Polytechnique (Denis Villeneuve, 2009)The film is inevitably reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's
Elephant especially in how quiet and stark it feels throughout (the black and white images serving to enhance this effect) but this one feels like a much more intense personal passion project and for that reason, I think it leaves even more of an emotional impact. It really feels like a film made to be therapeutic.
Rather than focus on the perpetrator or his background, the film mostly focuses on the aftermath of the massacre. Given that the crime itself was motivated by extreme misogyny, I expected the film to focus mostly on the female victims. However, the best part of the film is probably the second act that follows Jean-François, a male student who witnessed the massacre and the impact that this event has on his psyche. Unfortunately, the last few minutes of the film (which almost feels like an epilogue) where one of the survivors writes a letter articulating the damage the experience has had on her felt superfluous to me. Villeneuve does a great job of showing us the aftermath almost entirely through images and the words just pale in comparison. Still, a riveting and powerful film that I hope more people will watch.
Grade: B
Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010)I have no idea how they shortened this one for the theatrical release. The version I watched felt like the perfect length at 5.5 hours. I love that Assayas doesn't even try to focus on the psychology of the protagonist like so many biopics tend to do. Instead, he focuses almost entirely on the action, on showing the man at work and whatever deductions we make about Carlos are based entirely off his decisions at various points in time. It reminded me of Soderbergh's Che except that this one is a lot more fun and suspenseful and I was a lot more engaged. It might've helped that I didn't really know much (or anything) about Carlos prior to watching the film. It's a sprawling film with tangled webs of alliances and consequences and somehow Assayas manages to keep it intimate as well as manageable in that I never lost track of the plot.
I've been watching quite a few films over the past couple of weeks and this might still be the most fun movie I've watched recently. Not only is the narrative itself totally fascinating but it's full of great set-pieces and has one of the best soundtracks of the year. As impressed as I am with Assayas's direction, Edgar Ramirez's performance is probably the biggest strength of the film. He totally captures the character's ambition, ego, wit and charisma but also switches seamlessly between a bunch of languages often within a single scene. Am pretty sure he's getting my Best Actor vote for the Filmspots.
Grade: B+
Hadewijch (Bruno Dumont, 2009)At first, I found it a bit difficult to connect with the film perhaps because it's hard for me to relate to someone as devout as the central character is in this film but also because Céline's love for Jesus seems to be entirely internal. She always seems to be isolated from the rest of the world on account of this love she shares for someone who is ultimately invisible. But the film does a really great job of gradually building from there to a conclusion that is somewhat ambiguous (to me at least) and yet really powerful. The film is really a lot more interested in ideas rather than details. Consequently, Dumont really just glosses over the most climactic event in the film (right down to using CGI that is totally inconsistent with the rest of the film) choosing to focus instead on raising some really thought-provoking questions about passion, devotion and plain old humanity.
Grade: B
Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)I have nothing to add to all the interesting discussion already surrounding the film. Suffice to say, I really enjoyed it and found it completely fascinating. That Thierry Guetta is a fun storyteller.
Grade: B
Winter's Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)It was fine and I have no complaints per se about the film. I really liked the contrast between the genders and the way that the women ultimately feel compelled to help Ree out with her predicament. Despite that, I didn't really feel like a got a good sense of the place apart from the fact that they all seem to be drug addicts/dealers and not afraid of violence. It was alright. I just didn't love it or feel as emotionally connected as some of you, I suppose
.
Grade: B-
Poetry (Chang-dong Lee, 2010)It's startling how similar this is in plot to
Mother and yet the two films feel so different stylistically.
Poetry lacks some of the dark humor and suspense that makes
Mother such a fun watch. But it more than makes up for it in the subtlety of the writing and a much stronger emotional core. I love that this film pushes the crime into the background and focuses entirely on Mija's struggles with writing poetry. The entire film is focused on her character and this combination of emotions that she wrestles with in an attempt to communicate her feelings using words that seem to constantly fail her. I really liked Kim Hye-ja's performance but it's impossible not to compare Jeong-hie Yun's performance here to that one and I have to admit that
Poetry is both a better film and features the better performance. I didn't really love
Oasis when I watched it but now I'm tempted to revisit it and I definitely ought to catch up with
Secret Sunshine.
Grade: B
Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)I love the first two instalments and had a perfectly good time with this one too. Maybe I've just turned into a stone-hearted curmudgeon but this one really didn't do much for me emotionally. I totally admire it as yet another Pixar film that's great fun for kids as well as adults but that's about it.
Grade: B-
Film Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard, 2010)This movie made me feel dumb
. Upside: it has lots of really pretty images. I haven't watched any of the more recent Godard films and am not sure if watching those would have helped me make sense of this one. It seems to be saying something interesting about language and about Europe but in a way that's too cryptic for me to follow. I got nothing.
Grade: Caro Diario (Nani Moretti, 1993)Moretti seems to be a blast to hang out with. This movie is just so funny, engaging and heartwarming. I want Moretti to turn his video diaries into a regular series. For more info, just read
this.
Grade: B
Lola Montes (Max Ophüls, 1955)What an amazing way to tell a story. I love that I watched this movie at the start of the year and am already pretty certain it'll make my Top Discoveries list. The camera performs its own set of acrobatics as it captures the various circus performers rolling onto the stage at the start of the film from various directions. Ophüls seems to not only love moving the camera around complicated spaces but also seems to like putting obstacles in its path so it has to perform complex maneuvers to be able to stay with the characters (
I LOVE the way he has 10+ servants scurry up and down multiple flights of stairs to find Lola a needle and thread!). And all of this just adds to the dazzle and spectacle of the amazing circus that's at the center of the film.
There's so much to love about this film. Firstly, there's just the visual awesomeness from the sets to the circus stunts to the incredible locations and gorgeous costumes. Then there's the incredible structure of the film where it's never quite clear how the film's chronology quite fits together and yet that ambiguity seems not to matter. I also love the ambiguity between truth and fiction in the film. There's the myth of Lola Montes that Peter Ustinov as ringmaster is seeking to create coupled with the reality as per Lola's memories. Peter Ustinov is just magnificent in the film and manages to imbue the film, which is otherwise rather dark and tragic ,with a sense of humor. The ending is just haunting and tragic and made me want to watch the film all over again.
Grade: B+
Vengeance (Johnnie To, 2009)IMDB tells me that To wanted Alain Delon for the film but couldn't get him. I too wish Delon was in the film especially since the central character could well be the character from
Le Samourai in the future (he's even called Costello). It has all the things I've enjoyed in other To films. There's awesome setpieces where bullets dance around rather than just move. The whole film feels operatic in a way that works perfectly with the melodramatic plot. I think where the film lags behind is in the character development. We really don't spend much time with any of the characters and their motivations are rather inscrutable. For instance, the bond between the three hitmen and Costello is central to the film but is never really all that convincing given that there's so little behind the formation of that bond (apart from the hitman's code, I suppose). Plus, there's a silly
Memento-like plot twist wherein the protagonist is suffering from gradual memory loss and has to rely on polaroids and such to remember his enemies.
Despite all the plot silliness, the film is always fun to watch. The scene with Johnny Halliday praying on a full moon night and being visited by all the people he has to avenge is pretty awesome. Oh and I keep forgetting to mention how much I love that To always takes the time to show his characters cooking and eating together. Those almost outdo the action setpieces for me.
Grade: B-