Concussion (2013)

Directed by: Stacie Passon
Country: USA

Movie Review: Despite the ambition showed in “Concussion”, Stacie Passon’s debut as a writer and director wasn’t totally satisfying. Well performed by Robin Weigert, the plot follows Abby, an unsatisfied lesbian who, for a while, decided to stay away from her wife, children, and work and become an escort for women. This urge came suddenly after she was hit accidentally by her son when he was playing baseball, suffering a concussion on her head. Under the name of Eleanor and charging eight hundred dollars per appointment, she will meet many peculiar women and act accordingly to their needs. The list includes a fat teenager with no experience, an impetuous woman who knows what she wants, a scared one who tries to escape, a woman from her hometown who was more experienced than she was, and a violent one with whom she wasn’t so comfortable. This hidden life of sensuality and pleasure brought both good and bad surprises. Sex is addressed freely and the necessity for new sexual experiences seemed to make sense in Abby’s life, but maybe I expected more from this story whose conclusions didn’t make me more responsive than I was at the beginning. I believe that with a bit more humor and less love scenes wrapped in white bedsheets, the film would have gained another impact. Without being misdirected, it lacked something in the plot to surprise and make us feel more involved in Abby’s world of pleasure. “Concussion” won the Teddy jury prize at Berlin Film Festival.

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The Dirties (2013)

Directed by: Matthew Johnson
Country: Canada

Movie Review: Audacious and darkly funny are the best adjectives to characterize “The Dirties”, the directorial debut by Matthew Johnson who also plays himself in the main role, a bullied High School student whose plan consists on killing a group of bullies he calls The Dirties. The film starts in a provocative way stating that scenes of graphic violence are intended for mature audiences and out of respect for the victims and their families, the footage has not been altered in any way. Matt and his friend Owen Wilson despite isolated from the rest of the world, have each other as company. Although they not always agree, their irreverence and creativity are a constant presence in school. Their revengeful plan was well premeditated, including a shooting practice and obtaining of blue prints from school, but while Owen sees it as a mere game without taking it seriously, Matthew is really determined in carrying it forward. “The Dirties” is a compelling portrait on bullying, school violence, and alienated teenagers, that could not achieve even better results because its experimental filmmaking was technically carefree, presenting a sort of anarchy, which intended or not, wasn’t appealing for the eyes. The frequent use of shaky camera with sudden zooms, lurking from corners or windows is a good example. Nevertheless, it showed enormous merit in other aspects such as: the creative idea behind the plot, the rousing and sarcastic finale, and credible performances. Regardless its faulty execution, at least we can say it was done with the right attitude.

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Bad Milo (2013)

Directed by: Jacob Vaughan
Country: USA

Movie Review: Presented as a tasteless joke, “Bad Milo” is a parody with hints of horror that didn’t achieve its intentions. It was directed by Jacob Vaughan who has been working lately as editor in films such as “Black Rock” or “Jeff, Who Lives At Home”, and counted with Duplass brothers as executive producers. The story is simple-minded and often gross, following Duncan (Ken Marino) who is struggling with something annoying inside his bowels. After consulting a doctor without practical results, he finds out that a horrible little creature is living inside him, occasionally getting out of his ass to kill people he is upset with. Duncan tries to establish a good relationship with the creature calling him Milo. Despite of the help of Highsmith (Peter Stormare), a hypnotherapist, the problem aggravates when Milo becomes more and more raging and uncontrollable with everyone, including Duncan’s family. Repetitive and ordinary, “Bad Milo” fails to engage, and despite being conceived just for the fun of it, becomes repugnant in several scenes. The funniest situations involved people like Duncan’s mother and her super young boyfriend, or a manipulative boss who creates a stressful atmosphere in work. In turn, Milo looks like a hairless Gremlin and was never scary or funny enough. The unattractive cinematography by James Laxton, and Vaughan’s vulgar script, helped to turn this film in…stupid Milo!

