Day: April 1, 2013

The Intrigue Before the War: LFM Reviews Alan Furst’s Spies of Warsaw; Debuts Wed. 4/3 on BBC America

By Joe Bendel. In the early 1930’s, Poland was in a tight spot geographically. It was sandwiched between Germany and the Soviet Union. We know what that will mean come 1939. A French military attaché also has a pretty good idea, but his superiors are not so keen to hear it in Spies of Warsaw, a two-night miniseries based on Alan Furst’s novel, premiering this Wednesday on BBC America.

Jean-Francois Mercier saw more than enough combat in World War I. Initially, the decorated aristocrat was not enthusiastic about his posting to the Warsaw embassy. However, as the Polish people start to grow on him, he becomes increasingly concerned about their vulnerability to foreign invasion. Indeed, he fully understands the implications for France should Poland fall. Warsaw has also become considerably more charming for Mercier after the arrival of Anna Skarbek, a sophisticated employee of the League of Nations. Frustratingly, though, she is determined to remain faithful to her lover, Maxim Mostov, a boozy Russian journalist exiled by the Bolsheviks.

While the first installment of Spies is a bit slow out of the blocks, it nicely sets the scene and establishes the geopolitical context. The cloak-and-daggering that eventually takes center-stage is fascinating fact-based stuff, involving the oft-overlooked left wing of the National Socialist Party (a vestige of its trade unionist roots) and the German upper-class’s resentment of the Nazis, mostly for being uncouth and reaching above their proper stations.

Mercier is also rather clear-headed when it comes to appraising the Communists. In fact, he agrees to facilitate the defection of a pair of his Soviet counterparts. As a bargaining chip, they offer clues to the identity of a former NKVD mole highly placed in the German government, who became inactive when his handler was purged. Yet, Mercier’s ultimate mission, inspired by a true historical operation, will be revealed late in the third act.

Janet Montgomery as Anna Skarbek in "Spies of Warsaw."

Spies might have been condensed into feature length, but the extra time allows it to more fully explore the details (we) espionage junkies so enjoy. Even though it presents Warsaw as a city rife with spycraft and skullduggery, Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais’s tele-adaptation is clearly sympathetic to the Polish people. Prominent Polish actor Marcin Dorociński even has a major supporting role, nearly stealing the show as Mercier’s old wartime colleague, Antoni Pakulski, now serving in the Warsaw constabulary with vaguely defined counter-espionage responsibilities. Unlike his gritty turns in Rose and Manhunt, Dorociński has a smooth Errol Flynn-ish thing going on that works so well he could easily carry a Pakulski-focused sequel.

Of course, to BBC America and most of its viewers, the star of Spies is unquestionably David Tennant, the tenth Doctor Who. As Mercier, he supposedly cuts quite the dashing figure. Really? If you say so. Still, he projects a sense of intelligence and a distinct impatience with bureaucracy, both of which are more important for his character’s super-spy credibility.

Veteran British television director Coky Giedroyc (whose credits notably include The Hour) maintains an appropriately noirish mood, emphasizing atmosphere and intrigue more than action. It might seem hard to believe that one of the year’s smartest miniseries – with a pronounced respect for freedom and a healthy skepticism of ideology – would feature a French blue blood and a League of Nations do-gooder as its primary POV characters, but here it is. Highly recommended for fans of cerebral spy fiction in the Le Carré tradition, Spies of Warsaw begins this Wednesday (4/3) and concludes the following week (4/10) on BBC America.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on April 1st, 2013 at 11:15am.

Going Underground in the Ukraine: LFM Reviews No Place on Earth

By Joe Bendel. Most think of caving as the stuff of National Geographic, but for thirty-eight Jewish Ukrainians, it was rather more serious. It was a matter of life, not death. For eighteen months they evaded the German National Socialists by hiding deep in two narrow, naturally-formed caverns. Decades later, the survivors tell their story in Janet Tobias’s documentary, No Place on Earth, which opens this Friday in New York.

