30 Countries Parts 5 - 7 (Soldier of Orange/Three Businessmen/Jamon Jamon)

Soldier of Orange (1979) Dir. Paul Verhoeven

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Part 5 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Dutch origin as per its listing on imdb.

Soldier of Orange is adapted from the book of the same name which tells the true story of its author Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, was voted second greatest film in Dutch history in 1999, also a four part TV series in Holland and the movie that brought Paul Verhoeven to Hollywood's attention, not to forget without which we wouldn't have witnessed our memories being lost like tears in the rain.

Roelfzema is renamed Erik Lanshof and is played by Rutger Hauer, the centrepiece of this drama of German occupied Netherlands and a group of wealthy college kids who are swept up in various ways by the war, some fighting with the resistance movement whilst others side with the Nazi's.

I've now seen eight Verhoeven movies and I am yet to cease being amazed that the same person who made his Dutch movies made his American movies. They're like chalk and cheese they're so incompatible. Although if you have a cheese sandwich with white bread there's likely to be some chalk involved somewhere. Hmmm. Food for thought.

This is a classy and intelligent wartime biopic that suffers from some of the same flaws that all pictures of this type suffer from; a large cast of characters that get lost in the wide scope, an episodic plot, details left out or glossed over for the sake of brevity, that kind of thing but not to any major detriment.

It seems to me that the Europeans make WWII movies in a much more interesting manner than Americans, they focus on the small details and the personal stories rather than overt displays of flag waving patriotism, masses of explosions, the glory being an American and saving the world or revenge for Pearl Harbour.

Not quite as affecting as Black Book however.

Three Businessmen (1998) Dir. Alex Cox

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Part 6 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of British origin as per its listing on imdb.

I recently supported Alex Cox's new project on kickstarter, based purely on his approach towards cinema. Yes I love Repo Man but beyond that his work has been very much a mixed bag of entertainment in my opinion.

Three Businessmen is another interesting and mostly ignored Alex Cox movie, a largely justified status for it I must say and exactly the reason why he has to raise funds on a crowd sourcing website. A bizarre tale of two obnoxious strangers who get lost whilst walking the streets of Liverpool, England in search of food and spend the next hour or so on an absurd journey around the globe whilst discussing the state of the capitalist world. Part Luis Bunuel, part Gus van Sant , almost all of it annoying.

Jamon Jamon (1992) Dir. Bigas Luna

Rating: 2 out of 5

Part 7 of the 30 Countries project.

 For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Spanish origin as per its listing on imdb.

This movie about ham is responsible for making stars of Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. It's also a farcical comedy of manners and discourse on Spanish society in the early 1990s featuring nude all male midnight bullfighting. Those Spanish males really are pumped up on their own machismo aren't they.

If I saw this movie advertised today I would avoid it like the plague, it seems perfectly pitched for the Perth yummy mummy white pant brigade that find everything simply wonderful and charming and make me froth with rage. It's certainly saucy enough to appeal to older ladies, with enough nudity to conform to the stereotypical Anglo views of European cinema.

However it is a film I'd heard praised repeatedly over the past 15 years and thought this might be a good chance to get it out of the way. Perhaps the praise only came from Spanish friends and something got lost in translation or maybe I don't have the right sense of humour because for a comedy this didn't manage to actually make me laugh, smile politely a few times sure but laugh, no.

I wish I'd picked something more interesting from Spain now.

Movie Review: Bug (2006) Dir. William Friedkin

First they send in their drone... Then they find their queen.

Bug by William Friedkin

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Blurb: Having escaped her abusive ex-husband Goss, recently released from state prison, Agnes, a lonely waitress with a tragic past moves into a sleazy motel. Her lesbian co-worker R.C. introduces her to Peter, paranoiac drifter and they begin a tentative romance. However, things aren't always as they appear and Agnes is about to experience a claustrophobic nightmare reality as the bugs begin to arrive....

Thoughts: Well that was certainly unexpected. I had assumed that an Ashley Judd movie called Bug would be a really shitty slasher movie of some kind. Turns out it's not. I don't know what it is. I might never know. The second half of this movie was like a train wreck that somehow blows up a nuclear reactor. Horrible, shocking, mesmerising, the kind of cinema that is so far removed from the staid comfortable lifestyle most of us live that your jaw will drop repeatedly (if you manage to raise it to begin with,) you will want to vomit several times, if you think on it too hard you may find tears have sprung to your eyes and the whole time your brain is screaming, fighting to unscramble what you're seeing, to put a label on it and quantify it as a metaphor or several metaphors even, a statement about something, anything, just so long as you can classify it and deal with the fall out in a more comfortable manner.

