Friday Five: 'World' Films on My Sofa

Recently one of the television channels here has been showing a series of 'World Movies'. While we cannot explore the world in person, we can make do with viewing it through a screen and visiting destinations in our imaginations instead of aeroplanes. 

5 'World' Films I have seen recently:

1. 127 Hours (2011, UK/ USA) - the premise is very simple; a young man goes off hiking by himself in Utah and falls into a canyon, trapping his arm. With no one else around, he must attempt to free himself, or die there of starvation and exposure. As with many of these boys-own adventures, the central character seems arrogant and unlikable, although there is a suggestion that he learns humility through his ordeal. James Franco plays Aron Ralson (on whose auto-biography the film is based) with decreasing levels of bombast as the film progresses. Of course, having to spend so much time in one person's company could be challenging, but director and co-writer, Danny Boyle (co-written with Simon Beaufoy), include several flashbacks and hallucinogenic montages to maintain interest. And the soundtrack (original music by A.R. Rahman) is great. Described by Boyle as 'an action movie about a guy who can't move', the film was nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, and best actor for Franco.
2. Black Sea (2015, UK/ Russia/ USA) - Once again the plot is fairly straight-forward. 'In order to make good with his former employers, a submarine captain (played by Jude Law) takes a job with a shadowy backer to search the depths of the Black Sea for a submarine rumoured to be loaded with gold.' Half of the crew are Russian and divisions soon open up between 'us' and 'them'. It contains all the cliches one would expect with a bunch of testosterone-fuelled men trapped in a hostile environment, exploration sequences of deep sea diving and salvage retrieval, and the standard disaster tropes of scuttled and sinking submarines. Jude Law relishes his role as captain-not-always-in-charge, and there are some solid performances from the rest of the cast (including Michael Smiley, Ben Mendelsohn, Tobias Menzies, David Threlfall and   Bobby Schofield). Director Kevin MacDonald (of The Last King of Scotland and State of Play fame) ratchets up the tension and raises the film from the depths to become a treatise on the nature of greed and obsession. 
3. Hanna (2011, USA/ UK/ Germany) - The fantastic cast of this action drama makes it more than just another teen-takes-on-the-world picture. A sixteen-year-old girl (-played by Saoirse Ronan) is raised by her father (Eric Bana) to be the perfect assassin (cue scenes of physical prowess and manual dexterity in snowy surroundings). She is then dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent (Cate Blanchett) and her henchmen and -women (Tom Hollander; Jessica Barden; Michelle Docherty; Olivia Williams; Jason Flemyng). The stock scenes of interrogation; chase in a container park; spookiness of a disused theme park and a house in the woods are all given fresh direction by Joe Wright. Theme of the grimmer versions of fairytales are explored as children emerge into adulthood, and the score by The Chemical Brothers adds panache. Well-paced with energy and reflection moments; it's like a Bourne film but with a kid.

4. The Lunchbox (2013, India/ France/ Germany/ USA/ Canada) - This is a gentle tale and a cinematic window to a way of life in India. Ila (Nimrat Kaur as seen in Homeland and Wayward Pines) is an unhappy housewife who makes the lunches for her husband and packs them into his tiffin carrier, to be delivered by the Dabbawalas (lunchbox service) of Mumbai. A mix-up leads to the lunch being inadvertently delivered to Saajan Fernandes, a lonely widower close to retirement (Irrfan Khan, probably most recognised to Western audiences as the police inspector in Slumdog Millionaire). The two communicate through notes in the lunchbox and they open up to new possibilities beyond their narrow lives. Director Ritesh Batra (The Sense of an Ending) uses precisely-framed shots and a rich soundscape to communicate claustrophobia and loneliness in one of the busiest cities in the world. It is an outstandingly intimate portrayal of two people without physical indulgence.  
5. L'Odyssée (2016, France/ Belgium) - Jacques-Yves Costeau changed the way we see the world, especially the parts that are underwater, literally by co-developing the aqua-lung. Jérome Salle co-wrote the screenplay and directs with a vivid colour palette, keen to show us the wonders of marine life and the importance of protecting it. The narrative is a little glib and basic (he also wrote The Tourist and it's better than that, for what it's worth), as we follow the journey (or, in fact, odyssey) of the great explorer, innovator, scientist, photographer, filmmaker and researcher (played by Lambert Wilson: The Matrix Reloaded & Revolutions; The Hollow Crown) who initially seeks to conquer but later learns to conserve. The stunning scenery is interspersed with character drama between father and son - Philippe Cousteau played by Pierre Niney - and husband and wife - Simone Cousteau played by Audrey Tautou. It's rather lush and incredibly French; comme il faut. 

