Displaying items by tag: Kodi SmitMcPhee

MARIA

Germany, 2024, 124 minutes, Colour.

Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favini, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Stephen Ashfield, Valeria Golina, Caspar Phillipson.

Directed by Pablo Larrain.

It is almost 50 years since the death of famed opera singer, Maria Callas. She died in 1977, aged 53. Franco Zeffirelli made a film of the last week of her life, Callas Forever, with Fanny Ardant. Fanny Ardant collaborated with documentary filmmaker, Tom Volf’s documentary, 2017 documentary, Maria by Callas.

This is a film for both older audiences and younger audiences. It will offer older audiences the opportunity to remember, to listen again to the many arias throughout this film, the voice of Callas herself. The film will offer to those younger, who don’t remember her, a vivid portrait.

The film was written by English screenwriter, Steven Knight (Pretty Dirty Things, Peaky Blinders and many films and television series) but, importantly, was directed by the Chilean, Pablo Larrain, directors of significant political films but also two other biographies of significant 20^th century women, Jackie (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) and Spencer (Princess Diana). Interestingly, there is the common denominator of Aristotle Onassis in Jackie and Maria.

And the choice of Angelina Jolie. She moves quite majestically through the film, often sweepingly, not only a prima donna, but one might say the sola donna, proud, sometimes arrogant in her interactions with people. The main focus is on the last week of her life, opening with her death, flashbacks of the previous week but, of course, flashbacks to past performances and achievements, and memories of her relationship with Onassis, and the insertion of an episode of meeting Jacqueline Kennedy at a party, present at the birthday where Marilyn Monroe sang (and some acid comments on her voice), and an icy encounter with JFK. (Callas in fact sang at this occasion.)

However, the main supporting characters here are her to devoted servants, her butler and her housemaid of many years, played by Italian stars, Pierfrancesco Favini and Alba Rohrwacher. We look at the ways she interacts with them, as she speaks to them, always superior, but a deep affection and sometimes dependence on them.

There is also the device of her wandering around Paris, stopping at various locations, flashbacks to performances, especially an orchestra playing in the rain, a scene from Madame Butterfly… And, during this wandering, there is a young filmmaker, Kodi Smit McPhee, called Mandrax, the drug that she was taking for support, her interactions with Mandrax, her conversations, his response, final hallucinations as she reviews her life.

This is a portrait of Maria Callas rather than a biography, an opportunity to listen again, to appreciate, to wonder at the complexities of personality for figures in the public eye.

1. Audience knowledge of and admiration for Maria Callas, her voice, performance, career? What is knowledge of her life, mother, the war, criticisms of being fat, her emergence, her husband, the encounter with Aristotle Onassis, life with him, separating from him, her loss of her voice, her final years?
2. The work of the director, his portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy, of Princess Diana, and the into cutting off the two women and their lives with Onassis?
3. The framework of the film, the opening with Maria Callas’s death, her assistance standing around, the flashback of the seven days, the flashbacks within flashbacks, her performances, black-and-white photography, Angelina Jolie and her voice, the lip syncing with Maria Callas’s voice, the locations and her memories, her tablets, the filmmaker and her hallucinations, the conversations? The clash with her doctor? Of the theatre with the pianist, the technician in the spotlight, the journalist and his later confrontation?
4. The importance of Ferrucio and Bruna? With Maria Callas for so many years, butler, housekeeper, with her in Paris, Bruna and the meals, the conversation, The ratio and the moving of the piano, concern about the doctor, that Maria Callas’ beck and call, her treatment of them, her dependence on them, their loyal service? The memories of being at her performances in the past? The concern in the present, her death?
5. The film offering an overview of Maria Callas’ career, born in New York, her mother, the German soldiers, in Venice, the initial success, the visualising of the various concerts, the buildings in Paris, the performance in the rain with the orchestra, Madame Butterfly, her success, the decline? For testing her voice, but wanting to listen to her records? The final aria?
6. Her personal relationships, the glimpse of her husband, at the party, the encounter with Onassis, his estimation of himself, rich and powerful, his infatuation with her, the invitation to the yacht, going with her husband, the beginning of the relationship, Onassis’ love for her, her moving away, not marrying, the issue of children, not wanting to be controlled? But her final visit to him?
7. The contrivance of the scene at Kennedy’s birthday party, Marilyn Monroe’s happy birthday song, her comments of Marilyn Monror and the voice, the encounter with Jackie Kennedy, the yacht, the discussions with Kennedy himself, her estimation of himself and the relationships?
8. The device of the film, the director and the name of the drug, Mandrax, the interviews, his responses, initially stolid, mellowing, the various scenes and interviews? The device, the hallucinations from her drugs? Herself revelations?
9. The prima donna, the diva, her arrogance, treatment of people, the fan who had missed her performance and her treatment of him, the attack on the intrusive journalist, the conversation with the man at the bar and her music?

• The film as a portrait rather than a biography? Angelina Jolie’s performance? The sequences of actual Maria Callas during the final credits – more smiling and genial and throughout the film?

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

Australia, 2024, 94 minutes, Colour.

Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Jacki Weaver, Magda Szubanski, Dominique Pinon, Eric Bana, Nick Cave, Adam Elliot, Tony Armstrong, Paul Capsis.

Directed by Adam Elliot.

Quite a striking experience. However, the title might be a bit offputting to some audiences, especially those with a fear of snails, Molluscophobia (seeing ‘snails and slugs as slow, writhing anomalies in a city full of things that flutter, stomp or scuttle’. But, reassuringly, snails here have some heroic status.

Melbourne animator, Adam Elliot, won an Oscar for his short film, Harvey Krumpet. His animation style is stop-motion, and he uses clay models, giving his films a distinctive look, and, combined with his idiosyncratic characters and their stories, something of a unique position in animation. In 2008 he directed Mary and Max (admirably voiced by Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman), the story of two lonely characters’ correspondence between Melbourne and New York.

Which means that his new film is visually distinctive and admirably voiced. Adam Elliot’s visual world is dark, often misshapen, touches of the sinister, a great deal of sadness, rare moments of joy. And the story is told by Sarah Snook who is able to engage the audience completely.

Actually, the memoir is of Grace Pudel, having experienced some sadness with the death of her good friend Pinky (Jacki Weaver at her best). Grace has a vast number of collectable snails on her shelf and also cultivates actual snails, especially Sylvia to whom she confides her story.

It is a very sad story, Grace’s mother dying in giving birth to herself and to her twin brother, Gilbert (Kodi Smit McPhee). There are some happy moments with their eccentric French father, Dominique Pinon, an animator but who falls on hard times. , t thenhere is the fate of orphans, and foster homes. They might be described as 21^st-century Dickensian, on the one hand a kind of hippy, freethinking couple inherit G between race trying to affirm her now and then  their escapades. But, worse, Gilbert is sent to Perth to a fundamentalist religious family, and a horrendous mother, Ruth (absolutely ruthless), Magda Szubanski bringing her frighteningly alive. And Gilbert suffers. These sequences of their ferocious moments of criticism of this kind of self-righteous religious cruelty.

Some of the dialogue is very witty. And there are some very happy cultural references, the books that the young Grace and Gilbert read, including Lord of the Flies, and, twice, the family watching with delight The Two Ronnies.

But, back to Pinky. She is a wonderful neighbour, caring for Grace, a surrogate mother, but moving into dementia, trying to warn Grace about the charming Ken (Tony Armstrong) who courts her but has his own terrible secret.

By this stage, Grace finishes telling her sad story to Sylvia. But, while Adam Elliot constantly reminds us that so much of life is sadness and suffering, he is not without hope and by the final credits he he provides Grace with a bit more happiness than we might have anticipated.

1. Work of Adam Elliott? His Oscar? Mary and Max? His reputation and awards?
2. His visual style, stop motion, the attention to detail, the clay and the characters, the creatures, the settings? Colour tone, darker? The distortions in the faces, the situations, the settings? Distinctive, the effect for the audience? The tone communicated? And the musical score?
3. The Australian voice talent and styles?
4. The title, the focus on snails, Grace at the opening, a love for the snails, the collectibles, the shelves, the actual snails in the containers and the growth? Her love for Sylvia?
5. The episode with Pinky, her appearance and voice, sad, dementia, dying, Grace attending to her? The decision to tell the story?
6. Grace and her telling the story to Sylvia, Sarah Snook and her voice-over, the audience being continually attentive to her voice, tone, pathos? The family background, the visuals of the home, Grace being born, the effect on the mother, the birth of Gilbert, the mother’s death? The children growing up, playing, the books and the reading, watching television, The Two Ronnies, their father, his injuries, French, the background of animation, his deterioration?
7. The Dickensian touch with the foster homes, the permissive family and their style, free, trendy, sex and partners, but all the awards for Grace and her achievements, the posters? Finally going off to the nudist colony in Sweden? The contrast with the Appleby’s, the religious fundamentalism, Ruth and her domination, husband, the children? The hard work, the religious language, the tyranny? The treatment Gilbert? The letters between Grace and Gilbert? Ultimately too much, Gilbert and the fire, completely destroyed? The severe brothers and the contrast with the friendly little brother, Ben? The critique of fundamentalist Christianity?
8. Grace growing up, neglected by the parents, the friendship with Pinky, the kindly neighbour, the conversations? The friendship with Ken, her eating, becoming heavier, Ken and his devotion, courting, marriage, her discovery of his scrapbook, the fact that he was using her, feeding her, his fetish? His being ousted?
9. Grace, the years passing, the sales, the letters from Gilbert stopping, her sad memories? The continued support of Pinky? Pinky and her decline, her warnings about Ken? Her positive affirmation of Grace? Her dying, the cry about the potatoes?
10. Grace, in the garden, the various vegetables, dawning her about the potatoes, digging, the tin, the letter, the money?
11. Grace, getting a hold of herself, slimming down, starting the work on animation, her film, the screening, very few there, Gilbert revealing himself, the happy reconciliation?
12. Grace and Gilbert, the sadness of their lives, getting a new opportunity to make something of themselves?