Set in the span of 12 hours in 1922 during the Irish War of Independence, the film follows a disgraced IRA officer who decides to inform on his best friend to the British in the hopes he can use the reward to take himself and his girlfriend to America only for the IRA to become suspicious over what had happened. It is a film that explores a man’s decision to inform his friend to the British so he can take his girlfriend to America where he would spend the reward money getting drunk and lavish his spendings on the people who are unaware of how he got the money. Dudley Nichols’ screenplay is straightforward in its narrative as it follows Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) who had just been ousted by the IRA for refusing to kill a British soldier as his girlfriend Katie (Margot Grahame) is hoping to go to America but a ticket for both costs 20 pounds.
Seeing a bounty for his friend Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) for 20 pounds, Nolan rats out to the British army where they succeed in finding him as Nolan gets his reward where he would spend the rest of the night spending his money on getting drunk and entertaining the locals while IRA leader Dan Gallagher (Preston Foster) wants to know what happened to McPhillip where he asks Nolan only to later suspect Nolan. Even as the night becomes more chaotic when Gallagher realizes something is up, he is also personally involved since he is in a relationship with McPhillip’s sister (Heather Angel).
John Ford’s direction is atmospheric for the overall setting of the film as it is shot at the RKO Studios lot in Hollywood which plays as this small Irish town at night filled with fog and light. While there are some wide shots to establish the locations, much of Ford’s direction emphasizes on medium shots and close-ups with the latter playing into some of the emotional reactions that Nolan is dealing with. Even as he would get drunk throughout where the medium and wide shots have Ford highlight the space of a room or a pub where Nolan is the center of attention. Ford also maintains this air of intrigue as it relates to what Nolan has done and how it would affect the IRA, with Gallagher being a commandant who runs a local faction of the IRA as he is also a friend of McPhillip. Even as there are scenes of IRA members carrying pistols but also having to hide from the British soldiers who would often march in the streets as it adds to the sense of danger that is happening in Ireland at that time.
Ford also plays into this exploration of guilt in Nolan where he would hide his shame through drink and partying where he would even crash into a high-society party where he buys drinks a British woman for Kate. It is one of the few moments of humor that occurs in the film that involves Nolan and a friend of his in Terry (J.M. Kerrigan) though the film would remain serious and intense during its third act when a kangaroo court occurs where Nolan tries to accuse someone of being the informer. Ford would maintain this sense of dread while its climax is about Gallagher realizing the truth and what is at stake with Nolan’s act of selfishness would also come into play once Katie finds out what he did. Overall, Ford crafts a thrilling and compelling film about a man who informed on his friend during the Irish War of Independence.
Cinematographer Joseph H. August does incredible work with the film’s black-and-white photography with its usage of fog and shadow to help maintain a chilling atmosphere for the exteriors while using low-key lights for some interior scenes at the homes for a few characters. Editor George Hively does excellent work with the editing as it features some rhythmic cuts to play into the drama and suspense while most of it is straightforward. Art director Van Nest Polglase and set decorator Julia Heron do brilliant work with the look of the interior of the pubs as well as the secret places where IRA hold their meetings and the exterior of some of the buildings that Nolan goes into. Costume designer Walter Plunkett does terrific work with the costumes with some of the posh clothing the women wear along with more rugged look of the men including lots of trench coats the IRA wears.
Makeup artist Robert J. Schiffer does nice work with the makeup in the look of the women at the posh party scene. The special effects work of Harry Redmond Sr. and Harry Redmond Jr. is fantastic for some of the scenes involving gunplay as it plays into the chaos and conflict between the IRA and the British. The sound work of Hugh McDowell Jr. and Robert Wise is superb for the sound in the way a fight would sound in and out of a pub as well as the chaos that goes on in the pub and in the streets. The film’s music by Max Steiner is wonderful for its sweeping orchestral score that features elements of Irish woodwinds and melodies that play into the land of Ireland along with layers of drum cadences and soaring strings as well as a soundtrack that is filled with traditional Irish folk songs as the music is a highlight of the film.
The film’s remarkable cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Dennis O’Dea as the street singer, Grizelda Harvey as the English lady living in a posh house who looks like Katie, May Boley as the owner of the posh house in Madame Betty, D’Arcy Corrigan as a blind man who was given a one-pound note from Nolan, Francis Ford as a judge in the kangaroo court, Joseph Sauers and Neil Fitzgerald as a couple of IRA officers respectively in Bartly Mulholland and Tommy Connor with the former being suspicious of Nolan, and Donald Meek as the local tailor Peter Mulligan whom Nolan accuses of being the informer. Una O’Connor is fantastic in her small role as McPhillips’ mother who is shocked over what has happened while J.M. Kerrigan is superb as Terry as a friend of Nolan who helps him spend the money and party where he unfortunately enables his actions. Wallace Ford is excellent as Frankie McPhillip as an IRA officer who was Nolan’s best friend as well as a target for the British for killing a British soldier where he hopes to see his mother and sister while still doing things for the IRA.
Margot Grahame is brilliant as Katie Madden as Nolan’s girlfriend who hopes to go to America as she becomes surprised by the idea becoming a reality until she learns about what Nolan did to get the money. Preston Foster is amazing as Dan Gallagher as an IRA commander who runs his own local faction where he becomes suspicious on what happened to McPhillip as he is also in love with McPhillip’s sister where he becomes suspicious towards Nolan as he knows that Nolan has become a liability to the IRA. Heather Angel is incredible as McPhillip’s sister Mary who is troubled by what had happened as well as becoming tired of the violence as she hopes Gallagher would smooth things out only to realize that Nolan is the one that has been making a mess. Finally, there’s Victor McLaglen in a phenomenal performance as Gypo Nolan as a former IRA officer who had been ousted for letting go a British soldier as he decides to rat out McPhillip to the British for money where he tries to not feel guilty by imagining him and Katie going to America as well as drinking a lot and accusing someone else as it is this chilling performance that requires a lot of physicality as it is one of McLaglen’s finest performances.
The Informer is an incredible film from John Ford that features a tremendous leading performance from Victor McLaglen. Along with its ensemble cast, intoxicating visuals, Max Steiner’s riveting music score, and a compelling story of guilt and greed during the Irish War of Independence. It is a suspense drama that explores a man’s willingness to get something good going in his life only to do something awful as it would cost him everything as well as the plight of the people who know him. In the end, The Informer is a phenomenal film from John Ford.
© thevoid99 2024
The film revolves around a young boy had been bullied by two ignorant older boys who get a kick out of killing small birds as they bully the boy and kill a swan in front of him. It is a 17-minute short film that explores a young boy who is pushed to the edge as he is a bird lover as it is told by a man named Peter Watson (Rupert Friend) who was that young boy as he recalls this entire incident that shaped his life. Wes Anderson’s script is largely told through Peter Watson as he accompanies his younger self (Asa Jennings) over this incident in which he witnesses two older boys shooting small birds with a rifle where he is put into a near-death experience and the witness the death of a swan as these bullies would push the young Peter to the edge. Notably as it would have this aftermath over what happened as Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) tells it.
Anderson’s direction does have its sense of style with carefully tight compositions in the wide and medium shots while also in its usage of tracking and dolly shots in its 1:33:1 aspect ratio. Shot on location at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, England, Anderson maintains a stripped-down approach in the setting of long fields and a train track while stagehands appear every now and then. Anderson also maintains an intimacy in the direction in the usage of close-ups in a scene where the older Peter talks about his near-death experience with the younger Peter watching in the background. Anderson also plays into the violence though he doesn’t show anything but rather through older Peter’s narration and a scene where the older Peter wear swan wings as it would lead to this conclusion narrated by Dahl. Overall, Anderson creates a compelling and evocative film about a man reflecting on a terrible incident he dealt with as a child.
Cinematographer Roman Coppola does brilliant work with the film’s straightforward photography to play into the bright look of the fields as well as some low-key lighting for a few of the film’s interior scenes. Editors Barney Pilling and Andrew Weisblum do excellent work with the editing where it is straightforward with very few rhythmic cuts to play into the rhythm of Peter’s narration. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, along with art directors Claire Peerless and Kevin Timon Hill, does incredible work with the look of the pond and fields that is used for the environment along with a few interior settings to play into the artificiality to play into this man’s story. Costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone does nice work with the costumes with a few clothes the young Peter wears as well as the suit the older Peter wears.
