Blood Diamond

Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounso, Jennifer Connelly

Edward Zwick's (The Seige, The Last Samurai) latest film is one of the most powerful films you will see this year. It's Hollywood with a conscience - almost.


Blood (or conflict) diamonds are gems that are mined and sold by terrorists/freedom fighters (delete according to your political persuasion) to fund their cause. This film, set during the civil war in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, focuses on two completely different Africans. Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounso) is a fisherman, trying to raise a family and get a good education for his son. His life is thrown into turmoil when the village is attacked and he is captured by a militia group and forced to work in a diamond mine. While working he finds a large, rare pink diamond, which he hides, just before he is capture by the government forces and put in prison.

Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a white mercenary from Zimbabwe who gets caught trying to smuggle diamonds across the border and ends up in the same prison as Vandy. Archer hears about the pink diamond and tries to convince Vandy to lead him to it so that they can share in the wealth. What starts as a simple task becomes complicated when Vandy discovers his family is in a refugee camp and his son has been taken by the militia to become a child soldier, so the hunt is not only for a diamond but also for a boy. They are joined on the quest by an American journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly).


As the story unfolds, the film addresses many issues relating to the political situation, the ethics of diamond mining, child soldiers and wraps them up in a fantastic action movie filled with powerful emotions. Zwick did a similar thing with his underrated film THE SEIGE, where he looked at the patriot act in the US and took it to a hypothetical conclusion where martial law was enforced in New York.

Although this film does highlight the situation that existed in Sierra Leone in a fictional setting it does not really give a completely impartial view of the situation and tends to favour the diamond companies' version of the situation.

The film portrays the local militia as barbarians, and there is no doubt that they have committed atrocities in the name of their cause, which was to stop the exploitation of their country and the local people by the diamond companies. This may sound like a simplification of a complex situation but one of the greatest fears the diamond companies had about the conflict diamonds was not that they were being used to buy weapons (what do they care if the locals want to kill each other), but that the market was being flooded with cheap gems. De Beers holds a monopoly on the gem market and controls the quantity that enters the market and the price they command. This is never really pointed out in the film. There is a similar situation occurring Nigeria with the crude oil, where local guerillas are attacking installations and kidnapping oil workers to draw attention to the exploitation being carried out by the US oil companies.

However, whatever your political views are about the situation in Africa and the dubious ethics of the diamond market, you can't help but be moved by what happens in the film. Djimon Hounso is superb as the father searching for his son at any cost. He fills the role with such believable passion you can't help feeling for him. DeCaprio's mercenary, Archer, is just that – mercenary – and he does it well, it's a pity his accent doesn't always hold up but it's not any easy one to get right, especially for an American. But that is nit-picking because for the rest of the role he is superb and really looks and acts the part. What's more, Archer starts to develop a heart under the influence of Vandy and Conelly's journalist.


There is plenty of action, which anyone who has seen Zwick's other films will know he does very well. The director also avoids having a clichéd Hollywood happy ending. There is some justice, but not for all.

Apart from my quibble with diamond mining politics – if you had any conscience you wouldn't buy any diamonds, conflict free or otherwise – the film is still one of the most powerful films you will see this year – and it's a great adventure story too. Not to be missed.

Blood Diamond is on general release from January 26 through Warner Brothers.

The Fountain

Director: Darren Aranofsky
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz

Throughout its history, film has been influenced by, and borrowed from, the literary world. Apart from acting as a source for some of the most the world's enduring movie classics (film was once described as storytelling for the illiterate), plays and novels are definitely the origin of film's three-act structure. And let's not forget the recent fascination with trilogies, (even five-part ones à la Douglas Adams). While many filmmakers are under the illusion (or delusion) that they are making works of art that can only be displayed within the refined and hallowed halls of the arthouse cinema and/or international film festivals, with his latest film, Darren Aranofsky seems truly to have taken the artistic convention of the triptych and created a highly original, if sometimes unfathomable, opus.


Spanning two millennia, the film tells the tale of three incarnations of a man (Hugh Jackman in excellent form) obsessed with immortality and the woman (a perfectly cast Rachel Weisz) he loves. In 16th century Spain, he is conquistador Tomas who receives a map from a Franciscan monk showing him the location of the mythical Fountain of Youth among the Mayan ruins of Mexico. (This part of the film makes a nice segue from Mel Gibson's latest directorial effort, APOCALYPTO.) In this section his love is Isabel, the Spanish Queen. Not only does Tomas have to battle against the Spanish Inquisition (and, no, we weren't expecting them), but also against the jungle natives who protect the old Mayan temples, in his search for the mythical tree of life, in order to fulfil his promise and win the Queen's hand.


In the present-day portion of the film Jackman is Tommy Creo, a scientist who is desperately trying to find a cure for the tumour that is killing his wife Izzi. Weisz really shines in this role. Although he makes breakthroughs in regeneration, his obsession with extending life is a marked contrast to his wife's acceptance of death. This is the most accessible section of the movie as it is a fairly straightforward love story, in the vein of LOVE STORY, but one still full of mystery.

The futuristic section is set in the 26th Century as Jackman floats around space in a giant bubble. It's not really clear if he is a cosmonaut or cosmic man, as he alternates between tranquil lotus-pose meditator and agitated tree hugger. This act is the hardest to fathom as it is metaphysical and mystical rather than just plain mysterious.


What I found interesting, in connection with the previously mentioned idea of the film as a triptych, is that film calls to mind Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. When the panels of that artwork are closed they show a world enclosed in an orb. Whether this was planned by Aranofsky or simply a coincidence I don't know. Triptychs are also used as altarpieces, and the director has definitely created a symbolic and allegorical tale of man's quest for eternal life, one that serves as a warning to those who seek eternal life in the corporeal rather than the spiritual.

As it switches back and forth between the different time zones, the film can be hard to follow and its lofty concepts may alienate audiences as they struggle to get to grips with what is happening on screen. Aranofsky's films are never easy viewing, from the scratchy monochrome and mathematics of PI to the frenetic, drug-fuelled imagery of REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, but they are always thought-provoking and controversial, and THE FOUNTAIN is no exception.

The obsession of the film's protagonist(s) could be seen as a reflection of the director's own obsession with getting the film made. It has been a long on-again-off-again production, as Aranofsky wanted total creative control over the film, something that, for commercial reasons, most studios are reluctant to give to any but the most bankable directors, and even then rarely. To his credit, Aranofsky stuck to his guns and has produced a visually stunning piece of filmmaking; unfortunately it is going to struggle to find an audience. It is definitely not one for the popcorn crowd, but it will undoubtedly become a cult classic alongside auteur works such as Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and Ken Russell's ALTERED STATES, which were both hits with the chemically-enhanced viewers of their time. While I would never suggest that the best way of seeing this film is in a state of altered consciousness, it's certainly not going to make any less sense if you do. In any case, an open mind is definitely advisable.

If the film appeals to you on any level at all, (unlike most of the critics who saw it at the Venice Film Festival last year), it is worth a second viewing. Alternatively, get hold of the graphic novel, to familiarise yourself with the concept. Aranofsky describes the graphic novel as his "director's cut", as it is based on the story as it was before it was rewritten in order to make it practical to produce as an affordable movie. Like the final film, the graphic novel is not a standard comic book adaptation thanks to Kent Williams stunning artwork. A review of the book can be found here. A cheaper paperback version is now available from Amazon.

Although the film may struggle to find an audience amongst the general cinema-going public, it will appeal to a discerning sci-fi audience who like evocative films that make them ponder life's bigger questions.

THE FOUNTAIN is on release from January 26 through Twentieth Century Fox.

Watch the trailer and exclusive clips from the film here. They are in Windows Media (WMV) format. Mac users should download the free Flip4Mac plug-in to watch them.

