Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (2020) – J. Temple

It doesn’t take much to pull me backwards into the ocean of nostalgia, letting its waves wash over me as I escape the present.  Better still, when I’m able to update the past and situate it in the here and now (or at least more recently than then), as you can with a good music doco.  But it’s a guilty pleasure, since I feel internal pressure to live in the present, aware of current culture (or at least those culture-makers of my own generation). With regard to Shane MacGowan, singer-songwriter of The Pogues, who it turns out was 10 years older than me (he died in November 2023 and Nick Cave sang at his funeral), I first came across him more or less contemporaneously in the 1980s.  I bought the band’s 2^nd LP, “Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash” (1985) around that time and then quickly caught up by purchasing their first, “Red Roses for Me” (1984).  Having some Irish heritage (through my mother) didn’t hurt the attraction to this punk version of traditional music from the Emerald Isle -- and MacGowan’s blend of poetry, history, and confrontation was simpatico with the English Literature, Philosophy, and Psychology classes I was taking then. In 1988, my sister and I saw The Pogues in Boston for the “If I Should Fall from Grace with God” (3^rd LP) tour – it was the summer, hot in the nosebleed seats of the Orpheum Theatre, and the show was shaggy, replete with a cover of “Honky Tonk Women” featuring Joe Strummer on guitar.  Little did I know (until I watched this film) that this was part of the year-long worldwide tour that broke MacGowan.  Indeed, the film is (not unexpectedly) a cautionary tale, charting MacGowan’s downward trajectory (a result of alcohol, drugs, and hard touring) to the point where he is captured in the film’s many on camera interviews and conversations (with various friends such as Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams and movie star Johnny Depp) in a very sorry state, full of bile and slurred bitterness (but also fond longing and some misguided hope for the future). Personally, after the 1988 show, I began to lose interest – the band’s next album did not seem as good and I eventually sold all of their records when I moved abroad. Little did I know then that MacGowan had lost his mojo. Director Julien Temple, with many music videos and docos under his belt, uses a variety of styles and techniques (including new animation, repurposed footage from old movies, video of The Pogues, interview in pubs, etc.) to tell MacGowan’s story from childhood to the pre-Pandemic present, with most of the runtime focused on the late ‘70s to early ‘90s.  Pivotal moments include: MacGowan’s early childhood in Tipperary before moving to London at age 6; his engagement with the punk scene after seeing the Sex Pistols and forming his own band, the Nipple Erectors; his light-bulb moment when he fused Irish tradition with punk rock; and then the 1988 tour that extinguished his flame or so the story goes.  There are a few decades after that but MacGowan, although heralded by his contemporaries and followers, seems burnt out, a shell of a man, an ex-junky soon confined to a wheelchair, and now dead. After the film, I listened to some of his best songs, many of them sentimental but poetic ballads (“A Pair of Brown Eyes”, “Dirty Old Town”, “A Rainy Night in Soho”, “Fairytale of New York”, “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”) and I fell briefly into a reverie.

The Bureau (Season 5, 2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Bureau (Season 5, 2020) – E. Rochant

Perhaps I would have enjoyed watching this series as it unfolded rather than 5 years of episodes all in one go. But the suspense may have been excruciating.  Just the conclusion of Series 4 alone would have meant living with shock and uncertainty for an extended period.  Of course, moving straight to Series 5 helped to resolve my anxieties (but not until Episode 2!).  That said, the final season (if it is final) was gripping but opened up a whole new front for the show in Russia, letting our stalwart DGSE spies engage with their counterparts in the FSB.  It is Pacemaker and Petrossian, apparently recruited to the Russian spy agency (but actually double agents…or are they?), who get most of the screentime, in addition to JJA, now the Head of the Bureau who has a particular fixation with Russia (and we learn why). Jeanne-Marie has been relocated to Egypt, doing field work in Cairo.  Her story intersects briefly with that of Jonas (dealing with terrorists) and Raymond (investigating a story leaked to the press, possibly by Jeanne-Marie).  Controversially, Series Creator Eric Rochant decided to let famous auteur Jacques Audiard write and direct the final two episodes in the series.  This takes them in a different (more fantastical and dreamlike) direction and fails to tie up more than a few loose ends (some well-loved characters get short shrift).  Some fans were hostile but I thought the conclusion (including another shock) was apt, if rather sadistic. The arc that started with Malotru’s decision to contact Nadia El-Monsour comes full circle.  That said, I hope for a Series 6 but it feels like it is not to be… 

 

Wife of a Spy (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Wife of a Spy (2020) – K. Kurosawa

Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa may be best known for his J-Horror films (such as Cure, 1997, or Pulse, 2001) but he has also won the Un Certain Regard jury prize at Cannes for Tokyo Sonata, 2008 (still on my watchlist).  Here, in his first period film, he brings us back to World War II circa 1940. The “spy” in question (played by Issey Takahashi) is an upper-class businessman who dabbles in film-making – after visiting Manchuria (controlled by the invading Japanese army), he returns passionately devoted to exposing the biological warfare being practiced by his own country’s troops there. (I can’t think of too many other Japanese films that highlight civilian opposition to the country’s wartime aggression and human rights abuses right now).  His wife (played by Yû Aoi) is kept mostly in the dark but becomes suspicious, thinking perhaps that her husband is having an affair.  Her investigations ultimately bring them closer together. Although the advertising for the film calls it Hitchcockian, I would say that, despite any twists or suspense, the film veers closer to a romantic melodrama. For example, I was reminded of Mikio Naruse’s Floating Clouds (Ukigumo, 1955) which also takes place in wartime (perhaps it is the period hairstyles and clothes). However, in that film, the love affair involves a married man who won’t leave his wife, thus leaving Hideko Takamine stranded. Here instead, the husband is faithful and thoughtful and, although they are up against the Japanese government and therefore potentially doomed, his love shines through.  An engaging film of muted intensity.    

 

Lovecraft Country (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Lovecraft Country (2020) – M. Green

When this series captures the uncanny or the full-blown weird, evocative of the pulp tales of Lovecraft or others toiling in the genre in the 1920s & 30s, it really hits the spot.  But integrating this weirdness into immediately pre-Civil Rights era America is the masterstroke that allows creator Misha Green not only to address Lovecraft’s racism but to forcefully depict and denounce the true horrors facing African-Americans (expect a lot of anachronistic intertextuality, including speeches, music, etc.). Each episode adopts a different genre or multiple genres (haunted house, science fiction, adventure, etc.) that we know and love from pulp but invest them with extra layers for the sociologically minded. The most interesting from that angle is probably the one where Ruby takes the potion that allows her to appear white for a short time, seeing the world through the eyes of the privileged – and then molting this new skin in the gory and grotesque way of the modern horror film. This combination of genre and politics is reminiscent of Jordan Peele’s work (esp. Get Out) and he served as producer on the series (as did J. J. Abrams).  There’s enough violence and sex and gruesomeness here to attract viewers who desire those things but at its heart, this is a family drama with Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Michael K. Williams, and Aunjanue Ellis (among others) uniting to fight off the evil sorcerers of the secret society who seek immortality at the expense of our heroes. In truth, across the 10 episodes, not everything works, but it’s a noble effort, particularly if you are inclined to these genres.

Another Round (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Another Round (2020) – T. Vinterberg

Thoroughly enthralling and ultimately uplifting tale of midlife burnout and how to rejuvenate it.  I don’t think the answer is really alcohol – although that is a hypothesis that the film investigates and (mostly) rejects. Mads Mikkelsen plays Martin, a high school history teacher, who has lost his mojo – so much so that the kids in his class stage an intervention (with their parents) demanding some improvements. This comes up as a topic for discussion at a 40^th birthday night out with a few of his mates (other teachers at the school) and one proposes that Martin needs to loosen up.  He quotes a philosopher who apparently argued that humans would be happier and more successful if they kept their blood-alcohol content at .05%.  The teachers decide to try this out and begin swigging spirits before class in the morning and throughout the day.  The classes do seem to get better, looser, more fun.  The teachers progress to different variations of the experiment with often funny results.  The film itself feels intoxicated!  But, of course, given the nature of this particular substance, all the fun cannot last. And if this is a Dogme 95 film (which it may not be), from Thomas Vinterberg, an original member of that group, some degree of realism may have been required.  And yet, the ridiculous experiment turns out to be the way the guy got his life back – but probably not recommended for everyone.  Winner of the Best Foreign/International Film Oscar.

