tonywohlfarth Reviews

Amy (III) (2015)

Disappointing expose on the tragic life of Amy Winehouse

[4/10 · 25 November 2015]

Four years after her tragic death at age 27, "Amy" is billed as a tell all story about this remarkable talent. Sadly, this film disappoints. All of the footage is archival, supplemented by voice over interviews with Amy's friends, family, associates & admirers (incl. Tony Bennett). The story is told chronologically, and the interviews with her parents avoid the most delicate issues - her bulimia, her addiction, & the impact of their separation on Amy. Seemingly, the director did no original research, nor interviewed no experts (save & except her doctor). Her unhealthy relationships with the men in her life figure prominently in the film, but what about her father Mich? He shows up mid-way, seemingly to cash in on her popularity. Also, what about her legacy? After her death, Mich & his ex set up a company to manage her estate, and Mich set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation to sell merch: http://www.amywinehouse.com/ I found "Amy" disappointing. The film left me with many unanswered questions.

My Father and the Man in Black (2012)

Tell all film is more about Saul than Johnny

[3/10 · 18 October 2014]

I knew this film was a "tell all" about the relationship between Johnny Cash and his only manager, Saul. Headlines suggest it revealed behind the scenes details like Cash's proposal to June on stage in London, Ontario. Salacious details about Johnny Cash's remarkable career are as good as this film gets............ Two aspects did not sit well with me. Jonathon Holiff's discovery of his absent father leaves out more than it tells. We learn where Saul was when Jonathon was born (on tour) but what was Saul's relationship with his mother? (who is only mentioned in passing, never interviewed on screen). His brother? Did he provide financial support for his family? (At one point we learn that Saul earned $300,000 per year and preferred to fly 1st class, which suggests he was more self absorbed than protective of his family). Towards the end of the film, Jonathon suggests that Saul's difficult relationship with Johnny was because Johnny was antisemitic. Excuse me? The director throws this speculation out based on the fact that Johnny cast Saul as a Jew in his self-made film in Israel. That's pretty thin gruel, and Holiff never interviews the Cash family. Time to wrap up. Saul was not the "Supermensch" Shep Gordon, & Jonathon is definitely not Mike Myers.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Straight to DVD

[2/10 · 14 October 2014]

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" is set in the fictional Kingdom of Zubrowka. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) & Zero (Tony Revolori) lead us through an animated adventure involving stolen art work, hit men, a brazen prison break, human greed and - above all - revenge. Is it entertaining? Hardly. Funny? Not very! In fact, Anderson's film is full of horrible caricatures of Slavs, Sikhs, and silly visual clues and symbols (e.g. the dead cat, "Guard Bunk Room", the Society of Crossed Keys, to name a few). The ending is predictable and the acting is quite uneven (Cameo appearances by Tilda Swinton & Bill Murray do little to save this one from ignomy). The kingdom has spawned a Trip Adviser site where you can post fictional reviews of this fictional property: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g6840479-d6776131-Reviews- The_Grand_Budapest_Hotel-The_Republic_of_Zubrowka.html

Maidan (2014)

Maidan is not The Square

[2/10 · 11 September 2014]

The Maidan is the most significant development in recent Ukrainian political history. A popular uprising overthrew a pro-Soviet dictator and promised democratic change. So a film of the same name, premiering at Cannes, arrived at the Toronto International Film Festival with much anticipation. Unfortunately, Maidan the film is a big disappointment: - the director provides no introductory perspective about the issue, the history of Ukrainian-Russian relations, nor the Orange Revolution; - the director's camera work takes long panning shots of the Maidan, again without any context or explanation; - the only comments in the first hour of the film consist of rhetorical speeches delivered in the square, without any attribution; The absence of any commentary leaves gaping holes in what should be a compelling story. The Maidan uprising is known to include fascist elements, Tymeshenko veterans, and a wide variety of extremists. None of these elements are explained in the film. Instead, what we get is running commentaries about volunteer assignments, cooks and activities of daily living. I went to see the Maidan to learn more about this historic event, and sadly, I came away knowing no more than I did before seeing the film. Maidan is not the Ukrainian equivalent of "The Square" and a big disappointment.

