prague

or prag as this film is titled in it's home country
the story is based on a danish couple's visit to this city
danish hearththrob mads mikkelsen plays husband christoffer
i've seen him in a couple of other films - he good
his wife maja here played by unseen-by-me stine stengade
they're in prague to bring back the body of his deceased father
he's a pretty cool (read cold) kind of fellow not given to exposing emotion
they are struggling to make conversation after 14 years of marriage
she there to support him in this closure on this part of his life
though we quickly learn that he hardly knows his father
seems he walked out of his life when he was a 12 year old
there are subtle clues given to the effect this has had on the son
apart from the fear of emotion he seems lacking in confidence
there are just enough clever little pointers to this
like not being able to use a card-swipe on a hotel door
or missing the table as he throws a discarded wrapper at it
this the kind of stuff that i find most welcoming in foreign films
the little things in life that we forget, downplay or ignore
but not this director in this film with a story to tell
the other star of this film is obviously the city of prague
some wonderful scenes highlighting particularly it's architecture
though not in any heavy-handed manner - quite matter-of-fact
as soon as we are comfortable with the characters things get messy
maja has a secret that christoffer confronts her with
this while he is dealing with the issue of his father's death
the expected reaction would be that she would bail out
but she very nobly sticks by him as he does what needs to be done
for she does love him dearly though has tired of his frostiness
so the roller-coaster ride cranks into gear and takes us with it
moments of anger, companionship, rejection, tenderness all mixed up
there are also 2 other strong characters that add major appeal
his deceased father's lawyer has his own secret in the mix
the father's beautiful housekeeper also charges the atmosphere
she speaks czech, the son only danish so another twist in the tale
this film absolutely reeks of real human issues and conflict
the standout scene being when emotions finally come to the boil
seeing the couple arguing aggressively and physically in public
poignant empathy for both as we now understand them well
leading to a quite unexpected and sad conclusion
this is a really powerful human-story film
with some beautiful music in there also
...what did you think david?

berlin

not the place but the album recorded by lou reed
originally released in 1973 and recently revisited by the man
he's put together a huge bunch of musicians and taken it on the road
part 4 of my day at a film festival with the film of the concert on the big screen
i have never owned a lou reed album or given his music much time at all
never liked a walk on the wild side and could never get past it
but curiousity got the better of me and so here i was
with no idea of anything at all that was about to happen
the first surprise was the credits revealing the director
julian schnabel having delivered one of the best films of this year
the diving bell and the butterfly a rich and rewarding piece of art-cinema
in the opening scenes of this film the likeness is obvious
in berlin lou reed has clearly opted to provide a visual feast
with a continual stream of images projected behind the band
the beautiful star of the afore-mentioned film also featured
emmanuelle seigner seems to be well adored by julian schnabel
providing sumptuous imagery in some of the songs from the album
the music itself starts with a feel of a return to a past (musical) time
a very obvious and unmistakeable 70's rock-opera feel coming through
lou reed demonstrating his ability providing the required guitar solos
at times in the first few songs rocking out most convincingly
he has gathered around him an eclectic bunch of musicians
steve hunter also on guitar providing support and lead duties
the usual bass, drums, keyboards doing their jobs well
stage left is a 12 member harlem youth choir
fronted by none other than antony (without the johnsons)
there's an acoustic double bass and a small string section
then over stage right there's a 3 piece brass section
so in some tunes over 20 musicans and singers contributing
to top it off there's a chap seen conducting the whole shebang
lou reed all the time looking his well perfected non-plussed self
but my feeling is he is quite pleased with this show
the camera spends quite a lot of time in close-up on his upper body
quite often there's the smallest of smiles on his now craggy face
in one tune there's a verbal whoop as steve hunter does a stunning solo
and most impressively a clap and acknowledgement of antony's contribution
he really does have a beautiful and unique voice well suited to these tunes
he presumably a fan of lou reed to avail himself for this (and other) concerts
as the tunes rolled on i found myself drawn into it quite completely
the visual spectacle, the performers, the music and the man all combining
at one point i recalled how much more satisfying was this show
than one done by mr jagger and co also using a famous director
here at least the music though quite vintage sounded fresh
and the lead singer had a certain elegance about his performance
assisted by some impressive arrangements of the material
the band letting fly at the end of the film as the credits rolled
sweet jane reminding us of lou reeds more popular tunes
a fine finale to a fine day of four films at this festival