As it often happens, it was a New Yorker who brought this story to light. British-born Bronx resident Chris Nicola is an experienced caver who originally traveled to the post-Soviet Ukrainian in search of his roots. While exploring a cave, he discovered a series of artifacts clearly suggesting families had once lived there. Not surprisingly, the locals were not forthcoming with information. Nonetheless, after years of sleuthing, he finally tracked down the Stermers and the Dodyks. They all credit their initial survival to the iron-will of matriarch Esther Stermer as well as the resourceful foraging of the elder Stermer brothers, Nissel and Saul.

When Tobias read about Nicola’s expeditions and investigation (in Nat Geo, of course), she recognized the makings of a good documentary. Fortunately, the production fell into place in time to record the elderly Stermer and Dodyk survivors returning to the caves that once sheltered them, bringing along their children and grandchildren, with Nicola to serve as their guide.

Tobias blends dramatic re-enactments, talking head interviews, and her on-the-scene footage of the families’ underground homecoming (not completely seamlessly, but functionally enough). At times, it has the feel of a cable special (perhaps with good reason, considering it is a co-production of History Films), but there is no denying the power of their story. At one point during their subterranean reunion they cut the lights to fully recreate the experience of living there. Coincidentally, at this point the video went out at the screening I attended, yet it took a roomful of jaded film critics several minutes to realize it was supposed to be dark, but not that dark. One could certainly say we were caught up in the moment. (Eventually the problem was fixed and the film rewound to the point in question).

The Stermer and Dodyk family members are still very sharp interview subjects and Nicola is a particularly charismatic screen presence. As a result, Tobias captures a vivid sense of her subjects’ personalities and their lives in the caves, the quality of which was quite high they repeatedly emphasize, because it was free.

Indeed, this is not the usual survival story often depicted on-film, chronicling the efforts of a good Christian protector. The Stermers and Dodyk’s relied almost entirely on themselves. There is a lot to learn from their inspiring stories. Respectfully recommended for family and student viewing, No Place on Earth opens this Friday (4/5) in New York, at the Angelika Film Center downtown and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center uptown.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on April 1st, 2013 at 11:14am.

Mythic Scandinavian Blondes: LFM Reviews Thale

By Joe Bendel. Huldra are not your typical mythological woodland creatures. These tailed women from Scandinavian myth are very blonde and can be a lot of trouble. Two forensic cleaners might have one on their hands in Aleksander Nordaas’s Thale, which opens this Friday in New York.

Elvis is not really cut out for his friend’s Leo’s industrial strength cleaning service. Their primary gigs are grisly crime scenes. The work doesn’t seem to bother Leo much, but it keeps Elvis close to a bucket. Their latest assignment has them scouring about for the pieces of an elderly recluse, killed under mysterious circumstances. As they proceed, they stumble upon a secret cellar with a naked woman hidden in a bath tub.

It seems the old geezer had kept her prisoner down there since she was a young girl. While the deceased evidently performed various experiments on her, the cassettes he left behind seem to suggest he was also protecting her from outside parties. As if on cue, we start to see strange, shadowy figures darting through the woods. The feral Thale, as the old man called her, also bears watching. Good luck, dudes.

Although billed as a horror film, Thale is long on set-up and short on gore. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There is a bit of character development in their disparate reactions to splattered blood and entrails that pays off later in the film. Nonetheless, there is not so much to satisfy hardcore genre fans. Instead, Thale plays like a dark Nordic version of Splash.

Nordaas deliberately emphasizes Thale’s animal-like vulnerability. Silje Reinåmo taps into that raw primal innocence. It is a rather brave performance, especially considering she is naked for nearly the entire film. It is hardly erotic, but Seth MacFarlane will clearly be able to see her breasts. Erlend Nervold and Jon Sigve Skard are also relatively engaging as the everyman carnage cleaners. They have bits that stay with viewers well after the initial screening, which says something for the genre. Unfortunately, the third act’s perfunctory lack of ambition is disappointing.

Considering the dearth of huldra movies previously available, Thale undeniably fills a void. In terms of tone and subject matter, it certainly has the virtue of being something different. Despite the simplicity of its narrative, cult film enthusiasts should consider it when it opens this Friday (4/5) in New York at the Cinema Village.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on April 1st, 2013 at 11:13am.