Category Archives: Unusual

2005, Danish, FilmReview, Foreign Language, Unusual

Chinaman (2005)

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From NetFlix:

    In this poignant Danish tale, hapless plumber Keld (Bjarne
    Henriksen) finds his world crumbling when his wife of 25
    ears (Charlotte Fich) walks out on him. The dejected Keld
    soon falls into a routine of eating at the neighborhood
    Chinese grill, where he befriends the owner — who offers
    Keld a sizable sum to wed the restaurateur’s sister
    (Vivian Wu) in a marriage of convenience. Will love bloom
    despite the language barrier and clash of cultures?

NetFlix lists the title as Kinamand which is  Danish for Chinaman.

 Chinaman is S L O W,  whisper quiet, and feels like an independent film.  Not only
is the plumber Keld hapless, he is practically inert. I did not  find this film boring,
but  then I like independent films and can afford the time to be patient.  If you have
limited time I would rather you see Hidalgo or “Son of Rambow”.  But the film
has  a charm of its own. I was surprised by the ending.  It was also unusual
to  hear a Dane practising his Chinese.

OK if you have the time,

1001BeforeDie, 100Unknown, 1987, Unusual

Withnail and I (1987)

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From NetFlix:

Two unemployed actors — Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and
Marwood (Paul McGann) — take a trip to the British countryside
in 1969. But instead of rejuvenation, they experience a lack of
food, an abundance of rain and a plethora of alcohol. Their host,
Withnail’s gay Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths), displays a love
for life and a lust for Marwood. This classic art-house comedy
won an Evening Standard British Film Award.

Daughter Kate and boyfriend Nigel (both movie fans) are with us for Christmas. I asked Nigel
to send me a list of films we could all watch together. His first pick was a British cult film
“Withnail and I” whose atmosphere is the alcohol and drug excesses of the sixties. Nigel had
never seen the film. In the film Withnail drinks just about everything and Nigel tells me that
the cult followers as a challenge try to drink everything that Whitnail drinks. Lighter fluid
anyone ?

This is one of the most unusual films I have ever seen. You almost certainly cannot afford
the time to watch this film unless you are retired with a lot of time on your hands or just plain
bored to death. But I don’t regret watching this strange “happening”.

You are warned.

1994, Unusual

Running Out of Time (1994)

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From NetFlix:

Antonio (Javier Bardem) is a Basque terrorist whose plan is
jeopardized when he meets Charo (Ruth Gabriel), who introduces
to another world of crime and pleasure. They become immersed
in a passionate romance. Antonio is determined to complete his
mission, but his indifference to a cause in which he no longer
believes, along with Charo’s tempting allure, creates a tragic
conclusion.

NetFlix got it wrong. Antonio is played by Carmelo Gómez. Javier Bardem instead
has a lesser role as a really rundown drug addict. In fact almost everyone in this downer
of a Spanish film is a bit scummy: prostitute, drug addict, terrorist. Come to think of it,
even the police were corrupt. There is not one decent person in the film. There is way
too much nudity and sexual explicitness. So why did I finish watching ? Because Antonio
the Basque terrorist falls in love with an unfortunate young woman whose drug habit
pushes her into prostitution just as Antonio is questioning his life as a terrorist. In a way
the ending is perfect.

Absolutely not for everyone.

2006, French, Unusual

Paris Je T’aime (2006)

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From NetFlix:

A collection of five-minute films about the City of Lights brings
Paris to life with a unique patchwork of 20 stories. Numerous
writers, directors and actors lend their distinctive vision to the
project, employing a wide variety of styles and subject matter.
Participants include Gérard Depardieu, Gus Van Sant, Ethan Coen,
Joel Coen, Wes Craven, Marianne Faithfull, Steve Buscemi, Juliette
Binoche, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gena Rowlands and many others.

Because this is one weird film, I have put it into the “not for everyone” category. Despite the
beautiful photography, most of the 20 episodes deal with some negative aspect of Paris: Steve
Buscemi gets beaten up in the subway; Juliette Binoche mourns her dead young son; a female
vampire (vampiress ?) turns a young man into a vampire; etc.

Although the film is never boring, after awhile Kathy started to get itchy. All French dialog is
subtitled automatically. In addition we put on the English subtitles for hard-of-hearing because
some of the English is mumbled.

It was a fun challenge trying to identify the actors. At the end there is an alphabetized list
of all the actors which doesn’t tell you the episodes in which each actor appeared.

After seeing this film, I would not feel safe in much of Paris. My list of safe places to visit
in this world seems to be getting smaller and smaller. Or as the Kingston Trio used to sing:
“Oh, they’re rioting in Africa, la la la la la la”.

Caution,

2006, Revenge, Unusual

Daratt (2006)

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From NetFlix:

As the Chadian government declares nationwide amnesty after years
of war, 16-year-old Atim (Ali Barkai) sets out to take revenge on
the man who killed his father. After traveling to the capital, Atim
locates the man, but instead of finding a coldhearted murderer, he
comes across something entirely different. From the director of Bye
Bye Africa, Daratt is a compelling moral standoff as piercing for its
visuals as it is for its narrative.

The NetFlix raves a bit too much. This is one S L O W W W W W film. Acting is more than understated. It is a chance to see Chad. I can only hope that the characters behave in a manner that real Chadians would do. I don’t regret watching Daratt, but it is definitely not for everyone. In some African language plus French. English subtitles.

