Mike Leigh has long been a great director, but now he is surely at the top of his form. "Another Year" has premiered here and is the film everyone I talk with loves the most. It is so beautifully sure and perceptive in its record of one year in the life of a couple happily married, and their relatives and friends, not so happy. After "Vera Drake" (2004) and "Happy-Go-Lucky" (2008), Leigh cannot seem to step wrong.
A women at the press conference asked Leigh (left) "did you have to make Mary so sad?" She might as well have asked, "did you have to make Tom and Gerri so happy? "
They're a long-married couple, played by Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen, and they seem in complete accord about their life together. They garden, they work, they welcome their friends, they hope their son will find the right girl, they are in love.
Their steadfast joy in each other's company is essential, I believe, to provide the film with a center around which the characters revolve. Remarkably, these days, their 30-year-old son loves them and is happy, and they have no "issues." Theirs is the home poor Sally comes to when she realizes she has made no home of her own.
As Leigh's film grows through spring, summer, autumn and winter, it involves the lives touched by Tom and Gerri (yes, they smile about their names). In particular they observe Mary (Lesley Manville), who is single, lonely, getting older, and alcoholic. "It's a shame," Tom says at one point after she's ended yet another sad visit, and that's all he has to say.These people are not us, and yet we know them. They attend the funeral of Tom's sister in law, and we have never been to a funeral quite like it, and yet it is like many funerals. The uninvolved clergyman, the efficient undertakers, the remote father, the angry son, the handful of neighbors who didn't know the deceased all that well, the family skeletons. In particular, notes of social embarrassment that Leigh specializes in; the ways people display their anguish without meaning to.
It will have to be quite a film to snare the Palme d'Or away from this one, but there is a week to go. If "Another Year" isn't the Palme winner, then Lesley Manville is a good choice for best actress. When the film opens I'll have to find words to describe her work, but for now all I can say is, it is astonishing.
Outrage by Takesi Kitano, on the other hand, is as bad as "Another Year" is good. People left the theater joining in that ancient query, "Why in the hell did they select this film?" Kitano is a gifted Japanese director who has made many films I admire, but this must be his worst. It involves two warring factions in the Yakuza, or Japanese mafia, and by the end of the film just about everyone on both sides is dead.That's what happens. No characterization. Minimal plot. Many murders, nicely stylized. Kitano makes it a point to set everything in a sterile environment. No Japanese tradition here, except for an eating-house. Only steel, aluminum, glass, plastic, and shiny black limos. Black, white, silver, and blood red used as an artist's signature after every killing.
He has one idea in this film: The Yakuza code is being used to eradicate the Yakuza. Unfortunately, he doesn't take the entire 109 minutes to tell it. It only takes him a minute to tell, and he tells it 109 times.
Paul Cox is here. That is a blessing to be shouted. The great Australian director has returned after receiving a liver transplant in December. Over the years I've admired his films ("A Woman's Tale" and "Innocence" were at Ebertfest), and his spirit. He's one of the warriors, an independent director who does nothing for hire, who makes only films close to his heart, whose humanism you could call spiritual.I first saw his work through the Chicago Film Festival, and then we found ourselves meeting at least annually, at Toronto, Cannes, Chicago, Sundance, Telluride, once at Calcutta where a projectionist succeeded in the theoretically impossible feat of showing his film upside-down.
Last year at Cannes we met for what we both feared could be the last time. I was in my current condition, and Paul had been told he had serious liver disease. He'd been a friend to Chaz and me during our troubles, and now it was our turn, as he embarked on a difficult search for a liver that matched his blood type.
We exchanged a lot of e-mails. He was always Paul, amused, philosophical, keenly aware of life. He didn't drink much, but he loved to smoke his pipe, and reported almost in triumph that the doctors told him his liver problems seemed linked to no vice.
No liver appeared. His hopes faded. On Christmas Day 2009, joined by his loved ones, he believed he had days to live. On that day, the phone rang, and he found a suitable liver had been found. He had the transplant operation, it seems to have been successful, and at one point he warned me not to e-mail any jokes good enough to burst his stitches. Few people have ever suggested any of my e-mail jokes were that good.
