Tuesday 22 December 2009

End Of The Year - Best And Worst

Although I have detested Best Of lists all my adult life for some unknown reason I feel compelled to write one this year. I'm sure someone could find a deeper meaning in under all this - I simply don't care.

Neither the best of nor the worst of are in any order - they are simply the ten films I loved the most and the ten I hated the most.

Best Of 2009 -

1) White Ribbon

Michael Haneke constructs perhaps what is most comprehensive and self-contained look at fascism the screen has ever seen - set on the cusp of World War I, a small Austrian village is beset by strange events which are somehow linked to the children of the place. Haneke creates a place so real and displays an understanding of the way of life so well that it almost feels like a documentary at times. Simply brilliant.

2)Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call: New Orleans

Werner Herzog re-invents the Abel Ferrara classic - starting with an outrageous scene set during the New Orleans floods, Herzog creates a neo-noir world touched by the Mad Hatter - Nicolas Cage's lieutenant is a brilliant creation: the physical and vocal transformation Cage gives the character throughout the movie makes one think as if he is channelling Olivier and Mckellan in their Richard III role.

3)Inglorious Basterds:

Tarantino rocks. That's all one needs to say about his tribute to World War II action-exploitation films which starts with what is perhaps the most perfect 20 minutes in any film this year. Christoph Waltz's Hans Landa steals the film as a memorable, well-crafted villain with the best lines in the whole script.

4)A Serious Man:
The Coen Brothers craft a comedy that is clearly inspired by their own life in the suburbs as children. A great cast give life to a series of off-beat characters who try to make sense of the mysteries of life.

5)Up In The Air:
George Clooney makes this modern re-telling of 'The Flying Dutchman' aided by a terrifically intelligent script. Jason Reitman is proving himself to be an expert craftsman of satirical movies with heart.

6)Accident (Yi ngoi):

Pou-Sou Cheang finally fulfills the potential he has showed in his previous two pictures: 'Accident' is a modern masterpiece - a character piece that is so low key and beautiful that it becomes a heartbreak just to watch it. Louis Koo gives the performance of a lifetime as the assassin who is obsessed with finding out who is destroying his perfectly-controlled life. A gesture he makes towards the end of film encapsulates the entire script in one small move: a near-perfect film in every way.

7)Vengeance:

Johnny To continues his excellent streak with a tale of revenge starring none other than French rock'n'roll icon Johnny Halliday. Yes, the film might falter near the end but by that point To and his screenwriter Wai Kai Fai have painted the screen with so much inventiness that you are willing to forgive them anything. One to watch over and over again.

8)Nefes Vatan Sagolsun:
Out of Turkey comes this mind-blowing exploration of the army and the war against terror. Courting controversty before even its' release, Levent Semerci's Nefes is an even handed exploration of the soldiers and their mentality - through some terrific actors, he explores each man with an unflinching eye and finds some universal truths about what war does to people. On a par with Aleksandr Sokurov's 2007 masterpiece 'Aleksandra' , 'Nefes' is a film that deserves to be seen on a much larger scale.

9)A Prophet:
Jacques Audiard creates a prison drama that simply turns the whole genre upside down. Terrific character-work and an amazing evocation of the claustrophobia of prsion gets mixed with Eastern religious myths and creates what is going to remembered as one of the most seminal films of not only 2009 but of all time. Special mention must go to lead actor Tahar Rahim whose transformation on screen from a small time nobody to an extraordinary maniupulator is a sight to behold.

10)Pontypool:
The most outright intelligent horror film of the year. Nothing can compare to 'Pontypool' when it comes to re-inventing the horror film as a verbose game - an amazing script brought to life by an amazing cast. The thinking horror fan's new champion.

Worst of 2009

Special mention: Zombie Women Of Satan: I can't honestly add this to the list because I never finished watching it. After 20 years of watching everything, Zombie Women of Satan was the film that broke my limits of patience and I walked out after 20 minutes. To call this a film is an insult to cinema in general.

1)Outlander:
How can someone make an idea so cool as 'a spaceman amongst vikings' so dull? So to find out, you have to watch the million hour long snoozefest called 'Outlander'

2)The Proposal:
This should be subtitled 'How Not To Make A Romantic Comedy'. Take two leads with zero chemistry, throw in the worst possible pedestrian script and the result will still be nowhere as bad this 'thing' that played cinemas only a short while ago.

3)Terminator Salvation:
Just plain stupid.

4)Angels & Demons:
A film that is as clunky as the books - but there's no doubting its' success at the box office.

5)Friday the 13th:
A remake so dull that by the third act you want Jason to step out of the screen and smash a hatchet into your head.

6)The Fourth Kind:
Re-invents how badly made a movie can be: indecisive, schrizophrenic plotting is aided by actors who are sleep-walking through the whole thing.

7)Lesbian Vampire Killers:
Sets back the comedy-horror genre by about 50 years. Infantile humour, grating characters and the sort of innuendos not seen on the screen since the demise of the Carry On series - and at least those had some terrific actors in them.

8)Passengers:
Anne Hathaway does Sixth Sense - awfully.

9)The Spirit:
Proof that Frank Miller has lost his mind. Ugly, offensive and completely unbearable. Will Eisner is spinning in his grave so fast he might actually come out.

10)Public Enemies:
Hello - my name is Micheal Mann and today I'll show you how to suck the charisma out of an enigmatic gangster story. Mann's dullest work is not helped by a script that simply does not know where its' sympathies lie. The film ends up being drag all the way to the end simply because you do not care about a single character in it. Wasted opportunity by a greatly talented team.

That's it.

AMENDMENT:

I can't believe I forgot 'Thirst'. I apologise profusely. It's one of the best of not only this year but any. It blew my mind. I love it so very, very much.

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Vengeance (Johnnie To - 2009)

A new Johnnie To film is always a cause for celebration in my eyes - here's an assured and skilled director who slowly and surely builds on the themes he has been exploring for the past decade , gifted with an unflinching eye as well as a deep and unbreakable bond with the city in which he operates.

To operates in the same realm as Jean Pierre Melville - his films are deconstructions of the old Hollywood noir and gangster films. When you sit down the watch a Johnnie To film, you do not only enjoy a story but a wholly rounded universe with its' idiosyncrasies and habits - with characters who have fully formed bonds and attitudes towards the world around them.

It's always joyful for To to playfully explore the boundaries of his films - playing with codes of honour, of male bonding but most of all with beautiful gunplay elevated to almost art form.

And 'Vengeance' is a true winner from this angle: the set pieces are things of immense beauty: slow, carefully choreographed dances of death which keep the viewer hooked.

But for my money Vengeance falls short of being one of Mr. To's greatest: a corny third act trick moves the film into a realm that is different than what the director is capable of handling and suddenly this error glares out very obtrusively in the middle of the film, distorting the rest of action along with it.

Let's track back for a second. 'Vengeance' star Johnny Hallyday as Francois Costello - a one-time assassin who is now a chef and lives a comfortable life in Paris. However his peace is shattered when his daughter and her husband are brutally murdered in what looks like a gang attack in their own home. Costello travels to Macau and swears to his daughter that she will have her vengeance on the men who took everything away.
As a foreign man in a strange land , Costello is not able to go very far with his investigation. However a chance encounter leads him to meet a trio of assassins for hire played by Anthony Wong, Lam Suet and Lam Ka Tung. He hires the trio to help him find the killers and complete his revenge.

With such a classic storyline, To and his screenwriter Wa Ka-Fai lose no time in piling up impressive set pieces: the opening attack on Costello's daughter is both brutal and shocking - shown in slow-motion to increase the effect. Hallyday makes an effective character- his eyes almost animal as they fill the screen up in regular close-ups.

One of To's advantages is that he makes use of a cast of actors in pretty much every movie he directs: this allows him to work with the actors who are comfortable with their roles and can bring out the feeling of the piece without looking silly. So the presence of Lam Suet and Anthony Wong and Simon Yam come as no surprise to regular followers. The trio of assassins are classic To creations: they are silent, efficient and bound by a code of honour that goes a lot deeper than anyone can imagine. The scene where they escape the apartment block with Hallyday in tow is one of the impressive in the film: the way they work shows to the audience how at ease with each other these men are and how their roles are well-defined within their group.

But that third act set-up: it feels as if the script has to take such a wild turn because it has written itself into a corner: Hallyday's dementia - introduced quite late in the film - is already a hard to swallow issue - however with the further addition of this scene, the film comes unstuck and it's not until later when Costello starts to extract his revenge can it recover.

However these are minor quibbles for a film which is so effective in its' execution: Although largely silent, To's frames contain all the elements needed to tell a story. From the sordid lights of Hong Kong's downtrodden districts to the lines of Costello's face, every little detail required is there to enrich the story. Add to this some distinctly beautiful moments which update noir traditions and you have an almost unmissable film.

Here's hoping that Mr. To's next film can avoid the pitfalls of this one.

Vengeance does not have a Uk release date yet.

Monday 30 November 2009

Bulsinjiok (Living Death) 2009 - Director: Lee Yong Joo-I

I'm a big fan of Asian cinema. Ever since I made the first discover with Ring during the dark days of VHS rentals, I've been digging deeper and deeper into the goldmine to discover any number of brilliant films.

True even before Tartan released Ring in this country, I was aware of directors like Kurosawa, Ozu - had watched the oddities of bullet opera from Hong Kong that Channel 4 used to screen (where are you now, the alternative channel?) and had occasionally been subjected to anime shows that my friends thought I could see.

But my true love-affair started with Ring and from thereon it was as if a dam had broken. Nearly eleven years on, the quantity of stuff I've watched is staggering , helped in no short measure by some very good Asian film festivals in London.

However the danger with such an approach is obviously the better films become rarer once you skim through the cream of the crop. And as the findings get rarer and rarer, you become more and more desperate for something to come along and blow your mind.

Two years ago it was 'Chugyeogja' - then it was 'Epitaph' - and I think now 'Bulsinjiok' can be safely added to that list.

To be honest with you, 'Bulsinjiok' might not strike some viewers as well thought-out as the titles I mentioned before. It's a more subtle film, one that encourages you think further about what happens on-screen and it doesn't hurt that it comes sporting a very creepy image or two.

'Bulsinjiok' is about college student named Hee Jin (Nam Sang Mi) who returns home when her 14-year-old sister So Jin (Shim Eun Kyung) goes missing. Her mother, a fanatic churchgoer, resorts to prayer and refuses to work with the lazy police to find So Jin. Meanwhile, a neighbor commits suicide and leaves a will for So Jin, and Hee Jin hears rumors that her sister had been possessed. The whereabouts of So Jin becomes increasingly elusive as Hee Jin's dreams intensify and more deaths occur.

The plot of 'Bulsinjiok' can be considered quite claustrophobic. The whole thing is pretty much set in and around the same apartment block and narratively is nothing more than characters slowly revealing the truth as the eerie atmosphere intesifies.

However, where the film scores highly is in its' exploration of blind faith. Not just shamanic or Christian blind faith but blind faith in general: from So Jin's mother who prays all night fanatically and tells those who do not follow her footsteps that they are going to hell to a neighbour who is also a shaman who becomes the catalyst behind the whole story.

The film also explores the demons in us all: how blinds faith corrupts us, makes us do things we'd never imagine doing. And it doesn't just let the characters embroiled in the main story stand responsible - even the detective investigating the case is not above falling for such superstition as he has a little girl slowly dying in hospital from some unnamed illness.

'Bulsinjiok' also shows a different Korean than we are used to: the ignorance that's set deep within the slums - the apartment block looming over an abandoned playground, in the distance factories stand silent and imposing. The grey dominates every frame, the flats all look nearly identical, dull furniture, used and old and the people look tired from the very effort of living. Even the characters are lost souls - trying to find something to anchor their very fears on so that they may escape - the security guards little outburst is one such example.

However 'Bulsinjiok' is also a horror film - Hee-Jin's dreams , full of surreal and beautiful imagery like a lost Bunuel film as well as the long-legged bird (I think it's a stork but someone can correct me if I'm wrong) nightmarishly watching the unfolding events. Her first visit to the playground is just as superb - with shadows looming across the frames as he finds... something that is both unnerving and very unreal.

If you're a fan of intelligent horror films. I'd recommend you give 'Bulsinjiok' a chance. It might be slow and subtle - however when the second half of the film starts, you cannot help but realise that it has gotten under your skin. By the time the shocking but honest ending unfolds across the screen you will realise you've been holding your breath. Best of all, it will linger on your mind long after forcing you to think about what the film tried to convey.

'Bulsinjiok' currently has not U.K. release date.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Glorious 39 - Director: Stephen Poliakoff (2009)

I love Stephen Poliakoff. So far in a career of wildly varying films, TV dramas and other assorted output, he has not once disappointed me. Like David Mamet his theme remain the same, the subjects every changing, some brilliant , some sub-par but always, always fascinating.

The first time I ever saw something by Poliakoff was a repeat of 'Shooting the Past' on BBC2 years and years ago. I remember only catching the final episode but being enthralled by the mood, the feel of the piece. Poliakoff's characters are like figures in a landscape, their movement and speech always so deliberate and through them he voices his own words, his own moods and his own feelings.

'Glorious 39' is no exception to this. The film opens with a nice looking young man visiting two of his formidable relatives Walter and Oliver (played with gusto by Christoper Lee and Colin Redgrave) The young man wants to know what happened to one of his relatives - Anne Keyes whose picture is in his family album. Walter and Oliver are regal, poised but still disturbed by the question. There is a story here to be told, a family secret to be unearthed. They reveal the truth - of what happened in one summer of 1939 - the glorious 39 of the title.

Adopted eldest daughter Anne Keyes(Romola Garai) of the aristocratic Keyes family is a budding actress, whose charmed life is disrupted when she stumbles upon secret recordings hidden in the outbuildings of her family home. Trying to uncover the source and significance of her discovery, she is drawn into a confusion of secrets and betrayal which will all lead her to ultimately discover who she really is.

The Keyes family is a formidable creation: on paper a charming upper-class clan with its' fair share of dotty aunts and loving sisters and an absent-minded father who is nevertheless loving and caring (played with aplomb by Bill Nighy).

However what lies under the surface is a squirming web of lies, half-truths and some very cruel characters.

Although Glorious 39 is never as successful as it could (and most of that is largely due to the final half an hour or so where both the ending and the closing coda are fairly redundant and cheesy) , it is still one of the more exciting films to grace our screens this year.

Taking his cue from Hitchcock at his best but without really ever losing sight of what makes the film so enticingly Poliakoff, the director draws the viewer into the same state of confusion and paranoia that Anne finds herself in during the course of her investigation.

As the narrative twists and turns, the frames change meaning: the members of the Keyes family who seemed pleasant but slightly quirky become figures of menace. A scene in the second half of the film set during a party for the children of ambassadors is a thing of true horror with each dimly lit corridor, each room suggesting a new wave of horror.

As always, identity and history are key themes to Poliakoff. Both the wraparound story of Walter and Oliver narrating a family history and his ending frame fit into the overall arch of the themes he explored in 'Friends and Crocodile' , 'Joe's Palace' , 'The Lost Prince' and 'Capturing Mary'. His way of exploring Anne's awakening to the reality of the world is brutal: the character slowly losing the charmed life she has been surrounded with, only to realise she means nothing more than a pet that can easily be put down to the people around her. Her desperation, her anger, her confusion all feel all too real. Even the idyllic scene that calls to her at the end, almost like sirens trying to lure her to her doom , rely on her sense of who she is to make her falter. Luckily her resolve remains strong and Anne proves to be a survivor of the true sense.

The film is also very gorgeous to look at: the tones of summer and autumn are perfectly captured on camera: whether it be tea-parties or dinners or merely the gloom of London - each frame evokes a sense of the time and place we are meant to be in. Even in present day Walter and Oliver's flat - a prison that is there to keep time out - looks enticing and intriguing to the viewer.

The film also boasts a beautiful score, subtle and haunting , just like the music in most of the other Poliakoff productions. Without ever being too bombastic, the music underline the important scenes with melodies likely to remain in the audience's mind.

Ultimately 'Glorious 39' fails at the last hurdle. The last segment of the film lets the rest down badly and it unfortunately loses most of what Poliakoff has been aiming fro in terms of mood and story. It is not hard to see what Mr. Poliakoff was trying to do, but that unfortunately is no excuse for what remains a rather pedestrian way of doing it.

Even with the let-down of the last reel, the film still remain superior to most of its ilk. The well-written script (at least for three quarters of the film) , the beautifully lensed camerawork, the uniformly good action from a British cast of who's who, and a terrific score make 'Glorious 39' definitely worth watching. Just reel your expectations back in as the last hour starts to play out on the big screen.

'Glorious 39' is out in the UK later this year.

Friday 27 November 2009

The Message - 2009 - Director: Chen Kuo-Fu, Gao Qunshu

Mainland Chinese cinema gets treated like some sort of unwanted step child in the West. Perhaps due to their history of the films not always being up to par to their Hong Kong counterparts or perhaps because of the issue of censorship, most reviews start with an introduction which usually comments on the look of the film in a negative way.

However it has been my observation that the films that are being produced in Mainland china have been coming forward in leaps and bounds. And although some may have structural problems (it seems a coherent narrative can sometimes get sacrificed in favour of a jingoistic message or an implausible twist) , they have now reached a standard which can easily compete with the output from elsewhere on the Asian continent. If anything the most disappointing stuff seems to be flowing from Japan at the moment where although blessed with amazing scripts, there seems to be a trend of shooting on dv most of the time which detracts from the quality of the visuals.

Back to our main subject and to the film that will change a lot of opinions: 'The Message' (or 'Feng Sheng' as its' known) is a beautiful period piece that cleverly never tries to overplay its' hand or outstay its' welcome.
Set in 1942, Nanjing (Nanking) following a series of assassination attempts on officials of the Japanese-controlled puppet government, the Japanese spy chief gathers a group of suspects in a mansion house for questioning. All of the suspects in question work for the counter-insurgency unit of the Japanese army and through the use of a false message , the Japanese spy chief Colonel Takeda has whittled down his suspect number to six members of the unit.

The suspects are fully aware of the fate that might await them - from the word go, we are privy to the information that in order to make someone talk the Japanese are willing to go to any length - including some of the more ingenious and extremely brutal methods of torture. In fact for a film which is essentially an old-fashioned who-dunnit set within a castle, 'The Message' has moments of discomfort that might be a tad too much for some of the viewers.

As the Colonel in charge starts to play each suspects against another and listening into their conversations via the use of bugs, the mole desperately tries to get out a message that will save his/her comrades from certain death.

The first thing anyone will notice about 'The Message' is how lush it looks. The setting, the attention to period details and the camerawork are all elegant and impressive , similar to 'Lust,Caution' in places. But whilst that was an exploration of lust and power, 'The Message' remains true to its' core at all times and does not complicate its' aim: to entertain through a tense thriller. (Only perhaps the nationalistic coda at the grates a little but it remains completely forgivable due to the 110 minutes that goes before it) Considering that one of the directors was an executive producer on the superb 'Assembly' from 2007 though, neither how spectacular the film looks nor the nationalism at the end really comes as a surprise to this viewer.

The film unfortunately does suffer from one too many quick cuts, sweeping shots and a number of flashy filming and editing techniques. At the same time, it also has some very inventive ideas one of which is using the mole's thoughts/messages as chapter headings to keep the audience involved at all times.

'The Message' is a lengthy film but that never matters due to how well made it is. An outstanding cast complements the script well and you can easily tell that the rather large budget was spent in creating a feel for the period (as well as some spectacularly gruesome effects) rather than wasting on CGI effects as some period dramas (Goemon , I'm looking at you) seems to have done.

For anyone who enjoys a good mystery or wants a variation on a theme we are very much used to in the west, I recommend 'The Message' heartily - a perfect Sunday evening movie that will both excite and amuse.

'The Message' has no UK release date at the moment.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Disgrace - 2008 - Director: Steve Jacobs


Amidst all the little gems that played last year's Istanbul Film Festival, 'Disgrace' holds a special place. Maybe it's because the film is one of those rare beasts: an intelligent and well-written drama that is not afraid to explore each idea to its' darkest core. Or maybe it's because of John Malkovich's superb performance of a man who is completely lost in a time place, someone who let alone understand can barely exist within the place he's been put upon.

'Disgrace' is about South Africa, it's about a professor ; David Lurie (John Malkovich), twice-divorced and dissatisfied with his job as an English professor in post-apartheid South Africa who suddenly finds his life falling apart. When he seduces one of his students, Melanie (Antoinette Engel) and does nothing to protect himself from the consequences, he is dismissed from his teaching position, and goes to live with his lesbian daughter Lucy (Jessica Haines), who shares a farm in the Eastern Cape with trusted black worker Petrus (Eric Ebouaney). For a time, his daughter's influence and natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. In the aftermath of a vicious attack by three black youths, he is forced to come to terms with the changes in society - as well as his disgrace.

The brilliance of 'Disgrace' lies in its' refusal to elicit any sympathy for its' main character as well as never simplifying matters. John Malkovich's David is a complex creation: a man out of step and touch with time - a man either does not or refuses to understand the consequences of his actions.

At the beginning of the film he is a middle-aged man beset by lust. He does not stop to think or consider whether what he does will have any effect or not. He simply acts upon his impulses perhaps because the land he lives him allows to so.

As the film progresses, he becomes more and more lost in the currents of time. His actions have consequences which he cannot comprehend and whilst trying to escape the consequences he walks into even bigger dilemmas. The question of South Africa becomes his question personally. And his journey to answer that question becomes the key to the heart of the film.

'Disgrace' is handsomely lensed and captures Africa starkly but brilliant. It's a film designated to make the viewer uncomfortable - to make the audience questions and beliefs at every turn. It is one of those brilliant moments of filmaking that is bound to cause as much debate as acceptance.

Monday 23 November 2009

EXHIBIT A - Director: Dom Rotheroe

Thanks to the incredible (and I must add well-deserved) success of Paranormal Activity, the horror film market is once again seeing a surge in found-footage, low-budget, pseudo-real horror films.

The bad side of this, obviously, is that there will be so much unremarkable stuff on the market that we will once again get over-saturated very quickly.

On the good side, this will hopefully get distributors finally releasing some of the smaller but absolutely terrific films they've sitting on for ages.

'Exhibit A' is one such film - I had the privilege of watching the film in 2007 at Raindance Independent Film Festival in London and it was simply one of the most effective and brilliant films playing the festival that year.

Since then I've been very excitedly waiting to hear news of a release date to no avail. Which is completely a shame as here is a film which I'd like to inflict on most of my friends, if only to watch their reaction to the story that unfolds on the screen.

Like most of its' counterparts, 'Exhibit A' claims to be real: a tape which was found at the scene of a crime and dubbed 'Exhibit A' by the Yorkshire Police. This much is made clear in the few opening moments by a card on the screen effectively setting the unsettling tone of the film: we don't know what the crime is or what the tape contains.

What follows is an unbelievably harrowing journey into the fate of a family: a normal family disintegrating under financial pressure unfolding through daughter Judith's video camera received at the beginning of the film as a birthday present.

To say any more would be unfair to director Dom Rotheroe who creates an ever-growing sense of menace and unease through very familiar and everyday situations. The characters are believable, especially to a British audience , and this makes the whole experience even harder to watch.

'Exhibit A' is an immensely inventive film, gambling all its' strength on the audience caring what happens to the characters and not resorting to any cheap shock tactics. Even the use of the found-footage is not over-done, the camera becoming a voyeuristic gateway for the audience without ever losing the sense what you're watching is reality.

The performances from the entire cast are terrific but special mention must go to Bradley Cole who as the patriarch of the family desperately trying to keep his life from falling apart is a genius creation: a middle-class man whose breakdown is slow but always believable.

I said it at the beginning and it's worth noting again: 'Exhibit A' is a hard watch. It's frightening and unpleasant in places and the final half of the movie will definitely break some members of the audience. When I attended the screening at Raindance there had already been one evening showing and the usher who let us in told us that there were quite a few walkouts the night before and that one person threw up. Although the story might not be entirely true, it rings true considering the timely subject matter.

So if you're a horror fan who hankers for intelligent and original fare, you owe it to yourself to check out 'Exhibit A' when it hits DVD on the 1st December.

'Exhibit A' comes out in the UK on the 1st December.

Sunday 22 November 2009

Yi Ngoi (Accident) - 2009 Directed by: Pou-Soi Cheang

I love Johnnie To. For my money's worth , he's simply one of the most inventive and brilliant users of cinematic language. His frames are stylish, beautiful creations of a mind who understand and loves the setting and the characters of his films.

I also am a fan of Pou-Soi Cheang. Showing great promise with 'Dog Bite Dog' which was brilliant in representing the brutality of the world in which his characters lived , he once again fell just short of that promise with his next film 'Shamo' which felt patchy and uninvolving.

Now however he has directed what is possibly going to be one of the most important films of his career: 'Yi Ngoi' and it is my belief that his sudden discovery of clear expression has something to do with a certain Mr. To having a hand in as a producer.

The premise of the film is intriguing but at the same very misleading: A four-member assassination unit go about their elaborate murder plans and leave behind fatal ‘accidents’ in their wake. The group’s leader, Brain (Louis Koo), himself traumatised by a previous incident, is not the most trustful of leaders; and after an ill-executed murder results in a loss in his own group, the killer’s growing conviction that he’s being hunted by his professional counterparts leads him to a suspicious insurance officer, Mr Chan (Richie Ren), whom Brain becomes determined to outfox.

Judging by that, it would not be surprising if many audience members would walk into the cinema expecting the same sort of operatic excess that Johnny To so brilliantly does.

But that would be a huge mistake.

You see, in 'Yi Ngoi, Mr. Cheang creates that rarest of beasts: an intelligent thriller that is completely focused on intricate character study.

Brain as played by Louis Koo is a fantastic creation: a lonely man, he spends his day planning, re-planning and further planning each assassination until no detail is left unquestioned. His attitude towards his crew is professional and only professional, in fact although he might not be oldest member of this team, you get the sense that the others fear him to an extent.
As the narrative twists and turns around his efforts to find out just who is taking his team out in even better staged 'accidents', his character becomes more and more unhinged. His loneliness is laid bare at every turn and you feel that his desire to control every aspect of these accident stems from the trauma his life has endured earlier; by never losing control he obviously feels he can stop events from ever affecting him again.
The other members of the cast do a fine job as well: however it is always Koo's film. In a Hong Kong that looks more desolate than usual, he sticks to lonely apartment building and far away rooftops , always watching and observing, always trying to discover a new angle for the other players which he can use to unravel what's happening.
Displaying none of his earlier flash cutting or directing techniques, Cheang quietly explores the psyche of this man and with the help of some clever and timely deus-ex-machina finally answers what Koo suspects all along: that none us can every fully control our fate as there is always someone who can effect the outcome.
Voyeuristic in action and very claustrophobic in terms of its' relationship with its' characters, Yi Ngoi deserves to be hailed as one of the most successful and intriguing films to come out of Hong Kong for a long time.

'Yi Ngoi' does not have a UK release date yet.

Friday 20 November 2009

A Single Man (2009) - Directed By : Tom Ford - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1315981/

'I am camera with its' shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.'

The first time I encountered Christopher Isherwood's work was, like for many people, during one of the many screenings of 'Cabaret' on BBC. What I remember most about the film was how beautiful Liza Minnelli looked but also how foreign, how debaucherous the whole world had seemed to me. I clearly can recall the half shock - half relief at hearing Micheal York's Brian Roberts line about sleeping with Maximillian played by Helmut Griem.
But it would be much, much later that I'd take an interest in the man himself - in his work, his diaries , his letters - but most of all his words: the beautiful, melancholy descriptions of a decade in decay, of uncertainties, of cruelties but most of all of love and all its' counterparts.
Last year, whilst attending Raindance, I had the chance to watch a documentary called 'Don and Chris: A Love Story ' which focused on Isherwood's long-time relationship with painter Don Bachardy. A beautiful film, it captured the love these two men had for each other as well as show some amazing home footage captured at the time.
So it was with great pleasure I watched 'A Single Man' as Tom Ford not only managed to capture that very Isherwood spirit but also had clearly chosen a novella which was a fictionalised account of Isherwood's life on the cusp of meeting Don.
True, George's fate is left unclear at the end - but we know that Isherwood went on to live a full life with Bachardy - a most happy number of years.
But the film, the film - that's what we are here for, isn't it?
'A Single Man' is a beautiful film to look at - it's clear that Ford's background in fashion pays off rather well. The suits and the dresses and the occasional bursts of colour remind me of the films of the 50's - particularly 'Leave Her To Heaven' with its' garish and psychotic colour palette.
On top of this he handles the action really well - considering the entire thing is set during one day in the life of George - what could potentially be a very tiresome drag instead becomes an intriguing journey into melancholy and loss.
But , it has to be mentioned, that Mr. Ford has not his stride yet. Once or twice (especially during the black-and-white beach scene) the film begins to feel like a Calvin Klein advert which detracts rather substantially from the emotional pay-off. On top of this, the tricks Mr. Ford employs do become grating after a while - the grey vs color palette to suggest momentary return of light to George's day is a fine idea but unfortunately over-used.
Colin Firth gives a masterclass in subtlety in the role of George - he is a broken man, lonely, desperate, longing. Although he sticks to his routine, it is obvious that behind the facade there is not much left - and as he prepares for what he has chosen to be essentially his last day, you feel his desire to control every aspect of his death stems from his loss of control over his life.
Julianne Moore gives beautiful support as the hysterical divorcee friend - a force of nature who can't quite accept George's choices in life. Her face looks half-ravaged with slight madness behind the eyes - and it seems quite clear that she dearly loves George even if she wants to possess him exclusively too.
A final mention must go to the film's soundtrack: an unobtrusive, subtle, haunting creation - much reminiscent of Clint Mansell's film work.
All in all a stellar debut from Tom Ford and a career milestone in for Colin Firth as well as being an accurate adaptation of Isherwood in mood and style: what more can we ask for?

A Single Man is out in the Uk on 12th February 2010.

Cinema Is The Most Beautiful Fraud In The World

Jean-Luc Godard.

This is all this is ever going to be about. Cinema. So without further ado - let's get started...