Harold and Maude review

Number 255 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 1971 black romantic-comedy 'Harold and Maude.'

Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) is a young man who has a morbid fascination with death. He regularly enjoys staging his own suicide much to the dislike of his mother who is worried about her social status. But Harold then meets the carefree seventy-nine year old Maude (Ruth Gordon.) The two form an unlikely relationship.

I didn't care for this film at all. I did not like Harold's character. It would be fair to describe him as a nihilist. He is spiritually deadened and struggles to find any meaning in life. it can be difficult to write these characters so they're not annoying, spoiled or entitles, which is exactly how I would define Harold.

It didn't help that he had no discernible reason for his nihilism. You can argue that his relative affluence and wealth has left him spiritually deadened. The disconnected relationship with his shallow mother has probably done little to help matters. But I can't pinpoint a specific catalyst. Harold didn't have any defined reason for being so dead. Bud Cort also played the role with a smugness that made him irritating.

I also didn't like the film's depiction of suicide. It was gratuitous. Harold stages his suicide in multiple ways from immolation, to blowing his brains out to hanging and even slitting his wrists in a vivid display of red. It was all horribly romanticised. This is even more so considering how the only meaning he finds in his life is through death. His mother constantly dismisses his behaviours too; true she sends him to a shrink, but he is equally dismissive.

I would say that this film's redeeming feature is Ruth Gordon as Maude. She was enjoyable as a hedonistic, ageing hippy who gives no second though to breaking the rules. Despite how charming she was, it is difficult to deny that her relationship with Harold was weird. Director Hal Ashby always insisted that there was nothing untoward about it, but I don't agree. She's sixty years older than him. Flip the genders and see whether it's still the same.

I didn't care for Harold and Maude. Ruth Gordon was a delight, but Hal Ashby's treatment of suicide was off-putting.

Death at a Funeral review

 Number 915 on the top 1000 films of all time is the British black-comedy drama 'Death at a Funeral.'

Daniel (Matthew Mcfayden) and Robert (Rupert Graves) are two squabbling brothers attending their father's funeral. They are part of a larger dysfunctional family who have to settle their differences. Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk, Peter Vaughn and Keeley Hawes all co-star.

This is an entertaining or not outstanding comedy that encapsulates the pitch-black humour that the UK is so well-known for. It certainly elicited a number of chuckles but it isn't laughing-in-the-aisles funny. Much of the humour comes from the dysfunctional nature of the family - in particularly Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughn.) He is a wheel-chair bound OAP with a foul mouth.

The vulgar, crude pensioner who doesn't care what anybody thinks is a cliched character, but it's still entertaining to watch. That is especially true when you have Peter Vaughn in the role. There was some proper gross-out humour that would not fly in a Hollywood production.

What you would see in an American film is Alan Tudyk's character of Simon. Granted, Simon is English with Alan Tudyk doing a passable English accent, but he very much seemed to be based on the over-the-top American comedy that the Yanks seem to love so much. To help calm his nerves about the funeral, his fiancee, and Daniel's cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan) gives him a valium. Except it isn't a valium, but an experimental hallucinogen.

In his drug-altered state, he knocks open the coffin spilling the family's dead patriarch onto the floor. But, worse, he later strips naked and climbs onto the roof of the building. It was all very over-exaggerated - I think the writers were playing up the hallucinogenic symptoms for comedy purposes, but it all became quite silly.

Yet the film also possessed a lot of heart with the character of Daniel who is struggling to step out of his more successful brother's shadow. Matthew Mcfayden did well bringing some much-needed gravitas to the more farcical proceedings. We definitely needed this sobering contrast especially when Frank (Peter Dinklage) reveals a dark secret about he and Daniel's father. This all culminates when Daniel gives a spontaneous, but heart-felt eulogy about his father.

Death at a Funeral was certainly not the funniest film I've ever seen, but it was definitely charming enough to earn its place on this list.

The Life of David Gale review

 Number 801 on the top 1000 films of all time is the psychological thriller 'The Life of David Gale.'

David Gale (Kevin Spacey) and his colleague Constance Harraway (Laura Linney) are two of the biggest anti-death penalty activists in the US. However, when David is found guilty of Constance's murder, he is sentenced to death. Maintaining he has been framed, he asks journalist Bitsy Bloom (Kate Winslet) to prove his innocence.

The Life of David Gale presents a fascinating premise: what happens when the biggest anti-death penalty activist is sentenced to death? It was also a divisive film with audiences loving it, hence its inclusion in this list, but many critics thought it was too clever for its own good.

I am firmly in the audience's camp. I thought it was a clever yet sensitive way of addressing a difficult topic. Many critics took issue with the final twist, but I thought it made perfect sense. Don't worry. I won't spoil it here.

