NZIFF Classic Film Review: "Charulata" ("চারুলতা") (1964).

"Every bud, And every blossom, Nods and sways, In the gentle breeze, Rippling, laughing, In wave and billow, The river flows, With carefree ease, The cuckoo roams, From bower to bower, Cuckoo, cuckoo, Cuckoo, she cries, Deep within, My head is yearning, Alas, alas..." This is the story of Charulata (চারুলতা, The Lonely Wife). This 1964 Indian drama film adapted and directed by Satyajit Ray based upon the novella Nastanirh (নষ্টনীড়, The Broken Nest) by Rabindranath Tagore. In 1870s India, Charulata is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin to spend time with her and nourish her creative impulses. He is a fledgling poet himself, and he and Charulata bond over their shared love of art. But over time a sexual attraction develops, with heartbreaking results.

An admirer of the 1901 novella, Ray later said that he liked the novella because "it has a western quality to it and the film obviously shares that quality. That's why I can speak of Mozart in connection with Charulata quite validly." In adapting the novella to the screen, Ray decided to set the film in the 1880s instead of in 1901 and spent many months researching the historical background. For the first time in his career he worked without a deadline both during pre-production and during the shooting. Ray worked closely with art director Bansi Chandragupta and no interior scene was shot on location. All sets were either built or remodeled to accurately portray India in the 1880s. Ray cast Indian actress Madhabi Mukherjee in the role of Charulata, but had difficulty with her owing to her addiction to chewing paan, which stained her teeth black. Because of this Ray had to be careful about what camera angles he used to film her. Since its release on 17 April, 1964, the film is often considered one of Ray’s highest achievements, and Ray once called Charulata his favourite of his own films.

It features Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee. The performances given by the cast, especially Mukherjee, are movingly poignant. The characterisation of titular housewife is a full-blown exercise in mid-century film feminism.

One of Satyajit Ray's greatest films Charulata, full of sensuality and ironic undertones. A haunting experience, and should have been, coming from afar from a man born to make movies. It's a film that bears all the hallmarks of Ray's best work: gracefulness, exquisite pacing and composition, love for his characters and a deep regard for the power of silence to tell a story. An utterly absorbing and moving drama about the worlds of work and home in 1880s India, and a hymn to unattended love acted with lightness, intelligence and wit. Ray's style is direct, realist and sympathetic. Here is India through impeccably Indian eyes. A masterpiece compared to most movies in India, or anywhere else. Incredibly rich and satisfying. Would easily stand up to multiple viewings.

Simon says Charulata (চারুলতা) receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for Frances Ha.

NZIFF Film Review: "Frances Ha" (2012).

From the director and star of Greenberg comes Frances Ha. This comedy-drama film directed by Noah Baumbach, and written by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig. Frances lives in New York, but she doesn't really have an apartment. Frances is an apprentice for a dance company, but she's not really a dancer. Frances has a best friend named Sophie, but they aren't really speaking anymore. Frances throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles. Frances wants so much more than she has but lives her life with unaccountable joy and lightness.

In April 2012, the film was announced though Baumbach's involvement was not revealed until the film's listing in the Telluride Film Festival's lineup. Gerwig had starred in Baumbach's Greenberg, and they decided to collaborate again. They exchanged ideas, developed characters, and eventually co-wrote the script. Gerwig has stated that she did not anticipate starring in the film as well, but Baumbach thought she suited the part. Principal photography took place in Sacramento, California; New York City and Poughkeepsie, New York; and Paris, France. The film was shot in black and white to "boil it down to its barest bones," and create an immediate "history" & "a kind of instant nostalgia." In addition, it was also shot as low-key & covertly as possible under the working title of Untitled Digital Workshop. Contrary to the movie's improvisational feel, the actors followed a very tightly-written script with little to no deviation.

The film stars Gerwig; in the title role, Mickey Sumner, Charlotte d'Amboise, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, Michael Esper, Grace Gummer, Patrick Heusinger, and Maya Kazan. The title character is a fantastically complex part to play, but Gerwig's performance is superbly nuanced, convincing and brave.

