What Classics Did You See Last Week? (Apr 3-Apr 9)

THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE

Directed by Niki Caro, Czech Republic, (2017), 124 minutes

“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” – Matthew 7.14

Many reports from the aftermath of World War II describe the indifference and, in some cases, outright hostility that the general population in Europe felt towards the Jews, with even lifelong neighbors and friends turning them in to the Nazis. The minority who risked their lives to protect Jews and save them from certain death in the Holocaust are remembered at Yad Vashem in Israel as those “Righteous Among the Nations.” Among the honored are those who took Jews into their homes or properties, provided them with false documents, helped them to escape from ghettos and prisons, found food and shelter for children who became separated from their parents, or hid Jews in places such as attics, cemeteries, sewers, and even animal cages in a zoo.

Based on the non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman with a screenplay by Angela Workman, the story of two such “righteous” individuals who rescued 300 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto is told in Niki Caro’s (“Whale Rider”) film, The Zookeeper’s Wife starring Jessica Chastain (“Crimson Peak”). Set in Poland immediately before the September 1939 invasion by German forces that launched World War II, Chastain is Antonina Zabinski, wife of the keeper of the Warsaw Zoo, Dr. Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh, “The Broken Circle Breakdown”). Assisted by her young son Ryszard (Timothy Radford as a young boy and Val Maloku as the older Rhys), Antonina is seen as the film opens gently tending to her hippos, tigers, lion cubs, and rescuing a newborn elephant in danger of suffocating.

At a party, Antonina socializes with Lutz Heck (Daniel Brühl, “Captain America: Civil War”), director of the Berlin Zoo and Germany’s leading zoologist who plays a major role in the film. Soon after the party, tragedy strikes as the Warsaw Zoo is bombed by the German Air Force, killing most of the animals in their cages and leaving others to wander the surrounding streets. When the Zabinskis allow Heck take some of their highly prized animals back to Berlin for medical experiments, he agrees in return to their offer to start a pig farm at the zoo using garbage collected from the ghettos to provide food for the German soldiers. Unfortunately, this does not prevent Germans from returning to the zoo to kill any remaining animals.

Under the pretense of helping the Nazis, Jan begins working for the resistance, smuggling Jews in their truck under piles of garbage collected from the Ghetto. Amazingly, a member of the German Labor Committee who sympathizes with the Jews provides a special pass for Jan to bring Jews to the zoo where they are hidden in empty animal pens. Among these are sculptor Magda Gross (Efrat Dor, “Mermaids” TV series), lawyer Maurycy Fraenkel (Iddo Goldberg, “Last Passenger”), and Urszula (Shira Hass, “A Tale of Love and Darkness”), a young woman who was raped and beaten by the German soldiers before Jan took her out of the Ghetto in his truck. Though danger is always present, the drama seems to lose its focus when it concentrates on whether or not Heck’s attempt to seduce Antonina will be successful.

The Zabinski’s story is an important and moving one that should be told, yet The Zookeeper’s Wife is a surprisingly bland film that lacks the emotional impact the subject matter demands. Jessica Chastain projects warmth and vulnerability as Antonina, yet her Polish accent seems forced and only distracts us from our involvement with the story. While there are some compelling and heartfelt moments in the film, especially when fear spreads among the animals as they sense the German planes approaching the zoo, the overall execution is often manipulative and mawkish.

There is a scene in which the ashes from the burning ghetto are shown in an overly aestheticized manner, enough to prompt a child to say with wonder that “It’s snowing.” It is a misfire that serves only to trivialize the suffering. While the Zabinski’s courage during the Holocaust will never be forgotten, The Zookeeper’s Wife unfortunately begins to fade from the memory almost immediately after the final credits.

GRADE: B-

REPEAT VIEWING

THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT

Great film I never get tired of watching. Wish this was the reality and the present politics the fantasy.

Just my opinion, Spider. It did get some positive reviews.

Thanks. You're very kind.

