Minkwan Reviews

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

A Little Gem.

[9/10 · 16 October 2006]

'Little Miss Sunshine' is the perfect antidote for all the homogenized films flooding the multiplexes at the moment. Directed by first-timers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt, the film is constructed around Hollywood clichés, such as the underdog, road-movie, dysfunctional family, but remains fresh, honest and genuinely funny and touching. This is due, in no small part, to the fact happy endings and overt feel good statements are brushed aside for truth and awkwardness.

Toni Collette is perfect, as one would expect, but it is Steve Carell and Greg Kinnear who show acting talent beyond expectations. Alan Arkin provides another solid performance as the wise, hippie grandfather, but it is the new guard of actors Abigail Breslin and Paul Dano who shine in my opinion. Breslin brings raw emotional honesty to her role of Olive and one never forgets she is a child, unlike if Dakota Fanning had tackled this role.

'Little Miss Sunshine' is about family, identity, the search for meaning and purpose and how these fit into and relate to contemporary life. This is a film full of small detail which remembers to deal with the larger stuff. Unsentimental, but extremely moving, You'll leave the cinema feeling a little bit better.

Jarhead (2005)

Insanity in the Desert

[8/10 · 1 July 2006]

This is Sam Mendes third feature and it is his third incredible film.

Jarhead is not so much a war film, but rather a film about war, the gulf war. A war which was fought in the air, rather than on the ground, face to face.

The film is about how war, whether or not you kill someone, destroys the souls of young men (and women, although there is little doubt that this film concerns itself with testosterone.) It is about how aimlessness, and remoteness will send someone insane. It is about the average man who is expected to be too much, be too good, too tough, too malleable and who expected to take commands without question. It is about how wars tear families apart, destroy relationships and ultimately affect the relationships one builds in the future.

This film is full of tension. Mendes gradually raises the feeling claustrophobia and of anxiety, which is met with devastating anti-climax.

The film is aware of its place among the great American war films of the seventies, utilising an intelligent quoting of Apocalypse Now. The Young soldiers, or Jarheads, triumphantly recite the Ride of the Valkeries without any irony. Although the scene is obviously ironic. The Deer Hunter is also quoted, both films being anti-war.

Roger Deakins brilliantly emphasises the malevolence through washed out looking scenes which cry with the hint of colour. The desert, the wide expanse of nothingness is filmed so accurately so that it becomes troubling.

Gyllanhaal is brilliant, two fine performances in one year, as too is Foxx and Sarsgaard and Cooper in a small part.

Not a perfect film by any means, but a film which has important things to say, which says them articulately.

Rome, Open City (1945)

Italian neo-realism at its best.

[9/10 · 1 July 2006]

As one of the first examples of Italian neo-realism, Open City is a perfect synergy of subject matter and aesthetic and technical choices. Utilising documentary style, objective cinematography, Rossellini portrays Rome as a politically turbulent city, put under immense strain. What makes this film so good is that he has given it heart.

An important time in Italy's history, and a subject matter which may have been approached too reverently, Rossellini understands that to make scenes inherently humorous is acceptable and even necessary to imbue the characters with humanity.

Anna Magnani is captivating as a put-upon mother trying to get by, and it is little surprise she became one of Italy's most revered and honored actresses.

Open City is at once funny, sensitive, sympathetic, blunt and quite shocking, especially in its confronting and matter of fact portrayal of death. A beautiful film, which hums with humanity.

Six Feet Under (2001–2005)

Rest In Peace Six Feet Under.

[10/10 · 19 June 2006]

I have just watched the final episode of Six Feet Under (The Nine Network in Australia delayed showing the last season.)and feel like i've lost a best friend.

I have been addicted to this drama series from the very beginning and although some episodes were better than others, all episodes were unsurpassed by any other drama on television. From the first episode in which Nathaninal Fischer dies in a car collision to the last in which Willa (Brenda's baby girl) is born, Six Feet Under has been full of surprise, thoughtfulness, suspense, wit, humor, sadness and of course of great performances. Every actor has deserved recognition for their work on this show, and it is a shame that only a few have been honored by the major awards such as the EMMY, SAG and Golden Globe.

Alan Ball and the writing team were never afraid of tackling difficult subject matter and always walked a fine line between absurdity and moving and meaningful drama. The dialog was always truthful and never sounded contrived, and if it did it was on purpose. Because the script and performances were so involving, one seems to forget that the show's success was also due to the talents of the directors, cinematographers, production designers, editors, sound designers, musical composers and other technicians. All of whom seamlessly wove their contributions into the show.

Six Feet Under was and is unique and i'm so glad it ended on the creators own terms. An innovative drama series which proved television could transcend it's confines, Rest In Peace Six Feet Under.

Heartbreak Tour (2005 TV Movie)

A product of the important SBS Independent Film Fund.

[8/10 · 12 March 2006]

"The Heartbreak Tour" is Ben Chessell's first departure from the short film format, although it is neither a Made for Television Movie nor a Feature Film. The one hour format, for which SBS Independent has fervently supported, is a great opportunity for emerging and innovative film-makers to broaden their film techniques and skills without the fear and financial responsibility of a full theatrical/commercial release. Other notable films to be made under this premise are "Marta's New Coat" and "Jewboy".

"The Heartbrteak Tour" centers around a group of twenty-somethings re-visiting their "emotional sacred sites". It is a film which relies heavily on flash-backs, but they are incorporated in a clever way in which the complex nature of truth, memory and story-telling is exposed as completely subjective. This is overtly explained when one of the female characters says that "we are always the heroes of our own stories".

At times the dialog my seem stagy, but this is compensated by the fact that these characters are familiar and are brought to life brilliantly and honestly by the six leads (All of whom have been working in the Australian film and television industry for quite some time but are still tagged up-and-comers.). Particular kudos must be given to Toby Schmitz who has never been better. His sensitive portrayal of Ryan is subtle and full of fragility and regret.

It is handled with particular visual flair, while the score perfectly compliments the tone. My only reservation is that at times it did feel like a pilot episode for an unmade television series, although it would be a series which I would have tuned into every week.

A perfect example of the talent to be found in Australia.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

A film to treasure.

[10/10 · 19 February 2006]

I came to "Brokeback Mountain" with many recommendations from friends who utterly loved the film. This usually means disappointment because few films live up to the hype, but "Brokeback Mountain" exceeded my highest expectations.

The film is concerned with gender, relationships, fidelity and the human need for love, affection and companionship. Ledger and Gyllenhaal, who are both painfully convincing, have both said that this is not a gay film per Se, and although I first thought they were pussy footing around the fact, I have come to agree with them. The film doesn't merely portray a same-sex relationship or sexual encounter, although it does both, it rather addresses the construction of gender. What makes a man. This is most obviously done through the appropriation of what was in the 60's an unquestioned icon of machismo, the cowboy. Ang Lee gives us a glimpse behind the rough exterior of the Marlbro Man and exposes a vulnerable, tormented and guilt stricken man trying to survive and desperately trying to punch themselves into what is acceptable. The films narrative foundations may be that of a classic Hollywood thwarted romance, but it is so affecting.

The film is beautifully photographed but almost too heartbreaking to watch, with every scene filled with unspoken truths, desires and tension. The men cry and break-down, but presumably not enough to let out all that is fermenting inside. Instead the cinema screen weeps. If you allow yourself the emotional connection needed to fully appreciate this film, then like me you'll leave the cinema with a stomach ache, completely exhausted.

Lee's direction is invisible, but deft enough in order to analyze, pull apart and examine what's been done. This is a Hollwood film which adheres to independent sensibilities and made by an Asian director. A film about two (for a lack of a better word) "gay" men who are played by two straight actors. A quiet, in all senses of the word, film which is about the unsaid, the repressed and the silenced which manages to say so much, with sparse dialog.

"Brokeback Mountain" is a film to treasure.

Summer Storm (2004)

A mature, moving teen drama from Germany.

[8/10 · 18 July 2005]

Sommersturm (Summer Storm) is about Tobi and Achim who have been best friends for years. As cox and oarsman, they have helped their team win several rowing cups in the past and are now looking forward to the big regatta in the countryside. But this trip is no summer camp, and the problems soon arise. As Achim's relationship with his girlfriend grows more serious, Tobi starts to realise that his feelings for Achim run deeper than he's willing to admit to himself. He feels confused, unsure of himself and increasingly left out. When the much-anticipated Berlin girls' team is being replaced by a team of athletic,young gay men, Tobi and his teammates are suddenly forced to grapple with their prejudices, fears and perhaps their hidden longings. As the tension grows, Tobi, Achim and the others head towards a confrontation as fierce and ultimately as liberating as the summer storm gathering over the lake...

"Summer Storm" is an emotionally mature and honest film which deals with the issue of coming out with humour, sensitivity and understanding. The performances are excellent, with the actors and actresses tending to underplay emotions rather than hamfisting them home, which tends to happen in American teen dramas. The performance by the award winning Robert Stadlober (Best Leading Actor at the Montreal Film Festival, 2001) was particularly standout. All characters are identifiable and likable, and although some characters verge on the cliché, clichés are clichés because they originated in truth.

Director, Marco Kreuzpaintner and cinematographer Daniel Gottschalk make the landscape lush, tranquil, yet with a strong sense of isolation, loneliness and foreboding. Visual metaphors are seamlessly woven into the films narrative without becoming too cliché or distracting.

The film is un-hyperbolic in its treatment of the familiar themes of coming of age, the search for identity, friendship and sexuality (both homosexuality and heterosexuality). Sommersturm is a beautiful, moving and honest film.