Released: 2008
Director: Jaume Balagueró
Cast: Manuela Velasco; Pablo Rosso; Ferrán Terraza; David Vert
[⚫REC] is another film in the 'reality cinema' category – like Cloverfield (made around the same time) and, if you remember it, The Blair Witch Project – in which we are presented with 'found footage' recovered in the aftermath of some sort of disaster. Everything we see is through a hand-held camera with a shakiness that's meant to make it 'real'. Although on a large screen this might give you motion sickness, it does lend it a surface reality which is intended to draw us in and heighten the scariness. Have to say, that didn't really work for me, but despite that I did really like this film. So did a lot of other people: it was popular with the critics, won a couple of Goyas (although it won a lot more awards at the Catalonian Film Festival, surprise, surprise) and is probably the most internationally well-known Spanish horror film, it's already spawned the predictable, shot-for-shot American remake.
Anyway, to the story... Ángela, a young, enthusiastic and inexperienced TV presenter together with a single cameraman, Pablo is shadowing the night shift in a Barcelona fire station for an episode of Mientras ustedes duermen (While You're Sleeping). For a while it's deliberately dull with Ángela appearing increasingly desperate for an emergency and some decent footage. Finally, she gets her wish and the crew respond to a call about an elderly woman trapped and shouting in her apartment. They meet the police there and in they go, deal with the various inhabitants of the building and then it's upstairs to see about the poor old lady. Without giving too much away, soon after this, the biting starts and suddenly we're into a classic zombie virus situation, complicated and contained by the fact that the authorities are remarkably efficient and have sealed the entire building (it's a bio-emergency, folks) before they can all run downstairs screaming and out into the street.
The scariest film ever, as the box says? Well, no. Not for me anyway. Quite scary in places, a few make-you-jump moments, and some nice tension-building at the start while we're wondering how will it all kick off but all told, it didn't raise my heart rate that much and I think the problem may be that because of the hand-held camera conceit, it just doesn't feel that real.
This might seem an odd statement given the 'realistic' premise of a single, unpolished viewpoint. However, cinematic reality (as opposed to real reality, whatever that is) is whatever we are used to seeing. Which is to say, the usual camera angles and shots and so forth which try to immerse the viewer in the action. By offering a viewpoint so different to the norm, [⚫REC] points up the unreality of all cinema and – by extension – of itself too. It therefore creates a separation between the viewer and the viewed which prevented me from buying into the film's reality which prevented me from identifying with events and characters on-screen and, ultimately, from caring. And if you don't care, you can't be scared.
Or at least, that's my pseudo-intellectual rationalisation for why I wasn't hiding behind the dog, whimpering with fear and wishing we'd watched The Sound of Music instead (although, to be fair, that is a scary movie!)
At 75 minutes, it's quite a short film and that works to its credit. Hollywood can overdo the repetition in this sort of plot with too many narrow escapes and chase scenes as the (often teenage) cast are picked off one by one. There's certainly some picking-off here, but each scene adds something to the story and it's never overly drawn out. Once we're in the building the pace is fast and remains so right to the end. Good ending too, and the right one, given the circumstances.
So, if you want constant, pants-wetting terror I can't recommend it (although many others have for just that) but if you want an intelligent, interesting zombie film (with a very interesting twist when we find out where the virus came from) with some good scares then I can. And I do.
Apparently, there's a sequel ([⚫REC]2) which picks up directly where the first finishes. It's similarly claustrophobic and at just 85 minutes, you could quite comfortably watch them as a double bill.
Tuesday 13 April 2010
Thursday 1 April 2010
"La habitación de Fermat" - "Fermat's Room"
Released: 2007
Director: Luis Piedrahita & Rodrigo Sopeña
Cast: Lluís Homar; Santi Millán; Alejo Sauras; Elena Ballesteros; Federico Luppi
I think the last time the name Fermat featured in popular(?) entertainment was in the late 90s series Horizon, which broadcast the documentary, Fermat's Last Theorem. Unlike Horizon, the film, La Habitación de Fermat isn't actually about mathematics. It's a clever and stylish suspense thriller which uses the world of higher maths to give itself some intellectual allure.
Put simply, four mathematicians are invited to a seminar to discuss the ultimate mathematical enigma. One is a man in his 20s already feted for having solved Goldbach's Conjecture, although his proof was stolen before he could present it. Another is an inventor who puts his genius to practical use, creating anything from hydraulic presses to novelty popcorn makers. The third man is an elder member of the academia, a chess-player entertaining thoughts of suicide. To complete the quartet we have a woman about whom we know little (more on her later). Each has been sent a badge with the name of a famous mathematician – Galois, Pascal, Hilbert, Oliva – as a sort of anonymising nom-de-math. Once at their destination, they are joined by Fermat for dinner before getting down to business. However, Fermat is then unexpectedly called away and the fun begins. Our four protagonists are sent a puzzle via a PDA; they have one minute to solve it. Solve it they do but not in under a minute and once the minute is up the walls of the room start to move inwards, only stopping when the correct answer is entered in the PDA. It now becomes a race against time to solve the continuing puzzles, figure out who is really behind it all and try to escape before being crushed together.
It's an interesting conceit. The plot is essentially that of a somebody-wants-to-kill-us-all horror film but with all the gore removed (apart from the prospect of their ultimate compaction) and the characters having to rely on their brains. Without wishing to spoil, let's just say that all the characters were invited for a reason and there are a number of twists and turns before the climax.
Incidentally, if you're worried that maths puzzles will a bit dry and unengaging, don't be. The series of puzzles sent via the PDA are more logic problems than advanced calculus. The first example is as follows: A confectioner takes delivery of three boxes of sweets. One of mint sweets; one of aniseed sweets; and one a mixture of the two. Each box is labelled, “Mint”, “Aniseed” or “Mixture”. All the boxes are wrongly labelled. How many sweets must the confectioner remove in order to correctly label all three boxes? You might still find this dry and unengaging. Fair enough. If you do, just focus on the plot and the emerging backgrounds of the characters and the ratcheting suspense. By the way, the answer is: 1.
Back to the woman, codename Oliva. Of the four, she's the only one about whom we are shown nothing prior to the meeting. And what we do find out during the course of their entrapment seems to revolve around sex. Yes, she holds up her end of the puzzle-solving but unlike the others, we're not given anything about her maths credentials, ability, qualifications, etc. Without wishing to come over excessively feminist, I can't help but observe that the sole female character is the least-developed and most disposable of the four. If I were to be charitable, I might consider that perhaps the writers left her deliberately blurry to create suspicion. However, I have to say I didn't think it was her for a moment.
But I wouldn't want that one point to detract from what is otherwise a great film that engages with the brain as well as the gut. The tension winds tighter as the room grows smaller and the characters' deductions creep closer to the truth. It's a film that contrives to flatter your intelligence without actually being that hard to follow.
And, of course, with the added benefit – for those so inclined – that you can jot down the puzzles and annoy your friends with them.
Director: Luis Piedrahita & Rodrigo Sopeña
Cast: Lluís Homar; Santi Millán; Alejo Sauras; Elena Ballesteros; Federico Luppi
I think the last time the name Fermat featured in popular(?) entertainment was in the late 90s series Horizon, which broadcast the documentary, Fermat's Last Theorem. Unlike Horizon, the film, La Habitación de Fermat isn't actually about mathematics. It's a clever and stylish suspense thriller which uses the world of higher maths to give itself some intellectual allure.
