DVD Review: The Brand New Testament

If the news here in the U.S. is getting you down, you are far from alone. We have to take breaks from the horror show that is the Trump administration in order to maintain any sort of morale and sanity. One film I’ve discovered that should raise your spirits is The Brand New Testament. Seriously, this is a wonderful film, a total delight from beginning to end. It tells the story of God’s rebellious daughter, who, fed up with her father’s mean methods, decides to change things for humanity by revealing to each person the date of his or her death.

It is told from the perspective of Ea (Pili Groyne), God’s ten-year-old daughter, who narrates the film. The first line is, “In the beginning, you don’t know it’s the beginning.” It’s perfect, right, to open the film with “In the beginning.” She goes on to say: “You don’t know it starts. And, suddenly, here we go!” Indeed! God exists and lives in Brussels, where he’s gone about his business of creating. Right away, the movie tickles me with its images of giraffes in the streets of Brussels, and chickens watching a film, before the invention of man. And then Adam walks in the streets and goes to the cinema, in place of giraffes and hens. Even Eve’s name tag made me burst out laughing. Now God spends most of his time in his office, creating irritating laws like, “Law No. 2128: The other line always moves faster.”

Ea does have some powers, of course. “Just like your brother,” God says to her. And one day when God (Benoit Poelvoorde) leaves his office door open, Ea enters and sees the misery God has unleashed upon humanity. She grabs six files at random (these people will be her apostles), and before leaving, sends messages to every single person, letting them know exactly how much time they have left to live. Except, I suppose, all those people without cell phones (and yes, the film does address that issue later on). And this is just the beginning of the film.

The big question is, what would you do differently if you knew how much time you had left? The montage showing people receiving the messages on their phones is one of the most touching and affecting montages I’ve ever seen in a film. And that’s something I need to point out. As funny as this film is, it also does have a point, something to say, and I was often emotionally moved during the course of the story.

Ea solicits the help of a homeless man named Victor in finding her six apostles, and to act as her scribe in writing down the wisdom of these apostles. She also reveals to him (and to us) that there is no life after death. Earth is Paradise. How differently would people act if they kept that notion in mind? The film introduces us to each of the six people Ea has chosen, including Martine, played by Catherine Deneuve. Meanwhile, God works to track down and stop Ea, and finds himself suffering under his own little rules.

In addition to the humor, there is a lot of beauty to this film, a lot of magic. And it is full of excellent performances. One of my favorites is actually by Yolande Moreau as Ea’s mother, who comes across as timid in the presence of her husband, but who just might be what we all need. Certainly, the United States would be better off with a woman in charge.

Special Features

As is often the case with Music Box Films DVD releases, this disc contains a lot of special features. God Is Among Us: The Making Of The Brand New Testament is a featurette in which cast and crew members joke about working with God. The entire thing basically runs with the joke that God is actually working on the film, and it does get old rather quickly. It is twenty-one minutes. There are also two interviews. The first is with director Jaco Van Dormael, in which he talks about the idea behind the film, the cast, and about the idea of people’s inner music. This is approximately ten and a half minutes. The second is with actor Benoit Poelvoorde, who plays God in the film. He talks about accepting the role without having read the script, and about his role, the film and his own beliefs. This is approximately seven minutes.

There is a special effects featurette, which is presented as a montage set to music, showing how some of the visual effects shots were put together. There is also an episode of Home Cinema, with Jaco Van Dormael, showing some behind-the-scenes footage in addition to the interview. This is approximately eighteen and a half minutes. The film’s trailer is also included, as well as a booklet featuring an interview with Jaco Van Dormael. But perhaps the best special feature is E Pericoloso Sporgersi, a short film by Jaco Van Dormael from 1984.

The Brand New Testament was directed by Jaco Van Dormael, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on March 7, 2017 through Music Box Films. The film is presented in French, with optional English subtitles.

DVD Review: Mountain

Mountain is a compelling film about a young Orthodox Jewish woman who lives with her husband and children at the edge of the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, and who becomes curious about the prostitutes who work there at night. It stars Shani Klein as Zvia, and Avshalom Polak as Reuven, her husband.

