paulyb Reviews

Looking for Alibrandi (2000)

A strong Aussie flick

[2 May 2000]

In a country that consists almost entirely of generation after generation of immigrants, the concept of alienation and cultural/ethnic identity is one often discussed by 'Australians', as is the notion of the loose class structure that coexists alongside this. Essentially we all want to remember where we have come from (or are forced to acknowledge this by the generation preceding us) and at the same time have an idea of where we are going to. Australian literature and film has covered the topic often - from the 60's adaptation of John O'Grady's novel, "They're a weird mob" to the more recent Anna Kokkinos adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel "Loaded" (entitled "Head On").

Josie Alibrandi (Miranda) comes third in line of the 'cursed' Alibrandi women, preceded by her mother Christina (Scacchi) and Nona Katia (Cotta). It is her final year at school, and as if this isn't difficult enough to get through, she has to contend with the appearance of her long lost father, Michael Andretti (La Paglia), a 'suitor' from the local high school, Jacob (Gurry), ongoing racial and class based abuse from schoolmate Carly Bishop (Carlow), and a tragedy involving one of her close friends (no spoilers!).

Melina Marchetta's book was published back in 1992 and has received wide critical acclaim. To her credit, she has adapted this quite well for film, although at times there is a sense of trying to cram just a little too much into an hour and half of film. While all the issues and sub plots are important to the story as a whole, the film often skims over some of these without fully fleshing them out, a good example being the relationship between Josie and Jacob which shifts in and out of prominence and is a little under baked.

Kate Woods first chance at directing a feature has been quite successful despite this, and she manages to get some nice work from her actors. Miranda in the lead role is fresh and believable as troubled teen about to have a truckload of adulthood dumped on her. Scaachi and La Paglia are both credible in their respective roles (funny but genuine reconciliation scene between father and daughter), although possibly slightly miscast in terms of supposedly being around the age of 34 - both seem much older. Cotta is superb as Nona Katia - she embodies the sicilian grandmother with near perfection. Gurry, Walsman and Newton do well in terms of capturing the class differences, although this does become a little pushed at times (eg the speech at the Opera House scene) and Newton, although admittedly in a difficult role, could have played his character down a little.

Loads of nice touches - the dream sequences (especially the "Nona Patrol" scene), the 'home movie feel' in the 'la famiglia' gatherings and a definite sense of believing in the relationships that are developed between the characters. On top of this we have some good cinematography from Toby Oliver who manages to make Sydney seem a truly international city and shows it off well to the world.

The thing that makes this movie above average in the end is that I think most will be able to relate to it in some way, which to me means that the cast, writer and director have mostly successfully done their jobs. A good film especially for anyone still in the throes of a large ethnic family or who has completed, or is soon to go through, that oh so crucial final year of secondary school. Bottom line philosophy - life wasn't meant to be easy, but we all get through somehow.

The Hurricane (1999)

Storm in a teacup...but a good brew

[2 May 2000]

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (Denzel Washington) sums up the flavour of this movie in the opening few minutes when, after being told by policeman that they are looking for "two negroes in a white car", he replies "Any two will do?".

So begins this account of 60's middle weight boxing champ "the Hurricane" and his 22 year fight for freedom out of a system which worked against the seemingly simple fact that he was a black man in a white man's world. The script writers have interwoven moments from Rubin's past with the mid 80's when most of the film's action takes place. A young black man, Lazurus, or Lesra (Vicellous Reon Shannon) stumbles upon the autobiography of Rubin Hurricane Carter, and with his three Canadian 'home tutors', Lisa (Deborah Kara Unger), Sam (Liev Schreiber) and Terry (John Hannah), decides to fight for Rubin's release from prison. Attempting to constantly foil any attempts at justice is the 'bad' cop, Della Pesca, (Dan Hedaya), who has been hounding Rubin since childhood and seems determined to keep him behind bars.

Denzel Washington does well in the title role and applies himself with his usual commitment to creating a whole and believable character, especially important in such a movie that is based on real events and people. Watch out for the prison scene with Mae, his wife and the scene where he meets Lesra for the first time. This latter especially I found very powerful - it was well shot, the dialogue was tight and their relationship is beautifully established. And not to forget the prison scene with Myron (David Paymer) and Leon (Harris Yulin) his lawyers - this may just snare Denzel the Oscar. His supporting cast also do a fine job -Vicellour Reon Shannon, although a little wooden at first, seems to grow into his role (which I guess fits the character quite well) and Unger, Schreiber and Hannah as the three Canadians do a solid job also. Rod Steiger's cameo as Judge Sarokin is noteworthy as is Mitchell Taylor Jnr's role as young Rubin.

