Tender Mercies/ The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

July 4, 2009

Tender Mercies (1983) *****
Directed by Bruce Beresford

Watching Tender Mercies reminded me of the experience I had watching Ordinary People for the first time when I was in high school. That film, my favorite of all time, went beyond any movie I had seen up to that point to truly penetrate my emotional wall. In a way, the film provided a trauma of sorts from which I still feel the effects. Repeated viewings of Ordinary People continuously confirm my deep interconnectedness with the fully realized characters within. Tender Mercies is nowhere near as good as Ordinary People; however, it did similarly break through all of the guards I put up to truly move me and possibly even transform me into someone different than I was before viewing. This might all sound hyperbolic, but I implore you to think about your own film watching experiences, and try to articulate what the best films do to you. It's not easy. Tender Mercies is a small film that dares the viewer to guess where the plot will end up. Many scenes feel so familiar, and all of them could have traveled down conventional narrative routes. Instead, Tender Mercies remains humble and organic, and in a film world that's filled with egos and contrivances, this small drama is a much needed breath of fresh air.

Labels: 1980s, Best Picture Nominees, Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Drama, Five Stars

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) *****
Directed by Robert Wiene

Post World War I Germany certainly wasn't the ideal place for artists and budding filmmakers to thrive, especially when you consider the epic films with gargantuan budgets being made in the United States. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, often credited as the first horror film, remains all the more admirable considering what is able to be accomplished despite its modest budget. Visually jarring even today, Wiene employs techniques of German Expressionist art with its off-centered, sharply-angled, distorted detail which makes this 72 minute silent film absolutely fascinating to gaze at. Its plot centers around the hunt for a supposedly mad man and his sideshow freak, a freakishly tall somnambulist who sleeps in a coffin and can answer any question. When a man's question leads to the answer that he will die by dawn, a prediction which comes true, the man's friend suspects the freak and his handler are responsible. While hunting them down, his girlfriend's life is placed in danger. Ultimately the chase leads to a mental institution where plot twists abound! Though there are moments when the plot's progression loses momentum, the creepiness can still be felt strongly ninety years later. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a must see for any film historian, and yet, I'd recommend it to everyone, even those with the most cursory appreciation of quality cinema.

Labels: 1920s, Filmspotting Silent Movies Marathon, Roger Ebert's Great Movies, Silent Film, Horror, Five Stars

Tokyo!

July 2, 2009

Tokyo! (2009) ****1/2

Note: Tokyo! is a triptych of three short films from three different directors. The following are my ratings for each short.

Interior Design ***
Directed by Michel Gondry

Merde *****
Directed by Leos Carax

Shaking Tokyo *****
Directed by Bong Joon-ho

Imagine 2007's Paris Je T'aime set in Tokyo, Japan with thirty to forty minute short films rather than five minute ones. Now imagine these films injected with equal parts heroin and cocaine, and you might just begin to understand the brilliant mindtrip that is Tokyo! French directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind Rewind) and Leos Carax (Boy Meets Girl, Lovers on the Bridge, Pola X), along with Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host), examine this vibrant yet enigmatic city from outsider perspectives. Though each short film is certainly unique in comparison to the other two, all three paint with cynical brushstrokes which allows Tokyo! to play out like a middle finger directed at Paris Je T'aime's sentimentalized exploration of urban love.

It's perhaps surprising that no Japanese director signed on to direct; however, I'd argue that a filmmaker with an ingrained patriotic love of Japan's capital city might not be able to effectively shine a light on Tokyo's profound sins. There's no arguing that Tokyo! is an angry exercise in condemnation, and none of the directors shy away from the sardonic and the misanthropic. Let's just say that the Japanese government won't be touting these shorts in any of its tourism literature!

Just about everyone reveres Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and The Science of Sleep certainly has its apologists, though I'm not one of them. Yet, I'm starting to wonder whether or not Michel Gondry has what it takes to maintain a lasting career as a critical darling. Be Kind Rewind was simply bad, and his addition to Tokyo!, titled Interior Design, despite its strong points, comes off trite when judged alongside Merde and Shaking Tokyo.

The plot revolves around a young couple relocating to Tokyo--he's an aspiring avant-garde filmmaker and she's an ambitionless "magazine picture cutter outer." Since they have nowhere to live, they squat in their friend's unimaginably small apartment. At first, the two of them savor their new experiences, that is until reality catches back up with them when their car is impounded, their friend grows tired of them and they can't find anywhere to live on their own. Eventually, one of them finds a way to succeed in spite of Tokyo's dehumanizing obstacles. What does she choose to do? Well, let's just say that if I asked you to guess one thousand times, you probably wouldn't even come close!

All Gondry movies I've seen tend to ruminate in capricious whimsy--so much so that one ought to expect just about anything to happen on screen. Never one to thrive according to established rules of filmmaking, it's simply too bad that Gondry plays it so safe this time around. I'll admit that the ending was clever, and out of the three shorts, Interior Designs makes the most accessible condemnation of Japan's addiction to moralless progress; yet, there's really only one inspired moment within a film that's over thirty minutes long. The performances are fine, and the characters are well written, but with a director as talented as Gondry, sufficient simply isn't good enough, especially when the two shorts that follow are both sublime masterpieces.

Merde is downright bizarre... it's the story of a crazy redheaded foreigner living in the sewers below Tokyo, who emerges sporadically to hobble the streets finding flowers and money to munch and people to lick. Yep, you read that last sentence right! He becomes the stuff of legend as well as a media freakshow--that is until he finds a bunch of grenades and throws them into the crowded streets killing many innocent civilians. Eventually he's caught by the police, becoming a cultural sensation, dividing public opinion between those who want to see the man hanged, and those that feel his actions are justified due to the seeming injustices of the Japanese government.

At first, the police can't get the man to communicate. A French lawyer is thus flown in claiming that he is able to speak and understand the man's nonsensical language. Eventually the crazy man voices his terroristic motivations much to the chagrin of the members of the Japanese legal system. When he's condemned to hang, most of those who come to watch his execution presumably believe that everything will be over once he is dead. Perhaps cries of injustice can't be silenced all that easily.

Denis Levant gives as brave and effective a performance as one could ask for as the crazy man, whose name we learn is Merde, which is the French word for sh*t. The mood and atmosphere of Carax's direction almost blows the mind completely, and the fuming rage which radiates, though uncomfortable at times, cannot be denied. The media, populism, bureaucracy, religion and especially xenophobia are all skewered and set to roast slowly over an open flame. Ironically, though, Merde ought to be called a very dark comedy. Moments of genuine, biting humor help make an irate expose compulsively watchable and truly enjoyable! Some may criticize Merde as condoning terrorism, which it certainly comes close to doing; however, the character of Merde, presumably driven mad by the iniquities of the world, has some legitimate grievances that ought to be paid attention to no matter what crimes he committed. Those in the film that choose to ignore Merde's call for justice just might encounter this creature of the sewers again in the future.

Joon-ho's Shaking Tokyo is both strikingly beautiful and profoundly sad. A reclusive man, who calls himself a hikikomori, lives off money sent to him by his estranged father. He never leaves his house, surviving on the fact that food can be delivered. He never once makes eye contact with the delivery people. Every Saturday, he orders a pizza, and one Saturday, while looking down in order to avoid eye contact, he sees that his delivery person is wearing a garter belt. He looks up, and for the first time in ten years, he meets another person's gaze. Almost immediately, the delivery girl passes out in his apartment. After pressing a tattooed button on her leg, she wakes from her coma and tells him that his apartment is perfect. Books, pizza boxes and toilet paper are all impeccably organized in ways that ought to be described as beautiful. Once she leaves, he finds himself immobile for a number of days because of the encounter he just made. Therefore, on a day other than Saturday, he orders a pizza which is delivered this time by a man who barges into the apartment to escape the rain and make a phone call. The recluse eventually finds out where the delivery girl lives, and he ventures out onto the streets of Tokyo in search of a second encounter with the girl. Rather than finding out that he's been missing out as a shut in, he learns that perhaps he's one of many, many other hikikomoris that live close by. Now that he's stepped outside of his shelter, maybe he can save others. On the other hand, maybe the enemy is stronger and more powerful than he anticipated.

