Tag: dry humor

FALLEN LEAVES – Review

Alma Pöysti as Ansa and Jussi Vatanen as Holappa, in FALLEN LEAVES. Courtesy of MUBI.

FALLEN LEAVES is a romantic comedy from Finland, with the driest of humor. Bone-dry does not cover it; this is a Sahara Desert of dry humor. No one cracks a smile and no one winks at the audience as they deadpan their satiric comedy lines. This is also the bad-luck couple of the year, who can’t seem to catch a break, except through the most absurd of coincidence. FALLEN LEAVES is undeniably funny, in it deadpan Nordic way but you have to meet the humor on its own terms. It is not there to help you.

If all that sounds good to you, dive in. Personally I like Nordic humor and I appreciate the film’s touches of social commentary in its absurdist humor, but it is not for everyone.

In Helsinki, two lonely people meet by chance. Ansa (Alma Pöysti) lives alone and works in a supermarket, where her job is to pull expired items off the shelf and throw them in the trash. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) is a metal worker who has a drinking problem and thinks he’s just fine living alone. Holappa’s co-worker Huotari (Janne Hyytiainen), a middle-aged guy still hoping to find love, talks the taciturn industrial worker into going to a karaoke bar. There Holappa spots blonde pretty Ansa, who is there with some of her co-workers, and changes his mind about being OK with a lonely life. Ansa and Holappa exchange looks but not words, and certainly not names, even when Holappa’s pal tries to strike up a conversation with one of her co-workers after his karaoke song.

Holappa is a man of few words and Ansa is a woman of few words, but their co-workers pepper the air with satiric remarks and dry-humor social commentary. After Holappa’s co-worker sings his romantic karaoke ballad, he starts talking about being “discovered,” waiting for a record contract, and how amazing his singing was – all with such determined deadpan that we’re not even sure he’s joking.

It’s typical of the humor in FALLEN LEAVES, whose title translates literally as “dead leaves.” Another bit of absurdist humor happens at Ansa’s job, when she is fired for “theft” after the store manager discovers an expired-product cookie in her purse. Ansa objects, rationally, that the item is being thrown away anyway but the store manager counters that if it doesn’t go in the trash, it’s stealing. Two of Ansa’s co-workers, who have been watching this exchange, then pull out expired items from their purses, and quit in protest over her firing, even though the manager, absurdly, tells them they can stay because they surrender the items voluntarily.

Of course, this creates a problem for the budding romance, when Holappa goes to the grocery store to look for Ansa – the only think he learned about her at the bar the night before – only to discover she doesn’t work there any more. It’s the first of the comedy’s many missed-connections routines. Of course, chance then intervenes to put them back together again, before it tears them apart again. And again and again. This road never did run smooth, you know.

This Finnish-German comedy-drama is the fourth in a series from writer/director Aki Kaurismäki. The previous films in his “Proletariat” series on ordinary working people are SHADOWS IN PARADISE (1986), ARIEL (1988), and THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL (1990).

The time period of this romantic comedy-drama is deliberately unclear – there are items from earlier decades, like a vintage radio, retro furniture and dated clothing, but the radio broadcasts are from 2022 or 2019 (with Russia invading Ukraine). The couple go to a movie theater and see a 2019 horror-comedy (Jim Jarmusch’s THE DEAD DON’T DIE) – but all the movie poster outside are for films from a range of eras. A calendar in another scene says that it is 2024, so who knows. Obviously, we’re not supposed to.

FALLEN LEAVES is full of satiric and absurdist humor, often delivered by passers-by or minor characters, and in off-hand manner. The two leads, Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen, actually do a good job in their challenging roles, touchingly conveying damped-down feelings between two people who seem incapable of expressing feelings, which is kind of sweet. However, while this dry-humor film certainly has its comic moments, this romance between two nearly-silent people may not be one that lingers in memory.

FALLEN LEAVES, in Finnish with English subtitles, opens in theaters on Friday, Dec. 1.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

LIMBO – Review

Vikash Bhai (left) stars as “Farhad” and Amir El-Masry (right) stars as “Omar” in director Ben Sharrock’s LIMBO, a Focus Features release. Cr. Courtesy of Colin Tennant / Focus Features

A young Syrian musician and a motley collection of other refugees wait on a remote Scottish island while the British government decides their asylum claims, in writer/director Ben Sharrock’s wry funny, poignant LIMBO. LIMBO paints a dryly comic, often absurdist tale of life in limbo, but it also takes us to unexpected places, just as their journey took to them to this unlikely spot.

LIMBO features excellent direction, a tightly-crafted script, fine performances and stunning photography of the harsh, windswept island landscape. This smart, well-crafted film, both funny and touching, was a BAFTA nominee and a winner at the British Independent Film Awards and the Cairo International Film Festival.