the wave

part 3 of my film festival day was meant to be the orphanage
but the wimp in me was more than a little worried
psycho-horror-thriller-drama stuff always unsettles me
so when the festival program offered an alternative i went for it
the write-up of this german film was quite enticing
based on an real time experiment gone wrong in a californian school
though here relocated to a more appropriate german high school
the opening sees the teacher driving his french car to the school
ramones blasting out of the stereo with their anthemic school song
so an international feel to the film from the opening scene
the premise of the film is that he has freedom of cirriculum for a week
the week to be spent on a project and in his case teaching autocracy
so he very deliberately sets out teaching this in a practical way
this entails the students adopting an emblem, salute and uniform
already sounding a bit derivative but done fairly convincingly
the wave cleverly used as both a salute and emblem
indicating a crashing wave swamping all in it's path
by the middle of the week there's a strong sense of comraderie
and a pervasive sense of righteousness overriding all activities
this quickly includes the application of their emblem all over town
and the marginalising of any student not agreeing to partake
at times i thought the film seemed overly simplistic
possibly not helped by the rapid-fire sub-titles
required to keep pace with this dialogue-heavy film
but at the same time it was difficult to find any real fault with it
the various relationships explored in the film seemed quite plausible
students and teachers reacting unexpectedly as the experiment went on
mostly amongst the students as their personalities quickly evolved
particularly in one case of a previously shy and insecure boy
who's involvement with the wave gave him real meaning in his life
this all pointing very deliberately to how such movements can grow
and in the wrong hands can just as quickly grow out of control
it's no accident that this film is set in germany with it's history
and a mention of current problems caused by unchecked nationalism
in an update on this scenario the use of technology was a warning
with the internet used to spread information and obtain weapons
by the end of the week the teacher recognises the monster he has created
and provides a chilling climax where he addresses his students
firstly as a dictator with full control to make his point very clear
but a full shutdown of the project is not what everyone wants
making for a hugely powerful and disturbing final scene
even if there was no historical parallel it would be telling
but given that perspective and the world today
it's downright scarey what could happen
this one should be mandatory viewing
...especially in schools

the savages

part 2 of a 4 part day of film festival indulgence
the attraction with this one being 4 star ratings from david and margaret
for me a usually reliable guide to the type of films i enjoy
i'd just sat through a very impressive real life story (patti smith)
so even before the film started the fox corporation banner had me reeling
even more with the unexplained opening scenes of aged cheerleaders
but this is because we are in an aged care facility in sun city arizona
seems anything is possible including an old man having some bowel issues
he being the father of john (philip seymour hoffman) and wendy (laura linney)
they live on the east coast living their own struggling lives
she working in casual jobs, writing plays, accomodating a deceitful lover
he a bored english professor and refusing to commit to a loving polish woman
they are brought together with the need to relocate their incapacitated father
it's all a bit act by numbers stuff for these 2 experts i suspect
the first part of the film had me wondering why the rave reviews
and a sense of deja vu of a film that this one seemed to borrow from
a recall of a fine canadian film titled invasion of the barbarians
here too a man is in his final days and reconciling with his family
but frustratingly reconciliation does not take place
there's no doubt the director is no fan of nursing homes
the film is also about the 2 leads and their interaction
a quick falling back to their competitive childhood days
he the pragmatic bloke wanting to sort out his father quickly
she showing female emotion and aware of her past neglect
arguments erupt between the 2 even in the presence of their father
a deliberate and effective way of portraying the loneliness of the aged
the director also determines to introduce a theme of race
some old film footage (fox owned) shown in a nursing home
this film showing a white man applying makeup and a wig
it just so happens that most of the staff are african americans
who naturally take offence at this black and white minstrel show
but there's no development of this bad attempt at a separate theme
except to suggest that african americans make for compliant staff
even more so when one of them is singled out for special mention
he shares a few intimate moments with wendy over her cat
but he too is left in his place and left behind in the film
the cynic in me thinking i'm witnessing overbearing patronising
and so the film works it's way to the expected conclusion
the father also has enough of all this and moves on
leaving our 2 main characters to also return to their lives
though of course they are a little closer for the experience
possibly a little wiser also as each makes some life adjustments
me - well - not a lot to be taken from this film
nursing homes already give me the dreads
don't want to ever visit or live in one
thanks for the reminder

