LES COWBOYS

France, 2015, 104 minutes, Colour.
François Damiens, Finnigan Oldfield, Agatha Dronne, Ellora Torchia, John C.Reilly..
Directed by Thomas Bidegain.

This film opens in rural France in the mid-1990s, at a Festival in a town re-creating the American West, rodeos and riding, American songs like The Tennessee Waltz. However, Eric, François Damiens, the central character discovers that his daughter is missing. Thus begins a desperate search.

Eric involves his teenage son in the search which takes them across France and Belgium, the discovery that the missing girl was involved with a local Muslim young man and has probably moved with him. Clues indicate Belgium but further clues, especially after September 11, 2001 that she might have gone to the Middle East or further.

The father is obsessed, leaving his wife whom he suspects of having an affair, involving his son – only for him to collapse and die.

The second part of the film is the son’s search for his sister, taking him to Pakistan, tracking down the young man, accompanied by an American, John C. Reilly, traces of his sister, finding a young woman who can give him some information. After confronting the brother and his being killed, the son is imprisoned, as is the young woman who is accused of collaborating. With the visit of a French official, the two are released, return to France, and marry.

There is a final development where the son traces his sister back to Belgium and encounters her, she not saying anything but indicating that this is the life that she has opted for.

A very well-made and interesting challenging drama about 21st century French situations, the Muslim presence, the echoes of terrorism, and choices being made.

1. The title? The tone? The American tradition in France? The transition of tone to Belgium and to Pakistan?

2. The French settings, the town, the celebrations, memories of the American West? The contrast with the Middle East presence in France? Prejudices? Travelling through France, into Belgium? The contrast with the scenes in Pakistan, the countryside, the deserts, the villages? The musical score?

3. The opening, the family, Alain, his family, Kid, his wife? Being invited to sing, the Tennessee Waltz? The happy atmosphere of the celebration? Overtones of the American West? The mid-1990s?

4. The disappearance of Kelly? The beginning of the story parallel to The Searchers? The effect on Alain, on his wife, and his son? Going to the authorities? Personal searches throughout the town, contacting friends, information, her not being seen? Wanting motivation for her disappearance?

5. The character of Alain, his growing obsession, everything given to the search for his daughter? The effect on his wife, her relationships? Taking his son with him? Interviewing people, Ahmed and his family in the town, news of Kelly’s association with him? Sightings, information, going to Antwerp?

6. The effect on Alain, his return, energy, his death?

7. The son, his age, growing up over the years, the news of 9/11? Terrorism? War in Afghanistan? The role of Pakistan?

8. The son leaving home, the reaction of his mother? His going to Pakistan? His journey, his identity, as a Frenchman in Pakistan? The contacts? The dangers?

9. The American, his enigmatic presence, taking on the son, travel and dangers, leaving him, the dangers? The boy in prison, the American ignoring him?

10. The clues, finding Shazana, with Ahmed? News of Kelly? Kid and his encounter with Ahmed? Death? The arrest, the imprisonment, the authorities, the American coming and leaving? Kid and his sense of abandonment? Sahzana being imprisoned? Being blamed?

11. The French diplomat, Kid getting out, demanding Shahzana presence?

12. The return home, his mother, time passing, the relationship with Shahzana, his son?

13. The visit to Antwerp, going to the shop, seeing Kelly, no words exchanged? Kelly and her opting for the Islamic life?

14. The screenplay leaving all the enigmas for the audience to reflect on? In the light of 20th century history? The beginning of the 21st-century, terrorism?

NOBODY FROM NOWHERE/ UN ILLUSTRE INCONNU

France, 2014, 118 minutes, Colour.
Mathieu Kassovitz, Marie- Jose Croze, Eric Caravaca, Diego Le Martret, Siobhan Finneran, Philippe Duclos.
Directed by Matthieu Teleport.

Here is a very interesting film with a strong French title but a witty and clever English adaptation title.

French actor-director, Mathieu Kassovitz, who has built up a reputation in both areas, plays Sebastien, a middle-aged real estate agent, living alone, very organised and efficient, who is seen setting up a suicide scenario, writing a note, causing the gas explosion destroying his apartment. The film then goes into flashback mode.

The film builds up his character, his discussions with a priest about himself and his lack of faith, later going to see the priest again to discuss his life. While we see him at work, the audience discovers that he is observant of characters, takes on their identities, not only with make up and wigs, but also studying posture, walking manner, voice intonations. He does various experiments until he is asked by the personal assistant of a violinist who has experienced an accident with his fingers to find him accommodation.

He is intrigued by the violinist and his curt manner, decides to take on his identity, reinforced when he finds the man has hanged himself. This gives him the opportunity to recreate the violinist life, his relationship with a woman with whom he had an affair and the son whom he had not known.

The twist in the middle of the film is that after the violinist has hanged himself, Sebastien then creates the suicide situation to give the impression that he has been killed while he is getting rid of the violinist body. However, police and detectives continue their pursuit. While Sebastien enjoys impersonating the violinist and making his life for the better, especially encouraging the son and his violin playing, he also has a sense of justice and decides to hand himself over to the police.

The acting is a tour de force for Mathieu Kassovitz who takes on both roles.

1. The title? Strong drama? Allegory?

2. The French city, homes, streets, offices? The church? Luxury accommodation? The countryside? Atmosphere? Score?

3. The introduction to Sebastien, his apartment, preparing the suicide, writing the note? The flashback to lead up to the suicide? The twist in the plot? The return to this scene and the subsequent action?

4. Sebastien, his age, single, hard work, tidy and thorough, his relationship with his family, his mother? Commenting about his being a non-practising Catholic? The talk with the priest at the funeral, later going to him for advice? His image of himself? His later going to the funeral and the significance of the priest’s eulogy and description of him?

5. His work, real estate, showing clients apartments? The encounters, his noting speech and ways of moving, walking? His own identity, then applying the make up, transforming himself, studying people, their manner, their voice? Going to the situations? Assuming the person, voice and posture?

6. The effect on the audience, trying to understand his character?

7. His contacts, his work in the firm, the company, at the office, his reputation?

8. The violinist, his assistant, her interviewing him, the specifics of her request? Henri and his secret? His going to see, the meeting, the violinist’s intolerance, his attitudes, his liking Sebastien, accepting him?

9. Henri, his career, the violin, love of music, from childhood, training, playing with his back to the audience, engrossed in his music, spurning others? His life, fears? Not knowing about his son? The accident, the loss of his fingers? Retiring? His crotchety manner and impatience? Going to the city, then wanting to change, the prospect of going to Spain? The meetings with Sebastien, Sebastien knowing about his life, the detail, the mother with her child? Hearing on his attitude towards his assistant and humiliating her?

10. His decision to become Henri, in his house, studying him, learning, the dangers, getting out in time, the woman and her son, creating Henri’s life, changing his life? Finding Henri hanging, hiding the body? In his car, getting rid of the body, the setting up of the explosion in Sebastien’s apartment? People assuming that it was Sebastien dead? The note?

11. Sebastien in his new life, having made friends with the woman, with her son, breaking the hostility, the outings, the bonding, affection, Sebastien as a new person? The new Henri?

12. The visit of the detective, the interviews, the list of phone calls, the explanations? The police and their suspicions?

13. The boy, his recital, his mother’s happiness? Henri’s happiness? The letter to his son, reading?

14. Sebastien attending his own funeral, the reactions of his family?

15. The police, Sebastien making a decision about his responsibility, giving himself up, justice, paying the price, going to prison?

16. An exploration of identity, of personality, of life and existence?

THE BYE BYE MAN

US, 2017, 97 minutes, Colour.
Douglas Smith, Lucien Laviscount, Cressida Bonas, Doug Jones, Michael Trucco, Jenna Kanell, Erica Tremblay, Faye Dunaway, Cleo King, Carrie- Anne Moss, Leigh Whannell.
Directed by Stacy Title.

Here is another haunted house story. The film opens rather dramatically, a contrast between the picture poster sunlit house and the deranged actions of a man with a rifle, attacking his family, wanting to know whether they heard the name of the creature taunting him. There is a later explanation of him – and an interview with his wife (who is played by Faye Dunaway).

Three friends move into the house, a couple and their close friend. Initially all goes well but another friend has a sense of dread and they have seance meetings which, after some scepticism by the men, has an eerie repercussions. When one of the students finds the name of The Bye Bye Man and a drawer with “don’t say it, don’t think it�, which the mad killer repeated at the beginning, there are various noises in the house, suspicions, the basement, and some hallucinations.

When the medium friend is killed and the student and suspected of killing her, there is a Detective Inspector (Carrie- Anne Moss) who wants to get to the bottom of what has been going on. The three central characters are killed – and the film ending with the Detective trying to get the name of the killer, which will have dire results (or, perhaps, a sequel).

The film was directed by Stacy title who has not made many films that made the distinctive black comedy in 1995, The Last Supper.

1. Impact as a horror film? Haunted house? Ghostly presence? Sinister character? Grim killings?

2. The university town, the opening with the suburban house, the demented man, his chanting, the rifle, shooting, the victims?

3. The transition to the university, the house, exterior, interiors, the basement and the furniture, the large bedroom? The atmosphere for the hauntings? The musical score?

4. The title, the implications of farewell and death? The incantation, Don’t Say It, Don’t Think It? The killer using it as a mantra, the rapidity, repetition? Elliott finding the title in the drawer as well as the incantation? The final visualising of the Bye Bye Man? Monster?

5. The focus on Elliott, John and Sasha? Students? Friends? Renting the house, empty, finding the furniture, Sasha redecorating, their settling in? The welcoming party?

6. Kim, at the party, her psychic powers? Sasha and her hearing noises? Wary? The men sceptical? Kim and sitting at the table, psychic power, the men’s criticism, her knowing what Elliott had hidden? Her fears? The later appearance, psychic powers? Her fear of the Bye Bye Man? Her death?

7. The saying of the mantra? The monster taking possession of the person uttering the name? The care in not saying the name to others? The consequences?

8. Elliott and Sasha, the relationship? The hallucinations, the impact of the train in the tunnel? Their standing naked on the rail line? Elliott and his fears of Sasha with John? John and his apprehensions? Sasha and the sounds in the house?

9. Elliott, going to the library, the research, the information about the journalists, his killing spree? Elliott going to visit his wife? Her story about what had happened?

10. The atmosphere of fear, tension? Amongst the three? The hallucinations and their misunderstanding of each other? Suspicions?

11. The woman at the library, having more information, phoning, her knowing the name, her death?

12. Elliott and Kim in the car, the fears, Elliott with the hammer, chasing him, her death? The arrival of the investigators? The stern attitude towards Elliott? Interviews?

13. The appearance of the Bye Bye Man, the deaths of the three?

14. The investigator, her insisting on knowing what was happening, the name of the assailant? Her hearing the name – and the film ending? Her future?

THE FLEMISH FARM

UK, 1943, 82 minutes, Black-and-white.
Clive Brook, Clifford Evans, Jane Baxter, Phillip Friend, Brefni O' Rorke, Wylie Watson, Ronald Squire, Mary Jerrold.
Directed by Jeffrey Dell.

A major war effort for the British was to make films which would not only entertain audiences but stir them with patriotism and concern for troops, the action of the war. This was shown in the British film, Their Finest, showing the making of a film about Dunkirk.

During the 1950s there were many films about the war, re-creating all kinds of war action, prisoner of war camps, espionage. Later there were some more epic adventures including The Great Escape and The Eagle has Landed. In the 21st-century there are a number of films about Churchill and his war activities and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.

This film is part of this pattern, focusing on the experience of the Belgians, the German invasion, the burying of the flag, a quest to recover the flag and the heroism of the soldier in doing so, going to the Flemish farm, digging up the flag with the widow of his friend killed in action, the presence of the Germans, a narrow escape.

The film is to be seen in the light of the war effort in the cinema and in the light of the outcome of the war which was so uncertain the time of the film is making.

1. The film made in 1942, the early years of World War II, the experience of Hitler’s invasion of Belgium, the occupation, patriotism and resistance, sabotage and the killing of hostages? The propaganda film for 1943 and the uncertainties of war and its outcome?

2. The Belgian settings, the town, resistance headquarters, farms in the countryside? England, war offices? The musical score – by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and his reputation?

3. Black-and-white photography, the atmosphere of the times, tensions in Belgium, Post Battle of Britain England?

4. The situation in Belgium, the occupation, the officer commanding and the removal of the aircraft, their being bombed and destroyed? The personnel and their having to go to England? The local leader, his Jewish background, coordinating efforts, helping with travel permits? The murder of a local supporter? His decision to sacrifice himself so that others would not be killed?

5. The situation at the headquarters, Duclos and his position, the burying of the flag at sea, the absence of Matagne? Duclos being critical? Assuming the worst – Montagne’s absence with the woman, their later encounter, Montagne’s explanation, his wife, and the separate burial place for the flag at the farm? Their reconciliation, the plan to recover the flag? The news of Mantagne’s death?

6. Duclos and his return to Belgium, his disguise, help locally, the decision to get the flag? The dangers? His disguise, documents, getting through the lines? The encounter with Mantagne’s news wife, her anger at the news of his death? The later changing? The old man at the farm, Duclos helping him with the engine? The cover?

7. Out on the farm, the digging up of the flag, the Germans, the wife explaining that it was the chasing of a cow, Duclos using the same cover?

8. The visit to Brussels, his mother coming to meet him, their talking on the park bench? The pathos?

9. The wife transporting Duclos to the railway station, the search, the flag underneath the baby?

10. The continued dangers, German searches, 600 km away from Belgium, the man helping him to get across the line, the dog with the flag being shot, Duclos going back, his being shot at, reaching for the dog, recovering the flag? Getting back to England?

11. Patriotism, the importance of the flag, the symbol? The final parade, the British congratulations – and the humorous touch with the official saying that Duclos must have been an ordinary citizen and then recognising who he was?

