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A W A W A W A Woma oma oma oman i n s a aa Wo Wo Woman man ma /Un /Une femme e e est st s une ne n fe fe ffemme me mme (11961 961 961 96 )))
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FINE
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FRANCE
Directory of World Cinema: France
Edited by Tim Palmer and Charlie Michael
Paperback | 9781841505633 | 327 pages | 240x174mm | 15.95
eBook | ISBN 9781841507019 | 6
Artistic, intellectual, and appreciably avant-garde, the French lm industry has,
perhaps more than any other national cinema, been perennially at the centre of
international lmmaking. With its vigorous business and wide-ranging lm culture,
France has also been home historically to some of the most inuential lmmakers and
movements and, indeed, the very rst motion picture was screened in Paris in 1895.
This volume addresses the great directors and key artistic movements, but also
ventures beyond these well-established lms and gures, broadening the canon
through an examination of many neglected but intriguing French lms. Framing essays
explore the salient stylistic elements, cultural contexts, and the various conceptions
of cinema in France, from avant-gardes to lmmaking by women, from documentary
and realism to the Tradition of Quality, as well as genres like comedy, crime lm, and
horror. Illustrated by screen shots, lm reviews by leading international experts offer
original approaches to both overlooked titles and acknowledged classics. Readers
wishing to explore particular topics in greater depth will be grateful for the books
reading recommendations and comprehensive lmography. A visually engaging
journey through one of the most dynamic, variegated, and idiosyncratic lm industries,
Directory of World Cinema: France is a must-have for Francophiles and cinema savants.
Intellects Directory of World Cinema aims to play a part in moving intelligent, scholarly
criticism beyond the academy by building a forum for the study of lm that relies on
a disciplined theoretical base. Each volume of the Directory will take the form of a
collection of reviews, longer essays and research resources, accompanied by lm stills
highlighting signicant lms and players.
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To explore the rest of Intellects Directory of World Cinema series visit
DIRECTORY OF
WORLD
CINEMA
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 3
What it says on the tin, so to speak, is that we are
The International FilmMagazine and this month
were more so than usual. The image above shows
artists painting an enormous billboard in Mumbai
in 1980, as we celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema
with a survey of the countrys unique art of lm-
poster design (see p.54). Our S&S interviewis with
Danny Boyle (p.60), whose Olympics opening
ceremony encapsulated Britishness for the world
and whose biggest hit is Slumdog Millionaire. We
track the career of the quintessentially franglophile
actress Kristin Scott Thomas (p.32); debate Mexican
director Carlos Reygadass Post Tenebras Lux (p.50
and p.74); talk to the Romanian Cristian Mungiu
about Beyond the Hills (p.42); examine Chilean debut
Thursday till Sunday (p.46); and report froman upbeat
Berlinale (p.24). Were not saying, We are the world,
just World cinema is us. Nick James
Welcome
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DOKTORGLAS
by Hjalmar Sderberg
MARTIN WITTS FOR LONDON INTERNATIONAL ARTS THEATRE AND TBB AB PRESENT
Krister Henriksson
is Magnificent
SVD KULTUR
A darkness
of the soul,
brilliantly
portrayed
EXPRESSEN
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 5
Contents April 2013
36
AVery Bad Man
DavidThomsonrevisits JohnBoormans
violent andsurreal Point Blank
PLUSJohnWrathall onthe various
incarnations of crime ctions most
redoubtable armedrobber, Parker
42
Devotion Sickness
Romaniandirector CristianMungius
Beyondthe Hills is a sombre, provocative
andunsettlingstoryof life inanOrthodox
convent. He talks toEdwardLawrenson
46
Are We Nearly ThereYet?
Set largelyinthe backof a car during
a tense familyroadtrip, Thursdaytill
Sundayis a strikingdebut for Chilean
director Dominga Sotomayor. She
talks toMar Diestro-Dpido
50
The Devil in the Detail
At Cannes last year Mexicandirector
Carlos Reygadas drewre for the
perceivedincoherence of his dazzling
or bafingnewlmPost Tenebras Lux.
But hes not one totake criticismlightly,
nds Fernanda Solrzano
54
Indian Ink
As Indiancinema celebrates its
100thanniversary, a newexhibition
reveals the countrys richtradition
inlmposters. ByDivia Patel
60
THE S&S INTERVIEW: Danny Boyle
Followinghis glitteringsuccess withthe
Olympics openingceremony, DannyBoyle
talks to RyanGilbey about returningto
darker matters inhis newlmTrance
Eurostar
Powerful performances inlms suchas Ive LovedYouSo Long
have made KristinScott Thomas a bona de arthouse star, as
popular inFrance as she is inthe UK. By GinetteVincendeau
REGULARS
9 Editorial Quantitative clogging
30 Reader Offers
Rushes
10 BenWalters previews the 27thBFI
LondonLesbian&GayFilmFestival
12 First Sight: Isabel Stevens talks toScott
Grahamabout his directingdebut Shell
13 Obituary: Tony Rayns pays tribute to
critic andJapanspecialist DonaldRichie
14 Object Lesson: HannahMcGill on
the signicance of birthdaycakes
17 Dispatches: Mark Cousins calls for a
trulyglobal perspectivetolmcriticism
The Industry
18 Development Tale: Charles Gant
charts the longgestationof Belfast
indie-music saga GoodVibrations
19 The Numbers: Charles Gant onhow
Britishaudiences saidyes toNo
20 Overview: Geoffrey Macnabonthe
turbulent state of UKdistribution
23 Prole: Nick Roddick talks toNetixs
headof product innovation, ToddYellin
Festivals
24 NickJames is heartenedbythe
qualityof this years Berlinselection
WideAngle
66 Jaime Pena onhowa towninPortugal
became a mecca for arthouse directors
68 Sukhdev SandhuonGeorge Barbers
videoinstallationThe Freestone Drone
69 Agnieszka Gratza peels backthe
covers onthe Belfort FilmFestival
70 Soundings: Frances Morgantunes
intothe songs that meansomething
special tocharacters inlms
71 Primal Screen: Kevin Brownlowlooks
backat a 1925versionof Les Misrables
72 Bradlands: BradStevens hunts
downthe uncreditedworkof great
directors inlms creditedtoothers
73 Lost andFound: Dan Callahanmarvels
at the unique charms of Zoo inBudapest
Forum
74 Jonathan Romney andQuintn
debate the merits of Mexican
director Carlos Reygadas
76 Letters
Endings
128Mar Diestro-Dpido onCraCuervos
FEATURES
32
18
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April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 7
Contents Reviews
100
FILMS OF THE MONTH
80 Neighbouring Sounds/
Osomao redor
82 Reality
84 Side Effects
86 The Spirit of 45
FILMS
88 All Things to All Men
88 Arbitrage
89 Beautiful Creatures
89 Beyond the Hills/
Dupa dealuri
90 Dragon/Wu xia
91 AGood Day to Die Hard
91 Good Vibrations
92 Hansel &Gretel
Witch Hunters
92 Home/Yurt
93 Identity Thief
94 In the House/
Dans la maison
95 John Dies at the End
95 ALate Quartet
96 Maniac
97 Movie 43
98 Murder 3
98 The Odd Life of
Timothy Green
99 One Mile Away
100 Papadopoulos &Sons
100 The Paperboy
101 Post Tenebras Lux
102 Reincarnated
102 Sammys Great Escape
103 Shell
104 Sleep Tight/
Mientras duermes
104 Spike Island
105 Stolen
106 Thursday till Sunday/
De jueves a domingo
107 Trance
107 WarmBodies
108 Welcome to the Punch
HOME CINEMA
112 The Amazing Mr Blunden,
Babettes Feast, Cairo,
The DawnPatrol,
Deathtrap, Dracula,
The Monster Squad,
OnApproval, Onibaba,
The Outside Man,
LaPoison, The Qatsi Trilogy,
Runfor Cover,
We Cant Go Home Again,
White Zombie
DVDfeatures
110 James Blackford
celebrates Italianhorror
maestro Mario Bava
113 DanCallahanis intrigued
by a largely forgotten
Robert Altmanlm
116 Chris Darke relishes the
newrestorationof Andr
Sauvages Etudes sur Paris
119 PhilipKemprevisits Ozus
early gangster lms
Television
120 DavidThompsonlooks
back at the highand low-
culture offerings of 1960s
series Tempo
121 Agatha Christies Poirot
Series 3, House of Lies
Season 1, Marriage Lines
Series 1 &3
BOOKS
122 Pamela Hutchinsonenjoys
a biography of silent star
Mae Murray
123 Paul Tickell welcomes a
study of video essay
Rock My Religion
123 Jasper Sharpexplores
Japanese Cinema in the
Digital Age
124 Nick Pinkertondips into
a book of interviews with
AbrahamPolonsky
(incorporatingMonthlyFilmBulletin)
PublishedmonthlybytheBFI
Editorial enquiries
21 StephenStreet LondonW1T1LN
t: 02072551444
f: 02075805830
w: b.org.uk/sightandsound
e: S&S@b.org.uk
Social media
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t: twitter.com/SightSoundmag
Subscriptions
t: 02089557070
e: sightandsound@
alliance-media.co.uk
Volume23Issue4(NS)
ISSN0037-4806 USPS496-040
CONTRIBUTORS
KevinBrownlowisalmmaker, lm
historianandlmpreservationist
DanCallahanistheauthor
ofBarbaraStanwyck:
TheMiracleWoman
Mark Cousins isacritic
andlmmaker
Charles Gant islmeditor
ofHeat magazine
RyanGilbey isthelmcritic
ofNewStatesman
EdwardLawrensonwrites
onlmforTheBigIssue
HannahMcGill isafreelance
writer andcritic
Divia Patel isacurator at theV&A
Jaime Pena isacriticfor
CaimnCuadernosdeCine
Quintnistheformer director of
Baci andformer editor ofEl Amante.
Heblogsat LaLectoraProvisoria
Tony Rayns hasbeenawarded
theForeignMinistryof Japans
Commendationfor services
toJapanesecinema
Nick Roddick istheauthor of
several booksoncinema
JonathanRomney isthelmcritic
ofTheIndependent onSunday
Sukhdev Sandhuiseditor of the
recentlypublishedTheTwilight
Languageof Nigel Kneale
Fernanda Solrzanoisalmcritic
andbroadcaster basedinMexico
BradStevens istheauthor of
Abel Ferrara: TheMoral Vision
DavidThomsonistheauthor ofThe
NewBiographical Dictionaryof Film
GinetteVincendeauisthe
author ofJean-PierreMelville,
AnAmericaninParis
BenWalters programmesBURN:
MovingImagesbyCabaret
Artists, aspart of theLondon
Lesbian&GayFilmFestival
COVER
DannyBoylephotographedbyNeale
Haynes/Contour byGettyImages,
retouchedbyDawkinsColour
NEXTISSUE
onsale9April And online this month Jennifer Lawrence | Tony Scott |
Paul Bush| Kleber Mendona Filho | KimLonginotto | Witold Giersz |
BirminghamArts Lab | SXSWand more b.org.uk/sightandsound
102
82
94
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 9
Editorial Nick James
One signicant trend of this years BerlinFilm
Festival (see also p.24) was that eachof the sections
Competition, Out of Competition, Panorama, Forum
etc was programmed to bursting point. Never
has it beenso difcult to get a sense of all that was
showninBerlin, partly because the competitionfelt
more vital thanusual (and therefore harder to roam
away from) but also because it seemed like all the
sections were ghting eachother to get more lms
in, simply because they could. And they could, of
course, because withthe availability of cheap HD
cameras, theres just so muchmore cinema around.
Berlinaside, this general glut of lms has many
repercussions. It makes lms seemless signicant
(as per StevenSoderberghs complaint, quoted
inthis space last month). Its also hard to lter
throughsucha mass of newmaterial. As Geoffrey
Macnab discusses this month(see p.20), small
distributors keep popping up inthe UKwithnew
lms to ght over the ever-smaller slice of the
cake that is specialist lm. Enthusiasts writing
for free online are so legionthat nearly every
newlmgets advocacy fromsomeone, and this
feeling that theres praise for everything creates
the illusionthat criticismis valueless. As a result,
criticismcontinues to come under re frommany
quarters, as Indiewires Matt Brennanhas noted.
The broader questionof what all this adds up
to has beengivennewimpetus by writer-director
Paul Schrader, who is claiming that theres beena
total systemic change inthe denitionof a motion
picture. His statement, made at the Cartagena
FilmFestival inColombia, was inpart a bullish
riposte to a much-discussed recent NewYork Times
article about the seemingly chaotic making of The
Canyons, his newlmstarring Lindsay Lohan.
Inthe light of the mild ridicule to whichthe
article subjects him, Schraders statement canbe
seenas aneffort to restore his damaged credibility.
Today, he says, were ina greater crisis [thanthe
1960s crisis of content]a crisis not of content but
of form. We dont knowwhat movies are anymore.
We dont knowhowlong movies are, howwe watch
themwere entering into the post-theatrical era.
Schrader is certainly right to suggest that, with
the variety of platforms, consumers and critics nd
it easier nowto relax the boundaries of what they
might consider counts as cinema and that can
only be a good thing. And thoughthe implicationof
the NewYork Times article is that The Canyons cant
be any good because its making was so troubled,
Imas sure as the traditionof lms maudits allows
me to be that it may have its charms and indue
course nd its defenders. Yet at the same time I cant
help but feel that the subtext of Schraders rhetoric
is a formof special pleading: if the theatrical era
is over, thenthe standards of that era no longer
apply, and so to compare The Canyons to, say,
Casablanca or Chinatown would be inappropriate.
But what is really so different? Anyone whos read
David Bordwells The Way Hollywood Tells It will nd
it difcult to refute his argument that, despite all the
technological changes since D.W. Grifthpulled
together basic lmgrammar, stories continue to be
told onlminmuchthe same ways. No one can
blame Schrader for trying to boost the chances of a
sexual thriller shot ona budget of $250,000, but does
he really think (as Screen International reports) that
watching Whitney Houstons funeral onhis
computer withher music videos streaming to one
side and a live Twitter feed onthe other has anything
to do withcinema? Thats enhanced televisionat best,
and no matter howfar we are downthe line of
convergence, were nowhere near reaching a
conclusionas tragic as that. The glut of cinema,
however various, must continue to be critiqued and
assessed according to the highest standards we know.
Sir Denis Forman(1917-2013)
We were saddened to learnof the deathlast
monthof former BFI Director Sir Denis Forman,
who went onto become a signicant force in
Britishtelevision. Formantook charge of the BFI
in1949, aged only 31. He helped establishthe
National FilmTheatre in1952, and brought in
sucheditorial staff as GavinLambert, Penelope
Houstonand Lindsay Andersonto run Sight &
Sound and the Monthly FilmBulletin. Formanleft the
BFI in1955, but his legacy endures to this day.
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Sight &Sound(ISSN0037-4806)
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Copyright BFI, 2013
Thecontentsof thismagazinemay
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TheBFI isacharity, (registration
number 287780), registeredat
21 StephenSt, London, W1T1LN
Writer-director Paul Schrader is
claiming that theres been a total
systemic change in the denition of
a motion pictureWe dont know
what movies are anymore
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10 | Sight&Sound April 2013
By Ben Walters
I love it, I love it already, says Bette Bourne,
trying ona newoutt at the beginning of
Jeremy Jeffss and Mark Ravenhills Bette
Bourne: It Goes With the Shoes. Its one of a
number of documentaries inthis years BFI
LondonLesbian&Gay FilmFestival dealing
withideas of acting and acting howcertain
kinds of performance and presentation, on
screenor inperson, canconstitute social or
political agency, or howthe assumptionof
a role canimbue performative agency.
WhenBourne says those words, the
pioneering member of the Gay Liberation
Front and experimental queer performance
troupe Bloolips isnt trying ona chichi gownor
jacket but academic garb ahead of a ceremony
at the Central School of Speechand Drama.
Its conspicuous yet sober glamour endows
himwithinstitutionally bolstered potency.
For Bourne and his cohort, as for Quentin
Crisp before them, being seeninpublic in
effeminate clothing and asserting their
right to anabnormal sexuality were also
ways of exercising power. WhenI rst put
ona dress, Ravenhill quotes himas saying,
it wasnt so I could pretend to be a woman.
It was to discover a newtype of man.
WhenDivine did it, it was for a different
reason. He never wanted to be a woman,
says his regular co-star Mink Stole inJeffrey
Schwarzs I AmDivine, a portrait of the
notorious beauty who, as JohnWaterss
300-pound muse, starred inPink Flamingos,
Female Trouble, Polyester and Hairspray. Are
youkidding? No, he wanted to be a movie
star. Theres a difference! As a teenager inthe
early 1960s, GlennMilstead had tried drag an
ElizabethTaylor look inkeeping withthe drag-
ball scene of the time, whichwas predicated
onthe idea that conventional glamour was
available to anyone withthe right wardrobe and
costume, regardless of the body underneath.
But they were so serious they made it
POWER DRESSING
The liberating power of
cross-dressing is a recurring
theme at this years London
Lesbian&GayFilmFestival
Female trouble: the drag artiste born Glenn Milstead is the subject of the documentary I Am Divine
Chronicle of a
Summer
Aseminal inuence
on the cinma vrit
movement,
Jean Rouchs 1960
documentary (right)
is nowcoming to UK
DVDand Blu-ray for
the rst time, courtesy
of the BFI. The dual-
format disc is released
on 13 May.
Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone (right) and
Peter Kuznick discuss their
newdocumentary series
and bookThe Untold
History of the United States
on 3April at Senate House,
University of London. The
event includes a screening
of one episode of the
series, a Q&Aand a book
signing. Tickets are 3.50,
available fromstonekuznick.
eventbrite.co.uk
ONOUR
RADAR
INTHE FRAME
Rushes
NEWS ANDVIEWS
born Glenn Milstead is the subject of the documentary I Am Div
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 11
INTHE HOUSE
ridiculous, thought Milstead, who was inany
case self-conscious about his bigger gure. It
was when, withWaterss encouragement, he
embraced his size and anhonest if cartoonishly
over-the-top style and manner that he became
Divine and, yes, a star. Mobs of boys would
come out of nowhere, one witness recalls. By
the way he looked and the way he talked, it kind
of made it OKfor themto be who they were.
Different outts bring different power. In
Joe Balasss Joy! Portrait of a Nun we meet Sister
Missionary P. Delight, a Catholic seminarian
turned founding member of the Sisters of
Perpetual Indulgence, the SanFrancisco-
based troupe of performers and activists
who since 1979 have beenfusing genderfuck
drag and the trappings of holy orders inthe
name of sexual liberationand social justice.
The immediate effect of these outrageous
bearded nuns, brandishing huge homemade
phalluses and preaching sexual happiness, is of
course carnivalesque. We were ghetto clowns,
as Sister Que Sera wrote inthe Sentinel. But to
co-opt certainforms of dress and behaviour
subversively is not automatically to sacrice
the agency inscribed inthem. Insome of the
most lms most striking moments, members
of the order press the idea that its hijacking of
Catholic forms was sincere as well as satirical,
serving a cathartic purpose inparticular for
members of the gay community alienated
fromthe ritual life inwhichthey grewup.
The concept was not drag-queennuns,
as one sister puts it. I met people who
wanted to cry and weep and hold a religious
personintheir hands, says another. It was
a joke, but they wanted a sister intheir life,
like a real nun, to be able to take intheir
condenceThey wanted to love a nun.
AIDS, it need hardly be said, made the value
of this functionall the more evident.
Bourne, Divine and the Sisters have all
shownhowfar simple queer presence can
go indisrupting normative assumptions. To
varying degrees, they have also shownhow
irreverent performance canhelp effect socio-
political change. But for one of the most iconic
instances of performance as political agency,
lets turnto the Biblical story of Salome, the
dancing girl who got the head of a foe ona
silver platter. Charles Bryants 1923 take on
the story, inspired by Aubrey Beardsleys
illustrations and rumoured to have had an
all-queer cast, also plays inthe festival, as does
Avery Willards glamorous drag version, lmed
behind closed doors. The lethal glamour of
the original femme fatale retains its allure.
i
The 27thBFI LondonLesbian&Gay Film
Festival takes place at BFI Southbank
from14to24March
Mark Ravenhill and Betty Bourne Joy! Portrait of a Nun
Brigitte Bardot
To coincide with
the publication
of regular S&S
contributor Ginette
Vincendeaus new
book on on Bardot,
published by BFI/
Palgrave Macmillan,
Cin Lumire in
London screens a
short retrospective
of BBs lms from
14-21 March.
Bradford Film Festival
This years festival
includes much that will
interest S&Sreaders:
the UKpremiere
of Peter Schreiners
Fata Morgana (right),
a focus on Russian
maverickAlexei
Balabanov and a
celebration of 100years
of Indian Cinema. 11-21 April.
See www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/
BradfordInternationalFilmFestival
Birds Eye View
Film Festival
This years festival
focuses on women
lmmakers from
theArab world,
with screenings
includingWadjda
(right), Saudi
Arabias rst
feature directed by
a woman. 3-10April,
various London
venues.
ANATOMYOF AMOVIE
B
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(
3
)
25%Theorem (1968)
15% Harry, Hes Here to Help (2000)
15% Lolita (1962)
12% Plein Soleil (1960)
10% Strangers on a Train (1951)
8% Desperate Housewives (2004-12)
6% Rear Window (1954)
5% Swimming Pool (2003)
2% Deconstructing Harry (1997)
2% Finding Forrester (2000)
ROBERTOROSSELLINI
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
The cameras a ballpoint pen, an
imbecile; its not worthanything
if youdont have anything to say.
12 | Sight&Sound April 2013
They lived together for a
week before the shoot in
isolation, getting beyond that
polite stage of interacting
Out of the fast lane: writer-director Scott Grahamon location
ROADSIDE MOVIE
RUSHES
permissionto build onanempty lookout point.
Building it meant that we could planout how
we were going to photographeachscene. The
most important element was a long stretchof
empty road where Shell could walk to the edge
and see what was coming fromone way, and a
bend obstructing the viewfromthe other side.
I deliberately wanted a sense of
timelessness. Shell is very muchgrowing
up inher fathers world, inone he created
withher mother. I made sure their house is
full of things a womanmight have chosen
but that have nowdated and faded.
IS: Youdeliberately keepShell andPetes
relationshipambiguous at the start.
SG: I hate tricks incinema, but I like ambiguity
and space to make up my ownmind. All of that
had to come fromwhat the two looked like
physically as botha father and a daughter
and as a couple. They lived together for a
week before the shoot inisolation, soaking
up what it was like to be there, getting
beyond that polite stage of interacting.
IS: At the start of the lmthey
are rarely inthe same shot.
SG: I wanted to introduce the fact that not
only do they live inanisolated, empty place;
they lead very separate lives. During the day,
Shell runs the garage shop and Pete chooses
to be alone inhis scrapyard. All of that puts a
greater burdenontheminthe evening. There
are no street lamps. They do feel huddled
in[whats] almost this little lighthouse. The
rst time we see themtogether, theres a
gate betweenthemand it looks like a cage.
IS: Didyouhave any particular visual
references inmindwhenyouwere shooting?
SG: Yoliswa Grtig, our cinematographer,
loves this Russianlmcalled Euphoria [2006].
Its exposed insucha way that youre very
aware of the exterior landscape while you
are inside. Also theres the scene at the end of
Brokeback Mountain whenHeathLedger puts
the shirt away and closes the wardrobe door,
and youcansee the viewfromthe window
of his caravanand it looks like a picture.
Ima big fanof 1970s Americancinema
and its muted colour tones. The Highland
landscape is very inkeeping withthat. We
shot inSeptember and October, whenthe land
becomes very greenishbrownand muted.
We wanted to shoot onlm, but youknow
the reasons why everyone shoots digital now.
Particularly, as we were inthe Highlands
we would have had to transport rushes to
a lab inLondonand thenwait to get them
back before youcould watchanything.
IS: Youdont use muchdialogue, but
the sounds of the windandlorries
rattlingpast are very prominent.
SG: Imwary of using music incinema. Theres
so many different, incredible sounds inthe
Highlands whichI was imagining whenI was
writing the wind, the creaking garage which
is like anirondinosaur waiting to keel over and
die and I tried to treat themlike music. I would
almost prefer to listento howa characters
breathing changes thanto hear themspeak.
There probably is a bit more dialogue inthe
script thanmade it into the lm. One thing I
learned during Shell was that its better to shoot
dialogue and thenpare it back if youneed to
thats what youdo whenyouwrite anyway.
Dialogue is something Imstill trying to nd my
way with. It is a very effective way of reaching
people, but Imnever going to use a lot of it
those just arent the kind of characters I write.
i
Shell is releasedon15March,
andis reviewedonpage 103
By Isabel Stevens
Passing by remote garages onthe long drive
betweenGlasgowand his home inthe north
of Scotland, Scott Grahamwas drawnto write
a lmaround sucha location a place that
people are tied to, where they help others with
food and fuel, help themmove onwiththeir
lives, while not moving onwiththeir own.
But inthe resulting 2010 short Native Son,
Grahamdidnt quite feel he told the heartfelt
story about isolation that he wanted to.
This led himto develop his debut feature
Shell, whichfocuses onthe repressed longings
of the titular 17-year-old protagonist (Chloe
Pirrie), who is living withonly her withdrawn
father Pete (JosephMawle) for company since
her mother ranout onthem, scraping a living
out of the fewcustomers who frequent their
run-downpetrol station. Grahams intimate
domestic drama boasts excellent performances
and takes full advantage of the sights and
sounds of its bleak and epic hinterland setting.
IS: The landscape of the Highlands is
framedat the start andthe endthrough
a windscreen. But throughoutShell we
never leave the petrol station. I like the
descriptionof the lmas aroadside movie.
SG: Shell and Pete cant express what theyre
feeling, so the isolated and lonely landscape in
the lmsays a lot about their relationship. Im
drawnto lms and lmmakers that do that.
I wanted to set up that Shell was a road
movie, but thenstay inone place. Its not
just a romantic idea that youcould be that
isolated. Youcanlive 50 or 60 miles froma
local towninthe Highlands. I wrote scenes
where Shell leaves the petrol station, but
they didnt hold my interest inthe same way.
Althoughthe lmnever leaves the garage, I
wanted to create a sense of momentum the
anticipationof leaving or of someone coming.
IS: Petrol stations oftengure incinema,
fromactiontoarthouse lms, including
LennyAbrahamsonsGarage (2007).
SG: Garage was relatively recent, so I
deliberately avoided it. Theres a great moment
inVanishing Point [1971] where Kowalski drives
fromone state to another and stops at a petrol
station. Its a wordless scene. Awomancomes
out and lls out up his car and he drives off.
But we stay withher, withher face after the
cars left. Theres a sense of longing inher
expression. And thenwe never see her again.
I knewit might be quite limiting, but I was
interested inhowmuchyouwould learn
about peoples lives inthat short time, or in
that same moment repeated ona regular trip.
Alife like that is extremely limiting for the
characters, but for a writer, its really rich.
IS: Howdidyoundthe locationitself?
SG: We drove all round the Highlands trying to
nd a garage we could adapt or rent. Inthe end
we found lots of scrap and old signs and thengot
Alonelygarage inthe Highlands
is the setting for Shell, a striking
feature debut fromwriter-
director Scott Graham
FIRST SIGHT
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 13
entrees into Japanese culture; meeting Hayasaka
was crucial, because in1947 he invited Donald
to Toho Studio to watchDrunken Angel being
shot and introduced himto Kurosawa Akira
and the actors Mifune Toshiro and Shimura
Takeshi. (Donald had never seena lmbeing
made before, infact had never thought much
about cinema at all.) At the same time, proting
fromthe fact that the Japanese are at least as
bi-curious as any other race onearth, not to
mentionthe fact that homosexuality was not
illegal inJapan, Donald pursued his life-long
cruise for bothbrief encounters and longer-
termpartners; the Journals are candid about
suchmatters, althoughthe more lubricious
details have beenkept back for a projected
posthumous volume to be called Vita Sexualis
a title borrowed fromthe great Mori Ogai.
Some sources mistakenly credit Donald
withintroducing Japanese cinema to Western
audiences. Infact, Kawakita Nagamasa had
brought Japanese lms to Europe inthe late
1920s (the National FilmArchive found one
of his nitrate prints inWales inthe 1980s)
and suchdirectors as Kurosawa, Mizoguchi
and Kinugasa beganwinning prizes inVenice
and Cannes inthe early 1950s. But theres
no doubt that Donalds book The Japanese
Cinema: Art and Industry (1959), co-writtenwith
research-scholar JosephAnderson, laid all the
foundations for the Wests later appreciation
of a little-knowncinema, or that The Films of
Akira Kurosawa (1968) set the patternfor close
analysis of a great talent working inanalien
culture. His further writings onlmincluded
several more synoptic histories, a book on
Ozu(1974), notes for a study of Imamura, and
hundreds of individual lmreviews for The
Japan Times and the International Herald Tribune.
And, of course, contributions to this magazine.
Donalds passionfor Japanese cinema
centred onthe lms he discovered inthe
1950s and 1960s; he left the excavationof
the lmindustrys pre-war riches to the next
generationof critics, and actively avoided
keeping up withdevelopments and new
talents inrecent decades. His owncinephilia
peaked inthe 1960s, the decade inwhichhe
made a string of underground shorts, often
featuring his boyfriends of the time. (Six of
themare collected onthe Image ForumDVD
ADonald Richie FilmAnthology; the best is
probably Cybele, from1968, whichrecords
a scandalous piece of performance art by a
conspicuously uninhibited theatre group.)
By the time I rst met Donald, inthe
early 1980s, his private interests had gravitated
more towards literature and chamber music.
But until he fell ill a fewyears ago he remained
the go-to guy for foreignvisitors to Tokyo
who needed help and advice onnavigating
Japans complex and seemingly hermetic
society not only the lmscholars but also,
as the Journals record, everyone fromTruman
Capote and Igor Stravinsky to SusanSontag
and Francis Ford Coppola. To some of us this
charming manbecame a warmand loyal
friend. There are many stories to tell, some
a touchlubricious, but they must wait for a
more tting time.
i
Awebsite has beencreatedat which
tributes toRichie canbe posted. See
donald-richie-tributes.jimdo.com
By Tony Rayns
Donald Richie died inTokyo on19 February,
just short of his 89thbirthday, and its tempting
to commemorate himby simply quoting
choice excerpts fromThe Japan Journals: 1947-
2004, whichhe published in2004. Donald
arrived inTokyo onNewYears Day of 1947
as a typist for US Forces newspaper The Pacic
Stars and Stripes and withthe exceptionof a
fewnot-very-happy years as curator of lmat
MoMAinNewYork lived there for the rest
of his life. Older readers of Sight &Sound will
remember himas the manwho did more than
anyone else to promote Japanese cinema to
the rest of the world; others may recall him
as one of the most astute commentators on
other aspects of Japanese culture, fromits
smiling exclusion of foreigners to its temples
and full-body tattoos. But Donalds genius
its spelt out graphically inthe Journals
was as what the Frenchcall ananimateur,
anindividual who makes things happen.
He was borninHicksville (Lima, Ohio, to
be precise) and left boththe townand his
family behind at the rst opportunity. Japan
was anaccident. Whenhe was discharged
fromthe navy at the end of WWII, his eyes
were set onGreece, or possibly Morocco, but
the only appealing way of making a living
that presented itself was a job withthe US
civil service inone of the two US-occupied
nations. Japanwas more enticing than
Germany, and he was soonable to parlay the
typing job for the newspaper into work as a
writer/reporter. Ignoring the prohibitionon
fraternising withlocals helped, of course.
Donald fraternised tirelessly. Encounters
withthe novelist Kawabata Yasunari (a future
Nobel laureate), the zenmaster Suzuki Daisetz
and the composer Hayasaka Fumio provided
DONALD RICHIE (1924-2013)
OBITUARY
He remained the go-to guy for
foreign visitors to Tokyo who
needed help navigating Japans
complex and hermetic society
Atrusted guide: Donald Richie did more than anyone to introduce Western audiences to the wonders of Japanese cinema and culture
G
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I
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14 | Sight&Sound April 2013
By Hannah McGill
Those to whomJean-
Jacques Beineixs Betty
Blue (1986) represented
a seminal (ahem)
crossover betweenthe
private consumption
of soft pornand the public appreciationof
glossy arthouse cinema may be jarred to note
that the lmis nowclose to three decades
old. The shadowit casts is long, for a work of
variable critical reputationwhose directors
international star has waned; and it still stands
as one of the most risqu lms to be nominated
for the ForeignLanguage Oscar. This years
pathologically breast-aware awards host
SethMacfarlane would have blowna fuse.
But nearly 30, surely not isnt the only
surprising birthday associated withBetty Blue
(knowninFrance by the title of Philippe Djians
source novel, 37 du matin). Whenthe sexually
and temperamentally volatile beauty Betty,
played by Batrice Dalle, celebrates her birthday
part-way throughthe lm, it transpires that the
womanweve beenwatching invarious states
of undress and coitus is a teenager: Betty is just
turning 20. Dalle was a shade older, around 21;
her co-star Jean-Hugues Anglade a decade older.
We learnher age whenAnglades character Zorg
takes her to see a piece of land that hes bought
her, and presents her witha cake produced
fromthe boot of his car. The cake is a childlike
offering to a womannot long out of childhood
whose appeal is unsettlingly distributed
betweeninfantile and erotic attributes. And
its candles have miraculously, hazardously
remained lit onthe journey reecting the res
that Betty sometimes lights whenshes upset,
and all the burning passionthat her tantrums
and their relentless coupling cant extinguish.
Her birthday is, however, the beginning
of the end for Betty if indeed the content of
the whole lmisnt basically her accelerated
decline fromsexual usefulness. Apparently
transitioning directly fromteenagerhood to
imprisonment by biological clock (the process
does seema touchless abrupt inBeineixs
sprawling directors cut thaninthe trim
original), she soonbecomes irredeemably
enslaved by her catastrophic premenstrual
syndrome and her desire to have a child.
One shes gone mad enoughto destroy her
ownlooks, Zorg takes anexecutive decision
to put her out of her misery her light
proving a little easier to extinguishthanthe
candles onher cake. (Which, incidentally,
she never gets to eat: it falls to the ground in
the more pressing pursuit of anembrace.)
Amore resilient and certainly more
vengeful formof female madness features
inPark Chanwooks newlmStoker, the
title sequence of whichshows the candles
on18-year-old Indias birthday cake snuffed
out by what appears to be less a cake dome
thana bell jar (a symbol, to Sylvia Plath, of
FromBetty Blue toShort Cuts,
a birthdaycake is seldom
anunambiguous cause for
celebrationinthe movies
Icing on the cake: Virna Lisi makes an entrance inHow to Murder Your Wife
Betty Blue
Marie Antoinette
Singin in the Rain
CANDLES INTHE WIND
OBJECT LESSON RUSHES
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 15
oppressionand entrapment, but also of deant
self-separation). India (Mia Wasikowska), with
her clear wardrobe debt to Balthuss pubescent
minxes, is also a girl and a womanat once.
But unlike Betty, she has anappetite for food
and a preference for solo sexual gratication
(and unlike Betty, she survives the lm).
The birthday cake stands, of course, for
celebration, but also for the impermanence and
perishability of that celebration, and through
it the irretrievable passing of a life stage. Its
deployed withunforgettable poignancy in
the segment of Robert Altmans Short Cuts
(1993) based onthe Raymond Carver story A
Small, Good Thing. Parents Howard (Bruce
Davison) and Ann(Andie MacDowell) face the
wrathof Lyle Lovetts short-fused baker when
they fail to collect their sonCaseys birthday
cake, the boy having beenkilled ina hit-and-
run. Throughthe wrangle that follows, the
cake itself stands as aninnocent object of the
bakers disproportionate wrath, and a sickly
reminder of Caseys stalled future. Cake as an
emblemof unwholesome excess features as
anindicationof a Queens naive proigacy in
2006s Marie Antoinette (thoughSoa Coppola
has her protagonist deny she ever exhorted
the starving to live onit), and of a mothers
deranged overprovisionfor her fracturing
family inNeil Jordans The Butcher Boy (1997).
Consuming, baking or rejecting cake: all
perhaps preferable to being placed inside
one as a birthday surprise a logical step,
perhaps, fromthe associationof sexually
available womenwithdessert (tart dates
to the late 19thcentury, cheesecake to the
1930s; I recall as a child, a little more recently,
being thoroughly befuddled by Barry Norman
commenting that insome 80s lmor other
Michelle Pfeiffer looked as if youcould eat her
witha spoon). The girl-in-cake trope exposes
Debbie Reynoldss high-minded Kathy as a
mere showgirl inSingin in the Rain (1951);
provides a titillating break inthe relentless
male-on-male violence of Under Siege (1992);
and introduces characters played by Jack
Lemmonto a multiple murder inSome Like It
Hot (1959) and a troublesome spouse (Virna
Lisi) inHowto Murder Your Wife (1965).
The somewhat troubling undercurrents
of the idea womanassociated directly
withconfection, sex withconsumption
thereof are givenfull and grisly ight in
Addams Family Values (1993), inwhicha
cake presented to Uncle Fester (Christopher
Lloyd) produces anominous trace of smoke
inplace of the expected dollybird. Lurch,
Gomez admonishes his butler, was she
inthere before youbaked? Bombshell to
burnout before the birthday partys even
kicked off: thats got to be the neatest possible
distillationof the brief Betty Blue life cycle.
The birthday cake stands, of
course, for celebration, but also
for the impermanence and
perishability of celebration
HAROLD PINTER FILMS
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The Servant (1963)
Amazingly, this was Pinters rst lmas
screenwriter, thoughhedwrittenextensively
for television. Like director JosephLosey, Pinter
was fascinatedandrepelledbythe British
class system, charting withrelishthe gradual
undermining of James Foxs foppisharistoby
DirkBogardes suavelyinsidious manservant.
2
The PumpkinEater (1964)
Acrackcast (Anne Bancroft, Peter Finch,
James Mason) drawfull value fromPinters
lethallyoblique dialogue inthis adaptation
of a Penelope Mortimer novel about adultery
andbetrayal among the Londonbourgeoisie.
Bancrofts nervous breakdowninHarrods Food
Hall is a highpoint.
3
The Quiller Memorandum(1966)
Pinter inle Carr territory(thoughthe
original novels byAdamHall), where the cryptic
ambiguities of ColdWar espionage t himas
snuglyas a shoulder holster. George Segals at
his best as the secret-service agent inBerlinup
against MaxvonSydows neo-Nazi. Apre-Smiley
Alec Guinness is his controller.
4
Accident (1967)
BackwithLoseyagain. Bogarde andStanley
Baker playcallous mindgames as Oxforddons
withrival designs onJacqueline Sassards
luscious student, withMichael Yorkas collateral
damage. At a Sundaysupper partythe cruelties
andfrustratedlusts uncoil beneathurbane
donnishchat.
5
The Go-Between(1971)
Pinters thirdandlast withLosey, adapting
L.P. Hartleys classic novel where the past
is a foreigncountry. But despite the idyllic
Edwardianrural setting this is still viciously
class-riddenBritain, withpoisonous whispers
behindthe civilisedclinkof teacups andthe
thwackof ball onwillow.
By PhilipKemp
What concerns me
most is shape and
structure, noted
Pinter, whichgoes for
his screenplays no
less thanfor his stage
plays. At their best,
the lms he scripted are impeccably crafted
artefacts, withdialogue where silences meanas
muchas words and unstated menace cruises
like a shark beneaththe surface of the most
banal utterance. The Losey trilogy found him
ontop form. He understands, Losey observed,
howoftenthe humancreature uses words to
block communication.
The big-screenrerelease of
The Servant this monthoffers a
perfect cue tosurveythe keylms
writtenby(pause) HaroldPinter
The Filmthat
ChangedmyLife
A celebration of 100 years
of the Critics Circle
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 17
along withKristinThompson, has pushed lm
criticismbeyond the borders of the known
world) calls suchpeople animateurs. They
have beencurators, collectors, archivists,
historians, publishers, directors and producers.
To say this is to think of Henri Langlois,
P.K. Nair, Pierre Rissient, WilliamEverson,
Tadao Sato, Iris Barry, Jay Leyda and Kevin
Brownlow, for starters. What we knowabout
lmhas beenfurther shaped by Nwachukwu
Frank Ukadike, Tony Rayns, NasreenMunni
Kabir, Laura Mulvey, Roy Armes, Barry Salt,
MartinScorsese, Gianluca Farinelli, Abe Mark
Nornes, Hamid Nacy, TomLuddy, Manthia
Diawara, Richard Dyer, QuentinTarantino
and many others. If youdont knowsome of
these names, get googling. There are certainly
many more who should be onsucha list.
Inthe digital era we use the word portal
a lot, whichis relevant here because all of
the above are portals, gateways beyond the
bell jar. Inthe digital era of movie plenitude,
the pathnders arent only people, they are
publishers too: YouTube, Criterion, hundreds
of lmfestivals (Festival de 3 Continents,
Cannes, Rotterdametc), Sight &Sound and
small DVDlabels suchas Londons Second
Run, whichhas beentaking us ona tour of
EasternEuropeanand Indiancinema.
But where do we go withthis whenthe
world is getting smaller and more polyvocal,
and there are fewer unclimbed mountains? In
the past, the movie explorer went onher or his
journey beyond the bell jar, was changed by
the getting there, and wrote or programmed
afterwards, having learned fromthat change.
Nowadays explorers blog as they go. The
adventure is more live. They try to give those of
us who are inside the jar the proxy experience
of travelling withthem, marvelling withthem,
unravelling withthem, turning into something
else withthem, looking back at where they
came fromwiththem. This is the potential
of the digital, pointillist now. Filmculture is
becoming a mass of dots, voices all over the map
that combine to provide some sort of picture
of the movies. This is anoptimistic thing to
say anobservationabout what could be if
we allowed the online world to bring out the
best of our ofine selves. It follows fromLe
Corbusiers idea that technology is poetic.
But its hard not to bump into those ofine
selves, the way youbump into the glass wall
of a bell jar. I met a lmfanrecently, the editor
of her student lmmagazine. She had heard
of Africanand Middle Easterncinema, but
had never looked into it. Shes busy doing her
degree and doesnt have muchtime to nd out
about suchlms. She thought there might
be some good ones. I was surprised by this.
Hers is the rst generationfor whomthere are
no barriers to discovering suchmovies. The
informationis a click away as, inmany cases,
are the lms themselves. Theres no glass in
the bell jar. She doesnt knowwhat she doesnt
know, and didnt seeminterested. The Haribos
are so entrancing and theres nothing strong
pushing her out of herself not poverty or
sexual difference or rebellionor intellectual
curiosity or centrifugal force or impatience or
passionor politics. These are just as animating
inthe digital age as they were before it.
My advice to her? Twice a week, watcha
lmabout whichyouknownothing.
By Mark Cousins
JohnSayles said
recently that one
of his lms suffers
froma critical lack
of Caucasians. This
made me laugh. If
only we could edit RyanGosling or Jennifer
Lawrence into the history of Africanlm, then
maybe it would attract more people to it.
Sayless comment reminded me of an
infant I sawrecently ina newspaper shop. It
had spotted a display of Haribos and, having
obviously tasted thembefore and so being able
to imagine their sweetness, grasped for them
longingly. RyanGosling and Jennifer Lawrence
are our Haribos. Weve tasted them, we liked
the taste, we want it again. WhenI suggest
going to see a lm, a member of my family
always says, Whos init? We live inthe bell
jar of our owntaste, knowledge and desires.
Proof of this came recently inanarticle, The
25 Best Movie Critics of All Time, posted on
www.complex.com/pop-culture, whichwas
widely discussed and admired. There were
great critics onthis list, but not one fromthe
continent that has made more lms thanany
other, Asia; infact, no one fromanywhere
east of France no Sergei Eisensteinetc. The
authors of the list reached for their Haribos. If
youre inside the bell jar, suchlists might seem
heady and funbut, seenfromoutside, they
are, among other things, racist by omission.
Toughtalk, I know, but the Sayles-Haribo-
bell-jar-racismline of thought comes about
because of the recent deathof the American
critic and lmmaker Donald Richie, who spent
most of his adult life inJapan(see obituary
p.13). Richie disliked the bell jar (and maybe it
disliked himback) and so became anexplorer.
Like Josephine Baker or T.E. Lawrence, his
living instincts were centrifugal. Like the
story inHomers The Odyssey, he was anoar
misrecognised and re-designated ina new
world as a winnowing fan. As suchhe joins
a gallery of border-crossers whose range is
startling: Ida Lupino, SalmanRushdie, Paul
Gauguin, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Lena Horne,
Youssef Chahine, JanMorris, Gertrude Bell, Paul
Bowles, Marco Polo, IbnBattuta etc. To mention
themis to think of their gaze, their drive, their
gender, sexuality, politics and curiosity. They
objectied themselves and others, they built
bridges of thought and story, they reversed the
subject-object polarity, they looked and were
looked at, they had the duality of movie stars.
There canbe little doubt that, at its best,
the centrifugal impulse turns life into a road
movie, maybe a spaghetti junctionof pathways
betweenhere and there, me and not me and
that, surely, is good. But its worthasking:
who have beenthe other Donald Richies in
lmculture? The critic David Bordwell (who,
OUTSIDE THE BELLJAR
RUSHES
Inthe digital age, theres nothing
tostopus crossing cultural
boundaries, but we needexplorers
topoint us onour way
DISPATCHES
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Movie explorers try to give those
of us inside the bell jar the proxy
experience of travelling with
them, marvelling with them
18 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
By Charles Gant
Back in1992, whenGlennPattersonwas about
to publishhis second novel Fat Lad, Granada
TVasked himto author a documentary as part
of its Celebration series, travelling between
the two cities Belfast and Manchester that
had formed twinpoles inhis life. It was while
lming inBelfast at the record store of local
legend Terri Hooley, and listening to more of his
stories inthe bar afterwards, that inspiration
struck. I remember leaving the bar thinking,
If Imgoing to do a movie, this would be it,
Pattersonrecalls. So begana 20-year journey that
would eventually yield the feature lmGood
Vibrations, named after the shop that Hooley
rst opened inBelfast in1978, incontravention
of all accepted wisdomand commonsense,
ona street knownlocally as Bomb Alley.
Nothing happened for a fewyears until
Patterson, who was writer inresidence at
Queens University Belfast, sawsome short
ctionby undergraduate ColinCarberry.
The two became friends, and decided to
collaborate ona screenplay. Their focus
would be Hooley a hippie-generationDJ
who stood indeance of sectarianbattle lines,
embraced the local punk scene, became a
promoter and manager and set up the label
that released The Undertones Teenage Kicks.
There followed a period of what Patterson
calls intense research it involved a lot of
very late nights at my house, having repaired
there fromvarious bars around the town,
sitting talking to Terri, getting the stories,
trying to get as muchas we could of the
times, going back to the 1960s. Terri would go
home, Pattersoncontinues, and thenlate at
night I would hear the fax machine. I would
go downinthe morning and the hallway
would be completely awashwithfax pages,
as Terri had decided there was something else
hed meant to say. There was interest inthe
project fromFilm4, but whenin1999 it came
to contracts needing to be signed, Hooley
got cold feet. We werent writing it to please
Terri, says Patterson. At the same time, it was
the Good Vibrations story, and we didnt want
to be proceeding if he wasnt happy withthe
whole set-up. So we just set it aside. As far as
we were concerned, unless Terri was keenon
reviving it, we couldnt do anything about it.
The project was rescued thanks to the
interventionof local band SnowPatrol.
Drummer Jonny Quinnhad worked inGood
Vibrations at one point and the band all knew
Carberry as he contributed to local music
magazines. In2007, the bands singer Gary
Lightbody heard about the long-dormant
screenplay and beganwondering if he could
help get it made. The two writers looked at
what they had and decided to get a second
opinionfromtheir friend Lisa Barros DSa
who, unbeknownto them, had recently
formed a lmcompany withher husband
GlennLeyburnand musicianDavid Holmes.
Over 20 years after a Belfast
drinking sessionspawned the
idea, 1970s indie-music saga
Good Vibrations hits the screen
Last night a DJ saved my life: Richard Dormer as Belfasts one-man music scene, Terri Hooley
PICKINGUPGOODVIBRATIONS
DEVELOPMENTTALE
The Industry
BUSINESS NEWS & OPINION
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 19
Suddenly there was interest inthe lm;
adding further weight to the team, Derry-born
AndrewEaton, long-time producer partner
of Michael Winterbottom, also signed on, as
did Belfast-based producer Chris Martin.
Crucially, Hooley was nowhappy to proceed.
What was different between1999 and 2007,
Pattersonexplains, was that most of the
people who were nowinvolved were living and
working inBelfast. The lmindustry inBelfast
had developed considerably and it was possible
to develop a project there. There was respect
and familiarity. Terri was delighted withthat.
WithBarros DSa and Leyburn, who were
about to make their debut feature Cherrybomb,
attached as directors, the writers worked ona
draft funded by NorthernIreland Screenand
the IrishFilmBoard. The UKFilmCouncils
NewCinema Fund, under Lenny Crooks,
was enthusiastic, and provided funding for
shooting a fewsample scenes, whichsuddenly
necessitated the discovery of a lead actor to
play Hooley. The lmmakers turned to local
talent Richard Dormer. His name had come
up before because of his brilliant performance
as Alex Higgins inHurricane, the one-man
showthat he wrote, says Patterson. Hes
always beensomeone we thought would
be good. But the sampler really conrmed
that. As soonas yousawhimdo it, you
couldnt imagine anybody else inthe role.
Changes at the UKFCsawthe departure of
Crooks and a parting of the ways. Next to get
involved was Film4, who had beenlinked,
under different leadership, to the earlier
attempt to make the picture inthe late 90s.
We developed a fewdrafts withthem, says
Patterson. They were very keen. Finally
there was maybe a sense that creatively they
didnt quite see the lmthe same way we
did. It was amicable enough. Luckily Steve
Wright of BBCNorthernIreland, who had
always beenaware of the project, was able to
bring it to the attentionof Joe Oppenheimer
at BBCFilms inLondon. We did a couple
more drafts of it, but once we landed there,
we felt we were all talking about the same
lminthe same way, says Patterson.
Throughout the process, discussions
had always takenplace about whether
Good Vibrations was a youth-culture lm
about a charismatic maverick or a drama
set against the turmoil of the Northern
Ireland Troubles. The political context was
always approached warily, says Patterson.
I never thought it was a lmabout the
Troubles. Its a lmabout a manwho does
something extraordinary something that is
unremarkable anywhere else and extraordinary
inthe circumstances that he found himself.
i
GoodVibrations is releasedinthe UK
on29March, andis reviewedonpage 91
Research involved very late
nights at my house, having
repaired there fromvarious
bars, sitting talking to Terri
Gael force: Bernal is in four of the top ten below
By Charles Gant
Network Releasingmade its very rst foray
intotheatrical distributionwithPabloLarrans
Tony Manero, andthenhandledhis follow-
upPost Mortem, sothe UKoutt was well
placedtoacquire the Chileandirectors latest
effort, No. Makinga rare buy at script stage,
Network managingdirector TimBeddows
enthusiastically signedonfor the real-life
drama about the anti-Pinochet campaign
duringthe 1988referenduminChile. There
have beennoregrets. The moment we saw
it, we knewit was goingtobe commercially
headandshoulders above Pablos previous
lms,he says. There were somany aspects
of the lmwe couldplay on, we were spoilt
for choice interms of howtopitchit.
The original planwas tofollowupOctobers
BFI LondonFilmFestival premiere witha
late 2012release, but withstar Gael Garca
Bernal unavailable until lateJanuary, No
was pushedtoearly February, a time when
arthouse cinemas are congestedwithOscar
pictures. It was a gamble althoughthe
lmdidpick upanOscar nominationfor
foreign-language picture and, withcrucial
support fromthe Curzonchainandregional
lmtheatres, the distributor was rewarded
withanopeningweekendof 49,000from
15sites, plus 8,000inpreviews, a higher
total thanthe entire UKruns ofTony
Manero andPost Mortem combined.
Network partneredwithAmnesty
International onthe lm, launchingaNo
toimpunitycampaignthat, combinedwith
Bernals star cachet, provedcatniptothe
media. Apicture of the actor holdinga placard
withthe sloganmade the cover of national
daily freesheetMetro, andhe appearedlive
onChannel 4News andNewsnight the
same evening. This is the most successful
publicity campaignthe company has ever
run,says Beddows. Gael workedreally
hardandwas worthevery penny.
Eyebrows were raisedinthe industry when
No endedupplayingone-off screenings in
the Picturehouse chains Discover Tuesdays
slot inthe rst week of release. While Network
wouldcertainly have preferredproper week-
longengagements, No achievedtakings
of 12,000, the highest of any of the 51
lms participatinginthe slot todate, and
has scoredfollow-onbookings at multiple
Picturehouse sites. After 17 days of play, the
lms gross stoodat animpressive 228,402.
Films bookedintoUKmultiplex chains
must retainanexclusive four-monththeatrical
window, but withlittle interest fromthose
exhibitors, Network optedtoexperiment
witha two-week video-on-demandplatform
withCurzonandiTunes, whichat press time
was set tobeginon8March. With32,000
fromthe BritishFilmInstitutes Distribution
Fundaidingmarketingfor this initiative, it
will be aninterestingtest. The irony is that
these alternative approaches resultednot
somuchfromNetworks relentless quest for
innovative models, but more as a response
tolukewarmsupport fromthe exhibition
sector for a highly appealinglm.
THE NUMBERS
NO
LATINAMERICANCINEMAATUK/IRELAND BOXOFFICE
Film Year Gross
The Motorcycle Diaries 2004 2,711,477
City of God 2003 2,372,951
Ytu mam tambin 2002 1,621,560
The Secret inTheir Eyes 2010 776,655
Amores perros 2001 769,190
Maria Full of Grace 2005 696,122
Central Station 1999 678,663
Bombn el perro 2005 446,913
Sin nombre 2009 277,096
No 2013 228,402*
*still on release
20 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
By Geoffrey Macnab
The UKhas a thriving and crowded theatrical-
distributionsector, but one currently in
anunusual state of turbulence. As the
numbers suggest, the sector is extremely
lopsided. Last year, the top tendistributors
(the six studios and the top four leading
independents: eOne, Lionsgate, Momentum
and Entertainment) had a 95.2 per cent
share of the theatrical marketplace.
In2012, 127 separate suppliers released
lms inUKcinemas. That means 117
companies were left to ght for 4.8 per
cent of the overall market. Atotal of 646
lms were released in2012. The top ten
distributors were responsible for 250 of these.
Giventhat the annual theatrical market for
the UKis worthmore than1 billion, there
are still millions of pounds to be fought over
by the smaller indies who released the other
396 lms. But 127 companies is a greater
number of suppliers thanever before, notes
Mark Batey, chief executive of trade body the
FilmDistributors Association. Half of those
are just releasing one title each, he points
out. Part of what is going onis a symptom
of the digital marketplace. If youve got a
title youcanbring to market and showsome
support behind, youhave as muchchance
of booking a screenor two as anyone else.
The contradictory nature of the marketplace
has beenunderlined by the convulsions in
the sector over the past 12 months. Revolver,
founded by JustinMarciano in1997 and
among the most belligerent of the smaller
UKindies, has beenstruggling. The company,
whichenjoyed a notable success last year
withThe Imposter, has beenlaying off staff.
Nick Taussig and Paul VanCarter, who
produced lms throughRevolvers in-house
productioncompany Gunslinger, have left
to set up their ownproductioncompany. At
the time of writing, Revolver isnt releasing
newlms inBritishcinemas. (Marciano
didnt respond to a request for a comment
about the future directionof the company.)
In2011 another bigger player, IconFilm, also
withdrewfromUKdistribution. InJanuary
2013, major international company eOne
completed the acquisitionof Alliance Films.
As part of the deal, Alliances UKdistribution
company Momentum(whichreleased The
Kings Speech) was folded into eOne, a newsuper
indie. Reactions to the merger have beenmixed:
some see it as a signof the sectors strength,
witheOne buying a vibrant competitor
after anexceptional year at the box ofce
spearheaded by The Twilight Saga: Breaking
Dawn Part 2. Others lament the disappearance
of Momentumas a standalone distributor.
At the same time as some companies
have struggled and others have merged,
newentrants have rushed into the market.
German-owned KochMedia is nowplanning
to release 25 features a year into British
cinemas, starting withthriller Arbitrage
and the newversionof Red Dawn. Arrow,
previously specialising invideo, has been
releasing biggisharthouse lms into UK
cinemas, among themThomas Vinterbergs
The Hunt. Meanwhile newdistributor Day
For Night, handling smaller arthouse lms,
has beenmaking its rst theatrical releases.
Intheory, the UKis a treacherous market
for distributors. It is a high-cost, low-margin
marketplace. Rentals are relatively low,
media costs are relatively high. Theatrical is
buoyant and robust, but the whole of home
and mobile entertainment is still very uid,
says Batey, pointing to the problems of video
retailers suchas HMVand Blockbusters.
While younger consumers may embrace the
many newonline services available, for older
consumers, he says, the fact youcant pop
into a store ona highstreet and pick up a DVD
will have a depressing effect onthe market.
At the recent EuropeanFilmMarket that
runs alongside the BerlinFilmFestival, UK
distributors were out inforce bidding for
suchproperties as Untitled Hugh Grant and
Blood Sisters: Vampire Academy. The fear is that
arthouse and independent fare will become
harder to see inBritishcinemas. Thenagain,
withwell more than100 companies still
releasing lms inthe UK, its hard to argue
that theres a problemwithunder-supply.
Onanoptimistic note, indie distributors are
relishing the fact that broadcaster Skys iron
grip onpay TVat last seems to be loosening. In
the past these distributors would bemoanthe
fact that Sky had output deals withthe studios,
but rarely if ever showed non-mainstream
fare. Now, thanks to Netix, LoveFilmet
al, distributors have newopportunities to
sell their wares to home consumers.
If youve got a title and can
showsome support behind it,
you have as much chance of
booking a screen as anyone else
INTHE SWIM
OVERVIEW THE INDUSTRY
The UKdistributionsector is in
a state of ux, withcompanies
coming and going, and new
opportunities inpay TV
Walter Hill is at work ona remake of
Robert Aldrichs 1962classicWhat Ever
HappenedtoBabyJane?. Hill is working
withAldrichs daughter Adell onthe project.
He toldFilmComment that inhis version
Blanche andJane, originally playedbyJoan
CrawfordandBette Davis, will be younger
andwill bothhave active sex lives. Baby
Jane is a story about violent confrontation,
the director says, whichis what Ive
done for a livingfor the past 40years.
Paul Greengrass is tomakeCaptain
Phillips, a docudrama about a ships
captainandhis crewwhoare takenhostage
by Somali pirates. The lm, basedona
real-lifeApril 2009incident, will star Tom
Hanks. Greengrass is alsoreportedly to
makeMemphis, about MartinLuther
Kings nal days andassassination.
David O. Russell has cast Jennifer Lawrence
inhis forthcomingThe Ends of the Earth,
a romantic drama byArgo writer Chris
Terrio, basedona true story. Lawrence will
play socialite Lydie Marland, the niece of
oil tycoonErnest Marland, whoadopted
her whenhis destitute brother was unable
tolook after her. After his siblingpassed
away, the 54-year-oldErnest annulledthe
adoptionandmarriedthe 28-year-oldLydie.
Justin Kurzel, director ofSnowtown,
is indiscussionwithMads Mikkelsenand
RalphFiennes tojoinEwanMcGregor inOur
Kindof Traitor. Adaptedby HosseinAmini
(Drive) fromtheJohnle Carr novel, it
follows anEnglishcouple whoget mixedup
witha Russianmoney-launderingoligarch
(Mikkelsen) whenhe seeks protectionfrom
UKintelligence inreturnfor information
about his criminal activities. They are soon
positionedbetweenthe RussianMaa
andthe BritishSecret Service, neither
of whomthey cantrust. Fiennes will play
Hector Meredith, a UKgovernment xer.
Marion Cotillard(above) has signedon
forDeux jours, une nuit, the newlmby the
Dardenne brothers. The story centres on
Sandra, whohas one week toconvince her
work colleagues toturndowntheir bonuses
sothat she cankeepher job. Production
begins this summer inBelgium. Cotillard
is alsoinnegotiations totake the leadin
anadaptationof Octave Mirbeaus classic
The Diary of a Chambermaid by French
director Benot Jacquot (VillaAmalia).
INPRODUCTION
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AVAILABLE FROM18 MARCHONDVD
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AVAILABLE FROM25 MARCHONDVD
LIVING APART
TOGETHER
Long lost for years, this charming 80s Scottish comedy
and debut directorial feature from Charles Gormley
(Heavenly Pursuits) has now been digitally restored.
Starring satirical post-punk musician BA Robertson,
Living Apart Together represents an important record
of a culturally signicant time in the city of Glasgow.
Packed with cameos from the likes of Peter Capaldi,
James Cosmo and John Gordon Sinclair, Living Apart
Together is a bittersweet take on relationships and
remains a fresh and captivating insight into how our
actions afect the people we love.
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 23
By Nick Roddick
Nobody knows anything. William
Goldmans sardonic summary has haunted
the movie business for 30 years, despite the
fact that, since the very start, the American
lmindustry has gone to great lengths to
amass as muchinformationas possible
before making and/or releasing a lm.
Studio les fromthe 1930s are crammed
withfeedback fromcinema owners, whose
comments onaudience taste were carefully
weighed by productionchiefs. More recently,
anindustry has grownup inLos Angeles to
track public awareness and predict potential
opening-weekend gures for a lm often,
it has to be said, withdepressing accuracy.
Hollywood may not knowanything,
but it seems to knowwhat we want.
Whichbrings us to Netix, the latest business
planwithambitions to become a cultural
phenomenon. It too relies heavily onsubscriber
intelligence. Or, as Netixs vice-president of
product innovationTodd Yellinwould rather
put it, knowing what our members want.
Founded inCalifornia in1997, Netix began
as anorder-online, ship-by-mail DVDrental
business pretty muchlike LoveFilminthe UK.
Adecade later, it launched a subscription-based
streaming service inthe US, and inthe past
ve years has expanded to Canada, Mexico,
large chunks of SouthAmerica, most of the
Nordic countries and, since January 2012, the
UKand Ireland. It claims a worldwide total of
33 millionsubscribers sorry, members an
estimated 30 millionof whomare inthe US.
On1 February this year, the company
launched its rst Netix Original, a 13-part
political series called House of Cards with
a high-power (rather thanall-star) cast
headed by KevinSpacey and RobinWright,
two A-list directors (David Fincher and Joel
Schumacher) for the rst four episodes
and a reported budget of $100 million. A
second series is already inproduction, and
two more Netix Originals horror-themed
Hemlock Grove and comedy/drama Orange
Is the NewBlack are due later this year.
Admittedly, the concept of Originals brings
withit a certainrisk. The lmroadside is
littered withthe corpses of those whove
tried to get into lmproduction, says
Yellin, who describes himself as a movie
guy throughand through and who was
anindependent lmmaker before he was
recruited to Netix in2006. But we have
over 33 millionmembers and growing, so
we have a roughidea of what theyll enjoy;
were not going to do it right every time, but
this is one part of something were trying.
Depending onhowyoulook at it, Netix
either has a slightly shambolic suck-it-and-see
attitude towards corporate development, or
is responsive enoughto business results and
customer feedback to knowwhento stop. In
the mid-2000s, for example, it branched out
into theatrical distributionwitha subsidiary
called Red Envelope Entertainment, which
lasted less thantwo years. InSeptember
2011 it said it was going to hive off the US
DVD-by-mail business into a divisioncalled
Qwikster. Amonthlater, following some
angry member posts, it said it wasnt.
Could Netix Originals also be short-
lived? Its one part of the strategy, but its
not a make-or-break part, says Yellin. The
series has beenwell received, he insists. He
wont give gures (Netix rarely does), but a
survey by US nancial consultancy Cowen
and Company two weeks after House of Cards
launched claimed that about tenper cent of
US subscribers had streamed it, watching an
average of six episodes apiece. (Ive watched
all 13 episodes and amdenitely a fan.)
What House of Cards does seemto conrm,
however, is a continued drift away fromthe
movies-on-demand business enshrined in
Netixs name towards analternative method
of watching TVseries, and inparticular to
what The NewYork Times recently dubbed
binge viewing as ina weekend spent (duvet
optional) watching anentire series of, say, Lost.
Yellinlooks unhappy whenI mentionbinge
viewing It sounds kind of pathological;
I prefer marathonwatching and is also
equivocal about the drift towards TV. Movies
are still really important to us, he insists, but
we pay attentionto what our users are watching
and we aimto make themas happy as possible.
The UKcatalogue has more thandoubled since
we launched and is expected to go onincreasing
in2013. That will get us more popular content
towards the head of the demand curve, but
it will also get us further downthe tail into
what your readership might likeSo, yes,
foreigncinema is going to increase.
Obviously the size of the catalogue
and the preponderance of what are
politely called library titles are among
Netix UKs weaknesses, currently being
exploited by Sky ina cinema commercial
for its newstreaming service, NOWTV,
that offers newlms 12 months before
Netix (albeit for 3 a monthmore).
That, says Yellin, is being addressed
Netix recently signed anoutput deal
withDisney (conrming the commitment
to movies) but is complicated by who
holds what rights for whichterritories (the
internet may be global, but the lm-rights
business is still deantly territorial).
But Netixs most powerful weapon, Yellin
claims, is the informationonviewer habits
and tastes it has built up. These days, of course,
this has nothing to do withletters fromtheatre
owners or evenspecialist consultants; its
all done by computer models, and Netix
is so condent inthe systemdeveloped
under Yellinthat it has offered $1 millionto
anyone who cancome up witha better one.
These are algorithms that were constantly
testing and honing and have for years, says
Yellin, so we canput the right piece of content
infront of youat the right time, leveraging
anextraordinary amount of data about how
people rate titles, what they watch, howmuch
they watch, whenthey watch, what devices
they watchon, what kind of categories they like
withincreasingly sophisticated algorithms to
really predict what well put infront of them.
If that sounds a little Orwellian, Yellin
has a gentler view. Ina way, he says,
were a very sophisticated dating service
introducing youto someone that youll
probably love and thats a movie
Meet the manincharge of
product innovationat Netix,
the company thats changing
the way we consume lms
Amovie guy: Yellin was an independent lmmaker before joining Netix in 2006
Were a very sophisticated
dating service introducing you
to someone youll probably
love and thats a movie
TODDYELLIN
PROFILE THE INDUSTRY
24 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
Its beena long time since a competitionline-
up of suchconsistently good quality graced
Potsdamerplatz. Thoughno lmas distinctive
or groundbreaking as, say, last years Tabu or
2011s The Turin Horse was shownat Berlin
this year, and no instant classic suchas Asghar
Farhadis ASeparation (also 2011) emerged,
every day brought a rewarding surprise.
Atypical boost came, for instance, when
Kazakhwriter-director Emir Baigazins debut
feature Harmony Lessons (Uroki Garmonii) was
shown. Eight days in, withthe international
press largely having moved on, we would
usually be watching a worthy socio-political
melodrama of the kind that have so often
padded out the line-up inthe past. Yet here
was a cool-headed appraisal of brutal life ina
Kazakhschool, put together withnear-forensic
precisionby a newvoice using non-actors.
Aslan(Timur Aidarbekov) is a bright student
living withhis mother, conned by thug Bolat
(AslanAnarbayev) into drinking water the
other boys have used to cool their private parts.
He is thereafter ostracised until a newpupil
arrives Akzhan(Anelya Adilbekova) who
isnt scared of Bolat. Lessons onDarwin, Gandhi
and the like contrast withthe all-pervasive
gangsterismthat deprives pupils of their food
and money, as well as Aslans bizarre torture
experiments oncockroaches. Director Baigazin
clearly shares Kazakhcinemas interest instark
landscape shots and a certainmute beauty.
Also shownlate was Danis Tanovics
AnEpisode inthe Life of anIronPicker
(Epizoda u zivotu beraca zeljeza). Little about
Tanovics career so far (No Mans Land, Hell,
Shell Shock) had prepared us for this sharp social-
observationtale about a Roma couple inBosnia-
Herzegovina. WhenSenada suffers a
miscarriage, the local hospital (some hours
away) wont treat her because she hasnt got
insurance; if her husband Nazif, who salvages
scrap metal, cant nd the 900 marks plus fee,
theyll let her die. The actors here are the very
people to whomthis health-service nightmare
actually happened, and the reconstruction
shot as naturalistically as possible never gets
inthe way of the drama of their dilemma or the
convictionof their performances.
Earlier inthe festival, the emphasis was on
womenof a certainage. Withthe growthof
the grey audience, well likely see many lms
inthe near future that focus onpeople intheir
fties and sixties, but SebastinLelios Gloria
is the rst Ive seenthat follows a Chilean
womanof that age whos active onthe singles
scene. Anenergetic dancer and game irt,
Gloria (Paulina Garca, who wonthe Best
Actress prize) handles partners and potential
dates witha realistic aplomb that shields her
desire for sincere affection. WhenRodolfo
(Sergio Hernndez), owner of anamusement
park, persuades her to date him, he seems a
considerate, gentle lover. Thoughhe takes many
calls fromhis children, he claims to be recently
separated fromhis wife. The crisis comes
whenhe vanishes fromthe seaside resort hes
takenGloria to for the weekend and she, inher
despair, goes ona bender. Whats so refreshing
about Lelios social observationhere is its subtle
acuity. Rarely does a lmcentred onone person
achieve suchsatisfying and consistent grace
notes. And the way Pauline Garca performs
Glorias tiny rituals of self-preservation
would winover the hardest of hearts.
Gloria would have beenmy tip for the Golden
Bear, but the award fromWong Kar-Wais jury
went instead to CalinPeter Netzers compelling
Childs Pose (Pozitia copilului), whichcentres on
a womanof a similar age to Gloria. Well-heeled
Cornelia Kerenes (Luminita Gheorghiu) has
doted onher grown-up sonBarbu(Bogdan
Dumitrache) so overpoweringly that he avoids
her altogether, but whenhe kills a child ina
road accident, she and her well-connected sister
Carmen(Illinca Goia) move into inuence
the outcome. Almstraight out of the recent
Romaniantraditionof acute psychological
realism, Childs Pose (anawkward translation
whichapparently refers to the positionof the
foetus inthe womb) compiles a tragedy of
Greek proportions out of keenly observed detail,
all of whichcomes to a harrowing climax when
Cornelia visits the family of the dead child.
It was too muchfor ironists that a festival
whose awards are called Bears should have
two lms incompetitioninwhichpeople are
caught inbear traps. One was Thomas Arslans
catastrophically self-important westernGold,
about Germanimmigrants pushed to the limit
BEARNECESSITIES
Festivals
BERLINTOP TEN
1. Frances Ha (below) NoahBaumbach
2. Gloria SebastinLelio
3. Camille Claudel 1915 BrunoDumont
4. Childs Pose CalinPeter Netzer
5. The Grandmaster WongKar-Wai
6. Before Midnight RichardLinklater
7. Paradise: Hope UlrichSeidl
8. Harmony Lessons Emir Baigazin
9. Computer Chess AndrewBujalski
10. An Episode in the Life of an
Iron Picker DenisTanovic
BERLIN
Withthe GoldenBear going to Childs Pose, directed by the hitherto unsung RomanianCalinPeter Netzer,
this was anunusually varied Berlinale, where strong newlms fromKazakhstan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and
Chile more thanheld their ownagainst offerings fromsuchestablished festival talents as UlrichSeidl,
Wong Kar-Wai, Bruno Dumont, Richard Linklater, Jafar Panahi and NoahBaumbach. By Nick James
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 25
Grandmaster ash: Wong Kar-Wai chaired the jury as well as opening the festival with his martial-arts epic, starring Zhang Ziyi
26 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
onthe Klondike trail, withNina Hoss as its
impassive heroine (no, Imnot doing horse
puns too). The measure of its tumbleweed
dullness came at the screening when, after
Nietzscheanjournalist Mller (Uwe Bohn)
triggers the trap, the wistful carpenter (Lars
Rudolph) says, Its incredible that inall this
vast wilderness a manshould step onthe one
place where theres a bear trap. Beatensilly by
pomposity, the audience roared withlaughter.
There are bear traps too inCanadianDenis
Cts oblique, anti-dramatic situationplay
Vic +FloSawa Bear (Vic + Flo ont vu un ours),
about anageing lesbianjust out of prison
(Pierette Robitaille) who holes up ina woodland
retreat withher bisexual girlfriend (Romane
Bohringer), little knowing that said girlfriend
has a psychopathonher trail. Other
commentators thought this a small gem, but
my ownhighhopes for this talented director
were not met by the unmotivated oddball
behaviour and grisly effects ondisplay here.
Austrianmoralist UlrichSeidls Paradise
trilogy reached anapt if unemphatic conclusion
here. Where Love (Liebe, unveiled at Cannes
2012) rubbed our faces, so to speak, inthe
Nigeriansex tourismof chubby matriarch
Teresa (Margarethe Tiesel), and Faith (Glaube,
Venice 2012) alternated awe and despair at
Teresas fervent, self-agellating Catholic
sister Annamaria (Maria Hofsttter), Hope
(Hoffnung) amps up boththe sly humour
and the fellowfeeling. Teresas daughter
Meli (Melanie Lenz), sent to a regimented
fat camp, pals up withgirls who seemmore
sexually advanced. She develops a crushon
the facilitys doctor (JosephLorenz), a leonine
middle-aged manwho tries gently to defuse
her visits by making her swap roles with
him whichonly deepens her devotion. Hope
lives up to its name, giving this oftenharsh
triptycha pleasingly sensitive landing.
The severe tone adopted by Seidl was
matched elsewhere. Always one to seek out the
worlds nest auteurs, Juliette Binoche has been
stretching her persona inlms like Flight of the
Red Balloon, Certied Copy, Elles and Cosmopolis.
What a surprise, then, that its Bruno Dumont
withCamille Claudel 1915 who has brought
the actress back to the starker kind of role that
made her reputation. As the famous sculptress,
conned to a mental institutionby her family,
Binoche is oncamera, without make-up or
many lines to utter for more thananhour. Few
actors canpull off the performance of thought
without speaking or gurning, but Binoche
manages it magnicently. Camilles anguish
uctuates withher sympathy for her fellow
inmates and her intrinsic sense of superiority
(the sculptress thought herself a genius);
surrounded by muchmore disturbed inmates
(played by real inmates), she is hounded by the
idea that she could be mad. Dumont, too, shows
uncharacteristic restraint, here relying onthe
simple, beauty of buildings, landscape and
natural light to convey the intense, sculptural
way that Camille looks at the world. Of course,
he is still Dumont, and so the preaching has to
start, and it duly arrives withthe supremely
self-righteous Paul Claudel (Jean-Luc Vincent),
a manwhose religious convictions will make
sure his sister never leaves the asylum. I cant
pretend it isnt hard going at times, but Camille
Claudel 1915 is probably Dumonts best lmyet.
Would that The Nun(La Religieuse),
Guillaume Niclouxs routine adaptation
of Denis Diderots feverishanti-clerical
sexual-repressionpotboiler, had one jot
of Dumonts intensity. All that marks this
lmout fromaverage costume drama is an
uncharacteristically over-the-top performance
fromIsabelle Huppert as a 17th-century Mother
Superior desperate for caresses and kisses
fromSuzanne Simonin(Pauline Etienne),
the put-uponheroine whose family have
conned her to the religious life against her
will. Malgoska Szumowskas Inthe Name of
(Wimie) also pursues repressed sexuality
among Catholics whove dedicated themselves
to God. Arural home for young offenders
inPoland is runby Father Adam(Andrzej
Chyra) and his lay assistant Michal (Lukasz
Simlat). Convincing scenes of what life is
like for these boys give way to simmering
homosexual tensions withthe arrival of a
new, agrantly gay, toughkid, Adrian(Tomasz
Schuchardt). Szumowskas portraiture and
mood-setting are excellent, but it doesnt add
up to anything we havent seenbefore.
Songs of experience
It was at Berlinin2004 that I rst saw
Richard Linklaters terric Before Sunset. At
the time I hadnt seenhis earlier Before Sunrise,
where Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan
Hawke) rst met inVienna before parting after
one night together; but Before Sunset, where
they meet inParis nine years later at a reading
of the book Jesse wrote about their rst
encounter, still blewme away withits seamless
walk-and-talk idea of howromance owers.
This approachto lmmaking relies ona fragile
charm, so its all the braver of all concerned to
make Before Midnight, the Songs of Experience
(if youwill) third part, portraying Celine and
Jesse after theyve beenmarried for eight years
and have raised twins together. The location
this time is Greece, where Jesse has been
resident ona writers retreat, and the context is
Jesses anguishat being so far fromthe sonhe
has withhis rst wife (whomhe married
betweenthe time periods of the rst two lms).
If Before Midnight has one weakness its
that Linklater leaves the talk tap running
all the time, eventhoughmarried couples
dont usually communicate witheachother
so incessantly. Theres a long scene of them
wandering towards the beachthroughruins
explaining backstory stuff no long-termcouple
Harmony Lessons is a cool-
headed appraisal of brutal life
ina Kazakh school, put together
with near-forensic precision
Harmony Lessons
Before Midnight
BERLIN FESTIVALS
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 27
Camille Claudel 1915
A Long and Happy Life Promised Land
would need to recount. Maybe Linklater
should have found the courage to let that
scene runwithout themsaying very much
at all. But never mind, because what makes
Before Midnight at the least the equal of the
other parts is its scarily accurate last half-hour,
whena piercingly hurtful, compromise-ridden
argument breaks out, of a kind yourarely if ever
see inthe cinema. Itll have veterans of long-
termrelationships everywhere simultaneously
squirming and laughing at its accuracy.
Another veteranof the US indie scene, Gus
VanSant, reteams withactor Matt Damon
for PromisedLand, one of the directors more
stylistically straightforward mainstreamworks
witha political issue attached: the dangers of
fracking the process by whichshale gas is
extracted fromlayers of rock deep beneaththe
ground. Damonand Frances McDormand play
respectively Steve Butler and Sue Thomason,
colleagues charged withbuying up shale-gas
rights fromon-their-uppers farmers; John
Krasinski (who co-wrote the script with
Damon) plays eco-warrior DustinNoble, out
to informlocal communities of the dangers.
The lmdoes anexcellent job of exploring the
issues fairly, but Damons character is fatally
undermined by inconsistency. One minute hes
super-sharp, the next a dumb-ass, here a good
ol boy, there a cultural sophisticate. Hard to
read is part of his huckster persona, but the lm
twists himimplausibly to its dramatic uses.
Amore ery farmer drama is Boris
Khlebnikovs ALongandHappy Life (Dolgaya
schastlivaya zhizn). This single-minded lm
about a single-minded manis anemotionally
complex, Chekhoviantale of divided loyalties
among the inhabitants of a squatter farm,
whose owner Sascha (Alexander Yatsenko)
is refusing to take government compensation
for relinquishing the land to a buyer. Sascha
is young, feels responsible and is sleeping
withthe government bureauchiefs PA,
but instead of exploring the shifts inhis
instinct and feeling, as well as those of his
dependents, the lmmerely portrays him
regressing into a tragic tunnel visionthat
never feels anything more thanpetulant.
Irans Deputy Culture Minister Javad
Shamaqdari was quick to criticise the Berlinale
for giving the Best Screenplay award to an
Iranianlmmade without the governments
permission: Jafar Panahis ClosedCurtain
(Pard). And sadly, since the festival ended,
Iranianauthorities have gone further,
conscating the passports of co-director
Kamboziya Partovi and actress Maryam
Moghadam bothof whomattended Berlin
so they wont be able to support the lm
abroad infuture. Like This Is Not a Film, Panahis
latest is conned to a single building, inthis
case a beachside holiday home inhabited
at rst by a screenwriter seeking the muses
and a dissident womanonthe runfrom
the police. These, however, turnout to be
gments of Panahis ownimagination; after
a while Panahi himself takes over residency
oncamera. This inventive but not altogether
successful lmhas three scenes inwhich
people walk into the sea fromwhichcan
be inferred bothsuicidal thoughts onthe
directors part and the authorities clear desire
for himto leave. Since I want Panahi to be able
to work wherever and whenever he chooses,
it would feel too muchlike bad manners to
critique the lmfurther inthis report.
I have a hunchI would have got a kick out
of David GordonGreens Prince Avalancheand
its dumb-ass men-at-work road-improvement
shtick had I not beensitting near someone who
laughed so piercingly at every remark from
the very start that I missed half the dialogue.
The best thing I cansay is that I want to see it
Asingle-minded lmabout a
single-minded man, ALong and
Happy Life is anemotionally
complex, Chekhoviantale
28 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
again. Aschedule clashmeant that I could only
watchthe rst 45 minutes of AndrewBujalskis
Computer Chess, but by the time I had to go it
had already established its potent nerd charm
withmeticulous low-techrecreationof a 1980s
conference competitionfor computers that
play chess. Amusingly peculiar males (and
one female), givento hapless puzzlement
and conspiracy theories, ponder many arcane
things. I particularly enjoyed the cameo
appearance of my US lm-critic colleague
Gerald Peary as Henderson, the chess master
whose job it is to beat the winning computer.
Seamy bohemians
Imnot a fanof biopics, generally preferring
a documentary about the subject, but what
fascinated me about The Look of Love Michael
Winterbottoms enjoyably unsleazy portrait
of Soho strip-club baronPaul Raymond (Steve
Coogan) is what it felt it could get away
withgiventhat Raymonds heirs have such
enormous wealth. The lms focus moves from
Raymonds relationships withhis wife Jean
(Anna Friel) to his infatuationwithhis model
girlfriend Fiona Richmond (TamsinEgerton),
and thento the tragedy of his beloved daughter
Debbie (ImogenPoots), who becomes entangled
inhis seamy bohemianworld. Muchis made
of prodigious sexual and narcotic appetites,
but we get little sense of howRaymond came
to dominate the erotica market inLondon, a
toughbusiness whichpresumably required
occasional recourse to toughmeans.
Theres not muchwrong withPia Maraiss
Layla Fourieexcept for its too-contrived set-up.
Take a black Africanwoman, the titular Layla
(Rayna Campbell), witha young sonintow, who
wins a job at a casino as a polygraph-machine
operator. Have her accidentally runover an
elderly white man, who dies before she canget
himto hospital so she has to dump the body.
Have her theninterviewa manfor a casino
driving job, who turns out to be the victims
son. Have another employee of the casino be
the one who steals something fromthe dead
mans crashed car. Already the number of
coincidences feels implausibly high, and there
are more whichis a pity because, once the set-
up is inplace, this becomes a fascinating insight
into modernSouthAfricantensions around
status and employment, strong onatmosphere.
As youcansee, the Berlinales headline
titles inspired cautious, qualied praise. But
Ive saved the worst and the two best lms
for last. Ina festival inwhichmenwere
most oftendepicted as anendangered and
somewhat hopeless species, the opening image
of The Necessary Deathof Charlie Countryman
might have beenemblematic: Shia LaBeouf
hanging upside downwithhis face mashed to
pulp. But the lmis suchanappalling
confectionof stereotypes about womenand
gangsters inBucharest that youcanonly hope
necessary deathcomes swiftly to the lmitself.
If violence was what youwanted, youcould
nd no more exquisite yet evasive a depiction
thanWong Kar-Wais The Grandmaster (Yi dai
zong shi), whichopened the festival inthe out-
of-competitionslot. The directors sumptuous
saga of kung-fuschools goes all out for an
operatic-romantic aesthetic that de-emphasises
violence infavour of rainspatters off a strawhat
and the whooshof ornate slippers ona polished
oor. The action oftenmore like ice-skating
thancombat spins out fromthe townof
Foshan, home to modest master Ip Man(Tony
Leung), until northernmaster Gong Baosen
(Wang Qingxiang) arrives to challenge the best
of the southernmasters. Ip Manis chosen, and
the battle becomes anintellectual challenge
that he unravels to his opponents satisfaction.
Gong Baosens daughter Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi),
mistress of another technique, confronts Ip Man
for her familys honour, but this whole world
of traditionis soonblownaway by the Japanese
invasionand consequent political turmoil (the
story stretches fromthe 1930s to the 50s).
Having arrived at the festival withseconds
to spare before the screening started, I found
myself inthe front rowbeneatha huge screen.
What struck me most was the gossamer-thin
focal depthdeployed here by Wong and his
cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd. Only
parts of the casts gorgeous faces are ever pin-
sharp; only one ina rowof icicles all ready to
fall. The interplay of surfaces and shadows
is, if anything, richer still thanwere used to
fromWong and his team(including perennial
productiondesigner/editor WilliamChang).
Hes certainly channelling vonSternberg
whenever Zhang Ziyi walks throughtrain
smoke wearing a plump fur collar.
The most unexpectedly enjoyable lmof
all, though, was NoahBaumbachs star vehicle
for Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha, froma script co-
writtenby the pair of them. Baumbachs lms
usually have a sour edge to them, but not this
one. Gerwig plays the titular Frances, a 27-year-
old whose career as a dancer has plateaued,
but who wants to prolong her world of private
jokes withher apartment-share best pal Sophie
(Mickey Sumner); whenSophie decides to move
out and it becomes clear that Frances wont be
wanted for a big Christmas dance production,
she has to reassess. Shot inblack and white
and structured around Francess subsequent
changes of address, the lmexplores her
dilemma inthe style of a Woody Allencomedy
about kooky folk, but witha better feel for
deadpanirony, a warmer viewof humanity and
a faster sense of pacing thanAllendisplayed
evenat his peak. Gerwig is tremendous as the
kind of impulsive personwho talks herself out
of doing the sensible thing all the time, and if
youlike her persona last put to good effect
inWhit Stillmans Damsels in Distress youll
undoubtedly be wonover by this. It was the
last lmI sawinBerlin, so I left ona high.
PromisedLand is releasedinthe UKon19April
Once the implausible set-up is in
place, Layla Fourie becomes a
fascinating insight into modern
South Africantensions
Computer Chess
BERLIN FESTIVALS
Layla Fourie The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman
30 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
InBenWheatleys darkly comic
Sightseers a couples camper holiday
turns into a nightmare of a murderous
killing spree. STUDIOCANAL now
brings the lmto DVDand Blu-ray
withextras including commentary
fromthe director and actors. We have
ve copies to give away along with
Wheatleys previous lmKill List
and three other Britishlms from
STUDIOCANAL: Tinker Tailor Soldier
Spy, Four Lions and Tyrannosaur.
To be inwitha chance of winning,
simply answer the following question:
Q. Whichone of these museums
is NOTvisitedbyTina and
Chris inSightseers?
a. National Tramway Museum(Crich)
b. Pencil Museum(Keswick)
c. BeamishMuseum(County Durham)
Wiley-Blackwell presents a series
of in-depthbooks surveying key
lmdirectors. Woody Allen, Pedro
Almdovar, Luis Buuel and Werner
Herzog are the latest onthe list. Each
companionis over 500 pages, and
essays fromthe host of international
contributors include Herzog and
Photography, Errant Movement and
RhythminBuuels MexicanComedies
and Is There a FrenchAlmdovar?
We have sets of all four companions
to give away to two readers.
Tobe inwitha chance of winning,
simplyanswer the following question:
Q. Whodirectedthe short
Werner HerzogEats his Shoe?
a. Werner Hezog
b. Les Blank
c. Steff Gruber
To tie inwithour feature (page 32)
onactress KristinScott Thomas
we have a selectionof her lms on
DVDto give away to three readers.
Inmore recent years Scott Thomas
has carved out her career as a lead
actor inprimarily Britishand French
lms, garnering muchacclaiminthe
process. The lms inthis selection
include Tell No One, Sarahs Key,
Ive Loved You So Long, The Woman
in the Fifth and The English Patient.
To be inwitha chance of
winning, simply answer
the following question:
Q. Inwhichlmdoes Kristin
Scott Thomas play a character
calledAnna Cooper?
a. The Womaninthe Fifth
b. Sarahs Key
c. InYour Hands
Email your answer, name and address, putting either
Sightseers competition, Companionto Directors
competition or KristinScott Thomas competition in
the subject heading, to s&scompetition@b.org.uk
Or send a postcard withyour answer to either Sightseers
competition, Companionto Directors competition, or Kristin
Scott Thomas competition at Sight &Sound, BFI, 21 StephenStreet,
LondonW1T 1LN
The deadline for all competitions is Tuesday 16April 2013.
* The prizewinners of all competitions will be picked at
randomand notied withintendays of the closing date.
* Employees of the BFI or companies related to
the competitionare ineligible to enter.
* Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash.
* The BFI may wishto contact youto keep youinformed of future
events. Please indicate onyour email/postcard if youdo not wish
to hear fromthe BFI regarding any other BFI promotions or news.
February issue winners:
Trio of FIlms competitionAlper Cagatay,
Daniel Sercombe, Jeremy Spencer.
Holy Motors DVDs AdeeshA., TomFeltham, SimonHynd,
Michael Kerin, Phil Hansen. Holy Motors Blu-rays Peter
Musgrave, Richard Page, Purvi Patel, Sinead Jones, Joe Shilan.
FilmCraft books M. Hockenhull, Daniel Webb.
Ealing Revisited books Jorge Bandarra Esteves, Rod
Butcher, SimonMcSweeney, David Paul Nixon, Mark Stewart.
BRITISHFILMS: SIGHTSEERS, KILLLIST
ANDOTHERSTOBEWONONDVD
DIRECTORSERIES: BOOKSONALLEN,
ALMODOVAR, BUNUELANDHERZOGTOBEWON
KRISTINSCOTTTHOMAS: ASELECTIONOFFILMSONDVD
HOWTOENTER TERMSANDCONDITIONS PREVIOUSWINNERS
Reader offers
COMPETITIONS
Our thanks to Articial Eye, Entertainment Film, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK, Metrodome Group, Revolver Entertainment and StudioCanal for the prizes.
The English Patient, Ive Loved You So Long and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Miramax. Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK. Gosford Park 2001 USAFilms, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 31
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32 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
Her subtle performances in lms such as Ive Loved You So Long and Leaving have made
Kristin Scott Thomas as popular in France as she is in her native UK, where parts for older
women seldomoffer such scope. But howdo perceptions of her vary on either side of the Channel?
By Ginette Vincendeau
CLASSAPART
Scott Thomass performance
in 2008sIve LovedYou
So Long, right, showed a
range and maturity that her
earlier posh roles in British
lms likeAHandful of Dust,
below, barely hinted at
What isit about FrenchcinemaandBritishactresses?Like
Jane Birkinand Charlotte Rampling before her, Kristin
Scott Thomas has found Frenchlms more hospitable
thanEnglish-language ones, as conrmedby her role in
Franois Ozons newlmIn the House (Dans la maison).
She plays Jeanne, anart-gallery curator married to Ger-
main(FabriceLuchini), ateacher whobecomes obsessed
with gifted but manipulative pupil Claude (Ernst Um-
hauer). Although Luchini and Umhauer are the leads,
In the House perfectly showcases Scott Thomass elegant
presence andrare talent for performing withease inan-
other language.
Appearing in more than 70 films since 1984, Scott
Thomas has had a surprisingly varied career across
several national cinemas: primarily British, American
and French, but also Canadian, Romanian, Italian and
German. She has deplored the narrowspectrumof her
English-language roles, whichconne her repeatedlyto
not only Englishwomen but pre-World War II aristo-
cratic Englishwomen epitomisedbyAHandful of Dust
(1987) and Gosford Park (2001) and has celebrated the
greater diversityaffordedbyher Frenchlms.
Yet her British identity clings to her persona in the
Frenchlms too, evenas it is deployedincomplexways
in a wider range of works. Particularly noteworthy is a
seriesof recent dramasinwhichshehasthestarringrole,
whichhave further raisedher prole inthe country: Ive
LovedYouSoLong(Il yalongtemps que je taime, 2008), Leav-
ing (Partir, 2008), Sarahs Key (Elle sappelait Sarah, 2010)
andInYourHands(Contretoi, 2010). Moreover, herEnglish
accent, light but unmistakeable, is keytoher appeal as
is evident fromOzons admissionthat eventhoughshe
can speak without an accent, I encouraged her to keep
it. I likedher making mistakes inFrench. Its charming.
Scott Thomas thus emerges as a fascinating test-case for
the relationship between an actors persona, national
and class identity, as well as contemporary French cin-
emas love affair withaccentedactors especially when
theyare beautiful women.
ENGLISHROSETOFRENCHTOAST
Eventhoughshe is oftenbracketedwithJane Birkinand
Charlotte Rampling (and to some extent Jacqueline Bis-
set), Scott Thomas offers quiteadifferent prole, andnot
just becausesheis younger. BirkinandRamplingarrived
inFrancetrailingtheimageof permissiveSwingingLon-
donfromsuchclassics as Blowup (1966) and Georgy Girl
(1966). Scott Thomas, bycontrast, movedtoFranceas an
au pair in the early 1980s after a disappointing experi-
enceat Londons Central School of Speech&Drama. She
was still keen on acting and attended the Rue Blanche
(ENSATT) drama school inParis, aiming for the theatre
rather thanlm. Inthe end, the screenwonout, though
she would returnto the stage inChekhovs Three Sisters
in2003, Pirandellos As You Desire Me (2005) andPinters
Betrayal (2011) andcurrentlyOldTimes.
Herrst modest screenappearanceswereintelevision
in1984: small parts inthe Frenchseries Les Enqutes du
commissaire Maigret and the American Mistrals Daugh-
ter. Her rst romanticleadwas intheunlikelycontext of
Princes 1986vanitymovieUnder the CherryMoon. There
followed, in rapid succession, French art films Agent
Trouble (1987) and La Mridienne (1988), and her break-
through British role in AHandful of Dust, Charles Stur-
ridges lmof Evelyn Waughs novel of English upper-
class mores. The latter made her name internationally,
while reinforcing her aristocratic stereotyping; as she
put it, People ended up believing that I could only act
withaglassof champagneinmyhand. (BritishTVregu-
larly cast her as anauthority onfashionand good taste,
as demonstrated in cameos on Top Gear and Absolutely
Fabulous.) As well as coalescing her image around cut-
glass accented, upper-crust Englishness, the early years
also pregured the eclectic nature of her overall screen
career, made possible by her uency in two languages.
For the best part of three decades, Scott Thomas has con-
tinued to alternate small Frenchauteur lms, interna-
tional televisionseries, Hollywoodblockbusters(Mission
Impossible) and English-language heritage productions,
ofteninmemorablesupportingparts (The EnglishPatient,
Four Weddings andaFuneral).
Her commitment to serious acting and subtle per-
formance style in English and French gained
industry and critical recognition fromearly on. B
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THEACTORS KRISTINSCOTTTHOMAS
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 33
34 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
KRISTIN SCOTTTHOMAS THE ACTORS
As earlyas 1989, for instance, she wonthe best ac-
tress prize at the Cabourg Romantic FilmFestival
for Bille en tte, a romantic comedy inwhichshe plays a
society womanwhofalls inlove witha 16-year-oldboy.
Since thenshe has garnerednumerous nominations for
international awards, winning an impressive number,
notablyforFourWeddings, TheEnglishPatient, GosfordPark
and Ive Loved You So Long. Curiously, given the praise
lavished on her French performances (a reviewof Ive
Loved You So Long talked of her having achieved acting
perfection), she is yet to receive a FrenchCsar, despite
nominationsforthat lm, forLeavingandforSarahsKey.
It shouldbenotedthat just over athirdof Scott Thom-
asslmsareFrench, thoughtheperceptionof hercareer
asGallic-inectedisunderstandableintermsof her long
personal associationwiththe country(she was married
to a Frenchman and had three children there) and the
fact there has been an increase in her French leading
parts in the last decade. This may be due partly to her
age (she turned 50 in2010). Many agree withcritic An-
drewSarris that the French have always been kinder
andcourtlier totheir older actresses thanhavethe
pathologically youth-obsessed Americans
as demonstrated by the longevity of the
screen careers of Catherine Deneuve,
Nathalie Baye and Jeanne Moreau. But
Scott Thomass French career is also to
do with the vitality of auteur cinema,
where she has found her major roles; in
France, as elsewhere, older actresses do
not get lead parts in big-budget action
films, thrillers or comedies. In 2003, in
response toPositif s observationthat she
often works with novice filmmakers,
she replied: Yes, because others dont
ask me. In France I am always offered
rst or second lms. Conversely, the actresss wish to
work withestablished Frenchdirectors suchas Patrice
Chreau, AndrTchinandJacquesAudiardhasnot yet
beengranted (thoughshe has nowworked withOzon).
Onthe other hand, the artistic freedom, lower budgets
andhighproportionof womendirectors withinFrench
auteur cinema have ensured, beyond the parts per se,
an interest in mature women characters (both In Your
Hands and Leaving are directed by women) and offbeat
subjects (as inIve Loved You So Long, by rst-time direc-
torPhilippeClaudel). Dotheselms, however, challenge
the dominant stereotype that Scott Thomas deploredin
her English-language lms?
SEX, CLASSANDACCENTS
Its a long way fromthe haughty upper-class socialites
of AHandful of Dust andGosfordParkor thewealthyNew
York fashionista of The Horse Whisperer (1998) to the
provincial schoolteacher of Autobus (Auxyeuxdumonde,
1991), the distraught lover of Leaving or the distressed
heroine of Ive Loved You So Long. Frenchlms oftencast
Scott Thomas as a foreigner: she is British, sometimes
American or European as in The Woman in the Fifth
(2011), where she plays a mysterious, half-French, half-
Romanianfemme fatale who returns to haunt the hero
20 years after her presumed death or they explainher
accent by a prolonged stay inEngland (Ive Loved You So
Long). Whateverthenarrativedevice, herothernessisso-
cially inectedinways that, withinthe naturalistic aes-
thetics of Frenchauteur lms, echo ina more subdued
formthe Anglo-American characterisations; she plays
primarily glamorous, well-dressed, erotically charged
women in bourgeois habitats and occupations: a jour-
nalist inSarahs Key, asurgeoninInYour Hands, aformer
doctor in Ive Loved You So Long, a physiotherapist mar-
ried to a wealthy doctor inLeaving, a ruthless company
executiveinthethrillerLoveCrime(Crimedamour, 2010),
anart-gallerycurator inInthe House.
While Scott Thomass persona inthese recent French
lms eschews thenarrowtypecastingandhistorical set-
tings (andcostumes) of the British-basedheritage lms,
it still derives fromthe class-inflected combination of
herphysique, voiceandnationality. Herregularfeatures,
highcheekbones, smoothskin, pale greeneyes andsen-
sual mouthadd up to the face of a classically beautiful
woman. Ina bid for realism, lms suchas Ive Loved You
So Long goout of their waytomake her lookplain with
oversizedcoat, mousy hair andnomake-up, but not en-
tirelyconvincingly.
In addition to her beauty, which places
her apart (characters in that film keep
remarking on her being ravishing),
her features connote the privileged
woman: her highforehead, icystare
and glossy straight hair, the time-
less elegance of her understated
clothing, her svelte, toned body,
youthful-looking eveninher early
fties. These attributes donot have to
benationallyinected(Frenchactresses
CaroleBouquet andFannyArdant cometo
mind as examples of similarly elegant
bourgeois screenidentities), but Scott Thomass
Englishness adds another layer concerned with B
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ACERTAINAGE
Complex roles in recent
French lms such asIn the
House, top, Leaving, left,
andSarahs Key, right, show
howfar Scott Thomas has
progressed since her big-
screen debut inUnder the
Cherry Moon, below
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 35
perceptions of BritishfemininityinFrance.
InFrenchculture, Britishwomenwerefor alongtime
associatedwithVictorianrepressedsexuality. TheSwing-
ingLondonof the1960s turnedthis imageupsidedown,
creating a newstereotype of sexual liberation. As Leila
Wimmer says inher study of Jane Birkins Frenchlms,
a supposed permissiveness came to be associated with
[British] young women. As we move further fromthe
1960s, traces of the permissive stereotype linger, while
anaura of restraint persists, inscreenimages and popu-
larcultureat large. ForexampleFrenchjournalists, what-
everthetopic, rarelyrefertoBritainwithout mentioning
the Queen(the Britishare always dubbed the subjects
of her gracious majesty) or using tongue-in-cheek ex-
pressions such as shocking!. In Under the Sand (Sous le
sable, 2000) and Swimming Pool (2002), Ozon cast the
older Rampling inways that perfectly encapsulate this
dichotomy, endowing her with a prim, initially glacial
identity, underwhichpassionatesexualitysmoulders; in
Swimming Pool her character evensays, I was aroundin
SwingingLondon.OzonmodernisesthetypewithScott
Thomas inInthe House. As Jeanne, sheis acontemporary
woman unperturbed by the obscene art in her gallery
(her husbandis the one whois shocked). Yet the impact
of Jeannes seductionby schoolboy Claude derives from
the contrast betweenher poised surface and the sexual
passionbeneath.
Made four years earlier, Catherine Corsinis Leav-
ing presents a less subtle variation on the theme. Scott
Thomas stars as Susan, wifeof awell-off doctor (YvanAt-
tal) andmother of twoadolescent children. At thebegin-
ning of the lmshe is planning to go back to work as a
physiotherapist, but insteadshefallspassionatelyinlove
withaCatalanbuilder workingonher house, Ivan(Sergi
Lpez), whoalsohappenstohavedonetime. Sheisready
to give up bourgeois comfort and brave the hostility of
her social circle inorder tolive withhim, but her venge-
ful husbandmakes their lives unbearable.
Some have seenLeaving as a tragic tale of love andde-
sire, others as a crude versionof the lady and the pleb
(as the husbandputs it inthe lm), but there is nodoubt
that Scott Thomass Britishness adds meaning to the
dynamic of the central couple. Amiddle-class English-
woman falling for a working-class Spaniard indulges
the popular fantasy of posh white Northern European
woman getting pleasure from Mediterranean rough
trade echoing Hitchcocks claimthat the most inter-
estingwomen, sexually, aretheEnglishwomen, because
they hide their sexual passion. Amilder versionof this
configuration informs the relationship between the
Scott Thomas character and her kidnapper in In Your
Hands. Itsdifcult toimaginealmbasedonthereverse
national/sexual coupling.
Scott Thomassappeal inher Frenchlmsat least for
the French is alsoinextricablytiedupwithher accent.
This maybe irritating toanactress whowishes toblend
withtheparts andwhoworriedwronglyin2003that
asI amageingmyaccent isgettingstronger: soonI wont
ndanywork! ToanAnglophone ear her clippedtones
suggest her upper-middle-class background and educa-
tion, but toFrench-speakerstheyevokeamildexoticism.
Since the coming of sound French lms have incorpo-
ratedthe accents of foreignactors fromErichvonStro-
heimto Eddie Constantine and Curd Jrgens into the
soundscapeof Frenchcinema(unlikeItalyandGermany,
where voices were dubbed). Most remarkable inthis re-
spect is a series of Anglophone and NorthernEuropean
actresses whohaveourishedinFrenchcinema: JeanSe-
berg, Anna Karina, Jane Birkin, Sylvia Kristel, Jacqueline
Bisset, CharlotteRamplingandKristinScott Thomas. For
these actresses, sexual appeal is intimatelyconnectedto
sonic exoticism(as it was for singer Petula Clark, also a
star inFrance). By contrast, as Michel Chionpoints out
inhis book Le Complexe de Cyrano, native Francophone
accents fromBelgium, Quebec and Switzerland have to
be unlearnedif actors wishtomake headway inFrance.
At thesametime, Frenchcinemahas seenthedisappear-
ance of most regional andworking-class accents, except
incomicpartsandtheethnicenclavesof banlieuecinema.
Anglophone accents in this context represent a politi-
cally neutral exoticismthat is simultaneously endowed
withtheglamour of cosmopolitanismandsexappeal. In
this respect Scott Thomas need not worry about her ac-
cent puttingabrake onher career.
Whatever the limitations of the parts on offer, Scott
Thomas has forgedanimpressivecareer andcommands
respect on both sides of the Channel she has been
awarded an OBE and the Lgion dhonneur. While her
Englishness is keytoher appeal inFrance, her Frenchca-
reer does her favours intheUK. As Charles Gant put it in
Sight &Soundontheoccasionof thereleaseof SarahsKey,
Scott Thomas has emergedover thepast fewyears as an
increasingly reliable arthouse brand, with her appear-
ancesinFrench-languagelmsoftenseenasareassuring
marker for fans of upscale cinema. This may not have
beenherplan, but oneof Scott Thomassachievementsis
animportant contributiontothe entente cordiale.
i
Inthe House is releasedinthe UKon29March,
andis reviewedonpage 94. Towina selectionof
KristinScott Thomas lms onDVD, see page 30
To an Anglophone
ear her clipped
tones suggest her
upper-middle-
class background,
but to French-
speakers they
evoke a mild
exoticism
LADYOFTHE HOUSE
In British lms likeGosford
Park, above, Scott Thomas
has tended to be typecast
as brittle aristocrats, in
contrast to the wider range
of roles on offer in France
36 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
AVERY
BADMAN
Eclipsed by Bonnie and Clyde on its release
in 1967, John Boormans Point Blank endures
as the most mysterious of US crime movies,
a potent mix of violence and surrealism
By David Thomson
TOLIVE ANDDIE INL.A.
British director John
Boorman brought an
outsiders eye to Californian
locations like the LARiver,
opposite, where Parker
survives an ambush
As the purchasing power of $93,000 diminishes, so
Point Blank (the lm that enshrined that sum) grows
more potent. Inretrospect, 1967equates withBonnie and
ClydeandPoint Blank, andthefeelingthat therewassome
buried affinity between the two films. In the US, they
were releasedabout twoweeks apart, andsoonthe War-
renBeattyproductionwas ratedas the more important
and inthe running for Oscars. There was a controversy
over its receptionthat helpedidentifyanewtypeof criti-
cismandallowedPaulineKael todriveupina1931Ford
coup andlift Beattyandhis gangout of ajam.
Bonnie and Clyde is still a landmark, radiant with
youthful self-destruction, and eventually on its way to
the bank. But the Beatty-Arthur Pennpicture seems cut
anddriednow, andvery organised, as bets twovery in-
telligent men. They had thought their outrage through
inadvanceandreckonedonit catchingthenewcounter-
culture energy of beautiful outlaws beginning to be felt
in 1967. Getting on for 50 years later, Point Blank seems
mysterious still, andthe better for that. Warner Brothers
didnt understandthe way Bonnie and Clyde worked. But
MGMhadnoideawhat Point Blank was about.
So bothpictures canbe read as portraits of their own
making. When Beatty took the shoot away from Bur-
bankandintoTexas, he was acting out of independence
and deance. He did not want to make a studio lm, so
hecannot havebeentooupset whenJackWarnerlooked
at thepictureandtookaleak. Hadheembracedit, Beatty
wouldhave beendismayed. The picture was a tribute to
newtalent ndingits ownwaytothe banks.
But Point Blank was different. It was the adventure of a
youngLondondirector clingingtoagreat star, andnever
quite knowing what his lmwas about. JohnBoorman
has made it clear that Lee Marvinwouldstare downthe
studio and insist that the picture stayed with the kid.
What Boormanwanted, Marvinwoulddo. It onlyaddsto
the charmof it all if Boormanwas occasionally breath-
less at Marvins trust, and wishing that he could muster
the same condence. But Point Blank is a movie about an
outsider, a beast in The Organizations building,
who will not go away until his $93,000 is laid K
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38 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
POINT BLANK
before him. Then, magically, he disappears.
Byhis ownaccount (inAdventures of aSuburban
Boy), Boorman, lookingforafavourablewind, hadpicked
up the perfect stormof Lee Marvins need. As he got to
knowMarvin, helearnedof thedamagedonetotheman
by the war and his unresolved violence. In the Pacific,
Marvinhaddone badthings that never left him. Like ev-
erynotable actor inHollywood, Marvinwas afraidof be-
ingcheated, andtornbetweentwowomen(at least two).
That was a triangulationthat Boormanhadobservedin
his own childhood. So in Point Blank Marvin would be
Walker, a manwrongedbyhis wife andhis best friend
inwhomaterribleviolenceisfreed. Hewouldenlist his
wifes sister Chris (Angie Dickinson), andhe wouldlove
herorcouplewithherinthewaythelmssexual climax
imagines all parties inbed withone another. But when
Walkerleaveshismoneyonthegroundat Fort Point, San
Francisco, he also walks out onany happy ending with
Chris. Whereas Bonnie and Clyde do get shot to pieces,
but theyhave eachother inthat exquisite sharedglance
and the shuddering rapture of anorgasmthat has been
hardtoachieve inordinarylife. Theygo, but theycome.
The sexual imagery in Point Blank is so much closer
to surrealism. That includes Walker and his wife Lynne
(Sharon Acker) in the rain, with that feeling of Walker
as a great sea creature who has come ashore to claim
her (being inthe water is a vital straininthe lm). Later
on, whenhe breaks into her house, she is satin-clad but
numb. ThatswhenWalkerreshisgunintoherbedand
lets the bullets tumble fromhis gun in slowmotions
spent desire. Later he nds her dead (as if she needed to
see Walker alast time before exiting).
More thanthat, the ties betweenWalker and Mal Re-
ese (that very suggestive name, played by JohnVernon)
begin to realise the homosexual attraction that Beatty
was famously shy of including inBonnie and Clyde. That
lms scriptwriters, David Newmanand Robert Benton,
had intended a three-way sexuality withBonnie, Clyde
andC.W. Moss, but Beattyinchedfromit. He mayhave
guessedit couldhurt theaudienceandhardlyfacedhow
farit wouldupset him. But WalkerandReeseareloversof
akind. Theyareseenembracingontheoor intheparty
scene, and then when Walker comes for his revenge it
is rendered interms of humiliating seductionwiththe
naked Reese dragged fromsex and his bed clinging to a
sheet that will soonbe his shroud. WhenWalker grabs
that sheet anddrawsReesetothebalcony, heisthrottling
hisprivates. Amongall themeninTheOrganizationthat
Walker must climb Stegman, Brewster, Carter, Yost
thereisthesour, gloatinghatredof anall-maleworld. (Its
Brewster who delivers the immortal line: Youre a very
badman, Walker, averydestructive man.)
Still to come is the realisation that Walker is truly
killed in the lms opening rendezvous on Alcatraz,
and that the entire story, Walkers progress, is a wish-
fulfilment dream for the dying man in the cell. Boor-
manhad indicated that possible structure to the studio
inadvance and, as youstudy Marvins performance (or
his being), you can see howfar his sleepwalker is akin
to living dead (George Romeros Night of the Living Dead
would arrive the very next year). He is most himself do-
ing nothing. Sometimes he sits, slumped and staring,
like those dead men put in cars so the killer can
escape. Inthe scene where he meets Lynne again, K
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The sexual imagery in Point Blank is close to surrealism.
Walker res his gun into Lynnes bed and lets the bullets
tumble fromhis gun in slowmotions spent desire
PHYSICAL CONTACT
Theres a sexual frisson
to the violence, as Walker
tracks down the wife (Sharon
Acker, above) andbest friend
(John Vernon, below) who
left himfor dead
Films starringJasonStathamarent generally
renownedfor their literaryheritage unless
youcount Gnomeo &Juliet, inwhichhe
providedthe voice of Tybalt. Manyof the
target audience of his newlmParker will
sit throughits heists andstghts unaware
of the fact that its anadaptationof Richard
Starks Flashre, volume 19ina24-book
series publishedbetween1962and2009
that inspires the same devotioninfans of
hard-boiledpulpctionthat PatrickOBrians
JackAubreynovels inspire inmenwith
boats. (Those whoare aware of the literary
connection, meanwhile, will probablybe
stayingaway. Almost everythingabout it
is awful, was the verdict onParker of the
erudite fansite violentworldofparker.com. For
director Taylor Hackfords previous record
as acustodianof noir heritage, see his 1984
Out of the Past remake Against All Odds, best
knownfor its Phil Collins theme song.)
Whats ironic inthe case of the Parker
novels writtenbyDonaldWestlake under
the Starkpseudonymis that, as their critical
reputationhas soared, screenadaptations
have headedprogressivelydownmarket
fromthe highpoint that was Point Blank,
adaptedfromthe rst (andperhaps weakest)
bookof the series, The Hunter. Inthe hands
of JohnBoorman, the unstoppable quest
of armedrobber Parker torecover his loot
fromThe Outt acquiredadreamlike,
existential avour; eventhe names were
different, withamore symbolic Walker
takingonThe Organization more
facelesslycorporate andKafkaesque.
Point Blank is agreat lm, andLee Marvin,
byanyother name, makes aformidable
Parker, atotallyunsentimental force of nature
worthyof Starks vision. But it was probably
Boormans artydivergence fromthe stripped-
downStarktemplate that inspirednoir
specialist BrianHelgeland(thenfreshfrom
his Oscar for adaptingL.A. Condential) to
tryhis owntake onThe Hunter withPayback
(1999) onlytohave his lmextensively
reworkedbythe studio, worriedthat the
lms sour tone might tarnishthe box-ofce
allure of star Mel Gibson. (Gibsonwould
see tothat himself later, inhis ownway.)
Now, 51years after the publicationof The
Hunter, Starks 24novels are available ina
standardisedUniversityof ChicagoPress
edition, withadmiringforewords from
literaryluminaries fromJohnBanville to
Dennis Lehane. Soits disappointingthat
Hackfords lmaims nohigher thanwhat
last months S&Sreviewcalledprocient
pulpshort onindividual avour.
Stathamis, however, the rst screen
Parker toactuallybe calledParker; previous
adaptations of individual books werent
allowedtouse the characters name unless
theycommittedtolmingthe series. This
makes his screenincarnations harder tospot.
InJohnFlynns The Outt (1973), basedon
bookthree, Robert Duvall is Earl Macklin,
once more upagainst anentire criminal
organisation. Duvall certainlyhas the right
down-to-business lookandmanner, and
the supportingcast is arogues galleryof
noir favourites (Robert Ryan, ElishaCookJr,
TimothyCarey, Jane Greer). But the lms not
entirelyfree of the prevailingcurse of Parker
adaptations: tryingtomake this gloriously
amoral character sympathetic, inthis case
byhavinghimavenge amurderedbrother
whenthe whole point of Starks antiherois
his relentless focus onthe job, withhuman
relationships amere complicatingfactor.
Other Parker adaptations all hadan
unnecessarygimmick. Mise sac (1967)
relocatedbookve, The Score, toFrance. The
Split (1968), starringJimBrownas McClain,
gave ablaxploitationspintoThe Seventh. A
1983Britishversionof book14, Slayground,
was shot inanamusement parkinBlackpool,
withPeter Coyote as Stone. Most tangentially
of all, Godards Made inUSA(1966), starring
AnnaKarina, borrowedsufcient plot
elements frombooksix, The Jugger, towarrant
alawsuit that restrictedthe lms distribution
inthe USuntil after Westlakes deathin2008.
Of course nolmcouldever capture the
real joyof the Parker books: the unique
tone, at once deadpanandaction-packed,
of Stark/Westlakes prose, as ruthlessly
focusedonthe jobinhandas Parker himself.
Take anyof the 24downfromthe shelf
andbythe endof the rst sentence youre
in. Heres Slayground: Parker jumpedout
of the Fordwithaguninone handand
the packet of explosive inthe other
i
Parker is onrelease inthe UK,
andwas reviewedinthe Marchissue
THE MANY
FACES OF
PARKER
FromLee Marvin to Jason Statham,
a rogues gallery of actors have had
a crack at playing crime literatures
most redoubtable armed robber
By JohnWrathall
The professional: Jason StathaminParker
In your face: Robert Duvall as Parker inThe Outt B
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40 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
POINT BLANK
thescript hadhimaskingher questions. But inthe
lm, Walker sits there, abandonedbystoryor dia-
logue, and Lynne asks and answers the questions. Then
later, when Walker is with Chris but seemingly out of
her reach, she challenges the automatonby turning on
everyapplianceinthehouse. Whenthisarouseshimshe
beats onhis chest, but he is hardly there to be touched.
For that sequence alone, I think, Point Blank is endlessly
enigmatic, stunningly beautiful and as full of helpless
poetryas some moments inUnchienandalou.
Point Blank is a movie with nearly abstract design el-
ements. The colour scheme is rigorously controlled: a
range of greens for the business suits, and yellows from
tiger to cowardice in the scene in the hotel penthouse
whereChrisoffersherself totrapReese. Therewasatime
whenBoormanthought he would have to shoot every-
thing inSanFrancisco, but he foundthat city too pretty
andsoft, soit became astorytornbetweennorthernand
southern California. The car lot, the rivers in concrete
culverts, theluxuryhousesinthehills thosewerefrom
LA, andthe scene where Walker paces downa long cor-
ridor uses a part of LAX(the airport) that I think is still
there, no matter that it looks designed for a movie mo-
ment. Similarly, thehotel whereReeselivesisareal place,
the Huntley, that Boormantreats inthe way Fritz Lang
might have handledsets he hadhaddesignedandbuilt.
As for SanFrancisco, Alcatraz is real, but by 1967 the
islandprisonhadbecomemoreamythiclocationthana
real place. The nal money dropis not Alcatraz but Fort
Point, onthe tipof the peninsula, right belowthe south-
ernend of the GoldenGate Bridge, and close to the spot
whereMadeleineElster(KimNovak) goesintothewater
inVertigo she is another kindof somnambulist. So the
lmconcludes with a shot that lifts up to see Alcatraz
across the bay, its light ashing.
ThePoint Blankadventureseemssounlikelynow. John
Boormanwas33andhehadjust doneCatchUs If YouCan
with the Dave Clark Five. He met Marvin in London,
when the actor had recently received the Oscar for Cat
Ballou and was shooting The Dirty Dozen. The one-time
lout, the sadist fromThe Big Heat, nowhad the power
that allowed a lmto be made. Shown a script, the ac-
tor andthedirector shruggedit off andstartedtorewrite,
approaching the Donald Westlake novel The Hunter
(writtenunder the name of RichardStark) fromscratch.
Boorman worked on a newdraft with Alex Jacobs and
Bill Stair. Westlakes novel hadasimilar plotline, but the
protagonist was namedParker. Westlakewouldgoonto
do another 23 novels about that character (see sidebar
page 39). Sohe hardlyvanished.
Westlakehadnothingtodowiththelm, but heliked
it whenhesawit. Point Blankpickedupnot asingleOscar
nominationintheyear of Bonnie andClyde, The Graduate,
In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, Wait
Until Dark andGuess Whos Coming to Dinner. Whenyou
thinkof thoselms youbegintofeel theturmoil of 1967
and the way the best American lms are so often ones
that slipthroughthe system.
The studio didnt like the lm, and it was put before
Margaret Booth. Shewas 69thenandthedoyenneof the
MGMediting department. She had had a hand inErich
vonStroheims The Wedding March, Mutiny on the Bounty
and the second Ben-Hur. She looked at Point Blank and
made a couple of small but helpful suggestions. Then
when the filmwas screened and the studio bosses ex-
pressed their unhappiness she growled, You change
oneframeof this movieover mydeadbody. Boothlived
to102.
Yes, there has been a remake of Point Blank, but I see
no need to mention it. The real inuences reach back-
wards andforwards intime. Theimpassivityof Marvins
Walker had been tested out a fewyears earlier in Don
Siegels The Killers (also starring Dickinson). There is
another suchcalmkiller in Point Blank: James Sikkings
pipe-smokingrieman, whosurelyhasaresemblanceto
LeeHarveyOswald. Theideaof revengeandcriminal in-
tent was collapsing. InJean-Pierre Melvilles Le Samoura
(1967), Alain Delons Jef Costello is half American and
half Japanesebut entirelyfrommoviemythology, andhe
knows his whole enterprise is absurd. Travis Bickle goes
throughall the motions of being vigilante and avenger,
and he is the instrument of massacre, but the lawnever
comes tocomplainandnallyhe is backinhis taxi, like
ajunkie doingrehab.
Therearelines about killingthat echointheearly70s:
Hed kill us if he had the chance; If theres one thing
wevelearnedit isthat wecankill anyone.Deadoralive,
Walker may be seennowas a forerunner for movie kill-
erswhogounpunishedlikeKevinSpaceysKeyserSoze
inThe Usual Suspects; like Michael Corleone; like Hanni-
bal Lecter, whohasadinnerdate, not eternal solitarycon-
nement; like the killer inZodiac.
Perhaps Walker never existed, except in his and our
fantasies. Point Blank was nagging at that possibility and
at the wondrous if inexplicable delight of a hero behav-
inglikeamonster. Inafewyearslater, in1973, thedecent,
humanebut ultimatelyunimaginativeFredZinnemann
would make The Day of the Jackal, in which the whole
lmtracks the way Edward Foxs character plans to as-
sassinate President De Gaulle. Its a tidy, ingenious, old-
fashionedlminwhichnoone seems torealise that the
audiencewantstheassassinationtowork. Theyfeel they
deserve it. So, do killers have to pay? Walker is erased,
whichis akindof goingfree.
i
Point Blank is rereleasedby the BFI on
29March, andplays at BFI Southbank, London
until 11 April as part of a JohnBoormanseason
COLOURSCHEME
Yellowdominates the
scenes involving Reese
(John Vernon) and Parkers
sister-in-lawChris (Angie
Dickinson)
B
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42 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
DEVOTION
SICKNESS
An excellent successor to his 2007 Palme
dOr-winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,
Romanian director Cristian Mungius
Beyond the Hills is a sombre, provocative and
unsettling story of life in an Orthodox convent
By Edward Lawrenson
Romanian lmmaker Cristian Mungius Beyond the Hills
(Dupa dealuri) is his rst feature since 4 Months, 3 Weeks
and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamni si 2 zile) and is every bit
as accomplishedas that 2007 Palme dOr-awardwinner.
The newlmis set mainly in an Orthodox convent in
rural Moldaviathelmstitleindicatesthelocationsre-
moteness fromcivilisation. Its here that Alina (Cristina
Flutur), a young Romanianwomanrecently resident in
Germany, visits her childhoodfriendVoichita (Cosmina
Stratan), one of the more devout nuns inthe order. The
lmcharts thecouples relationship, whichbeganwhen
theywerekidsinanearbyorphanage, beforeblossoming
it is stronglyhinted intolove. It creates a compelling
portrait of the unruly influence Alina has on convent
lifetheother nuns cometoregardher as possessed; she
battleswiththepriest (ValeriuAndriuta) inchargeof the
order all of whichtests her loyaltytoher oldfriend.
Beyondthe Hills is inspiredbyareal-life2005Orthodox
exorcismthat ended in tragedy. The lmsticks to the
contours of that case and recounts, with slow-burning
tension, the grimconsequences of the nuns religious
hysteria. However, as Mungiutells me inthe interview
belowconductedbefore the LondonFilmFestival gala
screening of the film (sponsored by Sight & Sound) in
October 2012 he has scrupulously reimaginedandc-
tionalisedthe event.
Filmedinthesamelong-takestylethat lent 4Months, 3
Weeks and2Days suchsombre authority, Beyondthe Hills
emergesasahaunting, unnervingportraitof theclashbe-
tweensecular andreligious values, anda grippingstudy G
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UPHILLJOURNEY
The newlmfromdirector
Cristian Mungiu, above,
Beyond the Hills centres
on the troubled relationship
betweenVoichita (Cosmina
Stratan, far left) andAlina
(Cristina Flutur)
in changing power relations. With fine performances
by an ensemble cast conducted for long stretches in
prayerful whispersit avoidstheheatedcontroversyand
snapjudgements surrounding the 2005 case. The effect
is provocative and deeply unsettling. Mungius lmis a
darklyambiguous triumphengineeredwithcommand-
ingprecision.
Edward Lawrenson: Beyond the Hills is based on a con-
troversial case that divided opinion in Romania, but your
lmis cautious about passing judgement.
CristianMungiu: Filmsshouldnot includetheopinionof
theauthor regardingwhosguiltyor not. What youneed
todoas a director especiallyonsubject-matter as com-
plicatedas this is tomake sure that yougive people all
the detail and informationthey need to formtheir own
opinion. I tried to understand howthis could happen
fromevery characters position. I wrote the characters
and the dialogue this way. I made sure I never judged
these people, I just placedmyself intheir position.
I tried to direct the actors the same way, telling them
they just need to react to the situation, be as truthful as
possible to that specic situation and not think about
what the lmis speakingabout.
EL: The doctors refusal to help the clearly troubledAlina
drives her back to the convent. So when the lmdoes as-
sign blame, isnt it towards more ofcial bodies such as
the hospital?
CM: What I was trying to think about was the fact that
the abstract values [of religion] should remainabstract,
not concrete, and the lmspeaks about what happens
whenthese twothings get mixedup. The priest andthe
sisters rst reactiontoAlinas behaviour was good; they
tookher tothe hospital. But the response of the rational
world, fromthe doctors, was not good. Insteadof simply
providing rational advice, they addedsome spiritual ad-
vice, suggestingit might bemight begoodtoprayforher.
But youshouldnt say this as a doctor thats your own
personal point of viewandyoucanconfuse people.
Its the consequence of a society that doesnt really
work well in terms of education, in terms of the pro-
found values that religion should pass on to people,
in terms of popular superstitions. Romanians declare
themselves to be very religious. They all seemto know
a lot about rituals, but at the same time theres so much
hatred in society, so much indifference. If this is how
theybehave, youstart wondering howmuchtheyve as-
similatedtheChristianvaluestheir religionshouldhave
giventhem. Theydont focus onthe right things.
EL: Howhas the lmbeen received in Romania?
CM: We hadafewpremiere screenings andthe response
of the audience was better thanI expected they man-
agedtoexperiencethelmasif theywerethereandthey
were very touched by the subject. We had anearly reac-
tionfromsomeone representing the Orthodox Church,
whichunfortunately was very dogmatic, the way youd
expect, along the lines of this is not what really hap-
pened. Theyshouldfocus onsomethingelse. For exam-
ple[theChurchs] reactiontothereal casewas preposter-
ous: they expelled these people 24 hours after it
came intothe press, without enacting the regular
44 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
BEYONDTHE HILLS CRISTIAN MUNGIU
procedures of judging them. They were worried
about having anawful image, so they said, Lets
just throwthemaway.
I hopelater on[theChurch] will bewiseenoughtoun-
derstandthat youwont nda more balancedandmore
understandingviewof their positionthanyouseeinmy
lm. But for nowevenposingquestions bothers the reli-
gious leaders somuch.
EL: I suppose theres an aspect of traditional religious
thought that doesnt invite questions.
CM: But this is outdated. Everything is tobe questioned.
Finallywhat this storytells youis [that] evenif youplace
yourself in such a community where somebody else
makes decisions, youstill feel individual guilt for the
consequences of group action. Once you understand
this you realise responsibility is individual, therefore
every decision is personal you shouldnt let anybody
else decide something onyour behalf. And if a decision
is tobe personal thenyouneedtoget aneducation be-
cause there is nofree will unless people have the means
tomake the right decision.
EL: BeyondtheHills extends thelong-takeapproachyou
used in4Months, 3Weeks and 2 Days.
CM: I only use one shot per scene. I never use music. I
never use funnyangles its always straight, the regular
perspective youhave onlife.
EL: Is this a high-risk strategy because it limits your edit-
ing choices?
CM: Of course. Theres nothing much you can do later
on. This kindof lmrequires great strengthas adirector.
I couldnt worklikethis onmyrst lm. Youneedakind
of authority. Withthe actors, for example: they have to
understand howdifcult its going to be. Everything is
precise. Youneed to knowdialogue by heart. Still I pre-
serve the liberty of changing things if they dont work
andI expect themtoadapt everytime.
The cameraworkis very difcult. As youcanimagine
thereisalot of choreographysoI canbecloser or at more
of adistancetothings; thecameramovement needs, little
bylittle, toeliminateall thethingsthat arenot necessary.
Its averycomplicatedprocess tohave it seemnatural.
The lm speaks a lot about violence, how violence
gets to people, and actually you dont know how you
will be able to stage this until you are there on the set.
Because youcome there inthe morning withsome very
nicepeopleandeverybodyschatting, andstill twohours
later you need to place themin the situation in which
theywill becomeveryaggressive. Theres nowaytofake
violence: youhavetoexperienceandlet it get toyouand
this makes workingwithactors alot more difcult.
EL: Much of the dialogue is conducted in low voices or
even whispers. Did you re-record much after the shoot?
CM: Not at all. I discovered something withthe actors
that theyhavemuchmoreinectionsintheirvoices, and
a lot of shades of meaning, if they speak ina lowvoice.
I have this problemall the time because the sound en-
gineer is telling me, I cant hear them! If I could make
them speak more loudly and keep all this [expressive
range], I would, butactuallyitsnotpossible. Imtryingall
thetimetousetheboombut theactorsarealsohooked
DIVIDEDLOYALTY
Voichita, all pics, nds
herself torn between
obedience to her orders
priest (ValeriuAndriuta, top
right) and her feelings for
Alina, bottomright
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 45
uptoradiomics, andthere are a lot of microphones hid-
deninthe shot. There are some shots we hadtoreframe
slightlyinpost-productiontodisguisetheboom, because
we had to put the operator insome pretty strange posi-
tions, behindthe bed, things like that.
I also work a lot on the sound in post-production: I
wont use music, but I have 20, 30, 50 different tracks of
sound ineachscene, because youknowtheres no such
thing inlife as silence. So I recreate this whole world in
soundinpost-production. Theworldof thelmis much
bigger thanwhat yousee throughthe camera, so I use a
lot of off-camerasound: youdiscover immediatelywhen
youshoot inlongtakes that its wrongtojust haveevery-
thing thats important inshot. The soundbrings a lot of
realitytothe scene that is not present inthe shot.
EL: Howmuch did the lmchange in the edit?
CM: Theres not muchyoucandointheediting. Youcan
cut off alittlefromthebeginningandtheend, andestab-
lish the rhythmof the cuts. But if you are wrong when
youshoot its goingtobeinthelmbecausetherhythm
is insidethescene. This is whyontheset thewholetime
itssodifcult toworkwithlongtakes. Youhavetospeed
up people, and the tenth take and beyond is always 50
per cent shorter thanthe rst take.
I cut out everything that I thought providedunneces-
sary explanation about what happened. And I also cut
those sequences when my ability to get it right simply
didnt work the results werent good enough. It hap-
pens. Its not that easy. Especially whenyouhave scenes
withmanypeople. Youarenotonsolidgroundwhenyou
do this. Shooting isnt a fairytale, especially at minus-50
degrees and you have 50 people outside and they dont
care about the lm, they just want everything to nish
so they cango back to the hotel and have a hot tea. You
are under pressure. But for me it was very good because
its a waytoworkbeing curious. Youhavent made the
lmbefore, soyoudont knowwhatsbest forit, youneed
to try things out. It was very good for me because I had
a little time and its only by comparing things that you
understandwhichis better.
EL: Presumably you need to be quite resilient with these
50people waiting outside.
CM: First of all you need to pretend you know what
youre doing even though sometimes you dont have
a clue! You get up in the morning and for the rst two
hours yougure out howtoshoot the scene inone take,
and you depend on the day you have, sometimes you
have good days, sometimes bad days. Filmis a lot about
the energy of the moment its influenced not just by
the screenplay but by the actors, by the life of the crew.
Sometimes things just come together and you reach a
moment of grace and you think everything happened
well. Youthinkyoucontrol it all, but actually youdont.
Filmconsists of all the things you planned and all the
things that just happen.
EL: A moment of grace that almost sounds like a
religious credo.
CM: Youneedtobe open, thats true.
i
Beyondthe Hills is releasedinthe UKon
15March, andis reviewedonpage 89
Filmconsists of
all the things
you plan and all
the things that
just happen
46 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
AREWE
NEARLY
THEREYET?
Set largely in the back of a car during a tense family roadtrip,
Thursday till Sunday is a striking debut for Dominga Sotomayor,
and further evidence of the growing diversity of Chilean cinema
By Mar Diestro-Dpido
Remember the boredom, the sense of isolationand con-
finement but also the bonding, the excitement, the
complicit silences of those long family car trips, inthe
erabeforesmartphones, goodsoundsystemsandaircon-
ditioning?The27-year-oldChileanwriter-director Dom-
inga Sotomayor takes us down this universal memory
laneinheroffbeat, minimalist debut Thursdaytill Sunday
(De jueves a domingo), a road movie of sorts inwhichthe
viewer is invited on to the back seat of a four-member
familystripfromtheChileancapital Santiagototheless
hospitablenorthof thecountry. It will provealife-chang-
ing holiday whose outcome affects all the members of
the family, particularly ten-year-old Luca (Manuel, her
seven-year-old brother, is oblivious to whats going on);
witnessing the disintegration of her parents marriage
becomes the trigger for her ownrite of passage and loss
of innocence.
Family relations have always interested Sotomayor,
and the original idea for the script was prompted by
the rediscovery of anold photographof herself and her
cousinridingonthe roof of the car, a strikingimage that
Sotomayor describes as bipolar so dangerous, but so
excitingasthesametime. It recalledall thosefamilytrips
up and downthe long country that is Chile, where you
never seemtoarrive anywhere. I wantedtorevisit that.
InThursday till Sunday, a microcosmof closely observed
family routines is playedout withina constraining mise
en scne that corresponds to Lucas own curtailed re-
lationship to the events unfolding before her. As such,
the point of viewin the filmremains consistent with
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I AMAPASSENGER
Her place in the back seat
gives Luca (Sant Ahumada,
left) a perspective on the
tensions in her parents
marriage; the image of the
children on the roof, right,
recreates a moment from
the directors own childhood
the childrens conned to the cars back seats, where
perspective is limited and the full meaning of parents
conversations canonlybe guessedat.
For Sotomayor, the most important thing was to
cleave tothis formal limitationat everypoint, ina script
she constructed predominantly around images. These
images, she says are dealt with like a choreography of
layers of frames that repeat throughout the film. The
aimwas to return later in the lmto the same compo-
sitions and see their meanings transformas the family
dynamics shift a concept that director of photography
BrbaraAlvarez(whoshot LucreciaMartelsTheHeadless
Woman) understoodright fromthebeginning. Sotomay-
or considers herself fortunatetohaveworkedwithAlva-
rez: We actually sawthe same lm. She also supported
me by contributing great ideas. I toldher about creating
this limitedsysteminsidethecar, of therepetitionof cer-
tainframings, this enabling of the frames tocontainthe
emergingof all that newlife.
Alvarezs evocative cinematography, simultaneously
intimateanduniversal, xedandeet of foot, conscious-
ly suppresses period references inorder to give the lm
anair of ambiguitywhichenables past andpresent tobe
juxtaposed; the result, as Sotomayor puts it, is that the
lmis apprehended like a memory played in the pre-
sent. This sense of atemporality, together withthe ano-
nymity of the ever-changing landscape, also recreates a
type of childhood thats nowcompletely disappeared.
What I was looking for was this idea of practically be-
ingforcedtobebored, asituationthats nolonger soeasy
to achieve nowthat we are always connected to the in-
ternet andthekids arebusyplayinginthebackwiththe
PlayStation.
Giventheconnement andthesmall cast, agreat deal
of the lms impact comes downtothe actors. The natu-
ralismSotomayor achieves emerges fromsimple guid-
ing principles. My aimwas to work withkids withno
experience inacting, commercials or TVseries, so they
were not conscious of what they were doing, she says.
Sant Ahumada is perfectly pitched as pre-teen Luca:
still childish, at times moody, slowly awakening to her
ownfemininity. Sant is afriendof Sotomayors younger
sister and both she and Emiliano Freifeld (Manuel) are
neighboursof SotomayorsmotherFranciscaCastillo, an
actress, whose role as acting coachtothe kids provedes-
sential. Sotomayor usedthe year-long pre-productionto
create the necessary bonds betweenthe twochildleads;
inaddition, the script was lmed chronologically to in-
duceinthechildrentheideaof ajourneyandtoenhance
Sants natural curiosity. Sotomayor kept thescript away
fromher at all times, so shed spend the day trying to
steal it fromthe other actors her inquisitiveness and
restricted access to information mirrored [that of] her
character.
