MOOD INDIGO Review: Rendez-Vous with French Cinema

Audrey Tautou (left) and Romain Duris (right) in Michel Gondry's MOOD INDIGO
Courtesy of Drafthouse Films

MOOD INDIGO
(L'ÉCUME DES JOURS)

2014, 95 minutes

Not Rated

Review by Joshua Handler

Michel Gondry was in attendence for a post-screening Q&A for this screening of Mood Indigo.  Rendez-Vous with French Cinema is a collaboration between the Film Society of Lincoln Center, IFC Center, and BAMcinématek and runs through March 16.

Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo is an exhilarating experience brimming with life, love, and an immense amount of imagination.  The first hour of Indigo is breathless, moving at an insanely fast pace and stuffed with delightful visuals and inventions that only Gondry could create.  The film's second half is no less compelling, but is darker and more melancholic.

Mood Indigo tells the story of the romance between Colin (Romain Duris) and Chloé (Audrey Tautou).  On their wedding night, something floats into Chloé's mouth while she's asleep and she grows a water lily in her lung, which threatens her life.

With Mood Indigo, Gondry goes back to what he does best: being a visionary.  While the films I've seen that he's created in between (Be Kind, Rewind and The We and the I) have been plenty imaginative, they lack the craziness and passion of Eternal Sunshine and Mood Indigo.  Indigo is like a cross between a Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Tim Burton film with its original inventions and extensive use of stop-motion animation.  The fast pace of the first part of Mood Indigo has a sense of discovery found in very few films.  In every scene, Gondry offers up something new, something exciting that furthers the realization of the world he's creating.  Because of this, watching Mood Indigo reminded me of the first time I saw Her; there were new discoveries and strokes of genius around every corner in both films.

Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris, and Omar Sy head up the phenomenal cast for the film.  Duris and Tautou's chemistry is strong and their abundant energy lights up the screen.  Sy (best-known for his leading role in The Intouchables) is a magnetic screen presence who strengthens every scene he's in.  

Gondry's homemade visual effects (reminiscent of those that Terry Gilliam used in Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) and stop-motion animation make each scene a wonder to watch and the breakneck pace of the editing makes this film feel like a whirlwind.  While it wasn't always easy to follow Mood Indigo, that certainly didn't detract, as I enjoyed myself throughout.

Overall, Mood Indigo is a wondrous film that will prove to be divisive, but Gondry and fantasy fans will fall in love with it.  I loved every single minute.  While there may be some moments that don't work and the film isn't as emotionally resonant as I wish it was, Mood Indigo is always interesting, which is more than I can say for many films I watch.  Of the many 2014 releases I've seen, this is certainly around the top.  It is so rare to see a film directed by a person with as much creative freedom and artistic vision as Gondry, and getting to see that vision onscreen is a unique pleasure.  This cut of Mood Indigo was cut by nearly 30 minutes for international release after many complaints that the film was too long.  I'm very curious to see the original cut because this one is simply fantastic (and is yet another fantastic acquisition by Drafthouse Films).

4/4

TESS Criterion DVD Review

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

TESS

CRITERION DVD Review

1979, 171 minutes

Rated PG

Review by Joshua Handler

Due to time constraints, I was unable to make it through the special features.  That being said, you will see in my review that this is a must-buy, special features or not.

Roman Polanski's multi-Oscar-winner Tess is one of the most consistently engaging near-three-hour-long movies I've ever seen.  While the very dramatic story doesn't move at a lightening pace, it is so engaging and the film itself is so gorgeous that, up until the final 10 or 20 minutes, I never felt the 171-minute running time.  Tess is adapted from Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess of the d'Hubervilles, which tells the story of Tess (Nastassja Kinski), a teenage girl who lives with her poor family in the English countryside.  After Tess' father is told a rumor that he may be related to a local family of aristocrats, he sends Tess to go live with them to see if they can help her family out.  Alec d'Huberville (Leigh Lawson) runs the household and lusts after Tess.  Tess doesn't respond to Alec's advances, so he rapes her, leading to the chain of events that unfolds throughout the rest of the film.

Tess seems to be Roman Polanski's apology of sorts for the sexual assault that he himself committed.  Nothing can take back what Polanski did to Samantha Geimer back in 1977, but this film seems to be an attempt at an apology.  This is the first film that Polanski made after fleeing the US.

