Based on the novel by Fannie Hurst, Imitation of Life is the story of two different mothers from different races who come together to deal with the rebellious nature of their respective daughters. Directed by Douglas Sirk and screenplay by Eleanore Griffin and Allan Scott, the film is a modernized update of the story that had previously been told in a 1934 version as it deals with the ideas of race, genders, class, and other social changes all revolving around a widowed actress and her maid who share their own issues with their daughters. Starring Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Dan O’Herlihy, Susan Kohner, Robert Alda, and Juanita Moore. Imitation of Life is a gloriously rich and sensational film from Douglas Sirk.
The film revolves around two women who meet by chance as they both raise their respective daughters during an actress’ rise to stardom and fortune. While she would gain the loyalty and advice of her maid, Lora Meredith (Lana Turner) would also contend with compromises about her career and eventually compromise in her own life as a mother to her daughter Susie (Sandra Dee) whom she would unfortunately neglect as Susie would look to the maid Annie (Juanita Moore) as a maternal figure while falling in love with longtime family friend Steve Archer (John Gavin). Adding to the drama is Annie’s own tumultuous relationship with her daughter Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner) who is born white due to having a white father she never met as she deals with having a black mother as she wants to be accepted as white. All of which plays into Lora and Annie coming to terms with not just their own failings as mothers but also what they tried to do for their daughters.
The film’s screenplay has a unique structure where it plays into Lora’s rise and struggles to make it as an actress in the first act. Upon that first scene where she meets Annie when trying to find Susie (Terry Burnham) who was playing with Sarah Jane (Karin Dicker). It’s also on that day where she meets Steve Archer as Lora would invite Annie and Sarah Jane to live with her and Susie since Lora needed someone to help her as she tries to make it as an actress while Annie needed a place to live with her daughter. While Steve would become a friend to the four women, he is uncomfortable with Lora’s own ambitions to succeed though she would have to contend with people like agent Alan Loomis (Robert Alda) who want her to cheapen herself and later on, playwright David Edwards (Dan O’Herlihy) who would make her a star but wants her to continue to star in his comedies that Lora would get tired of in the film’s second act.
It is around that time where Steve suddenly returns to Lora’s life as well as the life of Annie and their daughters which suddenly becomes complicated. Though Susie would enjoy all of the perks of having it all, she feels neglected by her mother’s busy schedule as she finds comfort in Annie and Steve. Lora would eventually realize the errors of her actions as she tried to do the best she can while she would also watch Annie’s relationship with Sarah Jane start to fall apart where the latter feels ashamed in having a black mother in the belief that it would not give her things that white people have including Susie whom she becomes envious of. For Annie, all she wanted from Sarah Jane is acceptance and to have Sarah Jane know that she‘ll always be there no matter what.
Douglas Sirk’s direction is truly mesmerizing from the way he opens the film with its very crowded yet lively scenes in the beach to the intimacy in the apartment where Lora lived as she would share it with Annie and their daughters. Much of it has this heightened sense of drama since it plays to Sirk’s idea of melodrama but he also had something to say in terms of race relations and how some can be filled with shame for having a certain skin color. At the same time, Sirk takes shots into the idea of ambition where Lora’s rise to stardom would come at a heavy price as she would neglect Susie in favor of her career as it would be something that Lora would deal with as she becomes compromised in her career aspirations.
Sirk’s direction is filled with dazzling imagery and gorgeous compositions including some wide shots of the posh house the four principle characters live in as there’s some unique shots where one character is on the top floor, another is in the stairs, and another is on the first floor through this low-angle shot. There’s also these lavish scenes in some of the parties that Lora has where Lora is the center of attention but the driving force is Annie who is comfortable behind the scenes as she is treated with respect by some of Lora’s guests. It all plays into the world that Sirk has created but one that would drive a schism into Lora and Annie’s own relationship with their daughters. Especially as the film’s ending plays into what is gained and lost in this journey the four women have been in as Sirk isn’t afraid to be melodramatic. Notably as it makes sense into the decisions that Lora has make and the price she paid while clinging on to the people that mattered to her. Overall, Sirk crafts a very enchanting yet evocative film about mothers and their relationships with their daughters.
Cinematographer Russell Metty does tremendous work with the film’s very rich and colorful Technicolor-based photography to capture the beauty of some of the film’s locations as well as the textures in some of the colors along with some lighting schemes that adds to the film’s beauty Editor Milton Carruth does excellent work with the editing with its seamless approach to rhythmic cuts to play into the drama as well as its use of fade-outs and dissolves for its transitions plus an inventive montage of Lora‘s rising success. Art directors Alexander Golitzen and Richard H. Reidel, with set decorators Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron, do amazing work with the set designs from the cramped apartment Lora, Annie, and their daughters live during the first act to the more spacious, posh home they would live in throughout the film.
Costume designer Bill Thomas does fantastic work with the colorful and stylish dresses that Susie and Sarah Jane would wear to express their personalities while the gowns worn by Lora are designed with great style by Jean Louis. The sound work of Leslie I. Carey and Joe Lapis is terrific for some of the intimacy that occurs in the parties as well as some of the locations including the places where Sarah Jane would work. The film’s music by Frank Skinner is brilliant for its lush and somber orchestral score that plays into the melodrama that includes the title song written by Henry Mancini and Sammy Fain as well as a gospel performance from the legendary Mahalia Jackson who appears in the film.
The film’s superb ensemble cast includes some notable small performances from Terry Burnham as the young Susie, Karin Dicker as the young Sarah Jane, and Troy Donahue in a brief role as Sarah Jane’s secret boyfriend. Robert Alda is terrific as Lora’s agent Loomis who is very slimy until he realizes that she won’t compromise her ideas as he makes her a star. Dan O’Herlihy is excellent as the playwright David Edwards who realizes what kind of talent Lora has where he has her in all of his plays where success goes into his head. Susan Kohner is amazing as the confused Sarah Jane as this woman who is half-white and half-black as she tries to be accepted into the world of white society only to lose sight of who she really is. Sandra Dee is wonderful as Susie as a young woman who falls for Steve while deals with her mother’s absence as she tries to make sense of what her mother does and what she wants in her own life.
John Gavin is brilliant as Steve Archer as an aspiring photographer who has a hard time dealing with Lora’s ambitions until he returns to her life where their friendship is suddenly renewed as he also deals with some of the issues in the family. Juanita Moore is phenomenal as Annie as this no-nonsense and caring maid who is devoted to Lora while also being her closest advisor as she tries to deal with Sarah Jane’s rebellion as it’s a role that is very complex that goes beyond the expectations of a character that could’ve been a stereotype. Finally, there’s Lana Turner in a dazzling performance as Lora Meredith as this ambitious actress who is driven to become a success as she goes through her faults as a mother in not being there enough for Susie as well as her friendship with Annie whom she cares for very dearly as it’s Turner in one of her defining film roles.
Imitation of Life is an incredible film from Douglas Sirk that is highlighted by the performances of Lana Turner, Juanita Moore, and John Gavin. It’s a film that is melodrama at its finest in terms of its visual language, towering story, and lavish performances that add to the film’s soaring yet slightly over-the-top tone. It’s also a film that wasn’t afraid to be a product of its time with something to say yet manages to be very relevant more than fifty years since its release. In the end, Imitation of Life is a splendidly rich and exhilarating film from Douglas Sirk.
Douglas Sirk Films: (t Was een April) - (The Court Concert) - (To New Shores) - (La Habanera) - (Boefje) - (Hitler’s Madman) - (Summer Storm) - (A Scandal in Paris) - (Lured) - (Sleep My Love) - Shockproof - (Thunder on the Hill) - (No Room for the Groom) - (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?) - (Meet Me at the Fair) - (Take Me to Town) - (All I Desire) - (Taza, Son of Cochise) - Magnificent Obsession (1954 film) - (Sign of the Pagan) - (Captain Lightfoot) - All That Heaven Allows - There’s Always Tomorrow (1956 film) - (Never Say Goodbye) - Written on the Wind - (Battle Hymn) - (Interlude) - (The Tarnished Angels) - (A Time to Love and A Time to Die)
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the TV show 21 Jump Street, 22 Jump Street is the story where two cops go to college to find the supplier who had been creating new drugs that has been circulating into the world of college. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and screenplay by Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, and Rodney Rothman from a story by Bacall and Jonah Hill. The film is a spoof of sorts on sequels where characters of the first film do the same thing for the second film set in college as Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reprise their roles as Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko who deal with their friendship. Also starring Amber Stevens, Peter Stormare, Nick Offerman, Rob Riggle, Dave Franco, and Ice Cube as Captain Dickson. 22 Jump Street is a witty yet off-the-wall film from Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
The film is essentially a re-hash of sorts of the first film where Schmidt and Jenko have to go undercover and pretend to be college students so they can the dealers and suppliers of a new drug that is about to become big in college campuses. Along the way, Schmidt and Jenko endure challenges that would separate them while they also deal with new enemies and secrets that come into play during their investigation. It’s a film that definitely takes the same storyline, plot-points, and such of the first film but makes it aware that it is a re-hash where there’s elements of the fourth-wall being broken as the characters often talking about budgets and doing the same thing all over again. The film’s screenplay isn’t afraid to comment on doing things all over again while there’s a lot more hilarity that goes on as well as suggestions that Schmidt and Jenko’s friendship is so much more. Notably as those that Schmidt and Jenko surround themselves would tell one person that the other is dragging him down.
Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s direction definitely plays into the same style as the first but with bigger set pieces, action sequences, and all sorts of things where it knows that it is making fun of itself. The compositions are quite simple at times but also stylish as it plays to Jenko’s ability to do parkour and such while Schmidt would try to do that as well. Another hilarious sequence is another take on the two getting high on drugs where both Schmidt and Jenko each get a different reaction. There’s also sequences where Lord and Miller play up the bro-mance between Schmidt and Jenko as it does have this chaotic sense of style that is a play on the cinematic style of Michael Bay.
The action sequences are over the top as much of it is shot in New Orleans while its climatic showdown is shot in Puerto Rico as it is this very wild take on spring break. While the results is obvious predictable, it is followed by a closing credits sequence that not only breaks down the fourth wall but also in the idea of what is to come in all sorts of genres and such. Overall, Lord and Miller create a very smart and extremely funny film about two guys pretending to be college kids to bust up some drug dealers, have a good time, and be aware that they’re doing the same thing all over again.
Cinematographer Barry Peterson does excellent work with the cinematography in terms of the vibrant exterior colors of the locations in its interior and exterior settings. Editors David Rennie and Keith Brachmann do fantastic work with the editing where it plays into the chaotic, speed-editing style of most action blockbusters while keeping things straightforward so that audiences can make sense of what is happening. Production designer Steve Sakland, with set decorator Tracey A. Doyle and art director Scott Plauche, does nice work with the set pieces from the frat house that Jenko gets accepted to as well as the new 22 Jump Street base that was created to showcase the bigger budget.
Costume designer Leesa Evans does terrific work with the costumes as it plays to the world of college as it‘s mostly casual. Visual effects supervisors Edwin Rivera and Peter G. Travers do amazing work with some of the visual effects that includes a hilarious scene of Schmidt and Jenko high on the new drug and the different effects it had on them. Sound editor Geoffrey G. Rubay does superb work with the sound from the sound effects of gunfire to the atmosphere of the parties. The film’s music by Mark Mothersbaugh is brilliant for its mixture of orchestral music with some electronic-based cuts while music supervisor Kier Lehman brings in a fun soundtrack that features a lot of dubstep, hip-hop, electronic music, and some songs from the 80s.
The casting by Nicole Abellera and Jeanne McCarthy is amazing as it features some notable appearances from Rob Riggle and Dave Franco reprising their roles as Mr. Walters and Eric, respectively, as well as Caroline Aaron and Joe Chrest as Schmidt’s parents, and Nick Offerman playing the role of Captain Hardy who puts Schmidt and Jenko back on the Jump Street program. Wyatt Russell is terrific as the jock Zook that Jenko befriends while Jimmy Tatro is good as Zook’s friend Rooster. The Lucas Brothers are funny as twin drug dealers who always say the same thing while Marc Evan Jackson is wonderful as the college psychiatrist who is the initial suspect as the supplier. Jillian Bell is brilliant as Mercedes who dislikes Schmidt as she is very creepy as well as being very funny. Amber Stevens is excellent as Maya as an art student Schmidt falls for as she knows about the dealer who had died as she reluctantly let Mercedes stay in her dorm room.
Peter Stormare is superb as the antagonist Ghost as this old-school drug dealer that Schmidt and Jenko try to capture as he could be connected to the new drug that is being sent out to college campuses. Ice Cube is hilarious as Captain Dickson who continues to berate Schmidt and Jenko as Cube gets more to do as it relates to a minor character in the film. Finally, there’s Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in fantastic performances as their respective characters Schmidt and Jenko. Hill displays a lot of the sensitivity and awkwardness of Schmidt that is fun to watch while Tatum brings in that physicality and dimness to his character as the two definitely have fun in their roles while not being afraid to showcase some homoerotic overtones in their bro-mance.
22 Jump Street is an excellent film from Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Featuring a great cast and a witty approach to the idea of sequels, it is a film that isn’t afraid to play dumb while be aware that it’s rehashing everything that made the first film so successful. Especially as it isn’t afraid to give the audience what they want as well as be even sillier. In the end, 22 Jump Street is a fantastic film from Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
Phil Lord & Chris Miller Films: (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) - 21 Jump Street - The Lego Movie
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the book by Lloyd C. Douglas, Magnificent Obsession is the story of a playboy who pretends to be a doctor to help a widow he had recently hurt. Directed by Douglas Sirk and screenplay by Robert Blees and Wells Root from screen story by Root, Sarah Y. Mason, Victor Heerman, and Finley Peter Dunne, the film is a melodramatic take on an unlikely relationship between a spoiled playboy and a troubled widow. Starring Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, and Otto Kruger. Magnificent Obsession is an extraordinarily rich film from Douglas Sirk.
The film is a simple story about redemption in the form of a playboy whose boating accident led to the death of a renowned doctor and later cause trouble for the doctor’s widow. At the same time, it’s about this rich playboy wanting to make a change for himself and atone for all of the sins he created. Especially to this woman who lost so much as she becomes lost following her husband’s death. The film’s screenplay does show what kind of man Bob Merrick (Rock Hudson) is at the beginning as he is this careless playboy who likes to ride fast cars, drive fast boats, and do all sorts of things without a care in the world as he would use money to fix things. When he is injured in an accident and was unconscious, he was revived by a resuscitating machine that belonged to a doctor as he suddenly died. When Merrick learns about what happened and the disdain he had been treated by the people at the hospital, he becomes haunted by his actions as he tries to apologize to the widow Helen Phillips (Jane Wyman) only to cause more trouble.
The first act is about Merrick forcing to see himself for what he really is and the things he had squandered as he was once a gifted medical student who gave up his chance to become a doctor in favor of throwing away the inheritance he gained from his father. The second act is about Merrick trying to atone for his sins by pretending to be another man to the already blind Helen in the hopes that he can help her and not suffer as much. Still, he gains the suspicions of her stepdaughter Jane (Barbara Rush) and longtime nurse Nancy (Agnes Moorehead). Yet, Merrick is encouraged by Helen’s longtime friend Randolph (Otto Kruger) who would guide Merrick into the ideas of philanthropy that Helen’s husband was all about. Merrick, under an alias, would do whatever to help Helen and gain the trust of those he hurt yet things become complicated as it becomes clear that Merrick still needed to find his own path in life as it would eventually play into his journey for redemption.
Douglas Sirk’s direction is truly intoxicating in the way he creates this film that explores the world of a man obsess with trying to right the wrongs that he created but also present it with a high degree of style. Much of it involves some unique compositions in the medium shots and close-ups along with a few wide shots. Sirk isn’t afraid for creating this heightened sense of drama since there is a lot that goes on where many who are close to Helen and her husband have a huge distrust towards Merrick since he already has a notorious reputation. Sirk takes his time for Merrick and Phillips to develop into something much more as does the supporting characters as it would play into the drama. Particularly as Sirk would add more stakes to the drama for its third act once it becomes clear that, despite Merrick’s efforts to be there for Phillips, it wouldn’t be enough as she becomes burdened by her blindness. Sirk however, would find ways to create something that does play to the aesthetics of a melodrama but not be afraid to take a few risks and be unafraid to delve into schmaltz. Overall, Sirk crafts a very genuine and exhilarating film about a man trying to find redemption in helping a widow.
