ENTERTAINMENT
A FRESH LOOK AT OUR CHANGING WORLD
February 18 - 24, 2011
11
Movie Review: Poetry
Korean Director Lee Changdong’s latest is excellent
BY JOE BENDEL
These days, there are probably
more people writing poetry than
buying it. Hoping to find solace
through the creative process, Yang
Mija would also like to join the
ranks of the former. The stylish
60-something cleaning lady will
need consolation as she faces the
greatest trials of her life in writerdirector Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry.
Yang’s life was never exactly
easy. Caring for her churlish grandson Wook (Wookie might be more
apt) in the place of his absentee
mother, she somehow made ends
meet as the visiting half-maid/
half-nurse for a randy old man
partly incapacitated by a stroke.
Yet, she always saw the beauty in
life, until two shocks fundamentally upset her world in quick succession. Following her doctor’s
diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s, she
is stunned to learn her grandson
and his mates have committed a
horrifying crime with tragic consequences.
Though she has trouble remembering commonplace words, Yang
seeks refuge in poetry, enrolling
in an adult education course and
attending a regular poetry recital
(as a spectator only). Unfortunately, the words just will not coalesce
into a proper poem. Yet, as we see
the notes she makes in her journal,
she certainly seems to be capturing
something rather lyrical.
As with his previous film, Secret
Sunshine, Lee forces his female
protagonist through an emotional
gauntlet. However, Poetry is a
far less grueling viewing experience, largely due to the mature
elegance of Yun Jung-hee, the
celebrated Korean actress returning to the screen after a 16-year
absence. While she evokes Yang’s
tremendous fear and confusion,
she beautifully maintains the
character’s sense of mystery, never
fully revealing how much she has
lost mentally nor what her explicit
intentions are in several key scenes.
It is a richly nuanced performance
that hints rather than tells.
Former minister of Culture and
Tourism for the ROK, Lee is more
of an actor’s director than a visual
stylist. Yet, the artful composition
of the film’s final scenes are truly
striking, unlike anything previ-
ously seen in Sunshine or his debut
film Green Fish. Indeed, the film is
not misnamed, ultimately delivering a poem of genuine grace (even
in translation), perfectly framed
during Lee’s masterful endgame.
Already a festival darling, Lee
has produced his deepest, fullest
work yet in Poetry. It is an elegantly written work that fits together
perfectly, despite its deliberate
ambiguities. While never showy,
Yun is absolutely devastating
and as realistically grounded as a
screen performance can possibly
be. Korea’s baffling decision not
to choose Poetry as their official
foreign language Oscar submission
can only be explained by politics.
Had they done so, it probably would
have been one of the frontrunners.
An excellent film, Poetry opens on
Wednesday February 23rd in Irish
Cinemas.
SUBTLE DRAMA: A
scene from the Korean
film Poetry
A look at the 2011 Oscar nominated shorts
LIVE ACTION
BY JOE BENDEL
ANIMATION
TANEL TOOM
The best of this year’s Oscar nominated
Live Action Short films have a measure of
faith, including two sympathetic Catholic
priests and some old world Greco-Roman
paganism. A fair number of angst-ridden
young kids also populate the final five
live action contenders.
LUKE MATHENY
BROOKLYN TALE: A scene from God of
Love
The class of the field comes from
Brooklyn, where everyone is too cool for
love, except the frustrated protagonist of
Luke Matheny’s God of Love, Raymond
Goodfellow, a crooner of standards and a
highly ranked competitive darts thrower.
That certainly adds a unique dimension
to his nightclub sets. Unfortunately, the
chemistry with his band is a bit off. He
is head over heels for his drummer, but
she pines for Goodfellow’s best friendguitarist. Much to his surprise, his ardent
nondenominational prayers are answered
in the form of a box of magic darts that
render their target romantically vulnerable for six hours.
SCARECROW: A scene from The Confession
gothic. Sam is a good kid—so good in fact,
he worries about not having anything to
say at his first confession. Unfortunately,
his buddy Jacob is only too willing to
serve as the devil on his shoulder, suggesting a practical joke with a farmer’s
scarecrow to give Sam something to confess. When the prank goes awry, it sets off
a tragic series of events that will cost Sam
dearly.