Put simply, four mathematicians are invited to a seminar to discuss the ultimate mathematical enigma. One is a man in his 20s already feted for having solved Goldbach's Conjecture, although his proof was stolen before he could present it. Another is an inventor who puts his genius to practical use, creating anything from hydraulic presses to novelty popcorn makers. The third man is an elder member of the academia, a chess-player entertaining thoughts of suicide. To complete the quartet we have a woman about whom we know little (more on her later). Each has been sent a badge with the name of a famous mathematician – Galois, Pascal, Hilbert, Oliva – as a sort of anonymising nom-de-math. Once at their destination, they are joined by Fermat for dinner before getting down to business. However, Fermat is then unexpectedly called away and the fun begins. Our four protagonists are sent a puzzle via a PDA; they have one minute to solve it. Solve it they do but not in under a minute and once the minute is up the walls of the room start to move inwards, only stopping when the correct answer is entered in the PDA. It now becomes a race against time to solve the continuing puzzles, figure out who is really behind it all and try to escape before being crushed together.
It's an interesting conceit. The plot is essentially that of a somebody-wants-to-kill-us-all horror film but with all the gore removed (apart from the prospect of their ultimate compaction) and the characters having to rely on their brains. Without wishing to spoil, let's just say that all the characters were invited for a reason and there are a number of twists and turns before the climax.
Incidentally, if you're worried that maths puzzles will a bit dry and unengaging, don't be. The series of puzzles sent via the PDA are more logic problems than advanced calculus. The first example is as follows: A confectioner takes delivery of three boxes of sweets. One of mint sweets; one of aniseed sweets; and one a mixture of the two. Each box is labelled, “Mint”, “Aniseed” or “Mixture”. All the boxes are wrongly labelled. How many sweets must the confectioner remove in order to correctly label all three boxes? You might still find this dry and unengaging. Fair enough. If you do, just focus on the plot and the emerging backgrounds of the characters and the ratcheting suspense. By the way, the answer is: 1.
Back to the woman, codename Oliva. Of the four, she's the only one about whom we are shown nothing prior to the meeting. And what we do find out during the course of their entrapment seems to revolve around sex. Yes, she holds up her end of the puzzle-solving but unlike the others, we're not given anything about her maths credentials, ability, qualifications, etc. Without wishing to come over excessively feminist, I can't help but observe that the sole female character is the least-developed and most disposable of the four. If I were to be charitable, I might consider that perhaps the writers left her deliberately blurry to create suspicion. However, I have to say I didn't think it was her for a moment.
But I wouldn't want that one point to detract from what is otherwise a great film that engages with the brain as well as the gut. The tension winds tighter as the room grows smaller and the characters' deductions creep closer to the truth. It's a film that contrives to flatter your intelligence without actually being that hard to follow.
And, of course, with the added benefit – for those so inclined – that you can jot down the puzzles and annoy your friends with them.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
"Mar Adentro" - "The Sea Inside"
Released: 2004
Director: Alejandro Almenábar
Cast: Javier Bardem; Belén Rueda; Lola Dueñas;
The back of the DVD box says this film, “...celebrates the nature of freedom and love, and the mystery and beauty of life.” Well, I've certainly read worse blurbs; at least this one seems to have been written by somebody who's actually watched the film. But while I agree with the description, I'd have to add another word: pride. And in Spain, it's not a big step from pride to machismo. Still, more on that later. First, some context.
According to IMDB, Mar Adentro won 61 awards around the world (and of course, was nominated for even more). Perhaps most famously, it won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film but more impressive is the board-sweeping that took place at the Goyas: 14 awards, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, you name it. So, quite highly thought of then, but what's it about?
The film is based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro, a Galician who spent almost 30 years fighting for the right to die after an accident left him paralysed from the neck down. We meet Ramón when he's in his fifties, long-used to the inevitable limitations of his situation and – in all practical ways – adapted to it. However, Ramón is adamant that for him this is no life worth living and he rationally, clearly and relentlessly argues and demands his right to die with dignity. He's aided by Gené, from a euthanasia lobbying group; Julia, a lawyer with a personal interest in the issues; Rosa, a local woman who is drawn to his plight; and his elder brother's family, with whom he lives and who are his primary carers.
