Tag: film review

Film Reviews

Film Review: Hagazussa (2017)

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In my last post I reviewed Robert Egger’s 2015 debut The Witch, so I thought perhaps this is a good time to take a look at this German much darker take on witches; Austrian director Lukas Feigelfeld’s 2017 debut Hagazussa, which apparently also translates to the witch in High German. The film is an Austrian- German production that was released in 2018, almost three years after The Witch’s, something that Figelfeld has stated was disappointing for him, as he had been working on his film for years before and didn’t want audiences to draw comparisons immediately, which is frankly very hard not to do.

Set in the middle ages in a rural Alpine community, the film explores the life of its main character Albrun (Aleksandra Cwen) in the form of four acts, each with a distinct underlying theme. In the beginning we see Albrun attending to her sick mother in a secluded cabin in the mountains, where they live together alone and excluded from their community, which considers them witches. The mother eventually dies in a rather gruesome manner leaving Albrun to deal with her traumatic loss and to fend for herself alone in this wilderness. The rest of the film explores Albrun’s adult and extremely lonely life, as she becomes a single mother ostracized by the townsfolk, and relying on goat herding to provide for herself and her baby. Her past traumas are vivid in every scene, she is on the verge of psychosis because of her complete isolation, and eventually all of her mental problems are rather amplified by the way her community behaves towards her, which meticulously pushes her further towards complete and utter madness.

The main theme of the film is almost identical to that of The Witch; it’s a careful study on the causes and circumstances of Europe’s witch hunt of the Middle Ages, but while Egger’s film presents itself as a folk tale intertwined with the ever present supernatural elements of its universe, Feigelfeld’s film is rather the practical results of applying this folk tale to real people living in the era. The film lacks any supernatural elements, and every action that happens on screen, regardless of its wildness or gruesomeness, is not related to the supernatural in any way. Hagazussa is about a woman who is quite clearly unstable from the start, and her journey of losing her mind, which is probably the explanation for most cases of women accused of witchcraft at that time. The film also explores the effects of these accusations on the women themselves; Alexandra Cwen perfectly captures this in her performance, with subtle facial gestures and incredibly expressive eyes, offering the viewer a glimpse of Albrun’s significantly deteriorating mental state. Despite Albrun’s actions that get crazier by the minute, the film maintains its cold and sinister tone evenly throughout, this disconnect certainly heightens the horror, making for a very interesting and overall dark viewing experience. 

It is very hard to decide whether to recommend this movie or not, I absolutely loved it, but I admit I have a dangerously soft spot for cinematography; any film that has grand picturesque landscape shots or gorgeous naturally lit indoor scenes is absolutely worth watching for me, and Hagazussa certainly lives up to this standard and even surpasses it. The film is visually stunning, an absolute feast to look at, which combined with an eerie and minimalist soundtrack, completely mesmerized me. However, I can see why it wouldn’t appeal to a lot if viewers; the film is incredibly slow even for its rather short runtime, and with extremely sparse dialogue that can probably be summed up in less than ten minutes, this can obviously make it arduous to watch for a lot of people, and was certainly not ideal for me either. Additionally, the film is awfully dark, it takes some twists and turns that can put anyone at unease, mainly because it dismisses the supernatural element from the equation and allows all of the evils shown on screen to stem from human nature alone, also it leans on ambiguity and leaves a lot of room for interpretation, shying from a cathartic conclusion and allowing this darkness to stick around even after the film has ended. All in all, these were the highs and lows of this film for me; I would recommend it to anyone who liked The Witch and was looking for a story somewhat similar, but also to anyone who is willing to watch a non-traditional horror movie, with aesthetics that are miles above average.

Film Reviews

Film Review: The Vanishing (2018)

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Inspired by the real life events of The Flannan Isles lighthouse disappearances in 1900, where three lighthouse keepers simply vanished without explanation, The Vanishing spins an elaborate tale behind these disappearances. The film does not try to make sense of the mystery; instead it develops a voice of its own that echoes of old pirate stories, and explores dark themes of greed, grief, and the age-old tale of man versus nature.

