Reviews

"We are the Strange" is a work of sheer originality, a rare gem in the microcinema movement, not only because of its technical audacity but also the complete freedom attained in it's narrative. The two main characters are a young girl with big blue eyes (visually reminiscent of anime) who escapes her pimp and a sad and scared little boy. More about the story I won't describe because words won't do justice.

It happens inside a video game.

This is very important. From the stylistical choices to the apparent lack of narrative, "We are the Strange" will most likely appeal to those born after 1970. There are direct references to multiple things, most notable I would describe as hybrid the 8-bit era of video gaming, stop motion, anime and 3D with a David Lynch logic. The end result is unlike anything I've seen. It's at times silly, beautiful, depressing, always imaginative and highly atmospheric. This is sensorial film-making. Yes there is a very simple story, but all that surrounds it, truly make the films. Now when so many independent filmmakers view Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Rodriguez as their heroes, its is refreshing to see a filmmaker using the digital tools not to emulate formulas and trends created by others, but to experiment all the way and successfully create something new.

Now the music is unlike anything I've heard on film. It usually instruments from 8-bit game consoles. It's a bizarre eerie, feeling.

No doubt we are witnessing a personal film in all respects, a voice that hasn't been modified, muted, toned down to suit a specific kind of audience. It is a scream of the senses, with no attempt whatsoever at logic. You'll be missing the point. You could say that it is style over substance. But what many people fail to acknowledge is that sometimes style itself can be substance.

Annie, an orphan, finds herself in a marriage of necessity and bears the child of a man she doesn't love. She feels trapped by her brutal, animalistic husband, who spends most of the weekdays out getting drunk or in whorehouses. When Annie gets her first taste of respect, love and tenderness from a traveling peddler, things start to complicate even more.

Winner of several awards (four of them at the Microcinema Fest 2004), Tom's Wife is most unusual for a microcinema production: This effective drama is set in 1932, in rural Texas. It's a simple, slowly-paced story that has captured successfully the mood of the period both in the images and the in performances. Annie (Meredith May) soon wins the audience with the fragile innocence concealed in her child-like face, beautifully photographed by Jessica Gallant. The compositions and the soft texture of the image successfully recreate the feel of a bygone time.

Some might argue that the film is slow. But it is a film about the little moments of these people's life: Slow and fascinating if you accept its naturalistic flow. A few elements, however, hamper the overall tone of the film, like the appearance of an almost farcical character towards the end. And Annie's build up to the violent conclusion could have been developed more effectively, and some plot points need tightening.

However, putting those minor flaws aside, Tom's Wife is a wonderful achievement, a solid period drama that deserves to be picked up by a movie cable channel.

Four Stars.

Sometime in the future two people are hiding in an S&M motel: Adrian Torque (Crawford James) should now be dead. He is a renegade cop whose skin was reconstructed out of the sixteen tongues of fellow officers who died next to him in a terrible explosion. He is not a Frankenstein only on the outside, but he is also slowly driven mad by a never-ending stream of tastes. Adrian is not your average cop. The opening scene shows him interrogating a prisoner, then he forces him to perform graphic fellatio on him before blasting his brains against the wall.

Ginny Chin-Chin (Jane Chase) is a female assassin who has a clitoris implanted on her eyebrows; every blink triggers her incontrollable impulses. She stays in a room with her hacker girlfriend (Alice Liu). Their lives are about to collide with Adrian Torque.

Unfortunately Sixteen Tongues falters on the technical side. This movie would have benefited enormously from a more elaborate (not expensive) "mise en scene," simply because of its claustrophobic nature and stylized ideas. After all, this is a film set in the future. I'm not saying that it needed a bigger budget. Sometimes stunning cinematography can disguise a low budget. After an impressive opening credit sequence the visuals lose strength. The lighting is poor, or let's better say non-inexistent, for a big part of the film. The lampshades in the rooms are just not enough to keep the image clear of video noise. Maybe it is the ultimate realistic lighting, but it just doesn't looks good. However, the flickering blue light from the TV in Adrian's room is adequate and atmospheric.

The camera-work is uneven. Sometimes it is imprecise in its framing and sloppy in its movements. I like darkness and/or hand-held shots, but only when it is purposefully intended for a specific reason, with some kind of stylization behind it, to achieve a determinate goal.

The sound mix needs some equalization; mostly the voice-overs are sometimes hard to hear. But the music is pretty effective, adding greatly to the dark cyber-punk atmosphere. The opening and end credits tracks are both pretty good.

The actors all look like they are supposed to. Adrian is tall, tough looking. Virginia is cold and sensual at the same time. Although there are some weak moments, the acting is passable for the most part.

