evening1 Reviews

Tokyo Story (1953)

"What a palaver"

[6/10 · 21 May 2024]

Shukichi and Shige haven't seen their children for ages, so the elderly couple takes a long train trip to Tokyo.

Their kids and spoiled grandchildren have little interest in being with them, sloughing them off on the couple's young war-widow daughter-in-law, Noriko.

It's a sad commentary on changing times in Japan (and, probably, everywhere else), where towering smokestacks symbolize a harsher, colder reality and intimacies between the generations fall by the wayside.

I enjoyed the performances of the couple (Chishu Ryu and Haruko Sugimuro), who, although quietly hurt, seem resigned to alienations of the times, finding comfort in gazing toward the sea or the sky. "It was such a beautiful dawn," Shukichi muses. The couple's offspring seem more crudely drawn, and more harshly dismissive of their folks than seems entirely credible.

Unique amongst the younger folk is sensitive Noriko ("I'm quite happy as I am"), played by Setsuko Hara. Her husband having disappeared in the war, she's the only one with time and patience for the elders. Yet she isn't at peace, confiding, "Often I lay awake at night, wondering what will happen to me."

This film proceeds slowly, offering more nuances than plot twists, leaving a viewer sad to think of what the future may hold, regardless of cultural milieu.

Director Yasujiro Ozo, who, according to Wikipedia, lived with his mother until she died, seems to be urging us to wake up and appreciate one another.

As a newly widowed Shukichi admits, "If I'd known things would come to this, I'd have been kinder to her when she was alive."

The Zone of Interest (2023)

The order taker's family -- a horror story

[7/10 · 21 May 2024]

"Zone of Interest" -- starring denial.

Director Jonathan Glazer has made the psychological defense mechanism the star of a film about people's ability to ignore atrocity when it's right next-door.

Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoess (Christian Friedel) and his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Huller), enjoy everything they couldn't afford before the Holocaust -- a country estate and all manner of luxury seized from deported Jews -- a fur coat, lipstick and French perfume, and even chocolate.

They savor such largesse just outside of ground zero during the nadir of human existence, having built flower arbors to hide stone walls of the smoke-belching concentration camp whose horrors are only hinted at in scattered and muffled cries, shrieks, and gunfire.

How seamlessly the Hoess family has slipped into its position of privilege! Whatever work Rudolf did before, he now receives visitors offering innovation in crematorium operation. He manages an ever-changing labor force, and is assured, "He won't put them all up the chimney -- you'll get your workers."

The good life is such that Hedwig refuses to uproot herself -- "You can't do this to me!" -- when Rudolf gets a transfer, assuring him, "I'll miss you, of course."

"Jews in the house?" her mother asks during a visit, upon observing a servant in the home. "The Jews are on the other side of the wall," Hedwig explains, noting the interment of Esther Silberberg, "the woman I used to clean for, who had the book readings."

We never quite see Hedwig head-on. She is always depicted from a sidelong view, as if to shield us from the coldest truths of our nature. Rudolf is simpler and yet perverse, a functionary declaring love for his horse.

Throughout the film are ghostly images of a girl working frenetically at tasks we do not understand. She's the specter of Jews forced from their homes and their lives, who'd worked tirelessly to the benefit of their fellow man.

We forget this film at our peril!

Austerlitz (2016)

Devastating

[7/10 · 20 May 2024]

One does wonder how life has gone on since the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust.

Director Sergei Loznitsa seems to ask this question within the walls of the memorial built at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

His camera bears witness to the hoards of tourists who pour through a gate marked "Arbeit Macht Frei," their countless feet scratching over gravel paths linking the likes of watchtowers and crematoria.

One marvels at the lack of structure or guidance here, as crowds mill in this direction, or meander in that. No one seems to regulate how many may enter at any one time, or however many guides may project their commentary in a space begging for quiet contemplation.

The visitors wear no mourning garb, arriving attired in sunglasses, slogan-bearing T-shirts, and backpacks, as some of them snack, or whistle, or push a baby stroller. Here and there, one hears a little laughter, a baby's cry, a dog's bark, or conversation unrelated to the setting.

"If everyone would follow me," a guide calls out. "Guys, if you would not eat in there...five minutes later, you can."