However, the priest is never portrayed
as a moralizing caricature. Rather, he
seems quite decent and well meaning.
Indeed, Sam’s failure is so disturbing
because the priest obviously believes in
grace and forgiveness. Nicely executed
IVAN GOLDSCHMIDT
DOCUMENTARY
It is quite the literate field for this year’s
Oscar nominated animated short films.
Two are based on acclaimed children’s
books and one was inspired by the creator’s travel journal. All three are accomplished films, worthy of the ultimate
prize.
If The King’s Speech sweeps this year’s
Oscars, perhaps it will pull along Jakob
Schuh and Max Lang’s The Gruffalo along
with it. After all, it features the voice talents of Helena Bonham Carter as a mother
squirrel, who tells her children the tale of
a rather resourceful mouse. The rodentprotagonist scares off various forest predators with tales of his supposed friend,
the dread Gruffalo. Much to the mouse’s
surprise, the Gruffalo really exists, looking pretty much as he described, but with
the voice of Robbie Coltrane. While older
viewers will probably have a good idea
where Gruffalo is heading right from
the start, it is a charming film with some
rather clever bits of business, wholly
appropriate for all ages.
While Shaun Tan and Andrew RuheJAKOB SCHUH AND MAX LANG
IAN BARNES
RWANDA: A scene from Na Wewe
MAKE A WISH: A scene from Wish 143
Witty and likeably neurotic, Love
clearly suggests the influence of Woody
Allen, but writer-director Matheny shows
wise restraint, never trying too hard. As
Goodfellow, he also sounds rather agreeable on Irving Berlin’s All By Myself. Deftly mixing sly humour with unabashed
romanticism, it is definitely a winner,
regardless of what the envelope says.
The unfortunate young protagonist
of Ian Barnes’ Wish 143 also has trouble
fulfilling his desires. The local wishgranting charity keeps offering to introduce the terminally ill patient to a British
footballer, but he would much rather meet
a woman. In a pleasant surprise, Wish
probably represents the most sympathetic
portrayal of a priest on film this year. Jim
Carter, poised to breakout in America for
his work as Carson the butler on Downton
Abbey, invests the good hospital chaplain
with genuine warmth and humour. A bit
pat but deeply humane Wish is a perfectly
nice little short.
Despite sharing some similar elements
with Wish, Tanel Toom’s The Confession
is moody, even approaching the point of
by Toom, Confession is a film of considerable substance.
While Ivan Goldschmidt’s also tackles
the dark side of human nature, the Rwandan morality play falls short of its earnest
intentions. Most problematically, the gimmicky plot twist comes perilously close to
trivialising the 1994 genocide. Definitely
the weakest of the programme, Michael
Creagh’s The Crush might have been conceived as a statement about violence, as
well. Yet, given the lack of consequences
in the story of an Irish schoolboy infatuated with his teacher, it is hard to really
MICHAEL CREAGH
IN YOUR HANDS: A scene from The Gruffalo
mann’s The Lost Thing is also based on a
children’s book (written and illustrated by
Tan), it is told from the reflective perspective of a man of somewhat mature age
wistfully looking back at a mysterious
event from his childhood. Discovering
some sort of alien or fantastical creature
at the beach (apparently a mollusc in an
armoured tea kettle), the narrator tries to
figure out what to do with this new friend
the adult world tries it best to ignore. A
strange but gentle fable, Thing is visually
arresting and surprisingly meditative. It
is easily the most substantive of the ani-
BASTIEN DUBOIS
STYLISTIC ANIMATION: A scene from
Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage
mated nominees.
Stylistically, Bastien Dubois’s Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage is by far the
animated line-up’s most distinctive work.
Employing watercolour and sketches of
varying degrees of sketchiness, Dubois
vividly brings his travel journal-scrapbook to life, animating episodes from his
yearlong sojourn through Madagascar. In
terms of story, it is a wee bit thin. Indeed,
it could easily serve as a promotional film
for Madagascar’s Tourism bureau, but its
graceful élan and spirited vibe distinguishes Carnet apart from the competition.
