13 Assassins [15]

DIR: Takashi Miike
CAST: Koji Yakusho, Masachika Ichimura, Goro Inagaki

13 Assassins is a stunningly simple film. It is the dying days of Japan's samurai era, and local warlord Naritsugu (Inagaki) is carrying out a reign of terror, indiscriminately raping and murdering as he pleases. Despite the fact that is supposed to be off limits samurai warrior Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho) decides that he must be stopped, and recruits another 11 elite warriors to the cause, which is clearly a suicide mission. Along the way they are joined by a 13th, a bandit with impressive fighting skills and little left to live for, before taking over a village to prepare for the showdown with the warlord's private army of samurai.

Director Takashi Miike is known in the West largely for his extreme works; gangster films, gore movies and thrillers, but he's a more versatile talent than that, his 80 plus films covering all sorts of genres (even the odd kids movie). I've often found Miike a little indulgent and his films a touch unfocused (which can perhaps be blamed on his astonishing work rate), but 13 Assassins is neither of those things; it's a single minded and tightly constructed work in which tension and action complement one another beautifully, and which treats the samurai era and the samurai characters with seriousness and respect. It builds up the main characters well (though some of the 13 Assassins do become little more than sword waving props), and the film builds effectively to both a large scale battle and a personal conflict between Shinzaemon and Naritsugu's bodyguard Hanbei (Ichimura).

13 Assassins divides quite neatly into two halves; the first establishes Naritsugu's credentials as a legendary murderous bastard and charts the building of the team of 13, while the second half consists entirely of the awe inspiring battle between the 13 and the samurai army. The first half does, despite the twenty minutes that have been cut since the film's festival showings, occasionally feel like it needs speeding up, but equally it is packed with standout scenes be it the opening images of a samurai committing hara kiri, or the shockingly violent backstory of why one of the 13 so desperately wants to take down Naritsugu.

The second half; the battle, is astounding. It could easily be dull, it's basically close to an hour of swordfights, but Miike finds little dramas in many of the individual encounters, as well as keeping both camera style and choreography inventive throughout. Happily the violence isn't given the shakycam treatment often, and when it is the stylistic choice has purpose, putting us inside the viewpoint of a defeated samurai, rather than just being employed to disguise the shabby efforts of yet another director who can't shoot action. The restrained camera style (though that's all that is restrained here, despite the 15 certificate the claret flows in rivers) also means that despite the frenetic nature of the battle the action is always intelligible; I knew where people were and who they were at all times - which has not been so commonplace as you might think in recent action cinema. All this adds up to make the battle scenes involving, exciting, dramatic and fun, if you can't get swept up in the last hour of this movie you may as well give up on cinema; it's not for you.

The performances are perhaps best described as fit for purpose. The actors making up the ranks of the 13 may not have tremendous depth, but they are individual enough for you to know who they all are, and to care when they are imperiled during the battle. The leads are excellent though, with Koji Yakusho and Masachika Ichimura impressing as the two respectful but equally ruthless warriors with a history, and again this lends weight to what could easily just have been a bit of splashily violent fun.

I haven't seen as much of Takashi Miike's work as I should have, but this is easily the best I've seen from him thus far; a muscular, beautifully shot, exciting and entertaining film, but one that has enough depth to engage on levels beyond the visceral. Go and see it.

13 Assassins opens on May 6th (Previews May 3rd and 5th)

24FPS Top 100: No. 60

60: TOY STORY 3 [2010]
DIR: Lee Unkrich

WHY IS IT ON THE LIST?
If you need to ask then I really don't have anything to say to you. For my money the Toy Story series is the great film series of our time, perhaps of all time, three films that each managed to be incredibly successful as popular entertainment, but also to have intelligence, resonance and real emotional content, all wrapped up in what ostensibly is 'just' a kids film.

This third in the series is perhaps the most adult; at its core it is about aging. Both the aging of the toys, who are essentially shipped off, albeit by accident, to a retirement home (in the form of a daycare centre) early in the film, and the aging of their, owner Andy, who is going to college and no longer needs Woody and Buzz in the way he once did. It's a sad an elegiac tale. However the film is also joyful, as much about the act of passing things on to the next generation as it is anything else (apt, as this film will have brought a whole new set of kids to the world of these characters), and as concerned with being a rollicking entertainment as it is in telling a genuinely adult story.

The animation is gorgeous and flowing, a real step up from the first two films, which now look a little dated, however the updating of the design is subtle enough that these remain identifiably the same characters as we saw in 1995 and 1999, just refined versions of them.

The action sequences are wonderful, and deftly combine thrills, laughs and emotion, especially as the film builds first to its great escape inspired daycare breakout and then to its phenomenal centrepiece, as the toys desperately try to escape a furnace in a scene that is both visually stunning and tremendously moving.

The characterisation is dead on, both in terms of animation and voice acting, be it the returning Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack, slipping effortlessly back inside the skins of Woody, Buzz and Jessie or newcomers like Ned Beatty as tragic, strawberry scented, villain Lotso, Michael Keaton as Ken (who has some brilliant exchanges with Jodi Benson's Barbie) and cameo players like Timothy Dalton, hilarious as method acting hedgehog Mr Pricklepants, and Pixar animator Bud Luckey as sad clown Chuckles. I could go on all day, such is the depth of quality.

You can feel how important this film was to the people involved as you watch it, it seemed impossible that it could live up to the legacy of the first two after so long, but Toy Story 3 is a perfect closer for the series, retaining everything that is great about the first two films and bringing the story full circle in a scene that has moved me to tears every time I've seen it.

Collectively, Pixar's films are proof that great children's films don't have to talk down to kids, or throw in gags hey won't get as a sop to parents (or indeed bore parents), Toy Story 3 is perhaps the finest expression of that, an intelligent and complex film that also manages to be about as entertaining as you could wish for.

STANDOUT SCENES






MEMORABLE LINES
There really are too many, but these, from the last scene, mean the most to me.

Andy: [opens box, and takes out Jessie] This is Jessie, the roughest, toughest cowgirl in the whole west. She loves critters, but none more than her best pal, Bullseye!
[pulls out Bullseye, and makes a whinnying sound]
Andy: Yee-haw!
[holds the two tows out to Bonnie]
Andy: Here.
Bonnie: [shyly walks over, and takes Jessie and Bullseyes, a smile on her face]
Andy: [pulls out Rex] This is Rex! The meanest, most terrifying dinosaur who ever lived! RAWR! RAWR!
Bonnie: [recoils a little, but the giggles, and takes Rex too]
Andy: [pulls out Mr and Mrs Potato Head] The Potato Heads: Mr and Mrs. You gotta keep them together because they're madly in love.
[Andy sets them down in front of Bonnie, before pulling out Slinky Dog]
Andy: Now Slinky here, is as loyal as any dog you could want.
[Andy then pulls out Hamm]
Andy: And Hamm, he'll keep your money safe, but he's also one of the most dastardly villains of all time: Evil Dr Porkchop!
[Andy then places the two with their friends, before pulling out the three aliens]
Andy: These little dudes are from a strange alien world: Pizza Planet!
[Andy then sets them down before reaching into his box again]
Andy: And this, is Buzz Lightyear, the coolest toy ever! Look! He can fly, oh, and shoot lasers!
[Andy pops open Buzz's wings, and fires his laser]
Andy: He's sworn to protect the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg!
Bonnie: [Bonnie takes Buzz from Andy, and presses one of the buttons on his spacesuit]
Buzz Lightyear: To Infinity, and Beyond!
Andy: Now, you gotta promise to take good care of these guys. They, mean, alot to me.

Andy: Now Woody, he's been my pal for as long as I can remember. He's brave, like a cowboy should be. And kind, and smart. But the thing that makes Woody special, is he'll never give up on you... ever. He'll be there for you, no matter what.

Andy: [taking a last look at his toys before he heads off to college] Thanks, guys.

To buy the movie, and help out 24FPS at the same time, please use the links below. Thanks!