The pairing of Friedkin and Tracy Letts was enough to make me actually reconsider this film after the dynamite that was Killer Joe last year but it was discovering that Michael Shannon has a lead role that made me seek it out and press play, knowing that if all else fails I'd at least have another great Michael Shannon performance to enjoy.

This one makes everything else he's done look like a sane man on a bad day, it's so far beyond batshit crazy that a colloquial term hasn't been invented for it yet. Boy does he go all the way balls out (literally and figuratively) for his art in this one too, dragging the usually infuriatingly magnolia Ashley Judd along by the roots of her hair, somehow inspiring her to her own very good performance opposite him.

If you thought Friedkin took things too far with the chicken scene in Killer Joe then I'd hate to see your reaction to this movie. I have previously called Killer Joe a statement of intent from Friedkin to reinvent himself as a filmmaker but it is clear now that Bug was his statement and Killer Joe is the film that reaped the benefits. There is so much in Bug that would be later toned down and shined up, the rough edges removed and experiments in camera positioning perfected in Killer Joe that in many ways this is the film that deserves the plaudits. Except that would mean acknowledging this evil little film and I'm not sure I'm OK with that.

Join me in trying to make some sense of this film in the comments or tweet @bbbgtoby with #bug

30 Countries Parts 2 - 4 (Girlfriend Experience/Tears For Sale/Alice In The Cities)

The Girlfriend Experience by Steven Soderbergh (2009)

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Part 2 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of American origin as per its listing on imdb.

The thing that really bugs me about the general response to this film is that it is entirely ludicrous. Just because Sasha Grey happily makes pornography why should you expect to see her fucking people in a low budget, almost mumblecore in its aims, Steven Soderbergh movie? Sure you can blame the marketing and distribution team for raising expectations that could never be met but me theory is that if you want pornography head to the pornography section of the video store not the new releases.

That complaint aside I found this a relatively enjoyable experience. Sasha Grey is a better actor than you might expect from a non-actor even though she doesn't have to do much, but she's certainly better than a lot of the people roped in to other low budget American features. Soderbergh's direction is the most interesting aspect of the entire piece, the way he uses the camera is nearly always a masterclass and this experiment is no different. The juxtaposition of the prostitute and the capitalists who pay her isn't exactly subtle but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Tears For Sale by Uros Stojanovic (2008)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Part 3 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of Serbian origin as per its listing on imdb.

Tears For Sale, also known as Charleston & Vendetta, is a magical realist tale of love and death. The loose plot centres on two sisters who are sent to find a new man for their village after they accidentally killed the old one.

Using beautiful visuals, absurd situations, humour, symbolism & dozens of metaphors and surrealism the director Uros Stojanovic seems to be channelling the visual flair and storytelling methods of Jeunet & Caro and Terry Gilliam (as mentioned by almost everyone who has seen this movie I'm sure) amongst others to discuss the absurdity of war and almost certainly whole other aspects of Serbian history that you'd probably have to be Serbian to fully comprehend.

But you don't have to be Serbian to appreciate fine movie making, which this film most certainly is.
This is my first discovery of the 30 Country Challenge, thanks to Berken for encouraging this exploration, without you I might not have searched my library database for Serbian cinema.

Alice in the Cities by Wim Wenders (1974)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Part 4 of the 30 Countries project.

For the purposes of this project this movie is classed as at least partially being of West German origin as per its listing on imdb.

A slow moving road trip movie from the early career of Wim Wenders. A German struggling to write an article about America, lost in the overpowering nature of its size, neon lights and wall to wall noise of TV and radio is left caring for a young girl. Their trip takes them from New York to Amsterdam to Wuppertal via multiple methods of transport and in true road movie fashion they learn about themselves and each other as they go.

I found the similarities to early Jarmusch and Godard to be very interesting, and the early appearance of themes and styles that Wenders would go on to use throughout his career make it a worthwhile watch for film scholars much in the same way that Permanent Vacation works for Jarmusch.
Already having an appreciation for the director made this an easier viewing experience than it might be for somebody coming at this type of cinema for the first time. It can be hypnotic in its melancholy if you choose to let it and the documentary/verite approach towards cinematography gives the trip an extra sense of reality almost like a travelogue which helps to suspend disbelief of the subject matter.