Starring Peter Mullan and Gerard Butler, who both give excellent performances as the two seasoned lighthouse keepers – especially Mulan – , along with Conor Swindells as the twitchy newcomer of the group that is still learning their ways. The narrative begins to unfold after they find a dead man swept ashore with a locked chest, unable to fight the temptation of opening it they eventually discover it contains an enormous amount of gold. Their plot to dispose of the body and keep the gold for themselves is interrupted when two of the man’s friends arrive on the island searching for him, and slowly the keepers begin to lose all aspects of their morality and even themselves in an attempt to keep the gold.

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The film is a slow burn thriller; it takes its time to unravel all of its layers. Almost the entirety of the first act of the film plays off as some sort of forced meditation on the violent nature of the island and its effects on the three inhabitants upon it. Director Kristoffer Nyholm (whose name surely does sound like a Scandinavian rip off Christopher Nolan) manages to capture the ominous nature of the keepers’ job, as well as giving the viewer a taste of their inner struggles and background. As the plot thickens, the true character of each of the keepers shines brightly, and as they descend into madness together, one could only but contemplate on the origin of their darkness as much as they contemplate about it on screen themselves. Perhaps it’s the known fate of the characters that allows for all of this reflection rather than focusing solely on the story.

Surely The Vanishing is not without its flaws. The writing does get sloppy at times, throwing in leads that actually lead nowhere, and the soundtrack can impose itself upon the scene rather vulgarly at others, yet the gripping tale never lets go of its viewer. The film may not be the grand tragedy it aspires to be, but in its path to reach that goal, it certainly grants itself moderate appreciation as a solid thriller with excellent performances and mesmerizing cinematography that makes even the grimmest little Scottish Island appear as if cut out from a fantasy.

Rating: 7/10

Film Reviews

Film Review: Yommedine (2018)

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Director Abu-Bakr Shawky’s critically acclaimed debut feature film is a rather unique venture in a league of its own. The film which garnered an award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for another two – one of which was the Palme d’Or – was met with a standing ovation upon its screening, for its highly humane approach towards a subject which has almost never been approached in Egyptian cinema before.

The story follows Beshay, a forty-year-old leper who leaves the leper colony in which he has lived his entire life to embark on a wild journey in search of his family. He is eventually followed by a young Nubian orphaned boy nicknamed Obama, and the plot unfolds around as the two of them run into their fair portion of mishaps. This is indeed the very basic formula for a road movie that explores the world through the eyes of its main characters, especially as it delves into Beshay’s inner struggles and often overlaps the present with flashbacks from his childhood, or even dreams of a completely different reality.

Shawky manages to explore ideas of acceptance and tolerance through a rather extreme example that despite having encounters that seem somewhat isolated succeeds in projecting the general air of prejudice of Egyptian society.  The characters that Beshay meets on his way vary wildly yet are all connected by their evident hostility, whether it’s against the diseased, Copts, or even people of a lower social class than themselves. A minor setback remains in the way in which such ideas are reviewed through the characters’ dialogue, with lines that more often than not sound highly unrealistic coming from characters of such social backgrounds as introduced on screen. Overall the dialogue throughout the whole film frequently comes off as dry and amateurish, and I strongly believe that if the humane heartwarming factor of the film was somehow extracted out of it, the dialogue would have been extremely problematic.

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Despite having numerous drawbacks, most of which are related to performances as is natural to using non-professional actors, Yommedine is a solid film that has enough high points to render it appealing to most audiences. The wit and humor sported by the main characters is enough to grip any viewer’s attention if not instant affection as well. The filmmaker shows a strong sense of individuality that allows his film with its peculiar story to stand out, and will most likely enable it to remain memorable and withstand the test of time as well. Whether or not its artistic value would be equally prized is debatable.

Rating: 7.5/10

Film Reviews

Film Review: Season of Narges (2017)

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A couple of old female taxi drivers, an acclaimed actor having a feud with the paparazzi, a young woman looking after her suicidal friend, and a hopeless romantic trying to resolve the divorce of her best friend while seeking a love interest herself. With an all-star ensemble cast, Iranian director Negar Azarbayjani (Facing Mirrors, 2011) manages to showcase a slice of Iranian life and everyday human drama. Her light-hearted 90-minute drama successfully immerses its viewer into the tiny details of the lives of each and every character shown on screen.

 Adapting a non-linear storytelling approach, Azarbayjani cleverly manages to relate the intertwined everyday lives of her characters, and as the film progresses, the viewer manages to notice the sometimes even non-chronological connections between the characters’ lives. The variety of the characters and their problems also sheds some light on some of the problems facing Iranian society that are rather less spoken of, such as suicide and mental health or the legitimacy of organ transplant in an Islamic country. It may come across as biting off more than one could chew, but the delicate handling of these subjects among others and balancing them with other much lighter problems in comparison like seeking true love or rejection, help ease the audience into viewing these themes without feeling uncomfortable for analyzing them for long, or even putting too much thought into any part of the movie at all.

 However, this superficial attempt at exploring some of the most widely recognized aspects of human suffering not only in Iranian society but in the whole world, may be exactly what can be considered the weakness of this movie. Despite being a very human heart-warming drama, Season of Narges fails to achieve anything more artistically or intellectually. In a way it delivers only emotion to its viewer ignoring a wide opportunity at exploring any of the proposed themes solely and in-depth. The solid performances, well-written characters, and decent cinematography all make this film perfect for a lazy afternoon, but sadly for nothing more.

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Film Reviews

Film Review: Withered Green (2016)

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For some reason I felt like writing this one in Arabic, however I’ll try to update this review with the English version as well ASAP, because this beautiful film definitely deserves both languages.

أخضر يابس

 بشعرية شديدة, و الكثير من السوداوية, يتابع فيلم “أخضر بابس” حياة بطلته ايمان في رحلتها للبحث عن أحد أعمامها لمقابلة عريس  شقيقتها الصغرى بدلا من والديهما المتوفي. و بينما تتوالي فصول الفيلم ينكشف لدي ايمان مدي تقييد هذه العادات و التقاليد لها و لأختها سويا. الفيلم ذو الثلاثة و سبعون دقيقة هو الفيلم الطويل الأول لمخرجه محمد حماد, و التجربة السينمائية الأولى لبطلته هبة علي, و هو حائز على جائزة المهر لأفضل مخرج من مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي.

على مدار أسبوع, تتبع الكاميرا ايمان أثناء قيامها بمشاغل حياتها اليومية التي تمزج بين الهدوء و الرتابة, فتنطلق من أعمال المنزل اليومية, لرحلتها المتكررة بالترام, لتعمل بمحل حلويات يبدو عليه القدم و البساطة.  يتخلل هدوء عالمها النسبي الاحباط حين يتوالى عليها فشل محاولاتها لاقناع الأعمام الذكور بمقابلة العريس الشاب. كذلك يستمر جو عام من القلق طوال الفيلم حيث يبدو أن ايمان تعاني من مشاكل صحية لها علاقة بالخصوبة, الأمر الذي تتجاهله متعمدة و بشدة طوال فترة الفيلم, حتي يظهر تأثيره الصادم كليا بالمشهد الختامي.

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 رغم هدوء ايقاع الفيلم الذي يصل أحيانا الي حد الملل, الا أن هذا الهدوء النسبي هو في الواقع أقوي عناصر “أخضر يابس”, فما أن  يتسلل الجو العام للفيلم للمشاهد حتى تمتزج مشاعره كليا ببطلة الفيلم, شاعرا بالكم المتضاهي من الضجر و الاحباط و العجز الذي تشعر به. يتطرق لذهن المشاهد أفلام مثل جين ديلمان (1975) لشانتال أكيرمان أو الخروج للنهار (2012) لهالة لطفي, حيث نجح صناع الأفلام الثلاثة بايصال شعور الوحشة و الفراغ الذي تمر به بطلاتهم بواقعية شديدة. ذلك بالاضافة لأداء بطلة الفيلم هبة علي, الذي على الرغم من جموده أحيانا, الا أنه ينجح كليا بايصال ما تمر به ايمان فقط عن طريق ملامح وجهها و بأقل حوار ممكن. فعلى الرغم من جمال الفيلم, تبقى تجربة مشاهدته مرهقة الى حد كبير لما يحويه من حزن خالص في كثير من الأحيان.

تصوير الفيلم بالغ الحرفية, تملأه كادرات تظهر بعد أيمان عن الكاميرا و ضآلتها على الشاشة, تماما كبعدها و ضآلتها عن حياتها نفسها.  كذلك المونتاج, حيث يتخلل حياة ايمان اليومية مشاهد لسلحفاتها المنزلية التي تبدو على الرغم من بطء حركتها و كأنها تنعم بحياة أكثر راحة و صفاء من ايمان. و يضفي طاقم العمل غير الاحترافي, و الذي يتكون أغلبه من أقارب صناع الفيلم و أصدقائهم, طابع من الواقعية الخالصة على الفيلم, فينجح أخضر يابس باضافة بعد انساني ملموس لشخصياته, فهي أكثر من مجرد شخصيات خيالية ,بل هي واقع المجتمع المصري بذاته, و يبقى تمرد ايمان بنهاية الفيلم على تقاليد هذا المجتمع و تحكماته ما هو الا ردة فعل لكم الضغوط التي تعرضت لها, بل هو أقرب ما وصلت اليه من التصالح مع النفس و مواجهة الواقع بدلا من تناسيه في تجهيز ستائر المنزل لمقابلة العريس المنتظر, أو ترتيب معروضات المحل.

 

Film Reviews

Film Review: Sheikh Jackson (2017)

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 From acclaimed Egyptian director Amr Salama (Asmaa, 2011, Excuse my French, 2014), comes a 90-minute feature that defines the mediocrity that has overcome mainstream Egyptian cinema. The amateurish endeavor which stars some of Egyptian cinema’s most recognized faces was surprisingly selected to be submitted for the 90th Academy Awards, despite its conspicuous flaws and shortcomings on both the artistic and entertainment aspects.

Sheikh Jackson

 The story follows a religious man as he goes through a crisis of faith when he realizes that his childhood idol, Michael Jackson, is now dead. The film shifts from the present to past memories to even dream sequences in its journey to unravel the life and upbringing of its main character, spawning a number of supporting characters and subplots along the way that most of the time serve no purpose whatsoever to the plot. This nonlinear approach at storytelling, along with the clumsy script, eventually leads the whole film to appear rather messy and underdeveloped.

 Despite the fine camerawork and lighting, mainly the change in color palettes between present day and past memories, Sheikh Jackson fails to deliver the artistic merit it promises. The vulgarly flawed script, stiff acting, the lack of depth that all the characters sport whether supporting or even the main character itself, and the particularly cringe worthy CGI of a certain dream sequence all guarantee the film’s inevitable fall into oblivion over the upcoming years.

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 I tried not to bash this film, I honestly did, however there is something absolutely insulting when presenting similarly unexceptional films as masterpieces, especially when other underrepresented indie films are much more worthy. In the end, Sheikh Jackson may be an entertaining film, that is if you overcome the excruciatingly unrealistic societal backgrounds of the main characters, the highly clichéd script, the god-awful CGI, and the extremely distorted soundtrack, but is it really worth submitting to the academy, or even receiving half the praise it got? I highly doubt it.

Rating: 3/10

My Cinema Paradiso

#3: A Woman in Berlin (2008)

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A Woman in Berlin is yet another film that explores the fall of Germany from the point of view of a Nazi sympathizer. As the main character, who remains nameless, says in the beginning of the film “We all breathed the same air, and it was intoxicating”. The beautiful Nina Hoss stars as a single woman trying to survive the stray bullets and the multiple rape assaults brought on by the Russian army during the fall of Berlin.

 The film is originally based on the controversial memoir by the same name, and it stays true to the source material for the entirety of its length. Director Max Färberböck succeeds in capturing the moral confusion of his main character, a female journalist living in Berlin in 1945. As the Russian troops sweep through the city, she finds herself, along with every other woman in her building, subjected to rape and sexual assaults every single day, as the Russian soldiers begin to implement their own idea of justice and revenge against the atrocities of the Nazi army. As it becomes harder and harder to escape the unwanted attempts, some of the women decide to offer company to high-ranking officers in exchange for protection from the night raids and the humiliation, a decision that will mark them for life.

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 When the memoir was first published in 1953 it received incredibly harsh opposition from people who believed these women where shameless to dignify themselves and their country in such a way, but are they really? The beauty of A Woman in Berlin lies in its multi-layered complexity. No one is innocent, and everyone deserves punishment, yet the vulnerability of all the characters represented on-screen can make the viewer’s moral compass extremely indecisive. It is a beautiful portrait of women in war-time that is rarely presented, and almost never with such precision.

 Another film that deals with similar themes springs to mind, the 2011 Chinese drama The Flowers of War. However, in the case of Yimou Zhang’s epic, the shades of good and evil were easily separable. A Woman in Berlin manages to deliver a much more realistic tale, emotionally charged with all the human emotions that one would expect from a similarly chaotic time. It forces its viewer to ultimately gape in awe and sympathy at the strength of these women, who dare to make jokes out of their rape stories, and to simply survive.   

My Cinema Paradiso

#2: The Patience Stone (2012)

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The patience stone

 In a nameless country, and with nameless characters, writer and director Atiq Rahimi weaves a hypnotizing tale about the cultural and sociological fall of a country, as seen through the life of one of its women; the mesmerizing Golshifteh Farahani. This film will not blow you away, it will not amaze you, or give you any sort of immediate satisfaction. However, give it a couple of days and it will creep its way into your heart and soul, expanding on every aspect of delayed gratification.

 In a war-torn middle-eastern country, a young woman (Farahani) looks after her comatose husband, along with her two daughters, all cramped together in their old filthy house in a poor neighborhood that is in fact the frontline of the ongoing war. As the conditions harden, the woman finds herself talking to her unhearing husband, confessing her deepest secrets, and recounting her life story and how she came to marry him for ten years without him once listening to what she had to say. The longer she stays with the unconscious husband, the more she talks, and the more she talks, the more she reveals about the melancholic and often shocking mode of life imposed on the women of this country. It doesn’t really matter which oppressive middle-eastern country is depicted in The Patience Stone; as they all seem to obey the same pattern.

 The beautiful Golshifteh Farahani pulls her weight in a bewitching performance that is indisputably the best of her career. She puts her heart into her character, and carries out her performance with such skill and mastery, where every blink of an eye conveys multiple layers of emotion. With the addition of the attentive cinematography of Thierry Arbogast, and the dexterous script of Rahimi and Jean-Claude Carrière , The Patience stone captures the spirit of Farahani’s performance like no other, and ultimately that of human emotion itself.

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 I read some reviews arguing that the film is rather slow or even boring. I remember when I first watched this gem I felt absolutely compelled to re-watch it again immediately. It was spectacularly abrim with emotions I had to watch it again to make sure I did not miss any of its facets. However, I do believe that a certain degree of knowledge of the dire conditions and toxic customs of middle-eastern countries similar to the one represented by Rahimi is crucial to recognize the expertly nuanced performance of Farahani, otherwise subtle emotions such as her fear of disobeying her unconscious husband, or her mixed feelings towards religion might go unnoticed.

 The Patience Stone is a heartbroken love letter from Rahimi to his homeland Afghanistan. His portrayal of the chaos and turmoil is highly accurate yet remains as elegant as can be. Even scenes of violence and assault are depicted with such grace that maintains the privacy and humanity of his characters. He expertly embodies the way war, and fanaticism affect an entire country through the solemn tale of one of its women. This film is a beauty that might prove baffling to some, but those who can truly see its essence will ultimately grow sentimental about it, I am sure of it.

My Cinema Paradiso

#1: Lore (2012)

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 Lore

 Now where do I begin? The stunning visual storytelling of Australian director Cate Shortland, or the graceful camerawork of Adam Arkapaw, or the beautifully humane performance of Saskia Rosendahl, and let’s not forget Max Richter’s haunting soundtrack. I watched this feature when I was fifteen without any prior knowledge of it, or all the beauty, love, and humanity it entails. It was the most spellbinding film I’ve ever seen at the time, and no matter how many incredible classic films, or huge blockbusters I watch, Lore will always remain this unparalleled work of art that will undoubtedly surpass them all.

 The story is set in 1945, after the fall of Nazi Germany; five siblings brought up by Nazi parents are forced to face the physical and psychological aftermath of the war after their parents’ arrest, as they are forced to travel across Germany to find their grandmother. Their journey, which spans the entire length of the country, paints a much more chaotic and depressing picture of the Allied victory of WW2. Lore is simply a coming of age tale, similar in its setting to Empire of the Sun and Hope and Glory, only this time it is told from the losing side. As the siblings’ journey continues, the oldest of the children struggles to reconcile her Nazi core beliefs with the ever-changing world around her, and as the children are eventually steered to depend on a stranger they met on the road whom Lore believes is a Jew, her struggles become much more psychologically exhausting.

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 The film offers a tenderly humane look at a certain part of history often overlooked. It’s very hard to discuss this film without having any political arguments, or falling into a pitch black dark hole of what is and what is not politically correct, but the truth is this film is not about the politics, and dwelling on its righteousness will only prevent its viewer from seeing the greater picture. Director Cate Shortland elevates her characters from being simply pawns either on that side or the other, the time she chose for her film is one of great disarray and confusion, a time where political parties proved nugatory, and the only things deemed valuable where survival and clinging to one’s sanity.

  I remember quite vividly how Lore made me realize there was so much more to films than simply the story. It was Adam Arkapaw’s enchanting cinematography; the outstanding frame composition, the unforgettable cropped close-ups, the tasteful slow motion segments, and the slightly shifting color palette that tends to emphasize its characters’ state of being. It was all so magical to me when I first saw it, and it remains as such today. The cinematography of this film alone secured its place as my all-time favorite, but I believe it’s only fair to commend the impeccable sound design and editing of the film, which meticulously conveyed the distress and despair of Lore and her surroundings. With the addition of the mesmerizing soundtrack which I cited once above, Lore remains this irreplaceable film that introduced me to the world of cinema.

My Cinema Paradiso

My Cinema Paradiso

Lamees ShaheenLeave a comment

 Have you ever watched a film that deeply affected you? a film that nestled itself in your mind for days and in your heart for life? Do you remember the first film, or films that simply turned you from a regular movie goer to a passionate cineaste? well I do. I have contemplated the idea of making a list of the films that actually made me as passionate about films as I am today, the films that I watched at a younger age and was blown away by their beauty and brilliance, the films that became an integral part my personality and eventually shaped my taste for the arts.

 This blog has been a very personal project of mine, therefore I think it’s only about time I shared this very special list of films that both awed and inspired me, and ultimately formed the person I am today. This is my Cinema Paradiso.

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