Being a little too lazy to head to the theaters much this weekend, instead I got an eclectic viewing under my belt for the last weekend of the month.
In the Grey – I was supremely bummed that Guy Ritchie’s latest film didn’t hit my local theater for more than one week. In fact, that almost never happens! In any case, I missed it when it rolled through, so I finally got around to renting it. As far as Ritchie’s films go, this one won’t be at the top of my list, but it was still entertaining. It seemed to lack a lot of the flair that usually accompanies his films. We did get a fun bit of action, though. Rachel Wild is a lawyer who operates in both legal and illegal ways, but always to the benefit of her client. This time around she’s got to get really crafty with a Spanish billionaire who tends to make collectors disappear when they try to collect the billion he owes on a loan. The legal team really manage to hinder him, but it’s her muscle on the island that is crucial in her survival. She’s got her two most loyal dogs running the show, so it’s almost a guarantee of her safety, and a good bit of fun for everyone else. I don’t think this is one of his films that I will revisit, but I have no regrets watching it – he hits way more than he misses!
Farewell My Concubine – The name of this film is a reference to a Peking opera performance, but we centralize our story on two longtime performers, Douzi and Shitou. Their childhood was a rough one, being abandoned to learn the craft of opera at the hands of abusive teachers, but all of their suffering pays off. In adulthood, now going by the names Dieyi and Xiaolou, they are superstars, but Dieyi harbors romantic feelings for Xiaolou, as the latter acquires a wife and child. As the film progresses, we see them both suffer at the hands of the civil war and the second Sino-Japanese war, where they are both imprisoned at some point. Dieyi also suffers from addiction, but neither give up on each other. For me this was a movie of longing – perhaps the most eternal longing I’ve ever seen in a movie. And despite this pairs’ successes, they went through some seriously hard times. Initially, this movie reminded me of Kokuho, given that it was about two men growing up performers, having a falling out, and ultimately a love for each other unlike anyone else. But this movie was plagued by many of the countries hardships, shaping it in a more intense way.
Our Hero, Balthazar – I don’t know that this strange indie film ever came my way on its initial release, so I was happy my local indie theater picked up for a short re-release. I did learn that a host of some online interview platform I used to watch all the time was one of the co-writers, so that was neat! This black-comedy drama is something that really, really tows the line, and definitely would not be a film for everyone to enjoy. Balthazar is an extremely weathly, Gen Z teen so out of touch with reality that he made me the most uncomfortable in this film, which I think was the point. In an effort to win the affections of a girl at his school, he flies to Texas to try and stop a school shooter. The missing pieces are that Balthazar only learned about this guy through his fake crying videos, and that the school shooter, Solomon, is actually quite a nice kid, just a lot more unlucky than most. He actually couldn’t be more opposite than Balthazar, both financially and from a personality standpoint. It’s clear that Solomon is really just looking for a friend, while Balthazar is looking for followers. The ending climax scene is intense, but this movie is filled with laughs, and its serious subject matter approached with a good deal of nuance. I would love to see this one again!