Weekly Review -- (Belated) Oscar weekend

Babel (2006) -- A global mosaic of culture shock, collision and miscommunication, Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel illustrates the paradoxical nature of our world in vivid and often disturbing hues. With all the advances in science and technology and with the world's borders becoming more fluid each and every day, people are drifting further and further away from one another, never stopping to pay attention to the person next to them.


**SPOILERS AHEAD**


The story starts in Morocco, where two little boys, Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahmed (Said Tarchani) are playing with guns. At the same time, Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are on holiday; in the ultimate wrong-place-and-wrong-time situation, Susan gets shot. The shooting turns into a political and international incident, simultaneously affecting not only the above mentioned characters, but also deaf mute Japanese teenager Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) and Richard and Susan's Mexican maid Amelia (Adriana Barraza). Every one of these characters is about to be faced with choices; while some will choose wisely, others are going to end up making extremely bad decisions.

The value of Babel does not only lie in the skillfully crafted story of cross-cultural intersections and effects that familiar strangers may unconsciously have on one another's existence. Its main value, in my opinion, is its depiction of ordinary people caught up in problems beyond their control. Their circumstances and relationships are drawn out in Guillermo Arriaga's raw and powerful screenplay, full of meaningful moments conveyed by looks alone. The first dialogue between Richard and Susan immediately comes to mind, as does the wedding ceremony and the very last scene. The words are few and far between, with the script leaving the human body to do the talking and the eyes to do the longing. Iñárritu does not feel the need to spice up the writing with filler actions; rather, he allows his performers to create cinematic life by finding genuine reactions and feelings in the dialogue. I also have to heap praise upon Gustavo Santaolalla, whose reflective and ethnically inspired music provides a rich backdrop for the events unfolding on screen.

Most of the performances are effective in an emotionally charged way. Barraza and Kikuchi were rightfully hailed by the majority of reviewers, although there are some other notable characterizations. Barraza's Amelia is a desperate woman, who navigates through her situation like a sailor lost at sea. She makes instinctive decisions, with no sense or reason; she is guided by necessity, which proves to be nearly fatal. Kikuchi's Chieko is a ticking time bomb, about to explode with pent-up anger and pain; the scene in which she finally breaks down is a sight to behold. There were two other stand-out performances for me. One of them was Boubker Ait El Caid as Yussef, a child growing up in the context of unforgiving mentality and impossible conditions, who understands more about the meaning of family than we may think at first. The other one was Mohamed Akhzam's quiet and dignified portrayal of Anwar, the Moroccan villager who provides a voice of honorable stability in the chaos of the shooting.

There were only a couple of negative aspects to Babel. The film gets lost in its own narrative on occasion, dragging on and verging on pretentiousness; thankfully, it never crosses this line. The Tokyo story, as clever as it is, represents quite a stretch for the story's six degrees modus operandi, but that can be easily overlooked, since the characters are humanized in such a believable way.

Films that deal with the human condition are rare nowadays; films that deal with it in an international context are even harder to find. Finally, films that look at life from a philosophical perspective and that question the way we treat fellow human beings are almost impossible to find. Babel belongs in all these categories and, while it is not the best film of 2006, it is certainly in the top three.

8/10


The Departed (2006) -- The film that won the Best Director Oscar for Martin Scorsese and this year's Oscar for Best Picture, The Departed is a drama that explores the fine line between the law and the criminal underworld. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an undercover police officer infiltrating an Irish-American gang, run by ruthless Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). At the same time, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is assigned to be Frank's agent in the police force. Both men deal with the pressure and demands of their positions, and each digs deep within himself to stay afloat in the merciless world of organized crime. However, secrets get uncovered, betrayals are committed and each man eventually finds himself in jeopardy of being compromised... The gritty screenplay, taut direction and excellent acting is what takes this film from a crime story to a human drama. William Monahan's screenplay gives us multi-dimensional characters with a lot on their plate and high odds stacked against them. DiCaprio is incredible as the conflicted Costigan, torn between his professional duties, a need to prove himself and his personal life. Nicholson's Costello is a violent hedonist who gets what he wants, regardless of the price. Matt Damon is also very good as Sullivan, although he often gets overshadowed by the previously mentioned two performances. The only Oscar-nominated performance -- Mark Wahlberg as Dignam -- did not impress me. I did not think that the character was particularly striking, nor that Wahlberg did something unique with the role. Personally, I would have nominated Nicholson in a heartbeat. There are some nice supporting turns, namely from Martin Sheen as the chief of police and Vera Farmiga as the police psychiatrist. An unpredictable story populated with shady characters, The Departed is one of the best and most eloquent crime dramas of recent years.

9/10

Weekly Review -- A pretentious mish-mash

Unknown (2006) -- A strange, gray, claustrophobic piece, this film by Simon Brand popped up on DVD without hype. This is one of those films that a viewer becomes eager about once they read the plotline and cast list; then comes a period of time when the viewer keeps wondering about wherever the film has disappeared; and then, one day, we see it on the shelves of our local video store and wonder why we had not heard anything since the day we started looking forward to it. A group of men -- played by Jim Caviezel, Greg Kinnear and Jeremy Sisto, among others -- wake up in an abandoned warehouse and discover that they all suffer from amnesia. As they are trying to find out why and how they got there, they are not sure which one of them can be trusted and which one may be responsible for their predicament. In the meantime, the police are conducting an investigation... The film boasts a story with more twists and turns than The Usual Suspects and Memento put together, as well as a tough-guy-bonanza cast. Unfortunately, what it does not boast is a sense of direction and character backgrounds that would make it irresistible. It is also too insular for its own good, turning the warehouse into a lackluster prison, rather than using the men's captivity to turn their survival instinct up a notch. Another minus is that the film lacks engaging characters to make us empathize with their plight. These guys are not terribly interesting to watch, since they occasionally seem like they are sleepwalking through their ordeal. Still, there are some good performances, particularly Caviezel's portrayal of a deeply conflicted man and Kinnear's portrayal of an average Joe who will cross any limits for the sake of self-preservation. Overall, the film is not your standard thriller, but it makes a mistake of lagging its suspense to the farthest realms of the viewers' patience, while not giving us a reward in the form of intriguing characters and menacing locales.