Love Story by Taylor Swift

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes
And the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony in summer air

See the lights
See the party, the ball gowns
I see you make your way through the crowd
And say hello, little did I know

That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you please don't go, and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while

'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
And my daddy said stay away from Juliet
But you were everything to me
I was begging you please don't go and I said

Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story baby just say yes

Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story baby just say yes
Oh oh

I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you is fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said

Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you but you never come
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring

And said, marry me Juliet
You'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It's a love story baby just say yes

Oh, oh, oh, oh
'Cause we were both young when I first saw you

DVD Review: Mamma Roma [15]

DIR: Pier Paolo Pasolini

The Film
Mamma Roma, played by Anna Magnani, is a middle-aged whore in the capital city of Rome. Her pimp Carmine (Franco Citti), upon his marriage to a nice city girl, releases Roma and she tracks down her 16-year-old son Ettore (Ettore Garofolo), who has been living in the country. She moves the naïve youth to the city and tries to find him a solid job, all the while working on a fruit stall of her own.

Edward Guthmann of the San Francisco Chronicle described Magnani as "erupting with lust, laughter and carnivorous pleasure." If by that he meant that she was an exuberantly annoying scenery chewer then I'd say he's spot-on, but I think his statement is a complimentary one. Magnani is certainly a required taste in terms of screen presence and performance style (she magnetizes the frame) but I find her cackling rather grating and unbelievably OTT. Her joy for life seems a little bipolar to say the least, and her forced laugh is like the combined sound of a screeching chalkboard and an exploding helium balloon; the overplayed guffaws seeming more at home in a comic strip than a gritty drama. And considering that she's the main character in Mamma Roma, the second feature by Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini (who was murdered in 1975), you may understand why my patience was often tested...

But the film certainly isn't without merit. Pasolini - even if he never really grew as a filmmaker - certainly has an artists eye, and casts a gentle yet dark beauty over his doomed characters. The DP is Tonino Delli Colli, the master lensman who also shot films for Sergio Leone and Roman Polanski. He shades the film beautifully and pays real attention to the landscape; Rome under the cover of night takes on a more haunted tone than the optimistic city of the daytime, where the sun radiates over friendly fields. One scene sees Roma walking through the streets at night telling stories to strangers; men pick up and leave off on her narrative path, one by one joining and departing the story of her life. The continuous shot embraces the darkness of the night and isolates the characters from their surroundings - it's as if they're on a path to nowhere. There is some genuinely dazzling direction in the film, not least in the stunning ending which packs so much power you wonder why the rest of the film is quite so dull.

There are other interesting aspects to the film, most notably the religious symbology and recreations of Christian art - at Carmine's wedding the reception table is a direct recreation of da Vinci's 'Last Supper'. Faith is writ large over the characters in Mamma Roma, especially as we spiral, inevitably, towards the tragic denouement where Pasolini evokes Andrea Mantegna's (an Italian renaissance painter who specialized in religious imagery) 'Lamentation Over The Dead Christ'. Perhaps the combination of class and religion form the backbone of Pasolini's vision for Mamma Roma, and certainly religion reappears in some of his later work; he was, by the way, an atheist. In regards to class, Pasolini was also a member of the Communist Party from 1947 to 1949, but was expelled due to his homosexuality.

Mamma Roma is a sporadically engaging picture but mostly I just didn't care about the characters. Magnani portrays Mamma as a street-smart schemer, but even her mellower moments (of which there are many, in fairness) aren't interesting. Her name seems to hint toward the idea of the nightwalker being the heart of Rome - the upper class may look down on her but in many ways Mamma is the truth of the city; its underground cog which keep the whole working. Sadly there's very little steam behind that idea, save for a scene involving fellow prostitute Biancofiore (Luisa Loiano), whose laugh is just as disturbingly medicated as Roma's, where they use their profession to scheme against a rich businessman. There's really not much chance of rooting for Ettore either - Garofolo portrays him as such a drip that it can be hard to read what emotion he's feeling at any one time.

It may be a technically impressive film but there's little else to recommend Mamma Roma for. Pasolini was an acclaimed poet and artist as well as a filmmaker, and certainly his later work suggests evidence that his three trades often slipped into one, but there's none of that here. There are beautiful images, some smooth camerawork and a neat pace courtesy of editor Nino Baragli, but that's not enough to carry the film. At the Italian premiere in 1962 Pasolini was attacked by protesting fascists who had taken against the picture. Their reasons were political, but I just find myself wishing I could have been that impassioned - positively or negatively - toward a film which is ultimately disappointingly average.

