Joy (2018, Sudabeh Mortezai)

Ladies and Gentlemen  - or rather: Gentlemen of the Oscar-Academy!
With no respect - you are a bunch of jerks, because you disqualified Nigeria's submission for best foreign movie. Did you ever hear that English is a national language in Nigeria? So why are you surprised that people talk this language along regional languages.
And SHAME on distribution companies. You may have lived happily with the thought that this is a little festival film that will silently disappear in the shelves. Instead Netflix bought the distribution rights. Yes, among the piles of junk Netflix has also quality in their catalogue. Thank you Netflix for making this available.
This said, I need to say that this is a necessary film, maybe not necessarily from the top drawer, but a film that is very relevant.
Joy starts with a ceremony. Later we will learn that it is called juju, a ceremony which has the purpose to "protect", but mainly to frighten the young women who are about to be trafficked to Europe. Once they are in Europe - if they come there alive - they have an immense debt which they pay to a Madame. Joy is to introduce a newbie, Precious, to the daily life of a street prostitute. Joy is already a veteran sex worker. We follow her, as their are occasional glimpses of hope, followed by pressure from home to send more money. There is always a risk that a violent customer might beat her up or - even more threatening - that the police might catch her and send her back. We see that joy is in a vicious circle that cannot be broken.
6/10

Matthias et Maxime (2019, Xavier Dolan)

Some critics like to put artists in drawers. For Xavier Dolan the drawer enfant terrible seems suitable, remembering the raw, often hysterical energy of I Have Killed My Mother of 2009. However, now at 30, Dolan is too old to be a wunderkind. Already It's Only the End of the World was for me a turning point towards a more mature and reflective Dolan.
Dolan has become a grown-up and so have his characters also. Matthias (Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas)is already climbing up the career ladder in a law firm. His best buddy Maxime (played by Dolan) is a bit restrained by his addicted mother (Anne Dorval, almost a follow-up of Mommy from 2014). Maxime is about to leave their gang to work in Australia for two years.
Matthias and Maxime are working out together; it is an open question if they are also making out together. At a party Rivette's annoying little sister imposes her both "impressionistic and expressionistic" film project on them. The project involves kissing between Matthias and Maxime.
"A kiss is  just a kiss"? Not when oppressed sexuality is involved. The two buddies are, maybe, to discover new facets in themselves.
The party at the beginning is full of that nervous energy that used to be the trademark of Dolan, but already the quarrels with his mother show that the pubertal rebellion is replaced more lowered reactions. - There is a bit melancholy about not more so young twens. When the summer is over, nothing is no longer as it used to be. There is great tenderness in this film, which is also a great hymn to friendship.
We are always very close to the actors, with only some few notable long shots. There are brilliant, sometimes sensational beautiful shots. And Dolan is not afraid of big feelings.
Here is a  big welcome to the mature and more restrained Xavier Dolan. It is exciting to see an artist in the making. And what a great actor Dolan is!
9/10

War (2019, Siddarth Anand)

It is the war on terror. In the beginning we see one of Indian super agents aiming at a terrorist leader. He shoots - but the leader giving the order is shot instead. Then come the the titles. Later we will learn, that we started with a flashforward.
Helicopters arrive and Hrithik Roshan descends, as if he was on another Mission Impossible. He is agent Kabir, setting up a special team to fight the terrorist merchant Rizwan Iiyasi (Sanjeev Vasta). Khaled (Tiger Shroff) wants to be a member of that team also, there is only a slight problem: his father was a traitor and Kabir shot him. However, Khaled points out, that his mother revealed the treason. So his mother's blood flows in his veins also. Khaled gets a chance when Iiyasi has been spotted in Morocco. He remains loyal, but there is another traitor, so the operation fails
Then we get a flashback after the interval. Naina (Vaani Kapoor) seems to become the female lead in this film. At first it seems that the director felt the need to some women in two-part bathing suits. Naina is a dancer and works very hard to get the money for her little daughter's private school. The terrorist merchant is a great admirer of Naina. Kabir uses her first as "civilian asset", but slowly she becomes his romantic interest. In a wiretapped conversation Kabir learns, that the terrorist has people from the official instances on his payroll. When Naina is murdered, Kabir tries to trace these moles.
Now it seems that Kabir has gone rogue. Khaled tries to chase him down...
The plot is told in a rather messy way. While the cinematography is stunning at times, the editing is too harsh. We move from Tikrit in Iraq to Marrakech in Morocco, have a motorbike chase in Portugal and sandwiched in between a Holi Celebration (with some good dancing by Roshan). The plot twists seem to be contrived - including face surgery in Switzerland. Those twists are not really surprising, but laughable.
The strong part is the acting between Roshan and Shroff, the testosterone pumped buddies. However, the action scenes are too much to be realistic. They would fit in a martial arts film, but seem to be misplaced here. The weaknesses of the storyline are covered by action scenes. It is always a bad omen when a film relies exclusively on special effects.
The main problem is, however, that the main persons lack depth. Both appear like bone crushers and killing machines, but lack almost completely human aspects. It is really remarkable that the romantic aspect was first introduced after the interval.
War suffers mainly from a poor script and rough editing. It lives through well-staged action-sequences and nice cinematography, but has else very little to offer.
5/10

