“American Friends” on DVD – A Review Of The 1991 Tristram Powell Film Now Reissued By The BBC In 2012

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"…I Pleaded We Were Americans…But That Only Seemed To Make Matters Worse…" 

– American Friends on DVD

It's 1866 - and crusty old Reverend Francis Ashby (a Fellow Of Oxford University in England) is 46, unmarried and about to depart on his annual holiday to the Swiss Alps to partake of the bracing air and spirit rejuvenating views. His man servant Haskell (a very witty turn by Bryan Pringle) has packed his guide book, boots and other manly things - and breathes a sign of relief because thankfully there'll be no 'dirty women' as he refers to them on this trip. Like Ashby - Haskell is British you see - and the very thought of such things is an anathema to him...

But once there - two American ladies Miss Caroline (40) and Miss Elinor Hartley (20) are out on the mountains - when through her binoculars - young Elinor (Trini Alvarado) sees a naked Ashby (Michael Palin) taking a dip in a mountain stream. Something is lit in her heart. And as time passes both in the UK and in Switzerland - his kindness towards her grows ("How else should one behave?") - and an unlikely but very real love blossoms between them.

A young Irish-born girl sent to the USA when she was 5 and adopted by Aunt Caroline - Elinor has been educated, clothed and raised a lady in the best company. But while she's pretty - Elinor is essentially pure and hugely innocent to the world. And her genuinely caring Aunt worries about the headstrong girl wanting a life and love of her own. And at times Aunt Caroline (a superb Connie Booth as a woman of a certain age in a time of uber restraint) even dares to dream of love too with the decent man of learning and classics - Ashby.

But despite his best dismissive efforts to repel the ladies and a party of British hikers who spot an opportunity to place their son in Oxford by buttering up the Fellow - soon Ashby is engaged in reluctant walks with the two women - then a dance one Summer evening - and even a brief but beautiful kiss with Elinor. He too it seems is taken by love and suddenly his eyes are opened to a life beyond the confines of dead books and dead languages. But old habits die hard - and conflicted - he heads back to the safety of Founder's Port, Latin Essays and the stuffy rules and regulations of Oxford - where the changing of a Soup Tureen requires a committee meeting.

But back home he finds that Rushden - the very elderly President of Oxford is on his last legs ("The Visigoths are at the gates!" he cries out) and a new President will be elected soon. But vying for the position with Ashby is the cunning and morally lecherous Oliver Syme who beds every girl he can in the cottage he owns by the river. Ashby is perceived by all at the famous college to have 'no known moral blemish' and is therefore a front-runner. But then the American ladies come calling to visit Ashby - and needing a place to lodge - Syme lets the cottage by the river to the unsuspecting duo. But as Aunt Caroline and Ashby become closer (walks, dinner and indepth conversation) - young Elinor becomes impatient with Ashby - and in a rash night with Syme involving wet clothes - her virtue is sullied. Ashby now knows he has to make a choice - go for the college prize - or save the girl's reputation...

Based on the journals of his real uncle Edward Palin who resigned as an Oxford Fellow in 1866 and raised 7 children with an American woman he met on holidays in Switzerland - Michael Palin's script is co-written with Director Tristram Powell - and is a slow boiler and an utter delight for it. I've always loved this small but perfect film and owned a Region 4 Australian DVD of it to have a copy I could watch. George Delerue's string score is beautifully complimentary too in so many scenes.

This November 2012 BBC DVD reissue (Barcode 5051561037252) is not without its problems though. It's defaulted to 16 x 9 Anamorphic so it fills the entire screen (no lines to or bottom) and the print from a distance is lovely throughout - it is. But there are times when shimmer and shocking grain and dirt flicks appear (Molina's character giving a lesson to students) - only momentarily though. Overall it's in great shape. It's just that I would have dearly loved to see this gorgeous little movie be given the full restoration makeover - but alas.

Subtitles are English for the Hard of Hearing and there are no Extras.

The core of the 4 actors - Palin, Alvarado, Booth and Molina are all superb in their parts - as are Alun Armstrong and Bryan Pringle (now sadly lost to us). But it's the gentility of the story that stays. "Her eyes catch mine...I adore her..." a young student tells Ashby who can't concentrate on his studies because he longs for an older woman in the choir he attends. 46-year old Ashby looks out his Oxford window at the courtyard below where the two American ladies are being ushered away by a stuffy college stickler for rules - and knows for the first time in a very long time - what his young student feels so deeply.

"American Friends" has always been a minor masterpiece to me - a lovely piece of British cinema.
And decent - like the country itself...

"Chocolat" on BLU RAY – A Review Of The 2000 Lasse Hallstrom Film

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"…Live A Little!" – Chocolat on BLU RAY

Every one of the dry-as-a-leaf townsfolk in Mayor Comte De Reynaud's sleepy French hamlet "...knows their place in the scheme of things..." And if they forget their Christian values preached to them weekly in the stone cold church - the good Mayor is there to give the new young priest of 5 weeks (Hugh O'Connor) a helping hand with his sermons - and thereby get 'their' obedient flock back on the moral straight and narrow. Reynaud also waits patently and penitently for his wife to return from one of her interminable 'trips' - watched over his devoted secretary Caroline (the beautiful Carrie Anne Moss). But perhaps the hard-working and essentially decent Mayor (a fabulous turn by England's Alfred Molina) should just chill out and "measure goodness by what we embrace" - or maybe even recognize the lovely Caroline's devotion as genuine and worthy. But the Comte is too busy being pious and upright for the entire town - to engage in something that life-enhancing and delicious...

Besides that's the least of his carnal worries - because a sly wind is blowing in from the North - bringing with it a voluptuous woman of independent-mind (Juliette Binoche) who is going to open a decadent nay sinful chocolate parlour in Lent - a time of abstinence, reflection and tranquillity. And when this shop "Choclataire Maya" opens - Mayor Reynaud knows deep down in his starched flannel trousers that it will seduce the town - especially the women. And the next thing you know - they'll be shagging their husbands senseless again - leaving the drunken abusive ones behind (Peter Stormare as Serge) - cavorting with travelling river people who play guitars and talk in odd Irish accents (Johnny Depp as Roux) and generally enjoying all manner of lurid sensory pleasure. "It's important to now one's enemy..." the Mayor muses ominously.

Adapted from Joanne Harris' beloved novel by Robert Nelson Jacobs - Lasse Hallstrom's feature film (he also did "The Cider House Rules" - see separate review) garnished five Academy Award nominations - including one for Best Movie. And it's easy to see why. It has a magical and very visual story with fantastically strong parts for women. And it has chocolate - lots and lots of sweets, biscuits, cake and chocolate. You can get fat just looking at this film.

The cast is varied and uniformly superb: French acting and dancing legend Leslie Caron is an elderly town lady admired and longed for by Monsieur Bierot (a lovely show by England's John Wood). There's Judy Dench in full-on spiky mode as the ballsy old biddy Armande (nominated for Supporting Actress - her dialogue titles this review) who rents out the former patisserie to Mademoiselle Vianne (Juliet Binoche in luminous form). Vianne's dreamy daughter Anouk (a delightful Victoire Thivisol) plays with an imaginary kangaroo - but is tired of wandering from town to town with her rootless mother - prone to leaving in an instant when the wind tells her to go.

But as mum's culinary skills with South American cocoa and the dark evil liquid begins to affect the town folk in positive ways - especially a broken lady called Josephine (Lena Olin - who is Lasse Hallstrom's wife in real life) - the wandering Vianne senses that perhaps this hamlet is where her roots should be planted. In fact perhaps the town and its earnest but lost Mayor need her. And there's also the added enticement of that handsome rogue the Deppster to deal with - all gypsy and sexy shirts and dishevelled hair and guitars and good with fixing doors and making her daughter happy. Easy to resist that...eh...

