Review XCIII - Naked

Review XCIII
Naked (1993)

Hey everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? I can't say I've been that busy, but I haven't had time to sit down and watch films in a while. Plus a bunch of personal issues rose while doing examinations, so everything went crazy. Now it's almost Christmas and I haven't watched a single Christmas film! It's okay - instead I offer you a film that, well, is nothing like Christmas. Ladies and gentlemen, here's my review of Mike Leigh's Naked starring David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, and Greg Cruttwell.

Johnny (Thewlis) is a cynical (and probably depressed) Mancunian man who is on the run after raping a woman. He heads to his ex-girlfriend's house, Louise (Sharp), where she rooms with Sophie (Cartlidge), a lonely woman, and Sandra (Claire Skinner), a nurse who is overseas with her boyfriend. However, his mannerisms and thoughts do not get him a particularly warm welcome, except from Sophie, and he finds himself exploring a degraded city and meeting its degenerates, at least according to him. All the while the tenants' landlord, Sebastian Hawks (Cruttwell), is coming to visit.

I watched this film in three parts with quite a distance between each viewing, so my review will be lacking a bit given that I had a bit of difficulty in trying to catch everything when I had forgotten some parts at the beginning. Nonetheless, I will try for you guys. I can tell you that, overall, this film is one depressing piece. I'm not really sure I get the "black comedy" Wikipedia is selling it as since I didn't find it particularly funny. In fact, there was no part in the film that made me laugh out loud - and I can have a pretty morbid sense of humour at times. But anyway, back to the film. I'm not from England and I've never even been to England, so I think part of the film's meaning is lost on me. Apparently Mike Leigh (the director) was aiming for a realistic piece of cinema, depicting the decaying culture and people of England that emerged following the sixties and what it was in the nineties. Again, I can't really comment since I was not present in this time.

David Thewlis' character is a ruthless protagonist, a drifter who wants human connection, but rejects it the moment he gets it. He rants to Lesley Sharp's character, Louise, about how happy she must be having left Manchester in order to work some trivial job. Did she abandon Johnny by leaving Manchester? Did she try to leave her past behind? Is she simply following the norm of pursuing something bigger and better by moving to the capital? I don't know much about the history of England and I'm feeling too lazy to look into it, but it would make sense to me that these questions are all part of the film's plot. Johnny, on the other hand, is a drifter - he has never settled. Could it be that he can't find a home anymore, or that he never had one? Has Manchester, London, and all of England simply become a wasteland? It would fit into his apocalypse theory. The world will continue, but humans cannot. We have reached the point where our culture has faltered and is abasing fast. Nonetheless, Johnny tries to find some sort of companionship along the road - settling on a man who is looking for some girl named Maggie, only for the two to meet and fight (romance is dead? Relationships are down the drain?). He also meets a security guard who is convinced he will be reincarnated in the future. This guy... Hmm... Could it represent the ignorant people who accept their situation and believe that a higher power is looking out for them? That the future is certain and they have time to fix up their problems? I'm not too sure. Then Johnny meets a girl who works at a diner. After asking if he can stay the night, tears stream down her face, and asks if Johnny ever had a dog. The conversation continues with the woman asking Johnny questions, until he asks her what is the matter. She storms out of the room and proceeds to tell him to get out. Perhaps Johnny hit too close to home with her, tried to get to know her too well. Again, the death of relationships and getting to know people. I mean, it certainly is a central theme in the film. Any type of relationship displayed on screen is perverse. Greg Cruttwell's character is... wow. That man is wicked (and not in a good way). Sophie falls in love with Johnny, but he tells her to get lost. Louise and Sophie end up comforting each other when Sebastian takes control of the house, but prior to that, Louise can only bad mouth Sophie. And, in the end, Sophie runs off when Louise and Johnny share an intimate moment on the floor of their bathroom (oh god, no! Not in the way you're thinking! Johnny was just throwing up! ... Please, get away emetophilics.). Relationships in this film just do not exist on a normal, healthy level. And this could be a criticism of today's mentality about relationships - I'm not one hundred percent sure. All I can say is, with Johnny's last encounter with a man who puts up posters, we get a huge poster advertising Megadeth's latest album at the time, Countdown to Extinction (headlining with Pantera!). Again, this idea of extinction, human beings dying. It probably isn't real extinction, but the extinction of a culture, of a people that had a meaning.