"A Little Bit of Politics': Number Ten

Number Ten by Sue Townsend

Penguin

Pp. 324

Satire is a problematic genre. From Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens to Douglas Adams, J.K. Rowling and Paul Beatty, authors struggle to find the balance of serious points amidst the comedy in socio-politics. In Number Ten the Prime Minister, Edward Clare, fears that he is out of touch with country (he doesn’t know the price of milk; I think many men of a certain age don’t) so, accompanied by Jack Sprat, a policeman who normally stands outside the door of No 10, he sets out on a public relations odyssey.

Just as Shakespeare’s Henry V disguised himself as a commoner to move among his people, so Edward Clare disguises himself as a woman, borrowing his wife’s clothes, and calls himself Edwina. This is a little cringe-worthy and hovers dangerously around the Mrs Brown’s Boys/ Dick Emery/ Les Dawson/ man-in-drag-is-hilarious trope. Edward soon discovers that he likes dressing as a woman, even if he does resemble “a poor man’s Joan Collins” and there are further references to the film Some Like it Hot: the novel immediately aligns itself with a certain demographic.

The Labour Prime Minister’s formidably clever wife, Adele, is described as “an absolute cow”. He has a swarm of advisors, including Alexander McPherson, “political friend and colleague, his press officer”, and David Samuelson, the spin doctor, who wants to change the name of the party by taking ‘Labour’ out of the party’s name. “The word Labour has totally negative connotations; it’s associated with sweat and hard work, trade unionism and protracted and painful childbirth.” Added to the entourage is Chancellor of the Exchequer, Malcolm Black, who may have his own political designs. Obviously we are meant to draw parallels with Blair’s government with Gordon Brown waiting in the wings, but it also sits halfway between Yes, Prime Minister and The Thick of It.

Policeman, Jack Sprat, is the foil to the shenanigans; a sort of Everyman who becomes the Prime Minister’s conscious, arguing politics with him supported by information he has picked up on duty. For example, when Edward Clare is championing laissez faire politics, in which people can plough their own furrow, Jack counters, “They could plough a straighter furrow with a better plough and a healthier cart horse.” His mother, Norma, is afraid to leave the house due to media-hyped fear-mongering. She takes in a young man as a cleaner, and he abuses her trust and turns the place into a crack den, highlighting the issue of single elderly people being taken advantage of by disenchanted youth. When asked his opinion about what most concerns the people of this country, Jack replies, “It’s crime sir. There should be more policemen on the streets.”

Times and references change very quickly, and this is also a very British book; name drops such as Graham Norton, Adele, Ben Elton, Simon Armitage, Gary Lineker, and Ulrika Jonsson are very time-and-place specific. The novel touches on many current topics of concern, from sink-hole estates and battery farming to chaotic A&E departments and lack of common courtesy on public transport.

People feel under pressure to perform; success is difficult to manage and the reader may find themselves sympathising with Edward Clare as not altogether a bad person. He may be out of touch, but he has so much stress that he has a breakdown. The psychotherapist who questions him notes that he cannot name his favourite flower, rock band, or book. “He is pathologically unable to commit to an opinion for fear of displeasing the questioner, in this case me.” The Prime Minister has many people’s opinions to consider, and that is his job. How can he be expected to know everything? Is it his duty to take these worries from us? Or would we rather have ‘a man of the people’? Which people? Would we end up with something a lot worse?

In the midst of this angst, we have the character of Adele. There are enough Shakespearean references for the reader to surmise that she is intended as a parody of Lady Macbeth: she drives him onwards; he feels the guilt. She is not portrayed sympathetically but, although she is unpleasant (self-centred; pompous; oblivious to the misery of a member of staff whose son is about to lose a leg), she is also clearly unwell, and on medication. Her symptoms are ridiculed as a diversion, and the opportunity to show some empathy for mental illness is missed, as is the chance to portray a non-white character, Ali the Pakistani taxi-driver, as anything other than a shallow stereotype. These are the major failings in what is otherwise a passably amusing novel.

2018 Archibald Prize Junior Version

In previous posts, I have presented my favourite portraits from the touring Archibald Prize, as I saw the exhibition at the marvellous Orange Regional Art Gallery. 

As part of the exhibition, budding artists from the Central West, between the ages of 5 and 18 were invited to submit a portrait for the Young Archie Central West competition. The portrait was to be of a person who is special to them; 'someone who is known to them and plays an important role in their life'. 

Here are some of the adorable and heart-warming hilarious results. I am really impressed with all the young talent on display and I just can't help but be cheered at the thought that perhaps this is what we really look like to the small people. I hope the portraits make you as happy as they made me.

Babushka by Charli Hobbs

The above portrait was the winner of the 15-18 years category. Charli's rationale is extremely touching.

"My piece of artwork is to replicate my grandmother born 1958. She was 22. She made a big move to be close to my family in 2015. I didn't really see her much before but now she plays a big roll [sic] in my life. She has always supported me and it's just right for me to paint this pic to say thanks."

Awww!