Invisible cinema

It is so common to hear complaints that a given cinema year is dull. Yet, a person lazily applies the dull tag by only looking at a handful of movies playing in a cinema near them. If a person is not lucky enough to live in New York, Toronto (to some extent) or a select city, then chances are they will only have access to Hollywood films in their local cinema. Last year, I went to Cardiff and naively hoped that I would get a chance to see some British or European films in local theaters. Yet, every single theater was playing the same Hollywood movie hogging the theaters back home in Canada. In brief travels around the world in the last few years, I have found the same Hollywood films playing in Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, London, Delhi, Mumbai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok at the same time. There was a slight difference in Paris & Spain in that a given Hollywood film was dubbed in French and Spanish respectively but the same product existed in all these places. The pattern seems to be that as more multiplexes are built around the world, only Hollywood films can provide enough prints to book up all the screens. Some countries such as India, South Korea, Brazil, France and Japan are able to hold their own against Hollywood but even in these countries, it is the commercial titles that occupy the multiplex screen. In Delhi and Mumbai, Bollywood rules the multiplex while an Independent Indian film (yes, shockingly there is such a thing) struggles to get screen time. Same goes in America where indie cinema has a tough job edging out the muscular Hollywood machine.

There is clearly a horrible imbalance in the ratio of Hollywood vs indie films on theater screens not only across North America but around the world. Yet with the exception of a few film blogs, one rarely finds mention of this imbalance. So A.O. Scott’s new article is more than welcome:

And the Oscars reinforce this, frequently ignoring accessible and entertaining movies from other countries and settling on a frequently random-seeming list of finalists.

Scott tackles this variance by using the foreign film category in the Oscars as an example. The foreign film category begs to be expanded as many great films from around the world need more attention. Also, he questions the one film rule per country which really needs to be removed in this day and age of co-productions:

For some reason, the Academy insists on a one-film-per-country rule, which places a large part of the decision-making process in the hands of film industries at least as corrupt and agenda-driven as our own. Why should “Of Gods and Men” have been France’s only shot? And what determines the nationality of a film in any case? Why is Rachid Bouchareb’s “Outside the Law” an Algerian rather than a French film, given that its director is a French citizen and that it was made with mostly French financing and therefore within that country’s extensive legal statutes governing cinematic production? And what makes "Biutiful," shot in Barcelona with a Spanish cast, a Mexican film?

Another example that comes to mind is who between Germany and Austria can claim the brilliant film The Robber as their own? There is clearly a lot of lobbying and discussion that goes on in each nation as to which film should be submitted as a sole representative. For example, every year the question in India does not seem to be which is the best film of the year but rather which film has the best shot to get nominated for an Oscar. This question has certainly gained prominence in the last decade ever since Lagaan got a surprize nomination.

While there is a shortage of foreign/indie films at local theaters, it is not all doom and gloom. Thankfully, some of this great world cinema can be found via film festivals, DVDs and online. Scott highlights this as well:

Their work is almost invisible here, though it commands a fair amount of attention in the flourishing and contentious cinephile wing of the blogosphere. But it is nonetheless available to anyone with the curiosity and patience to navigate the new, fast-evolving cosmos of V.O.D. and streaming Web video.

I like to believe that theater owners will book a non Hollywood film if the movie will make them money. An award and a nomination for a foreign film will certainly go a long way in helping theater owners make that decision, as will a film’s success at various international film festivals. Also, if a foreign film is a box-office hit in its native country, then that will also increase the film’s chances of getting some screens in a North American multiplex. Yet, such awards and box-office success only greets just a few out of the thousands of foreign films that get made every year.

We are supposed to be living in an open world of limited boundaries yet theaters in North America appear to be firmly closed to the world. There is a line in Saul Bellow’s novel The Dean’s December along the lines of "For God’s Sake, open the universe a little more!". So taking that line as an inspiration:

For God’s Sake, open your theater doors a little more and let in the world.

and...a nudge towards film programmers:

If you book it, people will come.

They may not come in droves at first but a few will appear to see what this Carlos movie is all about. Then slowly others will follow. But the average person has much better taste than what film producers and distributors like to think.

2010 Foreign Language Film Oscar Candidates

I have seen 9 of the 65 candidates in the foreign film category for the 83rd Academy Awards. That is a decent number considering that only Peepli Live received a proper theatrical release and the remaining 8 just had a single screening on the film festival circuit:

Canada, Incendies, Denis Villeneuve;
Colombia, Crab Trap, Oscar Ruiz Navia;
Finland, Steam of Life, Joonas Berghall and Mika Hotakainen;
Germany, When We Leave, Feo Aladag;
Greece, Dogtooth, Yorgos Lanthimos;
India, Peepli [Live], Anusha Rizvi;
Kyrgyzstan, The Light Thief, Aktan Arym Kubat;
Thailand, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Apichatpong Weerasethakul;
Uruguay, La Vida Util, Federico Veiroj;

A handful of the 56 remaining films will get Canadian theatrical/DVD distribution but most likely a majority of the films will disappear if they do not get a nomination.

Here are some of the titles that I am most interested in and hopefully they will see the light of day in Canada later this year, be it in a theater or on DVD. Biutiful is already slated for a February Canadian theatrical release and after last night's win at the Golden Globes, In a Better World will likely get a theatrical run. I missed seeing The Temptation of St. Tony and Street Days at Rotterdam last year but both titles look very promising.

Argentina, Carancho, Pablo Trapero;
China, Aftershock, Feng Xiaogang;
Denmark, In a Better World, Susanne Bier;
Estonia, The Temptation of St. Tony, Veiko Ounpuu;
France, Of Gods and Men, Xavier Beauvois;
Georgia, Street Days, Levan Koguashvili;
Mexico, Biutiful, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu;
Peru, Undertow (Contracorriente), Javier Fuentes-Leon;
Portugal, To Die Like a Man, Joao Pedro Rodrigues;
Romania, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, Florin Serban;
Russia, The Edge, Alexey Uchitel;
Turkey, Bal (Honey), Semih Kaplanoglu;

note: Undertow is already available in the UK on DVD.

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[Update, Jan 20 2011]

9 films have been shortlisted and it is not surprizing to see Incendies, In a Better World and Biutiful in that list. However, Dogtooth stands out as the most radical choice.

Algeria -- Outside the Law
Canada -- Incendies
Denmark -- In a Better World
Greece -- Dogtooth
Japan -- Confessions
Mexico -- Biutiful
South Africa -- Life Above All
Spain -- Even the Rain
Sweden -- Simple Simon

Film Log: 2011

Total number of features (fiction and docs) & TV series collections seen: 381

This total includes 8 DVD season collections of the following TV series:

Mad Men, Seasons 1-4
Breaking Bad, Season 1
An Idiot Abroad, Season 1
The IT Crowd, Season 2
Tinker, Tailor, Traitor, Spy, the complete BBC Series

Film (Year, Country, Director): [optional rating out of 10]

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Soul Kitchen (2009, Germany, Fatih Akin)
The Wind Journeys (2009, Colombia co-production, Ciro Guerra)
Aladdin (1992, USA, Ron Clements/John Musker)
I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009, USA, Chris Columbus)
Madeinusa (2006, Peru/Spain, Claudia Llosa)
Rakht Charitra, part 2 (2010, India, Ram Gopal Varma): 6
Tequila Nights (2010, India, Pankaj Saraswat)
Do Dooni Chaar (2010, India, Habib Faisal): 10
A Call Girl (2009, Slovenia co-production, Damjan Kozole)
The Great Match (2006, Spain/Germany, Gerardo Olivares)
Black God White Devil (1964, Brazil, Glauber Rocha)
Away with Words (1999, Hong Kong co-production, Christopher Doyle)
Happy Together (1997, Hong Kong, Wong Kar Wai)
Please Give (2010, USA, Nicole Holofcener)
El Don (2006, Venezuela, José Ramón Novoa)
It is Fine. Everything is Fine! (2007, USA, Crispin Glover/David Brothers)
Flipped (2010, USA, Rob Reiner)
Crane World (2003, Argentina, Pablo Trapero)
The White Countess (2005, UK co-production, James Ivory)
Duck Season (2004, Mexico, Fernando Eimbcke)
Lion's Den (2008, Argentina co-production, Pablo Trapero)
Enter the Void (2009, France co-production, Gaspar Noé): 8
Les Biches (1968, France, Claude Chabrol)
The King’s Speech (2010, UK/Australia/USA, Tom Hooper): 8
Casino Jack (2010, Canada, George Hickenlooper)
The Girl Who Played With Fire (2009, Sweden co-production, Daniel Alfredson)
Cocalero (2007, Bolivia/Argentina, Alejandro Landes)
Dhobi Ghat (2010, India, Kiran Rao): 10
Blue Valentine (2010, USA, Derek Cianfrance): 9
Araya (1959, Venezuela/France, Margot Benacerraf)
Animal Kingdom (2010, Australia, David Michôd): 7.5
Catfish (2010, USA,Ariel Schulman/Henry Joost)
Wild Things (1998, USA, John McNaughton)
Tangled (2010, USA, Nathan Greno/Byron Howard)
A Town Called Panic (2009, Belgium co-production, Stéphane Aubier/Vincent Patar): 8.5