Although the film sometimes drags (especially for one with a eighty-six minute run time), Baumbach and Gerwig scored a mutual coup with the film. Their sharpest observations are reserved for preternaturally intelligent, hyper-self-conscious outsiders whose existential crises are the failure of the world-and, to some extent, themselves-to live up to their own high expectations. The indignities of modern life that the title character can't bear are peculiarly American. And so is this thoughtful and hilarious film, though some might feel its arty moments and lack of action seem more European. It is a painful, funny, truthful read on our own times and a peculiar and distressing moment that often happens at 30 or 40 or 50. On balance, I found my feelings for the film running hot and cold, as if I was being been infected by the protagonist's jagged mood swings. A good sign, I guess. But that's the thing about a misanthropic movie. However, this is a sunny, prosperous film, full of bright light and outdoor New York exteriors, casual hospitality and people going out to dinner; but its problems are not external villains. It's the internal demons which menace. Thanks to Baumbach's sharply witty dialogue and poignant performance from Gerwig, you can't help but root for this lost soul to find her happy ending.

Simon says Frances Ha receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for NZIFF Presents Goblin Plays Suspiria.

NZIFF Film Review: 'NZIFF Presents Goblin Plays "Suspiria"' (2013).

"Susie, do you know anything about... witches?" This question is at the heart of Suspiria. This 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento. It is the first of the trilogy Argento refers to as The Three Mothers, followed by Inferno and The Mother of Tears. In a stormy night, a newcomer and American dancer Suzy Bannion arrives in Freiburg coming from New York to join a famous, expensive and fancy ballet academy for three years of training. But she gradually comes to realize that the house and its staff are actually indeed a coven of evil witches hell-bent on chaos and destruction.

Suspiria is noteworthy for several stylistic flourishes that have become Argento trademarks. The film was made with anamorphic lenses. The production design and cinematography emphasize vivid primary colors, particularly red, creating a deliberately unrealistic, nightmarish setting, emphasized by the use of imbibition Technicolor prints. It was one of the final feature films to be processed in Technicolor. The title and general concept of The Three Mothers came from Suspiria de Profundis, an uncredited inspiration for the film. There is a section in the book entitled Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow. The piece asserts that just as there are three Fates and three Graces, there are three Sorrows: Mater Lacrymarum, Our Lady of Tears, Mater Suspiriorum, Our Lady of Sighs and Mater Tenebrarum, Our Lady of Darkness. Scriptwriter Daria Nicolodi stated that Suspiria's inspiration came from a tale her grandmother told her as a young child about a real life experience she had in an acting academy where she discovered "the teachers were teaching arts, but also black magic." This story was later confirmed by Argento to have been made up.

Italian prog rock band Goblin composed most of the film's musical score in collaboration with Dario Argento. Goblin had previously scored Argento's earlier film Deep Red (1975) as well as several subsequent films following Suspiria. Like Ennio Morricone's compositions for Sergio Leone, Goblin's score for Suspiria was created before the film was shot. It has been reused in multiple Hong Kong films, including Yuen Woo-ping's martial arts film Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979) and Tsui Hark's horror-comedy We Are Going to Eat You (1980).

Suspiria is lavish, no-holds-barred witch story whose lack of both logic and technical skill are submerged in the sheer energy of the telling. Ultimately, the film fails mainly because it lacks restraint in setting up the terrifying moment, using close-ups and fancy camera angles gratuitously and with no relevance to the story. The movie's distinguishing feature is not the number or variety of horrible murders, but the length of time it takes for the victims to die. This is a technique that may have been borrowed from Italian opera, but without the music, it loses some of its panache. The film is shot in vivid colors, at some striking angles, and the background music is Verdi rather than heavy metal. But the script and acting are largely routine.

Simon says Suspiria receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for North by Northwest.

NZIFF Classic Film Review: "North By Northwest" (1959).

