We Hate Hollywood

Directed by Wim Wenders
Written by Peter Handke, Richard Reitinger, Wim Wenders
Starring Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Peter Falk
Rated PG-13

A really great film is like a poem.  It is beautiful yet mysterious.  It causes us to stop and reflect on life in ways we’ve never considered.  While we may not understand everything it is saying, something in us responds strongly to its language.  Wings of Desire is a poem.

Directed by the German auteur Wim Wenders, Wings is a moving story of angels among us.  While we see many angels in the film, this story focuses on Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otta Sander).  We follow the two angels as they move through Berlin observing its inhabitants and ruminating (via voice-over) on their lives, time, history, evil, creation, and the nature of God.

This 1987  film is hypnotic in its use of black and white, gorgeous cinematography (Some scenes at a circus reminded me of Fellini’s 8 1/2), affecting score, and its slow pace.  There are long scenes with no dialogue.  But, it is never boring.  You hear so many films described as being about “the human condition” that it has become a cliché.  But, I can’t think of many other films that actually do examine the human condition more effectively than Wings.  We pass through streets, libraries, subways,and rooftops with Damiel and Cassiel as they listen to the heartbroken, lost, despairing, tormented, and injured.  A touch on the shoulder from either one of them causes the person they are observing to redirect their thoughts towards hope.  In some instances, they are too late as when Cassiel is unable to dissuade a man from jumping to his death.  In one particularly moving scene, Damiel comes across a motorcyclist who has been in an accident and is dying.  We hear his thoughts:  “You never saw anyone die? I stink of gasoline. I saw it all clearly - the Mercedes, the pool of oil. Karin, I should have told you. It can’t be that simple. I’ve still so much to do.”

At times, children can spot the angels but never adults.  That is, except for Peter Falk who plays himself.  He is in Berlin for a movie shoot and can sense when an angel is near him.  Damiel and Cassiel are intrigued by this as Falk talks to them out loud much to the confusion of people nearby.

Damiel has the face of an angel.  He exudes compassion and mercy.  That is terrific acting.  Acting is not always about voice.  As soon as you see Bruno Ganz on screen, you buy him as this benevolent being who has existed since creation.  Yet, I also appreciated the humanity that the film brings in little touches such as when Cassiel laughs when he sees a Jew taking a smoke break with some Nazis on a movie set.

While observing the young trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin), Damiel begins to fall in love.  He hears her thoughts:  “Longing. Longing for a wave of love that would stir in me. That’s what makes me clumsy. The absence of pleasure. Desire for love. Desire to love.”  His desire for love leads to his desire to become human.  If this is sounding familiar, it’s because this film was remade as the far inferior American product City of Angels with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan.  That film’s focus was the love story.  Wings of Desire is about so much more; in fact, the love story doesn’t really develop until the final third of the film and doesn’t follow the same plot at all of the American film.

Wings of Desire is a film that deserves to be not so much seen as experienced.  You probably won’t get it all in its first viewing.  I didn’t.  But, it is one of the most mesmerizing, haunting, and splendid pieces of art I’ve seen.  If you take film seriously, this is a must-see poem.

Written and directed by Scott Frank
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino, Bruce McGill
Rated R

“Once upon a time, I woke up. I took a shower with soap.” - Chris Pratt

The Lookout is a smart and thrilling movie.  It shouldn’t come as a surprise since the film is the directorial debut of screenwriter Scott Frank.  Frank penned Out of Sight, Get Shorty, and Minority Report.  It opened to huge critical acclaim and won the award for Best First Feature at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.

Yes, this is a heist movie but instead of being told from the viewpoint of the thieves, the film follows a damaged and innocent young man who gets caught up with the wrong crowd and doesn’t realize what’s going on until it’s too late.

The innocent man at the heart of the story is Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).  As a thrill seeking teenager, he sped  down a Kansas highway one night with 3 friends and turned the headlights off.  An aftermath of that dangerous stunt was that two of his friends are killed.  Pratt and his girlfriend Kelly survived.  Both of them paid a dear price however.  Pratt suffered severe head trauma in the accident that has left him with short-term memory loss which is similar to anterograde amnesia which Guy Pearce’s character suffered from in Christopher Nolan’s Memento.  Pratt’s condition isn’t quite as severe but he has trouble sequencing memories.  As a result, he has to make To Do lists for things as simple as washing his hair in the shower.  He also has problems with rage.

Because of Pratt’s mental condition, he has to take a simple janitorial job at a small town bank.  He performs the same duties night after night,  aided by a list he makes.  His employers pity him.  One night, Pratt meets a man named Gary (Matthew Goode) in a bar.  Gary claims to have dated Pratt’s sister.  The two strike up a conversation which leads to a friendship.  Pratt likes Gary because he doesn’t look down on him in pity.  Gary also hooks up Pratt with an ex-stripper named Luvlee Lemons (Isla Fisher) whom he falls in love with.  What Pratt doesn’t realize is Gary and his friends are planning to rob the bank that Pratt works at.

The Lookout is a slow burn.  It takes the time to get to know its characters as it is more interested in them than the bank robbery.  Pratt is a sad, broken young man.  Once a hot hockey player with the world at his fingertips, he now lives with a daily reminder of the pain he has brought upon himself and others.  His blind friend Lewis (Jeff Daniels) is a fun loving guy with a big dream of owning a restaurant.  But Lewis is a very wise man, his perception of people seemingly heightened by his loss of sight.  In one memorable scene, he sits down with Luvlee and essentially tells her to tread carefully because he knows she’s up to no good with Pratt.  Because we get to know and like these characters so much, the payoff is significant at the end when the heist takes place.  This is a deliciously tense film.

You saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt this summer in Inception.  Now is the time to check out one of his early roles that really put him on the map.

Directed by Danny Boyle
Written by Alex Garland
Starring Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Troy Garity
Rated R

Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to create a star within a star. Eight astronauts strapped to the back of a bomb. My bomb. Welcome to the Icarus Two.

These are the first words we hear immediately at the beginning of Sunshine, the 2007 sci-fi film from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire).  Simple and to the point, this narration is spoken by Capa (Cilian Murphy), the physicist aboard Icarus Two who has designed the bomb on their ship that will reignite the sun.  Yes, this is one of those movies where a crew is sent to save humanity from a threat, but Sunshine treads into very unique territory.

First of all, what other movies can you think of whose entire central premise revolves around a mission to the sun?  Any?  I like that Boyle’s first foray into outer space is tackling probably the biggest problem that could affect Earth…the death of our sun.  Granted, in reality, the sun won’t die out for billions of years, but this is still a great premise if you will suspend reality a bit.  How can you possibly get that close to the sun?  What physical and psychological effects would it have on you?  Would it even be possible to get there and back with future technology?  The amazing thing about Sunshine is that it answers all of these questions and more with answers that may not be scientifically accurate but certainly seem plausible in the universe Boyle has created.  If you’re a physicist, I guess the film may frustrate you (tho an additional commentary track on the film is from Dr. Brian Cox who served as the scientific advisor).   But if you just accept the facts and enjoy the story, you’re in for a hell of a ride.

Sunshine is one of the most ambitious yet overlooked films of the past decade.  How did a science fiction film, complete with action and special effects, about a mission to restart the sun go almost unnoticed at the box office in July?  Domestically, the film grossed just over 3 million dollars.  Worldwide, it made much more (28 million) probably because of its largely international cast.  I don’t know what happened to the marketing of this film, but it was virtually non-existent.  I don’t even remember seeing a trailer on TV, any stars interviewed on late night shows, etc.  The movie opened up against The Simpson Movie plus Transformers was already in the theater, so maybe it never stood a chance?  Too bad since this film is infinitely better than Transformers.  Yes, I said it, nerds!

In the DVD commentary for the film, Boyle talks about how great sci-fi films are built around 3 things - the ship, the crew, and “the signal”.  As the Icarus Two is en-route, they receive a distress signal from the Icarus One which launched 7 years prior.  Once they decide to alter their course for it, they embark on a journey which has psychological elements of 2001 and Solaris as well as some pulse-pounding action and horror.  Notice how some characters are obsessed with the sun (as entire civilizations and religions have been).  Even the name of the ship is a nod towards the humility that man was shown in heliocentric ideals.

The special effects in the film are top-notch.  The ship modeling is flawless, the computers aboard the ship are believable, and most shockingly, the scenes of the sun - even up close - are realistic and terrifying.

Danny Boyle has a terrific directing style.  While this is his first foray into space (and probably last - he says that most directors only go to space once), I like how he masterfully creates a sense of location and perception at all times.  You are always aware of where a character is at inside or outside of the ship and the dangers that are inherent.  I like some of his personal touches such as when the crew of Icarus Two boards a desolate Icarus One, and we get split second glimpses of the crew that are so brief, they shouldn’t be able to be caught by the naked eye.  Yet, the backdrop they are against is so stark that you can see them in vivid detail.  It’s fun to hear Boyle talk about this scene on the commentary as well.

The casting is excellent.  Many people you will recognize but not necessarily know their name such as Rose Byrne (from FX’s “Damages”) and Cliff Curtis (primarily smaller roles in a very wide range of films including the gang member Smiley from Training Day).  One of the surprises for me was Chris Evans.  The only thing I’d seen him in prior was as the annoying Human Torch in the dreadful Fantastic Four, so I’d written him off.  But this guy can act and is seriously convincing as a man who is solely mission-focused and willing to sacrifice anyone or anything for the sake of that mission.

To round things off, I have to talk about the music of the film.  John Murphy’s score here is simply one of the best I’ve heard in a while.  It is beautiful and moving in how it communicates duty, sacrifice, struggle, and redemption. It creates a tone in the film that is mesmerizing, heroic, and haunting,

Sunshine is not a perfect film.  I can’t really get into what doesn’t quite work for me without giving spoilers.  But, I still see this as a Hidden Gem because I’m surprised at the number of people I talk to who have never heard of it.  This is a marvelous spectacle that you really need to see whether you are a sci-fi fan or not.  It’s a great story about man’s  ultimate struggle for survival.  It is also proof that a summer blockbuster can have a brain and still be thrilling.

P.S. - The music from the trailer is not the John Murphy score and is not even used in the film.  Below, I have the trailer for the film and below that, the main John Murphy score.

Directed by Rachid Bouchareb
Written by Rachid Bouchareb and Olivier Lorelle
Starring Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan
Rated R

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed…Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. - Dwight Eisenhower 1953

I love films that shine a spotlight on a part of history that is not in the mainstream.  This film by French Algerian Rachid Bouchareb focuses on the African troops (Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans) that were recruited to help liberate France during World War II.

Specifically, it focuses on four men.  Yassir (Samy Naceri) is seeking money (be it from his wages or loot found during the war) so that he can return home and help his brother get married.  Messaoud’s (Roschdy Zem) goal is to get married and live in France.  Corporal Abdelkader ( Sami Bouajila) is the real conscience of the film.  As one of the few men who can read, he is fighting for the equality of the colonized Algerians who, even in battle, face discrimination from the very country they are fighting for.  Finally, there is Said (Jamel Debbouze), a poor and illiterate Morroccan who becomes a personal servant to Sgt. Martinez (Bernard Blancan).

The war scenes in the film are masterfully filmed.  Bouchareb seems more interested in the scope of the battles.  In several scenes, he pulls back so we can see just how many men there are crawling like insects over the terrain.  You don’t see carnage in the way you would in something like Saving Private Ryan or The Brotherhood of War, but the action is still intense and very real.  I like the way that you feel the impact of war more than seeing it such as when a grenade or mortar explodes and the earth rains down on the men near it.

Like many war films, Days of Glory is a gripping and compelling story that winds its way to a final showdown.  The four protagonists arrive at a small French town to await the arrival of Allied forces so they can join them.  A German patrol gets there first.  Unlike many war films, this final battle is a very personal one.  There are only four men.  Four men we’ve come to know and love.  We understand the challenges they face as Muslims fighting in a strange land.  We understand their hopes and dreams.  We understand the glory they desire.

We learn at the end of the film that the servicemen from France’s former colonies had their pensions  frozen in 1959 shortly before their countries’ independence.  After Days of Glory was released in 2006, President Jacques Chirac ordered that pensions be fully restored.  Sadly, the epiloque tells us, “Successive governments have delayed payments of these pensions”.  A theft…

Directed by Kevin Macdonald
Based on the book by Joe Simpson
Starring Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, Joe Simpson, Simon Yates
Rated R

Have you ever wondered how you would react if you shattered your leg at 20,000 feet on the face of a deadly mountain and then fell 130 feet into an icy crevasse and were left for dead – and without food or water — by your climbing partner? Joe Simpson never did until it happened to him in 1985 on the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.  He found himself at the bottom of this crevasse when his climbing partner Simon Yates, thinking Simpson was dead, cut the rope tethering them together.  Oscar winning director Kevin Macdonald (One Day In September) tells this harrowing and unforgettable story of survival with a running narration by the true life Joe Simpson and Simon Yates as well as dramatic re-enactments actually filmed on Siula Grande.

In fact, the dramatic re-enactments are a big part of what make this film so great.  They are not the kind of cheesy recreations that you would see on cheap basic cable midnight programs.  These are superbly filmed sequences that place you smack dab in the middle of danger.  You can feel the cold slowing your blood, the ice shrinking your skin, and the mountain reaching out to claim your life.

After the film, stay for the extra features.  A 22 minute making-of feature examines the crew’s journey to Peru and the challenges they faced in shooting a movie in the Andes with frozen hands. Another feature of about the same length, ”Return to Siula Grande”, is a video diary which follows Simpson and Yates as they return for the first time to Siula Grande along with Macdonald and the crew. You can sense a nervous anticipation in both men, especially Simpson who is visibly uncomfortable visiting this rocky behemoth that almost killed him. It seems a given that the men would be lifelong friends. But oddly, you discover that they barely even talked to each other after their salvation until they reunited for the film’s production. It’s nothing personal. In fact, Simpson vehemently defends Yates who unfairly took a beating in the mountain climbing community for his actions on that fateful climb. Also check out the feature “What Happened Next” which goes beyond the final moments of the film examining the events which occurred immediately after Simpson’s ordeal.

Written and directed by Christian Carion
Starring Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Daniel Brühl, Gary Lewis, Alex Ferns, Steven Robertson, Ian Richardson
Rated PG-13

In December of 1914, there are many accounts (primarily through letters) of fraternization between French, German, and British troops on Christmas Eve.  While specifics are difficult to pin down, there are enough of these letters to show that these fraternizations occurred over 700 kilometers between Ostend in Belgium and Basel in Switzerland.

Director Christian Carion’s Oscar-nominated 2005 masterpiece focuses on a group of French, British, Scottish and German soldiers on this historic night.  There are six main characters.  Audebert (Guillaume Canet) is a French lieutenant as well as the son of an overbearing general.  Palmer (Gary Lewis) is a British priest who joined the war as a medic primarily to keep an eye on two boys from his church, Jonathan and William.  Gordon (Alex Ferns) is a Scottish lieutenant who works closely with Palmer.  On the German side is famous tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) and his Danish girlfriend Anna Sorensen (Diane Krüger).  Sprink is pulled to the front lines during a performance with Anna.  His lieutenant Horstmayer (Daniel Brühl) looks down on Sprink.  He has a very low opinion of artists who become soldiers.

It is Sprink’s singing that serves as the catalyst which brings these soldiers together.  After several days of intense fighting, he strolls into a snowy No Man’s Land singing “O Come All Ye Faithful”.  It is haunting and powerful.  It is also a reminder that God is there with them even on the battlefield.  After all, God has always been there.  It is man who decided to fight.

Religion, in fact, plays a huge role in the film.  It begins with some disturbing images (also based on fact) of schoolboys from France and Germany reciting poems that praise their country and spread hatred for their enemies.  It’s religion as propaganda bolstered by another scene in which a Scottish Bishop preaches to the troops about their God-given mandate to kill Germans.  It is a disturbing scene that serves as a turning point for one of the main characters.

The genius of Joyeux Noël is that it manages to simultaneously be a sobering and wise insight into the nature of war and an affirmation of the real meaning of Christmas.  And not in a Hallmark kind of way.  These are men who come to realize the irony in celebrating the birth of Christ during a cessation of hostilities.  There is a friendship that spreads like wildfire throughout the ranks as these men - through song, drinking, and sharing of pictures - come to realize that their governments have ordered them to kill each other yet they believe in a different King.

Many of the specific events in the film are based on fact including a cat that goes back and forth between the trenches before being arrested for treason as well as a woman (Anna) being brought to the trenches to assist in the Christmas festivities.  In fact, there is a fascinating interview on the DVD in which the director talks about many of these true events.

This is actually a terrific family film if you have older kids.  In fact, the film has a unique history in that it was first rated R by the MPAA until Roger Ebert blasted the decision, and it was changed to a PG-13.  There is a brief scene of nudity during a tastefully filmed sex scene.  Aside from that, there is nothing objectionable.  While the war scenes are filmed with great skill, they are not graphic.

This is a true holiday treasure unlike anyone you’ve seen before.  It will definitely help you have a Joyeux Noël.

Directed by Kon Ichikawa
Written by Natto Wada
Based on the novel by Michio Takeyama
Starring Rentaro Mikuni, Shoji Yasui, Jun Hamamura, Taketoshi Naito, Kō Nishimura

“The songs uplifted our spirits and sometimes our hearts.” - Captain Inouye

When I first decided to have a Hidden Gems section on this website, this film was one of the first to come to mind. I first saw it in 2005, and it had a significant impact on me. It was one of those films where you literally sit in silence afterward, awestruck at what you’ve just seen.

The 1956 film is directed by Japanese maestro Kon Ichikawa (some believe he’s in the same class as the indomitable Akira Kurosawa) and written by his wife Natto Wada.  It focuses on an Imperial Japanese Army regiment in Burma towards the end of World War II.  Led by Captain Inouye, the regiment’s (or what’s left of them) purpose is to boost morale through their fighting and singing.  At the beginning of the film, they take refuge in a village and find out that they are being watched by British soldiers.  The Brits overtake them and inform them that Japan has surrendered, but they still need their help.  A group of Japanese soldiers are barricaded in a cave on a mountainside and refuse to surrender.  Private Mizushima, Inouye’s harp player, volunteers.  His efforts are futile and, eventually, artillery rains down on the cave leaving Mizushima as the only survivor.  Mizushima is traumatized by the corpses around him and decides to help bury and pray for the dead.  He accomplishes this task by stealing a robe from monk.

From there, the film moves back and forth from Mizushima and his new found mission to Captain Inouye as his men continue to look for Mizushima believing he’s still alive.

The Burmese Harp is a powerful film about atonement and the power of music.    It’s no secret that Japan had a lot to atone for.  Ironically, novelist Takeyama nor director Ichikawa were aware of their nation’s sins.  At Criterion.com, British film critic Tony Rayns explains “Takeyama, writing in 1946, would not have been aware of the extent or magnitude of the Japanese war crimes committed in Burma and other countries. Such embarrass­ments have never been ­widely acknowledged or reported in Japan, and so it’s entirely possible that Ichikawa was equally unaware of them a decade later.”

The film is strongly Buddhist but its themes transcend religion, shining a light on hope in the midst of death.  Rayns nails the central idea of the film when he ponders “Ichikawa anchors Mizushima’s gradual discovery of his own spirituality in that initial act of theft, a selfish crime that contains the seeds of the thief’s selfless future. For Ichikawa, Burma is, indeed, Buddha’s own land; he films mostly landscapes and temples, generally in wide-angle shots, always stressing the weight of the land and the places in the lives of the humans who pass through them.”

Yes, this is an old black and white film with subtitles.  But, look beyond that if that’s not typically your bag.  The film ends with the recitation of a letter, and that scene hit me like a sledgehammer.  The letter expresses such unfathomable depths of selflessness, purpose, and conviction.  This was truly a film ahead of its time.  Please give it some of yours.

A bit of trivia - Kon Ichikawa died not too long ago - February of 2008 - at the age of 92.

Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Starring Algenis Pérez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland, Michael Gaston, Jaime Tirelli, José Rijo, Ann Whitney, Richard Bull, Ellary Porterfield, Alina Vargas, Kelvin Leonardo Garcìa, Joendy Peña
Rated R for profanity and a brief sexual scene

Hidden Gem by guest author Eddie Chinn

Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. 3 balls, 2 strikes. It’s Game 6 of the World Series in the new Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees are leading Philadelphia 7-3. The ball is stroked to second base where Robinson Cano fires the ball into Mark Texiera’s glove. The New York Yankees win their 27th World Championship.

Virtually every man who loved baseball as a little boy fantasized about wearing the pinstripes and playing in the Series. They imagined themselves under the lights at Yankee Stadium with the thundering crowd in the background chanting their name.

This was also the dream of a young Dominican Republic pitching sensation named Miguel Santos (Algenis Perez Soto). He was one of several gifted players attending the Kansas City Knights’ baseball academy nestled near Santos’ village home. They all had grand visions of making it to the States and experiencing the riches of playing at Yankee Stadium and driving Cadillacs. His pride and ego accompany him like a player’s agent on draft day.

His nickname is Sugar. He says it represents his sweetness with the ladies while others say it’s his inability to turn down sweets. It also describes his devastating knuckle-curve ball which eventually becomes his ticket out of the comforts of the Dominican Republic and into the terrifying strangeness of the “Third World” country that is the United States of America.

Sugar is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) and has the feel of a baseball documentary. Knowing that this is a story detailing the journey of a young athlete from an undeveloped country to the Promised Land, one would enter the theater expecting a formulaic, rags-to-riches baseball story culminating with the championship game.

And, that would be where you’re wrong.

I have read several reviews that make the point that this movie is not about baseball. While I tend to agree with that perspective, the sport’s role as a supporting actor is brilliant. There are the typical factors such as taking illegal drugs, attention from fans, and player brawls that keep the film honest, but getting a glimpse of how the sports is viewed outside the US is captivating.

In Miguel’s case, baseball initially makes his decision for him on what to do with his life. His gifts land him the opportunity he’s been waiting for as KC signs him to a minor league contract. He is sent to play for the Iowa Swing, the Knights’ A farm club. He struggles with the culture and the demands of professional baseball, and the common denominator is his hosting family, the Higgins. Their strict rules, faith, and their church-loving granddaughter bring confusion to Sugar in the midst of him pursuing his “calling.”

While recuperating from an injury after covering first base, Sugar begins to see a side of the game that isn’t all that glamorous. He watches his best friend and mentor, Jorge, get cut from the team due to his age and slow rehabilitation from a knee injury. Then, another D.R. phenom arrives on the scene and begins grabbing all the attention. He then begins to falter on the mound upon his return from his injury, and his dream begins to fade while feeling isolated and vulnerable.

Soon afterward, Sugar walks to the bus heading out on a road trip and remembers leaving something in the clubhouse. It is at this point that the movie takes a turn that you don’t see coming.

If you love baseball and/or human interest stories, then you will become fixated on this film. I also found it intriguing that, while this movie doesn’t follow the typical Hollywood blueprint, it pays respect to those baseball movies from years past. It’s a movie about an immature pitcher who gets caught up in the glamor, yet there’s no Crash Davis. He plays for a team called the Knights, but his manager does not wish he was a farmer. Life takes him to the corn fields of Iowa, but it certainly isn’t heaven.

As his Uncle Frank said early in Sugar’s quest, “Life gives you many opportunities, baseball only gives you one.”

For Miguel Santos, he’s fine with either as long as one takes him to New York.

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona
Written by Sergio G. Sánchez
Starring Geraldine Chaplin, Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep, Mabel Rivera, Edgar Vivar
Rated R for mild violence, mild profanity, and kids in creepy masks.

In the Halloween edition of Hidden Gems , we started out in Mexico/Spain (production companies are in both countries), went to South Korea, over to Thailand, and now we return to Mexico/Spain.  The common link here is Guillermo del Toro, the director of The Devil’s Backbone, who helped produce El Orfanato and essentially put it on the map.  Sánchez finished the script in 1996.  He wanted to direct the film but was turned down by several production companies.  He took the script to Bayona.  Bayona loved it but wanted to make some changes which would make it necessary to increase the budget and filming time.  So he went to his good friend del Toro, and the rest is cinematic history.

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of 2007.  When it was over, the audience gave an ovation that lasted for ten minutes.  In Spain, the film won 14 Goya Awards including Best Picture.  So what’s the big deal?

I first saw The Orphanage about a year ago.  As soon as it was over, I decided it was simply one of the best horror films I’d ever seen.  I know we all have our nostalgia picks for various films, but sometimes a new one comes along that is legitimately heads above the rest.

The film is set in Spain at an orphanage for special-needs children.  Laura (Belén Rueda) grew up in this orphanage but now, she has moved there with her husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo), and their seven-year-old , Simón (Roger Príncep) who is also adopted but doesn’t know it of course.  Simón is also sick.  He has HIV, and is being treated.  One night, Laura goes into his room to see him talking to invisible friends.  Laura plays it off as typical child fantasies.  Then while exploring a cave one day, she finds Simón talking to another invisible friend…this one is named Tomás.  Simon confides in Laura that he has six invisible friends.

I’ve said before that atmosphere and mood are critical components of horror.  If you don’t have that, your film falls on its face fast.  The Orphanage knocks it out of the park in this respect.  It creaks, squeaks, groans, drips, and moans.  The slowly moving camera.  The score.  The impeccable pacing.  There is no formula for this…you just know it when you experience it.

The mood of the film is also enhanced by a terrific performance from Roger Príncep.  In one key scene, he is telling his mom things that he couldn’t possibly know about himself.  The discussion leads to his invisible friends and mortality.

