Bronson (2008)

Tom Hardy goes full frontal as Charles Bronson.

At a glance:

When Tom Hardy isn't beatin Batman to a pulp in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) or beatin Channing Tatum to a pulp in Warrior (2011) or beatin mythical monsters to a pulp in Minotaur (2006), he's beatin prison guards to a pulp in Bronson (2008), a stylised, comical and surreal biopic of Charles Bronson. Not the similarly bemoustached American actor in Western flicks, mind you, but the incorrigible problem prisoner that has gained international attention as Britain's most violent detainee. Born Michael Gordon Peterson, the bane (sorry, couldn't resist) of all correctional facilities across England has a well-documented life behind bars (30 years in solitary confinement!), stretchin decades and formin a catalogue of wonderful ball-breakin material to work with. He's still in jail as far as I know and has Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn to thank for fuellin his narcissism. Fans of his Drive (2011) and his powerful Pusher films will attest to the director's precision in filmmakin.

Matt King in a standout supportin performance
as a mastermind poof.

Bad news on the doorstep:

It's a first person narrative play, you know. You might not like the drollery if you thought this was Un Prophète (2009) meets Chopper (2000). Bronson is portrayed as an inarticulate, attention-seekin slab of muscle with a penchant for theatrics. His excesses are crude, futile and disaffectin to watch. However, a resplendent Tom Hardy does give a very disturbin intensity to him - an underclass anti-hero who just doesn't seem to know any better. Your views on crime and punishment will come into play when relatin to such a crass character, which in turn may determine just how much you enjoy the film.

"You shouldn't mess with boys bigger than you."

Perennial wonderment:

Can someone like this be helped? I'd buy ol' Charlie some nasi kukus ayam berempah and maybe he'd lighten up a little, after so many years under Her Majesty's Pleasure.

Reminds me of:

I don't know. How many ex-cons do I know who's also a Moslem apostate (Charles Ali Ahmed), post office robber, exercise book author, bare-knuckle boxer, Tesco worker, painter and cartoonist? Is it any surprise that he's apparently also a friend of the Kray twins?

"Fancy a cup of British char?"

I can't remember if I cried:

Go visit the official website where they tell you Charles Bronson has been in jail since 1974 for stealin £26.18. He's only still inside because he keeps fightin back and not because that's the sentence for petty theft. Still it's agonisin to read such a summary. I also felt a strange despair watchin Bronson's zoned-out girlfriend Allison (Juliet Oldfield) dump him for havin no ambition. I guess that's Tom Hardy's talent, herein proven to be a commodity that's beyond the 100 pounds of muscle he put on for the role.

Most memorable line:

Nothin he says particularly stands out but the throwback soundtrack really hits all the right notes. It includes the Walker Brothers' The Electrician and Pet Shop Boys' It's A Sin - definitely worth a download.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

★★★ 1/2 for an innovative, unexpected approach. Variety's John Anderson notes that Bronson has cult hit written all over it and that gleeful brutality and intellectual mischief have become the bloodstained callin cards of Nicolas Winding Refn while Film Four's Jonathan Crocker says he has framed this anti-biopic of Britain’s most notorious prisoner as a 21st century Clockwork Orange (1971), damned near pullin it off. Well, here's one for the Sorry True Stories tab, eh. So, when's a Mike Tyson biopic gonna be made?
Bonus material:

"Why so serious?"

China Heavyweight (2012) @ 千錘百煉

Float like a butterfly and sting like a PRC

At a glance:

Pugilism in the PRC gets some international attention in China Heavyweight @ 千錘百煉 (translated as "to be tried and tested a thousand times"). See, Chairman Mao banned boxin in China back in 1959 for bein "too violent" and "too American" as this film will tell you, only for the ban to be lifted some 30 years later, givin rise to people like coach Qi Mo Xiang (pic), the movie's star and apparently the Republic's first pro boxer. This technically accomplished Chinese-Canadian production by filmmaker Chang Yung is a mesmerisin sports doc that doubles as a social commentary, offerin a privileged glimpse into the lives of three people; the said coach and his two embattled protégés - Miao Yun Fei and He Zong Li.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Don't train hard and you'll be back home farming.
Then you'll be no one but your mum's kid.

While obviously a useful addition to the canon of cinéma vérité (as proudly expounded by the helmer), you'd have to pardon the pun when I say this lacks the finishin punch when it comes to dramatic urgency, though possibly intentionally so. Torontonian reviewer Justin Li calls it "the boxing equivalent of Steve James’ basketball documentary, Hoop Dreams (1994)" and that it is "rife with dialectical feelings of both desperation and aspiration... an essential social document on the hardships and lack of opportunity in the industrialised ‘New’ China" but one would've fancied seein more strife in the choices of the characters. Perhaps extra characters could've added more compellin viewpoints to further highlight the gravitas of their personal struggles. One odd omission from this otherwise wonderful film would be the existence of weight categories, somethin one would feel deserves to get some passin mention in a film about boxin.
Perennial wonderment:
Would you rather be a piss poor never-been boxer or a medium-income excavator operator?

Reminds me of:

Coach Xi is a doppelganger for a chunky street punk who used to run the local snooker joint in my old neighbourhood in Malaysia. He's a hard man and comes across likeable in the film, so we'll forgive him for bein decked in Manchester United gear all the time and also lionisin Mike Tyson. 

I can't remember if I cried:

When I heard the coach tell The Globe And Mail film critic Liam Lacey last night about the fate of one of the boys from the movie. I saw this at Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas as part of the annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, where the night's proceedings was simulcast across select cinemas across Canada. Coach Xi was flown in for the show.

The knockout facilities available in Huili, Liangshan, Sichuan.

Most memorable line:

"If you make the provincial team, you'll be China's official athletes. You'll be the country's people. Don't train hard and you'll be back home farming. Then you'll be no one but your mum's kid."

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Expresses the anxieties of these people but doesn't seem to really answer the questions it raises. Still, it's a rare look-in. What I love about documentaries like these is that they usually have sad endings. As Torontonian sportswriter Alex Wong writes: "Maybe the most depressing thought is this: without ruining the outcome of his comeback fight, does it really matter whether he wins or not? How much can life change, and how many of these students can actually improve their lives through boxing." Chang's next project Eggplant, about a Chinese weddin photographer, will be his first feature. ★★★ 1/2


Trailer for the curious: