GOMORRAH

Directed by: Matteo Garrone
Run time: 137 min

If The Godfather glorifies the mafia, this one desensitized everything you ever know about mafia from the popular culture. With no marquee name to attract teens, this film is swaying between cinema verite and documentary feature. Just like City of God, it all feels real here, especially with no fancy soundtrack. Gomorrah has five different stories but with one thing in common: these people cannot escape the influence of criminal organization run by the Camorras, in the city of Naples, Italy.

For those who seek for entertainment value, they will be disappointed since this film will show you the gloomy reality of ordinary people under the influence of mafia. There's this pre-teen who has no clue whatsoever about things around him and drown himself into the underworld, a tailor who happens to be caught between mafia wars, two youngsters who had seen too many Scarface and has an itchy fingers to pull the trigger, an aging man giving weekly payment to families of mob prisoners and a college graduate who had a high profile job of managing a toxic waste. It is a story where criminals kills each other, everyday, just for the sake of interest and business.

I think the labyrinthine structure of this film represent on how chaotic and deep the influence of mafia is it also want to drag the audience on the despair of the common people. The plot was separate and didn't intersect with each other. Somehow I feel that the cinematography of this film is top notch, with strong emphasis on simplicity and efficiency and certainly no romanticism at all. Sure no CGI robots killing each other but daily life with dull colors seen with a hand held camera can look so interesting in Gomorrah.

The absent of famous actors/actresses makes this film more believable. This is a very European film, with the absent of glorification of mafia and a bit slow pacing to test the patience of the audience. However it all pays off, you get to see something you never know it has existed for years.

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't.

Directed by: Marc Webb
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sexual material and language.
Runtime: 95 min

Unless your heart is never broken by a girl, or you are not the sort of girl who has a heart to treat an ordinary guy as cruel (but warm) as possible, this movie will not resonate into you. In the spirit of smart rom-com of Annie Hall, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, this film is surprisingly believable. Although told in a non-linear structure, it is not difficult to follow. Like this year's District 9, this film defies the usual template for a successful summer movie. This is Annie Hall of the 21st century with strong emphasis on quirkiness and indie music as the soundtrack.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom and Zooey Deschanel as Summer are the next Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in between sunset and sunrise. They are real everyday people, not some over glowed Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn in some over glowed relationship.

The premise is very simple, Tom believe in true love while Summer believe in the opposite. They get to know each other. They were in love and at one point, the love ended. What seems to be a cliche formula can be presented in a new way by Mark Webb. Don't hope for a nice ride to the sunset for this film, just expect a character walking limping in the sunset after being beaten by hard truth.

Every guy can relate to Tom, he's the ordinary boy next door who wants to get a girl like Summer but for some reason, he just can't have her. The rest is realistic and believable, it is a love story everyone can relate to from Europe to Indonesia. This is the story of a search for one true love and sometimes in romance we believe what we want to believe. Decorated with so many nice songs (well, nice or not depend on your taste actually) and imaginative dance sequence picked from Bollywood movie, you'll never stop smiling after watch this one.

But there is one flaw, this film doesn't explain why they broke up. I think it is important that this explanation exist instead of all the sudden they just broke up and we have to guess why. But hey, perhaps it is not important why they broke up, perhaps the story is about relationship for the hopelessly romantic.

In the age of CGI and 3-D attack, 500 Days of Summer is really refreshing, charming, original, simple but also smart. It is a living proof that a simple story can be made as a good movie.

GAKE NO UE NO PONYO

Run time: 103 min

I have to admit, I am not a big fan of Japanese animation movie. Until I heard about this so called Ponyo that makes some buzz. If you mention the name Ponyo to anyone in Bandung, people will think that it is a Sundanese restaurant chain, well that is not wrong, Ponyo is one of sundanese restaurant chain in Bandung. The name similarity with a Sundanese restaurant chain spark my interest. I know it is a weird thing to be interested in a film because its title just like the name of a restaurant, but since the food in that restaurant is good, I hope the film is good too.

Watching this film brings back the good childhood memory (you know, the time where we didn't have to lie to the cops for speeding on a freeway) where everything was so simple and easy to understand.

Even the animation feels like it has sprung up from children drawing book. The story revolves around the friendship between a magical goldfish, Ponyo (Yuria Nara) and the five year old human child, Sosuke (Doi Hiroki). Sosuke lives in a small house on a cliff where he lives, Lisa (Yamaguchi Tomoko). I suspect Lisa is not Sosuke's mother, but his step mother since Ponyo refers Lisa by name, no by calling her 'mom'. Sosuke's father, Koichi (Kazushige Nagashima), is a ship captain rarely seen at home since he is away in the sea.

