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Reviews
Jadesoturi (2006)
It's raining mystique - one of a kind film, an eternal love-story.
First of all, not every story can be that ultimate epic saga that makes your heart go hundred and fifty RPM for the three-and-a-half hours of amazing storytelling. Although someone could have brought together Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, and Chinese wuxia mystique in a more theatrical way, I'm actually glad that this time they didn't.
Jade Warrior is a low-budget film in the European or Asian, not to mention American, scale. Exactly because of that, with all the love and passion they've managed to load this story with, Jade Warrior is a delightfully naive yet very one of a kind film. Its unique spirit is in the low-tone acting, in the settings, in the costumes, in the dialoque, in the mixture of these two exotic world-views and beautiful languages - it's everywhere. After it will have been recognized next year with international awards, Jade Warrior will become one of the few Finnish films every film freak will have to see - and hopefully it won't be the only Finnish-Chinese co-production we'll see in this decade or so.
Manderlay (2005)
Fine acting in simple settings
I basically like the way von Trier has set up this film and the way he holds on to his story. Manderlay is a rough film to watch, not because of it's political aspects or it's philosophical view-points, but because of it's narrative simplicity. But don't you just have to love that theatrical touch once you realize how it fits in this film as a means of alienation?
You can not really review Bryce Dallas Howard's performance without discussing the character von Trier has built for her. Anyway, I think you can grow attached to Grace within the middle-part of the film, and that's basically what makes the film work after all. Rest of the cast is a delight after another, especially since they're actors with little less name than you might expect in an every-day Hollywood production. Even then I especially like Danny Glover in his part, though, but naturally every film needs it's grand old man.
Das Wunder von Bern (2003)
A naive football movie.
Das Wunder von Bern would be a great movie for men who think they still are boys, if it just wasn't as naive as it is.
The movie is about a boy who in the middle of poverty finds inspiration in football - and a father he never had in a player of a local football team. Until his father actually returns from Russia, that is. Father is quite a serious character and almost every scene he's in has that dark tone to it. They have tried to lighten up the movie with a character of a sports journalist and his wife, but that's only confusing at best.
As usually, they have tried to write a sports movie that would be more than a sports movie. The result is, it's hard to tell what the movie eventually is. Das Wunder von Bern is at it's best as a nostalgic journey back to the rugged sceneries and interiors of the 1950's.
Volunteers (1985)
Who wants to be developed?
Volunteers (1985) is quite a comedy. It can't be taken too seriously, but it does have that deeper aspect as well - it's how do we know, when those who are developed don't want to be developed. Volunteers say we don't.
Tom Hanks isn't as convincing as he is in his later movies, but it's his teamwork with late John Candy that really gives a spark to this movie. What a comedian we lost when we lost John Candy! I would recommend Volunteers for those who enjoy clever but simply ridiculous comedy. It's the level of exaggeration that makes this movie as funny as it is. I must have watched it at least four times, and John Candy has really made me feel great every time.