Archive for July, 2023

The Ice Cream Seller and the Writer

Afire

Director: Christian Petzold

Cast: Thomas Schubert (Austrian), Paula Beer, Eno Trebs (The White Ribbon dir Michael Hanneke), Langston Ubel, Matthias Brandt

Running Time: 1 hour 42 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Language: German with English Subtitles.

Please note that this film has not had a commercial cinema release yet.

Acclaimed German film maker Christian Petzold returns with his new film Afire focusing discreetly on the wildfires that ravage Europe in the summer, wreaking havoc on remote holiday destinations. Petzold’s film Afire which premiered at the prestigious Berlinale, the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, in February 2023 had its exclusive South African premiere hosted by the German consulate in South Africa at the Durban International Film Festival https://ccadiff.ukzn.ac.za/ on Sunday 23rd July 2023 at Suncoast Cinemas and I was privileged to attend.

Afire contains only four main characters: tortured self-absorbed writer Leon superbly played by Austrian actor Thomas Schubert who was in attendance at the film premiere; the beautiful yet elusive Nadja wonderfully played with flirty desire by German actress Paula Beer; muscular lifeguard or swimming assistant Devid played by the gorgeous Enno Trebs who as a child actor appeared in director Michael Haneke’s brilliant Oscar nominated film The White Ribbon (2010) and lastly Felix played by Langston Ubel.

With the main location being a beach house near the Baltic Sea, initially Leon and Felix hire the beach house to get some work done during the summer. Much to the boy’s surprise is the appearance of the gorgeous Nadja who is mysterious at first until they soon discover more about her.

Then the athletic and buff Devid appears on the scene, initially presumed to be Nadja’s boyfriend but as Leon discovers that assumption is way off the mark.

The narrative that follows is a tragic comedy about four young adults struggling with their own artistic personalities and their limitations while their surroundings are slowly getting ravaged to the ground by extremely dangerous wildfires.

Director Christian Petzold holds the action tight and keeps the plot mainly between these four characters as they laugh, drink wine, sulk and go for swims. All of them except Leon brilliantly played by Thomas Schubert as a thoroughly dislikeable, self-absorbed and generally painful writer who is struggling to complete a novel which he knows is terrible.

Events take a deadly turn when Leon’s editor Helmut turns up for dinner one summer evening. The intellectually arrogant Helmut played by Matthias Brandt takes a shine to the gorgeous Nadja who flits around all these men riding a bicycle in a red dress, which becomes a motif for flaming hot desire and impending danger.

Afire is completely un-American and decidedly European in every respect. A contemporary tale about modern relations, complete with fluctuating sexualities, an existential threat of climate change which becomes real and a darkly tragic turn of events that inspired the writer to craft a more competent narrative around his fascination with the ice cream seller and the lovers that turn to ash.

Afire is a brilliant film, expertly crafted with effortless acting by all the four main stars. It is highly recommended viewing for those that enjoy premium European cinema content.

Afire gets a film rating of 8 out of 10 and catch it at a cinema when it comes on general release.

Valley of the Dolls

Barbie

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Will Ferrell, Helen Mirren, Rhea Pearlman, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir

Running Time: 1 hour 54 minutes

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Toys as a consumer product are self reflexively explored with wit and sarcasm by Ladybird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig in the highly anticipated fantasy film Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the dolls Barbie and Ken, who combined have multiple blonde moments.

It all starts off beautifully in the valley of the dolls aka Barbieland where like Pleasantville everything is perfect until Ken tries to reach the end of the wave and hits a dead-end and when Barbie’s doll like features start diminishing quickly including her high heel step and thoughts of death start seeping into her consciousness.

On consultation with weird Barbie wonderfully portrayed by Kate McKinnon, Barbie ventures off Barbieland through a portal which connects her to Los Angeles specifically the headquarters of Mattel, the manufacturers of Barbie where she confronts corporate doublespeak and patriarchy masquerading as profit.

Once in Los Angeles, Barbie is lost and confused whereas Ken, on the other hand revels in the patriarchy and rushes back to Barbieland to plot a revolution with the other Ken dolls, notably starring a range of male actors from Kingsley Ben-Adir to Simu Liu. Ken even discovers a liking for trucks and horses while Barbie discovers a fearless corporate secretary Gloria superbly played by Ugly Betty star America Ferrara, who unlocks the secret of Barbie’s beautiful transformation.

Ryan Gosling is superb as Ken, carefully crafting a narrative arc for his character from naivety to tyranny and then back to nostalgia. Gosling deserves an Oscar nomination for his role as Ken, from the jiving dance numbers to the villainous revenge he plots against the Barbies played by numerous actresses including Emma Mackey (Eiffel, Emily, Death on the Nile) and Issa Rae.

Despite all the hype and publicity, Barbie is not a sweet children’s film for small little girls, but a scathing allegorical tale on the nature of capitalism and how the gender roles have been structured to suit profit over flexibility, often pushing women out of the workplace in favour of men. Writer and director Greta Gerwig does the full range of jibes against her male counterparts from toxic masculinity to man explaining and from suffrage to male preening, questioning specifically assigned gender roles. In this respect her casting of the hottest star in the world Ryan Gosling is spot on as Ken and his performance elevates Barbie from a vivacious almost perfect land to a treacherous battle of the sexes whereby both Barbie and Ken have to discover their own identities.

Barbie is a candy coloured condemnation of the social roles assigned to men and women and how little children are socialized into specific gender roles through toys manufactured by shady multi-million dollar corporations. While Margot Robbie looks like Barbie, it is really her supporting cast that does the heavy lifting particularly America Ferrera as a contemporary woman juggling a career and raising a difficult daughter.

Where Gerwig falters in Barbie is that a toy is a difficult subject matter to adapt into a big screen unlike a novel such as Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Her directorial faults include crass excess and some really silly scenes especially those with Will Ferrell.

Barbie is a fun enjoyable fantasy but it is a film that takes itself too seriously in parts and not seriously enough as a sustainable narrative. Fortunately Ryan Gosling is talented enough to make Barbie’s counterpart, vain and idiotic. However, Kenough is not sufficient to stop the Barbie force.

Barbie gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is elevated by excellent supporting performances and fabulous kaleidoscopic costumes by double Oscar winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Little Women, Anna Karenina).

See it for the costumes, the dance moves and the music particularly the retro disco scene at the Barbie house party.

Ghosts Don’t Have Reflections

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Shea Wingham, Henry Czerny, Frederick Schmidt, Cary Elwes

Running Time: 2 hours and 43 minutes

Film Rating: 9 out of 10

Taking much inspiration from the original Mission Impossible released in 1998 and directed by Brian de Palma (The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill), director Christopher McQuarrie skilfully and efficiently returns to the Mission Impossible franchise with the final two films to be split up.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 stars the usual suspects, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames and Vanessa Kirby who were all in the previous film which provide a perfect ensemble to the superstar that is Tom Cruise who reprises his most famous role as IMF agent gone rogue Ethan Hunt.

What really sets this Mission Impossible completely apart from the previous films are two things: the digital tech stuff including augmented reality and artificial intelligence and the action. The stunts in this Mission Impossible are unbelievable from the exhilarating train sequence in the Austrian Alps to the unbelievably well shot car chase sequence through the streets of Rome.

Throughout Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, the audience can see that these are filmmakers and actors that know what they are doing, brilliantly crafting an old fashioned spy drama complete with the Orient Express and some fabulous locations including Rome, the Arabian desert and Venice and imbuing this scintillating narrative with digital deception, technological spy craft and the dire prediction that if humans leave AI unchecked, that entity could become a nefarious enemy.

From the augmented reality sequence in the Abu Dhabi International airport to the unbelievable train sequence in the Austrian Alps, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 delivers on every level, from sophisticated production values to a top class cast including the gorgeous British star Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited, The Duchess) as renegade international thief Grace and Easi Morales as the slippery and ruthless villain Gabriel who will command destruction as he tries to find the fabled digital key that can unlock and control a mysterious rogue AI known as the entity.

Tom Cruise as the fearless Ethan Hunt once again delivers a premium spy film, as brilliant as the Bond films and cements his status even at 61 as one of the top Hollywood action stars of the last three decades. Every scene is perfectly constructed, brilliantly filmed and beautifully packaged and paced with enough action to keep audiences absolutely mesmerized for 2 hours and 43 minutes.

French actress Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy) holds her own superbly as Gabriel’s duplicitous assassin as does American actor Shea Wingham (Take Shelter, Joker) as government agent Briggs eternally chasing after the elusive Ethan Hunt.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 gets a film rating of 9 out of 10 and is a supremely entertaining action film filled with incredible action and innovative technology.

Highly recommended viewing. Audiences should see this film on a Big Screen.

The Archimedes Trail

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Thomas Kretschmann, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Ethann Isidore

Running Time: 2 hours and 34 minutes

Film Rating: 8 out of 10

Languages: English & German

3:10 to Yuma and Ford v Ferrari director James Mangold tackles the Indiana Jones franchise bringing an old fashioned charm to the adventure series as he reunites Indiana Jones with his wayward goddaughter in the new film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

If viewers enjoyed the Indiana Jones films from Raiders of the Lost Art back in 1981 followed by the Temple of Doom in 1984 starring Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything, Everywhere all at Once) to the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, then they will love this new film and probably the last in the franchise.

The Dial of Destiny opens with a de-aged Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford (Witness, Blade Runner, Star Wars) facing off against the Nazi’s in a terrific opening scene aboard a train in the French alps whereby Indy and his friend Basil Shaw played by British character actor Toby Jones are fighting Nazi’s as they both battle to get their hands on an ancient relic.

The Nazi’s headed up by Colonel Weber played by German actor Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, Wanted) attempt to fend off the American spy and his British counterpart while the real villain Dr Voller wonderfully played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round, Casino Royale) spots the Dial of Destiny and realizes it’s true potential.

Fast forward from the 1940’s to New York in 1969 and Dr Jones sees himself retiring gracefully until his feisty goddaughter Helena wonderfully played with panache by British star Phoebe Waller-Bridge accosts Dr Jones and requests his help to locate the hidden dial of destiny which could be resting in the tomb of Archimedes in Sicily.

After a riveting chase sequence through the Manhattan streets during a parade, Indy and Helena escape the likes of the evil Dr Voller and his henchman Klaber brilliantly played by Boyd Holbrook (Logan, Gone Girl, Milk) and travel to Tangier in Morocco whereby they enlist the help of Teddy energetically played by French Mauritian actor Ethann Isidore.

For the rest of the action packed adventure, director James Mangold keeps audiences guessing as the heroes are chased by the villains from Tangier to the Aegean Sea while everyone is unaware of the true potential of the Dial of Destiny and its uncanny ability to change history.

While the narrative is completely implausible, the action is brilliantly orchestrated and the entire film has a great supporting cast ably assisted by solid direction by James Mangold who soaks the entire film in a sepia colour which only makes sense in the climactic scene at the battle of Syracuse.

Suspend your disbelief and go and watch a riveting adventure film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny gets a film rating of 8 out of 10.

Fresh from its glittering premiere at the 2023 Festival de Cannes, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is an enjoyable cinematic ride, an old fashioned caper about archaeologists who go on the Archimedes Trail, from New York City to Sicily.

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