Edinburgh International Film Festival

In the documentary Café de los Maestros, directed by Miguel Kohan, some of the original first generation innovators of the tango come back together in Buenos Aires, the city of their youth, to play a magnificent concert celebrating the tango.  Many artists are interviewed and recorded playing their music, thus preserving it for history.  This is a Spanish language film, with English subtitles.
The music in the documentary is beautifully written and magnificently performed.  However, the documentary itself is very poorly made.  Little is explored deeply, the personal histories left unexplained, and the documentary just doesn’t move from one point to the next with ease.  The music continues for five to ten minutes, uninterrupted, as if one was watching a concert. Then, suddenly and for no reason, spoken word returns to talk about something rather unimportant, and then a new five-minute long section of music begins.  It is a confusing and irritating film to watch.  I give it two and a half stars, simply because it has excellent music.

The film Bananaz by Ceri Levy and featuring the music band Gorillas is a musical documentary that chronicles the lives of some of the band members in their search to bring their bang together for the first time. Some of the primary story lines of the movie are the main men who created the band, how to animate, how to make a movie, and how to flip a cigarette into one’s mouth. The film features the core band as well as a diverse crew of, apparently, less important members of the band, including a black bass player who disappears randomly and without explanation mid film. The animated alter ego’s of the band’s members appear briefly, lasting on screen long enough to cause an epileptic seizure and then spontaneously disappear.

This film is rubbish. Levy apparently worked on the film for over seven years, with the inspiration coming from the lead singer, Damon Albarn. One wonders if the film was over worked during those seven years, or just never really got started on in the first place. The director presents the band members in a manner that seems true to life, but their behavior is so juvenile that even a ten year old should be embarrassed to see this film. After the first ten-minute flatulence joke, I realized that the film is nearly impossible to sit through, and only by the strongest act of will was I able force myself to wait before running at the roll of the credits. I give Bananaz a half star. I mean, they signed their name to it, and that’s got to be worth something, right?

Married Life, a film by Ira Sachs and starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson, is an excitingly slow paced romp through a classic story of love, deception, and betrayal. The film’s opening scene takes place in 1949, and it is apparent from the beginning that the filmmakers want to show this little section of the United States in all its baby booming glory. The movie is resplendent with tuxedos, fedoras, cigarettes and alcohol. Sleek postwar Mercurys and Fords dot the screen.
The characters show none of the shallowness often shown in films set in the period. They are well developed and deep, and one can understand the impetus for their actions. The film feels as if its creators sought to achieve a 1950s period piece on the level of a Shakespearean tragedy and very nearly succeeded. In places it can be very slow, and in others it has unnecessary plot twists and shake ups. The acting and casting for the film is superb, the story is decent, and the imagery and sound excellent. I give Married Life four stars for being a good movie in most respects.

The film Red by Tygrve Allister Diesen is a classic morality tale culminating in a literal battle between good and evil. The film features Brian Cox as Avery Ludlow, an older man getting close to retirement. He and his trusty fourteen-year old dog Red plan on living out their last years together. However, a group of angry teens has different plans when they stumble upon Avery while he and Red are fishing. The teens, one of which is armed with a shotgun, threaten him and takes his wallet. In one parting act of violence the armed teenager shoots Red at point blank range, killing him after a fateful whine. The rest of the movie is a story of Avery’s quest for the truth and justice, not revenge, as he attempts to resolve the conflict with nonviolent means. The families of the teens react with violence and hatred toward him, which culminates in one moment of deception, betrayal, and, in the end, redemption.
Red is a film not particularly well suited for younger audiences, due to its inherit subject matter and violence. However, it is a film that in the end will leave a more mature audience with a sense that a spiritual journey had been completed and shared with all. The color red was well used throughout the film as a scene enhancement, sometimes connected with anger and violence, but more often associated with the more ancient connection between red and the ideas of purity and virtue. Some shaky acting is found in the film, and less than excellent choices for a couple of actors and actresses were made for this film. However, some of the actors, especially Kyle Gallner (Harold) deliver unassailable performances. I would rate this movie as having earned three and a half stars, because of the overly scripted actions of some of the cast, and various other smaller issues throughout.

Mechanical Love, a film by Phie Ambo, takes a brilliant look at the future of robotics and androids, and what role they will play in the lives of regular people. Professor Ishiguro tries out a new gemnoid (an android which looks like a twin of a real person) of himself to see what affect it would have on his family. An elderly woman in a German nursing home is given a small robotic seal named Paro to play with and dote upon. Both groups of people have to deal with the robotics and their replacement of living creatures, and discover for themselves their own definition of a real being.
This film is an interesting look at the relations between human beings and robots, and how those relationships will change in the future. It is heartfelt in its successful attempts to show the need for artificial intelligence and lifelike robotics. However, the documentary layout of the film may be a bit of a turn off for some viewers. It is extremely interesting in subject matter and cinematography, but can be a bit taxing on the attention span at times. Mechanical Love is a good movie for a general audience with general interest in the subject, and an excellent movie for a specific audience with more advanced interest in the field. I give it four stars out of five.

With the film Song of the Sparrows by Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, the viewer is catapulted into the world of a common working class man named Karim living in modern day Iran. Hard working and family oriented, he works at an ostrich farm until one eventful day one prized bird escapes and runs away. After losing his job, he embarks upon a series of employment adventures and fiascos that will challenge and change his entire family. Straying upon the subjects of family ties, right and wrong, living with one’s decisions, and communal rather than individualistic qualities of normal life, Song of the Sparrows is a moving film that will engross and excite all viewers.
The number of connections between living in the west and living in Iran shown and exploited in the film help connect the western film viewer to this endearing work. As you see his family and his struggles during the course of the movie, the viewer can reflect on their own personal challenges through out life, and can relate to many of the scenarios presented. As the actors go though shock, grief, and sadness, the audience feels it along with the characters, closing the thousands of miles separating the two nationalities to only a common shared humanity. The scenes of happiness and joy are even more heartfelt and joyous when seen and recognized as universally human, instead of Iranian, European, or American only. Song of Sorrows is a thoroughly inspiring and entertaining romp through Tehran and the Iranian countryside. I give it four and a half stars for exemplary acting and interesting subject matter.