I'd love to visit Tokyo someday... it seems like such an awesome city. Everything is in neon, and it's awe-inspiring when one contemplates how successfully Tokyo has built on top of itself, allowing so many to live in such a small place. In a way, as far as architectural pragmatism goes, Tokyo is a perfect city--much like the man's apartment. Shaking Tokyo peels away the city's perfect outer layer to explore what's rotting underneath. Perfection, by definition, eliminates imperfections; though, when the imperfections are flawed human beings, and when the stench of decay becomes so odious, perhaps only an earthquake, which shakes the world deep down at its core, can make any lasting difference. Visually, Shaking Tokyo is a triumph, providing sequences of pure ironic beauty.

Since I'm even more of a Tokyo outsider than these three directors, I can only speculate when I guess that the city of Tokyo, seen as a whole, perhaps isn't as bad as these short films make it out to be. That being said, it's also not as unblemished as it appears. Tokyo! works both as great cinema and non-violent protest. I loved Paris Je T'aime as much as Tokyo!, if not more; however, Paris Je T'aime is as naively sanguine as Tokyo! is morosely damning.

The Twenty-Five Best Films from April-June 2009 (and the five worst)

July 2, 2009

The Twenty Five Best Films from April-June 2009 (and the five worst)

Once again, here are the lists of the best and worst films I've seen from the last three months. Not counting Chop Shop which I've seen since starting this blog, I watched 54 films from April to June.

Starting with the best:

25. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
24. Manhattan
23. Grey Gardens (2009)
22. The Pope's Toilet
21. Enemies: A Love Story
20. Valentino the Last Emperor
19. About a Boy
18. Trouble the Water
17. Audience of One
16. The Long Goodbye
15. Mean Streets
14. You Can't Take It With You
13. Jules and Jim
12. Three Monkeys
11. Reversal of Fortune
10. Up
9. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
8. Hannah and Her Sisters
7. The Girlfriend Experience
6. Badlands
5. Marty
4. Viridiana
3. Tender Mercies
2. The Graduate
1. Midnight Cowboy

And the five worst:
5. Momma's Man
4. Adoration
3. The Baader Meinhopf Complex
2. Nell
1. Departures

The Education of Charlie Banks

July 1, 2009

The Education of Charlie Banks (2009) **1/2
Directed by Fred Durst

I think it's fitting that The Education of Charlie Banks received a 50% on rottentomatoes.com. Around 50% of the ingredients that go into Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's first directorial effort work--I'd even say that 35% or 40% work really well! Yet, that leaves 50% which don't match the ambition that Durst, the actors and writer Peter Elkoff so eagerly strive for.

The late John Ritter's son Jason plays Mick, a street tough thug with serious anger issues who reappears into the life of Jesse Eisenberg's Charlie, a brilliant college student who once secretly spoke to the police about a violent act of Mick's he witnessed. On the surface, Mick seems to have changed into an earnest, introspective college hopeful, and yet, often Mick says and does things which make Charlie wonder whether or not Mick is stringing him along in order to seek revenge.

Mick audits classes, sleeps with Charlie's love interest Mary (Eva Amurri), and pals around with his roommate Danny (Chris Marquette); however, he also seems to care for Charlie, perhaps admiring the man Charlie will become. One thing is for sure, Mick is on some kind of a mission, and it's through academic, elitist conversations that Mick attempts to perhaps seek redemption. After a dialogue with Mary, he discovers the inevitable tragedy of The Great Gatsby; banter with a super-rich goofball named Leo helps him understand that a footnote means credit given to someone; after Charlie saves Mick from falling from a window, Mick learns about Derrida's deconstructionist ideas about truth which state that the threads of truth ought to be taken apart and examined which inevitably leads to the conclusion that absolute truth is a myth.

