The BBC list with 25th Hour & Red River, and two more nominees from 2016: Land of Mine, Silence

6/3/17 25th Hour, 2002, #94 BBC

If you've read recent entries here, you know that my relationship with the BBC 100 list is very hot and cold, sometimes it's downright confounding. That's probably the reason I'm always so pleasantly surprised when I like or really enjoy a movie from it. 25th Hour was directed by Spike Lee and stars Edward Norton as Monty Brogan, a young drug dealer on his way to prison; Barry Pepper and Philip Seymour Hoffman as his two best friends Frank and Jake; Rosario Dawson is his girlfriend, Naturelle; and Brian Cox is his dad. Most of the movie follows Monty as he spends his last day of freedom, hanging out with his friends and his girlfriend, settling up with Russian mob that financed his drug business, and re-thinking his life. It's not a big ideas or big statement movie, it just tells a story, and Norton is understated, in a wonderfully engaging way. I don't normally pull for the drug dealer to come out on top, but I was really hoping Monty would make it out of prison okay. He shows his soft side early in the movie when he rescues a dog that is near death, and then takes him home. Maybe Doyle (the dog) is the beginning of Monty's redemption (I don't know, just thinking out loud). Monty is definitely not your stereotypical drug dealer, that's for sure. The movie is set in New York City and the shadow of 9/11; there are references to the first responders who died in the towers (Monty's father was a fireman); Frank's apartment overlooks the pit that was the World Trade Center; and there is a provocative inner dialog that has Monty raging against all of the immigrant/non-white groups living in New York. New York is Spike Lee's 'space' if you will, as much a character as one of the actors. The one character or storyline that didn't seem to go anywhere was with Anna Paquin as Mary D'Annunzio, who is one of Jake's students. She flirts with Jake, and he is not able to completely resist her charms. I would have liked more time on Naturelle and Monty, or Jake, Frank and Monty. There are no real 'special effects', not too much violence (it's there, but part of the story, not gratuitous), no nudity, the only sex is whatever Mary is trying to do; the emphasis is on the characters, and that is what made me want to watch this movie and care about the characters. You may not have heard about this movie before, but you have now.

6/9/17 Red River, 1948, #66 BBC, National Film Registry

Director Howard Hawks has four films on the BBC list of best American films; he probably should have had more, and his movies have won Oscars and are embedded into our collective film psyche (His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep, To Have or Have Not, Bringing Up and dozens more). So, combine Hawks with John Wayne and a host of other Hollywood names, like Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, and Noah Beery, you are likely to have a pretty good movie. Or an absolutely fabulous western, if you prefer. Thomas Dunson (Wayne) is a headstrong, and not entirely likeable, cattle rancher, looking to make a life out west in Texas. He's joined by his trusty cook and hand, Nadine Groot (the original) (played by Walter Brennan), and eventually a young boy, Matthew (Clift plays the older Matthew), who has lost his family in a raid. Dunson and his men build and grow a huge cattle operation, but because of the Civil War and the new laws of Reconstruction and the carpet baggers that have down from the north, the price of cattle has been driven way down. Dunson embarks on a massive cattle drive to Missouri, and it's the cattle drive that makes up most of the film. This ain't no City Slickers, that's for sure. Before the men set off, Dunson makes them sign a contract saying they won't leave the drive before it's finished (which is ironic, because that's kind of what he did in the beginning of the film), and he's very strict and tough, and there is only his way; he and Matthew, whom he has adopted, often disagree on the best way to do...everything. There is a bitter parting of the ways when Matthew and some of the other men suggest heading to Kansas instead of Missouri; but Dunson insists on Missouri and Matt and the others rebel, beating up Dunson, and heading to Abilene. It's not that they want to steal anything from Dunson, they just do not want to go his way, and are tired of his dictatorial behavior. The cattle drive took over 100 days, and a lot of things happened, like rain, and heat, and stampedes, a mutiny, and a girl. Yes, a girl. Dang it. The film opened with Dunson's love interest trying to follow him, unfortunately for her, that didn't go as planned. The other woman of the story, Tess Millay (Joanne Dru) is a dance hall girl who almost immediately falls in love with Matt, and he with her, I suppose. But, of course, he doesn't want her to follow him on the cattle drive. They do meet up again in Abilene as Matt and Dunson square off against each other, and, it seems the reason they make up is because of Tess. Honestly, that whole story line was weak and really not needed. I'm not an expert on Westerns, so I just go by if I enjoyed the movie or not. I did; it was different from the cowboys and Indians westerns, although there were Indians as part of the story, but not the whole story; there was some comedy provided mainly by Walter Brennan and the teeth he lost in a card game; this was one of Clift's very early movies, a few years before his Oscar-nominated role in A Place in the Sun; and John Wayne was mostly unlikeable, which I don't think happened that often (although, I could be wrong). I will say that the makeup, especially for Wayne was HORRIBLE; they had to age him fourteen years, so they put on a terrible hairpiece that looked so fake, it was ridiculous. The film score is magnificent, done by Dimitri Tiomkin, who did so many movie scores, but a few are Rio Bravo, High Noon, and Dial M for Murder.  I don't know exactly why this is on the BBC 100 list, but it is (I don't understand what makes it so special).

6/9/17 Silence, nominated Best Cinematography, 2016

If I didn't know that Martin Scorsese directed Silence, I don't think I would have guessed it in a million years. It is a film set in 16th century Japan focusing on a few of the Jesuit priests who went to Japan to spread Christianity, and the resistance they encountered from the Japanese rulers. It wasn't just resistance, but brutal torture and often, death, inflicted on their converts and the priests. Andrew Garfield is Portuguese padre, Sebastiao Rodrigues and Adam Driver is fellow priest, Francisco Garupe who head to Japan looking for their teacher, Cristovao Ferreira. Along the way, Rodrigues and Garupe meet many converts who are hiding and fear for their lives. They are sold out to the local samurai, and wherever they go, they bring danger to the people and themselves. These are tests of faith for both men, who had no idea or true understanding of what happened to the followers of Jesus. Rodrigues and Garupe often quarreled about the extent and depth of belief that the villagers should embrace; if they renounced Christ and stepped on an image of him, that was often enough to 'renounce' the faith, and save their lives. This would be practical, but many refused and were put to death. The two men split up to reduce the risks to the villagers and hopefully find Father Ferreira. Rodrigues is the main protagonist, and we follow him as he is captured by the chief inquisitor, and has to watch as faithful converts are murdered in front of him, and the bloodbath will continue until he commits apostasy. Father Ferreira is brought to try and convince Rodrigues to renounce his faith, to save the others. They debate the value and importance of spreading Christianity to countries like Japan. Ferreira, who committed apostasy years before, believes it's hopeless and pointless, and that there is much to learn from the Japanese. The movie is beautifully filmed, but it is brutal, there is no shying away from the varieties of torture that were used. I know there is a lot of controversy around the church, and the role of the Jesuits in converting the native inhabitants, sometimes just as forcefully. I thought it was interesting that Andrew Garfield was in another role that saw him persecuted for his faith (Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge also from 2016); in this film, however, his faith was shaken and he questioned it and himself more than in Hacksaw Ridge. I liked the movie, but it took me forever to even watch it because I was so afraid of its almost three hour run time (in fact, I could have seen it in the theater, but the thought of sitting there for so long frightened me). I don't think it's one of those 'must-see' movies, but if you're the least bit interested, I say go for it.

6/10/17 Land of Mine, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2016

Land of Mine is a kick in the stomach. Even though it's set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the message applies to the ongoing wars, and society, today. It made me think of All Quiet on the Western Front, and the senseless deaths of young men, boys, really. The movie takes place in Denmark, a country that was occupied by Germany during World War II, except after the war, Denmark was one of the victors and used young German soldiers to clear German land mines. On the one hand, you could say, good, that's what should be done, and Sergeant Rasmussen seems to agree. He is merciless and, seems to me, very cruel; but, he and his countrymen have been released from the German oppression. On the other hand, the young men in front of him are boys, maybe 18, not more than 20 years old, and they didn't plant those land mines. At some point the madness has to stop. Rasmussen doesn't flinch when the boys ask for food; he simply says no, he doesn't care if they starve or die, and tells them that. One of the boys makes the point that it would be 'better' if they died out there, clearing land mines, than from starvation; Rasmussen doesn't budge. Clearing the land mines is a dangerous business; if you're not killed outright, you could be maimed; the mines are fickle, and even when they are disarmed, they can still explode. This is a true story that has not been told, and writer/director Martin Zandvliet did his research and pulled facts together from different sources. Zandvliet shows the humanity of the young men as well as their principle jailer, Rasmussen. He keeps the viewer off balance, even when you think you know what is going to happen, it still jars you. This probably isn't at the top of anyone's list to see this summer, with so many blockbusters out there, but it's a movie that makes you think and feel, and that's more than a lot of movies can say.

This leaves one more film from 2016 to see (out of winners and nominees, The Salesman).