Free Men (2011) @ Les Hommes Libres

Tahar Rahim plays Younes, a cigarette-smuggler in Nazi Paris
turned Moslem saviour of Jewish kids.

At a glance:

A staff favourite accordin to the Twitter handle for the 20th Toronto Jewish Film Festival where I watched this, French-Moroccan director and scribe Ismaël Ferroukhi's Free Men @ Les Hommes Libres (2011) is a spy drama apparently inspired by true events in WWII Paris where an Algerian immigrant found himself drawn to a local mosque that was secretly passin off Jews as Moslems in an attempt to save them from bein rounded up by the Nazis.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Now you can hit me on the head with a menorah but I don't think you need to be a expert on North African Jewish and Moslem fraternity to know that any movie about Moslems savin Jews will come across rather off. A review on Guamdiary has it that the director's "conceit has become controversial; his theme is based on oral history, anecdotes and some written testimony" and that Algerian-born Jewish historian Benjamin Stora has acted as an advisor. However, let's leave the divisive elements out of it for a minute and concentrate on its artistic merits. For this, one has to concede that while Free Men is technically sound, its humourless narrative gives it away as a laborious, politically-motivated assertion that isn't goin to win too many fans.

Perennial wonderment:

When will the Arab-Israeli war end? Bein a Malaysian (pro-Palestine government, no diplomatic ties with Israel), I jumped at the chance of attendin somethin like the Toronto Jewish Film Festival which is bein held at a cinema just a stone throw's from where I live. Better yet, bein a Chinese-Malaysian, no Jew here would think I'm an Arab suicide bomber, right? However the experience was strange for an entirely different reason - I was the only person among some 300 whose average age must be 105 years old. Everyone had white hair and those who don't, didn't have any. One in five walks with a cane. Where are all the young people hidin?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Watch out for:
Tahar Rahim's masterful nuances. Great restraint every time, never needin to be wordy. Un Prophète (2009) must have been an industry benchmark in how to appear uneducated, hungry and likeable - all at the same time. 

Most memorable line:

One of the Arabic songs sang by a disguised Jew had the English line "everywhere you go, OK OK, come on, bye-bye". I guess a take on the Americanisation of the world. 

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

This doesn't have the class or the tenacity of somethin like Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011). Plenty of promise in several scenes but the tension keeps bein underplayed. Michael Nordine writes that: "For much of its runtime, the film is simply there, decent for the most part, but at no point immersive." Still, Tahar Rahim's strong screen presence makes it an excitin enough watch for me. Three stars.

Trailer for the curious:

Bonus material:

This nice lady is a TJFF volunteer. 
She must have thought I was a lost tourist.

Mulan (2009) @ 花木兰

At a glance:
Disney days like these, it's hard to get a good adaptation that satisfies the senses and still educates the young. Good thing then that the oft-told legend of ancient woman warrior Fa Mu Lan is in many ways, a wonderful fairy tale. The subject matter (a girl who goes to war disguised as a man to keep her enlisted father safe at home) has produced some wonderful films; Shaw Brother's 1964 huangmei classic Lady General Hua Mulan and also the American animation treatment ten years ago, Mulan come to mind. For this Jingle Ma Hong Kong addition, we're very lucky to have the talented Vicki Zhao a.k.a. Zhao Wei (the Red Cliff movies) leadin the lineup in more ways than one. It was always goin to be a battle to tell a story as tough as Mu Lan's.

Russian singer Vitas has a token gweilo role.
He also provided the song Beneath the Glory for the score.

Bad news on the doorstep:
Took the easy way out by focusin on romantic aspects. Whole project seems like a rush job (note remarkably uneventful openin sequence) with uneven focus and excessive emo downtime (intrusive violin score). Mulan is epic only in costume and settin, but little else, especially if you're lookin for a memorable sword-and-sandal adventure. While Vicki (pic, R) may win over enough feminist sympathisers with this performance, the movie does her no justice by skippin past the powerful turns in the movie, investin in teary scenes when the audience have yet to be convincingly let in on the magnitude of her sacrifice, or war, or love for that matter. Her pairin with Chen Kun (pic, L, I think he was in Painted Skin) is flat because the romance between Mu Lan and fellow soldier Wen Tai is brief and underdeveloped. As for the rest of the cast, Jaycee Chan (Invisible Target) gets to play a blunderin footman in yet another likeable loser role, while Hu Jun (Everlasting Regret) is the one who ends up havin a meatier turn as the villainous general. The prominently announced part of CJ7 tomboy Xu Jiao as the young Mu Lan is only a brief, token show while the bizarre appearance of a Caucasian character (A Russian singer called Vitas) is also questionable.
Perennial wonderment:
If next year's Chow Yun Fatt biopic Confucius can return the great epics to Hong Kong cinema credentials. This one sure didn't do nothin for me.
Watch out for:
Vicki Zhao. The 33-year-old China-born actress knows how to put on a show. Blessed with big, bright eyes and a soft demeanour but ever-willin to do some bruisin ass-kickin in recent films, her rise to stardom is probably just as spectacular as her titular character if you go cross-century. However, her screen appeal is the singular drivin force behind this effort.

"You're not my father!"

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
This 2009 Mulan reupdate isn't an essential watch, though it does have a few Joan Of Arc moments. Best remembered as a good vehicle for Vicki Zhao's risin star. Watch out for her in the upcomin 14 Blades opposite Donnie Yen. Two stars from me for now.
Bonus material:
Here's a goldmine of 50 behind-the-scenes stills that I've got for you. Enjoy.

Chen Kun & Vicki Zhao on the set