Last Ferry From Grass Island: A tale of vengeance set on one of the islands of Hong Kong’s archipelago.
2020 sees the release of Last Ferry From Grass Island, the second directorial turn from Linhan Zhang after 2018’s Dinner With Stranger. He is better known as a producer of short films, including Death Metal Grandma (2018), about 91 year old holocaust survivor-turned death metal singer, Inge Ginsberg.
Last Ferry From Grass Island is possibly the shortest and most beautiful gangster movie I have ever seen. Proving that you don’t need much to create an effective short film, but a picturesque location sure doesn’t hurt.
Balancing rich colours and simplicity, the framing and the detail in the small dwelling are reminiscent of Yasujirō Ozu (Good Morning, 1959): The story propelled by the smallest of interactions.
Linhan Zhang makes the wise choice to keep any violence off camera, with elegant results. He moves the small cast in a methodical chess-like manner. Ah Hoi, played by Tai-Bo, displays the resignation of a man who knows that the question is when, not if, his past will catch up with him.
Tai-Bo boasts an impressive filmography, starting with Enter the Dragon (1973). It also includes Police Story (1985), which serves as both a throwback reference and a plotpoint for Linhan Zhang. Ultimately, Ah Ma (Yee-Yee Yeung) steals the show without uttering a single word.
Haifaa al-Mansour’s fourth feature continues her run of films about dynamic and driven women. After Mary Shelley and Nappily Ever After, she returns to Saudi Arabia in a story of politics, prejudice and generational trepidation.
Local doctor Maryam (Mila Al Zahrani) aspires for a position in a practice beyond her small town. She faces provincial prejudices each day as some men just cannot abide the touch of a female doctor, insisting on being consulted by less qualified, male nurses instead.
Through a series of bureaucratic inconveniences and misunderstanding, Maryam applies to run for office in the local elections, against the wishes of her sisters and father.
While the basic plot is a well-worn one, a great deal of pleasure can be derived from the central relationship between Maryam and her sisters, Sara (Nora Al Awadh) and Selma (Dae Al Hilali). These women are the driving force of the film, testing their newfound freedoms within the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Their performances are uniformly excellent. Frankly, I could have watched 100 minutes of their supportive interaction.
One element I struggled with was the B-plot, involving Maryam’s father, Abdulaziz (Khalid Abdulraheem), who is out on the road with his touring band, fulfilling his life’s ambition.
This side-narrative gives us a great deal of wonderful music and fleshes out an otherwise ancillary character but its placement in this film seems unnecessary and draws focus from Maryam’s far more emotionally engaging scenes. In fact, his reticence in supporting his daughter while pursuing his own aspirations seems downright selfish.
Beyond the rousing band music performed by Abdulaziz and his bandmates, Volker Bertelmann’s score utilises piano and strings in a way that is atmospherically charged. Sparingly used with memorable motifs, I hope Bertelmann’s score is released on streaming services.
The Perfect Candidate offers a glimpse into an incrementally more progressive Saudi Arabia. Where Haifaa al-Mansour excels is in her ability to highlight emboldened female figures in stories that inspire. Without meaning to discount her English language offerings, this film is her most emotionally resonant since Wajdja in 2012.
The Perfect Candidate is now available on selected VOD sites and is well worth your consideration while you’re self-isolating, or at any time for that matter.
Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple, Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete Staunton (Will Ferrell) are thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.
It’s most definitely been said already, but I just can’t help myself. Downhill is the perfect title for this movie. It’s an American remake of a widely acclaimed French film, that being Force Majeure by Ruben Östlund, that fails at adapting it in virtually every way possible. It starts off semi-watchable, as we are introduced to the characters of Billie and Pete, but just as their lives start to spiral downhill, so does the rest of the film.
The biggest issue with the film isn’t the source material. The original Force Majeure picture was an incredibly strong drama that was actually emotionally powerful and thought-provoking. No, the main problem with Downhill is the fact that nothing really happens. At all.
With a running time of only eighty-six minutes, there are few times in where we as an audience are able to sit back and breathe after watching a scene. It’s strange because there are a few argument scenes involving our lead characters, but instead of being emotionally invested in it, it just comes across as tired and uninteresting.
One thing I can say is that this movie does feel remarkably authentic and real. It genuinely felt as if I was peering in at the lives of this married couple and their kids. The issue, though, is that their lives are so drastically boring and uneventful that you don’t want to see their story. After about twenty minutes in, you’ll want it to be over already.
