moviesBY DON MORTONfeatured movieA MOSTWANTED MANDramatically understated but visually striking andintellectually suspenseful, this adaptation by AntonCorbijn (Control, The American) of the John leCarré novel takes a look at the ethical vagaries ofthwarting terrorism, and at the frequently melancholylives of those dedicated to the task. Whena severely abused Russian-Chechen immigrant(Grigoriy Dobrygin) surfaces in Hamburg seekingasylum, a variety of competing international intelligenceagencies begin to circle, suspecting he’sthere to claim his deceased father’s ill-gotten fortuneand do mischief. Going against this mindset is adisgraced German spymaster (an intense, nuancedPhilip Seymour Hoffman), who thinks the man isinnocent and can be better used to bag a wealthyIslamic philanthropist he suspects of financing terrorists.Robin Wright’s the creepy CIA presence,Willem Dafoe is excellent as a shady banker, anda miscast Rachel McAdams is out of her depth asa liberal lawyer. I enjoyed the book. And while itdoesn’t rate up there with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spyor The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, the authoris never less than compelling. So this may be minorle Carré, but it’s major Hoffman, and well worth seeingas the actor’s last completed role. Japanese title:Dareyorimo Nerawareta Otoko. (121 min)NEWEPICBoy, talk about a misleadingtitle. Howabout “Middling”? I like“Underwhelming.” I tseems there’s a battleraging in our forests between two races of tiny people,one of which causes things to grow and another thatseeks only decay. Stumbling into this world is a disaffectedteen embarrassed by her geeky scientist dad’sobsession with said fairy war. This one looks great, butthe story’s so repetitive and filled with over-familiartropes that it probably plays better with the sound off.Lots of celebrity voice talent; little momentum or imagination.From the people who did Ice Age and Rio. ‘Nuffsaid. Japanese title: Mary to Himitsu no Okoku. (102 min)NEWGRACE OF MONACOHere we have a “fictionalizedstory, based on trueevents.” (Don’t you justlove all the ways the makersof bad movies have ofrewording this caveat?) In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock offeredPrincess Grace Kelly of Monaco (Nicole Kidman) the leadin Marnie. Cornball story tells of how she is tempted butbravely refuses and pluckily buckles down to become atrue royal, and in the process, through pure charm, savesthe royal family from a palace coup and Monaco froma French invasion (over taxes), and delivers a rousingspeech at—wait for it—a lavish charity ball. Jeez. Whocares? Dramatically inert middlebrow mush. Japanesetitle: Grace of Monaco: Kohi no Kirifuda. (102 min)NEWSCUMEver wonder wheretough-guy British actorRay Winstone startedout? With tough-kid Britgritroles, of course. This1977 docudrama, shot when Ray was 20, exposed thebrutality of the country’s “borstal” system of juveniledetention centers (since improved). It’s hard to watch insome places, with violent and graphic scenes of bullyingand rape, but never less than compelling. It was originallycommissioned for the BBC as a critique of this kindof institutional dehumanization. When the Beeb deemedit too violent for broadcast, director Alan Clarke reshot itas a feature film. Still powerful today. (98 min)NEW NYMPHOMANIAC: VOL. ILars von Trier cuts backon the stylistic excessesto tell (the first half of) thischaracter-based storyof a self-diagnosed sexNEW IF I STAYA teenage girl’s family iswiped out in a car crashand she’s left in a coma,but through a mysticalnarrative device she’sNEWA MILLION WAYS TODIE IN THE WESTAt first I thought thischarmless oater send-upmight be more watchablehad writer/director/produceraddict named Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg; Stacy Martinin flashbacks) who is discovered beaten and bleedingin an alley by Good Samaritan Stellan Skarsgård. Theytalk. Graphic? Yes. Pornographic? Some have called itso. Titillating? Not at all. Uncharacteristically, there’s agood bit of humor here. Uma Thurman is a showstopperas the wife of one of the men whose lives Joe hasruined. Mesmerizing, compelling and purely entertaining.I’m seduced. Vol. II coming Oct 31. (118 min)split between her comatose self and a “spirit” self whowanders around the hospital wondering if she shouldsuccumb or awake as an orphan (albeit with a hunkyboyfriend). I’m not familiar with the YA novels of GayleForman, but I’m pretty sure she reads Nicholas Sparks.Manipulative, banal and relentlessly drippy. But the acting’sgood, especially Chloë Grace Moretz, who at 17 isshowing signs that she just might survive the transitionfrom child sensation to grown-up actor. Japanese title:If I Stay: Ai ga Kaeru Basho. (106 min)Seth MacFarlane cast a real