Welcome
to our special OSCAR WEEK SERIES of
reviews. This series will go through the seven categories in which an award is
given based on the entire film (rather than any one constituent element). This fifth
review in the series will go through the FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM nominees.
LAND OF MINE
Land of Mine is a Danish and German film
directed by Martin Zandvliet. This film tells the story of a group of teenager
Nazi soldiers drafted toward the end of the war who are prisoners of war being
used to remove landmines in Denmark following World War II. This might be the
most emotionally complex movie I saw all year and has me all over the place
with my thoughts.
The
most effective thing about Land of Mine
is its incredibly morally complicated story. There is no film possibly ever
made where I have rooted for current or past Nazi soldiers. Fundamentally they’re
evil and always depicted as such. Land of
Mine managed to make me really question that idea in this specific context
(obviously the Nazis as a whole were evil) and that really challenged me as a
viewer. I also found myself really caring about what happened to the characters
in this film and when inevitably bad things happened it really hurt. This is
far from perfect, however. The performances were all fine but this film could
have benefitted from stronger, more-subtle performers. Also, the cinematography
and camerawork are extremely uninspired. Other than the moral story, the vision
of this film doesn’t feel terribly well executed. It still left me feeling
something though which counts for a lot.
Ryan’s Score: 8/10
A MAN CALLED
OVE
A Man Called Ove is a Swedish film directed
by Hannes Holm. It tells the story of an old grumpy man in a neighborhood who
enforces all of the neighborhoods rules with an iron fist. Following a run in
with a resident who moved in recently the man undergoes an emotional and life
altering journey. Overall this film felt pretty conventional but it did have
some decent emotional beats and humorous moments.
I
thought that this film felt excessively familiar. The central conceit, how it
is executed, and the performances all largely work in this film. I also think
that the cinematography in this was really nice and made it a pleasant film to
look at. Nothing in this was terribly interesting to me though, especially once
I figured out the pattern the film would fall into. I also walked away from the
film feeling mostly unfulfilled. I can’t recommend this, per se, but it’s fine
nevertheless.
Ryan’s Score: 6.5/10
THE SALESMAN
The Salesman is the latest film from
well-known Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. This film tells the story of a
couple in modern day Iran who move into a new apartment where something bad
happens to the wife and the film turns to an interesting mystery story as well
as intimate domestic drama. Overall, I found this to be a well-acted and
well-shot film that didn’t really amount to much at the end of the day.
The Salesman is, without question, well
made. The lead performers, Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti, were both
extremely good in the film. They had great subtlety to what they did as well as
spectacular big moments in the film. Without these two this would fall apart
but thankfully it doesn’t. Additionally, Farhadi shot this film extremely well.
It really was beautiful to look at throughout. I wasn’t blown away by this film
though. My biggest issue with it was that it felt extremely standard. Yes, it
is steeped in Iranian custom and culture which makes it different but if
effectively the same movie were released in America there would be no fanfare.
We’ve seen this before and we will see it again. That smallness and blandness
really made it feel like a fleeting diversion rather than a great film. I also
thought that certain aspects of the conclusion “chickened out” or a more
dramatic finish.
Ryan’s Score: 7.5/10
TANNA
Tanna is a film out of Australia
and Vanuatu set on the island of Tanna in the South Pacific. The film was
directed by Martin Butler and Bentley Dean. The film tells a true Romeo and
Juliet story of two tribes people on the island of Tanna who decide to marry
for love against the wishes of their families and their tribes’ cultural
customs. Overall I thought this was an interesting film that felt almost
documentarian (understandable given that the directors are documentary
filmmakers) but I was never swept up in the narrative of the story.
The
strength of Tanna lies in its
authenticity. This film feels really true to life. It is cast with people who
are not actors (rather just the relevant tribespeople) and is shot entirely on
location in Vanuatu. Those two elements made this film thoroughly believable.
Also, the landscape cinematography on the island of Tanna was absolutely
gorgeous and really elevated the film as a whole. This is definitely a story we’ve
heard many times (it literally is Romeo and Juliet). The fact that it is a true
story makes it more intriguing but it doesn’t do enough to push this into the
novel category. I also thought much of what they had the actors do in this
piece was very simple and never transcended their amateur abilities which is
unfortunate because it left me wanting for greater emotional depth.
Ryan’s Score: 7/10
TONI ERDMANN
Toni Erdmann is a German comedy-drama
directed by Maren Ade. The film, starring Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller,
is about a father trying to make a connection with and return joy to the life
of his high strung and detached daughter. This film is really funny and
enjoyable and surprisingly heartfelt.
Toni Erdmann has been a critical darling
and with good reason. It is delightful. Highlighted by two stellar leading
performances, this film manages to be extremely funny and carry a depth of
emotion and drama most films in this vein seriously fail to achieve. There is
also once scene that I won’t spoil at a birthday party toward the second third
of the movie that was the second funniest scene I saw in 2016. It absolutely
had me in stitches. Toni Erdmann is,
without question, a film that overstays its welcome though. At two hours and forty
minutes this film feels really overbearing. I understand how they set
everything out but there were several times I wanted to get up and stop
watching and come back which is never a good sign. I also thought that parts of
the film felt unduly strange that some of the emotional weight was lost. This
film is good, for sure, but it’s not a masterpiece as some have pegged it to
be.
Ryan’s Score: 7.5/10
PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:
Ryan’s Pick: Land of Mine
Ryan’s Prediction: The Salesman
GoldDerby Experts Prediction:
The Salesman
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