The only real clunker amongst the
nominated field is probably the leading
contender, Geefwee Boedoe’s one-note
didactic anti-capitalist polemic Let’s Pollute. This year’s Pixar slot was filled by
Teddy Newton’s Day & Night, which is as
safe and pleasant as one might expect.
Rounding out the animation program
are two short listed titles that did not
make the final cut. Bill Plympton’s The
Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger was
probably selected simply on the basis of
the filmmaker’s reputation. In contrast,
Moritz Mayerhofer’s archetypal Urs is a
striking work that might have benefited
from a bit more narrative muscle.
This is a stronger year than usual for
Oscar nominated short form animation,
with at least three very strong films still
in contention. Indeed, the combination
of Gruffalo, Thing, and Carnet (and to a
lesser extent Urs) makes the animated
programme well worth seeing.
SHAUN TAN AND ANDREW RUHEMANN
PUPPY LOVE: A scene from the Irish short
The Crush
discern any deeper significance.
As with most Oscar categories, the
nominated Live Action Shorts are a
mixed bag. God of Love is a blast, but one
wonders if it might ultimately be too hip
for the Academy—and yet here it is still
in-contention and earning new fans.
Confession is also an impressive piece of
filmmaking, whereas Wish 143 boasts
some very fine performances.
DEEP ANIMATED FILM: A scene from The Lost Thing
Music Briefs
Between war, terrorism, and environmental degradation, this year’s Oscar
nominated short documentaries have a
nightmare scenario for just about everyone. However, the better nominees also
find hope where they can.
Jed Rothstein’s Killing in the Name was
born in tragedy. Co-produced by Carie
Lemack, whose mother was murdered at
the World Trade Centre, Name profiles
Ashraf Al-Khaled, her fellow terrorism
survivor and co-founder of Global Survivors Network. Al-Khaled will tell you
Islam is the religion of peace and he has
earned the right to say it. On his wedding
day, a suicide bomber targeted the Jordanian hotel hosting his reception, killing
his father and in-laws. Since then, AlKhaled has become an outspoken critic
of Islamist terrorists, challenging other
Muslims to speak out more forcefully. As
he reminds them, it is their co-religionists
who are most likely to be the victims of
their attacks.
While outwardly unassuming, AlKhaled will boldly confront anyone in his
quest to de-radicalise Islam, even “Zaid,”
an al-Qaeda recruiter. Not surprisingly,
Zaid proves to be a craven coward, refusing to meet Al-Khaled, instead consenting only to answer his questions through
Rothstein. Yet, it is not just al-Qaeda that
glorifies wanton killing. The attitudes of
children at an Indonesian madrassa are
downright chilling. Frankly, Al-Khaled
sounds like he is kidding himself when he
speaks of planting seeds of doubt in them,
but again, he has earned the right to a little self-deception at that point. Though
only 39 minutes, Name is easily one of the
most illuminating documentary examinations of terrorism to play the festival
circuit.
THOMAS LENNON FILM
POPULIST CHALLENGERS: A scene from
The Warriors of Qiugang
Like Al-Khaled, Zhang Gongli also
fights to make the world a safer place. A
farmer in Central China, Zhang became
a self-taught legal activist, who challenged the chemical plant poisoning
in his region as well as the local Communist Party authorities that protected
it. Aided by a Chinese environmental
NGO, Zhang’s struggles are documented
in Ruby Yang’s The Warriors of Qiugang.
Eventually privatised, the serial polluting
began while the plant was a state enterprise. Indeed, it was the local Party that
first turned a gang of thugs loose on the
village in an attempt to intimidate the
activists. It would be a strategy the plant
would repeat, with the local authorities’
acquiescence.
Though largely compatible with the
no-frills observational approach of the
so-called digital generation of independent Chinese filmmakers, Warriors also
features occasional grimly stylised animated sequences. It is a searing indict-
ment of the Chinese government’s hypocrisy, not simply in terms of environmental
protection, but even more fundamental
human rights. While hardly concluding
with everything happily resolved, it is
definitely an encouraging David-andGoliath story.
For inspiration, none of the nominees
can compete with Strangers No More.
There is a country where immigrants fleeing war and civil strife finally feel safe
enough to allow
KAREN GOODMAN AND KIRK SIMON
HANDS UP: A scene from the Israeli
documentary Strangers No More
their children to enroll in school (in many
cases for the first time ever). That country is Israel. Yes, the irony is not lost on
the teachers of Tel Aviv’s Bialik-Rogozin
school, where students from 48 countries
find a safe harbour every day. Focusing
on students from Ethiopia and Sudan,
we see Bialik-Rogozin’s Hebrew immersion strategy pay dramatic dividends.
Clearly, what they do at that school works.
Though Goodman and Simon avoid making the obvious point, it is worth noting
you will not find a comparable institution
anywhere else in the region.
Inspiring and disturbing in equal
measure, Name and Warriors are excellent films, highly recommended in any
context.Jennifer Redfearn’s Sun Come
Up. Following a group of South Pacific
Islanders who must relocate due to rising
sea levels, reportedly the result of global
warming, Redfearn wisely does not overplay the environmental card. While it
raises a few interesting anthropologicalsociological issues, ultimately the film’s
POV figures simply are not as compelling
as those of the other nominees.
Strangers is a totally grounded, legitimately feel-good movie, also enthusiastically recommended. Unfortunately,
it plays with Sara Nesson’s Poster Girl, a
film top-heavy with the director’s agenda. It profiles Sergeant Robynn Murray,
who was once on the cover of ARMY
magazine, thus making her the poster
girl for the war, at least if you were a
serviceman or retiree who saw the magazine and somehow still remembers it.
While Nesson’s approach borders on the
exploitative, it is certainly heartrending
to watch as Murray learns firsthand how
problematic government-run healthcare
truly is. (In contrast, the Renaud Brothers’
Warrior Champions stands as example of
how to sensitively address PTSD, without
turning it into a political football.)
Indeed, Name, Warriors, and Strangers each provide real insight into the
state of the world and a small measure
of hope that average people can have a
constructive impact on big macro-level
problems.
The Grapevine
Dublin’s International Jameson Film Festival
James Franco: could he be the
new Oz?
Kate Middleton: one princess, two dresses
February 17th - 27th
The Jameson Dublin international
Film Festival which is Ireland's premier
feature film festival opens on Thursday
February 17th and will run until the 27th.
Over the 11 days and nights, the Jameson
Dublin Film Festival will bring more than
120 movies from the four corners of the
globe to the Irish Audience. Taking place
throughout Dublin City, the Films are
shown in all of the city’s cinemas. Most
Upcoming Oscars co-host and Best Actor
nominee James Franco, 32, is rumoured to
be in early talks to take the lead role in Disney’s prequel movie to The Wizard of Oz,
titled Oz, the Great and Powerful, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
So far, the role was offered to Robert
Downey Jr., followed by Johnny Depp. Neither has signed on to the film. No release
date has been set for the movie, but production may begin later in 2011.
Royal wedding watchers will
apparently get to swoon over not
one, but two wedding dresses on
April 29th, when Kate Middleton
marries His Royal Highness Prince
William.
British fashion designer Bruce
Oldfield, speculated to be one of
the top contenders for designing
the royal wedding gown, told Good
Morning America correspondent
of the movies screened are Irish premiers while some will see their only Irish
screening during the festival.
Every year the Jameson Dublin Film
Festival bestows the Volta Award to outstanding individuals for their contributions to the world of film. Some previous
winners include Gabriel Byrne, Daniel
Day Lewis and Thierry Fremaux. The
award is named after for Ireland’s first
dedicated cinema, the Volta Picture Thea-
tre on Mary Street in Dublin.
This year’s films include movies that
portray Iraqi children as more than just
victims of war and allows their imaginations to run wild, to horrors about spine
dwelling creatures that attack when people are frightened. With over 120 movies
to choose from there will be something
that appeals to everyone.
For more information and tickets see
www.jdiff.com
Elizabeth Vargas emphatically
that Kate will have two dresses on
the day of her wedding.
He also gave away a few more
hints about the ceremonial gown,
stating, “I’m sure the dress is going
to be modest. In terms of coverage,
it has to be. It will have sleeves. It
has to have sleeves. You can’t walk
down Westminster Abbey in a
strapless dress.”