ArtSpoken & Reviews
Feldman @ the flicksPeter Feldman07/30/2010 09:00:48 
Peter Feldman: What a week... "Antichrist", "Inception," "The White Ribbon," "Letters to God" and "Our Family Wedding." Take your pick. Antichrist Cast: Willem Dafoe, and Charlotte Gainsbourg Director: Lars Von Trier. "Antichrist" is like no film I have ever seen before. Danish director Lars Von Trier has conceived a work that conveys a stream of grotesque, self-consciously provocative images that will leave you stunned. The production caused a massive uproar at last year's Cannes Film Festival, where its star, Charlotte Gainsbourg, took home the award for Best Actress. In simple terms, the film deals with a grieving couple, played by Willem Dafoe and Gainsbourg, and their retreat to 'Eden', their isolated cabin in the woods, where they hope to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage after the sudden death of their toddler. We first meet the two protagonists as they make love in the bathroom and bedroom. Their child, fascinated by the big, fat snowflakes falling outside, heads for an open window and tumbles out to his death. In the wake of this tragedy, she is wracked by guilt. He, a therapist, establishes a programme to help her work through her feelings. To do this, she must visit Eden, the place she most fears. It is while they are in this foreign environment that things go dreadfully wrong. A key element to the making of the film is a report that Von Trier was in a deep depression when he made it as an overwhelming feeling of grief and despair pervades every frame. His two players are quite extraordinary in their stark interpretations of these emotions. Von Trier has divided his production into six parts: a prologue, an epilogue, and four chapters. The bookend pieces are in black-and-white; the rest is in colour. What emerges is a bold, personal statement in which Von Trier throws into the mix his ideas on faith, fear and human nature in its rawest form. Nature, one of the characters says, is Satan's church and the film relays repulsive visions and fierce scorn of two demented lives spinning out of control. Horror upon horror, which is found both in the forest and in the characters' lives, is piled on with a pitiless passion and it becomes evident that Von Trier has something to get off his chest. If that is the case, then it's far too obtuse to be of any value. The controversy surrounding the production stems from a series of shots that depict graphic sex and/or violence. There's a bizarre hardcore insert and several cringe-inducing instances of genital mutilation. If one had to remove these facets from the mix, "Antichrist" would pass as nothing more than a pompous and ponderous meditation on grief and sadomasochism. The White Ribbon Cast: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Tukur, Theo Trebs, and Michael Schenk Director: Michael Haneke (German with English sub-titles) "The White Ribbon" is a dark, depressing production, filmed entirely in black and white, about the evil that befalls the inhabitants of a village in Protestant northern Germany between 1913 and 1914, the eve of World War I. The story deals with the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. When strange, unsettling accidents begin occurring in the village the overwhelming feeling is that a form punishment and retribution is being meted out - but by whom? The village schoolteacher takes it upon himself to observe and investigate the mysteries, and little by little discovers the incredible truth. A question that lies fermenting is whether the cruelties inflicted on the poor souls and the events that followed were not the germs of the tragedies to follow with the rise of the Nazis. Director Michael Haneke applies the mood thickly in a tediously long production that could have been judiciously pruned without it losing its power. Christian Berger's cinematography, reminding me of images I saw from the Barnett Collection of early Johannesburg, is superb. So, too, is the perfect casting and acting of his team. It is detailed, yet oblique, his pace leisurely yet compelling as he seduces his viewer into watching an enquiry into the roots of a certain kind of evil. Hanake's films are not there to be enjoyed. He generates a level of emotion that pervades the story; provocative, tense and quite unnerving. This is not an easy film to embrace and its sluggish pace tests one's patience throughout. But, if you stick with it, there is a hypnotic quality to it all, realised through the continual gossipmongering, the unrelenting bullying and the religious fervour that underscore the production. "The White Ribbon," the title taken from the material that some of the village children are forced to wear to denote honesty and purity, certainly leaves an imprint. Inception Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine Director: Christopher Nolan "Inception" is a fascinating and intriguing sci-fi thriller that expands one's cinematic horizons with its concepts and visual dexterity. Its premise is the introduction of revolutionary technology that allows for the bodily invasion of another person's dream. Leonardo DiCaprio who looks very good and director Chris Nolan, who did such a sterling job with "The Dark Knight," are the star attractions here with Nolan once again extending the envelope with his excursion into the slippery world of dreams. The film also boasts a power-house support team of Ellen Page, who made such an impact in "Juno," and who continues to impress as a dreams architect, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine (albeit briefly). DiCaprio portrays a character named Dom Cobb who is considered a dangerous man because he can extract valuable secrets stored deep within the recesses of the mind. His point of entry is through your dreams when you are at your most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. His chance of redemption lies in executing one last assignment. Cobb and his team of specialists have to penetrate the dreams of an industrial tycoon and perform a manoeuvre called inception. He is not going to retrieve an idea, but he is going to plant one and allow it to grow. If Cobb and his team of specialists succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. Cinema-goers will draw vastly different conclusions from what director Christopher Nolan has put on the table and that's what makes this production so compelling. Initially the film provides a maze of confusion but now, on reflection one recognises clever elements at play. A big gripe, though, was Nolan's intensely irritating actions sequences - with one freely borrowed, I suspect, from one of the many James Bond escapades in the snowy mountains Also, in spite of "Inception" consistently delivering dazzling special effects, its trajectory tended to sag, finally buckling under the weight of its complicated premise. Once Nolan had established his world, crammed with trapdoors, symbols and hidden secrets, he failed to fully capitalise on its potential by producing something out of the "Twilight Zone." Still, if a film gets a fierce debate going it must have done something right. Letters to God Cast: Ralph Waite, Bailee Madison, Maree Cheatham, Robyn Lively Directors: David Nixon and Patrick Doughtie "Letters to God" is a three-hankie tear-jerker geared to tug at the heart strings and make you thankful for your health and the other things in life. It is unashamedly sentimental and its directors seem to make no bones about the "message" it continually rams home. Based on a true story, this one is about a courageous eight-year-old, Tyler Doherty (Ralph Waite), who is dying of cancer. He is surrounded by a loving family and community who help him get through each day. Armed with courage and faith, young Tyler, who lives his life as best he can, has given himself the task of writing each day to God, who has become his friend, his teacher and the ultimate pen pal. His prayers are in the form of a letter, which he composes and mails on a daily basis. The letters find their way into the hands of Brady McDaniels, a beleaguered postman standing at a crossroads in his life. Brady is at first confused and conflicted over what to do with the letters, but the decision he ultimately makes becomes a testament to the quiet power of one boy's shining spirit and unshakeable faith. It's a bland, pious, faith-based tear-jerker and it hits its target market with unerring accuracy. Our Family Wedding Cast: Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Regina King, Lance Gross Director: Rick Famuyiwa "Our Family Wedding" is low-key comedy about a Mexican girl intent on marrying an African-American man and the effect it has on both families. It has a cast of familiar names, America Ferrera, of "Ugly Betty" fame, the always reliable Forest Whitaker, Regina King and Mexican comic Carlos Mencia. The theme has echoes of the recent South African production of "I Pronounce You Black and White" but this one is infinitely better and is given a true Hollywood twist which helps raise the chuckle level somewhat. Ferrera, dolled up for the role, plays Lucia and Lance Gross is cast as her fiancé Marcus who have a hard time convincing their respective families that they intend marrying. Their respective fathers, played by Mencia and Whitaker, who suffer from competitive, over-the-top egos, hit it off badly from the start and it takes most of the film for them to patch up their differences. Other members also react to the situation with Lupe Ontiveros as Lucia's bigoted grandma and Anna Maria Horseford as Marcus's grandmother who tries to keep the peace. Overall, it's a formulaic wedding comedy about mismatched families, but thanks to several appealing performances this exercise turns out better than some of the rubbish I've had to sit through this year. Peter Feldman has been a journalist and arts critic for over 45 years and served on The Star in various capacities for 35 years, ending up as a specialist writer on films, music and theatre. During that time he travelled extensively on assignments and interviewed many international film and pop stars, both in South Africa and overseas. He also covered some of South Africa's biggest film and musical events. He is active in the freelance field and his work over the past 10 years has appeared in a variety of South African newspapers and magazines. He writes regularly for Artslink.co.za, The Citizen, South African Jewish Report, The Sunday Independent and is a contributor to "Eat Out" Magazine. He also contributes movie reviews to Chai fm Radio and has worked on TV in his specialist capacity. Over the years Feldman has been the recipient of several awards for his contribution to music journalism and the SA record industry. He wrote lyrics for some top artists, including Sipho Mabuse, and had a hit disco single, "Video Games," which was released in 1988. After retiring from The Star in April, 1999, Feldman joined the PR and events management company, Dlamini Weil Communications, where he currently works as an entertainment and media consultant. |
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