A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977)

Seen before: Yes

Featuring perhaps one of the greatest cast lists of all time, 'A Bridge Too Far' is the longest film I have watched so far in my project. That said, it needs to be long, as it tries to fit in an awful lot.

---Plot Summary---

Based on real events during World War II, 'A Bridge Too Far' concentrates on the Allied forces attempts to capture three bridges behind enemy lines in what was nicknamed 'Operation Market Garden'. As the German forces are pushed back from France, control of the bridges in Arnheim, Nijmegen and Eindhoven would allow the Allies to trap the retreating Germans and then allow them to march on to Berlin.

---Review---

I must begin with the cast. When the opening credits of a film start with: 'Starring, in alphabetical order' you know that the list of names that follows is going to widen your eyes and make your jaw drop. Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Robert Redford, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, James Caan, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal... the list goes on. It is mightily impressive that a cast such as this was assembled, although since it is a film by Richard Attenborough, I am sure that many will have signed up as soon as they got the call. They all perform admirably, without any real standouts (although it is clear that Redford's character is meant to be a 'hero' of sorts). The reason behind this lies in the fact that not one of them is given sufficiently enough screen time for you to be totally drawn in. And what also puzzles me is why Hackman was chosen to play a Polish character when he quite clearly is terrible at putting on an accent.

Anyway, on to the film content itself. This was clearly an ingeniously devised plan to attack the Germans whilst they were down, but is it an interesting enough period of the Second World War to provide an interesting film? Thankfully, the answer is yes, although I am not entirely sure Attenborough achieved this as successfully as he could have done. Whilst entertaining and at times captivating, it suffers a little later on, as we are still being introduced to new characters, and other characters remain sidelined in locations that they seem to have been in for the entire film. I hate to use the phrase 'it's too long' in a review, but it really is, although this is mainly due to involving several characters (James Caan, Laurence Olivier, Gene Hackman) who surely could have been left out entirely, so that we could concentrate more on the central protagonists? (Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Anthony Hopkins)

Despite all this, one thing you can't fault Attenborough for is his eye for scenery. The film stages some excellent sequences on some stunning locations, from rural mansions to the shells of buildings left obsolete by the bombings. It is a completely believable representation of war-time Holland (a country not actually involved in the conflict), and I cannot count the amount of times (lots) that I was astounded by the grandeur of it all. To partner the stunning scenery, is an exquisite music, that whilst typical to this sort of film, stands out as one of the more pleasing war film soundtracks.

I feel I must reveal (to those that are not aware) that this 'Operation' was not successful, so we know that at some point, there will be death/surrenders from the Allies. This does not prevent you from enjoying what is at times a muddled film, but on the whole is a valiant attempt at informing us of the events of a little known part of the Second World War.

---Rating---

7/10

Tomorrow: A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

A Bittersweet Life (Kim Jee-Woon, 2005)

Seen before: Yes

Another South Korean film, one that gained slightly more interest over here due to it being compared to a Tarantino film, which seems to happen to a lot of foreign cinema, but if they're as good as this, I guess I don't mind the comparison (even though it's much better than any Tarantino film).

---Plot Summary---

Kim Sun-woo (Lee Byung-hun) works at a hotel, as a loyal enforcer/associate to a leading crime boss, Mr. Kang. When Mr. Kang goes away on a business trip, Sun-woo is instructed to take care of his new girlfriend, who Mr. Kang suspects is seeing someone else. After spending a few days with her, Sun-woo discovers not only that she is cheating, but that he is in love with her. His decision not to kill her or her lover then leads to complications...

---Review---

'A Bittersweet Life' is frankly, a wonderful piece of cinema. From the offset, when we are greeted to the sight of Sun-woo at the hotel bar eating a dessert, before he promptly beats the living daylights out of three troublesome henchmen, we know this is going to be a slick, stylish, and fairly violent thriller. Every scene is meticulously filmed, with astonishing attention to detail that rivals any film I have seen. It is clear that the director, Kim Jee-Woon, knew he was making a film that would succeed not only in South Korea, but worldwide.

The first half of the film is tasked with introducing us to the central character, his line of work, and Mr. Kang. It is clear that neither of them are nice people. Whilst Sun-woo remains outwardly calm and un-emotive, he does retain an underlying sense that he is a cold, cruel killer. Mr. Kang is clearly someone who you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of, and we never learn what led Sun-woo to work for him, but I can imagine he was taken in at a young age and that this is all he knows. Which makes it all the more surprising when he falls in love with Kang's girlfriend Hee-soo (Shin Min-A) and shows uncharacteristic leniency in letting her and her lover go when he discovers them together.