Paul visited us for dinner in the company of Nate Kohn, his daughters Sophie and Lily, and his friend Christie. Paul and Nate have been close for years. Nate, director of Ebertfest, is teaching a University of Georgia class here, and Sophie is blogging on my site this year. We sat in the little lobby of the Hotel Splendid and shared the sense that, by God, it is Cannes and we are here again, and who can deny it?
I will let Paul speak for himself. Left to right, you will see Paul, Chaz, Nate and Sophie:
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Happy-Go-Lucky was unwatchable. If Another Year is equally "good" I think I'll skip it.
Ouch. That's unfortunate.
Well, I mean about the new Kitano movie. Not about seeing "Another Year" or seeing your dear friend. Well, you know what I mean.
Kitano is a very competent director. So I hope that he can get back up on his feet soon. I just hope that he learns that style for the sake of style alone can be okay, as long as there is a story to back it up.
Wow. Good movies (mostly). Why can't people show these movies outside of Cannes sometime?
So thrilling to hear that the new Mike Leigh is yet another diamond... I've devoured all of his films countless times, and have read two in-depth books about his work, and I still have no idea how he does what he does
OMG! Time travel IS possible!
Roger has managed to capture a delightful interview with Paul Cox *from 2020*, and it pleases me to no end that Paul, Roger, Chaz, et al will still be with us a decade from now, still enjoying Cannes with friends and loved ones.
Thanks, Roger. This was a reminder for me to add "A Woman's Tale" to my Netflix queue!
Great news about "Another Year" - Leigh is one of my favorite living directors, and his work has yet to disappoint me. He seems to have a mixed reputation among film buffs, but I've never found any of his films (and I've watched them all, including his TV work and his short films) anything less than good and compelling, and his very best ("Vera Drake", "Naked", "High Hopes") are among the greatest of all films, in my opinion. While he does have a somewhat troubling tendency towards caricature of his minor characters, his films overall display a great love for the wide range and complexity of humanity. And it's so rare to find films that are so perceptive, so profound and resonant and unforgettable, ones in which joy and pleasure is found in simply being able to watch the characters interact with one another. His films connect to some of the deepest levels of our humanity - they have enriched my life.
Ok, now I'm done gushing about and applying lots of superlatives to one of my favorite somewhat overlooked/underrated filmmakers.
Anyways, thanks for the reports Mr. Ebert - I find your opinions some of the most trustworthy in the business. And even when I do disagree with you, your writing is always a pleasure to read.
"..When the film opens I'll have to find words to describe her work,.."
Do you have to do that?
It's good to see Paul Cox doing well. I remember his appearances at Ebertfest with "A Woman's Tale" and "Man of Flowers," especially that latter during which Werner Herzog said Cox has such a pessimistic attitude to life. The two of them were a great team on stage! He certainly had reason to feel pessimistic last year, but what a great comeback in every way. I look forward to this new film he talks about, which may bring him back to Ebertfest...?
Sad to hear that Kitano's film isn't up to par with his previous work. I'm still waiting on him to make a follow-up to "Zatoichi".
Since "Secrets and Lies", Mike Leigh has never disappointed me. Even "Topsy-Turby", a very unusual choice, is something different. I'm recently downsizing on my moviegoing activities, but I think I can invest some precious little time to "Another Year". From what you said, it seems too good to be missed.
Re: Outrage by Takeshi Kitano
I love Japanese movies, but I have a simple rule when I scroll through the DVDs at my local video store. Whenever you see a gun on the front or back of the DVD, you can be 75% certain that the movie won't be any good.
The Japanese simply don't know guns, it's not part of their culture. So when they try to make the violent tough cop, tough gangster, shoot-em-up, they fail spectacularly. Why? Because they have no real reference to the genre in their own lives, no history of it. They're making it up out of thin air. It hardly ever works.