Hair/makeup designers Naomi Donne and Frances Hannon do fantastic work with the look of the characters that include the haircuts that the characters have including a few wigs that the stagehands wear. Visual effects supervisor Jean-Francois Ferland does terrific work with the visual effects as it is set-dressing for a few backgrounds including the scene involving the swan. Sound editor Wayne Lemmer does superb work with the sound in the sound effects that are created including some of the sparse moments as it is a highlight of the film.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast features some notable small roles from Eliel Ford, Truman Hanks, Benoit Herlin, and Octavio Tapia as stagehands who play various roles while providing props needed for the film. Asa Jennings is fantastic as the young Peter where he does maintain a low-key presence despite not having any dialogue yet does bring a lot of importance to this story of a kid being bullied. Ralph Fiennes is excellent in his brief appearance as Roald Dahl as the man who authored the story while adding some insight into the aftermath of the story that is being told. Finally, there’s Rupert Friend in an incredible performance as the older Peter who narrates his own story about a troubling incident he encountered as a kid where he narrates what happened to him while also doing so many things as it is a restrained yet engaging performance from Friend.
The Swan is a phenomenal film by Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, a compelling story of trauma, a stripped-down setting, and its unconventional approach to storytelling while breaking down the fourth wall. The short film is a charming yet simple short that plays into a man reflecting on a traumatic event while also reflecting on what pushed him to the edge. In the end, The Swan is an incredible film from Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - (The Rat Catcher) – (Poison) – (The Phoenician Scheme) - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City)
© thevoid99 2024
The film follows a young girl who is asked to attend a summer weekend hockey camp with her two friends until she gets news from them that would change everything where she deals with new emotions as well as the need to fit in with members of an elite high school hockey team. It is a film that explores a young girl becoming a teenager with her emotional avatars trying to figure out how to adjust to this new phase in her life while dealing with four new emotional avatars who are trying to take over. The film’s screenplay by Meg LaFauve and Dave Holstein, with additional contributions from Ronnie del Carmen, explore the five key emotions in Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) who are overseeing the emotional state of Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman) while they have created a new section under their main console in a tree-like series of threads known as Sense of Self that gives Riley her identity and personality. When the puberty alarm goes off, the team deals with not just their headquarters becoming shambolic but also meeting four new emotional avatars in Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).
The new team led by Anxiety is trying to come up with many scenarios that she believes would hurt Riley leading to a power struggle in which Joy and her team are cast out along with their symbol of Riley’s Sense of Self that is discarded along with a mountain of bad memories forcing Joy and the gang on a new quest to return to headquarters. It is in this journey where Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust all work together to try and stop Anxiety from creating a sense of chaos where Riley wouldn’t just alienate her friends but also try to win over the team’s captain Val (Lilimar) for a spot in their elite hockey team. The script also has more development in the characters in which Fear, Disgust, and Anger do bring in more ideas with Joy becoming overwhelmed in trying to maintain her optimism while Sadness finds a way to return to headquarters and take control of Joy’s new discarding device that would allow their Sense of Self to return. Still, things become more complicated with Anxiety trying to steer Riley into a place where she feels she can be accepted that only adds to more problems.
Kelsey Mann’s direction is broad in its overall presentation where she expands this world that Riley’s mind is in as there are more islands that represent her personality with the Sense of Self being an underground where memories could be stored in a river and create new threads. With the aid of animation directors David Torres and Amanda Wagner and character designers Dean Heezen and Deanna Marsigliese, Mann creates a world that is vast where the main headquarters where Joy and her team are overseeing Riley’s emotional and mental state while the room where Riley’s memories are planted for the Sense of Self tree is world that is unique until Anxiety and her team would take over where there is a shift in tone in the film as well as the look of the Sense of Self tree that Anxiety has created. Mann’s compositions in the wide and medium shots do add to the sense of wonderment in the world. They include the scenes outside of headquarters where Riley’s memories are stored and archived including a vault where Riley’s secrets are held.
With the aid of cinematographers Adam Habib and Jonathan Pytko, production designer Jason Deamer, along with art directors Rona Liu, Laura Meyer, Keiko Murayama, Joshua West, and Bill Zahn, and visual effects supervisor Sudeep Rangaswamy, Mann would create new variations of worlds including Imagination Land that Joy and Sadness used to go but Anxiety’s arrival has changed things. Joy and the gang would also meet a couple of 2D hand-drawn animated characters in Bloofy (Ron Fuches) who was a character that Riley liked as a kid as well as Floofy’s assistant Pouchy (James Austin Johnson) as it adds to this sense of surrealism to what Joy and her team would deal with. The sense of lighting and mindfulness in Riley’s face adds to the complexity of her emotions where Mann really plays into the ideas of emotional and mental chaos. Even where Joy faces realizations in what Anxiety is trying to do along with Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment where these nine emotions all play a role in Riley in who she is and what she can be. Overall, Mann crafts a rich and evocative film about emotional avatars dealing with the complexities of a girl becoming a teenager.
Editor Maurissa Horwitz does brilliant work with the editing as it is straightforward to play into the humor and action while allowing shots to linger for some of the dramatic moments in the film. Sound designer Ren Klyce and sound editor Coya Elliott do amazing work with the sound as it plays into some unique sound effects as well as how a keyboard sounds in a device that Anxiety uses. The film’s music by Andrea Datzman is wonderful as it features variations of Michael Giacchino’s themes while creating some flourishing and bombastic orchestral pieces along with some electronic bits while the music soundtrack features some mixture of pop and indie music including a song by the Linda Lindas.
The casting by Natalie Lyon and Kevin Reher is incredible as it features some notable small voice appearances from Flea, Paula Poundstone, and Bobby Moynihan as a few characters Joy and her team bump into, Frank Oz and Dave Goelz as a couple of mind cops, John Ratzenberger and Kirk Thatcher as a couple of construction people who destroy headquarters to create something new for the new avatars, Pete Docter as Dad’s Anger, Paula Pell as Mom’s Anger, Grace Lu and Sumayyah Nuridden-Green as Riley’s best friends in Grace and Bree respectively, Lilimar as the hockey team captain Val, Yvette Nicole Brown as Coach Roberts as the head of the hockey camp who takes the progress of her players seriously, and the duo of Kyle MacLachlan and Diane Lane as Riley’s parents who both deal with the fact that Riley is now a teenager with their emotional avatars realizing they’re about to enter a bumpy ride. The duo of Ron Fuches and James Austin Johnson are fantastic in their respective roles as the 2-D hand-drawn cartoon characters Bloofy and Pouchy whom Joy and her team meet in the back of the mind as they are childhood idols of Riley.
Yong Yea and Steve Purcell are superb in their respective roles as the video game character Lance Slashblade, who was a secret crush of Riley, and Deep Dark Secret as a gigantic figure who prefers to remain mysterious as he represents the deepest darkest secret that Riley does not want anyone to know. June Squibb is amazing in her brief role as a tenth avatar known as Nostalgia who pops in every now and then who arrives too early to be used. Kensington Tallman is excellent as Riley Andersen as the young girl who has become a teenager where she deals with many different emotions as well as a lot of uncertainty that plays into the many mistakes and confusion that teenagers often endure. Paul Walter Hauser and Adele Exarchopoulos are brilliant in their respective roles as the emotional avatars Embarrassment and Ennui with the former not saying much as he’s often shy and flustered over his actions where he unexpectedly bonds with Sadness while the latter is hilarious in how bored she is while having a rubbery look where Exarchopoulos allows Ennui to have some of the funniest lines in the film.
Ayo Edebiri is amazing as Envy as this tiny, cyan-colored avatar that is trying to do whatever she can to make Riley be impressive while is in awe of many things where Edebiri brings a lot of nuances to her voice. Tony Hale and Liza Lapira are incredible in their respective roles as Fear and Disgust with the former being more concerned with Riley’s state of mind while also being prepared for the worst while the latter brings a lot of humor in her own crush towards Slashblade while also dealing with Riley’s growing pains where she also must step up her game in trying to help Riley. Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black are great in their respective roles as Sadness and Anger with the former becoming concerned with what Anxiety is doing where she knows that Riley is going into emotional chaos while she befriends Embarrassment. Black’s voice role as Anger has a lot of humor in the way he overreacts and gets mad at while he also becomes aware of how overwhelmed Joy has become where he helps lead the charge to help Riley.
Maya Hawke is phenomenal in her voice role as Anxiety as this orange-like avatar that is this representation of anxiety that is trying to protect Riley by visualizing the worst possible case scenarios while also doing what she can to make Riley look cool in front of new people. Finally, there’s Amy Poehler in a spectacular voice performance of Joy as the leader of Riley’s emotional gang who is trying to maintain Riley’s emotional/mental state while hoping to discard bad memories as a way to protect her only to find herself in a power struggle with Anxiety as Poehler brings more emotional weight to her character who starts to become overwhelmed while also to coming to terms with the complexity of Riley’s emotional and mental well-being.
Inside Out 2 is a sensational film from Kelsey Mann and Pixar. Featuring a great ensemble voice cast, wondrous visuals, and its exploration of growing pains in the mind of a young teenage girl. The film is a coming-of-age film that does not just explore a girl’s mental state but also the many trials and tribulations that a bunch of emotions must endure to help this young girl’s state of mind as she is growing up and dealing with changes that can be horrifying but also welcoming. In the end, Inside Out 2 is a phenomenal film from Kelsey Mann.