The screenplay itself is possibly a little long. The first hour takes us through flashes of Rubin's early life and concludes with his conviction, intercut with Lesra's growing fascination with the case. We then speed up a little with the ongoing case and a reconstruction of what actually happened the night of the murder - the film culminating with Rubin's final appeal to have the conviction overthrown. However there were many loose ends - what happened to Mae (Debbi Morgan), his wife? Why don't we see much of John Artis (Garland Whitt), his supposed accomplice? I wanted to know where these characters ended up - something one does eventually discover, but until the closing credits.

And yet on the other hand, the movie tries to go into too much detail about other issues and left me feeling that, despite it's feature film quality, it might better have been made as a mini series or two part telemovie, in which case the loose ends could have been tied up and the overall length more appropriate.

Production values are high and there is some especially nice camerawork, most clearly seen in the emotionally charged scenes mentioned above.

Overall, a 'good' movie - quite compelling because it is a true story. It does lose some of its impact because it comes at the tail end of several decades of movies about racial injustice and inequality (which although still an important issue, is not so 'filmic' anymore.

Gladiator (2000)

Cecil B DeMille eat your heart out

[2 May 2000]

The epic blockbuster returns with the 21st Century's answer to Cecil B DeMille, Ridley Scott and his dramatic tale of courage and revenge, GLADIATOR - "the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, the gladiator who defied an emperor".

Once a great roman General, and as good as adopted son of Marcus Aurelius Caesar (Harris), Maximus (Crowe) is forced into exile by Commodus (Phoenix), heir to the throne, after the death of Marcus. Saved from death by slavers, he is purchased for use as a gladiator by Proximo (Reed) and ends up in the arena of all arena's, the Colloseum, where he proves unbeatable under his guise as "The Spaniard".

And with a budget of over $100m, Scott certainly delivers the goods. GLADIATOR transcends the notion of 'blockbuster' that we have become accustomed to in the age of electronic and special effects wizardry and instead offers a good old fashioned action film along the lines of Spartacus and and Ben Hur. Not only are we drawn into an archetypal story that contains all the classic elements a filmgoer could dream of (love, loss, courage, despair, good triumphing over evil etc etc) - also on offer is a visual feast of cinematic painting after painting - a rich tapestry of images that are breathtaking and ultimately visually satisfying. From the plains of Germania, to the desert stronghold of Zuchobar, and finally to great Rome herself, John Mathiesion, the cinematographer is to be commended highly for his general inventiveness and ability to capture so much on film. The opening battle scene is superb as a cast of thousands erupt across the screen and provide an indication that we are about to see a film that pays incredible attention to detail throughout its entirety. In every way, Scott has created a world for us that scuttles films of similar epic undertakings (and budgets!) and sends them to their dooms at the bottom of the murky depths of film history where they belong.

The cast is generally very strong. Crowe proves himself very suitable to the task with a great emotional range and depth of character. His accent ocassionally bugged me (as did the mish mash of accents on offer - but that is I guess a legacy of 'internationally casted films'), but this aside, he was well and truly up to the task. Phoenix is also excellent as the disturbed Commodus, as is Nielson as Lucilla, the daughter of Marcus who "should have been a son" and finds herself torn between loyalty to her brother and doing what is 'right'. The old guard thesps of Harris, Reed and Jacobi (Grachus) are uniformly strong as supporting characters, and Spencer Treat Clark (Lucius) does a fine job as the young heir to the throne.

Add to this great cast excellent editing and post production work, and an intricate soundscape (including a magnificent Hans Zimmer score), and you have a film that, despite its length, was highly palatable and had me in there from beginning to end. A must see.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

No dog this one...

[2 May 2000]

"The way of the Samurai is one of immediacy"

Apart from having read the brief synopsis, I walked into this film not really knowing what to expect . Neither had I seen any of Jarmusch's other quite prominent films - "Down by Law", "Mystery Train", "Night on Earth" and "Dead Man". And yet I left feeling I had witnessed a film which had found a rare blend between action, comedy, drama and the provocation of some deep philosophical stirrings about life and how to live it nobly.

Through the great camera work of Robbie Muller, we are introduced to a bleak urban landscape that could be anywhere (but which turns out to be New York), and the even bleaker folk who inhabit it. Making his way through this is Ghost Dog (Whitaker), a modern Samurai, living by the ancient ways in a world that has forgotten such. Working as a 'casual' hitman for Louie (Tormey), he suddenly finds himself at the other end of twisted mafia logic and honour when he rubs out one of the small town mafiosa (at the request of other members of 'la famiglia') and thus must be similarly rubbed out. As they systematically attempt to destroy his code of life, he reacts strictly in accordance with Hagakure, or "The Way of the Samurai".

Whitaker is a strong presence in the film as the dark knight and street wise hitman and yet somehow ancient avenger. The dexterity with which he performs various samurai action and technique is excellent and it is refreshing to have a 'non-action hero' actor playing this role as he also brings depth and humanity to the character. Gorman and Tormey are both convincing as the 'old school' mafiosa who are clinging to the vestiges of what they perceive their own code to be, in an environment where their kind are on the verge of extinction. De Bankole as the french speaking illegal immigrant (and Ghost Dog's best friend), Raymond, is fun and the youngest of the cast, Camille Winbush also does well in the role of Pearline, the potential 'young apprentice' for Ghost Dog.

Jarmusch has done a smooth job with the writing. His use of two other languages (and the accompanying subtitles) is an interesting device to highlight the nature of communication across worlds, the chunks of text taken from "The Way of the Samurai" and reference to cartoons such as 'Felix the Cat' and 'Betty Boop' act as nice sign posts for the forthcoming sequences of action, and the humour that ocassionally bubbles up in certain scenes offsets the easy violence that permeates others.

Probably the only real hole in the movie is the lack of explanation as to how Ghost Dog became the modern urban samurai that he is...although maybe it is better left as a mystery?

All in all, a film that most should find interesting, amusing and with a nice twist of samurai philosophy by which to live life.

La fille sur le pont (1999)

Pretty to watch, 2 knives out of 5

[2 May 2000]

REVIEW Basically a 'two hander' for the leads, this is the story of Gabor (Auteuil) the aging knife thrower, and Adele (Paradis) the seemingly luckless in love 'belle fille sur la pont'. Fate thrusts them together on a cold night in Paris as Adele stands on a bridge and contemplates ending it all in the dark waters below. When Gabor approaches her, he says "you look like a girl who's about to make a mistake"...and seals their fate together upon offering her a job as his human target, informing her that he recruits suicidal women because he wants to help them on their way!

What ensues is their journey together into a world that is suddenly on their side...where luck is an everyday phenomena at last instead of an elusive phantom.

The premier film for the 2000 French Film Festival was one of those films that I felt I should like...that even had most of the ingredients of at least an 'above average' film...but just didn't have the payload I was looking for.

For example - the opening scene in which we get some background on Adele's past. While the intention of the scene was clear, and the information provided helpful to the viewer to build up to the next moment of the film, the way in which it was done alienates it totally from the action of the film itself - how can it be contextualised?

Auteuil and Paradis are both quite fine actors - the knife throwing scenes were well executed and the sexual undertones shone clearly threw. And the dialogue between them is pacy and quite funny, delivered especially well by Auteuil. But outside of this, there was this constant feeling of there being very little in the way of emotional dynamics, which, although possibly a directorial choice, left the emotional landscape of the film far too flat.

It being shot in black and white meant there were some great images, and this certainly helped evoke the circus/freak show aspect of the world the main characters inhabited, and also the freakish nature of life itself.

In the Director's notes for the film, Patrice says " I don't know why I made 'The girl on the bridge'. I just know I did it." I would encourage such sentiments to a degree - making films for the sake of film making is wonderful for the film makers...but in this case, not so wonderful for the audience who I almost feel are considered secondary to the action.

So - a film with some strong moments...some good pictures to look at...but not entirely satisfying as a whole.

The City of Lost Children (1995)

MUST SEE

[10/10 · 6 January 2000]

Allow yourself to be immersed in this amazing adult fairy story that is not only lush in its visuals and plot, but provides a stunning array of performances. Very difficult to fault, high in production values and close to my all time favorite flick.