Keep the Lights On -- Film Review #4

Keep the Lights On – Film Review #4

Classic New York City in the nineties. Two young men learning about love – more importantly, about themselves. Keep the Lights On has good intentions about documenting the struggle between addiction and love, but drags on for the 120 minute running time. By the time the movie ended, I wanted to be out of the tumultuous nine year relationship more so than the two characters themselves.

The opening scenes of the movie accentuate the sunny and vibrant atmosphere of the film. This film takes place in New York City so what better way to depict the city than with actual footage of the diverse neighborhoods of the city. The cinematography is different from most films in that the camera does not deliver crystal clear shots. This aspect does not ruin the film one bit. In fact, I liked this aspect because it introduces you into the world these two men live in: a world of uncertainty and drugs.

Erik (Thure Lindhardt) is introduced to the film through a phone call. He’s on a gay chat-line trying to meet men in his neighborhood. He meets a few, but many of them don’t hold his interest, so he moves on to the next call. Through the chat-line, he meets Paul (Zachary Booth), a publishing lawyer who is still in the closet about his sexuality. Erik and Paul sleep together the first night and Erik believes it to be a one-night stand as he thinks they will never be romantically involved.

The relationship begins in 1998 and lasts nine years. One of the most important aspects of the movie occurs the first year of Erik and Paul’s relationship. Erik is headed from New York to Virginia to visit family and along the way stops at a diner to use a payphone. He calls his doctor to ask about the results of his recent HIV/AIDS test. His results come back negative but this moment puts into perspective the real-life risks people faced then and are still facing today. His phone call takes almost five minutes and every bit of it is recorded into the movie. This moment is one of the most profound scenes from the film because I genuinely worried about if Erik would receive the good news or not.

A year passes by and it is 1999 now. Paul’s addiction to crack is just now beginning. Erik doesn’t mind his addiction at first because he believes that the addiction won’t come between the two of them. However, Erik is foolish for believing that his boyfriend’s addiction won’t inevitably destroy them.

Crack begins to grip Paul ever so tightly and he begins to value the drug over Erik. The emphasis on how drugs can destroy a person and a relationship is one thing director Ira Sachs achieves.

The year is now 2001 and Erik and Paul’s friends have decided that an intervention is necessary and the only way the Paul will kick the problem. Through teary goodbyes and Paul’s rightful anger about the intervention, he decides to participate in a three month rehabilitation program. Slow shots and still scenes depict the difficult decision that Erik had to make in order to help his loved one. These shots also evoke sympathy from the audience because of the struggle between doing the “right” thing even if your loved one hates you and letting your loved one continue on the road to addiction that is far worse.

Two years later, Paul is back from rehab with a new outlook and attitude. The fighting between the two has ceased for the time being, but, like most addictions Paul is back to using his pipe and getting high daily. Paul’s relapse cripples Erik – he feels as if he has lost Paul once again and maybe, this time, for good.

After Paul’s relapse, I wondered when the movie would end and what else Sachs had in store for the movie. The next 45 minutes I learned that Sachs really had no direction left to take the film. Trying to compose a film that takes place over a nine year period is a daunting task to take on whether you are an amateur or a veteran filmmaker. Either way, this was not a smart move on Sachs’ behalf. The climax is the typical “rise and fall” of a relationship. Erik decides that his relationship with Paul will never work out, no matter how badly he wishes it did. The two characters part ways and go on with their lives as if the 120 minute movie based on their nine year relationship did not happen. The ending essentially leaves me wondering what the film’s premise was and disappointed that I wasted two hours watching a love story that winds up going nowhere.

Credit Block:

Cast: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, and Miguel Del Toro

Director: Ira Sachs

Writers: Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias

Producers: Lucas Joaquin and Marie Guirgis

Executive Producer: Jawal Nga

Cinematographer: Thimios Bakatakis

Costume Designer: Elizabeth Vastola

120 minutes, No Rating

8:46 -- Mini Review #4

8:46 – Mini Review #4

9/11 changed America and the world forever. 8:46 attempts to commemorate the lives lost on the tragic day, but falls flat. I liked the idea of intertwining the lives of eight different characters at various walks of life, but the acting of these characters destroyed any chances of the film getting across its intended message. Most of the story takes place on September 10^th. This adds to the tragedy of 9/11 as many of the characters are going through the motions of their daily routines, unaware they will meet death tomorrow. 8:46 recounts a horrible tragedy, but only offers bad acting and the occasional tear.

Credit Block:

Written and Directed by: Jennifer Gargano

Executive Producers: Chandrakant Barai, Kalpen Bhuva, Thomas J. Ratcliff, Harry Azano, Sr., Harry Azano, Jr., and Cosmo Gargano

Producer: Jennifer Gargano

Director of Photography: Mike Hechanova

Music: David Majzlin

Editor: Wen Hsuan Tseng

Casting: FMN Casting

No rating, 56 minutes

30 Beats -- Mini Review #3

30 Beats – Mini Review #3

Alexis Lloyd’s erotic film 30 Beats intertwines the lives of eight different characters living in New York City. 30 Beats is a whimsical film in that it begins and ends with two 16 year-olds losing their virginities. The score in the movie is fantastic – soft, light tunes like “Sea of Love” by Cat Power help transcend the film into a love story. Lloyd’s sex scenes don’t appear scripted, nor does the acting – this adds depth to the movie. For a “feel-good” movie, 30 Beats is a must and is a hidden gem among other films of the same genre.

Credit Block:

Cast: Jason Day, Vahina Giocante, Jennifer Tilly, Justin Kirk, and Ben Levin

Director: Alexis Lloyd

Screenwriter: Alexis Lloyd

Producers: Molly Conners, Carl Ford, and Alexis Lloyd

Executive Producers: Susan Batson, Ronald Guttman, and Pierre Lagrange

Director of Photography: Lisa Rinzler

Production Designer: Brian Rzepka

Music: C.C Adcock

Costume Designer: Amanda LeDonne

Editor: Xavier Loutreuil

No Rating, 88 minutes

Reality -- Film Review #3

Reality – Film Review #3

Many have often stated that what you perceive becomes your reality. Matteo Garrone’s Reality explores the depths of this ideal through the pop culture hit “Big Brother.” His movie, while slow moving at times, is the tragic story of a man who has just enough in his life (a loving wife, three children, a stable job), but throws it all away because of his desire to become famous. Luciano (Aniello Arena) is a fishmonger from Naples who becomes imprisoned by his delusions of the literal physical world around him and “his world” which becomes perceptions of the physical world. Reality is quite tragic as Garrone focuses on Luciano’s mental deterioration throughout the film through the use of slow shots and still scenes.

Reality begins and ends through zooming in and then zooming out of Naples. The beginning of Reality zooms in on an 18^th century carriage being pulled by two horses. This scene adds to the “dreamlike” effect that the movie contains – the score also helps bring about this dreamlike feel through quieter, dreamy melodies. The carriage seems out of place as it travels down Italian roads filled with modern cars and buildings. Immediately, I thought of the carriage as being a figment of one’s imagination – a perception of reality which echoes throughout the film. The ending of Reality does the opposite from the beginning as the camera zooms out of Luciano and the Big Brother house, then only showing the bright lights from the house as the rest of the city remains dark. This scene represents Luciano’s reality – the only aspect of his life he has left to live for is the television show. The cinematography and variation from the beginning to the end is one of the most interesting aspects of the film.

More interesting than the cinematography is Aniello Arena’s actual story. Arena is serving a 20 years – life sentence in an Italian prison for a double murder. The Italian authorities released him from prison during the days so that he could film Reality. Arena’s story is ironic because he is imprisoned for murder, while Luciano is metaphorically imprisoned by his delusions. Garrone picked a perfect candidate for Luciano’s role because through Arena’s acting the viewer is able to see the pain and the suffering as he plays the main character.

 The only complaint I have about the film is its length – I think that Garrone could have condensed the 120 minute film into 90 minutes or so. However, the style of the film requires it to be of this length because Garrone captures all of the raw emotion through slower action. The slower action, in turn, allows you to feel every ounce of sanity Luciano loses as he goes about his daily life.

Reality is quite a simple story. After the arrival of the 18^th century carriage, you find out that the story begins at a wedding of a couple not part of the story. Luciano dresses in drag – clearly he is a performer by nature which is why he wants to be on the big screen. You really see the love Luciano has for his children and his family as he pleads with Enzo (Raffaele Ferrante), Italian’s newest celebrity from Big Brother, to get an autograph for his star-crazed daughter.

A few weeks after the wedding, Luciano’s family is shopping at a Naples mall and Big Brother auditions are being held there. Immediately, Luciano’s daughter sees Enzo and calls her father asking him to come to the mall to audition. After much convincing, he finally comes and makes it to the second round of interviews. The second round of interviews are held in Rome, so off the family goes to travel with him there. Luciano believes that he aced his interview and that it will be no time until they call him to tell him the good news.

The good news never comes. Luciano waits and waits, but never receives a phone call. The waiting period slowly grips him and he believes that the producers of the show are spying on him to see if he will be a good fit for the show. He gives away his family’s possessions, he sells his fishing stand, and he becomes more detached from his actual reality which is that his wife and kids are going to leave him.

Out of options, Luciano’s friend Michele (Nando Paone) takes him to the Vatican, but Luciano escapes to the Big Brother house. He enters inside the house and watches the cast and watches his dreams of fame vanish before his eyes. The ending scene is the most ambiguous as Luciano sits by the pool and laughs. Does he laugh at how foolish his dreams were or does he laugh because his delusions of fame have gripped him so tightly? We’ll never know.

Credit Block:

Cast: Aniello Arena, Loredana Simioli, Nando Paone, and Claudia Gerini

Director: Matteo Garrone

Screenwriters: Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Ugo Chiti, and Maurizio Braucci

Producers: Matteo Garrone and Domenico Procacci

Executive Producers: Matteo Garrone and Jean Labadie

Director of Photography: Marco Onorato

Production Designer: Paolo Bonfini

Music: Alexandre Desplat

Costume Designer: Maurizio Millenotti

Editor: Marco Spoletini

No rating, 120 minutes

Darling Companion -- Mini Review #2

Darling Companion – Mini Review #2

As a dog lover, movies about dogs always touch a certain part of me. However, Darling Companion did nothing for me as I was confused about director Lawrence Kasdan’s storyline. Diane Keaton plays empty nester Beth who discovers a stray dog alongside a Denver highway one winter morning. The movie skips a year and centers around the day Beth’s husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) loses “Freeway” while on a walk. “Freeway” is only in the movie for about ten minutes so I think it’s fair to say the movie’s title is deceiving. More confusing, perhaps, is the random gypsy psychic Kasdan incorporates in the movie.

Credit Block:

Cast: Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne West, Charles Halford, and Richard Jenkins

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Screenwriters: Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan

Producers: Anthony Bregman and Elizabeth Redleaf

Executive Producers: Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan, John Kelly, and Christine Walker

Director of Photography: Michael Mcdonough

Production Designer: Dina Goldman

Music: James Newton Howard

Costume Designer: Molly Maginnis

Editors: Julius Friede and Julie Garces

No rating, 103 minutes

Silent City -- Film Review #2

Silent City – Film Review #2

Threes Anna’s Silent City is a masterpiece. The Dutch movie explores feelings of loneliness and isolation as Rosa (Laurence Roothooft) journeys to Tokyo to learn the art of filleting fish from legendary Master Kon (Ayako Kobayashi). The film is similar to Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation as it explores many of the same themes except ennui. However, Silent City centers on one character that is thrown into a world of confusion and language barriers; whereas, in Lost in Translation two characters are able to feel the same emotions and bond over them.

