Godzilla (2014)

In 1954, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka of Toho Studios decided to make a film that reflected the true horror of the atomic bomb that the japanese people had experienced in their own flesh after the attacks to Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Working with scriptwriter Shigeru Kayama and director Ishirô Honda, the result was the birth of one of the greatest horror cinema icons: Gojira, better known as Godzilla, King of the Monsters. After its release in 1954, "Gojira" kickstarted a whole horror sub genre (Kaiju eiga) that dealer with giant monsters fighting over cities, creating a mythology in which Godzilla played the central role. Either as brutal destroyer or as heroic defender of humanity, Godzilla is now part of out pop culture, representing how small we are in the face of nature's fury. After 50 years of cinema history, Toho Studios decided to let Godzilla rest for 10 years, and in 2014 the return of the Big G is in the hands of an American studio, in an attempt to resurrect the mythical monster and erase the previous American remake from memory.

The story begins in 1999, when scientists Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watabanabe) and Vivienne Graham (sally Hawkins) discover the skeleton of a giant monster, and two eggs deep at the bottom of a mine at the Philippines. One of the eggs is broken and there are traces left by what came out from it reaching the sea. Meanwhile, at Japan, a series of earthquakes shake the nuclear plant of Janjira. Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche) and her team of engineers check the state of the reactor when a huge explosion releases the radiation. Her husband Joe (Bryan Cranston), the plant supervisor, is forced to leave his wife to die in order to save the city from a major disaster. Years later, Joe is still convinced that what happened in Janjira wasn't a normal earthquake, as access to the Janjira zone is forbidden. His son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is now a marine, and lives away from Joe, considering a madman. Nevertheless, when Joe takes Ford to Janjira, they discover that what has been hidden in the zone is the existence of terrible giant monsters, and they have been awakened.

Through the years, Godzilla film have touched themes that range from nuclear horror to the destruction of ecosystems. This time, the story written by Max Borenstein and Dave Callaham (and David S. Goyer and Frank Darabont, uncredited) presents Godzilla as a nature's force of equilibrium in the wake of human action. However, the thematics the story tries to uphold lose strength given the fact that Godzilla takes the back seat and the spotlight is in turn given to the other giant monsters that the human beings have resurrected, the MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms). Given that the story circles around the threat that those monsters present, Godzilla gets reduced to be almost a living deux ex machine of sorts. While there's an attempt to develop a human story as a counterpart to the giant monsters, the character development is so poor that it's limited to explain the story to its audience. Certainly, Godzilla films have never tried to be serious dramas, but the problem is that in this version, the poor human drama in the screenplay plays (or tries to play) the central role.

The reason for this is that director Gareth Edwards (who rose to prominence with 2010's "Monsters") decides to focus his attention in the human characters that live the disaster left by the MUTOs and Godzilla. As in his previous dil, Edwards keeps his monsters in the dark, showing only the devastation that's left after every fight between the monsters. To be fair, in "Monsters" this approach worked quite well given the carefully constructed relationship between the human characters (not to mention the convenience of it for an extremely low budget film such as his), in Godzilla this becomes useless as the human roles are unidimensional empty characters with no real personality or sympathetic traits. While the special effects are magnificent (it's worth to point out that Godzilla has never look this great, and the original design by Toho is respected) and manage to capture the grand scale of the monsters' titanic fights, Edwards doesn't allow that tremendous work of effects to be fully seen, as he opts to cut to his characters' reactions anytime the monsters fight. Reactions that aren't performed that well by the cast.

While acting has never been the strength in Godzilla films, the work done by the cast in this incarnation of the franchise is particularly mediocre. Despite having respected actors in the cast, the performances are far to be the best this group of artists can deliver, and a lot of this is to be blamed to Gareth Edwards' poor direction. Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche, as Joe and Sandra Brody, deliver an admirable performance that manages to create the only real moment of human drama in the film. Unfortunately, their role in the film is too short and they are soon forgotten by the story. The real protagonist, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (as their son Ford), fails to escape from the typical American marine stereotype, to the point that it seems that he doesn't really care for his parents or his own family. Elizabeth Olsen, who plays his wife, limits her role in the film to scream anytime the monsters are on screen. The most unfortunate thing is to see actors Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn and specially Sally Hawkin sin meaningless roles whose only dramatic function is to spoon-feed the plot to the audience in long explicative dialogues.

The truth is, "Godzilla" is not really a bad film, it's simply an extremely mediocre movie that's sadly not really memorable. The disappointing result of the film makes it fell as if director Gareth Edwards had taken the Godzilla name and all that it represents to make a spiritual remake of his previous film, "Monsters". But without any luck. While the respect for the original design and "Gojira"'s mythology are welcomed, as well as the fact that the film takes its concept seriously (fortunately, no Minillas or Godzookys are around); the film fails to capture the magic and awe of watching two titanic monsters fighting on the city. Mainly because Edwards doesn't let the camera see much of it. And it's not that Edwards' focus on human drama is a wrong decision, it could be an interesting take on the concept if only such drama was well done. Since it isn't the result is a monster movie that feels boring and tiresome until Godzilla appears on the screen (late). A lot of this can blamed to the screenplay that Edwards had to work with, based on exaggerated coincidences and explanatory dialogue to advance the poorly developed plot.

As mentioned above, "Godzilla" isn't a bad film, it's merely a truly disappointing one. After ten years without the Big G on the big screen and with the backing of a big Hollywood studio, an epic return to glory was expected, one that could take advantage of the technical development of American film industry without forgetting the Godzilla mythos. Sadly, this wasn't the case. There are even things that the vilified 1998 film by Roland Emmerich did much better than this version. While there are remarkable things in "Godzilla" (Alexandre Desplat's music being one of them), in general Gareth Edwards' film fails to fulfill the huge expectations. There's a progress in some areas, but it seems that Hollywood still hasn't really understood the secret of how to make a good Gojira film.

5/10

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Frozen (2013)

In 1937, Walt Disney Studios changed animated cinema forever with the release of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", their first feature length animated film. This would be the beginning of a long tradition of animated cinema that Disney would develop through the following years, taking inspiration from classic fairy tales to create films like "Pinocchio" (1940), "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) and "Beauty and the Beast" (1991). However, a famous story by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen had eluded Walt Disney almost from the very beginning: "The Snow Queen". Celebrated as one of Andersen's most beautiful tales, "The Snow Queen" would be part of a biopic on Andersen that Walt Disney wanted to produce in 1943, but unfortunately, the project fell down and was eventually forgotten. Years later, the "Snow Queen" project resurrected in the 90s, but once again it was considered too difficult to make. Finally, in 2008 director Chris Buck tried again to make it a reality, and after a long and tortuous process, Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" finally saw the light in 2013, as a free adaptation titled simply "Frozen".

"Frozen" is the story of two sisters, Anna and Elsa (Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel respectively), the young princesses of Arendelle, a kingdom located in Norway. Elsa has the incredible magic skill of creating ice out of thin air, but this doesn't stop the young kids from being very close. However, one night Elsa hurts Anna with her powers, prompting her parents to take the drastic measure of hiding Elsa, fearing her powers get too strong for be controlled. Anna's memories of Elsa's powers are also erased, in an attempt to create the idea that Elsa is a normal girl. The sisters are separated, with Elsa hiding herself in the castle fearing that she'll hurt her family with her magic. When their parents die in a shipwreck, Elsa must take the crown as Queen of Arendelle, an event that Anna sees as a chance to discover the world outside the castle. During the coronation, Anna falls in love with prince Hans (Santino Fontana), and wishes to marry him immediately, something that Elsa forbids at once. Anna argues with Elsa about this, and the stress makes her to show her powers to the public. Afraid of herself, Elsa runs away from Arendelle, becoming the Snow Queen.

Far from being a straight adaptation of Andersen's fairy tale, "Frozen"'s screenplay (written by Jennifer Lee, based on a story by Chris Buck, Shane Morris and Lee herself) takes only the core elements from the classic story as the basis for its universe, and then builds up a radically different story from it. Having a family bond between Anna and the Snow Queen, "Frozen" is essentially the tale of two sisters who need to solve their differences in order to recover the happiness they lived in the past. However, "Frozen" is also a story of acceptance, as the screenplay makes of Elsa, the Snow Queen, a complex character who needs to define her identity, tired of hiding who she really is and longing to be allowed to be herself in front of a world that condemns her. This is perhaps the most interesting element in the film, as Lee has created a "Disney princess" (or Queen) like no other, making her a symbol of acceptance of one's own identity (overtones are more than obvious). Anna, on the other hand, is a direct attack to the "Disney princess" stereotype, as she literally discovers that life isn't like fairy tales.

Given the deep involvement of Jennifer Lee during the project's development, she was given the chance of co-directing the film along Chris Buck, and her influence can be felt in every element of the movie. By transforming the Snow Queen fairy tale, Buck and Lee gave a twist to what perfectly could had been just another Disney princess film. Lee's main input was to make "Frozen" a modern film that doesn't hide its own femininity. That is, while Disney had previously released films outside the tradition ("Lilo & Stitch" and Pixar's "Brave" for example), those films protected their mass appeal in the universal theme of family matters. On the other hand, while "Frozen" has at its core a theme of family bonds, the individual development of both Anna and Elsa as grown women reflects an attempt of portraying a modern vision of femininity, attacking the outdated model propagated by Disney's own old classics (The Disney princess ideal). The extraordinary visual design of "Frozen", inspired in those very same classics (chiefly "Sleeping Beauty") makes the reference all the more obvious.

"Frozen", like the afore mentioned Disney classics, is first and foremost musical, so it isn't strange to hear Idina Menzel, a Broadway veteran, in the role of the Snow Queen, Elsa. While certainly Anna is the one leading the plot of "Frozen", Elsa becomes easily the most interesting character in the film. Menzel gives life to Elsa capturing perfectly her mix of fear and (apparently unlimited) power that make the burden of the Snow Queen. This is perfectly exemplified in her performance of "Let It Go", song that defines her character's struggle and reveals her as the story's true protagonist. Kristen Bell plays Anna, whose journey to rescue her kingdom will reveal her that the real world is actually different to the rose-tinted worldview she had as a princess (as a Disney princess). While Bell makes a terrific job as the youthful and cheerful Anna, Menzel's powerful voice outshines her in every way. The rest of the cast is in general pretty good, tough the film clearly belongs to Menzel and Bell. An exception is Josh Gad, whom as Olaf the snowman, manages to steal every scene he's in.

As mentioned before, maybe "Frozen" isn't the first Disney film with a non-traditional focus, however, the artistic quality of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee's film are what elevates "Frozen" to the level of Walt Disney Animation Studios' true classics. Michael Giaimo's work in the art department is simply overwhelming, creating the perfect atmosphere for the devastating winter of Arendelle, which mirrors Elsa's conflicting emotions regarding her former hometown (Giaimo had previously worked in Disney's "Pocahontas"). Music is perhaps the film's weak spot, as while the film has a couple of truly remarkable song (the aforementioned "Let It Go" for example), the rest of the songs are far from having a similar dramatic impact in the story. Nevertheless, and even when this should be a major problem give the fact that it's a musical, the movie never loses strength thanks to the great care directors Buck and Lee unfold there story. Perhaps the most significative of this is the way in which Buck and Lee get into the character's personal drama, which makes "Frozen" something beyond the traditional adventure film, it makes it feel almost intimate to a certain extent.

Mixture of a return to the traditional and a reinvention of an old formula, "Frozen" takes the best of Disney's animated classics and gives it a more than welcomed modern twist. Still, the most interesting about "frozen" is that it proves once again that behind a great movie, there must be a great story. Jennifer Lee's intelligent screenplay is "Frozen"'s backbone and an instrumental piece in making the movie a reassessment of fairy tales as well as a reaffirmation of female roles in Disney movies. While not entirely without flaws, given its thematics and its enormous visual beauty, it would be fair to consider "Frozen" as one of Disney's most important films of recent times.

8/10

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Mercenarios de la Muerte (1983)

With the release in 1973 of "Enter the Dragon", the world was introduced to the great talent of martial artist Bruce Lee. His tragic death, only six days before the film's release (it would had been Lee's first film for an American studio), turned him into an icon, a real action films legend. The enormous worldwide success of "Enter the Dragon" would result in a fever for anything related to martial arts which would be reflected in the vast amount of martial arts films produced not only in Hong Kong, but in every corner of the world. Nevertheless, those attempts to get into the genre often resulted in bizarre films: in England, Hammer FIlms would produce the hybrid of gothic horror and kung fu "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" in 1974, while in Spain the comedic duo of the Calatrava brothers would add their comedy to "Los Kalatava contra el imperio del karate" (1974). In Mexico, famous masked wrester Santo would star in "La furia de los karatekas" and "El Puño de la Muerte" (both released in 1982), but the wackiest mexican kung fu movie would be released the following year with the title "Mercenarios de la Muerte".

In "Mercenarios de la Muerte", the story deals with an ancient sect of asian monks belonging to the temple of Shiolang, whom after a great war against the Black Dragon sect they were forced to travel far away from their lands, to a small town in northern Mexico were they took their relics and traditions. Years went by and the monks lived peacefully in Mexico, becoming an important part of the community and establishing a martial arts school. However, at the turn of the century, a new threat appears in the horizon for the monks, as mercenary Sung Ya (Armando Silvestre), the last disciple of the Black Dragon sect, has gathered a gang of warriors from all over the world with the intention of destroying the monks in order to steal the ancient relics of their new temple. The venerable master Tata (Emilio Fernández) knows of this great danger, and asks master Jin Ho (Aries Bautista) to pick amongst the temple's most advanced students a warrior to defend the temple from Sung Ya. This mission will be given to two youngsters, Mai Ko (Gregorio Casal) and Chang Piau (Jaime Moreno), who will have to face the mercenaries of death.

As can be see give its plot line, "Mercenarios de la Muerte" (literally "Mercenaries of Death") pretends to make a mix of Westens and kung fu movies. While the idea sounds bizarre, it isn't that strange given the way that the modern martial arts film as devised by Bruce Lee and Wei Lo was very influenced by the archetypes and stories from classic Westerns (Bruce Lee's own "Meng long guo jiang" is the perfect example). The screenplay for "Mercenarios de la Muerte", written by Avinadain Bautista, not only borrows Western elements, but in fact sets its plot in a small wild west town. The story has the intention of being an epic of gran scale, with the arrival of Sung Ya forcing the monks to prepare themselves to fight for the town that gave them shelter. However, while creating this hybrid of Western and martial arts writer Avinadain Bautista opts for exploiting old cliches from both genres, diluting whatever epic was intended to be put in the film in favor of long training sequences, supposedly philosophic dialogs that doesn't say a thing, and poor saloon fights, forgetting to develop his characters' drama, leaving them as walking stereotypes.

But even if the screenplay is of a mediocre quality, the film could still have been resulted in an interesting (if odd) martial arts film if it wasn't for the disastrous work of directing from filmmakers Manuel Muñoz and Gregorio Casal. From starters it's clear that the film was lacking in terms of budget and production values, as it seems to had been shot in forgotten sets from Estudios América's old Westerns. Still, this wouldn't be too much of trouble if it wasn't for the simplistic camera set ups chosen by the filmmakers to tell their tale, set ups that only make notorious that the scenery is fake. In the same way, the craftsmanship of the figts (which should be the highlight of any kung fu movie) is deficient, not only because of the poor execution by the fighters (Aries Bautista is perhaps an exception) but also because of the way the fights are filmed, as it's impossible to cover the fighter's lack of skill and it becomes apparent that the fights are fake. The cinematography, in charge of veterans such as Fernando Colín and Ángel Bilbatua, ranges from regular to pretty bad, as the poorly lit climatic fight can exemplify, a final fight where it's hard to see what's happening.

Acting is another big negative element in "Mercenarios de la Muerte". The fact that legendary actor and director Emilio "el Indio" Fernández takes place in a project such as this one is perhaps symptomatic of the poor state in which the mexican film industry was submerged in those times. Fernández' performance as Tata (a venerable Shiolang monk unexplainably dressed as a cowboy) limits basically to recite his line with a certain severity, though at times one can see glimpses of the talent and charm of the old filmmaker. The protagonists, Jaime Moreno and Gregorio Casal, make what's probably the word job in their careers. Moreno, who is arguably the lead character, limits himself to look nice for the camera and trying to look gracefully at moving like a kung fu fighter. Casal's character is relatively more complex, but the actor is unable to establish this supposed depth and fills his act with clichés. Armando SIlvestre is probably the only cast member that understood that the only thing that could work in this debacle was to ham it up and exaggerate a half-baked impersonation of Fu Manchu.

It would be hard to find something to praise in this weird martial arts flick where incongruence and incoherence are a constant thing. And while one could put the blame for this chaos to the low budget, poor production values and mediocre script, it's actually a matter of bad directing what generates the vast majority of the film's problems. On one hand, there is not a clear definition of the space in which the story is set, so at times the temple seems to be near the town and at times it's too far from it (conveniently for the plot). As mentioned before, there isn't any care for the film's visual narrative, as if the camera had been placed in a random place without thinking about what would be on the frame. Finally, the sound design is another big problem in the film, as given the lack of sound recordings, the film is dubbed in the worst possible way: no synchronicity, no dramatic continuity, and even some actors dub characters they weren't playing at all. This can only be seen as a sign of problems during production and postproduction, and perhaps that's why there are two directors and two cinematographers credited in the film.

Despite being one of the greater disasters in mexican filmography, "Mercenarios de la Muerte" still has a bizarre charm. Maybe it's the fact that's so unusual to see a martial arts film made in Mexico, or the mixed emotions at seeing great actors of old (Fernández and the Junco siblings) getting involved in a mess like this. Maybe it's the great naiveté and ignorance that seems to have existed in the mind of the film's makers given the lack of verisimilitude the film often has. Whatever it is, the only certain is that involuntarily, "Mercenarios de la Muerte" makes for a great comedy of errors in a very surreal way. Amongst the many martial arts films done after Bruce Lee's great success (and there were quite a lot), "Mercenarios de la Muerte" is without a doubt one of the strangest of all time.

2/10

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Yi dai zong shi (2013)

Ip Man (or Yip Man), legendary Wing Chun master, was born in a wealthy family in Foshan, China in 1893. Having trained his art since he was 13 years old, Ip Man developed his Wing Chun technique to a high level of perfection, but while he did teach his style to friend, he wasn't interested in opening a martial arts school. This changed with the Chinese Civil War, when political reasons forced Ip Man to leave Foshan for good in 1949 and settle in Hong Kong. Living in poverty, Ip Man finally opened a Wing Chun school in Hong Kong (his students would include a very young Bruce Lee), that soon made his martial arts famous in the city, and later in the world. This status as grandmaster of Wing Chun, along the time period he lived through, have turned Ip Man into an almost mythical figure (similar to Wong Fei-hung), and his life has inspired numerous films beginning with "Yip Man" in 2008 (directed by Wilson Yip). That very same year Hongkonger director Wong Kar-wai announced his own film about Ip Man, but the project faced constant delays and couldn't see the light until 2013, when finally "Yi dai zong chi", "The Grandmaster" was released,.

The story in "Yi dai zong chi" begins in the first years of the decade of 1930s, when Ip Man (Tony Leung) is living a peaceful life in Foshan as a respected martial artist along his wife Zhang Yongcheng (Song Hye-kyo). The grandmaster of the Northern region, Gong Yutian (Wang Qingxiang) arrives to Foshan announcing his retirement and the appointment of Ma San (Zhang Jin) as his heir. He is also looking for a heir in the Southern region: whomever can defeat him will be his heir. The Southern masters asks Ip Man to represent them, and he manages to defeat Gong Yutian, who now respects him as the winner. Gong Yutian's daughter, Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), decides to challenge Ip Man herself, as she pretends to recover her family's honor. After their duel, a deep friendship begins between them, a relationship that's interrupted by the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the war, Ip Man will face poverty and hunger in Foshan, while in the Northern region, a vindictive Ma San murders grandmaster Gong Yutian. As times are changing in Chine, a generation of masters of martial arts will try to survive.

While "Yi dai zong shi" begins apparently as a biopic of Wing Chun master Ip Man, the literal translation of its title, "Generation of master", is perhaps the best description of what it really is: a meditation about a whole generation in Chinese martial arts history. So, taking Ip Man as its starting point, the screenplay (written by Zou Jingzhi, Xu Haofeng and director Wong Kar-wai himself) gets into reflections of a more philosophical type regarding the Chinese Civil War, making a parallel with the expansion of martial arts through the country. Grandmaster Gong Yutian's dream of unification between Northern schools of martial arts and the Southern masters ends when political forces divide the country in the middle of wars, events that will divide the characters and force them to make decisions they may later regret. And this melancholic lament of regret, a lament of tragic loss (familiar themes in much of Wong Kar-wai's cinema) echoes through a story in which knowledge of martial arts is a precious heritage, and its perpetuity in memory, a matter of life and death.

In terms of style the film is also a journey through familiar terrains for Wong Kar-wai: there's poetry in the dialogs, an extremely beautiful work of cinematography (courtesy of Philippe Le Sourd) and a disjointed narrative. Unfortunately, this last aspect becomes problematic as in the attempt of capturing the spirit of a whole generation, Wong seems to ramble, leaving unexplainable plot holes and underdeveloped subplots (the character of "Razor" Yixiantian could be removed and nobody would even notice). Since the film lacks a solid structure, the movie feels incomplete. But "Yi dai zong shi" isn't merely a recollection of Wong Kar-wai's thematic obsessions, it's also a martial arts film, and in this aspect the remarkable fight coreographies staged by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping are a highlight of the film. Truly getting to the origins of the portrayed martial arts, Yuen manages to make a relatively faithful portrayal of the diverse styles employed by the masters, focusing not on fantastic exaggeration, but in the inherent beauty of the correct execution of a technique. This is certainly one of Yuen Woo-ping's best jobs.

Tony Leung, a familiar face in Wong Kar-wai's cinema, manages to truly get into the role of Ip Man, making him an arrogant yet disciplined man. Leung's Ip Man is a martial arts aesthete who knows he is fortunate, but that doesn't take advantage of his privileged position. Leung's work gets better as his character grows older, as the arrogance of youth gives place to wisdom and serenity after a life of hardships during the war. However, while Tony Leung makes an effective performance, it is really Zhang Ziyi as Gong Er who truly steals the show in "Yi Dai zong shi". As a woman obsessed with revenge to the point of sacrifice, Zhang Ziyi delivers one of her best performances ever, creating a character of complexity and beauty. With elegance and strong screen presence, Zhang Ziyi manages to express more with a single look than with the film's poetic dialogue. Finally, Chang Chen appears as "Razor" Yixiantian, character whose plot is sadly forgotten latter in the movie. The interesting things is that, in spite of that, Chang Chen manages to create a character with greater impact than Tony Leung's Ip Man.

