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Screen Trek - An Intersection of Movie Reviews, Articles, Essays and Conversation

Screen Trek - April 2009

Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir
A young Ari Folman is rendered in beautifully sombre tones in Waltz With Bashir.

By the early 1980s, Lebanon’s former status as the Middle East’s greatest tourist destination had been completely destroyed by years as a pawn in the continuing tensions and conflicts between Israel and Syria, the PLO and Muslim Lebanese forces. In June of 1982, Israel invaded southern Lebanon with the stated aim of driving the PLO forces and their supporters 40 kilometres back from the border between the two countries. After several battles this target was achieved, but the Israelis continued to push on, determined to drive the PLO from southern Lebanon for good, and by the middle of September they had occupied Western Beirut.


At around the same time, Lebanon’s President-elect, Bashir Gemayel, was assassinated and this set off a chain-reaction of events that would have dire consequences for the occupying Israeli soldiers. Having surrounded the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee enclaves, the Israeli command authorised the entrance of a Gemayel-allied cadre of Phalangist fighters', with it being claimed that there were approximately 2000 PLO terrorists remaining in the camps. The result was the Sabra and Shatila Massacre in which the Phalangists slaughtered at least 800 civilians in supposed retaliation for the assassination of their fallen leader. It’s a shocking event in modern Middle Eastern history and one that Ari Folman tackles in his intensely personal animated docudrama, Waltz With Bashir.


At the start of the film, Folman is summoned to a bar by one of his old war buddies, who tells the filmmaker of a startling recurring nightmare where he is being chased and surrounded by 26 vicious dogs. Folman listens with interest as his friend attributes the dream to experiences from the war, noting that his own memories of the conflict are virtually nonexistent. But soon after the meeting, he starts to have an obtuse vision of his younger self and two other soldiers bathing in the sea next to war torn Beirut. Confused, Folman takes his vision to a psychiatrist friend, who advises him to seek out other wartime acquaintances and gather their impressions of the conflict. So Folman does, and as he pieces together each of their stories, more and more of his own memories come flooding back, leading eventually to a striking reckoning with his young wartime past.

Folman has taken an interesting approach in constructing Waltz With Bashir. While a straight documentary on the subject matter would have carried plenty of impact, rendering the stories instead with jaw-dropping animation lends each soldier's story an immediacy and intimacy that is hard to resist. A typical documentary will often be talking head driven with a series of frosted re-enactments to give proceedings more pep, but Folman has written Waltz With Bashir in an opposite manner, letting the tales told and dreams described come to life and dominate the film. It’s inspired scripting and lends the film a momentum that is both fascinating and exhilarating.

The animation itself was provided by Bridgit Folman Film Gang, led by chief animator, Tal Gadon, and animation director, Yoni Goodman, and must be experienced to understand its impact. Anybody who has read the graphic novels of Joe Sacco will have some idea of the style of framing, but Waltz With Bashir adds swirling movement and an expert use of colour into the mix. Beirut is rendered in an almost permanent dusk, dominated by crisp golden hues and mournful blues. It’s haunting stuff, and truly comes to the fore in a sequence where a psychologist describes to Folman the experiences of a soldier who coped by viewing everything he saw through an imaginary camera – a tactic that saw him through most of the war until one day his camera seemingly ‘broke’, leaving the young man adrift in his fear and horror.

Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir
An older Folman struggles to remember his past.

Throughout, the film benefits from Nili Feller’s snappy editing and the driving score of Max Richter. Richter’s minimalist effort is in turn backed by some telling musical cuts from the era which, as the soldiers play the songs in their tanks and jeeps, provide yet another layer of commentary on the conflict. It’s part of an all encompassing and finely tuned approach that quickly sucks the viewer into the heart of the story, spitting them out 90 minutes later with their heads almost spinning from kaleidoscope of ideas and themes that they’ve just witnessed. To his credit, Folman has also laced Waltz With Bashir with its fair share of gallows’ humour, which helps to slightly leaven proceedings for the audience while making a further point about the ludicrous nature of modern warfare.

This is a remarkably personal film by Ari Folman. Indeed, those looking for a an all-encompassing take on the First Lebanon War perhaps won’t be quite satisfied with this docudrama, but that was never the filmmaker’s intent. Instead, Folman digs deep into the memories of both his and his friends’ confused take on the conflict, discovering more about himself every step of the way and reconciling with the confused youth of a violent past. The final result is a startling meditation on memory, undisclosed guilt and the darker sides of the human condition.

Check out the trailer for Waltz With Bashir below:


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Careful, He Might Hear You

The 1980s in Australia witnessed a massive surge in local filmmaking. Driven by generous government tax concessions, project after project was put into production leading to an interestingly mixed period in Australian cinema. While there ended up being a surfeit of average celluloid flung at disinterested audiences, there were also filmmakers illustrating that there was still no substitute for a keenly written script matched to thoughtful direction, highly skilled photography and sublime performances. Perhaps one of the finest examples from this period-of-plenty is the carefully conceived and beautifully rendered Careful, He Might Hear You.

Adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel by Sumner Locke Elliott, Careful, He Might Hear You plays out in depression-era Sydney and centres around PS (Nicholas Gledhill), a six-year-old boy who lives with his Aunt Lila (Robyn Nevin) and Uncle George (Peter Whitford). PS has been with his aunt and uncle since the death of his mother during childbirth and while Lila and George aren’t wealthy, they do their best to give the boy a loving and stable home. PS’s life changes, however, with the arrival in Sydney of Vanessa (Wendy Hughes), Lila's wealthy sister. Having spent a number of years based in London and travelling the world, Vanessa is oddly interested in PS, and expresses a desire to take fulltime custody of the child. Lila initially agrees to let Vanessa visit with PS, and his rich aunt quickly goes to work in trying to win his love with limousine rides and lavish gifts. But when Vanessa decides she wants the boy full time, the scene is set for a battle between the two sisters, with PS helplessly caught in the middle. Things are complicated further by the arrival of PS's long-absent father, Logan (John Hargreaves), an ineffective and guilt-ridden lush who loves his son but is incapable of caring for him.

Careful, He Might Hear You is superbly realised drama, with a fine attention paid to just about every aspect of its production. Michael Jenkins’ script is absolutely first class, with there being little evidence of its literary origins. Unlike many adaptations, Careful, He Might Hear You isn’t weighed down by a preponderance of characters or overly talky scenes, with development taking the visual route wherever possible. Helping drive along proceedings is John Seale’s stunning photography, which uses its cavernous widescreen aspect ratio to carefully study the players and practically engulf the scenery. Every frame and lens selection seems fussed over, but the cinematography never becomes stuffy, instead carrying a remarkably dynamic feel that is quite pure in its breathtaking propulsion.

Almost equal to Seale’s camera work is the stunning detail it captures. John Stoddart’s production design is meticulous in its detail, submerging the viewer completely in the stifling hardship of depression era Sydney. And plying their trade about the assiduously selected locations and meticulously built sets are some players at the top of their game, directed with purpose by Carl Schultz. Wendy Hughes is all crimped sensuality and frustrated affection as the frigid Vanessa, a portrayal that rolls brilliantly with the script to allow the audience to sympathise with this initially alien character. Likewise, Robyn Nevin and Peter Whitford communicate with insightful subtlety Lila and George’s love for PS and quiet but persistent concern for his best interests. In a smaller but pivotal roll, John Hargreaves is note perfect as Logan, PS’s broken and alcoholic father, while PS himself is played in a beautifully mournful tone by Nicholas Gledhill, the actor’s sharp blue eyes communicating confusion and pain in equal measure as we see the drama played out from the skewed understanding of his young perspective.

Wendy Hughes and Nicholas Gledhill in Careful, He Might Hear You
Nicholas Gledhill as PS and Wendy Hughes as Vanessa in Careful, He Might Hear You

There are so many fine aspects that have gone into Careful, He Might Hear You, but ultimately it’s the final package that impresses most. It illustrated at the time just what local filmmakers were capable of and the film doesn’t suffer from the hackneyed conventions of other Australian efforts of the 1980s (although Ray Cook’s excellent score is perhaps too intrusive at times). This is affecting drama, moving without being mawkish, and revels in its artistry without descending down the slippery slide of self-importance. Resonating particularly strongly with anybody who has lived through the confusion of a displaced childhood, Careful, He Might Hear You is essential viewing and remains an Australian classic.

Careful, He Might Hear You is part of the Literary Adaptations: Australia box set. For reviews of Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Naked Country taken from the same set, check out Cibbuano's excellent film review site, 20/20 Filmsight. The box set is available from Umbrella Entertainment.
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ROMAN DE GARE: A TRICK TOO MANY

April 23rd 2009 07:10
Dominique Pinon and Audrey Dana in Roman de Gare.
Dominique Pinon as Pierrre and Audrey Dana as Huguette in the flawed Roman de Gare.

One of the less serious filmmakers to come out of the French New Wave was Claude Lelouch. While his contemporaries such as Truffaut and Godard were very much concerned with the intellectual side of filmmaking, Lelouch was always more of an entertainer, capable of turning out scripts at a tremendous tilt and then usually going on to direct the films himself, often getting engaged in the cinematography and editing just for good measure. Roman de Gare is Lelouch’s 40th film in 40 years, and while it illustrates his skill with mysterious characters and twisting plots, it also suggests the seasoned filmmaker could do with a couple of dissenting voices throughout the scripting and shooting process to get the best out of his undoubted talent.

In the middle of the night on a French country highway, Huguette (Audrey Dana) is on her way to her family’s country property with her fiancé, Paul (Cyrille Eldin). The couple bicker incessantly and while their fight is ostensibly about her chain smoking, it’s really about their entire relationship, which ends when Paul abandons her at a highway service station. Watching the argument reach exploding point at the gas pumps is Pierre (Dominique Pinon). After Huguette’s voice messages fail to convince Paul to come back for her, Pierre approaches the stranded damsel and offers her a ride. As Pierre and Huguette steam along the highway the next day, he tells her that he is the ghost writer of famous novelist Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant), but his obtuse behaviour makes him an enigma that is all the more unnerving given an infamous paedophile has escaped from prison and is on the run in the same area. On a whim, Huguette asks Pierre to come to her family’s home and pretend he’s her fiancé for a night so as not to disappoint her parents, unaware of the prison break and the possible danger she could be inviting into her life.

As the gears click into life at the start of Roman de Gare, it is easy to become entranced in the intricate rhythms of Lelouch’s story. He drops hints, double-crosses the plot and throws character curve balls that whiz around the confused viewer. It’s clever stuff, and you can imagine Lelouch and fellow scriptwriter Pierre Uytterhoeven gleefully tossing ideas back and forth across the table. Unfortunately, all the nefarious plotting eventually comes at the expense of character, and halfway through, the film pulls a right-angle turn that busts the story’s impetus and leaves the most involving character wallowing on the scrap heap. It’s a maddening move that leaves the audience feeling cheated, the hypnotic cadence of the movie’s first half disappearing like a junior magician’s clunkiest of tricks.

It’s a shame, because there’s some fine work going on in Roman De Gare. Gerard de Battista’s stunning cinematography adds a beautiful crispness to the film, making it all the easier to fall into the bewitching early reels, while Jean Gargonne and Stephane Mazalaigue’s editing keeps everything running at a pace, even when they are forced to lay off slightly in the final third as shallow mysteries are carefully explained. And while many of the characters are light on, some of the players are excellent. Dominique Pinon is fascinating to watch, released from the confines of the freakish characters he often plays, while Audrey Dana obviously knows when she has the best drawn character of the bunch, making the most of it in a beguiling performance.

Dominique Pinon and Fanny Ardant in Roman de Gare.
Just about everybody is not who they say they are in Roman de Gare.

A movie like Roman de Gare is a frustrating experience. It does so much so well early on, only to throw it away in an inexcusable bonfire of character. It’s a film that aims to trick the audience, but what it really does is cheat the audience. There’s a lot of dazzling to-ing and fro-ing, a thousand ruses rattled off in quickfire succession, but ultimately Roman de Gare exhausts its bag of contrivances far too early, leaving a weak shell of a film without anything up its sleeve.

Check out the trailer for Roman de Gare below:

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Monsters vs. Aliens
The monsters prepare to do battle. From left: B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), Susan (Reese Witherspoon) and The Missing Link (Will Arnett).

While Dreamworks and Pixar (backed by Disney, with Mickey Mouse’s singularly-produced films being virtually a sideshow) are ostensibly in competition for king of the hill when it comes to computer-animated features, it’s interesting to note the differences in approach from the two studios. Pixar’s films, while frequently very funny, are jam-packed with artistry and often carry a distinctively elegiac tone. Dreamworks, on the other hand, tend to keep things a little more straightforward and target their films at kids first, adults second. In recent years, Katzenberg and co.’s films have become increasingly frivolous in the face of Pixar’s thoughtful epics and continuing this trend is Monsters vs. Aliens.

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Moritz Bleibtreu in Das Experiment
Moritz Bleibtreu plays journalist Tarek Fahd in Das Experiment.

In 1971, a team of researchers at Stanford University, California, conducted a psychological experiment attempting to measure the impressionability and obedience of students when placed in a confined situation and equipped with a legitimising ideology and institutional support. Twenty-four undergraduates were selected to play the roles of both guards and prisoners and live in a mock prison in the basement of the Stanford psychology building. The roles were assigned based on a coin toss and prisoners and guards rapidly adapted to their roles, stepping beyond the boundaries of what had been predicted and leading to dangerous and psychologically damaging situations. Originally designed as a two-week examination, the situation spiralled out of control at such a speed that researchers were forced to shut the experiment down after just six days. It was on this frightening sample of human behaviour that the 2002 German film, Das Experiment, was built.

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Ben Johnson in The Sugarland Express
Ben johnson is impressive as Captain Tanner in The Sugarland Express

After a young director named Steven Spielberg blew away the viewers of the ABC Movie of the Week with his 1971 telemovie, Duel – an economical story of a salesman being terrorised on the Californian highways by a faceless truck driver – he was afforded the chance to make his theatrical debut. The Sugarland Express was the result, a film almost purposely forgotten by some embarrassed Spielberg fans, as if its quality highlights how his films just aren’t so good anymore.

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Mary and Max
Philip Seymour Hoffman lends a brilliant take on his vocal cords as Max in 'Mary and Max.'

Claymation is an increasingly aberrational art form in 21st century cinema. Pixar-led computer magic is now de rigueur when it comes to animation and anybody who wants to crouch over clay sets managing to squeeze out five seconds of footage a day would seem on a fool’s errand. Besides Aardman Animation, the only modern filmmaker to engage in the process with any high-profile success is Australian Adam Elliot. Elliot won an Oscar for his claymation short, Harvie Krumpet in 2003 and only now returns with his first feature length effort, Mary and Max.

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Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come
Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff Stars as Ivan Martin in The Harder They Come.

It’s 36 years since The Harder They Come bludgeoned its way onto cinema screens in the Caribbean and then throughout the world. Director Perry Henzell and screenwriter Trevor D. Rhone’s power-packed slice-of-life story of a young would-be singer who finds the going tough when he hits the big city of Kingston threw viewers right into the third-world machinations of the Jamaican capital’s grimy corruption. While shot on a tight budget with improvisational camera work and often unpolished acting, it’s these very aspects that give The Harder They Come a rawness and propulsion that boosts the viewer along at break-neck speeds.

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Nicholas Cage in Knowing
Nicholas Cage looks for his lost luggage in Knowing.

It’s a long way from the video of Don’t Dream it’s Over for director Alex Proyas; a journey that started him on feature films with the sublime gothic action of The Crow (1994), through the almost darker tech noir science fiction of Dark City (1998), and down the road to celluloid disgrace in the self-indulgent Garage Days (2002). Things stabilised somewhat for Proyas with I, Robot (2004), and now the Australian director is trying to find his groove once again with his new film, Knowing. Unfortunately, Knowing turns out to be if anything a step backwards for Proyas; a poorly made, creaking hulk, sinking under the weight of ideas loaded aboard.

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