Since the beginning of cinema, there have been countless films about bigotry, prejudice, and hate. Some are political and others more personal and intimate. Sometimes, we see stories of men and women who struggle just for their basic right to love and be loved. And when tragedy hits, everyone mourns and grieve just like anybody else.
Marina Vidal (Daniala Vega), is a young, transgender woman in a relationship with Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a man thirty-years her elder. The two of them are taking a giant step together. She is moving in with him.
At Marina's birthday celebration, with the Chilean nightlife as its backdrop, Orlando and Marina share an intimate dinner, complete with just the right gift. As one would expect, dancing and love-making follow.
Then, for no apparent reason, Orlando suffers some sort of attack. Panicked, Marina helps him into the car as best as she can, though, at one point, he fell down some stairs, in spite of Marina's help.
He dies in the hospital from an aneurysm. Marina is told about an abrasion on Orlando's head he'd sustained when he fell. They connect it and its possible connection with Orlando's death.
Immediately, the police show up to question Marina. The investigator (Amparo Noguera) wants to know what Orlando was paying Marina. The assumption that Marina's a prostitute is already established in her mind.
The so-called investigation would better be referred to as an exercise in cruelty when the investigator decides that Marina's sex is relevant. It leads up to one of the most crushingly humiliating experiences of her life. It's very hard to watch. Of course, Orlando's family were the ones to call the cops in the first place.
That's just the start of Marina's world crashing down on her head. First, she's alone in the world, she's lost her lover. Now, she's a target, a punching bag meant to absorb the grief of other people.
When Orlando's ex-wife Sonja, (Aline Kuppenheim), comes to claim his car, she gives Marina harsh instructions. She is not to come to the wake or the burial. Why? Sonja answers with honesty and sincerity. Sonja believes Marina is a perversion. Sonja's offended at the thought of someone she cares about being with the girl. Marina's very existence seems to offend her. She tells her that she's a perversion.
When Marina shows up at the wake anyway, Sonja stands up and shouts. Marina is shamed in public and reluctantly leaves. Orlando's family, his son, ex-wife, granddaughter, all except his brother persist in mistreating her.
All of this is happening to her while she's still in the throes of grief. She is stunned with mourning and still being told she doesn't have the basic right to grieve. "A Fantastic Woman" brings up an interesting question. Does a family in mourning have the right to tell somebody who loved him deeply that they will not allow her to say goodbye? The film explores the answers delicately and with care.
Yes, the film is muted and maddening at the same time. Lelio manages to find the intimate and very human side of grief. It's this year's entry from Chile for Best Foreign Language Film. It's already been celebrated around the world on the Festival Circuit.
Now, "A Fantastic Woman" is getting some recognition in the States because of the Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. "A Fantastic Woman" is a treasure and is fittingly getting the attention it deserves.
Do you remember the moment you discovered you were a sexual creature? You think of others as more than just handsome or beautiful. You actually want to do things to them. You start to wonder creatively what those things could be.
Luca Guadagnino's "Call Me By Your Name," reaches back to that moment when one's sexuality first rears its head.
Every summer, the Perlman family hosts a guest for the summer. The patriarch, Mr. Perlman (Michael Stuhlbarg), is a professor and it's an opportunity for a kind of mentorship. This summer, that guest is Oliver (Armie Hammer), a twenty-four-year-old student of Mr. Perlman.
At first, Elio (Timothee Chalamet), the Perlmans' seventeen-year-old son, doesn't like Oliver at all. In fact, Oliver is kind of a dick. He's arrogant and dismissive. He refuses any overtures of friendship, but he himself demands constant companionship. He expects others to drop everything to accommodate him. So yeah, Oliver is not just kind of a dick. He's a straight-up bastard.
Elio has to spend almost all of his time entertaining Oliver. He has to go on errands with him. Whenever it suits Oliver, he insists Elio must accompany him all of the time as he goes bike riding or swimming, etc.
Slowly, Elio's feelings turn from annoyance to attraction. Like a little man-crush, and the romance builds from there.
At the same time, Elio is curious about sex in general. He hasn't found his identification yet, so while he's falling for Oliver, his romance with girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel) is progressing, getting more serious and more sexual.
But as his attraction to Olivier turns into infatuation, he has to make some kind of choice. To be fair, Marzia deserves that much. She needs to know where her relationship with Elio is going.
The bulk of the film concentrates on the evolving romance between Oliver and Elio. Now, the time he spends with Oliver, running errands, bike riding, swimming etc. have gone from tedious to treasured.
The way the story plays out with this small intimate group of characters, against the backdrop of northern Italy in the summer makes me think of Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty." Just as in "Stealing Beauty," the characters adore each other and that endears them to us. Plus, the love scenes between Oliver and Elio are soft and intimate.
