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dangabriel
Reviews
Kynodontas (2009)
thinking man's film
EXTREMELY interesting. More thinkers like that around the Parthenon would have kept them out of the financial basket case. One of the most unpredictable films I have ever seen. Which is very complimentary. In his comments, Lanthimos said he attempted to imagine-SF style-the future of the family for the latest hardliners of this failing institution. For this audacity only he deserves to rank high with Baron Cohen. What happens next, the smithy of euphemisms parents find for their children, their mechanical take on sexuality, the insularity of judgement are very thought provoking. It makes you think in all ways possible, from suave at the girls'games to vehement at the sudden bursts of violence, profound after the end credits. Daily bread for Alzheimer dodgers. VERY good film, excellently acted by the full-theatre based-cast and deserved "certain regard" at Cannes. If future Greek bailouts involve this director, it's money well spent
© dan4gabriel@gmail.com
Zamani barayé masti asbha (2000)
educative, above all
It's so real it could be a documentary. One day, some five years ago, a pubescent girl in Montreal sued the government for not covering the cost of her breast implants. She said, that was indispensable for her health and well-being. I'd say, people like this should take a six months fact- finding mission to Kurdistan, where this film was shot, and see how life is. How children work and how they manage to live, even smile and sing sometimes. The movie starts strongly, never lets go and moves you to the deepest. If you don't shed a tear, unlikely, you'll still be haunted. The unprofessional children's acting is phenomenal, which shows again that sometimes non-actors give stronger performances (particularly Amaneh and Madi) The hand-held camera takes are absorbing and the urgency is vivid. The cultural differences are manifest, and this is a study of humanity in a rough and cruel setting. The film should be mandatory viewing to blase kids who feel miserable for not getting for free the last video game console. Camera d'or at Cannes, best first feature of director Bahman Ghobadi.
© Dan Gabriel 2012
Les amours imaginaires (2010)
sound and music extravaganza
Best Canadian film of the year, or any year without Arcand of Egoyan in the spotlight! One word of caution: don't jump to evaluate the plot. Like a good book, this film is better in the introspection it causes than the story per se. Great visual effects, a soft French style story, witty intrusions and a general sense of elegant joy when watching. The story is as natural as life itself. Andy Warhol meets Almodovar in this Xavier Dolan, a paella of colour and music, of pain and elation all making an experience. It exudes the thinking behind every frame, the carefully chosen colours and outfits, the engaging music, the nerdy framing. As a respectful critique, I just think some frames look too much like video clips. Still it captivates and never gives you a chance to go to the fridge during watching. Some may like simple biological stimulus, (watch then some blockbusters with Julia Roberts in all her pectorally enhanced glory) but this film is about complicated humanity. A deserved Cannes selection, will follow the director with interest. Given his age, the future may bring us finally some more quality Canadian Cinema. © Dan Gabriel 2012 dan4gabriel@gmail.com
Okuribito (2008)
great compulsory viewing!
One of the greatest films to come out of Japan, in their splendid tradition. Fully deserving the Oscar and the other awards. The story is a heavy one, in any culture. Death is not something we approach in detail, or want to get involved with. Yet it is rarely construed as an inseparable part of life, indispensable and best regarded as a continuation of our existence on a different level. It is our monolithical egoism to relegate death to a place we don't want to think of, to consider it bad luck (while it is a certainty) and to disparage those who are involved with it professionally. To such point we abhor it that whole operating systems of our civilization are created -religions- to deal creatively with the issue of death and reposition it as something exciting and wholly palatable. Masahiro Motoki is good in his ingénue role as a novice encoffiner, though sometimes inconsistent (his facial expressions are perhaps sporadically too loud given the topic). He deserves full credit as the originator of the story, as mentioned by director Takita in the DVD extras. Ryôko Hirosue is very credible as a young Japanese wife torn between obedience to the husband and powerful public opinion superstitionally opposed to all things "bad luck" of which death is the apex. Tsutomu Yamazaki (Kagemusha, Tampopo) is definitely the best performer, controlled, precise, airtight to the role. The film itself is carefully spinning, the story is developed patiently-yet never affords boredom-and the final superb. The visuals-especially the cremation fire transposed in the swans' takeoff- are achievements and the cello soundtrack fits perfectly the topic. All in all, great watching and a memorable experience. Dan Gabriel, Canada (dan4gabriel@gmail.com)
El secreto de sus ojos (2009)
two films in one, and rightfully awarded
A well deserved Oscar. As usual the foreign movie award is granted with less quid pro quo in mind, thus quality prevails. Juan Jose Campanella directed two films in one, as the duration and his own comments on the DVD edition corroborate.
A textured love story with very subtle hints and and a powerful mystery story. The acting is theatre quality for almost all cast, especially the protagonists Soledad Villamil (Irene) and Ricardo Darin (Esposito) with special mentions to Guillermo Francella (Sandoval) and Mario Alarcon (Juez Fortuna.) The movie thus falls into romance, mystery, drama category but the audacious enterprise bears fruit.
