KING RALPH

US, 1991, 97 minutes, Colour.
John Goodman, Peter O’ Toole, John Hurt, Camille Coduri, Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, James Villiers, Joely Richardson, Niall O’ Brien, Julian Glover, Judy Parfitt.
Directed by David S. Ward.

King Ralph is a very entertaining popular film. It is based on the novel Headlong (1980) by playwright and actor Emlyn Williams (Night Must Fall, The Corn is Green). It has been adapted for the screen and directed by David S. Ward, writer-director of such films as Cannery Row, The Sting, Major League.

The premise is entertaining: the British royal family are all wiped out during a photo shoot. The search is on for the rightful heir and he is discovered as a singer in a lounge, a slob, played by John Goodman in his genial style. Peter O’ Toole plays Sir Cedric Willingham, the man designated to train the new king. O’ Toole does this role immaculately. John Hurt is also in the background as a potential rival.

The film is humorous in the Crocodile Dundee style with the ‘fish out of water’ as the very American slob arrives in the United Kingdom and has to learn British customs and manners. All kinds of character actors are also present including Richard Griffiths (television’s Pie in the Sky and the cinema’s The History Boys), Leslie Phillips and James Villiers. Joely Richardson has a cameo role as the rather icy princess from Scandinavia.

The film is aimed at a very popular audience – and with its combination of good acting, humorous situations and dialogue and the British background, it is successful.

1.A pleasing comedy? The satirical touches? Gentle satire?

2.The contrast between Las Vegas and London? Authentic atmosphere – presented humorously?

3.The musical score, the songs, ‘Miss Molly’…? Ralph as a singer?

4.The premise, the royal family and the photo being taken, the explosion, the deaths?

5.The American perspective on England, seeing the British as stuffy, traditional? The background of the War of Independence? Starchy customs? The film eventually a more benign look at Britain?

6.Cedric, his role in the British royal family, his assistant? The search for the heir? The protocols and the traditions?

7.Lord Percival Graves, his claim to the throne, his ambitions and his sinister behaviour?

8.Ralph in Las Vegas, genial, lazy, his reaction to the news, performance, clothes, talk, going to England – and the details of the humour of the fish-out-of-water comedy?

9.Duties and style, Cedric and his instructions, training Ralph? Giving the reasons? Ralph and his not coping well, even falling in the pond?

10.Percival Graves, his getting Miranda Green to participate in his plot? The money, the photos? Gordon Halliwell and the forgery and the payment? Parliament and Percival Graves’ speech, the arrest?

11.Cedric in himself, as played by Peter O’Toole?, Peter O’Toole’s? style? Watchful, liking Ralph? The potential marriages, African, from Finland? Helping, covering for Ralph? The truth and the revelation of his motivations? The fact that he was the king, his acceptance?

12.Ralph, the effect, lonely in England, going out, Miranda and the date, McDonald’s?, the photos? The park, the visits? The music and the jukebox? The African and the darts and jokes? Finland – ambiguous, cold? Molly and the failure?

13.Miranda, getting to like Ralph, the issue of money, her change of heart, the date, the reception and the dance, the forgery, the ending?

14.The humour about the Africans? About the cold Scandinavians?

15.The resignation, the parliament (and the punks), the jobs, Cedric becoming king? Ralph being made a duke?

16.Relationships between England and the US – and a humorous reinforcement of these?

NATHALIE

France, 2003, 105 minutes, Colour.
Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart, Gerard Depardieu.
Directed by Anne Fontaine.

The French are preoccupied with relationships, often very seriously and often in a somewhat dour manner. This is one of those dour films, written for a middle-aged audience who can empathise with the marital crises that threaten a long commitment.

Director, Anne Fontaine (whose previous film, How to Kill My Father, was a fascinating study of the relationship between a middle-aged man and his long-absent father), brings a strong feminine sensibility to this film. She is aided immeasurably by her stars, Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Beart. Gerard Depardieu, as the husband, is placed more in the background, becoming more and more the object of judgments by the women and by the audience.

