Actor + Director = Seeking Repeat Success

In last weekend's Globe and Mail, Rick Groen raised an interesting point about the powerful collaborations between actors and directors.

But what of the relationship between directors and their favourite, frequently employed actors? This is pivotal, this has yielded some of the great pictures in cinema's history, but it tends to be examined only in passing, only within the separate contexts of individual careers. And that misses the obvious point. After all, if good directors are the sculptors of film, then good actors are their clay. Okay, maybe their granite (John Ford with John Wayne), or their wood (George Lucas with Harrison Ford). At any rate, the crucial raw material.

He mentions that if the combination works quite well, then the result is two-fold: (1) a worthy film and (2) a wish to repeat the experience and be worthy again. .

Although this collaboration does depend on how a director approaches his or her film. Rick Groen differentiates the two different styles used by Martin Scorsese & Hitchcock.

Consider, for instance, Martin Scorsese, whose finest movies are character-driven and who, by his own admission, gets “bored” directing plot. Well, if your goal is to delve deeply into character, then a great actor, flexible and nuanced, is an essential tool. Luckily for him, and us, Robert De Niro may be the greatest of his generation. In Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, especially Raging Bull, Scorsese's camera gives the work its wings, but it's De Niro's brilliance that finds, and illuminates, the riven heart of the film. This director relies absolutely on the symbiosis with his star – one is unthinkable without the other. And when the actor, his implement, gets too old for the protagonist's job, the director is obliged to find another. Which explains why, in The Aviator and Gangs of New York and The Departed, Scorsese has a new best friend in Leonardo DiCaprio.

By contrast, Alfred Hitchcock had scant interest in character and an abiding love for plot, along with the suspense that plot can generate. Consequently, he cultivated a reputation for regarding performers as little more than human props, set-dressing for his carefully planned story-boards – here insert Actress X in shower, there put Actor Y in cornfield. But shrewd ol' Hitch also had a keen eye for solid human props with commercial appeal, employing James Stewart in four of his classics (including Rear Window and Vertigo) and Cary Grant in another four (among them Suspicion and North by Northwest). These two stars are completely different actors, with different styles and mannerisms, and yet Hitchcock used them to equally strong effect. Still, while their performances enhance these pictures, they're not, like De Niro's, the essence of them. Hitchcock never really made actors' films.

The article is centered around Hollywood combinations with a line dropped in for Ingmar Bergman. So I decided to come up with a separate list of non-Hollywood films where an actor worked with the same director on multiple occasions.

Lee Kang-sheng & Tsai Ming-liang

Lee Kang-sheng has acted in all of Tsai Ming-liang's feature films, playing the same character in all the films, except in Goodbye, Dragon Inn where Lee Kang-sheng had a minor role. The two first worked together in Tsai Ming-liang's 1991 short film Youngsters after which they both ventured into their first feature in 1992's Rebels of the Neon God. Tsai Ming-liang's films contain a loose framework where the real beauty and charm lies in observing the character of Lee Kang-sheng growing up from a teenager to a young man, drifting from job to job and even indulging in few affairs. So naturally it makes sense for Tsai Ming-liang to continue to use Lee Kang-sheng repeatedly as he can count on his favourite actor to ease into any situation or location the screenplay requires. And the result is evident as their films have a consistent feel and have created their own universe set in Taiwan where all the films were shot except 2006's I Don't Want to Sleep Alone which was set in Kuala Lumpur.

In fact, I cannot imagine how the two will ever work without each other. Last year Tsai Ming-liang produced Lee Kang-sheng's directorial effort Help me Eros. The film was supposed to be a standalone effort, separate from the Tsai Ming-Liang films, yet Lee Kang-sheng plays a slight variation of the same character he normally plays in Tsai Ming-liang's films. And since Lee Kang-sheng has worked so closely with one director, it is not a surprize to see that his own directorial effort contains shades of Tsai Ming-liang.

Films and Shorts worked together:
I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (2006)
The Wayward Cloud (2005)
Good Bye, Dragon Inn (2003)
The Skywalk Is Gone (short film, 2002)
What Time Is It Over There? (2001)
The Hole (1998)
The River (1997)
Vive L'Amour (1994)
Rebels of the Neon God (1992)

Note: Of all the films, only Good Bye, Dragon Inn did not have Lee Kang-sheng in a starring role.

Jean-Pierre Léaud & François Truffaut

François Truffaut announced his arrival in an outstanding manner with 400 Blows, his directorial feature film debut in which a young 14 year old Jean-Pierre Léaud stole the show with his raw portrayal of Antoine Doinel. And almost a decade after the two first worked together, Truffaut revived the character of Antoine Doinel by using Jean-Pierre Léaud in Stolen Kisses, followed by two more films. It was a fascinating cinematic series where one could see the continuing adventures of a single character through his teenage years to adulthood.

Films worked together:
Love on the Run (1979)
Bed and Board (1970)
Stolen Kisses (1968)
The 400 Blows (1959)

The practice of using the same character in multiple films inspired Tsai Ming-liang who gives a hint of this in What Time Is It There? when Lee Kang-sheng's character is shown watching The 400 Blows. Also, near the end of What Time Is It There?, Jean-Pierre Léaud makes an appearance, tying a gigantic cinematic loop between France and Taiwan.

Interestingly, Tsai Ming-liang's next feature Visages stars both Lee Kang-sheng & Jean-Pierre Léaud.

Amitabh Bachchan with multiple directors

From the mid 1970's to late 1980's Amitabh Bachchan was the undisputed leading Indian actor who could easily mould himself to any director's need. He could play the street smart Jai for Ramesh Sippy's legendary Sholay, be the icy cold fearless coal miner for Yash Chopra's Kaala Patthar or shift gears and portray sensitive characters such as in Yash Chopra's Silsila or act in hilarious slapstick comedic roles such as in Prakash Mehra's Namak Halaal. There were multiple directors with whom Amitabh regularly worked and there were roles specifically written for Amitabh, especially to harness his portrayal of the "angry man". One director who forged a real partnership with Amitabh was Manmohan Desai. After working with Amitabh for Parvarish in 1977, Desai always found a place for his leading man in all his films until his last directorial feature Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi in 1988.

Just some of the major collaborations between Amitabh and his directors from the 1970's-80's.

with Manmohan Desai:
Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi (1988)
Mard (1985)
Coolie (1983)
Desh Premee (1982)
Naseeb (1981)
Suhaag (1979)
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)
Parvarish (1977)

with Yash Chopra:
Silsila (1981)
Kaala Patthar (1979)
Trishul (1978)
Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
Deewaar (1975)

with Prakash Mehra:
Jaadugar (1989)
Sharaabi (1984)
Namak Halaal (1982)
Laawaris (1981)
Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

Klaus Kinski with Werner Herzog

Even though I have only seen two of the five features that Kinski worked with Herzog on, both these features left such an impression that I cannot imagine that any other director would have allowed Kinski to freedom to act out his demons so brilliantly like in Aguirre, the Wrath of God & Cobra Verde. There is a priceless scene near the end of Aguirre where Kinski is left on a raft with a few hundred monkeys; Kinski grabs a monkey in his hand, examines it and then throws away the animal in disgust. A simple scene but very effective. Herzog revealed that he did not instruct Kinski to toss the money away but was simply present on the raft with his cinematographer filming Kinski silently. So whatever unfolded on the raft was Kinski's improvisation. In a way, Herzog provided the intelligent spells of silence where Kinski would dive deep into his character and unleash raw emotions.

Films worked together:
Cobra Verde (1987)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Woyzeck (1979)
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Shah Rukh Khan with Aziz Mirza, Aditya Chopra and Karan Johar

