Wes Anderson: The French Dispatch

Director - Wes Anderson

Writers - Wes Anderson (screenplay), Roman Coppola (story), Hugo Guinness (story) and Jason Schwartzman (story)

Plot:

 

 

From the visionary mind of Wes Anderson, THE FRENCH DISPATCH brings to life a collection of stories from the final issue of an American magazine published in the fictional 20th-century French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. Many of the world’s most beloved stars shine in this love story to journalists, including Benicio Del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand,Léa Seydoux, Stephen Park, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Lyna Khoudri, Mathieu Amalric, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman, Henry Winkler, Anjelica Huston and Bill Murray. Following the death of Arthur Howitzer, editor of The French Dispatch, Howitzer’s staff convenes to write his obituary, leading to the creation of four stories: One, inspired by writer Herbsaint Sazerac (Wilson), is an unsettling travelogue of the seediest sections of the city. J.K.L. Berensen (Swinton) offers “The Concrete Masterpiece” about Moses Rosenthaler (Del Toro), a criminally insane painter, and his prison guard and muse (Seydoux). “Revisions to a Manifesto” by Lucinda Krementz (McDormand, whose character is an homage to The New Yorker’s iconic writer Mavis Gallant), is a chronicle of love and death at the height of student revolt. And writer Roebuck Wright (Jeffrey Wright) pens a suspenseful tale of drugs, kidnapping and fine dining, cop style, with “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner.” THE FRENCH DISPATCH is filled with the intriguing, visually rewarding, complex, detailed and funny elements audiences have come to expect from writer-director Wes Anderson.

-www.moviesanywhere.com

Cast                                      Character

Timothée Chalamet     ...        Zeffirelli 

Saorise Ronan            ...        Junkie/Showgirl #1

Elisabeth Moss           ...        Alumna

Léa Seydoux             ...       Simone

Edward Norton         ...       The chauffeur 

Tilda Swinton           ...       J.K.L. Berensen 

Rupert Friend           ...       Drill-Sergeant 

Willem Dafoe           ...      Albert 'the Abacus' 

Christopher Waltz    ...      Paul Duval

Adrien Brody            ...     Julian Cadazio

Benicio Del Toro       ...    Moses Rosenthaler

Owen Wilson            ...    Herbsaint Sazerac

Jeffrey Wright          ...    Roebuck Wright

Liev Schreiber         ...     Talk Show Host

Frances McDormand    ...   Lucinda Krementz

Anjelica Huston         ...   Narrator (voice)

Jason Schwartzman     ...  Hermes Jones

Henry Winkler            ...  Uncle Joe

Fisher Stevens            ...  Story Editor

Cécile de France           ...  Mrs. B.

Lyna Khoudri                 ...  Juliette

Steve Park                     ...  Nescaffier 

Bill Murray                   ...  Arthur Howitzer, Jr. 

Griffin Dunne               ...  Legal Advisor

Bob Balaban                ...  Uncle Nick

Thoughts:

The French Dispatch is an anthology by comedic legend of dry humor, Wes Anderson. What I liked most besides the humor, characters, cinematography, story and structure was how Bill Murray's character, Arthur Howitzer, Jr., never cut his writers' stories in the movie. He always believed in the content of their stories. 

According to Alex Buono, "Anderson has been noted for extensive use of flat space camera moves, symmetrical compositions, knolling, snap-zooms, slow-motion walking shots, a deliberately limited color palette, and hand-made art direction often utilizing miniatures." (Buono) This is good to know to give you sense of how unique and distinctive his films are. Alex Buono's site is great for learning about cinematography in general. 

According to Kodak.com, "Shot on Kodak 35mm color and B&W filmstocks, by regular cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman ASC, Anderson's next and highly-anticipated comedy, The French Dispatch, promises more of the same. ... All were shot on 35mm film except Moonrise Kingdom, which harnessed 16mm." If you are curious what type of camera they shot with, "We were shooting with a Cooke S4 25mm lens on an Arri ST at 200 ASA." (ascmag.com) 

SPOILERS

The film begins with Editor-in-Chief Arthur Howitzer, Jr's obituary. It takes place in Ennui-sur-Blasé, France which is a fictionalized Paris. "Ennui and blasé mean roughly the same thing: a world-weary boredom, apathy and sophistication." (IMDB.com) The French Dispatch is a newspaper by Howitzer which covers weekly world politics, the arts, high and low, fashion, fancy cuisine, fine drink, and diverse stories of human interests set in faraway quartiers. A quartier is a district of a French city.

One of the shots near the beginning of the outside of the building reminds you of the shot of the tenement building in Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese. Speaking of Martin Scorsese, he chose Wes Anderson as the next Scorsese when asked by various people. 

The French Dispatch has a shot of one of the writers diagramming a sentence which are known to be infuriatingly difficult. I found it funny since I failed a Linguistics type class called Structure of English Language. I should have dropped that class.

The writers discuss what to publish and a teenager comes in saying, "A messenger from the foreman, one hour to press." Howitzer says, "You're fired." The teenager asks, "really?" Howitzer responds, "Don't cry in my office." The teenager looks up above the door which says "no crying." It's hilarious. 

Sazerac played by Owen Wilson liked to write about the dregs of society - the hobos, pimps, prostitutes and junkies. He writes about everyday people also but not high society. He is relatable. This is opposite of say Travis Bickle's character in Taxi Driver who hated these types of people. He says, "All the animals come out at night - whores, skunk pussies, buggers, queens, fairies, dopers, junkies, sick, venal. Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets. I go all over. I take people to the Bronx, Brooklyn, I take 'em to Harlem. I don't care. Don't make no difference to me. It does to some. Some won't even take spooks. Don't make no difference to me." (IMDB.com) The way Wes Anderson movies are filmed are so distinctive. What I mean is he has a style that is his own, a signature. This can be contrasted to the cookie cutter type comic book movies that all look the same except the exceptional Joker. They're not bad but if you've seen one, you've seen them all. That's all I am saying. Other good comic book movies that should be given a chance are The Dark Knight Trilogy, Watchmen, The Crow, and Logan. So I guess they're not all the same but a lot are.

Inside the prison the film is now in black and white and there is a cool whip pan shot while the camera dollies in which must have been a difficult shot especially for the focus puller. I remember I did a little bit of focus pulling in film school and it was not easy. The best way to appreciate something and realize how difficult it is, is to try it yourself like teaching. Teaching well is one of the hardest jobs that I think exist in the world. The naked model is none other than Moses's (Benicio Del Toro) prison guard, Simone, which is hilarious. Also his paintings are not like his subject matter at all. If you want to see a great prison film I suggest A Prophet (2009) by Jacques Audiard. Brutal stuff. 

Moses's Rosenthal's murals are being studied at a symposium at the Clampette Collection. Tilda Swinton's upbeat and eccentric character J.K.L. Berensen talks about how the murals came to be. 

Julian Cadazio, played by Adrian Brody, notices Moses's art and bribes the guard with chocolates to take him to Moses. Cadazio is in prison for tax evasion. The shot of them going to Moses's "cell" is so symmetric with leading lines it's classic Wes Anderson. Neat and perfect. Cadazio wants to buy "Simone, Naked. Cell Block J. Hobby Room." painting. When Moses reveals that the guard is Simone she is framed in a shot within a shot. Such techniques can also be seen in Citizen Kane although framed a bit differently. Cadazio offers Moses Avery generous 250,000 Francs for the painting along with various things he has on him.

Moses signs up for a pottery and basket weaving class to avoid committing suicide. This is in flashback. Cadazio thinks he can make a lot of money off of Moses. In court when the judges ask if he (Moses) has any remorse for beheading the men that he killed he says, "They had it coming." Cadazio at the hearing says we know he is guilty of first degree homicide but he is an artistic genius. He says, "Surely, there ought to be a double standard for this sort of predicament."

Moses becomes a hit thanks to his Simone painting outside of prison, but has not produced anything new. 
Moses presents new work for Cadazio which Cadazio loves but is pissed when he realizes they are frescos painted into the walls. They can't be moved out of the prison. Cadazio insults Moses and his work and a funny wheelchair chase begins. The way it's shot is so funny because the camera is above the wheelchair giving a third person view. 

A fight breaks loose because the inmates want to be bribed as well which contrasts nicely with the snooty high society of art critics there including Cadazio. It's really funny if you notice these things. Rich art snobs being brought down to the level of psychopath criminals is always nice to watch. 

"Moses Rosenthaler for acts of extreme valor, which saved the lives of nine guards, 22 distinguished visitors, and the Ministers of Culture and Urbanity, received his freedom with probation for life. And was decorated in the Order of the Caged Lion." (The French Dispatch)

Story 2

Revisions to a Manifesto by Lucinda Krementz

The second story has to do with the right of "free access to the girls" dormitory for all male students. The student leader is Zeffirelli B. The writer, Krementz, for the press meets his parents and, in the bathroom, sees Zeffirelli naked. He gives her his manifesto to read and she begins to proofread it. They begin sleeping together. At the Cafe Le Sans Blague Cafe which means Cafe No Kidding Cafe Zeffirelli gets a note from his chess partner about Mitch-Mitch Simca. He is sent to the mustard region to fight in France. 

Juliette argues with Zeffirelli and tells him about Mitch-Mitch, "Where were his principles when he agreed to fight on behalf of an imperialist army in an unjust war of totalitarian aggression?" Zeffirelli tells her he doesn't want to be in the military which his friend adds, "It's required."

When Mitch-Mitch comes in the Cafe he said he can no longer salute this patch (his military patch). He burns the patch to which everyone claps. It's a good parody youthful protest against war, government and all that shit. The next morning Mitch-Mitch was arrested for desertion and desecration. 

It's funny that Juliette speaks to Zeffirelli in French and he responds only in English even though actor Chalamet speaks French. At the chessboard revolution, the mayor and Zeffirelli play chess through intermediaries while deliberations are made. 

Juliette jealous that Krementz is sleeping with Zeffirelli gets in an argument with her that is one-sided. The mayor impatient no response from Zeffirelli from the chess match orders rubber bullets and tear gas. During this assault Krementz tells Juliette and Zeffirelli to make love. Zeffirelli reads the manifesto in a pirate radio station to which everyone including the police listen to. The radio tower goes dead. He tries to fix it and is shocked, drowns and dies. He is immortalized through his image on t-shirts and other things for youth who want to be like him, passionate and with conviction. 

Story 3

Tastes & Smells 

Section

The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner by Roebuck Wright

Liev Schreiber's character of the Talk Show Host interviews Roebuck Wright and says he has photographic memory to which Wright corrects him. He has a typographic memory. He tests Wright's memory and so the story begins. Wright is invited to the Commissariat to a dinner with the Commissaire. The place he enters looks like a police headquarters. The symmetric cinematography is top notch here as he walks the halls. 

Jeffrey Wright has such a smooth buttery voice it's like audible chocolate. Really pleasing to the ear. You learn a lot of new French words with a movie like this like fourchettes de poche which is a like a Swiss army spoon and fork with a can opener. The film introduces Nescaffier, played by Steve Park, who achieved lofty status as police cook. 

Wright finally meets The Commissaire, played by Mathieu Amalric, who introduces the dinner guests and Gigi, his son, who is trying to work on unsolved cases. He learned what he knows through the station house and squad car. According to IGN.com, "Anderson and Andrew Yeoman forgo their wide angle and deep focus their rare use of a long lens not only blurs the vividly detailed backgrounds but forces us to focus first and foremost on Wright's fears and the quiet ways his humanity is threatened." (IGN.com) The Commissaire gets a phone call from Edward Norton's character, the chauffeur, telling him they have kidnapped his son. Release or execute the Abacus and the boy will be released back to him. "Failure to do so by sun-up will result in your son's violent death." (The French Dispatch)

Wright, in flashback, was arrested for sexual deviancy. Howitzer conducts a job interview for Wright which is filmed in a wide-angle lens to show the softness of the situation and turn of events for Wright. The background is out of focus bringing the focus to Howitzer. 

Howitzer gives Wright a book to review in 300 words which he will pay Wright minus bail. He tells Wright to make sure no matter what he does try to make it sound like you wrote it that way on purpose. He says this many times to his writers. 

The police most likely use torture to reveal the kidnappers lair. In a two shot Gigi gets caught tapping Morse code into the pipe with a coin by a showgirl. Meanwhile the Commissaire famished has Nescaffier cook a great meal so he is motivated to execute a plan. Wright talks about foods much because unlike romantic partners, food, fire and a nice table were always available to him in Ennui, France. 

Gigi taps in Morse code, "Send the cook." The famous Nescaffier comes to cook a poisoned meal for them. He eats a sample but his superior stomach can handle the poison for a while without him dying. They all die except Gigi and the chauffeur who didn't eat the meal. The chauffeur gets away with Gigi kidnapped in an animated scene reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill where there is an animated scene in the film. A car chase ensues but Gigi is rescued. 

Later Howitzer is found dead of a heart attack and all the writers begin his obituary. 

Final Thoughts:

The film is great, shot with stunning cinematography, and clever moveable sets and excellent acting. The story is clever in that the humor is both subtle and overt for you to catch. Personally I don't really like anthology films, I just like a single narrative film but it's nice to be surprised and this is a nice surprise. The colors are vibrant when there and the contrast to black and white give nice variety to the film. This is another great Wes Anderson film and I hope he has even more for us to enjoy. The soundtrack should also be mentioned how pleasing it is. Really a joy. In the end I suggest you watch this film, you will enjoy it. 

Works Cited:

Buono, Alex. “Alex Buono: How We Did It: SNL – ‘The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders.’” Alex Buono | HOW WE DID IT: SNL – "The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders", 4 Nov. 2013, http://www.alex-buono.com/how-we-did-it-snl-the-midnight-coterie-of-sinister-intruders/. 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075314/quotes?ref_=tt_ql_sm

https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/the-french-dispatch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Anderson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_French_Dispatch

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8847712/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymq5Z9_3aZQ. (IGN Review)

Metro Exodus (Video game for Playstation 4)

Metro Exodus

Plot:

The year is 2036. A quarter-century after nuclear war devastated the earth, a few thousand survivors still cling to existence beneath the ruins of Moscow, in the tunnels of the Metro. They have struggled against the poisoned elements, fought mutated beasts and paranormal horrors, and suffered the flames of civil war. But now, as Artyom, you must flee the Metro and lead a band of Spartan Rangers on an incredible, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in search of a new life in the East. Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Explore the Russian wilderness across vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky, Metro Exodus continues Artyom's story in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Features: * Embark on an incredible journey - board the Aurora, a heavily modified steam locomotive, and join a handful of survivors as they search for a new life in the East * Experience Sandbox Survival - a gripping story links together classic Metro gameplay with new huge, non-linear levels * A beautiful, hostile world - discover the post-apocalyptic Russian wilderness, brought to life with stunning day / night cycles and dynamic weather * Deadly combat and stealth scavenge and craft in the field to customize your arsenal of hand-made weaponry, and engage human and mutant foes in thrilling tactical combat * Your choices determine your comrades' fate - not all your companions will survive the journey; your decisions have consequence in a gripping storyline that offers massive re-playability * The ultimate in atmosphere and immersion - a flickering candle in the darkness; a ragged gasp as your gasmask frosts over; the howl of a mutant on the night wind - Metro will immerse and terrify you like no other game

-Gamerankings.com

26-year-old Artyom, flees the Metro in Moscow and sets off on a journey through the harsh nuclear winter in Russia. 

-IMDB.com

Trivia:

During the mission "the dead town" you you enter a metro with Miller. You soon find what looks to be where a battle took place, with a lot of dead bodies, armored rail cars, etc. This is a reference to the D6 battle in "Metro Last Night"

Credits:

Developer(s)	4A Games
Publisher(s)	Deep Silver
Director(s)	Andrew Prokhorov
Producer(s)	Mykola Muravskyi
Designer(s)	Viacheslav Aristov
Programmer(s)	Oles Shyshkovtsov Alexander Maximchuk Vlad Gapchych
Artist(s)	Sergei Karmalsky
Writer(s)	Andrei Paskhalov
Composer(s)	Alexei Omelchuk
Series	Metro
Engine	4A Engine
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 4 Xbox One Google Stadia
Release	15 February 2019
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

-Wikipedia.org

Thoughts:

I put the game on Reader mode (super easy) so it would be easy enough to beat to review. You fight monsters, cannibals and enemies. The story starts after the war which only 50,000 people survived. You scavenge materials which can be used to clean your weapons, craft bullets and bombs. Your character name is Artyom Chyornyj. Artyom's dream is to find other living people on Earth and perhaps rebuild civilization.Your wife's name is Anna.

Controls

R3 to run
R2 to Shoot your gun/crossbow
Up on D-pad for medkit (to heal)
X- to jump
R1 - throw garbage to distract someone.
R1 - throw grenades, knives or Molotov cocktails
Hold square and press R2 to pump/charge gun

The Order rescues you (the player) and they kill innocent people. They shoot you and you the player Artyom are separated from your wife Anna.

You escape by train. We find out Russia isn't the only place with survivors from the war. It is most likely a nuclear war because there is heavy radiation in the game.

You fight enemy Russians and plant a bomb in a parallel train to blow it up. The Ark Project will restore survivors in Russia to rebuild society. The Aurora is the name of the train they are on. The ruins of the country are under enemy control according to Miller (your father in law). The action and controls are pretty responsive. Nastya wants you to recover her teddy bear. She is the 6 year old daughter of Katya.

I got the railcar and carriage towed to the others in my group. I also find a guitar and give it to one of the men as a side mission. I give the teddy bear to Nastya. Artyom and his crew kill people on the boats and get ahold of a tugboat full of cargo. You the player are on the way to Yamantau. The government bunker you reach was overrun by cannibals. They get out alive by train (Aurora) and plan to find or make a colony to start civilization all over again.

Controls cont'd

Press L1 and then X for workbench backpack

In the desert I get the drivable car in the game stuck between a rock and a hard place, literally. Oh well. I am looking for Anna near the sea but with all the mountains around it is impossible. Turns out you have to go back to the train again and give the maps to Miller. Miller is in charge of the crew. Damir and Artyom search the caves for some water. Later it is revealed the Baron controls the water and oil supply in the region. We steal his water now he wants to make a deal but he double crosses us and sends his thugs after us. We defeat the Baron and rescue Giul. This takes place in Volga.

Stepan proposed to Katya and she says yes. It is revealed Anna was born in Vladivostok. Her parents had marital problems. Our next stop in the train is The Taiga. Anna is sick coughing blood.

The one thing that is a little annoying between missions is the load time required to start a new part of the map. A native woman called Olga saves Artyom's life. Later I investigate Alyosha's fate. Artyom finds Alyosha  and he says he's met a beautiful teacher named Olga. Alyosha is injured and cannot walk now since he was shot in the back.

Miller (Anna's dad) and Artyom decide to get medicine for Anna. They head to Novosibirsk to get medicine. They try to get to Lenin Square Station which is near the Institute.

Artyom searches a hospital and sees visions of Anna while searching for medicine. Big gorillas infest the hospital and they are not friendly. Miller finds you in time. Everyone in the Aurora gives Artyom blood transfusions to fight the radiation. Artyom sees the afterlife and is on an eternal train (another train). Artyom died saving Anna. They bury Artyom near the sea. Anna feels guilt that Artyom died saving her life.

I enjoyed the game for the most part and give it an 8/10. Some issues are bothersome like there should have been arrows that guide you to your objectives. And load times between maps/missions were too long to be acceptable.

Gameplay: It is decent enough with some minor things to solve like restoring power to devices or starting generators to open doors or lifts that are vague and could use some pointers in game.

Story: It's pretty great. I won't lie.

Difficulty: I played on Reader (super easy) so I could finish this game and write about it, but sometimes an arrow that could have guided you to an objective would have helped.

Graphics: Are great. No complaints.

Clint Eastwood: Letters from Iwo Jima

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Iris Yamashita, Paul Haggis, Tadamichi Kuribayashi and Tsuyoko Yoshido

Plot: The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it. -IMDB.com


Cast                                                                    Character 

Ken Watanabe              ...                              General Kuribayashi
Kazunari Ninomiya     ...                                    Saigo
Tsuyoshi Ihara             ...                                    Baron Nishi
Ryo Kase                     ...                                    Shimizu
Shido Nakamura         ...                                     Lieutenant Ito
Hiroshi Watanabe       ...                                     Lieutenant Fujita
Takumi Bando            ...                                     Captain Tanida
Yuki Matsuzaki          ...                                     Nozaki
Takashi Yamaguchi   ...                                      Kashiwara
Eijiro Ozaki                ...                                     Lieutenant Okubo
Nae                             ...                                     Hanako

Thoughts:

Iwo Jima, the name of a place where people from the United State and from Japanese will never forget, is a barren island near Japanese mainland where in February 1945, one of the most significant battles in World War II had taken place (Geoffery 1996).

"Over the course of five weeks in February and March, 1945, an invasion force of 100,000 Americans (two thirds of them U.S. Marines) fought 22,000 entrenched Japanese infantrymen. Only 1,083 Japanese survived the battle, while 6,821 Americans were killed and 20,000 wounded." (Ebert 2007)

The film opens up with Japanese Archeologists searching the tunnels of Iwo Jima in 2005. They find something. Cut to 1945 where Saigo writes a letter to his wife, Hanako, telling her, "This is the hole that we will fight... and die in. Hanako, am I digging my own grave?"

