Two days, One night (2013)

My inability to construct a decent written flow these days (but, I will still try). Out of impatience to say it all without taking too long. Hinders the potentially elegant style of a journalistic text and promotes the fragmented, goal-oriented style of business plans. Bullet points, short descriptions, absence of rhetoric devices. Words are just the means of conveying meaning these days. Beauty in the words is a luxury. And luxury costs money.

Sin City 2: Where Blood is Coloured White

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) is a sequel some were impatiently waiting for, for almost a decade. Did it worth the anticipation/hype? More or less. Did it catch us by surprise?  It certainly didn't, as it's hard for a sequel to bring new elements in the game, but we loved it anyways. Sin City brings back nearly forgotten heroes and monsters from an era long gone.

Performances & Characterisation

Ex Dark Angel Jessica Alba is more stunning than ever. And oh-so-innocent. Contrapuntal Eva Green is the archetype of femme fatale, trying to beat her predecessors in classic film noirs. No matter how impressive the looks, she doesn't win the competition with the likes of Lana Turner and Barbara Stanwyck. She ends up an amusing caricature though, a devouring sex goddess with such a harsh/ exaggerated outline that makes thinking men unable to fall/kill for her (at least in real life). Same goes for the whole gang: their traits, whether physical or character ones are seen through the magnifying glass -something which accommodates us. It accommodates our politically-correct selves -we find it hard to identify with them, thanks God. But, one cannot expect subtlety in the adaptation of a graphic novel, right?

Shock Tactics 

Beware: this is R rated material. Banned in Iran, while in fast-forward Canada 14 year olds are allowed in screenings, the film is not a valid choice when in chill out mood. Highly sensitive souls will have to cover their eyes for the biggest part of the movie (sic) and they will still be agitated nevertheless. Of course, it's not the "sexual content, nudity or short drug" use we disapprove of.  It is the "strong brutal stylised violence throughout". Those sequences must have been a pain to shoot and I appreciate cast and crew and extraordinary stuntmen for their contribution, but, guys, that was so intense an experience that I was unable to sleep until four thirty in the morning.  

Venus in Fur (2013)

Some say it's a song, other's say it's a painting. It's all that, as well as a book, a theatre play and lately an entertaining film by Roman Polanski. But, Venus in Fur(s) is more than this; Venus in Fur(s) is a game we like to play every too often.

Gravity (2013) is much appreciated

I never thought I would write an elegy for Sandra Bullock. But, when they say "never say never", I guess they are right; I totally feel like writing an elegy for her performance in Gravity (2013), indeed. Even if part of the credit goes to the Alfonso Cuaron for being the director he is (a director able to achieve concrete results with a largely abstract scenario like this one), his female lead cannot go without praise.

Frantic (1988)

fran·tic (adj.)

1. Highly excited with strong emotion or frustration; frenzied: frantic with worry.

2. Characterized by rapid and disordered or nervous activity: made a frantic last-minute search for the lost key.

3. Archaic Mad; insane.

That's how  the Free Dictionary defines the title that Roman Polanski gave to his exciting thriller, and it got it all correct. There is a certain unpleasant incident/situation that makes Dr Richard Walker -played by a Harrison Ford who seems to be in his thirties, but is in his early forties instead- frantic in every possible sense; he is definitely frustrated, very emotional, making nervous/random efforts to re-establish order and he is taken for mentally ill for his efforts, not only by the police, but also by other people in his entourage.

The story goes like this: Dr Richard Walker, an American doctor arrives in Paris for a certain professional convention with his wife, expecting to have a second honeymoon of sorts. Having left their children back home, they expect some thrill for a change, to forget their peaceful  (read mundane) life, but not a thrill of this kind. They hardly had a relaxing shower in their hotel room (a reference to the shower scene we will never forget, hail Hitchcock), and Mr Walker realizes that Mrs Walker has gone missing. Nobody wants to take him seriously, but he is certain his wife knows no one in town and she would never leave without letting him know first.

