jabse Reviews

The War (1994)

More complex that it seems: Tough subjects treated with sensitivity and good acting. Haunting.

[8/10 · 11 August 2015]

Though on the surface it might be seen as yet another movie about poverty in Mississippi (which is, by the way, the poorest State in the US) or about the impact of the Vietnam War on the family of veterans, "The War" exceeds expectations on several fronts: presentation, complexity, candidness, and good acting. The story is narrated from the point of view of 12-year old Lidia, played excellently by Lexi Randall, with the acceptance kids usually have at that age ("…we are dirt poor, like everyone else in Juliette, Mississippi" - she tells us right of the start). Though she is white, she befriends two black girls the same age, sharing social condition and taste for music, with some hiccup due to her use of language blacks don't like others to use on them. She is "tough" as kids in that environment usually are, yet "girlish" in step with her age. She is the one sensitive enough to realize how others feel and has the guts to naturally stand for them, though she struggles to understand her father. Her brother Stu, about the same age, played impeccably by Elijah Wood, is eager, as most boys at that age are, to get close to his father, and in the period they manage to do it he puts is heart in the basket, at great risk. The father, also played impeccably by Kevin Costner, is troubled by war nightmares and the lack of a stable job, but has the courage to eliminate violence from daily living, aiming to show it to his kids by example, against the pressure for violence from the environment they live in, and to be as good a father as he can in the given circumstances. The kids are at the front of events throughout the film, and the story brilliantly shows us how a rivalry with a group of poorer and tougher kids, centered on the use of a tree house made by the former with materials stolen from the latter, gradually escalates into a dangerous "juvenile war", much the way political conflicts often escalate into wars among nations. "No matter how much people think they understand war, war doesn't understand people", the girl concludes; thus we all lose. The War goes on at several levels: Kids fighting in the forefront, Vietnam in the background, and the inner struggles of the main characters, being this latter what truly gives depth to the story. Drama is sparkled with hope, humor and coziness, the way it is in life, with very few cheesy scenes. This movie is more that entertainment: it triggers our critical thinking, our capacity for understanding, and leaves a haunting feeling long after is done. Recommendable as a family film for discussion, meaning kids 12 or older with some level of maturity. Not for younger kids.

The House of the Spirits (1993)

Interesting adaptation of Isabel Allende's fascinating best seller

[8/10 · 19 July 2015]

This film is an interesting adaptation of Isabel Allende's best seller by the same name. An interesting story, beautiful landscapes, well developed drama and characters delivered by a great cast. Jeremy Irons excels as Esteban Truebas, the tough and contradictory landowner, and Merryl Streep is a wonderful Clara, light, breezy, spiritual, as the character in the novel. Excellent performance of Glenn Close as well as the sacrificed spinster who cares for her mother while her brother is busy trying to achieve his ambitions. Barely good but certainly not outstanding is Antonio Banderas as Pedro, with excessive "hard handsome macho revolutionary looks" at times. Less fortunate acting by Wynona Ryder, who spoils the character with her overly adolescent posture. The film compacts three generations into two, understandably for the development of characters in a movie. A couple of failed aspects, however. First, the complex Chilean political situation at the time is simplified almost to a family affair, something the book does not pretend to do. The malice of the military establishment seems random, devoid of planning and intelligence, but whoever knows the Chilean history (and his ferocious but cunning leader) is aware it wasn't at all like that. And second, the most important miss in the movie: lack of humor. Precisely the brilliant achievement of Isabel Allende's novel is telling a highly dramatic story with a delightful and ironic humor throughout. Yet the movie moves from one drama into another, with just a few moments of respite (therefore becoming "heavy" and at times hard to swallow), and has practically no humor other than a few scenes at the beginning. A pity, because with such a story and the excellent delivery by the cast it could have been a truly great film.

Al otro lado del túnel (1994)

Slow, but with deliciously intelligent dialog, keen, full of irony - A MUST SEE

[10/10 · 2 October 2005]

This was Fernando Rey's last movie as an actor, he died shortly after. And what a way to say good-bye. The plot is rather simple: two screen writers, one old and accomplished (Rey), the other one in the learning curve, but young and smart, hide away in a monastery to escape writer's block and concentrate on a piece of work they must do against a tight time line. But against this simple plot, both men confront the essentials of live: one's work and creative art, love, lust, youth and aging, and ultimately, death. Their task and sense of duty is constantly challenged by the pleasures of life, landscape, food, the enjoyment of a walk in the country, and the final and definitive distraction: a mysterious, sensuous woman.

What makes this movie is the dialog, one of the most intelligent, picaresque, ironic dialogs of any film. Shot against a beautiful landscape.

I've seen it twice, and I've decided to buy it. A must in anybody who loves good intelligent films, out of the ordinary.