I could go on, but seriously, this film is just one depressing scene after another. People wear black and white, navy blue and grey. London itself is a grey place to be. It's not a happy film, showing how everything has gone down the drain. I didn't think the film was bad, but it wasn't all that spectacular. I thought Sebastian's character was a bit... random. I mean, I liked that scene where Louise comes in and he appears, but you only get a shot of his penis (in his underwear) right at her face. That's creativity right there. And the nurse character, Sandra? She also seemed a bit randomly placed. This film is interesting it what it tries to get across, but I wouldn't highly recommend it. It's an interesting psychological piece, but let's all watch something a little less grey for Christmas, okay? Maybe some Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 5: The Toy Maker! Am I right? ... Okay, I'll be quiet now.

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Review LXXXI - Farewell My Concubine

Review LXXXI
Farewell My Concubine 霸王别姬 (1993)

I return yet again, and this time I come back from 中国 - China! 你好大家, 最近怎么样? 我很好, 有很多的故事, 看很多的电影! To explain my experiences here would be superfluous given that I only speak about films on this blog, so my last bit is relevant. I watched a lot of films in China! Well, one reason goes to the fact that I downloaded some in case I ever got ridiculously bored (for the fourteen hour plane ride basically), but also because one of my classes consisted of experiencing Chinese cinema. The class was not a dream come true - well, for me, at least. It revolved around the teacher presenting a film briefly (that is, who directed the film, what year it was released), watching the film, and then exiting the class. There was no analysis of the film, no critique of the film, nothing except for a final presentation on whatever the hell you wanted. This translates to a useless class that wasted my time. But I'm not here to insult my university, I'm here to speak about films, which I established above. The films I watched in the class were all Chinese based, whether it be the North or the South (including Hong Kong, though the films were dubbed into Mandarin... Yeah...). The first film we checked out I had been meaning to watch for a long time but, as per usual, had never gotten around to watching. It is directed by Chen Kaige 陈凯歌 and stars the famous Leslie Cheung 張國榮 and Gong Li 巩俐, as well as Zhang Fengyi 张丰毅. The film is notable for making chinese cinema more known worldwide and is the only Chinese film to date to win a Pannes d'Or. The film, of course, is Farewell My Concubine 霸王别姬.

The film follows a Peking Opera duo over the course of 50-odd years, beginning with the brutal teachings at a Peking Opera training school, through the Japanese occupation of China, all the way to the end of the Cultural Revolution. The duo are especially known for their act of Farewell My Concubine, with Duan Xiaolou (Zhang) as our emperor Xiang Yu and Cheng Dieyi (Cheung) as the only-too-real Consort Yu. However, their relationship will be tested with a marriage and a war, as well as the communist takeover of China.

Farewell My Concubine was an interesting piece of work, and it explains the twentieth century history of China in two hours and a half, while making a comparison to the Peking opera of the same name. Thus, you're getting a taste of classic Chinese story-telling (Beijing opera "Farewell My Concubine"), but with a modern twist (set throughout the 1900s). If ever you were looking to research modern China in a glance, this film can get you there in some aspects. Of course, it is very far from explaining the political tensions in China and even really experiencing Peking opera (I went to an opera - I really loved it. No sarcasm in that statement), but again, the film can still give a foreigner a look into how it was to be Chinese in the early 1900s. Not a thorough look, but a little look. So in that regard, I think the film is worth a watch if ever you were interested in getting acquainted with China. Now, how about as a film itself? I re-watched the film while I was in Japan (sitting on the train no less!), so I'm going to give you a first-watching perspective and a re-watching perspective.

As a first-watch, I must admit, I was biased as hell because I knew this film class was going to deliver me typical Hollywood-but-Chinese-version films, so I clung onto this film with such great admiration because it had won a Cannes award. So did I enjoy it? I did. The film really did capture China's modern history well, and I loved the underlying Peking opera story. It was well incorporated. For example, in the original opera, Xiang Yu, the emperor there, ends up being defeated, thus beginning the emergence of the Han dynasty. This directly parallels the communist takeover of China (thank you, Wikipedia). We also see that Zhang's character really reflects a king - he's strong-willed and ready to take risks for others, or at least he is initially - whereas Cheung's character is feminine, fiesty, loves "her" man. Alright, fine, the characters were somewhat lacking, and sometimes rather incompetent, but I forgive it because the film is trying to follow a Peking opera. The characters' personalities are established based on face paint, guys. I mean, the characters do develop a bit, but they're mostly just flat. The prostitute wife (Gong) was added in, but really, I felt she was a tad unnecessary, or rather, just not as necessary as they made her out to be. But given they wanted Gong Li in the film to help sell it, it's only expected she'd be a main character. On the IMDb poster, she's the biggest thing, for Christ's sake. But whatever, I forgave it since the acting was not horrendous, but especially since the film really had some great mirror play. I loved those shots. There were also great shots of the characters, like when Cheung and Zhang's characters are putting on make-up. The film was not just slapped together - there was at least some thought put into it. I wasn't disappointed with the ending, and, though it reflects its opera counterpart, the reasoning behind it was different. Overall, the film was better than I had expected and I would recommend it.

After a second viewing, I can really say that Gong Li's character bothered me. She can be useful and great at times, but mostly, it was like a mosquito coming and buzzing in your ear. Why is she suddenly present when Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi are being punished for breaking up the duo? Why is she there to ask Cheng Dieyi to help Duan Xiaolou, slowing down the movie and then breaking her promise of going back to the brothel? She was a thorn in my side... Not to mention the characters are rather lacking. I mentioned it before, but man, after Cheng Dieyi's hissy fit with Duan Xiaolou marrying Juxian, the characters really stall. Prior to this, I loved the development of Cheng Dieyi's love for Duan Xiaolou, despite being a man (did he take on Consort Yu's role too seriously?). I think this should have gone even further. But no, Duan Xiaolou rejects him and suddenly there's a marriage and then boom, Cheng Dieyi goes for another guy. The two characters on their own was fine, but them together was painful. It was just so... lacking. And what is up with the disgraceful son who Cheng Dieyi raises? However, given that it is a reflection of the director's experiences as a Red Guard and denouncing his father, I suppose it is forgivable, but the way it was done was so quick and sloppy. Cutting to the chase, the film is pretty good, but it was pretty lacking. The mirror play was brilliant and some shots were great. I also still love the initial development as well, but the duo's development gets odd in the middle, and that was the main point of the film. Nonetheless, I could totally watch it again. I also think it is a pretty accessible film for a foreigner. That is to say, I've watched other Mandarin-speaking films and they feel really governed to the Mandarin-speaking public. I watch them, but they fly over my head because I don't understand the issues at hand given I'm not that familiar with China's issues... Well, maybe more so now that I resided in China for two months, but anyway, this is a good film to watch to at least get a taste of Chinese cinema. Hence why I think it did so well internationally. It's a good film to slowly ease into Chinese cinema.

WHEW. Now that I've discussed and pondered over this film for almost two months, I think I can put it to rest for now. To say it quickly, in a sentence, the film is pretty good. It's a nice introduction to Chinese cinema, but it can be lacking. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed some of the shots. Would I watch it again? Sure. I just hope I won't be graded this time. On to the next film!

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Review XLII - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Review XLII
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Probably about four or five years ago, I started watching 21 Jump Street. For those of you who automatically thought of the film that came out last year, I will kill you. Anyway, the series that ran in the late eighties and early nineties wasn't that good; however, it will always be remembered because it is what really got Johnny Depp's career going (even if he hated the show). Around this time, I caught a viewing of Lasse Hallström's film adaptation of Peter Hedges' novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It had Johnny Depp in it (and Leonardo DiCaprio), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I remember it really left a mark - so much so I bought the book, and since then, that book has become one of my favourite all-time reads. I've read it probably three or four times (it's an easy read, so that's probably the reason why, heh). But I could barely remember the movie. I finally downloaded it yesterday after reading the book for the fourth or so time to see how well it still held up. Oh man, I'm going to have fun writing this review.

Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is stuck in Endora, Iowa, United States - a town where everyone knows everyone. He dreams of bigger and better places, but he's caged in the town awaiting his mentally handicapped brother's (Leonardo DiCaprio) eighteenth birthday as no one thought he would make it this far. He also has to deal with his grossly overweight mother (Darlene Cates), his overbearing older sister (Laura Harrington), and his overemotional younger sister (Mary Kate Schellhardt). When a new girl, Becky (Juliette Lewis), is stranded in town with her grandmother (Penelope Branning), Gilbert has hope that maybe - just maybe - he can finally find happiness.

While I love watching really good movies, I love criticising bad ones. It's a pain to sit down and feel like you're wasting an hour and a half of your time, but when I sit down to write about a movie, when I have a film that allows me to complain about it, I find it a lot more exciting. I say this because, my god, I could complain about this movie for ages. Last time I watched it, I remember being super emotional about the ending. This time, I did go away emotional, but in a humourous manner.

