[SIFF09] Amos Gitai Retrospect: Promised Land Q&A

Q&A by director Amos Gitai, moderated by Tan Pin Pin. My apologies for the bad video (until I find the time to downsample and edit), but until then, hey, the audio works fine!


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[SIFF09] Amos Gitai Retrospect: Promised Land (Asian Premiere)

Cameo

Promised Land is one part of the so-called Borders Trilogy that Amos Gitai has crafted, the other two being Free Zone and Disengagement. In this film, he tackles the issue of women trafficking across borders between Egypt and Israel, in which there seems to be no problems, obstacles or conflict between the peoples of both sides engaged in this illegal trade, which still persists, with various filmmakers around the world taking on the issue head on in their respective geographies, in films such as Lilya 4-ever and Your Name is Justine.

This film can be broken down, I believe, into three parts, and on the whole it's like Gitai taking the audience on a journey to witness first hand the ordeal that the female victims are put through. The shaky cam technique helped in putting oneself there in the first person perspective, though it could be somewhat unsettling, as if the perspective and point of view seem to come from being one of the perpetrators of the trade, being able to partake in, yet only standing by like an eyewitness, but unable to reach out and help the girls.

It's not a documentary, but the effect made it look like one, with conversations up close, and plenty of tight shots choosing to disorientate the viewer, just like how the victims are suffering, as they are moved constantly from place to place in hurried fashions, under the blanket of night, trekking across deserts to their final destination, which at the end of the film, you wonder just exactly where you have ended up in. One scene that'll definitely stir some upsetting emotions, is how the women get herded up and inspected like cattle, having their assets exposed and prodded, chided, stripped of their dignity and clothes, while listening to an auction going around them for the best price from the highest bidder. Before that the girls do look as if they're clueless about their impending ordeal, until it's too late.

The second act dealt with an underground club of sorts, which brings the entire film to the one hour mark. Here the girls are prepared, again in quite undignified terms of being hosed down with water to clean themselves, akin to being a prisoner (well actually yes), and the first step toward their sexual slavery, including making up to beautify themselves for their clientele later. As mentioned, again the audience is put in the spot, standing by to watch but unable to do anything about it. Perhaps yet again we're thrust into the spotlight, because I think the message is clear that should there be no demand, the supply would naturally dry up. I suppose this approach here is like getting people to swear off meat, to varying degrees of success, by having the person witness how meat is being slaughtered and prepared.

Now the third act I believe was pure Gitai genius, though it may irk many to think, that's it? I had very much enjoyed the ending of Free Zone, and this could rival that as being equally powerful. Without giving anything away here, I felt that on one hand the plight of the women were raised, and there doesn't seem to be anything in sight that could rescue them. Then comes that major event that brings us up and about, presenting an opportunity to be grasped and exploited. It isn't impossible of course, given the environment Israel finds itself in from time to time. On the other hand, the Deus Ex Machina approach here may not go down well in being something like a cop out of a finale. But if you dwell on it deeper, it's the honest truth that there's simply no quick and easy solution to have it solved, especially not on film, hence the approach that unless some form of miracle happens, we're not going to see the problem disappear anytime soon.

Promised Land is one long process from beginning to end that hopes to elicit some response from the audience in either raising their awareness of the problem outside of their comfort zones, or for those who are fueling the demand side of things, to perhaps stop and think if they're contributors to a totally inhuman and undignified process. Oh, and fans of Rosamund Pike who might be drawn to the film because of her presence, you're likely to be disappointed as she only as a very limited supporting role in the film.

[SIFF09] The Beetle (Hachipusheet)

This is Definitely Faster

I guess you'd never know how much distance one's nostalgia and sentimentalism will take you. It could be bordering on obsession, but for filmmaker Yishai Orian, his love for his banged up, 40 year old Volkswagon Beetle knows no bounds, and this film is perhaps testament toward that love. Unhappy of course is his wife Eliraz, being driven around in a heap of junk on the verge of breaking down ever so often, and more worried about the baby on the way, hoping that Yishai would place priority on family and safety.

Alas it seemed that such hope gets thrown out the window when Yishai decides to embark on a road trip to neighbouring Arab neighbour Jordan, based on rumours that it would logically be cheaper to repair his car there, and given the garage engineers also being more willing to do so after being turned down by so many on his home soil. And to add to the dilemma, he has to decide whether to use his savings to repair his Beetle, or to invest it on a high-tech pram. No guesses which he will decide, and whether the wifey is pleased with his final decision, which I think is how most domestic disagreement will come about – with the man wanting to invest in his hobby and his other half thinking that he's not placing his priorities in life right.

For those who has little knowledge on the not too subtle beginnings of the Beetle, it actually had some Nazi Germany roots when Adolf Hitler commissioned it as a cost-effective model for mass production. Hence the vehicle is born, and little would anyone realize that Israel would be more than willing to import a vehicle with such a beginning. But it did, and so we learn little anecdotes from past owners that Yishai managed to track down, for them to share memorable stories about their respective time with the vehicle that he's driving around now. Some of these are incredible, unbelievable even, but they did happen, and it only goes to show how much history can be packed into something that's almost half a century old.

The road trip to Jordan opened up more memorable stories to tell, emphasizing that it's indeed a world without strangers, especially when it's out of compassion that one helps out a complete stranger from the other side of the border. While it's still a financial transaction, I think one appreciates the help that one had obtained, and from there build on some genuine friendships which extended even after the bill had been presented. Talk about having after a fine sales service! And for Yishal's own personal memoirs, having time spent with Salam, a Jordanian child, also reinforced his beliefs about fatherhood and helped to allay some fears of real adulthood, and responsibility toward his own child in time to come.

It's a delightful comedic documentary that doesn't try too hard to bring on the laughs. It's quite an honest piece of work in balancing one's primary loves in life, for Yishai's case the affection for his vehicle and that feeling of being responsible for those past productive years of his Beetle, having seen the smiles worn by its ex-owners, and that of his current family. Let's hope that seriously is some more significant mileage left in that piece of German engineering!

[SIFF09] Amos Gitai Retrospective: One Day, You'll Understand (Plus tard) (Asian Premiere)

Pain

Based on an autobiography by Jerome Clement, One Day You'll Understand explores the painful journey a man takes in digging up the past to understand his lineage more, where it becomes an obsession to fuss over old photographs and articles in trying to shed light on events rooted in the Holocaust, and having the Nazi war criminal trial of Klaus Barbie simultaneously providing a related backdrop.

But watching this film is also painful for me, not because I don't buy into the theme or feel empathic toward the major human atrocities committed during WWII. It's painful because of the way the film was shot, that I believe perhaps only those who are faced with similar issues, would find the lengthy pauses a provision of space to breathe in. Very little is said, and there are enough long takes here for you to take a break and not miss anything much as well. Lengthy conversational pieces between Victor (Hippolyte Girardot) and his wife and mother dwell more on the mundane issues just like everyday life, and my attention started to wander and admire the household furniture instead.

It's set in Paris with the Jewish family facing a crisis of sorts when Victor disengages from his family and falls deeper into the rabbit hole, and the more interesting events start to pick up only when he successfully tracks down the humble abode his grandparents were found to be hiding in from the Nazi persecution, which begins some flashbacks and re-enactment. Of course one would wonder whether revisiting a place where events took place would result in emotion as seen here, particularly if one was not primarily involved then, but only through reports and accounts read. Which of course stretches your imagination should you feel like buying into this argument.

The story of Victor's grandparents triumphs over that of his current everyday life, which for the most parts is quite an unremarkable and unimpressive story, until a tangent develops and Jeanne Moreau's Rivka starts to assert her presence and the story shifts gears into a more compelling subplot with more emotional impact that calls for your involvement, since it had something to do with the inevitable journey of life at the end of the road, and the leaving of a legacy behind.

As one of the character advised, what's done is done and you cannot change anything, I feel that this film was an exercise in itself in wanting to translate a personal memoir into a movie, but failed to translate the emotions that came along with it in more powerful terms. Definitely not going into my list of Amos Gitai films to recommend.

[SIFF09] Letters to the President (Asian Premiere)

Listen To My Problems!

While this may have been sanctioned by the Iranian government and the man himself, it's surprisingly quite balanced without a need to censor any sensitive remarks that may have made them look bad, though of course like what was said by people in the beginning that since the camera is trained on them, they had better have good things to say, so I believe some form of self-censorship was practiced, but still a candid remark or two would also have gone through despite comments that could generally be already very guarded. After all, there are issues which are close to the heart and may have strong emotional attachment to them.

There's no one on one interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad throughout the film, as the camera shadows his movement in clips that are from a third person perspective. We see during his rounds throughout the land that his motorcade or entourage gets mobbed each time, and because of his letter policy, have everyone wanting to get his attention, to submit a letter, either personally handing it to him, or given to his aides, or just thrown into his vehicle! It's like a rock star making an appearance in a downtown city, where thousands profess their love or listen to his every word like the gospel being disseminated. It's clear that this man, elected in 2005, is popular in his country, but feared by the West because of his controversial sabre-rattling which his supporters echo (also in the film on nuclear energy, and making a bomb while at it).

Watching this film you might be inclined to evaluate if this is a President for his people, or is it just a facade? The film doesn't answer it, but provides both sides of the argument for your evaluation. It first starts with everything quite positive in terms of the people's vocal support, before peeling away the layers to suggest a number of cracks within the system, especially highlighting some broad division within society, between the rural and the urban folks, providing some keen insights to what could be happening behind relatively closed doors with vast differences in their basic concerns. For example, the female urbanites are quite vocal in their unhappiness with the morality police, and the urban folks, with what was presented in this documentary, being less guarded with their opinions even in front of the camera.

On the surface, the letter writing system Ahmadinejad put in place might seem an excellent idea, given of course replies come from him personally to address the concerns of his people. In theory that is, because once you start to receive millions of letters demanding your personal attention to issues, logistics would mean employing a team to tackle the reading, replying, and execution of the reply. The result's quite impressive, because of the millions of letters received, the reply rate is about 3 in 4, somewhat akin to writing to Santa Claus I suppose, with only those who are nice being entertained before goods get dispensed.

You can see the immense logistics set up for this, with letter processing centres and call centres being staffed with paramilitary personnel who are groomed as future leaders of the state. I thought this was a shrewd move given that you're allowing them to gain first hand experience in a wide myriad of grassroots issues. A reply to the letter writer is often treated with gratitude, but a deeper issue lies in the fact that a high response rate doesn't necessarily translate to a modest success rate, because issues are normally basic bread and butter kind, and with the international sanctions in place further limiting scarce resources, it's back to dealing with red tape and bureaucracy.

It's also curious to note that more women than men subscribe to the scheme, where they fervently believe that he will be able to solve their problems, mostly stemming from feeling the impact of sanctions, doing away with meat and high inflation on food prices, which the men dismiss as just tough luck because of the worldwide shortage. There was some significant time devoted to this aspect, with the focus of two women in conversation while waiting to meet the President during his meet-the-people session, which didn't materialize.

As a documentary, Letters to the President presents basic issues faced by the general population, so those looking for a documentary on the Iranian leader would find this a little lacking in that aspect. But nonetheless it managed to offer a peek into the psyche of very different groups of people, and the day to day problems and concerns each face.

[SIFF09] Malaysian Gods (World Premiere)

During the mini-seminar session, Amir mentioned that Malaysian Gods had been passed without cuts back home, but also not permitted to be publicly screened. It's no surprise to this as he admitted, given the buzz the authorities had unwittingly created because of their banning of his earlier film The Last Communist. Hence the situation this film is now in. But as usual, from watching this across the Causeway, one wonders if political / politics-related films which might see the respective authorities on either side frown upon, would find an audience at the other side given a piqued interest, as well as hey, it's not talking about us here so we're cool about it?

Strategy-wise, Malaysian Gods had adopted the same approach as Amir's earlier movies like The Last Communist and Village People Radio Show, which consists of visiting the actual sites where the movement had occurred, and interviewing people in talking heads fashion in a more natural setting. There's a slight departure here though, where interviews are not with figures directly involved in the events presented, perhaps not wanting to ruffle any current feathers since it might inevitably be sensitive with the major players on all sides still being around.

What we have instead is a documentary told in chapters commemorating the 10 years since the Reformasi movement began in 1998 starting with the protests led by Anwar Ibrahim after his sacking from his Deputy Prime Minister post. For non history buffs, the documentary provides some insights that began from the past, and had its eye firmly focused on the 8% of the Malaysian population who are ethnic Indians with Tamil as the common language between them.

Told in chapters, the film plays out like reading a history book, with inter-titles cluing you in on specific historical events, before bringing you back to its present day location, and conducting interviews with some everyday folks. The narrative moved from place to place where significant events had happened, and interviewing what could probably be the most colourful character the filmmakers could find in the vicinity, such as the kacang (nuts) seller, contractors, salesmen, cinema operators, and your man on the street who just happens to be out on a date. In terms of venue, we get to see prominent landmarks like the National Palace, the KLCC park, the Chinese Assembly Hall, KL's oldest Tamil cinema, and it goes right down to the simple barber shop right around the corner.

While it might seem quite random in picking off people from the streets and talking to them, there's a method in that when asked some pointed questions about the location's significance, or whether the interviewee had been involved in those events in one way or another, there are a few interesting nuggets of the human psyche which unfolds. I guess in today's economic climate, everyone's more concerned with their personal rice bowl issues, and can only remember things that hit closer to home rather than mass protests or demonstrations which seem like a disruption to economical pursuits.

Either that, or they are personally guarded from freely discussing those issues since a video camera is pointed in their direction. However, you can see that while everyone has their own issues to air, those of the older generation tend to be more reserved and afraid of repercussions, compared to the younger generation who are not afraid to discuss them quite directly and speak their minds on things they feel are going against them, such as the education system. I suppose when push comes to shove, they are more than willing to express themselves than to continue keeping quiet, and this in itself perhaps gave way to a representation of what we've been seeing in the political climate up north, with some drastic changes to the landscape already made.

The film is never dry, and is rife with wry humour throughout in true Amir fashion. Against the backdrop of a downfall of a leader and the rise of his party and movement, one can find some rib-tickling moments either from the interview subjects themselves, or from the subtitles which you have to pay some attention to, as illustrations pop up like easter eggs, and you have to look quite closely for things like skewed logos. Or a shot of a car I found quite amusing as the driver clearly violated traffic flow direction, and found himself turning into the Traffic Police HQ.

If you've enjoyed Amir's previous works like The Last Communist, and Village People Radio Show, then grab any opportunity you can get to watch his latest film, before he embarks on an announced filmmaking hiatus.

[SIFF09] In Conversation with Amir Muhammad - Screening of Malaysian Gods and Seminar

A seminar titled "Post- Reformasi Malaysian Society and Cinema" was held prior to the screening

"to discuss the forces which helped to bring about that unprecedented movement in Malaysian society, its impact on artists and the young, as well as changes that have taken place in national cinema since then"

The panelists from left to right are Malaysian Gods director Amir Muhammad, author/academic Dr. Ooi Kee Beng of the Institute of South-East Asian Studies (ISEAS) and teacher/writer Charlene Rajendran.


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[SIFF09] The Story of Mr Sorry (Je Bul Chal Ssi Yi Ya Ki) (International Premiere)

I'm Sorry

If memory serves me right, this film would probably serve as SIFF's first "Midnight Madness" styled screening. And true to the spirit of late night shows during festivals, one will come to expect the strangely bizarre, though the starting of the film, and the premise itself, had set it off looking very much like a black comedy.

I don't suppose there are any real life professional ear cleaners in the way it was presented in the film, like an army of trained soldiers eager to bring blissful orgasm when they stick their tool into your orifice, and begin to dig, each scoop bringing about a combination of pain, relief and ecstasy. If there are any, I'd sure would like to give it a go, since they come armed with a myriad of tools, with no ear too deep or wax too hard to remove. They do house calls too, besides knocking randomly from door to door looking for customers.