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Night Of Silence (2012)

Directed by: Reis Çelik
Country: Turkey

Movie Review: The captivating story of “Night Of Silence” presents a unique vision of duty and tradition in Turkish society. Accurately written and impeccably directed by Anatolian filmmaker Reis Çelik, the film uncovers the reality of Gelin (Ilyas Salman), a 13 year-old young bride who after being prepared according to tradition, was taken to the nuptial room where she awaits her new husband of 60 years-old, Damat (Dilan Aksut). The first scenes of the film made us conclude right away that Damat, recently released from a long-time imprisonment, belongs to those zealous men whose duty and honor is above everything and everyone. With this premise we cannot blame Gelin for being so afraid and trying to delay her inevitable fate of giving herself to this man. Surprisingly, the story takes a different turn and what seemed obvious became a game of words in the form of stories, unexpected revelations, and fear behaviors that happened to be very interesting to follow through. The overwhelmed ambiance shared by the protagonists could be strongly sensed, thanks to the incredible performances, rigorous cinematography by Gokhan Tiryaki (known for working with Nuri Bilge Ceylan), and every meaningful detail in a non-invasive direction. This is a film of patience for both characters and viewers, but the different angle of vision set up by Çelik along with the exposure of demanding rituals, and a finale whose ambiguity will force you to think afterwards, make “Night Of Silence” a genuine experience that comes very much intriguing.

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Mood Indigo (2013)

Directed by: Michel Gondry
Country: France

Movie Review: Adapted from a novel by Boris Vian, Michel Gondry’s “Mood Indigo” is a futuristic romantic comedy filled with animation, which lies somewhere between the happiness of “Amélie” and the fantasy of Jan Svankmajer’s films without the darkness associated to its stories and mechanical creatures. This sounds good, but Gondry’s versatility has already proved not to be always consistent and this is another case in which the technical aspects are much more highlighted than the story. The film stars Romain Duris and Audrey Tautou as Colin and Chloé, respectively, a loving couple whose happiness is tested after Chloé got sick with a growing daffodil in her lungs caught during their honeymoon. A great soundtrack along with alluring visuals containing vivid colors, animated animals and objects that gain life, and unexpected distortions of the body, were scarcely sufficient to content me, since the romance was enable to convey any empathy or emotion. Many scenes, despite beautifully set up, lack depth and were presented in a childish way, with a joyful posture that was often annoying. I didn’t find it funny either, and must confess that for several occasions I had to struggle with myself to keep on watching so many details created to catch the eye but evincing a superficiality behind them that could not be ignored. The sumptuous yet frivolous “Mood Indigo” left me indifferent all the way through, becoming another failed adventure from Gondry’s creative mind.

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The Gilded Cage (2013)

Directed by: Ruben Alves
Country: France

Movie Review: Ruben Alves’ directorial debut “The Gilded Cage” puts face-to-face Portuguese immigrants and French bosses in order to create a simple but amusing social comedy of errors. Maria (Rita Blanco) and José (Joaquim de Almeida) make a typical Portuguese couple who have been working in France for 30 years, becoming indispensable in their jobs. Maria works as a concierge in a building, while José is supervisor in a construction company. When they are informed about an heritage left by Jose’s brother, the couple ponders return to Portugal, but their bosses will do everything to keep their hard working employees and the doubt will be installed since their own children are French. To complicate even more the decision, the couple’s daughter assumes to be in love with the son of her dad’s boss. The film addresses quite well the spirit of the immigrants who live to work and save money for one day get back to their origin country. The film boasts a certain success as comedy, playing with culture differences, feelings of inferiority, and language puns, to create hilarious scenes without ever being offensive or derogatory. Rich on visuals and music, but with a modest direction, “The Gilded Cage” will say much more to the Portuguese and French, especially considering that many funny language expressions can be lost when translated. In this family comedy with several aspects to be enjoyed, actresses Rita Blanco and Chantal Lauby excelled.

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Chasing The Wind (2013)

Directed by: Rune Denstad Langlo
Country: Norway

Movie Review: Rune Denstad Langlo’s sophomore fictional-feature, “Chasing The Wind”, was not skillful enough to arouse the same interest as the previous “North”(2009). The story follows Anna (Marie Blokhus) who lives in Germany and reluctantly returns to her small hometown ten years after a terrible accident that victimized her parents, in order to attend her grandmother’s funeral. The first minutes, without being much explanatory, make us anticipate family problems, which became more and more evident in conversations with her grumpy grandfather and her ex-boyfriend, for whom she still harbors strong feelings. The characters’ moods vary among anger, resentment, forgiveness, and ultimately understanding and acceptance of their fate. The problem comes from the fact that all these variations occur in too familiar tones, relying in a dragging pace and in a failed attempt to look poetic. The first real moments of some impact just arrived in its final moments with surprising revelations from Anna’s granddad, but they came too late to provoke us in a more acceptable way. The performances were forgettable and Langlo was never determined to leave his comfort zone, being the biggest responsible for the film’s pale temper. Aesthetically clean on visuals and with an unattractive original music by Ola Kvernberg, “Chasing The Wind” didn’t surpass the standard ways of storytelling.

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