Rabbit Proof Fence and a few others

Rabbit Proof Fence (2002)

Being on vacation right now, I have time to catch up on my tv and movie viewing. One film that stood out to me recently was Rabbit Proof Fence. The movie is about the true story of three Austrailian Aborigine girls who are selected for assimilation by the Australian government as part of their project to bring Aborigine people into modern society. The conditioned aborigine's become housekeepers or manual labor. Despite the terminology used by the Australian government, their project amounts to slavery which is illustrated in this movie.

The three young girls (the oldest is 14 or 15) are taken to a camp by force where they are taught the western Christian way of life. The three escape the camp and try to make it home by following a "Rabbit-Proof Fence", a fence that extends across Australia to block rabbits.

The movie is shot in a straightforward, realistic style and is unflinching in its depiction of slavery and the human need to be free. It's not big on torture scenes like "Roots", but brings across its oppression more subtly by showing the children's struggle. Three non actors were chosen to play the children, a move that pays off with unvarnished and convincing performances. The children live on the run from authorities while looking for food and searching for their true path home. What makes the movie frightening is how recent this took place (it's set around the 40's or 50's but continued into the 70's). It may not seem as hard to believe in light of current world events, but this movie makes you feel its pain. I would definitely recommend seeing this film.

There are a couple of other movies I've seen lately that have taken on well worn, cliched themes but have injected them with enough style and feeling to make them worth viewing.

A History of Violence (2006)

Viggo Mortensen (Lord Of The Rings Trilogy) plays a small town diner owner and family man who heroically fends off murderous thieves. In the ensuing publicity Philadelphia mobsters come to the small town insisting Mortensen, who embodies god fearing family values living small town America, of being a ruthless mobster. Is he a good person caught up in mistaken identity or is he a cold blooded mob killer? I'll try not to give away the ending in this review.

Structurally, History is an action movie as Mortensen uses martial arts and expert gunplay to protect his family and others. Normally, movies of this type portrays the main character as a true hero overcoming the odds with the support of his family. Directed by David Cronenburg (The Fly, Dead Ringers), the movie has a tone of menace and dread shadowed with doubt. The action while thrilling isn't glorified and much of the story is about the effects of violence on people beyond the physical act. When is violence justified, is killing something to be revered or feared and will every act of violence taint your future. Maria Bello (ER, Auto Focus, The Cooler) shines as the loving wife who begins to question if she really knows her husband.

The Chorus (2004)

A new teacher arrives at a school for troubled youths and inspires them through stern kindness and extracurricular attention. Tons of movies have been made like this, so I went into this French film with reduced expectations. The teacher (supervisor, actually) arrives at the school which is functioning under a harsh punishment system and teaches them to sing. The students become inspired and start behaving better, one of which becomes a famous classical music conductor. It sounds so boring when I type it, but the movie is heartfelt and moving. No special tricks here, just solid direction and good acting raise this movie a cut above After School Specials.

Ong-Bak:The Way Of The...I forget the rest of the long title (2005)

In the Big 80's, action films and stars launched left and right. The illustrious list of B level action stars included Governor Schwartzenegger, Stallone, Mr. Racist-I mean Gibson, Seagal, Van Damme, Norris...the list goes on. In the 90's, action films fell out of favor and the number of action stars slowed to a trickle. Jackie Chan and Jet Li, that was about it. Now, comes the next big name in action: Tony Jaa.

Who? This guy comes out of nowhere with a form of martial arts I haven't seen before (they said what it was called, but I forgot that too). This style of martial arts involves a lot of lunging with elbow and shin blows, a style with a little more offense than usual. Also, Jaa is extremely acrobatic and will take to the air at a moments notice. There's a serious Jackie Chan influence in the high risk maneuvers he takes to (jumping through barb wire hoops, plates of glass, running on top of peoples shoulders) and a sense of speed and balance not seen since Brandon Lee.

The plot? I can't remember nor do I care. This movie is all about this Jaa guy kickin' ass and the movie serves it up with multiple camera angles and slo mo replay. Good stuff, look for this guy to own the direct to video action circuit in the near future. It may not sound like much, but when I was a teenager the B action movies were everything to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what he does next.

Tom Petty & Number 78

I'm a late comer to being a fan of Tom Petty, to be honest for much of his career I didn't get what the big deal was. Petty's voice is not what I would consider to be great, the guitarwork was never flashy and he doesn't fit neatly into a category or genre. I always liked "The Waiting", but past that his music seemed plain and a little retro to me.

But, as I got older I started to looking for other elements in music for enjoyment. It was no longer about the highest pitched vocal, the fastest guitar solo or the most anthemic chorus. I started enjoying the more basic elements of rock music, the "art" of it, where personal experiences could be conveyed with more specific lyrics, emotional guitar playing (as opposed to technical playing) and a sense of the performers personality.

In the mid 90's, I found out Tom Petty through a copy of his Greatest Hits disc that he embodied these other aspects I was looking for. I became a big fan of his after that point.

Petty has released a new CD, Highway Companion, which I have been listening to for a week now. So far, I've found it much more enjoyable than his previous CD, The Last DJ. The Last DJ was a relatively weak concept album about how greed has taken over the music industry. Despite a few good songs (I loved "Money Became King" with it's story of a faded rock star going through the motions to sell tickets to the Golden Circle crowd) it was a dud commercially and artistically. I was a little apprehensive when I heard this would be a concept album about mortality, as I felt being tied to a theme weakend Last DJ.

