lauralancee Reviews

Coming Home (2014)

Warm and human

[8/10 · 31 December 2014]

Coming Home is a great example of the way in which a movie can move you, play on your emotions, without being sentimental in a negative sense. Without being a tear-jerker. And without harsh images of struggle and war. But with excellent acting, small gestures and not so much words. This movie is all about empathy, first among the characters in the story depicted, but by consequence also among the audience, that is swept away and taken in by the sentiment.

This doesn't mean that the story is only about love and compassion. The Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) was far from being peaceful and compassionate. People were separated for years without any information, were forced to report any 'wrong' behavior that could 'harm' or 'threaten' the Communist Party. Coming Home shows how such an environment affects people at the individual, family level. People get damaged and family relations are shattered because of betrayal.

Coming Home succeeds in portraying the consequences of such a regime, by showing what humanity and compassion mean. And that is what makes it special, and refreshing in a world where it sometimes feels like these values are hard to find.

Finding Fela (2014)

Go see this movie

[8/10 · 2 December 2014]

Finding Fela, by Alex Gibney, is quite an ordinary documentary that portrays an extra-ordinary man and his story.

Of course the movie is a must-see for music-lovers, in particular jazz fans. There are many clips and concert fragments to enjoy, even if some of them are a little less sharp due to the age of the footage, which sometimes looks like it was taken from Youtube. But the movie offers more; it tells the story of an activist who is using 'music as a weapon' and his lifestyle as an example of freedom. Finally the movie also puts Fela's music at an important place in musical history, recognizing it as one of the building blocks and milestones of jazz, bringing in elements of soul, funk, rock and African sounds. Fela called it Afrobeat.

Like some other musicians in the 60s and 70s Fela likes to play long cores, sometimes for over more than 30 minutes, making it hard to play his music on the radio. In his defense, he wonders why no-one ever questioned Beethoven or Bach for writing long pieces of music. I would say that even in his own time slot and not only in jazz, there were more musicians that could not be bothered by 3-minute frames, think of Frank Zappa or Deep Purple.

The personal story of Fela the man and his Nigerian roots completes the musical story, and makes him truly stand out. His struggle against the Nigerian government, lead by Obasanjo who came from a similar family in the same part of the country as Fela Kuti did, is a harsh one. This common background and the prestige of the Kuti family, might have saved Fela for some years, but in the end the military acted out, causing Fela's beloved mother to die, his home to be eradicated and Fela being put in jail. Although the film doesn't display all the details about this attack, the severity and cruel nature is clearly portrayed. It is shocking to realize what happened, and to know little has changed in the years after. The fact that Fela never left the country to live somewhere else, is something to admire.

The director chose to take the performance of the American made musical – Fela – in Lagos as the hook to tell his story, which is a good idea, particularly to explain something about how difficult it is to understand Fela, his mind and the context in which he lived. It also explains the title of the movie: the director of the musical discusses these things with Fela's friends, family and fellow-musicians. They try to get an idea about what made Fela tick and how to present that in the musical. This is a smart way to make the audience part of the search. But to my mind clips from the musical took up too much time; it is so much better to look at and listen to the real Fela, that it gets annoying to watch actors play Fela (however well done). But if this is the only point of criticism, it is easy to overcome. Listen to Fela through his recordings, and see the movie for food for thought about this brave and talented man.

Whiplash (2014)

Story doesn't convince

[4/10 · 12 November 2014]

On 13 November Whiplash – directed by Damien Chazelle starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons – will premier at the Netherlands cinema. This movie about an ambitious and talented drum player and his dominant, relentless teacher, is expected to do well, based on the positive reception it had in many countries and at several festivals. Even before its release the movie opened the Leiden International Film Festival, and won the LIFF Indie Competition. General appreciation is also shown at IMDb, where the film scores 87/100 with about 4400 votes.

The story that the movie brings forward is not new. Andrew, a young drum player, enrolls at the high-class, well-reputed Shaffer Conservatory, where he meets Fletcher, an infamous teacher working with high standards and non-compromising methods. Andrew attracts his attention and a struggle between the two characters begins when Andrew secures the position of first drum in the school band practicing for the national school competition. The movie focuses on the two main characters, and the way in which they interrelate with the aim to realize the best drum performance for the school's honor, but more so for their own prestige and ego.

Although the movie excels in cinematography, acting and music – provided you at least like some level of jazz music – the story doesn't seem to convince. The strict focus on the two men and their sole purpose leads to repetition in the narrative, following the cycle of insult and pressure from the teacher, hard work and pain by the student, and short-term victory for both when a performance succeeds. Even at the end of the movie, when things seem to turn around, the teacher again tries to push the student into a great performance, which he indeed delivers.

Additional characters, such as the student's father, girl friend or other musicians at the school, are just there to support the main story. They never get any depth or backgrounds, and their role is minimal; they are there to underline how determined and ambitious Andrew really is. The school functions as decor, with musicians as extra's and no sign of a board, other teachers or school infrastructure.

Focusing on one aspect of a human relationship can produce interesting and compelling movies, but Whiplash is not a good example. Besides the elimination of all surrounding factors, there is another possible reason why the story doesn't convince me. The general idea underlying the story is that real talent blossoms with hardship and pain. Consequently, the message is delivered that it is good to bully and mistreat a student with talent, so that he or she gets to full development. To my mind this message is not true, at least not always, and needs more justification than a flat, straight story about two egocentric men struggling for power and recognition.