Gimme Danger

Gimme Danger
Gimme Danger

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 18 November 2016

Distributor: Dogwoof

Director: Jim Jarmusch

USA 2016

108 mins

Jim Jarmusch’s film strikes a fine balance between a serious and comprehensive appraisal of The Stooges’ career.

Gimme Danger is the second film by Jim Jarmusch to be premiering at this year’s Cannes festival, and it’s a different beast entirely: an affectionate, loud, and thoroughly entertaining tribute to The Stooges and their universal, ever-lasting dirty, gutter-glam influence.

From their ambitious Michigan beginnings to their ironic Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction, Jarmusch passionately details the legendary band. With frontman Iggy Pop’s distinctive voice infusing the film from beginning to end, Gimme Danger reveals the band’s tumultuous birth in late 60s Detroit, their flirtation with stardom in the early 70s, their battles with critical and record company indifference and their descent into a drug-fuelled chaos and eventual implosion.

It’s true, much of this story has been documented before, but one way or the other Jarmusch manages to make it his own. Given the director’s close relationship to the subject at hand, the film strikes a fine balance between a serious and comprehensive appraisal of the band’s career and a somewhat bizarre and original representation of the their image and attitude. And while a lot of the focus is, of course, on the living legend that is Iggy Pop, Gimme Danger also shines considerable light on to the other founding members Scott and Ron Asheton, original bassist Dave Alexander and later guitarist James Williamson.

Witty, loving and fuelled by some of the finest rock n’ roll music, Gimme Danger is unashamedly nostalgic, yet it also makes you leave the cinema with a lump in your throat that there’s just no one quite like the young Iggy in music anymore. At least not for now.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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The Neon Demon

The Neon Demon
The Neon Demon

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 8 July 2016

Distributor: Icon Distribution

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Writer: Mary Laws, Nicolas Winding Refn, Polly Stenham

Cast: Elle Fanning, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendrix, Bella Heathcote

France, Denmark, USA 2016

117 mins

The Neon Demon is a hollow, surface-level satire that is pretty to look at, but little else.

The latest offering from Nicolas Winding Refn, following his brilliantly accomplished Only God Forgives, was no doubt one of the hotly anticipated films of the festival – sadly, it failed to deliver.

Set in L.A. in the ruthless world of fashion, The Neon Demon centres around young Jesse (Elle Fanning) who arrives in the big city determined to work her way up in the industry by covering herself in blood and gold for an endless string of bizarre photo shoots. And things seem to be going well: first she meets make-up artist Ruby (Jena Malone), who takes her under her wing, then she lands a modelling agent (Christina Hendricks), and it doesn’t take long before she bewitches every man that crosses her path. However, being the small town ingénue she is, Jesse seems totally unaware of the competition and jealousy that is beginning to mount around her. And what starts as an overly stylised 1980s thriller slowly transforms into surreally morbid horror.

The Neon Demon appears to utilise the contrast of darkness with flashing bright neon lights to develop a somewhat mystifying atmosphere, which is maintained for the majority of the film. And it must be said, with its glitter showers, pulsing coloured lights and hazy sunsets, the film does look every bit as polished as the world it points its finger at – if only to fall victim to its own charms. If anything, Refn has created an aesthetic experience, a hollow, surface-level satire that is pretty to look at, but little else.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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The Wailing

The Wailing
The Wailing

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 25 November 2016

Distributor: Kaleidoscope Entertainment

Director: Na Hong-jin

Writer: Na Hong-jin

Cast: Kwak Do-won, Hwang Jung-min, Chun Woo-hee

South Korea 2016

156 mins

A tense blend of genres, The Wailing succeeds at combining a mood of deep unease with visceral gore.

Na Hong-jin emerged on the scene in 2008 with his accomplished feature debut The Chaser, and two years later established himself as a talent to watch with his follow up, The Yellow Sea. Both films are dark thrillers involving lone, lost men caught up in events far beyond their control and, on the surface, The Wailing seems to follow a similar path.

The film tells of a small suburban village that is quickly overshadowed by a wretched sickness. The focus is on the beleaguered police sergeant Jong-Goo, played by Kwak Do-won with a brilliant mix of exhaustion, indecisiveness and fear, who is baffled, along with the rest of the local police force, by the onset of a series of horrifically violent and inexplicable murders. The killers all show the same zombie-like symptoms and as the bodies pile up and Jong-Goo’s own daughter is affected by the strange curse, he decides to team up with a mysterious woman and a spiritualist in a desperate attempt to break the cycle of hell.