In the oddest of sound effects, the documentary offers the extenuated squeaks of door hinges likely not oiled since the Shoah, a shriveled little echo of tortured cries from the past.

Surrounded by thick pines, with birdsong always in the air, the people come and go, with a few stopping to pose in a dramatic spot (i.e., an oven) for a selfie.

We're led to a sculpture depicting two slaves using a sheet to transport the body of a man. Their backs to it, an occasional visitor gazes long and hard into an area not captured by the lens. What it was, we don't find out. But we thank God that a few will stop and absorb what is there.

After I complete this review, I too, must go on to other things. One completes this viewing with a sense of embarrassment. How DOES life go on?

Our Son (2023)

Surprisingly well done

[7/10 · 20 May 2024]

A thoughtful, well-acted depiction of the difficulties of divorce when a child is involved.

I'd previously come across Billy Porter (Gabriel) in a photography exhibit at Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory last summer. He's good in the role of "Papa," loving father to Owen (Christopher Woodley), along with his husband, Nicky (Luke Evans).

Although the script is excellent, it's not terribly clear why Gabriel has rejected Nicky and is playing the field. However, it's suggested that when Owen was born, through in-vitro fertilization, via Nicky and a college friend, after a similar attempt involving Gabriel ended in miscarriage, Gabriel tumbled wholeheartedly into fatherhood, while breadwinner Nicky was less involved with the boy.

Evans turns in a strong performance as a serious man who may not wear his emotions on his sleeve but certainly feels them intensely. I very much sympathized with his position in the film. A scene in which he commiserates with family is wonderful.

Luke's excursion to a gay bar reveals another side of him. How fascinating to observe his interaction with Solo (Isaac Powell). But does a responsible person like Luke really just fall into bed with the most blatantly seductive person on the dance floor?

A fascinating element in this film is that all characters seem to speak directly from the heart, with no obfuscation or hostility -- just sincere talk: "I really hate it when you argue with me in front of our friends," Gabriel tells Nicky. "It makes me feel so uncomfortable." And later, "I don't feel like we're partners in this...I can't wait for you to catch up anymore."

I admired all of the characters' self-awareness, and I was glad the movie didn't opt for a facile happy ending.

I was lucky to catch this flick on a Delta flight home to New York City from San Antonio. Highly recommended!

Lady Killer (1937)

Losers at love self-destruct

[6/10 · 14 May 2024]

It's hard to dislike any performance by French cinema heartthrob Jean Gabin. But the movie itself is somewhat predictable until its highly unlikely final frame.

Here Gabin plays a legionnaire who's usually the one in control in male-female interactions. That dynamic gets upended when he meets Madeleine (Mireille Balin), who plays the man-slayer over and over till he snaps.

Lucien isn't a stupid guy, but he acts that way around the vamp, casually tossing her his 10,000-franc legacy and refusing a pay-back: "Je m'en fous de ton cheque!"

Lucien IS consistent -- ain't too bright of him to resort to violence, condemning himself to a walking version of his victim's fate.

I'll admit this movie's OK at showing the thin line between obsessive love and hatred, a timeless theme in art and life.

Into the Ice (2022)

"A disaster in slow motion" -- Stunning ice shots, glacial narration

[5/10 · 6 May 2024]

Here is a rare opportunity to enjoy the marvels of Greenland's ice sheet.

That's the domain of several researchers studying changes in the frozen plain, which they attribute to global warming. These guys' work ain't exactly the stuff of exciting cinema, but a viewer won't tire of crystalline icebergs or sapphire rivulets in an environment sans construction or tree. The many colors of the ice zone reflect the age of its various parts -- some of which go back 11,000 years.

I have an interest in arctic nature and cultures, and I'd have liked to glean a little of the context here -- perhaps a glimpse of the airfield, or the store where our probers stock up on packages of ramen. No such luck. However, at one point, we do see the scientists plant mini-pines in a woodsy locale, as they try to compensate for carbon footprints left by their work. Come again? I don't think the average moviegoer is going to grasp their logic. And where were they, anyway -- back in the Danish homeland of the filmmakers?

Much time is devoted here to the 180-meter descent of a moulin, or shaft in the ice created by meltwater. We're told it took the guys two hours to get back up, yet we're shown nothing of a surely grueling ascent. Why?

I question who'd go to see this in a theater. It seems better-suited for public TV. Maybe after midnight.

