The Last Command (1928)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Last Command (1928) – J. von Sternberg

Emil Jannings won the first Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of a Russian general who lost his position during the Revolution and wound up as an extra in Hollywood. As directed by (pre-Dietrich) Josef von Sternberg, it’s structured as a first introduction to the character (and the Hollywood studio assembly line) and then a long meaty flashback in Russia, and finally a coda that returns us to Hollywood where the actor is given a final scene in a movie about Russian troops in WWI (still led by the Czar) and a final chance to recapture his dignity. Ironically, the director of the film (played by a young William Powell, who seems wrong without his voice in the Silent era) was one of the revolutionaries harassed by the General in the old days (alongside Evelyn Brent who became the General’s love interest despite her revolutionary goals) – even those in favour of regime change could see the General’s love for his country and its people.  As staged by von Sternberg, the Russian scenes are full of extras and action but somehow the film never quite scales the heights of other masterworks of the era (I prefer Jannings in Murnau’s The Last Laugh, 1924). Von Sternberg would have his heyday in the 1930s with Marlene.

Under Fire (1983)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Under Fire (1983) – R. Spottiswoode

American journalists get involved in the war in Nicaragua in 1979, first as amoral observers and then later with more sympathy and investment. The film is pretty clear and explicit about the negative contributions made by the US Government to the situation (supporting and arming a series of brutal dictators) even having one local express the sentiment that the killing of a US journalist might be the only thing that could get average Americans to pay attention to the tragedy (the fact that filmmakers need to include American characters in a film about the Nicaraguan civil war is a more implicit echo of the same idea).  These American journalists (Nick Nolte, Joanna Cassidy, and Gene Hackman) and, worse, a callous soldier of fortune (Ed Harris), demonstrate their self-absorption and neglect for the people of Nicaragua as they interlope looking for a story (or money).  And as Americans have often done when intervening in foreign nations, they muck it up.  The plot itself is rather aimless, focusing at times on the love triangle between Cassidy, Nolte, and Hackman, and at other times on their attempts to meet the rebel leaders.  Late in the film, an ethical and moral dilemma is presented (should the journalists take sides and “editorialise”?) but there are many unintended consequences despite their “right” choice (a nuanced aspect of the screenplay).  All told, it’s a thoughtful, although not quite focused, film that nobly sought to present an honest interrogation of US involvement overseas while also approaching something more acceptable to mainstream Hollywood. 

A Wanderer’s Notebook (1962)

☆ ☆ ☆

A Wanderer’s Notebook (1962) – M. Naruse

I’m a big fan of director Mikio Naruse, who similar to Ozu and Mizoguchi made many silent films before he moved into sound and made his mark chiefly with melodramas focused on the experiences and relationships of women.  A number of his best films were drawn from novels or stories by writer Fumiko Hayashi (1903-1951), such as Meshi (1951), Lightning (1952), Late Chrysanthemums (1954), and especially Floating Clouds (1955).  So, it comes as no surprise that he decided to make this film of her first autobiographical novel, again starring Hideko Takamine, his “go to” actress (see When A Woman Ascends the Stairs, 1960).  Hayashi’s life was not easy – her mother (Kinuyo Tanaka) remarried to a travelling snake oil salesman and they moved around peddling until she graduated from high school and left the family to live in Tokyo.  The film mainly begins at this point and shows a series of unfortunate relationships with men as well as her gradual path to literary success through poetry and stories in magazines.  I suppose it may be a case of method acting but Takamine does not seem her usual charismatic self here – as Hayashi, she’s awkward, even stoop-shouldered, at the start, gradually becoming more relaxed but she’s never a warm, attractive, or even likable character.  Mostly she’s self-absorbed and there are suggestions that her fiction reflects this, with its focus on her subjective experience of poverty and hardship (which may after all be universal; Naruse himself treats the social impact of money as a central theme in his work).  Even at the end, when she’s successful, she’s neither generous nor friendly – possibly a result of her hard knock life.  Although there’s a place for unromantic heroes in films, the dreariness of both events and character somewhat capsizes the film which is not amongst Naruse’s best.  But middling Naruse is still worth seeing.  

  

The Shooting (1966)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Shooting (1966) – M. Hellman

Monte Hellman’s tectonic Western moves inexorably to its final shot – and what a shot that is!  It blows the whole plot wide open, allowing multiple layers of (psychedelic) interpretation, if you are so inclined.  Or maybe that’s just me.  But let’s just say that it is all about Warren Oates’s Willett Gashade, the cowboy who accepts some money to help a rather ruthless young woman (Millie Perkins) track down a man on the road up ahead.  Forget the fact that this film is mostly known for an early appearance by Jack Nicholson (as a dandy hired gun) – he’s fine but doesn’t own centre stage.  Oates, however, does become our point of identification, as the (failed) protector for innocent and none-too-bright Coley (Will Hutchins) and the one character whose motivation for action isn’t clear – until the end.  (Which leaves me puzzling about, um, twins or not twins?).  Hellman (under the supervision of low budget producer Roger Corman) keeps things minimalist out there in the Utah desert but the result is mesmerising all the same.  Of course, your mileage may vary.    

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) – N. Meyer

Possibly I hadn’t seen this one since 1982, but by all reports it was the best of the O. G. Star Trek movies.  However, let’s begin by acknowledging that the TV series itself was better than the films – if you haven’t watched enough of Gene Roddenberry’s original creation (especially perhaps the episode “Space Seed” to which this film is a sequel), then a lot of the nostalgic nods to the past won’t make much sense.  So, the film takes place later in time, when the main characters, Captain Kirk (Wm Shatner), Mr Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr Bones McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Mr “Scotty” Scott (James Doohan), Mr Sulu (George Takei), Mr Chekov (Walter Koenig), and Ms Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), are now older and involved in more senior roles for Star Fleet Academy – Kirk is an Admiral, Spock is a Captain and head of Training, and so on.  When they are all on board the Enterprise for a training mission, they are suddenly called away to help a distant space station (which is home to Kirk’s ex and her son as well as a secret new terraforming device that destroys everything before it creates new life).  However, on the way there, they are waylaid by an old enemy who has been recently freed from his prison: yes, Khan, played with great zeal by Ricardo Montalban.  Montalban is the main reason to watch this film!  That said, the plot is probably more exciting than that of the other O. G. films (which I hardly remember) and one of the main characters does die!  (Cue the sequel).  To conclude:  watching the original series would be a better dose of nostalgia for those who want it. 

Knives Out (2019)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Knives Out (2019) – R. Johnson

Undoubtedly, I had my expectations set too high for Knives Out.  I should have realised that there are essentially no really good adaptations of Agatha Christie (although this film is inspired by her rather than adapted from her) – gentle readers, correct me, if I am wrong. I do love the old mystery series (Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, The Thin Man, etc.) but they rarely earn 4 stars or above. Of course, Knives Out does benefit from a strong cast (particularly Ana de Armas and Daniel Craig) and a particularly tricky plot that inverts the genre by giving away the culprit early on. There is a certain delicious appeal to finding out that all of the characters have guilty secrets or that one is physically incapable of lying – these set the terms of our contract with the genre. But the film’s intentions for comedy are perhaps not broad enough – the characterizations are almost funny but not quite. Perhaps too another run through the events of the evening from another perspective would have tripled the fun (especially if some filmic fat were edited out)? As it stands, it is no doubt enjoyable to watch Detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) piece together the clues of the case (and he may have a sequel in the works already) but I find myself counting the ways that the film might have been pushed just a bit further into greatness… that said, I am sure director Rian Johnson knows how to court mainstream success and I do not.

After the Thin Man (1936)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

After the Thin Man (1936) – W. S. Van Dyke

Nick and Nora Charles (the sleuthing couple from Dashiell Hammett’s 1934 novel, The Thin Man) are back, again incarnated by dapper/sophisticated but totally soused William Powell and Myrna Loy. Of course, like many of the mystery series of the era, the plot introduces many characters (many red herrings) and brings them all together into a room at the end so Charles can accuse/catch the real killer. What elevates this series, aside from the stars’ perfect chemistry is the droll (and sometimes screwball) humour (both Powell and Loy know how to wait for the beat) and the superior actors in supporting roles. For example, this sequel features Jimmy Stewart (!) and Joseph Calleia as suspects (among others). The plot finds Nick and Nora travelling to California, arriving on New Year’s Eve but being called to her aunt’s house to investigate the disappearance (and then murder) of her cousin’s no-good husband. Perhaps viewers can’t really figure out whodunnit very easily (also an issue with some of Hammett’s short stories) but the fun is in watching the stars in action, despite the formula.