Mao's Last Dancer

It is not often I see a movie that has been released in Australia before the USA or UK.
Last week I saw 'Mao's Last Dancer' and I was stunned.
I knew something of the story as Li Cunxin, whose biography it is, now lives in Australia and the book is on the shelves of most Australian school libraries but, while I had catalogued it, I had never read it.
However I found it a wonderfully moving story, very well acted by comparatively unknown actors. Chi Cao who plays the adult Li is simply amazing. Chosen for his ballet ability, he is also a great actor.  His dancing is simple mind blowing. I am not a great ballet fan (which did not stop me enjoying the movie) but my sister is and she could not get over how great a dancer he is. Chi Cao is a principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
It opens in the USA on November 4 so if you have the opportunity, go see it.

Summer Movies

Today seems to be a good day to discuss the movies I have seen over the summer.

Before I retired, I would be lucky to see more than 3 or 4 movies a year, usually in the school holidays. I rarely watch a movie on TV, I usually fall asleep. With a few notable exceptions I can never remember actor's names.

However on retirement I became a club member for a small yearly charge at a theatre in the city which gives me cheap movies and every 5th one free so am now attending much more. This theatre does tend to show more foreign movies, but that does not worry me.

My opinions are likely to be very different from most people. I have shown the rating I put on my IMDB site as soon as I came home. I have seen a lot of the ones being nominated for the Oscars in a few hours time. 'The Reader' only commenced here last week but is on my to see list despite some controversy in the papers. Seeing the shorts of 'The Wrestler' did not encourage me to see it and 'Dark Knight' is not my type of movie although I do hope Heath Ledger wins for sentimental reasons. However although I thought he was marvellous in Brokeback Mountain I did not enjoy the other two movies I saw with him acting. This, however, was due to the movie, not his acting.

October
Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) 7
This was very funny although would have been funnier if I had understood enough French as many of the jokes were based on the accent of the region and did not translate very well.

The Duchess 8
I am a sucker for English costume dramas. The story kept me involved and both Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes acted well.

November
Brideshead Revisited 8
I loved this on TV years ago. I did not feel the movie was as good but the years may have coloured my memories.

Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) 8
This is in Hebrew and Arabic. I saw Hiam Abbass in The Visitor and I enjoyed both that movie and her acting. Her role in Lemon Tree did not disappoint. In both films she is involved in a potential love affair that cannot continue and she portrays the emotions very well. A very thought provoking movie about the situation in Israel and its effects on ordinary people.

Australia the Movie 8
This was knocked by the critics yet everyone I have asked enjoyed it. It was probably overhyped. It was by no means the greatest movie ever made and perhaps should have had a different title. Parts were cliched and the history was iffy. (The Japanese bombed Darwin but no Japanese troops landed on Australian soil even offshore islands). However I can watch Hugh Jackman for ever :-) and although Nicole Kidman has her off movies, I thought she played the part very well. Brandon Walters is a great find and I hope he goes well. It was disappointing that it did not do well in the States. I came out feeling very proud of my country.

January
I have loved you for a long time (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) 9
This movie hit me right between the eyes. To say much would give it all away but it is one of the most powerful and emotional films I have ever seen. I can only remember 'Brokeback Mountain ' affecting me the same way and that was because it personally impacted on me. This story had no relevance to my life but still had me sobbing my heart out. Kristin Scott Thomas does an excellent job. Although in French, I highly recommend it.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 8
Also affected me emotionally although I do not know why as the storyline is ridiculous. The acting by Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and Taraji P. Henson were all excellent and I was blown away by the makeup and special effects to age Brad Pitt.
Enjoyed seeing some views of New Orleans.

Frost/Nixon 7
More great acting by Frank Langella although Michael Sheen annoyed me but perhaps that was the idea. I do not know how true it was to history as that period of history passed me by because I was travelling by Kombi in Europe and had little access to TV and English news. I found it interesting if not gripping.

Doubt 9
What can you say about Meryl Streep. Having recently seen her in Mamma Mia which I only mildly enjoyed (only gave it 3 but probably on reflection that was harsh) but no fault of hers, her acting range is tremendous. Phillip Hoffman was also very good and Amy Adams also excellent. The story left me a bit up in the air which I found unsatisfactory but apparently that was the intention.

February
Milk 9
Another excellent film and taught me much more about Harvey Milk. I am old enough to remember the assassination although being pre-internet, news was not so immediate and it was before my first visit to the States. Sean Penn was excellent. Apparently there are some problems with the historical reality but I am not in a position to comment.

Valkyrie 6
The only movie this summer which was not at my club membership theatre and not my choice. A friend whom I had not seen for several years asked me to go with him as his wife was not interested. He had read the book and knew my interest in all things German. It was just okay, hardly gripping and I never think much of Tom Cruise. I enjoyed lunch and chatting with my friend, I could have given the movie a miss.

Slumdog Millionaire 4
I realise this will be controversial. I had no intention of seeing it but other people told me how good it was. However I nearly walked out in one of the earliest scenes. My one viewing of the TV program (Australian version) turned me off it for life. I have been to India (1974) and experienced the poverty and have no wish to go there again although the Taj Mahal was beautiful. I actually laughed at the scene where he was misleading the tourists. The soundtrack was excruciatingly loud and I avoid any violent film. I guess the acting was good although I read the child stars were exploited. However the storyline was difficult to follow, the ending was obvious and I felt it a waste of my time. My sister wisely did not want to see it and her husband, who was keen to see it, went alone and apparently also did not like it. I know we are in the minority.

Update
I have now seen:
The Reader 7
I think Kate Winslett definitely deserved her award. Ralph Fiennes gives me the creeps. The movie was very slow to begin, I am not turned on by long heterosexual sex scenes :-), but improved. While I can understand some criticism that it made audiences sympathetic to a Nazi war criminal (the talent of Kate), I think that mature thinking audiences should be able to consider many aspects.
I have been to Dachau and spent a traumatic day at Auschwitz. I have no sympathy whatever for the perpetrators of such terrible crimes but we need to consider their motives. Portraying them as inhuman beasts makes it too easy for us to believe that we would never go there. I have friends who migrated from Germany as children at the end of the war. Their parents were certainly not working in the SS but they were involved in the war on the side of Germany. How much did they know? How much did they pretend not to know? It is not something for me to discuss with my friends whose parents have now died.
I have a great love and admiration for German culture but it must be tempered by the knowledge of how National Socialism was allowed to flourish. Can we say that, given similar circumstances, the British, American or Australian people would have reacted differently?
Certainly a thought provoking movie.

Heat, Monet and Nixon

That is a mixture of topics but it describes my Thursday.
We are in the middle of a heatwave here, heat is what is driving me to live in Dunedin.
Last week one day reached 42'C (108'F) in Penrith about 20km from here and was probably about 37'C (99'F)here. Thankfully it cooled down over the weekend but the temperatures have risen again since Tuesday and each day has been in the mid 30's.(high 80'sF). We are waiting for a cool change late this afternoon. Fortunately the humidity has been high, not fortunate for comfort but for bushfire risk although a complete fire ban has just been imposed. My nearest town has already gone over 30'C (86'F) at 9am.
I hate lying at night under a fan trying to get to sleep. My neighbour complained she has not been able to turn off the aircon but I do not have that. There have been thunderstorms around in the evening but they have all missed my place. While they can cause damage, they usually cool the air and the rain is nice. I spent several hours watering on Wednesday evening (we can only water certain hours Wednesday and Sunday).

On Thursday I decide to escape the heat and go to the art gallery and movie. My train journey of nearly 2 hours each way was in blissful airconditioning. Unfortunately about one third of our suburban trains are still not airconditioned and on my 3 journeys around the city, I struck the jackpot - all non air con but only about 10 mins each time.
I went first to my church to sample the coffee cart which has been operating in the grounds since July. Not sure of its purpose, suppose to advertise the church to people, it is located in the main legal office area and near an important tourist precinct. The church is the oldest in the city. Anyway it was good coffee.

