Category: Film

REVIEW: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Jeffrey Sun

This is a great movie. It’s almost as if Wes Anderson, knowing we expect him to give us kitsch, cute, and darkly funny has decided to take Chekhov’s maxim that art should “prepare us for tenderness” to heart. The movie starts off with a girl in the modern day (presumably) walking up to a statue of an author in a park in the fictional  Eastern European country of Zubrowka, sitting beside it and beginning to read one of his books. We then hear the author narrating, while sitting in his study, telling us of his visit to the Grand Budapest Hotel. We are taken to the Grand Budapest Hotel, where the author, now much younger, is staying for a season. While there he meets the owner of the hotel, Zero Mustafa, who tells us of his humble beginnings as a lobby boy. Then we can take a breath, because this is where the real story begins.

The story progresses with all the kitschy mise-en-scene, dollhouse-like sets, and careful fairytale framing that we would expect from Wes Anderson, but hints of something deeper are already apparent. The relationship between the young Zero and the concierge is moving, and both of them are fully realized human characters. The encounter between them and the forces invading Zubrowka is the first hint that the movie is aiming for something deeper. The story is exciting, stylish, and moving, but The Grand Budapest Hotel is as much about the framing as about the story in the middle. The story happens in the almost-unmentioned midst of an alt-Nazi invasion of Zubrowka, and the tension between the rarefied, effete world of the wealthy and sophisticated and the incoming storm of war is powerful wherever it is apparent.

The movie is absurd, but perhaps it is through an absurd alternate history that we can see history most truly. Books, classes, monuments, ruins, and common knowledge hide something about war and history. They hide its absurdity. The only thing making the invading forces in the movie more absurd than the forces that ravaged Europe half a century ago in our world is that we are used to our history. We have accepted it as part of the world, and only those who have been in it, those who were part of it can really understand the randomness of what happened.

Anyway, the other framing device is one that we forget about until the end of the movie, when the perspective switches back to the hotel, to the study, to the girl reading in the park. The story has always been set in the modern day, and we have been travelling through memory and literature into the past. We emerge blinking at the end, and the heartbreaking power of the movie seems revealed all at once. Their history, our history, and the great tragedy and power of the past.

The movie is about other things, too, of course. It deals powerfully with love, friendship and loneliness, but the history is what stuck with me the most. And aside from that pretentious stuff, it’s still a gorgeous, exciting, incredibly funny movie. The movie’s humor and excitement would form a fantastic movie by themselves. Even if that’s all you’re looking for, it succeeds in making the movie. If not, however, it all serves doubly to prepare us for tenderness.

REVIEW: Oscar – Nominated Animated Shorts

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These animated films featured a mixed bag in terms of origin, tone, genre, and visual quality.

One film was in a post-industrial style, using currently- common animation style (similar to Pixar, at least to my eye), and depicted robots as humane beings and animals. This film was about the everlasting friendship between a robotman and a robotdog, and the loyalty binding them. Another was more pencil-sketched, all in black and white, and quite dark in tone, about a feral child who, after being taken and sent to school by a hunter, escapes a civilized life through a mystical, transcendental dissolution of his material body. As the feral boy dissolves, he morphs through several configurations as various wild animals, finally becoming rain for the forest and creatures.

One film is about a squirrel searching for a scarf, encountering a handful of forest creatures during his search, and aiding them through philosophical conversations, offering his counsel. Finally the squirrel realizes the world will end eventually and that his scarf doesn’t matter, and is soon killed in a freak accident. This film expresses a combination of darkness and playfulness uncommon in popular animation. I loved the wisdom of the moral, that one may spend their lives philosophizing, but in the end, life is precious and fragile. Another film is a meditation on Japanese folklore. In Japan, a caption says, unused or misused objects carry trapped spirits. During the film, a man is stranded in a hut in the jungle and cannot escape until he puts a handful of neglected materials to use. These objects are personified throughout the film, and mutual gratitude is expressed at the end. Finally, in a British film, a witch and her cat travel around, showing compassion toward various forest creatures, and inviting them to ride on the witch’s broom, although there is not ample space. A dragon tries to eat the witch and the forest creatures band together to scare off the dragon and save the witch.

These synopses depict a clear theme in this year’s animated shorts : a celebration of the individual nature, and a prioritization of one’s material and spiritual freedom and present-mindedness. As I had anticipated, the general tone was brighter than non-animated shorts, but I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the depth and dynamic of moral and emotional material. A few of these films are unapologetically inspired by classic folklore (the British and the Japanese especially), and most involved mystical elements. These animated films used technology and gorgeous artwork  to bring sequences of images into the mind’s eye, otherwise impossible for the viewer to experience. These images enabled emotional and moral experiences, equally unique and rare.

2014 Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts

REVIEW: Oscar Award Nominated Shorts (Foreign)

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2014 Oscar Foreign Shorts

This collection of foreign shorts is an intense experience. The primary characters in each, respectively . A dying child wants to know his fate in the afterlife, and a hospital janitor risks his job to save his soul with a fable. A man in a straightjacket proves  to a skeptical psychiatrist that he is God. A woman and her children are frightened for their lives as they attempt to flee from an abusive father. A husband and wife are doctors in a war-ravaged country and become subject to terrible violence and assault, ultimately choosing the path of compassion. Lastly, a much-appreciated comedy about a wife’s struggles to manage her family’s preparation and arrival for a friend’s birthday party.

Perhaps the theme of this year’s foreign Oscar shorts is domestic issues and death — that was my impression, at least, on a more shallow level. But on a deeper level, perhaps this year’s foreign shorts are inspired by questions of empathy for the “Other.” In most of these stories, a failure to act with empathy toward an adversary or companion resulted in a regrettable situation. In multiple stories, a protagonist risks everything in the attempt to avoid such a regret. The subject matters of these stories — sexual and physical violence, domestic struggles, family, sickness, death, war, hierarchal and institutionally-driven repression — these are some of the most prominent themes I gathered from the films. The overarching expression through these short films, however, is a striding yearning toward compassion and peace.

These films are unapologetic in their rawness, vividness, and depth. I cried once, and grimaced a good amount, and held my date’s hand a little too hard through some tense passages. The general level of intensity remained consistent, excepting brief moments. These films were made by risk-takers with large moral and expressive aspirations, and so it makes sense they are critically celebrated.

REVIEW–Wolf of Wall Street

keshav

Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street is one of those movies that reminds me why I love watching movies so much. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s tremendous acting to the engaging and contentious script and of course a slew of technical marvel conducted by directorial legend Martin Scorsese, this is one of the most technically proficient films I have seen in a while. Wolf of Wall Street distinguishes itself from other technically proficient films, however, in its controversial and topically conscious subject matter. Inspired by the life of wall street trader and ex-convict (for insider trading) Jordan Belfort, the film depicts the glamorous and callous life of an investment banker, drawing strong thematic parallels between life in finance and life in the mafia.

 

Scorsese establishes this parallel in part by returning to filmmaking techniques he used in his classic ‘90’s gangster film Goodfellas. Wolf makes use of long tracking shots following DiCaprio through his personal carnival of grandeur, reminiscent of iconic shots of Ray Liotta walking through a five star restaurant in Goodfellas as if he owns the place. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Bancroft also defies common conceptions of investment bankers—rather than a reserved math wizard making calculated decisions, he is a swaggering and impetuous party animal with drug habits that make Scarface look like a teetotaler. DiCaprio’s performance is crucial to Scorsese’s message. His acting style creates a new archetype for the investment banker in Hollywood, a character type informed by the reckless behavior of investment firm executives precipitating the housing bubble of 2009.

 

DiCaprio’s performance owes a lot to Terrance Winter’s beautifully written script, a cynical critique of the moral hazards intrinsic to a deregulated capitalist economy. Winter’s script focuses on the idea that wealth allows an individual to live above the law. Bancroft’s character engages in selfish reckless behavior that warrants arrest throughout the film. He evades legal repercussions several times due to his wealth and status. Even at the end of the film, when Bancroft finally receives jail time, he spends his days in a prison nicer than most 5 star hotels, and returns home to plenty of wealth a few years later. Bancroft’s personal story serves as a metaphor for the housing bubble. Investment firms intentionally supported the housing bubble knowing they would be bailed out by taxpayer money. The firms were such an integral part of the economy that we had no choice to bail them out. Similarly, Bancroft lives the rockstar lifestyle, indulging in wanton drug binges and avoiding legal persecution because he can easily post bail and leverage his status to evade arrest.

 

I expect Wolf of Wall Street to be a major contender for awards during the academy awards. The film is excellent on all fronts—grandiose set design, fast-paced and intense editing, a cynical and topical script, perhaps DiCaprio’s best acting performance yet, and all of these elements held together by Scorsese’s directorial signature to form a coherent jaded post-recession retrospective on the self destructive, over-indulgent lifestyle of the elite which precipitated economic calamity on the US.