Eminently watchable, it feels like a miniseries with multiple flashbacks in the characters' previous moments. The atmosphere is carefully recreated, and the make-up artist is to be recommended. Remarkable is the love story between Irene and Esposito, always there yet never declared, in their eyes but not on their lips, deliciously postponed to the last frame. The drama has a very powerful ending and it surprises somehow.
The suspense is well maintained and the script is full with energizing wit of the subtle kind. It probably filled the Academy judges with a sense of elegant joy -and remorse for their awards for the some helicopter filled local productions. Read my other reviews at https://sites.google.com/site/dan4gabriel/home
The Social Network (2010)
Great script, great leading actor
Again, greatness from Sorkin. Well deserved Oscar for screenplay. The movie is fast, intelligent, messy as life itself. But it keeps you alert, involved and wanting for more.
The direction by Fincher is secure and the camera captures nerdness and energy in subtle takes. The choice of Jesse Eisenberg for the leading role is perfect. Hoodie, complex sentences, utter disregard for others' feelings, Zuckerberg is THE nerd, probably creating thus a brave new idol to emulate by the current youth, besides the pernicious sports stars and hopeless musicians. Great and memorable character. The dialogue is perky,irreverent -watch the opening scene and the school board scene, delicious- the action is fast and relevant and the whole makes a rewarding experience.
As an aside, Timberlake does not fully convince, and beside the great acting by Eisenberg, the rest of the cast is not at the same altitude.
Read my other reviews at https://sites.google.com/site/dan4gabriel/home
Four Lions (2010)
Solidly funny. Poignant. Educative.
We can reliably expect the British to attack the unassailable, to break conventions and taboos, to go where no Hollywood would dare upon the pain of financial ruin and political corectness' ostracizing. So here comes the mujahid director Chris Morris, with a very believable cast of British would-be terrorists.
The humour is solid, at times subtle and inducted gently and other times visually compelling, evident laughter. The would be martyrs run out of power while shooting their farewell video. They use replica guns. Any malfunctioning car has "Jewish parts" in it. They want to bomb mosques to "awaken the moderates" all during which they must beware of being monitored. Their biggest fear is being captured by the US forces and force-fed Viagra, then shown on YouTube having sex with dogs. And it goes on and on 'till it hurts.
The extras come with some very educative research segments on real-life interviews with Muslims in the UK and the actual race-relations today.
The movie fills a very necessary space, as one of those liberty of expression landmarks which will make us regard the suicide bombers as not only criminals, but hopelessly stupid. Must see watching! read my other reviews at https://sites.google.com/site/dan4gabriel/
The Limits of Control (2009)
A rare experience
Jim Jarmusch extraordinaire.
It starts from the premise the director states in the ample interview in the bonus features: "sometimes what we don't know is more interesting than what we know" It develops slowly and with painful precision. The colours are divine. The composition is strict engineering betrothed to solid talent. Jarmusch even looks like Almodovar.
The location is Seville, the story is ...we don't know, but we are mesmerized. The acting is tense in static and strict serenity. The mood is one of subliminal conflict waiting to happen. Characters are fleeting, all memorable, all acted by major actors, from different cultures: Tilda Swinton, Gael Garcia Bernal, Luis Tosar, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Bill Murray. Isaach de Bankole deserves here a special mention for an actor with a special presence.
All bring different styles, but the coherence comes from Jarmusch who twists all in a mosaic of visual and sonic mystery. Careful camera work and sound perfection make this a very visually rewarding experience. No costume, landscape, angle or tone is left to chance.
The careful observer will notice many similarities with the colours of Almodovar. It is a rare experience, must see for the art lover in cinema.
read my other reviews at https://sites.google.com/site/dan4gabriel/home
Jaffa (2009)
finely crafted moving story
The title, Jaffa, gives us only a location. In the suburbs of Tel-Aviv, Jaffa is a place of biblical mention, there are some saying it is derived from the name Japheth, son of Noah. It currently has a mixed population, more than a third are Israeli Arabs.
Keren Yedaya gifts us again a remarkable experience, presenting a difficult moral story from a neutral point of view, unbiased and yet strongly moving. The script is by Yedaya and Ben Porat, the cast is -as most Israeli movies-impeccable. Dana Ivgy, Ronit Elkabetz (an amazing bandwidth actress, "Late Marriage"2001 "The Band's visit"-2007), Ro'i Asaf, Mahmoud Shalaby give solidly credible performances. Whichever side of the story you may be, either the touching romance against all odds or the practical considerations of secular enmity, at the end you will reflect at length, and be enriched by this film.
With precise timing and increasing emotional leverage, Yedaya mounts a gradual increase in tension, a catastrophe and then gives us more: the wonderful struggle within the future mother. Mali (Dana Ivgy) is caught between her family, her religion and her other family, the one she dreamed of creating... but she must tell her parents about the child's father.
Scenes of great emotional intensity are shot in vignettes brimming with concealed pain... At the end of the film, the debate is far from close, but the hope, the child of both Israeli and Arab is something we have in front of us, unmistakenly. Great music by Shushan runs plangently through the end credits, rightly nominated to a Camera d'Or at Cannes film festival.
Read my other reviews at: https://sites.google.com/site/dan4gabriel/home
Mar adentro (2004)
Memorable. Greatness.
Six years ago I watched this film. It is still fresh in my mind, as if I had watched it last night. Movies don't get more impressive. It is so far the best drama I have seen (out of more than 5000 movies, one a day ) I watched over the last 10 years. Nec plus ultra, and it supports my opinion that Spain produces the best cinematography of all countries lately.
The story -inspired from reality-is scripted to emotional perfection. Dialogues are exacting, gripping, powerful. There is not a dull moment, as the tension is so strong that even the beautiful landscapes, the flashbacks of Ramon (J. Bardem) the music filled intervals, never detract from the harrowing story.
It is not sad, it is not happy, it is not right not wrong, not legal not illegal. For whichever view one may take on the issue, there is a contrarian view of equal power beautifully suggested in the story. Indifference is what you will not feel. The Jesuit priest scene is only one instance of critique of the simplistic opinions and hypocrisy in the bourgeois society.
Amenabar has put together this masterpiece with a superb script and crystalline photography, precise cast and evocative music (some by himself). Justly awarded for this movie, he has carved a solid name for himself in cinema.
Javier Bardem gives probably the best performance of his career (though I really hope he is able of even more in the future). European Film Awards granted him aptly the Best Actor prize that year. For a movie about the very lack of mobility, with most scenes in a room with a bed and little more, for a character that moves eyes and eyebrows, Bardem is a wonder in the acting guild. Another noted performance of Bardem would be his deliciously versatile act in "Before Night Falls" The supporting actors deliver strong scenes, especially Belen Rueda (Julia).
Some review this film as being a debate on an issue. It is, but also far more than that. It is the essence of humanity, makes you think, makes you cry. And -as tested on myself- after many years and thousands of films I have watched after it, it remains the most powerful. This movie unleashes the force of life. I cannot think of a more memorable experience in cinema.
Friends with Money (2006)
a rare delight
The good 1% of movies out of Los Angeles is here: Friends with money has excellent acting (even Jennifer Aniston cannot mollify director Nicole Holofcener's excellent script) wonderful dialogue with wit and moral. Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Simon McBurney are remarkable actors who give solid credibility to their characters, providing the viewer with a great opportunity to social critique while being serenely entertained. Special mention: Scott Caan who plays the jerk with charming villainy.
The wit flows everywhere, nobody is spared. The rhythm is spicily quick, there is little time for reflection, (as it is to be done posthumously, one presumes)
Great directing by Holofcener, memorable! We only hope the percentage of good movies like this from LA increases, so we don't all migrate towards foreign cinema!
Dinner with Friends (2001)
Great story, well acted, well directed, a must.
Deservedly award winning -Pulitzer in 2000- (for drama, despite being not more pessimistic than most marriage statistics,) this play in a movie is a superb educative study of relationships. The premise is probably more the comparative study of two marriages than anything else. One marriage (Gabe-Karen, Quaid-MacDowell) is working. The other (Tom-Beth, Kinnear-Colette) is unravelling. Their histories are depicted in parallel lines as the couples are interacting with each other and with their respective spouses. The flashback to the Martha's vineyard scene is illustrative: The separating couple is set up by their friends. With some facility we can assume they are embarking on the marriage route more in order to comply with their friends'expectations and general conformism than genuine attraction. They keep it up for 12 years, then it fails. The successful couple are baffled, angered, supportive, judgemental, all in turns and sporadically simultaneously about the other couple. But while they do this, they show countless times how their own marriage is solid and functioning: similarities, common activities, compromise, mutual help and respect. The script by Margulies is great, the inclusion as drama is unfair, as it could be classified as comedy, romance or even sentimental "study" movie. The direction by Norman Jewison is impeccable. Watch it and rank it up there with the other major contributions HBO has brought to humanity!
The Good Heart (2009)
Brian Cox tour de force
This movie is about Brian Cox... Director Dagur Kari provides a stage. Paul Dano is great being a looking-glass. But Brian Cox's Jacques is monumental, he literally carries the action from the first second he steps in. He energizes the viewer, no matter how one classifies his moral actions. The bar scene is one of surrealistic charm, dwelled by decameronesque characters and maintained as a personal fiefdom by Jacques. The short story on the cover is "A bartender takes a young homeless man in under his wing" but there is so MUCH more to it. Lucas (Paul Dano) represents here a humanity clear of prejudice, pure and immortal. The suicide attempt doesn't stop him. Nor does death itself, his heart symbolically living on in another body. Supporting actress Isild le Besco is somehow incongruous, offering not believable French accented replies. Underwhelming, as her debut movies in France, where her naked skin prevails. Probably a strong actress, I am thinking here Emily Mortimer, or Marie-Louise Parker, or, -if they really wanted a French one, how about Sandrine Kiberlain? -would have done much better. Solidly memorable, Brian Cox gives this movie so much personality and energy that only true talent can offer. In line with Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley, Cox is another Musqueteer of a generation of powerful performances from Britain to enchant us. Watch this great movie, and a bar will never look the same to you!