Laura: Will you be like Peter Pan?
Simón:  Like my new friends.
Laura: They won’t grow up either?
Simón:  They can’t.

Of course, this is a ghost story, and there are unavoidable similarities that you’ll find in most of them.  The Orphanage has some of these threads but it completely transcends the typical ghost story and adds some terrifying anxiety.  Not long after the above discussion, Simón disappears, and the film also becomes a frantic search for a little boy.  During this search, Laura begins to see and hear some very strange things, and seeks the help of a medium.  Belén Rueda absolutely shines in this role as a beautiful, loving woman with the ferocious spirit of a tiger fighting to protect her cubs.

It’s hard to go into too much detail without ruining this film, but this is one deeply spooky movie.  The orphanage holds some dark secrets (as these places usually do) that Laura must uncover.  The fear isn’t that sticky, syrupy kind that stays with you for days making you feel like you need a shower.  It’s that in-the-moment freakiness that makes you realize you probably need to change your underwear when it’s over. But at the same time, the film is sweet and tender.  Like The Devil’s Backbone, it left me emotional but even more so.  The film is a devastating and affecting journey (especially the very last frame) that will scare the hell out of you along the way.  This is a real treat that you must see if you have any interest in this genre.

Below is the trailer which gives a terrific feel for the film without ruining it.  Ignore the cheesy voice-over.

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom
Written by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Sopon Sukdapisit, and Parkpoom Wongpoom
Starring Ananda Everingham, Natthaweeranuch Thongmee, and Achita Sikamana
No MPAA rating - violence, disturbing images, sexual content

Hell hath no fury like a woman killed.  Tun (Ananda Everingham) and his girlfriend Jane (Natthaweeranuch Thongmee) learn this lesson after a car accident on the way home from a party one night.  Jane is driving and, in a moment of distraction, hits a young woman.  Seeing her still body on the road behind them, Tun freaks out and screams at Jane to leave the scene.  Drive, Jane, Drive!  See Jane drive away.  Bad Tun bad!  See Tun and Jane haunted mercilessly by a ghost.

You’ve probably figured out by now that I’m not talking about the shitty American Shutter starring Joshua Jackson from 2008.  That film is a remake of this far superior 2004 original from Thailand.  That film was nominated for the 2005 Golden Kinnaree Award for best film at the Bangkok International Film Festival.  That is a big deal.  Thai film is taking off and this film festival was just started in 2003.  Some Hollywood celebrities such as Catherine Deneuve, Jeremy Irons, Michael Douglas, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lee, Oliver Stone, Terry Gilliam and Joel Schumacher have even attended the festival.

Shutter is not entirely original.  The film borrows elements from modern Japanese horror classics, chief among them the crazy bitch ghost that lumbers along haltingly with long black hair covering her/its face (see Ringu, Ju-on: The Grudge, and others).  There’s even a creepy scene that takes place in a public bathroom (ala Ju-on).  However, Shutter still carves out its own niche in this genre of eek.  There are some truly creepy moments as Tun and Jane experience nightmares in their sleep and waking hallucinations (or are they?) during the day.  One of the more memorable scenes involves a head of black hair slowly emerging from a sink amidst the red glow of a darkroom.

As you can probably guess from the title, Shutter has a lot to do with photography.  After the hit and run, Tun begins to notice ghostly images he can’t explain in the photos he picks up from the lab.  When Jane is at a photography class at college, the professor explains “…photography does not reproduce reality. It depends on how the image is framed, what is revealed, and what is concealed.”  And there is a lot to be concealed here.  The hit and run brings up an ugly incident from Tun’s past that he has kept from Jane.  It may explain a lot about what is going on with them.

Many good horror films are morality tales packaged in creeps, chills, and thrills.  Shutter is no exception.  Tun is hiding a great sin from his past that goes way beyond the hit and run.  The scenes depicting how he and his friends bullied another human being are disturbing.  Ananda Everingham is very effective as Tun.  Even though he has done a terrible thing in his past (he was more of a bystander who refused to intervene, but what he did is still unforgivable), and has made things worse by becoming party to a hit and run, Everingham still elicits empathy as he deals with extreme regret and guilt.

There is a scene towards the end where a Polaroid is taken.  Shutter is an eerie, moody buildup to what that photo reveals, and it is a fantastic payoff.  If you choose to see the American remake over this one, you need serious counseling.