March 28th 2024
Perfect Days
Io Capitano
20 Days in Mariupol (streaming on DocPlay)
Little Richard: I am Everything (streaming on Amazon Prime)
There are some GREAT films to catch up with over the Easter break. Two outstanding nominees for Best International Feature Film hit our big screens, while streamers can catch two fabulous (but very different) documentaries.
Perfect Days
Dir: Wim Wenders
Length: 103 mins
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© Madman - a slice of Japanese life
that is so beautiful and simple |
Hirayama (Koji Yakusho) seems content with his life. He has a set routine, getting up each day to work as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, later going to his regular restaurant and bathhouse, and reading nightly from his large book collection before sleeping. He is a quiet man, who says little, works fastidiously and immaculately, and who keenly observes the world around him, taking copious photos of shadows and light patterns cast by the trees. The encounters he does have with others are varied: among them his co-worker Takashi (Tokio Emoto) and a girl that Takashi is pursuing; his niece, Niko (Arisa Nakano), who runs away from home to spend a few days with him; his estranged sister who cannot cope with her brother's life choices, a homeless vagrant; the people who serve him his meals; and a stranger who bots a cigarette and confesses he is dying from cancer. Gradually these encounters, some more impactful than others, seem to cause him to look introspectively at his life. Nominated for a Best International Feature this year, Perfect Days is definitely not a film for the impatient person. Rather, it is more like a meditation upon life, in an inimitably Japanese way. The observation of not only beauty but the world around us, the care taken with every tiny task, and the ability to live in the moment - all these things are at the heart of this sublime film. When Hirayama goes into his dreams at night, he conjures the ethereal black and white beauty of his photographs; when his niece questions the future, Hirayama responds with "now is now", like a mantra evoking living in the present. Wenders' love of Japan seeps out of every scene, and Yakusho creates a character who we cannot help but love, admire and empathise with. The film for me is a small treasure to be savoured, moment by moment. 4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
Io Capitano
Dir: Matteo Garrone
Length: 121 mins
 |
© Rialto - fiction that is so close to the
truth. Challenging but ultimately uplifting |
We may be getting inured to seeing news reports of refugees making their way from Africa to Europe, sometimes at the cost of their lives. But it's a different story when you see it up close and personal, getting emotionally invested in the actual human beings involved. This is exactly what director Garrone achieves in his award-winning story of two young Senegalese teens, who decide to take the perilous journey, hoping to make their names in the music business when they arrive in Europe. Cousins Seydou (Seydou Sarr) and Moussa (Moustapha Fall) save for six months to chase their dream, but it turns out to be a harrowing experience, as they make a treacherous journey through the Sahara, are ripped off by corrupt guards and people traffickers, fall into the wrong hands in Libya, and, for Seydou, ultimately face the biggest challenge of his young life. Despite the harrowing nature of the subject matter, Garrone imbues the narrative with touches of surrealism and near-magical experiences. He also exploits to the max the cinematographic opportunities afforded by colorful African villages with music and dance, and the stark but majestic beauty of the Sahara, along with the threatening vastness of the mighty Mediterranean Sea. Young Sarr is a revelation as an actor, bringing grace, bravery, and ultimately hope to his character. A nominee for Best International Film at this year's Oscars, Io Capitano has also won four prestigious awards at the Venice Film Festival. It's a very rewarding watch that will have you totally engaged with the characters and their journey.4 - highly recommended
20 Days in Mariupol
Dir: Mstyslav Cherbnov
Length: 95 mins
Streaming exclusivelyon DocPlay
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© DocPlay - confronting and important
documentary making going to the heart
of the horrors of war. |
In his acceptance speech for Best Documentary feature at this year's Academy Awards, director Chernov said, “Probably I will be the first director on this stage to say I wish I'd never made this film. I wish to be able to exchange this to Russia never attacking Ukraine.” But what a film he has made, condensing the first 20 days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the people of Mariupol are bombed, and the city is progressively destroyed. Words can barely convey what these people went through, and while the footage is at times shaky, handheld and on the run, it captures to the last ghastly detail the horror of such a war. The scene of the bombed out maternity hospital is heartbreaking. The bravery of the Ukrainian journalists who were trapped in Mariupol is remarkable, as they desperately struggle to get their video footage out of the besieged city to appeal to the world to send help. This is no easy watch, but is such an important film, which brings the broad sweep of war reporting down to the personal details of real people and the destruction of their lives.4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended
www.docplay.com
It's been a while since I've nagged you about subscribing to DocPlay, but if you are a doco aficionado, for the price monthly of a couple of cups of coffee, you can have the best and latest docos in the world streamed to your home. What's to think about??!!
Little Richard: I Am Everything
Dir: Lisa Cortes
Length: 101 mins
Streaming on Prime Video
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© - Good golly Miss Molly, this is such
a terrific doco. |
And now for something absolutely entertaining and uplifting; something for rock'n'roll fans and anyone who loves a great music doco. Too much credit is often given to the white origins of rock'n'roll. Richard Penniman, black and queer, could well be called the father of the craze that swept the world. This exciting biopic features more archival footage than you can shake a stick at, along with insightful input from such later iconic musicians as Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Tom Jones and more, all of whom credit Richard with being a major inspiration. The personal backstory of Richard's muti-faceted personality is equally captivating, and we learn much about his various incarnations: from popular pompadoured raucous singer, to being openly gay in a time when it was neither fashionable nor legal. Amazingly he later married a woman, divorced, turned to religion, returned to his rock roots, and continued for his lifetime to present different versions of himself to the world. This film is just so much fun, with a brilliant soundtrack (of course!) and an eye-opening insight into a man who changed the course of modern music.4 - highly recommended
