Movies

#140RVW

Some films are so good there really isn’t a lot to say about them. This is an important & no longer little-known story, thanks to this film.

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The story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is one of the most compelling of the Civil War. The courage and bravery of men who gave their lives for a country that had enslaved them, discriminated against them and would not thank them for their service is beyond extraordinary.

So many great things going on in this movie, from Denzel’s breakout & Oscar-winning performance, to the James Horner score to the Oscar-winning cinematography of Freddie Francis.

Andre Braugher makes his film debut and Morgan Freeman is his Morgan Freeman-est. Matthew Broderick continues his quest to be taken seriously even with a forever boyish face, and he makes a very compelling case here – maybe his best work.

The real star of this film, though, is the story. It’s heartbreaking without sinking into despair, inspirational without being smarmy.

Kevin Jarre’s screenplay hits all the right notes and delivers amazing dialogue and emotion that is hard-hitting and real.

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Bechdel Test:

Fail

Main Cast	Matthew Broderick Col. Robert Gould Shaw, Denzel Washington Pvt. Trip, Cary Elwes Maj. Cabot Forbes, Morgan Freeman Sgt. Maj. John Rawlins
Rating	R
Release Date	Fri 15 Dec 1989 UTC
Director	Edward Zwick
Genres	Drama, History, War
Plot	Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
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Runtime	122
Tagline	Their innocence. Their heritage. Their lives. Nothing would be spared in the fight for their freedom.
Writers	Kevin Jarre (screenplay), Lincoln Kirstein (book)
Year	1989

#140RVW

The last Boston film to be predominantly shot outside of Boston, hopefully for a long time. Classic Scorsese, but with a real plot for once.

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Scorsese always does really well with character study films, but this may be the most story-driven of all of his movies. And it makes this one of his most enjoyable. Despite the length, there is an energy to The Departed that keeps it moving along wonderfully.

For starters, this may be the best source material he’s ever had to work with. Originally made in Hong Kong as the film “Infernal Affairs”, relatively new screenwriter William Monahan adapted the story and was rewarded with an Academy Award for his work. The dialogue is so perfect – this is the sound of Boston tough guys.

The story of Boston’s most famous gangster, Whitey Bulger, is overlaid on what was already a great crime tale: the cops want to take down gangster Frank Costello and both sides employ undercover operatives. The filmmakers wisely realize that what is most fascinating about this tale is not the crime – it’s the development of these parallel characters, mirroring each other as they progress through an increasingly dangerous series of events.

All the acting is excellent, of course, but Leonardo DiCaprio really stands out. His story is arguably the most interesting, but it is a testament to the actor that he is able to wrest attention away from such a heavyweight as Nicholson and his Costello character. Reportedly DiCaprio shied away from any award promotion for his performance as he didn’t want to take away from any of his co-stars. Pretty stand-up if so, but it certainly cost him a Best Actor win.

As his counterpart, Matt Damon is his usual solid self. No knock on Damon at all. He’s a great actor and he’s great here – just nothing new here. Vera Farmiga is an excellent addition to the cast; nice to see a (relative) newcomer among these familiar faces. Although hers is one of the less believable Boston accents.

Thelma Schoonmaker received a well-deserved Oscar for editing; the movie absolutely hums with energy and the many characters and scenes work together to keep the excitement level high.

Every good filmmaker deserves a chance to craft a great thriller. It’s really interesting to see how different artists approach the genre. It’s one of the reasons I tend to like remakes; they don’t need to be improvements on the original, just new interpretations. In classical music it’s called variations on a theme. Like anything else, the key is having a really solid story to work off; then let’s see what you can do. For this one, Scorsese puts on his game face and nets Best Picture…

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Bechdel Test:

Fail

Main Cast	Leonardo DiCaprio Billy, Matt Damon Colin Sullivan, Jack Nicholson Frank Costello, Mark Wahlberg Dignam
Rating	R
Release Date	Fri 06 Oct 2006 UTC
Director	Martin Scorsese
Genres	Crime, Drama, Thriller
Plot	An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.
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Runtime	151
Tagline	Lies. Betrayal. Sacrifice. How far will you take it?
Writers	William Monahan (screenplay), Alan Mak (2002 screenplay Mou gaan dou) …
Year	2006

#140RVW

Complicated tale of religious conflict in Lebanon recalls Lysistrata. Very good but not totally satisfying; bit scattered & inconsistent…

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Where Do We Go Now? opens with an arresting scene of female mourners moving in rhythm to visit the graves of the young men of their Lebanese village. It is absolutely striking and sets the tone for an ambitious and mostly excellent film focusing on the impact of religious strife on a small village.

The Muslim & Christian people of this village have learned to live together, but the religious divide is always present and ready to swallow all. No one in the village has been unaffected by the fighting outside their borders and their tenuous peace is threatened when new conflicts stir up old resentments. Channeling their inner Lysistrata, the women of the town resort to increasingly crafty ways to keep the fighting from their homes.

Director, actress and co-screenwriter Nadine Labaki has put together some great elements for a movie here. Possibly more than one movie. In fact, that’s really the problem. The movie is kind of a mess.

While there are excellent pieces here – an empathetic view, great humor, strong emotions – the result is not greater than the sum of its parts. It’s all a bit muddled. The overall tone is one of humor as the women show their resourcefulness and humanity. But there are equal moments of such crushing pain and loss. It’s challenging, and that’s a good thing, but the different tones are hard to square and the final mix is a bit confused.

Additionally, there really are too many balls in the air. Plot points can be hard to follow and are not always resolved satisfactorily. In the end, it feels like the filmmakers bit off more than they could chew.

But it’s a good film. I am very glad I watched it. I enjoyed the humor of these wonderful women and I was ripped apart by their suffering. I just wish it hadn’t been in the same 2 hours…

One last thing; the version I watched had English subtitles, which is fine, and English overdubbed dialogue, which is not. It was awful. I prefer to hear the actors in their own language – I don’t mind reading. It was very distracting when the spoken English did not match the subtitles (nearly always) and the quality of the voiceovers was poor. So try to find a dvd with the spoken language in the original Arabic.

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Bechdel Test:

Pass

Main Cast	Claude Baz Moussawbaa Takla, Leyla Hakim (as Layla Hakim) Afaf, Nadine Labaki Amale, Yvonne Maalouf Yvonne
Rating	PG-13
Release Date	Wed 14 Sep 2011 UTC
Director	Nadine Labaki
Genres	Comedy, Drama
Plot	A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village.
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Runtime	110
Tagline
Writers	Thomas Bidegain (collaboration), Nadine Labaki
Year	2011