Velvet Goldmine: Celluloid Pictures of Living

by Kimberly Lindbergs | August 30, 2011

Categories | Movie Reviews, Musicals, Modern Mondays, Gay Interest

“Histories, like ancient ruins, are the fictions of empire. While everything forgotten hangs in dark dreams of the past, ever threatening to return.”
- from Velvet Goldmine (1998)

When Velvet Goldmine was originally released in 1998 it confused and frustrated a lot of critics who were turned off by its uninhibited style, hyper editing, abundant close-ups and nonlinear narrative structure. They also bemoaned the film’s playful take on musicals and biopics. This glam infused Citizen Kane homage didn’t appeal to a ‘90s audience hooked on grunge rock. Ticket sales plummeted as many critics and the general public turned their backs on Velvet Goldmine but I embraced Haynes’ film. I had become familiar with Haynes work in the early ’90s after seeing Poison (1991) on video followed by Safe (1995) during its initial theatrical release but Velvet Goldmine turned me into a lifelong Todd Haynes’ fan.

As someone who came of age in the ‘70s and later bummed around in various bands as a keyboardist during the ’80s while struggling to find work as a music journalist, I immediately formed a deep kinship with the film’s main protagonist, Arthur (Christian Bale). Like Arthur, I went down the rabbit hole and managed to come out the other side but I’m also a little worse for wear. An unrestricted look deep inside the bowels of the music industry took a lot of the sparkle off the blinding light of celebrity. Watching Arthur transform from a spotty adolescent kid seduced by the power of music into a jaded adult trying to sort out his past is all too familiar to me and Bale makes his character’s journey a convincing one.

“Meaning is not in things but in between them.” - from Velvet Goldmine

I also appreciate the way director Todd Haynes captured the downright dirty and dangerous side of rock ‘n’ roll. As a gay artist, Haynes knows what’s it’s like to be a real outsider and he understands the appeal of beautiful boys who are willing to bare all on stage while they exploit our deepest desires and fears. Unlike Cameron Crowe’s godawful Almost Famous (2000), which offered viewers an “insiders” look at the life of a young “rock journalist” but is completely devoid of passion and creativity, Haynes’ film gives us a journalist’s romanticized fantasy populated by the shadows of ’70s pop idols like David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Marc Bolan and Bryan Ferry that’s much more imaginative and heartfelt than the incredibly benign and dreadfully dull Almost Famous. Velvet Goldmine works because all the talented performers involved (Christian Bale, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ewan McGregor, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzard, Micko Westmoreland, etc.) fully embrace the glamorous world they’re inhabiting and give 100% to their roles. And Haynes’ kinetic directing style also gives the film a real energy that should be a prerequisite when you’re making a film about the power of music. Naturally critics loved Crowe’s Almost Famous, which has currently earned a whopping 88% of “like” votes at Rotten Tomatoes while Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine languishes at 55%. It’s a sad reminder of how conservative and conventional film criticism was 10 years ago. Thankfully the predictability of film criticism seems to be slowly changing and that’s partially due to the onslaught of film blogs and film sites that are willing to champion lesser seen or forgotten movies that are often overlooked by mainstream critics. And speaking of Velvet Goldmine and alternative film sites …

I recently had the opportunity to write a little tribute to Velvet Goldmine for Fandor. Fandor is an online movie service devoted to independent films where you can watch award-winning titles, festival favorites, and international gems. If you have eclectic film tastes and are looking for an alternative to Netflix I highly recommend giving Fandor a try. Fandor also publishes articles and news features about the films they program on their Keyframe blog. Earlier this month, the editors of Fandor asked a group of writers to contribute a brief piece about a film that portrays a “vanishing way of life.” I decided to share some thoughts about Velvet Goldmine. It might seem like an odd choice and I suppose it was but I had just seen the film again recently so it was fresh in my mind and I wanted an excuse to write about it. Hopefully I’ll find the time to write a longer piece about the film someday since there’s much more I’d like to say about Velvet Goldmine but here’s a little snippet from my Fandor contribution:

“Todd Haynes‘ Velvet Goldmine is a love letter to a rock ‘n’ roll past that is often more fiction than fact, because the history of rock simply can’t be written. It’s told in tall tales exchanged in smoky bars where the drinks are poured generously and the music is so loud that you can’t hear what anyone is actually saying. Haynes knows this but he also wants us to believe that rock ‘n’ roll once had the power to change the world, or at the very least, it could transform the inner world of one teenage boy.”

You’ll find my full piece along with the others at the Fandor.com site:
- Last Picture Shows: Essential Films About Vanishing Ways of Life

The fictional character Jack Fairy sings one of my favorite Roxy Music songs (”2HB”) in Velvet Goldmine

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A Decade of Fear

by Kimberly Lindbergs | December 20, 2010

Categories | Rants & Raves, Horror, Modern Mondays, Tadanobu Asano, Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, David Cronenberg, Louis Garrel, Jim Jarmusch, Danny Boyle

It’s taken me a year but I’ve finally managed to compile a list of my Favorite Films of the Decade: 2000-2009 so I thought I’d share it. My introduction echoes some earlier thoughts about fear and cinema that I shared during Halloween and wanted to expand upon. Besides my alphabetical list of 50 Favorite Films of the Decade I also compiled a list of 10 Favorite Documentaries, 10 Favorite Animation Films and 15 Favorite Female & Male Performances. Naturally I haven’t seen every film produced between 2000 and 2009 so this list is limited to what I have seen and what made a lasting impression on me.

