movie gourmet

Stream of the Week: FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE – a grieving fish out of water

November 11, 2016November 8, 2016 by movie gourmet

David Oyelowo and Dianne Wiest in Maris Curran's FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE, playing at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival, April 21st - May 5th, 2016. — David Oyelowo and Dianne Wiest in FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE. Photo courtesy of San Francisco Film Society

An Atlanta man (David Oyeowlo) suddenly loses his wife to an auto accident and is completely shattered by the depth and the jarring abruptness of his loss. Pushed by his sister out of his paralysis, he drives up to Maine to visit his wife’s mother (Dianne Wiest). She is a person who is generally harsh, judgemental and irritating at all times, but is more so now that her own health is failing. His experience with her becomes the antithesis of the comfort and support that one would expect. As she probes and spars with him, the two are each driven to their own catharsis. The end of Five Nights in Maine also comes abruptly, leaving us to reflect on the lessons learned by the leading characters and how their grief is resolved.

Five Nights in Maine uses a handheld camera and LOTS of close-ups. This was a conscious choice by first-time writer-director Maris Curran, who sought a “closing in” effect because “grief is claustrophobic”.

Dianne Wiest’s performance is an awards-worthy tour de force. Flashing fiery looks and shooting piercing remarks from an invariably rigid posture, she commands our attention every moment that she is on-screen. As we would expect, Oyewolo is outstanding, especially in the early scenes where he collapses into shock. Rosie Perez, not as sassy, but every bit as appealing, as usual, is rock solid in the supporting role as the mother’s nurse. As the sister, Tenoyah Parris (Chi-Raq, Dear White People, Mad Men) gives yet another flawless performance.

I saw Five Nights in Maine at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), where Director Maris Curran, producer Carly Hugo and actor David Oyelowo appeared at the screening. Curran said she was motivated to write a story about loss as her own marriage was falling apart; when the ground was pulled out from under her, she created a protagonist in that situation.

Aiming for a sensual look for an emotional film, Curran was able to snare Tunisian cinematographer Sofian El Fani, fresh from his exquisite work in from Blue Is the Warmest Color, for his first American film. Budgeted for a 19-day shoot, the crew finished in only 18.

Oyewolo, happily married for 18 years, found exploring the territory of losing his wife to be very uncomfortable. Five Nights in Maine was shot right after Selma, so his exhaustion from Selma helped him find this “hollowed-out” character. Oyewolo sees Five Nights in Maine as a fish out of water story – not just geographically but emotionally (a man not used to or prepared for grief). Oyewolo prefers women directors because he “wants to be part of stories that are emotionally challenging”.

Fortunately, Curran leavens this dark-themed story with bits of sharp humor. It’s an emotionally affecting and authentic movie. Five Nights in Maine is available to stream on Amazon Instant, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube and DirecTV.

It’s Election Eve…

November 7, 2016 by movie gourmet

It’s the eve of the Presidential election, and we need to find some relief from the current soul-sucking campaign in historical or fictional politics. So here are three great movies about political campaigns:

The Candidate (1970): Probably the best political movie of all time. Robert Redford stars as an activist ideologue who resists following his father’s path into electoral office. Once he’s in, he embraces winning with the help of a savvy consultant (Peter Boyle). Anyone who has run a campaign will relate to this roller coaster. Especially if you’ve set up an event with a bad sound system. Or if you’ve been late to live television appearance. Or if you’ve swiped an opponent’s literature when door-hanging. Some scenes were shot on location in the Bay Area, including a banquet in a San Francisco hotel and a speech in San Jose’s Eastridge Mall. The Candidate is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and to stream from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The Last Hurrah (1958): The master director John Ford is famous for westerns, but this portrait of an embattled incumbent is a classic of political cinema. Spencer Tracy plays the leader of an urban political machine. He’s got years of accomplishments and a machine in his favor, but his newspaper-owning antagonist is running an empty suit against him in a campaign increasingly fought on the newfangled medium of television. He’s been so successful for so long that his ward heelers have become complacent, and he’s smelling the campaign getting away from him. The Last Hurrah is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and to stream from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The War Room (1993): the brilliant documentary of the FIRST successful Clinton for president campaign. We get to watch from the inside as the first Baby Boomer takes out a sitting President from the Greatest Generation, aided by the new masters of the spin and the newly emerged 24-hour news cycle. Remember – this was the campaign steered by the on-again-off-again-on-again whims of H. Ross Perot. What seemed at the time as cut throat tactics are quaint today. And viewers will become wistful for time when you could kill a news story, no matter how sensational, if it were unverified or untrue. The War Room is available to rent on DVD from Netflix and to stream from Amazon Instant, iTunes and Hulu (subscription).

