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Mochila de plomo (2018)
Kids Without Parents
In Packing Heavy the drama unfolds slowly. We follow a group of youngsters in a minor city of Argentina. In the night the play soccer, drive home and frolic. Then they go home. We follow Tomás. He hides as he sees his mother drive away with a man. The home is very untidy, unwashed dishes are heaping in the sink.
In the morning he cannot find clean clothes. Without breakfast he goes to school, where he is suspended. Too many times he didn't attend classes. Furthermore he didn't wear the school uniform. As he is free, he is loafing through the town. He rings the bell of an auntie, but doesn't stay for food. His mother is stil sleeping when he comes back. Tomás steals money and some cigarettes from her purse.
He gets a new, fashionable haircut, then he is involved in a fight and runs away with his best friend Pinchón. At the river they smoke and later they try to shoot with a gun.
We learn that Nenino, the man who was responsible for the death of Tomás' father, is released from jail. At the sports club there is going to be a BBQ. Tomás might want to shoot the man.
Tomás is eager to learn more about his father, but everybody seems to be unwilling to talk about him. A man at the club house says, that he was the best soccer forward ever. Tomás also visits the house of his grandfather, who says that Tomás' father was involved with bad company. Maybe her was a thief also.
At least - 10 minutes before the film finishes - Tomás finally has the encounter with Nenino - aiming at him with the gun.
The absence of grown-ups in this film is striking. The kids are just doing what they like. Adults are not a part of their lives. They only come homw for sleeping. The kids also have their own laws and norms.
Packing Heavy is for people who like to follow ordinary life situations. Although there is obviously not happening a lot, the potential drama keeps my interest alive
Happy Winter (2017)
Prepare during summer for a happy winter
This is called a documentary film, but it seems to be in the mockumentary style of e.g. Ulrich Seidl. There is very little going on: someone is selling refreshments, another guy is campaigning to become mayor - probably without having a chance. The peak event of the season is a karaoke competition on August 15. Sometimes they think of the future, but not very often.
To view this film, you need a good portion of patience and a more than normal interest for ordinary people's ordinary life on a Sicilian beach, then this film is very rewarding.
Les bienheureux (2017)
Before Spring
I could watch this film, because the Biennale chose that a selection of films could be seen worldwide. I am relatively new to films from Arabic speaking countries. I enjoy especially those films that give insight into the life conditions in those countries. The action takes place in 2008 ("a few years after the civil war"). Samir and Amal were once politically active. Then they wanted to change the system. He is a gynecologist who makes illegal abortions. She is a teacher. They enjoy certain privileges because of their position. They are confronted with a new force, which they call religious bigotry. Their son Fahim is not so brilliant as they hope. They want him to study abroad, but he would rather hang out with his buddies and enjoy drugs and listen to music. This film is about a country in conversion. Small vignettes give at last a complete picture. One of the central questions is, if going away really is the best option for getting a better life.
Thala My Love (2016)
Love in the Times of Revolution
2011, Tunisia. The Arab Spring has started. People are demanding their rights, among them Houria, a seamstress working in a factory. Mohamed, her former boyfriend, manages to escape from prison. He tries to find her in the turmoil. His plan is to move to Algeria. But Houria wants to change Tunisia. Thala mon amour is thus a tale about getting involved or keeping private. The question is mirrored by an elderly couple, a midget and his quarrelsome wife. As someone who does not know Arab culture intimately, there are some difficulties, especially when the midget speaks. It is not easy to decide, if he mode of speaking is realistic or just bad acting. (I wish, I had someone with whom I could discuss such questions.) The camera work is a very shaky hand-held camera. Many fast camera movements, especially in indoor scenes are simply to enervating. This film gives an idea about the Arab Spring from within. This is the most interesting about it.