"The Master of Suspense weaves his greatest tale!" This is North by Northwest. This thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and written by Ernest Lehman. This classic suspense film finds New York City ad executive Roger O. Thornhill pursued by ruthless spy Phillip Vandamm after Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent. Hunted relentlessly by Vandamm's associates, the harried Thornhill ends up on a cross-country journey, meeting the beautiful and mysterious Eve Kendall along the way. Soon Vandamm's henchmen close in on Thornhill, resulting in a number of iconic action sequences.

According to John Russell Taylor's biography Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock (1978) suggests that the story originated after a spell of writer's block during the scripting of another Hitchcock project. Hitchcock had the idea of the hero being stranded in the middle of nowhere, but suggested that the villains try to kill him with a tornado. In fact, Hitchcock had been working on the story for nearly nine years prior to meeting Lehman. The idea originated from American journalist Otis C. Guernsey, who was inspired by a true story during World War II when British Intelligence obtained a dead body, invented a fictitious officer who was carrying secret papers, and arranged for the body and misleading papers to be discovered by the Germans as a disinformation exercise called Operation Mincemeat. Guernsey turned his idea into a story about an American salesman who travels to the Middle East and is mistaken for a fictitious agent. Guernsey urged Hitchcock to do what he liked with the story. Hitchcock bought the 60 pages for $10,000. Hitchcock sat on the idea, waiting for the right screenwriter to develop it.

Lehman became the scriptwriter following a lunchtime meeting with Hitchcock, arranged by their mutual friend, Composer Bernard Herrmann. Hitchcock originally wanted him to work on his new project The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959), but Lehman left the project due to writer's block. Hitchcock was so keen to work with him that he suggested they work together on a different movie using Mary Deare's budget (without MGM's approval) even though he had only three ideas to set Lehman on his way: mistaken identity, the United Nations building, and a chase scene across the faces of Mt. Rushmore. Lehman knew the hero had to be an innocent man, but he couldn't figure out how the hero gets into trouble. Hitchcock ended his dilemma by recalling a story idea he heard at a cocktail party, an idea about some government agency creating a non-existent decoy agent to throw the villains off the trail of a real government agent. According to Lehman, he had already written much of the screenplay before coming up with critical elements of the climax. According to Lehman, the working title was In A Northwesterly Direction. The head of the Story Department at MGM said, Why don't you call it 'North by Northwest'? Lehman says that he and Hitchcock adopted that as the new working title, always assuming that they'd come up with something better. Other working titles included Breathless, In a North West Direction, and The C.I.A. Story.

While filming Vertigo (1958), Hitchcock described some of the plot of this project to frequent Hitchcock leading man James Stewart, who naturally assumed that Hitchcock meant to cast him in the Roger Thornhill role, and was eager to play it. Actually, Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to play the role. By the time Hitchcock realized the misunderstanding, Stewart was so anxious to play the role. So Hitchcock delayed production on this movie until Stewart was already safely committed to filming Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (1959). So Stewart turned down the offer, allowing Hitchcock to cast Grant. Grant was initially reluctant to accept the role since he was fifty-five, but accepted nonetheless. During production, Grant found the screenplay baffling. Hitchcock knew this confusion would only help the movie after all, Grant's character had no idea what was going on, either. Grant thought the movie would be a flop right up until its premiere, where it was rapturously received.

Since its July 1, 1959 release date, the film would go on to become a critical and financial success, grossing $5,740,000 in North America and $4.1 million internationally. The film has been referred to as "the first James Bond film" due to its similarities with splashily colourful settings, secret agents, and an elegant, daring, wisecracking leading man opposite a sinister yet strangely charming villain. The crop duster scene inspired the helicopter chase in From Russia with Love (1963). It is listed among the canonical Hitchcock films of the 1950s and is often thought of as the best amongst Hitchcock's "wrong man" thrillers. Additionally, it is listed among the greatest films of all time. It was selected in 1995 for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its 10 Top 10 - the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres. It was also voted #7 in the mystery genre, #40 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, #4 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, and #55 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition).

The film stars Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Landau, and James Mason. The film contains strong on sight and performance values. Grant tops his job in To Catch a Thief (1955) as the man who, and Saint is surprisingly effective as the woman who may or may not be on his side. Grant and Saint make ideal in the romantic leads.