Cinematographer Russell Metty does amazing work with the film‘s rich and colorful Technicolor-based cinematography from the beauty of the locations in Lake Tahoe to some of the array of lighting schemes and sceneries created in some of its interior and nighttime exterior scenes. Editor Milton Carruth does nice work with the editing with a few aspects of style in its dissolves and fade-outs while maintaining something much straightforward through its transitions and rhythmic cuts. Art directors Bernard Herzbrun and Emrich Nicholson, with set decorators Russell A. Gausman and Ruby R. Levitt, do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the Swiss hotels and sets created during Helen‘s trip to the country for possible eye surgery to the look of the homes that the characters live in.
Costume designers Bill Thomas does excellent work with the design of the gowns and dresses many of the female characters wear as it plays to the film‘s evocative look. The sound work of Leslie I. Carey and Corson Jowett is terrific for the way the boat engine sounded early in the film to some of the more sparse moments when Helen is alone in her room. The film’s music by Frank Skinner is truly phenomenal for its lush and evocative orchestral score that swells with its soaring string arrangements to play into the melodrama as it also includes some choir arrangements that just adds more punch to the tone of the film.
The film’s marvelous cast includes some notable small roles from Richard H. Cutting as the Phillips’ associate physician Dr. Dodge, Sara Shane as Merrick’s girlfriend in the beginning of the film, Paul Cavanaugh as Merrick’s former mentor Dr. Giraud, and Gregg Palmer as Joyce’s fiance Tom who helps handle the Phillips family business. Barbara Rush is terrific as Helen’s stepdaughter Joyce who is aware of Merrick’s reputation and is suspicious of his helpful intentions only to realize how much he cares for Helen and wants to do right. Agnes Moorehead is wonderful as the Phillips longtime family nurse who is also suspicious of Merrick’s intentions while keeping an eye on Helen as well as being the close friend that she has. Otto Kruger is excellent as Randolf as this painter who is a longtime friend of the Phillips family who realizes what kind of man Merrick really is as he helps guide him into finding redemption.
Finally, there’s the duo of Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson is truly magnificent performances in their respective roles as Helen Phillips and Bob Merrick. Wyman exudes a sense of beauty and anguish to her role as a woman that just lost her husband as she tries to make sense of the tragedy that she endures while clinging to some idea of hope. Hudson brings this swagger to his role early in the film only to be grounded with a sense of humility and sensitivity that would allow Merrick to find redemption. Wyman and Hudson radiate with chemistry from the way Wyman tries to dismiss him to the growing sense of warmth they would have for each other.
Magnificent Obsession is a phenomenal film from Douglas Sirk that is highlighted by the splendid performances of Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. It’s a film that explores not just a man trying to redeem himself in helping a widow but also a film where an unlikely love story emerges despite all of the complications that emerges. In the end, Magnificent Obsession is a sensational film from Douglas Sirk.
Douglas Sirk Films: (t Was een April) - (The Court Concert) - (To New Shores) - (La Habanera) - (Boefje) - (Hitler’s Madman) - (Summer Storm) - (A Scandal in Paris) - (Lured) - (Sleep My Love) - Shockproof - (Thunder on the Hill) - (No Room for the Groom) - (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?) - (Meet Me at the Fair) - (Take Me to Town) - (All I Desire) - (Taza, Son of Cochise) - (Sign of the Pagan) - (Captain Lightfoot) - All That Heaven Allows - There’s Always Tomorrow (1956 film) - (Never Say Goodbye) - Written on the Wind - (Battle Hymn) - (Interlude) - (The Tarnished Angels) - (A Time to Love and A Time to Die) - Imitation of Life (1959 film)
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Douglas Sirk and written by Samuel Fuller and Helen Deutsch from a story by Fuller, Shockproof is the story of a parole officer who falls in love with his parolee as he tries to help with some issues that put her in jail as she would do the same in his own issues. The film is an exploration into a relationship between two people that is considered taboo as they would do whatever it takes to help each other. Starring Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight. Shockproof is an engaging and stylish suspense film from Douglas Sirk.
The film explores this unlikely love story between a parole officer and a parolee where the latter is being pursued by gambler forcing the straight-laced parole officer to break some of his own rules. It’s a film that is a mesh of different styles ranging from suspense to melodrama as the former features much of the grimy, pulp style of its co-writer Samuel Fuller while the latter plays into the sensibilities of its director Douglas Sirk. Though the result is an uneven affair with a more conventional ending that doesn’t feature neither sensibilities of Fuller and Sirk. It is still an interesting story where the parole officer Griff Marat (Cornel Wilde) tries to make sure that Jenny Marsh (Patricia Knight) doesn’t go back to jail as she would try to seduce him for her former boyfriend in the renowned gambler Harry Wesson (John Baragrey). Instead, things don’t got as planned where Marsh starts to fall for Marat and realizes all of the good things he’s done though Marat would feel like he’s being played for a fool until he does things that goes against everything he stands for.
Sirk’s direction is quite simple in terms of how he frames his characters in close-ups and in medium shots. Notably as Sirk would infuse some noir-style settings to convey a mood to showcase Marsh’s own internal conflict in her feelings for Marat as well as her loyalty to Wesson. Some of which involved some stylish shots as well as thrilling moments where Sirk infuses much of Fuller’s language into some suspenseful moments. Especially as the stakes become much higher in its third act where Marsh and Marat go on the run from the authorities as Sirk would put some drama over the struggle they go through as they realize that might have nowhere else to go. Yet, it ends on a conventional note which does indicate that there was some studio interference into what they wanted rather what Sirk wanted. Despite the flaws in the film, Sirk does manage to create a very exciting and compelling film about a parole officer who falls in love with a parolee.
Cinematographer Charles Lawton Jr. does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white photography where much of it is straightforward for its daytime exteriors while going for more stylish lights for its nighttime interior/exterior scenes. Editor Gene Havlick does nice work with the editing with its use of dissolves and some straightforward cuts to play with its drama and suspense. Art director Carl Anderson and set decorator Louis Dage do brilliant work with the set pieces from the home that Marat lives in with his family as well as the office where he works. Costume designer Jean Louis does fantastic work with the design of the dresses and gowns that Marsh wears. Sound engineer Lodge Cunningham does terrific work with some of the sound work such as the oil mill that Marat and Marsh would live near in the film‘s third act. The film’s music by George Duning is wonderful for its orchestral score as it is filled with soaring arrangements to play with its melodrama and suspense.
The film’s superb cast includes some notable small performances from Charles Bates as Marat’s kid-brother Tommy, Gilbert Barnett as Tommy’s friend Barry, Russell Collins as one of Marat’s parolees whom he’s friends with, Howard St. John as Marat’s boss, and Esther Minciotti as Marat’s blind mother whom Marsh would become friends with. John Baragrey is excellent as Marsh’s former boyfriend Harry Wesson who is eager to get Marsh back into his world of crime as well as ruin Marat only to realize that Marat is a hard nut to crack. Patricia Knight is brilliant as Jenny Marsh as this woman who is released for a five-year prison sentence for murder as she is torn between a life of crime and a more simpler life that Marat surrounds himself with where Knight adds that anguish into her performance. Finally, there’s Cornel Wilde in an amazing performance as Griff Marat as this straight-laced parole officer who falls for Marsh as he tries desperately to help her while coming to terms with his actions and breaking away from his ideals.
Shockproof is a worthwhile film from Douglas Sirk that features some excellent performances from Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight as well some of the stylish dialogue of Samuel Fuller. Though it’s a very uneven film in tone as well as a pretty unbelievable ending that is against the traits of both Sirk and Fuller. It is still an enjoyable film that showcases an unlikely collaboration between two of cinema’s great figures. In the end, Shockproof is a pretty good film from Douglas Sirk.
Douglas Sirk Films: (t Was een April) - (The Court Concert) - (To New Shores) - (La Habanera) - (Boefje) - (Hitler’s Madman) - (Summer Storm) - (A Scandal in Paris) - (Lured) - (Sleep My Love) - (Thunder on the Hill) - (No Room for the Groom) - (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?) - (Meet Me at the Fair) - (Take Me to Town) - (All I Desire) - (Taza, Son of Cochise) - Magnificent Obsession (1954 film) - (Sign of the Pagan) - (Captain Lightfoot) - All That Heaven Allows - There’s Always Tomorrow (1956 film) - (Never Say Goodbye) - Written on the Wind - (Battle Hymn) - (Interlude) - (The Tarnished Angels) - (A Time to Love and A Time to Die) - Imitation of Life (1959 film)
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Eva Gardos, An American Rhapsody is the story of a Hungarian family who fled the country during the emergence of Communism as they were forced to leave their infant daughter behind as she would eventually return to them only to become a lost teenager who would return to Budapest. Based on Gardos’ own real-life, the film is an exploration into a young girl who is caught between two different worlds and two different families as she tries to come to terms with her own identity. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Nastassja Kinski, Tony Goldwyn, Larisa Oleynik, Mae Whitman, Emmy Rossum, and Agnes Banfalvy. An American Rhapsody is a haunting yet powerful film from Eva Gardos.
