Five In A Week
It has been a busy beginning to 2011 and mostly a lot of pre-production has taken place. We will soon be announcing our 2011 season but until then as a nod to our affinity with the medium of film as well as the medium of theatre we are introducing the weekly addition to our blog "Five In A Week".
This is quite simply a short bite-sized review of five films that we watch every week, which we consider a part of our job as filmmakers to document. We also want to share our thoughts on various films with others and open the floor to discussion. This is our first week so please give us your feedback.
1. The Colour Purple (1985)
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Menno Meyjes Adapted Alice Walker (novel)
Featuring: Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery & Oprah Winfrey
For the feature film debut of Whoopi Goldberg this is something far removed from the relentless comic timing of her later work. A film about the degradation and demoralisation of African-American women in the 1900's. The story if not for a few ideal glamorous Hollywood moments is moving and wholly eye-opening to a world where women were not only targeted for their colour by white-Americans but also by the very men they were "enslaved" to.
Spielberg moves through the heart of Celie's (Goldberg) world delicately and with such subtlety that we lose sight of the perhaps overt feminist themes that shape the film and some of its key characters, which is odd for the director who's other 80's credits were science-fiction films "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial" and "Twilight Zone". The film is wrapped in a tiny bow that although makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside and vindicates the will and moral centre of Celie does not let you forget the contemptuous life she traveled. Worth noting is Oprah Winfrey's Academy Award Nominated role as Sofia, where the talk-show host reminds audiences which path in show-business she should have pursued.
2. The Proposition (2005)
Director: John Hillcoat
Writer: Nick Cave
Featuring: Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce & Emily Watson
The Burns' Gang is a rag-tag group of brothers in 1900's rural Australia, the most notorious and blood-thirsty of them all, Arthur Burns (Danny Huston). A rogue but perhaps outstanding man of ethics and good will Capt. Stanley (Ray Winstone) cuts a deal with the two breakaway Burns brothers to bring Arthur into custody. Nick Cave a man who is better known for his mixed influence and eclectic music crafts an Australian story that smells like Australian identity but is fundamentally a good Western story. My personal feelings are Australian films have this raging desire to tackle our identity in the medium and great contributions to our film industry like "Mad Max" are forgotten.
The Proposition tickles the viewer with themes of Aboriginal slavery and outback living, but the heavy storyline lies with the weaving of a tale of Irish misfortune that ends in desecration of the protagonists land and an emotional shift in the characters that is both enticing and disturbing. Make no mistake, despite feeling like a mainstream Western, the Australian core is still blazing proud, with the hot dust of a desert and the larrikin like police officers. Perhaps like his music, this is a great example of Nick Cave's independent ideas encroaching on the world of mainstream.
3. Shrek Forever After (2010)
Director: Mike Mitchell
Writers: Josh Klausner & Darren Lemke
Featuring: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy & Walt Dohrn
What is the one way you can give Shrek another rollicking adventure now that he is married and has children? Because watching a film about Princess Fiona's approaching ogre-menopause and Shrek's over-eager flatulence isn't enough? RETCON! Yes. Find a magical way to forget the past films, introducing story device "Rumpelstiltskin".
Every great children's film is layered with enough "sex, drugs & rock'n'roll" for an adult audience as well, that being said, this is a great example of a cheap narrative tool allowing for entertainment and no ambiguous adult themes. A misguided moral about not knowing what you've got until you lose it can be found in amongst the fragmented storyline and ultimately the initial conflict that is raised is never answered and Shrek seems to just lose relevance by the end of the story. This could be a cynic talking, but the first film stands alone as a true contribution to pop-culture and a great move in animation, no matter how many inter textual references littered its plot. This film is not a fitting end to the franchise, which made waves in contemporary film.
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Iris Yamashita
Featuring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Ryo Kase & Tsuyoshi Ihara
Eastwood is one of the greatest assets to Hollywood, mid-eighties and the man still manages to churn out a great looking film with a strong narrative at the centre nearly every year. His visuals seem to be sharp and fluid at the same time and in true to form style the pace is guided by the narrative and never feels out of place. A companion film to "Flags Of Our Fathers" I believe this is the more profound work and despite its dignified look at Japanese nationalism never strays from the fact it is a war film.
It is exciting and thrilling despite most of the action situated in caves not dissimilar to Guerrilla warfare and not a bloody mound of bodies in an over-emphasized brawl. There are some emotionally gut-wrenching moments that scream out for moral judgement but the film remains impartial and just allows an organic feel to encompass its progression to a sad but ultimately mortal end.
5. The Queen (2006)
Director: Stephen Frears
Writer: Peter Morgan
Featuring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen & James Cromwell
Anti-monarchists should watch this film. Without pleading for understanding this film manages to humanize Queen Elizabeth II and highlight her relevance to the British public. It features superb performances of a chameleon like quality from its lead players and has a strong, almost dramatic West-End play script which features a formidable dry-wit with such interpretations as Cromwell's Prince Philip.
The most critically acclaimed film of 2006 won Mirren the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role but perhaps more importantly saw her receive a standing ovation at Venice. The film uses the death of Princess Dianna in 1997 as its main drawing point but pays its greatest respects to the deceased people's disciple (as she has been labelled) and validates royal procedure. It manages to escape the fantasy of regalia and instead highlights a world that is riddled with meaningless tradition that can become tedious to even the people that wear it on their heads, yet is a fundamental element of the British monarchy that holds a much greater emotional sway on the public than one would assume. Morgan has written a story that holds two tongues and manages to marry the separate points of view into a more than satisfactory but not unrealistic ending. Frears guides his actors through complete immersion and furthers the authenticity with real footage from the funeral and its surrounding events. The live-action replays are integrated with an easy to comprehend transition that only serves to compliment the narrative.
Let us know your thoughts and enjoy our thoughts on the films above, see next week for more and also the confirmation of our 2011 season.
