SWING KIDS (1993) Robert sean Leonard, Christian Bale, Kenneth Brannagh.
Directed by Thomas Carter, Swing kids is a rites of passage story set in Nazi Germany during the late 1930's. Though Swing Jazz might not be everyone's cup of tea. Its interesting to get a glimpse of what life might have been like for the first teenage sub-culture.
While America wore the Zoot suit, to signify alligence to the jive scene the German kids wore British fashion. Predictably the nazi's didn't like the kids favouring a Black music and so began turning the Hitler Youth loose on the rebels.
The music and Dance sequences are great!
THE PUNK ROCK MOVIE...Various Artists.
Directed or should that be misdirected by Don Letts, The punk rock movie was filmed largely in '76 and '77. Like the punk rock scene this movie is chaotic, without structure and exudes the anarchic attitude of DIY.
Don Letts was in the right place at the right time, to document the rise of punk rock, in the "Fly on the wall" Style. Grainy images of super 8 footage via with a varying spectrum of sound bites. That range from inlegible to quite reasonable.
I marvel at how young everyone was then, makes me scared to look at my own photos from the same period.
As good as it gets (1997) Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt.
Directed by James L Brooks, as good as it gets is a superb romantic comedy. Stars Jack Nicolson as a bitter and twisted romantic novelist, who falls for a waitress in a Diner. Its a great character study in which Nicolson plays his part well presenting himself as Melvin Udall, a racist, homophobic, anti - semite. Who suffers from Obssesive compulsive disorder. In the first five minutes of the film Melvin manages to alienate half the neighbourhood around him and in particular his camp neighbour, played by Greg Kinnear, whose dog Melvin has dumped down the aparment's block rubbish chute. Cuba Gooding Jnr, makes an appearance as agent and friend of the gay guy who is an artist. He bullys Melvin into taking the Gay guy's dog, when the artist is recovering from a savage assault. Little by little Melvin becomes a better person.
La Haine (1995) Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kondé, Saíd Taghmaoui.
Shot in black and white, this cinemagraphic movie was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. It focus on a single day in the life of a Jewish guy, an Arabic guy and an African guy who come from the Parisian housing projects. Following a riot because a friend of theirs was comatosed by police brutality, Vinz vows if their friend dies he will kill a police officer in retaliation. He has the means having found a revolver belonging to a french policeman, but does he have the determination to carry it out ? This is the question that follows them as the three of them argue and bicker their way through this fateful day. (English subtitles).
Red Beard (1965) Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, who is more famous for the original screenplay (Seven Samuri) remodelled into "The Magificent seven" by the American studios, as well as the original storyline of "A fistful of dollars" (Yojimbo).
By Comparison Red Beard is more sedate, yet a deeper film for the lack of violence. The story pivots around the relationship between a slum area Doctor and his arrogant new trainee, who had expectations of grandeur and resents his mentor and the environment he finds himself in. It is a study of the Soul, as the young doctor firstly rebels and then through a series of patients stories in which he is involved. He learns to drop his arrogance and selffishness and become a better person and doctor.
Red Beard is a series of smaller tales held together by the main plot described above. Its a fantastic study of human nature and growth. (English Subtitles)