Tag: Friendship

“The Mission” (1986) starring Robert De Niro & Jeremy Irons

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Deep in the jungles of South America two men bring civilization to a native tribe. Now, after years of struggle together, they find themselves on opposite sides in a dramatic fight for the natives’ independence. One will trust in the power of prayer. One will believe in the might of the sword. -Taglines for the film

In the 1750s, an idealistic Spanish Jesuit, Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), goes high in the remote mountains of South America to build a mission, hoping to convert the native Indians. A Portuguese slave hunter, Capt. Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro), renounces his life of greed/violence and joins the mission; he eventually becomes a priest. Then, Spain sells this colony to Portugal, putting the freedom of the natives (and lives of the European priests) at risk! The film was released 4 yrs. after its (uncredited) source book- The Lost Cities of Paraguay– by Father C. J. McNaspy (an American Jesuit) was published. McNaspy was a historical consultant on the movie (loosely based on his work).

Gabriel: If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don’t have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo.

The Mission was shot over 16 wks (mostly in Colombia), w/ 3 wks at the Iguazu Falls (Argentina). The Indian communities of Togorama, Burajon, Papayo, and Pangala (Choco, Colombia), esp. the tiny Guarani community (Iguazu, Argentina) contributed to its making. The Mission of San Carlos reconstructed for the movie was built on indigenous land w/ local materials and labor- wow! At Cannes (1987), it won both the C.S.T. Prize (the Technical Grand Prize) and the top award (the Palme d’Or), which were awarded to the director (Roland Joffé). The real draws here are its gorgeous cinematography and captivating musical score (by Ennio Morricone). Though it got 7 noms, the film won only one Oscar- Best Cinematography (awarded to Chris Menges).

Gabriel: If you die with blood on your hands, Rodrigo, you betray everything we’ve done. You promised your life to God. And God is love!

Like many viewers, I thought Irons did well; he shows a softer (gentler) side here than in some other roles. De Niro doesn’t seem V connected to this material; he looks good w/ longish/wavy hair and capable in the action scenes. When w/ the native kids, De Niro looks like he’s having a good time. The pacing is a major issue, aside from character development. There is only one (minor) female role; British theater actress (Cherie Lunghi) plays a noblewoman. We also see two tall/handsome (future) stars of Irish heritage: American actor Aidan Quinn (as Mendoza’s younger brother) and Irish actor Liam Neeson (as a priest- Fielding- using his own accent).

[1] The film is beautifully shot and features lush cinematography; however, the battle choreography of the film’s climax is somewhat ragged and unrealistic; the relative lack of character development adds to the “ho hum” feeling one gets while watching the Portuguese and the Guarani-Jesuit team fight it out on land and in kayaks.

The performances are decent though not spectacular. […] The dialogue, however, is such that none of the performances, except perhaps for Mr. Irons, are very memorable.

[2] Sadly, the story is never fully developed, and the inherent conflicts are not exploited. The movie becomes just a pastiche of related scenes lacking a strong narrative theme and supporting characters to tie them together. The story is subsumed by propaganda. Granted, these are extraordinarily beautiful scenes, but breathtaking scenery is not enough. It feels more like a History Channel lecture than a character-driven story.

[3] Jeremy Irons is well cast as Father Gabriel, ably encompassing a range of gentleness, sternness, and passionate devotion. Robert De Niro turns in a surprisingly weak performance… Anyone hoping that the scenes between Irons and De Niro would be exceptional will be disappointed. The real standout in the acting department is Ray McAnally as Cardinal Altamirano…

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Two Films of Luca Guadagnino: “I Am Love” (2009) & “A Bigger Splash” (2015)

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I Am Love (2009) starring Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, & Edoardo Gabbriellini

Emma (Tilda Swinton) left Russia to live with her husband in Italy. Now a member of a powerful industrial family, she is the respected mother of three, but feels unfulfilled. One day, Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini), a talented chef and her son’s friend, makes her senses kindle. -Synopsis

After watching Challengers this Spring, I decided to look up films that Luca Guadagnino directed in the past. For most (American) viewers, he became one to watch w/ I Am Love; Swinton has worked w/ him on many projects. This is a domestic drama w/ fine food, timeless fashion, and romance. The story is set in (modern-day) Milan, yet the visual style reminded me of a bygone era. The title is taken from the aria La mamma morta, part of the 1896 opera Andrea Chénier by Umberto Giordano; music is a major element here. Swinton learned both Italian and Russian for the part- wow! Swinton’s IRL daughter (Honor Swinton Byrne) played Emma as a child. As the idealistic heir of the biz, Flavio Parenti does a fine job (and looks gorgeous). Fans of Adam Driver (like me) will recognize Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher; they acted together in Hungry Hearts (2014). Here she plays Elisabetta, the artistic daughter of the (buttoned-up) Recchi family.

