Animation for adults - Skhizein (2008) - A Short film

This isn't going to be much of a review, but more of a recommendation/plea for you readers to find and watch this absolutely amazing French animated short film called Skhizein by Jeremy Clapin.
Skhizein is about Henry, a man who is one day struck by a 150 ton meteorite and the bizarre effect it has on his life.

Beautifully animated, Skhizein starts out as a surreal comedy and ends up being a beautiful, thought-provoking and moving work of art. This is one of the best short films I have ever seen, even surpassing the short films of Pixar.
You can find the movie here.

Dogtooth (2009) - A Very Short Review

This 2009 Greek film, nominated for the 2011 oscars in the Best Foreign film category, probably the most surprising nomination ever in the academy awards history, is one that is incredibly hard to review because
1. It is one of those films that is best enjoyed when watched without knowing anything about it. So writing anything about the film without spoiling it, is hard, hence the short length of the review and
2. Even weeks after having watched the film, I still am unsure how I feel about it. There are parts of the film that I absolutely love and parts that I hate.


Written and directed by Giorgos Lanthimos, Dogtooth is an incredibly innovative and unique film, especially its premise. The film has so many new ideas and unique concepts that it is hard not to recommend the film just for its originality. But the biggest flaw of the film is that these ideas are all there is to the film, they don't go anywhere or add much to the story or the characters in any way. There are many critics who have written about the symbolic and metaphorical meaning of the film and there is some truth to it but for the average moviegoer (me and probably you),with several of the mysteries being unresolved, watching the film can be, at times, a frustrating experience. Another problem with the film is it's humour. The film clearly aims to be a satire but it is a bit too unpleasant at times to make you laugh.

The film is undoubtedly well made. There are scenes in the film that, in the hands of a lesser director, would seem too exploitative but Giorgos does a fantastic job handling them. His restrained style fits the film perfectly, increasing the impact of some of the scenes. The acting is uniformly excellent and the actors need to be commended as they are put in some incredibly cruel and humiliating positions. Now, a word of caution to some of the more sensitive viewers - the film contains extremely graphic scenes of sex (some of it is real) and violence. If you get easily offended by that, don't watch the film.

Dogtooth is one of those films that you will either love or hate. If you are willing to accept the lack of answers to the mysteries (which is completely intentional) in the film and watch it as a metaphor for loss of innocence and isolation in our modern society, you might enjoy it. If not, you probably are going to hate it.

RATING :

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Review - Confessions (Kokuhaku) 2010

Confessions begins with a half-hour long monologue in which a school teacher, Yuko Moriguchi (Takako Matsu), on the last day of the school term, announces to her students that this will be her last class and she will be leaving the school. Most of her students don't seem to care, some even start celebrating. However, her final lecture/goodbye speech takes a dark sinister turn when she reveals to her class that the "accidental" death of her 4 year old daughter was not an accident but a murder commited by two of her students present in that very class and that she intends to take revenge herself since these students are still protected by juvenile law.

With that opening "confession" scene, the film grabs hold of your attention and never lets it go and even hours after the film has ended, it will remain in your head and have you thinking about it.

Japan's official entry for the Best Foreign film category of the 2011 oscars, Confessions, is being compared to Oldboy and Battle Royale which is as close to a comparison one can make, but it still isn't accurate because
1. The film is very different from both those films in a lot of ways and
2. It isn't as good as either of those films, but, it certainly does come very close.

Directed by Tetsuya Nakashima and based on a critically acclaimed novel by Kanae Minato, this is a grim, twisted and depressing film. Except for a few moments of black comedy, the film is almost completely humorless and it can seem relentlessly cruel to its characters. A large portion of the film deals with the consequences of a shocking revelation (which unfortunately, has been spoiled by several other reviews on the net which I wouldn't recommend reading) made in the opening scene as the plot of the film gradually unveils through the confessions of various characters within the film and with each confession we learn more about the characters and their motives.

Like all other films directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, Confessions is beautifully shot and absolutely gorgeous to look at. This, in stark contrast with the dark subject matter of the film, makes it that much more effective. He exactly knows where to put his camera and when to cut away from a certain scene to increase its impact and does a commendable job handling some of the more violent and disturbing scenes of the film. And given how different his previous films were (which I highly recommend), his ability to make such diverse films has to be appreciated. The film also has an excellent soundtrack which adds to the atmosphere of the film. The performances are all great and this is largely due to the excellent casting of actors. Takako Matsu as the cold, calculating revenge-seeking schoolteacher is especially great in her role.

The film does have its fair share of flaws. Some of the events and plot developments seem a little too convenient and coincidental. But the major flaw of the film is that whenever it tries to explore the reasons behind some of the actions of the student characters or tries to address some of the problems faced by students in the Japanese society such as bullying, it turns into an ineffective, incredibly angsty teen drama.

Those not familiar with Asian revenge films might find it a little too sick and twisted and even bizarre but fans of the genre will probably love it and being one, I did. Confessions is one of those films that is destined to become a cult hit in the years to come.

RATING :

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Review - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives - Weird, unique, overrated and boring

With every passing year, I lose a little bit more respect for the awards given at the prestigious Cannes film festival, especially it's highest honour - the Palme d'Or. First it was Micheal Haneke's The White Ribbon last year and now this film in 2010. While both these are definetly not bad films, there were, however, much superior films in competition for the award.

Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, who is already considered one of the best directors from Thailand, the film does not have a plot nor does it have any sort of narrative structure but instead you get lots of weird, surreal imagery, which would not have been a problem if it had any meaning or purpose like say, Shinya Tsukamoto's Tesuo or Cronenberg's Videodrome. But there is none.

Normally, in a film review, you get a brief summary of what the film is about But for this film, it's incredibly hard to write one because, as I've already mentioned, the film lacks a plot. All we know is that Uncle Boonmee is dying and a couple of his relatives are visiting him. The first 20 minutes of the film is surprisingly creepy, especially, a dinner table scene but from then on it becomes completely incomprehensible.

Allow me to describe a few scenes from the film to prove my point.
Scene 1 - In the above mentioned dinner table scene, we see Uncle Boonmee's son, who has been missing for years, return as, what the subtitles called a 'Monkey Ghost', in a bad ape outfit with red glowing eyes and tell his father that he became this 'Monkey Ghost' because he had once fornicated with a female 'Monkey Ghost'.

Scene 2 - A princess with a facial deformation, who might be in love with one of her servants, is pleasured by a talking catfish.

Scene 3 - In a montage made from only still photographs, several soldiers are seen with a 'Monkey Ghost', who may or may not be Uncle Boonmee's son, while, in a voice-over Uncle Boonmee talks about time travel.

Do these scenes mean anything? Was Uncle Boonmee the princess in one of his past lives? Was he the catfish? Maybe he was the servant or maybe he was the waterfall or maybe everything is part of his time-travel dream. I don't know and I don't think anybody does. You might be thinking that these scenes might actually mean something in the context of the entire film, but I guarantee that watching the film will not help you make better sense of the scenes that I just described.

Now, a film so weird should actually, not be boring. You should actually be able to derive some enjoyment out of the unexpected craziness of the film but unfortunately that's not the case here.The other major problem with the film is that these scenes are so few and far between it's 2 hour running time that it even becomes difficult to enjoy the movie for it's weirdness and absurdity. Other than the scenes described above, most of rest of the film consists of long scenes of people walking, discussing dung beetle and honey larvae and Uncle Boonmee's dialysis.

There are strengths to the film. It is undeniably a beautiful film to look at and it is a well made film and you can definetly see why Apichatpong Weerasethakul is regarded so highly. Even though the movie is impossible to make sense of, there is a certain level of sincerity in what he does and given that Uncle Boonmee has been the subject of three (as far as I know) of his works, I am sure that he knew what he was making and that the film makes sense in his head.

If you are looking for a plot, characters and some entertainment, you will have to look elsewhere. Recommended mainly for insomniacs and pretentious film snobs.

RATING :

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Animation and Comic Books for adults

Almost everyone I know seems to think that animation and comic books are for only little kids and that no self-respecting adult should ever be watching/reading them. This has been bothering me for quite some time now.

Since I just started a blog, I thought of posting a top 10 list of animated films and comic books that are for adults or are at least more suitable for adults than children, to prove that they are, like any other, just mediums to tell a story and those stories can be sophisticated and intelligent.
Instead of restricting it to just 10 animated films/comic books, I will be starting a column here, in which I will attempt to review one animated film/tv show/OAV or comic book each time.

Now, I initially thought of beginning this section with a review of 'Grave of the Fireflies', which would be a little too obvious of a choice. Instead I will be reviewing a more obscure and shocking film, a movie that is ABSOLUTELY NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN -


PRINCESS

This 2006 Danish animated film, directed by Anders Morgenthaler, is actually 20% live-action, the other reason I chose this movie for the first review.
From the very first scene of the film, it becomes clear that this is not going to be a pleasant viewing experience, but it always remains a fascinating film to watch.

The plot follows a 32 year old priest, August, who has returned to his hometown after his sister, Christina, a once-famous porn star nicknamed "The Princess" dies of a drug overdose and has left behind her 5 year old daughter Mia. Disgusted at the fact that his niece was left under the care of  a brothel owner, August takes her out of there and adopts her. He becomes increasingly disturbed to see how her upbringing has corrupted  the little Mia and by the decay and hypocrisy of the modern society. Combined with his guilt for having abandoned his sister a long time go, August goes on a violent journey to destroy every piece of pornographic material featuring his sister and take revenge on the man he feels is responsible for his sister's death.

You can already see the influences of Martin Scorsese's 'Taxi Driver' and like Travis Bickle, August is never the hero of the film, he is never the good guy, wherein lies the film's biggest strength, the morally ambiguous nature of the film (until the very end, which I will get to at a later stage in the review). Every character is flawed in one way or an other, although a case can be made that, not having a single character to identify with, makes it difficult for the audience to establish any sort of emotional connection with any of the characters.

Visually, the film is strong. Although it may not reach the standards set by Disney and Studio Ghibli, the crude style (which I've read, was due budget restrictions) suits the plot well. The live-action parts of the film are also competently directed and acted.
But where the film fails is it's ending, specifically, the final shot which contradicts every point the film makes until that moment. The moral ambiguity is thrown out of the window for an ending that feels like was put in there by Spielberg.

It is an ambitious film that doesn't quite achieve what it sets out to do. It succeeds in several ways and fails in a few others, but, it succeeds more than it fails.

RATING :

★★★★★★★☆☆☆