Okay, let me actually review this. First off, and I know this is such a common statement that is seems superfluous and redundant to mention, but it was way worse than the book. The book had feeling, character, and this plot had none of that. It took out so many elements I liked. I loved the desperation Gilbert felt in the books in relation to Becky constantly rejecting his physical hints. In the film, she just kisses him. What happened to all the "inner beauty" and "inner feelings" she claims in the book? Heck, in the movie, she even says, not verbatim, "Physical beauty doesn't matter. We get all wrinkly and ugly..." They take a stab at what was present in the book, but then it's never mentioned again. Peter Hedges, who wrote the book, also wrote the screenplay for the movie, so I have no idea what happened. It's not like this film was really pressed for time - it included a lot of pretty boring scenes where nothing happens. Scenes that could have been replaced with the meaningful, interesting parts that were present in the book. For example, Becky and Gilbert just... walking. Yep, I love seeing the attraction in their eyes. I love watching Becky comment on the sky, and Gilbert just agreeing. Totally encompasses the knowledgeable Becky and naive Gilbert seen in the book!

Gilbert's mother, whose name is Bonnie Grape, is also sympathetic and kind-hearted. I liked the crass lady who, while she loved her children, really only showed caring to Arnie. Gilbert hates this woman in the book (without ruining anything), and here, the two share moments. This makes their relationship so linear and boring. Not to mention that Bonnie Grape never really seemed to be the wiser of what was happening except for the given occasion. In the movie, she's always complaining to Gilbert about his behaviour. The two don't fight really, which again, makes it way less interesting than in the book.

Amy and Ellen, Gilbert's sisters, don't get much screentime either. Amy was the real mother figure to everyone, but in the movie, she's useless. I also enjoyed Ellen and Gilbert's bittersweet relationship in the book. Is it present in the movie? It is, but not that much. They don't really have outbursts - the two just don't always get along. When they do get angry, it seems unnatural. Not to mention that they take out one whole sister, Janice, from the book, and while Larry, the older brother, is mentioned, he's never seen. "This is Larry, but he got out." Alright, fine, but he's supposed to come once a year, which is on Arnie's birthday. Do we see him? Nope. I mean, c'mon, he got out, so why would he ever come back? Why would he even care about his handicapped brother who has lived eight years longer than anyone ever thought possible? Why would he care to see how his family is doing considering their father died when most of them were young and one wasn't even conceived yet? Why bother mentioning him if we never see him? I just don't get it.

Another thing I disliked was the relationship Gilbert has with his two "friends", Tucker (John C. Reilly) and Bobby (Crispin Glover). Again, nothing happens with them. Tucker helps Gilbert out, and Bobby... eats at a restaurant with both of them. Again, there was meaning to their characters in the books; Tucker and Bobby eventually kept to themselves, leaving Gilbert pretty much alone, aside from Becky. Here they're just his friends, but I guess if you hadn't read the book, this could go by alright. Which leaves me with the adulterous affair Gilbert has with Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen). This I can't complain about. It was executed pretty well in comparison to the book. Obviously the book has more time to go in detail, but the movie did a pretty good job. Bravo to that at least!

Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped person, and while his acting is realistic, everyone else is bland as all hell. Johnny Depp sounds bored out of his skull everytime he utters a line. Juliette Lewis portrays Becky as an idiot. Becky's lines were garbage, but I got the impression that Juliette Lewis was inebriated the whole time. Everyone else is just like Johnny Depp - boring. I felt like stuff should be happening, but even when someone was emotional, it was bland. Mary Kate Schellhardt and Laura Harrington weren't that bad, but most of the time, they're just playing an aggitated person, so their acting was pretty boring too! Mary Steenburgen has something going on at least, but even then, it seems like it could way better. Nonetheless, at least I felt something for her, instead of just sleeping through everyone else's performance. Maybe this is why I didn't mind Betty and Gilbert's scenes together.

While the movie was really bad in comparison to the novel, it was still bad on its own. The acting was really, really boring, the plot had parts in it that seemed unnecessary, and Gilbert and Becky's relationship just seems so... nothing. The book made you feel more human - this movie just leaves me with the message that you shouldn't laugh at fat people because it hurts their feelings. As much as I "ranted" about this film, it wasn't the worst, so it gets six point eight stars on ten. It gave me something enjoyable, and that was a criticism of practically everything. For that, it gets a passing grade and then some.

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