The Fourth Man (1983)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Fourth Man (1983) – P. Verhoeven

Paul Verhoeven is a provocateur who crosses the line in a way that deliberately reinforces stereotypes and controverts “politically correct” notions.  For example, his new film (Elle, 2016) is being called a “rape comedy” – but I don’t think I will have the stomach for it.  Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers are what they are.  So, it took me a while before I decided to watch this earlier film (in Dutch) but I took a chance because it was described as Hitchcockian (oh that much maligned adjective).  In essence, the film works as a character study of an alcoholic writer who has a rich fantasy life that intrudes on reality, such that we don’t know whether we are watching “true” events or some anxious fabrication until the fantasy or dream sequence passes.  So, when Gerard meets the young woman who has had three prior husbands die in an accident, we don’t know whether this paranoia about becoming her fourth victim is valid or not (particularly because he is bisexual and really more interested in her current beau than her).  In the end however, Gerard’s obsessions and visions, which have always had a religious flavour (cue symbolism, I guess), turn out to be more than what they seemed – but one can still doubt whether the interpretation is a creation of fiction.  Verhoeven wants to have it all ways and, guys, watch out for the scissors.

  

Trafic (1971)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Trafic (1971) – J. Tati

M. Hulot is back and he is an automobile designer. Of course, he gets into many jams (not all of them traffic jams).  Tati’s fifth and final outing as Hulot is gently humorous as in M. Hulot’s Holiday, Mon Oncle but not as ambitious or abstract as Playtime.  Still, it is a “nonverbal” comedy that features sound effects cranked up high on the soundtrack and dialogue kept relatively low, as if it were unimportant.  The plot involves getting a special camping car from Paris to Amsterdam for an auto show.  Unsurprisingly, Hulot and his crew don’t make it on time. The movie is all about the predicaments that they find themselves on the way.  While not uproarious, Trafic is wry and amusing and French.  Nevertheless, I think it is advisable to start in the beginning with Tati and move forward to see his development over time; or in fact, to see how Hulot remains the same as the context around him changes.

Armored Car Robbery (1950)

☆ ☆ ☆

Armored Car Robbery (1950) – R. Fleischer

The title says it all – except that the robbery itself is over in the first 15 minutes of the film (admittedly only 67 minutes long in total).  All that follows is the aftermath, which is actually a pretty taut police procedural. So, we shift from learning the plans of the clever crook who masterminds the heist (played by William Talman of Perry Mason fame) to the methods of the police lieutenant who tracks him down.  Director Richard Fleischer knows how to increase the tension (e.g., a car engine stalls out at just the wrong time) and to keep things moving, just as he did in the subsequent Narrow Margin and Violent Saturday.  Not sure what happened with him later as he moved into Disney fare and other oddities (Soylent Green, Conan the Barbarian).  This is a good example of its genre, with a tough-as-nails cop going head to head with a bad guy who keeps his wits about him (until the somewhat inexplicable, but apt, ending punctuates the affair).

  

The Stalls of Barchester (1971)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Stalls of Barchester (1971) – L. G. Clark

The first of the BBC’s classic Ghost Stories for Christmas series, featuring dramatizations of tales by M. R. James.  The best versions of James that I have seen so far are “Whistle and I’ll Come to You” (1968) and “A Warning to the Curious” (1972) for TV and, of course, Curse of the Demon (1957), one of my all time favourite films.  The Stalls of Barchester is in the same tradition, as an archdeacon who may have murdered his predecessor is mysteriously haunted by a cat and other shadowy figures.  This has something to do with the carved figures in his stall of the church, the wood for which was apparently taken from a famous hanging tree.  The story involves a framing device (two scholars are reading the archdeacon’s diary) which allows the “truth” of the story to come out.  Not quite as spooky as others but if you imagine yourself alone in the house at night, it just may give you the creeps.    

Mata Hari (1931)

☆ ☆ ☆ 

Mata Hari (1931) – G. Fitzmaurice

Pre-code Greta Garbo talkie (that was edited to remove some of its risqué content sometime later) tells the story of the famous WWI spy who was also an exotic dancer.  Of course, Garbo epitomized exotic glamour at the time, but she is a bit gayer and more free than her later melancholy and tragic image might suggest.  Still, the story is tragic in the end, because Mata Hari was ultimately revealed in Paris and died by the firing squad.  Her source of information, General Shubin of Russia, is played by pre-wheelchair Lionel Barrymore who gives the role his usual zest, overshadowing nominal leading man Ramon Novarro (a Russian soldier).  It doesn’t end well for either of them either. George Fitzmaurice’s direction is unobtrusive and the sets and costumes create the right atmosphere of romantic intrigue but generally things are a bit static.  The script is surely melodramatic enough, yet Garbo somehow isn’t able to indulge her torments to the fullest extent.

