Like Father, Like Son (2013)

Directed by: Hirokazu Koreeda
Country: Japan

Movie Review: Hirokazu Koreeda is certainly one of the most interesting contemporary Japanese screenwriters and filmmakers of our times. His latest film, “Like Father, Like Son”, despite not so irresistible as other previous works, presents us an inspired plot that bestows a different perspective to the so recurrent theme of switching babies at birth. As usual, the concept of family is the central point, here adorned by a quite curious character study of Ryota Nonomiya, a successful businessman but also an absent and demanding father who tries to prepare his son, Keita, to one day become like him. Contrasting with his good-natured wife, Ryota can’t hide his frustration when Keita reveals some difficulties to become the model he aspires. When the Nonomiya’s were informed by a public hospital that Keita is not their biological son, Ryota tries to get the custody of both kids. Once his plan failed by the refusal of the Saiki family, which showed to have a completely different posture in life, he seemed promptly decided to give up the child he raised for six years to recover the one of his own blood. “Like Father, Like Son”, adopting a more direct storytelling, didn’t evince the introspection or subtleness of “Nobody Knows” and “Still Walking”, or the sense of adventure of “I Wish”, but was able to maintain well elevated the levels of sensibility and simplicity of processes. With a fabulous direction and a particular ability to enchant us, Koreeda keeps depicting grounded family stories in a consistent way.

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Love and Air Sex (2013)

Directed by: Bryan Poyser
Country: USA

Movie Review: With the curious title “Love & Air Sex”, Bryan Poyser’s third feature is a wild, jolly, and (in)decent romantic comedy that spreads good vibes with a strong start, but ultimately struggles a bit in its final moments to maintain the same balance. Stan (Michael Stahl-David) travels from LA to Austin, Texas, when he finds out that his ex-girlfriend Cathy (Ashley Bell) will be there, coming from New York. What they don’t know is that their friends, Jeff (Zach Cregger) and Kara (Sara Paxton), who are going to welcome them in their homes, also broke up their relationship. Thus, men and women separately prepare a night of drinks. While the women decide to go to a night pub, the men start rehearsing for the Air Sex World Championship, a funny show currently taking place in the city, where people literally ‘fuck the air’. In either side, casual encounters with other people will bring uneasiness, despite of the couples’ pretention that nothing is wrong. The film was set up in a cool atmosphere, bringing up a few funny moments. In terms of romance, “Love & Air Sex” didn’t show so much warmth but was able to compensate in energy what lacked in substance. It was meant to please comedy fans in general or anyone who just wants to loosen up a bit and spend some laid-back time without worry with the inconsistencies of the plot.

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Wolf (2013)

Directed by: Jim Taihuttu
Country: Netherlands

Movie Review: “Wolf” is a rowdy drama that tells the story of Moroccan Majid Zamari, a talented kick boxer who has no reasons to be satisfied with his life in Netherlands, falling in a downward spiral of drugs and organized crime. Set in black and white, the first solo film by emergent director Jim Taihuttu, adopts a violent posture supported by a solid dramatic side that explains not only the anger and frustration of the main character, but also his sort of immoral and untamed behavior. So many bad things are happening in Majid’s life - his father doesn’t speak to him, being ashamed of his conduct; his older brother is dying in the hospital; he is unable to be a good example for his little younger brother who shows to have problems in school and is getting out of the track; his best friend, Adil, with whom he usually hangs out along the hood, is definitely not a good influence; his former girlfriend, Tessa, is now turned into a prostitute; and due to a great ambition and the will to protect his family’s interests, Majid starts working for the Turk dealer, Hakan, the feared header of a criminal gang. Despite the boasting airs exhibited here and there, the film is simultaneously vibrant, brutal, and depressive, with the latter being enhanced by establishing shots of the Dutch suburbs. Actor Marwan Kenzari, chosen once again by Taihuttu after the participation in his 2011 road movie, “Rabat”, makes proof of his talent, turning “Wolf” into a very credible odyssey into the Dutch multicultural underworld.