comedic actor in thelead instead of himself. You know, someone funny. Butalmost two padded hours later, I realized that no cast, nomatter how all-star, could make this flaccid collection offart, poop, come and piss jokes palatable to anyone butits target audience of preteen boys. MacFarlane clearlythinks he’s remaking Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles. Thisis insulting in itself. I used to think the man was merelyannoying. Now I hate him. Japanese title: Koya waTsuraiyo: Arizona yori Ai wo Komete. (116 min)A Most Wanted Man: © A Most Wanted Man Limited / Amusement Park Film GmbH; Epic: © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.; Grace of Monaco: ©2014 STONE ANGELS SAS; Scum: © Kendon Films Ltd. MCMLXXIXAll Rights Reserved.; Nymphomaniac: Vol. I: © 2013 ZENTROPA ENTERTAINMENTS31 APS, ZENTROPA; If I Stay: © 2014 Warner Bros. Ent. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All rights Reserved.; A Million Ways to Die in the West: © UniversalPictures; Jersey Boys: © 2014 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND RATPAC ENTERTAINMENT; Frank: © 2013 EP Frank Limited, Channel Four Television Corporation and the British Film Institute; Under the Skin: © Seventh KingdomProductions Limited, Channel Four Television Corporation and The British Film Institute 2014; Million Dollar Arm: © 2014 Disney Enterprise, Inc. All Rights Reserved.; Mindscape: Stills photographs by Quim Vives - Copyright © 2013 OMBRA FILMS,S.L.; Wake in Fright: © 2012 Wake In Fright Trust. All Rights Reserved.18
More reviews: <strong>metropolis</strong>japan.com/moviesMILLION DOLLAR ARMA few years back, asports agent (an awfulJon Hamm) hit on theidea of enticing Indiancricket bowlers intobecoming baseball pitchers through the eponymousreality show. Two hopefuls were offered contracts bythe Pirates and then relegated to some third-tier farmteam. MLB’s cynical involvement in this attempt to tapinto a potential market of 1.2 billion baseball fans istopped only by Disney’s cynicism in shoehorning thestory into its feel-good, sports-underdog mold in orderto get 1.2 billion Indian butts into theater seats. Sappy,obvious, maudlin and bloated, this is strictly minorleague. (124 min)FRANKAn aspiring but untalentedsongwriter wannabe(Domhnall Gleeson)insinuates himself intoan eccentric, punkishband fronted by the title character, a virtuoso/freakwho never takes off his huge, papier-mâché stagehead. Ever. Michael Fassbender, the actor inside thehead, amazingly makes Frank a fully developed characterwithout the use of his face—a talent that’s hardto hide. This affable oddity is funny, quirky, originaland honest. It gradually deepens into an examinationof the effects of social media hype on true creativityand of the thin line between genius and madness. AlsoMaggie Gyllenhaal. (95 min)UNDER THE SKINAn alien in a gorgeoushuman body (an intenseScarlett Johansson, ina “brave” career move)drives her van aroundScotland enticing young, unattached men to their doom.This adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel is hard to call.There’s little exposition and almost no characterization,as the film relies on nightmarish imagery, complexsound design and a menacing score to tell its tale. Ifyou’re looking for a mainstream sci-fi/horror flick, keeplooking. If you’re willing to surrender yourself to an existential,highly atmospheric and deeply creepy movie“experience,” then this is for you. Japanese title: Underthe Skin: Tane no Hoshoku. (107 min)JERSEY BOYSYou probably wouldn’tthink of Clint Eastwoodas the best choice toadapt a jukebox stagemusical to the screen.And though he imbues the story of Frankie Valli andthe Four Seasons with palpable atmosphere, he mistakenlyconcentrates on the group’s dramatically inertand unremarkable rags-to-riches-to-rags backstory.Ultimately, like most filmed Broadway musicals, thisone made me wish I was watching the stage showinstead. Should have been dancing in the aisles ratherthan slogging through another behind-the-music soapopera. Put succinctly, while mildly diverting, this ain’tno Ray or Walk the Line. (134 min)MINDSCAPEAlso called Anna. In aworld where “telepathicdetectives” can pokethrough your memoriesto solve problems and/orcrimes, one such mind sleuth is tasked with persuadinga rich kid to eat. He’s just getting back into the gameafter memories of his wife’s death interfered with hiswork, and young Anna presents him with more than justa bratty hunger strike. Though blandly directed, this scifipsychodrama offers fair suspense but little originality.The versatile Mark Strong is always good, and TaissaFarmiga, Vera’s 21-years-younger sister, is an actressto watch. Both deserve a better picture. Japanese title:Kioku Tantei to Kagi no Kakatta Shojo. (99 min)WAKE IN FRIGHTThought to be lost untilrecently, Ted Kotcheff’sshocking 1971 Aussie filmis quite unlike anythingyou’ve ever seen. A vacationingschoolteacher (Gary Bond) gets sidetracked in aboozy outback town and loses all his money gambling.He falls in with a vicious band of hard-drinking, kangaroo-massacringsociopaths (including Jack Thompsonand the ever-creepy Donald Pleasence), and discoversdepths of depravity within himself he never dreamedexisted. This intense examination of the ephemeralnature of “civilization” is not an easy sit, but it’s compellinglywatchable. Made me want a drink. And a shower.Japanese title: Koya no Chidoriashi. (116 min)eiga© 2014 SIGLO/SASAKI FILMSmovie news© Legende Films, Gaumont, France 2 Cinema, Scope PicturesMINYONBAION NOHOSOKUBy Rob SchwartzIt’s been a year of new projects inuntapped fields for old Japanesefilm icons. First, renowned 75-yearoldcinematographer MasakiTamura directed his first featureever, Drive-in Gamo (see August 22issue’s Eiga), and now, the long-retired, legendary NHK TVdirector Shoichiro Sasaki comes forth with his first theatricalrelease. Sasaki is a highly influential TV auteur who’s pickedup a variety of international prizes for his works, includingthe Prix Italia Grand Prix, an RAI Award, the Monte-CarloTelevision Festival Golden Nymph and the Golden PragueBest Director Award. He inspired some of the most highlyregarded Japanese filmmakers working today, includingHirokazu Koreeda and Naomi Kawase. This work—partdrama, part documentary and part experimental—usesordinary people with no acting experience. Minyon (orMinyoung, playing herself) is a university student in Seoul,passionate about sound and writing a novel called TheLaw of Harmonics. She becomes obsessed with a photo ofSueko, a Japanese friend of her grandmother, and comesto Tokyo to try to investigate it. She meets an old Japaneseuniversity friend who’s now a journalist who reports onshady characters and seems to be in danger. After meetinga host of surreal people, Minyon’s identity is transposedto Sueko’s and she finds herself living in World War II-eraJapan. Constantly shifting between Korean, Japanese andmusic, the film is challenging, inventive and arresting. Thisis a must-see for those with a taste for the avant-garde.English title: Harmonics Minyoung. (140 min)By the time this issue of Metropolis hits the streets,we hope that fall will finally have come to Tokyo,meaning that the Tokyo International Film Festival isjust around the corner. The 27th edition of the festoffers over a hundred screenings for cinemaphiles.Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn willhead the jury that will vote on the 15 films in thecompetition. Contenders for the Sakura Grand Prixinclude The Connection (pictured), a French filmstarring Jean Dujardin and covering the ’70s FrenchConnection drug ring from the European side, andan international co-production with the brutally honesttitle, Ruined Heart! Another Love Story Betweena Criminal and a Whore. Special screenings presentmovies months before their release in Japan, or thatmay never be back in theaters. Highlights are TheNutcracker, a computer-animated film by fashiondesigner Sebastian Masuda, the food truck comedyChef and the French deportation tale Samba, starringOmar Sy, whose Intouchables won in Tokyo backin 2011. The Japanese Cinema Splash program is achance to catch domestic fare with English subtitles,including the teen lesbian drama Starting Over andWalking with My Mother, a documentary about anelderly woman overcoming the death of her husbandby growing closer to her sister. The Asian Future sectionunveils work by up-and-coming directors fromIndonesia, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere, andthe Crosscut Asia program features new films fromThailand. The World Focus section includes worksby established filmmakers that have not yet secureddistribution in Japan, such as Peter Bogdanovich’s latestShe's Funny That Way, as well as Hungry Hearts,an Italian film about an international couple in NewYork struggling with very different views on how toraise their baby. Other one-off events are the latestDoraemon film dubbed in English, winning works fromthe Japan Student Film Festival, and a 4K screeningof James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause restoredby Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation. The NationalFilm Center in Kyobashi presents the related event“Film Treasures from The Museum of Modern Art,”October 24 to November 9, screening 35mm printsfrom the New York museum’s collection, rangingfrom a 1905 silent to the 1971 blaxploitation pic SweetSweetback's Baadasssss Song.TIFF runs Oct 23-31 at Roppongi Hills and othervenues. http://2014.tiff-jp.net/en Kevin Mcgue19
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