FILM | Reviews
DOCUMENTARY ¡VIVAN LAS ANTIPODAS! (U) 108min ●●●●●
Is beauty enough in a film? It’s a question often pondered by critics and after watching Russian documentarist Victor Kossakovsky’s latest ¡Vivan las Antipodas!, it’s raised once again. Transitioning between four antipodal places on earth (Shanghai and rural Argentina; mountainous Patagonia and Lake Baikal; Botswana and Kilauea volcano in Hawaii; and Spain and a beach in New Zealand), the film shows the contrasts and similarities of the opposing regions.
Primarily focusing on the minutiae of each chosen place, we are taken on a sensual exploration of the world as seen through the highly polished lens of Kossakovsky. Utilizing innovative cinematography to shift from one geographical location to another, Kossakovsky is clearly aiming to beguile audiences as he takes the role of cinematic seducer. He is preoccupied with the infinite textures which make
up the fabric of the world around us, without actually saying anything about the areas he so lovingly captures. It's a heady cinematic experience but one which is devoid of any lasting resonance with the beauty of the images fading into the distance. ¡Vivan las Antipodas! is perhaps a documentary to be admired more than loved. (Alan Laidlaw) ■ Limited release from Fri 22 Nov.
ROMANTIC COMEDY DON JON (18) 90min ●●●●●
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has already directed several short films but Don Jon sees this likeable and versatile actor take the helm of his first full feature. He proves himself a multi-tasker by penning the screenplay and performing in the lead role as New Jerseyite Jon, a bartender, churchgoer, womaniser and porn junkie.
His friends nickname him ‘Don Jon’ in reference to his
success with women and yet, for all his ostensible prowess, real sex is unsatisfying for him. Jon’s lifestyle is challenged when he meets lady-in-red Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), a woman used to getting what she wants and who won’t compete for his attention with a virtual vice. Gordon-Levitt’s debut has bags of cinematic swagger.
Yet between the laughs, bravado and cameos, it’s hard not to notice that the characters he’s created are pretty awful. If Jon and his pals are obnoxious, pushy princess Barbara isn’t much better, and Julianne Moore’s Esther is, mostly, the film’s only truly interesting, non-stereotypical character. When Gordon-Levitt finally adopts a more investigatory and sensitive approach to the subject matter, it seems jarringly out-of-sorts with what’s come before. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 15 Nov.
DRAMA SAVING MR BANKS (PG) 125min ●●●●●
Almost exactly 50 years after Disney released Mary Poppins, the musical that would go on to receive 13 Oscar nominations (the most of any Disney film before or since), comes this charming story of how the film was made. Emma Thompson plays PL Travers, the buttoned-up Australian-British children’s author
famous for creating the much-loved magical nanny. In 1961, faced with financial ruin and at risk of losing her beloved London townhouse, Travers reluctantly agrees (after 20 years of discussions) to fly to Los Angeles to work with Disney on transforming her book to the big screen. There, Walt Disney (expertly played by Tom Hanks) must try to convince her to sell him the rights to her precious characters.
Travers’ spiky demeanour and unshakeable cynicism play out delightfully against the colour and superficiality of the Disney studios, with much humour coming from Thompson’s dismissive one-liners. In-between the Hollywood-set scenes there are flashbacks to the author’s childhood in rural Australia, and as we learn of her troubled family life living with an alcoholic father, the autobiographical influences of Mary Poppins are gradually revealed and the title of the film begins to take meaning. Of course, we know the outcome of the story before it even begins, but director John
Lee Hancock does a good job of keeping the pace up until its predictable conclusion. The glimpse behind the scenes at Disney at this point in history is fascinating and even those who aren’t diehard fans of Mary Poppins will enjoy seeing the way the film (within the film) comes together.
There is a sense that Travers herself might have taken issue with the ‘happy ever after’ tone of Saving Mr Banks (at times it’s pretty sentimental stuff) but the engaging performances and story mean that you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be swept up in it. (Gail Tolley) ■ General release from Fri 29 Nov.
DRAMA SHORT TERM 12 (15) 97min ●●●●●
The first scene of Short Term 12 sets the tone for this indie drama from second-time director Destin Cretton. Light banter outside a foster-care facility is suddenly overshadowed as one of the teenagers bursts from the door in a desperate bid to escape. It’s a shocking scene with a fireball intensity, proof that in this business hair-trigger responses are an everyday occurrence. Brie Larson plays Grace, one of the care workers
who has been papering over the cracks of a troubled past. When pensive new girl Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever)
arrives at the facility, her presence forces Grace to consider her own deep well of sadness. It leads them both on to a brighter path with tears and tenderness – but never to the point of mawkishness. Cretton, who based the script on his own experiences draws some impressively naturalistic performances from his support cast, while Larson gives a career-making turn as Grace. It’s a jagged film at times, not always fully fleshed out but as a stepping stone for both Larson and Cretton, it leaves you tantalised as to what they’ll do next. (James Mottram) ■ Limited release from Fri 15 Nov.
58 THE LIST 14 Nov–12 Dec 2013