Mid-Summer Viewing Post
Although the global theatrical box office fell by 80%
in 2020 due to Covid there’s still plenty of screening content being
created. Of course the thing about
streaming is that you do have to turn on an electronic device to select from
the tens of thousands of hours available on various platforms. (On the streaming wars see: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/05/streaming-services-compared-revenue-arpu-for-netflix-disney-more.html.)
Netflix alone seems to add a new series almost every
day. There’s now a bunch on medical
themes; also one for dog lovers and one for cat lovers; two seasons of one on
human babies. There’s even a new
6-episode series How to Become a Tyrant. [*On the Kanopy platform (free
linked to a public library card) one can find the 2018 documentary Active
Measures which covers the deep ties between Putin’s corrupt regime as
Russian overlord and the deeply corrupt Trump empire and campaign. Fortunately Trump’s strongman ambitions were
halted though he continues to be a malign influence on the American body politic.] A new true crime series Heist making
effective use of reenactments is hopefully also not a source of inspiration. Several episodes concern a brazen robbery by
Cuban expats at an airport. Protests in
Cuba are currently making news. So maybe
that’s why Netflix has just added the 8-episode 2016 docuseries The Cuba
Libre Story. It’s a good
introduction to Cuban history (including the fact that Fidel Castro was the
illegitimate son of a wealthy landowner).
The proliferation of streaming choices is not always
time well spent (a better choice might be unplugged with a good book) but
becomes habit forming given so much added video content accessible at any time
of one’s choosing. Not to forget older
material. I’m a big fan of the Turner
Classic Movies (TCM) TV channel, recently watching two of the best
offerings—Frank Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and from Preston
Sturges The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
(1943).
The Cannes film festival, cancelled
last year, did go ahead earlier in July, and of particular note was its
premiere of another documentary series The Story of Film: A New Generation by
the cinephile scholar Mark Cousins who previously created two epic series—the
15-part The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011) and the 14-part Women
Make Film: A New Road Movie through Cinema (2018). This new docuseries
covers the past decade of global filmmaking and I can’t wait to see it. [See
also: https://variety.com/2021/film/global/mark-cousins-the-story-of-film-a-new-generation-1235011727/. For more on the offerings at Cannes see this Indiewire
podcast featuring Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson: https://www.indiewire.com/2021/07/cannes-2021-movies-hype-1234651907/.]
And coming in August and a must for
cinephiles, the platform Hollywood Suite (https://hollywoodsuite.ca/)
will present the Canadian premiere of the superb six-part CNN docuseries The
Movies (A+). Not to be outdone,
Netflix has added a 2019 series The Movies that Made Us and also The
Holiday Movies that Made Us.
Harking back to Hollywood musical
song-and-dance fantasies of yesteryear is a new series on Apple TV+ called Schmigadoon!
(A-) which is the name of a magical place that a young couple find
themselves in. (I had to laugh because “schmig” was the first part of my former
parliamentary email address.) Early
episodes are being added to weekly. It
is light-hearted fun that deserves good reviews such as this one: https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/apple-tvs-schmigadoon-puts-on-a-dazzling-self-aware-show.
Now read on for my take on some other summertime views,
starting with the best.
Summer
of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) (U.S.
2021, Disney +) A+
The
summer of 1969 is best known for the Apollo moon landing and in terms of music
culture the legendary Woodstock festival.
Overlooked for decades was the third Harlem Cultural Festival that took
place on successive summer weekends. It
was all recorded but the video footage languished in a basement for a half
century. Is it because the artists and
the audiences were African American? In
any event, thanks to director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson we can now experience
the highlights that include mesmerizing performances from the likes of Stevie
Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, Nina Simone, and many others—a range of soul,
blues, jazz, pop, gospel and more.
Recall the febrile atmosphere of the times in the wake of
assassinations, the intensity of civil rights and Vietnam war protests. There was also the moon landing though the
huge sums spent on the space race didn’t impress many African Americans. As Variety
critic Owen Glieberman comments: “It’s a music
documentary like no other, because while it’s a joyful, cataclysmic, and
soulfully seductive concert movie, what it’s really about is a key turning
point in Black life in America.” [*Interestingly,
Jimi Hendrix never performed at this “Black Woodstock” while at the other
Woodstock his searing rendition of the American national anthem ranks among its
most indelible moments. For the reasons
why and a video see: https://www.moviemaker.com/summer-of-soul-why-jimi-hendrix-didnt-play-the-black-woodstock/.]
McCartney 3,2,1 (U.S. 2021,
Disney +, see also https://www.paulmccartney.com/) A+
The year’s most anticipated documentary is Peter Jackson’s The
Beatles: Get Back scheduled for release in late November. This 6-episode Hulu production is a wonderful
warm up to why The Beatles songs made such an impact in the 1960s. The set-up is deceptively simple, filmed in
black and white before a recording console as a conversation between producer
Rick Rubin and McCartney, now in his late 70s.
What we get is insight into the creative musical and songwriting genius
that McCartney brought to the best work by this legendary group. Let the
Beatlemania begin.
Roadrunner: A Film about Anthony Bourdain (U.S. 2021) A+
I was delighted to be able to see this on the big screen, a first
in many months. And master documentarian
Morgan Neville’s portrait of the celebrity chef and world traveler does not
disappoint. Although it opens with a brief reflection by Bourdain on death it
barely mentions his suicide in 2018.
Instead we get a full course of his sometimes troubled and always
fascinating adult life. Bourdain was a
complex and contradictory character, a chain-smoking former heroin addict, who
shot to fame with the publication of Kitchen Confidential. The documentary is produced by CNN Films and
I became aware of his culinary prowess and curiosity via the CNN series
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown”. [For
further comment see: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/roadrunner-a-film-about-anthony-bourdain-movie-review-2021. A controversy has arisen
over a brief use of synthesized audio of Bourdain’s voice, about which more
here: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-ethics-of-a-deepfake-anthony-bourdain-voice. I don’t think this detracts from the film’s excellence.]
Beans (Canada 2020, https://www.emafilms.com/en/film/beans/, in theatres) B+
Mohawk filmmaker Tracey Deer was the same age as the 12-year old
Mohawk girl who goes by the nickname “Beans” during the 1990 Oka crisis that
erupted when the town of Oka wanted to transform a forested Mohawk burial
ground into a golf course. The Mohawks
of Kanehsatake south of Montreal joined the protest in solidarity and blockaded
the Mercier bridge leading into the metropolis. Before a settlement was reached
blockades produced armed standoffs and even the spectacle of the Canadian army being
brought in. It was a very ugly and
volatile situation. There were infamous
racist incidents such as the stoning of cars carrying Mohawk women and children. Although Deer inserts a number of archival
sequences of the conflict, this is more a fictionalized coming of age story
focused on first-timer Kiawentiio who excels in the title role. Her mom Lily (Rainbow Dickerson), who gives
birth in the film, wants Beans to attend a private school while her dad (Joel
Montgrand) joins the armed protest group.
That apparent parental difference is never explored however. Indeed the family lives a very middle-class
Anglophone lifestyle, with no dialogue in the Mohawk language. What we get instead are lots of crude taunts,
as well as Mohawk teens hanging out while indulging in underage drinking. None are seen engaging in acts of resistance
or on the barricades. It’s hardly an inspiring
picture. The effects of the crisis as
seen through Beans’ eyes don’t really illuminate any of the issues involved in
the ongoing assertion of Indigenous land rights which is touched on only tangentially.
So while her experience of this summer is dramatically compelling it is also a
missed opportunity.
…
I was also
delighted to see the following fine films on the big screen of Ottawa’s
currently sole repertory cinema, the Mayfair.
(The beloved ByTowne Cinema, now closed, will be opening under new
management this fall.)