Plus tonight, Turner Classic Movies brings us two brilliant political documentaries:

Primary documents the Wisconsin Democratic primary election campaign in 1960. This was a key stepping stone in John F. Kennedy’s road to the White House because it was a chance for him to demonstrate that he appealed to voters outside the Northeast. Kennedy’s rival Hubert Humphrey was favored because Wisconsin neighbors Humphrey’s home state of Minnesota. Primary is both a time capsule of 1960 politics and an inside look at the Kennedy family unleashed in a campaign. There’s an amazing scene where Humphrey appeals to a handful of flinty farmers in a school gym – he’s giving his all and he ain’t getting much back. Only 60 minutes long, Primary has been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The great documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, who went on to direct Monterey Pop and The War Room, shot, edited and recorded sound for Primary.
The Times of Harvey Milk – the documentary Oscar winner from 1984. It’s the real story behind the 2008 Sean Penn narrative Milk – and with the original witnesses. If you pay attention, The Times of Harvey Milk can teach you everything from how to win a local campaign to how to build a societal movement. One of the best political movies ever. And watch for the dog poop scene!
THE LAST HURRAH

Movies to See Right Now

November 4, 2016November 4, 2016 by movie gourmet

We’re at the beginning of a very promising Fall movie season. Critical favorites Moonlight, The Handmaiden and Certain Women are already out. Aquarius, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and, possibly, Loving open today in theaters. Arrival (already an Oscar favorite along with Loving) and The Eagle Huntress open in a week. Top choices:

The Korean period con artist movie The Handmaiden is gorgeous, erotic and extraordinarily entertaining.
Sonia Braga is still luminous in the character-driven Brazilian drama Aquarius.
John Travolta, Ethan Hawke and Jumpy the dog sparkle in the spaghetti western In a Valley of Violence.
Mascots is the latest mockumentary from Christopher Guest (Best in Show) and it’s very funny. Mascots is playing in very few theaters, but it’s streaming on Netflix Instant, too.

Also in theaters or on video:

The remarkably sensitive and realistic indie drama Moonlight is at once a coming of age tale, an exploration of addicted parenting and a story of gay awakening. It’s almost universally praised, but I thought that the last act petered out.
Not much happens in the talented and idiosyncratic filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, but it’s well-acted and feels real.
The indie drama Men Go to Battle is an insightful tale of two brothers that exceptionally illustrates the QUIET of pre-electric and pre-motorized North America. Men Go to Battle is available to stream from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
If you are entertained by the epically disgusting, you can catch the horror comedy The Greasy Strangler before it hits the midnight cult movie circuit. The Greasy Strangler can be streamed from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
The end of the thriller The Girl on the Train (starring Emily Blunt) is indeed thrilling. But the 82 minutes before the Big Plot Twist is murky, confusing and boring.

My Stream of the Week is Meet the Patels, a documentary funnier than most comedies. Meet the Patels is available to stream from Netflix Instant, Amazon Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

On November 7, the eve of the Presidential election, Turner Classic Movies brings us two brilliant political documentaries:

Primary documents the Wisconsin Democratic primary election campaign in 1960. This was a key stepping stone in John F. Kennedy’s road to the White House because it was a chance for him to demonstrate that he appealed to voters outside the Northeast. Kennedy’s rival Hubert Humphrey was favored because Wisconsin neighbors Humphrey’s home state of Minnesota. Primary is both a time capsule of 1960 politics and an inside look at the Kennedy family unleashed in a campaign. There’s an amazing scene where Humphrey appeals to a handful of flinty farmers in a school gym – he’s giving his all and he ain’t getting much back. Only 60 minutes long, Primary has been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. The great documentarian D.A. Pennebaker, who went on to direct Monterey Pop and The War Room, shot, edited and recorded sound for Primary.
The Times of Harvey Milk – the documentary Oscar winner from 1984. It’s the real story behind the 2008 Sean Penn narrative Milk – and with the original witnesses. If you pay attention, The Times of Harvey Milk can teach you everything from how to win a local campaign to how to build a societal movement. One of the best political movies ever. And watch for the dog poop scene!

CERTAIN WOMEN: not much happens in real life, either

November 4, 2016 by movie gourmet

The talented and idiosyncratic filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women is another of her languorous observations of real people in the Northwest. It’s a classic Slice Of Life movie, with three slices, actually. Reichardt adapted the screenplay from short stories by Maile Meloy, and we have three barely interlocking tales of three women around the hamlet of Belfry, Montana. There’s the lawyer (Laura Dern) struggling to make her brain addled client (Jared Harris) understand and accept that he has no adequate legal recourse for a work injury. There’s a part-year resident (Michelle Williams) with a husband trying to reconnect with her and a very “teenage” teenager. And there’s a horse handler (Lily Gladstone) who gets a crush on a night school teacher (Kristin Stewart).

Not much happens. None of the main characters is in a substantially different place at the end of the film, although Gladstone’s rancher has learned a lesson about attraction. I’m going to blow right through my usual reticence about spoilers and tell you that Michelle Williams’ character gets her pile of rocks.

As a director, Reichardt is a brilliant observer, always picking up on the little awkward moments that are a part of life. She’s the perfect filmmaker to show Gladstone’s horse tender walking through downtown Livingston, where she knows no one, at night and peering in windows at people dining and getting their hair cut. Not only is there a solitary light bulb on a lonely character’s ceiling, but no one has finished the taped-and-mudded sheet rock around the bulb.

All three major actresses are very good. The performances by Lily Gladstone, Jared Harris and Rene Auberjonois (as an old man having trouble staying focused) are especially indelible.

I was a huge fan of Reichardt’s Old Joy, less so of her western misfire Meek’s Cutoff, and I thought that her Wendy and Lucy is a masterpiece. (BTW Certain Women is dedicated “For Lucy”, the dog in Wendy and Lucy.) If you are a patient moviegoer and/or a fan of Reichardt’s, then you should see Certain Women. But renting her Wendy and Lucy would be a better choice.

THE HANDMAIDEN: gorgeous, erotic and a helluva plot

November 4, 2016November 3, 2016 by movie gourmet

After a few minutes of The Handmaiden, we learn that it’s a con artist movie. After 100 minutes, we think we’ve watched an excellent con artist movie, but then we’re surprised by a huge PLOT TWIST, and we’re in for two more episodes and lots of surprises in a gripping and absorbing final hour. It’s also one of the most visually beautiful and highly erotic films of the year.

Director and co-writer Chan-wook Park sets the story in 1930s Korea during Japanese occupation (Japanese dialogue is subtitled in yellow and Korean dialogue in white). A young heiress has been secluded from childhood by her guardian uncle, who intends to marry her himself for her fortune. A con man embarks on a campaign to seduce and marry the wealthy young woman to harvest her inheritance himself. The con man enlists a pickpocket to become handmaiden to the heiress – and his mole. I’m not going to tell you more about the plot, but the audience is in for a wild ride.

The Handmaiden takes its time revealing its secrets. Who is conning who? Who is attracted to whom? How naive is the heiress? How loyal is the handmaiden? Who is really Japanese and who is really Korean? What’s in those antique books? What’s in the basement? Is the uncle perverted or REALLY perverted? And what legendary sex toy will show up in the final scene?

Chan-wook Park’s 2003 US art house hit Oldboy is highly sexualized, trippy and disturbing. The Handmaiden is much more mainstream and accessible than Oldboy, but its sexuality packs a punch.

Gorgeous and erotic, The Handmaiden is one of the most gloriously entertaining films of the year.

AQUARIUS: spirit, thy name is Sonia Braga

November 3, 2016 by movie gourmet

In the Brazilian character-driven drama Aquarius, Sonia Braga plays Clara, the last owner of a beachfront condo who hasn’t sold out to a developer who owns the rest of the condos. The conflict is between Clara, who refuses to sell and those her want her to. But Aquarius is really about Clara, and it takes its time setting up her character; it’s 26 minutes before we even see the developers. We must understand her to understand her motivation – and her will.

Aquarius moves through scenes with a lifeguard at the beach, with girlfriends at club, at family parties, not to move the plot, but to invest in revealing aspects of Clara’s character. Having conquered cancer, lost her husband, raised children and built an artistic career, Clara has some mileage on her – enough to know what she wants and needs. Having earned the authority to live her life as she pleases, Clara is a wilful free spirit. And, as everyone finds out, she is absolutely fearless.

It’s a career-capping performance for Sonia Braga, still luminous 40 years after Donna Flor and Her Two Husbands. Mid movie, there’s a scene when Clara’s adult children try to have an awkward conversation about the financial benefits of selling the apartment. She doesn’t make it easy for them, and their long-submerged feelings about their father and their mother surface. With piercing observations and cold-eyed disappointment, Clara is as masterful over her children as when they were infants. It’s hard to imagine a better movie scene this year. Braga is brilliant.

The young Brazilian television actor Humberto Carrão is exceptional as Clara’s ever smiling foil Diego, whose youth and punctilious civility mask a capacity to engage in any tactic, even very dirty tricks.

I viewed Aquarius at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Aquarius is critical of the political status quo, and the Brazilian government’s refusal to submit it for the Best Foreign Language Picture Oscar has created a controversy detailed in this New York Times article.

MOONLIGHT: finding gentle humanity in an urban jungle

November 2, 2016 by movie gourmet

The indie drama Moonlight brings us a glimmer of gentle humanity in the crack-plagued inner city. Centered on a nine-year-old African-American boy named Chiron (pronounced shy-RONE) in South Florida, Moonlight is at once a coming of age tale, an exploration of addicted parenting and a story of gay awakening.

Chiron is a sensitive kid who is left to raise himself by his crackhead mom. Hiding from the neighborhood toughs, he is taken in by the local drug lord (Mahershala Ali – Remy in House of Cards) and his girlfriend. Given the mean streets and the neglectful mom, that actually turns out to be a good thing. The older man becomes a surrogate father and dispenses helpful advice like, “Don’t sit with your back to the door”. We also see Chiron at 17 (working on the “Questioning” part of LGBQT), and at 27, when he finally decides to address the pivotal events of his youth.

Moonlight’s director Barry Jenkins wrote the screenplay from the story by Terrell McCraney. Jenkins and McCraney did not know each other as kids, but grew up in the same period in the Miami area, and both had parents touched by the crack epidemic.

No matter how hard parents try to protect and control their kids, much of their growing up will be outside the parents’ field of vision. Kids will discover things with, learn from and be influenced by their peers. As unsettling as that is, the only alternative is to move off the grid and home school them (at the expense of socialization). The scenes in Moonlight of the 9-year-old and the 17-year-old Chiron with his friends outside the view of adults are unusually realistic narrative cinema.

Jenkins structured Moonlight in three acts, with different actors playing Chiron at age 9 (Alex Hibbert), age 17 (Ashton Sanders) and age 27 (Travante Rhodes). Likewise, Chiron’s friend Kevin is played by Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome and André Holland. To understand the third act (and the vanity plates on Chiron’s car), it’s important to remember that it’s Kevin who gives Chiron the nickname “Black” when everyone else calls him “Little”.

The 9-year-old Chiron’s mom is complicated – she makes him read instead of watching TV, but still ditches him when she entertains a gentleman caller. Young Mr. Hibbert’s eyes are eloquent when he looks back at his mother – he already knows that this is not the way it’s supposed to be (and she hates that he knows). The teenage Chiron’s mom has lost all control and is her son’s worst nightmare – a totally consumed crackhead like Samuel L. Jackson’s Gator in Jungle Fever.

The best aspect of Moonlight is its treatment of bullying and Chiron’s sexual questioning and awakening. We feel, even relive, the dread of childhood bullies. Moonlight’s treatment of growing up gay, especially gay and African-American is extraordinarily sensitive and even revelatory.

This is an important film, but its effectiveness grinds down in the third act. The first, 9-year-old segment is absorbing. The second, teenage sequence does an adequate job on the bullying and a stellar job on the sexuality. To that point, we really care about Chiron, and we’re on the edges of our seats rooting for his survival. But then Travante Rhodes takes over the character of Chiron as a grown man who is trying to be the Mahershala Ali character but looks and walks like Mike Tyson; Rhodes’ eyes and face don’t bring us in as do the younger actors. The lifestyle choice that Chiron has made after his teens and his roadtrip to self-discovery are interesting but not compelling, and Moonlight’s urgency peters out.

I’m a contrarian here: Moonlight has gotten rapturous acclaim, notably, from the critics that I respect the most, A.O. Scott, Mick LaSalle, Sheila O’Malley, Richard Roeper, Tim Sika and others. It has Metacritic rating of NINETY-NINE! But, leaving the theater, The Wife’s first comment was, “I feel like I just ate my broccoli,” and I agreed with her.

The casting is ALMOST perfect. Young Hibbert and Jerome are exceptional and all the Chiron/Kevin actors are good, except for Rhodes. Mahershala Ali’s drug dealer moves with a lion’s top-of-the-food-chain insouciance, but his moment when the young Chiron asks him “Does my mom do drugs?” and a very direct follow-up question is heartbreaking. The very sleek British actress Naomie Harris (Some Kind of Traitor) is unrecognizable as the crackhead mom – a very strong performance. The singer Janelle Monáe is very appealing in her turn as the drug dealer’s girlfriend.

