Total Film - The Reviews
Jarmusch's Down By Law, Scorsese's The Last Waltz, John Huston's The Dead, 'Beat' Takeshi's Brother...
Down By Law (1986, Jim Jarmusch)
With a scenario that features a DJ, a pimp and a jailbreak, Down By Law sounds like it should make for exciting viewing. That the film is instead quirky, heart-warming and funny points to this being the handiwork of maverick genius Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Ghost Dog).
Featuring career-best performances from Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni, Down By Law is less concerned with circumstance than with universal themes such as the need for camaraderie and the accidents that occur when New and Old Worlds collide.
If it sometimes meanders a bit, it’s because Jarmusch believes films should be allowed to take their time. And with lines like “If you were a good pimp, you would’ve hit me by now”, Down By Law can take all the time that it likes.
4/5
The Last Waltz (1978, Martin Scorsese)
When he isn’t making films about the New York that Woody Allen always loses the directions for, Martin Scorsese is as idiosyncratic as they come.
The Last Waltz is a documentary - or, if you will ‘rockumentary’ - showcasing the farewell concert of Canadian legends The Band, and has a supporting cast comprising the entire 1970s musical world (including Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton) and its dog (Hi, Ringo!)
With The Band’s principle songwriter Robbie Robertson doubling as producer, it’s a self-indulgent affair but it’s impossible to argue with the soundtrack.
And while you need only check out Scorsese’s fawning interview technique to discover the inspiration for Spinal Tap’s Marti DiBergi, a listen to songs like ‘The Weight’, ‘Chest Fever’ and ‘The Shape I’m In’ will help explain why your Dad doesn’t much mind Travis.
3/5
The Dead (1987, John Huston)
There was a time in the 1980s, after the one-two of Annie and Escape To Victory, when it looked like John Huston’s illustrious career was gently winding down. That The Maltese Falcon director shot three further films - the darkly ambiguous Under The Volcano, the Mafia comedy Prizzi’s Honor and The Dead - is all the proof you need that this was a man who refused to shuffle off this mortal coil quietly.
Of this - admittedly superb - trio, The Dead is the most satisfying. Adapted from James Joyce’s Dubliners by Huston’s son Tony and starring his daughter Angelica, this bittersweet story of an Irish family Christmas centres on a woman recalling a youthful affair, while feeling trapped by her marriage.
A loving, understated last hurrah, The Dead does a sublime job of capturing not only Joyce’s lyricism but also Ireland’s curious attachment to doomed romantic gestures.
4/5
Brother (2000, Takeshi Kitano)
When Jackie Chan went to Hollywood, many of his fans screamed “sell out”. But when Japanese writer/director Takeshi Kitano arrived in the City Of Angels, it felt like a sort of homecoming.
A truly tough guy (when he worked as a stand-up comedian, he openly mocked Japan’s crime lords) Takeshi seems as at home in LA’s gangland as he does playing Yamamoto - an exiled Yakuza who takes over his brother’s drug operation, so transforming his sibling’s outfit into a well-drilled army. Throw in the Mafia and buckets of blood, and you have a breathlessly entertaining thriller.
That it’s also starkly beautiful, shockingly violent and spiritually profound explains why Beat Takeshi deserves to become the international face of Japanese cinema.
4/5
Every one a gem!