Pasaje de Vida

A rather correct and ultimately uninspiring film.  Based on a true story of young Montoneros in the period of the military dictatorship in Argentina, the film is seen through a set of flashbacks as the son of one of the “subversives” tries to piece together parts of his own story that his now demented father cannot recall and has never wanted to fully divulge.  So we have Mario (Javier Godino), a love interest and the father (Miguel Angel Solá effective as ever but with little to do) in Spain and then a rather more paint by numbers set of scenes in Argentina with a reasonable Chino Darin leading the cast of rebels.  Carla Quevedo is also OK as his future wife and Marco Antonio Caponi is more convincing as a fellow protestor.  But probably the whole set up is rather simplistic as perhaps befits the budget and the film has a rather small feel or at least a sense of déjà vu from Kamchatka and Infancia Clandestina and the like.  Everything is painted in the same bleak way which it maybe was, but even so, it shows a certain lack of directorial inspiration by Diego Corsini.  My stars are because it hangs together as a story and nothing is too bad and the actors are convincing enough.  But somewhere it’s all a bit of blah!

★★★

Mia Madre

This latest slice of life from Nanni Moretti features Margherita, a film director trying to make a film about union resistance to foreign takeover, while at the same time dealing with the slow and foreseen death of her mother.  It is a typical humanistic film from Moretti blending truly comic moments (some of the scenes on the film set with the intractable foreign diva of an actor are priceless with John Turturro at his best), others of great poignancy and beauty.  And in the middle of it all is Rome and its daily life.  Margherita Buy shows why she is the foremost Italian actress these days in another deep and subtle performance.  Excellent indeed.  Guilia Lazzari is fine as the mother and Moretti himself fits in well as the brother.  The use of music by Arvo Part is also a great success.  Moretti’s films will never be perfectly neat but they are fine film making and a great documentation of modern Italy.

★★★★+

Boulevard

This is a small sadly moving film that was one of Robin Williams’ last and was perhaps too small for the message he wished to give us. Nolan has been in a sexless but loving marriage for 30 odd years with his wife (Kathy Baker excellent) who has sought consolation in literature and film.  So the relationship of pretending to live a real life suited her as it did Nolan who works in a bank and seems almost too timid for promotion.  He is also nursing his father through the last stage of his life in a nursing home and suddenly things start to fall apart when he meets a young hustler Leo.  Rather than a sexual relationship, they end up having a strange liaison, with Nolan more like a father or a mentor to the prostitute who is being beaten up by his pimp and needs a decent job. Realistically, things end up becoming messy and the relationship does not flourish but Nolan learns that he has to shed the lies and get on with living real life: new job, new home,etc.

It’s a poignant work and Williams is remarkably low key but for my liking his performance left something to be desired. It’s like someone with that twinkle in the eye couldn’t possibly be that wet.  Again, no great surprises here but a movie worth making and not the worst to watch.

★★+

Abzurdah

Based on a true story and best-seller, this film is about Cielo, a young woman from a comfortable background who thanks to internet begins dating a man ten years older and then falls hopelessly in love with him.  When he starts playing games with her, she starts to crack up and becomes anorexic, all the while maintaining the hope that her romance will prosper.  Things go quickly downhill.

Daniela Goggi is directing her second film here and it is all quite insipid despite the heavy material.  While Esteban Lamothe is his usual solid self in the male lead without any real investigation of his cruel behaviour towards Cielo and Gloria Carrá as the mother is effective, Maria Eugenia Suárez seems less consistent in the lead role. The fact that Cielo can be running a pro-anorexic blog and no one sees her problem until too late is representative of life and a sad indictment of how so many modern illnesses seem inevitable.  At least the film doesn’t make fun of the situation but it has little special to offer on the theme and the dark lighting and the use of internet chat for some of the dialogue tend to detract.  A very fair effort only from Argentina.

★★