THE MAD ADVENTURES OF "RABBI" JACOB -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 10/6/19

 

I was bored one night back in 1973, so I drove ten miles to see this obscure (to me, anyway) foreign comedy that had a funny trailer. Not expecting much, I ended up having the time of my life (well, one of them, anyway) because this kooky little French romp turned out to be one of the funniest, wildest and most delightful farce comedies I'd ever seen.

Now, forty some-odd years later, THE MAD ADVENTURES OF "RABBI" JACOB (Film Movement Classics) is just as funny, just as wild, and somehow even more delightful because it has aged like fine bubbly champagne that gets up your nose and makes you giggle.

Popular, rubber-faced French comic Louis de Funès plays Victor Pivert, a diminutive hothead speeding cross-country to his daughter's wedding while berating his chaffeur Solomon and yelling at other drivers, especially the foreign ones (he hates Belgians, Germans, Englishmen, anyone who isn't French).

Somehow--I'm not going to go into it here--Pivert gets mixed up in violent political intrigue between two Middle Eastern countries and is fleeing on a moped with a revolutionary named Slimane (Claude Giraud), a gang of ruthless killers hot on their heels.  And he can't depend on his chauffeur Solomon for help because he just fired him after finding out he was Jewish. (That wasn't the actual reason but it's an added factor.)

Then, somehow--I'm not going to go into it here--Pivert and Slimane assume the identities of a Hassidic rabbi named Jacob and his assistant. The real Rabbi Jacob is due to return to his French community after years in the U.S.A., and the imposters are welcomed by gleeful mobs of admirers as Pivert is expected to preside over the bar mitzvah of Jacob's nephew in addition to several other ceremonies and such of which he has absolutely no knowledge.

And as all this is going on, the little town is beseiged by Slimane's gun-blazing enemies, police detectives on the trail of Pivert because they think he's a killer, and Pivert's frantic wife who wants to throttle him for not showing up at their daughter's wedding.

Obviously I've tried to summarize the plot as well as possible, but it just can't come close to describing what a wonderfully wacky comic delight this movie is.  Pivert may be the most lovable bigot in any film comedy, especially since we know he's eventually going to learn his lesson before it's over.

He has a hilarious talent for deadpan mugging (I love the part where he tries to get the attention of two cops by making faces at them) and the frantic, cartoonish physicality of Leon Errol. Not only that, but when he's eluding his would-be killers in a chewing gum factory he and they all end up sliding into a vat of the stuff and emerging as gooey green blobs.

As Pivert contends with these murderous political zealots (the actors play their roles wonderfully straight) I was reminded of Woody Allen's perilous comedic entanglements with South American revolutionaries in BANANAS.

Indeed, much of the raucous slapstick comedy in this film is just as intensely off-the-wall and often startlingly bent as anything Woody came up with in his early, funnier films. 

The Tex Avery-level sight gags and outlandish situations come fast and furious. Pivert's nagging, spoiled wife berates him over the phone while working on a nervous patient (she's a dentist, of all things) and Pivert flees in a car with a boat on top that eventually goes into a lake and becomes a boat with a car on top. 

His experiences in the Jewish community filled with well-wishers who adore him (as Rabbi Jacob) are both achingly funny and heartwarming without ever getting sappy.  Needless to say, his daughter's belated wedding becomes the scene of a calamitous collision of all the different characters and plot elements that never lets up until the fadeout.

THE MAD ADVENTURES OF "RABBI" JACOB has a nice message of tolerance, but it shows it instead of preaching it to us and never lets it get in the way of the sparkling fun.  If you're looking for a truly feelgood comedy that will have you giddy with joyful laughter, this is it.



Buy it at Film Movement

Blu-ray Features
Interview with co-screenwriter Danièle Thompson
New essay by author Phoebe Maltz Bovy
Sound: Mono

DVD Features
Interview with co-screenwriter Danièle Thompson
New essay by author Phoebe Maltz Bovy
Sound: Mono

THE MAD ADVENTURES OF "RABBI" JACOB -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/26/2019
 

Sometimes legendary director Fritz Lang wanted his magnificent visuals to convey an important message (METROPOLIS, THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE, M) and sometimes he just wanted to offer audiences grand escapist entertainment.

