Review: Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha

IMDB

Year: 2005

Director: Rob Marshall

Length: 155 minutes

Category: Drama

Media: Film

Studio: Sony Pictures

Rating from Australia: M

Rating: 3 out of 5

For our third film in a week we saw Memoirs of a Geisha, and whilst it was a good film it didn’t quite measure up to the previous two (TransAmerica and Kenny) for either of us. Whilst Donna had read the book before I hadn’t, but we both came away with the same feelings that it was a good film but not quite as good as the others.

The acting was OK, but Gong Li as the thorougly malicious Hatsumomo did better than Ziyi Zhang (who played the lead role) who was probably a bit too quiet for me, and Donna felt that the character in the book was stronger than she came across in the film. That seemed to mirror the rest of the acting, some was very good and some was OK.

The settings, camera work and feel of the film was very good and the sound was also well done, but it still didn’t quiet get out of the “good” area into the “great” area, which was a bit of a shame.

As I said, I’ve not read the book, so I wonder a little about why the historical background against which the film is set (1930’s through to 1940’s) is so far in the background. There is a radio announcer reading news at time, but he is barely audible and it was hard to work out what he was saying. There is no feeling that Japan is at war, either in China or in the Pacific until Japanese troops evacuate their town and I’ve got this nagging feeling that this has had to be suppressed because of what happened in China. Manchuria is mentioned in passing a couple of times, but that’s about it.

Transamerica – the whole is more than the sum of its parts

Transamerica

IMDB

Year: 2005

Writer: Duncan Tucker

Director: Duncan Tucker

Producer: Rene Bastian

Length: 103 minutes

Category: Drama

Media: Film

Studio: Belladonna Productions LLC

Distributor: Hopscotch Productions

Rating from Australia: MA

Cast:

  • Bree Osbourne: Felicity Huffman
  • Rating: 4 out of 5

    We saw this film tonight and liked it, it’s rather a turnup for an American film, it’s thoughtful, deep and has something to say (unlike a lot of what we have been conditioned to think of as film from the US).

    Felicity Huffman plays Bree, a person on the cusp of gender reassignment who suddenly discovers that she has a son she fathered, unknowingly, 17 years before. When her counsellor finds out before her operation she refuses to authorise the operation until she has met him and come to terms with it.

    The situation gets more complicated when it turns out he’s in jail for theft and is involved in drugs, using prostitution to pay for it and for his life on the street. When Bree bails him she initially plans to take him to his step-fathers by car, but events rapidly develop a life of their own as they cross the country. It’s hard to say much more without giving the whole story away!

    This is a well made film with no special effects, just a good story with some very good acting.

    Be warned, this film doesn’t pull its punches on the details of gender reassignment. 🙂

    Kenny: A Dramatised Documentary with Heart, Soul and Sewage

    Kenny

    IMDB

    Year: 2006

    Writer: Shane Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson

    Director: Clayton Jacobson

    Producer: Shane Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson, Rohan Timlock

    Category: Comedy

    Media: Film

    Studio: Thunderbox Films

    Distributor: Madman Entertainment

    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Today Donna and I went to the first audience screening for a new Australian film called Kenny. It’s a fake documentary following the life and work of a portaloo person, Kenny, who works for a Melbourne company called Splashdown as he copes with customers, family, the public and, of course, sewage.

    Kenny is much more than just a very funny film, it’s a film with a good heart and a sharp eye on the human condition – especially where it concerns those “invisible” folks doing the dirty work that keeps society going. The filming is great and it makes quite a convincing documentary, the character of Kenny is strong, humble, funny and very warm hearted.

    The authenticity is helped by the fact that Splashdown is a real Melbourne company (doing “Corporate Bathroom Rentals” – the owner Glenn Preusker is the sole investor in the film) who lent them the equipment, yard and vehicles. You could say that’s the ultimate in product placement, and sure, it won’t do their image any harm, but that’s not what the story is, the story is how Kenny copes with lifes ups and downs with good grace and humour – whether that be trying to persuade a new recruit to retrieve a lost wedding ring at a festival, defending their precious thunderboxes from this years annual torching at a race meet or coping with your first flight to the US.

    It was my first time at a test screening and what we got to see was not the finished movie, still left to do is doing the sound (we had the audio from the camera used, which was still damn good & added to the authenticity in my book), fixing up the colour matching between scenes and some tidying up. The films creator, producer and director Clayton Jacobson (IMDB entry) was there to introduce the film and lead discussion and questions afterwards, but also there was Kenny himself (believed to be Claytons brother Shane) and a number of others from the cast (ex-wife, son, co-worker) and the camera man.

    The audience reaction was brilliant, they loved the film. A couple felt there was a flat bit prior to the trip to the US, but to me (and according to Clayton) that was because Kenny was going through a difficult patch and that life isn’t all roses. It also gave a good contrast to what came after.

    Anyway, I think it was an awesome film and well worth going to see when it comes out!It’s being distributed in Australia by Madman Entertainment and is due out around July – keep an eye out for it.Oh, and Clayton, if you read this, any chance of keeping the soundtrack we heard at the test screening as an alternate option on the DVD ? Please ? 🙂

    Tags:

    Review: Test Screening of New Australian Film : Kenny

    Today Donna and I went to the first audience screening for a new Australian film called Kenny. It’s a fake documentary following the life and work of a portaloo person, Kenny, who works for a Melbourne company called Splashdown as he copes with customers, family, the public and, of course, sewage.