Maybe the most remarkable aspect in Wong Kar-wai's film is the great beauty of cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd's work, who manages to capture the melancholy of the romantic view of Wong Kar-wai on the time period in which the film is set, as well as the beauty of the portrayed martial arts. A perfect complement to choreographer Yuen Woo-ping's work, Le Sourd's cinematography enhances the style and technique with great aesthetic beauty. Quite appropriately for a story about characters that value technical proficiency above all things. However, it's unfortunate that the beauty of the cinematography and the excellence of the performances get lost in a narrative that at times seems to lose the direction where it's going. The stories of these masters, Ip Man, Gong Er and "Razor" Yixiantian are extremely interesting, but there's a moment where it seems that the movie decides to focus exclusively on Gong Er and forgets entirely the other two, which end up in a rushed manner. The sensation the film leaves is that for some reason, "Yi dai zong shi" is not a completed film, despite that there are three different cuts of the film.

Despite this big problem with its narrative, "Yi dai zong shi" is a movie of great visual beauty and impeccable cinematic technique. Wong Kar-wai manages to create a martial arts film that's reflexve and philosophical without sacrificing the genre's inherent spectacle. It would be unfair to expect a proper biography of Ip Man when what Wong Kar-wai pretends is to get into the memory of a bygone time: the end of Chinese Civil War. As famous filmmaker John Ford once stablished: "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend". Wong Kar-wai gets into the modern myths that are the old martial arts masters and finds a group of fascinate characters that struggle to survive in a world that seems to have left them behind. Unfortunately, "Yi dai zong shi" fails to become the great work it could had been.

7/10

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Black Narcissus (1947)

During the decades of the 1940s and 1950s, filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger crafted a series of films in the United Kingdom under the banner of The Archers, their production company. Working in tandem, Powell and Pressburger developed an unusual method of work in which both shared the credits of writer, producer and director, gaining a full creative liberty regarding the visual style and themes they wanted for their movies. Beginning in 1942 with "One of Our Aircraft is Missing", Powell and Pressburger quickly established a pretty unique style that would be polished with every film made by the duo. By 1946, The Archers were releasing their romantic fantasy classic "A Matter of Life and Death" and were ready to begin a new project of a significantly different nature: a psychological drama based on a 1939 novel, "Black Narcissus", written by popular British author Rumor Godden. The story, set in an isolated valley in the Himalayas, would be the perfect frame to show the mastery of cinematographer Jack Cardiff at using Technicolor. However, "Black Narcissus" is a lot more than just a beautiful photography.

As mentioned before, the story in "Black Narcissus" is set in a remote region in the Himalayas, the palace of Mopu (near Darjeeling), where a little group of five Anglican nuns must travel with the mission of establishing a convent to serve as school and hospital to the inhabitants of that remote place. Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr), is a young Irish nun with a strong character that has been sent to lead the mission as the superior in the convent. The other nuns in the mission include sister Philippa (Flora Robson) in charge of agriculture, the kind sister Honey (Jenny Laird) and the strong sister Briony (Judith Furse) to work as teachers and nurses, and finally sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron), who has been sick. At the convent the nuns meet Mr. Dean (David Farrar), a British agent living in the region that becomes their contact with the local government. The governor, the Old General (Esmond Knight), is happy to have the nuns opening a hospital, but soon the tensions within the walls of the convent arise, tensions that young sister Clodagh may not be ready to handle.

The screenplay, written of course by Powell and Pressburger, is a real psychological study on its characters that, living in isolation and facing a diametrically opposite culture, become an easy prey for fears and anxieties that they thought had been left in the past when they became nuns. Sister Clodagh, determined to have success with the mission, finds herself in the middle of everything, trying gallantly to handle the diverse crisis that take place in the convent, as well as her own crisis of faith, tempted by Mr. Dean's flirting words. Sister Clodagh is an extraordinarily complex character, brilliantly developed with a tempestuous sensuality that she tries to contain with the armor of her own discipline. The interesting things is that this armor is not some religious hypocrisy or an uptight moralism, but simply the desire for triumph of a woman that no longer wishes to be defeated. And while sister Clodagh could rightfully be seen as the protagonist of this story, the rest of the characters are not there just for mere support, as they truly experiment their own crisis of faith through the story.

The work of directing done by Powell and Pressburger is simply impeccable, with a superb use of the camera that enhances the tension lived within the walls of the convent at the Himalaya. Despite the fact that "Black Narcissus" was mainly shot on a studio, there's a sensation of majesty about the cultural shock lived by the Anglican nuns upon meeting the culture of India. Without a doubt this is a theme that couldn't go untouched by The Archers (specially when India's independence would become a reality within months from the film's release date), and in "Black Narcissus" the image shown is one of a rich exotic culture that marvels enormously, but still can't be tamed or understood by the sober British civilization. Something remarkable about Powell and Pressburger's film is the subtle eroticism that permeates through the film, as even when the latent sensuality is one of the most important themes in the film, this remains always contained, growing little by little as the wilderness of the environment begins to enter the lives of the nuns, only exploding in the film's powerful climax.

In a film like "Black Narcissus", based entirely in the relationships between the characters, the success depends a lot on the quality of the performances done by the cast, and fortunately, this is one of the movie's most notable aspects. Leading the cast is Deborah Kerr in the role of sister Clodagh, making one of the best jobs in her career. As mentioned before, sister Clodagh is a complex character that has not only a repressed sensuality, but also a terrible fair of failure and a strong determination. With a role full of so many facets, Kerr makes a solid and unforgettable job. Kathleen Byron, whom as sister Ruth takes the role of being a counterpart of sorts to sister Clodagh, makes the best performance in the movie as a disturbed nun with a serious emotional conflict. This is a character that easily could had ended up as the caricature of a histerical nun, but Byron manages to gift her character with great deepness in a thrilling, yet restrained performance. The acting duel between Kerr and Byron is one of the many elements that make of "Black Narcissus" a real gem.

As a whole, the rest of the cast keeps the same quality level, shining above them David Farrat as the charming Mr. Dean, and Flora Robson as the lovely sister Philippa. Also in the film appear Indian actor Sabu and a young Jean Simmons in a subplot that works more thanks to the wit of the screenplay than to their performances, as theirs are probably the worst in the film. However, those problems do not demerit in any way the quality of "Black Narcissus", film that seemed to be ahead of its time not only in terms of themes but also in the spectacular work of cinematography in Technicolor done by Jack Cardiff, that truly make the film look like no other movie of its time (with the exception of course, of "The Red Shoes", also by Cardiff for The Archers). The brilliant of the Technicolor in "Black Narcissus" isn't only the beautiful colors that Jack Cardiff puts on the film, but the highly expressive use that Powell and Pressburger give to them. Color is not just an effect devised to impress, but a complete narrative tool used to great effect in the contrast done between the plain whiteness of the nuns' uniforms and the region's colorful landscape.

Director Michael Powell once said that he considered "Black Narcissus" to be his most erotic film, and probably he was right in that statement. In the microcosm that is the convent in "Black narcissus", what is implied by glances and silences is way more important than what's actually said, and this is something that Powell and Pressburger truly understood, making of subtlety a key piece of the film. The masterful way in which the filmmakers use it in their narrative is a testament of the directors' great talent, and proof that without a doubt this duo of filmmakers earned their place in the history of British cinema. Film of great aesthetic beauty and tremendous energy, "Black Narcissus" is a movie where every element of cinematography are combined to make a masterpiece. Normally, melodrama is accused of being a populist and low brow genre, but Powell and Pressburger show in "Black Narcissus" that melodrama can be true art.

10/10

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Captain Phillips (2013)

On April 8, 2009, a gang of four Somali pirates boarded MV Maersk Alabama, a container ship traveling 240 nautical miles off Somalia's coast. At the helm of MV Maersk Alabama was captain Richard Phillips, who had the mission of taking the cargo to Mombasa, Kenia. The situation got complicated when the crew captured one of the pirates and started negotiations to switch prisoners. The pirates secured their escape on a lifeboat, but took Phillips hostage with them. Everything would end in a risky rescue attempt by a team of Navy SEAL snipers. The kidnapping and rescue of captain Richard Phillips soon became international news, and as usual, an adaptation to the big screen began to be developed. Taking as basis captain Phillips' own account of the kidnapping, "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea", director Paul Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray developed a story with the intention of capturing the intense human drama of the tale. With the simple title of "Captain Phillips" and actor Tom Hanks leading the cast, this attempt isn't really bad, though it's far from amazing.

In "Captain Phillips", Tom Hanks plays the eponymous protagonist, captain Richard Phillips, who takes command of container ship MV Maersk Alabama in the port of Salalah, Oman. His destination, Mombasa, forces him to follow the dangerous route of the Somali coast, where pirate attacks are common place due to the poverty of the region. At the helm of Maersk Alabama, Phillips shows an excessive (bordering paranoid) preoccupation with security, which doesn't help him to make friends with his crew. At the same time, the young Somali pirate Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi) gathers a crew of four people with the intention of capturing a big ship. Muse wishes to show his skill as a pirate, as he is usually bullied by other pirates from his tribe. On april 8, the lives of Muse and Phillips will collide when Muse's small crew manages to board the MV Maersk Alabama, making Phillips' worst nightmares a reality. Determined to protect his crew, captain Phillips will need to find the courage to face Muse and recover the control of the ship. However, things go seriously wrong when he is taken hostage by the pirates.

Written by Billy Ray (co-scriptwriter of "The Hunger Games"), the screenplay for "Captain Phillips", tries to be not only an account of captain Phillips' story, but to make a study of the relationship between two apparently different characters, captain Phillips and captain Muse. At the beginning, both captains prepare the travel of their lives, Phillips checking his ship while Muse picks up his crew amongst the somali men of his tribe. Phillips faces the mistrust of his crew, while Muse sees himself humiliated by other pirates. Finally, both captains face each other in an endurance test, with Phillips trying to manipulate Muse while the young pirate attempts to show (to his own crew and to himself) that he is the boss and has the situation under control. This focus is interesting in the sense that allows to truly get into the character of Abduwali Muse in a more human way, exploring his fears and feelings, giving him more complex dimensions than what are normally found in typical villains. This attention to the psychology of the characters is without a doubt a great virtue in Ray's screenplay, but it's not enough to sustain the weight of the film.

At the helm of "Captain Phillips" is British director Paul Greengrass, whom isn't really a stranger to make films based on tense stories from real life (as "United 93" demonstrates). In "Captain Phillips", Greengrass gives the film his familiar style based on handheld camera, which gives the movie a tone of documental realism. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd's camera truly gets inside every scene in an almost active role, more as a participant than as mere witness of the action, managing to capture the human drama that's developed between the characters. And it's truly the difficult relationship between Phillips and Muse what actually drives the film. Greengrass and Ackroyd (who had previously worked together in "Green Zone" and the afore mentioned "United 93") capture the intensity of this relationship which is formed not only in dialogues, but in sights and silences. However, it's worth to point out that the rhythm of the movie falls flat during the second half of the film, as while Greengrass builds up the tension of the struggle between the crew and the pirates, when Phillips gets kidnapped the film loses steam. Badly.

The performances by the cast are truly the greatest asset of "Captain Phillips", as it's in the acting duel between veteran Tom Hanks and newcomer Barkhad Abdi where the real strength of Greengrass' film truly is. Hanks once again takes his classic everyman role that has given him success through his career. As Richard Phillis, Tom Hanks builds up a character different to the typical hero: he's a common man, arrogant and proud, full of flaws but with a strong determination to succeed. Tom Hanks truly manages to disappear in the character and make him real in a stark and realistic way. Young Barkhad Abdi debuts in the silver scree making a tremendous, high quality job in the role of Somali pirate Abduwali Muse. Director Pual Greengrass, fond to use actors with little to no experience, has the merit of finding and guiding a talent such as Abdi's, who truly captures not only the essence of a character as complex as Muse, but also the spirt of the Somali people, living under oppression and without great opportunities, and finds in piracy a way to survive.

As mentioned before, that's probably the greatest merit of "Captain Phillips", the achievement of building gip complex characters living in a world that's no longer black and white. The recognition of the humanity of the characters and using this recognition to make a statement: Muse is in the end, a young fisherman with dreams that seem impossible in his reality. However, this is also the origin of a big problem with the drama that "Captain Phillips" unfolds, as the film reaches a point in which the story becomes more interesting from the pirates' point of view. It's not only the fact that Abduwali Muse has been developed as a more sympathetic character than Phillips, but that ultimately the movie is the story of four young pirates facing the strongest army in the world. The matter of Phillips' survival gets overshadowed by Muse's overwhelming tragedy as a man looking for a way out that, like his dreams, is another impossible., And still, despite how fascinating these characters are, Greengrass seems to return to the traditional formula of action films during a climax that seems to remind us that these four are just the baddies and well, deserve their outcome.

Ultimately, it seems that "Captain Phillips" struggle between being two different kinds of movie: on one hand is the poignant drama that portrays a real situation exploring its characters as complex and real human beings, and on the other a tale of survival where it's clear who are the goodies (the U.S. navy of course) and the baddies. In "Captain Phillips", it seems that Greengrass started making the former and the film ended up becoming the latter. In the end, it would seem that the tense conflict between captain Richard Phillips and Abduwali Muse is diluted when the film becomes an unfair duel between four unprepared pirates and the efficient U.S. navy. While technically impeccable and with two truly brilliant performances by Hanks and Barkhdad Abdi, "Captain Phillips" lacks a bit of tact when dealing with the complex theme of Somali piracy and gets lost at sea when it attempts to solve its own identity conflict.

6/10

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Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

The history of American cinema is full of great movies that earned great recognition due to the impact of their artistic achievements or technological innovations, that in time resulted in fame for their makers. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is an exception to this, given the fact that the fame that earned for its creator, Edward D. Wood Jr. was that of being the "Worst Director of All Time". Released in 1959, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" was an independent movie that went unnoticed upon release until in 1980 was discovered by film critics Michael and Harry Medved, whom labeled as "The Worst Movie Ever Made" because of the enormous amount of errors and technical problems the film had. Nevertheless, in spite of this, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" has a strange appealing that makes it different from many other awful film: it has a heart. The cinema of Ed Wood is naive and incompetent, but owner of an extraordinary charm. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is the legacy of a man whose love for cinema was bigger than his own artistic skill, and that was willing to anything to complete his movie.

According to the film's narrator, the Amazing Criswell (as himself), "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is the true account of the facts of the fateful day where a group of extraterrestrial beings arrived to Hollywood in a flying saucer. It all begins in a funeral, where and old man (Bela Lugosi) mourns the loss of his young wife (Vampira). In the meantime, what seemed to be a routine flight for pilots Jeff (Gregory Walcott) and Danny (David De Mering) becomes a close encounter with the flying saucer. The saucer lands on the cemetery, and at night, the gravediggers are attacked by the reanimated corpse of the old man's wife. The very next day, the old man gets killed in a traffic accident, and during his funeral, the dead bodies of the two gravediggers are found. Inspect Clay (Tor Johnson) from the local police begins his investigation in the cemetery. At that moment, pilot Jeff feels uneasiness about his encounter with the flying saucer, and confesses to his wife that the army required him to keep quiet about it. Soon Inspector Clay faces the reanimated corpses of both the old man and his wife, and becomes part of Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Written, directed and produced by Ed Wood himself, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a bizarre mix between the kind of science fiction stories that dominated the 1950s and the classic gothic horror films that were a huge part of Wood's childhood. So, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" has the typical plot of alien invasion spiced up by reanimated corpses and Bela Lugosi unexplainably dressed as Dracula. The narration by Criswell gives a sensationalist tone to the story, presented as the "true account" of the survivors of the tale, in an attempt to mimic the tone of veracity in police procedural shows like "Dragnet". However, this effort proves useless by the outlandishly bizarre plot, not to mention the ridicule dialogs that verge on absurdity that Wood has given to his characters. "Plan 9 from Outer Space" also mimics the pacifist message of films like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951), where the alien invasion comes with the purpose of stopping the human race before it becomes dangerous. The most interesting thing in Wood's screenplay is perhaps the clear anti-statist message the film has: for Wood, the government knows a lot more that what we think.

