The best movie of the year? Films reviewed: Chevalier, Quasi, Beau is Afraid
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Spring film festival season continues with Images, where indie film and experimental video meets avant-garde art and media culture. And Hot Docs Documentary Festival starts next week. But this week I’m talking about three new features — a comedy, a historical drama and a movie that defies categorization. There’s a hunchback whose name rings a bell, a musician whose work rivals Mozart’s, and a recluse who must confront what he fears most.
Chevalier
Wri/Dir: Stephen Williams
It’s the 1780s in Paris, and Joseph de Boulogne (Kelvin Harrison, Jr) is the talk of the town. He’s handsome, witty, educated and highly-skilled. He’s a champion fencer and a violin virtuoso. He can also compose a score for opera, ballet or orchestra. When Mozart comes to town, he jumps onto the stage and challenges him to a duel — using violins as their weapons. Men admire him, and women swoon. And the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) dubs him Chevalier de Saint-George, the highest title he can receive. Most unusual of all, Joseph de Bologne is Black. Born in the French Caribbean, his father is a wealthy colonist, and his mother a West-African-born slave.
He takes on as his lover the beautiful Marie Josephine (Samara Weaving); together they hope to 
launch his career in opera. But he faces opposition from people in high places. His lover is married to a powerful, but abusive man. The Chevalier earlier snubbed another patron La Guimard (Minnie Driver) who bears a grudge. Can a black man in 18th century France rise to the top of a rigid system? And what about the revolution?
Chevalier tells an interesting story about an almost-forgotten historical figure. It’s full of ornate wigs and costumes, dancing ensembles, and crowds on cobblestone streets shouting Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! What it’s missing, though, is a soul. It’s hard to get past the big issues and petty intrigues to care deeply about the main characters. This film has great production values and acting. In fact Kelvin Harrison, Jr is one of the best young actors around, and I’ll see anything he’s in — he’s that good. Sadly, he’s better than the material he has to work with. Chevalier is good enough, but it never reaches the greatness I was hoping for.
Quasi
By Broken Lizard
It’s France in the 1400s, and Quasimodo, the legendary hunchback with a twisted face, works not as a bellringer in Notre Dame but as a royal torturer. He got the job because he invented the rack to straighten out the hump of fatty tissue on his back. Didn’t work, but turns out the rack is great for causing pain. And the new queen (Adrienne Palicki) has taken a shine to Quasi. She likes his outspoken nature, and the fact he listens to what she says, unlike the vain and egotistical King Guy. Things are looking up when Quasi wins the national lottery. But the grand prize — meeting with the King — ends up a fiasco. Far from being a fun filled smorgasbord, Quasi leaves the palace with orders to kill the Pope! If not, the King will kill him and all his friends instead. To add to his troubles, when he meets the Pope, Quasi is ordered to assassinate the King! He’s caught in the middle of a feud between two cruel and powerful leaders. How will he ever get out of this one?
Quasi is a sketch comedy parody that transplants The Hunchback of Notre Dame into a new 
setting. Unfortunately — aside from a bit of bawdy humour — most of the jokes never go beyond foul language, torture humour and opaque references to oysters. (Why oysters? Why indeed). Then there are scenes like one character having his testicles nailed to a wooden board. (Is this supposed to be funny? I don’t get it.) The film is the product of comedy troupe Broken Lizard whose five members — Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, and Eric Hanske — wrote, produced and starred in multiple roles, with Heffernan at the helm. Apparently, they’re quite well-known and popular and have made some other movies, including “Super Troopers 1 & 2”. Perhaps they’re an acquired taste (which I have yet to develop) and if I ever do, I’ll be sure to let you know. But in the meantime, I failed to find humour anywhere in this unfortunate exercise in juvenile excess.
I guess we could call this a quasi-comedy.
Beau is Afraid
Wri/Dir: Ari Aster
Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is a meek, mild-mannered, middle-aged man who lives in an unnamed city. He’s the ultimate passive introvert, whose main goal is to avoid conflict. He has no job or friends and lives alone, but does see a therapist regularly. His main topic? His mom, Mona Wasserman (Patti Lupone) a very successful entrepreneur from a small town called Wasserton. His dad died before Beau was born, so Mona has always been the main influence in his life. Then there’s Elaine, the girl of his dreams, whose Polaroid photo he carries with him wherever he goes. Their time together as teenagers was brief but he will never forget her.
Now he’s supposed to fly to visit his mother, but Beau is afraid. And for good reason. He lives in a 
dystopian slum full of criminals, drug addicts and naked serial killers roaming the streets. He’s in danger the moment he steps out his door. And his apartment isn’t safe either — it’s infested with poisonous spiders, and bloodthirsty neighbours who slide threatening notes under his door. Nowhere is safe. Luckily his analyst prescribed him a new medication he’s sure will calm Beau down. But it comes with unexpected side effects.
When he misses his flight, he sets out on foot, beginning a picaresque journey full of strange, wonderful and sometimes hazardous people he encounters along the way. His face and body are battered and bruised, his survival due to sheer luck. But will he ever see his mother again?
Beau is Afraid is a hilarious, dreadful, shocking and amazing drama. It’s uncategorizable, one of those few movies that stand alone, like work by David Lynch, Gaspar Noe or Lars Von Trier. It’s three hours long, uncomfortable to watch, but clearly something special. It’s multiple-layers deep with more detail than you can absorb in a single viewing. I’m purposely not touching most of the characters and plot because one of the joys of watching this thing is the constant surprises.
The whole movie is intentionally ambiguous as to what is real, what is imagined, and whether you’re inside a dream or a drug-induced psychosis.
The acting is superb, from Joaquin Phoenix as the eternally abused milquetoast to Patty Lupone as his monstrous mother (possibly her best film performance, ever?), with unforgettable scenes by Parker Posey as an unexpected visitor, Kylie Rogers as a vindictive teen, and Amy Ryan as a Gold Star Mother. Beau is Afraid chews up and spits out everything, from the collapse of the American Dream, to psychoanalysis, hippy communes, police violence, poverty, Big Pharma, and rampant capitalism.
Some people will hate this movie, but I think it’s amazing; maybe the best film of the year.
Beau is Afraid and Chevalier both open across Canada this weekend; check your local listings. Quasi is now streaming across Canada on Disney+.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Summer movies. Films reviewed: The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Fireflies are Gone, Midsommar
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Summer’s here and it’s the right time to cool off by seeing movies outdoors. Open Roof Film Festival, which is on all summer on Sterling in the Junction, pairs new Canadian and international films with live music by local bands.
Keeping with that theme, this week I’m talking about three great summer movies. There’s a misanthropic girl in Québec looking for a summer job; a man in San Francisco looking for a home; and some college students in Sweden looking for fun in the summer solstice.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Dir: Joe Talbot
Wri: Joe Talbot and Jimmy Fails
Jimmy Fails is a homeless skater from San Francisco, who travels by boardfrom placeto place. Brought up in a group home when his parents split up, he once lived in a car, and now crashes outside the city at his friend Montgomery’s place (Jonathan Majors). But he is constantly drawn back to the Fillmore district of San Francisco – once known as the Harlem of the West – and a particular house there. It’s a stunning piece of 
Victorian architecture complete with a witch’s hat tower. He’s helping preserve it in a gentrifying city. But he also has a hidden motive: His grandfather built that home by hand in the 1940s and Jimmy wants it back. So when the current owners move out in an inheritance dispute, Jimmy moves right in, bringing all the original furniture, carpets and photos with him. It’s an enchanted house, with intricate woodwork, hidden doors and a working pipe organ 
built right in. And Monty – who draws everything he sees in a sketchbook – writes a play to commemorate the house and its history. But how much is true and how much family legend? Can Jimmy actually live there permanently? Or has San Francisco become a city only for the rich?
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is an unusual, warm and wonderful story, part fact and part fiction. It’s based on Jimmy Fail’s own story – he plays himself. Another character, Kofi, jimmy’s frenemy from a 
group home, is played by the real Jamal Trulove, a San Francisco man falsely convicted of murder under Kamala Harris. It’s also an homage to an older San Francisco. It paints a disappearing city of soapbox preachers, panhandlers, buskers and organizers while subtly dealing with issues of poverty, housing, violence, renoviction, and environmental ruin. It’s narrated by a greek chorus of black commentators, Monty’s drawings, Jimmy’s family lore, and local legend.
This is a great movie, not to be missed.
The Fireflies are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)
Wri/Dir: Sébastien Pilote
Léonie (Karelle Tremblay) is a misanthropic teenager just finishing high school. She lives in a small city, a gorgeous inland port in northeast Quebec. near Sagueney. It’s a beautiful town but she hates it. She hates the smalltown attitude, she hates her hick friends and their pickup trucks and she despises her stepfather. She blames Paul (François Papineau) – a rightwing talk radio shock jock – for her parents divorce. Her Papa (Luc Picard) is a union 
organizer forced to leave town for work up north when the lumber mill closed, and now only visits every so often. Leo can’t wait to get out of this place, but in the meantime she gets a summer job tending to the local ballpark. It’s perfect – no human contact.
But when she meets a new face at the local diner she thinks things might be changing for the better. Steve (Pierre-Luc Brillant) is a loner like her, a middle-aged musician, formerly in a band, now supporting 
himself by giving guitar lessons in his mother’s basement. She signs up for lessons, they hit it off, and soon become friends. But can it last?
The Fireflies are Gone is a bittersweet coming of age drama about life in a picturesque but declining Quebec town. The title refers to the loss of innocence of an earlier era, but it’s also about Leo’s own ideals called into question when she discovers a hidden family secret. Tremblay is amazing as the angry young Leo and she holds this film together. And Brillant is brilliantly understated as Steve. While not perfect, Fireflies… is a good, realistic drama.
Midsommar
Wri/Dir: Ari Aster
Dani (Florence Pugh: Fighting with my Family) is a young woman in a long-term relationship with her non-commital boyfriend. Christian (Jack Reynor: Sing Street) likes Dani but doesn’t like all the responsibilities. He’d rather drink beer and smoke cannabis with his buds from college: Josh (William Jackson Harper: The Good Place) an anthropology keener; Mark (Will Poulter: The Revenant, We’re The MIllers) a self-centred twit, and Pelle (Vilhelm Blomgren) who’s from Sweden.
They’re planning a summer solstice bro trip to Pelle’s home village, where there’s lots of beautiful blond women, halucinagens and free sex. But when Dani suffers an unspeakably horrible loss, they let her come too.
At first glance the isolated village seems like a happy commune full of flower children, a holdover from the sixties. They sleep and eat communally, select their sex 
partners, and wear handwoven traditional outfits. They still sing their ancient songs, and write their scriptures (predicted by a handicapped oracle) using ancient runes. But in fact, their beliefs predate the hippies by centuries, dating back to pre-Christian days. The friends arrive to a warm welcome but soon reveal themselves as the prototypical “ugly Americans”, photographing sacred texts, urinating on an ancestral tree, and just generally behaving horribly. But the Swedes aren’t so nice either. And when people start 
disappearing, one by one, they suspect foul play. Will Dani and Christian’s struggling relationship survive? And can the Americans get out of this crazy place alive?
Midsommar is a fantastically strange horror/comedy/drama, Director Ari Aster second film after the great Hereditary, but is totally different from that one. In fact it defies all usual classifications. It’s a horror movie, but shot in bright sunlight, full of happy songs and dances. It also totally reverses the moralistic streak of most American horror movies. Victims aren’t “punished” for drug use or premarital sex; in fact that’s encouraged. Rather, it’s about naïve people facing a much older and darker world than they ever imagined. It’s scary, hilarious and grotesque, overflowing with intricate anthropological hints and winks. While definitely not for everyone, I love Midsommar.
It’s a weirdly perfect movie.
Midsommar is now playing in Toronto; check your local listings. The Fireflies are Gone and The Last Black Man in San Francisco both open today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Friday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Good genres. Films reviewed: Ishtar, Tokyo Vampire Hotel, Hereditary
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com.
As I frequently say, don’t confuse highbrow cinema with good movies, and genre films with bad movies. Good and bad exist in both worlds. This week I’m looking at three entertaining, genre movies: a comedy thriller, a horror movie and a horror/comedy. We’ve got lounge singers in a hotel in war-torn North Africa, a singles retreat in a hotel run by vampires, and a family living in a dollhouse-like home… that might be haunted.
Ishtar (1987)
Wri/Dir: Elaine May
Lyle Rogers (Warren Beatty) is a gullible rube from the sticks; while Chuck Clarke (Dustin Hoffman) is a fast-talking pickup artist from Queens. Together they’re Rogers and Clarke a musical duo of singer-songwriters in New York. They think they’re going to be the next Lennon and McCartney or Simon and Garfunkel, but they are missing one key element: talent! Needless to say, they’re going nowhere fast. Their savings are gone, and their girlfriends have left them, and their agent is far from helpful. But he does have a gig for them at a hotel in Morocco. Sounds good! So they fly, off via the remote (fictional) kingdom of Ishtar. 
But Ishtar is on the brink of revolution. And an ancient map that a local archaeologists has just found is the only spark needed to light that fire. Lyle and Chuck are clueless, of course, and just want to perform their act. But the hapless Americans are quickly drawn into this intrigue.
There’s a shifty American CIA agent (Charles Grodin) who convinces Chuck he can help their career; and a fiery revolutionary named Shirra (Isabelle Adjani) disguised as a young man who seduces Lyle to get him to help her cause. Will Rogers and Clarke split up? As fate 
would have it they end up in a camel caravan in the Sahara desert, pursued by militants, mercenaries, gun runners, nomads and US bombers, all convinced they have that crucial map.
When Ishtar came out in 1987 it was a collasal flop with many critics calling it the worst movie ever made. I disagree. I finally watched it and I think it’s a hoot. It’s funny and politically astute; when was the last mainstream comedy you saw with the CIA and US military as the bad guys? OK, its cultural impressions are rather obtuse, but it’s 
making fun of the American characters’ disguises not the locals. And it takes place before the “regime change” wars yet to come.
More than that, here are Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman — former icons — making fun of the whole generation of baby boomers, saying how did they all end up so uncool? Even their improvisational songs are bad-funny. If you’re yearning to see a forgotten piece of 80s culture, check out Ishtar.
Tokyo Vampire Hotel
Wri/Dir: Sion Sono
It’s 2022 in Tokyo, Japan, and something big is about to happen. Manami (Tomite Ami) can feel it. She’s about to turn 22 and is having strange thoughts. Like buzzing away at her hair until she looks like Eleven on Stranger Things. But when she witnesses a mass shooting inside a restaurant that kills everyone but her she really freaks. She barely escapes and owes her life to a mysterious woman named K (Kaho). That’s when Manami discovers the killings 
were committed by rival gangs searching for her. She is crucial to their plans, but she doesn’t know why.
Meanwhile, a major Tokyo hotel has invited singles to a special event – a dating weekend for coupling up. What the guests don’t know is the hotel is run by vampires. And they’re the main course. Add a rivalry between two vampire lineages, the Draculs and the Corvins, fighting for power; a Transylvania/Japan connection, and a Prime Minister who might destroy the world, 
and there you have it: a bloody, non-stop battle royale fought by rival vampires and hotel guests in a Tokyo hotel.
If you think that’s a lot of plot for one movie, you’re right. It’s actually a condensed version of a TV series, edited to fit into a single film. There are love affairs, Romanian castles, hidden rivers, a female killer dressed in pink, and sinister royal matriarchs, one of whom runs a secret world of blood orgies involving thousands of slaves… hidden inside her vagina! Tokyo Vampire Hotel isn’t for everyone, but I found it shocking, disgusting, sexy and hilarious.
Director Sion Sono is one of my favourite Japanese directors, a master schlockmeister unmatched when it comes to rivers of blood. Every frame uses saturated colours, and lightning-fast editing.
He treats blood as an art form, spilling it everywhere in a grotesquely beautiful way.
Heriditary
Wri/Dir: Ari Aster
Annie and Steve (Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne) are a happy middle aged couple with two kids. Peter (Alex Wolff) is a pothead in high school crushing on a girl from class. Charlie (MIllly Shapiro) is younger and a bit tetched in the head. She draws strange pictures and puts scraps of wood and metal together to make little dolls. She must have got that from her 
mom, an artist, who builds intricate doll houses that recreate important aspects of her own family’s lives. They live in a beautiful if isolated wooden home filled with her doll houses.
But ever since Annie’s own mother died, strange things keep happening in her house. Things like doors opening by themselves, and nonsense words found scrawled on walls. Charlie wanders off when she should be at home, Peter awakens 
from hideous nightmares, and mom finds herself sleepwalking holding a knife in a fugue state. What can it all mean? But when decapitated birds lead to human deaths, Annie feels she has to stop this. But what is she fighting aganst? And is she too late?
Hereditary is a chilling thriller/horror, beautifully made. You’re never quite sure if your watching Peter’s pot-fueled nightmares, Annie’s sleepwalking visions, life inside her intricate dollhouse dioramas, or 
real life. And by “real life” I mean supernatural goings on.
Scene changes are so skillfully done, it shifts seamlessly through these conflicting realities. This is director Ari Aster’s first feature but the acting, art direction and camera work turns a conventional story into a remarkable film.
Great movie.
Hereditary opens today in Toronto; Ishtar is at TIFF Cinematheque as part of Funny Girl: The Films of Elaine May; and Tokyo Vampire Club is playing at Toronto’s Japanese Film Festival.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Friday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
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