Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (12A)

This Oscar nominated (Best Original Song) biographical film of the late former South African President's life is still in cinemas.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (12A)

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, based on the late leader’s autobiography, chronicles his struggles against Apartheid South Africa, his time in prison and subsequent election as President.  It’s a rise to power uncharacterised by corruption, and famously hinging on forgiveness which has inspired millions.

The film opens with a brief but electrifying glimpse of Mandela’s childhood, as he undergoes a ritual to become a man in his home town of Mvezo.  Flash forward to his mid-twenties, and we see the respect he already commands from his oppressors, as the young lawyer proves more than a match for his white opponents.  It isn’t long before his ambitions outgrow this career, and he turns his attentions to the resistance movement of the African National Congress.

Director Justin Chadwick spends a surprising amount of time dwelling on Mandela’s love life, as a combination of affairs and overwork tear his first marriage apart.  Scenes and dialogue are included that disappointingly dismiss God, and rule out any real exploration of his religious beliefs.  This is likely more a reflection of the script writer’s worldview, and symptomatic of the supposed need to pander to audiences as Western culture drifts ever further from it’s God-fearing roots.

The film never mentions that Mandela was partly educated by Methodist schools, nor that during his almost three decades in prison was visited by a Methodist chaplain.  His grace and forgiveness of course seem as fruits of the Spirit, but being a very private man for whatever reason he kept his personal beliefs to himself.

Hackney born actor Idris Elba does a fine job in the title role, particularly in the latter half of the film as Mandela’s greying hair accompanies his ever greater pragmatism.  The stand out performance however comes from Naomie Harris as his second wife Winnie - she fills the part with heartbreaking humanity, even as Winnie eventually endeavours to humiliate her husband after his release from prison.  The tragedy is palpable as her attitudes become ever more separate from Mandela’s, and she spirals into bitterness and constant calls for violence, which the film makes clear Nelson only resorted to when all other means failed.

Long Walk to Freedom movingly dramatises key moments in Mandela’s career, investing enough in each for the film not feel like a highlights reel, whilst still giving a compelling sense of his life as a whole.  No easy feat in under two and a half hours.

My Left Foot (15)

Recently released on Blu-ray, My Left Foot is a must-see British classic from 1989.

My Left Foot (15) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

My Left Foot tells the inspirational true story of Christy Brown, a writer and artist born in Dublin in 1932.  It was years before he could express himself, even by speech, because he was born with severe cerebral palsy.  Director Jim Sheridan’s film adapted from Brown’s first book, brilliantly tells the story in a series of flashbacks that vividly bring to life the tale of an artist’s rise to prominence against near impossible odds.

As we witness Brown’s early years, his disorder is harrowingly compared with the Catholic notion of Purgatory, with the young Brown empathising with the suffering souls that he hears about in Church.  Sheridan cleverly conveys an inkling of the depths of frustration that those who can’t communicate with others must feel.

Brown’s uniquely Irish humour brings a sense of mirth to even the most awkward situations.  “F**k Plato!” he barks at his speech therapist, after she has fulfilled her promise to help him enunciate his expletives more clearly.  One of the most painful facts Brown has to face is that no woman will ever love him other than platonically.  He also sees advantages in his loneliness, reflecting on the scope for creativity that his isolation brings.

The screenplay by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton highlights aspects of Brown’s life that fit the mould of a feel-good movie, and a cursory investigation of the truth reveals that liberties have been taken.  Suffice to say if you want to keep the feel-good factor, don’t go digging into the history afterwards.  The script remains a textbook example of how to turn a biography into something exhilarating, and the intentions behind the tweaks were surely noble, with the writers’ arguably being vindicated as the film has since become a touchstone of hope for many with conditions similar to Brown’s.

