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dir. Tomu Uchida
writ. Shintaro Mimura, Fuji Yahiro, Kintaro Inoue (idea)
feat. a lot of people
This lackadaisical tale of a samurai and his servants doesn't quite settle on a tone. It's lighthearted with tinges of intense drama surrounding a thief among the people and finally, a near accidental samurai battle. Still, it's charming to follow the samurai's spearman as he befriends a young orphan boy on the road and incidentally harms him by giving the hungry boy too much money, all spent on quickly devoured persimmons, making the boy sick. The illness stalls the discovery of the thief's identity and sets up a farcical scene where lords of the land stop all traffic to enjoy the view of Mt. Fuji and a snack on the road while the boy cleans out his system in a nearby ditch, bringing the lords to sniff each other out, seeking out the source of the stench.
The thief is finally caught, again almost incidentally, and the samurai is given the undeserved credit. He sees this error, leading him to question the ways of society and to show his appreciation, he shares a drink with one of his trusted servants. A group of rowdy samurai happen upon master drinking with his lowly servant and a fight breaks out. In the exciting battle in the courtyard of spewing punctured sake barrels, the spearman emerges a hero, but a lonely one, finally casting off his friendships (and a potential romance), walking off down the road by himself. It's a strange turn, one that skews the purpose of the story, making it more serious than its tone indicated throughout, though not quite enough to resonate.
dir. Tomu Uchida
writ. Yasutaro Yagi, Tatsuzo Ishikawa
feat. Mie Kitahara, Rentaro Mikuni, Yumeji Tsukioka, Jukichi Uno, Nobuo Kaneko
Yeah, that's a lot of stars you've never heard of and I can't pronounce most of the names either, but they all deserve billing. This film is loaded with great performances. It's postwar Japan and some fear that the country is fast becoming a colony of the United States. Still, that doesn't stop the bedridden brother from playing the stock market with the family money while his sister battles her pride, the chance to be a modern woman, and a persistent desire for romance as she considers her potential suitors.
Father has recently passed away and the stepmother seems to be angling for the same man that she is pushing on her stepdaughter. That man, Ihara, the successful divorced doctor, is the new modern man, finished with love, a consumer with a good future, unafraid to flaunt it. Then there is Komatsu, the quiet dreamer, the wanderer who appears first in the film, sleeping in a hole (or maybe a drainage ditch), thought dead, and immediately scolded for "bothering people" when he wakes and walks off on his journey. His problem seems to be his lack of daring, though he seems content and admits to preferring to spend his time alone.
The movie is a swirl of new (1955) archetypes, not of all which fall into easy categorization. What is the brother's illness? Could it be heartache wrought by the wife that deserted him? His unwillingness to engage in family squabbles seems to complement his nearly paralyzed state, that bag of ice hanging down from post to lay gently on his head. Most interesting (and tragic) is Tamiko, the sister who can't seem to find her place in this changing world, wanting it all to make sense and meet her demands but without the map to chart that course. Her unwillingness to bend leaves her heroic yet alone, having dug that hole with pride.
dir. Martin Scorsese
writ. Martin Scorsese
feat. Harvey Keitel, Zina Bethune
Scorsese got some dough to expand his student film of Keitel and the gang hanging around the city into a feature. They hired an actress and built a meandering romantic tale of a couple that meets waiting for the Staten Island ferry and talks about movies. It's really two longer shorts and one music video. Apparently, someone thought it might be worth distributing but wanted a scene where Keitel hooked up with a bunch of hotties while listening to The Doors song The End. Sure, why not. Looks like a rough gig for Keitel, mounted by a handful of sexy ladies.
