My goal this year is to write about films before I get to 15 in number so that the blogs are not so long, so this blog features just 9 films.
One of my favorite films from last spring's SIFF is the documentary MIDSUMMER IN NEWTOWN--somewhat of a tongue twister of a title--about children (and a few adults) putting on a production of MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT DREAM with songs--and done in a family style. The kicker is that the location is Sandy Hook and the great number of amateur performers were personally affected by the massacre that took place exactly one year earlier in the elementary school. The production deals with the aftermath, showing how kids and adults dealt with losing their siblings, parents, friends or teachers, and trying to proceed with their lives. The film is not grim or depressing (although perhaps a little sad and melancholy at times) and yet it can produce tears of joy in viewing.
I thought so at the time, and again yesterday after the Republican congress voted to allow guns, guns, guns to be sold to any mentally ill person that wants one, without background checks!!!!, that EVERY PERSON VOTING ON GUN CONTROL should be REQUIRED to view this extraordinary film MIDSUMER IN NEWTOWN. GRADE------------A
I saw MOONLIGHT again with some friends who hadn't seen it yet, and they reaffirmed my feeling that this film is a unique and moving experience. You haven't seen many characters like this who live in poor parts of town displayed with the dignity, frustration, love and honesty that is on display here. Watching a second time I was especially impressed with the music score and the cinematography and screenplay, all of which have been Oscar nominated. In a few ways, this film could be a "companion double feature" with PRECIOUS (2009), an award winning film that features an abused black teen who is fighting to get herself out of her miserable existence. GRADE-----A
Viewed last October at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Pedro Almodovor's newest film is the lush, colorful, engrossing JULIETA. This melodrama starts with an older woman running into a old friend of her daughter--a daughter she hasn't seen for many years, and this starts her search for the reasons why her daughter won't contact her mother. There are a lot of flash backs and flash forwards, and as always, Almodovar uses style and substance to engage our interest, and he seems to specialize in showing the mystique of womanhood in moving ways. GRADE-----------B+
Occasionally when possible (and not during SIFF) I make an effort to see a foreign film that will appear at my local cineplex out of the blue. Last week I decided on UN PADRE NO TAN PADRE, a Spanish comedy/drama that has all the right moves to be remade into an American comedy that could have some general appeal. Nearly 90 years old and quite mean and stubborn, our hero's father is kicked out of his senior living, so the son, who lives with about 8 others in a communal situation takes him in, where father's cranky disposition rubs the others the wrong way, although they are remarkably patient. Of course he becomes changed after many amusing adventures...but the thing about this film is a strong vein of realism and unsentimentality that makes this film work--something Hollywood wants to avoid when remaking these type of films. I hope you get a chance to see this one in the Spanish language (with English subtitles, of course) before it is ruined by a remake. GRADE-----------B
I've always considered director Martin Scorsese to make profound, intelligent films, whether I liked them or not as subject matter. His new film SILENCE falls squarely into the NOT LIKING category. Based on a a true story, and one that he has personally been interested in telling for many years, SILENCE tells of the persecution of two Jesuit priests and thousands of believers who were persecuted and murdered for many years in the 17th century Japan. Unfortunately, at two hours and forty five minutes long, this dry, dull film repeats the torture, degradation and murder of the two main characters and the people they are trying to preach to in a prolonged and torturous manner. Believe me when I say I felt their pain, and it wasn't pleasant or enlightening, just repetitious and glum. I got the religious symbolism and Christ like symbols--all rather obvious. There are a lot of positive reviews out there, but in spite of some lovely photography, I never want to see this film again, which I can't say for just about every other Scorsese film he's made. GRADE-----------C
VIEWED ON DVD-------------------------------------------
WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD 1991--Helen Mirren gives a forceful portrayal of a British free spirited , widowed woman in the late 1800's who marries a much younger Italian man, then dies in childbirth, leaving her ex-brother and sister in law and a female friend (Rupert Graves, Judy Davis and Helena Bonham-Carter) to try to wrest the baby away from the young husband. This adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel is a tragedy, of course, but the performances are always interesting, the settings and photography (mostly in Italy) are sumptuous, and the story carries the gravitas of history and class conflicts to the forefront. GRADE----------B
LITTLE MEN 2016------Two young teen age boys find their friendship tested when their parents clash over the cost of rental property that one set of parents inherit, and they want to raise the rent on the mother of the other boy. It is a small, subtle film, but made with heart and sensitivity. With Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle, and directed by New Yorker Ira Sachs in his usual unassuming manner--see his LOVE IS STRANGE 2014 and KEEP THE LIGHTS ON 2012. GRADE-----B
MONSIEUR VINCENT 1947-French film based on the life of St. Vincent dePaul, who created a life of service to homeless and jobless persons, this film shows how he came to create what is currently known as St. Vincent de Paul thrift stores and other services, While engaging, there are a number of big skips in time that seem jarring, and make you wish the film was smoother in historical progression. Voted an Honorary Oscar in 1948. GRADE-------B
FALLEN ANGEL 1945--I tried to watch this several months ago, but kept falling asleep. Second try was more successful. Directed by Otto Preminger, this film features Dana Andrews who tries to marry a rich women so he can steal her money and then marry a shallow good looking woman--all from the same town. It's a weird plot, and there are some odd turns, and not always successful. GRADE----------C+
COMING NEXT BLOG-------FAVORITE FILMS OF 2016 and OSCAR COMMENTS!!!!!
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