Friday 29 July 2011

Grave of the Fireflies ★★★★★



To celebrate the release of Studio Ghibli’s latest film, Arrietty, in UK cinemas we’re taking a look back at some of the studio’s classic with a Video Vault series.

Patrick Gamble takes a look back at the 1988 war film written and directed by Isao Takahata, Grave of the Fireflies. Check back over the next week for more in this series.

Grave of the Fireflies appears as somewhat of an anomaly when rummaging through the Ghibli back catalogue. Whilst the franchise’s other serious features such as Princess Mononoke and Nausicca   have tackled adult themes, they have done so through subtle symbolism, softened against a fantasy backdrop. Grave of the Fireflies, however, is so emotionally charged that its raw and unflinching approach in its portrayal of warfare demands it be taken seriously.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Studio Ghibli Top Ten



With the impending release of Arriety later this month, we here at Flickfeast are taking a little time out to celebrate the work of this much cherished studio.  Each new Ghibli release is shrouded by a mist of childlike excitement and a palpable level of anticipation from both young and old alike. Yet, unlike all those dissatisfying Christmas’s of your childhood, these enchanting films very rarely manage to disappoint.

Lazily described by many as the Disney of Japan, Ghibli films can now be found in almost any entertainment store on the high street and are readily available online.  Spirited Away undoubtedly forced Ghibli into the consciousness of a wider audience, but heralding it as a ‘breakthrough hit’ would be a disservice to both this wonderfully magical film and the studio which created it. Indeed, Ghibli has a dedicated following who have been enjoying their enthrallingly immersive output throughout the 26 years the studio has been running. Fingers crossed then that the imminent retirement of Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t stifle the studios creativity and we can continue to bask in the delightful world of Ghibli for many years to come.

See the top ten here

Arriety ★★★★☆



Much loved by adults and children alike, Studio Ghibli’s contribution to the world of cinema has so far been a continually welcomed dose of adult friendly childhood fantasy which, continues to accelerate beyond the now seemingly redundant benchmark Disney previously set for hand-drawn animation. Last year’s Ponyo (2010) managed to mesmerise audiences with its charming retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, so with Arriety similarly adapted from a much loved children’s classic (The Borrowers) it would be fair to say that expectations are high…

Monday 25 July 2011

Ophelia Lovibond Interview



London’s Empire Cinema in Leicester Square was transformed into a glacial grotto of childhood fantasy for the Gala Screening of Jim Carrey’s new family friendly film Mr Popper’s Penguins. Amongst the bountiful buffet of sweet treats and stuffed penguins toys, there were numerous celebrities all here to join in with the merriment. Unfortunately the child friendly kick off time of 10am resulted in a rather lowly collection of ‘famous’ guests but Flickfeast readers will be happy to learn that Asher D, once of so-solid crew can pull of a mean penguin impression, whilst hard man, slash ice skating dancer Donal McIntyre revealed he has a softer side, something his gritty documentaries may lead us to believe otherwise, and TV chef Aldo Zilli (no? Me neither) is taking up a healthier lifestyle and leaning towards vegetarianism, conveniently coinciding with the imminent release of his new vegetarian cookbook. Indeed it wasn’t the star studied feast of guests normally associated with such gala events but  in attendance there was one of the film’s stars, the stunningly beautiful Ophelia Lovibond. The only cast member to make the early morning screening, Lovibond was pleasant enough to spare a little time to answer some questions for us, before quickly being whisked away moments before the film began.

Friday 15 July 2011

One small step for a man, one giant leap backwards for Science Fiction



On the 5th August, Super 8 will finally hit our shores, riding on a wave of critical praise from the other side of the Atlantic. Its combination of eighties youthful nostalgia (Stand by Me, Goonies) and Spielgburg-esque science fiction (Close Encounters, E.T) looks set to titillate young and old alike. However, Super 8 also acts to highlight the growing trend of modern Science Fiction taking its influences from the past. Whilst seemingly going against the grain of the genre’s forward thinking philosophy,  it’s a welcome relief from the recent influx of movies which have forgone the subtle underlying warnings which made Science Fiction such a stalwart of seventies and eighties cinema .

