Catching WIFF misses, Lakeshore cinemas' art series

I missed Whiplash and Mommy at the recent Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF). But did manage to see Whiplash last week at The Maple Theater in Bloomfield Township, and Mommy – surprisingly! – at Lakeshore cinemas’ on Windsor’s far east side……

First Whiplash, which got WIFF's Peoples’ Choice Award and certainly was all the buzz at this month’s festival. It’s a terrific movie alright and something you don’t see a lot of in films these days – fast-paced, in-your-face dramatic action, all the more stunning since this is Damien Chazelle’s directorial debut. (“So there!” I say to all the people who scoff at film festivals featuring first time directors’ films.) The story is about music (drums) student Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) being under the tutelage of jazz instructor Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons, a Detroit native and star of Farmers Insurance commercials and numerous dramatic film & TV roles). A Nazi-inspire drill sergeant might be more like it. For Fletcher gives no ground in seeking absolute perfection with a P. The story is fictional but in 2014 I didn’t know there could still be instructors like this. I used to have teachers who threw chalk; this instructor throws furniture, and curses and harangues, and makes you stay after class to practice hours on end until you get it right! In this era of touchy-feely education this method, not really Socratic, is a throwback indeed. The film doesn’t question Fletcher’s techniques and seems ideologically to support them. For, as Fletcher says, it’s the only way to achieve outstanding art……Then it was off to the Lakeshore to see Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, where even on a Tuesday cheap night it just goes to show that art films in good ol’ Windsor (apparently outside of WIFF) can’t draw an audience. Yes, dear readers, I was the only person in Lakeshore Auditorium 3. Despite its critical acclaim I found Dolan’s 2012 Laurence Anyways overproduced. But in Mommy (Canada’s entry into next year’s Oscars), the film hits the mark in extracting terrific performances from leads Anne Dorval (as mom Diane) and Antoine-Olivier Pilon (as son Steve). Here is a story about a delinquent, incorrigible young man - with numerous psychological hangups - and his relationship with his tough as nails mom who might have been the same way at his age. This film isn’t for everyone. But it has ferocious non-stop shout out loud emotionally charged performances, making you wonder how the actors could sustain it. Suzanne Clément as Kyla, the across-the-street neighbour, is a charming bonus. 

Speaking of the Lakeshore I was surprised to discover that owner Imagine Cinemas has been running a Monday night Art Series, which started in October and ends Dec. 8. On tonight, for instance, is Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014, Peter Chelsom) with the outstanding Simon Pegg, and Rosamund Pike of Gone Girl fame. In previous weeks the series has shown John Michael McDonagh’s Calvary (recently at WIFF), Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip to Italy, and Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer. I hadn’t seen any publicity about this series and you have to go to Imagine’s website’s “Specials” section to find the schedule. A box office person told me the series might be extended next year. The website is http://imaginecinemas.com/lakeshore-specials/

And finally, it’s good to see that the iconic 1950s Cinerama wide curved screen brand has been resurrected in a stunning renovated theatre in Seattle. It’s the baby of film buff and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Check out today’s NY Times piece at http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/microsoft-billionaire-reboots-seattle-movie-temple/?emc=eta1

WIFF capsule reviews - part two

Here are my final reviews of films I saw at WIFF’s 10th edition:

An Eye for Beauty (Quebec 2014): This latest from Denys Arcand (The Decline of the American Empire, The Barbarian Invasions) is a rather prosaic story about a Yuppie couple in rural Quebec whose eyes are wandering. Despite some stilted acting by leads Éric Bruneau and Melanie Merkosky and a story that’s been told a zillion times, the film holds our interest not least because of great direction and cinematography (set in spectacular rural Charlevoix and storybook Quebec City) as well as depiction of contemporary lifestyles to which many of us can relate. 3.5/5

The Sea (Ireland 2013): Based on the John Manville Booker prize-winning novel (Manville is also the screenwriter) first time director Stephen Brown must have thought he had a quality mood piece about memory, loss and regret on his hands. He did. But the characters plod through the scenes, particularly lead Ciarán Hinds, who nevertheless is interesting in this overly dramatic film. Other good cast members are Charlotte Rampling and Rufus Sewell. But the movie is awfully derivative of a thousand similar stories and a bit of a strain to watch. 2/5

In her Place (South Korea 2014): This studied piece about a teen’s psychological disintegration speaks volumes about teenage pregnancy, modern alienation, and the often disconnectedness between adults and children. Ahn Ji Hye is brilliant as the despondent and increasingly disturbed teen, waiting out her pregnancy, while an affluent couple seek to adopt her child. 3/5

Altman (Canada 2014): Noted documentarian Ron Mann gives us a more than competent summary of the life of acclaimed iconoclastic director Robert Altman. Well-edited, the film includes a vast array of snippets from Altman’s many pictures (including MASH, Nashville, A Wedding, The Player)  and earlier seminal TV series' episodes he directed for shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Combat! 3/5

The Immigrant (United States 2013): James Gray continues his New York-themed films, and again with actors like Joaquin Phoenix (who I always want to call the new Brando) and Marion Cotillard. Jeremy Renner also stars. I couldn’t stay for the entire screening but the re-creation of early 20th century New York is brilliant. Phoenix is always great to watch and Cotillard is terrific in the role as a frightened newly-arrived Polish immigrant. But the film seemed a bit directionless. 2.5/5

The Keeper of Lost Causes (Denmark 2013):  I love Scandinavian films and though not a fan of crime movies will seek out such a film from Sweden or Denmark because of those countries’ cinemas’ intensity and tweaking with genres. Unfortunately not so with this movie which is a very straight forward crime story. 2/5

Mr. Turner (UK 2014): Acclaimed English director Mike Leigh’s latest is a brilliant period piece with astonishingly realistic sets and a standout performance by Timothy Spall (picture above) as the great artist himself. Spall really is amazing and should win a boatload of best actor prizes. The cinematography by Dick Pope should win also because every scene bares resemblance to a muted Turner masterpiece. One problem: either the dialogue is so realistic or the volume recorded so low it was often difficult to decipher what the characters were saying. 4/5

WIFF capsule reviews - part one

Ironically, despite Windsor International Film Festival’s extended run to nine days this year (ending tomorrow) on its 10th anniversary I only started getting to films Wednesday night. Partly it was a combination of things: work and personal business, having seen some of the films already, and simply not having enough interest in others. But here are my capsule reviews (and star rating) of the first eight films I have seen, in the order I saw them. (My remaining films will be reviewed in the next post.)

Clouds of Sils Maria (France 2014): This work by Olivier Assayas is as ambiguous and dreamy as per the title. It’s like a metaphorical mist envelops the story as aging actress Maria (Juliette Binoche) considers taking on the older lead in a play she made famous years ago playing the younger character who drives her boss to suicide. The metaphor is obvious: suicide equalling artistic death. Kristen Stewart as Maria’s A-personality assistant also embodies the vigour of youth as especially does the young woman in the play, an overly confident yet superficial actress (Chloë Grace Moretz). 3/5

A Wolf at the Door (Brazil 2013) (picture above): I was hooked from the very start of this picture with the camera frozen on a surreal-looking phone booth and the menacing throb of slow bass notes, which punctuates the film throughout. Moving back and forth in time this story of two women, a man, and a kidnapped child is a depiction of madness, a person’s unknown psychological depths, and the ultimate consequences of what we sow. 4/5

Halfway (Belgium 2014): This comedy overstays its welcome a bit too long, just as does the ghost (Jurgen Delnaet as Theo), the previous owner of the house in which Stef (Koen De Graeve) moves in. I suppose the point of the movie, other than providing a few good laughs, is for Theo to be the conscience of the rather nasty Stef, who has a penchant for alienating people. But the plot’s goofiness gets in the way. 2/5

Winter Sleep (Turkey 2014): Hard to believe this won Cannes’s Palm D’Or. Not that it’s not good. But clocking in at 196 minutes this series of tête-à-tête mini dramas among three or four people isn’t particularly ground breaking. Bergman did it years ago. And, as at least a couple of people described it, so did Chekhov. The first 45 minutes is ponderous and a bit confusing as to where the film will lead. But once we get into the first dialogue on topics like the meaning of art, criticism, courage, integrity – and the stripping away of the charactyers' defences – okay, we’re on to something. 3/5

La Sapienza (France & Italy 2014): This film about Italian religious architecture will knock your socks off for the studied stunning images of the interiors of some of that country’s great churches, in particular those designed by the 17th century’s Francesco Borromini. But it’s more than that. It’s about the beauty that was and the crassness that is. It’s about human love and even human contact. Does contemporary society make robots of us? The scenes and acting techniques at times are deliberately humorous if absurd and hark back to filmmakers like Jacques Tati and Luis Buñuel. Director Eugene Green makes a cameo as a kind of all-knowing oracle. 3/5