[1] Who is Mr. Guadagnino, the director? Where does he come from? He seems incredibly sure of himself. Costumes, interiors, landscapes are a visual feast. The score is also a very bold touch.

[2] While I was moved by much of the visual beauty of the film and the idea of breaking with tradition and listening to the voices within, I was infrequently emotionally involved with the characters and I Am Love felt distant and often contrived.

[3] Throughout the movie, it seemed that the food acted as a metaphor: Emma was starting to taste a whole side of her existence about which she’d never known.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

A Bigger Splash (2015) starring Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson, Matthias Schoenaerts, & Tilda Swinton

The lives of a high-profile couple, a famous rock star (Tilda Swinton) and a filmmaker (Matthias Schoenaerts), vacationing and recovering on the idyllic sun-drenched and remote Italian island of Pantelleria, are disrupted by the unexpected visit of an old friend (Ralph Fiennes) and his daughter (Dakota Johnson), creating a whirlwind of jealousy, passion, and- ultimately- danger for everyone involved. —Synopsis (Fox Searchlight)

Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a British rock star (similar to Bowie) on an extended vacay on an island of Italy. Paul De Smedt (Matthias Schoenaerts) is her quiet/chill bf of several yrs. The happy couple is forced to host Marianne’s music producer/ex-bf, Harry Hawkes (Ralph Fiennes), when he drops in w/o warning. Adding to the disruption, Harry brought along a much younger/American woman, Penelope (Dakota Johnson), who turns out to be his daughter! As Marianne has recently injured her vocal cords, she speaks V little (and almost in a whisper). Harry (never at a loss for words) takes over the villa’s kitchen, invites his friends over, and does a (hilarious) dance! We start to wonder: What is his motivation to be here?

If you enjoyed The White Lotus, I think you may also like this film (which is a blend of comedy, drama, and mystery). The (natural) way that Guadagnino deals w/ nudity, sensuality, and intimate relationships is rare (esp. for those who don’t see a LOT of European films)! As one viewer wrote: “Guadagnino is a remarkable filmmaker with a retro eye and a futuristic sensibility.” There is a small side plot involving young men (refugees from North Africa); this felt superfluous to some viewers. At a Q&A session for this film, Guadagnino (now 52 y.o.) explained that his mother is Algerian (raised in Morocco) and a Muslim! However, when she married the director’s father, she was estranged from her family.

[1] The quartet core together concocts a palpable interplay between each of them, Ralph Fiennes is the MVP simply because he is all over the place and wondrous to behold under a fully liberated context, and at the same time his performance knowingly triggers a tint of abstruseness which belies the nature of every human soul…

[2] A Bigger Splash is a character development masterclass by Guadagnino. Over the first hour, the film gives everything to build up the intricacies of each character’s attributes so that every subsequent variation and elaboration feels exhilarating. This is a film about people and relationships; how different associations can sometimes coalesce, yet at other times grate, how secrets and history must awkwardly co-exist with the fantasies of perfection.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Fearless” (1993) starring Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, & Rosie Perez

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After surviving a plane crash, a San Fran-based architect, Max Klein (Jeff Bridges), emerges a changed man. He’s unable to connect to his life w/ his wife Laura (Isabella Rossellini) and young son. Max feels like a god- nothing can hurt him! About 3 mos. later, psychologist Bill Perlman (John Turturro) convinces Max to meet w/ another survivor, Carla Rodrigo (Rosie Perez- who got an Oscar nom), who is racked w/ grief and guilt after losing her baby son in the crash. Carla’s husband, Manny, is played by a young Benicio del Toro. Max’s business partner/friend, Jeff, is played by John de Lancie (best known for Star Trek: TNG).

Dr. Perlman: He and your wife are the only survivors I can’t reach. She won’t talk and he won’t admit the crash was bad.

Manny: Is that right? He says it was good?

Dr. Perlman: Says it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Hero (1992) was based around a similar subject matter and released a year before Fearless; about half a dozen cast/crew worked on both movies. The plane crash here was inspired by a real event from 1989.The source novel by Rafael Yglesias was published in 1993; Yglesias wrote the screenplay (which was his 1st one). Fearless may NOT an easy film to watch, esp. for those who lived through 9/11. This made me V emotional (I cried 3x), though the directing (by Peter Weir) is done in an unsentimental way. The music enhanced the movie V well.

Dr. Perlman: She won’t talk. Very Catholic. Old World, you know. Full of guilt, shame.

Max: I’m full of guilt and shame. How is that Old World?