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Monday 11 July 2011

Animal Kingdom ★★★★☆


First time director David Michod attempts to expose the gritty underbelly of Australia’s Inner city life in this, his raw and uncompromising debut - Animal Kingdom.

Friday 8 July 2011

Norwegian Wood ★★☆☆☆


Often cited as an un-filmable classic, Haruki Murakami’s much loved bestselling novel, Norwegian Wood, is now available to buy on DVD after a director was finally found who was willing to accept the challenge and adapt this poisoned ‘paperback’ chalice. Anh Hung Tran’s film provoked predictable whispers of discontent from Murakami’s considerable fan base upon its theatrical release but do the film’s fortunes any better now the critical dust has settled or will its purported inability to convey the book’s deeply emotional subtext condemn it to the same cinematic wastelands as other failed adaptations of celebrated literary works?

Set amongst all the social unrest, demonstrations and vandalism which occurred during the student riots of 1960s Tokyo, we join Watanabe (Ken’ichi Matsuyama), an undergraduate who despite his calm and peaceful exterior has an internal conflict gnawing away at his conscious. His heightened depression shares the same degree of amalgamated frustration and anger as the disenfranchised protestors causing chaos outside of his isolated existence, yet unlike his contemporaries, he seems unable to physically express himself in any noticeable way other than through his sullen appearance and self-imposed solitude.

He’s haunted by his past, which was devastated by a singular tragic incident. The suicide of his closest friend, whilst enough to affect any young man’s life, has left him emotionally tied to Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi), the deceased boy’s then girlfriend who, even numerous years after that fateful day, is still very much a fragile and troubled girl who never fully recovered from the death of her childhood sweetheart and the feelings of rejection which came with it.

The arrival of Midori (Kiko Mizuhara), a fun loving and free spirited university student, only exacerbates Watanabe’s complicated attachment to Naoko and leaves him with a moral decision to make as to whether he should continue to let this dependant relationship with Naoko stand in the way of a future with Midori. Either answer will undoubtedly result in some degree of heartbreak, but will Watanabe’s inner struggle afford him the courage to make such an emotionally monumental decision, or will he continue to torment himself with these feelings of guilt and misery?

As adaptations go, Norwegian Wood is surely one of the most difficult to attempt. The story is almost entirely told through 30-year-old Watanabe’s flashbacks, extended memories and internal monologue – a narrative technique that’s understandably difficult to convey on film whilst also maintaining an immersive sense of reality.

Tran’s translation of this multi-layered, poetic love story may well fail to capture the true extent of the characters’ existential struggles, but a film should always be able to stand alone and not purely be judged on the original source material which inspired it. Accurately recreating a novel is no mean feat, cuts need to be made to condense the story into an easily manageable format which encapsulates the feel of a story, a near impossible task as inevitably each reader has their own personal interpretations. However, Norwegian Wood’s failing is not how dismissive it is to the source material but rather how hard it strives to literally recreate the prose word for word.

The skilful cinematography of Mark Lee Ping Bin uses the strikingly beautiful Japanese countryside to create a dreamlike backdrop of intoxicating visual splendour, which only becomes amplified the instant Tan’s good looking cast become gloriously framed within it. There is little doubt that this painterly presented, hypnotic and visually alluring interpretation of Norwegian Wood is a cinematic equivalent of photographic art – like twenty four painstakingly hand drawn masterpieces being rushed in front of our eyes every second. Combine this with Johnny Greenwood’s captivating score and you have a technically accomplished piece of filmmaking which could easily be presented at any film art college as an example of how to use the medium to create something far removed from the drudgery of television or the formulaic approach of Hollywood.

However, a film must rely on more than just its ability to titillate the senses and also manage to affect us in deeper, less superficial ways. This introspective romance relies heavily on its sublime visuals to portray the emotions of its cast. It’s not to say the acting is poor (at times, it’s very accomplished), but rather a reflection of how the film has been far too strict with its use of dialogue, stripping the minimal conversational pieces out of the original book and failing to add anything else which may have helped communicate the film’s more subtle and personal moments.

Such a deceptively simple story really isn’t suited to a film which lasts over two hours. As a piece of literature, Norwegian Wood’s emotional story works perfectly. Each time the reader picks up the book, they feel like they’re following a diary of a man’s downward spiral into depression on a day by day basis. Some painful yet necessary cuts to the script would no doubt prevent the film from straying towards monotony. The frame narrative of Watanabe’s relationship with his wayward friend Kizuki (Kengo Kora), despite adding a comforting rest bite to an otherwise depressing story, could easily have been removed and acts as a prime example of where sacrifices could have been made. At the expense of the audience members unfamiliar with the book, Norwegian Wood’s attempts to appease its loyal fans has not just alienated those new to its desolate love story but, at the same time, angered those who hold its tenderly heartbreaking tale so close to their hearts.

Whilst this sumptuously bleak love story should rightly be heralded as a technically assured piece of filmmaking, its striking prominent visuals can only hold your attention for so long and the film’s repetitive and subdued approach will ultimately test the patience of even the most dedicated of art house fans. Perhaps not fully deserving of the clichéd responses from some critics who heralded it as a case in point for ‘style over substance’, the film’s atmosphere of resigned sadness and its melancholy facade of emotional numbness does become quite contagious towards the end.

An Ordinary Execution ★★★☆☆


Ripped straight from the pages of his own 2007 novel, director Marc Dugain has created an ambitious, slow burning and incredibly uncomfortable portrait of life under state control in Joseph Stalin’s Russia.
Anna (Marina Hands) and her physicist husband, Vassilli (Edouard Baer) are trying desperately to conceive.  However, whilst home life may be filled with the constant throws of marital passion, most of Anna’s time is consumed by her contrastingly distressing role within the local hospital. During a time when Jewish doctors were being forcibly expelled and seemingly innocent people disappearing without a word, tensions are at an all time high. With the accompanying paranoia leading to a less than happy work environment, Anna’s life couldn’t be any more fraught with fear and danger.

Anna’s beautiful appearance and popularity with the local patients (due to the rumoured healing aura which radiates from her hands) has made her the chosen target of this unrelenting mist of hatred which now consumes the infirmary’s corridors. One day, to her terror, two officers dressed in dark overcoats come looking for her at the surgery and insist she accompanies them.

However, the car transporting Anna drives past the renowned Moscow interrogation centre and she soon finds herself in a dimly lit, ominously empty waiting room inside the Kremlin. After hours of patiently waiting, it becomes apparent she is here to see Stalin. The renowned dictator offers her a position she neither wants nor can refuse. It’s an incredibly secretive position which involves working closely with the fascist Soviet oppressor and, much to her dismay, means having to reject her old life – including the husband she loves dearly – in a vain attempt to save not just him but her whole family from certain death…

This intoxicating chamber piece manages to create an atmosphere of fear and impending misery through dialogue and framing alone, in what is truly an accomplished piece of drama with strong overtones of historical importance neatly presented on a bed of highly original fiction.

By creating a fictitious world for his events to unfold, director and writer Marc Dugain has managed to avoid the usual constraints which normally surround historical epics, leaving him with free reign to present his story without having to succumb to the rigorous facts and recorded truths of the history books. An unyieldingly strict approach can often hinder the enjoyment for those viewers unwilling to accept such a strong factual focus in lieu of any added erroneousness strands otherwise injected to titillate whilst driving the narrative forward. Anyone with even the remotest knowledge of Russian history is aware of the monstrous events which Stalin implemented, so having such a well established villain as the central antagonist means the script can forgo the usual time consuming and arduous task of back-story building, an element of storytelling which can often be detrimental to the overall enjoyment of a film. Instead our focus is strongly set on Anna, allowing us plenty of insight into this deeply tormented woman’s life, which only enhances the extent of her emotionally exhausting journey.

