Elena Anaya in “Alatriste” [2006 Spain] 1080p

Posted on May 10, 2012 by TR

Agustín Díaz Yanes has the distinction of having directed one of the most expensive films ever made in Spain, “Alatriste”. Based on a series of popular novels about the exploits of a seventeenth century soldier and mercenary – El Capitán Alatriste, it is a swashbuckling epic spanning some four decades of one of the most eventful periods in Spanish history, one that also saw its world superpower status seriously challenged by upstarts like England and France.

Storyline:
I haven’t read any of the original novels, so my storyline is based purely on what one sees in the film. Almost episodic, the film starts with Alatriste as a soldier under King Philip IV involved in quelling a revolt in the restive Flanders (Dutch) region. When one of his comrades dies during battle, Alatriste promises to take care of his young son Íñigo. Alatriste soon becomes prominent enough to get noticed in royal circles, and is commissioned odd and sometimes unofficial assignments to do their dirty work. Romance is part of the film’s offering too – between Íñigo and the Queen’s lady in waiting Angélica, and Alatriste’s own affair with actress María de Castro, upon whom the King himself had set his eyes on. María de Castro is probably the most tragic character in the film as she will spend her last days at a syphilis hospital, and Angélica will also change her mind about eloping with Iñigo after realising she has the opportunity to become a countess – practical lady. There are several more battles and intrigues than I’d care to write about – let’s just say it is action packed from beginning till the end.

The film aims to appeal to an international audience by casting Scandinavian-American Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings) in the titular role. It is also around two and a half hours long – not enough to fit in five novels and do justice to the original work, but that’s what it tries, and fails. People who’re not aware of the original stories will find the film an information overload. With regard to the production, I’m still not convinced about the film’s supposed technical merits save the exquisite costume design, and even that job is made easier by focusing on too few types of characters – soldiers, nobles, and slaves – I don’t remember seeing a single peasant or trader in the entire film. I’m afraid every other aspect is only trying to compare itself to production levels of Tirante el Blanco, a film that also came out the same year. I found the cinematography, set design, and lighting spending too much effort trying to look like a sombre Velázquez or early Goya composition instead of making us feel and breathe the late medieval air. Apart from the boat scene with the slave rowers, there’s little else that impressed me in cinematic terms.

May be my opinion is clouded after watching recent ground-breaking productions like The Game of Thrones, may be because I’m not generally a sucker for historical epics unless it is researched and seen through the eyes of a Pasolini, or may be I’m just plain annoyed that having watched too many things happen on-screen, precious little has indeed registered. This film has failed to impress me. Among the performances, the best is that of Ariadna Gil who plays the actress María de Castro caught between the affections of Alatriste and the King. Elena Anaya also is a joy to watch even if there’s nothing too challenging for her to do here. This post is more of an excuse to write about a brief minute-long nude scene shot with all the coyness of late imperial catholic Spain – that of Angélica being persuaded by Íñigo to elope with him and get married. Angélica is played by an angelic Elena Anaya.

Elena Anaya in Alatriste

Elena Anaya plays the royal staff member Angélica who is persuaded by young lover Íñigo to elope with him in the big budget Spanish swashbuckler "Alatriste"..

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Mina Orfanou in “Strella” [2009 Greece]

Posted on May 7, 2012 by TR

I’ve had the DVD of this Panos H. Koutras drama, “Strella” [Eng. Title: A Woman’s Way] for well over a year now. It is also one of the most poignant and radical films I’d seen during the time, one that I’d been itching to post but whose time has probably only just about arrived…

It’s films like these that make European cinema every once in a while so unique and revolutionary. In terms of story and screenplay, it certainly covers new ground by tackling a subject that’s taboo in most cultures with great sensitivity and care. And it is also refreshing to see a film like this made not in the traditional heartland of European cinema like France, Germany, or Italy, but a largely conservative Greece. No wonder it raised a few eyebrows there when it was released. This post is also a coming-of-age of sorts for the blog – while I’d discussed films dealing with transsexual themes before, this is the first one that doesn’t involve a female actress playing the part – this is as kosher as they come!

Storyline:
It is a challenging task to write a storyline for this without giving too much away – there’s nothing like discovering this strange story by yourself as the film progresses, experiencing its shocking twists and turns, and then reflecting back on what you just saw to realise how well the film has actually been conceived. But I shall try. 😉
Yiorgos arrives at Athens after serving a fourteen year sentence for murder. Along with the world outside, he too has ‘adapted’, but had lost contact with the only member of his family, his son who was nine before he was sent to prison. Through directory enquiries, he goes around cancelling out every person in town who has his son’s name to try and locate him. Meanwhile he meets Strella (a nickname for the name ‘Stella’ mixed with the word ‘Trella’ which means madness), a transsexual prostitute at his hotel, falls in love, and pretty soon moves in with her. When he eventually meets his son, the reunion will be quite beyond what anyone would have hoped for. Yiorgos will yet again have to adapt and learn to find peace and love under altered circumstances…

More than anything else, this challenging but deeply moving film is about exploring how broad a brush could be used to describe ‘love’. How important is paternal love, and what is it that a child expects the most from his father. There are some lines from the film that will make you see things in different light, they will be challenging, but are also magical and deeply touching. The film is very well done, and it may come as a surprise to some that the extraordinary performance by the transsexual actress playing Strella, Mina Orfanou had never acted in film before. Perhaps for women like her, acting on film must only be an extension of their everyday lives, thinking and living like someone they weren’t born as. Notwithstanding her undoubted skills, what makes her character in the film that spectacular however is the fine direction and careful editing, one that you’ll appreciate when you watch it for the second time with full knowledge of the story. Not unlike Almodóvar and Fassbinder before him, Koutras has treated a subject concerning a people who are typically stereotyped and used as fodder for jokes with dignity, focusing on their rarely shown humanity and inner beauty. This gem of a film will only go unappreciated by the narrow minded and frivolous. Highly Recommended Viewing..!

Amazon DVD Link
English Subtitles


The Nudity: Mina Ofranou and Yannis Kokiasmenos
There’s nothing explicit and the nudity is fairly brief, but memorable nonetheless.

Mina Ofranou and Yannis Kokiasmenos nude in Strella

Some scenes of Mina Ofranou and Yannis Kokiasmenos in the moving Greek drama, Strella”.

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Michela Cescon in “Primo Amore” [2004 Italy]

Posted on May 5, 2012 by TR

It’s about time I started the filmography here of one of the more talented young directors from Italy today – Matteo Garrone. Of late I’d been spoilt for choice in picking which Italian film to write about – a surprising number of titles have accumulated in my collection and it doesn’t help if the ones you’ve pencilled for the next post turns out to be a poorly mastered or censored version. But this one isn’t, Garrone’s 2004 drama had been sitting in my shelf for at least a year and I’m glad I could finally write about his exceedingly well made neo-noire, “Primo Amore” [Eng. Title: First Love], which was also well received along the European film circuit. I’d been exploring Matteo Gerrone’s works since first watching this film, and rest assured I’ll also be writing about some of his other remarkable ones here soon.

Storyline:
Essentially it is a story about obsession. Vittorio, a goldsmith running a family business meets Sonia, a shop assistant and part time artists’ model on a blind date. While Sonia is pleased with what she sees in him, Vittorio makes little effort to mask his disappointment – because when she told him before they met that she was a slim woman, he had built up an image of her that was fifteen kilos fewer than what he sees. Nevertheless, since she’d come all the way to meet him, they decide to sit and chat for a coffee during which he gets more interested in her, and before long he begins to like her for her charm and character. But that’s only half of what he wanted – she has an ideal mind, but not an ideal body. “It’s always the same,” he tells his exasperated psychiatrist. “You either find an ideal body and not the mind, or you find the ideal mind but not the body.” Thus goes his logic – if she loves him enough, with his help, she should be able to obtain the ideal body he expects. He will then have his perfect partner and they could live happily ever after. He had embarked upon going down a dangerous precipice, dragging Sonia along with him.
Sonia on the other hand, is a delightful young lady with a positive attitude, content with life and happy about herself. After meeting Vittorio however, it starts to change – and while there is a part of her that wants to act and live according to her self will, it is increasingly overwhelmed by the other part which will do anything to please Vittorio. Just as he gets increasingly obsessed with ‘moulding’ Sonia into how he thinks she should be, completely oblivious to the harm he’s causing. It has become his very purpose in life, even ignoring his livelihood, the inherited business. There are some additional layers to the screenplay seen through Vittorio’s trade as a goldsmith – he specialises in making intricate jewellery with the least amount of gold, contrary to proven business sense, and also Sonia’s profession as a ‘model’ – one he could ‘mould’, etc.

I was about to pen my own built up opinion of how I saw the film, but had to change my mind upon watching director Gerrone’s interview that came with the DVD extras. Rarely have I spent so much time writing a review, and part of me wishes I hadn’t seen the interview before making the post – ah! for ignorance! Now I could only advise the viewer to take the film for what it is – one that’s exploring a theme that’s fairly popular in cinema and novels these days – of the human instinct to change their partner into what they want them to be. Vitaliano Trevisan who plays the male lead was initially drafted to write the screenplay. It was his voice and tone that led Gerrone to cast him in the film as well – his neutral delivery even during scenes of tension adds a menacing quality to the character. The screenplay itself evolved alongside the production, so what we see is not something pre-conceived, but organic – inconclusive, and with an open ending. I know many don’t like that, but that is one of the features that I loved in this film, this teasing of the audience a la Julio Medem.

Apart from the direction and screenplay, what impressed me were the stylish yet non-distracting cinematography and lighting, the natural, convincing, and uninhibited performance by lead actress Michela Cescon – she actually shed ten kilos during the making of this film to give her character more authenticity, and the beautiful soundtrack by Banda Osiris which also won a David and a Silver Berlin Bear in Italy and Germany respectively. I’d label this film Highly Recommended Viewing..!

