Unter dir die Stadt (2010) theatrical review

The best thing you can say about Unter dir die Stadt aka The City Below is that it goes all the way with its concept. The film depicts a sterile, alienated and emotionless universe. It is written, filmed and directed in a sterile, alienated and emotionless manner. And I’m not being sarcastic here – the design of the film mirrors its thematic content in an impressive and consistent manner. It is a world of offices and suites, aseptic and ordered, behind the clean walls of which absolutely nothing even remotely vital or exciting takes place.

It really could’ve been a great movie if it wasn’t so utterly boring.

The creators of the movie do not steer an inch away from this concept, and they lost this viewer as consequence. Not that I imagine they’d mind or try to win me back. The film is a thriller that doesn’t want us to know it’s a thriller and its coldness and alienation never let me become engrossed with it for one moment.At times it reminded me of American Psycho, which is set in the same world beset by the same evils, the difference being that that film is American and hence rather communicative. Unter dir die Stadt is a German film, and consequently it’s subdued and muted almost to the point of autism.

And yet, I must something in this film didn’t let go of me. It was a very frustrating viewing as I sensed that perhaps there is something truly special in this film that I cannot cognize. It’s as if it encodes something that you need to parse, and once I read between the lines, I’ll be in for an epiphanic experience. So that didn’t happen, but it’s not like I had a moment’s rest watching it.

Honey (2010) theatrical review

This is the third part of the Yusuf trilogy of the Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu; the two opening parts, Egg and Milk were screened in the Haifa and Jerusalem film festivals respectively. The film was awarded the chief prize of the Berlin Film Festival, yet following last year’s fiasco with The Milk of Sorrow, I don’t really trust the Golden Bear anymore. The two films have much in common at first glance: both lack a clear and coherent narrative, are short on dialogue and long on atmosphere and centered on the inner world of a reclusive and/or troubled individual; are not without an anthropological streak; and both are “visually impressive”, to reiterate a phrase I’ve applied to so many films during this festival. Yet while The Milk of Sorrow, nominated for Oscar in the Foreign Film category, bored me to death, Honey bewitched me almost from beginning to end.

First of all, of all the films I’ve seen in this festival, this is by far the most visually stunning. Some shots look as if Vermeer himself took them: each and every frame is state of art. In addition the child who plays Yusuph is so adorable that as when the film was loosing me, a close-up on his face made me once again look with anticipation.

It is a coming of age story full of nuances so subtle that blink and you’ll miss something. Since I haven’t seen the other films (the reception of Milk last year in Jerusalem wasn’t particularly warm), I can attest it stands on its own. Beautiful and worth seeing.

Haifa Film Festival: Good Fun Most of the Time

This year’s Haifa Film Festival is certainly living up to its bill as Israel’s most fun movie event. I was surprised to learn it is also the oldest (it is one year older than the venerable Jerusalem Film Festival, which commenced in 1984). While attracting less prestige and press coverage than the Jerusalem counterpart, it is also less self-important and hierarchical. Goes to show the different characters of those cities – Jerusalem is a multicultural cauldron of tension, Haifa a rather more inviting Mediterranean city where you go to have fun.

And then there are the movies. Each year the festival offers a program full of gems, hidden and otherwise. This year’s opening film was the rural comedy Tamara Drewe from the renowned director Stephen Frears, yet it seems that other films, from much younger directors, have captured the imagination of the viewers. One such film is the Russian feature How I Ended Last Summer, director’s Aleksei Popogrebsky’s second effort. It seems to divide opinions, as some find it too slow-paced and, well, demanding. I, for one, think it’s a masterpiece. By the way, Orr and myself have interviewed the youthful auteur during the festival, and will soon publish it here. Stay tuned!

Otherwise, it’s been a hot and humid week in Haifa, yet that has not prevented thousands of people from coming to see quality cinema. At times the atmosphere was perhaps a bit too light and not serious enough – watching a film in the main hall of the festival, The Auditorium, I was annoyed by a number of viewers who talked during it, thinking that if you do it quietly then it’s OK. That happened in another screening, and some of those I asked complained about it as well. This is really not cool and I wonder what can you (or the festival’s administration for that matter) do to combat it.

