The bright side of life

DVD review by Vives Anunciacion

Everything is Illuminated
Written and Directed by Liev Shrieber
Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer
Starring Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz
105 minutes/ Region 3
Warner Home Video

Comedy/ Drama
DVD Features: Additional Scenes, Theatrical Trailer, English and Thai Language
Widescreen version
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
DVD: P499 VCD: P275
Now available in video stores

Recently the tv show Wish Ko Lang ran an episode about a woman who has been searching for her biological mother for 22 years. The show helped her track down the mother’s whereabouts and mother and daughter were reunited eventually. Nangyayari rin ito sa ibang lahi, sa ibang bansa. Isang universal force ang paghahanap natin ng pinagmulan ng mga tao man o ng mga bagay. Ito rin ang pwersa ng kwento ng Everything is Illuminated.

Batay sa short story at nobela ni Jonathan Safran Foer, ang Everything is illuminated ay tungkol sa paghahanap ng isang Jewish American sa babaeng nagligtas sa kaniyang lolo nang lusubin ng mga German Nazi ang Ukraine noong WWII. Maglalakbay sa kanayunan ng Ukraine si Jonathan (Elijah Wood) sa tulong ng kaniyang interptreter na si Alex (Eugene Hutz), ang hip-hop na Ukrainian na nagpupumilit mag-Ingles at ng lolo nitong drayber na si Alexander Sr. (Boris Leskin) na nagpapanggap naman na bulag. Hanap nila ang lumang bayan ng Trachimbrod kung saan huling natagpuan ang babaeng si Augustine (Teresa Veselkova), ang babaeng nagligtas sa lolo ni Jonathan.

This is a road movie kaya sa kanilang paglalakbay, maraming nakakatawang cultural interactions ang magaganap sa magkakasama. Si Jonathan na isang writer sa Amerika ay nagongolekta ng kung anu-anong bagay bilang remembrance, si Alex naman itong nagpapaka-Amerikanong Ukrainian kahit saliwa mag-Ingles. Pero higit sa mga nakatatawang interactions, mauungkat nila Jonathan ang ilang mahahalagang piraso ng nakaraan sa kanilang mga buhay.

When they do find Augustine, maraming sikreto ang mabubunyag at isang mahalagang detalye ng nakaraan ang mag-uugnay sa kanilang tatlo at magpapaliwanag kung bakit ganun ang trabaho ng lolo ni Alex at kung bakit napadpad sa Ukraine si Jonathan.

As a first film by actor-turned writer/director Liev Shrieber, Everything is Illuminated is a commendable attempt to translate to the screen a very complex and compelling novel about keeping our memories and giving closure to them.

Maganda ang music at nakatatawa ang lenguwahe at ilang eksena. Most of the time the movie looks good, thanks to Fil-Am cinematographer Matthew Libatique (who also photographed Phone Booth, Gothika, and the definitive Requiem for a Dream.)

Pero pwera sa magagandang shots, madalas hindi swabe ang pagsalaysay. This may work for the narrative structure of the book, pero hindi ito madali sa pelikula lalu na kung nilalagyan ito ng dramatic points. Hindi dynamic ang salaysay ng pelikula na pagkaraan ng 30 minutes, alam mo na ang saan na ito sisikot-sikot.

Performances are generally more than good, lalu na mula sa baguhang si Eugene Hutz na talagang nakakatawa bilang isang interpreter na nagma-masaker ng wikang Ingles. Kelan ba kayo huling kumausap ng banyaga na nagkaintindihan kayo ng deretso? Swak naman si Elijah Wood bilang isang binatang detached sa mga surroundings niya.

Overall, nakakaaliw ang Everything is Illuminated, pero mas nakaaaliw ang aklat. Kung bibilhin ang dvd, maganda rin kung sasamahan na basahin ang aklat nito para mas maaliw. Pero orig lang ha.

