Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 1, 2014 8:29:02 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/reviews/venice-film-review-words-with-gods-1201294604/
Guillermo Arriaga leads a nine-film portmanteau pic taking on a global range of spiritual themes, with mostly stodgy results.
Guy Lodge
Film Critic
@guylodge
Viewers from different religious backgrounds may reach contrasting interpretations of the nine shorts that make up spiritually themed portmanteau pic “Words With Gods,” but most are likely to agree on one key point: It’s altogether a bit of a slog. Masterminded by Mexican writer-director Guillermo Arriaga, this chunky, festival-friendly item has commendable conceptual reach, with each individual film meditating on a particular belief system, from Islam to atheism to Aboriginal spirituality. Scarcely any of them, however, rank with their accomplished helmers’ best work, while their theological insights range from the opaque to the excessively obvious. Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi’s comic fable “Sometimes Look Up” is the only standalone keeper from an omnibus that, commercially at least, hasn’t much of a prayer.
As if “Words With Gods” weren’t a noble enough prospect to begin with, Arriaga and company have rather gilded the lily by securing the services of Peruvian author and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa to “curate” the films’ order. That doesn’t appear to have been too strenuous a demand on the great man’s time, given the back-and-forth rhythmic shifts of the whole, and the practically non-negotiable logic of beginning with a short about birth and ending with one about death. In between comes a range of approaches, from magical realism to stylized recitation to talky domestic drama, tethered by a mutual earnestness and color-rich widescreen aesthetic. Acting as a buffer between the shorts are a monochrome series of ornately designed, nature-themed animated interludes by animator Maribel Martinez; while certainly pretty, they add unnecessarily to the running time, which clocks in at an imposing 135 minutes.
First up is Australia’s Warwick Thornton, fresh from his contribution to another portmanteau effort — the even heftier “The Turning.” His “True Gods” is the most visually lush of the films, Thornton’s camera luxuriating in the deep russet expanses of the Outback desert, as a lone Aboriginal woman (“The Sapphires” star Miranda Tapsell) searches for a suitable spot in which to give birth. Cue a long, dark night of the soul in which she nears death during labor; though the film is ostensibly rooted in indigenous spirituality, Thornton seems principally awed by the universal miracle of childbirth. The sound of a baby’s tears provides a segue into Hector Babenco’s Umbanda-themed “The Man Who Stole a Duck,” in which an abusive, alcoholic husband, who lets his infant son die after his wife deserts them, seeks spiritual redemption. Straightforward but rather on-the-nose in its study of catharsis, it’s brightened by the saturated jewel tones of its Sao Paulo setting.
Mira Nair’s bright, slight “God Room” is characterized by the director’s customary interest in the clash between cultural tradition and modern practicalities. As an extended family, on the verge of moving into a luxurious on-spec apartment in Mumbai, squabble over the location of the separate prayer room customary in Hindu households, it falls to their youngest member to see — via some day-glo hallucinations — that God is all around them.
Hideo Nakata’s “Sufferings” is perhaps the project’s weakest link: A mawkish, stiffly performed grief drama in which a bereaved fisherman, unable to process the loss of his family to the 2011 tsunami, receives healing counsel from a Buddhist monk. More conceptually elaborate is Amos Gitai’s “Book of Amos,” in which passages from the eponymous Hebrew text are recited by a relaying group of street folk (played by faces familiar from Gitai’s past features) as soldiers face down a public riot. Certainly the most topical entry in light of current events, it’s executed with some panache but feels rather exclusive in its Biblical and political allusions.
Spanish genre rebel Alex de la Iglesias’ “The Confession” essentially opens at the climax point of a high-octane thriller, as a hitman flees the scene of a botched killing and tumbles into the cab of a devoutly Catholic taxi driver; as the black-clad criminal is mistaken for a priest, things shift into a more blackly comic gear. Unsurprisingly the most propulsive of the chapters, it’s also rather silly stuff — though preferable to the stony dourness of Emir Kusturica’s Christian Orthodox entry “Our Life,” in which a self-sacrificing Serbian priest embarks on a gruelling uphill trek to grace.
