A review of the film version of “Seven Years In Tibet”

December 11th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

It took me 25 years to view this 1997 film and, by then, I’d visited China four times but never managed to reach Tibet. In fact, although there was some secret filming in the Chinese-occupied territory, most of the stunning scenery in this work was shot in Argentina.

So the film looks wonderful and it tells a remarkable, largely true, story: how the former Nazi, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, found himself as a tutor and friend to the current Dalai Lama in the period just after the Second World War and the occupation of Tibet by China.

The cast is an attractive one with American Brad Pitt as Harrer and British David Thewlis as his fellow mountaineer, the German Peter Aufschnaiter, and many of the support cast having different ethnic backgrounds of Asian origin. Then there is music written by John Williams and performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

All this would encourage one to view the movie and it is worth seeing, but ultimately it is something of a disappointment. Although well-intentioned in its support of Tibetan culture and independence, as a film it is too long and too slow and lacks a certain passion.

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A review of the 2018 Battle of Britain film “Hurricane”

December 7th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

What “Dark Blue World” in 2001 did for Czechoslovaks in the wartime Royal Air Force, “Hurricane” – which had different titles in Poland and the USA – in 2018 did for Polish pilots in the RAF, namely paid tribute to brave men who left their Nazi-controlled nations to fight for liberty but were subsequently erased from history by the post-war communist regimes. This British/Polish production uses the vernacular of the characters: English, Polish, German and French.

The events – which are largely true – focus on the role in the Battle of Britain of one particular Polish squadron (there were eventually 16 in the RAF): 303 or Kościuszko Squadron. Flying Hawker Hurricanes, the squadron claimed the largest number of aircraft shot down of the 66 Allied fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it joined the fray two months after the Battle had begun.

Two members of the squadron were among the highest-scoring aces of the Battle: the Czechoslovak Josef František with a score of 17 kills and the Polish Witold Urbanowicz with 16 kills to his credit. Both these pilots are represented in the film by actors of the appropriate nationality, but the lead role is assigned to another 303 pilot: the Polish/Swiss Jan Zumbach – an ace with eight victories in the Battle – who surprisingly is played by Welsh actor Iwan Rheon.

In this low budget film, the air battle sequences were shot using a combination of replica cockpits, a life-size replica Hurricane on a gimbal, a real Hurricane (one of only nine in the world) and visual effects.

Link: Wikipedia page on 303 Squadron click here

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How many of the top 100 films of all time have you actually seen or even know?

December 5th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

“Sight and Sound” magazine has announced the result of its latest 10-yearly ‘Greatest Film of All Time’ critics’ poll and Chantal Akerman’s 1975 film “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles” is there at No 1.

“Jeanne Dielman” makes this the first time a female director has been admitted to this exclusive top spot. It has previously had only three members: Vittorio de Sica (“Bicycle Thieves” in 1952), Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane” in 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002) and Alfred Hitchcock (“Vertigo” in 2012).

Have you actually seen “Jeanne Dielman”? I thought not. Have you even heard of it? No, me neither – and I’ve seen about 3,000 films. In fact, I’ve only seen 38 of these 100 greatest films.

It makes you wonder just have esoteric these choices are. I mean, my all-time favourite movie – “Lawrence Of Arabia” directed by David Lean – is not even mentioned.

So how many of these 100 films have you seen?

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A review of the 2000 film “In The Mood For Love”

December 4th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

This immensely stylish work by Hong Hong director Kar-wai Wong is like a Chinese version of “Brief Encounter” in that it shows a man and woman – both married – struggling with whether they should be unfaithful to their spouses, although the twist this time is that their partners are apparently already having an affair with each other. As the couple in question, handsome Tony Chiu-Wai Leung and beautiful Maggie Cheung give understated but emotional performances.

Although made shortly after Hong Kong was returned to China, the story is set in the 1960s as the political uncertainties overlap with the romantic ones.

The locations are in and around one of the crowded tenement blocks so typical of the territory, but director of photography Christopher Doyle provides a mixture of languid and close-up shots that create an absorbing set of images and Cheung’s character wears such gorgeous dresses that you wonder if she really is a secretary or a model. The music of Nat King Cole, while an odd choice for a Chinese movie, simply underlines the dreamlike quality of the production.

In the 2022 “Sight & Sound” poll of the top 100 films of all time, “In The Mood For Love” – while relatively little known to western viewers – comes in at No 5.

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Word of the day: Twiddlemuff

November 30th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

A Twiddlemuff is a double thickness hand muff with bits and bobs attached inside and out. It is designed to provide a stimulation activity for restless hands for patients suffering from dementia.

I came across one today while volunteering in the Older Persons’ Unit of St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

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A review of the new superhero movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

November 27th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

After seeing two really heavy films in a row, I yearned for some straightforward entertainment and “Black Panther 2” delivered. Following the great success of the original “Black Panther” movie, its lead actor Chadwick Boseman, who was king of Wakanda T’Challa, died of cancer aged just 43 and so the sequel had both to pay homage and to move on, both of which it does sensitively.

Consequently black female actors are now even more to the fore, especially Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s sister Shuri and Angela Basset as T’Challa’s mother Ramonda. The key plot feature of this second visit to Wakanda is the discovery that the state is not alone is having access to the powerful substance vibranium and so we venture to the underwater city of Talokan led by Namor played by the Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta.

It is such a joy to see so many actors of colour filling all the top roles in a big budget movie – as was the case with “The Woman King” a few months ago – and the costumes and settings are wonderful. The loss of immensely talented Boseman inevitably brings a sense of pathos which one does not usually have in a superhero movie, but the main problem with “Wakanda Forever” is its excessive length of 2 hours 40 minutes.

African-American Ryan Coogler, who co-wrote and directed both “Black Panther” films, obviously loves his material, but the proposed third episode needs tighter editing. Having said that, at the end of the showing in IMAX that I attended, there was enthusiastic applause, so the fans are happy.

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A review of the 1982 classic film “The Draughtsman’s Contract”

November 24th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

Most critics really admire the work of British writer and director Peter Greenaway and “The Draughtsman’s Contract”, his first major feature, is regarded as a classic. However, I always thought that I would find his films too odd and avoided them. Yet, when my brother recommended that I view a 40th anniversary re-mastered version, I took an opportunity to see it at the British Film Institute. I could see why some admire it but I found it an unsatisfactory experience.

Set in 1694, the whole story is shot in and around an English country house which is, in fact, Groombridge Place, located outside Tunbridge Wells and built in 1662. The eponymous draughtsman or artist is Mr Neville (Anthony Higgins) and the contract, to produce 12 drawings of the house in return for a sizeable sum and sexual favours, is placed by Mrs Herbert (Janet Suzman), the wife of the home’s owner.

The film is visually and aurally impressive: the house and gardens of course, the costumes and wigs by Sue Blane, and the Purcell-inspired music by Michael Nyman. And the composition by former artist Greenaway is splendid with each scene looking like a picture (Greenaway even did the sketches himself) and the acting and dialogue are incredibly theatrical.

The main problem, for me, is that cinema is different from art and theatre and this work lacks the fluidity that is at the heart of a great film. The British director David Lean was a master of both composition and fluidity but Greenaway’s work is both ponderous and pompous. Furthermore, again for me, the narrative does not work with too much unexplained. All the characters are manipulative and I felt that the whole thing was cold.

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Are we inching closer to a cure for dementia?

November 22nd, 2022 by Roger Darlington

This article offers some hope on the intractable and growing problem of dementia.

For almost five years, I have been a participant in a long-term health study with the acronym CHARIOT PRO which has been studying the possible connection between dementia and a protein in the brain called beta amyloid. That study is about to conclude and I am now a participant in a CHARIOT PRO sub-study which is looking at the possible role in dementia of a different protein in the brain called tau.

For years, I was tested every three months; then it moved to six months; and the new study involves annual exercises. The physical tests include blood, urine, saliva and hair samples plus MRI and PET scans. The cognitive tests involve numbers, characters, shapes and narratives. I also regularly fill in questionnaires on eating, drinking, exercise and lifestyle. Finally I have a study partner who keeps an eye on my behaviours.

In recent decades, our health services have become so much better at treating physical illnesses like cancer and heart disease. But we still have no treatment for dementia or a clear indication of who is likely to suffer from it. So the news of a possible treatment and the trials on causation are so important.

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A review of the new film “Living”

November 17th, 2022 by Roger Darlington

Bill Nighy gives the best performance of his distinguished career as Mr Williams, an old-fashioned, straight-laced, middle-ranking official at the London County Council in the 1950s. When he receives life-changing news, he has to decide whether he can start living at last and whether he can leave any kind of meaningful legacy. The film centres on a man of similar age to me and is set in parts of London where I am living – in both sense of the word – just walking distance away and therefore the work certainly resonates with me, but it will have appeal to anyone who yearns for something different from the endless superhero movies.

Although in many ways this is an quintessentially British film, it is directed by South African Oliver Hermanus, the story is based on a Japanese film (Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 “Ikiru”), and the script is written by Kazuo Ishiguro who, in his novel “The Remains Of The Day”, showed the emotionally-repressed nature of a segment of English society – the main theme of production. Some will regard “Living” as slow, simple and sentimental and, in truth, it is at one level all of these, but it is also charming, poignant and life-affirming.

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