This is a character-based drama w/ strong acting from the leads and supporting cast. Max is heroic (and called so in the media), BUT he is also a victim. Bridges (charming, relatable, yet troubled) and Perez (who has to carry a LOT of heaviness) have terrific chemistry together! As she a woman of color then relatively new to Hollywood, the studio was unsure re: Perez; Bridges and Weir both wanted her and pushed to get her hired (as she noted).

[1] This is deep introspective film making, as relevant as ever, with great performances from some truly great actors.

[2] Peter Weir is unique in his ability to convey the niceties of life with authenticity. Jeff Bridges is the master of the theatrical understatement.

[3] This movie definitely has flaws- the major one being that there are points when the story does not seem to be heading in any particular direction- but excellent acting, some intensely profound and uncommonly well-thought out character psychology (esp. for a Hollywood film) and the scariest/loveliest air plane crash ever dramatized makes this worth seeing.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” (1988 & 2023)

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The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) starring Eric Bogosian, Jeff Daniels, & Brad Davis

This TV movie is an adaptation (originally staged as a play) of the court-martial segment from the novel The Caine Mutiny. The play premiered at the Plymouth Theatre in NYC on January 20, 1954. The original cast included Henry Fonda (Barney Greenwald), John Hodiak (Lt. Maryk) and Lloyd Nolan (Lt. Cdr. Queeg). James Garner appeared as a member of the court; he was the understudy to Hodiak. The play ran for 415 performances, closing on January 22, 1955. I know what some of y’all are thinking: there used to be smart movies on TV!? The script is V literate and gives most of us (civilians) insight into Naval protocol, attitudes, traditions, and conflicts btwn. personalities. As one viewer commented: “we see the usual [Robert] Altman technique of a lot of side conversations that are barely heard and added noises to make the film seem more naturalistic.”

Lt. Greenwald (Eric Bogosian- a theater actor/police capt. on L&O: CI) as the defense attorney sustains ambivalence; he does a good job, exuding caged-in intensity. As the defendant, Lt. Steven Maryk (Jeff Daniels) must decide whether his lawyer is capable or unreliable. The prosecutor, Lt. Cmdr. John Challee, is played by Peter Gallagher (a theater actor; D.A. on L&O: SVU). Lt. Cmdr. Queeg (Brad Davis) may be mentally ill; I hadn’t seen Davis before (he died at age 41 in 1991). Unlike in the remake (below), ethnicity/religion is mentioned (Greenwald is Jewish).

[1] Each “author” of the Caine mutiny is a plausible bad guy who lends slightly different emphases to instigators who escape blame for what they goad others into doing.

Davis’s Queeg raises the intriguing possibility that an officer might be flat-out nutty in a way difficult for psychiatrists to detect but easy for an attorney to expose. […] I agree that the caricature of the psychiatrist is hokey.

[2] …it is taught and claustrophobic for most of the story – being set in the court-martial room (a bit of the end of the play is at the post-trial acquittal party). The results is a different telling of the story, and one relying on the audience’s own evaluation of the truth or lies of the different witnesses.

…Queeg is first taken down a peg by Greenwald (Eric Bogosian) not on issues of fitness of command, but on his honesty.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023) starring Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, & Jake Lacy

Some of y’all (cinephiles) may’ve heard re: this one, as it was the last film directed by William Friedkin (who passed away at age 86 in AUG 2023). Lance Riddick (Capt. Luther Blakely) also passed away before the movie’s release; he’s a strong screen presence and gives a fine performance. For insurance purposes, Guillermo del Toro was the back-up director. Friedkin completed filming in 14 days (wow); he was given just 15 days by the studio! This movie (which was released on VOD) has well-known faces, as well as some newcomers; I saw it 1st on a flight last Thanksgiving.

Queeg (Kiefer Sutherland) here is much older (unlike in the original play by Herman Wouk); he has a constrained way of speaking here. The defense counsel, Greenwald (Jason Clarke- a prolific Aussie character actor), hasn’t practiced law much; he is the most fleshed out character. The no-nonsense prosecutor, Challee, is played by a young/Latina woman (Monica Raymund). Maryk is played by boy-next-door actor Jake Lacy (w/ big eyes/open face); he has lately done more on streaming shows than movies. I was a BIT disappointed, as I wanted to know more re: Keefer (Lewis Pullman- son of Bill Pullman; recently seen in Top Gun: Maverick). Keefer ended up writing a novel (based on this incident); it’s revealed that he influenced Maryk’s decisions.

[1] The original Caine Mutiny was a Humphrey Bogart led movie from 1954, one that I love and sticks in my memory very well. This takes notes form that movie, but is not really a remake, just an intensified treatise on the ending with the court martial hearing drug out and the final denouncement of the young opportunist shown his comeuppance. Anyone familiar with the source material, movie or book it was based on would know this. […]

The underlying theme of The Caine Mutiny story is not “wow that guy went crazy” – it’s that well, even the best among us can crack. There is no villain, it is all perspective, and even though a wrong decision was made by Caine himself the question is were there ulterior motives involved by other people.

