Movie: Their Finest

Their Finest:  a movie within a movie.  The year is 1940 and the place is Britain’s Ministry of Information following the British military disaster at Dunkirk.  The basic storyline of this 117-minute movie:  Britain’s propaganda office needs to create an uplifting film to boost the morale of the British people and, as it turns out, to also encourage the United States to join Britain in the fight against Nazi Germany.  The screenplay by Gaby Chiappe is based on Lissa Evans’ novel Their Finest Hour and a Half.  The film is directed by Lone Scherfig.  The story opens with Catrin Cole (Gemma Artenton) being summoned for an interview at the Ministry of Information.  She assumes the position is secretarial but, as she learns, her assignment is to write “the slop”,  a reference to women’s dialogue, for a Ministry sponsored war propaganda film.  Their Finest pointedly emphasizes the extent of sexism that was present in 1940’s work environments and personal relationships.  In fact, the role of Phyl (Rachael Stirling) appears to have been created specifically to offer a feminist viewpoint.  After being hired and following a run-in with actor Ambrose Hilliard (Bill Nighy), Catrin is assigned to research a news story about twin sisters who supposedly successfully sailed their father’s boat to Dunkirk to assist in the evacuation.  It turns out that the twins’ real story was not as presented in the newspaper, nevertheless, Catrin chooses to run with the newspaper’s version of the story and the film making beings.   As the tale unfolds, a love story, which was not obvious from the introduction of the primary characters, develops.  The English cast, including Jeremy Irons, Helen McCrory and Richard Grant, is excellent.  To amplify the film’s appeal to Americans, the Jeremy Irons character orders that a handsome American war hero pilot character be added to the film’s story.  The pilot is played by Jake Lacey, who is excellent in his role as a person having no acting ability.   Bill Nighy offers a star performance as Ambrose Hilliard, an elderly actor who has never grown beyond seeing himself as the young detective who starred in pre-WW II films.  The combination of an excellent script and actors giving superb performances make for a most enjoyable film.  There is more comedy, primarily through Nighy, and tenderness than you would have expected based on the film’s opening scenes.  The Artenton character, Catrin Cole, grows on you as do her co-workers.  Their Finest is an intelligent and fun film.

 

Movie: Gifted

Gifted:  a family drama.  At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Mary Adler (McKenna Grace), a seven year old living with Frank (Chris Evans), her uncle, in Tampa.  As the story unfolds, we learn that Mary’s mother, a math genius, committed suicide and left instructions that her brother, Frank, was to raise Mary.  At the time of Mary’s suicide, Frank was a college professor; his current profession is boat repairman.  We only know Mary’s mother through photographs and comments by Frank and others.  Her biological father makes a single brief appearance more than halfway through this 101 minute film.  We learn that Mary has been home schooled by Frank, but now, over her objections, is to start attending public school.  It is during the public school sequence that we learn Mary has inherited her mother’s gift for mathematics.  Her teacher (Jenny Slate) and the school’s principal recognize Mary’s brilliance  and recommend to Frank that Mary attend an elite private school.   When Frank says no the principal contacts Mary’s maternal grandmother (Lindsay Duncan), who also happens to have the math genius gene.  The tone of the film changes dramatically once the grandmother comes on board.  Appearing at various times throughout the movie is Frank’s neighbor (Octavia Spencer).  The neighbor might be Frank’s landlord but, at a minimum, she is the property manager for the bungalow complex where Frank and Mary reside.  Octavia Spencer’s character is underutilized in this film and seeing more of Octavia and her character would have resulted in a better film.  The chemistry between Mary’s teacher and Frank does not come across as realistic.  All the actors, however, rise above Tom Flynn’s script.  This film may be Evans’ best performance.  The director, Marc Webb, presents a very enjoyable family drama.  The primary key to the success of this film is the performance of McKenna Grace as Mary and her interactions with Frank.  I also liked their one eye cat.  The grandmother character is too one dimensional.  Nevertheless, this is a pleasurable film with an excellent cast.  

 

Movie: After the Storm

After the Storm:  a family drama.  This Japanese film was written and directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.  We are introduced to Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) shortly after his father’s death and several years after the publication of his award winning novel.  The film is contemporary but its exact time frame is not specified.  Ryota is divorced and delinquent on his child support payments.  Despite his talent as a writer, Ryota works as a private detective.  Like his father, Ryota has a gambling addiction.  He is also still in love with his ex-wife, Kyoko (Yoko Maki), who has a boyfriend.  Ryota’s visitation rights with his son, Shingo (Taiyo Yoshizawa), are limited to once a month.   A significant portion of the film takes place over one long weekend, which includes Shingo’s visit with Ryota.  The other principal characters are Ryota’s mother, Yoshiko (Kirin Kiki), and his sister, Chinatsu (Satomi Kobayashi).  When the mother is on screen, she frequently dominates the screen and provides the only comic lines.   Chinatsu is employed and has a daughter.  She is protective of the mother and her actions frustrate Ryota.  He interprets Chinatsu’s action as taking advantage of their mother but, in reality, it is Ryota who’s the sponge.   As the story unfolds, we hear radio reports about the imminent arrival of a typhoon.  By the time the typhoon hits, most of this 117-minute movie has played out.  A less philosophical writer might have dubbed the film “Before the Storm”.   Hiroshi Abe’s excellent acting carries parts of the film.  This film does not offer any major dramatic scenes; it simply focuses on the reality of human dynamics within a family structure and how some people cope with life.  There are no special effects.   Instead, the drama and action are subtle, but for days afterwards, individual scenes will emerge and linger among your thoughts.  Superb acting by all the characters.  Subtitled