Alfred and Alma: Hitchcock was not alone

"Alma was to become Hitchcock's closest collaborator, but her contributions to his films (some of which were credited on screen) Hitchcock would discuss only in private, as she was keen to avoid public attention."

That being noted by one of the master of suspense biographers', I am keen to feel that it maybe was otherwise. Hitchcock was probably too egocentric; that's another suggestion that hides in a not quite recent biography by Stephen Rebello under the title Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. The book was published in the nineties, but it got made into a film last year. Hitchcock (2012), features an obese (for the role's sake), but still not as much as needed, Anthony Hopkins in the title character and Helen Mirren as Alma, the director's invisible wife and collaborator. 

Weird enough, but I've never heard of that poor wife, until I watched the film. That great wife. Brave wife. I've heard numerous stories about Hitchcock's obsession with his blondes, probably exaggerated, annoying stories. I took it that he was apparently not married, to have the recklessness to allow his obsessions to become public. But, no. He was married all the way, and his supportive wife was there for him, put up with his fantasies and even helped him when things got rough career-wise.

Why are The Birds yet to come?

The Birds are all about Freud and the power of the maternal leash that does not stay off her male child according to Slavoj Zizek and his Pervert's Guide to Cinema. Valid analysis for me, but I could also take the one that states that we have on screen a graphic example of nature attacking back, after years and years of slavery under man's indifferent hands.

Gulabi Gang (2012)

India is changing, no matter how slowly. It's a message full of hope, coming from a documentary that takes upon the deeds of Sampat Pal Devi, a middle aged Indian who dared to go against social injustice in general and domestic abuse/violence that women are largely facing in particular; she questioned the children marriages, the dowries, the corruption of the authorities that remained idle in many cases due to bribery and she managed to bring about a wind of change.

Fill the Void (2012)

Discovery Zone Luxembourg City Film Festival  -as the full title goes- brought lovely Rama Burshtein over, to present her first overwhelmingly successful feature Fill the Void (2012). Audience was too shy to ask important questions during the Q & A sessions -we're in Northern Europe after all- but I was surprised enough to find out for myself that Rama is a smoker and that she became a supporter of the Haredi Jewish community (the most conservative form of orthodox Judaism according to Wikipedia) on her own will, and not as a result of parental upbringing. Last but not least, she is quite humble and she actually feels strongly about respect towards women -her community does show great respect to them, she asserts (even if to some of us the film gives slight hints for the opposite). 

Matrimonio all'Italiana or Those Beautiful Fools

It's commonly known as Marriage Italian Style (1964), but I have to resist to internationalism. Especially these days, when my heart still beats in Italian. Even though my physical entity is surrounded by all these Germanic tribes; they look calm and detached; their mouths slightly open; barbaric sounds fly towards me; menacing sounds, no single gesture, no body language to accompany the exactitude of whatever is being stated. No fanfares needed here; nowhere the written word is closer to the spoken, except for the "oder" in the end of each sentence. Out of respect to the opposition, naturally.

Ruby Sparks...and God created Woman

Talking on air on Ara City Radio last week on Friday Flicks, it was probably the first time I got so excited about a film. It was my very own tip of the week; I dared to name it in my flamboyant fashion "the perfect film". Ben believed I have seen the film already, due to my overwhelming dedication. I had only seen the trailer once.

Ruby Sparks (2012) is by no means "the perfect film";  I  do tend to have great expectations, a bothersome characteristic I try to diminish from a very young age. Ruby Sparks is, still, a refreshing film with  sweet moments, actors we love and some others we are falling in love with. Like Zoe Kazan, who succeeded in doing what she left unfinished in HappyThankYouMorePlease (2010). There she was plain annoying. Being Ruby Sparks, she is real, she is happy, she is sad and charming, she is the maze of life. It could be that she loved the character too much, as she is her creator. Even though she plays the creation. I will get back to that in a bit.

