Django Unchained

In nineteenth century Texas, an eccentric German traveller buys a slave to assist in finding a band of outlaws. Django is amazed to find a mentor in Schultz, and the men continue as partners before setting out on a mission to rescue Django's wife from slavers in Mississippi.  I can't explain why I hadn't yet seen Django Unchained - any trepidation about Tarantino films always seems to melt away in enjoyment from about the second frame, and this is no exception.

The ultimate blaxploitation western thriller buddy movie, Django Unchained might be ridiculously long, but because it's equal parts sheer joy, comedic over-dramatisation, and schlock horror, it's hard to mind much.  In his usual mocking tone, Tarantino manages to censure the violence of slavery and the mindset of pro-slavers, even as his hero commits atrocities in the name of freedom.

It's not possible to separate Tarantino from the beautifully stylised gore which immerses his films - and perhaps now no one would want to - but it's worth noting he has also become a master of cinematic beauty, frequently collaborating with the same production designers and cinematographers to turn out increasingly incredible images.  The detailed mis-en-scène, matched with spot-on dialogue and enthusiastically motivated performances from all cast, makes for touches of absolute brilliance and ensures you always know whose film you're watching.

Django Unchained is another well-realised entertainment piece from one of America's greatest auteurs, who's obviously telling us we ain't seen nothin' yet.

Though a hard-core Tarantino fan may find it seriously lacking in violence, Blazing Saddles addresses serious issues of racism and corruption with a similar style of over-the-top silliness. This is an heroic tale of a newly appointed Sheriff encouraging townsfolk who'd be happy to lynch him to stand up against a corrupt railways mogul, instead.

Her

In the not-too-distant future, Theodore Twombley is an endearingly awkward office worker, still suffering the effects of his marriage breakup. An early adopter of a new operating system for his devices, he soon falls in love with Her - his personal Artificial Intelligence, which has named itself Samantha.

The concept may seem at first glance to walk a fine line between intriguing and off-putting - but it is brilliantly well executed in this examination of relationships, loyalty, and love between friends, confidants and lovers. From Spike Jonze's offbeat but somehow perfectly real script, to the careful, beautiful production design, Her is original to the nth degree.

By turns joyously funny, gauzily romantic and achingly lonely, the stellar performances and barely-there camera take us directly into the the heart of the story, in a world complete down to the last detail.

A meditation on communication and humanity in an advanced technological world, Her is a strange mixture of isolation and melancholic humour, yet it not only works, but somehow leaves you filled with hope for the future. A modern masterpiece.

Also featuring a future-Earth, themes of isolation and re-growth, and an unexpected but wonderful AI romance, is WALL-E, the tale of a broken Earth's deserted robot caretaker meeting an inter-galactic probe. If you haven't seen this breathtakingly beautiful, Oscar-winning animation, hie you to your nearest on-/offline video store!

Are We Officially Dating?

Meant to be a comedy, Are We Officially Dating? follows three New York guys who've made a pact to stay single after one of them suffers a break up.  Cue crazy testosterone-fueled adventures!  Except, not.  It turns out their idea of staying single is achieved not by spending time with their mates, but by spreading themselves through a "roster" of girls with no expectations, providing sex-on-tap without complications like, you know, talking.

The film has been released in Australia and New Zealand with the more optimistic working title from the screenplay, rather than the prophetic US That Awkward Moment: that moment being almost the whole film, but also referring to the point at which one partner starts to think sleeping together equals relationship, and must therefore be dumped.

Of course, the heart-warming message of the film is that each of the guys finds someone he enjoys spending time with, and starts to grow up - but because he's loyal to his friends and the safety net of their pact, is "forced" into all sorts of denials and problems which screw up the budding relationship.  Through this terrible turmoil, (spoiler alert!) the guys realise female companionship isn't so bad, and luckily, because they've had the great taste to pick such cool chicks, all they have to do is suffer a little physical discomfort while making apologetic gestures - and no matter what he's put her through, the girl will take him back!

It tries hard to make you think it's funny, and never raises more than a snigger, but the saddest thing about Are We Officially Dating? is the filmmakers obviously believe they've created strong, feisty women for their three bros.  It shouldn't have to be pointed out to them that a few quippy lines and some kooky behaviour added to a sex toy doesn't actually make it a woman.  None of the girls here have any agency or even friends of their own: they're islands in a world of men, their choices limited to resisting a guy for a while, waiting for him to call, or leaving him for another man.

Are We Officially Dating? is a misfire - too soppy for guys, but too deeply misogynistic for anyone but a (hopefully very young) guy to find funny.  Officially, don't see it.

If you're looking for a silly, formulaic date movie good for girls and guys, don't watch the above.  Friends with Benefits starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake has its weak points, but is a movie about fear of commitment that's actually both funny and romantic.

Frozen

Not only visually stunning, Disney's latest animated spectacular Frozen is already being lauded as a modern classic. It's a thoroughly enjoyable tale, which manages the tricky combination of being true to its genre while simultaneously subverting audience expectations.

Filled with warmth despite the incredibly well-realised icy setting, Frozen takes the requisite Disney characters and tropes, from Princesses and Princes to singing sidekicks, loyal retainers to mythical creatures, selfish maneuvering to acts of true love, and subtly adds comic twists and dramatic turns, creating a truly fresh action adventure with a relevant message.

At its heart, Frozen is a simple story about the bonds of family, and the importance of being true to yourself - yet the beautifully escalating action creates an epic feel, and the viewer is carried along with the show, careering through the blizzard to the required resolution, which though sentimental, comes from a surprising direction which ultimately makes the film more satisfying - Elsa and her sister Anna are definitely not your average princesses!

Keen to see another Disney movie with a modern twist?  Enchanted stars Amy Adams as Giselle, the impossibly sweet heroine beloved by the prince she's just met, who is suddenly sucked from her animated world and sent to live in real life New York City.

American Hustle

The cuckoo in this award season's nest is American Hustle, a big, glossy, mess of a crime caper, stealing Oscar buzz from the more serious dramatic contenders with its smart writing, incredible performances, style and humour.

On one level, the film goes for larger-than-life, and featuring flamboyant performances from practically the whole cast, looks like it was as much fun to make as it is to watch.  Despite a slightly over-long running time, American Hustle holds attention with witty, fast-paced dialogue and over the top glamour - the seventies never looked so good!

Despite the polish, this isn't style over substance: there's an appealingly seedy flavour, a gritty truth behind the slickness, which ensures comparisons to The Sting ¹ rather than Ocean's Eleven - and just in case you hadn't picked up on the tone, one of the characters spells it out, in a soliloquy to nail polish!

It's exactly this sense of comic self-awareness which makes American Hustle such a great viewing experience.  Because we like them, our sympathies are firmly with the criminal protagonists, even when they're pulling off sleazy cons: so when the drama escalates, the laughs keep the roller coaster on the rails, in this topsy-turvy world where the crooks are more ethical than the cops, a mistress is a more loyal partner than a wife, and a politician facing charges is the most honest person in the room.

A life of crime beginning to appeal? There's a completely different pair of confidence tricksters in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a comedy starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin competing for attention, (and money,) along the French Riveria.

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1 The Sting was also nominated for ten Academy Awards, and came away with seven, including 1974's Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. ^↩

To Sir, With Love

Set at a tough high school in London's East End, at the tail end of the swinging sixties, To Sir, With Love is tagged as heavy-hitting social drama.  It stars Sidney Poitier as a out of work engineer who takes a temporary teaching post to tide himself over, and singer Lulu, as one of the class, performs a soaring theme song of adolescent angst and gratitude.

I was amused to find the film much less dramatic than I had expected.  That's not to say it doesn't address tough issues - it does, and they are still current, the characters negotiating violence, racism, sex, poverty, and death, as well as the difficulty of being taken seriously by adults.  The issues of growing up, then, haven't changed much since 1967 - but the behaviour presented as so shocking is sweetly dated - the dreadful teens seemed to me almost sweet by today's standards!

However, this is a film with great heart, and Poitier's teacher-turned-advisor gaining the respect of his class, giving wayward youths lashing out against their own helplessness a sense of personal responsibilty, and even provoking change in a fairly reactionary community, is a lovely thing to watch.

A good teacher - student relationship can be hugely important in a teenager's life.  That relationship in Half Nelson begins when a troubled student discovers her charismatic young teacher struggles with a drug addiction.  A deft blend of social commentary, sensitive performances and hopeful spirit.

Into the Wild (2007)

Written and directed by Sean Penn

From the book by Jon Krakauer

***** 

A raw, inspiring and ultimately tragic true story, sensitively adapted for the screen, beautifully shot and accented with haunting original songs, Into the Wild was the hit of the festival circuit the year of its release.

Pieces of story are puzzled together to focus on Christopher Johnson McCandless, a bright young graduate of a prestigious university, the toast of his parents and adored by his younger sister. Troubled under his pretence of normality, Chris pulls a disappearing act, shucking off the constraints of society and hitting the road in search of the greater meaning of life.

Travelling through beautiful landscapes, placed in front of the viewer like canvases, Emile Hirsch plays livewire Chris thoughtfully and with great energy. A mix of profundity and young man’s egotism, Chris chooses the alias Alexander Supertramp and journeys where the mood takes him. He tests himself against the elements and new experiences, aiming to see and taste all he can. People are incidental to his journey, and although he had a deep impact on many of the characters he met, he was always able to separate himself from them in pursuit of something larger.

Poetically narrated from both the perspective of Chris, the escapee, and his sister Carine (Jena Malone,) representing those he left behind, the film delves into the ways people make sense of life. The two story strands weave together, making piercing observations so startling they seem the most extreme truth and clearest message we’ve ever heard.

Carried along on Chris’s journey, we glory in the outdoors as he does, and an episode stopping off in LA helps us understand him – after the wide open spaces, free from constraint, the city feels like a trap, the fake smiling faces of its willing prisoners reminding him of his need to escape. Alaska becomes his ultimate goal, and when he enters the wilds and makes his final discoveries we are happy for him, and though touched, can almost forget to be concerned.

Into the Wild is a magnificent watch, concentrated without being heavily laid out, an astounding debut from the always introspective Sean Penn. Eddie Veder’s songs perfectly tap into the themes of the story, and the glorious photography of incredible locations transport us the rest of the way. Highly recommended.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Written and directed by Woody Allen

*****

Best friends Vicky and Cristina arrive in Barcelona for the summer.  As is often the way, the two are total opposites: goal-oriented Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is due to marry her fiancée Doug when they get back to America, but in the meantime throws herself into a study of the Catalan culture for her masters thesis.  Creative dreamer Cristina (Scarlett Johansen) is hoping to use the time to figure out what to do with her life, which has so far been defined by a series of failed artistic experiments.

When Cristina flirtatiously throws them into the path of sexy local painter Juan Antonio, (Javier Bardem,) things heat up, causing tension when they both succumb to his charms.  Vicky fights the attraction and moves up her wedding, while Cristina pursues passion and moves in with him.  Cue Juan’s estranged wife, the charismatic Maria Elena, who’s none too pleased to see someone taking her place…

All the hallmarks of vintage Woody Allen films are present and correct in the writer/director’s latest offering – naturalistic, even awkward dialogue, conflicted characters, and sharp insights into human nature – but it’s also got that sparkle his most recent films have lacked.  Barcelona is a stunning backdrop to a story by turns raunchy and comic, the three leads are spot on, and Penelope Cruz puts in an explosive performance as deranged genius Maria Elena, utterly deserving her Oscar nomination for the role.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is full of flavour and giggles, the ideal start for a girls' night out.  It’s going to spark plenty of debate, so follow it up with a large glass of wine and hours of gossip and relationship analysis.  Perfect!

Rain of the Children (2008)

Written and directed by Vincent Ward

*****

There are several adjectives impossible to avoid when attempting to describe Vincent Ward’s latest film.  Compelling is one, gripping another.  Perhaps most apt is haunting – this is an utterly absorbing, unforgettable and entirely New Zealand story of love, loss and survival across a tumultuous time in our history.

At the centre of the film is Puhi, a bent old woman of the Tuhoe iwi, who welcomed the then twenty one year old Ward into her remote home back in 1978.  Over the course of two years, he filmed her daily life for his award winning documentary on traditional Maori life, In Spring One Plants Alone.

Puhi died soon after he finished the documentary, but Ward never forgot the charismatic woman who called him her mokopuna mā (white grandchild.)  Sparked by his recollections of Puhi and thirty years worth of unanswered questions about her life, middle-aged Ward goes back to her home in the Uruwera ranges, aiming to uncover her story.

Blending footage from his original film, new interviews, fact finding missions and highly dramatic re-enactments in what he describes as “part folk tale, part ballad, part mystery story,” Ward creates a cinematically beautiful and at times dreamlike patchwork of fact, fiction, stories handed down and the opinions of those who remember Puhi - “the special one.”

Ward’s detective work is captivating, each answer begging another question about this singular woman.  Who was Puhi?  Why did she cling so strongly to her mentally ill adult son?  And why did she believe she was cursed?

The filmmaker behind Vigil, Map of the Human Heart and What Dreams May Come is no stranger to very human, emotional stories – but this is really something different, touted as “Vincent Ward’s most personal feature to date.”  In a tribute to Puhi and his treasured memories of her, Ward appears on camera and narrates the film, a touch which cements Rain of the Children as something very special from an already unique filmmaker.

Heartbreakingly sad, yet by turns enchanting, funny and endearing, this is a slice of a very different kind of life, leaving the audience with the conviction that there is nothing so extraordinary as the life lived by an ordinary woman.

This review was originally written for an online magazine, and is republished with permission.