One thing I have learned from art-house, gay-centered films is that all of the love scenes starts with play fighting. I don't believe that's the way it is in life, but I don't think I've ever seen a gay love sequence without that wrestling kind of foreplay.
The tenderness and subtly which with Guadagnino unfolds this romance is beautiful. If you like love stories at all, you'll enjoy "Call Me By Your Name."
Sometimes, you get a wonderful rare treat that comes straight of your favorites.
Darren Lynn Bousman's "Repo: The Genetic Opera" has given me one such performance. Skinny Puppy just so happens to be my third favorite band of all time. So wasn't I just delighted to hear OhGr would be playing one of the evil brother, son of a Capitalist gone wild. That's another reason to love the film: its firm anti-Capitalist stance. But we'll read about that another day.
For now, enjoy this song with Bill Moseley, Paris Hilton and OhGr in a cute, nihilistic romp.
Pavi Largo: "Ask a gentern who they prefer, ten out of nine will say "The Pavi!" The most dashing, panty-snatching. I will leave your diapers dripping! Two hearts! Mark it up! Pavi steals all of the hearts."
Lee: "I love you."
E. Edward Grey: "We can't do this twenty-four hours a day seven days a week."
Lee: "Why not?"
She makes a very fair point, don't you think?
(Lee sits down at Grey's desk.)
E. Edward Grey: "Put both your hands on the desk, palms down.
(Lee puts her hands on the desk, palms down.)
Lee: "I wanna make love."
E. Edward Grey: "Keep both your feet on the floor until I come back."
Stuntman Mike: "It was a fifty-fifty shot on whether you'd be going left or right. You see we're both going left. You could have just as easily been going left, too. And if that was the case...it would have been a while before you started getting scared. But since you're going the other way, I'm afraid you're gonna have to start getting scared...immediately!"
As young adults or teenagers, when we encounter our first loves, it changes every part of us irrevocably. In some of us, the changes are subtle. In others, however, the transformation slaps us in the face and recreates us into something we never would have believed.
The girls Joachim Trier presents us with in "Thelma" are quiet to start with, particularly Thelma (Eili Harboe). She's a young college student, starting life out on her own. Sort of. She's still tied to her religious yet demoralizing parents.
Thelma's father (Henrik Rafaelsen) is a grand manipulator. Whenever he tries to teach her a moral lesson, it always ends the same: Thelma lowers her head and starts to weep. These speeches spring up randomly in most of their conversations and they devastate Thelma.
Her mother (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) is a quiet, passive-aggressive woman who doesn't talk very much, but is clearly softly bullying the girl.
Thelma plows through, studying and going to classes. She hasn't really made any friends yet. A girl, Anja (Kaya Wilkins) sits with her one day while she's studying.
Thelma's attraction to this girl kicks in right away. She falls to the floor having a non-epileptic seizure. She has no history of epilepticy or seizures of any kind. The doctors run tests, but don't find anything, so clearly, something else triggered the seizure. Like seeing her first love for the very first time. Put that together with Thelma realizing in a second that she likes girls it's no wonder why she reacted so strongly.
Thelma and Anja start to get closer as Thelma's desire for Anja rises. At the same time, Thelma's religious upbringing harmfully holds her back. At night, she kneels with her head against the wall and pleads with God to take away these sinful thoughts and urges. When her father finds about her sexual identity, he forces her to kneel with her head against the wall, pleading with God to remove these new, deviant desires. Thelma is profoundly lost.
The bulk of the film is about Thelma's choice. Does she bend to the so-called morality of her upbringing? Or is she going to hunt down the girl she loves dearly so they call start their relationship?
They clearly have a pure love between them. The passion that grows between them reminded me of Abdellatif Kechiche's deeply emotional "Blue is the Warmest Color."
Therein lies the trauma millions of young gay men and women experience. They can't let themselves love because something in their heads insists that who they are is wrong. So much unhappiness comes from love deprivation. Above everything in this world, love is what we need the most. And everyone deserves to have it.
"Thelma" looks at this problem without condemnation, for neither Thelma or her parents. Trier doesn't condescend to mocking her upbringing, her beliefs or her family, even when they're at their worst. That kind of kindness he shows to all of his characters carries this film and raises it up among others that explore this theme.
So yes, you should seek out "Thelma." Not just if you're a sucker for romance but if you love film or storytelling. This film is far too thoughtful to peg it into a genre.
Let me say it as strongly as possible. "Thelma" is one of the great films of 2017.
I love finding fun and interesting movie quotes to share, but when there is a song that flows right along with the story, well, it's just magical, isn't it?