London River (2009, UK/France/Algeria, Rachid Bouchareb)
Birdwatchers (2008, Italy/Brazil, Marco Bechis)
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008, Germany co-production, Uli Edel)
Looking for Eric (2009, UK co-production, Ken Loach)
The Mechanic (2011, USA, Simon West)
The Company Men (2010, UK/USA, John Wells): 6
Somewhere (2010, USA, Sofia Coppola): 6.5
Ondine (2009, Ireland/USA, Neil Jordan)
Los Bastardos (2008, Mexico/France/USA, Amat Escalante)
Micmacs (2009, France, Jean-Pierre Juenet)
Another Year (2010, UK, Mike Leigh): 10
No One Killed Jessica (2011, India, Raj Kumar Gupta): 8
Red Riding 1974 (2009, UK, Julian Jarrold): 9
Red Riding 1980 (2009, UK, James Marsh): 9
Red Riding 1983 (2009, UK, Anand Tucker): 9
I Wish I Knew (2010, China, Jia Zhang-Ke)
Lebanon (2010, co-production, Samuel Maoz)
Ip Man (2008, Hong Kong, Wilson Yip)
Substitute (2006, France, Vikash Dhorasoo/Fred Poulet)
Lourdes (2009, Austria/France/Germany, Jessica Hausner): 9
Cronicas (2004, Ecuador/Mexico, Sebastián Cordero)
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002, Australia co-production, Phillip Noyce)
Le Femme Infidel (1969, France, Claude Chabrol)
Nada (1974, France, Claude Chabrol)
I am Love (2009, Italy, Luca Guadagnino)
Que la bête meure (1969, France, Claude Chabrol)
Alamar (2009, Mexico, Pedro González-Rubio)
The Butcher (1971, France, Claude Chabrol)
Juste avant la nuit (1971, France, Claude Chabrol)
Punishment Park (1971, USA, Peter Watkins)
Agrarian Utopia (2009, Thailand, Uruphong Raksasad)
Les noces rouges (1973, France, Claude Chabrol)
Cuadacuc, Vampir (1970, Spain, Pere Portabella)
Nocturne 29 (1968, Spain, Pere Portabella)
Umbracle (1972, Spain, Pere Portabella)
Things Overtaken by Silence (2009, Mexico, Nicolas Perada)
The Adjustment Bureau (2011, USA, George Nolfi): 5
Gasland (2010, USA, Josh Fox)
Kings of Pastry (2009, co-production, Chris Hegedus/D.A. Pennebaker)
The Silence Before Bach (2007, Spain, Pere Portabella)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (2009, Sweden co-production, Daniel Alfredson)
Last Train Home (2009, Canada/China/UK, Lixin Fan): 9
Warsaw Bridge (1990, Spain, Pere Portabella)
Tamara Drewe (2010, UK, Stephen Frears)
Tere Bin Laden (2010, India, Abhishek Sharma)
Les herbes folles (2009, France/Italy, Alain Resnais)
Tees Maar Khan (2010, India, Farah Khan): 0
Informe General (1977, Spain, Pere Portabella)
Never Let Me Go (2010, UK/USA, Mark Romanek): 6
Carcasses (2009, Canada, Denis Côté)
Limitless (2011, USA, Neil Burger)
The Next Three Days (2010, USA/Canada, Paul Haggis): 7
Client 9 (2010, USA, Alex Gibney)
West is West (2010, UK, Andy DeEmmony)
Songs from the Second Floor (2003, Sweden, Roy Andersson)
You, the Living (2009, Sweden, Roy Andersson)
Pour la suite du monde (1963, Canada, Michel Brault)
Munyurangabo (2007, Rwanda/USA, Lee Isaac Chung)
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010, UK/USA, Woody Allen)
In a Better World (2010, Denmark/Sweden, Susanne Bier): 7.5
Of Gods and Men (2010, France, Xavier Beauvois): 8.5
At Midnight I Will Steal Your Soul (1964, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)
Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures (1975, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)
Enter le mer et l’eau douce (1965, Canada, Michel Brault)
The American (2010, USA, Anton Corbijn)

La Nostra Vita (2010, France/Italy, Daniele Luchetti)
Love and Other Drugs (2010, USA, Edward Zwick)
Due Date (2010, USA, Todd Phillips)
Not One Less (1999, China, Zhang Yimou)
Soundtracker (2010, USA, Nick Sherman)
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2010, Canada, Eli Craig)
I Stand Alone (1998, France, Gaspar Noé): 9
24 City (2008, China/Hong Kong/Japan, Jia Zhang-ke)
Ice Age (2002, USA, Chris Wedge/Carlos Saldanha)
Death at a Funeral (2007, UK co-production, Frank Oz)
L’Acadie l’Acadie?!? (1971, Canada, Michel Brault)
High-Rise (2009, Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro)
Hobo with a Shotgun (2011, Canada/USA, Jason Eisener)
You Are Here (2010, Canada, Daniel Cockburn): 7
Morning Glory (2010, USA, Roger Michell)
The Trotsky (2009, Canada, Jacob Tierney)
IT Crowd: Season 2 (2007, UK, Graham Linehan)
Attenberg (2010, Greece, Athina Rachel Tsangari): 9
Tron (1982, USA, Steven Lisberger)
The Brown Bunny (2003, USA/Japan/France, Vincent Gallo): 7.5
Tanu Weds Manu (2011, India, Aanand Rai)
Band Baaja Baaraat (2010, India, Maneesh Sharma)
The Beautiful Washing Machine (2004, Malaysia, James Lee)
Thank You (2011, India, Anees Bazmee): 0
I Walked with a Zombie (1943, USA, Jacques Tourneur)
Chaotic Ana (2007, Spain, Julio Medem)
Africa United (2005, Iceland, Olaf de Fleur Johannesson)
Star Spangled to Death (2004, USA, Ken Jacobs)
Embodiment of Evil (2009, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)
This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse (1967, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)
The Strange World of José Mojica Marins (2001, Brazil, André Barcinski/Ivan Finotti)
Awakening of the Beast (1970, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)
Les Ordres (1974, Canada, Michel Brault): 10
demonLover (2002, France, Olivier Assayas)
Zidane (2006, France/Iceland, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno): museum installation
End of Man (1971, Brazil, José Mojica Marins)

How Do You Know (2010, USA, James L. Brooks): 7.5
Ratas, ratones, rateros (1999, Ecuador, Sebastián Cordero)
Nightmare Alley (1947, USA, Edmund Goulding)
Burlesque (2010, USA, Steve Antin)
The Way Back (2010, USA, Peter Weir)
The Holy Girl (2004, Argentina co-production, Lucrecia Martel)
Thirst (2009, South Korea, Chan-wook Park): 7
Warrendale (1968, Canada, Allan King)
Come on Children (1972, Canada, Allan King)
Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company (2005, Canada, Allan King)
Dying at Grace (2003, Canada, Allan King)
Game (2011, India, Abhinay Deo): 4
Shor in the City (2011, India, Krishna D.K, Raj Nidimoru): 8.5
The Naked Kiss (1964, USA, Samuel Fuller)
Hereafter (2010, USA, Clint Eastwood)
Summer Wars (2009, Japan, Mamoru Hosoda): 8
A Serbian Film (2010, Serbia, Srdjan Spasojevic)
Chalo Dilli (2011, India, Shashant Shah): 8.5
White Dog (1982, USA, Samuel Fuller): 8
Bee Movie (2007, USA, Steve Hickner/Simon J. Smith)
The Colors of the Mountain (2010, Colombia/Panama, Carlos César Arbeláez): 7
Thieves’ Highway (1949, USA, Jules Dassin)
Dum Maro Dum (2011, India, Rohan Sippy): 6
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010, USA, James Nguyen): 2
Taxidermia (2006, Hungary co-production, György Pálfi): 6
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009, USA, Phil Lord/Chris Miller)
House (1977, Japan, Nobuhiko Ôbayashi)
Iron Island (2005, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof): 9
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011, USA, Jennifer Yuh): 4.5
Days of Heaven (1978, USA, Terrence Malick): 9
A Ilha da Morte (2006, Brazil/Cuba/Spain, Wolney Oliveira)
The Case of the Grinning Cat (2004, France, Chris Marker)
Buried (2010, Spain/USA/France, Rodrigo Cortés): 9
Monsters (2010, UK, Gareth Edwards): 8
The Red and the White (1968, Hungary/USSR, Miklós Jancsó)
Evangelion: 1.1 (2007, Japan, Masayuki/Kazuya Tsurumaki/Hideaki Anno)
The Tourist (2010, USA/France, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)
The Thin Red Line (1998, USA, Terrence Malick): 7.5
The New World (2005, USA, Terrence Malick): 9
Elite Squad (2007, Brazil co-production, José Padilha): 6.5
7 Khoon Maaf (2011, India, Vishal Bhardwaj)
Margarette’s Feast (2003, Brazil/USA, Renato Falcão): 7
The Incredibles (2004, USA, Brad Bird)
I Am (2010, India/Japan, Onir)
Once Upon a Time in Rio (2008, Brazil, Breno Silveira)
Nostalgia for the Light (2010, Chile co-production, Patricio Guzmán): 9
Marigold (2007, USA/India/UK, Willard Carroll)
Extract (2009, USA, Mike Judge)
Biutiful (2010, Mexico/Spain, Alejandro González Iñárritu): 6
Barney’s Version (2010, Canada/Italy, Richard J. Lewis): 7.5
Carancho (2010, Argentina co-production, Pablo Trapero): 8.5
Shaitan (2011, India, Bejoy Nambiar): 7
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971, USA, Monte Hellman): 9
Mademoiselle Chambon (2009, France, Stéphane Brizé): 8
Film socialisme (2010, Switzerland/France, Jean-Luc Godard): 5.33
Spite Marriage (1929, USA, Buster Keaton/Edward Sedgwick)
Horny House of Horror (2010, Japan, Jun Tsugita)
Meek’s Cutoff (2010, USA, Kelly Reichardt): 9
The Tree of Life (2011, USA, Terrence Malick): 9
Gerry (2002, USA, Gus Van Sant)
Cedar Rapids (2011, USA, Miguel Arteta): 7.5
Tokyo Sonata (2008, Japan co-production, Kiyoshi Kurosawa): 9
Marwencol (2010, USA, Jeff Malmberg)
Conviction (2010, USA, Tony Goldwyn)
Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap (2011, India, Puri Jagannath): 1
Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara (2011, India, Zoya Akhtar): 7
Blackthorn (2011, Spain/USA/Bolivia/France, Mateo Gil): 5.5
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2011, Canada, Panos Cosmatos): 6.5
Gantz (2010, Japan, Shinsuke Sato): 7.5
Gantz: Perfect Answer (2011, Japan, Shinsuke Sato): 6.5
Article 12 (2010, UK/Argentina, Juan Manuel Biaiñ): 5
Dharma Guns (2010, France/Portugal, F.J. Ossang): 6
Morituris (2011, Italy, Raffaele Picchio): 2
Redline (2009, Japan, Takeshi Koike): 7.5

Beau Travail (1999, France, Claire Denis): 9
Friday Night (2002, France, Claire Denis): 7
Delhi Belly (2011, India, Abhinay Deo): 4
Bheja Fry 2 (2011, India, Sagar Ballary): 1
Nénette et Boni (1996, France, Claire Denis): 8
I Saw the Devil (2010, South Korea, Jee-woon Kim): 6.5
Friends with Benefits (2011, USA, Will Gluck): 5
Singham (2011, India, Rohit Shetty): 3
The Night Watchman (2011, Mexico/USA, Natalia Almada)
Source Code (2011, USA/France, Duncan Jones): 6
13 Assassins (2010, Japan/UK, Takashi Miike): 7
New York, I Love You (2009, USA, multiple): 6
White Material (2009, France/Cameroon, Claire Denis): 9
Sucker Punch (2011, USA, Zack Synder): 5
My Dog Tulip (2009, USA, Paul Fierlinger / Sandra Fierlinger)
Miral (2010, France co-production, Julian Schnabel): 5
Double Indemnity (1944, USA, Billy Wilder)
L’Intrus (2004, France, Claire Denis): 10
VIPs (2010, Brazil, Toniko Melo)
Stake Land (2010, USA, Jim Mickle): 4
Road to Nowhere (2011, USA, Monte Hellman): 7.5
Zookeeper (2011, USA, Frank Coraci): 5
Undertow (2009, Peru co-production, Javier Fuentes-León): 9
Trollhunter (2010, Norway, André Øvredal): 6.5

The Wind Will Carry Us (1999, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami): 10
Aarakshan (2011, India, Prakash Jha): 5.5
Bhindi Baazaar (2011, India, Ankush Bhatt): 3
Rango (2011, USA, Gore Verbinski): 6
Tickets (2005, Italy/UK, Abbas Kiarostami/Ken Loach/Ermanno Olmi): 6
Badlands (1973, USA, Terrence Malick): 7.5
Taste of Cherry (1997, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami): 10
99.9 FM (2005, India, Sanjay Bhatia)
Ten (2002, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami): 8
Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi? (2009, India, Saurabh Shukla)
Insignificance (1985, UK, Nicolas Roeg)
Night and Day (2008, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo): 8
Paul (2011, USA/UK, Greg Mottola): 6
The Desert of Forbidden Art (2010, Russia/USA/Uzbekistan, Tchavdar Georgiev/Amanda Pope): 9
Drive (2011, USA, Nicolas Winding Refn): 9
The Mist (2007, USA, Frank Darabont)
Guilt (2011, Canada, Marc Bisaillon)
Maria, my Love (2011, USA, Jasmine McGlade Chazelle)
Heat Wave (2011, France, Jean-Jacques Jauffret)
The Sacrament of Life (2008, USA, Joseph Sorrentino)
Kill List (2011, UK, Ben Wheatley)
Flowers of Evil (2010, France, David Dusa)
Radio Free Albemuth (2010, USA, John Alan Simon)
Old Goats (2010, USA, Taylor Guterson)
Alps (2011, Greece, Giorgos Lanthimos)
The Whisperer in the Darkness (2011, USA, Sean Branney)
Sunflower Hour (2011, Canada, Aaron Houston)
Journey of a Dream (2011, Canada co-production, Shenpenn Khymsar)
George the Hedgehog (2011, Poland, Wojtek Wawszczyk, Jakub Tarkowski, Tomasz Leśniak)
Target (2011, Russia, Alexander Zeldovich)
In Heaven, Underground (2011, Germany, Britta Wauer)
Cold Fish (2010, Japan, Sion Sono)
Le Quattro Volte (2010, Italy co-production, Michelangelo Frammartino): 10
Black Bread (2010, Spain/France, Agustí Villaronga)
Bon appétit (2010, Switzerland co-production, David Pinillos)
Kopfkino (2011, Germany, Serdar Dogan)
Stuff (2010, USA, Lawrence Johnson)
Of Games and Escapes (2010, Canada, Bevan Klassen)
Melancholia (2011, Denmark co-production, Lars von Trier): 9
Senna (2010, UK, Asif Kapadia): 8.5
Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011, USA, Andrew Rossi): 6.5

Win/Win (2011, USA, Thomas McCarthy)
Tere Mere Phere (2011, India, Deepa Sahi): 7
Saheb Biwi aur Gangster (2011, India, Tigmanshu Dhulia): 8
Midnight in Paris (2011, Spain/USA, Woody Allen): 8
Last Night (2010, USA/France, Massy Tadjedin): 6
Fast Five (2011, USA, Justin Lin): 5
Thor (2011, USA, Kenneth Branagh): 6
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (2011, USA, Rodman Flender)
Super (2010, USA, James Gunn): 4
Hanna (2011, USA/UK/Germany, Joe Wright): 6
The Beaver (2011, USA/UAE, Jodie Foster): 5.5
The Two Escobars (2010, Colombia/USA, Jeff Zimbalist/Michael Zimbalist)
Mere Brother Ki Dulhan (2011, India, Ali Abbas Zafar): 4
Killers (2010, USA, Robert Luketic)
Step Up 3 (2010, USA, Jon M. Chu): 5
Too Big To Fail (2011, USA, Curtis Hanson): 7
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010, France, Luc Besson): 6
Margin Call (2011, USA, J.C Chandor): 8
War, Love, God and Madness (2008, UK/Iraq, Mohamed Al Daradji)
Horrible Bosses (2011, USA, Seth Gordon): 8
Sleeping Beauty (2011, Australia, Julie Leigh): 5
Bridesmaids (2011, USA, Paul Feig): 6.5
Mad Men, Season One (2007, USA, multiple): 9
Breaking Bad, Season One (2008, USA, multiple)
Cold Weather (2010, USA, Aaron Katz): 8
Thief (1981, USA, Michael Mann)
That Girl in Yellow Boots (2010, India, Anurag Kashyap): 6
The Turin Horse (2011, Hungary co-production, Béla Tarr/Ágnes Hranitzky): 9

The Kid With a Bike (2011, Belgium co-production, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne): 9
Contagion (2011, USA/UAE, Steven Soderbergh): 7.5
Bad Teacher (2011, USA, Jake Kasdan): 5
Mr. Freedom (1969, France, William Klein)
Army of Crime (2009, France, Robert Guédiguian)
Brighton Rock (2010, UK, Rowan Joffe): 6
Aurora (2010, Romania co-production, Cristi Puiu): 9
Mad Men, Season Two (2008, USA, multiple): 8
Mad Men, Season Three (2009, USA, multiple): 7.5
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011, USA, Morgan Spurlock): 6
The Ides of March (2011, USA, George Clooney): 8.5
Surveillance (2008, USA/Germany/Canada, Jennifer Lynch): 5.5
Jaan-E-Mann (2006, India, Shirish Kunder): 3
Cars 2 (2011, USA, John Lasseter/Brad Lewis): 6.5
Bal/Honey (2010, Turkey co-production, Semih Kaplanoglu): 8
City of Life and Death (2009, China/Hong Kong, Chuan Lu)
Moneyball (2011, USA, Bennett Miller): 8
Tuesday, After Christmas (2010, Romania, Radu Muntean): 8
A Separation (2011, Iran, Asghar Farhadi): 9.5
The Delicate Art of Parking (2003, Canada, Trent Carlson)
The Housemaid (2010, South Korea, Sang-soo Im)
The Red Chapel (2009, Denmark, Mads Brügger)
Hugo (2011, USA, Martin Scorsese): 8
Man Men Season 4 (2010, USA, multiple): 9.5
Son of Babylon (2009, Iraq co-production, Mohamed Al-Daradji): 8
The Arbor (2010, UK, Clio Barnard): 8

The Bothersome Man (2006, Norway/Iceland, Jens Lien): 6.5
Last Days (2005, USA, Gus Van Sant)
Last Stop 174 (2008, Brazil/France, Bruno Barreto): 5
Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011, USA, Glenn Ficarra/John Requa): 8
Pina (2011, Germany/France/UK, Wim Wenders)
The Dirty Picture (2011, India, Milan Luthria): 7
Red State (2011, USA, Kevin Smith): 5
The Skin I Live In (2011, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar): 7
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011, UK/USA, Lynne Ramsay): 8.5
Tyrannosaur (2011, UK, Paddy Considine): 7.5
Another Earth (2011, USA, Mike Cahill): 4
Love Crime (2010, France, Alain Corneau): 8
Caliber 9 (1972, Italy, Fernando Di Leo)
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010, co-production, Werner Herzog)
The Artist (2011, France/Belgium, Michel Hazanavicius): 7.5
Wrecked (2010, Canada/USA, Michael Greenspan): 6.5
Clueless (1995, USA, Amy Heckerling)
Tinker, Tailor, Traitor, Spy: BBC Series (1979, UK, John Irvin)
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011, Sweden, Göran Olsson)
Even the Rain (2010, Mexico co-production, Icíar Bollaín)
Arthur Christmas (2011, UK/USA, Sarah Smith/Barry Cook): 5.5
Terri (2011, USA, Azazel Jacobs): 7
Miss Bala (2011, Mexico, Gerardo Naranjo)
Carnage (2011, France co-production, Roman Polanski)
BellFlower (2011, USA, Evan Glodell): 5
Trust (2010, USA, David Schwimmer): 7.5
An Idiot Abroad: Season 1 (2010, UK, multiple)
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl (2011, India, Maneesh Sharma): 8
Desi Boyz (2011, India, Rohit Dhawan): 0
Gandhi to Hitler (2011, India, Rakesh Ranjan Kumar)
Rio Sex Comedy (2010, France/Brazil, Jonathan Nossiter): 6.5
Buck (2011, USA, Cindy Meehl)
The Battle of Chile (1978, Chile, Patricio Guzmán)
O’Horten (2006, Norway co-production, Bent Hamer): 7.5
The Italian Connection (1972, Italy/West Germany, Fernando Di Leo)
Poetry (2010, South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)
The Boss (1973, Italy, Fernando di Leo)
Yeh Saali Zindigi (2011, India, Sudhir Mishra): 7
Rulers of the City (1976, Italy/West Germany, Fernando di Leo)
The Descendants (2011, USA, Alexander Payne): 7.5
Weekend (2010, UK, Andrew Haigh): 8
Tomboy (2011, France, Céline Sciamma): 7
Kidnapped (2010, Spain/France, Miguel Ángel Vivas): 0
Rapt (2009, France/Belgium, Lucas Belvaux)
Attack the Block (2011, UK/France, Joe Cornish): 7

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Best Films of 2010

An incredible cinematic year as highlighted by the presence of 68 films from a total of 27 countries. 43 of the 68 films (63%) came courtesy of film festivals with Rotterdam & CIFF providing more than half of the 43 film tally. Only 16 titles (24%) received a theatrical release in my city and 9 were found on DVD (13%).

I have decided to break things up into three categories to reflect a subjective ordering -- Gold (Favourites), Silver (worthy viewing), Bronze (Honorable Mention).

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Gold (20 titles) -- in order of preference

1) Kill the Referee (2009, Belgium, Y. Hinant/E. Cardot/L. Delphine)

Carlos and The Social Network worked hard to recreate reality whereas Kill The Referee captures real images viewed by millions of people and manages to turn them on their head. The film provides a fly on the wall perspective to referee committee meetings with UEFA officials and allows us to listen to on-field conversations between referees, linesmen and the players. The effect of this audio is as ground breaking like watching a talkie for the first time after only seeing silent films for decades.

The documentary also provides some of the best acting performances of the year. People who claim soccer players playact on the field will finally have proof with this film but the most surprising aspect is to discover that some referees are aware of cameras and can put on quite a show. Roberto Rosetti and Howard Webb are well knows refs but this film shows they would make worthy film actors as well.

This soccer documentary offers plenty to chew on for non-soccer fans and highlights how in the hands of the right directors/editors, documenting a game can provide plenty of drama, emotion and tension that scripted cinema can sometimes never capture.

2) Liverpool (2008, Argentina, Lisandro Alonso)

Lisandro Alonso’s free moving camera allows us to soak in the beautiful country side while providing a haunting tale. Messi & Argentina may not have won the World Cup this year but this Argentine film won my 2010 Movie World Cup.

3) El Pasante (Argentina, Clara Picasso)

Clara Picasso's sublime film cleverly uses a Buenos Aires hotel setting as a springboard to examine wider issues, such as male-female power games and the thin boundary that exists between private and public life. Not a single minute is wasted in the film's brisk 64 minutes.

4) The American (USA, Anton Corbijn)

5) R (Denmark, Tobias Lindholm/Michael Noer)

One of the most brutal and dark films of the year!! The tag 'dark film' is easily thrown around but in the case of R, the tag is entirely justified. Besides being completely savage, R is intelligent and that is demonstrated by a clever perspective shift two-thirds of the way into the film.

6) Manuel De Ribera (Chile, Pablo Carrera/Christopher Murray)

This visually stunning film is a fascinating mix of Lisandro Alonso and Bela Tarr yet is completely original.

7) The Robber (Austria/Germany, Benjamin Heisenberg)

A highly entertaining yet intelligent film. The two highs of running and robbing give Johann’s life meaning and as a result, the entire film is defined by fast movement, shown by Johann's marathon runs or his perfectly timed car getaways.

8) Carlos (France, Olivier Assayas)

9) Shutter Island (USA, Martin Scorsese)

A riveting throwback to the cinema of the 1950’s/60's when heightened music foreshadowed impending danger awaiting characters. Martin Scorsese has made a perfect Hitchcock tribute.

10) The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Serbia, Mladen Djordjevic)

11) Ocean of an Old Man (2008, India, Rajesh Shera)

12) Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009, Malaysia/South Korea, Woo Ming Jin)

13) Valhalla Rising (Denmark/UK, Nicolas Winding Refn)

14) Incendies (Canada, Denis Villeneuve)

A beautifully crafted film that packs a mighty emotional punch. The film starts and ends in Canada but the rest of the film dives deep into the Middle East and is the kind of cinema that Canada needs more of, films that use second generation Canadian characters as a launching pad to explore their complex cultural background.

15) Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

Joe latest brew manages to blend dreams, spirits, reality, past and future in a single flowing work. Plus, there are some images that stay long in the memory. Red Eyes. Spirits at dinner table. And that catfish.

16) The Social Network (USA, David Fincher)

All about a girl and a drunken night of coding. Ah the endless possibilities of university life when everything is within reach. Sometimes, those possibilities work out for a select few while others sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

17) Tony Manero (2008, Chile/Brazil, Pablo Larraín)

A chilling film that shows that sanity cannot exist in a brutal dictatorship when individual survival and happiness blinds people.

18) Waste Land (Brazil/USA, Lucy Walker)

19) Scott Pilgrim vs the World (USA/UK/Canada, Edgar Wright)

A living breathing video game that humorously depicts the baggage a new relationship can sometimes bring. Ofcourse, not all relationships require killing 7 ex’s but strange things can take place in the Canadian snow.

20) Road, Movie (2009, India, Dev Benegal)

Dev Benegal’s film may feel heavily inspired by the wonderful Brazilian film Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures but Road, Movie manages to adapt perfectly to the Indian landscape. Plus, the added love for Indian cinema certainly makes this a wonderful treat.

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Silver (27 titles) -- in no particular order

Avenida Brasilia Formosa (2009, Brazil, Gabriel Mascaro)

A vibrant documentary that gives an insightful look at a Recife arrival city and the subsequent relocation of its residents to a squeaky clean yet isolated apartment complex. The film shares some ground with Pedro Costa's In Vanda’s Room and Colossal Youth with the one difference being that Gabriel Mascaro pulls his camera back to give us overhead shots of the arrival city thereby putting the plight of the residents into perspective.

Black Swan (USA, Darren Aronoksy)

A complex physiological battle is rendered in a simple accessible visual manner where reality and nightmares occupy the same frame.

The Japanese Wife (India, Aparna Sen)

Aparna Sen’s most accomplished visual film is also a tribute to a time when hand written love letters provided people with hope and sense of purpose.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (USA/UK, Banksy)

A humorous hoax that raises some valid points about the true price of art. Interestingly, this film is also the first time where the identity of the director is a mystery. Yes, the director is Banksy but good luck at seeing his face.

Curling (Canada, Denis Côté)

Denis Côté has gone with the bold choice to give Curling a cold chilly look. As a result, it takes a while to warm up to the material but once one gets past the cold exterior, then one can admire the tale of a father's resolve to raise his daughter away from society. In a way, Curling is a cousin of the Greek film Dogtooth in showing how incorrect parental decisions can alter a child’s life.

Winter’s Bone (USA, Debra Granik)

A powerful film that shows if one’s own blood is willing to kill their kin, then one has no need for enemies.

A Useful Life (Uruguay, Federico Veiroj)

This Uruguayan feature does not feel like fiction at all but instead feels like a documentary reflecting the sad state of our times when independent/art-house theaters and cinematheques are on the verge of extinction. The beautiful ending sequence clearly evokes the French New Wave. A must see film for cinephiles.

Ishqiya (India, Abhishek Chaubey)

Wonderfully acted and has the bonus of having the single best song of any Indian film in 2010.

Certified Copy (France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
Burma VJ (2009, Denmark co-production, Anders Østergaard)
Woman without a Piano (2009, Spain, Javier Rebollo)
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009, Argentina/Spain, Juan José Campanella)
Inception (USA/UK, Christopher Nolan)
The Fighter (USA, David O. Russell)
Like you know it All (2009, South Korea, Hong Sang-Soo)
Sebbe (Sweden, Babak Najafi)
Crab Trap (2009, Colombia/France, Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Band Baaja Baaraat (India, Maneesh Sharma)
Win/Win (Holland, Jaap van Heusden)
Inside Job (USA, Charles Ferguson)
Kinatay (2009, Philippines, Brillante Ma. Mendoza)
Hunting & Zn (Holland, Sander Burger)
Lucky Life (USA, Lee Isaac Chung)
Steam of Life (Finland, Joonas Berghäll/Mika Hotakainen)
The Maid (2009, Chile/Mexico, Sebastián Silva)
The Illusionist (UK/France, Sylvain Chomet)
Mesrine 2: Public Enemy #1 (2008, France/Canada, Jean-François Richet)

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Bronze (21 titles) -- in no particular order

Heartbeats (Canada, Xavier Dolan)

Xavier Dolan's second feature is playful, funny and manages to neatly tuck in cute cinematic homages especially to the French New Wave.

