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Sunday, September 11th, 2005
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2:30p - Green Street (2005)
Directed by Lexi Alexander
Written by Lexi Alexander, Doug Brimson, Josh Shelov
Cinematography by Alexander Buono
Edited by Paul Trejo
Running Time:
Main Cast:
Elijah Wood .... Matt Buckner
Charlie Hunnam .... Pete Dunham
Claire Forlani .... Shannon Dunham
Marc Warren .... Steve Dunham
Leo Gregory .... Bover
Synopsis:
When Matt is wrongly expelled from Harvard after claiming ownership of his roommate's cocaine that has been found in his closet, he decides to spend some time with his sister who has relocated to London. He is quickly introduced to Pete, his brother-in-law's younger sibling who is the current leader of West Ham Football Club's infamous Green Street Elite firm. Initially apprehensive of violence Matt is soon a fully fledged member of the GSE, and has discovered kinship in an entirely unexpected arena.
Comments:
Elijah Wood has had little trouble freeing himself from the role that both brought him fame and formed the basis for the most successful trilogy in film history. While Frodo was a passive, tranquil character Wood has once again established with Green Street (Hooligans over the pond) that he is quite capable of portraying the complete opposite. In Sin City he never looked anything but comfortable in the shoes of silent psychopath Kevin, and he maintains his familiarity with truculence here confounding any apprehensions that his youthful face and piercing blue eyes would cause him to have been entirely miscast. There is little doubt then that in his first real central role since Lord of the Rings Wood has skillfully and manipulatively prevented himself from being typecast, successfully avoiding the fate of one Mark Hamill.
Green Street is Lexi Alexander's feature length debut following her Oscar nominated short Johnny Flynton (2003) and is based around the exploits of her brother who was a firm member in her native Germany. Ostensibly a discourse on football hooliganism, her screenplay warrants further acknowledgement since it avoids simply becoming a continuous fight sequence, finding time to significantly develop themes of loyalty, kinship and love. The gang are not just burberry sporting, cockney-rhyming-slang-spitting yobs, they are more complex than that, provided with families and jobs, these are normal men with a violent pastime fuelled by an incessant passion for their football team.
Bursting with energy and enthusiasm when he first appears on screen Charlie Hunnam initially threatens to be irritating and typical yet a superb performance ensures that firm leader Pete is a challenging and three dimensional character. Despite a wavering accent the contrast between a snarling, savage Pete and the man who teaches History and Physical Education to Primary School boys is captivating, conveying a sense of determination and commitment. This is not a confused man, he is fully aware of his actions yet he is not a vicious beast, he is a compassionate and respected teacher in the week and a thrill-seeker on match days. Green Street never condemns Pete's decisions with respect to violence yet neither does it condone them, it rather, as is increasingly popular in contemporary cinema, withholds a directive voice and observes. The conclusion presents an outcome that ensures the inevitable result of this brutality is noted, but maintains some form of ambivalence towards it by ensuring Matt vocally records that he has learnt valuable life lessons from his involvement with the firm. Indeed he was easily inticed by the euphoria of physical violence once he had experienced it and readily integrated himself into the frowned upon subculture; a controversial stance that is never fully revoked. The viewer then is presented with an activity that can be fatal yet is queerly inticing, perhaps explaining the presence of teachers and pilots amongst its followers.
The fight sequences are powerfully directed, cutting explosively between the rioting men, spurting blood and savage impact. Alexander is allegedly an undefeated martial arts expert but the conflict here is anything but skillful. When Matt points out to Pete he doesn't know how to fight he is just told to 'think of someone you hate' - that is the limit of the expertise. It is possible to criticise Alexander's refusal to steady the camera, which combine with the hyperkinetic editing pattern does hinder the barbaric nature of the melee slightly, but this cinematographic decision ultimately aids in creating a confused, disconcerting but electrifying situation cleverly matching the thought processes of the men involved.
Inserting a central female character in Matt's sister Shannon (beautifully and emotionally protrayed by Claire Forlani) ensures that Green Street's themes can be further developed. One of the film's unexpected twists intelligently takes the loyalty among the firm members into an innocent home, and complexly portrays where difficult decisions can lead. Pete also refuses to believe Matt is an undercover journalist when the rest of his firm are prepared to turn away from him, and it is this sense of kinship and respect that rings throughout the film. Green Street is an admirable film that presents the dirty and unacceptable nature of underground violence in an thoughtful and questioning manner without ever being overbearing and without ever taking a rigid stance. The majority would like football hooliganism completely wiped out, but here it is established as an arena in which life altering friendships can be formed and where honour stands higher than many other crooked walks of life.
Entertainment Value: 8/10
Potential for film-making analysis: 7/10
IMDB Vote: 8/10
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10:34p - Joint Security Area/ Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA (2000)
Directed by Park Chan Wook
Written by Seong-san Jeong, Hyeon-seok Kim, Mu-yeong Lee, Chan-wook Park, Sang-yeon Park (Novel DMZ)
Cinematography by Sung-Bok Kim
Edited by Sang-Beon Kim
Running Time: 110mins
Main Cast:
Yeong-ae Lee .... Maj. Sophie E. Jean
Byung-hun Lee .... Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok
Kang-ho Song .... Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil
Tae-woo Kim .... Nam Sung-shik
Ha-kyun Shin .... Jeong Woo-jin
Synopsis:
In 1953 the Korean War was concluded when the communist North and the capitalist South both signed a treaty. Today an area referred to as the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) still exists laterally between the two countries, maintaining a division through a primarily unpopulated no man's land plagued by undetonated mines. At Panmunjom in a region called the Joint Security Area, North and South Korean soldiers have faced off constantly for the past fifty years within the DMZ, a situation that is unlikely to be resolved in the near future. When two North Korean soldiers are killed, it appears that one South Korean soldier is responsible, but the ballistic count does not match the number of bullets held by a standard issue firearm. The Swiss/Swedish team from neutral countries investigating the incident expect another party was involved, and what is eventually revealed conveys a story of tragic friendship.
Comments:
Entertainment Value: 7/10
Potential for film-making analysis: 8/10
IMDB Vote: 7/10
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