Hyena

(Gerard Johnson/2014/UK)

With an opening shot of a police raid on a club with people being beaten and arrested scored to an elegant, upbeat piece of orchestral music the immediate connotation is Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange but Hyena very quickly shrugs off any notions of stylized violence. It is more closely related to Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant relocated to modern day London. Gritty is the overused descriptor that fits here but it really is gritty. Tracing the descent into hell of Michael Logan, a bent detective operating within the drug syndicates of the capital it slowly ratchets up both the gruesomeness and tension. Logan manoeuvres himself into business with a pair of Albanian brothers who prove to be far more demanding than his previous Turkish dealer. The casual, observing camerawork in scenes of rape and killing are, to be frank, chilling, presenting the acts as they are, horrific. As internal affairs become involved and Logan finds himself caught between his equally corrupt workmates and the Albanian thugs with an added concern for a woman he’s come into contact with in one of the Albanian brothels, his sense of panic and erratic behaviour begin to spiral. In a moment that will no doubt divide opinion Gerald Johnson finishes the film with a stroke of maturity and breathlessness that’s rarely seen in these British crime dramas that have proliferated since the 90’s. The score by The The’s Matt Johnson is great too.

(3.5/5)

Heli

(Amat Escalante/2013/Mexico) 

This is one heavy going movie, starting with an elongated scene of a man held captive in the back of a truck, bleak is too easy a word to apply and maybe inaccurate too. Escalante presents events as inescapable and inevitable, a fact of life in today’s Mexico but as despairing as things get throughout the film it ends on a note of hope and positivity albeit a slight one. Heli lives in a small adobe with his dad, younger sister and his wife and infant daughter. He works in the local car factory. Things are ok, the family works hard and there are moments of joy amidst the routine of their days. However his younger sister is involved with a much older police cadet with dreams of escaping the hum drum by selling some cocaine siphoned off from a drug bust which he stashes at the adobe. Heli discovers both the affair and the drugs and takes actions which lead to a sequence of reactions that change their lives forever. The story shows the corruption in the police, the control of the criminal gangs and the indifference of the two to ordinary, lawful people but not in a deep examining way, more in a matter of fact, this is how it is way. It’s emotionally pummelling but an enthralling and worthy watch. The cinematography and depiction of the Mexican environs are beautiful and counterpoint the ugliness of goings on within them.

(4/5)

We Are The Best!

(Lukas Moodysson/2013/Sweden & Denmark)

A lovely, endearing look at growing up in early 80’s Sweden. Bobo and Klara are on the cusp of puberty, they love punk and don’t mix well with their classmates. Klara wears her hair mohawk style and they both talk about the spirit of rebellion of punk which is not dead. They are 12 year olds righting the wrongs of the world in every conversation they have, they are young, free and idealistic and this film captures that sense of youth and excitement and potential for changing the world. It’s a truly sweet movie, funny and touching on something most of us have experienced, a loss of innocence and naivety in the rush to be taken seriously and be grown up.

When they force due procedure in the local youth club to gain access to a rehearsal space the idea of forming a band hits. They then recruit the only proper musician they know, a quiet Christian girl in their class who turns out to be more than willing to help. There are practice sessions, parties, dates with boys from another band and a concert in a nearby town and they throw themselves into it all with an abundance of vim and gusto that will keep you smiling. There are tensions too though and angst and fallings out and shouting and tears but it all comes good. One of the best coming of age movies I’ve seen in a long time. The music, clothes and setting are all excellent.

(3.5/5)

The Cranes Are Flying

(Mikhail Kalatozov/1957/Russia) 

After Stalin’s brain exploded in 1953 and Russia started emerging from the shadow of his cult of personality there was a welcome relaxing of constrictions on those involved in cultural production. Film makers could finally present ideas that weren’t necessarily in line with the party view. If you look at any of Kalatozov’s post war films prior to 1953 there is a tension between the ideology of the narrative and the formal structure of the cinematography. By the time he came to make The Cranes Are Flying he had established a working relationship with Sergey Urusevsky, one of Russia’s finest cinematographers, and was in a position to introduce ideas in his films which were far more critical than previously allowed. He could also dally with melodramatic forms discovered during his recent time spent in Hollywood. I mention these things by way of a preamble because The Cranes Are Flying is one of the greatest Russian films ever made. It begins a thread through post war Russian cinema that takes in Ballad of a Soldier(1959), Nine Days of One Year(1962) and Ivan’s Childhood(1962) and represents an era of innovation and experiment in film making.

Before any credits we see Veronika and Boris hand in hand beside the Moskva River. They see cranes in a V formation in the sky and Boris recites a rhyming couplet, “Cranes like ships, sailing in the sky. White ones and grey ones, with long beaks they fly.” The image of the cranes will book end the film, traditionally in Russian literature and folklore they represent hope and optimism. All that happens between those bookends is a falling away from and a return to the hope the cranes symbolize. The crux of the film is the love story of Veronika and Boris which is interrupted by the war. Boris volunteers for the army and goes to the front. He becomes listed as missing in action and Veronika is left at home with no communication for years. She becomes involved with Mark, Boris’ brother, although it is out of exhaustion at his advances than anything else. It’s an unhappy marriage and her hope for word from Boris never flags. When the war ends every character on screen has been indelibly changed by their experiences. It is a film that concentrates on the effect of war on those left at home as friends and family go off to fight.

The first section is visually brilliant with many shots framing the couple in angles of architecture. There are vistas of characters from low down with the camera angled up. One striking scene is in a bombed house with Veronika running up a ragged stairwell contrasting with the stairwell and steps from earlier in the film when she and Boris dallied, in love and happy. The framing and mise en scene constantly reflect the emotions occurring on screen. Urusevsky's camera colonizes the emotional space of the characters. However the most extraordinary scene is when Boris leaves. Beginning with the family as he says his goodbyes there is a cut to an incredible handheld shot following Veronika as she disembarks a bus and runs through crowded streets as she attempts to see Boris before his train leaves. It's a short shot and cuts back to an emotional exchange between Boris' parents before showing Boris waiting for her to arrive at the station. It is breathtaking cinema.

The middle section of the film veers into the melodramatic and is striking for that as it would not have been a common genre in Russian film at the time. The emotive scenes in the work house and with Veronika and the young boy, another Boris, all build towards the closing scenes at the end of the war. The resolution of Veronika’s story as she accepts her fate and celebrates, through tears, with the crowds that have gathered to welcome the soldiers home sees her return to a state of hopefulness for the future and we see the cranes again. It’s a magnificent film blending structural symbolism, party idealism and emotional drama to produce a critique of war that transcends any distinctly Russian outlook and attains a universal human appeal.

(4.5/5)