A curious film about a curious man

I was quite disappointed when I missed this film in the cinemas after hearing so much about it, so I was quite excited when I finally got around to renting it from Blockbuster the other day. With such an intriguing concept I had an inkling that I would enjoy it, but to honest I didn’t know quite what to expect especially with all the mixed reviews it has received. However 165 minutes later and I discovered that my inkling was infact correct, and I enjoyed it far more than I even expected.

Brilliantly directed by David Fincher - with his great eye for detail - and screenplay by Eric Roth, who also worked on Forrest Gump, this American fantasy drama is loosely based on the 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. If you haven’t already seen it, then I won’t give too much of the extraordinary plot away, as I think it really should be experienced first hand. But just a brief outline, this is a tale of a curious man, Benjamin, born as a baby in a crippled, old mans body. His disgusted father abandons him on the steps of a stranger’s house, the warm and caring Queenie, who immediately and unquestionably takes him in to care for. The story follows Benjamins life, as he begins to age, but biologically grows younger. The entire thing is told through the narration of Benjamin’s diary, bestowed into the possession of his love, Daisy. Now, I can see why some people have complained at the length of the film; at over two and a half ours, it’s fairly long, a feature perhaps highlighted by the premise of the film itself being based on time. However I have to say that I didn’t want it to end.

Pervaded with life and death, love and loss, the film deals with these occurrences in an almost matter-of-fact way that somehow doesn’t make it any less emotional. Rich in humour, sorrow, heart-ache, and ultimately life, a film full of ironies that explores the process of aging and how old we are against how old we feel. The great anecdotes and twists in this curious tale are played fantastically by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, who play the lead characters Benjamin and Daisy. Pitt especially brings the shading to Benjamin’s character alive, to accompany the fantastic special effects and CGI to age the characters accordingly. Fincher focuses mainly on the face to express age, with great success. All things considered it is unsurprising that this film was nominated for a total of 13 Oscars. Overall I think I have figured out why this film has had such contrasting reviews; if you are looking for a point to film then you may not find it. However if you’re willing to just experience it, then it’s an epic. Moreover I suppose that for a film based on such a bizarre and unique premise, you might sort of expect a message that is a bit more out of the ordinary. But of course it doesn’t tell us anything more than we already know or have been told before, that we should discover life, love and what is really important to us, and make the most of it while we can in the short time that we are given. However for me this was perfect, in its elegant and imaginative depiction of love, life and the things that we lose. And while I can see how it may not be for everyone, I still absolutely recommend this film to you, and hope that you won’t be disappointed.

Partly Cloudy

‘Partly Cloudy’ is Pixar’s latest short film released around the beginning of August this year, being shown at cinemas before ‘Up’.  Directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Kevin Reher it is one of many short films by Pixar, including ‘Your Friend the Rat’, ‘Lifted’, ‘Geri’s Game’, ‘One Man Band’, ‘Poundin’’ and ‘Presto’.  Click here to find out more about all of these short films.

The story is based around a lonely, grey cloud called Gus and his stork friend Peck.  The clouds spend their days laughing, joking and sculpting adorable little babies from the fluffy cloud around them, whilst their delivery stalks carry them to their joyful and awaiting parents on Earth below.  However Gus seems to have a knack for creating dangerous animals with sharp teeth, horns and attitude providing tricky and hazardous cargo for Peck.  Will Peck be able to carry on with his deliveries and assisting his good friend Gus?

The animation in this film is excellent, but then again we expect nothing less from Pixar.  It is a beautiful and poetic animation for children to enjoy and for adults it reminds them of that childhood innocence.  I hadn’t given much thought to any morals, simply just enjoyed the animation, however loyalty and acceptance of everyone is perhaps the key.  Funny and sympathetic, it is pretty impossible not to crack a smile.  Watch the approx 5 min clip here.

To celebrate the last 20 years of Pixar animation, between August and November this year, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Taiwan is holding an ongoing major exhibition showcasing some of their finest work and much-loved characters.  Bringing the stories to life, the exhibition contains a mix of storyboards, sculptures, sketches, paintings and interactive elements.  The tour of this exhibition has been all over the world, starting in New York back in 2005 and set for its last stop in Mexico after Taiwan.  Personally I missed the exhibition in London 2006, and for those of you in the same boat, seeing as I’m guessing not many of us will get to experience it first-hand, it is definitely worth having a quick peek at some of the pics up and around on the net.

V for Vendetta

Since, for the moment, I am fairly immobile with my leg strapped up in a plaster cast, I have been spending my days working my way through an impressive mountain of dvds.  One that recently stood out among the rest was V for Vendetta.  I remember first seeing the film in Perth, Australia when it was released in 2005.  Only really half concentrating on the heavy plot, I left the cinema wondering why it was that I felt totally overwhelmed.  However by recently re-watching the film and this time giving it my full attention, my first reaction started to make a lot more sense. 

Based on the 1989 graphic novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, the film is directed by James McTeigue, produced by Joel Silver with screenplay by the Wachowski brothers, who also directed the Matrix.  V for Vendetta is certainly up there with The Matrix, however the only similarity being that Hugo Weaving, who played Agent Smith in the Matrix Trilogy, is cast here as the lead role, 'V'.  Set in 2034 in totalitarian Britain trapped in the midst of a Right-wing, Fascist regime, this social and political thriller tells the tale of a young woman named Evey Hammond (played by Natalie Portman) who is rescued one night after curfew by a masked vigilante known only as V from being raped by the corrupted state police.

Throughout the film V never reveals his identity, and through his elegance and eloquence he presents a character that is doubly eminent in presence and charisma.  He claims that he is in fact 'all of us', urging his fellow citizens to join with him in igniting a revolution against the government.  His aim is to be set free from the oppression and dictatorship, and collapse the regime which rendered him a scarred and disfigured survivor of its terrifying experiments.  He is determined to finish what Guy Fawkes started and successfully blow up the Houses of Parliament on the 5^th November the following year, and as Evie digs deep and discovers more about who she really is, she becomes V’s unexpected ally.  The totalitarian regime is headed up by High Chancellor Adam Sutler (John Hurt), a rascist, homophobic, fear-mongering and state power abusing dictator who sends out witch-hunts for those he deems ‘enemy ‘ of the state.  In return he promises protection from bioweapons and bioterrorist attacks, like the previous attacks that the regime conveniently found a cure for shortly after coming to power.  I won’t reveal the twist in the plot, but lets just say it’s pretty bold and nervy stuff for a mainstream, popcorn film, that, no doubt about it, will bring out the conspiracy theorist in you.  You cannot help but draw comparisons between the updated Guy Fawkes story in the1980’s comic book and the 2001 bombings of 9/11, and what’s more so, is that it feels like this is slightly deliberate on behalf of the Wachowski's.  Despite V’s Phantom of the Opera appearance, and Evie’s slightly dodgy English accent, both Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portland present great performances, providing energy, drama and suspense in abundance.

V for Vendetta contains big concepts that are, in places, challenging, troubling and quite hard to digest.  It certainly isn’t for everyone, and you have to be in the mood for a plot fairly heavy and fraught with corruption, but there’s definitely something about this explosive film; it will really stay with you and most probably leave quite an impression.

Walking in the Air

Last night I eventually got around to watching ‘Man on Wire’, a documentary film which I had recorded on my sky plus box a few weeks ago and until now not seen.  The film directed by James March was released in 2008, however I did not hear of it until recently when a friend of mine described in to me, telling me it had won a BAFTA and that it was being shown on tv.  Partial to a good documentary, and by all accounts this was a great documentary, I decided it was not to be missed.  I was not wrong!  

On 7^th August 1974, the French artiste named Phillippe Petit spent 45 minutes transcended between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre.  On a slim metal wire 1350 feet above the ground, he walked, he lay, he danced his way across a number of 8 times in an enthralling illegal tight-walking feat.

Based on a booked published by Petit in 2002, this magnificent documentary is constructed as a heist film, with two major factors setting it apart from the rest – 1. It is a true story and 2. The intricate plot is woven around the theft of nothing more than air.  ‘Man on Wire’ is recreated with a series of archive material, photographs, video footage and interviews with Petit’s friends and associates, pieced together chronologically.  The film illustrates the passion involved in the years of planning this crazy adventure, from the day Petit first heard about the building of the Twin Towers and began to sketch his ideas right at the beginning, all the way through to the smuggling of the heavy wire cable up to the top of the buildings under a blanket of darkness the night before the grand finale. 

Marsh’s film does full justice to this incredible story highlighting the extreme lengths Petit’s team went to fulfill his dream, their will to sacrifice anything and everything to get there.  As the observer, the suspense builds up and up throughout the documentary as the day of the stunt gets nearer, will he make it, won’t he make it.  Indeed deep down we know he must make it as interview clips from the present day are included in the script, so the question is more how will he make it?  It seems such an impossible feat that can undoubtedly be classed as both pure stupidity and pure genius at the same time.   What adds even more to this awe-inspiring tale, is that when the time comes and he is up on that high wire spanning the twin towers, as the observer you can’t help but share Petit’s feeling of overwhelming exhilaration.  The onlookers at the World Trade Centre react with a mixture awe and gratitude, making for a very moving scene.  Phillippe’s philosophy is simple; life is not worth living, unless – quite literally – it is lived on the edge.  And for anyone wishing to escape their own reality for an hour or so and experience the mind-blowing reality of the Man on Wire that will have you holding your breath with astonishment, then this is not to missed.  Five stars from me!     

The Age of Stupid

From the director of McLibel, Franny Armstrong, The Age of Stupid stars Pete Postlewaithe as an old man living in the devastated, fried world of 2055.  From his base in the Arctic Circle, he pieces together old archived footage of news clips and interviews from 2008 to discover what went wrong and why we didn’t put a stop to climate change while we had the chance.  After seeing these stills from the movie I am curious to see the visual effects that a hybrid animation/drama/documentary subsumes.  The apocalyptic images such as the Opera House in Sydney and the Taj Mahal in India are certainly morbid and shocking to say the least, and raise expectations for some visually stunning, sci-fi-esque artwork along the way.  

The solar-powered premiere took place in March this year in a tent at London’s Leceister Square with, as you can imagine, a green carpet and guests arriving on bike or foot.  The event produced a rumoured 1% of your average film premiere’s carbon footprint, quite an impressive feat!  What’s even more impressive is the film has been screened in UK Pariament, the EU, Scottish, Welsh, Swedish and Dutch parliaments, as well as the UN’s climate summit, Obama’s think tank and the World Bank.  And all this from a crowd-funded film with a crew working for survival wages!

The Age of Stupid is especially resonant with the up-and-coming COP15 in December - the UN’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, in which the world’s environment ministers and global leaders will meet to negotiate the new rules for climate change.  Some are saying that it is the most important deal in human history, and the only serious opportunity to prevent climate change increasing.  It is ready acknowledged that 300 million people are at serious risk as a result of climate change.  Armstrong is no doubt succeeding with her film, employing shock tactics to portray the seriousness of the issue.  She quotes “Independent feature documents are currently the number one way to save the world”.  Let’s hope she’s right.

Visit www.ageofstupid.net/screenings/upcoming for film screenings, in locations across the UK including LUU’s Peanut Gallery on 29^th September.  With quotes such as it “knocks spots off the inconvenient truth” from The Economist and “every single person in the country should be forcibly made to watch this film” from Ken Livingstone, I am personally fascinated to see the source of all the hype for myself.  Film review to follow shortly!