A tense blend of genres, The Wailing succeeds at combining a mood of deep unease with visceral gore, buddy cop comedy, and a hallucinogenic mix of horror tropes, and in this sense the film becomes a unique creation of its own, setting its terrible events against the gorgeous landscapes and mountains of South Korea. And although overlong and not without flaws, there is enough in The Wailing to warrant a viewing, and the subtle force of the film confirms Na Hong-jin’s reputation as a director to be reckoned with.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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Endless Poetry

Endless Poetry
Endless Poetry

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 6 January 2017

DVD release date: 6 March 2017

Distributor: Curzon Artificial Eye

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky

Writer: Alejandro Jodorowsky

Original title: Poesia sin fin

Cast: Adan Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, Leandro Taub

Chile, France 2016

128 mins

As you’d expect from the Chilean director, Jodorowsky follows no rules when it comes to artistic creation.

With Endless Poetry, Alejandro Jodorowsky follows on from his 2013 comeback The Dance of Reality in his reckless attempt to revisit his own life by means of cinematic therapy.

The story is simple: Young Alejandrito rebels against the medical career that his parents have planned for him and instead chooses to pursue his dream of being a poet. In the course of this adventure, he meets like-minded friends and lovers exploring all forms of art. Yet, far from being a realistic biopic, the film is unsurprisingly full of surreal plot elements, fantastic set design, and a narrative that constantly obscures its true intentions. Shot by Christopher Doyle, its flamboyant cinematography and sumptuous colour palette sync perfectly with its theme of celebrating life and art, resulting in an unforgettable fair.

As you’d expect from the Chilean director, Jodorowsky follows no rules when it comes to artistic creation. An earthquake shakes one scene when the protagonist gets into a furious argument with his parents, and a carnival sweeps the streets after he comes to realise that the meaning of life is to live in the moment. But the standout scene is when Alejandro meets his first love in a café where everyone dresses in black and moves in slow motion.

If one flaw (and there are more than one) must be mentioned, it is that every scene tries to be the most memorable, which ultimately leads to the conclusion that for Jodorowsky style might overrule substance. But if anything, the clue is in the title: Endless Poetry is a film that flows in its very own rhythm, fuelled with contagious passion and perpetual imagination.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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Personal Shopper

Personal Shopper
Personal Shopper

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Director: Oliver Assayas

Writer: Oliver Assayas

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz, Anders Danielsen Lie, Ty Olwin, Hammou Graia, Nora von Waldstätten

France, Germany 2016

105 mins

Personal Shopper aims high, most notably in its attempt to play with the minds and beliefs of its characters and viewers.

Maureen (Kristen Stewart) spends her days working as a personal shopper for globetrotting supermodel Kyra, buying jewellery at Cartier and the latest fashion from high-end designers in London and Paris. It’s a dull job that keeps her busy and distracted from her own life and, more importantly, from the pain caused by the death of her twin brother Lewis a few months earlier. At night however, Maureen reaches out helplessly to the beyond, trying to make use of her secret powers as a psychic medium to get in contact with the spirit of Lewis, with whom she had made a pact: whoever died first would send the other a sign.

Personal Shopper is hard to pin down: part ghost story, part drama and part psychological thriller, it also has flashes of horror running through its veins. Fear comes mainly in the form of the spirits that seem to answer Maureen’s calls, be it in the house Lewis inhabited before his death or via mysterious texts messages appearing on her phone. However, as the spiritual and the mundane in Maureen’s life become more entangled, causing her to get lost in the twilight zone between the real and the uncanny, Assayas equally loses his focus and, ultimately, his film along the way.

Ultimately, Personal Shopper is a film that aims high, most notably in his attempt to play with the minds and beliefs of its characters and viewers, which makes its imperfections stand out all the more. That is not to say that Assayas isn’t skilled in creating captivating images, yet ultimately here most of his stylistic choices fall flat, while the decision to capture the spirits in the form of smoky shadows simply feels lazy and unconvincing.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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Hell or High Water

hell-or-high-water
Hell or High Water

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 9 September 2016

Distributor: Studiocanal

Director: David Mackenzie

Writer: Taylor Sheridan

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham

USA 2016

106 mins

David Mackenzie has delivered a solid neo-western that is as astute as it is entertaining.

