The Two Popes (UK/Italy/Argentina/US
2019)
Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (City of God), working from a sharp-witted
script by Anthony McCarten, is also blessed by two veteran actors in peak
form—Anthony Hopkins as Pope Benedict XV1 and Jonathan Pryce (speaking Spanish
like a native) as his successor Pope Francis—the first from the Third World
where most Catholics live. The
resignation of Benedict in 2013 was an unexpected historic turn which paved the
way for the selection of the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who had
earlier been passed over and had wanted to retire. It also marked a momentous shift
from the rather rigid doctrinaire and academic approach of Benedict, the former
German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (a solitary figure, “watchdog of the faith”), to
a more pastoral and progressive reforming one exuding care for humanity. As Francis has said: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has
been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being
confined and from clinging to its own security.”
The
very first scene shows Francis trying to book his own flight, simply as Jorge
Bergoglio, to Lampedusa, the Italian island at the centre of the perilous
Mediterranean refugee crossing crisis from which he will later call out the
“globalization of indifference”. The
next scene is of Bergoglio, as cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires, warmly
connecting with residents of a poorer area.
This is the lead in to his 2012 trip to Rome where he meets Benedict in
the papal summer residence for the purpose of resignation. They have a lengthy, sometimes argumentative,
private conversation. But not only does
Benedict refuse Bergoglio’s request, he confesses his personal doubts (“perhaps
I need a spiritual hearing aid”) and turns the tables. Recalled to the Vatican, the two are alone in
the Sistine chapel when Benedict confides his
intention to resign the papacy.
This
middle section offers further flashbacks to Bergoglio’s personal history in
Argentina (recreations with Juan MinujÃn playing the younger man, along with
bits of archival footage). Included are his
most troubled periods as superior of the Jesuit order during the military
dictatorship when priests inspired by liberation theology were targeted and
tortured. Bergoglio subsequently underwent a period of internal exile and
introspection. However from these
testing experiences and deep regrets for not “doing enough”, he emerged to
become an advocate for socio-economic justice in touch with the common people. He became known for a humble simplicity which
he carried with him into accepting the bigger challenge of the universal church.
The
movie includes some details of the papal selection process (using a recreation
of the Sistine chapel) and there are allusions to Vatican politics and
scandals. But its heart is in the revealing
conversations between the two men which are sometimes frank, occasionally
humorous, always engaging. As much as Benedict and Francis are studies in
contrast coming from different worldviews, they reach a respectful
understanding and mutual affection (that includes sharing small pleasures like
a good pizza, or watching a soccer match over the closing credits). Hopkins and
Pryce do an outstanding job of conveying this on a deeply human level, of which
the camera captures every detail and nuance, and for which both deserve Oscar nominations.
The
content is so rich that I’ve benefited from seeing The Two Popes twice on the big screen. A must-see, following a limited
December theatrical release it will start streaming on Netflix December
20. A+
The Cave (Syria/Denmark/Germany/Qatar/US
2019 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/films/the-cave/#/)
Intrepid filmmaker Feras Fayyad’s
previous effort, 2017’s Last Men in
Aleppo, which focused on members of the first-responder civil defence
rescue force known as the “white helmets”, earned a grand jury prize at
Sundance and an Oscar nomination. This
film documenting another aspect of the Syrian tragedy is also receiving many
awards (including the Toronto film festival’s “people’s choice” for
documentary). Equally heart-and-gut-wrenching,
it is a testament to all involved and to that which must never be
forgotten. With the so-called Islamic
State losing its territory and the tyrannical Assad regime regaining control of
the country, there is a danger of the horrors of the nine-year Syrian civil war
receding into the rearview mirror as the world’s attention shifts elsewhere.
This
time the main subject is a young female physician Dr. Amani Ballour, a
specialist in pediatrics, working with a handful of other medical
professionals, some students, to try to save lives during the five years that
the 400,000 people of eastern Ghouta were besieged. As the area is relentlessly pounded from
above by regime and Russian warplanes, we hear the screaming roar that announces
another wave of civilian casualties including children. Hospitals are also hit,
hence the resort to excavating underground bunker-like tunnels for treatment
and refuge—the “cave” of the title. The
camera lens bears firsthand witness to the tireless efforts taking place under these
dangerous and dire conditions. Lacking
anesthetics, a smartphone plays music during surgeries. Layers of humanity
emerge beyond the emergencies. In a fleeting moment of relief, staff pause to celebrate
Dr. Amani’s 30th birthday. Even under extreme circumstances there
have been questions about her lead role (twice elected the hospital’s managing
director) given how in a conservative Muslim society men have used religion as
a means of power and control. Her
tireless example shines through in every scene.
What
is most striking is how the doctors and nurses carry on through the life-and-death
situations facing a defenceless trapped population. So much pain, suffering, trauma, and
destruction. So much evil that compels
one to ask—where is the justice for these crimes against humanity? The film closes with the 2018 evacuation of
Ghouta in the wake of chemical chlorine gas attacks as the regime re-imposed its
authority over the devastated enclave. A final image evokes the millions of
Syrians who have fled their homeland and the thousands of refugees who have
died in the attempt. A phrase uttered early on “Is God really watching?” hangs
over everything to which Amani and others like her bear witness. And in them is the only grace to be found in
this hell on earth. A+
For Sama (UK/Syria
2019 https://www.forsamafilm.com/)
Another extraordinary firsthand witness
to the Syrian conflict from a female perspective this film premiered at the
South By Southwest Festival in March where it received both the grand jury and
audience wards. It went on to win a
“golden eye” award at Cannes and numerous others since. Behind the camera is Waad al-Kateab, a young
woman economics student at the university of Aleppo when she joined the
revolutionary ferment against the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship. Those hopes of
liberation would soon be dashed as the rebel-held area of the city was besieged
and blasted by Russian and regime airstrikes (include by helicopters dropping
barrel bombs and chlorine gas). One of the few remaining doctors is Hamza whose
wife has fled. He and al-Kateab fall in
love, get married and have a daughter named Sama (Arabic for “sky”). The infant is an inspiration for al-Kateab to
keep going with her video record of all that is happening around them as even
hospitals are bombarded, salvaging small moments of humanity amid the terror.
Be
warned that there are many extremely graphic and disturbing images—of dead
mutilated bodies, of catastrophic injuries to civilians including to children.
The scenes of destruction are almost apocalyptic. Yet the focus on this tiny
family unit keeps a sliver of hope alive amid the trauma. As regime forces
close in Hamza, al-Kateab (pregnant with a second daughter) and Sama are safely
evacuated and later receive asylum in the UK where al-Kateab now works for
Channel 4, a producing partner in the film. With British co-director Edward
Watts hundreds of hours of rough and raw video footage has been shaped into a
tightly compelling 95-minute first-person account. The emotional power comes from that intimacy
and immediacy. Don’t expect a wider analysis of the Syrian conflict following a
linear chronology. (For example,
al-Kateab’s observation at one point that the rebellion has been taken over by
“Islamic extremists” is never explored.) The importance of a film like this is
to continue to disturb the world’s conscience.
Because although Aleppo may be back in Assad’s control, the evidence of
the regime’s crimes against humanity manifest through this family’s story can
never be erased. (For Sama was first
broadcast on PBS Frontline in mid-November.
It can be viewed online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jFHbo0Cgu8). A
Waves (US
2019)
Indie writer-director Trey Edward Shults
burst on the scene with his 2015 debut feature Krisha that earned a grand jury and audience award at the South By
Southwest festival. This third feature about
an African-American south Florida suburban family of four has also been making
waves since its late August premiere at the Telluride festival. The opening minutes’ kinetic camera and
propulsive score emphasize the fast life of the son, high-school senior
wrestling star Tyler (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), sporting close-cropped hair dyed
platinum blonde. We get a taste of the amped-up
audiovisual style that recurs in later scenes, at times with a quasi-psychedelic
vibe suggesting unstable emotional terrain.
Pushed
by his hard-driving dad, Tyler ignores an injury that cuts short his athletic
ambitions. He also fights with his pregnant Latino girlfriend Alexis (Alexa
Demie). Increasingly aggressive and reckless, Tyler lashes out with tragic
consequences at a prom night party. A
promising future careens out of control into a prison statistic. The narrative then shifts to his younger
sister Emily (Canadian-born Taylor Russell) who develops a relationship with a
white student Luke (Lucas Hedges) while the strains increase between her
stepmom and dad. As Emily and Luke grow
closer both are dealing with emotional burdens; in Luke’s case a deadbeat dad
dying of cancer. Shults has a feel for
the tone of the typical-teen register (from casual swearing to obsessive phone
texting). He and cinematographer Drew Daniels throw a lot at the screen with
storylines and mood pieces that overlap without coming to any resolution. The effect is frequently jarring and
unsettling (no doubt intentionally).
While not for everyone, the movie deserves credit for taking chances
that challenge a more conventional narrative structure of parental-teen
melodrama. B+
Knives Out (US
2019 https://knivesout.movie/)
The mystery genre is a change of pace
for writer-director Rian Johnson who helmed 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi and he has great fun with it. The setting is a lavish gothic mansion
belonging to Harlan Thrombey (Canadian thespian Christopher Plummer), a wealthy
successful writer of murder mysteries. The morning after a celebration of his
85th birthday he’s found with his throat slashed still holding the
knife. Two rather dim investigating
police detectives interview family members in front of a large centerpiece
composed of a circular arrangement of daggers.
While they seem satisfied it was a suicide, also on the scene is a
private sleuth Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig affecting a southern drawl) who’s
been engaged by an anonymous source.
The
Thrombey family members are a rather awful dissembling bunch. Businesswoman
daughter Linda (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her faithless husband Richard (Don
Johnson) have a “black sheep” son Ransom (Chris Evans) who suspiciously doesn’t
attend the funeral. Hapless son Walt (Michael Shannon) has been running the
writer’s publishing house. Daughter-in-law Joni (Toni Colette) has been taking
advantage of the old man’s generosity for years. A teenage grandson is
described as an “alt-right troll”—just one among the allusions to contemporary America.
The other key figure is Harlan’s devoted nurse caregiver Marta (Ana de Armas),
a South American immigrant who worries about her undocumented mother. In charge
of administering Harlan’s medications, what was her role on the fateful
night? Was Harlan in on it? Who destroys
the evidence? Who sends a blackmail note? Who hired Blanc? Clues or red herrings? Things really hit the
fan with the family when Harlan’s changed will leaves everything to Marta.
There
isn’t much buildup of Hitchcockian suspense in this affair, the cleverness of which
lies in its scattering of details. The
result is still a very entertaining ensemble. Harlan would no doubt have
enjoyed the disturbing effects of his demise.
A-
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