Hitchcock has endowed the action with as much suspense as one might expect in a picture produced and directed by him; nevertheless, its story of a ad executive who sets out to establish his innocence by going on a cross-country journey to undercover government secrets, and constantly offers dramatic and comical developments. It is definitely a suspense piece one usually associated with the Hitchcock name.

Simon says North By Northwest receives:

Also, see my NZIFF review for Behind the Candelabra.

NZIFF Film Review: "Behind the Candelabra" (2013).

"Too much of a good thing is wonderful" This is Behind the Candelabra. This biographical drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh, adapted by Richard LaGravenese, based on Richard Thorson's memoir Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace (1988). World-famous pianist Liberace takes much-younger Scott Thorson as a lover, but the relationship deteriorates when Liberace takes other bedmates and Thorson becomes addicted to drugs.

During the filming of Traffic (2000), Soderbergh first spoke with Michael Douglas about the idea of doing a Liberace film, but had trouble figuring out an angle for it that would differentiate it from a traditional biopic. In the summer of 2008, Soderbergh contacted LaGravenese with the idea of adapting Thorson's memoir. The film spent several years in development while Soderbergh had difficulty securing funding, with Hollywood studios saying it was "too gay". In a January 2013 New York Post interview, Soderbergh said that the film was originally intended for theatrical release, but was ultimately produced by and aired on HBO instead. He commented: "Nobody would make it, we went to everybody in town. They all said it was too gay. And this is after Brokeback Mountain (2005), by the way, which is not as funny as this movie. I was stunned. It made no sense to any of us." During this time, Douglas and Matt Damon remained adamant that they would appear in the film despite its lengthy development. Ultimately in September 2008, the project was officially announced with Douglas as Liberace alongside Damon as Thorson. The film was picked up by HBO Films. However, production was delayed due when Douglas began treatment for stage IV throat cancer in 2010. In mid November 2011, with a budget of $23 million, principal photography commenced, and lasted for thirty days throughout California and Nevada. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick and her team had to reproduce a large number of Liberace's iconic stage outfits for this film. These included a copy of Liberace's 16 foot-long white virgin fox fur coat. Soderbergh is particularly famous for his fast rhythm shooting and editing, with ideas clearly conceived beforehand and no running over schedule. According to Damon, filming was completed on a Friday and Soderbergh had edited a first cut by the following Monday. While promoting the film, Soderbergh went on to explain that this would be his last directorial effort for the time being. It is also the last film to feature a musical score by composer Marvin Hamlisch, who died on August 6, 2012.

The film stars Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Rob Lowe, and Debbie Reynolds. The beautifully realised gay love story is imbued with heartbreakingly universal and moving performances by the cast, especially that of Douglas and Damon.

The real achievement of Behind the Candelabra is not that it tells a universal love story that happens to have gay characters in it, but that it tells a distinctively gay story that happens to be so well told that any feeling person can be moved by it.

Simon says Behind the Candelabra receives:

Also, see my reviews for Magic Mike and The Cabin in the Woods.

Film Review: "Pacific Rim" (2013).

"Today... At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves, but in each other. Today... we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!" Which is why you should get excited for Pacific Rim. This Science Fiction Kaiju film directed by Guillermo del Toro. The film is set in the near future where soldiers pilot giant Mechas into battle against invading giant monsters who have risen from a portal beneath the ocean. As the war between humankind and the monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.

Del Toro wanted to "honor" the Kaiju and Mecha genres while creating an original stand-alone film. The director made a point of starting from scratch. He cautioned his designers not to turn to films like Gamera (1965), Godzilla (1954), or The War of the Gargantuas (1966) for inspiration. Rather than popular culture, he drew inspiration from works of art such as Francisco Goya's The Colossus and George Bellows's boxing paintings. Forty Kaiju were designed, but only nine of these appear in the film. Del Toro avoided making the Kaiju too similar to any Earth creatures, instead opting to make them otherworldly and alien. Certain design elements are shared by all the Kaiju; this is intended to suggest that they are connected and were designed for a similar purpose. Each Kaiju was given a vaguely humanoid silhouette to echo the man-in-suit aesthetic of early Japanese Kaiju films.

