The Last Few Films I've Watched, Spring edition

1. Furiosa (2024) - I liked "Fury Road" (2015). "Furiosa" is a masterpiece. It's a film that deepens, strengthens, and expands on filmmaker George Miller's imaginatively conceived brutal wasteland of post apocalypse Australia. Stretching back to the early 80's, Miller's violent brushstrokes have always generated cathartic thrills, but with "Furiosa", the focus on certain people within the barren landscape have added a real gravitas to the barbaric modes of survival, and with Anya Taylor Joy (and to a large degree the young performance of Alyla Browne who gives an equally wordless, soulful performance), Miller's franchise has found a worthy beating heart of revenge that was built up in "Fury Road", and now is given vengeful dimension here. Pretty much breathtaking from its opening scene, "Furiosa" is also a masterclass in how to film action sequences. Crisp, fluid, and edited to a propulsive sense of rhythm that is lost in most big budget action spectacles, "Furiosa" also wins in its maximalism.

2. Hidden Agenda (1991) - Recently read Rory Carroll's excellent "There Will Be Fire" and I'm revisiting some films whose backdrop is built around The Troubles. Excellent Ken Loach film that I saw twenty years ago, and while it's narrative focuses more on a diabolical political conspiracy than the fighting troubles, it's basis in history is compelling and the way Cox and McDormand slowly involve themselves with the ordinary, weary people of the struggle is interesting. And its ending reminded me of "The French Connection"..... a character still blindly running into the abyss to find the shadows that are haunting them.

3. Marie Octobre (1959) - Part of my wanting to see as many Lino Ventura films as possible. Julien Duvivier's drama about the gathering of Resistance fighters a decade later, trying to figure out who betrayed them years ago. The Resistance eats itself.

4. Handgun (1983) - A landmark revelation for me, and one of the best films of the 1980's. Karen Young (later of "Sopranos" fame) stars as a young teacher who moves to Dallas and is sexually assaulted. Far from the rigors of a standard exploitation film, British filmmaker Tony Garnett aims (and succeeds) for far greater comments about violence and our country's insane fascination with guns. Recently released on Fun City edition blu-ray. See this film!

5. Poolman (2024) - Ugh. Chris Pine's zany noir namechecks "Chinatown" several times, and that's the most interesting than about his directorial debut. And how unconscionable that a film so enamored with saving Los Angeles history that it barely ventures off its garish soundstage sets.

6. The Beast (2023) - I typically adore Bertrand Bonello and had high expectations for "The Beast". Dare I say it's one of the more pretentious film in years.

7. I Saw the TV Glow (2023) - Trippy, adventurous film about memory and identity. Film review here at Dallas Film Now.  

8. Unfrosted (2024) - Ok, I laughed quite a few times. Probably being unfairly maligned due to Seinfeld's recent poo-poo of a comment. But, his humor is imprinted all over this minor comedy ("Vietnam. Well THAT sounds like a good idea") and there are less unmitigated disasters on the streaming services.

9. Just a Gigolo (1978) - Directed by actor David Hemmings and starring David Bowie? Sign me up. Alas, this film about the allure of fascism in post World War I Germany suffers from monotone acting and a story that never really takes off. At times, it oddly reminded me of Fassbinder's "Berlin Alexanderplatz" which would come out two years later. Strange.

10. Fireflies in the North (1984) - One of the few Hideo Gosha I hadn't seen. As usual, it looks beautiful in the service of a story that's been told a thousand times, enhanced by Gosha's expert framing of quick violence. Taking place in a frigid prison town and the conflicting tempers of several people. 

On "Evil Does Not Exist"

One of the best films of the year, Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "Evil Does Not Exist"is a tantalizing, challenging wonder. Part eco-thriller, but mostly a deliberate drama about the entrenching scale of urban growth into peaceful forestry, Hamaguchi employs his distinctive observational style to subtly shift gears between both. Imagine if Frederick Wiseman film were present in this peaceful natural village to film a board meeting about the possibilities of tourism advancement versus the quiet disdain of its townsfolk. For about twenty minutes, this is what we get, and (like Wiseman's films) it's an utterly mesmerizing act of ebb and flow emotion as the villagers raise their concerns, and the two Japanese mouthpieces deflect their concerns.

Outside of that, "Evil Does Not Exist" primarily focuses on the quiet day-to-day activities of Takumi (Hitoshi Omika) and his daughter Hana (Ryo Nishikawa). They live off the land.... he chops wood.... helps a local food establishment owner collect water for their udon noodle shop.... and Hana wanders the woods experiencing all of its natural glories. That's the lulling rhythm the film settles into, until the aforementioned Japanese company decides to build a "glamping" site nearby for upscale outdoor tourism. Dividing the film down the middle as before and after the existential ecological disaster comes upon Takumi and his fellow villagers, "Evil Does Not Exist" then dovetails into unexpected narrative sidelines as it shifts focus from the serene ways of Takumi to the corporate shells caught in the middle (Ryuki Kosaka and Ayaka Shibutani). It's in the second half that Hamaguchi lays clear the title of the film. Everyone is doing what they think is right and the only casualty is the perception of those involved. It's a master stroke of storytelling, reverting expectation and providing a broad, gentle ethos to everyone involved.

And then there's that ending. Initially shocking.... outwardly confusing, but upon introspection (which is needed for all of Hamguchi's films), it makes perfect sense. All along, the film has been establishing the worrisome encroachment of civilization on an environment that is completely natural and subsistent to simple people. The main point of contention- a septic tank for the glamping site that will surely contaminate all the water downstream- is just the least of Takumi's fears. For most of the film, daughter Hana is a virtually wordless, wide-eyed young girl wandering by herself through the woods. Without completely spoiling the shattering finale, Hamaguchi seems to be saying that no outside force should dare touch the innocence of Hana. If father Takumi can't, ultimately, stop the impending ecological disaster of big business, he can stop the metaphorical poisoning of anyone coming close to Hana. Alongside Eiko Ishibashi's mournful score, "Evil Does Not Exist" is a masterpiece of shifting storytelling, intelligent underpinnings, and shimmering cinematography that ranks as one of the best films in Hamaguchi's now renowned career.