Animal rocks the joint

My cuz Nelson directed me to this. Funny stuff and Rita Moreno is fabulous.

This is for you Dad:




While I'm here, more Animal goodness with Buddy Rich (Bonus: In Spanish!):

Hey, wait your turn! Let's make this a fair fight...

One of my favourite blog posts of late is this one from Daily Film Dose discussing long takes and tracking shots with YouTube examples. I'm a sucker for extended shots where the camera moves and follows different characters and events all without any edits.

One specific scene referenced and embedded in the blog is this one from the recent Thai action flick The Protector:



It's a tremendous and very well choreographed scene and made me decide to rent the movie. But it, as well as several other fight scenes in the film, suffer from the One Man At A Time syndrome. In other words, the guys attacking our hero may be vicious criminals who enjoy the act of killing, but they just can't stand the thought of being seen as unfair...So they attack one at a time. Even though our hero is obviously enormously strong and has wiped out plenty of people already, you just can't gang up on him! That would be uncouth!

Now contrast that to this sequence from the great Korean vengeance film Oldboy (also mentioned in the Daily Film Dose post - the single shot starts about 30 seconds into the segment):



They attack him from behind, kick him on the floor, hit him with sticks, etc. And all at once if possible. Even when it's one at a time it's made to look realistic because everyone's had a chance at that point and been somewhat beaten down.

And the thing is, in "The Protector" Tony Jaa is a hell of an imposing guy. Not necessarily by his figure, but just his presence and the way he carries himself and walks. Right at the start of that scene when he walks into the lobby - he just owns it. And as he fights you can see the quickness and forcefulness of each move. They could have bunches of guys jump on him at the same time, have him woop them all and you would buy it. They didn't have to resort to the One Man At A Time crutch. Especially in a later fight where he decimates 40 guys - one at a freakin' time.

"Oldboy's" Dae-su is less imposing, but his intensity and the fact he has absolutely nothing to lose carries him through and allows you to buy his eventual thrashing of the whole lot of 'em.

In the end, both of these specific scenes are very well served by the single take.

Chick Monk - Roadie for the Defense

SCTV was one of the greatest TV shows ever. Full stop. No argument.

Tony Rosato was an early member of this Canadian show (coming from the stage of Toronto's Second City troupe) and this led to a 2 year stint on Saturday Night Live (1981-82, not exactly the prime years of the show). He created characters like chef Marcello Sebastiano, Chick Monk and Lou Grant (in a Mary Tyler Moore parody). Lots of additional TV work followed and though I had heard he had early troubles with cocaine, I expected that he was leading a reasonably comfortable life and possibly still acting occasionally.

So I was quite surprised this morning to see his picture on the front page of the Toronto Star with an accompanying story about his last 2 years - spent in jail. Since he hasn't actually been tried yet and there's a publication ban of some of the details behind the charges of criminal harassment of his wife, I could only speculate as to what has happened (and I won't). But to hold someone in jail without a trial for 2 years? Especially when his defense team have stated that they believe he suffers from a mental condition called Capgras Syndrome - a condition where you believe someone has been replaced by a double or an impostor (and no, you wouldn't be the first to think of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"). The story goes into further details about concern for his mental state and it certainly appears that he needed some help.

Again, I can't state whether Tony is guilty, not guilty or mentally unbalanced. I just think it's terribly sad...

In better times, here's Tony with fellow SCTV cast member Robin Duke:

Esoteric Picks Of The Week #14 (05/07/2007)

Here we are, returning to the Esoteric Picks feature after a break of a couple of weeks. I don't write with much ease or skill, so I think the effort I expended during Hot Docs to review all 10 of the films just simply took it out of me...B-)



Tunes

Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby! (2004)


A return to an independent label for Monster Magnet seems to have rejuvenated the band and they may have found the perfect mix between the stoner-sludge of some earlier releases and their fondness for the perfect RAWK riff. On the surface the band may come across as butt-stupid ("Slut Machine" which kicks off the disc may cement that opinion if you don't look further), but the combination of head bobbing hooks and occasionally wickedly clever lyrics show that the band can throw you a knowing smirk while making you blast the car speakers just a little bit louder all the while singing "Shut your mouth you big f**king baby..."



Classic English Language Film

The Parallax View (1974)


Probably one of the best of the paranoia thrillers from the 70s, director Alan J. Pakula creates an international conspiracy that sucks in the viewer just as deep as the main character. Warren Beatty gives one of his best (at least for me) performances and you can really feel the walls close in on him - the cynical feeling of the times comes through loud and clear. The film wraps up with a perfect ending and does so without leading the viewer there by the hand. It's intelligent with realistic and well-defined characters that behave in ways that match their situations. I don't want to say that "they don't make 'em like this anymore", but I would need a few more examples of recent thrillers that would counter that statement.



Recent English Language Film

Anytown U.S.A. (2005)


I suppose I've been leaning heavily on documentaries for this category (8 of the 14 so far), but they just keep on coming - great stories being told in very interesting ways. This particular film is another case of documenting a particular mayoral race - this time in the small town of Bogota New Jersey. The current Republican mayor is falling out of favour with some of the residents but his Democratic rival seems to be sleepwalking through the election. Enter write-in candidate Dave Musikant who starts his campaign out of his Mom's basement and eventually gets the attention and services of a political consultant. Two of these three candidates are also visually impaired and the story of the race and subsequent election plays out in surprising and touching ways.



Foreign Language Film

Army Of Shadows (1969)


Jean-Pierre Melville makes awesome crime films. "Le Samourai", "Le Cercle Rouge", "Un Flic", etc. Great tension, cool characters and visual flair. So when his lost masterpiece "Army Of Shadows" was finally released in North America in 2006 with critics praising it to the skies, I was slightly disappointed to hear it was about the French Resistance during WWII. What? No heists or guys in trenchcoats? Well, that's true, but this film is still consistently fascinating and gripping throughout its 2 and a half hour running time. The constant blues and greys of the surroundings cast the proper mood over the ups and downs of the Resistance team's fighters and it also includes, go figure, great tension, cool characters and visual flair.



WTF?

Songs From The Second Floor (2000)


I debated whether I should recommend this film...It essentially has no narrative flow or relatable characters. But this Swedish film has some utterly beautiful, strange, unsettling and funny moments wrapped around what appears to be several people's journey through purgatory. Or maybe they're already in hell. Or it's a dystopian vision of the future. Whatever the case, there are myriad symbolic images scattered about in very static, but perfectly composed frames. The camera stays still the entire film (each scene is a single long take) except for a single instance. I can't admit to understanding it completely, but I really enjoyed trying to piece things together and I know that I'll return to the film again.

Hot Docs 04/29/07 - Campaign and The Foreign Eye

Campaign

Yamauchi Kazuhiko is a first time candidate for city council in Kawasaki Japan. He's eager, full of energy and willing to do just about anything to get across his party's message of government reform. His campaign consists of impassioned speeches via bullhorns to commuters, learning how to bow properly and having his wife take extended vacation from her job (their only source of income at the time). Oh, and he has to pay for all expenses out of his own pocket.

His experience navigating the traditions, processes and people of the Japanese political system are documented in "Campaign". As well, we get an additional look at pieces of Japanese society and culture via city scenes and the personal interactions. And as interesting as the campaign was, those additional scenes are my favourite part of the film. It's not a deep look at the society, but the glimpses of little children at play, the packing of passengers into the subway and Yamauchi's stops at different cultural events create a feeling of wanting to experience Japan directly.




Unless of course you want to get into politics...Though there are a number of female politicians and candidates that we see in the film, the general environs seem to be strongly patriarchal. So much so, that when Yamauchi's wife joins the campaign trail, she must refer to herself as his housewife and not his wife. She's a strong, intelligent and independent woman - and it doesn't sit well with her.

But Yamauchi is willing to go along with the Liberal Democratic Party's rules. He bows and defers in all cases and really tries hard during speeches to show his political meddle. But he's not a politician. You can see him slowly wilt throughout the movie as he gives in to the party's standard approaches and campaign tactics. Tradition and hierarchy hold sway over just about everything. And that seems to hold for the other parties and candidates since they all follow the same techniques (somewhat limited by Japanese rules about using TV and other media for campaigning).

Although somewhat long at 2 hours, it's an excellent look at an entirely different political landscape than anything in North America. Not necessarily better or worse, but most definitely different.



The Foreign Eye

What's the first thing you think about when someone says "Brazil"? Soccer? Beaches? Beautiful women? Beautiful women playing soccer on a beach? And likely every move choreographed to a Samba beat. With nudity.

This, at least, seems to be Hollywood and many other filmmakers' perception of Brazil. "The Foreign Eye" documents through interviews and clips from many films (many really bad films at that) how these stereotypes are reinforced over and over via movies. Looking for an "exotic" locale to set your story in or perhaps a getaway spot in which your character can lose themsleves in the free spirited locals? Apparently nothing beats Rio!




Director Lucia Murat uses her stature as a Brazilian filmmaker to get these interviews and confronts her subjects about their usage of these stereotypes. There's a broad range of reactions including denial, rationalization, embarassment and humour. The French directors in particular seem to have no regrets about their knowing usage of exaggerated generalizations to get across their intended settings and comedy. Hollywood folks tend to either address the issue with backpedaling or self-deprecating humour.

Speaking of humour, there is still much to laugh at in the film. Specifically the number of clips from the cheese-oid cluster of craptastic movies. More well known fare like "Blame it On Rio" and "Anaconda" are shown alongside lesser known titles like "Lambada". The audience laughter during the clips of the latter title indicate that perhaps I'm reading it wrong - nothing that generates that kind of joyous response can be all bad...Amongst all the drivel, though, there is one excellent film - Brad Anderson's "Next Stop Wonderland" is featured due to the appearance of a Brazilian "latin lover" type character (whose accent was apparently really awful). Apart from that, it's truly a well-constructed romantic comedy.

Adding to the generalizations from these movies, throughout the film we see random requests of different people for their thoughts on Brazil. Unsurprisingly, they tend to fall into the exact same stereotypes. But what is surprising is that Stanley Donen - director of "On The Town", "Singing' In The Rain" and "Charade" - also made "Blame It On Rio".

Now that's hard to rationalize.

Hot Docs 04/27/07 - Circus School and Intelligence

Circus School

The film "Circus School" - about young Chinese children practicing their different acrobatic routines in preparation for a competition - is structured pretty much exactly how you would expect. Start several months out from a target date, introduce individual children and follow them through the ups and downs of their training. What you don't expect is the emotional involvement you end up having with these kids.

Granted, a good deal of your attachment to the kids is because they are so young. Little Xu Lu is a 9 year old trapeze flyer and 13 year old Cai-Ling performs a floor exercise routine that defies all expectations of what the human body can do. But it's the struggle they endure to become accomplished that is so draining to watch.




Both of these kids show exceptionally strong will in working through pain and long sessions, but it's not because they are necessarily so driven. The film, without using any narration, paints a picture of parents and teachers who feel the children must at all costs succeed at what has been determined to be their vocation. After the film, several attendees wondered if this was any different than North American culture in comparison to kids being driven to excel at sports or school. I can't say, but it provides a frightening example of pushing children to their limits.

Part 1 of the film is dedicated to the run up to a presentation of the trapeze routine and the stress and strain put on Xu Lu. There are other children and routines touched on, but the focus is on Xu Lu's growth. Essentially treated like a rag doll as she is thrown from one trapeze to another, she suffers one very painful fall and a myriad of dressing downs from the coaches. In the end she succeeds beautifully, but should a nine year old girl really be put through this?

In part 2, Cai-Ling has his own struggles with weight gain and what should really be soul-crushing verbal attacks by his own coach. Even while you are admiring phenomenal abilities in balance and flexibility, the coaches continue to criticize the boy because it isn't perfect. Previous scenes showing the abuse the teachers themselves get from the principal dovetail nicely with these scenes and show a continuum of insane expectations. The film actually ends by showing the entire final performance by Cai-Ling and it's stunning. Just incredible.

I just hope someone gave these kids a hug at some point.



Intelligence

How do you tackle a subject like intelligence in a single 90 minute film? Well, first of all, you don't try to actually answer any specific questions. Attack it from several angles, raise doubts about convention and try to keep things within a vague framework. This was a similar tactic by director Kevin McMahon in another of his films screened at this year's fest ("McLuhan's Wake"), but in this case it succeeds.

Actually, he does try to answer, or at least dismiss one specific question --> Can intelligence be measured? Rather quickly in the early going, I.Q. tests are discussed and set aside as really being nothing more than an indicator of how good someone is at doing an I.Q. test. Having always agreed with this assessment of these intelligence standards, the film gained my good graces.

Less awkward than the framing device used in "McLuhan's Wake", here the story of The Emperor's New Clothes is used throughout the film. This is used to good effect when highlighting how people try to compare intelligence and how and why it is valued to the extent that it is.




As part of the Focus On series, this was one of McMahon's earier films (almost a decade old) and that timeframe is important to understand another major theme of the film. Artificial intelligence (or at least the possibility of it) is discussed extensively and concerns are raised about the potential changes to society. It seems a bit paranoid at times, but given the topic and the time period it's not too far afield.

The film must have resonated somewhat with the audience. Normally the Q&A's after the films are filled with interesting, but fairly expected questions. At this screening, at least 4 separate people had overly long, verbose statements to make regarding the film itself as well as their philisophical approach to the subject at hand. Like the characters in The Emperor's New Clothes, it was almost like they were all trying to show off their own intelligence - for fear that the rest of us might not see it.

Hot Docs 04/25/07 - McLuhan's Wake and Losers & Winners

McLuhan's Wake

This year's target of the Focus On series at Hot Docs is Canadian filmmaker Kevin McMahon. With over half of his films tackling uniquely Canadian subjects and perspectives ("The Falls", "Cod: The Fish That Changed The World", "An Idea Of Canada", etc.) as well as not being widely known, he appears to be a great choice.




Another of these Canadian subjects is Marshall McLuhan - he of the pronouncements on media, communications and culture ("the medium is the message", etc.). Like most people, I had just a vague knowledge of McLuhan and his theories, so I was really hoping to get a better feel for his field of study and his contributions to it. So I had expectations going in...

As a director, McMahon's style has been described as a "poetical, lyrical approach to the essay film" and this seems to fit spot on. Though this same style works very well for another of McMahon's films - the broad topic of "Intelligence" that I saw a few days later (I never promised timely reviews...) - it just doesn't work as well here. At least not for what I was expecting.

There is some great footage of McLuhan speaking in interviews and lectures, but these short snippets just aren't enough to give you much of an idea of either the man or his views. Then again, that may not be possible - several interview subjects stated that they rarely actually knew what the hell McLuhan was saying. But he certainly drops enough interesting tidbits that keep you curious...

The film does actually try to set up a few frameworks to guide us through McLuhan's ideas. It opens by showing an animated take on Edgar Allan Poe's "Descent Into The Maelstrom" and returns to the central part of the story (a young fisherman whose boat is being pulled into a vortex) throughout the film. It also shows us his Laws of Media (the theory that all media and human artifacts do 4 things --> enhance, retrieve, reverse and obsolesce) and dives down into each of them. Everything else in the film is shoehorned into both of these frameworks and ends up making things harder to follow instead of clarifying any specific theme.

Again though, that's probably more my desire to hear McLuhan do more of his own speaking and to get more than just a surface idea of what he was trying to say. The film does throw out some interesting ideas and information from the interviews. One of the interview subjects states that McLuhan's many TV appearances - he much preferred to talk about his ideas than write them down - actually harmed not only his arguments but his overall standing within the field. As well, we learn that the sudden dissolution of his curriculum at the University of Toronto really hurt him in his later years. Perhaps it's just a very difficult proposition to pigeonhole McLuhan in any timeframe whatsoever. At least I've come away from the film with a greater sense of wanting to understand McLuhan.



Losers And Winners

The jury awards for Hot Docs have already been handed out and the Best International Feature was declared to be this film about the Chinese purchase of a German coke producing plant. Coke in this context is a solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. The film documents the dismantling of the facilities by Chinese workers with supervision by German engineers. The Chinese are to bring the skills they learn back home to build their own coke plant.




Of course, you can tell already that the film will be about more than just the specific transfer of a single plant...We begin by getting to know a few of the German engineers who seem to be resigned to the task at hand - tearing down their work environment of the past 8 years and handing it over. But there is also some resentment. Not only are they losing their jobs once the demolition is finished, but they are helping to speed that process by training those that are doing it.

The two cultures certainly clash along the way. There are condescending comments towards the Chinese by the engineers, but it really feels to be coming directly from radically different approaches to process and not any racial issues. The Germans are sticklers for details and safety. The Chinese just want to get the job done. In the early stages, the frustrated Germans continue to hammer home the proper steps for cautious work and mandate filling out safety forms. They opine that they won't be able to watch the work all the time because the Chinese will be working 7/24. Fed up at one point with the dangerous practice of tieing two ladders together, one engineer knocks down the only ladder up to the roof - stranding the workers currently up there.




The Chinese aren't intimidated though. They've done this before and are more than happy to take the technology and skills back home and further refine the business. The plan is to rebuild this plant in China - and then build even more of them. They are equally confused at times with their hosts. They don't understand the need for regulations and the shorter working hours. They are, however, impressed with the respect for the environment...As one Chinese manager says, "If we had this many doves at one of our sites, by now they would all be killed, cooked and eaten". To this he adds a big hearty laugh.

Much of the middle of the film is focused almost entirely on the Chinese as we get to see what it's like to work extremely hard in long stretches and be that far from home. This leads to a few requisite scenes of calls home and shots of the Chinese workers sticking out in the German towns. One of the directors mentioned after the film that they didn't really get much footage of how the workers meshed with townspeople because it was pretty rare that it happened at all. Certainly none of the workers were encouraged to go exploring individually.




Another interesting part of the film is the plant itself. It's immense. And what a disaster that site is after the deconstruction has taken place. To think that this same plant, and more just like it, will pop up in China soon with their rapid growth makes you wonder about an environmental cost we may be paying up front (there was reference to environmental cleanup issues in the film, but we never actually find out if either side took the pains to get it done).

Although I ended up missing the interactions between the two cultures as the focus stayed with the workers, it's a film that works on several levels at once and remains entertaining and informative.