movie gourmet

THE AUGUST VIRGIN: in search of reinvention

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Itsaso Arana in THE AUGUST VIRGIN. Photo courtesy of Outsider Pictures.

In the lovely and genuine The August Virgin, 33 year-old Eva (Itsaso Arana) is between relationships, not defined by any career success, and her biological clock is ticking. She knows it’s time for a reset. In August, Eva borrows an acquaintance’s apartment in another Madrid neighborhood and sets off on a series of strolls, in search of possibilities as yet unknown.

Many madrileños escape the city’s oppressive heat for the month of August. But Madrid is still filled with street festivals and tourists. Eva meanders around town, encountering old friends and making new ones. As Eva notes, in Madrid’s August, expectations are relaxed.

Eva is purposeful about shaking things up, but she has no plan other than to be open to the possibilities. That openness, with its fluidity and randomness, leads her to her moment of reinvention.

Eva is played by the film’s co-writer, Itsaso Arana. What’s so singular about Arana’s performance is that her Eva, as dissatisfied as she is with her current situation, is always comfortable in her own skin. She’s never desperate or needy (except when trying to negotiate a reluctant door lock) and always confident enough to engage with a stranger. At one point, the Spanish pop star Soleá sings, “I’ve still got time. I’m still here.”

THE AUGUST VIRGIN. Photo courtesy of Outsider Pictures.

The August Virgin’s other co-writer is director Jonás Trueba, and this is his sixth feature. I recently watched his next most recent film The Reconquest (La Reconquista) on Netflix, and it’s another intensely personal and genuine story, about two 30-year-olds reconnecting 15 years after a teen crush. Jonás Trueba is the son of Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque, Chico & Rita).

Several critics have seen Trueba’s work as an homage to French New Wave filmmaker Éric Rohmer, but I found The August Virgin, with Eva’s serial conversations (real, probing conversations), reminded me of the more accessible work of Richard Linklater.

Madrid itself is on display here, with its searing daytime sun, and the liveliness of the streets, tapas bars and after-hours clubs when the sun goes down.

Trueba and Arana allow Eva her process, and she samples one experience after another, seemingly with the faith that one of them will lead her to where she wants to be. This is not a film for the impatient, but I found its two hours enchanting.

The August Virgin is on my list of Best Movies of 2020 – So Far and will be available to stream beginning Friday, August 21 on Virtual Cinemas, like San Rafael’s Rafael or Laemmle’s in LA.

THE SPEED CUBERS: odd, and then profound

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Max Park in THE SPEED CUBERS

The first surprise in the short documentary The Speed Cubers is that there are people – very young people – who can routinely solve a Rubik’s Cube in less than eight seconds. Then we’re not surprised that they have world records and world championship competitions.

But then we learn that an AUTISTIC teenager has been dominating the competition. And we learn the story of his parents’ love and persistence. And then the story of his relationship with the former champion he unseated. It all combines into a quick cinematic stir fry of profound decency and friendship.

Director Sue Kim distilled the world of speed cubers, the compelling personal stories of the two protagonists and their relationship into a tight forty minutes.

The Speed Cubers is streaming on Netflix.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Gemma Arterton and Lucas Bond in SUMMERLAND

This week: three new documentaries, a wonderful essay and the most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE. Plus, a rarely seen film noir is coming up on TCM.

First, I am reminding you about a MUST READ. That most literary of critics, the Bay Area’s own Richard von Busack, writes on the Golden Age and the COVID Era resurgence of drive-in movie theaters in SF Weekly: At the Drive-In: A Remembrance.

ON VIDEO

Summerland: Gemma Arterton and two child actors shine in the contrived melodrama Summerland, which finally arrives at its heartwarming conclusion. Available from most streaming services.

The Go-Go’s: The Go-Go’s have been the only all-female band to write their own music and play their own instruments ever to have a number one Billboard record. This is a modest film about a singular moment in popular music. Streaming on Showtime.

The Booksellers: This amiable documentary slips us into the obscure world of antiquarian book collectors and dealers. It’s a passion that few of us share, but, for the few, a passion it is indeed. Streaming from Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story: This doc traces the history of TV’s longest-running music performance show. There’s a very heavy dose of the main producer, Terry Lickona, and the doc dives short shrift to the show’s greatest contribution – introducing mainstream American audiences to artists like Joe Ely, Marcia Ball, Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. There are behind-the-stage anecdotes about Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard. It streams on Amazon (included with Prime).

Campbell Scott in THE 11TH GREEN

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Diana Dors and Victor Mature in THE LONG HAUL

On August 21, Turner Classic Movies airs The Long Haul, one of my Overlooked Noir. In a vehicle for the curvy Diana Dors, a world weary Victor Mature personalizes weariness, disgust, desperation and adherence to a code. The Long Haul isn’t available to stream, so DVR it on TCM this week.

THE BOOKSELLERS: we collect what we treasure

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THE BOOKSELLERS

The amiable documentary The Booksellers slips us into the obscure world of antiquarian book collectors and dealers. It’s a passion that few of us share, but, for the few, a passion it is indeed.

The subject here (old books) is LITERALLY dry. The sparks of interest come from the people who treasure and covet them. These folks are mostly, but not all, old white men. The introduction of a younger female dealer, fiery and committed, brings some welcome energy.

The conflict in this story is with the times – with the trajectory of books themselves driving the future of book collecting.

The Booksellers can be streamed from Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play.

SUMMERLAND: finally arrives at heartwarming

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Gemma Arterton and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in SUMMERLAND

An agreeable star playing a disagreeable character, Gemma Arterton elevates the melodrama Summerland. Arterton plays a writer self-isolating in an English country village. Self-absorbed, crusty and even mean, she finds herself being assigned to care for a young boy evacuated from the London Blitz.

Why is she like this? We learn that she has been damaged, first by the childhood loss of her father, and then by the loss of her great love. It turns out that everyone in Summerland is damaged by loss – after all, there is a devastating war going on. And, the English are not disposed to letting out their feelings.

Summerland is about addressing the needs of one child. The war has made his parents unavailable, his guardian is reluctant and poorly-equipped, and the emotional capacity of his community is not apparent.

There are two surprises in the plot, and the biggest one is unpredictable; both are contrived – you can either suspend disbelief or not. I was watching with two women who couldn’t get past the unsympathetic behavior of the writer to embrace the story.

Once again, Gemma Arterton proves that she is versatile and can carry a movie on her own. Her work has ranged across genres to the Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace. In the light comedy Tamara Drewe, the main joke is that the main character suddenly transforms into someone who looks as stunning as, well, Gemma Arterton. In Gemma Bovery, Arteron and the French comic actor Fabrice Luchini deliver a smart, contemporary take on Madame Bovary.

The supporting cast is excellent: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle and lots of TV), Penelope Wilton (Downton Abbey), Tom Courtenay (Oscar-nominated decades apart for The Dresser and Doctor Zhivago) and Sian Phillips (Livia in I, Claudius back in 1976).

This is the first feature for writer-director Jessica Swale, She did an excellent job directing the child actors – Lucas Bond and Dixie Egerickx (now starring in The Secret Garden) – to fine performances.

Summerland is essentially a melodrama that finally arrives at a heartwarming conclusion; as such, it’s moderately satisfying. Summerland is available from all the major streaming services

THE GO-GO’S: five women doing what men do

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THE GO-GO’s. Photo courtesy of Showtime.

The infectious We Got the Beat by the Go-Go’s is fun itself, distilled into a song. The documentary The Go-Go’s tells the story of the all-female band.

