Month: April 2013

LFM Reviews Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? @ The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Compared to its neighbors, Taiwan is quite tolerant of its GLTB citizens. Communist China not so much. Nonetheless, the gay marriage debate has yet to reach Taipei. To start a family, one middle-aged man went back into the closet, yet events cause him to question that decision in Arvin Chen’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?, which screens during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.

It is hard to imagine Weichung hitting the club scene. The straight-laced optometrist is almost painfully reserved. He is a good father, though, and a dutiful husband. He thought he had buried his past, but much to his surprise, Stephen, one of his flamboyant former club buddies, is his sister Mandy’s wedding photographer. At least, he was supposed to be. During the rehearsal dinner, Mandy kind of loses it, calling off the wedding soon thereafter. Having reawakened Weichung’s memories of his younger, freer days, Stephen starts counseling Mandy’s nebbish jilted fiancé, while Weichung starts a tentative flirtation with a flight attendant customer.

Weichung might be finding himself, but he still has a wife likely to consider his actions a deep emotional betrayal. In fact, the relationship between him and Feng constitutes the guts of the film. To his credit, Chen does not take any easy outs. Feng is no shrew. In fact, she is played by Mavis Fan and happens to be a good mother and responsible bread-winner. All of which make things complicated both for the characters and viewers’ emotional responses.

Fan, the Taiwanese popstar successfully transitioning to the big screen, will be most familiar to American audiences from Tsui Hark’s all kinds of cool Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. She still has a cute screen presence, but the acute sensitivity and down-to-earth sensibilities she brings to bear as Feng are quite impressive. Johnnie To regular Richie Jen will also surprise viewers as the convincingly conflicted Weichung. Unfortunately, Lawrence Ko’s Stephen and his cronies are mostly shticky caricatures.

This is not a didactic message movie. Chen resists the Glee-like temptation to lecture his audience on tolerance, but he understandably spotlights Fan in a karaoke number, thereby boosting Tomorrow’s domestic commercial appeal. Like most of the film, it is actually quite well staged. While a few more broadly comic scenes fall flat, the film and its characters are surprisingly endearing, getting a nice assist from Hsu Wen’s lush, unabashedly sentimental score. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow is not a towering cinematic experience, but it is extremely likable. Recommended for fans of Eat Drink Man Woman, it screens tomorrow (4/19), Saturday (4/20), Sunday (4/21), and next Thursday (4/25) during this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on April 18th, 2013 at 11:27am.

LFM Reviews The Bletchley Circle; Show Premieres on PBS Sunday, 4/21

By Joe Bendel. Susan Gray and her colleagues were not Rosie the Riveters, but they made enormous contributions to the war effort. They served at Bletchley Park in highly classified capacities, sifting through data and cracking enemy codes. Then the war ended and they returned to the lives they were expected to live. However, as a serial killer’s body count mounts, they start detecting patterns the cops invariably miss in the three-part British series The Bletchley Circle, which premieres on PBS this coming Sunday.

It is Gray, the profoundly bored housewife, who first applies Bletchley methods to a rash of murdered women. She soon recruits her former boss, Jean, now working as a librarian, and their colleagues, Millie a waitress with black market sidelines, and Lucy, a berated young wife with a photographic memory. Since their work at Bletchley was subject to the Official Secrets Act, they are honor bound not to explain to their husbands or the police why they think they have skills to bring to the investigation. As a result, they get a lot of head-patting and condescension as they narrow in on the killer.

Given the themes and post-war time period, Bletchley could be considered the mystery equivalent of Made in Dagenham. Aside from an old spook, none of the men seem to think the four women can walk and chew gum at the same time, which is the show’s real shortcoming. There ought to be at least one male character hip enough to say “the cops are idiots. I bet you and your friends can find something they missed. Just be careful.”

From "The Bletchley Circle."

Nevertheless, Bletchley’s criminal elements are smarter than average. Writer Guy Burt smoothly integrates numbers, patterns, and critical thinking into the story, while steadily raising the stakes in each episode. Their nemesis also turns out to be suitably diabolical, nicely played by Steven Robertson (a name so unremarkable it should not be spoilery). Yet, in a bit of a disappointment, it all ends in rather standard fashion.

Anna Maxwell Martin’s Gray is an earnest, down-to-earth protagonist. Yet of the quartet, it is Julie Graham who makes the strongest impression as their senior member, Jean. Rachael Stirling brings a bit of verve as Millie, but her character and backstory are the least developed, whereas the mousy, put-upon Lucy becomes tiresome over time.

Bletchley has a great concept and it nicely conveys the experience of unraveling a puzzle through logical analysis. Like many numbers people, it is a little weak when it comes to interpersonal relations. Still, it is a decent fix for British whodunit fans when it begins this Sunday (4/21), following Mr . Selfridge, on most PBS outlets nationwide.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted April 18th, 2013 at 11:26am.

Lab Rats of Eastern Germany: LFM Reviews Errors of the Human Body

By Joe Bendel. Dresden was the center of East German research and technology. That did not make it any more fun than the rest of the country. Germany has since unified, but a visiting American scholar finds it still a rather sinister environment in Eron Sheenan’s Errors of the Human Body, which screens round midnights starting this Friday at the IFC Center.

Dr. Geoffrey Burton is known for once having a promising career. Forced out by his university, he has accepted a visiting scholar position at a non-profit German research institute. Fortunately, everyone there seems to speak English, including the British director, Samuel Mead, and Burton’s old flame, Dr. Rebekka Fiedler. They will reconnect, but Burton is not exactly good relationship material these days. He still obsessively calls his ex-wife and grieves over the infant they lost to a rare genetic disorder.

Understandably, Burton’s late son inspired his controversial research. Much to his surprise, it also motivated Fiedler’s recent work begun with her unstable former collaborator, Dr. Jarek Novak. She has had tremendous success regenerating salamanders, but has yet to apply it to anything with fur. However, Burton learns the salamander-looking scientist has secretly helped himself to her research. Gee, could all that sneaking around lead to a risk of infection?

Errors is not a bad dark science fiction cautionary tale. Since it is set in a non-profit, we are spared the clichéd corporate demonization. It is also has an effectively chilly vibe. While the particulars of Dresden’s GDR history do not factor in the narrative, the city is certainly portrayed as a severe, impersonal locale. (Those intrigued by the Dresden’s role in East German techno-industrial history should check out Dolores L. Augustine’s fascinating book Red Prometheus.) The make-up and visual effects are quite presentable by genre standards, but Sheenan’s story is more character and concept driven.

Cult TV veteran Michael Eklund (whose credits include Fringe and Alcatraz) shows a talent for physically and emotionally self-imploding as Burton. In contrast, Karoline Herfurth is almost tragically Teutonic as Fiedler. Fortunately, Tómas Lemarquis dives into Novak’s Faustian scientist villainy with admirable enthusiasm.  It is also amusing to see Rik Mayall (of The Young Ones) pop up as Mead, even if he plays it frustratingly straight.

If you want to see highly educated adults chasing mice around a lab Errors is the film for you. Frankly, the set-up is smarter than one might expect and the kicker has some bite. Recommended for genre fans, Errors of the Human Body begins a run of midnight screenings this Friday (4/19) in New York at the IFC Center.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on April 16th, 2013 at 8:23am.

An Od(d)yssey of Post-Communist Bulgaria: LFM Reviews The Boy Who was a King

By Joe Bendel. It is impossible to imagine Pu Yi, China last boy emperor, successfully standing for election as the country’s head of state. Yet, that is exactly what happened in post-Communist Bulgaria. Andrey Paounov kind of-sort of tells the remarkable story of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a.k.a. Simeon II, in The Boy Who was a King, which screens this Thursday as part of Disappearing Act V.

Born in 1936, Simeon II reigned from 1943 to 1946. It was a short but eventful period. Deposed by a dubious Communist backed referendum, Simeon II went into exile. A successful businessman who married a member of the Spanish aristocracy, the King (or Tsar) continued to speak out against Communist oppression during the Captive Nation years. When the Soviet system collapsed, he did not immediately return to Bulgaria, but he accepted a Bulgarian passport.

Much to the King’s own surprise, many Bulgarians placed their hopes for a better government in the former monarch. Eventually, he reluctantly assumed the position of Prime Minister when his vaguely Ross Perotish center-left party was overwhelmingly swept into power. Simeon promised to restore public integrity in 800 days. What happened during his administration? Politics.

Paounov gives viewers a thumbnail recap of Simeon’s life, but his approach is more impressionistic than authoritative. More often he turns his camera on eccentric or marginalized Bulgarians, some of whom still harbor monarchist sentiments. Others are deeply disillusioned by the former PM, including one who was inspired to get a rather crude, painful looking crown tattoo in Simeon’s honor. There’s a good argument for the separation of tattoos and state.

At times, Paounov’s approach is downright weird, as when he follows a coyote donated by Simeon’s sister from the taxidermist through the streets of Sofia to the Natural History Museum. Other times, there is method in his stylistic madness, as when he observes a meeting of the Bulgarian Communist Party held in a crummy state constructed flat. Consisting of six or seven bitter old prunes whose claims about Simeon appear patently false based on everything Paounov has previously shown the audience, it seems unlikely the hammer-and-sickle will rise again in Bulgaria anytime soon.

Frustratingly, Boy never gives viewers enough information to pass judgment on Simeon as an elected statesman. He certainly has a regal bearing, though. Indeed, the film’s most intriguing episodes explore the way Simeon’s roles as republican and royal complimented each other. Sometimes fascinating and other times bemusing, The Boy Who was a King is recommended for viewers with a taste for idiosyncratic documentaries when it screens (free of charge) this coming Saturday (4/20) as Disappearing Act V continues at Bohemia National Hall on Manhattan’s Upper Eastside.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on April 16th, 2013 at 8:22am.

LFM Reviews François Ozon’s In the House

By Joe Bendel. Germain did not become a teacher to coddle teenagers’ self-esteem. He wanted to teach great French literature. That probably sounds nobler than it is in practice. In fact, the after-school tutoring he offers a talented pupil leads to unlikely scandal in François Ozon’s In the House, which opens this Friday in New York.

