Week Ending 1/5/24
GWNYFCA Awards Weekend
Between wearing a mask the whole time not being conducive to helping present and my inability to see well while driving from Rochester to Buffalo at night afterwards (because I’m an old millennial with congenital cataracts), I won’t be able to attend the Greater Western New York Film Critics Association’s first in-person awards ceremony. I’m bummed because it would be cool to see it all go down tomorrow (1/6) at the Dryden Theatre. Here’s hoping all goes well and it won’t be the last.
That announcement generally triggers the year in movies is officially behind us. So, both my Top Ten Films of 2023 and Top Ten Posters of 2023 lists are up at The Film Stage as a result. I still have one more critics group awards to vote on, but the OFCS generally proves mainstream enough that I probably won’t have to catch-up on anything once the nominee list is released on 1/17. Not that I won’t still watch a few more before I submit by ballot. I have INSHALLAH A BOY (Jordan) and IN THE SHADOW OF BEIRUT (Ireland) on my docket for this week. THE SETTLERS (Chile) too if the screener comes through.
Otherwise, I’m hoping to take it a bit easy the next couple weeks where films are concerned. Maybe watch a few palate-cleansing blockbusters like THE MARVELS this week since I skipped most of the big ones (FAST X, INDIANA JONES, etc.).
What I Watched:
THE BOYS IN THE BOAT
(in theaters)
They don’t always end up being remembered when looking back at the best films of a year, but the art of a good underdog sports movie cannot be underestimated. I’m thinking about all the Disney titles that inspire with nostalgia and sweeping scores, doing well to showcase the victory (generally patriotic in nature) above the athletes or coaches who may have gone on to earn accolades of their own after whatever team gave them the spotlight first. You can add George Clooney’s THE BOYS IN THE BOAT to the list.
Is it awards worthy? No. Are the details about down-on-their-luck teens persevering or well-liked coaches on their last chance original? No. These are archetypes of the sports themselves let alone the cinematic genre of giving them dramatic life on the big screen. One could say that a lot of what works does precisely because it is familiar. We’re able to simply let the story (adapted by Mark L. Smith from Daniel James Brown’s book) flow without the need to wonder or worry about whatever twists and turns a made-up tale might conjure instead.
There’s the likable coach (Joel Edgerton’s Al Ulbrickson) who’s tough but fair and always smiling for the camera once the boys leave to let us know how proud he is. The obvious centerpiece in Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), a young man who raised himself on the streets the past four years to get into college and walk into crew tryouts with zero experience in the sport and all his attention on the stipend earning a spot would provide—a necessity to stay enrolled with unpaid tuition. And, of course, the sage old-timer (Peter Guinness’s George Pocock) hanging around to add the spark they all need to maintain confidence in themselves.
The races are shot with suspense even if we know these boys must win to progress the narrative where it must go (underdog stories don’t have to win in the end, but they do need to win enough to get to the end). Credit Luke Slattery for a lot of this being that he’s the driver barking orders to the rowers and thus really setting the pace with his cadence and performance—always looking to the other boats so the camera has a purpose in showing the rest of the field with context. You get caught up in the action and the meaning of every moment.
Yes, it’s schmaltzy whether in the saccharine romance (Turner’s Rantz and Hadley Robinson’s Joyce) balanced on a youthful Valentine or the notion of Don Hume’s (Jack Mulhern) piano playing bringing the team back from the brink, but that stuff just adds more charm. This is family-friendly fare with a mission to empower and embolden kids to aspire towards greatness no matter the stage or their apparent disadvantages. Let them be heroes, but also let them be kids with a relatability that transcends the decades to resonate, influence, and, above all else, entertain.
- 7/10
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE
(in limited release; Digital HD on 1/9/24)
What a stat. The Hite Report is 30th on the list of best-selling books of all-time. Yet no American publisher would return her calls when the time came to finance and release Shere Hite’s third follow-up. If that doesn’t epitomize her findings, I don’t know what would. Because despite sexuality being the focus of her reports, one cannot consider the anonymous answers outside of how the political and cultural spheres of a capitalistic society will ultimately weaponize them. The millions a publisher might have made off Hite’s work couldn’t compare to the billions lost by crossing the Evangelical Christian right.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE isn’t therefore just a straight biography of its subject. Nicole Newnham’s film is also a documentary about male control. You see it in the hypocrisies spouted by Hite’s critics. You see it with the media cherry-picking stats to defraud the truths she discovered and how they always stacked the deck to drown out the purpose of those truths. And you definitely see it in today’s generation having never heard of the 30th best-selling book of all-time. Just like women in Hite’s generation never saw centuries-old diagrams of women’s bodies with the clitoris labeled. The patriarchy always wins.
Hite’s retort to an enraged man on OPRAH—a man who never read her books—who said “women refuse to tell men what’s wrong” should have been a mic drop moment. She explains how women are literally telling him through her book only to have men react as if they had been shot, proving the problem remains men’s inability to listen. It should have forced him to sit down in embarrassment. Or open his eyes to at least consider his privilege in making baseless accusations about her book being “baseless.” His words instead helped ensured Hite would never live another day in America without constant harassment.
While footage from that episode is the linchpin connecting all the good will she earned beforehand and the slander that followed, Newnham does a wonderful job accompanying it with the context necessary to understand its relevance to both Hite’s life and America at-large. How our chaste society refuses to help the under-privileged, pushing them to make money by exploiting their bodies before vilifying them without offering any obvious alternatives. How research people don’t want to hear will be scrutinized beyond belief as biased research they do want is considered beyond reproach. How the thing we as a country fear most is honesty.
The sad reality is that this message will not be heard by the majority of people who need to hear it. Not really. How do I know? Because it’s the same message Hite’s books provided only to be erased from public consciousness. Thankfully, it will be heard by those who know it yet don’t know others do too. That’s where the true potency of Hite’s power lies. In bringing likeminded people together to create movements like Women’s Lib and Feminism to instill change. Yes, it’s often a one step forward, two steps back scenario (see the repeal of Roe v Wade), but that which satisfies bigots also tends to radicalize heroes. Case and point: Shere Hite.
- 8/10
THE MARVELS
(potentially on VOD this month; potentially streaming on Disney+ in February)
If there’s one good thing about the zeitgeist all but dismissing the fact that THE MARVELS even exists, it’s me not getting the mid-credits sequence spoiled two months after it debuted. I feel like that moment was the sort of fan service game-changer that would have been ruined before opening night earlier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s tenure. Which is ironic since Nia DaCosta’s film most closely resembles that early period—episodically self-contained and character-driven.
It just makes the backlash that much more perplexing … or telling if the real reason audiences passed was Disney daring to center three women as if doing so is any different than the countless other chapters centering three men. I mean, we know the difference. The ones centering three men always had a woman on the periphery. The misogynists could point to her and say, “See! It’s inclusive.” without having to *GASP* pay attention to her. That’s a bridge too far.
Fans of MS. MARVEL (like me) should have a great time with this team-up because despite the heavier moments of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) reuniting after decades apart, the bigger focus is on Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) meeting her idol. All that unchained exuberance that kept bubbling to the surface during the TV show whenever she fan-girled over Captain Marvel is increased further when she gets to fan-girl over her in-person. It’s so much fun because Vellani is so much fun.
As for the story: it’s straightforward. Big Bad (Zawe Ashton’s Dar-Benn, making the MCU a family affair considering her husband is Tom Hiddleston) wants to destroy worlds to simultaneously save her own and get revenge on its destroyer (Carol “The Annihilator” Danvers). The power she needs to travel between them comes from the other half of Kamala’s matching set of bangles, so the start of her plan conveniently quantum entangles the titular “Marvels” together due to Khan, Danvers, and Rambeau all having powers dealing with light. If one activates her abilities, she switches places with the other.
So, it’s a race. If the trio (collaborating with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury—the man you don’t have to pay attention to) can guess where Dar-Benn is heading next, they can try and stop her. They’ll need to learn how to be a team, clear the air of the baggage that exists between them, and remember that it’s never too late to make right that which you made wrong (even if the MCU yet again misses an opportunity to truly unpack this notion). With cool special effects (the transporting fights are wild), fantastic humor (DaCosta shares writing credit with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik), and a litter of Flerkens, there’s little to dislike.
But this is America where half the country misreads its art in ways that make them believe they’re the good guys and thus must always be represented as such to reinforce the belief that they matter. So, having four women leads (the heroes and villain) in a movie with a musical break surely got them even more bent out of shape. While it’s funny to watch them implode, though, it’s a tragedy when the product fails to shut them up monetarily. Hopefully Kevin Feige sees through the noise and doesn’t let this latest box office hiccup unfairly sideline good people.
- 7/10
SOCIETY OF THE SNOW [La sociedad de la nieve]
(streaming on Netflix; Spain’s 2023 International Oscar submission)
Director J.A. Bayona is no stranger to survival films. THE IMPOSSIBLE was a harrowing experience to watch on the big screen and his latest SOCIETY OF THE SNOW isn’t far off. Before we get to the drama of what the remaining passengers from chartered Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 must endure to stay alive, however, we are also reminded that Bayona is mostly known as a horror filmmaker. It might only happen in a flash, but his rendering of the crash is loud, violent, and unforgettably intense. You’d be forgiven for closing your eyes.
Whether you’re familiar with the true story or can simply read between the lines and presume what inevitably becomes necessary for these men and women to survive months in the desolate snow of the Andes mountains without a food supply, know that Bayona does well to keep that aspect of the horror (mostly) off-screen. Knowing what must be done is enough to give those on-screen nightmares. It’s enough to shake the faith of those who try to hold out until the last possible moment. The real horror is when they become inured to what they’re doing.
