Tag: Sandra Huller

The Zone Of Interest (2023) Review

On By troubledproductionsIn ReviewLeave a comment

Quick Synopsis: In this drama written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, a couple (Rudolf Hoss and Sandra Huller) struggle to raise their children under the pressures of his work, that work? Commandant of a concentration camp.

The Zone Of Interest (Tzoi, pronounced Soy) is an important film. The holocaust is a strange and emotive subject. We are taught a lot about it, and the facts are discussed often in modern society. So, we learn a lot about it, but we don’t learn much FROM it. We don’t discuss how the Nazis used language specifically to dehumanise people so that the treatment of them was deemed more appropriate. If we did learn that lesson, we wouldn’t have politicians describing refugees as “vermin”. We don’t discuss how the citizens of Germany ignored what was going on for their own comfort. If we did, then we wouldn’t be okay with the government essentially making homelessness illegal by arresting anybody sleeping rough in the street. So we do need films like this, even in a time far removed from the events. We need something that shows how to some people it wasn’t a constant threat to their lives, it was just something that happened to other people. To some people involved, it wasn’t the most important part of their lives, it was just something they worked on to get a promotion. TZOI’s focus on the “banality of evil” is both its greatest strength and its biggest flaw. The fact that Glazer focuses so much on the mundane and regularness of the family is fascinating and incredibly harrowing. But lets face it, watching people do nothing for 105 minutes soon does become quite dull, that level of boring mundane stops being fascinating and starts becoming, well, boring and mundane.

A lot goes unsaid and happens in the background. But it could have done a slightly better job of pushing some of that to the front. I’m not asking to make it very obvious, but there are a few moments (particularly at the end) where a bit of clarification would have improved not only the understanding but also helped push through the idea and message that the film was trying to put forward.

Outside of the normality of Nazi life, there’s not really that much to it. It makes its point, and then continues to make that same point, never developing or adding to its themes. Once you’ve watched 5 minutes, really you’ve seen it all. In general, it leaves you with a hollow(caust) feeling, a realisation that this would have been far better as a short.

The worst realisation though? The fact that the people who need to learn the lessons from this is trying to teach, are the EXACT type of people who won’t watch a film like this. It’s essentially preaching to the converted.

It’s a shame, as this is at times fascinating, and depressingly real. It’s shot very realistically. Not like a documentary, with static shots and a set of people well aware they’re being filmed. It’s more like you’re an invisible witness to the goings-on. Sandra Huller continues to be one of those performers I now feel guilty for not paying attention to sooner. Christian Friedel as Rudolf Hoss is a revelation. His non-verbal reactions are key to the horrors TZOI contains. He is helped by the script giving him a lot to work with, there’s a moment near the end where he is so overcome with revulsion over his acts that he tries to vomit, but is unable to. It’s reminiscent of the (incredibly disturbing) documentary The Act Of Killing. There are lots of subtle moments which are equally horrifying (finding body parts in the river his family swim in, the soundtrack of slight screaming), but none have quite as much humanity as that moment does.

I do like how the ending shows that his legacy wasn’t as a great commander, but of the builder of one of the most horrific displays of humanity anybody has ever witnessed. His name is not sung in glorious tones but is instead spat out with disgust and hatred.

Like I said, there’s a lot to, well, not exactly “enjoy”, but appreciate. I just, I kind of wish it had bigger ambitions than “Art Student Film”.

2023 In Film: Day Eight (The Very Good)

On By troubledproductionsIn Year round upLeave a comment

Anatomy Of A Fall

Ups: Genuinely compelling.

Likeable characters

Flows beautifully.

Downs: Feels a bit too ITV at times.

Best Moment: The courtroom scenes themselves are sensationally tense.

Worst Moment(s): A moment that’s not there; the year between the event and the trial. I’d have liked to have seen more from that.

Best Performer: Sandra Huller

Opening: Sandra’s interview keeps getting interrupted by her husband playing a flamenco cover of a 50 Cent song. Rather damn tense, but doesn’t really set up the genre until later.

Closing: The court case is adjourned. It does seem to end rather quickly, with no idea of what happens next.

Best Line: Sometimes a couple is kind of a chaos and everybody is lost. Sometimes we fight together and sometimes we fight alone, and sometimes we fight against each other, that happens

Original Review here

Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3

Ups: Genuinely emotional.

Funny.

An utterly detestable villain

Good cast chemistry

Downs: The music isn’t as good as the previous entries.

Some issues with the tone.

It really is time that the MCU started advancing its overall narrative.

Best Moment: The hallway fight scene. One of the best action set pieces in the MCU

Worst Moment: The post-credits scene is a waste of time, even by phase four MCU standards.

Best Performer: Chukwudi Iwuji

Opening: The group are attacked at their new headquarters. Standard Guardians opening, but not as good as has been done before.

Closing: Everyone goes their separate ways; still alive. Because Marvel isn’t going to kill any characters now.

Best Line: Someday I’m gonna make great machines that fly. And me and my friends are gonna go flying together, into the forever and beautiful sky.

Original Review here

Holy Spider

Ups: Shockingly violent.

The police officer going from “I’m a sensitive nice guy” to “Well what if I don’t want to leave? Slut” is painfully real to see play out. His wife blaming the women is also up there.

Ali Abbasi NEEDED to tell this story.

Downs: Some of the subtitles haven’t been translated properly.

The editing isn’t too great in some places.

Best Moment: The brief look of pride on his son’s face when he’s talking about strangling people

Worst Moment: When she runs for safety, it cuts too quickly to really be effective.

Best Performer: Mehdi Bajestani

Opening: “Every Man Shall Meet What He Wishes To Avoid”. Then a naked woman doing her hair, with her back covered in bruises. Few more random scenes, then footage of 9/11. It does everything it can to cause emotions.

Closing: He gets hanged. He thought he was going to get away with it but turns out his friends had sold him out. I like the fact that he died afraid, and the irony of him being killed by lack of oxygen is nice to see. That should have been how it ended, as it was, it carried on to her on a couch watching videos. Disappointing. Or so I thought. But then she watches videos of his son, and he’s talking about how he plans to continue his dad’s work; demonstrating how his dad killed them, like he was doing something great. Demonstrating on his sister. Thankfully just a soft recreation, not actually killing her. But it’s still horrific to watch in terms of what it implies about societal bullshit.

Best Line: “Prostitution is a societal problem. You don’t sell your body on the street unless you’re poor and desperate”. I think that line actually leads a bit of nuance to the guy’s belief and helps you realise that he has a genuine reason for wanting to end prostitution.

Original Review here

Joy Ride

Ups: Very funny

Utterly filthy.

Great performances.

Unapologetically Asian.

Downs: Some scenes go on a bit too long.

Some side characters feel wasted.

Best Moment: The video recording from her birth mother.

Worst Moment: The WAP scene, it drags ever so slightly towards the end of it.

Best Performer: Ashley Park

Opening: The two characters meet. A sweet and funny scene that showcases their relationship, and give the parents some depth two. One set are nervous and fed up of not being thought of as American, and the other set of parents just want a friend for their daughter. It also features a racist being injured and sworn at.

Closing: Simple “one year from now”. Nice, and doesn’t sequel hook.

Best Line: My vagina is the devil and she’s here to stay!

Original Review here

M3gan

Ups: Very funny

Has a superb Chekov’s Gun involving a giant robot.

Weirdly sweet at times.

Downs: There’s a few moments where the editing is a bit off. Most of the time it’s fine. But there’s a moment in the office where it’s a bit sudden and disorientating.

Best Moment: When M3gan is being disconnected. You know what’s going to happen, it’s obvious, but it’s still incredibly tense trying to figure out WHEN it will happen. It’s the cinematic equivalent of Buckaroo, only with slightly more death.

Worst Moment: The bits which aren’t in there. Like, what happened to certain people? And what impact does this have on the company?

Best Performer: Violet McGraw. Although I did think she was Ava Acres until about five minutes ago.

Opening: A very cutesy/disturbing advert for a fictional toy. Followed by a car crash which kills the parents of Cady. Her parents are actually shown as fully realised characters, so it doesn’t feel like it’s wasting time.

Closing: The not-Alexa turns itself on, implying M3gan is now in that. That’s how you do a sequel hook: there’s potential for it to continue, but it still feels like a complete story. It CAN have a sequel, but it doesn’t NEED one. Although I will be curious how they’ll have an excuse to keep the same design for M3gan if they do continue. Her look was a big part of her charm.

Best Line: Cady, you lost your parents. The worst thing that could’ve happened to you in this world happened. And it is so unfair, and there is nothing anyone can say to make sense of it. Not even M3gan. I am so sorry. I should’ve talked to you about what happened. I didn’t know what to say, so I did the only thing I knew how to do. But she’s not a solution. She’s just a distraction. I can’t promise you that these feelings you’re feeling are ever gonna go away. But I can promise you that you’ll get through it. We both will.

Original Review here

Quiz Lady

Ups: Funny.

It’s nice to have something just designed to make you feel warm and fuzzy.

Good subversions of the expected character types.

Downs: Predictable.

Could do more.

Doesn’t use the music available to it in the best way.

Best Moment: The quiz show itself.

Worst Moment: The Ben Franklin-themed hotel seems like an idea that was hilarious on paper but didn’t really add anything on screen.

Best Performer: Awkwafina.

Opening: Anne sits down to watch a quiz show in 1996 as an argument goes on around her. Her older sister is on the phone nearby and reaches for the remote. I assumed she was going to turn the volume down so she could talk on the phone, but she turned it up instead so her sister could hear it. It’s weirdly sweet. Helps that the child actress they got looks SOOOO much like Awkwafina.

Closing: Ends exactly how you think it would end. But then you get a “what happened to everybody” montage which is hilarious.

Best Line: “Linguini became a social media star, making $200k per post. This makes him richer than most families and proves capitalism has gone too far”

Original Review here

Rye Lane

Ups: Very believable relationship between the two leads.

Adorkable

Very creatively shot

Downs: The traditional third-act argument doesn’t feel real, and the grand gesture feels underwhelming.

Best Moment: The dinner with Dom’s ex.

Worst Moment: The argument.

Best Performer: David Jonsson

Opening: The meet-cute. Happens very early on and I’m all for it. Actually, that’s another point, this film is remarkably paced.

Closing: They end up together. Obviously.

Best Line: So apparently there are two types of people in this world. The ones who wave at boats, and the ones who hate joy.

Original Review here

The Creator

Ups: Looks incredible.

How was it done on this budget?

Gets you asking questions.

Downs: Missing THAT iconic needle drop.

Important plot points are glossed over too quickly.

Best Moment: The reveal that the disaster that wiped out humanity was human error, not AI. Changes everything.

Worst Moment: 3 seconds later when you realise that the reveal has changed nothing.

Best Performer: John David Washington

Opening: Newsposition. Goes from real news to fictional seamlessly and makes the world seem real.

Closing: The two main human characters die but the world is saved. Cliche but works.

Best Line: Go make love to yourself. Go make love to your mother.

Original Review here

The Marvels

Ups: Fun.

Iman Vellani is a delight.

Perfect chemistry.

Good visuals.

FINALLY starts to set up the next stage.

Downs: Villain is defeated too easily.

Wastes the swapping gimmick.

Best Moment: “Memories”. Just absurd.

Worst Moment: The singing planet. Mainly because it could have been sooooo much better.

Best Performer: Iman Vellani

Opening: Standard “villain finds weapon” opening.

Closing: Confirmation of X-Men/young avengers.

Best Line: Okay, no more touching shit. Especially glowing, mysterious shit.

Original Review here