The film opens with Zvia walking through the cemetery and helping a couple find a certain section (in a rather humorous moment). She then goes home to her children, and we see that her home is actually a part of the cemetery. Her life there seems a quiet, simple and peaceful existence, and we see her daily routine. Static shots allow the characters to command our focus, and also help emphasize the quiet, unchanging atmosphere.

But we also quickly get a sense that Zvia needs something more, yearns for more contact. We see that when she tries unsuccessfully to joke with women who are there for a funeral, and then when she tries to relate the story to her husband that night. We see it also in a shot of her staring out through the window alone the next day. When her husband wants to take an opportunity to work a couple of nights a week, the exact opposite of what it seems she needs, Zvia goes up the hill of the cemetery to calm herself with a cigarette and spies a couple having sex among the stones. Then, lonely and intrigued and unsatisfied herself, she begins going deliberately to watch people coupling among the graves. Even a frightening encounter with some men does not dissuade her.

The film does a good job of contrasting the daytime existence of the woman and the place with the nighttime existence. In the day, her companion is Abed, a man who works at the cemetery. In one of their conversations, he tells her that he married young and has seven children, but admits there is no love between him and his wife. “It just didn’t happen,” he says somewhat matter-of-factly. And we wonder just how Zvia feels about her husband, and perhaps she wonders how her husband feels about her. Interestingly, in bed that night, she tells her husband, “He said he has seven kids and that he loves his wife very much even though it was an arranged marriage.” It’s like she is beginning to create her own reality.

Yet there is also a strange innocence about her, as in one moment when she stoops to poke at a used condom with her finger, as a child might do. Interestingly, as she begins to reach out to the prostitutes, she also begins reaching out to her husband more. And there are some tender moments between them. But there is also a tension. Both Shani Klein and Avshalom Polak deliver excellent performances. This is a film that I think will stay with me for a long time.

Mountain was directed by Yaelle Kayam, and was released on DVD on January 31, 2017 through First Run Features. The film is presented in Hebrew, with English subtitles. The DVD contains no special features.

DVD Review: Joe Bullet

The story of the film Joe Bullet is at least as interesting as the film itself. It was shot in 1971, one of the first South African films to feature an all-African cast, and was released briefly in 1973. It was soon banned by the apartheid government, and then basically lost or forgotten. It was not released in the U.S., or anywhere else actually. But it is now available on DVD, thanks to The Film Detective, so film enthusiasts finally have the opportunity to see it. And the DVD includes some special features, including a commentary track with the film’s writer.

Joe Bullet tells the story of a soccer team that is harassed by a gangster who aims to make money betting on the other team in the championship game. After Lucas, the Eagles’ trainer is murdered, the team solicits the help of Joe Bullet (Ken Gampu) to not only train the team, but keep the players safe and get to the bottom of the troubles. The gambler wants the Eagles’ two best players to defect to the other team, the Falcons, and their lives are threatened.

The murder of Lucas is handled really well. As Lucas is signing an autograph for a child (the kid wants the trainer’s autograph to complete his collection, apparently), he is stabbed. There is a nice shot of blood splattering on the kid’s autograph book. There is also a great and surprising shot when Dan Poko, the president of the Eagles club, is driving, and someone fires at him from an approaching vehicle. Though it is weird that he checks the car’s damage before asking his female companion in the passenger’s seat if she’s all right. His priorities might be a bit out of whack. In another scene, he is more concerned about the villains getting away than in rescuing that woman from his car, even pulling Joe away from the rescue effort in order to point out which way the villains were going.

Joe Bullet has a reputation, as the villains recognize him immediately and are made nervous by his presence. So to take him out, they enlist a karate expert named Spike, who apparently decides to use a bomb. But it’s not clear how Joe developed his reputation. What exactly does he do? We see that he’s an expert shot, and that he’s also quite good with a knife. But does he also have a background in soccer? After all, one of the things he’s hired to do is train the team. It would be great to have a bit of backstory for him.

The shot of Joe removing his old man disguise goes on much longer than necessary. And there is a somewhat pointless scene of people dancing. But there is some really good stuff here as well. I like that after a fight, Joe is actually tired, worn out, as he walks away. There is a realistic grittiness to the action that I appreciate. And when Jerry (one of the targeted players) says, “I’d rather play for the Falcons and stay alive,” well, it’s difficult to argue with him. Joe Bullet is not a great movie, but it’s definitely worth seeing. (Although I should point out that phones in that part of the world have the most annoying ring sound I’ve ever heard.)

Special Features

DVD contains a fascinating commentary track by Tonie van der Merwe, the film’s writer and producer, and Benjamin Cowley of Gravel Road Entertainment Group, the company responsible for the restoration of the film. The very first thing they talk about is why exactly the film was banned. One reason is that it showed a black man handing a gun. Another is that it showed a black man driving a sports car. Wow. Just wow. Later in the commentary they add that the amount of violence in the film was another reason for it being banned. The opening footage is of an actual soccer game that the filmmakers attended. The character of Joe Bullet was imagined as a black James Bond. They also talk about how most of the dialogue was done in post, and that it was difficult in the restoration process to get the dialogue to sync with picture. Interestingly, there is actually a sequel to this film. Titled Bullet On The Run, it was made approximately a decade after Joe Bullet, and they talk briefly about it.

The special features also include the film’s trailer and a demonstration of the restoration process.

Joe Bullet was directed by Louis De Witt, and was released on DVD on February 21, 2017 through The Film Detective.

DVD Review: Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict

The Guggenheim family name will be forever tied to the art world, in no small part due to the activities of the black sheep of the family, Peggy Guggenheim, the subject of the documentary Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict. This is a wonderful film which has at its center the audio from Peggy Guggenheim’s last interview, and so she is able to tell her own story. The interview was conducted by Jacqueline B. Weld for her biography on Peggy, and the tapes of these interviews were thought to be lost. So this documentary allows folks to hear them for the first time.

In addition to Peggy Guggenheim’s own words from that interview, the documentary includes interviews with Jacqueline B. Weld as well as art historians and others who are able to shed some light on this unusual person. Art historian Donald Kuspit says of Peggy and her art collection, “She wanted this art as a mirror for her own strangeness.” There is also plenty of old footage and still photographs, of Peggy Guggenheim and of the artists that she championed, including Jackson Pollock.

The film tells the story chronologically, and is divided into sections, based largely on the place she was living at the time. For example, the first section is “Early Life: New York, 1898-1921.” And this section gives us some background on her parents and other family members (many of whom, apparently, were a bit on the crazy side – there are some amusing anecdotes about some of them). Peggy’s father, Ben Guggenheim died on the Titanic, though his mistress survived. In the interview, Peggy talks about her childhood and about her family. When asked if her mother was a good mother, Peggy replies, “I don’t think there were any good mothers in those days.”

In the next section, “Paris, 1921-1938,” Peggy talks about many of the artists she met during that period, and we are treated to footage of people like Man Ray. She also speaks quite candidly about using her first husband in order to get rid of her virginity (at the age of 23), and about her relationship with John Holms and the resulting abortions. In “Getting Serious: London, 1938-1939,” she mentions that she opened her first art gallery because she believed it would be less expensive than starting a publishing company. This was the beginning of her passion for exhibiting modern art, and she was greatly influenced by Marcel Duchamp. By the way, there is an interesting bit of information on an exhibition put on by the Nazis of examples of modern art that they wanted the people to dislike. I am fascinated by World War II, and the section about Paris in 1939-1941 contains an interesting story about how Peggy Guggenheim managed to purchase a lot of art very cheaply and get it out of Paris, as well as helping some of the artists escape from the Nazis. Also interesting is the material on Max Ernst, whom she married. “When I bought a fur coat once, he was so jealous I had to buy him one also,” Peggy says in the interview. And there is a shot of Max Ernst in his fur.

But it is after that that the film gets into her galleries, beginning with Art Of This Century, which opened to the public in New York in 1942, and which contained a mix of American and European art. This section contains some excellent footage of the gallery, and the way the art was presented was just as intriguing as the art itself. After the war, she moved to Venice, where she opened a museum in 1951. The museum that now houses her collection there is something I must see during my lifetime. And I think after watching this film, you’ll want to see it too. For this documentary isn’t really just about Peggy Guggenheim, but about the art itself. Both are interesting subjects.