But, speaking of the leads, Ferrell and Louis-Dreyfus do deliver two surprisingly rich and riveting performances. Particularly Louis-Dreyfus. She sells every single scene that she is in, and the dynamic between her character Billie and Ferrell’s character Pete felt palpable.
They boast great chemistry on screen with one another, it’s just that they really don’t get a whole lot to do with this material. It makes me wonder why they even agreed to be in this film in the first place? Did it have to do with needing a little extra money? Or were they just eager to be in a remake of a widely beloved French film? We may never know the answer.
But what I do know is that a lot of people are going to be bored by this movie. It’s extremely dull and devoid of any real entertainment value. Sure, it contains some great scenic cinematography by Danny Cohen and boasts genuinely strong performances, but at the end of the day, that’s really not enough to go out and see a movie. All films need to have one thing – a good story. This film did not have that.
Incredibly boring and uninteresting, Downhill is a gigantic missed opportunity due to its bland screenplay, even if the two lead performances are strong.
Ellen Page brings attention to the injustices and injuries caused by environmental racism in her home province, in this urgent documentary on Indigenous and African Nova Scotian women fighting to protect their communities, their land, and their futures.
When it initially premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 8, 2019, Ellen Page and Ian Daniels’ There’s Something in the Water was met with a wave of acclaim from critics, with many calling it a deeply moving and important documentary that is timely and thought-provoking.
Since I was not able to attend TIFF in 2019, I was wondering when I would be able to see Page and Daniels’ documentary to see if it really was worth the hype. It’s been a long time since I have watched a documentary – probably months ago to be honest. But I’m glad that I’m getting back into them now because There’s Something in the Water is most certainly a shockingly disturbing and emotionally riveting documentary that has a lot to say and handles almost all of it in a satisfying and thrilling way.
As any great documentary should, this is a film that consistently jumps between various different people that were impacted in some way by the ongoing issues that surround them. In this case, it is the environmental racism and water crisis’ that has been a problem in the world for several years now.
Every single person that the filmmakers interview has a sense of raw emotion to them and you can feel the hurt and pain seeping off of them. As a result, it does make the movie hard to watch, which is the point. When watching a picture relating to issues like this, you’re not supposed to feel at ease and comfortable, and in this case, I most certainly felt disturbed and disgusted.
Whether its individuals that were personally affected by these environmental problems or individuals that know other people that were affected by this, they all feel like it is their responsibility to speak out and make a change. It’s not only emotional and riveting to watch, but it has a sense of urgency behind it that will stay in your head long after the credits roll.
Although the first twenty minutes or so were a bit slow, it definitely picks up immensely afterwards. For the first little while, it felt a bit unknown as to where this movie was ultimately going to go, but once you find out what Page and Daniels set out to do, it becomes a powerful, strong, and important documentary.
There’s Something in the Water greatly succeeds at being an important and deeply powerful documentary with plenty to say.
‘The Wake’ is a 10-minute Irish Horror Short written and directed by Rik Gordon. When a relative passes away, a couple, Peter and Claire (played by Finlay Cormack and Kathleen Bridget Murphy), reunite with their families to mourn. However, the traditions held by the family are anything but normal.
This was a film that I had heard of back in 2016, when I met one of the crew members at London’s Frightfest Horror Film Festival. After speaking to them, I’ve been looking forward to the short since then.
In only under 10 minutes, this film packs a punch with its audience and does a lot with its short running time. The lead actor/actress, Finlay Cormack and Kathleen Bridget Murphy, are great and have fantastic onscreen chemistry. Their relationship is believable, making the twist near the end even more surprising. The rest of the cast are also fantastic.
While the family appear friendly on the outside, it’s obvious they’re hiding something, thus creating an air of tension between the characters. This something is definitely shocking when it’s revealed too! What makes it work is not only the build up in tension, but the lack of hints to the reveal, making it unexpected. The practical effects of the zombies are great and even a little gooey, making the design grotesque.
The decision to use make-up and practical effects is an aspect that I appreciate, considering the artform is usually overshadowed by CGI.
The soundtrack is eerie but minimalistic; it’s only there when necessary and to help build up the tension of the situation. It sounds similar to the 2017 horror game ‘Bendy and the Ink Machine’ but accompanies the visuals beautifully.
Overall, ‘The Wake’ is a fantastic short film that keeps you guessing. It takes an unexpected turn, but one that I love. The cast are all fantastic and, while the lead actor Finlay Cormack has a moment of an emotionless performance during one scene, it never took me out of the film.
‘The Wake’ is available on YouTube and Amazon UK and USA, so I highly recommend checking this mysterious short film out!
