LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Jacob Berger’s ‘1 journee’

Bruno Todeschini '1 Journee' x300By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland – In one sense it’s not a long day that errant husband Serge (played by Bruno Todeschini, pictured) spends in Jacob Berger’s cautionary tale “1 journee,” but in another it could last a lifetime.

Having departed his marital bed, he stops at another, and leaving afterward in his car, he hits something on the road, something human. The implications of the man’s behavior reverberate not only between the women in his life but also toward his young son.

Berger’s film takes a sophisticated look at the complications of adultery, and he shows a deft hand with the ironies that invariably accompany it. With well-drawn characters and appealing players, the wry drama could travel well in urban markets.

French composer Cyril Morin has a long list of credits for television and film scores but his music for “1 journee” ranks among the best.

 

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Roser Aguilar’s ‘The Best of Me’

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By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland — Barcelona director Roser Aguilar has taken a familiar yarn of young lives being interrupted by serious illness and spun it into something satisfyingly tart and unsentimental in “The Best of Me” (Lo mejor de mi).

Screened in competition here, the film has bright commercial prospects, while the director’s smart venture into well-worn territory and an outstanding lead performance by Marian Alvares will assure continued festival attention.

Alvares makes the picture as she shows that beneath her beautiful features there is a serous brain at work despite her apparently guileless nature.

Aguilar and co-writer Oriol Capel provide her with good material to work with and the strength of Alvares’s performance adds depth to the picture’s wise and melancholy conclusion.

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Bernard Emond’s ‘Summit Circle’

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By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland — In “Summit Circle” (“Contre toute esperance”), Quebec director Bernard Emond continues his trilogy on faith, hope and charity with another moving drama about good people trying to find their way in a world of despair. Continue reading

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Peter Payer’s ‘Free to Leave’

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By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland — The momentary distraction of a stolen kiss causes a train wreck in Austrian director Peter Payer’s haunting drama “Free to Leave,” (“Freigesprochen”), which explores the impact such guilt has on the individuals concerned.

Clear-eyed but compassionate, the film has an eerie quality that derives from the notion that almost anyone could be in a similar situation that dramatically changes the lives of so many people.

Screened in Competition at Locarno, it’s an intelligent drama that should travel beyond German-speaking territories and possibly invite an English-language version.

Based on Ordon von Horvath’s play “Judgment Day”, it begins with a body that falls from a bridge to strike the hard, frozen ground. Time shifts immediately to the bustle of a small town where the people are anxious because a strike by transport workers has affected the train timetables

Ferdinand (Robert Stadlober) decides to a take a later, slower train in order to spend extra time in bed with his sweetheart Anne (Lavinia Wilson). Thomas (Frank Giering, pictured with Wilson), however, spurns the attentions of his older wife Hanni (Corina Harfouch) as he must get to work promptly because his day will be hectic while he oversees all the railway traffic signals. His best friend, Josef (Alfred Dorfer) is off on his usual morning milk round.

Having seen off her boyfriend at the station, Anna stops into the control office to see Thomas, who’s like an older brother to her though she likes to flirt with him. As she larks about, she spontaneously kisses him, which takes his attention away from the control board.

In that fleeting moment, a signal is missed, a railway barrier is not lowered, and an express train powers into Josef’s mil truck. In the derailment, 22 people including Josef are killed and scores more are injured seriously.

The film explores the shattering impact of such an event less on the hurt and bereaved than on the ones responsible. Thomas and Anna are drawn together even as their relationship with others begins to fragment. It’s unremitting stuff and Payer handles it with insight as he demonstrates impressive cinematic technique.

Giering conveys his character’s draining sense of self-worth unerringly while Wilson portrays a woman as she spins out of control giddily. Harfouch contributes a convincing portrayal of a woman who tries staunchly to absorb the horrifying outcome of her husband’s waywardness.

The wintry landscape, captured well by cinematographer Andreas Berger, and a poignant score by Walter Cikan help deepen the film’s despairing mood.

 

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: ‘I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster’

By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland – Wry, nostalgic and wonderfully nutty, Samuel Benchetrit’s comedy “I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster” is a warm if cockeyed homage to old-time crime movies. Shot masterfully in the Academy aspect ratio and vivid black-and-white of Bogie and Cagney pictures, it relates the earnest but ham-fisted attempts by a group of unrelated characters to turn their hands to crime. It might be a hard sell, but lovers of old movies and those who relish screen comedy that is written, staged and performed smartly will love this.

The only link between each of the stories is a functional cafeteria on the outskirts of Paris where conurbation is cementing over both greenery and the illusory recollection of better times. Bencherit weaves his yarns together so cleverly that the film does not appear episodic. He switches from goofball slapstick to screwball banter to the driest observational wit and back again without missing a beat.

The film begins and ends with two would-be villains who seem made for each other. Franck (Edouard Baer) is a witless hoodlum whose stab at robbing the cafeteria at gunpoint is hampered by the absence of a gun and the fact that he’s locked his keys inside his getaway car.

Susie (Anna Mouglalis, pictured above) is a sassy waitress who laughs at his feeble hold-up technique largely because she has his gun. The backstory to this, and to the other chapters, is told in silent-movie style complete with title cards.

Meanwhile, a pair of bumbling and notably decent kidnappers (Bouli Lanners and Serge Lariviere) have broken into a rich man’s home and grabbed his daughter (Selma El Mousi) for ransom. They couldn’t know that, though she is spoiled and nubile, she also is suicidal and her father is happy to be rid of her.

Still, they leave a message on Dad’s phone to arrange an exchange meeting at the cafeteria where, by chance, two groups of touring musicians arrive with vocalists Alain Bashing and the single-named Arno playing versions of themselves. One is successful,the other not so much, and when temptation is offered, it’s too hard to resist.

Then there’s the gang of retired criminals who have come together at what used to be their hideout because one of them is mortally ill and they want to fulfil youthful pledges to one another. These old reprobates are played by a wonderful array of characters – Jean Rochefort, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Valentino Venantini and Roger Dumas (pictured above). Being together again makes them long for one more heist but the bank they robbed in their last job 25 years ago isn’t what it used to be.

The finest compliment to the filmmakers and splendid cast is that you wish the movie wouldn’t end. These are characters rendered marvellously and it would be great to spend more time in their misguided and endearing company.

Also, Kris Kristofferson’s beautiful songs are always welcome on film soundtracks but it’s usually “Me and Bobby McGee,” “For the Good Times” or “Help Me Make It Through the Night.” How pleasing in this film to hear his growling voice on the opening lyric to “Casey’s Last Ride”: “Casey joins the hollow sound of silent people walking down the stairway to the subway in the shadows down below.”

It’s perfect for a wonderfully droll little picture that is not even due for release in France until next January and who knows if it will ever get a U.K. release in theatres or on DVD. It would be such a shame if not.

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Fumihiko Sori’s ‘Vexille’

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By Ray Bennett

LOCARNO, Switzerland – Robots are threatening the world in Fumihiko Sori’s enjoyable Japanese anime romp “Vexille,” and they’re even more dangerous when they become useless piles of junk mashed up in swirling twisters of scything metal teeth called Jags.

The jet-propelled android anime “Vexille” powered the Locarno International Film Festival into action in the Piazza Grande Wednesday night. It’s the 60th anniversary edition of the festival in the tranquil lakeside setting of Switzerland’s Ticino region and the animated film was one of 17 to be screened in high definition this year through the festival’s partnership with XDC Cinema.

Digital Domain veteran Sori, whose first directing job was “Ping Pong,” and Haruka Handa (“Appleseed”) have scripted a CG animation film full of furious action as a team of uncommonly well-equipped soldiers goes to war with the androids. Anime is an acquired taste but fans will surely respond to the picture’s dynamite energy. Those not already in the fold will find this one very easy to take.

It’s 2077 and Japan has become a renegade nation closed to the rest of the world. Shielded from penetration by air, was and space for 10 years, the islands have become a dangerous mystery to the United Nations. The country’s isolation resulted whine fell out with other countries over the development of robotics and its determination to continue creating them even when they were banned everywhere else.

The fear is that Daiwa Heavy Industries in Tokyo has taken its creation of human androids to extremes so the only answer is to send in a crack team of fighters to hook up withJapanese underground rebels and find out what’s going on. Enter Vixille, a G.I. Jane and then some whose squad uses ultra-high-tech uniforms, weapons and vehicles to rocket into battle.

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It’s silly fun, simplistic in its heroes and villains and sentimental in its message. British mixer Paul Oakenfold’s pounding original music and tracks from artists such as Basement Jaxx, MIA and the Prodigy help muster the proceedings and it blends well with Koji Kasamatsu’s industrial sound design.

Using Japanese voices for the American characters is a bit disorienting for non-Japanese, especially as the subtitles fairly zip along, and sometimes it’s hard to tell which bits of death-dealing weaponry are working for the good guys and the bad guys.

But the weapons are terrific and the CGI action, which is almost constantly, is inventive and thought through cleverly. In close-up, the characters are bland and washed out, but once the bullets start to whiz the frame is filled with live-wire entertainment. And those vicious tornadoes of crunching jagged edges (pictured above) are something to see.

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.

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Cannes hit ‘El Violin’ deserves another bow

By Ray Bennett

Francisco Vargas’s finely crafted story of peasant rebellion, “El Violin,” which screened in London Sunday as part of BAFTA Goes to Mexico, warrants a full U.K and U.S. release for its rich texture and powerful filmmaking.

The film has won many accolades including the Skyy Prize and the audience award for best narrative feature at the 50th annual San Francisco International Film Festival in May.

El_Violin_1 x325Angel Tavira (left), who plays the lead role of a grandfather who plays a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with a brutal army commandant, was named best actor in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the 2006 Festival de Cannes.

Tavira was the subject of a 2004 Vargas documentary (titled “Tierra caliente … se mueren los que la mueven”) about his efforts to preserve the musical heritage of his community, Tierra Caliente, Guerrero.

The 81-year-old, who made his acting debut in “El Violin,” lost his right hand in an accident aged 13 but he has played the violin all his life. Music is a key element of the film with an atmospheric score by Armando Rosas and Cuauhtemoc Tavira.

Vargas won two prizes at the 49th edition of Mexico’s Ariel Awards in March, for best first work and best screenplay, while Gerardo Taracena was named best supporting actor for his performance as the old man’s son, a guerilla fighter.

“El Violin,” distributed by France’s Memento Films, also screened at the Toronto and Portland festivals and other fests in France, Taiwan, Serbia, Poland, Argentina, Colombia, and Spain.

In the U.K. it played at London’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival in March and the Cambridge Film Festival in July.

Read my review from The Hollywood Reporter

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Alfonso Cuaron was shaken by Bond, but not stirred

By Ray Bennett

LONDON – Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron (pictured) says he was going to make a James Bond picture until Joel Coen talked him out of it. Speaking in a Q&A at BAFTA in London on Friday, the director of “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Children of Men” said:

Alfonso Cuaron x300“I was offered a Bond movie, and I thought ‘Great!’ Then I had dinner in New York with Joel Coen. He doesn’t say much. He says ‘Cool,’ or ‘Not cool.’ I told him about the Bond film and he said, ‘Cool.’ But I pressed him and he said that for him a Bond film fell into the category of a film he wanted to see but not one he wanted to make. I realized that I felt the same way.”

The fully packed event was part of opening night festivities for a three-day program called BAFTA Goes to Mexico. It features screenings of films from that country and sessions with Mexican filmmakers including Cuaron’s first feature film “Love In the Time of Hysteria” (1991).

In his Q&A, Cuaron spoke of his influences, including Ernst Lubitstch, Woody Allen and Pedro Almodovar: “I was ripping off all of them.” He called his 1998 film “Great Expectations” a failure:

“It was a painful experience for me. Pieces of it work, but not the whole film. I can’t blame the studio. I ruined my film. The script was not there but I had the arrogance to believe I could fix it. But you should see ‘Great Expectations’ because even though the film is bad it has great paintings and it has Patrick Doyle’s music.”

Cuaron said he cherished working with Doyle on that film and also “The Little Princess,” and believed that composer John Taverner’s contribution to “Children of Men” enhanced the spiritual journey of Clive Owen’s character. But he admitted that he doesn’t use a lot of music in his films, saying: “I love music in film but I get anxious when I hear music that is trying to tell me too much.”

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FILM REVIEW: Laurent Tirard’s ‘Moliere’

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By Ray Bennett

Laurent Tirard’s splendid “Moliere” starring Romain Duris (pictured), just released by Pathe in the U.K., is for everyone who loved “Shakespeare in Love,” but those who found that Oscar-winning picture smarmy, smug and overrated will enjoy it even more. Continue reading

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MUSIC REVIEW: Live Earth Concert at Wembley Stadium

LiveEarthWembleyStadium x650By Ray Bennett

LONDON — A lack of focus and constant lectures on the dire state of the world meant that the 70,000-plus crowd at Wembley Stadium for the nine-hour London Live Earth concert had to cherry-pick its pleasures. There were many as the Black Eyed Peas, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica and the Foo Fighters, all in top form, were not going to let the day get away without a party.

Artists such as Duran Duran, James Blunt, the Beastie Boys, Genesis, who opened the show, and Madonna, who closed it, played to their constituencies. U.K. bands Razorlight, Snow Patrol, Bloc Party and Keane contributed solid sets while another British group, Kasabian, Scottish singer Paolo Nutini, Ireland’s Damien Rice, and jazzy Corinne Bailey Rae made dazzling impressions. And Spinal Tap provided a few laughs.

The weather was kind but the event’s obvious contradictions and fuzzy focus were not helped by the stream of celebrities including Chris Rock, Eddie Izzard, Gerard Butler, Kyle McLachlan and Thandie Newton delivering homilies on the importance of turning off the lights at home.

Late in the show, poor Terence Stamp had to oversee a symbolic switching off of Wembley’s lights, which prompted a light show of camera flashes. Only when hot British comic Russell Brand came on in the evening with his bright and challenging observations between acts did the production achieve much cohesion.

There were no seats on the pitch as there had been at last week’s Concert for Diana, so the field was packed with standing fans obviously eager for a good time. Genesis took to the stage following a thunderous percussion introduction but singer Phil Collins appeared to be performing by rote. Razorlight and Snow Patrol picked up the pace but it was Damien Rice’s “The Blower’s Daughter” that caught the imagination and his delivery, with David Gray, of the fatalistic “Que Sera Sera” had the crowd singing.

Kasabian did a very lively set followed by Nutini, who seems awkward on stage but has a rich and impressive voice and a dynamite band. The Black Eyed Peas bounded out in obvious high spirits and while an attempt to mark the solemnity of the day’s cause dampened things for a bit, the band recovered in a soaring delivery of “Where Is the Love?”

Bailey Rae did her hit “Put Your Records On” and, in keeping with the day’s theme, performed Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me” with John Legend, who had done a single number earlier. New York’s U.K.-based Terra Naomi did her hit “Say It’s Possible.” Duran Duran, enjoying a second bite at the big time, received a warm reception from their fans, but nothing like the noise made when the Red Hot Chili Peppers came on.

The stadium was filled to capacity by then and the band’s barnstorming enthusiasm had everyone rocking. Metallica also got a very loud greeting and while the accompanying clips of old elephants with long tusks seemed fitting, they haven’t forgotten how to kick up a ruckus.

Rob Reiner was on hand to introduce Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest in the roles from their 1984 movie “This Is Spinal Tap.” They did “Stonehenge,” complete with fake rocks and Druids, “Warmer Than Hell” and “Big Bottom,” and if it wasn’t terribly funny, the lingering goodwill towards the film got them through.

The evening proceeded with Blunt followed by the Beastie Boys and then the Pussycat Dolls, trying desperately to appear sexy but not succeeding. Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters could have gone on all night with their fiery rock ‘n’ roll and probably would have but for the need for another lecture about climate change and Madonna’s finale.

The incredibly fit but coldly mechanical star performed a song she’d written for the night titled “Hey You,” in which she personally ordered everyone to save the world. “Ray of Light” led to “La Isla” and “Hung Up,” with the lyric “Time goes by so slowly,” which suddenly appeared to be true.

Here are some notes I made during the Live Earth concert:

LONDON 3:15 — Wembley Stadium is jammed for the second weekend in a row for the U.K. leg of the worldwide phenomenon called Live Earth. It’s standing room only on the pitch compared to the all-seater for last week’s Concert for Diana and once again the British weather is cooperating with bright sunshine. Genesis, Razorlight and Snow Patrol have each done effective sets but the mood remains sober due to the frequent live and filmed reminders of earth’s dire straits. So far, an audience that is obviously ready to party has generated what atmosphere there is. “Are you looking forward to Spinal Tap? We are!” says Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, speaking for everyone.

LONDON 4:45: Damien Rice and David Gray perform together, with just guitars, on a platform that stretches into the audience. Rice’s lilting but deceptively rich voice fills the stadium with a pleasing rendition of his song “The Blower’s Daughter” and the pair of them have everyone joining in loudly on the fatalistic anthem that sums up English football hopes in the new Wembley more than saving the planet: “Que Sera Sera.” After some more lecturing, this time from “300” star Gerard Butler, cheery U.K. rockers Kasabian start on time and quickly re-engage the crowd. Thandie Newton comes on to talk about conserving power and using it responsibly, urging people to turn appliances off rather than leaving them on stand-by. She’s supposed to cross over live to Giants Stadium, New Jersey, for Al Gore but he’s not ready so the British “Crash” star has to vamp, which she does with good humor. Gore comes on the screens to start the American leg and recite the Live Earth pledge. The former veep paraphrases Lincoln: “We must disenthrall ourselves to save the planet.” He introduces Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks on the New Jersey stage, but the country stars are immediately cut off in London in favor of Paolo Nutini. The fourth-generation Scotsman cuts a shy, withdrawn image but he has a strong voice and a thumping band. Soon afterwards, the Black Eyed Peas bound out onto the extended platform and the house is jumping until they pause for an earnest but unfortunately rhymed rap plea on behalf of our poisoned planet. The Peas save the day, though, with a dynamic delivery of their song “Where is the Love?”

LONDON 8:15: “Desperate Housewives” star Kyle MacLachlan introduces Corinne Bailey Rae who does “I’d Like To” followed by Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy, Mercy Me” with John Legend and her own hit “Put Your Records On.” Terra Naomi and Keane are next before hot British comic Russell Brand brings some welcome levity to the event with his savvy patter. He’s also there to introduce heavy-metal rockers Metallica, who are greeted with a huge roar. Their set, which includes “Nothing Else Matters,” is accompanied by film of some ageing elephants with long tusks, which seems appropriate, but they haven’t forgotten how to kick up a ruckus. Ricky Gervais comes on to say the show is running late and he will be off the stage in 30 seconds, which is good news. He brings out Rob Reiner in the guise of Marty DiBergi, manager of Spinal Tap. DiBergi says the band thought their 1984 film was a pile of crap so he is pleased to be reunited with them. They have two prime attributes, he says, “Volume and punctuality.” The boys — Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins, Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls — come out looking typically dazed and confused and launch into “Stonehenge” complete with fake rocks and Druids. “Whatever you do, don’t exhale, we’ve had quite enough of that,” says McKean in his bright yellow hair. They do “Warmer Than Hell” with familiar English places being indicted for Satanism and then bring on “every known bass player in the known universe,” or at least a dozen, to play “Big Bottom.” The set is not hilarious but “This is Spinal Tap” is so fondly recalled that they get a bye.

LONDON 11:00: James Blunt, you’re beautiful for not singing that song. Blunt has a certain portion of the female part of the audience in the palm of his hand and gets everyone joining in on Cat Stevens’ “Wide World.” The Beastie Boys ramp up the energy level if you like that kind of thing. A Shakira number is beamed in from Hamburg but not many pay attention. The absurdly posturing and tuneless Pussycat Dolls strain every fiber attempting to be sexy to no avail but then the Foo Fighters burst onto the stage with their fiery rock ‘n’ roll and the evening is back on track. “All My Life” leads into “My Hero” with the entire audience chanting along. Frontman Dave Grohl dives into “Times Like These” and “The Best of You,” taking the whole stadium right along with him. Actor Terence Stamp is lumbered with the job of the final lecture of the evening and to oversee the symbolic gesture of dimming Wembley’s electricity. Who else to bring back the light and close the show than Madonna, empress of self-satisfaction? In her fiercest Evita pose, legs set firm in a Trilby hat and Rosie the Riveter dress and backed by a choir of schoolchildren, she sings “Hey You,” personally ordering each and everyone of us to go out and save the world, or at least jump up and down. Right, then. Displaying extraordinary fitness but a mechanical coldness, Madonna doffs the dress and does a gypsy number with a pair of very happy musicians who favor hopping on one leg, segues into “Hung Up” with the repeated line “Time goes by so slowly,” which the crowd enjoys but sounds suddenly apt.

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