The Originality of "Run"

The concept of "Run", a British series you can find on Netflix is original.  It is a four episode series and each episode focuses on one specific character.  In that episode there will be a secondary character, not very prominent, who will take the focus of the following episode.  In the end, the series comes full circle and connections between all the characters are made more clear. 

The show takes place in London - the gritty, seamy underbelly of that city.  The lower class, immigrants and drug addicts are signifiers that may be used to describe of the central character of an episode.

I was drawn to the show on the strength of Olivia Colman's performance in "Broadchurch", another British television series on Netflix.  She stars in "Run" as a hard-drinking mother of two violent young men and is the character of focus in the first episode. 

The second episode portrays the life of a Chinese immigrant woman who sells things on the Black Market.  Her debts are a source of mental and physical slavery.

In the third episode, a heroin addict tries to get his life together and win the respect of his estranged daughter.

Finally, the fourth episode focuses on a Polish immigrant who's husband has been recently murdered.

All these characters are drawn together in intricate ways and the way they interconnect throughout the series is interesting to watch.  Thus, the writing of the show is worthy of acclaim.  Though I liked the writing, the originality of the concept and some of the intense moments, I wasn't won over by "Run" as I have been by other Netflix British shows I have already seen, such as "Broadchurch" and "Happy Valley."  It's 42 minute running time seems to drag a bit and you may not feel totally invested in the characters.  Overall, it is a good series but it may not blow you away like some of its contemporaries.

Great New Film Studies Book - "Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film" by Edward Ross

I want to draw your attention to a fantastic new film studies book told in graphic novel style.  It is called "Filmish: A Graphic Journey Through Film" and is written and illustrated by Edward Ross.  It was published last year (2015) and will be a worthy addition to any cinephile, film studies student, or general movie lover's library.

The novel is divided into seven chapters and they are as follows:  The Eye, The Body, Sets and Architecture, Time, Voice and Language, Power and Ideology, and Technology and Technophobia.  Each chapter is painstakingly drawn, recreating scenes from various films throughout history, always illustrating the theme of the chapter in unique ways.  The text of each page reflects the drawings and subject of the chapter and offers interesting, original, and enlightening insights into the nature of the medium.  Even seasoned film buffs will find untapped nuggets of information in this revealing graphic text.  Where information was not new to me, I found that it was told in such a way as to seem fresh and added depth to my previous knowledge.

The text of the book provides detailed information and quotes from various theorists, past and present always giving citations for further study.  The drawings are simple but beautiful - the recreations of film scenes are done in such a way as to recall the original film but at the same time add an effervescent, cartoon-style perspective on the scenes.

This book will add depth to your study of the filmic medium as great film studies books should.  It is an original and engrossing work of painstaking detail by author Edward Ross.

Thoughts on Season 1 of "Making a Murderer" (A Netflix Original Series)

[Spoiler Warning]

Many may argue that Netflix's new series "Making a Murderer" isn't a balanced and fair assessment of the trials of Manitowoc County, Wisconsin's Steven Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey.  They will say that the series is biased towards the idea that Avery and Dassey were wrongfully imprisoned and didn't receive a fair trial.  There is some validity to this claim.  But at the same time, the series needs to be slanted and biased.  Why?  Because to propagate the views and sides of the District
Attorney and the Manitowoc police would be to bolster an argument and opinion that has already been well-established.  The result was the convictions.  To take an opposing point of view, as this documentary series does, is the duty of the makers and is sorely needed in the name of truth and justice.

Feelings of frustration, anger, and disbelief may arise in the viewer over the course of the ten episodes of season 1 of "Making a Murderer." The miscarriage of justice is totally palpable, and the argument that writers/directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos put across about the wrongful convictions seems like the truth.  Yes, they may have made the prosecuting attorneys and the police look like lying, deceiving, and repugnant characters.  But, this was necessary to get their point across succinctly.

The way that the series is edited and filmed is totally riveting, making use of voice over dialogue, interrogation video clips, news report footage, and trial highlights.  There is a sense of elation each time the Defense team makes a revelation about police cover-up, corruption and the planting of evidence.  But at the same time, there is an impending sense of doom as the trial progresses - a feeling that justice will not prevail.

The series speaks volumes to the disadvantages of the disenfranchised when it comes to legal matters.  The less money you have, the less chance you have of assembling a worthy defense team and case for you.  The allegations against Avery and Dassey are horrifying as is the nature of Teresa Halbach's murder.  In the murder trial, it doesn't seem like the guilt of Avery is established beyond a reasonable doubt.  Still, the jury is apparently biased from the beginning and Avery's guilt is assured in the end.

Dassey's situation is equally dire and unforgivable.  The way the interrogator bait and goad the youngster, who is intellectually-disadvantaged to begin with, is appalling.  It is a mystery how a jury could not notice the obviousness of how interrogators used the power of suggestion and manipulation to lead the impressionable Dassey to confess to something that apparently never happened.

This is a fantastic Netflix original.  It will be interesting to see if the second season continues to explore the mishandling of the cases and whether the justice system can redeem itself.  All in all, "Making a Murderer" is nothing more than a microcosm of the United States Justice system and how corrupt and wayward it can be now and throughout history.

Emotional Growth and Other Joys of Abbas Kiarostami's Like Someone in Love

Abbas Kiarostami continues to amaze me.  He has a way of enlightening the viewer with his character's interactions and nuances.  An issue of Cineaction a few years ago alluded to this:  the idea of "emotional priming" in his films, where you as a viewer become more whole, self- and world-aware as a result of watching them.   His films prime us through his characters' ways of conversing and interacting with the world around them and the emotions they convey.

This obviously is achieved through the selection of the right actors, the right amount of rehearsal, and a strong screenplay.  But, there is also an element of improvisation in this and other Kiarostami films.  This improvisation is found not only in the nature of the acting and character interaction, but in the "jazz-like feel" of the entire film.  There are little quirky flourishes and accents placed at various places throughout the film that give it extra character and nuance.  This might be a scene that seems to have no motivation, a focus on some element that seems ambiguous or odd, or an eccentric action or plot feature.

Kiarostami has a lot of love for his characters.  He treats them with dignity and respect, allowing them to grow as the film progresses and take on a certain humanity.  He demonstrates with Like Someone in Love a refusal to resort to ethnocentric biases: focusing on a country outside of Iran where he is from, he shows a world-centric outlook that pushes him into the realm of a truly global director.

This film doesn't offer easy answers or traditional, Hollywood-style, conventional endings.  This is what makes Abbas Kiarostami one of the most interesting and emotionally-resonant directors of our time.

Son of Saul (2015, dir. Laszlo Nemes)

I recently revisited Viktor Frankl's book, "Man's Search for Meaning".  Frankl was a psychiatrist who survived a Nazi Concentration Camp during the Holocaust.  His main point was that a person who was able to survive the brutal, dehumanizing ordeal in the camps were the ones who had some kind of ultimate purpose or meaning in their lives that allowed them to see through another day.  As in the Concentration Camps, so in life.

Saul in Laszlo Neme's Son of Saul is able to find a purpose behind the nightmare, however horrible that meaning is.  Saul is a Sonderkommando in Auschwitz, meaning he is a Jew who is assigned the cleaning up of the Gas Chambers after Jews are gassed.  One day, he discovers a young boy who has somehow survived the Chamber.  The boy is quickly killed by Nazi doctors, but Saul finds in this boy's initial survival some kind of a connection and sees him as his "son".  It becomes Saul's life mission to provide a proper Jewish burial for the boy with a Rabbi, if he can find one.

This is a film that draws you in at the same time it repels you.  No film, not even Schindler's List has been able to present the reality of the Gas Chambers and Camps the way Son of Saul does.  The acting is powerful and amazing.  Geza Rohrig as Saul has a haunted look in his eyes:  he almost seems desensitized to the brutality around him, yet in his adoption of the young, dead boy and the risks he takes, he demonstrates his lingering humanity and hope.

The camera remains close to Saul as he wanders about his daily jobs, duties, and excursions.  This closeness of the camera keeps us confined to Saul's predicament and somehow lessens the nature of the nightmare going on around him.  It is a wonder of Steadicam usage and an efficient way to keep us invested in Saul's trajectory.

The film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and deservedly.  It is a harrowing, enlightening, and somehow beautiful account of an awful time in our collective history.

Thoughts on Season 1 of "Narcos" (A Netflix Original Series)

"Narcos" is an original Netflix series that tells the story of the rise of Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura), a cocaine-trafficking kingpin from Colombia in the 1980's and the efforts and attempts of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to bring him down.  It is told with a voice-over narration by one of the DEA officers, Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) in a style that reminds the viewer of Goodfellas and Blow, two other drug-centered movies that makes use of a loose, no-nonsense style of narration by their chief protagonists.

What sets this series apart from other docu-dramas and true-to-life television series, is its mixture of real newsreel footage of the period with the fictionalized drama.  This may sound inappropriate - that it would be jarring and disorienting because of the striking difference between the real, documentary footage and the dramatized reenactments.  However, it really flows together seamlessly, with a verisimilitude that engages the viewer on an even deeper level.  For example, a shot of the real-life Escobar will often be juxtaposed with a scene of Pablo in the fictionalized universe of the series.  This blending is highly original and adds character and depth to the show.

The sense of loyalty that Escobar's henchman adhere to is unparalleled and intense.  Never once do his right-hand men give in to the pressure of the constant push to betray Escobar and his illegal activities.  There is one moment when loyalties are thrown into question, and the ramifications of the ordeal prove to be horrible:  even though the betrayal is never proven or shown, the consequences can be deadly.

The way that Pablo Escobar is able to bend the law in his favor and his manipulations of the Colombian government are astounding.  When he is forced into imprisonment, he is able to sway the government to permit him to build his own luxurious prison ("The Cathedral") where he is allowed to serve his time on his own terms.

The show's style is flashy and the editing can be rapid-fire at times.  There are moments of anxious suspense and disoriented confusion.  It has elements of Scorsese's best gangster films infused throughout and it will highlight for the viewer a time in our history when corruption and evil at the highest levels of government were a reality.  "Narcos" serves as an incendiary commentary on our present-day situation that the events depicted have given birth to.