Film Shapes

In this dismal year of pandemic lockdowns and social polarisation it's a nice surprise when something catches you off guard. In this case, that thing is the film Misbehaviour . I wasn't sure what to expect, I only knew who was in it and that it was set at the Miss World contest of 1970. This is one of those recent historical dramas that the Brits do so well - I'm thinking of little gems like Brassed Off or Made in Dagenham or Pride. They seem to have a knack of telling these important stories with a light, almost flippant touch, without leaning too far into the mawkishness that often blights their US counterparts. I think Misbehaviour would sit comfortably on the '20th Century, British-set, historical drama' shelf. If shelves were a going concern these days. The film actually covers a lot of ground. Let me briefly explain the story. The Miss World contest of 1970 was the touch paper for the nascent Women's Liberation Movement in England. The film focuses on w...

  It's not every day you have the chance to see a film about French farmers, in fact, the last I can remember was probably Manon des Sources from 1986 - though, after miniscule research, it seems there have been a few docos recently;  Modern Life (2008) and After Winter, Spring (2015). In the Name of the Land starts with a hopeful father to son transition of the family farm, Les Grands Bois, and slowly, but perhaps predictably, descends into creeping ruination.  Guillame Canet plays Pierre Jarjeau and he's almost unrecognisable for most of the film, as he's been balded up to appear older. Once you get past this prosthetic (?) his performance is pretty gripping. Veerle Baetens is his wife Claire, dealing with the shit going on around her with a calming power, She's great in this, as is Rufus, that old stalwart of Jeunet and Caro films past, as the arsehole father, Jacques, who is the real villain of the piece for my money. The film was directed and co-written by Edou...

Summerland is a romantic drama from Jessica Swale set on the English coast during World War 2. Gemma Arterton plays a cantankerous young writer, who investigates myths and superstitions. A young lad is billeted to stay at her cottage during the blitz (unbeknownst to her) and herein begins the drama. The central phenomenon in the film is a commonly occurring sighting known as the Fata Morgana , a kind of mirage where people have claimed to have seen castles, cities, all sorts of junk, usually from a coastline. Arterton's character, Alice, is looking into these mirages when Frank, un-irritatingly played by Lucas Bond, comes to stay. The title refers to the pagan idea of the afterlife - The Summerland. Alice's scientific, logical approach to life chafes slightly against Frank's childish beliefs but the film doesn't make any grand statements. Rather it seems to suggest that seeing things (or believing things) is a personal choice and this needn't interfere with other s...

This is the sequel to the original Borat film from 2006, devised by and starring Sacha Baron Cohen. It's streaming on Amazon Prime Video as there were some issues getting it out in cinemas before the US election, mainly due to closed theatres - in the US and around the world. I won't say much here, only that it's great fun to see this character again, with his stupid voice and gangly physical comedy. Maria Bakalova as Tutar, Borat's daughter, is a find. She's game for the same kind of awkward, uncomfortable scenes that Cohen revels in. There are key moments throughout, involving knowns (Giuliani) and unknowns (Jeanise Jones) but sometimes it's the small touches that come off the best. How Borat and Tutar respond to a bag that covers a dress may be my favourite part of the film. See also: Of course, the original Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006), directed by Larry Charles, and another very funny Cohen crea...