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AMERICAN SNIPER
Like all the best war movies,
the big political questions
are left outside the
frame. This is about the
men in the trenches and
the moral choices they face. The taut battle scenes are
some of the best ever shot, cohesive and legible—even
in a dust storm. Chris Kyle served four tours in Iraq and,
as in The Hurt Locker, the most telling sequences occur
back at home, between tours, when normal life seemed
the aberration and the war real. Bradley Cooper’s performance
is a deep and austere personal best, and
Eastwood’s crisp, unfussy direction shows that he
remains a master at 84. (134 min)
THE FAULT IN OUR
STARS
Stay with me here, and
don’t dismiss this spirited
YA romance on its
downer topic. Hazel and
Gus—Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, great chemistry—meet
in a teens-with-cancer support group. They
live in the present, because, well ... they don’t have a
future. Reluctantly, they fall in love. The film is never
maudlin or overtly manipulative (okay, a little in the last
scenes), it earns the tears and offers honesty along with,
yes, humor. The acting is superb, the characters are fully
realized and the dialogue is sharp. Willem Dafoe shines
in a subplot. This is what Nicholas Sparks keeps trying
to do. Japanese title: Kitto, Hoshi no Sei Ja Nai. (125 min)
RUDDERLESS
William H. Macy’s directorial
debut. When an
ad exec’s (Billy Crudup)
songwriter son is killed
in a school shooting,
the man goes into a two-year downward spiral until
he comes across some of the talented boy’s demo
CDs. He picks up a guitar and plays one at an openmic
night, attracting the attention of sideman Anton
Yelchin. A montage leads to the formation of the titular
bar band. But some things are a bit puzzling, like why
does he take credit for the songs rather than just tell
the truth? A huge, jarring reveal an hour in knocks the
film off course, and it never really recovers. Japanese
title: Kimi ga Ikita Akashi. (105 min)
FOXCATCHER
Almost all comedic
actors stray into drama
at some point, but rarely
do they so completely
disappear into their characters
(or earn Best Actor noms). In this warped character
study, Steve Carell plays the hugely wealthy John
E. Dupont, a socially inept man-child heir with mommy
problems. A wrestling buff, he entices Olympic goldmedalists
Mark and Dave Schultz (Channing Tatum and
Mark Ruffalo) to train at his titular facility in the hope
of catching some reflected glory. Things soon get seriously
strange. (True story, but don’t Google it until later
if you don’t know.) Gripping, chilling and deeply sad.
(134 min)
THE DISAPPEARANCE
OF ELEANOR RIGBY:
HIM/HER
Two films examine the
breakup and attempts
to get back together of a
married couple from the characters’ respective viewpoints.
They want to know if they still have a future in the wake
of some not-immediately-explained personal tragedy.
The films’ success is due in part to the sure hand of firsttime
director Ned Benson, a good script, and the skill of
the actors. James McAvoy, sporting a flawless American
accent, is the “him,” and the astounding Jessica Chastain
the “her.” I’d nudge you toward seeing “him” first, because
“her” serves to fill out the whole. Watch for the discrepancies.
Japanese title: Love Stories: Conor no Namida and
Eleanor no Aijō. (Him: 89 min, Her: 100 min)
BEGIN AGAIN
Director John Carney
transplants the theme of
his lovely 2006 Once to
NYC with name actors.
Keira Knightley plays a
freshly dumped songwriter coerced into doing one personal,
acoustic song in a noisy New York club. The only
one listening is a drunken, washed-up music producer (a
great Mark Ruffalo). In the film’s most memorable scene,
her performance is replayed through his eyes, as his imagination
adds sidemen only he can hear. The two begin a
professional courtship that could save both their lives.
Good music, appealing characters and a story just offbeat
enough to keep you interested. Japanese title: Hajimari
no Uta. (103 min)
eiga
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HANA TO ARISU
SATSUJIN JIKEN
By Rob Schwartz
Japanese filmmakers
seem intent on breaking
down the barriers
between live action and
animation genres. Last
issue’s Present for You, for example, mixed live action and
claymation. This time, we have an animated prequel to the
live action film Hana & Alice (2004) which uses rotoscoping
to give a sense of realism. Directed by Shunji Iwai, the
original Hana & Alice was a lovely coming-of-age drama
which focused attention on actresses Yu Aoi (Alice) and
Anne Suzuki (Hana), with Aoi going on to become a huge
star. Iwai was actually tipped to become the next great
Japanese director when he got five Japanese Academy
Award nominations on his second film, Love Letter (1995).
His major follow-up, Swallowtail Butterfly (1996), then
nabbed eight noms and won Most Popular Film. But his star
seemed to fade a bit (despite the challenging and heavy
All About Lily Chou-Chou, 2001) and the original Hana &
Alice was a return to form of sorts. The current piece, set in
high school, shows how the young women developed their
friendship and experienced first love. When a boy is murdered
they set out to solve it. With this sweet and expressive
film, Iwai has brilliantly jumped modes of expression,
while retaining the essence of the original. Wonderful stuff.
English title: The Case of Hana & Alice. (100 min)
Makeup artists don’t always get the recognition
they deserve in Hollywood. After all, if they’ve done
their job properly, their handiwork should not be
noticeable. They didn’t get their own regular Oscar
award until the ’80s, and even today only three
films are nominated rather than five as in other
categories. One exception to this makeup reality
is Rick Baker, who honed his skills on the set of
The Exorcist and took home his first Oscar in 1982
for creating the groundbreaking transformations
in John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London.
Since then, he’s picked up half a dozen more and
a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His latest
honor was a lifetime achievement award bestowed
by Landis at the recent Make-up Artists and Hair
Stylists Guild Awards. “I was just a kid who wanted
to be a makeup artist, and that is still how I see
myself. And I am just so pleased it happened,” Baker
modestly said at the ceremony. As more directors
turn to CGI to get their creatures, Baker’s realism
remains in demand. He says one of his proudest
accomplishments was the Bigfoot he created for
Harry and the Hendersons. “That was nearly 30
years ago,” he recalls “but if you go back and watch
it today, many people still buy it.” Kevin Mcgue
The French Institute (15 Ichigaya, Funagawaracho,
Shinjuku-ku; www.institut.jp) presents recently restored
prints of three films by Polish-born French director
Jean Epstein, March 7-8. A film theorist and literary
critic, Epstein applied avant-garde ideas to silent films,
including an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of
the House of Usher (1928; pictured). Film scholar Emilie
Cauquy will lecture, in French, after the screenings … In
sad news for cinema fans, Cinemart Roppongi (3-8-15
Roppongi, Minato-ku; www.cinemart.co.jp/theater/roppongi)
will close its doors in June. The four-screen theater
opened in 2006 with the mission of bringing Asian
films to Tokyo. Although it branched out over the years,
it’s going back to its roots for its curtain call, starting
March 7. Hits from the nine-year run being brought back
include films starring Korean actors Kim Nam-gil, Jung
Woo-sung, Kang Ji-hwan, Jang Keun-suk and Hyun Bin
… Cinema Vera (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.
cinemavera.com) welcomes you to the world of “roman
porno” director Tatsumi Kumashiro, March 7-April 3.
Despite health problems, the prolific filmmaker churned
out dozens of hits in the 1970s, satisfying the studio’s
requirements for erotic content while developing his
own manic style. Many of his most popular films will be
shown from new 35mm prints. KM
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