I’ve just exited the cinema following a midnight screening of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. I don’t want to give too much away because I’m sure most people will want to discover how good it is for themselves.
I will say this though: it’s very good, but not brilliant. There are some great moments but these are undercut by a handful of letdowns.
Full review to follow.
For a brief moment in The Force Awakens, there was a huge shot of nostalgia when Rey, Han, Chewbacca and Finn walk into Maz’s Castle and we see a groovy band playing in the corner. It harked back to the same moment in the original Star Wars when the famed Mos Eisley Cantina Band were rocking out on stage to a couple of tunes, serving as the perfect backing music for one of the greatest scenes of the original trilogy as Han showed his cool nature and shaped his character for a generation by shooting Greedo before he had the chance to shoot first. The space opera had its cowboy, a real hero that audiences could relate to on a different level to the guy practicing his hokey religions.
The Force Awakens had another such defining scene, this time as Finn determined his future at a fork in the road. He could either choose a simple, anonymous life with some strange space creatures, or fight for the greater good with Rey on a much riskier path. Fortunately, for our sake he chose to the life of a “Big Deal”. More importantly, Rey makes a revealing discovery in the basement, with implications for the truth behind her mysterious past that will undoubtedly play out over the course of the planned trilogy.
The strange bunch of creatures and humans jamming out some reggae-inspired tunes on the stage was known initially as Maz’s Castle Band, though we have now learned that they are actually called Shag Kava.
Shag Kava was the brainchild of The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams and Hamilton writer and star Lin-Manuel Miranda, birthed out of a quick meeting in an intermission of the Broadway show. Half jokingly, Miranda told Abrams that he was keen to do the new cantina music, completely blind to the fact that there was already a planned equivalent scene.
They hooked up and created a couple of tunes: “Jabba Flow” and “Dobra Doompa”. It’s a nice Easter Egg for the film that won’t have been too obvious to those watching the film the first time around.
“Jabba Flow” is actually now available to buy from iTunes. It’s well worth checking out.
Panned on its original release and a complete commercial failure [1], Julian Temple’s musical Absolute Beginners is a film that is often cited as the cause of a partial collapse of the British film industry. Looking at it with fresh eyes, the criticisms are undoubtedly harsh, but the film still has too many flaws to warrant anything more than cult status.
The musical charts the on-off romantic relationship between aspiring model Crepe Suzette (Patsy Kensit) and unestablished photographer Colin (Eddie O’Connell) as they try to make their way in 1950s London. Weaving elements of gang warfare, race riots and youth culture in a way that is almost brilliant, but largely incoherent.
It wuzza strange casting choice
The film starts with the familiar sound of David Bowie’s title track, which was a global hit at the time and proved to be one of his most enduring songs. If, like me, you were made aware of it solely because David Bowie has a named role in the film, then prepare to feel shortchanged. Bowie stars as Vendice Partners, a sales and marketing man who first appears about halfway through the film. By all accounts, his prominence in the film was more a marketing choice than an artistic choice, but his scenes breathe life into a stagnant portion of the film as it threatens to grind to a halt.
Temple was famed for his music videos and by the time this film was released he’d been responsible for some of the most celebrated music videos of the 1980s, including efforts for the likes of The Beat, Culture Club, The Sex Pistols, Depeche Mode, The Kinks and Sade. Some of the best moments in Absolute Beginners are the standalone tracks that could be lifted straight out of the film and placed on MTV. The two best examples are Ray Davies’s ‘Quiet Life’ and David Bowie’s ‘That’s Motivation’, the latter of which has Bowie tap dancing around a giant typewriter.
The film’s lack of focus is its downfall. When Colin gets caught up in the Notting Hill race riots in the final third of the film, he takes a wrong turn to avoid danger and ends up in a neo-Nazi war rally. This is a scene that creates some really powerful imagery but the themes had been underplayed in the build up, making its inclusion neither relevant nor integral to the plot. Indeed, the threat of violence is imminent all around the city without ever feeling anything more than a light touch suggestion. Yes, it’s a musical, but I can’t help think that if they’d just cut a couple of needless scenes earlier in the film there could have been a better balance struck between the romantic side and the social commentary. It is hard to believe that the die-hard fans of the book don’t feel the same way.