PREVIEW–The Wolf of Wall Street

keshav

Wolf of Wall Street comes out tomorrow on Christmas day. The film is a biographical drama based on the autobiography of Jordan Belfort, former Wall Street stockbroker and ex-convicted white collar felon. The story follows his rise to wealth and success and his subsequent psychological and social alienation upon public discovery of his deceit.

This should be a movie to look forward to. Hollywood has not released many films about Wall Street since the housing crisis–the finance world is particularly ripe with moral dilemmas to consider, and these dilemmas are more relevant than ever before because actions taken in Wall Street have affected lives across not only the US, but the entire world since the early 2000’s in particular. The film also has a lot of big names involved in the production team–director Martin Scorsese has made multiple films ranked by many critics as some of the greatest of all time (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, the Departed), writer Terence Winter worked on landmark television drama the Sopranos and created the critically successful Boardwalk Empire, and lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio has received multiple Oscar nominations for his acting (Blood Diamond, The Aviator, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape). These three have also collaborated before–Scorsese and DiCaprio for the Departed and Shutter Island, and Scorsese and Winter on a handful of episodes for Boardwalk Empire.

This won’t be Scorsese’s first biographical drama–Raging Bull and Goodfellas set the bar pretty high, as both films are often ranked as some of the most influential films of all time. If The Wolf of Wall Street garners similar critical acclaim, Scorsese will extend his record of at least one critical success a decade across a span of 5 decades (1970’s through 2010’s). That’s more than twice as long as most of us have been alive. What am I even doing with my life? Watching this movie I guess.

REVIEW Lightworks Film Festival

Phillip Wachowiak

As I mentioned in the preview, Lightworks is a biannual film festival put on by the Film Video Student Association (FVSA), showcasing works produced in students by Screen Arts and Cultures (SAC) production classes.

One warning to potential future festival-goers: dress up! I was lucky to be coming from an interview, so I walked into the Natural Science Auditorium in a shirt and tie thinking I would be out of place—only to be surrounded by sweater vests, make-up, and slacks. This is by no means Cannes or Sundance, but I was pleasantly surprised to see so many students dress up for the festival because, after all, it IS a film festival.

One more thing: arrive early! FVSA provides free popcorn, drinks, and other movie theater food to people that get there in time.

The biggest caveat for these kinds of film fests is that they are composed almost entirely of student films. While I was stunned to see such beautiful work from students in upper level production classes, there were also sub-par films scheduled into the program. By the same token, none of the films were universally terrible; one film’s audio problems ruined an otherwise good feature, a few films had questionable camera work that called attention to the operator rather than the images on the screen, and of course, instances of poor writing. Most importantly, these were the exceptions, rather than the rule to a wonderful (and free!) film festival right on campus.

I found out by the middle of the first evening that the programs passed out each night were terrible incorrect. What resulted was a roller coaster of films—some that were in the order of the program, and others arbitrarily sprinkled in or taken out. In one particular instance I was overjoyed to see a documentary about the homeless people living in Ann Arbor, but this came at the expense of a documentary about the Detroit music scene that never showed.

Many of the films are taken directly from the pages of college life. “Sublet” dealt with three college boys who sublet a room to a hot girl—hilarious and topical. “Quick Step to Columbus” followed the Ballroom Dance Team to the national championships in Ohio, and “The Great Escape” was about an attractive GSI who has to escape a frat house after accidentally sleeping with a frat brother. “College Town” was easily one of my favorites of the entire festival. Imagine the drama of Glee and High School Musical without anyone breaking out into song, mixed with a slightly more biting comedic feel, and you have “College Town.” Not only was the production value cinema-quality, but the writing and acting was spot-on.

Several films took the risky step of incorporating the fantastic into their storylines. After taking a few SAC classes myself, I know first-hand how difficult it can be to make anything other than a straightforward film set in reality. “Residual Dreams,” and “Grasp” were very different films with common themes of love and horror; these stood out because they truly pulled off the horror genre. “Cooking With the Stewarts”—based on the simple premise of a holiday special with several celebrity Stewarts, was absolutely hilarious.

Lightworks was just as good, if not better, than many previous film fests I have attended. No matter which film festival you attend, there will be a dichotomy of good and bad films, and the great festivals leave you with satisfaction. I came to Lightworks with few expectations of any kind, and after attending Fall 2013, I can say for certain that I will be back in the spring.