film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Hugues Porquier

  • Mallory: Review

    Mallory: Review

    “Mallory” is a documentary directed by Ashley Patino released in early 2021 in the United States. It tells the story of Mallory Grossman, a 12 year old girl who committed suicide after being bullied at school.  The documentary begins with alarming suicide figures. “Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for children between ages 10 and 12 in the united States”,  “In New Jersey, on average, one person dies by suicide every 11 hours”. These figures show us the alarming state in which the schools are with regard to bullying, especially in the United States.

    In this documentary, Mallory is joined by another central figure, Mallory’s mother, Dianne Grossman.  Through these images, Dianne Grossman tries to continue the fight that has animated her since the death of her daughter. The education of the youngest but also of the oldest to counter the phenomenon of bullying in schools. 

    This fight, she leads it through several actions but also through her foundation the Malory’s army.  The documentary is punctuated by Dianne Grossman’s different interventions on television, during conferences or in schools. These interventions are interspersed with very personal images of Mallory’s childhood and interventions of professionals who talk to us about bullying, cyberbullying and its consequences. 

    These different interventions give a good rhythm to the documentary, which despite a difficult subject, remains easy to watch and allows us to realize that any child can be subject to bullying.   We could nevertheless regret some intimate scenes during which we witness the parents crying or some scenes of Mallory’s childhood. These scenes seem dispensable, we realize the horror of the situation that Mallory went through and in which the parents are now through the simple telling of the story and the exposition of the facts. 

    This documentary therefore has an educational purpose. Whether it’s for the children in a rather short vision or for the parents and future parents, which are clearly questioned in this documentary. 

    A specialist and Mallory’s mother show us through these images that a child is not evil and malicious by nature. All the behaviors they adopt, the words they use come from their surroundings and the education they received from their parents. Ashley Patino, Mallory’s parents, her family and the members of Mallory’s Army Foundation hope that this documentary will raise awareness about bullying in schools and change future behaviors. 

  • Feeling Through: Review

    Feeling Through: Review

    “Feeling Through” is the story of the meeting between Tereek (played by Steven Prescod), a young man with nowhere to sleep and Artie (played by Robert Tarango) a deaf-blind man who wants to go home. This encounter will change their lives forever.

    “Feeling Through” is a short film directed and written by Doug Roland, known for “Life Hack” (2017). The film has already won more than 14 awards in various festivals around the world and is nominated in the category “Live Action Short Film” of the 93rd edition of the Oscars alongside “Da Yie” or “The Present”.

    We witness a surprising and touching encounter between Tereek, a young man who is afraid to sleep outside in solitude and darkness, and Artie, a deaf-blind man who spends his whole life in the dark, who seems fearless.

    It’s late, Artie just wants to go home, and for that, he has to put his full trust in others, he depends entirely on the goodwill of the people to find the bus stop that will take him home.

    Tereek will first face a communication problem, but he will quickly understand how to communicate with Artie. The two men gradually get to know each other.

    Tereek faces Artie, a man who despite his disability seems happy, confident and peaceful. A guy who is just coming off a date, who lives his life like any other man.

    At first, Tereek seems very troubled by Artie’s serenity and normality. He will understand that a handicap does not prevent a man from living his life as normally as possible. This encounter, which lasts only a few hours, will profoundly change his way of thinking and acting. 

    The duo of actors is impressive. Robert Tarango, the first deaf-blind actor in the history of cinema, delivers a remarkable performance, which allows the film to take all its meaning. Indeed, we can’t imagine a film like this one without an actor affected by these handicaps. Something that we unfortunately find in many films, and which fortunately is gradually evolving in a good way. It’s essential to make a place for actors with disabilities, especially when the disability is the main subject of the film.

    Steven Prescod, on the other hand, is also remarkable, the collaboration between the two actors works perfectly well.

    “Feeling Through” is only 18 minutes long but it is as powerful as a three-hour feature film. Doug Roland offers us a well-paced and superbly directed film that works perfectly. The film deals with the theme of disability in a very accurate way, without falling into any form of miserabilism.

