Rosie imitates life

Movie review

We are in a crisis, for so long now that art is imitating life. We have a housing crisis movie. Rosie brought back the distressing feeling I had put aside linked to the impossibility of finding a suitable place to live, so beware.  

Paddy Breathnach takes us for a drive around Dublin with Rosie and her four kids. They are searching for accommodation; at the words “county council credit card”, hotels reject her request of a family room, they are six counting her partner John Paul, who works at a restaurant. We may hear that same exchange of words many times, none of them make the heroine lose her calm or lose our hope.

Roddy Doyle delivers a non-judgemental script that describes the reality of looking for a home in Dublin these days. The story is centred on a family, but there are common places for most of us renters or ex-renters in the Irish capital can relate to. It can sound overly dramatic, but how many times did you see yourself auditioning for an apartment? And right there, when you are sharing the room with 30 other people in a viewing, also getting that dirty look as if you were that actress they think is a few years too old to get the role.  

Cathal Watters gives a beautiful realism to the housing states and the out-of-the-way places where most hotels that would take Rosie’s family in for the night seem to be located. Sarah Greene holds the weight with her magnificent depiction of a mother in challenging times. Her meeting with Ms Hennessy is heart-breaking and the breaking point for a stoic woman that fights to maintain her family routines. She does not live in denial; she does what she is expected to even though her family is missing one basic element: a home.

Kids who can act naturally are hard to come by, however, the children cast are nothing short of talented and believable. The situations are all very familiar, a tantrum because there is no space to move in a car (seriously, there’s no need to be an active child to get freaked out after spending days inside a vehicle), a teen escaping her misery by staying at a friend’s house or an upset child because she is being mocked about her particular circumstances.

Rosie reminds us of the best Ken Loach, the one that makes you uneasy when you leave the cinema and at the same time can marvel you with well-articulated story that is absolutely worthy of your time.

It was not long ago the county councils built houses that until date stand as examples of quality and solid construction, they were for people to live in. The art is imitating life, because life as it is, the housing crisis as it is, has been happening for a few years now. Hopefully we don’t have to wait for a novel to awaken consciences.

Let the Right One In... at the Theatre?

Soft and gentle Oskar could not be found at the Abbey tonight. It is hard and sometimes unfair to compare an adaptation with a very accomplished original. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) is one of those gems people hesitate to recommend, but never because of its lack of quality and only perhaps due to how odd or inadequate it feels at times.

Let the Right One In opens with the story of Oskar, a quiet kid who is systematically bullied at school. Not an original topic. But see, the only friend Oskar manages to get close to and keep is Eli, a slightly older girl who incidentally needs to be fed blood to survive.

John Lindqvist's script is a difficult one to stage. Adapted by Jack Thorne with choreography by Steven Hoggett, it is the story of a young girl condemned to lose the love of her life over and over. Some may say it is also problematic to make into a film, since the girl’s life partner’s character could be misinterpreted easily. The horrors of her double life and her need for blood are challenges this production at the Abbey accepts and presents successfully to a more than frightened and engaged audience. Be aware, my companion at the play got accidentally slapped on the face by the lady sitting next to him at one of the jumpy bits.

On stage we found without difficulty the animalistic impulse that makes Eli an unsettling friend for Oskar. We discover too, how isolated and detached the boy feels as his relationships with those around him get icy, no matter if they are family or school mates. The lucky charm for Alfredson’s production was a couple of young actors whose natural ability and undeniable chemistry made of the 2008 film an appealing and delightful coming-of-age story. But Oskar’s hesitant voice was nowhere to be found on the Abbey stage, neither was Eli’s angst and profound sadness. Craig Connolly attempts to convey the naiveté and enthusiasm of Oskar but he is far from Kåre Hedebrant’s performance. Katie Hunan misses the serenity and maturity that Lina Leandersson gave to Eli. Are these elements missing only because of a much older cast?

The stage design (Christine Jones) and effects deserve great credit in this adaptation. The snow covered forest, where terrible things are about to change Oskar’s town forever, is a wonderful background and resourceful backdrop to express the coldness and desolation most characters suffer throughout the story. Winter trees and a climbing frame that holds one of the most impressive visual artifices of this production offers in its final scene, are the basic elements that remain visible. Others such as the candy shop, Oskar’s bed or the gym lockers are brought in with subtlety and discreet flow with the help of Hoggett’s choreography.

Thorne’s adaptation translates well the horror elements onto stage, almost impeccably, with some exceptions such as its last scene. Despite the marvelous ace in the sleeve of designer Jones in the closing scene, the spectator is at risk of feeling overwhelmed by the strident lighting and disco effects. A pity the play does not leave room for the imagination in its final moment.