Kevin Spacey and Laura Linney gave great performances. David Gale is objectively a flawed man. He is arrogant and overly-prideful. Not to mention, he thinks with his dick, landing him in big trouble. But he is also a tragic character who is the victim of his own circumstances, which again ties in well with the final twist.

Linney was also impressive. In comparison, Constance is a far more tragic character, and Linney played the role with a great sensitivity. Like Gale, Harraway is firmly principled, but, unlike Gale, she never allows her emotions to cloud her judgement. And all credit for Linney filming her death scene herself, and not using a body double. I won't go into detail, but she declared it was one of the most difficult things she ever had to film. I have no doubt about that.

I also have to shout out Melissa McCarthy who shone in the small supporting role, as Nico - the irreverent goth who gives tours around the scene of Harraway's murders.

I was less convinced by Kate Winslet who was quite melodramatic especially as the film built towards its inevitable conclusion. I was also confused by the inclusion of Dusty Wright (Matt Craven) a former colleague of Gale, as well as a former lover of Harraway.

He is seen aggressively stalking Bloom, but nothing comes from this except for a specific scene, which would spoil the film if I go into it. But if that's the case, then just have that scene, rather than all the shots of him watching Bloom from afar. It was a bit like the film was setting him up as the big, bad villain only to pull the rug from underneath our feet. In that regard, I would agree with the critics that the film was being too clever for its own good.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the Life of David Gale. It was an interesting and thought-provoking thriller that brilliantly addressed a sensitive topic. 

The Celebration review

 Number 199 on the top 1000 films of all time is Thomas Vinterberg's Danish black-comedy drama 'The Celebration.'

Helge (Henning Moritzen) is the ageing patriarch of the Klingenfeldt-Hansen family. For his sixtieth birthday party, he invites all his family and friends out for a big dinner at a country hotel. The guests include his eldest-son Christian (Ulrich Thomsen,) the obnoxious and racist younger brother Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen,) daughter Helene (Paprika Steen,) wife Else (Birthe Neumann) and Helene's African-American boyfriend Gbatokai (Gbatokai Dakinah.) At the dinner, the celebration quickly turns sour as dark family secrets come to light.

I found this film to be a deeply uncomfortable watch. It was mainly horrible people being horrible to each other. It was also claustrophobic and suffocating. Perhaps that was because of its status as the first Dogme 95 - a new avant-garde film movement pioneered by Vinterberg. It championed low-budgets and simple production allowing the plot and performance to shine. That would explain the tight close-ups and shaky, hand-held camera-work. These forced the viewer right into the heart of the distressing action. And distressing is the best way to describe it.

When Christian gives a drunken speech, he accuses his father *spoilers* of sexually abusing he and his twin sister as children. It is later revealed that his sister killed herself because she couldn't cope with the emotional trauma. He also accuses his mother of standing by and letting it happen. Despite Michael's attempts to keep his brother quiet, this doesn't stop him from levying his allegations. In private, Helge threatens to expose Christian's lack of success with women and his potentially incestuous relationship with his twin sister. 

Furthermore, Michael is also depicted horribly. It is revealed that he cheated on his wife with a maid who went onto abort a pregnancy. When she tries talking to him at the party, he beats her senseless. He is brutal, boorish and racist especially toward Helene's black boyfriend. As a means of provocation, he encourages his guests to sing a racist Danish folk song. And if that isn't enough, Michael also has a short temper and argues regularly with his wife.

See my point? I don't know how any of this was conducive to entertaining viewing at all. Also, how is this classed as a black-comedy? Where were the funny parts? All I saw was a lot of people shouting at each other.

I think this is one of these films where you have to be a true cinophile to appreciate. I am evidently not one of those people, so I imagine I missed a lot of the hidden genius. But I did not enjoy this film at all. 

Departures review

Number 197 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Japanese drama 'Departures.'

Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki)  is a failed cellist returning home to Yamagata after his orchestra in Tokyo dissolves. At a loss of what to do next, he takes the role of a Nokanshi - a traditional ritual mortician. However, he faces much prejudice due to strong taboo towards death in Japan.

This was a touching and humanistic portrayal of a sensitive subject matter. In the West, we have a similarly taboo attitude toward death so it was interesting seeing that it was the same in the Far East. A lot of this film's success rested on Daigo's character. He was infinitely relatable and sympathetic. Who out of any of us hasn't had a plan work out the way we would have liked only to find joy in something we never would have expected. Masahiro Motoki helped to bring this character to life. He played the role with a lot of nuance. And his arc was enjoyable to watch. Initially, he is reluctant to perform his nokanshi duties, but he soon executes them with grace and ease. We see the discomfort, grief and eventual acceptance all come to life.