Set in 1950s Communist Hungary through the mid-1960s, the film explores this world of a family coming apart through the most troubling circumstances as their eventual reunion would only cause a young girl to feel lost and angry over everything she’s been put through. Since this is a very personal film based on Eva Gardos’ own experiences as a child who was born and raised in Communist Hungary during the 1950s as she would be reunited with her own family years later in the U.S. The film showcases not just a girl who would be caught between the world that she had been raised in unaware of its political turmoil but also a family who were forced to leave her behind as the years to repair the damage of that discord only creates tension between mother and daughter.
The film’s screenplay does have a traditional three-act structure as the first act is about Peter and Margit Sandor (Tony Goldwyn and Nastassja Kinski, respectively) escaping Communist Hungary with their five-year old daughter Maria (Klaudia Szabo) as they would trek through its treacherous borders to find refuge in Vienna. The plan was that their infant daughter Suzanne would join them but Margit’s mother Helen (Agnes Banfalvy) puts a stop to it once she realizes what will happen to Suzanne during this transfer as she asks a family friend to find a home for her granddaughter while she would serve time in prison. Helen’s decision would be the catalyst for everything that goes on as she would see her granddaughter be raised by kind farmers in Jeno (Balazs Galko) and Teri (Zsuzsa Czinkoczi) as she would take Suzanne away from them and back to her family. Unfortunately, the reunion between Suzanne and her parents is filled with a sense of confusion for the young girl as she would grow into this rebellious teenager (Scarlett Johansson) who asks her father to return to Hungary to gain an understanding into everything that has happened to her.
Gardos’ direction is very simple in the way she presents the film as she starts it off with some exposition of Suzanne talking about 1950s Hungary as it was taken over by the Communists and the events that forced her family to leave the film as the first 15-minutes are shot in black-and-white with the rest of the film in color. Gardos uses some hand-held cameras to play into the looseness of America while going for something more low-key and eerie for the scenes set in Hungary as well as some notable locations in Budapest. The use of wide shots and close-ups allow Gardos to play into the drama. Particularly in the second half as the tension between Margit and Suzanne starts to come ahead which would prompt the latter to want to return to Hungary. Though there’s a few things in the film that does get bogged down by exposition over why Margit had decided to leave Hungary. Gardos is able to keep things simple in the way it would play into Suzanne’s development as well as trying to find herself in the two disparate worlds she lived in. Overall, Gardos crafts a very tender and mesmerizing film about a family trying to start over and bring back the young girl they left behind.
Cinematographer Elemer Ragalyi does amazing work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography for many of the scenes set in California while going for a more low-key yet desolate look for the scenes in Budapest which includes some of the black-and-white look for the scenes in Hungary in its first act. Editor Margaret Goodspeed does nice work with the editing as it‘s pretty straightforward while it has some aspect of styles in its dissolves and a few montages including the newsreel sequence about Hungary‘s fall to the Soviet Union. Production designer Alex Tavoularis does excellent work with the set pieces from the design of the barbed wire walls in the Hungarian border as well as the look of 1950s/1960s homes in America.
Costume designers Beatrix Aruna Pasztor and Vanessa Vogel do fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses the women wear including the 60s clothes that Suzanne and her sister Maria would wear in the film‘s second half. Sound editor Jane Tattersall does terrific work with some of the sound from the terror in the barbed wire borders to the sounds in the American locations. The film’s music by Cliff Eidelman is wonderful for its somber orchestral score to play into the drama while it includes some traditional Hungarian music that is assembled by music supervisor Denny Diante who would also include some classical pieces and songs by Elvis Presley and Gerry & the Pacemakers.
The casting by Elizabeth Lang is brilliant as it features some notable small appearances from Colleen Camp and Lisa Jane Persky as American neighbors Margit befriends, Vladimir Mashkov as a Russian immigrant that Peter works with, Timothy Everett Moore as Suzanne’s American boyfriend Paul, Zoltan Seress as a family friend of Peter and Margit who would be the lone connection the family have back in Hungary, and Emmy Rossum as Suzanne’s friend Sheila whom she likes to smoke and drink with. In the roles of Suzanne’s sister Maria, there’s Klaudia Szabo as the five-year old, Mae Whitman as the more Americanized 10-year old version, and Larisa Oleynik as the 18-year old version who deals with Suzanne’s rebellion as well as what their mother wants. In the roles of the young Suzanne, there’s Raffaella Bansagi as the infant Suzanne and Kelly Endresz Banlaki who is terrific as the five/six-year old Suzanne who becomes unhappy in her new American surroundings.
Balazs Galko and Zsuzsa Czinkoczi are excellent in their respective roles as Jeno and Teri as the farming couple who raised Suzanne when she was young as they had a hard time with her departure while revealing to the older Suzanne about what happened to their farm and the dark realities of Communist Hungary. Agnes Banfalvy is superb as Suzanne’s grandmother Helen who would be the one that would cause the family to go through so much drama as she would eventually meet Suzanne years later as she would tell her why she made that drastic decision. Tony Goldwyn is amazing as Peter Sandor as Suzanne’s father who organized the escape as he deals with leaving his daughter behind while being the one who understands his daughter’s own culture shock and homesickness as he would have her return to Hungary.
Nastassja Kinski is wonderful as Suzanne’s mother Margit who tries to connect with Suzanne upon their reunion only to become very protective of her as it leads to mother-daughter tension. Finally, there’s Scarlett Johansson in a remarkable performance as the teenaged Suzanne as this young girl who feels lost as she wants to return to Hungary as she contends with her mother as it’s Johansson displaying a lot of angst and sensitivity to a troubled young girl in one of her quintessential performances.
An American Rhapsody is an excellent film from Eva Gardos that features a fantastic performance from Scarlett Johansson. Along with strong performances from Nastassja Kinski and Tony Goldwyn as well as a look into the world of European immigrants coming to America in unveiling the world they had to leave behind along with the sacrifices they had to make. In the end, An American Rhapsody is a superb film from Eva Gardos.
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Jean Vigo and written by Vigo and Albert Riera from a story by Jean Guinee, L’Atalante is the story of a river barge captain and his new wife as they live their new life together on the river barge with his first mate and a cabin boy The film is about a couple trying to start a new life only to deal with complications in the world of marriage. Starring Jean Daste, Dita Parlo, Michel Simon, and Louis Lefebvre. L’Atalante is a ravishing and rapturous film from Jean Vigo.
The film is a simple story about a newlywed couple who spend their life on a river barge ship as the groom is the captain as he is joined by his first mate and a cabin boy. Yet, it’s a story that explores a newlywed dealing with marriage as the captain Jean (Jean Daste) tries to balance his role as captain and husband where it doesn’t become easy as his bride Juliette (Dita Parlo) has no clue in being the wife of a river barge captain. Though she would eventually get used to it and gain the friendship of the first mate Pere Jules (Michel Simon), Jean becomes jealous of men who pursue Juliette as she wants to see Paris and have fun.
The film’s screenplay by Jean Vigo and Albert Riera play into a newlywed couple’s life as the first act is about Jules and the cabin boy (Louis Lefebvre) trying to get used to Juliette being around while the second act is about Jean’s frustrations with marriage. Then comes this third act where it isn’t about the decision that Jean makes but its impact on the ship itself as Jules and the cabin boy become concerned for Jean and Juliette.
Vigo’s direction is truly exhilarating for the way he explores the world of a newlywed marriage where Jean and Juliette spend their honeymoon in a river barge ship going around the rivers of France where they would stop in Paris. Much of the compositions in its close-ups and medium shots are quite simple yet they have a wealth of imaginative images such as Juliette watching Jules do a puppet show that would arouse some jealousy for Jean. The ship itself is a character in the film as it is quite cramped and such where Jules’ cabin is a place that delights Juliette as opposed to the less-adventurous world of Jean.