Surprisingly, the few times it does work is with....Takeshi Kitano. Though not all the time, as Roger's mini-review seems to indicate. Yet in some movies Takeshi can really bring a certain menace to his characters. He's a rare Japanese actor that can play a 'western style' tough cop. He has that 'mess with me and you'll get hurt' look in his eye. An interviewer asked him about this once..... "How did he generate that edge of violence look to his characters?" He answered that he simply keeps his face as placid and still as he can and tries to think of funny jokes. How's that for method acting. Haha.
Actually it is funny, because he was a comedian long before he was an actor or director. His natural talent is crude juvenile humor. You know those Japanese game shows that put people in incredibly stupid situations just to see how they react? They're called 'Batsu' games in Japan and one of the most popular is Takeshi's Castle.... hosted by you know who. You've probably seen the American version, called "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge". Watch it on youtube. It's so stupid you have to laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvixfNGGd_A
Back to his movies.
Hana-bi (Fireworks), is probably his best movie in the Violent Cop genre. Written, produced, directed, edited by, and starring Takeshi. It has a moving plot line that builds steadily into a sombre portrait of the characters lives. There is one scene that gets played several times in the film, first with the full sound and fury of a gun fight and then in the end, with slow motion and complete silence. It focuses on the split-seconds that can change so many lives. Very well done.
I guess my favorite film of his is Kikujiro. A classic story of an innocent child who somehow hooks up with an oddball adult. 'Beat' Takeshi plays a cross between the Joe Pesci character from Goodfellas and Uncle Buck. Tough as nails, but with a heart of gold. Well, almost. I always laugh at the bike race scene. That's classic Takeshi humour. I suppose in the end, it's really a movie about two children. One of them just happens to be a grown man.
Kikujiro http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijgHAtMrx1k
But I tell ya, Kikujiro is not just funny. It also hits those sweet-sad notes that the Japanese do so well. Takeshi has a real touch for that kind of moment, despite his reputation for Violent Cop movies. I'm sorry to see that he's made a bit of a stinker with Outrage
Sad to hear that Kitano's film isn't up to par with his previous work. I'm still waiting on him to make a follow-up to "Zatoichi".
Makes me long for the start of SIFF. I hope my festival experience is half as fun as your experience at Cannes seems to be. Also, it looks like I'll be adding two more directors to my must-see list (and I'm not talking about Takeshi).
"He has one idea in this film: The Yakuza code is being used to eradicate the Yakuza. Unfortunately, he doesn't take the entire 109 minutes to tell it. It only takes him a minute to tell, and he tells it 109 times."
No wonder you have won a Pulitzer. :-)
Thank you for the review of "Another year". I've been keenly waiting for your verdict.
It's good to know it is getting a better reception than expected.
Also, thanks for covering cannes.
Another liver, another chance, another life, another year, another film, another game of kick the can. All these things are worth a moment of pause and appreciation. Congratulations to Paul Cox.
Kitano's new film is disappointing.. I regret to hear that. I remember, his recent works aren't so good. But I am still looking forward to watching his new film for myself.
First, I'm delighted to see you found a nice clip for "Another Year" however brief; as that's a very telling scene, eh?
Second, I'm happy that the fates were kind to him and he found a matching liver just in time! Obviously, the Universe wanted to see more movies from him. Smile.
I've got "Happy-Go-Lucky" sitting here on my coffee table. I've been thinking about Mike Leigh's films lately, and thought moved my hand to grab the copy off the library shelf yesterday.
And lastly, I'm extremely glad you were able to see him again and at Cannes no less. And for all that moment must have signified and meant to you both. I'm glad you got to feel the resonance of it.
And that you were able to post about it in here.
Heading off now to find a trailer for something; smile...
It's fascinating that depicting a happy family without 'issues' has become a daring and original move. When did dark, edgy, and riddled with stock conflicts become the only way to do things? Thank heavens for Mike Leigh.