The Disc/Extras
The remastering job is amazing and in terms of photography Mamma Roma doesn't seem to have aged a day. The image is sharp and quite beautiful with very little grain at all. It's so sad that these releases don't have any extras though; not even a trailer.

24FPS Alternative Summer of Cinema: Part 1

'Summer' at the movies now lasts about half of the year, from April (it kicked off in earnest with Zack Snyder's repellent Sucker Punch) to the end of August or the beginning of September. It's a bad time for people who love movies; cinemas become choked with blockbusters, the mainstream squeezing out the smaller, and usually much more interesting, films more each year. But you don't HAVE to go and see the latest superhero movie.

So, rather than telling you about Thor (again), 24FPS now presents its guide to the interesting alternatives coming your way in blockbuster season. In this first part we'll cover releases up to the end of June, and we'll return with a second installment in a few weeks time, when there are more confirmed releases for July and August.

The comments on each release are either by me (in bold type) or by Mike Ewins (in italic type).

APRIL
15th
The Big Releases: Scream 4, Red Riding Hood

The Alternatives...
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW

Peter Bogdanovich's second film gets a remastered 40th anniversary release (in director's cut form). It is starting with a run at BFI Southbank, but thereafter it is likely to play arthouse locations around the country. I can't wait to see this re-release; to be back in the company of these vivid, real, characters; to feast my eyes on the beautiful black and white cinematography (chosen by Bogdanovich as a shorthand way to convincingly evoke the 50's) and to be drawn in, once again, by the expert performances from the ensemble cast.

This is one of my favourite films of all time, and if you only go to the cinema once all summer it should be to see this.

MEEK'S CUTOFF

Kelly Reichardt's film made my Top 10 and Mike's Top 5 films of 2010. It's an absorbing and beautifully shot Western that uses the dry, near featureless, expanse of Wyoming desert in which its main characters become lost as the film's ever present antagonist. Reichardt demonstrates the visual mastery of a Terence Malick, as well as a firm grasp on both performances (Michelle Williams is particularly outstanding) and tone.

Some people won't warm to the film's bleak and abrupt ending, but for me it works perfectly, indeed it's one of the main reasons this film has been going round in my head since the London Film Festival.

It's not often that you get a feminist mumblecore Western, so you should really make the effort to check one out when it comes along. It recalls the novels of Paul Bowles (especially 1950's 'The Delicate Prey') in its story, themes, and utilization of landscape, but as Sam says, this is also deeply reminiscent of the works of Terrence Malick. Tensions boil underneath sand-swept veneers as the characters verge more and more off their track... it all leads up to one of the best endings in years, and think this is a film which will endure the test of time.


22nd
The Big Releases: Arthur, Fast and Furious 5

The Alternatives...
HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER

Russian cinema is producing some really interesting films at the moment (not least 2006's The Lighthouse, recently released on DVD) and How I Ended This Summer looks like a fine example. Set on an isolated island in the cold Arctic Ocean, the film charts the relationship between Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) and Pavel (Grigory Dobrygin) who spend months together on a meteorological polar station. It looks like a stark and intense thriller with some incredible landscape shots, and its evolution into a thriller should be fascinating. I was very sad to miss this one at LFF but can't wait to catch it now and uncover the mystery.

PINA [3D]

Yes, that is a pig flying overhead, and yes, I am recommending a 3D film. I have no rhythm. I can't play music, I can barely keep time while clapping, and I certainly can't dance, but since seeing The Red Shoes for the first time about four years ago I have become fascinated by dance. Pina Bausch, who died just before this film entered production, forcing a radical overhaul of its form, was one of the most famous and best regarded modern dance choreographers, and I'm sure it's going to be a joy to see her work brought out into the open, as Wim Wenders has her company stage this work in public spaces. I'm also intrigued to see how the 3D will be implemented.

TAXI ZUM KLO

Well, this one won't be for everyone, but as someone who is always keen to see where the boundaries lie in terms of censorship I'm interested in the uncut re-release of Frank Ripploh's extremely controversial autobiographical 1980 film about his experience as a gay man living in Berlin. It is apparently unflinching (to the point of indulging in hardcore sequences).

I'm not sure I'll go and see it, or pick up the uncut DVD which follows this cinematic run, but this is another happy and notable turning point in the liberalisation of UK censorship for an audience that has been more marginalised than most by censorship policy.


