Stander

StanderWhat if you made a film and nobody saw it? What if you made a great film and nobody saw it? The film Stander, directed by Bronwen Hughes falls into that category. Based on the true story of a gang that robbed banks in South Africa in early 1980s, it’s not a straight-ahead drama based on true life. The film is stylish, surprising and moves along at a great pace and manages to combine heart-wrenching historical details with more tradition action film details. You go on a journey and the film changes tone from time to time and subverts your expectations. I can understand why the studio would have a hard time promoting the film. It exists somewhere between an art film and an action film. Bronwen Hughes is a fascinating director. She’s nominated for Best Director in the Genie Awards and is choosing fascinating projects to develop and direct from her earlier work directing some of the filmed segments for Kids in the Hall to a children’s feature such as Harriet the Spy. What is great to see in a director is a willingness to face challenges and not to keep making the same films again and again. Of the Genie nominated directors this year, Hughes is the best, but I wonder how many of the Genie voters will have seen the film. But that doesn’t really take anything away from the film. I think that it will become a slowly-growing gem that people will gradually discover and wonder, “why haven’t I heard about this film?”
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February 20, 2005 , , ,

Vera Drake

Vera DrakeWatching a film is a voyeuristic experience and Mike Leigh structures things so that the conditions are right to increase the chances of real moments between actors, which means that you feel as if you are watching private experiences that are both small and powerful. Assembling a crew and casting are parts of a delicate and magical process that is similar to cooking. With Vera Drake the ingredients are perfectly matched and balanced to create a work that is greater than the sum of its parts. Thoughout the film everything is quiet and subtle and understated. It slowly sucks you in and then takes a long time to leave you. You watch a family experiencing life through a series of small moments that add up to a larger story that touches on larger issues. It’s not about the issue but how people live their lives and it lets us share in something remarkable. This is what filmmaking can do better than anything else.
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February 15, 2005 , , ,

Dirty Pretty Things

Dirty Pretty Things

There is nothing so dangerous as a virtuous man.

You can’t find a better dramatic situation than a character who has to struggle with moral decisions. The more difficult the situation, the more drama. If you have great characters that are well-rounded and distinctive, it’s even better. With Dirty Pretty Things, Stephen Frears has a great script by Steven Knight and a great ensemble cast with Chiwetel Ejiofor as an illegal immigrant in London who works in a hotel with other immigrants, including Audrey Tatou as a Turkish refugee. The relationship between the characters is complicated and real, with a nice sense of humour that provides just enough light to the dark story of struggle and survival. I enjoyed every minute of the film which was filled with pleasant surprises. Dark and beautiful and perfectly balanced.
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February 9, 2005 , , ,

The Aviator

The AviatorMartin Scorsese knows how to make a film. How to make it look, sound, and flow. While The Aviator isn’t Scorsese’s best film, it’s great to watch. The weakness with The Aviator is in the script. With a better script, Scorsese would have made a great film. The performances are solid and the deep love of filmmaking that Scorsese has translates well to the screen. The film is enjoyable and great to watch. Fun and harrowing at times. A sequence where Hughes crashes a plane is frightening and viseral and seamlessly combines effects, sound, shooting and editing together. Thelma Schoonmaker is a gifted editor who is able to cut (or not) at the perfect moment to move the story along, draw our attention to a detail or give us time to think. As the film progresses the look changes to mirror that of different film stocks with their own particular colour responses. Every time I see a film by Scorsese I learn something and the Aviator is no exception.
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February 6, 2005 , , ,

Maria Full of Grace

Maria Full of GraceSometimes small, independent films miss my radar. A few nights ago I was able to see Maria Full of Grace at the Al Whittle Theatre as part of the Fundy Film Society Winter program. It’s a great film, but it isn’t showy. What is striking about the film are the performances and the understated direction. The subject matter (drug smuggling) could be sensationalized, but it is humanized and it grows out of the characters and their struggles. Catalina Sandino Moreno is perfect as Maria. While I was watching the film I was thinking, “What an amazing person” and not “What a great performance”… but that’s the sign of a great performance when you aren’t watching someone acting as hard as they can. One thing leads to another and the film follows along on a journey from Columbia to New York. Maria Full of Grace is the feature debut of Joshua Marston and he manages to weave together two main threads – the drug smuggling story and the more personal thread of a woman trapped in a small town who wants out. Filmmaking is not so much about talking as about listening and observing and reflecting the insights back at us. Marston seems to have a gift for this.
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February 2, 2005 , ,

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