Trailer

Queen of Spain

The Dagger

Ambush

Bath scene

Stargazing

The Hospital

Surgery

The Tree

The Lives of the Saints

The Lives of the Saints is the first original script by Tony Grisoni, Terry Gilliam's long-time associate (Tideland, The Brothers Grimm, Fear and Loathing). The film is set in one of the low-rent, multicultural areas of North London, inhabited mostly by that volatile combination of Greeks and Turks, and is a magical tale of wish-fulfillment and instant karma. The area is run by Mr Karva, a big, loud and brutal godfather-like man, played with mesmerising force by James Cosmo. He is a man who likes to have his own way and will go to any extreme to get it. Karva's stepson, Othello, has his own ambitions, as does his off-sider, the weak-willed Emilio. The story is initially recounted from the point of view of Roadrunner, an errand runner for Karva, who can't stand still, that is until one night when he stumbles over a lost child in the park, forever changing the lives of those who come in contact with him.


Nothing is ever explained about who the child is or where he came from. We only know he has some sort of mystical, desire-fulfilling power, which only seems to work on one person at a time, creating some great moments of tension and conflict. Young Sam MacLintock quietly underplays the child with equal parts of wide-eyed innocence and Damien-like menace.

The film is co-directed by celebrity photographer Rankin, and film and TV director Chris Cottam. Disappointingly, it is a fairly pedestrian affair, lacking the promise any real original or standout imagery to make the settings appear more magical, in line with the story. There are some powerful scenes, but most of it is fairly mundane, as is the acting, or at least in comparison to James Cosmo's larger-than-life performance. Or maybe that was the directors' intention, to make Karva an even more prominent character.


Having said that, this is one of the more interesting independent feature films to be made in London in recent years, which doesn't rely on familiar landmarks to establish its setting. Let's hope we can see more original movies that make the most of the city's diversity, without relying on stereotypical, urban stories about the obvious crime, racism and social injustices we see in our everyday lives. William Blake saw angels in the trees of Peckham Rye, new filmmakers just need to find that magic. The Lives of the Saints is certainly a step in the right direction.

The Lives of the Saints is on general release from Tartan Films on January 26.

Bobby

June 5 1968 saw the end of the hopes and dreams of millions of Americans when Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Coming so shortly after the shooting of Martin Luther King, not to mention JFK and Malcolm X, it seemed like the acid-inspired aspirations for universal peace and love had gone down in a hail of bullets. If anyone doubted there was a conspiracy to stop men living in peaceful harmony, they would only have to look at history. Since the Judeo-Roman killing of Christ, it is the great men of peace who have met untimely ends, and never the despots whom governments seemed incapable, or unwilling, to remove. Apart from the four previously mentioned, the names of Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, Pope John Paul 1 and John Lennon immediately spring to mind.


Emilio Estevez's film, Bobby, is not a conspiracy thriller, like Oliver Stone's JFK, nor is it a bio-pic like his Nixon. Bobby is much closer in look and feel to Irwin Allen's star-studded disaster movies of the Seventies, which were as much about the characters as the events surrounding them.

Bobby is set in The Ambassador Hotel during the day leading up to Kennedy's assassination, and focuses on the lives of hotel workers, guests and people from Bobby's campaign office, all of whom become affected by the tragic event. All these characters are fictitious, with only two of them being loosely based on real people, giving Estevez a lot more freedom and scope to develop the characters and story, by creating contemporary archetypes.


With an ensemble cast made up of some of Hollywood's elder statesmen (Harry Belafonte, Anthony Hopkins, Martin Sheen), Brat Pack veterans (Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Laurence Fishburne, Christian Slater) and today's young stars (Lindsay Lohan, Elijah Wood, Freddy Rodriguez, Ashton Kutcher), you get characters that fill the screen without ever dominating it. The different story threads weave in and out of each other, with no one story being more important than another. Some are comic, some are tragic but every one carries a message, not only about the era but also about the human condition. Some moments are truly memorable: Laurence Fishburne's speech to the Mexican staff about how to nobly overcome racism, Ashton Kutcher questioning the two interns' reason for taking drugs, Martin Sheen talking to his wife about the futility of materialism. However, it is the words of Robert F. Kennedy that have the most impact, particularly during the final ten minutes.


