The English language debut film of French director Leos Carax is ambitious but it just does too much to work that falls unbelievably flat.
CREDIT: UGC Distribution
It’s finally here after premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival where it received a standing ovation (even though that seems to be tradition at this point for most movies at Cannes). French director Leos Carax creates his first English language film with the help of Sparks duo Ron and Russel Mael. The film is shot by Caroline Champetier along with music created by Sparks themselves. The film received raving reviews at Cannes especially many praising the performances by our leads. One can definitely agree that there was some anticipation for this film especially for fans of Carax and his last film Holy Motors.
Annette stars Adam Driver as, Henry McHenry, a comedian on a steady downfall in his career and life and Marion Cotillard as Catherine Defrasnoux a successful and beautiful opera singer who fall in love, get married, and have their first child. It is after they have their child that they face a slew of problems ranging from bad communication to jealousy. The film also stars Simon Helberg and Devyn McDowell who show off an incredible range of performances in the film. The film is definitely heightened by the performances included along with their singing abilities.
Now, let’s get one thing covered before we get into what this movie is doing. Annette is bizarre, ambitious and at times both of these characteristics are what helps the film stand out, but it is also what makes the film stay convoluted. The film succeeds in getting its message across about power hungry jealous men who are not content with their life and career, so they must manipulate those around them to help keep their career alive. It is exactly who Henry is and who he realizes he became by the end of the film. The film also has some stunning cinematography that is elevated by some genius production design. Everything from the lighting setups to the set pieces really help create the atmosphere of the film.
After all that well you are probably asking, “well what did not work for you then?” Everything else basically from story to music to pacing just did not work. I am a firm believer that a musical should at least be good in the music department, and even though I am sure that the Sparks have made some good music the music in Annette was just uninteresting. It helped create its atmosphere but at times it felt very out of place within its story where it should be helping service the story. As mentioned before, Driver and Cotillard are magnificent performers but the music just does not work for the film to execute itself.
The story of Annette is interesting but because of its off pacing it just does not seem to ever capture more than it is grasping. The themes are far more interesting to digest than this convoluted story that just does not find its footing. A lot of that is to blame for a very dragged out second and third act that just keep going and going. If the film could have been shaved down 30 minutes I think it could have worked better but who knows when the pacing is only one part of multiple problems this film finds itself in. Now, you’re probably thinking that I just did not like this film at all? Well, I found it to be just fine because its ambition even though it is what limited it at times is what I think pushes it to be a good film. There is a lot of love and care within the film that just helps create this bizarre flick and because of that it is worthy of that praise. Even though there is a lot ground that can be improved Leos Carax does a good job of creating a very stylized film that only he can make.
Annette is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
The nerds conclude their month of celebrating the films of Wes Anderson. They end the month with Wes Anderson’s stop motion film, Fantastic Mr. Fox! They discuss various things about the film and if this one was able to reach the top of their favorites of Anderson’s filmography. They also decide on International Film Month’s movies for next month’s theme! Listen and find out all about this fantastic goodness!
The nerds are joined by our good friend Timber to discuss the latest Disney animated film, Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). We discuss what we like and did not like about this film. Do these nerds like dragons? Do they enjoy this animated film? Click and find out what their thoughts are on this very important film!
If you ever wanted to get your foot into the anime world while also watching beautiful animation, mixed with incredible music then you should check out Studio Ghibli’s work.
Studio Ghibli is a small japanese animation company in Koganei, Tokyo, with a number of 150 employees that create these incredible works. Founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata and Yasuyoshi Tokuma, they brought mastered skills to the table and brought years to come of potential, which all paid off in 2003 when they won an Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film for Spirited Away, which we are commentating on as we speak for our patreon supporters. They have 22 films out since their first establishment and in this review I want to cover the most recent ones I’ve currently watched and liked, yet I imagine my pick is also the fan favorites.
Overview
With the first time ever, an american platform has 21 of the studio’s works online right now (August 2021) that platform being HBO Max, a greatly expanding service that’s gotten a slew of viewers since the 2020 pandemic started. You can go see all of them and let me know if you agree but these films have such a touch to them that brings a sense of warmth from a hand that is not there, honestly a feeling that touches your heart while going through a tough time. The animation is also accompanied by the incredible work of Joe Hisaishi, a conductor for the films and he does an incredible work at portraying these emotions with sound which is more than likely where this feeling that someone is touching my heart comes from. So far I’ve personally seen Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Ocean Waves, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, and I am currently going to do a watch along with friends to see The Wind Rises. Honestly I feel speechless while writing this so at the very least I’ll link a video of the studios work below, if you’d at least like watch these as a “trailer” of sorts.
Review
Now I’m definitely going to be light on the writing as I want to encourage people to read this article without looking at it like they’re reading a book, like I’ve written other articles in the past. But at the very least I want to touch on 3 of the films from the studio including the award winning Spirited Away near the very end.
Princess Mononoke
As I noticed, a good hand full of Studio Ghibli’s work has strong women led protagonists with its share of secondary male protagonists. Princess Mononoke is no exemption with San as a young girl raised by wolves or as the movie portrays them as wolf gods and spirits of the forest. Although Ashitaka, a man from a village cursed after a hatred filled spirit attacks his village and now must go on to find a cure, is the one the story focuses on San is definitely the key and understanding to the story. Not to mention that a lot of the studio’s movies include some sort of topic that may not be talked about enough, in the case of this film deforestation, and human greed as its clear covered topic.
The way the studio portrays the animals as forest spirit guardians is not an unknown take but the way they aren’t just regular wolves, bores, gorillas, etc is mesmerizing. Not to mention the cute little spirit totems that just walk around looking like little creepy dolls but are actually harmless cinnamon rolls in the film are a great addition.
The way the plot and story mix with the incredible work of Joe Hisaishi create a palate so delectable that you’ll want to help the forest and the animals of the world, which we should be doing none the less with our current situation. San is a tough character that grew up watching humans, her own kind, destroy it for their unnecessary items and disassociated from them as never even being human. Which is good on her with all honesty, because we are a species that sometimes act more like animals than animals themselves.
Princess Mononoke is definitely in my number 1 spot from the 22 films released from the studio.
HOwl’s Moving Castle
Now I move on to my second pick and actually my second favorite film from the select 22 films, Howl’s Moving Castle.
In this film magic also runs rampant yet as the last one had human greed this one has war and a theme for pacifism, the stupidity of war and how growing old changes a person for the better with the female characters and protagonist having to deal with sudden gained age. This film has incredible imagery but by far I think it’s one of the films that uses Hisaishi’s talent to its fullest creating a beautiful piece of score.
The music creates a beautiful and elegant tone to what the themes and motives of the film are and I thinks its my personal favorite and reason to place this in the second spot. The story may be a classic trope of a man gaining confidence when the woman he meets becomes his growing romantic interest and the woman lead ends up saving him but it’s not a cliche that takes too much out of the film.
With that being said I must mention when I speak of the greatness this film’s soundtrack has, I’m not the only one who thought that Mr. Hisaishi did an outstanding job but the Tokyo Anime Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Music Prize thought so too as he won awards for the music made for this film. It’s just too good to not go on about and if you haven’t watched the film at least check out the soundtrack and score available in many places including Spotify.
Spirited Away
Now to the award winning Spirited Away, this film is probably what I first watched when getting into the Ghibli and anime world. It is a piece that takes up the interesting super-naturalistic views. I personally saw in this film the topic of human trafficking and the use of manual labor and contracts to hold them down. A story that follows Chihiro, a little girl that went to explore with her parents a tunnel that blocked their path to their new home. Her and her parents actually end up in the spirit world and her parents turn into pigs leaving Chihiro to find a way to save them ending up selling herself into labor work in a hot spring spa. Ultimately, it’s a journey filled with new courage, friends and just seeing an honest human being trying their best to save themselves and her loved ones while trying not to cause any problems for anyone else.
Aside from the great story and music this film includes incredible scenes some even looking hand painted with watercolor and other mediums. It’s not surprising to find out this film won an award of such caliber. I know Studio Ghibli and its works has gained awards throughout its lifespan but to obtain an Academy Award is outstanding and a thrill.
I won’t hide the idea and plausible fact that these American award ceremonies don’t always appreciate media made by the minority, but seeing films like this winning these awards brings hope to my directing career.
Spirited Away holds so much for its 2 hour runtime and feels like a play having different acts play out throughout its runtime. Not to forget the unforgettable creatures such as No Face, which is always a big thing for me with Ghibli’s films, they always have to have memorable characters that don’t necessarily bring a lot to the larger plots of the films.
“Ponyo” 2008
I also want to add another movie Ponyo simply for the fact that the main characters are just so well created having this cuddly and younger sibling energy.
All in all Studio Ghibli has a large selection of films that really meet anyone’s needs, and I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like or I’ll eat my words. But you don’t have to take my word for it, honestly, just go check it out and let me know what you think, until next time peace.
The nerds continue on with their month looking at the films of Wes Anderson as they discuss his 2007 film, The Darjeeling Limited. They talk about what makes the film such a pleasant experience along with some of their favorite moments. Are Raul and Brad turning into your local hipsters who are in love with the films of Anderson? Listen to find out all about that!
The Nerd Corps 