Weekly Review -- Overlooked dramas with a hint of chills

A good drama is hard to find and a treasure when it is discovered. I believe that, with the constant stream of films geared toward a couple of certain demographic groups, well crafted dramatic films are rare nowadays, with only a few good examples popping up here and there. Some of these films end up with a blink-and-miss cinema status, yet find new life on DVD. I am hoping that the latter will be the case for the films I had the pleasure of seeing this week.


Munich (2005) -- Steven Spielberg's latest film is a psychologically brutal drama that explores the reality of human souls caught up in a conflict beyond their control. After the terrorist group Black September had kidnapped and murdered eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, Israel wanted revenge. To that end, they decided to send out five agents, led by Golda Meir's former bodyguard and ex-soldier Avner (Eric Bana), who would hunt down the men responsible for the massacre and kill them one by one. Each of the agents has training and experience for a specific aspect of the operation. Apart from Avner, the group consists of Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), toymaker and bomb expert; Steve (Daniel Craig), a South African hit man; Hans (Hanns Zischler), an accountant responsible for the money provided by Mossad; and Carl (Ciarán Hinds), the 'cleaner' who makes sure there is no trace of the five at any scene. As the team travel through Europe, leaving bloody payback behind, the seemingly black-and-white motives for the killings start melting into gray areas, creating clashes between the men. Most of the film's events are seen through Avner's troubled, reluctant, yet determined eyes. He is the kind of man who puts loyalty to country first; however, he is torn between this loyalty and love for his family. Bana is perfectly cast as Avner, showing genuine emotion in a man who was taught to repress it. One of the film's most effective parts is Avner's phone call to his wife, which manages to show his whole inner struggle in about ten seconds. I liked the fact that, contrary to many films dealing with the concept of revenge, there is no classic balance between the so-called good guys and bad guys in Munich. The terrorists are obviously killers and, although the motives of Mossad are understandable, their actions are just as cold blooded. It is precisely this kind of analysis that makes Munich more than a political thriller; rather, the film becomes a study of character under the most unnerving of circumstances. In the end, the cycle of revenge is neverending and the desire for vengeance is an undeniable part of the human instinct.


10/10


Match Point (2005) -- Most of Woody Allen's films deal with the characters' ruminations on life, love and the unpredictability of fate. In Match Point, Allen eschews the quirky study of life for a dark examination of luck. Ex tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) starts a new job as an instructor at an exclusive country club and immediately meets Chloe and Tom Hewett (Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode), daughter and son of a business tycoon (Brian Cox). Soon afterwards, Chris and Chloe start dating and everything seems rosy on the romance front, until Chris falls hard for Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), Tom's fiancée. With devoted Chloe on one side and passionate Nola on the other, what is Chris to do? The answer may not seem so obvious but, after all, nothing is as it seems in this tale of lust and intrigue. From the very beginning, Chris narrates his views on the importance of luck in life, and the clever screenplay examines these views in the context of various unbelievable situations the characters find themselves in. The brilliant thing about this film is that the screenplay never blurs the delicate line between luck and coincidence, a misstep that could easily have occurred in the hands of another filmmaker. Instead, every detail is convincing in its implausibility, likely to happen even if followed by the audience's gasps. With his boyish good looks and charm, Rhys Myers is well cast as a man whose life gets more complicated by the minute, while Johansson is appropriately seductive as Nola, gradually peeling off the sultry layers to show us the essence of her character. The direction is another unique aspect of the film. Allen creates a musical performance from the actors' movements, making as believe at times that we are watching a ballet and not a cinematic piece. Match Point is Woody Allen's upside down look at Murphy's Law. It makes us think about ourselves, our actions and their consequences, all the while exploring various curveballs that fate throws at us. It asks a simple, but ultimate question - what does one's life depend on? See this film and decide for yourself.


9/10


The New World (2005) -- Terrence Malick's new epic recounts the love story between English explorer John Smith (Colin Farrell) and Native American Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher) in the milieu of the English colonization of America. The way the film examines the principal love story and general human interaction is original and impressive. It takes its time telling the story, using subtle direction and relying on words and actors' body language rather than screenplay conventions. This aspect of the film may have been what put audiences off when the film came out in January. The above mentioned invasion of bound-to-make-money films immediately comes to mind, as does the generally short attention span of Western audiences. This film is not one that can be seen, enjoyed for two hours and soon forgotten. The title does not necessarily refer only to new geographical territory; it also refers to the new universe opened up to Pocahontas, as well as the one that Smith becomes part of. As an exploration of timeless emotion in a historical context, The New World is a work that can be appreciated beyond its epic film structure. The acting is good all around. I was convinced by Farrell's portrayal of Smith as a tender brogue, and believe that Farrell's acting keeps getting unfairly overlooked in favour of his personal life. Christian Bale also has a nice turn as John Rolfe, another settler, whose one action is sufficient to define his character. The standout of the cast, though, is Kilcher, whose performance is haunting and moving. Considering that Kilcher was only around 14 when this film was made, her grasp of the character's depths is astonishing. Her Pocahontas is a wild butterfly, epitome of freedom itself, whose wide-eyed curiosity and innocence is almost shattered by her effect on the very formation of the colony. I am not sure how much of the film is historically accurate, but I dare to go on the record and say that the accuracy can be disregarded if a film treats its story and characters with respect and intelligence, which Malick's work certainly does. The film reminds us about the origins of our continent and our cultural wealth, doing so by drawing a detailed map of the human heart.


9/10