South Korean writer-director Bong Joon
Ho received the coveted Palme d’Or for this savage caricature of class divides
and duplicity in a status-conscious society.
The consummate con artists are the Kim family foursome of slovenly
scroungers living in a messy sub-basement apartment and eking out a marginal
living by folding pizza boxes. The con
begins when a friend of the son Ki-Woo goes to study abroad and recommends
Ki-Woo to be a replacement English tutor for Da-hye, the high-school daughter
of the Parks, an affluent family of four living in a palatial landscaped
residence. Her kid brother Da-Song is a
hyperactive handful obsessed with pretending to be an Indian. Ki-Woo had his sister Ki-jung forge his
academic credentials. He then recommends her to give “art therapy” to the
precocious boy. Ki-Woo is called “Kevin” and Ki-Jung “Jessica” as she in turn
schemes to have the Park’s chauffeur fired and her dad Ki-taek hired as their
driver. The shameless targeting is
complete when the Kims use an unfortunate allergy to get rid of the longtime
housekeeper—she had served the previous owner occupant, a noted
architect—installing mother Kim Chung-sook in her place.
We
revel in how the conniving Kims are able to exploit the extreme gullibility of
their rich employers, especially Mrs. Park Yeon-kyo with her precious three
little dogs. When the Parks leave on a
camping trip, the Kims enjoy their house with abandon. That is until the return of the dumped
housekeeper who has a living secret hidden in the mansion’s subterranean
passages. A series of frantic scenes ensue capped by the Parks returning early
from their trip. Still the Kims manage to sneak out—into a driving rainstorm
that floods their apartment as sewers back up, sending them to a shelter. The next day the unsuspecting Parks throw a
fancy birthday party for the boy that turns into a riotous sequence of the
blackest bloodiest comedy imaginable. The aftermath ends on a note of upended
irony.
These
layers of satire are richly developed as parasitical members of the underclass
conspire to dupe the elite of a parasitical society and fight among themselves.
Combining hilarity and horror, the movie
doesn’t pull its punches. The performances are all superb, as is the musical
score that matches the mood of each scene. One of the year’s best, it’s not to
be missed. A
The King (UK/Hungary/Australia
2019)
This historical epic from Australian
director David Michôd may benefit from being seen on the theatrical wide screen
but will be streaming on Netflix from November 1. The setting is early 15th century
Britain beset by internal strife. The wastrel Prince of Wales, Prince “Hal”,
played by the willowy Timothée Chalamet, appears first as no one’s idea of a
robust warrior and is due to be passed over for the succession to the
throne. But then he rouses himself and
slays the rebellious Hotspur in single combat.
After Hal’s favoured younger brother is killed, Hal, sobered up and with
a severe new pageboy haircut, becomes King Henry V. He’s soon wasting no time asserting his
dominion as a ruthless suspicious absolute monarch. Goaded into invading France by royal
advisors, clergy and nobles, Henry brings along his trusted hard-drinking confidant
Sir John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton, also co-writer of the script). The latter’s
strategy famously prevails in the mudbath battle of Agincourt against a larger
force led by the insolent dauphin (a long-haired sneering Robert Pattinson
affecting a French accent). Although Falstaff doesn’t survive to enjoy the
result, the victorious Henry brings back the French king’s daughter as a bride
and takes a stab (quite literally) at treachery in his own court. All hail the king? It’s been 30 years since Kenneth Branagh’s far
more stirring 1989 screen adaption of Shakespeare’s Henry V with Branagh himself in the title role. Notwithstanding the
expense lavished on period details, costumes and ghastly battle scenes, this
version lacks a compelling purpose. B-
The Lighthouse (US/Canada
2019)
Robert Pattinson has a much meatier role
as the character of Ephraim Winslow in this dark and stormy seaside tale by director
Robert Eggers from a script co-written with his brother Max. The setting is the
1890s in a remote New England lighthouse (actually a set created in Nova
Scotia). Winslow joins a gruff salty older seaman Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe)
doing a long stint in this isolated outpost.
Wake has Winslow toil as an apprentice underling while he is sole guardian
of the precious light. They are an odd
couple cooped up in a claustrophobic space while gales howl outside, aggressive
seagulls bring ill omens, and superstitions arise from the depths. Shadowy black
and white cinematography using vintage lenses and a squarish aspect ratio add
to the foreboding mood and sense of confinement veering into madness. Pattinson and Dafoe play off one another
brilliantly and Eggers (The Witch)
proves once again to be the master of the menacing mise-en-scène. A-
Queen of Hearts (Denmark/Sweden
2019)
Director and co-writer May el Toukhy’s
searing family drama received a world cinema audience award at this year’s
Sundance film festival. The narrative is
driven by a fearless performance from great Danish actress Trine Dyrholm who
literally bares all. She plays Anne, a
lawyer who works on troubled situations including on behalf of young victims of
sexual assault. Mother to young twin
daughters she has a comfortable existence with physician husband Peter (Magnus
Krepper). That is until the teenage Gustav (Gustav Lindh), Peter’s son from a
previous marriage, comes from Stockholm to live with them. Peter feels responsibility for a son he has
neglected but the arrangement isn’t the happiest. And at first Gustav’s
relations with the middle-aged Anne are at best wary if not frosty. She also holds over his head a break in at
their house. But then something about Gustav’s bold physical presence awakens a
carnal desire in Anne. She strays into
dangerous territory by seducing him.
Anne knows how wrong this is but can’t seem to stop herself even as the
risks increase and her sister guesses what’s been going on. When Gustav spills
the secret of their illicit liaison, Anne reacts with furious dissembling and
denial to protect herself and her marriage. Gustav is abandoned and banished. A transgressive tale with tragic
consequences, this is definitely for adult viewing only due to explicit scenes.
B+
Dolemite is My Name (US
2019)
Also now streaming on Netflix, Craig
Brewers’ crude and lewd biopic stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore who created
the character of “Dolemite” and achieved success as a middle-aged foul-mouthed
comedian with Black audiences in the 1970s.
As the act caught on Moore’s ambition led him to make the first in a
series of ultra-low-budget blaxploitation movies. As ineptly made and trashy as they were,
inner-city Black audiences made them commercial hits. With his in-your-face
“Dolemite” patter Moore even became known as the “godfather of rap”. It’s an outrageously true story which Murphy
and an ensemble of good actors indulge with every twist. But watch only if you
have a high tolerance for pervasive vulgarity. C
Comments
Post a Comment