Mickey and Minnie

European Films are renowned for their strong characters and story lines and in this sense the Spanish Director Jorge Torregrossa does not disappoint.

His film La Vida Inesperada (The Unexpected Life) is a melange of strong characters, powerful emotions and engrossing story line.

Although it may seem that the dual or multi-cultural (here Spanish/American) theme filmed in New York is reminiscent in style to the Woody Allen genre movies, (the Director's own description during the Q and A which followed the viewing) ie: reminds one of the theme of European born individuals living in the US or mixing with Americans, Jorge actually creates a unique atmosphere through his close ups and profile shots. He brings the emotions of the characters to the forefront rather than merely listing them within a Woody 'Allenish' atmosphere of quirkiness and strung up humour.
In this film, words in dialogue (writer as well as director credit here) are not just juxtaposed to create humour and fleeting relationships between ships that meet in the night. In Jorge's film and in contrast to this, the main protagonists actually work towards a clear denouement of their feelings and some real closure in the sense of who they are and where they end up.

The film presents a rich cast of characters- almost too many to remember and list here- but all working together to portray or support the personalities of Juan and his cousin (who comes to visit him from Alicante in New York.)

The idea of the film is in essence a portrayal of the emotional journey of European/here Spanish immigrants to the US/here New York, working to find themselves or follow their dreams outside their home towns.

Shots of New York locations are very endearing indeed but the true power of this film lies in the discovery of happiness within oneself and ones relationship to another kindred spirit.

Juanito may give up a dream he once thought was necessary to his happiness but finds instead something much more precious in a form of return to his roots (his father's work legacy) and through unexpectedly falling in love with his own personal version of 'Minnie Mouse'; a loving, loyal and sweet tempered honest woman whom he views differently to all others in his life and past, whom he respects and who surprises him being somewhat outside his usual type of woman but who in fact he discovers to be his other half and his window to happiness.

The references to this woman as Minnie and to himself as Mickey adds a layer of joy to the film since we think of those Disney characters as truly happy in an ever after sort of way.
Granted this film is very real in how it shows the grey areas in human nature, for instance how certain men and women view relationships with each other- simultaneously at times- in a versatile and free thinking way, but closure is found in a kindred spirit and a monogamous relationship in the end.

Juanito is courageous enough to give up his fake dream (once thought to be necessary) and to find happiness in acknowledging his roots and in losing himself in the woman he loves.
His Primo (cousin) although also finding love in NY, chooses to remain as he is because he is perhaps because he is not quite ready to give it all up for love. Each in their own time perhaps is also the message here.

The mother in the film as well as the two cousins provide strong humour and the script is well supported by the actors' skills.

Mother, son and cousin have differing perspectives and apparently differing views but are in fact found to be very similar. The stereotypical portrayal of the Spanish mother and the Spanish family are funny but also indicative of how strongly culture can influence ones life.

The differences in traits between cultures are highlighted throughout the movie but what stands out in the end is how similar we all are once our happiness is found within another or with one another.
Mickey and Minnie may not have a Disney type romance because life is not Disney but they can and do find true and long lasting happiness in each other through the thick and thin and the ups and downs of real life.

The 'real' mice in the theatre scene (romantic and intimate scene between Juanito and his Minnie: JoJo who was saving herself for someone special here Juanito) are in strong contrast with the image of Mickey and Minnie as 'special' mice with atypical personalities.
Perhaps Jorge here meant to point out that although we think all types are similar and often unwanted like mice, certain special mice, unique in their own way stand out as atypical and surprise us.
This is the unexpected at its most magical and beautiful.

Expect the unexpected in La Vida Inesperada, a hundred mice may repulse us but for each Mickey there is a Minnie.

Definitely a Real but also Feel Good Film worth watching.

The Beginning.

Sequels and Come Backs

Many sceptics think that film sequels are never as good as the original or the first time around, and they may be right most times as it really isn't easy to have story continuity, character consistency and still hold the audience the second or even third time around especially in Comedies, but a few films such as Matrix have managed not only to remain true to the essence of the story but to also-at least all in all-preserve the content integrity and keep the story line consistent and more or less intact.

Paul B. Mall Cop may have been an average idea to start with but the main cast carries the comic situations well enough to attract at least a fair number of people and keep them coming back for a little more. I must admit having seen the sequel recently, I genuinely believe the cast carries the film better than the story line or even better than the situations that the characters are put in.

The setting as the Mall helps a great deal as the Mall is a fairly good background for a versatile agenda of shots, props and colourful characters to interact with, as well as a wide range of objects to use in comedy.
Vegas is also a very good location for comic relief as it has a lot to offer in terms of bright lights and loud noises, to set the comic scene so to speak.