The latter goal Lang achieved in spectacular style with the films THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB, known collectively as FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (Film Movement Classics, 1959).

A forerunner of more recent two-film narratives such as KILL BILL and IT, this double feature tells the sprawling story of a catastrophic love triangle that develops when German engineer Harald Berger (Paul Hubschmid) is summoned to India by Prince Chandra (Walter Reyer) to oversee the construction of several buildings as well as shoring up some of the crumbling infrastructure of the palace itself.

As fate would have it, a beautiful temple dancer named Seetha (Debra Paget, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS) with whom the prince has fallen madly in love is being transported to the palace in the same caravan as Berger, and when the European valiantly saves her life from an attacking tiger during the trip, she becomes hopelessly smitten with him.  This soon develops into an all-consuming passion that will invoke the jealous prince's white-hot, vengeful wrath.

Amidst a backdrop of splendiferous Indian locations and incredibly opulent sets, photographed in sumptuous color with rich production values, this steamy melodrama is soap opera of the highest order mixed with scintillating political intrigue (the prince's brother and former brother-in-law are plotting against him) and irresistible "boys' adventure"-style action involving swordfights, man-eating tigers, mysterious underground passages, and other fun stuff.

While some have compared these films to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, viewers expecting non-stop thrills will be disappointed. Instead, we're allowed to settle in  for a stately paced parade of visual treats (I haven't seen such regal eye-candy since the "Sissi" films with Romy Schneider) charged with constant tension and suspense and punctuated here and there with action sequences that have a Rudyard Kipling flavor.

The tension increases as Prince Chandra's suspicions toward his intended bride Seetha and the European stranger are eventually made evident, bringing out the arrogant, petulant worst in him.  When Berger finds it necessary to escape Chandra's wrath, he finds himself lost in the catacombs beneath the palace where he encounters a colony of lepers banished to the underground.

We're also introduced to Chandra's compound of deadly caged tigers into which, at one point, Berger is tossed with nothing but a spear with which to defend himself. Here, Lang's attention to gilt-edged realism falters a bit when a lunging tiger is noticeably fake (as is a monster-sized cobra in the second film) but I found such shortcomings easily forgivable in view of the scene's entertainment value.

Performances are earnest, with Debra Paget a standout not only for her talent but also thanks to her incredible beauty and sex appeal. Her temple dance in this film is a highlight of sheer sensuality (to be surpassed in the sequel) while her acting adds depth to a very sympathetic character.  Reyer, on the other hand, ably conveys the prince's incredible arrogance, selfishness, and cruelty. (A young Luciana Paluzzi appears all-too-briefly as Seetha's loyal servant.)

Finally, the two forbidden lovers make a desperate escape attempt, with the prince's soldiers doggedly pursuing them from the steamy jungles to the parched, wind-seared desert.  It's there that the dashing European engineer and the beautiful Indian temple dancer meet their apparent doom as part one of Lang's Indian epic, THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR, ends in classic cliffhanger style.

The second installment in Fritz Lang's sprawling two-part saga of Indian intrigue and forbidden romance, THE INDIAN TOMB, picks up right where its predecessor THE TIGER OF ESCHANAPUR left off. This time German engineer Harald Berger's sister Irene (Sabine Bethmann) and her husband Walter (Claus Holm), who is also Harald's associate, have come searching for him.

They're told that Harald went missing during a tiger hunt, but become increasingly suspicious of the prince and his motives. This is especially true when Chandra orders Walter to design a tomb for his wife Seetha, in which she is to be imprisoned on their wedding day. When Walter balks at creating what is in essence an execution chamber, Chandra threatens him and his wife.

Political tensions grow to a boiling point as Chandra's brother Prince Ramigani (René Deltgen), passed over for the throne and eager to amend that oversight, plots against him with the help of the prince's former brother-in-law who also despises him. Even the temple priests grow angry toward Chandra when he persists in his desire to marry Seetha (and then execute her) after she is discovered still alive in the desert.

This second film's highlight comes when Seetha performs a cobra dance in the temple which is meant to decide whether the gods wish her to live or die.  In a costume that's the very definition of "less is more" (it makes a string bikini look like a parka) the incredibly gorgeous and physically fit Debra Paget's dance number is, to put it mildly, memorable, despite the very fake-looking cobra which menaces her character throughout.