The Other Woman (2014)

Less Wolf of Wall Street, More the American Gigolo

[2/10 · 30 August 2014]

The American Gigolo Mark King (played by Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) is a serial adulterer whose jet setting ways conceal a plot to hid millions offshore in a Bahamas bank (hence the Wolf of Wall Street analogy, which is not mentioned in the reviews to date.)

As this plot unfolds, his adulterous ways are playfully revealed by an unlikely friendship between a Manhattan corporate lawyer Carly (Cameron Diaz) and Mark's Connecticut housewife Kate (Leslie King).

There are # of problems with this Cassevetes film: - Leslie King is not a great actress; - the predictable script does a poor job of its portrayal of women; - the much-vaunted humor is largely based on gender stereotypes; - the writer Melissa Stack takes a number of gratuitous and stereotypical swipes at Canadians (e.g. "the ugly Canadian".

How did the casting crew convince Cameron Diaz to star in this forgettable film?

There is a good reason this film went straight to DVD.

Zero Motivation (2014)

forgettable 1st feature film

[2/10 · 23 April 2014]

I screened Zero Motivation at Tribeca this week. The early signs were positive: - its nominated for best narrative feature; - the director's prior film - a short - won # awards; - Talya Lavie worked on the script at the Sundance Film Institute. Sadly, all those 1st impressions came crashing to the ground: - the acting performances are nothing special; - the script is at time awkward and full of gender stereotypes and clichés; - the audience reaction was all over the map. The story line is pretty straightforward. Zohar serves her two years working in a boring back office function at an IDF base. She befriends Daffi and they twosome become close. Daffi aspires to live in Tel Aviv, & somehow manages to complete officer training to fulfill her wish. Alas, Daffi's 1st assignment takes her back to her former unit, where the two inevitably tangle. In a Q&A following the screening, a member of the cast suggested the plot was a "realistic portrayal of life in the IDF" and the plot of this dark comedy represented a microcosm of Israeli society. If this sad state of affairs is realistic, God help Israel!

The Lost Highway (2014)

Lost Highway is not a road film

[3/10 · 7 April 2014]

I saw this new flic at its only press screening on April 6 at the Revue Cinema in Toronto. Billed as a road film, the Lost Highway is anything but. The demise of Highway 7 as the principal route for vehicles traveling from Toronto to Ottawa is simply the setting for a painful expose of the lives of two families who call this home. Howard & his parents have run "Gibbs Gas" for many years, & Howard hopes his daughter Melanie will take over the family business. The filmmakers follow Howard's aspirations for three years & many painful interviews in his ramshackle digs. The twists and turns of Howard's life pale by comparison with those of David & Linda, proprietor of Nomad's Inn outside of Arden, ON. The film captures the disintegration of their relationship and David's estrangement from his young boys. Pretty powerful stuff, and I question the judgement of the filmmakers in putting some of this into a film. In their defense, they argue this is a "character driven story" . True enough, its more along the lines of their 2007 film, The Last Call at the Gladstone. A shorter version of this film (58 minutes) will be broadcast on TVO (which helped fund the doc). I for one won't be watching as I find this film unnecessarily exploits these characters. Its as if the boys from Toronto arrived and took the local's dignity.

Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust (2013)

An extraordinary accomplishment

[10/10 · 27 May 2013]

I screened Emily Harrold's film at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. This documentary short is extraordinary, particularly considering it is Harrold's 1st film, undertaken when she was a student at NYU. Harrold interviews make the story, uncovering why the New York Times didn't give more coverage to the Holocaust and why it mattered? The NY Times was/is in a position to influence public opinion. Her decision to collaborate with North Eastern University Professor Laura Leff was brilliant, given the contentious subject matter. Harrold and Leff attended the premiere in New York, where the film was very well received. I can't wait to see Harrold's next project.

Fight Like Soldiers Die Like Children (2012)

Fight Like Soldiers is disappointing on a number of levels

[4/10 · 10 May 2013]

I screened the premiere of Patrick Reed's film at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto. Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children is ostensibly based on Dallaire's book of the same name and a sequel to the award-winning film Shake Hands with the Devil, about Dallaire's real- life experience as a general trying to prevent genocide in Rwanda. Reed & his crew film Dallaire as he travels to two countries - Sudan and the Eastern Congo- in support of UN efforts to extricate child soldiers from combat. There are a number of problems with this film. Reed endeavors to put General Dallaire at the apex of the story. Instead, he appears to be going along for the ride. Is this a film about Dallaire and his foundation(http://www.childsoldiers.org/) or a film about the use of child soldiers? At the premiere, Reed talked about how Dallaire became like a general again on his return to Africa. Clearly, he thinks it is the former! Let's recall that the book is a work of non-fiction. Reed has made other documentaries about Africa (The Team, Triage) and neither stand out as notable. Also, Peter Raymont is listed as the producer. He directed Shake Hands with the Devil. Raymont is brilliant at self- promotion, but its not clear what value-add he brought to the project (apart from notoriety and, of course, money). I had high expectations for this film, and unfortunately, Reed does not deliver.

The Ghosts in Our Machine (2013)

Ghosts in Our Machine offers a one-sided perspective on the ethical treatment of animals

[2/10 · 1 May 2013]

Documentaries are designed to educate, and that is the stated purpose of Liz Marshall's film. Two years in production, Marshall chooses to tell the story of the treatment of animals are through the eyes of activist Jo-Anne McCarthur. McArthur, a self professed animal-lover, beds down with cows, sheep, and pigs in her quest to demonstrate that animals are humans (www.torontopigsave.org). Marshall's film has a number of problems, but the main one is she became too close to her subject. In the credits, the Vancouver Aquarium is condemned as they refused to be interviewed. Perhaps they figured out in advance that her film was anything but balanced? Marshall also deliberately confuses the issues of animals raised for human consumption versus animal research and factory farms. Temple Grandin, who favours humane slaughter methods, is one of the only talking heads who doesn't buy McCarthur's party line "we love all animals"). Marshall is an accomplished film maker, and there can be no excuse for such a one-sided portrayal of a complex issue.

Tough Bond (2013)

Tough Bond is a gritty behind-the-scenes view

[9/10 · 28 April 2013]

I screened Tough Bond at the 2013 Hot Docs Film Festival. Vandenberg & Peck spent three years in Kenya, filming the street kids and digging behind the shiny veneer of Nairobi to understand why 4 young people left their indigenous villages and end up sniffing glue. The cinematography is exquisite and never comprises their dignity. Tough Bond also exposes the hypocrisy of the Kenyan government, which claims that the problem of street youth is in the past. The cycle of dependency. according to Peck, is never ending and the film shines a spotlight on a problem which is not well understood. I strongly recommend this film and can't wait for the next project by these first-time filmmakers!

Fatal Assistance (2013)

Fatal Assistance paints a one-sided view of development assistance

[2/10 · 28 April 2013]

I screened Raoul Peck's Fatal Assistance at this year's Hot Docs film festival. Peck returned to his native Haiti to film the reconstruction efforts following the 2010 earthquake. His film is a one-sided diatribe against NGO's, the International Haiti Relief Committee (IHRC), and ultimately any kind of development assistance. Its hard to pinpoint the source of Peck's anger. The narration is his, as is the voice-over by an unnamed woman who was/is an international aid leader. No doubt there were problems with coordination and effectiveness, but Peck blames all of it on the international agencies who (he suggests) have their own agenda! It is not clear why the Haitians themselves bear no responsibility? After all, it was former President Rene Preval's decision to spend relief assistance money to pay for the 2011 elections (which his party lost). Also, it was not the international NGO's who decided to relocate 250,000 homeless Haitians to a green space 11 miles outside Haiti! These are decisions Haiti will live with for decades, but as former Minister of Culture Peck knows there is another side to this story. Too bad it was not included.

Dancing in Jaffa (2013)

Dancing in Jaffa promises much, delivers very little

[3/10 · 25 April 2013]

The advance billing for Hilla Medalia's 1st feature-length film talks about overcoming the political & cultural differences between Palestinians and Israelis. Regretfully, Dancing in Jaffa under- delivers. Pierre Dulaine is an international ballroom dance champion who helped found the New York-based non-profit, Dancing Classrooms. Dulaine decides to export the dancing lessons to the city of his birth, Jaffa, which is now a poor Arab suburb of Tel Aviv. Today, Jaffa is very much a divided city and Dulaine decides to bridge these differences by working with students in both the Jewish and Arabic areas of the city. The result is a "feel good" competition involving young people from both sides of the divide. Ballroom dancing requires touching, but is this bridging cultural and political differences? Hardly. The political and social divide is great, and importing dancing from USA is more about entertaining than overcoming political differences. Palestinian aspirations for self-determination in the face of an ongoing Israeli occupation are unfulfilled, and Dancing in Jaffa is but an American-centric footnote in this never-ending struggle.

Farah Goes Bang (2013)

A witty debut feature by promising new director

[9/10 · 24 April 2013]

I screened Meera Menon's 1st feature film at the Tribeca Film Festival and was very impressed. Farah Goes Bang is like Route 66 meets the vagina monologues, complete with a witty script, great music, and a story of political idealism coming crashing down in the face of reality. Farah (Nikohl Boosheri) & her two friends from California, KJ (Kandis Erickson) and Roopa (Kiran Deol) travel to Ohio during the 2004 US Presidential election to campaign for Senator John Kerry. Ignoring the advice of organizers, the threesome test their campaign skills with stops in Amarillo, Texas and Flagstaff, Arizona. The result is some hilarious exchanges and racist incidents in the non-swing states. Reporting for duty in Ohio, they stay at KJ's family cottage, where she has fond memories spending time with her brother Ryan, who was killed in Iraq. We of course know the outcome of this race, but Farah has another goal to lose her virginity, and the film nicely captures these 20-something dynamics. Kandis Erickson turns in a brilliant 1st time acting performance as KJ. The script and dialogue move the film along at a nice pace, and the score complements a great story. The film is Menon's directorial debut and the film shows an amazing appreciation of the craft.

Oxyana (2013)

A startling portrait of a community confront an epidemic of drug abuse

[20 April 2013]

Oceana, West Virginia is the setting for Sean Dunne's startling portrait of a town beset with prescription drug abuse. Oxyana is the nickname given to the once proud Appalachian coal mining community of 1,400, and the name of this startling documentary which received its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19. Dunne & his crew spent 21 days of filming in the summer of 2012 in Oceana. Oxycana presents the people through a series of incredibly candid interviews. The director conducted open-ended interviews and is able to gain their trust by asking non-judgemental questions. Addiction to pain-killers like OxyContin & Percoset is the reality facing two generations of residents, and the film depicts pregnant mothers expressing fears about what lies ahead for their children. We see addicts shooting up so "the pain goes away" and youth mourning the loss of their friends and family, taken away by overdosing. This is Dunne's first documentary feature, and demonstrates a remarkable skill in allowing them to tell their stories. Oxyana could be set anywhere in North America, and the brutal reality it depicts is not easy to watch and reveals a tremendous talent in documentary film making.

The Prize (2011)

The Prize is a painful film to endure

[1/10 · 10 May 2012]

I screened El Premio at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival. I came away from the cinema perplexed by the question "why was this film made?"

I get this is the director's personal story. Good thing a programmer introduced the film! Otherwise, one would never know it is set in Argentina, is about the dirty war of the 1980's, and it is about her parents personal sacrifices (NB you only learn this if you manage to persevere to the final credits!).

I also have huge technical problems with this film: - the long, granular camera scenes are overdone and ancillary to the plot; - the scene with Argentian military portrays them as akin to Colonel Klink! Scary? I don't see it!; - the prize was presumably about instilling loyalty to the military junta. This seemed to be contrived and unrealistic; - the sub-theme (persecution of Jews after escaping persecution in Europe receives only passing mention.