Toby (Chris Pine) is in a jam: the small farm he’s inherited from his recently deceased mother is in danger of being sold by the bank unless he pays off the heavy debt that comes with it. Easier said than done, but Toby and his just-out-of-jail brother Tanner (Ben Foster) are on a mission. Together they set out to rob as many Texas Midland branches as they need to in order to raise the cash and, ultimately, beat the thieving banks at their own game.

However, the force Toby and Tanner haven’t reckoned with is Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges on fine form), who comes up with an equally shrewd plan for their capture. Constantly teasing his deputy Alberto (Gil Birmingham) about his Indian-Mexican heritage, the veteran cop is on his last case before retirement and determined to leave his job on a high. And so the cat-and-mouse chase takes the action across the Texas badlands to a climactic showdown that settles scores on both sides.

Following on from his deftly executed prison drama Starred Up, David Mackenzie has crafted a film that expertly blends flashes of violence with social encounters and a welcome sense of edginess, carried brilliantly by his talented cast. Refined by a fitting soundtrack from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Hell or High Water grabs its audience from the start and then doesn’t really let go for another couple of hours, while taking well-judged turns into areas where there’s no moral compass. Labelled as a modern-day western, it might not bring anything new to the genre, but it’s smart and ferocious and highly entertaining.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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Loving

Loving
Loving

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 3 February 2017

Distributor: Universal

Director: Jeff Nichols

Writer: Jeff Nichols

Cast: Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga, Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon

USA, UK 2016

123 mins

Loving is as good as a drama can be, but for everyone who admires the director’s earlier films, it might be a disappointment.

Loving is Jeff Nichols’s second film to be released this year. The first was Midnight Special, a sci-fi drama about family and belief, which premiered at the Berlinale in February. It’s also the second time the director has worked with Joel Edgerton, who this time plays Richard Loving, a white bricklayer from Virginia who invited the wrath of the state when he married his beloved Mildred, a woman of African-American and Native American descent. Ruth Negga plays his wife and together the two actors turn in the finest, most understated performances of the festival so far. The Lovings, we realise soon, are people of very few words, and so they make every look, every gesture, every intonation count instead.

In order to be together though, the newly wed couple is forced to make a deal to leave their Virginia home and promise they won’t return for at least 25 years. Time passes as they retreat to Washington DC to raise their family, but Mildred struggles to fully adjust to life in the city and, in her despair, writes a letter to Bobby Kennedy explaining the circumstances and asking for help. What follows is the Lovings fight to return to Virginia as a free family. It’s a fight that eventually will go all the way to the federal Supreme Court, and one that changed history.

Loving is as good as a drama can be, but for everyone who admires the director’s earlier films, it might be a disappointment. It’s a film by Nichols rather than a ‘Jeff Nichols film’, the main difference being that in making the political personal, Loving simply lacks the strangeness and dark power of films like Shotgun Stories (2007) and Take Shelter (2011). What’s more, it seems that since flirting with Hollywood in Mud (2013), Nichols has gone off on a tangent and it’s not clear whether or not he too will find his way home again.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

Paterson

Paterson
Paterson

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 25 November 2016

Distributor: Soda Pictures

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Writer: Jim Jarmusch

Cast: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani

USA, Germany, France 2016

118 mins

Paterson doesn’t give answers, yet it offers its fair share of wisdom.

Paterson (Adam Driver) is a dedicated bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, born there, like his greatest hero, the poet William Carlos Williams, who himself wrote a book-length poem entitled ‘Paterson’. To mark out the setting so explicitly is important, as it ultimately blends into the plot of Paterson, the movie. The film shows one week in the life of our local hero as he gets up early to drive his bus around town, while observing his surroundings and listening to the passengers chatting. During his breaks, Paterson likes to write poetry in his notebook, and after work he volunteers to take his wife’s dog Marvin out for a walk, if only as an excuse to stop by for a beer at his local bar.