Pixar Films: Toy Story - A Bug's Life - Toy Story 2 - (Monsters Inc.) – (Finding Nemo) – The Incredibles - Cars - Ratatouille - WALL-E - Up (2009 film) - Toy Story 3 - Cars 2 - Brave (2012 film) - Monsters University - Inside Out - The Good Dinosaur - (Finding Dory) – (Cars 3) – Coco - The Incredibles 2 - (Onward) – Soul (2020 film) - (Luca (2021 film)) – Turning Red - (Lightyear) - (Elemental (2023 film)) – (Elio (2024 film)) – (Toy Story 5)
© thevoid99 2024
The film is the simple story of a rich man who discovers a book about a doctor’s report on a guru who can see things without his eyes where the man hopes to master this skill to cheat at gambling. It is a film told in a multilayered style as it is told through different characters with Roald Dahl (Ralph Fiennes) doing the narration as well as how he authored this story with claims that it is based on a real man. Notably as the titular character (Benedict Cumberbatch) was at an event bored where he walked to the library where he discovered this book written by Dr. Chatterjee (Dev Patel) who recounts his meeting with a circus performer in Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley) who asked to be blindfolded for an upcoming performance. Dr. Chatterjee and his colleague Dr. Marshall (Richard Ayoade) would ask Khan these questions about where he learned this trade where Khan would tell the story of how he met this guru (Richard Ayoade) as it plays into Henry Sugar’s obsession to learn this skill, yet it would succeed in learning it, but its aftermath would prove to be unfulfilling.
Wes Anderson’s direction plays in a style that includes a lot of static shots and so much mindfulness in the setting where it does feel like the fourth wall is broken. Shot on location at the Maidstone Studios in Kent, England, Anderson’s usage of un-broken long shots, unique camera angles, and sets being moved from set to another adds to this unconventional presentation where characters narrate this story and the layers upon which it plays into Sugar’s newfound obsession. While the film is shot in a 1:33:1 full-frame aspect ratio on 16mm film to maintain an intimate style while still using some wide shots. Anderson’s usage of medium shots and close-ups do add to the sense of whimsy as well as intrigue into whether these stories were true as the characters would talk to the camera to play into this ambiguity with actors also playing multiple roles. It would all play into this journey of a rich yet lonely man who wants more money and wealth, yet it is through this skill to see things without his eyes that would reveal so much more than what wealth can offer to him. Overall, Anderson crafts a delightful and rapturous film about a rich man’s discovery of a secret skill that can make him wealthier.
Cinematographer Robert Yeomen does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of vibrant colors and heightened lighting for some of the daytime exteriors as well as stylish lights and low-key lights for some scenes at night. Editors Barney Pilling and Andrew Weisblum do excellent work with the editing as it has a few jump-cuts while a lot of it is straightforward in its cutting in allowing shots to linger for a few minutes. Production designer Adam Stockhausen, with supervising art director Kevin Timon Hill plus set decorators Cathy Featherstone and Anna Pinnock, does brilliant work with the look of the sets in the interiors of Sugar’s home, the hospital in India, and some of the backdrops created for Khan’s story. Costume designer Kasia Walicka Maimone does fantastic work with the costumes in the posh clothing that Sugar wears as well as the different clothing that Dahl and other characters wear.
Hair/makeup designer Frances Hannon does amazing work with the hair/makeup design in the different looks that the characters would have included Sugar late in the film. Special effects supervisor Chris Reynolds, along with visual effects supervisors Jep Hill, David Lebensfeld, Tim Ledbury, and Grant Miller, does terrific work with the special effects in some of the backdrops with some little mechanical animation in the background and rear projection in a few bits. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound as it plays into some of the natural sound effects as well as some sound effects created to play into the environment the characters are in. Music supervisor Randall Poster creates a wonderful soundtrack that consists of a classical music piece that is played sparingly in parts of the film.
The film’s ensemble cast features a few small appearances from Jarvis Cocker in various roles as friends of Sugar as well as a casino receptionist and David Gant as a casino croupier. Richard Ayoade is excellent in a dual role as Dr. Marshall who assists Dr. Chatterjee in his study of Khan as well as the Great Yogi who would teach Khan this trick to see things without his eyes. Dev Patel is amazing in a dual role as Dr. Chatterjee who is fascinated by Khan’s story where he would author the book that Sugar would read and as Sugar’s family accountant John Winston who would oversee Sugar’s business later in the film. Ben Kingsley is brilliant in a dual role as the circus performer Imdad Khan who would gain fame through a trick in seeing things without his eyes where he presents himself in a calm manner and in another role as a casino blackjack dealer.
Ralph Fiennes is incredible in a dual role as Roald Dahl as the man who revealed how learned this story about Henry Sugar and his meetings with him and in a small role as a policeman who is upset with an incident that Sugar causes. Finally, there’s Benedict Cumberbatch in a phenomenal dual performance as the titular character who is this wealthy man that becomes obsessed in learning this skill so he can win at gambling only to gain something even more fulfilling while Cumberbatch also plays a small role as a makeup artist who works for Sugar later in the film.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a tremendous film by Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, wondrous visuals, and an inventive screenplay. It is a short film that takes one of Roald Dahl’s overlooked short stories and turns into a story of a man’s obsession in a story he read only to find something far more valuable than what he originally intended to use with this skill he discovered. In the end, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a spectacular film from Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - Isle of Dogs - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Swan – (The Rat Catcher) – (Poison) – (The Phoenician Scheme) - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs) – (The French Dispatch) – (Asteroid City)
© thevoid99 2024
The film revolves around two young and different African immigrants who live in Belgium as one of them hopes to get immigration papers while they both do all sorts of things including drug deals for a sleazy chef and such. It is a film with a simple premise, yet Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne create a story that does have a political slant as it relates to the plight that migrants deal with as they try to enter a country legally as well as the terrible social conditions, they must endure including the bureaucratic process into getting immigration papers. Yet, at the heart of the story are these titular characters as Tori (Pablo Schills) is a 12-year-old from Benin and Lokita (Mbundu Joely) is a 17-year-old from Cameroon as they pretend to be siblings as they work as couriers for a restaurant owner in Betim (Alban Ukaj) while the latter is forced to do sexual favors for him. Lokita also must deal with the people who brought here as she owes them money while is hoping to get money for her mother back in Cameroon and legal documents that Tori already has. Lokita takes an offer from Betim to make some more money and get legal documents but what she learns is that she must be separated from Tori to work in a remote marijuana farm.
The direction of the Dardenne Brothers is engaging for the sense of urgency that occurs but also in its simplicity. Shot on location in Liege and areas around the city in Belgium, the Dardenne Brothers maintain a sense of intimacy with the close-ups and medium shots with some wide shots in some of the locations including a few scenes in its third act. Still, there is that sense of realism in their direction with some long shots that linger for a few minutes with hand-held cameras as if they are making a documentary film. The direction also displays the sense of location in where the titular characters must go to sell the drugs to Betim’s clients including a club doorman who feels like he is overpaying though Tori, later in its third act, offers to sell him some weed cheap. Though being couriers for Betim has its benefits financially and the food they eat, Lokita unfortunately must do more to get money as she is in a terrifying position due to the money, she owes to a smuggler in Firmin (Marc Zinga).
The direction also plays into this underworld that migrants must take part in as Lokita is sent to a remote farm where she must do a lot of duties in remote isolation as it is hard for her to deal with. Even as she deals with being away from Tori who still goes to school while he is concerned for Lokita knowing she also has health issues. The third act does not just play into Tori’s willingness to help Lokita as well as finding where she is where he discovers this underworld that is terrifying. Still, Tori is someone that has a lot of determination and street smart to get things done yet he also must contend with the dark underworld that he and Lokita are to get the latter her immigration papers. Overall, the Dardenne Brothers craft a gripping yet mesmerizing film about two African migrants struggling to get by and find a home in Belgium.
Cinematographer Benoit Dervaux does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward for much of the film’s daytime scenes with its natural lighting while using some stylish lighting for the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editor Marie-Helene Dozo does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward in its presentation with a few jump cuts for some of the suspenseful moments in the film. Production designer Igor Gabriel, along with art directors Julien Denis and Paul Rouschop, does amazing work with the look of the kitchen where Betim works as well as the room where Lokita lives in the farm.
Costume designer Dorothee Guiraud does nice work with the costumes as it is casual with some coats and colorful clothing. Sound editor Valene Leroy and sound engineer Jean-Pierre Duret do superb work with the sound in how it plays at a certain location through small sparse moments as well as loud moments including scenes where music is played including a few songs that the titular characters sing.
The casting by Kevin Dardenne is wonderful as it features some notable small roles from Nadage Ouedraogo as an associate of Firmin, Thomas Doret and Annette Closset as a couple of Lokita’s caseworkers, Emma Cohen-Hadria as Tori’s teacher, Tijem Govaerts as a marijuana farmer who runs everything for Betim while not giving Lokita access to a phone so that no one can find the farm, and Charlotte De Bruyne as a drug farmer in Margot who tries to warn Lokita of what she has to deal with. Marc Zinga is fantastic as the smuggler Firmin as the man that brought Lokita to Belgium as he is also this cruel figure that wants Lokita to pay him the money she owes though he is someone that could not intimidate Tori knowing Tori already has legal papers. Alban Ukaj is excellent as Betim as an Italian restaurant owner who is also a drug dealer that is trying run things despite overcharging for some clients while he also forces Lokita to do sexual favors for him.
Finally, there is the duo Pablo Schills and Mbundu Joely in tremendous leading performances in their respective roles as Tori and Lokita. Schills’ performance is full of energy and street-smart as this 12-year-old kid who always finds a solution while also knows how to deal with clients where he presents himself as a mature kid while also being a kid who does attend school. Joely’s performance as Lokita is more reserved as this 17-year-old young woman who is dealing with a lot on her plate in owing money to her smuggler, doing interviews to get legal documents, and working for Betim whom she must do sexual favors for him. Schills and Joely together bring this sense of camaraderie as well as this sense of urgency into the situations they are in as well as help each other by pretending to be siblings as they are a highlight of the film.
The 2023 Region A Blu-Ray from the Criterion Collection as part of the Janus Contemporaries series presents the film in a 1:85:1 aspect ratio with an uncompressed 5.1 Surround Sound in French with English subtitles. The lone special feature in the Blu-Ray is a 24-minute interview with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne as they talk about the film as well as their own background in documentary that includes footage of the early documentary films they have done since the late 1970s. They also reveal their approach to directing actors and how it had evolved in their career along with mentioning a few key collaborators in sound engineer Jean-Pierre Duret, editor Marie-Helene Dozo, production designer Igor Gabriel, and one of their sons in Kevin who was a prop master and has become their casting director.
The Blu-Ray set also features a booklet that contains an essay by film critic Michael Joshua Rowin entitled Tori and Lokita: No Safe Harbors. The essay discusses the film as well as the subject matter as it relates to the migrant situation that had been occurring since the late 2010s. Even as the essay reveals how the Dardenne Brothers produced the story by talking to educators to young migrant children along with information about their troubled situations as they hoped the film would give voice to these children. Since Schills and Joely are not professional actors and this was the first film for both, the Dardennes revealed how they had to adjust their own filmmaking process to get the two to find what they need for the characters they play as the essay is a fine read.
Tori & Lokita is a tremendous film from the Dardenne Brothers that features great performances from Pablo Schills and Mbundu Joely in their respective titular roles. Along with its ensemble cast, natural visuals, and a gripping story of survival and the plight of young African migrants living in Europe. It is a film that explores the journey of two outsiders living in a foreign world where they try to survive and find a home there while dealing with many obstacles. In the end, Tori & Lokita is a spectacular film from the Dardenne Brothers.
Dardenne Brothers Films: (Falsch) – (I Think of You) – La Promesse - Rosetta - Le Fils - L'Enfant - To Each His Own Cinema-Darkness - Lorna's Silence - The Kid with a Bike - Two Days, One Night - The Unknown Girl - Young Ahmed
© thevoid99 2024
Set in the town of Liege in Belgium, the film revolves around a young doctor who turned away a young girl late one night only to learn that the girl died a day later nearby as she feels responsible for her death. It is a film that explores not just guilt but also a doctor trying to learn who this girl is and why she died as someone was chasing her. The film’s screenplay by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne has a straightforward narrative yet it is the first script where they flirt with a genre in suspense-mystery as it plays into the journey that Dr. Jenny Davin (Adele Haenel) takes where she had been working all day with her intern Julien (Olivier Bonnaud) at a clinic as it was past closing time is when she refused to open the door even though Julien wanted to help this young girl who was being chased. Upon learning about this girl who died as no one had been able to identify her, Dr. Davin becomes obsessed with as she talks with the police, the previous owner of the clinic she runs, and various locals including some patients if they knew this girl. Even as she also works being a doctor who drives from place to place to help them.
The direction of the Dardenne Brothers is entrancing for not just its simplicity but also in how restrained it is in terms of using hand-held cameras where there is not a lot of shakiness in the camera movements. Shot on location in Liege, the Dardenne Brothers’ direction aims for intimacy in the usage of medium shots and close-ups though there are a few wide shots in the film. Yet, they do maintain this style of cinema verite that gives the film a realistic feel as if they are presenting the film as a documentary but with a polished look. It adds to the sense of realism where the Dardenne Brothers use the locations in Liege to highlight a world that Dr. Davin is going into while also tending to other patients outside of her clinic. The Dardenne Brothers display that despite the poor social standing that Dr. Davin’s clients live in, she will go to them to treat them and such while asking if they know the identity of this young girl she turns away.
The element of suspense and mystery do come into play where Dr. Davin asks one of young patients in Bryan (Louka Minnella) if he knew this girl as he said no at first only to later revealed that he did see her with a friend leading to more revelations about some of the seedy things in town. Notably as she gets some information from both Bryan’s father (Jeremie Renier) and a man who runs an illegal garage though she still does not get this girl’s name. It does play into an underworld of sorts that Dr. Davin must confront though she is not only the person filled with guilt over what happened as there are others who did know this girl but were either afraid to reveal her identity or had a hand in her death. Overall, the Dardenne Brothers craft a gripping yet somber film about a young Belgian doctor dealing with her role in a young girl’s death.
Cinematographer Alain Marcoen does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward in its natural lighting for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as some additional lighting for some exterior scenes at night. Editor Marie-Helene Dozo does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with shots lingering for more than a few minutes with a few jump-cuts to play into the suspense. Production designer Igor Gabriel, along with set decorators Millie Dardenne and Amanda Petrella plus art director Paul Rouschop, does fantastic work with the interiors of the clinic that Dr. Davin runs as well as the small apartment she lives in above the clinic. Costume designer Maira Ramedhan Levi does terrific work with the costumes as it is straightforward with everyone wearing casual clothing including the coats that they wear as it is set in the fall/winter. Sound editor Benoit De Clerck does nice work with the sound as it is straightforward in capturing everything that is on location as well as the way something sounds like from afar or in another room.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Thomas Doret as a cancer patient of Dr. Davin who wrote a song for her, Marc Zinga as a pimp who threatens Dr. Davin, Jean-Michel Balthazar as a diabetic patient who helps Dr. Davin in trying to find the girl’s identity, Ben Hamidou and Laurent Caron as a couple of police inspectors, Yves Larec as Dr. Davin’s previous boss who tried to help her in identifying the girl through his records, Pierre Sumkay as an old patient in Monsieur Lambert who revealed that he did meet the girl and knows who she is, Myriem Akheddiou as an assistant of a boss of Dr. Davin, Nadege Ouedraogo as a cashier at a cybercafe, Christelle Cornil as Bryan’s mother, and Fabrizio Rongione as Dr. Riga as a boss of Dr. Davin who gave her a job that would help her fund her clinic.
Olivier Gourmet is terrific as Monsieur Lambert’s son who runs a garage where the titular girl had done something in his camper van as the man does not want anyone to know. Louka Minella is superb as Bryan as a young kid with indigestion issues who had seen the girl but knows more to protect a friend of his. Jeremie Renier is excellent as Bryan’s father who also knows the girl but is also secretive into what had happened. Olivier Bonnaud is fantastic as Dr. Davin’s intern Julien who had quit the clinic the day after the news of the girl’s death as he reveals what happened on that day all because of a child who had a seizure. Finally, there’s Adele Haenel in a phenomenal performance as Dr. Jenny Davin as a young woman who works and runs a clinic while also going to various homes to treat patients while dealing with the guilt of turning away a young girl being chased that led to her death. It is a somber yet restrained performance from Haenel who captures not just the sense of guilt in her actions but also trying to understand who this girl is and why did she die as it is one of her finest performances.
La Fille inconnue is a tremendous film from Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne that features a great leading performance from Adele Haenel. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, realistic visuals, a simple yet engaging premise, and its unconventional take on suspense and mystery. It is a film that is not just a fascinating study of guilt but also a woman trying to deal with a mistake and rectify it so she can bring peace to herself and those who knew this young girl. In the end, La Fille inconnue is a spectacular film from Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne.
Dardenne Brothers Films: (Falsch) – (I Think of You) – La Promesse - Rosetta - Le Fils - L'Enfant - To Each His Own Cinema-Darkness - Lorna's Silence - The Kid with a Bike - Two Days, One Night - Young Ahmed - Tori & Lokita
© thevoid99 2024