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Borgman (2013)

Directed by: Alex van Warmerdam
Country: Netherlands / Belgium

Movie Review: Nominated for Cannes’ Palm d’Or, “Borgman”, is a cold-blooded thriller coming from Netherlands that will leave you disconcerted, functioning as a psychological study of human evilness and showing the power of manipulation. The film didn’t disappoint after a magnificent start, when a raging priest and two other men embark in a manhunt, finding a camouflaged hole in the forest ground that served as a hideaway for Camiel Borgman (Jan Bijvoet), a merciless criminal who operates conjointly with his gang of four followers. Borgman, on the run, infiltrates within an unbalanced upper-class family, taking advantage of the unhappy and insecure Marina (Hadewych Minis), and setting a strange bond with her kids, especially the younger daughter, Isolde. A sinister game starts to be played, keeping the high levels of suspense and spreading a torrent of madness, here presented in bizarre forms together with sarcastic humor. The story lives pretty much of unexpected turns that kept the viewer searching for answers, deliberately left unexplained in order to baffle us and increase our curiosity. Filmmaker van Warmerdam directed with proficiency and refinement (evoking Pablo Larraín’s morbidness, dark humor, and cynicism), and also appears as an actor, playing one of Borgman’s gang fellows. In this hymn to insanity, Jan Bijvoet and Hadewych Minis were fabulous in their roles, playing ‘the game’ with diligence and daring to convert “Borgman” into a cult-film.

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Real (2013)

Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Country: Japan

Movie Review: Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa has been making a solid career with interesting incursions on thriller/horror (“The Cure”, “Pulse”) and also drama (“Charisma”, “Tokyo Sonata”). In his new film, “Real”, he tries to combine both genres and still add some romance and fantasy, but the final outcome wasn’t what its premise made us to expect. The film tells the story of two lovers, Koichi (Takeru Sato) and Atsumi (Haruka Ayase), a famous distressed manga drawer who tried to commit suicide, remaining in profound coma for more than a year. Koichi will consent to be connected with Atsumi’s brain, through a modern machine, in order to understand what were her motives and try to facilitate her return to the real world. His findings and clues will project them to their past at Hikone island, their hometown, where some truths are revealed. There are some good aspects to be appreciated in this Kurosawa’s cinematic adaptation of Rokuro Inui’s novel, “A perfect day to plesiosaur”, especially in the visual field, but the narrative is inconsistent in tone and its revelations didn’t create significant impact. Among ghostly apparitions, which were not so spooky by the way, and ridiculous philosophical zombies who clearly aim Manga’s enthusiasts, “Real” relies on acceptable dreamlike tones to create psychological tension, but presents a romance devoid of chemistry and some sci-fi moments that were more laughable than atmospheric. Strong production values in an exhausting story that only satisfies partially.

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12 O'clock Boys (2013)

Directed by: Lotfy Nathan
Country: USA

Movie Review: ‘12 O’clock Boys’ is the name of an illegal group of urban dirt-bike riders from Baltimore that inspired this documentary directed by New York based filmmaker and visual artist, Lotfy Nathan. The ‘boys’ challenge the local police by riding at high speed in streets packed with traffic and showing off through bike stunts. These provocative behaviors reveal to have two reverse sides for a powerless police that adopted a no-chasing policy in order to guarantee public safety. For the majority of Baltimore’s inhabitants they are seen as a radical group, while for others, such as the young Pug who is trying to join them at any cost, they are heroes and models to follow in the near future. Pug’s mother, Coco, is the one not to be satisfied with her son’s obsession, but will she be able to make him see differently? This family interaction along with decent shots of the dangerous neighborhood, were the aspects that held up the levels of consistency, since the streets’ stunts soon started to be repetitive and finally a bit boring. Even with the slight sensation that the film could have been better developed, “12 O’clock boys” is at the minimum curious and thought provoking, having a voice that speaks for itself. I felt confronted by these aimless men who don’t seem to care about the consequences of their acts, but only their exhibitionism and ego. Is the documentary sufficiently explanatory? Yes. Educative? No. Fascinating? Reasonably.

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At Middleton (2013)

Directed by: Adam Rodgers
Country: USA

Movie Review: Adam Rodgers’ first feature film, “At Middleton”, joins Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia (who also produced) in a one-day-romance set at Middleton College campus while their children were taking a tour. Garcia plays a polite and charming cardiac surgeon who gives special attention to exterior appearances, demanding neatness from his respectful son. In turn, Farmiga gives shape to Edith (Farmiga), a daring, mouthy, and pretty much alive woman who seems to have difficulties to handle her undistinguishable daughter Audrey (played by Vera’s younger sister, Taissa Farmiga). The quartet will provide us with several situations, some digestible and some nauseating, in which the youngsters try to act like adults while the adults looked like two naughty kids when have some minutes of freedom. I cannot say that the film hasn’t one or two decent moments, but for the most of it, its jokes didn’t work very well and the adopted posture was too childish and stale to engage. I also found the episodic presences of nerds, teachers, and visitors, a bit forcible, once they only appear in convenient circumstances that never seemed natural. “At Middleton” tries to pose as cool or irreverent, but ultimately feels feckless, just to mention a word widely used by the characters in this film. Despite some irritating personalities, the acting was fine in general, but didn’t save the film from being a flop on comedy and especially on romance.

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