I only review two new titles this week. That's thanks to others being postponed, not widely shown or not made available for preview. But also good: there's still so much Olympics to watch.
However, the impressions you get of China and Ireland in these two are genuine and real. Both films are recommended.
Only the River Flows: 3 stars
Kneecap: 4
ONLY THE RIVER FLOWS: This Chinese film noir is partly a police procedural (only partly because it leaves you with many questions) and largely a critique of small-town prejudice. Also, incidentally, of state control, which is probably rarely shown in the movies in the land of Xi Jinping. It's from a popular novel, adapted by a rising director, Wei Shujun, and stars an actor, Yilong Zhu, who became popular on TV and has now advanced to movies. He's solid as a police detective assigned to a murder case and resistant to his chief's orders to arrest a presumed suspect and close the case fast because “our superiors are watching.” To him, the case isn't clear at all.
In a small provincial town, an old woman's body was found down by the river. Everybody thinks the killer is a young man she had adopted and they call Madman, possibly because of the developmental difficulties he shows. He's easy to accuse because he's different. Conformity is required in this town. The film finds other breaks from the norm. There's a secret love affair revealed in an audio cassette recording. (The story is set in 1995.) Also, a male hairdresser is hiding his homosexuality. He's so convinced he'll be accused anyway he confesses to the murder. The detective doesn't believe him and when more deaths happen drives himself close to insanity to find what's true.
His career and a possible award are in danger and what's more, he's got added pressure at home. His wife is pregnant and the fetus may have a serious genetic disorder. It feels excessive when so much professional and personal pressure come together but it's interesting to follow. So is the investigation he carries on. As is the office he works out of, in the projection booth of a converted movie theater. Meta, it is. Also muddied, inconclusive and a bit too arty. But, according to some reader postings at IMDB, superbly accurate about life in small Chinese villages. (In theaters, Toronto now, Montreal and Ottawa next Thursday, and more and week or two after) 3 out of 5
KNEECAP: This is a perfect alternative to those flaky faith and begorrah comedies we get from Ireland so often, and which the Irish regularly complain about. Those films are full of whimsey. This tells what life is really like. It's harsh, there's a class struggle, the Irish in the North are repressed and even after the “troubles” have ended, resentment and hate of the British goes on. At least that's the view of a hip hop trio called Kneecap who say all that, and vehemently, in their songs.
This is not only a film about the group, it's a megaphone for their statements. They're brash, rebellious and, with a strong sense of humor, funny. And, directed by Rich Peppiatt who has a background in documentaries, the film is rousing and real. The tone is anti-British as police, paramilitaries and the Orange Order are around too.
Their story is partly fictionalised but the three rappers play themselves and co-wrote the script. Liam, Naoise and JJ are from Belfast, where they evolve from low-level drug dealers (a mailman is their supplier) to small time rappers in pubs and up to national fame. Their appeal is not only the severe world-view of their songs but the language the perform in: Irish Gaelic. It was banned for a long time. To sing in it is a radical affirmation of their heritage. "Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet fired for Irish freedom,” says Noise's father who as a member of the Irish Republican Army spent time in prison where he learned the language. He is played by Michael Fassbender, who is Irish-born himself. His message drives the film which is energetic and motivated as well as a tad rude, appropriately so. It won an audience award at Sundance. You'll see why. (In theaters) 4 out of 5
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