That's a shame about Outrage. While I wasn't expecting a masterpiece or anything, I've enjoyed several of Kitano's works before and was hoping for an enjoyable, if not necessarily essential (at all, actually), film. According to you and half of the other Cannes-goers I've read, this sadly was not to be the case. Ah well.
I've already added Another Year to my list of films to see when they make it out to the little art house theater I frequent. I know you'd mentioned The Housemaid as another film with early Palme buzz. Between the two, Another Year is your preference, I take it?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger,
-Adam
Wow! Great that you and Mr. Cox are enjoying Cannes together. Two survivors (along with your respective loved ones) enjoying life!
P.S. Sorry to hear about your laptop. :( That's just the pits. It's difficult to pick up on a "borrowed" device without the software and files you need... May Anthony and Jude steer it your way! Best of luck!
Man, Takeshi Kitano hasn't been good for years, but it's nice to hear that Mike Leigh is still turning out good material. Happy Go Lucky seemed more about a mindstate than characters and man has it ever been a while since a movie left me feeling as content as it did.
Dear Mr Ebert,
We hope you get your computer back soon - I guess the loss of it is similar to walking around Cannes with a severe cold. This may be the time to evaluate your backup system, and to think about a duplicate machine....
Have been following your writing for many years, finally found your blog! Mostly agreeing with your reviews, sometimes disagreeing - but they're never unfunded.
Perhaps not our place to ask, and not your place to answer, but what are your views on the renewed "Free Roman Polanski"-drive? In our opinion - Nelson Mandela he is not.
Thanks,
Remco & Angeline
I'm as puzzled as you seem to be: How, exactly, can a film be projected upside down? I've been mulling the engineering and optical issues and can't figure out how that could happen.''
Ebert: Could I have recalled it incorrectly? Anyway, Paul and I could see the projectionists playing cards in the booth.
You've got me excited for the new Mike Leigh flick. He's been a favorite ever since "Naked" knocked me out.
As a projectionist, it's very easy to show a film upside down. Simply thread the projector from the end of the reel instead of the head. Your esteemed projectionist must have been blind as well. All prints say HEAD and TAIL or START and END.
"Mike Leigh has long been a great director, but now he is surely at the top of his form."
Do you mean to say that Leigh wasn't at the top of his form when he directed Naked, Secrets & Lies, and Topsy-Turvy?
Mr. Ebert,
Has there been any news on or press to raise awareness for the imprisoned director Jafar Panahi at Cannes? I heard his jury seat was kept symbolically empty and was wondering if you had heard anything more on the situation.
Thank you for that wonderful Paul Cox video.
This piece with Paul Cox was very touching. Reminds me again about how easy my life is and how grateful I should be.
Thank you for it.
Another Year does look good.
Still waiting on Biutiful.
>Eli
Thanks for jogging my memory. Indeed "Naked" was a brilliant, devastatingly effective movie. I had somehow remembered it as an Alex Cox film. Leigh's work is often sparked by genius and am equally excited about seeing his new flick.
I agree completely regarding "Outrage." Having just come from the overflow morning screening of "Biutiful" in the Salle Soixantieme, "Outrage" felt trivial and insulting. Speaking of "Biutiful," WOW. What an experience. I'm still trying to process the depth of emotion that film stirred in me. "Another Year," on the other hand, I found nearly insufferable. Tom and Gerri were so smug in their contentedness, and Mary so pathetic, I found the film to be ultimately very minor, albeit technically sound. Was this post written before you saw "Biutiful"? I'm eager to hear your response to that film.
I've just seen my 20th film of the festival and a pattern is beginning to emerge. The 3 best have been documentaries (Restrepo, Gasland, and Inside Job), but it holds for many of the In Competition films as well... a certain social consciousness that leaves me feeling helpless. Here we witness many of the world's gravest social problems, and when I walk out of each theater I'm left with a feeling of... what now? What can I do? Is making a film about a given subject enough? Gasland and Inside Job in particular end with encouragement to seek change, get proactive... but how? As a recent college graduate I know my passion lies in film, but I also like to think of my self as a worldly person-- someone concerned about the suffering of mankind. In this aspect I feel aimless. Is filmmaking an appropriate catharsis? Is there more I could do? Is merely raising consciousness through artistic expression enough? I don't know. This has been a very emotional experience for me, to say the least. I suppose that counts for something. After all, I think the power of film lies in granting us access to emotion and sensation and feeling that may otherwise be inaccessible in our daily lives. And in that, the majority of films I've seen here have succeed admirably. What an experience!