Ponyo and Sosuke met by chance, Ponyo escaped her father and Sosuke loves Ponyo at the first glance. Sosuke himself gave the name Ponyo to the goldfish. Ponyo soon begins to adapt and take on human aspects since she lick Sosuke's blood. Both have a strong bond and Ponyo has strong desire to become a human. A desire, Fujimoto (Tokoro Joji), Ponyo's father, cannot contain anymore. Fujimoto himself is a former human who has magical powers and obsessed of cleaning the sea. Notice how Miyazaki slowly put an ecological and environmental message in this film.

What will happen to Ponyo and Sosuke as their mutual affection grows significantly? As you can expect the line between the real and spiritual world is being blurred in an enchanting way.

The animation was wonderful, Miyazaki didn't only drew characters but he made the characters act, anyone would fall in love with the cuteness of doe-eyed Sosuke and Ponyo and Miyazaki did a convincing job on how the animated character authentically mimic a body movement of a 5 year old human. The 2 D animation was splendid and imaginative, I even liked the pastel colored background, it gives me the classic feeling of animation.

What I watched is the original Japanese version, but I am interested to watch it in English language version since it is said that Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett and Liam Neeson doing voices for Ponyo's US version. A lot of people say that this film is for children (I even like the childish Japanese theme song), but as for me I think it speaks for all of us since this film reminded us on how beautiful life is when we were young.

DISTRICT 9

MPAA Rating: R for bloody violence and pervasive language.


This film was made, perhaps, by the budget of Optimus Prime's foot but manage to be much better than two Transformers movie. District 9 is a fine example on how budget limitations doesn't limit your creativity.

Peter Jackson and first time South African writer-director Neill Blomkamp, have made a sci-fi thriller that is original and mesmerizing. It is a new breed of sci-fi with racism and xenophobia themes.

Using mockumentary style, with hand-held cameras, the horror and reality seem real. A spaceship out of nowhere hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa. There are no clues why the aliens chose Johannesburg instead of other cities. The prawn/grasshopper like alien arrived on earth as refugees. First they were feared and incite violence in the city, thus the government, with the aid of MNU, a private interest organization, localize the aliens in a slum like place called District 9. In that lawless slum the aliens live poorly and gangs rule the streets. Humans doesn't seem to care about them, there seem to be a silent hatred upon those alien refugees since their appearance is quite scary.

The MNU which had secret plans to acquire aliens weaponry technology will relocate the aliens who had lived in District 9 for 20 years to District 10, a new place which looks like a concentration camp.

Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copely) is the MNU agent in charge of the relocation to District 10. At first he doesn't look like capable of handling such a big project. Things changes as Wikus is infected with some alien liquid, his hands started to change into prawn like (Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis anyone?) thus his body undergo a slow but sure process from human into alien.

The second act deals about how Wikus is escaping MNU's facility (they wanted to make him a guinea pig since he is the first successfull human-prawn combination) and his 'partnership' with Christopher Johnson, an alien who had a plan to escape from earth.

Sadly the last third felt like Hollywood type of ending where the main antagonist was kept alive until the end where he is 'butchered' viciously after some fascinating shootout (you just can't believe that such scene can be made with such low budget by Hollywood standard). However the whole film is fascinating, the acting was great and you got the sense that sci-fi genre in the future will not be ended in G.I. Joe's way of visual effect and sugary cinematography. Forget special effects, this movie is about human fear and discrimination.

South African settings brings back old memories of Apartheid, one can draw parallel between District 9 and South African Apartheid policies in the past.

I do wish that Michael Bay could learn something from Neill Blomkamp, that having mega budget doesn't necessarily makes your movie good.

MERANTAU

Directed by: Gareth Huw Evans

If Yuda is about to leave his homeland for such a long time shouldn't he take a big bag containing his clothes and life necessities instead of a small bag? why would Yuda sleep on a construction site if he could easily sleep in any mosque in Jakarta (as long as you ask permission first, and I believe it is easy to be allowed to sleep in a mosque as long as you are clean and nicely behaved) since a mosque is better place to sleep instead of some construction site. Why does Yuda's shirt always look neat every time he finished fighting? Why does the blood dripped into the shirts of the character in this film doesn't look like red at all? And last but not least, I think it is impossible to make a phone call to Bukittinggi from Jakarta from a coin pay phone.

But you know what, those plot holes are slightly forgiven since the action scenes here are amazing, I even think to put as many superlatives as possible for the action scenes alone. The filmmaker surely puts hard effort to make us awed and inspired by the fighting scenes with tight paced editing.

Iko Uwais is Yuda, a young man from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra. He master the local martial arts, silat Harimau. As most of men from West Sumatra (or Minangkabau) Yuda wanted to begin his 'merantau' (going away from home to be a man, learn new things abroad and back home bringing his experience), a traditional custom which until now still practiced by many men from Sumatra.