These seemingly nonpragmatic morsels give clues to Mick's ultimate motivation, which is revealed in a final act which works quite well in theory, but not so much when you actually witness it on screen. Ultimately, Elkoff and Durst attempt to explore the inner workings of a good-natured sociopath seeking redemption, and while some of the conclusions are refreshingly insightful, others are not, resulting in an uneven meditation.

Jason Ritter sometimes stumbles onto the right balance of believable menace and lost soul, but when he misses the mark, it's by at least a mile. When Ritter attempts crazy, he does so only on the most surface level. When he's trying to be insighful, he plays it as if he's a completely different person altogether. His performance could have used a huge dose of consistent character development. The layers of Mick do not penetrate very deep, resulting in dullness unbecoming a true villian.

Similar to Adventureland, Eisenberg's fascinating to watch on screen once again. His performance is one of the ingredients that work overall, and there's one scene which takes place in his dormroom after reading an article in the newspaper which allows Eisenberg to show some impressive dramatic acting chops. Otherwise, Charlie is a straightforward, understated character, and Eisenberg's clearly up to the challenge of playing him as such while still adding some surprising layers which are missing in Ritter's characterization of Mick.

Durst tries way too hard by incorporating stylized camera shots which do not feel like they flow from the plot. That being said, some are interesting in a "getting an A in film school" kind of way, which leads me to believe that he's got a future as a director. He just needs to focus his visual ardor a bit. Also, the music from beginning to end suffocates each scene by attempting to guide emotion in a way which stifles rather than enhances. Once again, Durst ought to control the moxie in the future.

Had The Education of Charlie Banks been better directed and acted, and if the dialogue wasn't so stilted and disingenuous, then a great coming of age thriller potentially could have been made. It's one of those films that I'm sad I didn't like more--it could really have been something special. The quality elements certainly add up to something worth acknowledging for its aspirations; unfortunately, it doesn't quite add up to an effectiveness rating of 51%.

Tribute to Karl Malden (1912-2009)

July 1, 2009

Tribute to Karl Malden

One of the true legends of film acting, Karl Malden, died today at the ripe old age of 97. After a week which saw the tragic and difficult deaths of two pop culture legends, there's something ironically merciful about the passing of someone who led such a long, full life, dying peacefully in his sleep in the middle of the night.

Though not blessed with typical Hollywood good looks and stricken with an infamous nose well out of proportion to the rest of his face, Malden found success based on his sheer acting talent as well as his solid reputation as one of the most reliable character actors in the biz. He was Oscar nominated for playing a priest in the beloved On the Waterfront in 1954, three years after winning an Oscar for playing neighbor Mitch Mitchell in A Streetcar Named Desire, which is my favorite film of the three I've seen him in--the other two are Waterfront, which I really admire, and Patton, which isn't one of my favorites.

Malden isn't just a legend of film acting; he's also one of the great Broadway actors of the 1940's and 1950's, as well as a beloved television star of the show The Streets of San Francisco in the early 1970's. Further, he is a commercial legend, forever associated with the phrase, "Don't leave home without it," as the spokesperson for American Express for 21 years. Finally, for years and years, he proudly served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences beginning in 1988.

Only within the last five years have I become familiar with his films; however, I've been a fan of Malden's for well over ten years. In 1990, the AMPAS released a VHS showcasing the previous twenty years of the Oscar telecast, a tape which I watched dozens of times as a teenager, and Malden served as host. His final acting role took place in The West Wing, my favorite television show of all time, as President Bartlett's hometown priest.

Look out for a well-deserved tribute to Malden at next year's Oscars. I look forward to watching some more of his films over the next few months. He was truly one of the greats, and he will be missed!

Rest in peace Karl!

You can read my review of Patton here.