Set in the constant darkness of Iceland's capital in January, the use of black and white adds to the classic noir feel. The action takes place over three days, but we begin on day three, then see the preceding events from the two days before, and return to our starting point for the denoument.
Ingvar has been badly beaten, but why? Why does Laufey, who may or may not be his much older lover, treat him so disparagingly? And where's he going with a gun in his pocket? The causes and effects of the days before give the answers and hint at what the gun might be for, but the real tragedy isn't fully apparent until the end.
This is very much the seedy side of Reykjavik life, with Ingvar getting propositioned by an elderly gay man, and tied in with a low life porn distributor. Lots of drink and sex and darkness. There's an enigmatic verbal introduction to each of the four sections of the film that leaves the audience to provide their own interpretations. But otherwise there isn't a great deal of dialogue, this is more about actions than words.
Bleak, ambiguous, with nary a laugh to be had. But it has such a personal feel to it, and respect for filmic history, that it's definitely one for serious film buffs to appreciate.
Thursday, 7 July 2016
A Conspiracy of Faith, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
If you've become a fan of the Scandi Noir genre popularised by BBC4 then this will fit the bill. It's the third in a series of films about the cold case investigators of Department Q and features a few familiar faces from all those Saturday night assignations with the darkness of the Danes.
When an old bottle containing a message written in blood is found it opens the gateway to a case of serial child abuse and murder which is still continuing. Assad - devout muslim, sensible and reliable - and Carl - intuitive, downcast, curt - get on the trail of the killer and have a short time in which to save the lives of the latest two victims.
The plot moves along at a good pace, there's plenty of red herrings, suspense and action (there's a memorable scene on a tram that stands out), and if it has some gruesome moments it's also not the goriest of it's ilk. Beautifully shot, occasionally predictable, but with a satisfyingly dramatic ending, this is tremendous entertainment.
When an old bottle containing a message written in blood is found it opens the gateway to a case of serial child abuse and murder which is still continuing. Assad - devout muslim, sensible and reliable - and Carl - intuitive, downcast, curt - get on the trail of the killer and have a short time in which to save the lives of the latest two victims.
The plot moves along at a good pace, there's plenty of red herrings, suspense and action (there's a memorable scene on a tram that stands out), and if it has some gruesome moments it's also not the goriest of it's ilk. Beautifully shot, occasionally predictable, but with a satisfyingly dramatic ending, this is tremendous entertainment.
Pale Star, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
Solveig is an interesting woman. Within the first ten minutes she's murdered her abusive partner, distilled and distributed illicit alcohol, and had sex in the back door of a Land Rover with the local cafe owner. Oh, and she does a bit of knitting too. All with barely a word being said.
Set in a bleak and remote corner of Iceland this is an odd tale. There's very little dialogue, and much of what there is is in Icelandic with no subtitles (the director did later say he might review that decision - he should!), and an alienating musical soundtrack. Solveig takes in a Scottish tourist who has locked her husband in a caravan. But when Ari, that cafe owner, brings him to Solveig's it's the beginning of much violence and turmoil.
It's bleak, slow and confusing. But not without it's own fascination. I did keep hoping that all would be explained at the end, but I left no better off. One for the connoisseur of oddity.
Set in a bleak and remote corner of Iceland this is an odd tale. There's very little dialogue, and much of what there is is in Icelandic with no subtitles (the director did later say he might review that decision - he should!), and an alienating musical soundtrack. Solveig takes in a Scottish tourist who has locked her husband in a caravan. But when Ari, that cafe owner, brings him to Solveig's it's the beginning of much violence and turmoil.
It's bleak, slow and confusing. But not without it's own fascination. I did keep hoping that all would be explained at the end, but I left no better off. One for the connoisseur of oddity.
24 Weeks, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
A powerfully emotive German movie about the difficult choice facing a woman when she learns that her unborn child will be born with a serious heart defect.
TV stand up comedian Astrid is delighted to be pregnant. When she and her husband learn that the foetus is showing signs of Downs syndrome they are initially concerned, but soon come to terms with it when they take time to get better informed about the condition. But when they are told the baby will also have a heart problem which will require extensive surgery to correct, and are given a rundown of all the risks involved, the decision becomes more complicated. Does Astrid opt for a late abortion, or give birth to a child who may have a very poor quality of life?
Resolving this dilemma puts pressure on Astrid's relationships with her husband, mother and daughter. And becomes harder when the press get hold of the story and she finds herself having to make her choice with the public looking over her shoulder.
Funny, harrowing, moving, and creating a strong empathy with her audience, Julia Jentsch delivers a superb central performance, recognising there's no such thing as a right or wrong answer, and whatever she decides will be a bit of both. And the way in which the media and public treat 'celebrities' as their property adds an extra dimension. This is a brave take on a difficult subject and a worthwhile, if not always entertaining, watch. Recommended.
TV stand up comedian Astrid is delighted to be pregnant. When she and her husband learn that the foetus is showing signs of Downs syndrome they are initially concerned, but soon come to terms with it when they take time to get better informed about the condition. But when they are told the baby will also have a heart problem which will require extensive surgery to correct, and are given a rundown of all the risks involved, the decision becomes more complicated. Does Astrid opt for a late abortion, or give birth to a child who may have a very poor quality of life?
Resolving this dilemma puts pressure on Astrid's relationships with her husband, mother and daughter. And becomes harder when the press get hold of the story and she finds herself having to make her choice with the public looking over her shoulder.
Funny, harrowing, moving, and creating a strong empathy with her audience, Julia Jentsch delivers a superb central performance, recognising there's no such thing as a right or wrong answer, and whatever she decides will be a bit of both. And the way in which the media and public treat 'celebrities' as their property adds an extra dimension. This is a brave take on a difficult subject and a worthwhile, if not always entertaining, watch. Recommended.
Away, Odeon, Edinburgh Film Festival
Two damaged people arrive in Blackpool. He is middle aged and given up on the world, she is young and bruised, physically and emotionally. Circumstance brings them tenuously together, and the development of their relationship is fleshed out with flashbacks to the tragic events which have drawn each to the seaside town. As their understanding and relationship develop there are outside forces which push towards a dramatic conclusion, but will each of those wounded souls get what they need?
There's a real chemistry between the ages, with Timothy Spall's deadpan Joseph and Juno Temple's livewire Ria working through the tensions of their predicaments to find a kind of affection. But the film's flashback structure gets a bit confusing at times, and the central story has too many predictable moments. It's enjoyable for the performances, but feels like it could do with being fifteen minutes shorter.
There's a real chemistry between the ages, with Timothy Spall's deadpan Joseph and Juno Temple's livewire Ria working through the tensions of their predicaments to find a kind of affection. But the film's flashback structure gets a bit confusing at times, and the central story has too many predictable moments. It's enjoyable for the performances, but feels like it could do with being fifteen minutes shorter.
Sunday, 3 July 2016
Aloys, Odeon, Edinburgh Film Festival
A sad loser of a man, Aloys Adorn is a private investigator living in the past. Still mourning the death of his father he is unable to move on in his life, and his clothes, decor, even the technology he employs, show how out of touch he has become. He scrapes a living gathering evidence for seedy divorce cases. So when he finds his video camera and a load of tapes have been stolen he panics.
A mystery phone call tells him he will have his precious items returned if he participates in an activity the caller refers to as "Telephone Walking". And Aloys finds himself drawn into an existence that blurs fantasy and reality, and begins to play with his mind.
It's underplayed, gloriously confusing, and beautifully shot, with a succession of stunning images being played out on the screen. There's a narrative that's almost a non-story and an inherent sadness to the character, which combine to fascinate. At the post-screening Q&A the director admitted it was mostly a 'festival film', and that it had already failed commercially in it's native Switzerland.
Black, bleak, stylised and stylish, Aloys isn't for everyone, but if you appreciate the oddities of life it might just be your thing.
A mystery phone call tells him he will have his precious items returned if he participates in an activity the caller refers to as "Telephone Walking". And Aloys finds himself drawn into an existence that blurs fantasy and reality, and begins to play with his mind.
It's underplayed, gloriously confusing, and beautifully shot, with a succession of stunning images being played out on the screen. There's a narrative that's almost a non-story and an inherent sadness to the character, which combine to fascinate. At the post-screening Q&A the director admitted it was mostly a 'festival film', and that it had already failed commercially in it's native Switzerland.
Black, bleak, stylised and stylish, Aloys isn't for everyone, but if you appreciate the oddities of life it might just be your thing.
Shepherds and Butchers, Cineworld, Edinburgh Film Festival
Set in the dying days of apartheid South Africa, this underplayed courtroom drama follows the murder trial of Leon Labuschagne (Garion Dowds). He has shot and killed seven young man black men in a fit of blind rage, but claims to be unable to remember the event itself or what led up to it. An English lawyer, Johan Webber (Steve Coogan) is appointed to defend him, in a case that appears to be indefensible, with all the evidence indicated that the defendant had carried out the murders.
This is the background story for an exploration of South Africa's then heavy use of the death penalty, and the brutalising influence it has on those who have to take part in it. To avoid military service the seventeen year old Labuschagne had opted to work in a maximum security prison where, on only his second day in the post, he had to escort a prisoner to the gallows and hold him in place before the trapdoor opens. Month after month of this work affected his mental state, and this is the defence Webber uses.
Flashbacks are liberally employed to illustrate the nature of the work the accused took part in, with graphic illustration of the most unpleasant aspects - there is no shying away from the piss, shit and blood that comes with hanging people. And of just how dehumanising the atmosphere is for the warders who take part in these scenes day after day. Which is the basis for the defence Webber develops, and the structure on which the film hangs.
Coogan makes for a persistent advocate, trying to develop something from nothing, and Dowds is truly excellent as the young man suffering internal conflicts. But the courtroom scenes, in trying for realism, have ended up feeling very flat at times, lacking the edge of confrontation that would provide a spark of life. Fortunately the flashbacks, with their unflinching portrayal of brutality and violence, counterbalance this, and jolt the viewer into an emotional reaction.
It's a worthy subject and has much to commend it, but it's a film lacking the spark needed to mark it out of the ordinary.
This is the background story for an exploration of South Africa's then heavy use of the death penalty, and the brutalising influence it has on those who have to take part in it. To avoid military service the seventeen year old Labuschagne had opted to work in a maximum security prison where, on only his second day in the post, he had to escort a prisoner to the gallows and hold him in place before the trapdoor opens. Month after month of this work affected his mental state, and this is the defence Webber uses.
Flashbacks are liberally employed to illustrate the nature of the work the accused took part in, with graphic illustration of the most unpleasant aspects - there is no shying away from the piss, shit and blood that comes with hanging people. And of just how dehumanising the atmosphere is for the warders who take part in these scenes day after day. Which is the basis for the defence Webber develops, and the structure on which the film hangs.
Coogan makes for a persistent advocate, trying to develop something from nothing, and Dowds is truly excellent as the young man suffering internal conflicts. But the courtroom scenes, in trying for realism, have ended up feeling very flat at times, lacking the edge of confrontation that would provide a spark of life. Fortunately the flashbacks, with their unflinching portrayal of brutality and violence, counterbalance this, and jolt the viewer into an emotional reaction.
It's a worthy subject and has much to commend it, but it's a film lacking the spark needed to mark it out of the ordinary.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)