Welcome back, film fans! A cool breeze is in the air, which can only mean two things--1) expect four months of temperatures that seem to approach absolute zero; 2) the season of quality filmmaking is upon us!
Yes, the fall, that golden harvest of Oscar-hungry prestige films which seek to challenge, question, and enlighten, with intricate plots, political subjects, actual character development, and the requisite overacting of Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.
In the next few months, Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee goes NC-17 with erotic thriller Lust, Caution; Cate Blanchett dons face paint once again for Elizabeth: The Golden Age; the Coen Brothers enter Cormac McCarthy territory with No Country for Old Men; Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter show off their musical range (or perhaps lack thereof) tackling operatic melodies and syncopated lyrics from Tim Burton’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd; and Angelina Jolie strips down and gets covered in gold paint, in 3D, for Beowulf. Hmm, not quite how I envisioned Grendel’s mother…10th grade English class takes on a whole new dimension.
Anyway (focus Christian!), before plunging into films which actually make us think (Beowulf not included), I thought we’d take one last look at the halcyon days of summer’s sun-drenched, imitation-butter-coated movies. These are my picks for the best films of summer 2007...
1. La Vie en Rose by Olivier Dahan--The best musical bio-pic I’ve ever seen, La Vie en Rose stars French newcomer Marion Cotillard as the legendary French songstress Edith Piaf. Chronologically fractured, the film shies away from the bio-pic cliché of "here’s how this song was created," instead focusing on the accumulation of life experiences which informed the emotional content of Piaf’s songs. Full of gorgeous tracking shots worthy of Scorsese, which show both how life has unfolded effortlessly for Piaf, but also how confining the demands of her chosen lifestyle are, La Vie en Rose is not interested in a linear biography, but in capturing the spirit of one of the 20th century’s great artists.
2. The Bourne Ultimatum by Paul Greengrass--The rare genre film which critiques the foundations--or even necessity--of the genre itself. Director Paul Greengrass turned the conclusion of the Bourne trilogy, in which Matt Damon’s amnesiac super spy finally uncovers his lost past and confronts the sinister forces who made him a killing machine, a critique of jingoistic spy fiction like 24 and James Bond. Rather than sinister foreign forces conspiring against the free world, Bourne’s enemy is the establishment itself that would send him on illegal missions and then abandon him to save face. Docudramarian Greengrass’s handheld style is perfectly suited to capturing Bourne’s jagged life lived on the edges and the constant Orwellian techno-surveillance that pervades his world. Preferring immersive handheld camera angles to CGI, Ultimatum’s action scenes don’t even look like they’ve been staged, but have just happened to be caught on film while actually occurring, as if by a quick-thinking bystander. Greengrass’s style allows for immersion in a realistic world, a far cry from the top-heavy, distancing CGI of most other action films.
3. Sicko by Michael Moore--Both his most serious and funniest film to date, Moore’s Sicko mixes heartfelt interviews, humorous stock footage, and his trademark ironic voiceover to illuminate America’s healthcare crisis. From the guy who had to choose which severed finger to re-attach to not be bankrupted, to the tragedy of an elderly woman refused care and turned out to the streets, Moore convincingly makes the case that the right to affordable healthcare is part of our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Yes, the fall, that golden harvest of Oscar-hungry prestige films which seek to challenge, question, and enlighten, with intricate plots, political subjects, actual character development, and the requisite overacting of Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.
In the next few months, Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee goes NC-17 with erotic thriller Lust, Caution; Cate Blanchett dons face paint once again for Elizabeth: The Golden Age; the Coen Brothers enter Cormac McCarthy territory with No Country for Old Men; Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter show off their musical range (or perhaps lack thereof) tackling operatic melodies and syncopated lyrics from Tim Burton’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd; and Angelina Jolie strips down and gets covered in gold paint, in 3D, for Beowulf. Hmm, not quite how I envisioned Grendel’s mother…10th grade English class takes on a whole new dimension.
Anyway (focus Christian!), before plunging into films which actually make us think (Beowulf not included), I thought we’d take one last look at the halcyon days of summer’s sun-drenched, imitation-butter-coated movies. These are my picks for the best films of summer 2007...
1. La Vie en Rose by Olivier Dahan--The best musical bio-pic I’ve ever seen, La Vie en Rose stars French newcomer Marion Cotillard as the legendary French songstress Edith Piaf. Chronologically fractured, the film shies away from the bio-pic cliché of "here’s how this song was created," instead focusing on the accumulation of life experiences which informed the emotional content of Piaf’s songs. Full of gorgeous tracking shots worthy of Scorsese, which show both how life has unfolded effortlessly for Piaf, but also how confining the demands of her chosen lifestyle are, La Vie en Rose is not interested in a linear biography, but in capturing the spirit of one of the 20th century’s great artists.
2. The Bourne Ultimatum by Paul Greengrass--The rare genre film which critiques the foundations--or even necessity--of the genre itself. Director Paul Greengrass turned the conclusion of the Bourne trilogy, in which Matt Damon’s amnesiac super spy finally uncovers his lost past and confronts the sinister forces who made him a killing machine, a critique of jingoistic spy fiction like 24 and James Bond. Rather than sinister foreign forces conspiring against the free world, Bourne’s enemy is the establishment itself that would send him on illegal missions and then abandon him to save face. Docudramarian Greengrass’s handheld style is perfectly suited to capturing Bourne’s jagged life lived on the edges and the constant Orwellian techno-surveillance that pervades his world. Preferring immersive handheld camera angles to CGI, Ultimatum’s action scenes don’t even look like they’ve been staged, but have just happened to be caught on film while actually occurring, as if by a quick-thinking bystander. Greengrass’s style allows for immersion in a realistic world, a far cry from the top-heavy, distancing CGI of most other action films.
3. Sicko by Michael Moore--Both his most serious and funniest film to date, Moore’s Sicko mixes heartfelt interviews, humorous stock footage, and his trademark ironic voiceover to illuminate America’s healthcare crisis. From the guy who had to choose which severed finger to re-attach to not be bankrupted, to the tragedy of an elderly woman refused care and turned out to the streets, Moore convincingly makes the case that the right to affordable healthcare is part of our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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