Tremendously shot through a plethora of drained lifeless colours, and against a backdrop of shadows, the film’s cinematography perfectly reflects the atmosphere during this desolate time of oppression and anxiety. The sympathetic use of framing perfectly captures the mood which encases the film’s two central characters, allowing the actors to fully explore their roles and thus creating a set of enormously accomplished performances which ultimately carry the film.

Marina Hands is utterly mesmerising. Without having to say a word, she manages to convey a wide range of emotions through subtle use of body language alone. Her expressive face could convey even the darkest of burdens with relative ease and is relied upon numerous times throughout this slow but thoughtful film. However, it’s Andre Dussolier in the role of the repugnant dictator who steals the show with his colossal on screen presence. Seeming like the devil in a trench coat, Dussolier radiates a sinister demeanour that sends an instant chill through your bones the moment he appears. The few attempts at humour injected into this fierce leader’s lines come across with an uncomfortable tone that’ll you’ll find yourself laughing at, not through genuine amusement but an uncomfortable mix of fear and duty. Such a role could easily have fallen into pantomime villainy, yet instead manages to convey the human side behind the truly malevolent actions of one of the 20th century’s most predominant figures.

However, a gripping script and strong performances cannot carry a film alone. And whilst moments like Dussolier reading direct Stalin quotes, such as “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic,” is undoubtedly powerful stuff, An Ordinary Execution does suffer from some weak direction. It’s clear that Dugain’s strength lies in his wonderful ability to write genuinely immersive dialogue, but the film itself has seemingly been created using very formulaic and workmen like techniques, with none of the flare shown in the script being translated visually. As flaws go, it’s hardly the most damning of criticisms; however, it does prevent the film from transcending the genre of period drama into something more necessary, ultimately leaving it in the no man’s land between high concept television and engrossing cinema.

For the two central performances alone, An Ordinary Execution should be classed as a must watch, with both leads pulling off incredibly moving and intense portrayals that cry out for greater recognition. Unfortunately, as a complete film, An Ordinary Execution fails to make the most of it impressive acting talent and immaculately crafted script, which sadly feels like a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise enthralling exploration into this dark period of history.

Angele et Tony ★★☆☆☆


When it comes to portraying unconventional relationships French cinema has the market well and truly cornered. Perhaps due to our stereotypical perception of their overly zealous and liberal approach to love and sex, French cinema has always seemed to continually deliver high quality films covering a wide range of romantic entanglements with a refreshingly naturalistic and open-minded style. Whether it’s the ill-fitting match up of a repugnant older man with his young trophy wife or the splendidly nonchalant approach to threesomes, French cinema seems to have no shame when it comes to passions of the flesh and Angele et Tony with its touching love story between two very unlikely individuals fits this mould perfectly. 

Saturday 2 July 2011

Top Ten Polish Movie Posters



 Last year’s elegant and beautifully crafted posters for Black Swan amazed passersby with their unconventional style and profoundly rebellious take on the now very formulaic marketing approach of distributors.


Film posters now are far more than just advertising tools to seize the attention of potential viewers. There’s now a complicated formula to their creation. Big star’s agents often demand their clients name be positioned higher than their co stars, whilst a galaxy of star ratings and carefully selected quotes from prestigious magazine and newspapers frame the faces of the films instantly recognisable cast.

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Angels Crest ★★★☆☆



American independent cinema currently seems to thrive on small town misery. From Winter’s Bone to Wendy and Lucy, never before has the gapping wealth divide in the U.S been so exposed. Now adding her voice into this choir of human sorrow is UK film director Gaby Dellal with her sophomore effort Angels Crest.