No review of My Left Foot would be complete without waxing lyrical about the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis; it’s tough to find a more towering performance by an actor in all of film history, before or since.  It’s a passionate and heartfelt example of an actor fully committed to his craft, and though Day-Lewis reportedly put his colleagues through the mill by remaining in character throughout the shoot, even to the extent of needing to be fed at lunch breaks, the results speak volumes for the value of method acting.  Hugh O’Conor also deserves kudos for his heartbreaking portrayal of the young Christy Brown.  His performance isn’t diminished alongside Day-Lewis’s, no small feat for a fourteen year old.

Sheridan has crafted an explosively uplifting piece of cinema, but the liberties taken with the truth of Brown’s life raise questions of how far it is right to go in pursuit of a good movie.  Perhaps focusing on things in a positive light does more to honour Brown’s legacy, but the opposite could equally be argued.

Blu-ray extras: Cast and Crew Biographies, Stills Gallery

Life Is Beautiful (PG)

Italian modern classic Life Is Beautiful... out on Blu-ray Monday 2nd April!

Life Is Beautiful (PG) (This review on FilmJuice.com)

Life Is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni’s 1997 multi-Oscar winning triumph is a timeless modern fairytale. Set in 1930s Italy, Benigni plays the ingenious and good natured Guido. When the beautiful Dora (Nicoletta Braschi, Benigni’s wife) literally falls out of the sky and into his arms, Guido is instantly smitten. A series of gloriously fortunate events later the couple are married and have a son, and look likely to live happily ever after. However, after this uplifting opening the story takes a dark turn, as the Nazi’s whisk the young family off to a concentration camp. There Guido must use his vivid imagination to protect his wife and son from the surrounding horrors.

The first half of the film is crafted with such delightful creativity that the title seems beyond apt. Said title in fact originates from a quote by a holocaust survivor; a quote that helped to convince the filmmakers that it wasn’t inappropriate to make a comedy set during one of history’s darkest chapters.

Benigni’s slapstick combined with clever narrative contrivances make the opening hour fly by like a dream. The film’s tone then changes suddenly from a light and summery comedy, to a dark and harrowing recreation of the holocaust. This transition is jarring, perhaps deliberately so in order to contrast the graveness of the second half with the beauty of the first. With desperate heroism Guido maintains a ruse to his son that in fact they have gone to a holiday resort, where they must a play a game and win points. The implausibility of the story that seemed so appropriate earlier in the film, doesn’t quite work from this point onward. The filmmakers clearly realised this, because narration was added later to further explain that the story was intended as a fairytale.

All the contrivances, however brilliant, can’t help but add up to something of a predictable finale; a finale that highlights the one dimensionality of Guido as a character. But, the writing is such and the point of the story so obvious and noble, that these flaws can be overlooked.

The cast is uniformly fantastic, from Benigni’s heartwarming and Oscar winning central performance, to Giorgio Cantarini’s sublime debut as his little son. Interestingly, Cantarini went on to play the son of Maximus in Gladiator, likely giving him the finest filmography of any eight year old at the time! Nicoletta Braschi also shines as Guido’s devoted wife, playing her part perfectly in one of the most wonderfully touching romances ever seen on the silver screen.

The magic and warmth of Nicola Piovani’s unforgettable score makes it perhaps the most deserving of the film’s three Academy Awards, and the emotive cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli gives the film the feeling of a sumptuous classic.

Life Is Beautiful is an enchanting fable, and one of the most successful non-English language films to date. Uniquely poignant and full of joy, it firmly deserves its reputation as a must-see latter-day classic.

Blu-ray extras: Introduction by Martin Scorsese, Revisiting Life Is Beautiful - 15 years after featurette, Making of featurette, Trailer, B-roll.

War Horse (12A)

Nominated for 5 BAFTAs and 6 Oscars including Best Picture at the Academy Awards next month, here is my review of Steven Spielberg's War Horse, still in cinemas.

This review was first published in The Methodist Recorder (www.methodistrecorder.co.uk).

War Horse (12A)

Based on the children’s novel and acclaimed stage production, Steven Spielberg’s War Horse tells the tale of Devon boy Albert and his horse Joey, which Albert must rescue when he is sold to the army in WWI.

