Category: Film

REVIEW: Les Misérables

Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

Les Misérables was one of my favorite films I’ve seen in the past few months. In describing the film and what I liked about it (at a hundred miles a minute) to my friend, she responded saying, “It’s really interesting that even Paris has these kinds of disparities and issues.” She was referring to police corruption and brutality and its role in lower income communities. This surprised me, but at the same time the American idea of Paris (and France in general) has always been a highly contrived product of the global imagination. So before I even go into the content of the film, straight out the gate I think it’s important that it is shown in the US. In a related way, it’s easy to apply our context of race relations to all media we encounter, but the construct of race is as highly pervasive as it is contextual.

 

Before I praise the film, I do want to address that it isn’t perfect. The narrative of police brutality given mostly from the perspective of the police team didn’t sit super well with me, though I did find the nuance behind (most) of the officers to be effective in illustrating the logic of power abuse. Ultimately, the community and after effects of the police force’s actions feel underrepresented as well. I think it’s important to be critical about the representation of power structures in media. My perspective is quite limited here and so I highly recommend consulting other reviews in constructing your takeaways from Les Misérables.

 

I thought the tension achieved in this film was both amazing and highly uncomfortable. The fact that the chronology of the story is condensed into two days in such a skillful way contributes to this. Throughout the movie, we come to understand the different hubs in the community’s network through a series of telling interactions. These confrontations alternate between severe escalation and de-escalation of tension, culminating in an electrifying conclusion. It all feels very quick, but at the same time, I left the theater feeling an acute sense of dislocation.

 

Don’t let the subtitles scare you; I thoroughly recommend this highly relevant film. I equally recommend being critical about it and using it as a catalyst for conversation and reflection.

PREVIEW: Les Misérables

Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

No, the 2019 film Les Misérables isn’t a musical. It’s a French drama detailing unrest in the Parisian suburbs as police brutality fuels rioting. Inspired by a short film from the same director, Ladj Ly, this gritty drama is sure to provoke thought and make us reconsider the power structures in place at home and abroad.

 

Descriptions of the film have added the word “Thriller” to its genre description. Though political unrest is tense and in some ways scary, I’m really interested to see the angle this film took that caused it to pick up that label. A drama with thriller elements that also has real-life source material could go many different directions; I look forward to seeing it.

 

Les Misérables is playing at the State Theater, student tickets are $8.50.

REVIEW: Trash Empire

Shannon Z 1 Comment

Most of us would likely blanch at the thought of sorting through ambiguous public trash bags for a midday snack, not to mention actually consuming a box of salvaged strawberries. Yet in his 2017 documentary short, Trash Empire, filmmaker William Reid does exactly this and more – consuming exclusively food scraps and dumpster-salvaged foods over the span of 2 years. Before you question his sanity, here are the fast facts and food for thought: In the U.S, 40% of food produced each year is wasted. ‘Best by’ date labels are selected solely by manufacturers’ discretion. And yes, diving into publicly accessible dumpsters is, for the most part, legal in the U.S.

Reid’s documentary, which also functioned as his graduate thesis project at American University, is daring in its investigations, speckled with awkward humor, and, above all, informatively absurd. Through his ambitious trash diet, Reid strives to deconstruct the root cause of America’s silently raging food waste issue – his main target is not to vilify the consumer, because the crux of the problem can ultimately be traced back to government, industry, and the overproduction of food. Reid interviews an array of researchers and policymakers, all of whom share common ground in possessing greater insight on food waste and its contributing factors than the average American. Though many have the commonsensical awareness that food companies profit off of consumer misunderstandings, I was stunned with the sheer extent of day-to-day misinformation that we as consumers generally assume to be true and in our self-interest. Take the illusion of ‘best by’, ‘sell by’, or ‘use by’ dates; though we naturally assume that they are printed in order to prevent food poisoning, etc, these dates actually are not ‘science-based’, but rather craftily decided by manufacturers. Not only do these manufacturer-enforced food standards affect the frequency and quantity of ditching perfectly good food; they also penetrate grocery sellers’ practices. Reid emphasizes this endlessly through montages of extensive dumpster findings – boxes of juice, crated lettuce heads, bags upon bags of mini carrots – many of which are found in their original, unopened packaging, yet hastily discarded.

Another severely overlooked issue that Reid brings to light is that of food donations, in particular, that of unhealthy, empty-calorie foods composed of government subsidized crops: corn, wheat, and soy. Reid explains that in most cases, attractive tax incentives that fail to distinguish the value of fresh produce donations from unhealthy food donations lead to an excess of junk and snack foods in food banks. The flawed policies that fuel such skewed donations not only aggravate the health of food donation recipients but also fuel the vicious cycle of agricultural overproduction, junk food overflow, and food banks’ rejection of said junk food, resulting in even more wasted food.

I would highly recommend attending any future screenings of this eye-opening documentary! The Food Recovery Network at the University of Michigan did a great job in organizing this screening; listening to William Reid speak, in person, about his passion to fight against our ongoing ‘trash empire’ was a truly engaging experience.

REVIEW: Knives Out

Corrina Lee Leave a comment

Everyone loves to play detective. Whether it is investigating a particularly bad break-up or scrutinizing a suspicious rash, we are drawn to the mysterious, the unsolvable. We long to fill that blank where knowledge should be. We long to pull out that red thread and start connecting scraps of newspaper and random headshots, all precariously pinned up on a corkboard. We probe because we care and because we can’t help ourselves. We want the honest truth and nothing but. Rarely, though, are the answers as fascinating as the mystery. The boyfriend was a jerk. Web M.D. categorizes your deadly rash as common (How dare they!). You are left searching for the next great investigation. The mystery of the missing college essay, perhaps? Well, dear detective, search no further than your local movie theater, for I may have just the mystery for you.

Image result for knives out

A rich man is found dead on his 85th birthday. Cause of death: suspected suicide. His family is simply heartbroken. Or at least, that is all they will admit to the police detectives assigned to the case. Still, all clues seem to suggest that eccentric author, Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) died by his own hand. Case closed, time to get some donuts and coffee. Except…. hasn’t it only been ten minutes since the movie started? That’s the best trick of Knives Out, the one that makes you sit up in your theater seat and pay attention. It is a film most carefully paced. One that knows when to sprint with the audience and when we all need to catch to catch our breath. Knives Out doesn’t try to outthink its watchers, it wants to investigate alongside us. It is a sense of companionship that makes you feel invited into the mystery instead of merely being a spectator. Much of the credit for the warmth of this film must go to Rian Johnson, the writer and director. His script is clever and light on its feet, weaving its way between different characters and emotions. Yet, it never strays too far from the person that is undeniably its emotional center, Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas).

For, mysteries are not only fascinating because they try our intelligence, but because of how they can squeeze emotion from our dried-up hearts. We come to care about those involved in the case. We sympathize with some. We accuse all the rest. Mysteries work because the audience is asked to dispense justice, distinguishing who deserves it and who doesn’t. Perhaps that is why it is integral for mysteries such as Knives Out to draw characters precisely. It must have a full idea of who each character is from the start but reveal aspects of that portrait at the right time. Too early and the puzzle clicks together before the popcorn runs out. Too late and the characters become inhuman pieces of a plot. Shrewdly, Knives Out chooses not to define its inhabitants directly. Instead, it allows each character to depict themselves first. Then, it chips away at that conceited image, revealing a truer picture underneath. Using visual cues and contradictory actions, the film allows us to discover who the heroes are for ourselves. Along the way, lies much intrigue and a considerable amount of fun.

Image result for knives out

So, dear detective, if you choose to take the case, beware of the enthralling charm of Chris Evans in a cable knit sweater. Perhaps, befriend the friendly gentleman detective (Daniel Craig) who loves singing Sondheim. There is a mystery afoot and you are just the one to help solve it.

REVIEW: Weathering with You

Shannon Z Leave a comment

Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You tasted like something akin to cilantro: soapy, spritely, sometimes confusing, and ultimately, edible. The Japanese animated romance-natural disaster-fantasy film weaves an aesthetically compelling yet narratively lacking film about two young lovers brought together by the power of sunshine amidst Tokyo’s endlessly dreary summer rains. Hodaka, the male protagonist, is presented as an impulsive high school runaway who leaves the vaguely depicted discomfort of his hometown to chase a more unrestrained lifestyle in Tokyo. His story thus becomes entwined with that of Hina, a cheery “sunshine girl” whose prayers cause the city’s clouds to part for minutes of sunlight.

