MicMacs
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s whimsy (excluding the dismal Alien Resurrection) is near-mythic at this point with a small coterie of films under his belt. MicMacs continues Jeunet’s streak of small, carefully curated jewels. His previous films, The City of Lost Children and Amélie in particular release their brilliance in small doses scattered about the screen in seemingly random trajectories. This technique born of no technique is on full display in MicMacs, as we are introduced to Bazil, our hero, as a child in a disconnected reverie of images, sounds, and emotions made palpable. Primary among those is the death of his father in a mushroom cloud of dust. We are then flung to his adult present where a random bullet to the head propels the inventive plot machinations. Suddenly, we see that Bazil is a man defined by ordnance large and small. When he determines that the manufacturer of the bullet lodged in his brain and that of the mine which killed his father are unrepentant rivals, a singular comeuppance takes form. Of course, all great heroes have compatriots and Bazil’s consist of a group of misifts living underground away from the rest of society. They manifest hijinks by air, sea, and land, which are too artfully crafted to spoil. Jeunet is a master at exposing the soul in dungy crevices, and that’s all it takes to deliver this sumptuous expose on quirkiness with a hint of romance.
Ondine
Neil Jordan re-enters the fray after the Jodie Foster vehicle, The Brave One, with a peculiar Colin Farrell spectacle. The film arrives and leaves painfully slight and undercooked. Farrell (Syracuse) plays a divorced single father, who we are told is a caring dad thanks to a few threadbare scenes with a smart-alecky daughter played by Alison Barry. The story hinges on the improbable tale that Syracuse’s new lover is a selkie, a mythical seal-woman. However, not for one moment was this plausible, nor a fascinating premise. Moreover, the purported selkie, Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) barely registers on the screen. I felt as though a mighty gust would blow her away at any moment. Her coy, enigmatic looks and fragmented statements add up to nothing I could discern. Maybe this film will appeal to children with its peripatetic and facile rhythms that go everywhere and nowhere at once.
A Brand New Life
Somehow reminiscent of Tze Chun’s Children of Invention and So Yong Kim’s Treeless Mountain, this preponderance of abandoned children seems to be a mini-trend. Oddly, I can’t say I’m tired yet of watching these preternatural child actors suffer through harrowing tableaux, especially when they are as good as Sae Ron Kim, who plays Jinhee. Her face is a study in restraint, and I doubt there is any craft involved, as she is so young. We follow her GAZE through riding with her dad on a bike, being left at a Catholic orphanage, deep unresolved mourning, and self-discovery. At all times, our engagement is expertly modulated by the rise of her eyebrow, the downturn of a lip, or an askew glance. I was mesmerized as well by the economy of camera movement director, Ounie Lecomte, and cinematographer, Kim Hyunsook, employ. All the necessary information is relayed in confined frames, akin to Kurosawa’s High and Low but without the stilted formalism. Instead, the film has a quiet, kinetic energy, if possible, that sustains the most mundane scenes of characters walking to and from the orphanage gates. I can’t wait to see absolutely anything else from this first-time director!
Other Notables:
Vidal Sassoon: The Movie– The man, the myth, the meglomaniac all discussed in brilliant black and white cinematography.
Saturday Night– James Franco’s inside look at the preparation involved in one episode of the iconic comedy franchise…John Malkovich in drag anyone?
Gerrymandering– An in-depth dissertation on the often confusing and ridiculous redistricting that occurs before elections to ensure votes by race, class, or population size. Only for die-hard policy wonks!
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: A Brand New Life, Ondine, MicMacs, Gerrymandering, Saturday Night, Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