2007, Musical, Revenge, Unusual, Violent

Sweeny Todd (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Johnny Depp (in an Oscar-nominated role) reteams with director
Tim Burton for this adaptation of the hit Broadway musical
about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Depp plays Sweeney
Todd, a man who becomes a deranged murderer seeking revenge
after being falsely imprisoned. To add to the macabre nature
of his crimes, he enlists the help of his lover, Mrs. Lovett
(Helena Bonham Carter), who disposes of the victims by baking
them into meat pies — sought after by all of London.

Only Stephen Sondheim could write a musical about slitting people’s throats. This is one literally bloody film with an R rating. If any of you out there are under 17 then you will have to have your mommy or daddy accompany you to see this slaughter. I felt compelled to put this film in the “not for everyone” category.

If you can divorce yourself from appropriate squeamishness, all the very positive reviews of this film are justified. Everything about the film is electrifying.

My daughter Kate tells me that Johnny Depp after making this film vowed never to make another musical. And while we are on the topic of music, I offer you this challenge: After watching the film, can you remember and sing even one song from the film ? No fair taking notes during the watching.

1000NYTimes, 1001BeforeDie, 1996, Unusual, Violent

Trainspotting (1996)

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From NetFlix:

Danny Boyle’s explosive 1996 film tracks the misadventures of
young men (played by a cast that includes Ewan MacGregor, Robert
Carlyle and Jon Lee Miller) trying to find their way out of
joblessness, aimless relationships and drug addiction. Some are
successful, while others are hopelessly not . Based on Irvine Walsh’s
novel, Trainspotting melds grit with poetry, resulting in a film of
harsh truths and stunning grace.

I am not so sure “stunning grace” is what would come to mind if you were daring enough to watch this film which offers the following delights:

o Drugs
o Sex
o Filthy hovels
o Disgusting bathroom scenes
o Crude language
o Degenerate amoral characters.

Now with all that to offer, how could you not see this film ? 1996 was 12 years ago. I am sure that this film was a shocker 12 years ago, and it still can shock. But to tell you the truth the characters were such moral idiots, and the dialog and (possibly disgusting) sight gags were so clever that I just kept laughing out loud. After awhile you start to cringe at how hideous these 4 boy-men were and you wonder just how would Ewan MacGregor (who really tries to go straight) ever get away from the other 3. It was just this question that kept me riveted to the end.

No doubt this film will become a cult classic.

NOT FOR EVERYONE. NOT EVER FOR CHILDREN.

1993, Explicit sex, Unusual

The Buddha of Suburbia (1993)

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From NetFlix:

Naveen Andrews (TV’s ‘Lost’) stars in this satirical
coming-of-age tale as Karim, a half-English, half-Indian
teenager who struggles to find his own identity while growing
into adulthood in 1970s London. Adapted by Hanif Kureishi from
his Whitbread Award-winning novel, this BAFTA-winning miniseries
also stars Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) as Karim’s loving
mother, Margaret.

This TV series (2 discs) takes place in the Thatcher-Beatles era and may be a bit dated for you (bell-bottoms anyone ?) This is the last of the films by Hanif Kureishi that I will watch. His writings always ring true and the story is interesting and well-acted. It could stand some editing. There is a surprising amount of explicit sex. NOT FOR CHILDREN. I felt I had to put this film in the “weird” category only because you really have to want to watch an Indian in anti-colored England find himself. For my money, the best of all the Hanif Kureishi films was “My Beautiful Laundrette”.

2002, Explicit sex, Unusual

The Mother (2003)

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From NetFlix:

Anne Reid plays May, a suburban grandmother whose husband
dies unexpectedly while visiting their children in London.
When May goes there to tend to the tragic matter, she
begins to lose her grip on her identity, stripped of her
wifely duties and lost in the bustle of a world so foreign
to her. But then she meets Darren, a young man who’s
bedding her daughter, and her life takes a turn for the
complicated and the unexpected.

The New York Times magazine ran an article on Hanif Kureishi a London Indian who was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his writing. The article suggested some of his films of which “The Mother” is the first.

I felt I had to rate this movie “Unusual and definitely not for everyone” and DEFINITELY not for children. The movie is sexually explicit. The widow loses her grip and does some embarrassing things (definite “cringe” value). I would be interested to see how severely you judge this woman if you watch the film. Wife Kathy watched the film and thought it was disturbing. I consider it a real find.

Caution!

2007, Several languages, Unusual

The Band’s Visit (2007)

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From NetFlix:

When an Egyptian police brass band travels to Israel to
play at the opening of an Arab arts center, they wind up
abandoned and lost in a remote desert town in this charming
cross -cultural comedy. Defying expectations, the tiny Israeli
community embraces the musicians, and both the Egyptians and
the locals learn a few things about one another — and
themselves — in this witty winner of the Cannes Film Festival
Un Certain Regard prize.

This movie is in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. There are subtitles. Wife Kathy loved this film (and that is really saying something!). It is a slow (should I say almost deadly) film with an indie flavor. But the slowness fits perfectly with the stark, and for me frightening, loneliness of the Israeli desert town. I could not imagine being in such a flat, hot, almost uninhabited place. Beneath the deadpan lifelessness of the members of the band (except for the new young recruit), lies some sorrow to be revealed. Kathy did not even fall asleep once. This film might not be for everyone. Some sex, possibly not for children.