Jim: The James Foley Story: NZIFF Review

Jim: The James Foley Story: NZIFF Review

Most people know the name James Foley.

And that's largely due to the way he was taken from this world; beheaded, in an orange jump suit by a masked captor in 2014.

But director Brian Oakes' documentary about the titular field correspondent aims to flesh out more of the man whose life will be unknown to many. However, this is a doco of two halves; the first concentrates on giving us the back-story of a brother who caused concern to many with his life choices and exacerbated fears when he was captured in Libya.

The second half becomes a piece about being a hostage, by using those who were with James when he was taken in Syria by IS to share their story and recollections of the man.

And to be frank, while parts of Oakes' doco run the serious risk of deifying Foley thanks to his damned good decency, there's no denying the ultimate resolution of the piece which uses some of the most intimate of moments ever committed to film will undoubtedly leave you emotionally wrecked.

That's due in large parts to Oakes' creation of a film that takes its time to paint a portrait of a man whose sole MO was nothing but the greater good. Be it in his desire to help document a hospital's attempts to save children being shelled by their own government forces or by putting other captors first when in the direst of situations, it's clear that Foley was a good man, whose selflessness was didn't go unnoticed by others.

Using archive footage, interviews with the Foley family, access to emails sent by hostage negotiators and in the latter parts reconstructions, Oakes' desire is clearly to provide a legacy for his friend. Which is in itself no mean feat - and understandable given a) that the brutality of the man's death was the reason he achieved global notoriety and b) that in the face of such tragedy, some kind of good has to emerge.

In fact, one colleague, talking of Foley's selflessness, decries the fact his death gave him a face on the stage and he'd likely be horrified that it were not those of the innocent civilians caught up in the conflicts in Syria and Libya being discussed.

But what emerges is the collective guilt of the family (natural perhaps) over the wait to get any information and Oakes takes a swing at the US Government for not doing more at a brisker pace, given the others in Foley's captivity are freed. Yet, it's a weak shot that has no repercussions and even a cursory glance over Wikipedia shows Oakes leaves out the information over a botched rescue attempt as if to further fuel the fire and hint at a simmering sore that lies exposed.

While it's clear that Jim: The James Foley Story wants to leave a picture of a man who made a difference, its moving testament is not in the construction of the film, or the casual way interviewees address their director (leading to questions of whether professional distance has been maintained) but purely in the demonstration of what Foley was and what a difference he made to those around him.

In the wake of the tragedy and horrific end that befell him, Oakes' sole desire is to have friends and family attest to his virtues, and one assumes this emotional outtake is what Oakes wants us to take away from the film - a sense that while men can do horrific evil still in this world, there is still an overbearing good that cannot be snuffed out.

Tomorrow: NZIFF Review

Tomorrow: NZIFF Review

It's hard to imagine anyone leaving the New Zealand International Film Festival screening of Melanie Laurent's Tomorrow feeling anything other than inspired.

The doco's galvanising cry is to try and save the planet ahead of us all being wiped off the face of it in a forthcoming extinction event. The film-makers would have us believe that potential demise of the human race is a when not an if, and Laurent's wake up call came when Nature magazine published research into this in June 2012.

So, along with a small crew, they go globe-trotting in a style much like Michael Moore recently espoused in Where to Invade Next to see what ideas could be adopted at a local level and within people's communities to ensure that change comes.

Activists with communal gardens, experts with opinions on how to make a difference and an ease of directorial nous make Tomorrow upbeat and will see it succeed locally with audiences already attuned to the realities of wanting to do more.

Armed with ecological activist Cyril Dion, who does most of the on-screen interviewing, there is no denying the directors have the self-awareness and smarts to realise that audiences are already saturated with pieces trying to make a difference.

So by presenting a wealth of information with a clarity of vision vastly helps the genially presented documentary hit its message home.

It could probably stand to lose a little of its baggier run time toward the end and one senses there was an excess of material available, but by dividing the film up into chapters and keeping each section engaging, as well as injecting proceedings with a blast of humour, the inspiring simplicity of it all is quite simply inspiring.

It would be nice to see some talking heads from the governments tackle some of the reasons why things like major community gardens aren't more readily available and why land can't be freed up for others to use, but Tomorrow goes a long way to presenting solutions rather than just showcasing problems.

One senses it's a people powered documentary and loathe to get bogged down in the endless cycle of denial from the major corporations, but with a weight of evidence piling up, it would have been good to have seen the film-makers had tried to reach out for some reasons. Instead, Tomorrow's more interested in helping start some kind of people fuelled revolution.

From intercropping to better recycling, these are all solutions that are proffered and have proven to have worked in other parts of the world.

That alone is Tomorrow's major difference; a compulsive and compelling desire to show that each person can simply make a difference and Laurent and Dion never lose sight of that agenda.

Granted, there's no denying there's an agenda at heart here, and some may decry the liberal leaning intentions, but given there's also no denying the vastness of the problems being faced, perhaps Tomorrow with its non-didactic and digestible approach is a lot smarter than we all believe.

Win a copy of In Your Eyes

Win a copy of In Your Eyes

To celebrate the release of In Your Eyes, starring Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David, you've got the chance to win yourself a copy of this festival film that did well in Tribeca.

About In Your Eyes

“In the frozen East Coast winter, Rebecca is withering away in a life of cocktail parties and lonely nights as the sheltered, soft-spoken wife of a successful doctor. \

Across the country in sun-drenched, arid New Mexico, charismatic ex-con Dylan is struggling to find his footing and a fresh start. 

When these polar opposites realise they share an inexplicable connection, a unique metaphysical romance begins.”

The film is rated M and is on home retail now




To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com  and in the subject line put EYES. 

Please include your name and address and good luck!

Competition closes July 28th and is exclusive to New Zealand only!

Newstalk ZB Review - Ghostbusters, Weiner and Embrace

Newstalk ZB Review - Ghostbusters, Weiner and Embrace

This week at the Newstalk ZB reviewing coalface, I took a look at the Ghostbusters reboot and two films from the New Zealand International Film Festival, Embrace and Weiner

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-ghostbusters-weiner/

http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/saturday-morning-with-jack-tame/audio/darren-bevan-ghostbusters-weiner/

Suburra: NZIFF Film Review

Suburra: NZIFF Film Review

The NZIFF's first blistering and searing film has arrived in the form of a dramatic look at corruption in Italy that's soaked in style and oozes character.

Based on the novel by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo of the same name, it's an intricately lurid crime story that seizes you by the throat midway through and never lets go.

A politician, prostitutes, drugs, land grabs, power-plays, bribery, blackmail, turf wars, a government in crisis and the priesthood.

These are all familiar tenets of the Italian drama world and the fact Suburra embraces them to create an initially disparate web of threads shouldn't be the reason to dismiss it outright. As the story plays out against a backdrop of 7 days before the "apocalypse" arrives, the film's intricacies are brought together by a commanding cinematographer and a sense of sickening dread.

From the politician whose Icarus like hubris demands punishment to the son saddled with his father's uncontrollable debts, every frame reeks with someone fighting against the tide and the fact they could lose their soul at any moment.

There are real consequences for all in this film, and while the women ultimately feel like objects more than people, the film's all the better for embracing the tropes under the helmship of Gomorrah TV series director Stefano Sollima.

While the spiritual crisis alluded to is a thread that falls flat despite its portentous introduction and book-ending scene, what plays out in between with the Mafia and the interlaced narrative is nothing short of stunning.

Sprawling corruption, bathed in a synthesiser OST and filmed against an unending backdrop of rain are a potent concoction that deliver on flair after initially looking like it'd flounder under its own self-imposed epic feeling.

Ultimately though, the compelling Suburra grips intensely and delivers cinema that shows everyone involved fighting for their very existence, both literally and morally.

The Sopranos it ain't, and in 2 and a quarter hours it delivers bravura cinema that is as tense and exciting as it is delivered with flair. It's a desperate scrabble for all, whether they're jostling to get to the table and be an equal player or plotting their next step up the ladder.

Suburra is relentless in its execution, and as the web pulls tighter and the story becomes more taut it's difficult not to get sucked into this world that never once loses focus on the singular players, their motivations and the increasingly sickening feeling that misdeeds will deliver disastrous consequences on them but results that prove emotionally rewarding for the audience.

NZIFF Q&A - Sam Hamilton

NZIFF Q&A - Sam Hamilton

My film is Apple Pie and it's about:

Apple Pie is a new experimental feature-length art film shot on super 16mm celluloid film over 3 years in Aotearoa NZ, Samoa and USA featuring Samoan dance artist Ioane Papali’i and twenty other performers, artists and friends.
A constellation of ten meditative, poetic and tenderly political cinematic evocations that chart their way through a series of relational correlations to objects of our solar system. 
Drawing together an ecology of influences, Apple Pie weaves its way through a audio visual tapestry of relationalist meditations, political mythologies, photonic sculptures, atomic choreographies and ceremonial homages to the world, and what it means to be a part of it, to engage with it, to listen to it, to embody it and be embodied by it. 

The reason I made this film is:
It is the by-product of a process. Like taking a walk in a garden. It’s the shell of existential agency.

What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why?
Mmm. I feel like this film consists of nothing but moments that have been teased out of their isolation to form slabs of light and sound. If you think of these elements as the architectural materials of a cinematic building, the only moment that matters is after you - as significant other of the film - have walked through its door, walked up to the window and stand there and just stare into space.

What was the hardest thing about completing your film?
Physically it would be spending a week sitting atop a mountain out in the Oregon high plain desert filming throughout the freezing nights and then being cooked alive during in the shadeless desert days while trying to catch some sleep. Punishing, but fun. 

What’s the most satisfying thing about your film?
Only the audience can know this.

What’s been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why?

I have had a lot of people offer me very kind and loving feedback about the work, but I think the one that really means something to me is the feedback about the one rather long shot where "nothing" happens, and how painfully boring it is, until you break through something invisible, and suddenly it's purely ecstatic, then again it's boring, and then you break through yet another invisible boundary into pure ecstatic overwhelming sensorialism, even though nothing has actually happened. You have brought these things into being yourself. 

What’s next on the cards for you?
Dancing. Eating. Laughing.

Get details on Apple Pie here.

NZIFF Q&A - Hayden J. Weal, director of Chronesthesia

NZIFF Q&A -  Hayden J. Weal, director of Chronesthesia

My film is Chronesthesia and it's about love. There's stuff about time travel in it, and regret, and the fact everybody can be a positive force if they try. But mostly it's about love. Falling in it, harbouring it, being scared of it.

The reason I made this film is: I want to make feature films for the rest of my life, and I was sick of not doing it.

What's the one moment that stands out in your film and why? 

I don't wanna ruin anything about the ending so I'll pick... no, that'll give something away to. I like the opening. It stands out because it's shocking.

What was the hardest thing about completing your film? 

There was rarely anything easy or simple with this film. The hardest parts were knowing people were putting time and effort into something and not being paid, and finalising the cut. That was a lengthy process.

What's the most satisfying thing about your film? 

Its third act. It's a biggie!

What's been the one piece of feedback from either peers or audiences that has struck you the most and why? 

There's a moment in the film that made a friend of mine emotional, and it's a character being nice toward another character. That, and whenever anyone says I'm good in it.

What's next on the cards for you? 

The Chronesthesia team are planning to work together again on another feature, hopefully with some financial backing. I am on the 3rd draft right now and it's really really good.

Thanks for having me!! 

Get the details of Chronesthesia film playing at the NZIFF.