Adam Resurrected ~ It's a pity that Jeff Goldblum's performance in this film is so magnificent, because it may never be entirely appreciated. That's what happens when you achieve your best work in the middle of a film that is otherwise an absolute mess. And Paul Schrader's film is every inch a mess. Stacked to the lid with clever but unfinished ideas, it seems like the writers of the film never got past the brain-storming process; the film is all concept and no cohesion.
The central idea for the film is good: a popular German clown is forced to play "dog" to the commander of a Nazi concentration camp. Following the war, he has completely and understandably lost his shit and now leads a troupe of insane oddballs at an experimental Israeli mental hospital. As the clown/dog/leader of misfits, Goldblum is spell-binding, using all of his familiar tics and mannerisms to create a fully fleshed lunatic (who may or may not also have mystical powers). It helps that Goldblum plays the role with a thick German accent, just enough innovation to make his otherwise familiar speaking patterns seem entirely fresh. The performance is equal parts easy charm, eccentricity and intelligence and is by itself enough to me to recommend this film. After all, despite the fact that I could never invest in what was happening in the story, I didn't check my watch once. I was completely enthralled by Goldblum's intoxicating spectacle for 106 minutes.
[Note that Willem Dafoe is also in the film, playing the role of the Nazi commander that forces Goldblum to become his dog. In contrast to Goldblum, Dafoe doesn't seem to match the game at all, instead delivering the same-old same-old Dafoe intensity seen in 100 other better films.]
***Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (I've Loved You So Long) ~ A simmering and devastating film. In fact, the movie unfolds so carefully and with such restraint, that it would be easy to underestimate the depth of emotion going on here. Nevertheless, there are volcanoes of pain to be uncovered.
The story didn't sound interesting to me and I almost gave it a pass: Kristin Scott Thomas plays a woman reunited with her sister after a 15 year absence. Big hoo-ha. But where she has been and why she was gone is the spine of the story and I wouldn't dream of giving anything away. It's clear from the first minute of the film that KST is carrying enormous psychological scars. This is a film where 90% of what is felt goes unspoken. KST's expressions (or lack thereof) are carved in stone and she provides virtually no clues in her performance (apart from the 1000-yard stare which shows up whenever she isn't otherwise speaking to someone).I should be clear. This movie is incredible. For a movie that plays so slowly and sparely, it's a complete sledgehammer. The pace of the film reminds me of a gripping novel: you're compelled to stay with what's happening to get at the grand secret and in turn savour every small crumb of information dropped from the table. Scenes frequently swell towards an emotional climax and end before we can be satisfied by a complete revelation (or catharsis). Information (when it comes) is delivered so casually that you barely notice as the complete picture is being filled in. The emotional storm gathers invisibly until it finally erupts in the final scenes as a small typhoon of grief. I can't stress enough how much restraint is shown by the writer and director to give the audience as little as possible while always giving just enough. There are no wasted beats in this movie.
This is Kristin Scott Thomas' year. Her performance in this film is a master-class on minimalism to huge effect. I've never been so absorbed by anything she's done before and will quickly join the camp of fans who think the Best Actress Oscar is hers to lose at this point in the year. Her face and eyes will be one of the many highlights that stick with me beyond this festival. Don't be put off by the arty title and mediocre-sounding synopsis. This film is worth every minute you can give it.
***
Good ~ There isn't much to recommend about Good. Here's the worst kind of film to encounter on the last day of a festival. Good is neither especially great or notably bad. It's simply mediocre. Boring.
Viggo Mortensen plays a German literary professor who, on the strength of a novel he has published, is recruited into the Nazi party and the SS. The hook is that he does not believe in Nazi principles and, in what is probably the only actual sub-text of the film, represents the Good German who joined the parades without much thought about where the party was headed. A premise of this sort hangs on how well it is executed. The synopsis I've described basically covers all the conflict and without strong characters and rich direction, the film is destined to be bland. This movie is Weetabix-without-the-sugar bland.
If I could put my finger on what doesn't work in Good, it would be that the film never seems to reach for anything beyond the most basic drama. There are absolutely no layers to be found in the movie and no surprises at all. The film makers seems to have settled for the easiest, most direct decisions throughout. Even Viggo, who can normally be counted on to bring it, phones in a strangely flat performance with an put-on English accent (he's German??)
A disappointing turn for the last afternoon at the festival. Especially in light of the fact that I opted for this title over a couple other highly praised flicks in the same time slot (Tokyo Sonata, Killing Kasztner). You can't win them all.
***
$9.99 ~ Another risky experimental pick that didn't work out. $9.99 attracted me with its combination of stylish stop-motion animation and quirky subject matter. Unfortunately, neither element really delivers.
The animation is certainly unique, but I was turned off
by the waxy, painted characters. Mouths and eyes (which are off-colour and frankly ugly) are distracting and instead of increasing my enjoyment of the film, they frequently pulled me out. To be honest, this wasn't a film made more interesting by using nontraditional actors. It's a hideous little project to watch.Still, I'm not sure that this movie would have worked for me as a live-action film either. The premise of following a variety of unusual characters living in a shared apartment block has potential (it's clear at several points that it came from a literary source), but I couldn't find any of the plot threads interesting. In fact, this one of those rare multi-character mosaics where I confess that I didn't find anyone worth watching. No characters to like and no characters to latch onto.
I'm going to stick with Robot Chicken for all my clever, stylish stop-motion from here on out. Thanks.
***
The Dungeon Masters ~ Not to put undue pressure on the last film of my festival, but I wanted this documentary to be brilliant. It was actually just very, very good.
Dungeon Masters is the latest in the crop of documentaries that focus on bizarre sub-cultures and follow the most eccentric oddballs through their daily lives (a spiritual cousin to King Of Kong or Spellbound, but without the story momentum of those competitions.) The documentary looks at the most extreme adult gamers, people who dress up for comic convention and spend an awful amount of time and money on roll-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. I could pretty much hear Ogre's voice playing in my head throughout ("Neeeeeeeeeeerds!!")
The film focuses on three personalities: a family-man trying to kick-start a fantasy novel and public-access television show (the pitch: "At the mid-point of every episode, ninjas attack!"), a games-master who has earned a reputation for killing off beloved D&D characters and clearly fosters a God-complex as it relates to role-playing games, and finally a young woman with boyfriend issues who seems to spend as much of her time in dark-elf make-up as out of it (see the photo above and imagine what her pillow case looks like.)
Nevertheless, Dungeon Masters works because it gets under the skin of its subjects without outwardly mocking them in any way. Most of the characters in the film lampoon themselves with their own words, and much of the humour (there's lots of it) comes from how seriously they take themselves (and their gaming). Amid this peculiar spectacle, there are currents of sweetness and loneliness. Once you get past the extreme and bizarre personality types, it's tough to ignore that these are real people with real problems. Their passion for Dungeons & Dragons comes from a lot of different places, and it was tough for me not to recognize their passion and irrational enthusiasm (this from a guy who watched 32 films this week...)
Great fun and a very good way to end the festival.
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