Fatherland

The second foreign film in my double feature at the Broadway yesterday was Fatherland and I found it to be a subtle but powerful examination of national identity.  After fleeing Nazi persecution at the beginning of World War II, renowned author Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) returns to Germany in 1949 with his daughter Erika (Sandra Huller), who acts as his assistant, to receive the prestigious Goethe Award.  He gives speeches about what it means to be German and attends receptions in Frankfurt, which is controlled by the Allied powers, and in Weimar, which is occupied by the Soviets, and finds decadence in the former and intolerance in the latter (I loved the juxtaposition between the two receptions).  It is only when they stop at the ruins of a bombed-out church and hear "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by Bach being played on a out-of-tune organ that they find the true soul of the fatherland.  There is also a subplot in which children, Erika and her brother Klaus (August Diehl), are alienated from their father and experience a loss which parallels the loss of country.  This adds emotional weight to the restrained storytelling, especially in the incredibly moving ending in which Thomas and Erika are finally able to come together.  The black and white cinematography is very dramatic and I loved the shot composition which keeps Thomas and Erika physically separated every time they appear together on screen because this makes the aforementioned resolution between the characters that much more poignant (and visually striking).  The performances are brilliant because, even though they are understated, both Zischler and Huller have incredible moments of catharsis.  I was particularly struck by a scene in which Erika speaks to her mother on the phone because her grief is conveyed by her physicality rather than dialogue.  This may be too austere for some but fans of Pawel Pawlikowski are sure to find it as compelling as I did.

La Bola Negra

Yesterday I had an amazing double feature of foreign films at the Broadway starting with La Bola Negra.  I went into this pretty blind and I was absolutely blown away by it!  In 1932, Carlos (Milo Quifes) applies for membership to an exclusive club in Granada, Spain but is blackballed over rumors that he is a homosexual.  Vincente (Antonio de la Torre), his wealthy and prominent father, demands that he return to the club and deny the rumors even though they are true.  At the exact moment he lies to the membership committee, the club is attacked by a mob and Carlos realizes too late that he has wasted his life by hiding his true self.  In 1937, Sebastian (Guitarricadelafuente) is a trumpet player who survives an attack on his village during the Spanish Civil War but is compelled to join the Nationalist forces.  He is ordered to guard Rafael Rodriguez Rapun (Miguel Bernardeau), a wounded Republican prisoner of war, and eventually falls in love with him. Rafael reveals that he was once the lover of the famous playwright Federico Garcia Lorca (Alberto Cortes), and when he learns that he is about to be executed by firing squad, he begs Sebastian to find and preserve one of Lorca's plays.  In 2017, Alberto (Carlos Gonzalez) is a struggling playwright who lives in Madrid with his boyfriend Juan Pablo (Julio Torres).  He receives an inheritance from the maternal grandfather he never knew which gives him the strength to move forward in his personal and professional life.  The narrative goes back and forth between the three timelines, which all have distinct visual styles (my favorite is the theatrical production design used in the 1932 timeline), and they are eventually connected by Lorca's unfinished play La Bola Negra.  The story is extremely layered and I loved the powerful themes about queer representation in art inspiring the courage to live authentically, particularly the scenes between Sebastian and the cabaret singer Nene Romero (Penelope Cruz), as well as the trauma of its erasure on future generations.  The camera work is incredibly dynamic and I was completely mesmerized by a flamenco dance in a bar by Carlos and a sequence in which Nene entertains the troops.  I loved the music so much, especially the song "El pueblo quiere sangre" which features the Spanish guitar (I've already listened to it innumerable times).  Finally, the performances are all very moving (I was in tears multiple times).  Guitarricadeafuente, especially, is heartbreaking in one of the most passionate scenes I've seen on screen (in which the characters do not even touch each other).  This is a beautiful and sprawling epic that I loved and highly recommend (it will definitely be among my favorites this year).

Wild Horse Nine

Last night I went with my nephew to see Wild Horse Nine at the Broadway.  I am a big fan of Martin McDonagh and I think this is one of his best movies.  CIA agents Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich), an aging veteran with dementia and terminal cancer, and Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell), his longtime partner and protege, are stationed in Chile to destabilize the government of Salvador Allende prior to staging a coup d'etat in 1973.  The two of them travel to Easter Island, ostensibly so Chris can see the monolithic statues there before he dies, but it is really so Lee can monitor Chris's increasingly problematic behavior for their bureau chief MJ (Steve Buscemi) who fears that he will reveal sensitive information about his involvement in covert CIA operations, such as the Kennedy assassination.  While touring the island, Chris reflects on his life of deception and violence while coming to terms with his mortality and ultimately decides to tell Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) and Alicia (Ailin Salas), two Leftist student activists they meet, about the impending coup so they can leave Chile before the violence begins.  This, in turn, forces Lee to choose between his duty to the CIA and his loyalty to Chris.  This is both a compelling espionage thriller (with a few good action sequences in the third act) and a scathing indictment of U.S. foreign policy but, more than anything, it is a darkly comedic character study in which two morally compromised men search for a small measure of redemption.  The script is razor sharp and I absolutely loved the hilarious banter between the two characters (I laughed out loud multiple times).  Malkovich gives the performance of his career (he won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival this year) as the world weary CIA agent and, while I thoroughly enjoyed the humor, I was especially impressed by his moments of melancholy introspection.  Rockwell more than holds his own as a foil to Malkovich and the rest of the performances are uniformly great (although Parker Posey and Tom Waits have little more than cameos).  I loved the 1970s film aesthetic (especially the Super 8 footage filmed by Lee) and the windswept landscapes on Easter Island are gorgeous.  I really dug this and I think fans of McDonagh will, too.

Note: I was in college when Augusto Pinochet, the military dictator who took power in Chile after the U.S. backed coup d'etat, stepped down.  I remember being horrified over the human rights violations during his regime so it was incredibly unsettling to feel any kind of sympathy for these characters.

Annie at the Empress Theatre

Last night I went to see Annie at the Empress Theatre and I really enjoyed this heartwarming production. The irrepressible Annie (Jordyn Bowser) lives at an orphanage run by the cruel and bitter Miss Hannigan (Shannon Pearson) during the Great Depression. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her as a baby when she is selected by Grace Farrell (Hollie Hoffman) to spend Christmas with her boss, the billionaire Oliver Warbucks (Sheldon Pearson). Annie asks Warbucks to help her find her parents and he offers a large reward to convince them to come forward. Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan devises a plan to have her brother Rooster (Kartik Sharma) and his girlfriend Lily St. Regis (Antonia Cartier) pose as Annie's parents to claim the reward. With the help of President Roosevelt (Han Ward) and the FBI, the plot is eventually exposed and Annie finds a permanent home with Daddy Warbucks. I really loved all of the young performers in this show (I always enjoy seeing children in community theatre productions because they are usually so enthusiastic and appear to be having a lot of fun). Bowser is a charismatic and appealing Annie and I loved her stirring renditions of "Maybe" and "Tomorrow" (as well as her fabulous dog wrangling skills). The orphans (Lavinia Roe, Penny Teitter, Archer Nash, Eva Teitter, Millie Robison, and Amelia Nash) are absolutely adorable (Penny Teitter is especially sassy as Molly with lots of hilarious poses) and it put a big smile on my face watching them singing and dancing their hearts out in "It's the Hard Knock Life" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile (Reprise)." The adults in the show also do a great job. Shannon Pearson is a hoot in "Little Girls" and she, Sharma, and Cartier give a hilarious rendition of "Easy Street," but my favorite performance was from Sheldon Pearson because he has a beautiful voice and his versions of "Something Was Missing" and "I Don't Need Anything But You" are very affecting (he also has a great rapport with Bowser). There is a large ensemble in this show and they are a lot of fun to watch in the big song and dance numbers (my favorite was "N.Y.C." because it is incredibly dynamic). The set is very minimal but I was especially impressed by the hand painted backdrop of the New York skyline. I also really liked the period costumes because there is a distinct difference between the lower and upper classes (muted colors vs. bright colors). You can't help but be charmed by this delightful show and I highly recommend it for families during this holiday season. It runs through November 21 and tickets may be purchased here but don't wait because the theatre was very full last night!

Note:  A huge thank you to the Empress Theatre for graciously providing me with a ticket to this show. I have loved every production this season!

Rocky

I saw Rocky at the drive-in with my parents when it was first released.  I was very young so they didn't think I would be able to stay awake for the whole movie but I was so invested in the story and determined to see who won the fight that I made it to the end!  Since I have very vivid memories of seeing this movie for the first time, I was thrilled when I learned that it was coming back to theaters for its 50th anniversary (what?).  I saw it yesterday with a rowdy crowd and I loved it!  I think it sets the standard for underdog sports movies (one of my favorite genres).  Robert "Rocky" Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is a small-time club fighter from a working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia who also works as the muscle for a loan shark (my dad had to explain this to me the first time I saw it).  When the heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) suddenly needs an opponent for a title match, he decides to offer the opportunity to a local unknown fighter and he selects Rocky.  Apollo views the match as a publicity stunt but Rocky begins training seriously for what he views as a chance to prove that he is more than just a bum to himself and his girlfriend Adrian (Talia Shire).  He loses the fight in a split-decision but wins a moral victory by becoming the first fighter to go all fifteen rounds with the champion.  I love that this is primarily a character study (the fight is only a small part of the runtime) in which tenacity, heart, and perseverance triumph over insurmountable odds and I love the vulnerable and authentic performance from Stallone.  There are so many iconic scenes, such as when Rocky goes ice skating with Adrian, when he drinks the raw eggs, when he visits the Spectrum the night before the fight, when he trains by punching slabs of frozen beef at the meat packing plant, when he gets back on his feet after being knocked out by Apollo in the fourteenth round, and, of course, the training montage which culminates in Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (this elicited loud cheers from the audience and I got goosebumps as soon as I heard the opening fanfare of "Gonna Fly Now").  My favorite scene when I watched it the first time was when an a capella group on a street corner sings "Take You Back" (for some reason this made a big impression on me) and my favorite scene yesterday was when Rocky's trainer Mickey (Burgess Meredith) tells him to stay down after being knocked out (the crowd laughed out loud).  Seeing this on the big screen again was incredibly nostalgic and so much fun!  Now I am even more excited to see I Play Rocky later this month!