Death of a Shadow (Dood Van Een Schaduw) (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film (Tom Van Avermaet, Ellen De Waele).
“Death of a Shadow” is an interesting little short that escapes both time and reality. A deceased World War I soldier, Nathan Rijckx (Matthias Schoenaerts) works for a man, stuck in a limbo between life and death, and photographs the dying to be displayed in a gallery of shadows. He works to have a second chance at life and is motivated by a woman he met the day he was killed. Sarah Winters (Laura Verlinden) tried to save his life.
He hates his work, but he is so close to completing it he can hardly stand it. He peruses his options and tries to find the least repulsive death to photograph, while still trying to satisfy his employer’s taste in art and composition. His last picture, however, proves to be very difficult and he must make a decision between his own happiness and that of the woman he is smitten with.
The film is both a period piece and something outside of reality. It is creative and well shot, although it is a lot of story to put into a short. The production value of the short is really astounding. It is very artistic and emotional, however they didn’t completely match the communication of that emotion with the production design. That is a small complaint, however, for such a well made short.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Writing-Original Screenplay (Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola).
“Anderson’s movies often mark out their own weirdly regressive, faintly dysfunctional space, from which the modern world has been politely excluded, and where the occupants communicate in a kind of modified, private language” (The Guardian).
“Moonrise Kingdom” is both bizarrely weird and fabulous at the same time. Wes Anderson is well known for his unique, artistic view of the world and way of telling a story through film. This story of two young lovebirds in a tiny island community with interesting takes on reality is no different.
Sam (Jared Gilman) is an orphan who has been with the island’s scout group for some time. An outsider with pyrotechnic tendencies, he meets Suzy (Kara Hayward) at a church play and is immediately smitten. They become pen pals and after much planning decide to “run away” and take a camping trip together. Sam, after all, is an experienced scout. Suzy, on the other hand, seems to know nothing about camping but quite a lot about music composition and interesting library books.
The adults are not absent. On the contrary, they are deeply concerned for the well being of their charges. They take a break from their own disfunctions to be preoccupied by the young couple’s and spend a good portion of the movie searching for the two, and then trying to keep them apart. Suzy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) are pretty normal, including the untoward relationship between Mrs. Bishop and Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis). Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton) and his troop are the most unique characters and other-worldly story line of the entire film. As they search for the twelve-year-old love birds and try to bring them back to reality, a storm brews off shore that will turn the small community upside down.
Each scene and shot is picturesque. I really enjoyed the cinematography. It was like watching a photograph come to life. The presentation itself was a bit awkward and unique, but that is typical of Anderson’s films. It is all about the emotion and desire. He makes the ordinary seem magical.
This film isn’t for everyone. It’s a bit artistic and out there. Its timing is even unique and takes pauses in awkward places. There is a constant reminder that you are watching a film and it won’t allow you to get sucked in. The scenes including the Scout Master and his troop are so out there that the absurdity is comical–in a good way.
If you are in the mood for an artistic film in which you suspend a bit of your own reality to watch the absurdity of this 1965 community, then I would definitely recommend this film. If it doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, definitely watch something else.
The Broken Circle Breakdown
86th Academy Awards 2014
4/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film (Dirk Impens).
Watched August 19, 2014.
This film, with all of its positives and negatives, pulled at my heartstrings. It is told in a non-linear style, which adds a bit to its mystery and builds up, rather than tears down the relationships within the film. It is a foreign film based in the Flemish city of Ghent in Belgium.
Elise (Veerle Baetens), a realist religious tattoo artist, and Didier (Johan Heldenbergh), a blue grass romantic atheist, fall in love pretty much at first sight. Their intense, passionate love is communicated very well through mostly images versus dialogue. When it turns out that Elise has quite the voice, she joins the band and the film is regularly populated by their folksy bluegrass renditions of old American classics. This is probably my favorite part of the film–I downloaded the soundtrack immediately after the end credits.
Within months Elise falls pregnant. Their love blossoms and grows. The filmmakers show a little bit of their daughter Maybelle’s (Nell Cattrysse) youngest years, but at still a very young age they find out that she has cancer. This puts their love to an extreme test and becomes a downward spiral that might be hard to get out of.
I really enjoyed the color grading and story telling in this film. There are certain scenes that were perhaps a little too long and really pound their point into the audience. It is also guilty of melodrama. I liked the way the filmmakers chose to tell the story of their love–how it started and especially its highs. They also tell Maybelle’s story very well. Like the love story, they communicate her illness with a lot of imagery and song and not as much dialogue. Perhaps I liked this because it is a foreign film so there were fewer captions to read, but really I think it is because of the artistry.
When things begin to spiral is when the film slows down and has a much more linear time quality. While this portion of the film is powerful and climactic, its style changed and became darker and less etherial. We are pulled with the couple into their moments of despair, whether in the quietness of their own home or while on stage performing for an audience. Their glass bubble shattered the moment little Maybelle got sick and they both feel like they will never be whole again.
Like I said, the story is pretty melodramatic from start to finish. The filmmaker’s didn’t seem to attempt a fiercely realistic story. Perhaps that is a strength. I think at some point I will watch the film again, but it will probably be more for the music than it will be for the story as a whole. I liked the characters. I rooted for them and could relate to them. I liked their story in the beginning. It was simple and romantic, although I wondered how on earth they could pay for everything. I liked when the melodrama was punctuated by full performances.
If you like this type of music, I would definitely recommend the film to you. If you don’t like the music, make sure you like dramatic stories before you add this film to your list.
Curfew (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
5/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award, which it won.
Won Best Live Action Short Subject (Shawn Christensen).
Watched July 22, 2014.
I adored this short film. In my opinion, it is everything that a short film should be. There is symbolism, experimental and artistic cinematography, strong story telling, solid acting, and a cohesive whole that definitely deserved to win the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Subject in 2013.
This film does not need to be longer. It is complete in and of itself. Sometimes full length features are left too open to sequels, as is all the rage in Hollywood. Once you find a formula that sells, you just keep selling it. Curfew stays out of that trap and is phenomenal on its own. Just the opening shots scream “this is a winner.”
Richie (Shawn Christensen) is in his bathtub, clearly in the middle of committing suicide by razor blade, when his phone rings. It is Maggie (Kim Allen), and apparently Richie is the last person she would ever call but she needs his help. Richie gives in, cleans himself up a little, and heads out to meet his niece whom he hasn’t seen in years. Sophia (Fatima Ptacek) is a force to be reckoned with, just like her mother. Strong, and independent, she knows how to stick up for herself, which may be because she grew up in New York, or maybe it’s because of her mother’s example. She thinks very little of her Uncle Richie who supposedly messed up really badly when she was little and has been cut out of their lives since.
He is a mess. He has huge circles under his eyes, his wrists are bandaged, and a cigarette hangs from his mouth. He takes Sophia to the only approved place (the bowling alley), where things get a little weird and people start dancing, but it actually works incredibly well with the story line and character arc. It is night time in new york, therefore the lighting stays pretty dark, but the filmmakers use a strong contrast that works well for the film. He forms a tentative relationship with Sophia who is slow to let down her guard, but she seems to get the measure of him pretty quickly (which is good since this is a short film).
The short uses the landscape of New York City nightlife very well. It follows the growth of their one-night relationship and makes you root for everyone, even the mom. Christensen wrote, directed, and acted in the piece, which surprisingly works out pretty well for him. Honestly, Curfew is the type of piece I would have adored in my intellectual, artistic filmmaker university days, but at a level that the more consumeristic side of myself can enjoy just as much. It is a great film.
If you have twenty minutes, or even if you don’t, this is a short I would definitely recommend that you watch. If you have never really sat down just to watch a short film, I would suggest that you start here. It is that good.
Mirror Mirror (2012)
85th Academy Awards 2013
3/5 Stars
Nominated for 1 award.
Nominated for Best Costume Design (Eiko Ishioka).
Watched June 23, 2014.
Lately a lot of fairytale remakes have been surfacing. The summer of 2012 saw two different takes on Snow White. Snow White and the Huntsman took a darker approach with impressive special effects and love triangles. Mirror Mirror is a comedy first, excellent display of costuming second, and pretty okay movie all around. It was a corny, good kid friendly movie and my inner child really enjoyed it.
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Snow White, know that the film follows the basic plot line with some stabs at originality. The Queen (Julia Roberts) married the King (Sean Bean), who promptly disappears, leaving behind his beautiful daughter named Snow White (Lily Collins) who is abused by the jealous, youth obsessed Queen. She meets a Prince Alcott (Armie Hammer) but is chased from the kingdom by the Queen who wants her dead. She comes upon seven dwarves, who are not named things like Grumpy, Dopey, and Doc in this version, and joins them after some resistance on their part.
There are other unique aspects of the film, but the biggest is the comedy. There is a cute, although fairly childish bit in which the Queen accidentally switches a love potion with a puppy love potion and the Prince’s affections for her become something other than what she wished for. The dwarves are also outcasts who enjoy robbing people instead of mining and Snow White learns some moves while she stays with them.
The costumes are clearly a highlight of the film. Both original and mostly colorful, I really enjoyed their unique flavor. The whole film seeks to add new spins on a classic story. The dark forrest, the village of the kingdom, the court life, everything in-between has an unrealistic quality that adds to the charm of the storyline. To be quite honest, the film isn’t a knock-out artistically, or even technically, but it was certainly entertaining and fun.
Roberts is definitely a standout as the Queen. Her brand of crazy is more comical and magical. She undergoes ridiculous beauty treatments and her “mirror on the wall” is certainly depicted differently than one might expect. The romance is sappy, the plot is predictable, and the roles seem less than challenging, but as a whole the fun and colors won me over and Mirror Mirror is probably going to become one of my guilty pleasures.
I would definitely recommend this film if you have kids or if you are a Julia Roberts fan. I had no desire to see the film from the marketing, but upon seeing it I truly enjoyed it. If you have the time, it might be worth a watch if you can stomach the cutesy execution.
Jamie Daily 