Hey folks, Harry here... Father Geek is in Mexico City, where he's stolen a taxi and is taking tourists for all they gots... Many of you have pondered... How does he make money? Well... that's it. He is supposed to be returning back to Geek Headquarters tomorrow evening... so relax and realize soon you will have the sage advice and intros from the man that has been here since films were projected from square stone wheels and scraped thin animal flesh dyed with various fruits and berries... Now however, is a fantastic 3rd report on the Edinburgh Film Festival... Of special note you should pay attention to Hideo Nakata's RING 1 & 2.... If you are not familiar with him and his work.... do so. Also, Mike Figgis' new film... didn't TIME CODE just come out?... MISS JULIE is discussed below... along with a great deal of others... Bravo shout outs go to Edgard, Holly Martins, Otto and the OZY-man!!! Enjoy...
Hello people... Edgard here with a brand new report from the Edinburgh Film Festival. This time Holly Martins reviews RING 1 & 2 (from Japan), Mark Herman's PURELY BELTER and Mike Figgis' MISS JULIE. Then Otto reports on CHUCK & BUCK, LOVE IS A BITCH, and ME, YOU, THEM...
Here's first Holly Martins :
RING 1 - dir: Hideo Nakata
Japan¹s answer to Stephen King, Koji Suzuki, wrote Ring as a novel. Adapted by Hideo Nakata in 1998, the Japanese psycho-horror sensation set the box office alight over there yet took over two years to reach British screens. A mysterious video is circulating Japan¹s teenagers. Myth has it that those who watch it immediately receive a phone call warning that they will die one week later. The film starts Scream-style with two Japanese teenagers alone in a house. They joke about the myth, and one lets on she¹s seen it. What¹s more she received a phone call immediately afterwards, but believes it to be some sort of prank. And in the tradition of the best horror films, the girl who confidently fails to grasp the seriousness of the situation is the first to go. Soon a reporter, Reiko Asakawa, becomes interested, and eventually gets hold of a copy. Again showing that classic disrespect for the myth, the single mother watches a copy only to receive the dreaded phone call afterwards. She now has a week to beat death, and tries to do so with the help of her ex-husband, mathematician Ryuji. As a psycho-horror (or Saikoo Horaa in Japanese) the film works well, pulling it¹s punches with plenty of tense moments. The back-story is suitably elaborate to keep you interested. Holding you on seat edge throughout is the fact that the deaths themselves are not shown only the build up, the look of pure terror in the eyes of the victims, and the aftermath where the victim¹s face is frozen in a horrifyingly contorted pose that looks like a cross between Munsch and the Scream mask. Other touches - such as the photographs of people who have seen the video and are yet to die being distorted like gargoyles really add to the tension. Elsewhere the film fell a little short the acting and script smacked of B-Movie, and anyone expecting to see Takeshi Kitano does Blair Witch will be disappointed. Nevertheless, its edgy stuff, and I came out compelled to see it the rest of the trilogy.
RING 2 - dir: Hideo Nakata
Ring 2 takes off immediately from the end of Ring 1 and sees the video spread from infection to epidemic. It¹s hard to tell the story without giving away the ending of Ring 1, but needless to say, like all good sequels, it¹s much like the original in structure but bigger, with more deaths, paranormal phenomena, people freaking out and jump-out-yer-skin moments. Ryuji¹s girlfriend Mai Takano sets out to find the source of the tape and trace the survivors from the original film. The police is now interested, as is a doctor in a mental asylum, who has a couple of patients showing strong telepathic powers after seeing fragments of the video. Some are even able to kill people at will. Devising elaborate experiments to try and channel what the doctor believes to simply be excess mental energy, everything (of course) gets out of hand. It must be said that while this film will make you jump, it descends into pretty murky fogs of confusion as the story gets more and more complex. Plus, there¹s more of the mundane dialogue and acting from the original. Sure this is to be expected with all but the best horrors, but given the slow, steady pacing of the action, it stands out more than normal (plus of course you¹ve got to read the dialogue). Still, I¹d say it was worth a viewing if you¹re a horror fan, because the Japanese have a pretty unique way of filmmaking which, combined with their obsessions with pretty and vulnerable women, makes for a very interesting spine-chiller.
