Films I loved in January 2019

24 January 2019
Eighth Grade

Elsie Fisher as Kayla Day in Eighth Grade

Eighth Grade presents the inner world of 13-year-old Kayla as she attempts to navigate the confusing world of boys, friends, parents, social media and sex. A lot of this film is funny, some of it is uncomfortable, some scenes are incredibly touching and there are many moments that may induce an anxiety attack. It covers very familiar teen-film material, and yet the way it presents the awkward phase of being caught between childhood and adulthood is incredibly refreshing and something to celebrate.

minding the gap

Kiere Johnson in Minding the Gap

In Minding the Gap filmmaker Bing Liu turns the camera on himself and two childhood friends who were brought together through a mutual love of skateboarding, but are now confronting the challenges of adulthood. The resulting documentary is an intimate and sometimes alarming portrait of the way three young men are examining their identities, confronting past trauma, questioning their own behaviour and making decisions to gravitate towards or move away from destructive aspects of masculinity.

how to train your dragon the hidden world

Toothless and Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) in How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World delivers an exciting, spectacular and emotionally satisfying finale to the impressive DreamWorks Animation trilogy about the village of Vikings who have learned to co-exists with dragons. It concludes the coming-of-age narrative for both protagonist Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and the community he now leads where the path to adulthood is not just defined by the acceptance of responsibility, but also by the development of empathy.

the kid who would be king

Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Alex Elliot in The Kid Who Would Be King

King Arthur mythology meets contemporary England in The Kid Who Would Be King when 12-year-old Alex and his fellow teenage knights are sent on a quest to prevent the return of Morgana. The talent that writer/director Joe Cornish displayed in Attack the Block for delivering exciting action scenes with plenty of humour and strong characterisation is once more evident in this family film, which also delivers a timely message of the power of unity and recognising that the future belongs to the young.

Glass

James McAvoy as The Horde and Bruce Willis as David Dunn in Glass

Glass is possibly M Night Shyamalan’s trickiest sleight of hand yet. By bringing together characters and plot threads from his 2000 film Unbreakable and his 2016 film Split, some viewers might expect a spectacle driven The Avengers-style team-up epic. Instead, Glass is a densely plotted, highly self-aware and low budget film about characters who are made to doubt their sanity and superhuman abilities. Both parody and pastiche, it’s an anti-comic book film that’s equally fascinated and cynical about superhero stories.

free solo

Alex Honnold in Free Solo

Free Solo documents American rock climber Alex Honnold’s preparation and execution of his record breaking free solo (no safety gear or harnesses) climb of the 900metre El Capitan Wall in Yosemite National Park. Honnold is a curious subject as he’s not traditionally charismatic, and a strength of the film is how it attempts to understand his motivation and method, as well as examining the logistics and ethics of filming him. The finale – the climb itself – is exhilarating, overwhelming and completely cinematic.

Thomas Caldwell, 2019
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Favourite Films of 2018

27 December 2018

My favourite 10 films that were released in Melbourne, Australia, in 2018 (including films released directly to streaming services or home entertainment):

My Abandonment1. Leave No Trace (Debra Granik, 2018)
Released August

Custody2. Custody (Jusqu’à la garde, Xavier Legrand, 2017)
Released September

BlacKkKlansman3. BlacKkKlansman (Spike Lee, 2018)
Released August

Roma4. Roma (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018)
Released December

Annihilation5. Annihilation (Alex Garland, 2018)
Released March

Sweet Country6. Sweet Country (Warwick Thornton, 2017)
Released January

Isle of Dogs7. Isle of Dogs (Wes Anderson, 2018)
Released April

V1-0010_LB_00000 (1)8. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017)
Released February

I, Tonya9. I, Tonya (Craig Gillespie, 2017)
Released January

null10. A Quiet Place (John Krasinski, 2018)
Released April

Honourable mentions

Twenty more films I loved this year, listed alphabetically:

Avengers: Infinity WarAvengers: Infinity War (Anthony and Joe Russo, 2018)
Released April

Bad Times at the El RoyaleBad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard, 2018)
Released October

Brawl in Cell Block 99Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S Craig Zahler, 2017)
Released January

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE MECan You Ever Forgive Me? (Marielle Heller, 2018)
Released December

CargoCargo (Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke, 2017)
Released May

ClimaxClimax (Gaspar Noé, 2018)
Released December

still_482138The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci, 2017)
Released March

Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on FootDon’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (Gus Van Sant, 2018)
Released September

A Fantastic Woman
A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica, Sebastián Lelio, 2017)
Released February

First ManFirst Man (Damien Chazelle, 2018)
Released October

First ReformedFirst Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2017)
Released December

GhosthunterGhosthunter (Ben Lawrence, 2018)
Released September

GurrumulGurrumul (Paul Damien Williams, 2017)
Released April

I Kill GiantsI Kill Giants (Anders Walter, 2017)
Released May

The Old Man And The GunThe Old Man & the Gun (David Lowery, 2018)
Released November

PHANTOM THREADPhantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017)
Released February

The Shape of WaterThe Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro, 2017)
Released January

ShopliftersShoplifters (Manbiki kazoku, Hirokazu Koreeda, 2018)
Released November

DSC_3773.dngA Star Is Born (Bradley Cooper, 2018)
Released October

you_were_never_really_hereYou Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)
Released September

Favourite films not given a full release locally

Many of the films I saw this year that left a big impression on me are films that only screened to Melbourne audiences at various festivals. Some of those films have local distribution and will more than likely be released next year, so I’ll include them on my 2019 list, but the ones that don’t currently have local distribution (to the best of my knowledge) that I’d like to mention are the following:

Blaze
Blaze (Ethan Hawke, 2018)

The Green Fog
The Green Fog (Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin, 2017)

Holiday
Holiday (Isabella Eklöf, 2018)

Pig
Pig (Khook, Mani Haghighi, 2018)

The Rape of Recy Taylor
The Rape of Recy Taylor (Nancy Buirski, 2017)

Red Cow
Red Cow (Para Aduma, Tsivia Barkai Yacov, 2018)

Relaxer
Relaxer (Joel Potrykus, 2018)

Shock Waves Diary of My Mind
Shock Waves: Diary of My Mind (Ondes de choc – Journal de ma tête, Ursula Meier, 2018)

Winter Brothers
Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre, Hlynur Palmason, 2017)

Yours in Sisterhood
Yours in Sisterhood (Irene Lusztig, 2018)

This list was compiled for the upcoming Senses of Cinema 2018 World Poll

Thank you to everybody who read my micro-reviews throughout 2018. Next year will be much the same as this year: I’ll continue to share my cinematic highlights here and on Facebook and Twitter, and hopefully I’ll continue to pop up on 3RRR 102.7FM and ABC Radio National whenever I can. I won’t pretend I’ll get around to giving this blog the long overdue redesign it desperately needs, but you never know.

Thomas Caldwell 2018

 

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Films I loved in December 2018

20 December 2018
Roma

Roma

Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma is a brilliant fusion of personal storytelling with broader observations on race, class and gender with it’s stunningly photographed story of a maid working for a middle-class family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. It’s a slow burn drama that invites the audience into the inner world of the characters, making its ability later in the film to quietly devastate, all the more profound. A film of both sensitivity and unflinching honesty, it left me trembling long after the final credits rolled.

Climax

Climax

Climax delivers what audiences have come to expect from a Gaspar Noé film with its large offerings of drug fuelled transgressions, as a party for a troupe of contemporary dancers becomes increasingly nightmarish thanks to the LSD-spiked punch. It’s also the film where Noé displays the closest he has come to restraint, so that rather than being simply grim, the film’s hallucinogenic descent into hell is an exhilarating rush of black humour, astonishing dance choreography and gleefully vicarious nastiness.

CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME

Melissa McCarthy as Lee Israel and Richard E Grant as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Can You Ever Forgive Me? could have been a lighthearted it’s-funny-because-it’s-true film about the literary hoax committed by author Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy) in New York in the early 1990s, but instead it’s a sweetly melancholic tale about failure, ostracisation and disappointment. While the stakes aren’t as high as they are in Midnight Cowboy, it has much in common with that 1969 classic, as it’s similarly a beautifully acted, heartfelt drama about how a friendship against the odds helped endure hardship.

First Reformed

Ethan Hawke as Ernst Toller in First Reformed

Ethan Hawke is outstanding as a priest spiralling into destructive despair in First Reformed, the enticingly intense new film by writer/director Paul Schrader who has long explored the psyches of damaged and disturbed men. The starkness and existentialism evoke the early 1960s spiritual films of Ingmar Bergman, but this is nevertheless a distinctively contemporary and American work that captures the palpable dread of losing faith in the 21st century. Released in Australia on home entertainment.

THE FAVOURITE

Olivia Colman as Queen Anne in The Favourite

The Favourite is a sort of All About Eve for contemporary audiences, but set in 1708 and loosely based on the love/power triangle between Anne, Queen of Great Britain (Olivia Colman), and two women who competed for her affection. While a lot more grounded than director Yorgos Lanthimos’s previous films, there is still a sense of heightened absurdity brought to the style and narrative, which effectively enhances the film’s wicked sense of humour and biting social satire about political power and the patriarchy.

Cold War

Joanna Kulig as Zula and Tomasz Kot as Wiktor in Cold War

Cold War is a classic story of an impossible love affair that plays across four decades of 20th century Europe, where two lovers are continually thwarted by the dehumanising and long-lingering effects of war, but are still continually drawn together, often through the overwhelming power of music. Based on the experiences of writer/director Pawel Pawlikowski’s actual parents, this is a bittersweet personal reflection on the recent past that is romantic and bleak, nostalgic and sobering.

Thomas Caldwell, 2018

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An interview with composer Ryuichi Sakamoto

18 December 2018

Ryuichi Sakamoto Coda

Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a long and fascinating career, not just in film composition, but also as an highly influential and prolific ambient and electronic music pioneer, among other things. The documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda by filmmaker Stephen Nomura Schible, was made over five-years and portrays recent key events in Sakamoto’s life including his diagnosis and treatment for stage 3 throat cancer, scoring the 2015 film The Revenant, and his increasing activism against nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

This interview was recorded on Wednesday 18 October 2018 and then played on Triple R (3RRR 102.7FM) on Monday 17 December 2018 as an hour long special that included music from Mr Sakamoto’s films. You can listen back to that special via Triple R’s Radio On Demand service and here:

Download link (running time = 1:01:43)

Thank you to Hi Gloss Entertainment for arranging this interview. Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda will be screening at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image from 27 December 2018 until the 16 January 2019, more details here.

Playlist

‘Father Christmas’
Ryuichi Sakamoto

‘Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence’
Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jaques Morelenbaum and Judy Kang

‘The Last Emperor (Theme)’
Ryuichi Sakamoto

‘Bolerisch (From Femme Fatale)’
Ryuichi Sakamoto

‘M-1’
Eduardo Artemyev

‘Deborah’s Theme’
Ennio Morricone

‘Bibo no Aozora / 04’
Ryuichi Sakamoto

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Films I loved in November 2018

30 November 2018
Shoplifters

Ando Sakura as Shibata Nobuyo, Jyo Kairi as Shibita Shota and Lily Franky as Shibata Osamu in Shoplifters

Shoplifters once again demonstrates writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda’s ability to deliver a warm and leisurely character-driven drama where class and the family unit are gently critiqued without any trace of heavy handedness. The story of a family of petty thieves who take in a young neglected girl to care for as one of their own contains plenty of drama and heartbreak, but it is the sense of humanism and compassion that lingers long after viewing the film that makes it yet another triumph for Koreeda.

The Old Man And The Gun

Sissy Spacek as Jewel and Robert Redford as Forrest Tucker in The Old Man & the Gun

It’s hard to ignore that The Old Man & the Gun is reportedly Robert Redford’s final outing as an actor, as the entire film feels like a homage to his onscreen persona, legacy and the New Hollywood era that helped define him. It’s a fun, sweet and good-natured based-on-a-true story about an elderly gentleman bank robber who finds love. It delivers a loving throwback to the era of counter-culture Hollywood films that celebrated charismatic anti-heroes, where cynicism sat comfortably with star-power charm.

Lean on Pete

Charlie Plummer as Charley in Lean on Pete

Lean on Pete is on the surface a story about a teenage boy bonding with a horse as a response to parental absence, a common theme in films for and about adolescents. In the hands of the masterful British writer/director Andrew Haigh the film is free from sentiment or obvious plot development, and is a sophisticated and subtle character study about the loneliness and quiet despair of a young person in a desperate situation. It’s a slow burn yet mesmerising film that I haven’t stopped thinking about.

Fahrenheit 11:9

Michael Moore in Fahrenheit 11/9

Fahrenheit 11/9 contains a lot less of the levity and stunts that have characterised Michael Moore’s previous works, as it is a much more urgent and angry film. Moore may not present heaps of new information or analysis, but he skilfully and persuasively consolidates a lot of the almost overwhelming details about how Donald Trump’s presidency is both the symptom and cause of the erosion of democracy in the USA. There are some elements of hope, but this is mostly an engaging call-to-arms.

The Children Act

Emma Thompson as Fiona Maye in The Children Act

The main reason to see The Children Act is for Emma Thompson as a British High Court judge contending with her marriage falling apart while she is in the spotlight presiding over a case involving a 17-year-old Jehovah’s Witnesses boy refusing a life-saving blood transfusion. Thompson’s incredible performance aside, this is still a compelling and moving film with a thematically rich script that offers a lot for the audience to unpack without feeling didactic.

Thomas Caldwell, 2018

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Films I loved in October 2018

31 October 2018
First Man

Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Man

The Neil Armstrong biopic First Man is a film of contrasts where the vast emptiness of the moon is juxtaposed with Armstrong’s cramped conditions on Apollo 11, the methodical precision of the space missions sits alongside the emotional upheaval felt by the astronauts’ families, and Armstrong’s stoic outward appearance masks his inner grief. The attention to detail and factual information is balanced perfectly with the film’s more soulful moments, resulting in a glorious blend of drama and sensory spectacle.

Bad Times at the El Royale

Jeff Bridge as Father Daniel Flynn and Cynthia Erivo as Darlene Sweet in Bad Times at the El Royale

Bad Times at the El Royale contains one of my favourite scenarios where a group of strangers filled with secrets converge at a single location and things get increasingly out of control. This felt like a glorious throwback to the mid-1990s where clever, violent and funny genre films were a staple of the American indie scene. However, it doesn’t feel like a homage nor does the narrative dexterity slide into self-awareness or smugness. Instead, the terrific performances and smart filmmaking make it refreshing and fun.

DSC_3773.dng

Bradley Cooper as Jack and Lady Gaga as Ally in A Star Is Born

Similar to the versions that have come before it over the previous decades, the new adaptation of A Star Is Born explores the nature of show-business, fame, addiction and self-expression through a dramatic romance story. The power of this new version comes from both how electrifyingly the musical performances are filmed and the incredible dynamic between its two lead characters, one on the decline and one on the ascent. The result is a thoughtful and empathetic film that is enormously engaging and moving.

Halloween

Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in Halloween

The latest Halloween film operates as a direct sequel to the original 1978 film (bypassing all previous sequels and remakes) both in terms of picking up the story 40 years later and by brilliantly adopting the same style as John Carpenter’s hugely influential slasher classic. The focus is on establishing characters and then using lighting, framing and camera movements to beautifully build tension to gleefully unbearable levels in order to take the audience on a rollercoaster ride of suspense-based horror.

Wajib

Mohammad Bakri as Abu and Saleh Bakri as Shadi in Wajib

Gently unfolding over one day, Wajib follows a Palestinian father and son (played by a real-life father and son) as they drive around Nazareth, Israel, handing out wedding invitations. Through their conversations while alone with each other and while visiting various family and friends, filmmaker Annemarie Jacir explores generational, class and cultural divides with humour, sensitivity and nuance making the film a very accessible insight into some of the complex political tensions in contemporary Israel.

Westwood

Vivienne Westwood in Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist is an energetic documentary about fashion designer Vivien Westwood, celebrating her as trailblazer. There is some great analysis of the punk era and her role in defining the punk look, the focus on her hands-on approach to designing and making clothes brings the process to life, and her reluctance as an interviewee becomes part of the film’s charm. More a reflection of her life and beliefs than a comprehensive biopic, this is a triumphant film about an extraordinary person.

Thomas Caldwell, 2018

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Films I loved in September 2018

29 September 2018
Custody

Thomas Gioria as Julien Besson in Custody

Xavier Legrand follows up his masterful 2013 short film Just Before Losing Everything with Custody, continuing the story of a woman and her children escaping from her abusive husband. Slowly revealing the ways the abuser continues to intimidate his family, the film is a deeply emotional social realist drama with an almost unbearable build-up of tension. Custody is a call to arms about the insidious ways violent and entitled men manipulate others, while also functioning as an expertly crafted thriller.

Don't Worry He Won't Get Far on Foot

Jack Black as Dexter and Joaquin Phoenix as John Callahan in Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot

The biopic Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot is one of the more conventional films by the eclectic and unpredictable filmmaker Gus Van Sant, but it’s also his best film in the past decade. An insightful and often darkly humorous drama about addiction and recovery, its biggest triumph are the performances from supporting actors such as Jonah Hill and Jack Black, as well as Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role as cartoonist John Callahan.

you_were_never_really_here

Joaquin Phoenix as Joe in You Were Never Really Here

Joaquin Phoenix is also the protagonist in the dreamlike and deeply subjective You Were Never Really Here where he plays Joe, a vigilante for hire with a traumatic past who is on a mission to save a young girl. The combination of filmmaker Lynne Ramsay’s stylised direction, which is used to convey Joe’s inner turmoil, combined with Phoenix’s intense performance, heightens the film’s brutal foundations into a powerful sensory and visceral cinematic experience.

Ghosthunter

Jason King in Ghosthunter

Ghosthunter begins as a documentary about a man investigating the paranormal, but quickly evolves into something quite different as he starts to undercover and confront personal demons from his childhood. This is a complex, troubling and powerful film that delves into issues surrounding trauma, abuse and repressed memories. Among the unearthed horrors of the past, there is some humanity and hope for the future, but not without complications, which makes the film all the more richer and challenging.

302154g7nlhhv8

Damian Callinan as Troy Carrington (far left) and other cast in The Merger

Starring and written by the always likeable Damian Callinan, The Merger is about a small-town outcast who tries to save the local football club by enlisting the help of the town’s new refugee population. It’s not exactly subtle in its messaging of community and acceptance, but it doesn’t matter when it’s this heartfelt, not to mention timely. This crowd-pleasing and feel-good Australian comedy also contains some great commentary on sport, mateship and masculinity. And most importantly, it’s very funny.

Beast

Jessie Buckley as Moll in Beast

A troubled young woman living in an oppressive small community has her lust for life awakened when she falls for a mysterious man who may or may not be a serial killer. While not shying away from the thriller aspects inherent in such a scenario, Beast is more a slow burn psychological drama with a focus on atmosphere that allows the film to beautifully transition back and forth between being sensual and sinister as it depicts the excitement and danger of awakening primal desires.

WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR

Fred Rogers in Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Like I suspect many Australians, I’d never heard of the legendary US children’s television host Fred Rogers, but that didn’t stop me from being deeply moved by the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Exploring Rogers’s life, career and more importantly, his philosophy of love and compassion, this film transcends the limitations of most biographical documentaries to present an urgent and compelling message of the power of respect, understanding and kindness for all children and all adults.

The Rider

Brady Jandreau as Brady Blackburn in The Rider

Based on a true story and starring non-professional actors, The Rider is a gentle and mesmerising film set in the American midwest about an upcoming rodeo star adjusting to life after having suffered a serious injury. It presents a perspective of masculinity and rural life that is affectionate and understanding, but not without subtle critical commentary. Sadly not getting a full theatrical release in Australia, The Rider is well worth tracking down through an HD video-on-demand service.

Thomas Caldwell, 2018

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