Film Review Round Up Vol. 4

Queen of Katwe (2016)- Directed by Mira Nair

Based on a true story, Disney’s Queen of Katwe follows Phiona (Madina Nalwanga), a young girl living in Uganda with her mother (Lupita Nyong’0). Her world completely changes when she is introduced to the game of chess by a youth worker (David Oyelowo) the film follows her rags-to-riches esque story as she fights through prejudice, self-doubt, and poverty to strive for her dream of being a chess champion. It’s a feel good film overall but definitely an emotional rollercoaster you can be laughing one minute and on the verge of tears another. I absolutely loved this film, the performances by all the cast are fantastic and it has a brilliant credit sequence at the end. Definitely go and support this film while it is out in cinemas!

Fan (2016)- Directed by Mannish Sharma

I was intrigued to watch this film after watching Mark Kermode’s favourite films of the year so far video on youtube. I was mostly interested because I saw the film starred Shah Rukh Khan who I’d previously seen in the 2001 film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham playing both the older and the younger characters in the film. The CGI alone in this is great, both characters are believably different ages whilst also looking identical, which is impressive to pull off. Shah Rukh Khan is fantastic playing two completely different characters, both the obsessive stalking fan and the idol. The film is a bit silly, traveling all over the world (who knew you could get a train from Kings Cross, London directly to Dubrovnik, Croatia?) and featuring crazy action sequences. It doesn’t really say anything new with its analysis of fan culture but it’s definitely an enjoyable watch.

The Lovers and The Despot (2016)- Directed by Ross Adam and Robert Cannan 

I was interested in the idea of this documentary after watching the trailer, it seemed like such an absurd story especially to be one that is based on real events. The basic premise is that using secretly recorded tapes of Kim Jong-il as well as interviews with some of the people involved. The documentary recounts the story of how in 1978, South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her ex-husband, filmmaker Shin Sang-ok were independently kidnapped by film-lover North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and were forced to make films in order to improve the North Korean film industry. The film has you hooked throughout like a real-life thriller, It explains their brainwashing, their lives as prisoners for 7 years and their amazing escape from North Korea. It is terrifying and fascinating to watch.

What have you been watching lately?

Selma 2014 Review.

Directed by Ava DuVernay (I will Follow, Middle of Nowhere), Selma follows the campaign in 1965 led by Martin Luther King Jr to secure equal voting rights by marching from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama.  The film is nominated for best picture at the Oscars this year.

One of the main aspects I really liked about this film was the juxtaposition shown between domestic life and the racially motivated violence. It was deeply disturbing how integrated this violence was in their lives and this was shown through the clever editing of this film showing scenes of Martin Luther King being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and an act of terrorism inter cut together. King’s wife Carlotta King (played by Carmen Ejogo) describes in the film the “fog of death” hanging over their lives and this really hammers home the very personal struggles for King’s family.

David Oyelowo’s performance as Martin Luther King Jr was brilliant. He really captured King’s presence, charisma and presence but also his human nature. There was a great interview with David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay recently that said they wanted to show King had an ego, he had faults and that simply he was a human man. I think that’s something important to remember. That he was an ordinary person who stood up for civil rights.

As well as humanising King, the film was very human centred. It showed the happy, communal spirit of the movement, it showed family and friendship but it also showed the extreme brutality from one human to another. Whilst this was heartbreaking, I did like that the violence was not sugarcoated. They made it clear that it was unprovoked, cold blooded murder based on prejudice. In that way the film is very powerful and moving.

I also liked that Ava DuVernay decided to add more women into the film when she became director. She said in a recent interview that it would be lying to show a film about the civil rights movement that didn’t include women because they have always been such a vital part of it. I think having that representation of women in this way is vital. Ava DuVernay is the first black woman to ever be nominated for a golden globe for best directing and she was nominated for Selma. I think that is a great step and that the film is brilliant.

The film is particularly relevant given the events in Ferguson over the past six months regarding police brutality against black people. Watching this film knowing this and how in many ways little has changed was completely heartbreaking. It’s easy to look back at the civil rights movement at this time and demonize the people who caused this kind of oppression, racism and brutality so that you can separate yourself from them and know you’re not like that but it’s important to remember that the civil rights movement is still not over.

Berlinale 2015

Last week I had the great opportunity to go to Berlin film festival with my University course. We were only there 2 full days so I didn’t get to spend a lot of time at the actual festival unfortunately. But from the time I  did spend there I can say that there’s a really great atmosphere and love of film, particularly in the main area of the festival Potsdammer-Platz. I would love to go next year for a full week if I can! I was able to see two films in total.

I also saw Ava DuVernay (Director of Selma) and David Oyelowo (plays Martin Luther King Jr in Selma) after they did a press interview regarding the film. It was a great interview, DuVernay touched on some great points about the film and its Oscar nomination. I remember in particular her comment on not getting nominated for best director and that everyone else seemed more upset about it then she was. I for one, definitely think she deserved a nomination!

Nena

 I actually ended up seeing this film by accident. I had tickets for a film called Koza but got lost on the trains in Berlin and missed it. Fortunately the way the festival works is that half an hour or so before the screening you can ask at the venue for spare tickets. This is how I ended up seeing Nena. I went into the film knowing nothing about it but ended up really enjoying it. Directed by Saskia Diesing, the film is about a 16 year old girl (called Nena) who is confronted with her paraplegic father’s wish to die. Despite having such a serious topic as the basis for the story it’s on the whole lighthearted and funny at times. The character Nena played by Abbey Hoes was a very honest representation of a teenage girl. She falls head over heels with a boy and spends most of her time trying to look cool. I also particularly liked the relationship between Nena and her father, the actors had great chemistry and they played well off of each other. Another interesting aspect of this that was mostly lost on me due to just reading the english subtitles was that the film jumped between the characters speaking Dutch and occasionally German when Nena speaks to her father. I just wonder what effect that has on a German or Dutch speaking viewer. Overall, I thought this was a really great film and I’m glad I watched it. 

H.

 This film is one that I still can’t quite get my head around. It was incredibly strange. The film is split into four chapters and essentially it’s about two married women both named Helen. One is an older woman who has a baby doll but treats it like a real child. The other is much younger and pregnant. Both don’t have very happy marriages. Something happens that is never really explained that sets off lots of surreal things in this film. People start disappearing and strange things start happening to the two women. I wasn’t really a fan of this film but I did find it interesting. The sound in particular was excellent, it had a great score and sound design. It also had a lot of great and disturbing imagery about motherhood. I’ve read that many aspects of this film relate to and play with greek myths and legends. Overall, I think this is one that if you like films that mess with your head you will like this.