I'm pleased to say the theme doesn't bury Highway Companion. My first impression of this album? Strummy! Accompanied by Heartbreaker Mike Campbell and producer Jeff Lynne, this disc is filled with strumming guitar riffs and creamy, consise guitar solos. Tracks like "Saving Grace" features a ZZ Topish riff while "Big Weekend" recalls Creedence Clearwater Revival. Lyrically, there is a concilatory tone of Petty making amends with the past ("Down South") while preparing himself for the future ("Square One"). The music and lyrics fit together nicely on this album, conveying a feeling of moving through time with an eye on the end of the road.

The only weakness of the disc is the songwriting hooks, which is strong but there's nothing on the album quite on par with his classic work. Two exceptions are "Flirting With Time" and "Ankle Deep". "Flirting With Time" is a Byrdsy tune with a catchy chorus where the beat picks up doubletime. "Ankle Deep" has a bit of that "I Won't Back Down" feel even though the lyrics don't make any sense to me.

Overall, Highway Companion is an album of modest but palpable accomplishments. It effectively conveys its theme and is pleasant to listen to. There are rumors this may be the last Tom Petty album (or is it tour? I get it confused). If this is the last Petty disc, then all I can say is there are worse ways to say goodbye. I give this disc a 7 out of 10.

A recent band that recalls a bit of the past in Number 78:

Los Lonely Boys (2003)

I'll never forget when I saw Los Lonely Boys for the first time, they were a featured video on CMT. It seemed so strange, three hispanic men on the Country music channel playing Christian rock (the song was "Heaven"). I saw the video on CMT quite a bit, so I knew it wasn't a mistake. I was also impressed, the song had a feel that echoed bluesy classic rock and Spanish music. A few months later, I decided to check them out.

Los Lonely Boys turned out to be everything they were advertised to be. Three brothers who grew up playing together with a sound that pulled from Spanish music, blues rock and three part harmonies. The musicanship, particularly that of fluid guitarist Henry Garza and muscular bassist Jo Jo Garza, shone throughout the disc. Drummer Ringo Garza holds his own but was less impressive. Together, they mined the past on tracks like "Crazy Dream" (Stevie Ray Vaughn style blues) , "Onda" (like Santana in full "Jingo" mode) and "More Than Love" (reminiscent of Richie Valens' "Donna"). As blatant as the influences were, their performance had a lived-in feel that made it seemed earned.

My favorite track is "Velvet Sky", a breezy song with a relaxed harmony vocal and smooth, tasty guitar fills. The hit, "Heaven", also won me over with its strong guitarwork and plesant melody.

My wife has often said this band is a one-trick-pony and from what I've heard from their recently released second album, she may be right. Nonetheless, I have found their debut disc to be very enjoyable and see a lot of potential in this band. As it stands, this is one of my favorite discs.

Little Miss Sunshine

About a week ago, I went to see the movie Little Miss Sunshine. I had read good reviews about this movie and there wasn't much out worth seeing, so I decided to check it out. Sometimes, small movies of this type can be overhyped to the point it diminishes what's good about it (Lost In Translation comes to mind, I liked this movie quite a bit but did it meet its hype? No). Fortunately, Little Miss Sunshine lives up to its early buzz as a fun, heartfelt comedy about a dysfunctional family trying to enter their little girl into a beauty pagent.

The story and characters aren't terribly original, although there are enough distinct touches to them to keep it from being entirely generic. A dysfunctional family on a cross country trip with a lot of mishaps has been done before and I found myself thinking about National Lampoon's Vacation a lot during this film. But, the writing and a strong cast deliver excellent performances. The cast includes Greg Kinnear (Talk Soup) as a failing motivational speaker and father, Toni Collete (Muriels Wedding) as the frustrated level headed mother, Steve Carell (40 Year Old Virgin) as a suicidal intellectual and Adam Arkin (like, every movie made in the 1970's) as a coke addicted, harsh but caring grandfather. I can't remember the actors who portrayed the depressed, vow of silence teenager and the peppy daughter who wants to win the Little Miss Sunshine pagent, but they are perfect in their performances as well.

What truly makes this movie work is the tone. Shot by two directors, this film strikes the perfect balance between realism and comedy by giving the characters and actors room to express themselves fully. The humor doesn't come from biting one liners or outrageous situations but from the characters personalities interacting and their reaction to outrageous situations. For example, while in their van the grandfather loudly advises his grandson to get laid as often as possible with the small daughter sitting in front of him (listening to a walkman) and the father protesting. The situation itself is a generic sitcom setup, but instead of just delivering the raunchy joke the scene takes time to allow the audience to see the grandfather's genuine (if misguided) concern, the disaffection of the teenager, the obliviousness of the cheery daughter and the father's genuine (but annoying) concern over the content and his lack of control over the whole situation.

With a keen eye for character development and a wry sense of humor, the film becomes increasing endearing as the plot becomes less realistic towards the end. But at that point, I was sold on these people and was rooting for them to succeed. Little Miss Sunshine is a fun comedy that I would recommend to anyone. I give it a 9 out of 10.