 

Nomadland (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Nomadland (2020) – C. Zhao

Work has been difficult and there are times when it is easy to feel dispirited and cranky – so, it is worth watching a film like Nomadland that helps to put things back into the proper perspective.  I am lucky to have what I’ve got – a loving family, a secure and fulfilling job, a house to live in, and much much more.  In the film, Fern (astonishing Frances McDormand) does not have all of these things – her husband has passed away and the company for which they worked (a mining outfit in Nevada) has shut its company town and kicked everyone out.  Now Fern lives out of her van, travelling across the Great American West doing seasonal casual labour (preparing Amazon packages before Christmas), and generally feeling very lonely.  That is, until another casual worker suggests that she hook up with a group of nomads in Arizona who offer support and a community, living off the grid.  It isn’t an easy life, but she makes friends, played by real Nomads (Linda May or Swankie) and by David Strathairn (always good to see him – not far from his solid work in John Sayles’ films).  This blend of documentary/reality (real Nomads, real locations, and McDormand really living the life for months) and fiction (actors, staged set-ups, screenplay) is director Chloé Zhao’s strengths – her previous film, The Rider (2017), follows a cowboy with a head injury who needs to find new dreams starring the actual cowboy in a lightly fictionalised version of his story. Both films take their time and allow viewers (and characters) to soak up the scenic landscapes and the emotions at hand. (Some of these vistas reminded me of a long ago trip from Minneapolis to Missoula with Wall Drug and the Badlands dotted in between).  We learn a little about the nomads and their life stories – why they live on the road – and this content can be very moving. Wisely, the film stays away from politics. But it also asks us to consider Fern’s motivations, especially contrasted against a couple of opportunities to rejoin “normal” (bourgeois?) society, and we are left to think about what’s really important and what is not. And, in this way, you can get your perspective back.

 

Tenet (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Tenet (2020) – C. Nolan

This was the movie meant to bring us back to cinemas after the pandemic-related lockdowns were over – director Christopher Nolan shot it on actual film (with IMAX cameras) and used only minimal computer-generated effects, preferring to go to locations and do actual stunts or to use physical models and “in camera” (rather than post-production) effects.  The model for this film was apparently James Bond, with the exotic locales and exciting action sequences that this implies – but Tenet is clearly Nolan’s work with a script infused with a similar complexity to his earlier hits like Inception (2010) or Memento (2000). I mean it’s positively confusing at times (in a good way)!  Mild spoilers ahead. John David Washington plays The Protagonist, the secret agent recruited to stop evil mastermind Sator (Kenneth Branagh) from destroying the world. The gimmick here is that Sator has learned how to travel through time in reverse and he has been letting time unfold and then going back in time to "the present" in order to better plan his diabolical acts (but always with an eye to the future).  Of course, The Protagonist and his team (including Robert Pattinson) on this mission called “Tenet” (names taken from the palindromic Sator Square) also learn how to reverse time and they persuade Sator’s estranged wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) to help them foil his plans. Soon, everyone is moving forward and backwards in time … at the same time. I have to assume that the plot holds up to scrutiny because, to be honest, I can’t really be sure that all the actions really line up.  So, similarly to Memento and Inception, this would likely reward a second viewing.  Beyond this delirium, the action sequences are well choreographed (the opening set-piece really got my heart racing) and Washington makes a charismatic hero. They really filmed everything both frontwards and backwards, apparently. Worth a look if you’ve enjoyed being befuddled by Nolan’s other films in this vein.   

Promising Young Woman (2020)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Promising Young Woman (2020) – E. Fennell

This is clearly a provocation but one that is absolutely grounded in reality. No one can deny that women’s maltreatment at the hands of men is a constant in human history and continues to this day. Fortunately, there appears to be a growing awareness of this problem and public resistance to its continuance.  (I’m talking not only of sexual assault but of a range of behaviours that perpetuate gender inequality). Emerald Fennell’s film is pitched as a very black comedy, although one would be forgiven for not finding any reason to laugh. I guess there might be spoilers below (but I won’t reveal the ending). Carey Mulligan plays Cassandra Thomas, who has taken on the role of “avenging angel” to seek revenge on men for the abuse of her best friend years earlier; she pretends to be drunk, gets picked up by men, and then confronts them to give them a scare. This is pitched as a reaction to trauma and seems accompanied by depression – her life is stalled, she’s dropped out of medical school, works at a coffee shop and still lives with her parents at age 30.  Yet some hope for Cassie seems possible when she meets Ryan (Bo Burnham), a funny and sensitive doctor (formerly in her med school class).  However, through him, she learns that her friend’s rapist has returned from England and is about to get married – this intensifies her quest for revenge on the specific perpetrator(s) of the outrage against her friend.  So, is it funny? The banter between Thomas and Burnham is witty and Fennell keeps things upbeat, particularly with the use of (extremely well selected) pop songs.  But there is no warding off the darkness here – and I’ve read that the current ending was originally omitted completely which would have sharpened the impact even more – you won’t be able to shake off the grim feeling that results.  Of course, if this sort of film can be a cause (and not just a consequence) of changing attitudes toward women, then we need more like this, no matter how difficult.