Author: Rosalynn Try-Hane

The Immigrant.

Ewa (played by Marion Cotillard) arrives in America with her sister hoping for a better life.  The opening scene of the film zooms in on the Statue of Liberty – she who beseeches give me your poor tired masses – in different scenes Ewa incarnates the Statue of Liberty. Ewa is tired and weary and by the end of the film so are we.  James Gray gives us a 1921 inhospitable America where an innocent woman can fall into the clutches of a merciless conman and how when all is lost, hope still rests.

There are love rivals vying for the same women. However is this enough to save the film? Not really as it’s hard to connect with the two dimensional Ewa, although there are glimmers of strength but these don’t really ever come to the surface.  The conman, Bruno, played by the consistently excellent Joaquin Phoenix and the charismatic magician, Orlando, played by a heavily made up Jeremy Renner aren’t given enough space to shine and there’s not enough pace or characters to lift what could have been an interesting film from the sentimental melodrama we are left with.

Do not even think of comparing it to any James Gray’s previous films such as Two Lovers, or The Yards. This is not a film on the same level of that, sure James Gray plays heavily on the nuances which works in a film such as Two Lovers but not here as The Immigrant needs more action. If you like period dramas and are keen on the likes of Broadwalk Empire, then keep your expectations low and you should be able to enjoy the 1hr 57 mins.

In his debut film, Israeli filmmaker, Jonathan Gurfinkel gives us a provocative, unsettling, far from titillating and at times claustrophobic take on sex in the 21st century teenage world.

The protagonist of the film is Gili moves school and immediately decides that she wants to be part of the popular kids group.  In her mind that means getting with one of the popular boys.  However, when Tomer shows little interest in her, his rich and morally bankrupt friend Omri steps in.  Does he manipulate Gili into performing sexual favours for him and his friends?  Would she have done so if she’d known it would be recorded? Who is using who and to what end?  Is she a willing victim who makes dubious choices with little regard for the outcome? The final twist at the end is certainly shocking but not unexpected.

The title of the film is misleading as the ‘#’ stands for an ‘i’ rather than the ‘e’ most people would assume.  The film consists of six acts and with each one we are plunged further into a deeply disturbing world where the teenagers rule in a pack like mentality and the parents are merely side players.  It does raise all sort of moral issues such as; the boundaries of consent, the disregard for central character’s feelings and the teenagers’ trivialization of sex and its use as currency to gain social status.  For the boys in this film all come from wealthy backgrounds whereas Gili is poor.

The plot is not without gaping holes such as: really we need to know more about Gili’s life aside from the sexual encounters and partying in order to care more about her.

This is not a feel good film, actually it is reminiscent of Kidulthood in many ways, and is best watched with someone else so that you can have an intelligent debate on the teenagers of today. If that’s not your thing, then give this film a miss.

The Coen Brothers’ films are a bit like ordering a hamburger; it’s going to contain blood, violence, interesting characters and clean dialogue in the same way as a hamburger contains a meat patty sandwiched between two pieces of bread.  Except that with Inside Llewyn Davis they’ve gone against the grain and produced a pastiche of 1970s New York Folk scene with a week in the life of an antihero in the form of Llewyn Davis who; couch surfs, tries to keep track of a cat, loses his moral compass (if in fact he ever had one) and does some folk singing along the way.

Not much happens in this film and it really isn’t for anyone who is hoping to see a Coen brothers’ film along the lines of ‘No Country for Old Men’ or ‘Fargo’. This is a slow, melodic homage to the 1970s New York folk scene. If you don’t like slow burners, emphasis on slow, or folk music then avoid this movie and lastly leave the expectations at the door, that way you won’t be disappointed.

David Wosniak is a 40 year old hapless man who is pretty much useless at most things; meat delivery, managing his money etc. aside from eventually managing to masturbate into a plastic cup in an IVF clinic (the opening scene of the film gives a whole new definition to performance anxiety!)

All that he decides must change on hearing that he got his girlfriend pregnant.  It’s time he got responsible.   Except that at that very moment his past catches up with him, 533 times to be exact. He fathered 533 children amongst whom 142 of them decide to mount a class action to unmask the identity of Starbuck.  As Starbuck he may have wanked off without a care 533 times but as David Wosniak is he ready to stand up and be held accountable?

If you are one of those people who doesn’t do foreign films because of the subtitles, you will after watching this gem of a Franco-Canadian comedy.  Writer and Director Ken Scott gives us a multi layered comedy which on the surface is laugh out loud funny but dig deeper and it raises a number of profound questions on; the potential ticking time bomb on men who donated sperm without a second thought, what makes a parent, an individual’s right to know their birth parents and can there ever be actions without consequences.