Carnal Knowledge (1971)

Fly-on-the-wall perspective on male sexuality

[6/10 · 2 May 2024]

Imagine a 14-year-old boy who never evolves beyond that mindset in his relationships with women.

Such is the predicament of Jonathan (Jack Nicholson) in this examination of two buddies who go through the decades of life doing little but obsessing about the opposite sex.

His friend Sandy (Art Garfunkel) is slightly more sensitive, but still rather tone-deaf when it comes to relationships.

These guys don't have a clue about how to be an interested and caring companion, leaving them disillusioned and depressed. It's nihilistic stuff.

The women in this film are beyond-superficial in their depictions, introduced solely to elucidate the shallowness of the love duds. Ann-Margret's persona is a portrait of weak desperation, not badly acted but too pathetic to be believed.

Can't say I'm sorry to have re-viewed this, but it left me kind of cold.

Soldier's Girl (2003 TV Movie)

Hate and insecurity bring a good man down

[10/10 · 29 April 2024]

A powerful portrayal of an unconventional love story that ends in horror.

The performances are unexpectedly strong for a TV movie, headed by Troy Garity as Barry Winchell and Lee Pace as his transgender lover, Calpernia Addams. Also scarily convincing are Shawn Hatosy as "Fish" (in an Iago-type role) and Philip Eddols as Glover, Barry's extremely troubled brothers in arms.

I had never encountered Garity (in real life the son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden) in a film before, and he turns in a superb portrayal of a young man who struggles at first to adjust but doesn't give up, resolving to make a career of the Army. It's the era of don't-ask, don't-tell in the military, and he gets harassed mercilessly when word gets around that he's dating a singer at a Nashville gay bar.

The chemistry between Barry and Calpernia is lovely to observe. Barry treats Cal like the lady she has always yearned to be, urging her never to put herself down. Now what woman wouldn't want a boyfriend like that?

I found out about this film by reading the Wikipedia profile on its setting, Fort Campbell, KY, home of the famed 101st Airborne Division. I was extremely sorry to read of the 12/12/1985 crash in Newfoundland of a chartered Arrow Air jet carrying 248 soldiers of the "Screaming Eagles," killing all aboard. "You are cleared for takeoff -- Merry Christmas" the crew had tragically been told.

This movie offers a dire reminder to us all: At the first sign of violence, make sure you're safe.

City Confidential: Cherry Hill: Sins of the Rabbi (2003) Season 8, Episode 3

Rest in peace, Sarah

[5/10 · 21 April 2024]

I was able to find this episode of the excellent true-crime series after hearing of the death of Fred Neulander, a rabbi who was convicted of having his wife, Sarah, killed in 1994.

It's a terrible story well-told by the series' first narrator, the inimitable Paul Winfield, who had a way of sounding insinuating about locales that looked wholesome on the surface but harbored evil.

In this case the crime scene was bucolic Cherry Hill, NJ, a suburb of Philadelphia in which Neulander had built his Reform congregation and Sarah, 52, operated several successful bakeries.

The episode recalls a quote from early feminist Olympe de Gouges, who herself was executed, in 1793, in the wake of the French Revolution.

She called marriage "the tomb of trust and love."

Mary Poppins (1964)

"Something is brewing, about to begin" -- 60 years later, it's still exquisite

[10/10 · 21 April 2024]

I'll never forget seeing "Mary Poppins" as an eight-year-old -- it was the first movie I ever saw in a theater.

Craving some cinematic comfort food lately, I thought I'd check in on my iconic film experience. It more than stands the test of time.

Was there ever more perfect casting than Julie Andrews as Mary ("I shall stay till the wind changes") Poppins? I doubt it -- she brings genius to a job that others treat with routineness and predictability, delighting her wards and awakening a sense of fun in their parents.

Ms. Andrews is perfectly paired with Dick Van Dyke as Bert, an ebullient and sensitive jack-of-all-trades who's entranced by Mary in the most platonic way. And she reciprocates his admiration: "Gentlemen like you are few...A lady needn't fear when you are near...your sweet gentility is crystal-clear..." His every scene is a feast for eyes and ears, whether he's jumping into a chalk drawing, riding horses off of a carousel, or "stepping time" on the rooftops of a misted-over London. ("Between pavement and stars is the chimney-sweep world...")

