The Red Hangar (Chi/Arg/Ita) (wiki)
During the intense, paranoid period of civil unrest of 1970s Chile, Captain Jorge Silva, once a celebrated name in the chilian air force, now works a relatively quiet job in the senior ranks of a military flying school. Things hot up as the coup looms over the horizon, when Colonel Jahn - a rough-nosed, menacing figure - appears and takes over the running of the school, repurposing it as a holding centre for captured uprisers, many of which would be tortured and killed for what information they had.
Silva, the darker aspects of his shrouded past only hinted upon, clearly had a hand in stalling Jahn's progress through the military, having had him kicked out for misdemeanours in the past, now finds himself under Jahns command, who has not forgotten the past. As Jahn's actions become increasingly reckless towards his prisoners, Silva must choose between his adherance to military hierarchy, or stand against it.
Shot in saturated black and white, accentuating every character expression; the slow twisting of the rope around the necks of the main characters is demonstrated largely with words not action, and is no less tense for it. It could be seen as a good companion piece to Wild Horse Nine, coincidentally also showing but I didnt manage to get a ticket, which is also set with the Chilean coup as its backdrop. 7.5/10
Variations on a Theme (SA) (review)
During the second world war, allied Europe enlisted thousands of South-Africans onto the front line. For their service, while the white man was paid well, each one of these men returned with a pair of leather boots and a bicycle.
In the present day, Hettie - a daughter of one such soldier, now about to turn 80 herself, tends her goats on the hills above her small, poor village. She lives thriftily and alone, but comfortably enough and has become used to her empty nest after her husband passed and the children left for the city. But now, supposed government officials have been handing out blue forms, offering at last, proper compensation for the sacrifice of their ancestors. Naturally Hettie, and all her neighbours quickly copper up their significant administration fees, and post them off. Only a week or so, they said, and the money would come back.
Operating somewhere in the area between documentary and fiction, the silent Hettie is given voice by the narrator who weaves stories around the scenes of the village and its enhabitants as the wait, and wait; and gives thoughts and complexity to Hettie's silent existence, showing as that this quiet old woman is full of thoughts and feelings behind her subdued expression and painted smile.
The cyclical nature of the film, as it repeats the same static scenes one by one with subtle differences, could have got annoying, but with its short run time (just over an hour), they become a lyrical rhythm of this old lady's stoic existance. Initially it seemed to be about the ease with which a community such as this could be hoodwinked - as they are - out of what little cash they had; but it became little more than a background detail as the more important themes of family and community, repitition and foundation, took to the front. It was warmed over with beautiful music seemingly from deep within Hettie's distant past, and was a lovely way to spend a little time with her. 8/10
Ultimate Thunder (UK) (film site)
Few bands command such warmth from their audience as these guys, a group of men with various learning disabilities who came together in a Leeds warehouse to become, 'the most punk-rock band in the world'
Quite the claim, but here they make their case. These guys dont have a set list, they just play, jazz-style, whatever comes to mind, and the audience has to take it. No two gigs are ever the same, and front man Matthew's improvised lyrics jump the tracks continually, from random, bizarre outbursts to profound inner feelings. In that respect, their musical output is perhaps the purest form of expression.
Filmmaker Ben Brown became an unofficial band member for three years and followed them from humble jam sessions to their first gigs. Their popularity went large when their funding was cut and fellow bands spread the word of their crowdfunder which spread through word of mouth.
An easy film to love and I spent most of it with a big smile on my face. Hyde park was packed out, clearly with a number of locals who know and love the band; plus the director and band members were among them; they got up on stage afterwards for a long Q+A session that unfortunately I had to miss a lot of. I'll be looking out for these guys on posters around Leeds in the future. 8/10
The Third Man (UK) (wiki)
To round off the night, we have a fresh 4K remaster of the 1949 classic, oft cited as the greatest British film of all time, but one I had yet to experience. My first and second choices for this slot had all sold out (you have to be quick at Leeds) so this was an opportunity to see it where it was meant to be experienced.
Holly Martins, an American writer of some limited fame arrives in a wrecked post-war Vienna, occupied in zones by the British, the Americans, the Germans and the Russians who somehow have managed to work something out, and uneasy peace exists amongst the rubble between the factions, although crime is still rife. Somewhere in the city, Holly's friend Harry Limes has said he might have some much needed work.
But without even being able to meet, Harry is killed in a car accident, and all Holly can manage is to catch the tail end of the burial, attended by a handful of unfamiliar and shifty faces. Idle questions give nonsensical answers and Holly is drawn deeper into a detective mystery of the kind only his books would go near. With the police seemingly uninterested in pursuit of these new developments, and a distraction in the form of Anna, a tragic femme fetale who loved harry for all his faults, can he get to the bottom of the loss of his friend?
Getting on now for 80 years old, The Third Man is still plenty watchable in its own right, and from a retrospective angle, represents an early example of what later thrillers would employ in terms of narrative twists and turns. While I would not rush out to buy my own copy off the back of this, it was an entertaining, fascinating time capsule, both of the wreckage of a once beautiful city, and also a major milestone in film history. 7/10