Letʼs just talk about fear. Fear, after all, is our real enemy. Fear is taking over our world. Fear is being used as a tool of manipulation in our society. Itʼs how politicians peddle policy and how Madison Avenue sells us things that we donʼt need. Think about it. Fear that weʼre going to be attacked, fear that there are communists lurking around every corner, fear that some little Caribbean country that doesnʼt believe in our way of life poses a threat to us. Fear that black culture may take over the world. Fear of Elvis Presleyʼs hips. Well, maybe that one is a real fear. Fear that our bad breath might ruin our friendships. Fear of growing old and being alone. Fear that weʼre useless and that no one cares what we have to say.
- Colin Firth in A Single Man; 2009

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself
—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address; 1933

The decade began with a bang heard around the world.

I’m always a little surprised when people write about how “shocked” they were by the events that occurred on September 11, 2001. 9/11 didn’t shock me at all but it did horrify and sadden me. As soon a George Bush Jr. was crowned President I was fully aware that we were in for a shit storm of epic proportions that was going to rain reign down hard on us all. What did surprise me was the way that Americans responded to the events that took place on September 11, 2001. At first there seemed to be a genuine sense of unity and compassion among friends, family and strangers. But unity soon turned to fear and compassion transformed into distrust. Fear seemed to spread like a cancer and it ate away at the very fabric of the country while hindering progress of any kind.

The “Naughts” as they’ve been labeled were years when fear seemed to replace reasonable debate and logical arguments. Fear became the weapon of choice for politicians and media outlets trying to sell ideas and products. We were told to fear our neighbors, fear our food, fear teachers, fear doctors, fear plane travel, fear France, fear new ideas and finally to fear ourselves. Whether we want to admit it or not, the terrorists did what they set out to do on 9/11. They terrorized Americans and turned many of us into skittish creatures that jump when we see our own shadow and mistrust the motivations of just about everyone we come into contact with.

During the naughts people over the age of 60 seemed to disappear from public viewing. They were rarely seen on American TV or in Hollywood films except as figures of ridicule and humor. Old age is the last stage before death and people wanted none of it. We ran away from old age and death as if our own demise was somehow avoidable. Plastic surgery became commonplace. What was once a luxury for the incredibly wealthy or a medical procedure for those with debilitating scars suddenly became a beauty option that everyone should consider. It didn’t seem to matter that plastic surgery made most people look like aliens from another planet just as long as it masked their real age. In other words, looking like something from another world was far better than looking like an elderly person here on planet earth.

While we attempted to avoid the inevitable onset of old age we naturally began to obsess over our appearance. Image became everything. The naughts was a decade obsessed with physical beauty but often completely devoid of intellectual curiosity. American’s apparent obesity epidemic got lots of news coverage while anorexia was glamorized or swept under the rug. We were encouraged to shun overweight people and embrace silicon boobs. And no news outlet wanted to cover the rising poverty and hunger occurring in America throughout the decade. Starving children are not easy to talk about or pleasant to look at and you can’t make jokes about them. Where’s the fun in calling malnutritioned kids lazy and stupid?

In this kind of environment the medical, diet and beauty industries thrived like never before while selling their snake oils in-between episodes of Extreme Makeover, Make Me a Super Model and The Biggest Loser. But it wasn’t just our bodies that needed fixing. Our minds were also in desperate need of a makeover and pharmaceutical companies fed on our fears. Having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning? Hate your job? Feeling trapped in an unhappy relationship? Got a bad case of the blues? Take a pill! Over-the-counter drug pushers made record profits in the naughts while praying on people’s depression during one of the countries most depressing decades. There seemed to be a pill made for everything and people bought what the drug companies were selling. Is it any wonder that legal drugs appear to be killing more people than illegal drugs these days?

School systems continued to crumble and the dumbing down of the nation not only became unavoidable, it was celebrated. Everyone became a critic. Everyone started to blog (yours truly included) or visited chat forums where they could express their opinions no matter how vile or ignorant. Whenever they were confronted by something that didn’t fit within their comfort zones they often lashed out with hostility. It quickly became apparent that there were a lot of angry and miserable people sitting at home behind their computers and they all seemed to want to point the finger at someone, something or anything but themselves.

Lots of documentary filmmakers also seemed to enjoy using fear as a tool to win attention and forgo good filmmaking. What they lacked in ideas and information they made up for in scare value. Did you know that gorging yourself daily on McDonalds’ food will make you ill and probably kill you? Were people really unaware of this simple fact before Super Size Me (2004) was released? I guess so because for some strange reason the movie was nominated for countless awards and endless imitators have followed Morgan Spurlock’s lead. Ignorance is killing us and fear sells.

