A Brighter Summer Day

             

Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, from 1991, is a tragic epic of one teen's descent into criminality in Cold War era Taiwan. Yang portrays New Frontier Taiwan as a repressive militaristic society in constant preparedness for an invasion from China. Corridors, grid like classrooms and offices are emphasized to show how the Taiwanese youth and their even more alienated elders are confined by their culture. The teens in the film are all enraptured with American culture to such an extent that it heightens their alienation as displaced Chinese. They end up resembling the disaffected youths in Nicholas Ray's Rebels Without a Cause, albeit without jalopies. They form gangs, listen to and perform Elvis, and have shifting romantic allegiances just like Ray's misfits. Yang is not as hysterical a director as Ray, and that has its pluses and minuses. The young actors were tightly controlled by Yang and, thus, there aren't the seismic tremors that Ray elicited from James Dean and his cohorts. However, Yang's reserve fits his perspective on his culture and his exploration of the theme of the sins of the father being visited on the sons is more controlled and powerful than in Ray's film. A scene where the protagonist sees his father beating his brother is much more effective than a demasculinized Jim Backus wearing a frilly apron in Rebel....

A Brighter Summer Day is, perhaps, a little lengthy, but it is out of the love for his characters that Yang indulges his muse. The beauty of a tracking shot that follows two juveniles dashing away after harassing trysting teens displays Yang's affection for the fleeting moments that are largely lost upon youths themselves. 

Results, The Last Detail

Cobie Smulders and Guy Pearce in Results

Andrew Bujalski's Results is a romantic comedy with an off kilter triangle that I seemingly enjoyed a smidge more than most folks. As in Computer Chess, Bujalski injects his brand of mumblecore with enough technique to make ninety minutes pass swimmingly. Whether summarizing six months of a character's life with a montage sequence or breaking down a promo pitch via YouTube, Bujalski documents how 21st century romance persists in the age of Instagram and Facebook. Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders and the busy Kevin Corrigan are all charming despite their characters' flaws. Elizabeth Berridge (Mrs. Corrigan) makes a welcome, but all too rare appearance in this nice film. 

Randy Quaid and Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail

A film I didn't like as much as most people is Hal Ashby's The Last Detail . Ashby is primarily an actor's director and the efforts of Nicholson, Randy Quaid, and Carol Kane are wonderful and marvelously supported. Gilda Radner has a nice cameo as a manic cultist. Nancy Allen is a whore! However, Ashby's visual style, realistic grunge with a tinge of dope addled sweetness, has always left me unmoved. Robert Towne's adaptation provides a sturdy framework for this road movie and its talented players. I hated the music. Johnny Mandel's recycling of nautical and patriotic themes for comic, MASH style effect struck me as overkill. Ashby's tawdry portrayal of East Coast America circa 1972 saves the movie from sentimentalism, but often falls prey to the humdrum inanity of realistic decoration. Nevertheless, along with Shampoo, Being There, and the maudit 8 Million Ways to Die, this is one of Ashby's better films. (6/21/16)

The Banshees of Inisherin

Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin deserves most of the acclaim that has come its way. I have certainly not seen a better acting ensemble in some time. The cast (including Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Gary Lydon and Sheila Flitton) all expertly milk the notes McDonagh has written for this dark Irish ballad.

What struck me was how seamless McDonagh has become as a filmmaker. The nearly two hour length of the movie flies by even though the drama is slow and deliberate. Part of this is due to the crisp editing. McDonagh does not linger after his characters say their lines, but quickly cuts to the response. This not only saves the film from falling into a torpor, but it stresses the estrangement of the characters in the film. Each character in The Banshees of Inisherin is an island, standing alone. 

My only criticism of the film is that it is overly schematic. Colin Farrell's Padraig is a Christian everyman. A bit doltish, but a good soul whose true communion is with the animals he tends. He is a good shepherd. Brendon Gleeson's Colm is the solitary artist who is more in touch with Ireland's pagan roots than its Christian fellowship. Notice the foreign masks, totems, and puppets that fill his cottage. McDonagh gives us a man who lives for the day versus a man who lives for eternity. What seems arbitrary is not the eventual estrangement of these characters, but the bond of friendship that formerly united them. This, however, is a quibble. Mr. McDonagh is one of the world's most talented playwrights and The Banshees of Inisherin once again confirms that his film work is of equally high caliber.