May 2017 film review part two

FILMS, CONTINUED

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (2016) D- Stephen Frears
Being the strange tale of the New York socialite who thought she could sing and even hired huge auditoria to demonstrate the fact to packed crowds who paid good money to hear her mangle some of the world's greatest arias.
           Graced by a strong Meryl Streep in the title role, ably supported by Hugh Grant as her live-in (if strictly under wraps) lover and directed by one the brightest talents in British film making, this couldn't go wrong. Strangely, it wasn't a big hit at the box office; perhaps a modern public couldn't buy the improbable reality of the piece. FFJ was real, and couldn't understand serious music critics who panned her performances, preferring to bask in the applause (ironic, presumably, though loud enough) from an (apparently) adoring audience. Fascinating.

CLASH (2016) D- Mohammed Diab (Egypt)
In the chaos following the ousting of democratically elected Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in the aftermath of the downfall of President Mubarak, conflicting groups of demonstrators clash on the streets of Cairo. Stuck in the middle, the police wade into the crowds and arrest anyone handy and shove them in the back of a Black Maria. A cross section of Egyptian society begins to form in the van. But whose side are they on, and will they continue their strife once locked inside the van? Meanwhile, less political considerations come to the fore. Will they be attacked by the mob themselves, will they expire from dehydration and how does a young girl relieve herself in the presence of so many men?
          This movie is extraordinary in several ways. First, it is shot exclusively in the back of a police van. Only occasionally are we allowed to peep outside through the steamed up windows, and when we do it's scary: opposing factions hurling themselves at each other, high velocity bullets sometimes penetrating the van itself. Who is firing? Does it matter? Inside, factions develop just as on the outside, and hierarchies too. Who's in charge? In reality, the police are, though they have no idea what is going on either and are as scared as anyone. What emerges is a film of great power and originality. I've heard people say they can't handle subtitle films- they take your attention away from the action, they don't like having to squint to read them, whatever. Don't let your prejudice against subtitles stop you catching this movie. There are a few, but they are hardly necessary: it's all there on the screen in a series of dazzling cuts and takes, placing us in the heart of a dangerous and confusing reality: Egypt today.

THE SWIMMER (1968) D- Frank Perry
An upper class guy in Connecticut (Burt Lancaster) decides he is going to "swim across the county" by traversing the pools of all the houses which lie along his route home. It starts well enough, in the mellow late summer, with him receiving a warm welcome at the first pool he visits. But then things deteriorate. The next family he reaches is surprised, and not particularly pleased, to see him. And the season seems to be transmuting into autumn. Soon he is meeting with outright hostility from his pool hosts, and the weather is taking a further turn for the worse. What started out as a fun idea seems to be turning into a Connecticut nightmare...
          Based on the famous short story by John Cheever, this film received mixed reviews at the time. I saw it on TV in 1969 and could not get with the programme. I found it extremely irritating if you must know. But I, and the critics too it seems, seem to have matured in the interim, because it is now seen as a thoughtful, intriguing piece of cinema by many of the critics who didn't get it at the time, and I too on a second view found it brilliantly original and innovative, if no less strange than the first time I saw it. Give it a go, but leave your preconceptions behind first...