Germain begins the new academic year with his usual pessimism, but Claude Garcia’s first composition catches him off guard. It displays a voyeuristic fascination and caustic condescension toward his classmate, Rapha Artole, and the lad’s family. It also happens to be well written: B+. Using his natural talent for mathematics, Garcia insinuates himself into the Artole household as Rapha Junior’s trig study partner. After each visit, he writes what he claims are non-fiction accounts of the Artoles, but Germain analyzes as if they are part of a developing story.

It is hard to tell just how much of Garcia’s forays into the Artole house are truth or fiction, because the whole point is to keep the audience guessing. Ozon masterfully adapts Juan Mayorga’s play, toying with truth and reality in nearly every scene, yet keeping the film firmly rooted in its characters and their relationships. At times, it comes across like a comedy in the Annie Hall tradition, but it becomes steadily darker as the psychological gamesmanship intensifies.

Germain is the sort of arrogantly urbane character Fabrice Luchini was born to play. Perfectly exhibiting the cutting wit of a failed novelist, he could be the high-handed French cousin of Fraser Crane. Yet, it is really up to Ernst Umhauer’s Garcia to make it all work. He is convincingly creepy as the young master manipulator, but he also memorably expresses Garcia’s youthful insecurities at key moments.

The brilliant teacher-student tandem is backed-up by a big name French cast, including Emmanuelle Seigner (Mrs. Roman Polanski), playing against type as Rapha’s mother. A desperate housewife of an entirely different sort, she is surprisingly earthy and vulnerable. In contrast, Kristin Scott Thomas elevates the role of Germain’s gallerist wife Jeanne above a mere I-told-you-so commentator with her elegance and sly screen presence. Whenever you see KST on-screen you know you are in for something smart and sophisticated.

Ozon has similar credibility. Frankly, it is remarkable how postmodern In the House is on the page, yet how absorbing it is on the screen. Masterly controlling the mood and thoroughly undercutting one viewer assumption after another, Ozon wraps it all up in a note of near perfection. Very highly recommended for fans of French cinema and KST, In the House opens this Friday (4/19) in New York at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on April 16th, 2013 at 8:20am.

Steel Cage High School Reunion: LFM Reviews Fists of Legend

By Joe Bendel. Like Steven Seagal in Under Siege, Lim Deok-kyu is a cook, not a fighter. He once knew his way around a boxing ring, but those days are over – at least until a hard-charging producer recruits him for a mixed martial arts reality show. Much to his surprise, he will grapple with some old friends in Kang Woo-suk’s Fists of Legend, which is now playing in New York.

Lim’s boxing career ended on a sour note. It was complicated, as we will learn in a series of flashbacks. The middle-aged one-time high school legend tries to be a good single father to his daughter, but he is having trouble making ends meet with his noodle restaurant. Reluctantly, he agrees to appear on Hong Gyu-min’s program pitting notable former school yard brawlers against each other. Of course, Lim starts notching up victories, including an early “W” against his old chum Shin Jae-suk.

The teenaged Lim and Shin ruled over two high schools together with their running mates Lee Sang-hoon and Son Jin-ho. Lim largely dropped out sight, while Shin became a small time gangster. Lee resigned himself to a career as the well-heeled Son’s corporate yes-man, bitterly resenting the constant humiliations. As they often do, events will conspire, forcing Lee onto the show to face Lim. However, the champ quickly sours on his new found fame. Nonetheless, he will be one of the fan favorites for the show’s tournament of champions.

Essentially, Fists combines the sensitive juvenile delinquent drama (like Green Fish for example) with a MMA smackdown. Action director Jung Doo-hong’s fight scenes in both time frames are cinematic and convincingly brutal. Evidently, actor Yu Jun-sang had to be rushed to the emergency room during filming, which is always a promising testimonial for an action film.

Hong Sang-soo admirers will probably be surprised to see the auteur’s regular surrogate in such an action driven role, but Yu clearly gave it his all. As Lee, he is also quite strong on the dramatic end, as well. While Hwang Jung-min navigated plenty of mayhem in New World, his work as Lim is still an impressive shift of gears. He totally nails the world-weary earnestness viewers demand from their Rocky figures. As the Ringo of this Fab Four, Shin could have easily become a caricature, but Yoon Jea-moon invests him with surprising dignity and presence. Of the quartet, only Jung Woong-in’s entitled Son is an underdeveloped stock figure.

The Rocky comparison is hardly accidental. “Eye of the Tiger” is heard throughout the film and audiences are sure to take a strong rooting interest in Lim and his daughter. However, screenwriter Jang Min-seok nimbly sidesteps the big climatic fight cliché, with a smart, almost intimate finale.

Nevertheless, Fists brings more pain than the average wuxia or gangster conflagration. It is not for the overly sensitive, but MMA and boxing fans will feast on its steel cage beatdowns. Recommended for fans of contemporary martial arts films with a hint of media criticism, Fists of Legend is now playing in New York at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on April 16th, 2013 at 8:19am.