Force Majeure (Sweden 2014): Ruben Östlund’s eagerly anticipated film about male heroism – or the lack thereof – was different from what I expected and I’m glad it was. Still the director toys with the same subject matter. What does it mean to be a man? Is heroism or indeed chivalry dead? But the director seems to want it both ways. He’s arguing men should be ashamed of abandoning their families in dire crises. But is this only a male issue? The female characters suggest they wouldn’t have acted that way. But in an age of feminism and questioning traditional gender roles, framing the issue from a male-female perspective wasn’t that smart. The question should be: how would any individual respond? Otherwise the film is brilliantly paced and totally unpredictable, a treat from beginning to end. 4/5

Corbo (Quebec 2014): Mathieu Denis’s first film is a great debut on a number of fronts – expert cinematography and creation of mood, evocation of family and group dynamics, and the accurate depiction of what life was like in Quebec in 1966 given the director wasn’t even alive then. This was the heyday of the FLQ, the radical terrorist group that was blowing up symbols of English dominance. A new recruit, Corbo (Anthony Therrien), joins. It will be interesting to see Denis’s future work. 3/5

Beloved Sisters (Germany 2014): Who knew that the great 18th century German poet, playwright and philosopher Friedrich Schiller carried on a ménage à trois with all the drama you might find in a Woody Allen movie, only kept under respectable pretences of the day. Director Dominik Graf’s telling of the story gets a little shopworn as the daily intrigues among the three and their extended families and friends pile up. One wishes there was more emphasis on Schiller’s philosophy although there are notable scenes about his commitment to the technology of book publishing, and his ideals of truth and beauty in contrast to the corruption of the same during that period’s French Revolution. 3/5

WIFF barely registers on Detroit's radar screen

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is the disconnect between Windsor and Detroit. Here we are, two metropolitan centres – admittedly one of vastly larger size – but nevertheless connected by industry, employment, family and friends, not to mention Canadians’ devotion to pretty much all things Detroit sports! And yet we have a film festival in Windsor, now in its 10^th year and running until Sunday, which barely registers on the Detroit radar screen. Sure, the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF), does limited marketing in the States. And occasionally there will be a blurb in a Detroit newspaper, as per the Free Press in its Play entertainment section last Thursday. But the Windsor event is far from a Motor City phenomenon. Yet there is nothing like it in American megalopolis. In fact until only recently there was no mainstream film fest in the Motor City at all. (Ann Arbor has had its long running experimental film festival). The closest Michigan mainstream festival like Windsor’s happens to be a four hour drive away each summer in Traverse City, also now in its 10^th year. It’s only been in the last couple of years that anything like a regular festival got underway in Detroit, and that’s Cinetopia. Cinetopia launched three years ago in Ann Arbor and expanded to Detroit in 2013, with films screened mainly at the Detroit Film Theatre and nearby venues. Fifty films were shown over five days last June. Cinetopia is billed as a “festival of festivals” and culls its films from some of the world’s great film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Cannes and SXSW. It’s of course to be welcomed. But this is still a nascent event and its offerings dwarf what’s on display in Windsor. In fact this year’s WIFF has well over 100 films screening over nine days. Yet one could barely hear a pin drop in Detroit when it comes to that city’s buzz over the Windsor festival.

As for WIFF, my picks for the rest of the week – Clouds of Sils Maria, A Wolf at the Door, Halfway, Winter Sleep, Mr. Turner, Force Majeure, Corbo, Age of Uprising, Beloved Sisters, The Sea, In Her Place, An Eye for Beauty, Wild Tales and Tom at the Farm.

The news that the Windsor Essex County Health Unit, known as busybodies in some places, has chosen this week’s WIFF to deliberately launch a campaign to designate as Restricted movies in which actors smoke, isn’t new. Health groups across North America have long been lobbying for some sort of restrictive code. More than 10 years ago World No Tobacco Day focused on eliminating tobacco content in movies targeting younger audiences. To me this is social engineering and I’m against it. But I’m constantly amazed by how many films still feature characters’ smoking. Not that the smoking bothers me per se. It’s that it seems so out of touch with how average people live their lives these days. Smoking is way down among the general population. Why isn’t this reflected in the movies?