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Reviews
Mambo Italiano (2003)
I wanted to like this... But I'd recommend giving this "exploitative bubblegum" a miss
I heard of this film when it first came out, but only came across it a couple of days ago in the weekly section at my videostore, so I eagerly took it home and watched it, but I just didn't think this film was anything special. A couple of the problems were: 1. "To be gay and Italian is the worst thing imaginable" (or something similar), was said several times by both Angelo and his sister, but I find this ridiculous... How about being Muslim and gay? Or even Anglo and gay? Straight Anglo men are much more sexually repressed than most (Continental) European men, even the somewhat homophobic ones... When I lived in Italy while studying at University, there were a few culture clashes I experienced, among them the way even totally heterosexual men are towards each other - it's not unusual for straight men to kiss each other hello, to sleep together in the same bed wearing nothing but underwear, and it's not weird for, say, a grandfather and grandson to walk together hand-in-hand when walking home from school, the park, etc.
From an Anglo perspective (I'm Australian, so my background is Anglo), what's the first thing we would think? Seeing an old guy holding a little boy's hand? The first thing that would pop into our head is "paedophile", turning it into something distasteful, and even after learning that there is nothing untoward going on, it would still make most repressed Anglo people uncomfortable to see it or to do it... For the two guys kissing each other hello and goodbye or two guys in bed together? We'd think "gay", or maybe "closet gay", turning it into something sexual in both cases, and once again, something distasteful/negative in the second example. Italians are much freer than we are, and there is still homophobia in Italy (as there is everywhere), but since when are Italians more homophobic or less free than Anglo people? I'd say they're much freer than us, if anything.
2. Given how similar the two languages are, why would Italian immigrants who have moved to Quebec, a French-speaking country, be speaking English and not French? Come to think of it, they barely spoke any Italian, either. It's especially odd that the parents didn't speak Italian at least some of the time, especially with each other. With the children, it's probably more understandable that they don't speak Italian, though it's much less understandable that they wouldn't speak French as their first language (though as I said, it would've been so much easier even for the parents to speak French than for them to speak English).
3. Why were ostensibly Anglo actors playing the two central Italian-Quebecois characters? Are there not Italian-Canadian actors in Canada good enough and available to play these roles? Answer: The only thing I can come up with is that this was a film made by Anglos for an Anglo audience. It's for this reason that it was in English rather than the more natural French, why Anglo actors play Italian roles and why nobody speaks a word of Italian other than one word ("omosessuale" = homosexual, though in those contexts I would have thought they'd say "finocchio", or something similar), and why it seems to be based on non-existent social norms, stereotypes they seem to have pulled out of the air just for this film.
For all of these reasons, I found this film to be a real disappointment, and I couldn't in good conscience recommend this film to anyone... I know how hard it can be to get a film made and what a labour of love most films are, but this film didn't seem to have any soul whatsoever. If anything, it just felt like bubblegum... and illegitimate, exploitative bubblegum, at that.
I'll give this three stars, which are for the actors who played the families, especially Angelo's mother and father, Ginette Reno and Paul Sorvino. Without them, I would have wanted to give this exploitative bubblegum this a fat zero.
Blood (2004)
What an Amazing Film which I Almost Never Heard Of!
This brilliant and under-rated film is about a brother and sister in their twenties who reunite after five years, during which time the brother stayed away from his sister, supposedly the "bad one" in the family. The sister lives a wild life, having previously used drugs and prostituted herself. The brother turns up on her door one busy night and, because of various circumstances, they find themselves in a situation in which they explore, in detail, their feelings for each other, and finally admit something neither thought they would ever be able to admit about themselves - that they are in love with each other, and always have been... Indeed, the sister makes a comment along the lines of "everyone thinks that you're such a good boy and I'm so bad, but I know the real you, Chris, and you're every bit as bad as your sister".
Despite the rather harsh themes dealt with by this film, it actually becomes a beautiful, touching portrayal of an unusual and forbidden relationship, and the audience is put in a position of wanting the brother and sister to get together.
I was amazed by how good this film was. Admittedly, I do love Canadian films generally, but this one really touched me in a profound and meaningful way. I give it 10/10.
Ha-Buah (2006)
Utter tripe
Eytan Fox, whilst generally leaning on the apologist side of Israeli politics, has made several quite interesting films in the past such as "Walk on Water" and the simply wonderful film, "Yossi & Jagger". In "The Bubble", however, he has taken this illogical and unfair approach to the extreme.
Far from giving this film a standing ovation, the people at the screening I attended quietly got up and left. I also quietly left, fuming with anger at such a ridiculously one-sided film that translates self-preservation as racist bullying, and racist bullying (and terrorism) as outbursts of justified anger; which implies that Arabs are so wronged by the evil Israelis that they react in anger to a constant stream of one-sided Israeli aggression against them, and that they, therefore, should not be held responsible for their actions.
This film wasn't worth the money I paid for the ticket (indeed, I considered demanding my money back), and was basically an Israeli apeing of the Palestinian film "Paradise Now". If you want to be an anti-Israeli, then by all means watch this film, as it really justifies just such a belief system. The fact that this film was made by an Israeli director and, even worse, such a talented Israeli director, is a crying shame. Indeed, just how Israel can be surprised to be regarded as a pariah State when Israelis themselves make such anti-Israel propaganda, beggars belief.
What a shameful, horrid little film!
Harry + Max (2004)
Very brave, and stayed with me for weeks afterwards
I felt that this was an amazing film, and very, very brave indeed considering that this film has probably the most blatant and non-judgemental theme of consensual incest that I have ever seen in a film.
I felt that it was let down by its ending, as well as by the massive age difference between the two characters (also with the age of the secondary character of the teacher)... but this film still stayed with me for weeks after I watched it. Even as I talked to people at work, I kept getting flashes of the scenes from the film, and I don't think that has happened with any other film, so on a whole variety of levels it definitely worked. It's just a pity that the filmmaker confused the already very taboo storyline of a consensual incestuous relationship between two brothers by making one so young and by making such an age difference between the two.
I also felt that the ending let the film down, because there was no consummation of the relationship and desires between the two brothers. Perhaps I'm being perverted, but I really felt unsatisfied that they didn't end up together, or at the very least to fully consummate their relationship; it just felt false that they wouldn't have (a glaring example being the scene towards the end where Bryce Johnson's character is naked on the bed).
I would still give this film a 9 out of 10, but it could have been just so much better with a better ending and if they had've made the brothers aged 18 and 20-something (then they would have been 16 and 20-something when they began the relationship)... and even if they were to end up apart, I just felt it could've been explained better.
Lastly, I loved Bryce Johnson's character and I felt so sorry for him at the end as he seemed so utterly sad, helpless and alone at the end of the film.
Kin (2006)
A very tender and intimate portrayal of a highly taboo relationship
This was definitely the best of the "Short and Taboo" section at MIFF... actually, it was probably the best short at MIFF, full stop.
The acting was absolutely amazing, the two leads said so much without saying a word, and while this was one of the strengths of this short, the lack of dialogue was also what let it down in some ways too, as I didn't even realise that it was their mother at the beginning of the short until I saw the credits, and then I said to my friend, "Oh, was the mother at the start of the film?". Perhaps a little exposition, such as a voice-over, may have made this small criticism unnecessary.
Overall, however, I found this an incredibly affecting, tender and extremely intimate glimpse into a very taboo relationship, and it was this tender storytelling which helped the audience to not simply make a snap moral judgement of the relationship, but to instead watch the film and experience the relationship between the two leads (brother and sister)... and then to discuss it in detail afterwards! :)
When Two Won't Do (2002)
An absolutely amazing documentary on the subject!
I was very pleasantly surprised to see this documentary on the TV (here in Australia!) the other week.
"When Two Won't Do" is a documentary about polyamory, which refers to relationships between more than two people. It is an absolutely amazing documentary on the subject!
I missed the beginning 25 minutes or so, but the rest was absolutely fantastic. It showed the difficulties, the joys, the successes and failures of two people, Maureen & David, exploring polyamory, with one particularly sad and moving occurrence involving the death of one of their partners.
I would definitely recommend this documentary to anyone who wants to know more about polyamory. I can't speak highly enough of it!
... I'm just hoping that SBS will screen it again sometime so I can see all of it, including the first 25 minutes that I missed!
The Doe Boy (2001)
A truly beautiful film
I am deeply in love with this film, and each time I watch it I love it even more. I truly look forward to seeing more from its writer/director, Randy Redroad. I fear that, living outside of America, however, I may have trouble finding his work... but I hope this will not be the case!
From beginning to end, "The Doe Boy" exudes a powerful, yet non-sensationalistic and understated spirituality that many films would do well to emulate.
The story concerns Hunter, a mixed-blooded Cherokee/White young man with haemophilia ("a white man's disease"), and his struggle for identity and for a sense of power over his life. Throughout the film he struggles with a difficult relationship with his father, made worse by Hunter's inability to play sports, to help his father work on his car, or to, as his name suggests, hunt (which is also a favourite pastime of his father). Along the way his grandfather, a full-blood Cherokee, gently assists him by telling him tales of their history and explaining his own way of viewing the world.
Hunter's father manages to persuade Hunter's overprotective mother to allow him to take Hunter deer hunting and Hunter, thinking he sees a buck, instead commits the social faux pas of killing a female deer, earning him the nickname of "Doe Boy". Giving away further details may lessen the experience of the first viewing, so I will not describe the other major plot developments that take place in this film, except to say that Hunter is left even more alone and powerless in this world, and calls upon the strength and wisdom of his grandfather to guide him to find the inner strength, courage and self-reliance to take the hand life has dealt him, and to become a true warrior and Cherokee brave.
I am still unclear as to the implications of the ending, however that does not make me love this film any less; perhaps the film maker intended to leave the ending somewhat open, given the nature of the events and circumstances that preceded it.
Without a doubt, this film - as beautiful, deep and soulful as the warpainted eyes of James Duval as the Cherokee brave of some of the final scenes of the film - is a must-see for any fan of James Duval or of modern, Native American-themed cinema. As a fan of both, I would like to thank both Mr Redroad and all the people who participated in the making of this film, for making available something so beautiful and touching, for the world to experience. I believe that James Duval may well be remembered for the role of Hunter Kirk for the rest of his career. This is a truly beautiful film, which I would very, very highly recommend.