Fuglene over sundet (2016)
Stereotypical
The story of saving the Danish Jews from deportation to Nazi extermination camps is well-known. It's a story of how a people united their forces and fooled the occupation forces. It is a story of how a people helped the neighbors to escape and survive. It is a glossy story of the common man's heroism. In recent years there came scratches to this tale. We have heard about fishermen who took overprice for sailing their Jewish countrymen to Sweden. There have been failings also. Not only "German Nazi pigs" were hating and hunting Jews, but there were also Danish Quislings. Thus an interesting situation, even with clear parallels to current affairs. Is this converted to a relevant film? Donato tells the story of Arne Itkin, a successful jazz musician, His wife hears in the synagogue that the German occupation forces are going to deport the Jewish citizens. Arne, however, is carefree - this cannot happen in Denmark. Instead of preparing their escape, he suggests domestic coziness in the bed. Thus we know that he is an artist and not seeing what is going on around him. However, also Arne cannot close his eyes when the Germans actually come to deport them. Within a second they change from citizens to refugees. They are told that the best chance is to take to the harbor of Gilleleje. (The rest of the plot is history. I won't tell it here; Google knows it already.) This is a film one should like, but there are different factors that make it difficult to enjoy it.
First - the photography and cinematography. Large parts of the film happen in darkness in a matter that make it difficult, sometimes for me impossible, to see what is going on. OK with "natural light", but we need to know what is going on. Exaggerated use of close-ups focus on parts of the faces, as if this was a chamber play. Presumably the intention was to show us the despair of the sudden homeless family. But to see a cut-off face without surrounding does not really work, at least not for me. Another reason is that the actors - and they are mostly really good actors - don't have much to work with. This leads to ...
Second - the dull script. The Itkin family is at best sketched, character development is missing. All stereotypes from films about Nazis are used. Dialogues are like speech bubbles and stilted statements. The actors seem to read from a batch card. Across the Waters - thus the English title - is mainly interesting because of the plot twist hinted at before. Take it as superficial time pass without expecting much from it.
Tulip Fever (2017)
Tulip Fever is not contagious
Here is only one review of the 2014-version. Based on that review, it is fair to say that some of the plot holes have obviously been stuffed, while others are still wide open (or have been opened). I don't know if the holes have been faithfully adapted from the book or if they were specifically designed for the film.
In the 16th century there was a big economic bubble based on tulip onions. This is the background for a romance between a painter and a married woman. They make out a plan to get rich fast, so that they can run away to the East Indies. So far, so good. The point is now that the two strings never really are woven properly together. The development of the plot is, at best, sketchy. Character development, if any, is rather rhapsodical. The lovers (Vikander and DeHaan) are not really likable. The script gives them zero personality and they compensate by overacting. The only person carrying a bit of sympathy is the cheated husband (Waltz). On the other hand the makers strive to give us impressions of street life then, raw, loud and rather vulgar it is in their view. The final twist of the plot is surprising, but not convincing.
There are further things that were rather annoying in this film: The use of a narrator. It seemed that the makers didn't trust the force of their pictures and thought they had to spell it out for more distracted viewers. Shaky camera and fast clipping. I think it is a misconception to edit a costume drama to fit the taste of the MTV generation. (Make it more like The Girl with a Pearl Earring!)
One reason for historical fiction is to make us understand the burst of the recent economic bubble on the basis of a historical example. The makers of this film didn't really succeed in doing that. The persons in this film are far away and two-dimensional like drawings on a wall. Unless you write a review about them, you have already forgotten them tomorrow.
En enkelt til Korsør (2008)
Big emotions in small town
I take this from my blog and post it also here, as almost ten years after its original publication nobody else reviewed this title here.
For watching such films TV is enough. It was shown on our domestic (Danish)culture channel, probably because a PhD student is involved.
It is kind of romantic comedy set in a school for grown-ups. It is going to show us, how an intellectual who has only read about love, is going to meet romance in reality. Bad luck he falls in love with a lesbian and destroys their relationship. (And what is the point of this? To show that dykes don't stay together anyway? And why does she call him a pig? Clichés queuing, waiting until it is their call.) I suppose this is conceived as very funny.
The film is set in Korsør, a provincial town in Denmark. Thus it is again a good opportunity to present us with a selection of weirdos, losers and other sad characters, as usual in Danish movies set outside the metropolis.