29th
The Big Release: Thor [3D]

The Alternatives...
FAREWELL

Having seen this a year ago at a Q and A screening I can faithfully report that it is a very absorbing and extremely well acted 70's style spy thriller. The pace may be leisurely, but the story (which is based on real events) is genuinely tense. The film has Guillaume Canet as an initially unwilling spy, Alexandra Maria Lara as his concerned wife and director Emir Kusturica as Canet's handler. It's also got a fine clutch of character actors in supporting roles; Willem Dafoe, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Dina Korzun. It's not perfect, but if you want to see a film that suggests they do make 'em like they used to then it comes recommended.

I SAW THE DEVIL

I have been deliberately staying away from information on South Korean director Kim Jee-woon's revenge thriller, which stars his frequent collaborators Lee Byung-hun and Choi Min-sik. All I know is that it is long, and by all accounts extremely brutal (so much so that it had to be cut for cinema release in its home country, something virtually unheard of).

Kim is one of the most interesting voices in South Korean cinema, and has been at the forefront of their new wave with films like A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life, combining his talents, those of Oldboy star Choi and Korean megastar Lee, and a genre I'm a huge fan of already makes this one of my most anticipated of 2011.

THE VETERAN

I've been a fan of Toby Kebbell ever since I saw his outstanding turn in Shane Meadows' bleak revenge picture Dead Man's Shoes (2004), but he's also survived such craptastic films as RocknRolla (2008) and The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010), coming out as the best thing in them. I'll be honest - The Veteran doesn't look very good. The trailer showcases awful dialogue and obvious imagery, but if handled correctly the idea of turning London into literal warzone - infested with street gangs sporting AK47's - could be an interesting one. And after all, Kebbell will surely be terrific in it.



MAY
6th
The Big Releases: Hanna, Water for Elephants

NB: It's worth noting that we at 24FPS are hugely excited for Hanna, but it is a large mainstream release, so doesn't qualify for this preview.

The Alternatives...
13 ASSASSINS

I'll be bringing you an early review of this soon (still under embargo). What I will say is that Takashi Miike has outdone himself here. 13 Assassins, shorn of 20 minutes since its festival screenings but still an epic undertaking, is a relentlessly exciting film packed with great action sequences and solid performances, to say nothing of bags of style. Watch this space for more.

THE TREE OF LIFE

This'll be the first Malick film since 2005's The New World, which was something of a terminally boring letdown after the sublimely beautiful war essay The Thin Red Line, released to acclaim in 1998. This looks like his most ambitious and personal project yet; an emotional epic which straddles the line between life and death, this world and the next. The trailer reveals stunning shots of the galaxy and planets colliding, but there are also rumors abound of dinosaurs, which hints at a spectacle even grander than we've been expecting. I'm fascinated by this film and if nothing else it'll be an unrivaled visual spectacle this summer.


13th
The Big Releases: Priest [3D], Attack the Block

The Alternatives...
HOLY ROLLERS

The true story of a young Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn being lured into the drug trafficking industry at the end of the 90s? Yeah, count me in. It doesn't sound like everyone's cup of tea but Holy Rollers, while also being quite dark, is executed with humour and style, helped no end by Jesse Eisenberg who in the wake of The Social Network has become one of the most interesting actors of his generation. It's a slick little crime picture not without its share of flaws, but if you're looking for a drama which underplays its thrills this unique independent oddity will surely appeal.

LOVE LIKE POISON

Last year's London Film Festival titles continue to leak out to UK cinemas, and this was one of the best. Katell Quillevere's debut is a thoughtful and personal coming of age film about a 14 year old girl (the remarkable Clara Augarde) experiencing both a sexual awakening and a loss of faith in the run up to her confirmation ceremony. Like most European teen movies this isn't a rose tinted look at adolescence; it has more complex and realistic things on its mind than whether the heroine can get that perfect dress and date for the prom.

Quillevere draws wonderful work from the young leads and directs with a sure, sensitive and unobtrusive hand. This is a film to make time for and a filmmaker to watch out for.