The film stands as a curiosity and the original scenes of Keitel and his gang hint at bits of Mean Streets and even Goodfellas. The romance that develops in cramped spaces with Keitel quick to blow his stack seems a precursor to moments in Raging Bull. Check it out if you want to see Scorsese just begging to hone his skills.
dir. Tomu Uchida
writ. Yoshikata Yoda
feat. Hashizo Okawa, Michiko Saga
Wow! What a beauty! I hadn't experienced a film that felt like a live action version of a Miyazaki film before The Mad Fox. It tells the story of a Japanese folktale where two disciples of a yin-yang master (?) are at odds after the master's sudden murder on the road. Already a curse has befallen the land and only the master knows more about it, having taken a look at the precious Golden Crow scroll shortly before his death. The ensuing argument over who should take the master's place leads to the disappearance of the scroll followed by the fatal beating of his adopted daughter while the good disciple, Yasuna, in love with that daughter, watches helplessly.
Yasuna manages to escape with the scroll, the house burning to the ground in the struggle with his counterpart. Having seen his dead love in a horrifying position, staked to the ground where she'd been beaten, Yasuna loses his mind as illustrated in a ravishing Kabuki segment where he dances amidst yellow flowers, covering himself in his lost love's kimono as a circular stage spins to give him greater room to move.
As Yasuna slips out of his reverie, he sees who he believes to be his love but
who is actually her twin sister (thankfully set up in the prologue). Still mad, he professes his love repeatedly though often mixing up the names. The twin doesn't seem to mind, still finding Yasuna to be a good prospect. Meanwhile, the lords of the land still seek out Yasuna while also hunting for a white fox. The hunters shoot an arrow through an old woman that Yasuna saves, returning her to her home. Well, it turns out that the woman was indeed an old fox. Out of gratitude, the foxes come to Yasuna's rescue when he is set upon by the hunters after recognizing him.
Injured in the scrabble, the foxes spirit Yasuna away to safety and agree that the young granddaughter will take the form of Yasuna's new love (or old love, really all the same gal anyhow) to see to his health. She must avoid any funny business though or she'll never have a home again. Well, guess what, the funny business comes quickly and we flash ahead to the foxy lady and Yasuna in their home in the woods and a newborn baby boy. She has duped him into believing it unsafe to see his supposed in-laws, but suddenly they arrive, setting up for a grand finale that includes a flying baby, a flying stuffed fox, a stunning show of a mouth brushing calligraphy on a rice paper screen and an explosion.
I don't know what else to say. It must be seen to be believed. Like Miyazaki, there is a wondrous flow to the story that defies American conventions for tight storytelling. The Kabuki scene drags a little long, but then the love of the fox comes quickly. It's magical and fitting of a director whose name translates to "spit out dreams."
dir. Tomu Uchida
writ. Masashige Narusawa, Monzaemon Chikamatsu (play)
feat. Kinnosuke Nakamura, Ineko Arima
Another stellar BAM program as they bring the first New York retrospective of Tomu Uchida (whose name translates to "spit out dreams"). This beautiful studio picture tells the tale of a shy young man who is dragged to a brothel against his wishes. There he falls for a prostitute, refusing to touch her though quickly promising to buy her freedom. Of course, it is set up that she is there out of debt and really a hooker with a heart of gold. Sadly, our hero is poor though he works around a lot of money, part of a courier service. It is quickly established that one who breaks the seal that holds a bundle of money together may be executed, and the stage is set for our poor boy to find a tragic fate.
The film kicks off with a (bunraku) puppet show attended by our characters, including Chikamatsu (the writer of the show being staged and the film's story). As the show concludes, Chikamatsu finds a sponsor for his next story. He winds up overhearing the story of our hero as he labors to save his lady, and writes it as we watch it play out.
The story spends far too much time establishing the money woes of our hero before finally getting on with his tragic act of theft. But as it moves toward its climax, Chikamatsu inserts himself more forcefully, attempting to write a happier ending for the lovers. A gorgeous Kabuki scene of the dancing lovers depicts one such fantastic turn, while another, final puppet show gives our man the chance to make it home to his forgiving father. The detail in the puppet design and handling imbue this final scene with more emotion and nuance than the actors manage to display, making for a gorgeous finale.
dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
writ. Stefan Ruzowitzky, Adolf Burger (book)feat. Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow
Last year's winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film spins a new Holocaust tale, tracking a professional counterfeiter from his initial arrest to finally landing in a concentration camp where the Nazis are attempting to reproduce passable British pounds and American dollars. The film takes its time in transporting Salomon Sorowitsch (Markovics) to the concentration camp, illustrating his keen skill in handling himself amidst criminals and captors, artfully keeping himself better fed and cared for than the average prisoner.
At the camp, he takes to the job with his usual professional enthusiasm, finding the challenge of the complicated notes engaging and any success sure to improve his lot at the hands of the Nazis. There he meets opposition in Adolf Burger (Diehl) who catches on that they are funding the war effort and wishes no part of it. While this conflict invites complicated questions about duty and survival during wartime, Burger's character is one-note, always screaming for justice and trembling with good intentions. Thankfully, Markovics is our lead, showing great depth and magnetism, playing Sally like an honorable criminal, protecting all of his fellow inmates, even Burger when he risks the lives of the entire company.
The film suffers for Burger's simplicity, possibly a problem in the source material (Burger's book), but Markovics' performance is compelling enough to make it worth watching. And a wraparound story showing Markovics in Monte Carlo adds a wistful touch of romance that serves as a poignant, touching contrast to the horrors of the war.
dir. D.W. Griffith
writ. D.W. Griffith, Adolphe d'Ennery & Eugene Cormon (novel)
feat. Lillian Gish, Dorothy Gish, Joseph Schildkraut
This piece of classic early Hollywood cinema has all the epic makings of a Griffith film and the melodrama of Dickens. The Gish sisters play unrelated orphans, one of whom goes blind in childhood. As they head to Paris to seek an operation that might cure Louise (Dorothy) of her blindness, they stumble into all kinds of trouble. A dastardly aristocrat spirits Henriette (Lillian) away from her sister to be his plaything at one of his orgies while Louise falls prey to an old mustached hag beggar who uses the blind lovely to bring her easy coin. To the credit of Griffith, the orgy actually looks rather wild, a large estate scene where the gates lock at midnight and everyone goes wild, racing around and losing their knickers.
While an impressive use of crowds keeps the big scenes engaging, the long winded story takes its sweet time to bring on the revolution, reconnect the lovers and
(finally) the sisters, saving precious lives at the last moment thanks to Danton and his spirited lawyering. Though it's better than a mere curiosity along the road of film history, Orphans flounders when it comes to quality drama, acting and pacing.
dir. Luis Bunuel
writ. Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel
feat. Gaston Modot, Lya Lys
Watching this film is like seeing the child that will become an adult one day. Bunuel shows off his trademark notions of meaningless bourgeois existence and base human desire. In fact, he uses very specific elements that will later appear in beautiful and pointed films such as The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Phantom of Liberty. Here, however, we're stuck in the age of the slow old silent film, often waiting for the story to get on to its next segment. The heavy handed attack on the church at the end of the picture feels overwrought, an exclamation point at the end of a run-on sentence.
Dali rejected the film, already in the midst of a falling out with Bunuel who didn't get along with Gala, Dali's wife, claiming that Bunuel had replaced Dali's "authentic sacrilege" with "a primary ant-clericalism and an over-explicit political message." While this is a fair argument, more importantly, any messages intended are heaved at the screen instead of played out with the panache Bunuel will later show, leaving this film feeling more like a curiosity than a piece of groundbreaking artwork.
dir. Martin Scorsese
feat. The Rolling Stones
As an avid rock fan and concert goer, let me start by noting that I'm not a fan of the concert film in general. They leave me dry, lacking the electric energy of a live show, instead falling into loops of redundant camera moves and rapid fire editing. Unfortunately, Shine A Light is no different. After a short, often silly, introduction that seems eager to let the audience know how hard it is to make a concert film as well as showcase Bill and Hillary Clinton (as well as Hil's Mom), the show kicks off with Jumpin' Jack Flash, quickly followed by Shattered. The second song seems to indicate the state of Mick Jagger's singing ability at this late date, losing all of the nuance of that song in its tale of a distressed rocker just barely holding it all together. Mick rattles through the cliff notes version of both songs, hitting key words and occasional lines but spending more time thrashing and pumping his arms than trying to recreate those songs as actual songs. The editing is jumpy and deliberate, perhaps as a substitute for Scorsese being able to yell, "Action, Action, Action!"
Don't get me wrong. Mick is a powerhouse of energy out there on the stage and is charmingly spastic as he rouses the crowd. But the repetitive skyward lunges, shakes of those skeleton hips and lurches toward the front of the stage fall into a cycle that lulls one adrift, a result only emphasized by the very refreshing feeling accompanied by all of the guest appearances and the eventual centerstage moment for Keith. While it's a little funny that Jack White (White Stripes, Raconteurs) isn't brought out to blow the doors off the Beacon Theater, it shows some rather sharp attention (by Scorsese or the Stones, I'm not sure) that they bring him around for Loving Cup, a rather tender song, fitting with his more playful tunes of childhood innocence from the Stripes recordings. And anyone wishing to excuse Mick and the boys on account of age, just pay attention to the precise guitar work and resoundingly powerful vocals of Buddy Guy who shows up the gang at the ripe old age of 70 when he joins them for Champagne & Reefer. Christina Aguilera, though looking and sounding a bit like the Max Factor Presents Pop Diva of the Moment, does bring some youth and beauty to the gang for her stint on Live With Me.
On another note, the soundtrack is infuriating, a mix driven by narrative film logic, with the guitar rising in the mix only when the guitar is onscreen. This rise and fall of picture-featured elements continues throughout the film. It sounds nothing like a concert. Mick's vocals are heavily favored and too cleanly edited, without any of that live quality that makes for great concert recordings.
All gripes aside, there a number of beautiful passages, mainly of Keith with that loose swagger and dreamy grin, showing how much he loves what he does, particularly when he gets to show off his creaky but lovely voice on You Got the Silver. But maybe best of all, there is a gorgeous moment when Buddy Guy is jamming with Ron and Keith, all three smiling from ear to eary while Mick impressively plays the harmonica, old dogs doing old tricks and loving every minute.
dir. Sydney Lumet
writ. Eugene O'Neill
feat. Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, Dean Stockwell
There is a natural challenge in adapting a play for the big screen since the scale of stage drama is larger than life while the camera brings the viewer in more intimately, making overly dramatic language and overblown performances cringeworthy. While this film suffers from both at times, particularly the early moments with Hepburn as the nerve-jangled matron, it holds onto the viewer by slowly delivering further background on each of the family members, developing them from a group of somewhat despicable folks into characters that while deeply faulted feel worthy of sympathy. Their faults and the roots of such are exposed to each other over the course of the day, aided by the loosening effects of morphine and whiskey.
It's refreshing to be thrown into a story without the typical easy introduction. Eugene O'Neill dumps us into the fray of this family and takes his time in revealing the answers to questions that quickly crop up about Edmund's (Dean Stockwell) health or Mary's (Katharine Hepburn) drug use. This approach makes a mystery of the story, lending the eventual release of information a touch of revelation, a comforting feeling for the viewer. When James (Ralph Richardson) finishes a long story of his childhood and dashed hopes and dreams as an actor, Edmund thanks him for the tale, and the audience is right there with him, relieved to learn more about what makes this miserly old man tick, the background justifying at least part of his behavior.
While the story is depressing and doesn't offer a load of hope for the family, it's a wonderfully satisfying drama that takes them through a long night that just might lead them to a better understanding of one another.
dir. Park Chanwook
writ. Park Chanwook, Hwang Jo-yun, Lim Chun-hyeong, Garon Tsuchiya (story)
feat. Choi Min-sik
There is a moment almost halfway through Oldboy when I thought I might be in an original genre bending film, one that would defy easy categorization and possibly need a second viewing to really grasp. For much of the movie, Park holds onto this possibility, toying with a prisoner held against his will for an unknown reason for 15 years, suddenly let go but not entirely, with his captor clearly still playing with his life, teasing the possibility of revenge. There is hypnosis, self-taught martial arts, secrets of youth, suspicious coincidences and some really wild hair.
But Park takes on too much, dabbling in most of it for momentary effect only to move on to the next moment. My favorite early moment which I'd like to see further explored come as the film races through Dae-Su's 15 years with his suggestion of becoming good friends with the television - his teacher, friend and lover. And there is something fascinating (and certainly memorable) about watching him eat a live squid, tearing it with his teeth and downing it as the tentacles continue to writhe across his face.
Unfortunately, all of these little, often glossy and beautifully shot elements don't add up to a something greater than their shiny parts. When the story finally gets around to providing answers to the many questions, everything hinges on something in the past that feels too contrived and disconnected from our story to be worth all the trouble. Isn't everyone sick of bleached flashbacks of childhood trauma used to explain away a character's twisted deeds?
For a better example of Park's work with some earnest warmth, check out Joint Security Area.
writ. & dir. John Carpenter
feat. Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston
John Carpenter's tough guy story of a police precinct under siege in gangtown LA is a fun action flick that screams '70s. The gritty pointlessness to the action of the film is its best feature, the station attacked incidentally after a man takes refuge there once his daughter is offhandedly shot by a gang member and he retaliates. He is quickly out of the picture, just the setup for the real (um) stars. The coincidences are stacked as it is the last day of the old precinct with a new chief for the one night, and a prison bus of 3 criminals bound for death row takes a detour to the station for a sick passenger
Carpenter does his own music on this one, a synth whine that builds appropriately with the tension. The tough guys and one tough dame get their wisecracks in while the movie zips along.
I'll admit, I had a few drinks before this one and recommend the pastime for your viewing pleasure.
dir. Raoul Walsh
writ. Achmed Abdullah, James T. O'Donohue, Lotta Woods
feat. Douglas Fairbanks
I was lucky to catch this classic silent film at the Film Forum with live piano accompaniment by Steve Sterner. While I've seen a bunch of silent films, I hadn't yet caught any of Fairbanks' films or any of the epic silents of the early Hollywood era. What an amazing picture! Fairbanks is in terrific shape, moving slyly and gracefully through the enormous elaborate sets as he slips from thief to prince over the course of the film. The sets are astounding, particularly the city gate which must be six stories tall with sharp teeth along its adjoining doors.
The story is a long one, showing Fairbanks in his easygoing life as an accomplished thief, content with his "What I want, I take," philosophy until he falls for the Princess of Bagdad and must change his ways to earn her hand in marriage. It takes some time to get him to meet the Princess, then pose as a Prince in an attempt to kidnap her when he falls for her, unable to follow through on the grand theft. She falls for him as well and chooses him as her husband, but he is found out and only barely saved from being thrown to the ape to be torn apart (actually a large chimp that never gets the chance to lay hands on the lucky thief). Finally, downtrodden and turning to religion, the thief is told by a holy man that he can prove himself by going on a long, dangerous journey over the course of which he will prove his worth and gain a treasure worthy of a queen.
The princess sends her other suitors out for treasures just to buy herself time, not wanting to marry the other men- one old, one fat and lazy, and the last one ugly and evil, with his own secret plan to take over the city. This sets up a third act of high adventure with more stunning sets and a show of the special effects of the age. Fairbanks braves fire and monsters in a nice mix of puppetry and composite shots, including an underwater battle with a giant spider (?) and subsequent fending off of alluring water nymphs. The dashing Fairbanks is tempted but remembers his princess and swims chastely to safety. Ultimately, he arrives at the Citadel of the Moon where he takes a miniature chest filled with magic powder that permits him to conjure a horse, princely raiment and soldiers to battle the evil Mongol prince. While no one seems to inhabit the citadel, it does seem a bit like he steals the chest, though I suppose his lengthy quest justifies this prize.
It's a fun film and a fantastic example of the grandeur of old Hollywood. While some of the acting is broad and overly emphatic, Fairbanks is also playful and athletically subtle, clearly deserving of his star status.
Check it out!
Welcome to Flicker Fan!
This blog is about the movies. I hope you enjoy reading about the films I've seen and maybe go check out a couple for yourself.
dir. Tomu Uchida