On the other hand, the sets evoke the seedy atmosphere of the location very effectively. The hallways are filled with porn photos. There is some of A Clockwork Orange's resonance in an ice machine shaped as two buttocks, the ice spurting from between them into the glass, and a doll with her legs spread over Adrian's TV. The S&M costumes, special effects, make up, gunshots are pretty well done for microcinema standards. The intricate animated sequences depicting web surfing deserves special mention. The live action scenes should have had this level of elaboration.

The pacing of the film suffers from some well-written, but sometimes extended voice overs. They serve the purpose of providing the background stories for the characters as well as some interesting concepts, but less is more. I would have rather have the film find a low budget, yet effective way of "showing me" rather than "telling me" some of its ideas.

But at the end, the power of this film lies in its ideas, original plot, and characters. If you are able to put the technical flaws aside, it succeeds tremendously in creating a uniquely grotesque world invaded by porn and genetically-altered people. In this world you have to swipe your credit card to be able to shut off the never-ending porn ads on your TV, or to use tap water or to take a shower.

There is a tasty amorality permeating all of the characters. If you think the protagonists are deviant, wait till you meet some of the guests from this motel. Despite what I said about the visuals, there are many memorable images. One comes to mind now: A penis ejaculating blood on a female chest. It left me wondering how life outside the motel in that world would be like.

One feels the script was written without any kind of self-censorship. Scooter McCrae doesn't seem very concerned about being assimilated by Hollywood, as it should be. In that sense, Sixteen Tongues takes full advantage of being a microcinema movie. It is not afraid to shock or disturb you with it's graphic sexuality, violence, and bold ideas.

Moonlanding is an effective immigrant story told at a frantic 21st century pace. Two brothers and their mother arrive in Germany after the grandma convinces them that they should leave Kazakhastan and head for the land of their ancestors.

Obviously things are not they way they expected. The father decides to stay behind and grandma is the only family member that can barely speak 19th-century German, and the family soon meets with disenchantment at a hard new life in a land as strange as the moon, barely squeezed in an apartment with everyone's beds separated by curtains and shelves acting as walls.

The two young brothers do their best to fit in the new society, each in their own way: the younger (Anton Levit) soon joins the local gangs, starting a gradual descent into the underworld, from playing loud music at midnight while drinking in the streets, to stealing and eventually drug trafficking. The older brother (Andrej Dronov) finds a job and meets a nice girl. He hides a guilty conscience about his shady teenage past and tries to become the male figure in a fatherless family. But things get out of control with his young brother before he can realize it.

Moonlanding is intense, and has a documentary feel of organic authenticity, which is rarely achieved on film. Nothing feels contrived. Save a for a couple of exceptions, director Till Endelmann used non-professional actors for the whole cast, including the leads, and the truth is that they do a terrific job in their roles. Most of them never seem to be acting; yet they all fit their parts perfectly. The performances alone are truly an extraordinary achievement in Moonlanding. The mise en scene complements the mood consistently. At times it feels like a Dogma 95 film, with the kinetic "dirty" hand-held camera and continuous jump cuts underscoring the feel of gritty realism.

If one had to complain about one thing only (because everything else works quite well) it would be that, despite the modern facade, the skeleton of the story is slightly linear and somehow predictable, among the roads paved by many other old-school immigrant movies. The very resolution of the piece is served a little too easy, lacking a dramatic punch for the closing. Then again the film is not so much about the originality of "what happens" but about "how it happens," like most episodes of real life. It would be an interesting debate whether the happy ending or the tragedy would have been more or less suitable for the movie's message: Making society aware of a social problem that needs to be addressed.

That said, the pace of the story is energetic, and breathless in its emotional build up. The last minutes manage to build a climax of true suspense and heart-stopping anxiety that end up in unavoidable violence.

Overall this is a remarkable debut by a director that (unlike most of his generation) is interested in dealing with social issues involving real people. The film is also one of the first to tackle the theme of Russian immigrants in modern Germany, and it succeeds all the way in engaging the audience from beginning to end. I truly recommend it.

Able Edwards is a great microcinema achievement. The story is set in a 1950s-looking B&W near-future where earth has become inhabitable. Space colonies float around the earth's orbit. Deceased Media Tycoon Abel Edwards (An inspired mix between Walt Disney and Charles Foster Kane) is brought to life in the form of a clone sampled from the original mogul's body as a desperate attempt from the Edwards Corporation to regain the falling empire's glory.

This is basically a 21st century rework on Citizen Kane's story line with sci-fi overtones, introducing the theme of cloning, shot entirely against a green screen against still photography backgrounds (many scanned from a public library) and some occasional 3-D CGI. Sin City's fans will be inspired by the fact that you can actually shoot a whole epic in your living room.