Sotomayorsownchildhoodwasnot typical. Thecom-
munityinwhichshe grewuponthe outskirts of Santia-
go had settled inhalf-nished houses onanabandoned
patchof landunder the mountains that initially hadno
electricityor telephone lines. Theywere nothing
like Chilean hippies, she says, more a group of
My aimwas
to work with
kids with no
experience
in acting,
commercials
or TVseries
48 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
THURSDAYTILL SUNDAY DOMINGASOTOMAYOR
people witha mutual preference for living closer
tonature as well as, somehow, a certainsharedar-
tistic sensibility. What is interesting is that it was not a
communitywithaclear ideologyor set of rules. I moved
there in1989, whenI was four, andit was verybeautiful.
There were no generational divisions, so I was as much
friends withmy parents friends as withchildrenof my
age. WhenI write about marriage, separation, relation-
ships, family, I doit fromthis perspective, a veryintense
childhoodwhose images informbothThursday andmy
next lm. Thiswill beisamultiplatformproject accom-
paniedbyexhibitions calledLate to Die Young(Tarde para
morir joven).
Sotomayors childhoodexperience bears most fruit in
the striking assurance withwhichshe depicts the pain-
fully believable disintegrationof Lucas family, the rea-
sons for whichare merely hinted at; like Luca and her
parents, theviewer spends thelmtryingtomakesense
of thiselusivefracture. Andalthoughtheparentsarepor-
trayed withequal sympathy eachis loved by their off-
spring, neither is regardedas guilty Sotomayor admits
the balance does slightly tilt to the mothers side. She is
oftenshowntryingtoescape, adesirethat makes her the
focus of twoof the most enigmatic scenes inthe lm.
One such moment takes place in the desert. Unable
to deal withthe discussionshes just had withher hus-
band, Ana (Paolo Giannini) steps out of the car and dis-
appears momentarily. This digressionoccasions a shift
inrhythmthat, as Sotomayor explains, is theretorepre-
sent the childhood trauma and frustrationof being left
alone. For Luca, being alone in the desert for ve min-
utes feels like being abandoned forever. Her anxiety is
beautifullyconveyedthanks tomise enscne that, despite
the wide-opensparseness of the desert, feels every bit as
suffocating as the car. Its almost as if nature itself has
turnedagainst the family, as Sotomayor explains: I was
interestedmost inthedialoguebetweentheincreasingly
drier andisolatedlandscapeandthis dried-out couple, as
all the members of the family blend inwiththe muted
ochrecoloursof thescenery, whichonlyaccentuatetheir
insignicance inthe bigger scale of things.
CHILEANCINEMA
Within the international scheme of things, Chilean
cinema may also seemsmall. Giventhe overwhelming
presence of North American product, exhibition re-
mainsthegreatest challengefor Chileancinemaasthere
are still very fewplatforms to showhomegrown lms.
This makes co-productions fundamentally important
since they facilitate distributionoutside Chile. And un-
like, say, those inArgentina or Mexico, neither of Chiles
mainlmschools is yet capable of providing rst-grade
facilities for aspiring lmmakers. My school was lucky
to have a digital camera, and there was not one single
dolly, Sotomayor recalls. Weusedtojokethat our style
is austere because we couldnt have it any other way
that wedont movethecamerabecauseweneverlearned
howtosince there was nodolly.
Despite these difculties, Sotomayor believes things
are looking brighter on the film scene in her native
country. In fact, Thursday was one of the projects that
beneted froma newproductionfund inChile, which,
althoughnot enoughtosupport a whole lm(Thursday
was also backed by the Hubert Bals Fund Plus scheme
and selected for CinfondationinCannes), has still en-
abled 20 to 25 lms to be made inChile eachyear. Its a
welcome situationfor a lauded newgenerationof lm-
makersthat includesthelikesof FernandoGuzzoni (Dog
Flesh) and Christopher Murray (Manuel de Ribera). They
are emerging in the wake of more established figures
such as Andrs Wolf (Violeta Went to Heaven); the mas-
sivelysuccessful PabloLarran(TonyManero, No) andhis
producer brother Juande Dios Larran(who have been
nicknamed the ChileanWeinsteins); CristinJimnez,
whoseplayfullymeta-ctional lovestoryBonsi isclosest
inspirit to Thursday; SebastinSilva, whose tragi-come-
dyThe Maid(LaNana) brilliantlycombines the personal
andthe political; andnumerous others including Sebas-
tinLelio, whosecriticallyacclaimedlmGloriahas just
takenthe awardfor best actress at this years Berlinale.
SoarewewitnessingaChileannewwave?Sotomayor
is cautious: Chileanlms are going to festivals and be-
ing very successful, but the main difference is that we,
the newer generation, still inour twenties, are moving
awayfromacinemathat traditionallydealt withpoverty,
politics or social issues [as best exemplied perhaps by
the career of Patricio Guzmn]. The country has man-
aged to attain some stability and we are back to more
personal stories. But the fact is that youcannot say that
this is a very Chileancinema just yet, as youcansay, for
example, about Argentine, Romanianor Greekcinema.
For Chile, its still veryearlydays.
i
Thursday till Sunday is releasedinthe UK
on5April, andis reviewedonpage 106
We used to joke
that our style is
austere because
we couldnt have
it any other way
that we dont
move the camera
because we never
learned to since
there was no dolly
Dominga
Sotomayor
Spotlight
Cinemas Thematic Strands
1000 Words
Moments That Changed Cinema Forever
Widescreen
Film in A Wider Context
Architecture & Film
Adventures in Filmed Environments
Screengems
Evocative Objects Onscreen
Reel World
Film Beyond the Borders of the Screen
Parting Shot
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
On Location
The Places That Make the Movies
EXPLORE THE BIGGER PICTURE
Showing that theres more to lm than just lm...
The Big Picture is a magazine that
explores lm in a wider context using
the power of imagery to show just
how moving moving-pictures can be.
From posters and evocative objects
to photo essays and real-life stories
beyond the borders of the screen,
The Big Picture offers a unique
perspective on the world of lm.
Find out more by visiting
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Also download the App today to enjoy an
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50 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
THE DEVIL
INTHE DETAIL
In one of the most notable controversies of last years Cannes FilmFestival, the acclaimed
Mexican director Carlos Reygadas (Silent Light) drewre for the perceived incoherence of his
dazzling or bafing newlmPost Tenebras Lux. But hes not one to take criticismlightly
By Fernanda Solrzano
DEMONICINFLUENCE
InPost Tenebras Lux, a
toolbox-carrying devil,
above, visits the middle-
class household of Juan
(AdolfoJimnez Castro, near
right) and Natalia (Nathalia
Acevedo, far right)
Carlos Reygadas has a reputation for antagonising
audiences, but the Cannes premiere of his latest film
Post Tenebras Lux tookprovocationto a newlevel. Many
critics regarded the filmas senseless, while a jury that
proclaimeditself dividedover thelmgavehimtheBest
Director prize. Objections toPost Tenebras Lux hadnoth-
ing to do withthe shock and awe elements that caused
controversy in his previous films, but stemmed from
what manyconsideredalackof narrative cohesion.
ReygadasspreviouslmsJapn(2001), BattleinHeaven
(Batallaenel cielo, 2005) andSilent Light (Stellet Licht, 2007)
irted withthe oneiric, the allegorical and eventhe su-
pernatural. Sincethepremisesandsettingsof thesemov-
ies didnot belong tothe realmof the ordinary, the leaps
in continuity were not so bafing to the audience. Post
Tenebras Luxis adifferent animal. Thoughthe lmbears
Reygadass stampinterms of theuseof non-professional
actors, giving fewclues to a characters past and show-
ingactions without causality, its heroseems anunlikely
choice for the director.
Juan (Adolfo Jimnez Castro) is an ordinary guy: an
architect who lives in the country with his wife Nata-
lia (Nathalia Acevedo) and their two kids. The couple
seemacquainted with the rural environment, though
it becomes apparent that their backgroundis urbanand
upper-middle-class. Their house is rustic, but built with
the nest materials andequippedwiththe best technol-
ogy. During holidays, Juan and Natalia host fancy din-
ners where friends andextendedfamily gather to quote
Tolstoy and discuss politics and schooling options. The
homeowners enjoy close interactions with the towns-
people, whichgivetheviewerinsightsintotheingrained
lifestyle of the latter and howit clashes to a tragic de-
gree withthe values of Juanandhis like.
Detractors of the filmpoint to scenes that seemde-
tached from the central plot and ambiguous in their
nature dreams, ashbacks, or glimpses intothe future.
These might seem dubious choices to some, because
theyshowcharacters coexistinginaspaceandtimethat
the turnof events renders impossible.
When the film premiered in Mexico, the reception
wasnot at all likethat inCannes. Reygadasscountrymen
usuallyregardhis lms as tooartyandcustom-made for
the festival circuit. However, the same viewers who felt
alienatedbythelmmakers past intellectual ambitions
spoke about Post Tenebras Lux withnew-found interest.
Fewof themcomplainedof obscurity.
Such views can be explained by the films dozens of
subtle references to class interactions so complex they
might go unnoticed by non-Mexicans. Though not
stated in the film, the story takes place in the city of
Tepoztln, the directors home for the past few years.
Located45 miles away fromMexico City, Tepoztlnhas
becomealocaleof choicefor manycapitalinos. Migration
has beenso steady that they have created a newsociety
whose members call themselves tepostizos a termthat
merges the name of the townand the Spanishword for
fake [postizo]. For the most part, tepostizos are afuent and
sophisticated, clearly distinguishable from the indig-
enous local population. Reygadas plays downthe inu-
ence of this peculiarity. Yet, in recent years, Tepoztln
has become the paradigmof a newbrand of violence in
Mexico. While being literallyforcedbythe government
to maintain their folkloric appeal, many small towns
likethisonearealsohubsfor drug-trafckingroutesand
home to kidnapping gangs. Autobiographical readings
aside, Reygadasdailyimmersioninaplacewherebeauti-
ful landscapescoexist withfear andragehasspawnedan
enigmaticpieceof work. Riddledwithcontradictions, its
the rawest of his lms.
Fernanda Solrzano: The main characters of your lms
are usually men in desperate situations who carry out
some extreme and liberating action. However, Juan
doesnt seekchange; instead, heattracts thetragicevent
that will transformeverybodys lives.
Carlos Reygadas: What happens is random, but charac-
teristic of the circumstances were living in. Its a conse-
quence of the clashof cosmogonies ever present inour
country, whichhasnt been resolved since Mexicos de-
struction[bythe Spanishconquerors] 490years ago.
FS: The ambiguous relationship between employer and
employee recurs in your lms. Is this tension greater be-
tween the people born in Tepoztln and the people from
Mexico City who have moved there?
CR: That kindof relationshipcoulddevelopanywherein
Mexico. Betweenagardener andyou, for example. There
issuchthingasatepostizosociety, but thatsnot the
maintopic of my lm. That relationshipyoutalk
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 51
52 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
POSTTENEBRAS LUX CARLOS REYGADAS
about friendlyanddetachedat thesametimeis
distinctive of the Occidental outlook, whichpre-
vails uponothers. Youcansee howJuanand his family
are kind to Siete [their employee], but they also behave
arrogantly. Siete shows themsubmission, eventhough
he tries to disguise it. I dont want to be a determinist
andsaythat what eventuallyhappenstoJuanrepresents
retaliationfromthe oppressed classes. Its anissue that
transcends contemporarysocial divisions.
FS: I couldnt helpbut thinkofThis Is MyKingdom (Este
es mi reino), the short lm you made for the collective
project Revolucin as the seedof Post Tenebras Lux. You
couldobserve the ambivalence were talkingabout there.
CR: The topic has been present in my lms, but Ive re-
fined it. Japn suggested that you could drive 50 miles
awayfromMexicoCityandndsuchadifferent cosmog-
ony that youcould feel youwere ina different country.
That was amoremetaphorical approach. InPost Tenebras
LuxI dont deal withtheconcept inaschematic way, but
as anexistential aspect of reality. I wouldnt call it anam-
bivalent relationship. It hasverycomplexrulesthat only
Mexicans or LatinAmericans are able toidentify.
FS: When the lmpremiered in Cannes it provoked con-
trasting reactions among critics. Those who didnt like
it described it as incomprehensible. Could it be that the
complexity of these rules is one of the reasons why for-
eign audiences nd the lmobscure?
CR: Probably. Thetopicof beheading, forexample, isvery
ingrainedinMexicanculturebut not necessarilyknown
inother countries. Ontheother hand, anyreasonablyin-
formedpersonwouldknowthatbeheadingsareintrinsic
toour culture andhistory. However, I readreviews from
critics who had seen the lmin Canada or Russia who
made references toamixed-race, post-colonial society.
FS: The president of the jury in Cannes, Nanni Moretti,
saidyour lmcausedagreat divisionbetweenthejudges.
What do you think were the arguments against it?
CR: Word always gets out. I knowsome of themliked it
a lot, while the others simply loathedit. I wouldcall the
lattertheEwanMcGregorbunchmembersof thejury
who think that movies have to be a certain way. They
believe that circumstances surrounding the story must
always be clearly established, that characters have to be
neatly introduced to the audience, ashbacks must al-
waysbedenedasthat, etc. Tothem, if almisconfusing
inthe fashionof [Christopher] Nolans Memento then
it must becomeclearthat confusionisthesubject-matter.
Whentheywatchsomethingdifferent theythinkthedi-
rector tried to make a lmand didnt knowhowto. Im
not saying Imbreaking moulds. Filmmakers have been
offeringaudiencesadifferent experiencefromwayback.
FS: Post Tenebras Lux features your own kids (with their
real-life names), the main characters wife has the same
name as your wife (Natalia), and youve let people know
that you live in the town where the action takes place.
Wouldit be far-fetchedtosay that Juanis your alter ego?
CR: Yes, it would be far-fetched. Ive posed myself ques-
tions more similar to the ones that haunted the charac-
tersof JapnandSilent Light. Theparallelsbetweenmylife
andJuans were not intended.
FS: Didnt you foresee that people would read your lm
as autobiographical?
CR: Yes, but I wasnt concerned. If I gave my kids differ-
ent names for thelmtheywouldnt react whenneeded.
Andtheactress whoplays thewifeis alsocalledNatalia. I
was planning togive her character a different name, but
sincemykidscall herbyhername, I realisedit wouldnot
work. Apersonis not denedby where he lives, howhe
dresses, if heownsanydogs, orif hevisitsswingers clubs.
People are defined by their values, not only morally
speaking. Inthat very essential aspect, Natalia and Juan
arenot likeme. Theyembodyadeningcharacteristicof
Occidental lifestyle. Theyre people who are unsatised
onaspiritual level. I mayalsohaveunmet needs, but not
of the same kind.
FS: In your lms, and this is no exception, you shownon-
actors while theyre totally drunk usually countrymen.
Some people condemn this and say its exploitative.
CR: Whoever thinks that is amoralist andahypocrite.
FS: Why dont you ask themto act? If theyre not actors,
youcouldhelpthembuilda certainemotional state with-
out getting themdrunk.
CR: If I were of indigenous descent no one would make
that claimagainst me. That typeof accusationismadeby
people who dont knowhowto treat others like equals.
Theyfeel guiltyabout it, sotheyblame someone else.
FS: Still, drunkenness puts themin an extremely vulner-
able position. They talk about very personal issues.
CR: Maybetherearepeoplewhothinkthat inebriationis
anungraceful state. I get drunkonceinawhileanddont
regardit asundigniedquitetheopposite. SoI dont see
what the problemis. Besides, I also shoot scenes where
the so-calledrichcharacters are drunkinreal life.
FS: Not inPost Tenebras Lux
CR:I did in one of the Christmas dinner scenes where
Juans family and friends are gathered one of the non-
actors approaches the others and behaves annoyingly.
Sincehes closer toyour social class youremorefamiliar
withhis drunkenness.
FS: Ill concede that I didnt notice himor his behaviour
didnt disturb me. What I did notice was an underlying
violence in everything the characters do in the film. It
emanates from the fireworks they play with, the boys P
H
O
T
O
G
R
A
P
H
Y
B
Y
O
S
C
A
R
O
R
E
N
G
O
Maybe there are
people who think
inebriation is an
ungraceful state.
I get drunk once
in a while and
dont regard it
as undignied
quite the opposite
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 53
training for a rugby match and the competitive tone of
their conversations.
CR: Its the exact same case, just the other way around:
you felt that way because maybe theyre closer to your
class. Violence permeates every humaninteraction, no
matter the social rankat least onthis side of the world.
FS: Im talking about a more sophisticated kind of vio-
lence sublimated, we might say.
CR: I didnt intendit that way. I choserugbybecauseits a
sport I love. I regardthose boys as menwhoare about to
lose some of their purity inorder to become unsatised
adults. Post Tenebras Luxdeals withtheloss of innocence.
FS: One of the most discussedelements of the lmis the
presence of a CGI devil. Youve stated that it could mean
anything, since its only the dreamof one of the kids. But
isnt it inevitable to associate it with evil?
CR: Not necessarily. Instead of the devil, it could have
been a turtle that suddenly stood on her hind legs and
walkedintothe parents bedroom. The fact that a dream
isnot explainedwont stopmefrommakingit part of the
story. And, well, I dont seehimas amean devil. Hes not
violent or disagreeable. Hes not threatening the child.
FS: The immediate next scene is of a man cutting down
a tree. Youcouldsee why its not difcult toassociate the
devil with destruction
CR: In Mexican rural environments its not unusual to
seemenloggingtrees just toget thechunks of woodthat
womenuseintheiranafes[rudimentarystoves]. Itstragic
andstill noone has seenmyecologist stance.
FS: Its very clear. There are scenes where the logging of
trees is the topic of discussion.
CR: Andstill I wouldnt associateit withevil. Treelogging
bymeninMexicohas moretodowithignorance. Inany
case, the owners of forest-exploitationindustries who
burndownforests andthenlogthe trees have aclearer
knowledgeof theimplicationsof theiractions. However,
I dont believeinnotionsof goodandevil. Therearegood
andbaddeeds, but thats adifferent thing.
FS: The scenes that are unmistakably disturbing are the
ones related to animal cruelty. Youve mentioned before
they refer totheloss of thesacralitythat usedtobepres-
ent in the ancient Mexicans relationship with nature.
CR: Yes, andstill I wouldnt makeamoral judgement. We
dont quite realise howcultural devastationpermeates
our daily existence. Theres cruelty to animals depicted
inthe lm, but the characters dont regard it as that. For
themits almost natural part of a ladino culture [inthis
sentence, ladino means both cunning and mestizo] in
whichthe maingoal is to destroy everything as soonas
possible, andwhere everybodyis shortsighted.
FS: But Juans viciousness to his dogs goes beyond that.
The implications seema lot more problematic.
CR: Hes frustrated. Just as he [gets it out of his system]
by hitting his dogs, others do it by insulting eachother
whiledrivingandothersbybeingmeantotheirpartners.
Some Anglo-Saxon critics have called Juan a psycho-
pathanimal torturer whichis anoverstatement.
FS: He may not be a psychopath he regrets his actions,
after all but his behaviour has a pathological side.
CR: Obviously his behaviour towards the dogs is rep-
rehensible, but to me its not something to be outraged
about. All of a sudden animal cruelty is considered the
worst thing in the world, while laying off hundreds of
workers while not giving themredundancy pay is not
seenas something a psychopathwould do. Everything
that serves societys mainpurpose tomake moneyis
hidden behind by a veil of permissiveness. Therefore,
the so-called evilness comes downto issues of self-righ-
teousness or sentimentality(like saying blackinsteadof
African-American, ortheact of hittingananimal). I dont
knowwhypeoplexateonthesceneof Juanandhisdog.
FS: It shows a real dark side to the character. Not evenhe
can explain it.
CR: Its not hitting the dogs that he finds strange its
beatingthe doghe loves the most.
FS: Well, thats the dark side.
CR: Its the kindof pathologycommontoeverybody.
FS: Of all your lms I nd the opening sequence of Post
Tenebras Lux the most powerful. We see a little girl sur-
roundedbydogsandanimalssometame, somewildin
alandscapethat is peaceful at rst andthenthreatening.
Its a visual prologue anda synthesis of the story. Didyou
conceive it like that?
CR: No. I love that piece of land and go there every eve-
ning. I love those animals. I wanted to make a lmthat
started by showing those things only because I wanted
toshare them. I envisionedthe night falling, andhaving
mydaughter standingtheresayingthings likemom or
dad. Its true that its a synthesis, but I didnt planit ra-
tionally. That sequenceresolves thebeautyof childhood
andthe beautyof livingwiththe danger inherent tolife,
andwiththe necessityof death.
i
Post Tenebras Lux is releasedinthe UK
on22March, andis reviewedonpage 101
BATTLE ONEARTH
Reygadas, left, hints at lifes
underlying violence in scenes
of boys playing rugby, below
left, and of his daughter
Rut surrounded by animals,
belowright
54 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
INDIAN
INK
Works of great beauty and artistry in their own right,
Indian lmposters also give fascinating insights into the
transformation of the nations lmindustry and culture in
the century since the subcontinents very rst feature lm
was released in 1913
By Divia Patel
1. KALYANKHAJINA(THE
TREASURES OF KALYAN)
BABURAOPAINTER, 1924
This poster depicts the 17th-
century Maratha emperor
Shivaji. It is sometimes
attributed to the director of
the lm, a self-taught painter
and sculptor. Here he seems
to be experimenting with a
fusion of Mughal painting
andWestern realism.
2. ANARKALI
BOLLYWOODART
PROJECT, 2012
This Mumbai mural
celebrating Nandlal
Jaswantlals 1953 classic
and its stars Bina Rai
and Pradeep Kumar was
painted over the course of
11 days by Ranjit Dahiya of
the BollywoodArt Project.
The urban collective are
reviving the tradition of
hand-painting large-scale
billboards and banners, used
by many studios during
Bollywoods GoldenAge.
The art of lmadvertising in India is admired and exoti-
cised inthe West for its bright colours, kitschstyle and
general exuberance. ButjustlikeitsWesterncounterpart,
it has an aesthetic trajectory that reects the impact of
technological advancement, highlightssocial andpoliti-
cal concerns, andreects the zeitgeist. Its iconic designs
providerichmaterialsthroughwhichtoreadthehistory
of Indias national cinema.
Releasedin1913, therst IndianfeaturelmRajaHar-
ishchandrawas advertisedas aperformancewith57,000
photographs, apicture twomiles long. The reference to
photographyinformedanaudienceunfamiliarwiththis
newmediumthat lmhadthe ability tocapture reality
andbringstaticimagestolife; theemphasisonlengthap-
pealedto anaudience usedto watching stage plays last-
ingmorethansixhours. Suchtext-basedadvertisements
were placed innewspapers or printed as hand-bills and
distributed from bullock-carts decorated with hand-
paintedbanners. Themovefromtext toimage-basedpro-
motional materials came inthe 1920s withthe gradual
incorporationof decorative fonts, line illustrations and
woodcut images. Raja Harishcandra was based ona sub-
ject fromHindumythology, a genre of lmthat evolved
over the years to inspire aesthetically diverse and strik-
ingposters, like the one for Champakali (1957).
The earliest surviving image-basedIndianlmposter
is that for Baburao Painters 1924 filmKalyan Khajina.
Stylistically it was a clumsy fusion of 17th-century
Mughal painting and the Western realismthen being
taught at theBombaySchool of Art, but its ademonstra-
tionof the eras experimentationinanattempt todene
anewmodern national art. The 1930s sawthe arrival of
the soundlm, increasedmechanisationandanexpan-
sionof theindustry, manifestedinthebuildingof aseries
of Art Deco-style cinemas in Mumbai. The movement
symbolised modernity and progress, and lmgraphics
reectedthisthroughtheirstylisedimageryandgeomet-
ric typography.
Alsoproducedduringthis period, but not adheringto
any one style, were a series of posters for lms featuring
Fearless Nadia, an Australian circus artist who became
the most famous actress in India of the time. In these
lms she had swordghts, cracked whips and balanced
ontop of moving trains, continually challenging
female stereotypes. The posters, showing her in 1.
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 55
2.
56 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
INDIAN FILMPOSTERS
action, represented courage, strength and ideal-
ism; they were fantasies of power and action,
whichfedintothe nascent nationalist movement.
After Indian independence in 1947, many films ex-
ploredconcepts of national identity, modernity andtra-
ditionthroughthe narrative prismof rural-to-urbanmi-
gration: RKFilms Boot Polish(1954) andShree 420(1955),
and Mehboob Productions Mother India (1957). RKwas
dened by its two leading stars Nargis and Raj Kapoor,
who were rst paired in Barsaat (1949) and went on to
achieve international fame.
One of the most enduring of all Indianlmposters is
for Mother India. The filmfocuses on Radha (Nargis), a
poorwomanwhoshowsgreatcourageandmoral resolve
as she overcomes a series of trials tobecome the revered
mother of hervillage. Thevillagesettingportraysanide-
al moral universethat evokesapowerful senseof nation-
al identity. The original poster for the lmwas a simple
image of a mother and child. The studio redesigned the
poster inthe 1980s to reect boththe epic nature of the
lmandthe iconic status it hadachievedover the years.
Inthe newposter, Radhas heroic struggles were immor-
talised inaninspirational image showing her pulling a
plough with her bare hands across the elds, pain and
anguishetchedonherface. It stoodforendurance, power
andanidealisedvisionof Indianmorality.
Films of the 1960s displayed a more international
outlook, with youth culture, travel and freedomfrom
the past emerging as subjects for exploration. Foreign
locations andWesternfashiontrends seepedintoIndian
lmculture, as canbe witnessedinthe poster for Raj Ka-
poors Bobby(1973), withits echoes of Americanpsyche-
delic posters. Anewgenre of lmappearedinthe 1970s,
characterisedbythemesof revengeandviolence, andthe
arrival of anewtypeof protagonist theantihero. These
lms were a response to the political, economic and so-
cial upheavals occurringinIndiaat thetime. Playingthe
role of the angryyoungman, AmitabhBachchanrose to
fame inlms suchas Deewaar (1975) and Sholay (1975).
Anewgraphic style developedthat suitedthe an-
ger andaggressionof thelms. Theartist Diwakar
3. MAZHAMULGA(MY
SON) J.B. DIKSHIT, 1938
Art Deco-inuenced graphics
represented modernity
and progress. Here, this
is expressed in the design
of the Hindi and English
typefaces and the pictorial
depiction of a mechanical
cog that references the
printing-press setting of the
lm. The Prabhat studio logo
of aTutari girl in the top
left-hand corner heralded the
arrival of sound in cinemas.
4. TOOFANI TIRANDAAZ
ARTIST UNKNOWN, 1947
Fromthe 1930s to the 1950s,
Australian actress and
former circus artist Mary
Evans, aka Fearless Nadia,
made over 50 lms, only a
fewof which still survive.
Posters, in all manner of
styles, are some of the only
traces that remain of these
lost action adventures. Many
of the designs challenged
female stereotypes, showing
the whip-cracking heroine
(who performed all of her
own stunts) brandishing
swords, guns and arrows.
5.BARSAAT (RAIN)
TUILKA, 1949
The poster depicts
Raj Kapoor, who plays a
musician in the lm, holding
a violin in one hand and a
fainting woman his leading
lady Nargis in the other.
The image represents the
great love between the two
stars, on screen and off, and
was stylised and reduced to
a simple formto become the
logo of Kapoors RKFilms,
symbolising the studios
rst success.
6. CHAMPAKALI
RAMKUMAR SHARMA, 1957
Films based on religious
epics and mythology were
a xture of Indian cinema
fromthe silent era to the B
movies of the 1960s and 70s.
The ornate revivalist style of
this 1957 poster was typical
of the illustrator Ramkumar
Sharma, a poster artist who
had a passion for Indian
history and mythology.
3.
5.
4.
6.
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 57
7. MOTHERINDIA
BALKRISHNAVAIDYA
SETHSTUDIOS, 1980S/
GULATRI ARTS, 1957
This simple image
encapsulates the theme of
Mehboobs lm: a tale of a
mother, her children and the
land on which she lives. The
lmsoon became a national
classic and the poster was
redesigned in the 1980s to
reect its newstatus.
The image depicts the
heroines struggle to feed
her children, their cries
giving her thestrength of
a man to plough the land.
The rough, exaggerated
brush strokes have an
expressionist feel, reecting
the epic nature of the lm
and conveying her courage,
strength and moral duty.
8. KAGAZKE PHOOL
(PAPERFLOWERS)
ELLORAARTS, 1959
The title of Guru Dutts lm
alludes to the articial world
created by the lmindustry
in which people arelike
owers of paper, beautiful
to behold but articial
nevertheless and without
fragrance. At the centre
of this highly poignant
narrative is an intense
relationship, the passion,
anguish and sorrowof which
are conveyed through simple,
bold imagery.
9. CHARULATA
SATYAJITRAY, 1964
Ray, who worked as a graphic
designer before venturing
into lmmaking, designed
many of his own posters.
Just as his lms were far
removed fromBollywood
cinema, so his simple,
graphic style using brush
strokes, photo cut-outs
and even occasionally
his own typography
differed drastically from
the exuberant imagery of
Bollywood posters.
10. GUIDE D.R. BHOSLE, 1965
Compared to the crowded
masala style of many
posters of the time, D.R.
Bhosles oil-painted images
often featured a single,
expressive gure set against
a stark background. Bhosle
worked initially as a studio
boy, developing a love of
Bollywood art frommentors
such as the lmmaker
Baburao Painter.
11. BOBBYTILAKTIRATH
OBEROI, 1973
The poster for this hit
teen romance mimicked
psychedelic posters for US
lms, the swirling bands
of colour and expressive
typography capturing both
the energy of youth culture
and the spirit of post-
independence liberalism.
7.
10.
11.
8.
9.
10. 10 10 00
11. 11 11 1
8. 888
99
7. 77
58 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
INDIAN FILMPOSTERS
Karkare was responsible for this stylistic change,
creatingwhat hascometobeseenasthedenitive
aesthetic of the Indianlmposter. He rened the tech-
nique of painting bold, exaggerated brushstrokes over
photographic stills to create dynamic and expressive
images that conveythe emotional intensityof the lms.
Themes of love and romance are a staple of Indian
cinema and some of the most striking posters, such as
those for Kagaz ke Phool (1959) andGuide (1965), convey
thepassionandanguishof loveinaverysimpledramatic
image. Thedepictionof womeninpostersoftenreliedon
a simplistic differentiationbetweenmodern andtradi-
tional characters throughtheir dress. The gure of the
courtesan, as seeninUmrao Jaan (1981), offered a more
complexexplorationof sexualityandtradition.
Regional and alternative cinemas contributed to the
diversity of film-poster art. Satyajit Ray, for example,
designed the posters for his ownlms, conveying their
social-realist themesinagraphiclanguagethat wasbold,
simple anddirect. Hand-paintedhoardings, once the de-
ningfeatureof theIndiancinemaexperience, havelong
been a dying artform, but some artists suchas the Ban-
galore-based Ramachandraiah continue the technique
while developingadistinct individual style.
Indianlmmakingchangeddramaticallyinthe1990s,
with themes reflecting the impact of the post-liberali-
sation, globalisation era. Advertising paralleled these
changes withthe development of newtechnologies and
the arrival of newdigital photographic anddesigntech-
niques. TodayIndianposters matchthe slicksophistica-
tionof their Hollywoodcounterparts.
i
The exhibitionBollywoodIcons: 100Years of
IndianCinema, featuringmany of these posters, is
at the National Media Museum, Bradforduntil 16
June. Aselectionof Indianlms, includingMother
India, will screenat the BradfordInternational Film
Festival, from11 to21 April. For more information,
see nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
Image credits 1. MaharashtraFilmCompany. Courtesy: NFAI, Pune 2. Ranjit Dahiya/
BollywoodArt Project 3. Prabhat FilmCompany. Courtesy: NFAI 4. WadiaMovietone,
RoyWadia. Courtesy: IrnaQureshi 5. RKFilms &Studios. Courtesy: BFI National Archive
6. FilmistanStudio. Courtesy: NFAI 7. 1980s: MehboobProductions/1957: Gulati Arts.
Courtesy: National MediaMuseum 8. GuruDutt Films 9. RayFamilyandSatyajit Ray
Society, Kolkata 10. NavketanFilms. Courtesy: NFAI, Pune 11. RKFilms &Studios.
Courtesy: BFI National Archive 12. Trimurti Films Pvt. Ltd 13. SKJainfor Integrated
Films 14. OrchidFilms/SwapanSarkar. Courtesy: NFAI, Pune 15. Ramachandraiah
12. DEEWAAR(THEWALL)
DIWAKARKARKARE, 1975
The artists distinctive
technique of painting
exaggerated brush strokes
over photographic portraits
helps create an emotionally
charged image. Here,
Amitabh Bachchans facial
expression is enhanced by
emphasising his brooding
eyes and full lips. The half-
blue, half-red face represents
the struggle between good
and bad within one person.
Such dramatic depictions
helped create Bachchans
angry-young-man persona.
13. UMRAOJAAN
VASUDEO, 1981
The visual representation of
courtesans who are part
of a rich cultural tradition
rather than suggestive of
immorality usually focuses
on their heavily embroidered
costumes, ornate jewellery
and their placement within
grand historical settings.
14. PAAR(THE CROSSING)
UNKNOWNARTIST, 1984
GoutamGhoses lmabout a
landlords brutal treatment
of rural villagers is an
important work of the
Parallel Cinema movement,
and the artwork clearly
signposts the lmas distinct
frommainstreamHindi
cinema. The poverty-stricken
couple at the lms centre
are rendered in a stark,
dramatic style, while the
herd of pigs (which play a
key role in the narrative) are
shown in silhouette, in an
imaginative, surreal touch.
15. DON2
RAMACHANDRAIAH, 2012
Since 1971, artist
Ramachandraiah has been
producing hand-drawn
posters out of a factory
north of Bangalore. Using
an old lithograph press,
he prints themon cheap,
thin paper and then posts
themall over the walls of
Bangalore, where his lovingly
crafted interpretations
of popular Bollywood and
Hollywood hits sit alongside
the ofcial, sleek (but
somewhat soulless) digital
creations of the studios.
14.
15.
14. 14 144
12. 13.
15. 15 55
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60 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
Danny Boyle is anopenly populist lmmaker
who works ona modest scale. Thoughhe
has stayed inBritain, he has international
reach: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) woneight
Academy Awards, including Best Picture, not to
mentionanincalculable amount of audience
goodwill. This canonly have increased after
Boyle impersonated Tigger during his Best
Director acceptance speech. Evenwiththe
novelty doorstop of anOscar to his name,
he has shownno desire to throwinhis lot
withHollywood. Instead of capitalising on
the Slumdog razzle-dazzle he made a lm
about a mansawing off his arm(127 Hours).
This may sound perverse, but it is consistent.
Boyles background is theatre (he returned last
year for a productionof Frankenstein with
Benedict Cumberbatchand Jonny Lee Miller
alternating the roles of doctor and creature) and
television(he produced AlanClarkes Elephant).
Cinema audiences got their rst hint of Boyles
unpredictability whenhe followed an
electrifying adaptationof Irvine Welshs smack
odyssey Trainspotting (1995) withALife Less
Ordinary (1997), whichincluded elements of
comedy, fantasy, road movie and musical. Since
then, its beenanything goes. Why not work
withLeonardo DiCaprio (The Beach) or make a
zombie movie (28 Days Later)? Why not
mastermind the opening ceremony of the
London2012 Olympic Games?
The latter was a widely adored extravaganza
crammed withmasterstrokes: KennethBranagh
as Isambard KingdomBrunel, J.K. Rowling
reading Peter Pan to bedriddenchildrenhaunted
by a giant Voldemort, RowanAtkinsonas
Mr Beanplaying Vangeliss Chariots of Fire
and Daniel Craig as James Bond escorting a
parachute-packing HRHElizabethII to the
stadium. Boyles national-treasure status
could only have beenboosted by turning
downa subsequent OBE to remaina manof
the people whichhe thenproceeded to do.
Politicians, companies, evenentire countries
must look uponhis PRskills and marvel.
But as he suggests below, it is no accident
that this joyful period has also produced
his murkiest lm, the psychological thriller
Trance. It features Cronenbergianviolence,
a mosaic-style structure indebted to Nicolas
Roeg and anapproachto characterisationthat
verges onthe kamikaze evenBoyle calls the
lmcruel. The locationis still London, but
the tone couldnt be further fromcelebration.
James McAvoy plays anart auctioneer who
colludes witha gangster (Vincent Cassel) in
the theft of a painting by Goya (the rst great
painter of the humanmind), only to develop
amnesia after hiding the canvas. The only hope
of retrieving his memory, and therefore the
painting, lies withanAmericanhypnotherapist
(Rosario Dawson). What she nds inhis
subconscious would make Goya shudder
RyanGilbey: Trance was made inquite an
unorthodox way. Didyoushoot it all, then
come back toedit it after the Olympics?
Danny Boyle: We shot it and did a very rough
cut, whichyoudo anyway as youre shooting to
make sure there are no enormous gaps. Thenwe
put it to bed almost immediately, and effectively
took eight months or so off fromit before
going back. WhenI got offered the opening
ceremony, Id already committed to do the play
Frankenstein at the National. The ceremony took
two years to prep, and it was so enjoyable doing
Frankenstein that we decided we wanted to shoot
a lmas well, ie to take another little sabbatical
fromthe Olympics. The Games just drive you
insane: its all so committee-oriented, so slow,
and most of the time youre not working. I was
working withthe same people so we thought
wed take a little time out and make this lm,
whichwed beenworking onfor a number of
years. [Screenwriter] JohnHodge had done a
fantastic draft, and we were going to shoot it in
ManhattanwithanEnglishactress, because that
character was always meant to be anoutsider
so her voice had to have a separateness. With
Rosario [Dawson] inthe part and the whole
thing inLondon, its got these connotations of
Californiantherapists who believe that as long
as youkeep talking youll nd the solution. So
we went off and shot this, but we couldnt
leave the Olympic Games completely, so
DANNY
BOYLE
The Interview
Following his glittering success withthe Olympics opening ceremony and consequent elevation
to the status of national treasure, Danny Boyle has returned to muchdarker matters. Inspired
by the work of Nicolas Roeg, his newlmTrance is set inLondon, but its not a celebrationof
the city its a lmthat eventhe director describes as cruel. Interviewby Ryan Gilbey
ONTHE BOYLE
The energy you see on screen is the
energy in life. Like any world-class
director, hes an obsessive. Hes obsessed
with lm, with music and with family.
AndrewMacdonald, 1999
I would jump through hoops of re
backwards for Danny Boyle. I would
doPorno [Irvine Welshs sequel to
Trainspotting] tomorrowfor nothing.
Begbie was probably the only character
I would ever want to revisit, because
I do believe that theres an awful lot
more mileage there. Danny seems to be
edging towards it. After his success at
the Oscars, he should be able to do pretty
much as he wants.
Robert Carlyle, 2009
Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry
created something very special... that
level of approval is not what most
openingceremonies get. The creativity
Danny brought, and the lmmakers eye
with which he sawit, set it apart.
SebastianCoe, 2012
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 61
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62 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
we had to do a day a week onthat. And
thenwe came back to Trance afterwards.
Givenhowcomplicated the story is, it was
probably a good thing, because youdid forget it
all. Its the rst time Ive forgottenwhat Id shot.
RG: Thats appropriate for a lm
partly about amnesia.
DB: It was very tting. We did it for our
convenience and to keep us all sane during the
Olympics. It just worked well inour favour
because of the sort of lmit was. Usually you
go straight into editing unless youre doing
Cast Away or Raging Bull, where the actor goes
off to lose or gainweight. Normally theres
no way your nanciers want their money
tied up for a year. The Olympics was very
useful there because it mesmerises people a
bit and they take their eye off the ball. You
say: Yeah, were gonna shoot this lm, then
well go away and do the opening ceremony
thencome back and edit it. Somehowno
one realises theyre going to have to wait a
hell of a lot longer before they see anything.
RG: Howsoondidyouget back toTrance?
DB: Almost immediately. I stayed inLondon
for the Olympics because I had some tickets.
RG: Didyoumanage toblaga fewfreebies, then?
DB: No, Id actually applied for them! Someone
gave me a tip that youshould apply for far
more thanyouwant and thenyoud get
something. I applied for 20,000 of tickets or
something, and got 1,500 worth. So I stayed,
and it was amazing going as a punter. The
people had really takenit all over, this group
mentality, and whenthey booed politicians,
it was a way of saying, Dont fuck about with
this. This is ours. Youcanbe part of it, but
keep your modesty about you. ThenI went
away for a fewweeks onholiday after that,
thenwe started straight back on Trance. We
edited fromSeptember for three months.
RG: Howdidit look toyou?
DB: I thought it was good. The story worked.
Its weird doing this sort of lmbecause
directors usually think theyre giving too
many clues, and everyone else says, No, youre
not giving enough! Theres a story about M.
Night Shyamalanmaking The Sixth Sense and
worrying that whenthe kid says I see dead
people it was giving away the whole lm. So
a signicant part of editing we did whenwe
came back to Trance was putting clues back in
that Id takenout. We did a week of pickups and
reshoots inmid-October where we just dropped
inlittle clues to try and help yousteer your
way throughit. The idea is that youshouldnt
have to watchthe lmtwice to understand
it, but that if youdo, itll still make sense.
RG: Yougave a wonderful speechat Nicolas
Roegs BAFTAtribute, andthere were clips
fromhis lms inthe openingceremony.
Trance is your Roeglm, isnt it?
DB: Absolutely. Thats exactly it. Whenyoure
preparing the publicity, everyones going, Its
Memento, its Inception, its Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind. Yougo, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
its all those lms. But the godfather of all
that is Nicolas Roeg, the great iconoclast, who
took time and twisted and stretched it. The
point about lmediting is that its so uid. If
youget into a mesmerising lm, get into the
right rhythmwithit, youwill accept a uid
sense of past, present and future; it all becomes
interchangeable, as youcansee inRoegs lms.
There are various tropes inTrance: the heist,
the stolenpainting, the amnesia, the femme
fatale. But theyre all macgufns. Theyre
bollocks, basically. Its not really about stolen
paintings at all; its about someone whose
memories are stolen. The painting is there just
as anobject of desire for different people.
RG: Has Roegseenthe lm?
DB: I wouldnt showit to Nic! What if he
hated it? I remember going to see Eureka
at the Screenonthe Hill inLondonona
Wednesday afternoon, it was practically
empty but the air was just sucked out of the
cinema. I was mesmerised. Thats what Roegs
lms do to me; Ima rabbit inthe headlights.
This is really what lmis: its a hypnotically
induced trance. Those people onscreenare
not really moving, youknow. Youjust think
they are. Your brainis telling youthey are.
RG: One connectionthe lmhas toRoegand
tothe Olympics is DavidBowie. There were
rumours he wouldbe inthe ceremony. But
hes there inspirit inTrance, isnt he?When
James McAvoy is injured, he looks like Bowie
onthe cover ofLodger; theres a snatchof
Be MyWife fromLow onthe soundtrack; and
a key line about people not beingheroes.
DB: Thats right. I had to bring inthe Lodger
cover, because whenI said, I want himto lie
downlike onthe cover of Lodger, everyone
looked at me blankly. Be My Wife is there
as a sample onthe Unkle track. Whenwe
started doing the music with[composer]
Rick [Smith], it was very Low-inuenced,
but it ended up being more of a pulse a
mix of electronic and strings, rather than
the distorted guitars we had planned.
I got to meet Bowie for the rst time when
we were prepping the opening ceremony.
Growing up, he was everything, so I cant tell
youhownervous I was. He wouldnt do live
performance so we couldnt get him, but he gave
it his blessing. There was a lot of hassle involved
indoing the opening ceremony, but meeting
1997: ALife Less Ordinary 1995: Trainspotting 1994: Shallow Grave
2001: Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise 2001: Strumpet 2000: The Beach
When you make those big lms,
the degree of certainty youve
got to have is enormous, and
I would not be good at that
DANNYBOYLE INTERVIEW
B
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April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 63
himwas one of the joys. If only we could
have got himthere, it wouldve beengreat.
RG: The music holds the lmtogether when
the narrative is at its most complicated.
DB: Yes, Rick does a fantastic job holding
you, particularly inthe MRI scanscene,
whichshifts backwards and forwards in
time; the music is absolutely the glue there.
That particular sequence is actually three
substantial scenes intercut; thats very
muchour Roeg tribute. Every time that
comes on, I always think: This is for Nic.
RG: Hypnosis is important tothe plot,
but howclinically soundis the movie?
DB: Its certainly plausible. There is sucha
thing as post-hypnotic suggestion. Its one of
the reasons why hypnotismwas discredited
inthe 1970s inlegal cases, because it was
proved that it did work. But its not a lm
thats about realism. Its more the nature of our
minds that were exploring here. So I wouldnt
make any claims for it being watertight!
But its pretty good. We had a professor of
psychology who read the script and said: Yes,
thats howit works. Jamess character is one
of the ve per cent of the populationwho are
highly suggestible. These are the people that
DerrenBrownpicks out of his audience. We
went to see himbefore we did the lm hes
absolutely brilliant. I canjudge whenpeople
are acting; Imsensitive to that because of my
job. And those people are not acting. Theyre
not stooges. Theyre lost inhis worlds. But
the trick is selecting them. If he says, The
rst people who, blah-blah-blah and four
or ve peoples hands shoot up immediately,
he knows theyre the most suggestible ones.
Theyre the ones who want to be lost.
RG: Is it a risk that withsomuchof the
actionofTrance takingplace inpeoples
heads ie not physically happening
at all the audience wont care?
DB: It is, except that one of the reasons I
wanted to do it is that we wanted to not
make it stable who youre going to root for
not make it a foregone conclusion. So you
have to go into this lmknowing its not a
heart-warming exercise inempathy: its your
decisionwhomyoure going to followand
trust and canyouwork out the puzzle? Its
a serious questioninAmerica, because they
tend to want desperately to have that empathy,
and its not that sort of lm. Its got a slightly
crueller nature. And it isnt trustworthy.
Eventually youre giving people licence to
say: This may be happening, this may not.
RG: Its got the ultimate unreliable narrator.
DB: And hes fucking brilliant, McAvoy. Its an
impossible part, and because hes so brilliant,
hes trying to keep your sympathy for him,
make youfeel youcantrust himdespite all
the stuff thats going on. Hes a seriously good
actor and he wants to stretchhimself; he no
longer wants to play the cute boy, he wants to so
something darker and hes got a number of lms
coming out where he does that. WithVincent
[Cassel], it was great to use his gangster persona
and thenput that into something unexpected,
because his story here is actually a love
story. Hes offered the potential inlife
2004: Millions 2002: 28 Days Later
2010: 127 Hours 2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2007: Sunshine
2013: Trance
Roeg trader: Boyle admits Trance is his Nicolas Roeg lmrather than his Inception or Memento
64 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
DANNYBOYLE INTERVIEW
for love and it shocks him, more than
violence, power, terrorising people. And I
always thought Rosario was really underused in
lms. She did amazing work inJohnMaddens
Killshot, where she does some proper character
work whenshe gets killed inthat lm, its
really disturbing. I thought it would be fantastic
for Trance to take this part that for some people
would seemlike a femme fatale and we do
play withthat idea but to cast a modern
Americanrather thansome icy blonde.
RG: HowdidyouapproachshootingLondon?
Its a very science-ctionvisionof the city.
DB: I wanted it to be like Singapore. But the
basic idea is really similar to the voiceover at
the start of ShallowGrave: This could be any
city theyre all the same. I wanted it to feel
like its just a moderncity, withthree very
distinctive spaces where the characters live.
One is attached to the club Analog a name
I never thought wed clear, but remarkably
there isnt already a club withthat name! Then
Rosarios character has a space thats hollowed
out of anold traditional Regency building
inLondon. Shes modernised it, givenit this
sheen; its supposed to be a bit like the inside of
Jamess brain. And he lives above the Docklands
Light Railway, and that all looks a little like
Singapore. We wanted to try to make London
mythical. It was obviously easiest on28 Days
Later, where youhave this great concept
of the deserted city. I wanted to use the city
here, but not inany stodgy, landmarky way.
RG: Doyousee muchcross-pollination
betweenTrance andthe openingceremony?
DB: There is inthe sense that whenwe came
back to the lmafter the Games, I sawhow
fucked-up it was towards the end. The lm
gets very violent and deranged. It starts out
playful youve got the heist, the Bowie
music, the humour and thenits like Woah!
and innocent people are being killed. [With]
the Olympics youhave this responsibility,
because its a family show its the British
equivalent of a Disney movie. People shouldnt
come to Trance expecting the opening
ceremony! All the dark stuff that we couldnt
put into the Olympics has ended up here.
We were nding a release for that instinct.
RG: SoTrance is the opening
ceremonys evil twin?
DB: Thats a good way of putting it. Ill use that.
RG: Yousaidearlier that there was a lot
of hassle involvedwiththe Olympics.
DB:Whenyouget close to it, yourealise it
doesnt really deserve its mystique, I have to say.
Theres a side of it that is inno way admirable.
And I found it difcult a couple of times to
keep going. That I didnt stop was because of
peoples belief init, whichbecame to me more
important thanthe corporationthat runs it. I
mean, the corporationis like Coca-Cola, and
nancially its so powerful, that there are all
sorts of things that its difcult to interact with.
The sinister side to it was the Rapier missiles
mounted onrooftops inLondon fucking
ground-to-air missiles! Youthink: This is a
festival of peace! The purpose is to put down
arms. Thats the originof it, bringing nations
together. Youcannot justify protecting the
whole Olympic experience withmissiles.
Its far better to accept the place might be
bombed thanto protect it withmissiles.
RG: Howhas the openingceremony
changedthe way people see you?
DB: Youget some people coming up because of
the lms, but nowpeople fromall walks of life
approachme, not for a photographor anything
but just to say thank you. Thenthey walk away.
Its not like being congratulated ona lm. Its
almost nothing to do withyoupersonally.
RG: Does your eclecticisminyour choice of
projects work against youwhenit comes to
nancingor marketing?Youcant necessarily
say, If youlikedShallowGrave, youll loveALife
Less Ordinary!Youcant market127 Hours
off the back of28Days Later, canyou?
DB: No, but youlie to raise money. Youlie all
the time. I remember to sell Slumdog Millionaire,
we said it was Amlie witha bit of Trainspotting
thrownin. It is a problem. Especially nowwith
Trance. Inthis country it doesnt matter people
will come along and not feel misled. But in
America it matters because they sell Slumdog
and 127 Hours as warm-hearted redemptive
stories and yougo, Er, Imnot sure. I mean,
there are love stories inthere somewhere,
but its not quite right. InAmerica youre a
number and youdont have anidentity like
youdo here. But thenIve never really wanted
to do the same thing again. Whenever thats
happened inany form, Ive always come a
cropper. Whenever youthink, Leave me
alone, I knowwhat Imdoing, it goes wrong.
Ill give youanexample. We did the creatures
in28 Days Later, whichwere really good: they
werent the usual zombie walking-dead thing,
they were muchmore electric and speedy and
aggressive. But whenwe came to do Sunshine,
we had this creature Pinbacker Mark Strongs
character and I remember saying to the guys:
Oh, I knowhowto do this. And I didnt. When
youhave that arrogance its deadly. I always
believe youmust approachsomething thinking:
Howthe fuck are we going to do that? It
should growas youdo it, and your ideas should
come as late as possible, and as alarmingly and
instinctively as possible. That tends to be where
I work best. The not-knowing is energising.
RG: Is one lma reactionagainst next?The
comparative minimalismof127 Hours felt like a
response tothe sprawl ofSlumdogMillionaire.
DB: Thats part of the appeal. Youget asked to
repeat yourself a lot. Its what the whole system
inAmerica is based on: He cando that get
himto do it againand offer hima lot more
money. I always pull back fromthat. Thats
why the contrast with127 Hours was immense.
It threwup technical challenges and I really
love the technical side of things, the challenge
of howto make a story icker. What comes
out of my theatre background is that I tend to
leave the actors to do the characters, generally
speaking; youcast it well withintelligent
people who have anopinionabout what
theyre doing. That comes fromtheatre where
its downto the actors to inhabit and ownit.
The restrictionin127 Hours was very
exciting to me. I love that idea: just a man
ina cave. Youknowyoure going to cheat,
whicheveryone does, but howmuchare
yougoing to cheat and howwill youmake
it feel to the audience like youre not?
RG: There are references inTrance to
Rembrandts missingpaintingThe Stormon
the Sea of Galilee, where he paintedhimself in
Non blonde: Rosario Dawson inTrance offers a fresh take on the femme fatale role
Ive never wanted to do the
same thing again. Whenever
thats happened in any form,
Ive always come a cropper
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 65
Gangsters paradise: Boyle liked to imagine himself being Vincent Cassel, above, inTrance
the picture as one of the faces onthe boat. That
made me wonder: where are youinyour lms?
DB: I do connect withthe lms ona personal
level indifferent ways. Its usually afterwards
whenI think: Oh, that was probably me, then.
Usually my lms are quests. Youthink youre
making different lms and thensadly it turns
out youre making the same one over and over!
InTrance, what was interesting was that the role
of hero was ambiguous or exible. So Imthere
inbits of Trance, but the most autobiographical
one Ive made and I dont write any of them,
but youtry and bring something of yourself
to them is Millions. I regard that as my most
personal lm. Partly its the Catholicism. There
are lots of avours init. The boys relationship
withhis mother. And hes drivenby his
imagination, whichis anentirely good thing,
while his brothers drivenby money. Imnot
very good withmoney; eventhoughIve been
lucky enoughto have made some, it doesnt
hold any fascinationfor me whether Ive got it
or not. So thats my most personal lmina way.
But thenno one sawit anyway so what does it
matter? [laughs] Alot of right-wing groups in
America loved it: Ive got all these awards for it
that nobodys heard about, fromthese positive-
thinking religious groups who say what a
warm-hearted tale Millions is. Thats not quite
howI sawit. Other thanMillions, where I rather
romantically imagine myself as the little kid,
there isnt really a staple character inmy work;
it tends to op around betweendifferent things.
Theres bits of Trance where I think of myself
as Cassel and who wouldnt whenyoure my
age? It gets harder and harder to identify with
your young heroes, who have to be there for
the market. Films tend to be occupied with
those guys intheir twenties, early thirties,
and it becomes more and more remote
fromyouyet more and more commercially
important ingetting the lms made.
RG: Is everythingeasier since
Slumdog andthe Oscars? Canyou
basically doanythingyouwant?
DB: To a degree. We have a deal where theres
a cap of $20 milliononeachlm. If we make
the lmwithinthat, we have a great deal of
freedom. Not complete freedombut a lot. If you
want to go above that, youre always answerable
to casting, because no one goes to see a lmfor
the director unless its Spielberg or Chris Nolan.
So thenthat has implications for the type of
story, and thenyoure inthe dance of casting
inAmerica and it is a dance. The reasons they
do or dont do your lm, youjust cant work
themout sometimes. Thenyoure answerable
to the studio and howtheyre going to promote
it, and whether theyre going to promote it.
Its a dance all the way throughand youre
never completely free. Having said that, were
very lucky having had a success like Slumdog.
And because we refuse to inate the budgets
unnecessarily, it is more comfortable thanit is
for most people. If youstay modestly budgeted
youcanmake the Oscar keep paying for you.
I love Nolans lms, I love Ridley Scott, the big
mega-budget lms, but theyre not where I
would be comfortable operating. Imbetter ona
more uncertainlevel; whenyoumake those big
lms, the degree of certainty youve got to have
is enormous, and I would not be good at that.
RG: Have youever come close to
havingyour headturned?
DB: Only after Trainspotting. I got offered
Alien Resurrection. It wasnt the money that
tempted me so muchas the love of the story.
Joss Whedonhad writtena really good script
using the franchise inaninteresting way, and
I got close to doing that. I backed away inthe
end because I didnt really feel I could handle
the mechanics of the whole set-up. Youve got
this huge operationand I like working within
a smaller one. Evenwithinthe Olympics,
we operated as a small unit, like a satellite
withinit. Or, if youdidnt like us, a virus.
i
Trance is releasedinthe UKon27 March,
andis reviewedonpage 107
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Patriot games: Boyle says his hugely successful Olympic opening ceremony was the British equivalent to a Disney movie
66 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
By Jaime Pena
Guimares is a small city inthe northof
Portugal, near Oporto, whose history canbe
traced back to the tenthcentury; not only
did it play animportant role inthe founding
of Portugal, but it also became the countrys
rst capital. More recently, it was selected as
EuropeanCapital of Culture 2012, together
withMaribor inSlovenia. The foundation
that organised the celebrations of Guimaress
city-of-culture status focused so muchof its
activity onproducing lms mainly shorts
that Guimares ended up being the main
centre for lmproductioninPortugal this
past year; infact, giventhe recent withdrawal
of state funding for Portuguese cinema,
there was little elsewhere. Practically every
Portuguese lmmaker of note has been
involved inthe Guimares project, from
veterans Manoel de Oliveira and Joo Botelho
to up-and-comers Gabriel Abrantes and
Gonalo Tocha, as well as the likes of Joo
Canijo, Joo Pedro Rodrigues, Margarida Gil,
Pedro Costa and Joo Nicolau, together with
celebrated directors fromall over Europe.
The results of this ambitious undertaking,
overseenby young producer Rodrigo Areias,
beganto emerge last November at the seventh
editionof the Rome FilmFestival, whose section
Cinema XXI included four works produced by
Guimares 2012. These included the ambitious
Historic Centre, a portmanteaulmonthe theme
of memory that consists of four separate parts
directed by, respectively, Pedro Costa, Manoel de
Oliveira, Vctor Erice and Aki Kaurismki. Other
Guimares lms made a strong showing in
Rotterdamthis January, and there are more still
to come (inCannes perhaps?), including what
will be without doubt the most extraordinary
of all. Provisionally entitled 3X3D, it groups
together 3Dlms directed by Edgar Pra,
Peter Greenaway and (one of the most eagerly
anticipated events of 2013) Jean-Luc Godard.
The only name missing fromthis dazzling
list is Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, who
for the last year has beenimmersed inthe
promotionof Tabu. Nevertheless, the musical
spirit of Gomess cinema and his peculiar sense
of humour seemto have infected Portugals
younger lmmakers. Gomess inuence seems
noticeable inthe absurd humour withwhich
Joo Nicolautreats Guimaress legends in
The Gift of Tears; inthe reinterpretationof the
regions musical traditionthat Tiago Pereira
undertakes inLets Play Together to Hear Better;
and inthe unshakeable scepticismwith
whichGonalo Tocha avours discussions of
local history inTowers and Comets. While the
As EuropeanCapital of Culture
2012, Guimares received enough
funding to make it the centre of
the countrys lmproduction
Out of the past: Historic Centre features contributions from Manoel de Oliveira, Vctor Erice, Aki Kaurismki and Pedro Costa (Sweet Exorcist, above)
Costas style seems more radical
here than ever; rarely have his
images and what his characters
tell us fused so powerfully
PORTUGALWAS BORNHERE
FOCUS
Wide Angle
EXPLORINGTHE BIGGER PICTURE
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 67
majority of the Guimares lms average 20-30
minutes inlength, Tochas contributionis a
61-minute feature. As he already demonstrated
withIts the Earth Not the Moon, anexhaustive
portrait of the Isle of Corvo, Tocha has an
admirable capacity to home inonthose small
but signicant stories treasured by locals;
stories that, inthe case of Guimares, have
helped shape the history of a whole country. A
text onthe wall of a medieval tower situated
inthe citys mainsquare informs us Aqu
nasceuPortugal (Portugal was bornhere),
and Guimaress proud inhabitants dont
intend to stop reminding us of that fact.
Unsurprisingly, most of the critical attention
has focused onHistoric Centre. As is oftenthe
case withthis kind of collective lm, Historic
Centre is uneven. Two of the four episodes
recycle themes already dealt withinother
works, witha slightly perfunctory air. In
TavernMan, Aki Kaurismki depicts a man
as unfortunate inlove as he is inbusiness.
Filmed inthe historical centre of Guimares,
it stars Ilkka Koirula as a tavern-keeper unable
to attract clients to his modest bar, whose
elegance has ananachronistic air. Kaurismki
dispenses withdialogue, so his lmcould just
as easily take place inhis native Finland; only
the incessant fado being played and the news
onthe radio refer unmistakably to Portugal.
Kaurismki spends a good part of eachyear in
the northof Portugal, very close to Guimares,
and his lm(whichmakes do withportraying
the miserable daily life of a character and
little else) seems the perfect vector for a
tragic sense of life that nowadays traverses
Europe fromNorthto Southand East to West
fromFinland to Portugal, youcould say.
Nor does Manoel de Oliveira go much
further thanmere jokiness inThe Conquered
Conqueror. The conqueror of the title refers
to Portugals rst king, Afonso Henriques,
whose statue inGuimares is conquered
nowadays by the tourists, who never stop
taking pictures of it, as the tourist guide,
played by Ricardo Trpa, points out. Its difcult
to shake off a sense of disappointment at
this ironic approachto Portuguese history,
particularly coming fromthe personwhos
dedicated the most subtle attentionto that
very subject throughout his extended career.
Inhis defence, it has to be said that 2012 was
a difcult year for the 104-year-old Oliveira,
who had to spend long periods inhospital.
Either way, Kaurismki and Oliveira work
as prologue and epilogue respectively for
what are doubtless the mainpieces inHistoric
Centre. Pedro Costa returns to his fetish
character Ventura, the protagonist of Colossal
Youth, for Sweet Exorcist. Ventura is now
locked ina hospital elevator witha kind of
street mime artist dressed up as a tinsoldier
(Antonio Santos), withwhomhe holds a long
conversationrevolving around memories of
Portugals CarnationRevolutionin1974, when
the authoritarianEstado Novo regime was
ousted after 42 years inpower. The conversation
is more like a monologue voiced by different
people, almost always invoiceover, which
gives shape to Venturas nightmares regarding
1974 when, as Costa has reminded us on
various occasions, military menwent out
into the streets to hunt blacks. Clearly, the
CarnationRevolutiondoes not constitute a
happy memory for Cape Verdianimmigrants,
least of all for Ventura, who was hospitalised.
Costas style seems more radical here than
ever; rarely have his images and what his
characters tell us fused so powerfully. It seems
that Sweet Exorcist is actually a foretaste of
a feature that Costa is currently working on,
althoughits difcult to anticipate its function
withinthe project; anextract maybe, or just a
sequence that has beenor will be discarded?
BrokenWindows, Vctor Erices
contribution, is without doubt his most
substantial work since The Quince Tree Sun; few
lms display so muchgenerosity in35 minutes.
Its scope seems that of anambitious feature: an
investigationinto the cultural and social roots
of the Portuguese working class, exemplied
by the workers inwhat was one of the biggest
textile factories inEurope, the Vizela River
Textile Mill, situated close to Guimares and
inoperationfrom1845 to 2002. Nowadays the
factory is abandoned and nicknamed vidros
partidos (brokenwindows). Once the economic
hub of the region, it nowstands as the most apt
metaphor for the crisis devastating Portugal.
Erice conducted thoroughresearchamong
the former workers of the factory and selected
testimony that is recited to the camera
by a series of characters some played by
former employees of the factory, others by
amateur or professional actors. This device
calls to mind the work of directors suchas
Abbas Kiarostami, Eduardo Coutinho and
Jia Zhangke, but its purpose is not just to
offer another ction-documentary meta-
narrative. Inlittle more thanhalf anhour, it
achieves a perfect synthesis that manages to
embrace a century-and-a-halfs worthof the
history of the Portuguese working class.
The lms subtitle is Tests for a lmin
Portugal, and the artice is uncovered when
at giventimes we hear the instructions for
the clapperboard. As if Erice were gathering
testimonies for use inthat other project, the
characters recall to camera their experiences
inthe factory, their everyday lives, the colonial
wars, emigration, the central positionof
womeninsocial structures, unemployment
Throughout the researchprocess, Erice had
inmind a number of writers who, one way
or another, are evoked inthe lm: Ernesto
da Silva, author of Ocapital (1896), from
whichthe unemployed actor Valdemar
Santos reads anextract; his contemporary,
the lucidly pessimistic Manuel Laranjeira,
one of those suicidal writers withwhom
the history of Portuguese literature seems
crammed, and whose relationship withthe
Spanishwriter Miguel de Unamuno also caught
Erices attention; and Simone Weil, whose
experience as a worker at Renault seemed
relevant to the story of a factory inwhich
female work was of paramount importance.
Inthe same way that Erices The Spirit of the
Beehive emerges froma frame inJames Whales
Frankenstein, BrokenWindows originates
froma black-and-white photographhanging
onone of the old factorys walls; it shows the
entire workforce gathered ina large dining-
room, looking towards the camera of an
anonymous photographer. Their collective gaze
is confronted by those of the contemporary
characters, seeking identication. Almost
a century has passed betweenthose two
representations; if there is something that
unites themits the profound sadness that
reveals itself onthe faces of a working class
who at best inthe words of one of the people
Erice interviews only ever got to savour an
occasional discontented happiness.
Translatedby Mar Diestro-Dpido
Erices Broken Windows
De Oliveiras The Conquered Conqueror Kaurismkis Tavern Man
68 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
ARTISTS FILM&VIDEO
By Sukhdev Sandhu
Altitude is the muse of enlightenment,
the urbanplanner Thomas J. Campanella
argued inCities fromthe Sky (2001). Elevation
extends our vision, literally and guratively.
The complexity of life is reduced to utopian
simplicity, a living diorama as benignas a
childs trainlayout. Those claims have a
bitterly ironic ring to themin2013, as Barack
Obamas greenlighting of the ever-more
extensive use of drone planes against Middle
Easterninsurgents has started to generate
disquiet bothinternationally and at home.
The drone has become one of the dening
technologies of this century: thoughits
also deployed by farmers, energy companies
and weather searchers, its more commonly
seenas a symbol of neo-imperial biopower,
Americas dreams of scopic and military
supremacy, Washingtons endless and perhaps
unwinnable War onTerror. Inplaces like
Gaza, drones are used as sonic weapons
to demoralise street-bound Palestinians,
but mostly theyre surveillance machines
that at least as muchas Google Earthor
the vertical thrills onoffer incomputer
games are redening aerial aesthetics.
Currently showing inLondon, The Freestone
Drone, a video installationby Britishartist
George Barber, offers what appears to be
anoblique, almost whimsical take onthe
subject. Its title a sing-song play onJimi
Hendrixs Stone Free, it personies the
drone, imbuing himwithsentience (He
ew, thinking and reecting onthe work,
recalls a female narrator), and portraying
himas bothquerulous (He answered back
and argued) and meditative (What happens
whenI die? he asks his controller).
This may seema strange directionfor Barber,
who rst came to prominence inthe mid-1980s
as one of the leading lights inthe Scratch
Video movement, whose artists including
KimFlitcroft and Jeffrey Hinton pirated,
chopped and screwed transmissions from
mainstreambroadcasting, creating frenetically
plunderphonic visual pieces that moved to a
very different beat to their source materials.
Or perhaps not. Theres beenmuch
discussion, bothwithinacademic circles and
the Americanarmed forces, of militainment,
the convergence betweendrones and
videogaming; the US Air Force not only hires
private contractors witha background insports-
network televisionor reality-TVprogramming
to collate visual data collected by drones but
is increasingly looking to recruit Call of Duty
and Halo acionados as drone operators.