The film begins with a public trial of Mr Sorry, who has to account for a missing politician, but Mr Sorry himself was nowhere to be seen. The trial itself looked like any modern day reality show where the audience and viewers are supposed to vote and provide a Guilty or Not Guilty verdict, for the event ominously titled "To Kill Or Not To Kill". For most parts the narrative deals in flashbacks, painting the life story of Mr Sorry as an often bullied employee who doesn't rake in any satisfactory services in his chosen profession.

That is until a science experiment was conducted on him without his knowledge, and overnight he becomes a Ear Waxernator sensation, bringing about 100% customer satisfaction. His ability now extends to being able to peer into his client's secret desires and history given that the ear canal seemingly offers a direct passage to the inner sanctum of his client's minds, and from there he often discovers that there are more to his clients than meets the eye. This ability also provided him an avenue to seek out his long-lost sister, which the narrative deliberately paints quite suggestively at this relationship, providing that same confusion and repetitive nightmare that seem to plague our protagonist.

Animation wise, this was as simple as it can get, resembling at points like how South Park gets animated in 2D-puppet-like glory, though it required some getting used to for its less than anatomically correct human characters. And for a tale to find itself firmly rooted to the midnight screening, it boiled down to that energetic pace during the finale and the twist that it offered up which was as open as it could get, besides the more adult content that had full blown elements of pedophilia.

I suspect that there were a few funny moments that could have been lost in translation, but no matter, I believe this film has enough legs to see it make more rounds in the festival circuit. Now if I could get someone to look into my ear canal...

[SIFF09] A Moment in June (ณ ขณะรัก)

Melancholy

My first film of the 22nd Singapore International Film Festival which started on Tuesday, A Moment in June is deep in themes of longing, missing and that of forbidden love. While once I was a sucker for a film dwelling in deep melancholy, I found this needlessly setting itself up quite mysteriously in the first half, testing the patience of the audience with little hints being dropped now and then, before confirming the suspicion that it's really well connected between the stories and characters. So take note, don't just walk out the door like some others did, because the film really plods toward unleashing its payload.

It opens in 1999, where two men are seen talking on a train departing for Chiang Mai. It's revealed that these 2 lovers are now estranged, with Phon (Napatkorn Mitr-em) departing and leaving stage director Pakorn (Shahkrit Yamnarm) quite the emotional wreck. This is story thread one. In the next thread which starts off quite abruptly, we see an elderly lady Arunya (Deuntem Salitul) looking up her ex-lover Krung (Suchao Pongwilai) at an amusement park, though we see their 30-years-in-waiting reunion very much restraint in nature, unlike friends who are delighted to have met up after so long. And the third storyline deals with two couples, one pair married, the other going to. Except that the married man, and the bride-to-be, share secret rendezvous outside a cinema, and very much click, knowing eventualy that their love is doomed to fail.

The third part is interesting though, because it brought out some very seamless editing between the stage and the real world, dropping the first big hint that this could perhaps be a story that had happened some years back, being set in the 70s. Much credit goes to the art director, and the director of photography, in transporting us back to that nostalgic era lensed so beautifully, that you start to miss and long for more when the film transitions back to Today. However, one can sense that director O. Nathapon may either be a fan of Wong Kar-wai, or wanted to pay homage to In The Mood For Love, treading very close to recreating that moment of forbidden love based on discreet meet ups being developed in the dark back alleys of town, with a Thai oldie song played in the background serving as the unifying element across all story lines.

You've got to work through the non-linear narrative as it flips back and forth through events and characters, and personally I had some disregard for the current generation and their relationship problems, preferring instead the issues faced by the elderly couple, and the story which was set on stage, and in the past. It could be because the couple had a lot more going for them, and left you just wanting to find out more, on what could have happened to have led to that 30 year hiatus in contacting each other. And any blast from the past created meticulously, would get my vote as well.

One cannot deny that A Moment in June is very beautifully shot given its lush aesthetics, and I would have enjoyed it more if the pacing had been ramped up just a tad bit, and that the narrative didn't try to play coy (just like its characters) too much in the beginning. If the themes mentioned are right up your alley, you'll definitely find this film enjoyable, though I suspect that something inside me is screaming in not wanting any more, and to move on to brighter themes already.

Friday the 13th (2009)

He Lives

The 12th film of the franchise, it doesn't matter if Jason Voorhees has been revived time and time again, or remade and rebooted, because the truth is it relies on the very same formula that has been all 12 movies, and those of its equally illustrious genre peers as well. And these rote elements won't go out of fashion until someone has the gall to revamp and inject fresh ideas, just like how Bond was given a proper makeover starting with Casino Royale.

Think about it, just how many more of such elements could we continue to condone in our slasher flicks before they bore you to death if Jason's machete doesn't get to you first? We have sexy, and sexed up horny teenagers, vehicles with their keys taken away just when you need to drive them off, non virgins given priority in biting the dust, fake boobs versus real boobs, incompetent police folks, and so on. Granted that Jason's made a little sexier in his movements and the violence being more gratuitous and designed to be more in your face, dished out through a variety of weapons other than the staple machete, but there's no real change or challenge, knowing how the fella would likely be back for another flick.