PURELY BELTER - Mark Herman
Since recovering from the accident that was "Blame It On the Bellboy" Mark Herman has shot three working class films set in the north of England. The first, the brilliant "Brassed Off" was an upbeat tale that pitched its characters as heroes, deservedly winning the Writer¹s Guild Award for Best Screenplay, and opening Sundance in 1996. His follow-up "Little Voice" was originally to be directed by one Sam Mendes, who eventually got bored arguing with the Weinsteins over the script and went to make a little Oscar winning film instead. I don¹t think Bob and Harvey have ever recovered. Caricaturing the council estate characters more than in Brassed Off, the film did well with at the awards, but failed to set the box office alight. Completing the trilogy (Herman told me he would not return to working class films for a long time) is "Purely Belter", his bleakest yet. Adapted from Jonathon Tulloch¹s book The Season Ticket, Belter tells of Gerry and Sewell, two broke and depressed teens that dream of getting a season ticket for their local soccer heroes Newcastle United. They decide to quit smoking and drinking, and put all their money towards the thousand pound cost of a pair of tickets. Setting their mind to raising the cash, Gerry and Sewell invent all sorts of schemes from selling junk to scrap merchants and shoplifting to babysitting and some breaking-and-entering. Of course it isn¹t quite that simple, and the film offers a whole soap opera of crisis and traumas. Gerry¹s alcoholic father turns up to steal furniture and attacks his mum, who¹s dying of some bronchial infection. Meanwhile Gerry¹s sister is on the streets addicted to crack, smack and tac (Geordie for cannabis), and Sewell¹s girlfriend comes attached with a ten-tonne "meat-packer" boyfriend. As ever, Herman, unfolds the story deftly, and there¹s plenty of humour to lighten the painful drudgery of the character¹s lives. Still Herman¹s stepping in common territory where directors such as Ken Loach, Shane Meadows, Mike Leigh and Lynne Ramsay have already made their mark with some brilliant films. I couldn¹t help but think, why? Herman sure isn¹t working class, and I imagine the bulk of the people who watch this film won¹t be. Is "poverty chic" a way of guaranteeing award recognition, or just an easy option? I¹m not saying he shouldn¹t have made the film, but there¹s so many like it already (think Kes meets Fever Pitch but more depressing), so many that are better, what¹s he hoping to achieve? I¹m probably being unfair because it is a decent film, but after the brilliance of Brassed Off and the warm humour of Little Voice, it¹s a step down.
MISS JULIE Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis set up a theatre company in 1980, directing experimental multi-media collaborations on and off before his first feature in 1988. And though this adaptation of August Strindberg¹s play is a return to his theatrical roots, Figgis claims that it is his most "experimental" piece yet, more so even than Timecode, which also premiered at Edinburgh. How so? Well this is the first time Figgis has tackled a "classic", and is also his first period drama. But thankfully this outstanding piece of cinema owes more to Altman and Mike Leigh than the run-of-the-mill British period dramas. Within the claustrophobic walls of the kitchen to a large mansion, Miss Julie has its roots firmly in theatre, yet does not suffer the dull and tedious direction, screenplay and performances that make up the majority of classics-to-screen adaptations. Peter Mullan hands in another showstopping performance as Jean, footservant to a wealthy count. Saffron Burrows is as brilliant as Miss Julie, the voluptuous daughter of the Count, and the pair literally sizzle off each other on screen in one the best British screen pairings in recent memory. With all the action taking during the course of midsummer¹s night, and rarely moving beyond the kitchen, the viewer becomes deeply caught up in the issues and infidelities of Jean and Julie. At a time when religion, class and social responsibility dictated the actions of everyone from top to bottom of society, Miss Julie¹s flirtations with Jean set her on a dangerous path. Jean is deeply ambitious, considering himself above his fellow servants, and sees in Julie a chance to clasp the next "branch" up the social ladder. Figgis shot the film with two 16mm cameras, often with takes as long as 17 minutes, thus forcing the actors to learn lines and rehearse beforehand to an extent not usually seen on film. The result is incredibly tense and captivating drama, much helped by the great talents of Burrows and Mullan. In so many ways the effect is of watching a play, which usually makes for good TV but dull cinema. Yet, Figgis keeps the camera fluid, circling the actors and moving into extreme close-ups at just the right moments. In one scene where Jean fucks Miss Julie most aggressively, the screen splits into two showing both the act and her reaction (it was from this that Figgis got the idea for Timecode). Other than this there is little trickery, besides the set which appears quite deliberately artificial serving to heighten the drama of the performances. In short - a fantastic, gripping, powerhouse of a film, that undoubtedly isn¹t for all tastes, but for those who like their drama raw and brutal, then this is your movie.
************************************ And now a report from Ozymandias & Otto....
Hey all, Again another day dawns for our tireless reporter at the Edinburgh International Film Festival Otto... Tis rapidly becoming must read schtuff if your interest in cinema extends any further than screen 9 at the local multigigamegaplex... And remember, he's doing all this without the aid of a safety net!!
