Essential Killing

From the veteran Polish writer, actor and director Jerzy Skolimowski, comes a very unusual film with virtually no dialogue and told entirely from the perspective of a captured Afghani Taliban insurgent. It could almost be considered an art film because of the beautifully photographed landscapes and vistas of a figure running through other worldly, exotic locations.

An Afghani insurgent is captured by American forces in a canyon desert landscape and taken prisoner. Tortured and unable to understand or hear what is being said to him, he is taken to a secret location somewhere in Eastern Europe, where an accident allows him to escape. Running for his life, in a completely foreign, remote land, unable to communicate with anyone, he has no idea where he is and assumes everyone is out to kill him. 

There are elements of the Bourne series here because he is a trained soldier being pursued by secret government agents and armies and the action is non-stop. It is a visually stunning action chase film with very little dialogue and a totally believable performance by the lead actor Vincent Gallo, recently from Tetro (2009), whose character is never named. His nail biting performance is so suspenseful that you are constantly wondering what will happen to him next and how will his journey end, and who is this guy? 

Throughout the film we get short glimpses into his past life, as he dreams about his wife and home, and this seems to be what drives him to keep going. However this is not a conventional story, and we follow him for a short time but we don’t really know what happens to him. The movie finishes and we are left wondering what it all means. 

But it’s a fascinating glimpse into the crazy consequences of war, and our capabilities to survive at any cost. It shows how, in primitive and brutal circumstances, we regress to our basic animal instincts, making killing essential to survive. Similar in some ways to 127 Hours (2010), it shows how we are capable of the most desperate acts if our survival depends on it.

I would consider this to be a war film and some of the scenes are quite violent and graphic as you would expect in a war film. But it is a unique war film that shows a unique perspective on the war in Afghanistan; one that you will not see anywhere else, and this makes it worth seeing. One thing is for sure, this film is as fascinating as it is disturbing and you’re not likely to forget it. 

JP

Caramel

Stunningly beautiful, critically acclaimed Lebanese writer, director Nadine Labaki, whose first film was the charming and sensual Caramel (2007), has just won the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) People Choice award for her new film Where Do We Go Now?

Caramel was a seductive and romantic look at life in Beirut from the point of view of a group of women of different ages, who work in a beauty salon and help each other out and share their beauty secrets and romance advice. We get to see women of different generations and religious backgrounds in the safe, sheltered environment of a beauty shop, where they are free to talk and discuss any subject that may be taboo in Lebanese society. 

It’s a movie that exposes some of the prejudices and restrictions that women still face in Arab society but uses a great deal of light hearted humor to show how women of all ages come together to deal with problems and enjoy life. Caramel refers to a sugar wax, which when warmed, is used to remove unwanted body hair but can also be enjoyed as a confection.

Nadine Labaki is a gorgeous female director who also stars as the main character in her films and when you see her you know why. She easily holds the audience’s attention with her stunning beauty. Her onscreen presence and feminine sensuality is so powerful that when she is on screen you can’t take your eyes off her. 

All the women in the film are non-professional actors that Labaki found living and working in Beirut, giving the film an authenticity and believability that would not be possible with actors, and we get to know these women intimately over the course of the film.

Now she has made a new film called Where Do We Go Now?, that has just won the People’s Choice award at the TIFF and is also about women who come together and help each other to deal with a serious issue of stopping the men of their village from fighting each other in a violent war. 

Again using humor to expose and deal with serious issues she retains many of her trademark story elements.

JP

Contagion

The latest film from the Academy Award winning and prolific American director Steven Soderbergh, famous for such excellent films as The Limey (1999), Erin Brockovich (2000), Traffic (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Ocean’s Twelve (2004) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2007), Solaris (2001), The Good German (2006), Che: Part One and Two (2008) and The Informant! (2009)  is a chilling, detailed and realistically smart look at what would happen if an aggressive strain of a deadly virus were to wipe out a large part of the population on earth in less than a year.

It’s frightening and shocking because the premise, although fictional, is based on real science and actual possibilities that have and are occurring today. Soderbergh’s style of filming is well suited to this type of film as the Oscar winning editor Stephen Mirrione edits quickly and smoothly between many cases around the world as the lethal virus spreads at a phenomenal rate. 

He doesn’t simplify things for us as we get a quick education in biological pathogens and shows us a very detailed account of the people, agencies, medical procedures and logistics involved in a pandemic of this scale. We are also shown how easily and quickly, through human contact, a virus can be transmitted and spread.

Known for his use of the star studded cast, he has again employed here a stellar ensemble cast of Academy Award winning actors including Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Marion Cotillard. The story is so compelling and the performances so engaging and natural, that use of well-known actors doesn’t detract from the effect of the film. There are not many directors who can pull that off well but Steven Soderbergh is one who can, and in fact it seems to be his specialty if you look at his body of work.