Rosa uproots her life when she quits her job in the Netherlands in order to move to Tokyo to train with Master Kon and his staff. The film begins as Rosa struggles to find Master Kon’s kitchen and is blatantly ignored because she does not speak Japanese. The training classes are difficult for Rosa as the instructors use few words and many of their gestures are simply lost in translation. Initially, Rosa must share a small room with Aki (Kenichi Sano) who speaks very little English, but eventually the two form a bond by the end of the film.

Little action occurs in the film because Anna intended for the movie to touch on human beings’ two biggest fears: loneliness and isolation. The viewer is able to feel Rosa’s deepest emotions and Anna achieves this through still shots of the landscape as well as fast paced action shots where Rosa appears lifeless. Perhaps Anna best achieves these emotions in a scene where Rosa misses her train back to Tokyo and cannot find anyone who speaks English in the train station. Thousands of people are in the train station as they hustle to and from various trains. Rosa asks many of them if they speak English but they cannot understand her and simply ignore her. She loudly screams “Does anybody speak English?” and almost has a mental breakdown because she feels so isolated.

After her mental breakdown, Rosa fights with Aki about why she left her at the train station. Aki does not understand why Rosa is so angry because, once more, she does not understand much English. Rosa moves out of her temporary living arrangement and into her own house. However, she needs money to pay the bills and enlists Aki’s help in trying to find a job. In the interim, there are many scenes in a Japanese community bathroom with Rosa still trying to figure out her place in Japan. She goes home alone at night feeling alone and finds a small plant in her house that she begins to water and take care of. The plant symbolizes Rosa and how she grows during her experience in Tokyo. The growth of the plant eventually stops and this parallels Rosa’s acceptance of the Japanese culture and her acceptance of being alone.

Aki helps Rosa get a job at a nightclub called Mama Su where the girls must entertain the Japanese businessmen through drinking and talking – maybe even going home with them. Rosa sits in the club lifelessly as she cannot understand what the men are saying nor have a conversation with them. She meets one man at the club who clearly gets the wrong impression of her as both of them cannot understand the other and he misinterprets her phrases and actions.

The movie centers on fish – literally and metaphorically. Rosa journeys to Tokyo to learn about fish, but she also is a “fish out of water” while she is in Japan. She has many dreams about being dissected on a carving table as if she were a fish and also dreams about living underwater with people just like her. Rosa empathizes with the fish and ultimately becomes connected with them (metaphorically) at the end of the movie.

After missing her train, Rosa sees the Japanese businessman she has talked to at the club. He offers her a ride, but she mistakenly believes the ride to be back to her house. He takes her home with him and attempts to have sex with her but she refuses and fights him off. Master Kon finds her the next day outside of the kitchen near a pond in the backyard. Rosa has learned how to connect with the fish and catches one with her bare hands. Master Kon sees this and she gains his respect. This scene represents her assimilation into Japanese culture and the respect she has gained with its people.

The movie is terrific and touches on innermost emotions that are far too often ignored in most movies. Silent City has a simple plot but is filled with heart and soul not found in many movies.

Credit Block:

Directed by: Threes Anna

Written by: Threes Anna

Produced by: KeyFilm, Hanneke Niens & Hans de Wolf

Production Company: KeyFilm, in co-production with Samsa Film, Skyline Entertainment and AVRO

Cast: Laurence Roothooft, Ayako Kobayashi, Kenichi Sano

Fondi '91 -- Mini Review #1

Fondi ’91 – Mini Review #1

Fondi ’91 recounts the trip of a varsity soccer team from New Jersey as they travel to Fondi, Italy. The story centers on Anil (Raymond Ablack), the most mature out of the four boys, and also the guilt he faces after witnessing Sophie (Mylene St-Sauveur) raped by his own teammate Michael (Kyle Kirkpatrick). Nothing happens in the movie and there is no resolution to the situation. Anil wanders around Fondi aimlessly with no agenda after witnessing Sophie’s rape. Probably the worst part of the movie is the horrendous acting of Joe (Thomas Wesson). Don’t waste your time with Fondi ’91 – there’s no substance.

Credit Block:

Production Company: Indictment Films

Cast: Raymond Ablack, Mylene St-Sauveur, Serena Iansiti, Kyle Kirkpatrick, Thomas Wesson, and Chris Pereira

Director: Dev Khanna

Screenwriters: Dev Khanna and A. Sinha

Producers: Angela Besharah and Dev Khanna

Executive Producers: Andre Bharti, Lenny Foreht, and Dev Khanna

Director of Photography: Ben Lichty

Production Designer: Adrian Greenlaw

Music: Richard Cavagin-Carey

Costume Designer: Melissa Stewart

Editor: Dev Khanna

No rating, 96 minutes

Filly Brown -- Film Review #1

Filly Brown – Film Review #1

One thing about music is that when it hits you feel no pain. Youssef Delara and Michael Olmos’ Filly Brown echoes that theme. Majo (Gina Rodriguez) is an aspiring Latino rapper who struggles between staying true to herself and conforming to the “sexed up” music industry in order to sign a record deal. The film carries a double plot in that her father Jose (Lou Diamond Phillips) faces a similar decision of adhering to an “upper class world” in order to keep his construction job.

The movie begins with some verses from Majo’s first song to debut on the radio. From the beginning, you can tell that this girl raps from the heart because her lyrics are real and meaningful. The camera moves around the various neighborhoods of Los Angeles, especially the lower class areas where Majo lives. The cinematography of these neighborhoods infers that times in this area are tough and people will do anything to get by and help their family.

Staying true to family is a common theme throughout the film as Majo desperately tries to help her drug-addicted mother, Maria (Jenni Rivera), when she finds out there might be a break in her drug conviction charge. Majo visits her mother in the Chino Women’s Penitentiary even though her father warns her not to. However, Majo has a good heart and is naïve despite her verses that portray her as wise.

The film is the classic rise and fall of the protagonist due to fame and success. Majo begins her journey to stardom through verses that her mom “writes” to her from prison, begging Majo to perform the songs on the radio and at shows. Most of Majo’s verses originate from her mother’s copyright infringements and later during Majo’s “fall” from stardom she is almost sued by her record label for the infringement unbeknownst to her.

In the meantime, Delara and Olmos craft an unoriginal story about following one’s dreams and trying to remain afloat in the industry. The multiple characters are colorful and vivid – the characters are not merely accidental, rather the characters all have some reason as to why they appear in the film. Perhaps, one of the most colorful, yet sleazy characters in the film is Rayborn Ortiz (Chingo Bling), a Latino music promoter who is a cross between a wannabe “Valley Kid” and Mexican cowboy. He plays a vital role in the movie as he attempts to change Majo’s look from tomboy to sex kitten. He succeeds for a while, until Majo falls from her stardom.

Majo’s fall from stardom is similar to many movies in which the protagonist lets fame take hold of him or her. It seems that everyone knows Majo will hit bottom – all except Majo herself. She succumbs to the industry’s wants, even if it means sacrificing parts of who she is. This is all for good reason, though. Majo is under the false impression that her mother’s drug charge may be dropped if Majo raises $3,000 to give to the lawyer. No surprise, Maria uses the $3,000 to pay back her debts and obtain drugs. Like a loving daughter, Majo still tries to support her mother.

Not only is Majo’s selfless love one of the most important aspects of the movie, but also the fact that Majo’s verses are poetic and real. Not to mention, Majo is tough and I have respect for any girl that can kick a guy’s ass while still looking her best.

The viewer knows what to expect while watching this film. They know that Majo will lose her closest friends but then regain them through some large event that brings them all back together. The scene that brings the cast full circle comes when Majo’s rival, MC Wyatt (Joseph Julian Sora), almost puts Majo’s love interest, DJ Santa (Braxton Millz), into a coma. MC and his crew vandalize Majo’s house and take her hostage, forcing her dad to reconnect with his friends from construction that he was forced to fire in order to save her life. Shocker, they save her – the viewer knows that inevitable fact.