Moonlight deserves praise for its realism and insight, but loses its punch in the final twenty-five minutes.

Stream of the Week: MEET THE PATELS – a documentary funnier than most comedies

November 1, 2016 by movie gourmet

Meet the Patels is both a documentary and a comedy – and ultimately, a satisfying crowd-pleaser. Over several years, filmmaker Geeta Patel filmed her own brother Ravi and their parents in their quest to find a wife for Ravi. Ravi and Geeta’s parents were born in India, had a traditional arranged marriage which has resulted in decades of happiness. Their American-born kids, of course, reject the very idea of an arranged marriage. But Ravi finds the pull of his Indian heritage compelling enough to dump his redheaded girlfriend and try to find a nice Indian-American girl. His parents try to help him with unbounded and unrelenting enthusiasm.

Meet the Patels is very funny – much funnier than most fictional comedies. It’s always awkward when parents involve themselves in their child’s romantic aspirations. That’s true here, and produces some side-splitting moments. It helps that the Patel parents are very expressive, and downright hilarious. The dad is so funny that I could watch him read a telephone book for 90 minutes, and the mom is herself a force of nature.

We learn that the Patels of Gujarat have adapted an entire menu of marriage opportunities unfamiliar to mainstream American society: a matchmaking profile system called “biodata”, matrimonial fairs, “the wedding season” and more.

Meet the Patels has its share of cultural tourism and the clash of generations. But it is so damn appealing because it’s much more than that – it’s a completely authentic saga of family dynamics, dynamics that we’ve all experienced or at least observed. The family members’ mutual love for each other drives family conflict and, finally, family unity.

I saw Meet the Patels at the Camera Cinema Club last year, and it had a brief theatrical run in the Bay Area. Meet the Patels is available to stream from Netflix Instant, Amazon Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play. It’s hilarious and heart-warming, so don’t miss it.

Just for Halloween…

October 30, 2016 by movie gourmet

PEEPING TOM, coming up on Turner Classic Movies and better than PSYCHO — PEEPING TOM – even better than PSYCHO

If you’re in the mood for a seasonal scare, I suggest you revisit last year’s Scare Week from The Movie Gourmet. I programmed six horror films from different decades and from different countries. Even folks who normally avoid the horror genre will find someone to enjoy here. I don’t like Gore Horror, so there’s relatively little blood and guts. All six movies are available on home video.

And for more current horror, check out 2015 at the Movies: low-budget, high quality horror.

THE HOUSE ON PINE STREET: does she really see a ghost?

October 31, 2016October 29, 2016 by movie gourmet

So here’s the thing with every movie ghost story – either the ghost is real or the protagonist is crazy enough to hallucinate one. The beauty of The House on Pine Street is that the story is right down the middle – ya just don’t know until the end when the story takes us definitively in one direction – and then suddenly lurches right back to the other extreme.

Jennifer (Emily Goss) is a very pregnant urbanist, who reluctantly moves from her dream life in Chicago back to her whitebread hometown in suburban Kansas. Unlike Jennifer, her husband hadn’t been thriving in Chicago, and Jennifer’s intrusive and judgmental mother (Cathy Barnett – perfect in the role) has set up an opportunity for him in the hometown. They move to a house that is not her dream home AT ALL, “but it’s a really good deal”. Jennifer overreacts to some crumbling plaster.

Jennifer is pretty disgruntled, and, generally for good reason – her mom’s every sentence is loaded with disapproval. Her mom’s housewarming party would be a social nightmare for anyone – but it’s too literally nightmarish for her. One of the guests, an amateur psychic (an excellent Jim Korinke), observes, “the house has interesting energy”.

Then some weird shit starts happening: knocks from unoccupied rooms, a crockpot lid that keeps going ajar. And we ask, is the house haunted or is she hallucinating? Her sane and sensible and skeptical BFF comes from Chicago to visit as sounding board, and things do not go well.

Co-writers and co-directors Aaron and Austin Keeling keep us on the edges of our seats. Their excellent sound design borrows from The Conversation and The Shining – and that’s a good thing.

The Keelings also benefit from a fine lead – Emily Goss’ eyes are VERY alive. She carries the movie as we watch her shifting between resentfulness, terror and determination.

The total package is very successful. I saw The House on Pine Street at Cinequest, and now it can be streamed from Amazon Instant, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.