Reviews

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's gently observed tale of the love that develops between a suicidal Japanese librarian and a streetwise Thai woman who meet under tragic circumstances is hypnotically absorbing. Shot in a lyrical and languid style by Christopher Doyle, who abandons his trademark vivid and hyper-real use of colour, the piece has been given a muted, naturalistic look. This suits the subdued tone and measured pace of the film which focuses on emotion rather than action. Ratanaruang, describes Last Life in the Universe as his most tender film, and this is as good a word as any to describe the relationship of Tadanobu Asano's Kenji, and Sinitta Boonyasak's Noi.

After unhappy fate has brought them together Noi and Kenji find sanctuary in each other. Kenji, deeply introspective, disconnected from reality, and suicidal, is literally saved from himself by Noi, whose joie de vivre, though dampened by grief, is infectious. Noi brings energy, colour, and most importantly life, to Kenji's dull and organised universe. Kenji brings a sense of order and balance to Noi's chaotic life, and his tranquil non-intrusive presence helps Noi to cope with her grief and the resulting sense of loneliness. As Ratanaruang claims, it is very tenderly done, and this is translated into the performance of both leads.

Asano, hugely famous in Japan for playing offbeat characters, brings a restrained sense of wonder to Kenji whose growing appetite for life is communicated in simple gestures such as a draw on a cigarette, or a ruffle of his hair. Boonyasak, in what is a very difficult first role, does exceptionally well to convince as a woman who though filled with grief has an irrepressible lust for life. Part of what fascinates the audience about both characters is the ambiguity that surrounds them. They are both without a history, especially Kenji who appears to have been linked to the Yakuza, and though it is never made clear why he is in Thailand there is an implication that he may have a murky past in Japan.

Reduced to the basics then Last Life in the Universe is a simple love story with very familiar themes; opposites attract, and the redemptive power of love. That this well-trodden path is followed again here takes nothing away from the film however, as though the story unfolds slowly it is well paced, well acted, and sensuously shot. The only potential weakness was Ratanaruang's inclusion of the comic gangster element (actor/director Takashi Miike plays a mob boss bent on revenge) which could very easily have been Last Life in the Universe's Achilles' heel, upsetting the tone and balance. As it turns out the Yakuza scenes work very well. In the context of the story Miike, and his henchmen do not seem out of place, and the absurd humour that they inject provides a necessary distraction from the studied inaction of Kenji and Noi. Overall then the elements combine to make Last Life in the Universe an unmissable film.

There was a time before disassociated, mean-eyed teenagers, wore hooded tops, carried knives, bothered people on street corners, and passed the time drinking cider and daisy-chaining one another. This was a time when Michael Jackson moon-walked his way into the hearts of millions, Indiana Jones cracked his whip from jungle to desert, James Bond shot and slept his way around the world without a hint of self-mocking post-modern irony, and kids watched, enjoyed, and wanted to be in, The Goonies.

Written by Stephen Spielberg, and directed by Richard Donner, The Goonies is a hugely entertaining film that encapsulates the naivety and sheer sense of adventurous fun that will forever be associated with the 1980's. The film follows the adventures of six friends led by Mikey Walsh, (Sean Astin) who in the best tradition of Robert Louis Stephenson's Treasure Island, find themselves hunting for the hidden treasure of the legendary infamous pirate One Eyed Willy. This is no idle adventure however as finding the booty will enable them to save their homes which face demolition to clear the way for a luxury country club.

The film works so well because along with an exciting storyline, witty script, clever balance between comedy and tension, Spielberg, Donner, and the young cast have invested it with a youthful and at times anarchic energy that grabs the audience from the opening jail break right up until the closing credits. Anne Ramsey, Joe Pantoliano, and Robert Davi, play the villainous Fratelli family with just the right mixture of fun and menace. Mama Fratelli's 'tongue' is the only thing on the menu reply to a cocky request for food by Clark 'Mouth' Devereaux (the very funny Corey Feldman) is guaranteed to garner laughs aplenty, but through closed mouths of course.

As well as the obvious nod to Stephenson, the film also lends from Bond, (Ke Huy Quan's gadget inventing 'Data' models himself on 007) Indiana Jones, (Spielberg's influence can be seen throughout the film but not least in the booby-trapped hidden caves) and also The Hardy Boys, and Scooby Doo. The tradition of youngsters roving off to have adventures and solve mysteries is not new, it can be seen in Ransome's Swallows and Amazons, Blyton's The Famous Five, Hitchcok's The Three Investigators, Lewis's Narnia books, and many other sources. They have all gripped our collective imagination at one stage or another and happily The Goonies does the same.

The success of the film is helped in no small way by the impressive set design and location of the film in the leafy town of Astoria, Oregon. If ever there was a place in which adventure was to be had Astoria is it. Sit back then, relax, and free yourself of cynicism, because as an audience it is 'our time' to enjoy the magic that is The Goonies.

A passing knowledge of Bunraku, the Japanese traditional art of stage puppetry and some familiarity with the work of seventeenth century Japanese dramatist Monzaemon Chikamatsu, may help non-pointy headed viewers appreciate the themes of love, suicide, social pressure, and tragedy in Takeshi Kitano's visually enchanting film Dolls. Three intertwined stories of obsessional love are thematically influenced by Chikamatsu, (the Japanese Shakespeare) whose dramas are still acted out by Bunraku puppeteers and remain hugely resonant even in modern Japan.

In the first story, a man pressured by his parents into marrying the daughter of his boss devotes his life to the lover he spurned after learning that she has attempted suicide. The two now bound together (literally) wander through Japan in a surreal journey that covers all four seasons. The following stories feature a Yakuza boss who seeks out the lover he abandoned decades earlier, and a devoted, but disturbed fan who takes an extraordinary course of action to meet with the pop star he idolises after she has been disfigured in a car crash.

Dolls marks a new departure in style and subject for Takeshi, whose past work has focused mainly on the violent world of the Yakuza, and is marked by its distinct grey/blue visual style. To counter this muted look Takeshi consciously sought to add colour to Dolls, and this he does to stunning effect. With the help of his friend, fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, and cinematographer Katsumi Yanagishima, Takeshi has achieved a lush, sensuous, aesthetic that at times can be quite sublime.

Many of Chikamatsu's plays were written for performance in Bunraku, and Takeshi has given the film a stage like quality - he sees the characters as living dolls and allusions are made to this throughout the film. All this leads to the inevitable question of does it work? The answer unfortunately is no. Takeshi's characters are not sufficiently developed or emotionally involving enough for us to care about them. This is especially the case with the bound lovers Sawako, and Matsumoto, (Miho Kanno and Hidetoshi Nishijima) whose subdued and emotionless performance alienates the audience.

Sawako and Matsumoto were based on two real life 'bound' beggars who Takeshi would often see in his Tokyo suburb. The reason that these beggars were bound to each other we'll more than likely never know, but in the case of the lovers, an old Japanese saying about betrothed couples being bound by the red strings of fate seems to apply. This is all very interesting but sadly Dolls is not. The film pretty as it is falls a bit flat due to its poor character development and meandering story line. This is no problem for Takeshi though who has stated that he will be happy if viewers are simply amazed at the beautiful pictures. I suspect that with the majority of viewers this will be the case.

Flightplan is billed as a psychological thriller, and director Robert Schwentke almost succeeds in bringing us just this. Schwentke had all the major ingredients to create something that would be a cut above the standard fair that is increasingly force-fed to an already bloated public. Jodie Foster, plays the recently bereaved Kyle Pratt, who accompanied by her young daughter Julia, (Martine Lawston) is flying back to New York with the body of her husband. So far so good, you might say. Foster is a fine actress who does not disappoint in her portrayal as a woman who is forced to question her own sanity when the disappearance of her daughter is met with a collective, 'what daughter?' response from the passengers and crew.

This response to the missing child sets the stage for what Schwentke hopes will be a tense, claustrophobic, and frantic thriller, dramatically powered by the psychological meltdown of Foster's emotionally fraught Pratt. Unfortunately, this is not quite what the finished product turns out to be. Foster's performance is all that it should be (there are similarities with the role she played so well in The Panic Room), as is that of Peter Sarsgaard, who plays Air Marshall Carson. What happens then is a film that shows early promise - Schwentke initially establishes a grave, disturbed tone - descends into absurdity due to a plot which demands a level of credulousness that defies all reason.

The sheer stupidity of the plot - 'the holes are big enough to fly a jumbo jet through', according to one critic - not only undoes the hard work invested in the early part of the film, it ruins it completely. Peter Dowling's original script would have worked so much better. This involved the slightly more believable scenario of an aviation security agent being forced to participate in a straightforward hijack. Post 9/11, there remains a great deal of residual fear and paranoia surrounding air travel. Sadly, Schwentke has failed to exploit this in Flightplan. There is an attempt to address the issue of perceived Arab terrorism in the film but it seems clumsy and patronising.

There are a few nice touches in the film - the passengers' unease at take off is shown well - but overall, viewers are forced to question the feasibility of the events taking place. Too many questions arise, such as why does Jodie Foster sound as though she is strolling along a wooden stage, in high heels? This is a minor point however, the major one being - and this is central to the plot - how can a plane full of passengers (and crew) not notice a six year old child? Or to put this another way, is it possible for a six year old to remain unnoticed on a plane? I don't think so Schwentke, as much as I would love this to be the case.