Sleep Tight (Mientras Duermes - original title)

Language: Spanish 
Genre: Horror/thriller

Length: 102

Director: Jaume Balagueró

Writer: Alberto Marini

Cast: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura, Alberto San Juan

Plot

César is a concierge for a residential building; he’s depressed and only feels marginally better when others are suffering. He is particularly obsessed with the ever happy Clara, and takes ever increasingly creepy and violent measures to ensure her misery.

Review

The film starts with César standing on a ledge of the apartment building ready to commit suicide, by the end of this film you will wish he had, because the journey to find out why César wants to take his own life is a depressing one. He is, it turns out, a revolting human being. Lusi Toser gives a convincing performance as the sinister César who is at times thoroughly gruesome and at others completely charming.   Marta Etura also gives a fine performance as Clara but isn’t really challenged. Her job is only to be annoyingly and ceaselessly happy; Clara is the muse to César’s criminal artistry.

  

This film works well as both a horror and thriller, but the tone feels a little uneven, a gruesome murder scene in the last third of the film is unexpected and out of place as we are given no clue that César also has homicidal tendencies.

  

Sometimes the plot is unbelievable and outlandish and the use of chloroform seems useless as it will only render a victim unconscious for a few minutes (for longer periods of unconsciousness the victim must be forced to inhale the vapor often, but you didn’t read that here…). So for César to use the chemical on Clara once then spend the night sleeping with her, wouldn’t work, she would surely awaken.

  

There is a little black comedy to lighten the black mood, especially from the preteen girl who lives across the hall from Clara. She has witnessed César’s nightly comings and goings through the spy hole in her front door, and she is blackmailing him for money and porn.

  

The film is well shot with some particularly lovely compositions.  And the setting of the old residential building makes this film feel as if it were set in some other time.

In the end this film is really a character study on obsession and perversion and if you were not depressed when you started watching, this film you will be when it’s over.

Budget:   4 million pounds, shot on 35mm.  The director has previously had success with low budget horror’s Rec and Rec2.

3 out of 5 stars.

Lore

Directed by Cate Shortland.

Written by Robin Mukherjee.

Australian/German co production.

Cast - Saskia Rosendale, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi.

Plot

Lore the daughter of Hitler supporters’ is left to care for her younger sister and three younger brothers when her parents are imprisoned after the war.  Lore (Rosendale) is instructed by her mother to take the family North to Hamburg (from the black forest where they live) which means the family must journey through allied occupied Germany largely on foot as trains are not running and a curfew is in place.   

The family are joined by a young Jewish man Thomas (Malina) who brings them food and makes romantic advances toward an increasingly emotionally confused Lore, she at first belittles him then tentatively encourages his advances.

Review

A low key film about a middle class German family who have been taught to be proud of their Pro Hitler beliefs and it is only after the war has been lost, that their world begins to disintegrate.  As intimate portrait of the lives of the children the story often becomes disjointed and choppy as the children wonder what to do, and how to travel through a war torn Germany.  They are never really sure where they are or what horror they will come across, or if the evil of the concentration camps posted on billboards by the Allies is true or fiction. 

 

They are ostracized firstly because of their family’s beliefs and later because they are just more mouths to feed, and it is only baby Peter for whom the adults seem to have any care. Ultimately this is a journey in which Lore loses her innocence through the tentative romantic encounters with Thomas and as she comes to question the values of her parents.

Fine performances by all, and the performances of such young children are particularly naturalistic. The director had an assured vision however, there are lots of the tropes you would expect from an art house film; close ups of, young wheat growing in fields, ants and dried blood on corpses and dandelion snow as well a long lingering shots and slow moving drama.  But it is a wonderfully engaging film beautiful and frightening and well worth seeing.

5 out of 5 stars.

Budget - Low budget 4.3 million Euro (about 3.6 million pounds) Australian/German co production. Second feature for director Shortland the first was the award winning Somersualt (also low budget).  

Crawl

Written and directed by Paul china

Crime/Thriller/Australian

Cast: George Shevtsov, Georgina Haig, Paul Holmes 

Plot

A seedy bar owner hires a strange Stetson wearing Croatian as a hit man, but a planned double-cross backfires when a young waitress, who is waiting for her boyfriend to come home and propose marriage to her, is taken hostage.

Review

This is a slow moving, tense and taunt thriller, which will successfully have you sitting on the edge of your seat.  The characters are well drawn, and very strange in that Australian way that brands their films so successfully.

George Shevtsov is rugged and unreadable as the Croatian a hired killer. He has a Clint Eastwood death stare and it's hard to tell if he is going to burst into a beaming smile or kill, bloodily. 
In one scene he has tied Marilyn to a chair. She fears he will rape her and clearly he knows what's on her mind, so he pulls her skirt down to her knees and at that point, you could almost think he might be misunderstood. But of course you would be wrong...

Georgina Haig plays Marilyn and creates a strong but ordinary woman who very refreshingly deals with a potential threat intelligently.

Paul Holmes also gives a great performance as Slim Walding, he is delightfully sleazy and it is his characters particular extracurricular activity which gives the film its name. 

 

The film is shot simply, but with an eye always on keeping the audience tense. There a great many thriller devices such as the subtle noises which may or may not indicate there is someone behind the door.  But there is enough originality that these devices do not bore but contribute to building tension.

You'll spot similarities to other films including Blood Simple, Hitchcock's work and maybe even a nod to The Shining.

This film is definitely worth a look, and is a pretty impressive entry into genre film making by writer/director Paul China.  Its low budget, and the first feature for the director (and his brother/collaborator Ben).

3 out of 5 stars

For Ellen

Written/Produced and directed by So Yong Kim.

American.

Cast: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Shaylena Mandigo.

Plot

Joby a self obsessed failed rock musician is going through a rough divorce; he drives up north to sign the papers in person and discovers that if he wants half the proceeds from the sale of the family home he will have to give up custody of his six year old daughter Ellen.  He decides he wants to spend time with Ellen, and they have a day out together in town.

 

Review

This is a an American Indie film, and very much made in that style, wonderfully observed and nuanced with fantastic performances by Paul Dano (Joby) and star of the future Sahylena Mandigo (Ellen). Ultimately though, this is a character study of a selfish and disturbed man who treats people with no regard to their feelings and who is only really is able to have a deep emotional conversation with a young girl.

The snowy landscape is beautifully filmed and emotes the chilliness Joby's inner condition the only warmth coming from Ellen, and Joby's lawyer (Heder) who offers him a home cooked meal and friendship, both thrown aside with disdain by Joby.

It a simple story well told and if you want to witness some amazing cinematic performances certainly one to see.

Budget: Low budget, 17 day shoot.

4 out of 5 stars.

Bullhead

Written and Directed by Michael R. Roskam

Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Frank Lammers, Jeanne Dandoy.

Languages: French, Dutch.

Plot  

Jacky (Schonenaerts) is a cattle farmer who is involved in the shady world of hormone trafficking. He uses the hormones on his cattle causing them to be bigger and carry more meat, but he uses the hormones on himself where the product has the same effect.  He looks and acts like the most masculine of men. Then, a dodgy Vet gets Jacky in on a deal with a Flemish beef trader, but a policeman is killed and he unexpectedly meets an old friend from the past, which stirs memories of a dark and life changing incident from childhood.

Review (with spoilers)

Essentially this is a film about a sensitive and gentle man whose development is cruelly curtailed when a bully, in a particularly horrendous scene, crushes the young Jacky’s testicles in effect castrating him (or gelding him like a young bullock) Jacky has never come to terms with the terrible incident, and now he has bulked himself up to a point where he is more masculine than any of the men around him, presumably he also does this to appeal to women.  But the muscles have the opposite effect on the one woman he has feelings for, she finds him ‘’too muscle bound.''

But his big problem is that although he looks like a bulked up grown man underneath he is an overly sensitive and his development seems to have stopped both physically and mentally at the point at which the incident occurred.  His social skills are limited and when he tries to get a date with the girl he likes, he frightens her, and is uncommunicative.  Later  he comments that his natural inclinations, that is, what he was born to do, get married and have children has been taken away from him.  Even his cattle can manage to do what he cannot.   

But of course this is what is important to Jacky because he is a sensitive and kind man.  His friend, Diederick on the other hand is more interested in seducing a police officer to whom he informs.

The study of Jacky's character really makes the film, singularly lonely character (Schonenaerts is outstanding as a sensitive man robbed of everything that gives life meaning). His imposing presence and violence at the start of the film falls away as the sensitive childlike inner man expresses himself.

 

The film perhaps would have worked a little better without the Hormone mafia element, the policeman’s death and sub plots of car mechanics worried about a BMW incriminating wheels was distracting and uninteresting and detracted from the real human drama that is at the heart of the film.  The flashbacks break the flow of the film and are traumatic and ghastly but equally the audience will not lose sight on what must constantly be on Jacky's mind. 

 

Budget: 2 million Euros (about 1.7 million pounds). Feature film debut for writer/director.

4 out 5 stars.

Midnight Son

Written and directed by Scott Lebrerecht
Cast: Zak Kilberg, Maya Parish 
USA

       

Plot

Jacob a night security guard is not very well. His doctor thinks he might be suffering from anaemia, but Jacob is not so sure.  He gets badly burned when he goes out into sunlight, and also he is hungry all the time.  But none of the nationally void microwave meals he heats up satisfy him. Then he buys a steak, and he finds it is the blood left in the packaging which excites him, not the steak.

Eventually he hustles a butcher into selling him blood, which he drinks from a takeout coffee cup. So it's all sort of adding up too, Could he be a vampire?

Don't read further if you're worried about spoilers. He is a vampire. After much standing about looking like a catalogue model waiting for a bus, Jacob decides blood from the butcher is okay but doesn’t really hit the spot.  He finds a fence for human blood, and slowly he learns how to be a vampire.  But after he is implicated in the murder of a woman in a car park, he also begins to understand what being a vampire means.

His journey into vampirism is further complicated by a Mary with whom he begins a relationship, but he isn't sure she will accept his ''illness.''

Review

A bit on the tedious side, lots of wondering and sitting about by Jacob looking sensitive and deep.  It takes him ages to figure out he is a vampire and it's never explained how he became one. It's certainly a different take in the low budget horror genre - low key realism - but the drama is predictable and there is no tension or excitement to keep audience attention. 

The characters don't feel very real and are generally unlikeable.  The script seems to always take the next logical step, rather than find an original or unexpected way to tell the story, the effect is predictability.

Nothing interesting in the setting or directorial style (except the last bloody shot which seems to be almost from a different more exciting film).

The acting is fine, the story is okay, but the film has nothing really to say.
 
Low budget. Directorial debut for the director. 

2 out of 5 stars. 


            

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Directed by David Gelb

Film

This is a fascinating documentary by first time feature director David Gleb. The film follows the life of 85 year old Jiro Ono a man who has been in the sushi business an astonishing 75 years.  In case you are not up on your sushi masters, Jiro is one of the worlds best, and he is the owner of Sukiyabashi Jiro a tiny restaurant located in a subway station in Tokyo.  The restaurant has only ten covers, but 3 Micheline stars.

Why Jiro had such an early start in his career, and the person it has made him, is the central focus of the film. He is, it seems, relentlessly driven to perfection and it has made him a master of his art.

The documentary also explores the story of Jiro's older son and his relationship with his father.  At the age of 50 Yoshikazu Ono has been working for his father for 30 years.  He will inherit the business on his fathers retirement enabling him finally to fulfill his own potential as a sushi master.  But his inheritance could be a double edged sword. Yoshikazu's sushi may always be judged inferior to his father's even if it is comparable, and there is a risk that the restaurant will loose customers and him, his inheritance.

Review

A film with sensitive story telling but also insight into Japanese culture.  And a very interesting lesson in the delicate an art of sushi making in a high end restaurant, it takes 10 years to apprentice as a sushi master in Japan.  Starting at the bottom means wringing out hot towels for a few weeks before you are even allowed to wash the fish (or massage the octupi). After ten years they let loose on the egg sushi.

Thoughtfully filmed, with great insight to interesting characters.  The trip to the fish market is a particular highlight, and it seems in the sushi business there is a chain of high standards from the fish vendors, to the customers plate. 

This film is well worth a look, but if you care about Octupi please stay at home or bring tissues.

Budget: Low Budget, the director is also the camera man. Red One camera.

5 out of 5 stars.