The film focuses on Ramón's relationship with Julia and Rosa both of whom are attracted to him in different ways and for different reasons. As these relationships play out simultaneously we see what sort of man Ramón is. Given the film's subject, journey's end is fairly inevitable but it's the route taken that draws us in without mercy.
Ramón is a man who still loves life, but not the one he's got. He's made a firm decision that he will not accept the fragments of the existence left to him. This decision is ruthlessly adhered to by suppressing all memory of his past self and also any possibility of fulfilment in the present. The consequence is that he finds it difficult to take any happiness that may be offered him. This is where the pride comes in: Ramón is proud enough not to settle for less having once lived life to the full. His pride enables him to live (and die) with dignity despite everything. However, that same pride has prevented him from fully accepting any moments of joy, happiness, triumph, etc. along the way. He may have enjoyed them at the time, but he then boxes them away, never to be reopened lest they undermine his resolve. We see instances when Julia and Rosa's presence in his life enable Ramón to acknowledge that life can be precious, under any circumstances, but he never truly wavers.
Meanwhile, all around him are people who love, support and care for him (each in their own way) and yet who all have their own personal agendas, conscious or no. Whether it's his brother's moral resentment, his sister-in-law's maternal possessiveness, his nephew's need for a better father figure or Ramón's own father's dementia-fuelled denial, they all demonstrate utterly real responses to the responsibility that they cannot shirk.
Ultimately, Ramón is a charismatic and likeable protagonist and we, the audience are sucked into the moral dilemma. Namely, that we like him, we admire him and we want him to succeed but for Ramón, success means killing himself, so by wishing him well we are also wishing him dead.
A tightly-written, brilliantly-acted (the whole cast is superb and Bardem has possibly never looked more convincing) drama of human frailty and determination centred on a huge moral question. A question, by the way, to which Mar Adentro is unafraid to give a clear answer.
P.S. What is it with these translated titles? Yes, “mar” means “sea” and “adentro” means “inside”, but the phrase “mar adentro” actually translates as “out at sea” which – I beg to suggest – is symbolically quite different.
Director: Alejandro Almenábar
Cast: Javier Bardem; Belén Rueda; Lola Dueñas;
The back of the DVD box says this film, “...celebrates the nature of freedom and love, and the mystery and beauty of life.” Well, I've certainly read worse blurbs; at least this one seems to have been written by somebody who's actually watched the film. But while I agree with the description, I'd have to add another word: pride. And in Spain, it's not a big step from pride to machismo. Still, more on that later. First, some context.
According to IMDB, Mar Adentro won 61 awards around the world (and of course, was nominated for even more). Perhaps most famously, it won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film but more impressive is the board-sweeping that took place at the Goyas: 14 awards, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, you name it. So, quite highly thought of then, but what's it about?
The film is based on the true story of Ramón Sampedro, a Galician who spent almost 30 years fighting for the right to die after an accident left him paralysed from the neck down. We meet Ramón when he's in his fifties, long-used to the inevitable limitations of his situation and – in all practical ways – adapted to it. However, Ramón is adamant that for him this is no life worth living and he rationally, clearly and relentlessly argues and demands his right to die with dignity. He's aided by Gené, from a euthanasia lobbying group; Julia, a lawyer with a personal interest in the issues; Rosa, a local woman who is drawn to his plight; and his elder brother's family, with whom he lives and who are his primary carers.
The film focuses on Ramón's relationship with Julia and Rosa both of whom are attracted to him in different ways and for different reasons. As these relationships play out simultaneously we see what sort of man Ramón is. Given the film's subject, journey's end is fairly inevitable but it's the route taken that draws us in without mercy.