The Freestone Drone, like suchearly works of
Barbers as Yes Frank No Smoke (1986), ransacks
the datastreamfor images inthis case footage
of Al-Qaeda suspects, a missile tumbling
throughaerospace, suspicious-seeming
individuals turning their backs to camera to
create aneerie collage of the visual cultures of
militarised modernity. This is supplemented by
the directors trademark drollery and low-key
wit: Ima bit like Thomas the Tank Engine,
claims the drone (voiced by Barber inspeeded-
up fashion). He was a machine that could talk
and he was small and hard-working. Elsewhere,
he delivers groan-inducing one-liners: Hi, Im
the Freestone Drone. I just happened to be in
the neighbourhood and thought Id drop by.
Some viewers may wishfor a lmthat is
more formally rigorous or more explicit in
its political arguments, but its precisely the
tonal incongruities the movement between
twee (Could I ever be a nice drone? I admit
I give no warning. Ima bit creepy), the
sensual and the tragic that makes Barbers
piece so distinctive. If anything, it takes up the
challenge posed by artist JordanCrandall inhis
suggestionthat the doomed drone performs
a more vital functionthanthe exultant one
and dislodges conventional associations.
Newconceptual associations like playing
onthe meaning of drone (think thankless
labour) are overlaid withcinematic links
to the FrenchNewWave. The lmdraws on
Georges Delerues richly emotional music for
Godards Le Mpris, uses black-and-white stills
evocative of Markers La Jete and borrows
Last Year in Marienbad s storyline of a woman
repeatedly telling a manthat theyve never met
before. By the end, the drone-as-humanconceit
has stopped being absurd and has begunto feel
weirdly melancholic, saturated withsadness.
i
The Freestone Drone is at Waterside
Contemporary, LondonN1, until 23March
I ADMITIMABITCREEPY
Video artist George Barbers
The Freestone Drone offers a
whimsical take onone of the new
centurys dening technologies
Abit like Thomas the Tank Engine? The Freestone Drone ransacks the datastream to create an eerie collage of the visual cultures of militarised modernity
WIDE ANGLE
The drone symbolises US power
and redenes aerial aesthetics
but here it takes on a querulous
and meditative personality
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 69
By Agnieszka Gratza
Fromits inceptionin1986, Belfort FilmFestival,
according to the current director Catherine
Bizern, strove to showhowmuchthe cinema of
the future is linked to the history of cinema by
programming auteur retrospectives and themed
sections alongside aninternational competition
showing only work by emerging lmmakers. Its
founder was Janine Bazin, Andr Bazins spouse
and, together withAndr S. Labarthe, producer
of the celebrated documentary TVseries
Cinastes de notre temps, whichcommissioned
young lmmakers Rivette, Rohmer and
Chabrol among them to make lms about
the giants of Frenchand international cinema.
This year, retrospectives of auteurs as
diverse as Ernst Lubitsch, Jean-Pierre Mocky
and Rob Zombie ranparallel to strands about
money and capitalism, reecting the festival
directors resolutely political visionof cinema.
The notionthat crises are the driving force
of capitalisminformed the selectionof such
titles as Labarthes No Comment (2011), a
response to Jean-Luc Godards cinematic essay
Filmsocialisme (2010) that portrays a family
inthe grip of a political crisis ona cruise
liner: the children, who wishto experience
socialism, are pitted against their parents,
whomthey challenge inmock elections.
Yet the most daring and original of the
themed sections came fromart press editor-
in-chief Catherine Millet, who gained some
notoriety in2001 by publishing the unusually
frank memoir La Vie sexuelle de Catherine
M., charting her sexual development from
childhood masturbationto anadult fascination
withgroup sex. Millets fascinationwith
sexuality and ritual goes hand inhand witha
visual, and specically painterly, sensibility, all
of whichcame across ina selectiondesigned
to acknowledge the ties that bind cinema to
the other arts, and above all to contemporary
art. The 15 lms chosenby art press, which
celebrates its 40thanniversary this winter,
ranged fromclassics by Pasolini and Greenaway
to debut features suchas Bruno Dumonts La
Vie de Jsus (1996), Catherine Breillats racy Une
vraie jeune lle (1976) and Bertrand Bonellos
rather morose Quelque chose dorganique (1997).
Recent lms by Isild Le Besco and Samira
Makhmalbaf were also included. At odds
withthe erotically charged, if not downright
pornographic lms showninthis sectionwere
three short poetic essay lms by Jean-Marie
Straub and Danile Huillet, including their
nal collaborationItinraire de Jean Bricard
(2007) and LInconsolable (2011), the rst lm
Straub made after Huillets deathin2006.
Tales of sexual awakening told froma
womans perspective also featured prominently
inthe maincompetition; the number and
visibility of womenlmmakers at Belfort
might owe something to its having a female
director who makes a point of working with
a gender-balanced jury. Justine Triets Two
Ships (Vilaine lle mauvais garon), whose
happy-go-lucky leads are beset by family
obligations and nancial worries, took
the Short FilmAward and the Audience
Award, while the FrenchFilmAward went
to Shalimar Preusss Ma belle gosse. Set onan
island during the summer holidays, the lm
subtly portrays a tangle of family relations
centred on17-year-old Maden, who for years
has beenengaging ina secret correspondence
witha nearby inmate twice her age.
Belfort welcomes lms that blur the
boundaries betweendocumentary and ction
(a growing trend at festivals). This is certainly
the case withsuchartist-made lms as
Vrna Paravel and LucienCastaing-Taylors
Leviathan, whichwonthree prizes including
the Grand Jury Award, or Virgil Verniers
hour-long Orlans, a documentary-ction
hybrid that delves into the lives of dancers ina
striptease club withthe mythof Joanof Arc as
a backdrop. Mixing cultural history and family
memoir, the short Aux bains de la reine, made
by artist Sergio Da Costa together withwriter-
director Maya Kosa, opts for a fragmented
mode of narrationina journey throughthe
Portuguese city of Caldas da Rainha, where
the rst thermal hospital was erected.
Two remarkable Asiandebuts shownin
competition, Chinese director Song Fangs
Memories Look at Me and Thai lmmaker
WichanonSomumjarns In April the Following
Year, There Was a Fire, addressed the workings
of memory. Inthe former, recollections surface
largely inconversation, while inthe latter
they seamlessly blend inwiththe present.
The same dichotomy betweenshowing
and telling was at work intwo thematically
interconnected lms screened inthe art press
selection, JeanEustaches Une sale histoire
(1977) and StephenDwoskins Dirty (1965).
The story of a hole inwomens toilets that
stands for the camera lens, Une sale histoire
comes intwo versions, one documentary, one
ctive, shot in16mmand 35mmrespectively,
offering the same account almost word for
word. Nothing is shown, everything is told,
incontrast to Dwoskins languorous but
equally voyeuristic Dirty. These two short
lms were among the festivals highlights.
SHOWANDTELL
Tales of sexuality and ritual
selected by Catherine Millet stood
out at Belfort, the festival created
and directed by Janine Bazin
Women lmmakers visibility
at Belfort might owe something
to its having a female director
and gender-balanced jury
FESTIVAL WIDE ANGLE
Get a grip: Virgil Verniers Orlans uses of Joan of Arc as the backdrop to an exploration of stripping
In April the Following Year, There Was a Fire Two Ships
70 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
By Frances Morgan
InMusicophilia, Oliver Sackss study of music
and the mind, the neurologist writes about how
familiar music acts as a Proustianmnemonic,
eliciting emotions and associations that had
long beenforgotten. Hes referring specically
to howAlzheimers sufferers canretain
musical memories whentheir everyday recall
has all but gone. But connections between
music, memory, repetitionand emotionare
played out constantly inmost of our lives,
and oftento great effect incinema. Youhear
this not only inthe leitmotifs that are a
staple of traditional lmcompositionbut in
soundtracks suchas those to Scorseses 1970s
lms and Paul Thomas Andersons Boogie
Nights (1997), where pop songs are dropped
inwithsmoothprecisionto instantly evoke a
time and a place. The same kinds of songs can
be deployed withthe postmodern, mordant
incongruity of Tarantino or transformed forever
inDavid Lynchs haunted echo chamber.
Whenwe think of a lms character, rather
thanits director, being obsessed witha piece
of music, its oftenwithmurderous intent, as
whenChristianBale hacks up a colleague to
Huey Lewis and the Newss Hip to be Square
inAmerican Psycho (2000). But actually the urge
to press repeat over and over againona song is
unlikely to be the signof a psychopath; infact,
youwould be hard pressed to nd someone
who has never done it. Inction, these self-
induced earworms canilluminate a fragment
of a characters past, telling younot only what
they remember but why and how. The title of
Koreeda Hirokazus Still Walking (2008) comes
froma line inBlue Light Yokohama, a hit for
Japanese actress and singer Ayumi Ishida in
1968; the song is a favourite of Toshiko, the
elderly mother of the lms lead character
Ryota, who has returned home for a strained
family visit withhis newwife Yukari. When
Yukari asks innocently over dinner if Toshiko
and her domineering husband Kyohei have
a special song, he denies any suchthing,
while Toshiko is instantly able to locate anold
45, whichshe asks her sonto put ona well-
maintained record player. The song lls the
familys dining room, its bossanova-tinged
shufe and distant horns framing lyrics about
lovers walking throughthe city, throughthe
night; Toshiko sings along vaguely, playing the
sentimental old woman, but her reverie has an
undercurrent of tension. Inthe next scene she
reveals to Kyohei that she heard himsinging
Blue Light Yokohama whenshe discovered his
affair withanother woman, 40 years previously.
The song, then, is not a reminder of a happy
past but the means of keeping a wound fresh
and painful. Its repetitionis a slowrevenge.
Later that night, Ryota and Yukari talk about
the incident. Ryota is creeped out. Youknow
she plays it whenshes alone, he says. His
wife doesnt see anything out of the ordinary.
Everyone has a song they listento onthe sly,
she remarks and no, she wont reveal hers.
InKoreedas typically understated fashion,
this scene touches onsomething muchdeeper
about the different ways menand womenare
thought to respond to pop music. Ryota nds
it scary the way his mother and wife use
music as part of a private invocation, mapping
songs onto anobject of desire inanobscure,
almost occult way. That object doesnt even
have to be a person: think of the way Faye
Wongs character obsessive replays California
Dreamin inChungking Express (1994). Her
yearning is not only for the downhearted cop
played by Tony Leung but for escape fromher
snack-bar job and fromHong Kong. The same
bittersweet song is also the unlikely choice for
the street-dance routine young heroine Mia
practises throughout Fish Tank (2009) here
too it points to a desire for escape. Musically it
works well as anobsessive fragment because
its structure feels unresolved: melodically,
the chorus is just a repetitionof the verse,
and a conclusionis always just out of reach.
The idea that a song and its attached
memories canprovide short-termrelease with
diminishing returns is spelled out most clearly
inYoung Adult (2011), whose 1990s soundtrack
no doubt helped drawaudiences to it, only to
make this not so young adult wince. Charlize
Therons thirtysomething anti-heroine Mavis
sets off to track downher teenage boyfriend
Buddy withone of his old mixtapes to hand;
luckily her hire car has a tape deck so this
odyssey begins withthe stodgy, sweet riffs of
The Concept by Scottishindie band Teenage
Fanclub, originally released in1991. The
mediumis a big part of the message: there are
close-ups of the pink and yellowMemorex
and the machine that plays it, and the sound
is suitably fuzzy and time-warped. Its an
optimistic beginning that darkens as the song,
withits refrainof I didnt want to hurt you,
plays againand again; soon, the clunk-click of
the tape resembles a tic, a compulsionakinto
the hair-pulling Mavis occasionally indulges
Compulsively listening to
songs witha special meaning is
something most of us have done
and many lmmakers have used
Id be safe and warm: California Dreamin takes on talismanic properties inChungking Express
Dance break: Fish Tank Listening on the sly: Still Walking
Music can serve as a private
invocation, mapping songs
onto an object of desire in an
obscure, almost occult way
PLAYITAGAIN
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in. Cruelly, Buddys wife and her female friends
showhowthe past canbe celebrated not
obsessively but vibrantly, as they performa
rollicking versionof The Concept at a local bar.
Young Adult uses music to give us access to
Maviss memories while commenting sharply
onher nostalgia and narcissism, showing
howmusic canbe used like a narcotic. It is
unfortunate that female listening is presented
as a kind of pathology, withmusic as something
we mainline as we cling to impossible dreams,
crushes or times past. Yet there are correctives,
inthe formof heroines like Samantha Mortons
MorvernCallar inLynne Ramsays 2001 lmof
that name, for whommusic is bothemotional
and intellectual sustenance. The connections
she draws betweenmusic, place and feeling,
the Proustianmnemonics that Sacks talks
about, are gnomic, expert and uncompromising,
fromAphex Twinto Nancy Sinatra and Lee
Hazlewood. Like the characters inChungking
Express and Fish Tank, she also favours The
Mamas &the Papas, drifting throughan
Ibizanrave withThis Is Dedicated to the One
I Love onher omnipresent Walkmanand
unforgettably inscribing the lms soundtrack
withthe music that plays for her alone.
Cant get you out of my head: Morvern Callar
Pink and yellow blues: Young Adult
Henri Fescourts lmis so
authentic it might have
been shot in the 1800s
Bleak and beautiful: the 1925Les Misrables
By Kevin Brownlow
The starkly polarisedcritical response to
the newmusical versionofLes Misrables
is quite unlike the reactionthat greetedthe
1925versionby Henri Fescourt, whichI rst
encounteredin1955. I was anofce boy in
the lmindustry whenI noticedanalluring
cellar inWardour Street; walkingdowna
ight of steps, I foundmyself surroundedby
lm, most of it 35mmandof little interest
tothe 9.5mmcollector that I hadbecome.
But one day a pile of roundblue boxes
appeared: a 9.5mmrelease markedS/690
Les Miserables. I might have bought it, but on
my salary of 4.10s a week it was impossible,
andanyway I fearedit wouldbe a bore.
Nevertheless, I readabout it inthe trade
papers at the BFI. It was unusual inthat it
hadbeenmade inthe exact locationsVictor
Hugohaddescribedinhis novel. Alas, the
lmhadbeenbackedbyWesti, the German
concernthat initially nancedNapolon
(1927), andthe companys collapse forced
the lmmakers toretreat intothe studio.
9.5mmlms, made mostly for home viewing,
were always abridged, but at nine reels this
was the longest silent youcouldbuy. At that
length, I was convincedit wouldbe complete,
but was shockedtodiscover that the original
Frenchversionconsistedof four lms lasting
more thansevenhours! TheAmericans made
short work of that; they cut it from32reels
toeight, runningat just over 100minutes.
InEngland, it was releasedintwoparts:
The Soul of Humanity (11,000feet or 147
minutes), whichpremieredon15November
1926, andThe Barricades (10,000feet or 133
minutes), whichcame out a week later. The
premiere was at the LondonHippodrome
just downthe roadfromthe PalaceTheatre,
where the musical-theatre adaptationof
the story wouldplay for solonglater inthe
century. The Englishversionhadbeenbrought
fromFrance toll the gapcausedby the ban
onthe 1925Phantomof the Opera due to
unauthoriseduse of troops for advertising
purposes! Universal reducedit tofour hours,
but youstill hadtosit throughthe stage
prologue without whichnoimportant lm
was thought tobe complete. Character after
character broke througha printedpage framed
ina large-sizededitionof the novel, creeping
past the sleepinggure of Victor Hugo
Eventually I didacquire the print, not for
myself but for a collector friendinWales. A
fewyears later, he left me his collectionin
his will andwhenI watchedit again, I realised
the lmwas soauthentic it might have been
shot inthe 1800s. The towns inwhichit was
lmedhadscarcely changed, andFescourt
andhis camera teamcaught boththeir
beauty andtheir bleak atmosphere. Thoughthe
keynote of the treatment is simplicity, there are
surprises: rapidcutting, subjective camera, even
animation. AndFescourt was clearly passionate
about the novel: he fought the producers who
wantedtocommit the customary atrocities
onthe story andinsistedona lmof four
parts. The players, ledby thenunknownstage
actor Gabriel Gabrio(JeanValjean) andex-
ballerina Sandra Milowanoff (doubly poignant
as Fantine andCosette), were impeccable.
While I was workingonmy book about
GancesNapolon, I went tosee actor Harry
Krimer. He livednear Montreuil-sur-Mer,
where somuchof the story was set and
where Hugohadoftengone onholiday. He
took me ona tour of the town. It was virtually
unchanged; many of the buildings were falling
topieces but its ramparts hadsurvived.
In1984, I sawhalf the lmat the
Cinmathque Franaise. It made me realise
that the 9.5mmversion, impressive as it was,
was little more thana trailer. Three years later,
the entire lmwas shownat the NFTinJohn
Gillett andRichardAbels magnicent French
silent season. Tomy amazement, the house
was packedandhardly anyone left. The picture,
accompaniedsuperbly by pianists Neil Brand
andRichardMcLaughlin, receivedprolonged
applause. TheSunday Express reected
the press reactionin1926, describingthe
lminnear-Biblical terms: Its panorama is
tremendousreachingout intoall aspects of
humanexistenceuntil the spectator begins to
feel he is watchingthe marchof humanity itself.
Since the only disappointment was some
poor laboratory work, makingseveral scenes
far toodark, it was frustratingtohear that
the original camera negative hadbeensitting,
unrestoredfor decades, inthe vaults of Les
Archives Franaises duFilmduCNC. But now,
historianof Frenchsilent lmLenny Borger
reports fromParis, a complete restorationis
underway, basedonthese negatives, Fescourts
original script andanincomplete tintedand
toneddiacetate print. The worldpremiere will be
heldat the Cinmathque deToulouse in2014.
Inthe meantime, one canthrill toRaymond
Bernards spectacular 1934ve-hour sound
version, recently restoredby Path, andshowing
at La Filmothque duQuartier LatininParis.
PRIMAL SCREEN
THE WORLD OF SILENTCINEMA
Shot inthe locations described by Victor Hugo, anepic
1925 Les Misrables returns to challenge the musical
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By Brad Stevens
Near the beginning
of Shatter (aka Call
HimMr Shatter, 1974),
whichis credited to
Michael Carreras, the
eponymous protagonist
(Stuart Whitman) enters a hotel roomin
whichthe president of anEast Africanstate is
embracing a young woman. Shatter is holding
a camera, apparently to take blackmail photos;
but it is actually a cunningly disguised gun,
whichhe uses to assassinate the politician.
Thirty-six years later, towards the end of Monte
Hellmans Road to Nowhere (2010), lmmaker
Mitchell Haven(TyghRunyan) nds himself
ina hotel roomwitha pair of corpses. As the
police arrive outside, Havenbegins lming their
activities througha window: unable to see what
Havenis pointing at them, a cop orders himto
drop the weapon. The concernthese two lms
share withthe idea of a camera as a weaponis
hardly coincidental, since the Shatter scene was
infact directed by Hellman, whomCarreras
replaced half-way throughthe productionand
whose name does not appear onrelease prints.
The original auteurists prided themselves on
their democratic tendencies, claiming that the
tastes of mass audiences were generally superior
to those of professional critics, who preferred
Zinnemann, Stevens and Wyler to Hawks,
Hitchcock and Boetticher. But inits insistence
onlooking for clues to the interpretationof
one lminother lms by the same director,
auteurismis also a formof connoisseurship.
Withlms that involve uncredited co-
directors, this versionof la politique des auteurs
makes some of its loftiest claims, asserting
the ability to crack a code withina code.
Whengreat directors contribute
anonymously to the work of hacks, or vice
versa, the situationis relatively straightforward:
nobody will have trouble picking out the
scenes ErichvonStroheimshot for Merry-Go-
Round (1922) before Rupert Juliantook over,
and those parts of OrsonWelless Touch of Evil
(1958) added by Harry Keller stick out like
sore thumbs. Cases inwhichthe credited and
uncredited directors are bothillustrious canbe
more problematic, but also more fascinating.
The opening sectionof Spartacus (1960),
directed by Anthony Mannbefore he was red,
is stylistically quite distinct from, but neither
inferior nor superior to, Stanley Kubricks
footage. Or take Macao (1952), which, despite
being credited solely to Josef vonSternberg, was
substantially reshot by Nicholas Ray, who ended
up being responsible for approximately one
third of the nal version. Its difcult to think
of two lmmakers whose approaches were
more irreconcilable. VonSternberg privileged
image over performance and was interested
inhis actors solely to the extent that he could
interrogate their publicly mediated identities.
Ray privileged performance over image and
related to his actors as humanbeings, teasing
out the genuine personconcealed behind the
fake persona: the Humphrey Bogart of In a
Lonely Place (1950), the James Cagney of Run
for Cover (1954), the Richard Burtonof Bitter
Victory (1957) and the CharltonHestonof 55
Days at Peking (1963). Of course, inreshooting
Macao, Ray would not have beenconsciously
attempting to impose his ownpersonality; on
the contrary, he was clearly trying to imitate
vonSternbergs approach. Muchof the lms
peculiar charmis due to Rays inadequacies
as a cold-blooded professional, his humanist
affectionfor Robert Mitchumand Jane Russell
constantly distracting himfromthe job at
hand. This is especially evident inthe sampan
scene, whichcontains some wonderfully
spontaneous gestures (notice Russells
amusement as Mitchumoffers her his right
hand whenshe has obviously beenexpecting
his left), a sense of vulnerability (Mitchums
confessionthat he has beenlonely inTimes
Square onNewYears Eve) and anemphasis on
unironic intimacy that, for better or worse, are
incompatible withvonSternbergs worldview.
Uncredited work is generally givena strictly
subordinate role indiscussions of a particular
director, but this might not be fair. Raymond
Durgnats 1974 book Jean Renoir contains
chapters oneachof Renoirs shorts and features,
but only refers inpassing to the director having
discussed the possibility of a lmstarring
Deanna Durbin. Inhis autobiography, Renoir
doesnt mentionthis project at all. But the
Durbinlmwas actually made. Shot in1942
as Forever Yours, it was released in1943 as The
Amazing Mrs. Holliday, attributed to producer
Bruce Manning (his only directorial credit),
who had amicably takenover fromRenoir. In
a letter to WilliamK. Everson, published inthe
August 1987 issue of Films in Review, Durbin
insisted that JeanRenoir shot two thirds of
the lmas it nowstands. Mrs. Holliday is, at
least for its rst hour, far more Renoirianthan
his previous lmSwamp Water (1941), parts of
whichwere directed by Irving Pichel. As inLa
Rgle du jeu (1939), the problemof obeying or
evencomprehending rules initially those of
Americas immigrationauthorities, later those
of SanFranciscos highsociety is a key theme,
beautifully illustrated by Durbins characters
difculty negotiating the spaces of a luxurious
house, her naturalness clashing withthe
articially imposed requirements that she wear
highheels (inwhichshe canbarely walk) or use
a particular spoon(withwhichshe cannot eat).
Theres something Boudu-like about Durbins
character, particularly intwo dinner-table
scenes during whichshe shocks the butler by
picking up food withher hand and walks from
one end of the table to the other to facilitate
conversation. Despite its bland nal section,
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday strikes me as one
of the nest and most characteristic examples
of (to use Durgnats term) Renoir Amricain.
The Writers Guild of America successfully
campaigned to have blacklisted writers
names added to the credits of several
lms. Perhaps its time the Directors Guild
suggested that unacknowledged directors be
treated similarly, enabling the recognition
of some unjustly neglected gems.
FromJeanRenoir to Monte
Hellman, plenty of directors have
seentheir owndistinctive work
appear inlms credited to others
Now shooting: Monte Hellman lmed material for Shatter, which was credited to Michael Carreras
Monte Hellmans Road to Nowhere
Auteurismlocates some of its
loftiest claims in the ability to
identify the hand of one director
in work credited to another
CREDITWHERE CREDITS DUE
BRADLANDS WIDE ANGLE
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 73
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By Dan Callahan
As a child of eight, leang throughJack Lodges
book Hollywood 1930s, I was captivated by a
still of Loretta Young putting onher stockings
ina lmentitled Zoo in Budapest (1933). She
was stretching one of her shapely legs across
two pages of the book, and this generous still
did a lot to suggest the soft-focus majesty of
Lee Garmess cinematography. Afewyears
later, the Cinemax cable channel played Zoo
in Budapest late at night and I videotaped
it. Ive watched it many times since, with
gathering and increasing pleasure, for this
is a singular and unclassiable hybrid lm,
a mix of fable, documentary, romance,
thrill ride and out-and-out animal-rights
activism. Its like a unicornmovie, rare and
raried, and pledged to its ownpeculiar
rhythms and potent, inchoate emotions.
Rowland V. Lee, the director of Zoo in Budapest,
made lms throughout the 1920s, notably an
early versionof Alice Adams (1923) starring
Florence Vidor and several vehicles for the
heavy-breathing Pola Negri. Many of his silent
movies are either lost or inaccessible, but the
sensitive Doomsday (1928), whichstars Vidor
and Gary Cooper, suggests that he had a talent
for moody romanticism. Lee had worked
withYoung two years earlier onThe Ruling
Voice, a crime drama withWalter Huston;
inthat lm, she is just a journeymanplayer
whereas inZoo in Budapest Young is framed
like a delicate fawninthe midst of the lms
orchidaceous visual lustre. Her face inthis
movie is pure fairytale maidenbut, whenshe
opens her mouthto speak, her voice sounds
surprisingly tough, a contrast that is at the
heart of the lms conict betweenloving
animals and fearing them, betweenscorning
mass society and wanting to belong to it.
After the credits end, Garmess highly mobile
camera dollies inand around many of the cages
inthe zoo where the animals are kept and
gives themextreme close-ups to capture their
particular characters. Our hero is Zani (Gene
Raymond), a friend to all animals who swings
around the zoo and snatches furs off callous
richwomenwhenever their backs are turned.
Our villainis Heinie (Paul Fix), a malcontent
who throws a cigarette at a tiger and looks and
dresses so muchlike our hero that he functions
as a disturbingly sleazy Zani doppelganger. The
ofcious Garbash(Murray Kinnell) wants Zani
tried and prosecuted for theft. People shouldnt
kill animals and wear their fur, Zani insists
to the kindly but somewhat absentminded
head of the zoo, Dr Grunbaum(O.P. Heggie),
who replies: Unfortunately, there is no law
against it. Expressing anattitude that seems
to be the lms own, Zani is outright anti-
social whenhe cries: I hate the world outside
and its people and everything about it.
Mean, dimwitted Miss Murst (Lucille Ward)
has sold the orphanEve (Young) into indentured
servitude for ve years. After Eve runs away
and hides withZani inthe zoo witha runaway
boy (Wally Albright), Zoo in Budapest slowly
dims the lights onits bright, bustling rst third
and starts to become one of the most seductive
lets-get-away-from-it-all movies, capturing
the mood of perilously enclosed rebellionthat
makes the empty-mansionscenes between
the teenagers inNicholas Rays Rebel Without
a Cause (1955) so suggestive and so touching.
Thinking? Thats bad, Zani tells Eve.
Feelings all right but dont ever think!
This is anominous philosophy, of course,
but easy to swallowina lmso romantic
that it shows a monkey curing its mate of
illness withmouth-to-mouthresuscitation.
WhenZani carries Eve across a lake covered
inmist, it makes for a movingly gallant
image of pure-hearted protectiveness, but at
the end of Zoo, as at the end of Rebel, a move
towards conformity proves the melancholy
aftermathof a pitifully brief utopia.
Zoo in Budapest is not the movie of one
personalone. Lee shares a screenplay credit
withseveral other writers, while Garmes
took credit for the lms most enchanting
imagery inaninterviewfor Charles Highams
book Hollywood Cameramen. Lee, Garmes and
Raymond re-teamed that same year for I Am
Suzanne!, anawkward movie set inthe world
of puppeteering whichwent too far with
the whimsy that was only anundertone in
Zoo. After that misstep, Lee made a series of
costume lms like The Count of Monte Cristo
(1934) and The Toast of NewYork (1937), plus
the horror sequel Son of Frankenstein (1939),
before retiring in1945. Zoo in Budapest is
his unaccountable little miracle picture, a
shimmering oasis in1930s cinema and a movie
unlike any other youare ever likely to see.
UNTAMED
Amix of fable, documentary,
romance, thrill ride and animal-
rights activism, Zoo in Budapest is
a unicornmovie, rare and odd
Director Rowland V. Lee and
cinematographer Lee Garmes
take us frombright bustle to
perilously enclosed rebellion
LOSTAND FOUND WIDE ANGLE
Except for ashort nal scene, all of this
marvellouslypoeticworktakesplaceinan
Arthur RackhamesqueTiergartenwhichserves
asarefugefor thethreemaincharactersthe
spectacular nale, [whichinvolves] theescape
of all thebeasts, [is] anextravagant battle-ballet
of maddenedelephants, bristlingporcupines
andyingtigers.Thepassagesleadinguptothis
fantasticactionsequenceareremarkablefor their
balanceof narrativevigour andromanticlyricism.
LeeGarmescameralinkssinuousart nouveau
trackingshotswhichestablishthephysical layout
of themenageriesandintroducecharacters
(reminiscenceshereof hispreviousworkwith
Sternberg) andslow, caressingmovements
duringtheglowingidyllicpassages.Anexquisite
sceneisset inthe
marshat duskZoo
inBudapestisavery
special classicyet
oneishardput to
ndconsideration
of thisreallyunique
movieinhistories
of thecinema.
Elliott Stein,
Sight &Sound,
Autumn1970
WHATTHE PAPERS SAID
Adelicate fawn in orchidaceous lustre: Loretta Young inZoo in Budapest
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JONATHANROMNEY
Carlos Reygadas is anexperimental lmmaker
perhaps not inthe accepted sense, given
that he generally tends to work withmore
or less coherent narrative shapes. But
his lms are deeply experimental inthat
theyre about unknownoutcomes, about
the thrill of throwing the dice; they seem
to be searching for their ownformas they
play out onscreen. This commitment to
potential over completeness to a nished
lmnevertheless being a work inprogress
is characteristic of very fewlmmakers,
eveninthe world of what we generally call
art cinema (among the list, Id count Miguel
Gomes, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and, in
his last two lms, Paul Thomas Anderson).
Reygadass latest work Post Tenebras Lux
is a lminsearchof its ownmeaning(s),
althoughona second viewing it seems more
traditionally transparent thanat rst. Theres
a tangible narrative thread: a middle-class
Mexicanfamily living inthe countryside,
their existence troubled by the fathers
volatile anger and his pornaddiction. Then
everything is changed by a suddencriminal
act by a local worker, whichleads to a surreally
brutal payoff (one of those shock images for
whichReygadas has become famous, and
arguably his most bizarre and audacious).
But thenthere are elements that dont
obviously t the framework: a rugby match
at the Englishboys school Reygadas himself
attended; a visit to a swingers sauna; and
visitations froma glowing CGI devil. Add leaps
forward intime to what seemalternative or
parallel futures. Inits concise way, Post Tenebras
Lux is a miniature gardenof forking paths, to
use Borgess phrase not a family story so much
as a set of possibilities for telling a family story.
Youmight see Post Tenebras Lux as notes for a
possible lmthat Reygadas didnt make; the
lmmakers named above are, Id argue, more
inthe business of sketching potential lms
thanof making actual nished ones, which
somehowseems a less exciting proposition.
Its this fragmentary aspect that I nd so
exciting about Reygadas, eveninhis relatively
closed work. Its evident inThis Is My
Kingdom, his 12-minute contributionto 2010
portmanteauRevolucin a quasi-documentary
staging of anopen-air esta attended by
representatives fromacross Mexicansociety,
fromhigh-society matrons to impoverished
alcoholic burn-outs. Its a compacted seed of a
lmthat ends up exploding anarchically and
could have made anexplosive feature, had
Reygadas chosento expand it. But the constant
withReygadas is the suggestionof something
that doesnt need to be stated at length.
Hence the disturbing semi-erasure of
the backstory inBattle in Heaven (2005);
what concerns Reygadas is not so much
that a couple have kidnapped a baby, who
subsequently dies, but howthis fact affects
their lives. Nor do we need to knowwhy the
protagonist of Japn (2001) is suicidal, nor
the narrative justicationfor the closing
apocalyptic vision; all these things are given
elements, narrative readymades grafted
into the text and engendering the images.
Reygadass lms are thrilling for their sense
of rapture, of almost physical excitement
at the possibilities of images and their
combination. Fromthe harshly shot, intensely
Prize ghter: Reygadas won best director at Cannes for Post Tenebras Lux, the Jury Prize for Silent Light and a Camra dOr special mention for Japn
Reygadass lms have a drive to
step outside the expected visual
world and pre-programmed
forms of a narrative
The Mexicandirector of Japn, Silent Light and Post Tenebras Lux has attracted almost as muchcritical ire
as approbationover the years. So is he a master of experimental cinema or a self-indulgent provocateur
witha condescending attitude to anyone outside his social class? Two critics cast aneye over his career
CARLOS REYGADAS
FOR ANDAGAINST
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QUINTIN
After seeing Battle in Heaven for the rst time,
I happened to comment that, evenmore than
building a successful lmcareer, its director
Carlos Reygadas aspired to commit rape on
cinema. It may have beenanexaggerated claim
but, apart fromthe obvious talent and ambition
that ensured Reygadas became the rst Latin
Americanlmmaker since Glauber Rocha to
really make animpact internationally, it does
nevertheless point to a genuine violence inthe
Mexicandirectors relationship to the medium.
Reygadas was bornin1971 and started
making lms late, after stints as a lawyer and
a diplomat. But fromhis rst feature Japn
throughto Post Tenebras Lux, his career has
beenone of constant, spectacular ascendance.
Fewlmmakers start out hailed as a genius
and thenmanage to retainthat status. The
notionof genius is less anassessment of the
work, more the way that work is conceived:
the mode inwhichReygadass lms operate
is that of masterpiece that is to say, the
profound and utterly personal lm, which
provokes rejectionor admirationbut never
indifference, and whichsets about establishing
a dialogue withother high-ranking geniuses
of cinema. The kind of masterpiece inwhich
Reygadas trafcs inevitably comes with
its share of scandal, of overt challenge to
ordinary tastes and political correctness, but
compensates by its searchfor virtuosity.
The auteurist stature that Reygadas cultivates
inhis lms is achieved more by stridency and
determinationthanby stylistic continuity or
thematic preoccupation. Yet inhis cinema we
canglimpse a certainmysticism the idea that
the world is ruled by colossal, secret forces with
whichthe artist canengage directly. Hence,
since his viewof the world connects himwith
the Almighty, eventhe lowest or most banal of
his imaginings bears the dignity of its creator. A
genius intouchwiththe Almighty has the right
to omnipotence: he canindulge any whim, as
well as any violence. Lets take, for instance, a
scene inBattle in Heaven, inwhichthe character
masturbates while watching a football
match. This is cheap allegory; inits scorn
for the working classes, it is one of the most
unpleasant and stupid scenes inrecent cinema.
But Reygadas does sometimes get it
absolutely right. His career divides into two
halves. The rst starts withJapn, a lmof
originality, ambition, risk and freshness,
unusual for LatinAmericancinema of the
time. This was followed by Battle in Heaven,
anaesthetic and political failure the result
of trying to capture his country ina series
of doubtful allegories, withsex at their
core. Rejected by Cannes in2004, Battle in
Heaven was remade inorder to be accepted
incompetitionthere the following year;
inother words inthe very place where the
careers and fates of profoundly ambitious
(and, preferably, bombastic and amboyant)
lmmakers are decided. And Reygadas is,
above all else, a manof Cannes, one of those
specially chosenby artistic director Thierry
textured landscape studies inJapn, to Silent
Light (2007), where the natural world and
its registers of light seemconstantly to tend
towards the abstract and metaphysical, to the
exalted camera moves of Battle in Heaven and
its unexpected, oftenconvulsively abrupt
images (suchas a devil-masked gure glimpsed
ona subway train) inall of these, theres
anintense hunger for revelations, a drive to
step outside the expected visual world and
pre-programmed forms of a narrative.
One of the seemingly incongruous sequences
inPost Tenebras Lux involves spouses Natalia and
Juanventuring nervously into a swingers sauna
apparently catering to bourgeois intellectuals
(there are Duchamp and Hegel rooms). Amid
the damp-dripping bodies of various sizes,
Juanlooks onwhile Natalia is fucked by an
anonymous manwhile being gently cradled
by a eshy older woman. It generally suits us
to assume that scenes involving middle-age,
middle-class sexual proigacy are satiric, or
to be read as grotesque or frightening (Gaspar
Nos nightspots are invariably hell onearth).
But what if Reygadass sauna were actually
heaven, and Natalia discovered a transcendent
rapture inthe other womans arms?
Whatever sexual adventures Reygadas may or
may not be advertising inthis manifestly tender
scene, hes certainly proposing anattitude to
cinema a provocationto step out of your
aesthetic safety zone into clouds of uncertainty,
to venture among people whose values (artistic
or sexual) youmay not share. Most of us might
balk at visiting the Duchamp room but
then, most lmgoers today would runa mile
before risking a lmsuchas Post Tenebras Lux,
or eventhe relatively safe Silent Light. With
Reygadas, youdont knowwhat youre going
to nd inthe steam, inthe dark or evenin
those daylit landscapes at whichthis anti-
conventional ruralist is increasingly proving
a master. Whether hes being confrontational
or quietly, enigmatically indirect, as in
Post Tenebras Lux Reygadas, as muchas any
contemporary lmmaker, is committed to the
dare, and to inciting his audience to dare too.
Frmaux to make a noise and keep the prole
of the competitionhigh. Reygadass lms t
snugly into those annual Cannes competition
line-ups where chic sordidness and high-
minded gruesomeness are the norm.
The second part of Reygadass career is
inaugurated in2007 by Silent Light, anintimate
drama set among MexicanMennonites who
speaka Germandialect. This is Reygadass most
accomplished lm, one bornof his admiration
for Tarkovsky, albeit ultimately more akinto
Dreyer (complete withresurrection la Ordet);
its as if someone decided to paint a Picasso and
somehowmanaged to pull it off. Silent Light is
animpeccable lm, capturing Mexicansocial
reality the realminwhichReygadas tends
to overstate froma prudent distance. Here
Reygadas proved he could make anoriginal
lm, albeit more sober and limited inits
inventive scope. One of the keys to this was the
replacement of the Argentine cinematographer
Diego Martnez Vignatti too emphatic
and publicity driven withthe Mexican
Alexis Zab, who is capable of tremendous
subtlety, of takes that breathe like fewothers
incontemporary cinema. But the credit is
not just Zabs; Reygadas managed to locate a
photographic sensibility here thats close to his
Tarkovskianinuence, and also incorporates
shades of Aleksandr Sokurov and Bla Tarr.
By nowmore assured inhis style and
aesthetic, inPost Tenebras Lux Reygadas frees
himself fromlinear narrative and a clear set
of parameters inorder to returnto the slightly
chaotic freedomof his earlier lms. This
lms most interesting aspect is the arbitrary
way it looks at the world. Bothgarlanded and
booed at Cannes, the lmwas accompanied
by unfortunate press releases inwhich
Reygadas eventried to justify animal cruelty.
Focused ona married couple fromhis own
social milieu, lmed inhis ownhouse and
featuring his ownchildrenas actors, it gathers
together a series of intriguing mental trips that
ramble far and wide taking inTolstoy and
de Sade, the Englishschool where Reygadas
studied (and played rugby), nature, fauna,
architecture and also unfortunately those
Mexicans who live outside the bourgeois
milieu. Its inhis depictionof these people that
Reygadas, perhaps without being aware of it,
becomes ridiculous and condescending.
i
Translatedby Mar Diestro-Dpido.
Post Tenebras Lux is releasedinthe UK
on22March, andis reviewedonpage 101
Head to head: Battle in Heaven Artist of the oating world: Silent Light
His lms t snugly into those
Cannes line-ups where chic
sordidness and high-minded
gruesomeness are the norm
76 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
Letters are welcome, and should be
addressed to the Editor at Sight &Sound,
BFI, 21 Stephen Street, London W1T 1LN
Fax: 020 7436 2327 Email: S&S@b.org.uk
ANOTEOFDISCORD
I must query a sentence inMark Cousinss
piece The Inexpressible (S&S, March). It
begins: Pasolinis movies are as disinterested in
smoothstorytelling so far OK, except that
it should be uninterested not disinterested
(whichmeans impartial). But it continues:
as Morrissey is inconventional harmonics.
What is this supposed to mean? Harmonics
are the overtones that colour a fundamental
pitch: they are governed by the physical laws
of acoustics and cannot therefore be described
as either conventional or unconventional.
Perhaps Cousins intendedtosayMorrisseys
workfeatures unconventional harmonies.
Well, no: possiblyits less unsophisticated
harmonicallythanmost pop, but it still
operates well withinharmonic conventions.
I canthinkof veryfewrockmusicians who
(for better or worse) experimentedwith
unusual harmonies: Zappa, Soft Machine,
HenryCow, a handful of mostlyforgotten
1970s Continental bands andGrateful Dead.
Imnot aware of anysongs inwhichMorrissey
approachedanything remotelycomparable.
BobQuaif, by email
TRIUMPHALISMORTRIUMPH?
Having watched Zero Dark Thirty a fewdays ago,
I feel compelled to add my ownthoughts to the
excellent debate sparked off inyour February
issue. I fail to see howthis chilling lmcan
be read as triumphalist. If anything, Bigelow
and her teamsuggest that fundamentalism
exists onbothsides of the political/ideological
divide and that its adherents (or should that
be victims?) are mere products of the systems
whichstrip themof their personalities and
enslave themto a so-called higher cause.
Inthe rst segment of the lm, the male
CIAoperative informs his prisoner that
sooner or later, the torture will cause his will
to break. Its just biology, he says. Bigelow
immediately cuts to a shot of Jessica Chastains
Maya. The message seems clear: just as the
prisoners will succumb to their interrogators,
so too will Maya become subjugated to the
narratives and beliefs whichhave shaped her
life since she left school. The lms nal shot
supports this bleak, decidedly non-jingoistic
standpoint. Alone, unsung and directionless,
Maya weeps against a backdrop that suggests
botha prisoncell and the Americanag, ripped
to shreds. Hardly a triumphalist image.
DariushAlavi, by email
FLYINGHIGH
Hoorahfor Robert Murphy! Reviewing the
bookEaling Revisited (S&S, January), Philip
Kemprefers toMurphys contribution, in
whichhe controversiallyranks the late
workThe Maninthe Sky among Ealings
nest. I believe Murphyis right.
The lmconcerns a test pilot safelybringing
downa plane ina life-and-deathsituationbut
concealingthis fromhis wife. The heromay
displaya stiff upper lip, but the lmreveals what
is hiddenbeneathsince the pilots behaviour
derives froma sense of failure at his inabilityto
support his wife andchildrenas theydeserve. All
therepressedemotionbursts forthat thecloseina
confrontationbetweenthe couple, magnicently
playedbyJackHawkins andElizabethSellars.
This is aninsightful portrayal of life in
Britaininthe mid-1950s and true to aspects of
the Britishcharacter. Geoff Andrewdescribed
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp as probably
the greatest study of Englishness inthe
cinema. I dont disagree, but I suggest that inits
ownway The Man in the Sky is the runner-up.
Its anintriguing irony that it was devised by an
American, but one who had already proved in
Genevieve and The Ladykillers howwonderfully
attuned he was to things British: WilliamRose.
Mansel Stimpson, London
LOSTCLASSICS
I was delighted and fascinated by SamDunns
article The Ones that Got Away (S&S, March).
It is indeed frustrating that so muchBritish
material has slipped unsung into the past, but
encouraging to hear that they may be available
again. I wrote a similar but less scholarly piece
for a lm-studies course some time ago. I had
to read almost to the end of Dunns article
before I came across a movie I had listed:
I Was Happy Here. To this, may I add Bitter
Harvest (Peter GrahamScott, 1963) Unman,
Wittering and Zigo (JohnMackenzie, 1971)
and especially West Eleven (Michael Winner,
1963). All these deserve to be available again.
Robert Smith, Twickenham
TAYLORVSWINTERS
We nd Alice just as repulsive as George does,
Eric Hynes writes of Shelley Winterss and
Montgomery Clifts characters inAPlace in the
Sun (AnAmericanTragedy, S&S, March). This
is not everyones view. George Stoney of NYUs
lmdepartment always said that anyone who
preferred ElizabethTaylor to Shelley Winters in
that picture deserved to go to the electric chair.
Adele Paul, Barnet
Additions andcorrections
Marchp.89 Breath of the Gods AJourney to the Origins of Modern
Yoga, Cert U, 104m46s, 9,429 ft +0 frames; p.90 Broken, Cert 15,
90m44s, 8,166 ft +0 frames; p.91 Broken City, Cert 15, 108m53s,
9,799 ft +0 frames; p.91 Caesar Must Die, Cert 12A, 76m43s, 6,904
ft +8 frames; p.94 Fire in the Blood, Cert PG, 87m14s, 7,851 ft +0
frames; p.95 For Ellen, Cert 15, 93m0s, 8,370 ft +0 frames; p.84
Gangs of Wasseypur, Cert 15, 160m12s, 14,418 ft +0 frames; Gangs
of Wasseypur II, Cert 18, 159m35s, 14,362 ft +8 frames; p.98 The
King of Pigs: Not submitted for theatrical classication, Video
cert 15, 96m28s; p.106 Side by Side, Cert 15, 98m44s, 8,886 ft +0
frames; p.109 Veritys Summer: Distributor: Multistory Films
READERS LETTERS
FORUM FEEDBACK
l was dismayedat the apparently blinkered
thinkingof GuyWestwellsZeroDark
Thirty review(S&S, February), particularly
whenhe declared: This is a lmabout
whichwe shouldbe deeply suspicious.
Whoswe?
Westwell seems tosee KathrynBigelows
movie as one long, concertedbidtojustify
post-9/11 UStorture of terrorist suspects.
But it seems tome the torture debate is
only part of a very complex, very morally
robust andvery accomplishedpicture
that does somuchmore thansimply
try tojustifyany means necessary.
Yes, it opens witha 9/11 WorldTrade
Center phonecall, but this is surely economic
movie scene-settingrather thanthe setting
of anagenda. Andthe inclusionof the 7/7
attacks didnot, for me, suggest the London
bombings were part of somegrandbin
Ladenscheme; rather, it uppedthe ante for
the CIAinvestigators (inthe movie) whohad
tocontinually convince their superiors that
the searchfor binLadenwas as important,
if not more important, thanany surveillance
or inltrationof smaller terrorist groups,
wherever they were active inthe world.
Tosuggest the lmscentral thrustis
simply anattempt tolegitimise torture is
takingit toofar; I believe that Westwell is also
mistakenwhenhe says one investigators
wavering, 60per cent certainty of bin
Ladens whereabouts was pitchedsolow
due tothe fact that he knewthe information
concernedwas gainedby torture. Again, its
a muchmore complex situationthanthat.
I was remindedofThe Life andDeath
of Colonel Blimp, inwhichour herois told:
If youlet yourself be defeatedby them
just because youare toofair tohit back
the same way they hit at you, there wont
be any methods but Nazi methods!
We ingoodol Blighty (andat the good
ol BFI?) shouldperhaps not be soquick to
questionAmericantactics, whether inthe
interrogationroomor the editingbooth, given
our ownlessons fromhistory. ZeroDarkThirty
returns tothe sameBlimp debate, putting
it inthe context of todays global conicts,
bothseenandunseen, andoffers a gripping,
thought-provoking, technically awe-inspiring
piece of cinema that is surely tobe celebrated
rather thanheldsuspiciously at arms length.
CallumReid, byemail
LETTER OFTHE MONTH
LIGHTAND DARK
The most consistently inventive T-shirt shop out there. Our first port of call for all subtly movie-centric gear. EMPIRE
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We collaborate to create unique T-shirts that pay homage to ctional places, companies and characters in cinema history.
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Email your images to: info@lastexittonowhere.com (images must contain a reference to Last Exit to Nowhere in some way).
Your ideas and suggestions are important. If you feel like we havent represented your favourite lms, email your suggestions to us: info@lastexittonowhere.com
The most consistently inventive T-shirt shop out there. Our first port of call for all subtly movie-centric gear. EMPIRE
First established in 2007, Last Exit to Nowhere is a small collective of like-minded lm enthusiasts, designers, illustrators, screenprinters and photographers.
We collaborate to create unique T-shirts that pay homage to ctional places, companies and characters in cinema history.
In addition to our regular t T-shirts we also have a range of slim-t T-shirts, hooded tops, posters and more.
Visit our website and hit the JOIN button to become a member of Last Exit to Nowhere members will receive special sale and discount information throughout the year.
Feeling creative? Then enter our BEST PICTURE OF THE MONTH competition for the chance to win 3 Last Exit to Nowhere T-shirts of your choice.
Email your images to: info@lastexittonowhere.com (images must contain a reference to Last Exit to Nowhere in some way).
Your ideas and suggestions are important. If you feel like we havent represented your favourite lms, email your suggestions to us: info@lastexittonowhere.com
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Scott Grahams style is an arresting, unbeautied poetic
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80 Films of the month 88 Films 110 Home Cinema 122 Books
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 79
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ReviewedbyTony Rayns
Spoiler alert: this reviewreveals a plot twist
Is it harder to direct a movie if youre also a
professional lmcritic? Kleber Mendona
Filho has thought a lot about this. His video
documentary Critico (2008) explored the
awkward space betweencreativity and criticism
througha series of interviews recorded while
he was publishing criticisminthe Jornal do
Commercio and programming anart-house
inRecife. He was also directing shorts during
those years, horror stories at rst and then
experiments inother genres and styles.
For his rst ctionfeature, Mendona pushes
the issue into touchand concentrates instead
ondelivering a densely textured panorama
of nouveau-riche life inhis hometown. The
non-stop accumulationof detail demands
close attention, and the ultimate revelation
of the layers of history and social change
underpinning the storylines provides plenty
for Braziliancritics to chewover. It could
be the best noises-off movie since Bong
Joonhos debut feature Barking Dogs Never
Bite (2000), whichit insome ways resembles.
Joo represents the Oliveira family; these two
characters get the bulk of the running time.
The wild card inplay is the outsider Clodoaldo,
who turns up going door-to-door to sell peace
of mind. He and two employees are hired by the
residents to provide security from7pmto 7am.
The notionthat the neighbourhood needs
security is the lms best joke. All external
doors and most windows already have
protective metal bars and grilles inplace,
and gardens are closed off behind highwalls.
Unless youcount the fact that Romualdo, who
delivers giant bottles of distilled water, has
a sideline selling marijuana, the only crime
that occurs is the theft of a CDplayer froma
parked car, apparently committed by Joos
delinquent cousinDinho. Abarefoot, dark-
skinned kid fromthe favelas is sometimes
Neighbouring Sounds (OSomao Redor) is mostly
set onone leafy street inSetbal, a prosperous
part of Recife, Brazils fth-biggest city. More
thanhalf the streets buildings are owned by
the retired and seemingly kindly patriarch
Francisco Oliveira, who got richrunning a sugar
mill inBonito and these days divides his time
betweenhis luxury penthouse onthe street and
his country estate near the now-derelict mill.
The street is home to many of DonFranciscos
relatives and to a motley crowd of upwardly
mobile tenants; the lmcreates the illusion
that its spanning the entire community there
are a fewcrowd scenes and plenty of walk-on/
walk-off appearances but its focus is actually
narrower. Beatriz Bia Linhares, stay-at-home
mother of two, represents the tenants, while
DonFranciscos foreign-educated nephew
Colour wash: Gustavo Jahn as Joo in Kleber Mendona Filhos Neighbouring Sounds
Neighbouring Sounds
Brazil/The Netherlands 2012
Director: Kleber Mendona Filho
Bia (Maeve Jinkings) and her children Joo and his girlfriend Soa (Irma Brown)
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April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 81
glimpsed scampering across rooftops and
entering empty houses, but he doesnt steal
anything and is anyway easily scared off by
a punchinthe face fromone of Clodoaldos
men. Its unlikely that any prisonmovie
features more shots of characters locking
and unlocking doors; anytime anyone visits
someone else, a maid has to be instructed to
let themout throughthe security system.
The ubiquitous security measures of course
imply a latent sense of insecurity, which
duly comes to the surface ina couple of brief,
paranoid dreamsequences. But the feeling
Mendona is really out to nail is guilt.
Ina lmwhichmakes very frequent play
withsounds fromoff-screen, it seems oddly
appropriate that the storyline should also be,
insome sense, off-screen. The lmopens with
tenold black-and-white photographs: a wooden
fence, opencountryside, happy workers,
unhappy villagers, a palatial villa. Inexplicable
whenwe see themat the start, these images are
muchlater revealed to be ashbacks to Bonito
at the time the sugar mill was built and opened.
(The reveal is the photo of the resplendent
newly built villa; we recognise it whenwe
see Joo and his girlfriend Soa explore it in
its present state of decay.) Then, inthe lms
penultimate scene, we nally discover that
Clodoaldo has had anulterior motive insetting
up his night-watchsecurity business. He and his
brother Claudio want revenge for a crime which
occurred inBonito nearly three decades earlier
a crime whichironically also sprang from
a line of demarcation, very possibly the fence
seeninthe rst black-and-white photograph.
Its quite a daring stratagemto spring sucha
narrative surprise ina lms closing moments,
and it leaves Mendona withthe challenge of
holding the viewers interest across a running
time of around two hours. He opted against
creating other storylines to structure the lm
(whichwould certainly have reduced the
impact of the nal twist) and goes instead for a
busy owof incident and character. The scenes
involving Bia, for example, have no connection
at all withthe doings or past crimes of the
Oliveira family and no signicant narrative
thrust of their own. Mendona conceives these
scenes as social satire and they provide quite
a lot of the lms comedy; they seemto be an
extensionof his 2005 short Eletrodomstica,
inwhicha matriarchpresides over a
household that runs onelectronic gadgets.
Bia is a chronic smoker of cigarettes and dope
(whenher precocious daughter complains
about second-hand smoke, Bia wearily exhales
into the vacuumcleaner) whose maininterest
inlife is social climbing. She survives a brief
cat-ght witha jealous neighbour who has
bought a smaller at-screenTV. She hires a
Chinese womanto tutor her kids inMandarin,
and is seenfurtively using her spin-dryer as an
aid to masturbation, as if its a giant vibrator.
The mainirritationinher life is a neighbours
barking dog, and she resorts to various comic
measures to silence it, including buying an
expensive imported gadget whichemits a
piercing electronic tone until the maid tries
to charge its battery at the wrong voltage. All
of this is amusing, and interesting enoughto
sustainthe sense that the lmis portraying a
community throughits individual members.
All of the lms satire is infact relatively
gentle. Except whenClodoaldo deliberately
needles Dinho, the most delinquent member
of the Oliveira clan, the security guards are
shownto knowtheir place: bullying the kid
fromthe favelas, but almost exaggeratedly
deferential to their social betters, including
a stray Argentine who left a party to buy
more booze and cant remember which
house to go back to. Joos on-off romance
withSoa (it starts as a one-night stand
but threatens to turninto something more)
offers the semblance of a thread of storyline,
but is ultimately as insignicant, narratively
speaking, as the other observations. Soas
backstory (she once lived for some months
onthe street) adds to the tapestry of social
history that Mendona is weaving, but
more interestingly her not-quite-romance
withJoo gives Mendona the pretext he
needs for a display of cinephilia: they visit
the ruins of anold cinema inBonito and
we hear onthe soundtrack a memory of
some lurid vintage melodrama.
The lms climactic revelationis essentially
melodramatic, and Mendona calculatedly
cuts away fromthe payoff to a metaphor for
the offscreenviolence (a Hollywood clich: it
involves kids and recrackers). This has the
pleasing fringe benet of rhyming withhis
larger project to excavate the layers of Setbals
history. His sleek CinemaScope framing catches
the surface politesse and controlled paranoia/
guilt whichcovers up a history of ruthless
land-grabs, slavery and subjugationof the
lower classes inshort, a history redolent of
old genre movies. Cinephilia turns full circle:
the sound and fury of a melodramatic past
remainoff-screen, but never very far away.
Setbal, a suburb of Recife, Brazil. Part 1: Guard Dogs.
The elderly Francisco Oliveira owns most buildings
in one upmarket street. His sonAnco and nephew
Joo manage sales and lets when any premises are
vacant. Joo has met Soa at a party and she has
stayed the night with him; they consider having an
ongoing relationship. The stereo has been stolen
fromSoas car overnight, andJoo suspects his
student cousin Dinho of taking it. Neighbour Bia
detests the constant barking of a dog and takes
inventive measures to curb it; she buys pot from
the man who delivers distilled water. Clodoaldo
Pereira dos Anjos pitches a night-security service
to everyone on the street; the residents hire him.
Part 2: Night Guards. Clodoaldo begins working
with his employees Fernando and Ronaldo. Although
Francisco has warned themto leave Dinho alone,
Clodoaldo calls himanonymously to threaten him;
Dinho takes it badly. Part 3: Bodyguards. Joo
takes Soa to visit Francisco on his country estate
at Bonito, where he ran a sugar mill. They explore
the rundown area. The maid Luciene secretly meets
Clodoaldo for sex. Fernando and Ronaldo catch a
young cat-burglar and scare himoff. Ancos daughter
celebrates her 13th birthday with a lavish party. Joo
tells Dinho that he and Soa have split up. Francisco
summons Clodoaldo to a late-night meeting to
discuss his personal security; Clodoaldo arrives with
his brother Claudio and they reveal that they are the
sons of a man Francisco ordered killed in 1984
Producer
EmilieLesclaux
Screenplay
Kleber Mendona
Filho
Director of
Photography
PedroSotero
FabricioTadeu
Editors
Kleber Mendona
Filho
JooMaria
Art Director
JulianoDornelles
Soundtrack
DJ Dolores
SoundDesign
Kleber Mendona
Filho
PabloLamar
Costume Design
IngridMata
CinemaScpio
Produes Cinemat.
eArt. Ltda.
Production
Companies
Petrobas presents
aCinemaScpio
production
AKleber Mendona
Filholm
Producedwiththe
nancial support
of theHubert
Bals Fundof the
International Film
Festival Rotterdam
Supportedby
thePetrobras
Cultural Program
Tax Incentives:
Funcultura- Fundo
Pernambucanode
IncentivoCultura,
Secretariade
Cultura- Governo
doEstadode
Pernambuco, Lei do
Audiovisual - Agncia
Nacional doCinema
Financial Support:
Petrobas,
Ministrioda
Cultura- Secretaria
doAudiovisual,
Hubert Bals Fund
Producedin
associationwith
Estdios Quanta
Cast
Irandhir Santos
Clodoaldo
GustavoJahn
Joo
MaeveJinkings
BeatrizBia Linhares
W. J. Solha
Francisco
Irma Brown
Soa
Yuri Holanda
Dinho
LulaTerra
TioAnco
Albert Tenrio
Ronaldo
Nivaldo Nascimento
Fernando
Clbia Souza
Luciene
Sebastio Formiga
Claudio
Felipe Bandeira
Nelson
Clara Pinheiro
de Oliveira
Fernanda
Mauricia Coneio
Mari
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Articial EyeFilm
Company
Brazilian
theatrical title
Osomao redor
The ultimate revelation of the
layers of history and social
change underpinning the
storylines gives plenty for
Brazilian critics to chewover
Credits and Synopsis
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Reviewedby Pasquale Iannone
Last year sawthe festival premieres of no fewer
thanthree Italianlms featuring real-life
prisoninmates. Vincenzo Marras documentary
The Triplet focuses onthe life of a charismatic
prisoner, while Caesar Must Die by the Taviani
brothers sees a group of inmates staging a
productionof Shakespeares Julius Caesar.
Matteo Garrones Cannes Grand Prix-winning
Reality takes place outside a prisoncontext but
stars convicted camorrista Aniello Arena as a
shmonger obsessed withappearing onGrande
Fratello, the Italianversionof Big Brother.
Reality heralds a marked, deliberate shift
intone after Gomorrah (2008), the Rome-born
directors uncompromising fresco of Neapolitan
criminality. As withthe earlier lm, he doesnt
inchfromdepicting the realities of Napless
lower classes, but Gomorrahs bleak, hard-
edged starkness is replaced by a softer, more
humanist approach. While Gomorrahs Italian
antecedents include the works of Francesco Rosi
and Elio Petri, those of Reality might be found
among the lms of Vittorio De Sica or Pietro
Germi. The clearest links, however, are with
two pictures made inthe early 1950s: Luchino
Viscontis Bellissima and Federico Fellinis The
White Sheik, whichbothdeal affectionately
withcharacters swept away by the allure of
celebrity. The latter Fellinis solo debut is the
tale of a young newlywed couple who arrive
inRome for their honeymoononly for the
wife, Wanda (Brunella Bovo), to go insearch
of the hero of her favourite fotoromanzo stories.
There is a line inThe White Sheik that seems
to foreshadowperfectly events inGarrones
newlm: near the end of the picture, a tearful
Wanda says, Our real life is inour dreams,
but sometimes dreams are a fatal abyss.
Reality opens witha sequence shot oating
highover the skies of Naples. The camera
slowly closes inona horse-drawncarriage as
it makes its way to a lavishhotel complex.
There is a feeling of dreamlike weightlessness
to the camera movement as were carried
throughthe air by a swirling wind thats
straight out of Fellini. The sound of the wind
segues into the fairytale tinkle of the main
theme fromcomposer Alexandre Desplat
(remarkably, Reality represents less than
aneighthof Desplats 2012 output other
scores include Wes Andersons Moonrise
Kingdom, Jacques Audiards Rust and Bone, Ben
Afecks Argo and KathrynBigelows Zero
Dark Thirty). His score perfectly captures a
sense of enchantment and wonder think
the lighter side of Danny Elfmanwiththe
added understated synths of Teho Teardo.
Boththis rst shot and the one that follows
set out Garrones formal approach, the
director privileging mobile, loose sequence
shots, whether moving among a group of
characters or focusing inonArena. Its a uid
approachthat clearly gets the best out of his
actors, especially his lead protagonist. As
Luciano Ciotola, the exuberant shmonger
seduced by the prospect of fame and fortune,
the 44-year-old Neapolitanis superb. Garrone
insisted oncasting Arena because he was
who played one of the teenage gangsters in
Gomorrah as the barista inLucianos local caf.
Gomorrah was concerned not withthe
people at the top but withthose scrambling
to survive onthe ground, and the same is true
of Reality. Garrones newlmdoesnt venture
downthe well-troddenpathof critiquing the
phenomenonof reality TV. What interests
the director far more is the impact of such
shows onanindividual psyche. Ive never
had a goal inlife, Luciano admits to Maria,
but since I got this thing [the Big Brother
call], my heads spinning. This line comes
during a quietly masterful sequence inwhich
Luciano arrives outside Marias workplace
one evening; ina three-minute take we follow
the couple frombehind as Luciano pleads
withhis wife to support his decisionto sell
his shstall onthe basis that his appearance
onBig Brother will assure their future. Its a
step that proves disastrous, since Luciano
goes no further thanthe second audition.
Throughcamera movement and mise en scne,
Garrone shows howthe clouds slowly start to
gather inhis protagonists mind. Later, whenthe
Ciotolas come together inLucianos apartment
to watchthe series opener of Big Brother, the
camera pans slowly around the dimly lit room,
taking inthe expensive newTVand the nervous
family before settling onLuciano, brooding in
almost complete darkness. Garrone who has
a distinguished background as a painter has
always excelled inthe quasi-expressionist use
of light, shadowand colour (notably in2002s
The Embalmer, thoughtheres also the disarming
neoninthe opening moments of Gomorrah).
Painterly compositions abound inReality too
whenthe family returnhome after a wedding
celebration, the muted, decaying tones of their
apartment block (bothinterior and exterior)
contrast sharply withthe Big Fat Neapolitan
Wedding kitschof the preceding scenes.
Once the rst episode of Big Brother is aired,
most members of the family resignthemselves
to the fact that Luciano isnt going to be part
of the show. Luciano, however, rather than
letting go of his ambition, becomes even
more obsessed withit, and the nal third of
the lmis concerned like Peter Stricklands
recent Berberian Sound Studio withthe
protagonists psychological unravelling.
Inone scene, Luciano becomes xated ona
convinced that no mainstreamItalianactor
of stage or screenhad the right physiognomy
or experience for the role. (The director had
originally wanted himto appear inGomorrah
but the authorities refused permissiononthe
grounds that the lms subject-matter was
a little too close to Arenas real-life criminal
past.) However, Arenas performance inReality
is all the better for being the delayed debut
that it is Lucianos wide-eyed, childlike sense
of wonder is clearly that of Arena himself,
nally allowed to step onto a lmset for the
rst time. The members of the supporting
cast, takenmostly fromregional and national
theatre, are exceptional, especially Loredana
Simoli as Lucianos wife Maria and Giuseppina
Cervizzi as Giusy, his excitable niece and most
fervent supporter. Nando Paones dignied,
dependable cousinMichele is very muchthe
straight man, pouring cold water whenever
possible onLucianos ery amboyance. If
any character slips into caricature, its that of
former Big Brother housemate Enzo (Raffaele
Ferrante). Self-satised and patronising, with
a strawpork-pie hat to mask his bald patch, he
never misses anopportunity to blurt out his
catchphrase: Nevah-geeve-ap! The lmalso
features a terric cameo fromCiro Petrone
Reality heralds a marked
shift in tone for GarroneThe
bleak, hard-edged starkness
of Gomorrah is replaced by a
softer, more humanist approach
Downward slide: Aniello Arena, left
Dreams of a life: Loredana Simioli
Reality
Italy/France 2012
Director: Matteo Garrone
Certicate 15 116m25s
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cricket perched highona cornice inhis living
room. Inanother echoing Nicolas Roegs
Dont Look Now he meets two mysterious
womenat a cemetery and asks themwhat else
he has to do to be called up by Big Brother. His
questions, rather thanmeeting withsurprise
or bewilderment, are answered withaneerie
calm. Be patient, says one of the women,
only deathhas no remedy, everything else
works out. Garrone is undoubtedly sensitive
to Lucianos drama but he never loses sight
of its (oftenuncomfortable) comic aspect.
Indeed, just whenhis protagonist seems to have
turned the corner, his wife nds himsinging to
himself ina self-made Big Brother diary room.
Garrone shot Reality insequence and
considered several endings, fromthe
positive to the downright tragic. Giventhe
directors clear affectionfor his protagonist,
the oneiric ambiguity of the chosennale
should come as no surprise. Rather thana
cop-out, its very muchinkeeping withthe
tone of the lmas a whole. Wisely going
beyond tired arguments over Big Brother and
reality TV, Reality works bothas a modern
fairytale and as a very welcome contemporary
take onthe commedia allitaliana.
From camorrista to camera: Aniello Arena as Luciano, the shmonger obsessed with celebrity, in Matteo Garrones Reality
Naples, the present. Luciano Ciotola is a shmonger
with a wife, Maria, and three young children. To
supplement his basic income, he sets up petty
scams with the help of Maria and his cousin Michele.
Hes known among his family and friends for his
party tricks and joviality. At a family wedding, he
dresses up in drag and meets former Big Brother
contestant Enzo, nowa minor celebrity. Delighted
wedding guests insist that Luciano too is perfect
for television. When his family visit a local shopping
centre, they ndBig Brother auditions taking place.
They phone Luciano but he arrives too late. However,
Enzo is also present and Luciano pleads with him
to be given the chance to audition. He gets through
to the next round. The family go to the Cinecitt
studios, where Luciano gives a second audition. Elated
by his own performance, he is convinced that the
producers will call himup so much so that on his
return to Naples he sells his sh stall. Increasingly
concerned that secret emissaries fromBig Brother
have been sent to assess his character, he starts to
donate newly bought items fromhis home to local
beggars. In exasperation, Maria leaves him. After
receiving treatment, Luciano starts working with
Micheles church group. The cousins take the group
on a trip to Rome but, once in the capital, Luciano
heads for theBig Brother house. Unchallenged and
unnoticed, he takes a seat in the garden outside.
