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Reviews
Paperback Hero (1973)
A Snide Commentary on Canadian Identity
I discovered this film several years ago and much of it has stuck with me. The director, Peter Pearson, sets out to do a back-door comparison of the Canadian and American West by examining a small-town hockey hotshot and his delusions of grandeur. Keir Dullea of 2001: A Space Odyssey fame plays the protagonist, whose swagger is both out of touch with the reality of contemporary living, but is also based on the fictions of the "Wild West"--hence the film's title. If life isn't going to be more exciting, he's not opposed to forcing it a little bit so he can play out his fantasy of being an American bad boy in a sleepy Canadian farming town.
This film beautifully illustrated the hazards of adopting an identity that was never our own.
Emporte-moi (1999)
An Excellent French-Canadian Drama
This is a sometimes touching, sometimes disturbing, and sometimes funny look at a girl's transition from childhood to womanhood. Hanna's (the main character) life story closely mirrors the development of Quebecois society, and the film's 1963 setting furthers that idea. Hanna is caught between her father's Jewish background and her mother's traditional, Catholic upbringing. She spends her summers in rural Quebec while living in the rapidly changing city of Montreal. Also, she is influenced by Jean-Luc Godard's now-classic Vivre sa vie, and Hanna attempts to emulate the behaviours of that film's prostitute protagonist. This is a film very concerned with the beauty of self-expression while also acknowledging the challenges such pursuits present to us all (seen especially in the father's tormented dream of being a poet). Though the film deals with some very traumatic subject matters, it also leaves us with a glimmer of hope that is beautiful in its ambiguity.
Lea Pool's direction wavers between high degrees of realism and stunning experimental styles, and she weaves them together seamlessly to reflect Hanna's state of mind. Lovers of classical cinema will certainly enjoy this film. Some of the camera work--such as the film's opening few minutes, and Hanna's flight through the streets of Montreal--are nothing short of spectacular.
Finally, the acting of the film's central three characters (Hanna, her father, and her mother) is exceptional. Hanna's exchanges with her exhausted mother are genuine and heartfelt, while the fits of rage directed toward her father are equally so. Both parents play their roles with enough pathos to be convincing, but they stay well away from overacting or exceeding what the script requires of them.
Young people may struggle to identify with the themes of the film, but a slightly older audience will certainly be left with much to reflect upon.
28 Weeks Later (2007)
An Illogical, Dizzying Mess
At least the premise is still effective. The direction was a mess, however, and I found myself feeling sick at numerous intervals in the film (the first time it's ever happened to me). Also, there are far too many completely illogical holes in the concept of the film that make it far less believable than the first.
Carlisle is solid as the dad who survived, but the rest of the characters are quite dull. I really wish they had cut out some of the plot devices and put a little more effort into humanizing the whole situation. That's what made the first one work: the surviving humans were far worse than becoming infected! In this one, that same theme is missing.
Here's hoping they don't bother with another sequel.
The Aristocrats (2005)
A Poor Documentary of a Poor Joke
As a stand-up comedian, I was very much looking forward to this film. I was very disappointed.
The movie begins with a brief history of the joke, as told by several notable comedians. Since this seems to be a trade only, inside joke, none of the comedians have any real history to the joke except that it is (to paraphrase): "something that I heard this one time in {year} from {comedian's name} while waiting to go on stage in {city}." This is the part of the film that really succeeds, as it is a fairly insightful look at how folklore develops, especially among an exclusive group of tradespeople. It is the celebrated joke of the celebrities.
Unfortunately, the joke itself does not require a comedian to tell it. Anybody with a decent knowledge of any language and said language's taboo words (as Eric Idle's German version demonstrates) can do this "joke." The joke does not reveal anything about comedy, is not an exercise in liberty (most comics have similar versions in the film), and the film does nothing to elaborate on what purpose the joke serves in the repertoire of a comedian.
In terms of the film's visuals, they are terrible. The lighting is amateurish, with many of the comedians' faces shrouded in shadow, thereby eliminating their practiced expressions from the telling of the joke. The editing is awful as well, with most of the jokes cobbled together - often one word at a time! Not only does that detract from the teller's persona, but it leads us to believe that they edited out the individual flavour. As was previously mentioned, most of the comics had a similar version once it was all edited together.
This film neither leaves the viewer with any interesting questions, nor does the filmmaker seem to care. They spend the entire time off-screen, laughing hysterically at the comedians' interpretations of the joke.
The problem is, I have no idea what they are laughing at.