However, don't expect Hollywood FX hyperrealist environments, fancy camera moves, or baroque compositions. Director Graham Roberson purposely chose to do every single shot (even those which could have easily been made on location), with a green screen channeled background (whether still photographs, live action footage or CGI). You might say that at times the movie's mise en scene feels static: Some extra layers of compositing (and extra months of work in post) could have added more depth in making some of the photo backgrounds more lively, or create the impression that the camera moves a little more.

However this does not detract at all from the story, on the contrary, it might even help it: The result is a prosthetic, unrealistic, yet harmonious, solid and consistent atmosphere that blends very well with the charming 1950s B&W look and epic feel of the piece.

The acting complements the mood with effective performances from the whole cast. Scott Kelly Galbreath (Abel Edwards) manages to transport us to another era with his square jaw and Errol Flynn-esquire mustache. Everything here is at the service of conveying an entertaining story that despite the grandeur of the sci-fi aura, deals with the human condition and the concept of individuality: Is the clone going to behave the way the company has conditioned him to be? Or will he develop his own character?

The film was executive produced by Steven Sodenbergh, who basically donated his Canon XL-1 and Mac G-4 from Full Frontal. It's easy to see why the project caught his attention. Unlike many low budget sci-fi, this is not so much about the special effects or the action, but about concentrating on telling a engrossing story. Some might say that it follows way too closely that of Citizen Kane to develop its own voice, but I find much more interesting and fresh to imitate the storyline of Kane than that of Star Wars or Halloween. Besides this has the twist cloning, which adds a whole new dimension and makes the character unique.

If you love movies you will truly enjoy Able Edwards, as it is an inspiring achievement.

Fando and Lis depart in search of the magic City of Tar, which will probably offer a cure to Lis' legs in order to make her walk again, aside from granting eternal happiness to both of them. The Search: An early thematic goal to the director's later midnight classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain. Scandalous, and too sacrilegious for the audience at the Acapulco Film Festival, the film was subsequently dropped by the distributor in 1968. Fando and Lis remained obscure for over 30 years.

Alejandro Jodorowsky's long-lost feature debut film is uneven, but it's obvious that a raw energy and a torrent of imaginative ideas went into the making. Shot on weekends with a minuscule budget, casting friends and family, Fando and Lis plays like a cross of the later Fellini circus with the brutality of an early Buñuel film.

Structured as a road movie of sorts, our protagonists have bizarre encounters with an array of unpredictable characters. Many would call it violent, but there is a certain childlike quality in the staging: A burning piano is knocked over again and again in reverse motion; Mud bathers rise (a la Night of The Living Dead) at the base of a mountain; A knife perforates a little doll's crotch, and snakes are introduced in the crack. I could go on describing the stream of images that stuck with me, but you get the point: Watch the movie.

Trying to explain its meaning is beyond the point, as Jodorowsky himself stated: "I'm more attracted to what I don't understand." The symbolism ranges from light social satire to striking, brutal imagery. Same goes for the B&W cinematography, which alternates from bland hand-held "backyard style" to breathtakingly executed shots (see the wonderfully choreographed spiral movement when Fando abandons Lis in a pit, running up the hill in circles in the background while Lis laments in the foreground).

Yet Jodorowsky seems more invested at times in the power of his ideas than in their proper screen execution. The action is sometimes clunky and/or hampered by questionable editing choices. This inconsistency doesn't seem like a deliberate effect, since many sequences are conventionally but effectively cut. However, the use of music is quite expressive as well as many sound design choices.

Fando and Lis is not a perfect film, but "perfection" is an absurd term given the nature of the material. In any case, suffice to say that this feature debut resonates far more deeply than the sober, functional exercises that Hollywood chunks out every year, not to mention the "art-house mainstream" that permeates most of the Cannes Film Festival highlights of late.

Jodorowsky's work is often closer to performance art than it is to film, if we take film as an expression of consistent atmosphere and cinematic flow, illustrating ideas at the fully extent of the medium. The auteur expresses that as a filmmaker; he doesn't care whether the audience is bored or angry, he says a film should be made with your guts, without following any rules of cinematic grammar. The result is sometimes inconsistent but never disappointing.

In a world plagued by artistic concessions, Jodorowsky emerges as an artist with an unique voice, capable of delivering unforgettable images. His work is always refreshing and inspiring.

I grew up in Cuba and saw Baldios (Yaltus in the Cuban version) at the movie theater when I was little. It had great impact on me. Seeing the US mutilated (and terribly dubbed) version, I'm tempted to say that this not a great movie, although it still contains enough moments of greatness, sometimes overshadowed by the occasional melodramatic qualities of the genre and the generic stiffness of the animation made for TV that was frequent in it's time period. Still I consider Baldios more than worth a look, it's more memorable and intriguing that most of the bland products made today. The faces of the protagonists are surprisingly expressive.