The British government has sent this group of refugees to a distant, sparsely-populated, fictional Scottish island to await their fate. The story focuses mainly on the young Syrian musician, Omar (Amir El-Masry), who is both a comic and pitiable figure with his hand in a cast but clutching the case with his musical instrument as he wanders this windswept island. He joins a group that includes Farhad (Vikash Bhai), an Afghan refugee who is a member of a religious minority as well as a Freddie Mercury fan, and a pair of young men from Africa, Abedi (Kwabena Ansah) and Wasef (Ola Orebiyi), one of whom aspires to be a soccer star. One of the group opines that they were sent to this remote location because they are all the least desirable applicants – single men without families or special skills. Actually, the musician has a special skill – he is a talented musician from a family of famous musicians – but he plays the oud, a stringed instrument much beloved in Syria, although here, no one has even heard of it.

While they wait, the men spend their days attending comically-bizarre classes that are supposed to acclimate them to a new culture. The classes are run by a pair of former immigrants, Helga (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and Boris (Kenneth Collard), who act out scenarios that are supposed to represent potential cultural misunderstandings, skits whose oddness leave the refugees staring in open-jawed disbelief. The instructors’ accents, a weird mix of their original ones and Scottish burrs, adds another bit of comic weirdness.

You can hear the humor potential in all that, and writer/director Ben Sharrock takes full advantage of that, but also uses the characters’ uniqueness to deepen them. Theater of the absurd is very present here, while the storytelling makes uses that to help make its points. In one telling scene, Omar stands on a desolate roadside, stoically listening as a group of Scottish teens berate and mock him for being an immigrant – but then offer him a ride. With little choice, the musician accepts, a perfect metaphor for his whole situation.

Filled with dry humor, LIMBO does not preach about immigrants but merely puts a human face on them by putting us in their shoes, particularly the young musician, as they wait in limbo for a distant government’s decision that will determine their fate. The comic elements are combined with pointed observations about the human condition, not just the plight of these wanderers, and some emotionally searing personal moments.

Omar is in limbo in more than one way. Separated from his family, he broods about his life. Omar’s oud belonged to his grandfather, a famous musician in Syria, and Omar was a rising talent himself before war tore his country apart. His family fled to Turkey but faced hostile treatment there, and Omar decided to take a chance in Britain, thinking his musical ability might give him a chance. His decision to seek asylum was paired with his brother’s decision to return to Syria to fight, a choice that caused a rift between them as well as separating the family, something Omar struggles with.

The photography is stunning, and adds enormously to the appeal of the film. Time and again, cinematographer Nick Cooke frames the action against a back drop of pale, waving grasses and gray skies, and repeatedly transforms a stark landscape into painterly scenes that sink into our consciousness as we follow the characters struggles amid the waiting.

This excellent film uses humor and insightful storytelling to deliver a thought-provoking, unexpected, and deeply human tale that rises above just the issue of immigration to a more universally human place. LIMBO opens Friday, April 30, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema, and Marcus’ Ronnies and St. Charles Cinemas.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars

WOMAN AT WAR – Review

Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir in WOMAN AT WAR, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.

In the Icelandic film WOMAN AT WAR, a lively, independent middle-aged woman named Halla (Hallora Geirhardsdottir) lives a double life: as choral director with a secret identity as an environmental activist known only as “Woman of the Mountain.” In her secret identity, Halla uses her skill with a bow, like a real-life Katniss Everdeen, to knock out power lines. Her goal is to disable an aluminum smelter owned by multinational corporations, who plan to bring in more polluting heavy industry to Iceland.

After one attack on the power lines, Halla nimbly makes her escape across a starkly beautiful landscape. She passes by the three-piece band that has been providing the music for her daring action, although she doesn’t seem to see them. The police, hunting for the saboteur, stop a hapless Spanish-speaking bicyclist who happens into the area. When the young bicyclist tells them he’s a tourist, the police snap back that this is not a “tourist area” and arrest him. Meanwhile, Halla makes her escape with a little help from a sod farmer and his dog named Woman.

Quirky, yes, but this comedy/drama/thriller also has a lot of heart and considerable entertainment. Nordic countries have a knack for this kind of film – quirky, darkly comedic, slightly surreal, but with underlying serious meaning, and it seems that knack extends to Iceland.

WOMAN AT WAR features very nice photography that highlights the natural beauty of the Icelandic landscape, as well as its attractive modern architecture. There is a lot of music in this film, provided by that band that keeps popping up along with a trio of female singers in traditional garb. The musicians seem to follow Halla around, unseen by her or anyone else.

When next we see Halla, she looks totally different. Elegantly dressed, she arrives at a sunlight-filled, high-ceiling hall in a community center to lead the rehearsal of a community choir.

