Author: James McNally

The Agronomist (USA, director Jonathan Demme): This is going to be hard to rate. The subject of the film, Haitian radio journalist and activist Jean Dominique, was a firebrand and a voice for democracy until his assassination in 2000. The film, born out of Demme’s long friendship with Dominique, is a stirring tribute to the man and his wife, journalist Michèle Montas. However, it is clear that most of the footage is more like a collection of Demme’s home movies than a professionally-produced film. Demme interviewed Dominique many times over the course of more than ten years, and it’s not always clear when particular conversations are taking place. To make things worse, some of the editing is awkward and even gimmicky at times, and the overlaid text graphics are just plain ugly. If I were to rate the story of Jean Dominique, I’d give it a 10 (which was why it was a no-brainer to stand when Michèle Montas came to the stage). Unfortunately, Demme’s film is a less-than-inspiring piece of work about an incredibly inspiring man.

(7/10)

Evil (Sweden/Denmark, director Mikael Håfström): Based on the Swedish bestseller Ondskan by Jan Guillou, Evil is the story of sixteen-year old Erik, who is expelled from his high school for his constant fighting. What his teachers don’t know is that at home, Erik is being beaten mercilessly by his stepfather, and is lashing out the only way he knows how. He is sent to a prestigious boarding school, where he is determined to make good on his considerable academic potential. But the school is ruled by the cruel whims of the senior students, whose many crimes, both petty and otherwise, are ignored by the faculty. Erik faces a choice. He can fight back, and be expelled, or he can take the humiliation. Or is there another way?

This beautifully-shot film reminded me of Lord of the Flies, for obvious reasons, but has also been compared to Rebel Without A Cause (which, being set in the 1950s, it references directly). It didn’t hurt that Andreas Wilson, the actor who plays Erik, bears some resemblance to James Dean. It’s a very well-crafted film, even if it doesn’t have any revolutionary things to say. The universal themes of friendship, first love, growing up, and resisting injustice are all here and handled with skill. There is quite a bit of violence and humiliation in the film, and even though we are stirred up to see Erik take his vengeance, the director gently pulls away from showing us this half of the equation. I thought that was a very interesting decision, and it elevated this film above being just a more violent Revenge Of The Nerds.

(8.5/10)

Moi Et Mon Blanc (Burkina Faso, director S. Pierre Yaméogo): Mamadi is a doctoral student in Paris. He’s studying international law so that he can go back to Africa to change the political situation in his country. While working as a parking garage attendant, he finds a bag of drugs and money and decides to keep it. Along with his French buddy Franck (the blanc in the title, roughly translated as “white guy”), they travel back to Burkina Faso and decide to start a bar.

This was a light-hearted buddy movie, and it had its charms. Nevertheless, the plot and characterization were minimal, and there were some editing/continuity problems. The attempts to parallel people’s attitudes about race in both countries were a bit clumsy, as well, however well-intentioned. Still, I have to applaud a filmmaker from a country with so few resources for making such a good-natured film. The scenes in Burkina Faso, though less tight narratively, have an ease that lets you know the actor (and the filmmaker) is home. And home, despite the political problems and poverty, is where the heart is. Working with such limited resources, Yaméogo has done a pretty good job. I hope he gets to continue making films.

(6.5/10)

Stander (Canada/UK/South Africa, director Bronwen Hughes): Andre Stander was a police captain in South Africa. In 1976, during riot duty, he shoots and kills a young black man. Deeply disturbed by his place in the apartheid society, he begins robbing banks, while still working as a police officer. After more than two dozen robberies, he is apprehended and sentenced to 32 years in prison. After two years, he breaks out of prison along with two accomplices and soon the “Stander Gang” are at it again, robbing dozens more banks (as many as five in one day). This unbelievable and yet true story is told with gusto by director Bronwen Hughes. One of my friends was vaguely surprised that a female director could be so true to the way male friendships and camaraderie operate, but Hughes does a great job. Because the story takes place in the ’70s and ’80s, the art direction was crucial, too, and it’s pulled off magnificently, aided by a jazzy and slightly campy soundtrack. The film seemed like a joyous remix of Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Catch Me If You Can, and even Starsky and Hutch.

In my opinion, the only thing that would have made it better would have been a little more insight into what Stander really thought of the white society in South Africa, and what his real motives were, if any. Was anarchy all he believed in?

(8/10)

Touching The Void (UK, director Kevin Macdonald): Based on the book of the same name by mountaineer Joe Simpson, the film both recounts and recreates the harrowing true story of Simpson and climbing partner Simon Yates’ 1985 ascent of the sheer face of an Andean mountain. During the descent, Simpson falls and badly shatters his leg. After attempting to lower his friend to safety and losing him over an ice cliff, Yates makes the controversial decision to cut the rope that binds them together, letting Simpson fall more than 100 feet into a crevasse.

Amazingly, both men survive. And even more amazingly, Simpson staunchly defends his friend’s action upon their return home. Told in a docudrama style, the film captures both the majesty and terror of the mountains along with the real emotional and physical experiences of the climbers themselves. Utterly unique and deserves to gain a huge audience.

Joe Simpson continues to climb today, and received a standing ovation after the screening.

(10/10)