Other than that, no complaints.

Un homme qui crie (2010) theatrical review

And yet another import straight from the Cannes Film Festival, this time the winner of the Jury Award. This is a French/Chad co-production, centered on an old pool attendant in a hotel, against the backdrop of military turmoil. Un homme que crie aka A Screaming Man has left me ambivalent. On the one hand it was a fascinating anthropological experience: watching closely the lives of people in far away lands to realize they are just like you is – and forgive me the Romanticizing – one of the great things the art of cinema had introduced into our lives.

On the other hand, this was NOT the swiftest hour and a half of my life, let’s put it thus. The film is not consistently interesting, and certain sections made my mind wonder very far from the cinema hall.

The first part of the film was by far the most interesting: the scenes at the hotel, the little moments between the protagonist and his wife and child, small gentle tableaux of humanity and vulnerability. While the more dramatic scenes appeared weaker to me. Something about them was not entirely convincing, and I was left with a few nice moments that were drowned in too many inconsequential ones.

Haifa Film Festival: Israeli Walk of Fame Induction

It’s not really an old tradition – the first stars with the names of outstanding Israeli actors were embed into the pavement in front of the Haifa Cinemateque in 2004, the twentieth anniversary of the Haifa Film Festival. Whether the obvious analogy of the ceremony with the Hollywood Walk of Fame is cute or embarrassing is for you to decide, yet it has taken place each year since, and became somewhat of a link between the international Film Festival and the city which hosts it.

This year however politics (which, this being Israel, is never far away anyway) is at the heart of the celebration. One of the actors honoured, Oded Kotler was among those Israeli actors who signed a petition to boycott a theatre in the occupied territories. The decision to honour an actor prompted harsh commentary from the right wing municipal officials. A local news source cites high-ranking city hall clerks and representatives of the Likud party saying the decision to honour Kotler is scandalous, and one mentioned he would enjoy stamping upon Kotler’s star.

However at the ceremony itself no negativity was felt and the atmosphere was very warm. After speeches and unveiling of the stars, the four chosen actors were granted special diplomas decorated with stars.

The other inductees are the director Avi Nesher; winner of Best Actress at the 2005 Cannes Festival for Free Zone (also starring Natalie Portman)  Hanna Laszlo, and the Soviet-born actress Yevgeniya Dodina.

Studios Want To Charge $30 for Early Movie Streaming

Gizmodo‘s Brian Barret reports that Studios Want to Charge $30 For Early Movie Streaming. Turns out that Sony, Warner Bros. and Walt Disney are about to test the waters with an early streaming of movies straight to your home, for a price.

‘Early’ means several months before the movie reaches the DVD window of availablity (still after the theatrical release….) ‘For a price’ means you’d have to shell out $30 to see You Again, or Easy A.

The full story is here.

Would you pay $30 just so you can see something early? Would you stream it to your home instead of going to the theater (for less)?

The Godfather of All Movie Sites Is Celebrating its 20th Anniversary!

IMDb is 20 years old on October 17th, and in celebration of the occasion it launched a special mini-site full of good stuff. Counting down to the 17th, IMDb will showcase special videos featuring prominent actors and filmmakers, who will tell of their love of movies. Also, IMDb will present lists and summaries of the last 20 years in the movies in a special year-by-year retrospective.

In an interview marking the anniversary, Steve Pond of TheWrap.com talked to IMDb CEO Col Needham about IMDb’s growing pains. Worth a read.

IMDb is an awesome tool for movie fans and movie buffs. It is definitely the site I would take with me to a deserted island, and I wish it and the team behind it all the best and all the traffic they can get!

Kudos and congrats!

Indigene d'Eurasie aka Eastern Drift (2010) theatrical review

Film editing is a notoriously tricky thing. In the classic conception of editing (i.e. one that values dramatic coherency as opposed to experimental and postmodern features), you shouldn’t be able to know it’s there. A good editor should make sure the transitions between scenes or from one angle to another are smooth and seamless, so that the viewer’s state of illusion will not be interrupted. The viewer should not be reminded that s/he is staring at moving pictures. There are always exceptions to the rule, but that’s the basic principle. In addition to that, editing should determine the rhythm of the sequences, emphasize the tone and focus the attention of the viewer, all in a way that don’t draws attention to itself. If the viewer becomes aware of the editing, it means something’s not working right, and the problem can lie with acting or direction just as well.

The Lithuanian film Indigene d’Eurasie aka Eastern Drift, dir. Sharunas Bartas, is one of those rare films during which I caught myself asking time and again “who the hell did (NOT DO) the editing in this film?”.

However there’s little doubt that if other aspects of the film would’ve worked, the problem would be less prominent. It’s the severe problems with the acting and the script that made me become aware of the unnecessary intercuts, bad takes that ended up in the movie (the number of extras staring into the camera is ridiculous), the weird camera positioning, and the problematic sense of space. Yet the problem with the film lies not only with the micro but with the macro as well.

The film tells the parallel stories of two couples increasingly entangled in crime and corruption. Neither of them works on its own account, and the juxtapoition doesn’t help. The stories simply do not support one another thematically or in any other way, and the film feels muddled.

Barney's Version (2010) theatrical review

Certain films should just be enjoyed. No, let me put it another way: there are films that only want to be loved. Such is Barney’s Version, an adaptation of Mordechai Richler’s book starring Paul Giamatti. It is a film that desperately wants to loved and attempts just about everything to succeed in the task.

The film revolves around Barney, a TV producer with quite a few personal problems, as his life is chronicled beginning with his first marriage and up to his last days. The plot jumps back and forth in time in a manner reminiscent of 1982’s The World According to Garp. Barney’s Version is a reasonably moving and not unfunny film. It is visually inviting and the actors all do a solid job. Other than its excessive length, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t lay the critical half of your brain to rest, and let Barney and co take you for a safe ride.

Giamatti is impressive as ever, yet those who saw him depict lovable yet damaged character with yet greater brilliance in American Splendor and Sideways will experience déjà vu. Dustin Hoffman provides a number of magic moments as Barney’s father, and Minnie Driver and Scott Speedman make for a strong supporting cast. Yet best of all is Rosamund Pike. Since her wonderful role in An Education last year, I’m craving to see her in a big and meaningful role. Here she gets this opportunity and seizes it with both her hands.

Barney’s Version does a good job within the strictly limited scope it set for itself: a funny, emotional, well-made drama that does not leave a profound impression, but does provide quite a few lovable moments.

How I Ended Last Summer (2010) theatrical review

There is no easy way to say this. It’s much easier to review the downright terrible or the mediocre. Coming to a film festival you are prepared to digest the odd patchy mockumentary or an eclectic pastiche; neither can you escape your share of good old Hollywood dross. Yet a genuinely new film that unveils something you haven’t seen before, will always catch you unawares. Nothing prepared me to how astonishingly good is How I Ended Last Summer.

How I Ended Last Summer chronicles a couple of days in the life of two meteorologists at an isolated Apollo station at the Northern Pole: the young, straight-out-of-college Pasha (Grigoriy Dobrygin) and the curmudgeonly senior meteorologist Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis). The plot – if the term is applicable to this slow-paced film – revolves around Pasha’s inability to break a terrible piece of news to his senior colleague, resulting in, well, some very serious unpleasantness.

Since I’m much too overwhelmed by the power of this unforgetabble film to attempt anything in the way of analysis, let’s quickly run over the positives (superlatives, more like) of director Aleksei Popogrebsky’s second effort. The two – sole two! – actors are outstanding, the cinematography inventive and the composition of scene precise and thoughtful, and the script a marvel of psychological accuracy. Ladies and gents, a masterpiece.