Special Features

The DVD’s special features include several interviews with folks like Jacqueline B. Weld, artist Marina Abramovic, art historian Dore Ashton, gallery owner Larry Gagosian, and art historian John Richardson. Jacqueline B. Weld talks about researching and writing the biography, and offers more information on Peggy Guggenheim. Marina Abramovic talks about art and being an artist. The interviews are a total of approximately forty minutes.

The special features also include the Q&A with director Lisa Immordino Vreeland which followed UK premiere of the film. She speaks about the film, and also about the art world then and now. This feature is approximately thirty-one minutes. The film’s trailer is also included.

Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict was directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland, and was released on DVD on October 25, 2016 through Music Box Films.

Film Review: Havenhurst

Havenhurst is a creepy and very suspenseful horror film about a woman who moves into a large apartment building searching for evidence of her missing friend, and discovers some disturbing secrets about the building and its occupants. The film opens on a stormy night in the city. A couple is brutally murdered in the apartment building, where no one responds to their screams. It’s kind of scary, but we know nothing about these people so we don’t care much about their fate. The creepiest moment of the scene comes after they’re both killed, when a man calmly steps into frame and begins wiping the blood from the floor with a rag.

Several weeks later Jackie (Julie Benz, from Rambo, Saw V) is getting out of a rehabilitation center and asks help from a detective she knows in finding her friend Danielle. Interestingly, she is moving into the same building where Danielle and her boyfriend lived, and ends up in the very same apartment. At first it seems she is moving there only to investigate her friend’s disappearance, but later it’s revealed that the head of the rehabilitation center apparently places many former addicts in this building. The building’s owner, Eleanor (Fionnula Flanagan, from Waking Ned Devine, The Invention Of Lying), tells Jackie that the building is for people who need to get back on their feet, but that she’s very particular about whom she chooses as tenants. “Your history, rather violent and sad, stood out to me. You have struggled with your addiction, and it has cost your dearly.” Jackie doesn’t question Eleanor about what she knows, and later, through flashbacks, we learn just how much Jackie lost because of her alcoholism. Eleanor lays out the rules: “You stay sober, you lead a good life, and you don’t fall back into your old habits. Then you are welcome to stay here until the day you die.”

Jackie meets a few of the building’s other tenants, including Paula, who has fallen into her old ways and faces eviction, and Sarah, a girl who seems to know more about the building than anyone else. Sarah tells her: “Just be good. You don’t want to be evicted.” Belle Shouse turns in one of the movie’s best performances as Sarah, a girl whose home life leaves a lot to be desired. Things get more interesting when Jackie learns that Danielle had been documenting the building itself, taking photos of subtle and not-so-subtle changes. But there is something else to fear in this building as well. When people are evicted, they don’t exactly get to leave.

There are a few problems with the movie. For one thing, it’s never really clear whether the man who works at the rehabilitation center knows what’s happening in the apartment building or not. Is he in on it? Is he essentially providing victims? The biggest question for me, however, is, doesn’t this building have a stairwell? Wouldn’t they have to have one, for fire code regulations? Characters rely on the elevator, which proves a bad idea. And I just keep thinking, use the stairs! And the ending, without giving anything way, has a problem in as much as I believe the cops would have acted differently.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Havenhurst. It moves at a good pace, never dragging, and always keeps the suspense going. Also, the cast does an excellent job with the material. They all seem completely invested in the characters and in the reality of the world, which helps us get immersed in the film’s world as well.

Havenhurst was directed by Andrew C. Erin, who also co-wrote the script with Daniel Farrands. It was released in theaters and on video on demand on February 10, 2017.

Blu-ray Review: The Man Who Skied Down Everest

I don’t always – or even often – agree with the Academy’s choices for best films, but one film that certainly deserved its Oscar was 1975’s The Man Who Skied Down Everest, which received the best documentary award. It is a beautiful and engaging film, and it is now available on Blu-ray thanks to The Film Detective and its Restored Classics series. And the picture quality is excellent.

The film depicts the journey of Yuichiro Miura in his attempt to become the first person to ski down Mount Everest in 1970. The film uses excerpts from Yuichiro Miura’s diary (read by Douglas Rain) as its only narration, which serves to make the film a more intimate portrait. The narration helps explain some of the footage we’re shown, but more often reveals his character, his thoughts and frame of mind. The film starts in Katmandu, and gives us a feel for the place before any narration occurs. An early excerpt gives us an idea of the scope of the undertaking: “There are twenty-seven tons of luggage. We will need eight hundred porters to carry it all. The ski team needs supporting mountaineers. There are scientific research teams, a film crew, photographers.”

The film features some incredible footage, even on the lower well-worn path to the mountain. There is also some fascinating material, such as that on the villages they encounter during the journey, especially the village of the Sherpas, footage of which includes a dance. The documentary also includes footage of some of Yuichiro Miura’s earlier skiing exploits, including skiing down Mount Fuji. But of course it is the footage of the ascent itself that is the most compelling. An excerpt from Miura’s diary reads: “March 28th. We have traveled the one hundred eighty-five miles from Katmandu in twenty-two days. It will take us forty days to go the next three miles.”

And those next three miles provide the most gorgeous, stunning footage of the film, such as that of the experienced mountaineers attempting to find a safe passage through the ice. This footage is both beautiful and terrifying, and yes, things do begin to go wrong at that point. And sometimes the beautiful footage is matched by the poetry of the narration, such as this excerpt: “I’d dreamed of skiing on the virgin snows of the Himalayas. It’s almost like the beginning of love. You can do anything.” Yuichiro Miura is allowed to be basically the only voice of the film through these excerpts. No one is interviewed in the documentary, which helps its intimate, personal feel. This is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen.

The Man Who Skied Down Everest was released on Blu-ray on December 13, 2016 through The Film Detective. The disc contains no special features.

Blu-ray Review: The Black Dragon’s Revenge

The Black Dragon’s Revenge is a 1975 martial arts film starring Ron Van Clief as himself (though in the opening credits he’s listed as Ron Van Cliff for some reason). The film takes place in 1973, just after Bruce Lee’s death, and Van Clief is hired to find out just how Bruce Lee died, the implication being that someone killed him. In the film, however, Bruce Lee is only referred to by his first name, due to some cutting and audio manipulation.

Ron Van Clief enlists the help of his friend, Charles “La Pantera” Bonet, whom at one point he refers to as Charlie Woodcock, and the two begin investigating. Of course, it’s not long before they’re attacked, leading to some delicious martial arts sequences. And those scenes are what the film is all about. There are some terrific acrobatic moves. Some other folks are clearly pursuing the same lines as Van Clief, but they have to fight each other before realizing they’re on the same side, with the same goals. There is also certainly some silliness, like when Van Clief goes to the antique shop asking for Charlie Woodcock and the clerk responds, “Sorry sir, what cock?” And there is more playfulness with a rickshaw in one scene.

The movie has some problems, to be sure. Right at the beginning, it feels like some frames must be missing from the negative, because right after Van Clief and his employer sit down, we get what seems like a reaction shot of Van Clief, and after a pause he says, “Haven’t missed yet.” No idea what he’s replying to. There are some less-than-stellar supporting performances, as well as clunky dialogue and some poorly done ADR, but that’s all part of the movie’s charm. After all, this is not a great movie, and it doesn’t feel like it was ever meant to be. It doesn’t have much of a plot. And what’s up with that sweater that Van Clief wears in a few scenes?

Well, no matter, if you watch this movie, it will be for the martial arts sequences and for the 1970s silliness, with lines like “We must know them well in order to kill them” from one of the villains. One of my favorite scenes is with a man who claims to have killed Bruce Lee with his iron fist. His reactions to being hit are wonderful. And it’s great hearing Van Clief say to the villain, “You jive turkey.” So take a break from the news of the country’s ills and enjoy some 1970s martial arts goofiness.

Special Features

The disc includes the film’s trailer, as well as a very short piece about the use of Bruce Lee’s name, or lack thereof. In the movie, every time someone says “Bruce Lee,” “Lee” is basically cut. This short piece shows the director deliberately distorting the track, because the producers worried that the Bruce Lee estate would sue. This piece also shows an attempt to replace the last name into the film for the Blu-ray release.

The Black Dragon’s Revenge was released on Blu-ray on January 31, 2017 through The Film Detective as part of its Restored Classics series. The film is presented in its 2.35:1 aspect ratio.