Homo-Vampiric Kitsch and The Hunger (1983)

As, I was forewarned, The Hunger (1983) is not a great horror film, or vampire flick. Where it exceeds is in Bowiefying a world to such an extent, that nothing else matters. Bowiefying is the act of filling something with as much homo-erotic, androgynous, 80's kitsch as it can possibly hold, and The Hunger sets the standard. It's not far fetched to imagine this film being influenced by Waters, but unlike his work the writing is nowhere near as good. 

Obviously director, Scott, was under the MTV spell at  the time, deciding to try for a quick money maker. If Bowie were not in this film, its success would have probably been hurt. I was personally angered by the fact that, the pop-god dies within ten minutes of the films title. 

However, it is amazing that the Susan Surandon, sex scene of legend, was received so well. I'm not aware of many openly lesbian sex scenes in mainstream cinema at the time. It is hard to tell if this is an interesting beacon of tolerance, or just the desire of fan boys to see some skin. 

Never the less, The Hunger is a great film to watch for fun, especially if one is a Bowie fan. You are guaranteed to get some good laughs, and possibly some amazing interior decorating tips strait from the trash 80's.

Scottish Noir-Grime and The Red Road Experience

Red Road (2006) continues in the tradition of Trainspotting (1996) and Shallow Grave (1994), as showing Scotland as a very dark and grimy, industrialized land. In recent years this portrayal, has almost spawned a genre of its own. All these films utilize, noiresque cinematic techniques to achieve the feel of a dark city full of questionable hooligans. 

Red Road does a specifically good job with its look.  The footage is far from plainly dark and shadowy. Quite to the contrary, the cinematographer uses a huge pallet of deep unsaturated color to create the effect of darkness and shadow. 

Many instances of color, and cinematic variation occur as we peek with the main character through the CCTV monitors. They prove a great device to add visual effect, and constantly remind the audience of the voyeuristic themes amok. Also, the industrialized landscape provides a tremendous variety of fluorescent glow, which bathes the land. Red Road is Visually stunning to say the least. 

Unfortunately, the writing of the story ruins everything.  The failure of the character's development, despite the length of the film, is nearly intolerable. In retrospect it is this which makes, the equally poor ending, seem even more ridiculous.

A Nuance Packed Trip Behind The Iron Curtain

12:08: East of Bucharest (2006), the latest to hail hail from a growing Romanian film economy, is simply shot, dry as a bone, but so packed with meaningful residue that even the coldest cynic would be moved. The film hits late, but none the less like a ton of emotional bricks, falling from the Berlin Wall.

The dark, somewhat misanthropic inhabitants, of a small Romanian town display the kind of personality it took to exist behind the iron curtain. The awkward comedy that oozes from them, is lent to by a total-since of the absurd. They are parodies of people, and they know it. They seem to act in a way things should be, rather than the way they are. Their fiber is in essence the conflict between progress, and the regret of those who got left behind. 

The town itself is as frigid, and bleak as it's dwellers, but like them it also bears nuance of  emotion. It comes across as  a place of nostalgia, but also forgotten abandon. The grey concrete is bitter, for it too has seen better days, even in the hardest of times. 

The film moves dreadfully slow, one scene taking over thirty minutes, but 12:08: East Bucharest is not a film of instant gratification. It is a film that rewards patience. But for those who make it, the aftertaste is remarkably profound. Not a bad movie for Christmastime.

The Darkness of The Human Spirit and The Page Turner (2006)

Denis Decourt's, Page Turner is a vivid study in the darkness or vileness of the human spirit. As I was watching the film, I was continually reminded of Kieslowski's Decalogue: Five, another exploration into the darkness, which sometimes empowers us. Both films show in excessively lucid manners, the gruesomeness of revenge. In the Page Turner, Melonie's destructive actions, though not as physically violent, as the protagonist in Decologue Five's, are just as damaging.

The Film leaves us with hints of the extent of the premeditation, of Melonie's actions, but is never made extraordinarily clear. The result, as in Kieslowski's piece, is a mediation on what the breaking point of the human spirit is, and to what extent/for what reason's an individual's destructive tendencies are unleashed. Don't let the title fool you, The Page Turner is almost bestial in its darkness.

Renaissance (2006) An Exercise in Unfulfilled Anticipation

I was thrilled, as I always am, when I saw a feature length, animated Sci-Fi piece, and from France on top of it all. But this film falls into the same operation as most modern Sci-Fi films, creating a genre of unfulfilled potential. The state of Sci-Fi, as seen by this enthusiast, is sad to say the least. I blame the following sectors of deficiency. Writers have very little success in character, or even plot development. For instance, recent releases such as Danny Boyle's, Sunshine (2007), make no strides for heightened character development, and do little outstanding, but fall into the rhetoric of previous Sci-Fi disappointments. Also special effects, are like a bad batch of peyote on a director's mind. Never is this more evident, than in the last installments of Star Wars, where Lucas became illiterate, and turned to the crutch of ILM to make up for his lack of storytelling will-power. Finally, there is a lack of thematic depth, which is a result of catering to American audiences. This is both the fault of big-shot producers, and fans who are willing to accept such festering, worthlessness. It is sad when one child's fantasy movie, has more thematic wealth than the majority of an entire genre. Take for instance, Cauron's latest interpretation of the P.D. James novel, "Children of Men". Cauron could have redeemed an oddly chauvinistic text by making any of the female characters a protagonist. Though the novel itself does the same, it is interesting that a novel about the ability to birth children, where the last hope for the world is a pregnant woman, would bear the title of Children of Men. Also, throughout the film, chauvinistic values are reified by the weakness of female characters, and their need for protection. Just occasionally, it would be nice to see some thematic conventions broken in a genre, which at one point was so centered on defiance.

With that said, Renaissance (2006), falls into all the pitfalls of this genre of disappointment. It's plot and characters are weak, underdeveloped, and flat. The animation is no more than a crutch for lack of story telling skills, and the thematic river bed, might as well be a dessert. I would love to have enjoyed this film as something other than visually stunning, but I was disappointed, and unable to do so. 

Experienced-Documentarian Defines Contemporary Role of the American Star

I must admit I was apprehensive about going into a documentary about the Dixie Chicks, despite highly revered Kopple's authorship. I was pleasantly surprised. The piece is vastly more complex than the generic bio-pic I feared. 

"Shut Up and Sing" turns out to be a deep exploration into what constitutes a star in America, and what roles such figures are allowed to play. The country/pop phenomena evoke such rage from their audience so fast, it is truly mind-boggling, all over a single comment. 

My only complaint is one I wage against most feature-length documentaries. After the hour and ten minute mark, they begin to drag.  The film, in my opinion, would do better by sticking to the hour marker. A tighter, more lean film would get the point across stronger, show off Kopple's skill even more, and most importantly, not be so damn repetitive.