12. Seeing this film in the retrospect of the experience and history of World War II?

BACIAMI ANCORA/KISS ME AGAIN

Italy, 2010, 140 minutes, Colour.
Stefano Accorsi, Vittoria Puccini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Claudio Santamaria, Giorgio Pasotti, Sabrina Impacciatore, Marco Cocci, Daniela Piazza, Primo Giannini, Adriano Giannini, Valeria Tedeschi- Bruni.
Directed by Gabriele Muccini.

In 2001, Gabriele Muccini made the ensemble film, The Last Kiss, focusing on a cross-section of middle-class Italian society, their lives, relationships, infidelities and infidelities, love, reconciliation. It was remade in the US as The Last Kiss by Zach Braff.

The action of this film takes place nine years later, with most of the original cast assembling again to reprise their roles.

This time, the focus is on middle age, the experiences of marriage, falling out of love, affairs, separation, prospects of divorce, the repercussions on children. There is also the character who returns from Latin America, who walked out on his wife and young child nine years earlier and has spent some time in prison for drug dealing. His wife has taken up with his friend who has mental problems and later kills himself. There is also the almost stereotypical Italian husband enraged by his wife’s affair, violent threats, discovering he has a low sperm count which accounts for their failure in conceiving – with his wife, going off with an artist who rejects her when he discovers she is pregnant and she returns to her husband with hopes for bonding with a child.

While the focus is on the adults, there are a number of children also to be considered, the repercussions of an absent father wanting to make contact again, parents going through separation and divorce proceedings but finding that they love each other and reuniting.

Muccini then went to the United States after The Last Kiss and made two films with Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happiness and Seven Pounds. He also made Fathers & Daughters with Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried.
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1. The sequel to the 2001 film? As a sequel, a stand-alone film? An Italian story, men and women in middle age, relationships, fidelity and infidelity, reconciliation?

2. Audiences familiar with the characters, from 10 years earlier? Change of age? The cast and many remaining? The follow up to their situations?

3. The title, relationships, marriage, divorce, affairs, pregnancy, hopes and reconciliations?

4. Carlo, with his wife, their child, the separation, preparing for the divorce? Love, antagonism? Affairs and betrayals? Mutual blame? Carlo and Anna? Giulia and Simone? The interactions? Carlo and Giulia, love, hurt, the sexual episode, the pregnancy, possibilities? Carlo and his breaking with Anna, her leaving? Giulia leaving Simone? The effect on him, his being a father figure, his acting career?

5. Adriano, going to Colombia, drug dealing, his arrest, walking out on his wife and infant son, in prison? His age, return, glimpsing his son, the interactions with his wife, her relationship with Paolo? Paolo and his mental health, his mother helping him, medications, not taking them? Adriano’s son not wanting to see his father? Changing his mind, the information about the animals, the visit to the zoo, the boy leaving? The tensions? Paolo and his suicide? The funeral? The impact of the death? Adriano and his meeting someone else?

6. Adriano and Adele, their chance meeting, the children, their bonding, communication, the future together?

7. Marco, in himself, age, work, the tensions with his wife, her being attracted by Lorenzo, beginning the affair, leaving? Marco, his rage, violence, threats, discussions with his friends? Livia and her pregnancy? Lorenzo and his ousting her? The issue of pregnancy, Marco and the doctor, the low sperm count? Livia, upset, her return, the news of the pregnancy, making up, the child and the future?

8. Alberto, friendship, support, the lesser character, his leaving at the end?

9. The portrait of the children, Sveva and her parents, Adriano and his son?

10. A cross-section of comfortable Italians, middle-class, in the 21st-century, attitudes and relationships?

SINISTER 2

US, 2017, 97 minutes, Colour.
James Ransone, Shannon Sossamon, Robert Daniel Sloan, Dartanian Sloan, John Beasley.
Directed by Ciaran Foy.

Sinister was a very effective horror film, focusing on an author and his research, his family setting into a new home, the gradual influence of an ancient demonic figure, a university professor giving information, but a climax where one of the children kills the parents and films it.

Sinister 2 is rather different. It lacks the focused intensity of the first film. There is continuity in the central character being the Deputy on the first case, James Ransone. The theme of the killer children and their filming the deaths becomes one of the main features of this sequel.

There are many nightmare sequences, especially in opening with three people on crosses and their being burnt to death – later revealed as the killing of a family, along with quite a number of films of such murders, with the ghostly children continuing to haunt.

At the opening of the film, the Deputy goes to a very sympathetic priest in the confessional, even though he is not a Catholic, discussing the nature of evil, the priest talking about the importance of protection from evil and urging the deputy not to continue with his case. The deputy has been burning down houses where the killings have taken place. He researches another house and goes to burn it down only to find that a mother and her twin sons, fleeing an abusive husband, are in residence.

