DVD Review: Le Week-End

Le Week-End is an absolutely wonderful film starring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as Nick and Meg, a married couple spending a weekend in Paris on their thirtieth anniversary. The film opens on a train. We move down the aisle and settle on the couple. They’re clearly not the happiest folks, and he is looking through his pockets for their euros. Nick says, “You never lose anything.” And Meg responds, “I’ll lose you in a minute.” It’s a cute moment, but works on a much deeper level as well, setting up their perspectives and perhaps their desires. Nick then gets up and goes to another car for a cup of coffee. And there he sits by himself, and it is over that image of him alone, looking out the window, that the film’s title appears. Perfect.

Their room in Paris leaves a bit to be desired. “It’s beige,” Meg points out. And so she leaves, and he follows her to an expensive hotel. These two actors are so good, that their relationship – their history and current state – is almost immediately understood. When Meg goes to the hotel min-bar, Nick tries to stop her, saying “So far this city is a brilliantly designed machine for extracting all our money.”

There is something sweet and loving about their relationship, but also something sad, something lost. As when Nick asks, “Can I touch you,” and Meg responds, “What for?” Yes, it's delightfully funny but also quite sad too. As they’re leaving the hotel Meg says, “I might do it for you later.” Nick asks, “Really?” She says, “If you stay awake.” That line is inherently funny, but not played up or stressed at all, which is great.

There is a wonderful scene where they visit a famous cemetery. Nick says, “I have to say I am amazed by how mediocre I’ve turned out to be.” He reveals he’s been forced into early retirement. Meg says, “It’s not too late for you to find another direction.” And it feels that that is in some ways at the heart of the film. Is it too late? Can people change? What direction will their lives take? Nick says, “People don’t change.” Meg responds: “They do. They get worse.” And at a restaurant, Meg talks about starting again. She later tells Nick, “The other day, I’ll have you know, a young man, not entirely retarded, tried to pick me up.”

The film also stars Jeff Goldblum as Morgan, a man who knew Nick at school, and who suddenly runs into Nick and Meg on the street and invites them to a small party at his place. Jeff Goldblum is always interesting. He has these magnificent moments in every performance, where something is revealed. Here it comes when telling Nick about his life and his new wife in Paris. He says: “And she adores me. Can’t see through me, yet, but we know she will. I mean, she will.” It’s his delivery of “I mean, she will” that hits me hard. Up until then he’s been playing the host. He’s been talking at one level. And in this brief moment, in one sad line, spoken simply, his whole life is exposed. Jeff Goldblum is so adept at doing that, at picking just the right moment to reveal something more.

At one point, Band Of Outsiders is playing on the television – that famous and wonderful dance scene. Nick and Meg dance along to the image on screen. And later the scene is recreated. It’s totally delightful. I ended up just absolutely loving this film.

Le Week-End was directed by Roger Michell, who also directed Notting Hill and Venus.

Special Features

The DVD includes an audio commentary track by director Roger Michell and producer Kevin Loader. They mention that the first shot on the train was in fact the first shot done in production. The other folks on the train are all crew members, including Kevin Loader. It is interesting to learn where certain elements of the story came from. For example, Kevin had moved into a new house with rats. There are nice tidbits, like how the props person created white wine (water, with just drops of cola). They talk a bit about the Godard influence on the film. There is also interesting stuff about the scene where Jeff Goldblum meets the couple on the street, done with somewhat hidden cameras with long lenses, similar to the way parts of They All Laughed was shot.

A Weekend In Paris: The Making Of Le Week-End features interviews with cast and crew members, including writer Hanif Kureishi, director Roger Michell, producer Kevin Loader, and cast members Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan and Jeff Goldblum. Lindsay Duncan gives some interesting thoughts on the differences in her approach to a role when the writing is good versus when the writing isn’t so good. There is a bit of behind-the-scenes footage as well. This feature is approximately sixteen minutes.

The special features also include a gallery of nineteen illustrations done by Jane Webster, as well as the film's trailer, and a short bit on how to dance "The Madison." (I tried to follow along with the dance, but I'm hopeless at it.)

Le Week-End was released on DVD on July 8, 2014.

DVD Review: Peter Brook: The Tightrope

If you’re someone who is at all interested in theater, then you’re well aware of Peter Brook. He has an impressive list of accomplishments, including directing productions of Measure For Measure, King Lear, Marat/Sade and the incredibly influential 1970 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Royal Shakespeare Company (the last two of which earned him Tony Awards for directing).  And he’s had a career in film too, directing the excellent 1963 film version of Lord Of The Flies, as well as the film version of Marat/Sade. He’s the kind of person you want to learn from. And you can learn a certain amount by studying footage of his productions. And now, with the release of Peter Brook: The Tightrope, you can almost sit in on a class that he teaches.

