A Sparse Story of Men in Prison (rated 4 stars)

Le Trou - Criterion Collection

by Jacques Becker

Jacques Becker’s final film, Le Trou is a sparse character portrait of men in a French prison who share a cell and plan on escaping. With no music and an understated precision to his direction, we gradually come to know each of the characters and their plan as Becker reveals the information that we need to know. The characters are quite complicated and the film resists the impulse to paint characters as good or bad, but is more concerned with portraying their humanity. The tension builds and we follow along with characters as we wonder if they will be successful. Becker was one of the French directors who preceded the Nouvelle Vague, but was admired by them for his portrayal of complex characters and French society.

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A Remarkable Look at the Paris Commune

La Commune

by Peter Watkins

Peter Watkins makes provocative films that fiercely criticize those in power and their institutions. Using documentary techniques along with improvisation and handheld cameras he creates powerful films that somehow transcend the limitations of both drama and documentary to come up with something that adds more to the debate and prompts you to think about and question what you see. In La Commune (Paris, 1871) Watkins uses a cast of a couple hundred people who improvise and reenact within the framework of the events surrounding the Paris Commune in 1851. The anachronistic narrative conceit that frames the story is television news as we see reports broadcast during the events. But the film moves from clever to brilliant as the lines between improvisation and reality are blurred as the crew asks the actors if they would do this now. It becomes at times an amazing look inside French society that shows that maybe things haven’t changed that much. Both historically and technically it’s a remarkable achievement that was spurned by broadcasters and will probably have a much larger audience over time through the DVD release.

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A Populist Love Story About Movies (rated 5 stars)

Be Kind, Rewind

Our past belongs to us, we can change it if we like.

Michel Gondry brings his distinctive sensibilities to Be Kind Rewind and creates a film that is about a community and people who love movies. With distinctive and somewhat naive characters who almost could have walked out of a film by Frank Capra, it has a sentimental feeling while not being overly sweet. While the promotion of the film seems to be setting it up as a Jack Black comedy, it’s a surprisingly sophisticated look at how we relate to each other through the movies that we love and our own history. I loved the film for the strange point of view and infectious optimism and how it reminds us that a film only exists with an audience.

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A Musical Tour of the Idea of Bob Dylan (rated 4 stars)

I'm Not There

It’s a bold idea to take the details of Bob Dylan’s life and music and to tell an episodic story with 6 different actors playing different versions of him. That’s what attracted me to the film as I appreciate Dylan’s music, but I’m not a huge fan. What surprised me was how much fun the film was and the skillful way that Todd Haynes was able to blend together the stories and clever allusions to different films and filmmmakers. So while I’m not well-versed in Dylan trivia, the cinematic trivia kept me interested and fascinated as biography, history and music swirled around. There aren’t a lot of biopics that have allusions to Fellini and quote dialogue from Godard.
Of all the Dylans in the film, Cate Blanchett is transcendent as Jude Quinn. When she shows up in the film it’s exciting and electric. Arriving home after the film a biography of Dylan was on the tv and seeing footage of Dylan from the time that Blanchett builds her character around made me think that she did a better job than Dylan himself.
It was a lot of fun and in many ways it’s a better way to explore the ideas and personas of Bob Dylan than a more traditional documentary.

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A Beautiful Journey Inside a Mind (rated 5 stars)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I’m glad that I didn’t know (or didn’t remember) much about The Diving Bell and the Butterfly before I saw it as part of the wonder of the film is in the way that story is told and the surprises along the way. Visually and aurally stunning, it is a story of love and regret that isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. With great performances throughout and a structure that blends impressions with a loose plot, it made me see, hear and feel the world in a different way after I left the theatre.

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A review of "Inland Empire (2pc) (Amar)"

Inland Empire (2pc) (Amar)

It took about 30 or 40 minutes for it to start working for me, but then it clicked and I was absorbed into the strange, dreamlike world that David Lynch creates with Inland Empire. Confusing at first, but then the dream logic started to make sense, but just like a dream, it can sound pretty incoherent when you start to describe it to someone. The film is shot on digital video and is built around Laura Dern who plays an actress in a film that is apparently a remake of a film of a Polish story that is cursed. But that doesn’t even scratch the surface and it’s not very plot-oriented, but it’s hauntingly familiar in some ways and it actually seemed simpler to understand than Lynch’s previous film, Mulholland Drive.
The film loops around and folds in upon itself which makes it hard sometimes to tell where something ends or begins. As Laura Dern’s character says at one point:

It’s a story that happened yesterday, but I know it’s tomorrow.

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Revising Bitdepth

When you have a lot of different blogs it becomes easy to get a bit lost with them. I've got blogs with a lot of different systems (this blog is on Blogger) and each one has different features and work in slightly different ways. One thing that makes it a bit easier is that I use MarsEdit to edit my posts, so I can use one tool to write posts for this blog, my Vox blog, and my main bitdepth blog. For the last while in this spot I've been cross-posting reviews from All Consuming as it's a way that I can consolidate the shorter reviews that I try to regularly write. That will probably continue.
But the big news and change for me is that over on bitdepth.org I've switched from Blosxom to WordPress and I'm trying to write more there. The reviews will keep on coming and I hope that you enjoy them.

A Dark Meditation on Evil

No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brothers latest film, No Country for Old Men is a film that I’d been looking forward to for a while and I wasn’t disappointed. It did have a different tone than previous films by them, but in thinking about the film afterwards and remembering their other films, it took a while for the world of the films to click for me. Boldly constructed with a palpable tension during the entire film, it’s an examination of evil, greed and human nature that is a slightly different, but completely consistent with their other films.
With a creepily effective performance from Javier Bardem as well as excellent work by Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Kelly MacDonald, it’s focused on the characters and the decisions that they make. Coen fans will see elements of most of their films along with some quirky and understated humour. It’s a film that is close to perfect with every shot and moment essential to the film and while there is some violence in the film, the Coens deal with violence in the most responsible way of any filmmakers today. It’s a great film and it’s wonderful to see them working at the peak of their powers again.

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A Global Perspective on the Copyfight (rated 5 stars)

Good Copy Bad Copy

by Andreas Johnsen, Henrik Moltke, Ralf Christensen

In the Danish documentary Good Copy Bad Copy the filmmakers provide a broader context explaining remix culture and copyright. By personalizing the story it becomes much more fascinating as they travel around the world and I learned a lot about the way that music and the law work together and the new business models that people are exploring in different places. The filmmakers have put their money (or lack of money) where their mouth is and have made the entire film downloadable and viewable online. They provide a donation box where you can contribute to them if you like it. It’s a glimpse at a new way of distributing work and I love the faith and trust that they have in the audience who is viewing their film.

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Well-Crafted Character-Driven Thriller (rated 5 stars)

Michael Clayton

by Tony Gilroy

In Tony Gilroy’s feature directing debut, Michael Clayton he brings the genre reinvigoration that he used in writing the Bourne films to the legal thriller. Story-wise it’s familiar territory, but it’s directed and structured in a thoughtful and fascinating way with George Clooney’s great performance at the centre of everything. At one point I noticed that I was watching Clooney listening to another character speaking as it was fascinating to figure out what he was thinking. The film (and the characters) seem to be aware of the well-worn cliches and the surprises in the film are in how the film avoids or reworks them. The film isn’t flashy or excessive, but just a well-crafted look at a world of moral choices in a world that is more reality than fantasy.

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A Documentary About a Font? (rated 4 stars)

Helvetica

by Gary Hustwit

Helvetica is a documentary about the font and it pretty evenly splits people before they see it between those who say, “a documentary about what?” and “cool!” I fall into the latter category and was fascinated with a look at the most popular (and legible) font in the world. It looks at the history and use (and misuse) of the typeface, but it’s really about design and designers and it’s fascinating to see the different approaches and philosophies of those who work with type. While it’s not for everyone, it’s essential if you are interested in or work with type.

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A Quirky French Reworking of "It's a Wonderful Life" (rated 4 stars)

Angel-A

by Luc Besson

Luc Besson retells “It’s a Wonderful Life” in a entertaining and sexier way with “Angel-A”. I hadn’t even heard of the film before I saw it playing at the Atlantic Film Festival, but I was glad that I found it. With the story set in Paris and beautifully photographed in black and white, it features an odd couple of a small-time criminal and a beautiful angel who falls to earth to save him. It mixes drama with comedy and action and somehow manages to have a sentimental sweetness to it as well. I guess it would be a romantic comedy. A lot of fun with some great performances from Jamel Debbouze as the criminal and the impossibly beautiful Rie Rasmussen as the angel.

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A Subtle Poem About the French Foreign Legion (rated 4 stars)

Beau Travail (Sub)

by Claire Denis

Claire Denis’ subtle and beautiful film Beau Travail is not plot oriented and it casts a wonderful spell as we watch French soldiers training in Djibouti and piece the story together. Much as the main character is an outsider, we don’t have all of the pieces of the puzzle and watch significant moments as his jealousy grows. It’s hard to describe, but it’s one of the most beautiful and surprising films that I’ve seen.

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A Sad, Beautifully Photographed Story (rated 5 stars)

Control

by Anton Corbijn

In Anton Corbijn’s biography of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, Control, he tells the story in a subtle and visually gorgeous fashion. Shot in black and white, the film works much in the way that a photograph evokes more than is within the frame. Instead of providing a comprehensive examination of a life, we see significant moments along the way and are left to piece the story together ourselves. With great performances by Sam Riley as Ian Curtis and Samantha Morton as Deborah Curtis, it’s compelling to watch with the music filling some of the gaps and connecting themes together. A remarkable feature-film debut from Corbijn.

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Startling Look Inside the French Resistance (rated 5 stars)

Army of Shadows - Criterion Collection

While I had read a lot of praise for Jean-Pierre Melville’s French Resistance drama, Army of Shadows, but I was startled and transfixed by the film. It’s a precise and distinctly unsentimental vision of war and the people who are caught up within it. Shot in a sparse style in muted colours, the film is filled with long takes and amazing direction that enhances the experience. The film is just about perfect with a solid cast and an intricate structure that kept me watching in amazement throughout the whole film. I only wish that I was able to see it in a theatre during the recent North American release. An overlooked classic that seems timeless now.

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Enigmatic Story About a Detective and a Tree (rated 4 stars)

Charisma

by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

The first film that I saw by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no, he’s not related…) was Pulse and I was impressed with the evocative nature of that film and I wanted to see more films by the same director.
Charisma is about a burned out detective who wanders away from a disturbing case in the city and enters a forest that has a tree that is the centre of a struggle. The film is oblique and may not completely add up, but I find it fascinating in how the various ideas and characters link together with unsettling images and many things unspoken. It’s hard to place it in a genre and it kept me thinking about it for days afterwards as I thought about the metaphorical layers and ideas within the film.

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Unique Film About Filmmaking (rated 4 stars)

Sullivan's Travels - Criterion Collection

I have to admit that I found out about the film due to the bit of trivia that the Coen Brothers named their film “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” after a fictional film in “Sullivan’s Travels”. I was surprised at the fast-paced comedy and wit of the film and also how the film radically shifted tone and became quite dark and serious at times. The boldness is due in a large part to Preston Sturges, who was one of the first screenwriters to make the leap into directing.
While it combines funny and serious elements, it really is about the role of the filmmaker in the world. What do people want to see in films and what responsibility does the filmmaker have to really know about what they portray. While the ideas are deep, the film manages to effortlessly mix comedy and tragedy together to make a point without being very didactic. It was a lot of fun and it made me think.

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Distinctive French Solo Artist (rated 5 stars)

The Cheap Show

by Anaïs

Anaïs is a solo French singer-songwriter who has a beautiful voice, amazing musical skills and a great sense of humour. She combines it all together in the live recording of The Cheap Show which features just her, but in listening to it the first time I didn’t realize that she was alone. Using the JamMan sampler, she manages to harmonize and create surprisingly full arrangements while on stage alone. While you could place her generically for the most part in the folk area, she has an amazing range and I love the live recording that is filled with energy and fun. “Mon Coeur Mon Amour” is one of my new favourite songs.

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Finely Crafted Action Film (rated 4 stars)

The Bourne Ultimatum

by Paul Greengrass

I love it when an action film takes chances with the style of shooting and editing and doesn’t condescend to the audience. With The Bourne Ultimatum Paul Greengrass creates a film that is stylish and fun with a breathtaking pace. While Greengrass received a lot of attention for United 93, the constraints of the events and the memories of September 11 made the film a strange mixture with many different forces acting both within and outside of he film. Freed of those constraints with The Bourne Supremacy and now The Bourne Ultimatum he creates intelligent action films that push the limits of the audience with hand-held camera, rapid cutting, and information delivered quickly and subtly. The brutal pacing and editing of some of the sequences in Supremacy gave people a headache and I loved them because they pushed things so far. In Ultimatum Greengrass gets the balance just right and gives the audience a bit more time to breathe, while still creating amazing sequences that built suspense with careful blocking, shooting and editing without resorting to bigger and bigger explosions.
While it’s technically a superb film, it also has some great performances with Matt Damon as the memory-deprived hero, Joan Allen as a CIA boss and an amazing performance from David Strathairn that was almost of exciting as the action sequences. This is what an action film should be – fun, intelligent and exciting.

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Enigmatic Sci-Fi Thriller (rated 4 stars)

Sunshine

by Danny Boyle

I’d been anticipating Sunshine for a while and wasn’t completely sure what to expect and at times the film had me off-balance (which I liked). I’ve enjoyed everything that Danny Boyle has done and this time he reworks the sf genre in a story that is mainly more philosophical science fiction with some thriller elements thrown in. The pacing and rhythms are different with the film and the constant presence of the sun is beautiful. It wasn’t until after the film that I really started to think about the effects as I just was thinking about the sun, which is a testament to seamlessness of the effects.
Cillian Murphy is great to watch as usual and there is a understated quality to much of the interaction and storytelling that I appreciated. While I wouldn’t say that it’s my favourite Danny Boyle film, it had some great touches and I kept thinking about it for days afterwards. It’s thoughtful sci-fi that doesn’t condescend, but does entertain and provide some things to think about.

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