The Aussie ‘Red Dawn’: LFM Reviews Tomorrow, When the War Began

By Joe Bendel. The freedom of Australia depends on a handful of teenagers. Fortunately, they are mostly quite good looking. That means they have even more to lose and will therefore be fiercer fighters. A rag tag band of students duly unleash their inner Wolverines in Stuart Beattie’s Tomorrow When the War Began, which opens this Friday in select cities and streams on demand via Freestyle Digital Media’s Facebook platform.

The time is twenty-for hours from now. The place is coastal New South Wales. It is a nice area to grow up and raise a family. At least it was until a foreign military invaded. Ellie Linton and her friends do not know that yet. They have been camping out in a remote mountain clearing misnamed “Hell.” When they return, cell service is out, the land lines are down, and their families are nowhere to be found.

Eventually, they discover the town’s fairground has been turned into a detention center by a vaguely Asian looking army. After a few narrow escapes and a considerable amount of bickering, they decide it is time to take the fight to their invaders – and that strategically positioned bridge looks like a good place to start.

Based on John Marsden’s bestselling Tomorrow series of YA novels, TWTWB obviously owes a debt to the original old school Red Dawn, but that’s okay. Considering how cool the classic Dawn remains, it is downright bizarre that it has not been emulated more often. Frankly, Beattie somewhat tarries in the first act, establishing full well and good just which teens like whom (Linton has a thing for the Lee Takkan, while the well heeled Fiona Maxwell fancies Homer Yannos, the slightly delinquent son of Greek immigrants).

Still, he juggles a lot of teen angst relatively nimbly. His adaptation also treats evangelical character Robyn Mathers with respect, even when presenting her reverence for life as a source of friction with her less conflicted friends. (Why not just throw some St. Thomas Aquinas books at her? Or better yet, throw them at the enemy.)

On one hand, the conspicuous effort taken to not identify the nationality of the invaders is somewhat problematic (one would think that would be valuable intel to suss out). Based on their rhetoric about natural resources and establishing stability in the Pacific region, China sounds like an obvious suspect. Yet it allows the film to effectively ratchet up the teens’ mood of what-the-heck-is-going-on bewilderment and perhaps sets the scene for big revelations in films to follow.

As Linton and Takkan, the more-or-less leads, Caitlin Stasey and Chris Pang are reasonably charismatic presences and wholly credible action figures. Phoebe “The Secret Circle” Tonkin is also surprisingly engaging as the Clueless-esque Maxwell, but Deniz Akdeniz’s Yannos seems to be looking for a Welcome Back Kotter reboot much of the time.

Phoebe Tonkin in "Tomorrow, When the War Began."

Once Linton and her comrades get organized and down to business, the film starts cooking nicely. It certainly sets up viewers, leaving us wanting more. Since TWTWB ranks as Australia’s highest grossing domestically produced release of 2010, more is indeed reportedly on the way. That is rather welcome news. TWTWB is certainly fun and professional grade popcorn fare that also seriously addresses themes of freedom, responsibility, and sacrifice. It is exactly the sort of film that could make a mint for Hollywood, but apparently they are content to leave such money on the table.

As is customary for most imports, TWTWB will only open in select cities this Friday (2/24) including the Criterion 7 in New Haven and the Palace 18 in Miami, but it will also be accessible to audiences nationwide, through Freestyle’s digital distribution on Facebook. Recommended as a non-taxing teen action picture with a good message and the promise of even better installments down the road, TWTWB is definitely worth checking out from the comfort of your own laptop.

Posted on February 21st, 2012 at 12:27pm.

French to the Core: LFM Reviews Mortem

Diana Rudychenko in "Mortem."

By Joe Bendel. Death never takes a holiday. When a young woman’s spectral companion manipulates her into stopping at a desolate hotel, it must be all business. However, things get more complicated than either expects in Eric Atlan’s trippy Mortem (trailer here), which screens during the 2012 edition of Film Comment Selects, hosted by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Jena and her fellow rider evidently enjoy feeling the wind in their hair as they motorcycle helmetless down lonely country roads. The fog, though, is a little too much – forcing them to stop at a truly gothic looking hotel. It seems the proprietors have been expecting them, or at least Jena’s companion, whom they can see, but she cannot, yet. It seems the uncanny woman has arranged to do some ominous business at their establishment, once the creepy staff leaves her to it.

Viewers soon learn Jena and the strange woman are profoundly connected – and once she reveals herself, it is supposed to be curtains for the mortal woman. To the surprise of her ghostly captor, however, Jena’s will to live proves quite strong. Much like the knight in The Seventh Seal (a head-smackingly obvious influence on Mortem), Jena shows great resourcefulness navigating the games and rituals of death. As the fateful night advances, the stakes increase for everyone.

Mortem is a very strange stylistic and tonal hodgepodge. The opening scenes play like high camp, but as it cranks up the metaphysics, it gets deadly serious. It is almost like David Lynch took over the helm of Gene Wilder’s Haunted Honeymoon after the first fifteen minutes. Fortunately though, this is no Lost Highway. Atlan actually wants viewers to follow his story, which seems to follow its internal rules well enough once established.

Panchenko Daria and Diana Rudychenko in "Morem."

It will still baffle the lowest common denominator, but at least Atlan offers them some steamy distractions. As it happens, Jena’s mysterious tormentor likes her a lot, which gives her a weakness to exploit. Indeed, for a surreal and cerebral genre movie mash-up, Mortem is rather hot.

Atlan and Marc Bercovitz, the co-producer and co-composer of the deliberately overbearing Bernard Hermann-on-steroids score, were clearly not concerned about going too far over the top with Mortem. In a way, though, that is rather refreshing. It has been a while since a film has really gone for broke, but this one certainly does.

Panchenko Daria and Diana Rudychenko are, yes, attractive – but also pretty compelling as the supernatural chess players. While their characters could easily be reduced to archetypal cut-outs, they suggest each has a real emotional investment in the face-off.

Gorgeously shot by the director-cinematographer in moody black-and-white, Mortem has all kinds of noir going on. No doubt about it, this is a weird film, but mostly in a good way. Frankly, considering how atmospheric and narrative-driven Mortem is (not to mention the other attention-generating aspects), it is surprising it has not been snapped up by an American boutique distributor yet. Recommended for genre audiences looking for something new, Mortem screens again this Tuesday afternoon (2/21) at the Walter Reade Theater, as part of this year’s Film Comment Selects.

Posted on February 21st, 2012 at 12:26pm.

Islamist Persecution of Baha’i Followers: LFM Reviews Iranian Taboo

By Joe Bendel. For some, Dizzy Gillespie’s conversion is they know about the Baha’i Faith. Many believe it to be a denomination of Islam, but that is a misconception. However, it was founded within the Islamic world, which makes its very existence an act of apostasy to hardline Islamists. As a result, Baha’i followers have often been persecuted in Islamic countries, most particularly Iran. Iranian-Dutch expatriate filmmaker Reza Allamehzadeh exposes Iran’s long and progressively escalating oppression of its Baha’i religious minority in Iranian Taboo (trailer here), which opens this Friday in the Los Angeles area.

Taboo may not be the most refined looking documentary, because so much of its footage was crudely recorded and surreptitiously smuggled out of Iran. Ironically, getting out of Iran is relatively easy for Baha’i followers. Living there in peace is another matter entirely. Taboo tracks one unfortunate family on their involuntary immigration to a less than welcoming Turkey.

Incorporating their video diary with the testimony of other Iranian followers, Allamehzadeh compiles a compelling indictment of the Iranian religious and governmental authorities. Perhaps most eye-opening is the story of the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), an underground university founded to serve followers who were denied college admittance solely on the basis of their religion. Internationally recognized, it probably maintained higher standards than Iran’s officially sanctioned universities, until the government forcibly shut it down late last year.

Openly critical of the Islamist regime, Allamehzadeh was not allowed back into Iran, so he relied on a courageous network of professional and amateur filmmakers, who remain anonymous for obvious reasons. At one point, though, he offers up some kneejerk criticism of Israel that might depress more informed viewers. Yet, this criticism makes it difficult to dismiss him as a “Zionist agent.”

In fact, he makes a similar point, arguing that the Israeli-“Palestinian” issue he buys into has nothing to do with the repression of innocent Iranian Baha’i followers, especially those who found themselves absurdly accused of spying for the Mossad, the CIA, or whomever. Still, it is worth noting, as home to the Baha’i World Centre in Haifa, Israel’s tolerance and hospitality stands in marked contrast to the institutionalized discrimination of her neighbors. After all, Allamehzadeh was obviously allowed to freely film there.

Indeed, Taboo vividly illustrates the orchestrated thuggery and systemic prejudice endured by Iranian followers on a daily basis. Though it leans a bit heavily on talking heads during the closing segments, it is overall quite informative and authoritative. Shining a needed spotlight into a hidden corner of contemporary Iran, Taboo is a sobering film, well worthy of audience and media attention when it opens this Friday (2/24) at the Laemmle Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills and March 13th for a three day engagement at the Landmark Shattuck in Berkeley.

Posted on February 21st, 2012 at 12:24pm.