Defaulted to Aspect ratio 1.78:1 - the BLU RAY picture fills the entire screen (no bars bottom or top) - but is a strange mixture of the ordinary and exceptional. I suspect in order to give the movie that slightly dreamy feel - there is a soft focus on a lot of it - and subtle grain is ever present. But there are also moments that are truly beautiful when you least expect it - down by the river at night, the feast to celebrate a 70th birthday in the garden, Alfred Molina trying to turn Serge into a gentleman in his home. It doesn't ever look bad - it's just not as stunning as you'd expect such a sensuous film to be.

Audio is DTS-HD Master Audio Surround 5.1 and Subtitles are in English and English For The Hearing Impaired (a poor showing fro such an International film frankly). The Extras feature all the principal actors as well as legendary Hollywood Producer David Brown (Jaws, The Verdict, A Few Good Men).

"Chocolat" is a classy piece of filmmaking - a sensory uplifting watch with passion truffles, cups of chilli-flavoured hot chocolate and Nipples of Venus.

Give it a nibble you sinners...

“Frida” on BLU RAY. A Review Of The 2002 Film Now Reissued On A 2012 BLU RAY.

 

                                        
 "…Radical And Courageous And Very Romantic…"
 

I had a feeling that this would be an exceptional BLU RAY reissue and I'm glad to be proven right.

The picture quality is uniformly gorgeous and highlights the vivid array of expertly researched detail the 150-strong production company filled every scene with - Mexican clothing, terracotta interiors, chaotic art studios and colonial South American buildings. Its default aspect is 1.78:1 - so it fills the entire screen without stretching or loss of clarity. You combine this with a sympathetically-written script, brilliant acting and a genuinely affecting and unfolding story (never mind the huge amount of EXTRAS transferred in full from the DVD - see list below) and the whole experience is a joy to re-watch and re-discover.

The first thing that strikes you about the print is that 'colour' is everywhere. It opens in Mexico in 1922 when Frida Kahlo is a precocious 15 year-old and able-bodied (before her horrific accident) and over the course of the movie progresses nearly 30 years hence - so lighting - textures - interiors - all have to be matched. The Blues, Reds, Yellows and Gold are full on and evoke a Mexico of the period (all beautifully done by Production Designer Felipe Fernandez - Oscar nominated for his work here).

The autobiographical nature of her art is captured in cleverly woven-in scenes and her painful injuries/nightmares are portrayed at times by grotesque animation peopled from her canvas creations. Frida suffered back pain all her life (an iron rod skewered her abdomen and uterus in the accident) and famously painted lying down with a mirror over her bed (she later had toes and a leg amputated due to her injuries). Yet she defied all expectations and after two years in casts managed to walk again. Taymor's movie fills the screen with this - her spirit, her driving need to matter and her bisexual lovelife and gender-bender dress sense. This is a world where politics and passion are seething in the streets - and boozy nights are spent discussing the first and engaging in the second...

The cast is large and seriously talented - and Frida is a role Salma Hayek openly admits she'd always wanted to play. The worst you could say about her performance is that her beauty and astonishing sensuality sometimes hinder believability. But she gives her all and her supporting cast are so well chosen that her film-star looks get quickly forgotten. Given the depth and difficulty of the part - her nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role is richly deserved.

And while Ashley Judd (her dialogue discussing their marriage titles this review), Geoffrey Rush, Edward Norton, Antonio Banderas, and Roger Rees all contribute their vignettes with heart and commitment - the film's real ace-in-the-hole is ALFRED MOLINA. He is simply astonishing as Diego Rivera - the Mexican murals painter who married Frida in 1929 at the age of 43 when she was only 22. Diego was a fat ugly man who became her mentor, lover and on/off husband for 25 years. Loveable one minute, loathsome the next - the film is so much better because he's in it (Salma sings his praises in the extras). A lecher, habitual womanizer and a serious-minded Communist - it's a ludicrously difficult part to nail - yet Molina is never anything less than brilliant. Charming at first when he's getting what he wants (wooing Frida in the alley outside his studio) - then to his wandering glassy eyes as infidelity creeps to the surface (watching her sing at a party, but eyeing the other women there) - he later crosses the line completely by sleeping with her sister (fathered a child by her too). The big question is - why did a woman as committed to loyalty as Frida countenance this boor for even a second? Friends gave their union 'two months' - her own mother described their marriage as being between "...an elephant and a dolphin..." The answer the film tells us is LOVE.

In interviews, Director Julie Taymor states that both she and Salma returned to Frida's diaries and found they were not about betrayal and men-as-pigs (as many feminists feel) - they were all about Diego and her. Frida really loved him - admired him - supported him. Of course she wanted to slit his throat on several occasions - and was ultimately broken by him (the scene where she cuts her hair is particularly powerful) - but she seemed to stick with his first wife's advice to accept the rough with the smooth because the overall gain was worth it ("...He's the best of friends and the worst of husbands."). It's an odd relationship in an oddball world. Yet both Hayek and Molina are so believable that when the film morphs from one of her paintings of the married couple standing in a room into the actors playing them - it's hard to tell the difference. Taymor (who devoted almost two years of her life to the project) does well to rescue Frida from self-pity and loathing - showing instead her courage and joie-de-vive - her fierce loyalty no matter what. Her partner Elliot Goldenthal also provided the film with a beautifully apt Latin guitar score (for which he won the Oscar).

To sum up - it was never going to be an easy task to film the life of this icon of Mexican art (Frida) and interpret her tumultuous lifelong relationship with another free soul (Diego) - yet both June Taymor and Salma Hayek pulled it off admirably. It was nominated for six Oscars and won two - Best Make Up and Best Original Music. You can't help but think it should have won more (especially for its two leads)...

A quality BLU RAY reissue then - and like a good political knees-up with Leon Trotsky - wholeheartedly recommended.

BLU RAY Specifications:

VIDEO: 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio [Full Screen]

AUDIO: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

SUBTITLES: English, English for the Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing, Spanish

EXTRAS:

1. (Feature Length) Audio Commentary by Julie Taymor (Director)

2. A Conversation With Salma Hayek - Lead Actress Playing Frida Kahlo (near-40 minute facing-camera interview covering all aspects of the shoot)

3. AFI (American Film Institute) Q&A with Julie Taymor conducted 2 Oct 2002 by Deszo Magyar (30 minutes)

4. Bill Moyers Interview With Julie Taymor (19 minutes)

5. Chavela Vargas Interview - A 93-year old Mexican Lady Singer who knew Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (Subtitled, 15 Minutes)

6. The Voice Of Lila Downs - a Mexican Singer-Songwriter who sang some of the music for the soundtrack (5 minutes)

7. The Vision Of Frida with Rodrigo Prieto (Cinematographer) and Julie Taymor (6 minutes)

8. The Design of Frida with Felipe Fernandez (Production Designer) (near 3 minutes)

9. The Music of Frida with Elliot Goldenthal and Salma Hayek (5 mnutes)

10. Salma's Recording Session - she sings "La Bruja" (near 3 minutes)

11. Bringing Frida Kahlo's Life And Art To Film: A Walk Through The Real Locations.

Felipe Fernandez talks of his painters, designers and architects who recreated Frida and Diego's home "The Blue House".

They did the courtyard, the vivid wall colours, the cacti, her bed with the mirror above, framed Communist imagery.

Later in the film they recreate Diego's modernist home where the couple hosted Trotsky etc (near 6 minutes)

12. Portrait Of An Artist - clips from the film mixed with interviews with Julie Taymor, Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Geoffrey Rush, Ashley Judd and two Producers (14 minutes)

13. "Amoeba Proteus" - Visual FX Piece (near 10 minutes)

14. "The Brothers Quay" - Visual FX Piece (1 minute)

15. Bookmarks - allows you to bookmark portions of the film