I don't know how many of you have seen Stuart Murdoch's "God Save the Girl," but it's an overlooked gem.
Murdoch and his band, Belle and Sebastian, are the force behind the songs in this obscure musical.
This song, "I'll have to dance with Cassie" is damn near perfect. Every time it pops up on my playlist, my whole family stops and sings along. It's infectious. So take a listen.
Butcher: "This is the liver. The kidneys. The heart. This is a wound.The stomach will bleed and bleed. This is a kill! This is a kill! The main artery. This is a kill.
(Butcher gives blade to Amsterdam.)
Butcher: "You try. Go ahead. The lung, good. Don't foul the blade on the rib. Very good, main artery. Bleed him slow, let him think about it for a while. Slow Death. Good."
Althea: "I heard you slept with every single girl in every one of your clubs as sort of a prerequisite. I was wondering if that was true."
Larry: "Well, it isn't entirely untrue if that's what you mean."
Althea: "I'm curious why you haven't taken a stab at me?"
(after)
Althea: "You are not the only one in this club that has slept with every girl in this club."
Sometimes, a film comes around, reaching for epic status. A great many of these are enthusiastic, but embarrassingly bad. Some actually do reach epic status.
Dee Rees' "Mudbound" is an ambitious film. It wants to be everything: a war story, a drama, but most of all, an acceleration of hatred between man against man, family against family, white against humanity.
When Ronsel Jackson (Jackson Mitchell) a black servicemen, comes home a hero from World War II, his family is ecstatic. His dad, Hap (Rob Morgan), is overjoyed when Ronsel tells him he intends to stay with his family, in Mississippi and work on the family's farm.
Of course, this is problematic to say the least. The Jackson family are tenants of the McAllen's, led by an inhuman patriarch, Pappy (Jonathan Banks). He doesn't miss an opportunity to make it clear to Ronsel that he doesn't care what respect or rights he had during the war. Ronsel is back here in Mississippi.
In fact, the whole McAllan family together represents a familiar "racism with a smile." They demand absolute servitude from the Jacksons, even as the head of their family, Hap is incapacitated by a broken leg, and expected to be working.
Meanwhile, Ronsel starts a strange kind of friendship with Jamie, (Garrett Hedlund), one the McAllan boys coming back from the war as well. They bond over their partying, fighting, close calls, womanizing, the toll killing people can take on one's soul, and their shared shell-shock.
At one point, there's a rare scenario when the McAllans are in a position to humble themselves and ask a desperate service from the mother of the Jackson family, Florence (Mary J. Blige). The McAllan children have gotten sick and they can't reach a doctor. Laura, (Carey Mulligan) understands Florence knows how to care for them. Knowing that her family won't get any kind of thanks, that the McAllan family will continue to demand servitude, Florence agrees to help. Yes, the McAllans are monsters, but you can't take that out innocent children. Of course, when the danger is passed, things continue as they were.
Ronsel and Jamie continue their friendship, getting closer as they spend more time with each other. But there's a dark shadow lurking over them: Pappy McAllan. The man's cold, deliberate malice is deadly. More-so than Jonathan had ever dreamed.
When the story reaches its boiling point, every single character is hurt. And what's truly sad is that these tragedies have no moral. They're empty and meaningless. None of it was necessary. In the end, there's just loss and grief.
But this film is bigger than the violence. With the backdrop of Belgium and other WWII stages, "Mudbound" covers decades in these families' lives. It covers a love triangle, the increasing boldness of the Ku Klux Klan, the sparks of the Civil Rights movement, a story of vengeance, of fathers and sons and it nails each of these smaller story contained within.
The film reaches for epic status and touches it.
And Jonathan Banks deserves recognition for his work as he brings white hatred and quiet savagery to the screen personified on his very face. I'm still frightened by the thought of him.
I know it's late in the year for telling you what the top ten films of 2017 are, but it takes time for so much wisdom to paint itself across these pages.
I do have a tentative list. My delay in posting my top 10 films of 2017 exists because there are a number of films I've not had the chance to watch yet. As soon as I see them, I'll give you my finalized list.
If you've been paying any attention at all, you'll remember I've been calling Jordan Peele's satire "Get Out" the best film of the year and that hasn't changed.
"Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character." - the unsurpassed Winston Wolf played by Harvey Keitel in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."
"Don't look now, but there's one man too many in this room and I think it's you."
Since the beginning of cinema, there have been countless films about bigotry, prejudice, and hate. Some are political and others more personal and intimate. Sometimes, we see stories of men and women who struggle just for their basic right to love and be loved. And when tragedy hits, everyone mourns and grieve just like anybody else.
At Marina's birthday celebration, with the Chilean nightlife as its backdrop, Orlando and Marina share an intimate dinner, complete with just the right gift. As one would expect, dancing and love-making follow.
