Coming of age and parental gender reorientation stories. Some good ideas, but not explored satisfyingly. And repetitive.
52 TUESDAYS ★★½☆☆
Coming of age and parental gender reorientation stories. Some good ideas, but not explored satisfyingly. And repetitive. LILTING ★★★☆☆
Acceptance and heartache. Quiet melancholy, and a compelling performance from Ben Whishaw. The latest young adult actioner, THE MAZE RUNNER, pelts into cinemas this autumn. On February 21st, director Feng Xiaogang came to talk about his career in advance of a screening of BACK TO 1942.
Six things we learned from the fascinating filmmaker: 1. Feng doesn’t believes his job is to tell actors how to act, that is the job of film school teachers; that’s why he hires the best actors. - Feng thinks the best way for actors to improvise character is to find a real life example for them to use. 2. For AFTERSHOCK (2010), Xiaogang had to work with international companies to realise the visual effects – South Africa, UK, Canada and South Korea. 3. ASSEMBLY (2007) is about a group of people sacrificed for the greater good. He wanted to show an audience the cruelties of war, as well as the humanity/fears of every soldier and their reluctance to kill. - Two films influenced ASSEMBLY: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) and TAE GUK GI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR (2004). Due to the effects in the latter, he hired that team – 1/5 the cost of the Hollywood equivalent. 4. Even with the practical presentation of coupling, Xiaogang believes in love. 5. Every film Feng makes is a record of a specific period of China. - The relationships of the characters are what drive him to tell the story. 6. Xiaogang sees the environment is being wrecked, and intellectual property is not respected, in modern China. BACK TO 1942 (2012) is a film where we can see what went wrong “with us as a people” he says. - As China becomes a wealthy country, a mirror needs to be held up. - The lack of religion and faith within China can lead to material greed and selfishness. - Right now, Xiaogang thinks people only care about short-term profit and not long-term values. Pretty much all forests have been cut down. Factories are dumping chemicals into rivers, not thinking about children and grandchildren. Privacy as well as intellectual property theft issues too. - He is disgusted, and is seriously contemplating what went wrong with him and China. Can’t be a great people if only think in terms of short-term values he states. - Realised lost religion in 1942. Just because you go to the temple, bow down and give money, are they religious? It’s a deal, an exchange, they want more health and wealth. - By making film, can observe and correct. - Censors passed BACK TO 1942, but audiences mocked him for it. Wow! An unexpected level of frankness from Feng Xiaogang. DANGEROUS ACTS looks to be unusual portrayal of censorship. (Showing as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival London 2014. For more info, click here.) The trailer: From the director of THE HELP, comes a biopic of James Brown out in August. The trailer for GET ON UP: Out to own today: Blue is the Warmest Colour“I feel like I’m faking, faking everything,” Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) A young woman just misses her bus to high school. Adèle has a wide-eyed, almost spaced out look to her, that actually belies her intelligence and quick wit. We don’t get to see that side of her yet. In her favourite class, French literature, they are studying LA VIE DE MARIANNE (The Life of Marianne), the unfinished novel of Pierre Marivaux (1688-1763). It appears director Abdellatif Kechiche has a fascination with this dramatist and novelist. His earlier film L'ESQUIVE (2003) concerns a school production of Marivaux’s play LE JEU DE L'AMOUR ET DU HAZARD (The Game of Love and Chance). As the teacher guides the discussion of MARIANNE, the theme of romantic regret emerges from the class analysis. The idea of which will haunt you after BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR concludes. The alternative title to the film is LA VIE D’ADÈLE – CHAPTERS 1 AND 2. There is talk of novelistic work in the television medium, namely THE WIRE, but cinema struggles to compete with its literary cousin. However, with BLUE, we may have a contender. [To read more, click here.] The Counsellor“I knew, but I was scared anyway,” Counsellor (Michael Fassbender) to Laura (Penélope Cruz) Director Ridley Scott. Author Cormac McCarthy writing his first original screenplay. Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem and Cruz. A cast and crew that movie dreams are made of. Surely THE COUNSELLOR, even with its worryingly John Grisham-esque moniker, should be a project cutting a swathe through the senses? The fug of disappointment surrounds the final credits. [To read more, click here.] Are you a fan of Nordic and Scandinavian thrillers? If so, you need the EASY MONEY saga in your life. Otherwise known as SNABBA CASH, the trailer for part two: Michael Fassbender wears a fibreglass head for nearly 90 minutes, in a bizarrely enjoyable music-biz comedy.
FRANK is released in May. My review: http://www.filmaluation.com/frank.html |
This website is written by Hemanth Kissoon.
Filmaluation is dedicated to arts culture, with a particular focus on film. I care about intelligence, quality and entertainment. Need some movie and TV show recommendations? See the drop down to the right of the Home tab. Enjoy. The vital ambitions of art and entertainment: - Perceptiveness - Illumination - The unexpected - Innovation Brains and soul are key; but adrenaline junkies do not fret, there is also much love for an experience that delivers a sucker-punch to the guts via stunningly delivered thrills. Noun, “filmaluation”: The evaluation of a film Verb, "to filmaluate”: To evaluate a film I am well aware how difficult it is to make a film, put on a stage play, create a television show, write a novel, let alone make something of note. (That appreciation doesn’t stop me from having high standards though.) This online magazine is edited by Hemanth Kissoon. Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales) Archives
February 2024
Categories |