First dance sequence: Holi as relaxation from terrorist chasing

Only bromance before the interval

Apprentice versus teacher

Has the Artic Circle before served as a location in a Bollywood movie?

 

Så længe jeg lever (Ole Bornedal, 2018)

Hver gang navnet John Mogensen falder, bliver der nærmest automatisk sagt "den folkekære sanger". Bornedal prøver også at være folkekær, nogle gange nærmest krampagtig. Hvordan kan de to bud om at være folkekær komme sammen i en film?
Hele filmen igennem står den lille John Mogensen (Harald Kaiser Hermann) som sanger i Københavns Drengekor overfor den voksne Mogensen (Rasmus Bjerg). Den unge drengesopran lever for sin kunst. Han får også lov, at optræde på den lokale kro, men der bliver man hurtig træt af ham og sætter en swing plade på. Hans mor trøster den fornærmede dreng foran en ualmindelig kitschet solopgang.
Klip til Mogensens tid i Four Jacks. Ifølge skildringen her gik gruppen fra hinanden, fordi de andre medlemmer ikke kunne leve op til Mogensens kvalitetskrav. I filmen her virker det, som om det kun var en parantes, medens Wikipedia oplyser mig, at gruppen alligevel bestod i 9 år.
Tredje akten beskæftiger sig med Mogensen som Dansktop star. Vi følger rapsodisk hans storhed,  nedgang og død.
Så længe jeg lever er først og fremmest seværdig på grund af Rasmus Bjergs store præstation. Han spiller ikke, han er John Mogensen. Der er i filmen hele vejen igennem møder mellem den unge og den gamle Mogensen. Drengen er en slags alter ego. Disse møder fungerer forbavsende godt. Filmen er ellers som enkelte illustrerede udkast af kapitler til Mogensens biografi. Det er velgjort og pænt. men ikke mere. Fans og kendere af Mogensen vil nyde det. Vi andre kommer ikke John Mogensen nærmere. Vi kan kun overvære, hvordan han bliver alkoholiker, men vi får ingen forklaringer. Man kan gisne, men desværre bliver vi ikke klogere på ham. Hvorfor fik han succes lige i begyndelsen af 70erne? Hvorfor gav hans sange genklang i et større publikum? Bornedals kaleidoskop giver ikke svar.
6/10

Ma vraie vie à Rouen (Olivier Ducastel / Jacques Martineau, 2002)

Etienne's mother is a bit worried. She thinks, her son should get hobbies that involve other people. Instead he is skating and filming his family. A movie filmed with a video camera with amateur footage of normal lives sounds like the perfect recipe for 100 minutes worth of yawning, however Ducastel and Martineau manages to get me involved and it is difficult to catch my intention.
While Etienne gets more confident with his camera, he also keeps getting on people's nerve  who don't want to be captured. Etienne hangs out with his best friend Ludovic, but while the latter is interested in the chicks, Etienne all the times backs out. This in spite of his plan to get finally laid. It is always embarrassing for Etienne when someone mentions, that he is a handsome guy and that he should find some girls to hang out with. It doesn't take long until Etienne's real obsession becomes evident - the male body.
Coming of age has been told and will be told many times. To see it through the eyes and the lens of the main character is a bold and successful experiment. Everybody who likes people should see this film.
9)10

Werk ohne Autor (2018, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

Donnersmarcks zweiter deutschsprachiger Spielfilm wurde mit großer Spannung erwartet. 13 Minuten standing ovation wurden nach der Erstaufführung gemeldet. Nach dem misslungenen Ausflug nach Hollywood kehrt Donnersmarck nun zur deutschen Geschichte zurück.
Nie wegsehen! Das sind die letzten Worte, die Tante Elisabeth dem jungen Kurt zuruft, bevor sie von den Nazis in die Psychiatrie verschleppt und dort schließlich "von ihrem Leiden erlöst wird". Kurt Banert ist als ein begabter Maler und sieht genau hin, zum Beispiel auf die Brüste seiner Tante, die er bereits auswendig nachmalen kann. Nach dem Krieg wird er zunächst Schildermaler, dann aber auf die Akademie geschickt. Dort ist der Sozialistische Realismus die einzige Richtung. Alles, was den Arbeitern dient, wird gemalt. Kurt hat allerdings eine selbständige Stimme. Er verliebt sich in Elisabeth, die frappant seiner ermordeten Tante ähnelt. Kurt weiß jedoch nicht, dass Elisabeths Vater Arzt bei der SS war und seine geliebte Tante in den Tod geschickt hat. Im dritten Akt haben Kurt, Elisabeth und ihre Eltern der DDR den Rücken gekehrt. Kurt findet endlich im kapitalistischen Realismus seine eigene Stimme.
Der Plot lehnt sich an das Leben Gerhard Richters an. Der "unwahrscheinliche Zufall", dass Elisabeths Vater den Tod der Tante zu verantworten ist ist ein nachweisbares biografisches Detail. Das Leben schreibt eben doch die besten Melodramen.
Schon beim kleinen Kurt wird eine erotische Obsession für seine Tante vermutet. Vieles wird mit dem männlichen Blick betrachtet. Immer wieder wieder findet Donnersmarck einen Vorwand, dass sich Elisabeth (Paula Beer - kompetent) ausziehen muss, aber ansonsten erfahren wir nicht so viel über ihr Leben, außer, dass sie zu Hause ist, wenn ihr Mann denn endlich aus dem Atelier zurückkehrt und dass sie sich dann im Bett umherwälzen. Was sie sonst noch an Gemeinsamkeiten haben, erfahren wir nicht.
3 Stunden für gut 30 Jahre deutsche Geschichte ist nicht viel. Zweimal erleben wir Geschichte im Zeitraffer. In einer Art Videoclip wird Dresden bombardiert, wird die Tante in die Gaskammer geführt und sterben ihre Brüder im Krieg. Und das wird auch noch mit süsslicher Händel-Musik unterlegt. Eigentlich müsste man einen Regisseur, der solche Montagen dem Publikum zumutet, verachten.
Dabei ist alles in diesem Film eigentlich groß gedacht. Die Wucht des Materials wälzt den überrollt den Zuschauer, sodass man erst im Rückblick merkt, wie wenig Substanz dieser Film eigentlich hat. Im Zentrum stehen Kurt (Tom Schilling - vom Drehbuch eher unterfordert) und sein diabolischer Schwiegervater (Sebastian Koch). Donnersmarck hat wohl seinem Plot nicht getraut, denn  zu oft ist die Handlung mit Musik zugekleistert.
Donnersmarck will ein komplexes Kunst- und Historiendrama vorlegen. Vor allem die Genese des Künstlers in Westdeutschland ist wenig überzeugend, jedenfalls so nicht nachvollziehbar.
Fazit: großes Kino, doch zu viel Schwachstellen. Mehr Hollywood als Arthouse.
5/10

Mackie Messer - Brechts Dreigroschenfilm (2018, Joachim Lang)

Jeder weiß,wer Mackie Messer ist. Und jeder kennt den Satz, dass erst das Fressen und dann die Moral kommt. Die Dreigroschenoper ist mithin eines der bekanntesten deutschen Theaterstücke überhaupt. Auf diesen Erfolg anknüpfend wollten Nero-Film und andere Produktionsgesellschaften aus dem Stück einen Film machen. Doch ging ihre Rechnung nicht auf, denn Brecht verschärfte die antikapitalistische Tendenz seines Stückes noch einmal. Die Produzenten schlossen danach Brecht von der Produktion aus.
Joachim Lang hat einen Film über einen Film gemacht. Alles, was Brecht hier sagt ist nachweisbares Zitat. Selbst ein charismatischer Schauspieler wie Lars Eidinger kann nicht immer vermeiden, dass die stets druckreifen Sentenzen doch eben papieren wirken. Schade, eigentlich. Wo bleibt Brecht, der Mensch?
 Joachim Lang, der auch das Drehbuch schrieb weiß zweifelsohne viel, vielleicht sogar alles über Brecht, hat aber das Problem, dieses pralle Wissen zu einer Handlung umzusetzen. Wer von uns hat gerade die Einzelheiten der Dreigroschenoper im Kopf? Deshalb hat das Drehbuch das Problem, dass die Radikalität von Brechts Konzeption eben nur behauptet, aber nicht gezeigt wird. Was wir sehen ist eine plüschige Aufführung, die mehr an Babylon Berlin denn an Brecht denken lässt.
Diese Ebene wird immer wieder durchbrochen, teils durch Einwände der Produzenten, teils durch Spielszenen aus Brechts Biographie (auch diese scheint als bekannt vorausgesetzt zu werden), teils durch Einbeziehung des zeitgenössischen Hintergrunds, vor allem das Aufkommen der Nazis. Irgendwann wird es dann zu viel: der Film ist überfrachtet. Die Szenen aus dem imaginären Film werden vom Ensemble mit großer Hingabe und darstellerischer Freude dargeboten und machen diesen Film dann doch noch sehenswert. Jedoch, das andauernde Auf- und Abbrechen überlasten den Film ohne Not.
Joachim Lang möchte auch, dass wir begreifen, wie aktuell die Botschaft Brechts noch ist. Als Wegelagerer erkannten, dass ihr Berufszweig nicht mehr zeitgemäß war, wurden sie Banker. Das Schlussbild führt uns dann in die Finanzkrise, den käuflichen Politikern und Gerichten und - ach, lass stecken, wir haben es begriffen.
Dies ist ein Film für den Leistungskurs Deutsch. Man nimmt Brechts Stück, seine Aufzeichnungen zum Film, sieht dann Pabsts Film von 1931 und fragt, was der Dichter uns sagen wollte. Lang tut es auch.
4/10

Крымский мост. Сделано с любовью! (2018, Tigran Keosayan)

The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!
Tigran Keosayan is in certain terms quite critical about Russian cinema. He likes good old Soviet-styles comedies and he hates masterpieces like Leviathan.With considerable public funding he made a feel-good film which the Russian state supported as socially useful goals and ensuring public interests and interests of the state. On the other hand the makers declared that this was an unpolitical. Now what? An unpolitical comedy in the interest of the state? Can we really have it both ways?

The film starts in 1945 at the temporary Soviet bridge on the Crimea. Damir and Raya are separated, but they promise each other to see each other at the bridge every year. Leap to present day Crimea. Russia is building the permanent bridge. Tikhon, a journalist and intellectual, as identified by his spectacles is writing an article about the project. He is confused, but also gullible. He thinks there is resistance against the Russian occupation, but this is a misinterpretation. Actually he is denounced as a Ukrainian spy.
The main heroes of this film are "bedhoppers". There goal is to score te hottest chick and never to sleep twice with the same girl. The girls on the side are dreaming of Prince Charming with or without white horse. So an out-worn cliché. It is somewhat chocking that this soup of old vegetables was cooked together by a woman, Margarita Simonyan, the wife of the director. This is her first attempt to write a film script. Small episodes replace a plot. At last all heroes and heroins find their new home. Even Damir finds Raya again. As they embrace on the bridge, we pan out to see the construction.

Even Russian reviews were very negative. Tigran Keosayan called them "sick". He can call me sick, too. The Crimean Bridge appeals to macho humour and in this world are men the only ones who matter. Even worse the glorification of the Stalin era. A film nobody needs.
1/10

Hotel Dallas (2016, Livia Ungur / Huang Sherng-Lee)

At last I have a new computer. This one is not making noise like a lawn-mower, so I might at last be able and in the mood to update my miserable blog more often. I am in the last month of a MUBI promotion-offer and this has had a big influence on my choice of films. Otherwise I might never have seen Hotel Dallas.
This film is a blend of documentary, fairy-tale and drama, all at a time and maybe nothing.
Under the dictatorship of the Ceaucescu's Romanian TV showed mainly programs about the great leader - and at times also Dallas. This long-running series were like a fairy-tale. It was supposed to show how corrupt the capitalist system was. Romanians, however, saw it as a fairy-tale. Yes, corruption existed in Romania, but America could do it on large scale. It is also suggested that Romanian business people after the revolution of 1989 took the JR as the role model for their business practises.
One of these fraudsters rebuilt the Southfork Farm as a hotel and because he could, he also remodeled the Eiffel Tower. He is granted a song to tell his story.
Children, dressed as communist pioneers re-enact key scenes from Dallas. Later they become the Ceauxescu's and are shot.
An American, Mr. Here, visits Hotel Dallas. He is looking for an Endless Column. Livia Ungur is receptionist at this hotel. First they visit her mother, then they travel in a cake box to Bukarest, where they attend a Christmas party with a talk about philosophy, circular time and history.
And so on. There is little coherence. It seems that the film makers already had problems to fill the rather short running length of 74 minutes.
There are probably many allusions. The tunes may be known to Romanian viewers,  more allusions might be known to the fans of Dallas. If you are neither, you see a lot of good beginnings, but a messy outcome.
2/10