A dear friend and graduate school colleague of mine shared a great horror movie with me recently. It's called "Under the Shadow" (2016).
It tells the story of a mother and daughter stranded in post-revolution Tehran and the parallel terrors of the city's constant bombardment as Iran battles Iraq and being hunted by a child-hungry demon.
The stage is set as Shideh, played by Narges Rashidi, is conclusively informed that she will be blocked from completing her studies to become a doctor. As the film unfolds, the claustrophobia of living in a society with newly-introduced sweeping oppression of women slowly suffocates. Shideh hides the fact that the family owns a VCR from strangers, appears to be the only woman left in her neighborhood who still drives, and must cover herself head-to-toe when she leaves her home--even, we learn, as she flees her apartment in the middle of the night with her child--because the religious police are waiting to scoop her up for any failure to cooperate in her own subjugation. "Under the Shadow" reminds us, as the serialized version of "A Handmaid's Tale"rivets viewers, that a horrifying reversal in women's liberties in a previously modernized society is hardly a fiction; it is chillingly and recently possible.
The claustrophobia only deepens when a bomb lands, but fails to detonate, on Shideh's apartment building. Although Shideh has determined that leaving is impossible, as the bomb threatens to explode and a lurking evil makes itself increasingly evident, remaining begins to stretch the limits of her sanity. The images of the hulking explosive puncturing the roof of the building harken to another favorite horror movie of mine, 2001's "The Devil's Backbone", which featured a rusting World War II bomb nose-down in an orphanage's courtyard as a pointed symbol of the fearful forces residing in the surrounding buildings.
Awkward?
Driving Shideh's aforementioned midnight flight is the increasingly aggressive pursuit of a djinn, a demon who wishes to ensnare Shideh's young daughter Dorsa (played by Avin Manshadi). The djinn first manifests as a mysterious fever striking Dorsa soon after the bomb lands on their building and their upstairs neighbor dies, possibly of frank fright, possibly due to a darker force. Shideh struggles to banish Dorsa's fever, becoming increasingly exasperated and cabin-fevered as her daugher's malaise-driven whining and her own feelings of inefficacy grate her last nerve. Ominous portents accumulate as this and other more minor signals that something is amiss build into more overt actions by the djinn. Shideh frays between the impossibility of djinn actually existing and the urgent wish to protect Dorsa from demonic kidnapping. As a portrait of ambivalent motherhood under terrorizing circumstances, "Under the Shadow" finds its partner in the deliciously terrifying Australian horror film "The Babadook" (2014).
All the scary things!
Between resonances with other excellent horror and its fresh perspective on scary storytelling, "Under the Shadow" is a well-crafted and scarily fun film. It's Rotten Tomatoes certified fresh, and you can watch it on Netflix!
I wanted to write a little note of appreciation for Bill Paxton, who passed away in late February. He was in some pretty major movies over his busy career, including "Titanic" (1997), "Tombstone" (1993), and "Nightcrawler" (2014). Even if you didn't know him by name, he had the all-American man thing down so pat that you would surely recognize him from his work across the last few decades.
I'd like to offer my little token of thanks for a perhaps less-lauded entry in Mr. Paxton's filmography.
At the commencement of this blog, I mentioned that my love of film emerged from somewhat unlikely beginnings. That not-quite-promising early moviegoing experience notwithstanding, my future as a film-obsessed human was pretty clear early on due to one fact: throughout my childhood, I was OBSESSED with certain movies.
I don't mean to suggest that I was obsessed with THE BEST movies. In fact, the list films I watched compulsively throughout childhood and adolescence is pretty motley and by no mean typified by high quality. Nevertheless, those movies are dear to my heart because at the time they played a (perhaps surprisingly large) role in my life, they clearly met some psychological need in my little developing cinephilic brain.
Membership in that proud(?) pantheon of cinematic greatness(?) is 1996's "Twister," which starred Helen Hunt and none other than Bill Paxton.
GUYS I LOVED "TWISTER" SO MUCH.
SO MUCH that I rented it from Blockbuster (throwback!) and watched it constantly for several months after its release to VHS (throwback!), probably much to the consternation and possible confusion, maybe even concern, of my parents.
So much that I'm convinced that, were I to watch it again now, I would be alarmed at how perfect my memory of every scene and line is, much like when I recently watched another member of the Obsessed-with-in-Childhood List (OwiCL): "First Wives Club" (1996).
WHAT.
IT HAD GOLDIE HAWN, BETTE MIDLER, AND DIANE KEATON. THEY ARE QUEENS OF COMEDY.
COME AT ME.
Anyway, to return to the topic at hand, which is explaining why I loved "Twister" so much:
Maybe it's because "Twister" was the only disaster movie in town at the time (and by "in town" I mean "that I was allowed to watch when I was in 5th grade"), and I love me some disaster movies.
