The Wrong Arm of the Law
Another old British comedy, this time starring Peter Sellers as the head of a slightly sorry gang of crooks. Business is going fine with his women’s boutique offering a solid front and a helpful extra source of income, until a new gang from Australia turn up posing as coppers and hijacking every job they pull. It’s a daft premise that allows Sellers to shine one more as an almost Blackadder-type crime boss in a film that offers more than just a few sly digs at the establishment. Not as broad as Chaplin kicking the rozzers up the arse at every opportunity, but the disdain for the ‘proper order of things’ is still there. But even without these undertones it’s still a highly entertaining, old fashioned film for a weekend afternoon.
Dark City
Visually gripping from the start, this pre-Matrix neo-noir (no pun intended) from Alex ‘The Crow’ Proyas is a triumph of style and design without the sacrifice of substance. A man (Rufus Sewell) wakes up in a bath tub in a strange apartment with no memory and immediately receives a call telling him to get out before The Strangers arrive for him. So far so Total Recall, but the film maintains a murky tone throughout without becoming as OTT as that other sci-fi film. Well, until the last ten minutes at least. Jennifer Connelly has scarcely looked better on screen and it given the added bonus of a great introduction. Kiefer Sutherland plays an uncharacteristically feeble role, but it’s Rufus who carries the film. He’s our connection to the film and were it not for a wholly unnecessary voice over at the beginning we would know nothing or less than what he does. It’s as redundant as the one from the original cut of Blade Runner and takes away from the first act considerably. It’s a mistake that The Matrix was smart enough to avoid the following year.
Run Lola Run
It’s been a while since I first saw this; in fact I think it was one of the very first examples world cinema that I experienced. Anyway, it’s a complete tour de force of a film that rarely lets up from the get-go. Employing swirling cameras, hand held, still frame montages, rapid editing and freewheeling animation to hurtle the remarkably slight story forwards, director Tom Tykwer gets the viewer as adrenalised as his heroine. The German title translates literally as ‘Lola Runs’ and boy does she ever do that. Aside from the frantic style, the other main selling point is the way the story is told. Lola has twenty minutes to raise 100,000DM and deliver it to her boyfriend, but things don’t quite go to plan. So we jump back and watch her again. And again. Each run is slightly different from the other, with the most insignificant differences snowballing into a completely different resolution. Seconds really do count in this story. An interesting detail of the film is when the futures of the characters she encounters is quickly summarised during each run, with each future alternating dramatically with every tiny difference in the encounter. There’s plenty more to dig into but I’d rather not spoil it for any of you that have yet to see it. But it’s refreshing to have such a visceral film that throw up so many thought-provoking questions about life and reality.
Cinema Paradiso (International Cut
Films about films are hardly uncommon but don’t really seem to come along that often. Of those that have, this is undoubtedly one of the very best and most instantly accessible. I’d previously only seen the extended version and if there’s anyone reading this that is thinking of watching this film, stick with the original, two-hour version. It’s much more magical and innocent. The extended version is still very good, but changes the tone significantly towards the end.
Anyway, watching the sweeter version for the first time I was still completely enraptured by young Toto’s awe of cinema and the rose coloured lens through which his older self reminisced. The scenery, characters and photography exude warmth and vibrancy and it’s such a pleasure to watch, even though there are hard times for Toto and his family. These childhood scenes are easily my favourite, focussing on Toto’s developing relationship with projectionist Alfredo and his infatuation with everything cinematic. His teenage years where he discovers a new love are still charming but tinged with a sadness absent from earlier. Sure they allow for the poignant finale that I wouldn’t dream of spoiling here, but it’s the childhood scenes that stay with me for longer.
There are so many gorgeous scenes scattered throughout the film too. Aside from the ending there’s the outdoor cinema, Toto’s movie kiss and more that I can’t do justice to in print. A film for anyone who loves films or simply with love in their heart.