Movie: The Zookeeper's Wife

The Zookeeper’s Wife:  based upon Diane Ackerman’s superb non-fiction book bearing the same title.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the film is true to the tale told in the book.  The film opens in Warsaw in 1939.  It starts shortly before Nazi Germany’s invasion of the city.  The Zookeeper is Dr. Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh) and his wife is Antonina (Jessica Chastain).  In an otherwise excellent performance, the accent adopted by Chastain is an odd Polish/Russian blend.  Although you become accustomed to her accent, it remains a slight distraction.  The opening scenes present an overly idealistic relationship between Antonina and the Zoo’s animals, but they serve to set the stage for the Zabinskis’ story after Warsaw is overrun by the Nazis.  During the initial invasion, the Zoo is heavily bombed and many of the animals are lost.  We are introduced to Hitler’s zoologist, Dr. Lutz Heck  (Daniel Bruhl), initially at a pre-invasion cocktail party.   Dr. Heck is central to the storyline. Unwittingly, he becomes the key in the Zabinskis’ scheme to rescue Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto:  Dr. Heck’s approval is needed to keep the Zoo operating.  To maintain a viable escape route, the Zabinskis offer Dr. Heck the Zoo’s facilities to use as a hog farm to provide meat for the Nazi soldiers; to feed the hogs, garbage from the Warsaw Ghetto is needed.  When the waste is transported from the Ghetto to the Zoo, escaping Jews are hidden in the garbage.   Later, the Zookeeper obtains additional access to the Ghetto resulting in additional Jews leaving the Ghetto.   The film does an excellent job of showing how these two schemes operated and Antonina’s involvement in the process.   A total of 300 Jews were able to leave the Ghetto and only 2 were subsequently found by the Nazis.  Dr. Zabinski also becomes very involved in the fight against the Nazis but his story is not the focal point.  The focus of this 126 minute film is the Zookeeper’s wife, Antonina.  The screenplay is written by Angela Workman and the director is Niki Caro.  They keep the film’s focus on showing how two individuals worked to save lives and use Hitler’s zoologist to illustrate the idiocy and sickness of Nazi ideology.  I think most of you are fully aware of the Holocaust and do not need further film education on the horrors inflicted by Hitler.  I make this comment because after writing the first draft of this commentary, I read a number of reviews which attacked the film for being too light on depicting what was occurring outside the gates of the Zoo.  I don’t think this film is light on the Holocaust nor do I think it reflects a particularly feminist perspective of the Holocaust.   Rather, the film and the book depict the righteous acts of two individuals by keeping the focus on these individuals, particularly the wife.  The book is superb and this film is worth seeing.   Jan and Antonina were amazing people and this film gives them the just praise they deserve.  

Movie: A United Kingdom

A United Kingdom:  the tale of a true romance.  This story begins in 1948.  The Prince and future king of Bechuanaland, current day Botswana, is studying in London.  The Prince, Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo), meets a British office worker, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), at a dance sponsored by the Church of England.  They learn they have a mutual love of jazz and, from this initial conversation, their relationship grows into a romance and then into a marriage.  Placed against the backdrop of the late 1940’s/ 1950’s, the political consequences of this interracial marriage are significant.  There is an initial divisiveness within the Botswana tribal community to the interracial marriage.  South Africa is implementing apartheid.  The law in neighboring Botswana is the equivalent of America’s Jim Crow laws.  Although the initial story is about Seretse and Ruth’s courtship, the majority of this 111 minute film reaches far beyond.  It addresses the British government’s aggressive attempts to undo the marriage and, when that fails, to evict Seretse from Botswana.  It also shows the segregation that the people of Botswana were subjected to in their own country by outsiders.  The film is not kind to the British colonial system or to Winston Churchill.  The performance by David Oyelowo, presently one of film’s finest actors, is reason enough to see A United Kingdom.  Rosamund Pike also gives a strong performance.  The British colonialists are somewhat one dimensional, especially Tom Felton, but given the history of the region, the performances may be accurate.  Guy Hibbert’s screenplay involves and holds you as it moves beyond an interracial love story.  The source  material is Colour Bar by Susan Williams.  The film is directed by Amma Asante, who also directed Belle, another film with an interracial relationship at its core.  At the film’s closing, we see photos of the actual Seretse and Ruth.  We learn that they prevailed and that Seretse became President when Botswana won its independence in 1966.  As a footnote, Botswana has prospered as an independent country and the current president is Seretse and Ruth’s son.  This movie is both enjoyable and a learning experience.

Movie: I Am Not Your Negro

I Am Not Your Negro:  words by James Baldwin and narration by Samuel Jackson.  James Baldwin passed away on December 1, 1987.  This documentary film, directed by Raoul Peck, is proof that Baldwin’s writings are as valid and insightful today as when they were first penned.  At the time of his death, Baldwin had started a manuscript bearing the working title Remember This House.  His premise for the book  was telling of his interactions with Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King and Malcom X.  Peck’s film goes beyond these three individuals and their assassinations; it presents a deeply meaningful exploration of racism in the United States.  Part of the brilliance of this 95 minute film, in addition to its wide ranging sound track, is its scene selection from the past through the present, including reactions to Black Lives Matter.  I Am Not Your Negro may be the best documentary on the subject of race in the United States.  Using Baldwin’s commentary on race relations in America, the film viscerally presents the dialogue that both Clinton and Obama, in their very different styles, tried to begin in this country.  The film is organized around thoughts and concepts rather than chronology, and Peck keeps you involved, in part, because you don’t know where he’s going next.  The film was deservingly nominated for Best Documentary Feature.  While OJ: Made in America won the Oscar and 13 was a strong competitor, my vote remains with I Am Not Your Negro. OJ tells the race story by focusing on an uniquely athletic individual who, as an adult, seemed more comfortable among Whites than Blacks.  13’s focus was on an undeniably important issue, prisons and prisoners.  In his film, Peck gives you the full race relations picture without requiring you to invest multiple hours of viewing time as with the OJ documentary.  I don’t know many folks who would watch OJ a second time due partly to its length.  However, with Baldwin’s dialogue and a run time of less than 2 hours, I think Peck’s film will be viewed more than just once.  Peck draws on a wide range of Baldwin’s writings,  particularly The Devil Finds Work, a 1976 publication dealing with Baldwin’s Hollywood experience and “white innocence” as to the history of discrimination and racial violence.  Both this film and the excellent PBS documentary on Maya Angelou effectively use the scene from “The Dick Cavett Show” wherein Baldwin reacts to Yale professor, Paul Weiss, who scolds Baldwin for dwelling too much on race.  The Cavett scene, however, is the exception; Baldwin probably appears more in the Angelou documentary than in the film by Peck.  It is the strength of Samuel L. Jackson’s voice speaking Baldwin’s words together with a candid visual presentation that gives this film its awesome power.  I will close my comments with a Baldwin quote: “I can’t be a pessimist because I’m alive.  I’m forced to be an optimist.”  Peck’s film is true to James Baldwin’s spirit.  Once in a great while, a film appears that I wish every American would go see.  This is one of those rare films.

Movie: Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann:  a German comedy.  This may be the first time I’ve ever written the words “German” and “comedy” in consecutive order.  This film, written and directed by Maren Ade, has been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language film category.  When I read that Jack Nicholson had signed a contract to do an American version of the film, my curiosity was peaked.  The role of Toni Erdmann would be an ideal exit character for Nicholson.  Toni Erdmann opens with a FedEx delivery of a package to Winfried Conradi (Peter Simonischek).  The person answering the door tells the FedEx person that the package is for his brother who was recently released from prison for bomb making.  The person walks away from the door shouting for Winfried then reappears in a different costume with more bomb jokes.  We learn that Winfried is a divorced music teacher with a propensity for pranks.  A bit later, we meet Winfried’s adult daughter, Ines (Sandra Huller), a businesswoman consumed by her career.  There is a palpable tension between Ines and her father.  Ines is a business consultant and is currently on assignment in Bucharest.  Winfried unexpectedly appears at Ines’ workplace; Ines unexpectedly invites Winfried to join her for a reception at the American Embassy.  She tells her father that if she is speaking with a gentleman named Henneberg, he is not to intervene.   Henneberg is the CEO of the company with whom Ines’ wants to secure a consulting contract.  For Winfried, of course, Ines’ warning is like honey to a bear and Winfried promptly strolls into the conversation remarking that he has hired a replacement daughter because Ines is too busy to spend any time with him.   Following is a scene where Winfried is leaving his daughter’s apartment to return home to Germany.  We then learn a bit more about Ines and her work and, a few days later, we see Ines with two female friends at a bar.  This is when Toni Erdmann appears and presents himself to Ines and her friends.   A bizarre conversation among the four ensues followed by a series of events and interactions among Ines, Toni and various third parties.  One could never have predicted some of the scenes that occur during this  162 minute movie.  It becomes clear that Winfried has adopted the Toni Erdmann character to help his daughter learn to enjoy life.  Toni is not merely a prankster, and amidst the comedic routines, important issues concerning familial relationships are addressed.  Some of the scenes go on a bit too long and the film could have been more tightly edited.  The film works due, in large part, to the strength of Simonischek’s performance.  You can clearly see Jack Nicholson as Toni, which is not to diminish Simonischek’s performance.  This is the film’s second week in Honolulu and, unless it wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film, I suspect it will be gone for good after this week.  I am looking forward to Maren Ade’s next movie.  Her Toni Erdmann character is truly unique and makes you wonder what’s up next from this very talented writer/director.