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Kestrel's Eye, a review by Danae Cassandra

Falkens oga (Kestrel's Eye)
Year of Release:
Directed By: Mikael Kristersson
Starring: A family of kestrels
Genre: Documentary

Overview:
"Kestrel's Eye" is unlike any nature film you've ever seen. Filmed over several years, it is a wonder-filled portrait of a family of kestrels (European falcons) who live in a church tower above a small Swedish town. The amazing cinematography, nominated for a Swedish Oscar, captures the intimacy of the birds' lives and creates an "utterly mesmerizing and startlingly original film."

My Thoughts:
Two kestrels meet, mate, set up their home in a church steeple and raise their young.  They watch the humans go about their activities below.  Yes, that's absolutely it as far as the story goes.  There's no narration, nothing giving either information or creating a story around the birds.  Truly, documentary in its purest form - simply documenting the lives of these birds, inviting the viewer to share them and draw their own conclusions.  The cinematography is amazing, especially the views inside the nest that the filmmakers were able to capture. 

If watching birds go about their lives for an hour and half sounds dull, this is not the film for you.  If this sounds like the fascinating portrait of these kestrels lives that I found it to be (or you think baby birds are adorable!) then I can recommend it. 

Bechdel Test: Not Applicable

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on March 20th, 2015)

The New World, a review by Jon

The New World
4 out of 5



Legendary director Terrence Malick takes you on an adventure-filled, romantic journey of discovery with this critically acclaimed, Oscar nominated epic set in the turbulent first days of the new America. Based on the true story, this sweeping saga tells the tale of Pocahontas, the impetuous Native American beauty (Q'orianka Kilcher) whose relationship with Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell) sets off a battle for a new nation.

Terrence Mallick is a wonderful director, but I think he might have rushed this. After all he'd waited over 20 years to do The Thin Red Line and polished this off in less than seven! 

The story of John Smith and Pocahontas is one of histories great romances. Unfortunately there is little evidence it happened, aside from Smith's own memoirs, written well after the fact and repeating moments from other expeditions. Did she save his life? Did they have a love affair? Unknown. It is a fact that she helped the settlers of Jamestown when they could have starved, ironically giving them a foothold from which they persecuted her people, eventually holding her captive, by which time Smith had already left due to injury. She married John Rolfe and went to England as a Princess of her nation, where she briefly met John Smith again.

Much of the film is narrated and it's a brilliant conceit, allowing the main characters to tell their story, which is how this history was recorded. The first act is John Smith (Colin Farrel) as he goes up river alone, risking his life to talk to the "Naturals" and there he meets Pocahontas (Q'orianka Kilcher). Their tentative romance is ambiguous, but heartfelt and honest. It works all the better for the refusal to be explicit. Her narration takes over, especially once in the fort. And in keeping with historical facts, her comments could be interpreted on several levels. Much later, after her baptism and learning English, she hears that apparently long-lost John Smith is alive and so admits to her new husband, John Rolfe (Christian Bale), that she is "married". He challenges her understanding of that word and it's a good point. His story is the final act and I found him the most affecting.

All three actors are marvellous, but it's the optimism I found refreshing for a provactive story like this. Bale plays Rolfe as hurt, but honourable, and arranges a meeting between the two lovers in England so all their histories can be resolved, even though he must have been terrified of the result. I thought it a wonderful scene and if it's true, such a testament to all of them.

This is not a film for cynics, but for those who want the romance and I enjoyed its dream-like telling of the story. The opening is very powerful, as the two great ships appear to the natives. From then on as you'd expect from Terence Mallick, it takes it's time. If you're in the mood for it, the time flies by in amicable company. By concentrating on emotion rather than event (his editing lingers on faces, but cuts through conversation), it seems more affecting. There is some action, but sporadic and inconsequential, which may infuriate those looking for a starker view of what happened to the Natives. The photography is gorgeous and the score matches well, apart from James Horner recycling his Braveheart theme again.

Many important events pass by in a blink of the eye while seemingly inconsequential scenes linger, but the big events would be predictable and Malick isn't concerned with a blow-by-blow account. Leave that to the documentaries, while this drama can try to give us some insight into "why" rather than "what". Perhaps he goes too far and oversimplifies though. Accounts suggest her guardians were tricked and she was held captive until a disagreement with her people led her to say she would rather stay with the English. A controversial stance perhaps and Malick chooses to make it more ambiguous, but still leans toward Pocahontas being exiled by her father anyway. Her feelings toward her marriage were also not clear, so Malick sits on the fence and plays the odds!

While I do like that approach, some changes are infuriating, just like with Braveheart! Is it James Horner? Does he say "I'll only score this film if you screw around with it"? John Smith's character is undermined when he leaves the fort after Pocahontas has been held captive, instructing them to wait two months then tell her he drowned. In reality, he'd already left after almost shooting his own leg off in an accident! Why change it? It would surely have been more affecting if Pocahontas had arrived to find him gone and her period of madness even more understandable and would have made her willing transition more convincing. Especially as she'd apparently told her father she no longer supported him, but here she is exiled. It's unnecessarily confusing an already enigmatic character.   

I understand that Europe has a shameful history in the colonisation of America. I don't want to trivilaise that, but I like to think Malick had the right idea presenting Pocahontas with hope and honesty, regardless of what the years would bring for her people. It's easy to read into both her relationships and her arrival in England that Pocahontas was used. Received by Royalty? Maybe but surely the intention was to demonstrate the savages could be tamed! Even if no-one, least of all her (unless you count her madness) seem to realise it, her story is at odds with the violence of America's birth. As far as metaphors go, this might be the limit, but as I've said, Malick's film is very heartfelt. Perhaps critics would say it lacks focus, or at least backs away from the thornier issues of the time. Well, political irony certainly has it's place, but I wasn't sorry to find none here.

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 15th, 2009)

Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon, a review by Tom

6.09 Smashed
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Drew Z. Greenberg (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: Turi Meyer
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Adam Busch (Warren Meers), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Jordan Belfi (Ryan), John Patrick Clerkin (Man), Rick Garcia (Reporter), Jack Jozefson (Rusty), Lauren Nissi (Girlfriend), Melanie Sirmons (Brie), Kelly Smith (Innocent Girl), Patrice Walters (Woman), Adam Weiner (Simon)

This is the start of the low point of this season for me. I like that Amy is back, but I do not like the way she is used here. Also they start here with beating the magic use=drug use metaphor to death. And the "magic spree" that Willow and Amy go on is too much like Sabrina the Teenage Witch. And I don't like Buffy and Spike humping while bringing a building down.

Rating:


6.10 Wrecked
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), Marti Noxon (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Solomon
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison), Jeff Kober (Rack), Amber Benson (Tara Maclay), Fleming Brooks (Mandraz), Michael Giordani (Jonesing Guy), Colin Malone (Creepy Guy), Mageina Tovah (Jonesing Girl)

This is where they have gone to far with the whole magic thing. They didn't even try to hide the drug comparison anymore. They even introduced a magic drug dealer. Also Willow's break-down at the end and her withdrawal symptons are that of a drug addict.

Rating:


6.11 Gone
Writer: Joss Whedon (Created By), David Fury (Writer), Joss Whedon (Writer)
Director: David Fury
Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Emma Caulfield (Anya), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), James Marsters (Spike), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Adam Busch (Warren Meers), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Daniel Hagen (Social Services Supervisor), Susan Ruttan (Doris Kroeger), Dwight Bacquie (Security Guard), Jessa French (Cleo), Elin Hampton (Co-Worker), Jeffrey Jacquin (Meter Man), Kelly Parver (Girl in Park), Lyndon Smith (Little Boy), Melina Webberley (Little Girl)

The premise is interesting, but I didn't like how childish invisible Buffy was behaving. Nice that the gang finally meets up with the geek trio.

Rating:

(From Tom's Buffy and Angel Marathon on October 3rd, 2010)