"Earth Mama" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening night of the New Directors/New Films Festival, I attended a screening of the new drama, “Earth Mama”, written and directed by Savanah Leaf. 

Synopsis

When a single mother with children in foster care becomes pregnant, will she choose to keep the baby?

Story

Gia (Tia Nomore) is struggling.  She’s a young single mother whose history of substance abuse and inability to maintain a sufficient job has resulted in her son and daughter in foster care.  Further complicating matters is the fact that she’s in the third trimester of her pregnancy and given her history, Child Protective Services may want to take the baby away from her.  The system demands that she work as well as take classes that she must pass in order to even be considered for returning her children to her.  Unfortunately, taking classes means that she can’t work enough hours to make a subsistence living, so it’s a vicious circle. 

She misses her children and they miss her – or at least her son does.  He tends to be more affectionate towards Gia than his sister, who grows increasingly distant, especially when her mother shows up late for their supervised visits.  Gia’s sister can only provide emotional support for her (and sometimes barely that); other than that, there’s no family on which she can rely.  The relationship she’s had with friends up until that point are frayed to say the least.  Finding herself at the end of her rope – and attempting to work within a system that’s trying to defeat her at every turn – Gia finally has to rely on her caseworker for help.

The caseworker presents the option of putting the baby up for adoption.  Reluctantly, Gia makes the difficult decision to do so, even though she would rather keep the baby.  Once the caseworker introduces Gia to a middle-class family that has been looking to adopt for the past few years, she decides they are the right fit for her child.  Also, letting another family who’s economically better equipped to care for the baby will come across as a responsible decision when she petitions the court for the return of her son and daughter.  But when Gia’s daughter is born and tests find that she has illicit drugs in her system, will Gia still be able to get her children out of foster care?

Review

Writer/Director Savanah Leaf certainly proves her talents in “Earth Mama”.  Clearly, she has an eye for how to visually tell a story and her screenwriting capabilities put on display her skill for telling a narrative story in the long form.  However, with this being based on a documentary short she directed previously, it definitely remains to be seen if or how she will be able to tell a feature-length film that is an original fictional story, whether or not it is from her own screenplay.  Hopefully, she will get a shot and doing so before too long and if “Earth Mama” is any indication, she will knock it out of the park. 

Although Leaf takes an unflinching look at the systemic racism in society’s treatment of single mothers and those recovering from substance abuse, her non-judgmental approach appears to fall short after a while when we see the character of Gia making the same mistakes and bad choices over and over again.  She only succeeds in digging a hole deeper for herself until the point where it is almost – if not completely – impossible for her to realistically climb her way out.  Gia seems to have passing moments of responsibility but in the end, remains too immature to take care of herself, much less her children.

Gia seems to get beaten down by the system rather constantly, which contributes to the audience wanting to root for her.  However, the fact that she seems to consistently get in her own way makes it quite the challenge for the viewer to do so.  After a while, one wonders at what point does this young woman learn a lesson and realize that the way she’s been living her life isn’t working for her or anyone else close to her?  What detracts from the film somewhat is there is very little in the way of a character arc for Gia.  We want to see her go from a bad place to a good place, but in order to do so, she has to make an effort – whether she does or not by the end is up for grabs. 

"A Good Person" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new drama by writer/director Zach Braff, “A Good Person”, starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman.

Synopsis

When a tragic accident seriously disrupts a young woman’s life, will she be able to kick the drug habit she developed during her recovery?

Story

Allison (Pugh) and Nathan (Chinaza Uche) seem headed for a bright future together – following their engagement party, they begin planning their wedding; Nathan’s sister Molly (Nichelle Hines) and her husband are helping – but their estranged father Daniel (Freeman) is being completely left out.  On the way to try on wedding gowns, Allison gets into a disastrous traffic accident.  She is seriously injured and her passengers – Molly and her husband – are killed, leaving their teenage daughter Ryan (Celeste O'Connor) orphaned.  As an elderly widower, Daniel finds himself trying to raise her by himself.

After spending an extended period in the hospital followed by physical therapy, Allison now finds her life turned upside down.  She has broken things off with Nathan and to make matters worse, she is now addicted to Oxycontin – an opioid prescribed to her by her physicians in order to help her deal with the physical pain she was forced to endure during her recovery from the accident.  With her doctors refusing to renew her prescription, Allison becomes desperate and tries to score the pills any way she possibly can.  As a result, she winds up ruining a great many of her personal relationships over time. 

When Allison finally relents and tries to seek help through a 12-step program, she runs into Daniel, who himself is a recovering alcoholic.  Despite blaming Allison for the loss of his daughter, the two eventually wind up forming something of a kinship in order to help each other get over their grief as well as their individual addictions.  Over time, Allison meets Ryan; while Ryan initially harbors hard feelings towards Allison for causing the death of her parents, she eventually softens and they become friends.  When the two spend a night on the town together, a series of events cause things to spiral out of control for all involved – but will they be able to prevent any further tragedies or will things go too far? 

Review

Writer/director Zach Braff has set out on an ambitious effort with “A Good Person” (although the title is a bit nondescript and may not attract people to see it in a theatrical release, which is planned before moving to Amazon’s streaming service).  Part of the problem, however, is that the movie is a bit of a slog – even though it’s only a little over two hours, it feels much longer because of the intensity of the story being told.  The infrequent attempts at humor aren’t terribly funny and quite often feel misplaced.  While Morgan Freeman gives his usual steady performance, it is not worth recommending this film. 

Another issue here is that the conclusion of “A Good Person” stretches the concept of deus ex machina beyond its reasonable limits, requiring the viewer to substantially suspend disbelief.  There arise far too many coincidences as the movie attempts to drive towards a dramatic climax, to the point where you feel like you’ve been hoodwinked into watching a completely different film.  Ultimately, the emotional response we’re supposed to have is somewhat tempered by virtue of the fact that there have already been too many demands on the audience by this point and you are simply left exhausted. 

A post-screening interview was conducted with co-producer Pamela Koffler from Killer Films.  After discussing the history of her production company and her association with it, Koffler talked about the movie itself.  She was originally emailed a copy of the script, being informed that both Pugh and Freeman were attached to the project and that it had already been financed.  The entire production was shot in Braff’s home of New Jersey, which provided considerable tax credits for the project.  Koffler then went on to explain in detail exactly how these tax credits work in that for every dollar that is spent, the state gives it back in the form of a tax credit. 

"Smoking Causes Coughing" -- Movie Review

 

As Lincoln Center’s French Film Festival winds down, I attended a screening of the comedy, “Smoking Causes Coughing”.

Synopsis

When an alien attempts a plan to destroy the planet, can a team of super-heroes prevent the apocalypse?

Story

The Tobacco Force – a collection of super-heroes assembled to stop smoking – is now facing a difficult foe:  a giant tortoise who’s able to fight them off one-by-one.  Unable to beat him individually they team-up against him to release various chemicals that will induce cancer.  It works!  The tortoise is blown to smithereens and a nearby family on vacation who witnessed the battle asks if this famous group will take a photo with them.  Tobacco Force is like rock stars with the common folks.  But despite their seeming success, it turns out that all is not well with this team, at least according to their boss, Didier – a rat-like being that constantly drools some kind of green goo whenever he speaks.

Didier conducts a video call with the team in their mini-van to discuss their overall performance.  It turns out that they have been behaving in a way that is too individualistic; they are lacking in cohesion as a unit.  As a result, Didier informs them that they will be taking some time off to go on a retreat – basically, this will serve as something of a team-building exercise that should help them learn how to better work together.  Off they travel deep into the woods near a lake where their trusty robot, Norbert, is soon replaced with an updated model that will better address their needs. 

Tobacco Force gets comfortably ensconced in an underground bunker that has been updated with not only personal space but also a fully-equipped kitchen that has a store for their various dietary needs and desires.  Enjoying all the comforts of home, the Force proceeds to re-acquaint themselves with each other instead of conducting the expected team-building exercises.  This takes the form of sitting around a campfire and telling a variety of scary stories – which quickly turns competitive as they each try to outspook each other.  Just then, Didier warns the team that an evil-doer from another planet has enacted a plan to destroy earth – but can Tobacco Force react in time to thwart the worst from happening?

Review

If you are a fan of absurdist comedies, then “Smoking Causes Coughing” should prove to be a deeply satisfying experience.  It sometimes seems that the entire movie is something of a non-sequitur.  “Smoking Causes Coughing” not only is a parody of the super-hero genre, it is also somewhat of a critique on society in terms of how smoking has become rather politicized and a cultural quagmire.  Yet the film seems to move away from that rather quickly as the focus of The Tobacco Force shifts rather abruptly from an anti-smoking squad to fighting causes of a much broader scope. 

