After a week’s gap we return to our recommended film chart just to find more new releases lined up and a Top 10 that has been nearly replaced in full. Last week an ecclectic mix of Oscar contenders (Silver Linings Playbook); award winning documentaries (The House I Live In); a ground breaking cop drama (End Of Watch) and a superb restored classic (Lawrence Of Arabia) arrived to our theatres.
This week’s offering is not any less impressive with such treats as the gripping Dutch drama ‘The Hunt’★★★★; hailed as Thomas Vinterberg’s return to form. The director of ‘Festen’ (Celebration), one of the original members of the Dogma movement, tells the story of a small community descending into a witch hunt against a nursery teacher who is falsely accused of paedophilia after an innocent lie told by his best friend’s little daughter. The nursery’s manager confused initial reaction quickly expands among the neighbours and prompts his life into a downward spiral. Mads Mikkelsen, recently seen as the King’s advisor in the excellent period drama ‘A Royal Affair’, won best actor at Cannes for his terrific portrait of a man who powerlessly watches his whole life disintegrating.
Also new this week is ‘Yossi’★★★½, Eytan Fox’s notable follow-up to ‘Yossi & Jagger’, the film that a decade ago became notorious for depicting a gay relationship within the secretive ranks of the Israeli army. But if we have to choose a film of the week, the one we genuinely enjoyed the most was the darkly comic road movie ‘Sightseers’★★★★. Described as a cross between Mike Leigh’s ‘Nuts In May’ and ‘Badlands’; Ben Wheatley’s new opus after his acclaimed second feature ‘Kill List’ is a radical change of genre. This time he goes for the laughter, but keeping a great deal of horror in the mix, through the story of an ordinary middle age couple who embarks on an apparently dull caravan holiday to explore the tourist delights around the Lake District, leaving a trail of death and museum leaflets behind. Comedians Alice Lowe and Steve Oram star and penned the script, whereas Wheatley perfectly manages the required tone changes between well-observed naturalist comedy and the gory killing spree, British way, the lovers indulge in as a wide range of annoying people get in their way. Perhaps the best comedy the UK industry has produced in years, ‘Sightseers’ is superb.
Check our Recommended Top 10 Films of the week here.
| 1-SIGHTSEERS ★★★★ Ben Wheatley (NEW) Darkly comic road movie described like Mike Leigh meets ‘Badlands’. Ben Wheatley’s follows up his acclaimed second feature ‘Kill List’ going for the laughter, but keeping a great deal of horror in the mix, through this story of an ordinary middle age couple who embarks on an dull caravan holiday to explore the tourist delights of the Lake District, leaving a trail of death and museum leaflets behind while a wide range of annoying people get in their way. Comedians Alice Lowe and Steve Oram star and penned the script of what’s probably the best British comedy in years. |
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| 2-THE HUNT ★★★★ Thomas Vinterberg (NEW) Hailed as a return to form by the director of ‘Festen’ , this gripping Dutch drama tells the story of a small community descending into a witch hunt against a nursery teacher falsely accused of paedophilia by an innocent lie told by his best friend’s daughter. The school manager's confused initial reaction quickly expands among the neighbours and prompts the carer's life into a downward spiral. Mads Mikkelsen won best actor at Cannes for his terrific portrait of a man who powerlessly watches his whole life disintegrating. |
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| 3-THE HOUSE I LIVE IN ★★★★ Eugene Jarecki (NEW) On this Sundance winner documentary looking at the enormous social cost inflicted by four decades of the totally ineffective war on drugs in America, Jarecki goes from the particular –telling the story of the nanny who used to look after his family and her relatives' misfortune - to the general, researching the historical precedents of the way US government have dealt with drugs; their association with minority ethnic groups and the controversial legal injustices that has turned the whole campaign into a class war leaving millions of jailed people with no chance of redemption. |
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| 4-AMOUR ★★★★★ Michael Haneke Piling up five star reviews since deservedly winning the Palme D'Or, this reflection on how to deal with the suffering of a loved one is Haneke’s most compassionate and affecting work to date. Magnificently played by veterans Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, an elderly couple has to endure the wife's deteriorating situation after suffering a stroke, closing down to the world while coping with the indignities of a degenerative illness. Both life-affirming and heart-breaking on its portrayal of the ultimate sacrifice that comes with unconditional love, ‘Amour’ is a strong contender for best film of 2012. |
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| 5-END OF WATCH ★★★½ David Ayer (NEW) Jake Gyllenhaal excels and Michael Peña gets a long awaited star turn as the cop partners in this superior genre flick shot in the shape of the recordings taken from the camera of one of them when trying to document their day by day. An accidental stepping into a drug cartel operation will place them in the centre of a dangerous situation. Training day director inherits the rawer way street crime is portrait in a recent batch of popular TV dramas. The home recordings format adds warmth to the scenes of their personal lives and menace to the crimes they encounter in their way. |
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| 6-LAWRENCE OF ARABIA ★★★★★ David Lean (NEW) An unmissable chance to catch again on the big screen what’s arguably David Lean’s finest moment, this 1962 classic has been digitally restored, highlighting its spectacular features to mind blowing effect. A perfect example of cinema’s most epic qualities, it was based in T. E. Lawrence’s experiences during the First World War; his personal struggles and divided loyalty between the British and the Arab world, earning Peter O’ Toole the first of his eight Oscar nominations and a countless list of other honours. |
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| 7-SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK ★★★ David O'Russell (NEW) One of this season's biggest Oscar hopefuls, after 'The Fighter' David O’ Russell returns to his habitual off-kilter environment; this time delivering a peculiar romantic comedy that deals with mental illness, gambling addiction and a ballroom dance competition as a way of therapy. Despite the weirdness of these premises it compiles to the rules of the genre, stretching its storyline a tad for that classic feel good aftertaste. It benefits from an excellent cast that makes likeable a bunch of dysfunctional characters. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are being tipped for awards glory, well backed by veterans Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver. |
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| 8-THE MASTER ★★★★½ Paul Thomas Anderson Another portentous recreation of American history, loosely based in the origins of L Ron Hubbard’s Scientology, told through the relationship of two opposite characters: a traumatized WWII ex-sailor - superb physical performance by Joaquin Phoenix- drifting from job to job until he meets the leader of a new cult – Hoffman, who also nails his role’s mix of grandeur and doubtful hoax - claiming to relieve all mental afflictions, being welcomed as a perfect case to put teachings into practice. Raising many questions about the mutually feeding nature of master and disciple; one of the most thought- provoking works of 2012. |
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| 9-ARGO ★★★★ Ben Affleck The current frontrunner in this year’s Oscar race, Ben Affleck’s excellent third feature takes us back to Iran in the late 70’s, when the American Embassy was raided and their delegates kidnapped in the midst of a popular revolutionary upsurge. Working against the clock and knowing their lives were endangered, the US government faked the shooting of a Hollywood sci-fi film as a cover-up for their rescue operation. Perfectly capturing the vibe of those times, this gripping thriller nicely tones down to lighter comedy whenever the action moves from the events in Iran to the rushed preparation of that Sci-Fi production. |
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| 10-YOSSI ★★★ Eytan Fox (NEW) A decade ago, ‘Yossi & Jagger’ became notorious for its depiction of a gay relationship within the ranks of the secretive Israeli army. Ten years down the line we get this unexpected sequel, finding the main character on his own, immersed on his work as a civilian doctor to cope with the loss of his former partner. Forced to take some holidays, he will meet a group of young soldiers; one of them openly gay. ‘Yossi’ is another fine piece of drama which shows how people’s tolerance has grown during this time, despite a happy ending that verges on cheesy wishful thinking. |