Film festival at the
British Council
The two week long British Film Festival 2007 commenced this past Monday, November 12 at the British Council Auditorium in Dhaka, set to conclude on November 19. The festival, which will also take place in Chittagong starting from December 1, promises something for all with a wide range of award winning films -The Constant Gardener, The Queen, The Last King of Scotland to light hearted comedies such as Johnny English with tickets at Taka 20 each, writes Turaj Ahmad
The Queen
The Queen is a revealing, witty portrait of the British royal family in crisis immediately following the death of Princess Diana. The setting for this fictional account of real events is no less than the private chambers of the Royal Family and the British government in the wake of the sudden death of Princess Diana in August of 1997. In the immediate aftermath of the Princess’s passing, the tightly contained, tradition-bound world of the Queen of England clashes with the slick modernity of the country’s brand new, image-conscious Prime Minister, Tony Blair. The result is an intimate, yet thematically epic battle between private and public, responsibility and emotion, custom and action - as a grieving nation waits to see what its leaders will do.
Becoming Jane
The film is based on the long held view that Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) had a romance with an Irishman called Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), challenging the common idea of the writer as a spinster. Becoming Jane portrays a young Austen before she becomes a novelist and features her own romantic love story, which will eventually influence her career. As the film plays with the fact that the romance with Lefroy inspires Austen to write Pride and Prejudice, the plot is a lot like the novel: class issues, endless talk of marriage, gossip and scandals, and Austen/Lefroy are almost the exact copy of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy - hence the déjà vu factor.
Johnny English
Here is yet another addition to an ever-increasing collection of films falling into the spy spoof genre, only this time starring none other than Rowan Atkinson. To be honest, Johnny English offers nothing we have not seen already. As the entire British Secret Service is killed off, Johnny English (Atkinson) is the only agent left to keep watch at the unveiling of the newly restored Crown Jewels. Although the over-used formula of a numb-witted secret agent with advanced gadgetries at his disposal is again on display here, Atkinson does succeed in providing a few good laughs dancing around the bathroom in his underwear, lip-syncing to ABBA, but isn’t that something Mr Bean would do? Certainly James Bond would never find himself crawling through a sewer system, emerging covered in poo, but alas Johnny English is indeed shameless. Johnny English is a more subtle, low-key addition to the spy spoof genre with the antics of Rowan Atkinson being its focal point.
The Last King of Scotland
The Last King of Scotland follows the journey of a Scottish physician Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) who travels to Uganda and consequently wins the affections of Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker), Ugandan dictator who rose to power in the 1970s. Garrigan enters into a moral crisis as he begins to realise the kind of man Amin is, and begins to fear for his own life as events spiral more and more out of his control. Unlike other recent thrillers set in African nations namely ‘The Constant Gardener’ and ‘Hotel Rwanda’, ‘The Last King of Scotland’ almost solely portrays the endeavors of Garrigan and the dangers he meets rather than highlighting the geo-political implications of Amin’s reign. While some may feel that the spotlight should have been cast on the atrocities Amin committed on the thousands of Ugandans rather than the plight of one man, the film is nonetheless tantalising and thoroughly enjoyable.
Pride and Prejudice
This latest incarnation of Pride and Prejudice prompts the question: why do we need another version of Jane Austen’s classic tale? We’ve seen this particular bit of storytelling done well so many times that unless a filmmaker is positive they’re going to be making the definitive version of the film, there’s really no need to tell the same old story yet once again. And unfortunately, despite some terrific performances by the veterans in his cast, director Joe Wright didn’t bring anything new to the table with this version of “Pride and Prejudice.” The story follows the Bennet sisters, a group of fine young women who, with the assistance of an overbearing mother, are in search of appropriate men to marry. Elizabeth though (Keira Knightley) is the defiant one of the bunch, struggling against class restrictions and only wanting to marry for love. She meets up with the taciturn Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) and is both repulsed and attracted to the wealthy gentleman.
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener is a gripping, gritty tale of corruption and corporate greed. Based on the John le Carre novel, the film is set in Northern Kenya where the impoverished citizens are treated like guinea pigs and exploited by their own government, foreign businessmen, and greedy drug companies. Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes give two of the best performances of their careers in this particular film and overall, The Constant Gardener could benefit from a little trimming and a little patience with the film’s slower parts does actually make for a payoff which is worthwhile at the end of it.
Nanny Mcphee
For a movie that aspires to capture the magic of a classic fairy tale, Nanny McPhee has fleeting moments of fun and fancy but they get warped by poor comedic timing. Here is how the story goes: after the recent death of their dear mother, the Brown kids have been doing their best impression of pre-Boot Camp Maury Povich guests. In fact, they’ve run every nanny out of town with their high jinks and naughtiness and enter Nanny McPhee, a magical caretaker posing as a ‘government-issued nanny’ who quickly whips the kids into shape with a few taps of her magic walking stick. Overall, this is a reasonably enjoyable film although in many ways, it fails to fulfill its true potential.
Dear Frankie
Dear Frankie is a good depiction of a modern day fairytale. Frankie is a nine-year-old boy (Jack McElhone) with one great joy in his life: corresponding with his father, a petty naval officer. Frankie and his mother, Lizzie, have been on the move ever since he can remember. To protect her son from the truth, Lizzie has invented a story to satisfy Frankie’s curiosity. She regularly writes Frankie a letter from his make-believe father who works aboard a ship traveling to exotic lands. The letters have defined and improved the life of the deaf boy who barely speaks. However, Lizzie soon finds out his father’s ship will be arriving in a few days. Now, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth and hatching a desperate plan to find the perfect stranger to play the perfect father.
Inside I’m Dancing
Inside I’m Dancing is a poignant drama about friendship and independence, but it also has an ever-present streak of dark humour running through it. Michael Connolly (Steven Robertson), who is a 24 year old man with cerebral palsy, has lived his whole life in the Carrigmore Home For The Disabled. However, his life is transformed when he gets a new neighbour in the shape of rebellious Rory O’Shea (James McAvoy), who is equally paralysed and wheelchair-bound but still capable of wreaking havoc with his two working fingers and his wise-cracking mouth. When Michael discovers that Rory can understand his almost unintelligible speech, the two quickly become friends. Rory wastes no time in trying to affect their escape from the Home and eventually they move into a shared flat, employing the services of a local girl, Siobhan (Romola Garai) as their care assistant. However, their quest for independence hits an unexpected snag when both men develop feelings for Siobhan.
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