But the same can be said with the supporting cast. Due to the taboos surrounding the nokanshi, his friends begin to ostracise him and his wife even leaves him. However, once they see his dedication to his craft, they slowly accept him back into their community. And, of course, I am only an outsider looking in, but I could see the care that the film-makers took to present Nokanshi in an accurate light. In turn, I could see the care that the Nokanshi give to the dead. The dead were treated with the dignity they deserve. Everything was treated with grace and elegance. And director Yojiro Takita perfectly captured the grieving families of the deceased.

Departures also had plenty of dark off-beat humour which was the perfect contrast to the sobering subject matter. Early on in his nokanshi career, Daigo has to act as a cadaver for an advert. There he endures a number of indignities such as wearing an adult nappy or having cotton wool stuck where the sun doesn't shine. It was a very funny sequence.

I also have to compliment the soundtrack. Departures was scored by Joe Hisaishi who has also scored a number of Studio Ghibli films, so no wonder the music was so good. It was accompanied, naturally, by cello music, played by Motoki who learned the cello especially for the part.

But my one big criticism centres around Daigo's relationship with his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue.) Unable to reconcile his new work, she gives him an ultimatum: his job or her. When he picks her, she leaves, only to return later with a baby in the way. And, lo and behold, all is well. This surprise pregnancy cliche was such a contrived and unnatural way to get Daigo and Mika back together. I wanted to see him struggle to win his wife back, but there was no struggle at all.

Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable film about such a taboo subject. It was so interesting learning about the traditions of another culture.

Battle Royale review

 Number 501 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Japanese action-thriller 'Battle Royale.'

In a dystopian future, to curtail rising teenage delinquency, the Japanese government forces a group of junior-high-school students to fight to the death on an abandoned island. These include aspiring love-birds Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda,) exchange students, wildcards and former champions - the quiet Shogo Kawada (Taro Yamamoto,) and the psychotic Kazuo Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando), and the mysterious but equally psychotic Mitsuko Souma (Kou Shibasaki.)

Battle Royale was the Hunger Games before the Hunger Games. There is an on-going debate about which of the two is better - * cough cough* it is Battle Royale, by a country mile. Yes, Battle Royale is cheesy, over-the-top and pretty ridiculous at times, but that is what made it so enjoyable. Unlike, another film I could name, it doesn't take itself very seriously. It is dour and downbeat at times, but also self-aware and funny. The contestants constantly acknowledge the absurdity of their situation. And even the creators of the game do too - to supposedly make things as fair as possible, they give the kids a different weapon each - some get guns, some get knives, some get nunchucks - Shuya and Noriko get binoculars and a cooking pot lid.

The tournament begins with forty-two contestants and things are very confusing at first. All of the schoolkids are dressed the same in their uniforms meaning that it was difficult to tell them apart. Director Kinji Fukasaku tries his best to give each of the kids an important scene before their inevitable deaths, arguably he does a better job than other directors have done, but there were just too many characters for me to care about. It was only after the competition started to get whittle down did things become clearer. 

But then again, Fukasaku was just killing off the supporting cast, so he could properly focus on our principle characters - such as Kawada who entered the competition to gain revenge on the tournament's founder - former teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano.) Kawada won the last tournament at the expense of his former love. 

The stylised violence does border on the excessive at times, I don't think I've ever seen so much spurting blood before. And, perhaps you can argue it was a little silly that each character stays alive long enough to get a memorable death scene. However, a lot of this violence is offset with emotional storylines. We see love and lust blossom among a lot of the contestants - we see tales of friendship and tales of heartbreak. Some of the kids commit suicide instead of fighting. Other abstain from fighting altogether and the strongest group together. All of the reactions were so human. But, most importantly, we see kids act like kids. These aren't adults who have willingly volunteered for this gladatorial fight to the death, but school kids who are being punished by the Japanese Government. And that's where Fukasaku succeeded. Yes, the actual concept and execution might be a little spurious, but the characterisation felt real.

And some of the best characterisation comes from the film's antagonist: Kitano. His backstory is explained within a flashback where he resigns from his teaching job after being knifed by one of his students. It is later explained that he has a tumultuous relationship with his own estranged daughter. Yet like many of the other characters *spoiler alert,* he stays alive long enough so he can have famous last words. After Shuya supposedly shoots him dead, he stands up, answers the phone and then dies for real. Kitano's backstory is explained as him having a tumultuous relationship with his own daughter. Pretty ridiculous, but entertaining nonetheless. This all added to the rich tableau of Battle Royale. A tableau that's a hell of a lot richer than the bloody Hunger Games.