Based on Pablo Vierci’s novel, the fact there were survivors at all is enough to make the film worthwhile. The ensemble cast is wonderful. The choice of a narrator (Enzo Vogrincic’s Numa Turcatti) is impeccable for supplying an empathetic heart and resonant perspective. And Bayona never hits the breaks after that initial crash with nights caught in the elements, avalanches, and would-be escapes following it. He also does a great job focusing on characters in ways that make you believe they might make it only to have them be the next ones coming to a tragic end.
It’s no surprise it’s on the Oscar shortlist. With fantastic production design, solid marks in all technical aspects, and a compelling narrative that fearlessly allows some nihilism to sneak in amongst the usual “miracle” talk, SOCIETY OF THE SNOW delivers on genre expectations and cinematic scale. Is it one you’ll want to soon revisit? No. Harrowing experiences can entertain, but the emotional toll here is steep and the taboo subject matter hardly something audiences are clamoring for. That’s why surviving is only the first step for these Uruguayans. Just because they go home doesn’t mean part of them didn’t die out there in the snow.
- 8/10
THE TASTE OF THINGS [La passion de Dodin Bouffant]
(in limited release, expands 2/9/24; Frances’s 2023 International Oscar submission)
Adapted as a prequel to Marcel Rouff’s source novel, Anh Hung Tran’s THE TASTE OF THINGS is a wonderfully sweet and tragic tale of the life and love shared by two souls only interested in their art. Does that mean they can’t also have a romantic relationship? No. As long as it doesn’t affect the product of their culinary partnership in the kitchen—he as gourmet and she as cook. For twenty years they’ve worked side-by-side to create meals fit for royalty. The food they serve is their labor of love.
Not that Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) hasn’t asked for Eugénie’s (Juliette Binoche) hand in marriage multiple times. But why ruin a great thing? Why force a label and thus risk altering an equilibrium based on a level of independence and separation outside the kitchen that married couples in the 1800s didn’t often have? Because to watch them cook that first meal—a lengthy opening sequence that eats up most of the first hour—is to see an unwavering level of respect for one another, but also a clear division of duties.
He gets to eat with their guests while she keeps the food cooking in the kitchen. Despite their closeness, a gulf still exists … or it seems that way at least. Thankfully, one of those guests goes behind the scenes to chastise Eugénie for not eating with them before hearing how she “did” through the art of making that which they ate. She therefore chooses to be in the background. It’s a necessary detail to learn because the inherent politics of a man and woman as “equals” at that time forces us to presume the opposite. That they truly are equals is crucial.
From that point on we can bask in the joy they share. It’s as though they are of one mind at times, a fact brought to life by a story about a dream Eugénie had wherein Dodin appeared as though she willed it. Theirs is one life regardless of the labels society might project upon them. They wake-up in separate rooms (whether or not they shared one the previous night) and begin their day behind the stoves. They contemplate a new apprentice (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), visit their esteemed neighbors, and consider a menu for the Prince of Eurasia.
Anyone who knows how Rouff’s book starts, however, knows how Tran’s film must eventually end. As such, conflict arrives in the form of potential tragedy via an unknown illness. It colors the whole (especially Dodin’s ability to remain as happy as he is when he believed everything was okay) by adding a sense of urgency that two decades of routine can easily gloss over if you aren’t careful. That isn’t to say resentments exist. But there are perhaps some regrets. So, while the opening meal is Eugénie orchestrating a masterpiece for guests, the final meal is Dodin conducting one solely for her.
There’s beauty to the gesture and a warmth to their reactions (perhaps helped in part by Binoche and Magimel’s history together) that renders THE TASTE OF THINGS a gorgeous love story marked by the smiles and stares shared in the background of what proves a 19th century dramatic symphony of food porn. I felt like I was watching Frederick Wiseman’s MENUS-PLAISIRS again, that’s how in-depth and process-driven the kitchen scenes are. So, of course it all culminates in one final overlap where memory’s grief becomes momentarily erased by the excitement and potential of food worthy of conjuring nostalgia instead.
- 8/10
Cinematic F-Bombs:
No new additions to the archive this week, so here’s Mike Myers from SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER. cinematicfbombs.com
New Releases This Week:
(Review links where applicable)
Opening Buffalo-area theaters 1/5/24 -
NIGHT SWIM at Dipson McKinley, Flix & Capitol; AMC Maple Ridge & Market Arcade; Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
SOME OTHER WOMAN at Regal Elmwood, Transit, Galleria & Quaker
Streaming from 1/5/24 -
FOE – Prime on 1/5
GOOD GRIEF – Netflix on 1/5
CHOWCHILLA – Max on 1/5
Now on VOD/Digital HD -
ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT (1/2)
“To me it feels like how I’d imagine one's life flashing before their eyes would unfold. To have [it] told with such honest, heartfelt devotion is a balm for the soul.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
EILEEN (1/2)
“Moshfegh and Oldroyd [reach a point with the climax] where the curtain must be lifted to show the scars this world has etched upon the bodies of those we'd like to believe still maintain a semblance of innocence.” – Full thoughts at HHYS.
THE BRICKLAYER (1/5)
MAYHEM! (1/5)
RACE FOR GLORY (1/5)
From the press kit archive:
