Rating: MMMM

Review of latest animated children’s adventure fantasy from the Japanese anime maestro, Hayao Miyazaki – the story of a little fish who wishes to be a little girl.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: (voices) Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett
Running time: 101 mins

Inspired by Disney’s animated classic A Little Mermaid, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature Ponyo is a fantasy adventure that like its muse, explores worlds both above and below the sea. Miyazaki’s tale is the story of Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas, younger brother of squeaky-clean teen sensations The Jonas Brothers), a little boy who lives with his mother (Tina Fey) in a small cliff-top house by the sea. Sosuke’s father (Matt Damon) is a ship captain who is rarely at home, leaving Sosuke’s mother to run the household by herself.

One day, a lonely Sosuke is paddling in the shallows of a cove near his home when he comes upon what appears to be a little red goldfish. Playing with it happily, Sosuke names the fish Ponyo and makes her his pet. However, Ponyo’s father, marine wizard king Fujimoto (Liam Neeson) wishes to return his daughter to her underwater home – to ‘restore the balnce of nature’, which has been sent off kilter by Ponyo’s fraternisation with humans.

As with most of the Miyazaki canon, the enjoyment of Ponyo rests entirely in the audience’s suspense of disbelief – in this particular tale one must be willing to accept that a goldfish can turn into a girl and that said transformation is readily accepted by the protagonists. This kind of acceptance and engagement with the fantastic will be familiar to Miyazaki fans but may be something newcomers find hard to swallow. But swallow you undoubtedly will – the film is so beautiful, charming and unashamedly lovely that you really will believe a man can fly (or at least in this case, a fish can turn into a girl). As ever, Miyazaki presents a wonderful dramatic world, both convincingly natural and ethereal at times, using a bright and dazzling palette to create dreamy seascapes and fantastical creatures – the entity of Ponyo’s mother inparticular is nothing short of breathtaking, presenting a popular trope in Miyazaki’s work, the spirit world, seen previously in features such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Indeed, Ponyo draws on much in Totoro, both in theme, tone and age-range – Ponyo is clearly meant for a younger audience than Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke.

Much more satisfying than Miyazaki’s previous film, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo is a gentle, beautiful story that is colourful, exciting, moving and entertaining. A sheer joy that proves that traditional hand-drawn 2D animation is still very much alive.

Rating: MMMM

Rating: MMM+

Review of Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s latest film, Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos), starring his current screen muse Penélope Cruz.

Director: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Tamar Noves, José Luis Gómez
Running time: 127 mins

Broken Embraces marks the fourth collaboration between director Pedro Almodóvar and actress Penélope Cruz and is one with similar themes to their previous outings together All About My Mother and Volver – family, parenthood, sex and love affairs that lead ultimately to danger and heartache. Set in 2008, Broken Embraces centres on blind director/screenwriter Harry Caine (Lluis Homar) who, before losing his sight was a famous film director. However, events in 2008 in the lives of Harry, his personal assistant Judit (Blanca Portillo) and her son Diego (Tamar Noves) bring back past memories and the ghost of a shared trauma that as yet has been left unresolved. Going back 14 years, we see Harry (then known by his real name, Mateo Blanco) embarking on a doomed love affair with his charismatic lead actress Lena (Penélope Cruz), whose infidelity towards her partner (José Luis Gómez) has disastrous consequences.

As much as Broken Embraces’ first half hour is relatively engaging, it lacks the essential clarity of narrative so crucial to the establishing of premise and plot – it seems the easiest way for the audience to really connect with the characters and the action is to let it wash over them instead of attempting to understand it. Although the film is certainly not 21 Grams style anti-chronological, it certainly isn’t the most linear, and sadly this is where its problems lie. The first act sees Cruz and Gómez in 1992 and then in 1994, a series of scenes which seem to be primarily for character development but which do not further the main action, even if they do throw up some vaguely interesting sub-plots. However, the central part of the film is solid and well crafted, with some excellent location photography (look out for the stunning aerial shots of Lanzarote), art direction and classic Almodóvar mise-en-scene with vibrant reds, blues and yellows, and with solitary figures preparing food in kitchens.

It must be said that Pedro Almodóvar really knows how to direct his actors and is a master of casting; Penélope Cruz as ever is mesmerising in terms of both her beauty and performance as the not-always likeable Lena. Fellow Volver actress Blanca Portillo is nuanced and convincing as Judit, as is her Lluis Homar as Harry/Mateo. Although few of the characters generate as much sympathy as other figures in Almodóvar’s films, there is enough charisma and charm between them to keep the audience entertained. However, the narrative problems make Broken Embraces just that little bit harder to engage with – the film loses its way slightly in the deployment of a third act that seems tacked-on and a plot point that those familiar with Almodóvar’s work will see coming and arguably feel cheated by.

A challenging, intelligent, moving and well-crafted drama not without its charm, but not without its problems either.

Rating: MMM+ (add another M if you’re an Almodóvar fan)

Review of Coco Avant Chanel, biopic of  French fashion designer and style icon,
Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou and Alessandro Nivola. French with English subtitles.

Director: Anne Fontaine
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Alessandro Nivola, Benoit Poelvoorde, Marie Gillain
Running time: 105 mins

Coco Avant Chanel as one might expect from the film’s title, tells the story of Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s early life, in her younger days before the advent of her now world famous fashion house. The film charts Chanel’s origins from coquettish young cabaret dancer to professional hat maker, going on to design and make clothes to sell in her Paris store, a shop which still stands today.

Coco Avant Chanel is beautifully shot, cutting effortlessly between intimate interior scenes in the social world that Coco finds so stuffy and the fabulously lit outdoor sequences displaying rural France in all its pastoral glory. It is clear that no expense has been spared by the art department with a wealth of costumes and colour palettes that are visibly authentic and correspond well to Chanel’s signature styles. But never is the art and design of the film allowed to take over the story of Chanel’s often troubled life. And it is these peaks and troughs which make her such an interesting personality. Audrey Tautou is excellent in the title role, although never conjuring the same kind of engagement she achieved in the superb Amelie (2002) – this is perhaps due to the very nature of Chanel as a personality, a somewhat aloof and distant woman, battling with emotional demons and familial hardships. Alessandro Nivola is excellent as Chanel’s love interest, Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel, mastering both British and French accents with effortless aplomb. The supporting cast including Chanel’s rich benefactor Balsan and sister Adrienne are also very good.

Living at a time where corsets and bustles were the norm, Chanel instead rejects the conventional forms of dress, refusing to subscribe to the corseted fashions of the day and wearing dresses and blouses without the customary whalebone support. However, Chanel’s decision to do so is not entirely linked with mere creative whim – it demonstrates both her practical nature and uniqueness. Instead of riding side-saddle surrounded by copious amounts of skirt fabric like her female contemporaries, Chanel chooses to wear masculine trousers and shirts enabling her to straddle a horse like a man – thus freeing herself of the restrictions posed by women’s fashion. However, Chanel’s rebellious attire and behaviour divides the opinions of those around her – some believe her to be a shameless radical who should know better, whereas some approach her outfits with a certain reverence and admiration. One lady is so fascinated by Chanel’s wardrobe choices that she asks her to design and make her a hat, a commission which sets Coco on a journey which will eventually lead her to make her fortune in Paris, the fashion capital of the world. Where the film succeeds particularly is in the sequences demonstrating Chanel’s keen eye for detail, panning around to focus on patterns of lace, particular colours, shapes, lines and textures that strike the young designer.

Coco Avant Chanel is a pleasing and interesting study of an intriguing woman, one whose life will continue to fascinate long after the credits roll. An entertaining watch not just for fashion lovers, and a well put together piece of drama that is a credit to the biopic genre.

Rating: MMMM