Official Competition is, for the right crowd, a very funny movie about the egos behind and in front of the camera. An older multi-millionaire wants to leave a lasting legacy, not just charity donations that will be forgotten a year after he’s dead, but something that will always point to his greatness for future generations. He settles on producing a film, “the best film ever made,” and he wants the best to make it. First, he pays out the ass for the movie rights to a highly regarded novel (one he hasn’t even read; he’s just going off reviews). Then he hires a director, Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz). From the get-go we see that she is batshit crazy and has extreme methods for getting actors to complete her vision, but the critics love her films. She suggests for the two leading roles Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) and Iván Torres (Oscar Martinez). The older Torres is a longtime art-house actor and is as pretentious as they come: he “doesn’t care” for awards, but instead is all about the art of acting, wanting to get into the mind of the character and show that to the viewer. Rivero is the opposite: he doesn’t care what a character’s motives are, he just relays what’s in the script and lets the viewer take from it what they will. He is all about awards, and has a pile of them from the big blockbusters he’s been in. The film shows these 3 big egos come together to try to make this film, and the movie is mostly the rehearsals and interaction between them. Your average moviegoer may not be in on all the jokes, but I laughed hard and often. Maybe not as “behind the scenes” as some other film-within-a-film stuff, since it isn’t really taking itself nearly as seriously as the in-film moviemakers are, but it is very funny stuff for movie lovers. ★★★½
Piggy is another Spanish film, this one in the horror genre. Sara is a very overweight girl who is being bullied by everyone she knows, even the one person, Claudia, who buys from her parents’ butcher shop and is only friendly when no one else is around. The latest round of bullying is of the cyber variety: one of the girls snaps a photo of Sara and her (also overweight) parents and splashes it on insta, calling them the three little piggies. The next day, Sara goes to the public pool, early as she always does, to avoid other people. While swimming, she is scared by a man who comes up from under the water, but he disappears shortly after. Before she can get out of the water, the mean girls come along and steal her clothes, forcing Sara to walk home in her bathing suit. On the way back home, she comes across the van the mystery man was driving, and in its back: Claudia, screaming for help, and covered in blood. Sara has a chance to help, but when the man steps out of the van, Sara just waves at him and lets him drive off. Soon after, a girl is found at the bottom of the pool, and the city starts looking for the murderer. Sara has a chance again to go the authorities, but when it becomes apparent that the man is only hurting those who’ve hurt her, Sara must decide if she helps or hinders his brutality. Decent enough gory film, and as bad as Sara was treated, even the viewer is conflicted on who we should be rooting for. ★★★
Argentina, 1985 hails from that country, and tells the true story of the trial of the juntas in 1985, following the country’s return to democracy after a decade of military dictatorship. The prosecution, led by Julio Strassera, faces an uphill battle from the very beginning. Though the country has voted-in leaders for this first time in awhile, the outgoing regime still remains popular in certain circles, and they have many powerful friends still in government and especially in the military. Immediately, threats start coming in to Strassera and his helper, Moreno Ocampo, but at least at first, the threats are unfounded. In putting together a team to build evidence, Strassera doesn’t want to give any ammunition to those who say the trial isn’t legitimate or that the prosecutors have an agenda, so they get a bunch of “kids” to help, young twenty-somethings who’ve never voted or shown any particular political leanings. This team goes out and builds their case. They know they won’t be able to tie the leaders directly to tortures/kidnappings/murders done under their command, as they can contend they weren’t aware of such doings, so they instead build prosecution around the the fact that those acts were going on all across the country in a concerted effort, and thus weren’t localized to “a few bad apples.” The film is a little too heavy on facts for my tastes, and thus gets bogged down by the end, just when it should be most exciting. Interesting? Yes, even compelling at times, but the only real drama comes from the victims’ testimonies, and when those are done, so is the best part of this film. ★★
Athena is a French action/drama film, revolving around 3 brothers. Their 4th brother, Idir, the youngest at 13, was recently killed, and the video footage of his death has gone viral, showing what looks like 3 police offers beating him to death. Each surviving brother takes this in a different way. The next youngest, Karim, a 17 or 18 year old, begins the movie by raiding a police station, with an army of like-minded, similar aged youths tired of seeing their people killed by cops. They storm the station, stealing a safe full of guns, before making their escape to Karim’s neighborhood, which Karim and his army have cordoned off, blocking all roads in and out of the city block. The oldest brother, Moktar (old enough to not really know his younger brothers, as they didn’t share a father), is a drug dealer living in the same area. His only intent is to get the drugs out before the cops storm the place; he isn’t able to, so he takes to burying them in a big hole in one of the apartments. The middle brother, Abdel, is a decorated soldier in the French army. At first Abdel is concerned with getting the parents and older citizens in the neighborhood out safely before the cops come in, but when it becomes apparent that Karim might not survive this ordeal, he finds a new purpose. All Karim wants is the names of the 3 officers who killed his brother, and he’s willing to do anything to get them. There’s some decent action shots for what is undoubtably a low budget film, but one of its biggest features actually gets old after awhile, and that’s its long takes. The film begins with one in fact, with Karim and his group storming the police station. It appears to be one long take as Karim wonders the building, with gun shots and fireworks (the boys’ only weapons in the beginning) going off all over, and the camera follows them as they escape in a van. Right away I was awed, but that’s only the first of several long takes, and after awhile it started to feel like a gimmick. The plot is a bit thin too, and by the end, you’ve stopped caring for the outcome. ★½
Live is Life is an absolutely incredible movie with the adventure of The Goonies and the heart of Stand by Me. Five young teens have been friends for a long time, but only get together as a group a couple times a year, as one of them lives in the city and only comes out to the country to visit his grandparents. No matter how long its been since they got together last, when they meet, they pick up right where they left off. A lot has changed for the friends since last time they met though. One of them, Alvaro, has cancer, and his prognosis isn’t good, though his twin Maza remains upbeat, at least on the outside. Another boy, Suso, has a father in a coma, after falling off a roof during work. The film’s “main” character is Rodri, the city boy, who is relentlessly bullied at school and looks forward to seeing his friends. Their reason for getting together this summer weekend is the midsummer’s holiday, and they come up with a plan for an adventure. A mystical plant grows at the top of the mountain which is said to have healing properties, if it is harvested before dawn on midsummer day. Setting out the day before, the boys ride their bikes up the mountain, but also stop for plenty of play along the way. Whether it is doing a “pool crawl” (jumping in various private pools along the way until kicked out), running and hiding from the older “scumbag” bullies in the area, or, for the final boy in the group, Garriga, going to a classmate’s party so he can score his first kiss, the two days of their journey will be something none of them will ever forget, and neither will I. This film is moving, full of emotion with mountain highs and valley lows, with lots of laughs but also plenty of heartache. From an outside viewer’s perspective, it is easy to see that this might be the final adventure they take as a group, and not just because they may soon lose Alvaro. These are boys turning into men, and it won’t be long before life pulls them away from each other and they can no longer play kid’’s games. I laughed and cried and enjoyed every minute. ★★★★★
- TV series currently watching: Westworld (season 4)
- Book currently reading: Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
Jons Movie Takes 