Category Archives: 2019

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi    5 stars

The Oscar nominated film from Poland, Corpus Christi, is about a young convict who wants to go to seminary, but upon being released from prison is told that no seminary will take an ex-con. Thus, what does Daniel do? He finds a parish in a small village and convinces the people that he is in fact a priest. Not only does he convince the local priest of this, he is asked to fill in for him while he is sick. Soon Daniel is hearing confessions and is leading the Mass delivering heartfelt messages that the people love to hear. There is a subtle message in the fact that he was working in a sawmill while in prison. Of course, the audience is wondering how long can he get away with this charade? The premise is not exactly believable when it is set in the present where information on people is readily available online, but never mind that detail. Fortunately, there is more to the story as the village has recently suffered the terrible tragedy of losing six young people to an accident and it is clear there is a lot of healing needed by these people. Thus, there may have been a very good reason that Daniel happened to do his impersonation at this time. The story develops slowly throughout the movie and is aided by a superior performance by the protagonist, Bartosz Bielenia. It keeps the viewer guessing as to where the movie is going throughout. I could have seen this movie winning the Best International Film Academy Award.

The Assistant

The Assistant     4 stars

I first heard of The Assistant when it was released at Sundance in January. I even managed to attend a panel there with the director, Kitty Green and the star, Julia Garner, though I had not heard of them before. Garner won an Emmy earlier this year for her role in Ozarks. She plays a young woman who has recently gotten a job as an assistant to the assistants of a powerful movie executive at a major movie studio. The movie becomes a realistic portrayal of a day of working for a predator who seems to be immune to criticism. We see the woman as she arrives for work in the dark and goes about her work day which includes cleaning up the boss’ office, cleaning dishes in the kitchen, preparing schedules, making copies and taking phone calls. She has coworkers, but for the most part she goes unnoticed with no one calling her by name. She also has the unwanted job of dealing with the boss’ wife, making excuses for his whereabouts. We never see the boss, but hear his voice on the phone as he expresses his displeasure when something is not to his liking. He even makes the young employee put apologies to him in writing when she makes a mistake, pledging not to let it happen again. Eventually, another young woman arrives at the office and it becomes an open secret that the boss is preying on the new arrival, leading Garner to approaching HR with a complaint. The movie is slow and seems very mundane until we get the point of what is being presented here. It’s a realistic representation of a misogynistic workplace and the total lack of power that female employees have in such an environment. One can’t help but notice the similarities that the boss has with the disgraced Harvey Weinstein. The movie is a good production, but not all moviegoers will appreciate the choices made by the writer/director in portraying what it must be like to work for a predator.

Honeyland

Honeyland          4 stars

Honeyland is a most unusual film, a documentary that unexpectantly became an environmental drama. I heard about it at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival but had not seen it until now. The filmmakers set out to make a documentary about one of the last natural beekeepers in Europe, a woman in her 50’s in Macedonia named Hatidze. She harvests the honey from beehives she finds in the mountains for survival and lives in an abandoned village with only her elderly mother and has no electricity or running water. She makes occasional trips into the city to sell jars of honey for what she can get. Otherwise, she takes care of her mother who can neither walk nor see. The drama starts when a nomadic family of cattle herders moves in next door with their herd and seven children. The patriarch of the family sees how Hatidze tends the bees and decides that would be a good way for him to make a living too. Hatidze gives instruction to the father and one of the sons telling them they must always leave a portion of the honey for the bees; otherwise the hive will collapse. Unfortunately, the warnings go unheeded leading to disastrous consequences. The filmmakers manage to film all this giving no hint of the presence of the crew. The beekeeper, Hatidze has a commanding presence when on screen and has a natural way of dealing with children and animals. The film itself is like a parable of man’s responsibility of taking care of the environment. It would have been fascinating to hear the director’s account of the making of the film. Unfortunately, there were no extras provided on the DVD copy that I used. The only other film like this that comes to mind is The Story of the Weeping Camel in 2004.

The Two Popes

The Two Popes 4 ½ stars

In The Two Popes two master filmmakers team up with A list actors to create a thoughtful what-if vision of a meeting between two widely different individuals who have held the lofty position of the Papacy in the Catholic Church. Screenwriter Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything) imagines what might have happened if the previous Pope, Joseph Ratzinger and the present Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio met at the pivotal time when Pope Benedict decided to step down from his leadership position for the sake of the church. Director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) directs the meetings between Ratzinger (Anthony Hopkins) and Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) in convincing fashion that makes us believe the two could be friends trying to support one another through difficult times in their lives. The film opens and closes in typical documentary style. At the beginning we see scenes of the Cardinals gathering in Rome in 2005 to choose the successor to Pope John Paul II who had just passed away. The choice was Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany who became Pope Benedict. The end of the film occurs in 2013 when the Cardinals came together again following the shocking resignation of Benedict amid the scandal of child abuse that rocked the church. Here the new choice was Bergoglio of Argentina who took the name of Pope Francis. The interesting part of the movie comes in between in 2012 when the two popes meet and converse about the church, their faith and their respective roles in the church. We also get a picture of what it was like for Bergoglio as a young priest in Argentina in the seventies when a military dictatorship carried out a reign of terror against those that resisted including the priesthood. It’s clear that the two men have very different visions about the future of the church, but at the same time they are very supportive of each other. Even though the meeting between the two is considered fictional, it’s a very interesting take on what these two leaders must be like on a personal level. The film earned Academy Award nominations for both Hopkins and Pryce as well as screenwriter McCarten. Surprisingly, it was left out of the Best Picture category.

I Lost My Body

I Lost My Body   4 stars

To call the animated French film I Lost My Body unconventional is certainly something of an understatement. The 81 minute film tells a story of a young Frenchman in Paris in three separate storylines. The first, animated in color, follows the journey of a severed hand that can move and has senses and thoughts of its own. The hand escapes from a refrigerator and travels through the city trying to find its body. Along the way it encounters many dangers such as a pigeon, a pack of ravenous rats and a playful dog. Hopefully, that doesn’t bother you too much. A second segment is a flashback to the childhood of Naoufel, the owner of the hand, who was a happy youngster, that is until both his parents were killed in a car crash and he had to live with an uncaring uncle. This part is all done in black and white and shows his dreams of the future. The third segment follows Naoufel as a young man (still with hands intact) struggling to survive by delivering pizzas in the city, something he is not very good at. Then one evening he has a brief encounter with a young woman, Gabrielle, via an apartment intercom where he was trying to make a delivery, and he senses that they have a connection. So he sets off to find out more about her in order to arrange a meeting again. Unfortunately, for Naoufel this quest might look more like stalking to some people. The animation is all hand drawn and done in a vivid manner that keeps your attention throughout the short movie. All of the segments have a common thread of dealing with loss and seeking to connect with those that we care about. If the unusual subject matter doesn’t turn you off, I would recommend seeing this animated movie. It is in French with subtitles. As it has an adult theme, it should not be viewed by children. The movie is unconventional and surprising with an uplifting message.

Klaus

Klaus                     4 stars

Klaus is an animated Christmas movie from last year that gives us a different take on the Christmas story of Santa. This beautifully animated tale tells a new origin story of Santa set in a cold village in the north where the residents all seem to resent one another. That is, until a young postman is assigned to the village and discovers an old carpenter who makes children’s toys. Jesper devises a way to get the toys delivered to the children of the town, but his motives may not be quite altruistic. If you haven’t seen Klaus yet, I suggest that you check it out this holiday season. The movie was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Academy Award.

Motherless Brooklyn

Motherless Brooklyn      3 ½ stars

One movie that has long been on my list to see is Motherless Brooklyn which came out about a year ago. It is a real pet project of Edward Norton who wrote the screenplay, directed and stars in the picture going back to 2001. The movie is about a gumshoe detective, Lionel Essrog (Norton) in 1950’s New York City whose boss and mentor is murdered, so Lionel spends the rest of the film trying to solve the crime. The movie is based on a 1990’s crime novel, but Norton set the story in the fifties after he acquired the rights to it. The movie is in the style of a fifties Film Noir and has a plot that is quite complicated. I will give some background without giving too much of the plot away. Lionel’s investigation takes him to a story of corruption within the city government involving a city official named Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin) who has made it his mission to remake the city into his vision of a world class city at the expense of the poor and working-class people that inhabit it. The Randolph character is based on the actual city planner in the fifties, Robert Moses, who tore down black neighborhoods to build his parks and bridges and interfered with mass transportation like buses and trains because they were used by poor people and blacks. Alec Baldwin is brilliant as the character who craves power and despises those who care about the welfare of disadvantaged people. (Remind you of anyone?) Lionel has a condition, Tourette syndrome, that causes him to blurt out annoying and offensive remarks, but is otherwise and intelligent person. Sometimes this gets to be distracting from an interesting plot, but otherwise Norton gives an excellent performance. The rest of the cast is pretty amazing, including Bruce Willis, Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bobby Cannavale, Cherry Jones, Josh Pais and Michael Kenneth Williams. It’s clear that Norton was out to get the best actors he could. At 2 hours, 24 minutes, the film tends to drag at times and you may have to pause the movie and back up to catch some of the key plot points, but it will be worth it. The jazz score written by Thom Yorke and performed by Wynton Marsalis is also amazing to hear helping to give the movies a very fifties feel.

First Cow

First Cow                             4 ½ stars

Kelly Reichardt’s new film First Cow opens with a quote, “The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship”, that tells you what the movie is all about. Set in 1820’s Oregon territory it is about the unlikely friendship between soft-spoken cook Cookie (John Magaro) and the ambitious, shady Chinese immigrant King Lu (Orion Lee). I must really like this director since this is now the fifth movie of hers I have seen, and I have enjoyed each one. (See Certain Women, Night Moves, Meek’s Cutoff and Wendy and Lucy.) The pair meet in unusual circumstances at a small settlement with many interesting characters and team up out of necessity and concoct a small business adventure that earns attention. The setting is quite different from other movies of the period as the drudgery and grime of daily life is emphasized over more dramatic events. The movie is an adaptation of the book The Half-Life by Johnathan Raymond but only uses a portion of the story and still keeps it interesting. Much of the film occurs in darkness and it is done in 4:3 screen format which gives the film a very intimate feel. The story progresses very slowly so the viewers who give up on movies in the first half hour will likely be disappointed. The use of period music and instruments also helps put the viewer in that time period. No one could have guessed that the making of buttermilk biscuits would be used so effectively as a plot point. Star Trek fans will appreciate what was likely the final on screen appearance of Rene Auberjonois. And Toby Jones does a perfect job as wealthy Englishman, Chief Factor. First Cow is a real gem from the year 2020.

Driveways

Driveways                           4 ½ stars

We lost another Hollywood legend last year in Brian Dennehy, but not before he gave us a fine, understated performance in the short drama, Driveways, directed by Andrew Ahn. This personal, soft spoken movie starts with single mom Kathy (Hong Chau from Watchmen and the crippled immigrant woman from the disappointing Downsizing) and her introverted eight-year-old son, Cody (Lucas Jaye) arriving at the home of her deceased sister in order to clean it out and prepare it for sale, only to discover that the sister was a hoarder. Next door there is a quiet elderly widower, Del (Dennehy), a Korean War veteran who sits on his porch much of the day. Del notices the new activity at the house and engages in short conversations with the boy. Before long the two become more connected as Del teaches Cody to mow the lawn and introduces mother and son to his fellow veterans at the VFW. Through a sparing use of dialogue and some quiet intimate scenes we see two loners who communicate and support each other. The movie was released only weeks after Dennehy passed away and it gives us an excellent performance by the guy who played Willy Loman and John Wayne Gacy. Hong Chau also is effective as the overwhelmed mother, Kathy. Look for more good roles for this actress.  Driveways is an hour, and 23 minutes long and is available on Netflix.

Les Misérables

Les Misérables                  4 stars

There is no Jean Valjean or Cosette or extravagant musical numbers in this movie. Les Misérables is the directorial debut of French-Malian director Ladj Ly. It is a crime thriller drama depicting the extreme racial tensions of the Paris suburbs in which it is set. The town, Montfermiel, is the same place as the events of Victor Hugo’s novel. The strife of the characters also mirrors that of the 19th century book. The movie follows an elite police squad of the SCU who call themselves the Smack Combat Unit. Their job is to keep some sense of order in the mostly black, Muslim neighborhood of high density housing and street shops. Stephane is the new guy who is being introduced to the job, while Chris and Gwada are the experienced hands. An incident occurs involving some of the local teens and the unit must investigate to keep the matter from escalating. When the unit is confronted by a gang of teens, a decision by one of the police causes the situation to spiral out of control, setting the powder keg on fire. The movie is a realistic portrayal of the problems France has been facing with the young, poor, mainly African population and police who sometimes use repressive tactics. It is somewhat based on the riots that occurred around Paris in 2005 where thousands of vehicles were burned. Most of the acting is done by locals who previously had no acting experience. The movie shows several acts of violence by the characters and does not pretend to have any solutions to the problems. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film as France’s submission.