September 2017 Film review part one

SOUTH (1919) D- Frank Hurley
In 1915, while the world was locked in the most terrible conflict in its history, Sir Ernest Shackleton headed south to explore the Antarctic, having the foresight to bring cameraman Frank Hurley with him to record his exploits. His ship, Endurance, became locked in the ice and the crew stranded. Slowly their ship is crushed by the pack-ice, a scene dramatically captured by Hurley and his hand-cranked camera.
            Leaving most of the crew behind, Shackleton and a handpicked group made what is now recognized as one the great epic journeys to a whaling station on Elephant Island, 800 miles away, to mount a rescue for his men. Incredibly, no one lost their life throughout the ordeal, and Frank Hurley was on hand to record everything he saw with the most extraordinary skill. Unforgettable.

FAT CITY (1972) D- John Huston
An ageing boxer, well past his sell-by date, seeks solace in drink. Then he meets a young pugilist on his way up and decides to mentor him. He even resolves to get back in shape himself, but his good resolutions are drowned in bourbon...
          This gritty, naturalistic piece from Huston, a man thought by many also to be past his prime, is a revelation. He draws a staggering performance from Stacy Keach as the alcoholic fighter, and indeed, the portrayals of drunkenness from him his and off/on girlfriend played by Susan Tyrell are the most realistic I have ever seen.
           With films like The Maltese Falcon and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre under his belt while still a young man, Huston could have rested on his illustrious laurels in the 50s. His later output was more patchy, but then, in the autumn of his career he produced this minor masterpiece. A classic.

SCENT OF A WOMAN (1992) D- Martin Brest.
A young man (Chris O’Donnell) is given the task of babysitting a blind and embittered army major (Al Pacino). The latter would seek to drink himself to death slowly, and the young man is charged with keeping his drinking under control. This proves harder than anticipated...
            Ever since The Panic in Needle Park we have been marveling at the sheer talent of La Pacino, and here he is in vintage form as he runs rings round his “carer”. He is benefited by a great script and highly professional directing, richly deserving his Oscar for best actor in 1992. Even better, like Fat City, it doesn’t seem to have dated a day.

WHITE GOD (2014) D- Kornel Mundrusczo.
This could have been called “About a Dog”, because the story centers around a mongrel dog in Budapest, a place where mongrel strays are rounded up an euthanized. They are taxed too, and the father of the girl whose dog it is is not prepared to pay this tax, so dumps it. But here is a highly resourceful mutt. It survives the streets; even when it is captured by a dog fighting syndicate it escapes and returns to its haunts, eventually becoming the de facto leader of a huge pack of feral canines. And they aren’t happy about their “second class dog” status...
           Think Lady and the Tramp with an edge, a brutal, realistic edge. Here the dogs don’t talk. They don’t have to. Their actions speak a lot louder than their barks. Highly watchable.

Please see next blog for more movie reviews.