10 (Kiarostami [plus Mission Impossible III])

Kiarostami from Iran takes his enthusiasm for car journeys ('A Taste of Cherries' in 1997 was similarly auto-bound) to a new level. It is an exploration of social identity and pressures on women in particular, the family and society in general. The story is made up of ten different journeys with the same person driving and her
passengers. It is shot simply with one or two digital cameras fixed to the dashboard of the vehicle. I have finished watching it through for a second time with friends who were taken with the authentic feel that is created through the simplicity of its making.

I found the quality of the acting, the nature of the arguments between mother and son and the process of exploring love, spirituality and personal freedom very moving. It was worth a second watch and the ninth scene is beautifully constructed, anticipated and tender. I loved 'A Taste of Cherries' and there was more action in that, in terms of traditional cinematic style and convention. This though, through being paired down to the bare essentials allowed the child and adult acting to shine for what it was.

Such a far cry from the appaling experience tonight of watching Mission Impossible the 3rd ... which gets less than a 1 from me for peddling the myth that violence is a redemptive force when put in the hands of an undemocratic, undercover U.S. security system. (The torture scenes were particularly ironic considering the current track-record on 'rendition' [what a disgusting term -- it comes from the slaughter house]).

'10' though, that gets as close to a 10 as I can dare ... 9 and a half.

Crash (Paul Haggis)

The depression that I was left with after this film was a merit of the movie's quality. The explicit racisms, the repeating pattern of coincidental plot twists felt like several Hardy and Dickens texts all rolled into one. I would say both that it is a 'must see' and also that I feel reluctant to rate it. This is because, to quote a dear friend, this is a 'harrowing' watch. So when I say eight and a half I would be using the score less to mark it for entertainment value and more for the challenge this work posits to a wide range of taboos and prejudices.

Le Chignon D'Olga

The film pulls on the silent tradition, in a way which reflects the silent comedy of Jacques Tati. The irony and humour about both love and death are handled in ways which are similar to Divine Intervention: crucially that the falling in love occurs in entire silence and the tragedy of suffering is shown but not discussed. The plot itself is simple and yet satisfying. There was no big wow for me, and the psychology of the drama was relatively unsurprising. It was handled though with deftness and a low budget which left me comfortable with the end product. I'll give it a six and a half out of ten.

Divine Intervention

This film by the Palestinian Elia Suleiman won awards at Cannes and elsewhere in 2002 and has a stylistic flavour reminiscent of Jacques Tati's films 'Monsieur Hulot's Holiday' and 'Mon Oncle'. The semi-silent ironic social commentary come comedy masterpiece has a sense of timelessness by being part of a century old genre grouping. It does go beyond that though by translating the genre into something which moves closer to the humour of political Brechtian darkness. There are several scenes which are masterpieces in their own right, such as the first sequence at the 'Al Ram Checkpoint', the discarded apricot stone, the lost tourist trying to find their way round Jerusalem and the neighbourly 'behaviours' of Nazareth which serve as a commentary on all the tensions of Palestine and Israel. The only things it had in common with 'Talk to Her' was another snake killing episode and hospital scene: otherwise they are worlds apart. This gets a cautious eight and a half, due to the weakness of the ninja scene in the final fifth of the film and because I don't know how funny this is across ethnic and political divides.

Talk to Her

Bullfighting and an inappropriate relationship between a nurse and a patient in a persistent vegetative state do not sound like a promising combination, neither do they sound like watchable subjects in their own right. Unsurprisingly neither of these central plot themes were mentioned in the blurb I read prior to renting it, since it would probably have put off ninety per cent of viewers. That being said it is a tragic, disturbing and puzzling film which has several surprises, many challenges for the viewer and leaves many plot questions unanswered from start to finish. I was left wondering again about some of those major questions such as 'what is truth' and 'what is justice' and 'what is life' and 'what is a price worth paying' and 'is taking up ballet or bullfighting ever a good idea'. I won't say anymore though in case others want to watch it without spoilers. I haven't made my mind up about the script and plot, and neither am I sure how I'm left feeling. Because it was skillfully unsettling I will give it a six, though I cannot tell whether the score would go up or down over time as yet.

Mrs Pat

A play about Mrs Patrick Campbell, pivoting around her troubled friendship with George Bernard Shaw. She played the first Eliza in his play Pygmallion. She was a troubled and hurting soul who had the sharpest of wits, and has given the modern world many entertaining one-liners such as 'Does it really matter what these affectionate people do— so long as they don’t do it in the streets and frighten the horses!'.

As a premiered production though the whole thing was rather weary, drawn out and not helped by the soft toy pekinese which was attempting to be the same hound spanning a whole lifetime's work ... that was weird. The arrival of George Bernard Shaw and then their vitriolic argument near the end of the play, where they came to some kind of accommodation of one another, was of some interest but only that. I think a two and a half out of ten.

Capote

Well, I thought the whole exploration of the death penalty theme would have been fascinating. The character acting was superb, yes, the actual nature of the subject, and my sleepiness, yet again, consipired against much enjoyment or appreciation of the film. The film may have been worth giving a five or a six, I can only though award it a two since I saw less than half of it.

A Cock and Bull Story

Well I'm not a massive fan of Steve Coogan, but since it was the only option considering I was in the mood for some comedy, I thought I'd give it my best attention. There were moments that I adored: especially the upstaging concern he has over the height of his co-star's shoe heel. 'Its not an ego thing' he says about a hundred times! The humour didn't get much beyond that, so it was in many ways a feature length vehicle for the Partridgesque satire on narcissistic, self-obsessed tendencies. The exposition of the Tristram Shandy narrative was at times compelling and at other moments given over to dullness (which added to the effect). I'd still only give it a six and half though, with bite.

Little Britain Series One

I've been catching up with Little Britain over the last three months having never watched more than a fraction of an episode previously. I have been suitably entertained and amazed by a humour that beats Chris Morris and the Trigger Happy approach to sickeningly accurate portrayals of faulty ways of living. The different with the makers of LB is that they show up our own foibles and behaviours, mediated to us through the most tasteless of characters -- its funny because it reminds us of ourselves. Take for instance 'the only gay in the village' its much more to do with wanting to be special than it is to do with sexuality for me -- I can still picture him blocking the door to the pub on the first 'gay night' he puts on, appalled at the crowds who turn up to join him.

Garden State

There are many things I appreciated about this film. Its quirkiness especially. I loved the youthfulness of the writer / male lead / director and his approach on the psycho-babble nonsense. I loved the solution to facing the catastrophic circumstances of his family circumstances: the speech to his father near the end of the film was a remarkable piece of breathtaking understated truth telling. The romance side of things was lovely, and contrasted elegantly with the odd and unpleasant character traits of many of his friends. I also enjoyed watching the cut scenes and listening to a few bits of the commentary too. Gets a 8 and a half I think!

I Capture the Castle

Amusing and decidedly quirky look on the nature of romantic love from the perspective of a young woman becoming an adult in the context of peculiarly dysfunctional 1930s artistic family. Although I only laughed out loud a couple of times I was grinning for most of it. 8/10

Anthony Gormley 'Sound II' Winchester Cathedral

It was a surprise to chance on this during a tour. Modelled on Gormley's own body, it is moving for its placing, the angle in relation to the Cathedral, and because for much of the winter it can be up to its shins or knees in water. 8/10