The Specials (France 2019,
in theatres) A
Vincent Cassel excels in the role of Bruno Haroche who operates
“La Voix des justes”, a service for severely autistic adults. Government inspectors see an uncertified and
underfunded organization. We see a labor
of love that takes those whom no one else wants. Some of the actors are themselves autistic
and several make a strong impression. Bruno, a Jewish bachelor, goes on occasional blind
dates, all the while remaining completely devoted to those in his care. It’s
that connection that makes this movie, directed by Olivier Nakache and Ėric
Toledano, so special.
Gunda (Norway/UK/US 2020, https://www.gunda.movie/, in theatres) A
Director Viktor Kossakovskiy’s meditation on the barnyard lives of
farm animals, filmed in black and white with no narration, opens with a
long-held shot of the titular subject, a large snoozing sow looking out from a
wooden enclosure. Gradually some of her newborn piglets emerge stumbling over
the straw and Gunda rouses herself to maternal duty with low grunts and
snorts. We see other creatures as well,
including a chicken hopping on one leg and a bunch of cows. I grew up on a farm that had pigs, chickens,
and cattle and loved being with animals. But one doesn’t need to have farm
experience or be a vegan (like executive producer Joaquin Phoenix) to
appreciate this sentient life that sometimes looks back at you. Of course the
piglets grow. And at the end, when we
see Gunda’s brood being loaded and shipped off, it’s as if the intrusion of a
mechanical device operated by an unseen human breaks the spell, leaving behind
an agitated and bereft Gunda pacing the empty yard. The empathetic effect shifts from scenes that
are entrancingly observational to one that is disturbing. Such is the cycle of
life on the farm.
Minari (U.S. 2020, in theatres and on demand through Amazon Prime Video)
A
Since this semi-auto-biographical fourth feature from director Lee
Isaac Chung premiered many months ago at the January 2020 Sundance festival it
has received deserved accolades. A
Korean family of four—dad Jacob (Steven Yeun), mom Monica (Yeri Han), pre-teen
daughter Anne (Noel Cho) and little brother David (Alan Kim)—move from
California to a small farm in Arkansas (actually filmed in Oklahoma) where they
try to grow Korean vegetables. They seem to fit in, attending a Christian
church with a helpful neighbour Paul (Will Patton) who is a Christian
fanatic. The parents have been supplementing
their income by sexing chicks at a hatchery.
It’s no easy life. David wets his bed and has a heart ailment. He complains when Monica’s mother Soonja
(Yuh-Jung Youn) comes to live with them.
The title comes from the seeds of “minari”, a herbaceous plant used in
Korean cusine, that she has brought with her and plants successfully beside a
creek. The family is severely tested when the grandmother has a stroke and the
fruits of much farm labour go up in smoke.
It’s an affecting immigrant family drama that doesn’t gloss over the
hardships that come with their American dream.
The Map to Paradise (Australia
2018, Sundance Now) A
This excellent documentary explores the global movement to
safeguard ocean ecosystems and marine species.
It’s available on Sundance Now which, like BBC Earth, is a channel that
can be added through Amazon Prime Video.
Check out the film’s website at: https://www.themaptoparadise.com/#indexpg1. [*Sundance Now offers a
number of great series, especially the five seasons of the outstanding French
drama The Bureau.]
No
Sudden Move (U.S. 2021, on Crave) B+
Director
Steven Soderbergh supposedly quit filmmaking some years back but the hiatus
didn’t last long. This passable crime
drama, set in 1950s Detroit, was even filmed during the pandemic with
Soderbergh using pseudonyms to serve as his own cinematographer and editor. The
story includes a tangle of convoluted tangents but the main thread involves
skullduggery and corruption inside the automotive industry. A mob boss named Frank (Ray Liotta) gets
hired to track down a missing secret document containing a game-changing
prototype design. (Hint: something to do
with exhaust pollution control.) Frank engages some thugs (played by Don
Cheadle and Benicio Del Toro) who hold at gunpoint the family of auto executive
Matt (David Harbour) with access to the company safe. Matt is also having an affair with his
secretary, which may or may not be relevant. Then there’s Jon Hamm making an
appearance as detective Joe trying to get to the bottom of the scheme. No
worries if the stolen document plot is sometimes secondary to the pleasures of
appreciating the evocative period production design and watching and ensemble
of fine actors inhabit their roles.
