To my (three) faithful readers

I'm currently working on a revamp of the blog that will feature shorter reviews of all the movies I watch, as opposed to sporadic long reviews of a few films. I'm just too lazy to actually put together something decent, it seems!

Stay tuned, my friends.

5 Centimetres per Second

A+

Directed by Makoto Shinkai

Makoto Shinkai's second full length film, "5 Centimetres per Second" confirms his incredible talent both as a storyteller and visual artist.

"5 Centimetres per Second" is divided into three chapters which follow three main characters -- Takaki, Akari, and Kanae -- from elementary school to young adulthood. The first chapter focuses on Takaki and Akari, who attend the same elementary school and hope to attend the same middle school until Akari moves away. Chapter 2 follows Takaki, now in high school, and Kanae, his classmate who is hopelessly in love with him but can't find a way to tell him. The last chapter, the shortest of the three, follows the three characters into young adulthood.

Since the release of "Voices of a Distant Star" in 2002 Shinkai's critical acclaim has gone from overwhelming to almost hyperbolic. The excitement over his work is absolutely and unquestionably well deserved, however, and each time I watch one of his films I can't help but wish that he had a bigger catalogue behind him so I could feast on his gorgeous works in abundance, rather than watchings his limited filmography over and over again.

"5 Centimetres per Second" hits on many of the same themes that run through Shinkai's work; distance, time, and the enduring, and often debilitating, forces of memory. Shinkai is incredibly adept at exploring these themes, especially the concept of the elasticity of time which can seem infinite one moment and incredibly finite the next. In all of Shinkai's works the characters, always in their teens, often want to say things or do things but often wait for a perfect moment to do so that usually never comes. In other instances their life circumstances pull them apart and seemingly trivial moments (in the case of "5 Centimetres per Second" a broken spark plug, a delayed train) become heavy with importance. It's a universal theme, I believe, and all of us can certainly think of moments in our lives that seemed fleeting or trivial but have, over time, taken on a tremendous amount of importance. Shinkai is a master at exploring this theme and also in giving these moments an emotional weight, often discovered in hindsight by his characters, that give them a tremendous sense of authenticity.

As good as the content of Shinkai's work has been, his animation is probably an even better reason to check out his work. His animation is exquisitely rendered and his use of light (or creation of it, as it is) is second to none. It's a treat to look at and, when coupled with his terrific storytelling, Shinkai's work elevates itself far beyond usual animated fare.

C'est la Vie mon Cheri

B

Directed by Derek Yee

Sean Lau and Anita Yuen star in this much beloved Hong Kong tearjerker, directed by the alternately brilliant and puzzling Derek Yee (One Night in Mongkok).

Lau plays Kit, a down on his luck saxophonist who moves into a crumbling apartment block after getting dumped by his more successful girlfriend. His new neighbours are a family of musicians who perform a middlebrow street show to get by. The family's daughter, Min, is a bubbly and optimistic singer who quickly strikes up a friendship with the morose Kit. Min's irrepressible good cheer slowly breaks down Kit's defences and romance begins to bloom between the unlikely pair. Unsurprisingly, their blissful happiness does not last long as Min is soon with a terrible disease.

The biggest problem with tearjerkers is that, in an effort to manipulate the audience, they very rarely accomplish anything resembling true emotional resonance which usually leaves the audience split into two groups -- those who cry profusely at the theatre and then forget about it and those who just roll their eyes and yawn. Yee's film is most definitely a tearjerker but what saves it from becoming another "Lorenzo's Oil" or "A Walk to Remember" (which, based on how well both those films did at the box office, probably isn't something a director would want to be "saved" from come to think of it...) is that it finds a way to connect on an emotional level beyond the scenes that are tailor made to draw tears. For instance, one of the most touching scenes in my opinion was when Tracy (Carina Lau) visits Min in the hospital and the two have a frank discussion about Kit, tinged with both regret, envy, and mutual respect that comes off as far more authentic than any of the film's more nakedly emotional moments.

The other thing that saves Yee's film is the strong acting, anchored by Sean Lau and Anita Yuen who both give charismatic and believable performances that stay as far away from maudlin and overwrought as possible, though at times they both obviously bow to the demands of the script and lay on the melodrama. Lau is one of Hong Kong's best and most consistent acting talents and whoever cast him in this role should be thanked profusely because a lesser actor probably would have sent this one into even cornier territory.

The Last Days of Disco

A-

Directed by Whit Stillman

The incredibly unproductive Whit Stillman's most recent film, released in 1999, reflects with nostalgia on the last days of the disco movement, one of of America's most unfortunate musical fads.

Chloe Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale play Alice and Charlotte, two young junior editors at a publishing house slogging away in corporate New York by day and hitting up the city's burgeoning disco scene by night. Their venue of choice is the exclusive Club, ruled by the shady Bernie and managed by their friend Des. The girls slip in and out of relationships with a number of characters, including a young ad exec, Jimmy, an environmental lawyer, Tom, and Josh, a self professed disco enthusiast who works as an assistant district attorney.

When "The Last Days of Disco" hit theatres, it received mostly mixed reviews from critics who accused Stillman of being too self referential and his characters of being unsympathetic and overly talky. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???? Anyone who walks away from "The Last Days of Disco" with anything but a smile on their face is either heartless or just doesn't get it. Stillman has never been out to craft realistic characters facing everyday problems that viewers can empathize with. Rather, he makes films he obviously enjoys, which feature richly over the top dialogue delivered by preppie, vacuous characters. It may sound empty (and it sort of is) but Stillman is never less than totally on the mark which shows me that his characters are what he wants them to be, even if they rarely inspire much sympathy from the audience.

Stillman's influence on filmmakers such as Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach has been well documented but his skill in crafting films with witty, funny dialogue has been greatly overlooked, in my opinion. Indeed, the legion of crappy American comedies featuring soggy, annoying dialogue that attempts to ape the type of verbal sparring that Stillman has perfected are ample evidence of how uniquely gifted Stillman is at writing.

I'd hesitate to say that Stillman's films are very deep, but they are certainly deeper than most critics give him credit for. His films may be populated by barely believable, conceited, and superficial characters but he still gets across a number of poignant observations about the nature of romantic relationships and friendships as well as the humbling realities of the real world, even for coddled members of the upper middle class.

Downhill Racer

A-

Directed by Michael Ritchie

"Downhill Racer", a 1969 cult film starring Gene Hackman and a young Robert Redford, gets a Criterion release which means that the masses can finally feast their eyes on this forgotten sports gem, tight spandex and all.

Redford stars as Dave Chapellet, an ambitious, narcissistic downhill skier who is called up to join the USA ski team following a catastrophic injury to one of their athletes. Hackman plays the gruff, no-nonsense head coach of the American squad who butts heads repeatedly with the individualistic Chapellet who begins to pile up the victories just as he distances himself from his teamates.

As a sports film, "Downhill Racer" is truly excellent, especially for its racing scenes which are far more authentic and involving then anything I've ever seen on film relating to winter sports. When you consider that the film was made more than forty years ago, the technical achievement of "Downhill Racer" is quite remarkable. The film's setting is breathtaking; snow capped mountain tops and piercingly blue skies to fill up the screen and director Ritchie seems content to allow viewers to luxuriate in his film's mountain splendour.

As a character study, "Downhill Racer" is both interesting and somewhat confounding. Chapellet is an compelling antihero to say the least but he remains totally unlikeable throughout the duration of the film, as aloof at the end as he is at the beginning, a total jerk on and off the slopes. It's difficult to identify with him or sympathize with him, but I still found myself rooting for him as he rips down the slopes in the film's penultimate race. It must be because he's an American. I just can't help myself.