Director: Glauber Rocha
Featuring: Mauricio do Valle, Odete Lara, Hugo
Carvane.
“Deadly
Antonio” was a hit man for hire in Rocha’s 1964
“Black God, White Devil”. In the 1968 sequel the
“cangaceiro killer” (cangaceiro were rural
bandits) he takes centre stage, though he still
remains enigmatic.
Rocha was the leading light of the Brazilian
Cinema Nuovo so whilst this has a strong central
idea – Antonio sides with peasants against
brutal landlords – it’s avant-garde filming
style does not make for a straightforward
narrative. A theatre group enacts many of the
scenes in a stylised way. Some characters are
emblematic or allegorical. There is dance and
music. The inspiration is the legend of St
George and the Dragon.
The film has been compared to an epic poem and
there are some epic shots of mountains and
plains. Influential in its day, it now seems
very much of its time. Worth watching though.
Director: Atom Egoyan
Featuring: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda
Seyfried
Armenian-Canadian indie
director’s remake of 2004 French film “Nathalie”
has an ingenious premise: Gynaecologist Julianne
Moore suspects Liam Neeson’s music professor
husband of infidelity so hires prostitute
Seyfried to prove or disprove her worries.
That’s right up Egoyan’s street as many of his
films deal with voyeurism and the first half of
this film explores Moore’s erotic interest in
what the prostitute and her husband have been up
to.
In the second half the film turns into a
bunny-boiler thriller and that doesn’t work
quite so well. Egoyan has attempted mainstream
thrillers before – Where The Truth Lies,
starring Colin Firth and Kevin Bacon is an
underrated success – but here as a gun-for-hire
he seems to be going through rather trite
motions.
Indie directors can regenerate mainstream movies
– look at Paul Greengrass and the Bourne films –
but Egoyan’s heart just doesn’t seem to be in
it.
Previously reviewed now on DVD & Blu-Ray
Green Zone
Director: Paul Greengrass
Featuring: Matt Damon
Scripted by Brian Helgeland, this account of a
failed search for the non-existent Iraqi weapons
of mass destruction reminded me of “All The
President’s Men” on its initial release. Both
films succeed as thrillers even though we know
the outcome from the outset. Greengrass has
proved in the Bourne films that he is unrivalled
at action scenes but he also proved in “United
93” he can do talk too. The jewel among the
extras here is the commentary from Damon and
Greengrass both over the film and a few deleted
scenes.
The
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Director: Arden Oplev
Featuring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace
David
Fincher is directing the Hollywood version with
Brit Carey Mulligan as the eponymous Girl but
this film is far superior to its source
material. “The Girl Who Played With Fire” is
out in US cinemas and there’s a trailer for it
in the extras here, which otherwise is the usual
interviews and photos job.
Shutter Island
Director: Martin Scorsese
Featuring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben
Kingsley, Michelle Williams.
Horror movie set in a 1954 loony-bin on a
fog-shrouded island – count me in. Because the
narrative is so tricksy this film rewards
reviewing anyway so the DVD purchase is a must.
Couple of good documentaries on the Extras –
but, spoiler alert, DON”T watch them until
you’ve seen the film.