The couple have been married for over twenty years. He has a somewhat cavalier attitude towards women even though he loves his wife. She is shocked to learn of his infidelity which, he says, means practically nothing to him. Her response is not what we might expect. She goes by chance and partly deliberately to an escort club and impulsively offers to pay one of the women (Beart) to start a relationship with her husband and report the developments to her. While the woman does what she is paid for, she realises that she is becoming friends with a woman from a completely different walk of life and a different level of society. She begins to value this friendship more and more. So does the wife, preferring to meet up with the prostitute and talk rather than to be with her husband.

Audiences at one stage might realise where this friendship could go and, at the end, have to re-assess their perceptions of each of the characters. Fanny Ardant, a woman of poise and dignity in her 50s, has a great opportunity to portray the intensity of a woman who loves, feels a betrayal and is led on a path of greater self-awareness in her new friendship. She is the focus of the film, even mesmerising as the director lets the camera linger for a long time on her, giving us time to watch and reflect. In fact, it is a film for serious reflection.

1.An entertaining and interesting French film? Written for an adult audience? Study of relationships, psychology, sexuality? Truth and lies?

2.The Paris locations, the exteriors, the river? Taxis? The interiors: homes, restaurants, bars, the club? The musical score and the songs?

3.The irony of the title, its reference to Marlene and her fictitious character? Relating with each of the characters as Marlene and as Nathalie?

4.The introduction to Bernard, in the shower, his lies, the party, phone calls? His presence and absence? His attitude to love, his permissive attitude towards affairs and relationships? His talk, manifesting his loving side, the tension at home, the interactions with Catherine? The scenes at home, the bedroom, breakfast …? The restaurant and his son, Marie? Breakfast, Nathalie and the light? His being seen only with Catherine? Heard about from Nathalie? The building up of a picture? Audience response to him, belief? Not leaving, tired, playing, Catherine leaving, the discussions? Seeing Nathalie? The end? Gerard Depardieu and the portrait of an average Frenchman?

5.Catherine and her age, the party? Married for twenty years? Phone calls, the return, the motel, hearing the next room, her reactions? The confrontation, Bernard’s response, the possibilities? Her decision to go to the club? Why? Sitting, the encounter with the manager, Marlene and the discussion, the drink? Her hiring Marlene, the nature of the contract, the name Nathalie? Their meetings? Nathalie telling Catherine Bernard’s story? The plans, the moves? Nathalie’s initiation, the cruder aspects of the relationship? The effect on Catherine? Seeking her out, the meetings and places, the club, the bar, the store? The role of Catherine’s mother?

6.Marlene in herself, her age, affluence, style, clothes? Social background? At the club? Relationships? The friendship with Catherine, the change? Her eagerness? Nathalie’s response, listening, learning ?

7.Catherine’s mother, the tantrums and the talk? Having Marlene there, the past, talking?

8.Marlene and her life, her work, accepting the job, the lure, her stories, at work, beauty, at the bars, inventing herself, the response to Catherine?

9.Marlene as dependent, as assertive? In a relationship with Catherine? The relationship of the women? The restaurant, the truth and the embrace?

10.The truth, their each seeing each other? Bernard as more innocent? Catherine as awakening? Marlene and her change?

11.The perspective of women, the director, the central cast, the supporting cast? A feminine perspective on life?

THIS IS MY LIFE

US, 1992, 105 minutes, Colour.
Julie Kavner, Samantha Mathis, Gaby Hoffmann, Carrie Fisher, Dan Aykroyd, Caroline Aaron, Kathy Najimy.
Directed by Norah Ephron.

A quite engaging comedy about a stand-up comic and her coping with her two daughters and her career. It was written by Nora Ephron whose previous credits included Silkwood (screenplay) and the autobiographical Heartburn. She next made Sleepless in Seattle.

The film is full of Jewish humour and jokes that travel quite well. Julie Kavner, now best known for voicing Marge Simpson for so many years, is excellent as the mother as is Samantha Mathis as the moody teenage daughter. The film is both cheerful and thoughtful.

1.The show business world? Stand-up comedians and their struggles? The intercutting with ordinary life of mothers, children and families?

2.The title, the reference to Dottie, to her two daughters, Erica and Opal?

3.The New York settings, the use of the city landscapes? The contrast with Los Angeles? The Carly Simon score?

4.The prologue, Dottie and her makeup, her role as a stand-up comedian, her ambitions?

5.The portrait of the family, the bonds between mother and daughters, support, the father, the aunt and her house, Harriet? The aunt’s death – shopping, and the alarms going off with the tag on the dress she was trying on?

6.The reading of the will, Dottie being left the apartment, the possibilities of a new life for mother and daughters?

7.The comedy clubs, Dottie’s friends, Claudia, Angela? Mia and Ted?

8.Claudia and Arnold Moss, the agent, getting her jobs, going to Los Angeles, her success, the humour of her jokes, on television, the advertisement?

9.The contrast with the children at home, the babysitters, the concert, T.S. Eliot? Jordan and his attraction towards Erica? Las Vegas? The relationships and the wrong guesses? Listening in? The confrontation?

10.Albany, the father, Martha and her background?

11.Dottie’s return, the hopes for the family?

12.A portrait which is particularly American, American families, women and their lives, their work, performance? The effect on children, their growing up, relationships, self-esteem?

JAPON

Mexico, 2002, 130 minutes, Colour.
Alejandro Ferretis, Magdalena Flores.
Directed by Carlos Reygadas.

Japon is the first film by celebrated Mexican director Carlos Reygadas. It received great acclaim when first released, it being seen in the tradition of the classic film-makers like Tarkovsky and Bresson. Reygadas also received acclaim in Cannes. His second film, Batalla en el Cielo, was also in competition in Cannes, a very confronting film set in Mexico City. He was also in Cannes in 2007 with the internationally-acclaimed film, Silent Light (Stellet Licht), a film about a remote religious community in Mexico and the interactions.

Japon – the title may be a reference to hara-kiri because the central character, a painter from the city, comes to a remote village in order to commit suicide – is something of a meditation, reflection on the meaning of life and death. The painter gets a lift into the village, stays with a seventy-nine-year-old woman whose name is Acens, referring to the ascension of Jesus. In his life in the village, the painter begins to appreciate Nature – although he sees it in its cruelty as well as in its beauty, has a sexual encounter with the woman which is symbolic (as in Batalla en el Cielo) of people coming to life sensually.

Finally, in a seven-minute shot with a circulating camera, Reygadas brings us to the realisation that the man has discovered that there can be some meaning in life and that he should continue living. The film won many awards including the ecumenical prize in Bratislava 2002.

1.The impact of the film? A cinema essay? Cinema poem? The critical acclaim? A film from Mexico? Style, issues?

2.The title, a state of mind, hara-kiri and suicide?

3.The quality of the camerawork, the special flair, especially at the end?

4.The musical score, the classics, the use of Avo Part? The songs?

5.Mexico, the countryside, the road, the mountains, the village and its isolation? Poverty?

6.The man, in himself, his age, the background of his being a painter, his walking-stick, the nature of his journey? Suicide and his motivations? The canyon, the hunters and the guns? The lift? The advice of where to live? Acen and her welcome? Drinking with the men, the nephew and his plot? Life in the village?

7.The transformation of the man, the role of children, the pigs and their scream of death, the horses and their mating, the bird and the decapitation?

8.Acen, her age, dignity, the wise woman? The sensual encounter and its realism or symbolism?

9.The final shot? The nature of the man’s journey, rediscovering Nature, rediscovering his feelings and sensuality? The various types? The stone, the new journey, Acen and her contribution, the accident, death?

10.An existential portrait of human nature.

SPY CAMERA

Spy Camera is a Korean variation and an unpdate of Dostoievski's Crime and Punishment, a story that has inspired many films and adaptations. It is set in a present where surveillance is all important.

1.A young Korean director? Style and content?

2.The title, use? Surveillance, espionage, personal spying? The confession?

3.The photography, high-definition video, exteriors, interiors? Memories? Use of the digital style?

4.Crime and punishment, reading it, acting it out, identifying with it, reflection? Kang and the crime? Raskolnikov? The police as Sonya? The chief? Dostoyevsky, issues of crime, justice and God?

