The Last King of Scotland.
Edinburgh, 1970. With the frustrating prospect of living in his father’s shadow, newly graduated doctor, Nicholas Garrigan, travels to Uganda to work at a missionary clinic. Soldiers and tanks roam the streets of the African nation as a military coup is in progress; the Ugandan people celebrate the impending victory of General Idi Amin over incumbent president Obote. The soon-to-be-president visits Nicholas’ village and soon begins charming the young doctor, along with enraptured crowds, as he promises action: new schools, new houses, new roads; a stronger Uganda. After tending to an injured Amin, Nicholas bonds with the general and is invited to the Ugandan capital, Kampala, where he is offered the job of the president’s personal physician. Though he initially declines, Nicholas agrees to the position in order to modernise the Ugandan healthcare system but soon becomes Amin’s “closest adviser” through their unique personal relationship. The doctor’s Ugandan utopia is soon shattered when Amin’s spiralling paranoia reveals a violent and murderous regime, with Nicholas becoming more and more trapped in the president’s inner circle; unable to escape, unable to speak, unable to do anything that might displease the tyrannical dictator. Forest Whitaker is firstly charming, then bone-chillingly terrifying as the megalomaniacal Idi Amin, and is well deserving of the numerous plaudits and awards bestowed upon him for the role. Such is the power of the performance, and of Amin himself, you won’t be able to tear your eyes away from the enthralling thriller that is The Last King of Scotland.
Apocalypto.
After hunting a tapir in the Mexican rainforest, Jaguar Paw and his fellow tribesmen encounter refugees asking for passage through the jungle as they seek a new beginning since their land was ravaged. Early the next morning, Jaguar Paw’s village is also attacked; while managing to lower his son and pregnant wife into a pit before being taken prisoner, the rest of Jaguar Paw’s tribe are either captured or killed and their homes burnt to the ground. Those villagers kept alive are brought to the raiders’ Mayan city; there, human barbarity will rear it’s ugly head. Among the horrifying depictions of primitive tribal existence and ritualistic sacrifice, is a poignant message of environmentalism and over consumption. The utter destruction of natural resources by the Mayans led to the decline of their civilisation, an omen it would, perhaps, be wise to consider. Though somewhat disorientated by the dizzying runs through the Mesoamerican forest, Apocalypto is a savagely entertaining outing for young upstart writer/director Mel Gibson.
The Fountain.
A conquistador is confronted by a horde of Mayans at the base of a great pyramid; upon climbing the steps, the explorer is met by a priest-guardian brandishing a flaming sword. The same man, now bald, accompanies a tree through space in a glass biosphere toward a golden nebula. The third iteration of the man, present-day surgeon Tom Creo, works obsessively on curing degenerative brain diseases in the hope he can save his wife, Izzi, who is dying from a brain tumour. Having come to terms with her own death, Izzi writes a novel entitled “The Fountain”, in which Queen Isabella of Spain instructs conquistador Tomás Verde to search for the Tree of Life, but leaves the final chapter blank for her husband to complete. The three stories intertwine across centuries, as love and immortality permeate the characters’ incarnations. Breathtaking, unique visuals, an exquisite score and reflections on morality and spirituality are what make Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain an unforgettable, magical, tragic, hopeful drama on par with Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Lives of Others.
1984. East Berlin. The population of the German Democratic Republic are kept under strict control by the state secret police agency, the Stasi. An end to the regime is nowhere in sight as the government maintain their key policy: know everything. One such man whose job it is to gain information on the proletariat, is Captain Weisler, a dedicated interrogator, spy and socialist. After being invited to the theatre by friend and superior Lieutenant Colonel Grubitz, Weisler is ordered to monitor playwright Georg Dreyman and his actress lover, Christa-Maria Sieland; the pair are deemed suspicious and may not be as loyal as they appear. Weisler soon discovers, however, that the surveillance request came from Culture Minister Bruno Hempf, who sees Dreyman as a rival for Sieland’s affection, though no record of Hempf’s order is to be made. As Weisler becomes invested in the couple he begins to take matters into his own hands, while the truth and the power of the Party is revealed. An incredible, terrifying, nail-biter of a thriller, The Lives of Others’ theme of Cold War era surveillance, a country ran by fear and of citizens being threatened into complicity is still relevant today. Unmissable.
Inland Empire.
In a hotel room, a prostitute cries while watching a surreal sitcom featuring anthropomorphic rabbits, following a violent encounter with a client. In Los Angeles, an elderly, Polish woman visits the home of actress Nikki Grace, claiming to be her neighbour; acting very strangely, she informs Nikki that she is about to receive the part she has been auditioning for. The woman’s premonition comes true the following day, as Nikki lands the lead role in “On High in Blue Tomorrows”, before meeting her director, Kingsley, and co-star, Devon, who is advised to remain romantically detached from Nikki due to her powerful Polish husband. While privately rehearsing a scene from the film, the actors, director and his assistant are disrupted by an unseen intruder which forces Kingsley to inform Nikki and Devon that “On High in Blue Tomorrows” is, in fact, a remake of an unfinished film based on a Polish gypsy folktale that was abandoned after the leads were murdered. Rumours that the film is cursed may not have been exaggerated as the line between character and actress, between film and reality blurs and Nikki’s life devolves into a psychotic breakdown. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen a Lynch picture; I’d almost forgotten how absolutely batshit insane they are. Teeming with his trademark terrifyingly eerie peculiarity, not least of which in reused segments of the skin-crawling sitcom Rabbits, Inland Empire is unlike previous Lynch flicks in it’s look (using Sony camcorders give it a Dogme 95 feel) and development (filming beginning without a finished script). Lynch’s film about, in his words, “a woman in trouble”, is enthralling for the first hour, loses its way (along with the viewer) in the middle, before re-gripping us at the end. Not his most accessible picture by any means, the average viewer will more than likely switch off long before the 180 minutes have elapsed, but Lynch fanatics will find something to love here.
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