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Mariana Anghileri in “Aballay, el Hombre sin Miedo” [2010 Argentina, Spain]

Posted on May 2, 2012 by TR

Fernando Spiner’s drama, “Aballay, el Hombre sin Miedo” [Eng. Title: Aballay, the Man without Fear] is a western, Argentinian style. It is no doubt inspired by films from Spaghetti-western greats such as Sergio Leone in terms of cinematography, editing, and perhaps even the soundtrack, but the story and screenplay itself is gritty in a very Latin American way as it focuses on the Argentinian cult of ‘Gaucho’, which I admit learning about only through watching this film. It is nevertheless conventional story-telling and should be easy to follow even for a foreign audience. It is impressively made with well-rounded characterisation – except possibly the hero character Julián (Nazareno Casero) who I think may have been miscast. But it is a fine little film as it stands that needs to be seen by a wider audience and therefore, Recommended Viewing!


Storyline:
Set some time during the beginning of the twentieth century, the film starts with a young Julián bearing witness to the grisly murder of his father and his entire stagecoach party while crossing the desert – they’re ambushed by a gang of Gauchos, led by Aballay. He notices the boy hiding, but allows him to live by not telling his other gang members.

Ten years on, a Julián in his youth retraces the fateful path to arrive at a middle-of-nowhere desert outpost called La Malaría, seeking revenge. He stays put in village belle Juana’s house to search the region for his father’s assassins, a region that is now under the thumb of a different gaucho named “El Muerto” – he used to be Aballay’s deputy. Meanwhile Julián falls in love with Juana despite knowing that El Muerto wants her for himself. El Muerto proposes to Juana at a local fiesta in the most shocking fashion, by branding her buttocks with his initials. Julián, who tries to stop him is beaten and strung to the ground for the vultures to feed on – looks like this is the favourite method of executing enemies. Juana escapes from El Muerto’s clutches to free Julián and takes him to a reclusive local saint known for his healing powers.

As it happens, the saint, Julián’s saviour turns out to be Aballay himself – he had given up violence soon after the murder of Julián’s father, and had also taken a vow to never descend from his horse. This poses an inconvenient dilemma for young Julián…


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Emmanuelle Béart in “Histoire de Marie et Julien” [2003 France, Italy]

Posted on April 30, 2012 by TR

Jacques Rivette is definitely one of the influential directors of the Nouvelle Vague, even if he’s probably lesser known than the likes of Godard and Chabrol outside of France. His style is telling a story through observation – you get to know the characters through a series of vignettes performing seemingly mundane and sometimes repetitive tasks. Consequently his films tend to be long, sometimes stretching into several hours, and demands a greater attention span from its audience. Dreams and visions are one of his frequently explored themes. I wouldn’t call his style experimental, but one can say with certainty that he will spare little time for those less informed.

But he is also a fine example of how great directors themselves draw inspiration from others, in his case from all over the world including Hollywood greats such as Otto Preminger and Alfred Hitchcock. Like Rohmer and Roeg, he didn’t start making feature films until after many years in the industry, and had worked under legends like Renoir and Becker before venturing out on his own.

I’ll start Rivette’s filmography here with one of his later films, the fantasy drama “Histoire de Marie et Julien” [Eng. Title: The Story of Marie and Julien], one that was also in gestation for close to three decades. In an insightful interview among the DVD extras, he describes the extent to which his lead actors influenced not only the screenplay, but the script as well – his original plan had Leslie Caron and Albert Finney play the lead roles, but took on a different shape when Emmanuelle Béart and Jerzy Radziwilowicz were finally cast for the production. Ms. Béart too explains her input into the characterisation. While it is a fine film that rewards one with patience, this isn’t actually my favourite Rivette. This is also one for Emmanuelle Béart completists. But if you’re a die-hard Rivette enthusiast, the film is Highly Recommended Viewing..!


Amazon DVD Link
This was taken from my Artificial Eye “The French Collection Volume 4 – Emmanuelle Béart” box-set, featuring three classics of Ms. Béart. It also includes Rivette and Béart’s previous collaboration “La Belle Noiseuse”, and André Téchiné’s Les Témoins.


Storyline:
If revenants speaking in Gaelic are your thing, this is pretty much up your alley. Julien, a middle aged clocksmith keeps dreaming about a woman he met a while ago, Marie – she was with a boyfriend at the time. But Marie has died since and suddenly reappears to embark on a sensual relationship with Julien. For all intents and purposes, she’s real, save the tiny detail that she can’t or won’t shed a tear nor bleed when cut, even if she could obtain physical orgasm in full flow. An ideal scenario, a man might think – an attractive woman who doesn’t complain (cry) nor need taking care of (cottonwoolled), but one readily available for sexual pleasure. Until this pesky little thing called ‘love’ creeps in. And when Julien learns the fate of the ‘real’ Marie, one or the other has to crossover to the other side to stay together. Who will it be – Julien, or Marie? Only time will tell…


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Posted in Emmanuelle Béart, France, Jacques Rivette | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments