Stephen_Hawkwind Reviews

The Clone Returns Home (2008)

A Japanese love-letter to Solaris

[26 October 2011]

Slow-moving, pensive movies sci-fi movies exploring themes like identity and alienation seem to be the rage currently. While "Never Let Me Go" left me cold, and "Mr. Nobody" and "Womb" made me wince, this is the gem of the bunch. A beautiful, restrained film that never buckles under the weight of its own gravitas. Be forewarned - the influence of Solaris is anything but discreet. Some of the scenes seem to be set up as a deliberate homage to Tarkovsky. It didn't bother me though, and I would liken it to Duncan Jones' gentle winks to the sci-fi classics in "Moon". In fact there are striking parallels between these two movies thematically, and they would fit snugly together on a double bill. Hopefully "The Clone... " will garner enough attention that Kanji Nakajima is able to continue to explore science fiction in this respectful, understanding manner. A quite wonderful little pendant to Solaris, that deserves to be seen.

Womb (2010)

Thanks, but no.

[23 October 2011]

This film, along with Never Let Me Go, might be the start of a new genre. Mumblecore science fiction, anyone? Both of these movies take a shot at delivering Very Profound Questions to an audience struggling to not burst out crying at the emotive depth of the incredibly touching human drama unfolding at snail's pace on screen. Or so the directors like to think. In Womb, The Great Idea circumnavigates the plot holes admirably, and the wafer-thin characters are brimming over with Love and struggling to come to terms with their sheer Humanity in virtually every shot. Its all rather dull, and, in a low-key fashion, incredibly pompous. Please, all you directors who feel a sudden urge to regale the audience with Deep Truths about Life - stay away from science fiction (unless you're Terrence Malick). Although I have to admit that Eva Green has perfected the enigmatic Mona Lisa-smile. From what I hear she's become pretty much unbeatable in the ring - she will floor you with that smile, flooding your mind with capitalised abstract nouns.

The Housemaid (2010)

Good acting wasted

[23 October 2011]

The fey and slightly enigmatic Eun-Yi gets employed by an upper class family. Things get complicated. There's no single element in this story to make it stand out, although it is a crisply directed and well-acted drama. The Housemaid works on many levels, but ultimately the story isn't very engaging. I think the main characters appear a bit shallow, and the pacing too fast. Despite good acting, we see little in the way of character development. Eun-Yi's motivations are somewhat cryptic, and the decadently rich family are pretty much cardboard characters. I wish the director had gone for a subtler and more atmospheric approach. As it stands "The Housemaid" is a rather forgettable drama thriller, something less than the sum of its parts.