13 Reasons Why or the 20 Year Reunion Vaccine

I was one of those kids who read YA books, lots of them. It was almost sad when they were no longer suitable for my age! And I still reread some fragments or books I first approached on that period of my life. Why? I think with their arguably simplified realities they connect easily with readers (and viewers in this case) at an emotional level. Kids with your name or age, at times stereotypes at times very well defined characters, made you think about serious stuff. I mean, I have never tried any speed, amphetamines or ecstasy, but I knew their effects well before I knew where to buy them. I am not sure if this will horrify any parents, but the truth is topics such as drugs, sex, suicide, alcohol are a present or absent part of a teenager’s life. As terrifying as this sounds, the more scary thing is to ignore these facts. Ignoring those temptations/dangers is what starts the communication problem. At a young age if you don’t have any older brother or friend who has your best interest at heart you may end up doing really stupid things, so will your kids.

Other issues also have a great effect in teenagers; I’ll give you two powerful ones: appearances and bullying. They are both exceptionally well depicted in 13 Reasons Why. The wish to belong pushes most characters into pretending they have done something intentionally (when they haven’t). Courtney or Marcus seem to repeat to themselves the mantra: “I need to stay part of the group of the cool kids, my principles don’t matter.” As young adults, we discover an array of possibilities about people’s behaviour: right, wrong and anything in between. Some always seem to be on edge and push boundaries, try their luck. I think the edgy teens can be divided into two groups: the popular and the wish-they-were popular kids. The popular ones, well you know them all, in my school they were the wealthy kids, those who lived in some particular areas in town. In 13 Reasons Why they are the athletes (Justin, Bryce, Zack), who are treated as divinities and make the mere mortals feel out of place just by walking down a corridor. The second group is the one of the kids who try to belong, and somehow, no matter how pretty, funny and charming they might be the mass doesn’t seem to accept them. Unfortunately here is where the suicidal kids fit, your Hannahs. There is another group formed by the kids who hope for this particular time of their life to end soonish enough and for these silly rules to fade away as they become adults. The let-this-be-over-soon group, your Clays.

I have read, prior to watching the show, some reviews of 13 Reasons Why in which the series has been accused of being very irresponsible TV right, left and centre. As if by portraying teenage issues they were manufacturing them. As many YA oriented products it does have in common the mentioned simplified reality, there is nothing else but what is happening to the characters, no historical period, no social issues... And everything feels so final, so dramatic. Perhaps this simplification doesn’t make it suitable for an adult audience, who sees it as a manual for all the things a teen could do wrong.

You will be happy to hear I have never been involved in a knife fight and I read The Outsiders (Susan E. Hinton, 1983) more than once, almost obsessively. I mean, I shiver at the thought of seeing any act of violence up close. I have never stalked or followed anyone to figure out what their deal was and Veronica Mars was (still is) one of my favourite shows of all time. I have never attempted suicide or felt depressed but one the books I reread the most in my teenage years was Pupila de Águila (Eagle’s Pupil; Alfredo Gómez Cerdá, 1989) a noir novel about a girl with a sad family past also linked to suicide and the way she meets a troublesome kid who does not feel all that willing to live. I have never ever tried ecstasy or any synthetic drugs, but I read avidly Campos de fresas (Strawberry Fields, Jordi Sierra i Fabra, 1997).

Going back to the tearing-apart reviews, the common complaint is that the show romanticises suicide. I don’t think so, Hannah gets to tell her story, but I don’t think it escapes to anyone, not even young adults, that she is gone forever. She misses many opportunities to join that let-this-be-over-soon group (she seems to have too much self-awareness to become one of the popular kids…) and living her own life.

And yes, I get the tone Hannah talks to her piers is arrogant, almost self-righteous, but we learn to wait and listen before judging as the show moves forward. We start the show thinking the tapes are a silly spoiled girl’s cry for attention, but soon discover the frustrations and terrifying effects of bullying and of being objectified. As Hannah says, “you have never been a girl”. In a time of self-discovery, being defined by someone else’s opinion can be harmful and leave a mark for life. And yes, this sounds like as enunciated by a drama queen, but the truth is we are all dramatic, intense and feel very strongly about most things when we are teenagers, even if we don’t show it in our wardrobe and make up choices. The issues we survive seem to be designed to last forever.

13 Reasons… does a good job portraying high school life. We all have experienced the magnetism of a party and how we are cool just by walking into one. There is no doubt the sexual assault is a disturbing occurrence in the show as it is suicide. Both are experiences we can’t come back from as the same person or come back, period. Teens are not zombies, they want to do, feel and live things, most of them new to them, but teen life does not put them in a bubble, it makes them more fragile. We see anxiety, abuse at home and trouble accepting sexual orientation. If we are disturbed by the idea of choosing a career at 17, guess what the dealings with those problems can cause to a teen.

I enjoyed the (dark) dose of sense of humour, the irony. Also the small dose of nostalgia served with the soundtrack. I was amused by the wink to the old media, even if Hannah goes for tapes just to make things awkward, not with the spirit of a vinyl’s collector. But as she says at the beginning social media makes everything worse, or makes it grow exponentially. Here is a technology we did not have in our teens, yes I am old, a kind of progress which will make even of helicopter parenting a real challenge.

13 Reasons Why is like a teen’s mix tape. It has cheesy and cool stuff in it. It may sound overplayed, I mean we all got sick of the “keep listening”. Its pace lacks balance, even though in theory its structure could work well on TV. It becomes more watchable and moreish from episode 5 or 6, perhaps because we give more credit to the gone-girl’s claims. Watching from the sidelines may seem a coward approach to high school. However, waiting for a more inviting environment to show who you really are makes sense. Freedom is waiting on the other side.

Perhaps my only problem with the show is the fact that in real life the probability of a knight in a white horse (or a bike) taking revenge on those who wrong you after you are gone is thin. Dying does not guarantee you the last word, only living does.

Bones + Longing, Gemma Hayes

Album Review

Laughter opens the latest Gemma Hayes' album Bones + Longing almost as a mission statement. This new version of There's Only Love (Let it Break, 2012) conveys Hayes strengths: emotional raw vocals, going intentionally heavy on production and subtly crossing to poetic territory with the lyrics. The journey continues with the hopeful I Dreamt You Were Fine that introduces the guitar riffs this Irish singer songwriter has accustomed us to since the very beginning of her career. Iona and To Be Your Honey fit in this work as loving mantras. Palomino is pure Hayes, that sweet preference for 'quiet ones' at the rhythm of a timeless melody reminiscent of Cathy Davey's The Nameless. Joy and Making My Way Back are the proof heartbreak is not always required to write a good love song; neither do you need to be cheesy. This album is for those who enjoyed the delicate vocals in The Hollow of Morning and the electronic sound and honest words contained in Let It Break. Bones + Longing is an authentic chanting to love, kindness and happiness close to Death Cab For Cutie in its sound combined with Hayes' personal glass to look through; noticing people and the world around her. It is the perfect soundtrack to elevate a small event or a well-known landscape to the 'special' category. Hayes confirms herself as one essential voice in the Irish indie scene with a well-crafted work that can be judged by its cover, a minimalistic and expressive work of art, which hides a meaning for each of us. Though it needs to be said Bones + Longing is an intensely personal work and may leave listeners who are not on the same wavelength feeling left out.

Granuaille: Queen of Storms, O’Brien Press

Review

The Irish Constitution states that women give, by staying at home, a support to the State "without which the common good cannot be achieved". One has to wonder what pirate Queen Gráinne Ní Mháille would say about modern day Ireland; in which we seem to have undone what she achieved as a female citizen in the 16th century.

At a young age Ní Mháille became a leader of her clan in Connacht, running the trading and shipping business after her father, Eoghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. Granuaille was a powerful figure, an independent thinker and a fearless protector of Gaelic society.

 

Granuaille: Queen of Storms is the second in a series of incursions by O’Brien Press into Irish folklore through the graphic novel format. The comic explores some of her personal tragedies and some historical events which have contributed to give an air of legend to her reputation as a ferocious pirate. As the comic depicts, Gráinne Ní Mháille's life was linked to adventure and foreign expeditions, but also to violence and loss.

 

Her role as the clan leader meant resisting the constant attack of Sir Richard Bingham, English governor of Connacht, in a time when the Empire fought incessantly to control the Ireland beyond the pale. Granuaille always stayed loyal to her principles despite the obstacles she encountered. Where she confronted the distrust and had to control the disagreements coming from advisors close to her father and later to her.

 

Granuaille is a strong female character with principles, a strength Dave Hendrick exploits efficiently in this story. Hendrick pitches an idea about a real feminist leader, an intelligent move considering the amount of young female readers out there. The research and the highlights presented in this book seem to represent fairly, although taking some creative license, what Granuaille achieved.  It’s a good introductory tale, but perhaps the low page count, under seventy, makes it difficult for the story to breathe and be fully self-contained. We come across a couple of jumps in time, ellipsis in the narration and flashbacks that may lose the reader momentarily.

 

The book's artwork reveals Luca Pizzarí's excellent qualities for character design. The storytelling through images is not flawless, some of the sequential art requires some revision to be accomplished at a hundred percent. Although this doesn't stop the artist creating a world of pirates, storms and political turmoil and wrapping it up with a cover that elevates his main character to the level of heroine.

 

A special mention should go to Dee Cuniffe's colours, who experiments with an old fashioned look for this book, very suitable for a historical graphic novel. The colours fit perfectly with Pizzari's expressive and detailed panels. Cunniffe's palette, full of greens and blues for Ireland and reds and oranges for the ‘invaders’ are a testimony to the knowledge he has of his craft.

 

Unluckily Peter Marry's lettering doesn't integrate as well as the other graphic elements in this book. The general appearance of this otherwise very attractive edition suffers the lack of creativity in this area and the perhaps overlooked lettering process (at least from the graphic point of view).

 

The creative team behind Granuaille: Queen of Storms is formed by Dave Hendrick, Luca Pizzari and Dee Cunniffe. Hendrick, has published web comics for almost six years and has played an important role in the organisation of the Dublin International Comic Expo (DICE) and the Cork Comic Expo 2015. Pizzari has recently been hired by Marvel to illustrate a Spider-Man Special series and Secret Wars Journal #2. Dee Cuniffe, who does the colours in this project, is a flatter for some of the most important colourists at an international level.

Granuaille: Queen of Storms is an inspiring look into Irish folklore, seemingly suffering the absence of an editor with more experience in graphic novels. These circumstances, a natural consequence to the Arts Council funding cuts affecting comic books publishing in Ireland, may be the cause of a less polished edition when compared to Celtic Warrior: The Legend of Cú Chullain, the first in a series of Irish legend/historical graphic novels launched by O'Brien Press.

This is not a children's book, it is clearly aimed at a young adult and an adult audience, able to understand the historical value of exploring this character. Also the violence contained in the illustrations, a reflection of the times Ní Mháille lived in, would make it unsuitable for a younger reader. 

 

In a society with a lack of trustworthy leaders, reading about such a stimulating character in Irish history is a must. This graphic novel is a good way to approach the character for the first time. It will definitely spark your curiosity about Granuaille, a figure who tried to protect the cultural wealth of the emerald island until her last breath.

Glassland

Review

Glassland is the story of a son acting as a parent. It is a tale about the heart-breaking effects of exchanging roles because of addiction. “You are a good boy”, says Jean to her son John. A son who certainly gains the sympathy of the audience by trying to find his mother in the monster she has turned into; in that insensitive and self-centred addict who rejects anything and anybody else but her handsome and caring son.

John (Jack Reynor) works long hours as a taxi driver to support his family. These days he is not able to recognise Jean (Toni Collette) who has fallen into alcoholism. He takes care of her the best way he can, but she is killing herself slowly, passing out drinking and becoming this animalistic addict who lives only to have that one last drink. The nature of John´s work and the shame of asking anyone for help to save Jean from her self-dug hole of desperation, make him a lonesome individual. He transforms into a man unable to give away much about his feelings and his real circumstances, even to those seemingly closer to him. John lives in Tallaght, in a terraced house, but he is detached from the world.

Director Gerard Barrett makes an honest incursion into the loneliness that comes with handling a traumatic experience such as this. It passes a few days in these characters´ home, makes them talk and explain, not just with words, what it´s like to live with an alcoholic -or a heroin addict, or a cocaine user…- and watch the destruction they are bringing upon themselves. Collette gives life to a character we don’t feel for, but who we hope recovers for the sake and efforts of her devoted son.

Glassland is set in Dublin, in Tallaght to be more precise, but it´s a movie that could have been filmed anywhere. When addiction hits a family, the way to deal with it, the wish of wiping everything away and a fresh start is all common ground. As much as it is the isolation that takes over whoever is fighting the battles to recover a relative from their illness.

The orange lamppost light, the raindrops in the windshield and a bitter cold air allow us to recognise Dublin in this film. But it also helps to set the tone for a frank and hard story about the reality of being in charge of someone´s life, even though the natural order says you should be the one still being taken care of. This is not a difficult watch because of the violence on screen or the dramatic scenes. The silence and the contained anguish we can see in John´s eyes speak up more than any more violent interaction between him and his mother.

Those traditionally dramatic passages leave a mark on the viewer. John’s recording with his mobile phone or his speech to convince Jean to check into a rehab centre. But the most disturbing moments come from a domestic setting such as having a glass of wine and a chat with your mum. Who is this stranger he is taking care of?

Glassland is a singular movie because of the way it came together, it was filmed in sixteen days and it managed to get Colette to play one of the main roles. Certainly the clarity about what the story should be like and the freedom enjoyed by its director does this film a great favour, and so does the outstanding acting featured in it.

Barrett doesn’t use a soundtrack in the conventional sense. He does experiment with the sound and editing to create tension. This manipulation of the background noise, the dead silence and the louder interactions puzzled together make this film an unsettling tale that will leave the cinema with you. Glassland will challenge you with elements of your own, close or hopefully not that close, dysfunctional family.  

Reading at the Movies

Opinion

Let me set the scene: November 2006, Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is about to start in a half-full screening in Cineworld. The narration of this unconventional fairy tale commences and the subtitles begin to appear. Then some random guy shouts at the screen: “Oh, come on! I don’t want to have to read the movie!” Guy walks out of the cinema. Can this event be taken as a microcosm of Ireland’s treatment of foreign cinema?

The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (JDIFF) was launched a few days back, and as any other year many cinema fans will lay out a plan to watch as many movies as possible at the festival; they know they’ll have no access to some of those at a commercial screening again. The question here should be if Ireland is partly disconnected from European and world cinema. Dublin is one of the cities with the highest attendance per capita in Europe. Are distributors willing to offer varied cinema programming to this numerous audience?

The JDIFF is an opportunity to see Italian, Danish, Brazilian, Romanian, Ethiopian and an endless list of other nationalities represented in the screens all over Dublin. Looking at the IFCO website (www.ifco.ie), for wider releases from March until May we see a very different picture. There are about 40 movies with confirmed dates. From these titles the 75% are films in English, seven of them come from the UK and four from Ireland. Nearly half of the remainder are Japanese animation movies and the other 12.5% are productions from Italy, Argentina or Sweden coming to our screens nearly a year after they have been released in their country of origin.

There are other ways to enjoy foreign film in Dublin. We have the French Film Festival at the IFI, or the premieres organised also in collaboration with the French cultural institute, the Alliance Française. Mood Indigo (2013) by Michel Gondry comes to mind as one of the events that was successfully organised under their auspices. Also, initiatives do exist, such as the film club CineCafé, a collaboration between Instituto Cervantes (the Spanish cultural centre) and the Pearse Public Library, to give the chance to watch cinema in Spanish regularly. Or the Short Shorts from Europe Festival organised by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) shown at the IFI and the Cork Film Festival, showcasing the best short films of the year from a wide range of European countries. However these are few and far between and do not benefit from widespread publicity.

The Lighthouse Cinema, mostly dedicated to commercial art movies and international cinema opened in 2008 after a twelve years break, in its new location in Smithfield. After three years, the Lighthouse experienced financial problems that forced their founders to take a new break until 2012 when they reopened its doors again. This third time, the programme included some commercial titles and the cinema has traded successfully since. Why was it impossible for the Lighthouse to survive with solely art and international programming?

And then of course you have the already mentioned IFI, where you may be able to watch a variety of foreign, as not-in-English, movies. A pretty skimpy selection some may think, that combined with Cineworld’s offer can help you approach those more successful titles. But, the IFI brings scarcely a representation of what is in offer in the continent and the timing just doesn’t feel right sometimes. Think about Persepolis (2007), one of those European films of incredible success. The adaptation of the best-selling graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, won the Jury Prize in Cannes. However, the release date in Ireland was almost a year later than in France.

Last year the screening of The Wind Rises during the Japanese Film Festival at the Lighthouse, was absolutely packed and I wonder if that is a good indicative about the audience in Ireland or at least Dublin being ready to watch foreign films, whether they have to read them or not… Although Japanese animation seems to have a healthy representation in the commercial screenings in Dublin, perhaps due to their having an English dubbed version (as opposed to just a subtitled version) available at the time of its release.

Whether the guy in Pan’s Labyrinth is the ‘man in the street’ or he does not represent the local audience, is that risky for a distributor to follow the trends of other capitals in Europe? Is it so alien to allow for successful titles at International festivals to be shown in Dublin?

The Europa Cinema’s, the international network of the cinemas for the circulation of European films, exists as a distribution channel through the IFI and the Arts Centres throughout the country. So we may not be only talking about a distribution issue. Perhaps the media have a part in this lack of interest in subtitled films being available. Educating the audience is giving them the chance to see and appreciate different productions; this may be the key to a wider access to European and world cinema.