At one point in Tess, Tess says, "Once a victim, always a victim - that's the law."  While some may interpret this as Polanski referring to himself, this line seems to refer to Geimer, as she is a Tess-like figure.  For years, she couldn't escape the sexual assault and the resulting publicity, just as Tess could not escape the consequences of the assault and the assaulter.  Because we are meant to sympathize with Tess and not Alec, the above line seems to be a reference to Geimer and a call for sympathy for her.

Besides the provocative subtext, so much of what makes Tess such a haunting movie-going experience is the Oscar-winning cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet, which is among the greatest.  Unsworth and Cloquet capture the natural beauty and grime of 19th Century England in stunning detail.  Each shot is so perfectly lit and framed that any given one could be framed and put in a museum.   The setting sun, girls dancing in a field, and a misty Stonehenge are among the most memorable images. Criterion's beautiful restoration of Tess makes the image look perfect and the colors pop off of the screen.

As mentioned before, Tess is long.  171 minutes is a very long time to sit in front of a TV screen.  But, Tess will prove to be more than worth it for those willing to sit.  The finale of the film could have been handled in a different fashion, but that is a minor gripe in an otherwise masterful film.

Overall, Tess is one of Roman Polanski's most underrated and most important films.  The Criterion edition is a must-own.  The film is outstanding and the restoration is truly incredible (though that comes as no surprise given the quality of Criterion's restorations).

Film: 4/4
Special Features: N/A
Overall: Must-own

GRAND PIANO Review

Elijah Wood in GRAND PIANO, a Magnet Release. Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

GRAND PIANO 

2014, 90 minutes (78 without end credits)

Rated R for some language

Review by Joshua Handler

Eugenio Mira's film, Grand Piano is an undeniably impressive film, which, flaws and all, is worth seeking out due to some beautifully filmed and edited sequences, a compelling story (written by Damien Chazelle, writer/director of Sundance-winner Whiplash), and a strong performance from Elijah Wood in the lead.  Very Hitchcockian in nature, Grand Piano tells the story of a stage fright-stricken pianist, Tom Selznick (Wood), who, during his comeback performance, discovers a threatening note mysteriously written on his music sheet.

Stylistically, Grand Piano is a big homage to the grandiose style of Brian De Palma and Dario Argento's early work.  The energetic, sweeping cinematography and giallo-influenced lighting make this film a pleasure to watch.  Narratively, this is basically a modern Hitchcock film.  While Grand Piano never had me on the edge of my seat, I was compelled for most of the movie.  Near the end of the film, Grand Piano begins to fall apart, especially during its disappointing final moments, but the build-up is so good that it's to somewhat forgive the narrative shortcomings.

Elijah Wood is one of the most criminally underrated actors out there.  From his superb work in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy to his disturbing work in Sin City and Maniac, Wood is reliably strong, and Grand Piano is no exception.  He delivers a nervous, scared-out-of-his-mind performance that carries the film.  As the mysterious man who left the note on Selznick's music, John Cusack delivers a fun performance - one of his best in years.  Most of his performance is delivered exclusively through his voice (his face isn't scene for most of the movie) and he does a remarkably good job at keeping the intensity up.

Overall, Grand Piano is a fun thriller that is, for the first chunk at least, a blast to watch.  The direction of the first 50 or so minutes of this film is really expert.  I'm very excited to see what happens to Eugenio Mira's career after this because Grand Piano shows that he's a talent to watch out for.

3/4

The Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films Reviews

Private Jack Hall in "Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall"
Courtesy of HBO

THE OSCAR-NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

Review by Joshua Handler

This year, as with any other year, five short documentaries are Oscar-nominated in the Best Documentary (Short Subject).  While this group was a decidedly mixed bag, there were none that were bad - there were simply some that left far greater impacts than others.

"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life" (Dir. Malcolm Clarke) - Winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Film, "The Lady in Number 6" is a delight.  Telling the story of the oldest living Holocaust survivor, Alice Herz-Sommer, a woman who recently died at age 110.  Sommer lived a rich, distinguished life and continued to play piano even at 109 when this documentary was filmed. The filmmaking here is polished and the movie itself is powerful, moving, and very inspirational.  If all people were like Alice, our world would be a better place.

"Facing Fear" (Dir. Jason Cohen) - "Facing Fear" tells the story of a former Neo-Nazi and a gay man whom he nearly beat to death.  Years later, the two meet by chance and try to reconcile.  This film has its fair share of powerful moments and extraordinary subject matter to boot, but it never digs deeply enough into its subjects and subject matter and doesn't deliver the punch that it should.  This is not a bad film by any stretch, it just isn't focused or strong enough.

"Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall" (Dir. Edgar Barens) - Hands down the best of these nominees and, quite simply, one of the best of any of this year's Oscar-nominees is "Prison Terminal".  The film tells the story of the last days of Private Jack Hall, a terminally ill elderly veteran serving a life sentence in prison for murder (Hall killed the man who got his son hooked on drugs which eventually led to the son's suicide).  What makes Hall's last days unique is that he got to spend them in a privately-funded prison hospice program.  Edgar Barens uses cinéma verité style to tell this story, which means the film is fiercely unsentimental.  "Prison Terminal" is a humane and profoundly moving film that takes a hard look at redemption and second chances.  Some of the footage that Barens shot is unlike anything I've ever seen on film.  This is a masterpiece of documentary filmmaking.  "Prison Terminal" premieres on HBO on March 31.

"Karama Has No Walls" (Dir. Sara Ishaq) - A first-hand account of the student protests and following violence in Yemen, "Karama Has No Walls" is a powerful, yet unfocused film.  The footage in this doc is frequently disturbing and always unique, yet the structuring of this film partially derails it and diminishes its impact.  "Karama" doesn't know what it wants to focus on.  Overall, though, this doc is worth a watch if only to see a first-hand account of something rarely covered in the American news.

"Cavedigger" (Dir. Jeffrey Karoff) - "Cavedigger" is a portrait of Ra Paulette, a man who digs caves, frequently on commission, using only hand tools.  This film benefits from having an eccentric subject, unlike any I've ever seen, and strong focus.  By the time this film was over, I felt like I knew Ra.  While "Cavedigger" isn't the most "important" of the doc shorts per se, it is certainly worth viewing.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Review

Ralph Fiennes as "M. Gustave" and Tony Revolori as "Zero".Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

2014, 99 minutes

Rated R for language, some sexual content and violence

Review by Joshua Handler

Wes Anderson's latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel, is a delightful film featuring a masterstroke of casting in the form of Ralph Fiennes.  The film tells the story of Gustave H. (Fiennes), a famous concierge, and his lobby boy, Zero (Tony Revolori), who work at The Grand Budapest Hotel, a luxury hotel in the fictional country of Zubrowka.  The film is set pre-WWII.

With Budapest, Anderson has nearly perfected his style.  The production design is flawless and even more artificial than usual, making everything feel like a dark storybook.  It's beautiful.  Yet, with the perfection of his style, Anderson forgets to give this film a beating heart.  While he cares about his characters and the characters are all incredibly odd and endearing, he pays more attention to his story (and this isn't necessarily detrimental, as explored later).

While the heart is missing, the characters, as mentioned are delightfully bizarre and brilliantly brought to life by some of the greatest talents in the world including Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Jude Law, Mathieu Amalric, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Harvey Keitel, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban, and Tony Revolori in a star-making performance.  Anyone who knows Anderson's films knows that he always manages to cast the best actors around.  Ralph Fiennes gives one of the best performances of his career as Gustave.  Gustave is suave, not always brilliant, but always one step ahead of danger.  Fiennes' comedic talents (who knew he had them?) are on full display here.  His timing is sharp and he nails every moment.  He elicited out of me the maximum amount of laughter possible.  Revolori holds his own against Fiennes.  Zero makes up for the brains that Gustave lacks.  Revolori gives a heartfelt and very sharp performance that will hopefully lead to many more great film roles for him.  Additionally, Willem Dafoe's small role as an assassin is not to be missed.

Most of all, though, The Grand Budapest Hotel is fun, yet substantial.  There are a multitude of sequences that are a blast to watch.  Anderson always manages to make his movies entertaining while saying something substantial.  With The Grand Budapest Hotel, Anderson explores nostalgia for an era gone by, not unlike Woody Allen did in Midnight in Paris (though in a different manner).  As someone in the film says, Gustave was in his own world of yesteryear.  He was living in a world where everyone was polite and the hotel service was always impeccable.  Gustave was trying to preserve this world in the Grand Budapest Hotel, the only home and safe haven he had left in a world that was changing around him on the eve of World War II.  The hotel was a time capsule of sorts, providing people a final glimpse of a time that they will dream of but never life in again.  Gustave was trying to provide his clients with a final taste of happiness before an era of darkness.

Eras can provide homes for those that inhabit them.  There are people so in love with the era that made them, so much a fixture of that time, that with the smallest of changes to the world outside, the person could find the new world unlivable.  This movie is essentially about a man who couldn't adapt to a new way of life.