Don’t look for “Smoking Causes Coughing” to make much sense because it’s not designed to do that; instead, it is merely reflects the nonsense in a world that is clearly based on the premise of nonsense – so in that regard, perhaps it makes perfect sense.  Sit back and prepare to be entertained by a delightfully wacky non-story, the point of which seems to be that the people who are in charge haven’t got a clue as to what they are doing and we shouldn’t depend on them to be able to help us.  Watching this, one might wonder if the filmmaker was high when he initially conceived of the story – it really does have that look and feel.

As goofy as “Smoking Causes Coughing” may be, its trip into weirdness is miraculously tied together by all of the stories that are told throughout the movie.  It would not be unreasonable to expect that such detours would slow down the film or take you away from the main plot; it does not slow it down at all, in fact it just expands on the absurd premise.  Also, as far as being distracted from the main plot … well, really there isn’t one.  Or at least there isn’t one that is essential to the greater point of the motion picture.  It is truly rare that you see a French movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but this one truly hits the spot.

 

 

 

 

"Revoir Paris" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening night of Lincoln Center’s French Film Festival, I attended the screening of “Revoir Paris” (AKA, “Paris Memories”), starring César Award winner for Best Actress Virginie Efira. 

Synopsis

When a woman survives a terrorist attack, will she also be able to survive the post-trauma stress?

Story

Unmarried and childless, Mia and Vincent have been living together for quite some time; since both are career-centered – she as a translator, he as a physician – it’s been a full and rewarding life.  One night, when he has to work at the hospital, she goes out to a restaurant near their Paris home.  The relaxing night is interrupted by a terrorist attack – a gunman bursts into the dining room and opens fire on both customers and employees alike.  Almost everyone is shot and many die before the shooter finally leaves.  Although injured, Mia survives, but remains seriously psychologically scarred by the incident in its aftermath. 

In the months after the shooting, Mia still hasn’t returned to work and she’s been growing increasingly distant from Vincent to the point that their relationship is starting to fray.  He notices that she’s not the same person anymore and that she is having considerable difficulty turning the page, quite possibly due to survivor’s guilt.  Upon learning of a support group that meets weekly at the restaurant, she attends but doesn’t find it entirely healing – one teenage girl is now orphaned because both her parents were murdered and one woman accuses Mia of hiding out in the bathroom during the shooting and selfishly locking the door so no one else could escape.    

One good thing that comes of this support group is Mia meeting Thomas, a man who was severely injured at the restaurant and still requires hospitalization for continued surgery and physical therapy for his damaged legs.  Together, they discuss the night in question and try to help each other.  But in recalling the events of that night, Mia remembers someone holding her hand during the shooting – a mysterious stranger with a tattoo on his wrist.  Who was this man?  Where is he?  Is he or was he a restaurant employee?  Did he survive the evening?  Mia becomes obsessed with finding this man in order to thank him for providing emotional support during their mutual travail – but can she find this needle in the haystack that is Paris?

Review

Perhaps the best part of “Revoir Paris” is Virginie Efira’s portrayal of Mia.  A sensitive, intelligent woman, Mia struggles to hold herself together after this incident and Efira makes this evident in many of her acting choices throughout the movie; Mia's dedication to self-care is seen as selfish by some, but is a necessary part of her recovery process.  The challenges she faces not only include resolving open issues after the attack but also dealing with the relationships she had before.  From the outset, she is obviously a sympathetic character and that never changes for the remainder of the film. 

While the central focus of the movie is Mia dealing with her grief so she can effectively move on with the rest of her life, it morphs into something of a mystery or detective story.  If there’s one criticism of the film, it is that there’s very little if any reference to the attack itself insofar as who did it, why and if the guilty were ever brought to justice.  Perhaps this is because filmmaker Alice Winocour made a choice that doing so might turn this into something of a crime drama and take the story into a different direction; that said, allusions to the follow-up by the police probably would have been helpful. 

One annoyance – albeit slight – is the fact that Mia easily finds herself in a new romantic situation when the relationship with her long-time partner seems to be winding down, largely because of the result of the assault.  Although somewhat complicated by virtue of Thomas being married, the romance with Mia is telegraphed almost from the beginning – and the reveal of his wife is deliberately held off until late in the game. In all likelihood, he probably doesn’t bring it up because it’s not relevant to any of the discussions they have been having – and of equal convenience, Mia never bothers to ask.    

"The Quiet Girl" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Film At Lincoln Center, I attended a screening of the Irish drama, “The Quiet Girl”, which is nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2023. 

Synopsis

When a neglected girl spends the summer with a foster family, will she return to her parents despite the fact that she starts to flourish under their care?

Story

In 1981 rural Ireland, Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is one of many children raised by her parents in a ramshackle house.  With her mother pregnant and school out for the summer, Cáit is sent to live with foster parents for the next couple of months.  Although Cáit doesn’t know them, they are actually related -- Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) is her mother’s cousin and her husband Seán (Andrew Bennett) will care for the girl until the baby is born.  While Cáit may be relieved to put some distance between herself and her highly dysfunctional family, she nevertheless remains considerably apprehensive – will she be jumping from the frying pan into the fire?

Upon arrival at Eibhlín and Seán’s home, it’s immediately apparent that Cáit has entered a completely different world.  Although the couple are farmers like her own parents, they have a lovely, clean house and the girl is warmly welcomed – not seen as a burden, as her parents do.  Cáit’s father drops her off, warning the couple that they are in for a great deal of misery when taking in Cáit – and when he quickly leaves, he forgets to give them his daughter’s suitcase, so the only clothes she has are what she’s wearing.  Eibhlín fixes this by having the girl wear some boy’s clothes until they can go shopping with Cáit for something more appropriate. 

When one of Eibhlín and Seán’s neighbors offers to have Cáit over to meet her own children so she’ll have some friends, the couple agree – but after this woman mercilessly interrogates the girl, Cáit learns of a secret about the two that significantly changes their relationship.  Once Cáit returns to Eibhlín and Seán, she confronts them about what she’s discovered; Eibhlín is quite upset but Seán uses this opportunity to bond with Cáit.  Eventually, a letter arrives – Cáit’s mother has given birth and with the start of the new school term imminent, suggests now would be a good time to send Cáit home.  But with neither Cáit nor the couple anxious to return the girl to her parents, how will this get resolved between the two families? 

Review

“The Quiet Girl” is an equally quiet film and is about as close to perfect as you can get; it deserves to win the Academy Award for which it’s nominated, but considering the other nominees, it’s probably a longshot – and that’s too damned bad.  It has an absolutely heartbreaking ending that will move you to tears in perhaps the best way possible.  At its heart, the story is really about the healing power of love and especially the impact it has on a child who has been missing it for most of her upbringing.  Regardless of whether or not this wins the award, “The Quiet Girl” is definitely a must-see for all cineastes out there.    

There is a gentleness and tenderness throughout “The Quiet Girl” which, while suiting, can sometimes make the film feel a bit slowly paced; whether this makes you fall out of the story or stick with it will definitely depend on if you are emotionally invested in the movie up to that point.  One thing that should be noted about the movie if you are considering viewing:  it has subtitles.  The reason for this is because the characters frequently alternate between Gaelic and English; while English-only audiences will need the subtitles to translate the Gaelic, the parts that are in English may also benefit from the subtitles due to the heavy Irish accent used by the characters.

There was an interview with the filmmakers following the screening; this included writer/director Colm Bairéad, producer Cleona Ní Chrualaoí and cast members Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett and Catherine Clinch.  Bairéad said that the idea for his first feature film came from reading the short story on which it is based (“Foster” by Claire Keegan); he was deeply affected by it and wanted to tell a story with a first person narrative without relying on voice over narration throughout the entire film.  Accidentally, Covid became influential in the making of this movie; originally supposed to be shot in 2020, it was delayed until the following year.  Covid became an ally in telling the story because the physical distance required by the pandemic played well with the absence of physical affection between the characters. 

 

"Your Place Or Mine" -- Movie Review

 

This week, I attended a special screening of the new romantic comedy from Netflix, “Your Place Or Mine”, starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. 

Synopsis

When two long-time platonic friends trade places for a week, will their relationship transform into a romance?

Story

Twenty years ago, when they were both living in Los Angeles, Debbie and Peter (Witherspoon and Kutcher) had a hook-up.  They never continued a romantic relationship beyond that, but did maintain contact over the years, despite the fact that Peter eventually moved to New York City.  Debbie wound up getting married and had a son, Jack (Wesley Kimmel) – but when she got divorced, she found herself a single mother dedicated to raising and supporting Jack completely on her own.  Peter, on the other hand, decided to abandon his dreams of becoming a writer and managed to develop a successful consulting business. 

Debbie is scraping by financially and looks for career advancement – towards that end, she decides to sign up for a class that may allow her to either get a promotion or a better paying job.  Unfortunately, the course is a week long and taught in New York City, requiring her to leave Jack for a week while a friend watches him.  Although she’s looking forward to spending some time with Peter after her classes, her plans fall through when her friend must take a job and is unavailable to be with Jack.  When Peter finds out about this, he offers to fly to Los Angeles to watch Jack for her while she stays at his place and concentrates on her studies.

Once the two have temporarily exchanged residences, both soon discover that they have been missing out on life opportunities that they find rewarding and fulfilling.  For one thing, Peter develops a friendship with Jack, serving as something of a surrogate father.  Meanwhile, Debbie winds up dating Theo (Jesse Williams), a book publisher whom she meets by chance through one of Peter’s exes (Zoe Chao).  When Debbie learns Jack has been hospitalized after playing hockey, she is furious at Peter and orders him to leave while she returns to Los Angeles to care for Jack.  But after they both discover secrets about each other during their trip, will they nevertheless be able to rekindle their affair?

Review

The suspension of disbelief that one must dedicate to “Your Place Or Mine” is rather substantial; in fact, suspending it from a height far above that which the infamous Chinese spy balloon recently flew might not be much of an overstatement.  If you like being bashed over the head with a sledgehammer repeatedly, then you’ll probably enjoy the clumsy manner in which the character exposition is delivered at various points throughout the movie.  Despite the chemistry between Kutcher and Witherspoon, this is very much the formulaic superficial rom-com that is perfect for much-needed escapist entertainment.    

One of the many contrivances is the “house swap” premise.  Why does Debbie have to take a weeklong trip from Los Angeles to New York City in order to take a class?  Seriously, is there nothing similar being offered closer to where she lives so that she doesn’t have to have someone babysit her son?  Then, there’s also the contrivance of her allowing Peter to mind her son, despite the fact that he’s only ever met the boy over video calls.  Lastly, there’s the obvious contrivance that is the overriding premise of the story:  that two heterosexual people of the opposite sex who live three time zones away can maintain a nonphysical friendship for twenty years.  Enjoy your fairytale. 

Prior to the screening, the movie was introduced by writer-director Aline Brosh McKenna, who was accompanied by cast members Tig Notaro, Zoe Chao, Jesse Williams, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon.  Kutcher said that although he was excited to learn he would be doing a film with Witherspoon, it turned out that they only worked together for about two or three days during the shoot.  McKenna told the audience that “Your Place Or Mine” would be good to watch for what she termed “Gal-entine’s Day” – when single women without a date for Valentine’s Day get together.  Kutcher initially misunderstood this to be “Gallontine’s Day” where a group of buddies gather to drink a gallon of wine. 

"Baby Ruby" -- Movie Review

 

This week at Lincoln Center, I attended an advance screening of the new psychological thriller “Baby Ruby” starring Kit Harington and Noémie Merlant. 

Synopsis

Will a couple’s newborn baby drive her mother mad – or is someone really trying to kill her?

Story

Jo (Noémie Merlant) and her husband Spencer (Kit Harington) are expecting their first child any day now.  With the couple having moved to a secluded rustic suburb far from the city, Jo, an internet influencer, arranges her own baby shower; attendees include the team of support staff who work on her lifestyle web site.  Childbirth does not prove to be the beautiful experience Jo had originally envisioned; it is painful and messy and its aftermath altogether unpleasant.  Once she is discharged from the hospital, one of the nurses “gifts” her with the placenta because it is rich with nutrients. 

Upon getting baby Ruby home, Jo’s problems are just starting – and get increasingly worse.  To begin with, Ruby is incessantly crying – to the point that there’s precious little Jo can do to quiet her down; this is wearing on Jo because she’s losing sleep and is lacking in the mental and physical energy needed to maintain her web site.  Jo believes Ruby is displaying great hostility towards her; Ruby gets increasingly rough with Jo, biting her during breastfeeding and pulling off her earring to the point that it tears her earlobe, drawing blood.  Jo takes Ruby to the doctor and informs him about all of this, but he insists it’s normal behavior for an infant. 

Eventually, Jo comes to discover that she’s not alone – there are other young women in her area that are also recent mothers with infants to care for.  She eagerly befriends them in search of a support system but soon becomes suspicious of who they are and what their motives may be.  Are they really parents?  Do they even have babies at home?  Jo believes that everyone in her inner circle is against her because they believe she’s an incompetent mother – even Spencer and his mother, who assists in caring for Ruby.  Thinking she and her baby are in danger, Jo takes Ruby and hurriedly leaves – but will she really escape their supposed peril?     

Review

First-time director Bess Wohl certainly nailed the standards of this type of movie – stinger music, jump cuts, spooky lighting and so forth.  Unfortunately, the script is somewhat trite which is rather surprising given that Wohl’s career has primarily been as a writer.  Exactly who the antagonist is changes from moment to moment:  is it the baby or the creepy neighbors or the husband or the mother-in-law?  We are somewhat led to believe that this is going to be a supernatural or paranormal story, but it turns out that the heroine is actually confronting more of an internal nemesis. 

Ultimately, “Baby Ruby” comes across as a great advertisement for contraception; part way through the movie, you almost expect its denouement will be Amazon delivery workers to be dropping off crate after crate of condoms at the couple’s doorstep.  At its heart, what the film seems to want to convey is that mothers of a newborn – especially first-time mothers – have very little in the way of support from society and don’t have an outlet for their concerns.  Part of the problem with the motion picture is that it doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be – social commentary?  Horror?  Science Fiction?

Writer/Director Bess Wohl was interviewed following the screening.  Wohl’s career has primarily been spent as a playwright, although she has written a number of screenplays and teleplays, as she says, just to pay the bills in between stage plays.  “Baby Ruby” is not her first screenplay credit but it is her first credit as a director.  She sees this movie as something of a mixed genre – horror, drama, psychological thriller.  Wohl says that her influences for this film included “The Shining”, “Fatal Attraction” and “Rosemary’s Baby”.  The ending of  the motion picture is different from the script she originally wrote (which is what drew Kit Harington into the project); during the shoot, Noémie Merlant convinced her to change it and that’s the one that wound up in the final version. 

"Saint Omer" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of the official release of courtroom drama “Saint Omer”, I attended a special screening at Lincoln Center.

Synopsis

When a young woman goes on trial for killing her baby, will she be found guilty or is she merely being set up to take the fall?

Story

Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a successful author who has commenced to proceed on her next book:  a work about the mythical character Medea and how she overcame the patriarchy.  As part of her research for that tome, she leaves her family and her husband in Paris for a short trip to Saint Omer, a town in northern France.  While there, she will spend several days attending the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a Senegalese philosophy student in her mid-twenties, who is accused of murdering her 15-month-old daughter Ellise.  This turns out to be a trial that is captivating much of the nation, receiving extensive coverage by the news media.

During the trial, it comes out that Coly admits to the killing of her baby – however, she claims that it was not her fault.  She believes that sorcery was involved – specifically, she thinks that a curse was put on her by someone and it was this that caused her infant’s death.  In tracing her background, it turns out that the father of her baby is Luc Dumontet (Xavier Maly), a much older married man with whom she was engaging in an affair.  Dumontet was supporting her financially when Coly’s father stopped financing her studies in France.  With the presence of the unwanted baby, their relationship became even more strained.

As the trial wears on, it becomes evident that Rama is having a severe emotional reaction the more she listens to Coly; upon hearing about Coly’s dysfunctional relationship with her mother, Rama compares this to her own family situation and can easily relate.  Rama instantly becomes sympathetic to Coly’s situation.  But there’s much more to it than merely that.  It seems that Rama herself is several months pregnant; listening to Coly’s history, she begins to wonder if she would have a similar reaction to her own baby – or if she should even have the baby at all.  Given the similarities, will Rama decide to take her pregnancy to term? 

Review

“Saint Omer” has been one of those films that could be characterized as a darling of the critics; not only has it appeared at a number of film festivals in the past year, it has also either won or been nominated for quite a few awards.  All of that having been said, it lacks an emotional impact, keeping the characters at an arm’s length (or more), never truly humanizing them sufficiently for the audience to gain an interest in their outcome.  Although the story is about Coly’s trial, it is the character of Rama that appears to be the real protagonist here and she comes across as so distant and detached that one is left to merely shrug at the conclusion. 

Much of the movie has the static nature of a stage play because the majority takes place in the courtroom during the trial.  The reason why Rama feels so strongly about attending the trial remains somewhat vague for a good deal of the story; by the time her true motivation is revealed, it seems too little too late.  Some of this may be due to the director’s previous experience as a documentarian and “Saint Omer” is her first feature film narrative.  It is possible that the film’s impact may vary based on gender – that is to say women may find this motion picture of a more compelling nature than men.  The fact that Rama sees tying this into the mythic tale of Medea only serves to buttress this theory.   

Director Alice Diop and actress Guslagie Malanda (Laurence Coly) were interviewed following the screening.  Diop said that this is based on a real trial, which she and many other women in France followed rather closely because it spoke to maternity and motherhood.  She said that the reason why she did not make this as a documentary was because that by the time she decided she wanted to turn this into a film the trial was already over.  Malanda said that originally, there were 10 rehearsals scheduled but they wound up only needing two because they found both the story and the character to be rather straightforward.  She added that she prepared for the shoot for months in the same way that an athlete would leading up to a competition. 

 

Hedonism II At New Year's 2022-23 -- Trip Report

 Day1 Monday 12/26/22

Checked into Hedo today. Despite all of the craziness we've been seeing at the U.S. airports in the days leading up to Christmas, my flight was thankfully not cancelled -- but it was delayed considerably for a variety of reasons. As a result, the 7:30AM JetBlue flight did not take off for an hour and a half (9AM).

Anyway, I'm here now and that's the only thing that matters I guess.

Upon check-in, they handed me glossy cards: one was an invitation to the New Year's Eve party, themed "Amorous Attractions: Hedonistic Prom Night". The other card was titled "Lustful Liaison", which was just the theme nights for the last week of the year. Comparing this to the PDF of the events schedule downloaded from the QR Code they gave me at check-in (that's new, isn't it?) it appears that the only two nights that are different were Christmas ("The Naughty List: Boudoir de Mystique") and this Saturday (NYE, as described above).

One other thing about check-in: in addition to the credit card, they also asked me for my Driver's License. I don't recall being asked for this before. This is definitely new. What's the purpose? I was asked for my passport, too, but then she asked for my license, which I thought was odd.

Initially I was asked for my passport (as they usually do) and handed it over. Then, she immediately handed it back to me without even looking at it and said, "You know what would be better? If you gave me your driver's license instead". At that point, I handed over the driver's license and she made a copy of that, not both the license and the passport. I needed the passport anyway because on the form they make you fill out during check-in you have to enter your passport number. I have since learned that they are supposed to ask for either or.  So, my best guess is that she probably misspoke because she is used to asking for the passport alone and the driver's license thing is somewhat new.

Based on the weather reports I’ve been checking, this week could be a wet one. It rained slightly on my way from the airport and rained heavily late in the afternoon, stopping just in time for dinner.

Day 2 Tuesday 12/27/22

No rain today, thankfully.  A little annoyed that they didn't give me a notice about the repeaters party scheduled for tonight so I missed that. Since I checked in yesterday, they obviously knew I was here.  On a positive note, I did begin to see quite a few new arrivals tonight, including many familiar faces from New Year’s trips past.  The downside to the new incoming guests was that it was more of a challenge for me to find a seat at dinner (Asian Cuisine night, it seemed).

Day 3 Wednesday 12/28/22

After an ill-advised post-dinner latte, I'm pretty wired-up on caffeine tonight – at least it’s helping me to stay up late without feeling drowsy. 

Next, the piano bar. Monday night there was entertainment but no Eldon; Tuesday night was karaoke (ICK!) and still no Eldon. Tonight, the piano player returned and so did Eldon! Eldon told me that after his horrible accident earlier in the year he's about 80-85% right now; he wasn't able to work for four months, getting injured in June and returning in October. It never ceases to amaze me how he's able to not only recognize me but also call me by name and immediately pour my usual drink without having to be asked.

Lastly, apparently the disco is a thing again -- or at least it was for tonight, anyway. Monday, I tried to go in but the door was locked; Tuesday I didn't even bother. Tonight, when the piano bar cleared out, I left and heard music coming from the disco; when I entered I found the dancefloor packed with people stomping to Pitbull's "Fireball". The bar, however, seemed relatively empty. But at least the disco was back -- if only for one night.

Day 4 Thursday 12/29/22

Plenty of activity around the pool and in the hot tub today, but there has been a pattern of clouds mid to late afternoon which resulted in not only little sun but also no chance to view the sunset later in the day. 

Day 5 Friday 12/30/22

Around 4:30PM today was the first significant rainfall, but thankfully, it didn’t last too long; just as I was getting ready to leave, the rain stopped – as a result, I just swapped for some dry towels and stuck around for a while longer. 

Day 6 Saturday 12/31/22

Friday night as I was preparing for dinner, a note was slipped under my door stating that starting Saturday AM, the main pool deck would be unavailable all day because they were constructing the set for New Year's Eve. As of shortly before dinner at 7PM, they were still putting on the finishing touches, so they just barely completed by the time dinner was officially served.

Dinner consisted of the usual fare for New Year's Eve (i.e. the Friday Gala was moved to Saturday so we had lobster).

Mojito bar set up on the pool deck, martini bar near the courtyard (in that space where the pool/ping pong tables are located).

Went into the piano bar to get away from all the noise; no piano player that night but some folks volunteered to tickle the ivories.

Just as they've done the past few years, the countdown to midnight took place in the courtyard which had more than enough space for folks to dance.

This year and last year, it didn't seem like the place was all that full for the party -- appeared to be quite a few of the resort guests but not that many night passes. I say that because there were plenty of places set for dinner but a number of them were left unoccupied (at least that meant I had no trouble finding a place to sit down to eat dinner).

Day 7 Sunday 1/1/23

Hangover day for many folks so it was rather quiet; what added to the quiet atmosphere was that a few folks had already departed. 

Day 8 Monday 1/2/23

An even slower and quieter day today as even more people I know left; quite a depressing day.  Late day rain forced me to pack up and head back to my room a little earlier than I would have preferred.  One last night of the party before the fun of packing begins. 

Day 9 Tuesday 1/3/23

Got up a little bit earlier than usual so that I could get a head start on packing and grab a quick breakfast prior to check-out.  Pick-up for the ride to the airport was early, so I got to check-in for my JetBlue flight with plenty of time to spare.  Encountered a great deal of difficulty using the kiosk at MBJ; fortunately, there was a JetBlue employee there to assist (albeit begrudgingly).  Long wait to check my bag and an almost as long wait to retrieve my ticket to enter Club MoBay.  Once I got to the lounge, I discovered the flight had been delayed; what started out as a 2:30PM flight eventually didn’t take off until 6PM.  Fortunately, the airport pickup driver was on top of it and delayed meeting with me at the gate.  JetBlue eventually got in touch with me to apologize for the delay by giving me a credit on my next flight – but since it’s only $50, I doubt it’ll help very much (and not much in the way of compensation for all of the time lost and inconvenience suffered). 

 

 

"The Quotable Hitchens" -- Book Review

During my recent winter vacation, I read “The Quotable Hitchens”, edited by Windsor Mann. 

The full title of the book is “The Quotable Hitchens:  The Very Best Of Christopher Hitchens”; the book was published over a decade ago, around the time that Hitchens had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and roughly a year before his death.  Editor Windsor Mann was a friend of Hitchens and decided to assemble this collection as a way of appreciation for Hitchens’ work over the years – a gift to the writer prior to his passing.  For those unfamiliar with the writings of Hitchens, he was primarily a journalist but was also known as an expert polemicist – someone with whom you would not want to debate. 

Hitchens was known to have a mind and wit that were both equally razor sharp and capable of (virtually) drawing blood anytime he wanted, largely for his own personal amusement.  He was known to be a contrarian and a gadfly, getting under the skin of  political foes, regardless whether they were from the left or the right.  His disdain for religion was found equally irritating by the devout.  There was rarely someone whom he didn’t anger with his opinions and observations about life, society, culture, or any other subject. 

Structurally, the book is not divided into sections or chapters; instead, it lists the topics of Hitchens’ quotes alphabetically.  The cover of the book bears the subtitle “From Alcohol To Zionism”, but this is not entirely accurate; although the last topic of the book is in fact Zionism, the first quote is actually regarding Abortion.  In fact, Alcohol is covered, but that does not come until much later in the “A” portion.  The quotes are derived from a wide variety of sources; some of the quotes are from his writings (books, magazine articles, essays), others from interviews he's given (television, radio and print media) and still others come from various formal debates in which he participated. 

There is the old saying, “Brevity is the soul of wit”.  One is reminded of this when reading Hitchens’ quotes on various subjects.  Some of the longer passages just don’t quite have the impact as the shorter ones – he was clearly a master of the one-liner and the clever rejoinder that could pierce a bloated ego.  By far and away, the subject that has the greatest number of quotes in this book is Bill Clinton, whom he hated.  Quotes about the former president weigh in at a whopping nine pages.  On Religion, there is, unsurprisingly 11 pages.         

What’s great about this book is the fact that you don’t necessarily have to read it in order; you could just pick it up and randomly select any subject.  One of the best examples is his quote on the matter of martinis:  “On the whole, observe the same rule about gin martinis – and all gin drinks – that you would in judging female breasts:  one is far too few and three is one too many”.  Regarding Etiquette:  “It’s often necessary to be rudest to the nicest people” – a remarkably insightful observation on his part. 

If you are a Hitchens fan, then you’ve likely already read this book; if you are a Hitchens fan and this work has somehow managed to elude you, then your duty is both clear and immediate to get on it right away.  However, if you are not already a Hitchens fan, then this book might be something of a waste of time for you – at least until you’ve sufficiently devoured a good deal of this man’s work.  There isn’t a day when one wishes that Hitchens was still around to comment on today’s current events, not to mention the Trump years.