And the band plays on

Review by Vives Anunciacion

Munich
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Tony Kushner, Eric Roth
Based on the book “Vengeance” by George Jonas
Starring Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz
R13/164 minutes
Dreamworks/ Universal Pictures
Opens February 8

Thirty years ago the world watched as the “Olympics of Peace and Joy” became the “Massacre in Munich.” Munich is a gripping action thriller that provokes a host of questions but shies away from any valid answer. Serious stuff from Steven Spielberg.

In the early morning of September 5, 1972 eight men dressed in tracksuits sneaked into the dorm compound of Olympic Village at Munich, Germany, killing two Israeli delegates and taking nine hostages. The group, belonging to the Palestinian Black September demanded the release of 234 Palestinians and non-Arabs jailed in Israel as well as the release of two German Red Army terrorists. After 21 hours of failed negotiations and a botched rescue attempt, the drama ended in a bloodbath at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport that killed all Israeli hostages and five of the 8 kidnappers, seen live on international television.

The “official” Israeli response four days later was the bombing Palestinian training camps in Syria and Lebanon. In truth, Israel had secret plans for retaliation. Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) and the Israeli cabinet “Committee X” devised “Operation Wrath of God” designed to track down and assassinate the 11 Black September masterminds responsible for the Munich massacre.

In the movie, the Israeli Intelligence Agency Mossad recruits one of its young officers, Avner (Eric Bana) to lead the assassination team. He is joined in Frankfurt by four other operatives – Robert the toymaker turned bomb maker (Amelie’s Mathieu Kassovitz), Hans the document forger (Hanns Zischler), getaway car driver Steve (future James Bond Daniel Craig) and Carl the cleanup expert (Ciaran Hinds).

The humorless Mossad officer Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush) strictly relays their missions, which, over the next months, would take them from Italy to Paris, London, Athens and Beirut. Mathieu Amalric plays the Parisian contact, Louis, who provides vital information about the targets for a large sum. But as the group tracks down its targets, doubts about their missions real objectives and their safety mount increasingly.

In a rare definition of “sleeping with the enemy”, Avner and his group find themselves sharing a safehouse with a Palestinian covert group like theirs. Mistaking Avner’s group as European spies, the Arab group openly shares the reasons for their struggles. This encounter shakes Avner’s convictions, as he realizes their actions are no different from the Arabs’. In the end, only five of the 11 targets are taken down, but the missions are deemed successful. Avner, unsure of his own security in the land for which he risked his life, exiles in New York with his wife (Ayelet Zurer) and his daughter.

Munich is probably Spielberg’s most thematically complex movie, and maybe his most daring. The theme that grays the line between terrorism and counter-terrorism is repeated with each member of the assassin group, especially when they begin to question their purpose when the safety of innocent lives are risked. It doesn’t end when the targets are eliminated, since new ones are hired to replace them. At what price really is revenge? The retaliator receives retaliation, and so on, violence begets violence. But at nearly 3 hours, this repetitive theme is indulgent, if not excessive.

The color palettes and patterns of the 70’s are beautifully recreated in Janusz Kaminski’s photography and in Rick Carter’s design, the edit by Michael Kahn is inspired to excite. Music is understated, uncharacteristically John Williams.

While Munich vividly dramatizes the human costs of Israel’s hardline policy against terrorism, it is only a subtle reminder of a world that has conflicted righteousness with retribution. “Forget peace,” Meir reminds her cabinet. Munich repeatedly asks whether the end truly justifies the means, but it also does not pretend to have the answers to its own questions.

Munich stands as a thoroughly crafted thriller, but fails to debate the realities of justice in the age of terror. Spielberg places his last arguments for peace in the final frame of the movie – as Avner and Ephraim go separate ways in1973, the doomed twin towers of the World Trade Center stand in the hazy background. “There is no peace at the end of this.” Avner declares, and the movie’s polemics also end there. The bloodbath continues to rain.

Blackbird

Review by Vives Anunciacion

Walk the Line
Directed by James Mangold
Written by James Mangold, Gill Dennis
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon
PG13/ 136 minutes
20th Century Fox

Tinawag siyang man in black dahil simulat’t sapul naka-itim siya na suit kapag nagperform sa harap ng audience. Si Johnny Cash ang pangunahing country/western singer ng Amerika sa loob ng limang dekada. Walk the Line is a resounding tribute to the legendary performer who sang the country blues.

Ang Walk the Line ay tungkol sa sikat na country/western singer na nagsikap makaahon mula sa pinanggalingang cotton farm sa Arkansas hanggang maging matagumpay na performer kasabay nina Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis at Carl Perkins.

The talented Joaquin Phoenix (previously seen in Hotel Rwanda and The Village) gives an impassioned performance as the legendary singer dressed in black, Johhny Cash. Reese Witherspoon plays country crooner and comedienne June Carter, who becomes the object of Cash’s deep affection.

Ang pelikula ay pinaigsing salaysay ng makulay na buhay ni Cash mula sa kahirapan ng Depression Era 1930s sa Arkansas hanggang sa makasaysayang konsiyerto niya sa Folsom Prison noong 1968. Ipapakita rito ang maagang pagkamatay ng nakatatandang kapatid na si Jack na magkakaroon ng malaking epekto sa paglaki ni Johnny.

In 1955 at the age of 23 kasama ng dalawang kaibigan, nag-audition si Johnny kay Sam Phillips, may-ari ng Sun Records Studio sa Memphis kung saan nirecord ni Elvis Presley ng kaniyang debut single na “That’s All Right” isang taon ang nakalipas. Hindi nagustuhan ni Phillips ang audition ni Johnny at sinabihan itong umuwi. Naglakas-loob si Johnny at kumanta ng orihinal na kanta. Ang kinalabasan ay ang “Cry, Cry, Cry” na nag-debut sa country charts ng Billboard sa #14.

Kinaibigan siya nina Elvis at ng iba pang recording artist at napabilang sa promotional tour ng mga banda. Doon niya makikilala ang singer na si June Carter, na matagal nang hinahangaan at pinakikingggan ni Johnny noong bata pa lang siya. Johnny is instantly enamoured with June, at hindi tinago ang pagtangi nito kay June kahit na may asawa’t anak na si Johnny.

Most of the movie is about how Johnny rose to fame while trying at the same time to raise an unappreciative family and letting June understand his appreciation of her. In the end his music, his love and his soul triumph, which is why he is an American legend.

The movie is a quaint tribute to the legendary performers of American country and rock music, but suffers unintentionally as a historical pop-culture narrative. Hindi masyado makaka-relate ang mga Pinoy viewers sa kasikatan ni Mr. Cash maliban na lang yung henerasyon na sumubaybay sa kaniya at sa mga kasabay nitong naglalakihang performers. Maliban dito, halos isang karaniwang dramatic biography lang ang Walk the Line tulad ng Ray o kaya ng The Aviator na pinapakita ang pagsisikap, trahedya at pag-ahon ng isang historical figure, lalu na ng mga rock star na halos pare-pareho ang pinagdaanang pagsubok. Manipis ang build-up ng love story sa pagitan nina Johnny at June, parang taken for granted na lang dahil alam na ng karamihan na nagkatuluyan sila. Pero pwede ring hindi na pinalalim ang masalimuot na isyu ng pag-iibigan ng dalawa sa kabila ng pagiging kasal nila sa ibang tao dahil ito’y isyung moral na maaaring magparumi sa imahen ng mga singer na binibida ng pelikula.

But there are gems within the story of Walk the Line and in the strong performances coming from Phoenix and Witherspoon who both shine as struggling artists and lovers in the time when the legends of rock still roamed the earth. Walk the Line is an entertaining musical that derives strength from the stellar performances of its leads, but more so because the legend behind the movie is bigger than the movie itself.