TAXI DRIVER

35 years on from its initial release, Scorsese's masterpiece returns to cinemas in a brand new remastered print. From the trailer it seems as though the remaster will look astounding, and the performances of Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Harvey Kietel and even Cybill Shepherd, to say nothing of Scorsese's direction, are likely to remain undimmed in their brilliance. I can't wait to finally see this where it belongs; at a cinema.


20th
The Big Release: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides [3D]

The Alternatives...
FIRE IN BABYLON

Good documentary filmmakers open up worlds to us, and it has often interested me how things that I would ordinarily find dull can become fascinating through a good documentary. This film, about the legendary West Indies cricket team of the 70's and 80's, was a nice surprise during the London film festival, and though I'm not a cricket (or really a sports in general) fan it held my interest all the way through, thanks largely to the big personalities on show during the interviews. The film also does a fine job of providing social and political context to the team's achievements, and remains entertaining and engaging throughout.


27th
The Big Release: The Hangover Part 2

The Alternatives...
HEARTBEATS

This film is likely to split audiences as it did at the London Film Festival last year (my good friend and colleague Eoin maintains it's the worst film he saw in 2010). I reached a split decision on it; parts are infuriating, it's overlong, has some truly hateful characters and there is a whole section of the film you could cut and lose nothing as a result. But Xavier Dolan's screenplay can also be brutally witty and sharply observed, there are some great performances, and the young director's use of music and editing is outstanding. It's a promising work from a 21 year old auteur.

THE MESSENGER

I've been wanting to see this film about a young soldier who returns wounded from Iraq, and is then assigned to the casualty notification team, handing out bad news, for some time now. The cast is eclectic and intriguing; Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Steve Buscemi and Brendan Sexton III all feature, as does one of my favourite young actresses; Jena Malone. here have been a lot of films about the fallout of the war on terror, and this looks to be a promising one, hopefully it will be serious minded without being preachy, and showcase a lot of fine performances.



JUNE
3rd
The Big Release: X-Men: First Class

The Alternatives...
MAMMUTH

This looks like being a fun little comedy drama, featuring Gerard Depardieu as a man about to retire who goes in search of missing documents when it comes to light that co-workers haven't filed the right paperwork for him to receive all his retirement benefits.

I wanted to see this at LFF last years, but missed it, if nothing else it ought to be worth a look for the cast which, aside from Depardieu, includes Isabelle Adjani, Yolande Moreau, Philippe Nahon and Anna Mouglalis.

THE TREE

Charlotte Gainsbourg's in it you say? I'll see you at the cinema then. I'm also intrigued by the idea behind this film, which is about a family dealing with the death of the father, and the young daughter believing that a tree, which may need to be cut down as it threatens the house, now contains her father's soul, and that he speaks to her through the leaves.

This could be a magical and moving film, but it will need a careful directorial hand from Julie Bertucelli to ensure that it doesn't become cloying and sickly.


10th
The Big Release: Kung Fu Panda 2 [3D]

The Alternatives...
KABOOM

Kaboom finds promiscuous auteur Gregg Araki returning to his old school apocalyptic sex-em-ups of the 90s (films such as Nowhere, 1997) - marked out by bright colours, underground conspiracy and a plentiful dollop of teenage flesh. He matured with 2004's outstanding Mysterious Skin but this is by no means a regression - Kaboom is a gleefully silly end-of-the-world romp with more sex than you can shake a stick at; it's not explicit either, just really playfully OTT. It's also visually impressive, glossier than we're used to with Araki but at least he's abandoned the grit of the antagonistic The Living End (1992). Solid adult entertainment.

POINT BLANK

Hot on the heels of the remake of his fine thriller Pour Elle comes this new film from French director Fred Cavaye. It doesn't seem like a huge departure, revolving around a male nurse whose wife is taken hostage after he treats a thief whose gang want to spring him from hospital. That said, Cavaye showed with Pour Elle that he's got a good handle on the mechanics of the thriller, and he's got a decent cast to assist him here, this will probably be quite generic, but hopefully it will also be a bit of a treat.


17th
The Big Release: Green Lantern

The Alternatives...
THE BEAVER

It has been a long wait (16 years) for Jodie Foster's third directorial effort, and I'm hopeful that she won't disappoint. Foster also features as the wife of Mel Gibson's character, who suffers a break with reality and begins communicating exclusively through a beaver hand puppet. The film has had a bumpy ride to cinemas, the production stalled several times before getting underway and Gibson's personal problems put the release back from 2010. I'm really looking forward to seeing the end result in this case.

