Film Review: "Belfast" (2021).

"No matter how far you go, you never forget where you came from." This is Belfast. This British and Irish coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s.

From the late 1960s to 1998, the ethnographic-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland, The Troubles, mostly took place in Northern Ireland. The conflict was primarily political and nationalistic, but it also had an ethnic or sectarian dimension but despite the use of the terms 'Protestant' and 'Catholic' to refer to the two sides, it was not a primarily religious conflict. A key issue was the status of Northern Ireland. Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. The conflict ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and resulted in more than 3,500 deaths, of whom fifty-two per cent were civilians, thirty-two per cent were members of the British security forces and sixteen per cent were members of paramilitary groups.

In July 2020, Branagh announced that he would write and direct a film based on true story events from his childhood. Branagh wrote the screenplay at the encouragement of his friend, actor John Sessions. The film marks the first time Branagh penned his own script since The Magic Flute (2006). By September, Judi Dench, Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds and newcomer Jude Hill were cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in October. Filming took place in London, England and Belfast, Ireland. This is Branagh's second digitally shot film, due to the low budget and COVID-19 shooting schedule. His first was All Is True (2018), with all of his other projects shot on 35mm or 65mm film stock. It was also shot almost exclusively using only available light (ie. no artificial film lighting) including interior scenes. The film features music by Belfast native Van Morrison, including eight classic songs and a new song Morrison wrote for the film.

The film stars Balfe, Dornan, Dench, Hinds and Hill. The precision of the characters and the performances that Branagh draws out of his cast make this a pleasure even when when it's a bit pokey and aimless.

The Troubles as a coming of age comedy-drama: Branagh offers a warmly nostalgic view of his childhood in a Belfast suburb during the 1960s. Both serious and funny, with typically wicked Irish humor offsetting the heavy emotions of fear, anger, sorrow, and need. The antics of the colorful characters and its fast-paced story line give the film all the spontaneity of a child at play. The film is an enormous success right now, where every frame must have its special memories for Irish audiences. Through international eyes, it is a more universal film, not so much about social upheaval as about memory.

Simon says Belfast receives:

Also, see my review for Artemis Fowl.

Film Review: "Parallel Mothers" ("Madres paralelas") (2021).

From the director of Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) comes Parallel Mothers (Madres paralelas). This Spanish drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Two women, Janis and Ana, coincide in a hospital room where they are going to give birth. Both are single and became pregnant by accident. Janis, middle-aged, doesn’t regret it and she is exultant. The other, Ana, an adolescent, is scared, repentant and traumatized. Janis tries to encourage her while they move like sleepwalkers along the hospital corridors. The few words they exchange in these hours will create a very close link between the two, which by chance develops and complicates, and changes their lives in a decisive way.

In February 2021 it was announced that Almodóvar would pen and direct a new Spanish drama film entitled Madres paralelas. By early March, Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Julieta Serrano, Rossy de Palma, Pedro Casablanc, Adelfa Calvo and Ainhoa Santamaría were cast. It was reported that Almodóvar intended to cast Anya Taylor-Joy, but couldn't due to Taylor-Joy's busy schedule. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late April. Filming took place in Madrid, Torrelaguna and Torremocha de Jarama, Spain. The film was originally scheduled for a September 10, 2021 release date. In late August, it was announced that the film was postponed until October 8 2021.

The film stars Cruz, Smit, Elejalde, Sánchez-Gijón, Serrano, de Palma, Casablanc, Calvo and Santamaría. Who knows the heart of women better than Almódovar? Stunning performances, complex characters, and brilliance all around from the cast.

Like so many Almodóvar films, the emotional revelations are heightened by vibrant visuals and impeccable style. Even in our resolve, though, we are not in control. Janis and Ana's stories illustrates the ways in which we blindly revisit upon others the pain we have received in our lives. This is not my favorite Almodovar twenty first-century work, but I'm grateful one of the film world's high-wire acts continues to produce at such a fantastic level. I don't wish to spoil the surprises Julieta has to offer. Suffice to say the emotional punches are consistent and land more often than not. Almodóvar has devoted many of his films to strong female characters. Underneath his signature bold colours, though, his latest feature feels strangely shallow. The film is emotionally resonant yet far from this auteur's best - the ingredients are all there, you'll just wish they were a little less undercooked. Almodóvar continues to be a leading figure in telling women's stories, and pulls this one off with just enough majesty to keep you in its sway. Exploding off the screen in a blast of colour and compassion, Almodóvar's new film is one of 2021's cinematic treasures. Compared to Almodóvar's grand masterpieces, his latest might seem quaint. But the film is a subtle force of nature, elementally connected with its lead character and her battle to regain personal and familial balance.

Simon says Parallel Mothers (Madres paralelas) receives:

Also, see my review for Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria).

Film Review: "The Tindler Swindler" (2022).

"Modern love is a dangerous game" in The Tindler Swinder. This crime documentary film directed by Felicity Morris. Posing as a wealthy, jet-setting diamond mogul, he wooed women online then conned them out of millions of dollars. Now some victims plan for payback.

Simon Leviev, or actually known as Shimon Yehuda Hayut, is a professional hustler and came from a humble background in Tel Aviv, Israel. At the age of eighteen, he fled Israel after becoming wanted for fraud. He was accused in 2011 of stealing cheques from an employer. He didn't attend his court date and left the country on a forged passport. In 2015, Simon served three years in a prison in Finland for aggravated fraud. Under various names, he had stolen money from three women after claiming he was in the weapons industry and a Mossad agent before getting cash from them. He was then sent back to Israel, where he fled again before his court date and changed his name to Simon Leviev in 2017, claiming to be the the son of 'King of Diamonds' billionaire, Lev Leviev. As the title suggests, Simon would often meets his targets on Tinder, catching their interest with a profile boasting a five-star lifestyle. He would romance his targets, spending thousands on romantic gestures. After a couple of months, he pulled the rug out from under them, saying he was in trouble due to the dangerous nature of the diamond industry. He would then request the women give him a credit card temporarily in their name, he would promise to pay her back, but before that he needed to stay under the radar and off-grid for fear of his life. Believing he truly had the cash after what they had experienced with him, and scared for his safety, the women would oblige. Sometimes he would pay back some of the charges as a mark of good faith, but mostly he would forge bank transfer receipts, claiming he'd sent the money and blaming the bank for failing to conduct the transaction. Over the years he became wanted in more than seven countries for the scheme, but proved almost impossible to trace. In the film, Simon's method was described as a pyramid scheme. He would take money from a girl in one city to pay for his dalliances in another. In 2019, he was ultimately arrested in Athens after traveling to Greece on a fake Israeli passport. Simon was last known to be living free in Israel after serving only five months of a fifteen-month sentence for the crimes he committed. After his release, he launched a business mentoring website. He still lives an extravagant lifestyle which he boasts about online.

The story of Simon Leveiv and the victims he left in his wake is so outlandish and disturbing that it does make for a fantastically engrossing and entertaining film.

Simon says The Tindler Swinder receives:

Film Review: "Licorice Pizza" (2021).

From the director of Boogie Nights and Phantom Thread comes Licorice Pizza. This coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film is the story of Alana Kane and Gary Valentine growing up, running around and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley, 1973.

Around 2001, Anderson was walking by a middle school in Los Angeles on picture day. He observed one of the students nagging the female photographer and had an idea of the student having an adult relationship with the photographer. The screenplay for the film evolved from this experience and additional stories told to Anderson by his friend Gary Goetzman, who was a child actor who had starred in the film Yours, Mine and Ours (1968) with Lucille Ball, appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-71), and eventually started a waterbed company and pinball arcade. Goetzman at one time delivered a waterbed to Jon Peters's home. Anderson considered Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) and American Graffiti (1973) as major influences for the film. Anderson received permission from Jon Peters to develop a character based on him, on the sole condition that Peters's favorite pick-up line is used. Anderson went on to create a "monster version" of Peters based on 1970s Hollywood producers who had "a reputation for a lot of bravado and aggro energy". By August 2020, Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, John Michael Higgins, Harriet Sansom Harris, Joseph Cross, Maya Rudolph and John C. Reilly were cast. Originally, Leonardo DiCaprio was offered the role of Jon Peters in this film, but at the same time was also offered the lead role in Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley (2021), which led Cooper to sign on to this film instead of DiCaprio. However, after a few weeks in negotiations, DiCaprio's deal with Del Toro fell through and he had to drop out, creating the opening for Cooper to take over from DiCaprio in both films. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in November. Filming took place throughout California under the working title of Soggy Bottom, and was shot on 35 mm film, using older lenses in order to create the film's 1970s texture. In September 2021, the film was officially titled Licorice Pizza.