It was a troubled film to develop and the brilliant 53-minute documentary now included in the Blu-ray release is enough justification to pick up a copy. It’s also a curiosity for fans of any of the stars in this bizarrely-assembled cast. It is, however, not a good piece of cinema.
[1] Absolute Beginners took £1.8m at the box office in the UK and $930k in the USA against a budget of £8.4m.
Documentary filmmaker Steven Cantor’s latest cross-examination comes in the form of Dancer, which tells the story of Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, who in 2010 became the youngest man to become the British Royal Ballet’s leading principal.
Sergei Polunin dances to Hozier
The film uses talking heads interviews blended with some exclusive home video footage to creature a portrait of a fragile artist. Polunin is shown as a man who knows little outside his art and is desperate to change the future for upcoming ballet dancers who he fears will make the same mistakes as he did. These mistakes led to him quitting the British Royal Ballet Feeling at the tender age of twenty-two, shocking the ballet world and disappointing his fans.
Most insightful are the interviews with his mother and father. Clearly huge sacrifices were made throughout his life to get him to where he is now. The film leaves it open as to whether either of them regret putting him through it, and it’s not something that ever really needs an answer. He certainly has a different life to the one he would have had if he’d stayed in Khersan, Ukraine.
The focal point of the film comes in the form of the Dave LaChapelle-directed video that went viral earlier this year. I urge you to stop reading and watch the video below on the largest screen you can find.
This video has, at last count, been viewed 16.3m times in the last eight months. That is an astonishing amount, but then it is an astonishing piece of art. It was choreographed by Jade Hale-Christophi, a ballet dancer with Polunin met at the British Royal Ballet and one of his closest friends. The purpose of the film was to announce his retirement and have that as his “final dance”, but the response was so great he decided to change tact, and instead wants to do guest appearances and one-off pieces of art.
This is a crucial thing for him. The reason he has struggled throughout his career is a lack of time to step back, ask himself what he really wants, and make an informed decision about the next career choice.
He also spoke after the screening about where ballet’s David Beckham is. I suspect after that video and this film, he need only look in the mirror to find him.
A fascinating examination of a tortured artist now seemingly on the straight and narrow.
Dancer will receive a DVD release in April via Dogwoof.
Kicking off the 2016 BFI London Film Festival in style tonight was Amma Asante’s triumphant ‘A United Kingdom’. After the glitz and glamour of the red carpet, the film’s central themes proved to be an apt starting point for a programme that festival director Clare Stewart claims will focus on diversity.
The film tells the true story of Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo). Khama is the King of Bechuanaland (the country now known as Botswana) and in 1948 he marries London girl Williams amid opposition from their families and countries, sparking a political debate that led to the country’s independence movement.
Asante is the first black woman ever to direct an opening night film at the London Film Festival, and she was keen to point out the relevance of her being the person at the helm telling this important story.
“[The Botswanians] were comforted that it was going to be told through the gaze of a woman of colour… There was relief, and of course a curiosity, as to how their country, and they as a people, would be reflected on screen.”
Pike and Oyelowo
Oyelowo and Pike work together perfectly, each delivering powerful performances worthy of the story they are telling. The film’s genesis lies with Oyelowo, who started writing the script six years ago after reading the Susan Williams book Colour Bar, and his passion for the story seeps into his emotional delivery.
The film perhaps suffers from appearing saccharine, with the story telling us that their love was so strong it overcame political opposition and brought a continent together. The truth is that the film isn’t too far from being perfectly accurate, with only a couple of timeline changes for the benefit of pacing.
This is a story that is one piece of a much larger puzzle that can be filled in with what can be seen as companion films: Mandela – Long Walk To Freedom (2013) and Hotel Rwanda (2011) are two good recent examples. There is a rich history that is still being written in Africa, from which deeply moving stories continue to be drawn in both film and literature.
