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Loveless (Russia) – An Epic Drama for the Digital Age

Loveless Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you’ve seen Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan you need to see Loveless. If you haven’t seen Leviathan, what are you waiting for? Loveless is another dark drama from Zvyagintsev of epic proportions. It’s comparable to one of Shakespeare’s dark plays updated for the digital age. Plus, it’s not just a reflection of Russian society, but a reflection of all our lives.

Why Watch Loveless?

You can’t find better drama than this
It’s a story you usually don’t see on screen – what happens after the happy marriage – and yes, it’s dark
It’s the follow up to Zvyagintsev’s award winning Leviathan and it’s already won the Cannes Jury prize, you don’t have to rely on our opinion!
The setting! The snow and empty spaces make it even more chilling!

The Breakdown

Loveless starts with snow. It makes the town it falls on seem more serene; the calm before the storm. It’s the end of school for the day and the camera follows 12 year old Alexey as he walks home on his own. He finds a strip of police ‘do not cross’ tape and waves drags it along with him through the snow before throwing it into a leafless tree. Unlike his parents, he’s just a regular kid.

The opening 5 minutes of the film are focused on Alexey, but then the film is hi-jacked by his parents. When Alexey returns home, we find his parents arguing (they’re getting divorced). From their argument, we follow them through a day of each of their lives at work and their affairs for the next 30 minutes of the film. Alexey’s parents are doubly selfish. They steal the film’s narrative from him and also indulge in their own self-interests whilst they have the limelight. They force Alexey out of the film.

You may also notice the abundance of empty spaces and silence in the movie. The director may linger on a shot after the character has left or remain fixed on a character for slightly longer than normal. Zvyagintsev left these visual and audible pauses for us to give us time to think. This allows us to become ‘co-authors’ as we have time to add in our own interpretations. You’ll see that whilst Loveless is a Russian film, the message is relevant to all of us – making it possible to interpret.

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Conclusion

Loveless was one of the stand out films for me at the London Film Festival 2017. Just like Leviathan (which you should watch if you haven’t already) it’s storytelling is at the top level. On top of that, the visuals are a perfect compliment – they make the dark bits of the story darker, and offer us breaks to become co-authors.

Watch it when you can!

Persona (Sweden) – The Film World’s Mount Everest

Persona Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Do you want to be a film connoisseur? Well you can’t be if you haven’t watched Persona. The film has been for film critics what climbing Everest is for mountaineers, it’s the peak of the film world.

Here’s a peek at the opening 5 minutes to weird you out before you read on.

Why Watch this Film?

If you want to see something mysterious. If Christopher Nolan’s Memento is level 1 mysterious film and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is level 2, Persona is level 3.
To move on from the early (and also brilliant) Bergman films such as Wild Strawberries – this time it’s less philosophy and more experimental
For some shocking and hilarious images – I’ll explain below!
To see the beautiful black and white cinematography – this film really stands the test of time (it could have been made yesterday)!

The Breakdown

Bergman disorientates us in the introduction to Persona. There’s a lot of noise as a small light slowly brightens. It’s a gas stove lighting in slow mo. As your concentrating on the slow-mo Bergman chucks in a still picture of a penis like a subliminal message – did you notice it in the clip above? From that point I knew this film would be unique.

I was not wrong. This film is an experience. The disorientating introduction continues with a bunch of shocking imagery such as a tarantula walking across the camera and a clip of someone hammering a nail into their hand.

Why does Bergman try and disorientate us? He disorientates us to disrupt our viewing pattern. He doesn’t want us to watch this relaxed, he wants us to be active viewers and to work hard trying to interpret the film. After the unsettling intro we are introduced to two women: a film star that doesn’t talk and a young nurse.

The nurse takes the film star to the country for treatment. Sounds normal, but it becomes quite the opposite. Alone in the countryside their characters start to merge. Are the two characters one? If so is the nurse fantasizing about being a nurse or is the film star examining her own psyche? Either way this film is a must watch!

Conclusion

What a film! If you love films that leave you dumbfounded or lost in thought Persona was made for you! It has been one of the most debated films in film history alongside Citizen Kane and has inspired the works of David Lynch among many others. If you want to consider yourself a film buff, you have to watch it!

Wild Strawberries (Sweden) – How Did You Live Your Life?

Wild Strawberries Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Do you have a grouchy grandpa or a grumpy old friend? Well this is the perfect film to watch with them. It reminds of us of our mortality and explores the meaning of life. Are we better off grumpy or friendly – watch and decide. I admit, it’s not a barrel of laughs, but it is thoughtful, beautiful, and worth every minute of your time.

Check three reasons to watch it below. Then watch it here on YouTube.

Why Watch Wild Strawberries?

For the perfect introduction to Swedish maestro, Ingmar Bergman
To explore the meaning of life!
It’s one of the greatest road trip films (although it is completely different to the extroverted Hollywood road trip films)
To see some scary dreams and visions

The Breakdown

Wild Strawberries starts with Isak, a 78 year old professor about to receive a doctorate. He thinks how he has become lonely in his old age (in an inner-monologue that we hear from a lot in this film) before he introduces us to his family and goes to wake up his maid. He is ready for a road trip!

It doesn’t seem like anyone really likes him though. In his old age, he has become lonely because he doesn’t like hanging out with his family or community. To add to that, he is plain rude. Whilst driving, he chauvinistically tells Marianne to stop smoking because she is a woman, and feigns forgetfulness when she brings up how rudely he dismissed her relationship with his son.

Luckily, he begins to change as he starts to look back on his life. One particular dream sets him on this path. In this dream Isak stops outside a house with boarded windows. He anxiously walks to the left of the house, but doesn’t walk more than 10 steps (the camera stops him). He walks to the right, but stops himself again. He looks up at the town clock, but there are no hands on it to tell the time. Then he sees a hearse approaching. As it moves closer, one of the wheels of the hearse gets stuck on a lamppost and the coffin falls out. As Isak moves closer to close it’s lid, the hand of his own corpse tries to pull him inside. Is he already dead?

Conclusion

Wild Strawberries is one of Ingmar Bergman’s classics. It takes a grumpy old man who doesn’t care for his family or community and shakes him with dreams and visions to try and change him. The road trip is his journey to understanding the meaning of life.

Extraordinary Stories (Argentina) – Storytelling at it’s Finest!

Extraordinary Stories Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

This is storytelling at it’s finest. If you’re a fan of Borges or Pynchon’s mysteries you’ll love this film. Save this 4 hour wonder for a long journey or break it up into three viewings (with the 2 intervals). You can even try watching it here on YouTube.

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Why Watch Extraordinary Stories?

To see another great Argentinian film which is up there with Wild Tales and Secret in their Eyes (not the Hollywood remake)
Witness storytelling at it’s finest!
If you want 4 hours to go quickly (perfect for a long journey), otherwise this film is broken into three parts so easy to break into multiple viewings
Perfect for fans of Borges or Pynchon!

The Breakdown

Extraordinary Stories starts with the story of X, a man walking down a road. He is walking to a nearby town, not really sure if he will find a job there. Whilst he is walking down the road, he witnesses a shootout in a farm field next to the road. Have the perpetrators seen him watching?

This opening episode makes up episode 1. Next up is the story of Z, a man who has just started a new job in a remote town. The third story centres a bet between two rivals.

Without giving anything more away, each of the three stories get more and more interesting and extraordinary as the film progresses. Each one progresses in 5-15 minute episodes and you are often left wanting to see more at the end, like a good TV series.

The strangest part is that you never really find out much about the three main protagonists (X, Z, and H). You never learn their name or their background; each of them remains a mystery. They reminded me of characters from a Borges short story or a Pynchon novel.

Conclusion

You won’t find storytelling better than this. I was skeptical about this 4 hour movie, but I couldn’t stop watching it after I hit play. The director gives you enough to pique your interest in each short episode, always leaving you wanting to watch more.

Kids Return (Japan)

Kids Return Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Some of the best films just can’t be reviewed well. Kid’s Return is one of these greats. It’s great score and simple story-telling will whisk you away to Japan for a while. You’ll become friends with two high-school drop-outs and follow their journey into adult life. With school-life, boxing, and Yakuza, this one is one to watch.

Why Watch Kids Return?

For a great coming-of-age film and boxing film rolled into one. Think of Boyhood mixed with Rocky.
See more of Japan – just like Kitano’s Kikujiro – from Japanese coffee shops to adult film cinemas!
Hear a classic film soundtrack from Joe Hisaishi
For the great clash of colours in the cinematography: red vs. blue!

The Breakdown

Kids Return starts with two guys in sequin jackets on a stage performing their comedy act. We only see them from back stage. We later learn that these two guys are from the same school as the two main protagonists who we are introduced to in the next scene. They both meet each other for the first time in ages and go for a nostalgic bike ride in the city.

Following the introduction, we are taken back to school days with Masaru and Shinji (the two main characters). They are bullies who skip school to mess around. They steal money from other students, beat up people, and prank their teachers. As a result, nobody thinks they have many future prospects. Their teachers all agree that the best they’ll be is become petty crooks.

At this time, both of them are vulnerable to the allure of power. This leads them both to boxing. At this time in the film, Kitano dresses one of them in red and the other in blue. Their opposing colours are a metaphor for them drifting apart. After a pivotal boxing match showing red vs. blue, they both follow different paths.

Conclusion

It’s harder to write about your favorite films. I end up trying to hard to mention everything that’s great about the film to persuade you to watch it. But the best films have something intangible, something you can’t write about. It’s a cathartic ability to truly immerse the viewer in the images and story and temporarily forget about your own reality. Kids Return does this cathartic ability perhaps aided by the soundtrack and story.