But there was some benefit to all this fear peddling. After two decades of scant thrills and very little chills horror movies finally got scary again. Really scary. They also got really good. Thanks to the rising popularity of Asian horror movies in the late ’90s as well as a new wave of independent horror cinema the naughts began as a decade ripe with possibility and the horror genre blossomed. Hollywood may have kept its head in the clouds while it regurgitated tired scripts and remade classic films into easily forgotten entertainment, but outside of Hollywood and in other countries many filmmakers never let us forget that we were living in extremely scary times. Government sanctioned torture, suicide bombers, environmental disasters, serial killers, domestic violence, police brutality, sexual predators, date rape drugs, mental illness, increasing isolation, infectious disease. . . The list of terrors lurking around every corner grew endless and horror films gave us an unblinking look at them all.

I’ve appreciated the extremely graphic nature of horror films made during the last decade. Americans weren’t allowed to see the dead bodies of soldiers killed in an illegal war fought in our name but we could experience some catharsis through the movies we watched. I identified with the victims and sympathized with their plight because they were reflections of us all and our own fears. I also found myself occasionally stunned by the smart, scary and creative ways in which so many directors were able to infuse the tired genre with life. Violent, chaotic, bloody red and uninhibited life, but life nonetheless. Horror cinema was willing and able to tackle the very real terror that seemed to engulf the planet in the last decade and it also offered up the only constant critique of it. Directors around the world found inspiration in the horror films of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s that were often politically motivated and socially conscious. But like the horror films that came before them it will probably take another 10 or 20 years before these recent horror movies are fully understood and appreciated.

You’ll find that many of the films on my “Favorite films of the Decade” list are horror films made by talented directors like Danny Boyle and Brad Anderson as well as Gaspar Noe, Béla Tarr, Gus Van Sant and Claire Danes. Now I know what you’re thinking. Horror Films?! Most of those directors make art films, not horror film! But my response to that is bullshit poppycock. Film is an evolving art form still in it’s infancy. Thinly defined genres are always changing and assumed boundaries should constantly be re-imagined and tossed aside. If you lack the imagination to see films like Irreversible, Werckmeister Harmonies, Elephant and Trouble Every Day as horror films it’s your loss. Not mine. I embrace these films because of their darker nature and their ability to explore and unmask our fears. So to the horror films of the last decade, I salute you! I’m extremely thankful for all the directors that made my favorite film genre interesting and exciting again.

I’d like to write more in-depth about all of these films in the future and expand on the ways in which horror cinema challenged us and entertained us during the last decade, but that could easily turn into a book length article. I did link to a few articles I previously wrote for some films in 2009 during my “Modern Monday” updates.

50 51 Favorite Films: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. 28 Days Later (Danny Boyle; 2002) UK
2. American Psycho (Mary Harron; 2000) US
3. The Bank Job (Roger Donaldson; 2008) UK
4. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku; 2000) Japan
5. Before the Fall (F. Javier Gutiérrez; 2008) Spain
6. Bright Future (Kiyoshi Kurosawa; 2003) Japan
7. Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009) Australia/UK
8. Calvaire (Fabrice Du Welz; 2004) Belgium/France
9. Capote (Bennett Miller; 2005) US
10. Cecil B. DeMented (John Waters; 2000) US
11. Cloverfield (Matt Reeves; 2008) US
12. Control (Anton Corbijn; 2007) UK
13. Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier; 2000) Denmark
14. The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro; 2001) Spain
15. The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci; 2003) Italy
16. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry; 2004) US
17. Ghost World (Terry Zwigoff; 2001) US
18. Ginger Snaps (John Fawcett; 2000) Canada
19. Gus Van Sant’s Death Trilogy (Gerry, Elephant, Last Days; 2002-2005) US
20. High Tension (Alexandre Aja; 2003) France
21. Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008) UK
22. I’m Not Scared (Gabriele Salvatores; 2003) Italy
23. Ichi the Killer (Takeshi Miike; 2001) Japan
24. Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovic; 2004) France
25. Irreversible (Gaspar Noé; 2002) France
26. Last Life in the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang; 2003) Thailand/Japan
27. Left Bank (Pieter Van Hees; 2008) Belgium
28. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson; 2008) Sweden
29. Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009) US
30. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola; 2003) US
31. Love Songs (Christophe Honoré; 2007) France
32. Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay; 2002) UK
33. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch; 2001) US
34. No Country For Old Men (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2007) US
35. Oldboy (Chan-wook Park; 2003) Korea
36. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (Michel Hazanavicius; 2006) France
37. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke; 2002) Germany/France
38. The Proposition (John Hillcoat; 2005) Australia
39. The Quiet American (Phillip Noyce; 2001) Australia/US
40. [Rec] (Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza; 2007) Spain
41. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky; 2000) US
42. A Single Man (Tom Ford; 2009) US
43. Session 9 (Brad Anderson; 2001) US
44. Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige; 2000) US
44. Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright; 2004) UK
45. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson; 2007) US
46. This Is England (Shane Meadows; 2007) UK
47. Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis; 2001) France
48. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr; 2000) Hungry
49. Wonder Boys (Curtis Hanson; 2000) US
50. Zodiac (David Fincher; 2007) US

Honorable mentions: Sunshine (Danny Boyle; 2007), The Prestige (Christopher Nolan; 2006), In Paris (Christophe Honoré ; 2006), Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009), Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas.; 2008), Hostel Part: II (2007), Suicide Club (Shion Sono; 2001), Vinyan (Fabrice Du Welz; 2008), The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach; 2006) and Puffball (Nicolas Roeg; 2007).

10 Favorite Documentaries: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. 51 Birch Street (Doug Block; 2005) US
2. Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki; 1003) US
3. Children Underground (Edet Belzberg; 2001) Us/Romania
4. Chris & Don: A Love Story (Guido Santi and Tina Mascara; 2007) US
5. Crazy Love (Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens; 2007) US
6. The Fog of War (Errol Morris; 2003) US
7. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog; 2005) German/US
8. Gumby Dharma (Robina Marchesi; 2006) US
9. In the Realms of the Unreal (Jessica Yu; 2004) US
10. Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (Mary Jordan; 2006) US

10 Favorite Animation Films: 2000-2009
Title/Director/Year/Country or Main Countries of Origin
1. Blood: The Last Vampire (Hiroyuki Kitakubo; 2000) Japan
2. Chicken Run (Nick Park; 2000) UK
3. Metropolis (Rintaro; 2001) Japan
4. The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002; Craig McCracken) US
5. Ratatouille (Brad Bird; 2007) US
6. Samurai Champloo series (Shinichirō Watanabe; 2004-2005)
7. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki; 2001) Japan
8. The Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet; 2003) France
9. Vampire Hunter D (Yoshiaki Kawajiri; 2001) Japan
10. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman; 2008) Israel

16 Favorite Female Performances: 2000-2009
1. Asia Argento (The Last Mistress)
2. Maria Bello (History of Violence)
3. Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)
4. Abbie Cornish (Bright Star)
5. Béatrice Dalle (Trouble Every Day)
6. Julie Deply (Before Sunset)
7. Cécile De France (High Tension)
8. Eva Green (The Dreamers)
9. Naomie Harris (28 Days Later)
10. Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher)
11. Katharine Isabelle & Emily Perkins tie (Ginger Snaps)
12. Nicole Kidman (Birth)
13. Eline Kuppens (Left Bank)
14. Julianne Moore (Blindness)
15. Samantha Morton (Morven Callar)
16. Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)

16 Favorite Male Performances: 2000-2009
1. Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer)
2. Christian Bale (American Psycho)
3. Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men)
4. Min-sik Choi (Oldboy)
5. Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood)
6. Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road)
7. Michael Douglas & Robert Downey Jr. tie (Wonder Boys)
8. Michael Fassbender (Hunger & Fish Tank - tie)
9. Colin Firth (A Single Man)
10. Louis Garrel (Love Songs)
11. Stephen Graham (This Is England)
12. Viggo Mortensen (History of Violence)
13. Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)
14. Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later)
15. Sam Riley (Control)
16. Jason Statham (The Bank Job)

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A Look Back at 2009

by Kimberly Lindbergs | February 25, 2010

Categories | Movie Reviews, Modern Mondays, Michael Fassbender, Jim Jarmusch

2009 was an interesting year here at Cinebeats. It was the first year that I wrote about films made after 1979 and my blog traffic rose considerably because of it. While I appreciated the interest in my “Modern Monday” posts, I’m not planning on continuing with them in 2010. I do plan on sharing a complete list of my favorite films of the last decade soon and I’ll occasionally try and post a collection of my thoughts about recent films when I find the time but I want to focus more of my attention on older movies again.

My favorite blogging moment of 2009 occurred when I got the opportunity to interview the British actor Shane Briant by email who I’ve admired for a long time. Briant appeared in many of my favorite Hammer films and I was thrilled that he took the time to answer some of my questions. I also enjoyed spending a lot of time writing about the 1968 film Girl On A Motorcycle in honor of the director and cinematographer Jack Cardiff who passed away last year. The post that seemed to generate the most blog traffic from visitors last year was my very personal piece about the actor Klaus Kinski titled “Stalking Klaus Kinski or How I Worshiped a Madman.” I suspect that the provocative title was partially to blame for the high-level of interest.

As I mentioned to Adam Hartzell in his recent piece for SF360, I didn’t have the opportunity to see many new films when they were initially released. I’ve only recently caught up with a lot of 2009 films on DVD but I wish I had been able to see more of the films I enjoyed in a theater. I think 2009 was a terrific year for new movies so I thought I’d share a list of my favorites.