5.The information at the end? The linear aspect of the film? Spying, the two years, the police, the communists? Information, the trial, hiding? Death?

6.The room and its confines, the corridor, the peephole? The effect – and no exit? Getting out, the suit, bashing? The end and the countryside – yet no exit?

7.Boredom and angst, for each of the characters? Idle, eating, games, the heat? Singing and drinking? The role of the girl?

8.The janitors listening in, the sexual aspects, the man and his being tormented, the girl and her behaviour, participation, raped? The memories?

9.The police, age? Divorce and reason, homophobia? Eating, the phone, the camera, the clashes, the intruders, the rape?

10.Kang, young, filming the room, reading, acting out, arguing, drinking, the girl getting out, the suit, the bashing? The return?

11.The picture of the janitors and their role?

12.The girl, her background, experience, victim?

13.The chief, the promotions?

14.The trip, the talk on the way, the woods, the end and the camera?

15.Themes of individuals, conscience? State, fascism, the imposition of terror?

PALJAS

South Africa, 1998, 119 minutes, Colour.
Marius Weyers, Aletta Bezuidenhout, Liezel van der Merwe, Larry Leyden, Jan Ellis, Ian Roberts.
Directed by Katinka Heyns.

Paljas is an excellent film, emerging from post-apartheid South Africa. However, its story is set in the 1960s, in a remote interior desert town where the railway passes through. Marius Weyers portrays the patriarch of the family working on the railways.

The film creates the atmosphere of the town in great detail as well as the family and its interactions. Things seem to be fairly stagnant. However, a circus loses its way and the clown is left behind in the town. As in films like Teorema, High Plains Drifter, a stranger comes into the town and changes the atmosphere, interacts with the different characters and transforms their lives. In Paljas, the clown figure bears a resemblance to short films like the 1964 Parable where the clown can be seen as a Christ figure. With the religious atmosphere of the Afrikaaners and the Dutch Reform Church in the town, this is appropriate.

Paljas is a word that could be translated as enchantment. Director Katinka Heyns made very few films. Chris Barnard, the writer, also wrote Fiela’s Child, another story about apartheid and a white foundling being brought up in an African family. Katinka Heyns also directed this film.

1.Films from South Africa? Post-apartheid? The re-creation of a period, place? Mentality?

2.The location photography, the town, the desert, the railway, homes, the animals, the ostrich?

3.The musical score, atmosphere of love, the theme of one day, the records?

4.The perspective of the 1990s, the black perspective, the Afrikaaners’ perspective, the church perspective? An assessment of the 1960s?

5.The title, its meaning of enchantment, magic and transformation? The clown?

6.The Mac Donald family, Hendrik as the patriarch, his wife, son and daughter? His career? In the town, waking up each day to work for the railways, his family, the alienation of his wife? His daughter? The mute boy? The details of ordinary life? The house, school, office?

7.The tension at home, Hendrik’s wife, Frans, the visits, the gossip? Gill and Nollie? Running, the bike, the clash? The boy and his refusal to talk, signing?

8.The circus in town, the oddity of this, the sexual action, the clown, reaction? The lions, the animals? Leaving?

9.The clown, his appearance, staying in the town? In himself, the mask? The bond with people, the boy? The magic painting? Staying, drawing? His costume? Playing games? The effect of his presence, speaking? The name? The father and the tricks, the delight?

10.The townspeople and their suspicions, the drawings? Accusations of witchcraft? Gossip? The leaders and their reaction, the visit of the Reverend Lynch?

11.The picture of the African church, the leader, the people, religious spirit? Judgmental?

12.The people and their suspicions, the clown in the church, his being ejected, the pursuit? Willie, the shooting?

13.The clown not dying, the comic style, getting better, changing the family? The clown’s departure – and leaving behind hope?

14.Going to the party, spattered? Home, talk? The visits? Heaven?

15.Hendrik and his being obtuse, having to face the facts, his wife and Frans? Lying down, speaking, changing?

16.The girl and Nollie, the support, the bath, the dance?

17.The boy, assertive, overcoming the trauma?