THURSDAY 17/8/00.
Only saw a couple of flickershows today. Getting scared by some film people, especially the guy in the last Talkback section who thought that Audition 'rocked'. THERE is a person I would not like to meet. Only kidding, by the way. A little word about 'spoilers' whilst I'm at it. I just bullshit a bit and give you an impression of what a film is like. I don't tell you the ending, or character development arcs, or mucho other shit. A true full-on film freak will watch a film even if they know every single damned thing that's going to happen. So please, stop whining. It's not as if you know what happened at the end of AUDITION or NURSE BETTY. Actually, in the latter, Chris Rock-
Hah. Had you going. Only kidding. You can open your eyes now. Keep repeating...it's only a movie...only a movie...only a movie...like I had to do with the next little charmer.
CHUCK & BUCK. USA. 1999.
Well now, I understand this thing has been playing Stateside for a while now, so you may well have seen it. If not, and you're wondering what it's about, well...if the words repressed 'infantilised homosexual sociopathology' do not appeal to you, do not see this film. You have been warned. This film concerns Chuck, (Mike White, screenwriter of this film) who is a 27-year-old mother's (literal) boy lost after his mother dies. When his childhood friend Buck (Chris Weitz, the producer of AMERICAN PIE and Tom Cruise look-alike) comes to the funeral from LA, Chuck is inflamed with desire and treks across the country to be with his 'long-lost love'. However, Buck doesn't see things in quite the same way as Chucky boy, and soon starts to get freaked out by the heavy stalker attention being paid to him by his plainly crazy ex-friend.
Brrrr. This is not comfortable viewing at all. I found myself squirming in my seat for half the film due to the uncomfortable, unreciprocated homosexual emotions on display (and due to the annoying bastard next to me who was chewing his gum so loudly with his mouth open that I had to ask him to be quiet) and general creepy tone of the thing. Chuck is a freaky, cringe-making character, but at least the film didn't pull any of its punches and takes some extremely interesting twists and turns (which explain a lot of the previous reactions by Buck to some of the more salacious suggestions by his would-be lover) during the last quarter. I thought it was pretty good, although it did lose marks for having the most annoying childhood theme song in living memory ("oodly oodly oodly oodly fun fun fun"...you'll know exactly what I'm talking about if you've seen the damned thing) Guys, bring along a friend you don't like anymore to this one, tell them you feel about them like Chuck does to Buck...and watch them burn rubber getting out of there. Borrow money from them before you do it too. You know it makes sense. Miller actually freaked me out a bit during this one. He sat silent and pensive, staring at the screen, and told me afterwards he could understand the film only too well. When I asked him why as I edged away from him, he told me he'd fallen in love with a she-beast on Arous who turned out to be a male after orgasm. I have friends this has happened to through excessive alcohol consumption. Life can be a bitch sometimes. Or not, as the case may be. Speaking of bitches...
AMORES PERROS (LOVE IS A BITCH). MEXICO. 1999.
This three-parter film starts out like RESERVOIR DOGS - literally - with a car tearing through the colorful, cramped, crowded streets of Mexico City. A dog lies shot in the back seat and a man is urging it not to die, and urging his friend to hurry up. Then they crash and-
We cut back to the story, in part, of how they came to be there. Octavia, the driver of the car, dreams of a better life in another city. He lusts after his no-good brother's wife, Susana, and wants to spirit her away with him. But he needs money to do so, so he starts pitting his pit bull terrier against other dogs at a local illegal dogfighting arena. But things rapidly get out of hand...
So we cut to the next story. A businessman named Daniel leaves his wife and daughters to start a new life with a beautiful perfume model. However, she is in a tragic accident and is severely injured. To add insult to injury, her dog jumps through a hole in the floorboards of their new love-nest and exacerbates the couple's misery by wailing mournfully through the night. Dogs are the linking device in all three segments; the mutts parallel the characters in the film. The whole thing dovetails together PULP FICTION-style (or should that be MYSTERY TRAIN?), with all three segments being inter-linked.
The third part of the tale shows us a terrorist-turned-hitman-tramp named The Goat, who wanders the streets of Mexico City with his faithful small pack of dogs. He takes on an assassination job for a client, but things do not go quite as planned...
