La Mission

               

Director:  Peter Bratt
Country:  USA
Release:  2009
4-star

Che is a tough guy, ex-con, widower and reformed alcoholic who works and lives in the Mission District of San Francisco.  He is also a good friend, good worker, good neighbor, and devoted father to his son and best friend, Jesse.  Jesse is an attractive, affable good student, who (unknown to his father) just happens to be secretly gay.  When Che finds out the boy’s secret, there is a physical confrontation that spills out into the street with Che disowning his son – and soon the whole neighborhood and all of Jesse’s classmates know his secret.   Eventually father and son attempt to work it out, but mostly by avoiding each other and avoiding the subject.  Their own version of don’t ask/ don’t tell seems to be working, but just as things start to get back to something that resembles normal, the unavoidable subject comes up and pushes them further apart. Unable or unwilling to try any more, Jesse moves out and father and son remain estranged. Ultimately something has to give as Che’s inability to come to terms with his son’s gayness threatens to destroy everything good in his life.  The father is a major low-rider, and there is an affectionate portrayal of low-riders and interesting insights into that culture.  A little unrealistic to me,  everybody (except Che) in that supposedly macho world seems just a little too accepting and open-minded.  In fact everyone is almost unbelievably cool about the issue, except for a few neighborhood thugs – who have had confrontations with Che, and even they seem to want to use the son’s homosexuality more against the father than the gay kid himself.  But just maybe the movie is trying to point out that you do not necessarily have to be a macho ass to have problems with your child’s gayness.  Maybe Che’s disappointment is also mixed with equal parts of fear for his son’s safety and possible limitations this might have on the son’s bright potential.  Of course it does not, and should not, have anything to do with anything about Jesse – except for his private sexual preference.  But try telling that to Che, and try telling that to society sometimes.  You have to watch the movie to find out if the two ever work through their problems and reconcile.  “La Mission” is a film about complicated emotional issues and how two people can find it so damn difficult to do just the one simple thing of loving each other.

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The Edukators

Director:  Hans Weingartner

Country:  Germany

Release:  2004

4.5-star

Roommates Jan and Peter are young, anti-capitalists activists who spend their days openly advocating their ideals on the streets of Berlin.  At night they are The Edukators (as they are known to the press and police) – they break into homes of the wealthy to propagandize their cause.  In order to elevate their cause and keep the focus on their message, they do not steal from the rich, and do minimal vandalizing.  Instead they hide, rearrange and mock their furniture, artwork and other trappings of wealth, and leave messages that their victims have too much, or the end of the time of gross inequity is growing near.  Jule is Peter’s girlfriend who has fallen on hard times resulting from an auto accident (her fault) she had with a rich businessman.   Jule loses her apartment and moves in with Peter.  Jule finds Jan to be too intense and Jan is too focused on his ideals to even notice.  However, while Peter is out of town, Jan and Jule become unexpectedly close.  Jan is smitten and confesses to Jule their night-time activity.  Jule convinces him to take her along and to break into the home of the man to whom she is indebted.  Without the usual planning and precautions, things do not go well.  Circumstances get out of their control and result in unexpected complications and new and desperate measures are taken.   Let me just say that this movie is not nearly as heavy-handed as this plot makes it sound.  There are political ideas expressed in the film, but the movie does not take sides.  As issues are looked at from different perspectives, the lines between right and wrong, or  good and bad, tend to blur.    Eventually all of the characters are forced to evaluate and examine their own beliefs, commitment and motivation as a result of their interactions with each other.  As the plot develops the story seems to point out that the more things change, the more they stay the same – in regard to our protagonists in specific, and people in general.  What the movie really ends up being is an engaging and entertaining misadventure driven by a strong narrative with just enough plot twists and with strong character development.   I was totally surprised and immensely entertained by this film.  Do not let the political overtones scare you away – they are just the motivation behind the strong plot and interesting characters.  This film was not what I expected and I could not have been more pleased to be wrong.

=                      

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Adaptation

      

Director:  Spike Jonze
Country:  USA
Release:  2002
3.75-star

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman is hired to adapt The Orchid Thief, a book by a female New Yorker staff writer about a colorful, strange, self proclaimed genius and botanist who poaches exotic blooms in the Florida Everglades.  The screenwriter is portrayed as a timid, self-deprecating man who is better at observing and fantasizing about life than actually participating in it.  His twin brother Donald comes to stay with him, and decides that he wants to be a screenwriter too.  Donald is more outgoing, a little oblivious, potentially obnoxious, but fearless in his approach to life – he knows what he likes and goes for it without any thought to consequences.  His writing reflects this and he produces a commercially successful thriller of a script, which garners him attention.  Charlie, in the meantime is having trouble with his adaptation –it seems to be going nowhere, because nothing really happens in the book which lends itself to any sort of narrative.  Charlie confers with another veteran screenwriter who assures him that an untold number of things are always happening in life every day, and that if nothing happens in the story he is adapting, it is because things were left out of the book by the author.  So Charlie, with the help of his brother, decides to figure out what the original author had not included.   What they discover is a plot of bizarre twists and shocking revelations.  The pace of the movie is very slow at first, even tedious – but then this reflects the story line of how Charlie’s work on the adaptation is slow and plodding.  When the brothers pursue the secrets behind the story, the movie progresses at break-neck speed towards its final resolution.   Adaptation is a strange story that ultimately satisfies and in the end, is well worth the effort.