18.The clown, the tradition of clowns, entertaining, mute and miming? Jokes? Yet transforming? Appropriate to see the clown as a Christ figure?

CAKE

US, 2005, 95 minutes, Colour.
Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe, Taye Diggs, Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines, Bruce Gray, Sarah Chalke.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra.

Cake is a vehicle for Heather Graham as a comedian. Appearing in many films she ranges from drama to comedy (Roller Boogie, Austin Powers, From Hell, The Guru). Here she plays a young woman, free-spirited, a travel writer alienated from her father who decides to help him with a magazine as he has fallen ill. The magazine, Cake, is for readers who love weddings (in the Twenty- Seven Dresses vein).

Needless to say she has a single-minded boss (David Sutcliffe), a charming photographer (Taye Diggs) and some ironic friends (Sandra Oh, Cheryl Hines).

While the film is sceptical about this kind of magazine at the beginning, we enter with Heather Graham and her endeavours to make the magazine a success – and are led down the aisle all the way in a romantic comedy with sentiment.

1.The popularity of this kind of romantic comedy? From irony to sentiment? The target audience?

2.The title, wedding bells, the magazine Cake, the focus on weddings and the readership for this kind of magazine?

3.The presentation of an affluent world (the world of soap opera and television)? World travel, glossy magazines, social weddings?

4.Heather Graham as Pippa, her comic style, the background of her life, alienation from her father, her mother’s death, her mother’s magazine? Eight years away, not believing in marriage, casual in relationships? Being supported by her friends, especially Lulu? Her hurrying to the wedding? Her father’s illness, going to meet him, a reconciliation, offering of help, having to work in the magazine?

5.Pippa at work, the encounter with Ian, his charm? Discovering that he was the boss? His relationship to her father? Her relating to him, the strictness in the job?

6.Hemingway Jones, Taye Diggs’s charm, smile, the photographer? His work? Talking and bonding with Pippa? Romance?

7.Her attempts to improve the magazine, subjects, photos, interviews, layout? Ian and his reaction? A sense of failure? And success?

8.The ironies of the basic premise of the film and its opening? Its changing to popular and lush happy endings?

9.The delineation of the characters, Pippa’s friends, their stances, humour?

10.An easygoing romantic comedy?

SEXY BEAST

UK, 2000, 89 minutes, Colour.
Ray Winston, Ben Kingsley, Ian Mc Shane, Amanda Redman, James Fox.
Directed by Jonathan Glazer.

An unlikely title for a British gangster movie. Also an unlikely title for its star, the stocky and not particularly sexy Ray Winstone, who in many movies seems a touch like a beast. But this is a well-made, very tough dramatic thriller, the retired gangster (living in luxury in Spain) being pressurised by a really monstrous beast of a gangster, played with diabolical menace by Ben Kingsley. The menacing gangster in London is Ian Mc Shane, doing deals with James Fox. The cast is top-notch and the sense of menace well-sustained, especially the robbery in London and its sinister aftermath. Practically everyone in the film is unpleasant, but the film provides a strangely fascinating glimpse into the criminal world.

1.The proliferation of UK gangster films in the 90s and early 21st century? Gangster thrillers, stories? Stories of actual gangsters? Retired gangsters? The memories of their jobs? London? Themes of violence and vengeance?

2.The title, the focus on Gal, the opening, sunbaking, the villa, his relationship with his wife, the luxury life, going to the restaurants, hunting and relaxing? His friendship with Enrique? The moral perspective and judgment on him as a former criminal?

3.Deedee and his relationship with her, her background, film industry, their two friends and their visits, talking, relaxing? The situation with the phone, the warning, Don Logan and his creating fear? Plans?

4.Ben Kingsley as Don Logan, his arrival, his personality, quirks and idiosyncrasies? Manner of speaking, getting distracted yet single-minded? The story – and the flashbacks with his conversation about the job, the interview, his repeating answers, his manner? The explanation to Gal? The background and flashbacks to Eddie, to Harry, the vault, the contents, the plan?

5.Gal and his refusal, the dynamics of the conversation with Don, Don and his sense of menace, looking around the villa? The drink? The others going away, Don and Gal by themselves, the pool? The violence and Gal agreeing?

