The Great Movie Conquest of 2022: September

 

    I mentioned that I chose Brazil as my spotlight for this month because I wanted to immerse myself in the library of a country whose films I wasn't super familiar with. I was glad for to break this barrier, but this admittedly makes writing about my experience this month difficult because, unlike with my month watching Japanese films where I started with a base of knowledge for the films, my context for the films I viewed is somewhat limited.

    Arguably the most famous film from Brazil is 2002's City of God, which I hit right at the start of the month. The film follows a group of boys growing up in the crime-filled streets a neglected community. The film received widespread acclaim for its visceral displays of gang violence and its effects on communities. 

    Reading about this topic is always interesting to me because filming a community's dark underbelly for commercial purposes is always a tricky game, especially as it relates to the representation of historically marginalized communities onscreen. The last few years have seen major pushback against white filmmakers crafting films that depict things like racism and impoverished communities for effectively exploiting the suffering of historically marginalized communities for the entertainment of privileged audiences. 

    One key factor that often pops up in discussions like this, and is certainly relevant as it pertains to City of God, is the question of authorship. This is a sensitive subject, and even if we could expect someone not part of the relevant community to magically attain the experience and perspective to depict the community in all the nuance required, there's still an imbalance between the storyteller and the subject matter, and that imbalance is seeing increased scrutiny. Director Fernando Meirelles says that he did not grow up in the kind of community depicted in City of God, but being born and raised in Brazil affords Meirelles a measure of authority when depicting the harsher realities of his home country. Meirelles shared in an interview with Slant Magazine in 2003,

"When I was traveling with the film through different festivals, journalists would ask me how my society allows things like this to happen and why we don’t take care of this problem. My answer is always the same. I live in middle-class Brazil and not in the other side of Brazil. No matter what happens in that part, it seems like it doesn’t affect us. We allow things to get to this point because we don’t think this is our problem. It’s the same relationship everywhere-in the U.S., in Latin America, in Africa. There are a lot of people without food and everyone thinks it isn’t their problem. This isn’t true because it’s a worldwide problem, especially since all economies are so related."

    My personal favorite film from this batch was 1998's Central Station, which follows a cynical old woman who is moved to help a young boy find his father after his mother is killed. Watching the film, I had the experience feeling at different times that the film was forecasting certain endings. This made it very difficult to gauge where it ultimately landed, but I was still moved by the film's conclusion, and I recommend the film to everyone.

    My lone review this month followed Disney's atrocious remake of Pinocchio. Goodness, all the effort I put into trying to facilitate earnest discussion about the Disney remakes, and they just dump this on me without apology. Del Toro's adaptation of the fairy-tale won't have much competition come this December.

    This month also saw us pass the original release date set for Warner Bros' Salem's Lot, an adaption of Stephen King's 1975 book. The movie was set to release on September 9, only to be bumped to April 23 during the summer only to be removed from the release calendar in August. Heaven knows when we're finally getting this movie. In solidarity, I caught the 2004 mini-series adaptation on that first prescribed release date. While certain plot elements bothered me (what the crud did they do to Callahan?), I was actually fascinated by other story flourishes unique to this adaptation, and most of the casting was spot-on (except for the fact that 12-year-old Mark was again played by a college sophomore). I found this adaptation much preferable to the sterile 1979 adaptation, which I also watched earlier this year, but what I really want is to compare both adaptations to the upcoming film feature film. Someday ... 

    Some of you might remember this summer that I opined for a nearly 7,000 words about how I don't appreciate the direction of Thor in the MCU in recent years, which is why I elected to skip "Love and Thunder" in theaters. I finally caught the film on Disney+ this last week, and even given my irritation with Thor's recent MCU appearances, I was surprised at how sloppy this film was. Most of my issues with "Ragnarök" were there, including cashing in on an ending it did not build up to, but slapped together with an uncharacteristic carelessness. I really need "Black Panther 2" to be good. There has to be one Marvel movie this year that I don't despise.

    With 90 days left in this challenge, I'm hoping there are a lot of films I don't despise. Wish me luck. 

                    --The Professor

Me bracing myself for the final quarter

September's Harvest:

City of God (2002)

Feet First (1930)

Sidewalk Stories (1989)

Mister Roberts (1955)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Central Station (1998)

Sabateour (1942)

Pinocchio (2022)

Salem's Lot (2004)

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Damn Yankees (1958)

Erin Brockovich (2000)

The Thing (1982)

Bye Bye Brazil (1980)

Sorry to Bother You (2018)

Now, Voyager (1941)

50/50 (2011)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Blood Diamond (2006)

They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981)

Cadillac Man (1990)

Paris Blues (1967)

King Richard (2021)

Deliverance (1972)

Dick Johnson is Dead (2020)

The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

I.Q. (1994)

Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

Jagga Jasoos (2017)

The Perfect Storm (2000)