Then I walked the 10 minutes to the Art Gallery (not too hot at 11am and it is near the harbour). Discovering that the Monet and the Impressionists exhibition was closing on the weekend had been the main reason for my decision to go to the city. I love Monet and have visited Giverny twice. Most of the paintings were on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I liked , among many, Seacoast at Trouville and Fisherman's Cottage on the Cliffs at Varengeville and Snow at Argenteuil had me envious.I then returned to the city, waiting 20 minutes for a bus that was 10 minutes late, fortunately there was a cool breeze off the harbour and the bus was airconditioned but I could have walked in that time.
After lunch and an hour perusing a CD sale where I spent $25 on 3 cds, I caught a train out to the cinema where I saw Frost/Nixon.

I intend posting about my recent movies soon. A number of them were included in the Oscar nominations. I see that Frank Langella has been nominated for his role as Nixon with which I heartily concur. I believe there were some historical inaccuracies but would not know myself. I was travelling around Europe at the time of the resignation and in those days most places I stayed did not have TV. I always thought Nixon was a bigger crook even than George W Bush :-).
It was not top of the list of movies for me to see, mainly chosen by time to fit in with the Art gallery visit but I did enjoy it, although Frost irritated me.

When I exited the cinema just before 5, it seemed to be the hottest time of the day and, after another non-airconditioned suburban train trip, I was glad to reach Central station and board my airconditoned train for the trip home. Arriving home at 7pm, it was becoming cooler although the sun does not set until 8pm at the moment.

In Bruges - Guns

No, sadly I have not set off on new travels, I just went to the movies.
I belong to a movie club which costs me (I think) $10 per year and gives me cheap admission and if I attend 5 movies at this theatre in 3 months, the fifth is free. It mainly shows art house movies, often in other languages.
Since returning from Europe I have seen (my ratings)
And When did you last see your Father(7)
Unfinished Sky (6)
The Visitor (8)
The Band's Visit (7)
and so had to see my 5th and free movie before the end of September.
I visited Bruges in 1974 and have a photo I took of it hanging on my wall. I visited again for just a few hours last year. So although the reviews talked about language and violence I decided to take the risk. I left in a state of shock. The views of Bruges were lovely but the trivia on IMDV says
"The word 'f..k' and its derivatives are said 126 times in this 107-minute film, an average of 1.18 'f..ks' per minute." I suppose it is a lifetime of telling students to mind their language. I do not mind an occasional use to give authenticity but....


I think I read on IMDB that there were 11 deaths, I only counted 6 but then I know I missed an important one to the story at the end when I had my eyes closed. It is not just the deaths, it is all the detail of blood etc. I have to keep telling myself it is just make believe but as stated usually close my eyes. Also each death seemed to take hours and involve at least 10 gun shots with all the grisly detail.

No, it was not entertainment for me. I wonder if these types of movies lead to the horrible massacres such as occurred in Finland this week. Such events hit home when they occur in some place with which you identify and I was in Finland in May. I was in Washington at the time of the Virginia Massacre. The news says that Finland is only behind the USA and one other country in number of guns per population. I remember my host telling me that Finns are keen hunters and believe owning guns is a right (sounds familiar)
Australia has had its terrible massacres leading to strict control of hand guns which was one time I applauded the detestable Prime Minister Howard. I do not want to speak too soon but at the moment we have a group of teenagers before the courts who attacked students and teachers at a nearby school earlier this year with baseball bats etc. There were injuries and trauma but no deaths. The results may have been different if they had access to guns. I have only been in one school where a gun was involved and it was a replica but very traumatic to the young teacher and nearby students. I am even nervous when travelling on the train next to a policeman who must carry his gun when in uniform.

I will choose my movies more carefully in future.