Long before he became the famous international superstar that he is today, Shah Rukh Khan started his career by working in tv serials such as Circus and Fauji. One of the directors of Circus was Aziz Mirza. When Mirza decided to direct his first feature film (Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman), he naturally turned to Shah Rukh, one of the tv serial's impressive actors. Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman was a sweet charming film about an everyday working class hero and did well enough to allow both actor and director to get a foothold in the industry. Shah Rukh Khan moved onto a variety of projects both from small budget works such as Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Maya (Ketan Mehta's loose adaptation of Madame Bovary) to big budget films such as Subhash Ghai's Trimurti. Shah Rukh also played an assorted set of characters from an action hero to even negative roles such as in Daar (an Indian version of Cape Fear) & Anjaam. However, all that changed when Shah Rukh Khan starred in Aditya Chopra's debut film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge released in 1995.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge marked the arrival of Yash Chopra's son, Aditya, and its immense box office success established Shah Rukh Khan as a bankable leading man. But the most important consequence of that film's success was that Shah Rukh Khan would become the poster boy for romantic roles in Yash Raj films (production company of Yash and Aditya Chopra), starring in endless love stories and love triangles. Since 1995 Shah Rukh has hardly ventured into any serious acting roles. Even in a historic period film such as Asoka, Shah Rukh Khan's character is busy chasing a girl around trees and waterfalls. Shah Rukh has starred not only in Aditya's films such as the mammoth Mohabbatein, a 4 hour long sugary film which featured 4 love stories, but also played the romantic lead in films which Aditya penned for his father Yash to direct (Dil To Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara ). On top of that, Shah Rukh Khan has become a critical component of Karan Johar's love sagas, featuring in all of Karan's movies. It is not a surprize to learn that Shah Rukh Khan will star in both Karan and Aditya's next ventures.

Aziz Mirza only used Shah Rukh Khan as his leading man for his first four features. This year's Kismat Konnection was supposed to be the first time that Aziz took on a new leading man in Shahid Kapoor. However, the presence of Shah Rukh is evident as he is the film's narrator and Shahid's character is just an extension of the role that Shah Rukh played in Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. On top of that Shahid copies Shah Rukh's antics in quite a few scenes. So even though Aziz has not taken Shah Rukh in his new movie, he cannot help break free his association with his main leading man.

Films with Aziz Mirza:
Chalte Chalte (2003)
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000)
Yes Boss (1997)
Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992)

with Aditya Chopra:
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), to be released later this year
Mohabbatein (2000)
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

with Karan Johar:
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

Govinda with David Dhawan

David Dhawan is known in Bollywood for his crude and vulgar comedies filled with double meaning dialogues laced with sexual innuendo and raunchy songs. Ofcourse, the success of David Dhawan would not have been possible without Govinda's presence. Govinda was the only actor who could have effortlessly carried out the rapid fire dialogues required by Dhawan and could wear the most bizarre wardrobe (including brightly coloured tight t-shirts despite Govinda having a round figure) while dancing some of the silliest moves to ever grace the Bollywood screen.

It was Aankhen in 1993 that set both Govinda & David Dhawan on the crude comedy path and it also marked the first time Dhawan's movie would feature two leading men chasing two women. This pattern was repeated by Dhawan in other Govinda films such as Partner, Jodi No.1, Ek Aur Ek Gyarah and Haseena Maan Jaayegi. A slight variation of this theme was where Dhawan's films (both with Govinda and without him) would have two men chasing one woman (Deewana Mastana, Mujse Shaadi Karogi) or would have one man courting two women (Saajan Chale Sasural, Gharwali Baharwali).

Govinda's films with Dhawan:
Partner (2007)
Ek Aur Ek Gyarah (2003)
Kyo Kii... Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta (2001)
Jodi No.1 (2001)
Kunwara (2000)
Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999)
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998)
Deewana Mastana (1997)
Hero No. 1 (1997)
Banarasi Babu (1997)
Saajan Chale Sasural (1996)
Coolie No. 1 (1995)
Raja Babu (1994)
Aankhen (1993)
Shola Aur Shabnam (1992)
Swarg (1990)

Not leading men but still vital collaborations

Paresh Rawal with Priyadarshan

Priyadarshan's Hera Pheri showed that it is possible to make an entertaining commercial Bollywood film with an intelligent script. In a way, Hera Pheri marked a distinct change in Priyadarshan's commercial film direction. After the success of that comedy, he favoured making light hearted entertaining films, unlike some of his earlier serious efforts such as the brilliant Virasat. Hera Pheri also shone the light brightly on Paresh Rawal, who stole the film with his excellent comedic timing. Rawal was at his best in Hera Pheri and since then Priyadarshan has ensured he gets Paresh involved in all his comedic ventures, albeit in small roles. And in virtually all their joined efforts, Paresh has lit up the screen with his unique comedic take.

Rawal's efforts with Priyadarshan:
Mere Baap Pehle Aap (2008)
Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007)
Bhagam Bhag (2006)
Malamaal Weekly (2006)
Garam Masala (2005)
Hulchul (2004)
Hungama (2003)
Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar (2001)
Hera Pheri (2000)

Suet Lam with Johnny To

Johnny To has used quite a few familiar faces in his films (such as Simon Yam) but Suet Lam occupies a special place in Johnny To's trademark gangster films. Sometimes Suet Lam has a key role, such as in P.T.U where his character's misplaced gun kick-starts an entire night of events in the film, while in other films he provides a short cameo. In 2007's Triangle, three directors directed a single film with no clear marking where one director's work ends. However, one can identify when Johnny To's portion started as soon as Suet Lam's character arrived on the screen. Indeed shortly after the arrival of Suet Lam, Triangle moves into a climatic gun shoot sequence, which is beautifully filmed Johnny To style.

Films worked together:
Cultured Bird (2008)
Flying Butterfly (2008)
Mad Detective (2007)
Triangle (2007)
Exiled (2006)
Election 2 (2006)
Election (2005)
Breaking News (2004)
Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
PTU (2003)
Love for All Seasons (2003)

A Fixer, Gangster and Survivor

Michael Clayton (2007, Director Tony Gilroy): Rating 8/10

Crisp white envelops filled with money -- a reward for a job well done. Even though Michael Clayton (George Clooney) only gives such an envelope once in the movie, one can expect him to have distributed many such gifts in the past. Unofficially, he is the law firm's fixer -- he patches things up or does whatever is required for the good of the firm. He works off the radar and on the company record books, his job is insignificant. Only the firm's senior partners recognize his value and in case the senior partners disappeared one day, Clayton would be the first to be fired.

At the core, the story is about a whistle blower, in the mould of Michael Mann's The Insider. The evil company in this case is U North, a company that appears to follow in the foot steps of Monsanto and other biotech agricultural companies shown in documentaries such as The Corporation, The Fight for True Farming and The Future of Food. The film is polished and features smart witty dialogues that one expects from Hollywood films where the lead actor appears slick and well dressed in all scenes, no matter what the situation. But to Gilroy's credit, he does add some hesitation to Tilda Swinton's character. Tilda plays Karen Crowder who works for U North and her character's actions are true to what is portrayed at the film's start -- she is nervous, insecure and tries too hard to impress. So it is easy to believe that she is capable of making the mistakes that are shown as the movie progresses.

There are two interesting sequences in the movie. One is the scene with the horses. It is early in the morning and Clayton is returning irritated from a 'fixer' meeting. The sun has not risen yet when he sees three horses. He gets off from his car and is reaching out to the horses, almost helplessly. That scene is the only one where you can detect weakness in his character -- he is struggling and wants help himself. In all the other scenes, he is confident and is the person that others come to for help. The other interesting sequence is the final shot in the cab. The camera stays focused on Clooney's face as the closing credits roll. Just a nice sequence at odds with other Hollywood movies which feature too many quick cuts.

Note: A minor point about one sequence which appears to be weak. Clayton sees Arthur (Tom Wilkinson) in the alley-way and pulls the car over. He leaves his son in the car and asks him to lock the doors. Clayton approaches Arthur. When Arthur is talking, the camera only focuses on him and his bag of dozen (or more) baguettes But when the camera shows Clayton, you can see his car in the background. My initial thought was that Gilroy wanted us to see the car because there could be something regarding his son. After gradual cuts, the camera narrows the focus in Clayton's background but we can still his car and even taxi cabs going by. Eventually, the camera does only focuses on Clayton. I am still not sure if there was a purpose to keep the car in the background and let it be a distraction or if that was a lazy sequence where the camera was not directed to only show the relevant characters.

American Gangster (2007, Director Ridley Scott): Rating 8/10

"If we stop bringing drugs into the country, then we will put 100,000 people out of a job."



That is probably one of the most accurate lines about the police's battle with drug trafficking. Ofcourse, it is not surprizing to hear such a line from a detective like Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) because Ritchie is shown to be one of the few honest cops in the film. In a way, Ritchie's comment makes sense as countless officers are hired to keep arresting drug pushers and top mobs. However, there is no attempt to eliminate the problem at roots. So the end result is an endless cycle of the same mistakes.



"This is my home. My country. Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America."

In the end, that is the problem with all top gangsters. They will never run away but stay around until they get taken down. As a result, all such gangster movies follow the same pattern -- small gangster rises to become top boss, police get on his trail and eventually he is either jailed or killed.

One interesting aspect shown in the movie is how Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) strove to keep a low profile. But a few signs of flashy money initiated by his fiancee and brothers lead to him appearing on the police's radar.

"My man." "The Po-lice".

That is Denzel delivering dialogues like he did in Training Day. "The Po-lice".

Overall, American Gangster is a good film but like Michael Clayton, it still feels like a typical studio movie. After countless mob movies, there is not much more that can be explored in a gangster story.

Rescue Dawn (2006, Director Werner Herzog) Rating 8.5/10

Herzog has directed an absorbing film about Dieter Dengler's (played by Christian Bale) escape from a prison camp in Laos/North Vietnam after his American fighter plane was shot down. Herzog has paid careful attention to little details regarding how Dengler escaped the camp and survived in the dense jungles. There is one scene which reminded me of Herzog's 1972 feature Aguirre, Wrath of God. After Dieter and Duane (Steve Zahn) escape the camp, they float down the river on a raft. Even though the raft scene in Rescue Dawn is shot differently from the final raft scene in Aguirre, both scenes contained the same tension that an enemy could attack from any point in the forests.

I have not seen Herzog's documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly which accounts the same story. In interviews, Herzog mentioned that Dieter's story was so extraordinary that it had to be made into a film. But due to lack of finances he made the documentary first.

German & French cinema

The latest viewing included 5 films, 3 from Germany and 2 from France. The directors were -- Werner Herzog (2 movies), Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Eric Rohmer & Claude Chabrol.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972, Herzog): Rating 9/10

I never saw a Herzog film until Grizzly Man came out in 2005/06. As it turned out, that was the wrong point to start watching his work. Not until I saw his first feature, the beautiful Signs of Life, did I understand the importance of Grizzly Man. And now having seen Herzog direct (a brave feat in itself) Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, do all the pieces start to fall in place. Now I can appreciate if there was anyone who had to make sense of Timothy Treadwell and his love of Grizzly bears, it had to be Herzog. A common thread in all these 3 Herzog films is that they are great character studies of men who are on the verge of insanity; these men who inhabited different time periods believe they are on the point of greatness, yet they often tip over the fine line that divides greatness from insanity. But Herzog also makes beautiful poetic films and all these movies have an easy going rhythm to them. He loves to let the camera discover magic by having long uninterrupted shots, and at times, leaving the camera running, just a little bit longer to discover that something extra.

The story of Aguirre is simple enough -- the Spanish head to Peru & Amazon to find the city of gold and riches -- "El Dorado". But the journey is packed with dangers -- the climate, unknown forest, native tribes lurking with their spears and poisonous darts. And when there is an internal mutiny among the group, well the outcome is obvious. Man vs Nature is not really a contest in non-Hollywood movies (Nature always wins) but (Man vs Man) vs Nature is even more of a bleak situation. But yet, Herzog has crafted a movie that is absorbing to watch. While the recent Apocalypto ends before the Spanish hit the New World shores, Aguirre.. gives us a closer look at Spanish attempts to penetrate the New World deeper. Aguirre (Kinski) wants to emulate the Spanish discovery of Mexico by carving out his own riches in the Amazon. He convinces his men and even a priest to drive further and further up the Amazon looking for gold. But when the men start dropping dead like flies, the remaining crew label Aguirre as a madman. But Aguirre does not care -- he is lost in his dreams even though in reality his raft is dominated by 400+ monkeys and all his men are dead. The final shots in the film are sheer beauty and as Herzog admits on the DVD commentary, those shots feel into his lap. He happened to come across 400 monkeys at the Peruvian airport, where they were about to be checked onto the plane. Herzog made a false health claim and managed to take away all 400 monkeys. He then placed them on the raft with Kinski and remained there only with his camera man, Thomas Mauch to film the drama. In the movie, when 50 or so monkeys jump from the raft and appear to be escaping in the river, they really are escaping. Herzog and Mauch just stood back and filmed the chaos unfold and what happens is something that scripted film can't ever do. Klaus Kinski is so emersed in his character that he improvises the scenes with the monkeys perfectly.

It is hard to believe that Herzog took all the actors and crew into the dangerous Amazon terrain back in the early 70's, with such a limited budget and managed to craft such a fine work. In that regard, this film is another example of a time when directors were strove to make movies not for commercial sake. Coppola was another director in the same decade who stuck past terrible weather and persevered to make Apocalypse Now.

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974, Herzog): Rating 8/10

Kasper Hauser is in some ways similar to John Merrick (labeled Elephant Man in Lynch's film) -- both men are outcasts to a society which finds it amusing to watch and poke fun at the two men. Yet, both individuals could not be as physically different from each other. Kasper looks normal but since he was abandoned at birth and never raised in a proper family, he never learned the rules and words required to exist in a society. John Merrick was by birth considered a physical anomaly and not considered appropriate for society. As chance has it, both characters end up as circus attractions -- while Kasper is called a riddle, John is labeled as freak. But when both men are rescued and given proper education, the two turn out to be quite learned. As their minds are nourished with the arts, they start having vivid dreams -- Kasper's dreams involve far off places such as the Sahara and even the enchanting temples of Angkor War. However, just like in The Elephant Man, the men's past comes to haunt them and eventually leads to their demise. Like John Merrick, Kasper leaves the physical world in his sleep.

The opening credit sequence is a beautiful shot of the crop field swaying in the wind. There are a few other such picturesque shots found in the movie but in the end, the movie is about Kasper and society's rigid rules to mould every person in their shape.

Claire's Knee (1970, Rohmer): Rating 8.5/10

Oh the evil games men and women play! This story may have shades of Dangerous Liaisons all over it, but it is not as sinister. On a vacation, Jerome (Jean-Claude Brialy) encounters Aurora, an old friend. Aurora is writing a novel and wants Jerome to play a guinea-pig for her story's sake -- she wants Jerome to seduce the innocent 16 year old Laura. Jerome is a month away from getting married but after years of being with women, he has lost all interest in women -- sex does not interest him. So he attempts to play the game, but young Laura is not as nieve as she seems. She understands the game and in turn tries to make up her own rules with Jerome. Jerome is quite bored by the whole thing but when Claire (Laura' step-sister) arrives, he is intrigued. Claire already has a boyfriend but Jerome wants Claire to break up with her oaf of a lover. The end result is a complicated match of desires and feelings. The title hints to the body part that Jerome identifies as a weakness in Claire, and something he can use to gain her trust. Overall, an interesting character study of men and women, and the numerous emotions and feelings that relationships contain -- trust, jealousy, possession, freedom, friendship, love and physical desire.

Les Bonnes Femmes (1960, Chabrol): Rating 7/10

Are all men predators? Chabrol's 4th feature starts out by introducing us to a quiet motorcyclist -- he seems to be lurking and waiting for the women to appear. And when the woman do come out of the theatre, two loud predators emerge as well (Marcel & Albert). It is clear that Marcel and Albert are after women -- Marcel is the vocal smooth talking guy, while Albert is the quiet yet equally lustful man. They get in their car and chase two women -- Jane and Jacqueline. After they manage to get the two women in the car, they go out for dinner and a cabaret. All the while, the motorcyclist quietly follows. During the cabaret, the true animal nature of Marcel and Albert comes out. Jacqueline eventually gets away but Jane is left behind and Marcel & Albert have their way with her (even though it is not shown, it is hinted). The movie then focuses on Jane and Jacqueline's day to day life -- job, trips to the zoo, theatre and restaurant. Every now and then, we do see the motorcyclist following Jacqueline quietly. In the film's final third, when Marcel and Albert land up a public swimming pool and start bothering Jacqueline and Jane, the motorcyclist ends up saving the day by chasing them away. The quiet motorcyclist is Andre and he has been in love with Jacqueline all along but was waiting for the perfect opportunity to talk to her. The two engage in a romantic affair, all the while one question keeps coming up -- is Andre a good man or a predator as well?