Vigo’s approach to reflective shots in the mirror are dazzling as it this dream-like sequence that has this air of eroticism without the need of gratuitous sexual content. There’s also some sequences such as Jean’s swimming underwater as it plays into Vigo’s idea of love and a man lost in the decision he has made forcing the one person who was reluctant to let marriage be around his work to take action. Overall, Vigo creates a very sensational and enchanting film about a newlywed couple living in a river barge ship.
Cinematographers Boris Kaufman, Louis Berger, and Jean-Paul Alphen do excellent work with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography from the way many of the nighttime exterior and interior scenes look as well as the look of the rivers in the daytime scenes . Editor Louis Chavance does fantastic work with the film‘s stylish editing with its odd rhythmic cuts and some stylish dissolves for the erotic dream sequence. Art director Francis Jourdain does brilliant work with the look of the ship known as L‘Atalante as it is one that is full of personality despite the cramped interiors. The sound work of Lucien Baujard and Marcel Royne is terrific for the way some of the accordion music and other recordings are heard on location as well as the quietness of the rivers. The film’s music by Maurice Jaubert is amazing for its whimsical score as it is often accompanied by accordions to play into some of its humor and drama.
The film’s cast includes some notable small roles from Gilles Margaritis as a charming peddler that Jean dislikes, Maurice Gilles as the river barge company chief, Charles Goldblatt as a thief that Juliette encounters, Raphael Diligent as a scrap dealer Jules knows, and Louis Lefebvre as the young cabin boy who is often bossed around by Jules though he is always helpful. Michel Simon is great as the old first mate Pere Jules who is reluctant about having Juliette on board on the ship only to become a friend as he also deals with Jean’s frustrations. Jean Daste is superb as the barge ship captain Jean who tries to deal with his role as captain and husband as well as his jealousy only to lose sight of what he has. Finally, there’s Dita Parlo in a radiant performance as Juliette as she is this beautiful bride trying to understand her new world while wanting to go to Paris as it’s a really a dazzling performance that adds a lot of elegance to the film.
The 2-disc Region 1 DVD/1-disc Region A Blu Ray of The Complete Jean Vigo set from the Criterion Collection presents the film in 1:33:1 full-frame theatrical aspect ratio in a new high-definition digital transfer with Dolby Digital Mono in French with English subtitles. The first disc of the DVD features a feature-length audio commentary track by Vigo biographer Michael Temple. Temple’s commentary not only talks about the film and its innovations but also the production where it would contribute to Vigo’s declining health. Temple also revealed the many different versions of the film as the version that is presented on TV and in home video is a sixth version that was supervised by Vigo’s daughter Luce and Bernard Eisenchitz based that is a revision of a 1990 restoration that tried to present a completed version of the film.
Temple’s commentary also talks about the performances and how much the film was very different from the original script written by Jean Guinee as Vigo wanted to infuse ideas that subverted the original script’s intentions. Notably in incorporating some documentary ideas into the film while allowing his actors to improvise and flesh out the characters more as the script didn’t do much for them. Temple would also reveal that the actors not only praised Vigo but also reveal the sense of humor he had as he was ill during the production because of the cold winter during the shoot. Though he was able to be involved for the film’s rough cut, he wasn’t directly involved in the final cut due to his illness though editor Louis Chavance was able to make the film through Vigo’s instructions despite the re-cuts it would have through Gaumont studio. Temple also revealed how it would be re-discovered in the coming years as it was praised by the people of the French New Wave that would give the film a second life as it’s a very informative and enjoyable commentary from Temple.
The second disc of the DVD features many special features relating to the film and Vigo himself. The first is a one-hour and thirty-eight minute 1964 French TV episode of Cineastes de notre temps about Jean Vigo. Directed by Jacques Rozier, the episode discusses a lot about Vigo’s childhood as well as the production of Zero de Conduite and L’Atalante with interviews from many of Vigo’s friends and collaborators as well as actors Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, and Jean Daste. There’s also discussions about Vigo’s father and how being known as the son of renowned anarchist made him a pariah during his teens until he was finally accepted into a school which would become the basis for Zero de Conduite. The actors talked about Vigo’s sense of freedom in the way he allowed his actors to do so much more as it had this sense of anarchy as this documentary is definitely a must-see for those new to Jean Vigo.
The 18-minute conversation from 1968 between filmmakers Francois Truffaut and Eric Rohmer on the film L’Atalante is a video presentation made for a TV broadcast of the film where Rohmer asked Truffaut about the film and what it means to him. Truffaut talks about the film and its influence in modern cinema as he believes that Jean Vigo was way ahead of his time in what he was able to present. Especially as Vigo did much of his work outside of studio sets and into locations where he would often make things up as he went along as it’s a truly fascinating segment from two of France’s great filmmakers.
The forty-minute Les voyages des L’Atalante documentary from film historian/restorer Bernard Eisenchitz. Eisenchitz showcases footage that was cut from the film as well as rushes and alternate versions through many cuts of the film. Some of which involved butchered cuts due to the film’s initial poor reception from theater owners in its original 1934 premiere. It would take many years for lost scenes to be restored where a 1990 restoration would create what was considered to be the definitive version of the completed film until 11 years later. Eisenchitz reveals a lot about what was presented in its initial and re-cut version to what would be presented in its various restoration versions.
The twenty-minute 2001 interview with filmmaker Otar Iosseliani on Jean Vigo. The French-Georgian filmmaker talks about Vigo’s influence as well as L’Atalante and how much of an impact it was for him and for cinema itself. Especially as he saw it in film school in the Soviet Union where it was considered a major impact for the new and emerging filmmakers at the time where Iosseliani discusses some of the little things about the film that he loved as he had seen it many times in its different variations. A forty-five second animated tribute film from Michel Gondry is a wonderfully animated short that features references to many of Vigo’s films as it is told with some whimsy by Gondry.
The DVD set also includes a booklet that features four essays relating to Vigo and his films. The first of which is by filmmaker Michael Almereyda that is named after Vigo. Almereyda’s essay talks about Vigo and his impact in cinema as someone who wasn’t just ahead of his time but was someone who managed to retain a sense of youthfulness in his work without the need of becoming old and tired. Almereyda also talks about his films and Vigo’s brief life as the many issues he had ranging from his poor health and the dark shadow his anarchist father had cast upon him. Yet, Vigo would manage to plant many seeds that would create the many ideas of what would become the French New Wave. The second essay entitled A Propos de Jean and Boris by Robert Polito is about A propos de Nice and the collaboration between Jean Vigo and his longtime collaborator in cinematographer Boris Kaufman as it plays into not just their desire to break the rules of conventional cinema. It's an essay that showcases what their collaboration did and how it fitted with this growing wave of avant-garde films that were emerging at the time though A propos de Nice was something different and far more accessible than what Vigo's peers were doing at the time.
The third essay entitled Rude Freedom by video maker B. Kite is about Zero de Conduite where Kite discusses many of Vigo’s aesthetics and how Vigo’s thirst for anarchy would be such an inspiration for many films in the years to come. Kite also discusses about the film’s characters and some of the ambiguities of the film as it relates to these two ideas of ludis and paidia where the film definitely plays into the idea of the latter. The fourth and final essay entitled Canal Music by writer Luc Sante talks about L’Atalante and its impact in French Cinema in the years after it was released. Sante discusses many of what happened in the film and how it took an original story from another writer and made it into something more. The booklet is a great accompaniment to a glorious set of films for one of cinema’s great filmmakers.
L’Atalante is a magnificent film from Jean Vigo. Armed with a great cast, a whimsical score, and dazzling images, it is truly one of the finest achievements in cinema. Though it would be the only feature film that Vigo would make, it is truly unlike anything that is out there as it has this great mix of fantasy and realism. In the end, L’Atalante is an outstanding film from Jean Vigo.
Jean Vigo Films: A propos de Nice - Taris - Zero de conduite - The Auteurs #34: Jean Vigo
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Douglas Sirk and screenplay by Peg Fenwick from a story by Edna L. Lee and Harry Lee, All That Heaven Allows is the story of a widow who falls for a gardener as their love affair would cause trouble among her friends in their suburban society as well as her adult children. The film is an exploration into conformity and class structure as a woman finds joy in a simple gardener. Starring Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorehead, Conrad Nagel, and Virginia Grey. All That Heaven Allows is an intoxicatingly rich and exhilarating melodrama from Douglas Sirk.
