Drive My Car (2021)

"Drive My Car" is a long slow movie. So long and so slow that the intro credits come after more than half an hour into it. But it's a "slow burn". In different words, I think it's worth getting to the end of it.

The movie's based on a short writing of Haruki Murakami. Also, it's very entangled with "Uncle Vanya" by Checkhov. Unfortunately, my readings never intersected with the two, and that I think made me lose some of the hidden meanings in the action. This is centered on a period from the life of Kafuku, a theater actor from Japan in his 40s, who's losing his wife in the beginning of the movie as a victim of brain hemorrhage. Fast forward two years from the tragic event, we find Kafuku as a director somewhere in a delegation, tasked with staging the mentioned Checkhov play. The rules of the theater company require him to take a professional driver, a young woman. Initially he's displeased with this, on the ground of breaking his habit of rehearsing the play lines while driving, but he's finally compelled to accept. From here on, the movie starts more often to signal the "slow burn" I was mentioning, delivering between periods of calm some scenes that are either thought provoking or their construction is sufficiently strong to keep you hanging on. Probably one of the first such scenes is when the casting of the play takes place, where a former lover of the deceased wife shows up, a character to whom Kafuku surprisingly decides to give the title role. But let's leave the rest of the story for the viewing I'd say. There's not much of a twist in it after all - the whole charm of the movie's set in its construction with all the details, and a summary in this case would not make justice on giving you the same impression as the complete package.

There's a symbolism in this movie from which you can understand more or less, either as you want to perceive it or how the director intended :) What's important is that's there and keeps your mind busy, from the red SAAB with the wheel on the left driven a lot over Japanese roads, only to find it in the end on a Korean highway where the rule is "drives on the right", up to the interference between Checkhov's lines in repetitions and the moments in the lives of the people saying the words, when you're not sure anymore what's part of the play and what's real. In brief, the direction and the script are top notch, although probably the most obvious contribution to the impact of the movie comes from the actors' side, in particular from the lead.

It's hard to qualify "Drive My Car" as a niche movie, because it doesn't move much beyond the usual pattern of a drama. One thing that's certain though is that's not a movie for everyone. I doubt that 10 years ago, maybe even one year ago, I would've had the patience to digest this properly. I'm not sure I did it now, or better said I'm pretty sure there are more meanings in it than I was able to discern. It's a movie that requires some dose of life experience to understand the feelings of some characters, to be able to empathize with them, at least in part. And if that doesn't happen there are good chances the movie will be dreadfully boring for you. Besides that, it's a movie that has a lot of the typical Japanese calm in its action development - which again you might be able to get a taste of if you're in a period when you unconsciously need it. Then, I can say it's relaxing, and you'll feel that stronger as you watch it. Otherwise, I guess I would've slept through it. But I didn't, and the ending, more or less bitter, brings you one of the best acted scenes I've ever seen in a movie, a dialogue from "Uncle Vanya" partly said using the sign language, and which in essence could be summarized in a line from a previous scene - "we must keep on living".

Rating: 4 out of 5

Werk ohne Autor (Never Look Away) (2018)

I wanted to go and see "Shazam!" this week, but I kept postponing from one day to the other until I failed reaching the cinema. Maybe it was a good thing. Because I got to see "Werk ohne Autor" aka "Never Look Away" instead.

The movie lasts 3 hours. I watched it in two sessions, because I didn't know what to expect. I would recommend though to try this in one piece. It doesn't make you check your watch, but the second half is much more... let's say calm, compared to the first part. And it's probably meant to be that way. The story starts sometime around 1937, in Eastern Germany, close to Dresden, and follows up the life of a young painter since he's 5 years old up to around the time he gets to 30. The first part that gets through the Nazi period and the war is pretty hard to watch. Not in the sense of bullets and blood, but for the drama and despair (no irony there). I don't want to reveal much more besides the trailer, because it will reduce the effect the movie will have on you. All I can say is that we see the young Kurt Barnert surviving the war, starting an artistic career under the communist regime in DDR, marrying the daughter of his arch-enemy (who he doesn't know he's his arch-enemy), illegally escaping to the West and resuming his studies there, and finally apparently finding success as a painter. Trust me, I didn't tell you anything. Watch the movie.

It's the third movie directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, after "Das Leben der Anderen" and (the less fortunate) "The Tourist". For who has seen the first, probably it doesn't need other recommendation than saying that we have a comeback after the second. You can feel the same vibe here. There are though some differences. I'll start with what's less important, although it is... the camera work (Caleb Deschanel) is excellent, same for the score, and for the casting (where we have common names with "Das Leben der Anderen", but still I think this one's a bit better). More significant it's the message sent. As far as I remember "Das Leben der Anderen" didn't end that well, but it had a sort of a... closure, wrap up, whatever. Here the ending is more open (and again I didn't say anything). For this, subjectively, I'd vote for "Das Leben der Anderen". On the other hand, there are some things in the movie we have here, you don't get until the end credits start rolling. Like the fact that it's actually much more deep (or your mind is gone... either might work). For instance, until the last 3 minutes I thought that the marketing title in English fits better for what happened there than the German original one. It's actually more catchy "never look away" than "work without author" :) Until the last 3 minutes, when you can give an interpretation for all you've watched - life in general - as a "work" which in the ending stage... it doesn't really have an author :) Maybe a bit of karma. But that you don't see. It's just there for some paybacks you might not even know about. I still didn't say anything ;) Watch the movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5 ( I'm subjective - multiple reasons - probably deserves much more :) )

Transcendence (2014) + Du Levande (2007) + Noah (2014)

