Begin Again

Bask in the warm glow of this exuberant feel-good romance. There are so many wonderful things going for this film including a great cast of actors who can sing, and singers who can act. This movie is not a musical but it is music driven and some characters do sing because they happen to be singer-songwriters performing in various New York locations.

If you loved Alan Parker’s soul music film The Commitments (1991), you will also love this movie. Both are about community and like-minded people and musicians from different walks of life coming together to make great music and a name for themselves while attaining new heights and reconciliation in their personal and professional lives.

A washed-up alcoholic middle aged New York music producer Dan Mulligan (Mark Ruffalo) is fired from his job at the music studio he co-founded because he finds himself at odds with today’s changing corporate mind-set of a profit driven production environment that dominates the music business. 

Meanwhile, in another part of town, a young songwriter, Gretta (Keira Knightly), suddenly finds herself alone after being dumped by her longtime partner, a singer-songwriter on the verge of landing a major label, while in town to help him produce his new album.

Drowning their sorrows, these two sad souls both end up in the same bar one night. When Gretta is pressured onto the stage by her friends to sing one of her songs, she immediately draws the attention of Dan, who is entranced by her song and sees great potential in her. From there, these two people, who were at the bottom of their emotional strings, suddenly find new inspiration to be better than anyone would have imagined them capable of.

When his studio is unable to see the potential in Dan’s new prodigy, he decides to help her make a demo by gathering some backup musicians and recording her songs in outdoor locations around well-known parts of New York City. What follows is a spontaneous joyful musical journey of expression that’s inspiring to see and hear.

Begin Again has a great message about passion, the joys of music and being true to yourself while at the same time being extremely entertaining with lots of songs and great performances by a fun cast. It’s a satisfying film with genuine characters that’s also about how today’s music industry has changed to become a dishonest business taking the music away from its authentic artistic roots.

Written and directed by the Irish filmmaker John Carney, well known for another fine film about musicians, the Sundance Audience Award winner Once (2006), has once again given us an exceptional and inspiring charmer of two people coming together in the unlikeliest of circumstances, and is nominated at this year’s Oscars for Best Song – Lost Stars, performed by Adam Levine who plays Gretta’s ex-partner in the film.

Begin Again, like its characters and the songs they write, is a genuine soulful gem among the big studio hyped block busters that deserves our attention and will not disappoint those who seek it out and put their faith in this delightful little film from the heart.

JP

Force Majeure

A luxury ski resort with all the modern conveniences catering to a wealthy clientele nestled among the scenic snow covered mountain peaks of the French Alps, is the setting of a tumultuous anguished ski holiday for a modern Swedish family. 

Husband and father, Thomas played by Johannes Kuhnke, has taken some time off from his job to spend quality time with his wife Ebba, played by Lisa Loven Kongsli, and their two kids, enjoying some much needed relaxation and escape from the daily distractions of the modern rat race.

Soon after arriving, Tomas’ manhood and leadership is called into question as he comes under increasing attack and scrutiny by his wife and children after an impulsive slip in judgment has him abandoning them during a crucial moment of fear when they needed him most to be the alpha male protector. 

Force Majeure is the French name for an extraordinary event. It’s commonly used in contracts between two companies absolving both parties of liability if either party is unable to fulfill their obligations due to an unforeseeable or unavoidable crisis such as an earthquake, power failure, riot or strike etc.

Throughout Force Majeure, the ominous mountains loom over a collection of precarious ski lodges threaten to unleash the fury of an unexpected avalanche. We get a sense of impending danger among the towering altitudes overshadowing the vulnerable chalet buildings. Muffled sounds of distant explosives are heard echoing throughout the day and night in an effort to control the risk of a snow slide that will keep the skiers safe. 

Much like the cascading white storm which is the catalyst that causes a major crisis in the relationship of the vacationing Swedish couple, there is a lot of pent up anxiety and resentment under their calm icy exterior. Our seemingly typical nuclear family is showing signs of dysfunction, no longer conforming to our traditional preconceptions. 

Ebba has good reason to be concerned. She expects her husband to be the selfless protector and provider that men have been raised to emulate, but somewhere along the way our society has changed so much that we can no longer rely on those traditional role models from the past.

Director Ruben Östlund’s visual style deftly reveals the growing turmoil just beneath the surface through banal scenes of intimate routine and subtle non-verbal behavioral gestures.

Visually, Force Majeure is almost Kubrick-like in the way it uses titles as each day passes, showing still shots of a majestic primordial mountainscapes juxtaposed with formally framed designer interiors and manicured ski slopes accompanied by the repeating Vivaldi Concerto No. 2 in G Minor also known as ‘Summer’ from the Four Seasons. It’s almost like The Shining (1980) as we gradually witness the cracks forming in the family facade until it snaps and there’s a downward slide to a complete breakdown.

The family eventually comes to an uneasy conclusion that the patriarch is not without his faults and vulnerabilities. Under certain extraordinary circumstances, the marriage contract may be nullified, subject to the Force Majeure clause when either half may not behave as expected or provide the support they feel is required of them.

Winner of the prestigious Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes film festival, the film asks revealing questions about masculinity and men’s roles in modern society, provoking stimulating conversations among couples.

JP