A shot of invention and wit finally arrives in the shape of Ghobadi’s aforementioned short, which employs a restlessly rotating camera and splintered sound design to convey the dual perspectives of conjoined twin brothers — one more dedicated to Islam than the other — who must negotiate an even trickier impasse when one wishes to pursue a sexual relationship with a woman. Darkly funny and genuinely investigative of its chosen faith, it could be expanded into a full, probing feature. Meanwhile, it’s arguably a deeper examination of religious skepticism than Arriaga’s atheism-themed closer “God’s Blood,” starring the reliably strong Demian Bichir as a Mexican engineer and devout non-believer at odds with his elderly father, who claims to be having disturbing visions of God. As the titular metaphor is realized in bombastically literal fashion, atheists in the audience may well feel the film isn’t on their side.
Tech credits across the films range from the proficient to the highly polished. Peter Gabriel, in his capacity as elder statesman of mainstream world music, contributes interstitial compositions as well as a rather dirgey closing-credits tune. The project’s claims to globalism might have been better served, it should be said, by the inclusion of at least one film from Africa — a continent rife with storied spiritualism that is conspicuous by its absence.
Venice Film Review: 'Words With Gods'
Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (noncompeting), Aug. 29, 2014. Running time: 135 MIN.
Production
(Mexico-U.S.) A BN Films presentation of an Arriaga Garcia Producciones production. Produced by Alex Garcia, Lucas Akoskin, Guillermo Arriaga. Executive producers, Alex Garcia, Armando Lozano, Jonathan Gray, Adrián Zurita.
Crew
Feature film concept, Guillermo Arriaga. Curator, Mario Vargas Llosa. Music, Peter Gabriel; animation concept, Alex Garcia; animation director, Maribel Martinez. True Gods Produced by Kath Shelper. Directed, written by Warwick Thornton. Camera (color, widescreen), Thornton; editor, Roland Gallois; music, Elizabeth Lansen, Shellie Morris, Patrick McCloskey; production designer, Daran Fulham; sound (Dolby Digital), Liam Egan. The Man Who Stole a Duck Produced by Francisco Ramalho Jr, Chico Diaz, Barbara Paz. Directed, written by Hector Babenco. Camera (color, widescreen), Adrian Teijido; editor, Ide Lacreta; production designer, Cristina Camargo; sound (Dolby Digital), Miriam Biderman, Ricardo Reis. God Room Produced by Ami Boghani, Mira Nair. Directed by Mira Nair. Screenplay, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti. Camera (color, widescreen), Shanker Raman; editor, Shimit Amin; music, Sneha Khanwalkar; production designer, Suzanne Caplan Merwanji; sound (Dolby Digital), Cheerag Cama. Sufferings Produced by Atsuyuki Shimoda. Directed, written by Hideo Nakata. Camera (color, widescreen), Tetsuro Sano; editor, Nobuyuki Takahashi ; music, Kenji Kawai; sound (Dolby Digital), Kiyoshi Kakizawa, Kenji Shibasaki. Book of Amos Produced by Michael Thapuah. Directed, written by Amos Gitai. Camera (color, widescreen), Giora Bejach; editor, Isabelle Ingold; music, Tali Weisman; production designer, Miguel Markin; sound (Dolby Digital), Alex Claude. The Confession Produced by Alex de la Iglesia, Yousaf Bokhari. Directed by Alex de la Iglesia. Screenplay, de la Iglesia, Jorge Guerricaechevarria. Camera (color, widescreen), Kiko de la Rica; editor, Pablo Blanco; music, Joan Valent; production designer, Jose Arrizabalaga, Arturo Garcia; sound (Dolby Digital), Charly Schmukler. Our Life Produced by Paula Vaccaro. Directed by Emir Kusturica. Screenplay, Kusturica, Dunja Kusturica. Camera (color, widescreen), Martin Sec; editor, Svetolik Mica Zajc; music, Stribor Kusturica; production designer, Nebojsa Lipanovic; sound (Dolby Digital), Aleksandra Perović. Sometimes Look Up Produced by Mij Film. Directed, written by Bahman Ghobadi. Camera (color, widescreen), Igor Martinovic; editors, Ghobadi, Franziska Von Berlepsch; music, Stribor Kusturica; sound (Dolby Digital), Sinan Berksoz, Thomas Robert. God's Blood Produced by Alex García, Guillermo Arriaga, Santiago García Galván, Adrián Zurita. Directed, written by Guillermo Arriaga. Camera (color, widescreen), Sergio Yazbek; editor, Richard Chew; music, Lorne Balfe; production designer, Ruben Bross, Alejandro Martínez; sound (Dolby Digital), Javier Umpierrez.
With
True Gods Miranda Tapsell, Kiarrah-Jayde Buzzacott. The Man Who Stole a Duck Chico Diaz, Barbara Paz, Regiane Vieira, Claudio Viera, Anna Julia Vieira. (Portuguese dialogue) God Room Tanuja, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Amardeep Jha, Raj Kumar Yadav, Richa Chadda, Naman Jain, Anand Tiwari, Vinay Pathak, Cyrus Sahukar, Harish Khanna. (Marathi dialogue) Sufferings Masatoshi Nagase, Kazuya Takahashi, Makiko Watanabe, Miu Tsushima, Yamamoto Oshiba, Yoko Imamoto, Yui Tateishi, Daichi Miyazawa, Daikichi Sugawara. (Japanese dialogue) Book of Amos Yael Abecassis, Zohar Strauss, Sarai Givaty, Shady Srour, Ruti Asrai, Eran Sebbag, Arnon Ophir. (Hebrew dialogue) The Confession Juan Fernández, Pepón Nieto, Paco Zagarzazu, Inma Cuesta, Mariano Venancio, Guadalupe Lancho, Purificación Arrieta, Jacobo Sánchez, David Arribas, Diego Herberg. (Spanish dialogue) Our Life Emir Kusturica. Sometimes Look Up Yilmaz Erdoğan, Amir A. Fekri, Menderes Samancilar, Pooneh Hajimohammadi, Sinan Dag, Bunyamin Basci, Dilek Bingol, Acelya Gurbuz. (Farsi dialogue) God's Blood Demian Bichir, Emilio Echevarria, Jorge A. Jimenez. (Spanish dialogue)
Guillermo Arriaga leads a nine-film portmanteau pic taking on a global range of spiritual themes, with mostly stodgy results.
Guy Lodge
Film Critic
@guylodge
Viewers from different religious backgrounds may reach contrasting interpretations of the nine shorts that make up spiritually themed portmanteau pic “Words With Gods,” but most are likely to agree on one key point: It’s altogether a bit of a slog. Masterminded by Mexican writer-director Guillermo Arriaga, this chunky, festival-friendly item has commendable conceptual reach, with each individual film meditating on a particular belief system, from Islam to atheism to Aboriginal spirituality. Scarcely any of them, however, rank with their accomplished helmers’ best work, while their theological insights range from the opaque to the excessively obvious. Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi’s comic fable “Sometimes Look Up” is the only standalone keeper from an omnibus that, commercially at least, hasn’t much of a prayer.
As if “Words With Gods” weren’t a noble enough prospect to begin with, Arriaga and company have rather gilded the lily by securing the services of Peruvian author and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa to “curate” the films’ order. That doesn’t appear to have been too strenuous a demand on the great man’s time, given the back-and-forth rhythmic shifts of the whole, and the practically non-negotiable logic of beginning with a short about birth and ending with one about death. In between comes a range of approaches, from magical realism to stylized recitation to talky domestic drama, tethered by a mutual earnestness and color-rich widescreen aesthetic. Acting as a buffer between the shorts are a monochrome series of ornately designed, nature-themed animated interludes by animator Maribel Martinez; while certainly pretty, they add unnecessarily to the running time, which clocks in at an imposing 135 minutes.
First up is Australia’s Warwick Thornton, fresh from his contribution to another portmanteau effort — the even heftier “The Turning.” His “True Gods” is the most visually lush of the films, Thornton’s camera luxuriating in the deep russet expanses of the Outback desert, as a lone Aboriginal woman (“The Sapphires” star Miranda Tapsell) searches for a suitable spot in which to give birth. Cue a long, dark night of the soul in which she nears death during labor; though the film is ostensibly rooted in indigenous spirituality, Thornton seems principally awed by the universal miracle of childbirth. The sound of a baby’s tears provides a segue into Hector Babenco’s Umbanda-themed “The Man Who Stole a Duck,” in which an abusive, alcoholic husband, who lets his infant son die after his wife deserts them, seeks spiritual redemption. Straightforward but rather on-the-nose in its study of catharsis, it’s brightened by the saturated jewel tones of its Sao Paulo setting.
Mira Nair’s bright, slight “God Room” is characterized by the director’s customary interest in the clash between cultural tradition and modern practicalities. As an extended family, on the verge of moving into a luxurious on-spec apartment in Mumbai, squabble over the location of the separate prayer room customary in Hindu households, it falls to their youngest member to see — via some day-glo hallucinations — that God is all around them.
Hideo Nakata’s “Sufferings” is perhaps the project’s weakest link: A mawkish, stiffly performed grief drama in which a bereaved fisherman, unable to process the loss of his family to the 2011 tsunami, receives healing counsel from a Buddhist monk. More conceptually elaborate is Amos Gitai’s “Book of Amos,” in which passages from the eponymous Hebrew text are recited by a relaying group of street folk (played by faces familiar from Gitai’s past features) as soldiers face down a public riot. Certainly the most topical entry in light of current events, it’s executed with some panache but feels rather exclusive in its Biblical and political allusions.
Spanish genre rebel Alex de la Iglesias’ “The Confession” essentially opens at the climax point of a high-octane thriller, as a hitman flees the scene of a botched killing and tumbles into the cab of a devoutly Catholic taxi driver; as the black-clad criminal is mistaken for a priest, things shift into a more blackly comic gear. Unsurprisingly the most propulsive of the chapters, it’s also rather silly stuff — though preferable to the stony dourness of Emir Kusturica’s Christian Orthodox entry “Our Life,” in which a self-sacrificing Serbian priest embarks on a gruelling uphill trek to grace.
A shot of invention and wit finally arrives in the shape of Ghobadi’s aforementioned short, which employs a restlessly rotating camera and splintered sound design to convey the dual perspectives of conjoined twin brothers — one more dedicated to Islam than the other — who must negotiate an even trickier impasse when one wishes to pursue a sexual relationship with a woman. Darkly funny and genuinely investigative of its chosen faith, it could be expanded into a full, probing feature. Meanwhile, it’s arguably a deeper examination of religious skepticism than Arriaga’s atheism-themed closer “God’s Blood,” starring the reliably strong Demian Bichir as a Mexican engineer and devout non-believer at odds with his elderly father, who claims to be having disturbing visions of God. As the titular metaphor is realized in bombastically literal fashion, atheists in the audience may well feel the film isn’t on their side.
Tech credits across the films range from the proficient to the highly polished. Peter Gabriel, in his capacity as elder statesman of mainstream world music, contributes interstitial compositions as well as a rather dirgey closing-credits tune. The project’s claims to globalism might have been better served, it should be said, by the inclusion of at least one film from Africa — a continent rife with storied spiritualism that is conspicuous by its absence.
Venice Film Review: 'Words With Gods'
Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (noncompeting), Aug. 29, 2014. Running time: 135 MIN.
Production
(Mexico-U.S.) A BN Films presentation of an Arriaga Garcia Producciones production. Produced by Alex Garcia, Lucas Akoskin, Guillermo Arriaga. Executive producers, Alex Garcia, Armando Lozano, Jonathan Gray, Adrián Zurita.
Crew
Feature film concept, Guillermo Arriaga. Curator, Mario Vargas Llosa. Music, Peter Gabriel; animation concept, Alex Garcia; animation director, Maribel Martinez. True Gods Produced by Kath Shelper. Directed, written by Warwick Thornton. Camera (color, widescreen), Thornton; editor, Roland Gallois; music, Elizabeth Lansen, Shellie Morris, Patrick McCloskey; production designer, Daran Fulham; sound (Dolby Digital), Liam Egan. The Man Who Stole a Duck Produced by Francisco Ramalho Jr, Chico Diaz, Barbara Paz. Directed, written by Hector Babenco. Camera (color, widescreen), Adrian Teijido; editor, Ide Lacreta; production designer, Cristina Camargo; sound (Dolby Digital), Miriam Biderman, Ricardo Reis. God Room Produced by Ami Boghani, Mira Nair. Directed by Mira Nair. Screenplay, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti. Camera (color, widescreen), Shanker Raman; editor, Shimit Amin; music, Sneha Khanwalkar; production designer, Suzanne Caplan Merwanji; sound (Dolby Digital), Cheerag Cama. Sufferings Produced by Atsuyuki Shimoda. Directed, written by Hideo Nakata. Camera (color, widescreen), Tetsuro Sano; editor, Nobuyuki Takahashi ; music, Kenji Kawai; sound (Dolby Digital), Kiyoshi Kakizawa, Kenji Shibasaki. Book of Amos Produced by Michael Thapuah. Directed, written by Amos Gitai. Camera (color, widescreen), Giora Bejach; editor, Isabelle Ingold; music, Tali Weisman; production designer, Miguel Markin; sound (Dolby Digital), Alex Claude. The Confession Produced by Alex de la Iglesia, Yousaf Bokhari. Directed by Alex de la Iglesia. Screenplay, de la Iglesia, Jorge Guerricaechevarria. Camera (color, widescreen), Kiko de la Rica; editor, Pablo Blanco; music, Joan Valent; production designer, Jose Arrizabalaga, Arturo Garcia; sound (Dolby Digital), Charly Schmukler. Our Life Produced by Paula Vaccaro. Directed by Emir Kusturica. Screenplay, Kusturica, Dunja Kusturica. Camera (color, widescreen), Martin Sec; editor, Svetolik Mica Zajc; music, Stribor Kusturica; production designer, Nebojsa Lipanovic; sound (Dolby Digital), Aleksandra Perović. Sometimes Look Up Produced by Mij Film. Directed, written by Bahman Ghobadi. Camera (color, widescreen), Igor Martinovic; editors, Ghobadi, Franziska Von Berlepsch; music, Stribor Kusturica; sound (Dolby Digital), Sinan Berksoz, Thomas Robert. God's Blood Produced by Alex García, Guillermo Arriaga, Santiago García Galván, Adrián Zurita. Directed, written by Guillermo Arriaga. Camera (color, widescreen), Sergio Yazbek; editor, Richard Chew; music, Lorne Balfe; production designer, Ruben Bross, Alejandro Martínez; sound (Dolby Digital), Javier Umpierrez.
With
True Gods Miranda Tapsell, Kiarrah-Jayde Buzzacott. The Man Who Stole a Duck Chico Diaz, Barbara Paz, Regiane Vieira, Claudio Viera, Anna Julia Vieira. (Portuguese dialogue) God Room Tanuja, Ram Kapoor, Shefali Shah, Amardeep Jha, Raj Kumar Yadav, Richa Chadda, Naman Jain, Anand Tiwari, Vinay Pathak, Cyrus Sahukar, Harish Khanna. (Marathi dialogue) Sufferings Masatoshi Nagase, Kazuya Takahashi, Makiko Watanabe, Miu Tsushima, Yamamoto Oshiba, Yoko Imamoto, Yui Tateishi, Daichi Miyazawa, Daikichi Sugawara. (Japanese dialogue) Book of Amos Yael Abecassis, Zohar Strauss, Sarai Givaty, Shady Srour, Ruti Asrai, Eran Sebbag, Arnon Ophir. (Hebrew dialogue) The Confession Juan Fernández, Pepón Nieto, Paco Zagarzazu, Inma Cuesta, Mariano Venancio, Guadalupe Lancho, Purificación Arrieta, Jacobo Sánchez, David Arribas, Diego Herberg. (Spanish dialogue) Our Life Emir Kusturica. Sometimes Look Up Yilmaz Erdoğan, Amir A. Fekri, Menderes Samancilar, Pooneh Hajimohammadi, Sinan Dag, Bunyamin Basci, Dilek Bingol, Acelya Gurbuz. (Farsi dialogue) God's Blood Demian Bichir, Emilio Echevarria, Jorge A. Jimenez. (Spanish dialogue)