Tale of Tales: NZFF Review

Tale of Tales: NZFF Review

The director of Gomorrah and Reality, Matteo Garrone, constructs a Brothers Grimm style triptych with Tale of Tales, taken from a clutch of Neopolitan fairy tales written by Italian poet Giambattista Basile.

In a kingdom (possibly not too far from the visual neighbourhood of Westeros) where monsters, hags, ogres, kings and princesses live, we settle on the stories of a childless queen (Salma Hayek) who turns to magic to achieve her dream, a king (the wonderfully expressive Toby Jones) whose daughter wishes to be married and a randy king (Vincent Cassel) whose libido knows no boundaries.

Garishly gothic and slavishly baroque, Tale of Tales is not going to be everyone's taste.

As we plough through the portmanteau, there are perhaps hints that the stories don't intersect perhaps as well as Garrone would like (a thought borne out by the final shot) even if they do inhabit the same universe. And there are certainly threads that, even when pulled together in the final stages, snap and dangle unconvincingly rather than neatly tie together.

However, it's the visuals and the performances that keep Tale of Tales on a course of cinematic voyeurism.

Certainly the practical creature effects assign the film a credence that would make Guillermo del Toro happy and the locations are truly something to behold- and the human elements are equally as pleasing.

An obsequious Cassel brings thrust to the bacchanal leanings of his king, Hayek has a tragic touch that the barrenness of motherhood can only bring to life, and Toby Jones steals the piece with his superbly expressive king who is more concerned with the love of a tick than the happiness of his daughter (Jones alone deserves praise for the physical comedy he conveys with just a few cursive expressions).

But beneath the veneer of these fairy tales, the miasma of sadness and the thematic bond is a relatively strong one, a reminder that these stories have their heart in bloody tragedy; however, it's a touch that Garrone perhaps fudges in the ultimate execution. The majority of the stories hardly have a satisfying ending and the conclusion of the film feels arbitrary rather than resolute.

Perhaps one to savour for the darker delicious edges rather than the narrative execution, Tale of Tales proves to be a visual feast - albeit a hollow one.

Amy: Film Review

Amy: Film Review

Director: Asif Kapadia

Asif Kapadia's doco Senna, which played the New Zealand International Film Festival a couple of years back was an exemplary piece of film-making.

Packed with insight, stuffed with home movie material and offering an inside look into a world previously never glimpsed, Senna ended with a shocking kick to the guts.

Likewise, Amy, the brand new doco from the same director, packs a visceral punch and emotional heft that's hard to rebut or shake once the cinema lights go up.

There can't be many who weren't aware of the 2011 destruction of Amy Winehouse, a woman whose powerhouse talent and whose voice shaped a generation of lost souls - and who, sadly, was as lost among them as the worlds she sang about.

Once again, assembling early footage and home movie material with interviews spliced over, Kapadia's created a richly involving, deeply moving and ultimately, upsetting film that immortalises Winehouse's singular talent as well as her destructive demons.

Opening with early footage of Winehouse singing Happy Birthday and sucking a lollipop and ending with a heartbreaking phone call to friends, this doco takes in all the highs and lows of the fame train, complete with a very subtle yet obvious blame game at those who were responsible for her demise.

But it's to Kapadia's talent and skill that it's never presented as anything less than balanced or nuanced and never seeks to assign blame to those who shoulder it. It's at pains early on to paint a portrait of a fragile Jewish girl, whose world was shaped by demons within who professes that she won't ever be famous and chillingly, that if it were to happen, she couldn't handle it. ( A foreboding if ever there was one)

Using footage and audio interviews with the likes of Blake Fielder, her husband, her manager at the time and others who came into orbit of her star, Kapadia's created a biography of a star rather than relying on narrative techniques to simply present the facts.

That doesn't make it any the less troubling though - there are many questions about who played what role in Amy's downfall, from the fact her absentee father shows up later when she's hit the big time and denied she needed help to Blake Fielder who stoked the fire of her demons. Equally, the paparazzi can't feel happy with their portrayal with scenes of so many flashbulbs going off, it's likely to set off a strobe-induced fit.

But it's the moments that Kapadia assembles that pack the emotional wallop that he unleashed to such devastating effect in Senna. It's utterly heartbreaking that when she wins Grammy's biggest award her words are "This is so boring without drugs", as her gaunt and skeletal frame leans out of the screen. To be frank though, Kapadia and his editing team doesn't need to do much but assemble the material - from songs that spring to life on screen with text, but drip with tragic autobiographical detail to fleeting glances, this is a story that tells itself and one that's all too familiar, even though the lack of judgement from the director means you inevitably know who's to blame.

Amy is a truly stunning film, a tough and explicit record of a life gone too quickly and of a star's Icarus-style ascent, but thanks to its sensitive telling and its wealth of material, it's a fascinating yet tragic film guaranteed to haunt you long after you've seen it - whether you're a fan or not.

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The Russian Woodpecker: NZFF Review

The Russian Woodpecker: NZFF Review

The ghosts of the past come back in surprisingly shocking form in The Russian Woodpecker, a film that starts with the disclaimer that the film-makers wish in no way to endanger relations between the Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

Spearheaded by Ukranian Fedor Alexandrovich, a cross between Elijah Wood, a shaggy dog and a Simpsons overbite, this doco is nothing short of staggering and shocking as it draws a long bow that one Russian high up instigated the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown to cover his arse because a weapons monitoring service nearby wasn't working properly.

However, thanks to the deft investigations, questioning and presentation of facts, it doesn't look as if that bow is far off its mark - in fact, judging by the behaviour of some of his interviewees and their refusal to shift from Russian programming, Alexandrovich's claims make perfectly horrific sense. In fact throughout his chats, Fedor can occasionally be seen losing control of his eyes as his mind races to the conclusions he perhaps didn't want to get to.

As the doco proceeds deeper down this dark path, various family members worry about Fedor's safety - and with good cause too, given that Russia isn't exactly known for free press and given that there's conflict brewing in Ukraine which is showcased within this, they would appear to have grounds for concern. Certainly, one sequence in the film makes as much a case for free speech in film-making as Jafar Panahi would attest to. The tentacles of the Soviet Union may have been quelled through the years but if this is anything to be believed, they will never stop thrashing.

In fact, you may argue the conspiracy theory is in full flight here, but Alexandrovich's quest is an intriguingly dark and sharp one (give or take one or two moments when the artistic side of this colourful character indulges himself). The Russian Woodpecker delivers a stark warning to both Putin and the outside world of what lies ahead but overwhelmingly, the message is also one of paranoia given loud rational voice; the questions raised here point to answers which are chilling, and the discussions over ultimate power will ring true long after the doco's finished airing.

Urgent and compelling, contemporary and yet historical, The Russian Woodpecker is without a doubt the strongest doco I've seen at this year's festival - not just for the issues raised about Chernobyl, the Ukraine and Russia but also for the censorship and freedom of speech.

Unmissable.

Act of Kindness: NZFF Review

Act of Kindness: NZFF Review

The latest New Zealand film to premiere at the festival is essentially a thriller, but a documentary steeped in the light when the horrors that men do become too prominent - and whose Auckland screening coincided with 16 years to the day that events began.

Sven Pannell is a New Zealander who found himself in Burundi in 1999 as conflict broke out - five years prior there had been the Rwandan massacre. One of only 2 survivors when his bus was pulled over by soldiers and their twisted brand of justice meted out (he bought his own life and that of a driver with $200), Sven found himself trapped in a self-imploding country and nowhere to go.

As the famous line in A Streetcar named Desire goes, you can always rely on the kindness of strangers, and certainly in Sven's case, his angel was a legless and homeless man called "Johnson". Taking him in, sharing the profits of his begging and generally offering Sven a lifeline when hope was lost. Fortuitously for Sven, escape came on a bus when he had to leave with no warning, but sadly that meant "Johnson" was left behind with not even a goodbye.

Haunted by his actions, Sven vowed to return to Rwanda to seek out and thank the man for changing his life...

Act of Kindness is a collaboration between Kiwi director Costa Botes and Pannell whose original idea was the doco once he decided to return. Essentially, in some ways, it feels like Botes has therefore helped and curated the original footage from Pannell, but that is in no way to detract from what transpires on screen - or either men's intentions.

Wisely stripped of Sven's back-story, the documentary concentrates on what really matters - showing Rwanda and its people in the light they deserve as he conducts his search. It's a simple story, a film that we've all heard time and time before, but there's real heart and earnestness on Botes and Pannell's approach, which wears its emotion wisely but never overly so, on its sleeve. 

The well-spoken Sven has a gentleness of touch on screen and his occasional naivete and easy-going innocence is distinctly charming; when talking to a reporter he's just met about trust, he states that he believes the man because "what else do we have to go on"; it's a statement that gets to the heart of the matter in the search for Johnson, an admission that if ever there was a place for cynicism and mistrust, it would be Rwanda given what's happened. But life finds a way and the over-riding message that humanity shines through is certainly enlightening.

While I will admit there was one emotional moment towards the denouement of the story that I felt was missing and robbed me of my investment in Sven's quest (to say more is to spoil), there's a lot to admire about Act Of Kindness, which is delicately put together and ostensibly feel-good, despite the back-story of its subject matter.

Compassion is a word bandied around lightly sometimes, however, I can't help but feel that many will feel that emotion when viewing this - and if it helps the world become a better place, that's no mean feat.

Clouds of Sils Maria: NZFF Review

Clouds of Sils Maria: NZFF Review

There's a delicious meta-irony in French director's Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria, which won't be lost on many who follow the ins and outs of the Hollywood brigade.

Juliette Binoche plays actress Maria Enders, an actress who's invited to be part of a play that she starred in when she was 18 and which made her career. She's been haunted by this debut, and is awash with the insecurities playing such a role as this will afford her.

But as she heads to accept an award on behalf of the man who launched her, her whole life changes - and it's up to her and her PA, Val (played with sheer brilliance by Kristen Stewart) to negotiate the hand dealt to her.

It's the subtext which helps Clouds of Sil Maria to soar, as well as the classy performance of Juliette Binoche as Maria, whose life is being defined and eaten away by one role and the future ahead of her.

However, the real star of the piece is Kristen Stewart, who once again delivers a performance that's subtle, layered and naturalistic, displaying the acting promise she showed way back in the likes of The Cake Eaters.

Shorn of the insecurities that Bella afforded her (it's acting, people!) and revelling in meta-digs at stories that have werewolves in and avoiding paparazzi, there's a lot here to delve into and to recognise. However, that's not all the role brings to the page and Stewart admirably embodies the frailties and concerns with Val, as well as providing the rock that Maria needs.

It speaks volumes that the majority of this film is held solely by these two actresses and that it centres around their characters - the other major player in the piece is the scenery of the Swiss mountains and the Alps bring their own visage to the set-dressing.

As the lines between life on screen and life off are constantly blurred, Assayas does a brilliant job of assembling it all and keeping it within the boundaries of being subtly self-referential - unlike last year's Map To the Stars, where everyone was a nasty pastiche of Hollywood, Clouds of Sils Maria convinces us of two people in the machine, their frailties and strengths exposed for all to see - and in both Stewart's and Binoche's turns gives us characters to invest in and engage with.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl: NZFF Review

The Diary of a Teenage Girl: NZFF Review

There can be no doubt that The Diary of a Teenage Girl benefits greatly from a star-making turn by actress Bel Powley (last seen on NZ screens as Princess Margaret in A Royal Night Out).

This coming-of-age and sexual blossoming tale is set in 1970s San Francisco and stars Powley as Minnie, who joyfully announces her presence on screen and in life with her opening words "I had sex today. Holy shit."

In among the hazy lazy drab beiges of the 70s, we start to get more of a picture; Minnie's deflowerer is her free-lovin, coke-snorting mother's lover, Monroe (played by True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard) and she is utterly besotted with him and perhaps more importantly, the idea of being loved by him.

With the scales falling away from Minnie's eyes and life opening up to more hedonistic, if not somewhat illicit, pursuits, director Marielle Heller's take on Phoebe Gloeckner's 2002 graphic novel of the same name skirts uncomfortably between the stunning performance of its actors and its rather icky subject matter.

Powley excels as Minnie, the wannabe graphic artist whose idol is Aline Kominsky and channels all the nervous energy as she heads out on this road with pure effervescence. But Minnie doesn't escape the trappings of childhood as she sways from childish tantrums to immature outbursts when things don't go her way - equally, her wisdom beyond her years separates her from both her mother and her friends, and Powley and Kristen Wiig as her mum make great fist of their few scenes together.

Certainly, for Minnie, it's a case of everything being the same, but everything being completely different and with copious voice-over and on screen animations springing up left, right and centre (an occasionally over-used narrative tic to provide more insight, which lost its initial freshness), we definitely get a taste of the blurred perceptions of love, lust and licentiousness bubbling away in her consciousness.

But despite appreciating the confident sexual swagger and self-deflating bluster of Minnie, and the performances of Powley, Wiig and Skarsgard, it's difficult to shake the actual reality of the film - a 35 year old having sex with the 15 year old daughter of his girlfriend, even with the humour and continual looseness of touch with which Heller handles the material.

Granted, there will be self-recognition and appreciation by many over the story arcs, and the frankness of the way the material is handled is to be applauded; however, there's no denying its lack of moralising over Minnie's actions may also polarise some, but there's absolutely no doubting this is Powley's career-defining moment, a vibrant and shimmering turn that eclipses the material and provides a 70s tinged joie de vivre that's hard to shake, long after the troubling story has left you.

Run All Night: Blu Ray Review

Run All Night: Blu Ray Review

Cast: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, Boyd Holbrook
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

There's a grizzly broody weariness around Neeson as he reteams with his Unknown and Non-Stop director for another entry into the older action genre with Run All Night.

Neeson is Jimmy the Gravedigger a former enforcer for Ed Harris' Shawn Maguire. When Jimmy's estranged son Michael (a simply scowling Kinnaman) witnesses the murder of two Albanian gangsters by Shawn's son, Danny, it's up to Jimmy, who's versed in the ways of the old, to ensure Michael doesn't spill the beans. But when Jimmy shows up on Mike's door after years away, not only is the son not pleased to see the father, but it sets a chain in motion which sees both men forced on the run, with the might of the mob, a bounty hunter (played with steely determination by Common) and a detective determined to nail Jimmy for prior unpunished sins on their trail....

Run All Night has an urban grit to it and a wearied sheen that's eminently watchable.

Once again, Neeson whores out his very particular set of skills to the genre, but there's something of a right fit about this role that doesn't see the heroics of Bryan Mills channelled pointlessly. Equally the scenes Neeson shares with Harris crackle with the reality of the passing of time and are tinged with the sadness of regret about the circumstances the two find themselves in.

Director Collet-Serra keeps the action predictable and taut as the plot plays out; but it's a lack of real warmth that could cause some to disconnect from Neeson's aged performance - and certainly will see many finding Kinnaman's character too aloof and simply bitter. Equally, street kid Legs is wasted serving only a deus ex machine purpose when the story heads down a cul de sac with nowhere to go.

Ultimately Run All Night may not have the crackle it needs to be massive, but a combination of Neeson's empathy, Harris' subtlety and plenty of grit give this movie more of an edge than you'd initially expect.

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