dream a life

patti smith - legendary and iconic american rock musician
i can name one album but couldn't name more than 1 or 2 of her tunes
another artist from the late 70's that i never really got into
largely based on lack of effort rather than lack of interest
she's back on the stage now at the behest of robert zimmerman
this film apparantly has been 10 years in the making
being part of a film festival made it a easy choice on the list
i had read and seen nothing about it prior to this viewing
expectations down to a bunch of old and new concert footage
the film opens with a voiceover from the lady herself
talking us through a list of men in her life that have died
including significantly husband and father of her 2 children
intentionally or not these deaths invoke an empathy with the lady
even more so as she takes up more and more screen time
allowing her sweet down-to-earth personality to be exposed
what is particularly striking with the film is the amount of material
there seems to be any amount of archive footage of the early days
most of the film is grainy black-and-white videocam (?) footage
later scenes and footage also presented in a similar style
so presumably a deliberate intention to make for continuity
35 years of her life is presented in no particular sequence
though a sense of building to a current day climax is always there
the other most impressive aspect of the film is a level of restraint
concert footage is quite minimal and is not strongly featured
in several scenes classical or electronic music plays over the scenes
which then magnifies the strength of the other actual concert footage
the impression being that the film is more about her as a person
so there is a lot of footage featuring her son and daughter
she also takes the camera into the house of her upbringing
a not insignificant amount of screen time spent with her parents
again gently reinforcing the impression that patti smith has a large heart
but she has also lived a unique and indulgent life which is also exposed
patti smith is as much a poet as a singer/guitarist/performer
in one memorable scene she is seen reciting an alan ginsberg poem
live on stage at the poets funeral with philip glass on piano
mr glass being the first of a large number of famous admirers
bob dylan, michael stipe, thom yorke, bono, flea all seen in the film
but most impressively without fanfare and often quite incidentally
though naturally again confirming her place in the musical world
she also uses her fame well - leading a public call for the indictment of g w bush
confidently and convincingly quoting the american constitution
i must admit i had always thought she was a dark almost dour person
but she laughs a good laugh and that also comes to the fore often
most memorably on a beach with flea swapping hilarious toilet stories
as the film headed to it's conclusion i knew i had seen a great film
a piece of art and also very educational and ultimately entertaining
as the credits rolled it occurred to me what the film was about
not so much a homage to an iconic musician from a past time
but more as that musicians homage to her own mentors
and so in that sense explaining her own belief system
one of the best music documentaries i have seen
better get the horses cd i reckon

third

it's been a bit quiet on the music listening front lately
actually have in my possession a bunch of donated/procured cd's
awaiting my listening pleasure so tonight a start is to be made
portishead put out an album in the early 90's that was well loved
though it mostly passed me by - but this one has had some glowing reviews
it comes with the hugely imaginative title for this the 3rd album from the band

silence
you gotta love lo-fi - sounds like a south american radio broadcast
followed by some off-key kind of electric guitar strumming
with some equally harsh sounding electronica, strings, drumbeats
quite a fast beat then in comes that voice - the one and only beth gibbons
did you know what i lost?- did you know what i wanted?

hunter
a slow, slow lead-in with her almost suicidal voice again leading
echo used in the production and some light instrumentation
then electronica cranked up and dropped in the mix for contrasting effect
nothing too original is my thinking but nothing too unpleasant either
after 2 tunes you would suspect they have picked up where they left off

nylon smile
it's all about the voice you see - it's the single obvious point of difference
there's some chaps in there having fun noodling away with electronica
maybe in this case also some real skins in the drum department
the intention is to keep things deliberately monotone-ous while she despairs
i don't know what i've done to deserve you - i don't know what i'll do without you

the rip
ok ease up on the electronica, bring forward the acoustic guitar
stick it in a large room with some echo and again let beth do her thing
then just when it seemed to be predictable wind up the melotrone-like sound
leading to quite a fast-paced tune with the electronica sounding very familiar
yes - there it is - someone with some influence is a joy division fan

plastic
ouch - this one is album-filler material if you ever heard it
get the impression someone has suggested improvisation is kind of cool
which is quite valid in the hands of those who have paradoxically practised it
but here it just sounds like a bit of a waste of time and a reason to avoid it
an out-of tune voice, annoying electronica, and worst of all it probably isn't improvised

we carry on
which is presumably not some tongue-in-cheek title for this middle track
but it is more of the same - echo-production, gibbons-voice, military-drums
joy division-ish guitar so obvious it sounds like a sample but is not
but it's the fingernails-on-the-blackboard electronica that really grates
not happy - i know someone will love this but it isn't me - next!!!!

