PLANES, TRAINS AND CIGARETTES
Dec. 27th, 2013 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogThese may or may not be the last films I see this year. It depends. But they’ll likely be the last ones I see in an actual theatre. The rest will be video catch-ups.
The Wind Rises
The final film of Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, who announced his retirement after completing it. And while it’s not exactly going out on a high note, it’s not disappointing either.
The Wind Rises is the fictionalized bio of Jiro Horikoshi, an airplane designer who eventually designed the Mitsubishi A5M, the precursor to the infamous Zero fighter plane. That angle alone has stirred up tons of controversy in Japan and neighboring countries who still haven’t forgotten or forgiven Japan’s militant past (especially with current PM Shinzo Abe displaying nationalist tendencies – although Miyazaki has been openly critical of Abe). But strip away the politics and it’s a simple and mostly well-told story about the artistic side of engineering and a man with a dream, as well as the disconnect between the people who design airplanes for the beauty of it and the govts who use them for war.
While it’s not a pro-war film by any stretch, Miyazaki does keep the anti-war sentiment to a minimum – which would be okay, except that he doesn't show the same restraint when it comes to the love story subplot. Granted, by Hollywood standards it’s quite low-key, but for me it comes across as too cheesy at times, especially by the end of the film.
Apart from that, it’s an interesting (if politically unpopular) slice of history. And like all of Miyazaki’s movies, the craftsmanship is impeccable and well worth the price of admission. He’s made better films, but none quite as provocative. Also, it's probably yr only chance this year to see a G-rated film with lots of cigarette smoking.
Snowpiercer
Dystopian sci-fi action film and the English-language debut of Korean director Bong Joon-Ho. The premise (based on a French graphic novel): a botched attempt to reverse global warming has sent Earth back to the Ice Age, killing most life on the planet. Human survivors ride on a global high-speed train driven by a perpetual motion engine, with the wealthy living in luxury in the front and the poor living in squalor in the back. And revolution is brewing.
The train part sounds iffy on paper, but Bong really makes it work, mainly by taking a more surreal approach that borrows (intentionally or otherwise) from multiple reference points (Metropolis, The Wizard Of Oz, The Shining, The Warriors and latter-day Tim Burton came to mind whilst I was watching it). As the rebels advance to the front of the train, each car serves as a tableaux of sorts that adds up to this: the further up the ladder you go, the more disconnected you come from reality.
It’s not exactly subtle as metaphors go, and occasionally Bong takes it a step too far (the schoolroom scene really does overdo it). But I ended up getting pretty fascinated by it as the story unfolded. And the slightly surreal approach makes it more convincing as a rich vs poor fable than, say, Elysium. Also, hats off to Tilda Swinton for giving one of the most brilliantly demented performances I've seen this year.
On a side note, I’ve read that the film hasn’t made it to North America yet because the Weinsteins (which control the distribution rights) want to chop 20 minutes off it and add narration dialogue (preferably written by Neil Gaiman – no, really). Having seen the original version (and remembering what such “improvements” did for Blade Runner), I have to say I don’t see how any of that would improve the film. It stands fine on its own, and at 126 minutes doesn’t really need that much cut. And it doesn’t need any voiceover narration, no matter how well written it might be.
Going off the rails,
This is dF
The Wind Rises
The final film of Japanese animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, who announced his retirement after completing it. And while it’s not exactly going out on a high note, it’s not disappointing either.
The Wind Rises is the fictionalized bio of Jiro Horikoshi, an airplane designer who eventually designed the Mitsubishi A5M, the precursor to the infamous Zero fighter plane. That angle alone has stirred up tons of controversy in Japan and neighboring countries who still haven’t forgotten or forgiven Japan’s militant past (especially with current PM Shinzo Abe displaying nationalist tendencies – although Miyazaki has been openly critical of Abe). But strip away the politics and it’s a simple and mostly well-told story about the artistic side of engineering and a man with a dream, as well as the disconnect between the people who design airplanes for the beauty of it and the govts who use them for war.
While it’s not a pro-war film by any stretch, Miyazaki does keep the anti-war sentiment to a minimum – which would be okay, except that he doesn't show the same restraint when it comes to the love story subplot. Granted, by Hollywood standards it’s quite low-key, but for me it comes across as too cheesy at times, especially by the end of the film.
Apart from that, it’s an interesting (if politically unpopular) slice of history. And like all of Miyazaki’s movies, the craftsmanship is impeccable and well worth the price of admission. He’s made better films, but none quite as provocative. Also, it's probably yr only chance this year to see a G-rated film with lots of cigarette smoking.
Snowpiercer
Dystopian sci-fi action film and the English-language debut of Korean director Bong Joon-Ho. The premise (based on a French graphic novel): a botched attempt to reverse global warming has sent Earth back to the Ice Age, killing most life on the planet. Human survivors ride on a global high-speed train driven by a perpetual motion engine, with the wealthy living in luxury in the front and the poor living in squalor in the back. And revolution is brewing.
The train part sounds iffy on paper, but Bong really makes it work, mainly by taking a more surreal approach that borrows (intentionally or otherwise) from multiple reference points (Metropolis, The Wizard Of Oz, The Shining, The Warriors and latter-day Tim Burton came to mind whilst I was watching it). As the rebels advance to the front of the train, each car serves as a tableaux of sorts that adds up to this: the further up the ladder you go, the more disconnected you come from reality.
It’s not exactly subtle as metaphors go, and occasionally Bong takes it a step too far (the schoolroom scene really does overdo it). But I ended up getting pretty fascinated by it as the story unfolded. And the slightly surreal approach makes it more convincing as a rich vs poor fable than, say, Elysium. Also, hats off to Tilda Swinton for giving one of the most brilliantly demented performances I've seen this year.
On a side note, I’ve read that the film hasn’t made it to North America yet because the Weinsteins (which control the distribution rights) want to chop 20 minutes off it and add narration dialogue (preferably written by Neil Gaiman – no, really). Having seen the original version (and remembering what such “improvements” did for Blade Runner), I have to say I don’t see how any of that would improve the film. It stands fine on its own, and at 126 minutes doesn’t really need that much cut. And it doesn’t need any voiceover narration, no matter how well written it might be.
Going off the rails,
This is dF