This is a damned good film. Some of the street stuff looks like it could almost be a documentary, and there's not a bad performance in it. There are dogfighting scenes in it, but they are mercifully brief (if unpleasant) and the most repellent thing about this aspect of the film is seeing what appear to be real dead dogs being dragged away from the bloodied combat arena. This is definitely not one for dog lovers, that's for sure, but lovers of unusual, gritty, visceral filmmaking will definitely get a kick out of it. Although I have to admit, I thought the middle segment, taking place far away from the sordid street-level lives of the other two stories, seemed quite out-of-place to me, as if it had almost been spliced in from another film. Still a good - albeit extremely depressing - piece of work though. If this turns up at an arthouse or grindhouse near you, check it out, you won't regret it. Bonus Best Updating Of Psycho Shower Scene: Octavia is beaten in the shower with a metal pole by his big brother. Ah, sibling rivalry, don'tcha just love it?
We couldn't get a seat on the train home, as per usual. Somebody was complaining that Scotrail or Virgin should put on more trains at festival time, as apparently this is a regular problem. Miller wants to start taking the Chevy Malibu through, but it would be terrible trying to get the damned thing parked in the centre of Edinburgh. Expensive, too. However, if any traffic warden came snooping around and went anywhere near the trunk...he he he...WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! So long and thanks for all the tickets...
THURSDAY 18/8/00
Took the train again today. Was entertained by a nine-year-old kid across from me breathlessly explaining the plot of the TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE movie to me ("and there was a mummy and he had a scroll in him and the man got the scroll out and the mummy came back alive and he cut the man's head off and he put a hook up somebody's nose and he killed this woman and he got got stabbed but he didn't die because he was already dead he was a zombie and he got cut up into different bits and...") after he starts talking to me about the wonders of his newly-acquired window seat. His mother smiles painedly at me, but it's okay; kid loves horror movies and reminds me of me at his age. Everything is going fine until Miller tries to tell the kid about some of our adventures with the sexy siren space zombies round Andromeda, and he's just explaining how they tried to love us to death when his mother fearfully grabs him and threatens to call the guard if Miller doesn't shut up. Thankfully, we arrive at Haymarket station and disembark right at that point, as a crowd is starting to gather in our carriage muttering dark nonsense about "hangin' the fuckin' freaks high". I tell Miller not to talk to kids anymore. As a matter of fact, I tell him never, ever to speak again. It's just not worth it. And at least I get peace to see the film, which is the superb...
EU TU ELES (ME, YOU, THEM). BRAZIL. 2000.
I'd never seen a Brazilian flick before, and stumbled into this one quite by accident (it was a choice between this and the children's vampire film I'd been telling the kid on the train about before Miller's attempts at witty banter, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE, a kiddies' horror film, so there was no real contest). Boy, was I ever pleasantly surprised. And how. Based loosely on a true story, EU TU ELES tells the story of Darlene, who is a model strong female character. She goes through her life getting what she wants from it and from men, be it sex, sensitivity, or shelter - but they don't necessarily have to all come from the same man. To this end, she lives with three men under the same roof, giving different parts of herself to each of these men, whose lives benefit profoundly from her presence in them. It may seem as if she is downtrodden, as the men seem to think they are the ones controlling her, but she is the one who is ultimately pulling all the strings. Regina Case, as Darlene, is absolutely brilliant, and I just can't recommend this thing enough. It's a very warm, very moving, very human film. Director Andrucha Waddington builds the thing up gradually, adding layer upon layer upon layer of story, until by the end of the film the situation the four main characters find themselves living in is very complex - but perfectly orchestrated so there is not a single confusing step in the whole thing. It looks lovely, too - all muted reds and browns, and Berno Silveira, the Director of Photography, manages to make the arid desert landscape look lush and habitable - no mean feat. No CGI stuff, no gunplay, no blaring rock soundtrack: just simple, good old-fashioned HUMAN STORYTELLING, something that seems to be in very short supply these days. Shit, I must be getting old. But then again, aren't we all. Old punks never die - they just lose their hair dye. Even Miller was profoundly moved by this flickershow, and wiped a glistening technicolor tear from his eye as the credits rolled. He told me later he had conjunctivitis, mind you, so I wouldn't read too much into that.
Bonus From First Few Days Of Festival: I have not heard one single person say "the themes are universal" yet. Thankfully. Although I did hear somebody say "independent cultural expression in five years" at another table in the Filmhouse bar. I just chuckled to myself, finished my hot chocolate, and left. Guess I really MUST be getting old.
Later days,
Otto Maddox.
L8r,
Ozymandias
Euro AICN Ireland/UK Office,
Penthouse Suite,
Ozymandias Towers,
Dublin,
Ireland.
If you're involved in the Irish or UK movie industries I want to hear from you!
Mail me at Ozymandias@dublin.com
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That's it for today... Remember to send all yourreports, critics, ideas, proposals, money... to our the EURO AICN Offices in Paris, at euroaicn@yahoo.com