The Prize fails on all levels - as a film about a critical period in Argentinian history, as a Jewish film, as an exploration of the tumultuous relationship between a mother and her daughter.

The Betrayal (2011)

The Betrayal is a betrayal

[4/10 · 29 April 2012]

At the age of 30, Director Karen Winther does a retrospective on her troubled youth. At 15, in 1995, she joined an Oslo-based group of socialists and anarchists. Within a matter of months, she decides to join a neo-Nazi group and inform on her now former colleagues. Mixed up? Misspent youth? It gets worse! In her self-reflection, Karen acknowledges a vicious assault on her mother, double-crossing her best friend, and various other anti-social behavior.

Winther's film is billed as an examination of why she she betrayed her best friends. But she doesn't really answer that question. Came from a broken home? Craved attention? What we never see is her take responsibility for her actions. At one point of utter absurdity, Karen's mother apologizes for her poor upbringing! There it is, Karen is absolved! The Betrayal is an exercise in self-indulgence by a director who still does not know what she stands for.

Adem (2010)

Adem (Oxygen) takes its audience on emotional roller-coaster

[9/10 · 3 September 2010]

Adem, directed by Hans Van Nuffel, screened this week in international competition at the Montreal World Film Festival (FFM). Tom (played by Stef Aerts) suffers from chronic cystic fibrosis - an hereditary condition he shares with his older brother Lucas (Maarten Mertens). Tom & Lucas spend much of their youth in the Belgian health care system, and the awful certainty that they will need to receive lung transplants and otherwise will not survive as adults. In one of his hospital stays, Tom meets Xavier (Wouter Hendrickx), who has the same illness. Xavier teaches Tom that life can be enjoyed to its fullest notwithstanding their precarious state of health. The two men face many ups & downs in a tumultuous relationship which is the basis of this fascinating film. The women in their lives and as well Tom's friends play prominent roles in an emotional roller coaster of a film. Ultimately, the two men's fates are inextricably linked. Stef Aerts delivers a magnificent acting performance, in which learning to take a breath of air is a challenge. The camera work is sensitive and yet unobtrusive. Hans Van Nuffel, who has a mild form of cystic fibrosis, also wrote the script and knows the subject matter. This gripping film is ultimately not about the illness. Rather it is about the will to survive.

Route 132 (2010)

Route 132 appeals to a Quebec audience

[6/10 · 30 August 2010]

I saw the world premiere of Route 132, directed by Louis Belanger at the Montreal World Film Festival. Gilles (Francois Papineau) runs away from Montreal following the death of his son Gabriel. His unlikely accomplice is an old friend from school Bob (Alexis Martin), himself a petty thief. The duo set out on a journey along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. They have no money so they take to robbing banks and the church (a la Jean Val Jean). Gilles is haunted by memories of his son & his childhood memories of time spent in the region. The resulting travelogue is of interest to Quebecers, who consider this territory their backyard and escape from the city. I found the script weak and the acting, at times, uneven.

Limbo (I) (2010)

LIMBO is a hit with the Montreal audience

[30 August 2010]

The premiere screening of Limbo at the World Film Festival in Montreal was very well received. A period piece (cerca 1970s) set in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Limbo follows Sonia & her two children as they leave the familiar milieu of Oslo to join her husband Jo (Henrik Rafaelsen), an oilfield engineer on contract in the sunny Caribbean. Sonia (magnificently played by Line Verndal) is immediately out of place in this unfamiliar world of expatriate Scandinavians. Servants run her household, and the Catholic schools are too strict for her liberal background. When she learns Jo has had a dalliance in her absence, her world becomes unhinged. The tension which unfolds leaves Sonia psychologically scarred & her relationship in tatters. Sonia faces the choice of whether to stay or go. A similar fate awaits their expatriate friends Daniel (Bryan Brown) & his wife Charlotte (Lena Endre) and the tension in both relationships is not resolved until the final scene, if at all. Limbo is the first feature film directed and written by Maria Sodahl, who spent a year as a child living in Trinidad & directs Limbo with incredible sensitivity.