Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hiaasen, Carl: Sick Puppy

Another in the series of books about environmental pollution and political corruption in Florida with the usual twists and turns in the plot. A very rich young man spends his time chasing and chastising litter bugs - for example, emptying a full
refuse truck on to an open sports car - before falling for the wife of a lobbyist who is the villain of this book though he is far from alone. Some amusing vignettes - as when the man and the errant wife are about to have sex but she insist on the dog being blindfolded before they start - and some nasty bits though the latter are never drawn out . Well up to the author's standard with sufficient variations in the story to make it fresh even with the same basic theme.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Morgan, Richard: Broken Angels

In the outer reaches of space, man in the 26th century is discovering the relics of Martian colonisation while showing that human nature seem unable to change with greed, violence, treachery and stupidity present to the full. Death can be a thing of the past as the top of the spine or stack can be transferred to a new body or sleeve which is done frequently in armies.
The book tells an involved tale of retrieving a Martian battle cruiser through a hidden portal with many visiccitudes on the way leaving only the narrator and a few others alive (or dead) on their way to a different planetary system. The science seems plausible though unlikely and is not all-encompassing - spaceships take years to cross the galaxy though there is both a
shortened subjective time and the longer real time - and working out the technology used by the Martians is slow and rather limited. A book of nearly 500 pages, it raises some interesting ideas about the environment, human nature and the way that multi-national corporations appear to be taking over from national governments without preaching against the backdrop of an adventure story within the science fiction milieu.

Driving Miss Daisy.

These days we rarely go to the theatre, partly a function of the relative cost compared with cinema and partly a matter of preference. There have been exceptions, more so in the past than now, to see some of the greats such as Gielgud and Guinness, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney and Anne Miller et al. The reason for going to see this film was that it is the only chance to see the great James Earl Jones on stage. While he was good in the role of Miss Daisy' chauffeur, the truly outstanding performance was that of Vanessa Redgrave as Miss Daisy. She, like Jones, is well past the age of retirement,
(he is 80, she 74) but she gave a performance of such bravura excellence that it was a true privilege to watch. Only a short play, some 80 plus minutes with no interbal, but one that will be remembered.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Faust: Alexandr Sokurov (LFF 27.10.2011)

Set in a mediaeval village this is the final film of Sokurov's tetralogy about spiritual shortcomings taking the traditional tale of
Faust. A long film with hints of Murnau at times and of Terry Gilliam at others, I need to see this one again to decide as the
length unfortunately defeated my attempts to pay continuous attention. It was highly recommended by a St Petersburg DVD
seller who had seen it a few weeks earlier so I should give it another go.

Dendera: Daisuke Tengan (LFF 26.10.2011)

This is a sequel to 'The Ballad of Narayama' in which the women of a village were taken over the mountain to die when they reached 70. The opening sequence sees Kayu being taken up to the shrine over the mountain in the depths of winter to die
but she is found and saved by older women who have themselves survived, the oldest being now 100 years old and the founder of this women only settlement. Kayu is the 50th which decides the matriarch that it is time to return to the village to kill the men. The film shows their life and their training for this but they are disturbed by a large bear which attcks them and ransacks the food store. They regather and set a trap for the bear but succeed only in killing the she-bear's cub. A further attack reduces the number of women but they do set out to carry out their attack only to be hit by a further setback - an avalanche reduces their number even more including the death of the matriarch. Dayu sets out to entice the bear to attack her and a companion - she does this by leading it to the village where it is joined by a male bear killing some of the men. The film ends abruptly with her facing the female, presumably accepting that she will be killed. The photography of the winter landscape is excellent and gives the impression at times of a painting rather than reality. All in all a well done film

Damsels in Distress: Whit Stillman (LFF 24.10.2011)

This was the BFI Members' mystery film, supposed to be a thank you for their support. Certainly that is how it was introduced by Sandra Hebron. Set in an American co-ed college which seems to have students who are well into adult life (Of the three leads who went to school together, one looks well over 30 while the other two look years younger) though this may be a deliberate attempt at humour referring back to the college films of the 30s of June Allyson, Peter Lawford, et al. How the film plays out is something I do not know as the first 30 or so minutes were sufficiently unentertaining and poorly put together for us not to want to see the rest. The only other review I have seen appears to bear out our thoughts. This was the first time we had opted for the mystery film and, on this showing, it will be the last.

The Monk: Dominik Moll (LFF 24.10.2011)

Based on the great Gothic novel by Matthew Lewis, the film tells of Brother Ambrosio, brilliantly played by Vincent Cassel, a charismatic monk whose fiery sermons have spread the fame of his monastery. Local gentry flock to hear his sermons. Then a young man with a masked face is brought to the monastery with a plea that he be accepted as a novice. Though there is
resistance from some of the brothers, this happens and the lad is allowed to dwell alone in a tower room. In the grounds is a
garden which Ambrosio has created which is not used by the others. Ambrosio finds the novice there who reveals that he is
actually a young woman whose bodily charms seduce Ambrosio. He does, however, force her to leave. Approached by a local lady to visit her sick mother-in-law, he does so but finds himself falling for her - he does have sex with her but is found doing so by her fiance - imprisoned, sentenced and punished, he is left finally to the torments of hell. Very well filmed, the
director combines both the fervour of religion and the temptations of the flesh and it is easy to see why the book is looked on as a proto-surreal one. I must read it. In passing, when Cassel strips for the consumation of his lust, his physique could claim to match, male to female, that of his wife!

The Artist: Michel Hazanavicius (LFF 22.10.2011)

Brining together again Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, the film is a loving portrayal of Hollywood at the time talkies came to
supplant the silent film. Dujardin plays a megastar adventure hero, something on the lines of Douglas Fairbanks, who takes
a shine to Bejo when she gets a bit part in his latest film. This propels her to stardom while he founders by not accepting that sound will change film-making for good. He tries to make his own great epic but this is a complete flop, outgunned in all ways by her latest film which premieres the same night. She saves him when he burns his archive in a fit of despair and nearly dies and, after the usual waverings, the film ends with the two of them dancing together in her new film. What gives the film its great charm is the virtual lack of dialogue though not sound which is used as to point and punctuate. It provides a celebration of that time in the history of the movies without really being an homage. The cast includes some Anglo-American veterans who perform well but the real scene stealer is, arguably, the hero's dog, his performance itself being a
reminder of the wonder dogs of yesteryear.

Last Screening: Laurent Achard (LFF 21.10.2011)

The lead, played by Pascal Cervo, is a quiet cinema manager which is about to be closed although he behaves as if this will not happen, telling regulars that there will be showings the following week. His unassuming nature, however, hides his real
character which is soon revealed. He is a serial killer. Cervo gives a convincing performance as a man in the grip of a deadly passion whil presenting a bland amiable face to the world and the director does a confident job while not hitting any great heights. Certainly he is someone whose future films will be watched.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Let The Bullets Fly: Jiang Wen (LFF 20.11.2011)

An action comedy set in rural 1920s China with fast-moving action, double-dealing and a duel role for the King of Cool, Chow Yun Fat. A notorious bandit robs a train containing the new Governor of Goose Town and his wife. The latter becomes the Bandit's mistress and he takes on the Governor's identity, making the latter his advisor. Chow is the Mr Big of Goose Town, and also his slow-witted double, who seems to be a willing co-operator in the renewed search for the bandit while actually trying to remove the Governor and retain control of the town. Much mayhem occurs in a series of scenes with the ending seeing Chow blown up and the bandit now deciding to go to Beijing for further advancement. A complete riot of a film which does not need or would bear any serious criticism - a film to sit back and enjoy.

Nobody Else But You (Poupoupidou): Gerald Hustache- Mathieu (LFF 29.10.2011)

A writer of crime novels goes to Mouthe on the Franco-Swiss border in mid-winter for the reading of an aunt's will to find that his inheritance is a stuffed dog which he leaves in a roadside dump. Checking in to a local hotel, he becomes intrigued by the recent death of a local beauty who was the weather girl on the local TV. Her body had been discovered in a patch of
land neither Swiss nor French, a 'No-Man's Land'. The film alternates between his seking answers and the girl's life in flashback which shows that she thought she was the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe. Definite parallels exist from her beauty queen days to her becoming the mistress of the region's leading politician, this culminating in her singing 'Happy Birthday' to him at a local award ceremony with a deliberate dress malfunction as the climax. The politician drops her but she threatens to cause a scandal which leads to her death. Although serious, there is a light comedic touch to much of the
action which does end up with the writer, who had been suffering from a block, telling her story with success. The snow-bound surroundings are well photographed but the tenor of the film means it should not really be compared with the other
winter thriller of recent years, 'Fargo'.

Tales of the Night: Michel Ocelot (LFF 18.10.2011)

A 3D animation from France in six disparate episodes, most of which I managed to doze through apart from the first "The Werewolf' which was more than acceptably done. Animated films from different countries seem to have very different styles and this one reminded me both of 'Kirikou and the Sorceress' by the same director and the work of Lotte Reiniger.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai: Takashi Miike (LFF 17.101.2011)

A restrained remake of Kobayashi's film of a story which attacks the inhumanity of feudal Japan. Set at a time when the Shogunate had led to many samurai becoming unemployed, it deals with the consequence of one of them begging a local lord for funds to save his sick wife in return for his own ritual suicide. This is something that others have done without then
killing themselves but this time he is forced to follow the traditional form even though his sword is only bamboo. We learn this as it is told to another applicant wishing to kill himself on the same grounds. Like a Chinese puzzle box unfolds, we
learn of the ronin's life, then his enforced suicide and his wife's death with the revelation that the current request has been made by the father of the dead man's wife. A rather leisurely but beautifully filmed development erupts in the final reel into a fight between the father and the full complement of the lord's household with the inevitable conclusion. Quieter and more
thought-provoking than last year's '13 Assassins' but less enjoyable.

The Fairy: Abel, Gordon and Romy (LFF 15.10.2011)

The three directors also take the leads in this anarchic farce which combines brilliant physical comedy with surreal images.
Abel is a night manager in a small hotel into which Gordon checks telling him she is a fairy and giving him three wishes. He
asks for the first two but saves the third. She is hospitalised but rescued by him in a marvellous string of physical gags which are worthy of Keaton at his best. This is later topped by a brilliant sequence in which the two of them are trying to
recover their infant child off the back of a moving car. In between, a slightly drawn out scene in a cafe run by a very myopic Romy with the local ladies rugby team drowning their sorrows does slow things down without minimising the charm.

The Machine That Kills Bad People: Roberto Rosselini (LFF 14.10.2011)

A departure from the neo-realism normally associated with this director, the film is a satirical fantasy in which a photographer in a small Italian town is given magical powers. Anyone photographed by him against whom he has any
sort of grudge subsequently dies. Discovering this by accident, he uses it to remove corrupt and venial officials. A secondary plot has two American couples arriving in the town, one of whom has inherited a house from a dead uncle. They
are moved from place to place as the locals try to win favour from the supposedly rich visitors. Played very broadly, the film is a pleasant enough commentary on corruption in many forms - but surely not the lost masterpiece that some have claimed it to be.

Friday, November 11, 2011

The Goose Woman: Clarence Brown (LFF 13.10.2011)

Louise Dresser is the lead in this 1925 melodrama, playing an opera singer who has lost her voice and who now lives in semi-poverty in the countryside. A murder in the next farmstead gives her the idea of reviving her fame by claiming to have seen the killer. she is cleaned up and feted by the local DA and wooed by the press though the local sheriff has his doubts. A subplot deals with the romance between her son and a girl. Finally, she admits to her deceit and all ends well. Straightforwardly filmed, this is a tour de force by the lead who is ably supported by the other players.
The film was preceded by two Vitaphone shorts which remind one how much popular entertainment has changed over the years as neither feature would see daylight now even though those poerforming had long and successful vaudeville careers.
One must applaud the work of all those involved in restoring old films where the choice of what is restored is often one of
dealing with what is available regardless of overall merit. The shorts have some historical interest while the main film is worth the efforts taken to preserve the fine lead performance.

Hayder, Mo: The Treatment

Mo Hayder writes very well about the nastier aspects of life. This is a second book featuring DI Jack Caffery and the area of south London between Brixton and Dulwich. His life is blighted by the loss of his brother when both were children and his ongoing feud with a local paedophile who was involved. He has a girlfriend who was seriously hurt in the first book and the
relationship between them forms part of the novel with her wanting him to get over his brother and he wanting her to adjust
to the immediate past. The thrust of the book is the discovery of a couple near death with a missing son, the elaboration of what happened to them and the involvement of an extensive paedophile ring which includes the local one. As the tale moves to a sort of conclusion, the reader learns of Caffery's brother's fate though Caffery himself does not. Despite the unsavoury nature of events, I was not put off as the standard of writing is very good. The plotline was possibly a little confusing but so is real life though one does tend to expect a more straighforward exposition in most novels. I must find the first book though some of the limited references did strike a chord.

St Petersburg:7 to 10 October 2011

Over Pat's birthday, we went to St Petersburg for a tghree night stay. Having upgraded to business class on BA, the flights
were comfortable, the transfers at both ends went satisfactorily and the weather was reasonable for the most part.
The hotel was situated over a small shopping mall and was of moderate three star standard, nothing special. The location
could have been much better as the main reason for the trip was to go to the Hermitage Museum. This was a good 45 minute walk away - we did not try the metro system though it should not have been any problem ( there was a stop close to the hotel) but we were apprehensive of getting lost. I kept telling myself that the walk along the Nevsky Prospect was good for me but my feet, in particular, did not agree. The Winter Palace is a magnificent sight both across the square and close up. Many of the Palace rooms are splendidly furnished and works of art in their own right. One can but wonder at the craftmanship and expense involved. There are extensive collections of archaeological remains from various parts of Russia, a fine collection of Egyptian and classical works, as well as artefacts from the Middle Ages but our aim was to cover the art collection. While this is very extensive with some outstanding works, the overall impression was not as great as I was expecting - the 18 part series I have on disc led me to expect rather more. However, it is one of the truly great collections and I am gald we have at last sen it - I wonder what the recently opened outposts like the one in Amsterdam have to offer.
The Russian Museum was also something of a disappointment: the icons were striking but the spread of the collection was a
little too much to appreciate - possibly seeing it first thing rather than mid-afternoon would have helped. A real treat was the visit to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, the interior covered in mosaics depicting various saints and religious scenes - again, the craftmanship left one speechless. The Nevsky Prospect which runs from the Winter Palace to the Moscow
Station is a broad, flat and straight boulevard with a number of historic buildings still standing despite the ravages of the Second World War and on both days we stopped for refreshments with, on Sunday, lunch at the restaurant frequented by Pushkin and others. Shopping was limited to a Russian atlas, some DVDs of Russian films we had seen such as Volga-Volga
and Kin-Dza-Dza. On the Monday morning we looked inside the Metro Station and went in to the church opposite the hotel which is dedicated to Saint Vladimir. Like the previous day's church, the outside is recognizably Russian but on a smaller scale and I was somewhat surprised at the number of worshippers, many of them quite young, that was there on a Monday morning. We also added to our DVD purchases in a nearby store including some recommended by the shopkeeper. We did
not see much of the city - the great Peter and Paul Fortress, for instance, - but that is true of many of our past city visits to some extent. One general comment which contradicts what we had been told beforehand is the vibrancy of the central area in particular though there are still places which need upgrading (just like parts of Oxford Street!) and the outer districts are typical of any major city. While well over a decade has passed since we were in Dresden and Leipzig, the contrast between the drabness in those two cities and the liveliness of St Petersburg is considerable.