Skellig

I saw this programme being advertised prior to the Easter break, but, as it was on Sky and I only have freeview, I was unable to watch it. As luck would have it, I saw it in the supermarket the other night and, as there was nothing on television, I opted to buy it. I am a huge fan of Tim Roth’s and as the story appeared to have a supernatural element, I figured it was a safe bet.

I got home and settled myself down and started to watch the extras; I know I do things a little back to front from time to time. The mention of angels made me balk a little, but I gained an impression of a much darker story, so I started the movie a little perplexed as to its actual content. I was in for a welcome surprise.

Skellig is about life, death and rebirth, and the way in which a young boy, Michael, deals with the upheavals these events in his young life. First, he and his family move to a run-down house in a new area of town; second, his baby sister arrives unexpectedly and with complications; next he meets Grace, an elderly patient in the hospital; he meets a free-spirited, local girl, Mina; and, lastly, he finds Skellig in his garden shed. Michael’s life becomes chaotic and confusing as he finds himself out of place, and with little support.

Skellig is an enigmatic character, whose presence in Michael’s life adds a supernatural element to the tale. At first, only glimpses Skellig’s face and hands are seen but, as more of him in revealed, more questions are raised as to who, or what he is. Even with these doubts, Michael continues to build a relationship with his strange new friend.

I can’t say this movie has an unexpected end, but it certainly leaves the viewer with questions about the characters. The story moves along at an adequate pace, the storyline is a little different from the norm, the visuals are wonderful, somewhat seamlessly blending the everyday with the extraordinary, and the performances of the actors, particular young Bill Milner as Michael, are understated, making the world they inhabit seem more real in the face of the supernatural elements of the story.

Although aimed at children, I can see where this production would also appeal to adults. Certainly, its transported me back back to the confusion I felt as a pre-teen as to my place in the world and what was expected of me from friends, family and, well, people in general.

Well worth watching, even if I have more questions than answers.

Rating: 4/5.

Chemical Wedding

Simon Callow plays a professor who becomes the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley by using a virtual reality machine that has been infected with a virus of Crowley's rituals.

It sounded good on the cover: a mixture of horror and humour, but what a dissappointment. The movie is badly lit, the effects poor, the actors appear bored, but perhaps that's because they don't understand their lines and so cannot deliver them. Simon Callow does as much as he can using his voice, but its just not enough to carry the whole film. There is only one performer, on the periphery, who appears to give a damn about his performance and he only appears for around a minute and a half.

The plot line is dire, and the so-called twists don't impress merely because the whole premise is so poor to begin with. Even the scenes of ritual orgy fail to enliven the film. There was meant to be some humour, but it missed altogether.

There was nothing I could say I liked about the film. I even found the "making of ..." extra on the DVD appalling, where the comedy fails here, too.

Oh wait, I can think of something good to say - the sets and costuming appeared to be lush. With the lack of good lighting, on my small television, I couldn't really tell though.

All in all, one of the worst films I've seen in a long time.

Rating: ½/5.

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle

Seachd (also known as The Crimson Snowdrop outside of the United Kingdom) is the first ever Scots Gaelic feature film and what a film it is. The tag line, "The truth is in the story" sums up the movie well. Its hard to explain what the movie is about as there are so many themes running through it. The main relationship is between Aonghas and his grandfather, with whom he goes to stay, along with his sister, Mairi and brother, Donnchadh. The grandfather regails the children with his tales of times past whenever he gets a chance. Aonghas is not enamoured with these fictitious offerings and seeks the truth ... about his parent's death and his grandfather's stories.

The movie is wholly in gaelic and its wonderful to hear the language spoken, but no different from watching a foreign film. Filmed entirely on Skye, the landscape features heavily in the movie, as does history spanning centuries of tales. For those that know the myths, legends and folklore of Scotland, some of the tales will be recognisable; only one having been written especially for the movie - the tale of the crimson snowdrop. Each tale is clearly distinguishable in terms of the flow of the language, the colour scheme and the storytelling, a result of involving several writers, directors and actors. I have to say that I almost wanted the whole movie to be full of the grandfather's stories.

The music is wonderful and the stories are engrossing. One of the main themes is about the importance of keeping culture alive through language - stories, music, etc. and this is clearly spelled out without detracting from the main storyline itself. Its a wonderfully woven piece of film making and with every viewing something new is revealed - it has that kind of depth.

It's a wonderful movie for all ages, though it does carry a PG rating. I had a few quibbles watching this film, but they are insignificant in comparison to the level of enjoyment this film provides.

If you don't speak Gaelic, subtitles are provided in English, Irish and Scots Gaelic on the DVD. Also provided are interviews in both English and Gaelic. As a bonus, the DVD also contains the original short of the story of the Crimson snowdrop - well worth watching.

Penelope

Saw this on DVD last week and was pleasantly surprised. All I knew about the movie was that it was about a young woman with a pig's face. I vaguely recalled seeing interviews (around the time it was released at the cinema) wherein Reese Witherspoon talked about its message as one of self-acceptance.

So, I sat down to watch it. The first thing I liked was there were no previews or adverts, the DVD going straight to the main menu. I selected play and an old-fashioned fairy tale started. Christina Ricci starts in voice over mode about her ancestors and the curse they brought upon themselves and their descendants, wherein the first born girl to the family would have the face of a pig and only the love of one of her own kind would set her free.

And, so we go along several generations of boys until we reach Penelope. In her attempts to marry off Penelope, the mother (Catherin O'Hara) enlists the help of a matchmaker (Ronni Ancona) to find blue bloods to help lift the curse. Penelope stays behind a window and interviews them, showing herself at the last only to have the chaps run away screaming, wherein the Butler chases after them and gags them.

That is, until Edward escapes ...

The movie is very sweet, without being sickly. The costumes are amazing as are the sets, although everything is rather eclectic, including the accents with a mix of American and British casting and scenery. I have to give kudos to the prosthetics department, who disfigured Penelope so beautifully - she really is cute (in its original definition of ugly but attractive).

Overall, Penelope has a sumptuous feel and, despite the curse, the witch is not altogether berated for her actions, in fact, the witch comes of pretty justified in the end. So, not exactly bad PR for wtiches, which goes against the usual fairytale stories.

The technical aspects are rather good: cinemaphotography is beautiful, set and constume design luxurious, the lighting is soft complementing the harshnes of the storyline. The only exceptions were some very minor continuity issues, the odd accent slip and some sloppy voicing pick-ups in post-production.

Its an enjoyable movie and I have already watched it twice and its hard to find fault.

Rating: 5/5.