The Happiest Medium Review by guest contributor Anjali Koppal .

I’ll admit it — knowing nothing about horses and not being an animal lover, the only reason I initially jumped at the prospect of watching ‘War Horse’ was the fact that it is directed by Steven Spielberg. Not ‘Executive Produced’, not ‘Presented By’, but directed. A sensitive story of friendship set against the backdrop of war torn Western Europe sounded like the kind of familiar territory Spielberg has explored and indeed mastered in the past, so I was ready for the return of the magic. I’m happy to report that the sparkle still exists, though it doesn’t quite shine as brightly as vintage Spielberg.

‘War Horse’ is the story of Joey, a majestic thoroughbred horse that is born and raised in the English countryside in the loving care of a young boy, Albert (Jeremy Irvine, simple and earnest). In the course of events, though, Joey falls into the possession, in turn, of a zealous troop of British soldiers, a desperate German contingent, and a French family trying to live in peace amongst endless warfare. Each owner comes to learn in a new way how miraculous this horse is; from its staggering speed, to its feisty resilience, to its adorable sense of mischief. And each person who comes across Joey comes to love him with an intense passion. In the four long war years of grenades and gunfire and smoke and death, Joey brings a sense of hope, happiness, and calm to these individuals.

Given that the story is based on a children’s novel, it should not be of surprise that it is rather simple and predictable. So the good remain good, and the bad remain bad (until a life changing experience changes their mind, that is). This simplicity is endearing at first but can get tiring, especially when John Williams’ wonderful, soaring score leads into a scene that is beautiful, but expected. Also, the characters are severely one dimensional, leaving no space for the cast to spread their talented wings, though each delivers a solid performance within their limitations.

The story and setting allow for plenty of slow, sweeping moments, and Spielberg takes them all. These are gorgeous, especially when seen on the big screen, but one grows weary of them eventually, especially when they slow down the story.

Spielberg is most clearly in control during the war scenes. He holds the reins on the pace of these sequences, and your muscles tense and relax as per his directorial command. Spielberg also seems back in form during the scenes where Emilie (the little French girl with the distracting accent) is interacting with Joey, though these humorous, heart warming moments are all too rare.

All in all, ‘War Horse’ is a loving saga of friendship in the time of war, that allows for the occasional lump in the throat but has a seen-that-before feel to it. If you’re an animal lover though, ‘War Horse’ is probably a perfectly warm and fuzzy way to celebrate these holidays with the family.

~~~

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After leaving a screening of Black Swan, I, undoubtedly along with the rest of the audience, felt moved and disturbed by Darren Aronofsky’s new ballet thriller BLACK SWAN. A creative masterpiece yet again from the mastermind who brought us heart wrenching reality films like Requiem for a Dream and 2008′s The Wrestler.  However, this is Aronofsky at his absolute best.

The film, at the center of it all, is about what performers sacrifice to make great art. Everything else around it falls into place to tell this story with tragic, and logical detail. Nina (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina inside the exclusive world of dance in New York City. She lives with her overprotective mother (Barbara Hershey) and is so innocent and virginal, she is perfect for the role of the upcoming revised version of “Swan Lake”, creatively directed by Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). As she is cast in the role of the White Swan, her inability to let go and tap into her darker self to also dance the counter part of the Black Swan, begins to take its toll. At first, we understand this business of ballet is so strenuous and rigorous it is just constant pressure. However, as the film unwraps we realize Nina is losing her sanity, all the while dancing the Black Swan better and better. Added into the mix is new company member Lily (Mila Kunis) who is the opposite of Nina, carefree, free spirited, and wild. As Nina becomes unhinged and paranoid, she thinks Lily is here to take her role, and her love interest.  She also begins to see her face in other women, and has fantisies about self mutilation.

The amount of talent Aronofsky and his team have in creating this visual masterpiece is particulary fantastic. The sound is so claustrophobic, surrounding Nina and her mind, trapping them inside. The director also follows closely the very accurate demanding physicality of ballet; torn ligaments, bloodied feet, the stress, and the grueling schedule.

Black Swan is a film that will stick with you. It will, like the visuals Nina begins to hallucinate in her mind, manifest inside you, long after you have left the theater, and will make you think. The film’s ultimate tragic climax and simple tale of what a performer does for their art will haunt you undoubtedly, long after the film has finished, and the credits have rolled.

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The Happiest Medium welcomes our friends, fellow reviewers tinseltownspeople “Lazy weekend adventures in the land of make-believe… ”

Today they give us their take on Johnnie To’s  2007 film Mad Detective . . .

_________

Crazy, Awesome, and Crazy Awesome…

Few films delve into the human psyche with the incisive wit and stylistic panache on display in veteran Hong Kong crime auteur Johnny To’s ‘Mad Detective’. The film is a perfect example of that characteristic mix of dark humor and sublime beauty that Asian directors like To, and his other overseas counterparts like Chan Wook Park and Takeshi Miike, bring to the business of film-making.

To read the rest of their review, click on over to their site . . .

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I left a screening late last night of “I’m Still Here” disturbed, alarmed, and literally unable to sleep afterward.  The ‘documentary film’ directed by Casey Affleck centers around the retirement of actor and brother in law Joaquin Phoenix, and his decision to descend into a downward spiral into the world of hip hop. After two years of speculation, the film ultimately was not real, and more along the lines of films like “Don’t Look Back” and “This is Spinal Tap”. However, I am not sure where that leaves us.

It debuted this month at the Toronto Film Festival to scathing reviews, mostly questioning “Is this real or not”? and touching base on the disturbing images caught on camera in the 90 minute film.  As a long time fan of Phoenix’s work, I was really shocked and saddened that he planned to retire after Two Lovers.  Being as dedicated as possible to his craft though, he has spent the last two years taking us ALL on an original, mind blowing experimental ride. And by all of us, I mean -David Letterman, Ben Stiller, P Diddy, Edward James Olmos, etc. Affleck has yet to let the audience know which parts were real and which weren’t.  The drug snorting? The hookers? The home videos of Joaquin with his family in Panama?  But I suppose this is the ultimate message of the film. Documentary, performance art-whichever way you see it.  I’ve never seen anything like it.

I suppose in the end, that may just be the beauty of this whole experimental mockumentary. Also a disturbing and heartbreaking lesson on the quick rise and fall of fame, the media, and how cruel Hollywood can be.  If this is all truly a hoax, then this is definitely the best performance I have ever seen, because Phoenix as ‘JP’ followed me straight out of the theater, and I sincerely hope the film, and he get recognized for that.  I recommend  ”I’m Still Here” for those who can come with an open mind, and want to see first hand a story -true or false- about the ultimate disintegration of fame.

Check out the trailer:

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“Picture Me- A Model’s Diary” is the new documentary following the rise of high fashion model Sara Ziff, over the course of several years, by her then filmmaker boyfriend Ole Schell.

It first premiered  at the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival in New York, and it is shocking, honest, and disturbing.

What began as a more or less ‘hobby’ of filming everything–from backstage, to the catwalk, to traveling, daily errands, and everything in between– turned into endless footage, including several unsettling moments caught on tape by Schell. It reveals a side of modeling, that sadly, I am all too familiar with, along with many other former models who saw, witnessed, or experienced the ugly side of the modeling world for themselves.

Ironically enough these topics never graced the stylish, beautiful pages of VOGUE.

This weekend Picture Me makes it’s official New York debut at the Angelika Theater, and Ole and Sara Ziff (co-director, and model) will be holding a Q&A after each 7:30pm show this weekend.

I encourage any young woman who is interested in the modeling business to see this film, in addition to any one else who shrugs modeling off as ‘easy work’.  It won’t soon leave your memory.

Check out the film’s official trailer here:

~~~

Playing at:

Angelika Film Center & Cafe189 2nd Ave # 2S, New York, NY 10003-5782(212) 871-9093

• Directions

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*

*

*

*

“I’m scared.”
“Me too.”

*

“I’m confused.”
“Me too.”

*

“What just happened?”
“Liza Minnelli dance number.”
“Why?”
“….”

*

“It’s sort of like Alice in Wonderland.”
“Sort of.”
“Or the series finale of I Dream of Jeannie.”
“Sort of.”
“Or if there were an episode after the series finale.”
“Or an episode after that one.”
“A really atrocious one.”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”

*

“I’m done.”
“You’re dying?”
“No, I said, ‘I’m done.’”

*

“Whose butler is that?”
“No, that’s Miranda.”

*

“There’s something called Orientalism.  Have they not heard of it?”
“Who?”
“Them.”

*

“What about the energy crisis?”

*

“That’s just wrong.”
“That’s unbelievably offensive.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Who is laughing?”

*

“Whose fault is this?”
“Is it ours?”
“Sort of.”
“I’m literally stunned.”

*

“Is she wearing a parachute?”
“She’s basically wearing a parachute.”

*

“I’m dying.”
“You’re done?”
“No, dying.  I’m dying.”

*

“Didn’t that already happen?”
“It all already happened.”

*

“Is it over yet?”
“We still have another hour and a half.”
“But is it over yet?”

*

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It was great to see the crowd for this film at my local cinema last night. Yes, the reviews for this look like they are all over the map. But let it be said that without this fantastic casting (Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried-a powerful erotic, sexual trio), the glorious cinematography and the wildly gorgeous sound track, it might be all of what these uninspired critics are writing.  The film stays true to the original plot: a doctor thinks her husband is cheating so she hires a young beautiful prostitute named Chloe (a surprisingly excellent Amanda Seyfried) to seduce him, with an outcome that will make your mind spin, in pure Hitchcock form.

We live only a few miles from Canada by air but it might as well be Istanbul in the hands of this director (Atom Egoyan). Magically, the city of Toronto in winter is like another world, with a sleek modern feel that is alluring and cold and sad all at the same time. This is the perfect setting for a movie rich in the cloaked emotion of the upper class, lost in a deep, depressing freeze. Watching the film on a spring day in New York makes it seem even more unreal and foreign. In this landscape of ice, we see the characters emerge as modern people lost, alienated, hungry for love or even just a human touch. This is a movie of antithesis, and startling allusions of the duality between trust and fear, openness and truth and the hard fact of emotional illusion and mirror-like dreams. This film is a remake of the 2003 Anne Fontaine French film “Nathalie” and stays true to  the deep wave of surrealist magic still washing on the shore of French thought and culture. Yes, the ending is rather obvious (by some standards), but it won’t  crush your response. For those of you wide awake enough to enjoy this, you will be rewarded in ways that American directors rarely seem to reach. What I say is bravo! I believe that for these moments, such dreams are very real, and often have life-altering consequences. To feel such loneliness in a marriage, and within your sexual self, to long for a touch of someone-anyone-in this case, could have devastating consequences if taken too far.

Chloe is now playing at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema in Brooklyn, New York.

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Once upon a time, in Nazi occupied France…

is the tag line of Quentin Tarantino’s latest masterpiece, which debuted last year at the 62nd Annual Cannes Film Festival. The film goes by the name “Inglourious Basterds” and its title addresses the many cast of characters in this film who are out for some good Jewish revenge – the main reoccuring theme of this film.

It is no secret that this film was, by far, my favorite film of 2009 and that I am rooting for it to sweep up every Academy Award it’s nominated for this year, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Best Original Screenplay.

The film opens up with a French farmer and his family in the countryside, as the SS German command pulls up to interrogate Monsieur LaPadite, the dairy farmer,  regarding a missing Jewish family, which is believed to be hiding in the area (or under LaPadite’s floorboards). From here, in this brilliant opening scene-we meet a Tarantino handpicked Austrian unknown by the name of Christoph Waltz who brilliantly steps onto the screen as the evil SS Officer ‘Hans Landa’. From the moment we set our eyes on him, we realize that a. he terrifies us, and b. Tarantino certainly knows how to pick up an actor out of obscurity and turn them into something truly brilliant.

As Tarantino divides this film into 5 chapters,we pick up from there, where we ultimately meet the film’s leading heroine-who is the only survivor in the massacre of her family: French-Jewish ‘Shoshanna Dreyfuss’ (played by the EXQUISTIE Melanie Laurent-again, a Tarantino pick). We fast forward to her 4 years later in Paris, as a cinema owner; survivor-living under false papers, and with a secret and need for vengeance. During this sequence of events, we meet a young Nazi War Hero who ironically pursues Shoshanna at her theatre (played by Germany’s excellent Daniel Bruhl), and a group of American-Jewish soldiers,led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) who are in France to do “one thing, and one thing only – kill Nazis”. The brilliance of the Basterds is the fact Tarantino unwittingly changes history with them. He puts the underdog out: and not mindlessly, puts them ahead- out for revenge and well…Nazi scalps. Ironic?