Producedby
DomenicoProcacci
MatteoGarrone
Screenplay
MaurizioBraucci
UgoChiti
MatteoGarrone
MassimoGaudioso
Story
MatteoGarroneand
MassimoGaudioso
Director of
Photography
MarcoOnorato
Editor
MarcoSpoletini
Art Director
PaoloBonni
Music Composed
andConductedby
AlexandreDesplat
SoundRecordist
MaricettaLombardo
Costumes
MaurizioMillenotti
Fandango-
Archimede, LePacte
- GaranceCapital
Production
Companies
AnArchimede
- Fandango, Le
PacteGarance
Capital co-production
withRAI Cinema
Madeinassociation
withIntesaSanpaolo
S.p.A. inaccordance
withtax credit
regulations
Inassociation
withSocinma7,
Cocup- Backup
Films, Cinmage6,
LaSocaManon2
Withtheparticipation
of Canal+
Almby Matteo
Garrone
Cast
AnielloArena
Luciano
Loredana Simioli
Maria
Nando Paone
Michele
Nunzia Schiano
aunt Nunzia
Giuseppina Cervizzi
Giusy
Nello Iorio
Massimone
Carlo Del Sorbo
UnclePasquale
Rosaria DUrso
Aunt Rosaria
Graziella Marina
Lucianos mother
Alessandra
Scognamillo
Alessandra
Martina Graziuso
Martina
Vincenzo Riccio
Vincenzo
Claudia Gerini
presenter
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Independent
Distribution
10,477 ft +8frames
Credits and Synopsis
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84 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
ReviewedbyTrevor Johnston
The end of a chapter or the end of the story?
StevenSoderberghhas made no bones about
the fact that this twisty thriller is his last
theatrical feature. Still to come is his Liberace
cable movie Behind the Candelabra, and then,
having reached his 50thbirthday inJanuary
of this year, he will apparently be seeking
other creative outlets. Since hes turned out
what more or less amounts to a lma year
since sex, lies, and videotape made himthe toast
of Cannes back in1989, hes already givenus
enoughmovies for several directorial careers
thoughone effect of reaching this seeming
milestone moment nowis to throwa piercing
spotlight onhis supposed nal offering.
Inthe circumstances, Soderberghs third
collaborationwithscreenwriter Scott Z. Burns
looks just a little uncomfortable inthe glare.
As the title suggests, Side Effects comes onlike
its spoiling for a ght withthe pharmaceuticals
industry. After anominous opening panacross
a relatively swishapartment building, the
camera moves inside to reveal blood onthe
kitchenoor. Cue explanatory ashback, and
we meet Rooney Maras edgy, wide-eyed Emily, a
troubled spouse whose anxiety may stemfrom
her husbands imminent release fromjail after
serving time for insider dealing. Or it might
possibly ag up ongoing issues withdepression,
crackpot theories deconstructing everything
weve just seen or think weve just seen. Its
not giving too muchaway to mentionthe
archetypal narrative bait-and-switchat this
point, since thats not the end of it either, which
is where Side Effects starts getting slippery to
a fault, and seriously problematic withit.
Further stop-offs enroute include a
hormonally charged digressioninto what
appears to be disreputable erotic thriller
territory (involving a very game Catherine
Zeta-Jones, done up inscraped-back hair and
big horn-rims like some latterday Barbara
Steele), followed by anending of suchneatly
primped contrivance that one canonly
groan. Yes, it brings the plot-spinning to a
halt, and gives us ananswer to the storys
who and what and wherefore, yet the why,
why, whys of all weve just witnessed remain
unfathomable. And not ina good way.
Compare this to Soderberghand Burnss
previous collaborationThe Informant! (2009),
whichalso comes onlike some corporate
expos only to peel the layers off Matt
Damons dangerously unreliable protagonist, a
courageous whistleblower whose fragmented
personality gives himno qualms about
embezzling millions fromhis nefarious
blue-chip employers. His psychological
caprices prove, inthe end, beyond anyones
comprehension, least of all his own, but its
precisely because of this that hes tted as such
anawkward cog inthe billion-dollar machine,
thus giving the lmanoverriding purpose
beyond its dizzying industrial-espionage
chicanery. Whats more, Soderberghconjures
whichcould yet drag her to deeper and darker
places. The hubby (Channing Tatum, playing a
hedge-fund variationonMagic Mike) is kindly
and concerned, but his career ambitions have
a place for a trophy wife whichEmily, inher
current state, may not be able to ll. The upshot
is a head-onsmashinto a car-park wall that
looks positively suicidal, and leads Emily into
the orbit of Jude Laws hospital psychologist
Dr JonathanBanks. He happens to have a
private practice, and has signed up as a paid
consultant to conduct patient trials ona new-
to-market SSRI named Ablixa. Thats a selective
serotoninreuptake inhibitor, by the way, a
formof medicationto control the chemical
imbalances whichotherwise allowdepressive
impulses to get the better of those so aficted.
Its not hard to drawa line fromthe drugs
prescriptionto evenmore erratic behaviour
to the aforementioned body oozing life on
the kitchenoor, yet the anti-corporate
cautionary tale taking shape inthe early reels
proves far fromthe end of the matter, since
Soderberghand Burns evidently have a bit of
genre-morphing ontheir minds. Maras glazed
expressioncertainly sells us a nightmare
thriller scenario predicated onfemale
vulnerability, but just whenthe lmseems
to have settled into that particular rubric, it
sidesteps into a different bad-dreamscenario
as Dr Banks who previously seemed the
acme of moral exibility nowtakes centre
stage ina wronged-manprocedural. As the
movie begins to shift course, we initially read
himas someone hoist by his ownrather sleek
petard, but there may yet be something inhis
Doctor in trouble: Jude Law in Steven Soderberghs Side Effects
Side Effects
USA2013
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Certicate 15 105m46s
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up a formal patternto match, a seemingly
inconsequential trivia-saturated rst-person
narrationand the peppy counterblasts of
MarvinHamlischs nutty lounge-muzak
score staking out a weirdly unsettling jollity
whichnally makes sense whenthe full
extent of Damons activities becomes clear.
Inthe case of Side Effects, that sense of purpose
doesnt quite stack up. The story gathers
itself to suggest that our facility for intuiting
motivationby analysing patterns of human
behaviour only leaves us opento manipulation
by those who canfake the right moves the
resonances for the moviemakers craft being
obvious but suchnotions are rather undercut
by the tricksy mechanics proving just a bit too
insistent and exposed to sustaincredibility. The
narrative pirouettes are cheekily disarming
but ultimately they dont really go anywhere
evenif Maras EdithScob blankness is a
wonder to behold and Jude Laws reinvention
as a useful character actor continues apace
withhis adept line inersatz sincerity.
Moreover, Soderberghhimself also seems
to have reverted to default formal mode, once
more serving as cameraman(credited to Peter
Andrews) and editor (Mary AnnBernard) and
moving things along withthe characteristically
condent efciency seenin2011s Contagion
and Haywire. The colour palette boasts warm
yet somehowsynthetic amber interiors,
contrasting withcooler blue tones whenglacial
distancing is required. Depthand space within
the frame explore the emotive connotations
of individuals infamiliar or unfamiliar spaces,
while disorienting surprises inthe return
angles during shot/countershot conversations,
and a repeated trick of holding just a little too
long oncertainarchitectural features (walls,
revolving doors), deliver frissons of unease as
and whenrequired. Its masterly stuff, of course,
yet theres just not that extra gear Soderbergh
found inThe Informant!, whichsurely ranks
alongside the looser, performance-driven
cuddliness of Magic Mike (2012) as the most
all-round successful of his recent assignments.
One cansee howthe sleight of hand in
Burnss script might have tempted Soderbergh
towards a contemporary spinonfamiliar
Hitchcockianmoves (complete with
pharmaceutical macgufn), and perhaps at this
stage, having visited most parts of the generic
spectrumand traversed the gamut fromindie
quirkery to mainstreamgloss, that was one
of the fewchallenges still left to him. Yet in
applying himself to the task of a story whose
centre of gravity proves elusive, some of the
same issues that cropped up inthe restless
ensemble approachof Contagion come to the
fore again. The craft is impeccable, yet these
carefully modulated frames never quite add
up to a through-line of emotional empathy.
Acertainniggling distance remains, and it
leaves us wondering whether Soderberghs self-
declared retirement, were it to prove thankfully
temporary, might yet give himtime to reect
onsquaring the circle, to ponder howhe can
exercise his owncontrolling formal rigour in
a way that doesnt stie the humanelement
onscreenbut brings it out evenmore. Heres
to the next time, since Side Effects is surely not
howhe should, or will, be remembered.
Rooney Mara as Emily and Channing Tatumas her husband Martin
The anti-corporate tale taking
shape in the early reels proves
far fromthe end of the matter,
since Soderbergh evidently has
a bit of genre-morphing in mind
NewYork, present day. EmilyTaylor struggles with
depression following the release fromprison of her
husband Martin, who has served time for insider
trading. Following an apparent attempt to commit
suicide by driving at speed into a car-park wall, Emily
is assessed by psychologist Dr Jonathan Banks, who
agrees to release her fromhospital if she attends his
private practice. Dr Banks believes that prescription
drugs will quell her depressive urges; his fellow
psychologist Dr Victoria Siebert, who previously
treated Emily, recommends a newantidepressant
namedAblixa. After a public breakdown at a gala
reception with Martin, Emily persuades Dr Banks
to prescribe Ablixa, since hes just signed on as
a paid consultant for the manufacturers. At rst
her mood brightens considerably, but then she
stabs her husband to death in their apartment and
claims to remember nothing. Since sleepwalking
is a recognised symptomof Ablixa, Emily claims
innocence, and cuts a deal with the prosecutors
to enter mental-health supervision. The resulting
stormof bad publicity leads to Dr Banks being
red by Ablixas manufacturers; he also loses his
practice. Obsessively going through the ne detail
of the case, Dr Banks discovers that Emily faked
the side effects to evade a murder conviction,
and was working in league with her former lover
Dr Siebert to effect a lucrative shares scam. Dr
Banks has Emily temporarily released so that
the police can use her to entrap Dr Siebert, who
is subsequently arrested. Emily is permanently
sectioned. Dr Banks rebuilds his life and career.
Producedby
Lorenzodi
Bonaventura
GregoryJacobs
Scott Z. Burns
Writtenby
Scott Z. Burns
Director of
Photography
Peter Andrews
[i.e. Steven
Soderbergh]
Editedby
MaryAnnBernard
[i.e. Steven
Soderbergh]
ProductionDesign
HowardCummings
Music
Thomas Newman
Production
SoundMixer
DennisTowns
Costume Designer
SusanLyall
Happy Pill
Distribution, LLC.
Production
Companies
Endgame
Entertainment
presents
inassociation
withFilmnation
Entertainment
Filmedwiththe
support of the
NewYork State
Governors Ofce
for MotionPicture
Development
Executive
Producers
James D. Stern
Michael Polaire
Douglas E. Hansen
Cast
Jude Law
Dr JonathanBanks
Rooney Mara
EmilyTaylor
Catherine
Zeta-Jones
Dr VictoriaSiebert
ChanningTatum
MartinTaylor
Vinessa Shaw
DierdreBanks
AnnDowd
Martins mother
Dolby Digital/
Datasat
InColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
E1 Films
9,519ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
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86 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
Reviewedby PhilipKemp
Socialism. Not a word weve heard from
leaders of the Labour Party too ofteninrecent
decades. But heres ClemAttlee, freshfrom
his partys triumphinthe 1945 election,
whenLabour was returned withanoverall
majority of 146 seats, announcing to a packed
Westminster Central Hall that he intends
to lead a Labour movement witha socialist
policy and being cheered to the rafters.
KenLoachs lmis a celebrationand a
lament. Using interviews, archive footage and
excerpts fromthe richdocumentary heritage
of the period, it celebrates the moment of
idealismwhendemobbed troops came back
imbued withthat spirit of anything is possible.
Muchof this radical spirit, were reminded,
stemmed fromeducational initiatives within
the conscript forces, withtroops encouraged
to attend discussions onpolitics and current
grandfather received telling himthat he had
beenassigned a council house inStevenage
NewTown a townthat he himself had helped
to build. This letter, she tells us, he carried
withhiminhis wallet till the day he died.
Likewise Ray Jackson, former traindriver,
describes his delighted amazement when
his family moved into their newcouncil
house withits Frenchwindows and indoor
facilities. There was all this light! And there
were stairs! And a bathroom! Professor Harry
Keenrelives the graticationhe felt when,
as a NorthLondonGP visiting a mother
worried she couldnt afford his services or
the medicines he prescribed a visit he
made onthe very day the National Health
Service was inaugurated he was able to
tell her, Today, July the 5th, itll cost you
nothing! Ive never forgottenthat moment.
Repeatedly were told of peoples elation
at the idea that at last were going to take
charge of our ownlives. Ray Davies, a retired
Welshminer, recalls his whole community
cheering, laughing, singing, dancing at the
news that the mines were being nationalised,
and seeing some of his hardened fellowminers,
affairs. We see impassioned (if obviously
staged) debates onhowthings might change
after the war. And ina richly comic episode a
fruity-voiced Tory MP, Maurice Petherick, reads
out a letter froma constituent deploring such
potentially disruptive practices: I maintain
most strongly that any of these subjects which
turntowards politics are wrong. For the love of
Mike do something about it unless youwant to
have the creatures coming back all pansy-pink.
As it turned out, suchreactionaries werent
so far wrong: 1945 was a moment whenit really
seemed, however naive it may appear today,
that it might be feasible to full the plea made
by pre-war Labour leader George Lansbury to
build the NewJerusaleminEnglands green
and pleasant land. There was a determination,
according to pioneering GP JulianTudor Hart,
that we were not going back to the Britainof
the 1930s never again. Whats most striking
about the testimonies, direct or reported, from
the witnesses Loachhas assembled is the sense
of total identication, the deeply personal pride
that people took inthe developments of the
post-war world. DeborahGarvie, a present-day
housing worker, shows us the letter her builder
Partying politics: Clement Attlee and supporters celebrate Labours triumph in the 1945 general election
The Spirit of 45
United Kingdom2012
Director: Ken Loach
Certicate U 98m19s
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menwho were roughandtough, they
would take anything the bosses ever threw
at them, withtears rolling downtheir cheeks.
Not that nationalisationinreality spelt power
to the people; as Tony Bennobserves, the
whole process was inherently top-down,
and the idea that people who worked in
anindustry had any say inhowthe industry
was runwas completely foreign. Another
ex-miner remembers his disgust at seeing
Lord Hyndley, a prominent mine-owner
who had campaigned long and vehemently
against nationalisation, being made
chairmanof the National Coal Board.
What sort of nationalisationhave we
got? The same old gang back inpower!
Evenso, the post-war dispensationinthe
UKmarked a concerted move to bury forever,
it was hoped the pre-war world where, as
JulianTudor Hart puts it, everything was run
by richpeople for richpeople. Labours 1945
electionmanifesto was explicit inplacing the
blame: the slumps of the 30s, it stated, were
the sure and certainresult of the concentration
of too mucheconomic power inthe hands
of too fewmenThe cost of economic
freedom is too highif it is bought at the cost
of idleness and misery for millions. Here,
as elsewhere inLoachs lm, the pre-echoes
of present-day conditions are resonant.
The rst two-thirds of the lmculminate
inthe spindly technogeek hoopla of the 1951
Festival of Britain a brave showof fragile
national pride put onto lightenthe day-to-day
austerity (food, clothes, fuel were still rationed)
stemming fromthe crippling outlay of the
war effort and the cost of establishing the
welfare state. Loachdoesnt mentionhowthe
Festival was petulantly junked after the Tories
regained power inOctober of that year. Instead
we fade to black, thenabruptly jump ahead to
a yet more fateful year: 1979, whenMargaret
Thatcher gained her rst electoral victory. And,
following her oleaginous quoting of Francis of
Assisi (Where there is discord, may we bring
harmonyWhere there is despair, may we
bring hope), the melancholy or triumphal,
depending onyour political leanings recital
begins, as one by one the nationalisations of the
post-war era are reversed, and gas, steel, water,
electricity, the railways and all the rest are
sold back into private hands at bargainrates.
At the same time, we see other key
elements of the welfare state being chipped
away council houses sold off, bit-by-bit
privatisationeroding the Royal Mail and the
NHS. Interspersed withthis, the key defeats
of working-class power: the miners strike of
1984, the Liverpool dockers strike of 1995. An
outraged miner denounces the police brutality
suffered by himself and his fellow-miners:
Why do the police come withsuchvenom?
They seemto enjoy inicting painand suffering
onthe working man. Why? Who tells them
to go beat a pickets head? Who tells themto
inict pain, try to kill him? Who is it? I want to
know. By way of response Loachcuts straight
to Thatcher at that years Tory Party conference,
beaming intriumphat a jubilant ovation.
Loachhas covered some of this territory
before: the dock strike inThe Flickering Flame
(1996), the privatisationof the railways in
The Navigators (2001), not to mentionhis
1995 short AContemporary Case for Common
Ownership. But The Spirit of 45 is his most
sustained account to date of what was gained
inpost-war Britainand then, four decades
later, systematically dismantled and
dismantled, as BMACouncil member Jacky
Davis points out, by the very people who grew
up withand beneted fromthat system.
Inthese opinionated times, Empire reviewer
David Hughes recently noted, documentary
is oftena synonymfor polemic. Loachs lm
is openly, unashamedly polemical and partisan
aneloquent cry of rage and grief at what we
once had and what weve allowed to be taken
away fromus. Its a challenge, too. Building on
the impassioned testimonies of his interviewees
and onhis superbly chosenarchive footage
courtesy of archivist JimAnderson, who did
anequally skilled job for Terence Daviess Of
Time and the City (2008) Loachchallenges us to
resist, to ght back against the forces of private
greed and indifference. The lmends with
shots of mass protests Occupy, UKUncut,
Defend the NHS as Jerusalem swells onthe
soundtrack. Loachis too intelligent a lmmaker
to suggest that resistance will be easy but
too optimistic to say that its impossible.
No turning back: returning troops were imbued with the desire for change Red house: news spreads of Labours gains in the election
Loachs lmis unashamedly
polemical an eloquent cry of
rage and grief at what we once
had and what weve allowed
to be taken away fromus
Britain, 8May 1945. There are scenes of relief and
jubilation as the country celebrates VE Day cheering
crowds, dancing in the streets, reunited couples
embracing. We ashback to the Blitz, and then to the
1920s and 30s, and the mass unemployment, poverty
and deprivation that followed the end of WWI. Veterans
of that period recall growing up in slumconditions,
and the determination at the end of WWII that this
wouldnt happen again. InJuly 1945, Clement Attlee
leads Labour to an unforeseen landslide victory at the
general election. Despite the countrys dire economic
situation after six years of war, the newgovernment
initiates a massive programme of social reform, partly
guided by the Beveridge Report. The coalmines are
nationalised, along with the steel industry, the docks,
the railways, electricity, gas and water. The National
Health Service is founded, offering universal free
healthcare. Millions are rehoused in newly built council
houses. People who lived through this period recall
their elation at these changes, though a fewvoice their
misgivings at seeing the same old bosses put in charge
of the newly nationalised industries. The mood of the
post-war years culminates in the Festival of Britain.
In 1979, the Tories take power under Margaret
Thatcher. Over the next 15 years the structure
of the welfare state is steadily dismantled and
sold off. One by one, the industries that were
nationalised in the late 1940s are privatised. The
NHS is subjected to piecemeal privatisation, as is
the Royal Mail. But in recent years the attack on the
NHS, in the wake of the market collapse, inspires
resistance. The Spirit of 45 may not yet be dead.
Producers
RebeccaOBrien
KateOgborn
LisaMarieRusso
Photography
StephenStanden
Editor
JonathanMorris
Original Music
GeorgeFenton
Sound
Paul Parsons
KevinBrazier
IanTapp
SixteenFly Limited/
TheBritishFilm
Institute/Channel
Four Television
Corporation
Production
Companies
TheBritishFilm
InstituteandFilm
4, SixteenFilms
andFly Film
DevelopedwithEM
MediaandtheUK
FilmCouncils Digital
FilmArchiveFund
Producedwiththe
support investment
of Channel Four
TelevisionCorporation
Digital project
supportedby Creative
England, Film4.0, BFI
Madewiththesupport
of theBFIs FilmFund
Dolby Digital
InBlack &White
andColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
Dogwoof
8,848ft +8frames
Credits and Synopsis
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ReviewedbyThirzaWakeeld
Debuting director George Isaac plays it safe
withthis capable but derivative Britishcrime
thriller starring Gabriel Byrne, Rufus Sewell and
TobyStephens. If theres anyingenuityhere,
its inIsaacs disdaining the plastic tablecloth
charisma of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
for a more sober alternative. Unfortunately, this
doesnt paydividends. All Things is dullyrealised,
withroutine POVs throughglass or between
car headrests, andcharacters soformulaic
that one wonders howthe producers pinned
the sophisticatedcast. The lmis excessively
pleasedwithits hallmarkBritishlocations (the
LondonEye, Battersea Power Station), though
its liking for grown-boys toys white Jags and
helicopters neutralises the benets of anyour-
neck-of-the-woods fetishism. At least the clammy
unravelling of Sewells hubristic detective
tautens the slackat the lms shootout nale.
All Things to All Men
United Kingdom2012
Director: George Isaac
London, the present. Thief Riley delivers stolen
diamonds to his partner Peters and arranges to
collect his share of the proceeds in three days time.
Crooked detective Parker and his unsuspecting
colleagues Dixon and Sands offer crime boss Corso
a stake of the diamond money if he will intercept it.
Riley nds Peters dead, murdered by Corso. Corso
coerces Riley into another heist, claiming Rileys
share of the diamond money as commission. The
additional robbery completed, Corsos bodyguard
turns on Riley but is killed in a car chase. Riley
absconds with the money, taking refuge with Peterss
widowSophia. Sands learns that Parker needs the
money to settle a debt; it also transpires that the
attorney general and the police commissioner are
involved in the corruption. Parker kills Sands and
arranges Dixons murder. Riley arranges to meet
Corso at Battersea Power Station. There, Corso and
Sophia are killed. Parker is shot dead by the escaped
Dixon, who is afterwards promoted to detective and
initiated into the world of state corruption.
Producedby
PierreMascolo
GeorgeIsaac
Writtenby
GeorgeIsaac
Director of
Photography
HowardAtherton
Editor
EddieHamilton
Production
Designer
MatthewButton
Music
ThomasWander
SoundRecordist
Rudi Buckle
Costume Designer
Hayley Nebauer
All Things toAll
MenLimited
Production
Companies
TBC
Executive Producer
Toni Mascolo
Cast
Rufus Sewell
Parker
Toby Stephens
Riley
Elsa Pataky
SophiaPeters
Leo Gregory
Dixon
JulianSands
Cutter
RalphBrown
McDeer
Terence Maynard
Sands
Pierre Mascolo
Mark Corso
Michael Harvey
Curtis Carter
Gil Darnell
AdrianPeters
Neil Maskell
LukeNelson
TomDavis
Roberts
James Frain
Attorney General
DavidSchoeld
policecommissioner
Gabriel Byrne
JosephCorso
InColour
Distributor
TheMuscoloGroup
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby Geoffrey Macnab
Nicholas Jareckis debut feature is one of a
spate of lms about crookednanciers made
since the Enronaffair, the disgrace of Bernie
Madoff andthe economic crisis of 2008.
RichardGere is the seeminglyultra-respectable
nancier Robert Miller a familymanwho
does his bit for charityandis a patronof the
arts. We soondiscover, however, that he is a
fraudster whocheats inbothhis professional
andpersonal life. Hes far more charismatic
thanMadoff but, like Madoff withhis Ponzi
scheme, he uses his wealthandrespectability
toget awaywithoutrageous wrongdoing.
Jarecki is the younger brother of Andrew
Jarecki, director of the harrowing andvery
intimate familyportrait Capturing the Friedmans
(2003), andof Eugene Jarecki, whohas made
suchprobing documentaries as Why We
Fight (2004, about the arms industry) andThe
House I Live In(2012, anexpos of the war on
drugs inAmerica). Arbitrage works equally
well as a studyof anindividual destroying
his familyandas a drama about corruption
andhypocrisyinAmericancorporate life.
Ininterviews, Jarecki has talkedof his debt
to70s Americancinema andtothe workof
WilliamFriedkinandJames Toback. The
plot of Arbitrage mayseemfamiliar enough
fromcountless other movies andTVdramas
about white-collar criminality(for example
Damages), but theres a grittiness andintensity
here that slicker, bigger-budget lms dont
always match. It helps, too, that like Oliver
Stone, whose father was a stockbroker, Jarecki
has rst-handknowledge of Wall Street
throughhis parents, whowere traders.
Arbitrage is certainlythe llipthat Richard
Geres stuttering career needed. Inhis earlylms
suchas Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), American
Gigolo (1980) andBreathless (1983), Gere hada
restless andpredatoryqualitythat made himone
of the most livelyandunpredictable leading men
of his era. That menacing qualitywas evident
whenhe playedthe corrupt copinMike Figgiss
Internal Affairs (1989), andyoucouldstill see his
recklessness inFiggiss Mr Jones (1993), inwhich
he playeda manic depressive. Inthe past 20 years
there has beentoomuchblandmainstreamfare,
but here hes playing another reckless delinquent
withthe same mixof narcissismandcharmas
the characters he playedinhis prime. He excels
ina role that suits himexceptionallywell.
Plot-wise, Arbitrage doesnt breaknew
groundthe combinationof familymelodrama
andcorporate skullduggerystretches back
inUS ctionas far as Theodore Dreiser, and
there have beenmanyother movies about
familypatriarchs whoturnout tobe corrupt.
The lms strengthis not inits themes but
inthe intensitywithwhichit treats them.
Geres febrile performance is matchedbyan
equallystrong one fromSusanSarandonas
his aggrievedwife. TimRothis effective tooas
the dour but verydeterminedblue-collar cop
trying topull himdownfromhis ivorytower.
Like the best movie villains, Miller is
boundtoprovoke ambivalence inaudiences.
Hes ruthless, unscrupulous andnot inthe
least botheredbyanyqualms of conscience
at the destructionhe wreaks aroundhim.
At the same time, he is soengaging and
resourceful that audiences mayenduprooting
for himagainst their better instincts.
Arbitrage
USA/Poland 2012
Director: NicholasJarecki
Certicate 15 106m37s
US, present day. Financier Robert Miller runs one of
NewYorks most respected hedge funds. He gives
money to charity and appears to be a devoted family
man. However, one of his deals has gone sour; he
has been ddling his rms books as he waits to
close the deal that he hopes will cover his losses.
Miller has a mistress, a young French artist called
Julie. One night, driving out of town with her, they have
a car accident. She is killed and the car is smashed.
He is injured but makes his way back to NewYork
and pretends he spent the night at home with his
wife. Bryer, a dogged detective, investigates the case;
suspicious, he arrests Jimmy, the young black man from
Harlemwho gave Miller (a family friend) a lift. Bryer
puts pressure onJimmy to reveal that he drove Miller
back to town, threatening himwith prison.
Millers daughter realises her fathers fraud. His wife
is incensed and threatens to reveal that he came home
late on the night of Julies death. It emerges that Bryer
fabricated evidence in his rush to prosecute Jimmy
and get to Miller. The case against Jimmy is dismissed.
Miller closes the deal and saves his company from
bankruptcy.
Producedby
LauraBickford
KevinTuren
JustinNappi
Robert Salerno
Writtenby
NicholasJarecki
Director of
Photography
Yorick LeSaux
FilmEditor
Douglas Crise
ProductionDesigner
BethMickle
Music
Cliff Martinez
SoundMixer
TodMaitland
Costume Designer
JosephG. Aulisi
ArbitrageLLC.
Production
Companies
GreenRoomFilms
andTreehouse
Pictures present
aco-production
of Parlay Films,
LBProductions,
ArtinaFilms
inassociation
withAlvernia
Studios, Lucky
Monkey Pictures
Almby Nicholas
Jarecki
Executive Producers
BrianYoung
MohammedAl Turki
LisaWilson
StanislawTyczynski,
LaurenVersel
MariaTeresaArida
RonCurtis
Cast
RichardGere
Robert Miller
SusanSarandon
EllenMiller
TimRoth
Detective
Michael Bryer
Brit Marling
BrookeMiller
Laetitia Casta
JulieCote
Nate Parker
Jimmy Grant
Stuart Margolin
SydFelder
Chris Eigeman
GavinBriar
Dolby Digital
InColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
KochMedia
Entertainment
9,595ft +8frames
Deal or no deal: Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere
Total wipeout: Toby Stephens
Credits and Synopsis
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ReviewedbyAnna Smith
Asmall townis enlivenedbythe arrival of
a Caster someone withmagic powers
inthis peppyteenromance fromRichard
LaGravenese (FreedomWriters), basedonthe
novel byKami Garcia andMargaret Stohl. Lena
is a mysterious brooding loner whopromises
one of the keythemes of Beautiful Creatures:
escape. Bored, bright teenEthandreams of
leaving Gatlin, his SouthCarolina hometown,
routinelyparking his car insight of the exit
tothe highway(a shot the lmreturns to
several times). While Lena is scaredbyher
supernatural powers, Ethanis excited: shes
the most interesting thing tohappeninages.
Its a familiar device that recalls not just
the recent Twilight series but alsomore arch,
adult supernatural lms suchas The Witches
of Eastwick (1987). Small-townarchetypes are
comicallyportrayedbya wittyscript, andcamp
characters abound. The plot,
though, is muddled: Lenas
visions of ancestral tragedies
are dramaticallyportrayedbut
their meaning is almost lost
inwould-be explanatory
wafe. But if Beautiful
Creatures doesnt standup
as anengaging myth, it
does at least entertain
along the way.
Beautiful Creatures
USA2013
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Certicate 12A 123m34s
Gatlin, South Carolina, the present. Fifteen-year-old
Lena arrives to stay with her Uncle Macon. She dates
schoolmate Ethan, who is let in on a secret: Lena is
aCasterand, because of a family curse, will turn
either darkor lighton her 16th birthday. Lenas
family of fellowCasters fear that Ethan will distract
Lena, resulting in her turning dark. Lena discovers
that the curse can only be broken by the death of
one she loves. She puts a spell on Ethan, making him
forget their relationship. Ethan is fatally shot during
a Civil War re-enactment, but magically Macon takes
his place. Ethan lives. Weeks later, about to travel to
NewYork, Ethan has a conversation with Lena as if
they barely knoweach other. Soon afterwards, he
stops the car and gets out, calling Lenas name.
Producedby
ErwinStoff
AndrewA. Kosove
BroderickJohnson
Molly Mickler Smith
DavidValdes
Writtenfor the
screenby
RichardLaGravenese
Basedonthenovel
by Kami Garciaand
Margaret Stohl
Director of
Photography
PhilippeRousselot
FilmEditor
DavidMoritz
Production
Designer
RichardSherman
Music
thenewno2
SoundMixer
Jeffrey E. Haupt
Costume Designer
Jeffrey Kurland
Alcon
Entertainment, LLC
Production
Companies
AlconEntertainment
presents a3Arts
Entertainment/Belle
Pictures production
Executive Producer
YolandaT. Cochran
FilmExtracts
Gilda (1946)
Cast
AldenEhrenreich
EthanWate
Alice Englert
LenaDuchannes
Jeremy Irons
MaconRavenwood
Viola Davis
Amma
Emmy Rossum
Ridley Duchannes
Thomas Mann
Link
EmmaThompson
Mrs Lincoln/Sarane
EileenAtkins
gramma
Margo Martindale
aunt Del
Zoey Deutch
EmilyAsher
Tiffany Boone
SavannahSnow
Rachel Brosnahan
Genevieve
Duchannes
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Entertainment Film
Distributors Ltd
11,121 ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby Nick Roddick
Romaniandirector Cristian
Mungius thirdfeature takes
several condent steps towards
the masterythat his second,
4Months, 3Weeks and 2Days
(2007), revealedtobe withinhis
grasp, thematicallyandabove all stylistically.
The newlmis set 15years later sometime
after the introductionof the euroin1999 but
before devaluationandRomanias entryinto
the EUin2007 andconrms Mungiuas a
humanist withanapproachverysimilar to
spirituallyinclineddirectors suchas Bresson
andTarkovsky, withwhomhe shares certainkey
stylistic preoccupations. Above all, bothlms are
carefullystructured, 4, 3, 2aroundthe notionof
time (as inthe title), Beyond the Hills, againas the
title implies, aroundthe idea of place or rather
the contrast betweendifferent places: between
Romania, where the storyis set, andGermany,
the locus of ight, freedom(or at anyrate greater
opportunity) anddecadence. Thenthere is the
oppositionbetweenthe town, withits everyday
concerns andlaissez-faire attitude, andthe isolated
monastery, rst seenlooming over the horizon
ina virtuosotracking shot as twoyoung women
approachthis place beyondthe hills. Both
lms have twofemale protagonists, one stronger
thanthe other, confrontedwitha patriarchal
gure (there Mr Bebe, here Papa, the leader of the
monasterys austere religious community). There
are stylistic similarities too: Beyond the Hills opens
withMungius trademarkback-of-the-headshot
as one of the girls, Voichita, pushes her way
throughthe crowds at a railwaystationtond
her friendAlina. The womengrewuptogether
inanorphanage, andnowAlina has returned
after several years inGermany; she hopes to
take Voichita awaywithher, but the latter is
fullycommittedtoher life at the monastery.
Beyond the Hills is a muchmore complexand
ambitious workthan4, 3, 2, championing
love andquestioning religions attempt to
Beyond the Hills
Romania/France/Belgium2012
Director: Cristian Mungiu
Certicate 12A 151m55s
Romania, the recent past. After working in Germany,
a young woman, Alina, returns to visit Voichita,
with whomshe used to share a roomin the local
orphanage. Voichita is nowa member of an austere
religious community run byPapaand his partner
Mother.Alinas plans to take Voichita back to
Germany with her come up against the latters
total commitment to the community. Papa urges
Alina to confess her sins and turn to God, but she
resists. Her behaviour becomes increasingly strange
and, after a particularly violent outburst, she is
hospitalised. Apparently cured and withVoichita
begging Papa to let her come back, Alina returns to
the monastery, but her behaviour becomes more
and more erratic; strange things are reported and
demonic possession is suspected. Alina is tied to
a makeshift stretcher while Papa attempts to cast
out the demon. Shortly after another apparent
recovery, she dies. Apolice investigation is launched.
Producer
CristianMungiu
Writtenby
CristianMungiu
Inspiredby
thenon-ction
novels of Ttatiana
NiculescuBran
Director of
Photography
OlegMutu
FilmEditing
MirceaOlteanu
ProductionDesign
CalinPapura
MihaelaPoenaru
SoundMixer
Cristinel Sirli
Costume Design
DanaPaparuz
MobraFilms - Why
Not Productions -
Les Films duFleuve
- France3Cinma
- MandragoraMovies
Production
Companies
MobraFilms present
Co-producers: Why
Not Productions,
Les Films deFleuve,
France3Cinma,
MandragoraMovies
Almproduced
withthesupport of
Centrului National
al Cinematograei,
Eurimages, Centre
National duCinma
et delImageAnim
andtheparticipation
of Canal+, France
Televisions, Cin+,
WildBunch
Cast
Cosmina Stratan
Voichita
Cristina Flutur
Alina
ValeriuAndriuta
Papa, priest
DanaTapalaga
mother superior
Catalina Harabagiu
Sister Antonia
GinaTandura
Sister Iustina
VicaAgache
Sister Elisabeta
Nora Covali
Sister Pahomia
DionisieVitcu
Mr Alina
Ionut Ghinea
Ionut
Liliana Mocanu
Mother Elena
DoruAna
Father Nusu
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Articial Eye
FilmCompany
13,672 ft +8frames
Romanian
theatrical title
Dupa dealuri
Enduring love: Cosmina Stratan, Cristina Flutur
Caster sugar:
Alice Englert
Credits and Synopsis
See Feature
on page 42
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appropriate it bylabelling it divine. Most
striking here is the restraint withwhich
Mungiuhandles what turns out tobe a storyof
religious fanaticism, murder, demonic possession
andrepressedsexuality(which, according to
a tinymentioninthe endcredits, is basedon
real events). Thus while the plot summarymay
suggest that fashionable subgenre, the real-life
exorcismmovie, we are a long wayfromThe
Exorcismof Emily Rose (thoughcloser, at times,
toHans-ChristianSchmids more restrained,
German-set Requiem, basedonthe same
occurrences). The potentiallyhorric binding of
Alina toa cross-shapedstretcher inthe climactic
exorcismscene has a matter-of-fact, almost
farcical tone as the nuns struggle toholdher
down Tie her withthis! This ones tooshort!
Trythis! Its nogood: I cant hammer withher
like that! rather as thoughthe crucixionwere
being re-enactedbythe MarxBrothers (though
anyhumour abruptlyevaporates whenthe chain
usedtotie upa dog is wrappedroundAlina).
Whether or not Alina is demonically
possessedor mentallyill is never explored. Nor
are the sexual implications of Papas holdover
the girls does he indeedfuck them, as Alina
suggests? Nor the hint of sextrafcking that
goes withthe mentionof the mysterious Herr
Pfaff, whousedtovisit the orphanage from
Germany, tookphotographs andleft Alina a
camcorder. Elements like this provide the lm
witha richbackstorybut nohint of motive
or cause. Instead, Mungius unblinking focus
is onthe love betweenthe twogirls, clearly
(thoughnever explicitly) sexual, pittedagainst
the muchmore powerful andcodiedlove of
God, withwhichAlina cannot compete. If I
let Godintomyheart, will youstart loving me
again, she asks Voichita inone of the lms
keyscenes. But althoughthere is a clear sense
of Alina andVoichita as fragile free spirits
crushedbya religionthat helpfullyprovides
its adherents witha menuof 464 sins tochoose
from, there is noreal attempt todemonise Papa,
whoseems for most of the time tobe genuinely
trying tonda solutiontothis troublesome
cuckoowhohas shownupinhis nest.
The temptationtomake the girls
straightforwardvictims is likewise avoided.
Alina comes across as surlyandconfrontational,
Voichita as genuinelycomfortable inher faith.
Andthere is a beautiful little scene inthe
hospital after Alina has beenpronounceddead
bya doctor whomight functionas the voice
of scientic reasonbut seems, instead, more
interestedinher mobile phone. Godhelp
anyone whofalls intoyour hands, she says to
the communitys Mother, whocomes right
backwith, Godforgive me, but the same goes
for youdoctors. Noone other thanVoichita,
meanwhile, seems tocare muchabout Alina.
Following a measuredpace withoccasional
urries of violence, Beyond the Hills is a
scrupulouslyneutral lookat events which
are upina worldthat is, at base, indifferent.
AndMungius great achievement is tohold
these twoconcepts love andindifference in
balance, nowhere more skilfullythaninthe
lms nal shot, one of the most eloquent and
perfectlyorchestratedincinema history.
ReviewedbyAshley Clark
Ahuge box-ofce success onits initial release
inHong Kong in2011, Peter Chans Dragon
stars actor-cum-choreographer Donnie Yen(Ip
Man) as LiuJinxi, a quiet familymaninearly
RepublicanChina whoresponds withbrutal
efciencywhena pair of neer-do-wells threaten
his tightknit community. Narrativelyspeaking,
theres precious little toseparate Dragons
earlystages fromDavidCronenbergs gripping
neo-westernAHistory of Violence (2005) and
that lms themes of identity, retributionand
responsibilityring just as resoundinglyhere.
Where Dragondeparts fromCronenbergs
lm(other thaninits setting andmartial-arts
ghting) is inthe introductionof a police-
procedural element, whichunfortunatelyalso
happens tobe its least effective conceit. The
narrative reins (including a sporadic doomy
voiceover) are handedtothe cynical, hardboiled
investigator Xu, whoseems tohave wanderedin
fromanother lm. Dressedlike a P.G. Wodehouse
character, Xuis avowedlymisanthropic,
not tomentiongenuinelyrepellent (at one
point he shakes downhis wife for cash, even
thoughhes recentlybeenresponsible for
her fathers suicide). Matters arent helpedby
KaneshiroTakeshis performance; withhis
wild, darting eyes andinert physicality, he
pulls off the disconcerting trickof overacting
andunderacting simultaneously. Hes
nomatchfor Yeninterms of charisma or
narrative interest, andthe dual-protagonist
approachfeels imbalancedandunnecessary.
However, the self-loathing Xuushers inone
of the lms more interesting themes: the
perceivedinseparabilityof manandbeast,
andconsequentlythe real worthof mankind
(Menare just stinking sacks of uids withno
redeeming qualities, he intones darklyat one
juncture). Director Chanrevels inimages of
butcheryandthe devastationof esh(both
humanandanimal), andDragonbrings tomind
the likes of GyrgyPls grotesque Taxidermia
(2006) andGaspar Nos brutal double-header
of Carne (1991) andSeul contre tous (1998), all
works that viewhumanitydimlythroughthe
lter of festering corporeality. Jinxis haunted
past (his father fedhimhis pet horse; he went
ontomassacre a familyof butchers) inspires his
moving parallel quest tomaintaina newidentity
andprove himself above the level of the bestial.
Yenbrings impressive levels of emotional
shading tothe sort of role not generally
associatedwithinternationallybankable action
stars. The inevitable cracking openof his tightly
restrainedtemperament prompts conict, and
the resulting scenes are all the more powerful
for emanating fromtaciturnstillness. The
plentiful actionscenes are constructedand
performedwithballetic rigour, thoughthe
violence becomes at times soegregious that the
lmstrikes anunintentionallycomic register.
Evenmore impressive is the manner Chan
situates the actionwithina relatable social
context, meaning that Jinxis travails are deeply
felt ona communitylevel. The director has an
eye for the gentlyrolling rhythms of idyllic
village life (not tomentionthe fragilityof its
veneer), the corruptionandavarice festering
within, andthe constant threat fromthe
outside. The result is a pleasinglyintimate if
occasionallyridiculous periodactionepic.
Dragon
Hong Kong/Peoples Republic of China 2011
Director: Peter Ho-sun Chan
China, 1917. Two bandits enter a village and attempt to
rob the general store. LiuJinxi, a local man with a wife
and two sons, happens to be in the shop at the time,
and kills them, instantly becoming a hero. Investigating
detective Xu discovers that one of the victims was
on the governmentsmost wanted list. Asuspicious
Xu becomes convinced that Jinxi is not the ordinary
man he seems but in fact a skilled martial artist with
mystical powers. Xu discovers that Jinxi is reallyTang
Long, second-in-command of a group of vicious outlaws
known as the 72 Demons, who played a part in the
brutal massacre of a butchers family ten years ago. Xu
leaves, but returns to obtain an arrest warrant for Jinxi.
Hoping for a reward, the village magistrate informs the
Master of the 72 Demons of Longs whereabouts. The
offended Master reveals that Long is his son, and kills
the magistrate. The Master sends the 72 Demons to
nd Long. The latter ghts themand kills the Masters
wife. Xu devises a plan for Long to fake his own death
to trick the Demons into leaving, but Long wakes
up before they have left. Long severs his left armin
front of the Demons, announcing that he has formally
broken ties with them; they tell himthat the Master is
waiting for himat his house. There, the two men ght.
Xu arrives and is killed by the Master. The Master is
struck by lightning and dies. Long returns to family life.
Producedby
JojoHui Yuet-chun
Peter Ho-sunChan
Writtenby
Aubrey Lam
Directors of
Photography
JakePollock
Lai YiuFai
Editor
Derek Hui
Production
Designedby
YeeChungMan
Original Score
ChanKwongWing
Peter Kam
Chatchai
Pongprapaphan
SoundDesign
Nopawat Likitwong
Traithep
Wongpaiboon
Costume Designer
DoraNg
ActionDirector
DonnieYen
WePictures Ltd/
Stellar MegaFilms Co.
Production
Companies
YunnanFilmGroup
presents aWe
Pictures Production
WePictures Limited,
Stellar MegaFilms
Limited, Dingsheng
Cultural Industry
Investment Co., Ltd,
JSBCEudemonia
BlueOceanTV&
MovieGroupLtd
APeter Ho-sun
Chanlm
Executive Producers
Peter Ho-sunChan
QinHong
Cast
DonnieYen
TangLong,LiuJinxi
KaneshiroTakeshi
DetectiveXuBai-jiu
TangWei
Yu
JimmyWangYu
theMaster
Wai Ying Hung
theMasters wife
JiangWu
Xus investigator
Li XiaoRan
Xus wife
YinZhuSheng
JinsongWang
ZhouBo
Dolby Digital
SurroundEX
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Metrodome
DistributionLtd
Chinese
theatrical title
Wuxia
Family matters: Donnie Yen
Credits and Synopsis
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Reviewedby KimNewman
Arriving inMoscow, Bruce Williss series
heroJohnMcClane has anodd, non-sequitur
conversationwithanunbelievable Russian
cabbie wholets anAmericanoff the fare
because the foreigner listens tohis (terrible)
FrankSinatra impersonation. This one-scene
character incidentallyinfodumps a keyfact
about Moscows trafc system, whichgives
the mostlyclueless McClane a later moment
of perceptionas he realises that a shadylady
is lying about howshe got toa rendezvous so
swiftly. The momentaryevocationof Ol Blue
Eyes might be a subtle harkbacktothe origins
of the Die Hard series inRoderickThorps
novel Nothing Lasts Forever, a sequel tohis
The Detective, whichwas lmedin1968 with
Sinatra inthe lead(Thorps herois calledJoe
Leland, but is essentiallythe same McClane).
The Die Hard franchise seemedtorunits
course ina series made at the height of its stars
appeal as a box-ofce actionname; infact, Die
Hard (1988) turnedTVveteranWillis intoa
rst-rankmovie star after a runof less successful
vehicles. As withthe RockyandRambosagas,
whichsimilarlyrode an80s zeitgeist, the book
seemedclosedafter climactic 1990s entries: Die
Hard with a Vengeance (1995) completedthe
original trilogybytying upa loose endfrom
the rst lmas McClane was persecutedand
exploitedbythe brother (JeremyIrons) of his
original nemesis Hans Gruber (AlanRickman).
However, after Sylvester Stallone revivedboth
his signature franchises, moves were made
toget anolder, craggier, baldMcClane back
inharness withLive Free or Die Hard (aka Die
Hard 4, 2007). Thoughthat revival was iffyat
best, the tankhadenoughfuel tomerit another
spinof the sequel wheel, andhere we are in
Russia, withjokes about ColdWar relics and
the wayoldcertainties have changed. Scowly
Willis is forced, like HarrisonFordinIndiana
Jones and the Kingdomof the Crystal Skull (2008),
tolet a younger, blander co-lead(Jai Courtney)
take ona full share of the running, jumping,
hitting, shooting, complaining business.
Inthe last lm, McClanes daughter Lucy
(MaryElizabethWinstead, returning but even
more underusedhere) was capturedandhe had
toteamupwithher boyfriend(JustinLong);
this time, a full-onfather-sonestrangement-
and-reconciliationsobstorywinds betweenthe
actionscenes andspoils the fun. Taking cues
fromDie Hard 2 (1990), the newlmrefuses
tocome upwitha suitable mastermindon
the Gruber Brothers patternandtwists the
plot a bit as the precise hierarchyof evil amid
the stockRussianbaddies wavers fromscene
toscene. It alsotones itself down, evenbefore
censor trims that fudge the mainvillains death,
blurring McClanes catchphrase (yippie-
ki-yaymotherfucker) witha soundeffect,
anddelivering muchdevastationbut little
carnage. Days toDie Hardhave beenbetter.
AGood Day to Die Hard
USA/Australia 2013
Director: John Moore
Certicate 12A 97m33s
Moscow, present day. AmericanJack McClane
commits a murder but cuts a deal to testify against
oligarch Komarov, who is on trial at the behest of
rising defence minister Chagarin; the latter wants to
retrieve a le of evidence that could stall his career.
NewYork copJohn McClane, Jacks estranged father,
travels to Russia but arrives at the courthouse
just as Alik, Chagarins minion, blows it up. John
intervenes and prevents Komarovs capture byAlik,
but also forestalls CIAextraction of the Russian. John
learns that Jack is not a criminal but a CIAagent
tasked with preventing Chagarins rise to power.
Komarov is seemingly betrayed by his daughter
Irina and taken to the abandoned city of Chernobyl,
where he says the le is hidden. The McClanes travel to
Chernobyl to rescue Komarov. Komarov is persuaded
byAlik to enter a sealed vault, but this turns out not
to contain the imaginary le but a horde of weapons-
grade uraniumthat was hidden away by Komarov and
Chagarin when they were in charge of the Soviet nuclear
programme. Irina shows true loyalty to her father and
murders Alik.
In Moscow, Chagarin is assassinated on Komarovs
orders. As Komarov has the uraniumloaded on to
a helicopter, the McClanes arrive, realise the true
situation and set about defeating Komarovs private
army and preventing himgetting away with the
uranium. Komarov and Irina are killed. The McClanes are
reconciled.
Producedby
AlexYoung
Wyck Godfrey
Writtenby
SkipWoods
Director of
Photography
JonathanSela
FilmEditor
DanZimmerman
ProductionDesigner
Daniel T. Dorrance
Music
MarcoBeltrami
Production
SoundMixer
IanVoigt
Costume Designer
BojanaNikitovic
Visual Effects
Supervisor
Everett Burrell
Stunt Co-ordinator
SteveDavison
Twentieth
Century Fox Film
Corporationand
TSGEntertainment
FinanceLLC(inall
territories except
Brazil, Italy, Japan,
KoreaandSpain)
TCFHungary Film
Rights Exploitation
LimitedLiability
Company, Twentieth
Century Fox Film
Corporationand
TSGEntertainment
FinanceLLC(in
Brazil, Italy, Japan,
KoreaandSpain)
Production
Companies
TwentiethCentury
Fox presents in
associationwithTSG
Entertainment aGiant
Pictures production
AJohnMoorelm
Madeinassociation
withBigScreen
Productions
Executive Producers
TomKarnowski
JasonKeller
SkipWoods
Cast
BruceWillis
JohnMcClane
Jai Courtney
Jack McClane
SebastianKoch
Komarov
Yulia Snigir
Irina
Rasha Bukvic
Alik
Cole Hauser
agent Collins
Amaury Nolasco
Murphy
Sergey Kolesnikov
Chagarin
Mary Elizabeth
Winstead
Lucy McClane
RomanLuknr
Anton
DolbyAtmos/
Datasat
InColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
20thCentury Fox
International (UK)
8,779ft +8frames
IMAXprints
98m40s
142,080ft
Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch
Credits and Synopsis
ReviewedbyTrevor Johnston
Reviled by the mainstreammedia yet embraced
by disaffected teens, the punk explosionof
the late 1970s marshalled its limited chord
structures and terrace-chant choruses into a
socially unifying force. So goes the theory in
this print-the-legend biopic of Belfasts Terri
Hooley, whose Good Vibrations record shop and
indie label showcased the punk outpourings
transcending NorthernIrelands sectarian
divide. Its certainly possible to argue that the
city-centre discotheques whichkept their
dance oors openhad anevengreater cross-
community impact, but the combinationof
endearing antihero Hooley and the emergence
of anall-time-great pop single fromthis
improbable crucible makes the Good Vibrations
story worthits big-screenincarnation.
Evenby Belfast standards, Hooley is quite
a character. Refreshingly unembittered
despite losing aneye during a childhood
scrap because his dad was a socialist mayoral
candidate distrusted by bothpolitical tribes,
he later prefers to preachthe healing power of
pop evenif it means spinning reggae discs
to anempty bar. Then, his shops adolescent
customers direct himto Belfasts burgeoning
punk scene and, inthe midst of a seething
morass of unkempt local youth, we get a
telling epiphany whenhe twigs whats really
going oninhis town. Its a fairly conventional
way of getting the audience up to speed too,
and the rollercoaster trajectory of his ensuing
exploits will come as little surprise, evento
viewers unfamiliar withthe true story. Still,
directors Lisa Barros DSa and GlennLeyburn
make effective use of TVnews archive to
convey the mistrust, bloodshed and divisions
of the period thoughtheir reconstructed
music-scene milieulooks a bit overlit and
too cleanby comparison as we skim
througha familiar successionof sweaty gigs,
rundownvans and management foibles.
Hooley was no amboyant maverick on
the scale of the Tony WilsonseeninMichael
Winterbottoms 24 Hour Party People (2001)
and the movie seems smaller inscale as a
result, yet his chaotic organisational skills
and capricious career priorities stand in
infuriating contrast to his boundless musical
enthusiasm. Character actor Richard Dormer
does well by bothextremes ina commanding
central turnwhichgalvanises the entire lm,
turning it into a drama about a mantrying
to survive his ownintractably wilful aws.
The lmmanages not to peak too early with
the money-shot of The Undertones doing the
legendary Teenage Kicks onTop of the Pops,
thoughit sidesteps the inconvenient reality
that Alternative Ulster, Stiff Little Fingerss
enduring anthemfor Belfasts punk heyday,
had little to do withHooleys good ofces (it
appears onthe soundtrack anyway). Ultimately
Good Vibrations offers up a nostalgic, slightly
contrived, yet no less sincere afrmationof
the power of guitars, pogo-ing and unashamed
chutzpahto make their mark onthe ills of the
world. Cheering too that Hooleys relatively
unheralded outts Rudi and The Outcasts
get their moment inthe spotlight,
Good Vibrations
United Kingdom/Ireland 2012
Directors: Lisa Barros DSa, Glenn Leyburn
Certicate 15 102m46s
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probably sounding better nowthanthey
did then. Keep your seats during the
end credits for the latters signature number
Self-Conscious Over You, as a neglected
power-pop classic nally gets its due.
Belfast, the mid-1960s. Terri Hooley, the young son
of an independent mayoral candidate scorned by
unionists and republicans alike, loses an eye when
attacked by other children. In the early 1970s, as
the worseningTroubles engender a climate of fear
which devastates the local nightlife, Terri, nowa club
DJ, survives a paramilitary assassination attempt,
then pays the gunmen off in vinyl albums to protect
his newindependent record shop, GoodVibrations.
The venture stalls initially but Terri nds renewed
purpose through the burgeoning underground punk
scene, whose deant DIYaesthetic ignores sectarian
boundaries. Soon Hooley is taking bands Rudi and
The Outcasts on tour around Northern Ireland, but his
most important discovery is Derrys The Undertones,
who recordTeenage Kicks for his edgling Good
Vibrations record label. Lionised by cult BBCDJ John
Peel, the single sends the band into the charts and
wins thema slot on primetime TVsTop of the Pops.
Its a moment of celebration, but Hooleys disdain
for business and his poor organisational skills mean
that he hardly benets fromit, nor can he propel his
other acts to the same success. His long-suffering
wife leaves him, and though he has won the respect
of his father, his shop looks doomed until he
organises a fundraising Belfast punk showcase at
the prestigious Ulster Hall. Crowds pack in for an
unforgettable evening, but Hooleys huge guest-list
means that he loses money. Over the coming years
the shop closes and reopens repeatedly, but Hooleys
idealismand his legend remain undimmed.
Producers
Chris Martin
AndrewEaton
DavidHolmes
BrunoCharlesworth
Writtenby
ColinCarberry
GlennPaterson
Basedonthe
truestories of
Terri Hooley
Director of
Photography
IvanMcCullough
Editor
Nick Emerson
Production
Designer
DerekWallace
Music
DavidHolmes
Keefus Green
Supervising
SoundEditor
Nikki Moss
Costume Designer
MaggieDonnelly
Canderblinks
(Vibes) Limited/
Treasure
Entertainment
Limited
Production
Companies
BBCFilms presents
withtheparticipation
of BordScannn
nahireann/Irish
FilmBoardand
NorthernIreland
Screeninassociation
withImmaculate
ConceptionFilms
aCanderblinks
Film, Revolution
Films andTreasure
Entertainment
production
Producedin
associationwith
Matador Pictures,
CinemaOneand
Regent Capital
Producedwith
support provided
by theGovernment
of Ireland
Developedwith
theassistance
of BordScannn
nahireann/
IrishFilmBoard,
NorthernIreland
Screen
Madewiththepartial
assistanceof the
EuropeanRegional
Development Fund
throughNorthern
IrelandScreen
Executive
Producers
Robert Walpole
RebeccaOFlanagan
JoeOppenheimer
Nigel Thomas
Gary Lightbody
Jonny Quinn
NathanConnolly
StephenWright
Michael
Winterbottom
LisaBarros DSa
GlennLeyburn
Cast
RichardDormer
Terri Hooley
JodieWhittaker
Ruth
Michael Colgan
Dave
Karl Johnson
George
LiamCunningham
Davy
AdrianDunbar
Andy
DylanMoran
Pat
Cathal Maguire
youngTerri Hooley
Peter Kelly
HankWilliams
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
TheWorks UK
DistributionLtd
9,249ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
ReviewedbyVadimRizov
Hansel &Gretel Witch Hunters looks cheaper than
its alleged$50millionbudget. After a pre-credits
recapof the fairytale, Hansel (JeremyRenner)
andGretel (Gemma Arterton) are reintroduced
as unhealthilyco-dependent witchhunters
intervening whenSalem-esque trial proceedings
threateninnocent womenwithburning but
otherwise merciless intheir work. The villain
is grandwitchMuriel (Famke Janssen), whos
beenabducting childrenfor a world-threatening
covenmeeting a bloodmoonthat onlycomes
once everygeneration, witchimmortality, etc
andwhotalks ingeneric, spectacularlylame
villainous spurts (while forcing a mantoshoot
himself: This place coulduse a little colour).
Dialogue remains functional, withonlya
troll named(inexplicably) Edwardproviding
goodcheer due tohis anachronistic animatronic
form(bodyof ex-Predator DerekMears,
bellowing voice of RobinAtkinDownes) ina
poorlyrenderedCGI world. The cleanlybut
unexcitinglystagedghting takes place in
interchangeable forests, leaving nosequence-
specic impression. During their mission,
Hansel andGretel discover that there are not
onlycackling badwitches but goodwhite ones
as well. Hansels ending voiceover is positively
imperialist: There are goodwitches out there,
he muses, we knowthat now. Then, sounding
like anAmericanAM-radiocall-incrankurging
pre-emptive deathtothe Muslimworld, he
vows tohunt downanyhiding baddies.
Hansel & Gretel
Witch Hunters
USA/Germany 2012, Director: TommyWirkola
Certicate 15 87m48s
Young siblings Hansel and Gretel are abandoned
by their father in a forest in Germany. Drawn into a
house made of candy, theyre captured by a witch but
manage to kill her. Years later, brother and sister are
mercenary witch hunters. Invited toAugsburg, where
children are being kidnapped in unusual numbers,
they discover that powerful witch Muriel is abducting
the children for a ritual sacrice that will make
witches immortal. After many ghts they rescue the
children and defeat Muriel and the evil witches.
Producedby
Will Ferrell
AdamMcKay
KevinMessick
BeauFlynn
Writtenby
TommyWirkola
Director of
Photography
Michael Bonvillain
Editedby
JimPage
Production
Designer
StephenScott
Music
Atli rvarsson
SoundMixer
Mac Ruth
Costume Designer
MarleneStewart
Paramount
Pictures Corporation
andMetro-Goldwyn-
Mayer Pictures Inc.
Production
Companies
Paramount Pictures
andMetro-Goldwyn-
Mayer Pictures
present aGary
Sanchez production
ASiebzehnte
BabelsbergFilm
co-production
Withthesupport
of Deutscher
Filmfrderfonds
Executive
Producers
Denis L. Stewart
Chris Henchy
TrippVinson
Cast
Jeremy Renner
Hansel
GemmaArterton
Gretel
FamkeJanssen
Muriel
Peter Stormare
Sheriff Berringer
Thomas Mann
Ben
Derek Mears
Edwardthetroll
PihlaViitala
Mina
IngridBols Berdal
hornedwitch
Joanna Kulig
red-hairedwitch
RobinAtkinDownes
voiceof Edward
BjrnSundquist
Jackson
Rainer Bock
Mayor Engleman
Thomas Scharff
Hansel and
Gretels father
KathrinKhnel
Adrianna, Hansel
andGretels mother
Dolby Digital/
Datasat/SDDS
InColour
[2.35:1]
Some screenings
presentedin3D
Distributor
Paramount
Pictures UK
7,902 ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
ReviewedbyTrevor Johnston
Before this directorial debut, Muzaffer Ozdemir
was knownprimarilyas a keyperformer in
his fellowcountrymanNuri Bilge Ceylans
earlylms. Thoughnever a professional actor,
he sharedthe topprize inCannes withthe
late Mehmet EminToprakfor Ceylans Uzak
(2003), whichconrmedits makers arrival on
the international stage. Bythen, Ozdemir had
playedkeyroles inthree of Ceylans features,
but its the secondof those 2000s Clouds of
May whichappears tocast the longest shadow
over Ozdemirs ownlmmaking bow. Where
Ceylans offering followedanindependent
lmmaker fromIstanbul heading backtohis
home village andeventuallycasting family
andfriends ina micro-budget production,
Ozdemirs Home involves anarchitect trying
tocope withdepressionbyvisiting his home
village andtaking photographs of the area.
Theres a certainoverlapinsubject-matter, then,
andalthoughthe earlier lmis of a different
order of thematic andformal accomplishment,
Ozdemirs unforced perhaps evenunschooled
sincerityregisters rmlyinits ownway.
He does, however, struggle toextract drama
fromhis scenario. The psychological sufferings
of gloomyprotagonist Doganare somewhat
ill-dened, andhence its hardtocare that much
about his prospects for recoveryonhis return
tothe communitywhere he grewup. Theres
notantalising mysteryabout his venture either,
as there is inAbbas Kiarostamis The Wind Will
Carry Us (1999), for instance, where a similar
city/countrytensionis laidout here the
situations merelysketchy. Workcolleagues,
familyandlocals ll inexpositorygaps, but its
soonobvious that Ozdemirs maininterest is
the place rather thanthe people. Gmshane
is a ruggedarea near the BlackSea coast, whose
myriadmountainstreams are inthe process
of being tamedfor hydroelectric schemes,
prompting a paydayfor the authorities selling
onthe rights. As the lmdevolves intoa tour of
Home (Yurt)
Turkey 2011
Director: Muzaffer Ozdemir
Grand designs: Kanbolat GrkemArslan
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the region, Ozdemir pencils inthe demographic,
religious andcultural changes at play: the former
Greekpopulace have long since beenmovedon;
the modernimamis rather more worldlythan
his predecessors; andinternal securityofcers
waryof terrorist threat conduct passport checks
onstrangers (Dogancounts as one, eventhough
hes a native). The presence of aneco-friendlysh
farmshows that time neednot standstill and
indeedthe laptop-carrying visitor is grateful
for online access tocontinue his researchbut
Dogancant share his brother-in-laws fatalism
about the unstoppable effect of development.
Ultimately, the lms evident anger never
reallyfunnels intodramatic intensitybut the
modest running time does culminate inanimage
that speaks eloquentlyfor itself: anexpansive
mountainvista bears the scar of anopen-cast
goldmine, playing against the otherwise
seeminglydiscrete opening sequence of a bell
whichoutlives the deadsheepthat usedtowear
it. The manmade endures, for better or worse, and
Ozdemir, thoughat this stage far froma skilled
lmmaker, has saidwhat he came tosay.
The Turkish countryside. Aman nds a dead sheep
surrounded by buzzing ies; he takes the bell
fromthe sheeps neck and washes it in a nearby
stream. Elsewhere, middle-aged architect Dogan
is shaken by disorienting feelings while walking in
the mountains. Back in Istanbul, he confers with
an older work colleague, whos supportive of his
plan to clear his head by spending some time in his
rural childhood home, and suggests that he might
take photographs documenting the area while
hes there. Dogan drives to Gmshane near the
Black Sea coast, and learns that the newimamis
nowliving in his old family home. He stays with his
sister Tlay and carries out online research into the
extent to which hydroelectric schemes have blighted
nearly all the mountain streams in the region. His
brother-in-lawsuggests that he cant ght change,
but Dogan is appalled. He spends time with the
more environmentally aware Ismail, who runs a sh
farmin the mountains. Later, while out walking, he
evades the attentions of two strangers who want
to knowwhere hes from. Subsequently, he takes a
photograph of a spectacular waterfall, but reports
back to the ofce that any book of pictures would
be out of date before publication, since there are
plans to damthis streamtoo. Back at Ismails place,
village elder Mukhtar insists on Dogan giving up his
passport for inspection by two police intelligence
ofcers. Even though Dogan spent his childhood
in the area, he no longer feels that he belongs.
Writtenby
Muzaffer zdemir
Director of
Photography
Ilker Berke
Editing
AyhanErgrsel
Muzaffer zdemir
SeldaTaskn
DeryaBaser
Art Director
Serpil zdemir
SoundRecording
Ismail Karadas
[nocompany
given]
Production
Companies
TutyaFilm
withthecontribution
of Republic of
Turkey, Ministry of
CultureandTourism,
DirectorateGeneral
of Copyrights
andCinema
Executive Producer
Sadik Incesu
Cast
Kanbolat
GorkemArslan
Dogan
Pinar nsal
Tlay
Ismail Ergn
Ismail
Coskunetinalp
Mukhtar
Muzaffer zdemir
Muhammet Uzuner
SayginSoysal
Ilhami Sibil
Halil Kilic
KerimOlgun
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
VervePictures
Turkish
theatrical title
Yurt
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby Nick Pinkerton
This isnt exactlyproselytising, but Identity
Thief is a fractionallybetter movie thanRotten
Tomatoes wouldhave youbelieve. It takes
twolegit comic talents JasonBatemanand
Melissa McCarthyandpegs themintothe
reliable odd-couple action-comedyroad-trip
template: thinkSilver Streak (1976) or Planes,
Trains and Automobiles (1987). While not the
equal of those or quite a fewother precedents,
Identity Thief does offer a playing eldto
Bateman, whogives eachmoment of exasperated
forbearance the detail of a Drer woodcut,
andtoMcCarthy, his foil, playing a feckless,
low-borncreature of pure animal appetite.
The poster for Identity Thief reads Fromthe
director of Horrible Bosses, as if that was some
kindof brag. As inthat lm, SethGordon,
directing fromCraig Mazins script, evokes
current social realityeconomic malaise, job
insecurity, class conict onlytohastilysweep
everything under the rug before the credits
roll, shufing his characters throughloophole
resolutions. The journeyis more enjoyable
thanthe destinationthanks toa number of
sharpsupporting acts along the way, including
BenFalcone as a glummotel clerkandEric
Stonestreet as a hornyhonky-tonker.
Identity Thief
USA/Japan 2013
Director: Seth Gordon
Certicate 15 111m23s
Odd couple: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy
Denver, the present. Accountant Sandy Patterson
discovers that his identity has been stolen and
his credit rating ruined by a woman in Florida. He
decides to bring the culprit back to Denver himself,
vigilante-style. He locates the woman, Diana, a
career criminal. After a struggle they hit the road
together, pursued by bounty hunters and some of
Dianas old associates. Along the way they begin to
bond, and when they reach their destination Sandy
cant bring himself to turn Diana in; she goes to
the police voluntarily. The two remain close as she
studies for a newlife while in the penitentiary.
Producedby
Scott Stuber
JasonBateman
PamelaAbdy
Screenplay
CraigMazin
Story
Jerry Eeten
CraigMazin
Director of
Photography
Javier Aguirresarobe
Editedby
Peter Teschner
ProductionDesigner
ShepherdFrankel
Music
Christopher Lennertz
Production
SoundMixer
Whit Norris
Costume Designer
Carol Ramsey
Universal Studios
Production
Companies
Universal Pictures
presents in
associationwith
Relativity Mediaa
Bluegrass Films/
AggregateFilms
Production
Almby SethGordon
Presentedin
associationwith
DentsuInc./
Fuji Television
Network, Inc.
