Sometimes we watch stuff that we want to talk just a little bit about, not a full review worth. These are those films. We’ll also note any particular recommendations we have that are available on Netflix Instant Watch in either the US or Canada by putting a direct link below the capsule.
Senna
(4.5/5)2010 UK. Director: Asif Kapadia. Starring: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Frank Williams
Riding a wave of critical and commercial success (it’s currently the most successful documentary of all time in terms of British box office), Senna tells the very public tale (if you followed the sport in the 80-90′s) of legendary Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna who died on the track in 1994. My father being a big fan of the sport and myself having a passion for cars at the time I can still remember the day even though I was only 12. It was a shocking moment which paved the way for many changes to the sport. By somehow talking the FIA and Senna’s family into opening the vaults on a seemingly vast amount of candid footage as well as reels covering many of his major races, director Asif Kapadia (The Warrior) has pieced together a riveting piece of cinema using purely this archive material (and a few old and new interview soundbites).
By focusing almost solely on Senna’s rivalry with fellow driver (and sometime teammate) Alain Prost and the politics of the sport driven by Jean-Marie Balestre (the FIA president at the time), the film, like a lot of modern documentaries, plays out like a great work of fiction. There are heroes, villains, plot twists and high drama. By keeping this stance and not drifting off into stories of Senna’s childhood or his love life, the film retains a gripping narrative that, like United 93, becomes increasingly painful to watch as you move closer to the inevitable horrific conclusion. Despite his occasional cockiness, the famously fiery driver is incredibly charismatic and it’s heartbreaking to have to witness his actual death after being reminded of his achievements. Most moving is the passion he inspired in his home country of Brazil, which was under tremendous strain at the time. When it’s people were suffering he was one of the few countrymen who managed to achieve great things and he was much loved for that.
It’s an excellent documentary that doesn’t require the viewer to have any prior knowledge or interest in the world of Formula One, just an interest in watching narrative-led works of non-fiction. Highly recommended.
-DAVID
Snowtown
(3/5)2011 AUSTRALIA. Director: Justin Kurzel. Starring: Daniel Henshell, Lucas Pittaway.
One of the most divisive and controversial Australian films in years, Snowtown tells the story of the countries most infamous serial killer: John Bunting, a man who prayed on the prejudices of a deeply underprivileged South Australian community to get away with the torture and murder of at least eleven people in the late nineteen nineties. Misery hangs over this film like a disease; first time director Justin Kurzel frames the productions unspeakable, often unwatchable scenes of violence and sexual molestation with an unsettling stillness that reflects the disgusting social apathy present in the back-water community that plays host to the repulsive crimes. It is nearly impossible to recommend a film like Snowtown; it is not enjoyable, enlightening or meaningful. But it is mesmerizing in its execution, and the acting, especially from Daniel Henshell as Bunting and non-actor Lucas Pittaway as his young accomplice, is first rate. Those with the stomach for it will find much to appreciate in Snowtown. I for one never want to see it again.
-TOM
The Woman in the Window
(3.5/5)1945 USA. Director: Fritz Lang. Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey, Dan Duryea.
Even though Fritz Lang never achieved the heights of Metropolis and M after he moved to Hollywood, his crime films, which would become textbook examples of film noir once that term was invented, remain a cut above most other crime films of the era. This one focuses on middle-aged professor Edward G. Robinson, who uncharacteristically wanders the streets late one night, captivated by a painting of a woman in a shop window when the model for the painting (Joan Bennett) happens to walk by. They chat and return to her apartment, where another man enters violently and Robinson is forced to kill him in self-defense. The rest of the film follows their attempts to cover up this crime, no easy matter as Robinson is close friends with the investigators on the case and Bennett is threatened with blackmail. Bennett plays her character on the verge between femme fatale and innocent victim of circumstance, a nice choice for the film, while Robinson is great in his part – he’s a lot more versatile than just the gangster-type parts he’s best known for. The film’s major weakness (and it is major) is the very ending, a bit that seems tacked on to mollify censors, but that apparently Lang actually wanted it that ending all along. It’s pretty lame, but the rest of the film is so solid, it’s hard to get too upset.
-JANDY
it! (USA)
A Perfect Couple
1979 USA. Director: Robert Altman. Starring: Paul Dooley, Marta Heflin.
Though I’ve yet to see all of Altman’s films, I can’t help but think that this is his biggest misfire. And yes, I’ll even include “Popeye” in that list. Dooley and Heflin play a couple who begin the film on their first date and progress towards a serious relationship that is hampered at many different points by their smothering families. Dooley’s is run by a dominating father who controls, almost moment to moment, the lives of each family member. Heflin is a singer in large band who live, practice and tour together and are run by a controlling, dominating front man who, almost moment to moment…You get the picture. Dooley’s family is, if completely ridiculous, at least reasonably entertaining (particularly because of the always great Titos Vandis and Henry Gibson). Heflin’s storyline, though, is downright unwatchable. First and possibly foremost is due to Heflin herself – I know she’s smothered by the band, but she plays the whole film as if she were a zombie (and not one of those fast moving varieties) and the moments when she is performing her backup singing duties would be laughable if they weren’t so jaw-droppingly bad (again, I realize the character is disengaged from her circumstances, but you have to really see it to believe it). Of equal badness is the music being performed by her band (with the completely terrible name of “Keepin’ ‘Em Off The Streets”) which is offensively bland and was dated before the sound waves even reached the first eardrum. You can’t purposely write music this bad, so you know they actually thought it was good. It’s an important thing to point out since it is a very major part of the film and many songs are performed in their entirety. If all that wasn’t bad enough, Dooley and Heflin have no chemistry – not once did I believe that he actually wanted a second date (even as an excuse to get out of his house) nor could I see a reason why she would even consider accepting. He’s annoying and uninteresting and she’s a limp piece of celery. I watched the making of featurette on the DVD and I still just don’t know what they were thinking.
-BOB
Fright Night
(3.5/5)1985 USA. Director: Tom Holland. Starring: Chris Sarandon, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, William Ragsdale.
The time seemed ripe to finally catch up with this campy classic except when I finally curled up with Tom Holland’s film, I came to realize that it’s nowhere near as campy as I had been lead to believe. This story of a horror movie loving teenager who discovers his new neighbour is a vampire, certainly has a few moments of cheese and never takes itself too seriously but it also doesn’t poke fun at itself. I kept expecting something that would make me shake my head in pity but instead, I found myself engrossed in the story. Sure, it does have some funny moments and the 80s are on full display (something which made me giggle on more than one occasion) but I loved the practical effects and the wolf transformation which looked badass. It was fun to see Amanda Bearse in an early role but I was mostly taken by Chris Sarandon – that man looked great in the 80s. The near sex scene between Sarandon and Bearse was also unexpected and yes, a bit steamy. A good bit of fun.
-MARINA
it! (CANADA)
Phase 7
(3.5/5)2011 Argentina. Director: Nicolás Goldbart. Starring: Daniel Hendler, Jazmín Stuart, Yayo Guridi, Federico Luppi
With all the praise I’ve read for this Argentinian indie, I had expected some sort of brilliant take on the apocalypse-by-contagion scenario but Nicolás Goldbart’s film doesn’t really provide anything new – just an interesting take on a familiar story. The film stars with the outbreak of a contagioun spreading through the city. Coco locks himself and his 7-month-pregnant wife Pipi in their appartment to wait out the disease. At first, the duo seem quite happy to simply stay inside and let it pass but as time progresses and the situation stars to worsen, Coco finds the need to go searching for additional supplies and with the help of his apaprently conspiracy-crazy neighbour Horacio, they start looting through the neighbours’ appartments. Tensions rise, people die and eventually a decision must be made: stay or go. I really enjoyed Goldbart’s film, particularly the sense of humour that features prominentely in the film’s first half, but at the end of the day, I had some pretty serious issues with some of the basics – like why there was still power and water when it looked like most of the city had been ravaged by the spreading disease – but even with these problems, I still enjoyed Phase 7.
-MARINA