Joji (India, 2021, Amazon
Prime Video) B
This
drawn-out drama directed by Dileesh Pothan is intermittently absorbing without
leaving much of a lasting impression.
The titular central character of Joji (Fahadh Faasil) is the son of a
wealthy family. An engineering drop-out lacking ambition he is seen as a
loser. That sets up the narrative of
Joji’s dim prospects within a context of strained family dynamics. For the details of these see this commentary:
https://moviesofthesoul.com/2021/04/08/joji/.
A
Quiet Place Part II (U.S. 2021, Amazon Prime Video) C+
This
sci-fi horror sequel is from director and co-writer John Krasinski who also
takes the role of the dad of the Abbott family as planet earth is overrun by
rampaging clicking multi-tentacled aliens triggered by sound. Hence the deaf have the advantage of
communicating through sign language.
Krasinski’s dad role disappears early on without explanation. But the family soon chances upon another male
protector Emmett (a bearded Cillian Murphy).
Mom Evelyn (Emily Blunt) is holding a baby (no wailing please!) and
accompanied by kids Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Regan (Millicent Simmonds, who is
actually hearing impaired). The horrible
aliens are a constant danger though apparently not invulnerable to a well-aimed
shotgun blast and it seems they may not be able to swim, leading to a late
survivor-possible plot twist. They are
very sneaky stowaways, however, worse than a spreading Covid plague; also
vaccines won’t help. Very creepy and
completely bonkers as dystopias go, just so you know what to expect.
The
Tomorrow War (U.S. 2021, Amazon Prime Video) C
Serving
up more fact-free fears for the future is this egregious waste of $200 million. Maybe the excess of noisy explosive nonsense
would look more awesome on the big screen.
Spectacle is all this lunatic dystopia has to offer. Chris McKay helms a
ridiculous sci-fi tale of present-day humans being chosen through a global
draft and then thrust (via a “jump link”) to serve a tour of duty on the
battlefield of a future war (circa 2051).
No pressure. It’s only an
extinction-level event to save humanity from annihilation from a deadly
invasion by ghastly ravening multi-tentacled alien hordes known as “white
spikes” (computer-generated of course).
Anyway, the leading character among the draftees is an Iraq war vet
turned school teacher named Dan Forester, fitted with a tracking device and
played with grim resolve by Chris Pratt.
A commander of some sort, Col. Muri Forester is played by Yvonne
Strahovski (best known for her role as “Serena” in The Handmaid’s Tale TV
series). Throw in some dad-daughter and
son-dad issues (J.K. Simmons is the grandad). Also, as befits the genre lots of stuff get
blown up. If monstrous aliens are going to come after us, why panic over
pandemics or worry about parts of the planet becoming uninhabitable from
climate change by mid-century? Or just
forget the questions and turn off one’s brain.
Watch at your own risk.
Bliss
(U.S.
2021, Amazon Prime Video) C-
From
writer-director Mike Cahill (who showed some promise with his debut feature Another
Earth) this is an even sillier sci-fi fantasy. The leading man Greg Wittle (Owen Wilson,
shifting hair colour between brown and blonde) is a doodling divorced office
drone who gets fired and accidentally kills his boss at “Technical
Difficulties”. Thereafter he encounters a very weird street dweller Isabel
(Salma Hayek) with telekinetic powers that Greg also seems to acquire. There’s some nonsense about druggy coloured
crystals and matrix-like questioning over what is real and what is a computer
simulation. There’s a utopic sequence,
holographic apparitions, even an appearance by Bill Nye “the science guy” which
unfortunately doesn’t help any of it to make sense. Or maybe, instead of blissed out we’ve just
been inside Greg’s head having a very bad trip?
So much for bliss.
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