Jeune & Jolie

Young & Beautiful (2013), a provocative new French film by director François Ozon, Swimming Pool (2003) and Potiche (2010), that explores our universal obsession with youth and sex, is a coming of age tale about seventeen year old Isabelle (Marine Vacth) from middle-class divorced parents, who is drawn into a world of prostitution with elderly male clients. 

North American and English cinema tends to be uncomfortable with nudity and explicit sex acts within a family setting; American Beauty (1999) and Fish Tank (2009) come to mind as examples of taboo subject matter that did not sit well with audiences. So we are taken aback by the more open attitudes toward nudity and sexuality in European and especially French cinema, regarding it as exploitation at best and pornography at worst rather than art. 

In the opening scenes of Young & Beautiful we see Isabelle as a normal teenager on vacation with her family at a summer beach resort. She wants to have her first sex experience with a boy, but when she finally decides the time is right and is disappointed by her lack of emotional connection, she begins a journey of self-discovery that will alienate her from her family and friends. 

As with the recent Cannes winner Blue is the Warmest Color (2013), there are some explicit sex scenes, but here there is a disturbing sense of unease and danger as the inexperienced Isabelle, so young and naïve, finds herself alone and vulnerable with men much older than her.

Driven by a desire for acceptance and independence, she is proud that she’s taken her first steps into new adult world where her youth and beauty are highly valued and admired. Using her newly found sexual power and mature look, she eventually finds herself becoming an in-demand prostitute with a wealthy clientele of older men looking for discrete sex.

The film is a fascinating study into modern social issues surrounding sex, adolescence and family responsibilities in contemporary European society. Isabelle’s ability to emotionally disconnect from the people she has sexual relations with, allows her to continue meeting her rich clients in high end hotel rooms without imposing any moral judgments on herself.

She seems to enjoy her new found identity and acceptance into this mysterious world of power and wealth as we follow Isabelle navigating a precarious course between her relationship with her younger brother and family life at home, her class mates at school, and her secret rendezvous as a high class call girl, as if it’s just a normal part of her new life.

The film is stylishly depicted with stunning photography and natural performances in authentic Paris locations. There is a voyeurism that comes across from following this striking young girl around through her daily routine and we are drawn in by the contrast and contradiction of a seemingly normal teenager’s life and the darker world of men’s sexual fantasies.

American reaction to this film is often to question the director’s motives or intentions for making such a film, but they seem to be unaware or discount the cultural disparity of French society. French cinema and François Ozon in particular tends to be more adventurous with sexual politics and family issues.

Eventually Isabelle’s secret world comes crashing down as she discovers her vulnerability and those of her clients and family. Her inability to deal with, or even see the dangers of her double life, takes her to a place she was not prepared for as she must now face the consequences. 

JP

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), a reboot of the phenomenally successful Planet of the Apes saga (1968 - 1973) that included five movies, a TV series, an animated series and a merchandising bonanza, is a worthy Apes story that improves on its predecessor with a humanist socio-political message and a strong anti-gun stance. 

On the edge of a post-apocalyptic San Francisco, ape leader Ceasar’s band of intelligent simians is surviving the only way they know how, by hunting and living in the forest, whereas humans are quickly declining in numbers and desperately clinging to life in small pockets around the globe.

The filmmakers have once again made a smart suspenseful film that’s dedicated to the emotional life of the characters and respects the spirit of the original thought provoking films.

It’s a precarious time for both humans and apes, taking place ten years after the previous film, it’s a time where mankind has all but disappeared from the earth which now looks like the History channel’s Life after People series with buildings and streets in ruins, decaying and slowly being reclaimed by wilderness. A time between the decline of humanity and the rise of the Apes who will eventually emerge as the dominant species on the planet.

After a virus has wiped out most of the human population except for a few who have a genetic immunity, Ceasar’s ape colony has grown in numbers and living in a lush ape-topian forest canopy, experimenting with the beginnings of language and a moral code of ethics that may eventually lift them out of their primitive past.  “Ape shall not kill Ape” 

The look of the apes in this film has been refined to such an unparalleled level of realism and is so convincing that the character of Caesar is completely captivating as a being caught between two worlds but not totally belonging in either. All the ape characters are unique and interact seamlessly with the humans.

Caesar has distinguished himself as a strong, natural leader and role model for the burgeoning ape colony, and the evolved apes have managed to live in peace until they accidentally come in contact with a group of armed human survivors bent on winning back what was lost. 

Andy Serkis, who plays Caesar, has become somewhat of a cult legend among sci-fi and fantasy fans for being the go-to-guy for motion capture characters like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 - 2003), King Kong in King Kong (2005), Captain Haddock in The Adventures of Tintin (2011), a consultant on Godzilla (2014) and gives a mesmerizing performance here as the brooding simian leader who now also has the responsibility of raising a family of his own.

The desperate band of humans bring with them an arsenal of weaponry and are eager to repair a hydro electrical power generator that will restore some much needed human conveniences. But the generators that need repair are in ape controlled territory and the apes are not about to trust the humans or allow them anywhere near their families, knowing all too well their racist, selfish and destructive tendencies. 

This theme has been a constant throughout the Apes saga from the very beginning. It was the destructive and war like nature of man that caused his destruction and lead to the domination of apes in the original films and it continues to be a prominent theme here in the latest installment of the popular saga. There are some striking parallels here especially with the final film of the original saga, Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

One sympathetic human, Malcolm, slowly befriends Caesar, appealing to his sense of brotherhood and cooperation for mutual benefit.  But joining forces with the humans doesn’t sit well with the rest of the ape clan, particularly one of Caesars’s most loyal apes, Koba, who holds a strong grudge and mistrust of humans after being subjected to inhumane laboratory experiments.

The mistrust of human motives is well founded more often than not, and the epic struggle between two tribes begins….again.

JP

Guardians of the Galaxy

Yes it’s true, Guardians of the Galaxy, the new film franchise based on the Marvel comic series of the same name, is as cool as it sounds. A ragtag collection of cosmic misfits careening through space by the seat of their pants, in a retro western space adventure set to classic 80s rock tunes.

It’s been an exceptional year so far for Sci-fi adventure films with excellent summer fare such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Edge of Tomorrow, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. But none are filled with as much cheeky fun as Guardians of the Galaxy.

Space junker Peter Quill, abducted from earth when he was just a boy, is the Jack Sparrow of a band of space pirates, who goes in search of fame and fortune by scavenging rare valuable artifacts. Flying a stolen space ship and carrying among his worldly possessions a Sony Walkman he had with him when he was abducted, he’s a fun loving loner with a difficult back story.

The MacGuffin that brings all the various heroes and villains together from different parts of a not so faraway galaxy is a mysterious orb that gives whoever possesses it, if they’re strong enough to withstand its destructive power, the ability to destroy an entire planet; a sort of Ring of Power in the shape of a miniature Death Star if you will.

Quill gets more than he bargained for after finding the orb when he suddenly finds himself the target of a number of galactic warriors, bounty hunters, and straight up evil megalomaniacs. Everyone is after the orb for different reasons but Quill just wants to make a quick buck and has no idea of its true potential.

If all this sounds suspiciously familiar, just look at the poster art for the film and it should trigger memories of another famous Sci-fi franchise that exploded onto screens back in 1977. This could actually be the film that the original Star Wars fans were hoping for back in 1999 when the first prequel, The Phantom Menace (1999), hit theaters to disappointed fan boy groans.

Among those who are quick on Quill’s tale is a green female warrior assassin Gamora, who is the adopted daughter of an evil leader Thanos, seeking revenge on a peaceful planet, a duo of bounty hunters comprising a genetically modified genius raccoon Rocket, a walking talking tree who has created his own language with only three words by calling himself Groot, and a hulking mass of muscle with little brains but lots of heart called Drax the Destroyer.

The amount of characters and names can be a little daunting at first and the villains are of the standard and one dimensional kind, but the movie’s energy and enthusiasm more than makes up for this. It’s really about the creation of a unique band of brothers, all outcasts who have lost their own families and eventually find in each other what they have lost. 

I was told that director James Gunn behind such films as Super (2010), and the writers of this film put all of their hearts and souls into the making of this film and it clearly shows in the loving touches evidenced by the movie’s rocking tunes, an array of strange but charming characters, a great sense of humor, comic dialogue and heartfelt storyline.

This movie is fun for the whole family and is filled with so much visual detail that it will definitely stand up to multiple viewings. With future installments on the way I’m looking forward to spending more time with these funny flawed heroes.

JP