Still alive ... I know, it's the first time when I've jumped over a week without notice (fake promise: it won't happen again & cliche: my life is complicated). Unfortunately I don't have anything good enough to compensate the absence. So, let's try a 3-in-1. Fast, because again I don't have time ;)

1. Life after .. death : "Transcendence" was top of expected list for me on this year announced releases. Harsh disappointment. I don't even know what to bash first. The story, although relatively simple considering how much you could get from "mind uploading" as subject, is still ok. From story to script though ... the disaster starts to catch shape. Let's say I can ignore the ton of IT related stupid stuff placed there for the average viewer (although it can be done without, or try to do it much more accurate - again, the classic example: "Antitrust"). But I didn't see such cliche density for quite a while. Again, I can confirm myself the rule of "don't trust a screenwriter at the 1st script if the movie's not an indie". He will get it done either to shocking too impress (not the case here), either too simplistic for a wider appeal, or he knew the producer and that was enough to get the job. And we can supplement this with the second rule "don't trust a visuals guy at his 1st directing attempt either". Wally Pfister is a good cinematographer - the guy normally working with Nolan ("Inception", "The Dark Knight", "The Prestige"). You can see here too some touch from his side, although he's not in charge with this. But for directing ... the movie has real problems. Well, it's a mix of problems adding the script and the production design, but for some issues the final call comes from the director's side. When you have .. what to pick .. gibberish screensavers on every monitor seen in the movie (to get the geekysh feeling) ... or a pathetic attack using 2-3 mortars to charge on a gigantic subterranean bunker (and on top supported by the U.S. government) - the scene could have been done with an F18 solving the problem quickly, efficient and precise from above .. but well, we wouldn't have had the "romantic drama" (+ an F18 adds more to the budget than some mortars). I don't know .. it really doesn't make sense to lose more time talking, because except bashing the movie I don't think I have anything left to say. It's not exactly the same thing, but I can recommend "Source Code" as a much better alternative. For "Transcendence" I only have one thing to appreciate (and that's subjective), namely Rebecca Hall as female lead character. Except that ...

Rating: 2 out of 5


2. Life after .. just life : "Du Levande" or "You, the living" is a Swedish production that I've seen in small pieces throughout the week. And from which I was expecting again more. I wrote recently an entry on "La Grande Belleza". Well .. if we cut (a bit) from the visuals, we cut (more) from the budget, and we replace the decadence with absurdity the result is pretty much what we have here. The last part is not something bad actually. Basically, the movie is a sequence of scenes, many being somewhere close to Kafka. Not very well entangled though = we don't have a story, and I'm a bit too tired these days to fully appreciate a movie that invests a lot in symbolism ( and if we add "meaning of life" as central topic it already starts to get depressing :) ). But if you're in the mood for food for thought, it's a good choice ...

Rating: 3 out of 5


3. Life after .. the apocalypse : "Noah" - where apocalypse = obviously the flood. The movie is sort of opposite to "Transcendence". The ark story is known by everybody, so you won't get big surprises. Still, if you're not a bible fanatic to get a stroke due to variations from the text, the additions made are very welcome as an original touch. And for directing, it's visible that Darren Aronofsky is somebody who proved his skills before. With "The Fountain" for example, which is close in style here-and-there (or maybe it was just Clint Mansell's soundtrack reusing some notes). Still, "Noah" is not "The Fountain". The metaphor is thinner, and the drama gets a bit hilarious in some points (which strange enough adds a bit of color to the film, although might look a bit pic out-of-place). One thing to appreciate ( at least by me :) ) is that I don't see the production targeting (despite the subject) the by-the-book believers and (obviously) neither the convinced atheists. Or different put, there are parts which probably might work for both ( might .. since I'm on neither of the "extreme sides" I don't know for sure :) ). In the end, with/without divinity, the main message is probably close to: people can change - some do .. some don't - :) but they deserve a chance to prove it ;)

Rating: 3 out of 5

La grande bellezza (2013)

After 2013's European Film Awards, for one year I decided to skip the winner, since the synopsis suggested something too likely to be depressing. In a very "inspired" moment, I've chosen then from the nominees list another Italian production ("La Migliore Offerta") that proved to be a total disaster for "my daily mood" (although a very good movie on its own). Anyway, after getting also the Globe, BAFTA & finally the Oscar for best foreign movie, I've decided I should find a couple of hours to finally check out "La grande bellezza" aka "The Great Beauty" (running international title). The result: mixed feelings ...

I'm not getting too much into the subject, because there is no subject. A concise summary would be: reflections over life, more or less disconnected, through a 65 years old writer's eyes. Living in Rome ... where pretty much all the movie takes place. And which location contributes a lot to one of the best cinematography I've seen lately (I could place it on par with "Inside Llewyn Davis", although it's in a total different tone). The movie is gorgeous visually, from the start scene, up to the final credits. It's so good on this part, that for me managed to overshadow almost everything else. Because overall, the visuals, I don't know .. bring something warm near some of the life snippets which are somewhere between harsh cold and pure hypocrisy. Maybe it's just my own interpretation, but probably a sense would be that when something's getting really bitter, to throw a look around and check out the view .. either behind you, close to you, or towards the horizon .. you might find something looking sweet enough to keep going, while caring more or less - choice is yours, but reaching out a bit further ...

It's a movie that 10 years ago I would have found terribly boring. 5 years ago I would've been probably terribly depressed after seeing it. Today, neither happened. I didn't like it, I didn't dislike it - as I said, mixed feelings :) Guess I'm right when I say I'm getting old :))) ...

Rating: 4 out of 5