A film nobody needs.
El-Rai wa el-Nesa (1991)
Quadrangle relationship from Egypt
I am new to Egyptian cinema. I took the DVD from the shelves because of my insatiable curiosity - and because it was provided with subtitles. I learned in the meantime that I saw here some of the superstars from Egypt. On the other side I am surprised about the relatively low score it gets here. Actually, liked it. It's certainly not a masterwork, but a decent melodrama.
It is about Hassan, who is just released from prison and announces himself at the house of his deceased cell mate. There are three women living by themselves in a relatively isolated spot. Initially they reject him, but then they gradually relate to him and accept him in their household. They understand that life is easier with a "shepherd" around, even though this particular shepherd is not a great assistance in their daily work. He admits right in the beginning that laziness indeed is his main predicament. I liked the quiet flow of the every-day life. Someone who knows Egypt better might even notice the slow changes of nature. There are signs of growing intimacy between Hassan and the women. I think their use of head scarves is relevant here. At that point I asked myself, if it could be possible to film such scenes today: the way they look at each other, close-ups of hands while touching or even embracing. Would they kiss in films nowadays? Or would it be possible to see a couple in bed?(I don't know, but I would like to know and at some point I might also find out.)
We also learn that gossiping is spreading fast: three women and a stranger living together is not seen upon with mild eyes by the community. But this is only hinted at in this film. (Would that be a major plot line in 2017?) In the end the melodrama culminates. Those scenes are not played too well, more in a too impassioned telenovela style. Maybe the end is to please the silent majority, to restore moral consensus? But it was still unexpected how it actually finished.
Maybe this is not the top of cinema from Egypt, but I enjoyed this peek into a culture and an industry I am not acquainted with.
Die unabsichtliche Entführung der Frau Elfriede Ott (2010)
A hilarious film from Austria
This was on Austrian TV some months ago. For people outside Austria, TV is often the only source to see Austria films. In addition this was produced for the domestic market, as everyone is speaking in their specific dialect, which means this is one of the charms of this film to me. It is not a "sophisticated comedy" though, but still one where language is one source of enjoyment.
The title gives away what this film is about. And as it is a comedy, the ending gives itself. So, a perpetual student has not reported the death of his grandmother and is still claiming her pension and attendance allowance. As someone from town hall wants to congratulate her on her 95th birthday, things become critical. The student wants to "borrow" a sedated person from a hospital, but as he elopes with a famous actress, a lot crazy situations ensue.
Yes, it is some kind of crazy comedy. The humor is often rather blunt, but they never fall into the trap of vulgar overacting. It might have helped to trim the film a bit, as some jokes are repetitive. I am also sure that this film definitely will lose in translation. Some characters seem to have stepped out from a Seidl flick. Watch it to ensure yourself Austria also has mainstream movies.
Den bedste mand (2017)
Fight inner demons - and become a winner
This is a biopic "inspired by true events" and as such it can hardly contain spoilers. Anybody can check any dictionary and get informed about the story line. And even if you didn't check out the biography of the boxer Jørgen Hansen, the chain of events can hardly be surprising. The question is thus: why should I be interested in the life of a boxing event that occurred more than 35 years ago. Actually I don't know either. The movie seems to follow its hero with solidarity. Jørgen Hansen faces all critical situations with some sort of rural whit, which seemed to be his trademark. Right from the beginning the focus is on the age of the main character. Hansen is contrasted with an aspiring boxing champion from Uganda. Their rivalry develops into a nice friendship and in the end he helps him fight the phantoms of the past. Nice movie for lovers of sport.
3 ting (2017)
Mumbling without Core
I ticked the box indicating that this may contain spoilers, although I don't know whatever there could be to spoil. The scene is set in a hotel room where Mikael is rehearsing a witness statement. There is top security. (So why not let it happen in a secure place like police headquarter?) The exposition is slow, awfully slow. The script tries, unsuccessfully, to build up tension between the characters, but never manages to start a conflict or anything worthwhile or interesting. The characters remain paper-like two-dimensional without depth. it is obvious that after the lengthy introduction something has to happen. So when the action is fueled by a bang, we are not really surprised, but rather happy that the film has finally ended.
Eine Berliner Romanze (1956)
Dreams and Aspirations before the Rise of the Berlin Wall
This is a film about the divided Berlin before the infamous wall was built. Young people from the east could easily go to the west to have fun and hang out with people from the west. So they do in this film and thus the romance starts. There is surprisingly little blatant propaganda. People in the west are portrayed like people. In the beginning there is a minor conflict with a salesman. He accepts easily the eastern money, but cannot give back the correct change. This probably reflects the wishful thinking of the east that their money had equal worth. So Uschi from the east falls in love with Hans from the west. At a point, she considers moving to the west because of better opportunities there, including a more modern life while in the east there is nothing but work. This is contrasted by a group of young men without work. They complain equally about the lack of opportunities. One even wants to emigrate to Australia. An off-screen voice narrates at some point that the west indeed does not have so many chances as is claimed by "certain newspapers". Uschi's parents do not like the idea that her daughter has a boyfriend in the west and ground her. Her reaction seems prophetic: "You may as well lock me up completely". That's what the authorities in GDR did 5 years later. Similar prophetic is the reaction to western youngsters to having a girlfriend in the east: "It's no use. At some point you might not be able to get over there." Today we can see this as a kind of foreshadowing. Uschi is living with her parents in the east. Their flat is bigger than the one Hans shares with his mother (there is no father) in West Berlin. Uschi's parents have the opinion that "you need to know where you belong to". Uschi has no doubt about that, so at last her parents accept to meet her daughter's boyfriend. This film wasn't very successful with those in charge of propaganda,as it is about real people. The east is not necessarily the worker's paradise and the west is not shown as a caricature either. Young people who try to find their way in life, beyond politics and ideologies. That's why it's still fascinating to watch it today. It is more like a field study of young people's dreams and aspirations and such it is timeless
Du forsvinder (2017)
Disappointing
This film asks serious questions, but it seems that it hardly scratches the surface for answering them. The main plot is a courtroom drama. Frederik is accused of fraud, but it turns out that he has a brain tumor that might have changed his personality, so that he possibly wasn't aware of doing something wrong. If he in legal terms was insane, he cannot be declared guilty. But is it so simple? It turns out that some changes that he tumor might have cause were present before the tumor grew in his brain. This interesting part of the story-line is however not sufficiently developed.
Another subplot is the crumbling marriage between Frederik and his wife Mia. The tumor has, so it seems, made Frederik more aggressive, also in bed. Mia therefore seeks comfort with his husband's lawyer. Or does she? We learn at quite late that Mia is an unreliable narrator. This could serve the point that individual experiences and memories form our perception. But it turns out that the narrator is not only unreliable, but quite nuts. This could at best illustrate a point how the brain works.
Indeed, essential issues of brain research and relevant philosophical implications are mentioned, as if the plot was a drama-documentary from Learning Network. But letting the narrator paraphrase these tendencies in brain research almost kills the point of the film. We get the impression that we are witnessing a lecture of a mad scientist. This was probably not the intention of the director.
I liked much of this film, but altogether it was an unconvincing attempt. Maybe the script is too close to the novel.
