24 November 2010

Electro Wars+Welcome to the Reileys+Submarino




In his documentary - The Electro Wars - the young film maker (he looks even younger than he is, born in 1984) Stephen Alex Vasquez tries to depict the historical as well as the recent developments when it comes to the electronic dance music.

From a short historical backdrop with the development of the Moog synthesizer, the work by Kraftwerk and other 'pioneers' within electronical music, he moves on to the American dance scene in all its diverisification.
We get to see how different genres and musical influences has created a mix, leading up to different kinds of subgenres of the overall defined musical category called electro(nical), subgenres not so easily defined and separated from each other, as with a lot of musical styles.
When a certain kind of style appears, other - very quickly - pop up and create a not so easily penetrated jungle of musical varieties and it's this development we are introduced to in this ambitious documentary.
One of the interesting things is that it seems as if it's hard to keep up with the development, even during the filming but for those of you - including myself - who are not extremely initiated and possess a lot of knowledge about this musical scene, this is a very interesting and illuminating documentary with a lot of interviews with elder and more recent icons within the constantly ongoing 'electro war-scene'.

Afterwards we had the pleasure talking to mister Vasquez and asking him some questions around this film and the making of it.
We were invited to a party that very night but unfortunately our film watching schedule was to tight for this. Next time in the United States perhaps?

Stephen Alex Vasquez (left) and the very same and me (with a ridiculous smile, right)






















The couple in the film 'Welcome to the Reileys' - Doug (James Gandolfini) and Lois (Melissa Leo) - lost their daughter many years ago. She was killed.
Ever since they have struggled with their relationship, their inability to have another child and Lois panic attacks, making her constantly stay inside the house in a self-imposed house-arrest.
During a business trip to Louisiana Doug meets a 16-year-old woman - Mallory (Kristen Stewart) - employed at a strip club.
After a while he decides to take care of her, as he can't bear seeing her live the way she does and this of course against the background of the tragic story of their daughter with whom he partly identify Mallory.
When Doug confide her the story about their daughter, she reacts by accusing him only wanting to replace his daughter with her, without a profound interest in her as a person.
This is both right and wrong, as we will see.

On the whole this film is a bit to conventional för my (Gunnar's) taste. We've seen these kind of stories before, where people being well off economically, for this or that reason, engage themselves in a person living under more severe circumstances.
I don't think this film added anything unique to this genre.
Kristen Stewart reminded us - when it comes to her role character and the way she characterize her - of a young Jodie Foster or Juliette Lewis and the name Mallory 'of course' evoke the latter.


Submarino:
Another Danish story about people living on the knife edge between life and death, maltreated as children, having problems coming over this as adults.
One of our friends - the producer Olivier Guerpillon - said: "Well, I felt like seing a Danish depressing story - once again".

Two brothers grow up with a alcoholized mother who totally neglect them leaving them alone in the appartment, having to take responsibility for their baby sibling.
When this baby dies, the two boys accuse themselves for his death.
When the older brother - as a grown-up - leaves prison, after having served some years, he incidentally meets his younger brother, the latter having a son but not a job, being a drug addict and selling drugs in order bieng able to support himself and hi son.
Even though the older brother is no great role model, he's more eager trying to live a life keeping him away from crime and therefore tries to help his younger brother as well as he can.
In spite of the seriousness of the subject matter, the good acting and some rather violent episodes, this film does not affect me in any profound way.

Irresponsible people blaming everyone else, or their upbringing, for their own mistakes, is something so common, in reality as in fiction, that it feels to much of a déja vu to impress on me, not least as the this film lacks the originality and surprising ingredients of Thomas Vinterberg's most famous film(?) 'Festen' ('The Celebration'/'Fête de famille').

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