Reviews

Right from the opening fantasy sequence of Antonis Kafetzopoulos imitating Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca", you can tell "Revanche" is NOT going to be an ordinary movie. It is in fact very peculiar, fresh, dreamy, aimless, idiosyncratic: definitely not for all moods (more for a late-late night one), and probably works better on the second viewing - with the use of fast-forward where necesssary. Partly it's like a Greek "Jules & Jim", but it's more than that; its occasional pretentiousness is leavened by some very funny lines. Giota Festa is a dynamo, and a feminist ahead of the curve. **1/2 out of 4.

If you think that the (in)famous "Greek Weird Wave" started only in 2009 with Yorgos Lanthimos' "Dogtooth", think again: here's a pretty weird Greek film from 1981. It's sort of a Greek "Rear Window", but without any of the thriller elements. It is also a period snapshot of Athens and its youth in the early 1980s (expect lots of Pacman and bike racing). Giorgos Panousopoulos seems to be a better director than writer: there is not much story here - the narrative is rather loose - but the film is a stylish, absorbing, hypnotic mood piece. It brought something new to Greek cinema when it came out. *** out of 4.

"The Photograph" has been cited by Greek critics as one of the best Greek fims of all time. It is undeniably flawed: much of the dialogue sounds unnatural, or even post-dubbed, and Aris Retsos gives an awkward, weird performance - at times he seems to be playing someone mentally handicapped, although at other times he is as sharp as a nail. Hristos Valavanidis, in a thankfully small part, gives a comically overwrought performance. But the main story, once it kicks in, is powerful, and Christos Tsagas' performance is remarkable. The film came out at a time when the Greek movie industry was, by all accords, dominated by cheap commercial cinema on one side and inaccessible arthouse cinema on the other, and it is notable for being far removed from either extreme; it carves its own path. **1/2 out of 4.

Theodoros Angelopoulos' first feature-length film could perhaps be desrcibed, in broad terms, as the Greek "Rashomon". It's ocassionally visually impressive, especially in the sections shot in a mountain village so deserted that it almost looks like a post-apocalyptic landscape, though at other times the images are dark and murky. The pace is inert, the dialogue is spare and stilted, and the storytelling is disjointed; the juggling of the choronological sequence of events seems more confusing than illuminating. In any case, if you want to see an arthouse black-and-white Greek policier, this is probably one of your very few options. ** out of 4.

"A Summer In La Goulette" provides a rare cinematic look into Tunisian culture; in fact, it seems to capture the soul of Tunisia. Do not expect much "plot", this falls more into the "slice-of-life" category, switching its focus among a variety of characters; if Robert Altman was Tunisian, he might have made something like this. It contains marvellous music, and some of the most beautiful women you will ever see (including native Claudia Cardinale, in her mid-50s, in a small appearance as "herself"). Perhaps the most fascinating thing about it is the cultural and language blend - people are not ony multi-lingual, but constantly go from French to Arabic to Italian, sometimes within the same sentence! *** out of 4.

"Crazy Hong Kong" is a lame continuation of "The Gods Must Be Crazy!" saga, transporting - via accident - N! Xau from the Kalahari desert to crowded Hong Kong. The culture clash is eye-catching for a while, but the novelty, as well as the laughs, run out pretty quickly, leaving only sloppy slapstick behind. The version I saw was also badly dubbed in English (one HK extra actually says "hit the road Jack, and don't you come back no more, no more"). What does survive from this mishmash is N! Xau's unconditional and unwavering good nature; the gorgeous Carina Lau also manages to emerge unscathed. *1/2 out of 4.

Dull, exposition-heavy, low-rent South African Indiana Jones copy, with a few token scenes with a native thrown in to feign a connection with "The Gods Must Be Crazy!" films; it does reunite the two leads of the first of those, Marius Weyers and Sandra Prinsloo, and they do still have some chemistry (plus Prinsloo displays impressive cleavage in the entire second half of the picture), but the rest of the cast is basically one ethnic stereotype after another (British, German, Indian, etc.). There is also some nice scenery and some good stunts, but this film is still only for the terminally curious. *1/2 out of 4.

"Gladiators" is an enduring classic of sports game shows, no matter what country it is made in. In 2024, perhaps unexpectedly, not one but two franchises were revived: the British and the Australian. Both were pretty good. The British version has a solid line-up of gladiators (Legend is a funny successor to Wolf), and the female winner & runner-up are soooo beautiful and humble. The two major changes that are needed for the second season, which has already been confirmed, are: 1) a longer format. 11 are too few episodes, which leads to some losers of the Heats actually qualifying for the next rounds. The ideal number of episodes has always been 15. 2) the Gauntlet MUST be made more difficult (narrower? One more glad added?), because as it stands now almost every contender is getting maximum points and that's boring. But apart from those two complaints, I have no others. Even the hosts, who seemed a little iffy at first, have grown into their roles. 7.5 out of 10.

"Sleepless" (1957) is another Egyptian film which I would recommend to anyone interested in getting a taste of Egyptian cinema, as it is a very accessible, technically proficient film - it plays almost like a Hollywood melodrama, only in a different language. It's an overlong (a little over two hours) but engrossing soap opera, with Freudian implications. Slickly made, in vivid color, and a prime cast: Egyptian superstar Faten Hamamah, convincingly playing below her age, is especially effective in her off-screen narration, while Hind Rustum is worth two Jayne Mansfields all by herself. And if all that is not enough, Omar Sharif has a sizable role as well. *** out of 4.

Perhaps the only movie ever made entirely about people trapped in a stuck elevator: these include a mega-sexy film star, a petty crook, a robber, an escaped lunatic, a pair of illicit lovers, a pregnant woman and her husband, the man operating the elevator, and others. The action also expands to the roof of the building, where a film is being shot and the boyfriend of one of the passengers has a suicide pact with her. It's an intriguing mosaic / microcosm of Egyptian society at the time, and certainly a technical marvel, athough at feature length it feels a little stretched-out, and some of the performances - the lunatic and the director, in particular - are pitched too high. **1/2 out of 4.

"Cairo" (1963) is notable for being set in Cairo (duh...), but otherwise it's a routine caper film. It's quite leisurely - the caper doesn't start until halfway through the running time - and when it does get to the caper, it's totally unbelievable (the crooks enter the barely guarded Egyptian museum in a thoroughly noisy and indiscreet way!). On-location shooting and a good cast are the strongest assets; Faten Hamamah, reportedly the most popular Egyptian actress of all time, has a rather thankless role in her only Hollywood film, but still manages to give a charming performance. **1/2 out of 4.

"Cairo" (1942) is a typically polished MGM production - even if it does take place in an entirely Hollywood-studio Cairo. It features some surprising, for the time, "meta" humor, like Jeanette MacDonald's response to the question "Have you ever been to San Francisco?", or the final scene where she "teaches" Robert Young how to carry himself as an actor in front of a supposed camera - which is the actual camera filming them. There is perhaps a tad too much singing, although MacDonald, who looks gorgeous and younger than her age, has a remarkable voice. A fine supporting cast helps. **1/2 out of 4.

The two "Gods Must Be Crazy!" films must be credited for bringing more people to African cinema than perhaps any other film, but let's face it: they are made primarily for a Western audience, and their nominal lead, the true Kalahari native N! Xau, is more of a supporting character in both. This sequel consists mostly of endless slapstick shenanigans; the script seems to be running around in circles - often literally. But the slapstick IS occasionally inventive, the photography-stuntwork-animal integration are all good, the unconditionally positive N! Xau is still great, Lena Farugia displays a legendary pair of legs, and there is a heartwarming ending to everything. **1/2 out of 4.

"The Gods Must Be Crazy!", African cinema's biggest worldwide box-office hit ever, is a fairly entertaining mix of ethnographic documentary, slapstick comedy, romance, and action movie. I found the first of those ingredients to be the best: I cannot remember seeing another movie about the bushmen of the Kalahari desert. On the other hand, I do remember seeing movies about vehicles out of control, trigger-happy guerillas, and a clumsy guy trying to win over the affections of a beautiful woman, so those aspects were less interesting to me. N! Xau should be the star of the film, but he stays off-screen for considerable periods of time. That said, Sandra Prinsloo is beautiful and game, and Marius Weyers' Buster Keaton-esque sight gags do produce some chuckles. **1/2 out of 4.

Leonard Maltin calls "No Man's Land" a companion piece to Alain Tanner's more acclaimed "Jonah Who Will Be 25 In The Year 2000"; true, it too is an ensemble piece, made by the same director in a similar minimalistic style, but it has no "plot" connection to "Jonah" and lacks its political charge and its surrealistic elements. It is also not as engaging. But it is effectively disorienting (we're never quite sure which side of the French - Swiss border we're on, living up to the title), beautifully photographed (especially at night-time, in the forest), and has some wonderfully introspective moments, like a man describing seeing a woman's soul through her eyes ("it's like a well...you don't see the bottom"). **1/2 out of 4.

I always thought that the 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle "True Lies" was overrated - a step back into more mindless action films for Arnie after the extra-witty "Last Action Hero". Learning that it was a remake of a French film, and that in fact James Cameron has lifted entire sequences almost identically, certainly did not raise it in my estimation. But if "True Lies" was overblown, "La Totale!" is undercooked: it is essentially a slight, old-fashioned marital farce, punctuated by (very) sporadic action - and some unexpected blood squibs near the end. The two leads, Thierry Lhermitte and Miou Miou, are good, but the film is a little flat. Of course it doesn't help that the "official" English subtitles are rather poor, not making full sense at several points (example: "c'est pas vrai" becomes "superway"!). **1/2 out of 4.

"Jonah Will Be 25 In The Year 2000" is an interesting attempt to make a modern philosophical film, loaded with ideas and polemics. You can find traces of Luis Bunuel (in the surrealistic passages), of Jean-Luc Godard (in its political charge), of Robert Altman (in the way multiple characters randomly cross each other's paths and make connections), and perhaps of others in it, but writer-director Alain Tanner manages to blend all those influences into a unique package that's quite unlike anything else. There are some wonderful scenes, like the lesson in "time". Entire cast is very good, but Miou Miou is particularly enchanting. *** out of 4.

"La Diagonale Du Fou" is notable as one of the only two Swiss films to ever take home the Academy Award for "Best Foreign Language Film". It is also notable as being one of only a handful of films about chess which, apparently, is not considered the most cinematic "sport", although with the right director it can be. Richard Dembo may not have been that director: his film is perfectly watchable, but not as exciting as it should / could have been. Unsurprisingly, the brightest moments involve the actual chess games; most of the other stuff (the wise old pro and the rebellious young upstart, the neglected wives, the Cold War tensions, etc.) we have seen before, in different surroundings. The little-known Alexandre Arbatt holds his own against the well-known Michel Piccoli; Leslie Caron receives third billing but is largely wasted; Liv Ullmann fares a little better. **1/2 out of 4.

It might seem crude to suggest that "Loulou" was made for the single purpose of getting Gerard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert, two of the biggest stars of the French film industry then (and now), in bed together; on the other hand, it's hard to think of any other reason for making it (or seeing it). They do share a strong chemistry, and Huppert may never have looked better, but their characters, like all the others, lack interest and depth: all they do is eat, drink, argue and screw, in no particular order. The script is void (there is not a shred of plot, and barely any dramatic conflict, in this 105-minute movie), and the direction is totally pedestrian. *1/2 out of 4.

"Messidor" is the second Alain Tanner film I have watched, after "La Salamandre" (1971); I gave that one zero stars, but I'm giving this one ***. Maybe it's because it's about two girls while "La Salamandre" was about two guys? In any case, "Messidor" is a love poem to aimlessness (its liberations as well as its limitations), to girl-bonding (one girl is working and from the country, the other studying and from the city), and to the magnificent variety of the Swiss landscapes. It is very deliberately paced and decidedly not for all tastes: only put it on when you're in a patient mood. But if you do surrender to it, you may find it quite hypnotic, right up to its bitterly ironic ending. Tanner is a talented director (a conclusion that I came to even in his previous film that I disliked), with a highly distinctive, minimalistic style. The two grls are not exactly likable, but they are real (and beautifully acted).

"Olivier, Olivier" is one of the best films I've watched recently, and comes from one of the most creatively fruitful periods for cinema - the early 1990s. It is unpleasant yet riveting, thought-provoking, erotic, ambiguous, and beautifully detailed. The director, Agnieszka Holland, does not feel the need to do anything overly fancy: she relies on the locations (the deceptively quiet French countryside), the acting (powerful across the board, but the young Gregoire Colin and Marina Golovine, in particular, are revelations) and the story (full of twists and turns) to carry the film, and they do. The ending leaves a lot up for debate - just like a work of art should. ***1/2 out of 4.

With "The Vanishing" (1993), George Sluizer joins the short list of directors who have remade one of their own films; unlike Alfred Hitchcock and "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1956), he does not improve upon his original work. With that said, this remake is not as bad as some have claimed; in fact it is perfectly watchable, and Jeff Bridges is well-cast as the well-adjusted psycho-next-door. It's just that, with so many scenes and even pieces of dialogue replicated shot-for-shot and line-for-line, you wonder about the purpose of its existence. If there is one in the mind of Sluizer, it must be the alternate ending; on one hand it's true that it's a conventionally happy Hollywood ending, on the other hand Nancy Travis, in the beefed-up part of the new girlfriend, makes an unconventionally kickass action heroine! (she rescues the male lead before he has to rescue her). In fact, Travis is so much livelier than Bullock (the vanished girlfriend) in this particular film that you can't help but wonder if maybe Kiefer Sutherland should just cut his losses and focus exclusively on her from the get-go. ** out of 4.