My week in film - 22 April

This week's films continues to be foreign dominated as I try to educate myself in the non-English language genres.

Film of the Week

Battle Royale - *****
(2000, Japan, Koushun Takami)

As a European film fanatic who adores realism and 'grittiness', the thought of a Japanese film with plenty of gruesome violence did not thrill me. Maybe I am too eurocentric? This film centres around a society where there is an ongoing terror campaign between adults and young people. As a result, the government introduce an Act to make one class every year to take part in the Battle Royale, where each student is given a weapon and the winner is the one still alive after three days. It is unbelievably engaging despite its gruesome nature. It creates that moral dillema of whether you would kill if put in the same situation knowing that if you did not, you would die. I wrestled with my moral conscious and concluded at this point in my life, I could not do it. However, when I was their age, I potentially could have with the amount of hate I had for some of my peers if I had to kill (of course I would never choose to kill). A remarkable film and, in situations like this when I try to educate myself in film, it is all worthwhile because there was no way I would have ever watched such a film otherwise. It is disappointing that a lot of people who like their blockbusters will never see this because of subtitles when this is a perfect example of action films done well. A must see.

Other Films

Cinema Paradiso (Feature Version) - ****
(1989, Italy, Giuseppe Tornatore)
Another cinema history lesson. A delightful tale of a cheeky young Italian boy who becomes obsessed with the local cinema in the post WWII Italian society. We see his passion, as well the charming relationship with the projectionist, develop as he later becomes a renowned film maker. This Oscar winning film has the same charm as Life is Beautiful and projects an air of innocents. Its influence can be seen in other mediums, such as Dawson's Creek. It slightly slows down towards the end, but it can be forgiven because the journey is so beautiful. I fully understand why this is a classic.

Prozac Nation - ****
(2001, USA, Eric Skjolldbjaerg)

See An Ode to Prozac Nation

Skoonheid/Beauty - ***
(2011, South Africa, Oliver Hermanus)
South Africa's nomination for the 2012 Foreign Language Oscar tells the story of a repressed, middle aged, middle class man who becomes obsessed with the beautiful Charlie Keegan, and partakes in group sex with other married men. This is despite being overtly homophobic and racist. His obsession results in disturbing results and shows what can happen when individuals are not allowed to express and act on their desires. Oliver Hermanus portrays the closeted central character extremely well and the conflict between the man he thinks society expects him to be and his internal desires was superb. Where this film falls down is it tries too hard to be 'Art House' through extensive shots, but ultimately fails. Worth a viewing but not one that I will visit again.

Beginners - **
(2010, USA, Mike Mills)

A film with a lot of potential. A story told of a dying elderly man who came out in later life and his son's (Ewan McGregor) disastrous love life. The film starts with the father (Christopher Plummer) on his death bed  and the film switches back and forth like there is no tomorrow. I do not mind films that do this, but it just became too hard to follow. What was interesting was the story of the father establishing his sexuality. The development of his relationship and his new found circle of gay friends was interesting and i wish the film developed this much more making him the centre of the film. Instead we had Ewan playing a dysfunctional man in his 40s who cannot maintain a relationship and the father is a side plot. Disappointing.

My week in film: 15 April 2013

Being unemployed means that I have had more time to watch films.  I am trying to expand my cinema knowledge which is why classics, especially in foreign language films, have featured so highly.

Film of the Week

The Wizard of Oz - *****
(1939, USA, Victor Fleming and King Vidor)

I have a secret. Despite appearing in countless theatre productions of the Wizard of Oz as a kid, I had never actually seen the film version! I know they will not let me in the gay club if they found out! I am sure you are all aware of the storyline so I want to focus on the gay undertones of the film. Obviously there is the Judy Garland connection and the Lion is as camp as a row of tents, but I think there is a wider relevance and reflection on the current lifestyle of gay men today. The colourful land of Oz reflects a gay world; the lack of courage, brain and heart can nowadays reflect the Vauxhall or Circuit Boys and I could go on forever with the relevance of this film. The special effects are nothing compared to today's attempts but that does not matter. This is a superb musical and I am someone who is not a huge fan of musicals (once again, do not tell anyone that!).

Other Films

Persona - ****
(1966, Sweden, Ingner Bergman)
This is the definition of European Art House Cinema. A 'classic' which revolves around the changing volatile relationship between a nurse and her patient, an actress who has become mute. The film starts with the nurse delivering wonderful monologues to her patient which becomes personal and damaging. As the film develop, we learn that the actress is studying the nurse and is exposed to pretending to be mute. It is a classy heavyweight film that is visually superb even if the story becomes sluggish towards the end.


North Sea Texas - ****
(2011, Belgium, Bavo Defune)

This film is a coming-of-age gay story set in rural Flemish Belgium. It manages to differentiate itself from usual European coming-out stories, such as Presque Rien, as the film focuses more on the relationship with his mother and his boyhood love, Gino. This film was moving and beautiful which depicts well the extent of rural poverty as well as the vile mother. There were touching moments, like when he wears his mother's clothes. The developing sexual relationship with his best friend raises interesting questions about what extent young teens 'experiment' or are they really bisexual but society shapes us to be heterosexual. This film is not as stunning as any Xavier Dolan film, but a credible debut and I will look forward to his next attempt.

21 Jump Street - ****
(2012, USA, Phil Lord and Chris Miller)

After last week's Channing Tatum disaster film, I had little confidence in this week's offering when 21 Jump Street arrived. I had never heard of this film, which shows how isolated and snobbish I am about the Hollywood Blockbuster. I was more than presently surprised. Other than the eye candy Channing offers, this was a funny, if sometimes over the top comedy when two guys who were of different social circles at high school become best friends when training to become police cops. They are asked to go undercover to tap some drug dealers in a school where a mistake causes them to swap social circles. it is over the top in parts but I laughed out loud more than I expected. This film also shows Channing can act and I really hope he trys and do something a bit more indie.

The Idiots - ***
(1998, Denmark, Lars Von Trier)

The Idiots was the second film to achieve the Dogme 95 status - a punkish European method of film making focusing on the realism of the acting, scenery and directing as a back lash to the Hollywood Blockbuster. You can see how the style of this film has influenced a number of Foreign art house cinema as this film's appearance is realist and your focus is solely on the acting and story. And what a story it was.

It tells the story of a group of anti-establishment individuals that go around making different people uncomfortable by pretending to be people with severe learning and mental disabilities. However, as the film develops, their actions get out of hand. At first I was offended by their behaviour but eventually saw what their aim was - to highlight the hypocrisy society has around disabled people. However, at times this film was hard work and intentionally difficult to watch. This is one of those films that make you feel emotions and stays with you for a few days as it is so disturbing at times. Films are art and should make you feel emotions, which this film easily does. However, this film was a little uncomfortable for me to ever watch this again.

Ten Canoes - **
(2006, Australia, Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr)

An anthropological film about original aboriginal society which has featured highly within world cinema circles. I feel this is partly due to the lack of aboriginal language films out there. At times, this film gets slightly tedious and the narrator's story telling feels very fragmented. however, the one factor that saves this film is the stunning pictures which benefits from the black and white format.

The Seminarian - **
(2010, USA, Joshua Lim)

A disjointed tale of a gay guy who is writing a thesis on love and God in a fundamentalist Christian College. I am afraid this film had too many flaws for me to enjoy it. Apart from the accepted wooden acting due to the low budget, the whole story was just bits of different story line shoved together in one film. Despite the main character, Ryan, being out to two friends and no family, he seemed quite happy and content rather than paranoid in the closet. He had quite an overt gay identity, there is one scene where he is visiting his dad's grave with his mum and she is wearing 'camp' clothes, i.e. skin tight top, and is mincing towards the grave. Of course, there is nothing wrong with gay men being feminine, but if you are trying to hide your sexual identity, this is not the way to go. I just felt there was no repression considering his environment. Eyes Wide Open and Latter Days does this theme a lot better. I am afraid this is one to avoid.

My week in films - 08 April 2013

One of my main hobbies is watching films. I am generally not the type who will regularly turn up to the cinema, especially the amount they charge these days. I also find the audience's reactions to be irritating and therefore prefer to watch random titles in the comfort of my own bedroom using a rental package.

I am not a big fan of block busters, but my tastes are a strange mixture of foreign language films and 'LGBT' films. I think this is a way I like to explore my sexuality and defining myself. Anyway, each week I hope to do a short recap and review of all the films I have watched. I will do separate reviews for any gay film which I have particular enjoyed.

08 April 2013

Film of the week

Amour - *****

(2012, France, Michael Haneke)

Wow, what a film. The French winner of Best Oscar in a Foreign Language Film is a real must for any world cinema film fans out there. The film focuses on an elderly straight couple's relationship following a mild stroke. This film is drenched in realism and not always the easiest to watch as the stroke deteriorates the women's health. However, the way Jean-Louis Trintignant portrays the loving husband who will do anything for his dying wife was utterly moving and reminds even the most relationship phobic of us the benefits of companionship and love in our lives. The only minor criticism is that they could have used Isabelle Hubbert a lot more - she is one of my favourite actresses!

A gritty film but a worthy Oscar winner.

Other Films

A Royal Affair - *****

(2012, Denmark, Nicolaj Arcel)

Had this been any other week, this could easily be my film of the week. Also short listed for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, A Royal Affair tells the story of a young Queen who marries a vile and abusive King in the eighteenth century. It is then that she develops a relationship with the King's physician who is secretly an 'Enlightenment'. Together they sew the seeds of liberalism that are the roots of modern Denmark. Surprisingly beautiful and engaging and not stuffy as I was expecting. Well worth viewing.

The Killing of Sister George - ****

(1968, UK, Robert Aldrich)

This tells the story of an ageing actress who looses her job and her younger partner. Having read reviews of this ground breaking lesbian film, critics have been united in saying that in modern society, the lesbian shock factor is none existent and therefore this film becomes uninteresting. Yes, the lesbian sex scene is not really shocking by today's standards but the portrayal of an abusive same sex relationship is something that is still not portrayed in film or TV. We are still stuck with stereotypes and victim characters who are being bullied/coming out/are HIV positive. Therefore, I think this film is still pushing the boundaries.

Ben-Hur - ***

(1959, USA, William Wyler)

A regular entrant in any top films of all time lists and it is easy to understand why. The daddy of the block buster and the definition of a historical epic. The film, at almost four hours, does feel like a religious studies lesson and steps into religious propaganda at times. However, it remained engaging for most of the time and an important film to further my cinema education. 

Did I enjoy it? A little, yes. Will I watch it again? Probably not.

Fighting - *

(2009, USA, Ditto Montiel)

This film tells the story of Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) who becomes drawn into the underground world of street fighting. I have to admit that the only reason I watched this was because I want to do dirty things with Channing Tatum. Other than the eye candy, this film was dull and formulaic and I would have enjoyed it more if I had watched it listening to the radio and with mute on.