Despicable Me (USA, Pierre Coffin/Chris Renaud)

It is difficult to raise kids but that task is made harder when one has ambitions to shrink the moon and conquer the world!

You Are All captains (Spain, Oliver Laxe)
Between Two Worlds (2009, Sri Lanka, Vimukthi Jayasundara)
Mundane History (2009, Thailand, Anocha Suwichakornpong)
Monogamy (USA, Dana Adam Shapiro)
Pelada (USA co-production, L. Boughen/R. Fergusson/G. Oxenham/R. White)
Taylor’s Way (2009, Canada, Rene Barr)
Oki’s Movie ( South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
Harishchandrachi Factory (2009, India, Paresh Mokashi)
Love, Sex Aur Dhoka (India, Dibakar Banerjee)
Scheherazade Tell Me a Story (2009, Egypt, Yousry Nasrallah)
The Light Thief (Kyrgyzstan co-production, Aktan Abdykalykov)
Nora's Will (2008, Mexico, Mariana Chenillo)
Lola (2009, Philippines, Brillante Ma. Mendoza)
The Tiger Factory (Malaysia/Japan, Woo Ming Jin)
Bioscope (2008, India, K.M. Madhusudhanan)
Striker (India, Chandan Arora)
Guest (Spain, José Luis Guerín)
Peepli Live (India, Anusha Rizvi)
The Ghost Writer (France/Germany/UK,Roman Polanski)

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If I were to remove film festival & foreign DVD titles from the equation and only depended on local theaters to see movies, then I would be left with only a handful of worthy titles every year. So viva film festivals!

Note: I am including 9 DVD titles, most of them being 2008/09, because these films never received a theatrical release in my city.

Nicolas Winding Refn Films

Spotlight on Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn

The motivation for the final spotlight of the year came after I was riveted by the raw and bloody Valhalla Rising a few months ago. The only previous Nicolas Winding Refn film I had seen was the first Pusher movie about a decade ago, which left me with mixed views. So I decided to pay another visit to Pusher and in turn complete the Pusher trilogy.

Pusher (1996)
With Blood on My Hands: Pusher II (2004)
I’m the Angel of Death: Pusher III (2005)
Valhalla Rising (2009)

Pushing on the streets of Copenhagen

Each film of the Pusher trilogy gives a look at different rungs on the drug trade ladder. Pusher follows a week in the life of Frank (Kim Bodnia), a drug dealer, and highlights his methods, routines and dealings with his supplier Milo (Zlatko Buric).

Frank is accompanied by Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen) who is the focal point of Pusher II.

In the second film, a different side to Copenhagen’s gangster side is shown when Tonny tries to partake in his father’s car stealing business. Tonny is also friends with another pusher (Kurt) and has to bear witness to the dangers of drug addiction. The third film deals with Milo, the drug supplier to both Frank and Kurt, and shows that even a major supplier like Milo is answerable to another layer of suppliers.

The three films also provide relevant financial examples as to why a drug trader will most likely be always stuck in his endless cycle of addiction and debt. In Pusher, Frank owes Milo 50,000 kroners. So when a Swede comes to Frank to buy coke, Frank sees it as a chance to make some money and pay off his debt. Milo sells the drugs to Frank at 600 kroners per gram so Frank buys a 200 gram packet for 120,000 and is on the hook for a total of 170,000 Kroners. He decides to sell his dope to the Swede for 900 kroners per gram for a total of 180,000 in an attempt to clear his debt in one go. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned and the police interrupt the transaction. Franks bails and dumps the drugs in a lake before getting arrested. He is released a day later but has no money or drugs to give Milo. Milo does not believe Frank’s story and instead increases Frank’s debt to 230,000. Naturally, Frank has to scramble to pay off his debt in order to avoid getting his legs broken by Milo’s henchman Radovan (Slavko Labovic).

In Pusher II, Kurt pays Milo 15,000 for drugs. But Milo delivers inferior material than what Kurt paid for. Kurt is upset and goes into the bathroom to inspect the package. When there is a knock on the apartment door, Kurt panics and flushes the package thinking the cops are outside. However, the knocker ends up being Milo’s buddy with some food. Kurt is now out of both money and drugs and as expected Milo is not willing to return Kurt’s money. It turns out that Kurt had borrowed the 15,000 from another group and is now on the hook. Milo falls into this debt trap in Pusher III after he agrees to move Luna’s 10,000 pills of ecstasy. However, when the pills turn out to be fake, Milo is responsible for coming up with money to cover the losses.

The first two films provide strong examples of why most drug pushers will never be able to escape their debt trap as they are always in debt and the only way they can return the debt in a quick time is to take on a bigger drug job. The margin of error is razor thin and when things eventually go wrong, they fall into a bigger hole. So after they fall into a bigger hole, Frank and Kurt’s options involve either running away, robbing a bank or killing someone. Neither of these options provide an easy clean resolution. In Pusher III even an established drug supplier like Milo finds himself facing the same predicament as Frank and Kurt. However, Milo’s contacts allow him to bribe a police officer and eventually bring in his old friend Radovan (featured in Pusher) to help cleanup the mess.

Pusher circle

The problems in the Pusher trilogy get remarkably complex with each film. In the first film, Frank is a single guy with no emotional ties to any family, so it is easy for him to consider leaving Copenhagen. In Pusher II, Tonny is shown to be single until Charlotte (Anne Sørensen) tells him he is her child’s father. That added responsibility allows Tonny to take a step back from both the drug trade and his father’s car stealing business to properly assess his situation. He is determined to take the child away from the endless cycle of crime and drug addiction that Charlotte and Kurt are stuck in. In the third film, Milo has a 25 year old daughter Milena (Marinela Dekic) who is going to marry another dealer, thereby adding to Milo’s concerns. Plus, Milo has to cook for 50 people for Milena’s birthday and manage the ecstasy deal while trying to stay drug free. To make matters worse, his two trusty henchmen get food poisoning from his cooking, so he is left to deal with his debt problems on his own.

Similar characters make an appearance in his each film and in most cases, they are carrying about their business as depicted in previous films. The only exception to this is Radovan, who is able to fulfill his dream from the first film and actually change. In Pusher, Radovan tells Frank that he would like to open a kebab place. So when we next meet Radovan in the third film, he is indeed running a restaurant and has turned his back on his drug payment collector/enforcer role. Kurt makes a tiny appearance in the third film but it is hard to determine if he has gone clean. Muhammed (Ilyas Agac) is briefly shown in the second film when he sells Tonny a gun in exchange for Kurt’s gold chain. In Pusher III, Muhammed gives the same gold chain to Milo and agrees to sell Milo’s ecstasy pills. Mike (Levino Jensen) is planning on marrying Milo’s daughter in the third film but he first made a brief appearance in the first film. Tonny’s father wants him to kill a prostitute ring leader Jeanette (Linse Christiansen) in Pusher II but Tonny can’t go through with it. And in the third film, when an Albanian and Pole want to sell a girl into prostitution, they naturally call on Jeanette.

Each film works on its own but put together the films offer a brilliant case study of the perils of drug trade and addiction. Also, the recurring appearance of similar characters also helps etch out the drug hierarchy that exists.

Pusher II starts off in prison but otherwise the films stay away from prison. Yet, similar characters that are shown in the Pusher films exist in Tobias Lindholm & Michael Noer’s brilliant Danish film R which is one of the best films of 2010. R gives a look at the cut-throat hierarchy that exists inside a Danish prison and perfectly compliments the Pusher trilogy.

Savagery

Valhalla Rising is far more savage than any of the Pusher films. The third Pusher film ends with a brutal cleanup job but the slicing takes place on a dead body. But in Valhalla Rising all the blood is extracted from living beings. Raw, face to face fights till only one man is left standing. Mads Mikkelsen plays the mute slave One Eye, feared for his ability to kill men. One Eye survives his battles and leads a crew to the promised New World. Once they arrive in the new land, they are greeted with poisonous arrows. The arrows mark the next phase in human warfare when hand to hand combat is no longer necessary and weapons allow men to kill remotely without getting their hands dirty with blood.

Common thread

The three Pusher films and Valhalla Rising are about slaves working for a higher authority. The slaves have to find ways to survive on their own but at the end of the day, they have to answer to a leader. Milo is the leader in the first two Pusher films but even he has to answer to another authority in the third film. One Eye’s master is fierce and proud but when the crew enter a new land, the master ends up kneeling down and praying for help to battle against new masters.

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Overall, a fierce and intense spotlight that provides a different flavour from the year’s other directorial spotlights.

Films of Pedro Costa

Spotlight on Pedro Costa

I have previously mentioned my more than 3.5 year quest to track down the films of Pedro Costa. The need to discover his films only increased after reading a lot of written material about his filming methods both on the internet and in film magazines. Ofcourse, a lot of the material was generated after a retrospective of his work was shown in a few select North American cities from 2007-2008. The retrospective never made it out to my city so I had to play a waiting game before seeing something, anything, by him. Thankfully, the surfacing of a few Pedro films prevented a complete drought. In the fall of 2008 it was Casa da Lava and in 2009 it was Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? and O Sangue that wet my appetite. Now this year with the DVD release of the Fontainhas Trilogy, I can officially end the quest.

In addition to the Fontainhas films, I rewatched O Sangue to form a spotlight:

O Sangue (1989)
Ossos (1997)
In Vanda’s Room (2001)
Colossal Youth (2006)
Tarrafal (2007, Short film)
Rabbit Hunters (2007, Short film)

The beginning

It is hard to believe that O Sangue marked Costa's directorial debut. The film looks and feels like a work of an established master with every frame a work of art. The visuals of O Sangue are beautiful and the sound is hypnotic and dreamy. The opening moments take place in darkness and the sounds of a car stopping, a door slamming and footsteps usher the film to life. It is remarkable to see a first time director take such a bold approach to open his film. But that is Costa in a nutshell -- bold and willing to take risks.

Adrian Martin's essay included in the Second Run DVD of O Sangue is one of the best pieces of film criticism that I have ever read. Unfortunately, the full essay is not online but the following excerpt is a tasty introduction:

From the very first moments of his first feature Blood (O Sangue, 1989), Pedro Costa forces us to see something new and singular in cinema, rather than something generic and familiar. The black-and-white cinematography (by Wenders compatriot Martin Schâfer) in Blood pushes far beyond a fashionable effect of high contrast, and into something visionary: whites that burn, blacks that devour. Immediately, faces are disfigured, bodies deformed by this richly oneiric work on light, darkness, shadow and staging.

Carl Dreyer in Gertrud gave cinema something that Jacques Rivette (among others) celebrated: bodies that ‘disappear in the splice’, that live and die from shot to shot, thus pursuing a strange half-life in the interstices between reels, scenes, shots, even frames. Costa takes this poetic of light and shade, of appearance and disappearance – the poetic of Dreyer, Murnau, Tourneur – and radicalises it still further.

In Blood, there is a constant, trembling tension: when a scene ends, when a door closes, when a back is turned to camera, will the character we are looking at ever return? People disappear in the splices, a sickly father dies between scenes, transforming in an instant from speaking and (barely) breathing body to heavy corpse.

Blood is a special first feature – the first features of not-yet auteurs themselves forming a particular cinematic genre, especially in retrospect. Perhaps it was from Huillet and Straub’s Class Relations that Costa learnt the priceless lesson of screen fiction, worthy of Sam Fuller: start the piece instantly, with a gaze, a gesture, a movement, some displacement of air and energy, something dropped like a heavy stone to shatter the calm of pre-fiction equilibrium. To set the motor of the intrigue going – even if that intrigue will be so shadowy, so shrouded in questions that go to the very heart of its status as a depiction of the real. So Blood begins sharply, after the sound (under the black screen) of a car stopping, a door slamming, footsteps: a young man has his face slapped. Cut (in a stark reverse-field, down an endless road in the wilderness) to an older man, the father. Then back to the young man: “Do what you want with me.” The father picks up his suitcase (insert shot) and begins to walk off … The beginning of Colossal Youth also announces, in just this way, its immortal story: bags thrown out a window, a perfect image (reminiscent, on a Surrealist plane, of the suitcases thrown into rooms through absent windows, the sign of a ceaseless moving on and moving in, in Ruiz’s City of Pirates) of dispossession, of beings restlessly on the move from the moment they begin to exist in the image.

Michael Guillen's website is once again an essential stop about the film.

Away to Fontainhas

The origin of the Fontainhas trilogy can be traced back to Costa's filming of Casa de Lava in Cape Verde when he was asked by the locals to take their letters to relatives living in Fontainhas, on the outskirts of Lisbon. Costa took those letters to Fontainhas and the rest is cinematic history.

Ossos is the only out and out fictional Fontainhas film with In Vanda's Room and Colossal Youth blurring the line between documentary and fiction. Ossos has a beautiful rhythm to it and forms a perfect cinematic example of an arrival city. Fontainhas forms an entry point for migrants arriving from Cape Verde or other parts of Portugal. The film shows residents leaving for jobs to Lisbon early in the day and returning in the evening. Not all the residents of Fontainhas might have wanted to move to the city but by the end of In Vanda's Room all the residents are forced to relocate due to the destruction of Fontainhas.

The cinematic jump from Ossos to In Vanda's Room is beautifully explained by Cyril Neyrat:

His work’s second primal scene has taken on the luster of legend, though it is undoubtedly true and absolutely practical. In 1997, Pedro Costa made Ossos in Fontainhas. This was a traditional production, shot in 35 mm, with tracks, floodlights, and assistants. Costa was a professional, a part of the Portuguese film industry. The shoot proceeded with everyone doing his job, following the routine of European art film. And the uneasiness grew, the feeling that a lie was being told, that an imbalance both moral and totally concrete was taking root on both sides of the camera. Costa later said: “The trucks weren’t getting through—the neighborhood refused this kind of cinema, it didn’t want it.” Too much squalor and despair in front of the camera, too much money, equipment, and wasted energy behind it. And too much light shining in the night of a neighborhood of manual laborers and cleaning women who got up at 5:00 a.m. So one night, Costa decided to turn off the lights and pack up the extra equipment, in an attempt to diminish the shameful sense of invasion and indecency. His action was doubly groundbreaking because in what he did, Costa found his own light, that quality of darkness and nuance he would constantly hone from that night on, and because he understood that the cinema of tracking shots, assistants, producers, and lights was not his. He didn’t want it. What he wanted was to be alone in this neighborhood with these people he loved. To take his time, to find a rhythm and working method attuned to their space and their existence. To start with a clean slate, from scratch. To reinvent his art. Three years after this leap into the void, In Vanda’s Room became the result of this departure—in Costa’s work but also in the history of the cinema.

Colossal Youth

Notes on the third film of the trilogy are reprinted as is from my 2010 Movie World Cup, Group G notes.

Colossal Youth is a living breathing painting that lets us observe its beauty and allows us to listen in to the sounds flowing within the canvas.

The mesmerizing opening shot is an indication of the beauty that lies ahead.

The film completes the Fontainhas trilogy and picks up after most of the residents from In Vanda's Room have been relocated to pristine lifeless clean apartment complexes.

Vanda is back as well, along with her cough, but this time around it is Ventura who is the camera's main focal point. Here he goes looking for Vanda.

Ventura has to select his apartment but he is taking his time and is in no hurry. The clean walls of the apartment hold no joy for Ventura as his heart is torn in between Fontainhas and his dream Lava House in Cape Verde.

Fontainhas provides Ventura an opportunity to do most of his thinking from his red throne where he can view the disappearing neighbourhood.

And there is just one scene where Costa's camera gives a glimpse of life that exists beyond the two worlds of Fontainhas and the apartment complex. This scene shows lights glittering in the distance and is the first indication of a city's existence in both Colossal Youth and In Vanda's Room.

Otherwise, Costa's camera is only focused on the relevant details, be it alleys, walls or faces.

And finally, the music and words of the infectious liberation song that Ventura plays on the record player stay long in the mind even after all the credits have taken leave.

Epilogue

The two short films Tarrafal and Rabbit Hunters continue the adventures of Ventura and provide a glimpse of life after Fontainhas.

A quote from Tarrafal:

I want to go back to Cape Verde and rest these bones.

Maybe one day Costa’s camera will return to Cape Verde and complete the cinematic circle he started with Casa de Lava.

Early Hitchcock

This spotlight was more than 1.5 years in the making. The initial idea for the spotlight was made back in April 2009 when I came across a boxed set of Hitchcock's films from 1920-1940. However, I deviated from watching the early films and instead tracked down some post 1940 Hitchcock films reviewed by André Bazin in Cinema of Cruelty. The idea was to dive into the earlier works once I finished some of the 1940's films but I ran out of time in 2009 and only managed to see these 5 films:

Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Saboteur (1942)
Lifeboat (1944)
Rope (1948)
Strangers on a Train (1951)

So the following are some earlier works to wrap up this spotlight.

Champagne (1928)
Blackmail (1929)
The Manxman (1929)
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
The Skin Game (1931)

Watching the early films of Alfred Hitchcock requires a complete reorientation to the director's body of work. Hitchcock directed more than 65 features and had the unique chance to work in three very different film eras -- black and white silent, black and white talkies and color films. Yet, he is known for films from the final phase of his career. When people talk about Hitchcock, they are mostly talking about films he directed in America post 1950 even though he was directing films in the UK as early as 1925.

Most of the early pre 1930 Hitchcock films have nothing do with the mystery and suspense tales that the director is identified with. Instead, Hitchcock was able to properly develop his craft by working in different film styles over a course of a few decades. There aren’t many modern directors who can claim to spend a few decades making a variety of films before finding a unique voice. It seems current directors are expected to announce themselves in just 1-2 films after which their auteur style is endlessly debated in magazines and the internet. Ofcourse, modern directors have the luxury to study the works of directors across various nations and decades, have access to more films and books about film directors than ever before. Back in the old silent film days, Hitchcock only had a few auteurs to learn from and probably experimented a lot on his own before working on a film. Or he learned on the job like many directors did until the 1950's.

Of the 5 earlier films, only Blackmail contains some elements that can be identified as post 1950 Hitchcock. The chase sequence at the end of Blackmail shares some common ground with the famous Mt. Rushmore sequence at the end of North by Northwest. Blackmail is also considered Hitchcock's first talkie even though it was originally a silent film and the dialogues were added only in post production. This is something that can be assessed from the opening 10 minutes when the film is silent until shockingly, some of the character's conversations fill the screen.

