Da 5 Bloods

This latest critically- hailed movie from Spike Lee is a bit of a slog and I was glad when it was over despite the fact that it contains a lot of positive elements and would bear a second viewing to discuss much of the points were one feeling up to it.  On top of all this, one of its stars, Chadwick Boseman, passed away yesterday from colon cancer at a young age.

The basic story is of 4 black GIs who served in Vietnam go back to retrieve the body of their squad´s leader and some gold bars which they buried there. 

 What seems to be a simple mission immediately turns out to be less so: there are differences of opinion between the 4, the arrival of the son of one of them makes 5, there is the question of how to dispose of the gold bullion and get the money out of the country, the territory they are headed for is littered with landmines and the Vietnamese themselves may or may not be trustworthy.  

The bulk of the film takes place on the trail and includes the expected doses of violence and shock.

The “didactic” side of the movie is Lee’s desire to shed light on the story of black servicemen who were never adequately acknowledged for their role in the war, used more as cannon fodder for the armed forces. 

 The psychological effects of this and the struggles upon their return to the US are part of this.  Lee uses clips of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Angela Davis and others to show that his story is part of a wider war for black rights which continues until today with the Black Lives Matter movement which hit the front pages when George Floyd was killed, just before the timely release of this film.  Lee also crams in commentaries about the US-Vietnam relationship from the point of view of those who had been influenced by it, namely the children of those fighting and killed in it.

And there are references to the gold mercenaries, the remaining clusters of terrorist gangs, etc, etc.

Lots to consider and much of it passes by so fast there is little time to process it.

At another level, there is the references to the previous cinema on the topic with Ride of the Valkyries, used in Apocalypse Now appearing here too and the fact that the bars in Vietnam tend to use these references even today. 

Finally, this is a type of archetypal story, an episode from an odyssey with many of those scenes we have seen throughout history.  Lead character Paul (Delroy Lindo, outstanding)

has PTSD and rages around like mad King Lear in several parts, he is wreaked with guilt over his commander’s death but has a poor relationship with his son. 

 The pot of gold, the dealing with foreign “enemies” all come into play.

A provocative movie for these times and one that plates up issues that have long needed airing in the US, I found it somewhat overlong and at times messy, though that perhaps reflects the times we are living in.

4 stars plus.

Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado

This timely documentary is a fitting tribute to Walter Mercado, the Spanish language’s first and most famous tele-astrologer who died late last year only months after he was given a memorial homage in Miami.

Puerto Rican born and bred Mercado broke many barriers not only by being the first astrologer to work massively on TV but also in his gender fluid appearance. 

 Despite this in a macho society, he was much loved by his fans and was a point of reference for many Latinos growing up.  This is confirmed by Broadway star Lin Manuel Miranda who goes to visit him.  

The documentary is fairly conventional and traces his rise and then sudden disappearance from public life (due to legal problems)

with much footage from Mercado himself and his family and supporters. 

 It is clearly and sensitively made and gives us a pretty full idea of the man and how we became such an icon.  A pleasing surprise.

4 stars

Blanche Comme Neige

Thankfully, the second half of this film had a few interesting twists and scenes after a very slow and uninspiring start but even so it falls very much into the category of a flawed attempt at something a bit weird.  The film is supposedly built on the Snow White fairytale and has elements of that genre.  Maud (Isabelle Huppert)

is a spa-owner who is stepmother to Claire (Lou de Laage) and desperately jealous of her because her husband is showing interest in the younger woman. She arranges to have her abducted, not very clear as to where and why, but the kidnapper crashes the car and Claire is saved.  She is taken to a remote house in the Alps where twins and a violinist live and she quickly comes to like this life.  She is also a hit in the picturesque local village,

especially with a book shop owner and his son, a local doctor and the parish priest. 

 Claire blooms and opens herself to her sexuality becoming ´involved´ in different ways with most of these men who symbolically represent the seven dwarves.

The similarities mainly end there although these men protect her in a way, entranced by her useful transparent beauty.  Meanwhile, the wicked steppie gets wind of Claire’s whereabouts and comes looking to see her off for once and for all.  If you take the film as a modern twist on an old tale and are not prepared to investigate the plot holes and some of the far-fetched coincidences and sex scenes, the film has some merits.  Lou de Laage, seen in The Innocents by the same director, Anne Fontaine, is an appropriate choice for the lead.  But she doesn’t have so much to do, nor does the grand Huppert who steals every scene she is in but is, even so, just dusting down a personality she has played many times before. 

 Watch it if you’re in the mood for something French and wish to see some well-known actors in a lesser movie.

2 stars plus

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

Perfect fare for the quarantine as we have a laugh at some of the sillier human endeavours which nonetheless bring cheer to our world.  Will Ferrell takes on the European kitsch festival,

the Eurovision Song Contest inventing a duo from a remote Icelandic fishing village

and having them dream of emulating Abba. 

 All the clichés are there from the band name Fire Saga

to the protagonists penchant for elves and as they miraculously end up in the finals in Edinburgh, the Russian macho who’s not (great work from Dan Stevens),

the heavy metal bands dressed as animals and singing love ballads and several past winners such as Netta, Conchita Wurst and Salvador Sobral. 

Some of the Icelandic scenes drag a bit despite good local actors and Pierce Brosnan guesting as Lars’ father.

 Will Ferrell is suitably manic as Lars but a little goes a long way while Rachel McAdams shows her versalility largely hitting the right notes as Sigrit.  There are some very amusing moments and the script contains digs left right and centre if you can keep up with it.  Does it make for a good film overall?  Reasonable, watchable and appropriate for this moment but nothing classic.  Very much in the Mamma Mia realm.

3 stars plus

Nagarkirtan

One of the more memorable of recent films comes from India and surprises us by being a frank and sensitive look at the plight of a couple in Kolkata.  Madhu is a flute player in a kirtan band by night and a delivery boy by day and he falls for a gay boy who is trans and seeking to become a woman.

  Puti lives with a group of eunuchs as the only option and we watch as his relationship with Madhu develops.  At the same time in the flashbacks that characterize the film, we also learn why Puti left his village. 

 Madhu decides to take Puti home to meet his family who live in a rural town and this, of course, is fraught with risk despite Madhu’s confidence.

Apparently, this is veteran director Kaushik Ganguly’s best film and he really takes this subject which is a tricky one in Indian society and gives it a tremendous showcase.  Although I was a bit unsure about the flashbacks at the beginning, they turn out to be the right decision to provide us with the details we need to piece together an understanding of the story.  Photography by Sirsha Ray is excellent and conveys both Indian life and the shakiness of the central romance.

  The traditional music fits perfectly.  But most of all, the acting is exemplary.  Riddhi Sen

as Puti is totally convincing and almost underplayed and Ritwick Chakraborty as Madhu is a perfect central anchor. 

 We also have performances from trans cast members including the famous director of a college and other actors making their debut on film.

Most of all, the film impresses for its style and for its lack of preaching.  In a cinematic way it presents the tale of a couple whose story is similar to many but is one that seldom reaches the screens.  It alludes to but does not dwell on the great conservatism of social and religious beliefs that put obstacles in the way of people living life as they wish.

4 stars plus

Naked Dragon

Very low budget murder mystery (as in when are they going to get him) set in LA.  What gives it some interest is that the lead on the case is a psychic who gets visions and hunches as to the killer’s whereabouts and that he starts a relationship with a closeted gay cop also on the case.  The rest is pretty unconvincing and paints the FBI as a bunch of slackers. Apparently there is some basis in reality to the film. 

 Jesse Seann Anderson and Davon Williams have some full-on sex scenes but would not win acting prizes aside from that.  However, suspending disbelief and keeping the low budget in mind it was strangely watchable.

1 star plus

Ismael’s Ghosts

A French film full of big names that is pure pretension and a nod to the pretentious French movies of the past, trying to be too clever by half and ending up being a sort of reverent nonsense.  Arnaud Desplechin is the main culprit here as director and co-writer of this mess with its film within a film, dreams and flashbacks, thrashing out here and there but failing to convince.  Mathieu Amalric plays Ismael and is suitably cast with his annoying tics so I guess not much more could be expected of him.  However, Marion Cotillard as his long- disappeared wife Carlota, who returns unexpectedly from the dead and Charlotte Gainsbourg as his current love Sylvia are both embroiled in this mess and can do little to save it. Louis Garrel has a thankless part as Ivan, the hero of his movie, the co-star Alba Rohrwacher also seems to be an ex-lover and then there is a whole Jewish subplot with Carlota’s father.  All the predictable elements are there: the gratuitous nude scenes, the hysteric rantings and ravings, the shock causing a heart attack!  But most of all nothing seems to hang together in a way that conveys much meaning or importance to us.  And this opened Cannes a few years back!  Not worth it!

♦

Us

Horror movies are not generally my favourite genre but when they are well done it is an enjoyable experience. Jordan Peele’s debut movie was Get Out and this shares both a solid technical quality and considerable creative flare.  The subject of this film is doppelgangers.  We start with a young family led by Adelaide (Lupita N’yongo), her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and son Jason (Evan Alex).  They are returning to their holiday home in Santa Cruz California, a place which Adelaide has memories of as a child.  As we see in the beginning, it was here that she got lost in a funfair and had an experience of meeting her double.  They meet up with a family they are friendly with, Elizabeth Moss playing the mother Kitty Tyler and soon they realise that something is not right.  The real trouble begins when they discover a family in their driveway who seem to be exact copies of themselves.  This middle part is pure tension and gore in top horror style, calming down again in part 3 as we start to unravel what has been going on and Peele layers on cultural references and possible clues and explanations to what is going on.  Even the ending is slightly ambiguous.

For the most part this is a highly entertaining and also intriguing movie featuring excellent acting by the cast, in particular N’yongo in the lead role(s).  Music by Michael Abels is also a strong feature.

While this is not a classic, it shows that Peele is indeed a new talent to watch out for in the US.  And the symbols and messages about society would certainly keep viewers busy on second viewings.

♦♦♦♦+

C’est la vie!

The French like their farcical comedies and this is one of the more recent ones.  Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a wedding planner and for this contract he is being asked to organize an event in a 17^th century chateau. The groom, Pierre, is an up and coming businessman and a right pain in the neck. And very soon, things are going wrong: mutiny among the staff who don’t want to wear the wigs and costumes, a DJ who hasn’t turned up and is replaced by James (Gilles Lelouche, excellent) who has his own idea about the show and doesn’t know the words to half the songs he sings. There are romantic comings and goings and lots of washed up no-hopers.  And there is Adele (Eye Haidara) stroppy and waiting in the wings to take over from Max.

The film takes its time to get going, some of the characters are a bit pedantic but in the second half it raises some laughs though not as many as I think the proposed story should have garnered.

I enjoyed it but up to a point.  Bacri is perhaps the best in a pleasant couple of hours.

♦♦♦

The Story of the Stone

Not a lot to say here.  The film is saved from being a complete disaster due to its style (shot in B & W or very washed out blues) and from a reasonable soundtrack.  However, some directorial choices come unstuck.  There is a story but we have such a hard time recognizing characters within a largish cast who are all sleeping with each other and it seems that some key plot developments are barely mentioned (HIV diagnosis) and then yet seem to be pivotal for the rest of the story.  And they happen off-stage.  Character development is largely left to silence and languid shots of torsos.  And yet this is not a hedonist movie nor a critique on a part of the gay community in Taipei.  It is supposedly an adaptation of a famous Chinese novel to this milieu.  Which is perhaps where things fell flat.  Too much ambition for those involved.  It’s interesting to see a film tackle this area but too much of the time the spectator is left wondering what is going on and feeling that they are part of a world that if you are not actually into all the drug taking and random sex, you quickly get bored. Director and writer is Starr Wu.  Could probably do much better.

♦+