[2] Yes, the ending could have been lengthened and strengthened a bit to really let the viewer know, but then again, here we have a Captain that does some outlandish things, but was that enough to justify a mutiny? You have to really decide the verdict. […]

Some people may have problems with the way the Navy is portrayed in this film, in that they don’t understand that as the captain of a US Navy vessel, one is completely and ultimately responsible for every little thing that happens on or to that boat, good or bad, and that as a result, discipline, rank, and orders must be maintained…

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

“Written on the Wind” (1956) starring Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, & Dorothy Malone

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It was a masterpiece of suds. -Lauren Bacall, in an 2000 interview

In the Fall of 1955, a geologist working for Hadley Oil, Mitch Wayne (Rock Hudson), meets an executive secretary, Lucy Moore (Lauren Bacall), in their company’s office in NYC. He invites her to a lunch meeting at 21 Club w/ his best friend/famed playboy, Kyle Hadley (Robert Stack). Mitch and Kyle both fall hard for Lucy! Later that day, Kyle flies them all down (in his plane) to Miami; they check into a luxury hotel by the beach. Whoa, talk about love bombing! Kye shows Lucy her private suite, complete w/ glam clothes and accessories. However, none of this impresses her, so books a flight back to NYC. Kyle races to the airport, revealing his love for Lucy. They get married the next morning and travel to Acapulco; Kyle even gives up alcohol. Meanwhile, Kyle’s sister, Marylee (Dorothy Malone), is raising hell in their hometown (Hadley, TX). She loves Mitch desperately (though goes after other men), he sees Marylee as a sister.

Almost any other actor I know in the business… would have gone up to the head of the studio and said, “Hey, look, man, I’m the star – you cut this guy down or something.” But he never did. I never forgot that. -Robert Stack re: working w/ Rock Hudson

Rock gave me that sense of security whenever I worked with him. -Dorothy Malone (who won Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1956 for her role) on her bond w/ Hudson

The source novel was based on the death of tobacco heir Zachary “Smith” Reynolds. Though Humphrey Bogart (husband of Bacall) didn’t like it, many modern critics consider Written on the Wind to be director Douglas Sirk’s best. Here we have an exploration of love, betrayal, and social status. The Village Voice referred to the film as “the original Technicolor noir” (OCT 1987). Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; a native of Germany) is called “the master of melodrama;” he used bright colors in the visuals, lavish sets, and sweeping music. Without these types of movies, we perhaps wouldn’t have the soap operas of the ’80s (Dallas; Dynasty). The director and Hudson collaborated earlier on Magnificent Obsession (1954) and All that Heaven Allows (1955). Sirk stated that Kyle had homosexual leanings towards Mitch; this could NOT be mentioned (due to the Hays Code). The implication was so strong that 1956 audiences could read it either way; to today’s viewers, the subtext may be TOO obvious.

I just went and used my imagination, and I was doing DTs and madness and the six stages of drunkenness, and it was a good chance to truly prove that I could either do something pretty good or completely fall on my face. -Stack re: preparation for his role

Bacall and Hudson are an (unlikely) screen pair; she has the (rare) meek/underwritten role. Bacall later said she felt too old to play Lucy. Stack and Malone have the flashier roles; they’re undisciplined, insecure, and shameless siblings. It’s obvious that old/frail Mr. Hadley (Robert Keith) respects/depends on Mitch (unlike his son). Mitch wants to extricate himself from the (dysfunctional) Hadley family; he isn’t always strong. A clever viewer felt that the different cars reflected the personality of the characters. Kyle drives a yellow sports car- Allard J2X Le Mans- representing caution/potential danger. Marylee drives a red convertible-1955 Woodhall Wildfire Roadster- representing passion. In contrast to his flashy friends, Mitch drives a 1956 Plymouth convertible.

[1] WRITTEN ON THE WIND could be considered Sirk’s epic soap opera; indeed, it is so rife with human vulnerability and neurosis as depicted among the very rich that it is as compelling to watch as any real life domestic squabble among the rich and famous, perhaps more so.

[2] It is ironic that during the ’50s, when Douglas Sirk was at his most successful in terms of audience appeal, he was virtually ignored by the critics. He is now seen, however, as a director of formidable intellect who achieved his best work in melodrama.

[3] …the delivery is everything and the film succeeds in making the story and characters engaging. It is hard to describe well, but the story doesn’t really happen in reality, but rather in a sort of melodrama world of high emotions, and I didn’t expect it to draw me in.

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews