Two Days, One Night (2014, dir. Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)

The Dardenne brothers have created an understated gem.  It is a lyrical, neo-realist look at the life of a modern day French woman, Sandra (Marion Cotillard) who is faced with the prospect of losing her job at a solar panel manufacturing company.  Her fellow employees are given the choice of accepting a thousand euro bonus or keeping Sandra as an employee.  It is a daunting decision to make and the film demands the viewer question his or her own hypothetical decision in a similar situation.

Sandra is given the news on a Friday and has the weekend to visit her workmates and try to convince them to vote for her staying on the job instead of the bonus.  It is a fairly simple storyline but it is in this simplicity that the beauty of this film is discovered.

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are known for bringing working-class characters to life in their films but typically use lesser-known actors.  Marion Cotillard, however, is a certified star and her performance is a complex, fantastically-realized creation.  Sandra suffers from depression but the illness is never a defining characteristic of her personality:  she is so much more than her affliction as any human being would be.  She is constantly depicted on the verge of going off- kilter in her constant anti-depressant pill-popping, but always somehow manages to maintain her dignity and clarity of intent.

Cotillard was nominated for best actress at the 2015 Oscars and deservedly so.  This is an unflinching, brave performance that is thrillingly realistic.  The scenes with the other employees are stirring and it is a joy to watch the variety of decisions and reactions of these diverse people.
The film doesn't offer any easy resolutions or pay-offs but it is a thoroughly rewarding cinematic experience.

The Wind Rises (2013, dir. Hayao Miyazaki)

Hayao Miyazaki has returned and "The Wind Rises" may be his last film.  That is sad because his films have been consistently effective and stunning in their imagination and artistic detail.
Many of his previous works were aimed at children, although many adults get just as much enjoyment out of them.  The director's latest film however, is probably more exclusively directed at a more mature audience.

Often in Miyazaki's films, he makes use of and has a fascination with flying contraptions that seem to defy gravity and our own expectations.  With "The Wind Rises", flying devices (airplanes in particular) are the movie's main subject.  The films protagonist, Jiro, is an airplane engineer.  The viewer follows Jiro as he grows from a child, already sure of his direction in life, through his education and into early adulthood as he sets out on his intended career.

The film takes place in the years leading up to World War Two.  I believe it is based on true events but obviously a lot of artistic license has been taken.

The imagery and animation are things to behold and the use of colour is majestic.  The detail that goes into many of the scenes are stunning and it is amazing to know that a majority of the film is hand-drawn.

The title of the film comes from a quote by Paul Valery and alludes to the fleeting nature of life.  The film's protagonist is an embodiment of the ideal of seizing life by the horns and chasing after one's dreams. 

This may be one of Miyazaki's greatest achievements and if it is his last, it is a fitting note of closure and a tremendous encapsulation of all his previous output.

The Homesman (2014, dir. Tommy Lee Jones)

Just when you thought the Western was dead, along comes another revival of the genre and who better than Tommy Lee Jones to direct and star in one?  "The Homesman" fits into the neo-Western canon comfortably and is a visceral, engaging offering.

Hillary Swank plays Mary Bee Cuddy, a single, lonely woman living on a farm in Nebraska.  One day she finds herself with the daunting responsibility of transporting three insane women across the frontier to a home in Iowa where they will be taken care of.  Just before she leaves, she meets George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones) who she rescues from a hanging.  In return for rescuing him, she asks that he accompany her on her voyage.  He reluctantly agrees.

The film brings new realism to the genre not just in the period detail but in the psychological realism.  The viewer gets a real sense of just how these three women can be driven insane by their environments.  The film takes the precarious balance between sanity and insanity as its overriding theme and it is not just the three women who deal with madness, but as we will see, Swank and Jones' characters as well.

A lot of the iconography from the history of the Western is present:  Indians, horses, gunplay, good vs. evil, and civilization vs. wilderness.  "The Homesman" and its director Jones take this iconography and spin it in new and interesting directions that revitalize the genre and breathes new life into its patterns and cinematic codes.

The performances are excellent, the cinematography is beautiful in its desolation, and the film is an overall rewarding experience.

Rashomon (1950, dir. Akira Kurosawa)

Akira Kurosawa established a unique cinematic voice with his many films and is probably the most famous of 20th century Japanese directors.  "Rashomon" is one of his most well-known films and with it, the director laid new foundations in the nature of cinematic narrative.

Based on a novel, the film tells the story of a murdered man.  But, Kurosawa doesn't resort to a straight retelling of one man's killing.  Instead he offers a totally original concept in which the murder is retold from a variety of different perspectives.  The film is in fact, a thematic exploration on the nature of subjectivity and how the past is often distorted in its remembering and retelling.  No one has one true point of view, after all, and objectivity is often questionable.

The murder is retold in a trial through a series of flashbacks by the murdered man's wife, an infamous bandit who may or may not be responsible, and the murdered man himself (interestingly, through a medium).  On top of that, the trial itself is retold through the use of additional flashbacks by witnesses to the trial.  So there is a very interesting dynamic and a complex texture to the nature of the narrative which the filmmaker exploits in the most fascinating way. 

The film at times seems dated and many of the mannerisms of the mid-20th century Japan look and sound weird from modern day viewing perspectives.  There is for example, a tendency by many of the characters to laugh maniacally very frequently.  These maniacal laughs are downright annoying and strange (actor Toshiro Mifune is adept at this mannerism) but it doesn't detract too much from the overall enjoyment of the film.

"Rashomon" is a very influential film and would inspire countless directors and films after its release in 1950.  Its unique narrative structure offers a fascinating glimpse into the possibilities of cinema and is a testament to true originality in film-making.

The Theory of Everything (2014, dir. James Marsh)

In his Academy Award-winning performance, Eddie Redmayne stars as legendary physicist Stephen Hawking.  The reason he won is evident to anyone who watches this film:  Redmayne must undergo a complete physical transformation as his character's body is slowly eroded by the disease of ALS.

The gradual erosion is perfectly captured in a nuanced way that never strays from realism and offers a glimpse into the emotional and physical trajectory that anyone with the disease succumbs to.

The film, though, is an examination of the relationship between Hawking and his wife Jane (Felicity Jones) and the hurdles they must stride to maintain their marriage and family in the face of the devastating illness.  It is a testament to the strength of love, the bond of marriage and the sacrifices couples must make in adversity.

I liked the humanity that the actors brought to there roles.  You get the sense that they are living, breathing people.  In the hands of less-talented actors this film could have failed.  There is a sense of humor that is maintained throughout the film that offers a glimpse into the ways that tragedy can be overcome.

This is a film with terrific performances that lift an otherwise conventional biopic into the realm of greatness.

Foxcatcher (2014, dir. Bennett Miller)

"Foxcatcher" is based on real events but it is still a film that shocks and surprises.  Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo star as Mark and David Shultz, brothers who share a passion for and skill in wrestling.  Mark (Tatum) was a gold medal winner in the 1984 Olympics in the sport and he is now looking forward to competing in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Along comes millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell) who expresses interest in coaching the brothers with Team Foxcatcher in his huge facility.

The film and du Pont's actions are often mysterious and baffling.  At one point du Pont introduces Mark to cocaine, a seemingly weird turn of events for an athlete training for the Olympics.  There are other plot turns and character actions that are equally mesmerizing but I won't spoil the ending for viewers unfamiliar with the real-life story.

Carell's performance is wonderful.  He is almost unrecognizable with his protruding prosthetic nose and strange, hesitant mannerisms.  It is a big change for viewers used to his comedic performances.  Tatum and Ruffalo are also strong as brothers who are trying to understand du Pont's actions and utterances.

This is a strange film that leaves a lasting impression.  It is a commentary on manhood and can be read as a microcosm for North American mores and values in the late 80's.

The Lunchbox (2013, dir. Ritesh Batra)

"The Lunchbox" is an elegy to the lost art of writing letters.  In our high-tech world of the email, I-phones, and text messaging, we as a society have forgotten about the age-old pleasure of simply writing hand-written notes to one another.

"The Lunchbox" is an Indian film in a contemporary setting where working individuals can take part in a lunchbox delivery program.  In it, workers will receive their lunches in boxes by a pre-assigned maker.  Saajan's (Irrfan Khan) lunch is prepared by a young woman named Ila (Nimrat Kaur).  Eventually they start leaving notes in the lunch box for one another.  The notes start out with simple things such as how enjoyable the lunch was on a particular day.  Soon the notes become more and more personal and a sort of relationship begins to blossom between the two people.

The film is directed by Ritesh Batra and is often funny and touching.  The characters are likeable and the performers do a good job of bringing them to life.  It offers a glimpse into contemporary India that Westerners don't see every day.  It is, however, somewhat conventional and doesn't offer any ground-breaking revelations and it will bore some viewers who are accustomed to more action-oriented plots.

Nightcrawler (2014, dir. Dan Gilroy)

Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler” captures the world of freelance video-journalism in a dark, creepy way.  It succeeds because of an engaging performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and is often suspenseful and exciting.

The film can also be read as a scathing critique of some aspects of video-journalism (including the paparazzi; shows such as TMZ) and the lengths that such men and women go to capture their subject matter.  They often go beyond the boundaries of moral decency and ethics and use questionable tactics in order to obtain their photos and videos.

But at the same time, we can also see it as an indictment of the viewer.  They are, after all, intrigued by such media and it is their fascination with it that produces the demand for the often lurid, invasive, violent and indecent material.

From the start of the film, Louis Bloom (Gyllenhaal) is seen as slightly corrupt and beyond abiding by the law.  He seems a perfect person for the role of video-journalist that he will eventually find himself in as a result of a series of interconnected events.  His work, he finds, is in demand by a struggling local news television station and soon he is financially well-off.

Later in the film, he finds himself caught up in more and more dangerous situations that will put his life in jeopardy.  But he knows that the public’s and television station’s demand for his material will compel him to keep soldiering on.

Everything about this film is dark and brooding. Most of the scenes take place at night, hence the title of the film.  The performances and the story are enough to win over most viewers.  I was impressed.