Dræberne fra Nibe (2017)
Small Town Boredom
Watchers of Danish movies from abroad, who are fairly acquainted with Danish geography must get the impression that Jutland is predominantly populated by hillbillies. Some examples: The Art of Crying (Peter Schønau Fog, 2006) with a psychopathic pedophile father. Terribly Happy (Henrik Ruben Genz,2008) where Jutland is like a zone where people are almost departed to, of course with its own rules that are only loosely connected to the common set of rules in the rest of the country.Bornedal also used this cliché of inbreeding xenophobes in his own Deliver Us From Evil (2009). In his latest effort to make a film, Bornedal point of departure is not any similarity with any resemblance of reality. There are 2-D caricatures. The fat man with tight clothes - very funny, ha-ha. His colleague who is sexually starving man with the too bushy eyebrows and an empty staring.He talks to the buttocks of his wife, but hardly to its owner. The Desperate Housewives - constantly wasted and enjoying the company of the Swedish salsa teacher - who is (for the women so near and so distant) gay. There are not many other people in Nibe. Why should there be people in the street? Bornedal is not interested in people, but only in travesties. Like the spastic waiter in the local restaurant, who talks "funnily". So Ib and Edward decide to boost their sex lives, not by taking mistresses, but by getting rid of their wives. It seems that you get easily access to the Dark Net in Nibe, as they have no problem to hire a hit-man from Russia. Surprisingly Edward is acquainted with this term. Of course they try to chicken out, but the Russian hit-man is not so easy to get rid of. The main problem is that he needs to be sober in order to travel back to his native Russia. Of course being Russian the hit-man is constantly on booze, when not killing unhappy people. We get a hint that he was in Afghanistan, but as it is the norm in this film, Bornedal is not interested in his persons. At least he tries to be politically incorrect when the Russian killer and an Afghani taxi driver, an admirer of Bin Laden, meet. - When Gritt and Ingrid figure out that they are the target of a killer, they hire a killer of their own, British Miss Nippleworthy (ha-ha!). Being a woman, she works, of course, wit poison. Any smiles until now? Is this hilarious? Not at all. Far-fetched at best. However, this misery has to end at some point. We have filled up the pot of clichés, now we just need to glue a happy ending to it. Is it credible? Why would Bornedal care? This concoction was like an adult version of Danish "family films" (Far til fire ...; The Crumbs - ... My Sister's Kids...). Although the persons in these films have more depth than the characters in Small-Town Killers, you will find there also more types than persons in these unambitious family movies. Thia movie has until now harvested universally unfavorable reviews. It seems that Bornedal is getting more and more an overrated director, as his good features have become distant history already.
Swinger (2016)
Awkward Comedy about Couples in Crisis
The first feature film by director Mikkel Munch-Fals had in Danish the title "Beautiful People". This one could have the title "Boring People". A bunch of middle-aged couples who have nothing but memories of not realized dreams pretend to escape from their daily routines by taking refuge in a swinger club. Here they think they are stripped from conventions. However, even their hanky-panky follows predefined rules which tell them when and where to feel liberated. One weekend a young couple arrives and thus the usual rules of the play are challenged. This challenge can prompt different reactions. One of the men thinks he needs to show off as stallion, another one believes that he has fallen in love and starts dreaming immediately about undigging his buried youthful dreams. (The script is mainly interested in the sexuality of the male protagonists. The women are shaggable garnish, maybe also part-time lesbians.) This could lead to tragic, dramatic, comic or even ironic situation. The script focuses almost exclusively on embarrassing aspects. There is a tendency in Danish cinema, especially when it is intended for the home market, to understand the vulgar as border-crossing. Especially the Klown series is notorious in exploring how disgusting they can be and still be loved by the audience. Munch-Fals follows this track. This is intended as funny. Yes, this film was labeled as comedy, but when I saw it, nobody in the audience laughed even once. There are some good performances in this film, but even they cannot make this film and its cliché-stuffed script memorable.
Mit fünfzig küssen Männer anders (1999)
A trifle by von Trotta
This TV-movie is like a meringue with a lot of whipped air. I chose it originally because of Senta Berger and became more interested when I saw hat it was directed by Margarete von Trotta. But this is not serious stuff at all. People on the edge of a mid-life crisis try to choose different strategies to overcome the limits of options that will come invariably when they get older. This tries to be a comedy, but the characters never get really likable. The desperate housewife seeking refuge in alternative medicine, alcohol or painting and her friend, the retired vamp who still tries to take what she can get are caricatures. The men have some superficial interests and try compete on the pecking order. But also they are caricatures. We have seen the greed for money and power in more powerful presentation. If the men were more grotesque, they could become part of a satire, but here they do not even develop into three dimensions. They remain flat buffoons. Altogether this film works mostly like a dime novel filmed with distorting mirrors. A bit like Bridget Jones on the way to early retirement