5/10

Weekly Review -- The romantic and the unexpected

Tristan + Isolde (2005) -- There have not been too many epic love stories in recent years; indeed, up until Tristan + Isolde, the last one may have Jack and Rose's tragic Titanic journey. This Kevin Reynolds film had slipped under the radar, but contains enough genuine emotion in its screenplay and chemistry between the leads to make it satisfying viewing. In the midst of the strife between 12th century Britain and Ireland, Tristan (James Franco) is wounded in a battle and is soon pronounced dead by his fellow soldiers. Through a set of coincidences, he meets Irish princess Isolde (Sophia Myles), who saves his life. They fall in love but, through another set of coincidences, Isolde becomes wife to King Marke (Rufus Sewell), who had raised Tristan after the death of the boy's parents. The young lovers are now caught between their passion and Tristan's sense of duty and loyalty. Franco and Myles exude desperate love and each is convincing in their role. Franco's Tristan is a conflicted individual, who has to reconcile the values of his upbringing with his newfound feelings. Myles's Isolde radiates zest for life, but the traditional woman's place in this society does not permit her to fully express it. Another strong point of the film was Artur Reinhart's cinematography, which explores the full visual potential of the gorgeous locations and transports the audience to the 12th century with its use of shadows and misty colors. I found, however, that the film needed further development of the relationships it dealt with. The events that take place in the second half of the film would have struck a deeper emotional chord if we had seen more of the relationship between Tristan and Marke as Tristan was growing up, as well as the relationship between Isolde and her father during her childhood. Apart from some underdeveloped aspects, though, the film is good viewing if you would like to watch a love story that is not your typical Hollywood romance and where everything is not necessarily coming up roses.

7/10


The Grudge 2 -- On the Monday after the American remake of Ju-On: The Grudge successfully premiered, its sequel was greenlit. Two years later, it was released, and we wonder why it was even conceived. This time, Kayako and Toshio's curse has left the Tokyo house, as well as Japan; heck, it has even left the continent, coming to America and infecting the tenants of a Chicago apartment building, which include newlyweds Trish (Jennifer Beals) and Bill (Christopher Cousins). At the same time, Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn) travels to Japan to find out what exactly happened to her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who was charged with arson after she burned down the haunted house that the Grudge inhabits. Teaming up with journalist Eason (Edison Chen), Aubrey delves into the mystery of Kayako's murder... The main problem with this film is the lack of any cohesive story. The film feels like a series of scary scenes that were strung together, with no meaning or structure. The flashback style of storytelling, a trademark of this series, only serves to further make the film look like a disjointed jigsaw puzzle. I was not a fan of the 2004 film either, but at least it had some sort of plotline to it. The acting is awful and 90% of the cast seems to be there to milk the Grudge cash cow. The only ones that come out unscathed are Tamblyn, whose character's underdeveloped and complicated relationships unfortunately leave much to be desired, and Cousins, whose character goes through a startling transformation thanks to the curse. There are a few jumps here and there, but the film is mostly boring, non-sensical and uneventful. If you would like to watch a good recent horror film, please find the scares you require with The Descent and let this turkey find its way to the bargain bin.

3/10


Shadowboxer (2006) -- A crime drama with more than a hint of gloom, this Lee Daniels film does not exactly hit the depths it aspires to. Crime boss Clayton (Stephen Dorff) hires assassins Rose (Helen Mirren) and Mikey (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to murder several of his mobster rivals. Terminally ill Rose is unable to kill a certain person, though, and the couple flees with an unexpected addition in tow. The question is if and how Rose and Mikey can escape their previous life and find salvation. Gooding Jr. does a good job as a seemingly stone cold killer and Mirren is nuanced as always in the role of Rose, a woman who never managed to find her life's focus. Dorff is fantastic as Clayton; his performance is frightening, disturbing and vulgar all at once. The one thing I did not like about this film was the unnecessary violence. One particular scene at the beginning was not needed; a killing that takes place around the middle of the film was completely unjustified and made no sense. Another weak aspect is the screenplay, which tries too hard to be philosophical and throws around random questions regarding death, the existence of God and the value of life. Since the film spends more time on its style and the pace of the general story than on its characters and their histories, these parts of the dialogue feel forced and out of place, rather than being a seamless part of the flow.

**HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD (please highlight to read)**

The message of the film is unclear and ambiguous. Is Anthony going to grow up to become a killer, much like Mikey did? Is nurture going to override nature's influence? Too much is crammed into the last ten minutes, as if to compensate for the film's failure to properly explore its own questions and views.

**END OF SPOILERS**

The film offers some good twists and original characters -- namely Rose and Vickie -- but is too moody and self-involved for us to feel any kind of empathy for the principal characters. The audience mostly gets the impression that each person's plight was the result of their own poor choices, rather than any unfortunate circumstances that may have led them to their current situation, which makes it hard to care and which is what the film tries to make us do. The story is original enough and the film is unusual enough as a crime drama about redemption, but it does not succeed in making the audience see eye to eye with its protagonists, simply because the way it represents them does not match its attempts to philosophize about their existence.

6/10