It is remarkable that the actors and actresses involved knew little of the source material before receiving the script. It is likely that the same can be said of the many viewers this film will eventually reach – I have to admit that I was also blissfully unaware of the history of Botswana before seeing this film. Khama’s story isn’t one that has been well-documented and that is something that Oyelowo and Asante will be more than happy to rectify.
A truly important story told in such a captivating manner deserves to be seen. A wonderful start to the festival.
‘The Hard Stop’ documents the 2011 London riots that erupted in the aftermath of the police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black British man. Given the current events in Dallas, Texas, the release of the film couldn’t have been more relevant.
The film concentrates on Marcus Knox-Hooke and Kurtis Henville. Both were close friends of Duggan for many years prior to his death, and both were members of the Tottenham Man Dem, a gang formed out of the Broadwater Farm housing estate in Tottenham. Broadwater Farm was the setting for a brutal riot in 1985 that was believed to be caused by the police raiding a home and causing the heart attack of resident Cynthia Barrett. The main reason it is remembered across the UK is the death of PC Keith Blakelock, the first policeman to die in a riot in the UK since 1833.
The film paints a balanced view of both Marcus and Kurtis. Growing up in the aftermath of the 1985 riots, the two are family-oriented men with their home community at the centre of their make-up. Their upbringing – and that of Mark Duggan – has clearly been one overshadowed by suspicion and resentment for a police force that should be there to protect them, but instead seem to constantly be at odds with their community.
It is an unsettling film for a number of reasons. The media portrayal of the 2011 riots (that quickly spread around the country) seldom touched on the root cause, instead focusing on the looters and chancers that saw it as an opportunity to make some money out of the pandemonium. The anger from the black community in London at the injustice of what happened to Duggan was completely suppressed. I am sorry to say that as a white man, the underlying cause of the riots was not apparent to me and none of the many news outlets I have touch-points with exposed me to the full picture.
The reveal of the eventual findings of the inquest into his death was the most shocking moment of the film. The inquest found that, whilst it was unlikely that Duggan was carrying a gun, the killing was unfathomably still deemed lawful. The emotional response of the community in which Duggan lived was one of absolute devastation and was captured in a moment of brilliant documentary film-making by director Amponsah. This is not a community that wants to fight, but as the opening quote of the film states, “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
‘The Hard Stop’ is one of the most important documentary films to hit the big screens this year. Out of necessity, it is rough around the edges. It has, at the heart of it, some of the greatest social themes facing Britain today. A riveting watch.
Today was the third and final day of the Star Wars Celebration Europe event in London, and they really saved the best to last. In the build up to the hugely popular final panel, there was plenty on offer to keep even the most exhausted Star Wars fan happy.
Panel – Carrie Fisher: The Princess Diaries
Trumping even Anthony Daniels on the bizarreness levels, Carrie Fisher (with her equally loving and loved pet dog Gary Fisher) joined Warwick Davis on stage for an hour-long interview. Or so we thought. The real star of the show was Gary, and at times I wasn’t sure which one Warwick was having more time keeping an eye on.
Exhibition – ILM X LAB: Trials on Tatooine
This exhibit was a VR experience that was exactly what it says on the tin. Clearly this technology is in its infancy in terms of how general public will interact with what they see on the headset goggles, but it was a fun way to spend 15 minutes and provided a glimpse of the fun to come.
If someone can work out an affordable way to put it in everyone’s living room they’ll make a lot of money.
Panel – The Future Filmmaker Discussion
Fascinating panel discussion on future Star Wars films
There was so much discussed here that I put it in a separate article. Well, two actually with a third on the way.
Star Wars Episode VIII – What did we learn at SWCE?
Panel – Closing Ceremony
And with that, Warwick Davis concluded the proceedings and the mad dash to the exit doors commenced.
For a lifelong Star Wars fan, this weekend was a dream come true and if you can afford it it’s something you should try at least once.
Thank you for reading. May the force be with you.
With a December 2017 release date, the eighth instalment of the main saga might seem a long way away. But as we know from recent experience, these dates can rapidly creep up on us and we’ll be at the midnight screening before you can say “Sans Han Solo”.