Then, for no apparent reason, Orlando suffers some sort of attack. Panicked, Marina helps him into the car as best as she can, though, at one point, he fell down some stairs, in spite of Marina's help.
The so-called investigation would better be referred to as an exercise in cruelty when the investigator decides that Marina's sex is relevant. It leads up to one of the most crushingly humiliating experiences of her life. It's very hard to watch. Of course, Orlando's family were the ones to call the cops in the first place.
When Orlando's ex-wife Sonja, (Aline Kuppenheim), comes to claim his car, she gives Marina harsh instructions. She is not to come to the wake or the burial. Why? Sonja answers with honesty and sincerity. Sonja believes Marina is a perversion. Sonja's offended at the thought of someone she cares about being with the girl. Marina's very existence seems to offend her. She tells her that she's a perversion.
"A Fantastic Woman" brings up an interesting question. Does a family in mourning have the right to tell somebody who loved him deeply that they will not allow her to say goodbye? The film explores the answers delicately and with care.
Now, "A Fantastic Woman" is getting some recognition in the States because of the Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. "A Fantastic Woman" is a treasure and is fittingly getting the attention it deserves.
Don't you love the power of positive thinking? That was David Fincher's gospel in the nineties.
Do you remember the moment you discovered you were a sexual creature? You think of others as more than just handsome or beautiful. You actually want to do things to them. You start to wonder creatively what those things could be.
Elio has to spend almost all of his time entertaining Oliver. He has to go on errands with him. Whenever it suits Oliver, he insists Elio must accompany him all of the time as he goes bike riding or swimming, etc.
At the same time, Elio is curious about sex in general. He hasn't found his identification yet, so while he's falling for Oliver, his romance with girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel) is progressing, getting more serious and more sexual.
The way the story plays out with this small intimate group of characters, against the backdrop of northern Italy in the summer makes me think of Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty." Just as in "Stealing Beauty," the characters adore each other and that endears them to us. Plus, the love scenes between Oliver and Elio are soft and intimate.
Sometimes, you get a wonderful rare treat that comes straight of your favorites.
Stuntman Mike: "It was a fifty-fifty shot on whether you'd be going left or right. You see we're both going left. You could have just as easily been going left, too. And if that was the case...it would have been a while before you started getting scared. But since you're going the other way, I'm afraid you're gonna have to start getting scared...immediately!"
As young adults or teenagers, when we encounter our first loves, it changes every part of us irrevocably. In some of us, the changes are subtle. In others, however, the transformation slaps us in the face and recreates us into something we never would have believed.
Her mother (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) is a quiet, passive-aggressive woman who doesn't talk very much, but is clearly softly bullying the girl.
Thelma and Anja start to get closer as Thelma's desire for Anja rises. At the same time, Thelma's religious upbringing harmfully holds her back. At night, she kneels with her head against the wall and pleads with God to take away these sinful thoughts and urges. When her father finds about her sexual identity, he forces her to kneel with her head against the wall, pleading with God to remove these new, deviant desires. Thelma is profoundly lost.
The bulk of the film is about Thelma's choice. Does she bend to the so-called morality of her upbringing? Or is she going to hunt down the girl she loves dearly so they call start their relationship?
Therein lies the trauma millions of young gay men and women experience. They can't let themselves love because something in their heads insists that who they are is wrong. So much unhappiness comes from love deprivation. Above everything in this world, love is what we need the most. And everyone deserves to have it.
So yes, you should seek out "Thelma." Not just if you're a sucker for romance but if you love film or storytelling. This film is far too thoughtful to peg it into a genre.
I love finding fun and interesting movie quotes to share, but when there is a song that flows right along with the story, well, it's just magical, isn't it?
(Cutting a hanging pig.)
Althea: "I heard you slept with every single girl in every one of your clubs as sort of a prerequisite. I was wondering if that was true."
When watching any film, there are moments when, if the tone is just perfect, a song can be just as effective as any element of the picture.
Sometimes, a film comes around, reaching for epic status. A great many of these are enthusiastic, but embarrassingly bad. Some actually do reach epic status.
Of course, this is problematic to say the least. The Jackson family are tenants of the McAllen's, led by an inhuman patriarch, Pappy (Jonathan Banks). He doesn't miss an opportunity to make it clear to Ronsel that he doesn't care what respect or rights he had during the war. Ronsel is back here in Mississippi.
The film reaches for epic status and touches it.
If you've been paying any attention at all, you'll remember I've been calling Jordan Peele's satire "Get Out" the best film of the year and that hasn't changed.
"Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character." - the unsurpassed Winston Wolf played by Harvey Keitel in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction."