. Getting involved in criminal activities was therefore self-evident. But I’m sure it wasn’t as flashy and groovy as in this movie. So you can expect to see some nice, expensive sports cars. Golden teeth and golden automatic guns. Leather coats covered with fur and shiny gold necklaces. Decadent parties where dollar bills are thrown around as bread to the ducks. A shitload of scantily clad ladies with a nicely shaped, vibrating butt. A lot of rap music (even at a funeral) and Yo-yo-yo-Bro show off. And of course the expressions “nigga”, “bitches” and “hoes” are frequently used in a conversation. In short, everything that can be seen in a rap music video. Hey, he does a Marge impression. The film wasn’t really convincing. The only scene that made me hope for a mega-cool gangsta film, full of uncontrollable violence and big talk, was the one at the beginning where Priest (Trevor Jackson) confronts the rapper Litty with the fact that he still needs to pay him a large amount of money. This was such a moment that I love in a movie. The calm and at the same time threatening attitude Priest exhibits there is entertainment of the highest level. He reminded me a bit of Shaft but this time with an absurd looking hairstyle. It’s very similar to the hairstyle of Marge Simpson. Unfortunately, from here it went downhill. Time to retire. Not only did Priest’s hair look ridiculous, but his omniscience and how easily the whole mess is being solved was a bit exaggerated. The story of the street-boy Priest who, after years of selling drugs comes to the decision to call it quits, isn’t very original either. He wants to hang up his dealer-robe because diving away from bullets that are fired at a short distance, isn’t that easy anymore for an elderly person. They want to pull off one last deal (and this at the expense of the person who has taken care of him all his life) and then he and his two wives can buy a luxury yacht and retire. Yep, it’s not a good idea to mess with a Mexican drug cartel. The fact that he uses a Mexican drug cartel for this, says enough about his credibility. No matter how rational he takes care of his affairs, this proves there’s a shortage of well-functioning brain cells. I’m not familiar with the drugs scene, but I do know that the members of such a cartel aren’t softies to play with. Before you know it, you’ll be hanging decapitated somewhere under a bridge or you can admire the fauna and flora of a river with your feet in a block of cement. Just an average movie. And even though it looks visually professional sometimes (apparently the budget was considerably high), there are so many downsides in this film that it’s almost impossible to take it seriously. Perhaps that was the intention. The chases looked ridiculously amateurish. The scarce fight scenes looked average and felt old-fashioned (even the sound effects didn’t help). Trevor Jackson manages to play the cold-blooded drug dealer, but otherwise, his character is so clichéd and two-dimensional that it seems pretty ridiculous. Not to mention his employees. And the most hilarious are the two corrupt detectives and the mother of Gonzalez. If you need a textbook example to explain the word caricature, then they are the most suitable subjects to do this. Superfly? Far from. No, for me this movie wasn’t a success. Are you looking for something to fill up your free time? Well, this flic is useful for that. However, the only exciting thing in the whole movie was the shower scene. Even though it felt like it was a compulsory act to fill up the movie with. It really didn’t impress or surprise. In short, the film wasn’t really “Superfly”. My rating 4/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here00112
- Film Review : Colewell (2019)In Film Reviews·March 10, 2020The thing about getting older is looking back, it doesn’t matter how old you are, life always feels the same length. Like both forever and not very long. You’ve just seen “Uncut Gems” and you feel the nerves raging through your body after watching this ultra-nervous film? Well, I recommend you to watch the film “Colewell“. Believe me. After watching this film, you’ll feel completely relaxed again. There are no situations full of agitated behavior. No feverish activity. Everything is calm and peaceful. This cozy and pleasant film progresses at a leisurely pace. Like the gently rippling water in a quiet stream. Just about the pace of someone in old age who performs the same ritual every day and eagerly awaits his well-deserved retirement. Only Nora (Karen Allen) was not yet ready for that well-deserved rest that is now being forced upon her. The same routine every morning. Nora is an older lady who runs a local post office in the small village of Colewell, somewhere in Pennsylvania. And trust me on this, when I say you can admire her morning routine several times. A morning where she will check the chicken coop for freshly laid eggs. And every time she checks the state of one of the laying hens because it’s upset because of newly added fellow hens and thus refuses to squeeze such a fragile object through her poopybutthole. Then it’s time for breakfast (with a firm omelet made with fresh eggs) and a getting dressed ritual before she opens the door of the post office (located at her place) to welcome the villagers. Everything is performed dutifully and meticulously. And I’m sure she did this from day one. A changing world. “Colewell” is about aging and the preservation of certain values of life. At the same time, it’s also about the fear of losing these certain values. And the rapidly changing world around us. When a decision is made to forget about certain post offices and integrate them into the larger whole, Nora sees those values disappearing like snow in the sun. The day after she’s being confronted with this terrible decision at the US Postal Service headquarters, she sinks into an emotional pit and consciously skips her daily rituals. As if it all no longer matters. The choices that were proposed to her are both not adequate solutions for her. Relocating to a larger city to work there at the post office. Or retire. Both are alternatives that Nora disregards. The post office has a social function. The post office in Colewell has an additional function. It’s the meeting place for the local population. There’s gossiping, stockings are knitted, food is exchanged and life stories shared. In short, it’s the heart of a community. And the members of this community are heartbroken when they are told that their beloved assembly point is about to disappear. Initiatives are being taken to turn the tide and efforts are being made to safeguard Nora’s workplace. But as soon as they realize that this is a futile effort, everyone accepts the situation and the social contacts move to other locations. To the dismay of Nora. Do you want an action-rich movie? Skip this one. “Colewell” is endearing, serene and melancholic at the same time. A subdued drama about how it feels to grow older and then suddenly realize that your functional role has been played out and two arrogant younger people say this without hesitation in your face. Or you’ll be flexible or you pack it up and make room for the future generation. A realistic character study, without frills. But not entirely. The moment Ella (Hannah Gross) shows up at Nora’s place, realism turns into vagueness. It’s not really clear whether this is Nora’s free-spirited daughter or a figment of Nora’s imagination representing the younger Nora. Anyway. Do you like action-rich movies that are nervewracking exciting? Well, I suggest skipping this one. The easy-going nature of the film may well get on your nerves. My rating 5/10 Links: IMDB0017
- Los Olvidados (2017) - I'm sure there was a good horror somewhere hiding in it.In Film Reviews·November 10, 2018Epecuen looks like the scene from a movie. A horror movie… The Onetti brothers could have made it easy on themselves by dubbing the movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” to an Argentine version. Because to be honest, this movie “Los Olvidados” is almost a perfect copy of this legendary film. Only the location and the freakish characters are different. The whole story is situated in Argentina. More specifically in Villa Especuén. A town in the province of Buenos Aires that was completely flooded by a salt lake in 1985 after a period of heavy rainfall. The images used are therefore authentic. Even the slaughterhouse (Matadero) that can be seen in this film, is a lonely witness to the terrible disaster. Yet another advantage for the filmmakers. They could save seriously on the budget for the scenery. It’s not a complete failure. Saying that “Los Olvidados” is a complete failure, is also a bit exaggerated. Admittedly, it certainly won’t win a prize for originality. Literally, all items that are necessary to make a film similar to that of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre“, were checked off on a list. First, you have the ramshackle van, filled with a bunch of people on their way to Especuén to make a documentary about this lost city. The fact that their cumulated IQ most likely won’t exceed that of a hamster, was to be expected. And of course, there are two bimbos who wouldn’t be out of place on one or another Argentine street corner. They take care of the erotic part. Obviously, a tiny jeans pants is mandatory in this case. Let’s see who’ll survive. Furthermore, there’s an annoying director. Then there’s a woman who witnessed the disaster at first hand. She seems to be the smartest of them all. Next, you have a serious guy who apparently joined reluctantly and is constantly scribbling in a sketchbook. And finally, there’s a brown-bronzed, muscular young macho who’s driving the van and constantly flirts with the director’s girlfriend. As soon as this gang has been proposed, you can start guessing who will survive the bloodbath. Brutal and horrible. You don’t have to wait long before the lugubrious figures are introduced. They live in a dilapidated, filthy gas station and their appearance speaks volumes. A mixed bag of strange folk who look unkempt and insane. That these left behind, uncivilized figures will cause problems is plain as day. And from then on, this film transforms from an easy going road-movie to a bloody slasher. And what’s necessary for this type of film, certainly isn’t missing. And these are gruesome, distasteful images in which sharp objects and accessories from a real slaughterhouse are used with enthusiasm. Sure, the used images aren’t all exaggerated or nauseating. Mostly it’s simply brutal and “right in your face” violence. Beautiful footage only won’t make it great. Unfortunately, the brilliantly shot scenes of Especuén and the bloody fragments aren’t enough to make this a great film. The editing of this movie was sometimes very confusing. It seemed as if short scenes were cut out. As if the censorship committee had intervened. There were also meaningless scenes that only served as filler. Like the girl dancing in a bikini. It looked like an amateur-made video clip of a local Argentine hip-hopper. The plot twist at the end was also extremely predictable. And the images made with a drone are also something I’m sick of. It surely produces some hallucinatory images. But nowadays this is used in films time and time again. Do you like movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Watch this one as well. All in all, this film is a must see for the fans of this particular horror genre. The acting wasn’t shockingly bad. The insane family members were really frightening at certain times and acted in a schizophrenic, psychotic way. Especially the head of the family acted completely disturbed. And I got cold chills from the old woman. Also the look of the place where the family leads their life was successful. A frenzied place full of filthiness and blood-curdling props. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing I will remember from this average film. If the makers had put in more Argentine quirkiness, the end result might be much better. My rating 5/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here0087
- Brotherhood good but no KidulthoodIn Film Reviews·May 31, 2018This is a crime drama film which is written, directed by and starring BAFTA-award winning Noel Clarke. It serves as the sequel to Adulthood and the third installment in the hood series. The film is again centered on the troubled and now dad of two Sam Peel, who is portrayed by Noel Clarke. It seems as though sixteen years after Sam has murdered Trife that there are still people out there who want him dead and this is a problem he has to overcome throughout Brotherhood. Sam’s younger brother Royston is an aspiring musician and is shot in the opening scene, which Sam believes the shooter is somebody who is really out to get him. Sam goes to visit Alissa, who after all these years has forgiven Sam. He gives her some money for their daughter. She informs Sam that they must tell her soon what really happened. Sam has always been troubled as a youth and is now still troubled as a grown man, he has bettered himself in some way as he now works in a local gym. Sam learns from Royston’s friend that the shooting was not an accident, Henry gives him a letter with an address on it and a furious Sam storms over to the address. He gains access to the house but is unfortunately outnumbered. After being jumped by many the fight is intervened by a conceited but successful criminal, Daley. All three of the films are well known for its drug use as well as violence. This film in particular wraps a quite torrid and emotional 16 years for Sam. Noel Clarke’s character started out as an aggressive teenage bully whose life was seen to be on the line on more than one occasion, specifically in Adulthood. It seems as though in this film he gets as stable as he can, but acknowledges that after all these years he is unfortunately still looking over his shoulder for crimes he committed nearly 20 years ago. The question is will Sam continue with his criminal ways or will he change so there is a much brighter future for his children. Throughout the film he faces a large number of people who want to hurt him. In one of the better scenes of the film Sam gets jumped by some younger guys in the middle of the street and it does not look good for him at all. Luckily in the nick of time his brother’s friend Henry arrives and the pair of them escape. Despite getting away, Sam realises that his family is in danger. As a result of this, he makes a phone call to his partner Kayla and advises her and the kids to spend the night at her mum’s as these people know where they live. Do you remember in Kidulthood, Uncle Curtis? He has many run-ins with Sam throughout the film and none of them are pleasant. Towards the end of the film there is a vicious stand-off between the pair of them. Can Sam leave this life in the past and protect his family?00129
- The Breadwinner - Discussion - SPOILERSIn Film Reviews·July 3, 2018Unlike previous Cartoon Saloon films – which have mixed the fantastical folk-tales with the modern, more grounded elements – The Breadwinner, very purposefully keeps them separate. That's what I'd like to talk about in this post: How the movie uses these vastly contrasting narratives that dance between reality and fiction to explore grief and courage; creating one of the most heart-breaking, uplifting, and powerful film endings I've seen for years. Be warned, this post will contain spoilers; I'd advise you not to read before you've seen the film. The Breadwinner is a movie of two parts: The visually lavish sequences of digitally recreated cutout animation; reserved for Parvana's tale of the "brave boy" and his struggle against the elephant king. In contrast, we have the grittier, dirtier, more grounded style of Parvana's existence. Intercut with Parvana's, the story of the boy is, at first, a form of escapism; for the audience as well as Parvana: A simple plot device to take the edge off some of the more uncomfortable subject matters. In fact, it's far more meaningful, and, as the film progresses, the story becomes an avenue for Parvana to overcome her fears and address grief. During the second act, Shauzia – another girl in disguise, a childhood friend of Parvana's – asks Parvana about her older brother: "But you have an older brother don't you? He used to bring you to school on his shoulders, what's his name?" "Sulayman" - Comes the reply. Parvana is reluctant to talk about him; saying merely he died some years ago, and that her mother won't talk about it. Sulayman's death is clearly still affecting the family deeply, and Fattima – Parvana's mother – has clearly not dealt with it well and seemed to me, to be suffering from depression; explaining Parvana's disinclination to address it directly. When Parvana leaves her house to earn money and buy food for her family, it's Sulayman's clothes she wears; reinvigorating her brother's spirit and memory. Fattima regularly, and unknowingly refers to Parvana by her brother's name; providing us more evidence to suggest she's not fully come to terms with his death. However, after this awkward exchange, Parvana does begin to open up more; bestowing the "brave boy" the name, Sulayman. This seemingly fantastical tale becomes a medium Parvana uses to express herself, conquer her fears, and acts as an insight into the state of her mind. During the more joyous times, Parvana spends with Shauzia; the tale of Sulayman is jovial and humorous. As she recites the story to her younger brother or mother, it's calmer, safer, but also more melancholic. And, as she faces down the horrors of her situation, the story is dark and menacing but full of the strength of courage. As the film reaches the final act, and amidst a bombing raid, Parvana races to the prison in a last, desperate attempt to save her father. Running in parallel, is the "brave boy" (Sulayman), who is struggling up the elephant king's mountain in what appears to be, a vicious and loud storm; perfectly echoing the bombing raid. Parvana begins shouting the story aloud to herself as a means of finding her courage. After arriving at the prison, Parvana witnesses the Taliban lining up prisoners and executing them. Placing her hands over her ears, she calls out for her brother and the movie cuts to Sulayman; fending off several of the elephant king's jaguar minions, and finally coming face-to-face with the elephant king himself. "I have not come to kill you!" - Shouts Sulayman: The elephant king rears up and bellows in provocation. "Sulayman! Soothe him with your story, the one that Mama-jan can't speak of. Tell him!" - Insists Parvana, who has now summoned the strength to confront the truth of her brother's story. "Tell him what happened. Tell him your story!" "My name is Sulayman!" - He begins. "My mother is a writer. My father is a teacher. And my sisters always fight each other." Then, comes the truth of it all: "One day I found a toy on the street. I picked it up. It exploded. I don't remember what happened after that because it was the end." The elephant king roars again and charges down the mountain towards Sulayman who repeats his words. "My name is Sulayman. My mother is a writer. My father is a teacher. And my sisters always fight each other. One day I found a toy on the street. I picked it up. It exploded. I don't remember what happened after that because it was the end." Stopping dead in his tracks, the elephant king stands in front of Sulayman: Reciting his words once again, this time, in a noticeably more melancholic manner. Sulayman has conquered the elephant king, and Parvana has conquered her fears, and rescued her father. The Breadwinner left me awestruck; almost breathless. I've seen it several times now, but the effect from those last few scenes has never abated. To me, everything about this film is as close to perfection as is possible to come. Jeff and Mychael Danna's soundtrack is superb and melancholic. The casting is flawless, as are the direction and screenplay. The stunningly hand drawn and lovingly recreated, digital cutout animation works perfectly together; particularly within the narrative of this movie. In my eyes, The Breadwinner is a must-see film; a testament to the power of animated film, and is arguably one of the best films of the year so far.001555
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