Month: December 2013

Clio Barnard Adapts Oscar Wilde (sort of): LFM Reviews The Selfish Giant

By Joe Bendel. Under the shadow of nuclear containment domes, Arbor Fenton and his mate Swifty collect scrap metal with a horse-drawn cart. It is more or less modern day Yorkshire, but the vibe is often Dickensian. However, it was inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Christian parable. Light years removed from the mythical giant’s garden, Clio Barnard creates her own modern fable in The Selfish Giant, which opens this Friday at the IFC Center.

Forget the “hard kid to love” cliché. The aggressively annoying Fenton is a hard kid not to pummel whenever you see him. It is not entirely his fault. He is the irregularly medicated, hyperactive product of a completely fractured home. Fenton has affection for his mother, but openly defies her parental authority. He is even more contemptuous of his teachers, welcoming his expulsion from school as a personal victory. Fenton has only one friend, the mild mannered Swifty, who was also temporarily dismissed from class due to Fenton’s misadventures.

For Fenton, this is a fine turn of events, allowing them time to collect scrap metal for the dodgy local dealer, Kitten. The grizzled junkman is the sort of authority figure Fenton can finally relate to. However, Kitten has more use for the horse savvy Swifty, whom he recruits to drive his trotter in the local unsanctioned sulkie races. Always unstable, Fenton takes Kitten’s rejection rather badly.

Evidently, Kitten is the giant (after all, he carries an ax during his big entrance), but viewers will be hard pressed to find any other remnants of Wilde lingering in the film. It hardly matters, though. Barnard’s Giant is a grimly naturalistic but deeply humane morality tale. Sort of like Wilde, Barnard ends on a redemptive note, but she really makes viewers work for it.

Eschewing cutesy shenanigans, Giant features two remarkably assured performances from its young principle cast members. It is rather rare to see such a thoroughly unlikable young character on-screen, but Conner Chapman wholeheartedly throws himself into the role of Fenton with a twitchy, petulant tour de force performance. Shaun Thomas nicely counterbalances him as the shy, empathic Swifty.

Barnard masterfully sets the scene and controls the uncompromisingly cheerless vibe, immersing the audience in the profoundly depressed working class estate. Viewers will definitely feel like they are there, sharing their cold, dingy, over-cramped quarters (and doesn’t that sound appealing?). Think of it as apolitical proletarian cinema. Recommended for the work of its young cast and Barnard’s distinctive vision, The Selfish Giant opens this Friday (12/20) in New York at the IFC Center.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on December 18th, 2013 at 11:40am.

LFM Reviews Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Iran’s Oscar Submission

By Joe Bendel. It is hard to define Ahmad’s role in the family drama he re-submerges himself in. As Marie’s soon to be ex-husband, he is intimately familiar with her and her two daughters from a previous relationship. Of course, he is a complete stranger to Samir, her next intended husband, and his young son. That ambiguity provides rich fodder for Asghar Farhadi’s French language, Iranian Oscar submission, The Past, which opens this Friday at Film Forum.

Ahmad, the former Iranian expat, has returned to Paris to finalize his divorce with his French wife, Marie. One might wonder why he should travel such a long way for a bit of paperwork. Frankly, the same question crosses Ahmad’s mind as well. Regardless, here he is. Much to his surprise, he learns he will be staying with Marie and Samir in their distinctly unfashionable suburban Paris home.

Viewers quickly deduce Ahmad has a history of mental instability, whereas Marie is a bit of game-player. The now stoic Ahmad tries to take the high road, but he is soon drawn into his eldest former step-daughter’s cold war with Marie. Lucie is dead set against her mother’s engagement to Samir, because she believes their love affair drove his comatose wife to her suicide attempt. As Ahmad tries to counsel Lucie, he discovers the truth is considerably more complicated than anyone suspected.

Despite having no formal position in the family, Ahmad becomes the closest thing to a referee they have. Yet, it is clear the feelings he and Marie once had for each other remain unresolved. It is fascinating to watch him navigate this tortuous emotional terrain, acting as an honest broker and peace-maker, while keenly aware of his own destabilizing influence. Ahmad is a tricky role to pull off, considering he often serves as an audience proxy as well as an independent actor in his own right, but Ali Mosaffa pulls it off masterfully. It is an exquisitely humane turn that darkly suggests volumes of unspoken back-story.

Although Ahmad is central to the narrative, he is still a supporting player in the overall scheme of things. This is Marie’s story, driven by her problematic relationships with Samir and Lucie. The thoroughly de-glamorized Bérénice Bejo’s lead performance is earthy and passionate, constantly approaching the overwrought, put always pulling back just in time (because the working class cannot afford such indulgences). Pauline Burlet is also quite remarkable, making Lucie’s inner turmoil vivid and believable in an angsty teen-aged sort of way. She could be this year’s equivalent of Shailene Woodley in The Descendants.

The opening of The Past essentially closes the year in film. Granted, there are some presumptive Oscar candidates slated to open Christmas week, but they do not deserve their buzz. In contrast, The Past should be a contender in multiple categories. It might not have quite the same visceral intensity of Farhadi’s A Separation and About Elly, but those films set the bar awfully high, making comparisons decidedly unfair. The Past is a gripping film that embraces the messy humanity of its characters. It is a bracing yet forgiving film, much in keeping with the rest of Farhadi’s filmography. Highly recommended, The Past opens this Friday (12/20) at New York’s Film Forum.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on December 16th, 2013 at 10:02pm.

The Literary Godfather of All CSIs: LFM Reviews How Sherlock Changed The World; Airs Tuesday (12/17) on PBS

By Joe Bendel. We think of Sherlock Holmes stories as classic mysteries, but they were practically science fiction when they were first released. Such was the state of forensic science at the time—it simply did not exist. Various forensic fans pay their respects to the consulting detective in the two-part, one-night special How Sherlock Changed the World, which premieres this Tuesday on most PBS stations nationwide.

The first Holmes story came out during the Jack the Ripper investigation, when most of London had concluded most of the city’s coppers were just a pack of dumb thugs—and not without justification. Crime scenes were not preserved and nobody bothered to give them the once-over for telling information. Instead, it was round-up the usuals and beat out a confession—a strategy doomed to fail with a serial killer.

The fact that the fictional Holmes served as a catalyst for smarter investigative techniques makes perfect sense, considering how science fiction has always inspired technological breakthroughs. In the early segments, producer-director Paul Bernays and his expert witnesses make a strong case for Sherlock’s influence on the pioneers of forensic investigation, particularly Edmond Locard, a French Holmes fan who assembled the first legitimate crime lab in 1910.

Eventually, HSCTW settles into a familiar pattern, introducing an investigative avenue prefigured in Doyle’s stories (like toxicology, ballistics, and hair and fiber analysis) and then demonstrating real world applications from the case files of its talking heads, including the sometimes controversial Dr. Henry Lee, probably best known for his work on the notorious “Woodchipper Murder.” Initially a bit of a revelation, the Sherlock tribute largely becomes reasonably diverting comfort viewing for true crime fans.

From "How Sherlock Changed The World."

Obviously, HSCTW was shrewdly programmed to stoke viewer enthusiasm for the upcoming third season of PBS’s Sherlock. We do indeed see clips from the Cumberbatch show, but most of the points are illustrated with original recreations of Holmes at work. Granted, clearances can be tricky, but the HSCTW cast lacks the distinctive presence of the many classic screen Holmeses, such as Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Jeremy Brett, Patrick Macnee, Tom Baker, Christopher Plummer, or even Ronald Howard.

HSCTW is television viewers can safely dip in and out of. Nonetheless, it makes a compelling case on behalf of the contributions made to criminal justice by Holmes, as well as his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. In fact, it leads one to believe Doyle’s stock is rather undervalued given his post-Sherlock endeavors. While it has a fair amount of filler, How Sherlock Changed the World also provides some intriguing cultural history. Recommended as a pleasant distraction for Holmes and CSI fans eagerly anticipating the new season of Sherlock, it airs this Tuesday (12/17) on most PBS affiliates nationwide.

Posted on December 16th, 2013 at 9:58pm.

Ten Years Without The Night Watch: LFM Reviews The New Rijksmuseum

From "The New Rijksmuseum."

By Joe Bendel. Its restoration ran about five years late and millions of Euros over budget. For roughly ten years, the Rijksmuseum and its Vermeers and Rembrandts were closed to the public, frustrating art lovers and hardly doing any favors for Dutch tourism. Blame the Dutch Cyclists Union. In order to save their members a small detour, they successfully blocked the museum’s initial renovation plans with the local authorities, handing the institution the first of its many costly setbacks. Oeke Hoogendijk witnesses them all and documented them in the observational epic The New Rijksmuseum, which has its world theatrical premiere this Wednesday at Film Forum.

Nobody thought the process would take as long as it did, especially Hoogendijk. Eventually, she distilled two hundred seventy five hours of film into two hundred twenty eight minutes of film, which Film Forum will screen as two distinct parts. Essentially, the two parts are evenly divided by the stewardships of two very different general-directors. As part one opens, Ronald de Leeuw has boundless optimism for the Rijksmuseum’s recreation, considering the objections of the Cyclists Union baseless and parochial. He was right on the merits, but wildly naïve on the political realities.

For years, 13,000 cyclists had availed themselves of the bike thoroughfare running beneath the museum and they had no intention of stopping, regardless of the Rijksmuseum’s plans. Ironically, Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz had won the Rijksmuseum commission precisely because of their design for a grand entrance that would sacrifice the bike path. Suddenly, they were forced to revise their plans, jettisoning the very elements they were chosen for. It will be the first of many absurdist developments. It would also send a signal to contractors and bureaucrats that perhaps the Rijksmuseum was not the invulnerable titan they might have assumed.

Tiring of wrestling with nuisance complaints, endless red tape, and budget-busting contractor estimates, de Leeuw eventually bails. He is replaced by the more vigorous and political astute Wim Pijbes. However, Pijbes cannot resist taking another run at the original Cruz y Ortiz entrance scheme, causing quite a stir amongst the bureaucratic class.

From "The New Rijksmuseum."

Stylistically, New Rijksmuseum is sort of like a Wiseman documentary in which a plot unexpectedly breaks out. Hoogendijk follows a strict Direct Cinema approach, avoiding on-camera interaction with any of her subjects. Yet, there is real drama unfolding, with the museum’s very fate at stake. When a polished professional like Pijbes goes off on an extended on-camera rant, you know it is a bad sign.

Yet, Hoogendijk also captures the idealism of the curatorial staff, dedicating considerable time to their painstaking restoration work (on individual pieces in their respective collections) and their hopeful exhibition plans. Perhaps the most inspired subplot follows the acquisition of two striking Japanese Temple Guard statues that will remain unseen for years, with commentary from Menno Fitski, the Asian Pavilion curator, who has exactly the sort of enthusiasm you would want from a museum curator.

Indeed, it is the staff’s spirit and dedication in the face of crushing delays that makes the film rather inspiring. Wisely, Hoogendijk holds the Rijksmuseum’s signature piece in reserve for the climatic conclusion, but its intrinsic value as an institution is expressed in nearly every frame. Indeed, it is worth protecting from the Vandals, like the Cyclists Union’s Marolein de Lange, who literally sneers at the word “culture.” Recommended for all art and architecture lovers, The New Rijksmuseum opens this Wednesday (12/18) in New York at Film Forum. While the screenings will be in two parts, there is two-for-one admission to both parts, with the flexibility to choose same-day or later screenings of the second installment.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on December 16th, 2013 at 9:54pm.

Back to Clean Up New York Again: LFM Reviews Abel Ferrara’s Ms .45

By Joe Bendel. You know any film that gives a shout out to the Guardian Angels in its closing credits is the product of a very specific time and place. Obviously, this is New York, but not just pre-Giuliani. It is also pre-Dinkins during the first Koch administration. Things are pretty rotten, but they will improve a bit, only to get considerably worse before America’s Mayor turned the city around. However, one violent crime victim does not have twelve years to wait for the City to become livable again. She is determined to clean the town up, one male predator at a time, in Abel Ferrara’s exploitation favorite, Ms .45 (trailer here), which Drafthouse Films rereleases tonight in New York at the IFC Center.

Thana is an apparently mute seamstress who simply wants to be left alone to live her modest dormouse existence. Then one night after work, she is sexually assaulted on two separate occasions. The second was a home invader, whom she successfully fights off. He will now be leaving her apartment in pieces. She also takes possession of his gun and its seemingly endless supply of bullets. The first time she uses it out of panic, but killing lowlife scum soon gets to be a compulsion for her.

Right, so let the body count begin. Frankly, it is easy to see both why critics initially loathed Ms .45 and how it subsequently developed a rabid cult appreciation. The film shows Ferrara’s gritty street level aesthetic at its absolute rawest, but he also displays a surprisingly keen eye for visual composition. The concluding conflagration’s Texas-sized Freudian imagery is especially bold.

Ostensibly, Ms .45 functions as a feminist-empowerment vigilante exercise, yet the film’s gender politics are rather slippery on closer examination. Always a little off, the increasingly agitated Thana begins to conflate any innocent expression of male sexuality with violent sexual aggression, which holds potentially horrific implications. It is tempting to interpret her choice of Halloween costume—a nun’s habit—as a commentary on feminist Puritanism. Or perhaps Ferrara was just trying to offend Catholics. Regardless, you have to respect a film with something to appall everybody.

From "Ms .45."

Ferrara’s future Bad Lieutenant co-writer Zoë Tamerlis Lund fits the part of Thana disturbingly well (especially given her sadly premature end). She projects all kinds of vulnerability but is simultaneously spooky as all get out. Despite the film’s deliberate sleaziness, there are fine dramatic moments in 45, particularly Lund’s tragically ironic scene with a bar patron played by Jack Thibeau.

When watching Ms .45, it is hard to shake the uneasy feeling we are looking two years into the future of the de Blasio administration. At least the music is funky, featuring some first class studio cats, like Artie Kaplan. Amusingly, the instrumentation heard on the soundtrack does not always match the musicians seen on-screen, but so be it. This is not the sort of film where one should obsess over small details. Instead, it is an opportunity to see Ferrara truly in his element, serving up the vicarious guilty pleasures of street justice. Recommended for cult film connoisseurs, the lovingly restored Ms .45 screens this weekend (12/13 & 12/14) midnight-ish at the IFC Center in New York and a tad earlier at the Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on December 13th, 2013 at 7:36pm.

It Happened in Park City: LFM Reviews The Crash Reel

By Joe Bendel. If they are smart, organized snowboarding and other extreme sports will get proactive about preventing serious brain trauma, like that suffered by Olympic prospect Kevin Pearce. Or they can just bury their heads in the sand like the NFL. Anyone care to lay odds on which course they take? Perhaps Oscar nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker will shift the needle a bit with her HBO produced documentary profile of Pearce, The Crash Reel, which opens today in New York at the IFC Center.

Pearce was sort of the Zenned-Out Natural, who generated jaw-dropping amplitude on his runs. His friend-turned-rival Shaun White is depicted as the Ice-Man of snowboarding, who never made a mistake, but lacked Pearce’s indefinable X-factor. While White was a driven lone wolf (or so he appears), Pearce led a free-spirited group of competitive snowboarders known as the “Frends,” because there is no “i” in there. Then during a fateful training run in Park City (a town which holds continuing significance throughout the film), Pearce took a fall that is truly sickening to watch.

Obviously, this changes everything. It is a slow process, but Pearce begins to the recover physically and mentally. However, several individuals tangentially related to Pearce are not so fortunate. In fact, their sad intersecting stories provide some of Reel’s most poignant moments. Yet, despite these tragic examples and the objections of his family, Pearce remains determined to make his competitive return.

Walker is a talented filmmaker, who really should have taken home the Oscar for The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom. She skillfully broadens Reel’s focus, without turning it into an outright advocacy PSA. Walker and her team also culled through a remarkable wealth of archival and privately recorded video clips. Say what you will about extreme sports athletes, but they certainly document themselves thoroughly. Unfortunately, they are not always wildly interesting as interview subjects. Ironically, White is probably the most engaging on-camera presence, aside perhaps from another extreme skiing colleague, whose appearances take on tragic implications in the third act.

As fate would have it, Walker first met Pearce at an unrelated Sundance event and eventually premiered Reel at this year’s festival. Yet, one wonders how the Park City snow sports industry will appreciate their unflattering role in the film. Granted, the road-back section drags a bit from time to time, but there is clearly a reason why every scene was included. Indeed, it would make an effective (if somewhat depressing) double feature with Steve James’ Head Games. Recommended for fans and critics of snowboarding and related sports, The Crash Reel opens theatrically today (12/13) at the IFC Center.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on December 13th, 2013 at 7:33pm.