There are some moments of pure cinematic energy to be found in this film, like the chaos & elegance of the cabaret sequence. But there are a handful of needless scenes which add nothing to the film. Overall, a dark and chilling look at the predatory nature of men -- can anyone really be trusted?

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972, Fassbinder): Rating 6/10

If Claire's Knee was about the game between men and women, this Fassbinder film is about the games that women play with each other, in work, society and in love. Petra Von Kant is an aging fashion designer who falls for a young 23 year old model. However, as the title indicates, there is no happiness for Petra Von Kant. During all her bitter episodes, Petra's secretary, co-designer and slave maid, Marlene, quietly watches. Marlene's eyes sometimes hint at her disbelief at some of Petra's choices but she quietly obeys everything she is told to do. The entire film takes place inside Petra's bedroom and was adapted by Fassbinder from a play by the same name. Interesting for some of the ideas about love and society, but overall, not very gripping.

1st Movie World Cup – Second Round Results!

In keeping with the format laid out by the Soccer World Cup, 16 teams competed in a knock-out format in the second round of the Movie World Cup.

Rules for scoring in second-round and onwards until the Final:

1) Movies compete in 5 categories (Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography and Sound) earning either 0 or 1 point for each criteria.
-- If movie A has a better story than its opponent (movie B), then movie A gets 1 point and movie B gets 0.
-- However, if both movie A and movie B have good stories, then they each get 1 point each.
-- Also, if both have terrible stories, then the two movies get 0.

This scoring enables reasonable soccer scores like 3-2, 2-0 or even 0-0 (both movies failed on all 5 criteria).

2) If the score is tied after all the 5 categories, then a penalty shoot-out will be used with a single criteria – subjectivity. That means, I can freely give preference to a movie that I like without caring for its objective values. Is that fair? Well it is more fair than penalties are in the real soccer world cup!!

Here are the match-ups and results:

1A vs 2B – Germany vs England

German movie: Werner Herzog’s Signs of Life
English movie: Director Gary Wicks Endgame

This contest was not even close. It was a bit unfair because the English movie was thrown into the fire but the odd thing is that Signs of Life was Herzog’s first movie. Herzog’s 1968 film has some similarities with his last movie Grizzly Man . Both movies are about insanity, although the two films take a different approach to reach that conclusion. Grizzly Man is a documentary where Herzog narrates the camera footage that he discovered of Timothy Treadwell. Signs of Life is a scripted movie but it is told in a documentary format where a narrator tells of the slow transformation of Stroszek, a solider who gradually goes insane after he finds himself bored on an island. The beautifully shot black and white movie is told in documentary style and could easily be something constructed by assembling found camera footage of the incidents on the Greek island. The camera angles at times also give us the idea that the audience is looking from the outside and is never let in as to what is happening, something which is common when one is watching a documentary based on archival footage. Overall, Signs of Life is visually excellent with some very poetic shots. Easily a contender for best movie!

Final score: Germany 5 – 0 England
Goal scorers, Germany: Story, Acting, Direction, Cinematography, Sound
The German movie was strong in every department and ran the English movie off the pitch!

1B vs 2A – Sweden vs Poland

Swedish movie: Ingmar Bergman’s Persona
Poland: Andrzej Wajda’s Kanal

This was a really close contest. Persona is a critically loved movie and I can see why. But then again, I don’t think it is as good as it made out to be. Kanal on the other hand has a very dull start but once the story movies to the underground labyrinth of tunnels, the movie really kicks into gear. My biggest problem with Persona was that I believe all the clever abstract elements were wasted on a dull story; the movie ensures that the viewer knows at all times that they are watching a film -- the start gives the viewer a glimpse of the evolution of cinema, the middle has the screen split in half as if the projector chewed up the film, and near the end, the camera shifts back to the camera crew showing the movie being shot. Now, these are great elements but the story of the two women trying to outwit each other just didn’t appeal to me.