The story is a deliberate tearjerker, especially for animal lovers and younger viewers who make up most of its intended audience. For others all the melodrama, tears and heroics may seem over the top when centered around an animal. A major weakness is that Spielberg doesn’t well enough set up why we should care about Joey, let alone empathise with Albert who even puts his own life on the line for him.

For those forgiving enough to see past these flaws, War Horse will reward with a powerful cathartic experience. The story’s simplicity is a strength, with little time wasted on peripherals beyond the core element of a boy and his horse, which splits into parallel plot threads once they are separated.

Spielberg shows brilliant restraint as he portrays the cruelties of war in a way which is suitable for most children. Almost never do we see impact or injury in the excellent battle scenes, with a lingering shot of the aftermath being plenty to tell the story.

The visuals are a rich and colourful feast for the eyes. Almost miraculously the cinematographer has transformed the bleakness of Devon into a world of soft sunlight and glowing English charm. Contrast that with the dark and smokey No Man’s Land, a place of horrors that becomes a stage on which Joey teaches both sides in the war something of the humanity they lose in fighting each other.

Made more likable by healthy doses of good humour, the film’s close to two and a half hour running time races past comfortably. Peter Mullan is wonderful as Albert’s defeatist father and Benedict Cumberbatch is terrific as always, here playing a cocky British Major.

Worthy themes of bravery and sacrifice abound, but when in relation to a soulless creature it becomes hard to contrive much worthwhile Christian comment. Suffice to say it brings Psalm 33:17 to mind.

For those wise to the heartstring tugging mechanisms used however expertly by the director, the film can be occasionally irritating. Faults aside, War Horse will satisfy most and leave them with a genuinely warm feeling; but anyone looking for much more than that should look elsewhere.

In a Better World (15)

Finally a recent review of a film that's still in cinemas! It's of the Oscar winning Danish drama 'In a Better World', and you can also read it on the FilmJuice website here. Happy reading!

In a Better World (15)

Why do we go to the cinema? For escapism, solitude, inspiration and perhaps to feel something outside of ourselves, deeper emotion than we might feel comfortable with in real life. The Oscar-winning In a Better World (15) presents an emotional powerhouse of an experience that will not be soon forgotten.

The lives of two Danish families are intertwined by love, hate, and fate. We begin by following Anton, played by Mikael Persbrandt as he plies his skills as a doctor at an African refugee camp. The distance between his work and his home in Denmark creates an even greater distance between him and his estranged wife and his bullied son Elias. Elias finally makes a friend in Christian, a lad who has just moved to the idyllic town with his father after his mother lost her battle with cancer. Desperate for a friend, Elias will follow the angry and hurting Christian anywhere.

Director Susanne Bier brings the story to the screen with a mix of subtlety, in the intense yet understated performances given even by the child actors, and also pat climaxes, as the third act dwindles slightly into predictable and melodramatic territory. That is not to take away from the beauty of the complex and carefully constructed screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen. Simply reading the script would surely be an emotionally potent experience on its own.

The wonderful high contrast photography is sumptuous to behold, and Bier makes poignant symbolic use of landscapes and scenery throughout. The occasional use of crash zooms, especially early in the film, is not always effective, but jump cuts are put to good use, and the gentle music fits perfectly, bringing another layer of richness to the picture.

Unexpected moments of humour are slightly jarring yet welcome as they break up the lengthy ruminations on deep and dark dilemmas. It’s a film about consequences, revenge and the nature of evil. The sequences set in the African camp are sparsely scattered throughout the narrative, and serve as a parallel story highlighting to a more extreme extent the messages that the filmmakers want to leave the audience with. The effect of this is measured and shocking but ultimately condescending.

Part family drama, part thematic sermon, In a Better World has a lot to say about forgiveness, tolerance and grief. At one point a character cries out “I don’t know how to make everything right again!” A clichéd line maybe, but one to which many hearts in the audience might mutter “You can say that again”. Forgiveness is key, yet it is one of the most difficult things to do. Until a better world comes along we have to deal with this one, and films like this serve as a reminder that it is worthwhile to do so.