The Girl King (2015) Movie Boozer Review and Interview
In Mika Kaurismäki’s newest film, The Girl King, the legendary story of Christina, Queen of Sweden, is exalted to new heights and dramatic flare from it’s last major telling on the silver screen in Queen Christina (1933), Gerta Garbo’s long-awaited return to acting. The Girl King sauntered through a 15 year long production process to see the light of day now on video on demand and DVD. It is a lavish popcorn flick that despite lacking in some areas is still an intriguing story of a heroic, free-thinking woman. Read my review of the film and an interview with director Mika Kaurismäki over at Movie Boozer.
Interview with Director Mika Kaurismäki
Have Three Beers with The Girl King
The Secret in Their Eyes: Movie Boozer Review
While train-hopping across America last week, I stopped in Albuquerque and watched The Secret in Their Eyes. It was terrible– the movie that is not the hopping. Grab a few beers and read why over at Movie Boozer.
Beasts of No Nation (2015); And My Existential Thoughts Within It
I can’t handle films like Beasts of No Nation. They affects me too much on a physiological level; I cry, it shortens my breath, my heart starts pounding, I get squeamish, then I’m left speechless in a puddle of wrecked sadness wondering what can be done to stop the tragic sufferings experienced by so many people in this plane of existence. In a similar vein as Beasts of No Nation, City of God was the first film I ever remember affecting me on these levels, along with Robert Redford’s directorial debut, Ordinary People. I cried for a good hour after first seeing these films and their stories continue to haunt me years later. Beasts of No Nation painfully took my breath away, leaving me unprepared to move forward with casual thought after confronting the harsh reality that it depicts.
I’m still not ready. If you let it in, and I mean if you truly immerse yourself into the experience, Beasts of No Nation will pain you and change your life. You will spend too much of your time devising theories on how to end the plight of child soldiers. You’ll contemplate the existence of war, greed, and all the ills of mankind that renders living a life of liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness impossible for all humans. Beasts of No Nation makes you look for someone to blame. Someone has to be the bad guy to persecute and easily stop these tragedies, right? Sure, there are always bad guys, but as Beasts of No Nation shows us there are far too many other factors contributing to the misfortunes of war-torn countries and situations.
Beasts of No Nation will send on you this existential crisis through the story of Agu (Abraham Attah). He is a happy child who lives a normal life with his family in Nigeria. He plays jokes with his friends, gets in petty trouble for his childhood antics, fights with his older brother, and laughs around a dinner table with his nurturing mother and teacher father. But, an impending civil war has slowly began to change the land he calls home. Refugees are arriving in droves needed a place to live now that rebels have destroyed their lands and are killing their neighbors. With time and misfortune, the rebels make their way to Agu’s home.
The men of Agu’s village decide to stay and fight for their land and send the women and children off. The city becomes marred by panic and in a cluster of fight and desperation Agu is left behind with the men– a stroke of mere ill-fated destiny. A church going people who celebrates the glory of God and his savior Jesus, Agu’s Nigerian family is no stranger to Christ and realize all they can do is pray. But those prayers don’t save Agu and his family and Agu soon finds himself in the arms of a disillusioned military leader called Commandant (Idris Elba) by a group of child and teenage soldiers. Agu’s choice is to die a painful, shameful death, or live as a solider where he must kill others, walk for miles, have his brain altered with substances, and lose his innocence in the process.
My freshman year of college introduced me to the tragedy of child soldiers through a group called Invisible Children. After one of its members presented their wonderfully produced documentary and a speech on the topic, Invisible Soldiers taught me how children all over war-torn areas of the world are subjected to lives of warfare and the damaging effects that it has on these kids. PTSD for a 12-year-old shouldn’t be a real thing, but it is. These kids reported knowing the smell of death, craving the sight of blood and receiving withdrawal type headaches if they didn’t see blood on any given day, along with many other nefarious acts. I became heavily involved with the organization for a few months, but as time passed I regretfully fell out of it.
Though I moved on, the tragedy of war crimes still took place, something that Beasts of No Nation reminded me. These invisible children were still looking for refuge and safety while those of us in privileged countries showed interest then moved on, much like America’s attention to the events in Darfur at the time as well as our ever growing ADD towards tragedies and political blunders taking place. But what can be done? This is what I asked myself constantly thorough the whole of Beasts of No Nation. Sure, writer and director Cary Joji Fukunaga can make an immaculately shot film that embodies a natural realism and brutality within the story. He can use his impressive, captivating cinematography skills to affect our mood simply through the use of colors and lighting. We can engulf this film into our psyche, but the wars in Africa, or Iraq, or Afghanistan, or in Syria are out of the public’s hands to an extent. These are tragedies that are innate within humanity because war is a very human concept that has marred our existence since antiquity. War is so human in its nature that early civilizations even believed their gods to be war-crazed beings. We can raise all the awareness, all the aid, march in all the protests and rallies, but that still won’t take guns out of hands or stop greed and power from corrupting a human mind.
That is why we must evolve. That’s right, I’m going to get real guru-y and existential here because I don’t know what else can be done to stop these ongoing tragedies. Every last one of us on this planet must evolve. We must go beyond our human nature and expand our consciousness for the sake of peace on earth. Living a life of peaceful coexistence with one another doesn’t have to be a pipe dream, it shouldn’t be. It should instead be an eventuality. Greed is what corrupts us. The need to have power, the desire for more is what has always led man to do despicable things. This is the existence we’ve allowed to continue. We as people, as humans within society, keep telling and reaffirming to each other that money matters. That money can get you food, money can get you clothes, money can get you power. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We can tell ourselves money doesn’t matter, it’s all just a physical delusion that we have given clout to. This world already provides us food, we can all have clothes, and we don’t need power when we can have the basic necessities and the help of each other. This is the mindset that must be held in developed countries. Maybe, if the countries in power change their priorities and tactics and leave greed behind, our conscious thoughts will transcend nations and break apart the tragedies happening beyond our control. It won’t end tomorrow, or even five years from now. But, if we start planting the seeds of change today then maybe, just maybe generations down the line can live on this beautiful, lush planet in harmonious existence and not feel the need to dominate and control over others. Maybe we can evolve to place of peace and love and not stay in our stagnant beast mode of war and power where everyone within the gravity of it all suffers. Whether this tactic is foolish or not, it sure as hell beats a world where children lose their identity becoming desensitized to killing those around them because of someone else’s quest for power.
SEE IT now on Netflix. Then, come back and lets have a discourse on how to fix this tragic world we live in.
Interviews, Reviews, and Lots of Booze(r)
I’ve been lucky to have slew of reviews and amazing interview opportunities fall into my lap in the past week over at Movie Boozer. Each one has been a phenomenal exercise in creativity and has introduced me to some hard working, impressive individuals. Like me on Facebook to stay up to date with these little ditties and read through what I’ve been doing!
I interviewed an astronaut! And he had some amazingly poignant things to say.
I interviewed Chloe Sevigny and Tara Subkoff for their upcoming film #Horror
I reviewed #Horror which premieres at the New York City Horror Film Festival today and is slated for an IFC Midnight release November 20th.
SEE IT. ALL.
Junun (2015); Eight Hours Left to Watch It!
Last month Radiohead guitarist Johnny Greenwood announced that he would be making an album with Shye Ben Tzur and the Rajasthan Express. Us Radiohead fans cheered to the high heavens that new music from the prolific Radiohead camp was on the way. Some of us Radiohead fans also double as film purists, so we nearly lost our breaths when the revelation hit that Paul Thomas Anderson would be once again collaborating with Greenwood and serving as documentarian to the project. In a span of 54 minutes, Anderson captures magic in the making of the group’s soon to be released LP, Junun.
Anderson’s style within Junun isn’t flshy or grandiose as we have grown accustomed to knowing it. Instead, Anderson further reminds viewers of his immutable talent behind the camera. Simplicity is the theme of Junun seen through Anderson’s direction that mirrors the attitude of the men and women recording the album. Although the massive beauty of India plays a large role as the backdrop of the film, overall Junun is intimate and unravels with a placid patience. There is no drama to be had, no rushing to get done. We see the group play, practice, then run errands on the streets of India. Even when the country’s notoriously unreliable electricity blows rendering recording futile, the men just lie patiently and wait it out while we watch.
The music created for this album is simply phenomenal. Anderson pays close attention to each musician in the band’s near 20-person arrangement. No one outshines another and everyone plays an intricate role in bringing together the enchanting, gorgeous sound that their individual performances create. The breathtaking, elaborate high-walled building the group records and practices in becomes a prominent feature further highlighting the creation of sound from the deep acoustics the high ceilings bounce around. During one scene, a pigeon lands in the ceiling and begins cooing loudly, its voice echoing out on the walls and along with the band.
Junun is laden with scenes that feature the distinctive instruments within the band. Through compilations we witness exotic, dance-inducing instruments getting played, repaired, and tinkered with; harmoniums, mini-keyboards, French horns, trumpets, sitars, electronics, and so much more. We get tight close-ups on instruments and rotating pans that circle around the room to capture the totality of the recording process. This intimacy brings an important focus to the performing aspect of the music and the grand variety of sounds that allow all corners of the world to sonically meet despite the geographic location of the film.
Anderson doesn’t need to do anything fancy or out of the ordinary in the way of directing, but his visuals bring a captivating component to Junun. Anderson simply witnesses the magic unfolding all on its own. Candid moments of the group members replace the standard documentary trope of using interviews. These scenes intermingle alongside the recording process allowing the powerful music getting produced to serve as the primary focus, and what beautiful music it is! Junun is a snapshot into the passion of music, we see it in the musicians who play and if you are a music devotee you will feel it when watching. It may be hard to contain yourself from dancing when watching Junun, so don’t. Dance, wiggle, and move as you like, it’ll make the experience of watching Junun that much more enjoyable.
SEE IT. Right now, https://mubi.com/films/junun. Sign-up with MUBI for a 30-day free trail. But quick, there’s only 8 hours left before Junun expires! This is where following me comes in handy 😉
Movie Boozer Review: Mexico Barbaro (2015)
My review of the Mexican horror film, Mexico Barbaro. You will definitely need a few shots to get through this insane vignette of films!
Click Here to Read Review
Happy Halloween with Dario Argento’s Deep Red (1975)
When you listen to the song “Mack the Knife”, you’ll hear Bobby Darin sing the chilling narrative of Mack, a town resident fresh out of prison and known for having a killer’s instinct. Throughout this melodic ditty, Darin’s gently sweet voice gradually crescendos into a soaring epic complete with brass horns, a tight pounding snare and a swing that you can’t help but bob your head to. Together these elements bring listeners into a sleepy seaside town where the tragedies of a serial killer’s strike is shaking it in to a frenzy of gossip. Though bodies keep piling up and no evidence is found everyone knows it’s Mack, whose lavish spending coincides with a victim’s bank account getting cleaned. “Mack the Knife’s” ability to tell a hauntingly arresting story through a bright, sunny disposition is perhaps why it has always been one of my favorite songs. Likewise, Dario Argento takes a similar route by visually wrapping his films in flashy, stunning visuals which is perhaps best done in his giallo classic, Deep Red.
Italian born Argento is known for bringing audiences the world over his brand of candy-coated, colorful blood and gore that has put him in his very own throne among horror masters. Throughout the 1970s Argento churned out numerous thrillers featuring good-looking people meeting gruesome bloody deaths. Interestingly enough he avoided most of the backlash claiming his films glorified violence, an argument that usually affects contemporary directors who use film and television as a means to explore the malleability and anatomy of the human body in horrific ways. I can only assume it’s because Argento roots his violence in stylistic, colorful expressions while still using his camera to show the mastery of his artistic intentions.
Deep Red lurks after a serial killer making their way around the streets of Italy. Argento’s camera acts as an omnipresent seeing eye for audiences that switches between being the eyes of the killer and an objective observer. Our role as the active backseat spectator of the murders is the most fascinating aspect of the film since it also acts to explore homes and buildings where the killer hides out before making their move. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Argento firmly believed in the philosophy of a non-static camera. Close-ups shots constantly tilt up and down, wide shots pan back and forth and zooms into close-ups, and the camera impressively tracks around rooms, whipping to and fro in an ever-moving ocean of suspense.
Argetno’s busy visual eye is largely the reason Deep Red is so engaging despite its many shortcomings and downfalls. The story is a bit silly. A local jazz pianist, Marcus Daly, witnesses a murder then spends the rest of the film playing detective to nearly invisible or more so non-active police officers. Marcus’ ability to freely enter and leave crime scenes with no questioning is strange, almost as strange as the telepathic physics of the film who can’t seem to sense when an intruder is in their homes. We spend much wasted time watching Marcus make even sillier decisions and discoveries, but Argento’s graceful camera and Italian prog-rockers Goblin’s fast-driving killer soundtrack makes it difficult to feel any boredom with the film, even when the character’s dubbed over voices doesn’t quite match their moving lips.
Deep Red is a 70s gem, one that reminded me just how fantastic the 1970s were in the realm of cinema. It was a time of exploration, experimentation, and colorful exploitation of genres. Argento’s work stands the test of time because as Deep Red showcases no one else could do horror the way he did. Argento likely took influence from directors like Orson Wells and Howard Hawks, but by blending art, narrative, and shock value Argento is a legend unto himself. Even now, exactly 40 years later I still haven’t seen a director who has matched him. Though Quentin Tarantino comes close and Robert Rodriquez and Eli Roth have undoubtedly followed in Argento’s footsteps, no one has touched the grace of his stylistic abilities.
SEE IT. Tonight if you’re not doing anything. Have a Spooktacular Halloween!
Six Reasons Antonia’s Line (1995) Can Empower Us All
If you have eyes and ears that are in tune with pop culture over the past few years, it’s more than likely that you’ve realized the hotness of feminism as a topic of discussion. The discourse runs the gamut on how to provide basic equal rights for women, while more sensationalized articles argue over who is doing it “right” and who is not. Feminism has become such a trending piece that everyone has jumped on board concocting their own brand of feminism to shout to the world. Beyoncé did it with her VMA performance last year, Miley Cyrus is doing it with her expression of female sexuality, the “Free the Nipple” campaign is taking off, women and men all over the world are raising awareness, and even cities like my own are becoming involved. Earlier this year, Atlanta proudly presented the city’s first installment of the feminist centered art and discussion based Ladyfest, which holstered the city’s foremost thinkers, artists, and activists together for the sake of women’s rights and expression.
Feminism’s revamp in recent years educates men and women alike on how to view the history of the movement and its current activists. Of all the films I’ve seen, of all the books I’ve read, not one of them has presented a brand of feminist lifestyle that is as practical and empowering as the life led by Antonia in Marleen Gorris’ powerful film Antonia’s Line. Willeke van Ammelrooy carries the film as Antonio, a strong, boss of a woman who returns to her childhood home in a small Dutch village for the death of her mother. Once there, Antonia proceeds to break apart everything the tiny village knows as true by creating her own female-centered commune of sorts. The word “feminist” is never uttered in the film, the topic of inequality is never discussed. Antonia doesn’t change the town because she wants to necessarily, she does so because after settling in she realizes she has to.
Gorris’ poignant and tasteful screenplay never oversimplifies the issues within the small town, nor is there a strict line that attempts to separate men and women. Antonia just is, and she just does. She’s like a super hero for women who bounces back from the tragedies of life with strength tenfold. She manages inequality, empowers those around her, and will pull a shotgun on anyone who hurts her loved ones. After watching Antonia’s Line, I felt rejuvenated with the bold, fierceness of Antonia’s spirit, as if watching her do life “right” was enough for me to get my life together. Here are six reasons why Marleen Gorris is a badass whose film shows viewers a style of living in society that should be emulated by any and everyone.
- Antonia doesn’t need a partner to feel fulfilled. – After returning to her village, Antonia is reunited with an old flame. He is beside himself as she has clearly aged like a fine wine in a cellar surrounded by flowers. He desperately wants to marry her because a man needs a woman and vice versa. But, Antonia sees no need for it. Why should she? She’s got her friends and her daughter to fulfill her. He makes the valid argument that there are needs she needs fulfilled and so does he, so Antonia ponders this for a few seconds and strikes up a deal. No funny business, no status, no commitment; just once a week they get to fulfilling each other’s needs, more times a week if necessary, and he handles the heavier things around the house and farm that she can’t. Gorris shows that it’s ok to not be defined by a relationship and that Antonia has bigger fish to fry in life rather than worry about the drama of being in one.
- Antonia is the breadwinner for her family – That bigger fish that keeps Antonio preoccupied is the entire country side that she and her family live on. There are fields that get tended to, seeds planted, and produce and goods aggregated. Antonia enlists the help of the villages most subjugated and under respected patrons to help her small farm become a breeding ground of life for those in her care. Anyone willing to lace up their boot straps and work the way she needs them to gets taken care of with love and respect from Antonia.
- She raises intelligent free thinking offspring – Antonia arrives home with her teenage daughter Danielle in tow. As time goes by we learn of many things about Danielle, but most importantly is her desire for a child but not a husband. Antonia never discourages her daughter’s wish to procreate and instead helps her find a suitable candidate to impregnate her and together Antonia and Danielle raise the child, who turns out to be a prodigy of sorts whom with age then gives birth to the film’s narrator.
Women have sexual freedom – All the women in Antonia’s camp possess a freedom not seen often, if at all, in films. For some of the women in the film, there is no romantic attachment to a male at all. For others, the women equally share parenting responsibilities with their partners, some women are lesbians, and others choose marriage or choose to give birth as many times as they want. No one judges, no one defines themselves by their status, and no one scoffs… only the church and the simple-minded villagers do.- Women possess safe choices for their bodies – When Danielle’s daughter Therèse becomes pregnant a debate briefly sparks over whether she should keep it or not, a decision she ultimately makes on her own. However, before she does so half of the villagers in Antonia’s camp tell her to keep it while the other half suggests getting rid of it. There are no religious ties or moral obligations just what they suggest based on her situation and ultimately she decides for herself. The fact that safe, acceptable options are there for her if she chooses to have an abortion is a rare find in films.
- Antonia gets to choose when she wants to die –This isn’t a spoiler alert. The first minute of the film informs you that in her old age Antonio decides to die. The rest of the film follows her history leading up to the moment of her death. In fairy tale like fashion, Antonia gets to live her life the way she wants to, fostering love in everything and everyone she befriends, and on her own terms she gets to decide when to call it quits. There’s nothing more empowering than that.
SEE IT. Then join me in my future commune in the woods.
The Cinephiliac 