The film, which was directed by his son Simon Brook, is mostly footage of the class, but it opens with a bit from an interview. Peter Brook says: “There’s always this terrible moment at the beginning of everything when people come together and all of them are saying, ‘What the hell is it about? What are we doing here? Why are we here?’ And here it’s to explore something that very few people really see…making theatre that is real, that is alive, that is alive at every moment, that touches one, and in which once held doesn’t let one go.” It’s a perfect opening, and it shows the joy and focus and determination with which he works.

He also talks a bit about receiving requests to sit in on rehearsals and requests to demonstrate his exercises. This film then can function in part as a fulfillment of some of those requests, focusing on the tightrope exercise.  And it really is like sitting in on the class. The film is not rushed, but allows itself the natural pauses and reactions of both teacher and students.

It’s interesting that there is musical accompaniment to the exercises. I’ve never experienced anything like that in any of my acting classes. And the music is used to help explain how pauses affect the honesty of sound. Peter Brooks says, “There is an ever-changing tempo, rhythm, in which life itself flows. And that’s what we’re always looking for.”

I became thoroughly engrossed in the process, and thus in the film. It’s interesting how almost immediately the imaginary tightrope becomes real. Peter Brook says the difference between an actor and a non-actor lies in that the “gift of an actor is a certain link between the pure imagination and the body itself.”

By the way, some of these actors had worked with Peter Brook before. Both Shantala Shivalingappa and Yoshi Oida acted in Brook’s 2002 television version of The Tragedy Of Hamlet.

Special Features

The DVD includes a couple of special features. A Balancing Act is approximately thirty minutes of interviews with some of those involved in this project, including musicians Toshi Tsuchitori and Franck Krawczyk, and actors Yoshi Oida, Micha Lescot, Shantala Shivalingappa and Lydia Wilson. The DVD also includes a photo gallery.

Peter Brook: The Tightrope was released on June 3, 2014 through First Run Features.

DVD Review: Gangster

Gangster is based on the true story of Paul Ferris, a famous criminal in Glasgow. Also known as The Wee Man, this film stars Martin Compston (Piggy) as Paul Ferris, John Hannah as Tam McGraw, Patrick Bergin as Arthur Thompson, and Denis Lawson as Willie Ferris. The bulk of this film takes place in the 1980s, but it also uses flashbacks to the 1970s to show key moments from his youth that might account for the course his life took.

It opens with Paul Ferris in jail. We hear the sounds of someone being beaten. The film then cuts to Paul as a child, hearing similar sounds coming from a van outside his window. His father, Willie (Denis Lawson), agrees that the sounds are from monsters, and he gives Paul three rules to surviving in the harsh world outside their home: beware of strangers, be loyal, and be a lion. Young Paul then sees that it was in fact the police doing the beating.

Life is tough for young Paul, as he is bullied by some older boys, the Banks brothers, who early on are shown smacking him and kicking his dog. Six years later, Paul is going a date, but is still harassed by the Banks brothers. There is a nice moment where his father walks out with him, and tells him he knows he’s carrying a knife. He tells him to give it to him because if Paul has it he’ll end up using it and regretting it. But when the Banks brothers show up at the party, Paul goes back to retrieve the knife and ends up stabbing two guys. Because one of them was in the process of raping a woman, we figure, screw it, those guys deserve what they got. But so we don’t align ourselves too strongly with Paul Ferris, that scene is followed by a good, intense, quiet scene in which he reveals that he enjoyed stabbing those men.

Paul Ferris is invited to work for crime boss Arthur Thompson, known as The Godfather (and yes, in real life he was known by that name; and yes, the film does make a reference to the film The Godfather, as a couple of the men laugh at Junior Thompson for watching it repeatedly). In a flashback, we see Paul’s father warning him to stay away from Arthur Thompson, and in another flashback we see a good reason for his father’s warning.

John Hannah (one of my favorite actors) plays Tam McGraw, a businessman and criminal whose nickname “The Licensee” is said to come from the fact that he is an informant for the police and in return has license to do as he pleases.

While the story is interesting, it’s difficult to really like any of these people, even when Paul swears he’s going to lead a straight life. He realizes he’s becoming the very thing he hated (it sure takes him a while), and swears that he’s going to give up crime after his wife becomes pregnant. But there are good performances by Martin Compston, John Hannah, Patrick Bergin, Denis Lawson and especially by Stephen McCole as Junior Thompson.

The film seems to skip some important scenes, for there are times when it takes a moment to figure out just where we are, and just what the current status of the various relationships is. I wish the film would actually take more time. And I would have liked more scenes with Paul’s parents after Paul set out on the path of crime, especially as we get flashbacks of his father warning him to stay away from the very people he now aligns himself with. How did his father take it? How did their relationship change? There are little hints, but Paul’s relationship to his parents is interesting enough to warrant more scenes. Plus, it would just be nice to have more of his father because he’s played by Denis Lawson, whom many know as Wedge Antilles from the original Star Wars trilogy. (Lawson apparently turned down a role in the new Star Wars film – good for him.)

Sadly, at the end there is suddenly some terrible voice over narration by Paul Ferris: “Some people believe that destiny is preordained. I’m not sure. I like to think we each choose our own path. I chose to be a gangster.” Well, destiny, by definition, is preordained. The screenwriter should not use a word if he’s unsure of its definition.

The DVD includes the film’s trailer, which shockingly also uses that awful line of narration. Again, destiny is preordained.

Gangster is scheduled to be released on DVD on July 22, 2014 through Inception Media Group.

DVD Review: Aloha, Bobby And Rose

The best decade for film was the 1970s. No question about it. And yes, that’s even with taking into consideration such awful films as The Duchess And The Dirtwater Fox, Harper Valley PTA and The Bad News Bears Go To Japan. A really good film from that decade that I had somehow missed until now is Aloha, Bobby And Rose, starring Paul Le Mat and Dianne Hull. It is being issued on DVD through Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory.

It opens with a woman reminiscing about the 1940s. She tells her daughter: “Oh, honey, you should have seen Hollywood in the forties. Things were more romantic then.” She talks to her daughter about how she quit her job, and about a good-looking man that she met. “The good ones don’t come along every day, but when they do…” And you might expect that the film would then go back to the 1940s. But Elton John’s “Bennie And The Jets” plays during the opening credits. This is no flashback film.

We’re introduced to Bobby (Paul Le Mat), who is losing money in a pool hall, money he doesn’t have. After promising to deliver the money the next night, Bobby goes cruising while an Emerson, Lake And Palmer song plays. (There is a lot of great music in this film, including several songs from Elton John.) Seeing Paul Le Mat cruising of course makes me think of American Graffiti, which had come out only two years earlier. And as in that film, Paul Le Mat is pulled over by the cops. And as in that movie, Paul Le Mat does a little road racing. And that’s all in the first ten minutes of the film. (And like that film, this one takes place over a short period of time.)

Bobby works as a mechanic in a garage, along with his friend Moxey (played by a young Robert Carradine – this was nearly a decade before Revenge Of The Nerds), who is applying to go to transmission school so that he can make more money. While working, Bobby meets Rose, and the two are almost immediately attracted to one another. Perhaps part of Rose’s willingness to follow her heart is due to the speech her mother gave her at the beginning of the film.

The film takes place in Los Angeles, and on their first date, they drive around the city (visiting Pink’s, driving by Tower Records and Rainbow Bar And Grill on Sunset, and seeing large billboards for records such as The Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup). All of this footage is wonderful. And they joke around, getting to know each other. When Rose shows Bobby some photos, Bobby asks, “Is that your father?” “That’s my dog!” Rose exclaims (her delivery is adorable). Bobby responds, “Oh, I thought it was a guy with a mustache on his hands and knees.” They talk about going to Hawaii, though it’s obvious they can’t possibly afford it. Rose says, “Every time I plan something, it just never works out.”

Later in the date, a little, seemingly harmless prank at a convenience store leads to serious trouble.

This entire movie is excellent, but the scene where they crash their car (to “The Loco-motion”) is fantastic. I’ve never seen it done quite like that before. It’s intense, believable, and almost beautiful. The scene where the police help Bobby is also really good. The film has a very honest, real feel to it, and great performances by the two leads. I also love the way this film was shot. Things are allowed to be in shadow when they should be.

Aloha, Bobby And Rose was written and directed by Floyd Mutrux, and is scheduled to be released on DVD on July 29, 2014 through Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory. The DVD includes the film’s trailer.

DVD Review: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: “Keys Of Friendship”

Keys Of Friendship, the new My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic DVD is a collection of five episodes from the fourth season of the show. It features what for me is one of the best episodes of the entire series, “Pinkie Apple Pie.”

“Rarity Takes Manehattan”

In the first episode, “Rarity Takes Manehattan,” Rarity goes to Manehattan for fashion week, and all the ponies are excited to join her, especially as she bought them tickets to a big musical. Pinkie Pie, of course, is especially excited. “I love jumping up and down,” she exclaims. And there’s a nice moment when Rainbow Dash pokes fun at the idea of musicals, leading of course directly into a song about generosity sung by Rarity. But when she helps out an old acquaintance, that pony rips off her designs, and the city’s harsh side affects Rarity. Rarity sings a second song later. This episode features some sweet messages, including being able to see your friends at their worst without letting that affect your friendship. There is also a funny play on the title of the series.

“Pinkie Apple Pie”

Pinkie Pie is my favorite character. She is the best, no matter what my eight-year-old niece says. The opening moment of “Pinkie Apple Pie” is so funny with Pinkie Pie imitating Twilight Sparkle’s startled scream. And then her delighted and excited reaction to learning about genealogy is absolutely wonderful. She reads she’s related to Applejack. To find out if it’s true, Applejack and her family visit a distant relative. Pinkie Pie joins them on their road trip, leading to a musical number about family. This episode is a total joy, with lots of funny moments, especially related to Pinkie Pie’s scrapbook. The cave scene is particularly hilarious (“Best scary unidentifiable creature ever!”). This is one of my personal favorite episodes of the entire series.

“It Ain’t Easy Being Breezies”

Fluttershy is making things perfect for the Breezies’ journey through town. And when things go wrong, due to a minor problem caused by Spike, Fluttershy leaps to the rescue. But then it’s difficult to let the Breezies go. Some of them are reluctant to leave Fluttershy’s side. Pinkie Pie still has the episode’s best moment. Twilight Sparkle says she’s going to try a spell that might feel funny at first, but the others will just have to trust her. Pinkie Pie shouts out gleefully, “I love new ideas that make me feel funny at first!” And at one point a pony goes by wearing an old pair of 3D glasses – an odd little detail.

“Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 1”

Twilight Sparkle is unsure what her new role as a princess really means. She was hoping for more responsibilities, and sings a song about it. A dark figure, Lord Tirek, enters the kingdom to steal magic, and Discord (voiced by John de Lancie, who is wonderful as always) is brought in to help combat him. But Lord Tirek appeals to Discord’s earlier evil nature and gets him to join him. Objects from earlier episodes play an important part here.

“Twilight’s Kingdom, Part 2”

Princess Celestia’s solution is to remove their magic before Tirek can steal it. They transfer it to Twilight to keep it safe, since Tirek probably is unaware that Twilight is now a princess. Meanwhile Tirek is growing with power, even turning on Discord. Twilight eventually learns her role as a princess, and sings a song at the end.

Bonus Feature

The DVD includes one bonus feature – a sing-along of the song “Generosity,” from the episode “Rarity Takes Manehattan.”

My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: “Keys Of Friendship” is scheduled to be released on DVD on July 29, 2014 through Shout! Factory.

DVD Review: Lose Your Head

Lose Your Head is an unusual and engaging thriller about a man named Luis who travels to Berlin, looking for a little excitement, which he certainly finds. It stars Fernando Tielve, Marko Mandic, Sesede Terziyan and Samia Chancrin, and was directed by Stefan Westerwelle and Patrick Schuckmann.

The film opens with shots of Luis (Fernando Tielve) traveling by train to Berlin, cut with shots of people at a club, while a strange, slow song repeats, “And I won’t disappoint you again.” Luis wears headphones, so the song could be there, or at the club, or both. All of this works to set the tone and the story of a young man who is somewhat outside of his element, but who wants to immerse himself – however briefly – in the action of Berlin.

While waiting in line to get into a club, Luis runs into some people he knows. But when they’re turned away by a doorman with some sort of God complex, Luis says he’s with a sexy blonde and is allowed in. That’s his first step away from what is familiar. It might seem insignificant, but what’s wonderful is that he doesn’t see those friends again. It’s like that first step away from what is familiar is irreversible. This girl, Grit (Samia Chancrin), invites him to do cocaine with her in a back room, and he is suddenly part of her world, her group. And the next day he is still with her and her friends. When in their car, he is suddenly alarmed because he realizes he’s lost his hat. No one reacts in the slightest, no one (not even Grit) bothering to even feign interest or concern. It’s a nice early moment, giving a taste of this world’s attitude. And what’s telling is Luis’ reaction to this: rather than expressing any desire to get out and look for his hat, he settles back in the seat. It’s the first bit of his identity that he allows to be changed without a fuss, but not the last.

I love how this film uses seemingly small moments like this to set things into motion, and to set tone. Later while Grit and Luis talk, we catch bits of other conversations, including one in which a woman talks about a submissive man she made crawl around on the floor, eating cornflakes. It creates this delightfully odd atmosphere – odd in as much as the odd seems commonplace. The tale is not told with excitement, but with a detachment, almost like recounting a dream that no longer holds interest.

After seemingly being abandoned by Grit and her gang, Luis meets Viktor (Marko Mandic), a strange man who gives him drugs and pushes him into the river. Luis allows himself to be carried into the lives of people he’s just met – first the woman, now this man, who seems a bit dangerous (Mandic delivers a very strong performance here). The man cuts Luis’ hair, then hands him a shirt from a locked cabinet. Anyone else might be creeped out by this – but Luis seems to crave it, to be drawn to it.

Meanwhile a man and woman are searching for Dimitri, a relative who has been missing. When they see Luis from behind, they at first mistake him for Dimitri, as the resemblance is now quite strong.

We get immersed in this unusual world fairly quickly. This film is at times tense and surprising, without straying from the world it’s created.  The film keeps us unsettled for a while, not knowing what to think about certain characters, which is how Luis must feel as well. “I want you to trust me,” Viktor tells Luis. But can he? Should he? The film takes some surprising turns, and its mood stays with you.

Lose Your Head was released on DVD on June 17, 2014 through Canteen Outlaws and TLA Releasing. The DVD includes the film’s trailer.

DVD Review: The Beat Hotel

The Beat Hotel documents the cheap hotel in Paris where from 1958 to 1963 most of the key people from the Beat generation would get together. At the beginning of the film, photographer and former Beat Hotel resident Harold Chapman says, “It was an entire community of complete odd balls – bizarre, strange people, poets, writers, artists, musicians, pimps, prostitutes, policemen even who had a secret mistress there.” Those folks included two of the three most famous members of the Beat Generation – Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs (Jack Kerouac didn’t live there).

Though the world has lost William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso, several of the residents of this hotel survive and are interviewed in this film. Folks like Harold Chapman, Elliot Rudie, Peter Golding, “Cyclops” Lester share their memories and impressions of this unique hotel and living situation.

Photographer Harold Chapman recalls his time there as the “happiest times of my life.” He tells of how he ended up there, how he’d originally gone to Paris with the aim of writing a very different type of book. The film treats us to many of his excellent photographs of the folks living in the hotel.

The film provides a bit of background on the beats in New York and in San Francisco, focusing on Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, the resulting obscenity trials being what led Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky to go to Europe. There is also some material on William S. Burroughs and his novel The Naked Lunch.

Beat scholar Barry Miles says, “The nice thing about the Beat Hotel was that once you got a room in there, you could stay there for a long period, and it was very, very inexpensive, and it gave people the time and space to explore their ideas and not be pressured by money worries all the time.”  Sounds perfect.

There is some interesting information on Madame Rachou, who ran the place and was quite particular about who stayed there. Basically, she let in only the eccentrics. And there is a great and detailed description of the state of the rooms and the bathrooms. Particularly interesting is that she kept track of exactly how much electricity each room was using, and that residents were generally allowed only 40 watts. We also get a tour of the current hotel, which has changed greatly. Madame Rachou retired in 1963, and that was the end of the Beat Hotel. The new owners redid the place, which forced out all the writers and artists.

The film also gets a bit into Shakespeare And Company, including an interview with store owner George Whitman. There is some good information about this book store, and about Ginsberg doing readings there.

Throughout the documentary there are lots of great anecdotes, like about the beginning of the cut-up method which Burroughs employed so well. The film also brings Harold Chapman and Elliot Rudie together again, and there is footage of them reminiscing, as well as footage of Chapman and “Cyclops” Lester getting together again.

The Beat Hotel is a completely enjoyable film about a kind of glorious moment in time. I wish I could travel back there and experience just a bit of what is talked about and shown in this film.

Special Features

The DVD includes some bonus material, including a ten-minute section in which Harold Chapman discusses his photography. He talks about the Zen approach to photography, and about photographing William S. Burroughs. While he talks, his photographs are shown on screen. There is a short deleted scene about William S. Burroughs and Ian Sommerville, which includes more from the interview with George Whitman.

There is also a short film by director Alan Govenar titled The Dream Machine. It’s kind of a beautiful demonstration of the dream machine. The bonus features include an art gallery of drawings by Elliot Rudie and a short written biography of Alan Govenar.

The Beat Hotel was directed by Alan Govenar, and is available on DVD through First Run Features.