It may be fun if you're looking for yet another genre slasher flick that gives you what you're generally looking out for, but other than that, don't expect this new Friday the 13th to be breaking any new ground, but just rehashing and repaving the road frequently travelled.

You can read my review of Friday the 13th at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Sita Sings The Blues

Sad Love Story

Featured in last year's edition of Animation Nation, I finally got a chance to watch this masterpiece by filmmaker Nina Paley when she released it on the Internet under the Creative Commons License. And it is without a doubt that this piece of animation is well worth every minute of your time, especially when the visuals just arrests your attention from the get go, and has some wonderful music and songs by 1920s jazz singer Annette Hanshaw, who provides the titular Sita with her singing voice.

Based on the epic Indian tale of Ramayana, focusing on the love triangle between Rama (voiced by Debargo Sanyal), his virtuous wife Sita (Nina Paley herself), and the adversary in the form of Ravana (Sanjiv Jhaveri) who lusts after Sita and kidnaps her, I have gotten a glimpse of this storyline when it got featured in films such as Swades and the more recent Delhi-6. Essentially the extracts in those film featured how Ravana kidnaps Sita for her beauty, and wanted to make her his wife, only for her to hold out enough for Rama to find them, and to kill Ravana in an ensuing war.

The story here expands that tale a lot more, starting with how Rama got banished from his kingdom by his father the King, and together with Sita, roams a forest until her kidnap, their reunion, and how Rama decided to banish her given his incessant suspicion that she may not have been pure, and got violated. It's a sad love story in a way, and this film provided just enough to pique your interest in wanting to read up more.

It's quite amazing how Paley herself directed this piece of magic, and adopted various animation styles to tell a story, and a musical, and has a separate tale set in the modern day to parallel that of the epic tale. I am speechless by how wonderful the opening credits got designed, fused perfectly with the song playing in the background. Her choice of the Annette Hanshaw tunes were a wonderful touch that fit the story to a T, and this can only be attributed to some astonishing creativity and innovation that Paley had demonstrated, and I can't help but to want more.

The shadow puppet narrators (Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally and Manish Acharya) stole the show each time they're on, as they sound just like your good pals who can't wait to give you the lowdown on what they know about this tragic love triangle. They're hilarious and never at any point felt deliberately so, with that very natural feel about the way they want to tell a story.

I would have loved to experience this in a big screen theatre setting, but I guess that would not come anytime soon. So the next best alternative was to download the highest resolution version available to watch this astounding piece as well as to admire the striking attention to details that Paley so lovingly and respectfully put into the characters. You would do yourself a favour and watch how Sita Sings the Blues, as it's a definite must-watch in my books!

*****
For more details, head on down to the official website.

Watch Sita Sings The Blues for free via:
Streaming: http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/blog/watch-sita-sings-the-blues-online/347/
Download: http://www.archive.org/details/Sita_Sings_the_Blues

and of course a donation to the filmmaker would never hurt!

252: Signal of Life (252: Seizonsha Ari)

Champions of Eye Power

While a movie like this would likely contain a tragedy of epic proportions and a celebration of the human spirit, one can't help but to laugh at its missteps, the heavy melodrama, and sheer ridiculousness of an ending that probably insults the professionalism of the uniformed group it wanted to put in good light. It becomes an unintentional comedy of errors that just makes you shake your head knowingly that it could have been something more interesting to begin with.

252: Signal of Life is just that, a code that rescue forces (or at least in Japan) use to inform everyone of survivors, galvanizing resources and to propel some lung bursting morale and adrenaline to rescuers who are risking life and limb for strangers that they do not know. But first they have to get their original mission statement through to the top brass whose concern is for the safety of the men under them, and risk taking becomes a tedious exercise, frustrating to the men all eager to perform a job well.

I thought this tussle against the backdrop of an ongoing disaster would serve as an interesting fuel for thought, especially meaningful when it tries to examine how these folks put others above self, and family beneath others at times, and had an extreme opportunity to debate over self-preservation, and to wonder the immense courage that it takes for one to do just that. Instead, we get melodrama, plenty of tears and frustrations lashed out amongst colleagues, friends and strangers, that it becomes too tiring, and most of the time for nothing.

For actor Hideaki Ito, one who has cut his teeth in disaster-rescue flicks like Umizaru and its sequel, his role here as ex-rescuer Yuji Shinohara might seem like a walk in the park. If not for his brooding of a sin of the past, and his good looks, he's an extremely cardboard character, which is what most of the other characters in the film are made of. Only Ayane Omori who stars as his deaf-mute daughter Shiori stole the show at every scene she's in, though the good work was destroyed by the story which decided to exploit that character for some Kleenex moment. I can go on about other characters in the film that continue to be unappealing such as Sachiko Sakurai's very teary turn as Mrs Shinohara, but the one which takes the cake, and probably chief villain for her incompetence, is Yu Kashii's Saki Umino the weather girl who has really poor forecasting skills.

The filmmakers here lacked the courage to have people bumped off. Not the anonymous extras that are in the background (those die en masse), but each deadly scenario the leads got put through, they lacked the confidence to shut the door on the characters, making it again highly repetitive in crafting how one survives death defying moments due to sheer luck, but only after some moments of unnecessary tension that the same trick just becomes overused by the time the third scenario rolls around. What's more of a sin was how the finale was one really draggy affair, allowing opportunities for more chest-thumping, affirmative actions like nodding, saluting, shouting, crying, and just milking all that's worth from an 18 minute window when the eye of the storm passes by.