These five films still identify a director in command of the camera's placement and able to properly use music to heighten emotions. Ofcourse, music is another element that jumps out when talking about Hitchcock’s mystery films, so it is interesting to note even in the silent films, the music was smartly used. Three of the films, The Skin Game, The Manxman and Champagne, are rooted in pre WW-II British society where there was a clear divide between the rich and poor. In both The Manxman and Champagne this class structure forms a barrier in the way of two lovers. Yet, in both films there is a wealthy man around who can woo the woman away instead. So a love triangle is formed. Interestingly, the love triangle was also a trademark of many Bollywood films from the mid 1980's until about 2000 or so.

Juno and the Paycock is adapted from an Irish play and is set against the background of the Irish civil war. The film is confined mostly to a single room with off screen gunfire giving an indication of the wider struggle underway. The film shows Hitchcock's ability to smartly vary the camera angles thereby adding a richer dimension to the characters’ troubles.

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Overall, this spotlight was a tad disappointing. The patchy DVD transfer is partly to be blamed even though messages at the start of all films warned about the difficulties in the DVD transfer so the substandard picture and audio quality is not entirely a surprize. Still, the films serve as an example that there is more to Hitchcock than meets the eye.

Japanese cinema spotlight

Overdue comments on a Japanese cinema spotlight that kicked off back in the summer and contained 9 features and one short:

The Only Son (1936, Yasujirô Ozu)
There was a Father (1942, Yasujirô Ozu)
Tales of Ugetsu (1953, Kenji Mizoguchi)
Bakumatsu Taiyoden (1957, Yuzo Kawashima)
Good Morning (1959, Yasujirô Ozu)
Tokyo Olympiad (1965, Kon Ichikawa)
Patriotism (1966, Yukio Mishima)
Samurai Rebellion (1967, Masaki Kobayashi)
Cure (1997, Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
Fish Story (2009, Yoshihiro Nakamura)

Ozu x 3: Emotions & Limited Communication

Ozu's The Only Son and There was a Father may be rooted in Japanese culture but the sentiments depicted in both films are equally Indian. Every Indian child learns very early on about Karma and the importance of doing one's work and not worrying about the end result. Such work often involves sacrifices but the sacrifices are meant to be minor bumps in the overall scheme. Sometimes the biggest challenge in performing the work is attempting to subdue one's emotional attachments. Both The Only Son and There was a Father show that the parent and son are trying their best to get through life by working diligently yet hiding their true feelings. It is clear in There was a Father that both the father and son want to live together in the same city but the father continues to bury his true emotions and asks his son to continue working hard. In The Only Son, it is the mother who breaks her back working in a factory so as to provide a better future for her son. The son then lives his life apart from the mother and does not even inform her of his marriage and child because he does not want his mother to feel her sacrifice was wasted. The son feels he did not achieve what his mother wanted him to so he feels better not to invite her to see him.

Parent-Children relationships should not be complicated but they become so over time. Job, work, careers muddle the waters but at the end of the day a simple honest conversations should clear any doubts. Yet, adults hold back honest communication with each other either because of fear or duty. If improper communication is not healthy, then no communication is worse. Good Morning takes a humorous approach to show that if children do not talk at all with their parents, then confusion and misunderstandings can lead to more damage. In the film, the two young boys go on a silent strike in order to protest their father's refusal to buy a tv. Yet, the silence amusingly unearths some insecurities in the neighbours, leading to awkward admissions and confessions.

A different kind of duty

Masaki Kobayashi's complex and powerful Samurai Rebellion carefully chooses its moments of wisdom, political games and sword fights. A samurai is told early on in the film to keep his emotions in check lest they get the better of him. He is reminded of the difficulty in getting along with his superiors and fellow vassals so if the samurai gets angry every time, then he won't last. That patience is especially required of a samurai in moments of peace when there is no enemy to fight. So a samurai is reduced to testing his sword on straw dummies. Slashing straw men is frustrating and humiliating but that is nothing compared to an arranged marriage proposal which tests the principles and honor of a samurai family, leading to the film's main conflict points.

A Serial infection

Multiple gruesome murders are committed in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure but it is not a single killer that performs the acts. Instead, loved ones or people close to the victims do the killing. Yet, the killers are not aware of their crimes as they are remotely driven by an unknown man.

The topography of Cure feels like that of a serial killer investigation film cut from the same cloth of Memories of Murder (Joon-ho Bong) and Zodiac (David Fincher) yet Kurosawa's film immediately stands apart because of the hands off approach of the instigator who never really gets his own hands bloody. Yet, if one could open his brain, then one would see the images of blood that are being projected onto innocent would be killers. Also, the other interesting layer added to the film is the weakening health of the lead police officer's wife, resulting in the killer exploiting the officer's mental state. Reality is toyed with especially in a case when the killer never has to kill a victim himself.

A truly remarkably film which creates a dark unsettling atmosphere.

An event from a few hundred camera angles

It is remarkable to think that Kon Ichikawa's Tokyo Olympiad was shot back in 1964, at a time when camera equipment was expensive. Yet, Kon Ichikawa had about 150 cameras at his disposal to record the historic Tokyo Olympics. But Kon Ichikawa does not make a conventional news footage documentary which shows all the winners of the main events. Instead, his almost three hour documentary is a work of art that displays the human element of the sporting event. We get to see both the triumphs and low points, winners and losers, and the camera lovingly holds onto certain poetic moments for a few extra minutes. The end result is mesmerizing and presents a radically different perspective of the Olympics.

The following words by George Plimpton perfectly describe the effect of the film:

I remember Ernest Hemingway telling me once that the unnoticed things in the hands of a good writer had an effect, and a powerful one, of making readers conscious of what they had been aware of only subconsciously. A parallel adage suggests that a great photographer can take a picture of a familiar street and tell you something about it you never knew before. After watching the 1964 Tokyo Olympiad, one can surely say that Ichikawa is of that tradition.

The Power of 5: a very fishy story

2012: A comet is on course to destroy earth. Who or what can save the world?

A Punk song, ofcourse!

Fish Story is a mind spinning tale about an unlikely superhero and an even more unlikely heroic song with the following lyrics:

The story of my solitude
If my solitude were a fish
It’d be so enormous, so militant
A whale would get out of there
.....
The story of my failure
If my failure were a fish
It’d be so tragically comic I’d have no place in the sea to be
Don’t you know you’re a liar! Don’t you know you’re a deceiver!
Music stacked up like wooden blocks Is the champion of justice!
If my justice really were a fish It’d be so greedy and arrogant

The film jumps across three decades with the only connecting element being the punk song. But thankfully by the end of an entertaining film, all the elements come together.

and the others...

Kenji Mizoguchi's haunting Ugetsu is a tale of how two men's selfish journey brings suffering to both men & their families. When the two men finally wake up from their self imposed trance, they find their life in ruins. Phillip Lapote's essay unravels the film's beauty:

One might say that Mizoguchi’s detached, accepting eye also resembles that of a ghost, looking down on mortal confusions, ambitions, vanities, and regrets. While all appearances are transitory and unstable in his world, there is also a powerfully anchoring stillness at its core, a spiritual strength no less than a virtuoso artistic focus. The periodic chants of the monks, the droning and the bells, the Buddhist sutras on Genjuro’s back, the landscapes surrounding human need, allude to this unchanging reality side by side with, or underneath, the restlessly mutable. Rooted in historical particulars, Ugetsu is a timeless masterpiece.

Yukio Mishima's Patriotism (Yûkoku, 1966) shockingly foreshadows the author's own suicide in 1970. Tony Rayns Criterion essay is essential reading about the film.

I was quite excited to see Bakumatsu Taiyoden, a title helmed by a director I had never heard. However, the discovery turned out to be anticlimatic as my DVD had no English subtitles thereby forcing me to follow the Japanese film without any assistance. All I could enjoy were some moments of humor injected in a samurai tale but the visual language was not enough to make a worthy impression.

Jean-Pierre Melville Spotlight

The 6 films part of the spotlight on Jean-Pierre Melville:

Bob The Gambler (1956)
Léon Morin, prêtre (1961)
Le doulos (1962)
Le deuxième souffle (1966)
Le samouraï (1967)
Un Flic (1972)

In Melville’s films, like in mine, characters are caught between good and evil; and sometimes, even the worst gangsters can behave in the noblest fashion...

Melville is God to me

-- John Woo, The Melville Style, Cahiers du Cinema, Nov 2006

Jean-Pierre Melville is famous for his gangster films which have plenty of admirers, including John Woo and Quentin Tarantino. However, Melville ventured off in other directions as well, most notably World War II French resistance (Army of Shadows), religious debate (Léon Morin, prêtre) and an incestuous relationship tale sprinkled with a dreamy Cocteau Orphée narrative style (Les enfants terribles).

Criminal vs Cops, chess matches

Rain coats. Hats. Criminals. Cops. Heists. Robbery. Gambling. Loyalty. Jazz.

A lot of the same elements appear in various Melville gangster films but each film still has a distinct character because of the effort spent in crafting unique criminals and cops whose behaviors and actions linger long in the memory after the final credits. Bob (Roger Duchesne, Bob the Gambler) is an experienced calculative criminal who is completely different from the rash impulsive Maurice Faugel (Serge Reggiani, Le doulos) or the heist mastermind Simon (Richard Crenna, Un Flic) or the principled yet emotional Gu (Lino Ventura, Le deuxième souffle). Then there is the much younger hitman Jef Costello (Alain Delon, Le samouraï) whose cold style is rivaled only by the police informer Silien (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Le Doulos). Each criminal character adds a completely different flavour to each film and their interaction with the cops makes for an intriguing intellectual battle.

The only criminal who appears to be untroubled by law is Bob because his extensive network of contacts allows him to be in the know and have a few cops in his back pocket. For example, only Bob can have such a conversation after getting arrested:

Cop 1: Criminal intent will get you five years but with a good lawyer, you could get it down three years.

Cop 2: With a better one, no criminal intent! You could be acquitted.

Bob: With a really top lawyer, I could sue for damages.

While criminal characters take center stage in Melville's films, police characters also get worthy camera time. The films present hurdles police face in order to solve cases and portray cops as intelligent and honest men, who are aware of the limitations of their jobs. In both Le deuxième souffle and Un Flic the cops talk about requiring some luck or clue to proceed forward in their investigations. In Un Flic, the importance of public help is emphasized in order to crack a case and fight off the public's ridicule of police.

In Le deuxième souffle, Commissaire Blot (played by Paul Meurisse) utters truth rarely seen in crime films:

We’re policemen, not magicians.
If some little thing doesn’t come along to help us, Gu will escape. End of story.
That leaves just luck..or chance. Call it whatever you like. We just need one tiny lead and we’ll work it to the very end.

The job of police officers is always tougher than criminals as cops have to work within a constrained law & ethical framework in order to solve their cases. Whereas, by definition criminals are those who break the law, so they are free to use whatever means possible to achieve their goals. But both Le deuxième souffle and Un Flic show that police have to push the boundaries of that framework as much as possible, even carve a few holes, to get a step closer to the criminals. For example, in Le deuxième souffle Blot uses a small time crook to trick Gu into spilling the beans and then records Gu’s confession, a tactic that enrages Gu as being unethical and a betrayal of the old times when cops and gangsters never mingled with each other.

Despite their tactics, both opposing sides of cops and gangsters understand each other and this understanding allows each to guess the other’s moves and not waste time. At the start of Le deuxième souffle, after Blot arrives at a crime scene in a restaurant, he knows there is no point in getting a confession from anyone at the restaurant because no one will provide any information. So Blot goes about narrating everyone’s alibi/confession and naturally he is proven right. No one indeed saw or heard a thing, even though gunshots were fired in plain view of everyone.

The films also manage to provide valuable screen presence for fringe characters hovering around the criminals and cops thereby painting a more complete picture of the criminal universe. However, some of the most delicious scenes in these films, especially in Un Flic and Le deuxième souffle, involve face to face encounters between the criminals and cops. These encounters allow the two opponents to assess each other and detect any sign of weakness which can be exploited later on.

The hierarchy

In Un Flic, three different roles of a heist are defined:

The holy trinity: the criminal, thief and the runner

The criminal occupies the top spot in the heist hierarchy and is the mastermind behind the plan. A thief is a rung lower than the criminal so naturally the police are more interested in catching the criminal than a petty thief. The runner/driver/look-out occupies the lowest rung and his capture is next to meaningless as most often he is not aware of the heist details.

However, a heist needs money. A fact illustrated in Bob the Gambler when Bob identifies the need for a financier willing to put up a money for their heist plan. A financial backer could potentially share the top hierarchy with a criminal, depending on the relationship and history between the two.

If a criminal cannot make do without a money man, then the police cannot do without an informer required to keep tabs on the criminals. Silien (Jean-Paul Belmondo, Le Doulos) plays such a useful informer and in Un Flic, it is due to an informer that Commissaire Edouard Coleman (Alain Delon) is able to come close to nabbing Simon.

Planning, Execution & Analysis

The five gangster films are meticulous in either the planning of the heist (Bob the Gambler) or in execution of the crime (a magnificent 20 minute dialogue free helicopter/train robbery in Un Flic and a house robbery in Le doulos).

When it comes to analyzing the crimes, the police are shown to be equally competent in determining how the crime was committed (Un Flic, Le Doulos and Le deuxième souffle). Such attention to detail enriches all the films and ensures no plot holes will tarnish the films.

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Out of the 6, I had seen Le samouraï previously, a film that I admire a lot. Overall, all the films are highly engrossing and a pleasure to watch.  However, I was absolutely amazed by Le deuxième souffle which is going to rank as my #2 Melville film behind Army of Shadows. Le deuxième souffle is a perfect depiction of the cop vs criminal mind games and also shows the value of loyalty in the criminal world. It also appears to be an underrated film that needs to be seen more and talked about in the same spirit as Army of Shadows & Le samouraï.

Carlos -- conversations, cigarettes and women

London, Paris, Beirut and back to Paris again. All in the opening 10 minutes. In the next 20 minutes, Hague, Yemen and Vienna are added to the travel itinerary. Welcome to the world of Carlos. A world defined by the constant lighting up of cigarettes, intense conversations about revolution, kidnappings and assassinations, and steamy sessions of sexual intercourse. Olivier Assayas' remarkable film is not a history lesson but instead picks certain key moments from Carlos’ life and weaves them into a coherent work that allows the audience to get a sense of Carlos’ ideas, his lovers and his shifting views. The three part film depicts Carlos’ transformation from a revolutionary with ideas to topple the system into a mercenary, a gun for hire. By the conclusion of the film, Carlos is a washed up terrorist who poses no real terror threat to anyone. So it is not surprizing to discover that he is captured at this stage, when he is fat, has no money or friends. Assayas is also interested in using the film as a lens to depict the complex international political games where rival enemy nations become friends the next day and vice versa.

Money, Passport & Diplomatic immunity

Any large scale terrorist operation requires money, lots of it. Surprizingly money is relatively easy to obtain for terrorists as almost all governments seem to have some set aside for destructive purposes. The rich nations spend oodles of money not only on their armies and weapons and but also on supporting rival nation’s groups, while less fortunate nations also allocate money for individual groups/mercenaries to carry out their terror plots. With money being no issue, it is a bigger challenge to obtain diplomatic immunity as only few nations can offer that security to hide terrorists.

Assayas’ film illustrates that no large scale terrorist operation can take place without a government’s knowledge. That government could be a domestic one or it could be a rival nation but some level of government has to be involved for a terrorist to slip through international borders undetected. For example, in the film it is the Syrian government that gives Carlos a diplomatic passport with a fake identity enabling him to easily fly across various countries and receive weapons in diplomatic packages. In Eastern Europe, Carlos plays the Soviet Union comrade card and gets full cooperation from East Berlin all the way through to the Kremlin because he proclaims to be fighting for communist ideals, while managing to fight for Palestinian freedom & Arab values at the same time. His words allow him to setup base in Hungary in full view of the Hungarian police who are powerless to stop him initially but only ask Carlos to leave after international pressures force the Hungarian government to distance themselves from him.

All the intelligence and spy missions won’t come close to arresting a major terrorist as long as he is protected by a diplomatic umbrella. Once that umbrella is removed, then rival spy services can move in and claim their prize. The French, aided by American intelligence, capture Carlos in Sudan but that was made possible because Carlos had outlived his usefulness and the Syrians gave him up.

Mirror Mirror

On one hand, one can understand Carlos’ political agenda by observing his interactions with governments/diplomats. On the other hand, Carlos’ relationship with the various women offer an insight into his insecurities and emotions. If the casting of Édgar Ramírez is perfect for Carlos, then the various women roles are perfectly cast as well as they form a valuable aspect for deciphering Carlos.

At the start of the film, Carlos is shown to be sophisticated, charming and brimming with revolutionary ideas. It is not surprizing to find him associate with an equally charming revolutionary over fine dining. At this stage, Carlos is mostly about ideas with very little action under his belt.

Once Carlos achieves success with his actions, his growing fame allows him to attract starry eyed admirers, whom he naturally educates about revolution. It is clear that Carlos will not associate with any woman who has a differing opinion to his and as a result he opts for a young woman willing to worship his every move.

The young girl is mesmerized by Carlos and his weapons. Carlos can merely utter words such as Weapons are an extension of my body and the girl is willing to have a foreplay session with a grenade.

But Carlos draws too much attention to himself and has to leave the country. Ofcourse, it does not matter where Carlos ends up because he can bed any woman. A fling on the beach with an unnamed woman follows.

Throughout his life, Carlos continued to utter his allegiance for the Palestinian cause even when he completely drifted away from any Palestinian issue. As Carlos’ revolutionary ideas are moulded into cold blooded killings, he meets his match in Magdalena Kopp in a Baghdad hotel. Magdalena is the only woman Carlos encounters who carries a gun and the two hit if off. Her icy behaviour mirrors the cold war nations they find themselves in and the Eastern Europe phase in Carlos’ life.

Carlos is shown to get easily bored, so it is not surprizing to see him get tired of Magdalena, especially after she has their child, thereby reducing her sexual appeal. By this stage in his life, Carlos is fat and not the thin suave man he once was. So predictably Carlos yearns for a youthful lover and he finds a perfect match in an innocent college student, who is willing to quietly stand by her man, through his worsening health.

The film shows that women were Carlos’ weakness. Even if he had a girlfriend or a wife, he still sought out sexual pleasure via prostitutes. On two occasions, Carlos’ interactions with prostitutes allow police/government to get information about him. In Sudan, Carlos lived under a false identity but he was discovered after a prostitute encounter reveals his lie. The discovery starts a chain of events which leads to his capture.

only 5.5 hours?

At first, the film’s total running time seems daunting. However, Carlos moves at such a brisk pace that the length is never felt. The film quickly weaves through the globe in Part I, focuses mainly on the botched hijacking in Part II and finally slows down to catch its breath midway through the third part but by then one wants to hold onto each passing minute tightly before the film’s inevitable conclusion.