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Aniara, 2018

An Earth devastated by climate change or perhaps some other crisis (or combination of crises) has led various people to flee the planet. The plan is to travel to Mars on a large ship called Aniara. But when an unforeseen incident knocks the ship off course, the passengers and crew must cope as a three week trip stretches into months and then years. The narrative is mainly centered on a woman known as Mimaroben (Emelie Garbers), whose job is to facilitate passenger use of an artificial intelligence suite, Mima, that helps passengers to see immersive visions of their past lives on Earth.

Ultimately, this is a film about what happens when a group of people are faced with a sort of perpetual uncertainty. Is it worth staying alive? Is there really any chance that tomorrow will be better than today? Is hope something you want in this situation, or is it just a kind of denial?

My favorite thing about this one was the use of water and how it connected with the idea of being grounded and in the moment. The sequences in the Mima often feature characters in water, or with rain falling, or the sound of a rushing river nearby. When Momaroben first really begins to connect with an officer who will later become her love interest, we see the two of them swimming in the ship's pool. What keeps the people onboard alive is an algae set up in tanks of water. Through the film, the lack of nature (sunshine, plants, animals) is deeply felt, and water is the one thing that seems at once to be present and missing.

Overall I found the narrative to be pretty well balanced between following Mimaroben's personal life (her relationship with the officer, Isagel (Bianca Cruzeira), and her work maintaining Mima) with the bigger story of the ship with the crew and the other passengers. They are intertwined, of course, and it is interesting to see how different characters respond to the bleakness and increasing length of the voyage. The ship's captain (Arvin Kananian) chooses to spin doctor everything; Mimaroben's roommate, an astronomer (Anneli Martini) is smart enough to realize that there will be no rescue and turns to drink; many other passengers turn to all-day partying; some others turn to suicide.

The film moves in "chapters" often jumping forward large chunks of time. This had a mixed effect for me. On one hand, the stark jump to a year later really hammers home how long the people on the ship have to sustain their optimism about any development (because even the "good news" is always a year or two away). But on the downside, there are a lot of important character developments that get short shrift or passed over altogether.

While Mimaroben is a compelling central character, I was very taken with the character of Isagel. Something that the film does a really good job of portraying is her depression and the way that it eats away at her, even during happy times with Mimaroben. One of the saddest scenes to me was actually in the film's infamous orgy sequence (which, by the by, meh), in which Isagel watches as Mimaroben happily pairs off with others and she ends up (in a way that is so hesitating that it feels borderline non-consensual) being paired off with one of the men. (It is implied that Mimaroben is bisexual, but nothing in that regard with Isagel). Isagel becomes a woman without power and without purpose, and this meaningless corrodes her spirit. Mimaroben, for all that she goes through, always seems to have purpose and something she looks forward to. Their relationship, both functional and dysfunctional, is well-realized.

I know that this film tends to be a bit divisive. And I can see how some might take it as empty and more style than substance. But I liked it. I really enjoyed the character of the astronomer and her semi-frequent discussions with Mimaroben.

Probably not for everyone, but certainly worth watching.




Like I said in the other thread, I'm so glad you liked it.



Aniara, 2018

While Mimaroben is a compelling central character, I was very taken with the character of Isagel. Something that the film does a really good job of portraying is her depression and the way that it eats away at her, even during happy times with Mimaroben. One of the saddest scenes to me was actually in the film's infamous orgy sequence (which, by the by, meh), in which Isagel watches as Mimaroben happily pairs off with others and she ends up (in a way that is so hesitating that it feels borderline non-consensual) being paired off with one of the men. (It is implied that Mimaroben is bisexual, but nothing in that regard with Isagel). Isagel becomes a woman without power and without purpose, and this meaningless corrodes her spirit. Mimaroben, for all that she goes through, always seems to have purpose and something she looks forward to. Their relationship, both functional and dysfunctional, is well-realized.

The bolded part is one of the things I find more interesting about the film, not only regarding MR, but all the passengers in regards to how we move from task to task, from goal to goal, hoping to draw purpose and meaning out of each. We are born, we go to school, we graduate, we get a job, we get married, have kids, raise them into adults, and then what? I mentioned it in my review, but that's kinda what is portrayed by the film in how MR, and by extension the rest of the people, try to find hope and meaning in different things... first it's Mars, then it's the "2-year" wait for a celestial body, then come the cults, the orgies, or the excessive arcade games, then it's a relationship or family, then it's the probe, then the projector thing, etc. etc. and yet it all ends up being so... meaningless. It's hauntingly bleak, but mesmerizing at the same time.
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The bolded part is one of the things I find more interesting about the film, not only regarding MR, but all the passengers in regards to how we move from task to task, from goal to goal, hoping to draw purpose and meaning out of each. We are born, we go to school, we graduate, we get a job, we get married, have kids, raise them into adults, and then what? I mentioned it in my review, but that's kinda what is portrayed by the film in how MR, and by extension the rest of the people, try to find hope and meaning in different things... first it's Mars, then it's the "2-year" wait for a celestial body, then come the cults, the orgies, or the excessive arcade games, then it's a relationship or family, then it's the probe, then the projector thing, etc. etc. and yet it all ends up being so... meaningless. It's hauntingly bleak, but mesmerizing at the same time.
Something it never totally says but that I did think about is the degree to which the "meaninglessness" of their lives isn't all that different from any normal people. And in kind of an implicit way, I took a message from it about appreciating the natural world and the comfort that it provides. The people on the ship come to respect water and plants and sunlight.

I think that something that the people on the ship never figured out was
WARNING: spoilers below
a sense of balance and harmony with others/the environment. They leave a ruined planet, and in that strange final sequence, isn't it a relief in a way that no humans are still around to ruin that beautiful planet? They literally drove Mima to suicide. Their desire to punish the Mimiroben (for something that was really their fault).

One question is: how fulfilled would those people have been had they made it to Mars?

It's when the arrow of time and their small place in the universe is made obvious to them (by the infinite black void outside the ship's walls) that they can't cope. It's not the situation--it's the awareness of it.


Also, let's pour one out for all the
WARNING: spoilers below
poor women and their UTIs after having sex with dudes with paint on their penises. For a futuristic, post-societal orgy I thought that it was shockingly heteronormative. That was one sequence that I felt was a bit muddled. I had no idea what they were trying to accomplish.



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
Rudderless


I knew nominating this would be more or less a flip of a coin if people would be on board. I was on board as soon as they started playing the music. Consider me a fan of that genre, but I appreciated the fact that the two leads were actually playing the music themselves. I didn't once think of the cinematic aspect of the film to be TV quality, nor is the cast TV cast. I just don't see it to be honest.

I was engaged with both performances as Crudup had the more difficult task of being an A-hole for most of the film, but at the same time trying to garner sympathy and more importantly understanding towards the end. If you don't sympathize with him at the end, that's totally fine, I get it. I did. The scene when he talks to Fishburne in the car and he repeats that "he was my son....my son" really got to me.

I'm not going to try to convince anyone otherwise. Sometimes movies speak to people when they don't speak to others. This one spoke to me and I've seen it multiple times.

Yes, I own the soundtrack, I listen to it often.
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Rudderless


I knew nominating this would be more or less a flip of a coin if people would be on board. I was on board as soon as they started playing the music. Consider me a fan of that genre, but I appreciated the fact that the two leads were actually playing the music themselves. I didn't once think of the cinematic aspect of the film to be TV quality, nor is the cast TV cast. I just don't see it to be honest.

I was engaged with both performances as Crudup had the more difficult task of being an A-hole for most of the film, but at the same time trying to garner sympathy and more importantly understanding towards the end. If you don't sympathize with him at the end, that's totally fine, I get it. I did. The scene when he talks to Fishburne in the car and he repeats that "he was my son....my son" really got to me.

I'm not going to try to convince anyone otherwise. Sometimes movies speak to people when they don't speak to others. This one spoke to me and I've seen it multiple times.

Yes, I own the soundtrack, I listen to it often.
I sympathized with him the whole way after having something so traumatic happen to him.



Cross-posted from "Rate the last film . . ."



Rudderless, 2014

A man named Sam (Billy Cruddup) is reeling from the loss of his son, Josh, in a shooting at Josh's college. Having lost his highly paying advertising job, he now lives on a houseboat at a lake where he frequently clashes with the local board. One day, his estranged wife drops off a box of Josh's journals and CDs. Listening to the music, Sam is suddenly caught up in it. He performs one of his son's songs at a local open mic and is approached by a young 20-something named Quinten (Anton Yelchin), who eventually convinces Sam to form a band. But the band does not know that all of Sam's songs really belong to his son.

This film is William H Macy's directorial debut. It has a good cast and an intriguing premise.