There is a familiar arc to every documentary about a rock band. Scrappy and hungry musicians perform the music they love in obscurity, before being suddenly thrust into worldwide fame and more cash than they could have imagined. Then the bubble is burst by some combination of drug abuse, internal jealousy, creative differences, personality conflicts and fights over money. Usually the survivors look back with pride in the music, nostalgia about the good times and regrets that they didn’t handle it all with more maturity.

The Go-Go’s fits in that framework, to be sure, but it’s about women. The Go-Go’s have been the only all-female band to write their own music and play their own instruments ever to have a number one Billboard record. They achieved that in 1982, and it hasn’t been duplicated since.

All five Go-Go’s thankfully have survived and each shares her experiences in The Go-Go’s. They are an open, engaging and likeable lot.

There’s a tidbit about the gentlemanly class shown by The Police. And we learn why none of the Go-Go’s is proud of their appearance on Saturday Night Live.

This is a modest film about a singular moment in popular music. The Go-Go’s is available on Showtime.

Movies to See Right Now

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Alan Parker’s THE COMMITMENTS

This week: The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE, two remembrances and a wonderful essay on drive-ins.

That most literary of critics, the Bay Area’s own Richard von Busack, writes on the Golden Age and the COVID Era resurgence of drive-in movie theaters in SF Weekly: At the Drive-In: A Remembrance. This is a MUST READ.

REMEMBRANCES

Alan Parker had a gift for directing modern musicals (Bugsy Malone, Fame, Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Evita) but he was Oscar-nominated for two harrowing dramas, Midnight Express and Mississippi Burning. He also directed the deliciously trashy Angel Heart. My favorite Alan Parker film is the ever-delightful The Commitments.

Wilford Brimley in THE CHINA SYNDROME

Actor Wilford Brimley started out in life as a real cowboy. At age 45, he broke through as an actor playing Jack Lemmon’s loyal assistant engineer in The China Syndrome. More good curmudgeon performances followed on TV and in movies (Cocoon, Absence of Malice). Ironically, this fine actor is most well-known for a Quaker Oatmeal commercial.

ON VIDEO

Natalia Dyer in YES, GOD, YES

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Ben Gazzara and Timothy Carey in CONVICTS 4

On August 11, Turner Classic Movies is airing the very idiosyncratic Convicts 4, the true-life tail of one convict, played by Ben Gazzara, who develops into a fine artist while in prison. There’s a particularly unforgettable supporting turn by one of my favorite movie psychos, Timothy Carey, here in one of his most eccentrically self-conscious performances. The rich cast includes Stuart Whitman, Vincent Price, Rod Steiger, Jack Albertson, Ray Walton, Brodrick Crawford and Sammy Davis Jr.

Movies to See Right Now (at home)

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Natalia Dyer in YES, GOD, YES

This week: a sweet coming of age comedy and a pointed religious satire – all in the same movie. Plus art house cinema comes to your home and remembrances of two wonderful screen actors – one a mega-star and one not so much.

REMEMBRANCES

Olivia de Haveilland in GONE WITH THE WIND

Silicon Valley native and icon of classic Hollywood, Olivia de Havilland (her real name) was raised in Saratoga and went to Los Gatos High. Her performance in A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream in the Saratoga Community Theater led directly to her appearing in the Hollywood film version of the play at age 19. She starred as the leading lady in her next film, Captain Blood, the first of a series of Warner Brothers costume romances that matched her with Erroll Flynn, with whom she had undeniable chemistry: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, The Santa Fe Trail, Dodge City, They Died with Their Boots On and The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. In this period, she was loaned to David O. Selznick for her most remembered role, that of the profoundly sweet and decent Melanie in Gone with the Wind.

De Havilland won her contractual freedom from Warner Brothers through landmark litigation in 1943. She went on to more serious fare and earned three Oscar nods in the next six years, winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress.

And here’s my remembrance of versatile and prolific actor John Saxon.