Suspense builds as Berger's sister and her husband bravely plot to locate where he's being held prisoner beneath the palace and free him.  The story, which has been rather sedately paced up till now, really picks up steam with Irene's encounter with the frenzied band of lepers and Berger's desperate escape from bondage just as he's about to be executed in his cell.

There's swordplay and other violent clashes when Ramigani's armed rebellion against Chandra kicks into gear, and Lang finally shows us why we keep seeing all that dynamite stored in the passages underneath the palace, leading to a flood populated by hungry alligators.

The 2-disc Blu-ray from Film Movement Classics is an exquisite 4K digital restoration of both classic films with an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and mono sound. Each film features a verbose commentary by film historian David Kalat. Bonuses also include the making-of documentary "The Indian Epic" and the video essay "Debra Paget, For Example" by Mark Rappaport, as well as trailers and an enclosed illustrated booklet with an in-depth essay by film scholar Tom Gunning.

One thing's for sure, when this story finally comes to a head, it pays off in all sorts of fun ways.  Viewers who stick it out through both installments of FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC not only get to enjoy some of the screen's most dazzling opulence and eye-pleasing production values, but also a romantic, exotic action-adventure ending on a satisfying note that makes it all wonderfully worthwhile.


Buy it at Film Movement.com


THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR
NEW 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION
Film Movement Classics
1959
101 Minutes
Country: Germany, France, Italy
Language: German w/ English subtitles
Classics, Romance, Thriller
Not Rated
Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1   
Sound: Mono   

THE INDIAN TOMB
NEW 4K DIGITAL RESTORATION
Film Movement Classics
1959
102 Minutes
Country: Germany, France, Italy
Language: German w/ English subtitles
Romance, Thriller, Classics
Not Rated
Blu-ray
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1   
Sound: Mono

Here's the poster of the American theatrical release in which the two films were edited into one:

 

FRITZ LANG'S INDIAN EPIC (THE TIGER OF ESCHNAPUR and THE INDIAN TOMB) -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

BAD LUCKY GOAT -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/8/17

 

Not quite the "boy and his goat" story I expected, BAD LUCKY GOAT (Film Movement, 2017) is more the story of a boy, his older sister, and their goat head.

It starts out as an entire dead goat but they sell the carcass to a butcher, trade the skin for a watch that someone found on the beach, and hang onto the head until they're convinced that it's the cause of all the bad juju they've been suffering since leaving the house.

But that's just the bare bones of what happens on that ill-fated day when Cornelius ("Corn" for short) and his sister Rita, while heatedly arguing about things as usual, smash the family truck into an escaped goat while on an errand for their parents in a rural village in the Caribbean. 

The damaged truck and the dead goat are problems the two will spend the rest of the day trying to solve, and their troubles only increase when they do so by lying, cheating, and generally avoiding responsibility whenever possible.

They're likable kids, though, despite constantly being at each other's throats as siblings often are.  Their misdeeds really aren't so bad that we can't identify with them--mostly--and they do keep us entertained not only with their attempts to earn enough to have the truck fixed (hence the goat carcass transaction and various other bartering attempts) but also by ending up on the wrong side of the local crime boss whose goat it was in the first place, not to mention the police.

We get to meet a succession of colorful characters, most of whom are either earning a meager living without getting all that worked up about it or making cheerful indigenous music in peaceful natural surroundings with their friends. 

I enjoyed listening to their Creole patois, which I only recognized as a form of English after listening to it for a few minutes (I challenge anyone who speaks English to decipher the dialogue without the subtitles). 

During all this we get a chance to drink in the beautiful tropical scenery and mostly laid-back ambience while the story ambles along at its own unhurried pace just like a reggae song.  (With a little kidnapping, cock-fighting, and other things thrown in to spice things up.)

Colombian director Samir Oliveros doesn't try to grip us with any big drama or hilarity, and there isn't a chase to cut to.  This gives us time to get to know Corn and Rita, and watch them gradually and somewhat begrudgingly grow closer during their long day of tedious travails which will test both their mettle and their basic humanity. 

This relationship is what the film is really all about, and its sweetly-rendered resolution makes watching BAD LUCKY GOAT not unlike a soothing balm for the soul. 

Buy it from Film Movement

Extras:

Bonus short film "Miss World" by director Georgia Fu
Film Movement trailers

5.1 Surround Sound/2.0 Stereo
2.40:1 Widescreen
Creole With English Subtitles
76 Minutes

BAD LUCKY GOAT -- DVD Review by Porfle

SHATTERED -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 12/20/17

 

Sometimes it's a chore to watch one of those Lifetime Channel-type dramas that gets a female protagonist into an untenable situation and then pulls out all the predictable stops to get her out of it.

Every once in a while, though, I find myself in the middle of one and stop and think: "Hmm...I'm enjoying this."  It's such a pleasant surprise that I'm compelled to regard the movie in a much more charitable light rather than wincing at every tired plot turn or turgid dialogue exchange.

In the case of SHATTERED (2017), the surprise doesn't stop there. In fact, it's full of surprises.  Just when things seem headed in the old familiar directions and we settle in to see them played out, the movie deftly sidesteps expectations and heads down an entirely different avenue.  Not just once, but several times--enough to keep us not just interested, but intrigued.

Molly Burnett (THE WEDDING PARTY, "Days of Our Lives") stars as Maureen, a smalltown single girl who meets, falls for, and marries Ken (Tom Malloy, HERO OF THE UNDERWORLD), the son of the town's wealthiest man.  They adopt a son named Logan, have a daughter named Emma, and start living the happy, carefree lives of the upper-class married.

But not is all as it seems.  Tom's father, Forest Burnett (the venerable Ray Wise, "Twin Peaks" ROBOCOP, THE AGGRESSION SCALE, HALLOWEED, CHILLERAMA), is an aspiring big fish/little pond politician whose fake smile masks a volatile demeanor as well as some deep, dark secrets.  His trophy wife Kate (Arianne Zucker) knows the secrets, but is trapped by fear and dependence. 

Maureen's trapped too but she just doesn't know it yet. Things start to go wrong when her adopted son Logan turns out to be a deeply troubled mental case who wields sharp instruments and mutters "Kill!"  Attempts to find out about his real parents and get professional help for him are blocked by the Burnetts, who fear the bad publicity. 

Or, in Forest's case, is there even more to it than that?  Of course there is, and thereby hinges the inevitable morass of marital and parental disaster that we're about to watch Maureen wade through like a leech-infested swamp for the next 90 minutes or so.

As I said, it all sounds so comfortingly yet tiresomely predictable, until something happens that comes right out of left field and changes everything. This messes with all our predictions to a degree that we're never quite sure what's going to come out of left field next. 

Not that any of it is particularly world-shaking, mind you.  The story progresses at a leisurely pace, with none of the dramatic intensity or thriller-type incidents usually found in these films (thus thwarting expectations yet again), and plays itself out with a sort of off-kilter calm. 

I was halfway through the big climactic scene before I realized it was the big climactic scene--that's how deceptively unsensational this story is.  It's just engaging enough to hold our attention and make us want to stick around to see how it all plays out. 

Direction by Natasha Kermani (IMITATION GIRL) is capable, with adequate-to-good performances.  Old pro Ray Wise comes off best, naturally, as does Arianne Zucker (once a co-star with Molly Burnett on "Days of Our Lives") as Forest's morally-conflicted wife.  Morgan Freeman's son Alfonso appears briefly as a mental health doctor.

I haven't revealed much about the plot (madness, infidelity, scandal, etc.) because finding out is the fun part.  SHATTERED is like a passable TV-movie that gradually evolves from dull to interesting and manages to stay that way until the end, which is more than I can say for a lot of movies I've seen.


Official site

SHATTERED -- DVD Review by Porfle

FARINELLI -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 4/18/19

 

The very notion of the "castrato" has always been utterly grotesque to me, so I didn't know what I was getting into with FARINELLI (1994), the biography of real-life 18th-century Italian castrato Carlo "Farinelli" Broschi.  And the last thing I expected was for it to be so moving, so engaging, so lavishly produced, and, ultimately, so much fun.

Not a comedic sort of fun--there are few actual lighthearted moments--but the fun of delving into something purely enjoyable and being dazzled by it. The story is a richly dramatic one that's well-acted and impeccably rendered, with fine costumes and locations including some of the grandest opera houses in Europe.

But the main appeal here is the journey of our main character, Carlo (Stefano Dionisi), who becomes a castrato (thus preserving his exquisite pre-pubescent singing voice) against his will having already witnessed another boy's suicide after suffering the same fate.

His musician father makes him vow to never deny his voice to his older brother Riccardo (Enrico Lo Verso), an aspiring composer who uses Carlo as a vocal instrument to increase the appeal of his own pedestrian music. Later, when Carlo's fame elevates him to rock-star status, this brotherly partnership will extend to Carlo's sexual conquests, which Riccardo also shares in tag-team fashion.

The early part of the film reminded me a bit of Ken Russell's LISZTOMANIA--sans the over-the-top ridiculousness--with women, nobility included, throwing themselves at Carlo and sometimes even reaching sexual climax during some of his more impressive vocal gymnastics. 

Riccardo seems to enjoy this aspect of his brother's fame the most, though, as Carlo is clearly unfulfilled and searching for something more. That something, we discover, is to sing music with genuine passion, as opposed to the ornate but empty passages penned by his brother.

At one point, the great composer Handel (Jeroen Krabbé, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS), who previously rejected the brothers and ridiculed Carlo as a freak, has a change of heart after Carlo's rise to fame and wishes for him to perform his music.  This will create a rift between Carlo and the increasingly jealous Riccardo that will grow wider with time, especially when a terrible secret from the past is revealed. 

Meanwhile, Carlo's sensitive side emerges when he meets Margareth Hunter (Caroline Cellier) and her disabled young son Benedict, with whom he forms a deep mutual affection.  He also falls in love with Benedict's nurse Alexandra (Elsa Zylberstein) and they form a close relationship that will, as usual, include Riccardo.

Most of this, as I found after a bit of online research, is made up of whole cloth and bears little resemblance to the life of the real Farinelli (Carlo Brochi's stage name).  But I didn't mind, because it's such a gorgeous, sumptuous fiction that I found myself captivated by it from tumultuous start to emotional finish.

Not the least of its charms are its performance scenes, during which Farinelli's incredibly rich and nimble soprano voice is simulated by the painstaking combination of real-life male and female opera singers after much experimentation. 

Stefano Dionisi himself underwent extensive training to learn how to convincingly lip-synch the songs amidst all the pomp and splendor the production designers could muster.

Director Gérard Corbiau brings it all together with a surehanded, straighforward style and a keenly artistic eye.  FARINELLI is both a visual and aural confection and a dramatic delight that one can indulge in like a rich dessert.  And like any sumptuous treat, I didn't want it to end.


Buy it at Film Movement 

BONUS FEATURES:
Making-Of Featurette
Behind-The-Scenes Interviews
Illustrated Booklet With Essay
Trailer

TECH SPECS:
Format: NTSC, Subtitled
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Film Movement Classics
New 2K Digital Restoration
1.85:1 Widescreen, 2.0 Stereo
Language: French and Italian, English Subtitles
DVD Release Date: April 23, 2019
Run Time: 111 minutes

FARINELLI -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

SARA STEIN: FROM BERLIN TO TEL AVIV -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 5/25/19

 

She isn't a super-cool superwoman who's flawless, infallible, and better at everything than all the guys, and it's this real-life human quality that helps make Sara Stein such a relatable and appealing character. 

Make no mistake, though--the intelligent and highly capable homicide detective at the center of this limited TV series and now 2-disc DVD set SARA STEIN: FROM BERLIN TO TEL AVIV (Film Movement, Omnibus Entertainment) is tough, smart, and likable enough to keep us keenly engaged throughout all four of her exciting feature-length investigations.

Katharina Lorenz is ideal in the title role, a fine, expressive actress who's just fit enough (Sara runs and bikes every day for exercise) and pretty enough to look like she didn't just get sent down from central casting. As capable as anyone on the force, she has nothing to prove yet sometimes makes mistakes so that even her admirable character is believably human.

 

We join the first adventure, "Shalom Berlin, Shalom Tel Aviv", with her already an established member of the Berlin homicide squad who happens to come upon the tail end of a violent knife attack in a nightclub parking lot while out on a night jog.

The crime scene is dotted with mysterious little clues which we'll get to watch Sara and her coworkers painstakingly sort out as one revelation leads to yet another and another in what is a typically twisted and unpredictable series of events.

The case involves an Israeli victim and a Palestinian suspect, in the first of several politically-tinged cases in which Sara is forced to contemplate her own Jewish heritage to which she has never paid much attention. Just when we think politics is the all-consuming motive, however, other elements take the plot in quite different and intriguing directions.

I found her eccentric coworkers and their quirks to be quite entertaining--Max (Aljoscha Stadelmann) is a cheerful nebbish without a lot of tact but an effective street style, and mousey Anne (Katharina M. Schubert) is a highly capable presence in the office but horribly agoraphobic when forced to join Sara in the field.

We also meet David, a famous pianist who forms a mutual admiration with Sara, her caring parents, and her troubled boss, Commissioner Schubert (Kirsten Block), a recent widow whose personal life has intersected badly with her professional one.

This last element becomes a constant in later episodes after Sara marries David and makes the move to his native Tel Aviv, joining the police force there.  A clash between the personal and the professional will add much emotional drama to Sara's life, beginning with the murder of her predecessor on the force in "Jewels From the Grave."

Here, we see the difficulty Sara has fitting in with her new cohorts, mostly street-hardened men like the burly Blok (Samuel Finzi) and imposing Commissioner Weissenberg (Ami Weinberg).  Thankfully, however, it isn't for the old cliched reasons of sexual prejudice but instead a fear that the eager new detective will uncover secrets about the victim and themselves which they would rather remain hidden.

After a very shaky start, Sara and Blok begin working together amidst a grudging mutual respect in the third feature, "Masada", when a beloved archeologist is killed in an explosion at the ancient site and the usual political suspects are rounded up even as suspicion begins to include members of his own family. 

This one is a puzzle that keeps the attention engaged along with some extremely painful personal revelations for Sara which, as usual, are played to perfection.

In her final adventure of the series, "Old Friends", Sara investigates the discovery of a severed hand on the beach and is drawn into a maelstrom of crime and deceit which, again, will directly involve her in scintillating fashion. 

Her husband David comes to the fore in this regard when he reveals some stunning secrets about his previous life in the military, with none other than Blok as his commanding officer.  And as always, the callow but earnest young upstart Corporal Hanan Chalabi (Bat-Elle Mashian) comes up with surprisingly clever deductions at the most unexpected times.

Each razor-sharp screenplay is stunningly photographed (especially after the move to Israel) and filmed with great verve and energy by prolific TV director Matthias Tiefenbacher, who achieves a gritty, kinetic style without resorting to constant shaky-cam.  Music, editing, and other production elements are first rate.

The four episodes of SARA STEIN: FROM BERLIN TO TEL AVIV deftly combine riveting, realistic personal drama with the finest elements of the police procedural amidst the volatile politics and religious strife of the Middle East. Stripped of the usual bombast and empty sensation, we're left with purely intelligent, thoughtful, and consistently fascinating forays into the life of a richly interesting character.

  
Order it from Film Movement

Release date: June 4, 2019

Format: NTSC, Subtitled
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 2
Languages: German, Hebrew, Arabic
Subtitles: English
Studio: Omnibus Entertainment
DVD Release Date: June 4, 2019
Run Time: 360 minutes

SARA STEIN: FROM BERLIN TO TEL AVIV -- DVD Review by Porfle

HARMONIUM -- DVD Review by Porfle

HARMONIUM, aka "Fuchi ni tatsu" (Film Movement, 2016), is a very neatly-rendered Japanese film by director Kôji Fukada (SAYONARA, AU REVOIR L'ETE) which should appeal to anyone who wants a little more tragedy in their lives. Or at least in their movies.

I thought at first it was going to be some kind of harrowing CAPE FEAR-type thriller.  After all, it's about a fairly normal family--a somewhat distant, disaffected husband and father Toshio (Kanji Furutachi), his dutiful, religious wife Akié (Mariko Tsutsui), and their sweet young daughter Hotaru (Momone Shinokawa)--suddenly having to deal with Toshio's ex-convict friend Yasaka (Tadanobu Asano), who comes seeking employment and a place to stay after an eleven-year stretch in prison for murder.

Gradually we learn that there's more to Yasaka's crime than anyone realizes--namely, Toshio's involvement, for which he went unpunished and free to live his life (which he takes for granted) while his friend languished behind bars.

We feel about as awkward as Akié about the whole thing and wait for the violence and terror to begin, but a funny thing happens--Yasaka turns out to be a gentle, patient, and seemingly caring man who's everything that Akié could want in a husband. 

He even takes the time to teach Hotaru how to play the harmonium for her upcoming talent concert, assuming the role of both teacher and surrogate father. In short, he's starting to make Toshio look like yesterday's chopped liver.

Already this scenario has the potential to turn out a number of bad ways, and all we can do is grit our teeth in quiet dread and wait to see what direction it takes. 

This is exacerbated by the growing closeness between Yasaka and Akié, with the ex-convict covetously regarding Toshio's life as the one he himself should have had. Eventually, we fear, he'll begin to take whatever steps are necessary to make that a reality.

And yet even at this point, HARMONIUM refuses to settle into the course we keep predicting for it.  After a single shocking moment that drastically changes everything, the rest of the tale comes to us more in a haze of resignation and regret than anything resembling your standard thriller. 

The fear and anxiety are still there, but not because we're worried about any kind of violence and retribution.  Instead, we must watch the dissolution of a family that has lost its reason to exist and descended into suicidal despair. 

Not even the promise of possible revenge, legal or otherwise, is enough to hold them together.  They're like a jigsaw puzzle with the pieces falling away one by one. 

Kôji Fukada directs it all with crisp, economical efficiency and is blessed with a cast who give their all in their roles.  While lacking the usual tension and suspense of a thriller, the story holds us firmly in a grip of morbid curiosity as to just how much worse things can get for these poor people.

HARMONIUM resembles a Park Chan-wook "vengeance trilogy" tale without the climactic visceral catharsis.  Instead, we're left only with the mundane sadness of everyday existence amplified by the crushing weight of circumstances too heavy to bear.  It's an effective slice-of-tragedy story that will leave you heartsick.

Buy it from Film Movement

DVD Extras:
Interview with star Kanji Furutachi
Bonus Kôji Fukada short film "Birds"
Film Movement trailers

5.1 Surround Sound/2.0 Stereo
Japanese with English subtitles
1.66:1 widescreen
120 minutes

HARMONIUM -- DVD Review by Porfle

SHE-WOLF -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 4/3/19

 

It took me a few scenes before I got what Argentinian director and co-writer Tamae Garateguy (UNTIE YOU UNTIE ME) was up to with SHE-WOLF, aka "Mujer lobo" (Film Movement, 2014). 

But once I caught on, this bloody psychological horror-thriller became one of the most exhilarating movie experiences I've had in a long time.

Bare bones synopsis: a vicious female serial killer (the "Mujer Lobo" of the title) seduces men and then, either during or after sex, murders them. One of her potential victims happens to be an undercover cop named Garcia, who begins to track her down with a vengeance.

 

Meanwhile, she falls in love with a young drug dealer named Leo, who is unaware of her nefarious nocturnal activities, after he helps her escape from the dogged cop.

But here's what really kicks SHE-WOLF into play: this Mujer has multiple personalities, each played by a different actress.  Mujer Lobo (Mónica Lairana) is the ruthless and utterly feral she-beast who kills for pleasure. Mujer Rubia (Luján Ariza) is a blonde bimbo-slash-nympho who helps lure Mujer Lobo's victims to their doom.  And Mujer Joven (Guadalupe Docampo) is the straight-laced, innocent young woman who must suffer the deeds of her other selves.

Director Garateguy handles the transitions from one actress/personality to the next brilliantly, leaving us constantly on edge as to which one will come to the fore during the Mujer's romantic interludes with Leo or other interpersonal dealings.

 

Often all three will take turns engaging in a particular situation, as when Joven's sex play with Leo suddenly goes from wildly erotic to dark and frightening when Rubia and Lobo get their blood up.

This also gives an added edge to the murder scenes when Rubia's insatiable sex drive is overcome by Lobo's animalistic bloodlust, sometimes right in the most inopportune stages of oral sex. 

Lobo, we find in several startling scenes, has a fondness for biting, which comes in handy not only when killing for pleasure but also for disposing of certain adversaries in order to protect the sweetly vulnerable Mujer Joven.

Garateguy's direction and the film's dreamlike black and white photography are often brilliant, with a sort of David Lynch quality that makes it all visually fascinating.

Performances are first-rate, and watching the main character's unpredictable switches from one personality to another keeps us in a constant state of keen suspense. We never know which personality will emerge dominant at any given time, or what pandemonium may result.

Disturbing yet delightfully intriguing, SHE-WOLF is a bracing dive into the deep end of dark, weird dream cinema and a marvel of fine technical and artistic filmmaking.  But best of all, it's a one-way ticket for fans who enjoy the occasional first-class seat on the horror express.



TECH SPECS
Format: NTSC
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 1
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Bonus: None
Studio: Omnibus Entertainment (distributed by Film Movement)
DVD Release Date: March 12, 2019
Run Time: 92 minutes

SHE-WOLF -- DVD Review by Porfle

SIN IN THE SUBURBS (1964) -- Movie Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 12/8/18

 

SIN IN THE SUBURBS (1964) is writer-director Joe Sarno continuing to come into his own as a filmmaker who takes the genre of naughty, softcore sex potboilers and invests it with an unusual dramatic heft and interesting characters who trade dialogue that's sharp and fun to listen to.

Not to say that the obligatory sleaze and tawdriness of such films are missing here--it's the sort of world Sarno's characters exist in, whether they be conniving lowlifes using sex for gain or well-to-do hypocrites posing as model citizens while indulging forbidden sexual perversions behind closed doors.

The term "when the cat's away" really fits this normal-looking 60s suburb in which lonely, sex-hungry wives, feeling neglected by their working husbands, have it off with various neighbors, workmen, or, in the case of Mrs. Lewis (Audrey Campbell, THE SEXPERTS), her teen daughter Kathy's high school friend.

Meanwhile, we see local sex-bomb Yvette lounging around the house in lingerie and paying the furniture bill by seducing the collector.  Yvette lives with her supposed "brother" Louis (W.B. Parker), and together they're hatching a scheme to start an illicit sex club which they hope will have frustrated neighbors shelling out hundreds of bucks for.

What starts out a bit like a sex comedy (the bill collector guy is funny) soon veers toward the dramatic as the sexual vortex so many of the characters seem caught in starts to spin out of control.  Lisa, left alone while husband Henry is at work, starts guzzling booze and luring abusive workmen into her home. Mrs. Lewis has daytime swingers' parties with friends in her own house, one of which is walked in upon by a her shocked daughter Kathy.

Kathy, it seems, has the wildest life of them all when she's molested by her would-be boyfriend and then seduced into a hot lesbian affair with Yvette. Judy Young plays her with just the right balance between still just a kid and becoming a troubled, sexually-confused young woman.

It's almost the stuff soap operas are made of, but it's all so edgy (for its time) and starkly compelling that we're constantly transfixed by what's going on and eager to see what happens next.  Sarno's evolving as a director with an instinctive talent for staging interesting shots and bringing out the best in his cast.

The story content is strictly adults-only for 1964, with elements such as adultery, attempted rape, lesbianism, and other sensitive subjects that were still taboo.  It feels like we're watching something on the shady side, getting a voyeuristic glimpse at these desperate sinful lives.

Sarno's screenplay goes beyond simple sexploitation and builds to an emotionally jarring ending after one of Yvette and Louis' illicit sex parties, which is staged remarkably and with lasting effect.

Sarno's black-and-white photography is crisp, noirish, and constantly interesting to look at.  The print used for Film Movement's Blu-ray edition is very good, even with the occasional scratches, specks, etc. which, for me, give it a nostalgic feel that recalls the well-worn prints we used to see at the local theater or on late-night TV.

Having just watched the original Star Trek episode "I, Mudd" the night before, I was surprised to see the actor who played the android "Norman", Richard Tatro, as the dangerous guy Lisa foolishly opens her front door to.

Yvette is played by none other than Dyanne Thorne (billed here as Lahna Monroe) of "Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S." fame, looking almost unrecognizable with her jet-black bouiffant hairdo. The film's one bit of actual nudity is a fleeting glimpse of her bare breasts.

SIN IN THE SUBURBS ends with a shadowy, poignant shot that looks like it might be straight out of early David Lynch.  And with it continues my fondness for Joe Sarno's exquisite black-and-white early films, which are unlike anything else I've seen.

Read our reviews of other Joe Sarno films HERE

SIN IN THE SUBURBS (1964) -- Movie Review by Porfle