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Valley of the Gods: At the Feet of Power

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It can be easy for us to think so highly of ourselves that we ought.

In this latest film from acclaimed director Lech Majewski, Valley of the Gods explores the nature of power vs. poverty through three separate yet intrinsically-linked narratives. Grappling with his recent divorce, John Ecas (Josh Hartnett) is a struggling writer who is searching for peace. After meeting a homeless man on the street, Ecas is unaware that the man is actually Wes Taurus (John Malkovich), the wealthiest man in the world. Taurus has been posing as a homeless man in order to feel connected to the world around and invites Ecas to write his biography. As the world only trillionaire Taurus is a recluse from society yet is determined to mine on the sacred lands of the Navajo for uranium, upsetting the people of the community.

Beautifully shot by Majewski and Pawel Tybora, Gods is often an overwhelming visual treat. Featuring vast desert landscapes and daunting palacial rooms, the film’s images force the viewer to feel small, as if they are pawns to some otherworldly game of chess. Intentionally linking Taurus’ mansion to Citizen Kane’s Xanadu, there is a cinematic opulence to this trillionaire’s estate unlike anything we’ve seen onscreen in ages. From tennis courts that resemble the Sistine Chapel to operas performed standing in an enormous fountain, every shot within its walls speaks to the incredible power (and loneliness) of vast wealth and creates a gut-wrenching fear towards its enigmatic owner.

Meanwhile, this life of remarkable luxury is held in direct contrast to the awe-inspiring natural world of the Navajo community. Although just as daunting as cool isolation of Taurus’ world, the dry heat of the desert carries an intensely spiritual warmth to the landscapes and carry a deep connection to those that hold them in reverence. As a result, the nervousness that one feels in these scenes is not for a man who lives in a castle but rather for the mysterious power of nature that is rarely taken seriously by outsiders.

By juxtaposing these two diametrically opposed spaces, Majewski puts his emphasis on the emptiness of wealth. In Gods, Majewski understands that that which is deeply spiritual trumps financial fortune, not only in importance but also in power (an idea which comes to literal fruition at the film’s finale). However, what’s most interesting about the film is Malkovich’s Taurus (Isn’t Malkovich almost always the most interesting part of anything he’s in?), who seems to recognize that he’s missing something and looks to feel alive. 

Unlike the Navajo who may live in poverty yet maintain their souls, Taurus’ life remains empty. As the world’s richest man, he literally controls everyone and everything at his disposal yet he remains spiritually poor. Disguised as a homeless man, Taurus honours the poor and the impoverished and moves around the city below in plain sight, yearning for the simplicity of life that has been lost. Though he lives his life like a secluded god in the heavens, he literally descends from on high in order to feel connected to the world around him. Despite his vast fortune, his wealth has become a prison for him and he longs to be set free. 

By recognizing the power of the healthy soul and the value of the impoverished in the face of corporate wealth, there are times when Majewski’s film borders on the profound. Though the story can be difficult to follow because of his staggered and non-traditional use of narrative devices, Valley of the Gods does come together through its thematic and visual beauty. Engulfing the viewer with the sheer magnitude of their surroundings, Majewski shifts their perspective away from themselves and towards something greater.

Because, to him, recognizing that there is something greater helps remind us that we are something less.

Valley of the Gods premieres on Blu-Ray and VOD on August 11th, 2020.

Dateline-Saigon – Fighting the Lie Machine

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“There are these two armies that are going to meet: this tiny little army of journalists—five, or six, seven—and this army of policy.”

The role of a journalist is to share the truth. During the early years of the Vietnam War, a small group of young journalists who were assigned to Vietnam recognized that the official government statements about American involvement were not the truth. Dateline-Saigon provides a history of that early period of American involvement as we hear some of these reporters recall their time reporting from Vietnam.

Reporters, from left, David Halberstam of the New York Times, AP Saigon Correspondent Malcolm Brown and Neil Sheehan of UPI, and later the New York Times, chat beside a helicopter in Vietnam, ca. 1964. (AP Photo)

The journalists involved are Malcolm Browne and Peter Arnett of Associated Press, Neil Sheehan of United Press International, David Halberstam of the New York Times, and photographer Horst Faas of Associated Press. These young men (in their twenties while on their assignments in Vietnam) were perhaps a bit naïve when they arrived. They soon learned that many of their sources in the military and governments would exaggerate claims of victory and damage done to the enemy. They would see Americans involved in combat while the American and Vietnam governments claimed that they were only advisors.

Vietnam 1967 — AP photographer Horst Faas, with his Leica cameras around his neck, accompanies U.S. troops in War Zone C.

Because they worked for different outlets, there was great competition between them, but also a comradery built on their common understanding of their task. They exposed the lies. They were a voice calling out in a world that was dominated by what Halberstam calls “a large lie machine”.

Nearly the entire film is set during the Kennedy Administration. There are only a few thousands American troops in Vietnam. The escalation of the war came later. But even at this point we note that the government was being very dishonest about what was happening. (For those who recall that time as an age of Camelot, this may be a bit of a shock.)

These young journalists did not go there trying to destroy American policy. As Sheehan says, “At this point, we were young Americans who were filled with all the myths of the Cold War. We thought this was the right war, the right time, the right place.” But they understood their jobs to be to bring the truth to the world. However, it wasn’t until TV began covering the war, and bringing these issues into homes through that more powerful medium, that the truth became recognized by the world.

Peter Arnett in the field, 1965

In today’s news environment of claims about “fake news” and near real-time fact-checking, I think it is important to take a look at journalistic ideals. The journalists we meet in this film (all of whom went on to win Pulitzer Prizes) were, I think, a bit idealistic about their role. But that idealism served them well as they all looked for the truth of what was happening. In time it would become clear that the way the policy was being presented through the government was indeed “a lie machine”. We continue to rely on journalists of integrity to protect us from the lie machines that continue today.

Dateline-Saigon is available on VOD and DVD.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features

Suzi Q – A Rock Trailblazer

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Suzi Quatro is for some a rock and roll icon. She was one of the first women in rock to play bass and be the front person. Before Deborah Harry or Joan Jett (both of whom we hear from), there was Suzi. But at least in North America, her fame is a bit tempered. Suzi Q, a new documentary from Australian director Liam Firmager, follows her career from growing up in Detroit to continuing to record and tour today as she enters her 70s.

She came from a pleasant suburban home in Grosse Point, Michigan. She and her siblings were all encouraged musically and given a good amount of freedom to do the things they liked. In the aftermath of the Beatles, her sisters and friends noted the lack of female bands. With an older sister and friends, she became part of The Pleasure Seekers. Even as a teen, Suzi was on the road with the music she loved.

When an English producer chose to sign Suzi, but not the others, her life changed. She was off to England alone to establish herself in the music industry, but it was not without resentment from her family.

One of the interesting things we note as we see Quatro’s career expand is that while she was a great success in Europe and Australia, her music failed to gain traction in the US. Even when she would come home and tour as an opener for Alice Cooper (another of the interviewees), she wasn’t able to find the key to radio play that is so important for US musical success. She is perhaps better known in North America for her TV role of Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days.

The film effectively chronicles Quatro’s career, focusing mostly on the music. It brings in comments from a number of her contemporaries in the business to make clear that she was a talent that deserves recognition. Quatro eventually branched out into other areas, including musical theater and her own television show, but those parts of her career are only touched on briefly. I’d have been interested in a bit more time on those, and how she dealt with the successes and failures she encountered there.

The films also gives us enough of her own reflection on her music and her life to add a bit of depth. The most notable examples of this deal with her relationship with her family. There were clearly resentments on both sides. Those feelings may have softened through the years, but at times we can still hear the echoes of past pains.

Suzi Q is available on Virtual Cinema, DVD and VOD.

Photos courtesy of Sicily Publicity

The Traitor: What is Honor?

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“I was and remain a man of honor.”

Tommaso Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino) claimed to be an honorable man. But what he meant by that may mean something different than you think. The Traitor is the story of how in the 1980s, he (and some others) began to bring down the Cosa Nostra (aka Sicilian Mafia).

As that time the Cosa Nostra was controlling the world heroin trade. As the film opens, Buscetta is attending a summit of the Palermo and Corleone clans to divide up the business. They establish a tentative peace, which turns out to be short-lived. Buscetta (who is a prison escapee) has set up a life in Brazil with a new wife. He lives well there. But when the gang war reignites, resulting in the death of his two sons of a previous marriage, some want him to return and take revenge. He is reluctant, but soon the Brazilian authorities arrest him, torture him (and his family), and extradite him back to Italy.

He returns to Italy volunteering to talk to Judge Giovanni Falcone, a prosecuting magistrate, about the Cosa Nostra, but not planning to be an informer. But as he and Falcone establish respect and rapport, Buschetta becomes the key evidence leading to hundreds of arrests and a massive trial. Buschetta is villainized in Sicily—even by his old family. But his new family is settled into witness protection in the US.

Early on in his discussion with Falcone, he defines “honorable man”. That is the term that the soldiers in the Cosa Nostra use for themselves. But Buschetta sees it as more than that. For him it harkens back to the values espoused by the Cosa Nostra when he became affiliated. Those values are explained in a story of early on, he was told to kill a particular person. That person saw Buschetta and knew what was to happen, but he grabbed his baby. Buschetta would not kill him with his child nearby. That would be wrong. So he waited while the boy grew.

At two and a half hours, this film takes its time in an attempt to provide an overall look at Buscetti’s life and his decision to inform on those with whom he had served. Yet in covering so much, it makes it hard to explore the more intimate bits of the story, such as the developing relationship between Buschetta and Falcone and how that relationship shaped Buschetta and his opinion of what he was doing.

And most of all, the film needs a bit more attention to the meaning of the honor that Buschetta saw himself as embodying. As a “man of honor” within the Cosa Nostra, his honor was a sort of twisted sense of values. To be sure, the Cosa Nostra took care of their community in a certain sense, but that concern was less than honorable by most standards of morality. But when Bruscetta becomes an informer and serves as a witness against former allies, perhaps he has discovered a new sense of honor. That exploration could have added some heft to a story that wants so say something about truth and honor.

The Traitor is available on VOD and DVD.

Dolittle: A High-Seas Adventure that Never Fully Sails

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Dolittle re-introduces the world to Dr. John Dolittle (Robert Downey Jr.), a reclusive man who lives in solitude in his lush manor in 19th-century England. Dolittle’s gift is that he can understand the language of the animals, with whom he speaks to on a daily basis. However,  when young Queen Victoria becomes sick, the doctor and his furry friends are called back into action as they embark on an epic adventure in order to save her life..

Directed by Stephen Gaghan (Syriana), Dolittle is a film with aspirations of classic childhood adventure films but, unfortunately, never quite lives up to its full potential. Derived by critics, there really is more to like about the film than some have given it credit for. On the one hand, Gaghan creates a world of whimsy that has echoes of the charm and heart of the original work, combining the childlike joy of colourful animals with an emotional journey for its lead. Distancing itself in style and tone from the successful Eddie Murphy films of the late 90s, Downey Jr. proves to be a good choice for the titular character of Dolittle himself. Always willing to play with child-like wonder, Downey brings his signature charisma to the role in such a way that he always makes you want to go on the journey into the unknown with him. 

On the other hand, however, the film struggles to maintain a consistent tone, dropping the more classic feel for bathroom humour that simply doesn’t work, especially in the awkward dragon finale. (Although not uncommon by any stretch, rumours of rewrites to include more ‘silliness’ into the film plagued it’s marketing upon its release.) Also, the film seems to lack an overall energy which seems odd, considering the pedigree of its cast.

Even so, what appeals to me about Dolittle is its interest in exploring what it means to deal with the pain of our past. Once known as a grand adventurer, the death of his wife has caused Dolittle to become a recluse from the human race, fearing any experience of loss of relationship in the future. Broken by his past, Dolittle has lost his passion for life and only agrees to the journey because he has been urged into action once again by the Queen herself. While this may seem heavy-handed on paper, the film does handle the topic of grief and loss at a level appropriate for children and may even provide some healthy questions for engaging the struggles in their own life. 

What’s more, Dolittle also points to the fact that healing best comes through community. Whereas some films simply point to healing as ‘moving on’, Dolittle acknowledges that the best healing comes when we realize that there are people holding us up along the way and share our burdens with them. (In fact, without any spoilers, Dolittle’s engagement with the dragon even highlights this idea of grieving together as a manner of healing. If only that scene hadn’t… sigh… if only…) As he processes his grief along his adventure, Dolittle’s journey helps him to appreciate the joys of the past and accept the grace required to move forward. 

Because of its interest in helping show what it means to process our feelings, Dolittle does have something positive to say to the children of this generation. With a heart of adventure, the film has so much potential yet it never comes to fruition. So, unfortunately, while there are some who will enjoy the ride, this may ultimately not be a trip worth taking.

Dolittle is available on VOD and Blu-ray now.