    Kenny is much more than just a very funny film, it’s a film with a good heart and a sharp eye on the human condition – especially where it concerns those “invisible” folks doing the dirty work that keeps society going. The filming is great and it makes quite a convincing documentary, the character of Kenny is strong, humble, funny and very warm hearted.

    The authenticity is helped by the fact that Splashdown is a real Melbourne company (doing “Corporate Bathroom Rentals” – the owner Glenn Preusker is the sole investor in the film) who lent them the equipment, yard and vehicles. You could say that’s the ultimate in product placement, and sure, it won’t do their image any harm, but that’s not what the story is, the story is how Kenny copes with lifes ups and downs with good grace and humour – whether that be trying to persuade a new recruit to retrieve a lost wedding ring at a festival, defending their precious thunderboxes from this years annual torching at a race meet or coping with your first flight to the US.

    It was my first time at a test screening and what we got to see was not the finished movie, still left to do is doing the sound (we had the audio from the camera used, which was still damn good & added to the authenticity in my book), fixing up the colour matching between scenes and some tidying up. The films creator, producer and director Clayton Jacobson (IMDB entry) was there to introduce the film and lead discussion and questions afterwards, but also there was Kenny himself (believed to be Claytons brother Shane) and a number of others from the cast (ex-wife, son, co-worker) and the camera man.

    The audience reaction was brilliant, they loved the film. A couple felt there was a flat bit prior to the trip to the US, but to me (and according to Clayton) that was because Kenny was going through a difficult patch and that life isn’t all roses. It also gave a good contrast to what came after.

    Anyway, I think it was an awesome film and well worth going to see when it comes out!

    It’s being distributed in Australia by Madman Entertainment and is due out around July – keep an eye out for it.

    Oh, and Clayton, if you read this, any chance of keeping the soundtrack we heard at the test screening as an alternate option on the DVD ? Please ? 🙂

    Review Score: 4.5 out of 5! 

    Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas

    We went to see Joyeux Noël tonight, a film about the Christmas 1914 fraternisation between the opposing sides in the First World War.

    We both thought it was a really good film (well, asides from the lip synch for the opera singing), very moving and showing that the people in the trenches on both sides were human, no matter what the propaganda might have said. Of course as a fictionalisation of the real events purists may find things to complain about, but as a depiction of those trying to remain alive & keeping their humanity in the midst of so much death it really works.

    It’s probably best to go and see it without reading about the film first because I’ve found that some of the sites that talk about it don’t really do it justice – not even the official site.

    Returning to the question of what actually happened, the First World War site has an extensive section on the Christmas Truce and this section I thought summed things up nicely.


    With their morale boosted by messages of thanks and their bellies fuller than normal, and with still so much Christmas booty to hand, the season of goodwill entered the trenches. A British Daily Telegraph correspondent wrote that on one part of the line the Germans had managed to slip a chocolate cake into British trenches.


    Even more amazingly, it was accompanied with a message asking for a ceasefire later that evening so they could celebrate the festive season and their Captain’s birthday. They proposed a concert at 7.30pm when candles, the British were told, would be placed on the parapets of their trenches.


    The British accepted the invitation and offered some tobacco as a return present. That evening, at the stated time, German heads suddenly popped up and started to sing. Each number ended with a round of applause from both sides.


    The Germans then asked the British to join in. At this point, one very mean-spirited Tommy shouted: ‘We’d rather die than sing German.’ To which a German joked aloud: ‘It would kill us if you did’

    Australia Pulls Funding from Film Festival, Objects to Australian Films

    So the government has pulled AU$20,000 of funding for the Jakarta International Film Festival because of the presence of 4 Australian films critical of the Australian or Indonesian governments, including a showing of the documentary The President Versus David Hicks, 24 hours before the festival was due to start.

    The fims will still be shown, although a workshop by an Australian investigative journalist on documentary making has had to be cancelled.

    The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

    Well we’ve just come back from seeing The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and I’ve got to say it’s a great little film.

    It’s the story of Mark Bittner and his curiosity for, friendship with and care for a flock of wild cherry-headed conure’s who lived around and about Telegraph Hill in San Francisco over a number of years, as well as about his history and what happens to him during the making of the film.

    I thought he held his own really well against the parrots, who occasionally tried to steal the show – especially Mingus who set up home under his fridge and oscillates between being very cute and attacking his shoes, forcing Mark to put him outside to cool down for a bit.

    If you like birds, wildlife films, documentaries about interesting self-effacing people and a nice gentle warm feeling after a film then this is one for you.

    Mark has also written a book about his experiences, and there is a FAQ about the parrots that you see in the film.

    Nobody Nowhere – Film News

    Interesting times at the moment!

    Donna has some good news about the film rights for her best-selling autobiography Nobody Nowhere.


    I encountered a wonderful, funny, fountain named Beverly Nero, and our email conversation turned to film writes and the fact that Nobody Nowhere was once again up for option. Bev picked up the option, and supported my belief I might actually be able to write this. Just as Nobody Nowhere was written in 4 weeks, so was my first draft of the screenplay. The book went on to become an international best seller.


    The film is now in development, with a target date of May 2006 to begin filming. The movie will be filmed in the UK, throughout England and Wales, over to greater Europe and tell the Australian side of the story from Donna’s perspective.

    Believe me, those 4 weeks were hectic and she’s done the first edit on the script too now!