No. 29 (2022) AMBULANCE April 5th.

 

Film No. 29  (2022)  April 5th.  6:45 PM  EVENT CINEMAS,  VMax 1   Whitfords.

"Does your wife know you rob banks?" (Paramedic Cam asks a pertinent question of her new ally, Will. A question that makes him feel particularly vulnerable).

I have a list of mates who are just going to love AMBULANCE. They won't have to think. They can strap themselves in and escape into a world where their post pandemic thoughts abate for 135 minutes as they go on an adrenaline trip. For them it's the reason they love to go and see big screen cinema. I will text them and recommend it, but there are other friends to whom, if asked, I will suggest that they should not waist their time or money!. It's a loud, chaotic, messy of a film!

Most importantly, if you are a Jake G fan, and I am, definitely don't go to see it. Michael Bay (TRANSFORMERS, ARMAGEDDON) has never paid too much attention to what his actors might be able to bring to the screen. So why, I mean why with a capital W does Michael Bay take a small Danish film AMBULANCEN; a film of 80 minutes, with a big heart, and turn it into a story that, if it were true, would rate as the biggest bank heist, come murder mayhem ever committed in the history of the world? 

If the script has a redeeming feature then paramedic Cam Thompson, astutely played by Eiza Gonzalez (a Jolie lookalike), comes away with a beating heart (no pun intended). She may not have entered this chaotic mix-master of chaos as the key player, but she exits as the star. Her  transition into a make-shift emergency trauma surgeon(via zoom instruction), is a minor highlight. 

Look, Bay has tried to capture the violent choreographic essence of JOHN WICK, the tarmac tenseness of SPEED, the brotherly love trope of WARRIOR and a final stanza reminiscent of any of Angelina Jolie's action efforts. I'm looking for something more original. Plenty of punters will line up for AMBULANCE, popcorn and choc-top in hand, brain (and phone) in flight mode. I hope they love it, I didn't.  5GUMS.           

  

 

   

No. 28 (2022) THE GOOD BOSS (El buen Patron) APRIL 4th.

 

Film No. 28 (2022)  April  4th.  6.40 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"My wife says she needs air. What should I do? Go and buy her a bottle of Fu*king oxygen? "(Boss Blanco listens to trusted employee and friend Miralles talk of his marriage problems).

Is there an actor with a more assured presence on screen than Javier Bardem? For me he is in the top echelon of international performers. He draws a crowd and this goes a long way to why The Good Boss is such an engaging, if slightly long, morality tale. It was in fact Spain's first choice, in front of Almodóvar's PARRALELL MOTHERS, for the 2022 Oscars.

In LOVING PABLO (2017), Writer/Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa never quite found the vehicle to unleash all of Bardem's talents. Here, in Julio Blanco (Bardem), the owner of a world reputed scales producing company, he has created a man that grows on us like a ticklish skin irritation which soon becomes a full body rash. Aranoa has written a film that shines a light on the Blancos' of the world. He is warning us to be on the look out.

Blanco has power. On the surface we meet a man who uses his power to create a work environment all his employees can be proud of. He sells scales, Aranoa alerts us that something is slightly askew via the model scales at the factory entrance. Blanco inherited this shiny company, he didn't build it. His focus is on winning shiny things (awards of excellence) to prove his worth. THE GOOD BOSS gives us the opportunity to spend a week with him (each day is a chapter) to prove how dangerously superficial Blanco really is. Maybe we are encountering or have previously encountered a Blanco, you'll soon know!

So did Aranoa get the balance right here? Initially I thought not. His script, to my eyes, played lightly on themes of lying, adultery and violence (to name a few), considering the impact of the concluding themes. But on reflection (2 days of gestation) Fernando Leon got it just right. The final 20 seconds tip the scales perfectly. 10GUMS.

  

  

No. 26 (2022) EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH (IRREDUCTIBLE; Palace French Film Festival, Perth) MARCH 28th.

 

Film No. 26 (2022)  March 28th.  4.00 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"Did you fall for how scared I was as he came charging back at us?". (Vincent covers for the sheer fear he felt as a Polar Bear got riled after being shot by Vincent and his tranquilizer gun).

Most countries would be embarrassed to put their name to a film as silly as IRREDUCTIBLE. Not the French. And for good reason. The film, most aligned to a Norman Wisden farce, has a handful of major laugh out loud moments. But the stamp of French approval seems to make it all the more funny. It's the vibe! It's the vibe!

Jerome Commandeur is fast becoming the most marketable cinema commodity in France. Here he directs, writes and plays the starring role. He has created Vincent, a public servant (for life) hiding in the bowels of some unproductive department. When job cuts come, redundancy is offered, but he knows no other life. Vincent is not interested. His up-line Inger (Karina Beuthe Orr) has to find him a job. An Arctic posting should surely see him quit. 

All of this story is being told  by Vincent, in the present, via flashback in front of a Chief of a primitive South American tribe who have just captured him (and off-sider). So what is he doing there and why does he have to tell his life story in these circumstances?

 

Well, while he is completing his Arctic tasks he falls for the beautiful scientist he is guarding, Eva. On his first outing with her, he completes the task of tranquilizing a polar bear and then extracting a semen sample! He surprises himself with the ridiculousness of it all. From here Vincent takes us on his journey of love with Eva. Eva has 3 kids from 3 separate fathers. She is wonderfully uncomplicated considering the complicated domestic predicament Vincent falls into. Will Vincent become father number 4? It's a silly, fun frolic. 8GUMS.  

 

 

      

  

No. 27 (2022) NOWHERE SPECIAL. MARCH 29th.

 

Film No. 27 (2022)  March 29th.  2.40 PM   Cinema 8.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"For me it is a love story. The story of a father, completely devoted to his little boy. Their relationship is trusting, uncompromising. A love story."(Director Uberto Pasolini describes the major theme of his film during an interview on Australian radio).

Here is a high calibre morality story, played out on-screen, with the potential to linger for days in your thoughts. Warning; i) If James Norton of GRANDCHESTER (BBC T.V.) fame has attracted your attention for more of the same or ii) You only go to the movies to have fun and not to cry; then give NOWHERE SPECIAL a wide berth. You'll be disappointed. 

Italian director Uberto Pasolini (STILL LIFE, THE FULL MONTY (Prod)) does not waste a frame or indulge in sub-plots to tell the heart breaking tale of John, a window cleaner dying of an incurable disease. The complication is, John is the sole parent to 4 year old Michael. His overwhelming responsibility is to find a home for Michael. Pasolini wastes none of the 95 minutes with sub-plots or asides. We learn of a father's unconditional love for his son; and make no mistake, Daniel Lamont as Michael will steal your heart, completely.

This story is inspired by the real case of a U.K. father. It's an easy story to Google but the premise of a dying father finding a family for his son is the only similarity. Pasolini read a news article about Nick Rose (40), a jovial dad who got a 9 month prognosis. That became his time limit to devote to finding a home for son, Logan. 

Norton is the star in NOWHERE. We are never in doubt about John's predicament or what his next move might be. The camera says it all: A glimpse of his medicine cabinet. A look through a window (one he is cleaning) into a family's life. Michael spreading a blanket over his sleepy dad. The look on the face of a prospective mum as she shows her real self. The dialogue is sparse. It doesn't matter. 

This film deeply affected me. I felt a thorough appreciation for a film that made no bones about how it wanted you to feel. This will not be to everyone's taste. And who did John choose as Michael's family? The four choices are diverse, so depending on how you see the world, you may be surprised with his choice; we weren't. 11GUMS.

         

       

No. 25 (2022) BETWEEN TWO WORLDS (OUISTREHAM; Palace French Film Festival, Perth) MARCH 22nd.

 

Film No. 25 (2022)  March 22nd.  1.30 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"Care to explain why you are chasing after cleaning jobs? I have read your book". (Marianne is "busted" by her job seeker mentor early in her plan).

Two words came to mind when watching OUISTREHAM; Loach and Nomadland. The realism and use of untrained actors, playing themselves is a technique U.K. mastermind Ken Loach has used for years, and Frances McDormand played alongside everyday people in last year's Academy Award winner. Emmanuel Carrere (Director) and Juliette Binoche, respectively, repeat the dose here. To good effect.

The real life tale stems around journalist/author Florence Aubenas. She was not gaining publishers' attention with her writing, so she embarked on a new project. Her idea was to  get a job as a cleaner and gain an insight into the lives and conditions of a workforce (comprised of mainly women) who had few options, but made the best of their lot. She would then write the stories of these women. The book was a best seller.

Here Carrere has taken the idea and made OUISTREHAM. Using a class performer, Binoche as journo/writer Marianne Winckler (shades of NOMADLAND), then surrounding her with non-professional actors (NOMADLAND + Ken Loach style) to play hard working cleaners the film creates a wonderful sense of realistic authenticity. The theme is less of an informative working class revelations piece and more about the power of emotional attachment when it comes to meeting good people in any stage of life's journey.

There is nothing new when it comes to editorial comment here. The fact good people work hard to complete tasks the rest of us take for granted is always worth reinforcing. A reminder about lives of the less privileged is always worth telling. The film's triumph comes in the form of Binoche and her work with actors less experienced. The art and skill they show in front of camera is seamlessly convincing. Binoche convinced Aubanes that her writing would translate to screen well. Aubanes is reported to be pleased with this translation. It was a very personal journal and Binoche gave her persona the right touch. 9GUMS.         

 

     

     

No. 24 (2022) FAREWELL, MR HAFFMANN (Palace French Film Festival, Perth) MARCH 20th.

 

Film No. 24 (2022)  March 20th.  4.00 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"Don't worry Mr Haffmann. Stay here till we figure something out."(Francois reassures Joseph that he will be safe with he and Blanche for the time being, until he can be on his way).

While devouring this sumptuous film it occurred to me that there must be a plethora of intriguing stories still waiting to be told emanating from the folk so affected by the German occupation across Europe during WWII. While FAREWELL, MR HAFFMAN, adapted from the much adored play of the same name by Jean-Philippe Daguerre, is fiction, the premise could come from any number of desperate measures taken by Jews as they exited their everyday lives to escape persecution.

Director Fred Caveye (AbOUT PORTANT) is a friend of Daguerre's, and after viewing the play in 2016, Caveye was determined to bring the story of talented Parisian jeweller Joseph Haffmann and the desperate plight he and his family faced in trying to survive German occupation. Friend or not I feel sure Daguerre must have been chuffed with Caveye's interpretation. The film is a triumph.

Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) and family live a comfortable life in the business district of Paris in 1941. Joseph's jewellery business sits below his residence. He watches fellow Jews being extracted from the city at gun point. He hurriedly concocts a plan to send his family to safety, then, before he follows them, organises with newly appointed assistant Francois (Gilles Lellouche) to buy the business with the caveat to return the enterprise back to Haffmann when war ended. How uncomplicated could all that be?    

Daniel Auteuil (Haffmann), Gilles Lellouche (Francois) and Sara Giraudeau (Blanche) carry this period drama with wonderful poise. Three of France's most talented performers bring themes of good-will, greed, jealousy, loyalty, lust and finally cruelty, starkly to the screen. Those who love theatre and film equally will luxuriate in FAREWELL, MR HAFFMANN. 11GUMS.

  

             

No. 22 (2022) GOLIATH (Palace, French Film Festival. PERTH) March 10th.

 

Film No. 22 (2022)  March 10th.  1.30 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA,  Leederville. 

"I just want my words to be heard. I have no strength to go on"(cancer patient Margot's partner records her last words before sending a copy to lawyer Patrick).

This dense film tells the story of the injustices meted out to people who accept the necessity of using strong chemicals to increase crop yields, only to be struck by the true devastation of corporate moral bankruptcy when loved ones are affected. But it is not based on a true story as the opening credits suggest ... it is an idea based on a new law devised, or better still, proposed by the French government.

In 1917, Emmanuel Macron gave his "presidential word" that cancer causing glyphosate, the deadly chemical used in herbicides would be banned within three years. This is a promise that has never been kept. Director Frederic Tellier (SK1), along with his fellow writers Ballan and Moutairou have created a drama illustrating what the repercussions of that decision might look like.

It's a solid drama, but there are too many clichéd moments for GOLIATH to be an excellent film. Entertaining and worth a look, it certainly is.

Lawyer Patrick Fameau is a man of the people. His client (a physical education teacher) is the sister of a cancer patient who died. They desperately seek answers from Phytosanis, the corporate giant that produces Tetrazine, a weed killer used mainly in agriculture. The story gathers momentum as more and more people join the quest to bring the Goliath (Phytosanis) to it's knees. The face of "evil" comes in the form of executive Mathias, brilliantly played by Pierre Niney.

So, is justice served? Do the people, through weight of numbers bring "Goliath" to a moral standard more akin to life in a civilized society?  The films strength comes from not getting bogged down in courtroom melodrama. There are twists along the way but nothing too unpredictable. More importantly, we are reminded that when pushed, the vulnerable have a voice.  8GUMS.