Solaris, Take 2

The most recent version of Solaris is from 2002, directed by Steven Soderbergh.  Though it has a lot going for it, the film ends up by disappointing SF viewers.  The sets are great, the actors are good, and the music is excellent.  But instead of telling a story about a sentient ocean planet, we get a Valentine's Day love story with an unrealistic happy ending that left me scratching my head.  Was this film even a science fiction movie?  Barely.  Mostly it was about a man who made a terrible mistake, and after making the same mistake again finally gets it right.  A bit like Groundhog Day.  We learn nothing much about human ability to withstand aliens meddling with our minds.  We see nothing to convince us that the main character is a brilliant analyst/shrink.  One would think he might use some of his knowledge and experience to try to get at the bottom of this mystery.  Just what is happening?  Why is it happening.  Is there any way to communicate with the alien intelligence?  Nope.  We learn nothing.  Admittedly I did not find too much to praise in the Tarkovsky version, either (and he is one of my favourite directors).  Even Lem, the author, says that neither film gets the heart of what his novel is about.  Though I have not read the novel, I am about to.  It will be discussed here during my end of the month reading summary.  So please come back for more.

 

We know it's a SF film because George Clooney is wearing a space helmet. 

It is leaving Criterion Feb. 29th.

 

That was Deb's leaving soon choice.  I would have chosen it if she hadn't.  Her main choice was quite a different kind of film.  La Antena is an Argentinian film from 2007.  It is constructed like a 1920s German fantasy film, and is mostly silent and in b & w.  It mixes avant garde technique with a unique story telling method, and it comes off really well.  There is a lot of humour in this tale of a city whose people have lost their voice, and are about to lose words, too.  The evil man who wants to take over the world (the plot has its weak points at times) is a TV producer.  The visual effects are great fun to watch, even as the story plods along to its inevitable conclusion.  The cinematic cleverness includes using the silent screen subtitles as integral to the action within a scene.  This was the first film screened by Mubi when it began screening films in 2007.  It got off to a very good start.  Highly recommended.

A must see film for silent film fans, from 2007.  Showing again on Mubi. 

 

Before those two films came my leaving choice (my regular choice was the 1st 2-part Detective Anna).   The Beekeeper is a Greek/French film from 1986, starring Marcello Mastroianni.  To me it is a perfect example of a European film from the 1980s.  Marcello sports a Greek moustache.  He plays an aging father of three grown up children, and is about to leave his wife as the film begins.  The first 20 minutes of the film features his youngest daughter's wedding.  The wedding turns into a disaster as it rains and the party is indoors.  This opening segment would make a great short film all by itself.  Marcello is an itinerant beekeeper, who heads for the south of Greece with his hives.  He is part of a dwindling tradition of such keepers, with only about six older men still plying the trade.  The film changes gears almost immediately when a teenage girl, amazingly played by Nadia Mourouzi in her first film, hitches a ride with him.  She is a runaway, ditched by her boyfriend, and does her best to cling to Marcello, whom she must see as a badly needed father figure.  Both characters are truly messed up people, however, neither one knowing how to handle any type of relationship.  Marcello remains mostly expressionless in the film, but with him it is enough to transmit a lot of character.  He stands around like a huddled lummox a lot of the time, too.  He eventually realizes that he needs her companionship, too, but when their relationship  turns sexual things go downhill quickly.  She finally leaves him, and that pretty much means the end of Marcello.  A road movie like no other.

The film has now left Mubi. 

 

One of the better Dr.Who episodes of Series 4 with Tenant and Catherine Tate is called Turn Left.  By turning right instead of left, Donna Noble unleashes the furies, which, had she turned left, the Doctor would have dealt with.  Instead, Earth is doomed, and goes through a very unhappy ending.  In this alternate universe, the Doctor is dead.  But Rose (Billie Piper) is still alive, and helping Unit deal with all the catastrophes.  She instructs Donna on a way to undo the damage, and to go back and turn left.  Lots of fun stock footage from previous episodes.  Donna does a solo here, and holds the program together well by herself and with some help from Rose.  The previous episode, Midnight, starred the Doctor without Donna.  It was a low budget drama more suited to the stage than to TV.

