For A Few Movies More

Worst writer and slackest person ever back to continue my reviews of films I saw at the Berlinale about FOUR MONTHS AGO. I know, I know. But hey, I’m trying to make good here (a reference to the opening of this post. Yes, that was a blatant attempt to get you to read other stuff on the site). So my comeback is to be started off by this film review of Kebun Binatang (Postcards from the Zoo), the debut feature film of Indonesian director Edwin. Before you get excited by visions of more The Raid awesomeness, let me stop you right there. You know those films that are (either condescendingly, fairly, or praisingly) categorised as “Typical Indie Flick”? Well, this would be one of those. Sorry, no kick-ass fighting or blood and gore here, folks. It’s lingering camera shots, minimal dialogue, and ambiguous scenes all the way.

Tsubura (Wagatsuma Miwako) is a high school teenager who harbours a mostly innocent, though still unhealthy, infatuation towards her wimpy Biology teacher, Madoka-sensei (Saitô Yôichirô). Tsubura’s best friend En (Satsukawa Aimi) tolerates the inappropriate pining while dealing with a suitor of her own — classmate and next-door neighbour Maru (Sometani Shôta). One day after school, Tsubura finds she cannot hold her feelings in any longer, and forces herself on Madoka-sensei. To the surprise of both of them, they end up with each other’s genitals — just like a drawing Tsubura had done in her Biology notebook. Confronted with this impossibility, Tsubura and Madoka retreat to the teacher’s childhood home in the countryside to try and figure things out. But En, and then Maru, figure out something is up, and before long all four are crammed together in the small house, waiting for the pent-up feelings of a love-circle to explode.

Having walked the hallowed (and chilled) halls of a biobox as a proud projectionist and then continued working into the distribution side of the film industry, I was really excited when I learnt about Side by Side, a documentary that examines one of the direct contributing factors as to why being a projectionist is a dying profession, and also how the distribution — and making — of films is changing. I had an obvious personal interest in the subject matter, but that aside, this film isn’t limited to just a small audience of projectionists and/or distributors. This is a subject that will interest anyone who loves film and/or technology, and is guaranteed to generate discussion and divide said audiences into those who argue for and against.

In Side by Side, director Chris Keneally and producer/interviewer Keanu Reeves examine the history of film (the object) in film (cinema), and how it has slowly been changing over the last few years with the introduction of digital storage, cameras, and projectors. Managing to catch a veritable who’s who of current Hollywood, alongside a few lesser known and emerging filmmakers, Keneally and Reeves gather the varied perspectives from those who are on the frontline of a potential changing of the guard — from 35mm to bytes.

I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, but before watching this documentary, I had no idea the subject for this film had happened. And I don’t have a good excuse for it, except that there are so many summits, conferences, and meetings that are accompanied by some kind of protest or controversy that (sadly) they all kind of blend into each other. Plus, it was ten years ago and I’m now allowed to start blaming my age on forgetting things. What I’m referring to though, are the incidents in 2001 that are the basis for this gripping Italian documentary, The Summit.

The location is Genoa, Italy. The time is June 2001. The event is the 27th G8 Summit. The participants are a mass of protesters, students and journalists, who end up in a huge clash with the Italian police, the Guardia di Finanza (financial guard), and the Carabinieri (military police). As the world leaders gathered for their talks, the protests turned into clashes, which culminated with an uncalled-for storm on a local University, and the death of a young activist that remains a mystery to this day.

I love Kiwis, and I’m not ashamed to admit that it possibly comes down to the fact that I love the accent (or eck-cent, as they would say…). It’s my firm belief that the excellent New Zealand film Boy was that much funnier simply for the fact that because it was based in New Zealand, the whole film was in that brilliant accent. I’m not being mean here because, really, Aussies are in the same boat (I’ve had my fair share of “Oh your accent is so rad” comments while overseas, and I have no problem with it). But any country where chips become chups and decks are dicks gets a vote of coolness in my books. But seriously, there is another aspect that really interests me, and that is Maori culture. I love the language, and the stories and history are fascinating. And I dig watching the Haka every now and then too. But here is a film that is not only interesting because it features all of the above (choice!), but also because it’s a story of a genuinely interesting teenager who is dealing with the hopes and dreams of his people on his young shoulders.

Maori Boy Genius documents more or less a year in the life of 16-year-old Ngaa Rauuira Pumanawawhiti. Having already graduated from a Maori University but not receiving the acknowledgement of the New Zealand government for this education, Ngaa Rauuira remains in high school trying to do extraordinary things while living an ordinary life. Accepted to a summer course at Yale University, Ngaa Rauuira comes to realise that maybe his intelligence and pure desire to achieve something might not be enough to achieve all that he wants to do.

During the Nanking Massacre of 1937, American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale) is on the way to a local church to prepare the recently deceased priest when he stumbles upon Shu (Zhang Xinyi), a student of the convent at the very same church, in the middle of evading soldiers and bullets. Arriving at the safe haven and deciding to stay at the church during the horrific Japanese invasion, John finds himself the only adult among a sea of lost and confused youngsters. That is until a group of prostitutes — led by haughty Yu Mo (Ni Ni) — from a nearby brothel show up wanting to find sanctuary as well. After an attack from some “AWOL” Japanese soldiers, their overseeing officer stops by the church afterwards to apologise. John then pretends to be the church’s priest in an attempt to keep everyone safe, but when one of the prostitutes gets found and pretends to be another student, everyone is left balancing on a fine line between safety and danger, and an even more pressing urgency to flee the city.

1960s Alabama, and resident old dude Jim Caldwell (Robert Duvall) has just had another clash with his veteran-hippie son Carroll (Kevin Bacon) and wants nothing to do with him. Youngest son Skip is a bit of a weirdo and not much better, but luckily he still has live-in son Jimbo (Robert Patrick) who has turned out alright. During dinner one night, they receive a phone call from England — Jim’s ex-wife Naomi has just passed away. Her second husband Kingsley Bedford (John Hurt), along with his two children Phillip (Ray Stevenson) and Camilla (Frances O’Connor), will be bringing her body back to the States so she can be buried “with her people”. 

I don’t know what it is exactly about Bob Marley, but there’s something about the guy that seems to appeal to everyone. Sure, he had some great songs, was a poet both lyrically and in person, and led a life with intent to do something, not just make money. But apart from all that, he had some kind of spirit that connected with people when he sang. You might not know someone who is necessarily a big reggae fan, but you’ll definitely know someone who’s a Marley fan (ie, yours truly). Bob Marley’s music crossed borders, race and religion, even while he himself became an iconic symbol for these very things that were connected to him — Jamaica, being half black/half white, and Rastafarianism. But more than his music, or even what he stood for, as a person Marley led an interesting life that sadly was cut way too short (he died at the age of 36).

The documentary Marley, directed by Kevin MacDonald, follows the life of legendary musician Robert Nesta Marley, aka Bob Marley. With impressive access to practically every important person in Marley’s life — his family, friends, members of the Wailers, fellow musicians — the film follows him from childhood to young adult, from the start of his career to making it big and travelling the world, and finally to his eventual early passing while still in the prime of both his life and career.

If there is such a thing as “GDR Nostalgia”, then This Ain’t California will make you feel it. Even if you’re not a socialist, even if you were born after the Berlin Wall came down, even if you’re not even German — this documentary will make you yearn for the good ol’ days of pre-unification Germany.

For those of you who need a slight history refresher, here’s a recap. After World War II, Germany was split into two; Allies-controlled West Germany, and Soviet-controlled East Germany, aka the GDR. The west was marching freely towards a bright future, open to capitalism, and opportunities were plentiful. The east though seemed stuck in a more constricting socialism, living in a land that put high importance on citizens who served their country through sports achievements, not to mention the presence of a paranoia-inducing secret service, the Stasi. These were tense times for both sides, but that reality of a country and people divided by a wall is told from a unique perspective in this engrossing documentary.

Comes A Bright Day is the story of Sam (Craig Roberts), a young man who works in a London hotel, running errands for the hotel manager and guests while making plans for the restaurant he will open one day with best friend Elliot (Anthony Welsh). On one of these errands to a jewellery store however, Anthony gets caught up in a robbery which very quickly turns into a hostage situation. With store owner Charlie (Timothy Spall) and employee-slash-new-crush Mary (Imogen Poots), the hostages try their best to figure out a solution to their situation — but the increasingly erratic thief Cameron (Kevin McKidd) isn’t making things any easier.