Completedwith
assistancefromthe
GeorgiaFilm, Music &
Digital Entertainment
Ofce
Executive Producers
Peter Morgan
DanKolsrud
Cast
JasonBateman
Sandy Bigelow
Patterson
Melissa McCarthy
Diana
JonFavreau
HaroldCornish
Amanda Peet
TrishPatterson
TipT.I. Harris
Julian
Genesis Rodriguez
Marisol
Morris Chestnut
DetectiveReilly
JohnCho
Daniel Casey
Robert Patrick
skiptracer
Eric Stonestreet
BigChuck
JonathanBanks
Paul
BenFalcone
Tony
Dolby Digital/
Datasat/SDDS
Colour by
DeLuxe
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Universal Pictures
International
UK&Eire
10,024ft +8frames
Credits and Synopsis
R
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Reviewedby GinetteVincendeau
Franois Ozons 13thfeature
lmInthe House is another
successful additiontothe
directors prodigious output,
conrming his exceptional
place incontemporaryFrench
cinema; the lmdidwell at the Frenchboxofce
andhas garneredmanyprizes, withprobably
more onthe way. Whether one sees Ozons
workas popular auteur cinema or sophisticated
entertainment, the newlm, like others before,
operates ona ne edge betweensocial satire,
queer desire andself-reexivity, the territoryhe
has beencarving out over the past 15years or
so. Less star-studdedandless broadinits social
farce than2010s Potiche, the newlm, alsobased
ona play, echoes the earlier one inconveying
humorouslythe malaise of the bourgeois family
while sustaining anuncannyatmosphere.
Fabrice Luchini, whoplayedthe boorish
husbandof Potiche, here embodies Germain, a
disillusionedmiddle-agedliterature teacher at a
lyce whostarts the newacademic year witha
heavyheart, ranting against falling standards and
rampant bureaucracy. However, his spirits are
liftedbythe arrival of a brilliant andhandsome
16-year-oldpupil, Claude (Ernst Umhauer). A
seeminglyinnocent assignment (Write about
what youdidlast weekend) triggers off a set
of events throughwhichthe newcomer will
disturbthe lives aroundhim: Germain, his
wife Jeanne, playedbyKristinScott Thomas,
his schoolfriendRapha andthe latters father
(alsocalledRapha, playedbyDenis Mnochet)
anddepressedmother Esther (Emmanuelle
Seigner). While delivering increasinglylurid
accounts of the banal life inRaphas house in
weeklyinstalments, the manipulative Claude
manages toupset all three menandseduce both
women. As Ozonhas said, Claude contaminates
everything, as in[Pasolinis] Theorem. But if his
sexual desire is directedat Esther andJeanne, his
greatest power of seduction intellectual rather
thansexual resides inhis holdover Germain,
strong enoughtolandthe teacher ina mental
asylumandsustainthe whole narrative. Sothat
Claude cancontinue towrite his voyeuristic
stories, Germaindevises ploys suchas giving
himfree lessons andstealing maths exam
papers. The lmmakes storytelling its main
structuring device as Germainpointedlyinvokes
Scheherazade inhis advice toClaude tosustain
audience interest: What is going tohappen?
Another apparentlyinnocuous assignment set by
Germain, anessayonmybest friend, provokes
the nal set of dramatic events wherebyGermain
andJeannes lives unravel: Germains closeness
toClaude makes his colleagues suspicious; he
humiliates Rapha inclass, provoking the furyof
Raphas father; the stealing of the maths papers
is uncovered. As a result, Germainloses his job,
Jeanne leaves himandthe endof the lmsees
himina mental hospital, visitedbyClaude.
The other point of convergence between
literarynarrationandthe plot of Inthe House is
containedina questionGermainputs toClaude:
Parodyor realism? The lms standonthis
point is deliberatelyobscure as it veers between
naturalistic scenes inclassic Frenchstyle, such
as those inthe school or inGermainandJeannes
house, anda nomans landof houses straight
fromDesperate Housewives. Directorial input is
clear, however, whenClaude writes of Esther
that she exudes the ohsosingular smell of
middle-class women hardlythe phrase of a
16-year-old. SimilarlyJeannes avant-garde art
galleryis more parodythanrealism. Yet it is the
inability, or lackof inclination, todistinguish
betweenthe twolevels that makes Inthe House
complexandfascinating as inthe scenes where
Germain, reading Claudes prose, materialises in
Raphas house, invisible tothe other characters.
Inthe House is not above class snobberyand
casual misogyny, for example inthe interests
it assigns toits characters toGermainand
Claude, the genius of Flaubert andother great
writers; toJeanne art that is as obscene as it
is pretentious; toEsther home-decorating
magazines. Rapha andhis father gormlessly
watchsport ontelevision, eating pizza. Claude
watches football withthembut withthe
ironic distance of the narrator, andthe house
of a lower-middle-class familyis viewedwith
condescension. We shouldnt forget that this is
a house of ction(the title is a clear tribute to
HenryJames), andGermainandClaude adeptly
conveythe pleasures of orchestrating narrative
constructionandsuspense. Theyare helpedby
superbperformances. Scott Thomas is perfect
as the brittle Jeanne, as is Seigner as the sleepy
Esther. But Luchini andUmhauer take centre
stage: Luchini deploys his droll persona while
toning downhis usual histrionics; newcomer
Umhauer is a brilliantlyopaque Claude.
As inOzons 8Women(2002) andPotiche,
the cleverness of the narrative game often
threatens tooverwhelmthese are games
of the mindrather thanthe heart. Yet as
GermainandClaude lose everything, they
acquire anemotional depth, evenas they
decide tostayinthe metaphorical house of
ction. As Ozonputs it, Theychose ction
over reality. That is where theyfeel alive.
In the House
France 2012
Director: Franois Ozon
Stranger than ction: Ernst Umhauer, Emmanuelle Seigner, Fabrice Luchini
AFrench town, the present. Germain, a middle-aged
literature teacher at a lyce, strikes up a relationship
with Claude, a gifted 16-year-old pupil who gives him
a piece of writing every week in which he explores
the home of his classmate Rapha. Claudes deadpan
accounts of Raphas lower-middle-class family (his
mother Esther and his father Rapha) in turn shock
and delight Germain and his wife Jeanne (who runs a
modern art gallery). Germains growing fascination with
Claude leads himto give himprivate lessons during
which they discuss literature while following Claudes
increasingly intimate account of his times in Raphas
house, including his seduction of Esther. Germains
position at school is increasingly threatened as
colleagues become suspicious of his relationship with
Claude, especially after he publicly humiliates Rapha
in front of the class. His relationship withJeanne is
strained. Claude seduces Jeanne, just as Germain loses
his job. Rapha and his family leave the area. Germain
has a breakdown; Claude visits himat the clinic.
Producedby
EricAltmayer
NicolasAltmayer
Screenplay
Franois Ozon
Freely adaptedfrom
theplay El chico de
la ltima la [The
boy intheback row]
byJuanMayorga
Director of
Photography
JermeAlmeras
Editor
LaureGardette
Art Director
ArnauddeMoleron
Music
PhilippeRombi
Sound
BrigitteTaillandier
Benot Gargonne
Jean-Paul Hurier
Costume Designer
PascalineChavanne
MandarinCinma
- Mars Films - France
2Cinma- Foz
Production
Companies
MandarinCinma
presents
Inco-productionwith
MandarinCinma,
Mars Films, France
2Cinma, Foz
Withtheparticipation
of Canal+, Cin+,
FranceTlvisions
Inassociationwith
SOFICA, Banque
PostaleImage
5, Comage23,
Palatinetoile9
Withthesupport of
Rgionle-de-France
inpartnership
withCNC
Cast
Fabrice Luchini
Germain
KristinScott
Thomas
Jeanne
Emmanuelle Seigner
Esther
Denis Mnochet
RaphaSr
Ernst Umhauer
Claude
BastienUghetto
RaphaJr
Jean-Francois
Balmer
headmaster
Yolande Moreau
thetwins
Catherine Davenier
Anouk
Vincent Schmitt
Bernard
Jacques Bosc
Claudes father
Dolby Digital
InColour
[1.85:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
MomentumPictures
Frenchtheatrical title
Dans la maison
Credits and Synopsis
See Feature
on page 32
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The joy of soy: Rob Mayes
ReviewedbyVadimRizov
Badcult lms are sosmuglyassuredof instant
fandomthat genuine oddityandinventionare
generallylow, leaving onlypredictable cues
for gobsmackedhooting. DonCoscarellis John
Dies at the End is a prime example, a lmwhose
convolutions andwackiness exist solelyto
delight people whoenjoyanything-goes plotting
withnoendgame, internal logic or larger goal.
The plot dees quickor clear description, and
it takes twothirds of the lmtolearnwhat
the basic stakes plot, villain, desiredhappy
resolutionet al actuallyare. Once nally
unveiled, the plot is staggeringlyconventional
stuff, hardlyworthall the fuss andbother: a
threat like none (or toomany) the galaxys ever
seenbefore, unlikelyschmuckheroes, andsoon.
Inventionisnt decisivelynecessaryfor
sharplyexecutedgenre fare, but at its most
creative JohnDies at the End still feels small and
shabby. The heroes are DavidWong (Chase
Williamson) andJohnCheese (RobMayes),
twentysomething menwhose smirking self-
satisfactionandbro-ishimplacabilityinspire
instant, AshtonKutcher-level loathing. Two
years before the narrative frameworkbegins,
DavidandJohnencounter a Rastafariancalling
himself Robert Marley(Tai Bennett), wholays
aninjectable blackdrug dubbedSoySauce
onJohn. The convolutedsubsequent fallout
revolves aroundthe drugs twinproperties: a
sort of inciter for psychic abilities for David
andJohn, but for most whotake it a deadly
killer, replacing themwithunspeciedalien
spawnworking onbehalf of Korrok, a massive
robot brainfromanalternate universe.
Earlyon, DavidandJohnconfront a beast from
another dimension, whichbuilds itself from
a pile of frozenmeat that leaps out of a fridge
totake Svankmajer-ianshape. Its automatic
fanboyawesomeness: meat assuming demented/
revoltedformvia handcraftedeffects rather
thanbloodless CGI andyet the scenes got
nosnapor vigour toit. As soonas the fridge is
opened, theres nochoice for the meat but to
assemble intowarrior mode, andevensuch
predictable inventioncomes inanotherwise
tedious scene, inwhichthe boys trytoescape
fromthe roombut are foiledwhenits doorknob
turns intoa penis, something theycant bring
themselves towrenchfor escape. Theres
something depressinglyregressive about a lm
whose brotagonists fear nothing more than
contact witha phallus (or having animmensely
powerful creature taunt thembynoting that
your wieners are evensmaller inperson).
Part of the blame for the one-thing-after-
another narrative wheel-spinning great
complications leading tounderwhelming
truths canprobablybe attributedtothe
source material, whichbeganas aninternet
novel byJasonPargin. The needtokeep
reader interest throughnewer andever more
complexelements doesnt transfer, andthe
lmlacks the kickyperversityof recent
near-comparable lms suchas Gregg Arakis
Kaboom. The reference points are similarlyby-
the-numbers, as whena zombiedhusktakes
David, Johnandfriends toa mall of the dead.
Visiblymade onthe cheap, JohnDies at the End
invites viewer congratulations for ploughing
throughbudgetaryconstraints withplot twists
andsheer violent gusto. Arms are pulledoff
andtrytostrangle our heroes, while Korrokis a
nuclear-reactor-sizedinsectoid/amoeba-shaped
monstrosity, all mucus-dripping mouths,
glowing yelloweyes anddisgusting sound
effects. At the end, a variant of the killer silver
sphere fromCoscarellis belovedPhantasmseries
appears as the nal self-satisedgesture.
John Dies at the End
USA2012
Director: Don Coscarelli
Second ddle: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Reviewedby PhilipKemp
Beethovens Opus 131, longest andmost complex
of his string quartets, is alsothe hardest toplay;
its insevenmovements, linkedattacca (that is,
tobe playedwithout a break) andlasts some
45 minutes. This, as cellist Peter (Christopher
Walken) tells his class at the outset of ALate
Quartet, means that the players will inevitably
get out of tune before the end, as theyhave
nochance toretune their instruments. Its an
obvious metaphor for the plot, inwhichthe four
members of a famous quartet, having played
together for 25years, become increasinglyat
odds witheachother as pettyjealousies andego
clashes come todestroythe harmonythat existed
betweenthem. What are we supposedtodo?
Peter asks. Stop? Or struggle tocontinuously
adjust toeachotherevenif we are out of tune?
Classical music is sometimes seenas austere
andemotionallyaridespeciallystring quartets,
perhaps the purest andmost intellectual of all
classical forms. Its animpressionthat rst-time
feature director YaronZilbermanandhis co-
screenwriter SethGrossmanare determined
tocounteract, showing us the passionand
turbulence bothinthe music andinthose who
playit. Alittle toodetermined, perhaps: their
lmis toooftenbetrayedbya weakness for
multiple emotional pile-ups that collapse into
melodramatic clich, not helpedbydialogue
that rarelyevades the banal. I didthe best I
could, protests Juliette, the quartets viola
player (Catherine Keener), whenher daughter
(ImogenPoots) accuses her of having neglected
her. I triedtobe a goodmother toyou.
Juliette is, or shouldbe, the lms emotional
centre marriedtosecondviolinRobert
(PhilipSeymour Hoffman), sometime lover
of rst violinDaniel (MarkIvanir) andPeters
foster daughter. Evenso, she remains opaque;
comparedtoher three male colleagues, we
learnfar less of what motivates her either as a
personor a musician. Doyoureallylove me
or amI just convenient? demands Robert;
but we never ndout anymore thanhe does.
ThoughKeener makes the most of what shes
got, shes edgedout of frame bythe three men.
Hoffmanas Robert, tiredof playing (literally)
secondddle tothe control-freakishDaniel, is
excellent as ever evenif hardlystretched, andthe
Ukraine-bornIvanir gratefullygrabs the chance
of playing something subtler thanRussian
Heavy#2. Acting honours, though, go
ALate Quartet
USA2012
Director: YaronZilberman
Illinois, the present. Spiritual warrior David Wong
meets reporter Arnie Blondestone. David explains
that two years ago he met a Rastafarian at a party
who gave best friend John Cheese a mysterious
drug calledSoy Sauce. The drug gave John psychic
visions and the ability to place phone calls from
the future. David is accidentally injected with the
drug. As police detective Appleton investigates,
it is revealed that Soy Sauce gives some people
psychic abilities, but for most it results in takeover
by an alien entity. With the help of psychic Albert
Marconi, David and John transport to an alternative
universe ruled by Korrok, a sentient organic robot
that plans to take over our dimension. David
and John detonate a massive hallucinogen but
dont know if they have destroyed Korrok.
David realises that Arnie is a gment of his
imagination. Later, David and John visit an alternate
universe but decline to help its citizens in their ght
against evil.
Producedby
BradBaruh
DonCoscarelli
Andy Meyers
RomanPerez
Writtenfor the
screenby
DonCoscarelli
Basedonthestory
by DavidWong[i.e.
JasonPargin]
Director of
Photography
Michael Gioulakis
Editing
DonaldMilne
DonCoscarelli
ProductionDesigner
ToddJeffery
Music Composedby
BrianTyler
SoundMixer
DanaFerguson
Costume Design
Shelley Kay
GreenRiver
Sales, Inc.
Production
Companies
ASilver Sphere
presentationin
associationwith
M3Creativeand
Touchy Feely Films
Executive Producers
Paul Giamatti
Daniel Carey
Dac Coscarelli
Cast
ChaseWilliamson
DavidWong,Dave
RobMayes
JohnCheese
Clancy Brown
Dr Albert Marconi
GlynnTurman
DetectiveAppleton
DougJones
Roger North
Daniel Roebuck
Largeman
FabianneTherese
Amy
JonnyWeston
JustinWhite
AllisonWeissman
Shelly
JimmyWong
FredChu
Tai Bennett
Robert Marley
EthanErickson
Sergeant McElroy
Pranidhi Varshney
Deepti Chakrabarti
Paul Giamatti
ArnieBlondestone
InColour
[1.78:1]
Distributor
Revolver
Entertainment
Credits and Synopsis
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toWalken, portraying the Parkinsons-
strickencellist withgreat dignity, and
reminding us what a ne actor he canbe.
For all its weaknesses, ALate Quartet
represents a rare attempt todeal intelligently
withclassical music inmainstreamcinema.
Of course theres Beethovens sublime music
tocarryit (courtesyof the BrentanoQuartet,
thoughthe actors doanimpressive miming
job). At one point Peter recounts (inananecdote
borrowedfromGregor Piatigorskys memoirs)
howas a tyrocellist he playedfor the great
Casals who, ignoring his blatant faults, praised
himlavishly. Years later, meeting Casals again,
he askedhimwhy. Leave that tothe morons,
respondedthe maestro, whojudge bycounting
faults. I canbe grateful andsomust yoube for
one singular phrase. Its not a badprinciple.
Present-day NewYork. The Fugue Quartet, a long-
established classical string quartet, comprises
Daniel Lerner (rst violin), Robert Gelbart (second
violin), Roberts wife Juliette (viola) and Peter
Mitchell (cello). Peter, the oldest member by some
years and still mourning his late wife, consults his
doctor, who diagnoses Parkinsons. Breaking the
news to his colleagues, Peter suggests that their
forthcoming performance of Beethovens Quartet
in Csharp minor (Op. 131) should be his farewell
concert, and that they should nd a newcellist.
Long-suppressed tensions start to erupt. Robert
proposes that he and Daniel should alternate rst
and second violin parts, but neither Daniel nor
Juliette agrees. Hurt by his wifes lack of support,
Robert has a one-night stand with amenco dancer
Pilar. Juliette, discovering this, tells himto leave.
Daniel, whos been teaching Robert andJuliettes
daughter Alexandra, begins an affair with her. Peter
asks Gideon, leader of a piano trio, to let his cellist
Nina take over in the Fugue Quartet. Juliette nds out
about Daniel andAlexandra; mother and daughter
have a furious row. When Robert nds out during a
rehearsal, he attacks Daniel. Alexandra breaks off
the affair.
During the concert, Peter stops playing and
announces his departure to the audience. Nina
takes over for the nal movement. The other three
members of the quartet are reconciled.
Producers
VanessaCoifman
DavidFaigenblum
Emanuel Michael
MandyTagger
Brockey
Producedby
Tamar Sela
YaronZilberman
Screenplay
YaronZilberman
SethGrossman
Story
YaronZilberman
Director of
Photography
Frederick Elmes
Editor
Yuval Shar
Production
Designer
JohnKasarda
Music
AngeloBadalamenti
SoundDesigner
Robert Hein
Costume Designer
JosephG. Aulisi
ALateQuartet LLC
Production
Companies
RKOPictures
presents anOpening
Night production
inassociation
withConcept
Entertainment,
SpringPictures,
UnisonFilms
Filmedwiththe
support of the
NewYork State
Governors Ofce
for MotionPicture
&Television
Development
AlmbyYaron
Zilberman
Executive
Producers
Adi Ezroni
TedHartley
Peter Pastorelli
Cassandra
Kulukundis
Cast
PhilipSeymour
Hoffman
Robert Gelbart
Mark Ivanir
Daniel Lerner
Catherine Keener
JulietteGelbart
ImogenPoots
AlexandraGelbart
Christopher Walken
Peter Mitchell
Liraz Charhi
Pilar
Madhur Jaffrey
Dr Nadir
Anne Soe
vonOtter
MiriamMitchell
Wallace Shawn
GideonRosen
Nina Lee
NinaLee
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Articial Eye
FilmCompany
Credits and Synopsis
ReviewedbyAntonBitel
Youare totallynot what I imagined, says Lucie
(MeganDuffy), the young date whomFrankhas
pickedupona website calledCupids Rejects.
She hadbeenexpecting somebodyfat, with
long darkhair andgreasyskinfull of acne in
other words, somebodyjust like Joe Spinells
sweaty, corpulent protagonist fromthe original
Maniac. WilliamLustigs 1980 lmblendedthe
mother-loving murder of Psycho, the gutter-level
NewYorkmadness of Taxi Driver (inwhich
Spinell hadplayeda small role) andaspects of
recent real serial killers suchas Sonof Sam
andJohnWayne Gacy, tocreate a luridslasher
whose gorysensationalismandexploitative
sleaziness were offset anduneasilyelevated
bythe intensityof Spinells performance.
Maniac was as schizophrenic as its titular
antihero, andunlike SeanS. Cunninghams
Friday the 13th(releasedinthe same year),
it hadinSpinells Franka real, complex
character togroundall the slice anddice.
That was then but inFranck(P2) Khalfouns
remake, transposedfromthe Big Apples long-
gone meanstreets topost-millennial Downtown
LA, Franktoohas changed, nowplayedby
the muchyounger, slighter, angel-facedElijah
Wood, merging his fantasypersona as conicted
Maniac
France/USA2012
Director: Franck Khalfoun
Certicate 18 88m59s
Downtown LA, the present. Loner Frank Zito restores
antique mannequins in an inherited workshop and
also hunts and murders women at night, nailing their
scalps to his mannequins in an attempt to recreate
and transcend his fraught relationship with long-dead
mother Angela. When conceptual photographer Anna
admires the mannequins, Frank feels that he has found
hisperfect t. Anna, however, already has a boyfriend,
musicianJason. Humiliated byJason at the opening of
Annas latest exhibition which incorporates several of
Franks mannequins withAnnas face superimposed
Frank stalks older gallery owner Rita to her apartment
and, insisting she is his mother, scalps her.
ComfortingAnna over Ritas death, Frank arouses
her suspicions with some careless words. Frank
murders Annas neighbour Martin and bundles
unconscious Anna into his van, hoping to introduce her
to hismother back home. Anna stabs Frank and ees
to a passing car. The car hits Frank before crashing.
Traumatised, Frank scalps the dyingAnna and, back in
the workshop, refashions her as his bride. Franks other
mannequinwomen tears himlimb fromlimb and peels
off his face, revealing a mannequin underneath. Police
nd Franks corpse, surrounded by dummies.
Producedby
AlexandreAja
Thomas Langmann
WilliamLustig
Screenplay
AlexandreAja
Grgory Levasseur
Basedonthemotion
pictureManiac [1980]
byWilliamLustig
Director of
Photography
MaximeAlexandre
Editedby
Baxter
ProductionDesign
StefaniaCella
Music
Rob
Sound
Zsolt Magyar
Emmanuel Augeard
Franois-JosephHors
Costume Design
Mairi Chisholm
LaPetiteReine/
Studio37
Production
Companies
Thomas Langmann
andAlexandreAja
present aLaPetite
ReineandStudio
37co-production
Withtheparticipation
of Canal+&Cin+
Inassociationwith
BlueUnderground
Almby Franck
Khalfoun
Executive Producers
AlixTaylor
PavlinaHatoupis
AntoinedeCazotte
Daniel Delume
AndrewW. Garroni
Cast
ElijahWood
FrankZito
NoraArnezeder
Anna
GenevieveAlexandra
Jessica
JanBroberg
Rita
MeganDuffy
Lucie86
Liane Balaban
Judy
Joshua De La Garza
Martin
America Olivo
Angela, Franks
mother
Sammi Rotibi
Jason
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Metrodome
DistributionLtd
8,008ft +8frames
Mannequin murders: Elijah Wood
Credits and Synopsis
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innocent FrodoinThe Lord of the Rings lms
(evenbrandishing a ring inthe nal sequence)
withhis cold-bloodedkiller fromSinCity. Like
his namesake director, Frankis here engaged
inthe art of the remake for not onlyis he
attempting, throughthe mediumof articial
mannequins andreal scalps, torestage his
troubledpast witha neglectful, meretricious
mother (America Olivo), but he is also(unlike
Spinells Frank) a professional restorer of
antiques fromall styles anderas, while seeming
himself as being, as his love interest Anna (Nora
Arnezeder) points out, fromanother era.
Frankis not alone inhis retro qualities for
his doomed internet date Lucie, despite her
hipster tattoos and thoroughly modernattitude
to sex, puts ona vinyl (!) copy of QLazzaruss
1988 song Goodbye Horses (the song to which
psycho-killer Buffalo Bill danced inThe Silence of
the Lambs) as mood music inher apartment lled
withvintage synths while the lms ownscore
(by Rob) is a nostalgic pastiche of 80s electronica
la JohnCarpenter, Goblinand Giorgio
Moroder. Anna, who expressly compares Frank
to Dr Frankenstein(and will herself become
his refashioned bride), is anavowed fanof old
lms, inviting Frankout ona date to see The
Cabinet of Dr Caligari (considered, she observes,
to be the rst horror movie). Robert Wienes
nightmarishpsychodrama is anobvious reex
for Franks ownexperiences, and indeed all
that Franksees onthe screenis a hallucinatory
montage of his owntraumatic memories
and deviant fantasies ina lmvery much
preoccupiedwithprojections bothphotographic
and psychological. For just as artist Anna
superimposes images of her ownface onFranks
old mannequins (I try to bring themto life
withlight), Frankdoes something similar with
blood-matted hair and staple gun. No wonder
Anna and Frankseemsucha perfect t, as her
art and his murders express a similar renovation
of the past inthe image of the present.
Having alreadyrevisitedthe mens-toilet
sequence fromthe original Maniac intheir
2003 feature debut Switchblade Romance, writer/
producers Alexandre Aja andGrgoryLevasseur
(whowere alsobehindremakes The Hills Have
Eyes andMirrors) have here thoroughlyrewritten
the grammar of Lustigs lm, showing not just
the occasional scene but practicallyeverything
(real and/or imagined) fromFranks point of
view, sothat his face is onlyever glimpsedin
reections, photographs or the oddobjective
shot (infact Franks owndeludedor ecstatic
visions of himself). This forces anuncomfortably
close identicationbetweenviewer and
voyeuristic killer, making us prisoners of Franks
compulsive mindset as muchas he is. Maxime
Alexandres queasilypsychogenic camerawork
produces something more akintoEnter the
Void thanLady inthe Lake, offering a predatory
perspective ona contemporaryworldhaunted
bythe melancholyandmadness of a mummied
past. It is a tawdry, troubling tragedy, unlikely
tobe embracedbyanyone besides hardened
horror fans but ina genre sooftenlled
withdummies, Maniac is surprisinglysmart,
delivering something verydifferent (visceral
brutalityaside) fromwhat youmight imagine.
Teenagers Calvin andJJ post a human-dartboard clip
online and seemto get many hits but Calvins brother
Baxter has rigged the counter. To pay Baxter back, JJ
distracts himby having himsearch the internet for
a legendarily disgusting lm, Movie 43, while Calvin
infects Baxters laptop with viruses by logging on to
a porn site. After viewing various sketches, Baxter
discovers that Movie 43 is a message fromhis future
self sent in an attempt to avert an apocalypse, but he
is unable to use his nowslowlaptop to save the world.
Directedby
StevenBrill
Peter Farrelly
Will Graham
SteveCarr
GrifnDunne
James Duffy
JonathanVanTulleken
ElizabethBanks
Patrik Forsberg
Brett Ratner
Rusty Cundieff
James Gunn
Producedby
Charles B. Wessler
JohnPenotti
Peter Farrelly
RyanKavanaugh
Writers
Will Carlough
Tobias Carlson
JacobFleisher
Patrik Forsberg
Will Graham
James Gunn
Claes Kjellstrm
Jack Kukoda
Bill OMalley
MatthewPortenoy
GregPritkin
Rocky Russo
OlleSarri
ElizabethShapiro
Jeremy Sosenko
JonathanVanTulleken
JonasWittenmark
Production
Companies
Relativity Media
presents in
associationwith
VirginProduceda
Relativity Media,
Greenstreet Films,
Charles B. Wessler
Entertainment
production
Executive Producers
TimWilliams
Tucker Tooley
RonBurkle
JasonBeckman
JasonColodne
JasonFelts
Cast
HughJackman
Davis
KateWinslet
Beth
Liev Schreiber
Robert
Naomi Watts
Samantha
Anna Faris
Vanessa
Emma Stone
Veronica
RichardGere
boss
JustinLong
fakeRobin
JasonSudeikis
fakeBatman
UmaThurman
fakeLois Lane
Chlo Grace Moretz
Amanda
GeraldButler
leprechaun
SeannWilliamScott
Brian
Johnny Knoxville
Pete
Halle Berry
Emily
StephenMerchant
Donald
Terrence Howard
CoachJackson
ElizabethBanks
Amy
Dolby Digital
InColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
MomentumPictures
8,100ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby KimNewman
This ramshackle gross-out sketchcomedy
sells itself as having the biggest name cast
ever assembled, thoughits fairlylow-wattage
whenset beside cameo-studdedefforts like
Thank Your Lucky Stars or Around the World
in80 Days fromthe heydayof Hollywood
(tellingly, not a fondlyrememberedgenre)
andgives its walk-onplayers less tochewon
eventhanits obvious antecedents, Kentucky
Fried Movie andAmazonWomenonthe Moon.
Twoof the lms segments are about blind
dates (as was a sketchinAmazonWomen
that starredGrifnDunne, whodirects a
skit here) andgoonwell beyondthe point of
embarrassment withjokes about prosthetics
(testicles under HughJackmans chin, plastic-
surgerygrotesquerie inictedonStephen
Merchant andHalle Berryduring a game of
Truthor Dare). Afewset-ups are promising
Chlo Grace Moretz ina sketchabout how
menstruationfreaks out useless men, Terrence
Howardina parodyof underdog sports
movies but hammeredintothe groundin
the execution. Others JohnnyKnoxville and
SeannWilliamScott torturing leprechauns
playedbyGerardButler, RichardGere failing
tosee trouble witha life-size MP3 player
that looks like a nakedwomanbut has a
faninside the vagina are agonytoendure.
Mostly, sketch-comedyfeatures are hit-or-
miss, but this is miss-or-miss-by-a-mile.
Movie 43
Directors: various
Certicate 15 90m0s
Skitzophrenia: Terence Howard
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Reviewedby NamanRamachandran
Like VisheshFilms other franchises Raaz, Jannat
andJism, Murder 3has nothematic similarity
withthe rst twolms inthe series. Murder
(2004) sought inspirationfromUnfaithful (2002),
while Murder 2(2011) hadshades of The Chaser
(2008) andThe Silence of the Lambs (1991). Murder
3 is anofcial remake of Andrs Baizs La cara
oculta (2011) anddebutant director Vishesh
Bhatt stays largelyfaithful tothe source. Sadly,
Bhatt manages toleachthe remake of the
originals strong elements of suspense, andin
telling the tale of a philandering photographer
whose girlfriends take turns getting lockedin
a hiddenbunker ina house where things go
bumpinthe night, he replicates Baizs lackof
success ingetting strong performances from
his leads, critical inwhat is essentiallya tight
three-hander. The inevitable songs act as speed
bumps but enliventhe listless narrative.
Murder 3
India 2013
Director: Vishesh Bhatt
Certicate 15 123m0s
Reviewedby Kate Stables
This is surelythe year of the customisedfantasy
companiononlm. Ted andRuby Sparks
have alreadyshownoff the havoc createdby
a wish-built best friendor girlfriend, andthis
time TimothyGreen, a literal childof nature,
grows overnight fromthe wish-list that his
infertile parents have buriedintheir garden. But
while Ted andRuby Sparks cheerfullyexamine
the inherent narcissism(andcreepiness) of
creating your ownperfect playmate, this
sentimental familydrama stays strictlyon
the sunnyside of the street as does its eerily
perfect eponymous hero, performing salutes
tothe suntotopuphis photosynthesis.
The lms mawkishnarrative has the
unadornedsimplicityof a folktale, as Jimand
CindyGreengladlyclaimtheir nature boyand
he sets about fullling their dreams for a short
time. Yet, without the be-careful-what-you-wish-
for menace that made JanSvankmajers ravenous
log-babyinLittle Otik (2000) compelling,
Timothys leaf-adornedlegs andmagical
abilitytocharmpeople seemsimplysappy.
Warmth, rather thanwhimsy, is the usual
setting for writer-director Peter Hedges, who
exploredthe problems of dysfunctional families
inhis previous lms DaninReal Life (2007)
andPieces of April (2003) andinhis adaptation
of his ownnovel for Lasse Hallstrms Whats
Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993). Here he seems
hamstrung byco-writer/producer Ahmet
Zappas simplistic central concept, producing a
contrivedplot that heavilysignals everything
fromthe threatenedclosure of the towns
pencil factory(Timothyhelps Jiminvent a
leaf-mouldeco-pencil, naturally) toTimothys
waning time withhis parents (his leg-leaves
graduallyfall off, like a wilting pot plant).
Eventhe lms laudable cheerleading
for adoptive families is hamperedbyits
determinationtolet Timothysinglehandedly
settle a quiver of familydysfunctions, solving
sibling rivalrybetweenCindyandher pushy
sister (archlynamedBrenda Best) anda rift
betweenJimandhis distant, machofather,
all using the artless, otherworldlyamiability
withwhichthe elnCJ Adams infuses
Timothy. As his parents, Jennifer Garner and
Joel Edgertonare reducedtofurious mugging
totrytokeepthis thinstuff aloft, while ne
actors like Dianne Wiest fail toeshout thin
cameos that teeter onthe edge of caricature.
Despite the lms small-townsetting, bucolic
visuals andlargelyeverydayproblems, it never
succeeds increatingthat bedrockof realitywhich
usefullyearthedthe fantastical elements inthe
not-dissimilar Field of Dreams (1989). Instead,
its a stickypaeantoparental narcissismin
whichTimothyis the realisationof his parents
hopes andthe answer toall his familys woes.
Evenhis excursionintopuppylove withschool
friendJoni is lledwithseless do-goodery, as
he coaxes her intorevealing the birthmarkshe
despises. Its toosaccharine for adults andfrankly
tootame for children(the saintlyTimothy
makes fellowfantasy-sonPinocchioseem
like a juvenile delinquent), andone wonders
where it will manage toput downroots.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green
USA2012
Director: Peter Hedges
Certicate U 104m31s
US, present day. Infertile couple Jimand Cindy Green
tell an adoption panel about their brief parenthood,
which we see in ashbacks. One night they fantasise
about the son theyll never have, burying a list of his
best qualities in their garden. That night, a ten-year-old
boy appears, with leaves growing out of his legs. They
present himto their families as their newly adopted
sonTimothy. Gradually he displays all the qualities
they wished for, healing rifts with other members
of the family. Timothy experiences puppy love with
school friendJoni. He also helps Jiminvent a pencil
made fromleaves, to save the towns failing pencil
factory, but Jims boss ignores it. Timothys leg-leaves
are gradually falling off. WhenJims boss proposes
the leaf-pencil idea as his own to the town, the family
reveals the projects true origins, andTimothys leafy
legs. As the last leaf drops, Timothy tells his parents
that he must go, and disappears into the night. He has
left a leaf with everyone he helped. The adoption panel
visits Jimand Cindy, bringing a little girl to meet them.
Producedby
JimWhitaker
Scott Sanders
Ahmet Zappa
Screenplay
Peter Hedges
Director of
Photography
JohnToll
FilmEditor
AndrewMondshein
ProductionDesigner
WynnThomas
Music
Geoff Zanelli
SoundMixer
Whit Norris
Costume Designer
SusieDesanto
Visual Effects
MethodStudios
TheMill
CosaVisual Effects
Disney
Enterprises, Inc.
Production
Company
Disney presents
aScott Sanders
production
Executive Producers
JohnCameron
MaraJacobs
Cast
Jennifer Garner
Cindy Green
Joel Edgerton
JimGreen
CJAdams
Timothy Green
Odeya Rush
Joni Jerome
Shohreh
Aghdashloo
EvetteOnat
Rosemarie DeWitt
BrendaBest
DavidMorse
James GreenSr
M. Emmet Walsh
UncleBub
Lois Smith
Aunt Mel
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Reggie
DianneWiest
Ms BerniceCrudstaff
Dolby Digital/
Datasat
InColour
[1.85:1]
Distributor
BuenaVista
International (UK)
9,406ft +8frames
Acurious case: CJ Adams, Jennifer Garner
Randeep Hooda,
Sara Loren
Credits and Synopsis
Cape Town, the present. Wildlife photographer
Vikramgets a fashion photography job in Mumbai
and moves there with his girlfriend Roshni. Vikram
is an instant success and buys a colonial house on
the citys outskirts. SuspectingVikramof being
unfaithful, Roshni leaves a farewell video for him
and locks herself in a soundproof bunker in the
house. The bunker has two-way mirrors so that she
can observe her beau but she forgets the key
and is trapped. Vikramsoon takes up with Nisha
and she moves in. Nisha is spooked by distant
sounds made by Roshni, who eventually manages
to communicate with her. Nisha refuses to open
the bunker door and relents only when she receives
proof of Vikrams indelity. When Nisha opens
the bunker door, Roshni overpowers her and locks
her in. Vikram, already under investigation for the
disappearance of Roshni, is nowin further trouble
with the police. Roshni returns to Cape Town.
Producers
MukeshBhatt
MaheshBhatt
Screenplay
MaheshBhatt
BasedonthelmLa
cara oculta directed
byAndrs Baiz
Director of
Photography
Sunil Patel
Editor
DevenMurdeshwar
Production
Designer
Rajat Poddar
Music
Pritam
[Chakraborty]
Lyrics
SayeedQuadri
SoundDesigners
Kunal Mehta
Parikishit Lalvani
Production
Companies
Fox Star Studios
presents in
associationwith
ManeshBhatt
aMukeshBhatt
production
VisheshFilms
Executive Producer
KumkumSaigal
Cast
RandeepHooda
Vikram
Aditi Rao Hydari
Roshni
Sara Loren
Nisha
InColour
[2.35:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Fox Star Studios
11,070ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
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Reviewedby PhilipKemp
In2009, PennyWoolcockdirected1 Day, a ction
lmset inthe worldof gangs inBirmingham.
Devisedas a grime musical, it was punctuated
withfreestyle raps, most of themdevisedby
the cast, whomWoolcockhadrecruitedfrom
the streets where the lmwas shot. Her lead
DylanDuffus, himself a gang member played
Flash, a drug dealer urgentlyinneedof a lot
of scrilla (cash) whena dealer higher upthe
chainwhohas lent himmoneyis unexpectedly
releasedfromjail. For the purposes of her story,
Woolcockinventedtworival gangs, the Zampa
Boys andthe OldStreet Crew. Warnedoff bythe
police, cinemas inthe Birminghamarea refused
toshowthe lm, despite its explicit message:
anti-drugs, anti-crime anddeploring postcode
gang violence. At one point Flash, referring to
his gang andtheir rivals, muses, We needtosit
downandreasondifferentlyone of these days.
Inspiredbythe lm, another young black
mancalledShabba, a leading member of the
JohnsonCrewgang basedinAston(Birmingham
B6), contactedWoolcockasking for her help
insetting upa meeting withDylanDuffus.
Betweenhis gang andDylans, the Burger Bar
Boys inHandsworth(BirminghamB20), theres
a 15-year historyof violence, giving the citythe
highest concentrationof guncrime inBritain;
twoof its most famous victims were Letisha
Shakespeare andCharlene Ellis, teenage girls
caught inthe crossre outside a partyinthe
BircheldRoad(the front line betweenthe two
territories) inJanuary2003. WhenShabba and
Dylansat downtogether ina hotel roominthe
autumnof 2010, it was not onlythe rst time
members of the rival gangs hadmet totalk, but
the rst time theydencounteredeachother
without being armedandreadyfor combat.
The documentaryOne Mile Away traces the
slow, cautious process of convincing other gang
members tosupport the oftenfaltering peace
process. Most of them, its repeatedlyemphasised,
have grownupknowing noother wayof life; as
one young gang member explains toWoolcock,
What looks terrible toyoulooks normal tous.
Further obstacles are the instant suspicionon
the part of their associates that Shabba or Dylan
have a hiddenagenda that theystandtogain
insome way, or that theyre police informants
andthe relentless tit-for-tat of bloodfeuds.
Everytime youtrytotell himsomething,
Dylanremarks wearilyafter one encounter with
a fellowBurger Bar member, hes like, But he
killedmyfriend. OnBoxing Day2010, only
a fewweeks after the initial meeting between
Shabba andDylan, anoutbreakof violence inthe
Bullring shopping centre seems likelytoabort
the whole initiative; sixmonths later, Shabba
admits that hes made almost noheadway.
Self-effacingly, Woolcockstays largely
offscreen; occasionallywe hear her asking
questions or acting as a sounding boardfor the
gang members whoopenuptoher seemingly
without reservation. (One of them, a Johnson
Crewmember calledSykes, delivers a perceptive
mini-lecture onhowthe guns made in
Birminghaminthe 19thcenturywere usedto
enforce Britains imperialist rule, whichinturn
ledtothe establishment of the blackimmigrant
communities of today.) Whats remarkable
is howthis white, middle-class, middle-aged
woman whoisnt evenfromBirmingham
clearlyenjoys the trust of gang members onboth
sides, young blackmenwhose attitude tothe
outside communityis generallyone of suspicious
hostility. Its a hostilitythats widelyreciprocated.
Bornblack, youre borna criminal, remarks one
of thembitterly, while another notes howtheir
mere presence onthe streets is enoughtoattract
unwelcome attentionfromthe police, whom
he describes as the biggest gang inthe world.
During the riots of August 2011, Dylan(whotook
nopart inthem) points out, Just cause Imblack
andImstanding here they[the police] want to
questionme. At one point, againduring the
riots, evenWoolcockcomes infor some minor
police harassment whena brashyoung copper
holds his handover the lens andorders her to
stoplming. She refuses, andwere toldthat
15minutes later the police contactedChannel
4 (co-producing) todemandall her footage.
Ironically, its these same riots, starting out
inLondonandrapidlyspreading across the
country, whichrekindle the faltering peace
initiative. Finding commoncause, the gang
members stopattacking eachother; as Dylan
comments, Youcouldcall it a four-daytruce.
Intheir wake, the breakthrough: the rival
gang members start coming together, talking
andnegotiating, viewing Woolcocks footage,
setting upa social enterprise andaneducational
programme tofurther reconciliation. The
lms nal, optimistic onscreentitle reads
The Peace Process Continues. With1 Day
andOne Mile Away, Woolcockhas achieved
something exceptional: her projects have not
onlycreateda vividpicture of the complex,
vital, fraught street life of our cities but with
anyluck startedtochange it for the better.
Birmingham, autumn 2010. Filmmaker Penny Woolcock
is contacted by Shabba, a young black man whos a
member of the Johnson Crew, a gang based in the
Aston area of the city. He asks for her help in ending
the long-running war between his gang and the
Burger Bar Boys in neighbouring Handsworth. Penny
contacts Dylan Duffus, a member of the Handsworth
gang who starred in her 2009 feature lm1 Day.
Shabba and Dylan meet and agree to talk to their
fellowgang members. However, various fatal incidents
including one in the Bullring shopping centre on
Boxing Day only harden vengeful attitudes on both
sides. After almost a year, the peace initiative seems
to be getting nowhere. But, unexpectedly, the August
2011 riots, spreading fromLondon, unite the gangs
in common cause against the police. In the wake of
the riots, the peace process though still fragile
at last seems to be making headway, and the gang
members discuss howthe violence could be ended.
One Mile Away
United Kingdom2012
Director: PennyWoolcock
Certicate 15 90m35s
Producer
James Purnell
Camera
PennyWoolcock
Alex Metcalfe
RebeccaLloyd-Evans
KateTaunton
Editor
Alex Fry
Original Music
UrbanMonk
Dubbing Mixer
RobHughes
RareDay (Whats
GoingOn)
Limited/Channel
Four Television
Production
Companies
CreativeEnglandand
Channel 4present a
RareDay production
Madewiththe
support of Creative
England
Inassociationwith
Channel 4/LipSync
Supportedby the
InuenceFilm
Foundation/Barrow
CadburyTrust/Fallon
ThePUMACreative
Catalyst Awardin
partnershipwiththe
Channel 4BRITDOC
Foundation
Executive Producers
Peter Dale
DanLawson
InColour
Subtitles
Distributor
Brit Doc Films
8,152 ft +8frames
Peace in our time: One Mile Away
Credits and Synopsis
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ReviewedbyThomas Dawson
Small familybusiness is goodbut corporate
nance is badinwriter-director Marcus Markous
self-distributedBritishindependent feature.
Anunconvincing contemporaryfairytale,
Papadapoulos &Sons depicts its emotionally
uptight multimillionaire protagonist Harry
Papadopoulos discovering that success is
simplythe joyyound inlife. Content to
trafc inethnic stereotypes Greekpeople are
naturallywarm-bloodedsouls wholike singing
anddancing andnot paying their taxes its
imsyscreenplayburdens Harryandhis older
sibling Spiros witha heftychildhoodtrauma: in
1974, during the Cypriot civil war, a re killed
boththeir parents andtheir middle brother
Michael, leaving Spiros tobring upHarryin
England. According toMarkou, serious critics
wont like Papadopoulos &Sons because its too
muchfun. Viewers, however, might question
the awkwardperformances, the paucityof
visual cinematic imaginationandthe fact
that a signicant character miraculously
emerges froma coma toensure a fraternal
reconciliationbefore promptlypassing away.
Papadopoulos & Sons
United Kingdom2012
Director: Marcus Markou
Widowed father of three and self-made
multimillionaire Harry Papadopoulos is facing
nancial ruin during a banking crisis. Forced to
leave his country mansion, he and his estranged
older brother Spiros reopen the Three Brothers
sh-and-chip shop in suburban London, which
they ran together decades earlier. Through a
corporate nance company, Harry arranges a
deal with a Norwegian bank which allows him
to move back to his former house and remain
CEOof Papadopoulos &Sons. Following Spiross
fatal heart attack, Harry and his children decide
to continue working at the Three Brothers.
Producedby
SaraButler
Writtenby
Marcus Markou
Director of
Photography
James Friend
Editor
SebastianMorrison
Production
Designer
JulianFullalove
Original Score
StephenWarbeck
Production
SoundMixer
SimonKoelmeyer
Costume Designer
Robert Lever
DoubleMFilms
Production
Companies
DoubleMFilms
presents in
associationwith
Shoot theCompany
Executive
Producers
AndrewMarkou
Marcus Markou
Cast
StephenDillane
Harry Papadopoulos
Georges Corraface
SpirosPapadopoulos
EdStoppard
Rob
Georgia Groome
KatiePapadopoulos
Selina Cadell
Mrs Parrington
Cosima Shaw
Sophie
Frank Dillane
James
Papadopoulos
InColour
Distributor
Miracle
Communications
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby Nick Pinkerton
See that plot synopsis? Its all fromWikipedia.
Its not that I didnt watchThe Paperboy; its just
that I honestlyhave noidea what happenedinit.
The critical consensus onThe Paperboy
will be that it is Lee Danielss failure, after
the promise showedby2009s laurel-heaped
Precious, but thats just anass-covering excuse.
The praise for the toxic Precious, whichgave
Daniels name-above-the-title brandrecognition
andwrote hima blankcheque for auteur
indulgence onhis next project, is a failure
that must be laidat the feet of lmculture as
a whole. We votedfor this tohappen; Daniels
is onlydoing what he does best, sotospeak.
What is that? Well, The Paperboy does
for poor rural whites what Precious didfor
poor urbanblacks: depicts themat their
most base andanimalistic. The lmis the
ultimate anduncompromisedexpression
of Danielss lurid, leering worldview, which
tends towards grotesque caricature, andits an
extraordinarilydifcult lmtowatch. Literally,
its hardtolookat it directly. Not since Lodge
Kerrigans Clean, Shaven(1993) have I seena
movie that socloselyseems toapproximate
the subjective experience of mental illness
thoughKerrigandiscerniblyset out todothat.
The rst clue that The Paperboy is a lm
totallyout of control is that its story, whichhas
a Florida familyof newspapermenat its centre,
is caulkedtogether withthe droning voiceover
of the households blackmaid(MacyGray).
Fromanuncertainpoint inthe future, speaking
toanunknowninterlocutor, this omniscient
domestic tells the storyof the Jansenbrothers
(Zac EfronandMatthewMcConaughey). She
manages toemcee all onscreenhappenings in
spite of the fact that she isnt present towitness
muchor indeedmost of the action, andat
times is calledontoll inthe ner points of
psychologyoverlookedonset byDaniels: I guess
youcouldsayhe hadabandonment issues
The Paperboy was adapted froma 1995 novel
byPete Dexter; the screenplayis bythe author
andDaniels. I have put the wordadaptedin
scare-quotes because it is difcult tobelieve
that anything was left out inthis madpiling-
onof incident withnoapparent purpose
other thanburying the audience in(mostly
unpleasant) sensation. This includes S&M
mishaps, McConaugheymonologuing nude
onthe toilet, a no-touching conjugal prison
visit whichclimaxes withJohnCusacks Crisco-
greasyconvictedkiller coming inhis pants
anda house call ona familyof gator-gutting
white trashNeanderthal swamprats whomake
Faulkners Snopeses looklike countrygentry.
While the incessant narrationalmost
keeps the viewer apace of whats happening
onscreen, Daniels gives his sluggardlylm
the illusionof vigour throughagellating
stylisation, utilising multiple frame sizes,
overloudrandomneedle-dropmusic cues
anddreamycross-fades. The result is a lm
that youcancall just about anything but
mediocre. Infact, theres approximatelya ve
per cent chance that The Paperboy is the work
of some outsider art genius whos inexplicably
got holdof a prestige cast andbudget. The
other 95per cent says its anunmitigated
disaster. Imgoing withthe smart odds.
The Paperboy
Director: Lee Daniels
Certicate 15 106m56s
Florida, 1967 and sometime in the future. Anita,
a former maid, tells an interviewer about events
she witnessed when working for the Jansens,
a family in the newspaper business.
In 1967, older brother WardJansen returns home
fromMiami with a fellowreporter, a black Englishman
namedYardley, to investigate the possibly botched
case against Death Rowinmate VanWetter. Ward is
assisted in his investigation by his younger brother
Jack and by Charlotte Bless, a local woman who has,
through a steamy correspondence, become engaged to
VanWetter without meeting him. Jack falls in love with
Charlotte, only to be rebuffed and later humiliated by
her when he is stung by jellysh at the beach and she
urinates on himto salve the burns. Jacks father, editor
of the local paper, turns this into a national story. On a
subsequent trip to Miami, Jack learns that Ward is gay
when the latter is hospitalised following an incident of
rough sex gone awry. In the aftermath of this trauma,
Charlotte has sex withJack, only to abandon himwhen
VanWetter, out of prison, sweeps her off to his home in
the Everglades. Reunited at their fathers wedding, Ward
andJack go to rescue Charlotte, but arrive after Van
Wetter has murdered her. In the ensuing struggle, Ward
is killed. Jack escapes withWard and Charlottes bodies.
Producedby
Hilary Shor
LeeDaniels
Avi Lerner
EdCathell III
CassianElwes
Screenplay
PeteDexter
LeeDaniels
Basedonthenovel
by PeteDexter
Director of
Photography
RobertoSchaefer
Editor
JoeKlotz
ProductionDesigner
Daniel T. Dorrance
Music
MarioGrigorov
SoundMixer
Jay Meagher
Costume Designer
CarolineEselin-
Schaefer
Paperboy
Productions, Inc.
Production
Companies
MillenniumFilms
presents aNuImage
andLeeDaniels
Entertainment
production
Executive Producers
Danny Dimbort
Trevor Short
JohnThompson
Boaz Davidson
Mark Gill
JanDeBont
Cast
Matthew
McConaughey
WardJansen
Zac Efron
JackJansen
DavidOyelowo
YardleyAcheman
Macy Gray
AnitaChester
JohnCusack
HillaryVanWetter
Nicole Kidman
CharlotteBless
Scott Glenn
W.W. Jansen
NedBellamy
TyreeVanWetter
Nealla Gordon
EllenGuthrie
Dolby Digital
InColour
2.35:1 [Panavision]
Distributor
LionsgateUK
9,624ft +0frames
Brothers grim: Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron
Greek to me: Stephen Dillane, Georges Corraface
Credits and Synopsis
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ReviewedbyTony Rayns
After three discursive but
basicallystory-drivenfeatures,
whichhave made himone
of the most admired/hated
gures incontemporary
cinema, Carlos Reygadas
lets it all hang out ina fourthfeature which
has verylittle narrative at all. Post Tenebras
Lux the Latintitle means The Light After
Darkness takes its cues fromTarkovskys
Mirror (1975). Framedinthe nowlittle-used
Academyratio, it stitches together fragments of
personal memoryandfantasy, garnishedwitha
smattering of visual effects andthe oddhint of
social commentary, tobuilda poetic, psychedelic
rhapsodyinwhichthe directors tendencies
towards abstract expressionismare allowedoff
the leash. ObviouslyMirrors patchworkdidnt
include anything as disruptive or apparently
anomalous as twoglimpses of anEnglish
school rugbymatchor a visit toa European
free-sexsauna, but thenTarkovskys life didnt
encompass stints at a private school inYorkshire
or working as a lawyer for the EUinBrussels,
bothof whichdofeature inReygadass bio.
The lmcentres onJuan, the patriarchof
a nuclear family, whois if not a stand-infor
Reygadas thenat least a channel for the authors
confessions, obsessions andfears. The prosperous
Juanhas brought his wife andtheir twokids
(playedmost of the time byReygadass actual
sonanddaughter) toa newhome he has built in
the remote countryside. Aside frominevitable
moments of awkwardness intheir dealings
withthe locals, the familyinitiallyseems happy
andcontented. But the twoopening sequences
have alreadyintimatedtrouble ahead.
The rst is a suite of Steadicamshots of the
little girl Rut padding about a waterlogged
meadowas duskfalls anda thunderstormbreaks,
surroundedbyanimals, all of themmuchbigger
thanshe is; we later learnthat this was her dream
but the images of a small childapparentlyat
riskcast anominous pall over all that follows.
The secondshows Juans householdat night
visitedbya glowing reddemon, a human-goat
hybridsporting bothprominent humangenitals
anda long, arrow-tippedtail, whichcarries a
toolboxandis observedonlybythe boyEleazar.
This is presumablythe boys dream, matching
his little sisters andexpressing his fear of his
father a fear that seems well-founded, given
that Juanis soonseengoing berserkas he
punishes one of his dogs andthenadmitting
that hes addictedtointernet porn. The orgy
sequence inthe sauna (Juanwatches while
his wife is brought toorgasmbya stranger in
the DuchampRooma bride ravishedbyher
bachelors indeed) nds its objective correlative
ina familyrowat the kitchensink: Juancomes
onraunchytohis wife but thenlapses into
a litanyof complaints about her frigidity. In
short, Juanhas gone a bit wrong inthe head.
Eventually, onhis deathbed, movedbyhis
wife singing Neil Youngs Its a Dream at the
piano, Juanregrets his latter-daysickness
andloses himself inmemories of ecstatic
childhoodexperiences. The lm, though, is
mostlylockedinthe purgatoryof the present:
a worldinwhichnature is bothmagical and
threatening, a laidbackrural community
of elderlydope-smokers whichturns out to
be ravagedbyalcoholism, crime, pettyspite
andultimatelymurder andsuicide, anda
psychicallyskewedterritoryinwhichfamilies
are betrayedbyabsent or crazypatriarchs.
Reygadas envisions this purgatory
magnicently, trumping his ownmore laborious
efforts inJapn (2002) andSilent Light (2007) and
leaving memories of the misbegottenBattle in
Heaven (2005) far behind. Tomatchthe sheer
sensoryimpact of the ambiguous tone and
imageryinPost Tenebras Lux youdhave tolook
backtoits distant ancestor, a lmReygadas
has surelynever heardof: DavidLarchers
psychedelic odysseyMares Tail, a forgotten
classic of Britishindie cinema, similarlyrooted
inautobiographyandequallyhauntedbythe
twinimpulses toexperiment andtransgress.
Like Larcher, Reygadas has grownimpatient
withrationality, withnarrative andwith
psychological explicationsbut not tothe
degree that he loses sight of the pleasures and
pains of banal realities suchas Christmas family
reunions or excursions tothe seaside. The most
disruptive element here is the rugbymatch,
droppedintothe lminthe middle andat the
end. The tworugbyscenes are wildanomalies
visually, linguistically, youname it but their
incursionintothis Mexicanbackwater gives
the lma kickwhenit threatens tobecome
somnolent. Theyloudlychampiona strategy
thats missing fromthis fallenEden: teamwork.
Rural Mexico. Coming froma large and prosperous
middle-class family, Juan has taken his wife Natalia
and their children Eleazar and Rutilia (Rut for short) to
a remote village in Morelos where he has built thema
comfortable home. In a series of more or less discrete
episodes, which make no particular distinction between
present, possible future and fantasy, the lmexplores
the familys life and its interactions with neighbours
and relatives. Ademonic red gure carrying a toolbox
visits the household at night. Juan punishes one of the
familys dogs for misbehaving, almost killing it. Juan is
taken to a 12-step self-help-programme meeting by the
handyman El Siete and hears confessions of alcoholism
and other vices; he admits to El Siete that hes addicted
to internet porn. English schoolboys prepare for a
rugby game. Juan remembers/imagines a visit to a
Belgian free-sex sauna with Natalia. Juan riles Natalia
by complaining about her taste and reluctance to have
sex with him. Juan imagines a fractious gathering of his
extended family, at which his children are several years
older. Juan catches El Siete and villager Glove robbing
the house of computer equipment; El Siete shoots Juan
in the chest, hitting one lung. Bedridden, Juan recalls
an ecstatic childhood and regrets his later sickness. El
Siete looks up his long-abandoned wife and children.
When he learns that Juan has died, El Siete kills himself.
The schoolboy rugby match is a close-run thing; one
side resolves to rely on better teamwork to win.
Post Tenebras Lux
Mexico/France/Germany/The Netherlands 2012
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Certicate 18 114m43s
Producedby
JaimeRomandia
Carlos Reygadas
Writtenby
Carlos Reygadas
Director of
Photography
AlexisZab
Editor
NataliaLpez
ProductionDesigner
GerardoTagle
Sound
Gilles Laurent
NoDreamCinema,
Mantarraya
Producciones,
Fondoparala
Produccin
Cinematogrcade
Calidad(Foprocine
- Mxico),
LePacte, Arte
FranceCinema
Production
Companies
Nodreamand
Mantarrayapresent
inco-productionwith
LePacte, ARTEFrance
Cinema, IMCINE
- CONACULTA,
Fondoparala
produccin
cinematogrcade
calidad(FOPROCINE
- Mxico),
TheMatchFactory,
Topkapi Films
andTicomn
andwiththesupport
of ArteFrance, Fonds
SudCinma,
CentreNational
duCinmaet de
lImageAnime,
Ministredes
Affaires Etrangres
et Europennes
Institut Franais
(France),
FilmundMedien
StiftungNRWand
TheNetherlands
FilmFund
Cast
Rut Reygadas
Rut
Eleazar Reygadas
Eleazar
NathaliaAcevedo
Natalia
AdolfoJimnez
Castro
Juan
WillebaldoTorres
El Siete
Dolby Digital
InColour
[1.37:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Independent
CinemaOfce
10,324ft +8frames
Devil may care: Nathalia Acevedo
Credits and Synopsis
See Feature
on page 50
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102 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
ReviewedbyAshley Clark
Overhauls of image andidentityare nothing
newinthe worldof popular music culture.
Inthe 1970s, DavidBowie came upwitha
different incarnationeverycouple of years,
andthe alter-egotraditionhas continuedinto
the 21st centurywiththe likes of Eminem
(SlimShady) andBeyonc (Sasha Fierce).
Eyebrows were nonetheless raisedinJulylast
year whenrapper andincreasinglyubiquitous
media personalitySnoopDogg announced
not onlya newstage name, SnoopLion
(apparentlyconferredonhimbya Rastafarian
priest), but alsoa spiritual conversionto
the Rastafari movement. Was he for real?
This uncritical documentaryoffers little
inthe wayof ananswer. FundedbySnoopin
exchange for editorial control, its a companion
piece tothe rappers albumReincarnated and
consists mainlyof long sequences of its subject
smoking weed, wandering aroundJamaica,
talking about himself, larking withcolleagues
inthe studioandthensmoking weedagain.
It is of course tempting tosee this as the
latest instance of claw-ngeredopportunism
froma mannot shyof working double-time to
keephimself inthe public eye. His CVbears a
seeminglynever-ending list of media ventures
(including Doggy Fizzle Televizzle, a shortlived
MTVsketchshowworthyof canonisationfor its
name alone) andendorsements (sample: Hack
Is Wack for NortonAntiVirus). Moreover, with
its boilerplate mash-upof celebrityself-worship
andunlikelycultural transposition, Reincarnated
bears all the hallmarks of a common-or-
gardenreality-TVproject. Theres a compound
modernitytoSnoops embrace of media
intertextualityinthe aidof self-promotion,
andit appears tobe at full-throttle here.
Where this projects apparent cynicism
starts tobecome genuinelyproblematic is in
its selective representationof the Rastafari
movement, whichis at best basic andat worst
shamefullyexploitative. ProducedbyVice
anincreasinglyinuential media company
precision-tooledtoappeal toa white, middle-
class, irono-hipster audience it makes a fetish
of marijuana (the opening credits appear in
a huge puff of smoke) andneglects evento
attempt topaint a deeper picture of the codes,
ethics andmeaning behindthe movement
whicharose in1930s Jamaica following the
crowning of Haile Selassie I as emperor of
Ethiopia. BunnyWailer, the last surviving
member of BobMarleys original band, appears
awkwardlyinthe lm, andhas since accused
Snoopinthe press of outright fraudulent use
of the Rastafari communitys personalities
andsymbolism. Meanwhile, ina seven-page
missive tothe press, the Rastafari Millennium
Council admonished: Smoking weedand
loving BobMarleyandreggae music is not
what denes the Rastafari Indigenous Culture!
Snoops proliferationof baselesslyinane
comments throughout (Hip-hopis a form
of reggae, andits the same message) make it
easytosee where theywere coming from.
Neither does the lmcarrymuchweight from
a musical standpoint. All the tracks we hear are
roughworks-in-progress, but that doesnt stop
Snoopoptimisticallyprofessing himself tobe the
reincarnationof BobMarley(evidentlyforgetting
that theywere bothalive at the same time). One
wonders what the late legendmightve made of
Fruit Juice, a clattering, dancehall-avouredode
tofruit juice, writtenandrecordedimmediately
after Snoophas drunksome fruit juice.
Moments that breakthe lms carefully
controlled, media-savvysterilityhit harder for
being sosparse. The most moving sequences nd
Snoopinconfessional mode, ruminating about
his hard-knockupbringing andprofessing regret
that he was unable tosquashhis beef withlabel-
mate/friendTupac Shakur before the latters
murder in1996. AndwhenSnoopspeaks of his
renunciationof violence andgangsta culture,
youbelieve his conversion has some basis in
emotional, spiritual truth, andthat he might
have foundsolace inthe genuine credoof love
andpeace promotedbythe Rastafari movement.
As a documentary, Reincarnated is comically
lightweight andmechanical, if interesting as
anambiguous case studyof 21st-centurymedia
opportunism. But its affable subject is likeable,
andtheres one genuine bellylaughwhen
Snoop, lamenting his X-ratedbackcatalogue,
offers perhaps the best justicationfor his new
venture: I knowObama wants me toplaythe
White House, but what the fuck canI perform?
Reincarnated
USA2013
Director: Andy Capper akaLil Head
Old dogs, new tricks: Snoop Dogg
ReviewedbyAntonBitel
The underwater maosi fromShark Tale. The
comic penguins fromHappyFeet andMadagascar.
The cross-generational counterplotting and
POW-movie pastiche (andeventhe clownsh!)
fromFinding Nemo. Offering minor variations
onall these while alsoretreading manyof
the keymotifs fromits predecessor, ATurtles
Tale: Sammys Adventures (2010), the animated
Sammys Great Escape is derivative toa fault,
as its heroes ina half-shell must workin
concert withother aquatic creatures toescape
imprisonment ina luxuryGulf State aquarium.
This sequel suffers froma weakscript full
of decidedlyshypuns (He rules this place
withanironn, If the shell ts, wear it) and
wholesome bromides about helping one another
andnever giving up, all ensuring that it remains
rmlytargetedat veryyoung audiences, unlike
Lee Daehees altogether more harrowing (but
thematicallyrather similar) trapped-in-a-tank
trauma-toonPadak (2012). The lms greatest
asset, however, is clear fromthe opening shots
of turtle hatchlings swimming tocamera
andseagulls swooping throughthe air: visual
spectacle trumps all else here, as Belgium-based
nWave Pictures (Fly Me to the Moon) makes
exemplaryuse of the full 3D
spectrumtoget children
reaching out infront of
themandgasping, agog
withthe kindof awe
fromwhichfuture
cinephilia is
hatched.
Sammys Great Escape
Belgium/France/Italy/Luxembourg/USA2012
Directors: Ben Stassen, Vincent Kesteloot
Certicate U 93m0s
The Caribbean. As turtles Sammy and Ray oversee
the hatching of their respective grandchildren
Ella and Ricky, they are captured and taken to be
exhibits at a luxury Dubai aquarium. Recruited by
mobster seahorse Big Dto help in his latest escape
plot, Sammy and Ray realise that he doesnt really
want to leave his efdom. They devise a breakout
plan for all their newfriends, aided on the outside
by Ella, Ricky and some octopuses and squid.
Adocumentary following rapper Snoop Doggs
2011 trip toJamaica, where he discovers more
about the Rastafari movement and records a new
reggae-inuenced album(Reincarnated) with
producer Diplo. He meets a host of local gures
and reects in interviewon his life and career.
Producedby
BenStassen
CarolineVan
Iseghem
Domonic Paris
GinaGallo
Mimi Maynard
Screenplay
Domonic Paris
Basedonanoriginal
story by BenStassen
andDomonic Paris
Art Director
JrmieDegruson
Music
RaminDjawadi
SoundDesign
Yves Renard
PierreLele
Lebecque
Animation
Supervisor
Dirk deLoose
AroundtheWorld
in50Years S.p.r.l./
Paradis Films SARL/
EaglePictures S.p.A.
Production
Companies
StudioCanal and
nWavePictures
presents anAround
theWorldin50
Years/Paradis
Films/EaglePictures
co-productionin
associationwith
AntonCapital
Entertainment,
Canal+and
IlluminataPictures
Almby Ben
Stassenand
Vincent Kesteloot
Executive
Producers
Olivier Courson
Eric Dillens
Voice Cast
Billy Unger
younger Sammy
WesleyJohnny
older Sammy
Carlos McCullers III
Ray
Isabelle Fuhrman
Shelly
JoeThomas
Lulu
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Warner Bros
Distributors UK
Some screenings
presentedin3D
8,370ft +0frames
Producers
TedChung
SurooshAlvi
Directors of
Photography
Nick Neotidis
akaSlic Nic
WilliamFairman
akaManson
WillieToledo
akaWillieT
Editors
BernardoLoyola
EmilyWilson
JaredPerez
DaveGutt
Art Director
Matt Schoen
Music Supervisors
Ricki Askin
JustinLi
SnoopLion
Supervising
SoundEditor
JonathanNull
ViceMedia,
Inc., Snoopadelic
Pictures, Inc.
Production
Companies
AViceFilms and
Snoopadelic Films
production
Executive
Producers
CalvinBroadus
[i.e. SnoopLion]
ShanteBroadus
akaBoss Lady
SurooshAlvi
ShaneSmith
Eddy Moretti
AndrewCreighton
InColour
Distributor
Dogwoof
Credits and Synopsis
Credits and Synopsis
Sammys
Great Escape
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Reviewedby Kate Stables
The news that a feature
has beenadaptedfromits
directors previous short
lminevitably(if unfairly)
causes the reviewers heart
tosinkinanticipationof
narrative padding or a pervasive whiff of dj
vu. Fortunately, Scott Grahams supremely
condent andsensitive reworking of his ne
2007short Shell, about a restless teenage girl
trappedwithher father ina dilapidatedScottish
petrol station, is anobject lessoninreimagining
a project at full length. Using manyof the same
narrative ingredients while shucking off its nods
tomargin-living classics suchas Paris, Texas
(1984), Shell-the-feature sports riskier themes and
standout performances but never loses the grace
andoriginalitythat markedout Shell-the-short.
Building onthe delicate depictionof
loneliness that alsocharacterisedhis 2010 short
Native Son, Grahamhas createda compelling
character study. The bigger canvas lets himbuild
a detailedpicture of howthe wildlandscape
andunrelenting isolationof a West Highland
glenhave forged17-year-oldShell andher
terse father Pete intoanuneasyunit, ercely
loyal yet increasinglytroubling toone another.
His style is anarresting, unbeautiedpoetic
realism, subjecting Shells meagre routine, as
she drifts frombedtostove toforecourt and
back, toa close observationthat seems quasi-
documentary. Never drifting intoforensic
miserablism, DPYoliswa Grtigs camera
alternates betweena watchful claustrophobia
andunnerving widescreenlandscape shots, full
of lowering beaten-metal skies andbleached
grasses that emphasise the pace andspace
of Shells predicament. Visually, the lm
is fashionablyaustere, exhibiting a formal
control akintoAndrea Arnolds Wuthering
Heights (2011), where the landscape andthe
omnipresent windare foregroundedas much
as the characters. Yet the naturalismdoesnt
invoke anaffectless tone here, Duane Hopkins-
style. Grahams pared-downapproachspeaks
volumes about his heroine, grasping at her
shreds of life withall her senses. Gazing down
the two-lane blacktopfor salvation, touching
her father tentatively, snifng himjealously
whenhe returns fromseeking sexintown,
Chloe Pirries penned-inShell is fullypresent,
experiencedrather thanobserved. Theres the
faint batsqueakof Bill Douglass cinema too,
inthe meticulouslynaturalistic soundtrack
(where rainsounds differ subtlybetweenshop
andthe house behind). WhenShell dances toa
blaring radio, or sings a folksong inher bath, you
register the shockof the sounderupting intoa
house where onlythe buffeting windchatters.
Loneliness lies across all the lms characters,
as mucha local feature as hardwinters and
roadkill deer. Shell is pursuedbya pair of
customers disconsolate divorc Hughand
hangdog local teenager Adam andis as
unsettling anobject of desire tothemas she
is toher father. Laudably, the lmresists the
temptationtoobjectifyher sexually(unlike the
short, whose restraint lapsedintoa shot that
lickedupthe backof her bootedknees like a
puppy). More interestedinhowShell inhabits
her bodythanhowshe shows it off, the lm
tracks her withaninterest thats empathetic
rather thanlubricious, registering her delight
inthe pair of jeans that Hughproffers rather
thanthe curve of her behind. The garage, stuck
out onthe marginof society, becomes a space
where father anddaughter live tenselyas
outsiders (theres a wryexchange whena pair
of rescuedmotorists take themfor a couple,
due toPetes lackof paternal vibe). Yet its also
a refuge where boundaries dissolve for Hugh
andAdam, whose desperate plays for Shell are
respectivelyhumiliating andfull of false hope.
What of Shells owndesire? Her longing to
take her runawaymothers place inPetes life is
the real catalyst for change, Pete brushing her off
uneasily(We must get youa dog or something)
until events anda broken-downboiler overtake
them. Like the careful portrayal of necrophilia
inNative Son, the lmis uninching but
understatedabout Pete andShells incestuous
impulses. It looks beyondtransgressiontothe
loneliness that engenders their passion,without
suggesting that tout comprendre cest tout pardonner.
Not everything is handledquite as nimblyas
this. Theres a certainamount of heavyhanded
symbolismequatingShell withthe wilddeer that
tittuparoundthe forecourt at night, one coming
togrief under a car andeventuallyending upon
toShells plate (Its like eating myownesh).
Moreover, once the lms tragedyhas unwound,
Shells impetuous nal ight ina passing lorry
feels like overkill. Inmatters of performance,
however, its beyondreproach, withChloe
Pirries Shell rubbedvisiblyrawbetweenher
eagerness for life andher fears for her father. Even
more impressive is JosephMawles conicted
Pete, whose conscience andneediness wrestle
inhis dour, damped-downperformance. His
biggest achievement is inmaking Petes nal
sacrice unbearablymoving rather thantinnily
melodramatic, as he takes the leapintodarkness
that will release his daughter intoher ownlife.
Shell
United Kingdom/Germany 2012
Director: Scott Graham
Certicate 15 90m52s
End of the road: Chloe Pirrie
See interview
on page 12
Scotland, present day. Shell is a restless 17-year-old
living with her epileptic father Pete in an isolated
garage. Her mother ran away when she was small and
she is ercely loyal to Pete. Middle-aged divorc Hugh
and local boy Adammake plays for her attention.
Pete is uneasy about the sexual tension growing
between himand Shell. They rescue a couple whose
car smashes into a deer. Shell is jealous when
Pete goes to town for sex. The boiler breaks down,
forcing Pete and Shell to share a bed. Hugh makes a
desperate pass at her, and is gently rebuffed. Shell
accepts a date withAdamand has joyless sex with
him. He attaches himself to her. When Shell runs
after a car with a childs forgotten toy, Pete thinks
she has run off. On her return he pleads with her
not to leave him, and they kiss like lovers. Horried,
Pete throws himself under a passing lorry and is
killed. Adamstays with Shell to comfort her. The
following morning Shell impetuously begs a lift on a
passing truck, leaving Adamand the garage behind.
Producers
DavidSmith
Margaret Matheson
Writtenby
Scott Graham
Director of
Photography
YoliswaGrtig
Editor
Rachel Tunnard
ProductionDesigner
James Lapsley
SoundRecordist
Chris Campion
Costume Designer
RebeccaGore
BrockenSpectre
Jockey Mutch
Ltd/FlyingMoon
Filmproduktion
GmbH/TheBritish
FilmInstitute/
CreativeScotland
Production
Companies
BFI andCreative
Scotlandpresent
aBrockenSpectre
productionin
associationwith
BardEntertainments,
FlyingMoonand
Molinaire
Inco-production
withZDF/ARTE
Developedwith
thesupport of the
Angers workshop
- 2010session
Developedwith
thesupport of UK
FilmCouncil
UKFilmCouncil
Lottery Funded
Madewiththe
support of the
BFIs FilmFund
Supportedby the
National Lottery
throughCreative
Scotland
Cast
JosephMawle
Pete
Chloe Pirrie
Shell
Michael Smiley
Hugh
Iainde Caestecker
Adam
Paul Hickey
Robert
Kate Dickie
Clare
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
VervePictures
8,178ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
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Reviewedby Mar Diestro-Dpido
Affable, kindandobliging Csar (Luis Tosar), the
protagonist of Jaume Balaguers newfeature
lmSleep Tight, works as a concierge inone
of the poshareas of Barcelona. But Csar is far
frombeing the ordinarymanhe seems, bornas
he was witha strange deciency: he is simply
incapable of being happyunless, that is, he
makes those aroundhimunhappy, fromwhich
he draws the sustenance andmotivationtocarry
onliving. Young, successful professional Clara,
one of the residents, is most denitelyhappy.
SoCsars maintarget inlife becomes toerase
that fucking perennial smile off her face.
Familiar withall the comings andgoings
of everytenant, andmaster of all the keys,
Csar puts inmotionincreasinglytwisted
machinations tobring Clara downsecretly
adding homemade poisonandtranquilisers to
her creams, spending the night under her bed,
followedbya cursoryspell ontopwhile shes
asleep. But althoughthis takes a visible toll
onClaras health, it doesnt seemtoput a dent
inher almost insanelypositive attitude. And
her boyfriends surprise visit alsothreatens
toruinCsars Machiavellianscheme.
The apartment blockwhere the lmis
set is depictedas a giant beehive, Balaguer
locating something genuinelyuncannyinits
labyrinthine corridors andstairs. Balaguer
has of course alreadyusedsimilar spaces to
explore howlove of thyneighbour canshade
intofear andworse, most shockinglyinthe
hugelysuccessful rst instalment of the [REC]
horror trilogy(co-directedbyPacoPlaza). Infact,
the original Spanishtitle of the lmMientras
duermes (While YouAre Asleep) happens to
be the name of the realityTVprogramme that
brings Angela, the protagonist of [REC], intoa
zombie-riddenbuilding quite similar tothe one
here. Except that inSleep Tight, Balaguerprefers
toexplore classic psychological thriller tropes,
mining similar territorytoRomanPolanskis
creepyThe Tenant andthe numerous TVseries
andlms suchas Alexde la Iglesias La
comunidad that constitute a subgenre inSpain.
Here, the evil force is the concierge familiar
yet a stranger all at once whoworks inplain
sight, undermining the verysense of security
andprivacythat his presence bestows. As
scriptedbyAlbertoMarini, Csar is a sort of
modernDr Jekyll andMr Hyde meets the
bogeyman, andis superblyunderplayedbyTosar.
Marini chooses not toexplainthe deep-seated
resentment andbitterness that drive Csar, so
the viewer knows himsolelythroughhis present
actions. This maintains suspense throughout,
since the point of viewis always that of the
perpetrator andnot the victim(the reverse
of the similar yet unengaging The Resident).
Tensionbuilds throughour being both
repelledandintriguedbyCsar. Hence the key
toSleep Tights undoubtedsuccess is the wayit
reins backthe monstrousness toa humanscale
at all times andunlike [REC] keeps its thrills
purposefullylow-key. This means that the most
offbeat moments inthe lmare the most horric
intheir cruelty. Whena goodheartedelderly
spinster tenant comes tobidfarewell toCsar, the
latters soft-spokenrejoinder is poisonous: You
are pathetic, because youare oldandlonely.
Sleep Tight
Spain 2011
Director: Jaume Balaguer
Certicate 15 100m51s
Barcelona, the present. Affable middle-aged Csar is
the concierge of a well-heeled apartment block where
he is liked by all the tenants. But Csar has a strange
condition: he is naturally unhappy and only feels at
peace when inicting pain on others. His latest victim
is Clara, a happy-go-lucky young professional who
lives in the building. Every day, Csar sneaks into her
apartment and puts poison and tranquiliser in her
creams and toothpaste. He then hides under her bed,
waiting until shes asleep before lying next to her all
night; he leaves the apartment in the morning before
she wakes. Though Clara feels increasingly ill, her
positive attitude shows no sign of abating. Ursula, the
teenage girl who lives opposite Clara, knows whats
going on and blackmails Csar shell keep quiet if he
pays her. Csar plans to kill Clara but she returns home
with her boyfriend Marcos. Csar hides under the bed
as the couple have sex, and manages to escape the next
morning. Clara learns that she is two months pregnant,
but she has been seeing Marcos for less than that.
Marcos is suspicious of Csar and confronts him. Csar
kills himand makes it look like suicide. Ursula witnesses
the murder but doesnt tell anyone after Csar
threatens her. The police believe Csars alibi involving
the cleaners son, but he still loses his job. Ayear later,
Clara has had the baby; she receives a letter fromCsar
explaining that the child is his. She cries inconsolably.
Producedby
JulioFernndez
Screenplay
AlbertoMarini
Director of
Photography
PabloRosso
Editor
GuillermodeLaCal
Art Director
Javier Alvario
Music
LucasVidal
SoundDesigner
Oriol Tarrag
Costume Designer
MarianCoromina
Mientras duermes,
A.I.E./Castelao
Pictures, S.L.
Production
Companies
Filmax Entertainment
presents aJulio
Fernndez production
for CastelaoPictures
AlmbyJaume
Balaguer
Withtheparticipation
of TVE- Televisin
Espaola, ONO,
Canal+, TV3- Televisi
deCatalunya
Withthesupport
of Institutodela
Cinematografa
y delasArtes
Audiovisuales
Withthecollaboration
of Institut Catal
deles Indstries
Culturals andInstitut
CataldeFinances
Executive Producers
JulioFernndez
Carlos Fernndez
AlbertoMarini
Cast
LuisTosar
Csar
Marta Etura
Clara
Alberto SanJuan
Marcos
Petra Martnez
SeoraVernica
IrisAlmeida Molina
rsula
Carlos Lasarte
neighbour in4B
Dolby Digital
InColour
[1.85:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Metrodome
DistributionLtd
9,076ft +8frames
Spanish
theatrical title
Mientras duermes
Aspy in the house of love: Luis Tosar
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby RyanGilbey
The Madchester music scene producedbands
andfans shaggyof hair, baggyof clothes and
laddishinnature (eventhe female ones). The
atmosphere was characterisedbythe mateyness
of the football stand, chemicallychargedby
ecstasyas betteda soundwithone foot inrock
stadiumandone indiscotheque. Madchester
was distinct fromboththe studiedgriminess
of US grunge (Nirvana, Soundgarden) andthe
feyness of some of the Britpopoutts onthe
horizon(Suede, Pulp). KeyMadchester bands
includedHappyMondays (whose 1988 second
album, Bummed, showcasedtheir love of the
1970Nicolas Roeg/DonaldCammell lm
Performance) andInspiral Carpets (whocounted
future Oasis founder Noel Gallagher as a roadie).
Looming largest were The Stone Roses, whose
eponymous 1989debut albumfeaturedPollock-
esque cover art bythe guitarist JohnSquires
andloose, roomytracks suchas I Wanna Be
Adored andI Amthe Resurrection. The album
was sointoxicating, andthe bands image so
inclusive, that it seemedbrieythat theycould
get awaywithanything, evena perverse failure
toreproduce that magic onstage: a mere ten
seconds of live singing bytheir frontmanIan
Browncouldforce one torevise upwards even
the lowest musical opinionof Linda McCartney.
Apoorlymanagedandtechnicallylacklustre
showonthe MerseyEstuaryinWidnes
provides the backdrop, climaxandtitle for
Spike Island, the secondfeature bythe British
director Mat Whitecross. This straightforward
lmis less reliant onformalist mischief than
Whitecrosss 2010non-documentarydebut,
the IanDurybiopic Sex &Drugs &Rock &
Roll, whichhe made after co-directing with
Michael WinterbottomThe Road to Guantnamo
(2006) andThe Shock Doctrine (2009). The
focus is ona groupof ve Mancunianpals of
16or 17, the effect ontheir lives of The Stone
Roses, andtheir determinationtoattendthe
Spike Islandgig despite not having tickets.
The friends leader, Tits (Elliott Tittensor,
the pinch-facedcherubwhowas a regular on
Paul Abbotts Channel 4 series Shameless), has a
gravelyill father, a miscreant brother missing
presumedclubbing inIbiza, anda crushonlocal
girl Sally, whowill alsobe at Spike Island. But
Titss best friendandbandmate inRoses-copyists
Shadowcaster has alsobeenmaking goo-goo
eyes at Sally. That these andother assorted
conicts laidout inthe rst half are checkedoff
routinelyinthe secondis nobadthing. Nor is the
boys larkyapproachtotheir various obstacles:
trying totempt a slacker out of his vansothat
theymight steal it, theyuse the E.T. methodof
scattering a treasure-trail onthe ground, though
inthis case its not gailycolouredReeses Pieces
but cider, weedandRizlas that dothe trick.
Character names (KeithTeeth, Uncle Hairy)
suggest castoffs fromHappyMondays songs,
while the script bythe actor Chris Coghill (who
plays the manluredfromhis van) has some
juicylines that remainvaguelyintelligible
amidthe verbal Mancunianthicket. Pondering
the name of Shadowcasters rivals, The Palaver,
one ladwonders: Whonames their bandafter
a fruit meringue? It adds uptoa breezybut
Spike Island
United Kingdom2012
Director: Mat Whitecross
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unexceptional watch the cinematic equivalent
of a nicelyobservedyoung adult novel, whereas
the US equivalent might have beensomething
transformative like Dazed and Confused (1993)
or The Myth of the AmericanSleepover (2010).
Taking the stage: Elliott Tittensor, Emilia Clarke
Manchester, May 1990. Three days before The Stone
Roses are to play at Spike Island inWidnes, ve
schoolfriends, includingTits and Dodge, are still
ticketless. They hope to pass a demo tape of their
own band, Shadowcaster, toThe Stone Roses. Both
Tits and Dodge harbour feelings for Sally, who will
also be at the gig. When their contact fails to come
through with tickets, Titss brother Ibiza Ste promises
to get themon the guest list. The night before the
show, Tits is called to the hospital to visit his father,
who is dying of cancer. The next morning, his father
urges himto attend the gig. The friends reachWidnes
via a stolen van, which breaks down, then by stowing
away in the luggage hold of a coach. Denied access
to the show, they convene in an adjacent eld with
Sally. Back home, Tits discovers that Ibiza Ste had the
tickets all along. Tits and Sally sleep together. Tits
goes to the hospital to nd that his father has died.
Dodge plays guitar at the wake. WithTitss blessing,
Dodge goes on tour with rival bandThe Palaver.
Producedby
FionaNeilson
Esther Douglas
Writtenby
Chris Coghill
Director of
Photography
Christopher Ross
Editor
Peter Christelis
Production
Designer
RichardBullock
Original Music
TimWheeler
IlanEshkeri
SoundRecordist
StevieHaywood
Costume Designer
LizaBracey
TheBritishFilm
Institute/Madeof
StoneFilms Ltd
Production
Companies
BFI andHeadGear
Films present in
associationwith
Metrol Technology,
RisingStar Media
andBBCFilms a
Fiestaproduction
inassociation
withRevolver
Entertainment
Madeinassociation
withHeadGear
Films andMetrol
Technology
Madewiththe
support of the
BFIs FilmFundand
UKFilmCouncils
Development Fund
Executive
Producers
Phil Hunt
AdamKulick
JoeOppenheimer
ComptonRoss
Guy Berryman
Jonny Buckland
Will Champion
Chris Martin
Cast
Elliott Tittensor
Tits
Emilia Clarke
Sally
Nico Mirallegro
Dodge
JordanMurphy
Zippy
AdamLong
LittleGaz
Oliver Heald
Penfold
MatthewMcNulty
IbizaSte
Steve Evets
Eric
Chris Coghill
UncleHairy
JodieWhittaker
Suzanne
AntoniaThomas
Lisa
Michael Socha
Carl
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
Revolver
Entertainment
Credits and Synopsis
ReviewedbyVadimRizov
Its tooeasy, FBI investigator TimHarlend
(DannyHuston) muses, watching Will
Montgomery(Nicolas Cage) andgang
staging a jewel heist. This crewdoesnt do
tooeasy. Predictably, this reunionof Con
Air director SimonWest andhis down-and-
out star undermines Hustons words.
Having servedaneight-year jail sentence for
a failedheist, Will makes anintrusive pest of
himself withestrangeddaughter Alison(Sami
Gayle), introducedonher waytotherapyto
discuss her absent-father issues. Like Liam
NeesoninTaken(2008), Will has a chance to
make goodbyrescuing Alisonwhenshes
kidnappedbyhis psychotic ex-partner Vincent
(JoshLucas), whoshot himself inthe foot while
being draggedawaybyWill froma witness he
wantedtokill. Vincent blames Will for his right
legs amputation. I was a goldenboy, dollface,
he screams at Alison. NowIma freakin Picasso!
For muchof Mardi Gras, Cage runs around
NewOrleans insearchof his daughter, whois
stashedinthe trunkof Vincents cab. Anyone
tiredof chaos cinema maybe soothedbyWests
excessive coverage, whichbreaks a simple action
a car driving across the central reservation,
say intoparodicallythoroughdetail.
Stolen
USA2012
Director: SimonWest
Certicate 12A 95m46s
To catch a thief: Nicolas Cage
NewOrleans, eight years ago. When a heist
goes awry, thief Will Montgomery is abandoned
by his partners; he burns $10 million in
cash to ensure a lesser sentence.
When Will is released fromprison eight years later,
his estranged daughter Alison is kidnapped by his
former partner Vincent. During the earlier robbery,
Vincent shot himself in the foot when Will dragged
himaway froma witness he was trying to kill and he
blames Will for the subsequent amputation of his leg.
In exchange for Alison, he demands $10 million. With
help fromformer partner Riley, Will steals that sumin
gold. During their exchange, Will saves his daughter
and Vincent is killed.
Producedby
RenBesson
JesseKennedy
MatthewJoynes
Writtenby
DavidGuggenheim
Director of
Photography
JamesWhitaker
Editedby
GlennScantlebury
ProductionDesigner
Jaymes Hinkle
Music
Mark Isham
SoundMixer
Jay Meagher
Costume Designer
Christopher Lawrence
Stunt Co-ordinator
NoonOrsatti
Medal
Productions, Inc.
Production
Companies
MillenniumFilms
presents aNu
Imageproduction
inassociationwith
SaturnFilms
Almby SimonWest
Executive Producers
JosephMcGinty
[i.e. McG]
MaryViola
Boaz Davidson
JohnThompson
Avi Lerner
Danny Dimbort
Trevor Short
KristinaDubin
JibPolhemus
CassianElwes
Cast
Nicolas Cage
Will Montgomery
Danny Huston
TimHarlend
MalinAkerman
RileyJeffers
M.C. Gainey
Hoyt
Sami Gayle
AlisonLoeb
MarkValley
Fletcher
JoshLucas
Vincent
Edrick Browne
Jacobs
Barry Shabaka
Henley
Reginald
Dolby Digital/DTS
InColour
2.35:1 [Super 35]
Distributor
LionsgateUK
8,619ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
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Reviewedby HannahMcGill
The cosy torpor of a long
family car journey, and the gap
that yawns betweena childs
dawning emotional awareness
and the true complexities
of adult entanglements:
bothare evoked withprecisionand aching
empathy inDominga Sotomayors feature
debut. Perhaps inevitably, since it primarily
occupies a frustrated perspective that of
pubescent Luca, whos old enoughto pick
uponsexual and emotional currents but too
young to demand or condently guess at their
explanations its also a somewhat frustrating
watch. Scenes are slow, exhaustively detailed
and non-judgementally attentive to behaviour
thats frequently far fromreasonable. And those
alert to arthouse clich may identify it inthe
drifty pace, the childs-eye viewpoint and the
theme of bourgeois concealment of secrets and
lies. But Sotomayors condent directionof her
extremely accomplished young cast Santi
Ahumada as Luca and Emiliano Freifeld as
little brother Manuel are particularly striking
and her skilled management bothof screen
time and of the owof plot informationdraw
added value fromwhat might have seemed
like anoverextended short-lmsubject.
The passivityof childrenwithina shifting
familyset-upis foregroundedfromthe lms
opening, inwhicha childs sleepybodyis
transportedintoa car aheadof a holidaytrip
fromthe home inSantiagotoa campsite in
the wilder reaches of northernChile. Off-
camera, young mother Ana (Paola Giannini)
asks, Are yousure youwant me togo? We
alreadytalkedabout it, responds her husband
Fernando(FranciscoPrez-Bannen). Its the rst
of a successionof passive-aggressive exchanges
that will leave the audience todrawits own
conclusions regarding whoexactlyis leaving
whom. The insecure positioninwhichher
parents fracturing relationship andher own
hormonallyunsettledstage of life leaves Luca
is neatlyevokedthroughseveral instances of
sudden, disorienting solitude. Whenthe family
stops at a roadside caf andLuca loses sight
of the rest of them, Brbara Alvarezs stalking
camera captures her ina state of confusion
thats lacedwithjust a little exhilaration: shes
just at the age of realising that one dayshell
have nochoice but toexist independentlyof
their care. This not-too-distant future prospect
is incarnatedsoonafterwards inthe appealingly
unkempt formof twofemale hitchhikers, 18
and19years old. Fernandopicks themupto
antagonise Ana, whohas piquedhis jealousyby
excitedlyarranging tomeet her oldfriendJuan
during the trip; but toLuca, theyare emblems
of a freedomshe canjust barelyenvisage.
Shes not the onlyone withdreams of
carefree independence. BothFernandoand
Ana, neither of whomis far past 30, xate on
their youth, anddont hide fromtheir children
their bitterness at its loss. Fernandorefers
repeatedlytorebellious episodes fromhis past,
andattempts torecreate one whenhe pinches
some fruit thats droppedover the outside wall
of anorchard. (He gets shot at for his trouble, but
the glamour drains out of his adventure when
Ana pronounces his bootyhardas rock.) Ana,
meanwhile, does her bit tointroduce Luca to
female self-criticismwhenshe pulls backthe
skinonher face andtells the young girl, This
is howI shouldbelike youbeautiful.
Anas looks clearlyarent a problemfor the
aforementionedJuan, whose arrival onthe
scene further activates Fernandos inner teenage
boy: wherever Juanmight claimor assume
superiority, Fernandois quicktocompete.
Whether Ana andJuanare physicallyinvolved
is left ambiguous, but fromtheir easyphysical
intimacythe watchful Luca deduces the coming
demise her parents marriage whichgrowing
certaintyconfuses the issue of Ana slipping out
of the childrens tent indeadof night inorder to
make love toFernando. Dothe marauding pigs
that invade the campsite the following morning
(while she dreams of being forcedintoa horrible
choice) represent Lucas impressions of greedy,
undigniedgrown-upsexuality? Whether or
not one regards the lms take onthe trappings
of adulthoodas quite that negative, certainly
the onlycharacter whoseems free of regrets,
painful suspicions andfantasies of escape is
Manuel, a boysoguileless that he begs Luca for
a favourite game inwhichhe gets toplayher
slave, andsweetlycontends, whenhis father
is trying tocoaxAna out of a nocturnal tantrum
andbackintothe car, She doesnt want to.
The fact that growing upentirelydesimplies
the matter of wanting that motivations here
are constantlysplit anddoubled is reected
inremarkable cameraworkbyAlvarez. Regular
camerapersontoLucrecia Martel, she works here
onlushlyexpressive Super 16, andhabitually
contains multiple points of actioninone
frame, offering the audience layers of activityto
observe evenas the dialogue gives little away.
Santiago, Chile, the present. Troubled couple Fernando
andAna take their children, Luca and Manuel, on a
long car journey to a campsite in the north. On the
way, Ana arranges to meet up with her old friendJuan
and his sonJorge. The family also encounter a young
man travelling alone on a motorcycle. Permitted the
thrill of riding on the roof, Manuel and Luca watch
their parents bickering through the windscreen. At the
campsite, Fernando competes withJuan, and Luca
notices her parents ambiguous exchanges and her
mothers closeness withJuan. Luca hears lovemaking
in the night. In the morning the campsite is overrun
with wild pigs. Luca fantasises about being free: to
learn to drive, to build a house in the country, to y
like a bird. She has a frightening dreamabout being
forced to choose the manner of her own death. On
the way home, they hear on the radio that the young
motorcyclist has been found dead. Fernando tells Ana
that he will rent a separate apartment. Accusing himof
already having done so, she walks off into the desert by
herself. The family dont nd her until after dark. In the
morning, though a fragile unit, they are still together.
Thursday till Sunday
Chile/The Netherlands/France/Spain/Argentina 2012
Director: Dominga Sotomayor
Producers
GregorioGonzlez
BenjamnDomenech
Writtenby
DomingaSotomayor
Director of
Photography
BarbaraAlvarez
Editors
DanielleFillios
CatalinaMarn
ProductionDesigner
EstefanaLarran
SoundDesign
RobertoEspinoza
Costume Designer
JuanaDiaz
[nocompany given]
Production
Companies
AForastero,
Cinestacin
productionin
co-production
withCirceFilms
Inassociationwith
TricicloFilms
Producedwith
thesupport of
Cinefondation
Residence- Festival
deCannes,
Hubert Bals
Fund/Rotterdam
International Film
Festival, Netherlands
FilmFund, Consejode
laCulturay lasArtes
- FondodeFomento
Audiovisual, Corfo,
Ibermediaandthe
support of Australab
- FICV, Buenos
Aires Lab- BAFICI,
FundacinTypa
Cast
Francisco
Prez-Bannen
Papa
Paola Giannini
Ana
Santi Ahumada
Luca
Emiliano Freifeld
Manuel
Axel Dupr
Jos
Jorge Becker
Jorge
InColour
[1.85:1]
Subtitles
Distributor
Day for Night
Chileantheatrical title
De jueves a domingo
OnscreenEnglish
subtitle
Thursday through
Sunday
Abad trip: Santi Ahumada
Credits and Synopsis
See Feature
on page 46
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Reviewedby KimNewman
Basedona 2001 TVmovie
writtenanddirectedbysmall-
screengenre specialist Joe
Ahearne (Ultraviolet, Doctor
Who), DannyBoyles Trance
is as mucha throwback
tothe days of tricksyheist movies as the
recent more laidbackGambit. Anillustrated
lecture onart theft andthe securitymeasures
takentoprevent it whichare thendeftly
sidesteppedbyamboyant, cool thieves
establishes a worldof fabulouslyvaluable
prizes that cannever be displayed, characters
whohave modishapartments (andneuroses),
anda clean, crisp, fantasyLondonremoved
fromthe grittier Scottishsettings of Boyles
earlier ventures intocrime andbetrayal.
There is a line betweenthe Boyle of Shallow
Grave (1994) andTrainspotting (1996) and
Trance, not least inthe returnof his screenwriter
collaborator JohnHodge andthe wayJames
McAvoys protagonist Simonsounds like the
young EwanMcGregor, downtothe hollow
smarmandincipient homicidal mania. In
a tightlyplotted, treacherous tale, theres
roomonlyfor three substantial players and
its a triangle of deceptioninwhichthe most
obviouslydevious character Vincent Cassels
Frenchthief actuallyhas the least tohide as
the lmkeeps rolling backtoreveal that what
we tookfor plot-advancing scenes were just
fantasies, andthat keysequences have been
editedtomake roomfor later revelations in
ellipses Boyle is cannyenoughtostage without
apparent effort. Still, there are warning bells
Simons unnecessaryuse of a stungunduring
a robberyhe isnt actuallytrying tostop, his
randomselectionof a hypnotherapist andher
scalpel-sharpdissectionof his cover storyafter
he turns upclaiming tobe searching for his lost
car keys whenhes reallyafter a missing Goya.
RosarioDawsonplays the femme semi-fatale
like the therapists or lawyers inthose glossy
padded-shoulder slasher movies of the 80s and
90s (Jagged Edge, Whispers inthe Dark), witha
fewkinks suchas popping intothe bathroomto
shave her pubes inorder tocater toher bipolar
patients Barbie-doll fetish. Boyle gives her the
full glamour treatment, thoughhe doesnt skimp
onexposing McAvoyandCassel, but the way
all the characters holdbackvital information
prevents involvement withthem, making them
puppets or spectres sothat the onlylife in
the lmcomes fromits one randomelement,
the doomedinnocent (Tuppence Middleton)
whokeeps being writtenover inthe memory
sequences. Like all mysteries that dependon
180-degree twists, Trance risks being surprising
but not satisfying it has the feel of a super-
producedTVmovie, andthoughit dazzles while
its running, it self-destructs soonafter. Ironically,
its viewers are likelytosuffer the same memory
lapses as its protagonist unable tosort out
what has reallyhappened, but not motivated
enoughtogothroughit againfor the answers.
Trance
USA/United Kingdom/Australia 2013
Director: Danny Boyle
Certicate 15 101m17s
Brainspotting: Rosario Dawson
Reviewedby HannahMcGill
Despite its dramatis personae of zombies, zombie
hunters andkiller skeletons, WarmBodies is
less anironic indulgence for horror fans than
a post-feminist romance inwhichthe ever-
versatile undeadprovide a neat emblemfor male
ineffectuality. Manyof the jokes inthe lms
gentlypleasurable voiceover whichoffers lead
actor Nicholas Hoult the chance tospeakeven
as his onscreencharacter largelygrunts work
byapplying standardself-critiques of the hapless
young male tothe conditionof zombiedom.
Imsopale, muses R, deadsome eight years. I
shouldstandupstraightWhydoI have tobe so
weird? Smittenwithliving humanJulie (Teresa
Palmer), he lumbers towards her, inwardly
cautioning himself, Dont be creepy Later,
rather thanJulie following romcomconvention
bydoing herself uptoplease the newmanin
her life, Rsubmits toa makeover fromJulie and
her best friend; having maskedhis pallor with
makeup, the girls tell him, Youlookhot.
The unambiguous likeabilityandsexual
passivityof R, plus the cursory, goreless manner
inwhichthe fewscenes of actual peril are
handled, dropthe stakes prettylowinWarm
Bodies not surprisingly, perhaps, givenits
origins ina teen-orientednovel byIsaac Marion
andthe redemptive fuzziness of writer-director
JonathanLevines previous rites-of-passage icks
The Wackness (2008) and50/50 (2011). Agreater
threat is posedbyseen-it-all teencynicismthan
byzombie brain-munching: just after losing her
boyfriend, Julie explains her froideur withthe
words, Inmyworld, people die all the time.
That Rhas the requisite authenticitytochallenge
her jadedness is indicatedbyhis fondness for
obsolete music andtechnology; he prefers vinyl
records, onthe basis that theysoundmore alive.
Nostalgia proves tobe anadaptable
quantity: syrupypoodle-rockpower ballads, a
snowglobe anda trashy80s Polaroidcamera
are among the throwawayartefacts Rhas
shoredupagainst apocalyptic decay. But
perhaps this acknowledgment of the ne
line betweentrashandtreasure is part of the
lms stubbornlyoptimistic credo.
Its investment inthe power of love
WarmBodies
USA 2013
Director: Jonathan Levine
Certicate 12A 97m38s
See Feature
on page 60
London. Compulsive gambler Simon tries to pay
off a debt by acting as inside man for the heist of
a Goya painting fromthe high-end auction house
where he works. However, during the robbery he
takes the painting himself, leaving master thief
Franck with only the frame. Simon escapes from
the scene of the crime but is involved in a minor
road accident; he loses his memory and is unable
to remember where the painting is hidden.
Franck and his minions try to torture Simon for
the information but still he cant remember so
he is persuaded to take a course of hypnotherapy
with Dr Elizabeth Lamb. He poses as someone who
has lost his car keys, but Elizabeth sees through
the imposture, discovers what is really going on and
seems to cut herself in on the robbery proceeds,
while also beginning a relationship with Franck. Under
hypnosis, Simon uncovers memories of a woman
driving a red car. He tries to stay ahead of the game
by plotting to kill the rest of the gang a fantasy
that Elizabeth encourages himto act out. Simon
eventually remembers that the painting is in the boot
of the red car, which also contains the corpse of the
woman (whomhe strangled), in an underground car
park. Elizabeth reveals that she always knewwho
Simon was, having once had a relationship with him
which she erased fromhis mind to escape. Elizabeth
exploits the situation to best both Simon and Franck.
Producedby
ChristianColson
Screenplay
JoeAhearne
JohnHodge
Story
JoeAhearne
Director of
Photography
Anthony DodMantle
Editor
JonHarris
ProductionDesigner
MarkTildesley
Music
Rick Smith
Production
SoundMixer
SimonHayes
Costume Designer
Suttirat Larlarb
Twentieth
Century Fox Film
Corporation, Path
Productions Limited,
IndianPaintbrush
Productions LLCand
TSGEntertainment
Finance LLC(inall
territories except
Brazil, Italy, Japan,
KoreaandSpain)
TCFHungary Film
Rights Exploitation
LimitedLiability
Company, Twentieth
Century Fox Film
Corporation, Path
Productions Limited,
IndianPaintbrush
Productions LLCand
TSGEntertainment
Finance LLC(in
Brazil, Italy, Japan,
KoreaandSpain)
Production
Companies
Path, Fox Searchlight
Pictures andFilm4
present aCloud
Eight/Decibel
Films production
ADanny Boylelm
Madeinassociation
withTSG
Entertainment,
Ingenious Mediaand
IndianPaintbrush
Producedin
associationwithBig
ScreenProductions,
DownProductions
andIngenious
FilmPartners
Executive Producers
StevenRales
Mark Roybal
BernardBellew
Franois Ivernel
CameronMcCracken
TessaRoss
Cast
James McAvoy
Simon
Vincent Cassel
Franck
Rosario Dawson
Elizabeth
Danny Sapani
Nate
Matt Cross
Dominic
WahabSheikh
Riz
Mark Poltimore
Francis Lemaitre
Tuppence Middleton
youngwoman
inredcar
SimonKunz
surgeon
DolbyAtmos/
Datasat/SDDS
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
PathProductions
9,115ft +8frames
Credits and Synopsis
Romance is dead: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer
108 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
R
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means that it must offer counters to
the bitter assertionof Julies father,
onbeing toldof the zombies recovery, that
things dont get better. Theyget worse.
Perhaps acknowledging a more recent and
direct source of nostalgia, Levine has allowed
a couple of direct lifts fromShaunof the Dead
(2004): pre-apocalypse city-dwellers behaving
indistinguishablyfromzombies; a warm-bodied
humanpractising Halloween-partyzombie
moves inorder topass unnoticedamidthe
undead. Anddespite the nodtoShakespeare in
Julie andRs names, Romeo and Juliet references
are prettymuchrestrictedtoa single balcony
shot a far more rigorous zombicationof
that text was undertakeninRyanDenmarks
comic schlockdelight Romeo &Juliet vs. the Living
Dead (2009). Zombies here neither shocknor
subvert; rather theyfunctionnot unlike the
memory-wiping fantasytechnologydeployed
byMichel GondryandCharlie Kaufmanin
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004),
as a conceit that permits the evasionof a
standardromcomnarrative while supporting
a highlevel of starry-eyedromanticism.
America, the near future. Eight years after an
unspecied catastrophe, society is split into three
groups: living humans, who are conned behind a
protective wall; esh-eating zombies, who invade
occasionally; and roamingbonies, zombies who
have degenerated into murderous skeletons. During
a brawl, zombie R impulsively saves humanJulie,
after killing and eating her boyfriend Perry. He
takes her back to his hideout in a disused airport,
where they become friends. R starts to regain his
memories and his ability to speak and dream; other
zombies experience the same phenomena. The
bonies remain bloodthirsty, as does the zombie-
hunting militia commanded byJulies father General
Grigio. Julie and R hide out in a vacated suburban
house, but when R reveals toJulie that he killed
Perry, she leaves and returns to the city. R follows
her and they reconcile. Julie and her friend Nora
disguise R as a human; the three visit General Grigio
to explain that the zombies are changing, but he
will not accept it. R andJulie ee again. Humans
and newly sensitive zombies begin to collaborate
against bonies, but Grigios men still corner and
shoot R. He bleeds, thus proving that he has become
human again, and Grigio calls off his men.
In voiceover R reports that the humans and
zombies united to destroy all the bonies. Happily
together, R andJulie watch the wall fall.
Producedby
BrunaPapandrea
DavidHoberman
ToddLieberman
Screenplay
JonathanLevine
Basedonthenovel
by Isaac Marion
Director of
Photography
Javier Aguirresarobe
Editor
Nancy Richardson
Production
Designer
MartinWhist
Music
MarcoBeltrami
Buck Sanders
ProductionSound
Recordist
Louis Marion
Costume Designer
GeorgeL. Little
Summit
Entertainment, LLC.
Production
Companies
Summit
Entertainment
presents aMake
Movies/Mandeville
Pictures production
Executive
Producers
LaurieWebb
Cori ShepherdStern
Nicolas Stern
Cast
Nicholas Hoult
R
Teresa Palmer
Julie
RobCorddry
M
Dave Franco
Perry
AnaleighTipton
Nora
Cory Hardrict
Kevin
JohnMalkovich
Grigio
Dolby Digital/
Datasat
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
E1 Films
8,787 ft +0frames
Credits and Synopsis
Reviewedby CatherineWheatley
The opening scenes of Welcome to the Punch
are a snarling statement of intent. Cars and
motorcycles roar throughthe blinking lights
andstarklines of a night-time CanaryWharf.
The editing is fast anddisorienting, awashwith
close-ups of steel, chrome andspinning wheels.
Theres a frantic ght, a brutal shooting and
nallya cut toa cold, glittering Cityskyscape.
Detective MaxLewinskyis left witha
shatteredknee, fromwhichhe draws uidwith
a syringe everymorning. Ascarredantihero
inthe mouldof Blade Runners RickDeckard,
Lewinskyis obsessedwithdealing out justice to
JacobSternwood, the criminal whoinictedthe
wound. Andsure enough, his chance arises when
three years later Sternwoodreturns toLondonto
see his sonhospitalisedafter being shot inthe
stomachbyanunknownassailant. But director
EranCreevysteers awayfroma straightforward
revenge narrative, swerving intothe territory
occupiedbyMichael Manns Heat (1995) and
AndrewLauandAlanMaks Infernal Affairs
(2002), as the lines betweencopandrobber
blur andcorruptionseeps throughthe city.
BothLewinskyandhis quarryare intricately
entwinedwithLondon. Throughthem, we
see twosides of the city: the sleekplate-glass
spaces of pseudo-transparencywhichhouse
bankers, businessmenandpoliticians; andthe
shadybunkers where the would-be respectable
literallystore their dirtysecrets. Londonhas
never lookedsoslicklyfuturistic: glitteryand
gorgeous andgrimyandgrimall at once. Much
of the credit for this neo-noir aesthetic must go
toproductiondesigner CrispianSallis, a regular
collaborator of the Scott brothers, having worked
onRevenge (1990) withTonyandGladiator (2000)
andHannibal (2001) withRidley. As executive
producer, the latter has alsohada handin
shaping the lm with, one suspects, less than
fortuitous results. Creevys 2008 debut Shifty
was rightlypraisedfor its nuancedplotting
andthe chemistryof its leads. There, Creevy
gave his characters roomtobreathe; here, they
are smothered, choked, bythe shotguncrack
of the drama, the convolutedplotting and
some rather overzealous editing. Gaps open
upinthe narrative whichare left yawning,
while excellent actors suchas Daniel Mays and
Andrea Riseboroughare givenfrustratingly
little todobefore being summarilydispatched.
This is preciselythe kindof schematism
that felledScotts Prometheus (2012). Its hard
toshake the feeling that Scott has streamlined
Creevys original screenplayintoa more overtly
accessible formandturnedit intoa beautiful but
blandpiece of genre lmmaking. Creevywould
have beenbetter servedtosticktowhat he does
best or at the veryleast, tolooktothe rough-
edgedcharacter of Alien(1979) as inspiration.
Hes still one towatch, but Welcome to the Punch
wont be the lmthat makes Creevys name.
Welcome to the Punch
United Kingdom2012
Director: Eran Creevy
Certicate 15 99m36s
London, the present. Three years ago, detective Max
Lewinsky was shot and injured by master criminal
Jacob Sternwood during an attempted arrest.
Sternwood ed the country, leaving Lewinsky obsessed
with revenge. NowSternwoods son Ruan has been
hospitalised with a bullet wound, and Sternwood is
back. Sternwood traces his sons past movements to
a hotel, where he nds a stash of cash. Hoping to ush
out his sons assailant, he lays a trap. Investigating in
the aftermath, Lewinsky realises that his colleague
Nathan Bartnick was at the hotel. He informs his boss,
Thomas Geiger. Lewinskys partner Sarah Hawks
tails DeanWarns, the man suspected of shooting
Ruan, to a storage facility where she discovers an
arms cache in container PUNCH119. Warns murders
her and deposits the body in Lewinskys at.
Having gured out that Bartnick shot his son,
Sternwood arranges a meeting with himin an
abandoned nightclub. Geiger, who has tapped Bartnicks
phone, sends Lewinsky along. In the resulting shootout,
Sternwood and Lewinsky join forces against Bartnick
andWarns. They escape and ee to the hospital, where
they discover that Ruan has died. Lewinsky (framed
for Hawkss murder) and Sternwood blackmail Warns
into arranging a meeting at the storage facility with his
boss who turns out to be Geiger. Geiger reveals that
Ruans death was the result of a botched set-up: he had
been working with politician Robert Wiseman to create
a moral panic around gun crime, thereby assuring
Wisemans zero-tolerance policies would win himthe
next election. During a standoff, Sternwood shoots
Geiger but is himself hurt. Lewinsky lets himescape,
turning to face the approaching back-up squad alone.
Producedby
RoryAitken
BenPugh
BrianKavanaugh-
Jones
Writtenby
EranCreevy
Director of
Photography
EdWild
Editing
Chris Gill
ProductionDesigner
CrispianSallis
Music
Harry Escott
Production
SoundMixer
ColinNicolson
Costume Designer
NatalieWard
Stunt Co-ordinator
Dickey Beer
RedDiesel Ltd/The
BritishFilmInstitute
Production
Companies
Worldview
Entertainment
andBFI present
IMGlobal andAlliance
Films present
Inassociationwith
QuicktimeFilms
aBetweentheEyes
andAutomatik
production
AScott Free
production
Almby EranCreevy
Developedin
associationwith
OrlandoWood
andMagic Hour
Entertainment
Madewiththe
support of the
National Lottery
throughtheBritish
FilmIstitutes
FilmFund
Executive Producers
Christopher Woodrow
Molly Conners
Stuart Ford
Xavier Marchand
JanPace
Ridley Scott
LizaMarshall
MariaCestone
SarahJohnson
Redlich
JamesAtherton
Cast
James McAvoy
Max Lewinsky
Mark Strong
JacobSternwood
Andrea Riseborough
SarahHawks
Peter Mullen
Roy Edwards
Johnny Harris
DeanWarns
Daniel Mays
NathanBartnick
DavidMorrissey
Thomas Geiger
Natasha Little
JaneBadham
Daniel Kaluuya
JukaOgadowa
RuthSheen
IrisWarns
JasonFlemyng
Harvey Crown
Elyes Gabel
RuanSternwood
Dolby Digital
InColour
[2.35:1]
Distributor
MomentumPictures
8.964ft +0frames
Heat is on: Mark Strong
Credits and Synopsis
020 7928 3232
| LLGFF | @BFI #LLGFF
bfi.org.uk/llgff
Sponsors Principal Sponsor
FILMS, EVENTS,
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FILMSBYMARIOBAVA
BLACKSUNDAY
Italy1960; ArrowVideo/RegionBBlu-rayandRegion
2DVDDual Format; Certicate15; 96minutes;
Aspect Ratio1.66:1; Features: audiocommentary,
TheMaskof Satan alternateversion, booklet, trailers,
interviewwithMarkDamon, introductionbyAlan
Jones, TVandradiospots, I vampiri (1956)
LISAANDTHEDEVIL
Italy/West Germany/Spain1972; ArrowVideo/Region
BBlu-rayandRegion2DVDDual Format; Certicate18;
95minutes; Aspect Ratio1.77:1; Features: TheHouseof
Exorcism alternateversion, introductionbyAlanJones,
audiocommentaries, trailers, TheExorcismof Lisa
Reviewed by James Blackford
The oftenimaginative and stylistically rich
world of Italianhorror has beenenjoying a
critical and popular renaissance inrecent years,
withseveral marginalised directors of the 1960s
and 70s receiving the recognitiononce only
RedemptionFilms inNorthAmerica and
ArrowVideo inthe UK. Arrowhas kicked
off its series withsuperbly comprehensive
releases of two of Bavas gothic lms the
aforementioned Black Sunday and one of the
directors last lms inthis vein, Lisa and the
Devil (1972). Its aninteresting pairing inthat
the two lms bookend Bavas work withinthe
gothic horror eld and represent markedly
different approaches to the subgenre.
Black Sunday was Bavas rst lmas director.
Following inhis father Eugenio Bavas footsteps
hed worked as a cameramanthroughout the
30s and 40s and by the mid-50s had found
himself completing several pictures for Galatea
Film, including Riccardo Fredas I vampiri
(1956), considered the rst Italianhorror lm
(it is generously included onArrows Black
Sunday Blu-ray edition). By way of saying
thank you, Lionello Santi, head of Galatea,
invited Bava to make his directorial debut,
affording himthe freedomto choose whatever
genre he wanted (so long as it didnt cost too
much). Bava chose horror and Nikolai Gogols
gothic fairytale Viy as his source material.
Black Sunday wound up bearing little
resemblance to its Slavonic literary forebear
afforded their art-cinema compatriots. One case
inpoint is the pioneering gothic horror and
giallo specialist Mario Bava (1914-1980). Aquiet,
reserved manwho self-effacingly referred to
himself as a mere romantic craftsman, Bava
made a string of low-budget but nevertheless
literate and aesthetically sophisticated horror
and thriller B-movies inthe 60s and 70s. With
his monochrome debut Black Sunday (La
maschera del demonio, 1960) and the murder
mystery Blood and Black Lace (Sei donne per
lassassino, 1964), Bava dened the character
and style of the Italianhorror and giallo genres
respectively. Other notable works include the
gloriously orid colour movies The Whip and the
Body (La frusta e il corpo, 1963), Kill, BabyKill!
(Operazione paura, 1966) and the portmanteau
lmBlack Sabbath (I tre volti della paura, 1963),
starring Boris Karloff. Emulated enmasse by
his Cinecitt contemporaries, Bavas lms also
inuenced Americanlmmakers working
inthe gothic horror and slasher genres.
After enjoying healthy exposure onDVD
over the past tenyears, it is against a backdrop
of critical reappraisal and ever-growing fan
adorationthat all Bavas theatrically distributed
lms come to Blu-ray for the rst time, through
Beauty and the beastly: Barbara Steele as Princess Asa in Mario Bavas debut feature Black Sunday
Italianhorror maestro Mario Bava
was the romantic craftsman
who pioneered a chiller cinema
of sophisticated scares
SATANIC MAJESTIES
Home cinema
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save for its Carpathianlocale and period
setting. It opens witha prologue set in
17th-century Moldavia, where the beautiful
Princess Asa (Britishactress Barbara Steele,
ina career-dening role) is put to death
along withher lover Igor Javutich(Arturo
Dominici) for consorting withthe devil. The
mode of executionordered by the Grand
Inquisitor, Asas brother Prince Vajda (Ivo
Garrani), is particularly grisly a spiked
mask is to be hammered downonAsas face
but before she is put to deaththe doomed
princess swears revenge onher enemies,
inthe name of Satan. Two hundred years
later, doctors Kruvajan(Andrea Checchi)
and Gorobek (JohnRichardson) stumble
across Asas tomb; while exploring the ruins
of her resting place, Kruvajancuts himself
and unwittingly drips blood onto the
corpse. Asa and her endishlover Javutich
are consequently resurrected and set about
vengefully possessing the witchs beautiful
descendant Katia (also played by Steele).
Italianhorror cinema is knownfor its intense
atmosphere, extravagant visual style and gory
scenes, and Black Sunday is the lmthat rst
pioneered this approach. Asupremely visual
experience, Bavas style is anextensionof
the gothic aesthetic pioneered by Universals
horror lms of the 1930s. The beautifully
composed chiaroscuro cinematography,
expressionistic set designand art directionand
the grotesquely appealing makeup lend the
lma distinct atmosphere; this is cinema at its
most grandiose and rich, brimful of high-own
imagery. Bava lmed almost all the exteriors
ona stage at Titanus Studios inRome so that
he could exert complete control over the
supposed natural environment he was creating.
The result is a convincingly eerie and archaic
world: a terrifying, foggy nightmare realm
of castles, boggy marshes and ancient forests
throughwhichBavas camera slowly prowls.
The story unfolds ina rather perfunctory
manner and, as is usual withItaliangenre
lms, the dialogue is post-synched, hampering
the actors performances, but Bava punctuates
the narrative withlyrical and sometimes
disturbing set pieces whichset the lmalight.
These highlights include the bravura opening
scene inwhichAsa is put to death; a rapidly
edited bat attack; Javutichclawing himself out
of his muddy grave (whichmakes terrifying
use of thunderclaps and Dutchangles); and the
ghostly slow-motionsequence of a phantom
carriage coursing downa forest path.
Black Sundays aesthetics are resolutely
old-fashioned, but the lmmerges this
approachwitha strikingly moderndepiction
of violence. Taking his cue fromthe risqu
horror fare that Hammer had beenproducing
inthe late 50s, Bava employs several grisly
shocks, including a disturbing scene of
eye-violence that pre-empts the assaultive
cinema of fellowItalianhorror director Lucio
Fulci. Another groundbreaking aspect is the
lms intertwining of sexual attractionand
horror. Barbara Steeles disgured witchAsa
is undoubtedly the lms monster, but Bava
depicts her as morbidly beautiful, her heaving
bosomand clawing hands signifying her as
a representationof unbridled female sexual
desire, simultaneously repellent and attractive.
Made for a modest budget of around $100,000,
Black Sunday grossed millions worldwide,
propelling Steele to international stardom
and ushering ina craze for copycat Italian
chillers. However, by 1973, whenBava came
to direct his latter-day masterpiece Lisa and the
Devil, the gothic had become unfashionable,
withItalianaudiences nowinthrall to the
metropolitanthrills of the giallo horror/
mystery subgenre (whichBava also pioneered)
and international audiences ocking to the
modern-day horrors of Polanski and Romero.
Againgivencarte blanche, this time by
producer Alfredo Leone after the success of
Baron Blood (Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga,
1972), withLisa and the Devil Bava essayed
his most personal lm, realising a long-held
ambitionto marry the themes of his favourite
author H.P. Lovecraft withthe perversity
explored inKrafft-Ebings Psychopathia
Sexualis. Asurprisingly experimental,
dreamlike deconstructionof the tropes he
had perfected inhis earlier lms, Lisa is a
requiemfor the passing of the Italiangothic
cinema that hed pioneered and perfected.
Lisa stars Elke Sommer as a tourist travelling
throughToledo inSpain; transxed by a fresco
depicting the devil carrying the dead to hell,
she leaves her troupe and loses herself among
the towns labyrinthine backstreets. As night
descends, Lisa takes a lift withanaristocratic
couple, Francis Lehar (Eduardo Fajardo) and
his wife Sophia (Sylva Koscina). Whentheir
car (anold Packard) breaks down, the trio seek
refuge ina mansionowned by a blind countess
(Alida Valli) and her sonMaximilian(Alessio
Orano). Inthis strange, disorienting place,
Lisa stumbles into a confounding nightmare
of perversion, murder and lost identity, all
presided over by the countesss butler Leandro
(endishly played by Telly Savalas), who bears
anuncanny resemblance to the Devil depicted
inthe fresco seenat the start of the lm.
Lisa and the Devil sees Bava eschewthe
orthodox narrative continuity of conventional
genre cinema infavour of a dreamlike, non-
linear mode of lmnarration. The decaying
mansioninwhichLisa nds herself becomes
anirrational nightmare realmwhere time is in
stasis (signied by handless clocks), characters
appear and disappear, and reality gives way
to illusion. As Lisa wanders further downthe
rabbit hole, Bava draws onhis beloved lexicon
of gothic tropes: decaying statues, shrubbery
cloaked inmist, lavishperiod furnishings
and funeral paraphernalia. But inthis more
experimental lm, rather thanexpressing
the traditional gothic supernatural concerns,
the imagery is repurposed as the language of
surrealism, of Lisas subconscious. Lisa and
the Devil is a gothic lm, but a modernist one,
whichdeconstructs and rebuilds the gothic as
a means to poetically explore modernhorrors
more Freudian, anti-rational concerns.
BothLisa and the Devil and Black Sunday were
originally released incompromised versions
around the world. Black Sunday is actually the
original theatrical title of the adapted American
versionof La maschera del demonio which
introduced newtitles, cuts to violent scenes
and a newscore by Les Baxter. Despite packed
screenings at Cannes in1973, Lisa and the Devil
failed to nd theatrical distributionanywhere
outside Spain. Desperate to recoup his
investment, producer Leone shot newfootage,
adding scenes inthe veinof The Exorcists
more shocking moments. The resulting lm, a
travesty of Bavas original vision, was released
to US audiences in1975 as The House of Exorcism.
The newBlu-ray editions fromArrowpresent
bothlms intheir original and bastardised
forms. Extras include informative audio
commentaries fromTimLucas, author All the
Colors of the Dark, the denitive Bava study. Asa, back from the dead and bent on revenge
Asupremely visual
experienceThis is cinema at
its most grandiose and rich,
brimful of high-own imagery
Sommer and Savalas in Lisa and the Devil
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THEAMAZINGMRBLUNDEN
Lionel Jeffries; UK1972; SecondSight/Region2DVD;
CerticateU; 99minutes; Aspect Ratio1.78:1
Reviewed by Kate Stables
Less well knownand less well loved thanits
predecessor The Railway Children (1970), Lionel
Jeffriess enjoyably theatrical junior chiller
about time-travelling ghosts is the superior of
the two pieces just as sentimental but darker
and rather more robust. Produced during the
heyday of Britishhorror moviemaking and
stuffed withHammer Horror alumni (Madeline
Smithand James Villiers preenhilariously if
hammily as dissolute newlyweds), it weaves
together elements of mystery, horror and
comedy untidily but withlan. Jeffries, who
doesnt dilute the spine-chilling narrative of
Antonia Barbers source novel The Ghosts, isnt
afraid of the morbid (a tinkling street song
assures us that all the little children, they are
bornto die). But he leavens the supernatural
withanengaging pantomime streak, expressed
ina high-spirited central ashback to Regency
low-life and outbreaks of slapstick humour as
the child ghosts wreak revenge ontheir friends
adult tormentors. Diana Dors, emanating
gamey, gin-soaked menace as the murderous
Mrs Wickens, has the vitality of a Dickens or
a Disney villain, but only Laurence Naismiths
troubled benefactor Mr Blundenmatches
her inintensity. The child actors canchiey
muster a pleasing naturalismbetweenthem,
but they still wring commendable tension
fromthe atmospheric, re-strewnnale.
Disc: Apleasing transfer, whichretains
Gerry Fishers gaudy 70s palette and does
justice to Elmer Bernsteins lightly creepy
score. Aspot of luggage, like the vintage
Lionel Jeffries interviewonthe Anchor
Bay release, wouldnt have gone amiss.
BABETTESFEAST
Gabriel Axel; Denmark1987; Articial Eye/Region2DVD;
CerticateU; 99minutes; Aspect Ratio16:9; Features:
interviewwithStphaneAudran, theatrical trailer
Reviewed by Kate Stables
First among foodie lms for its sensuous
banquet nale (theres evena homage to it
inLasse Hallstrms Chocolat), Gabriel Axels
careful, handsome and goodhearted adaptation
of KarenBlixens tale also kickstarted the
Scandinavianheritage-lmtrend, alongside
Bille Augusts Pelle the Conqueror. Withits
austere palette, dour landscapes and doggedly
religious themes, its the polar opposite of
the cultural tourism of Merchant Ivory et al,
yet its lled withyearning for the simpler
values (not to mentionthe elaborate cuisine)
of past times. Ponderous if painstaking inits
recreationof the lost youthful opportunities
of Danishspinster-sisters Philippa and
Martine, the narrative springs to life when
Stphane Audrans fugitive Babette arrives at
their door and adds some air to the fare and
the lm. Hers is anenigmatic and intriguing
performance, nicely contrasted withthe
open-faced playing of Dreyer veteranBirgitte
Federspiel, whose Martine is anexemplar of
Lutherancharity and conscience-searching (her
nightmare about the sinful Catholic gluttony
of Babettes meal as a witches Sabbath is
particularly delicious). Despite a middlebrow
cautionthat assiduously keeps the characters
sympathetic and the interiors period-pretty,
Babettes Eucharistic nal feast a meal that
is a love affair withno difference between
bodily and spiritual appetite provides
surprisingly chewy food for thought.
Disc: Apretty, pellucid transfer. Audran
reveals inthe minimal extras that the
unexpected chic of her modest servants
garb was the work of Karl Lagerfeld.
CAIRO
W.S. VanDyke; USA1942; Warner Archives/Region
1 NTSCDVD; 101 minutes; Aspect Ratio1.37:1
Reviewed by Michael Atkinson
Back inthe Hollywood heyday whenyou
didnt go to a movie but to The Movies,
youoftenreceived, like a pie inthe face,
skylarking and utterly bewitching tries like
this wartime farce, a studio product which
takes its narrative mandate so lightly that
youcome away witha clearer sense of how
muchfunit was to make thanof the lms
ostensible story. Writtenby nobody John
McClain(but hatched by playwright Ladislas
Fodor, whose rambling, globe-hopping career
inmovies included ve Mabuse sequels),
this unpretentious goof begins ina movie
theatre showing a Jeanette MacDonald feature
where a grumpy patronasks a lady to put
her obstructive hat back onrather thanhave
his nap disturbed by the lm. Soonwere
introduced to Robert Youngs eager journalist
(his tabloid wins the coveted Americas Most
Difcult Small-TownNewspaper award)
who is sent onaninternational mission, gets
lost at sea and lands inNorthAfrica with
drippingly urbane spy Reginald Owen. (A
stray gunshot summons a horde of eager-to-
surrender Italians over a dune.) InCairo and
nowinvolved inwartime espionage, Youngs
rube runs across MacDonalds movie-star-
in-hiding (whos also a spy, performing in
Egyptiannightclubs and singing inMorse
code), and she hires himas her butler.
Certainly one of the rst, if not the rst,
at-out spy spoof (the introductory card
irreverently dedicates the lmto spy authors
ingeneral), Cairo has a distinctive Preston
Sturges avour, only milder and sloppier,
always nding time for shtick and irrelevant
song numbers, usually featuring Ethel Waters
as MacDonalds savvy maid. (Youcantell
he dont knownothing about the movies,
she cracks, after Youngs dinner-serving
pratfall, or hedve landed smack inthe
mashed potatoes.) Full of digs at Hollywood,
sly winks and broad character bits, the lm
comes close to manifesting, inits ownway, the
Godard/Tarantino idea of movies as a living,
spontaneous, self-referential ow. Theres a
generalised sense of esprit here, and its more
thanrefreshing to see MacDonald, after years
of pious duets withNelsonEddy, returnto
the shiny-lidded, sexy-smile self that fairly
bursts out of the Lubitschmusical comedies
she made inthe early 30s. Cairo is also director
One-Take VanDykes second-to-last lm,
made after hed set up a wartime recruiting
ofce at MGMand before he committed
suicide in1943, refusing treatment for cancer
due to his devotionto ChristianScience.
Disc: Fine transfer of anarchive print.
THEDAWNPATROL
HowardHawks; USA1930; Warner Archives/Region
1 NTSCDVD; 108minutes; Aspect Ratio1.37:1
Reviewed by Michael Atkinson
The rst versionof JohnMonk Saunderss
pervasively Howard Hawksianstory (to be
remade eight years later withErrol Flynn), this
lovely, preachy, creaky early talkie is one of the
seminal entries into the aviation-drama cycle
of the day, complete withdogghts comprised
equally of back-projectionclose-ups and real
stunt-ying, a bucked-up sense of brotherhood
and grief onthe ground, and the narrative stress
of the ofcers (here, a fuming Neil Hamilton)
nearing complete emotional collapse after
having to send brave young mento their
deaths every day. InWWI France, Richard
Barthelmess is the head ace everyone depends
onto be strong, Douglas Fairbanks Jr is his
party-hearty best friend, and a plethora of weary
vets and fresh-faced rookies surround them,
drinking and jumping into planes and battle
trauma withtaciturnity and bitter humour.
The narrative and moral DNAlaid down
here, borninthe elds of Europe inthe Great
War, subsequently found its way into untold
Americanand Britishwar lms (Saunders won
anearly Oscar). But inDawn Patrol it is innearly
aboriginal form, carried by early talkies still-
unheralded allure, creaky innocence, sense of
uncertainmelodrama, a theatricality that seems
closer to a madmans tiny cell thanto anactual
theatre stage, a threatening degree of archival
decay, a self-conscious acting style that can
border onthe deranged, and anaural current
marked by zzes, audible sutures, unearthly
pauses and a disconcerting silence devoid of
ambient noises. Its time we appreciated this
matrix of textures not merely as a transitional
phase inthe mediums technology, but as
a distinct and beautiful syntax, a historical
moment withits ownantique lustre.
Theres also the lms part inthe long-
neglected cultural struggle to assimilate and
fathomthe scars of WWI the rst
bedevilling global horror to which Blithe spirits: The Amazing Mr Blunden
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THATCOLDDAYINTHEPARK
RobertAltman; USA1969; OliveFilms/RegionA
Blu-ray/Region1 DVD; 107minutes; Aspect Ratio1:78:1
Reviewed by Dan Callahan
Robert Altmanhad beenworking as a director
for close to 20 years before he had a big hit
withMASH(1970), and he followed that
commercial success withsome of the nest
and most unpredictable Americanlms of
the 1970s. Serious coverage of Altmans work
usually begins withMASH, but he had made
anintriguing movie the year before, That
Cold Day in the Park (1969), whichinsome
ways feels like the rst real Altmanfeature:
tough, exploratory, slightly mean-minded
but also surprisingly empathetic. Its a little
like Hemingways wholly unexpected early
short story Up inMichigan, whichdepicts the
sexual awakening and painof a lonely girl.
Altmanhad rst offered the lead role of
Frances Austento Ingrid Bergman, who
was somewhat insulted to have beenasked
to play sucha repressed and disturbed
character. Altmannext sent the script to
Vanessa Redgrave, who also turned it down
but suggested that Sandy Dennis would be
the ideal actress for this very difcult part.
Dennis accepted the challenge, and Altman
gives her full control here many times,
especially inanextraordinarily intense
and sustained four-and-a-half-minute
monologue midway throughthe lm.
Inthe rst scenes, whenFrances
absentmindedly hosts some of her much
older friends inher gloomy home, Altman
layers his soundtrack withchatter so that
we canbarely make out what her friends
are saying, and this puts us right inFrancess
head she cant be bothered to hear them
either. Frances speaks inDenniss distinctively
anxious Julie Harris-on-downers diction,
as if shes constantly afraid of some sudden
attack, and her face looks bothgirlishand
ancient, like a schoolgirl decaying into
anelderly lady before our eyes (Dennis
was just 32 whenthis was shot).
Frances sees a boy (Michael Burns) sitting
outside ona park bench, and she keeps
returning to her windowto look at him. When
it starts to rainand she expresses concernfor
the boy, her friends discourage her interest in
his welfare. Frances reacts to their callousness
withanunderstanding little smile, one of many
piercing details that illuminate Denniss patient
performance, whichnever spells anything
out for us but always holds to a discernible
through-line of emotionally grounded,
cautious behaviour. She shapes her work here
withconsummate skill, never yielding to the
more outr and notorious physical and vocal
mannerisms of some of her lesser work.
Frances brings the boy inout of the rain
and lets himsleep inthe spare roomof her
neglected house. Hes a nondescript blond, and
he says nothing at all as she quietly chatters
away, telling himhowshe nursed her senile
mother until the old womandied. Altman
discreetly posits this silent boy as a sex object
for Frances, cutting to shots of his legs as she
guiltily stares at him. Sex is something that
Frances wants but is fearful of, and its clear
inthe last third of the lmthat this conict
cannot end well either for her or her love object.
As a script, That Cold Day is inline with
small-scaled womens pictures of this period
suchas Rachel, Rachel (1968) or The Rain People
(1969), but it is transformed into something
larger by Altmans wary curiosity and Denniss
shy, richcreativity. The basic situationbetween
Frances and the boy is highly redolent of an
older gay male taking ina younger straight
male, a feeling only underlined when
Frances goes out to get the boy a female
prostitute to service him(Bruce LaBruces
1993 lmNo Skin off My Ass is anoutright
gay homage to this obscure Altmanmovie).
This is a movie that isnt at all concerned
withholding our attention. Theres something
insolent about its opaque privacy, and this
insolence might be seenas either enthralling
or alienating, but That Cold Day deserves
more serious attention, bothas a tentative
beginning for Altmans mature style and a
bookend for his gloricationof Dennis inhis
mid-period Come Back to the Five and Dime,
Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), where she gives
one of the all-time great lmperformances.
The lms dark imagery looks quite
handsome onOlive Films newrelease, and
the deliberately fuzzy sound is most likely
what it should be. This is another essential
title fromOlive, a company that has an
uncanny knack for picking exactly the right
must-have orphanlms for its DVDlabel.
Altmans career is usually thought
to have started withMASH but
anearlier movie displays the rst
real signs of his mature style
Home alone: Sandy Dennis as Frances Austen inThat Cold Day in the Park
Ingrid Bergman was somewhat
insulted to have been asked
to play such a repressed and
disturbed character
INFROMTHE COLD
Rediscovery
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movies responded, and seenthis way
the grimvisages and pointless cycles
of terminal ights are especially haunting.
The underwhelming Barthelmess himself
might be the lms largest hurdle, but
incounterpoint youve got the unlikely
spectacle, infootage reused for the Flynn
remake, of crisscrossing biplanes (suggesting
steampunk robot-dragonies wed forgotten
once existed), the exquisite round-the-room
chorus of BartholomewDowlings Stand
by Your Glasses Steady (Hurrahfor the
next manto die) and the rapturous shots of
planes leaving the ground crewstanding in
the dawnmist, like the shermens wives in
La terra trema (1948). The lms teary, ag-
waving patriotism, sublimated as it is by
the bonds of feverishbromance, is nally as
adorable as seven-year-olds playing soldier.
Disc: Another silvery archival
print, sadly without extras.
DEATHTRAP
SidneyLumet; USA1982; Warner Archive
Blu-ray; 116minutes; Aspect Ratio1.85:1
Reviewed by Peter Tonguette
Dialogue, Sidney Lumet once wrote, is
not uncinematic and he proved it withhis
superlative Deathtrap, based onIra Levins
play about murder among rival Broadway
dramatists. Witha cast that chatters on
breathlessly, most of the time onone main
set, the project nonetheless gave Lumet
a chance to demonstrate his directorial
dexterity. For me, these lmsare like
the parallel bars ingymnastics, he told
aninterviewer (also referring to his earlier
Murder on the Orient Express). They are for
practising and maintaining your technique.
So, like the trouper he was, Lumet recreated
the plays big moments cinematically.
Particularly elegant is the way the presence
of elder-statesmanplaywright Sidney Bruhl
(Michael Caine) is revealed inthe background
of a low-angle shot after we have thought him
mortally injured anentrance that could
never be reproduced onstage or the way
Andrzej Bartkowiaks camera emphasises the
vimand vigour of Bruhls protg Clifford
Anderson(Christopher Reeve) by staying close
onhimas he circles Bruhl threateningly.
Lumet also brings out a hushed intensity
inCaine when, freshoff a op, Bruhl seems to
serenely arrive at the idea to kill Andersonand
rip off his auspicious debut play. Evenbetter is
DyanCannonas Bruhls wife Myra. After she
discovers his intentions, her astonished reaction
is captured intouching close-ups that reveal
her lined face and disbelieving, wishing-it-
wasnt-so demeanour. Bruhl turns out to be
more devious thanshe could ever imagine,
thoughno worse thanthe rest of the cast, all
of whomapparently including a kindly old
psychic (Irene Worth) will surrender their
morals for the chance to drink champagne
ona Broadway opening night. Throughit
all, Myra remains the storys only guiltless
character, and long after the lmis over
we remember Cannons darting eyes and
uncomfortable laughter as she hopes prays,
really that her husband is merely kidding.
Disc: There are no special features, but
the transfer is quite handsome.
DRACULA
TerenceFisher; UK1958; Lionsgate/Icon/Hammer/
RegionBBlu-rayandRegion2DVDDual Format; 82minutes;
Aspect Ratio1.66:1; Features: four featurettes, unrestored
Japanesereels, commentarybyMarcusHearnandJonathan
Rigby, TVWorldof Hammer episode, readingfromoriginal
novel, stillsgallery, booklet (PDF), shootingscript (PDF)
Reviewed by Philip Kemp
Having scored at the box ofce withThe Curse of
Frankenstein (1957) and reaped some gratifyingly
outraged press comments (Among the half-
dozenmost repulsive lms I have encountered,
spat C.A. Lejeune inthe Observer), Hammer lost
no time inexploiting the other great British
horror myth. Frankenstein had hit problems
withUniversal, who refused the use of Jack
Pierces iconic at-top look for the Monster; for
Dracula Hammer made no suchmistake, and
did a deal withthe Hollywood studio which
included assigning overseas distributionrights.
It paid off handsomely for bothparties: Dracula
took evenmore money thanits predecessor,
and Universal assigned to Hammer the
remake rights for their entire horror library.
Previous screenDraculas had beenchilling
(Max Schrecks Nosferatu) or hammy (Bela
Lugosi) but never sexy. Hammers version
captures all the lethal erotic allure of the
original. Christopher Lee embodies Bram
Stokers suave, decadent aristocrat to the life
(or undeath), tall and effortlessly dominating,
infecting virtuous Victorianmaidens and
wives withhis lecherous bloodlust. (Although,
probably for reasons of budget, the very
EnglishHolmwood household is bizarrely
relocated to somewhere inAustria-Hungary,
a mere nights ride fromCastle Dracula.) Nor
had the story ever enjoyed the benets of
full colour, and the owing crimsonalarmed
the Britishcensor no less thanthe critics.
The blood, and Draculas nal bodily
dissolution, evidently exercised the BBFCmore
thanthe lms eroticism, and several cuts were
demanded. Its this shortened versionthats
beenreleased onVHS and DVDuntil now,
withmuddy colour and inthe wrong ratio.
But anuncut print was preserved ina Japanese
archive. It was badly damaged ina re, but
the last four reels survived, rather battered.
Thanks to valiant restorationwork by the BFI,
Molinare and Deluxe 142, excised scenes have
beencleaned up and seamlessly reinserted,
the colour regraded and the correct 1.66:1 ratio
restored. This is as near intact a versionof
Hammers Dracula as were ever likely to see.
Lee, and Peter Cushing as his dispassionate
nemesis VanHelsing, stand out among
anotherwise makeweight cast, though
Miles Mallesonadds a jocular cameo as an
undertaker. The once X-rated shocks, of course,
have faded over the years, and this Dracula is
hardly scary by todays standards. But as an
inuential period piece it holds its own.
Disc: Ane transfer. The rich, deep Victorian
colours of DP Jack Ashers lensing and Bernard
Robinsons resourceful set designs come
up superbly, especially onBlu-ray, and the
soundtrack lends clarity to James Bernards
distinctive orchestration. Among the lavish
extras onthe three-disc set, pride of place
goes to the 30-minute Dracula Reborn,
withscreenwriter Jimmy Sangster recalling
Hammers frugal budgetary limitations: bats,
rats and wolves, it seems, were strictly out.
Onibaba Its undimmed potency lies in the fact that
it works as an unnervingly blunt horror lm(and
how!) and as a far more nuanced social critique
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THEMONSTERSQUAD
FredDekker; USA1987; OliveFilms/Region1 DVDand
RegionABlu-ray; 82minutes; Aspect Ratio2.35:1
Reviewed by Nick Pinkerton
The last time I sawThe Monster Squad,
whichwas probably the 20thtime Id
seenit, I was pretty thoroughly convinced
that it was the single greatest movie ever
made. Granted, I was around nine.
Having beenwriting about movies today
longer thanId beenalive then, I discovered
muchpleasure not purely grounded in
nostalgia whenre-viewing The Monster
Squad onOlive Films Blu-ray. It concerns a
group of pre-adolescent boys, members of a
clubhouse gang devoted to monster movies,
who, thanks to their knowledge of Fangoria
esoterica, become the last line of defence
whentheir townis invaded by a Universal
Monsters supergroup of Dracula, Frankensteins
monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy and The
Creature fromthe Black Lagoons Gill-man.
The Monster Squad is shot withsome air by
Night of the Creeps director Fred Dekker; Dekker
co-wrote the script withfriend Shane Black,
who was freshout of UCLAand had just made
a bundle off the Lethal Weapon script. Their
genre pastiche aspired to piggyback onthe
success of 1985s The Goonies, withTomNoonan
memorable as a kid-friendly Frankensteins
monster who doesnt kill the little girl he
meets by the lake, inspired by the earlier
lms gentle giant Sloth. The real star turns,
however, are the golden-age analogue makeup
FX, eachmonster having beenredesigned
by the artisans at StanWinstonStudio, with
Gill-maninparticular a prize piece of work.
Theres also a surprising amount of splatter
for a kids movie, while Dekker and Blacks
world of preteenbullying cruelty and icky
horniness does anything but idealise suburban
boyhood, evento the point of overstepping
its boundaries. Leonardo Cimino plays
neighbourhood bogeymanScary GermanGuy,
discreetly revealed as a Holocaust survivor in
anaside so inappropriately sombre (Yousure
knowa lot about monsters! Nowthat you
mentionit, I suppose I do) that it is almost
awe-striking. The Monster Squad tanked at the
box ofce but found a second life onVHS,
for every one of my Americangenerational
coevals canidentify the famous one-liner
Wolf Mans got nards!, preserved anew
for future generations, and all mankind.
Disc: Olives Blu-ray follows Lionsgates
two-disc 20thAnniversary Edition of
2007, vastly improving image while
including approximately no extras.
ONAPPROVAL
CliveBrook; UK1944; InceptionMediaGroup/RegionABlu-
ray; 80minutes; Aspect Ratio1.37:1; Features: commentary
byJeffreyVance, interviewwithGoogieWithers, stillsgallery.
Reviewed by Peter Tonguette
Frederick Lonsdales play has anirresistible
set-up: inthe 1890s, a couple ensconce
themselves ona Scottishisle to determine
whether they are marriage material or not.
Of course, inClive Brooks masterful lm
adaptation, its instantly obvious that meek,
biddable Richard (Roland Culver) is no match
for the high-handed, short-tempered Maria
(Beatrice Lillie). Richard is outraged whenhis
friend George (Brook) goads the seemingly
unprepossessing Maria about being inher
forties, but his threats lack credibility: Richard
defending Maria is like David defending
Goliath. He is so easily manipulated by her
that he goes along withher decree that, during
their time together, he will spend nights
alone at aninnonthe mainland, accessible
by rowboat, and that he should bring a
slicker incase the forecast calls for rain.
By contrast, George the bankrupt tenth
duke of Bristol, who has connived his way
into joining Richard and Maria ontheir trip
is a breathof freshair inhis astringency.
Hes so egocentric that he doesnt blanch
when, having sat downfor a late lunchon
the patio, he sends Helen(a sweet-faced
Americanaccompanying him, played by
Googie Withers) inside not once but three
times to deliver himhis meal, and thenhis
bread and butter. He evenhas the temerity to
critique her rice pudding. What it lacks in
milk, he deadpans, it makes up for inrice.
While George is no less insulting to Maria,
onscreenBrook has a kingly air that perfectly
complements Lillies condescending self-
importance. Infact, the lmanswers the
questionposed by the plot howmuchshould
one knowabout a future husband or wife? by
suggesting that George and Marias shared
surliness is more thanenoughto unite them:
no time spent onapproval is required. The
sentiment evoked by this unlikely pairing is
real. WhenLillie and Brook touchingly warble
those immortal words by BenJonson(Drink to
me only withthine eyes, And I will pledge with
mine), we must conclude that, yes, eventwo
old cusses should have a chance at happiness.
Disc: The transfer is luminous, and the high
point of the special features is a delightful
interviewwithWithers, who recounts the
lms troubled productionwithaffection.
ONIBABA
ShindKaneto; Japan1964; Eureka/Mastersof Cinema/
RegionBBlu-rayandRegion2DVDDual Format;
Certicate15; 103minutes; Aspect Ratio2.35:1 (DVD
anamorphic); Features: introductionbyAlexCox,
commentarybyShindKaneto, SatKei andYoshimura
Jitsuko, 8mmlocationfootage, trailer, booklet
Reviewed by Michael Brooke
Approaching next years half-century in
splendid shape, Shind Kanetos best-known
feature still packs a genuine wallop for its
violence, its startlingly explicit sexuality
(its not remotely surprising that the BBFC
rejected it outright onrst submission
and scissored it second time round) and its
almost Beckettianviewof a conict-ridden
world reduced to a gigantic eld of untamed
susuki grass, inwhichpeople scrape a
barely subsistence-level living by preying
onothers who are either permanently or
temporarily weaker thanthemselves.
The two womenat its heart are never named,
but we cantell everything about themfromthe
way they behave whenthey ruthlessly spear
two samurai to death, dump the bodies inwhat
appears to be anunfathomably deep hole and
swap the mens possessions for a meagre bag of
millet. Like animal scavengers, their actions are
dispassionately practical, their amorality driven
by the need to survive without their presumed-
dead menfolk. But whenthe soldier Hachi
arrives to pass onnews of the younger womans
husband, they experience a different kind of
hunger, and the resulting urges underpinning
almost everything thereafter give the lms
overtly demonic nal act a muchmore potent
psychological charge thanit had inthe Buddhist
fable that inspired Shind (reproduced inthe
booklet). Inthe original, the younger woman
provoked the older womans jealousy purely
throughher religious self-betterment, whereas
here bothwomens impulses are all too primal.
But Onibabas lasting greatness and
undimmed potency lie inthe fact that it
works bothas anunnervingly blunt horror
lm(and how!) and as a far more nuanced
but nonetheless universal social critique that
caneasily be applied to any parallel situation
even, as Doug Cummings points out inhis
booklet essay, a futuristic post-apocalyptic
one. Althoughthe title literally translates
as The Demoness, Shind makes it clear
that the womenare as muchvictims of their
lowly status and unfortunate circumstances
as they are agents of their owndestruction.
Discs: Boasting a near-pristine image, Onibaba
looks marvellous inhighdenition. The
extras, including a chatty commentary from
Shind and two actors, have beenported
over fromthe previous DVDrelease.
THEOUTSIDEMAN
JacquesDeray; France/Italy/USA1972; MGMLimited
Edition/Region-freeDVD; 105minutes; Aspect Ratio1.85:1
Reviewed by David Thompson
Right at the start of this lma captionreads
Los Angeles, and indeed that might also be the
alternative title of this Frenchlove letter
to the sprawling Californianmetropolis.
Asmooth, dark-suited Frenchman
Sexy beast: Dracula
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ETUDESSURPARIS
AndrSauvage, France, 1928; CarlottaFilms/Region2DVD;
80minutes; Aspect Ratio1.33:1; Features: alternatescores, six
short lmsbySauvage, 48-pageillustratedbooklet (inFrench)
Reviewed by Chris Darke
If there was ever a lmmaker for whom
the termmaudit might have beeninvented,
it was Andr Sauvage, cursed by bad luck,
technical misfortunes and uncomprehending
nanciers only one of the eight lms he
made inhis relatively short career between
1923 and 1933 has survived fully intact. But
he was also blessed inhaving a particularly
tenacious daughter, Agns, who beganthe
long battle to rehabilitate her fathers work
after his deathin1975. Carlotta Films lavish
restorationpackage marks the culmination
of her labours, and its centrepiece, the 1928
lm-poemEtudes sur Paris, is a revelation.
Bornin1891 to a middle-class Bordeaux
family, Sauvage moved to Paris inhis twenties,
working there as a banker to support his
artistic activities. Anovelist, painter and
photographer as well as a lmmaker, he moved
inthe cultural circles of the time, counting
among his friends JeanRenoir, Lotte Reiniger
and surrealist poets Max Jacob and Robert
Desnos. Establishing his ownproduction
company, Sauvage initially distinguished
himself as a maker of adventurous
documentary travelogues, including an
Alpine mountaineering lmLa traverse du
Grpon (1923) and the Mediterranean-themed
Portrait de la Grce (1927). Unusually for the
period, bothwere feature-lengthlms and
are nowlost; the remaining outtakes and
rushes are included onthe disc. The 30-minute
assembly of footage fromSauvages portrait
of Greece is particularly illuminating: the
supple mobility of his camera style is already
evident as is his fondness for cross-fades,
bothof whichwould be put to supremely
poetic use inhis next lm, Etudes sur Paris.
Sauvage described Paris as a city that for
mystery and unexpectedness, humanity and
beauty, is equal to the NorthPole and the
Sahara, and he explores these qualities inve
tudes, or studies. Iconic Parisianlandmarks
suchas the Eiffel Tower and Notre-Dame
are portrayed alongside far less well-known
sights. Aremarkable sequence inthe opening
tude, entitled Paris-Port, voyages through
anunderground stretchof the Paris canal
system, the subterraneandarkness punctuated
by brilliant columns of light falling from
overhead shafts. Its a telling moment for
the way Sauvage manages to combine the
dynamic visual effect of light witha study
of working life onthe canals. So tude here
has a double meaning. Onone hand, the lm
is indeed a study of the people and places of
Paris. Onthe other, it also studies the possible
cinematic treatment of one of lms intrinsic
elements, light. The termEtude was thus
used to designate the abstract experiments
undertakenby the Europeanavant garde of
the time, suchas inHans Richters Filmstudie
(Etude cinmatographique) (1926). Richter
must have spotted a kindred experimenter in
Sauvage because he selected Paris-Port for the
lmprogramme of the epochal Filmund Foto
exhibitionmounted inStuttgart in1929.
One of the most enchanting qualities of
Etudes sur Paris is howunobtrusively it wears
its avant gardism. Touches of rhetorical editing
gesture towards the montage experiments
of the period: short time-lapse sequences or
superimpositions, whichsuddenly populate a
deserted space withSunday strollers. Theres
also a surrealist fascinationwithshop-window
mannequins and fairground automata, and fun
is had withjuxtaposing advertising hoardings
withthe details and activities of street life. As
anexample of the 1920s genre of avant-garde
documentary knownas the city symphony,
Etudes sur Paris sits somewhere betweenthe
hyperventilating formalismof Dziga Vertovs
Man with a Movie Camera (1929) and the
canted camera angles of Walter Ruttmanns
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927).
While the outtakes and rushes included
as extras onthe Carlotta release havent been
restored, they are fascinating inthemselves
and of good enoughquality visually to merit
inclusion, as well as to make one regret the
loss of their original lms. But Etudes itself is
a breathtaking piece of restorationwork. The
lmwas rst photochemically restored in1991
by the Centre National de la Cinmatographie
and thendigitally at the Cineteca di Bologna
(the institutionbehind the increasingly
indispensable Il Cinema Ritrovato festival).
The milky-silver tones of the monochrome
footage breathe modernity and realism
simultaneously. The two alternate scores
work equally well: the Prima Vista String
Quartet supplying equal measures of jaunty
and elegiac notes, while electronic music
pioneer Jeff Mills lays downa well-judged,
lightly bubbling techno-patina that brings out
the still-resonant modernity of the images.
The package is also a historical eye-opener,
establishing Sauvage as the missing link
betweenthe 1920s documentary avant garde
and the effortless naturalismof Vigo and Renoir.
Its impossible to watchthe canal sequences
inEtudes without thinking of LAtalante, made
six years later. And among the extras is Pivoine
Dmnage (1929), a 17-minute comedy inwhich
Michel Simonplays a Parisiantramp three
years before Renoir would immortalise himin
Boudu sauv des eaux (1932). Sauvage cannow
take his rightful place alongside Vertov and
Ruttmannas one of the great metropolitan
cin-poets of the early 20thcentury.
Friend to Renoir and Reiniger,
Andr Sauvage was one of the
20thcenturys great cin-poets, as
a lavishnewrestorationreveals
Hidden city: Andr Sauvages Etudes sur Paris
Sauvage described Paris as
a city that for mystery and
unexpectednessis equal to
the North Pole or the Sahara
PARIS, CITYOF LIGHT
Rediscovery
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Jean-Louis Trintignant at his most
weaselly and inscrutable ies into
carry out a hit ona corrupt businessman. The
job done, he plans to leave for home but nds
that he is himself the target of another hired
assassin(Roy Scheider). What follows is a
fairly labyrinthine plot inwhichTrintignant
strives to avoid being shot and to sort out
what is happening, all of whichprovides
anexcuse for the lmmakers to explore the
more bizarre and fascinating aspects of the
city the hippies, the prostitutes, the topless
bars, the roller derby, the ruins of anold pier
by the beach, the crummy motels, and so on.
Director Jacques Deray has a marvellous cast
to play with, including Ann-Margret as a seen-
it-all club owner, Angie Dickinsonas a cool
and ckle widow, and Georgia Engel (brilliant
inTaking Off) as a ditsy womanbriey taken
hostage and givenher moment of media fame.
Inadditionto his fascinating deployment of
Americana, Deray (famous for La Piscine and
Borsalino but not a lot else) also manages to
stage some convincing car chases and bring
a splendid dark humour to the intrigue.
Aclue to the lms unexpected twists ona
not-unfamiliar genre dilemma perhaps lies in
the author of the story and screenplay Jean-
Claude Carrire. There is unquestionably a
surrealists delight insuchmoments as the
Jesus freak who dies just as he proclaims his
personal salvation, or the bizarre concluding
funeral of the assassins target, who is
discovered not lying ina cofnbut sat like
a menacing waxwork ona throne, proudly
ourishing a cigar. Added pleasure comes
fromtwo of the cast of The Godfather popping
up inthis nal scene, namely Talia Shire
and Alex Rocco. All inall, the lmhas the
hallmarks of a cult discovery, yet has remained
largely uncherished for years. Acandidate for
a remake by QuentinTarantino, perhaps?
Disc: Agood transfer. The very brief sections
of Frenchdialogue do not appear with
subtitles, which(I believe) they once did.
The sleeve note manages inone sentence
to misrepresent the plot. No extras.
LAPOISON
SachaGuitry; France1951; Eureka/Mastersof
Cinema/RegionBBlu-rayandRegion2DVDDual
Format; CerticatePG; 85minutes; Aspect Ratio
1.33:1; Features: documentary(OnLifeOn-Screen:
MiseriesandSplendour of aMonarch), booklet
Reviewed by Michael Brooke
Betting its no-nonsense title, Sacha Guitrys
lmserves upblackcomedy at its most gleefully
cynical, inwhichmurder is philosophically
justied and the lawis comprehensively
revealed to be anabsolute ass. The latter
sentiment is especially heartfelt: at the start
of the lm, anon-camera Guitry introduces
his cast and crewand expresses especial
appreciationfor the accuracy of the prison-
cell set a detail that no one familiar withhis
troubled mid-1940s history is likely to miss.
But despite this apparent score-settling
and a seemingly penny-dreadful subject (a
disaffected husband and wife harbour secret
plans to kill eachother), the lmis somehow
as souf-light as Ealings bookending Kind
Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers, which
gave serial murder and granny-bashing a similar
air of disconcerting levity. Its easy to tell from
a dialogue descriptionof the protagonist Paul
Braconnier as a manwho looks like a monster,
but has a strange kind of charm halfway
betweenchimera and clown that the part was
writtenwiththe incomparable Michel Simon
inmind, one of the fewactors who could take
anunambiguously murderous misogynist
and turnhiminto some kind of tragic hero.
The large supporting cast is deftly sketched,
including Germaine Reuvers monstrous
shrewof a wife (the Braconniers mealtimes are
sullen, surly affairs, mockingly underscored
by airy radio chansons), JeanDebucourts
blithely arrogant lawyer Aubanel (the mid-
point scene inwhichhes givenanofcial
bollocking Jurisprudence is not theatre!
being a particular highlight) and Jeanne
Fusier-Girs one-womanGreek chorus of
a small-townorist, whose evident self-
image as a latterday tricoteuse is reinforced
by her FrenchRevolutionary chalk-board
calendar. Like all expert farceurs, Guitry
plays it slowly at rst, meticulously planting
little comedic bomblets that are primed to
explode whenthe actionstarts revving up.
Disc: The Gaumont-sourced Blu-ray transfer is
very good by normal standards, and the restored
source print is impeccably clean, but the image
isnt as pin-sharp as the best efforts fromthis
pedigree label. But everything else matches or
exceeds expectations, including conscientious
subtitles and anhour-long documentary
that uses the lmas a jumping-off point
for a more generalised discussionof Simon
and Guitrys highly distinctive personalities
(the latters misogyny isnt soft-pedalled).
THEQATSI TRILOGY
KOYAANISQATSI/POWAQQATSI/NAQOYQATSI
GodfreyReggio; USA1983/1988/2002; Criterion/Region
ABlu-ray/Region1 NTSCDVD; 86/99/89minutes; Aspect
Ratio1.85:1/1.85:1/1.78:1 (DVDsanamorphic); Features:
short lm(AnimaMundi), documentaries(Essenceof
Life,Impact of Progress, TheMakingof Naqoyqatsi),
interviewswithGodfreyReggio, RonFricke, PhilipGlass,
Yo-YoMa, roughcuts, panel discussion, trailers, booklet
Reviewed by Michael Brooke
The four collaborations betweenmonk-turned-
lmmaker Godfrey Reggio and composer
Philip Glass (including 1992s wildlife eco-
paeanAnima Mundi), almost entirely wordless
cris de coeur, comprise one of American
cinemas most singular creative achievements.
While individual sequences suggest naively
utopianpolemics emerging fromheads as
stuffed withrapidly scudding clouds as any
of Koyaanisqatsis muchsampled time-lapse
images, Reggios consistent philosophical
purpose is clearer whenhis work is viewed in
toto, and has gained increasing relevance ina
world where globalisation and man-made
climate change are part of our daily vocabulary.
Koyaanisqatsi offers a caustic comparison
of the beauties of natural landscapes and the
scarring encroachment of modernso-called
civilisation. Althoughits since become a
whopping visual clich, the image of the city
as a cross betweenanelectrical circuit board
and a living organismcomplete withglowing
circulatory systemremains as intoxicating as
anything seensince Kubrick took us through
the stargate in2001: ASpace Odyssey.
Filmed belowthe equator, Powaqqatsi
thinks globally: the slow, contemplative
rst half examines the grinding rhythms
of humanactivity (mainly labour-related)
inwhat initially appear to be pre-industrial
societies before the ravishing cinematography
gives way to something faster and uglier as
it becomes clear that these people are not
just working for us but following inour
footsteps. The fact that it could have been
made last week speaks volumes initself.
Sadly, Naqoyqatsi offers diminishing returns.
Athrilling rst third (inwhichPieter Bruegel
the Elders painting of the Tower of Babel
becomes a visual metaphor for the way the
world has become increasingly digitised and
information-led) gives way to overly familiar
antimilitarismpolemics (whose subtlety canbe
gauged by a sequence intercutting videogames
withactual riot footage), presented here in
fussily overproduced layerings of stock footage
and computer graphics. Glasss coruscating
score is comfortably its strongest feature.
Disc: Koyaanisqatsi and especially Powaqqatsi
look atout stunning, thoughNaqoyqatsi is
hampered by its greater reliance onvideo
post-production. Still, Reggios seal of approval
conrms these high-denitiontransfers as
denitive, and the thunderous soundtracks
are truly spectacular. Several hours of extras
cover every base, withKoyaanisqatsis lengthy
stop-start development offering particularly
richpickings: would we ever have heard of
it if it had beencompleted withthe Allen
Ginsberg recitationand accordiondrone
that accompanied one of its roughcuts?
RUNFORCOVER
NicholasRay; USA1955; OliveFilms/Region1 NTSCDVD/
RegionABlu-ray; 93minutes; Aspect Ratio1.85:1
Reviewed by Michael Atkinson
The forgotten, thoughtful genre lmNicholas
Ray made right betweenthe sensational
seizures of Johnny Guitar and Rebel Without
a Cause, this NewMexico westernmay not
be one of the directors eight or so canonical
masterpieces but its a necessary launch
of Ravianunease all the same. Rays
New releases
Toxic avenger: La Poison
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ultimate programme was the exploration
of the instability inherent inAmericas
ideas about itself, and this WinstonMiller-
penned frontier saga unsettles the genres
ethical formulas fromthe very rst of several
lynch-mob debacles. Wanderer James Cagney
and local kid JohnDerek meet not-so-cute on
the trail and almost immediately get mistaken
for trainrobbers the posse later apologise for
shooting the pair right off their horses, but
Derek ends up witha permanent limp that
crushes his chances of making a living. Cagney
practically adopts the kid, becomes the new
sheriff, and installs himself inanunexceptional
townwhose inhabitants are as likely to hang a
thief inthe street as to attend church. (When
bankrobber Ernest Borgnine is arrested,
his primary concernis protectionfromthe
townies.) We followCagneys and Hollywood
traditions hopes that the gimpy Derek will
overcome his humiliationand bitterness and
nally manup, but Ray and Miller have other
ideas, and entire tenets about masculinity, faith
and morality are subtly turned ontheir heads.
However lthy the lmis withmercenary
outlaws and homicidal Comanches, its
only real villainis the average persons
maddening capacity for betrayal. Rays
use of the frame is eloquent and tasteful,
especially witha climactic and ghostly use
of real Aztec ruins, but its twisting human
drama centred onCagneys bullethead, as
righteous and vulnerable as a scoutmaster
surrounded by sociopathic children that
makes the movie live. Derek is his usual
unconvincing self, but Cagney, weathered
like a fence post, canhardly believe the
humanzoo inwhichhe nds himself.
Disc: Standard archival print,
decent widescreentransfer.
WECANTGOHOMEAGAIN
NicholasRay; USA1973/2011; Oscilloscope/Region
0Blu-rayandDVD; 95minutes; Aspect Ratio1.33:1;
Features:Dont ExpectTooMuch(2011),CameraThree:
Proleof NicholasRay(1977), rushesfromMarco
(1977),TheJanitor(1974), interviews, booklet containing
textsbySusanRay, SergeDaneyandBill Krohn
Reviewed by Brad Stevens
Made nearly two decades after Run for Cover (see
above), this experimental feature fromRay a
product of the years he spent teaching at Harpur
College during the early 1970s has long
beenone of cinemas legendary unnished
works (thougha versionshownat Cannes in
1973 has played at various retrospectives).
This 2011 restoration, supervised by Rays
widowSusan, is visually identical to that
version, but adds a rst-personvoiceover
recorded by Ray after the Cannes screening.
The narrative, suchas it is, focuses on
the director/teachers interactions withhis
students, but Rays primary concernis with
the breaking downof barriers betweenction
and documentary, using multiple images to
portray a generationof rebels-with-a-cause
who rejected the values their parents had
accepted unquestioningly. As so ofteninRays
work, the expressionof energy is valued inits
ownright, withprocess far more important
thanany conceivable result. We Cant Go
Home Again could never have beenanything
other thana work inprogress, and as suchit
provides aninvaluable record of Rays attempt
to make what inour minds is a Guernica out
of suchmaterials as a broken-downBolex and
a Mitchell that cost $25 out of navy surplus.
Disc: The transfers limitations are inherent in
the way this versionof the lmwas assembled
in1973, withmultiple images projected onto
a transparent screenand thenrecorded by a
35mmcamera. The rather ramshackle quality
of the result is actually highly appropriate,
and the lmcertainly looks better thanit
ever has before. Its a shame that none of the
scenes Ray shot after the Cannes screening are
represented onthis disc (one of themcanbe
seeninWimWenderss Lightning over Water),
and a commentary track would have been
more thanusually welcome. But otherwise
this is anexemplary package, including a
feature-lengthdocumentary by SusanRay, a
fascinating public televisioninterview, and
the rushes for Rays unnished short Marco.
Perhaps best of all is The Janitor (1974), Rays
contributionto the portmanteaufeature Wet
Dreams, its nal shots, inwhichRay sets re
to a screenonwhichhis ownimage is being
projected, providing a resonant summing-
up of We Cant Go Home Agains concerns.
WHITEZOMBIE
Victor Halperin; USA1932; KinoClassics/RegionA
Blu-ray/Region1 DVD; 67minutes; Aspect Ratio1.33:1;
Features: digitallyrestoredandunenhancedtransfers,
commentarybyFrankThompson, 1932interview
withBelaLugosi, 1951 theatrical rereleasetrailer
Reviewed by Nick Pinkerton
Yound a great deal of business being
conducted onuncharted isles inthe movies
of the pre-Code 1930s, fromKing Kongs
Skull Island to The Most Dangerous Game
to Lets Go Native to 1932s Island of Lost
Souls, whose mutant populationwas led
by a manimal Bela Lugosi also the
star of the same years White Zombie,
set ona nightmare versionof the
geographically veriable island of Haiti.
For White Zombie, brothers Victor and
Edward Halperin, anindependent director-
producer team, rented Universal Pictures lots,
atmospheric sets, and Lugosi, the contract
creep-showstar of the moment. Bela plays a
white master of voodoo magic named Murder
Legendre, who turns the half-dead into
marionettes to do his bidding, a mind-control
spell cast as Lugosis eyes ll and dominate
the screeninlooming close-up while he gives
himself a crushing, white-knuckle handshake.
(Youmay recall Johnny Depp practising this
manoeuvre inTimBurtons Ed Wood.)
The Halperins White Zombie is the rst
feature-lengthzombie lm and so, at an
80-year remove, distantly responsible for dreck
like WarmBodies. While the stars, including
Madge Bellamy and JohnHarronas a menaced
young couple, are of the islands white elite,
black menials are everywhere about, and White
Zombie makes explicit the connectionbetween
living-dead thrall and slavishdrudgery as Val
Lewtons I Walked with a Zombie would 11 years
later. White Zombies single most startling scene
has Robert Frazers aristocratic plantationhead
visiting Legendre at his sugar factory, which
is staffed by anarmy of hypnotised drones
who dont pause intheir steady shufe even
whenone of their number topples, without so
muchas a scream, into the blades of the hopper
thats chopping up cane. Withsucheffects,
White Zombie is as meanand resourceful as the
best of Poverty Row, wringing anxious poetry
out of otherworldly glass-matte paintings,
stuffed vultures, a decoupage of eerie library
music and lugubrious, funereal images
imbued witha solemnsense of ceremony.
Disc: Kinos knockout package includes two full
versions of White Zombie, one digitally sanitised,
the other raw, withpockmarks intact. (The
latter is a more tting way to experience the
lm.) HistorianFrank Thompsonprovides
anaffectionately opinionated commentary,
particularly hard onpoor Madge Bellamy.
New releases
They do voodoo: White Zombie
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THEGANGSTERFILMSTHREE
SILENTFILMSBYYASUJIROOZU
ASTRAIGHTFORWARDBOY(FRAGMENT)/WALK
CHEERFULLY/THATNIGHTSWIFE/DRAGNETGIRL
OzuYasujiro; Japan1929/30/30/33; BFI/Region
2DVD; 13/92/63/96minutes; Aspect Ratio1.33:1;
Feature:Ozu: EmotionandPoetry, booklet
Reviewed by Philip Kemp
Having invaluably broadened our appreciation
of Ozuwithlast years release of a batchof his
silent student comedies, the BFI continues
the good work withthree-and-a-bit of his
gangster lms. As before, its fascinating to
see howOzu, at the outset of his career, was
far fromthe austere, xed- camera, long-
unbroken-take director were familiar with
fromhis post-war output. Inthese lms his
camera tracks, pans and glides; cutting is
oftenfast and rhythmic, withfrequent use of
shot/countershot; and angles stray far from
the tatami-mat height beloved of the older
director. Dragnet Girl opens ona vertiginous
highangle of people ontheir way to an
ofce job, and soonafterwards the camera
tracks rapidly along a rowof busily clacking
typewriters. Later we get a scene framed in
the wing-mirror of a speeding limousine.
At this stage Ozuwas clearly delighted with
the Terpsichoreanpotential of his medium
and sawlittle need to restrainhimself.
Another feature incommonwiththe student
comedies (which, like the present releases, date
fromthe late 20s and early 30s) is Ozus evident
fascinationwithall things Western. This most
Japanese of all directors, as Donald Richie
termed him, here openly parades his American
inuences: posters for recent Hollywood
releases (Our Dancing Daughters, Broadway
Scandals, All Quiet on the Western Front) adorn
the walls of his sets, and his characters for the
most part wear slick suits, snap-brimhats,
apper-style dresses and bobbed hair. Theres
evena touchof overseas product placement:
inDragnet Girl the HMVdog almost shows up
oftenenoughto become a member of the cast.
Evenso, to call these movies gangster lms
arouses slightly misleading expectations.
There are none of the high-speed car chases,
fast repartee or Tommy-gunshoot-outs of
Little Caesar, Public Enemy or Scarface. Guns
are brandished, but inall these lms there are
only two gunshots, eachresulting innothing
more thana eshwound. Afewpeople are
punched but no one is killed. Ozucertainly
knewthe contemporary Hollywood crime
cycle, but his model here seems to be the
slightly earlier lms of Josef vonSternberg
(The Docks of NewYork, Underworld) with
their moody, melancholy atmosphere.
The earliest specimenhere, the 13-minute
fragment of the four-reeler AStraightforward
Boy, scarcely qualies as gangster at all.
Lifting its plot fromO. Henrys short story
The Ransomof Red Chief, it has two inept
would-be kidnappers easily outsmarted by
their intended victim, a brattishsmall boy who
gleefully peels off their false moustaches and
shoots rubber-suctionarrows at their heads.
The light-hearted mood carries over into Walk
Cheerfully, witha dapper smalltime gang boss
whose henchmenbreak into a synchronised
jazz-baby dance routine every time he shows
up. Hes induced to give up his criminal ways
for the love of a nice girl, and nds a steady job
as a windowcleaner. (Hard to imagine Cagney
or Eddie Robinsondoing likewise.) The lm
dwells onodd details, suchas anobsession
withhats thrown, dropped, retrieved
that seems to anticipate Millers Crossing.
There are no gangsters inThat Nights Wife,
merely animpoverished father desperate for
money to buy medicationfor his sick daughter.
(The title, suggesting a one-night stand, is
misleading.) Essentially this is a three-hander
melodrama: the husband, the wife and the
toughbut compassionate police detective who
comes to arrest him. The actionplays out over
one night and, apart fromthe robbery sequence
that acts as prologue, entirely withinone set:
the familys small, cluttered apartment. Ozu
shows endless ingenuity inexploiting his
claustrophobic setting, and makes sparing
use of intertitles; the rst dialogue title comes
more thantenminutes into the action.
Ozus dalliance withgangster movies didnt
last long; Dragnet Girl is his last excursion
into the genre, replaying story elements
fromWalk Cheerfully but ina more sombre
mood that brings it closer to his American
models. Again, a smalltime gang-leader nds
himself attracted to a simple, virtuous girl,
but this time its her rival, the bad girl of the
title (the great Tanaka Kinuyo inanearly
lead role), who acts as his eventual salvation.
As her boyfriend, Oka Joji has something of
the soulful seriousness of the young Henry
Fonda. Ozuhimself scripted, under his
Anglo-Japanese penname of James Maki.
As withthe student comedy set, the score
is provided by Ed Hughes, thoughthis time
for a string quartet; the busy texture gets
a bit relentless. Prints showsome scuffs
and blotches, but nothing serious.
i
Walk Cheerfully screens at BFI
Southbank, Londonon22April witha live
benshi narrationbyTomokoKomura and
musical accompaniment by Clive Bell. The
BFI members-only screeningwill be
introducedbyTony Rayns
Ozus early gangster lms offer a
fascinating glimpse of the young
director experimenting with
the potential of his medium
Scene of the crime: Ozu shows endless ingenuity in 1930s That Nights Wife
There are none of the high-
speed car chases, fast repartee
or Tommy-gun shoot-outs of
Public Enemy or Scarface
THE WAYOFTHE GUN
Revival
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TEMPO: VOLUMEONE
ABC/ITV; UK1962-67; NetworkDVD/Region2DVD;
300minutesapproximately; Aspect Ratio4:3
Reviewed by David Thompson
By the beginning of the 1960s, one television
programme stood as the acme of arts
programming the BBCs agship series
Monitor. It was presided over by the avuncular
HuwWheldon, who conducted interviews
inthe studio and introduced lms onartists
and their worlds, all beautifully crafted in
monochrome 35mm. Future lmdirectors John
Schlesinger and KenRussell learnt their trade
there and developed a personal voice. How
was the relative newcomer of independent
televisionto compete? The answer came in
the shape of Tempo, launched inOctober 1961
withamboyant theatre critic KennethTynan
as editor and presenter. It ranfor eight years,
outliving Monitor, but today is less frequently
cited as a force inthe transmissionof culture
throughthe small screen. Yet the editor of
Arena Anthony Wall recalls the dynamic, uid
style and open-door policy of Tempo as a key
inuence onthat very individual BBCarts
series. Hence the importance of this (barebones)
release of 12 Tempo lms fromNetwork, who
hopefully will bring us more infuture volumes.
As withMonitor, far less of the studio content
of Tempo survives thanthe specially crafted
lms. The earliest example here is a sensitive,
poetic look at the artist GrahamSutherland at
work inthe Southof France, made by Monitor
alumnus Peter Newington. Not everything
was onthis level; a studio-based rehearsal of
Mozarts Clarinet Quintet featuring Yehudi
Menuhinis painfully leaden, as the players
politely and tentatively discuss technical
points of balance and interpretation, most of
whichare hard to hear, let alone understand.
Just as JonathanMiller brought about a
controversial sea change inMonitor whenhe
took over in1964, largely dropping Wheldons
big-game-hunt of great artists for anoff-centre,
handheld approach, so Tempo underwent
anaesthetic makeover whenMike Hodges,
future director of Get Carter (1971), Flash
Gordon (1980) and Croupier (1998), arrived from
Granadas groundbreaking current-affairs series
World in Action to become series producer.
Already a newsensibility had crept into
Tempo withthe employment of art-school
graduates, notably Trevor Preston(later the
writer of suchcompelling crime series as
Out) and James (later the lmdirector Jim)
Goddard. Inspired by his experience working
withthe Maysles brothers inthe US, Hodges
abandoned the studio and commissioned half-
hour lms to be shot onlightweight 16mm
equipment. He found highly accomplished
crews at a Canadiancompany established in
London, AllanKing Associates. As Hodges
recalls, The budget was only 2,000 for each
programme. Out of that had to come the costs
of shooting and the editing, but 16mmgave
us muchmore access and freedom, evenif
we only had two days of actual lming.
He theninaugurated Tempo Prole, the
choices here being a frank and direct interview
withHarold Pinter (and featuring extracts
fromThe Homecoming withits original cast),
a sharp yet curiously evasive Duke Ellington,
a wonderfully expansive OrsonWelles (all
shot inanarchitect friends at belowmine in
Notting Hill) and a strikingly intimate look
at the contrasted worlds of ballet dancer Lynn
Seymour and newpop sensationTomJones.
This bold mix of what was thencharacterised as
highand lowart was a denite breakthrough.
Next, Hodges devised a series he laughingly
called Tempo International, withthe majority
of lming done inParis. As Hodges explains: I
followed unionrules and took a crewover there,
camera and sound plus two assistants, and
split theminto two crews. There he covered
most of his international subjects, suchas the
charming portrait by director Dick Fontaine
(another World in Action graduate) of Jacques
Tati at work onhis magnumopus, Playtime.
For Hodges, the real gear change came in
1967 withNewTempo (a title distinctionnot
made clear onthe DVDsleeve). It was a last
hurrahof highly experimental lms, resulting
indisgruntled viewers jamming the ITV
switchboard; amazingly, the programmes time
slot by this stage was Sunday afternoon, just
after lunch. I was completely obsessed with
Marshall McLuhan, it was sucha freewheeling
time, everything was breaking down, and you
beganto make extraordinary connections,
whichhe was very adroit at doing. Theme-
based lms ina fast-cut essay format proved to
be too muchtoo soon. Frustratingly, the only
example onthis disc is the one programme
banned fromtransmission, inwhichthe simple
actionof mandescending a staircase, drinking a
glass of water and lighting a cigarette is lmed
invarious styles, eachprogressively weirder
to underline anaccompanying interviewwith
psychiatric guruR.D. Laing onthe use of LSD
as a medical treatment. They objected to him
saying that taking LSDwas like climbing the
Matterhorn, that he wouldnt stop people doing
it evenif they fell off. We refused to cut the
line. But did any of Hodgess teamactually
take LSDbefore lming? I never asked.
The 1960s culture showTempo
deserves to be remembered for
its dynamismand willingness to
embrace art bothhighand low
Jacques Tati on the giant set of his magnum opus Playtime
Duke Ellington
It was a last hurrah of highly
experimental lms, resulting in
disgruntled viewers jamming
the ITVswitchboard
OTEMPOOMORES
Television
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AGATHACHRISTIES
POIROTSERIES3
LWT/ITV; UK1990-91; Llamentol/RegionB
Blu-ray; 632minutes; Aspect Ratio4:3
Reviewed by Sergio Angelini
By the time productionconcludes onthe last
of the Poirot stories this summer, it will be a
remarkable quarter of a century since David
Suchet rst donned his absurdly curlicued
moustaches and immaculate spats. If some of
the more recent entries inthe series have been
either unnecessarily glumor overly camp, the
early (and funnier) years of the showremain
utterly delightful. Set inanersatz 1936 inwhich
art-deco furnishings reign, Lagondas trundle
throughthe Home Counties and plummy
accents proliferate, the showis greatly bolstered
by the regular presence of HughFraser as the
kind-hearted CaptainHastings (easily one of
the densest Watsons indetective ction), the
ultra-efcient secretary Miss Lemon(Pauline
Moran, adorned withimmaculate kiss curls)
and the grouchy but loveable Inspector Japp
(Philip Jackson). Withscripts by the likes of
Anthony Horowitz, David Renwick and Andrew
Marshall, and made under the supervisionof
Clive Exton, this third seasonsees the showat
something like its most condent inits rich
mixture of humour, crime puzzles and beautiful
decor, most notably inanepisode set in
Broadcasting House. As a bonus it also includes
a feature-lengthadaptationof The Mysterious
Affair at Styles, presenting the maincharacters
intheir youthat the tail of end of the Great War.
Not available inHDinthe UK, this Spanish
Blu-ray release shares the same masters
used for the US release but trumps those
editions not only by being RegionB but also
by coming inat less thanhalf the price.
Disc: The newHi-Def masters are derived
fromthe original 16mmcamera negs
and the results are mostly superb, with
deep blacks, bold colours and ultra-
sharp contours. There are no extras.
HOUSEOF LIESSEASON1
Crescendo/RefugeeProductions/TotallyCommercial Films/
Showtime; USA2012; Paramount HomeEntertainment/
Region2DVD; 356minutes; Certicate18; Aspect Ratio
16:9; Features: audiocommentaries, featurettes
Reviewed by Sergio Angelini
This is a scabrous, fast-paced comedy about
ethically unburdened professionals who lie,
cheat and screwaround before they evenstart
knuckling downto the daily ofce grind of
bleeding their corporate clients dry or at
least, thats howmanagement consultants
are depicted onthis show. DonCheadle stars
as Marty Kaan, the sharp and unscrupulous
mainasset of the number-two consultancy in
the US; his nemesis comes inthe long-legged
shape of his drug-addled and permanently
inheat ex-wife who, to make matters even
more challenging, just happens to head the
number-one rmintown. The carnivalesque
atmosphere is enhanced by Martys self-
mocking asides, whichbreak the fourthwall to
lay bare his crass and deeply damaged psyche
while chiding all those around himas he travels
round the country withhis teamof ultra-
bright mercenaries. Too predictably, the only
humanity Marty displays comes whenhes with
his charming young son, who is experimenting
withcross-dressing, or his increasingly forgetful
ex-psychiatrist father (GlynnTurman).
Eventually the focus shifts away from
shafting clients to company inghting as
the fault lines inthe upper echelons become
increasingly deep and the retributionmore
public (Martys boss gets evenwithhimby
defecating all over his ofce). Despite plenty
of energy and Cheadles charismatic presence,
its very hard to care what might happen
after the predictable cliffhanger (a third
seasonhas beencommissioned, however).
Disc: The anamorphic transfers are crystal-
clear, as is the discreet audio. Extras are
limited to a handful of cast and crew
commentaries and disposable featurettes.
MARRIAGELINESSERIES1 &3
BBC; UK1963/65; AcornMedia/Region2DVD;
442minutes; CerticatePG; Aspect Ratio4:3;
Features: newinterviewwithPrunellaScalesand
RichardBriers, picturegallery, text biographies
Reviewed by Sergio Angelini
This ultra-traditional studio sitcombenets
considerably fromanoccasional twinkle inits
scripts and the assured playing of stars Richard
Briers and Prunella Scales. Inthe opening
episode, newlyweds George and Kate Starling
returnfromtheir honeymoonto start their
conjoined lives, but cant nd the key to their
newapartment. Thereafter their bliss will
continue to be shortlived (they evenfail ina
planto celebrate their rst two consecutive
weeks without a row). Kate stays at home and
watches her soufs deate while George has
a lot of trouble not being swayed by his louche
unmarried friends, and marital discord is
temporarily ensured by the appearance of old
girlfriends and pregnancy (They dont make
that noise every night, do they? he complains).
This set brings together all that remains of
the show(the second, fourthand fthseasons
were junked), concluding ina pleasing circular
fashionwitha returnvisit fromold neighbours
Peter and Norah(Ronald Hines and Christine
Finn) fromthe rst year, allowing for some
reectiononhowtimes have changed.
Disc: The telerecordings are inacceptable
shape thoughthere are instances of fading and
severe print damage. The mainextra is a recent
20-minute interviewwithBriers and Scales
that meanders affectionately and has anadded
poignancy after Brierss deathlast month.
Marriage Lines This ultra-traditional studio sitcom
benets considerably fromthe assured playing
of stars Richard Briers and Prunella Scales
122 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
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DANCE LIKEABUTTERFLY, STINGLIKEABEE
MAE MURRAY
TheGirl withtheBee-StungLips
By Michael G. Ankerich, University Press of
Kentucky, 392pp, 33.95, ISBN9780813136905
Reviewedby Pamela Hutchinson
Anita Loos dismissed the rst biography
of Mae Murray as a sop to her ego, a book-
length Valentine. By contrast, her latest
biographer warns that his book will not
always be attering, but it [will] be fair.
However, far fromslaughtering his subject,
this new, more clear-sighted volume looks
set to reassess the stature of a dancer-
turned-actress who was repeatedly mauled
by the critics and whose fame rests largely
on her one big hit: the Erich von Stroheim
confection The Merry Widow(1925).
Still, Murray would be mortied by The Girl
with the Bee-Stung Lips. Sympathetic as it is,
Michael G. Ankerichs book exposes details she
would rather have had kept under wraps not
years, creating the distasteful impressionthat
she was shimmying inthe Follies while just a
child. It was a high-maintenance b requiring a
facelift at the age of 35, faddy all-milk diets and
close-ups that were lmed throughso many
layers of gauze that anMGMdirector sniped:
Mae was photographed througha blanket.
More elaborately, the former Anna Mary
Koenig fromthe Lower East Side would
romance her life story by telling journalists she
had beenraised anywhere fromPortsmouth,
Virginia to Europeanconvents or at
sea ina lovely boat. That rst biography,
The Self-Enchanted, was still too prosaic for
Murray, who would swipe copies from
library shelves and redact any offending facts
and gures witha ball-point pen. One can
only imagine the vicious emails she would
compose to IMDb were she alive today.
Vainshe was, and temperamental too,
launching expensive lawsuits against everyone
frommovie studios to dry cleaners, withmixed
success. And she knewhowto make enemies.
She once called Stroheima dirty Hun onthe
set of The Merry Widow. Another time, ina
just her impoverished nal years (bankrupt,
alone, sleeping inCentral Park and humming
The Merry WidowWaltz as she rode the
bus) but, cruellest of all, her date of birth.
Like many a Hollywood star, but more so,
Murray was sensitive and secretive about her
age. Strictly betweenus, she was bornin1885,
but would regularly lop a decade or more off her
One-hit wonder: Mae Murrays fame rests largely on her one big success, Eric von Stroheims 1925 confectionThe Merry Widow
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Murray in Robert Z. Leonards Fascination
April 2013 | Sight&Sound | 123
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ounce, she announced her intentionto leave
Hollywood for Berlin, only to face a phalanx
of bigwigs, led by WilliamRandolphHearst,
threatening to boycott any lms she made in
Germany, rendering the gesture unprotable,
and backing her into a public U-turn.
As Ankerichpatiently lays out, the tantrums
may have beenpart and parcel of Murrays
personality, but there were valid reasons for her
insecurity and her desire to surround herself
ina fairytale ction. Evenat the height of her
box-ofce success, her reviews were terrible,
withher awkward acting style condemned as
affectation-plus. Her brother blackmailed
her, and her son, bornclandestinely inParis,
was takenfromher after a horribly mangled
custody battle. Evenher love affairs were largely
disastrous, fromthe millionaires sonwho was
rendered penniless once his father learned he
had shacked up witha showgirl to David, one of
the Georgianmarrying Mdivanis who passed
himself off as a prince and, once they were
wed, turned abusive and ruinously spendthrift.
No wonder the poor thing plaintively asked
a reporter: Why cant we shape life to suit
us instead of allowing life to shape us?
No one could fail to sympathise withMurray
when, having hit the big time onBroadway,
she was lured to Hollywood by AdolphZukors
false promise not just of a plumrole ina new
lmbut of a red carpet and brass band to greet
her fromthe train. She was instantly miserable,
only hitting her stride whenshe briey found
artistic and romantic compatibility with
director Robert Z. Leonard. The Murray school
of acting, whichdrove Joe Public wild and was
wickedly mimicked by MarionDavies inThe
Patsy, was to purse those famously pert lips,
throwback her chinand dazzle audiences with
showy dance steps, a translucent costume and
oftena two-strip Technicolor showstopper. In
The Merry Widowshe followed the formula to
the letter but something perhaps Stroheims
direction, or the closeness of the prince-
and-showgirl plot to her ownexperience
made it a rare critical triumphtoo.
So, while Murray may rock inher North
Hollywood grave at some of Ankerichs
painstaking research, he presents the
vulnerability and the talent of his subject
withaffectionate clarity. We learnthat when
Murray returned to the stage, her write-ups
improved. Her dancing was timeless; she
moved gracefully and alluringly; there was
something attractive about her that the screen
just couldnt capture. While its a testament to
her career that her slinkiness is preserved in The
Merry Widow, perhaps make-believe Murray
just wasnt built for the glare of Hollywood,
but the footlights of Broadway instead. B
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Rock My Religion
By Kodwo Eshun, Afterfall Books, 105pp, 9.95,
ISBN978184638O860
Reviewedby Paul Tickell
Partly because of rights issues involving use
of music and of clips fromlms like Rebel
Without a Cause, artist Dan Grahams video
essay Rock My Religion is not often screened.
Its very welcome, then, to have a book
which, illustrated with over 50 images from
the lm, is almost an edit-by-edit account.
Kodwo Eshunis some intellectual hell-
hound trailing Grahamas he traces the spirit
of early 1980s Americanpunk bands like
Black Flag back to a manifestationof the
Holy Spirit ina Manchester of the 1770s in
the throes of the industrial revolutionand of
the ecstatic dancing of the radical Protestant
Shakers. Their holy rolling is read by Graham
as botha resistance to the rocking rhythms
JAPANESE CINEMA
INTHE DIGITALAGE
MitsuyoWada-Marciano, University of
Hawaii Press, 2012, 39.95, 178pp,
ISBN9780824835941
ByJasper Sharp
Amore apt title for this analysis of trends
in Japanese lmover the past 15 years or so
might have been Japanese Cinema in the
Transition to the Digital Age. Considering the
countrys historical renown for technological
innovation, the switchover to digital cinema
exhibition has lagged surprisingly behind
other industries. As of 2010, only 980 of the
nations 3,412 screens (29 per cent) were
equipped for digital projection (against the
UKs 37.8 per cent), while the latest count of 88
per cent (against the UKs 92 per cent) shows
there is some way to go before the dreamof
a celluloid-free exhibition sector is realised.
However, as elsewhere theatrical exhibition
nowcounts as only one of several channels
throughwhichaudiences consume domestic
product. Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano argues that,
taking account of gures for home-viewing
formats, appetite for local output is as highas
it was inthe 1950s heyday of Japanese cinema.
Furthermore, though35mmhas remained the
dominant exhibitionformat, digital production
technologies have liberated a newgeneration
of lmmakers while offering more choice for
audiences: more than400 domestic lms are
released annually inJapan. While cinema
attendances have not risendramatically, the
rise inscreens due to the growthinmultiplexes
has led to a prevalence of independent
lms withtheir low-spectacle and personal
narratives, whichare thoroughly compatible
withthe diminished size of the screen.
Wada-Marciano focuses onhowthis has
inuenced the types of lms produced,
throughcase studies including international
breakthroughJ-horror titles like Ringu
(Nakata Hideo, 1998) and Ju-on: The Grudge
(ShimizuTakashi, 2001), whose visual forms
and narrative structures self-referentially
acknowledge the global distributionpatterns
and viewing environments brought about by
newmedia; the rise inhome-grownanimation
fromsolo industry outsiders suchas Shinkai
Makoto and Yamamura Kji; discourses
surrounding the digital authenticity of jishu
eiga (self-produced) documentary productions
suchas those by Kawase Naomi, and their
stylistic inuence onarthouse features such
as Koreeda Hirokazus Nobody Knows (Dare
mo shiranai, 2004); and the challenges to
notions of Japaneseness brought about by the
transnational character of newtechnologies.
While a little sketchy onbothindustry and
technical detail at times, Wada-Marcianos
academic survey provides a valuable and
insightful starting point for future researchers.
of industrialisationand a harbinger of the
vinyl roll to come. Its a bold thesis also to
be found inthe work of Greil Marcus and
Nick Tosches, thoughGraham, a rock writer
too, seems unaware of the latters Hellre
book inwhichthe God of the Protestants
and rock n roll shake up Jerry Lee Lewis.
Inthe 200 years between18th-century
Shakers and late-20th-century pogo-ers,
Grahamlays bare a secret history involving
Rimbaud, the Sioux Ghost Dance, The Doors
and Patti Smith. Eshunconstantly grounds
the directors visionary discoveries at the
technical level, paying attentionto how
a graphic, a disconcerting sound mix or a
piece of GlennBranca music affects the lm
or homing inonhowthe O mouthed by
Patti Smithinsome archival material sets
off a series of associative edits involving
industrial machinery, turbines and the
repetitive circularity of capitalist production
itself (the Piss Factory, as her song has it).
God is inthe detail and, as
Eshundemonstrates, this is why
Rock My Relgion rocks.
Silver screen: Nakata Hideos Ringu
Murray was vain and
temperamental, launching
lawsuits against everyone from
movie studios to dry cleaners
124 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
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ABRAHAMPOLONSKY:
INTERVIEWS
Edited byAndrewDickos, University Press of
Mississippi, 230pp, 42, ISBN9781617036606
Reviewedby Nick Pinkerton
It has been remarked that with a little
opportunismthe characters I created in Body
and Soul, Force of Evil, and Tell Them Willie Boy
is Here could have adapted and survived. And
so, with a little opportunism, we all can.
This is AbrahamPolonsky in1970, coming
around to his experience withthe Hollywood
blacklist, whichhad terribly curtailed his
lmmaking career. Asurvivor if not anadaptor,
Polonsky was nearing 60 by then, and his
sophomore directorial effort, the revisionist
WesternWillie Boy, had beenreleased only
a year earlier, a long-delayed follow-up to
1948s noir classic Force of Evil, starring John
Gareld. Along withthe 1947 boxing picture
Body and Soul, directed by Robert Rossen
froma Polonsky script, a folk tale fromthe
Empire city also starring Gareld and also
made for the actors ownEnterprise Studios,
these three lms make up the Polonsky
canon and constitute a convincing argument
for Polonsky as a major lmmaker.
Polonsky brashly speaks for himself inthis
collectionof the directors interviews and
essays for the University Press of Mississippis
ongoing Conversations withFilmmakers
series. Bornto a socialist-leaning Russian-Jewish
family in1910, Polonsky recounts a childhood
spent betweenthe Bronx and Manhattans
East Side; his father was a pharmacist, like
Garelds characters father inBody and Soul.
Before eventually migrating into movies, the
unusually well-rounded Polonsky taught
Englishat the City College of NewYork, wrote
his ownnovels as well as radio plays for Orson
Welless Mercury Theatre, served overseas
during the war inthe Ofce of Strategic
Services, and nally settled into Hollywood,
the scene of his rapid rise and evenfaster fall.
As another meteoric career played out
that of Senator JosephMcCarthy Polonsky
refused to go throughthe public degradation
ceremony that would have cleared his name of
suspicionof Communist Party membership.
Polonsky was blacklisted until 1968 when,
after years of working incognito, he nally
had another ofcial screenplay credit, for
DonSiegels Madigan. Notwithstanding his
principled stance, Polonsky comes across
here less as a starry-eyed utopianthanas a
moralist exhausted by humanshortsightedness,
prone to statements like: Youcaninterpret
everything that one persondoes for another
as a way of destroying him. His compromised
characters, eachlocked intheir private prison,
canonly see the other guys bars. We have
committed ourselves to courses of action
whichare folly and disaster, Polonsky says.
All along the line, we invent choices which
we think are real but are just cover-ups.
Perhaps evenmore to the point: People live
a long time, and act badly very often.
That last statement appears twice inthis slim
volume and isnt the only repetition. When
talking about the blacklist, Polonskys responses
to questions settle into formanswers, some of
Polonsky comes across here
less as a starry-eyed utopian
than as a moralist exhausted
by human shortsightedness
whichrecur verbatim. Only inthe collections
last interview, a 1997 conversationwiththe
authors of 2001s denitive biography AVery
Dangerous Citizen: AbrahamLincoln Polonsky
and the Hollywood Left, does the very elderly
Polonskys weary, philosophically detached
facade nally crack, letting the vitriol leak.
(OnRossen, who named names: He was
talented like Elia Kazanwas talented, but
like Kazanhe also had a rottencharacter. In
the end they bothbecame stool pigeons.)
Those whose backs were broken by the
system, however, earn his respect. Of Gareld,
who died of a heart attack at 39 while being
harassed by the House Committee on
Un-American Activities, Polonsky famously
said he defended his streetboys honor and
they killed himfor it. In the same 1962
interview, included here, its made clear that
Polonsky considered himself true to the
neighbourhood and its ethos throughout
his life. Asked about the inuence of
playwright Clifford Odets, he replies that
we both derive fromJewish jokes and
street quarrels. I live dangled between the
formal and the argot without solution.
Aspot-onself-description, and inthese
pages theres testimony to Polonskys assertion
that youcanrecognize my style as a writer
whether Imwriting essays or something
else. The collectionbegins withexamples of
Polonskys critical writing fromthe likes of
Hollywood Quarterly (immediate predecessor
of FilmQuarterly). Atheoretical blueprint for
Polonskys lmpractice, these not only prove
that he was the rare example of a wholly self-
conscious and articulate Hollywood artist,
but echo the voice of his 40s screenplays in
their urgent, almost haranguing cadence, the
staccato delivery, the rhetorical repetitions.
Muchof Polonskys writing addresses the
problemof mastering reality onscreen,
singling out for praise the tag of daily
experience or scraping presentness where
he nds it, while elsewhere dressing down
Carol Reeds Odd Man Out for its assumption
of universal rather thanspecic truth,
whichreduces it to a stereotype of realism
inthe literary formof a melodrama.
Of particular interest is Polonskys side-
by-side analysis of Chaplins Limelight and
Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea: just
about the same story, the tale of anold man
who was once supreme inhis eld whomtime
has weakened and circumstance faced witha
test of strengthand philosophy. Bothheroes
afrmand do not alter their visionof life. And
while Polonsky, losing his prime years, was
robbed of any chance of supremacy, here it is
amply demonstrated that this was a lmmaker
of intense, obsessive and corrosive vision. Classic noir: Force of Evil
Man with a movie camera: AbrahamPolonsky was blacklisted until 1968 for refusing to testify to HUAC
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THE SCHOOL OF SOUND
A unique series of masterclasses
exploring the art of sound in
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Southbank Centre, London
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Speakers include:
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128 | Sight&Sound | April 2013
By Mar Diestro-Dpido
Inspired by the idea of making a lmabout a
killer little girl, Spanish director Carlos Saura
ended up creating probably the most lauded
lmof his career, the masterful Cra cuervos,
shot in 1975 as the Spanish dictator of 36 years,
General Francisco Franco, was on his deathbed.
In the lms rst fewminutes we meet the
supposed killer ten-year-old Ana, played by
Ana Torrent with the same mix of tenderness
and intense inquisitiveness she brought to
Vctor Erices The Spirit of the Beehive (El espritu
de la colmena) two years earlier. Ana and her
two sisters (Irene older, Maite younger) are
about to spend their summer holidays locked
in the family house after their father a cruel
womanising stalwart of the regime, whom
Ana has always held responsible for her
mothers death dies of a heart attack while
having sex with the wife of his best friend.
Except Ana believes that she infact killed
him, using the mysterious powder her mother
once told her to get rid of because it contains a
poisonthat could kill anelephant inreality
old bicarbonate of soda. Instead, Ana hid it
away, adding it to her fathers drink the night
he died. Whenthe mistress leaves terried, Ana
gets the glass fromthe roomand proceeds to
washit carefully to erase any trace; and after
gently being told off for being awake at such
a late hour by the ghost of her mother (which
she caninvoke at will), she goes to bed. In
another murder attempt that will resonate at
the end of the lm, Ana will use her poison
once more, this time against rigid conformist
Aunt Paulina, Anas mothers sister, nowin
charge of the girls intheir parents absence.
Produced by Elas Querejeta and lmed in
beautifully evocative 1970s Eastmancolor,
Cra cuervos is a metaphor for the demise
of Francos claustrophobically patriarchal
regime, and its ending sets out the questions
and contradictions that this would inevitably
bring. The lmitself canbe read as anact of
resistance, replicated inAnas ownrebellion
against those trying to repress her (family,
social conventions, etc) for, as the Spanish
saying goes: cra cuervos y te sacarn los ojos (raise
ravens and theyll pluck out your eyes). Inother
words, what youve created will destroy you.
Francos legacy of death, violence, repression
and fear had beenprofoundly ingrained in
the next generation anidea made explicit by
having Anas mother and Ana herself, when
shes shownlater as anadult, bothplayed by
anexquisitely ethereal Geraldine Chaplin.
Echoing the murderous opening scene,
Saura sets the lms last three minutes onthe
morning of the girls rst day back at school,
whenAna wakes up to disappointment,
discovering that she has not only failed to
dispatchAunt Paulina but canno longer evoke
her mothers spirit either. Over breakfast,
Irene narrates her previous nights dream,
inwhichshe was kidnapped and threatened
withdeathif her parents didnt answer the
phone. As the camera follows the girls out of
the house and into the street, Irene continues
invoiceover, So they said, The time has
come to kill you. They tied me to a wooden
column. They put a gunto my temple, and just
whenthey were about to shoot, I woke up.
To the tune of a deceptively uplifting,
phenomenally catchy pop song whose lyrics
paradoxically speak about abandonment and
loss Porque te vas (Because YouAre Leaving),
played here for the fourthtime inthe lm we
see the girls leaving their enclosed environment
ontheir ownfor the rst time. But this is only
a liberationof sorts. As they walk insingle le
downthe bustling, sun-kissed streets of Madrid,
their serious countenances reveal not happiness
at escaping their summer connement, but
resignationas they walk towards yet another
repressive institution, the school. Their heavier
demeanour is incontrast to the explosionof
energy of the other uniformed children, into
whichmultitude they blur as the camera pulls
back and up to panover the rest of the city.
Like the song, the ending of Cra cuervos is
shot throughwitha bittersweet realisation: that
a country onthe verge of nally being freed
fromits captor would need a long time to heal
its wounds and exorcise its ghosts. Inthe words
of another dissident Spanishlmmaker,
Luis Garca Berlanga (The Executioner): We
were free, but we did not knowit yet: we had
not yet tasted freedom, we had only intuited it.
The past would haunt the present for many
years to come.
i
Cra Cuervos is releasedby the BFI
ina dual-format DVDandBlu-ray
editionon13May
CRIACUERVOS
The last minutes of Carlos Sauras
1975 lmcapture the mood of
Spainonthe verge of freedom
fromthe grip of Francos regime
Its shot through a bittersweet
realisation that a country being
freed fromits captor would need
a long time to heal its wounds
ENDINGS
Written and directed by Cristian Mungiu
Inspired by the non-ction novels of Tatiana Niculescu Bran
BEST ACTRESS
FESTIVAL DE CANNES
BEST SCREENPLAY
FESTIVAL DE CANNES
Mobra FilmPresents

Total Film
Michael Hayden, LFF
anintenselyaffectinglovestory
that cementsMungiusreputation
asoneof worldcinemas
modernmasters

Dave Calhoun, Time Out

a fascinating companion piece
toMungiusPalmedOr winner
4Months, 3Weeks&2Days

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

enthralling and mysterious

The Skinny
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