To say much more would take the beauty away from this wonderful, wondrous film, which proves once more that Jarmusch’s genius lies in capturing precisely the small moments and fine details that make life so special, no matter how trivial, or crazy, things may seem. One day Paterson’s bus breaks down, leaving him and his passengers stranded. Some days later at the bar a heartbroken actor attempts to shoot himself in front of his beloved ex-girlfriend, and everyone else around. However, whatever the problem, Paterson handles each situation with the same calm and unassuming authority that even allows him to forgive Marvin for shredding his notebook.

Naturally Paterson doesn’t give answers, yet it offers its fair share of wisdom. Paterson’s poetry, inspired by Williams, has the intention and the power to make people see the world in a new way – if we simply care to look and take note. And with his film, Jarmusch has pulled off an equally fine feat.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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The Handmaiden

The Handmaiden
The Handmaiden

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 14 April 2017

Distributor: Curzon Artificial Eye

Director: Park Chan-wook

Writer: Park Chan-wook, Chung Seo-kyung

Based on the novel Fingersmith by: Sarah Waters

Cast: Kim Min-hee, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Tae-ri

Original title: Agassi

South Korea 2016

145 mins

Park Chan-wook’s latest film is fuelled with surprises, and they are a pure joy to witness unfold.

Set in the Japanese-occupied Korea of the 1930s, a con man known as Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha) involves the equally beautiful and talented Sookee (Kim Tae-ri) in his deceitful plan to marry a Japanese noblewoman (Kim Min-hee) in order to strip her of her inheritance. However, soon after Sookee has been employed as Lady Hideko’s maid, her criminal intents waver as she gradually falls in love with her beguiling mistress. While a perverted uncle uses Hideko for his own pleasures by making her read to him and his business partners from his massive collection of antique erotica, a secret passion develops between the two women, forcing them to choose between lies or love as the sexual tension reaches its climax.

As is the case with most of Park’s œuvre, nothing in The Handmaiden is as it seems. The plot is deliciously twisted, while perceptions and truths are consistently challenged. And as elaborate as it may seem at first sight, the story never unravels or confuses. Park has delivered a film that is fuelled with surprises, and they are a pure joy to witness unfold.

Following his first foray into Hollywood cinema with his impressive English language debut Stoker, the Korean director returns to his homeland with yet another masterwork. The Handmaiden is a gorgeously crafted tale of crooks and lovers, sex and lies, perversion and pleasure. The way Park uses colours and locations is pure cinematic seduction, luring the viewer into an intoxicating web of desires and deceptions that is impossible to resist.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

Neruda

Neruda
Neruda

Seen at Cannes International Film Festival 2016

Format: Cinema

Release date: 7 April 2017

DVD/BR/VOD release date: 10 July 2017

Distributor: Network Releasing

Director: Pablo Larraín

Writer: Guillermo Calderón

Cast: Gael García Bernal, Luis Gnecco

Chile, Argentina, France, Spain 2016

107 mins

It’s the constant self-interrogation of the imaginary inspector that elevates Neruda above the vast majority of playful biopics.

After Paterson, Pablo Larraín’s new film was the second to screen in Cannes named after a poet, yet the difference between the two films could not be greater: Neruda is an action-driven piece of historical fiction, infused with a detective story. It recounts, with a great deal of imagination, Pablo Neruda’s escape from Chile into exile after the country’s criminalisation of the communist party in 1948. The result is a poetic introduction to Neruda’s life wrapped in a game of cat and mouse.

Larrain’s regular collaborator Gael García Bernal stars as Inspector Peluchonneau, the man charged with the unthankful task of putting the visionary 1971 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature behind bars. And much of the joy of the film comes from the fact that the poet only ever stays two steps ahead of Peluchonneau, because he wants to feel his persecutor close on his tail. Luis Gnecco’s Neruda is alternately grandiose and short-tempered, willing to constantly recite his most famous poem, but equally prone to vanity.

Yet, it’s the constant self-interrogation of the imaginary inspector that elevates Neruda above the vast majority of playful biopics. The film’s subtle power lies in the deliberate, contrary notion of Peluchonneau’s film noir presence and the detective’s increasingly conscious voice-over, as he slowly but surely realises his own importance in creating Neruda’s legend.

Why Neruda screened only in the Directors’ Fortnight section rather than the official competition remains a mystery, just like the man himself.

Pamela Jahn

This review is part of our Cannes 2016 coverage.

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