End of the Millennium (Film: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, 2009)

I did not see yet the American remake version of the first series in the ‘Millennium’ adaptation.  I am hearing good things about it, but frankly speaking I enjoyed so much the Swedish version that I am a little bit reluctant to have my visual image of the heroes and the cinematographic version of the landscape where the action happens replaced or confused by something else. In the meantime I saw this third and final series in the version directed by Daniel Alfredson and based on the novels completed by Stieg Larsoon.  I am happy with what I saw.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343097/

 

This third installment misses some of the elements that made the first and also the second film in the series special. We now know almost every about the traumatic past of Lisbeth Salander, and as she is recovering from neurosurgery we can guess that she will face another set of troubles due not only to the conspiracies of the people and institutions that want her reduced to silence, but also to her own character. Missing also is some of the frozen far North landscape, the action takes place this time in the short and lovely Scandinavian season which as pleasant as it may be for the locals does not feature that well on screen as the endless chilly landscape in the first film. The new element that is introduced instead is a conspiracy theory story in which the heroes need not only to solve mysteries, but also face forces beyond their control that try to destroy them for reasons of ‘national security’. The good news is that all these play well together, make sense both from a story telling perspective, as well as from a characters development and dynamics point of view. This last (?) installment of the ‘Millennium’ trilogy may contain less characters suspense, as we already know the heroes, but moves the action in the political and psychological thriller and court drama territories, and does it in a solid and yet sensitive way.

 

(video source simarchetto)

 

Much is of course to be said – again – about the splendid acting of Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth and of Michael Nyquist as journalist Mikael Blomqvist. They are so credible inside their characters skins that it’s hard to imagine them in other roles, or the characters with other faces than theirs (this may be one of the reasons I am in no hurry to see the American version). The team of journalists at the ‘Millennium’ redaction provide good support, with their fears in face of the real dangers they face. In the quiet and civilized Scandinavian democracy, danger and violence surface in a manner that is hard not only to contain but also to believe for the local characters. This contrast adds one more level of interest to this more than satisfying ending of the trilogy.

 

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just a wild ride (Film: Kick-Ass – Nicholas Cage, 2010)

The heroes in ‘Kick-Ass’ are not made of special forms of matter and are not un-breakable. They try however to live to the ambitions of the super-heroes myth in a world which seems to believe in myths, and take the superhero life-style paths. Of course, when regular people act as super-heroes they can also get hurt, especially as they are at different levels of evolution in their training. A dad and his 11 years daughter seem to be the most advanced, with a high-school teenager who is actually the main hero following them bravely on the same path. Another teenager rather seems to be on the dark side, but he also tries the funny costumes and the weapons of the trade. The names of the heroes are Big Daddy, Hit Girl, Kick-Ass which seem like warnings not to take things too much seriously. There are some background explanations, but these do not count too much. The general tone of the film is on the comic register, a combination of superheroes parody and teenager growing pains comedy but the mix becomes lethal when it comes to action scenes. These are actually as violent as you can get in a Tarantino movie, and the scenes featuring the father training his 11 years daughter to become a killing machine (even if for the good cause of justice) risk to upset anybody who stops for a second to reflect at what is presented on the screen, and takes the subject too seriously and out of the nonsense territory.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/

 

The film does also belong to another genre – the ‘how could Nicholas Cage pick such a role?’ one. With all due respect for the film, which is actually a well made, well paced and entertaining movie if you can overcome or you do not care about the moral aspects, Cage’s presence in a supporting role in which he walks most of the time with a ridiculous thick make-up is wasted time for his enormous talent. That’s certainly just a (big) fan opinion. Otherwise you can accept the convention and just enjoy the wild ride.

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A British Institution (TV Series – BBC’s ‘Sherlock’)

The Brits have their institutions that they carry on with for centuries – the monarchy, the Parliament, Shakespeare, fish&chips, etc. Some say that their adherence to tradition is what keeps those alive, I say yes, it is tradition, but combined with the will or at least the recognition that traditions need to be combined with a dose of novelty, and this is to the same extent as the consevative philosophy what maintains institutions alive over centuries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ has become one of these traditions and it includes tens of variants of bringing them to screen. The latest on big screens (starring Robert Downey Jr.) and the BBC (another British institution on its own) series ‘Sherlock’ are I believe one more example. It’s probably the most daring version and an update of the Holmes stories to modern times, and it’s pretty good.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1475582/

 

Let me say from the start that it took me time to get used and love this new incarnation of the detective on Baker Street. Fortunately the Israeli Cable TV broadcast the six series of the two first seasons one after the other, so I had not enough time to be discouraged by the first episodes, which I felt were too long and too complex for me to enjoy. I also perceived the adaptation to the 21st century realities to be rather inconsistent, with some of the feminine characters entering and disappearing the plot, and with Sherlock speaking way too fast and too smart for me to understand, not to speak about enjoying. But then, starting with the third episodes things started to come together in the story, and the appearance of this version of Moriarty really made the difference and built up the material of the second season. Andrew Scott’s Moriarty is a real treat, great acting and a typology that balances the triangle of him, Sherlock and dr. Watson.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcFHeTaS9ew

(video source TVpotatoes)

 

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as doctor Watson are fine actor selections for the two characters, which you would expect from any good quality BBC series. What is less expected are the perspectives we get about the two characters relocated in the London of the beginning of the third millennium. Sherlock is a mind too smart for his human peers, and a poor communicator, so poor that it lets us wonder if he really has human feelings or rather belongs to the Mr. Data category. The last episode in the second season provides at least a partial answer. Dr. Watson is nothing less than a medical officer traumatized by what he witnessed in the Afghan war, but a short documentation revealed to me that the original character of Conan Doyle has a similar background, which shows that history had its own loops during the last 150 years. The script is a little bit hesitant on what to do with his character, he does take a more important role than in the novels, but this role seems to go to different directions in different episodes. Sherlock’s brother character keeps a dose of mystery which can be used in the coming season.

 

(video source BBCWorldwide)

 

Yes, there will be a next season, as the producers announced and after the last and great season finale of the second one I am looking forward to it. I started as a doubter, I am now a converted. The Sherlock Holmes in this series may be using the most advanced technology of the century he lives (as the original character also did), but it’s the human dimensions, the characters and the relationship between themselves, and between themselves and the world around which make the film captivating. With most if not all American series failing us this year, and a couple which were atop the line being discontinued as they failed the American TV rating thresholds, thanks to the BBC for coming to rescue and saving the season.

 

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Farmecul discret al romanului-western (Carte: Patrick deWitt – Fratii Sisters)

Daca memoria nu ma inseala ‘Fratii Sisters’ (‘The Sisters Brothers’) al lui Patrick deWitt este primul roman pe care il citesc intr-un gen care in literatura nord-americana are un loc al sau castigat si consolidat in preferintele cititorilor si in rafturile librariilor si ale bibliotecilor de pe Noul Continent – romanul-western. Cele mai apropriate carti de gen pe care le-am citit trebuie sa fi fost romanele de frontiera ale lui James Fenimore Cooper, dar m-am nascut prea tarziu pentru a le citi in foileton pe cele din seria Winnetou a lui Karl May. Romanele lui Cooper, cu toate elementele lor romantice erau insa la timpul publicarii romane ‘de actualitate’ scrise pentru publicul american al vremii. Cu timpul genul a devenit ‘istoric’ dar el continua sa aiba o viata a sa, cu rezultate delicioase si nu lipsite de reale calitati literare asa cum dovedeste aceasta traducere a Ioanei Filat publicata in 2012 de editura Polirom in colectia Proza XXI. Este a doua carte a lui Patrick deWitt (scriitor canadian din Vancouver, nascut in 1975), nominalizata pentru vreo patru premii literare nord-americane din care a si castigat vreo doua si este si o dovada (daca mai era nevoie) ca nu exista genuri literare ‘minore’ ci doar carti bune sau mai putin bune.

 

source http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/05/27/the-good-the-bad-and-the-neurotic/

 

Cartea este povestita la persoana intai de Eli Sisters, pistolar si ucigas cu simbrie in perioada goanei dupa aur din California secolului 19. Eli este unul dintre cei doi frati Sisters, si jocul de cuvinte din titlul cartii indica din start o anumita detasare declarativa a scriitorului de materialul cartii, care daca ar fi privit cu prea multa seriozitate ar risca sa fie in multe locuri sordid. Stilul umoristic balanseaza realitatea cruda a povestilor descrise in carte, insoteste cititorul de la prima pana la ultima pagina si este unul dintre motivele care fac din ‘Fratii Sisters’ o carte placuta la citit, inclusiv o recomandata lectura de vacanta, daca tot suntem in perioada in care trebuie sa alegem ce carti punem in bagaj pentru lecturile de drum sau de plaja.

Misiunea primita de cei doi frati este ‘lichidarea’ unui personaj din San Francisco pe nume Warms, carismatic descoperitor si inventator al unui procedeu care face cautarea de aur mult mai productiva fata de metodele obisnuite, fapt care il face insa si tinta atentiei tuturor concurentilor intru prospectare si a criminalilor mai mici sau mai mari intr-o perioada in care viata omeneasca este la pret de nimic fata de valoarea aurului. Warms este numai unul dintr-o serie de personaje bizare, patetice, ridicole, vicioase si mai ales cautandu-si rostul si negasindu-si linistea intr-o lume in devenire efervescenta. Una dintre marile calitati ale prozei lui deWitt este acesta capacitate de caracterizare expresiva, colorata si nemiloasa, din cateva fraze, sau cateva dialoguri, si galeria de personaje pe care le ofera cartea este diversa si interesanta.

 

source http://www.elefant.ro/carti/fictiune/literatura-contemporana/fratii-sisters-187720.html

 

Cei doi frati insisi sunt doua personaje diferite in caracter in pofida apropierii rezervate de soarta si antecedentele familiale – un tata abuziv pe care fratele cel mare, Charlie, il ucide in copilarie pentru a-si proteja mama si a pune capat violentei in famile, deschizand insa astel poarta violentei in propriul lor destin, si o mama care isi dezavueaza copiii, in profund dezacord moral cu felul lor de viata si modul lor de a-si castiga existenta. Spre final cei doi vor fi reuniti si din punct de vedere moral, mai mult datorita circumstantelor si intamplarilor din carte, pe care nu le voi dezvalui pentru a nu rapi placerea lecturii. Cu toate ca cartea este povestita la persoana intaia, perspectiva este de multe ori mai mult moderna, si simtim surasul ironic al autorului atunci cand personajele descopera de exemplu binefacerile igienei dentare.

Scrisa in ritm alert, cu personaje si cu o poveste bine ticluita si impanata cu momente de suspans, cartea are mari sanse de a fi ecranizata intr-un film care poate avea succes. Am si auzit de fapt ca drepturile de autor pentru ecranizare au fost vandute. Ar mai ramane de hotarit cine sa regizeze filmul, si aici nu m-am hotarit inca. Pe baza aceluiasi scenariu si Quentin Tarantino si fratii Coen ar fi cred potriviti si interesati cred, sa faca un film despre ‘Fratii Sisters’. Cele doua filme ar fi desigur filme foarte diferite. Inca un argument ca este vorba despre o carte interesanta.

 

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Film: Chico & Rita (2010)

Hard to put ‘Chico & Rita’ is an a category and this is a testimony of the fact that animated movies, even those that are created in the ‘classical’ 2-D format like this one transcend nowadays genres and express more and more different emotions and messages. Walt Disney (the guy who authored Fantasia) would have been delighted. ‘Chico & Rita’ is a musical (with wonderful Cuban and jazz music), a melodrama, and a political film. All packaged in a beautiful and colorful wrapping which makes it a pleasure to watch and listen to.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235830/

 

I should say that the animation is not the best side of the film, and probably stills look better than the movie itself. In the epoch when so many animation tools are available at the cost of a laptop accessible to any college student this may have been an intentional decision. On the contrary, a lot of effort was deployed into reconstituting the time and the places of the action – the Havana of the 1940s and 50s and in present times, the New York and the Las Vegas (and for a few sequences the Paris) of the clubs where some of the best music ever was created by such giants as Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker or Duke Ellington.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzKhwmFq6jM&feature=related

(video source Andalucia1960)

(video source lilianasuarezt)

 

The film is also a pseudo-biography, but here we need to be careful. The torrid love story between the pianist Chico and the singer Rita, which starts in the Cuba of the last decade before the Communist take-over and continues tracking them while they try to make their way in the US of the 50s may be loosely based on the characters of two real time musicians (Bebo Valdes who actually wrote the original music in the film and Rita Montaner who was the star of the Tropicana club in Havana and then had a short but spectacular career in the US). However the real life paths of the two were different than the ones described in the film, Bebo Valdes lived after 1960 out of Cuba, while Rita Montaner died in 1958.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTWxB9hRjwI

(video source trailers)

(video source GKIDSFilms)

(video source GuardianMusic)

 

To some extent the ‘Chico & Rita’ reminded me the wonderful Israeli animated film ‘Waltz with Bashir’ by Ari Folman. As there, at some point in time I lost the difference between film with actors and animation and I completely immersed in the story (and the music in this case). ‘Chico & Rita’ also tries to tell a story that is human, but also has a strong political message. Beyond the world-wide success in the last 10-15 years of the Cuban musicians lies a more complex and sometimes tragical story of the sparkling culture of music, entrainment, night life that was put on freeze or sent in exile for many decades by the Communist regime in Cuba. It was rediscovered starting with the 90s when Cuba slowly started to re-open to the world, but how many destinies of musicians were cut short or annihilated in these years. The true story of those years is yet to be told, written and brought to screens. It is important is that the music survived and is now back for anyone to enjoy, including those who will see this movie.

 

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Carte: Marta Petreu – Acasa, pe Cimpia Armaghedonului

La 56 de ani Marta Petreu beneficiaza deja la Editura Polirom de una dintre cele mai neobisnuite serii de autor. Primele trei carti publicate in 2011 apartin fiecare unui gen diferit. ‘Apocalipsa dupa Marta’ aduna poemele uneia dintre cele mai originale voci care si-au facut debutul in poezie in anii 80. ‘Cioran sau un trecut deochiat’ o reprezinta pe Matra Petreu in postura ei de filosof si istoric al culturii, ocupandu-se de tineretea unuia dintre personajele cele mai disputate ale secolului 20 al culturii romanesti, in perioada preferata a cercetarilor sale (a scris carti si despre Ionesco si despre Sebastian din acea perioada,  fiecare dintre ele si pasionanta si sursa de polemici). Tripletul este completat de acest roman puternic, original, incomod si neobisnuit, cu un titlu care il plaseaza de la inceput in spatiul miturilor de sorginte biblica. Cel putin in aparenta, caci Armaghedonul Martei Petreu se dovedeste celor care ii vor citi cartea a se afla in alta parte decat il vor banui dupa lectura primelor zeci de pagini.

Romanul incepe cu o inmormantare. Este inmormantarea mamei povestitoarei, si anul este 2010. De aici incepe povestea vietii Micai, vaduva lui Ticu. Aceste diminutive duioase ascund insa foarte putina afectiune declarata si foarte multa tragedie. Povestirea descrie doua generatii din viata unei familii dintr-un sat ardelenesc din apropierea Clujului. Doua generatii dintr-o perioada care cuprinde razboiul, perioada comunista, dezolanta tranzitie. Locul in care are loc cea mai mare parte din actiune este descris in termeni aproape biblici: ‘… nu exista peisaj mai trist decat Cimpia Transilvaniei, toamna. Pe platoul larg dintre Somes si Valea Saratii, intre Maratori si Piriul Piglisei, Cutca se lateste spre cer ca o sopirla mare. Vazuta de sus, asezarea are forma unei cruci piezise. ‘ (pag. 175). Presimtirea Apocalipsei, prezenta anticamerelor ei este pretudindeni. Majoritatea locuitorilor satului sunt pocaiti, Strajeri ai lui Iehova. La cedarea vremelnica a Ardealului de Nord unul dintre personaje spune: ‘Nu e nici un pericol. Dumnezeu ne dau un semn ca timpurile sint aproape. Vine Imparatia lui Dumnezau. Stiam, nu mai e mult si vine Apocalipsa. Sint semne in cer si semne pe pamint.’ (pag. 49) Realismul istoric si social al romanului ardelenesc se intalneste cu realismul fantastic. 70 de ani mai tarziu: ‘Ploile pornite deodata cu moartea lui Mica nu s-au mai oprit, nu sase saptamini, cum am prevestit eu, ci noua, zece, poate mai multe. Ploua si nu se mai oprea, de s-au revarsat riurile in cele mai mari inundatii care au lovit tara.’ (pag. 55).

 

sursa http://www.bestseller.md/carti/fictiune/acasa-pe-campia-armaghedonului-marta-petreu.html

 

Figurile puternice, memorabile, ale lui Mica si Ticu strabat acesti 70 de ani de istorie cu stoicismul si indarjirea specifica ardelenilor, cei din realitate si cei din literatura. Mica, cea crescuta pentru o vreme la greco-catolicii din Cluj, isi vede repede spulberata o poveste de dragoste fara sansa de implinire, se marita cu cel impus de familie, si se devine o mama care lasa putin sa se intrevada din vreun sentiment pozitiv fata de cei trei copii ai sai. Si totusi educatia nu este lipsita de o demnitate iesita din comun: ‘Dupa parerea ei, nimeni pe lume nu este destul de vrednic sa vada lacrimile ei si ale copiilor ei. Sentimentele nu trebuie aratate, asa ne-a invatat Mica – si ne-a crescut verticali ca lemnele si fara dreptul de lacrimi cu martori.’ (pag. 15). Tatal urmeaza calea pocairii si religia devine componenta principala a vietii sale. ‘Sub un cer de cenusa care isi cernea sumbra lui lumina asupra pamintului, in iarna uscata a anului 1954, Augustin, barbatul uscativ de numai treizeci si trei de ani, s-a pocait: s-a convertit la religia adevarata si-a intrat in Poporul de Legamint … Noul regim, care ameninta ca le ia tot ce au si-i baga in colectiva, era, s-a gindit el, un semn ca timpurile se aproprie de sfirsit. Hotarit, si-a spus el, socrul sau, Indrei, are dreptate, cei sase mii de ani ai lumii se vor termina in curind. prea s-a intins domnia Satanei. O chinga de fier si cenusa inconjura lumea si o stringea intr-o imbratisare zvircolita.’ (pag. 87)

Schisma religioasa, una dintre multele care au fragmentat istoria Ardealului este concentrata in cartea Martei Petreu in microcosmosul familiei. Barbatul care o iubise pe femeia care nu-l dorise pe el, ci pe rivalul sau sarac, devine un ascet si propovaduitor al unei drepte credinte. Ea ramane adepta religiei dobandite la oras, dar in ascuns, caci respectul aparentelor controleaza cel putin la suprafata comportamentul. Atmosfera de tensiune este perceputa amplificat de catre copii. ‘Era razboiul zilei celei mari dinaintea scufundarii pentru vecie a lumii acesteia. Da, era lunga bataalie dintre armatele vrajmase, exact cum ne tot spunea Ticu. Era crincenul razboi al sfirsitului, Armaghedonul adevarat de pe Cimpia Armaghedonului. Si trecea chiar prin mijlocul casei noastre.’ (pag. 150)

 

sursa http://ziuadecj.realitatea.net/cultura/e-oficial-marta-petreu-a-devenit-un-clasic-in-viata--65188.html

 

De aici poate rezulta si unul dintre putinele motive de insatisfactie rezultate din lectura acestei carti. In toata prima jumatate a lecturii am avut senzatia ca tin in mana unul dintre romanele ultimative care descriu Romania postbelica pana in ziua de astazi. Acuitatea observatiei sociale, claritatea judecatilor politice si religioase, personajele puternice descrise pe fundalul unei lumi care se razvrateste contra nefirestilor schimbari care ii sunt impuse lasa locul in a doua jumatate a cartii conflictului de familie si incercarii de a-i absolvi pe eroii principali de vinile morale in primul rand fata de ei insisi, si apoi fata de cei foarte apropiati. Nu neg insa ca este posibil ca alti cititori tocmai in aceasta deplasare a interesului spre planul personal si memorialistic sa gaseasca esenta cartii si placerea lecturii.

Relatiile dintre personaje descrise in ultima suta de pagini sunt uneori de o cruzime apropiata de naturalism. Cand Marta Petreu a luat premiul Romaniei Literare pentru Cartea Anului 2011 ea declara http://www.romlit.ro/premiul_romaniei_literare_cartea_anului_2011_-_acas_pe_cmpia_armaghedonului_de_marta_petreu: „Am scris repede această carte, în vreo 42 de zile. Am scris-o pentru că am vrut ca oamenii despre care vorbesc în carte să primească din partea mea cantitatea de nemurire pe care pot eu să le-o dau plasându-i pe cerul literaturii române”. Elementul autobiografic pune parca si mai mult in evidenta abisalitatea relatiilor intre personaje. Mama ii blestema la propriu pe cei trei copii nascuti din casnicia fara iubire, iar acestia incep sa creada ca toate nenorocirile anilor vrajmasi de la sfarsitul comunismului si de la inceputul ‘tranzitiei’ se datoreaza acestor blesteme. Suntem, sa nu uitam, in teritoriul care imbina duritatea vietii si caracterelor ardelenesti cu magia Bibliei, dar o magie neagra, prevestitoare de Apocalipse. Iata parafraza celebrului inceput al ‘Anei Karenina’: ‘Orice familie are o puzderie de secrete meschine, sordide, prin care fiecare membru al ei poate fi facut de minune. Secrete prin care familia supravietuieste, dar pe care, daca sunt descoperite, in mindrele vremuri de teroare socialist-comunista, cineva le plateste: facind puscarie de exemplu.‘ (pag. 251).

Doar spre final capata claritate relatia intre mama si fiica, doar atunci, poate dupa scrierea cartii, se limpezesc si sentimentele scriitoarei. ‘Dupa moartea ei, am recitit Biblia. Pentru ea. Pentru ca intotdeauna am crezut ca a facut un pacat mare cind ne-a blestemat. Am aflat ca m-am inselat, ca exista interdictia biblica pentru copii de a ridica mina si glasul contra parintilor si ca exista dreptul parintilor de a-si binecuvinta sau de a-si blestema fiii. Pe noi, Mamica ne-a blestemat… Prea tirziu, dupa o mare suferinta, cind nu mai esti aproape nimic, ajungi sa-i iubesti pe ai tai exact asa cum sint ei. Cum au fost. Cu Apocalipsa si blestemele lor cu tot. Si e tirziu. Si-atunci ai vrea ca Dumnezeu sa existe, si viata de Apoi sa existe de asemenea, numai sa poti sa-i mai intilnesti si sa le spui, chiar si cu pretul de a muri, ca-i iubesti exact asa cum sint ei. Cum au fost.’ (pag. 321-322).

Frumoasa, suprema declaratie de dragoste.

Am citat mult din aceasta carte scrisa frumos si interesant, aspra si ne-lejera la citit. Sunt interesante si pasajele in care limbajul eroilor este preluat in transcriere fonetizanta, si vocabularul aproape solicita pentru bucuresteni ca mine folosirea unui dictionar explicativ al romanei ardelenesti. Cateva neglijente stilistice, mai ales repetitii (o fraza repetata identic de exemplu in paginile 17 si 175, prea frumoasa pentru a fi omisa atrage atentia cititorului atent) cred ca ar fi bine sa fie corectate la o viitoare editie. Intrebarea ramane daca timpul pe care Marta Petreu si-l imparte intre diversele genuri literare, cercetarile si studiile de istoric si filosof ii va permite sa continue cariera de romancier. Intrebarea colaterala este daca iesind din spatiul memorialistic va gasi in ea insasi destula inspiratie si imaginatie pentru fictiune mai putin personala. De dovedit ca este un romancier profund si de calitate nu mai este insa nevoie.

 

 

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in search of the solid ground (Film: Terraferma – Italy, 2011)

All the characters in Emanuele Crialese‘s Terraferma are in search of the solid ground, for safety, for the certainty of tomorrow. And yet, nothing seems to be solid in their destinies. The story happens on a small island near the bigger island of Sicily, an area of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The local community sees its traditional economy based on fishing threatened, its mode of life based on honor and the rough justice of the sea threatened by everything around – decaying fishing crops, invading tourists, the dissolution of the moral fabric of the local society. And then an apparently bigger threat comes as desperate African boat immigrants start showing up at the shores, after having risked their lives in the stormy seas, flying in despair the devastated continent of their birth.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1641410/

 

I am not sure if the programming of this film together with the French ‘Intouchables’ was a coincidence. Both films deal with the problem of the African refugees seen as a symbol of the different people of different cultures trying to enter the Old Continent, same as repeated waves of immigration have stormed its gates all along the history. The same thing happens today in my country, and there are no easy responses, not on what concerns the clash of cultures and mentalities, not on the political or economic planes, and not on the human one. The shared message of the two films with their very different stories told in very different registers is that human beings can find their resources and show solidarity at moments of maximal crisis.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZTDrojDutM

(video source FashionTimesMagazine)

 

Despite the story line which is a little too expected and simplistic ‘Terraferma’ succeeds to create emotion, with a few direct and well directed scenes. The story is a coming to age and an Italian family drama in the good Italian tradition to the same extent that it is an immigrant drama. The film is also beautifully filmed, the director and the cameraman obviously love the sea and the landscape of the Mediterranean and make the best of these in a few sequences to remember. With good acting and a message that is fundamentally optimistic in its trust of the capacity of men staying human in the most adverse situationsthe rather anonymous  ‘Terraferma’ did not fall much behind the ‘Intouchables’ which was one of the most successful films in the history of the French cinema.

 

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bridging the differences in the comic register (Film: Intouchables – France, 2011)

In the year when The Artist dominated the Oscars and achieved international success and recognition, it was a very different kind of a film that dominated the French box office. This film is ‘Intouchables’ and the one of good reasons of its success is that it deals with a problem that seems to be universally actual but especially painful nowadays in Europe and France specifically – the relation between the ‘native’ Europeans and the immigrants who migrate to the Old Continent in search of its freedom and chances of finding here prosperity and escaping the hardships and in many cases the prosecution at home. This encounter is an encounter of cultures and styles of life, which puts to prove everybody’s capability to accept the differences and to live aside or even create stronger relationships despite the differences.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/

 

The two principal characters of the film have each a strong handicap but also other strong points. Philippe (the excellent Francois Cluzet) is quadriplegic condemned to life in a wheelchair following an accident, but he has a wide culture and expecially a lot of money which allow him to afford not only treatments, people to serve him at ease, living in a palace in the center of Paris, and flying on private jets to any place in the world at any time. Driss (Omar Sy) posses nothing and lives a life of a semi-criminal and semi-homeless, but he is young, strong, and has a natural goodness and common sense of the street. The two meet and complement each other, help each other with what the other is missing or has lost, but this is possible because the two share also the will to live, the taste of the extreme, and especially humor. The two directors of ‘Intouchables’ Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano made of this film a feel-good story that tries to pass in a comic and easy way a strong message that the differences can be bridged when and where we can look at the people near us, find their strong and good parts and offer ours to them to overcome the lower moments in life.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsPHXVnt27g

(video source trailers)

 

The film is inspired by true people and by a true story, and here is where I feel a little bit cheated. I feel cheated because if this fact was not so visibly emphasized I would have criticized the film for being to idealistic, its characters too good to each other, differences and situations solved too easily, in other words I would have said that this looks too much like an idealized Hollywood story. Should I risk to do it now? Say that for example if Philippe was not so extremely rich to buy his entourage and way out of any situation by taking another fine meal or private jet flight this maybe would not be the same story. Or say that the final story with the anonymous girlfriend brought up at the exact place by the sea (Normandie?) where the two end to run seems too much like a movie-style ‘deux-ex-machina’ exercise? Or ask practical questions like who help Philippe take food or drinks to his mouth at that encounter? I would be ridiculous, as this is inspired from real life and characters, and all or some may be true. So I will just take the risk of saying that the approach to a very serious problem seems to be a little too idealized, but that overall that is a good feeling movie worth being seen, as there is nothing wrong to feel good even at films dealing with serious subjects.

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A Comedy Homage to the Film Noir

I confess not to be a big fan of  Steve Martin, an actor whose comedies I find to be too often on the exaggeration side of the joke, playing all the time almost in the same register. Yet, Carl Reiner‘s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is in many instances a charm, and it also succeeds to be funny and respectful in its reverence to the film noir movies of the 40s and 50s.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083798/

 

Even the much younger Steve Martin, with black hair and sparkling eyes looks here completely fresh as private eye Rigby Reardon, hired to solve a Californian mystery which combines all the 1940s detective novels that you may have read and the films inspired by them all together. The trick used by director Reiner is to take full scenes from original film noir movies, mix, edit and insert them into his own story line. Martin gets the privilege to talk and interact with the greater idols of the genre, from Humphrey Bogart to Cary Grant, while the feminine interest is being triggered by such divine silhouettes as Ingrid Bergman or Ava Gardner. Borrowed scenes come from famous movies like Notorious, Suspicion, or The Big Sleep, but you need not worry, there is no real scary stuff, it is all fun.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_piLm38E_U

(video source 86sterjo)

 

I do not know if Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid received any award, but the cinematography, editing and make-up are all amazing. The look with the original scenes filmed in black-and-white strongly reminds The Artist, but only a fraction of the scenes are original, the majority are cut from various sources, and combined, so that the heroes of the film talk and interact with the original film characters. It’s a smart idea and it is almost flawlessly executed, so that the film runs smoothly. I said the film, not the story, which is a parody, and there is no mandatory minimal dose of logic in a parody. Best for future viewers is to take this film for what it is – a big joke, but an elaborated one, combined with an homage for a literary and cinematographic genre that thrilled many generations.

 

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Theater in Time of War (Film: Le Dernier Metro – Truffaut, 1980)

‘Le Dernier Metro’ is one of the last films Truffaut made, and I believe was the last that premiered during his life time. His period of innovating and revolutionizing the French cinema, breaking conventions and pushing ahead a new way of making movies and a new style of passing the message from director (the undisputed author of the film) and the viewers was behind him. Now he had the time (and not less important the money) to make the films that expressed him best. It is significant that one of the themes he chose to deal with in this final period of his life and creation (although he may not have been aware it’s one of his final films) was the French Resistance and the Holocaust, more specifically the attitude of France and of the French people towards its Jewish population.

 

source http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080610/

 

The film tells the story of a classical triangle of lovers in the best French tradition. He (Heinz Bennent) is a famous stage director, she (fabulous Catherine Deneuve) is a beautiful actress and has just taken over the administration of the theater, the rival to her heart is the womanizing young star (Gerard Depardieu in one of his first great roles). The times are however not usual, director Lucas Steiner hides in the cave of his own theater because the year is 1942 and he is a Jew, deprived of any civil right, deprived of his property, deprived of the right to profess his vocation, and soon to be deprived of the right to live. While his wife and one or two close friends stand to hide and defend him, the whole system of the collaboration is after his person, his family life, and his physical life. The forbidden love will eventually be consumed only after the duty of honor in protecting the prosecuted is fulfilled. The story saves the French honor by showing that some stood up, but also makes quite clear that those were only a few.

 

(video source DODprod)

 

Some of the critics consider this film not to be one of Truffaut’s best, they also point to the success it enjoyed (most successful of all his movies) and to the plethora of Cesar prizes it received. I respectfully differ. Success with the audiences is no sin, and if true emotion is passed to the viewers, if we viewers go out of the cinema hall and continue to care and think fondly about the characters then the movie in my view succeeded. There is a double love story between the woman and the two men in her life, but there is also another story of love and deep respect in this film – it is the love for theater, for the art that fought censorship during the war and kept alive the national pride and also the capability of getting together the audiences and making them resonate to human emotions and share hope. To some respect ‘Le Dernier Metro’ plays in Truffaut’s cinematography the same role as ‘The Pianist’ plays in Polanski‘s career – a work apart with an important message and a sober but elaborated execution.

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