Monthly Archives: January 2012

“Dimanche” and “Wild Life” Nominated in the Animated Short Film Category

Just in time to begin my ultimate challenge, the National Film Board of Canada has generously provided a one-time stream or reduced-price download of two Academy Award-nominated films. Dimanche (Patrick Doyon) and Wild Life (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby) are both up for the award for Best Animated Short marking the NFB’s 71st and 77nd Oscar-nominated films. Here’s what I thought.

Short Film for a Long Sunday

★★★☆☆

Patrick Doyon’s Dimanche is a fantastically obscure account of one boy’s drab and boring Sunday. The 10-minute French-Canadian animated short is dull in colour, perfectly capturing the young boy’s apathy toward the adults and lack of excitement around him. The film takes an interesting perspective in portraying how the boy might perceive size with small, claustrophobic houses and tall, massive trains. The animation is presented with layers and while the drawings themselves are quite abstract and enigmatic, they represent the strong divide between old and young. Playing with visual and social perception, Dimanche creates a nostalgic sensation in its display of the child’s mindset. Well worth a watch (and did I mention it’s free?).

“A whole lot’ta dollars and no sense.”

★★★★☆

And if I thought Dimanche was abstract and obscure, here comes Wild Life, the strange adventure of an Englishman who, in 1909, moves to Alberta to become a rancher. The film, at just over 13 and a half minutes, features watercolour-like texture in its animated drawings and utilizes multiple styles, including a short scene staged to appear as an old time Canadian recruitment advertisement. The music adds to the period nature of the film and it includes various comedic instances played with impeccable timing. However, the comedy soon turns to tragedy as the Englishman may not be able to withstand the harsh Alberta winters that lay ahead. Opening with a fact about comets, the film throws in various comments regarding the astronomical phenomena. The film ends with the image of a comet sailing through the night sky, potentially the last image the Englishman saw before succumbing to the elements. A story truly dedicated to the prairies, Wild Life is a representation of the hopeful prospects of a new life contrasted with the reality of the desire to return home.

*Images courtesy of www.cbc.ca and www.calgaryherald.com respectively. 
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And the nominees are. . .

In honour of today’s announcement of the Academy Awards nominations, I will be moving away from the obscure to focus on the contenders. From now until the awards show on February 26, I will attempt to view and review all of the nominated films. I’ll be making a special effort to pay close attention to all categories, including shorts, so as to give my readers the ability to equally consider each film. Check out the nominees and upcoming reviews below.

Actor in a Leading Role
  • Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
  • George Clooney in “The Descendants”
  • Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
  • Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
  • Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role

  • Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
  • Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
  • Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
  • Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
  • Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role

  • Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
  • Viola Davis in “The Help”
  • Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
  • Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
  • Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role

  • Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
  • Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
  • Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
  • Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
  • Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film

  • “A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
  • “Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
  • “Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
  • “Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
  • “Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction

  • “The Artist”
    Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
    Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
  • “Hugo”
    Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
  • “Midnight in Paris”
    Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
  • “War Horse”
    Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography

  • “The Artist” Guillaume Schiffman
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Jeff Cronenweth
  • “Hugo” Robert Richardson
  • “The Tree of Life” Emmanuel Lubezki
  • “War Horse” Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design

  • “Anonymous” Lisy Christl
  • “The Artist” Mark Bridges
  • “Hugo” Sandy Powell
  • “Jane Eyre” Michael O’Connor
  • “W.E.” Arianne Phillips

Directing

  • “The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius
  • “The Descendants” Alexander Payne
  • “Hugo” Martin Scorsese
  • “Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen
  • “The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Documentary (Feature)

  • “Hell and Back Again”
    Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
  • “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
    Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
  • “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
    Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
  • “Pina”
    Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
  • “Undefeated”
    TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Documentary (Short Subject)

  • “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
    Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
  • “God Is the Bigger Elvis”
    Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
  • “Incident in New Baghdad”
    James Spione
  • “Saving Face”
    Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
  • “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
    Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing

  • “The Artist” Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
  • “The Descendants” Kevin Tent
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
  • “Hugo” Thelma Schoonmaker
  • “Moneyball” Christopher Tellefsen

Foreign Language Film

  • “Bullhead” Belgium
  • “Footnote” Israel
  • “In Darkness” Poland
  • “Monsieur Lazhar” Canada
  • “A Separation” Iran

Makeup

  • “Albert Nobbs”
    Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
    Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
  • “The Iron Lady”
    Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)

  • “The Adventures of Tintin” John Williams
  • “The Artist” Ludovic Bource
  • “Hugo” Howard Shore
  • “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Alberto Iglesias
  • “War Horse” John Williams

Music (Original Song)

  • “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
  • “Real in Rio” from “Rio” Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Picture

  • “The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
  • “The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
  • “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
  • “The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
  • “Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
  • “Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
  • “Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
  • “The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
  • “War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

  • “Dimanche/Sunday” Patrick Doyon
  • “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
  • “La Luna” Enrico Casarosa
  • “A Morning Stroll” Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
  • “Wild Life” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)

  • “Pentecost” Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
  • “Raju” Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
  • “The Shore” Terry George and Oorlagh George
  • “Time Freak” Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
  • “Tuba Atlantic” Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing

  • “Drive” Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Ren Klyce
  • “Hugo” Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • “War Horse” Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing

  • “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
    David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
  • “Hugo”
    Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
  • “Moneyball”
    Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
    Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
  • “War Horse”
    Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects

  • “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
    Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
  • “Hugo”
    Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
  • “Real Steel”
    Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
  • “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
    Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
  • “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
    Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

  • “The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
  • “Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
  • “The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
  • “Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin  Story by Stan Chervin
  • “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)

  • “The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
  • “Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
  • “Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
  • “Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
  • “A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

Happy screening!

