We begin with a fair pair of grit laced yet quality essays on the socio-economic trials and travails of two very disparate children of patchwork families subsisting below the poverty line under the umbrella of the United Kingdom. 'Ratcatcher' (1999) from Lynne Ramsay and 'Fish Tank' (2009) from Andrea Arnold offer the fine details behind the surface dressing of the so-called ghetto life. Each filmmaker serves to instill a legit level of humility and, in turn, humanity in its respective protagonists and supporting players. This is just a brief sampling of what makes matching these pictures together here so natural and necessary.
'Ratcatcher' founds and develops its specific dramatics around a rather emotionally muted young lad named James Gillespie (William Eadie) who finds himself an unexpected participant in a fatal turn of events at the end result of some seemingly harmless horseplay with a neighborhood chum. Holding his shame in tow, James motions his way about the bleak underclass housing community (one of many run down environs also known in the regional parlance as 'schemes') of early 1970s era Glasgow, Scotland that he is stuck referring to as his home. The place is in an extra rugged state of disarray as of late, the trash collectors have gone on strike and thus have thrown a large scale setback in front of a massive demolition and relocation program set to be initiated by city planners in hopes of boosting the lifestyles of these lower rung, working class citizens. The pile up of refuse and cast off bags of god knows what have given rise to a rampant population of filthy rodents. This dilemma adds additional strain on James' already over taxed homelife which he shares with a pair of female siblings, a loving, if battle tested, Ma (Mandy Matthews) and a pub prone Da (Tommy Flanagan). The mounting despair can only be abated by way of fleeing the cluttered nest and exploring the surrounding terrain.
The ongoing burden of guilt coupled with an expected dose of childlike curiosity leads James to make his way via bus to one of the impending new housing development locations set to the far reaches of the city. Here the fella attempts to satiate his hunger to break off from the norm by venturing into one of the unfinished units and soaking in the sheer lack of discord within. The scene completes itself (and displays the director's background in still photography) as James approaches a window that frames a vast and inviting open field that the boy can't help but climb out into. Returning homeward after this seemingly purifying aside, James tries to bide his time and the cold remainder of the narrative by blending in with many fellow kids in and around his crusty stomping grounds. He befriends an awkward lass named Margaret (Leanne Mullen) who is often bullied and a bit sexually disrespected by area punks and has lost her glasses in a nearby canal. The two form a bond around their shared unhappiness and relative lack of life experience. One other character of note is the very off and right goony Kenny (John Miller) who appears to be a slight touch retarded or maybe that much more afflicted by the brutal truism of his surroundings. At any rate, in the film's most blatant side step from harsh realism, this goofy kid arrives on the scene with a brand new pet mouse in tow (a kind of fitting riff on the ever present threat of the cruder, garbage sniffing vermin) and, after some predictable harassment from the bully squad, he sends the little creature (tied to a balloon) straight to the moon.
'Ratcatcher' is a mini-masterwork of genuine, childlike disenchantment bouncing off the unflinching realism that informs the surrounding world. Lynne Ramsay works with a natural lean to the material and location (she is a Glasgow native, raised around the time period on display here) and composes each passing scene with budding master's touch (it was her debut feature). The young actors are guided to performances very much on par with the more seasoned elders, Tommy Flanagan baring a fairly familiar, scared mug previously seen in the likes of Mel Gibson's Oscar whore 'Braveheart'. Ramsay made one other picture that I have yet to see, 'Morvern Callar' before laboring without success to adapt the popular novel 'The Lovely Bones' for the screen, taking some extended time off and eventually returning with the far more polished but every bit as effective 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' with Tilda Swinton which addresses the hot button topic of school violence more potently than anything this humble movie nerd has yet come across. Her next pending project is a crime thriller of sorts set to feature Nataile Portman entitled 'Jane Got a Gun'.
The lower income housing misadventures continue with 'Fish Tank' director Andrea Arnold's sophomore effort (following the festival beloved 'Red Road'). This time we get to join in on the rather lone wolf wanderings of one Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis, spotted by a casting agent having a spirited shouting match at a train station) as she fills the void of her drab day to day routine in desolate Eastern London by dancing to rap beats solo in another of those plentiful abandoned buildings these projects provide so readily. You see, Mia lives with her slutty party girl mom (Kierston Wareing) and bratty younger sis (Rebecca Griffiths) and things often lead to loud outbursts and blatant animosity. To offset this, Mia takes to her own travels about her neighborhood's less than inspiring sprawls. Along the way she discovers an unhealthy equine tied to a fence and tries to free it out of sympathy but is foiled by a couple of wayward chaps who give her a right hassle for her violation of their space. This confrontation is quelled by another, more level headed boy named Billy (Harry Treadaway) who slowly gels to Mia and may ultimately offer up a means of escape, if only the lady can clear one unforeseen hurtle.
