kmserlin Reviews

Drum (2004)

Important story, well-done

[8/10 · 21 October 2005]

I saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival and was fascinated by the story and setting. The very few other films I've seen that deal with apartheid (and I can't think of even one off-hand!) that lets you see what black Africans in the regime might be doing for a living outside of being servants or aides-de-camp to heroic white characters. I agree with earlier comment that some scripting is clichéd, but the actors live their roles and the movie never descends into sappy or manipulative until the final sequence. GREAT soundtrack of 50s jazz by a group of South African musicians including some who actually played in the types of Sophiatown joints depicted in the film.

At the film festival, a producer said in all likelihood this will not get US distribution, which is a terrible shame, especially for one of the lines of reasoning (I quote): "Distribution companies don't think audiences will come to see Taye Diggs in a non-romantic role." Henry is a wonderfully romantic character, full of bravado and sexual charisma.

Brick (2005)

Strange but fun and gripping

[8/10 · 21 October 2005]

Saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival. It's essentially a film noir set in present-day San Clemente High School, reminiscent of "The Big Sleep," but with drug-dealing added to the mix of double-crossing. The characters may be teenagers, but the dialog channels Chandler and Hammett, and my only real complaint with the film is that Joseph Gordon-Leavitt (in an otherwise wonderful performance) sometimes mumbles; this is dialog you don't want to miss. Lukas Haas is wonderfully eccentric in what is essentially the Sidney Greenstreet role, Noah Fleiss as the dumb thug, and Nora Zehetner even LOOKs like Mary Astor. As with all the great American noir films, there are many sardonic laughs inserted into the dark story.

Bye Bye Blackbird (2005)

Visually stunning, stupid plot

[5/10 · 21 October 2005]

Saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival. The actor who plays the main character, Joseph, is a grandson of Charlie Chaplin and there is a significant resemblance both in face (Chaplin was a very handsome man without the Little Tramp makeup) and acrobatic grace.

Much of the film takes place in an early 20th century European circus. The story was inspired by a Kafka story about a circus performer who refuses to leave his trapeze (in the story, you never learn why).The film is beautifully photographed and has many exquisite effects, but the melodramatic plot and lame dialog resulted in many unintended laughs as far as I was concerned (but nearby audience members were eating it up, so different strokes for different folks). Jodhi May badly cast as gypsy with a heart of gold. Director Savary spoke at film fest and said he believes in as little dialog as possible; to that end, he didn't bother to subtitle several sequences in which characters spoke French or English. That's okay, what dialog there is was pretty bad. I'd say this director is all eye, no ear. Derek Jacobi chews the scenery (he's supposed to, character-wise, but it's a badly written character).

Dalecarlians (2004)

Terrific on all counts

[10/10 · 21 October 2005]

I saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Hard to believe this is Ms. Blom's directorial debut, it is beautifully paced and performed. Large cast of characters could be out of an Anne Tyler novel, i.e. they are layered with back story and potential futures, there are no false notes, surprising bursts of humor amidst self-inflicted anxiety and very real if not earth-shattering dilemmas. If you saw "The Best of Youth," you will recognize how well drawn the characters are through small moments, even as the story moves briskly along. I really hope this gets distribution in the USA. I live in a fairly sophisticated film market, yet we rarely get Swedish films of any kind.