Rather than use an actor to portray Kennedy, the writer/director uses actual documentary and television footage from the era, which gives the film even more power. As one of Bobby's speeches plays over scenes of war, poverty, racial inequality and corporate corruption, you can't help thinking that nothing has changed in the last 40 years, except for the lack of altruistic statesmen.


Estevez captures the mood and the look of the era, and the loss of innocence that ensued. The clothes, hair and makeup rendered many of the actors unrecognisable, such as Sharon Stone and Ashton Kutcher. Stone, as the beautician wife of the hotel manager (William H. Macy), is completely devoid of any of the glamour for which she is renowned. Kutcher, as the hippy drug dealer, complete with long hair, must have taken lessons from his That 70s Show co-star, Tommy Chong. Although there were early mutterings of Oscar nomination for Demi Moore's portrayal of an alcoholic chanteuse, it is hard to fault almost any of the performances, or to isolate one as better than another, especially as they are all essentially cameos. Never has it been truer that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Absorbing, entertaining and thought-provoking, Bobby is a film not to miss when it opens in cinemas from January 26.

Babel

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho, Rinko Kikuchi
In Moroccan, English, Mexican Spanish, Japanese with English subtitles

The film gets its title from the Biblical tower that was built by a united humanity to try and reach Heaven. As a punishment for their arrogance, God gave the people different languages so they could no longer communicate and continue with the building, and they were then scattered to different parts of the world. Taking its theme from the latter part of this tale, the film focuses on three apparently unrelated tales of people in Morocco, Mexico and Japan, whose lives soon collide. However, this is more a film about the butterfly effect, where one small action has much wider repercussions, rather than a modern-day parable.


What starts with an act of generosity ends up with two young Moroccan boys accidentally shooting an American tourist, not only creating an international diplomatic incident but also impacting on the lives of the shot woman's children, their Mexican nanny and the original owner of the gun.


In keeping with the Babel theme, the film is played out in the native tongues of the countries in which it is set, so we have dialogue in Moroccan, English, Mexican Spanish, Japanese and sign language – the daughter of the gun's original owner is a deaf mute. With an excellent international cast, including Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett (whose talents are sadly underused), Gael Garcia Bernal, Koji Yakusho and Rinko Kikuchi in a stunning performance. Supported by convincing performances from non-professional actors, the sense of drama is maintained throughout. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu (21 GRAMS) manages to keep all the threads together even if the story does get a little bit convoluted at times.


At nearly two and half hours long, it's not light entertainment, but it is engrossing and just about manages to avoid a convenient happy ending.

BABEL is released by UIP and opens nationally on January 19.

Black Book

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman
In Dutch, German and English with English subtitles


Paul Verhoeven is best known for his big Hollywood films, usually involving sci-fi (Total Recall, Robocop) or sex (Basic Instinct, Showgirls). They might not have always met with critical acclaim but they were very popular cult movies. After the disappointing Hollowman, Verhoeven returned to his native Holland and made Black Book (Zwartboek), a film about the Dutch Resistance during the final months of WWII.

The story of Rachel Steinn (Clarice van Houten), a young Jewish cabaret singer, who infiltrates the invading Nazi headquarters as a spy for the resistance, is an amalgam of real characters and true stories. The film manages to avoid the usual clichés associated with wartime Jews. It shows acts of brutality, deceit and kindness from all sides of the conflict, along with plenty of surprises, making for an intensely emotional movie where you never know whom to trust, and your loyalties lie only with the lead.


None of the actors are known outside of their native Netherlands and Germany, but the performances are excellent, showing that it's not just the US and UK who produce quality talent. This film is far removed from the director's Hollywood output, but maintains all the technical prowess that made them popular, to create his most assured film to date.

Black Book is in cinemas from January 19.