Being as her age is around 15, Mia is coping with the burgeoning weight of hormones and sexual confusion, not an easy task on its own. Into the fray of this budding wealth of chaos arrives momma's latest boy toy, the dashing and charming Connor O' Reily (man of the moment, Michael Fassbender, all cool and confident) who says and does everything right until it leads to something a bit out of line and a secret is revealed that all but destroys what little constructive structure this family ever even had in the first place. As was the case with 'Ratcatcher', this film feeds off the strength of performance as well as its bold, realism drenched aesthetic structure. Andrea Arnold holds much in common with the aforementioned Lynne Ramsay in that both adhere to a faithful rendering of locale and drawing a raw, organic measure of realism from their chosen casts. The symmetry does not end there, both are natives of the U.K. (Arnold is from Kent, England) who started their respective careers placing it under the microscope (first in shorts, later with features) before branching out as bigger scale projects came along. Arnold has followed the strong 'Fish Tank' with her take on the Emily Brontë classic 'Wuthering Heights' which was the first project she did not have a hand in developing from day one, yet took control of and made her own, shooting the film in a raw and fast style much in sych with the rest of her output. I think 'Fish Tank' will strike audiences as another strong, relevant and textured study of multiple, well developed characters with a powerhouse young talent as its nucleus, I don't know of any other work this Katie Javis gal has done as of late but she displays undeniable skill here in her maiden bow. Well worth the effort in tracking down my fellow film geeks, I mean that.
Both films are available on DVD care the eternally reliable Criterion Collection (criterion.com), they look great as is the standard for this fine company and feature early shorts (including Arnold's Oscar winning 'Wasp') and assorted interview material. Recommended for art film snobs with a touch of ghetto curiosity in their blood.
ALSO,
On the immediate horizon, the 12th annual edition of the Fox Valley based Wildwood Film Festival is about ready to share its latest batch of short film sensations from all over (yet each with some form of connection with this here dairy state). The fest will be held again at the Kimberly Clark Theater in the prestigious Performing Arts Center located at the heart of College Avenue in downtown Appleton and has expanded in both volume and diversity of content. There are close to 40 separate films set to unfold over four separate showcases throughout the day on Saturday, March 16th at 1, 3, 6 and 8pm respectively covering everything from comedy to drama to experimental cinema and music videos with even a western thrown in for good measure. What stands out the most for me is, according to the weighty list of titles and descriptions shared with me by one of the fest's brainchilds, Jason Buss, is a fairly hefty number of science fiction options with potentially engrossing plotlines.
Chief among these are 'The Wheel' which tells of a youth charged with minding a mammoth wheel that serves to balance the well being of the world entire, until an unforeseen hindrance rears its pesky head, 'Valhalla' a film that one can only hope will at least somewhat live up to its lofty title as it plays out its saga of a salvage worker who stands to make a startling discovery in the lower reaches of an abandoned medical facility he has wandered into and 'Angel's Tear' posits a brink of extinction scenario wherein the human race begins to fade from the mortal coil leaving a scant patchwork of survivors to face an uncertain future by looking into the past.
Additionally on this year's epic roster are 'Brother Barry' about an elderly gentleman whose attempts to become a monk are met with a succession of comic setbacks, 'Hopping for Brew' a documentary focusing on the development of hop growing and craft brewing here in Wisconsin, which has got to have easy appeal to a great many of our citizens, 'Coffee or Tea?' which touches on a formerly straight arrow's first foray into the homosexual dating game and 'Extreme, Loyal, Victorious-The Packer Fan Experience' a handy sampling of filmmaker Meghan Parkansky's ambitious examination of the hectic pool of insanity that is Green Bay based NFL football fandom. The film imbeds itself in the heart of the matter by seeking out the most passionate and dedicated Packer Backers who are then encouraged to tell their stories. Bonus point, the film was crafted during the 2010 season, which culminated in the ultimate game day happy ending, a Super Bowl championship. Lastly, there is 'Yellow Hill : The Stranger's Tale' described as a Chinese Western produced and starring established Asian actress Bai Ling (of 'The Crow' and 'Crank 2-High Voltage') as the titular stranger who enters a small town in search of a mysterious piece of her past that leads to some truly startling revelations. She is met with kind assistance and violent opposition as the truth comes to light. The film was shot in part at a soundstage in Milwaukee by a filmmaker (Ross Bigley) who hails from Madison.
This year will also see the introduction of a seminar dubbed 'Filmmaking 101' to be hosted/taught by Craig Knitt (another Wildwood mastermind) and Tony Reale (from the informative website Next Wave DV) which is free to the public and located in the Pippin Room of the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel located across the street and down a bit from the P.A.C. The program kicks in at 10am and covers the basic principles of the mechanics of crafting moving pictures, from pre-production to actual shooting and finally post work. Seating is of the first come, first served variety, so don't be late.
As with each passing edition of the Wildwood Film Festival, the complete details on tickets, film schedule breakdown and any subordinate happenings or whatever else may pertain to the fest (merch, volunteering, past fest info, contacting the powers behind the scenes) can be easily obtained online at wildwoodfilmfest.com
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