Quick takes on Great Freedom and other films

The Box is a 2021 Mexican film from Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas. Hatzín is a 13-year-old boy with a weighty task: claiming the remains of his absent father from a recently found communal grave. Hatzín lives with his grandmother in Mexico City but has come out to the boons alone; his abuela is ill and could not make the trek. Claiming the box, Hatzín grabs the bus home, but staring out the window, he sees a man that is the spitting image of his father. Hatzín jumps off the bus and confronts him, but the man, calling himself Mario, denies it. Hatzín hasn’t seen his father since he was a young boy, and while the viewer thinks Mario is telling the truth, Hatzín is adamant. He sticks to Mario like glue, not giving up, so Mario takes him under his wing and makes him an assistant to his day job. Turns out, Mario isn’t such a great guy. His job is hunting for the poor and hopeless and promising them good pay for hard work, but delivers them to factories where they get worked long hours and docked pay for trivial issues. At first, Hatzín has blinkers on and looks past Mario’s misdeeds, but when Mario is called upon to do even more heinous acts, Hatzín starts to see his “dad” as someone he should not be emulating. By this point though, Mario isn’t going to let Hatzín get away without trying to manipulate him into staying. Very strong plot but there was something lost in the delivery of it for me. Wasn’t entirely compelling through and through, so while I did want to see how it all ended, I wasn’t invested as much as maybe the filmmaker wanted me to be. ★★★

Great Freedom (German: Große Freiheit) is a tremendous film out of Austria, following a man dealing with political prejudice against his way of life. Hans is a gay man, something you do not want to be in West Germany after World War II. The beginning and ending of the film take place in the late 60s, but we get flashbacks to fill in the gaps. In 1968, Hans is returning to prison for a new stint after being found guilty (again) of homosexuality, long illegal by law under Paragraph 175. He reunites with a friend on the inside, Viktor, who has been in jail for a very long time for an unknown crime (we don’t find out what until the last 25 minutes of the movie). We soon get a flashback to 1945, the first time Hans went to jail and met Viktor. Though friends in 1968, that wasn’t always the case. When they meet as cellmates in 1945, Viktor wants Hans to keeps his gay hands off of him (in more vulgar terms), but he is appalled to learn that Hans was sent straight from a concentration camp (gays were targeted just as much as jews and gypsies) to jail. Over time, the two form a friendship, so by the time Hans comes back in 1957, the two pick up where they left off. Hans is in jail this time with his lover, both jailed obviously for the same crime, but while Hans knows what to expect, his partner does not, and things do not go well for him. Later, back in jail again in 1969, the world is changing: Hans and Viktor witness man landing on the moon, and Paragraph 175 is abolished. But Hans doesn’t know how to look forward to a time without regular “visits” from his friend, who has helped him beat heroin and open his eyes to a new world outside the walls, and Hans maybe isn’t ready for a world where he won’t be persecuted. This is an at times cruel and other times heartfelt film about the differences of man and learning to accept those differences. Great film with stellar acting by the leads, and a tender hand by director Sebastian Meise. ★★★★

Juniper is the sort of quiet drama that rests entirely on the shoulders of a single actor, in this case, Charlotte Rampling. The venerable actor plays Ruth, a woman who has just broken her leg in London, so for extra care, she goes to New Zealand to stay with her estranged son Robert, and Robert’s son Sam. Ruth has never met her grandson Sam, who grew up on stories of Ruth’s highs (an illustrious war photographer) and lows (a high functioning alcoholic with a quick temper). Ruth’s visit comes at a weird time for Sam. He is still getting over the recent death of his mother, and feels alienated from his father for a misdeed, and having been sent to a boarding school for his transgression. If you’ve watched any movies at all like this, you know exactly where this is heading, and unfortunately it does sink into many of the trope traps along the way, but it is acted well. The film is Matthew J Saville’s feature directorial debut, and his hand is a bit unsteady, but there’s talent there for more to come. Ultimately though, there isn’t quite enough to make this particular movie stand out from the all of the others like it. ★★½

Alcarràs felt too long, which is unfortunately, because it’s the kind of slow-paced character-driven film that I usually love. Taking place in Spain, it is about a family who is seeing their multi-generational way of life coming to an end. Quimet Solé and his wife are raising their kids the same way he was raised: as fruit farmers in Catalonia. They’ve never owned the land, but Quimet’s father Rogelio remembers his father having a verbal agreement with the family who does, the Pinyol clan, and were supposed to be able to stay as long as they farmed it. The Solé’s even protected the Pinyols a couple generations ago during war in the region. But the newest Pinyol isn’t into honoring the verbal agreement, and wants to tear down the peach trees and put up a solar farm. This will be the last harvest that the Solé’s pull from the land, and Quimet isn’t taking it well. The cast is made up of people that lived in the area, all non-professional actors, but for the most part, they are up to the task and do an admirable job. And while there is some character development for Quimet’s kids, each dealing with the change in their own way, there are long swaths of film where nothing happens. The youngest kids are playing, or the oldest daughter is dancing with her friends, or we watch Quimet or his son drive a tractor from one edge of the field to the other. Trim the fat, and this film could have been a much better 90 minute feature instead of a 2 hour snoozefest. ★★

Longtime readers of my blog will see where my tastes gravitate. Rom-coms are not them, but I gave Rye Lane a chance due to incredible reviews. So we are clear, “It’s not you, it’s me.” By all intents and purposes, this is a charming film about a couple of newly single people finding each other in an unexpected way. Dom found out his girl was cheating on him with his childhood friend (a blockhead), and Yas has recently dumped her narcissistic boyfriend. Yas overhears Dom crying in a bathroom, and so starts their relationship. The film mostly takes place over a single day, as they confront each other’s ex’s, boosted by confidence from each other, and try new things that each would never do on their own. It’s definitely a romantic comedy for today’s generation, with quick camera work and TikTok-like flashbacks, which I found off-putting (call me a traditionalist), but the plot is cute and the story takes interesting, new turns, breathing new life into the genre. Not my cup of tea, but genre fans will find plenty to like. ★★½

• TV series currently watching: Luther (series 3), Ted Lasso (season 3)
• Book currently reading: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee