Film Review: "AFERIM!"

Film Review: AFERIM!
Official submission of Romania to the 88th Academy Awards

Saw this film recently at the annual European Film Promotion screening series in Los Angeles. I loved it! It's a dark comedy about the roots of racism set in 1800s Romania or the region known before as Wallachia.

Like most films about slavery, the film is an atonement for this unforgivable sin but this one does it with biting humor that invites the audience to laugh along with every utterances of bigotry that by the time the end credits roll, you'll find yourself stuck in your seat, unable to stand, carrying the shame and the guilt for having been a party to the cruelty you just witnessed.

One will be reminded of the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained" when they watch this film but I find this film's treatment of the subject more masterful and its conclusion more resonant and powerful. The subject of racism is relevant today and will stay relevant as long as there's class discrimination and wealth inequity in every society. I love what the lead character said towards the end of the film, "We live life based on what we can and not based on what we want."

Aferim means bravo in English. Its usage in the film is designed to create a sense of irony whenever it is uttered but believe me when I say that the filmmakers, actors and craftsmen did a truly outstanding film that they deserve an Aferim! for their work.

This film won the Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin earlier this year for acclaimed filmmaker Radu Jude. The cast headed by Teodor Corban and Mihai Comanoiu (they play father and son searching for a fugitive gypsy named Carfin played with superb restraint by Cuzin Toma) offer outstanding performances that will almost make you believe they did come from that period.

Aferim! will be released in New York and Los Angeles on January 22, 2016 by Big World Pictures. Watch it!

Rating: 5 glorious stars!

XXX
Raymond De Asis Lo

Film Review: "Beasts of No Nation"

Saw this new film from Cary Joji Fukunaga, one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers whose visual compositions and storytelling prowess I truly admire.

His films have this certain aesthetic that lures you in until you are lost in the story and you find yourself virtually immersed in the world that he has created for you.

In "Beasts of No Nation", he takes us to war-torn Africa, to a story of a young boy who witnesses his family murdered by the very government that's supposed to protect them. He escapes and falls into the hands of a violent warlord who trains him in the ways of the war. He becomes a soldier and a murderer. He is forced to become a man in the body of a helpless, scared little boy.

Despite the blood curdling violence, this movie is about the loss of childhood, of innocence, and that is an act more violent than the graphic scenes of boys hacking men to death, or of a woman shot in the head while being raped, or of a young girl trampled to death by a mob of angry boys.

We all know that war can be ugly. But this movie not only shows us how ugly it can get but it takes us to hell. It's horrific and what makes it truly scary is the numbing effect the movie has on you after being subjected to it and you'll feel as if you are the one trapped in it, unable to escape, unable to run. And even if you already find bloody conflicts despicable, this movie will make you abhor it even more.

This film shares some thematic similarity with "War Witch", the Oscar-nominated film from Canada that's also set in Africa and I find both equally masterful and important.

"Beasts of No Nation" bowed in theaters and on Netflix yesterday. It's a major Oscar contender and I wouldn't be surprised if Idris Elba gets nommed for his compelling performance as the rebel leader only known as the Commandant. But the film's greatest performance was delivered by newcomer Abraham Attah, who plays the lead role, Agu. He inhabits his character with a commanding mix of tenderness and ferocity that even if you see pools of blood being rained down on the pavement or walls splattered with blown body parts, when you his eyes, you can't help yourself but glimpse some hope residing in it and we, in turn, pray for his deliverance. I can ramble on forever. Just watch it.

Rating: 5 Stars!

XXX

Raymond Lo

LAFF 2015: Winners!

The 2015 edition of the Los Angeles Film Festival concluded today with the screening of the winning films! The winners were announced yesterday with "POCHA (Manifest Destiny)", directed by Michael Dwyer, taking the highly coveted top Audience Award for Best Fiction Feature Film!

"POCHA (Manifest Destiny)"
Audience Award Winner - Best Fiction Feature Film

The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature Film was shared by two two films: "I Am Thalente", directed by Natalie Johns, and "Be Here Now", directed by Lilibet Foster.

The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to "In Her Place", directed by Kevin Hamedani and the Audience Award for Best Web Series went to "The Genderton Project", directed by Anna Martemucci and Victor Quinaz.

The Winning Films

U.S. Fiction Award | Takeshi Fukunaga for "Out of My Hand"

World Fiction Award | Beata Gårdeler for "Flocken".

Documentary Award | Mo-Young Jin for "My Love, Don’t Cross That River"

LA Muse Award | Delila Vallot for "Can You Dig This"

Nightfall Award | Viet Nguyen for "Crush the Skull"

Zeitgeist Award | Bradley Kaplan for "Stealing Cars"

Best Short Fiction | Tian Guan for "Drama"

Best Short Documentary | Kareem Tabsch for "Dolphin Lover"

Special Awards

Documentary Jury Special Mention | Holly Morris and Anne Bogart for "The Babushkas of Chernobyl"

World Fiction Jury Special Mentions | (Shared) Vladimir Tumaev for "White Moss" & Sara Blecher for "Ayanda and the Mechanic"

Nightfall Jury Special Mention | Miguel Llansó for "Crumbs"

Zeitgeist Jury Special Mention | Michael Dwyer and co-director by Kaitlin McLaughlin for "Pocha (Manifest Destiny)"

LA Muse Jury Special Mention | Elsa Biedermann for her role as a supporting actress in "French Dirty", directed by Wade Allain-Marcus and Jesse Allain-Marcus.

Special Jury “High Five” |Michael Rousselet, Tomm Jacobsen, Jon Salmon and Joey Scoma for "Dude Bro Party Massacre III"

XXX
Raymond Lo

Tribute: "Brian's Song" (1971 and 2001 Versions)

I have only recently discovered the fun of watching movies on Netflix. I have been watching De Sica's old movies and have spent most nights with Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni - they are just so cute together! 

And for some reason, I put the 2001 film "Brian's Song" in my instant queue. I have not seen this film nor the original 1971 film before but I have always heard of the movie and how really sad it was. I first learned about it more than two decades ago when I first read Doris Lund's heartbreaking book about her son's valiant fight against cancer. That book called "Eric" is one of my all time favorites. I have read it many times over the years and I always end up like a baby crying uncontrollably while leafing through the last pages of the book. 

Some reviews that accompany that book's jacket have compared Eric's story with that of Brian Piccolo whose own tragic demise at a very young age was the subject of a huge tearjerker that made all of America cry in early '70s. Since then, I have always wanted to watch it but I just couldn't get a copy.

And finally there was Netflix.

So, there I was tonight, feeling unsure of what to do after having the entire day working on some "work-related" stuff. Game 5 of the NBA Finals was over and the shows on TV were mostly a bore. So i switched on my blu-ray and decided to watch a movie before I go to bed. I wanted to finish "Grace of Monaco", the Nicole Kidman film that I started watching two nights before but just couldn't finish (It was boring, yes) but for some strange reason I decided to watch "Brian's Song." I selected the 2001 version because it was first in my queue.

And I was a wreck! I am the type who really likes tearjerkers when the story and the storytelling are done right. And this one just shattered me. It was not that the story surprised me, I knew all along how it will end, but I I still couldn't help myself but be won over by the powerful story of the friendship between Brian and Gale Sayers and Brian's beaming personality - his courage and candidness and sense of humor were effective in bringing out the dramatic theme of the film. The performances by leads Mekhi Pfifer as Gale and Sean Maher as Brian were both impressive and it made the movie even much sadder.

As soon as the movie ended, I quickly searched for the 1971 version starring James Caan and Billy Dee Williams and I decided to watch it too. Both movies are identical except for the cast and a few iterations on the dialogues and a few added scenes in the 2001 version.

After watching both films, I was still not over with Brian Piccolo. I decided to google him and get to know him more and the disease that he had. Now comes the strangest part of my story. As i was reading through the Wikipedia entry on his life, I discovered that his death anniversary is in 2 days from today. On June 16th, he would be gone for 45 years now. I had goosebumps. 

I know it's just a coincidence and I don't want to think that something, someone, some spirit had been nudging me to watch the film.

But here's another strange thing. Because i get obsessed with the movies and the actors that I like, I googled Sean Maher, the actor who excellently portrayed Brian in the 2001 film and I wouldn't have been able to guess what I would find out. Sean and I share the same birthday! April 16! He's a year older than me but I just find that's just so strange.

So here I am, blogging after midnight when I should have been already in bed.

To Brian, on your 45th death anniversary, I would like to offer my prayers for you and to thank you for the gift that your life's story has been to us -- you may have died very young but your memory and the legacy of your very short life shall outlive all of us. May the Lord bless your soul always. Good night.

XXX

Raymond

LAFF 2015: 3 Must-See Films: "Fan Girl", "In the Treetops", "The Confines"

This year's edition of the Los Angeles Film Festival is in full swing. The festival opened Wednesday, June 10, with Paul Weitz's "Grandma". The full festival line-up is here:

But here are three films that you just could not, should not miss!

FAN GIRL
Los Angeles Premiere | Special Screening

FAN GIRL introduces Telulah Farrow (Kiernan Shipka), a 15 year-old ironic cool girl who has two obsessions in life: pop punk music and making films. With just a few short days to come up with a killer final film project that could bring festival fame, Telulah gets a once in a lifetime chance to see her music idols in concert. She hatches a plan to bring her passions together, accompanied by smart mouthed wing-girl Jamie (Kara Hayward), and underachieving, over-energetic film class partner Darvan (newcomer Joshua Boone). Pop punk band "All Time Low" appears in the film and provides much of the soundtrack.

FAN GIRL is the feature-directing debut of rising indie producer Paul Jarrett (THE MAID'S ROOM, WEAKNESS). This is the second feature from writer Gina O’Brien, whose Sundance premiere ONCE MORE WITH FEELING was produced by Jarrett. Prior to her screenwriting career, O’Brien was a journalist and magazine editor in New York City. The script for FAN GIRL was loosely based on experiences with her own teenage daughter.

FAN GIRL stars Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men”), Kara Hayward (MOONRISE KINGDOM), Meg Ryan (SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE), Josh Boone, Nicole Coulon, and Beanie Feldstein. Directed by Paul Jarret. Written by Gina O’Brien. The film is executive produced by O’Brien and Jonathan Gray, and produced by Jarrett, Nick Huston, and Adam Spielberg in association with Rosetta Films, Filament Productions and Literally Films.

FAN GIRL will screen at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival on Monday, June 15 at 6:00PM in Regal 11.

THE CONFINES
World Premiere | Nightfall

THE CONFINES is a claustrophobic thriller that follows a troubled young woman who, in a last-ditch effort at getting her life together, takes a job working nights as a security guard at an abandoned luxury apartment building. Stuck with a brusque rent-a-cop as her partner, she struggles to keep her mind from playing tricks on her while she patrols the empty halls. But as the night progresses strange things begin to happen - and she realizes it may not all be in her head.

Making his directorial debut, Eytan Rockway deftly constructs a tense thriller that blurs the lines between illness and reality to mirror the traumatized psyche of the protagonist, delivering a potent message about the power of our perception.

THE CONFINES stars Jason Patric, Louisa Krause, and Mark Margolis. Directed by Eytan Rockaway and written by Ido Fluk. Cinematography by Zachary Galler.

THE CONFINES will have its World Premiere at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival in the Nightfall category on Saturday June 13, 2015 at 10:45PM in Regal 10.

IN THE TREETOPS 

World Premiere | Zeitgeist

William, Alissa, Gary and Eric are close friends at different stages in their high school careers, but the social playing field levels out when they all pack into William’s hand me down car on a cold winter’s night. Their common goal: avoid going home. When a party is busted, the group picks up Alexa, William's dream girl who joins their road trip to nowhere. As the sun rises and potential transgressions are illuminated, this ragtag group finds their friendships tested.

From first time writer/director Matthew Brown, comes a nuanced portrait of in-betweeners doing their best to avoid the life they are living, while trying to find the life they want. A film full of beautifully naturalistic performances from its ensemble of newcomers, all of whom were students with Brown at North Carolina School of the Arts, IN THE TREETOPS in a very personal story of being alone, together.

IN THE TREETOPS stars Emma Corley Geer, Matthew Brown, Cameron Morton, Joshua Pagan and Gabriel Douglas. Written, directed and produced by Matthew Brown. Cinematography by Donald Monroe and editing by Max Wilde.

IN THE TREETOPS will have its World Premiere at the 2015 Los Angeles Film Festival in the new competitive Zeitgeist section onSunday, June 14 2015 at 6:45PM in Regal 9.

See you at the festival!