    I really hope it wins the Oscar for “Live Action Short Film, which might encourage directors to work with actors with disabilities in the future. Cinema is universal.

  • Verdict: Review

    Verdict: Review

    Verdict is a film by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez recorded in the Philippines. It has received more than 10 awards for 21 nominations in different festivals around the world. He won the “Special Jury Prize” in the Orizzonti section of the prestigious Venice Film Festival in 2019.

    The film opens with the assault of Joy Santos (played by Max Eigenmann) by her husband Dante Santos (played by Kristoffer King), this assault will be the focus of the film. The aggression is very violent, Dante, who is drunk, seems out of control, Joy tries to defend herself with a knife, while their daughter Angel (played by Jordhen Suan) is injured during the confrontation. Joy will be able to find refuge with the VAWC (Office for Violence Against Women and Children), a unit specializing in violence against women and children.

    What follows is a woman’s struggle to be heard and to seek justice in a society hampered by an inefficient bureaucracy.  She will have to go through different stages, facing this chaotic administration that does not encourage her to file a complaint, then the refusal of her neighbors to testify in her favor by fear of generating conflict. 

    Her only real help will come from her lawyer, who is very invested in her work and gives the best of herself. But Dante, for his part, has been in contact with a lawyer who seems to know this kind of case and who is obviously more experienced than Joy’s lawyer. 

    The film plays with the viewer’s frustration to make him react, we have the impression that despite the terrible events Joy was victim of, she doesn’t win this case, we even fear that the situation will turn against her because of the stab she gave to Dante during the confrontation and the various threatening message she sent to him.

    The performance of the actors is unbelievable, Kristoffer King (Dante) perfectly interprets the role of the violent, deceitful and deeply evil-looking husband, devoid of any conscience. Max Eigenmann manages to create in the spectator a real compassion for her and her story, her interpretation is of a rare accuracy. We really want her to obtain justice, whatever the cost. 

    The film is very well paced, there’s no time to get bored, the events follow one another with accuracy. Throughout the film we will therefore follow this court case, as there are unfortunately thousands of them throughout the world, domestic assaults being widespread. 

    With his film, Raymund Ribay Gutierrez tries to alert us to the hardships that a woman must endure in order to make her voice heard in the Philippines, in a society where the justice system seems to be very inefficient and where sexism is still omnipresent.

  • Bliss: The BRWC Review

    Bliss: The BRWC Review

    Bliss: The BRWC Review. By Hugues Porquier.

    Bliss is a film by Mike Cahill, mainly known for two films “Another Earth” and “I Origins” which both won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2011 and 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It will be released on February 5, 2021 on the Amazon Prime Video platform.

    It’s an Amazon Original film, so it will join films such as ‘Sound Of Metal’ or ‘One Night in Miami’. Amazon Original continues to grow, with the goal of being able to compete with Netflix and its original productions. We can find big names such as Owen Wilson (Inherent Vice, Hall Pass and a large part of Wes Anderson’s films) as well as Salma Hayek (Frida, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn).

    We also find a scenario with ambition and very good ideas, which will surely be compared to Matrix for example. Mike Cahill, accustomed to science fiction movies, has everything to make a great film with experienced actors and an interesting script.

    In Bliss, we follow Greg (Owen Wilson), a forty-year-old man trapped in a dull life within an impersonal bureaucracy where personal initiatives and dreams are not encouraged. He finds himself dreaming of a completely different life through his drawings, a colorful life by the sea with a beautiful woman. This dream life is an escape for Greg.

    He will be fired for these drawings and his lack of assiduity at work, his life will be totally turned upside down by this dismissal. He will quickly meet Isabel (Salma Hayek), an eccentric woman who seems to be full of secrets. She will persuade Greg that he is living inside a simulation, and that a very small number of people are “real”.

    Then we will discover the world of Isabel, who lives like an outcast under a bridge, and who has been waiting for Greg’s arrival for a long time. She sees him as her soulmate, with whom she has already shared her life in the real world for many years. At the same time we also follow Greg’s daughter Emely (played by Nesta Marlee Cooper), who is trying to find her father for whom she is worried.

    In order to prove that what she says is true, Isabel will introduce Greg to the ‘real world’, outside of the simulation. In this world, free from poverty, Greg and Isabel are a couple, have a beautiful house and live in a dream location next to the sea. The same place that was depicted in Greg’s drawings. A struggle between these two worlds will emerge. Between the love of a daughter who is not supposed to be real and who lives in a dull world and the love of his wife who lives in an ideal world.

    Although the original idea of Bliss is really interesting, we might remain a little dissatisfied with the presentation and the development of the two worlds. Which is not sufficiently accomplished in either case.  Indeed, on the one hand it’s difficult to grasp the issues involved in the ideal world, we remain in the dark about the situation in this world.

    In the other world “the dull one”, the presentation of Greg’s family is not enough, we would like to know more about his life and his past. The interesting point of the film is that we can’t really be quite sure that Greg isn’t imagining the whole story, and that the shock of being fired has made him lose his mind. This would make more sense for his daughter behavior, who, seeing her father go down, tries to bring him back to reality.

    In view of these negative points, we can regret that the script has not been adapted into a series. In which the stakes and characters could have been further developed. This film allows us to see that Amazon is now able to bring together major actors in its productions. We can also see this with for example Riz Ahmed in “Sound Of Metal” or Orlando Bloom in “Carnival Row”. The competition with Netflix in the coming years will be tough. Won’t this rivalry between the two giants, coupled with the health context, lead to the gradual disappearance of a more classical cinema?

  • Turned: Review

    Turned: Review

    Turned: Review. By Hugues Porquier.

    Turned is a short film directed by Anders Walter, who won the Oscar of Best Live Action Short Film for his film “Helium” in 2014.  The Danish is also back to writing for this short film, which he had dropped for the feature film “I Kill Giants” (2017). His previous films “9 meters” (2012) and “I Kill Giants” (2017) have also been a great success with viewers but also with the press. We could expect Anders Walter to offer us a captivating film worthy of the previous ones.

    It features Kasper (played by Sylvester Byder), a young Danish man who seems to be living an ideal life, exciting studies, an attentive girlfriend Veronika (played by Clara Rosager) and a budding career as a racing driver.  But reminiscences of his past prevent him from enjoying this seemingly ideal life.  Very violent flashbacks of his father’s (played by Jacob Lohmann) aabuse on his mother (played by Kaja Kamuk), constantly assail him. 

    It soon becomes clear that he has no particular passion for racing, it is simply the stifling pressure his father puts on him that forces him to continue. He has only one dream, only one desire, to get away from his father.  The flashbacks Kasper witnesses are always related to alcohol, which is one of the central elements of the film, in response to a real problem present among young Danes but also among many young people around the world. 

    Indeed, one of the two producers of the film, ‘TUBA’ is an independent Danish organization that offers help, advice and therapy to young people who have experienced alcohol or drug abuse.  The film rightly depicts the horror of a child’s life in an alcohol-ridden home and the consequences this can have on her or his future. Depression, loneliness, alcoholism…

    The direction is totally under control. The intimate life scenes between Veronika and Kasper are credible and very touching, and the car racing scenes are very lively and dynamic! In just 20 minutes, Anders Walter offers us an impressive range of what he can do with his camera. The work of the actors is also remarkable, Sylvester Byder, only 21 years old, is already really convincing, and we hope to see him again soon in Denmark or abroad. 

    Danish films are increasingly exported internationally thanks to great directors such as Lars Von Trier (Dogville, Melancholia, The House That Jack Built), Thomas Vinterberg (Drunk, Jagten) Nicolas Winding Refn (Neon Demon, Drive) or emblematic actors such as Mads Mikkelsen in the recent and brilliant “Drunk” (2020) and in 2022 in “The Fantastic Animals 3”. But we can also see, thanks to Anders Walter and his Oscar in 2014, that even lesser-known Danish directors manage to please the international scene. 

    In “Turned”, Anders Walter once again tackles the theme he masters best, adolescence, and it works very well. You can sense that he understands this generation that he tries to portray through his films. In only 20 minutes he manages to make us experience the credible transition of a young man who finally decides to destroy the unhealthy relationship he had with his father.