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Biutiful

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Country:  Mexico

Release:  2010

4.25-stars

As portrayed in the movie “Biutiful”, life is anything but.  Uxbal, the main character in the film, lives in shabby apartment in Barcelona and is a single father of two who makes his living on the fringes of legality. He got custody of his two young children from his ex-wife due to her struggles with addiction and personality disorders.   He works for a pair of shady Chinese Businessmen who smuggle in undocumented Chinese workers – who live communally in a crowded, dingy warehouse and work in a sweatshop or as cheap construction labor – and they employ African illegals to peddle their knockoff goods on the streets.   Uxbal also has the “gift” of being able to communicate with the dead, and collects a fee for conveying messages from the recently deceased to their grieving relatives.  Near the start of the movie, Uxbal learns that he has advanced prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones and liver and only has a few months to live.  Uxbal seems to be a decent person who struggles to keep one step ahead of his circumstances.  He is a strict but very loving father who tries to provide direction, discipline and normalcy for his son and daughter. He tells himself that his work helps find jobs for people who would have no other options.  He is not ready to die, and the main reason appears to be his concern for his children.  His mother died when he was a child and he never knew his father, so he knows the pitfalls of growing up without a family.  He has a brother who he cannot depend on and, although he tries to let his wife be a mother to the children, her erratic and sometimes dangerous behavior disqualify her completely as a caretaker.  He attempts to amass as much money as possible in his time remaining, to leave as a buffer for his children when he is gone.  In the meantime, things with the illegals go from bad to worse and add unwelcome complications, worries and tragedy to his rapidly deteriorating life.  “Biutiful” is the most depressing thing I have seen in a long time.  Perhaps its saving grace is that it allows the viewer to see that, no matter how bad things might seem in their lives, there are people who have it worse.  The absolute best thing in the movie is Javier Bardem’s portrayal of Uxbal.  As his character’s world spirals out of control, his performance remains a model of restraint and understatement.   Uxbal  has nothing to gain by losing control and struggles to do what he can with the time he has left.  Badem’s discreet suffering elicits sympathy for his characters efforts to cope with untenable challenges.  If you can handle the depressing subject matter, the movie is a powerful and emotional portrait of the heroic struggle of a man to minimize a losing situation in a life gone wrong.

                                                                   

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The Women on the 6th Floor

Director: Philippe le Guay   

Country:  France

Release:  2010

4.5-star

The Women on the Sixth Floor is part social satire and part working class fairytale.   The story is set in 1962 Paris.  Monsieur and Madame Jean-Louis Joubert live in a large and stately apartment in a beautiful building.  Jean-Louis has lived there all his life, as did his father and grandfather, and he runs the family brokerage business started by his grandfather in 1912.  When the Joubert’s maid of 25 years suddenly quits, Madame’s friends convince her to get a Spanish maid – the latest thing in Paris.  They hire Maria, who has just arrived in France and lives in a room on the sixth floor as does her aunt and the other Spanish maids who work in the building.  Maria proves to be efficient, polite, attentive and overall an improvement from what they were used to.  Mr. Joubert, who is particular, is especially pleased and takes an interest in his new help.  When he asks to see where Maria rooms, he is shocked at the negligent and unsanitary communal facilities that the maids must endure and he immediately engages a plumber and pays him double to instantly correct the problems.  Mr. Joubert now becomes the kindly “Jean-Louis” and a friend and hero to the women on the sixth floor.  Jean-Louis seems to enjoy the attention and his role as benefactor and finds other small favors to do for his new friends and becomes more familiar and intimate with the Spanish women.  It is easy to see what would appeal to him about these women.  His wife and her friends appear to be vapid and inconsequential, and his sons are ill-mannered narcissists.  He works in an established firm known for safe, long-term investments and lives a life that is predictable and politically and socially correct.  The Spaniards, by contrast, are lively, warm, joyous, outgoing, garrulous, emotional, supportive, colorful and fun-loving.  As Jean-Louis becomes closer to the women, Maria’s aunt worries that his interest in her niece (who happens to be a beautiful as she is sweet) may go beyond friendship.  In the meantime, as her husband starts coming home later and missing meals, Madame Joubert suspects something much more nefarious than the reality of his new friends.   If I have not entirely made my point, it is because I do not want to give up too much of the story.  You will have to watch it to find out more.  If not completely believable, I think that the story is at least entertaining, if not downright enchanting.  I was captivated – the movie lifted my spirits and I just thoroughly enjoyed this warm-hearted tale.

