Shame
Directed by Steve McQueen and starring Michael Fassbender (who worked together in McQueen's first film Hurt about the hunger striker Bobby Sands) this is a powerful representation of a man who cannot connect with others on an human level and is addicted to sex.
Carey Mulligan stars as his sister who visits abruptly and disrupts his structured and controlled existence. I'm not sure this film will find distribution in the U.S. as it is too graphic and would likely receive a NC-17 rating.
However, despite the graphic nature of some of the scenes, Fassbender gives an excellent performance as a lonely person failing to connect in a human basis. There are hints of a troubled childhood for both siblings but it is not stressed upon. The sister, too, is reaching out to him for help but he cannot connect with her either. It is only after the sister makes a desperate choice that he has any hope of changing.
The film ends before we know what he chooses and so we are left with the hope that he will change.
This is a powerful film and it is McQueen's style and Fassbender's performance that combine to leave a haunting memory long after the film ends...
Terraferma
An Italian film set on the Italian island of Sicily. Twenty-year old Filippo's mother wishes to move from the island with Filippo to the mainland of Italy as the tourist trade only allows them to work four months out of the year.
Filippo's grandfather works as a fisherman in waters that have been increasingly over-fished. His boat is worth more as scrap than as a way of life for him.
Against this backdrop is an increasing problem with illegal immigrants coming ashore from Africa. Some alive and some dead, causing problems with the tourist industry.
The grandfather rescues a pregnant woman and her son and hides them from the police, a criminal offense if caught.
Funded partly by the U.N. this film does have a bit of an agenda but it can be forgiven as it is of decent quality.
Dark Horse
A Todd Solondz film, which usually means disturbing and uncomfortable. Not so much in this case, though still an unsettling experience.
A maladjusted man in his 30's still living at home meets a maladjusted woman in her 30's, who also still lives at home.
A story of two losers that is sometimes interesting and mostly uneven in its comedic tone.
Christopher Walken stars as the father and is excellent, as usual.
I didn't particularly enjoy this film.
