Best Movie of the Year (so far)

SICARIO

Dir: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro

Leave it to a Canadian director (Denis Villeneuve, nominated in 2010 for a foreign film Oscar for "Incendies") to pull back the curtain on the drug war and its consequences, compromises, and collateral damage on our southern border. And he does it without flinching or offering anything close to hope for the future. Not since "Traffic" in 2000 (by American Steven Soderburgh, also starring Benicio del Toro!) has a movie tackled this subject so effectively. (Sadly, the situation has only gotten worse in the intervening 15 years).

The fictional story is more focused than the interweaving stories in "Traffic." The movie starts with a tense FBI raid on a suburban home in Chandler, Arizona (and its gruesome contents) and doesn't let up for the next two hours. Emily Blunt plays the FBI agent recruited into an ambiguous governmnet operation to catch the ringleader of the Mexican cartel responsible for much of the bloodshed and drugs infitrating the U.S. By the time the make-shift team of FBI, CIA, and assorted special forces storms a drug-smuggling tunnel with night-vision goggles and heavy weaponry, the movie reaches "Zero Dark Thirty"-level intensity.

All three leads listed above are worthy of award consideration for shedding any semblance of stardom for their roles. Special mention also to cinematographer (Coen Brothers' favorite Roger Deakins) for the aerial shots of the desert landscape and to the ominous music score (by Oscar nominee Johan Johansson--"The Theory of Everything") for heightening the film's drama. I especially liked how the story never loses touch with the personal toll this war has taken on the Mexican people--very literally left in the crossfire. This movie is not for the faint of heart. 

"White God" (Hungary 2014)

White God (Hungarian: Fehér isten) 

Directed by Kornél Mundruczó

Starring Zsófia Psotta as Lili; brothers "Bodie" and "Luke" as Hagen

Look at that pack of rampaging canines in the picture above: they are just a fraction of the more than 200 mixed breed dogs that run amok in the deserted streets of Budapest during the climactic scenes of "White God." All 200 of them are trained actors, and they are a delight to watch in this gripping and thoroughly entertaining Hungarian 'fable' (I have also heard it described as a 'parable') of an oppressed minority fighting back against its oppressors. A more accurate description is a "revenge fantasy" along the lines of "Inglourious Basterds" -- and it has the same winking humor while depicting bloody scenes of violence and cruelty that is a hallmark of Quentin Tarantino. (Unlike QT, much of the violence and cruelty takes place offscreen).

The story follows two 'outcasts' -- 13 year-old tweener Lili, too young to be accepted by the older kids in her student orchestra, shuffled between divorced parents, smart and with a smarter mouth; and her mutt "Hagen", abandoned under a bridge by Lili's uncaring father when he refuses to pay the mongrel tax for owning a mixed breed. That part of the plot is never fleshed-out, but no matter, it is just a plot device anyway.

Equal time is given to each character as they struggle to survive in a new and hostile environment. As poor Hagen is passed from one sadistic 'owner' to another, and trained to become a fighter, one is also reminded of "Amores Perroes." Fortunately, Hagen makes his escape after only one fight. Any animal-lover will find satisfaction in the film's extended and strangely cathartic finale (he gets his revenge on everybody!), for the 'White God' of the title is us (humans), and we deserve this wake-up call for the way we treat the animals we share the planet with. On another level, because this is the product of a formerly-Communist country, the political subtext is inescapable. That said, the movie would not connect with an audience without the empathy aroused by the sad, loyal, confused countenance of the protagonist -- Hagen -- and his lovable cohorts throughout his travails. (Look at the pictures below: he's that good!). The young actress Zsofia Psotta is also quite believable and sympathetic as Lili.

A headline writer for the New York Times captured the essence of the movie best: "Man Bites Dog, Dog Bites Back." The film won the Prize Un Certain Regard at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The dogs in the film were also awarded the Palm Dog Award. I saw it on the Closing Night of the Sarasota Film Festival, where it won the Narrative Feature competition. The film was selected as the Hungarian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated (yet another glaring snub by the Oscars in a year full of them. Hagen, sic 'em!)

Good Hagen

Bad Hagen

Hagen's bestie

Best Foreign Film Oscar Recap, Part Dos

WILD TALES

"Relatos salvajes"

(Argentina 2014)

Directed by Damián Szifrón

Now I get to the second worthy nominee for Best Foreign Film, Argentina's entry "Wild Tales," Second only the eventual winner (and my #3 movie of the year) "Ida" from Poland, and on-par with two films I saw earlier in the year (that were far superior to Mauritania's nominee "Timbuktu") -- namely, my #6 movie of the year, "Two Days, One Night" (Belgium) and my honorable mention "Force Majeure" from Sweden -- the entry from Argentina is a brilliant dark comedy directed with visual flair by veteran Damian Szifron. [I would say 'Tarantinonian,' but that is too much of a mouthful.]

Like the Swedish movie, "Wild Tales" turns an unblinking eye on one of man's less honorable traits: in "Force" is was Cowardice. Szifron uses six separate stories to explore a different one: Revenge (with a healthy dose of greed throw-into two of the episodes). Both film's explore these foibles with humor (we are all in the same boat, after all), which makes for a relatable, hilarious, yet often uncomfortable, two hours. 

The visual comparison to the animal kingdom that accompanies the opening credits is sly -- for as much as we may tell ourselves these characters are behaving like animals, the behavior exhibited in each vignette is uniquely human. What is refreshing -- and rare -- in such an anthology, is that there no weak link to these short films. My two favorite episodes: one involves a case of extreme road rage, and the other features a Bride-zilla from Hell that ends the movie on an adrenaline high. The script, acting and pace are spot-on throughout.

I must warn you, however, that the vignette that opens this 2014 release, which takes place on an airliner in mid-flight, while certainly the equal of the other episodes in execution, is forever ruined for me since I saw the movie after the tragedy of the German Airwings flight crash in the Alps in 2015. No one could have predicted such a horrible event, naturally, but the timing of it with this movie's U.S. release is unfortunate.

Best Foreign Film Recap, Part One

This is the time of year when all the foreign films submitted for an Oscar nomination last year slowly trickle into theaters around the country, giving us between-the-coasts critics a chance to see if the foreign branch did their job correctly. This year, they failed in one instance (glaringly so, IMHO). I have not seen Estonia's nominee, "Tangerines," and I missed the one-week window to see Russia's "Leviathan," but of the three other nominees I did see, only one was undeserving: Mauritania's "Timbuktu" (directed by a Malian--I don't know how they skirted the academy's strict rules on that one).

It is not surprising it made the cut, given its topicality: the story of a jihadist take-over of the Malian town of Timbuktu and its effect on the everyday lives of its citizens (based on actual events). The film is heavy with symbolism, bloated with metaphor (the first scene is a tip-off), and weighed-down by what I can only call a Western style of filmmaking (artfully-composed but artificial scenes, travel channel panoramas, an intrusive musical score that cues the audience on how it should feel during every scene).

I suspect the director, Abderrahmane Sissako (from Mali!), did not learn his craft indigenously. There is an artificiality to the scenes in the town itself--I never got the sense that any of the residents actually lived there, but were props placed into a staged and scrubbed environment. I'm not suggesting it was too clean to be Africa -- it simply wasn't lived-in. That, with the confusing storylines and two ludicrous set-pieces (see next paragraph), diminished the truly potent scenes in the film: a brutal whipping and stoning straight out of the Dark Ages, and a tense, insightful back-and-forth in an interrogation room between the protagonist Kidane (played by a fine, natural actor), his jihadi jailer, and their interpreter.

But I have to mention the two scenes that sent me over the edge: 1) kids playing soccer with an imaginary soccer ball (because the jihadists outlawed sports) -- the only thing missing was a flashing subtitle that read "STATEMENT"; and 2) one of the jihadi officals, in a private moment, doing an interpretive dance in front of a crazy Haitian woman's house. Please! (and while I am ranting, what was a Haitian woman doing in the middle of Africa, anyway?). One of many confounding details in this confounding film.

TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2014

I realize all the critics have spoken, awards season is over -- but the movie year isn't officially over until the Foreignfilmguy speaks!! (I like to take my time with important decisions like this).

With apologies to the movies I didn't have time to see (Inherent Vice, Into the Woods, Still Alice, Unbroken & Whiplash), here are the TEN BEST MOVIES of 2014, follwed by six films that deserve honorable mention, and another 13 films I "saw & enjoyed."

1.  BOYHOOD - no other movie in 2014 came close to matching this tour de force of filmmaking.

2.  BIRDMAN - endlessly inventive and magical, with intelligent acting, script and soundtrack.

3.  IDA (Poland) - world cinema at its finest

4.  A MOST VIOLENT YEAR - another intelligent, adult drama that used to be standard fare in the time period it evokes so well - 1981.

5.  UNDER THE SKIN (UK) - an uncompromising sci-fi vision (not for everyone).

6.  TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (Belgium) - anyone who thinks Marion Cotillard 'stole' a best actress nomination obviously did not see her anguished portrayal of a woman fighting for her job in another gem of realism from the Dardennes brothers of Belgium, who seem uniquely able to turn seemingly ordinary lives into subjeccts of great tragedy and triumph.

7. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE - who else but Jim Jarmusch could sympathetically portray vampires-as-latter-day-rockers and present-day Detroit as both decaying anachronisms.

8.  LIFE ITSELF - the only documentary to make my Top Ten (absurdly overlooked by the Academy) this unblinking look at the life and painful death of film critic Roger Ebert pays him the highest compliment of all: it turns his life story into great cinema.

9.  WILD - surprisingly compelling story of what is essentially a walk in the woods (it's a metaphorical journey!).

10. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING - I may get some flak for this pick, but it is an unapologetic, heart-tugging biopic that hits all the right notes and is carried by TWO marvelous performances (Felicity Jones hasn't gotten enough credit for the success of this movie) and a beautiful score by Johann Johannsson.

Honorable mention:

American Sniper

Force Majeure (Sweden)

Foxcatcher

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

Gone Girl

Interstellar

Saw & enjoyed:

Begin Again

Chinese Puzzle (France)

Fading Gigolo

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Imitation Game

Little Accidents (indie)

Mockingjay: Part One

A Most Wanted Man

Selma

Snowpiercer

The Two Face of January

Two docs: The Galapagos Affair & Jodorowsy's Dune

Until next year, film lovers!!

OSCAR WANT-THINK LIST

W=Want; T= Think

Best Picture: W: BOYHOOD; T: BIRDMAN
Director: W: R. Linklater, Boyhood; T: A. Gonzalez-Inarritu, Birdman
Actor: W: M. Keaton, Birdman; T: E. Redmayne, Theory of Everything
Actress: W: Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night; T: J. Moore, Still Alice
Supp. Actor: W: Ethan Hawke or Edward Norton; T: JK Simmons, Whiplash
Supp. Actress: W: Laura Dern or P. Arquette; T: P. Arquette, Boyhood.
Foreign Film: W/T: IDA

Adapted Screenplay (the hardest one to predict): T: The Imitation Game
Original Screenplay: W/T: BIRDMAN
Original Score: W: A. Desplat, Grand Budapest Hotel; T: Theory of Everything.
Original Song: W/T: "Glory," SELMA

Cinematography: W: IDA; T: BIRDMAN
Film Editing: W: BOYHOOD; T: WHIPLASH
"Production Design" (really Art Direction): W/T: Grand Budapest Hotel.
Costume Design: W/T: Grand Budapest Hotel.
Makeup/Hair: W/T: GBH
Sound Editing: W/T: AMERICAN SNIPER
Sound Mixing: W: Interstellar; T: American Sniper
Visual Effects: W: Interstellar; T: Guardians of the Galaxy

Animated Feature: T: Big Hero 6
Documentary Feature: W: CITIZENFOUR; T: Virunga
Documentary Short: T: "Crisis Hotline"
Live Action Short: W: Butter Lamp; T: The Phone Call
Animated Short: T: "Me and My Moulton"

A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT

USA 2014

Director: Ana Lily Amirpour

Language: Farsi

It doesn't take long after delving into the world of pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and addicts populating the streets of this fictional Iranian city (not to mention a chador-wearing vampire) that one asks oneself:  "HOW did the Iranian government ever allow this film to be made??" It breaks every taboo in the book (I will not mention the name of the book--Je suis un lâche).

I had to go online to find out that this feature film debut is, in fact, the product of a UCLA film school grad, who shot the entire movie with Los Angeles-based Iranian actors in the area around Bakersfield, CA! (I also learned that Los Angeles is home to the largest number of Iranians not living in Iran).

She certainly had me fooled ... all except for her film school background. From the opening credits, one is immediately aware of Ms. Amirpour's cinematic influences: Sergio Leone, James Dean, Italian neorealism, "Breathless" .. even Madonna!  That she can mash them all together to create this fictional black-and-white universe -- and hold the story together through it all -- is a testament to her vision and skill. It is a high compliment to think "This is a movie Quentin Tarantino would appreciate" (and surely, all lovers of film).

The titular character is indeed a vampire, but one who (under her chador) dresses like Jean Seberg (from Breathless), skateboards, listens to alt-rock, and likes to dance. Her love interest tools around in a white t-shirt and a Thunderbird convertible.While the drug dealer Saeed -- decked out in too much jewelry, tattoes and an adidas jumpsuit -- would be right at home walking the streets of Lodi, New Jersey as part of Tony Soprano's gang.

But I must mention the true star of the film: Masuka the Cat! More than a plot device, the cat serves as the Girl's spiritual cousin: wordlessly observant, unfazed, indestructible. While some scenes do drag in the film, the cat steals every scene he is in. The last scene in particular is a tour de force: a satisfying five minute resolution between the lovers where no dialog is spoken, and the Cat is literally front and center of the action. The visual pacing of that scene is spot-on, and all credit goes to the Cat's performance!

I've seen my share of "indie" films this year, but with the exception of "Boyhood." this was the most impressive of the bunch. And as far as vampire movies go, only "Only Lovers Left Alive"-- also this year, by another independent legend, Jim Jarmusch -- tops it. (He would love this movie, too!)

Careful with that finger!

OSCAR foreign film short-list screwed up again

I should have posted this at the time (but you know, the holidays!).

Whittled from a list of 83 submissions this year -- a record -- the Academy has begun the tradition of announcing a 'shortlist' of nine before the actual five nominees are announced. Usually, the list is met with howls of outrage over the significant films that were left off (Anyone remember the controversy surrounding Romania's submission in 2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days?) This year is no exception.

Here are the nine that did make the cut:

*Argentina, Wild Tales, dir: Damián Szifrón
*Estonia, Tangerines, dir: Zaza Urushadze
Georgia, Corn Island, dir: George Ovashvili
*Mauritania, Timbuktu, dir: Abderrahmane Sissako
Netherlands, Accused, dir: Paula van der Oest
*Poland, Ida, dir: Pawel Pawlikowski
*Russia, Leviathan, dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Sweden, Force Majeure, dir: Ruben Östlund
Venezuela, The Liberator, dir: Alberto Arvelo

*these films are the final five OSCAR nominees.

The overlooked film's from these four countries (respectively, TURKEY, CANADA, HUNGARY and BELGIUM) are described in the following quote:

"Many of the year’s most significant films were left off: Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep, which was this year’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes, didn’t make the cut. Nor did Mommy by Xavier Dolan, also a Cannes prize winner, taking the Jury Prize; or Kornel Mundruczo’s White God; or the Dardenne brothers’ Two Days One Night." Source: http://www.slashfilm.com/best-foreign-film-shortlist-2015/

I would add to this list of surprising omissions these three films which have had U.S. releases: ITALY (Human Capital); GERMANY (Beloved Sisters); ISRAEL (Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem); and the PHILIPPINES (Norte, the End of History).
I am all for expanding the reach of this category to include the likes of Estonia, Georgia and Mauritania (the country's first submission in this category EVER!), but to ignore the talents of Nuri Bilge Ceylan and the Dardenne brothers (who by all accounts are all at the peak of their creativity) is a damn shame.

To make matters worse, the critically-acclaimed entry from SWEDEN (Force Majeure), which was on the shortlist, did not make the final five. Below I leave you with the mosive poster of MY favorite foreign film of the year.

SELMA

SELMA

(USA 2014)

Directed by Ava DuVernay

I had the same idea as several hundred other Houstonians on the MLK DAY holiday (not on the actual day of his birth, which is Jan. 15th, as Jessica Chastain informed me during her impassioned acceptance speech at the Critics' Choice Awards that night). That idea was to go see the movie "Selma" and I am glad I did. It is an important work of historical drama that everyone in America should see (I bristle at the term "Black History," for this was a transformative moment in "American History.") 

I will defer to the historians to debate the role LBJ played in either stalling or pushing through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 -- like many important movies about U.S. history ("Lincoln"; "12 Years a Slave"; even "JFK") it sparks a debate, which is edifying. (In contrast, Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" was a travesty of history, sympathetically depicting that monster Hoover while further sullying the reputation of Dr. King. What's next for you, Clint: "D. Cheney"?)

Back to the movie at hand: David Oyelowo was unjustly denied an Oscar nomination for his riveting portrayal of Dr. King. The movie very much rests on his performance, and rather than attempting an impersonation of King (the actor's voice and stature do not resemble King at all), Oyelowo went for a nuanced portrait of his private, reflective self, to contrast the public persona we have all come to know. It works by giving depth to his character, adding weight to his public persona that takes over later in the movie.

Englishman Tim Roth likewise delivers a believable portrait of Southern segregationist Governor of Alabama George Wallace. Englishman Tom Wilkinson doesn't fare as well as Southern President Lyndon Baines Johnson, however. Here, an all-out impersonation would have better served the iconic figure of LBJ, who was in every sense of the phrase 'larger than life.' Having not seen "Lee Daniel's The Butler", I cannot comment on the balance of acting vs. impersonation of the various Presidents (and its effect on the movie), but perhaps DuVernay asked Wilkinson for 'less, not more' in his role?

The movie seems to drag a bit before getting to the March to Montgomery itself (the movie's centerpiece), and much of the dialogue sounds like rehearsed talking points to explain the issues to the audience, as opposed to how people argue in real life. I do appreciate how the movie shines a light on the little-known 'foot soldiers' who gave their lives for the cause: Jimmie Lee Jackson, Viola Liuzzo, and James Reeb: all murdered in racist attacks. 

DuVernay is less assured in orchestrating set pieces -- I will give some examples in the [SPOILER] section at the end of this review. Strictly as a critic, I can see why the director's wing of the Academy passed-over her for the five male directors they did nominate. But it does give the appearance of an out-of-touch Academy. The same can be said of the Actors who voted on the Screen Actor's Guild nominees: "Selma" was shut-out completely!


[SPOILERS (of technique, not plot):
- DuVernay shows herself to be a second-time director with the overuse of slow motion shots to prolong the drama of certain scenes. The scene should be powerful enough without reliance on cheap tricks like that.
- The worst example of this tactic is the scene, early in the movie, of the 16th St. Baptist Church bombing that killed 4 young girls in 1963. A seminal moment in the civil rights movement to be sure, but the director plays it for shock value, then lingers over the resulting explosion with her signature slow motion. The effect is simultaneously too graphic and too artsy to earn the sympathy of the audience.
(Spike Lee did the same thing with his artfully posed corpses in the execrable "Miracle at St. Anna").
- Finally, one quibble with the end credits -- which I loved, by the way, from the John Legend & Common collaboration "Glory", to the original recording of the Selma marchers singing. The movie selectively spotlights the fates of several of the real-life characters in the film -- from the aforementioned Viola Liuzzo to, curiously, George Wallace, only mentioning his run for the presidency in 1972 and the assassination attempt that left him paralyzed, but never pointing out his later apology for his segregationist past and subsequent efforts to heal those wounds. Ignoring that salient fact, while highlighting the act of violence committed against him, is not only a missed opportunity to emphasize the human capacity to change, but also a cheap shot against a man who already had been depicted (accurately, to be sure) as an unabashed racist for the previous two hours. Sic semper tyrannis -- is that the message the filmmakers wanted to leave us with as we exited the theater?

Oscar nominations - 2015

I just read in the New York Times that there is a sub-profession of Hollywood journalists known as "Oscarologists" who predict the nominees a year in advance! It is all based on studio and publicist 'buzz,' so it is just another form of Hollywood navel-gazing, but there are worse jobs in the world.

I don't know how they fared this year, as I can count at least one snub is almost* all the categories for this year's awards.

*excluding Supporting Actor, Costumes, Make-Up, Art Direction (now called "Production Design") and the two Sound categories.

Let me start with the most-egregious omission: BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS. I have no problem with the Academy recognizing the exemplary work done by the great Laura Dern in WILD. She is fully deserving of a nomination, Keira Knightley and perennial nominee Meryl Streep, on the other hand .... are two joke nominees that come courtesy of, respectively, the Harvey Weinstein nomination machine and of the "Meryl can do no wrong" mindset that grips Hollywood every awards season.

They have robbed a spot for these three deserving nominees:
- JESSICA CHASTAIN in "A Most Violent Year"
- NAOMI WATTS in either "Birdman" or "St. Vincent"
- RENE RUSSO in "Nightcrawler"

Other snubs are listed below:
BEST PICTURE - "Foxcatcher" and "Gone Girl"
ACTOR - Jake Gyllenhall "Nightcrawler" and David Oyelowo "Selma"
ACTRESS - Amy Adams "Big Eyes"
DIRECTOR - Ava duVernay "Selma" and "James Marsh "The Theory of Everything"
FOREIGN FILM - the excellent "Force Majeure (Turist)" from SWEDEN
Original SCREENPLAY - J.C. Chandor, "A Most Violent Year"
Adapted SCREENPLAY - Gillian Flynn "Gone Girl" and Nick Hornby "Wild"
CINEMATOGRAPHY - "Interstellar"
FILM EDITING - "Birdman" and "Interstellar"
ORIGINAL SCORE - Antonio Sanchez "Birdman"** (a travesty, especially since Hans Zimmer got a free pass for his bombastic (loud!) and failed attempt to approximate Kubrick's 2001 soundscape for "Interstellar." He gets my John Williams "oh-no-he-didn't" (get another undeserved nomination) prize.
Original SONG - Lorde!
ANIMATION - The LEGO Movie
DOCUMENTARY - "Life Itself" -- about Roger Ebert; far and away, the best doc of the year!
VISUAL EFFECTS - "The Hobbit"

There you have it. Boyhood and Birdman had better sweep this year, to make it up to me!!

**An earlier post mis-identified the composer as Alex Sanchez. Also, I have since learned that hte Academy deemed his score INELIGIBLE, for having too much 'previously-recorded material.' Whatev!

TOP TEN MOVIE LISTS

As you anxiously await my 2014 Top Ten List (I have about 10 more movies to see this month), I need to revisit my list from last year.  I recently watched a movie on the small screen that I neglected to see in the theater: "HER" (Directed by Spike Jonze). I knew as soon as I saw it that it was a Top Ten lock. Well-deserving of its Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and nomination for Best Picture, I think it was the 5th Best Movie of 2013, squeezing out "THE WOLF OF WALL STREET" from the Top Ten.

The adjusted list looks like this:

1. 12 YEARS A SLAVE

2. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

3. GRAVITY

4. La Grande Bellezza ("The Great Beauty") - ITALY 

5. Her

6. Blue Jasmine

7. Nebraska

8. American Hustle

9. All Is Lost

10 (tie). Mud and Dallas Buyer's Club 

Honorable Mention

The Wolf of Wall Street
The East

The Invisible Woman

Much Ado About Nothing

Philomena

Rush

Stoker