Pim & Pom: The Big Adventure (2014)

☆ ☆ ☆

Pim & Pom: The Big Adventure (2014) – G. Smid

Aito and Amon and I went to see this Dutch animated kids’ movie at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.  It is based on the drawings of artist Fiep Westendorp (who died in 2004) and the story follows the titular cats who get lost and have to find their way home to “the lady” with whom they live.  They are chased by the lady’s two nieces who want to steal Pim & Pom away for themselves, if they can find them (“why are they so mean?” said Aito, aged 6).  The look of the film is very stylized, all flat 2-D and very colourful – these cats have no mouths.  Of course, it has been redubbed in English and there are songs (of the schmaltzy popular variety about friends and sharing and responsibility).  Amon (aged 3 ½) was more-or-less transfixed, although he wanted to leave when things got a little troubling on-screen.  Aito’s attention seemed to wax and wane but, in the end, he gave it four stars out of five and we watched a few related you-tube clips when we got home.

  

The Wolfpack (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Wolfpack (2015) – C. Moselle

A Sundance winner, this documentary uncovered the secret life of seven children (six of them boys) who were confined to their Lower East Side NYC apartment for most of their lives, learning about the world from home-schooling and more importantly from movies, which they re-enact with glee (and paper maiche).  We are treated to excerpts from Reservoir Dogs, Batman Begins, and Pulp Fiction.  Of course, the documentary can’t begin until the children have been found, around the time that the oldest was 20 years old, perhaps.  There is no explanation about how the director, Crystal Moselle, stumbled into this story but she is offscreen most of the time as the four older kids reveal their secrets (and we also see found video-recorded footage from their childhood).  The mother and father show up to explain themselves (the father is a control freak who was afraid of the NYC environs).  Although there are hints of darkness, the film is largely optimistic, tracking how the young men start to reassert themselves once the parental controls are lifted.  Some of them would like to be film directors, naturally.  Amazingly, this is not a freak show but that may be testament to the careful and ethical shaping of the material by Moselle that lets the protagonists speak, but leaves many unanswered questions (and hence, drags a bit).

  

35 Shots of Rum (2008)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

35 Shots of Rum (2008) – C. Denis

Somehow Claire Denis has managed to create a warm moody film, one that ruminates about the positive aspects of our closest relationships (in this case between single dad and daughter), even as it signals the changes that must occur without ever making them too sad.  In this way, Denis has taken her cues from Ozu, particularly Late Spring (1949) which also sees a father contemplating his daughter’s future life without him.  Alex Descas plays the dad as a man of few words but deep feeling.  His life is complicated by romantic pursuit from a neighbour, a chain-smoking taxi driver, who has long been treated as part of the family.  Another neighbour provides a romantic interest for Josephine, the daughter (played by Mati Diop).  The relationships between these four principals and a few others make up the heart of the film and Denis allows the richness and complexity of real life to infuse the film.  At the same time, her eye for composition (including Ozu-like still lifes), her ear for the way that the soundtrack can evoke moods (courtesy of the Tindersticks), and her thoughtful script that leaves ambiguities everywhere, such that we don’t really know anything about the backstory of the characters except what we can infer, elevate the film beyond an ordinary drama.  In the end, Alex drinks the 35 shots of rum to mark a special occasion, though we are left to guess at what has happened (but the second rice cooker gives it away). Rich and satisfying without ever threatening to be a major statement.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Straight Outta Compton (2015) – F. Gary Gray

I spun N.W.A. a few times at WCWM in the ‘80s, but Public Enemy was more my bag at the time and then I drifted away from rap/hip-hop altogether.  So, I only knew part of the story of the rise and fall of the gangsta rap supergroup featuring Eazy-E., Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre (among others).  Director F. Gary Gray follows the contours of the usual biopic – however, tracking several major characters unavoidably results in giant ellipses in their personal stories (particularly when it comes to the women in their lives).  The fact that this is yet another cautionary tale about the perils of fame and bad business deals makes it feel familiar even though Paul Giamatti executes the villain role with some aplomb and at least one protagonist (Ice Cube, of course, played incredibly by his own son) is able to defy the usual arc. So, in the end the music itself carries the picture (as it should) and just as I was wondering why I didn’t remember the N.W.A. reunion that finally seems to be coming together, everything falls apart with Eazy-E’s death from AIDS.  Reflecting now, it’s depressing to think that N.W.A.’s bravado focus on police brutality in the black community had no effect at all. If anything, the problem seems even worse these days but that’s probably just a function of the new availability of viral videos when previously things stayed hidden (and/or were ignored). 

  

Invasion U.S.A. (1952)

☆ ☆ 

Invasion U.S.A. (1952) – A. E. Green

A curio or an artefact – but a chilling paranoid one that details how the enemy (assumed to be the Soviets) might attack the U.S. by way of Alaska.  Perhaps unrealistically they drop 4 or 5 atomic bombs in the Pacific Northwest and then parachute their troops right into the radiation.  In fact, the shock and horror of the attack is minimized by the screenwriters in favour of a look at several people in a bar and how they cope with the incipient war.  Compare this to Peter Watkins’ 1965 pseudo-doc, The War Game, where Britain suffers an A-bomb dropped on London and you can see the difference between a quickie exploitation flick and the contemplation of real horror.  Almost 50% or more of Invasion U.S.A. is stock footage, which sometimes evokes the horror of war on its own (given its status as real footage) rather than serves the plot here.  Given that most of the tragedy in the film is revealed through TV reporting (with the station occasionally going off air), the nearest resemblance is to Night of the Living Dead (or was it Dawn of the Dead?).  But those films are far superior, if somewhat less realistic (given the potential for President Trump). For the record, the Americans retaliate by dropping even more nuclear bombs on Russia in the film. All we can hope is that no one has their finger on the button ever again.    

It (1927)

☆ ☆ ½

It (1927) – C. Badger

My consumption of silent film has primarily been composed of the amazing classics (Murnau, Keaton, Eisenstein, and so on).  So, stumbling into more run-of-the-mill fare is a bit of a let-down.  Of course, “It” was a big hit and helped to spur along the stardom of Clara Bow, a free and easy sex symbol of the 1920s.  She is rather vivacious here but the film is hardly lurid or ribald.  Bow plays a shopgirl with designs on the wealthy boss and she manages to snare him.  En route, there is a bit of a problem when he accidentally believes she is a single mother to a “fatherless” child.  The stigma is palpable but Bow actually manages to get the cad to propose to her even though he thinks she has a baby to support before she tells him the truth.  Nothing too flash here in the direction or acting (apart from Bow’s obvious star turn).  Bow went on to a series of scandals and her popularity declined (Kenneth Anger tells all in Hollywood Babylon). 

  

Dillinger (1945)

☆ ☆ ½

Dillinger (1945) – M. Nosseck

Lawrence Tierney’s starring debut as the titular bank robber is a no frills bio pic (of sorts) shot for Poverty Row studio Monogram.  Highlighted by an early script from noir specialist Philip Yordan – best known for Johnny Guitar – the film is concise at 70 minutes and keeps its action to a minimum, favouring blunt talking instead.  However, Tierney would snarl more, with more wicked charm, in Born to Kill (1947) and, of course, Reservoir Dogs (1992).  So, if you are looking for Film Noir or heist films, this isn’t the place to start but it’s not bad for a B genre film if this is your bag.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – G. Miller

There is no question that this film is a thrilling ride, firing on all cylinders from nearly the very first frame.  It is beautiful to look at and art-directed to high heaven with that post-apocalyptic Australian-outback feel (though it was filmed in Namibia). There are also female characters in some key lead roles (a welcome thing for an action movie), including Charlize Theron as bad-ass one-armed Furiosa who starts the plot rolling by escaping with the creepy bad guy’s five wives to a remembered matriarchal outpost across the desert (which turns out to be decimated by climate change but with a small band of bikies still led by some very tough old ladies).  So, the movie is an endless chase at top speeds in phantasmagorical hot rods and super-trucks taking in a variety of vistas and oddly-dressed tribes along the way – but that’s all it is.  In other words, a gloriously well-realized moment in an imagined dystopic future populated by brutal characters that we never really get to know (particularly Tom Hardy, who has taken over the role of Max from Mel Gibson). So, take a deep breath, hold on, enjoy the rush, and then it is over, not unlike your increasingly sophisticated roller coaster experience.  

Deadpool (2016)

☆ ☆ ☆

Deadpool (2016) – T. Miller

I’ll admit that I haven’t been interested in watching any of the comic book franchise films that are everywhere of late.  I also never got into comics as a kid – although I do remember pondering alternate universes and who belonged to which league/world when I borrowed some from other kids at summer camp.  I don’t think I could name you any of the X-Men (except Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart). And I don’t recall this guy Deadpool at all. My first reaction to him was that he is just another wise-cracking American dick dropping cultural references to show the audience how smart the writers are – and there is a lot of that in this film.  There’s also ultra-violence, swearing, and some sex/jokes (hence, the R rating). My usual reaction to these kinds of slam-bang CGI-laden action films is blah.  But after sleeping on it, I think this one actually captures a sort of comic-book charm (for adults) that isn’t far off my hazy recollection of the complexity and confusion and sheer WTF-ness of those handful of superhero rags I actually read.  Perhaps just watching this one movie out-of-context isn’t too far from those odd experiences at camp that gave me just a taste.  So, I guess I’ll wait another couple of years before I try this experiment again so the element of bewilderment doesn’t wear off.