*Image courtesy of http://www.theoriginof.com
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The Jung Woman

I think my favourite part of David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method was certainly the screening. A theatre, chock-full of elderly patrons all waiting for the historical, erotic drama to begin. What’s more obscure than that? I guess I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt; it was a matinee. And it was a Sunday.

Well, the film was a fabulous representation of the era, a moving commentary on the origins of psychoanalysis and a shocking glimpse into the relationships of psychoanalysts – but for a film student, my interest was held mainly by the visuals. Nonetheless, here’s my review!

A Freudian Trip

★★★☆☆

A Dangerous Method is an historical drama that brings to light the uncertain effects of early psychoanalytical study. Based on the true story of Carl Gustav Jung, the film takes an oft-shocking look at the history of his work with Sigmund Freud and his unethical relationship with his patient, physician-in-training Sabina Spielrein.

Keira Knightley delves into the erotic psyche with Sabina’s sado-masochistic tendencies that both define and give reason for her multi-faceted relationship with Jung, played by Michael Fassbender. Knightley portrays her budding romantic interest in Jung with a quiet persistence as he becomes seduced by the idea of a seemingly incurable patient.

Jung and Freud (Viggo Mortensen) presented a well-directed dynamic with both men explicitly displaying their psychoanalytical claim to fame with Freud always focusing on the sexual mind. The characters were paralleled by the subtle cameo of Otto Gross (Vincent Cassel), a womanizing psychoanalyst and disciple of Freud.

Costume design played an important role and was impeccable in adding to the taboo nature of the intimate relationship between doctor and patient. While the visuals offered an atmosphere of conservatism, the topics of conversation bridged the gap between acceptable social convention and personal desire.

The film begins a discussion on the practice of “free association” and the acknowledgement of the doctor-patient complex. It exposes the reality that psychoanalysts are humans and prone to error, as such is the case between Jung and Spielrein.

Women are portrayed in a contradictory manner as Spielrein represents the sexualized female yet remains in control of the male sexual psyche. Yet the film also marks an important feat for women as Spielrein goes on to become one of the first female psychoanalysts. This contradiction lends itself well to the often contrasting qualities of psychoanalytic study.

For psychology enthusiasts, the film does well to represent the early beginnings of the study of the mind. However, it lacked in developing the storyline while putting strong emphasis on accurate historical research. The film shocked and educated but fell short of being a masterpiece of the obscure. Still, worth the watch.

Happy screening!

*Photo courtesy of http://www.soundonsight.org

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“Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.”

Happy new year!

What better way to ring in the new year than with fun, new projects! I aim to bring you the latest and greatest in films of the obscure variety. And, as promised, I’ve included my review of Wim Wenders’s newest release, PINA. Don’t miss out like me and be sure to catch the film in its 3D entirety – the most appropriate method of portraying this medium, according to Wenders. Subscribe for more reviews from Lauren the Critic!

“You just have to get crazier.”

★★★★☆

Famed German film director Wim Wenders presents a jaw-dropping documentary dedicated to choreographer Pina Bausch featuring a selection of her most prominent and unusual pieces. PINA, Germany’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 84th annual Academy Awards, delves into the world of Tanztheater, or dance theatre.

Early on, tragedy struck set. Just two days before filming would begin, Bausch died suddenly after being diagnosed with cancer only five days prior. Though the film was slated to be scrapped, Pina’s company of dancers, along with her adoring fans and family, convinced Wenders to continue with the film sans muse. Instead of its original focus, the film presented each dancer recollecting images of Pina, a choreographer working in a style all her own.

A fabulously artistic journey, PINA combines four of Bausch’s notable dances including Le sacre du printemps and Café Müller, the performance that began the incredible relationship between Bausch and Wenders. Synchronicity and stylization work hand in hand with Pina’s signature themes of repetition and mirroring. Wenders juxtaposes old footage of Bausch teaching with contemporary versions of each dance creating a ghostly image of Pina’s unique imagination.

Many of the scenes are performed on a traditional stage while others show dancers in contrasting environments including the scene where Cristiana Morganti dances beautifully en pointe against an industrial background with veal cutlets in her toe shoes.

Shot in 3D, Wenders chose this method as the only adequate way to portray Bausch’s work with the vérité it warranted. The dialogue of the film is rarely spoken on screen with each dancer discussing Pina through voiceover. The music seems to extend through the movements and transcends each dancer’s age and ability.

Wenders’s stunning visuals and incorporation of the modern elements of filmmaking give PINA a timeless quality where subjects seem so out of place and time yet still belong. PINA is startlingly beautiful in a strange and abstract way and sure to inspire dancers and art lovers alike.

Happy Screening!
* Photo courtesy of cf1.imgobject.com
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