Dung che sai duk redux (aka Ashes of Time Redux)

Release date: 16 September 1994 (Toronto International Film Festival)
Redux: 18 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

It is cinematic legend this film. Directed by the incomparable Wong Kar Wai the film, a homage to wuxia, follows the people that cross paths with a desert swordman-for-hire, Ouyang Feng (the late Leslie Cheung). Ashes of Time is a feast for the senses on many levels and is best viewed by trying to ignore the inscrutable storyline and simply immerse oneself in the gorgeous visuals and brilliant movement (with thanks to cinematographer Christopher Doyle). Brigitte Lin stars as Mu-rong yin/Mu-rong Yang, the woman central to the theme of seasons within the story and both Tony Leungs star as assassins. Why Wong Kar Wai had to remake the film is beyond me as in either format – regular to reduxed – this is more art than film.

For its sumptuous visuals and beauty, my rating 8 out of 10.

Valkyrie

Release date: 25 December 2008 (USA)

Loaded with star-power, Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer recounts the true story of the nearly successful assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler in July 1944. Germany. By this time, many within the German military knew Hitler had to go. The best evolved of these plans was one hatched by senior officers Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise), Ludwig Beck (the perfect Terrance Stamp), General Olbricht (Bill Nighy) and Major General von Treschow (a wasted Kenneth Branagh) to blow up the Führer at his Wolf’s Den then mount a coup using the reservists. Von Stauffenberg’s plan worked but thanks to a conveniently placed table, Hitler survived the attack. Valkyrie works very well (the always-wooden Tom Cruise aside) and his support cast (especially Nighy, Stamp and Tom Wilkinson as General Fromm) carry the film. Exciting and intriguing, Valkyrie shows those of us with a rather skewed view of Germans during World War II that good guys did exist and did try to change the course of history.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Se, jie (aka Lust, Caution)

Release date: 30 August 2007 (Venice Film Festival)

Ang Lee comes back strong after the silly debacle that was his wander in the wilderness, Boredback Mountain. Tang Wei stars as Wong Chia Chi, a young Chinese nationalist charged with getting her group of student assassins close to a Japanese collaborator, Mr. Yee (the always good Tony Leung) in 1940s Shanghai. Lust, Caution is beautifully rendered and Lee has done a great job recreating the feel of Shanghai during WWII (if a little too clean). What carries the story is the acting and both Wei and Leung (and Joan Chen as Yee Tai Tai) are outstanding. The film is, of course, known for its explicit love scenes and they are indeed hot. Lee is a master at detail and he doesn’t disappoint here, though he does need to be more ruthless with his editing. The ending is perfectly anti-Hollywood and demonstrates the power of Wong Chia Chi’s lust and Yee’s caution. He, more than her, remains the true victim of his situation and that tragedy redeems the entire film.

My rating 9 out of 10.

Låt den rätte komma in (aka Let the Right One In)

Release date: 26 January 2008 (Goteborg International Film Festival)

The young vampire genre is not new to filmmakers – witness Lostboys and Interview with a Vampire, and most recently, Twilight – and the trick is often not so much the function but its form. This Swedish effort directed by Tomas Alfredson is a magnificent example of the stark beauty that results when form trumps function. In its sparse dialogue and chilly scenes of Blackeberg, a suburb of Stockholm, Alfredson gives us a tome on loyalty, friendship, loneliness and revenge. Most definitely, revenge. Based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, Let the Right One In gives us the story of Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) a young misfit who is bullied at school who one day meets Eli (Lina Leandersson), the forever 12-year-old vampire in his tenement house playground. The two form a unique friendship and when Eli’s mortal protector and benefactor, Hakan (Per Ragnar) is discovered bleeding out a young lad for Eli’s sustenance, Oskar steps into his role: the deal sealed by Eli’s dealings with Oskar’s bullies. The title refers to vampire lore that suggests they must be invited in before entering a house. With a high creepy factor that has been perfectly polished, this film is well worth the risk of inviting home.

My rating 9 out of 10.

El Orfanato (aka The Orphanage)

Release date: 20 May 2007 (Cannes Film Fest)

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, El Orfanato is a thrilling horror film built in the vein of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw. Married couple Laura (Belen Rueda) and Carlos (Fernando Cayo) take their adopted son, Simon, (Roger Princep) back to the creepy mansion that served as an orphanage when Laura was a little girl. The parents are keen to open the mansion for children with disabilities. Simon starts seeing invisible playmates throughout the mansion, in particular a hooded boy called Tomas. At the opening day party Simon suddenly disappears and the film then slides into the horror: a horror that is exquisitely executed with intelligence and a richly detailed history of the mansion’s former child residents and their creepy Nanny, Benigna (Montserrat Carula). When Laura calls in the medium Aurora (the always brilliant Geraldine Chaplin) to help in the search for Simon, the film twists yet again into a treatise on what’s real and unreal. Everything about El Orfanato works. The acting is superb and the atmosphere Bayona creates will keep you scared, riveted and entranced throughout. Highly recommended.

My rating 9 out of 10.

War Dance

Release date: 19 January 2007 (Sundance Film Festival)

Written and directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix, this fine documentary recounts the oh-so-very-sad stories of three war children – Dominic, Nancy and Rose – caught in the ongoing civil war in Northern Uganda. The three are members of the Acholi tribe. The Acholi are an internally displaced people in Northern Uganda who are being systematically brutalized by a group known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. All three children have witnessed horrific events ranging from the murder of their parents to, in Domenic’s case, killing innocent farmers after being forcibly made a child solider. Living in a refugee camp, what binds them together is their desire to compete with their tiny school in Uganda’s National Music competition in Kampala, and their quest to regain some semblance of their lost childhoods. Sad, joyous, tragic and ultimately hopeful, War Dance shares the story of these children with a beauty and dignity that will leave you humbled.

My rating 8 out of 10.

Wendy and Lucy

Release date: 22 May 2008 (Cannes Film Festival)

Kelly Reichardt directs this take on Jonathan Raymond’s story, “Night Choir” concerning a young lass, Wendy (Michelle Williams) and her dog, Lucy. The duo are Alaska bound when their car dies in a wee Oregon town. Out of luck and money, Wendy shoplifts some chow for Lucy but is caught and hauled off to the police station leaving Lucy tied up at the store’s entrance. (Predictably) When she finally returns her dog is gone. Helped by a kindly security guard (Wally Dalton) she opts to stay in town and search for Lucy while her car is repaired … and that’s about it for story. This short but seemingly very long 80-minute indie film was a big hit at most of the film festivals, but did nothing for this reviewer. Quiet and minimalist its central flaw is not giving Wendy enough time to show the true depth of her relationship with Lucy (so we care to pay attention) and its lame ending. Wendy and Lucy proves one can appreciate the ‘art’ of a film while thoroughly disliking everything about it.

My rating 3 out of 10.