The British Guide To Showing Off (2011)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1884438/

Long before Lady Gaga shocked and wowed the media and audiences alike with her outrageous costumes, British artist and ‘living legend’ Andrew Logan created an outrageous event, the Alternative Miss World Show. Established in 1972 as a reaction to socio-political issues, the show was an opportunity for like-minded anarchists and quirky performers to enter a beauty pageant for outsiders. Predominantly consisting of male contestants dressing up as flamboyant females, the contest embraces creativity and transformation. Creator Andrew Logan assigns each show a theme, from Royal Imperial to the elements of the earth.  Logan has since organised 11 shows and this fascinating documentary focuses on the planning and organisation of the 11^th show in 2009 and the history of the shows, as well as a brief biography of the artist himself.

The documentary is constructed in much the same chaotic yet organised way as one of Logan’s shows and it perfectly embodies the spirit of the events and the people that make the events such a success. The organic approach that Logan and his long term partner Michael Davis take to the organisation of the shows is captivating, the end result pushing the boundaries of modern art and entertainment and blurring them into one lavish performance. The documentary gathers momentum as the build-up to the 11th show reaches a crescendo and we see the event take shape and who wins the much coveted AMW crown. 

It is refreshing to see an artist who is not driven by commercialism and money, Logan stating that they generally make a small loss from each event and struggle with sponsorship every year they decide to put the event on. This in itself is inspiring as, while they have some famous friends and supporters, they still struggle but don’t get defeated by the practicalities of organisation.

The spirit of the show becomes ever more apparent as the film progresses, one part with a Nigerian contestant stood out for me. The man gets in touch with the organisers and says he wants to represent Nigeria, an organiser states that is not what the show is about but lets the man perform anyway. We see as a young man with scars on his legs, who has been persecuted in his home country, embraces the pageant and wears a costume comprising of exaggerated breasts. He is told after that he is fabulous and we see how much it means to him to be accepted for who he is. And that is the beauty of this pageant, it is not only gay people invited to the show, it is everybody and anybody, whatever size, shape, colour, age, everybody is allowed in and they really are fabulous, an important message that resonates throughout the film. 

The early shows embody the counterculture of the late 70s and 80s, with Derek Jarman himself winning the crown at the third event as Miss Crepe Suzette. There is also plenty of bad taste and fans of John Waters, the king of bad taste, will be pleased to see Divine co-host the Alternative Miss World Show in 1978. The animated sequences used to illustrate Logan’s childhood and fill in the gaps between the footage of the shows are charming, cut-out collage effect layers depict the imagination and creativity that is abundant at an AMW show.

Logan is a likeable protagonist, not the least bit pretentious, and he comes across as a genuinely caring and all round nice guy. Featuring contributions from renowned celebrities such as Brian Eno, Ruby Wax, Zandra Rhodes, Richard O’Brien and Grayson Perry, who have taken part in the shows in one form or another, the film is a good balance of talking heads, footage of the shows, animation and photos, remaining entertaining for the duration. Credit must be given to the director for keeping the spectacle and entertainment of the shows in the film but allowing the depth and important issues at the root of them to linger enough to give food for thought.

This documentary is more than just a commentary on a subversive event, it poses questions about art and the commercialisation of modern art, subcultures and where they stem from, people’s preconceived notions and ignorance relating to issues depicted by the media, identity, boundaries and pushing those boundaries and much more whilst never losing the fun factor or taking itself too seriously.

Interestingly and appropriately, the documentary was produced through Microwave, a micro-budget film-making scheme from Film London and BBC Films.

An inspiring story and a visual treat, fans of fashion, film, music, art or just the avant-garde will enjoy this rare insight into a unique and all-embracing show and it certainly made me want to seek out the next one!

The DVD extras are rather limited with deleted scenes, trailer and a stills slideshow tracking the evolution of the Alternative Miss World Show.

Film Rating: 8/10

Top Ten of 2011

 In retrospect 2011 was a pretty good year for new releases and also re-releases. I had the opportunity to see Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978) and Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994) on the big screen and what a delight it was. 2011 was certainly the year of the documentary with memorable films such as Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), Tabloid (2010) and Dreams of a Life (2011) pushing the boundaries of the genre. It was also a great year for British cinema with Attack The Block (2011), Kill List (2011) and Tyrannosaur (2011) injecting some originality and British flair into our multiplexes and a nostalgic Hollywood blockbuster showed how it should be done, the brilliant Super 8 (2011). One film stood out in many critic's end of year lists that you will see is absent from mine, Malick's latest offering The Tree of Life (2011), a film I found thoroughly dull and a huge let down. But enough of the bad, here are the ten films I feel deserve a place in my best of the year list. The only rules are the film must have had a theatrical release in the UK in 2011 and festivals do not count.

 10. Attenberg

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1691323/

 2010 and 2011 saw Greek cinema enter the film radar with Lanthimos' bizarre Dogtooth (2009) starting things off and Athina Rachel Tsangari's Attenberg confirming the Greeks are here to stay with their distinct and original vision.

 9. Take Shelter

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675192/

Michael Shannon is an amazing actor who has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of years and this psychological drama sees him really show off his talent. Tense, moving and beautifully shot with astounding acting from Shannon and lady of the year Jessica Chastain.

 8. Troll Hunter

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/

 TROOOLLLL!!!! An unforgettable experience with breathtaking special effects, Troll Hunter redefined the mockumentary and offered a fun and frightening journey. It is truly one of a kind.

 7. The Skin I live In 

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/

Pedro Almodovar's latest offering did not disappoint. A truly modern horror story that saw Antonio Banderas go back to his roots and give his career a fashionable 'injection'. Twists don't come much more shocking than this.

 6. Miss Bala

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1911600/

Occasionally a film comes along that you immediately know will become a classic; it will stand the test of time and be a requirement in any self-respecting cinephile's film collection. Miss Bala is one of those films. Daring, surprising and dealing with a very current topic, this is the new City Of God (2002).

 5. We Need To Talk About Kevin

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/

Lynne Ramsay's third feature film was certainly worth the wait. A deliciously dark story told from the point of view of an unreliable narrator with incredible acting and visually stunning throughout.

 4. Hugo

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970179/

Yes, I too was hesitant about Scorsese making a family film but his love letter to early cinema makes perfect sense and sees 3D used in the way it should be. A charming and beautiful film and Scorsese even manages to educate audiences about film preservation! Well done Marty!

 3. Melancholia

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/

There is no denying that Lars Von Trier's film is the most beautiful film of the year. The stunning shots combined with haunting music make this an experience to behold. Kirsten Dunst is mesmerising, a sentence I never thought I would say. 

 2. Drive

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

The coolest film of the year. A killer soundtrack with splendid acting particularly from man of the year Ryan Gosling. 

 1. The Artist

 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/

What is there left to say about this wonderful film that hasn't already been said? It is a true masterpiece in every sense of the word, go and see it!

Arrietty (2010)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568921/

For many years now little people have become the central focus in film, from sci-fi thrillers such as The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) to jovial family adventures like Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989). But one famous story about little people involved no shrinking at all but rather a race of already miniature human beings, Mary Norton’s novel The Borrowers published in 1952. Those of a certain age will be particularly familiar with the story as it was adapted into a successful BBC television series in 1992, starring Ian Holm as the patriarch borrower Pod, and therein lays the origins of my fondness for the story. The Borrowers story has had something of a resurrection in 2011 with both the BBC producing a one off TV special starring national treasure Stephen Fry and the unfaultable Studio Ghibli reimagining the tale in Japan and naming it Arrietty. So what could this reimagining offer a Borrowers purist? A wonderful and captivating new vision, that’s what.

Arrietty is a 14 year old curious borrower who lives with her mother and father under the floorboards of a beautiful large suburban house, which is the home of Sho’s wealthy aunt. Sho is a young boy who is ill and awaiting a heart operation and so retreats to his aunt’s quiet abode for some resting time. Upon his arrival he catches a glimpse of Arrietty and so the golden rule of borrowers not being seen by humans is broken and the life of the borrower family is disrupted and changed forever. Arrietty and Sho develop a friendship and a bond that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

This is a heart-warming tale that will appeal to children and adults alike. Studio Ghibli’s hand drawn animation is spectacular and from the beginning of the film the beautiful, highly realistic depictions of the garden with beams of sunlight set an incredibly high standard for the impressive animation studio. The characters remain in the familiar stylised design of previous films and in a story predominantly about people there are still the trademark Ghibli animals to delight fans, such as the rotund cat Niya, who quickly became my favourite character, and a villainous crow.

It is easy to see why this has been a longstanding personal project for Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki as the fantasy story translates wonderfully into the animation medium and the world the animators create is full of the detail and imagination you would expect from both the Borrowers story and the Ghibli studio. The British tale translates seamlessly into the Japanese culture and works wonderfully from beginning to end.

As with most of the Ghibli projects the film is available as a subtitled version and a dubbed version, both of which are included on the DVD and Blu-ray. I have now watched both and while I would recommend the subtitled version first, the dubbed UK version is of a high standard, with familiar voice talents such as Olivia Colman (Homily), Mark Strong (Pod) and Saoirse Ronan (Arrietty) perfectly capturing the essence of the characters. At first it felt a little strange hearing English voices but I quickly got used to it.

The focus on nature within the film is beautifully realised, with a point made about species on the verge of extinction and this underlying message adds a profound depth to a familiar story. The use of sound is also remarkable, a variety of bugs are brought to life with precise use of sound and the movement of the big people is highlighted by sound so that we as the viewer begin to see and hear the world as a borrower would. The story flows consistently and I felt ended at a perfect point. There are also some surprisingly tense moments as we see Arrietty taken out on her first borrowing mission with her father Pod, the retrieval of a sugar cube becomes an operation of military precision and an attempt to borrow a tissue is a truly tense moment.

Whilst Arrietty is not Studio Ghibli’s most memorable film it is still a delight and an extremely nice adaptation of a nostalgic story.

The extras on the DVD are just the film shown in its original storyboard format which is interesting to see but as the only extra it is a little disappointing. Whereas the extras on the double-play deluxe collector’s edition are much more plentiful with storyboards, trailers and Japanese TV spots, interviews with Hayao Miyazaki and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Cecile Corbel ‘Arrietty’s Song’ promotional video and a gorgeous fold out case.

Film rating: 8/10

Project Nim (2011)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1814836/

2011 really was the year of the documentary, with the release of superb documentaries such as Senna (2010), Tabloid (2010) and Dreams of a Life (2011). So I was intrigued to see another documentary released this year, Project Nim, which tells the story of a chimpanzee called Nim. In the 1970s, under the direction of Professor Herb Terrace, Nim was separated from his mother at a very young age and placed with a bohemian family in New York. The reason behind this cruel act? Professor Herb wanted to raise a chimp as if it were a human child and try and enable it to learn to communicate with humans using sign language. But the scientific experiment depended on funding and of course a controlled environment and so when Herb realised the family were being a little too lenient with Nim, he moved him to another environment. And so begins the often harrowing story of Nim and how he was moved from place to place at the convenience of the research until finally abandoned at the primate centre where he was born, once the experiment came to an end and the people became too afraid of the unpredictable grown up chimpanzee. But this isn’t the end of Nim’s story and this intelligent creature’s life goes from bad to worse as human beings interfere even more and Nim is moved to an animal testing centre called LEMSIP.

It isn’t all bad for Nim though as we see how he develops fascinating relationships with various humans he encounters along the way and he eventually ends up at an animal sanctuary, although the owners don’t have a clue about how to look after chimpanzees. However, this is rectified and eventually we see a sort of happy ending for our protagonist. Although calling Nim the protagonist may not be completely accurate as this documentary is very much about the humans surrounding Nim. Interviews in traditional talking head fashion are the predominant form of storytelling and we hear from the professor, various people who looked after Nim and taught him along the way and also the researcher who worked at LEMSIP. We hear everyone’s thoughts and feelings on the experiment and the film becomes particularly poignant when one woman who looked after and helped raise Nim describes that they let him down.

The filmmakers were incredibly lucky to get consent and participation from all the main players in the experiment and they really use them to tell the story. This first-hand viewpoint allows us to hear the full account and is made all the more shocking by hearing the way some talk about it in such a matter of fact way. Dramatizations fill in the gaps, along with archival footage of Nim learning to communicate with the humans. The footage is mesmerising and devastating, one moment where we see Nim meeting another chimp for the first time sees him confused and scared and gripping to the human for comfort. The use of text on the screen to illustrate points does become overused and slightly patronising but generally the film flows and felt consistent.

However, the documentary felt like it didn’t quite know what it was trying to say, and whereas this may come across as a neutral standpoint to some, to me it felt a little unsure of what to do with such a massive and controversial subject matter. It tells the story of Nim on a basic level but skims over the crucial and often disturbing issues at the centre, which I was actually grateful for. But it still left me wondering quite what the purpose of the film was supposed to be. From what I can gather it is an impartial look at a very complex story that is viewed on one level. The story is interesting and it is wonderful to see such intelligent and fascinating creatures but unfortunately this is greatly overshadowed by the selfish behaviour of the human beings. The actions of a lot of the humans are obviously being highlighted by the filmmakers but in a very passive manner. It is left up to the viewer to make sense of the information put forward and come to their own conclusions.

That said I was captivated by the documentary throughout and it is an important story to tell. It is also a difficult story to tell and the filmmakers succeed in telling it in an engaging way, it just left me feeling a little confused. It certainly comments on the power and control humans need to have at the expense of the quality of life of animals.  It depicts the human’s desire to be the alpha male and also how a wild animal will always be a wild animal. There are plenty of lessons to be learnt from this film.

The subject matter results in the film not being enjoyable as such but there are still plenty of enjoyable moments and the social experiment is thoroughly interesting and highlights the extremely close link between chimps and humans. It may be a positive aspect to think that humans have evolved since the 1970s in terms of treatment of animals and animal testing but unfortunately that is not necessarily true and perhaps this film will allow people to realise that. Project Nim deserves credit for not using shock tactics to make points, instead it goes the complete opposite way and perhaps skims over things but this is a film about Nim and it tells his story to the world which is what he deserves. It is up to us to take as much or as little from it as we want.

Whilst not the highest calibre documentary I have seen in the last year, Project Nim is certainly a thought-provoking film that will no doubt leave you with more opinions about the human race than the chimp at the centre of its story.

The DVD extras are a satisfying selection with an audio commentary from the director, featurettes and a photo gallery as well as an interesting ‘making of’ which reveals the director’s focus on creating believable dramatizations that correlated with the genuine footage, perhaps revealing that the director’s attention was focused much more on the style of the film rather than the purpose behind it.

Film rating: 6/10