Mostly short films. Things linked to are either uploaded by the copyright holder, or are public domain (though I admit I don't know the copyright status of the 19th century French short)

FILM:

The Bushman Goes Home (1948, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7/10. Short documentary about cattle farming. Also features some footage of the city of Melbourne. Not particularly well-directed, but still interesting and entertaining.


Children of the City (1944, UK, 30 minutes) - 7/10. A film (a sort of documentary, though the characters are fictional) about kids who get into crime. Appears on the DVD set "The COI Collection - Volume 1 - Police and Thieves".

Babbage (1968, USA, 4 minutes) - 7/10. A very short documentary about Charles Babbage's calculating machine. I'd like to see a longer documentary about the same subject.

The Cobweb Hotel (1936, USA, 8 minutes) - 8/10. Fun little cartoon in which a spider is out-witted by some flies.

Our Firemen (1951, Australia, 8 minutes) - 7.5/10. A classroom film, but better than most. Surprisingly it has a female director, and even more surprising, it appears to have been shown in at least one theatre (a classroom film given a theatrical release? Really?).


Anything Can Happen (1973, UK, 20 minutes) - 7/10. Police recruitment film. It appears on the "Police and Thieves" DVD set. The most unusual thing about this film is that it is MUCH more dated than the older films on the DVD set. Somehow, 1970s always seems more dated than the 1950s.

Four Men in Prison (1950, UK, 39 minutes) - 7.5/10. Also from the"Police and Thieves" DVD set. This film, although a drama, did not see theatrical release. According to the liner notes of the DVD, the film was very rarely seen, and was "produced for magistrates and other people concerned with the administration of justice". Despite its limited viewing, it is a fairly well-made film, in fact it is a lot better produced than some films which *did* theatrical release.

Across the Frontiers (1953, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7/10. This is a documentary short about the work of UNESCO, taken from an Australian perspective. In itself it is not a great film, but the fact it can be viewed is incredible. Just 15 years ago, a short like this went unseen. Now it can be viewed easily on YouTube. I am hoping more shorts become available for viewing.


Two Wheel Worship (1959, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7/10. You've probably seen a safe driving film before, and you may have seen some Australian films, but have you ever seen an Australian safe driving film? Gee, I didn't even know the country produced such films until I was searching around YouTube. This one is aimed at motorcyclists, and is complete with smoking bikers in leather jackets. I think the director had watched a few too many American films!


Polyorchis Haplus (1970, USA, 3 minutes) - 7/10. Just footage of a jellyfish. What more could you want? With its piano score, I found this tiny film to be rather relaxing.

Laughing Gas (1914, USA, 13 minutes) - 7.5/10. One of those violent comedies Charlie Chaplin did at the Keystone company. You either love 'em or hate 'em.

Is Anybody Doing Anything About It? (1967, Australia, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. This is a sort of "Mad Men" 1960s, mid-century modern, instructional film about weather forecasting, and how it effects people, done in the form of a drama.


Hawaiian Birds (1936, USA, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. Interesting that they got away with showing an attempted suicide in a Technicolor cartoon. I often rather surprised by what I see in 1930s animation, even in production-code era shorts like this.

Life of an American Fireman (1903, USA, 7 minutes) - 7.5/10. A well-done drama film for its era. Some aspects of the film are odd by modern standards. In particular, the editing style (same event shown twice, from two different perspectives) is something one wouldn't see in a film from just a few years later.

La défense du drapeau (1897, France, less than 1 minute) - 7/10. Cute little film depicting a bloody battle.


One Week (1920, USA, 25 minutes) - 8/10. Very amusing Buster Keaton short.

Jacaranda Festival (1949, Australia, 7 minutes) - 7.5/10. Colourful film depicting a festival themed around the Jacaranda tree. Nothing outstanding about this film, but it is very enjoyable.


The Property Man (1914, USA, 24 minutes) - 8/10. A lot of people really hate this film. But I enjoyed it! There's something delightful about such a sadistic comedy.

A Day At The Zoo (1956, Australia, 10 minutes) - 7.5/10. A simple but entertaining classroom film about a trip to the zoo.


The Face on the Barroom Floor (1914, USA, 12 minutes) - 7/10. Not a particularly funny film, but I found it amusing.

Aircraft at Work (1966, Australia, 17 minutes) - 7.5/10. A documentary about aviation. A short history is given, but most of the running time focuses on the then-present day. We are shown how airplanes help provide contact between the big cities and the small rural towns. We are also shown how doctors visit remote areas via aeroplane. This was intended as a classroom film, but it doesn't "feel" like one. There's none of the condescending narration or "prim and proper" casts that I've come to associate with classroom films.


Recreation (1914, USA, 6 minutes) - 7/10. Some of the worst picture quality I've ever seen. I've seen Mutoscopes that looked better than this! But hey, any comedy featuring brick throwing is fine with me.

The Lovers! (1973, UK, 85 minutes) - 7.5/10. This is a feature film adaptation of the hit sitcom. I've always liked Paula Wilcox as an actress, and Richard Beckinsale is also a good actor, and they help the film overcome its not-very-funny script. It was also interesting to see Manchester in the early 1970s.

The Expanding Airport (1958, USA, 9 minutes) - 7.5/10. A mix of drawings in this film, which proposes a new sort of airport with lounges that move to the plane. I love these 1950s films with failed never-going-to-go-anywhere technology.

Mooching Through Georgia (1939, USA, 19 minutes) - 7/10. Decent comedy short starring Buster Keaton.

Australia at School (1947, Australia, 19 minutes) - 7/10. A rather dry non-theatrical film intended to be shown to British people intending to move to Australia. Historically interesting, sure, but rather dull.


Parade, or Here They Come Down Our Street (1952, USA, 6 minutes) - 7.5/10. A very much WTF-worthy short film, depicting a parade of toys going down a street. Another fascinating film by Charles Eames & Ray Eames.



TELEVISION:

"Mary, Mungo & Midge" - Episode titled "Automatic Machines" (telecast 18 November 1969, UK, 15 minutes) - 7.5/10. This was a cartoon series for children which used to air on the BBC. The series featured a child, a dog and a mouse. They live in one of those "modern" housing developments of the period. The child (Mary) is usually only seen at the start and end of each episode, with the plot usually featuring the dog (Mungo) and the mouse (Midge). Although this isn't a realistic series in the strict sense (the mouse plays the flute, for example), the series is set in the "real world". The series had a contemporary, urban setting, which is unusual for a BBC children's series of the period.

“What’s My Line?” - Episode telecast 24 June 1962 (USA, 25 minutes) - 8/10. In this episode of the long-running game show, the guest panelist is Dave Garroway, and the mystery guest is Jerry Lewis. Jerry Lewis is quickly identified by panelist Bennett Cerf, which is not a surprise since Lewis does a poor job of disguising his voice. The regular contestants include a boomerang maker, a judo instructor, and a female captain of a fishing boat.



"What's My Line?" - Episode telecast 1 July 1962 (USA, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. Guest panelist is Allen Ludden, mystery guest is Anne Bancroft. Regular contestants include a crab fisherwoman and a "human bomb" act.


"The Fosters" - Episode titled "That Lovely Weekend" (relecast 14 May 1977, UK, 25 minutes) - 7.5/10. This was the first UK sitcom with an all-Black cast. It lasted two seasons, both of which were longer than the usual UK TV season.

"Normally depicting the kind of cruelty that children are capable of is limited to works of fantasy such as William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Maladolescenza, a German-Italian production from 1977, however, deals with it in a way that is powerfully real – showing in graphic terms adolescent bullying and use of sex as an instrument of domination. Because of its depictions of children in sexual situations, however, it has been banned in many countries, most recently in Germany in 2006. WHILE I'M NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR ABOUT THE PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THE DIRECTOR,  I DID NOT FIND IT TO BE ANY MORE SALACIOUS THAN THE FILMS OF LARRY CLARK AND EVEN MORE BEAUTIFULLY REALIZED AND HONEST. Please be advised, however, that Maladolescenza is a very disturbing film and is not recommended for those offended by cruelty to animals (in this case – a bird) or children presented in the nude and in threatening situations." (quoted directly from HOWARD SCHUMANN'S IMDB review of MALADOLESCENZA)   

If I was you I would take any of Howard Schumann's reviews with a pinch of salt spiderwort. In a previous review of his Howard Schumann got all self righteous and high and mighty and condemned the lovely, acclaimed Oscar-nominated, Indie comedy-drama CAPTAIN FANTASTIC because it contained a gentle, witty, thought provoking jab at Christianity. In another review he slammed the enjoyable and entertaining action-comedy THE NICE GUYS because of a funny, rather innocent line about anal sex uttered by a 12-year-old character.   

Yet the 1977 film MALADOLESCENZA - which Howard gave a glowing review to on the IMDB, contains a scene of a nude, 11-year-old Eva Ionesco in which her open vagina and anus are shown in close-up. It is easily the most heartbreakingly exploitative image of a child I have ever seen in a film and it nearly broke my heart when I saw it. To say I was shocked and saddened that someone would put this scene - which must be like catnip to pedophiles - on the screen is an understatement. If I was the father of the 11-year-old Eva Ionesco I would have made it my life's work to see that the child's mother (who allowed her then 11-year-old daughter to be in the film and, notoriously, photographed Eva in nude sexual poses - when Eva was even younger than she is in this film, and had them published) and the director were legally taken to task for this heinous deed.

No wonder it is a criminal offense to own this film in the United States (I'm not sure if Howard imported it from Europe or downloaded it from the internet).

That Howard Schumann could compare what is in MALADOLESCENZA ("I DID NOT FIND IT TO BE ANY MORE SALACIOUS THAN THE FILMS OF LARRY CLARK AND EVEN MORE BEAUTIFULLY REALIZED AND HONEST") with the heartachingly sad, but * simulated and discreet sex scenes (played by actors over 18) in Larry Clark's films - all of which I have seen - is disengenuous and downright horrifying. It sickens me to my stomach. I am an extremely open minded individual and abhor censorship with every iota of my being, but I have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to the the sexual exploitation of children. As I suspect most good, decent human beings do.    

Howard Schumann may feel it is fine, but there is absolutely nothing "beautifully realized and honest" about a sexually exploitative close-up shot of a naked 11-year-old's anus and vagina (shot from the rear) in a film.     

* I have also seen Clark's KEN PARK and realize that some of the relatively tame, non exploitative sex scenes are real rather than simulated. However I stress, once again, that the parts of the teenage characters in this film are played by actors older than 18. 

I've been on a Western kick lately and have been going through the Ranown cycle (as well as some others).

The Tall T - 9/10 - Great western, one of my favorites of all time. Scott's interaction with the bad guys is wonderful and the plot, while simple, is very engaging.
Buchanan Rides Alone - 8/10 - Another good Western, the whole town initially seems against Scott, but then seemingly more and more cracks evolve in the Agry family's grip over it as Scott undermines them.
Decision at Sundown - 6/10 - Probably my least favorite of the Ranown cycle, although still a pretty exciting film. Some of the things Scott's character does seems completely illogical (even for a late '50s western).
Silver City - 7/10 - Edmund O'Brien western, set during the silver rush in California. Very fun film, and the final chase through the sawmill is well done. Neat seeing Richard Arlen also as O'Brien's former friend and co-worker. Beautiful technicolor.
The Train - 9/10 - gripping Burt Lancaster masterpiece. Lots of action and the tension is unbelievable. What a great WW2 film. Everything The Monuments Men wasn't.

The fact that someone as opinionated and verbose as Howard Schumann does not have the stones to "defend his position" speaks volumes here spiderwort. Besides, how would he defend the indefensible? In no world, is the sexual exploitation of an 11-year-old child defensible!