From the moment he meets Hee-soo, Sun-woo is smitten. He gazes lustfully over her beautiful eyes, her sleek black hair (he focuses on her when she tucks it behind her ears). It is tragic that a man in his situation, who wishes Hee-soo was his, has literally no chance of ever being with her. Of course, she remains unaware of his affection, but enjoys spending time with him. All this leads Sun-woo to question Mr. Kang's motives as to why a man his age is seeing a girl this young, or indeed how the two of them even met.

Things take a turn for the worse when Kang discovers what Sun-woo has done, and he is then captured and tortured by his former associates. They then ask him to apologize to Kang, but instead he decides to fight his way out, and some of the most expertly and intricately choreographed fight scenes I have ever witnessed then take place. Sun-woo then attempts to purchases some weapons from an arms dealer, but ends up having to kill him too. And then the stage is set for his confrontation with Kang, who realizes that once Sun-woo has escaped, that he will stop at nothing for vengeance (although, when he does eventually confront Kang, he wants to know why he has mistreated him so badly).

In a film that is probably more renowned for it's style and ultra-violent fight scenes, Byung-hun as Sun-woo pulls off a genuinely affecting performance of a tormented bad guy who makes a mistake and pays the price. But is a mistake he has no control over, which sheds light on the fact that maybe he isn't so bad after all. Unfortunately for him, he is in a situation where there is no possible way for things to go as he might wish. You feel genuine sympathy towards him and his plight. The supporting cast act well around him, particularly Hwang Jeong-min as Mr. Baek, a cruel and slightly crazy crime lord who attempts to kill Sun-woo before Kang's men get to him first. He accurately portrays an unstable mad man who believes he has had the last laugh.

With an almighty string score that seems to be a staple of Southeast Asian cinema, this film cements itself as one of the more enjoyable and accessible films to come out of South Korea in recent years. The only downside is that the 'Mr. Baek' storyline seems somewhat out of place at times.

---Rating---

8/10

Tomorrow: A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977)

71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance (Michael Haneke, 1994)

Seen before: No

So, we arrive at the film that my blog is named after. Despite the fact I have never seen it previously, I just thought that my blog title was a 'cool' variation of it's title. Was I right? Only time will tell.

Michael Haneke is amongst my favourite directors of recent times, I enjoyed 'Funny Games', 'The Piano Teacher' and 'Hidden' to various degrees, so was looking forward to seeing some of his earlier work. This film is part of his self-titled 'emotional glaciation' trilogy, which also includes 'Benny's Video' and 'The Seventh Continent'.

---Plot Summary---

The film comprises of 71 scenes that chronicle the lives of several different groups of people in Vienna over the course of a year. They include a lonely old man, a young Romanian immigrant, a couple in a loveless marriage, a disillusioned college student, and a couple who have recently adopted.

---Review---

'71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance' is a curiously segmented film by Austrian auteur Michael Haneke. Split into exactly 71 fragments, it is a non-linear tale of the events leading up to an horrific, violent incident that involves nearly everyone we are introduced to throughout the film's duration. Initially, we are introduced to several characters that all appear to have no apparent link, and even seem unlikely to provide prolonged story lines in the film. But it soon becomes apparent that the structure of this film is not conventional, as we spend more and more time with each of these characters 'segments', we learn a little more about each person, and as the film progresses, we can see where it is all leading to.

The main theme of this film, and possibly most if not all of Haneke's films, is the alienation of people. We have a couple with a young baby, who show no love or compassion toward each other, and whose only reason to speak to each other is to say 'Good Night' or to ask when the other will be home. We have a young, homeless immigrant, who has to steal or eat from dumpsters to survive. We have another young couple, who adopt a daughter, who alienates herself from her new foster parents, strongly refuting all her new parents attempts to connect with her. We have an old, lonely man, whose daughter dismisses him as a burden, when all he wants is to talk to and be accepted by his daughter and grand-daughter. And finally, we have a college student, who under pressure from his table-tennis coach, and with the demands of his higher education, distances himself from his learning and eventually snaps from the emotional weight of it all.

In the climatic scene, where the young student tries to fill up for petrol and is vehemently denied access to the bank to withdraw the funds to pay for it as he is out of cash, he returns to his vehicle, composes himself, then precedes to shoot and kill several people in the bank, and a couple of road users, before once again returning to his vehicle and shooting himself in the head. It's a scene that the film has been elegantly building toward, slowly building up it's momentum for the final act, as it were.