The film stars Haim, Hoffman, Penn, Waits, Cooper, Safdie, Ellis, Higgins, Harris, Cross, Rudolph and Reilly. Haim and Hoffman are standouts in a movie chock-full of standouts.

Perhaps overshadowed by Anderson's other more ostensibly serious work, the film nevertheless represents both a highlight for the director and for its star. The film is an impassioned and creative portrait of American souls in distress from a passionate filmmaker who threw himself headlong into his movies. While certainly sweet, the film is more compelling as a veiled threat, with Anderson jerking the audience around, wielding abrasive characters and hostile situations in a manner I've come to adore. Anderson continues cements his reputation as one of the most gifted filmmakers of his generation.

Simon says Licorice Pizza receives:

Also, see my review for Phantom Thread.

Film Review: "Spencer" (2021).

"Every fairy tale ends" in Spencer. This biographical drama film directed by Pablo Larraín and written by Steven Knight. The marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles has long since grown cold. Though rumors of affairs and a divorce abound, peace is ordained for the Christmas festivities at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. There's eating and drinking, shooting and hunting. Diana knows the game. But this year, things will be profoundly different.

In mid June 2020, it was announced that Larraín would direct a film, inspired by Princess Diana's decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles and leave the British royal family, with Kristen Stewart to star as Princess Diana. Later that month, it was reported that Neon had acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United States in a deal worth more than $4 million. By late January 2021, Timothy Spall, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins, Richard Sammel and Amy Manson rounded out the film's cast. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in late April. Filming took place throughout Germany and at Sandringham House, Sandringham, Norfolk, England. Prior to filming, Stewart trained for six months to perfect her accent. Moreover, Larraín had Stewart watch Gena Rowlands' performance in A Woman Under the Influence (1974) to prepare for her role. Additionally, Stewart watched The Crown (2016-Present) to prepare her role.

The film stars Stewart, Spall, Harris, Hawkins, Sammel and Manson. Stewart delivers a tremendous performance in a movie that marches to its own beat without ever taking its eye off the ball. Stewart is so incredibly Diana it's tough to imagine anyone else in the role. We are facing a historical film that will be remembered forever as the admirable biopic in which Stewart did justice to the legend of Princess Diana.

A visually-stunning and emotionally-moving film, but the people of color in this film were used as background and not one had a speaking role. The film is a stunning profile of an iconic British woman's personal fortitude at a time of extreme grief. The film is beautifully crafted and Stewart's performance is superb. The film isn't just a convincing and riveting depiction of a 21st century icon; it's also a heart-rending portrait of a troubled woman trying to regain control when the life she knows is suddenly and cruelly being twisted. Larrain and Stewart seem to pull off the impossible in Jackie: to make an incredible internal film about the importance of grandeur. The film is one about the legacy of Diana but it's also a part of it. It's as beautifully and evidently staged as the tour the Princess herself gave on primetime television. Perfectly timed for interesting political times, the film is about as heartbreaking a portrayal of Princess Diana's history and legacy as you could imagine. The director took a very minimalist approach resulting in a film that feels deeply intimate and personal. Larraín's second English-language feature, the battle between privacy and public expectation is at the heart of this staggering movie.

Simon says Spencer receives:

Also, see my review for Lisey's Story.

Film Review: "Munich: The Edge of War" (2021).

"Secrets. Betrayal. Treason." This is Munich: The Edge of War. This German/British war drama film directed by Christian Schwochow, adapted by Ben Power, and based upon the 2017 novel Munich by Robert Harris. It is Autumn 1938 and Europe stands on the brink of war. Adolf Hitler is preparing to invade Czechoslovakia and Neville Chamberlain's government desperately seeks a peaceful solution. With the pressure building, Hugh Legat, British civil servant, and Paul von Hartmann, German diplomat, travel to Munich for the emergency Conference. As negotiations begin, the two old friends find themselves at the center of a web of political subterfuge and very real danger.

By October 2020, it was announced that Jeremy Irons, Alex Jennings, George MacKay, Jannis Niewöhner, Sandra Hüller, Liv Lisa Fries, August Diehl, Jessica Brown Findlay, Anjli Mohindra, Ulrich Matthes and Mark Lewis Jones were cast in a film adaptation of Harris 2017 historical novel with Schwochow hired to direct, Power to pen the adaptation and Netflix set to distribute. At the same time, principal photography commenced and wrapped in December. Filming took place in Berlin, Potsdam and Munich, Germany and Liverpool, England and under the working title Munich 38.

The film stars Irons, Jennings, MacKay, Niewöhner, Hüller, Fries, Diehl, Findlay, Mohindra, Matthes and Jones. The cast brings a gung-ho excitement and energy that's generally missing from war movies today (they're more concerned with being stern and glum and anti-war).

As both a World War II film and an Espionage story, the film largely succeeds. No one part may stand above its fellows (not to mention other films) but what it adds up to is more than worthwhile and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised. Maintaining tension in the face of a foregone conclusion is no mean trick, but Mr. Schwochow and company do as well as anyone could hope. The film proceeds to show how everything, little by little, falls out of place -- not the most thrilling of events to cover, but interesting all the same. A thrilling political war movie that sees a stellar cast of high-ranking Brits and Germans who plot to stop Hitler before both England and Germany go to war. The film may not be awards bait but it is a solid, at times gripping, thriller that wrings every ounce of drama out of what is, at heart, a pulsating tale of the courage and idealism of some undone by the cowardice and politics of others. The film is no action extravaganza. Yet despite having a rich seam of moral ambiguity to mine, the characterisation is no deeper than in Schwochow's Je suis Karl. The film is a good one with more than enough there to keep your attention and for you to have come away feeling satisfied and informed. Schwochow marshals his camera and soundtrack well as his tense, behind-the-scenes chess game plays out. Everyone does a jolly good job, including Schwochow, as the Espionage plot offers adequate tension and bores sturdily onwards.

 

Simon says Munich: The Edge of War receives:

Also, see my review for Je Suis Karl.

Film Review: "Belle" ("竜とそばかすの姫") (2021).

From the director of Mirai (未来のミライ) comes Belle (竜とそばかすの姫). This Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. It is inspired by the 1756 French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Suzu, is a seventeen-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age. She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother’s death was no longer able to sing. It wasn’t long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world. When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as "U," where she takes on her persona, Belle. Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside "U" as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of "U." Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her…

Hosoda initially intended for Belle to be a musical, but considered the idea difficult due to Japan not having a culture of making musicals. However, he still wanted music to be central to the film, so he searched for a protagonist that could sing. He stated that he preferred the same person doing both speaking and singing voices to make it convincing, and searched for a singer who could express their feelings though song and move people, even if they don't understand Japanese. He then found Kaho Nakamura, whom he considered relatively unknown, but a perfect choice for the role. Hosoda stated that Nakamura was also involved in writing lyrics, so she could feel the lyrics she was singing.

The film stars the voice talents of Kaho Nakamura, Takeru Satoh, Kōji Yakusho, Lilas Ikuta, Ryō Narita, Shōta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Mami Koyama, Mamoru Miyano, Michiko Shimizu, Ryoko Moriyama, Sachiyo Nakao, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Sumi Shimamoto and Ken Ishiguro. Thanks to the strong performances given by the cast, the characters are entirely credible and likable, the simply drawn figures highly effective against the lush background artwork. The virtual world has rarely seemed so joyous.

The film reflects the passage of categories in search of universality without forgetting to leave a space for fantasy in the everyday. That's the Hosoda touch. An enjoyably trippy Japanese animated feature from director Mamoru Hosoda, the film combines real-world drama (school crushes, testy relatives) with virtual-world dramatics. I didn't know everything about all of the previous incarnations and/or source materials, but I flat-out love this movie. It's "deliberately paced" rather than slow, and beautiful rather than flashy.

Simon says Belle (竜とそばかすの姫) receives:

Also, see my review for Mirai (未来のミライ).