Halla is an idealist, whose sunny apartment’s walls are adorned with pictures of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi. Turns out, she has done this kind of thing more than once, and she is not alone in her clandestine efforts to derail the efforts of a global corporation to partner with the Icelandic government to bring in more heavy industry. Even some government officials are are part of her environmental push-back.

As her efforts have escalated from petty vandalism to industrial sabotage, she is careful that no one is injured and only the multinational corporation behind the aluminum plant she opposes suffers financially, although some people are inconvenienced. She believes she wants what is best for her country and the global environment, and that what she is doing will help. The plan is to slow down the joint multinational-governmental effort, while building popular opposition.

But things do not go as planned, and life adds complications. The film is one that continually takes viewers by surprise, with unexpected warm and poignancy. Halla’s supreme confidence in herself and what she is doing it shaken by unforeseen events, making her re-evaluate life view.

This is a well-crafted film with sure direction by Benedikt Erlingsson. It is also lifted by magnificent cinematography, and a part thriller, part personal drama story, that is sprinkled generously with dry humor. It is the kind of film that never goes where you expect yet takes you on a rewarding journey.

One of the strengths of this film is Hallora Geirhardsdottir in a double role as Halla and her twin sister. Geirhardsdottir’s sensitive performance takes us inside the head of a woman driven by a cause who goes on a personal journey that shakes up her life yet brings her to a life-affirming place. The rest of the cast are good as well but the greatest weight falls on Geirhardsdottir, and she is splendid.

Nothing quite goes according to Halla’s plan nor according to our expectations, which are often upended until WOMAN AT WAR makes its way to its surprising yet satisfying conclusion.

WOMAN AT WAR, in Icelandic with English subtitles, opens Friday, March 15, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

THE STRONGEST MAN – The Review

strongestman_inage

THE STRONGEST MAN is a dry, dead-pan comedy about a Cuban man in Miami called Beef, played by Robert Lorie. Beef works in construction, but is known by friends and coworkers for being exceptionally strong. Beef is a good-sized man, but his natural strength goes far beyond the limits of any man I’ve ever met. Ultimately, this is a relatively insignificant fact about Beef, as his one love and passion in life is his gold-painted BMX bike, which he rides proudly like a child when not working construction or hanging art for a local rich white woman named Mrs. Rosen, played by Lisa Banes.

Beef’s best friend and coworker is the son of Korean immigrants and a seemingly talented yet underachieving man called Conan, played by Paul Chamberlain. The two spend most of their time together, often having peculiarly philosophical conversations in English, while Beef’s thoughts narrate the film in Spanish. At the request of friend Illi, played by Ashly Burch, Beef and Conan attend a yoga session on a whim and through the guidance of Guru Fred (played by Patrick Fugit) finds his spirit animal. As it turns out, his spirit animal proves to be problematic and after making the mistake of killing his spirit animal, Beef’s treasured BMX bike is stolen, sending him on a journey to find more than just a prized possession.

There are no big laugh-out loud moments in THE STRONGEST MAN, but the film is charmingly humorous in a subtle, introspective way that allows the viewer to empathize with this often quite man who seems simple-minded while conveying a sort of street wisdom and charisma combining the persona of Charles Bronson and Lennie from Of Mice and Men. This is an existentialist comedy that plays drier than the average British fare, but maintains a quirkiness developed by the characters, a testament to the curious writing and direction of Kenny Riches. THE STRONGEST MAN is Riches’ sophomore follow-up to MUST COME DOWN (2012) which boasts much of the same cast.

Robert Lorie is intriguing in the role of Beef, capable of filling out the slightly hulkish character through his physical type, posture and body language. Lorie also really captures the internal struggle of Beef, showing an avid understanding not just of the crucially well-written, oft off-beat dialogue, but nailing those crucial pauses and awkward even elongated silent moments that feed so much into developing Beef’s character. He’s a big guy, strong, but far from graceful, except when on his BMX. This is especially true near the end of the film when, upon reaching a breaking point, he cuts loose and dances freely, albeit terribly and at an inappropriate time.

THE STRONGEST MAN, at its core, is a story of finding what’s important to Beef. This is about Beef finding his true self and his true love. What begins as a search for his stolen bike becomes a search first for himself and then for the proverbial perfect girl. Riches shot the film with what feels like a docudrama influence, revealing Beef’s journey with on the fly, handheld cinematography that often feels spur of the moment. Doing this without feeling forced or contrived is not an easy task, but Riches manages to pull it off beautifully. While the toe and style are drastically different, consider films like THE WACKNESS (2008) or DONNIE DARKO (2001) as generally similar journey of self-discovery films and if you enjoyed those films, and are open the different styles and genres, be sure to give THE STRONGEST MAN a chance.

THE STRONGEST MAN opens in theaters on Friday, June 26th, 2015.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars