SUNDANCE 2014: WHIPLASH

Andrew (Miles Teller) and Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) in Whiplash.

The beatings behind the beats

By Don Simpson

 

Inexplicably abandoned at an early age by his mother and raised by a father (Paul Reiser) who never achieved success as a writer, Andrew (Miles Teller) is riddled with an unquenchable drive to become famous. Though Whiplash does not make much of Andrew’s backstory, Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the tyrannical band conductor at his elite music conservatory, makes good use of that information to emotionally destroy him.

 

Whiplash relays how Fletcher preys upon the emotional insecurities of a friendless first-year college student who regularly goes to the local movie theater with his father. Fletcher plays with Andrew’s sense of self-worth by boosting him up only to knock him right back down again. Andrew is constantly unsure of his standing with Fletcher, leaving him in a constant state of fear. Knowing that Fletcher could be his ticket to success, Andrew is willing to do anything to impress — or even appease — Fletcher, who takes full advantage of Andrew’s naïve desperation.

 

During one of Andrew’s high points, he musters up enough courage to finally ask out the girl who works at the movie theater concession stand (Melissa Benoist). Though this fleeting relationship serves mostly as a distraction from the primary narrative, it does highlight Andrew’s somewhat futile attempts at controlling a less confident person. Their relationship also serves as an example of just how willing Andrew is to discard anything in order to achieve his goals.

 

The story of Whiplashseems vaguely familiar, as if a similar narrative arc has been used to tell a story about a boxer with an emotionally abusive trainer. It seems as though elite music schools are successful because they have faculty like Fletcher who will relentlessly push the students beyond their natural abilities to see if they can reach a higher level of greatness. Fletcher looks and screams like a drill sergeant, ruling his students with extreme levels of fear. One could argue that Fletcher’s motivations are more sincere, as Whiplash strives to form the conductor into a well-rounded individual, showing the extremes of his personality and allowing him to explain his actions.

 

An opening night selection of Sundance Film Festival 2014, and recipient of numerous awards at this year's Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Damien Chazelle's Whiplash also explores the pros and cons of Fletcher’s behavior, existing in a moral grayness that opts to not really take sides. A teacher saying that someone does a “good job” might turn out to be a curse, but where does one draw the line between motivation to do better and psychological torture?

Whiplash was purchased at Sundance Film Festival 2014.

HOLLYWOOD BRAZILIAN 2011: OPENING NIGHT

A scene from Cold Tropics.

A night to dismember

By John Esther

Riddled with incompetence, the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival 2011 slowly started its opening night. 

Scheduled to commence at 8 p.m. patrons were held in the cold air outside the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood until 8:25 p.m. No explanation for the delay was offered.

Twenty minutes later after we were admitted, somebody from the film festival addressed the audience. Rather than efficiently go through the typical laborious yet understandable Opening Night procedure of thanking sponsors and volunteers before introducing the filmmakers smoothly and without incident, the audience was subjected to a series of banal flattery, self-congratulatory speeches, lame jokes and repetitive chatter before any films would begin.

Over an hour later after the show was supposed to start, the lights went down and the festival film schedule started with a wonderful short film called Recife Frio (Cold Tropics).  

Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, who was in attendance, Recife Frio poses a futuristic scenario where Recife, a northern tropical city of Brazil, mysteriously encounters a drastic climate chance that leaves its citizens coping with some crazy cold weather. In response some discover a new marketplace for further consumption, while others find consolation and answers in religion, others use song, others move out and many others die.

Smart, satirical and shot with impressive precision and scope, the 24-minute mockumentary takes a long bite at global consumerism, self-preservation and idiotic self-reliance. 

After the short was over, and people continued coming to and fro the theater, the opening night film, Craft, started at 9:30 p.m. without the sound. After playing and tinkering with the moving image on the screen for five minutes or so, the theater lights went up to fix the problem.

Having had enough, at that point I departed the Egyptian Theatre for the evening. 

Now running through June 5, for more information on the festival, click HBFF.  

NBFF 2011: EAST FIFTH BLISS

Morris (Michael C. Hall) in East Fifth Bliss.

Unhappy times

By John Esther

Making its world premiere as the Newport Beach Film Festival 2011 Opening Night Film, East Fifth Bliss tells yet another tale of a dorky homebody with no income, no personality and no interesting aspects nor prospects yet manages to be the sane one amongst people who are smarter and more attractive than he.

Morris Bliss (Michal C. Hall) is in his mid-30s, unemployed and still living at home with Dad (Peter Fonda). Morris cannot even do simple tasks around the home like get groceries, let alone find a job or visit all the places he wants to around the world. Drifting in an asphalt jungle, Morris has lots of people really interested in him. NJ (Chris Messina) lives a life of adventure and intrigue but is always too frugal to prohibit Morris from buying him a beer. Stephanie (Brie Larson) is a schoolgirl half his age with attractive attributes yet can only reduce her young self to seduce Morris. Morris' neighbor, Andrea (Lucy Liu) also comes on to Morris because, oh I do not know, because he talks?

There is no reason any of these people should draw themselves to Morris anymore than Stephanie's father, Steven (Brad William Henke), should, but it sure provides for some comedy, plus far too many coincidences, too.

Directed and co-written by Michael Knowles, based on the novel by co-screenwriter Douglas Light, to its success East Fifth Bliss relies greatly on the dialogue and performance of a strong cast. The storyline is thin and familiar and the ending is patronizing, yet the individual scenes between Morris and company and the banter delivered by the likes of Larson and Liu save this film from being sub par. As usual, Henke gives a stellar performance.

 

COLCOA 2011: OPENING NIGHT

Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain) and Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini) in Service Entrance.

Film d'aventures, Espagnol

By John Esther

At an invitation-only event, City of Lights, City of Angels (ColCoa) kicked off its 15th year with patrons, celebrities, journalists, and Francophiles packing the Directors Guild of America lobby to sip on fine wine and and nosh on good food before catching the West Coast premiere of Philippe Le Guay's Service Entrance (Les Femmes de 6èmé ètage).

Traditionally promoting French films to English-speaking Americans as a way of cultural exchange between France and America, Colcoa, intentional or otherwise, broadened its appeal to Spanish-speaking American audiences with this film about an investor, Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini), who befriends a group of Spanish maids who have fled to Paris from Franco's Spain.

After the death of Jean-Louis's mother, he and his wife, Suzanne (Suzanne Kiberlain), hire Maria (Natalia Verbeke), a newly-arrived Spanish maid who may not be all that she represents (she often has domestic help from her friends). A poor Catholic with some command of the French language, Maria and her fellow docile Spanish compatriots -- with the notable exception of Carmen (Lola Dueñas), a staunch lefty -- are considered a refreshing departure from their uppity French counterparts.

Singing, joyful and gregarious, the Spanish women provide an alternative milieu to the conservative one Jean-Louis dwells in and often detests (he is still the boss). Jean-Louis also begins to understand the daily struggles of the working women -- cramped quarters, clogged toilets, domestic abuse, etc., -- and does something about it. Unfortunately, Jean-Louis' benefactor behavior does not stem from any new sense of humanism or noblesse oblige, but rather for his increasing fondness for Maria.  Jean-Louis hardly recognized the existence of the other Spanish maids who actually live in his building before Maria came along.

But we all have our cages, and Maria is imprisoned in her own ways, beyond just her low income. Years ago, she gave her son up for adoption, leaving him behind in Spain. 

Doing that type of farce the French often do oh so well, Service Entrance maintains a steady beat of humor throughout the film, spicing it up with a little class consciousness and a dose of romance. It is not the best thing to come along in recent French cinema, but the French and Spanish language film's attention to detail and nuance makes for a good time at the cinema and goes further in ColCoa's commitment to cultural awareness between the two countries. 


Colcoa runs through April 18. For more information: www.colcoa.org

IFFLA 2011: OPENING NIGHT

Chhotu (Harsh Mayar) and Bhati (Gulshan Grover) in I am Kalam.

Rah, rah India

By John Esther

Now it its 9th year, the Indian Film Festival Los Angeles (IFFLA) is the most successful film festival of its kind in the country, if not the world. Dedicated to bringing Indian culture to Los Angeles via cinema, IFFLA offers contemporary Indian film along with panels, parties and awards from April 12-19, 2011.

This year, IFFLA opens up with a lighthearted tale of a young boy on a mission, I am Kalam.

Blessed with pop star good looks and a remarkable intellect, 12-year-old Chhotu (Harsh Mayar) is pawned off to Bhati (Gulshan Grover) by his beautiful-looking, but crass mommy (Meena Mir) who is in debt. Put the boy to work

"School is not in our destiny," she tells Bhati.

Thanks to the boy's hard work and knowhow, Chhotu quickly endears himself to everybody around him -- except a wannabe "Godfather" (Pitobash) -- including the local prince (Husaan Saad) who is the same age as Chhotu.

Chhotu is not really his name, but it plays as a metaphor of sorts while Chhotu searches for the right role model/identity, someone with a similar background who now "wears a tie and people salute him."

Directed by Nila Madhab Panda, there is hardly any doubt from the opening shot where I am Kalam is headed within the next 87 minutes. There is some decent acting along the way, but there are also quite a few unnecessary scenes, contrived tropes and an ending that seems to fly in the face of the film's general attitude toward educating underprivileged youth.

Certainly not the best IFFLA Opening Night film ever, I am Kalam assures us that all is best in the best of all possible worlds, which may be nice if you can(dide) subscribe to that sort of thing.


I am Kalam screens April 12, 7:30 p.m., ArcLight Hollywood. For more information: http://www.indianfilmfestival.org/