In terms of what I appreciated the most, (MODERATE SPOILERS)
WARNING: spoilers below
there is something particularly cruel about people whose family members commit violent atrocities. Even setting aside accusations that they failed as parents, they are not given the same space to mourn their loss and cope with their trauma. Some people don't see the signs of mental illness until it is too late. Others see the signs but for a variety of reasons are not able to offer help--or that help is not wanted. I thought that the choice to center a story on a family member of someone who committed a violent "unforgivable" crime was a really interesting one.


The actors all perform their own songs, and they have decent musical talent (actual musician Ben Kweller is on hand to help add to the vibe). I also appreciated that the film took time to show some other performances. I actually wish they'd let a few of the acts play longer. Kate Micucci (one half of Garfunkle and Oates) gets a decent chunk of time, but the other acts mostly get a few bars of music.

The sticking point for me in this film was the writing. It's a bit basic, and also a bit extra. There are several moments where you can sense the talented actors--Yelchin, Laurence Fishburne--trying to give a good read of dialogue that just clangs. This is true of the script, but also of many of the songs. It's fine that Quentin likes the music Sam plays, but the way it's written Quentin approaches Sam as if he's just seen the face of god. The band making a meteoric rise--performing to a rapturous audience--while playing what is, at best, slightly-above average indie rock gives the film a cheesy aspect when I wish it had played its story more straight. The film name-drops Death Cab for Cutie and all I could think of was the first song from this set, and how simply it evokes deep emotion:


I could see in this film a movie I would have really liked. A film about a father connecting to a child he lost through that child's music. A father grappling with the moral complications of taking ownership of his son's personal artistic expression. A man in denial and grief finally letting down some walls to connect to a painful part of his personal history. Consider this video, related to the same topic (I'm not hyperlinking it, because the video title is kind of a spoiler and you can't spoiler tag YouTube videos):


I wish the writing had had more confidence in this emotional core. The "comic" scenes of Sam sparring with the local fusspot (Sam constantly exposes himself while urinating in the lake in full view of the people who live and work at the lake, including children. Cool cool cool) were so unnecessary. And frankly they came across as trying to earn sympathy points for Sam when the reality is that he's acting like a complete jerk. In another sequence that is played as comedic, he literally endangers the lives of about a dozen people. If this scene had been played straight and as a sign of Sam's destructive and self-destructive tendencies, it could have been okay. But the need to intersperse these over-the-top funny moments undermine the rest of the film. There is plenty of more subdued humor to be found between Sam and the band (like when the suggest calling the group "The Old Man and the Three"). And the humor between Sam and the band is actually thematically relevant as it allows Sam to draw closer to his child vicariously through these young men.

It's clear from the IMDb score and the reviews that many people like this film and really like the music. I thought that the premise was interesting but felt that all the "extras" piled on those bones just constantly undermined its messages and themes.




Something it never totally says but that I did think about is the degree to which the "meaninglessness" of their lives isn't all that different from any normal people. And in kind of an implicit way, I took a message from it about appreciating the natural world and the comfort that it provides. The people on the ship come to respect water and plants and sunlight.

I think that something that the people on the ship never figured out was
WARNING: spoilers below
a sense of balance and harmony with others/the environment. They leave a ruined planet, and in that strange final sequence, isn't it a relief in a way that no humans are still around to ruin that beautiful planet? They literally drove Mima to suicide. Their desire to punish the Mimiroben (for something that was really their fault).

One question is: how fulfilled would those people have been had they made it to Mars?

It's when the arrow of time and their small place in the universe is made obvious to them (by the infinite black void outside the ship's walls) that they can't cope. It's not the situation--it's the awareness of it.

Good point about the nature and water. I had never thought about it that way, but I did get a sense of complacency from the film, and I don't mean it necessarily in a bad way. But like you said, of appreciating what we have instead of trying to focus on things we can't control or things that could be. The whole point of the journey was to get to a place that, according to MR, wasn't that great to begin with. Again, like you said, would that have been "fulfilling"? When the accident changes that, I always take it as how unforeseen events shake us and take us "off our path". How do we recalibrate? How do we adapt to our new situation? In many ways, the people could've lived many years in relative ease and comfort aboard the ship, but the fact that it wasn't the intended path, or what was expected changes things. That "being aware" of the situation that you mention.


Also, let's pour one out for all the
WARNING: spoilers below
poor women and their UTIs after having sex with dudes with paint on their penises. For a futuristic, post-societal orgy I thought that it was shockingly heteronormative. That was one sequence that I felt was a bit muddled. I had no idea what they were trying to accomplish.
I don't know what to say. I wasn't that bothered by the sequence but I understand the criticisms of some of you. The way I see it is that it serves several narrative purposes. The most obvious one is to get MR pregnant, but also to emphasize the surging of cults aboard the ship as a "new alternative" or a "new hope". Another thing which you mentioned in your review is that it serves to highlight the different natures between MR and Isogel, in how they both approach the orgy. The other thing, which I've never been clear about, is how the cult seemingly uses this as some sort of "trial" or "punishment" against MR, which you also mentioned. But overall, I don't mind the sequence that much. It does what it does and that's it.



I'm so full of it Well maybe this weekend I'll watch it.
Ha! So am I

I might give Shame a shot tonight.



Shame



I had seen this before and considered it one of my favorite Bergman films even ahead of the more heralded Wild Strawberries, The Seventh Seal, and Persona. Over time, I think I could go back and forth with my favorites from Bergman, but for now my feelings stay the same.

I'm too tired and lazy to write a lot about this, but like most Bergman films, it could be examined to death. Just a couple quick notes; this is one of his most action packed films, and he worked with incredible actors. Max Von Sydow and Liv Ullman are most certainly all that. This movie is interesting because you see who people really are under the most trying of circumstances. I'll leave it at that and await the comments of others.




Man these are some great reviews @Takoma11

We are glad to have you!
That's really kind of you, thank you!

I am enjoying this a lot, aside from feeling a (probably unnecessary amount) of anxiety about not loving other peoples' films.

I don't know what to say. I wasn't that bothered by the sequence but I understand the criticisms of some of you. The way I see it is that it serves several narrative purposes. The most obvious one is to get MR pregnant, but also to emphasize the surging of cults aboard the ship as a "new alternative" or a "new hope". Another thing which you mentioned in your review is that it serves to highlight the different natures between MR and Isogel, in how they both approach the orgy. The other thing, which I've never been clear about, is how the cult seemingly uses this as some sort of "trial" or "punishment" against MR, which you also mentioned. But overall, I don't mind the sequence that much. It does what it does and that's it.
There were two levels on which the orgy sequence gave me mixed feelings.

From just a visual/design/aesthetic point of view it seemed a bit unimaginative. The circle of mirrors were sort of nice (and thematically connected to the way that Mima worked), but generally I thought that the staging was uncreative and they didn't say enough about their purpose in "canonizing" Mima. So that's just a writing/story-level complaint.

On another level, I had mixed feelings about what Isagel endures in the film, both in this sequence and an earlier sequence. I think that it's significant that immediately after MR is told she will be punished, we see
WARNING: spoilers below
Isagel jumped and savagely beaten in the hallway (which, yes, I know was also related to her spat with the captain earlier).
.

Then later in the orgy sequence
WARNING: spoilers below
despite MR's connection to Mima she is paired off with other women (from what I could see) and Isagel is the one who ends up having lackluster, borderline unconsenting sex with a man and getting pregnant
.

It seemed to me that the film went to the well of Isagel suffering as part of MR's "punishment" too many times. I think that there is some emotional heft to the way that
WARNING: spoilers below
MR is often seemingly unaware of or ignoring Isagel's super obvious depression. And I didn't appreciate that because of the time jump, we never see the decisions that led to Isagel carrying the child to term. Did she want to abort? What were the politics involved? It seems really unlikely to me that she would have wanted to have a child. So did MR pressure her to keep it? Was it an order from the Captain or others? Deciding to have or not have a child in that situation is maybe the biggest question next to whether or not to commit suicide--so why does the film gloss over it?



The trick is not minding
I’ll second that Takoma is a really decent reviewer. To be honest, a lot of the Corrie refugees seem to be great at reviews. Definitely makes me want to up my game slightly.

I was hoping to watch In a Glass Cage but it never materialized. Barely watched anything this week and nothing in the last few days.
Hoping to get back into this the next few days.



I’ll second that Takoma is a really decent reviewer. To be honest, a lot of the Corrie refugees seem to be great at reviews. Definitely makes me want to up my game slightly.
Aw, thanks. You're a great reviewer as well!
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Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012

This is a rewatch for me, and I haven't seen the film since around the time of its original release.

Hushpuppy (Quvenzhane Wallis) is a 6 year old girl living in a small, ramshackle bayou community called the Bathtub with her father, Wink (Dwight Henry). But Wink's failing health and a natural disaster that threatens the Bathtub forces Hushpuppy to grow up faster than her years.

This is one of those films that got a ton of praise and then a moderate amount of backlash. I liked it when it first came out and I liked it on this rewatch.

A lot of this is due to Wallis and her natural charisma. Whether it's her natural talents or just director Behn Zeitlin skillfully finding ways to capture her youthful moods, Hushpuppy comes across as someone who is both world-weary and yet still naive when it comes to certain things.

A huge focus of the film is on Hushpuppy's relationship with Wink. Hushpuppy's mother has left them, and it has caused a breach in the relationship between father and daughter. Wink's treatment of Hushpuppy often veers into an interesting shaping of her personality--he frequently refers to her using masculine pronouns, including telling her that she will be the king of the Bathtub one day. Wink's education of Hushpuppy is largely confined to a way of life that functions in the Bathtub--how to catch a catfish by hand, or breaking a crab in half. There is a desperation and determination in Wink to toughen Hushpuppy up before he is physically unable to care for her anymore. This element is incredibly relatable--he has so much to teach her and not enough time for it. Without him she will be without family, and every scene between them is fraught with a mix of fear and anger about this situation.

As for the magical realism, I kind of wish that the film had leaned into it a bit more. As it stands, it feels a bit haphazard. I liked the way that the film depicted these sequences--products of Hushpuppy's imagination--such as a "memory" of her mother lighting the stove just by walking by. In terms of the "beasts" themselves, prehistoric creatures who emerge from melting ice caps and descend on the Bathtub, I wasn't entirely sure how to interpret them. Are they meant to symbolize natural forces (like her father's illness or the storms) that are out of Hushpuppy's control? Are we supposed to see them as symbols of toughness and realize that Hushpuppy is getting in touch with her inner "beast"? Regardless of their meaning, they look great, and I enjoyed the sequences with them even if their purpose in the narrative wasn't wholly clear to me.

I'd say that on the whole, most of the reviews I've read of this one in the last few years have been on the middling or negative side. I wondered if I would still enjoy it and was pleased to find that I did.






The Man from Nowhere, 2010

Another rewatch.

Cha Tae-sik (Won Bin) is a reclusive pawnshop owner who has a tentative friendship with a little girl, So-mi (Sae-Ron Kim), who lives in an apartment above his with her drug-addicted mother. When So-mi's mother steals drugs from a ruthless gang, So-mi and Cha end up in the middle of a nasty feud between rival drug dealers and the police.

I watch this movie quite a lot, actually, but I always watch the last hour or so (for those who have seen it, I usually start watching at the nightclub scene). I had totally forgotten about many sequences from the first hour.

The only real criticism that I have of this film is that its narrative is built entirely on cliches: little girl in danger? Check. Man with mysterious and violent past? Check. Tragic backstory involving loved one? Check. Outrageous villains? Check. Bumbling "comic relief" detective? Check. Cynical chain-smoking detective? Check. Right-hand man to the villains? Check.

But it doesn't really bother me because so many aspects of the plot, even at its most cliched, are executed so well. Won Bin (and it blows my mind that within a year or so he also starred in Bong Joon-ho's Mother) is a solid anchor for both the emotional and the physical aspects of the story. He emotes as well or better than almost any other action lead I can think of, and he is also convincing in the various action sequences. Sae-Ron Kim is also really solid as So-mi, and it's a credit to the writing that she is a very likable child (with a palpable need for acknowledgement and affection), but manages not to trip into being too cutesy or feel like an adult writing for a child.

And the action sequences are really what keep me coming back to this film. Sometimes I come back to the movie just to watch certain fight scenes. The knife fight in the bathroom, the chase through the building that includes the shot where
WARNING: spoilers below
Cha jumps out a window and the camera follows him. I cannot get enough of this shot and often have to go back to watch it over and over.
. It's all well-choreographed but the sequences are distinct from each other so it doesn't just feel like the same action scene over and over.

The movie is graphically violent, and it does deal with some heavy topics like child labor and even organ harvesting. But while the movie can be bleak at times, for me personally it never crosses a line into wallowing or exploitation.

I still hugely prefer the second half, but I really enjoyed rewatching the entire film. It's on my shortlist of favorite action movies ever.




Hard Times: This is my aesthetic. and I really liked Bronson and Coburn in it. I am going to say something kind of weird considering as I get older I am really liking less and less violence in my movies. This movie needed more realistic violence. By having PG rated violence they undercut the entire theme of the film. I never felt the "hard times" that I should have been feeling throughout. I enjoyed this, but it definitely could have gained a couple stars if it had more intensity.
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