As the film progresses we learn that The War Hero has a film premiere, financed by Joseph Goebbles, and they want it shown in Shoshanna’s cinema in Paris. What the Germans do not understand is that there is a subplot of British secret service officials, with the help of the German actress Bridget Von Hammersmark (German-American beauty Diane Kruger), to pull an “Operation Kino” and set fire while locking inside every single Nazi in attendance.

However, Shoshanna Dreyfuss, who never crosses paths with The any of the other “Basterds” has a plan of her own with her beloved black projectionist boyfriend Marcel (Jacky Ido). She too, will also allow the German High Command to her cinema, and sacrifice everything to end the war, by burning it down with everyone locked inside-seeking out the revenge that she longs for.

More so, the highlights of the film are mainly the brilliant, large cast. Lead by Waltz, Laurent, Pitt, and Kruger, the supporting cast is equally as emotional, affective, and/or terrifying. The excuciating opening scene at the dairy farm, is matched by a middle central piece of the film when undercover Basterds meet (Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Til Schweiger) to discuss “Operation Kino”, and are met with a very suspicious and intimidating Gestapo Officer Mahor Hellstrom (played by the INCREDIBLE, haunting German actor August Diehl). This tedious, and central scene to the film is a game of Schnapps, and underlying truths, and the cover is ultimately blown-not by a dead giveaway, but by Hellstrom’s talent to spot the “non German” hand gesture of the number “3″. As a result of this, much like Cinderella’s story- our favorite antagonist, Hans Landa, will seek out Bridget Von Hammersmark like a Cinderella who has lost her slipper. “Well, if the shoe fits, right”?

This takes us ultimately to Chapter 5- “Operation Kino”. Undoubtedly, the most touching, wonderful, and the heart wrenching finale of this film. This scene draws Shoshanna, the Basterds, the entire German High Command-including Goebbles, Landa, and yes-Hitler-into this event- in one room for what else? A glorious German propaganda film premiere. Dressed in all red, we see Shoshanna and Marcel prepare to end the war, on their terms, preparing their plan and death to the wonderfully matched, ironic theme song “Cat People (Putting out Fire)” by David Bowie. Shoshanna is a Jewish hero, a martyr even. Especially when applying her warrior makeup to a fitting, foreshadowing song in the background. We almost forget she is just a teenage Jew in hiding, who has carried this secret for 4 years. Laurent truly breaks our heart. Ultimately, Tarantino projects the power of what a film screen can project, but having Shoshanna lock in every single Nazi, and project on her cinema screen a film of herself. “A message for Germany” she delivers, and boldy asks the audience to look deep into her eyes as she says they are going to die. And why? Because she “is the face of Jewish vengeance”. What a powerful scene, as we see the reversal effect on the idea of revenge, as the cinema burns down into flames.

The plot seems far fetched, sure. It seems “plausible, but not really”. And it obviously did not happen. But the fact that Tarantino uses these characters to show a deeper meaning-that of humanity, war, and the power of cinema is an achievement of its own. So much so, that the film just works. Within the many intertwining almost-themes of “Inglourious Basterds” , revenge and ultimately the downfall of revenge and how it breeds to no good is a final verdict of the film. The war does end, on this night in Paris, but not everyone wins, and not without consequences. That is the beauty of Tarantino and his work. His detailed camera work, rich colors of emotions, editing, casting, and song choices make this film a must see.

During the final shot of a literal point of view angle, Lt Aldo Raine (Pitt and his Basterd solider, BJ Novak) stare directly into the camera after capturing and “carving” Hans Landa, and state “This might just be my masterpiece”. If this echos true to reality, this indeed is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece.

**Now showing at the Landmark Sunshine Theaters in Manhattan.

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Brosnan and McGregor

“The Ghost Writer” is the latest film by Polish-French genius director Roman Polanski. It is a sleek, stylish, and smart political thriller that has channeled Hitchcock in ways that no one has done, since…well-Hitchcock himself. Like the master, Polanski sets his tone through ominous music, and bases this on a central character-an innocent who struggles to find truth, and gain control of a living nightmare.

The film begins with Ewan McGregor as “The Ghost” (a name is never revealed) who has just landed a jackpot payday when he is tagged to finish the memoirs of the former Prime Minister of Britain, Adam Lang (played by a witty Pierce Brosnan). After being shipped over the pond for the following month, he quickly finds himself isolated on a small island with Lang, the angry wife (spicy Olivia Williams), and the head of Lang’s personal affairs and also his mistress Amelia (Kim Cattrall-who is refreshingly not Samantha Jones in this). Soon after it is revelaved that Lang is now accused of illegal rendition of British prisoners, by the CIA. No one is on this man’s side- why should they be? But The Ghost is still here to pen his memoirs, as his only allie. As more mystery is built up as the film runs, The Ghost wonders “what have I gotten myself into here”? and begins to fit together pieces of a puzzle left behind by the previous writer, Mike, who washed up dead on the beach shoreline two weeks earlier. This leads The Ghost on a personal hunt and mission, intentionally leading him in the wrong direction.

What is so great about this film is the tedious work and planned out thoughts of Polanski himself. Not to mention a stealth cast who sets the bar to the highest. In addition to an incredible McGregor, a sharp Brosnan, and two female supporters who take us by storm (Williams and Cattrall) , he surprises us with many notable cameos throughout the film. Including 94 year old veteren actor Eli Wallach, Timothy Hutton, James Belushi, Polanski’s daughter Morgane as a hotel clerk, and a brilliant Tom Wilkinson- as a man with ‘some sort of ties’ to Lang and this whole ‘secret’- but we the viewers, do not know what.

It should also be noted that Polanski in fact edited the film in prison, and in reflection of that-the film shows it. It is dark, grey, and holds intruige, and sadness. The climax is a Hitchcock-ian twist, that is excellent, well executed, and shocking. The jabs at the US political system, scandals like Haliburton and even Tony Blair are also reflected in the director’s vision-which mark him as nothing short of genius.  Last month he was awarded the Best Director Silver Bear (Silberner Bär) at the Berlinale Film Festival, in Berlin as well.

I might also add that Clint Eastwood cast the veteran Eli Wallach as a cameo in his 2003 comeback director film ‘Mystic River’. A sort of a good luck charm Wallach seems to carry, he is also featured here. Let’s hope it brings a new light to this director, and hopefully a fresh start and new revival of a magical career for Roman Polanski.

The Ghost Writer is now playing in NY and LA, and will expand to more theaters this Friday.

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“I gave God a chance to kill me…”

The White Ribbon is the latest film by Austrian born director Michael Haneke. Those who are familiar with Haneke know that he is a fan of long, detailed shots (Cache), and violence (Funny Games) to express and communicate to his audience. But his latest film Das Weisse Band (The White Ribbon) which is nominated this year for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars steers us in a ultimately different direction: to that of a pre-World War 1 black and white Germany … stimulating a breeding ground for hate, fascism, and events to come later in this country.
But the true theme of The White Ribbon is simply evil. A brilliantly put together careful and cautious analysis of pure evil.

The film takes place shortly before WW1, and showcases a large cast of adults and children who live in a tiny village in North Germany. Strange events begin to happen in this village; a series of violent, mysterious actions and it has the villagers wondering why, and even more … WHO? Narrating the story is our “do gooder” local school teacher, now grown and elderly-as he lays out a description and narrative of the events that happened in this time and era. We do not know WHY, HOW, or WHO-no one does-and don’t expect to get an answer in the end.

In fact, I was extremely underwhelmed by the ending. I knew once the credits had rolled I missed something. I knew it was powerful, visually speaking of course, but I could not shake the feeling of these images-these stories of the children and the adults, and the secrets of their families. I wanted an answer, and the brilliance of this film lies in the 2 hours or so you will spend reworking the film in your head AFTER it ends as you look back on the simple, violent events and try to draw a conclusion or an answer of some sort. Something unnerved me, something was definitely in the air in this film-and it was meant to be felt- in the aftermath. Much like the suggestion and underlying tone of these manipulative, neglected children who will grow up to be the fascist adults in Nazi Germany. They come from a breeding ground where adults can sin, and children can get away with anything.  The symbol of the white ribbon is tied around their arm-worn as a punishment for actions-only to be taken off once they are deemed “pure again”.

This film is a masterpiece, and no wonder it won this years coveted ‘Palme d’Or’ at the Cannes Film Festival. It carries a simple message-of a time, a place, and these people. It foreshadows events later to come, and it rattles you. It will shake you, and it will move you, and ultimately its message will take hold of you and not let go.

The White Ribbon is now playing exclusively at Brooklyn Heights Cinema, in Brooklyn, NY.

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