POTICHE

I saw the latest from my favourite working filmmaker, Francois Ozon, a couple of months ago at a short festival, and it's another change of pace and another near perfect film. This time it's a tart comedy starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu as old flames on opposite ends of an employment dispute.

Ozon's colourful 70's styled visuals are fun, and Deneuve and Depardieu seem to be having a wonderful time (Depardieu is more animated here than he's been for years). It's a light film, but one that still has something to say (though the political comment may get a little lost for British audiences), but most of all it's just a wonderfully, effortlessly entertaining confection.

THE TAQWACORES

This, for me, was one of the more interesting surprises of the London Film Festival. It's based on a novel about a (then) fictional underground Muslim punk movement in Buffalo, New York. By the time the film was made the book had already spawned a real movement and real bands, many of whom appear in the film.

As well as being refreshing, if only because it's a film about Muslims that almost entirely ignores questions of extremism, terrorism and September 11th, it's a politically intelligent and engaged film, and a sharp comedy. There are stand out performances from Noureen DeWulf, playing a young woman with an unothrodox interpretation of Islam, who nevertheless wears a bhurka at all times and the charismatic Dominic Rains as muslim punk Jehangir. At the very least, you won't see another film like this one in 2011.


24th
The Big Releases: Bad Teacher, Bridesmaids

The Alternatives...
COUNTDOWN TO ZERO

The new documentary from Lucy Walker (Waste Land, 2010) focuses on the escalating dangers of the possibility of nuclear war, as the arms race draws us ever closer to world annihilation. Walker is too smart to make a hyperbolic propaganda film, and equally she wouldn't pander to fear mongering, so this ought to be an insightful documentary and a more terrifying prospect than any horror film released this summer. The film is sure to take an anti-war stance and I have no doubt that it'll present an argument for disarmament, but as long as it's not heavy-handed it's a message I'm ready to get behind.

INCENDIES

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this years Oscars, this war-torn family mystery looks like a gripping adventure - packed with intelligence and emotion, and reflecting the current situation in the Middle East. I've been wanting to see it for a long time now as the trailer is a wonderfully ambiguous masterpiece unto itself... I don't quite know how the mystery of a supposedly dead father and unknown brother will pan out, but hopefully it won't fall into to cliché (many family secrets can be led back to WWII). It would be great to find an exciting thriller which also left the intellect with something to chew on.


See you in a few weeks with July and August.

24FPS Top 100: No. 61

61: WATER LILIES
DIR: Celine Sciamma

WHY IS IT ON THE LIST?
There is something about the way that Europe does films about teenagers, perhaps it's the lack of that quintessentially American optimism, but Europe's teen movies seem to be gritter, more downbeat, and for my money more reflective of what being a teenager tends to be like. Celine Sciamma's debut is a good example, it's a low key story about 14 year old Marie (Pauline Acquart) and her crush on Floriane (Adele Haenel), the star of the local synchronised swimming team. It's a film about unrequited feelings, and about the confusion and pain they provoke.

Sciamma's screenplay is smartly written; sensitive and realistic, and unafraid to deal with the shallowness and petty cruelties of which teenagers are capable, especially in the way Marie shuts out her awkward friend Anne (Louise Blachere) - whose own crush on Floriane's sometime boyfriend complicates the relationships further. The centre of the film is the relationship between Floriane and Marie, and the clear imbalance in it. It's obvious that Floriane knows how Marie feels about her, perhaps to a greater degree than Marie does, and she uses it to her perceived advantage. In one very difficult scene Floriane asks a very intimate favor of Marie, so that she can have sex with her boyfriend without him knowing that it is her first time. On another occasion, in one of the film's best scenes, the girls go to a club and Floriane drags Marie on to the dancefloor, dancing close, drawing her in, almost kissing her, before pulling away in a palpably painful moment.

The fact that Marie's crush is on another girl is really neither here nor there, the film isn't about titillating you with lesbians, it's about the dynamics of this relationship and Marie's first painful experience of being, or thinking that she's, in love and those things are not about gender. If this were an American film I suspect it would have ended with Floriane seeing the error of her ways, going to find Marie, declaring her love and kissing her in the middle of some dancefloor. Water Lilies doesn't do that, it's more consistent and more true than that, and the ending Sciamma actually finds is perfect, if more ambiguous.

Celine Sciamma directs sensitively, and draws performances of astonishing naturalism from her young cast. Acquart is especially good, and it's a terrible shame that she's done little since (a couple of shorts, a music video and just one feature). The visuals have a similar tone to Andrea Arnold's, in that they vacillate between a kitchen sink approach and a more designed and dreamlike feel (see the clips below to get a better sense of that). This is a distinctive and promising debut, and it will be interesting to see whether Sciamma can keep the quality up with her next film, which is likely to premiere at Cannes.

STANDOUT SCENES



[No subs, sorry]


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DVD Review: Il Posto [U]

DIR: Ermanno Olmi

The Film
Il Posto, translated as The Job, is the working class tale of Domenico (Sandro Panseri) and Antonietta (Loredana Detto), two suburban youths who flirt with love while applying for "a job for life" at a big city corporation. Although the tests the applicants are put through are often bizarre and borderline satirical the film is actually an extension of Italian Neorealism, a popular movement that lasted between 1944 - 1952 and took in filmmakers such as Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Federico Fellini. The films in this movement were set amongst low-rent suburban areas, revolving around the poor and working classes, frequently casting nonprofessional actors in stories about the social and economic conditions of post-WWII Italy. Shot on location with a humanist moral code, these delicate dramas have provided some of the most magical moments in all of cinema. And although it appeared nine years after the last official Neorealist film, Il Posto can confidently be ranked among the best of the movement.

The first half hour revolves around the interview process - exams, puzzle solving and an aptitude test, involving some rather bizarre questions. "Do you suffer from frequent itching?"; "Did you wet the bed between the ages of 8 and 14?"; "Does the opposite sex repulse you?" But Domenico gets through it by catching a glance at the beautiful Antonietta, who by chance he meets in a café during their lunch break. Their attraction is obvious, but they are both guarded and shy. They are sweet and sincere, so we root for them.

Domenico gets the job and goes coat shopping with his mother, but all he really wants to do is see Antonietta again. There's a beautiful moment where he arrives to the building for his first day of work and, rather than waiting a few seconds for the elevator, runs up the stairs to the waiting room. She's not there, and crushing disappointment paints itself across his face. His one true hope seems lost. He sits, anxiously, suddenly realizing he may just become another lone cog in a faceless machine, without a pretty girl to get him through the day. But then through the door she walks, perky and draped by sunlight as she stands by the window, carefully glancing back to meet his devoted gaze. He walks over to her and they talk in muted tones. It's just small talk really, but it means the world to Domenico. The joy he's suppressing is unimaginable, but he keeps it wrapped up. This is perhaps the best aspect of the film - the naturalism of the performances.

The film has two cinematographers - Roberto Barbieri and Lamberto Caimi. They shade the film really nicely and give each location a unique sense of feeling. For example, the cold interiors of the corporation (white walls and wooden floors) match the silences that ring through its corridors, save for the occasional sound of plodding footsteps. But the streets are the polar opposite; illuminated and alive. When Domenico and Antonietta walk in the sun the camera has broader movement and the lighting is softer; there is a fluidity and sense of purpose. These scenes are, of course, more optimistic, and the cinematographers capture the feeling of flowering romance against a grim modernistic landscape.

The film threatens to end on a note of optimism with a New Years Party. As Domenico is leaving the house a radio broadcaster is reading the news. Included among the headlines is this snippet: "Some melancholy burglars give back their loot." But Antonietta does not turn up to the party and during the evening an office employee, who wanted to be a writer, commits suicide.

Under sad circumstances Domenico has now made it to the position of a clerk, but is moved to the back of the room under a dim lamp - a matter of seniority. The bulb is unreliable and the men sit in silence. On the sight of Domenico contemplating his fate Il Posto fades out with a bleak message: conform to the life you've been handed, sit up straight and be a sheep until the day you die. With this deeply powerful and heartfelt work Olmi has confirmed himself as a true great of Italian cinema, and I urge you to see it.

The Disc/Extras
The film looks great on DVD and the perfect remaster really serves the lighting well. No extras.

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