Punctuating the scenes regarding the various characters, are vignettes concerning worldwide news stories at the time of filming, including the Yugoslav Wars of the early Nineties and alleged child abuse allegations against the singer Michael Jackson. These interludes provide a slight respite from the drama unfolding before us, and also imply with an impending sense of dread that something is going to happen within the film that will later make it onto these so-called 'news channels'.

I found this film immensely fascinating, and held particular interest in the young immigrant's story, as he seemed the most believable character, and indeed is even given his own 'story' on the news channels. It's obviously low-budget and this is sometimes evident by the settings, but it still remains a well thought out and well shot piece of artistic filmmaking.

---Rating---

8/10

Tomorrow: A Bittersweet Life (Kim Jee-Woon, 2005)

3-Iron (Kim Ki-Duk, 2004)

Seen before: Yes

I bought this after watching the same director's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... And Spring' which I loved. I am also fascinated with Korean cinema in general. Just to let you know.

---Plot Summary---

A young, homeless man places leaflets on doors of homes around the city. He returns later, and enters the houses that still have the leaflets on the door. He then spends the night, washing the clothes of the owners and taking photos of himself. One house he believes to be empty turns out to contain a young woman, victim of an abusive husband, and they both seem to relate to each other.

---Review---

Firstly, let me just say that '3-Iron' is a very peculiar film. The premise is somewhat unbelievable, there is virtually no dialogue, and towards the end it goes a bit... well, crazy. But despite all this, it does retain your interest throughout, and there's a certain charm about the main character, Tae-Suk (played by Lee Hyun-Kyoon) and his almost ghostly existence.

At first, it appears that Tae-Suk is a typical leaflet distributor, as he rides around an unknown South Korean city, placing leaflets on the door handles of people's homes. However, it quickly becomes clear that he is definitely not a typical person, as he later returns to one such home, and discovers that a leaflet remains on the door handle. So he breaks in. Not with force, with a lock pick. He then proceeds to help himself to the facilities within, showering, eating, and watching TV. But he also fixes a broken BB gun that he finds in a child's bedroom. And he washes all the dirty clothes of the absent residents. After staying the night, he awakens in the morning to find the family are returning and so leaves, as unassuming as his arrival. It's a strange routine that we learn he has done before and intends to do again.

The next house he breaks into contains a young woman (Lee Seung-Yeon) who he is unaware of, yet she is aware of him, and instead of ringing the police or confronting him, she remains hidden and watches him from afar. When she reveals herself, without saying a word, they appear to have met a kindred spirit that they have been searching for their whole lives. What follows from this usual circumstance creates a film that is on face value full of simplicity, yet has a deep underlying complexity. I was questioning myself throughout, trying to work out various things. At one point they enter a house where they discover a dead man, who they clean, dress and bury, but then remain in his house overnight, and are found out by the dead man's son the next day, leading to their inevitable arrest, which seems highly implausible (why would they stay at the dead man's home?).

In a film that appears to say very little (no pun intended), you can't shake the feeling that this is a pure, beautiful piece of work. It is immaculately shot, and from the gorgeous interiors of South Korean homes (the house with the fish 'pond' looks amazing) to the busy, yet still somehow peaceful, city streets, everything retains an essence of beauty. The eventual blossoming of love between the two central characters only adds to the magic of it all. I do feel however that it is a highly interpretive film, which has the ability to both infuriate and confuse, and at times I found it was trying too hard to be 'quirky'. Also, whilst not terrible, both actors could have performed more convincingly, in my opinion.

---Rating---

7/10

Tomorrow: 71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance (Michael Haneke, 1994)

28 Days Later... (Danny Boyle, 2002)

Seen before: Yes

I have possibly seen this film more times than any film, which is slightly surprising. It's also one of the few I own on DVD that I also used to own on VHS (going back in time a bit). It kick started my 'love' for Danny Boyle and his films.

---Plot Summary---

A bike courier (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma in hospital. He discovers that he is the only person there, so sets out to find where everyone is. Upon being attacked by a group of savages, he is rescued by two other 'survivors', who inform him that Great Britain has been hit by an epidemic that fills people with 'rage', causing them to attack others on sight. Along with a father and his daughter, they set out for an army base in Manchester, hoping to find answers.

---Review---

After a frenetic opening in which the 'rage' virus is released because of some animal activists freeing the chimpanzees that are carrying it, we are greeted with perhaps one the most memorable and striking scenarios in British cinema, as Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakens to an empty and desolate London. It's truly remarkable and jaw-dropping, as locations which are usually teeming with people and traffic are completely vacant. If you start as you mean to go on, then this is a blistering start, although nothing else in the film quite matches the visual impact of these early scenes (although the M1 devoid of any vehicles comes close later on).

Jim wanders aimlessly through London, looking for signs of life, and ends up seeking refuge in a church that turns out to be filled with dead bodies, but is then attacked by the 'infected' priest. He tries to outrun and escape his attacker, and is rescued by two other survivors, Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley), who then inform him of the events that have happened whilst in his coma. Through a series of unfortunate events, Mark ends up being killed and Jim and Selena find another two survivors, Frank (Brendan Gleeson) and Hannah (Megan Burns), who have discovered an army broadcast that directs them to Manchester. But what waits them there is not exactly what they had expected...

With it's incredibly low budget, Danny Boyle has managed to create a masterpiece. I still love this film, even after seeing it over, I'd say, 20 times. It works not only as a horror piece, but as a portrayal of the extreme measures people will go to in order to survive (not unlike 127 Hours).
It is brutal, at times hard to watch, but still remains almost bleakly beautiful, with some scenes causing your jaw to drop. When they spend the night in the countryside, Jim, Selena, Frank and Hannah see a group of horses gallop past. When asked whether he thinks they're infected, Frank replies: 'No... no they're just fine'. It is a scene accompanied by some haunting music, as are many of the scenes. And the pain Jim has gone through discovering that his parents are dead leads him to see Frank as a father figure, in a scene of amazing poignancy.

Phenomenal performances are brought out of a variety of well know actors (Christopher Eccleston excels as Major West, a man with who disturbingly views the two women in the film as 'the future'), but unfortunately for the rest of them, Megan Burns as Hannah nearly ruins it for everyone. I know she was young and inexperienced, but this is perhaps one of the worst performances I have ever seen. She manages to convey no emotion at any point during the film, even when Frank dies in the second half of the film. A truly terrible performance. But luckily for her, the script and story allow the viewer to almost ignore her scenes.

I feel I must bring up a controversial talking point in the film, where Jim encounters a young infected boy, who he manages to trap under his foot before killing him with a baseball bat. The boy screams out 'I hate you!', the first and in fact only infected person to say anything in the entire film. It is indeed curious, perhaps Boyle's way of suggesting that whilst these people are indeed enraged animals, they retain some sense of humanity. It is certainly a curious scene to leave in the final edit.

I do not feel I can sum up how much I love this film here, but I think one scene can almost achieve it for me. Whilst they are driving down an empty M1, Jim leans out of the window with his hand, brushing it through the air, to the music of Brian Eno, and with giant wind farms in the background. It is perhaps the most beautiful scene in what is largely a violent and bleak film, but fits in magnificently.

---Rating---

9/10

Tomorrow: 3-Iron (Kim Ki-Duk, 2004)

25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

Seen before: Yes

I have never seen a Spike Lee film other than this one (I own 'Inside Man') but am aware of his importance as a visionary filmmaker, and would like to see more of his work. The first time I saw this I was on an Ed Norton 'binge' after watching 'American History X'.

---Plot Summary---

Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) is a convicted New York drug dealer. In the final day before he is due to serve a seven year jail sentence, he takes the time to re-evaluate his life and wrestles with his conscience in trying to find out who tipped off the police to the location of his drugs.

---Review---

The film begins with Monty and his 'henchman' Kostya (Tony Siragusa) finding and rescuing an injured dog. Both characters provide an interesting back and forth that culminates with Kostya misquoting 'Murphy's Law' as 'Doyle's Law'. 'Murphy's Law' is meant to mean what can go wrong will go wrong. And that roughly sums up Monty's imminent situation, as we cut to the present day and Monty is preparing for his jail time by meeting up with and seeking closure with the people most important to him in his life, his two best friends, his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) and his father.

The film is a fascinating portrayal of what a man does with his final day of freedom. Monty spends the day walking the dog he saved in the opening scene (now called Doyle), as he has a lot to think about. At the front of his mind is who betrayed him to the police. He toys with whether it was Naturelle, as in flashback he recalls the day the police came to his apartment and found his 'stash', and the way that she couldn't look at him as the police searched the place. In interrogation with the police, they even try to convince him that she was the one who turned him in. Could Monty truly have misplaced his love and trust in her? He eventually spends his last few hours partying with his friends Jacob and Frank (Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper) and preparing himself for the horrors that will inevitably come with prison life, before a nicely judged ending that is completely believable and appropriate, as Monty asks Frank to beat him to a pulp so that he won't get 'picked' on in prison due to his good looks (characters keep mentioning Monty's good looks throughout).

This is an incredibly stylish film, with a great soundtrack and excellent cinematography. The setting is post-9/11 New York, and there is one particularly memorable scene between Jacob and Frank in Frank's apartment, in which they are discussing how prison will change Monty as a person, to the back-drop of Ground Zero. It is through scenes like this that the film puts forward the importance of time with our loved ones.

Norton puts in an emotive performance as a man who is trying to find redemption. Yes he is a bad person (making money off of people's misery), but he creates a sense of empathy that not many other actors could have matched. You genuinely hope he finds some way of avoiding prison altogether. Seymour Hoffman does his usual supporting role of a level-headed individual laboured with a difficult morale conundrum, as his teacher character struggles to accept he has feelings for one of his students. And Barry Pepper turns in yet another masterly underrated supporting performance (he is always completely watchable) as a stock broker who can't deal with the loss of his friend so tries to convince himself, and others around him, that Monty will be lost once he is released.

I've been led to believe this is not a typical Spike Lee film, but the director really supports his source material well with some snappy editing and a few Lee-esque scenarios (when Monty literally is saying 'Fuck You!' to all the nationalities and religions of the people of New York). It's certainly a powerful film that reminds us how precious life is.

---Rating---

8/10

Tomorrow: 28 Days Later... (Danny Boyle, 2002)

24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002)

Seen before: Yes

The first and in fact only Michael Winterbottom film that I have watched. I remember my university lecturer arguing with me when I said that I thought Danny Boyle was the current best British filmmaker, and Winterbottom was his choice. I guess I need to watch more Winterbottom films before I make a sound judgment.

---Plot Summary---

The year is 1976. The music scene in Manchester is about to erupt, and Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) is at the epicentre, along with the soon-to-be iconic club, the Hacienda. From Joy Division to the Happy Mondays, this is an exciting time for music, and Manchester.

---Review---

'24 Hour Party People' is a curious piece of cinema. Filmed in a mock-documentary style, and with a massive ensemble cast of actors, including Steve Coogan playing Tony Wilson not too far dissimilar from Alan Partridge, it's at times a mess of a film. But it is however, an entertaining mess. I personally was not fully aware of Joy Division, the Happy Mondays, or Factory Records before I watched this film, and I have to say I did not really have an interest in any of them. But this film does it's best to convey how important these contributors were to the 'Madchester' scene of the 1980s, and it does so through a variety of well edited stock footage and some pleasing visual techniques (the emergence of Bez from the Happy Mondays is particularly memorable).

The film is a homage to the people and city of Manchester. It is glorified throughout the film, even at times when arguably things are getting out of hand, as the birth of rave culture creates a wave of drug dealing and gun crime. At the centre of this way of life is the Hacienda, a warehouse style club that Wilson buys after the success of Joy Division. Whilst initially a disastrous investment, it eventually comes good with the emergence of the Happy Mondays, who create this 'rave' genre of music. I have to say, whilst not a fan of 'rave' culture myself, the film does indeed make it look fascinating and even fun. Their are some amazing sequences filmed within the club that almost create a sense of actually being there, and at the same time make you aware that everyone who was actually there knew they were at the heart of something special.

This film has, as I said, a huge ensemble cast, that includes a wide variety of familiar faces. They include, but are not limited to: Peter Kay, Paddy Considine, John Simm, Ralf Little, Keith Allen, Shirley Henderson, John Thomson and Andy Serkis, who manages to create on of the greatest comic performances I have seen for a while as Martin Hannett, the infamous producer of many of Factory Records best works. Serkis is a masterful performer, bringing to life the larger than life personality of Hannett whilst making him seem utterly believable. It is perhaps the best performance amonst a host of admirable ones, with even characters that have fairly small parts in this story creating a significant impression (Keith Allen is one that comes to mind).

In what is at times a darkly comic film, it certainly has it's fair share of laugh out loud moments, mostly involving either Coogan or Serkis. The film looks great, and is further enhanced by some surrealistic moments (Wilson sees God late on in the film), and whilst the music may not be to everyone's taste, it definitely draws you in. I do feel that however that it can only be fully enjoyed with a prior knowledge of either one of the bands involved in the scene, or of Wilson/Factory Records itself.

---Rating---

7/10

Tomorrow: 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)