Also, Lesley Manville's character in "Another Year" was named Mary, not Sally.
Hello Roger,
I surely hope you're managing well without your laptop and you had everything backed up. I have only watched two films by Mike Leigh and those are "Naked" and "secrets & Lies". I liked them and hope i do get a chance to watch "Another Year" soon.
Hence, am glad for your update and will make a point of catching up on Takeshi Kitano's work as well.
Wishing you all the best!
Cheers-
As to how a film could be projected upside down. This can happen if a reel is run tail to head instead of head to tail. Meaning the reel isn't rewound before showing. Unfortunately happens sometimes.
So glad to hear the wonderful Mr. Leigh has made another dandy!
So glad to hear
Mike Leigh was responsible for the worst experience I have ever had in a movie theater with "Topsy Turvy" and I made a vow after that to avoid his films. However, Mr. Ebert, if you say so...I'll give him another try.
? Ebert: I loved that film.
I think Leigh is just a great filmmaker as Scorsese. Grim, happy, poignant, poetic Leigh always seems to make pictures worth watching.
I haven't seen Mike Leigh's "Another Year" but the clip you provided above reminded me of the characters from "Secrets & Lies", especially Mary who sort of resembles Cynthia from the latter film. I doubt my observation is correct since this short clip is all that I've seen of the film and characters.
The first image that came to mind was the outdoor dinner scene in "Secret & Lies":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcZlzcyOFkM&feature=related
(scene at the 8:38 min mark)
I'm not really a Mike Leigh fan. I respect what he does, but it's just more downbeat than I usually enjoy. On the other hand, Jim Broadbent gave my favorite performance of the last 15 years in the Leigh-directed "Topsy-Turvy", so maybe I should give this a shot. (close second, Billy Bob Thornton in "The Man Who Wasn't There")
I think Takeshi Kitano is one of the very best filmmakers in the world right now; films such as "Hana-Bi," "Sonatine," "Kids Return," and "Takeshis'" are masterpieces IMO. Although the negative reviews I've seen are somewhat disconcerting, I still can't wait to watch "Outrage." It just sounds too hilariously insane to miss, as if Kitano is firing back at the tepid response his recent trilogy of experimental, self-reflective films received. The fact that none of those films have been released in North America is depressing. "Takeshis'" and "Achilles and the Tortoise," in particular, are wonderful, full of humour, intriguingly bizarre touches, and moments of striking beauty. "Outrage," on the other hand, appears to be a cold, bleak and savage picture, but I have to admit that sounds like an appealing description for a movie about yakuza warfare to me.
Mr. Ebert,
I agree with most all your comments and reviews. It's a joy to read what you write. But I have to disagree on one comment. In your review of "Outrage," you say Takeshi Kitano is "gifted"? Really? I live here in Japan; I see no evidence, zilch, of any gifts whatsoever. All I see is a man who is incapable of expressing any emotion, with a face that could stop Godzilla, and a personality of a mannequin on Prozac. I don't know what or where his gifts are, but I cannot imagine that any of them have any connection with anything creative.
Ebert: Try this one: http://bit.ly/bM12B8
The negative comments concerning Mike Leigh's movies aren't surprising. His work reminds me of something I once read about Steinbeck: When he wrote, he had one person in mind as his reader (I forget who it was). And it's OK if the story is apocryphal because it speaks to a truth--and Leigh's movies fit this truth: If you aren't that "one person," so to speak--or do your best to become that one person--the movie won't work for you.