Final Score: Sweden 2 – 3 Poland
Goals, Sweden: Acting, Direction
Goals, Poland: Cinematography, Story, Sound

1C vs 2D – Argentina vs Portugal

Argentina – Director Héctor Olivera’s A Shadow you soon will be
Portugal - Director Manoel de Oliveira's I'm Going Home

This was a very close contest but in the end, ‘subjectivity’ penalty kicks had to decide the contest. Personally, I loved the Argentine movie. I felt this was a poor man’s version of the sentiments that the 2005 Brazilian movie Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures echoed. Both the Argentine and Brazilian movies had similar ideas of men setting out into the unknown, escaping and seeking. In the Argentine movie, the main character returns home only to find himself thrust into a chaotic circus surrounded by colorful eccentric characters who are seeking to live their life to the fullest, even if that means living in the past, dreaming about the future or merely driving away the present. The Portuguese movie, I’m Going Home is in French and is a technically polished movie with high caliber acting. However, I didn’t agree with the director’s vision of packing the movie with plenty of staged dramatic scenes to convey the main character’s love of theatre over other aspects of his life.

Final Score: Argentina 3 – 3 Portugal, Argentina win on Penalties
Goals, Argentina: Story, Direction, Sound. Penalty: Subjectivity
Goals, Portugal: Direction, Acting, Cinematography

1D vs 2C – Iran vs Holland

Iran – Director Abbas Kiarostami’s And Life Goes On
Holland - Director Paul Verhoeven’s Turkish Delight

Two completely different movies, two completely different styles! The Iranian style was slow but the Dutch were pacy and only slowed down near the end when they knew the victory was in the bag. And Life Goes On turned out to be appropriate pick because it does talk about the Soccer World Cup – the films showed that despite having an earthquake level out cities, some people still wanted to watch the soccer World Cup because it came only every 4 years. However, as the movie’s actor told one person, an earthquake was more critical because it could only occur once every 40 years!

Final Score: Iran 4 – 5 Holland
Goals, Iran: Story, Acting, Direction, Cinematography
Goals, Holland: Story, Acting, Direction, Cinematography, Sound,

1E vs 2F – USA vs Japan

USA - Director David Dobkin's Wedding Crashers
Japan – Director Masaki Kobayashi’s Kwaidan

Wedding Crashers were able to power their way out of their group in the first round but they stood no chance against the award-winning stylish Japanese movie.

Final Score: USA 1 – 4 Japan
Goals, USA: Acting
Goals, Japan: Story, Direction, Cinematography, Sound

1F vs 2E – Brazil vs Italy

Brazil - Director Vicente Amorim's The Middle of the World
Italy - Director Roberto Benigni's The Tiger and the Snow

What a colourful contest! The Italian movie, unlike the Italian soccer team, showed plenty of energy. However all of Benigni’s energy was not enough to channel enough goals to overcome the technically polished Brazilian movie. It felt as though Benigni was trying to carve out another feel good movie along the lines of Life is Beautiful but this time the hollow story didn’t stand strong.

Final Score: Brazil 5 – 2 Italy
Goals, Brazil: Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography, Sound
Goals, Italy: Acting, Sound

1G vs 2H – Korea vs Tunisia

South Korea - Director Chan-wook Park's Lady Vengeance
Tunisia -- Director Raja Amari's Satin Rouge

Both movies were very good and quite different from each other. In the end, tt was a very close contest and the final decision was a tough one.

Final Score: Korea 5 – 4 Tunisia
Goals, Korea: Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography, Sound
Goals, Tunisia: Acting, Story, Direction, Sound

1H vs 2G – Spain vs France

Spain -- Director Achero Mañas's El Bola
France – Director Pierre Jolive’s In all Innocence

This is the only tie that is similar in both movie and Soccer World Cup. The soccer game will be a tight encounter but the movie contest was not as close.

Final Score: Spain 5 – 2 France
Goals, Spain: Acting, Story, Direction, Cinematography, Sound
Goals, France: Acting, Cinematography