Film Reviews by Philip in Paradiso

In the American West (1851), brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters are hitmen hired by a wealthy businessman, ‘the Commodore’. He asks them to kill a man named Hermann Warm. The movie shows how the 2 brothers -- killers who think nothing of shooting dead anyone they have been paid to eliminate -- track down H Warm and what happens next.

It is a good film -- a Western, which was directed by a Frenchman, oddly. Some twists in the plot are implausible and the story is a little bit too long, but the plot is good overall. If you like that kind of cynical Western, I don't think you will be disappointed. But it's not a masterpiece.

The film is billed as 'a comedy' but I don't think it is funny per se. This is a misnomer.

Set in Argentina, in the province of Corrientes bordering Paraguay, the story follows the half-English doctor, Eduardo Plarr (Richard Gere), who meets a range of people, including the British Honorary Consul, Charley Fortnum (Michael Caine), who is a colourful character and an alcoholic. Dr Plarr finds himself caught up in local politics and tangled up in a love affair that puts him in a difficult position in more ways than one.

The plot is very good, as it is basically G Greene's novel, adapted for the big screen. The acting is excellent insofar as M Caine (the consul) and Bob Hoskins (the chief of police) are concerned. However, I feel the movie is let down quite a bit by the wooden acting of R Gere, who is inexpressive and somewhat dull. At times, this means that the dramatic tension fails to flare up as and when it should, given the situations depicted, which means it is a good film, but not a great film.

Having said that, I recommend it, and not only if you are a fan of G Greene's novels or Michael Caine's acting.

The entire film focuses on one character -- a Danish police officer who has been posted to the desk of a 999 emergency hotline. Through him, we follow a case involving a young mother, who calls to say she has been abducted by her violent ex-partner. The action happens remotely, down the telephone line, as the officer liaises with colleagues on patrol and so on.

The suspense is unbearable at times and the plot is intelligently crafted. The police officer is unusually sensitive, one might argue, but the movie is, ultimately, about what it means to be 'guilty', as the title indicates, when things can be more complex and relative than one might imagine -- something that applies to the lead character himself.

A very good film you will not forget.

This is a classic in the Western genre, with a twist. For a start, most of the action takes place along the US/ Mexico border or in Mexico itself. A group of ageing outlaws are trying to achieve one last 'score' before retiring, and find that there are more options on Mexican soil than in Texas: the story takes place against the backdrop of the Mexican civil war (involving Pancho Villa).

The film was a sensation, when it came out, because of the level of graphic violence and the pile-up of dead bodies -- something we are used to today. The lead characters are actually depicted in some detail, so that they are not cardboard caricatures, with good acting, sharp dialogues and humour. The story is dark and the characters are cynical: there is no idealism here and the old West is dead...

What you will remember, ultimately, are the shoot-outs and action scenes, which are amazing, more particularly the attack on the military train, along the US/ Mexico border, which is remarkably well shot. The last piece of mayhem, at the end of the movie, is distinctly over the top and requires a certain suspension of disbelief, however.

This is the story of a fairly ordinary American businessman with a loving wife and family, who ends up in jail in the company of hardened criminals. In order to survive, he soon emulates the other inmates, resorting to violence when he needs to.

There are implausible details in the story, more particularly towards the end, in my view, but it is a very good film that will stay with you, because of the depiction of prison life -- the violence, the gangs, and the code of honour among inmates. You realise what the culture in prisons is and how they operate: it's like a punch in the face and a kick in the stomach. It comes across as very realistic, in terms of US prisons, at any rate (but I suspect conditions are similar in many British prisons, where we hear the level of violence is growing all the time).

So, I recommend this movie, if you have the stomach for this kind of storyline, which is dark but compelling.

It is a good film that shows more particularly how the Nazis were gradually able to take over and the population, in the main, chose to collaborate. The hero is a remarkable character in many ways and the movie gives a good and accurate account of his life. The film lacks dramatic tension at times, in my view, and therefore is not a masterpiece, but it is a very good film.

This movie is very interesting on many levels: it is a psychological thriller and an action movie, as well as a period film, focusing on Korean resistance to the Japanese in occupied Korea, during the inter-war period (just before WWII).

But it is also quite subtle: the main character, the police officer, is a complex individual. Is he a traitor? Is he a hero? Who is he loyal to?

I recommend this captivating film.

This is a good film, and very much a 1960s British film, in its style, atmosphere, concerns, etc. But it is not a masterpiece. There is something a little bit annoying about it, somehow, in my opinion. It is a bit slow at times. There is something circular about it. At the end of the day, not that much happens: boy meets girl, problems arise, accidents happen, professors at university lust after young women, and so on. I enjoyed it but I don't think it is quite as great a classic as some people would have us believe. I still recommend it.

This is very odd and rather unique film. On one level, it feels unfinished and gives you clues but no clear meaning or ending. One could argue the characters are not all developed and meaningful. It is frustrating and confusing. You would want it to be more linear and also there seems to be 2 plots, not one, and the link between the 2 is not clear at all, and the idea that some of it may be a dream only helps up to a point.

On the other hand, it is visually and musically amazing and mind-blowing, because the director is, in his own way, an artist and a genius. There is menace and mystery, mixed with a thriller-type sub-plot and enigma. Mostly, what fascinates is the rapport between the 2 heroines, who are stunningly beautiful. This turns the movie into some sort of dark, mysterious erotic thriller.

On balance, I recommend it, and it will make you wonder for days afterwards what this or that scene meant, and so on: not so many films do. And, after all, real life is a bit like that: we rarely have a linear plot we are able to follow...

Two Portuguese Jesuits based in 17th-century Macau set off for Japan, in an attempt to find C Ferreira, a fellow Portuguese Jesuit who is said to have recanted his faith, which they do not believe is possible. In their quest for C Ferreira, they encounter much-persecuted Christian communities in various villages.

This is a long, unusual film. It is a bit slow and it will help if you have an interest in Christianity and/or in the history of Japan -- more particularly, the history of Christian communities in pre-modern Japan. Having said this, it is also a very interesting movie in its own way.

Ultimately, it is a philosophical tale rather than anything else: it asks questions such as -- what does it mean to have one's faith tested? What does it mean to betray one's ideas and convictions? When is it justified to give up one's principles? Are you a traitor if you do? And to whom? What is the truth and its value in a completely different culture that has a completely different approach to ethical values and ideas? Can you give up your convictions, and yet continue to be true to them and to yourself?

All these questions are deep and difficult and, in an interesting way, the film looks at them, through the prism of the 2 Jesuits parachuted in the middle of a repressive pre-modern Japan.

This is a very good film, with a dark, brooding atmosphere -- a social drama that is also a thriller, re-creating very well the atmosphere in a poor working-class district of Boston.

However, I found one specific aspect of the movie implausible. This does not really affect the quality of the film but prevents it from 'working' 100%. Without divulging the ending and the plot, I can only say that I was left unconvinced, at the very end, by the resolution that we are presented with in relation to the central mystery at the heart of the film.

I would still recommend this film for its tension, suspense, atmosphere, and acting.

This is based on a true story. The acting is excellent -- R Crowe is impressive in this difficult part, confirming what I have always thought, i.e. that he is a very good actor. It is the harrowing story of a mathematical genius, in the USA, in the 1950s, who gets caught up in defence-related work and has to cope with his demons, helped in this by his wife.

I don't want to say any more so as not to give the story away, although, if you know the biography of the scientist it is about, you would obviously know what happened and when, since the movie is a faithful adaptation of his life's story. An unusual film, quite subtle and scary in some ways: highly recommended.

One of the best films I have ever seen. It is very deep in that German kind of way, but also captivating and intriguing. If our physical appearance changes, are we the same or are we different? Can others recognise us? If they loved us before, can they love us now? What if they never loved us, even before? What does it mean to be someone (or someone else)?

It shows post-WWII Germany in a state of deep shock and trauma, and how they dealt with the Nazis among them. Who betrayed whom becomes clear as the plot unfolds.

The acting is very good and the film is never boring, even though you can read it on many, many levels, including the purely historical one.

This is an interesting -- captivating, even -- film, but it is also a weird movie in more ways than one. I wouldn't describe it as a thriller because it doesn't fit into that genre as such, although there is a mystery at the heart of the plot. The film is quite slow and too long, and yet it is fascinating, because there are so many ways that you can interpret the opaque story.

The central character who lives on his father's farm is, somehow, a bit gormless. But it's possible to identify with him and his sense of bewilderment at what goes on around him. On the other hand, there is something frustrating about the story because some obvious questions that ought to be asked are not touched upon, hence we are not provided with answers (which is deliberate on the part of the director, of course). What I mean is that it is rather implausible that any of those key questions wouldn't have been asked and the person or persons involved wouldn't have been put on the spot as part of that questioning, in any real-life situation approaching that described in the film. (I cannot say any more, to avoid spoiling it.)

Then again, the film is totally unconventional and does not pretend to be realistic as such. It is an atmospheric and oniric sentimental drama inching its way slowly towards some kind of thriller, South Korean style.

This is an interesting and moving film, which shows how a family of misfits survive on the fringes of Japanese society, resorting to casual work, low-level scams and shoplifting on a grand scale. The first 70% of the movie tells us about the life of this unusual family unit; it is perhaps a bit too long, but the acting is very good and the story is convincing. In the last 30% of the movie, things become perhaps more captivating, as many of the family's secrets are revealed.

Whereas, in the initial part of the film, we see society through the eyes of the misfits at the heart of the film, and we see them through their own eyes, in the latter part of the film, the perspective is harshly reversed, as we see them through the eyes of society at large and the 'system'.

I would certainly recommend the film, if you like this kind of social-realist movie. I've been to Japan twice -- a country that is very modern, very clean, and very safe, where there is very little crime -- but this film shows another side of Japanese society...