Dysfunctional Dystopia? Films reviewed: Sentimental Value, The Running Man, Left-Handed Girl
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Still more Fall film festivals coming at you in Toronto, with the EU film fest — free films from each country of the European Union, plus Ukraine — and Ekran, the Polish Film Festival. So much to see, but look out for Agnieszaka Holland’s biopic of Franz Kafka (called Franz) at Ekran.
But this week, I’m looking at three great new movies, one action and two dramas. There’s an estranged family in Oslo; a fugitive on the run in a dystopian America, and a dysfunctional family in Taipei, Taiwan.
Sentimental Value
Co-Wri/Dir: Joachim Trier
Nora Borg (Renate Reinsve) is a successful stage actress who lives in a grand old house in Oslo. It’s been in her family for generations: it’s where her grandmother killed herself, and where she grew up with her sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) and their mom. Their dad, Gustav, (Stellan Skarsgård) disappeared after their divorce when she was still young, and they haven’t heard much from him in decades. Until now. Their mom just died and she and her sister have to deal with the house and go through all their family’s possessions (that’s the “sentimental value” of the title). And dad owns part of the house, too. But he has a second reason for showing up.
He wants to make a movie there, to use the house as his set. He’s a famous film director, but not in his prime anymore; he hasn’t shot a movie in decades. And he wants Nora in the main role of what is likely his swan song. You’re the only one who can do it, he says, just read the script! Nora refuses; bad blood runs deep. So, partly to get the funding he needs to make the picture, Gustav casts a Hollywood actress to play the role that Nora turned down. Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) is a big name, and she’s also a fan of Gustav’s work. What will happen to the house? Will Gustav make his film? And will they ever be on speaking terms again?
Sentimental Value is dramatic comedy about a Norwegian family. It’s full of clever asides and wide-ranging topics, but with a solid core at its centre. What makes Trier such a good director (The Worst Person in the World, Thelma, Oslo August 31st) is he creates believable characters in tough situations but without losing his sense of humour. He constantly plays around with his audience as to what is real and what is 
artifice: we see Nora having a deep, emotional breakdown and then discover she’s acting a role on a stage set. He also uses biting satire to get his points across, skewering the superficiality of both Hollywood and bourgeois Norwegian society. He also repeatedly casts from a company of actors in his films. Elle Fanning and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård are new, but Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie are familiar faces if you’ve ever seen Trier’s movies (and if you haven’t, you should).
Sentimental Value is moving, funny and full of good stuff to think about. I really liked this one.
The Running Man
Co-Wri/Dir: Edgar Wright
Based on a story by Steven King
It’s some point in the not-so-distant future in a dystopian America. A few rich people live luxurious lives, but the majority eke out a precarious existence within the endless sprawl of urban slums. They’re constantly surveilled by cameras, drones and DNA detectors while a brutal paramilitary police force patrols the streets. What keeps the people satisfied? Watching the reality shows and game shows broadcast from a single, big-brother-like monopoly network which controls the government, big business and media.
Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is a skilled labourer and union rep. He also has a volatile temper. He points out dangerous problems on the shop floor, which in this world gets you fired. So he’s out of work, his wife depends on tips in a hostess bar, and their 5 year old daughter is dying of an ordinary flu because they can’t afford basic medicine. What to do? There’s only one choice left: compete on THE RUNNING MAN, a reality show where all contestants try to survive for 30 days being hunted by a gang of professional killers. The winner gets a huge cash prize. And the losers pay with their lives. Luckily, the show’s producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin) takes a liking to Ben Richards — he’s smart, strong and most of all, angry! And the audience starts to like him… and his messages of rebellion. Can Ben outsmart the powers that be and survive? Or will the Network crush him, like they did with every Runner before him?
The Running Man is a non-stop action movie, with good 
acting and an interesting plot. It’s set in the future, but done in a 1980s style, with zines, nerds and gadgets over spacemen and phasers. There are chase scenes using planes, trains and automobiles, and fiery explosions that level a city block. Glen Powell is wonderful in the lead role, appealing and heroic, painted like a Luigi Mangione fighting the corporate super-villain played by a slimy Josh Brolin. Director Edgar Wright — who brought us Toronto’s greatest Scott Pilgrim vs the Universe — keeps it funny and nerdy; he even casts Michael Cera as a nerdy revolutionary.
The Running Man is a lot of fun to watch.
Left-Handed Girl
Co-Wri/Dir: Shih-Ching Tsou
It’s Taipei’s night market, and a small family is moving into a tiny apartment nearby: I-Jing (Nina Ye) a little girl with a wild imagination, I-Ann (Shih-Yuan Ma) a diffident teenager with a chip on her shoulder, and their hardworking mom (Janel Tsai). She’s opening up a noodle stall to pay their basic rent cheque. Dad is nowhere to be seen; he ran off years ago, leaving the family high and dry. I-Jing quickly adjusts to her new kindergarten class and life in the constantly-moving marketplace. She even helps Johnny (Brando Huang) — a huckster with a heart of gold who sells carnival junk to unsuspecting shoppers — by making announcements on his loudspeaker. Mom is constantly busy, cooking and cleaning her stall, but can’t seem to earn a living. She also takes time to visit her ex-husband, now dying of cancer in hospital. Sadly he leaves his 
abandoned family nothing but funeral debts and a pet meerkat. And I-Ann — who was once top of her class until she suddenly dropped out — works as a scantily-clad “betel nut beauty” selling smokes and the addictive chewing treat from her boyfriend’s shop.
But things get tense when the kids’ Mom is forced to visit their grandparents to ask for some money to tide them over. Mom’s brother is the golden boy who can do no wrong, and her two sisters both live in nice houses and are unsympathetic about her economic condition. And worst of all is grandpa, who scolds i-Jing for being left handed. He tells her left hand belongs to the devil (which she interprets as having an evil hand over which she has no control.) Now grandma is smuggling migrants through airports, mom faves eviction from the market, I-Ann missed her last period, and tiny I-Jing is turning into an avid shoplifter, using her “devil’s hand” to do the dirty work. Can this dysfunctional family ever pull itself back together?
Left-Handed Girl is a social drama about a family of women living on the brink. It’s tender, shocking and hilarious. It’s full of fast, clang-y music, flashy lights and hyper-saturated colour. It’s specifically Taiwanese in details (from bubble tea to class snobbery) but universal in its emotional appeal. And it’s co-written and edited by Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket, Anora), who swept the Oscars last year with Anora. The characters speak Chinese but it’s clearly a Sean Baker movie, full of imperfect women in precarious times. And its Taiwanese-American director Shih-Ching Tsou worked on all of Baker’s films, so this is part of a long term partnership, with her taking the helm. And it’s Taiwan’s selection for best international Oscar.
I loved Left-Handed Girl, too.
Sentimental Value — opening this weekend — and Left-Handed Girl — next weekend — both played at TIFF. And The Running Man is now playing across Canada; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website culturalmining.com.
Valentine’s Day Rom-Coms. Films reviewed: Marry Me, The Worst Person in the World
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s Valentine’s Day weekend and the movie theatres are open. Wanna go on a date? There’s lots of stuff to see. So this week, I’m looking at two new romantic comedies. There’s a pop star who meets a schoolteacher in New York City; and a student who meets a comic book artist in Oslo.
Marry Me
Dir: Kat Coiro
It’s present-day New York City. Charlie (Owen Wilson) is a math teacher and divorced dad in Brooklyn. He is trying to win the affection of his only daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman), who is now a student at his school. He coaches the math club, but Lou doesn’t want to join it. But when his best friend and fellow teacher Parker (Sarah Silverman), says she has three tickets to a big event, he reluctantly agrees to come with his daughter. The concert features pop superstars Kat Valdez and Bastian (Jenifer Lopez and Maluma). The two are deeply in love and plan to marry on stage as part of the release of a new ballad version of their latest smash hit, Marry Me. Lou and Parker are very excited because they are huge 
fans, but Charlie has never even heard of them. Then, at the show, something goes terribly wrong. Immediately before singing the Marry Me song before tens of millions of online viewers, Kat discovers Bastian has been cheating on her. In a fit of rage, she refuses to marry him and instead points to a random man in the audience — Charlie! A few minutes later, on stage before the cameras, she asks him to marry her… and he says OK. Of course it’s just a publicity stunt, but, after consulting with her kindly manager, she decides to make a go of it. After all, her previous three marriages didn’t work out, who’s to say a marriage to a random guy couldn’t work? But can an ordinary man and a fabulously wealthy and famous woman become a happily married couple? Or is it just an impossible dream of separate worlds?
Marry Me is a cute rom-com with a few twists: the ordinary guy is white, while the rich and powerful woman is Latin; then there’s the fact that the romantic leads are both in their fifties — especially unusual for female leads. Owen Wilson is still projecting his perpetual dumb-boy energy, and J-Lo is just being J-Lo — a large portion of the film is devoted to music. Acting is not the main point here. It’s also pretty predictable, but that’s why people go to rom-coms, a once-popular genre that has fallen by the wayside. Will Marry Me be its comeback? Probably not. I’m not a fan of the music or the stars, but despite all that I still found it watchable and cute.
The Worst Person in the World
Co-Wri/Dir: Joachim Trier
Julie (Renate Reinsve) is a middle-class woman in her 20s in Oslo, Norway. She’s bright, pretty, confident and opinionated, but can’t quite figure out what she wants in life, both professionally and personally. She studies a number of disciplines — medicine, psychology, photography — and is very good at whatever she does… but can’t quite find her niche. She does find love, though. She hooks up with a guy named Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie) an underground comic artist. He created a Fritz the Cat-type character named Bobcat. He’s 15 years older than her, but she decides to put her own life on hold and move in with him. But she gets restless.
One night she crashes a party and meets a guy named Elvind (Herbert Nordrum). They hit it off immediately and have an intimate verbal encounter, without technically cheating on their respective spouses. They don’t exchange names and swear to never meet again. Thing is, Oslo’s a big city, but not that big. They do meet again, in a bookstore 
where Julie works. Is Elvind the one she’s always been looking for? Or is Aksel? And will she ever find happiness?
To call The Worst Person in the World a rom-com doesn’t do it justice. It’s more of a long, complex dramatic comedy. It’s told in 12 chapters, and the prologue alone could have been its own movie. It’s also a social satire, dealing wth diverse issues — family, relationships, pregnancy, politics, selling out to the man, sexism, psychedelic drugs, “cancel culture” — even death. And I really love Joachim Trier’s movies (Thelma, Oslo, August 31st ). I guess that’s why I found this one disappointing. It’s not bad, or cheesy or cheap —he 
doesn’t make movies like that. It’s well-made, and well acted, nice design and music. And there’s tons of fascinating ideas and content, but it’s thrown at the viewer, almost indifferently, chapter after chapter after chapter. There’s a superficial melancholy to the whole thing, which makes it hard to sympathize with Julie. She’s not the worst person in the world by any means, but she’s not a heroine either. Is it worth seeing? Certainly, there’s lots to chew on, and it made me think. It’s just not as funny, sad, moving or romantic as I might have liked. Just more of that empty, Scandinavian hollowness. It’s actually less of a rom-com than a romantic tragedy… without the tears.
Marry Me just opened and The Worst Person in the World is now playing at the Tiff Bell Lightbox in Toronto; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com
Looking for trouble. Films reviewed: Thelma, Amerika Square, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
More fall film festivals: The EU Film Fest brings free movies from across Europe to Toronto; and look out for the all-Canadian horror festival called Blood in the Snow – BITS for short – coming next weekend.
We all face trouble at times, but some people seem to invite it. This week I’m looking at movies about people getting into trouble. There’s a bigot in Athens trying to make trouble, a young woman in Oslo trying to avoid trouble, and a middle-aged woman in Missouri who acts like trouble is her middle name.
Thelma
Dir: Joachim Trier
It’s present day Norway. Thelma (Eili Harboe) is a teenaged girl at university in Oslo who is living on her own for the very first time. She was homeschooled by devout Christian parents including a very strict father. Aside from frequent calls from her parents checking up on her, Thelma is suddenly free to discover life on her own. She gets invited to parties, drinks beer, has arguments about politics, and flirts with an obnoxious boy who pursues her relentlessly. It’s thrilling, but also scary. Strange things seem to happen around her when she’s nervous. When she really starts to panic she shakes, 
shivers, and collapses into what look like epileptic seizures. But are they? And all around her nature seems to react: birds crash into windows, leaves rustle, then things start to shake, break and shatter.
Anja (Kaja Wilkins) is one of her classmates who looks out for her. They seem to have a psychic bond, meeting almost at random – when athelma wants to see her, she seems to just 
appear. More than that, there’s a strong sexual attraction between the two of them. But Thelma is afraid to tell her the truth: when she thinks hard enough she unleashes forces that can make people… disappear!
Thelma is a terrific coming of age drama full of suspense, mystery and the supernatural. It’s been called the Norwegian Carrey – fundamentalist christian girl with telekinetic powers – but it’s also totally different. She’s not bullied, she’s not weak, and there’s a fascinating love story in the mix.
Harboe and Wilkins — great as Thelma and Anja — are both new faces I want to see more of.
Amerika Square
Dir: Yannis Sakandis
Present-day Athens. Billy (Yannis Stankoglou) is a chill tattoo artist who runs his own shop. He looks like a young Bruce Springsteen in a diverse, workingclass neighbourhood. He lives in an apartment block near Amerika Square, a rundown local park. He just wants to live his life. Tarek (Vassilis Koukalani) is a Syrian refugee with a small daughter. He wants to make his way to safety in Germany, but 
keeps failing. And when he gets separated from his daughter he breaks into panic mode. Tereza (Ksenia Dania) is a beautiful, biracial nightclub singer (who speaks Greek). She wants to escape local hoodlums who control her. She meets Billy when 
she asks him to rewrite her tattoo and free her from virtual slavery. Is there something more between Billy and Tereza? Nakos (Makis Papadimitriou) is overweight and underemployed. He’s in his late thirties but still lives with his parents. He is obsessed with foreigners – he methodically counts how many live in the apartment and worries there will be more immigrants than Greeks. They’re changing everything and taking over! he says. His own 
parents migrated to Athens from a small village, but he considers the square his own. And he’s willing to do almost anything to drive the immigrants out. Will this include murder?
Amerika Square is a good drama about the current conflicts in Athens and across Europe. It looks at the plight of refugees and migrants, locals who welcome them, and the rise of rightwing groups who violently oppose immigration. It follows an ensemble cast in a complex storylines that all comes together in the end, along with a few ironic plot twists.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Wri/Dir: Martin McDonagh
Mildred (Frances McDormand) is a divorced woman who runs a gift shop in tiny Ebbing Missouri. She’s been on edge since her teenaged daughter was brutally raped and murdered. The police have yet to charge anyone with the crime. So she rents three derelict billboards on a road near her home. The billboards, like giant Burma Shave signs, ask in garish letters, why Police Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) hasn’t caught the killer. But when the story is picked up by local media, the powers that be fight back: highschool bullies, her dentist, even a priest. They strongly pressure her to take down the signs, and attack her friends, employees and even her son (Lucas Hedges). But she refuses. 
This ignites a feud between Mildred and one cop in particular, the corrupt and bigoted Dixon (Sam Rockwell). Dixon lives with his gravelly voiced mother who goads him on to greater and greater acts of violence. But Mildred fights back, upping the ante from words to fistfights, to shooting to firebombing.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri is a satisfying, exciting, but extremely violent movie about irascible characters facing big issues in a small town. I call it cutely violent – which fits with the director’s other movies: In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths. The violence is extreme and graphic, but it always retains a touch of humour. Peter Dinklage and Sam Rockwell are back again, but this time a woman is allowed to shine in the lead role, with great results. Frances McDormand is perfect as this hateable/loveable character. Mildred might curse a blue streak but you can still see the heart in this irascible, hard-ass woman.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF17.
Thelma and Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri both open today in Toronto; check our local listings. Amerika Square is playing at Toronto’s European Union Film Festival. Go to euffto.com for details.
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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