Leigh is running the train, and you can get on or off, enjoy the ride or hop off--doesn't matter. The train keeps on rolling.
Topsy Turvy terrible? Surely you jest, Dave Frankel!
Random thought. Has anyone else noticed that a lot of the respected, still working "indie" directors are named Mike or Michael? Mike Leigh, Mike Figgis, Mike White, Michael Winterbottom, Michael Apted, Michael Moore (to some extent), etc.
Ebert: "He has one idea in this film: The Yakuza code is being used to eradicate the Yakuza. Unfortunately, he doesn't take the entire 109 minutes to tell it. It only takes him a minute to tell, and he tells it 109 times."
And, just like that, I understand the film and why I wouldn't like it. Maybe all the tweeters wishing you ill, or focusing on picking apart the trees to avoid talking about your forest, would do better to spend some time figuring out who is going to write like you when you decide you don't want to write any more.
To my jaded mind, how anyone could make ANYTHING enjoyable relating to Gilbert and Sullivan is a sure sign of genius. Leigh did.
Hi, Roger.
You sure have me very curious to see Outrage by Takeshi Kitano. Your reviews of other Kitano movies were spot on, but not having seen outrage myself yet I confess I take your dislike of it with an understanding there could be something deep in it that didn't strike a cord with you but might with me.
For instance, you seemed to really, really hate Limits of Control by Jim Jarmush thinking there was nothing in the movie. And yet I saw really cool things (skip paragraph if you haven't seen the movie yet **Spoiler**). The metaphor of killing a corrupt and protected politician by using your imagination and a guitar string was wonderful. It's like the idea that you can topple the most powerful people/governments with art or music.
And then there's Leaving Las Vegas that for some reason you loved and that I thought had nothing at all in it and was a waste of my life to see.
My opinion of Leaving Las Vegas is your opinion of Outrage, so I'm wondering if both movies are on the surface inscritably pointless and yet profound if it hits the right person the right way.
And thus, not judging Outrage in advance, I can't wait to see it thanks to the fact you actually hated it, hehe.
Lucky you; you're in the midst of that season in Cannes; where you get to see the
best of films (for the year 2010) firsthand, unlike in the States; we have to wait four
to six months after the summer season of Hollywood blockbusters is over; their
are few coming out in July that I have some anticipation for; but that's it.
For those who find Martin Scorsese a bit too artsy and to much to grasp at first glance;
they'll always have his counterpart the lighter and warm hearted Mike Leigh, by now I'm
sure thespians are fighting over who to work with this great director, never in his career
has he made a film in which would insult ones intelligence's; instead; enhances it.
I'm willing to bet a grand (come on guys "MONEY" tax free; I'm asking for it) if this
man understands mediocre craftsmanship, and his method in accomplishing a project
will have geeks and or film students either scratching their arse or have a run for their
money.
I like the observation one of your foreign correspondents made in regards of the
Tony Stark character (speaks like a critic), he was almost on the money;
in describing his art saying that the actor is channeling a porn
star; is good but doesn't cut it; the proper analysis would be: a kid from a rich family
father is a businessman (in hardware) and mother is in fashion, grew up with a bad
influence of friends; got "damaged" in the processes; turned to pornography to support
his kind of lifestyle, yet to manage to identify that in him is saying a lot about Robert
Downey Jr. art and his creation of this character which is completely original and
his own, Hollywood has been nice to him lately after recovering from his troubles; he's
been in a major streak of amazing films lately; from "Good Night & Good Luck",
"A Scanner Darkly", "The Zodiac", "Tropic Thunder" and "Iron Man".
After over a quarter of a century in the business; to be able to harness all that
experience (not to include offstage) and unleash it into this character and claim
it his own is an achievement.
Wow, lots of silly replies here. Kitano is the best director in the world. His 2008 film Achilles and the Tortoise was the best film of the 2000's, by far. I'd say all of his work, except for Brother and Zatoichi, are masterpieces. I can't wait for this new film. HANA-BI is probably the greatest film ever made.