But Jakarta is not as nice as Yuda's village, he has difficulties finding any job, the guy he met on the bus to Jakarta chose the job on the dark side and Yuda, like it or not, has to save Astri (Sisca Jessica) who is trapped inside a ring of human trafficking headed by the wildly psychotic, Ratger (Mads Koudal) and his right-hand man Lars (Laurent Buson). As expected fighting ensues between him and gangs of nameless thugs and ended with a climatic battle between Yuda against Lars and Ratger.

At first I thought it would be another clone of Ong Bak, but it turns out to be a whole new film, a good one, reminding me that Indonesia hasn't made any decent action films since years. Iko Uwais is the 21st century Indonesian action hero, our own version of Tony Jaa (Iko still keep his shirt intact during the whole action here by the way).

I like the beginning of the film, although slow paced, but shows how close Yuda is to his small family. Here, even the acting of Christine Hakim as Yuda's mother alone is worth watching. For those who didn't speak Indonesian, some of the dialogue is in Minang language, which is a surprise for me but not a big deal.

DER BAADER - MEINHOF KOMPLEX

Run time: 150 min

As a historical piece, this film try so hard to cram up so many facts into just a two hour plus plus movie. The result; for those who already know the history of RAF, this film is interesting, for those who had no clue at all about who Andreas Baader or Ulrike Meinhof is will find this film as chaotic and confusing. In other words, this piece is only for those who knows those events. This is a review from an Indonesian who had no direct experience with RAF (Rote Armee Fraktion) actions, not only that I wasn't even born that year and until now never lived for such a long time in Germany, I only knew it from books and newspapers. So I have a different perspective.

This is the story of radicalized youths in the turmoil years of Germany. It begins in 1968 as the youths protest the arrival of Iranian Shah and ended in 1977 events people called as German Autumn.

The friendly welcome of Shah by German government at that time, shooting of a student during a demonstration, police burtality, US bases in Germany being used as operation in Vietnam war and presence of ex-Nazi in the government convince this people to act in a drastic measure.

Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Ensslin (Johanna Wokalek) are the trio of left-wing radicals, fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism in Vietnam supported by the German establishment.

It looks like they had a good cause, but what they do is quite violent. They bomb public places, US Army bases, stealing cars and robbing banks, thus create fear among the crowd.

There is also another point of view, the head of the German police force, Horst Herold (Bruno Ganz). And while he succeeds arresting the young terrorists, he knows he's only dealing with the tip of the iceberg.

This film doesn't shy on violence and nudity. It also tells story of the second and third generation of RAF who did horrible crimes. The story itself is very complicated, there is no introduction on who's who, everything happens so fast. This will make viewers who had no knowledge about the events more confused.

But as a whole, it is not so disappointing, it doesn't glorify nor vilify the RAF and it is full with historical figures like Rudi Dutschke and tons of the real news reel. By leaving no space for interpretation or even a slight glorification, it tells the story as it is. After seeing this film I get the impression that this youths are hardcore fanatics, their arrogance and cruelty is beyond reason. By justifying violence, these youngsters has failed to fuel politically driven terrorism as an agent of socio-political change.

Production value is stunning, you get the feel as if you were transported to Germany in the late 60s and 70s.

OKURIBITO

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for thematic material.
Run time: 130 min

I didn't know that a job of taking care of the deceased in Japan was considered as a taboo or as a low caste which can make your longtime friend doesn't want to know you at all. I mean what is so taboo about it anyway? It is normal and everyone needs it right? However this film open my mind on another culture.

Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) is a 30 something ex cellist who had to take the job of 'encoffinment', Japanese way in dealing with the deceased in a very respectful way. He live with his wife, Mika (Ryoko Hirosue), in his dead mother's house in a beautiful Japanese backwater. He needs money, that is why he took the job.

Working for a quiet undertaker (Tsutomu Yamazaki), Daigo learns more about life and death by preparing so many 'clients' for their journey to the hereafter. At first Daigo felt disgusted by his job but as time goes by he began to enjoy it. As a film about death, there's no need to be depressed since some humor is being injected lightly here. Perhaps to hide the character's fear or at least adding some color.

This film is very simple, the story, acting and cinematography are not glamorous. But the simple story telling is the real power behind this film. It is moving and beautiful at the same time. No wonder it nails Best Foreign Picture at the Oscar.

CHE

The first time I heard that Steven Soderbergh helm this film is a surprise. I mean, is this the guy who deliver crowd pleasing Ocean’s trilogy? What would he do with a biopic about a guy whose face printed in T-Shirt around the world? It turns out to be, this so called two part epic is very satisfying, that is, if you have read Che Guavara’s biography. If you haven’t read it nor have no clue who he is, this film is confusing. There is no explanation to why and how Che could achieve things or who Fidel is. So for ‘beginners’, they should watch Walter Salles’s Motorcycle Diaries first and at least read something about this bearded guy.

He is a medical doctor, fluent in French, brilliant military tacticians and a revolutionary. Not many people could master that in one breath. Do not expect some romanticized or over the top presentation of Che in this film like most Hollywod films do to most biopics. Soderbergh manages to deliver Che in a quiet and fragmented way. Audience gets the feeling that Che is a man who truly believes in his ideals and willing to sacrifice his personal pleasure, even his very existence to defend those he never met. Surely this is not a crowd pleaser, first there’s the 4 hour plus duration, second; it is 90% in Spanish and third, it is certainly for those who had previous knowledge about Che.

First part is The Argentine, depicting Che's leadership in jungle and town fighting that led up to the ousting of Fulgencio Batista in the late 50's, and the second is Guerrilla, Che's failed effort nearly a decade later in Bolivia to spearhead another revolution that led to Guevara's execution in 1967. The first chapter has interval of black and white Che's speech at the United Nations in 1964; the second chapter is claustrophobic jungle warfare. What lacks from this film is his controversial side of Che or even his personal life, so for those who hate Che, this film is a major disappointment and I didn’t understand why Soderbergh left out the part Che went to Congo and Europe even the Bay of Pigs event. Will be directing some mid quel for this important part of Che’s life? I hope he make that since it will be a complete trilogy with The Motorcycle Diaries as an addition. As predicted, Benicio Del Toro gives a mesmerizing depiction of Che, and the fact he speak Spanish add the realism.

Now if you remember that famous picture taken by Korda which could speak a thousand words, being a symbol of fighting against imperialism and oppression, this film doesn’t even re-create that moment, thus avoiding a cliché. In conclusion, this is an interesting and satisfying film.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

MPAA Rating: R for language and brief sexuality.
Run time: 113 min

You cannot help to feel that Rachel's wedding party is one of your very own relative. Thanks to 'personal' naturalistic documentary style by director Jonathan Demme, you can feel the reality much closer than other film. Demme apply digital camera approach, in the spirit of cinema verite of Dardenne's brother and Cloverfield, it is nice to see that this film didn't drown itself to the common kitchen sink drama with overlong argument and too much tears. Even the soundtrack is the song played inside the film, added the realistic effect intended by the director.

Kym (Anne Hathaway) is having difficulty adjusting to family life after ending her drug rehab since she has to attend her sister wedding, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt). Her arrival and the drama around the wedding cause some uneasy situation and reveal family secrets. Notice the cinematography, it really takes you inside the conflict and some tracking shot is very impressive. Anne surely deserve an Oscar nod, her acting, combined with countless actors and actresses in this film is superb.

If you expect a fixed ending, you will be disappointed, not only this film looks real, it is like real life where problems sometimes just passed by and left unsolved. However it is a nice experience to watch something with near zero special effect and mind numbing action.

CHANGELING

MPAA Rating: R for some violent and disturbing content, and language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime: 141 min

You can't help feeling deep sympathy for Christine Collins who just lost her only son, you understand her struggle through Angelina Jolie's brilliant interpretation. I know I always like period films with fine production values. Although not as thought provoking as Gran Torino, Clint's other flick in 2008, but you simply cannot ignore this film.

Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) is a single mother who works at PacTel switchboard, a workplace almost similar to today's communication center. Christine loves her only son, nine-year-old Walter (Gattlin Griffith). All went well until one day, Walter is missing. The police didn't help much, they even invent a fake Walter to cover Los Angeles Police Department's inability and corruption. The fake boy rejected by Christine uncover more secret. At this point, this film sounded like L.A. Confidential.

Meanwhile Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a popular radio preacher ran a campaign against the incompetence of LAPD and found that he and Christine share the same goal. But it wasn't easy, the LAPD force Christine to be institutionalized, during this scene one cannot forget that Angelina have no problem acting with mental hospital as background if you remember Girl, Interrupted.

This story is paralleled with the discovery of children mass grave Detective Lester Ybarra (Michael Kelly). It is suspected that one of the boy killed may have been Walter Collins.

These two story mingled in the middle and we see here why the academy gives Angelina Jolie a nod, she acted well as a mother who fought, by tooth and nail, the corrupt LAPD. The ending was an open ending, hinting a slight of hope by Christine in finding her son.

Some directors start young and get tired. Eastwood is only gathering steam. I like the way he direct his movies, he doesn't try to spice up too much, but let things flow as simple as possible with deep meaning.

Sure, the duration is quite long, but for a chance to see what Los Angeles looks like in the 20s, I have no problem with it.