Baldios: The Movie was put together from episodes of an The Title Robot seems more like a strategy to keep kids interested, but the truth is that the fights are not nearly as exciting, nor the enemy monsters as interesting as his counterparts (Voltes V, Mazinger Z) And the filmmakers wisely show the robot twice (could have been removed altogther from the film)

Yet there is a reason for that: Baldios is really a gripping, tragic adult story that displays mind bending sci-fi concepts, environmental issues, and an impossible love. There is an impending sense of tragedy through the film and I can understand why many people wont like it, the ending is devastating, mostly for a kid. It was the first cartoon and possibly the only where the hope of, not just a happy ending but also a brighter future is thoroughly denied. There is no even comic relief of any kind.

Avoid the US dubbed VHS version. It's not only 20 minutes shorter, and the acting terrible, but the dialogue is also embarrassingly changed to simplify it. Some graphic moments violence have been excised as well, and important dialogue scenes have also been removed to "keep the action going" resulting in simplifying some of the characters. Try seeing the original Japanese 117 minute version. I really think that an uncut DVD version would find a small devoted audience.

I saw this film when I was about 8 years old. SOme of the images are still imprinted in my head. The film is all a fantasy should be: A glorious, beautiful, surreal and sometimes dark and terrifying fairy tale.

This deserves to be released on DVD along with it's prequel as they are truly fantastic gems. I don't know if the film would hold up to an adult audience, but it surely made my mind fly at the time.

The animation is vintage Tezuka, with the cute puppy-eyed main characters, colorful villains all with a few extra frames of animation (compared to his 1960s TV series, the animation is a step up in quality) All this topped with a imaginative story and haunting score, gives birth to a classic.

Last Minute is an effective humanist drama with a thriller construction that makes a big statement. I saw the film at The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival in Japan where it won an award Best New Director. The performances were perfectly tuned and the characters very well thought out and defined. It's a very simple yet effective and claustrophobic story of two airport cleaning ladies who decide to help an illegal Turkish immigrant.

At a time when new filmmakers are interested in genre films, it is refreshing to see director Marina Caba Rall interested in dealing with the world's problems.

The Line of Masculinity is a clever short that exemplifies the theory that you only need two people, a table and good dialog to make a fun movie. The short takes place at a diner where two girls meet and discuss "The Line of Masculinity" aided by CGI effects that visualize the statistics of their conversation.

This short is really clever and fun. Nowadays you only need a couple of friends a camera and a computer to make a short film. And unlike many Indy shorts, the dialog in this one is top notch. Really short, but memorable. I would like to see a feature about this. You just need to secure the location and let the writing and the actors do the rest.

Abomination is a compelling short that despite its 15 minutes of duration, achieves more gravity than many features. The short is put together with extreme care the performances are powerful and the rhythm, the silences, glares, seem to come from a seasoned filmmaker, fully in control of his medium. Also, unlike many shorts made by young filmmakers, who seem more interested in lowbrow horror comedies, or "clever shorts" with a 360 degree twist at the end"; Tyler Wilson show social preoccupations here that make you imagine the kind of work he'll do when he moves to feature length territory. This is a great calling card for a promising filmmaker with something to say, and unique nowadays in a commercialism that permeates even the independent, no- budget productions.

Let me start saying that I'm against any kind of political propaganda, no matter which side. This was such a wasted opportunity. It could have been one of the best films of all times. Unfortunately is mostly going to be remembered for it's visual achievement.

The story is simplistic and declamatory, right in your face, up the point of caricature.

That said, the film has amazing moments. Havana has never being filmed like that again. The camera movements have inspired Scorcese (Goodfellas) and Paul T Anderson (Boogie Nights) Still they don't surpass this, which was done 40 years ago.

This is what cinema should be in the formal side. When are we going to get more films that look like this?

Solid depiction of a modern Cuban family. The film is fare to each character and only compromises with the human side of the story, without judging politics. this is a good sings for Cuban independent film makers since it deals with matters the the more oficial productions have forgotten sometime ago, or didn't have the courage to say it all.

Failed attempt to bring the "Antonioni" style o incomunication into cuban cinema. The main problem with the film is the screenplay which doesn't manage to keep the interest throughout it's length. However the director shows some decent craftmanship in certain scenes. The film is nowadays practically impossible to get as it was practically buried by reviewers who consider it "decadent". But it's worth checking for being a very rare case in ICAIC as well as noble effort to do make something diferent than the overall cuban production at the time. Fausto Canel would later direct "Papeles son Papeles" in 1966 and then leave the country.

The film was Cuba's most ambitious project to date. The production design is dazzling. The cinematography is wild, vivid, epic. The film is free adaptation of Cirillo Villaverde's famous 19th century novel with the same title. The film is a mix bag. There are memorable moments like the nightmare of the slaves rebelion, of the final scene in the cathedral. On the other hand, the film sucumbs at times at its excessive theatricallity. But it is definetely worth watching.