Overall, while not Anderson's best, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a delight and a film that I suspect will grow on me as I explore it further through repeated viewings.  This movie will not win Anderson any new fans, but should appeal to his already large fan base.  And frankly, Grand Budapest is worth viewing for Ralph Fiennes' performance alone.

3.5/4

An Interview with Alex van Warmerdam, Director of BORGMAN

Courtesy of Drafthouse Films 

AN INTERVIEW WITH 

ALEX VAN WARMERDAM, 

DIRECTOR OF BORGMAN

by Joshua Handler

Recently, I had the good fortune to conduct an email interview with Alex van Warmerdam, acclaimed director of the upcoming film BORGMAN.  BORGMAN will be released later this year by Drafthouse Films and was the Dutch submission to the Academy Awards this past year.  Here is my review of the film.  The following is the interview:

What was the inspiration for BORGMAN – how did the story come about?  It’s one of the most unique films (I mean that in the best possible way) I’ve come across in ages.

I was longing for something nasty, but also enigmatic. And I wanted, like Borgman says in the film, to play.  There's a man in a hole in the woods, there's a priest with a gun (an old dream), and then I start writing. Writing brings the ideas. 

BORGMAN is by no means a traditional film, yet it seems to have connected with critics and audiences alike.  What do you think it is about it that connects?

I think the combination of humor, suspense and unpredictability.

As many have pointed out, the film seems to have no traditional logic, which was one aspect that I found to be particularly fascinating.  What was the scripting process like and how did you decide upon this?

From the beginning I didn’t want to explain too much. Explaning brings you to forced [shots], and worse, to stupid dialogue.  Although, in the first rough cut there was still a lot of…explanation. We cut a lot of it because we found out that [cutting the explanation] makes the film stronger.

Violence is lurking beneath the surface (Marina’s gruesome dream sequence illustrates this most explicitly) but there is no graphic violence depicted in the “real world” of the film.  The violence depicted doesn’t show any blood or gore making it all the more unnerving.  Was this a conscious decision?

In every film I make, there’s a man standing by with some blood.  In case there’s some violence, the first shot of the wounded person is always with blood. Take two [has] just a little bit and in take three the blood is gone.  I don’t know. Blood.  Of course if someone is stabbed several times, you have to show some blood. But since Sam Peckinpah showed blood in slow motion fountains, blood is a little bit boring to me. I like clean violence: strangling, poisoning.

The subject matter of BORGMAN is, at its base, very dark, but almost gleefully so.  Was it your original intention to make BORGMAN as darkly humorous as it is or did the humor come out later? 

All my films have a [humorous] element. I’m not really working on it, it sneaks into [the film].

But…during the writing of BORGMAN, I really tried to avoid humor.  Also, in this case, we cut out a lot of funny things in the [editing]. Still there is humor in BORGMAN, but withheld, dry humor. That’s allowed.

What was the casting process of BORGMAN like?

It was – as always – quite a job. But also a joy. My wife does the casting. She knows me very well. She almost forced me to take Hadewych Minis for the part of Marina. I thought she was ok, but I kept looking for another actress. In the end I took Hadewych and from the first shooting day it was easy working [with her]. She really surprised me. She is the perfect Marina.

The characters are so rich in BORGMAN, particularly that of Camiel Borgman, yet we know very little about his backstory.  How did you and Jan Bijvoet navigate that? 

[It was also easy working with Jan]. I’m not a psychological director and he was not asking for psychological direction. We both are very practical. I asked him never to smile or laugh.

The idea was that Jan should smile once, just before when he kisses Marina on her bed after giving her the poisened wine. But in the [editing] I didn’t like it, so we also took his smile away, digitally.

You cast yourself as Ludwig and have acted in many of your other films.  How do you separate your duties as director and actor?  Do they ever interfere with one another?

It never was a problem. But I’m getting less and less interested in playing a big role myself.

Nowadays I only want to do a small part because my acting ambition became small as well.

How has your work as a theater director affected your work as a film director, if at all? 

There must be a mutual influence for sure, but how and what and why and in what way, I don’t know. And to be honest, it doesn’t interest me that much.

How did the BORGMAN that you originally conceived change from the writing of the screenplay through post-production?

As already shown in earlier answers, the script was more explicit then the film [eventually was].

I sometimes met people who…complain or [are] even angry because they think the film is too abstract or too vague. That puzzles me. The film opens with a Bible quote: “They Descended upon earth to Strengthened Their ranks.” This is, in fact, a perfect [summation] of the film. But the audience forget[s] about that, fortunate[ly].

I see the film as a poem, a song, it is crystal clear, there are no false leads, I give the [necessary] information. It is important to know that Borgman and his cronies are players, they are indeed stoic, but they enjoy their work…  They are friendly, ruthless, but not sadistic.

STALINGRAD IMAX 3D Review

Thomas Kretschmann in STALINGRAD.
©NON-STOP PRODUCTION

STALINGRAD

2014, 131 minutes

Rated R for sequences of war violence

Review by Joshua Handler

Fedor Bondarchuk's Stalingrad is an entertaining, melodramatic film about a group of soldiers who protect a young woman throughout the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.  As a spectacle, this is spectacular, but as a drama, the film has many flaws.

The film starts with a completely useless story that bookends the film.  After the opening scene, the film jumps right into a series of action scenes that are thrilling and well-directed.  Director Fyodor Bondarchuk takes full advantage of the IMAX 3D format.  Rarely are films necessary to see in IMAX 3D, but this is one of them.  If this film wasn't in IMAX 3D, it wouldn't be nearly as exciting and the dramatic flaws would be more apparent.  The gorgeous visual effects really pop off of the screen to create an immersive experience.

Each action sequence is shot with style and energy by cinematographer Maksim Osadchiy-Korytkovskiy, and Igor Litoninskiy's editing works in perfect sync with the cinematography to create battle sequences that are fast-baced and epic.

One dramatic strong point is the characters.  Every man in the company of soldiers is a unique, interesting individual and over the course of the film, I really began to care about them.  However, the story that surrounds them is unevenly paced, occasionally melodramatic, and chest-thumpingly patriotic.  Don't get me wrong, the men who fought in this battle for the Soviets were heroes, but the film paints them with a god-like glow, which is over-the-top.

Overall, Stalingrad is a good piece of entertainment.  If you're looking for high art, look elsewhere, but if you're looking for a well-crafted action film, this is definitely the film for you.

3/4

My Oscar Predictions

Tonight, as just about everyone knows, is the annual Oscar ceremony.  Here are my predictions:

Best Picture: 12 YEARS A SLAVE
Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón for GRAVITY
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey for DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett for BLUE JASMINE
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto for DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Best Supporting Actress: Lupita Nyong'o for 12 YEARS A SLAVE
Best Original Screenplay: David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer for AMERICAN HUSTLE
Best Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley for 12 YEARS A SLAVE
Best Animated Feature: FROZEN
Best Documentary Feature: 20 FEET FROM STARDOM
Best Foreign Language Film: THE GREAT BEAUTY
Best Cinematography: GRAVITY
Best Film Editing: GRAVITY
Best Original Score: GRAVITY
Best Visual Effects: GRAVITY
Best Sound Editing: GRAVITY
Best Sound Mixing: GRAVITY
Best Original Song: "Let it Go" from FROZEN
Best Costume Design: THE GREAT GATSBY
Best Production Design: THE GREAT GATSBY
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: DALLAS BUYERS CLUB
Best Animated Short Film: "Get a Horse"
Best Live Action Short Film: "Helium"
Best Documentary Short Film: "The Lady in Number 6: How Music Saved My Life"

FANTASTIC MR. FOX Criterion Review

Courtesy of The Criterion Collection

FANTASTIC MR. FOX 

Criterion Review

2009, 87 minutes

Rated PG for action, smoking and slang humor

Review by Joshua Handler

Note: Due to time, I was unable to view the film with audio commentary and was unable to view the hour-long documentary "Fantastic Mr. Dahl" included on this disc.  Otherwise, everything else was viewed.

Wes Anderson's meticulously-made Fantastic Mr. Fox is an odd beast.  It is a film based on a children's book by Roald Dahl, yet the film itself really isn't geared towards children.  Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale) throw in some of their usual themes: marital dysfunction, teenage angst, and the troubles with growing older.  In fact, Fantastic Mr. Fox really is about facing middle age and celebrating differences.  It is about trying to make something of your life and trying to do what you love.

Mr. Fox (the voice of George Clooney) loves to steal food for himself and his family.  He can't help it - he's a fox and does it because he loves it and needs to survive.  However, after a near-death experience in his younger days, he promises his wife (the voice of Meryl Streep) that he'd stop stealing.  Years later, he has a family, is now a journalist, and he feels himself getting older.  The joie de vivre is gone.  One day, though, Mr. Fox decides to do one last job to get that spark back, but that one job isn't enough to satisfy his need to steal.

The themes dealt with in Fox aren't kid-relatable, but they are universal themes that nearly all adults or even teens can relate to to some degree.  Anyone can look at the gorgeous stop-motion animation, the warmly-colored sets, and the deliberate camera moves, but if you look below the shining surface, you can find a startling amount of insight, humanity, and even warmth.

Because this is a Wes Anderson film, all of the characters have their quirks and are all the more lovable because of them.  Embracing differences is a theme of many animated films, but rarely is that theme explored so humanly as it is here.  Every animal character feels like a human.  They're all given human qualities and they are always treated like humans, making them instantly relatable.

Many people claim that Anderson's films are style over substance with little humanity, but I see him as a humanist.  No director celebrates differences and the different stages of life like Wes Anderson.  Moonrise Kingdom celebrated the joy of being young and being in love.  All of the production design was in service of the themes and characters.  The world was designed to look like how the kids at the film's center see the it.  The Darjeeling Limited (a highly underrated film) is a beautiful exploration of brotherhood and the period before middle age.  Rushmore is a celebration of youth and teenage rebellion, and The Royal Tenenbaums is about the generations interacting.  And, as mentioned, Fox is about middle age and the mid-life crisis.

The Criterion Collection's new Blu-ray/DVD combo pack of Fantastic Mr. Fox has a slew of special features including a version of the film told entirely through storyboards and the actors' voices.  I watched a bit of this and can say that it is very interesting, but for die-hards only.  Additionally, there are a lot of featurettes on the making of the film.  Watching how the sets were designed and the puppets were made gave me an even deeper appreciation for the film.  My favorite special feature on this disc is a discussion and analysis of the film by two young kids.  Their answers to the discussion questions are occasionally inventive and always amusing.  Their perspective is so different from mine or most of yours so watching them analyze the film is fascinating and very funny.  What's most interesting, though, is their speaking patterns and how through those, one can trace their thought processes.

Overall, Criterion's edition of Fantastic Mr. Fox is fantastic, as all of their releases are.  Fox is a deceptively simple film that, while not my favorite of Anderson's, is certainly an impressive accomplishment and a meaningful piece of storytelling.

Film: 3.5/4
Special Features: 4/4
Overall: Well-worth buying

THE NOTEBOOK Review: Oscar Submission Series

Photo courtesy of Beta Cinema

THE NOTEBOOK

(A NAGY FÜZET or LE GRAND CAHIER)

2013, 109 minutes

Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, nudity and language.

Review by Joshua Handler

János Szász's The Notebook was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and has no relation to the 2004 film of the same name.  It is a crime that The Notebook wasn't nominated for the Oscar.  The film tells the story of two unnamed boys (András Gyémánt and Lázló Gyémánt) who are brought to the Hungarian countryside to live with their brutal grandmother (Piroska Molnár) during World War II.  As the violence and inhumanity begin to pervade their daily lives, the twins begin to do exercises to desensitize themselves to the darkness around them in order to survive.

The Notebook is as original a vision as they come.  There have been numerous films that depict wars from children's point of views, but few come close to capturing something this original.  The unnamed children in The Notebook are largely affectless, showing very little emotion.  They are each other's entire lives - two parts of one whole.  World War II and life with their grandmother is shown through their eyes as an exercise of sorts.  There is nothing that can't be overcome through exercises.  For example, to conquer pain, the boys beat each other to get used to any beating they receive.  Szász makes sure that we develop no emotional connection to anyone in the film, creating a cold piece of work, mirroring the mindset of the twins.  Oscar-nominee Christian Berger's crisp, carefully composed shots complement the lack of emotion, and they add a layer of beauty in a film full of horror.

Children have a need to take control of their lives and almost always manage to do so, even when adults around them can't.  The Notebook shows the twins taking control of every aspect of their lives.  The film itself is a testament to the resilience of children in the face of great evil.  During World War II, entire countries fell due to weakness and fear.  In a short period of time, the twins conquered what many countries failed to conquer: fear of pain, death, and evil.  Had the twins been slightly older, they would certainly have joined the resistance.

Overall, The Notebook is an unforgettable piece of cinema, featuring committed performances (the Gyémánts give two of the most complex child performances ever), strong direction, eye-popping cinematography, and an ending that nears perfection.  Many films lose much of their impact at the end, but not The Notebook.  If anything, the tense, unpredictable final scene gives the movie the punch that it builds up to.  János Szász has created one of the greatest and most unique World War II films in history and I can only hope this masterpiece finds success when Sony Pictures Classics releases it later this year.

4/4