We are currently watching the next two episodes of Season Two Detective Anna.

Mapman Mike

 

Winter Takes A Holiday

Well, perhaps not everywhere.  But in this part of Canada (southwestern Ontario), winter in all its wonderful glory has yet to appear.  Usually we get a good blast in December, and even sometimes in November.  Not this season.  We awoke today to snow on the ground, however.  About 5 mms.  It was gone by mid day.  More is supposed to come Tuesday, but it, too, will quickly vanish with the above freezing temperatures we achieve later in the day.  One doesn't hear a lot of complaining, though, especially here at the Homestead.  A year without shovelling is, well, a year without shovelling.  It has been several years now since we have been able to go outside and use our snowshoes.  However, it is still very early in the coldest season.  We still have several weeks to go.  With parts of China experiencing their coldest December, and much of Scandinavia buried under fresh snow, there is hope for our winter yet.  Stay tuned.

 

Deb finished her tedious job of painting the TV room.  It looks quite professional, and is a definite improvement on the old walls.  And with the two new windows that were recently installed, it is a cozy place to watch our films.  Speaking of which....

 

Most recently we finished watching a 1963 SF film.  It is a Czech film, recently restored to its original b & w perfection.  Ikarie XB 1 is based on a novel by Stanislaw Lem.  A large crew of humans attempts a voyage to Alpha Centauri well into the 22nd Century, undergoing several hazardous adventures along the way.  If you like Star Trek, then readers should love this film, one of which I had never heard.  Though the crew is all white (Star Trek improved considerably on this) and commanded by men, there are plenty of women here, too, including one chosen to give birth to the first baby in space flight.  While the effects are nearly as cheesy as Gerry Anderson's, the story and writing are quite good.  It's like watching two or three good Star Trek episodes in one feature.  Recommended to SF fans.  Watch only the original sub-titled Czech version.

The restored Czech version is streaming on Criterion.

 

The bridge of the star ship. 

 

Before that came Yumeji, a Seijun Suzuki film from 1991.  It tries hard to be an avant garde art house film, but ends up reminding us too much of something someone might have done in the 1970s.  While the photography is stunning, and the use of traditional Japanese interiors works remarkably well, the over-acted boisterousness and deliberate attempts to confuse and disengage the audience in many scenes spoils the unique and underlying harmony the picture tries to create.  In addition, the film is way too long.  It tells the story of a man who recently murdered his wife.  He is on the run from the police (who seem to disappear for the last part of the picture), and has threatened to kill another man who tried to kill him.  It is also about an artist, an historical figure who painted young women.  The husband of a woman he has painted is going to kill the artist.  However, this husband is also the one that the escaped murderer wants to kill.  The best part of the film might be the stunning kimonos worn by the four women in the tale.  Not a recommended film, as it leaves little behind that stirs the senses.  Part of a trilogy of films made by the independent director.

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

Those two picks were Deb's.  Before that came the 5th and final pick of my festival week.  Mubi has just acquired a large selection of early Hong Kong action films.  Five Deadly Venoms is from 1978, and ranks high in the tastes of certain directors (Tarantino being one).  The unusual amount of sadistic torture and killings would appeal to some, I suppose.  As much as one admires the athletic ability of the actors, and the skills of the fight arranger, my heart goes out to the foley artists in this genre.  Hundreds of well timed sound effects accompany each fight, and there are many of them.  This film begins quite slowly, allowing the story of several wayward martial arts masters and their corruption to become settled before the real action begins.  Yay for the good guys.  Boo for the bad guys.

 

Now showing on Mubi. 

 

Mapman Mike