The Star Wars Celebration Europe event was very Rogue One-focused and as such there wasn’t a great deal of information handed out. That didn’t deter the legions of fans from repeatedly asking for snippets of information and this meant one or two pointers were revealed.
I’m not going to apologise for spoilers but I will apologise for the speculative nature of the post, especially if I’m wide of the mark. Let me know if I missed anything!
Starting Point
Let’s have a Luke around
The opening scene of the film will take place exactly where we left our heroes, with Rey holding out her lightsaber-wielding hand to Luke and Luke responding with a knowing stare.
Director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) confirmed the filming took place on Skellig Island off the coast of Ireland over a two day period before any pre-production had taken place.
Presumably the opening line will therefore be Luke saying “I’m sorry, but there was a hand attached to my lightsaber.”
Han’s Funeral?
In Carrie Fisher’s bizarre Princess Diaries panel with Warwick Davis, she misunderstood a question about what had been going on between Han and Leia between Episode VI and VII, answering as if the question was about VII and VIII.
At this point she seemed to mention Han’s funeral, thus either ruling it completely in or out depending on what she thought the question meant (she was busy with her dog Gary at the time). I initially thought it was a joke but given there’s no time gap between the two films it seems plausible that it would appear.
If there’s a funeral, then surely some of his closest friends would show up. You know, like Lando?
Finn is Awake
John Boyega joked with the various filmmakers in the final panel discussion about the state we left him in VII.
Director Rian Johnson fuelled the joke: “We did at some point think it would be cool to have him in a coma for the whole film… You just keep coming back to him.”
I’m pretty sure he’ll feature quite prominently.
BB-8 will appear!
Not a big surprise but during a segment on the Star Wars Show Live!, Matt Denton and Josh Lee stated that for the Celebration event they “brought along one of the real film versions [of BB-8]… that came straight from filming Episode VIII”.
So that’s that cleared up then! Phew!
Kelly Marie Tran
Kelly Marie Tran has a key role in Episode VIII
A complete unknown for the new film is Kelly Marie Tran. Her name was mentioned again in the final panel.
Director Rian Johnson had this to say:
“I’m so excited for you to meet Kelly… In good time. I don’t want to say too much because I want her to come out and present herself properly, down the line. She’s really something special.”
Cinematic reference points
Arguably the most revealing comment was the cinematic reference points mentioned by the director. These included two World War II films: ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ and ‘Twelve O’Clock High’. Both of these films involve tension due to an individual with control/seniority issues and may point to a psychological struggle for one of the characters in VIII.
Also mentioned was Japanese ‘Three Outlaw Samurai’. This was an interesting film to bring up. Hideo Gosha’s 1964 samurai battle film has been reissued and restored by Criterion so can be picked up and enjoyed in its best quality. This film will likely influence the fighting style seen in VIII, with plenty of location shots of samurai battles that would serve as a perfect reference point for some large-scale battles involving teams of Jedi.
Check out the trailer here:
‘Letter Never Sent’ is a Soviet survival drama about a team of geologists being isolated by a forest fire. Perhaps Rey and Luke are isolated together for longer than they planned and Luke is going to show off some Ray Mears survival skills. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched – Johnson stated that they filmed a lot of the film on mainland Ireland after the Skellig island shoot had finished. This would help create a vaster planet than achievable if the shoot remained solely on the small tourist attraction.
Earlier today at the Star Wars Celebration Europe event, we had official confirmation of the new star of the as-yet-untitled Han Solo standalone film.
Alden Ehrenreich!
John Boyega and Alden Ehrenreich
Boyega offered Ehrenreich some wise words: “You’re gonna be fine… You’ve got that charm stuff down… And he’s smiling just like Han!”
Catch up on further articles about the Celebration weekend with the below links:
At Star Wars Celebration, a whole host of new trailers were released for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
In case you missed them, here they are in full.
Celebration Reel – Behind the Scenes
Opening Crawl Trailer
Official Teaser Trailer
Not a new one, but worth re-watching.
Cinema, etc. 