2012 Cannes Marathon: Moulin Rouge!

(Opening the 2001 Cannes Film Festival & Played in Competition for the Palme D’or)

Directed by Baz Luhrmann and written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, Moulin Rouge! is the story of a English writer who travels to 1899 Paris where he becomes part of the Bohemian culture where falls for a sickly courtesan and contend with a greedy duke. The film is a lavish musical set at a period where things are changing as it features music from the late 20th Century. Starring Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Richard Roxburgh, Jacek Koman, Caroline O’Connor, and Jim Broadbent. Moulin Rouge! is a spectacular and extremely-entertaining film from Baz Luhrmann.

Arriving from England to Bohemian Paris is a young aspiring writer named Christian (Ewan McGregor) as he meets a group of performers led by the midget Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo). After creating some inspiring contributions to their play entitled Spectacular Spectacular, Christian joins Toulouse, the narcoleptic Argentine (Jacek Koman), and the musical composer Nini Legs-in-the-Air (Caroline O’Connor), and the bearded musician Satie (Matthew Whittet) to the Moulin Rouge to see its attraction in the beautiful courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman). Also there is the Duke of Monroth (Richard Roxburgh) whom the owner of the Moulin Rouge in Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent) hopes to invest money in a future production. When Zidler performs with Satine, he tells her that the Duke wants to meet her as she mistakes Christian as the Duke where things become confusing when the Duke arrives where Christian, Zidler, Satine, and the gang reveal that they’re working on a play that would be exciting.

The Duke agrees to fund the play called Spectacular Spectacular to the delight of Satine, Christian, Zidler, and the troupe but a private meeting with the Duke has Zidler uneasy about the deal he’s making as the Duke wants Satine for himself. Yet, Satine and Christian start to fall in love during the making of the play as they try to avoid the Duke and his henchman Warner (Linal Haft) while Zidler becomes worried as he discovers a secret about Satine that would destroy everything. When a rough version of the play is presented in full for the Duke, he is unhappy about the ending forcing Zidler to try and deal with him where he asks Satine to deal with the Duke for the sake of the play. Satine tries to get the Duke to reason with her only to feel compromised by her love for Christian.

When Zidler tells her about the secret that only he and her assistant (Lara Mulcahy) know, Satine is forced to give in and have Christian be forced out. Yet, it would take the ideas of truth, beauty, freedom, and love for Christian to try and win Satine at the night of the play.

The film is about a young aspiring writer telling the story about how he fell for a courtesan during Bohemian Paris at the Moulin Rouge where he had to contend with a greedy duke for her love. Meanwhile, he tries to create a play with a group of artists that he hopes would win her love as the play about a penniless sitar player who tries to deal with a maharajah for a woman’s life that would mirror his own conflict with the Duke. It’s a story that is quite simple as it focuses on the ideas that the Bohemians wanted to state but it’s told from a young man who wanted to be part of that world only to tell what happened the year before when that world was thriving.

Characters like Christian and Satine are people who want to be great though Satine hopes to achieve greatness outside of Moulin Rouge. Together, they become lovers who find something together away from their world of art while they both had to deal with a greedy, demanding Duke who is on the verge of becoming a loose cannon. It’s up to the Moulin Rouge’s owner to try and reason with the Duke or else he loses everything that he’s worked so hard for only to realize he’s about to lose more than his beloved palace of entertainment. Screenwriters Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce definitely succeed in finding motivations for these key characters while adding some nice moments for some smaller characters to stand out. While they’re aware that the story is a simple one, it’s still engaging for the fact that it is a love story with charm and adventure.

Luhrmann’s direction is definitely style over substance but it manages to works because it knows that it’s all about style rather than substance. From the fast-paced, jerky tracking shots to unveil Paris early in the film to the chaos that is the Moulin Rouge with its can-can dances. Luhrmann creates a world that is very lively and over-the-top while doing whatever he can to capture the energy of these dances. Since the film is a musical with these amazing musical numbers, Luhrmann knows how to slow things down for the ballads but also play to the energy of the upbeat songs. Notably the latter as it refuses to take itself so seriously by just being silly in a fun way. It allows the audience to take part in these musical numbers including the climatic play that is inspired by Bollywood.

While there is a lot of craziness in these dazzling dance sequence and upbeat musical numbers, Luhrmann does manage to focus on the film’s story by creating a lot of entrancing close-up on the characters and give reason for the music to help tell the story. Even in the love ballads where Luhrmann has the camera fixated on both Christian and Satine where they would profess their love for each other. The overall result is a musical that lives up to the namesake of its fictional play’s title and more that can only be masterminded by someone who is unapologetic in his emphasis on style like Baz Luhrmann.

Cinematographer Donald McAlpine does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography where it plays into Luhrmann‘s emphasis on style by utilizing blue lights to convey moods as well as an array of colors to help create something that is exciting and vibrant for its interior and exterior settings. Editor Jill Bilcock creates dazzling work with the film‘s hyper-stylized editing with the use of jump-cuts, fast-cuts, and dissolves to play around with the film‘s musical numbers and craziness while knowing when to slow things down for the ballads in the film. The work of production/costume designer Catherine Martin is truly amazing for the way she creates the extravagant sets such as the Moulin Rouge stage and the turn-of-the-century costumes worn by the characters With the help of set decorator Brigitte Broch, art director Ian Gracie, and co-costume designer Angus Strathie, Martin’s work is definitely the film’s technical highlight.

Hair/makeup designers Maurizio Silvi and Aldo Signoretti do wonderful work with the look for many of the film‘s characters such as Zipler with his beard and hair along with the look for several other small characters in the film. Visual effects supervisor Chris Godfrey does brilliant work with some of the film‘s minimal visual effects for the film‘s exterior settings of Paris including the moon that features the voice of Placido Domingo. Sound recorders Craig Heath, Robert Renga, and Guntis Sics do terrific work with the sound work to capture the chaotic atmosphere of the Moulin Rouge as well as the smaller sounds in the film‘s climatic play scene. Choreographer John O’Connell does fantastic work with the dance choreography to play out the extravagance of the dance numbers where things are chaotic but also fun to watch.

Another major highlight of the film is music by Craig Armstrong that is filled with lush orchestral flourishes to play out some of the drama and adventure aspects of the film. Music director Marius de Vries and supervisor Anton Monsted create a truly phenomenal mix of music that plays to the craziness of the dance sequences as well as the splendor of the love ballads. Fusing a cover of LaBelle’s Lady Marmalade with Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit plus elements of songs like T. Rex’s Children of the Revolution and Marilyn Monroe’s Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend with Madonna’s Material Girl are some of the film’s highlights. Yet, it’s the love medley that features many classic love songs by Elton John, the Beatles, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, and many others are the real highlights. The overall soundtrack is truly one of the best in the world of film.

The casting by Ronna Kress is great for the ensemble that is created as it features cameo appearances from Strictly Ballroom star Tara Morice as a prostitute early in the film, David Wenham as the androgynous writer Audrey, and Australian pop legend Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy. Other notable small roles include Peter Whitford as the stage manager, Linal Haft as the Duke’s henchman Warner, Kiruna Stamell as the dancer La Petite Princess, Kerry Walker as the dancer Marie, Matthew Whittet as the musical troupe member Satie, Deobia Oparei as stage actor Le Chocolat, Lara Mulcahy as Satine’s aide, and Caroline O’Connor as the eccentric composer Nini Legs-in-the-Air. Jacek Koman is excellent as the narcoleptic Argentine who provides a lot of humor to his kooky character while John Leguizamo is fun as the very outrageous Toulouse who pushes Christian to follow his dreams.

Richard Roxburgh is terrific as the twitchy yet devious antagonist Duke of Monroth whose obsession with Satine leads him to try and take control of the play and wants Satine for his own selfish reasons. The film’s best supporting performance is Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler in the way he presents himself as this boisterous and larger-than-life man who owns and runs the Moulin Rouge who tries to win over the Duke while being a more serious man when he has to deal with the secret about Satine. Ewan McGregor is incredible as the idealistic Christian who falls for Satine as he wants to fit in with this new world while McGregor truly displays his amazing talents as a vocalist where he and Nicole Kidman truly have great chemistry as vocalists and as actors.

The film’s best performance easily goes to Nicole Kidman who really gives a performance that is definitely filled with star power and more. Proving to be a very capable vocalist who can use her charm and wit to win over a large crowd while also being very funny in some of the film’s whimsical scenes. It’s also a performance where Kidman can bring torment to her character torn by her love for this young writer but also a secret that would allow her to give a grand performance in the film’s climatic play. It’s truly among one of Kidman’s great performances of her career.

Moulin Rouge! is a magnificent film from Baz Luhrmann that features outstanding performances from Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, and Jim Broadbent. The film is definitely Luhrmann’s best film to emphasize his unique approach to style over substance that is truly engaging to watch. It’s also a film that really brings the musical back to life without taking itself too seriously and just do what it needs to do which is to entertain. In the end, Moulin Rouge! is a rip-roaring and exciting film from Baz Luhrmann.

Baz Luhrmann Films: Strictly Ballroom - William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet - Australia - The Great Gatsby (2013 film) - The Auteurs #23: Baz Luhrmann

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Gangs of New York

(Played as a 20-Minute Preview Screening at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Martin Scorsese and screenplay by Jay Cocks, Kenneth Lonegran, and Steve Zaillian from a story by Jay Cocks, Gangs of New York is the story of an Irish-American who returns to New York to find that a Protestant crime boss has ruled New York City as he decides to infiltrate the gang to gain revenge for his father’s death. The film is inspired by Herbert Asbury’s 1928 non-fiction book about the war between Catholic and Protestant Irish immigrants in the late 1840s to the early 1860s. Starring Leonardo diCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly, Jim Broadbent, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Graham, Cara Seymour, Eddie Marsan, and Liam Neeson. Gangs of New York is a grand yet exhilarating film from Martin Scorsese.

16 years after a territorial battle between a group of so-called natives and a group of Irish-Catholics led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson), Vallon’s son Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns from reform school to find that the land has changed as it’s run by his father’s killer Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) who has managed to gather a couple of Vallon’s associates like McGloin (Gary Lewis) as a lieutenant in his gang and Happy Jack Mulroney (John C. Reilly) as a corrupt constable. Vallon plans to seek revenge as he joins a small local gang that includes old childhood friend Johnny Sirocco (Henry Thomas), Jimmy Spoils (Larry Gilliard Jr.), and Shang (Stephen Graham). After doing some small jobs to get the attention of Cutting, Amsterdam manages to become part of Cutting’s gang.

While being in Cutting’s gang, Amsterdam meets and falls for pickpocket/grifter Jenny Ever Deane (Cameron Diaz) who is also close to Bill that brings trouble to the relationship. When Amsterdam manages to help Bill out in dealing with politician William M. Tweed (Jim Broadbent), Cutting still has issues with the growing number of Irish immigrants arriving into the city as Tweed insists that things are changing. When Amsterdam saves Bill from an assassination, he gains Bill’s trust where Bill tells him about the legendary fight of 1846 where he killed Priest Vallon in whom he considered a great opponent. When Amsterdam’s identity is later revealed to Bill, things become complicated as Amsterdam nearly dies as Bill spares him to have him fight another day.

With the aid of Jenny and an old friend of his father in Monk McGinn (Brendan Gleeson), Amsterdam recovers where he decides to bring back an old symbol to re-start an old war. With an election brewing as Tweed is trying to figure who he should turn to gain votes, the city starts to unravel amidst new draft laws for men to fight in the Civil War. After a series of incidents, Amsterdam and Bill agree to a traditional battle where winner takes all amidst the turmoil of the New York Draft Riots of 1863.

The film is about a young man who seeks revenge for his father’s death in the early 1860s just as the city of New York was going through a huge transition with the growing rise of Irish immigrants as well as immigrants from Europe that would shape the city. There, it’s a film where a man is trying to keep his old ideals in check about America where he is trying to deal with this growing number of immigrants while taking in this young man who would later become his foe. Screenwriters Jay Cocks, Kenneth Lonegran, and Steve Zaillian create an epic story of how this young man tries to infiltrate this gang of hooligans who claim to be naturalists of the country. Yet, he finds a guy like the Butcher to be far more intriguing as someone who respected his opponent.

Characters like Amsterdam and Bill are truly complex in their motivations and how they eventually decide to do battle. Notably as there’s an element of respect in the way they try to conduct the climatic battle they’re to have towards the end of the film. Yet, there’s a lot that is going on in the film when Amsterdam was working for Bill as it involves Boss Tweed’s attempt to rise in the world of politics. Notably as there this back story involving rich men who are trying to find a way to profit from this battle only to become a target of the poor during the New York Draft Riots. It’s the one part of the story that seems to drive away from the main narrative as it does make the script uneven. Still, the screenplay succeeds in creating fully-fledge characters like Jenny as well as a story that is engaging.

Martin Scorsese’s direction is truly vast in the way he presents mid-19th Century New York City from the way he opens the film as the first battle ensues to the climatic battle between Amsterdam and Bill that would become a key moment in New York City’s history. While a lot of the film is shot inside Cinecetta Studios in Rome, Scorsese manages to recreate the idea of what New York City looked like in the early 1860s where he revealed a great contrast between the rich and the poor. Characters would travel in these two worlds as Scorsese wants to establish what a character like Jenny would do in order to survive by stealing. It’s only because she wants to find a way out of a city as she later tries to convince Amsterdam to join her.

The direction is definitely filled with spectacular images such as a wonderfully choreographed dance that Amsterdam and Jenny has along with amazing camera angles to display the city. Notably the battles as it’s very intense, fast-paced, and truly brutal to emphasize what is happening. Even in the build-up where Scorsese is always following the camera with these great tracking shots and later crane shots to just create an atmosphere that is about to explode. Overall, Scorsese creates a film that lives up to the majestic scale about a small piece of American history.

Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus does excellent work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography from the gorgeous exteriors of the locations to the entrancing interiors filled with amazing lighting set-ups to create the tense mood for the film. Editor Thelma Schoonmaker brings incredible work to her editing by utilizing swift, fast-cuts for some of the film‘s battle scenes and Bill‘s throwing skills while creating lots of stylized cuts to help move the film at a leisured pace as it features some of Schoonmaker‘s best work. Production designer Dante Ferretti, with set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo and art director Stefano Maria Ortolani, does an amazing job with the film’s set pieces such as the look of the upper-class NYC mansions to the look of the Five Points district in NYC to establish the different worlds that is happening around that time.

Costume designer Sandy Powell does great work with the costumes from the suit’s the men wear and the top hats along with the gorgeous dresses that Jenny wears to fit in with the two worlds of the rich and poor. Hair/makeup designers Manilo Rocchetti and Aldo Signoretti do wonderful work with the look of the Butcher with his mustache and hair style along with the red hair for the character of Jenny. Visual effects supervisors Mark Dornfield and Michael Owens do terrific work with some of the visual effects created for some of the city‘s exteriors to present what the city would‘ve looked like back then from far away. Sound editor Phil Stockton does brilliant work with the sound from the way gunshots are fired to the atmosphere of the parties that goes in some of the film’s interior settings.

The film’s score by Howard Shore is superb for the bombast that is created as it features heavy orchestral arrangements mixed in with traditional Irish music to play up the atmosphere as it includes some amazing low-key pieces involving the autoharp and more grand cuts for some of the film‘s battle scenes. Music supervisor Robbie Robertson creates a fantastic soundtrack that is filled with a lot of traditional Irish music and classical music that features contributions from Jocelyn Pook and Linda Thompson along with modern cuts from Peter Gabriel and Afro Celt Sound System for some of the film’s battle scenes. One notable cut that plays in the film’s final credits is a song by U2 that is about the evolution of America from an Irish perspective as it’s a really good song.

The casting by Ellen Lewis is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes some very memorable small appearances from Cara Seymour as the vicious Hell-Cat Maggie, Eddie Marsan as one of Bill’s henchmen in Killoran, David Hemmings as the upper-class businessman John F. Schermerhorn, and director Martin Scorsese in a cameo as a wealthy homeowner eating with his family. Other notable small appearances that stand out include John C. Reilly as the humorous but corruptible Constable Mulraney, Gary Lewis as the very insulting McGloin, Stephen Graham and Larry Gilliard Jr. as two of Amsterdam’s loyal friends with Graham as the more organized Shang and Gilliard as the more dangerous Jimmy Spoils. Henry Thomas is very good as Amsterdam’s old childhood friend Johnny Sirocco who tries to win over Jenny. Liam Neeson is excellent in a small role as Amsterdam’s father Priest Vallon while Cian McCormack is superb as the young Amsterdam in the film’s beginning sequence.

Jim Broadbent is wonderful as the determined politician Boss Tweed who is trying to find his way to garner votes anyway he can while Brendan Gleeson is great as an old friend of Priest Vallon in Monk McGinn who helps Amsterdam get back on his feet to deal with Bill. Cameron Diaz is fantastic as the very cunning yet charming Jenny who is proven to be a capable ally for Amsterdam as she is her own gal where Diaz really gets to shine in playing someone that is quite tough and is able to take care of herself.

Leonardo DiCaprio is superb as Amsterdam Vallon where DiCaprio proves himself to be a very tough individual who has some charm but also a determination of a guy who is just trying to get to know his enemy and make his move for revenge where it’s definitely one of DiCaprio’s finest performances. Finally, there’s Daniel Day-Lewis in an outstanding performance as the Bill “The Butcher” Cutting where Day-Lewis manages to chew up the scenery as a man trying to maintain his old ideals as Day-Lewis makes his character a man that is larger than life as it’s one of his best performances.

Gangs of New York is a magnificent film from Martin Scorsese that features top-notch performances from Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Cameron Diaz. Thanks to a great ensemble supporting cast and amazing technical work, the film is definitely an epic that lives to grand staging as well as a strong and ambitious story that tells about a small piece of American history. While the film may not be up there with some of Scorsese’s great films, it is still a film that isn’t seen much in terms of its grand staging. In the end, Gangs of New York is a marvelous film from Martin Scorsese.

Martin Scorsese Films: (Who’s That Knocking on My Door?) - (Street Scenes) - Boxcar Bertha - (Mean Streets) - Italianamerican - Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore - Taxi Driver - New York, New York - American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince - (The Last Waltz) - Raging Bull - The King of New York - After Hours - The Color of Money) - The Last Temptation of Christ - New York Stories-Life Lessons - Goodfellas - Cape Fear (1991 film) - The Age of Innocence - (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies) - (Casino) - (Kundun) - (My Voyage to Italy) - Bringing Out the Dead - (The Blues-Feel Like Going Home) - (The Aviator (2004 film)) - No Direction Home - The Departed - Shine a Light - Shutter Island - (A Letter to Elia) - (We Live in Public) - George Harrison: Living in the Material World - Hugo - The Wolf of Wall Street - (The Fifty Year Argument) - Silence (2016 film) - (The Irishman) - Killers of the Flower Moon - (An Afternoon with SCTV)

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: The Knack... and How to Get It

(Winner of the Palme D’or at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on Ann Jellicoe’s play, The Knack… and How to Get It is the story of three different men who compete against each other for the affections of a young woman who has arrived into London. Directed by Richard Lester and screenplay by Charles Wood, the film is an exploration into the burgeoning world of Swingin’ London during the mid-1960s where new rules emerged. Starring Michael Crawford, Ray Brooks, Donal Donnelly, and Rita Tushingham. The Knack… and How to Get It is a fun and whimsical comedy from Richard Lester.

Frustrated by his flat mate in the cool womanizer Tolen (Ray Brooks), school teacher Colin (Michael Crawford) is having a hard time dealing with Tolen’s gift to wooing women as he’s surrounded by lots of them. Wanting to find out how Tolen charms his ways, he follows Tolen around to see how he wins them over while he’s also searching for another flat mate. Meanwhile, a young woman from the country named Nancy (Rita Tushingham) arrives looking for the WYCA to live in as she is fascinated by London’s new world of style and sexual innuendos. Answering to Colin’s sign at the building is an eccentric artist named Tom (Donal Donnelly) as he helps Colin try to outdo Tolen by getting a new bed. At the junk yard, they meet Nancy who is still looking for the WYCA as they take her home with Colin’s new bed where she meets Tolen who would try to win her over as three men eventually fight each other for her affections.

The film is essentially a story of three different men who meet a woman from the country where she becomes an object of affection for these men in a world where things are definitely changing. The screenplay by Charles Wood is very offbeat for the way the humor is presented and how a character like Colin tries to learn from someone as cool like Tolen. Yet, Tolen isn’t a totally cool dude for the way he things women should be treated such as the way he tries to win over Nancy who is confused by his charms. Colin is just a teacher who is socially-awkward with women and doesn’t know what to do until he sort of gets a chance when he meets Nancy. Then there’s Tom who is just an artist that likes the color white that he paints walls and such in that color to brighten things up as he’s much friendlier and helpful to someone like Colin while being less threatening to Nancy.

While the film focuses on the adventures of these four young people, it is also told from people who are watching them as they serve as a Greek chorus where they are wondering what is going on around them. They would often be in shock by these strange behaviors as they voice out the idea of a world gone mad. It’s to contrast the people of the old guard clashing with this new emergence of what would become Swingin’ London.

Richard Lester’s direction is really off-the-wall in the way he presents the film where it’s obvious he’s taking cues from the French New Waves as if he’s making a film with no rules. Notably shooting on exact locations around London where he is definitely at the center of a world where it’s about the youth going wild and having fun. It is a film about this new world where it’s opening credits scene involves a camera following a group of women wearing white sweaters, short skirts, unique eye makeup, and sporting different hair styles of the time all standing around this flat where Colin tries to get out and has no idea what to do as they’re all there to meet Tolen. The opening scene would establish not just these two characters but also this new world that is happening around them where one of them has embraced it while the other feels out of sorts with it.

The film features lots whimsical elements such as Nancy entering a clothing store where a man repeats words about what to wear as if she’ll look great as she will later repeat them to reveal how manipulative he is. It’s the section of Nancy trying to navigate through this new London that is very interesting where she meets Colin and Tom, they go into this adventure that is in tune with Lester’s quirky sense of humor. Lester’s compositions of these scenes and the meeting where all four characters are in a room together where Tolen tries to maintain his role as womanizer is among some of the most visually-entrancing moments of the film. From the way he displays close-ups to the wide shots he creates to have all of his characters in a frame. Overall, Lester creates a dazzling and very entertaining comedy.

Cinematographer David Watkins does fantastic work with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography to capture the gorgeous exteriors of the London locations as well the bright look of Tom‘s room that he painted all by himself. Editor Antony Gibbs does an amazing job with the film‘s very stylish editing with swift fast cuts to play out the rhythm of the conversations as well as rhythmic jump-cuts to play with some of the film‘s humor. Art director Assheton Gorton does wonderful work with the set pieces such as the bed and Tom‘s room that is the epitome of style while Colin‘s room is an ordinary set to represent who he is.

The costume design work of Jocelyn Rickards is superb for the way the men look to represent their characters as well as the clothes that Nancy wears that is very different from the more sexualized look that many of the young women wear in London. Hair stylist Betty Sherriff and makeup stylist Freddie Williamson do excellent work with the look of the female characters from the cool hairstyles the women wear and the eye makeup they have to represent the 1960s at its best. Sound editor Don Challis does terrific work with the sound to play the atmosphere of the flat as well the locations the characters encounter. The film’s score by John Barry is a major highlight of the film for its jazzy score that is filled with orchestral flourishes and unique jazz rhythms that includes a fun organ accompaniment from Alan Haven to play up the film’s unique humor.

The casting by Paul Lee Lander is extraordinary for the ensemble that is created as it features early appearances from such beauties like Charlotte Rampling as a water skier, Jacqueline Bisset as an extra, Jane Birkin as a woman in a motorbike, and Pattie Boyd (the future first wife of George Harrison) as a model in the opening scene who sprays perfume on her leg. Other notable small roles include William Dexter as a conniving clothes shop owner, Margot Thomas as a female teacher Colin is amazed by her, and Timothy Bateson as a junkyard owner. Donal Donnelly is superb as the low-key yet very funny Tom who likes to share his views on the world while being much friendlier to Colin and Nancy while dealing with Tolen in his own way. Ray Brooks is great as the very cool yet somewhat-uncaring Tolen who likes to have his way with women as he thinks of Nancy as a challenge.

Michael Crawford is brilliant as the very awkward and agitated Colin who is having a hard time trying to score with women while finding someone who seems to like him in Nancy. Finally, there’s Rita Tushingham in a marvelous performance as Nancy Jones. Tushingham displays a great sense of wonderment to a woman who is entranced by her new surroundings as she’s trying to find a place while proving herself to be a great comic force in the film’s third act.

The Knack… and How to Get It is a charming and extremely enjoyable comedy from Richard Lester. With an outstanding cast led by Rita Tushingham and Michael Crawford as well as very catchy score from John Barry. The film is definitely one of the key great films of the British New Wave era of the 1960s. The film is also one of Lester’s great films, outside his more well-known work with the Beatles, as it emphasizes the kind of humor he creates that is in tune with what was happening in the 1960s. In the end, The Knack… and How to Get It is a glorious comedy from Richard Lester.

Richard Lester Films: (The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film) - (It’s Trad, Dad!) - (The Mouse on the Moon) - (A Hard Day’s Night) - (Help!) - (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) - (How I Won the War) - (Petulia) - (The Bed-Sitting Room) - (The Three Musketeers (1973 film)) - (Juggernaut) - (The Four Musketeers) - (Royal Flash) - (Robin and Marian) - (The Ritz) - (Butch and Sundance: The Early Days) - (Cuba (1979 film)) - (Superman II) - (Superman III) - (Finders Keepers) - (The Return of the Musketeers) - (Get Back)

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Silent Light

(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and directed by Carlos Reygadas, Luz silenciosa (Silent Light) is the story of a married man who falls for another woman at the Mennonite community in Northern Mexico. The film explores the world of the Mennonite community in Mexico that is a mixture of different nationalities that includes German and Canadian. Starring Elizabeth Fehr, Jacobo Klassen, Maria Pankratz, Miriam Towes, and Cornelio Wall. Luz silenciosa is a ravishing yet magnificent film from Carlos Reygadas.

Confused by his actions, Johan (Cornelio Wall) is a farmer with a wife named Esther (Miriam Towes) and several children as he is also in love and having an affair with another woman named Marianne (Maria Pankratz). After telling his friend Zacarias (Jacobo Klassen) and later his father (Peter Wall) about the affair. His father would reveal something to Johan about his own bout with temptation as he promises not to tell Johan’s mother (Elizabeth Fehr) about the affair. During a day where he’s harvesting corn with Esther and their children, Marianne makes a visit needing help where the two eventually have sex. Still, Johan is torn in his love for two women as a trip with Esther would create an event that would test Johan’s faith.

The film is essentially an exploration into the life of a farmer as he is torn between two women and is ravaged with guilt over what he’s doing to them as he seeks answers. That’s essentially the story of the film as its lack of conventional plot allows its writer/director Carlos Reygadas to delve into this man’s guilt as he is often surrounded by family and friends while he also has a mistress that nearly everyone in his circle knows about. Yet, he tries to deal with it the best way he can though he knows what he’s doing is wrong. The script allows the character of Johan to be a man who isn’t totally a bad man but one that is just lost in this extramarital affair where he is hurting both his wife and mistress.

The film’s direction is truly hypnotic from the way it opens and closes in the same location of how a day begin and ends. For about five minutes, it shows how night becomes dawn as it then cuts to this family having breakfast where it’s just about a family beginning the day with prayer and getting ready for what is ahead. It’s a very silent yet mesmerizing scene where the camera looks at the family but the person that is in focus is Johan since he’s the head. What happens afterwards is that while the entire family leaves for the day, Johan remains in his chair. Usually, the role would be for the man of the house that would lead things but not in this film. It’s because Reygadas is interested in this man that is essentially falling apart due to his guilt.

There’s a lot of long sequences and wandering shots where things do zoom in quite slowly to see what is happening. The only bits of shakiness in the camera is when it’s in some intimate moments such as Johan walking through the fields to meet with Marianne or having a wonderful moment with his family at a nearby pool. Still, the camera is often looking afar or just playing to see what the characters are seeing. Since the film takes place in a remote community in the middle of Mexico. The film has the characters speaking in a very different variation of German called Plautdietsch to interact with one another in this community as they also speak bits of English and Spanish when they travel outside of that world. Since these locations of mountains, farmland, and hills add to the exotic world of Mexico. It does feel like a very different world where at one point, there’s a scene with snow where it seems like the story takes place in a matter of months.

While a film with no traditional plot with a lot of long scenes and slow rhythm is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Reygadas however manages to find a way to not linger on a scene too long while he takes his time to let a scene play out. Notably in the film’s third act when Johan and Esther take this trip that would lead to this very poignant yet very entrancing sequence that plays to some of the film’s religious elements. The camera maintains an understated quality to these compositions where Reygadas is concerned with Johan and all of these people around him. Overall, Reygadas creates what is truly an incredible and visually-stunning film about faith and guilt.

Cinematographer Alexis Zabe does an amazing job with the film‘s entrancing photography that is filled with gorgeous scenery of the Mexican hills and landscapes as well as the beautiful scenes in the snow and in the rain as some of it recalls the beauty of the films of Terrence Malick. Editor Natalia Lopez does nice work with the editing as it’s mostly straightforward in its cutting while maintaining a methodical pace for the film. Production designer Gerardo Tagle and art director Nohemi Gonzalez do superb work with the set pieces created such as the home of Johan‘s family to the van that a friend of Johan enters where his kids watch a footage of Jacques Brel singing.

The film’s big technical highlight is its sound courtesy of its sound editors Martin Hernandez and Sergio Diaz. The sound work is truly one-of-a-kind for the way Hernandez and Diaz create an atmosphere in many of the film’s exterior locations while utilizing a more sparse mix for the way shoes touch the ground or the clanging of objects. There’s very little music heard in the film other than a religious chant and a country song that is playing in the background. The sound is much broader for the chilling scenes in the rain as well as the film’s climatic sequence towards the end for the way it is low-key and intimate as it’s truly sound work at its best.

The film’s ensemble cast is excellent for what is assembled as it features largely non-professional actors as the children and extras were selected from real Mennonite communities. Among the standouts include Elizabeth Fehr as Johan’s mother, Peter Wall as Johan’s preacher/farmer father, and Jacobo Klassen as Johan’s friend Zacarias. Maria Prankratz is wonderful as Johan’s longing mistress Marianne who tries to deal with the situation that is happening while Miriam Towes is great as the more low-key yet tormented Esther who is trying to deal with her husband’s guilt. Finally, there’s Cornelio Wall as the troubled Johan as Wall brings a quiet realism to his role as a man torn by his love for two women as he seeks answers for what he needs to do in this marvelous performance.

Luz silenciosa is a remarkable and extremely haunting film from Carlos Reygadas. Armed with a terrific ensemble cast of unknowns and amazing technical work, the film definitely stands as one of the most chilling portrayals of guilt in the world of adultery and faith. While it is not for everyone, it is still a film that revels into a world that few people know in these unique religious communities as well as following someone who is human and tries to be good. In the end, Luz silenciosa is an enthralling yet intoxicating film from Carlos Reygadas.

Carlos Reygadas Films: Japon - Battle in Heaven - Post Tenebras Lux - The Auteurs #32: Carlos Reygadas

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: 3 Women

(Winner of the Best Actress Prize to Shelley Duvall at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival)

Written and Directed by Robert Altman, 3 Women is the story of a young woman who moves to California where she becomes attached to her new roommate while hanging out with a pregnant artist and her cowboy husband. The film is essentially Altman exploring the world of identity as it is inspired by Ingmar Bergman‘s 1966 classic Persona. Starring Sissy Spacek, Shelley Duvall, Janice Rule, and Robert Fortier. 3 Women is a mesmerizing yet haunting film from Robert Altman.

Arriving from a small town in Texas is a young woman named Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek) who gets a job working at a health facility for elderly people where she meets a vivacious, chatty woman named Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall). Pinky is intrigued by Millie as she shows her around as Millie is often talkative about her life while the shy Pinky is drawn to her. When Millie’s old roommate Deidre (Beverly Ross) has moved out to live with her boyfriend, Pinky answers the ad where Millie takes her to a saloon that is run by a former stuntman named Edgar Hart (Robert Fortier) while his wife Willie (Janice Rule) is a silent mural painter who is currently pregnant. While Pinky is amazed by this new world and by Millie, things eventually start to crumble as Millie becomes annoyed by the naïve Pinky who is secretly reading Millie’s diaries.

On one particular night when Millie wants to have a dinner party with Deidre and some friends, things go bad when Pinky makes a mess of herself as she later meets Deidre who couldn’t come to the party due to an engagement. Millie decides to go out on her own where she returns with a man at the apartment leaving Pinky in distress where she does something that would shock everyone at the apartment. Feeling guilty, Millie calls Pinky’s parents (Ruth Nelson and John Cromwell) where Pinky eventually wakes up from her coma where her behavior shocks Millie. Notably as Pinky starts to refer to herself as Millie as she becomes quite dominant as she flirts with Edgar leaving Millie confused about what had just happened. Yet, it would be an event that would force the two to get back together where things become more confusing on who these women are.

The film is about two different women who become roommates in a Californian apartment where they each display very different personalities. In the course of the film, one is entranced by her while the other starts to feel annoyed by her presence. An incident based on one woman’s desire to be with a man where her roommate would do something that would nearly kill her. Suddenly, behaviors change where the two women’s personalities start to change through elements of surrealism and drastic events that would have these two women collide while there’s another woman wandering around in the background who is truly alone in this strange world.

Since this is a film about identity, Robert Altman is more concerned about who these two women are and why there’s this other woman who is always in the background painting murals or looking at the ones she already made. Both protagonists are women named Mildred though it’s a name Pinky hates until she decides to call herself Millie in the second half to annoy the other Millie. The screenplay that Altman creates is very loose in its storytelling though it has the approach to dialogue and over-lapping dialogue that he’s known for. Yet, he changes gears from the first half to the second half where they very chatty Millie becomes more silent while Pinky becomes less caring and crueler the same way Millie was. Then there’s Willie who is this silent woman in the background as she rarely speaks where she creates this art that seems to say a lot about the world of identity.

Altman’s direction is a wide mix of styles ranging from very straightforward yet wandering compositions to surreal images such as the film’s opening credits where water seems to wade around the camera as the shot is focused on these murals. A lot of these surreal moments with the camera wading in the water in these strange montages is obviously a nod to Ingmar Bergman’s Persona for the way these two women named Mildred are linked. The direction has Altman creating some amazing close-ups and two-shots where one character is in focus while another is in the background either blurred or looking at that other person. Altman is always fixated on these two women where the travel around the Californian desert to go to this ruined saloon where there’s men having target practice or Willie doing her art all by herself.

The direction also has Altman trying to create an intimacy with the two women where he would find ways for one character to dominate another as he is also interested in what’s going on outside of this apartment where there’s always something going on. There’s a lot of shots in these apartments yet he remains focused on these three women. The film’s climatic ending where all three women become the focus of the story reveal a lot of character changes that happens. Notably the film’s ending where the women become one in the same but all have different personalities and such where it’s an ending that is very strange and almost anti-climatic. Yet, it’s effective for where these women where early in the film to what they become at the end. Overall, Altman creates a truly dazzling yet hypnotically-ravishing drama about the world of identity.

Cinematographer Chuck Roscher does a superb job with the film‘s very dream-like yet colorful cinematography to play out the sunny Californian deserts to the nighttime exteriors in the apartment scenes. Editor Dennis Hill does excellent work with the editing by creating surrealistic montages filled with dissolves and jump-cuts to play out these strange dreams while a lot of the film is quite straightforward in its approach to cutting. Art director James D. Vance does great work with the design of the apartment Millie and Pinky stay along with the spa they work and the saloon that they hang out at. The mural design by Bohdi Wind is incredible for the way it plays out the surrealism of the film as well as the idea of three women being linked to one another.

Sound editors David M. Horton and Bill Phillips do wonderful work with the sound to play out the intimacy of the apartments as well as some of chaotic nature of some of the parties and target practices that the characters encounter. The film’s score by Gerald Busby is brilliant for its woodwind-driven score led by a flute to play out some of the film’s dramatic and surreal moments.

The film’s cast is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small performances from Beverly Ross as Millie’s former roommate Deidre, Craig Richard Nelson and Sierra Pecheur as Millie and Pinky’s bosses, Leslie Ann and Patricia Ann Hudson as twin spa workers, Maysie Hoyt and Belita Moreno as a couple of spa workers, and as Pinky’s parents, John Cromwell and Ruth Nelson. Robert Fortier is excellent as the ex-stuntman turned cowboy who tries to woo Millie and Pinky with his cowboy ways. Janice Rule is great in a small but very entrancing role as the artist Willie who often wanders around painting or looking at her murals as she rarely speaks in the film.

Finally, there’s the duo of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall in fantastic performances in their respective roles of Pinky and Millie. Spacek brings a wonderful innocence to her character as Pinky in the film’s first half in the way she displays herself physically or how she often looks at Millie. In the second half, Spacek brings a much wilder performance as a woman who is loose and confrontational in the way she deals with Millie. Duvall has a great sense of charm to the way she presents Millie as she starts off as this talkative yet absorbed woman who likes to have fun without any care for anyone. Then in the film’s second half, she’s grounded back to Earth where she acts kindly to Pinky’s parents and deal with much wilder Pinky. Spacek and Duvall have amazing chemistry in the way they act together as two opposites where they each bring the best in each other as they’re the highlight of the film.

3 Women is a marvelous yet captivating drama from Robert Altman that features remarkable performances from Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall. The film might not be one of Altman’s most accessible films but it is certainly one of his most imaginative for the way he explores the world of identity and how women try to create other personas for themselves. In the end, 3 Women is a truly evocative yet intoxicating film from Robert Altman.

Robert Altman Films: (The Delinquents) - (The James Dean Story) - Countdown (1968 film) - (That Cold Day in the Park) - M.A.S.H. - Brewster McCloud - McCabe & Mrs. Miller - (Images) - The Long Goodbye - Thieves Like Us - California Split - Nashville - Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson - (A Wedding) - (Quintet) - (A Perfect Couple) - (HealtH) - Popeye - (Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean) - (Streamers) - (Secret Honor) - (O.C. and Stiggs) - Fool for Love - (Beyond Therapy) - (Aria-Les Boreades) - (Tanner ‘88) - (Vincent & Theo) - The Player - Short Cuts - Pret-a-Porter - (Kansas City) - (The Gingerbread Man) - Cookie’s Fortune - Dr. T & the Women - Gosford Park - The Company (2003 film) - (Tanner on Tanner) - A Prairie Home Companion

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Precious

(Played at the Un Certain Regard Section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Precious is the story of 16-year old obese and illiterate young woman who is dealing with her sudden pregnancy and the abuse of her mother. When she seeks help to go to a different school and find a new life, she also deals with some of the harsh realities of her circumstances. Directed by Lee Daniels and screenplay by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, the film is an exploration into the troubled life of a young woman and her abusive mother. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, and Sherri Shepherd. Precious is a harrowing yet truly powerful film from Lee Daniels.

Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a 16-year old girl who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother Mary (Mo’Nique) as she is pregnant with a second child and is struggling to do well in school due to illiteracy. When the school’s principal learns of Precious’ pregnancy, she decides to have her move to an alternative school where Precious goes to a small class taught by the very kind Blu Rain (Paula Patton) who helps Precious improve on her reading. Despite having a safer environment at Rain’s classes, Precious still has to deal with issues at home where she also has another child named Mongo (Quishay Powell) who is suffering from Down’s Syndrome as Precious reluctantly goes to a social worker named Ms. Weiss (Mariah Carey) for more welfare only to reveal things about her home life.

When Precious goes into labor and gains a second child in Abdul, Precious tries to figure out what to do as she is surrounded by her classmates, Rain, and a nurse aide named John McFadden (Lenny Kravitz) who visit her and the baby. When Precious returns home to her mother, the result becomes bad forcing her to flee home and seek shelter in the home of Rain and her classmates. Despite finding a sense of security for her son, Precious later receives a visit from her mother with some startling news about her father that puts Precious into a state of shock about herself. With the help of Rain and her classmates, Precious decides to forge ahead to create a new life for herself and her children. Still, Precious has to deal with her mother as Ms. Weiss helps to mediate in which horrible revelations are revealed about Precious’ mother.

The film is an exploration of the life of a young 16-year old obese girl who is trying to find hope in her dreary life. Yet, she is also someone who often fantasizes about having a great life and feel loved by various people. Still, she has to contend with the abuse of her mother who often berates her for not bringing any welfare checks or to cook properly making this young girl feel awful about herself. Then comes the chance to attend an alternative school where Precious would meet classmates who are just as complicated and troubled as she is as they become a family of sorts led by this very sympathetic teacher. It would give Precious hope despite having to deal with her mother whom she wonders why this woman despises her?

Screenwriter Geoffrey S. Fletcher does a brilliant job in exploring the life of this young girl living in late-1980s Harlem as she is just trying to live this dreary life despite all of the awful circumstances she’s dealing with. The narrative is told from her perspective as her narration reveals a lot of what she’s feeling and the thing she fantasizes about. Notably as she is someone who wants to be beautiful like some of the white women she sees as there’s a scene where she looks at herself in the mirror as a white woman. It adds to the complexity of who Precious is while Fletcher also creates interesting characters in people like Blu Rain, Ms. Weiss, and some of the classmates that Precious has.

Then there’s the character of Mary who is probably just as interesting as some of the supporting characters. Throughout the story, Precious wonders what happened to her mother as she looks at pictures of Mary in earlier years. While Mary would put on a nice face in dealing with social workers, she would turn into this very monstrous woman who really despises her daughter and would abuse her in all sorts of ways for not getting what she wants or needs. The source of this hatred is eventually revealed but in one of the most devastating moments where she gains pity but it doesn’t make less of the monster that she is though she is human.

Lee Daniels’ direction is truly stylish for the way he plays out the fantasy scenes but also for the way he captures the realism of Precious’ dreary world. While the bulk of the film revels more in realism where Daniels shoots the film in a loose, hand-held style. It is to have the audience see what is going on where he knows something could go bad while he’s also interested to see how Precious would interact with people who are just as troubled including those who have a heart to help her. Daniels knows how to make create suspense but it’s the aftermath where it’s all about the emotion of these characters. For Precious, she would go back to these fantasies where the look is more stylized as if they’re videos but they would often clash with these harsh realities.

Part of Daniels’ uniqueness to fuse reality and fiction are scenes such as Precious looking at herself in the mirror where she sees herself as a beautiful white woman. Another is when she and her mother are watching Vittorio de Sica’s Two Women where Precious imagines herself and her mother in that scene repeating the same dialogue they had previously spoken but in a calm Italian setting. It’s among one of the film’s major highlights as is the calm intensity in the scenes between Precious and Mary including their climatic meeting at Ms. Weiss’ office. There’s melodrama in some of these emotional scenes including that meeting but Daniels knows when not to go overboard as he pulls out the right punches to find something the audience can connect with. Overall, Daniels creates a very tough yet heart-wrenching drama that explores a young girl’s journey to find hope in her dreary world.

Cinematographers Andrew Dunn and Darren Lew do excellent work with the film‘s very stylized cinematography from some of the lush colorful shading of the scenes in Rain‘s classroom to the hyper-stylized fantasy scenes with its array of colors and lights. Editor Joe Klotz does amazing work with the editing to play out the drama that occurs through some chilling montages and stylized cuts ranging from jump-cuts to dissolves to establish Precious‘ struggle. Production designer Roshelle Berliner, along with art director Matteo De Cosmo and set decorators Kelley Burney and Paul Weathered, does nice work with the set pieces created such as the apartment that Precious and Mary lives in to the small but peaceful classroom Rain has to teach her students.

Costume designer Marina Draghici does very good work with the costumes where a lot of it is casual in tune with the late 80s while there‘s more stylish clothing for the fantasy scenes. Visual effects supervisor Dan Schrecker does superb work with the visual effects to create transitions from the fantasy scenes to reality as well as few pieces such as a dream sequence filled with numerous historical pieces that surrounds Precious. Sound editor Robert Hein does a fantastic job with the sound to capture the tense atmosphere of the apartment scenes as well as the raucous world of Harlem.

The film’s score by Mario Grigorov is quite good for its low-key score to play out the drama with small orchestral flourishes. Yet the film’s music is dominated largely by its R&B-inspired soundtrack. Assembled by music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein, the soundtrack includes music by Robin Thicke, Bobby Brown, LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Nona Hendryx, and some gospel pieces by Mahalia Jackson and Donna Allen that truly captures the spirit of the film.

The casting by Billy Hopkins and Jessica Kelly is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features small but notable performances from Sherri Shepherd as the school receptionist Cornrows, Grace Hightower as a social worker who visits Precious and Mary in a flashback scene, Bill Sage as a math teacher Precious adores early in the film, Quishay Powell as Precious’ Downs Syndrome-affected daughter Mongo, and Lenny Kravitz as the kind and humorous nurse aide John McFadden. In the roles of Precious’ classmates, there’s Amina Robinson as the low-key Jermaine, Chyna Lane as the flamboyant Rhonda, Stephanie Andujar as the mouthy Rita, Angelic Zambrana as shy Consuelo, and Xosha Roquemore as calm Jamaican Jo Ann as they all give very memorable and lively performances.

Mariah Carey is excellent in a small role as the social worker Ms. Weiss who tries to help Precious with her situation while Paula Patton is great as the very sympathetic teacher Blu Rain who shows Precious a life that can be good. Mo’Nique gives a truly magnificent as the monstrous Mary where Mo’Nique displays a fierce sense of intimidation to a character that is full of resentment and anger while also displaying a bit of warmth in the fantasy scenes plus sadness in the film’s climatic meeting with Ms. Weiss. Finally, there’s Gabourery Sidibe in marvelous performance as the titular character where Sidibe provides a sense of realism to a character lost in a dreary, abusive world. The fantasy scenes including some of the realistic scenes show Sidibe in places where she seems relaxed and full of life while also someone who seems lost in the world where she is unsure how to vent her anger. It’s a truly remarkable debut performance for the newcomer as Sidibe rises to the occasion and more.

Precious is an extraordinary although very grim film from Lee Daniels that features towering performances from Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique. It’s a film that is definitely not easy to watch due to its very provocative subject matter and harsh reality. Yet, the film is a story of hope that is quite inspiring to watch for the way a young girl can rise up against abuse. In the end, Precious is a film that truly lives up to its namesake and more that is told in an engaging fashion from Lee Daniels.

Lee Daniels Films: (Shadowboxer) - The Paperboy - (The Butler)

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Thirst (2009 film)

(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Chan-wook Park and written by Park and Seo-Kyeong Jeong, Bakwji (Thirst) is the story of a priest who turns into a vampire after a failed medical experiment where he falls for a woman who lives with a cruel family. Inspired by Emile Zola’s novel Therese Raquin, the film marks a shift towards the horror genre for the Korean filmmaker who takes on a different spin for the vampire film genre. Starring Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, and Shin Ha-kyun. Bakwji is a visually-spectacular and extremely fun vampire film from Chan-wook Park.

After experiencing doubt working as a volunteer at a hospital, Father Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) decides to volunteer for a program to find a vaccine for a mysterious virus in Africa known as the Emmanuel Virus (EV). Taking a risk for a blood transfusion, Sang-hyun nearly dies but manages to survive despite having leprosy blisters in his skin. Returning home as an idol for someone who can bring in miracles, he is asked to help an old childhood friend named Kang-woo (Shin Ha-kyun) who is suffering from cancer. Kang-woo manages to recover though he remains ill as Kang-woo’s mother Lady Ra (Kim hae-sook) invites him for dinner and to play mahjong where Sang-hyun finds himself attracted to Kang-woo’s wife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin). Suddenly feeling ill at his home, Sang-hyun realizes his illness has returned where he wakes up the next day learning that he’s now a vampire.

Not wanting to kill someone, Sang-hyun decides to drink the blood of comatose patients so he wouldn’t have to deal with blisters and to deal with his thirst. Yet, he finds himself attracted to Tae-ju who is dealing with the cruelty of her mother-in-law and the demands of her ill husband where she and Sang-hyun have an affair. Still, Sang-hyun remains conflicted as he turns to his blind mentor (Choi Jong-ryeol) for answers as his mentor becomes interested in Sang-hyun’s blood to be able to see. After revealing to Tae-ju on who he is, he gives up his role as a priest to live with Kang-woo and the family to be close to Tae-ju as he notices the bruises on Tae-ju’s legs.

Tae-ju makes claims that Kang-woo abuses her where the two plot to kill him where the results would create moral complications for Sang-hyun. After the decision to make Tae-ju into a vampire, Sang-hyun gets more than he bargains for as he also to deals with the shell-shocked Lady Ra and her friends. Notably as Tae-ju starts to enjoy her new life forcing Sang-hyun to make another drastic decision about their fate.

The film is essentially a vampire love story where a confused priest falls takes part in an experiment where he becomes a vampire while falling for a woman who feels trapped in her dreary family life. If one was to take a premise like this, it would’ve been more about the idea of vampires with a lot of emphasis on sentimental love. Well, that is not one of those films as it’s a Chan-wook Park film where there’s no stupid teenage girl who is in love with a vampire and a werewolf. Nor is it some story about a fairy who is in love with two vampires. What Park and co-writer Seo-Kyeong Jeong create is a film where it’s about a man confused by his role to do good as he falls for this troubled woman as he hopes to save her. Instead, things become more complicated as he goes into conflict about the idea of killing people as if taking blood from them was bad enough. Yet, he also has to deal with own role as a man of faith and morality when his lover has become a vampire with none of those attributes.

It’s a story that explores the fallacy of being a vampire told from a man of God who tries to live the life of men but with vampire powers. The love story that Park and Jeong creates is one of passion as Tae-ju is a woman that just wants to escape from her dreary life though she still remains attached to her family for saving her from being an orphan. Yet, they don’t treat her very well as the son is kind of demanding man-child and her mother-in-law is this extremely critical woman who is more concerned about her son than her daughter-in-law. Since Tae-ju is the only person he seems to connect with, it would cause the kind of moral confusions in Sang-hyun. The decision he would make for Tae-ju in her desire to become a vampire is one that he does that would have awful implications for his desire to control things.

Park’s direction in the film is truly in tune with the visual style that’s created in the films he’s made in the 2000s as there’s a newfound maturity to the way he can create humor and romance. A lot of the humor Park creates is presented with more simplicity but also with an offbeat rhythm as he’s not afraid to a scene involving blood seem creepy. There’s gore in some of these violent scenes and vampire buts it’s not overt as Park is more interested in how Sang-hyun wants to take blood and later on, Tae-ju who takes things to certain extremes. The violence does intensify a bit in the third act once Tae-ju becomes a vampire yet it plays to the quirky humor that Park wants. Then there’s the romance where Park really finds a balance in creating a story that involves vampire myths, morality, and dark humor. Notably in the way Park decides to frame Sang-hyun and Tae-ju during a meeting when Tae-ju is having a run late at night barefoot while Sang-hyun is already trying to come to terms with this new role.

It’s all about how they would interact physically at first as he notices the bits of blisters on her feet. It’s a very understated scene that shows Park really just trying to understand these characters as they would eventually become attracted to each other in all sorts of way including in some very intense sex scenes. By the time they’re both vampires, there’s an amazing sequence where they both bounce on buildings as if they’re having a dance of sorts. There’s a lot of great wide compositions and stylized shots that Park creates throughout the film that keeps things exciting but also have the audience pay attention to some of the smaller things that is going on. Overall, Park creates a truly dazzling film that does more for what is expected in the vampire film genre.

Cinematographer Jeong Jeong-hun does incredible work with the film‘s very stylish cinematography from the gorgeous nighttime textures for many of the film‘s exteriors to some stylish lighting for some of the film‘s interiors including its third act. Editors Kim Sang-Beom and Kim Jae-Beom do amazing work by creating an array of stylish cuts to play with the film‘s rhythm that includes jump-cuts and an amazing montage for Sang-hyun‘s transformation. Production designer Seong-hie Ryu and set decorator Jiyeon Song do great work with the set pieces such as Kang-woo‘s home that is later re-decorated into something far more stylish to represent Sang-hyun and Tae-ju‘s new life.

Costume designer Sang-gyeong Jo does nice work with the costumes from the priest robes that Sang-hyun wears early in the film to the stylish old-school robes that Tae-ju and Lady Ra sells. Makeup/hair designer Jong-hee Song does very good work with some of the hair styles created such as Lady Ra‘s look and the look for the more sexualized Tae-ju during the film‘s progression. Visual effects supervisor Jeon-hyeong Lee does fantastic work with the visual effects from the way the wounds are quickly healed to the way Sang-hyun and Tae-ju bounce on buildings in far away scenes. Sound designers Chang-seop Kim and Suk-won Kim do brilliant work with the sound from the intimacy of the mahjong games to some of scenes involving the couple thirsting for blood.

The film’s score by Jo Yeong-wook is marvelous for its orchestral-driven score that features soaring themes to play with its romance and suspense to more rhythmic pieces to help emphasize the film’s quirkiness and romance.

The film’s cast is superb for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small performances from Oh Dal-su, Mercedes Cabral, and Song Young-Chang as a trio of Lady Ra’s mahjong players, Hwang-woo Seul-hye as a young woman who camps out the hospital that Sang-hyun has left, Choi Jong-ryeol as Sang-hyun’s blind mentor, and Eriq Ebouaney as a man who is trying to find a vaccine for the disease that Sang-hyun wants to take on early in the film. Kim Hae-sook is great as the very cruel Lady Ra who abuses Tae-ju while displaying a great sense of physicality when she goes into a state of shock. Shin Ha-kyun is pretty good as Tae-ju’s husband Kang-woo who is trying to recover from cancer while being a cuckold to everything that is happening around him.

Kim Ok-bin is brilliant as the unhappy Tae-ju who seeks an escape from her dreary domestic life in the form of this mysterious man she falls for as she later manipulates him into doing deeds. It’s a very fun and lively performance from Ok-bin who definitely seems to relish in playing a vampire as she provides a lot of dark humor to the film. Finally, there’s Song Kang-ho in a fantastic performance as Sang-hyun who is trying to deal with his new role as a vampire as well as growing sense of doubt. It’s a role that has Kang-ho display some amazing physicality in the way he tries to cope with his situation as a vampire by displaying some humility as he and Ok-bin have chemistry that is electrifying to watch.

Bakwji is a truly stylish yet thrilling romantic-vampire film from Chan-wook Park. Featuring outstanding performances from Song Kang-ho and Kim Ok-bin, it is a film that is really one of the best vampire films that refuses to play into conventions while giving audiences something to laugh at and be grossed out by. For fans of Park, this is definitely his most mature feature to date in the way he presents violence, humor, and romance to create what is one of more accessible films. In the end, Bakwji is an engaging yet entertaining film from Chan-wook Park.

Chan-wook Park Films: (The Moon Is… the Sun’s Dream) - (Trio) - Judgment (1999 short film) - JSA: Joint Security Area - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - (If You Were Me-Never Ending Peace and Love) - Oldboy - Three Extremes-Cut - Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - I'm a Cyborg But That's OK - (Night Fishing) - Stoker - The Handmaiden - (The Little Drummer Girl (2018 TV series)) - Decision to Leave

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Of Gods and Men

(Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival)

Directed by Xavier Beauvois and written by Beauvois and Etienne Comar, Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) is the story of eight Trappist monks whose peaceful life is threatened by fundamental terrorists as they’re trying to decide whether or not to leave their home in Algeria. The film is exploration of faith as a lot of is based on an incident in 1996 during the Algerian Civil War. Starring Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, and Philippe Laudenbach. Des hommes et des dieux is an extraordinary and compelling drama from Xavier Beauvois.

Living above a small village in Algeria are a group of Trappist monks who are seen as men people can count on. Led by their elected leader Christian (Lambert Wilson), the eight men live a life of solitude where they grow crops, do their usual service, and help out the village where Luc (Michael Lonsdale) is the monks’ beloved doctor. When news of a civil war breaking out where they learn that a Croatian man was killed, the Algerian government wants to offer protection to the monks. Christian refuses in order to maintain their routine despite a tense visit from the opposing group of fundamental terrorists led by Ali Fayattia (Farid Larbi) who demands some supplies only for Christian to refuse since it’s Christmas.

Though Christian was able to get Ali and his men away for a while, the rest remain unsure if they can hold off these men as Christian still has to deal with the government and its army as the monks try to do whatever they can for the village. Still, frustration starts to ensue as a few want to leave for safety but Christian wants to stay for the village as they’re counting on these men to protect them. Months go by as a few experience doubt while Luc becomes overwhelmed by his work as Christian gives him a break. With the war intensifying as a visit from the Algerian army only made things uncomfortable prompting the men to band together. When an old friend in Bruno (Olivier Perrier) decides to return to the monastery, the men await for what would probably as the war starts to reach its peak.

The film is a true story about a group of monks who are trying to live their life of solitude during a tense war where they’re dealing with two opposing sides in this civil war where innocent people are being killed. It is told in a style where it’s more about men just trying to do what is right and maintain their routine as there’s not of dialogue present. Instead, it’s more about the routine these men do in service of the people they care for. The screenplay that Xavier Beauvois and Etienne Comar create is an exploration of men trying to hold on to their faith in the threat of war. Leading all of this is a man named Christian who is just trying to do what is right for his community and his monks though he would admit that he’s unsure if he is doing the right thing. A lot of the men in the monastery are middle-aged while two of them in Luc and Amedee (Jacques Herlin) are old men. Yet, they’re all playing a role for God as they’re also men who are willing to talk to the people in the village without wearing their robes and just talk as men.

Beauvois’ direction is very mesmerizing for the way he creates the film that relies more on what these men are trying to day-by-day rather than go into a lot of conventional ideas to move the drama forward. The film starts with a quote from the Book of Psalms that reveals who these men are as they’re just trying to be equal to those they help and those they’re trying to deal with. Shot on location in Morocco, Beauvois’ direction is truly engaging for the wide depth of field shots he creates for many exterior settings while maintaining an intimacy in the meetings that these men are having. There’s some amazing scenes such as a helicopter flying above the monastery where the men try to counter the noise with their chanting to establish their defiance against the forces that want them to leave.

Since this is a film that relies more on what these characters are dealing with, the lack of plot does allow the audience to get to know these individuals as who they are. There is no music score heard in the film except for a climatic dinner where Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake overture is played where the camera focuses on these men and their reaction to the music. It’s all about this moment where it could be the last time they all eat in peace. The overall work that Beauvois creates is a gripping yet intoxicating drama that explores a group of men who are trying to hold on to their faith in the face of war.

Cinematographer Caroline Champetier does brilliant work with the film‘s gorgeous cinematography from the way the Moroccan mountains and hills are shot in the evening through some of the daytime exteriors for its sunny and rainy days to play out the peaceful work the characters live in. Editor Marie-Julie Maille does superb work with the editing to maintain a very straightforward approach to its cutting while maintaining a leisured pace for the film. Production designer Michel Barthelemy and art director Yann Megard do excellent work with the art direction for the look of the villages as well as the monastery that plays to the world these men live in. Sound editor Loic Prian does incredible work with the sound from the intimacy of the chants in the room to the raucous clash of sounds in the helicopter vs. chants scene.

The casting by Brigitte Moidon is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes notable small performances from Farid Larbi as the terrorist leader, Olivier Perrier as a returning monk named Bruno late in the film, and the trio of Abdelhafid Metalsi, Sabrina Ouazani, and Abdallah Moundy as local villagers who are close with the monks. For the roles of the eight monks, there are amazing performances from Jacques Herlin as the elderly Amedee, Olivier Rabourdin as the very confused Christophe, Philippe Laudenbach as the anxious Celestin, Loic Pinoch as the determined but scared Jean-Pierre, Xavier Maly as the calm Michel, and Jean-Marie Frin as the low-key but loyal Paul. Michael Lonsdale is great as the asthmatic but determined Luc who is the monks’ head doctor as he’s concerned with doing his job and help the people. Finally, there’s Lambert Wilson in a marvelous performance as the monks’ leader Christian who is trying to do everything he can to help everyone while trying to see what he feels is right for his monastery in this tense time.

Des hommes et des dieux is a powerful yet captivating drama from Xavier Beauvois. Featuring a great ensemble cast led by Lambert Wilson and Michael Lonsdale, it’s a film that serves as a great testament of how faith can defy such awful forces like war without trying to give out some message. It’s also a film that is very human for the way it humanizes the monks as just men who are just doing a deed for God. In the end, Des hommes et des dieux is a mesmerizing film from Xavier Beauvois.

© thevoid99 2012