deep water
oh cute - it's a strummed ukelele with beth laying in the vocals
i've drifted into deep waters - alone with myself - i try not to struggle this time
and then for a complete change a barbershop-quartet style vocal backing
i gotta remember don't fight it - even if i don't like it - deep waters won't scare me tonight
at 1 minute and 37 seconds it's a pleasant relief from what has gone before

machine gun
an obvious name for the rapid-fire fuzz-based electronica at the fore here
get the impression with this one that 2 composers have been at work
she provides the lyrics and the voice on this poem-song
he churns out a very monotonous and unappealing electronic noise-beat
it does sound analogue-ish but boards of canada are much better at it

small
acoustic guitar, echoes, plaintiff vocals - starts interestingly enough
then the monotonic electronic noise machine comes in again and takes over
though also with a real drummer and what sounds like a hammond organ synthesizer
which immediately conjures up memories of a group from the 60's who they are imitating
portishead setting controls for the heart of pink floyd from their early days

magic doors
which is another odd title considering the last tune also gave a huge nod to the doors
a real drum sound and cow-bell leads off on this tune before beth again steps in
some nice piano chords and a dirty production technique make it quite interesting
it's almost catchy except for some odd noise-bridging things happening in the middle
again it sounds like anything but a tune recorded this side of 1980 - intentionally so no doubt

threads
the album closer - could/should be interesting to leave a warm and fuzzy feeling
restrained, slow, melancholic, organic, beth again sounding close to tears
this one again proves that portishead are a trio of very distinctive parts
she on vocals, one he in charge of traditional drums/percussion, other he making noises
this tune almost works thanks to the dominance of drums and held-back electronica

summary
for fans only - not an album to warm to quickly and therefore to be handled with caution - a lot of analogue electronica mixed with an unmistakeable voice

married life

i was swayed by some very favourable reviews of this film
had seen the trailer and thought i'd give it a miss
pierce brosnan as a sauve womaniser seemed a little obvious
late 1940's white middle-class america was just as unappealing
but even more so was another night of olympics saturated tv
and so it was that i sat alone in a little theatre to take in this film
it opens promisingly enough with a song and appropriate graphics
before the real action begins in america half a century ago
first impressions are of the amazing attention to detail
great suits, classic decor, fine furniture, cigarettes everywhere
mr brosnan in the film from the word go as narrator
then lending an ear to his old friend of his infidelity
harry (chris cooper) has surprisingly fallen in love
despite a seemingly happy and loving marriage
but he's a romantic and yearns for true happiness
his new love kay (rachel mcadams) is then introduced
a classically beautiful marilyn monroe-ish lady of class
at which point pierce brosnan delivers the appropriate body language
and so the scene is set for some interesting testing of friendships
harry's wife pat (patricia clarkson) completes the foursome
she is set up as the innocent, loyal and doting wife
fooling everyone on both sides of the camera i suspect
this is a very clever story told in a very convincing way
several times i recall thinking how simple the plot was
but told with such restraint and style in a classic way
no expert at all but hitchcock came to mind several times
especially with murder, the law and suspense all introduced
there are several twists and turns and nothing to assume
but all the time plenty of room for the film to breathe
allowing the actors space to make the roles their own
clever direction meant that the actors seemed very well cast
chris cooper playing to perfection the man you loved to hate
pierce brosnan totally convincing as the world-wise cad
patricia clarkson the loyal wife but with her own needs to fulfill
rachel mcadams the naive girl-woman trying to figure it all out
director ira sachs with a very clear vision and delivery
including a mantra repeated several times by different characters
is it really right to build happiness on the unhappiness of others
in the end this film could have had any number of conclusions
but the everyone-lives-happily-ever-after ending seemed unlikely
and possibly a bit of a quick wrap and exit for the film
but a minor quibble in an otherwise fine period piece
the late 1940's certainly come across as a fine old time
though everything else about it seems contemporary
married life - and all that goes with it