As mentioned before, the fame of ·"Plan 9 from Outer Space" has its origin in the incompetence in which the film was crafted, as director Ed Wood doesn't seem to care much for matter such as continuity and coherence between his material. So, there are moments in which sky can change from day to night and vice-versa, the actors vary in their dramatic intention (if any), and special effects are done without care and in the lowest possible quality. Nevertheless, it's also clear that Wood knew pretty good what cinema could make, as he is able of portraying a car wreck using only sound, and creating entire sequences mixing what was show on set with archive footage. Wood knows how cinema works, he simply does it with extreme carelessness. Whether this had been the result of low budget or if its in fact an excess of overconfidence, or perhaps a combination of both, is something we can't really know. What can be appreciated is the great interest of Wood in telling an epic story despite having low resources, and his determination to do it no matter what (to the point of substituting Bela Lugosi when the horror icon passed away).

Bela Lugosi having a main role (the last of his career) in "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is another fact that has contributed for the film's unquestionable cult status. At the beginning of the 50s, Lugosi found himself working in countless B-movies to sustain his addiction to painkillers. Meeting Ed Wood, a young filmmaker who considered himself a big fan of Lugosi, meant a brief return to starring roles for the legendary Hungarian actor. Bela Lugosi shot with Wood a couple of scenes for a move that would never be finished, due to Lugosi's untimely death. However, that footage would end up as part of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (albeit without sound). To finish Lugosi's role, Wood hired Tom Mason, who makes a poor impersonation of Lugosi by hiding his face with the cape. Acting, like everything else in "Plan 9" is careless and tacky, though some performers, such as Gregory Walcott do try to make the effort to get a good result. Tor Johnson, Vampira, Dudley Manlove and the Amazing Criswell complete a bizarre cast that's certainly unforgettable, though perhaps for the wrong reasons.

And that's probably the best way to describe "Plan 9 from Outer Space", an unforgettable movie for all the wrong reasons. Everything that Wood wanted to make poignant, ends up as ridicule, and what he wanted to be thrilling, results in absurd fun. Involuntarily, Wood has created an entertaining horror movie that has become a fun genre icon. The reason behind this is precisely the naiveté and utter incompetence in the film's craftsmanship, since probably if the movie was correctly done the story may end up as just another boring run of the mill sci-fi film. And that's something really interesting, as even when the film is plagued of problems, "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is never boring. An achievement that many other films, better done and with bigger budgets, can't say they achieve. It's difficult to consider "Plan 9 from Outer Space" a good movie, yet curiously, it's even more difficult to label it as a bad one, as even when probably the result is far from what director Ed Wood desired when he conceived it, what "Plan 9 from Outer Space" really achieves is probably more worthy.

"Plan 9 from Outer Space" is a movie with a charm quite difficult to explain, as it's images convey a strange fascination. In the movie one can find cheap effects, exaggerated overacting, an absurd screenplay and an weird work of editing, and yet, in the end everything works in such a way that the film remains entertaining from beginning to end. Tim Burton's movie, "Ed Wood" (1994) is a testament of the fascination produced by "Plan 9 from Outer Space". And that's because in away, the making of "Plan 9 from Outer Space" englobes the pain and the glory of making movies, of gathering the talent and resources of a bunch of people (as big or little as they can be) to give life to a dream, to a vision. Ed Wood's vision, a man whose soul was in film despite his talents saying otherwise, is paradoxical in the sense that it completely fits that old statement that the movie is so bad that it's good.

5/10

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Flor de Durazno (1917)

Considered the most important figure in the history of Tango, singer and songwriter Carlos Gardel took the culture of Argentinian Tango across the world, becoming one of the most famous latin american artists at the time of his tragic death (in a plane crash). Of French origin, Gardel spent his childhood at the neighborhood of Abasto, in the city of Buenos Aires, where he began to develop a singing style working at bars and singing at private parties. In 1917, the young Carlos Gardel would make his first recordings, beginning the brilliant career that would take make him internationally famous. Two assets of great importance in the young singer's early success were his great presence and his natural charm, which didn't go unnoticed by the film industry, and that very same year the rising Tango star saw himself debuting in the silver screen. The title of the film would be "Flor de Durazno", an adaptation of the popular novel of the same name, written by Gustavo Adolfo Martínez Zuviría, better known as Hugo Wast. And while the film became a huge box office success, it is far from being the best film in Gardel's career.

"Flor de Durazno" (literally "Peach Flower") is the story of Rina (Ilde Pirovano), a young woman living with her father Germán (Diego Figueroa) in their little farm. Her cousin Fabián (Carlos Gardel) is in love with her, but the young lady has a preference for the young Miguel Benavides (Argentino Gómez), heir of a rich plantation. In time, they grow old, and Fabián manages to conquer Rina's heart, who finally agrees to marry him. Unfortunately, a war forces Fabián to enlist in the army, and so the couple postpones the wedding until Fabián returns. Miguel, now the owner of the Benavides ranch, takes advantage of this to get closer to Rina, using his knowledge and financial position to earn German's trust, as the farmer gets involved in a legal dispute and sees in Miguel a trustworthy advisor. Being now a regular visitor to Germán's farm and with Fabián away, Miguel finds his way to seduce Rina, who ends up pregnant. When Miguel refuses to marry Rina, considering her of a lower social class, she decides to runaway to the capital, where she'll endure misery being alone and poor.

Written and directed by Francisco Defilippis Novoa, "Flor de Durazno" follows with relative faithfulness the plot of Hugo Wast's popular novel, a naturalist melodrama that portrayed the social injustices in the Argentinian countryside. This kind of stories had already found a great success in Argentinian cinema, as proved the classic "Nobleza Gaucha" (1915), film that like Defilippis' movie, took as starting point the conflict between a rich rancher and a humble yet noble gaucho. "Flor de Durazno" follows to the letter this formula, with the humble farmer Rina suffering with stoicism the multiple abuses and humiliations from the wealthy class, having as driving force the undying love she feels for her little daughter. But despite the social theme, the film is pretty conservative, as Rina sees her constant suffering at the city as a penance for the grave sin of falling for Miguel and forgetting Fabián's love, specially since the noble young man remembers her in every trip. The simple plot of "Flor de Durazno" upholds the idea of modern cities as nests of perversion, while the countryside represents purity.

As a film, "Flor de Durazno"'s main characteristic is the simplicity of director Francisco Defilippis Novoa's take on the story, and the agile rhythm in which the story unfolds. Taking full advantage of the natural locations (and the effective work of cinematographer Francisco Mayrhoffer), Defillipis Novoa makes a bucolic portrait of the Argentinian countryside, which is presented as a tranquil place where life is simpler. In contrast, the city is presented as a dirt and chaotic place, where evil hides in every corner and is ready to prey on the dispossessed. Despite the profound simplicity of Defilippis Novoa's use of the camera, there are interesting moments in which the plot turns to Fabián, who sings to remember his land and his beloved Rina. Those moments (that probably where accompanied by a recording of Carlos Gardel's songs) are used by Defilippis to become more lyrical and poetic, moving to the subjectivity of the character's emotions. In his same way, Defilippis occasionally uses cinematic resources like double exposure to illustrate the memories and emotions of his characters.

Without a doubt, the main attraction in "Flor de Durazno" is to watch the debut of Carlos Gardel as a film star but, unfortunately, this first venture of the "Zorzal Criollo" in the film industry leaves a lot to be desired. For starters, silent cinema may not be the best way for a singer to shine (there are rumors of a disappointed Carlos Gardel storming out of the set), and on top of that, his character has pretty much a secondary role during most of the film, as the real star of "Flor de Durazno" is Ilde Pirovano. As Rina, Pirovano carries entirely the weight of the film, and truly makes a commendable job at it, as the young actress moves away from the silent cinema conventions and delivers a more naturalistic performance. The whole opposite is Argentino Gómez' work as Miguel Benavides, who looks terribly hammy in his delivery and makes a caricature of the wealthy villain archetype. The same could be said of the rest of the cast, as the constant through the film is the stagy style of film's early days. Perhaps the only exception (besides Ilde Pirovano) is Diego Figueroa, who manages to give dignity to the role of Germán Castillo.

While the acting isn't really the film's strongest point, of little help is the fact that the screenplay is of an exaggerated simplicity in its development, as the characters are in general a mere collection of classic genre archetypes: the unfortunate victim, her strict father, the wealthy rancher, the wise priest and last but not least, the noble gaucho. Very little is done to develop those personalities in a dramatic way, and director Francisco Defilippis merely focus his efforts in capturing the atmosphere of the story and telling the tale the most efficient way he can. This leaves "Flor de Durazno" as a missed opportunity, that even when it could had served as an exploration of social injustice, ends up as an easy and simple naturalist melodrama where once again the evil rich man abuses of the poor. Of course, a lot of this comes from the very source novel in which the film is based on, as Hugo Wast's novel already carries this and other flaws; but given the novel's commercial success, probably Deiflippis decided to make as little changes as possible to such successful formula.

Like the novel that originated it, "Flor de Durazno" became a huge box office success; however, as mention before Carlos Gardel wasn't too happy with the results. Carlos Gardel would remain focuses on his musical career for more than a decade before trying his hand again in the film industry, as this return would only tai enlace until 1930, when director Eduardo Morera invited him to collaborate in a series of musical short films. Naturally, sound in films was already a reality and that was Gardel's real start as a movie star (silent cinema wasn't the most appropriate way to showcase the talents of Gardel). Despite having some interesting elements, "Flor de Durazno" fails to rise above being a simple rural melodrama. A free adaptation of the novel would be done in Mexico in 1945, this time with Esther Fernández in the role of Rina.

5/10

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The Vampire Lovers (1970)

It could be stated that the 70s were a tough time for the legendary Hammer Film Productions, as after ruling the 60s with their trademark brand of lavish Gothic horrors, their classic formula was beginning to show its age, and on top of that, times were changing, and the company began to face strong competition from the new breed of grittier, edgier films that appeared in that decade. "The Vampire Lovers" is an attempt to spice things up a bit by adding an even stronger dose of eroticism to the Gothic horrors the studio was famous for. Ever since the release of "Dracula" (1958), Hammer Films had subtly played with eroticism in their productions, but "The Vampire Lovers" would be a step ahead. The experienced Roy Ward Baker (of "A Night to Remember" fame) was put in charge of the movie, but it would be the introduction of one of the studios' most iconic actresses, the gorgeous Ingrid Pitt, what would turn the film into a cult classic. This free adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's classic Gothic novel "Carmilla", is rightfully, one of the best Hammer films, not only of their late period, but of all time.

In 19th century Styria, a remote region in Austria, a series of deaths amongst the villagers brings back the ancient rumors of vampires, specially when Laura (Pippa Steel), the niece of General Von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing), falls sick to the same strange disease that it's killing the villagers. Marcilla (Ingrid Pitt), the daughter of a Countess, is living with the General's family as a house guest, after General Von Spielsdorf agreed to have her under his care while her mother is away. Laura quickly befriends Marcilla, who does everything she can to comfort young Laura. Sadly, all is in vain and the beautiful young girl dies. The mysterious Marcilla, vanishes from the General's home without leaving a trace. Several weeks later, the disease returns to the region, this time affecting Emma Morton (Madeline Smith), the daughter of a British nobleman (George Cole) who doesn't believe in vampires. However, Emma has a friend that looks after her, a young woman named Carmilla, that bears more than a passing resemblance to the disappeared Marcilla. Death has arrived to the Morton's house.

While scriptwriters Harry Fine, Tudor Gates and Michael Style do take some liberties with "Carmilla"'s plot, "The Vampire Lovers" is actually one of the most faithful adaptations to Le Fanu's novel, in the sense that it remains true to the novel's spirit and its balance of sheer Gothic horror and classy eroticism. The plot is quite well developed and there's an interesting attempt at building up a new mythology separated from Hammer's Dracula films. Also, the story plays nicely with suspense remarkable, as even when the story is told from the point of view of the "antagonist", the tension (both sexual and non-sexual) is always at the upfront. Keeping a balance between horror and eroticism is hard, but "The Vampire Lovers" manages to make a vivid portrait of those important aspects in the nature of the vampire myth. Carmilla is a temptress and a predator, a wild force of nature that, true to the vampire iconography, represents chaos and wilderness. What's interesting is how despite the outcome of the fight between the vampire and the civilized men, the vampire is always treated as the most charismathic figure.

The experienced Roy Ward Baker (who had already done a film for Hammer, "Quatermass and the Pit" in 1967) brought to Hammer Film Productions his extraordinary ability to do wonders with limited resources, a trait that suited like a glove the lavish look of the low budget horror films that made Hammer famous. What director Roy Ward Baker gives to the film is certainly class, a certain subtlety and elegance in his use of the camera that work wonders for the eroticism inherent in the story. While this subtle approach may seem restrained, it actually enhances the eroticism of several scenes, as what's implied is often more tempting than what is shown (and it's shown a lot). Despite the low-budget, the movie looks very good, as Roy Ward Baker makes an excellent use of his resources allowing him to create nightmarish scenes despite the budget constrains. An instrumental figure in this is cinematographer Moray Grant, who employs his talents to give the film a haunting atmosphere of dark fantasy that fits nicely with the Gothic tone of the story. "The Vampire Lovers" is one of the best looking horrors from the Hammer house.

It's more than clear that "The Vampire Lovers" is basically a star vehicle for the beautiful Ingrid Pitt, and she truly makes the most of the chance. As the lead character, Carmilla, Pitt is simply breathtaking, and not only because of her imposing beauty. Pitt manages to create a character that's both seductive and terrifying, alluring and destructive, the very essence of the horror tale. With her powerful screen presence, Ingrid Pitt carries the film with ease and creates an iconic figure in the process. And her strong personality makes a pretty good contrast with the innocence portrayed by actress Madeline Smith as Emma Morton, her counterpart in several scenes. Smith makes a fine job in her role, but her character is sadly a tad underdeveloped and ends up as just another damsel in distress (the real star is Carmilla of course). Kate O'Mara delivers another of the great performances of the movie as Mme. Perrodot, a governess infatuated by Carmilla's power. George Cole, Douglas Wilmer and the legendary Peter Cushing complete the cast, bringing excellent support due to their experience and great talent.

It would be very easy to dismiss "The Vampire Lovers" as just an erotic film about lesbian vampires, particularly now that the theme of lesbianism in vampire films has been overdone, but this movie truly offers a lot more than that. For starters, it's a horror movie centered around its characters, with Carmilla at the center, playing with the rest of the characters as pieces of a game of chess. The atmosphere plays an even more important role in "The Vampire Lovers" than in usual Hammer films, as Roy Ward Baker aims for an aura of romanticism for the movie. Certainly, the low budget is at times noticeable and it may lack the dynamism and energy of the Hammer films directed by Terence Fisher, but this approach to the vampire film was not only daring and refreshing in its time, it was the next step in the road that Hammer had been taking the vampire film since "Dracula" (1958): the vampire was not only a monster, it was an attractive monster. Roy Ward Baker's version of "Carmilla" began its own "subgenre", becoming the main influence to the many subsequent erotic films about vampires that were done across the world.

The 70s would prove to be a difficult time for Hammer Film Productions, as in order to keep up with the times the company would begin to produce all sorts of variations to its horror films. Some would be set in modern times, while other would be bizarre combinations of genres ("The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires", mix of Gothic horror and martial arts is a perfect example of this). Nevertheless, "The Vampire Lovers" is one of the forgotten gems of that period in Hammer history where experimentation was needed to survive. In the case of this film, the experiment worked, and two more films were done in this model, making what is now known as the "Karnstein Trilogy" (with the films "Lust for a Vampire" and "Twins of Evil"). Despite its problems, "The Vampire Lovers" can be considered amongst the best Hammer films, not only of the late period of the company, but of all its history.

8/10

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7 Women (1966)

Widely regarded as one of the greatest masters in the history of cinema, American director John Ford left a remarkably rich legacy through his long and prolific career in the movies. While chiefly known as a director of Westerns (a genre to which he contributed several masterpieces such as "Stagecoach", "My Darling Clementine" or "The Searchers", to name a few), John Ford's body of work shows a quite versatile filmmaker, able to tackle very diverse types of stories. Unfortunately, that other side of Ford's oeuvre has left a bit overshadowed by the great success of his classic Westerns, but nonetheless it's an interesting facet that's well worthy of checking out. The perfect example of this is "7 Women", the film that closes John Ford's career as the last feature-length fiction film that he would do in his life (his final work would be a documentary, "Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend" in 1970). Being a movie completely focused on a group of female characters, it would seem that this movie is a tad unusual for the legendary director of Westerns, but the truth is that this is actually the perfect farewell from one of cinema's masters.

Set in Chine, in 1935, "7 Women" deals with the tribulations that are lived by the staff at a Christian mission in a remote region in the north of China. Lead by the strict Ms. Agatha Andrews (Margaret Leighton), the staff consists of Andrew's assistant, Ms. Argent (Mildred Dunnock), professor Charles Pether (Eddie Albert) and his wife Florrie (Betty Field), and last but not least, the young Emma Clark (Sue Lyon). At the mission there's the expectation for the arrival of the new doctor, as the situation in the region is difficult with the rumors of attacks by the notorious bandit Tunga Khan (Mike Mazurki). However, to the shock of everyone at the mission, the new doctor is actually a woman, Dr. Cartwright (Anne Bancroft), and it doesn't take much time before Dr. Cartwright's cynicism and open despise for religion collides with the Ms. Andrews' authoritarian personality. Despite this, Dr. Cartwright will prove to be of great help, having to deal with problems such as Mrs. Pether's advanced pregnancy, and the outburst of plague amongst the mission's population. However, her greatest challenge will come with the arrival of Tunga Khan to the mission.

Written by Janet Green and John McCormick, "7 Women" is an adaptation of a short story titled "Chines Finale", written by Norah Lofts (the story had already been adapted to television as part of the "Alcoa Theatre" TV series in 1960). The core drama in "7 Women" is centered mainly in the conflict between Ms. Andrews and Dr. Cartwright, using the contrast between their strong personalities as the basis to make a study on morality, religion and the relationship between them. While for Ms. Andrews' eyes the ways and behavior of Dr. Cartwright are irreligious and immoral at all accounts, ultimately the actions of the tough newcomer begin to prove themselves far more useful for the mission than the strict discipline preached by Ms. Agatha Andrews. As it can be seen, "7 Women" isn't much of an epic adventure in an exotic land, but an intimate character study where the conflicting personalities of the 7 women of the title are dissected, as when adversity comes knocking to their door, they must learn to collaborate despite their multiple personal differences.

In this his last feature-length film as a director, John Ford shows his masterful skill behind the camera at giving life to Lofts' story with a very appropriate and interesting subtlety. As mentioned before, despite the exotic location in which the story is set, "7 Women" works more as an intense drama of a more intimate variety, so director John Ford adapts his very particular style to really get into the microcosm that the mission represents. Ford leaves aside any attempt at visual flare (though Joseph LaShelle's work as cinematographer is brilliant) in favor of a greater focus in his characters. With an agile visual narrative, Ford portraits the mission's staff with great detail carefully developing their different personalities to the plot's benefit. In the end, Tunga Khan's attack is just another excuse to take to the limit the conflict between Ms. Agatha Andrews and Dr. Cartwright. Certainly, the main conflict was one of great interest for Ford, as even since his earlier classic, "Stagecoach" (1939), he had treated the complex theme of hypocrisy in religion's morality.

Naturally, given that "7 Women" is a film focused entirely on the relationships between the characters, the performances by the cast take a greater degree of relevance for the film's success. Fortunately, the acting in "7 Women" is of a superb quality, starting with Anne Bancroft completely taking over the screen as the witty Dr. D.R. Cartwright. While reportedly Bancroft wasn't the first choice for the role, her work is simply outstanding, managing to capture the complex personality of her character, a woman hardened by the frustration of living in a men's world. Her counterpart, Margaret Leighton, makes a fabulous job as Ms. Agatha Andrews, the strict and devoted leader of the mission. What's interesting about Leighton's performance is that she manages to avoid making of her character a caricature, as she conveys the complex subtleties that make her character human. Young Sue Lyon makes an acceptable job as Emma, who finds herself divided between her loyalty to Ms. Andrews and her admiration to Dr. Cartwright, whom she begins to see a role model (to Ms. Andrew's dismay).

At first sight, it would seem to be strange that director John Ford, whom basically helped to create the iconography of the wild west in his Westerns, would take the job of crafting a movie starring almost entirely women. However, "7 Women" is a film that in its themes is actually closer to John Ford's cinema than what one could thing at first: for starters, as in many of Ford's celebrated classics, "7 Women" deals with the conflict of different personalities forced to be together by the circumstances. Besides, Dr. Cartwright's has a lot in common with Ford's cowboys, being clearly outside the "normal" standards upholder by the proper "civilization". Cartwright is strong, smart and independent, so she means a direct threat to the concept of discipline and submission understood by Andrews (whom by the way, has a lot of sexual repression). The role that plays religion is also interesting, as Ford makes of "7 Women" a criticism to the hypocrisy of an arrogant, holier-than-thou attitude that judges based on moral prejudices instead of in the acts of sacrifice.

Certainly, such conflict was of great importance for Ford (a Catholic), given that "beliefs vs. acts" is a major argument between Protestants and Catholics. Now, "7 Women" isn't a movie absolutely without flaws (the most notorious being the fact that's pretty obvious that the film was shot entirely on a set), nevertheless, said flaws are completely overshadowed by the film's many virtues. Due to its unusual characteristics, "7 Women" is usually forgotten when discussion John Ford's filmography but, given its themes and style, the movie actually summarizes perfectly the totality of the work done by this great filmmaker. Gifted with great visual beauty, and intelligent screenplay and superb performances, "7 Women" closes masterfully the career of the legendary filmmaker. And if there's a doubt about it, one just has to check out the final scene of the movie, which is a farewell equally as beautiful as melancholic. The farewell of a master.

10/10

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