This movie does for viruses what Jaws (1975) did for beaches. Stay away from people and don’t touch anyone or anything without protection. It’s a particularly relevant and topical subject as we are dealing with superbugs and virus epidemics like SARS, H1N1 and Bird flu. I was definitely more conscious of where I’d been and who I’d been in contact with after seeing this film. Everyone should see this film because not only is it an eye opener, but it’s also a very well made and entertaining film dealing with serious issues.

JP

Star Wars saga updated for Blu-ray

Most of the changes to the complete Star Wars saga on Blu-ray are of the subtle nature, correcting long standing little mistakes in the picture and sound. Unnoticeable on previous formats, but in High Definition will need to be addressed, as the picture and sound quality on Blu-ray and large HD televisions are so much higher and therefore mistakes are more noticeable. 

In addition, as with the Special Editions (1997), we will also be seeing some more digital alterations and tweaks. Most notably the puppet Yoda used in Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) will be replaced by a digital Yoda to match his look better with the digital Yoda in Episodes II and III.  The digital Yoda also allows for more natural facial expressions and body movements, which is what George Lucas has been aiming for in all his fantasy characters. Similarly, some subtle eye blinks will be added to one of the Ewoks in Return of the Jedi (1983) for a more natural facial expression, and probably a few digital characters will also be added here and there.

This is not new, or the first time a puppet has been replaced by a digital version. Remember in the Special Editions, several puppets and even actors in costume were replaced by digital characters to allow for better expressions and movements and a more realistic look. Sy Snootles, for example, the singer in the Max Rebo Band in Jabba’s palace at the beginning of Return of the Jedi, was originally a puppet character and never really looked convincing as a real creature.  The Special Editions replaced that character with a digital version and even added some new digital and live action characters to the Band, making that scene look so much better and more fun to watch. The famous Cantina bar scene in Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) also had some alien characters digitally replaced at that time. Whole scenes that were cut from the original release of the film were edited back in with digital and live action characters from later sequels inserted, tying the movie in with the newer elements of the trilogy. 

Ever since the Special Editions, other film makers have also used digital technology to update older films and TV shows. Star Trek the original TV series has updated all their special effects shots of the Enterprise in space and orbiting planets. They have all been replaced with digital space ships and more realistic looking planets giving the series a much clearer, cleaner and more realistic look. The difference, I think anyone will agree, is huge and updates the stories for future generations to enjoy.

I’m looking forward to the new changes. It’s like seeing your favorite film for the first time again, or like playing an old super Nintendo game that’s been upgraded for the new Wii system with all new graphics. I understand people who grew up with the Star Wars movies being very fond of those original versions. I was also an instant fan of those films when they first came out, but those movies were made so long ago, with limited time and money, when the technology wasn’t available to make the effects look better.   

When Star Wars first came out on VHS tapes, we were so excited to finally be able to own them and watch them at home, uninterrupted and share them with our families. I still own those very first tapes and believe me, looking at them now, they are awful compared to what we have now. The color, picture and sound quality was bad, they were panned and scanned; meaning the sides of the picture were cropped to fit into the square TVs we were using then; so we were not seeing the movie as it was shown in theaters in its original widescreen aspect ratio.  There were all kinds of visual dirt, scratches, matte lines, outdated optical effects and inconsistencies in the sound track. It was a mess but we loved it because we didn’t know any better. 

Only George Lucas knew how much better the movies could be and he showed us. With each new format upgrade, he upgraded the movies too, so they would continue to be viable and engaging entertainments for future generations. And unlike other directors whose films are owned by the studios they work for, George owned all the Star Wars movies outright because he made them with his own money, except for the first one. So he could do what he wanted. If he hadn’t done this, Star Wars today would look like the original Clash of the Titans movie from 1980 with outdated special effects that did not age well and are unwatchable today even on Blu-ray. He doesn’t just own the films but he even pioneered the technology that made these films possible and changed the film industry forever; improving it and making it easier for future generations to make these kinds of films.

One of the things that George Lucas has been able to improve, is the way that films are made and edited, making it easier to go back and change things as you come up with new ideas. While making a film, there are all kinds of budget and time restrictions placed on the film makers as the release date looms, and once the film is released to the public it was considered finished and completed. Many directors, however, would have done things differently or made improvements, if only they had the time and money to do so. George always believed that just because a film was released in theaters didn’t mean that a film was finished. For him, the films continue to be a work in progress and as long as the tools exist, the director can continue to improve his vision for later releases.

This is a huge new concept that we are witnessing in the film industry since the digital revolution, that ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) pioneered, and film makers will continue to take advantage of it to fulfill their artistic vision.

JP