Maybe it's because "Twister" preceded by a scant two months the release of "Independence Day" (1996), which is unambiguously a better and also very different version of a disaster movie, but somehow did *not* attain OwiCL membership (despite inclusion of my beloved Fresh Prince).
Maybe it's because I enjoyed and admired the courage of people rushing toward a storm rather than away from it, and I loved their ability to (admittedly in a manner stretching credulity) survive those storms intact.
Maybe it's because it was a weird mash-up of thrill, terror, and a little humor that I love so well.
I mean just look at this trailer!!
Still pretty great!
Whatever the reason, 5th grade me really loved this movie and therefore owes a debt of film-loving gratitude to Bill Paxton. I was sad to hear of his passing, especially when he was still so early in life, and I'm thankful for the role he played in a movie that contributed to my ongoing love of cinema.
ForthefirstSnapJudgment of the year, I would like to talk to you about a movie that instantly gained a deeply-entrenched place in my heart: "Kedi" (2017).
For those of us needing a little refresher, in Snap Judgments I distill my reaction to movies down to five bullet points, hoping to capture the most impactful elements of a film before giving my usual 1-5 score.
Let's dive in, shall we?
Incredible cat footage
True to its title (Turkish for "cat"), this film is first and foremost a love letter to the street cats of Istanbul.
"Kedi" takes a case study approach, stitching together a series of vignettes of different cats living in the streets of the city.
The film's adoration for its subject is expressed through stunningly beautiful and intimate footage of each featured cat as it goes about its daily life, climbing to rooftops, strolling along streets, lounging on front stoops, slipping through tiny openings in fences to find the little secret den where their litter of tiny kittens awaits.
The quality and closeness of the documentation in this film is awe-inspiring, especially given the independence and privacy of the creatures at its center. Through this close study, the personality nuances of each cat are revealed. Each is treasured for it individuality such that it cannot be dismissed as just another street cat. Each is unique, and each matters.
An introduction to Istanbul
One of the cats' most prominent co-stars in "Kedi" is the city of Istanbul itself.
The cat vignettes are interspersed with breathtaking shots of the port city's skylines and beautiful architecture, giving you an introduction not only to the feline inhabitants of the city but to the city as a whole.
Gorgeous music
"Kedi"'s soundtrack is a mix of charming, upbeat Turkish pop and wonderful original compositions by Kira Fontana, who has beautifully adopted the acoustic qualities of her mentor Steve Reich (who wrote one of my all-time favorite pieces of music) and created an evocative, atmospheric soundscape to match and enhance the arresting visual content of the film.
Poetic testimony of cat-love
Each cat vignette is paired with interviews from the people who love and care for them. These interviews, in which citizens of Istanbul describe how they met the cats and what makes them care for cats so deeply, are one of the more unexpected pleasant surprises of the movie.
While hearing people wax on about cats might sound like a great recipe for eye-roll-inducing cliches, each person in "Kedi" has their own fresh perspective on the admirable and inspiring attributes of the animals they love. It's extremely pleasurable hearing the myriad ways in which people have come to adore creatures who may otherwise have been overlooked, and to hear the virtues, dignity, resilience, and strength of cats uplifted.
A much-needed antidote to Toxic Masculinity
Finally, the most welcome surprise of "Kedi": the men of Istanbul who love cats.
Several of the featured cats have male caretakers. Because of dumb gender stereotypes dictating that dogs are for dudes and cats are for ladies, this in itself was incredibly refreshing. But particularly in an era in which toxic masculinity is constantly ruining the party (and winning elections after bragging about sexual assault), it was a much-needed and deeply moving experience to watch men care for, love, and admire cats.
The men featured in "Kedi," describe their affection for the cats they care for in the same breath with which they express their respect for the cats' independence, pride, and self-sufficiency. They describe how caring for cats has saved their lives and given them purpose--how, in one man's case, a cat's intervention in his life gave him proof of the divine's influence in his life.
Then men in "Kedi" mobilize time, money, and energy to care for the animals they love, illustrating what is happily a globally spreading trend. Maybe it seems silly, but listening to and watching thoughtful, generous, caring men dedicate themselves to caring for animals who are symbols of femininity was exactly the antidote to our current era I'd been needing.
Just stopping in for a quick little note of celebration, admittedly one month after the fact, for "Moonlight"'s deserving Best Picture victory at the Academy Awards.
Instead of offering my own commentary, I prefer to lift up the moving, sweet, stunned reactions from the cast and crew. Despite weeks passing, these images and this milestone still make my heart swell.
Director Barry Jenkins at the moment of the reveal
Mind LITERALLY blown!!
I so love Trevante Rhodes clutching his heart.
Cast and crew take their place on stage
Congratulations Mr. Jenkins!!
Congratulations a thousand times over to all involved in this gorgeous film!
As we are presently nearing the end of February and myannualround-upposts are meant to be in reference to the previous year's movies, I was about to apologize for not writing this until now. I then went to check what I wrote for last year's round-up, where I was all like "So what if it's February?" and then I was like, "Aw, thanks AGAIN past me! Nice job taking the pressure off present me."
So screw apologizing. At least I'm doing the thing. And what better day on which to share my thoughts about the previous year's films than the day of the Academy Awards?
Definitely perfect. Not that that's what we're striving for.
I'm excited to share this year's movies with you, because as we know by now...
I'm happy to say that I was able to keep up a pretty consistent pace of movie-watching throughout the year, which contributed to exceeding my 52-movies-a-year resolution with a comfortable margin. The exceptions were low viewership in May (which I attribute to obvi post-move life mayhem) and August (which I attribute to last summer being a particularly nasty kind of a stressmonster).
To begin with the less-than-stellar films viewed in 2016, the entries in the low end of the quality spectrum were:
For trying to be impressionistic but really just kind of
lacking in content in what's probably a really interesting story:
Love & Mercy (2014)
For being yet another self-indulgent film-about-making-films
from directors we know with absolute certainty can do (much) better:
For being yet another tired-feeling film from a director
we know with absolute certainty can do (much) better:
Mascots (2016)
For the capital offense of misusing Benedict Cumberbatch
(Is he trying to be Magic Tony Stark or not??
His facial hair and four random jokes say yes but his generally morose demeanor says no?):
Doctor Strange (2016)
I sadly watched a few more clunkers in 2016 than I did the previous year. A major theme in 2016's disappointments was the "come on, guys" factor of movies that had no business being bad yet nevertheless persevered in being so. For example, the Coens are goddamned geniuses. Christopher Guest is a delight who significantly contributed to the formation of one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions ever: watching the Westminster Dog Show because THOSE PEOPLE ARE TOTALLY REAL. I somehow have not managed to talk about this on this blog, I think, but Benedict Cumberbatch is basically my favorite.
Fast forward to 3:19 for Exhibit 1: Why he is my favorite.
However, the dubious honor of being my least favorite movie of 2016 must go to a movie I probably should have expected to be bad. I am nevertheless still angry I even saw it. Last year's worst movie was:
Ugh I HATE IT.
Yeah this movie was super annoying. I guess John Lithgow was good at being a super-creep? But no ugh I just can't. Moving on! The major upside of 2016 was that I saw SO MANY really good movies!! They are:
I am so gratified to see so many new movies on this list. This illustrates that I've been able to go to movies in theaters more often this year, which is a change absolutely facilitated by my move to New City and an emerging routine of going to movies with Husband on Friday nights. It also means that SO MANY GOOD MOVIES were made this past year, and hopefully there are more to come!
Some of the films I saw this year were exhilarating for their pure, courageous inventiveness. Say what you will about "The Lobster," that shit was bonkers, bizarre, creatively cray. And "Swiss Army Man"!!! It was such a weird, joyful, thrilling and moving mess of a fantasy. It's so exciting that movies like that are being made!
As always, I so value films that allow viewers a glimpse of lives and places we might otherwise have no access to. I started the year with "Timbuktu," a competitor for the Palme d'Or at Cannes telling the story of villagers whose lives are intruded upon by Jihadists. "We Were Here" walks the viewer through the devastating and terrifying era of the AIDS crisis that ultimately decimated the gay population. "Cartel Land" shows us how Mexican civilians desperately try to push back the tide of cartel violence when the government fails to protect them. "City of Gold" introduces us to LA restaurants and neighborhoods we might otherwise have no idea how to find and honors them with a deep-seated love of food.
Then: as I began the movie-watching year auspiciously, so I ended it. With a Disney movie!!
I have made no secret of how much I dislike Disney movies. To be fair, they've generally been kind of terrible. And yet, "Moana"! I went with predictably not-great expectations and was so pleasantly surprised. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, Lin-Manuel Miranda's lyrics are powerful and exuberant, and they FINALLY figured out that a children's movie doesn't need sexual tension and/or annoying rigid gender roles AND that it's possible to cast parts well without whitewashing!!
SHOCKING, I know!!
Plus the story was wonderful. I was enrapt for every moment of that wonderful treat of a movie. However, despite the denseness and quality of the field of competitors this year, there's absolutely no question in my mind about the best film I saw in 2016. It is an exquisite film. It's emotionally and visually rich, complex and subtle, deftly written, acted, and captured. And it damn well better clean up at the Oscars later this evening. My choice couldn't be anything other than:
Come on, Academy! In the words of of last year's best film: do the right thing! {Heart}
* = "Hail, Caesar!" may have been pretty terrible, but I have to give the Coens credit for every moment of Channing Tatum in that movie.