The film is an exploration into a love affair between a widow and a gardener as the latter is 15 years younger than her as their relationship starts to raise questions among her friends in suburban society. It’s a film that plays into the world where this woman is being judged by friends from her social circle as well as her adult children for being in love with this very kind and eloquent gardener who has no interest in conforming into any kind of society. It’s all part of this unique melodrama that explores not just a world where this woman is trying to find happiness. It’s a film where the world that she lives in seems stuck into their idea of traditional values unaware that things are starting to change.
Peg Fenwick’s screenplay does great work in not just creating intricate themes about conformity, class, and ageism but set it in a world where values are prevalent in this New England suburb where there are rules and people know each other. Upon meeting this gardener named Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson), Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) is intrigued by what Kirby offers as he is a very different man that prefers to live a simple world where he patiently takes care of trees and plants in his home. At the same time, he surrounds himself with friends who have no need for materialistic things as they prefer something less complicated and not give in towards the pressure of society. Cary’s infatuation with Ron has gained her the ire of her adult-children who are upset that their mother is considering marrying a man younger than her. Cary’s friends are upset not just because of the fact that Ron is younger but also for the fact that he’s a simple gardener. It would create a lot of conflict in Cary over what she wants but also what people want from her.
Douglas Sirk’s direction is truly enchanting not just for the visuals that he creates but also in the ravishing compositions he portrays the two worlds that Cary and Ron live in. The world that Cary lives is quite beautiful as Sirk brings a lot of unique imagery to locations such as the streets and shops while there’s a sense of artificiality in the parties she goes to as they’re very lavish. In the world that Ron lives in, it’s much more quaint and livelier as the party Cary attends that is filled with Ron’s friends might be a bit crowded but there’s a lot of joy as people dance as opposed to the people in Cary’s world where they just drink and gossip. When Cary introduces Ron to her children and her friends, he does his best to present himself while wanting to be himself yet her children are aghast over how young he is while her friends are surprised by his behavior when Cary is being harassed by a party guest. The third act has Cary not only deal with her unhappiness but also what is happening for her children that would eventually prompt her to make her own decisions. Overall, Sirk crafts a very lush yet powerful drama about a widow who deals with the judgment of others over her new love life.
Cinematographer Russell Metty does magnificent work with the film‘s very rich and colorful cinematography with its gorgeous use of Technicolor from the exteriors with its use of blue for some its nighttime scenes to the way he lights the interiors as it‘s definitely one of the film‘s major technical achievements. Editor Frank Gross does excellent work with the editing in the use of matching dissolves as well as the use of fade-outs and other sort of seamless cuts as it helps play to the film‘s melodramatic tone. Art directors Alexander Golitzen and Eric Orbom, along with set decorators Russell A. Gausman and Julia Heron, do brilliant work with the set pieces from a few background sets for some of its exteriors outside of Ron‘s wheel mill home as well as the intricate attention to detail in the way Cary‘s house look as well as the other places she goes to.
The gown designs by Bill Thomas is fantastic for the look of the gowns that many of the women wear as it adds to the film‘s mesmerizing look. The sound work of Leslie I. Carey and Joe Lapis is terrific for some of the minimal sound effects as well as the way things sound on location. The film’s music by Frank Skinner is amazing for its very serene orchestral score that includes some very heavy themes to play into its melodrama while music supervisor Joseph Gershenson brings in a couple of classical pieces by Brahms and Listz as well as a traditional Christmas song to play into the drama of Cary longing for Ron.
The film’s superb cast includes some notable small roles from Donald Curtis as Howard who often harasses Cary into kissing him at parties, Merry Anders as Alida’s cousin Mary Ann whom Cary thinks is Ron’s girlfriend, Jacqueline De Wit as the very gossip socialite Mona, Nestor Paiva as a friend of Ron in Manuel, and Conrad Vagel in a terrific performance as Cary’s date Harvey who accompanies her to the film’s first party. Hayden Rorke is wonderful as Dr. Dan Hennessy who examines Cary late in the film as she comes to him over headaches while Charles Drake is excellent as Ron’s friend Mick who gave up a life of ambition for something more simpler. Virginia Grey is brilliant as Mick’s wife Alida who reveals to Cary a lot about Ron and his ideals as well as being key to Cary wanting to be with Ron in its third act.
William Reynolds and Gloria Talbott are amazing in their respective roles as Ned and Kay Scott as two of Cary’s adult children who oppose her union with Ron with Reynolds being the more outspoken Ned while Talbott is the more open but wary Kay. Agnes Moorehead is fantastic as Cary’s best friend Sara who questions what Cary is doing though she thinks that Ron is a nice guy but often worries about Cary’s social status. Finally, there’s Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman in truly outstanding performances in their respective roles as Ron Kirby and Cary Scott. Hudson exudes a sensitive masculinity into his role as a very kind-hearted man who represents the absolute individual that doesn’t care what people thinks as he loves Cary. Wyman brings a sense of grace into her role as the widow Cary who is reluctant to attend social parties as she seeks to find happiness while dealing with the judgment she receives from family and friends. Hudson and Wyman have great chemistry together in the way they deal with the judgment of other people and how they spend time together.
All That Heaven Allows is a phenomenal film form Douglas Sirk that features exemplarily rich performances from Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. The film is truly one of the finest melodramas ever created as well as great introduction to anyone new to Sirk. Especially as it’s a film that has a lot of beauty and captivating themes that explores the need to fit in against the ideas of individuality. In the end, All That Heaven Allows is a tremendously ravishing film from Douglas Sirk.
Douglas Sirk Films: (t Was een April) - (The Court Concert) - (To New Shores) - (La Habanera) - (Boefje) - (Hitler’s Madman) - (Summer Storm) - (A Scandal in Paris) - (Lured) - (Sleep My Love) - Shockproof - (Thunder on the Hill) - (No Room for the Groom) - (Has Anybody Seen My Gal?) - (Meet Me at the Fair) - (Take Me to Town) - (All I Desire) - (Taza, Son of Cochise) - Magnificent Obsession (1954 film) - (Sign of the Pagan) - (Captain Lightfoot) - There’s Always Tomorrow (1956 film) - (Never Say Goodbye) - Written on the Wind - (Battle Hymn) - (Interlude) - (The Tarnished Angels) - (A Time to Love and A Time to Die) - Imitation of Life (1959 film)
© thevoid99 2014
Written and directed by Carlos Cuaron, Rudo y Cursi (Rude and Tacky) is the story of two brothers from a rural Mexican village who are discovered by a futbol scout as they each endure major success in the Mexican futbol league only to fall through different means. The film is an exploration into the world of the Mexican futbol culture as well as the relationship between two brothers as the film marks a reunion with Cuaron who co-wrote Y Tu Mama Tambien with his brother Alfonso and its stars in Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as the two brothers. Also starring Guillermo Francella, Dolores Heredia, Adriana Paz, Jessica Mas, and Salvador Zerboni. Rudo y Cursi is an extraordinarily funny film from Carlos Cuaron.
The film is about the fortunes of two half-brothers who are discovered by a scout as they each become stars in the Mexican futbol league where the brothers not only deal with success but also a very corrupt world in the futbol league. It’s also a film that explores the relationship between these two brothers who both want different goals for themselves as Beto (Diego Luna) is a talented goalie who wants to succeed so he can help his wife Tona (Adriana Paz) and their two kids as well as the rest of his very dysfunctional family. His younger half-brother Tato (Gael Garcia Bernal) is also talented in futbol yet he has aspirations to make it as a singer. While the film is about these two brothers as they would respectively be called Rudo y Cursi, it’s mostly told from the perspective of the talent scout Batuta (Guillermo Francella) who narrates the film as he would talk about the way things work while his character is this mixture of angel and devil as he gives them what they want but also tries to profit from their misfortunes.
Carlos Cuaron’s screenplay definitely plays into the classic rise-and-fall scenario as well as exploring the corrupt world of Mexican futbol and the relationship between two brothers. The latter of which is inspired by Carlos’ own love-hate relationship with his older brother Alfonso who is one of the film’s producers. While both Beto and Tato want to succeed in futbol, they each have aspirations that showcases their differences. Beto wants to be known as the best goalie in Mexico as he is called Rudo for his rough approach to goalkeeping as he also has a family to support. Tato wants to use his talents in futbol so he can become a singer as he would get all of the perks of being a star despite gaining the name Cursi for his corny post-goal dance. Cuaron would inject a lot of crass dialogue that carries much of the film’s humor while also balancing with some drama once Beto and Tato deal with their misfortunes as well as face each other in the film’s climatic game where there’s a lot more at stake.
Cuaron’s direction is quite simple as he goes for something that is more engaging with his approach to hand-held cameras as well as some steadicam shots and some unique compositions. Much of it is shot on location in Mexico City and at the Cihuatlan Valley in Jalisco as the latter serves as the rural home where Beto and Tato lived in as the banana plantation is actually owned by the Cuaron family. Cuaron would use a lot of wide shots to capture the different landscapes where the rural home that the brothers lived seemed much simpler and quaint while Mexico City is a world where it’s big but also overwhelming considering the how chaotic it can be. Through some close-ups and medium shots, Cuaron also captures the atmosphere of what it’s like at a futbol game where he shoots these scenes from the perspective of the fans as well as what goes on at the field. Especially in the film’s climatic game where a lot is at stake while fans for both teams insult each other. Overall, Cuaron crafts a very entertaining and insightful film about two brothers who go to the city to chase their dreams only to face the dark realities of the Mexican futbol league.
Cinematographer Adam Kimmel does amazing work with the film‘s very rich and colorful cinematography from the grimy yet naturalistic look of the scenes of rural Mexico with the evocative images of the banana plantation as well as the vibrant look of Mexico City. Editor Alex Rodriguez does fantastic work in utilizing some stylish jump-cuts and other offbeat rhythms to play into the film‘s humorous tone. Production designer Eugenio Caballero does nice work with the set design from the look of the village where Beto and Tato lived with their family to the posh world of Mexico City. Costume designers Annai Ramos and Anna Terrazas do terrific work with the costumes from the more ragged look of the brothers in their rural environment to the more posh clothes they would wear in more upscale parties.
Visual effects supervisor Richard Briscoe does some good work with some of the minimal visual effects for a key moment in the film‘s ending as well as a few of the action in the futbol games. Sound designers Martin Hernandez and Alejandro Quevedo do brilliant work with the sound to capture the intimacy that goes on in the smaller moments at their homes as well as the raucous atmosphere of the futbol stadiums. The film’s music by Lenocio Lara and Felipe Perez Santiago is excellent for being very upbeat with its use of accordions and traditional Mexican instruments to play into its humor while music supervisor Annette Fradera brings in a soundtrack that includes lots of ranchero and other forms of Mexican music plus two different covers of Cheap Trick‘s I Want You to Want Me performed by Gael Garcia Bernal in a ranchero style and a more rock style by Los Odio! featuring Juan Son.
The casting by Kimberly Mullen, Mark Mullen, and Manuel Teil is wonderful as it features some notable small roles from Alfredo Alonso as a renowned drug lord in Don Casimiro who would marry Beto and Tato’s sister, Salvador Zerboni as Tato’s coach, Tania Esmerelda Aguilar as Beto and Tato’s sister Nadia, and Joaquin Cosio as Beto and Tato’s stepfather Arnulfo who often abuses their mother. Adriana Paz is terrific as Beto’s wife Tona who tries to get Beto to see reason while preferring to have the simpler life rather than the more tumultuous one her husband is in. Jessica Mas is very good as the model Maya Vega whose beauty entrances Tato as she is a woman that just wants to be with Tato because he’s the new hot star. Dolores Heredia is superb as Beto and Tato’s mother who hopes for the best for her two sons as she is a source of inspiration for the boys to succeed.
Guillermo Francella is brilliant as the talent scout Batuta as he’s a man that is very wise and can often bullshit his way into any kind of negotiation as Francella brings a lot of charm to the role while always having a fine woman at his side just to show how cool he is. Finally, there’s the duo of Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal in their respective roles as Beto and Tato as they both give marvelous performances. Luna brings an aggressiveness that allows his character to earn his nickname as he is someone who is wracked with conflict in wanting to do great but becomes homesick as he would gain a gambling problem. Bernal brings a swagger and humor to his role as a wannabe singer who has no clue about the fickleness of the music business. Bernal and Luna have great rapport together as they showcase the love-hate relationship between brothers through good and bad times.
Rudo y Cursi is a phenomenal film from Carlos Cuaron that features fantastic performances from Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. It’s a film that is thoroughly entertaining in the way it explores the world of Mexican futbol as well as the tumultuous relationship between brothers. In the end, Rudo y Cursi is a sensational film from Carlos Cuaron.
© thevoid99 2014
Directed by Stacey Peralta and written by Peralta and Craig Stecyk, Dogtown & Z-Boys is the story about the revolutionary group of skateboarders who brought the skateboard back to the public eye in the 1970s as they would set the stage for the world of skateboarding in the years to come. Narrated by Sean Penn, the documentary explores this group of young skateboarders who would take the aesthetics of surfing and put into skateboarding as this group would include Peralta as well as influential skateboarders like Tony Alva and Jay Adams. The result is one of the most enthralling documentaries ever created.
The film is an exploration into the history of skateboarding when it had a brief period of popularity until the late 60s where it was seen as a trend until a group of kids from Southern California would bring it back with the help of a new formula known as polyurethane that created new skateboard wheels that would help improve the performance and traction of the skateboard. Among these kids who would revive the art of skateboarding were Stacey Peralta, Jay Adams, and Tony Alva along with several others as they would bring a lot of the movements they’ve acquired as surfers and infuse it with skateboarding. With the help of photographer Craig Stecyk who would shoot much of the film’s archival footage as well as take photographs, the gang of skateboarders known as Z-Boys would do new things and pave the way to make skateboarding a legitimate sport in the coming decades.
Peralta’s approach to the film is very simple as he would interview many of his colleagues including Z-Boys co-founder and skateboard manufacturer Skip Engblom who talked about the world the boys lived in. Much of it involves a world in Southern California that seems to be ignored where Peralta, Adams, and Alva were part of a small band of surfers that would surf in places that was their own. Once they discovered the new polyurethane wheels and put into their skateboards, they would create moves that they would perfect in various places including abandoned pools during the droughts in California. What the Z-boys would do not only bring back the world of skateboarding but also revive the Skateboarder magazine.
It would also bring back skateboarding competitions where the champions from the 1960s would be destroyed by the Z-Boys as there were complaints from female skateboarders over claims that Z-Boy member Peggy Oki skated like a guy though some claimed she skated better than the guys. It’s among these moments that proved to be very lively and humorous where Peralta uses the archival footage to create a sense of energy as well as some poetry through some of the skateboarding footage. He also reveals how the Z-Boys group disbanded once Skip Engblom was unable to support the group due to his lack of funds as many of them would be sponsored by other skateboarding manufacturers who had money in their pocket. While Peralta and Alva both would emerge into great success where the latter is an icon and the former would create skateboarding videos with Craig Stecyk that would introduce a new generation of skateboarders including Tony Hawk.
With the help of cinematographers Peter Pilafan and Sebastian Jungwirth, Peralta would interview many of his colleagues including those who were fans of that period like punk rock icon Henry Rollins as they’re shot in black-and-white with some backgrounds courtesy of Craig Stecyk in the set design. While many of the Z-Boys are revealed to live comfortable lives, the one person that was considered the big tragedy of the story is Jay Adams as he was a very wild child that loved skateboarding but became troubled by fame and such as he would repeatedly get in trouble as he is also interviewed in the film as a ragged man that lost a lot of his youth.
With the help of editor Paul Crowder and sound editor Dane A. Davis, Peralta infuses a lot of footage to showcase the history of skateboarding as well as the world his band of brothers were in as it‘s told with some humor by Sean Penn who knew them as he is also a fan of skateboarding. One major aspect of the film that really helps drive it is the film’s music as the original score by Paul Crowder and Terry Wilson is very low-key in its electronic setting while music supervisors Deborah MacCulloch and Mark Reiter would bring this very eclectic array of music that largely consists of rock music from the 70s ranging from art rock, punk, new wave, heavy metal, and many others as it just brings a lot of energy to the film.
Dogtown & Z-Boys is a magnificent documentary from Stacey Peralta. The film works not only in talking about the history of skateboarding but also showcase why it is so popular as Peralta and his band of brothers would help revolutionize the sport. It’s a film that manages to make those who don’t know anything about skateboarding will be very interested as well as skateboarders who want to know about the history of the sport. In the end, Dogtown & Z-Boys is an outstanding film from Stacey Peralta.
