I feel a bit odd including Ernest & Celestine at the top of my list of favourite films for this month, as I originally saw it two years ago and I saw the original French-language version as opposed to the English-dubbed version that is currently screening in Australia. Nevertheless, this is a gorgeous animated film about friendship that also works very effectively as a parable about not fearing others simply because they are different to us and we don’t know much about them. I’m looking forward to revisiting it once the DVD comes out (hopefully in the original language with English subtitles!)
I haven’t seen Lenny Abrahamson’s first feature film, but I remember being really impressed by Garage in 2007 and I loved What Richard Did, which I mentioned a few months ago when it got released on DVD in Australia. And going by his latest film Frank, Abrahamson is clearly a director who is getting stronger and stronger. Inspired by the film’s co-writer Jon Ronson’s experiences playing in a band with Frank Sidebottom (an alter-ego of English comedian and musician Chris Sievey), Frank is both a funny and melancholic tribute to marginal figures. While several real-life experimental musicians were inspirations for the character of Frank as presented in the film, I often thought of Scott Walker whose creative process was captured so well in the documentary Scott Walker: 30 Century Man. While Frank is for the most part quite a fun film, its real strength lies in its final half hour where it sidesteps several cliches common to films about bands and musicians to instead de-romanticise the link between artistic genius and mental illness.
Edge of Tomorrow is an extremely satisfying and mostly smart high concept blockbuster that uses the cultural baggage of its star Tom Cruise to cleverly develop the main protagonist from somebody the audience has contempt for to a plausible action hero. It’s also refreshing to see a film that champions the idea of having to learn and master skills rather than simply rely on some kind of Chosen One or naturally gifted hero narrative. And in terms of spectacle cinema, director Doug Liman really delivers in creating a sense of chaos without sacrificing coherence. The second half of the film may not maintain the same level of interest as the first, but otherwise I loved this mash-up of Groundhog Day, Starship Troopers, Aliens and Saving Private Ryan.
My favourite film this month is one that didn’t get a theatrical release in Australia, but has instead gone to DVD, and that’s the masterful American thriller Blue Ruin. The film very skilfully conceals narrative information from the audience regarding character backstory and motivation without ever becoming obtuse, so that the viewer only ever needs to know just enough about what is happening to make every scene achieve the most tension as possible. The revenge story that emerges is as engaging as it is due to the film’s ability to maintain plausibility with the core idea that the protagonist is an ordinary person, albeit an ordinary person who’s suffered severe emotional trauma, and is therefore likely to make all the mistakes that a typical person would make.
I also finally caught up with the documentary Cutie and the Boxer, which was released on DVD in May. A really beautiful insight into the lives of artist Ushio Shinohara and his wife Noriko Shinohara, the film touches on their art and the difficulties of making a living as artists, but it is mostly a study of a relationship where the demands and dominating personality of one person has overshadowed the aspirations of another. This is a sensitive, revealing and very moving film that ultimately possesses a very empowering message.
CINEMA AUTOPSY 