Film Shapes

Here's a low-energy, easy-paced sci-fi poser of a film. Directed by Kogonada and adapted by him from a short story by Alexander  Weinstein, After Yang sets up quite a few questions  but doesn't quite get around to answering many of them. It's set in the future, though how far is hard to say, and it concerns the breakdown of a companion android called Yang ( played  by Justin H. Min). He (it?) was bought by Jake and Kyra (Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith) for their adopted Chinese daughter, Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) to provide older brotherly care and cultural support. Incidentally , it's not exactly clear where it takes place, but I'm guessing the US somewhere. The film starts with a brief intro to their lifestyle, including a bizarre online dance contest for the whole family, during which, Yang malfunctions .  What follows is a kind of dream-like investigation with Farrell as a soporific Sam Spade. He first attempts to get Yang fixed at a dodgy repair p...

Maixabel is the name of the wife of an assassinated Basque local governor, Luis Mari Juaregi. He was shot in a cafe in 2000 by a member of the Basque separatist group, ETA. One thread of the film is based on the events in the years following this crime, specifically the effects it has on Maixabel and her daughter, Maria. The other, arguably more developed strand consists of two of the ETA members responsible, Ibon and Luis (both doing porridge), and their attempts at some sort of redemption. 11 years after the killing, ETA is slowly breaking up and many ex-members (imprisoned or not) are distancing themselves from the actions of the group. Cue Luis's invitation to meet with Maixabel. Oddly, she accepts, much to the initial chagrin of Maria. Ibon slowly comes around to the idea and also requests a meeting, again agreed to by Maixabel - this time with the blessing of her daughter.  The film is incredibly well-intentioned and worthy, and its adherence to documenting the facts is admir...

Quite the fanfare attached to this bold, bombastic film from director Robert Eggers, of The Witch and The Lighthouse 'fame'. As a spectacle, it's fantastic. There are magnificent, ice-swept vistas, lava-belching volcanoes, inhospitable islands, zebra-patterned swamps and lush hillside encampments. This is all shot with Petzvel and Panavision Primo lenses by cinematographer, Jarin Blaschke. He says, on Cinematography.com : Our Primos were adapted for us, the main differences are a round aperture rather than the spiky Primo aperture, some added barrel distortion, and subtle "cat's eye" bokeh. Jargon aside, the film does have a special look to it, and it probably had something to do with the method of delivery chosen by Eggers and Blaschke (he also talks about Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range in that thread). It certainly holds the attention, and this is important when the plot is plucked from the bog-standard revenge stable. The story is based on the medieval l...