The movie wraps up with DJ Santa recovering from his beating and Majo, Jose, and her sister Lupe (Chrissie Fit) visiting her mom in prison. This is the moment where Majo has an epiphany and accepts who she is and who she will become. She no longer needs to hide behind another person’s lyrics; rather she can finally be herself. Her dad finally accepts his ex-wife as he and Maria attempt to touch each other’s hands through the prison glass. This is one of the most touching scenes in the movie.

Filly Brown delivers through its electric characters rather than the tired out plot. The movie reminds everyone that dreams are meant to be followed but not losing yourself in the fame is the greatest reward.

Credit Block:

Venue: Sundance Film Festival (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Production companies: Cima Productions, Olmos Productions, Silent Giant Entertainment

Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera, Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos, Emilio Rivera, Joseph Julian Sora, Braxton Millz, Chingo Bling, Jorge Diaz, Chrissie Fit, Noel Gugliemi

Directors: Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos

Screenwriter: Youssef Delara

Producers: Victor Teran, Amir Delara, Mico Olmos, Edward “E-dub” Rios, Khool-Aid Rios

Executive producers: Edward James Olmos, Kevin Smith, Homa Sorror

Director of photography: Ben Kufrin

Production designer: Krystyna Loboda

Music: Reza Safinia

Costume designer: Jill Machlis

Editors: Youseff Delara, Eric R. Brodeur

No rating, 100 minutes.

Lost In Translation: Film Review

Sofia Coppola knows what she's doing. After an array of success in movies such as The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and Somewhere, Lost In Translation mimics her quiet themes of ennui and existentialism, while delivering a simple and sweet plot.
Lost In Translation follows the paths of Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) as they unexpectedly meet one night in their Tokyo hotel. Bob is a washed up actor undergoing a mid-life crisis who comes to Tokyo to film a Suntory Whiskey commercial. Charlotte, a recent Yale graduate, ventures to Tokyo with her husband John (Giovanni Ribisi), a celebrity photgrapher. Despite Bob and Charlotte's age difference, the two find common ground in their lives because they both are struggling with unhappiness and ennui.
Coppola touches quietly on these two emotions. These emotions are not only felt by the characters, but the viewers themselves through Coppola's cinematography. Coppola uses many still shots of the actors as a way of expressing their boredom and loneliness. In contrast, Coppola combines the busy, yet colorful city of Tokyo in various ways to point out that life is moving around the two characters, but the characters both feel still and empty.
The film's soundtrack adds to the quiet and still feeling brought on by the movie. Many of the songs are wordless, just melodies. This makes sense as Coppola wants the viewer to note that the feelings of emptiness and loneliness occur in all aspects of the movie. The music is soothing and poetic in its own way as the melodies seem to echo the internal feelings of the characters. Coppola uses more upbeat songs such as "Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders and "Too Young" by Phoenix when Bob and Charlotte begin to shed their exteriors and start to internally feel alive. The songs only occur in one scene, but the scene is perhaps one of the most important to the film because it is in this scene that the undertones of a love story begin.
Bill Murray is perhaps at his best in the film. He is able to remain comedic like he is renowned for, but Murray tones down his sarcasm and encorporates a feeling of restlessness and solitude in his character. Johansson, only 18 when the movie was filmed, surpasses her age and is a strong enough actress to take on the role of playing a recent college grad. Her deep, husky voice allows her to add years on to her character, while her natural beauty and sex appeal make the romance between her and Murray possible.
Lost In Translation is a love story between two people from different backgrounds and walks of life. The romance is not apparent on the surface, but Coppola combines scenes that show the romance blossoming, even though both characters know the romance will not continue once they get back to the states. However, despite their inevitable departure, both characters are able to learn something from one another -- this is perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the movie as the characters' ages mean nothing compared to their experiences.