General Kuribayashi, played by Ken Watanabe, in his mind says he is determined to serve and give his life for his country. Saigo says the Americans can have the island since it's too hot and nothing grows there. The Japanese soldiers build fortifications to defend their island. 

General Kuribayashi wants the artillery moved to Mount Suribachi and to higher ground off the beaches. He studies the map at night. A superior officer doesn't like Saigo's practice shooting so he says he will make him clean the platoon's boots. The General disagrees with that saying he should clean their guns instead. The General is more practical and sympathetic. 

An Olympic gold medalist, Baron Nishi, in horse jumping is on the island. He is said to woo the ladies quite effectively. He talks to General Kuribayashi and they admire each other a lot following each other's work. Nishi bought his horse in Italy and was difficult to train since the horse was so head strong. Nishi feels he is the same way. He says they are a perfect match. 

At dinner Kuribayashi and Nishi discuss the war and Nishi says the best thing to do is sink the island to the bottom of the sea. General Kuribayashi says to forget about fortifying the beach and to start digging tunnels and fight till the end. 

"Poor nutrition and unsanitary conditions take their toll; many die of dysentery including Kashiwara. The troops begin using the caves. Kashiwara's replacement, Superior Private Shimizu, arrives for duty. Saigo suspects that Shimizu is a spy from the Kempeitai sent to report on disloyal soldiers." Wikipedia.org

Saigo complains about the food and reveals he ran a bakery in Omiya with his wife, Hanako. The Kempeitai took their food and metal for supplies for the war. In flashback to the time he and Hanako were together a military officer tells him he has been drafted for war. His wife cries and begs for him to be able to stay. They refuse politely.

General Kuribayashi is insistent on defending Iwo Jima until their last man is dead. The other officers believe General Kuribayashi is better suited being behind a desk than commanding the army. 

One of the officers shows a picture of American medics to the troops and says they should target them. 

The fighting begins as American planes drop bombs on targets and shoot at the artillery guns. Nishi finds his horse badly injured. American ships have left Saipan and are on their way to Iwo Jima. 

General Kuribayashi gives a speech to the soldiers and tells them each one of them is not allowed to die until they have killed 10 enemy soldiers. He says do not expect to go home alive. Soldiers bow and honor a Buddhist shrine. 

One officer is relentlessly cruel to Saigo probably because he is young and physically weak. An American soldier with a flame thrower takes out a machine gun nest. Many of the Japanese soldiers commit suicide by grenade blast. 

A soldier named Ito almost beheads Shimizu and Saigo but General Kuribayashi saves their lives. He doesn't see the need to kill good soldiers just because they left their post. Headquarters denies reinforcements and tells Kuribayashi to fight honorably and die for his country. After a Japanese soldier shoots an American they bring him in the cave and are ordered by General Kuribayashi to treat him. Nishi wants to question the American for information. He tells him he was in the Olympics and they seem to get along find despite both being enemies. The American says he's from Oklahoma and his name is Sam. 

Sam eventually dies from his gunshot wound and Nishi reads the letter out loud from his mother asking him to come home safely. Nishi kills himself because he goes blind in combat.  Shimizu reveals he thought the Americans were savages but the American's mother's words were the same as his mothers words. He wants to fight for the general and his country. 

Shimizu pretends to have dysentery and another soldier joins him in trying to escape to surrender. One is shot by another Japanese soldier who knows they will surrender. 

American Marines take Shimizu and another Japanese soldier and make them prisoners of war. They are both shot by an American soldier. General Kuribayashi says let that be a lesson to anyone who wants to surrender. 

The remaining men from Suribachi make it to General Kuribayashi. He tries to offer them water but he doesn't have any. A soldier gives Saigo a cup to dig worms to eat. He hasn't eaten in 5 days. That is how desperate they are. 

General Kuribayashi  hears over the radio children from his hometown singing a patriotic song for him. He tells Saigo to burn his documents and chest and that everything happens in threes which means he will save his life a third time. Saigo does as he is ordered. Fujita is ordered by General Kuribayashi  to behead him after he is badly injured. Instead Fujita is shot by an American sharpshooter. General Kuribayashi  asks Saigo to bury him so that nobody will find him. The General shoots himself. 

Saigo is surrounded by Americans and is taken to the POW beach. "Back in 2005, the archaeologists complete their digging, revealing the bag of letters that Saigo had buried, and open it. As the letters spill out, the voices of the Japanese soldiers who wrote them resound." (Wikipedia.org)

Final Thoughts:

I thought the film was great. It's sad to see General Kuribayashi not get to be buried the proper way but I guess those things happen. The film was balanced and sympathetic to both Japanese and Americans in the war as soldiers take orders whether they like them or not. I hope I didn't get any of the plot details mixed up or recalled them incorrectly.

Trivia:

Most of the young cast knew nothing about the incidents on Iwo Jima as it is not taught in Japanese schools. -IMDB.com

Works Cited:

Emerson, Jim. "Letters from Iwo Jima." Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Web. 6 April 2019. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/letters-from-iwo-jima-2007
Parker, Geoffery. “Battle of Iwo Jima.” History.com. Ed. Robert Cowley. A&E Television Networks. Web. 15 Mar. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima>.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498380/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_from_Iwo_Jima

Jan de Bont: Speed

Director: Jan de Bont
Writer: Graham Yost

Plot:

A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph. - IMDB.com

Cast                                                 Character

Keanu Reeves              ...                Jack Traven
Dennis Hopper            ...                Howard Payne
Sandra Bullock            ...               Annie
Joe Morton                 ...                Capt. McMahon
Jeff Daniels                ...                Harry
Alan Ruck                  ...                 Stephens
Glenn Plummer         ...                 Jaguar Owner
Richard Lineback     ...                 Norwood
Beth Grant                 ...                Helen
Hawthorne James.    ...                 Sam
Carlos Carrasco        ...                Ortiz
David Kriegel          ...                 Terry
Natsuko Ohama      ...                 Mrs. Kamino
Daniel Villarreal     ...                  Ray
Simone Gad            ...                  Bus Passenger #1

Thoughts:

Speed is a great action movie that never slows down. The two lead Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are good looking stars that are easy on the eyes. There is one part which is silly and impossible and that is the bus jumping a 50 foot gap in the freeway but that's Hollywood for you. Other than that one part the film works well. What the film does well is have great action in confined spaces like in a bus or on a subway train. In that sense it works well. It is still over the top but a fun ride nonetheless.

The bomb maker played by Dennis Hopper is our villain. He used to work for the LAPD. Jack and Harry volunteer to look at the bombs rigged to the elevator with the passengers on board. He asks Harry why did he take this job. Harry tells him 30 more years he gets a tiny pension and a cheap gold watch.

I think one of the best aspects of the film is the suspensful score by Mark Mancina. It always keeps you on your edge of your seat. They use effective canted camera angles to denote the crazy situations the terrorist bomber, Howard Payne, puts them through. This is seen in the elevator scene where the passengers all escape.

There is good handheld camera shots that intensify the story with there "you're there with them" feeling.

A bomb explodes on a bus and Jack gets a call from Howard on the payphone. He tells him on bus 2525 there is bomb on the bus that will arm at 50 mph and detonate when the speed goes under 50 mph. No one can get off the bus. He wants 3.7 million dollars by 11am.

In the highway scene they use a camera low to the ground which makes the speed look faster than normal which intensifies the scene. This is good cinematography at work.

Jack tells the bus driver there is bomb on the bus and to stay above 50 mph. Harry thinks the suspect is a cop. So he digs in the files.

They get off one highway and onto another that is empty and under construction. They dodge people, cars and everything in sight for a tense ride. Harry has the other cops go through the police files to get a match on the suspect. He thinks he is drawing disability through a pension.

They get the driver off the bus since he was shot by a petty criminal on the bus by accident. Jack finds out there is a 50 foot gap in the freeway. He jumps the gap miraculously somehow.

After that he enters the airport runway to circle and circle to buy themselves some time.

Jack boards a cart that lets him look at the bomb under the bus. A rubber tire piece hits the cart and he has to grab the bottom to hang on.

As he recovers Jack is told by Howard Payne that the drop off is at Pershing Square to offload his money at the trashcan.

They can unload the passengers since they found the signal and loop the video over and over for a course of a minute.

The bomb blows up with no one inside. Everyone is safe except Helen who died. Annie is accosted by Howard Payne and later he rigs her with explosives. Jack sneaks onto the subway train.

An ink bomb explodes and ruins his money. There is also a tracking device in the bag. Payne goes after jack. Both now don't have guns. He fights him on the subway car and a light approaches which Jack pushes Payne's head up and the light hits and knocks off Payne's head.

Final Thoughts:

Despite its star power the real stars of the movie are the soundtrack and the cinematography. It's a tense ride, one not to be missed.


Works Cited:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_(1994_film)

Andrei Tarkovsky: Stalker

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Writers: Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy and Andrei Tarkovsky

A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes. -IMDB.com



Cast                                       Character

Alisa Freyndlikh      ...          Zhena Stalkera
Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy. ... Stalker
Anatoliy Solonitsyn       ...    Pisatel, Writer
Nikolay Grinko             ...     Professor
Natalya Abramova       ...      Marta



The first thing I'll say is that I admire a Science Fiction movie without any special effects. That takes creativity and courage. I also like the rich colorful shots of nature. It can remind one of a Terrence Malick film in a way. "Stalker is visually quite arresting. Tarkovsky uses color to set apart the different worlds, filming the scenes set in Stalker’s home city in gloriously dismal sepia and those in the Zone in color." (Pridham) The Stalker has a daughter named Monkey. 

This is not the first time has been to the Zone. He has been there many times. He was offered a job says his wife. Stalker must like the excitement of taking people to the room that grants wishes. 

"They have a daughter together, a crippled girl named Monkey, who suffers from disabilities apparently brought on by her father’s repeated visits to the Zone. He has been recently released from prison for his excursions into the forbidden area, and she fears he will get an even longer sentence. The Stalker, however, feels his everyday life is already a prison. From the beginning, we see signs that he regards the Zone as an oasis in his gritty, down‐trodden life, as a salvation from the position of non‐entity in which he finds himself in the city. What we cannot be sure of is just how much his psychological bond with the alien space informs his explanations of it." (Pridham)

The Writer feels life is boring with its cast iron laws. He feels there is no Bermuda Triangle, no telepathy, no apparitions and no flying saucers. He says this world has laws that cannot be broken. He said The Zone was a product of some superior civilization. Alien perhaps. He says that God must be logical and boring like a triangle or holy trinity. He is immediately blasphemous but intelligent. He is probably bored with life, but his reason for going to the room is to get inspiration to write again despite being already successful. The Professor is a physicist so he must be smart to say the least. One's mind is scientific (The Professor) and the other is artistic (The Writer). There is a lot of rain in the movie because Tarkovsky said it rains a lot in Russia so it isn't necessarily an artistic choice. A police officer wears a helmet with an AT probably initials for Andrei Tarkovsky. There is an AK painted on the wall. I believe this may be the initials of Akira Kurosawa as he admired his work.

Stalker's home town looks cold, ugly and industrialized as oppose to the lush green natural setting of the Zone. When they enter the Zone it is green, natural and beautiful as nature always is.

Porcupine was a stalker who took people to the Zone for years is revealed. Porcupine went into the room and within a week became abundantly rich. He hung himself soon after.

It is revealed that meteorite landed there and maybe it had energy to cause wishes to come true in that special room. Whatever the case the area around the room is heavily guarded as wishes that come true can be curses in reality.

There is a great shot of a rusted old car overcome by grass and nature as if modernity and industrialization will lose to nature. It is highly symbolic and hinted lightly. When The Writer pulls at some plants the Stalker throws an iron pole at him. He tells him The Zone wants to be respected or else it will punish. The Stalker says it doesn't let bad or good people pass through but those who have lost all hope.

The room wants to be approached indirectly as if found by accident almost. It warned The Writer in an ominous voice. It demands and expects total respect as it is doing people a favor and not the other way around. The Writer talks too much and The Professor tells him he does. They bicker.

A fight between Sepia and colors take place as misery and joy try to fight as well symbolically between the men. There is poetry in the film, unsurprising as Tarkovsky's father was a poet. This must have influenced him deeply. The Stalker confides everything has sense and reason. The Writer brings a gun but is urged by Stalker to drop it. After all there is virtually no-one around.

After traveling through the tunnel they enter a room with beautifully synchronized shapes of sand. Despite breaking so many of Stalker's rules The Writer loves to philosophize about them and nature in general. He is a contradiction of sorts. One would think of a writer being reserved and quiet but he is neither. He asks what kind of writer is he if hates writing.

The black dog follows the men. The three men are in a room shot in a frame within a frame. The Professor uses a phone to call a laboratory. The Professor wishes to have a phone to brag to another scientist he is within a stone's throw of the room. The other scientists threatens to report him and call the authorities. The Professor wants to get even with him because 20 years ago the man slept with the Professor's wife. This is probably a part of the film that is inside The Professor's head. His innermost wish to brag at and belittle his co-worker. He said before to The Writer and Stalker his wish was to win a Nobel prize for researching the Zone.

The Writer puts on a "crown of thorns" to mock Jesus and to tell the Stalker he doesn't forgive him for all his poem reciting and making detours. Outside the room The Stalker tells the other two, "This is the most important moment in your life." Their most sincere wish will be granted if they enter the room. He tells them the most important thing is to believe. This may be a hidden language Tarkovsky was using saying faith in God gets you into heaven.

The Writer doesn't want to go into the room first as he feels it is shameful. The Professor brings with him a 20 kiloton bomb. He feels the room will bring happiness to no one and wishes to destroy it because it could get in the wrong hands. The Stalker asks, "Why destroy hope?"

The Writer says he sees why Stalkers never enter the room. They revel in all that power, mystery and authority. They want play God. The Stalker says his happiness, self-respect and freedom is all here in the Zone. He breaks down crying knowing what curses can befall men who cannot bear see themselves for who they really are. The Stalker says he just wants to help people.

The Professor disassembles the bomb and decides not to blow up the room despite all the evil it can bring into the world.

With no one entering the room the three men return to the bar where they met up. They bring back a black dog that followed them around to the bar.

His wife after finding out what happened tells Stalker he should pity them not be angry with them. The stalker tells his wife no one needs the room, it's all in vain.

The Stalker's wife talks about Stalker and explains why he is how he is to the audience breaking the fourth wall.

At the end Monkey, Stalker's daughter, moves glass cups on the table with her mind. It is believed she can do this because of the "radiation" of sorts that Stalker gets being near the room so much which Monkey gets exposed to.


Ending:

It's hard to imagine why someone would deny getting their deepest wishes granted, but to see yourself as you really are shows the ugliness and the realness of who you really are. Sometimes your deepest wishes are the most petty like with the Professor. If you wish that you want to cure a loved one of some ailment but instead get a million dollars this would cause guilt and could lead to suicide for seeing how selfish we really are. What I like about the film is that it's quiet and meditative. Shots linger for a while to give you time to digest what is going on. There are no special effects in todays terms or of the past as it doesn't need any. It would detract from this film if anything.
Style:

Like Tarkovsky's other films, Stalker relies on long takes with slow, subtle camera movement, rejecting the use of rapid montage. The film contains 142 shots in 163 minutes, with an average shot length of more than one minute and many shots lasting for more than four minutes.^[12]

Almost all of the scenes not set in the Zone are in Sepia or a similar high-contrast brown monochrome. -WIkipedia.org

"The Zone prefers to grant secret and half-felt wishes, rather than the wishes we think we have.The Stalker maybe wished, he thought and we think, for his daughter to be well and able-bodied. But when he entered the Room on his first journey there, he cured Monkey differently, leaving her infirmity in tact but granting her a strange and uncanny power instead.In this way the Zone is just the onrushing future, for which the approaching train is also a metaphor. The future does not precisely deliver what we want it to, but something else stranger and somewhat terrifying." by poliphilo on reddit.com

Hatem Krema says...

SPOILERS … What was the hidden concept ?? I think the movie Stalker with its strong symbolism can be interpreted in the context of the Soviet era when religion was brutally suppressed. “The zone”/religion is a place that provides a comfortable sanctuary from the material dull life, and is guarded from entering by the military/ communist authorities. It came to exist from a meteorite/ a heavenly message to earth. For the stalker/ the religious man, it represents home and comfort, although he always enters it with fear to make it/God angry. The zone/ religion has its own natural laws/miracles that defies logic, but you have to get along with. It promises a “room”/paradise were your innermost wishes come true. The road/ life work to reach the room/paradise is tough and requires guidance from a stalker/ religious man. The existence of the room/ paradise has been always challenged by science/the professor and philosophy/the writer, and despite that they try to explore the facts of religion, and have some understanding for it, they could not accept it at the end. Science/the professor was ready to destroy what he could not rationalize, and from the standpoint of the stalker/religious man, science/the professor and philosophy/the writer are completely ignorant despite their knowledge. The stalker personal life/ the religious man life is not materially fulfilling and may be disappointing. The daughter may represent the outcome of following religion blindly, the mind/body may be crippled to move freely but it may have sensitivity and mysticism not owned by others.

http://weirdfictionreview.com/2013/07/in-the-zone-an-excursion-into-andrei-tarkovskys-film-stalker/

Works CIted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueFilm/comments/1wcute/a_question_on_the_ending_of_tarkovskys_stalker/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalker_(1979_film)

Pridham, Matthew. http://weirdfictionreview.com/2013/07/in-the-zone-an-excursion-into-andrei-tarkovskys-film-stalker/

Juan Antonio Bayona: The Orphanage

Director: J.A. Bayona
Writer: Sergio G. Sanchez

Plot:

A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long, her son starts to communicate with an invisible new friend. - IMDB.com

Cast                                                             Character

Belen Rueda                     ...                        Laura
Fernando Cayo                 ...                        Carlos
Roger Princep                   ...                       Simon
Mabel Rivera                    ...                       Pilar
Montserrat Carulla            ...                       Benigna
Andres Gertrudix              ...                        Enrique
Edgar Vivar                       ...                       Prof. Leo Balaban
Oscar Casas                       ...                       Tomas
Mireia Renau                    ...                        Laura nina
Georgina Avellaneda        ...                        Rita
Carla Gordillo                   ...                        Martin
Alejandro Camps             ...                         Victor
Carmen Lopez                  ...                        Alicia
Oscar Lara                         ...                       Guillermo
Geraldine Chaplin             ...                       Aurora

Thoughts:

The film opens top at Good Shepherd Orphanage. One girl is about to be adopted. Her name is Laura. Simone has a bad dream and is comforted by his mother, Laura. The ghosts are trying to communicate with Simon.

Laura is reopening the orphanage for disabled children. Simon has two invisible friends, Watson and Pepe. These are ghosts that he sees. His parents are concerned about his invisible friends. Simon goes to a cave near a lighthouse. Simon talks to his invisible friend in the cave and the mother, Laura sees footsteps where the invisible friend was. Simon doesn't know he is HIV Positive or that he's adopted. He is also on medication.

The seashells that Simon left for his invisible friend to follow him are all stacked by the front door which Laura sees.

Simon tells his mom, Laura, he is not going to get older like his 6 invisible friends. The invisible friends leave clues for Simon to find a treasure and make a wish. He finds some coins in the drawer Laura locks his medical file. They argue and he says he knows she's not his mother. At the welcoming party people wear creepy masks and the children arrive. A kid with a strange sack mask follows Laura and locks her in the bathroom. After getting out she frantically looks for Simon. They can't find him.

At the emergency room Laura is introduced to Pilar, a police psychologist. Carlos gives Laura his Saint Anthony medallion necklace that belonged to his grandmother. He is the patron saint of lost things. She has a dream of swimming in the water. Now in a wheelchair she hears the whistle of one of Simon's invisible friends. The house is haunted.

Simon now has been missing for 6 months. She believes he is still alive. Benigna gets run over by a car and it is revealed she worked at the orphanage and her son was there who was deformed. Laura remembers the same boy who had a sack mask at the party but no one else remembers him.

After talking to a professor he suggests a medium he knows to help her. She visits the house sensing the spiritual presence. She sees five children who are sick and dying. These are ghosts that only Aurora (played by Geraldine Chaplin) can see but they can be heard by everyone. Aurora tells Laura to believe and she will see.

Laura is desperate to reach her son. Carlos thinks the medium put on a show. Later Laura finds skeletal remains in a cabinet in their shed outside. In the bags we are to assume she found the skeletal remains of all 5 orphan children that were there before. Their names were Martin, Rita, Alicia, Guillermo and Victor. Laura knew them as a child. Benigna killed them. That's why she went to the shed, to recover their bodies.

Carlos leaves Laura in the house for two days as asked by her. She tries to make peace for the ghosts in exchange to find her son. She plays a game of tag and sees them physically. There are 4 of them. She gets trapped in a closet which a ghost girl led her there. She puts the door handle in a hole in the wall and opens a secret door to stairs going down.

She finds Simone and he tells her to stay and play with the children. He disappears as if he wasn't there. She finds his dead body. The lighthouse shines a light through the window and she sees herself as a child running outside. His body comes back to life and Simon is alive. The ghosts see Laura and recognize her and say she's grown old. These are the children she knew when she was a child. She tells them a nighttime story. Laura eventually dies and Carlos finds the St. Anthony medallion on the ground as the doors open by the wind or presence of Laura trying to communicate with him.

The movie is good about secrets needing to be shown to make peace with the souls of the dead.

Works Cited:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-orphanage-2007
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
http://www.archbishopcurley.org/about/article/st.-anthony-lost-items