Gipsy Danger, the American Jaeger, was based on the shape of New York City's Art Deco buildings, but infused with John Wayne's gunslinger gait and hip movements. Cherno Alpha, the Russian Jaeger, was based on the shape and paint patterns of a T-series Russian tank, combined with a giant containment silo to give the appearance of a walking nuclear power plant with a cooling tower on its head. Crimson Typhoon resembles a "medieval little warrior"; its texture evokes Chinese lacquered wood with golden edges. Striker Eureka is likened by del Toro to a Land Rover; the most elegant and masculine Jaeger, it has a jutting chest.

The movie stars Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Idris Elba and Ron Perlman. Hunnam's performance was terrific. Hunnam did not glamorize nor did he bring the typical rock-star edge to the character. Like Hunnam, Kikuchi also brought emotional complexity and depth to female action character. Elba gave an incredible performance as a strong surrogate father figure to both Hunnam and Kikuchi. Finally, Perlman's performance was a wonderful performance, playing a character with such cool swagger that is very reminiscent to Han Solo from the original Star Wars trilogy (1977, 1980 and 1983) and Quint from Jaws (1975).

Pacific Rim is a really rather brilliant vomitorium of viscera, a monster movie with dreams of becoming a textbook for mad surgeons. Del Toro avidly lavishes his texture on the film, giving it a kiss of distinction. It's an elegant monster brawl of a picture with dread and yearning part of the sheer mass and scope. To conclude, It’s bizarre, loud, romantic and dynamic.

Simon says Pacific Rim receives:

Film Review: "Despicable Me 2" (2013).

The film’s taglines include "More minions. More despicable" and "When the world needed a hero, they called a villain". These are used to describe Despicable Me 2. This 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film and the sequel to Despicable Me (2010). Produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures, directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud, who both directed the last film. Steve Carell, Russell Brand, and Miranda Cosgrove reprise their roles as Gru, Dr. Nefario and Margo. Kristen Wiig, who played Miss Hattie in the first film, voices agent Lucy Wilde. New cast members include Benjamin Bratt as Eduardo and Steve Coogan as Silas Ramsbottom, head of the Anti-Villain League. While Gru, the ex-supervillain is adjusting to family life and an attempted honest living in the jam business, a secret Arctic laboratory is stolen. The Anti-Villain League decides it needs an insider's help and Gru is recruited to help in the investigation. Together with the eccentric AVL agent, Lucy Wilde, Gru has to deal with a powerful new super criminal.

The performances were just fun and humorous as they were in the first film. Carrell's inflectious peformance as Gru, his Slavic, Bela Lugosi/Ricardo Montalban and fun ex-villain does the trick, as before in the first film. Brand's performance was great again and was a delight to see him again. His performance as Dr. Nefario continues to amaze me as I ask "how in the world did he achieve that kind of performance?" Cosgrove's performance in the previous film was fun but had very little characterization. But this film, likely, the filmmakers had developed more characterization into the character for this film and was just as fun in the last film. Wiig in this film was wildly fun and surprising as her name suggests. It was her character's clever hesitations and comic timing that helped steal the show. Bratt gave a great performance as Eduardo, the villain of the film (*spoiler alert!*). Oppose the kind of role that made him famous on Law & Order. Lastly, Coogan's performance was humorous despite his minimal amount of lines, but as I said 'humorous' just like his name - Silas Ramsbottom ("bottom").

It may not be as fresh as the original, but the humor and colorful secondary characters make Despicable Me 2 a winner in its own right. The film is an improvement on the original, with more fleshed-out characters, crisper animation and more consistent humor. The storyline arc may seem a tad cliché to some moviegoers, but it offers enough action, comedy, and classic Steve Carrell performance to save it from total oblivion. To conclude, the creative team at Illumination Entertainment have prevailed, serving a strong sequel. It may not be better than its predecessor, but it is just as emotionally satisfying. Finally, it is heartfelt and hilarious, smart and silly, action-packed and never violent for the children.

Simon says Despicable Me 2 receives: