MARWENCOL
When I was younger, I used to go to my local library to borrow VHS tapes. I would always look for two kinds of movies. The classics (so I could educate myself) and funny, quirky, odd films. Marwencol falls right into the latter category.
Marwencol is a documentary about a village in the USA during World War II inhabited by soldiers. It seems quite normal. The only unusual thing might be that these inhabitants are dolls and their lives are determined by the imagination of Mark Hogancamp. After a brutal attack that left his brain shattered, Hogancamp is trying to resume his life and rebuild his hand-eye coordination by taking pictures of his own creation. These get discovered and a New York gallery wants to show off his collection.
Hogancamp’s dilemma lies in the way he struggles to rebuild his life. A hard enough challenge without some art gallery poking their nose in his business. He seems proud of his creation but what is presented in the trailer is a man who is very aware that this is a therapeutic project – and yet he narrates as if it were a comic book on his life in Marwencol: when does the village take over and Hogancamp stop? He does not sound eccentric, but a bit mad.
This is evidence of the main risk this film may run as it attempts to portray Hogancamp. It could unintentionally brand him as a bit insane. It needs to consistently remind people of the sensitive nature of his condition and they must portray his story accordingly. Every step we are introduced to this fascinating tale, we delve into the sensitive, difficult and heart-felt nature of this unique man. Not only is his village and the work he has put into it admirable, but his struggle to find a normal way of living is truly amazing.
This is an idea of a fantasy world that one can relate to. Fantasy worlds exist. Mark Hogancamp’s one just happens to be very real.
THE TAQWACORES
The Taqwacores is a coming of age story about a group of youths who try to practise their small, private form of Islam as a group of Muslim punks. The film is based on the novel by Michael Muhammad Knight.
Western films focussing on Muslims are not that uncommon anymore. Chris Morris’ Four Lions is about four British Islamic fundamentalists who go to Pakistan to train as terrorists. The Road to Guantanamo follows three imprisoned Muslims in the prison bearing the same name. These films take interest in the question of faith, prejudice and fundamentalism, who they affect and how they are practised.
The Taqwacores is different.
The trailer’s a straightforward presentation of plot and characters, including cutaways of the Taqwacores praying in the day and partying at night. It is great to see another perspective of Islam and not just a typical story of choices and dilemmas. It marries a delicate coming-of-age tale with a twist we are not used to seeing in films from this part of the world. Indeed, it is interesting to see a North American perspective on being Muslim in a Western world that seems to be afraid of - if not full of hate for - them.
Its presentation of characters is somewhat reminiscent of This Is England, Shane Meadows’ film about a group of skinheads in the 1980s. A similar feeling of not fitting in modern society and sticking together is present. The influence they have on innocent protagonist Yusef (Bobby Naderi) is a topic very much worth exploring.
There is not much else to say, to be frank. The trailer does nothing to challenge the viewer and portrays its characters are I imagine them to be in the film. The graphics used to categorise the individuals are not really necessary but they work. They give each character a personality to fit into. They also give the viewers certain expectations, which does not necessarily leave a lot of room for surprises.
It is a film about Muslim punks in today’s USA. Enough said.
THE TEMPEST
I must be honest. I do not know much about this play. I have read some Shakespeare, but this is one tale that has gone past me unnoticed. So I can honestly say I have no real expectations for it as far as accuracy is concerned.
Julie Taymor is the director behind films such as Frida, which was good, and Across The Universe, which was laughable. I have never been completely convinced by her ability to direct films, but given her background in theatre, I think this is one film she could have nailed.
It is a star-studded cast (notably Helen Mirren as Prospera) and it keeps the original text, which is reassuring. The costumes and set design really make this film unique and wonderfully strange. Its modern soundtrack (note the use of rock’n’roll and Sigúr Ròs) is dark, warm and magical. The challenge with modern-day interpretations of plays is that one might forget the story and transform it into a film with lots of pretty costumes and sets. I doubt this is the case with The Tempest but it is hard to tell just from promotional material.
The trailer is a tight piece of work. But it took me two viewings and a trip to Wikipedia (yes, I know…) to understand the story. I had no idea what it was about and the edit was quite confusing. All I got out of it was that Mirren was a sorceress and Russell Brand a drunken buffoon (a role of a lifetime for him). It is so speedy and disorientating to someone like yours truly, who has no idea what the story deals with. The supposedly indicative one-word-graphics were fairly useless. Nicely executed but unhelpful. It takes a while to piece everything together, which is the major problem of the trailer.
Nonetheless, it is visually stunning and deeply entertaining. The most impressionable scene in the trailer was the last one, which is reminiscent (to put it mildly) of the final scene of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.
It looks like a film for both Shakespeare enthusiasts who don’t mind the strange take on it and filmgoers who enjoy a bit of a twist to Hollywood productions.
Louise-Afzal Faerkel
No comments:
Post a Comment