6.Don, his getting on the plane, the cigarette, creating the fuss, being put out, his accusing the attendants of harassment, being gay? The authorities, his return to Spain? His stances, tough, the boy and his gun, hitting him, hitting Gal? Deedee and the gun, her shooting Don? Not showing this immediately – but in the flashbacks and Gal’s memory?

7.Gal and his dreams, the cavern, the monster, Don? The recurring dream at the end?

8.Gal going to London, meeting the crew, discussions with Eddie, his lying to Eddie about Don’s phone call? Eating, the plan, the team, raucous behaviour in the pub, the details of the robbery, underwater, the drilling? The success, the risks? The celebration?

9.Eddie and his sense of menace, giving Gal the lift to the airport, talking, the truth, going to Harry’s place, Harry’s surprise, Eddie killing him, dropping Gal at the airport?

10.Gal’s return, to a life of ease, yet the underlying menace of the dreams? A different kind of gangster story yet with many familiar ingredients? Where did sympathies lie?

KONTROL

Hungary, 2003, 105 minutes, Colour.
Sandor Csanyi, Csaba Pindroch, Zsolt Nagy.
Directed by Nimrod Antal.

Kontrol is an accomplished piece of film-making. Director Nimrod Antal was born in Los Angeles but went to Hungary in the 1990s. After the success of Kontrol he returned to the United States and made the horror film, Vacancy with Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson.

This film is set completely in the Budapest Underground. It begins with a rather po-faced explanation by an official of the Underground that the director was a friend of his and that he was not intending to cast aspersions on the inspectors on the Underground.

The film is very humorous at times, some excellent comic performances and incidental touches. It also has the touches of the horror film, especially with a cloaked individual who pushes people under the oncoming trains. It is also a personal drama, a microcosm of Hungary as well as of the world with the range of characters who work in the Underground, especially the various teams of inspectors. The film focuses on one group led by Bulcsu whom we find living solely in the Underground but who meets a professor and reveals that he had a past in science but had given it all up, not wanting to compete every day and to live in the Underground. At times, we see Bulcsu’s dreams and wonder, especially whether he is the cloaked figure who pushes the people under the trains. There is also a touch of romance with an eccentric young woman in a bear suit who turns out to be the daughter of a former train driver.

While the film shows the eccentricities of the subway inspectors, it shows the bad manners, aggressive attitudes and downright swindles from so many of the public. The film was awarded a great number of prizes including an ecumenical prize.

1.The blend of drama, horror, comedy, the absurd?

2.The prologue, the serious-faced official, the irony?

3.The Underground, the stations, platforms, tracks, the escalators, the offices? The audience immersed in the world of the Underground? The score?

4.The inspectors and their types, training or not for the job, the individuals? Bulcsu and his leadership? The new young man who was rather dopey? The old hand who taunted the others and yet was fatherly? The aggressive controller with the emphasis on sex and harassment? The narcoleptic and his bad eating habits? His violent outbursts? The other gangs, the rivalries? The bosses at different levels? The drivers?

5.The inspectors at work, their armbands, the new uniforms for the special group? Their manner, their manners? The exaggerated situations, the comic style? The various types and their reactions? The snarling and barking dog? The people refusing to pay for tickets? The gay man and his butch attitudes? The stammering man? The sexy woman? The Asians and their misunderstanding and taking photographs? The man on the platform and his insulting remarks? The sprayer, the various chases along the platforms and escalators? The microcosm of types and attitudes?

6.The group and their special work, the narcoleptic and his breakfast, the fatherly figure and his cigarettes, the young man and his inexperience, being sprayed? Hitting the pillars as he ran?

7.Bulcsu and his life at the station, sleeping there, the passenger and his taunts, his work, his relationships, his not having a hope? Being fascinated by the girl in the bear suit? Later, the meetings, her father being his friend the ex-driver, her inviting him to the dance? The rivalry, the leader of the other group, running the tracks and its danger? His discussions and sandwich with the old ex-driver? The meeting with the professor (not having a ticket) and talking about his past life, his work in the laboratories, the reasons for his changing his life? His dreams, his images, the bear? The tunnel, being pursued by the killer or not? The chase, his winning the final run? The killer and his pushing the sprayer into the train? The television screens? The interrogation, his leaving the job, his future?

8.The girl, the bear, her eccentricity, on the train, with her father, taking Bulcsu to the dance?

9.The sprayer, his daring people, getting on and off the train, the chases, the suddenness of his death?

10.The killer, the woman at the beginning and her shoe, his pushing the man under the train, pushing the sprayer? The statistics of the deaths? Weather it was Bulcsu or not? His alter-ego or not?

11.The film’s attention to detail, of the characters, their idiosyncrasies, the passengers?

12.The horror touches with the killer?

13.A Hungarian human comedy with universal appeal?

CABIN FEVER

US, 2002, 93 minutes, Colour.
Ryder Strong, Jordan Ladd, James De Bello, Cerina Vincent, Joey Kern.
Directed by Eli Roth.

Cabin Fever was the first feature film by German-born Eli Roth who soon came under the patronage of Quentin Tarantino and made the two Hostel films. He was both praised and roundly condemned for contributing to what is called ‘torture porn’.

This is a familiar story: a group of graduates go out into the countryside for a week, staying in a cabin. They encounter some strange locals, especially a young boy (who looks like a girl) who does martial arts moves and bites people. They also find a man infected by some form of virus in the woods.

The characters are the usual types – uninteresting to meet in real life, preoccupied with sex, crass in their language and sensibilities. Some of them exhibit a little heroism – the girls rather than the boys. James De Bello plays Burt, who is a repellent character.

There are some serious moments and atmosphere of horror at times. At times the film seems to be trying to be funny – or ludicrous. Some of the behaviour of the characters who wander in and out, especially the young party-preoccupied policeman and some of the locals make little sense.

1.The film’s of Eli Roth? Horror? Torment and torture?

2.The setting, the countryside, the river, the dam, the woods? The small town? The surrounding homes? The cabin? Authentic atmosphere?

3.The opening, the introduction to the group, their backgrounds, friendships from the past? Sexual relationships? Plans and hopes? Burt as the extra, his brutality and crassness? Travelling, going to the shop, experiencing the racism – and the audience seeing the old man who sounded racist playing with a black band at the end? The encounter with Dennis and his biting Paul’s hand? The reaction of his father? The stealing of the bar by Burt? The bad impression? Their arriving at the campsite, the cabin? Their behaviour, their talk (and sex-preoccupied)? The campfire and telling the stories? The horror stories? The visit from the outsider, wary, his saying he had pot? Their inviting him in?

4.Burt, his crassness, going out to shoot, the encounter with the man, his fears, shooting him, the man asking for help, Burt refusing? The man appearing at the door, the group getting a fright, their reactions, a reaction to help, their fears, urging him away, his taking the van? Their shooting? The blood? Taunting him with the fire, his being burnt to death? The irony of his body near the dam, contaminating the water?

5.The reactions, Karen and her getting sick, Paul looking after her, the question of what to do? Her eventually being quarantined, her death, the dog mauling her?

6.Burt, his fear, taking the truck, his being pursued by the characters from the town? His death?

7.Jeff, his fears, helping at first, trying to get help, discovering that the man who was burnt was a cousin of the woman they went to get help from? His running away – and his return, triumphing that he had survived, his being shot by the police?

8.Marcy, relationship with Jeff, her looking after Karen, going to try to find help? Her being infected, the sexual behaviour with Paul? Her death?

9.Paul, the seeming hero of the plot? His relationship with Karen? With the others? Taking some leadership? His going to the town, his being caught looking in the window and warned off? The encounter with Winston, the discussions, the partying? Winston promising to bring the tow-truck? Paul and his having to deal with the deaths? His being covered with blood, his being taken to the hospital, interrogated? (And surviving for a 2008 sequel?)

10.Winston, the police, partying, drugs? The group? Paul coming to them, their fear? Winston and his violence?

11.The townspeople, their reactions, friendly, hostile? The finale with the band playing?