Category: Narrative

By Joe Bendel. If you are ever taken hostage, start doing acting exercises. Anyone that annoying is sure to be quickly released. It does not quite work that way for snobby leftwing playwright Robert Longfellow, but it is debatable just how much danger his captor really represents in Martin Donovan’s directorial debut and star vehicle, Collaborator, which opens today in New York at the IFC Center.

Smarting from the critical drubbing unleashed on his latest play (the appropriately pretentious sounding American Excursion), Longfellow left New York and his ever patient wife to visit his aging mother. As luck would have it, he is also able to re-connect with his former romantic interest, Hollywood actress Emma Stiles. His childhood acquaintance still living across the street also wants to hang. One of those right-wing ex-cons, Gus Williams has not made good. In trouble with the law again, Williams shows up with a gun and a shopping bag full of beers. Thus begins Longfellow’s hostage ordeal.

Donovan might have been Hal Hartley’s bro-muse in all those great 1990’s indies, but as a director-screenwriter he does not exhibit a natural talent for pacing or characterization. While he deserves credit for his relatively sympathetic treatment of Williams, we never really believe the hostage-taker would pull the trigger, at least with Longfellow on the receiving end. As a result, instead of a taut cat-and-mouse game, the deliberately stagey and static Collaborator feels more like forty-plus minutes of extended endgame, grinding along laboriously.

In lieu of plot progression, Longfellow engages Williams in a series of actors’ improvs designed to show the intellectual superiority of a New York elitist to the bitter red-stater. Yet, the truth is that both characters are just talking in clichés when they debate hot-button issues, such as the Viet Nam War. This is all supposed to reveal the fundamental essences of their psyches, but it really just leaves viewers shrugging, so what then?

Frankly, Donovan’s emotional frozen Longfellow, as well as David Morse’s wounded, anti-social Williams are only too familiar, following predictable development arcs. We have seen similar from both of them before. However, Olivia Williams has some intriguing moments as Stiles. Ironically, in Collaborator, the movie star is the most human character of the lot.

While the premise of Collaborator had potential, the execution never really clicks. There are some well turned moments here and there, especially from Ms. Williams, but it is clearly the product of an insular environment, much to its detriment. Highly skippable, Collaborator opened Friday in New York at the IFC Center.

LFM GRADE: D+

Posted on July 10th, 2012 at 2:02pm.

By Joe Bendel. It is tough being the kid with an artistic temperament in school. Having trouble at home is a double whammy for both Mei and Jay. At least they have each other’s support in Tom Shu-yu Lin’s Starry Starry Night, an exquisitely sensitive portrait of young love that opens this Friday in New York following its 2012 New York Asian Film Festival screening this afternoon.

Jay is a shy kid with a remarkable talent for creating art. He has a hard time making friends, because he and his mom must constantly move to new addresses. Mei has many friends, but is not particularly close to any of them. Her mother has taught to appreciate fine art through the jigsaw puzzles they use to put together as a family. Unfortunately, her parents are now too busy fighting to spend quality time with her. She feels her closest connection to her aging grandfather, who lives in a Kinkadean cabin in the woods, until she meets Jay.

At first it is a case of fascination for Mei, but as she and Jay share their mutual interests, an innocent friendship blossoms into innocent love. Grieving her grandfather and upset by the announcement of her parents’ impending divorce, she leads Jay on a journey to the late woodworker’s cottage nestled deep in the mountains.

In a nutshell, Starry could be considered the Taiwanese Moonrise Kingdom, except its young protagonists are far more endearing and their troubles are considerably more real. The closing credits even feature illustrations from Jimmy Liao’s picture book, upon which the film is based. Yet despite the more liberal use of CGI, bringing to life origami animals animated by the duo’s purity of spirit, Starry is much more grounded. Indeed, the emotional stakes involved in growing up and caring for others are quite real throughout Lin’s sympathetic screenplay.

Young Josie Xu carries a disproportionate share of the film’s dramatic load, but she is fantastic as Mei. Charming and vulnerable as circumstance demand, it is a remarkably assured screen performance. While his character is more reticent and reserved, Eric Lin Hui Ming is also quite compelling in Jay’s big revelatory scenes. Starry also boasts a special, too-significant-to-be-a-cameo appearance by Kwai Lun Mei in an epilogue completely one-upping anything Nicholas Sparks ever wrote.

True, Starry is not afraid of a little sentiment, but it earns its pay-off, every step of the way. Firmly but elegantly helmed by Lin, the film treats its young characters and their dilemmas with refreshing respect. Its lush, animated backdrops are truly striking, but the film never really engages in magical realism, per se. It is merely amplifying the feelings of its charismatic leads. Nonetheless, it is quite visually dynamic (with particular credit due to Penny Tsai Pei-ling’s design team), capturing the essence of Liao’s book. Enormously satisfying and hugely commercial, it is precisely the sort of international film that can break into the mainstream. Highly recommended for general audiences, Starry Starry Night opens this Friday (7/6) in New York at the AMC Empire and in Seattle at the AMC Pacific Place, courtesy of China Lion Entertainment.

LFM GRADE: A+

Posted on July 3rd, 2012 at 2:42pm.

By Joe Bendel. Sure China invaded Korea, but it was all for the sake of greater regional stability. The year is 1636 and only an unemployable archer with an attitude problem stands between Joseon and an army of Manchurian invaders in Kim Han-min’s War of the Arrows, which screens tomorrow during the 2012 New York Asian Film Festival.

Choi Nam-yi and his sister Ja-in should not be alive. When their father is wrongfully branded a traitor, they barely escape to the home of his lifelong friend, who raises them in secret. Unable to live a productive public life, the grown Choi becomes a sullen slacker, wasting his life with his Falstaffian cronies. He only excels at one thing: archery.

In contrast, his sister has fallen in love with Kim Seo-goon, the son of their protector. Believing they can lead a normal existence together, Kim has convinced his parents to allow their marriage. Unfortunately, the Qing army happens to choose their wedding day for their invasion. They only make one mistake, scooping up Choi’s sister and new brother-in-law along with the rest of their prisoners. Somewhat put out by this, Choi dogs the returning Qing forces, becoming a guerrilla army of one. Of course, the trail of arrow-impaled bodies he leaves in his wake attracts the attention of an elite company of archers led by the seriously hardnosed Jyushinta.

A commanding screen presence, Ryoo Syeung-ryong makes quite the villain as the relentless Jyushinta. He seethes with authority and projects a quiet sense of menace perfect for his role as the Qing commando leader. While Park Hae-il’s Choi lacks a similar gravitas, he is a convincing action figure, letting the arrows fly as he careens through the forest.

War is one fierce archery film. Those who considered Hawkeye the biggest take-away from The Avengers are in for a treat. This is warfighting at its most personal level. Though already available on DVD, War of the Arrows is the sort of film that should be a blast to watch with an appreciative NYAFF audience when it finally gets an overdue New York ovation tomorrow. Well worth seeing on a big screen, it would have also made a good 3-D fixer-upper (unlike say, Clash of the Titans), considering how many projectiles come flying out towards the audience. Like the best action historicals, War of the Arrows is both high tragedy and a total blast. Enthusiastically recommended, it screens Friday night (6/29) at the Walter Reade Theater as part of the intrepid 2012 NYAFF.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on June 28th, 2012 at 3:21pm.

By Joe Bendel. Consider it a portrait of the curmudgeon as a young man. Inspector Morse would make a name for himself as the prickly but refined Chief Inspector with a taste for opera and poetry. However, in 1965, Endeavour Morse was an Oxford drop-out just hoping to catch on with the Thames Valley force after a stint in the military. His first case will be difficult, bringing him back to his former college in Endeavour, the one-off Inspector Morse prequel, premiering this coming Sunday on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery.

Mary Tremlett, a local school girl, has been murdered and her former lover, an Oxford student, has committed suicide. It is supposed to look like an open-and-shut affair, but the details do not quite fit. Constable Morse’s inquiry leads him to the faculty member tutoring Tremlett (under questionable circumstances), who happens to be married to Morse’s favorite opera diva.

Though preoccupied on several fronts, Morse doggedly follows the clues leading to sleazy car dealer with half the force in his pocket. To proceed, he will need the career-risking assistance of his prospective mentor, the somewhat Morse-like Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, who drives a Jaguar and has little patience for his colleagues’ corruption.

For a television mystery, Endeavour is fairly successful at misdirecting viewers, despite dropping some fairly obvious clues. It also comes fully approved and vouched for, featuring a cameo appearance from Morse author Colin Dexter, as well as Abigail Thaw, the daughter of the late John Thaw (the star of the original Morse series), appearing briefly as the editor of the Oxford newspaper. Frankly, it seems strange that Endeavour was initially produced as a one-shot, much like the Morse spin-off, Inspector Lewis, but in each case the viewers have clearly spoken. A full four episode season of Endeavour is reportedly already in the works.

In his eponymous first outing, Shaun Evans looks appropriately awkward and earnest as Constable Morse, but it will be interesting to see how the character and his performance evolve over time. Indeed, it is easy to understand how this early case would appreciably contribute to his disillusionment. Fortunately, Roger Allam (who once played a suspect on the flagship Inspector Morse) provides plenty of color as the flamboyant but principled DI Friday. The only real weaknesses on Constable Morse’s maiden voyage are his suspects, who are a rather bland lot, in an English upper crust sort of way.

Sure to please the preexisting base, Endeavour should also appeal to viewers of PBS period dramas. There is definitely a sense of nostalgia here that should help the prequel series establish its own discrete identity. An entertaining feature length murder mystery that has plenty of potential for growth (again, much like Lewis before it), Endeavour is easily recommended for Brit TV fans when it airs this Sunday (7/1) on most PBS stations nationwide.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on June 28th, 2012 at 3:19pm.

By Joe Bendel. Though still a young democracy, by the early 1990’s the South Korean government had run out of patience with the unchecked lawlessness of organized crime. Choi Ik-hyun became one of their top targets. He did not look like much of a criminal, but he was very organized. It is time to get your gangland beatdowns on as the New York Asian Film Festival comes roaring in with a whole new slate of fresh selections. Yun Jong-bin’s Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time will deliver plenty of said when it screens at the 2012 festival this Saturday.

Choi is a low level customs inspector, corrupt in the pettiest of ways. His family was once wealthy and respected, but their fortunes have fallen. However, he remains hyper-connected amongst the larger Choi clan hierarchy. Stumbling across a shipment of heroin, Choi parlays it and his surname into a business relationship with the Busan mob’s top gun, Choi Hyung-bae.

This Choi looks the part of a gangster. Though initially skeptical of the doughier Choi, the steely cool gangster comes to appreciate the value of the older man’s connections and his skill at exploiting them. For a while, they become a very profitable team. However, Choi Ik-hyun’s greed and vanity will lead him to flirt with his “god-son’s” chief rival, Kim Pan-ho, destabilizing their alliance. Gangsters always do that kind of thing.

Nameless is far broader in scope than a mere series of gangland rumbles. Nonetheless, when the Choi and Kim factions start bashing each other fifty shades of black and blue, it is quite impressively cinematic. Still, Yun is more concerned with the zeitgeist of the time, the ROK’s years of transitional democracy, while depicting the base cunning of a wanna-be consigliere.

Indeed, special festival guest Choi Min-sik is quite compelling as his slovenly namesake. It might sound like a role quite removed from the ferocious serial killer he played in I Saw the Devil. Yet both characters are small men who react desperately when their method of empowerment is threatened. However, it is Ha Jung-woo who really makes a lasting impression. Icily fatalistic, but not without the capacity for explosive rage, his Choi Hyung-bae is exactly the sort of performance that makes great gangster films tick. Likewise, Kim Seong-gyoon has a nice flair for ruthless and reckless villainy as the younger’s Choi’s lead enforcer.

It’s been a while since there was a mob movie with the sweep and ambition of Nameless. It certainly is good to have another one. Despite the wider historical context, Yun keeps the action gritty and violent. It is a big picture, but it has a tight focus. Enthusiastically recommended, it screens this Saturday (6/30) and next Tuesday (7/3) as part of the 2012 New York Asian Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on June 25th, 2012 at 11:40pm.