All in all this sequel wasn't up to standard throughout (a little slow at times and forced) but a few scenes were comic enough with the exception of one hilarious scene which was a stroke of genius in this lay woman's opinion (idea provided by another writer?) or perhaps two scenes even; one being where Paul misplaces his daughter and is extraordinarily embarrassed to find her safe and sound within the scene where he is cooking up a storm with the other imposing male security guards to find her. This particular scene is built up very well indeed to offer the let down reaction of Paul who is super embarrassed in front of the very competent and critical ego maniac security men.

The most hilarious scene was in my opinion a very random off the wall one where Paul going out for a bit of relief in the serene gardens amongst the dulcet tunes of the forever calm and smiling piano player, suddenly provokes and gets attacked by, a wild crazy looking lone bird who picks on him and continues to do so for no reason. It not only made me laugh looking at this in contrast with the clueless piano player who kept shaking his head in approval and smiling like a robot but also brought back my laugh after the scene was done just remembering the randomness of it and the crazy contrast of the bird with the rest of the props and characters.
One more strong comic element was the old security guy with a missing tooth who kept nodding off into 'lala' land at the most action packed and inopportune moments. He was for instance sleeping standing up and during a fight of all times!

Comedy is very personal of course and judgement here can never be too harsh as each person's cultural background, language and own experience triggers their own understanding and appreciation of comedy. Paul B. was for me a cross between MacGyver as a superhero with his inventive ideas to get him out of trouble last minute, and  Police Academy with team work and funny characters being at the forefront of the film.

Toothless security guard or not, the film did touch upon a few important things, family being one of them as well as social responsibility being another for example. No job is too small when its for a worthy cause was the moral I felt.

To me the funniest element in the film was Paul's multifaceted personae and mostly his relentless ego which honestly admits its own shortcomings but still thinks it is king of the world and all things to all women, a little bit like My Cousin Vinnie in that sense which was a truly hilarious gem of a movie.

I recommend to only see this film if you are not expecting too much and perhaps wait for it to be out as a DVD rather than on the big screen and perhaps even watch My Cousin Vinnie again before watching it; it feels somehow that those very few parallels with these other films would make it funnier.

Hopefully not another Mall Cop sequel coming out soon, but then again they did make about a hundred Police Academies so I am not holding my breath.

The' Bluff'

Coming of Age films have a very special charm in many ways (Prom. Lemonade Mouth, and so on).
These films somehow appeal to the more gently inclined audiences of all ages in that instead of delving into the dark side of human nature, they really always try to look on the bright side and who doesn't appreciate that motto!

It isn't just a matter of a happy ending, feel good films, it's also the way they paint a picture of the characters in a very positive way.

The Duff- recently released in the UK- may seem like a standard coming of age film and in many ways it is; we find the usual elements of self discovery, pain leading to enlightenment and truth as well as obstacles that must be overcome in order to reach a more grown up vision of life, but it is different in one sense in my opinion and that is that it doesn't make a caricature of the individuals, ie; we do not grossly identify with one or the other or take sides very readily because the grey areas are given as much importance as the black and white features of the players in the film.

The Heroes/girl and boy are not your clean cut box type princess/prince, home coming king and queen, they are not all beautiful or all unattractive, all clean cut or well spoken or completely hopeless from the start to require a full on reversal of character, they are in fact somewhere in between: they swear a little, joke a little, are sometimes serious and others not, but the main plot requires them to discover who they are, what they want and how they define themselves and each other.

This may not seem out of the ordinary for this type of film but it did call my bluff in that I was expecting a much narrower view of characters and was pleasantly surprised by a few twists and turns in the players' psyche as it were. They do surprise you in an 'out of the box kind of way' in what they say quite often throughout the film, even if how they act and where they end up is fairly predictable.

My favourite scenes are in the mall, both as interactive scenes as well as the when the main actress carries out a mini monologue and action packed theatre style performance which was actually quite funny and I imagine not easy to follow through with.

Talented young actors and a couple of rising stars perhaps? Comedy is never easy; the timing needs to work well with the setting and tone to make the mood comic. It's a magic formulae difficult to define and sometimes best as an instinctive impulse born of talent in a special inspired moment, than a thoroughly thought out plan of comic action. The Duff (short term used for group elected unattractive friend) plays her part very well indeed combining strong character acting skills and a natural knack for comedy.

Speaking of Malls, I heard Paul B. Mall Cop 2 might be worth a few laughs, I will check it out, and if you beat me to it let me know if it's a funny sequel because those are quite rare in terms of script creativity and dialogue..

Remember to laugh a little every day its as a good as an apple to keep the Doc away (and I don't mean a Snow White type apple!:))

Blood is Thicker than Water

I had forgotten how lovely the Barbican Cinemas were till I visited to see the rerun of Blade Runner (final cut).
The very friendly staff and most comfortable surroundings, including red leather seats-
very apt considering the film had a lot of 'blood' scenes-made this a holistic audio-visual experience.

R.Scott is timeless and his vision in this film was before its time.
Funny to think of this being made for 2019 when we are a few years away from there.

The futuristic elements were visionary in many ways: face time like TV communication, vocally operated systems at home etc aren't that far from what we use and have today.
The flying police cars and dress sense were perhaps a lit 'off world'(to use a term from the movie) but very creatively envisioned nevertheless.

From high collar jackets to very specifically styled  hair does, matching shirts and ties (patterns match) and individual costumes fitting very well drawn out characters, its a cross between Hunger Games caricatures and Star Wars engineered creatures.

From a cinematic point of view the rain and smoke as well as blue lights and fire effects add to the melancholic and mysterious effects in the film. It's a game of light and shadows with the brightness being taken away by the mechanical elements in the movie.

The future is a melting pot of cultures (china town mingled with north African music in the background and the mixture of ethnic origins portrayed in the scenes set to eerie asymetrical ascending musical tones).

The script being loosely based on a novel was obviously quite lucid and well thought out in terms of ideas of what the future would be like and to me the film China Town (Jack Nicholson) came to mind in that they both share that suave classy punch line style writing as well as enough gaps in dialect to allow thinking whilst looking at the images.
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R. Scott uses close ups and lighting exquisitely to portray intense emotions and the editing juxtaposes scenes in parallel ways to show similarities and differences between the good and bad characters in the film.

This brings us to the crux of the moral message in the novel and movie alike; ie: Creation is sacred as is life and both are not to be trifled with. To create is to take responsibility for one's creation and every action has a reaction morally as well as physically. This is shown in the revenge and death scenes but also in the love and protection scenes.

The end scene when H.Ford is saved by the Replicant is indicative of the fact that this is not about the protagonist 'per se' and his opponent; it is a higher message about morality of Creation and about the search for Truth.

Humans and Replicants are different in how they have or lack souls but the intellectual and emotional experience which builds memories is similar and creates a life of its own. Experience gives them a similar feelings of existence but Creation is a complex spiritual process which cannot be simulated or emulated by Man without consequences.

R.Scott, uses parallels for example in the scenes where the body is presented equally for both Humans and Replicants (pain, bleeding, death, love and the body parts such as the hands and the eyes). He also uses mannequins, dolls, puppets and paper made shapes to show the difference between them.
Humans can be Replicants without them or us the audience knowing it, but I think here the emphasis is on the fact that the human soul is not interchangeable and the eyes being the windows to the soul never lie.
The Truth is always  supreme and we can 'see' it unanimously no matter our perspective.
The Eye is used many times throughout the film to portray this message of the lack or presence of the soul.

A long narrative deserves a slightly longer paragraph and the title becomes apt enough when one thinks of Creation as being born not made. Experience makes us more of who we are but Humans cannot be Man made (by water, physics and scientific elements) Science is extraordinary but it does not fully grasp the mystery of Creation.

Run your sharp mind blades through that for a moment.

Ashes to Aces

Fairy tales seem to be plenty a la mode lately form witches to princesses to handsome princes, movie makers are happy to rehash the old fables and tell the tales that touch our moral fibres.

This may very well be in response to a wave of mass consciousness which has awakened recently in view of world events. 

But no matter what the reason, demand seems to be big for the old fables to be remade and Disney has done so quite successfully again with the latest released Cinderella. 

Although the cast generally (apart form the fabulous presence of Cate Blanchet as the step mom and  the fairy godmother) isn't well known or highly regarded publically yet in terms of acting abilities, the film flows quite smoothly-slightly slowly at times, perhaps aimed at younger audiences for comprehension- and relatively subtly in its story telling ability.

I must admit that to me some scenes seemed overly clarified and not too complex in how they portrayed the characters and the story line ie not leaving much to the imagination and spelling it out for us almost too clearly but it is a Disney film after all and unlike Into the Woods this movie doesn't claim to be a multi layered dark fantasy style film at all. It's all in the light very lightly projected with even the ' baddies' seeming not so bad and with even the step mother played by CB who albeit being harsh and cruel also still has a past justifying her bad behaviour her a little bit and giving her moments of regret in her facial expressions if not her words to Cinders.

In my view the strongest aspects of the film lay not so much in the acting or story line or script as those are difficult to remake in an original fashion in fairytale, but what was very entertaining was the magical element portrayed by the fairy godmother (superb acting to the level we are used to as she did in Harry Potter for example) and projected in the colourful scenes where magic takes place through transformation, light explosions and happy coincidences.

The special effects and graphics in these scenes, for instance the portrayal of the footman, the pumpkin, the frogs being transformed etc were delightful to I believe all age groups.

Beautiful costumes and sets complete the magical element in the film and of course with Good showing kindness and courage and overcoming Evil in the end -as in all fables- thus emulating real life to a point but also giving pointers so to speak as to how Good may overcome. 

From ashes to aces, Cinderella shows that with great patience, kindness, forgiveness and courage, she fulfils her destiny as it should be.

If you watch it, look out for the mice, they may be terrible in real life but somehow very cute in Film, and that is the magic of movie making able to transform anything into anything.

Make believe and believe then make that's the Movies! 

You shall go to the ball!