Ramón is a man who still loves life, but not the one he's got. He's made a firm decision that he will not accept the fragments of the existence left to him. This decision is ruthlessly adhered to by suppressing all memory of his past self and also any possibility of fulfilment in the present. The consequence is that he finds it difficult to take any happiness that may be offered him. This is where the pride comes in: Ramón is proud enough not to settle for less having once lived life to the full. His pride enables him to live (and die) with dignity despite everything. However, that same pride has prevented him from fully accepting any moments of joy, happiness, triumph, etc. along the way. He may have enjoyed them at the time, but he then boxes them away, never to be reopened lest they undermine his resolve. We see instances when Julia and Rosa's presence in his life enable Ramón to acknowledge that life can be precious, under any circumstances, but he never truly wavers.
Meanwhile, all around him are people who love, support and care for him (each in their own way) and yet who all have their own personal agendas, conscious or no. Whether it's his brother's moral resentment, his sister-in-law's maternal possessiveness, his nephew's need for a better father figure or Ramón's own father's dementia-fuelled denial, they all demonstrate utterly real responses to the responsibility that they cannot shirk.
Ultimately, Ramón is a charismatic and likeable protagonist and we, the audience are sucked into the moral dilemma. Namely, that we like him, we admire him and we want him to succeed but for Ramón, success means killing himself, so by wishing him well we are also wishing him dead.
A tightly-written, brilliantly-acted (the whole cast is superb and Bardem has possibly never looked more convincing) drama of human frailty and determination centred on a huge moral question. A question, by the way, to which Mar Adentro is unafraid to give a clear answer.
P.S. What is it with these translated titles? Yes, “mar” means “sea” and “adentro” means “inside”, but the phrase “mar adentro” actually translates as “out at sea” which – I beg to suggest – is symbolically quite different.
Thursday 11 March 2010
"Boca a Boca" - "Mouth to Mouth"
Released: 1995
Director: Manuel Gómez Pereira
Cast: Javier Bardem; Aitana Sánchez Gijón; Josep Maria Flotats
Years before he made it big in Hollywood in films such as No Country for Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Javier Bardem was making great films in Spain. He was arrogant in Jamon Jamon, he brooded in Huevos de Oro and yet Boca a Boca might be his most unusual performance. Unusual mainly because it's a light madcap comedy and Bardem hasn't done (m)any of those since. Yes, I know Vicky Cristina Barcelona was meant to be funny but what can I say, I didn't laugh much. I enjoyed it but I didn't laugh much.
In Boca a Boca, Bardem plays Victor Ventura, a drama school reject from Cartagena in Murcia who's come to the big city (Madrid, I presumed) to make it as an actor. The Murcian accent is apparently seen as a bit comical in some parts of Spain so that automatically gives the character a touch of the naive provincial. Victor makes a living as a pizza delivery guy while auditioning badly, hoping for his big break. Unfortunately the break comes with the promise of an audition for an American movie in three weeks' time just as Victor loses his job and has to pack up and go home. Desperate for one last (big) chance, Victor takes a job as a phone sex worker. Most of his clients are men, but when a woman does call he ends up falling for her and agreeing to take part in a honey trap so she can divorce her closeted gay husband (one of Victor's other clients). The seduction, of course, has to take place on the same evening that Victor is to meet the American director and from then on the film is whirl of changing identities, hitmen, plots within plots and auditions.
The film is worth seeing because the story is good, the twists are unexpected, it's well-acted, it's funny and so on. However, given his later career, there's also a lot of pleasure to be got from just seeing Javier Bardem as you've never seen him before. For a start, there's the haircut, a sort of terrible pageboy type 'do last seen on Joey in early Friends. Then there's the spectacle of his acting class prancing while singing “Make 'Em Laugh” at an audition. And finally, if only because Hollywood would never do it, there's Bardem in comically convincing gay phone sex.
About two-thirds of the way through it did start to remind me of early Almodóvar, although that comparison isn't intended to be invidious. In fact, if you've watched all of Pedro's early works and wish that he'd done more like that, watch Boca a Boca – it's a bit of a treat.
(It's only available on Region 1 DVD, but it is cheap and more and more, I'm convinced that if you want to see anything other than the mainstream Spanish releases in the UK then you need that multi-region DVD player.)
Director: Manuel Gómez Pereira
Cast: Javier Bardem; Aitana Sánchez Gijón; Josep Maria Flotats
Years before he made it big in Hollywood in films such as No Country for Old Men and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Javier Bardem was making great films in Spain. He was arrogant in Jamon Jamon, he brooded in Huevos de Oro and yet Boca a Boca might be his most unusual performance. Unusual mainly because it's a light madcap comedy and Bardem hasn't done (m)any of those since. Yes, I know Vicky Cristina Barcelona was meant to be funny but what can I say, I didn't laugh much. I enjoyed it but I didn't laugh much.
In Boca a Boca, Bardem plays Victor Ventura, a drama school reject from Cartagena in Murcia who's come to the big city (Madrid, I presumed) to make it as an actor. The Murcian accent is apparently seen as a bit comical in some parts of Spain so that automatically gives the character a touch of the naive provincial. Victor makes a living as a pizza delivery guy while auditioning badly, hoping for his big break. Unfortunately the break comes with the promise of an audition for an American movie in three weeks' time just as Victor loses his job and has to pack up and go home. Desperate for one last (big) chance, Victor takes a job as a phone sex worker. Most of his clients are men, but when a woman does call he ends up falling for her and agreeing to take part in a honey trap so she can divorce her closeted gay husband (one of Victor's other clients). The seduction, of course, has to take place on the same evening that Victor is to meet the American director and from then on the film is whirl of changing identities, hitmen, plots within plots and auditions.
The film is worth seeing because the story is good, the twists are unexpected, it's well-acted, it's funny and so on. However, given his later career, there's also a lot of pleasure to be got from just seeing Javier Bardem as you've never seen him before. For a start, there's the haircut, a sort of terrible pageboy type 'do last seen on Joey in early Friends. Then there's the spectacle of his acting class prancing while singing “Make 'Em Laugh” at an audition. And finally, if only because Hollywood would never do it, there's Bardem in comically convincing gay phone sex.
About two-thirds of the way through it did start to remind me of early Almodóvar, although that comparison isn't intended to be invidious. In fact, if you've watched all of Pedro's early works and wish that he'd done more like that, watch Boca a Boca – it's a bit of a treat.
(It's only available on Region 1 DVD, but it is cheap and more and more, I'm convinced that if you want to see anything other than the mainstream Spanish releases in the UK then you need that multi-region DVD player.)
Tuesday 9 March 2010
"Spanish Movie" - spoof
I've only just heard about this, but Fox have produced/backed another in their parody series (Scary Movie, Date Movie, Superhero Movie) but the latest is poking fun at contemporary Spanish cinema. And it's completely Spanish-made.
Now I don't usually bother with this sort of stuff, partly because after Airplane and Naked Gun the laughs are usually outweighed by the frathouse goonishness; and partly because I'm rarely familiar enough with the movies being spoofed to get half the jokes. But this time it's Spanish!
Apparently the films they're taking off are:
Here's the trailer. (No subtitles but I just know you'll manage.)
I must admit that I like the bit with the Tomás character from El Orfanato.
Released in Spain last December, apparently it did well at the box office and has been sold to various countries but not yet, unfortunately, to the UK. Maybe we'll have to wait for the DVD release.
Now I don't usually bother with this sort of stuff, partly because after Airplane and Naked Gun the laughs are usually outweighed by the frathouse goonishness; and partly because I'm rarely familiar enough with the movies being spoofed to get half the jokes. But this time it's Spanish!
Apparently the films they're taking off are:
- Volver
- El Orfanato (The Orphanage)
- El Laberinto del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
- Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside)
- Los Otros (The Others)
- [REC]
- Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes; remade as Vanilla Sky)
Here's the trailer. (No subtitles but I just know you'll manage.)
I must admit that I like the bit with the Tomás character from El Orfanato.
Released in Spain last December, apparently it did well at the box office and has been sold to various countries but not yet, unfortunately, to the UK. Maybe we'll have to wait for the DVD release.
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