Fish Tank
[DVD]
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This Cannes Jury Prize award winning indie film from British Director Andrea Arnold captures an English ‘Coming-of-Age’ tale far from the stereotypical pastoral village green. Set in a bleak Essex council estate, the films energy and success is derived mainly from the talented young lead, Katie Jarvis. Jarvis was discovered yelling at her boyfriend across platforms at a local train station by the casting director after numerous unsuccessful auditions for the role by better known and established actresses. The film centers on the adolescent conflicts of her character (Mia) and her discovery of dance as an escape and outlet from fights with her family and peers. Unlike so many dance related films, Arnold wisely avoids the typical clichés of the genre, with no dance-offs, miraculous improvements in skill overnight or extended montages showing a sudden rise to fame. Instead Mia’s dancing is shown for what it is, a creative outlet and escape rather than a possible career choice. Without laboring the point, the film contrasts Mia’s love of and desire to learn the basic skills of ‘break-dancing’ with the hyper-sexualized dance moves of her peers, who are plainly mimicking popular music videos. The introduction of her mother’s new Irish boyfriend (played by rising heart throb Michael Fassbender) expands and ultimately threatens Mia’s fragile world . His influence on Mia and her selfish and neglectful mother and charming and foul mouthed little sister is, by turns, both inspiring and disturbing. Arnold, who won an Oscar in 2003 for her short film Wasp, directs the film with a skilled hand, anchoring it in social realism without wallowing in cliché or misery. It is decidedly not a light hearted family film but also not without hope or joy.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: England, Feature film
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet
by David Mitchell
[Book]
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The latest work from the prodigious literary talent David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green, follows the eponymous Jacob De Zoet, a young Dutch accountant who arrives in feudal japan in 1799 on a quest to earn enough of a fortune to marry his love upon his return to Holland. The strength of Mitchell’s characterizations, his mastery of dramatic construction and the humor and grace with which he treats his characters is evident throughout this historical tale, as he fleshes out a world previously unimagined by the reader without ever delving into dull description or awkward exposition. The continued joy of discovery prevails even when the story takes dark and despairing turns for the protagonist. Highly recommended for fans of Mitchell, contemporary fiction and historical novels alike.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Fiction, Historical fiction, Japan
Exit through the Gift Shop
[DVD]
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What starts off somewhat conventionally as a documentary on street art culture and its biggest legend and mystery Banksy, is flipped into an scathing satire of the art world. The film, ostensibly created by and starring Banksy, Shepard Fairey and the ‘amateur documentarian’ Thierry Guetta , is a priceless document/depiction of street art’s journey indoors and its eventual corruption at the hands of those who seek to document, celebrate and endorse it. The films ability to keep the viewer questioning the authenticity and the reliability of the films guide/narrator/director, Thierry, cleverly parallels the art world’s desperate quest to identify Banksy and to own and define his work. In capturing both the rush and excitement of the creation of ‘street art’ and the vacuous dullness of those who seek to commodify and blandly reproduce it, Banksy has created an enthralling portrait of what happens when the lines between art and commerce, public spaces and private property, and documentary and mockumentary are blurred. Highly recommended along with the wonderful and more straightforward “B Movie” which documents much of Banksy’s legendary work.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Art, Documentary, Feature film, Graffiti
ATLiens
by Outkast
[Music CD]
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ATLiens is Outkast’s follow up album (1996) to their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994). The title is a portmanteau which combines the ATL abbreviation for their beloved Atlanta with the term “aliens”. Outkast have always considered themselves outsiders in the world of hip-hop, geographically, stylistically and lyrically and on ATLiens these lyrical differences, with the emerging sound of production teams Organized Noize and Earthtone III set the album apart. ATLiens has the head-nodding beats, funky synth bass, rhymes about cadillacs and other trappings of typical mid-90’s hip hop but remains a cut above and hints at sonic revolutions to come. Recommended for fans of lyrical hip-hop.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Hip-Hop, Soul music
Celestial navigations : Short Films of Al Jarnow
[DVD]
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The first DVD release from Numero Group, known for archiving and resurrecting forgotten folk, pop and soul classics and private press musical gems on CD and LP. Beautifully restored 16mm short films and stop motion animation pieces from the brilliant mind of Al Jarnow will evoke memories of mornings and afternoons spent watching 3-2-1 Contact, Zoom, the Electric Company and Sesame Street for any child who grew up in the 70s and 80s. The fact that so many of these shorts, whose geometric shapes, imaginative leaps, and whimsical illustrations of letters, numbers, animals and the world around us were the work of one man is astounding and inspiring. Includes 45 of his award winning shorts and experimental films, including pieces now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and a 30-minute documentary with Al explaining his creative process. Highly recommended for young and once-young audiences alike.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Documentary, Feature film
Summer Hours
[DVD]
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Three siblings’ memories of the past and aspirations for the future collide when confronted with their shared inheritance of an exceptional 19th century art collection and the family’s country house in Oliver Assayas’ 2008 feature film. Left to negotiate the future of the collection and the country house in which it has been kept, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), a successful New York designer, Frédéric (Charles Berling), an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories and backgrounds, and unique visions of the future. The film is a complex spin on the traditional pastoral country house film and poses questions about the power of objects and their connection to the sentimental allure of the past in an age of globalization. One of two feature films that developed out of a proposed series of shorts that would have been produced to celebrate the Musée D’Orsay’s twentieth anniversary (the other film, The Flight of the Red Balloon, also starred Binoche). Despite these heady themes and what sounds like a relatively mundane plot, the film remains focused and often riveting due to its great casting and exceptional cinematography. French Language, with subtitles.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Drama, Feature film, Foreign film, French language
Under the Munka Moon
by Alice Russell
[Music CD]
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The 2004 debut album from the criminally overlooked UK singer with a lavishly soulful voice and sass to match. While British singers such as Duffy, Amy Winehouse, Estelle, Joss Stone and Lily Allen have sold millions, Alice has remained relatively unknown in the United States. With production fusing Latin, Girl Group, Hip-Hop, house, drum & bass, funk, gospel, jazz, rock and classic R&B sounds , Alice’s voice remains the core of her first release, which was largely a compilation of singles, remixes and collaborations. Known for her numerous side projects including Bah Samba, the Here Lies Love project with David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, the Bamboos, Quantic Soul Orchestra, her tours with diverse artists like De La Soul, Roy Ayers, the Roots and Lonnie Liston Smith and her collaborations with producer and co-writer TM Juke, the blue eyed, blonde haired lass from Brighton makes every song she performs unique and joyful.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Pop music, Soul music
T.A.M.I Show
[DVD]
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Long overdue full release of a forgotten classic for the first time on DVD. Filmed just eight months after The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in October 1964, this spectacular concert film was mastered from a new High Definition transfer, and features the Beach Boys performances that were removed from previous versions following the films initial theatrical run. The list of performers is a veritable time capsule of the pop music scene of 1964 and includes the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Chuck Berry, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Lesley Gore and a riveting performance by James Brown and the Furious Flames. Thrown into the mix are a few British Invasion acts (Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas), surf legends Jan & Dean, and Cape Cod’s own The Barbarians. The bands perform in front of a bevy of enthusiastic young dancers (including a young Teri Garr), sometimes alternating songs and all the acts return to the stage at the end for one last number. A must see for fans of 60’s pop, rock, surf and soul music and a fascinating look back at the popular youth culture of the moment.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Pop music, Rock music, Soul music
A Prophet
[DVD]
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A brutal, raw and riveting look at the progression and growth of a young convict in the harsh environment of a French prison. Nineteen year-old Franco-Arab Malik El Djebena is just beginning his six year prison sentence in Brécourt after a youth spent primarily in detention centers. As a new inmate without friends or enemies inside, he finds the prison divided between Corsicans and Muslims, with the Corsicans holding the balance of power because of influence with the prison guards. Tahar Rahim is excellent as El Djebena, and seems to transform physically as his character rises from isolation and illiteracy to become a key player within Brécourt and beyond its walls. Director Jacques Audiard builds tension masterfully throughout, drawing out scenes with excruciating anticipation before moments of shocking violence. Frequently compared with the Godfather, this French Language film received the 2009 London Film critics “Best Feature Film” Award and was nominated for a 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign language Film.
Reviewed by Dylan
Tagged: Drama, Feature film, Foreign film, French language