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Weekend

Director:  Andrew Haigh

Country:  UK

Release:  2011

4.75-star

A mature and realistic portrayal of love in modern times.   At the start the movie appears to be a story  about a casual gay encounter, and it is a very frank portrayal of that scenario.  However the focus of the story and the ideas it provokes evolve way beyond the circumstances of that initial impression.  Two men meet in a bar and hook up for what is assumed to be a one night stand.  After a night of drunken sex, they get to know a bit about each other the next morning before going their separate ways.  On the surface they seem to have little in common (Russell is a bit of a loner and a lifeguard /Glen is an outspoken and aspiring artist and gallery worker), but they find themselves interested in each other beyond the bedroom.  They part ways but they end up contacting each other and meeting again that same day.  All of a sudden, the one night ends up becoming a weekend that they spend together getting to know each other.  Through equal parts of conflict, challenges and compatibility, the two men quickly become closer and more comfortable together.  There is an obvious attraction, both sexually and otherwise, but a budding relationship is pre-empted by Glen’s confirmed plans for an extended trip to America to further his art.  He is leaving in a few days and nothing, it seems, will dissuade him.  Very strong and brave and honest performances are the highlight of this movie which is not really about being gay as much as it is about the emotional risks involved in all intimate relationships and the loneliness of life without a real human connection.  I found it to be an unsentimental,  genuine look at attraction (both physical and mental), and the difficulty of navigating the conflict between the need to love and be loved, and preservation of self.  There is some nudity and frank language and subject matter, but no explicit sex scenes.  The actors accents make the dialog hard to follow at times – I recommend turning on the subtitles if you find this to be so as well, because the dialog is well worth catching.  I believe that anyone who has fallen in love (not just infatuation) will be able to identify with something in this story.  I also think that because of the grown-up treatment of its subject matter that this film will appeal to adults only, no matter what their age

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Valentín

Director:  Alejandro Agresti

Country:  Argentina

Release:  2003

4.5-star

Valentin is a precocious, cross-eyed 8-year-old boy who dreams of becoming an astronaut and working for NASA one day.  The story takes place in the late 1960’s in Buenos Aires, when space exploration was still in it’s heyday and making headlines around the world.  His parents are divorced and Valentin lives with his grandmother.  He loves his grandmother (who painfully and vocally misses her deceased husband) and they are good company for each other.  But Valentin seems to long for a real family of his own.  His father (who by his own family’s account, has a history of emotional problems) visits infrequently, devoting most of his time to his job and pursuit of women.  His mother he hardly remembers, not having seen her since the divorce when he was three, but secretly confesses to missing her and often waits by the door hoping that she will suddenly visit.  Valentin is closest to his uncle Chiche and to Rufo, a musician and neighbor, because both of them talk to him like a friend and an equal and seem interested in his life and what he has to say.   Valentin carefully and quietly observes the adults around him, their circumstances and their behavior that appear to complicate their lives.  Rather than blame them for their shortcomings, Valentin attempts to manipulate the adults in his life, in his effort to make life better for them and for himself.  Sometimes his attempts are successful (he tricks his grandmother into seeing a doctor when he notices she is not well).  Other times his efforts fall short, especially when it comes to his father.  He encourages his father’s pursuit of women, hoping one day for a new mother and that chance at a family.  He is especially encouraging of his fathers latest romantic interest – the very sweet and pretty Leticia, who he adores.  But when the relationship fails (as they always seem to due to his fathers unstable emotions), the father blames the break up on Valentin’s interference.   But Valentin is the eternal optimist.  He does not let the setbacks discourage him from trying to shape the world into a better place for himself and the people he cares about.   I found the movie to be a charming and captivating story a lonely young boy, who grows wise before his time by observing the adult world around him, and who accepts the world for what it is, but never loses faith in his ability to make it better.  More than just another cute kid movie,  I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

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Bliss

Director:  Abdullah Oguz
Country:  Turkey
Release:  2007

4.5-star

Meryem, A teenaged Turkish girl is found outside her village by a shepherd, unconscious and obviously violated.   She is carried back to the town and to her family, where she is locked up like a prisoner.  She will not speak of what happened and it is presumed she is a whore and has sinned. The Agha, who is the town leader and a relative of the girl, insists on the enforcement of the custom requiring her death to restore the family honor.  He assigns his son, Cemal the task of taking her to Istanbul on the pretext of visiting relatives, but to carry out her punishment there.  Once in the city, Cemal realizes that he cannot go through with it and spares the girl’s life.  Not knowing what to do next, Cemal takes Meryem to an isolated coastal fish farm that belongs to an old army buddy.  There they meet Irfan, a rich, erudite ex-professor who has run away from his old life to sail his boat wherever his heart leads him and clear his head.  He hires the duo to be his crew, with Meryem to cook and clean and Cermal to help with the boat.  Irfan is very kind to Cemal and Meryem and comes to consider and treat them like family.   Although the feelings are mutual, there are some rocky moments caused by Cemal’s inability to completely free himself from his old fashioned ways, and to trust Meryem and Irfan.  Cemal cannot get over the idea of  Meryem as spoiled goods.  Irfan kindly confronts Cemal with the theory that his volatile behavior is the result of his unresolved feelings towards the girl. In the meantime, the Agha hires some assassins to track the missing duo, and to finish off the girl and return Cemal for punishment for his betrayal.   When confronted by the executioners and in a moment of extreme emotion and panic, Meryem relives the incident of that fateful day and the ugly truth of what really happened to her is revealed.  The film is a very emotional and melancholy story about personal fortitude, betrayal, and abuse of power.  It also points out the potentially painful struggle of adjusting to the changing balance between the old ways and the new, as the modern life infiltrates into previously isolated areas and older traditions and customs begrudgingly give way to more contemporary ideas.  Despite the grim story line, I found “Bliss” a surprisingly engaging and even uplifting film.  A good cast is highlighted by an especially touching and effective performance by Özgü Namal as Meryem.

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Together

Director:  Chen Kaige

Country:  China

Release:  2002

4.25-stars

“Together” is the story of single father and humble cook, Cheng and his son Xiaochun, a headstrong, thirteen year-old violin prodigy.  They live in a small town in China in which Xiaochun has won every violin competition in the area.  They travel to Beijing where Xiaochun has a chance to compete at the prestigious Children’s Palace.  Despite his exceptional talent, he only places 5th in the competition because father and son do not have the knowledge or the resources to bribe the judges for a higher ranking.  While in the big city the pair meet some unusual characters, including Jiang – a bitter and eccentric instructor at the Children’s Palace who Cheng convinces to privately tutor his son.  Young Xiaochun also befriends Lili, an attractive young woman who appears to live off of the resources from the attention of rich, older men, and who hires the young violinist from the neighborhood to play at her party.  Xiaochun is obviously enamored with the pretty and vivacious gold-digger and I think that Lili is both a crush and surrogate mother for young Xiaochun.  But as their relationship develops she assumes the role of “big sister” for the young prodigy who finds himself entangled in Lili’s romantic high jinx’s.   The father dreams of fame and fortune for his talented son and takes a variety of odd jobs to pay for his lessons.  But Professor Jiang eventually terminates his instruction of the young violinist, knowing that does not have the connections or the reputation to get him the fame the father wishes for his son.  The father is then able to secure an audition for Xiaochun with Professor Yu, a famous and well connected teacher.  Yu agrees to take on the young violinist, but requires his student to leave his father and live with the teacher.  Achievement will require development of his look, his manners and persona as well as his musical talent.  Cheng adores his son and is willing to make any sacrifice for his success, even giving him up.  Xiaochun loves music and the violin and ultimately the willful boy himself has to decide if he is willing to make the sacrifices that acclaim demands.  The movie is a fairly sentimental story about the relationship of the father and son, but it is also a realistic examination of the price of fame and the requirements of success, of which talent is only one part.  Along the way we are treated to a captivating assortment of subplots with the eclectic and offbeat characters they encounter as well as a variety of surprises, revealed secrets and plot twists.  I found “Together” a totally engaging story and an affectionate interpretation of the true meaning of family, as well as insightful look at the demanding nature of success.

*                                          

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Twin Sisters

    Director:  Ben Sombogaart                                   

    Country:  Netherlands

    Release:  2005                                                           

*    3.75-star

Twin sisters Lotte and Anna, from Cologne, are orphaned as young girls in 1925 when their father dies.  Disparate branches of the family want to adopt them and fight over custody of the twins.  The competing family factions end up taking one each and splitting up the sisters.  Lotte is raised in affluence by Jewish relatives in Holland, while Anna ends up with poor and abusive catholic German farmers who appear to view family as free labor.  The girls’ attempts to stay in touch over the years are thwarted by their adoptive parents’ deception and manipulation – which parents alternately convince themselves is best for the girls or realize it is for the own best interest.  The twins, however, persevere and are finally able to work around their family’s interference, and as young woman they reunite in Germany on the eve of WWII.  At first they are overjoyed to be together again, but all too quickly acquired background differences, misunderstandings and the political and religious problems of the world conspire to keep them apart.  They go about their separate existences and they spend the rest of their lives at failed attempts in trying to overcome the obstacles that have come between them and prevented a longed-for reconciliation.   Near the end of their lives a chance meeting at a Spa gives them one last chance at the reunion that had repeatedly eluded them.  The story is sad tale of how we judge and, even sadder, misjudge, each other and how passing emotions can take deep root in our psyche and keep us from the true better nature of our hearts. I feel like the film warns us of the fleeting nature of time and the unpredictability of life.   If we are not careful, we run out of chances to reconsider and change or make amends for the decisions we make for reasons which, over time, tend to pale in comparison to consequences we suffer as the result of them

                                                                           

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The Official Story

                       

Director:  Luis Puenzo
Country:  Argentina
Release:  1985

4-star

The Official Story is about a prim high school teacher who dotes on her adopted daughter and lives a very content and comfortable life with her successful businessman husband.  We find out that her husband, in contrast to most people around him (including his own family members), actually prospered during the political upheaval of the dirty war in Argentina during the late 1970’s, early 80’s.  After some of the controversial events of that period are brought up in class by one of her students, the teacher begins to speculate if her daughter could possibly be the offspring of one of the political prisoners who were ‘disappeared” during the military coupe and the accompanying turmoil that were happening around the time of her birth.   The more the teacher considers the possibility, the more obsessed she becomes with the idea and with finding out the truth.  At that same time, she is reunited with a dear old friend, who had been persecuted during the dirty war, and who had fled the country and only recently returned to Argentina.  As she searches for answers, and her friend reveals to her the vicious experiences that drove her away, the teacher becomes cognizant of the reality and details of what had occurred  – details that she was selectively unaware of due to her privileged circumstances.  The resulting effect on her is to make her less rigid and more open-minded, with these changes being reflected in her appearance and attitude towards others.  However, as she pursues this notion, it starts takes a toll on her contentment, her relationship with her husband and threatens possible repercussions for her future with her child.   I see the story and a personal dilemma between the need to know and the cautionary advice of the old adage that ignorance is bliss.  The movie was made in the 1980’s, very close to the time of the actual events that inspired the story.  It looks like a movie from the 1980’s, but rather than dating the film I think it just helps to give it a feeling of authenticity and a sense of immediacy to the issues it touches upon.

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Carlos

Director:  Olivier Assayas

Country:  Germany, France

Release:  2010

4-star

Originally a mini-series, the film is a compilation of the story told in that series about a real life South American revolutionist in the 1970’s-1990’s, who finds notoriety in Europe and the Middle East, leading terrorist attacks in the name of Muslim and Palestinian causes.  The story chronicles rise and fall of Ilich Sanchez (he later takes the pseudonym “Carlos’) over the course of decades of terrorist acts.  As a young man he gains notoriety and a speedy rise in the world of terrorism, garnering a reputation for fearless daring and success.  He soon comes to the attention of the head of the PFLP (the Palestine Liberation Front) who takes him into the organization and uses his services, but always keeps him at arms length.  In the 1975 he puts Carlos in charge of a plan that became one of the most notorious terrorist acts of that era – invading and overpowering an OPEC Meeting in Vienna and taking all the Ministers of the Oil Producing Countries hostage.  Although the operation does not play out as planned and causes the PFLP to severe ties with him, it cements Carlos’ reputation as the most famous terrorist at that time.  By the mid to late 1980’s Carlos appears as just a gun for hire, selling his services to whoever will pay, and by the time he is captured in the Sudan in 1994 he is basically a has-been being hunted by any number of international police.  The movie is quite long and, in spots, a little disjointed – I am not sure if the mini-series would be more cohesive.  But it is a chilling and telling tale of the cold ruthlessness of international terrorism which now so strongly shapes the patterns of modern life.  When he started out, Carlos seemed more redeemable in the sense that he appeared to be motivated by a youthful, albeit misguided, sense of revolution.  By the middle and especially near the end, of his career he seemed more despicable and inhuman.  His early idealism is gone and he seems primarily motivated by notoriety, money and power.    I found this film very informative.  Terrorism, first hand, came very late to America and had been very active in Europe for decades prior to that.  The events chronicled in this movie happened during the lifetime of many viewers who, if they are like me, have only a passing awareness of these actual events.

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The Trap

Director:  Srdjan Golubovic

Country:  Serbia

Release:  2007

4.25-stars

The movie takes place in Serbia after all the political, religious and ethnic upheavals of the civil war.  Life there for many still seems hard, oppressive and even dreary – these impressions are reinforced by the dark and somber look of the film which was shot on overcast days and in harshly lit interiors.  As the movie begins, a lower middle class couple finds out that their only son has a life threatening heart condition.  The affliction can be solved by surgery, but the operation is only available out of the country and would not be covered by public health care. Unable to conceive how to amass the money necessary for the operation (even selling their car would not come close), the father swallows his pride and places an ad in the newspaper, beseeching help or assistance from anyone.  He soon is approached by a stranger who sets up a meeting with him.  The anonymous benefactor promises the father more than enough money for the operation and trip, if he will do something illegal and dangerous for him.  The father then struggles with the proposition and the consequences of taking it or not.  As a result of his internal conflicts regarding his horrible options, and the worsening condition of his son, the father becomes moody and withdrawn.  His seeming indifference or lack of action in regard to the predicament begins to take a toll on his family life, alienating him from his wife and eventually splitting up the family.  “The Trap” is a sad tale of desperation and the scary reality of living one paycheck away from possible death and disaster – as too many in the world now do (or fear they do).  I think that it is a scenario that many can empathize with, especially in these current economic times.  The plausibility of the story is all too possible and frightening to consider.   It makes the viewer really think deeply on how they would confront such a decision, where either choice has potential life-changing consequences.  The Trap is depressing, but I also found it to be very moving and thought-provoking

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C.R.A.Z.Y.

Director:  Jean-Marc Vallee

Country:  Canada

Release:  2005

4.75-star

A complicated and painful tale of growing-up, set in French Canadian Quebec of the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s.  Zac is the fourth of five sons, born to a macho father and doting mother.  He is notably “sensitive” compared to his brothers and, as a young child, is declared as “gifted” by his mother and a local healer.  It is difficult for Zac coming of age in such a manly household, and it is made even more difficult by his father’s ever-vigilant and critical eye, and a mutually tormenting relationship with his older brother (who battles his own demons of anger and addiction).  Although attracted to other males, Zac denies his true feelings.  Despite his longings, growing up he never really gives into his supressed desires, even though he is constantly accused of doing so.  He even takes a girlfriend and tries to live a life more acceptable to others, if not to himself.  Zac maintains a close special bond with his mother, but it is his relationship with his father that defines his struggle and influences the course of his development as an individual.  Father and son are more alike than they are different, and I think that makes Zac crave his father’s acceptance all the more.  Their tempestuous relationship ranges from paternal guidance and favoritism to bitter denouncement and vehement disapproval.  In the long run, it seems to me that  Zac’s biggest struggle is whether or not, after years of denial, longing for approval, self-inflicted “normalcy” and undertones of self-hatred, if Zac can accept the truth about himself – without which he can never expect others to do the same.  The story points out how strong familial influences can be, for better or for worse.  It also shows how the gestalt of family, like an individual, can mature and evolve throughout its lifetime, and to do so has to learn to accept and forgive itself.  It’s a terrific film – it is an  in your face look at the issues of growing up and complicated family relationships that never gets maudlin or overly sentimental about it.

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L’auberge Espagnole

*              

Director:  Cédric Klapisch

Country:  France, Spain

Release:  2002

4.5-star

The story focuses on a year in the life of Xavier, a young French guy who sets off to spend the next twelve months in Barcelona, Spain attending school for economics in a European scholastic exchange program, known as Erasmus.  The schooling is one of his final preparations for a career waiting for him in government work.   Once he arrives in Barcelona, he is lucky to obtain a room in a large, luxurious (by student standards) apartment with six other students – all from a variety of nationalities and backgrounds.  The international mix works out well with a sometimes complicated blend of languages, rules of conduct, mutual respect and patience.   The mix of nationalities in the apartment does point out that there are cultural differences that do exist between people’s which can create some small tumbling blocks to perfect harmony.  But overcoming those minor differences is a small price to pay for the overall enrichment they experience from the eclectic human blend.  The roommates become friends and allies, and they become involved in each others lives, relationships, families and romantic entanglements.  Nothing extraordinary happens – rather it just shows the things that happen in the course of one years time in the lives of these young adults and shows the everyday, universal perils of growing into oneself and finding your way, with a nod to the tenuousness of young love.  For me, the film is a light-hearted, feel-good adventure and it makes you want to be young, in school and in Spain – even if just for a couple of hours.  It is an affectionate, often funny, look at young adulthood and fellowship.  It has an appealing international cast and set in the beautiful, cultural, interesting and spirited city of Barcelona – what’s not to like.  I think this movie would appeal to a lot of people.   I really enjoyed it a lot and recommend it highly.

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Let the Right One In

Director:  Tomas Alfredson

Country:  Sweden

Release:  2008

4-star

The movie is an unusual and somewhat unique version of a vampire tale.  The story starts by introducing us to Oskar, an odd and lonely 12 year-old boy who lives in an apartment in the city with his mother, and only rarely sees his father, who lives in the country.  He is at an awkward age, and is mercilessly bullied by some kids at school.  Dreaming of revenge, he seems fascinated with murder stories and collects articles about them, studying the details.  He appears to spend a lot of time alone, until he meets Eli – an anemic looking girl who appears to be about his age and who has just moved into the building with a mysterious older man.  At first they only meet outside and at night, and even as their friendship develops Eli tells Oskar that they can never be good friends.   Eli, it turns out is a vampire, and her human companion plays the role of protector and provider, roaming the area at night for victims to provide bloody nourishment for her. When her provider fails at his attempts to secure for her the blood that she needs, Eli is forced to provide for herself, attacking and killing a resident of the building as he returns home from a night of drinking.  The attack is witnessed by a reclusive man who also lives in the building.  The witness is hesitant to go to the authorities, but mentions it to the friends of the victim and leaves Eli vulnerable to exposure.  At the same time that Eli’s clumsy indiscretions are jeopardizing her secret and her safety, Oskar’s efforts to fight back against his tormentors seems to be exacerbating his problems at school and the bullying intensifies.  Eventually, Oskar figures out Eli’s true nature and confronts her.  However, rather than scaring him off,  Eli’s revelation results in the two becoming closer, developing a symbiotic, mutually protective relationship.  The film is an eerie and atmospheric treatment of vampirism, which ignores some of the conventions of vampire mythology, while adhering strictly to others.  Shot in the winter – mostly at night – the cold, gloomy, desolate atmosphere of the movie enhances the dark and sinister aspects of the story.  Eli and her adult companion are not the efficient killing machines we are used to vampires being.  But their sloppy and sometimes ineffective attempts only makes the attacks seem more realistic, more possible and therefore more frightening.  But this also humanizes Eli and makes her appear more vulnerable than such creatures are often portrayed, and maybe makes her more sympathetic to viewers.  “Let the Right One In” is an oddly interesting and unconventional take on a familiar genre.

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Prisoner of the Mountains

Director:  Sergei Bodrov

Country:  Russia

Release:  1996

4.25-stars

A low-key war drama that, to me, is most memorable for its simple human premise (and one that we unfortunately all too often need to be reminded of these days) – that man’s capacity for love can equal or even outweigh his capacity to hate.  The story is set in a war zone the Caucasus Mountains where Russian Troops are the occupying force in an indigenous Islamic region.  A Russian patrol is ambushed by insurgents and all are killed except for two soldiers who survive.  The survivors are taken prisoner by Abdul, an influential local who hopes to exchange the pair for his son, who is being held captive at the Russian stronghold in the town.   Sasha, one of the Russian detainees is a jocular but jaded veteran of many wars, and the other, Vanya, is a young, tender-hearted neophyte.  The unlikely pair are chained together and the two men need to learn to coexist in close proximity with each other.  This is not only physically challenging but also made difficult by Sasha’s seemingly superior attitude  (he outranks Vanya) and his lack of honesty with fellow captive.   As attempts at the exchange of prisoners seem to stall and misfire, the soldiers’ captivity extends longer than anticipated and we see how their different backgrounds and personalities affect how they interact with their captors – and ultimately affect their fates.   Neither side in this drama is portrayed as good or bad, right or wrong – I felt a sense of sympathy for both the prisoners and their captors. War is the enemy; it robs us of our better natures.   This is reflected in the prisoners.  The more experienced Sasha is definitely more suspicious, ruthless, cunning and daring than the rookie Vanya.  These are great soldiering skills, but not such good social skills or advantageous in winning over the locals.  The movie was filmed in the mountains among  spectacular and starkly beautiful scenery, which was not only visually appealing but also emphasized the isolation of the rebel’s mountain village from the town occupied by their enemies.  Perhaps the movie is not trying to prove that all wars are bad, but I think it definitely puts forth the idea that some wars are fought for better reasons than others.

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The Bicycle Thief

Director:  Vittorio di Sica 

Country:  Italy  

Release:  1948

4.25-stars

Frequently considered one of the best and more influential films of all time, “The Bicycle Thief” takes place in Italy in the first years after WWII when much of Europe was in shambles economically, with rampant poverty, inflation and unemployment.  The boon that the US experienced after the war took a while to take hold in Europe.  Antonio is a poor man with a wife and two children who has been looking for work for a long time.  He gets a chance at a position putting up posters, but has to have a bicycle to get and keep the job.  He had pawned his bike, and in order to get it back his wife takes the sheets off their beds (the remnants of her dowry) and hocks them for the money to redeem the bike.  The first day on his new job, Antonio is on a ladder hanging a poster when someone steals his bicycle from under him.  He pursues the man, but his efforts are too late and the thief and bike disappear into the busy city.  He sets out the next day, with his young son at his side, and searches furiously for the thief and/or his property, knowing that his rare and new found employment depends on it.  Bikes are resold in the markets but just as often they are stripped and sold for parts, and Antonio knows the odds may be against him but he perseveres.  As the search draws on and hope is fading, out of desperation, he feels trapped into taking risks and Antonio makes some choices that ultimately produce no benefit and which he immediately and will eternally regret.  Antonio is willing and happy to work, but poverty and misfortune – both out of his control – have left him unable to provide for his family.  His job means more to Antonio than just food on the table and we are reminded that things like pride, self worth, honor, respect, justice and moral judgment are luxuries unaffordable to a poor man.  He is doomed to a life with an empty belly and an empty heart.  The film is a classic example of the Italian realism style during the 40’s and 50’s.  It was shot is black and white, on the streets instead of in a studio, with decidedly unglamorous, average looking actors.  It has the feel of immediacy and of real life serendipitously caught on film.   The realism is further emphasized in the stories told about the struggles of average people, without lucky coincidences, few resolutions, and where wrongs are not always made right and there are few happy endings.  Though it may seem dated to some or historical to others, the film still has an emotional basis that is timeless and universal, made more affecting by the realistic style.

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The Way Back

Director:  Peter Weir

Country:  USA

Release:  2010

4-star

“The Way Back” is the story of eight men, of various backgrounds and nationalities, who are political prisoners in Russia during WWII and who escape together from a Siberian prison camp.  Escape is considered futile by many due to the hard climate and hostile populace in the surrounding area.  Shortly after they break out, the group  is joined by a polish girl who had escaped from a neighboring work farm, and collectively the eclectic bunch begins a long and arduous trek to freedom.  Getting out of Russian territory, they face adversity, hunger, the environment and the elements. They finally reach the Mongolian border only to discover it has also fallen under communist control.  Disheartened, they realize that they must continue along thousands of miles more through Mongolia, China, and Tibet to reach freedom in India.  Along the way they face insurmountable obstacles, starvation, dehydration, frigid winter weather, blistering deserts and the Himalayas, and incur many losses and setbacks in the process.   As the characters endure the variety of challenges, they get to know a little more about each others’ backgrounds, and a lot about each others’ character.  On the surface the movie is an escape adventure, but the stories of the characters add the dimension of an engrossing and inspiring tale of survival and determination and forgiveness.  Although it is purportedly based on the true story, there are a number of disputes as to who’s story and how much of it is true.  Even if viewed as a total work of fiction, the narrative is still a compelling engaging story of fortitude and survival.  The casting is a good and effective mix of big stars and more unfamiliar ones.  The filming is also effective in making the viewer feel every new challenge that besets the protagonists.  “The Way Back” is a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit in the pursuit of goals even more important than mere life or death – and beneath it all is a riveting story based (however loosely) on actual events.

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Priest

Director:  Antonia Bird

Country:  UK

Release:  1994

3.75-star

Father Greg is a young, handsome Catholic priest.  He is conservative in his orthodoxy and view of the role of priests.  He shares pasturing responsibilities of a poor parish with Father Mathew.  In contrast, Mathew is a middle-aged realist, very unorthodox and pragmatic, who preaches liberal social-political ideology in his sermons and has a not so discreet relationship with the attractive housekeeper.  Greg chastises Mathew for his disregard for celibacy and for overstepping his pastoral role, but Greg’s indignation is difficult to accept once we find out that father Greg has been known to go to gay bars to seek the corporal pleasures of being with another man.  The difference between the two priests is that Mathew accepts and forgives his own weakness, but Greg hates himself for his. Father Greg has a major crisis of faith when, during confessions, he learns that a 14 year-old girl is being incestuously abused by her father.  One word from him could end the child’s suffering, but his conservative dogmatism will not allow him to violate the sanctity of the confessional.  During this time, he seeks comfort from a companion; they are caught in the man’s car and arrested.  The local press finds out and Father Greg is “outed” to the world.  I found “Priest” to be overly melodramatic at times.  Also its focus is too broad – it not only takes on the church’s views on homosexuality, but also celibacy, the validity of its very existence and its relevance and role in changing, modern times.  “Priest” may not be a great movie, but it is a good one and why I am recommending it.  Some viewers may find it relevant in light of the current sex scandal in the Catholic Church, even though homosexuality has nothing at all to do with the present day controversy of child abuse.  The story does touch on themes that are germane not only to the Catholic Church, but to all religions that struggle to adjust to an increasingly secular world.  Perhaps the best message in the film to me, is Father Mathew’s overall theme of forgiveness.  While Father Greg considers himself deserving of any disdain or punishment, Father Mathew tries to convince the parish to forgive him.  He reminds his congregation that while religions are based on the teachings of God, that all of the rules and by-laws, hierarchy and ceremonies are constructs of man – and he feels that the church had grown to care more about obedience and subservience to these man-made trappings than to the true mission of what makes us better people, better fellow human beings, and therefore more god-like. Maybe the movie’s most relevant idea lies in the notion that the Catholic Church should forgive itself and to stop concentrating on what happened and shift its focus to why it happened, and what steps it can take to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future – I think Father Mathew just might agree.

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