© thevoid99 2014
Based on the books Picture Letters from the Commander in Chief by Tadamichi Kuribayashi and So Sad to Fall in Battle: An Account of War by Kumiko Kakehashi, Letters from Iwo Jima is about the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II told from the perspective of the Japanese who would defend the island against the Americans. Directed by Clint Eastwood and screenplay by Iris Yamashita from a screen story by Yamashita and Paul Haggis, the film is the second part of Eastwood’s double-feature film about the battle of Iwo Jima as the first film in Flags of Our Fathers was about the American perspective. Starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Ryo Kase, Tsuyoshi Ihara, and Shido Nakamura. Letters from Iwo Jima is a tremendously haunting film from Clint Eastwood.
The film is about the battle of Iwo Jima told from the perspective of the Japanese as they’re led by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) who deals with the limited resources and lack of support from his fellow generals to face the Americans who had just destroyed the Japanese navy in the Philippines. With Iwo Jima the one island that stands between mainland Japan and the Americans, Kuribiyashi and his men not only have their backs against the wall but also the fact that they might not go home as they’re forced to fight to just survive. While the film is largely told from Kuribayashi’s perspective, it’s also told from the perspective of a young soldier named Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) who watches the battle as well as endure all of the chaos that goes on as he tries to fight for Kuribayashi despite the charges of cowardice from other officers.
The film’s screenplay is very straightforward though it begins and ends in modern-day Iwo Jima where archeologists would find the letters that Japanese soldiers wrote to their loved ones. These letters would be the basis for who Kuribayashi, Saigo, Lt. Col. Baron Takeichi Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), and the former Kempetai officer Shimizu (Ryo Kase) are as they deal with not just with the forces they’re fighting in the battlefield but also those behind the scenes. Kuribayashi and Nishi, as the latter is a former Olympic gold medalist in equestrian, are men who have been to America and are aware of what they’re capable of while coming from a very old-school idea of war as they both express their disdain for modern machinery. They’re also men who are more concerned with trying to keep soldiers to stay alive while not do something rash in the battlefield as Kuribayashi finds himself at odds with superiors who want the soldiers to fight on the battlefield against the Americans which Kuribayashi believes is suicide.
Then there’s Saigo and Shimizu as the former is a baker who learns he’s about to become a father while the latter is an officer who is in deep conflict over his loyalties as well as being accused as a spy. Upon the terror of the battle where Saigo realizes that men are killing themselves rather than die in the hands of the Americans, he tries to find some way for he and Shimizu to go to Kuribayashi who is trying to mount a final attack. Yet, the battle becomes more complicated when Lt. Ito (Shidou Nakamura) tries to launch an attack that proved to be fatal when Shimizu would later encounter an American soldier (Lucas Elliott) as it would showcase the similarities between the two men in this war. What Iris Yamashita does is bring a lot of depth to these characters while creating something where there are no villains but rather men who are put into a terrible situation.
Clint Eastwood’s direction is definitely mesmerizing for massive scope of the film as well as creating an intimacy and sense of terror of what goes on in the caves at Mount Surabachi. Using some extravagant wide shots of the locations in Iwo Jima with some of the shooting set in California, Eastwood aims for something that plays into what the Japanese were going through as they would defend this small island as Kuribayashi would scout the island and see what could help them. While Eastwood takes great advantage of the locations as well as create as sense of claustrophobia and suspense inside the caves where the men are trying to survive the assault of cannons and grenades. The battle scenes would showcase what the Japanese would do as well as some of the foolish tactics that Kuribayashi had warned his superiors about that would contribute to Japan’s loss.
The direction also has Eastwood use the wide shots to create some unique flashbacks into the world of the characters through flashbacks about their life before the war. It’s these segments where Eastwood gets the chance to humanize these characters along with scenes in the cave where the men try to survive the American onslaught. The use of close-ups and medium shots help play into the film’s intimacy inside the caves where there is a chance for these men to die with honor as well as fight for reasons beyond the call of duty. Overall, Eastwood crafts a very chilling yet astonishing film about the Japanese fighting to survive in the island of Iwo Jima.
Cinematographer Tom Stern does brilliant work with the film’s stylish cinematography with its de-saturated colors of blue and gray to play into the desolate look of the island as well as in his eerie approach to lighting for some of the film’s interior scenes in the caves as well as the nighttime exteriors. Editors Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach do excellent work with the editing to convey the sense of terror in the battlefield with some rhythmic cuts as well as methodical pacing to play into the suspense and drama. Production designers Henry Bumstead and James J. Murakami, with set decorator Gary Fettis, do amazing work with the design of the caves as well as trenches in the battlefield as well as the small villages on the island of Iwo Jima.
Costume designer Deborah Hooper does wonderful work with the costumes from the design of the Japanese army uniforms as well as traditional clothing the characters wear in the flashback scenes. Visual effects supervisor Michael Owens does nice work with some of the minimal visual effects such as the wide shots of the U.S. naval ships coming towards the island. Sound designer Charles Mayne, along with sound editors Alan Robert Murray and Bud Asman, does fantastic work with the sound from the way the cannon blasts are heard inside the cave as well as the sense of dread that goes on inside as the battle rages on outside of those caves. The film’s music by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens is superb for its melancholic approach to the music with its use of pianos and trumpets while creating some operatic arrangements to play into the bombastic tone of the film.
The casting by Phyllis Huffman is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Mark Moses and Roxanne Hart as an American couple Kuribayashi met at a party in his honor, Lucas Elliott as an American soldier who meets Nishi during the battle, Ken Kensei and Nobumasa Sakagami as a couple of Kuribayashi’s superiors who oppose Kuribayashi’s idea to fight the Americans, Nae Yuuki as Saigo’s wife in the film’s flashback scenes, Yuki Matsuzaki as Saigo’s friend/fellow soldier Nozaki, and Takashi Yamaguchi as Saigo’s friend Kashiwara who leaves the battle due to the bad water of the island. Other noteworthy small roles include Takumi Bando as the very tough Captain Tinada who prepares everyone for what is ahead while Eijiro Ozaki is terrific as Nishi’s loyal lieutenant Okubo who would warn the soldiers about surrendering to the Americans.
Hiroshi Watanabe is wonderful as Kuribayashi’s deputy Lt. Fujita who is prepared to do whatever is necessary for his leader while Shidou Nakamura is excellent as Lt. Ito as a soldier who is baffled by Nishi and Kuribayashi’s strategy only to realize the error that he would make in battle. Tsuyoshi Ihara is amazing as the compassionate Lt. Colonel Baron Nishi who was a man who attained great fame while understanding the strategies of the Americans as he views them with great respect. Ryo Kase is brilliant as the former Kempeitai officer Shimizu who deals with his own loyalty and duty in war as his encounter with an American soldier has him deal with the cruelty of war.
Kazanuri Ninomiya is fantastic as the young soldier Saigo who is the film’s conscience as he thinks about the terror of war while being loyal to his soldiers and Kuribayashi. Finally, there’s Ken Watanabe in a magnificent performance as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi as a man who brings this balance between a leader and as a man who knows more about his soldiers than some of his officers while being a strategist who knows what the Americans are capable of. There’s a great sense of restraint and compassion in Watanabe’s performance as he brings many layers to his character as it is one of the most humanistic performances ever told in a war film.
Letters from Iwo Jima is an outstanding film from Clint Eastwood. With a cast led by Ken Watanabe as well as some amazing technical work from its crew. The film is definitely one of the great films about World War II while allowing Western audiences the chance to showcase a viewpoint that isn’t seen very often from other war films. Especially as it’s told with such sensitivity and humanity that most war films would often avoid. In the end, Letters from Iwo Jima is a phenomenally rich film from Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood Films: (Play Misty for Me) - High Plains Drifter - (Breezy) - (The Eiger Sanction) - (The Outlaw Josey Wales) - (The Gauntlet) - (Bronco Billy) - (Firefox) - (Honkytonk Man) - Sudden Impact - Pale Rider - (Heartbreak Ridge) - (Bird) - (White Hunter Black Heart) - (The Rookie) - Unforgiven - (A Perfect World) - (The Bridges of Madison County) - (Absolute Power) - (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) - (True Crime) - (Space Cowboys) - (Blood Work) - (Mystic River) - Million Dollar Baby - Flags of Our Fathers - Changeling - (Gran Torino) - (Invictus) - (Hereafter) - (J. Edgar) - (Jersey Boys) - American Sniper - (Sully) - (The 15:17 to Paris) - (The Mule)
© thevoid99 2014