The film focuses on the twins, a good twin, a bad twin. The good twin has been chosen by the ghostly children to participate in the killing of his family, showing him the various films, assuring him that his nightmares, which are very vivid, will cease. His twin brother is jealous, wanting to be chosen. The situation builds up to a presence of the demonic monster, instilling fear into the Deputy through his computer researches and ham radio broadcasts, leading to the burning of the old church where murders have taken place and the adjoining mention.

Director Ciaran Foy had made a British horror film, Citadel. Collaborating on this screenplay was Scott Derrickson, director of such films as The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the director of the original Sinister.

1. The title, the links with the first film, the demonic character, the device of the children murdering their parents, hauntings?

2. The rural American setting, the town, offices, University? The contrast with the mansion in the countryside, the interiors of the house, the interior of the old church? The basement? The opening with the church and to the confessional sequence? The musical score?

3. The opening, the Deputy and his anxieties, going to the church, into the confessional, the encounter with the priest? His not being a Catholic but wanting to talk confidentially? Sympathetic priest, the language of the confessional, opening the grill, listening, the discussion about evil, not combating evil but protecting from evil? The priest and his knowledge of the case, warning the Deputy not to become involved?

4. Courtney and the twins, the abuse of Clint, wanting custody, their escaping, going to the house, the murder in the church, Courtney and her restoring of antiques in the church, the boys playing, their rivalries? The sequence in the supermarket, the boys fighting with the toy guns, their having to flee from the supermarket, her husband’s spy?

5. Life in the house, Dylan and his nightmares? The children appearing? Their being the killers from the previous stories? The record, the film clips and the recording of the killings? The opening with the three on the cross and the fire? The further gruesome killings? Dylan being chosen by the children? The boy and his leadership, the other boy, the girl? Taking Dylan down to the basement? His having to watch the films? The promise that he would not have nightmares?

6. Zach, his rivalry with his brother, wanting to be chosen, his rejection by the ghosts, his violence against his brother? Good twin, bad twin? Zach and his defying his mother, being like his father? The confrontation with the ghosts, his being destroyed by fire and his mother and Dylan seeing this?

7. The Deputy, his arrival, checking with the estate agent about the empty house, his burning the houses where the murders took place? His wanting to protect people? His shock of discovering the family had moved in? Courtney and confronting him, thinking he was a private detective for her husband? His explaining himself, invited to stay?

8. The husband’s arrival, the police, the Deputy calling their bluff, their backing off?

9. The Deputy, his computer and research, the demonic symbols, the images? Going to the professor, their discussions? The radio playing? The records of the ham radio broadcasts? Mysterious atmosphere?

10. Dylan, the victim, chosen, his rejecting the ghosts?

11. The buildup to the confrontation, the Deputy with the family, the fire and the destruction of the church, the house? The appearance of the demonic figure?

12. Seemingly at peace – but indications for further work for the Deputy?

FRITZ LANG

Germany, 2016, 104 minutes, Colour.
Heino Ferch, Thomas Thieme, Samuel Finzi, Johanna Gastdorf, Lisa Friederich.
Directed by Gordian Maugg.

Fritz Lang is considered one of the 20th century’s foremost film directors. His films in Germany include Metropolis and M. His films in the United States ranged over many genres, especially dark thrillers and some westerns. He died in 1976 in Hollywood, aged 85.

Lang’s life was also interesting. A Jewish mother who converted to Catholicism. Pioneer in writing and directing films during the 1920s, some silent classics. Goebbels approved of him and in 1933 offered him a leading role in the German film industry. Lang decided to leave Germany and moved to the United States. His wife and collaborator, Thea von Harbou, divorced him and remained in Germany, writing for the Nazi regime. It is said that he was very difficult to work with.

While the title of this film is Fritz Lang, it is a fiction, based on facts but doing speculative interpretations of his character and of his filmmaking.

One of the significant features of the film is that it is filmed in black and white, framed in the traditional box form of the silent era so that the filmmakers are able to incorporate a great deal of actual footage of Berlin and Düsseldorf around 1930, providing an authentic background to the action. This enables them to incorporate footage from some of Lang’s films, especially Metropolis and Woman on the Moon. By the end of the film, it is also in able to incorporate footage from Lang’s first sound film, M, which is the particular subject of this film.

Lang had focused on issues of German mythology as well as on futuristic interpretations of humans and machines. He was wary of silent films but realised he had to move with the times. He was intrigued by some newspaper headlines of a serial killer in the city of Düsseldorf. This film explores his fascination with the crimes and the criminal, going to Düsseldorf, making contact with the police chief and getting permission to go to the crime scenes and eventually interview the killer who has confessed to his wife and is apprehended. (He was executed soon after the release of Lang’s film, M.)

Lang seems to have a morbid interest in the crime and the criminal, going to locations, walking the streets, imagining the state of mind of the killer, the vicious attacks on women, the screenplay seeming to suggest that psychologically he sometimes identifies with the killer. The audience has seen him in relationship to his wife, his sexual activity, flashbacks to his first wife, Lisa, who nursed him after injuries in World War I but who killed herself after discovering his relationship with writer Thea von Harbou. In a film within a film, this episode is dramatised by different actors. Lang was not a particularly nice man at all.

Lang was a genius in his area, reminding the audience that a genius does not necessarily have to be a nice or a good person.

By the end of the film, Lang and Thea von Harbou have prepared a screenplay to meet producers demands, there are glimpses of the filming of it, actors, sets, action. Peter Lorre was the star of the film and, at the end, there are very significant, even graphic, sequences from the original Incorporated here.

An intriguing film in terms of its content, the portrait of an artist, his genius and flaws, personal relationships and obsessions, and his strengths as a filmmaker. And, in its black and white photography, incorporating of documentary footage and films, it is also intriguing in its visual style.

1. Fritz Lang and his reputation, his career, as a director, as a person? This film as a speculation?

2. Audience knowledge of Fritz Lang? His origins in Vienna, his Jewish mother, Catholic conversion, admiration of Goebbels? His work as a writer, work as a director, in the silent era, Metropolis, M, the invitation from Goebbels, his divorce, going to the United States, his strong career in the 1940s and 1950s? The return to Germany? The 1960s?

3. The film providing an outline of his life? World War I, his marriage to Lisa, his betrayal with Thea von Harbou, the killing herself? His marrying von Harbou? The dramatisation of Lisa, in the hospital, the betrayal, her death? The central speculations in this film, his dissatisfaction in the silent era, the encounter with the prostitute? The focus on the murderer in Dusseldorf, his visit, interrogations, the making of the film?

4. The ratio for the photography, as in the silent era, black and white, the incorporation of contemporary footage from Berlin, creating the atmosphere, authenticity? The film clips, especially Metropolis and M? The impact of this intercutting?

5. Lang in the 1920s, his reputation, the success of Metropolis? The screening of Woman on the Moon? The challenge at the end of the silent era, seeing him scoffing at other directors, his difficulties in moving to sound, the producer, the deadline? His seeing the headlines about Düsseldorf?

6. The information about the city, the location photography, the footage from the past? The serial killer, the papers, the news? The inspector, his name, his role in the investigation, the interviews? The visualising of the deaths, graphic, the hammer, the blood, the drinking of the blood? The different cases, Lang following, a kind of stalking? Lang and the police, permissions, the examination of the scenes, on the hill in the countryside, his imagining the murders, identifying with the killer?

7. Peter Kurtin, his wife denouncing him, the setting up to trap him, the arrests, the interviews, the inspector and the conversation, afternoon tea and a cake? Kurtin and his describing what he did, his feelings, prison, accepting the responsibility? Lang visiting him in the questions? The prison official and the hostility to Lang?

8. The intercutting of the drama about Lang’s earlier life, Lisa, imagining her at the crime scene, the affair, Lisa, the bath, the couple, her death?

9. Thea von Harbou as a character, the background, relationship with Lang, marrying him, the success of her writing, her suspicions at the time of M, following him, confrontation, writing the script?

10. The scenes of filming, and the studios, the sets? The sequences from the film with Peter Lorre, intercutting them and their effect?

11. The release of the film and the execution of the killer?

12. Further information about the film, his career, going to America…?

THOR: RAGNAROK

US, 2017, 130 minutes, Colour.
Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taiki Waitit, Clancy Brown, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Luke Hemsworth, Sam Neill, Matt Damon.
Directed by Taiki Waititi.

Chris Hemsworth made quite an impact as the original Thor. This is the second sequel and Thor has appeared in two Avengers movies and is about to appear on the third. Quite a lasting impression.

Hemsworth has never taken himself too seriously nor does Thor. There is always a place for irony and for a joke. And now, with New Zealand director Taiki Waitit, who charmed audiences with Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople and joked with them in What We Do in the Night, there is plenty more irony and there are plenty more jokes.

Gone is the Viking Asgard but there are still memories of Loki and his betrayals at and the downfall of Odin. Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Anthony Hopkins made such an impression as Odin that they are back again, Loki having his moments of heroism but always the trickster lurking. There is a great deal of action and it takes place among the various planets and strange communities, especially one presided over by Jeff Goldblum in a very campy manner. Crowds pack into a huge amphitheatre for gladiatorial combats where his main warrior is actually Hulk, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) imprisoned in the form of the Hulk for two years, finally coming up against Thor, with Banner re-emerging, Thor victorious. Also present is an alcoholic young Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) a mercenary who has captured for but who might be persuaded to join forces to retake Asgard.

And Ragnarok indicates an apocalypse for Asgard.

We have had a glimpse of Odin living in exile and then disappearing from his two sons (though Anthony Hopkins getting a chance for more footage to inspire Thor in his battles). And the battles?

The main villain of the piece is the hitherto unknown daughter of Odin, Hela. She wears black. Has black hair, black eye make-up, a black headpiece of horns – which indicate that her heart is deeply black as well. And, she is played by Cate Blanchett.

So, plenty of plot. Plenty of battles. Plenty of intriguing characters. Plenty of superhero activity – though Thor receives plenty of body blows as well as losing an eye, in the tradition of his father. On the heroic side there is Karl Urban as a warrior who becomes the instrument of Hela’s malice but, we guess, will have a change of heart. There is also Idris Elba, the Asgard warrior leading the remnant of scarred to safety.

And, for the fun of it, there is an early re-enactment of the betrayal of Loki which has Sam Neill acting the part of Odin, Luke Hemsworth, Chris Hemsworth’s older brother, as Thor and, uncredited and pretty unrecognisable, Matt Damon as Loki.

Perhaps overseas audiences might not get the joke but Australian audiences and New Zealand audiences will delight in the character of Korg, a giant creature made of rocks, not quite the full quarry, but with very funny dialogue, a very strong Niew Ziland accent and delivery, very amusing, and played by the director himself, Taika Waititi. Actually this version of Thor is fairly Antipodean with both Thor and Hela originally coming from Melbourne, with a touch of Sam Neill, another Hemsworth, and Karl Urban and the director coming from New Zealand. And the film was made on the Gold Coast.

Perhaps some of the purists may think this is a bit too flippant, but most fans will enjoy it – and, creator Stan Lee, having a cameo in all his films, signals his imprimatur with a very amusing one here.

1. Thor as a popular character from the Marvel World? This film has the third in this series? His presence in the Avengers films? The popularity of this film, the action, the humour?

2. The Marvel universe, the range of planets, Asgard, Earth, the Viking era, the transition to the present and the future? The imagination of the characters, their interconnections, superheroes?

3. The background, the incorporation of Marvel characters, featuring Bruce Banner, Hulk? The presence of Dr Strange? A glimpse of communication from the Black Widow?

4. The Asgard background, Odin, his children, the place of Loki, Loki and betrayals? Thor and his seeing the re-enactment of the betrayal, the humour of the cast for this re-enactment? Odin, the acclaim for the play, his retiring, on the cliffs, with his two sons, the end of his life? His reappearing to Thor as an inspiration?

5. Thor, Chris Hemsworth, the flowing hair – and the later short back and sides? His presence, character, the hammer and its loss? The humorous tone, the wisecracks and the jokes? His relationship with his father, admiration for him? The clashes with Loki, and Loki featuring in daughter of Odin, wanting her rights, taking over Asgard? The confrontation with Thor and Loki? Her quest for control?

6. Thor, leaving his father, wandering, the return to Asgard, the encounter with Dr Strange?

7. The encounter with the Valkyrie, her assertiveness, warrior, capturing him, his being imprisoned on the planet? The ruler, for gladiatorial games, the arena? Having Hulk as his main warrior? Thor in prison, the encounter with Korg (and his associate, the New Zealand accent, delivery, humour, simplicity)? The personality of the ruler, camp, with the Valkyrie, with the crowds? The gladiators, the preparation for the fight, those attending, cheering, on side?

8. With Hulk, Bruce Banner trapped inside in for two years and Hulk not knowing? Hulk the gladiatorial battles, the confrontation with Thor? Thor and his skills, despite the beating? The reaction of the ruler? Of the Valkyrie? The chant of the crowd changing in favour of Thor? Bruce Banner returning, the conversations with Thor, not being able to remember? The relaxed friendship between the two?

9. The Valkyrie, her drinking, in exile, mercenary, capturing Thor, his appeal, her resistance, understanding what it happened, her willingness to help?

10. Engineering the escape, the vehicle, the ruler and his desperation? The space ship going through the violence space storm? The difficulties, steering, succeeding?

11. Hela, her appearance, completely black, power? Scourge and his presence on Asgard? Guard, mercenary, being given the job of executioner? His initial loyalty, confrontation of the enemies?

12. The people on Asgard, their escaping, the leader and his help, in the mountains? The range of troops and their attacks?

13. The arrival of Thor, Loki and the Valkyrie? Loki, his sense of betrayal, yet his comradeship, the devices to distract attention?

14. Hela, the capture of Thor, the battles with him, her defeat? Thor and his injuries, losing his eye, being like his father?

15. The space ship, hurrying the inhabitants into the space ship, the escape? The presence of Odin inspiring Thor?

16. Hela vanquished? Asgard destroyed by the creature? The fulfilment of promise? But Asgard being in the minds and hearts of its inhabitants – and the survivors?

CRUMBS

Ethiopia/ Spain, 2015, 68 minutes, Colour.
Daniel Tadesse, Selam Tesfayie.
Directed by Miguel Llanso.

Crumbs is, to say the least, unusual and unpredictable. It is a coproduction between Ethiopia and Spain, with a Spanish director, but filmed in Ethiopia with local talent.

The film is post-apocalyptic. It is set in a strange future where earth has been destroyed, where a spaceship hovers above earth, where the inhabitants live in a mixture of landscapes from brightly coloured desert, to more luxuriant foliage, to drab post-industrial buildings and sites.

The central character is Candy, a very small man, hunchbacked, eking out his living, with a Superman shirt, echoes of superheroes. His main friend is a young woman. The film points out that births are diminishing on earth, even rare. It is full of older people who are surviving, going about their ordinary living, trying to pawn goods or buy goods, with a pawnbroker doing bargains. There is also a strange Santa Claus character calling out to passers-by.

Candy goes on a quest, a trek, encountering all kinds of strange characters on the way, memories of what it used to be like, how people lived – and what is primitive is actually old machines, some of which continue to work. In the meantime, the young woman stays, possibly awaiting Candy’s return.

In the face of confrontation, Candy is able to show his Superman shirt.

The film has a great appeal to the senses, certainly very arresting to look at, the musical score, interesting compositions of nature as well of the drab remains of civilisation.

The film is also symbolic, evocative, challenging audiences to think about our planet, destruction, human nature, human survival, relationships, exploitation, love.

NEVER BE BORING: BILLY WILDER

Germany, 2017, 90 minutes, Colour and black-and-white.
Directed by Andre Schaefer, Jascha Hanover.

This very interesting documentary offers the opportunity for film students and, especially, those who have an admiration for writer-director, Billy Wilder, to have an overview of his life and career.

The film moves in chronological order, starting with Wilder’s birth in Vienna, growing up there, his family, his ambitions, work as a journalist. It also indicates his move into filmmaking in Germany, especially with the 1930s Berlin on Sunday, with many glimpses of that film and its technical style.

Wilder then went to the United States and from the mid-1930s was a screenwriter at Paramount Studios, in admiration of Ernst Lubitsch. Eventually, Paramount gave him the opportunity to direct and he made the comedy The Major and the Minor with Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland, which was a success. While making a number of films at Paramount, this documentary singles out his work with Double Indemnity and film noir, A Foreign Affair with Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur and his perspective on post-war Germany. The film also shows his presence in Germany at the end of the war, his military rank, his filming, especially significant in documenting the concentration camps and the Jewish dead.

He also won the Oscar for best film for Lost Weekend, 1945. He was also to win an Oscar for The Apartment, 1960, this documentary including a number of sequences from that film. However, he had significant success during the 1950s, especially with Sunset Boulevard and Gloria Swanson, with William Holden again in Stalag 17, with clips from both films, and with Sabrina and Love in the Afternoon with Audrey Hepburn.

There are quite a number of commentators in the film, one of the most significant being the German director, Volker Scholondorff, who made a documentary about Wilder in the 1990s. Another commentator is Paul Diamond, the son of I. A. L. Diamond, Wilder’s collaborator for 25 years or more. This began with Some Like it Hot, the documentary also showing scenes of this film, especially Marilyn Monroe (and, of course, a glimpse of the sidewalk scene in The Seven Year Itch). And Jack Lemmon is interviewed. Lemmon was to appear in so many of Wilder’s comedies from the 50s to the early 1980s.

The film also features One, Two, Three, made in Berlin and then in Munich, with Wilder reconstructing the Brandenburg Gate in Munich because at the time of the film’s production, the Berlin Wall was going up. One, Two, Three was not a box office success. Then there were production problems and the Legion of Decency with Kiss Me, Stupid (1964).

Between 1970 and 1981, Wilder made only five films. There is no mention of his excellent The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), passing reference to Avanti but quite a deal of attention given to the 1977, Fedora, filmed in Germany with William Holden – and quite an amount of interview material with the star, Marthe Keller, who clashed with Wilder and who is blamed by him for the failure of the film. His last film, with frequent stars Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, was a 1981 Buddy, Buddy, not successful at the box office.

There is a great deal of footage of Wilder himself speaking both in English and in German, material from over the decades and from documentaries made in the 70s to the 90s. They reveal, of course, a great deal of his personality and character, his attitude towards writing, towards filmmaking, towards his casts.

The tragedy for him was that he lived to the age of 92, not dying till 2002 – and the observations that, while he flourished in the era of the studios, he was not so successful in the aftermath and, by the 1980s, his style and style of filmmaking had been surpassed by those emerging directors of the 70s, Scorsese, De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola… He kept going to his office but was not productive for over two decades.

A very interesting picture of Hollywood in its golden age and then its aftermath and one of the significant directors of Hollywood in the 20th century.