THE UNKNOWN MAN OF SHANDIGOR (Switzerland 1967 ) ***1/2
(L’INCONNU DE SHANDIGOR)
Directed by Jean-Louis Roy
THE UNKNOWN MAN OF SHANDIGOR is a largely unknown blackand white Swiss spy thriller that made cinematic history when it opened.I have not heard of the supposedly long-Unseen 60s Cold War Spy Thriller that stars Marie-France Boyer, Ben Carruthers, Jacques Dufilho, Daniel Emilfork, and Famed Singer-Songwriter Serge Gainsbourg.But seeing its re-release, the film has whetted my appetite and it is a strange spy film, as strange as say Joseph Losey’s MODESTY BLAISE that came out around the same time.
The story is simple and typical of the spy genre of films that polluted theatre screens in the 60’s and 70’s.These days, it is the Marvel action super-heroes that have displayed the super spies like James Bond, OSS 117, Mata Hari, Matt Helm and Flint, just to name a few. In eta age of nuclear bombs, a scientist has invented a device called the cancelor, as it cancels or stops the atom bomb.Just as important as the atom bomb is the cancelor.Whoever gets hold of the cancelor device can control the world - typical of spy films.The inventor is in a wheelchair.A host of spies, all bald and clad in suits and wearing dark glasses are given the task of stealing the device.
The film bears resemblance to many classics.It feels like a Godard movie, for the one reason that the dialogue is in Swiss French and the other is that it has the look and feel of Godard’s futuristic film ALPHAVILLE.It also looks like Stanley Kubrick’s DR. STRANGELOVE as the inventors in that film, played by Peter Sellers is also in a wheelchair and bth films dealt with the atom bomb.The building that housed the War Room in STRANGELOVE looks similar to the residence of the inventor of the cancelor.In addition, both films are in black and white.
Director Roy’s humour is so dead pan that one has to really observe the humour to see its hilarity.One is the segment of the training of the bald spies.They are instructed that to be effective they must don different disguises like being a Chinese or a Black man.The film features a Chinese later on, which is funny because that spy might have realized the same lesson.This spy successfully steals the reel containing information on the cancelor.The inventors assistant is an albino, giving the film a more weird feel, who is murdered in a cubicle in beach and dying in style.Roy’s film is incredibly stylish with super looking production design, wardrobe and props.
The legendary French pop singer plays one of the spies eager to get their hands on the cancelor.He gets to groom his deranged jazz-lounge song in a funeral parlour, which makes it one of the best and weirdest set prices in the movie.
This spy film might not be for the current film audience but for those who grew up with the60’s and 70’s spy film, they will be in for a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
The 4K restored version of the movie is out on VOD in the US + Canada Tuesday March 1, 2022
SOUMAYA is a French re-enactment of true events that plays out like a documentary. Written and directed by Ubaydah Abu-Usayd, Waheed Khan, this extremely compelling film that plays like the real thing. The film opened in France back in 2019, but the date of the film indicated in the closing credits has been changed to 2020. The storyline involves Soumaya, a practicing Muslim, is fired one day without explanation or warning. Later that night, she sees on TV that news outlets are linking her to jihadist circles.
Imagine oneself in her position. Everything is now turned upside down and it is not your fault. What would you do? Soumaya does not want to return to work in such a toxic environment but how then would she gain back the injustice done to her?
For fourteen years, Soumaya (Soraya Hachoumi), a practicing Muslim and the mother of a young girl, Jihane, had worked as a manager at a company in charge of security at Charles de Gaulle Airport. But, following the deadly, coordinated terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on the evening of November 13, 2015 -- killing at least 130 and injuring more than 350 -- life changed in an instant for her, as well as for tens of thousands of citizens and immigrants whose lives and beliefs were in the crosshairs following the attacks.
After an anonymous complaint, made by a worker, she was training, prompted the police to forcibly enter, search and ransack Soumaya’s apartment, she is unceremoniously fired from her job. There is an extended scene where the personnel manager, Aurelie Soumaya’s friend, has to give her the bad news. Soumaya does not take the news lightly. Aurelie (Sarah Perriez) explains she has nothing to do with this. Her religious beliefs, the headscarf she never wears to work, and her security badge - allegedly lent to a colleague who is also under investigation -- are all enough to make her a suspect, accused of being linked to jihadist circles.
Based on a true story, the compelling narrative unfolds as a series of portraits. This is the reason the film works so well. Each character has his or own opinion on the matter and the directors invest time and effort to personalize and emotionalize the firing. One portrait of Soumaya’s worried mother urging her daughter not to make waves. There is the luggage handler who has rediscovered his faith through his wife, the most disturbing of all the portraits, who has converted to Islam; the lover zealous lawyer of immigrant descent, torn between his desire to fully integrate into French society and the injustices he sees all around him; Aurelie who is torn between her work duty and friendship with Soumaya and the imam whose mosque is searched on the basis of slender evidence.
The directors, Kahn and Abu-Usayd, use this scenario to explore the personal, professional and legal battles Soumaya faced in a reeling nation under a state of emergency, which lasted for nearly two years --from the viewpoint of the victims, whose post-attack experiences and violations of fundamental freedoms often goes unacknowledged. The climax of the film takes place in the court where Soumaya speaks her mind. The climax makes excellent courtroom drama though little overplayed.
The film can be seen theatrically via Virtual Cinema.
This program opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Feb 25th 2022. An absolute annual delight of excellent gloal shorts.
OSCAR SHORTS 2022
ANIMATION:
AFFAIRS OF THE ART (Canada/UK 2021) **** Directed by Joanna Quinn and Lee Mills
AFFAIRS OF THE ART is a film about obsessions - obsessionss of Beryl’s family.Beryl is obsessed about drawings, her grandmother on pickling amid other obsessions. This animated short feature has already won numerous awards in festivals world wide and might be a shoo in for a win for the Oscars.It is also my favourite.The animation is fresh and different and the short feature is inventive, hilarious,insightful and totally entertaining.The film follows the thoughts of Beryl, the character who has previously appeared in Quinn’s Z(a British animator) other shorts.Beryl is pregnant with Colin’s child, Colin who is equally interesting.Colin rescued an in cured pigeon and became inseparable with it till it was killed by a cat, that Colin killed with precision with his crossbow. The less said about this featurette the better,as it is full of surprises at every turn.This one is worth watching multiiple times - an instinct classic.The NFB is bringing all Canadians into the Oscar celebration with free streaming of AFFAIRS OF THE ART from February 8 to March 27 on NFB.ca.
Trailer:
AUDIBLE (USA 2021) *** Directed by Matt Ogens
Matt Ogens’ 38-minute doc short tackles the series epic of coming-of-age of the deaf, set in the Maryland School of the Deaf.It begins with the subject, with headphones on, screaming in silence before it is revealed that he is deaf.Ogens then takes his audience to the football field where Amaree (the subject) takes his anger out on the field.Athlete Amaree McKenstry and his close friends face the pressures of senior year and grappling with the realities of venturing off into the hearing world.They battle to protect an unprecedented winning streak, while coming to terms with the tragic loss of a close friend. Though deaf, these kids still face the identical challenges of the world, showing they do not need to shout to be heard.Three main issues are dealt with in the story. One is the death of the friend, Teddy who was transferred to an all hearing school.Another is the relation between Amaree and his father who left the family when he was 25.After being saved by Jesus Christ after dealing heroin on the streets, father and son are finally reunited.Theother and main issue is dealing with the world after graduation from the school of the deaf.Though over-serious, a little humour would do the film some good, Ogens gets his message across.
BESTIA (Chile 2021) ***1/2
Directed by Hugo Covarrubias
From Chile comes this short that begins with an image of a tray of plane food that looks glazed and artificial.The camera moves on to the image of a woman, slightly stout, the animation of her head looks like a porcelain doll, but actually created using ceramics. looking equally glazed and shiny.A close up reveals a hole in the side of her head.BESTIA unfolds without any dialogue, so it is up to the audience to figure out what is going on.The woman apparently works as a kind of torturer for the Chilean Intelligence, as she is seen disposing of bodies and doing clandestine activities.She is seen as morally disturbed.He fleets between reality and fantasy of her dreams.She has a connection with her Alsatian dog who eats, sleeps and plays with her.The sort is a bit confusing but it is the way it is supposed to be.The animation is what makes this short stand out among the others.
Trailer:
BOXBALLET (Russia 2019) ****
Directed by Anton Dyakov
A romance that blossoms between two distinctly different people is examined with keen observation in BOXBALLET.One day, a delicate ballerina named Olya meets the rough, surly boxer Evgeny. The contrast between their worlds and their philosophies is so sharp that even the possibility of these two characters crossing paths seems incredible.But it happens.Still there are similarities between the two sports, as observed by director Dyakov.Both demand great strain on health.The magic of this short not only lies in its quaint premise but in the delightful detailed animation that captures the nuances of the drawing of each character in every frame.The animated ballet sequences are also a treat to watch.Men are portrayed in a different light from women here, perhaps a reflection of Russia.The men are dirty, ugly and one ballet instructor sexually abuses one of his dancers in a fleeting moment. The boxer is big and has a bruised face while the ballerina is slim, mannered and pretty. A very delightful and sweet short done entirely without dialogue.
Trailer:
ROBIN ROBIN (UK 2021) *** Directed by Daniel Ojari and Michael Please
Hooray again for Netflix for coming aboard with this new Aardman Studios (WALLACE AND GROMIT, SHAUN THE SHEEP) animation nominated for the Oscar.Personally, I did not think it is better than their previous works particularly WALLACE AND GROMIT, but this rather more childish effort still has appeal.It has a loose storyline about an egg found by a family of mice.The egg hatches into a robin called Robin and reared by the mice family.Robin the robin was to be a mouse and learns to steal crumbs and other food by the mice family.In its clumsiness, it seeks to surprise the family by going out of her own to bring back food.She encounters an eagle with a broken wing whilst learning to fly.Great animation, once again from the Aardman Studios.Richar . Grant and Gillian Anderson lend their voices in the featurette.
Trailer:
THE WINDSHIELD WIPER (USA/Spain 2020) ****
Directed by Alberto Mielgo
For those unfamiliar with animator Alberto Mielgo, this artist has already a large body of work as evident in the stunning animation of THE WINDSHIELD WIPER.A chain-smoking man in a restaurant contemplates the question; “What is love?” as the short globe-trots all over the world in a series of vignettes that illustrate the director’s thought on the subject.There is a couple sitting on a beach, a Chinese schoolgirl jumping from a tall building, a man and woman missing an opportunity for a perfect match because they are too busy searching in the internet for a partner among others.The soundtrack is equally romantic and haunting and captures the mood of mystery of love.Filmed in English, Spanish and largely silent bu accompanied by music.The main attraction of this short is the detailed animation so real that it feels like the actual thing - like the rain puddles and the burning of a cigarette.
DOCUMENTARY:
QUEEN OF BASKETBALL (USA 2021) ***1/2
Directed by Ben Proudfoot
The queen of basketball from a small Mississippi town an all black neighbourhood , Lusia Harris is introduced by an elderly black woman who soon admits that she is that star, now retired and living happily ever after.Through archive footage and a very exuberant, spiritedvoiceover from Lucy herself, while laughing half the time, this exciting short records the glory of the baseball player, focusing also on the pull and rise of female basketball.The segment of one of Delta state university’s key games, with Lucy scoring multiple goals is as exciting as the climax of any sports few-good dramas.Another game has Lucy playing in the Montreal olympics in Montreal.The film is also a brief biopic of Lucy, coming from sharecropper parents with a family of 11 children.The short is a feel-good drama also demonstrating that all can be possible with dreams coming true for anyone despite their colour and background.“Long, tall and that’s not all!”Lucy turns her height disadvantage to good use.The sad thing is that Lucy suffers from mental illness, being bi-polar that surfaced only after she stopped playing basketball.
THREE SONGS FOR BENAZIR (Afghanistan 2022) *** Directed by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei
This is a very sad portrait of a father who wishes the best for his wife and soon to be born child.The film begins with him singing a song to his wife, Benazir.Unfortunately he is uneducated and lives in poverty.The only way out is to join the army but his father refuses to grant him permission.As a result, he has to work in the poppy fields to earn money and becomes an addict as a result.4 years later, he is out and re-unites with his family.The gut wrenching short shows how lucky North Americans are compared to the poor family who is living in a camp for families displaced by the war.The ending shows the father’s happiness reunited with the family, having a snowball fight.Indeed it is the little things that bring happiness.The simple but effective short is dedicated to the people of Afghanistan which this short clearly shows deserves not only our respect but our alms.
Trailer:
WHEN WE WERE BULLIES (USA/Germany 2021) **
Directed by Jay Rosenblatt
A well intentioned film that goes nowhere except to stress the negative effects of bullying.The director is a filmmaker who teaches film.When he is seeking a person for the Voiceover for another film; THE SMELL OF ANTS BURNING, he interviews Mark who turns out to be his classmate form the same school and the same class.It turns out that he and Mark were involved in a bullying incident.The director, Jay cannot get the bullying out of his mind and goes to great lengths at interviewing all of the ex-students of Grade 5 including the teacher who caught them bullying Dick, the fat victim who was traumatized by the incident.The short seems to be all over the place (as in the scene Jay climbs over the closed gate of the school on a weekend) and one really wonders at the length Jay has gone through to find out more, instead of paying compensation and seeking apology from Dick who he had found in the process. What is interesting is Einstein's saying: Coincidences is the way God remains anonymous.
Trailer:
LIVE ACTION
THE LONG GOODBYE (UK/Netherlands 2020) ***
Directed by Aneil Karia
Directed and co-written by Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed, this 12-minute short is a look at a British Pakistani’s family’s worst nightmare come true.While watching a 'right' riot on TV, it turns out that they are right at the family’s front door.Ahmed (THE SOUND OF METAL), playing himself tries to usher his family into the cellar but is unable to make it in time.The far right rioters break into the house and force them into a van while shooting a few.Ahmed spends the end of a movie in a rap about racial violence.“Why do they hate us?”The short, though short, is a bit excessive and Ahmed in his rap dialogue claims he hates the British.Warning:This short is violent and contains mould language and is not for the family though it is centred on one.
THE DRESS (Poland 2020) ***1/2
Directed by Tadeusz Lysiak
What appears to be very dark and depressing turns out to be quote an aging watch despite the rather abrupt ending.The story is about a poor midget low paid help, who works in a seedy hotel, doing laundry and the menial chores.her once chance of happiness is a sexual encounter with a truck driver who seems to fancy her, despite her stature.The big question is whether the repeated visits of an interesting man, a truck driver, change the loneliness of her situation?And what has a dress got to do with this featurette? The film is setting depressing rural Poland and is in Polish.There is also lots to read between the lines, or see between the images in the storyActress Tadeusz Lysiak is amazing in her role.
Matteo Torres is arrested by a flying drone on his way to work. It is assumed that the short is set some time in the future as everything that follows is A.I. and computerized with no human intervention. Set is in a futuristic dystopian society, a kind of Kafka-ish prison in which he is put into a cell without any explanation of his crime, Matteo communicates with the outside world via phone but he needs funds to make calls outside. He resorts to knitting as work in order to put sufficient funds in his account to make calls to secure his release. But he is always put on hold. Everything from the production sets, sound, music and props are nothing short of excellent. The actor playing Matteo, Erick Lopez, is also very good-looking and easy on the eye. PLEASE HOLD is one of the most enjoyable dystopian nightmares which seldom can be said for many mainstream films in this genre.
BENEDETTA (France/Netherlands 2021) ** Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Premiering at Cannes this year, BENEDETTA is the much awaited film from Dutch director Paul Verhoeven after the immense success of his precious film ELLE, the film that should have won Isabelle Huppert the Oscar for Best Actress.
BENEDETTA is the name of the promiscuous nun that finally ascended to the privileged role of Mother Superior. The film is loosely based on the 1986 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith C. Brown.It is ‘supposed’ to be a biographical drama film of the novice nun in the 17th century who joins an Italian convent and has a lesbian love affair with another nun.BENEDETTA reminds one immediately of Verhoeven’s earlier piece with Jennifer Jason Leigh FLESH ND BLOOD, a historical drama set in the 1500’s for its graphic sex scenes and violence.The violence in BENEDETTA includes aalmost unwatchable torture scene.
The events of the movie occur during the 17th century.The main character is Benedetta Carlini, who is an Italian nun in the abbey of a convent in Tuscany.She was considered to be mystical and venerated by her religious entourage, and finally Benedetta was arrested and judged for sapphism.
There are lots of nudity and lots of girl-on-girl sexuality.Though biographical, Verhoeven’s film does not feel like one.The film comes across more like soft porn made by a dirty old man than a film that explores freedom and the dangers of religious fanatics.
The only almost saving grace of the film comes from Charlotte Rampling, who plays the ousted Mother Superior.Her character is confused and confusing and Rampling is superb at playing characters of this nature.
The film opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox December the 3rd.
MISERICORDE (MISERICORDIA) (France 2024) **** Directed by Alain Giuraudie
Returning to Saint-Martial for his late boss's funeral, Jérémie's stay with widow Martine becomes entangled in a...