It's rare in a film to find such delightful child actors as Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber as Jane and Michael Banks. These kids had the gumption to write their own nanny ad, and boy, did they get what they asked for! We know Mary's magic is working when Michael declares, "I don't want an outing. I want to tidy up the nursery again!"

Indeed, on re-viewing this classic, I realized, to my surprise, that Mary is a master of cognitive restructuring, teaching us new ways of viewing things.

"Never view things by their appearance," Mary reminds us. And, "in every job that must be done, there is an element of fun."

Mary urges us to open our eyes and savor the moment: "Have you ever seen grass so green, or a bluer sky?"

Kids don't wanna go to bed? Mary's never one to fight; she just lilts into a song: "Stay awake, don't close your eyes..."

We can all use a reminder to feed the birds. It's fun, and there's no age limit on that!

The Carol Burnett Show: Ray Charles and Tim Conway (1972) Season 5, Episode 17

Best for the musical numbers

[5/10 · 19 April 2024]

When I saw this episode scheduled on a local NYC public-TV station, I wanted to tape it for the appearance by Ray Charles. And his two engagements at the grand piano are indeed wonderful -- what a treat!

I was only 16 when this segment aired, and I wasn't a fan of the variety show. But I was very impressed with several elements in this episode's lineup -- Carol's cleaning-woman persona, all decked out in nothing-matches frock and night bonnet, and the wonderful backup singers and dancers.

Ray, just 42 when this aired, is backed by a quartet of lovely singers, crooning in both English and French and modestly attired in long-sleeved dresses, something we'd never see on today's crass stages. The program's dancers wear wildly hued and patterned togs attesting to the popularity of designer Emilio Pucci in 1972.

The biggest surprise of all in this episode is Carol Burnett and her lovely alto voice. She's sublime in totally unanticipated duets with Ray.

The episode includes some comedic bits with the obviously talented Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Keitel, and Tim Conway. However, the humor is way too forced and exaggerated for my tastes, so I reached for the fast-forward.

From what I could tell from this episode, this series, with some critical edits, is a gem.

Kaili Blues (2015)

"Only dead people don't get sick"

[5/10 · 16 April 2024]

A neglected young boy's father wants to sell him in Kaili, central China. Enter the child's Uncle Chen, who hopes to rescue the boy. That's the simple part of the plot.

This visually compelling film takes us on a journey through a poor but beautiful region of mist and hills, hopscotching through time. The story is difficult to follow, but it doesn't really matter, as we are drawn into a dreamlike experience.

There are hints here of powerful intrigue. For example, young Weiwei's dad places him in the care of a thug called Monk. This makes us nervous because Monk's own son was murdered -- buried alive after his hand was chopped off. It's gruesome, and we never really get to the bottom of the story. But that's OK, because the best part of this movie is Chen (Yongzhong Chen), a person of integrity who observes and listens well, in addition to tending to think in the tropes of China's centuries-old literary tradition. Who wouldn't love a character like this? Savor these improvised lines: "I'm looking for you. I've made my new home in the eyes of a bird."

The oft-discussed long tracking shots of this film place the viewer on the back of a motorcycle, ribboning through a Chinese landscape painting come alive. We don't know where we're heading, but it's a most intriguing ride.

Minerita (2013)

Dust hell

[5/10 · 16 April 2024]

This movie introduces us to Cerro Rico, an Andean mountain silver-mined for centuries and known as the Eater of Men. And we learn here of its particular hazards toward women.

Although close to the sprawling Bolivian city of Potosi, where presumably there are safer environs, these hardy souls apparently choose to live near the mine, and, as if that weren't hard enough, they say they must often fend off the likes of kidnap and rape.

"I'm afraid of walking -- afraid of miners," says one.

The women tell us they protect themselves by tossing dynamite and carrying rocks. It seems such a lawless domain, with nary a telephone or a cop within eyesight.

From what I read on Wikipedia, the Spanish Empire began exploiting Cerro Rico in 1545, and for the ensuing three centuries, 80 percent of the world's silver came from the peak. Extremely hazardous conditions have killed many, and life expectancy for a miner is said to be only 40.

I might not have discovered this unusual short, if not for its airing as part of a world-cultures program by the 115th Street Library in New York City. I'll look forward to future offerings.

Roof Tops of Manhattan (1935)

Best for the virtuosic tap segment

[4/10 · 14 April 2024]

As the world careened toward World War II, this manic little film short offered a bit of glitzy distraction.

Performances at the fictional Sky High Roof seem to presage the TV variety show. In addition to hearing multiple songs from a willowy but none-too-compelling vocalist, we observe a dazzling tap-dance duo, a hayseed comedian/bazooka player, a top-hat and stick-toting dance ensemble (inspired by the Rockettes?), and a couple dancing comedians.

It's all inexplicably bookended by a plotlet about a gal who visits the club with a thug. Then the young woman's folks drop by to request songs from the old country (Ireland), a nice little interlude.

This short was also good for what followed it on TCM -- an unrelated appearance by Martin Scorsese, who recalls fear driving him -- twice -- from seeing the end of "Isle of the Dead" (1945), and Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky" of 1938 -- "a life-changing experience."

Day of Wrath (1943)

"Kneel!" -- When Man plays God, he dooms himself

[8/10 · 14 April 2024]

This is a fascinating tale on many levels.

Courageously filmed in Nazi-occupied Denmark, the film shows how vulnerable people (harmless "witches") are hunted and burned at the order of a corrupt state ("Where did you first meet the Devil?"), which is nothing if not efficient ("Ask her if she knows of others"). Much of the horror here turns on the lack of options for the victims.

"Free me from the stake!"

"Have no fear. The Lord is merciful."

We also have a story here of forbidden love. A young woman condemned to a sort of death-in-life brazenly reaches out for love. In a world gone insane, she trusts another human being. He's a charmer, but society's rot means that their time together starts to run out even as it begins.

There are strong performances here by Lisbeth Movin as Anne, a victim of the times; Prebin Lerdorff Rye as Martin, her feckless lover; Thorkild Roose as Absalon, a bloodless functionary of the power structure, and Sigrid Neiiendam as his beyond-icy, merciless mother. An unhappy family collapses in on itself, and everybody dies, if only spiritually.

Filmed in Old Masters-style black and white, this is one wrenching depiction of Man at his worst.

Babette's Feast (1987)

"I have been with you every day of my life"

[10/10 · 13 April 2024]

A wonderful paean to the best in life -- close friends, a natural environment, great food.

Stéphane Audran is sublime as Babette, a chef who escapes to Denmark's remote Jutland after her family has been executed in the Franco-Prussian War.

Grateful to find sanctuary, Babette becomes a housekeeper to two sisters -- "Restez avec nous" -- who have passed on romantic love to nurture their late pastor father's flock.

For the patriarch's 100th birthday, Babette prepares a sumptuous feast -- from turtle soup to fruits, accompanied by the finest wines. The guests are transformed, revealing their true hearts.

Jarl Kulle shines quietly as military man Lorens, who decades earlier had fallen for daughter Martine before admitting that she could never be his. He visited "many times, but it seemed to him he became more insignificant with each visit," and he saw that "in this world, there are things that are impossible."

Equally entranced, with the other daughter, had been opera singer Achille Papin (Jean-Phillipe Lafont), who'd previously believed that all he wanted was solitude ( "What I yearn for most is to be alone -- I love silence"). In an amazing scene, he practically makes love to Filippa through song and gestures -- "l'amour nous unira." But this, too, is not to survive.

"Babette" is about treasures that one can never truly possess. As Lorens tells his eternal love, "You shall...know that I shall be with you every day that I have left -- not in the flesh, which means nothing, but in the spirit...Tonight I have learned that all things are possible."

There is much to inspire us in this beautiful film. Babette is a model for resilience after devastation. As long as she breathes, she has hope, because "an artist is never poor." The sisters (Birgitte Federspiel, Bodir Kjer) inspire as well. Beautiful in youth, the years have only enhanced their loveliness as they radiate openness to experience and wisdom.

A Man and a Woman (1966)

Love in an if-only world

[6/10 · 3 April 2024]

Two people fall into bed way too quickly, but somehow it all works out.

Relationships like this rarely survive in the real world, especially if one party becomes pouty and self-absorbed, but this movie is enjoyable for its suspension of disbelief.

Running counterpoint is the infectious score by Francis Lai, who composed equally captivating music for the similarly romantic "Love Story" of 1970.

I enjoyed the way Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant) has the guts to ask out Anne (Anouk Aimée), and the way he gamely places his hand over hers in the car -- you go, guy! And the dizzying embrace on the beach, well, that's movie magic. And later, when Jean-Louis races Anne to the train station -- cinematic "extase" doesn't get better than that.

The scenes with the kids dragged a little, and were saccharine, and the couples' former spouses' deaths certainly were contrived, but, hey, these devices were necessary to bring the lovers together.

In all, this is a captivating, if far-fetched, excursion into amatory wonderment.

Deadland (2023)

Intrigue at the southern border.

[7/10 · 1 April 2024]

Having just spent several days in San Antonio, I was happy to see a film about our troubled southern border on my flight back to New York City.

"Deadland" is several things, including a gripping thriller, a murder mystery, a relationship film, and a story with supernatural/spiritual elements.

Because it aims so high, it falters in terms of being easy to understand, but there is much here to think about, along with uniformly excellent performances.

My best guess is that this is a story about karma. In 1985, two border-patrol agents kill a migrant who is injured in a border stream.

This migrant was trying to get back to his wife in El Paso and the son he'd named Angel.

Forty years later, both young and older versions of the murdered migrant return -- to visit the gravesite of his beloved wife, to reconnect with the son he never got to raise, and to seek retribution for his own death.

Buoyancy (2019)

Amazing story of survival

[10/10 · 30 March 2024]

I'd read something about slave labor on South Asian fishing boats, and if I'd had any question about what it was about, this movie savagely removed doubt.

We observe the understandable decision of 14-year-old Chakra (Sarm Heng) to abscond from the family rice farm in Cambodia, where he works backbreaking days for just rice in his bowl and a roof over his head, a seeming guarantee of a dead-end future of poverty and shame.

Someone tells Chakra that for just $500 -- which he can first earn and then repay through his first month of wages -- he can get a good factory job in Thailand.

With few if any questions asked, Chakra takes the bait and finds himself with a group of men who all pay their $500 up front. Because Chakra has no money, and an older guy, a father wanting to support his children, has little cash, they get placed on a boat where they'll presumably work for a month before the factory work. The dad is suspicious and says he's leaving, but a crack in the head with a gun shows him he has lost his freedom.

The boat is run by menacing Samnang (Chan Visal), who has his small crew heave up heavy nets full of fish, which they sift to collect the best of the haul, later to shovel the refuse into pits for pet-food manufacturing.

There is no talk of pay, or of any end to the work, and if anyone complains or slackens off, it's brutal discipline or worse. When one man passes out from exhaustion, sneering Samnang ("Miss your mother?") shoves him overboard to drown. Chakra's dad friend's fate is worse, and Chakra is sadistically made to shoulder the guilt.

Sadistic Samnang does to others what was done to him as a boy, and, as brutally as he treats Chakra, he likes him in a way because he's young, strong, and doesn't talk back.

Chakra's quiet, but nothing is lost on him. He sees that his survival will require fighting fire with fire.

His retribution is as stunning as his return to his village as a irreparably hardened young man.

I discovered this film serendipitously on a Delta flight to San Antonio, and I won't forget it. For thematic parallels, highly recommended are the equally powerful "Battleship Potemkin" of 1925 and "Manila in the Claws of Light" (1975).

Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

Too long and drawn out, but leaves you thinking

[5/10 · 28 March 2024]

You've got to feel for poor, young Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner).

His troubled father should have picked him up from school one day when he was 4, but sent a babysitter instead, and Daniel got hit by a car and lost most of his vision.

Years later, after taking a walk with his service dog, Daniel finds his dad dead in the snow, having fallen (or been pushed) from his chalet in the French Alps.

As if Daniel hadn't suffered enough, his mother, famous author Sandra Voyter (Sanda Huller) gets arrested for murder, even though his father was depressed and might have committed suicide.

Daniel may be vision-impaired, but he has no trouble discerning that his mom will probably get convicted because she fought a lot with his dad and lies to the cops because she doesn't want to look like a suspect. This is red flag No. 1 in every policier, and proof, in my mind, that she killed her exceedingly unpleasant spouse.

Its Palme D'Or and Academy Award nominations aside, this movie is vastly overrated, just a glorified episode of the likes of CSI. Only difference here is it's set amidst mountains (of which we see few), and tries to be trendy with themes of bisexuality and non-objectification of women.

This movie plays on sympathies for young Daniel, the only child in a highly neurotic and at times dangerous home where the adults drink too much, play deafeningly loud music, and occasionally throw a wine glass against the wall. We're asked to accept that this boy spins an elaborate scheme, which risks the life of his only friend, his dog, to substantiate his mom's claims in court.

This movie wastes much time on long, involved situations that are largely tedious -- fights between Sandra and her spouse, Sandra's attempt to seduce a magazine writer, the attraction between Sandra and her lawyer (Swann Arlaud), and interrogations by an obnoxious prosecutor. It's as if the director forgets that this is entertainment!

I'd never have sought this movie out, but had a chance to view it on Delta as I flew from New York to a conference. The silver lining here is that there was just enough time for me to see a truly worthy film before landing in San Antonio -- "Buoyancy" (2019), which I highly recommend, although it's very hard to watch in parts.

The Alamo (1960)

"Most facts are brutal"

[7/10 · 27 March 2024]

I was fortunate to catch this on TCM before a trip to San Antonio, where I was traveling for a conference and staying blocks from the famed mission.

I hadn't realized that John Wayne, who plays tough, sensitive, coonskin-capped Davy Crockett, also was a director, but he does a masterful job here of portraying the insanity of war, which in this case placed 7,000 disciplined, drum- and bugle-sounding Mexicans against 185 ragtag Texans and Tennesseans holed up in a little fort.

The Americans' final night together, as they listen to hymns and contemplate meeting certain death on the morrow, is stunningly sobering. I'll never forget it.

Our troops had hoped for reinforcements, but soldiers led by James Walker Fannin, Jr. Were ambushed and executed (see his Wikipedia bio for the horrifying details).

I most certainly will remember the Alamo -- event and film.

"...Now this small band of soldiers lie asleep in the arms of the Lord."

Air Crash Investigation: Air France 447: Vanished (2013) Season 12, Episode 13

"The plane was falling like a rock"

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

This crash was a puzzler because Air France flight 447 fell from the sky three hours into the trip, rather than in ascent or landing, when many accidents occur, in addition to the fact it took so long to find the black boxes, some 2.5 miles below the surface of the central Atlantic Ocean.

It's horrifying to consider that the plane took 4.5 minutes to drop out of the sky from 35,000 feet, killing all 228 aboard. Lifejackets were never removed from their wrapping, nor any Mayday signal sent.

The overnight flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on 5/31/2009 started out routinely, but things went awry after the senior pilot left the cockpit to take a rest, leaving the plane in control of two other flight officers as the jet encountered rough skies.

The first sign of a problem was when air-traffic controllers in Senegal tried to contact the plane but got no response. Soon the world was told that the plane had vanished -- a shock to many, given the airline's superior safety record.

Love in the Maldives (2023 TV Movie)

"I don't think I want to be alone anymore"

[6/10 · 24 March 2024]

Here's a first -- a movie in which the best part is the protagonist's hotel room.

I'm not faulting the film -- "Love in the Maldives" is perfectly fine escapist fare, spotlighting travel writer Rae's amazing resort in the archipelago off the coast of India.

Her underwater, glass-walled suite enables her to see fish of the Indian Ocean right from her bed, couch, or dining table. And, more amazing yet, a check of the internet reveals that this was no film set -- such a resort actually exists!

From the moment the viewer spots buff resort "experience director" Jared (Jake Manley), she knows that sparks will fly between him and Rae (Jocelyn Hudon). But the plot here is not as predictable as one might expect, involving a journalistic ethical dilemma that could actually happen in the real world.

Ms. Hudon and Manley enjoy good chemistry, which shouldn't be a surprise, since a check of Wikipedia reveals they're married in real life.

Rae drew me in as a character when she states early in the movie that "travel teaches you to trust your intuition -- that applies to sketchy street food, getting directions, and even trying new languages."

I have always been a language lover, and, as I get older, I see that when I travel to a foreign land one of the best parts for me is to study the language beforehand and use it while I'm there. I can't remember ever before seeing this espoused in a film.

I also enjoyed Rae's interactions with Debra (Lucy Newman-Williams), a widow treating herself to an exquisite vacation, and the reporter's home-cooked dinner with a local couple -- what tourist wouldn't jump at such an invitation?

The Maldives, reputedly the world's lowest-lying country, has made the news recently due to concerns about global warming and rising sea levels. According to Wikipedia, no point in the 1,200 islands is more than about eight feet above ground. (None of this is mentioned in the film.)

The movie left me curious about the logistics of getting to the Maldives. The trip takes two days from New York, with at least one layover, and the flight ain't cheap. Can't imagine the awe-inspiring digs are, either.

Stephen Fry in America: Pacific (2008) Season 1, Episode 6

To the northernmost reaches...

[6/10 · 23 March 2024]

I sought out this episode for its visit to Utqiagvik, AK, formerly known as Barrow, the northernmost town in the States and a place I'd love to visit someday.

I hadn't been aware of Stephen Fry, but he's a most amiable tour guide in his travels, which took him to Seattle before the Arctic Circle.

The pitstop was fortuitous because a group to which I belong will be meeting there in August. I learned here that I should visit the lively Pike Place market for delectable eats, and seaside piers for some seal-sighting.

Having arrived in the 49th state, Stephen stops first at Kodiak Island, whose Orthodox churches can be traced to when Russia ruled the domain, which, far from being the "wintry waste" that Stephen had feared, is interesting and attractive at every turn.

We see lots of snow, of course, in Utqiagvik, some colorful, simply constructed buildings, and a "Free coffee to Barrow tourists" sign, but, given the exotic locale, I wish Stephen had shown us more of the burg. Where does one dine at 71 degrees north latitude, and what do people do on a Saturday night?

Instead, Stephen leaves town with hunters of bowhead and beluga whales (22 "strikes" are permitted by international law each year). The hoped-for haul -- enabled by 60-pound "whale guns" (whatever happened to harpoons?) -- feeds the community, which is why one hunter said he opposes offshore oil drilling. (Yes, I well remember the disastrous Valdez spill of 1989.)

Our guide has a wry and self-deprecating interview style, and he's not afraid to look dumb. After asking whether the whale pursuit is navigated by the stars, he's told, "By the stars, or GPS." Indeed, technology is a necessity where there is little blacktop, and snowmachines -- Alaskans never say "snowmobile" -- seem to have replaced coursing mush dogs.

Next, Stephen heads to Hawaii, without explaining how exactly, leaving the viewer to wonder if there are regular flights between Anchorage and Honolulu, a possible temptation for locals.

In this next destination, we watch a caged Stephen gamely snorkeling with sharks, and, later, walking through tropical forest with an island native, to whom he apologizes for the 1778 landfall of Capt. James Cook. "It's the curse of tourism to destroy what it most desires," he muses.

Stephen proceeds to experience a luau, complete with whole roasted pig, lulling hula, and ukulele strains, before heading to the Big Island and its Mauna Loa Observatory, one of the most powerful on Earth, and aimed heavenward at some 14,000 feet.

Amazingly, Stephen scarcely mentions Hawaii's world-class surfing scene. From past trips there, I know that on the north shore of Oahu in winter, it's a spectacle of nature.

Still, I'm glad to have made Stephen's acquaintance, and to have learned more about wonders of my world.

Eileen (2023)

A title as dull as the plot is outlandish

[5/10 · 22 March 2024]

Anne Hathaway wastes her talents here as a prison psychologist who tries to seduce a secretary. Just as she seems likely to succeed, Dr. Rebecca goes wildly rogue, kidnapping an inmate's mother, who the secretary (Eileen) shoots in the chest because "I was upset." Er, OK, all in a day's work at your local lockup.

To all this we add an improbably happy ending for Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), who flees in a 16-wheeler. Rebecca's fate is unclear -- she's missing from the movie's denouement. Maybe Ms. Hathaway had enough of this turkey, and absconded from the set.

The movie wastes a lot of time in unnecessary friction between Eileen and her abusive, alcoholic dad. At one point, it looks like Rebecca and Eileen might try to frame him for the murder, but that idea is dropped sans explanation, and the body apparently gets dumped in the woods.

The murder in this film is gruesomely reminiscent of a killing in the vastly more worthy "Army of Shadows," of 1969.

I wouldn't have known about "Eileen" if not for a screening at a branch of the New York Public Library. In addition to three women who showed up, one guy was in the audience, and he walked out about a-third of the way in.