Film No. 13 (2016) February 19th. 8.00 PM THE PINES Outdoor Cinema Joondalup.
"The risks that the Sherpa were being asked to take, what is the moral justification for that?" (The question asked by a Western expedition leader on a climb up Everest).
Sherpa opens with Director Jennifer Peedmon and her cinematographer talking to camera about their intent to dedicate their award winning film to all the Sherpa who'd lost their lives on Everest. There have been many, many more Sherpa than the tourists they lead who have lost their lives, we soon learn why this is the case. But most importantly we are left in awe of a proud people, so tough and resilient that without their uniqueness Everest would not be the ultimate adventure destination for the privileged.
The film sets us on course to follow in the footsteps of Phurba Tashi, a Sherpa who works for Russell Brice, a likable westerner who runs expeditions for those wishing to tick Everest off their bucket lists. Tashi is Brice's foreman, he controls the team of Sherpa who will wait upon the high paying tourists as they are guided to the summit in 2014. The thing is, the film is forced from its intended focus because of what happens on the mountain that year. On April 18th an ice fall occurs which changes how expeditions will be run for ever.
But the film unfortunately becomes unstuck as we are suddenly taken away from our fly on the wall experience; watching in wonder at how the Sherpa stopped just short of physically carrying their guests to the summit. We are made to refocus on how this game changing emergency affects the people who's very livelihood depends on recreational tourism. Peedmon, while continuing to remain loyal to the Sherpa suddenly becomes a news photographer as we gain an insight into the tragedy surrounding 16 deaths that year.
Don't get me wrong. Peedmon may have been on the verge of creating a masterpiece before the chance event, but that ice fall stopped her in her tracks. Russell Brice's Sherpa were fortunate to escape injury in the ice fall but in it's aftermath they unite with the other Sherpa on the mountain in their fight for a better deal from the westerners and more importantly their government. We are no longer witnesses to an attempted ascent of the world's tallest mountain but instead to a Sherpa uprising. Tashi remains integral to the film as he quietly contemplates his short term then finally his long term future but we never feel really connected. Sherpa is not a brilliant cinematic document but it's an important film. 8GUMS.
Film No. 12 (2016) February 15th. 6.30 PM LUNA Paradiso, Northbridge.
"This film will shock you, make no mistake so be warned" (A critic's tweet on exiting Son of Saul while attending an international film festival in 2015).
So what of the slaves co-opted by the Nazis to do all their dirty work amidst the hell which was the death camps of German occupied Europe? What of those slaves? Watch Son of Saul then report back to me what you think it might have taken to be one of those slaves. Take the time out to suffer like Saul suffered!
Well that's got that out of my system. Sorry about that, it's just there was real anger within me after experiencing life with Saul Auslander for that short period. I was either looking into his tortured face or over his shoulder as he endeavoured to survive in a hell we'd soon be hoping might be a dream sequence. Unfortunately it was not, first time Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes gives us a perspective of war that won't be forgotten in a hurry but it quite obviously comes from his Hungarian heart. Hungarians, especially the Jews were pilloried by the Nazis late in WWII, Saul is the face of those unlucky enough to be born in this dreadful era.
Ten minutes into Saul I was unnerved and giddy. My immediate thought was, do I need this tonight? A film about one man's intimate experience at Auschwitz working for the Nazis to carry out the atrocities so graphically documented was never going to be easy. Soon Nemes had me riveted to his tale, fortunately he saves us the graphic view of what Saul was experiencing via diffused focus and extreme close-ups of Saul but we still fully understand the meaning of each heart wrenching action. We also experience this through the excruciating soundtrack of death. It is all so obvious what is happening but it is the minor details we are left to image that horrify us.
The stress suffered by Saul throughout this journey is excruciating but an incident where a young boy dies in front of his eyes gives him hope and a will to cling to his own life. It becomes an important distraction for Saul. His quest becomes to bury the boy following strict Jewish tradition but this will be difficult with the threat of death hanging over him at every turn.
The anger I expressed in my opening paragraph has abated, I understand now why films like this need to be made; it is so that we might remember those who truly suffered. The Academy will recognise this film in a weeks time, I feel sure. 10GUMS.
Film No. 11 (2016) February 13th. 10.45 AM LUNA Leederville.
"If you're going to talk about World War II as if you personally won it, let's be clear where you were stationed - on a film set, shooting blanks, wearing make-up, and if you're going to hit me I'd like to take my glasses off" (Dalton Trumbo challenges John Wayne in the foyer of a Los Angeles cinema).
The term solid is often used to describe a film which is good, worth its ticket price and is entertaining from start to finish. Trumbo is the classic example of a solid film. The story of how one of Hollywood's most talented writers was blacklisted, jailed then continually harassed before rising to finally become a legend of his craft, is a story worth telling.
Goodbye and Good Luck remains one of my favourite films depicting the injustices of McCarthyism through the late 40's and 50's. Trumbo makes for the perfect partner for a Democrats double feature fund-raising event in the lead up to the 2016 presidential race. The murmurings of Donald Trump about his aim to eliminate Muslims from his, yes I repeat, his country makes one wonder what the human race has learned from its past mistakes. After Trumbo, like Goodbye you're likely to ask the same question.
Dalton Trumbo, exquisitely played by Brian (Breaking Bad) Cranston, is the highest paid writer in Hollywood in 1947. Trumbo was a man of impeccable morals and wrote short stories and novels through the 30's and 40's depicting the plight of the human spirit, hence his affiliation with The Communist Party before WWII. He adapted his popular writing to screen during and after the war but was targeted by right wing columnists during the McCarthey years and this is where the film takes up his intriguing story.
A film that takes on the depiction of legends of the screen using unsung actors is a risky business. Trumbo does it so well we become emotionally attached to the bravery of Kirk Douglas (Dean O'Gorman) and his use of Trumbo on the Spartacus script. John Wayne (David Elliot) lovers may not want to see what's on offer here and Edward G Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg), the least look alike of all, does it tough. Trumbo asks more questions than it answers, but he was a man of substance; don't miss the real Dalton Trumbo talk from the heart half way through the end titles. It's a key moment, played out to those die hard viewers who always stay on. 9GUMS.