Speaking of which, the special effects turned out to be less than spectacular. It showed off some eye-popping moments of gigantic tidal waves enveloping the streets of Tokyo, but it dried off really fast through some awesome drainage that the city has in its streets and underground network. Visually, it was more interesting to see how all the extras in each scene just run about the set in the background trying to look busy and act with a sense of urgency, while the cast in the foreground are feeling anything but that. As I mentioned earlier the finale was overwrought with cheesy melodrama that unnecessary dragged out the ending, but the moment which took the cake was how hundreds of rescuers would just gather round and do nothing but the care-bear-stare. Powerful stuff that.

252: Signal of Life had moments where it could have struck a fine balance in presenting an action-packed flick if it could have tightened up some of the incessant repetition (like how long it took for massive floodwaters to fill up a subway station, and there are only so many ways for extras to find themselves facing with a gush of water), and to have given itself enough time to explore the human dilemma of self-preservation versus the call of duty. Instead it became an unnecessary comedy filled with cardboard yet invincible characters.

[DVD] In Bruges (2008)

Forgive My Sins, Father

So what happens when a hitman botches a job and has to go into hiding? Essentially this film is about 2 hitmen, one played by Colin Farrell and the other by Brendan Gleeson, who cannot be more at opposite ends of the spectrum when told to take refuge in the Belgian medieval town of Bruges. The former hates the boring place, while the latter is simply intrigued by its culture and history. It's bickering all the way with tons of creative vulgarities thrown in for good measure by writer-director Martin McDonagh, as this buddy movie goes against the grain with some insanely funny situations that deal with romancing a drug pusher and a dwarf who harbours strong race relations, coupled with some out-of-this-world dialogue that provides some new vocabulary and usage patterns for swearing.

While Bruges may serve up a "character" in its setting, the show gets undeniably stolen when Ralph Fiennes enters the picture slightly after the halfway mark, as the boss character with zero remorse in seeking out those who fail to obey his orders, to dish out some severe punishment to just about anyone who stands in his way. And it's still a graphically violent film since bullets are of the dum-dum variety, leaving a messy trail of blood and some gore when it approaches the climax of the story.

You can read my DVD review of In Bruges at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

[DVD] Jack and Jill vs. the World (2008)

You Don't Like?

A romantic comedy with opposites attracting each other are a dime a dozen, and writer-director Vanessa Parise counts on the eye candy in Freddie Prinze Jr. and Taryn Manning to deliver the goods. You know the usual routine where a serious, rigid man who lives life according to his own rules, get his orderliness thrown upside down when he falls in love with a free-spirited, independent girl who starts to show him the wonderful world of randomness. They bunk in together, and drafts a manifesto to live their lives by, only for the lady to be harbouring a deep, dark secret about her health, for fear of the truth that will make her man bolt out of the front door.

You can't come to expect much from the acting department, suffice to say that the leads share enough chemistry to make this film a tad enjoyable, even though it treaded on the usual formulaic themes. Comedy comes in the form of supporting characters providing best advice to their friends, and one such role has Vanessa Parise in it as well. It's also about the fact that relationships are hard work, not that lovey-dovey nonsense that we get bombarded by the media or some fluffy fairy tale notions, but work that has to take two hands to clap to make it happen, and for the long term.

You can read my DVD review of Jack and Jill vs. the World at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

[DVD] Plasterhead (2006)

Asking For It

While I understand this is a rookie effort from writer-director Kevin Higgins, one wonders if he had absolutely not watched any horror films at all to have included so many cliches from the genre that you can identify them at every turn, or had just lapsed into complete disregard. It is appreciated that he did not venture into the usual bag of cheap tricks in making your hair stand up, but didn't offer any alternative in crafting supposedly scary moments, that it looked very much bland and flat throughout.

There are more bad points about the film than good ones, and I think Plasterhead as a horror film can go down as what one should NEVER do when making a horror movie. As a character, Plasterhead lacked appeal, charisma (yes), has no modus operandi or signature moves that would make it a cult classic. Instead, he came across as very ordinary, save for one, and only one scene where the make up was well done, bringing out disgust without looking cheap.

It had aspired and probably had potential to be included in the Rogues Gallery of Horrific Cinematic Characters, but alas the weak execution, and plenty of bad acting all round, had condemned any thoughts of a sequel to creative hell.

You can read my DVD review of Plasterhead at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

[DVD] Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006)

The Three Amigos

Sure it might have been a cult favourite on Canadian television, and many markets around the world, but somehow the antics of Trailer Park Boys left me unimpressed because they are just being irrelevant for the sake of being so. It does have some really genuinely funny moments, but it's just too few to keep the gag running for a feature film.

Think of it as a couple of white-thrash characters who are bumming around either in their trailer park, or in jail, or scheming up the details of their next big shenanigan, be it ripping off loose change from parking meters, or aspiring to be growing weed at their own backyard. Every joint they smoke is packed with poison to get high, and every thought just happens to be wondering if they'll be getting any that night. It's a social topsy-turvy that just tries too hard to be funny, but mostly fell flat on its face.

I can't imagine if I have to watch episodes from the television series, but this feature film had already put me off that the Trailer Park Boys don't have much material other than thinking the mouthing off of F-words are funny. Too much of a good (or in this case, bad) thing would just put you off.

You can read my DVD review of Trailer Park Boys: The Movie at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Crossing Over

Under Arrest

Like Crash, Fast Food Nation and Babel before it, Crossing Over consists of multiple storylines bound together by a common theme examined, sometimes with just a few characters straddling across the narrative threads to link them up explicitly. Writer-director Wayne Kramer examines the issues behind the illegal immigrant problem in USA who are either trying to lay low in avoiding the law, or trying their best to gain legal residency with each experiencing different challenges that lie ahead in their quest.

And it's quite ambitious for Kramer to try and pull off no less than seven parallel threads in the film, which to a certain extent I felt was largely successful, despite some being almost peripheral if not for the presence of a recognized star. Anchored by Harrison Ford as Max Brogan, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, the film weaves in and out of the different threads without feeling too forced, or the need for some compulsory and carefully designed moments to link the stories up intricately. Sometimes like the six degrees of separation, the film captures the fact that we don't have full details of that web of links, and it will feel very artificial if everyone knew everyone else, or if one event would impact severely on another.

In any case, each of the storylines were engaging enough, some employing deep emotions to argue their case, while others even had to build to a crescendo of all out action, such as a supermarket shootout (one of the nicely executed ones I've seen). There's an illegal Mexican woman (a very short role by Alice Braga) who begs Ford's Max to look after her young son in the care of unfriendly relatives, a Jewish musician (Jim Sturgess) who's waiting to qualify for residency and willing to do just anything to get there, his Australian girlfriend (Alice Eve) and Hollywood actress wannabe who had granted 2 months worth of on-demand sexual favours to an Immigration official (Ray Liotta) in exchange for a green card, whose wife (Ashley Judd) wants to adopt a child placed in a detention centre, who meets an Iranian girl (Summer Bishil whose essay failed to condemn the terrorists of 9/11 and gotten her and her family into hot soup. Then there's a Korean family who is waiting to be naturalized whose eldest son got involved with thugs (ala G0ran Torino rites of passage style), and another ICE agent (Cliff Curtis) whose family cannot stand their estranged sister whom they feel is a disgrace of their values, tradition and custom by adopting the lifestyle of Americans, yet strangely ironic as they too pursue to be American citizens.

Phew, and all this with a little murder mystery thrown into the mix as well. It's about how one aspires to live in a country, yet uncompromising in one's position to adopt and adapt to the new environment. Which brings about some xenophobia, especially if one's too different from the rest, and things are made worst with the citizens unwilling to understand and lend assistance in assimilation to a new country and its idiosyncrasies.

But what seemed to be a common theme here, is how power can be either used to do what's probably morally right, versus abusing it for personal gain. Given three of the lead characters here are law enforcement or in responsible positions in government agencies, it's easy to abuse privilege, and it's nothing new too, even in local context, where sexual favours get traded for leniency or the closing of an eye pertaining to illegal workers, or those here without the proper papers. And since the law is fixed (and sometimes perverse by those who interpret it), and justice blind, I suppose there are times we may be compelled to lend a hand to a stranger out of nothing but on humanitarian grounds, in doing what's right and decent for a fellow human being.

Crossing Over presents many of such situations and while it may be a mixed bag in its narrative, it certainly pushes the right buttons with its star-studded ensemble cast in making the audience think about, empathize with, and examine if the issues presented could have existed in the local context, with similar challenges in the treatment of those who are illegal immigrants.

Taken

One Unhappy Father

It's been just too long waiting for an action thriller that will knock my socks off, given too many bland attempts that left me wondering if the genre is too tired for my liking, with nothing left to wow. Then comes the Europa Corp team of Pierre Morel directing a Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen story, and Taken now ranks as one of my contemporary favourites for its simple story executed with so much style and gripping pace, that you'll be left breathless by the time the end credits roll.

The trailer had one of the best monologues that I'm sure would have put many in the theatres, and probably be representative of the film. You have a stoic looking Liam Neeson as a father who tells the stranger at the end of the other line the conditions that the game will be played in, with perhaps bluff calling against bluff, only for the challenge and gauntlet to be thrown. From then on it's a non-stop adrenaline rush because this daddy happens to be a top ex-covert operative for the US government, so the bad guys essentially have chosen a wrong opponent to play the game with.

The story worked well in dipping into some familiar fears, where daddy's little girl Kim (Maggie Grace) tells her dad lie after lie so as to cover up her tracks in wanting to do things she knows he would disapprove of. Such as, in this case, going on a tour of museums in Paris supposedly, rather than letting him know of her intent of being a groupie with friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy) chasing U2 all over Europe. Some may dismiss this fear as paranoia, but I think that heightened sense of awareness is a by product occupational hazard, and it's always better to err on the side of caution. For any parent who are confident of their kid's conduct, there is absolutely no guarantees that their kids' friends would toe the same line, and there are often those who are magnets for trouble due to their thrill seeking. As is in this case where you see supposed safeguards to lower risks being systematically peeled away.

With his reluctant consent and lessons being thrown in on very simple survival tips (that would even serve well in real life), things still go wrong according to Murphy, and Liam Neeson's Brian has to race against time in finding a needle in the perennial haystack, relying on contacts and skills built over the years in carrying out government missions of prevention to save masses, now to put them into something more personal when addressing what could be any parent's worst nightmare, in having their daughters sold to the sex slave trade.

Action-wise, Morel employs a whole host of fights ranging from gun battles, knives and the good ol' fisticuffs, with Neeson employing some cool Shinsai Goshin Kai moves for close quarter combats to take out opponents. You might balk at how it's probably another one man army movie with the hero ripping through the streets of Paris, but this borders close to the Jason Bourne movies in the way opponents are dispatched without remorse and without much bullshit. It's clinical as it is deadly, just the way I suppose anyone would do so without the very hokey monologues that plague lesser films prior to each kill. The action direction was top notch without resorting to cheap MTV styled quick cuts, and had kept the shaky-cam syndrome at bay, which in turn provided for a pure adrenaline rush for action junkies out there.

Taken well deserved its accolades and I say again, one of the best action thrillers to have hit the screen of late after a number of bland peers. I highly recommend this and it's a shoo-in as a contender for top films of this year. See if you can spot that SQ plane flying overhead in a scene too!

The Sniper (神鎗手 / Sun Cheung Sau)

Top Guns

If not for the picture scandal, this film would have been released about a year ago, and would likely have solidified Edison Chen's position as box office draw given his stellar performance in crime-action flicks like Dog Bite Dog and pop idol fare such as Initial D. But we know what had happened over the span of a year, though I suppose the decision to hold this film back would have helped it in increasing the curiosity surrounding this, given his last / first performance since the scandal. After all, the producers have to make the best out of the situation.

His character in Sniper is a typical Edison Chen persona – young, brash and impatient, toeing the line of the good and possessing that streak of arrogance. As OJ, he aspires to be the top shooter amongst the SDU (Special Duties Unit) Sniper Unit, and is mentored by the team leader Hartman (Richie Ren, who also starred as a sharpshooter in Johnnie To's Exiled) who discovered him during a mission, and is impressed by the upstart. Given the attributes of a sniper – confidence, decisiveness and ruthlessly accurate, egos are swelled and clashes are part of the game, where while it's a team effort, you can't deny those strong individual desire to excel above the rest.

The unfinished business of the earlier generation comes back to haunt the team in the form of the disgraced, and once top shooter Lincoln (Huang Xiaoming), who in a rash, negligent act gets sentenced to imprisonment, and upon release swears revenge on his once buddies. For a moment there was a tussle for the apprentice ala Star Wars style, where the young one found his training under his mentor too stifling and never appreciative of his abilities, and on the other, darker side, becomes seduced by sexier techniques which seem to be the path toward instant results and glory.

But alas the story unfortunately becomes quite fluffy, with the dramatic moments just excuses to string the action sequences together. The runtime under 90 minutes also provided a feeling that the film has been super summarized, given a lot of sub plots being introduced briefly, but never really reaching second base, especially with the relationships of the snipers and the opposite sex. You would wonder why they had even bothered to devote time to this aspect, just to know that the crazed nut Lincoln is terribly infatuated with his girlfriend, OJ's girlfriend is a one scene wonder, and Hartman's estranged wife lies comatose most of the time, waking only to shed tears and raise her voice. I guess in a sniper's life, the only “wife” they take care of, as in the prologue, is their rifle, to protect it with their life or professionally, they're screwed.

Dante Lam's star has been shining rather brightly, and I have enjoyed his recent effort in Beast Stalker. Here, he crafted some wonderful sniper action scenes without resorting too much on the looking-through-the-scope syndrome, striking a balance in being instructional, yet adequately paced to be tension-filled. What I appreciated is his fusion of that psychological element a sniper brings to the table, of the ability of how one man well hidden, and well trained, can take out a platoon or company, because of that element of fear that is introduced. Too bad for the many cardboard supporting villains and victims though, and that strange need to CG some dark clouds and fake lightning to drape many scenes.

Undoubtedly the show belongs to the ensemble cast in oozing machismo as they do battle, but you can't help but to feel that it is Edison who's pulling in the crowds in what could be his last hurrah. In a cruel twist of irony, his character here can't wait to talk to and provide snide remarks to the media, which is a far cry in the real situation he's in now. One can only wonder how things would have turned out if not for that moment of accidental folly.

Notorious

Cool Like That

With the likes of Ray (Charles) and Johnny Walk the Line Cash, it wouldn't be long before Hollywood executives pounce on to make a film about the larger than life (literally as well) persona of gangsta rapper Christopher Wallace aka Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. The conspiracy theories surrounding his abruptly shortened lifespan, his multiple relationships, the East coast West coast music rivalry and his less than stellar growing up years, are all fodder for a biography that just loves to examine how anyone from the depths of society could rise to the top, with fame and fortune all thrown in.

The ensemble cast playing real life musicians also make this movie a draw, where you have Sean "Puffy" Combs, Faith Evans, Lil Kim and the late Tupac Shakur amongst others who make an impact in Wallace's life. Only key songs get some airtime in the film, used to mark the milestones in his musical career. Jamal Woolard in starring in his debut film, has very big shoes to fill but never for a minute looked or felt uncomfortable playing an iconic character, probably because he could have been given some advice by Angela Bassett, who stars as Wallace's mom, and the actress herself one time making audiences round the world sit up with her heartfelt performance as Tina Turner in What's Love Got To Do With It.

It's a straightforward biography told in a very plain manner, and for those who want to have a complete background knowledge before they hit the cinemas, then you just might want to Wiki it, but don't say I didn't warn you as the narrative of the film seemed to have taken a huge leaf out of that.

You can read my review of Notorious at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.