Favorite Films of 2009 (listed alphabetically):

Charlotte Gainsbourg and friends in Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009)

Antichrist (Lars von Trier; 2009)
I first experienced Lars von Trier’s work in the mid ’90s after a friend suggested I watch the horror series he made for Danish television called The Kingdom. I’ve admired the director ever since and I was excited to learn that he had decided to return to the horror genre with Antichrist in 2009. This haunting atmospheric film is beautifully shot and well acted by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe but it’s Lars von Trier’s direction that was really the star of the film for me. Von Trier was able to conjure up some truly eerie imagery in Antichrist and there’s an otherworldly feel to the film that seems to permeate every frame. I found the negative and reactionary critical response to the movie really surprising but Lars von Trier is often a target of ill-informed critics. I appreciate the complicated nature of his work and I thought Antichrist was one of the director’s most challenging efforts.

Ben Whishaw & Ambie Cornish in Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009)

Bright Star (Jane Campion; 2009)
Bright Star does an incredible job of detailing the relationship between the British romantic poet John Keats and his ladylove Fanny Brawne. Anyone familiar with 18th century Britain will be impressed with the way the social customs and quirks of the period were handled. It was wonderful to see a romantic figure like Keats played by such an earthy actor like the talented Ben Whishaw, but actress Ambie Cornish managed to steal the film as Keats’ love interest in the movie. Cornish is unforgettable as the young and passionate Fanny Browne and if I had my way she’d win the Oscar for best actress this year. I loved the way she was able to make Fanny into a smart and forward-thinking young woman without removing any of her inherent charm. So many historic biopics rely much too heavily on melodrama and histrionics. Bright Star doesn’t shy from the romantic aspect of Keats’ life and poetry as well as the tragedy that befell his relationship with Fanny, but the film never succumbs to the overacting and theatrics that plague so many similar productions. I’ve admired Keats’ poetry for years and when I was in London I made the trek to the home that Keats and Fanny Brawne shared together. My expectations for Bright Star weren’t particularly high since I’ve had mixed reactions to Jane Campion’s work in the past but I fell in love with the movie. I think Bright Star is her finest film and one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen in years.

A scene from District 9 (Neill Blomkamp; 2009)

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp; 2009)
District 9 really surprised me. I didn’t know anything about the movie before I saw it and I really liked the way the material was handled. Especially considering the budget, the relatively unknown actors, etc. It reminded me of an ’80s science fiction flick loaded with plenty of action and thrills. But District 9 also contained a lot of unexpected social and political undertones. I probably could of done without the parent/child alien relationship that got in the way of the plot at the end, but overall I thought District 9 was an entertaining movie.

Michael Fassbender reaches out to Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold; 2009)

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold; 2009)
This potent coming-of-age drama presents a surprisingly bold look at young lust and uninhibited passion. The film stars newcomer Katie Jarvis who is terrific as an angry young woman named Mia trying to make sense of the world and her place in it. The handsome and charming Michael Fassbender becomes an object of obsession and desire for young Mia (who can blame her?) and their complicated relationship is what really drives the film.

Eva Green & Sam Riley in Franklyn (Gerald McMorrow; 2008)

Franklyn (Gerald McMorrow; 2008 - was not available to see in most American cities until 2009)
I’m surprised that this involving fantasy film hasn’t gotten more attention. If I didn’t know any better I might assume that Franklyn was scripted by Neil Gaiman and directed by Dave McKean, but it’s actually an original film from first-time director Gerald McMorrow. The movie features solid performances from all of the actors involved but I especially liked watching the romantic relationship unfold between Eva Green and Sam Riley. I think they’re two of the most beautiful and charismatic actors working today so it was just mesmerizing to watch them perform together. Franklyn isn’t without some problems and I think the film was trying to do too much with too little but I also thought it was an impressive first effort from director Gerald McMorrow.

Michael Fassbender & Rory Mullen in Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008)

Hunger (Steve McQueen; 2008 - was not available to see in most American cities until 2009)
Incredibly haunting and troubling film impeccably directed by Steve McQueen. This slow-moving meditation on martyrdom is not easy viewing. It’s one of the most brutal movies I’ve ever seen and if you’re familiar with my viewing habits you know that I don’t make that claim lightly. But among all the filth and human suffering depicted in the film there are also some truly beautiful and transcendent moments that make Hunger not only one of the best movies I saw in 2009, but also one of the most important and memorable films that I’ve seen in the last 10 years.

Diane Kruger & Michael Fassbender in Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino; 2009)

Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino; 2009)
I’m probably one of the few people in the world who thinks Quentin Tarantino is becoming a better filmmaker as he gets older. His deep affection for old and often obscure films seems to be morphing into something more than just mere homage lately and I like the direction he’s taken in the last few years. He just needs to learn how to trust his audience more and I personally wish he’d hire a composer to score his films. I think Tarantino will probably make his masterpiece when he’s 60 or even 70 years old. Inglourious Basterds is Tarantino’s best looking film and I appreciate the way he writes his female characters. I was also impressed with the performances he got out of his actors, in particular Diane Kruger, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent and my favorite basterd, Michael Fassbender.

Isaach De Bankolé in The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009)

The Limits of Control (Jim Jarmusch; 2009)
Along with Antichrist, The Limits of Control is easily one of the most critically maligned and misunderstood films of 2009. At least Lars von Trier has a lot of loud and smart defenders but it’s not easy to find thoughtful critics who are willing to go to bat for Jim Jarmusch over this film and that’s a pity. If there’s another working American director who is less appreciated and more misunderstood in his own country I can’t think of them at the moment. This brilliantly deconstructed political thriller is a feast for the senses. You’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to appreciate the pure beauty of the film, which was photographed by Christopher Doyle. Jarmusch uses his wit and incredibly dry sense of humor to pay homage to classic existential crime films such as Point Blank (John Boorman; 1967) and Le Samouraï (Jean-Pierre Melville; 1967) but if you don’t appreciate those movies you probably won’t be able to appreciate The Limits of Control, which I happen to think is Jarmusch’s best work since Dead Man.

Sam Rockwell in Moon (Duncan Jones; 2009)

Moon (Duncan Jones; 2009)
This impressive debut from Duncan “Zowie Bowie” Jones borrows a bit too much from every science fiction film made before it (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Silent Running, etc.) but it kept my interest thanks to Sam Rockwell’s impressive star performance and Clint Mansell’s wonderful score. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Duncan Jones does next.

Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2009)

A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen; 2009)
The Coen brother’s strike gold again with this funny and thoughtful look at man’s never-ending quest for answers to unanswerable questions. It’s also the best Woody Allen film I’ve seen in 20 years even though Woody Allen had nothing to do with it.

The cast of Thirst (Park Chan-Wook; 2009)

Thirst (Park Chan-Wook; 2009)
This uneven vampire film has gotten mixed reviews but I personally thought the good outweighed the bad. The story involves a priest (Kang-ho Song) who accidentally gets turned into a vampire while taking part in a medical experiment. The first half of Thirst is flawless and contains some truly memorable moments and breathtaking cinematography. Unfortunately the story suffers when the focus of the film changes. I wish the director had explored the religious implications and spiritual aspects of the priest’s personal plight more but the film’s creative ending almost makes up for the film’s flaws.

There are still a bunch of films on my “must see” list that I wasn’t able to watch before compiling my list including 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis; 2008), An Education (Lone Scherfig; 2009), Air Doll (Hirokazu Koreeda; 2009), Chloe (Atom Egoyan; 2009), Love Exposure (Shion Sono; 2008), A Single Man (Tom Ford; 2009), The Young Victoria (Jean-Marc Vallée; 2009) and The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke; 2009. There’s a high probability that one or more of these movies might have made it onto my list if I had the opportunity to see them.

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Modern Mondays: Gus Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy” 2002-2005

by Kimberly Lindbergs | November 16, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, American Cinema, Modern Mondays, Gay Interest

“Ours is a culture notoriously uncomfortable with death. We’ve minimized and sterilized our rituals for processing it; we pack it away in Styrofoam and plastic wrap at the grocery store; we worship our children and pour our resources into the fantasy of postponing old age. Yet it courses into our collective consciousness with renewed insistence every day. Death in Iraq, death in New Orleans, death in Sudan, Afghanistan, Israel, Indonesia. Death on local streetcorners and in apartment buildings down the block. More death than it seems possible to comprehend.”
- Holly Myers

I’ve admired Gus Van Sant’s films since first seeing Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) in the early ’90s but my relationship with the director’s work has occasionally been strained. I still don’t understand why Gus Van Sant thought remaking Hitchcock’s Psycho (1998) was a good idea and I’ve found some of his films such as Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) unwatchable but I keep coming back to his work. Van Sant has been very active in the last 10 years and his films have received a lot of critical attention but I think his “Death Trilogy” which included the movies Gerry (2002), Elephant (2003) and Last Days (2005) are the director’s most interesting recent films. They’re good movies on their own but together they make up one of the most compelling cinematic experiences I’ve had in the last 10 years.

The three movies that form Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy” are not easy viewing and demand a lot from their audience. They also deserve more attention than I can give them at the moment so I thought I’d share some excerpts from one of my favorite pieces written about the films by the Los Angeles based critic Holly Myers for n+1. In Myers’ lengthy piece called Nothing Happens to No One: The Death Trilogy of Gus Van Sant she brilliantly explains exactly why I find the director’s “Death Trilogy” so intriguing. She also does a terrific job of pointing out the importance of these American films and why they’ve made such a lasting impression on me.

“Like the two subsequent films—Elephant (2003), based on the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, and Last Days (2005), a fictionalized account of the death of Kurt Cobain—Gerry cuts through the shock, the bafflement, the extravagant displays of empathy and moralistic hand-wringing that invariably characterizes Hollywood and the media’s treatment of death-stories by dispensing with the basic conventions of narrative and character. Van Sant does not sensationalize. Instead, in each film we see plot distilled to a single, profound arc: the slow, strange transition of a body from being alive to not being alive. Taking the silence, the mystery, the essential unknowability of death as a given, Van Sant makes no attempt to interrogate or explain. He simply enacts this transition and encourages his viewers to watch.

The result is closer to meditation than to storytelling, and the films are difficult in the way that meditation is difficult, which has made them—Gerry in particular—a hard sell.”

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Modern Mondays: OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | November 9, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, French Cinema, Spies & Secret Agents, Comedies, Modern Mondays

If you’ve been reading Cinebeats for awhile you’re probably well aware of my fascination and fondness for spies. From the smart and exceptional Prisoner to the ridiculously silly Last of the Secret Agents?, I never seem to get tired of watching spy movies or television shows as long as they have a good soundtrack accompanying them. So it should come as no surprise that I think the recent French spy spoof OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies aka OSS 117: Le Caire, Nid d’Espions (2006) is one of the funniest films of the last decade.

The movie was directed and co-written by Michel Hazanavicius who based it on the original OSS 117 spy novels by the prolific French author Jean Bruce. The original books featured an American born spy with French roots named Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath who worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). OSS 117 predated Ian Flemming’s more well-known spy James Bond, alias 007, by 4 years, but both characters seem to share a lot of similarities. I haven’t read any of the original Jean Bruce novels myself or seen the early French films based on the books but according to director Michel Hazanavicius OSS 117 isn’t as ironic or clever as James Bond.

Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, alias OSS 117, is played brilliantly by the handsome and very funny French actor Jean Dujardin. Dujardin has clearly based his character on Sean Connery’s Bond from the early ’60s as well as other self-assured male spies from the same period and he does a terrific job of mimicking their best and worst qualities. In the film agent OSS 117 is sent to Cairo to investigate the disappearance of his close friend and fellow OSS operative Jack Jefferson (Philippe Lefebvre). Finding his friend won’t be easy and over the course of the film OSS 117 becomes entangled in a web of international espionage involving Nazis, a fundamentalist uprising and two beautiful but dangerous women played by the lovely Bérénice Bejo and Aure Atika.

OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies takes place in 1955 and the film beautifully replicates the decade it’s boldly taking a jab at. Director Michel Hazanavicius clearly loves the movies he’s emulating and OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies comes across as a thoughtful homage as well as a clever parody. From the detailed set designs, to the stylized fashions and incredible soundtrack, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is a film that knows exactly what it’s doing while delivering a lot of laughs. The humor in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is slightly more sophisticated than the Austin Power films but the movie should appeal to Pink Panther fans and anyone who enjoys television shows like Get Smart.

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Modern Mondays: 28 Days Later (2002)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 26, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, British Cinema, Modern Mondays, Danny Boyle

I make no apology for my sincere admiration of British director Danny Boyle. Since I first sat through a late night showing of Shallow Grave back in 1994 I’ve been impressed with his frenetic and edgy directing style as well as his ability to get incredibly nuanced performances from his actors. I believe Boyle is one of our most interesting modern directors and 28 Days Later is one of his greatest achievements.

28 Days Later tells the story of young Jim (Cillian Murphy) who awakens from a long coma in an empty London hospital surrounded by a seemingly deserted city. While Jim was sleeping a powerful virus swept through the country turning its victims into murderous monsters that resemble zombies. Throughout the course of the film Jim becomes a reluctant hero who helps other survivors try to stay alive in a situation that becomes more desperate and bleak by the hour.

The film was impressively shot by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle using digital film for most of its running time. Instead of it being a distraction, the use of digital film in 28 Days Later actually adds to the grungy feel of the urban landscape and gives the city of London an extremely menacing look. Writer Alex Garland wrote the script, which makes many references to other movies such as The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Day of the Triffids (1962), Omega Man (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and George Romero’s Dead Trilogy. But in a decade that was littered with tired ‘reimaginings’ and lackluster remakes Danny Boyle was able to revitalize familiar themes and turn 28 Days Later into one of the decades most frightening, creative, entertaining and thought-provoking horror films. 28 Days Later managed to make zombies interesting again and it also made Cillian Murphy an internationally renowned star who has developed into one of our best working actors.

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Modern Mondays: Calvaire (2004)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 19, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, Modern Mondays

When I first saw Calvaire (2004) it haunted me for weeks. No matter how much I tried to forgot the film’s snow saturated landscapes, strange characters, unhinged violence and unsettling atmosphere I just couldn’t shake the movie from my memory. Images from Calvaire haunted my dreams and threatened to consume my thoughts.

This fascinating horror film was directed and co-written by Belgium born filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz and shot by the extraordinary cinematographer Benoît Debie (Irreversible; 2002). Together Fabrice Du Welz and Benoît Debie form part of an important group of European filmmakers who are producing some of today’s most innovative and cutting edge films. This creative group includes controversial directors Gaspar Noé and Lucile Hadzihalilovic, as well as Peter Van Hees who recently helmed Left Bank. Together these filmmakers seem to be redefining horror cinema and invoking the darkest and arguably most interesting aspects of cinema fantastique.

Calvaire brazenly borrows ideas from classic survival horror films such as Deliverance (1972), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). But director Fabrice Du Welz manages to infuse his film with a dark romanticism that would make Matthew “Monk” Lewis proud.

The film stars the talented French actor Laurent Lucas as a young entertainer named Marc whose van breakdowns somewhere in the Belgian countryside. Marc soon becomes an object of admiration and incomprehensible cruelty for a local innkeeper named Bartel (Jackie Berroyer).

What separates Calvaire from other films involving individuals who find themselves lost in the wilderness and preyed upon by crazed locals, is the way the film dares to play with gender roles. Calvaire smartly subverts the idea of the “final girl’ that is prevalent in many popular horror films and turns it on its head. The film is also beautifully photographed by Benoît Debie who makes the most of Belgium’s winter weather and invokes a creepy gothic ambiance that is often missing from contemporary horror movies.

Last but not least, Calvaire also boasts a brief but memorable appearance by the beautiful European horror icon and erotic actress Brigitte Lahaie who has appeared in many Jean Rollin films including The Grapes of Death (1978), Fascination (1979) and Night of the Hunted (1980) and as well as Jess Franco’s Faceless (1987) and critically acclaimed films such as Diva (1981) and Henry & June (1990).

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On DVD This Week: Left Bank!

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 16, 2009

Categories | News, Horror, Modern Mondays

Left Bank (aka Linkeroever) has been released on DVD from IFC Films/MPI Home Video just in time for Halloween! I was thrilled to find a quote by yours truly gracing the DVD cover that lets potential viewers know that I thought Left Bank was “Just as important as LET THE RIGHT ONE” and “One of the Best Horror Films of the Past 10 Years.”

These quotes all come from my earlier review of Left Bank and I proudly stand behind both of my statements. It’s unfortunate that Left Bank didn’t get the same kind of critical attention that Let the Right One got when it was initially released in 2008, but not too surprising. Left Bank is an unusual and atypical horror movie that borrows ideas from some of horror cinema’s most esoteric films. I suspect that it will never appeal to the same wide reaching audience that appreciated Let the Right One In, but I think horror film enthusiasts with eclectic tastes will find Left Bank to be an exciting and worthwhile viewing experience. Hopefully this new DVD release will introduce the film to a much wider and more appreciative audience.

From the Left Bank DVD Description:
“In this graphically shocking and internationally acclaimed debut feature by Belgian writer/director Peter Van Hees, Eline Kuppens stars as a dedicated professional runner sidelined by an infection. But when she impulsively decides to move into her new boyfriend s high-rise apartment on the outskirts of Antwerp, she will discover that his perfect home may hold strange powers and even darker secrets: Their sexual passion becomes extreme. Her body undergoes bizarre changes. The previous tenant disappeared under mysterious circumstances. And deep within the building s dark basement lurks an ancient evil that waits to be reborn. Welcome to a neighborhood where obsession meets madness, history is written in blood, and modern horror is alive and well in a place called LEFT BANK.”

This new NTSC DVD release features a widescreen print of the film as well as English and Spanish subtitles. You can currently purchase the DVD from Amazon and it should be available for rent from Netflix as well as other DVD rental outlets.

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Modern Mondays: Before the Fall (2008)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 5, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Science Fiction, Spanish Cinema, Thrillers, Modern Mondays

Before the Fall (aka Tres días) is a terrific Spanish thriller with an end-of-the-world setting. This thoughtful genre-mixing film takes place in a small Spanish village as the news breaks that a giant meteor has begun rapidly descending towards earth. The meteor is expected to hit the planet in just three days and scientists predict that the world will come to a sudden and violent end when it does. As these events begin to unfold director and co-writer F. Javier Gutiérrez focuses his camera on one very troubled family that is struggling to live with some deep scars caused by a traumatic encounter with a serial killer many years earlier. Unfortunately the family is forced to face their past head-on when the killer escapes from jail in the chaos following the frantic news announcement of the meteor’s decent.

In most films with a doomsday plot line the characters act as if they don’t have a past. But they’re willing to fight for a future that often seems vague and undefined. Characters might struggle with family matters before the action starts and occasionally make reference to it as the drama progresses, but once the adrenaline kicks in their personal history mysteriously seems to vanish into thin air. This lack of emotional depth and character development in many science fiction films and thrillers can be distracting and exasperating for some viewers. Before the Fall is smart enough to reject typical scenarios found in countless apocalyptic films and instead director F. Javier Gutiérrez managed to craft a taut psychological thriller that never forgets about its very human characters.

The film’s deep sense of humanity is what separates Before the Fall from countless other end-of-the-world films that have preceded it. Throughout the course of the film the flawed protagonists in Before the Fall are never allowed to forget their past and the events that have shaped them. Director F. Javier Gutiérrez knows that death is inevitable whether it comes in the form of a giant falling meteor, suicide or a serial killer so the meteor plunging towards earth in Before the Fall is only a minor distraction that never gets in the way of life’s bigger questions and conflicts. The film unapologetically allows viewers to forget about the impending disaster facing planet earth and embrace the troubled family in their very personal plight.

Besides some surprisingly creative directing choices by Gutiérrez, the film also features some wonderful performances from Víctor Clavijo as the reluctant hero of the film as well as Mariana Cordero as his mother and Eduard Fernández as the determined killer. These three characters really make up the heart, soul and mind of this unusual movie that happens to be one of my favorite films of the last decade.

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