I don’t usually discuss my opinions on Netflix films I haven’t seen in the cinema unless there is a lot I want to say about them or I’m bored on a train journey. Both are true today, so let’s talk about Charlie Kaufman’s film.
We start off this 134 minute film with a car journey as our two protagonists the woman and man are just talking. The woman is monologuing in her mind about how she wants to end the relationship and it’s a little bit creepy as the man almost seems to hear her thoughts. Does he have the shinning (Not the shining, we don’t want to get sued)? Anyway they then go through this long 20 minute conversation about some pretentious shit which is as entertaining as your usual Kenny Jackett brand of football. These characters are pretentious, which means pretentious film snobs might like them because “Oh they’re like me”, but frankly to the rest of the world they’re kind of… you know…
With an opening shot of our protagonist hanging out in a group of 6, with the Gherkin and the city in the background, we get an immediate look into the stark differences that London can offer. It can offer wealth and fortune for some, but poverty and hardship for others, such as many young people in East London. But what it does offer those without much is a real sense of community. It’s that community which makes Rocks such an endearing watch.
It’s thematically similar to the 2012 Tom Hooper musical, but shorter and has no Russel Crowe singing. Therefore, it is fully deserving of its perfect grade: [Grade: A+]
I like the idea that someone who hasn’t read my blog and assumes I summarise my thoughts at the beginning will think “What a waste of time” and click off the website and never read it again as it clearly has no substance. While that may be true, I like to think I’m not that bad and for believing this blog hasn’t totally gone to pot, I reward(?) you with a proper review of the 2019 version of Les Miserables, now out in cinemas, a film which was nominated for best international film at the Oscars.
Named after, and thematically similar to the Victor Hugo book/Tom Hooper musical with Hugh Jackman et al, the plot of Ladj Ly’s debut film is somewhat different to it. Inspired by the Paris riots. the film takes place just after France won the world cup (Why didn’t Kane square it to Sterling?), we are introduced to three policeman, team head Chris, Gwada and the new recruit Greaser. The first half of the film sees a tour of one of Paris’ poor predominantly black neighbourhoods, meeting all of the key characters and seeing increasingly suspect policing methods from Chris and a lion cub going missing. We get a feeling on increased tension, all leading to an arrest going wrong and the resulting fall out of it when the police realise a boy with a drone has been filming.
In a week’s time I will be 24. As a twenty four year old, what have I achieved? What special talents to I have? Why am I having such a terribly existential crisis? Well, that’s because this week’s film Away was written, animated, cinematographed and had a score composed for it by one man, Gints Zibalodis who was 25 when he released Away, a film which has been released across UK Cinemas this week.
Away is a rather unique animated film. Much like The Red Turtle, there is no dialogue at all. The film starts with a boy stuck in a parachute in a tree. We have no context of how he got there. Quickly he is found by this translucent king-kong esque mysterious figure. Sensing the danger, boy runs away and finds himself in a cave where he befriends a small yellow bird who cant fly. Together they will attempt to survive on this island and find civilisation, while the creature ominously follows the boy slowly.
Despite the creeping spectre of death, the film feels really calm. It goes at a slow pace and the moments of mild threat are intermittent compared to the moments of vivid beauty the film offers. The art style is tonally different to other films on the market, playing more like an independent video game. There are few details, which makes the most wonderful moments stand out even more. The limited details almost allow for extra grandeur. The different polygonal shades give a real sense of light and a vivid spectrum of colour.
The lack of expression on the characters faces mean you only gain context and emotion from action and body language. It’s the epitome of look don’t say film making and it works well. You know how to feel and you do feel that way. This is only helped by a fantastically mysterious soundtrack, again produced by Mr Zibalodis, creating an atmospheric world to explore.
Summary
A film for an acquired taste, but if you let Away take you on a journey, you will be transported on a wonderful meditative journey. One of the most unique, stylistic films of the year, it’s well worth a watch. [Grade: B+]
I was talking to some super fans of South West London’s eighteenth best film blog.They said they only really read the beginning and maybe the end, skipping the middle, which in my opinion is actually the only part of the blog with substance. Then I got thinking… What if I started the blog with the middle, then the end, then go back to the beginning, then the end again and then the middle, ending with the beginning. No, that would be convoluted and difficult.
Tenet is a film which starts in the middle, then the end, then goes back to the beginning, then the end again and then the middle, ending with the beginning*. Described very loosely as Inception with time by some people I think it’s an oversimplification, however it catches the style of the film pretty well. The film sees John David Washington’s protagonist sacrifice himself in an epic opening scene, before he survives and is picked up by a mysterious organisation who tell him to use the word “Tenet” sometimes. I mean, he only used it once, so it was hardly important, however it was a palindrome and a convenient mysterious title. Anyway, he must investigate bullets which are inverted, i.e. they travel from the wall they were shot at back into the gun when it’s fired. Soon this escalates and he and Robert Patterson go to save the world with the power of some form of time travel.
The Film Ramble 