Al's Omniflick: Some of my favorite films of 2013

Friday, February 14, 2014

Some of my favorite films of 2013

The following are some (but by no means all) of favorite films of 2013, which I saw theatrically. Note: some of the films are actually 2012 but were released in 2013. In no particular order:

Beyond the Hills-Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days was a bolt of lightning that reminded the world Romanian cinema is alive and flourishing. Beyond the Hills reminds us Mungiu is no artistic fluke. Haunting, intense and beautifully acted, Mungiu offers us grimly beautiful images to accompany a powerful drama set in a remote village in Romania.

Room 237-A fascinating documentary about some odd and imaginative intrepretations of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Though one is sure to disagree with some, many or all views, the analyses are never dull.

Horses of God-Morrocan director Nabil Ayouch offers a powerful, tragic and disturbing story of young men indoctrinated by muslim terrorists and ultimately pressed into service as suicide bombers. Ayouch's drama is unflinching in its depiction of muslim extremism and how impressionable youths can be led into committing horrific acts.

The East-Brit Marling plays an intelligence operative for a private firm who infiltrates a radical anarchist group responsible for terrorist-like attacks on corporations. Terrific performances by Martling and Alexander Skarsgard and cast and Zal Batmanglij's tight directing make for a smart and thrilling drama. An underappreciated film, in my humble estimation.

The Hunt-A frightening and searing drama about a man falsely accused of molesting a child. Mads Mikkelsen's performance as a man beleaguered and betrayed by his community is nothing short of brilliant and Thomas Vinterberg's superb handling of sensitive subject matter leaves the viewer emotionally exhausted but also emotionally rewarded.

I've been feeling the past 10 years or so that Woody Allen had exhausted his once seemingly bottomless pool of ideas. Blue Jasmine is some indication that he hasn't. Though the main character seems lifted wholesale from Tennessee Williams, Cate Blanchett's unsentimental, tragic, twenty-first century Blanche Dubois offers the viewer a woman desperate to maintain an elevated social status at any cost. The rest of the cast is stellar, including Sophie Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, Alec Baldwin and surprisingly, Louis C.K. and Andrew Dice Clay.

Ain't in it for My Health: A film about Levon Helm-Though a 2010 documentary, I saw it at my favorite cinema art house as part of a series of films on music. Levon Helm's life and musical career are examined in a series of interviews and footage from The Band and solo performances. Made before he sadly passed, the film is a touching and engaging portrait of an extraordinary man and musician.

Captain Phillips -Pulse-pounding and frightening, Captain Phillips never lets up. Fairly depicting the economic travails of Somali pirates, the film is as much their desperate struggle as it is Captain Phillip's. Kudos to the Academy for nominating Barkhad Abdi for his role as a pirate caught between unforgiving warlords and U.S. military might.

Blue is the Warmest Color -Director Abdellatif Kechiche's Cannes Palme D'Or winner is something of a marvel. Not only is it a 3 hour drama about women in a passionate relationship but it is also a riveting and compelling one. Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos' performances are raw, animalistic, tender, erotic and ferociously brilliant. Kechiche's now-famous sex scene is a filmmaker's lesson on how to make passion real and meaningful.

The Act of Killing-An instant classic, The Act of Killing documents former Indonesian death-squad leaders attempts to re-enact their crimes cinematically, which yields unforseen results. The film is strange, horrific, tragic and unforgettable.

Inside Llewyn Davis-Films about the early 60's folk scene are usually depicted or documented through a nostalgic haze. Not the Coen Brothers. Inside Llewyn Davis shows us a unlikeable folkie, struggling to find success in difficult, sometimes hostile, urban environments. That we give a damn about him is a testament to the Coen Brothers' consummate skill as filmmakers.

American Hustle-David O' Russell follows-up The Silver Lining Playbook's artistic and critical success with a story based on the now infamous Abscam. Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence dazzle and shine and the story is never less than mesmerizing as we are drawn into the labyrinthine plot.

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On DVD

Fury (1936)

Director: Fritz Lang

Though we might normally think of the films M and Metropolis when director Fritz Lang becomes the topic of conversation, less known is the legendary director's work in Hollywood. Having fled the ever-growing menace of Nazi Germany for America in the early 1930s', Lang eventually found himself under contract for MGM.

Though his work in Hollywood is very uneven, one standout is Fury, from 1936. Starring Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney, the film's condemnation of mob justice seems spectacularly daring now, considering lynching was still a reality in Depression-era America. We don't see one black person in the film entire but we know precisely for whom Lang film is sympathetic.

Spencer Tracy plays Joe Wilson, who is arrested in a small town while en route to meet his fiance, Katherine (Sylvia Sydney). Suspected of being part of a kidnapping of a little girl, Wilson is arrested on the flimsiest evidence. While he sits in cell; angry and indignant, Katherine is puzzled as to why her fiance hasn't arrived at their prearranged meeting place.

But Wilson's fortunes take a darker and more dangerous turn when a mob--already on edge--is roused to anger. Egging one another on, the mob moves on the jailhouse where Wilson is being held. As the angry gathering becomes a mass, drawing citizens of the town into their swelling numbers, a lynch-mob begins to form. The sheriff, determined to see due process take its course, refuses their forceful demands. Becoming angrier and angrier and bolder and bolder, the crowd storms the jail, overwhelming the sheriff and his deputies. Unable to unlock the cell doors to reach Wilson, the mob sets the jailhouse ablaze as an alternate method of lynching.

Katherine, having arrived on the scene, faints when she sees flames engulf the cell where her fiance is held.

In spite of the mob acting as a faceless entity, its principle members are brought to trial though the town and the defendants maintain a conspiracy of silence, hoping to escape convictions and censure.

A sure acquittal seems imminent until damning evidence assures their guilt. When the majority of the members receive death sentences, Wilson turns up at his brothers, having survived the fire. Knowing the public is unaware of his survival, he vows to stay in hiding to ensure the mob conspirators are executed.

The scene where Katherine, nearly insane from grief, comes face to face with Joe is a powerful moment in the film. As she slowly recovers from her state, she realizes Joe's vindictive determination to see the mob hang is in itself a great injustice.

The story climaxes during a stirring courtroom scene that brings the fascinating story to a close.

I would have never expected Hollywood to make a statement as powerful as Fury made in 1936. Given the fact that lynchings in America at the time went unpunished, the movie railed bravely, in spite of the main character being white rather than black, against what was then the status quo. The Oxbow Incident would make a similar and commensurately powerful statement seven years later.

The film's willingness to peer into the darker side of American life could be partly attributed to Lang, who co-wrote the story and who was no stranger to exploring the darker side of humanity. Having seen evil flower in his home country, it makes sense Lang would choose to tell this story.

Spencer Tracy and Sylvia Sydney give wonderful, emotionally layered performances. Katherine's near descent into madness is depicted touchingly by Sydney. To see Tracy's mild-mannered Wilson become angry and vengeful is heartbreaking.

Even watching Lang's film on a small screen does little to diminish its power. Weeks after the viewing, I still can't shake its indelible images or its angry indictment of one of America's great crimes. One couldn't devise a better title than one it was given eighty years ago. Fury indeed.