ON VIDEO

Yes, God, Yes: A sweet coming of age story and pointed jab at religious hypocrisy; based on writer-director Karen Maine’s own youthful experiences. Yes, God, Yes has been available to stream on Virtual Cinema and is available from the usual VOD platforms.

The Women’s Balcony:. A community of women in a traditional culture revolt in the delightfully smart and funny Israeli comedy. You can stream it on Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

The most eclectic watch-at-home recommendations you’ll find ANYWHERE:

ON TV

Burt Lancaster in BRUTE FORCE

On August 6, Turner Classic Movies will present Brute Force (1947), the Jules Dassin noir that is by far the best of the Hollywood prison dramas of the 30s and 40s. A convict (Burt Lancaster) is taunted by a sadistic guard (Hume Cronyn) and plans an escape. It’s a pretty violent film for the 1940s, and was inspired by the 1946 Battle of Alcatraz, in which three cons and two guards were killed. Charles Bickford, Whit Bissell and Sam Levene are excellent as fellow cons. On my list of Best Prison Movies.

Burt Lancaster (right) in BRUTE FORCE

the art house comes to your home

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THE WHISTLERS, which I watched at the Roxie Virtual Cinema

Independent films are still here, even though we can’t go to the art house theater in the Age of COVID. Not all the top acclaimed indies can be streamed right away from the major VOD services, but you watch them now at home on platforms like Virtual Cinema. Expect to pay $8-10; yes, that’s more than the $5-7 you pay at Amazon and iTunes, but it’s often the only source, and your ticket purchase supports your own local art house theater.

I’ve been watching movies from San Francisco’s Roxie Virtual Cinema. Since the COVID lockdown, I’ve seen The Wild Goose Lake, The Whistlers, Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things, Mr. Topaze and You Don’t Nomi at the Roxie.

If you want to support a Silicon Valley theater, the Pruneyard Cinemas has just launched its own Pruneyard Virtual Cinemas through eventive.

Notably, the Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles has jumped in, too. In my book, this is the best art house chain in the US, and a whopping 32 films are now available to stream from its Laemmle Virtual Cinema.

Other indie films are being distributed on Theatrical-at-home. That’s where I watched The 11th Green.

I’m not planning to go to a real indoor movie theater anytime soon. Some film festivals and film society film series are pivoting to on-line screening, with uneven success. Right now, the best bet is Virtual Cinema at your own own favorite theater.

THE 11TH GREEN, which I watched on Theatrical-at-home

farewell to John Saxon

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John Saxon in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS

Versatile. Prolific. Intense. Such was the late actor John Saxon, who amassed over 200 screen credits, mostly on TV. Saxon was the handsome, swarthy, character actor who you would come to recognize when he showed up on Dr. Kildare, The Fantastic Journey, Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ironside or Murder, She Wrote. Saxon’s ethnic ambiguity (he was an Italian-American from Brooklyn, born Carmine Orrico) led him to play lots of Latinx roles – and an Israeli general in Raid on Entebbe.

Saxon appeared five times over ten seasons of Gunsmoke, playing guys named Gristy Calhoun, Pedro Manez, Virgil Stanley, Dingo and Carl Stram, Jr., and in 32 episodes of Falcon Crest (plus Dynasty and Melrose Place).

In 1976 ALONE, Saxon appeared on The Rockford Files, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky and Hutch and Wonder Woman, acted in seven movies. and starred in the miniseries Once an Eagle.

Saxon’s best known movie roles were as Jackie Chan’s martial arts buddy Roper in Enter the Dragon (Saxon had already studied karate for years) and as police Lieutenant Don Thompson, who repeatedly battled Freddy Kreuger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

Saxon was always reliable, but he could handle quality roles when he got them. One was in an obscure Korean War film, War Hunt (1962), where Saxon played the psycho killer in the platoon, and another was in the Clint Eastwood western Joe Kidd (1972), where Saxon played Mexican revolutionary Luis Chama.

John Saxon in JOE KIDD