The Artist 4.5/5 Stars Directed by: Michel Hazanavicius Starring: Bernice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, John Goodman, Malcolm McDowell 114 min., France See if you liked: The Big Parade (1925)
Sitting down to The Artist is like taking a field trip to the 1920s, without the annoyances of the Depression and all. The story of a silent film actor George Valentin (Dujardin) struggling with the transition to talkies is endearingly told through a full length black and white, silent film. Even the limiting square aspect ratio stays true to form. While the technique seems outdated and dull in a world where even our animation looks real, the created experience is what makes the film a masterpiece.
Valentin is an old Hollywood star who holds on to his fame as if it is indestructible. Unfortunately, the invention of sound attached to film threatens his celebrity status and comes through the film in quirky circumstances. The glass Valentin puts on his desk bangs down to the horror of both the audience and the actor himself, who is literally trapped in the world of silent film.
The story evolves as one of Valentin’s many swooning fans, Peppy Miller, is dragged onto set. The adorable new face reminds us of an attractive Olive Oil (of Popeye fame), and her stardom works to drag both the industry and Valentin into a new era of film.
One of the most creative takes on story–telling we’ve seen in a while, The Artist is guaranteed to impress even the most hesitant viewer. If the charm of over–acting doesn’t get you, the tap numbers will.
—Hilary Miller
Attenberg 3/5 Stars Directed by: Athina Rachel Tsangari Starring: Ariane Labed, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou, Yorgos Lanthimos 95 min., Greece See if You liked: Dead Ringers (1988)From the opening scene in which best friends Marina (Labed) and Bella (Randou) uncomfortably swap spit in a how–to kissing lesson to the recurring scenes of the girls dancing in odd Wizard of Oz like sequences, this Greek coming of age story is unconventional in nearly every sense. Unfortunately, the plot doesn’t help clear up much.
Marina is discovering herself through her father’s final days. His cancer is worsening and she is forced to create an individual identity in between trips to the hospital. She and her friend seem oddly childish for their age, but the sexual subjects of many of their interactions remind the audience otherwise.
The film is filled with sex, in the least sexual way. Marina loses her virginity to a visiting engineer and the girls talk about sex as if they were Freud. Regardless, the entire experience seems the opposite of sexy. Intimate scenes are mundane and scandalous conversations are the norm. Thus, an interesting dynamic is created that questions our perception of the sexual encounter.
Attenberg tells an interesting story in a way that is certainly not conventional. But, this may be an example of indie going a tad too far. I’m still not sure what was meant by penis–pear trees and synchronized steps. Maybe you can enlighten me? I wouldn’t ask you to waste your time.
—Hilary Miller
Being Elmo 4/5 Stars Directed by: Constance Marks Starring: Kevin Clash, Elmo 76 min., United States See if you liked: Sesame Street (1970 – present)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlNZo10pCts
Elmo is, whether we like it or not, one of the most recognizable faces on television. It seems that every household knows Elmo intimately. But, who we don’t know is the man behind the red faux–fur puppet.
This man, Kevin Clash, is the mind behind present–day Sesame Street and the spirit of Elmo. No matter where Elmo goes, be it a live appearance in Hong Kong or a hospital visit to a sick child, Kevin is that Elmo.
The story of Being Elmo follows the heart–warming story of Kevin’s rise to success and the famous puppeteers who helped him along the way. As the audience becomes more familiar with Kevin’s life, his inanimate character, Elmo, comes to life before our eyes.
While Sesame Street may be juvenile, this documentary is far from that. You’ll laugh and you’ll cry as you begin to grasp the global impact achieved by one small furry toy. Puppet or no puppet, Being Elmo reaches far beyond child’s play.
—Hilary Miller
READ: PHILLY FILM FEST RECAP PART 2: O-Z
The Destiny of Lesser Animals 1.5/5 Stars Directed by: Deron Albright Starring: Fred Nii Amugi, Abena Takyi 89 min., Ghana See if you liked: Sugar Cane Alley (1983)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJWR884Ki6I
Boniface Koomsin is a police inspector who wants nothing more than to travel to America in search of an education and job opportunities. His eagerness leads him to stage a fake investigation after his illegal travel documents are stolen. While he isn’t the most honorable of cops, Boniface does manage to find an actual crime to investigate while he fails at solving his own.
The plot is, for the most part, interesting, but the execution is not always up to speed. Side stories muddy the progression of the film and poor cinematography distracts more often than it adds.
Regardless, the story is deeply rooted in African custom and national pride radiates throughout the hour and a half. The success lies in director Albright’s ability to, through all of this, highlight the issues that plague Ghana today and do so in a manner that is digestible and interesting.
—Hilary Miller
Headhunters 3/5 stars Directed by: Morten Tyldum Starring: Aksel Hennie, Julie R. Olgaard, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau 98 min., Norway See if you liked: The Matrix (1999)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9XNwq2uGnE
Norway’s scenic countryside provides an ironically picturesque backdrop for Morten Tyldum’s engaging comedy of errors, Headhunters. In this elaborately woven, darkly comedic thriller, Askel Hennie plays Roger Brown, an elite job recruiter with a serious Napoleon complex. The film opens with a polished, albeit slightly cliche introduction, making use of a surprisingly witty voice–over.
Brown, overcompensating for his measly 5’4'' stature, buys an extravagant lifestyle and the affection of his stunning wife by stealing art from wealthy clients. On the brink of financial ruin, Brown stumbles upon an incredibly valuable Rubens painting in the Oslo apartment of Dane Clas Grave (Nikolaj Coster–Waldau), who also happens to be the perfect candidate for an executive post Brown needs to fill.
As more characters and intricacies are unveiled, the film devolves into a wild game of cat and mouse between Hennie and his pursuers, trading its glamorous look for a shockingly violent, macabre one. The gruesome scenes are enough to elicit gasps from the audience and keep them hooked, detracting their attention away from the long, unoriginal chase that comprises the majority of the film.
Headhunters is salvaged by its powerful shots that toe the line between gratuitous and humorous. Although it is void of subtlety and nuance, the film is two hours of solid entertainment, maintaining a level of pure intensity right up to the closing credits.
—Kimberly Schreiber
Kill List 2.5/5 Stars Directed by: Ben Wheatley Starring: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Michael Smiley 95 min., UK See if you liked: Oldboy (2003)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkqF--v1tg
Part assassin thriller and part cult horror, Kill List is a fragmented romp through the mind of a hit–man–turned–family–man as he completes the eternally ill–fated “last job.” The film starts out rather conventionally — a frustrated wife (Buring) attempts to convince her apathetic husband, Jay (Maskell), to perform a final hit, orchestrated by his old war buddy and partner, Gal (Smiley).
Director Ben Wheatley creates an atmosphere of unease by sprinkling in details that go unexplained for long stretches of time, or which are never explained at all; strange symbols, mutilated animals and vague references to the assassins’ pasts hint toward the unsettling turn that is to come. Maskell’s subtle touch effectively conveys Jay’s gradual unraveling as he and Gal work their way through the three hits that they have been contracted to perform, but the character’s underdeveloped history and his seemingly random outbursts of violence make him too emotionally distant to serve as an effective protagonist.
The final half hour or so of the film seems essentially foreign to that which precedes it; Jay and Gal find themselves amidst a Children of the Corn–like cult whose relation to the original job is unclear. The sheer shock value of the film’s conclusion helps to explain this lack of continuity, but Kill List is ultimately more confusing than disturbing.
—Megan Reilly
Michael 4.5/5 Stars Directed by: Markus Schleinzer Starring: Michael Fuith 120 min., Austria See if you liked: Little Children (2006)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXe35bV8Owg
Michael tells the story of the odd relationship between a middle–aged man and the boy whom he raises. What makes the story interesting is that this parent–child like relationship isn’t the consensual one you’re imagining.
Michael leads a relatively normal life. He holds a career and shmoozes with fellow employees. He attends family gatherings. But, Michael doesn’t return home to a typical household.
You would never know that Michael is a pedophile. Wolfgang, the child who lives in his basement, is his captive, and their dynamic evolves throughout the film in ways that make you question the health of their relationship and the sickness of your own views. This is the masterful thing about Michael; the dull average presentation of a horrific subject becomes a beautiful and fascinating character study.
While the subject matter seems disturbing, Michael is, perhaps, one of the year’s most brilliant cinematic successes. Taking home an award from the Philadelphia Film Festival, it is clear that we aren’t the only ones this film has lured in.
—Hilary Miller
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