the dark knight

been looking for an excuse to pan a film for a change
and along it comes in the form of this current blockbuster
the fact that it is setting all sorts of records should have been a deterrent
seems there's a morbid fascination in seeing heath ledger's last effort
that and the power of his performance are the big drawcards
add in there that it's a batman movie and in rolls the cash
i'm also blaming the lack of options in the town of current domicile
but that's just a poor excuse for my own poor choice of film
it opens interestingly enough with a bank heist in progress
but this is all about introducing the sadistic joker (heath ledger)
along the way various baddies get blown away in a ruthless manner
which is about where i realised my mistake - and lowered expectations
there are 6 other main characters played by big name actors
christian bale plays bruce wayne and batman - mr carisma-not
aaron eckhart is the new d a in town and is frustratingly silly
maggie gyllenhaal is the gorgeous love interest of both but appears quite bored
gary oldman hides behind glasses and a mo hoping no-one will recognise him
morgan freeman continues to oblige with his vununcular (thanks wm) roles
michael caine does his usual role as the happy-go-lucky geezer
then there's a cast of thousands of other ubiquitous vanilla characters
the whole thing is built on the premise that batman is now redundant
the new d a has taken a tough approach and cleaned up the city
but the joker is not going to have anyone spoil his fun
and somehow manages to outsmart everyone and keep at it
appearing all over the place and setting up large and complex traps
in one scene we see a complete building (an empty hospital) blown up
no computer animation here so that explains a few million in the budget
with little in the plot (a generous word) to explain the need for this
though typical of everything that happens throughout the film
there's the mandatory car chase with armoured cars and trucks
huge vehicles upended, flipped, rolled, pranged, drowned, destroyed
technology as expected is used to impress and confuse us
batman has eyes (or fittings) that see through walls (move over superman)
so the director has fun putting us behind those eyes and laying it on
many sequences of computer animation depicting such views
another scene with a bank of computer screens used to track down the baddy
with a very dubious explanation of how they are used to do this
but hey it looks impressive enough so forget the technicalities
in the end it's just too silly to be taken seriously
which is another mistake considering it's comicbook origins
but i was hoping for some darkness, edge, scary reality-possibility
everyone is raving about heath ledger's oscar-likely performance
he really is the most credible thing about the whole film
his blackened eyes (and pupils) making for a convincing evil-doer
i'm sure i could detect other actors squirming in his close presence
though i'm not sure that his few excellent scenes are oscar material
but given that universal studios are rolling in the cash based on it
it seems only appropriate that hollywood lays on an honour
cause it would be a stretch to give it to best film, director, etc
and there is no oscar for the biggest box-office success
so go heath - your performance at least warrants it
not like the rest of this very silly film
what a waste of time
damn

in the shadow of the moon

i do enjoy seeing a good documentary on the big screen
especially one such as this with footage best seen in large format
this is a nostalgia trip into deep space during the 1960's
documenting the various apollo trips and moon landings
the film opens in the early 1960's with some background footage
firstly introducing the various crew members as test pilots, etc
and importantly also showing footage of john f kennedy
making the pledge to congress to land a man on the moon
this before the end of the decade a few short years away
bringing to mind failed pledges of u s presidents since then
(i.e. just about everything promised by the incumbent president)
but in the early 1960's earnest optimism seems to abound
not to mention an almost sycophantic loyalty to the main man
and so nasa responds to the challenge and goes to work
the film documents a few failings along the way but not much else
for it's then a fast forward to the end of the decade
there are 10 talking heads featured in the film
each one an astronaut who went to or walked on the moon
they are seen in close-up then and now as they tell their stories
slightly disappointing is the omission of the reclusive neil armstrong
though he is spoken of in reverential terms by his peers
the historical footage used in the film is of an amazing quality
we see in great detail the launch of the apollo 11 mission
in itself a mind-boggling test of physics and engineering skills
then once free of the earth's atmosphere the film also changes
for now it is a very gentle journey of discovery with the astronauts
these quite humble men then describe their feelings of what they see
adding a whole new dimension to some familiar photos and footage
michael collins description of the fragility of earth is quite moving
as is the on-board talk as they watch the earth rising over the moon
as they descend to the moon's surface it becomes quite tense
we know the outcome but for me this is a new adventure
a sense of travelling with the astronauts to this strange place
then comes footage of the armstrong and aldrin on the moon's surface
including of course the most famous lines quoted by neil armstrong
footage of subsequent lunar landings by other missions is mixed in
just incredible scenes in amazing detail of a quite eerie place
then in equal detail we see the departure and return to earth
again highlighting the sheer scale of the physics involved
e.g. they return to earth at 39,000 feet per second
again we know the outcome but it's easy to sense the elation
as the 3 astronauts in apollo 11 become heroes on earth
and subsequently travel the world on a goodwill mission
deliberately reinforcing this human (not american) success story
fulfilling john f kennedy's pledge but now with nixon in power
a bit of footage of the vietnam war making for a sobering comment
and for me pointing to a time when the world changed forever
this film also has a beautiful and totally appropriate soundtrack
just the most amazing film that everyone should see