“I want you more than any blue sky.” – Hodaka Morishima, Weathering with You

The film motions towards gritty themes through the pair’s struggles with homelessness, the sex trade, and armed terror – which at times seem like decorative attempts to add dimension rather than gripping allusions to reality. Due to the sheer number of unresolved issues added to flavor the narrative, the film’s ending felt incomplete and soapy. I questioned the importance of certain ‘gritty’ motifs such as Hodaka’s recurring gun stint, and the development of his savior complex in response to Hina’s woes. I found Hina’s character, an orphaned “sunshine girl” fatefully burdened by dramatic choice, emotionally strong yet ultimately stifled by Hodaka at every twist and turn in the film’s plot. Though Hina braves mature duties to her brother, the eternal fate of Tokyo’s weather, and herself, Hodaka continuously leaps in to save his magical “sunshine girl” – most of the time without her consent. Hina’s acts of sacrifice exhibit both mental strength and a keen understanding of her fate with cumulonimbus clouds; however, they are selfishly averted by the ever-spontaneous Hodaka. Indeed, Hodaka’s character does not seem to view Hina’s personal decisions with the autonomous power that they deserve – eventually, Hodaka’s failure to recognize such leads to Tokyo’s partial submergence in water. I found this plot decision to be the most confusing and also the most inconsistent with the traditional collectivist views perpetuated in many East Asian countries like Japan – why value Hina’s corporeal existence over the entire wellbeing of Tokyo and its citizens? Is Hodaka’s intervention representative of the foolish nature of young love? Or perhaps, the stubborn inaction over climate change concerning Earth as we know it? 

Climate change and its ominous effects on the human spirit are central to Weathering with You; beyond the film’s narrative soapiness, the animation direction does a beautiful job of capturing the nuances of weather and mood. Hina’s characteristic hand movement of reaching up towards the sky, the newfound sunlight filtering through her fingers, is so distinctly human, and touching within the context of Tokyo’s depressing weather. The animations carry the same underlying thread of childlike wonder and curiosity throughout the film, transporting the viewer into a parallel universe set aglow with fantasy with every sunshine prayer Hina wills unto the clouds.

REVIEW: Weathering With You

Ruth Leave a comment

I have to say, Weathering With You is the best anime I have seen  thus far. I absolutely loved this film. Makoto Shinkai has a way of writing truly original stories that take hold of a viewer’s imagination and immerses them so fully into the film that by the time the credits start to roll, you’re already making plans to see the film as many times as you can while it’s still on the big screen.

You may be rolling your eyes right now, but what I’ve just said isn’t an exaggeration. Makoto Shinkai is a genius and his work is so precious. There was a line out the door of the Michigan Theater an hour before the show started; a massive crowd of college kids huddling together in the cold, eyes shining, so excited to be there and I was obviously one of them. When we finally were able to shuffle our way inside, we were greeted by a slightly frazzled theater employee who announced that over a hundred tickets had been sold for the show.

The excitement for this film was a palpable thing that cruised throughout the theater as we all scrambled to get the best seats. The room was a roaring frenzy of voices and then, like magic, everyone fell silent as the screen came to life.

Weathering With You is at it’s heart, a love story. However, Makoto Shinkai is not one for cliches. So when I say ‘love story’, I don’t mean the various love triangles, hexagons, and octagons that you would normally think of. Weathering With You is something pure. It’s about a growing relationship between two young people, the love of father and daughter, the bond of a sister and brother, and the love for people who’ve been lost. All of these relationships are woven together throughout the movie, each one connecting and affecting the other. There is just a beauty to what Shinkai is able to do through anime.

 

The icing on the cake of course is the aspects of magic that Shinkai brought to Weathering With You, highlighting Japanese legends surrounding weather maidens, women who have the ability control the world of weather. Shinkai brought this magic to life with meadows that floated on the tops of rain clouds, fish made of raindrops and a girl who prayed for sunshine.

I’ve been careful not to give any spoilers because I really believe you should take a moment to watch this film, even if you aren’t the least bit interested in anime.

You won’t regret it!