Venice Film Festival goes 69

I would love to be in Venice for the Festival, especially this year. Officially, it's number 69, but it's the 80th time they do it; it's bound to be the best -clammed in connotations. An equal give and take, it brings in mind.

The visuals complement my thought: just take a look at the poster. A blue rhino in a boat, a child (or man) fishing. They are afloat, thanks to the seventh art, cinema, according to Ricciotto Canudo. The image is alive because cinema exists; they are probably being filmed. Magical realism together with some Occupy Wall street scent. This is a statement, indeed.

69 Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica will take place in Venice from 29 August till 8 September. It hearts quality this year, they say. I say it dares to be different; opening night with Mira Nair and her new film The Reluctant Fundamentalist. How often do we see an opening night featuring a woman director, let me wonder. Albeit, an Indian one.

Young Adult (2011)

Okay, okay, it's a tad too late for one more opinion on the new Jason Reitman, I know, but certain films take ages to arrive here. And you know what? Young Adult, indie enough,  starring Charlize Theron, written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman is screening happily for the second or third week in Utopia, which is the sophisticated or sort of alternative cinema of the area. Young Adult is not a crowd-pleaser, so it had no place in a cineplex in this country.

That said, this is a somehow unpleasant, but well-crafted and thought-provoking film. Diablo Cody said that she put a lot of herself to the main character, an adult who did not properly grow up and is still obsessing with her teenage life. So, after giving us Juno, a film about teenagers that take life seriously she now turns that world upside-down; she writes about an adult who thinks that life is a set of high-school intrigues of sorts.

Desert Flower and Female Genital Mutilation

“When I was a child, I said, ‘I do not want to be a woman.’ Why, when it is so painful? Let us try and change what that means, to be a woman.”

Waris Dirie was the first woman to make the practice of Female Genital Mutilation public. She talked openly about the experience she suffered as a child, when  living in Somalia in a nomadic tribe, during an interview that brought awareness to the subject. She then went on to become a UN ambassador for the abolition of FGM and she is now actively working towards the cause.

Insatiable is my Name: Russ Meyer's Vixen! (1968)

Vixen! was the film that catapulted Russ Meyer in the international vixendome. "The King of the Nudies", as he was referred to -a title he full-heartedly chose to adorn his headstone with- is well-known for his big breast fixation, weird sense of humour and sexploitation crescendo.

His Amazonian, insatiable women often portray such vigour and  men-hunting qualities that one can see them as a token of feminism more than victims of a sexist society. They can be as empowering, as tortured. objectified and ridiculed, if we look at the big picture, though; so don't blame me on proclaiming Russ Meyer a hardcore feminist, even if his dominant women can definitely be described as sending out a feminist message. 

Scorsese and Women; Guilt and Pleasure: Who's that Knocking

Machismo is definitely what Scorsese is linking back to most of the time;  Scorsese did direct Alice doesn't live here anymore (1974), a road-movie  that won Ellen Burstyn an Oscar, though. It's an ok melodrama, but nothing impressive. Mafia and gangsters, weirdos, defiant personalities and secret agents are definitely more impressive, especially if they have the Original Sin in the back of their  heads to give the story an unpleasant twist.

Sabrina Ouazani is an Algerian Beauty

But Lambert Wilson is an asshole. An ignorant. A peasant. To put in nicer, no real gentleman. I'm sure most of you landed on this page via Google search you know the incident better than me -it dates back to spring 2010. The setting: an actress in her twenties -one that takes everything with a smile, the failure of an actor in his fifties, Cannes Film Festival; they co-star in the film, they have a photo call together. She is ravishing, and she is probably his (poor girl); he wants to show off, which he shamelessly does. Lambert Wilson has the nerve to be inappropriately intimate with Sabrina Ouazani in front of  thousands of cameras and photo journalists, consecutively in front of the millions of gossip fans. He then feels ashamed and kisses the producer, too, to make his faux pas a bit lighter. Or my story is just fictional and he wanted to attract attention to his bad boy(?) persona. Whatever, idiot; stay in your black list for good.

The Intriguing Life of Scarlett Johansson

"Relationships are complicated. Being married is a living, breathing process. I think I was not fully aware of the peaks and the valleys." Says who? Someone that should know, I reckon, after having many affairs, relationships with peers or older men -Sean Penn included- and was already married and divorced, all that at the age of 27.

Scarlett Johansson, really makes me wonder once more if marriage is an appropriate thing for any busy individual. For an individual that having a family was not his/her biggest dream in life. She said that she was not prepared to do the work it takes, a common problem among people I know; we are not prepared, we have other priorities, but, keen in multi-tasking, we assume that a serious relationship or/and marriage can be one among these tasks. Maybe not...

A Look at Israeli Cinema: Kadosh (1999) with Yaël Abecassis

Our brilliant Cinémathèque here in Luxembourg City is featuring some Israeli Cinema these days, in the form of a festival called Regards sur le cinéma israélien and of course I would not miss it; I must admit it was a first, though. I should maybe also admit that I tend to favour the Palestinians, conflict-wise, if it's not very politically incorrect to say it like that, light-heartedly.

The programme, which goes on till mid-December, includes newer and older films, like Revolution 101, a Mike Moore-ish documentary by Doron Tsabari, Three Days and a Child (1969) that is part of the Israeli New Wave (yes, they do have one, as everybody else!), La Visite de la fanfare (2007) that won the Jury Prize at Cannes' section Un Certain Regard, and many more, most of them of festival circuit and art-house cinema fame.

According to the cinema historian Ariel Schweitzer, Israeli cinema is from the beginning of the 80s "a cinema of the Other", when the Other is, as Emmanuel Levinas and many other philosophers put it, the opposite of Me -and Me is a male potent human being that does everything right. The Other, in other words, may be: women, homosexuals, non-believers, and Palestinians, in this case.

Mermaids reign the world II

Yet another post dedicated to mermaids and to individuals who concentrate in detail and lose the big picture --if I want to be frank, though, I cannot deny that I am very well located between them.

Pirates of the Caribbean IV is here the film in question, which, is, frankly, a quite boring film from a certain perspective. If you see it as a whole, there is no solid narrative, rather a generic storyline of random meetings on solid ground or on board on Stranger Tides, no twists, no suspense at all, and nothing very impressive from the actors' side either; we know already the Johnny Depp's ultimate creation of a character, Jack Sparrow, a persona combining traits of The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon character Pepé Le Pew and we like him. But, we miss Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom; then, we get a busty Penélope Cruz instead, which is just not enough. But, we also get the mermaids...

I am now ready to say that the film is worth it, solely because of this extraordinary take on this imaginary creature. It's a total re-creation, a complete make-over of the mermaid as we know her from Andersen's story The Little Mermaid. She is now closer to Homer's version of a femme fatale mermaid, one who sings to enchant and lure sailors to their rocky island to (possibly) eat them. One who sings so powerfully, that Ulysses will prefer to suffer tied in the mast, listening to them, but unable to approach them.

What we learn more in Rob Marshalls's take of our beloved piratic saga(his musical directing past doesn't add up to the movie, as expected) is that even though they usually look good, they have their scary moments. The evolution made them now something more than a combination of a woman and a fish; they now have some vampiric aspects, i.e. teeth, as vampires are in nowadays, claws and they produce a cat-like cry when attacking. When calm, they still look gorgeous, though.

Wonderfully devised, these creatures speak English with a cute accent, as if it's a new language for them (isn't it?), that reminds the cute French accent --I have to congratulate the casting director here for choosing French debutant Astrid Bergès-Frisbey to feature as the amorous mermaid; she has the look. Mermaids are also cold-hearted and rarely cry, they grow legs if they are out of the water, obviously a Splash! legacy, where a stunningly young tall and blonde Daryl Hannah suffers when imprisoned, exactly like Syrena.

Ah, these mermaids. You really have to love them, to bear them. (And you maybe have to be Greek, to be obsessed with them).