The Life of Pi, Rust and Bone, The Other Son and The Man in the White Suit on Monday Morning Diary (November 26)

Two screen caps for the THE LIFE OF PI, a ravishing action/animation hybrid that all matters considered is one of the most breathtaking films of 2012.

by Sam Juliano

Turkey Day is behind us now, with the focus has shifting to gifts, decorations and greetings cards.  This is the time of the year when everything happens so quick that you only need to blink your eye and the new year has arrived.  To be sure it’s always an exciting time, especially for the film lovers and culture mavens, who are invariably treated to some of the most prominent works of the calendar year.  Just as the film fanatics fervently discuss Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Anna Karenina, the focus has now shifted to The Life of Pi, Rust and Bone, The Central Park Five and Hitchcock.  Then things really accelerate with the upcoming releases of Killing Them Softly, The Central Park Five, Zero Dark Thirty, The Hobbit, Django Unchained, Hyde Park on the Hudson, Amour, and Les Miserables.  Tom Hooper’s musical, based on the beloved and long-running Broadway show, was screened for critics in New York and Los Angeles on Friday night, and the response has been rapturous.  Some key insiders are saying they wept, cheered and were bowled over, and that the film is clearly the film to beat for the Best Picture Oscar and some critics’ awards.  As one who always names this show as one of my favorites, and like so many others adores the score, I can only say I am all smiles on these early reports, though there are obviously some other films here to salivate for including the long-awaited Amour, which Allan has given a five star rating to in a still-to-be-published review.  In any event i want to thank our dear friend Dee Dee for again adorning the site’s sidebar with a lovely Thanksgiving reference point and greeting for viewers!  She has kept the holiday spirit in full force at WitD for over four years running!

It seems almost impossible to believe, but the marathon ‘comedy countdown that began back in August before my family embarked on our brief chicago trip, is reaching it’s final stage, with the showcase Top 20 set to commence today!  I want to take this opportunity to thank Maurizio Roca for steadfastly maintaining the tabulation for each and every week, an exhausting venture that provides readers with all the individeal choices made by the voters.  It is also anticipated that some of the finest writing of all during this exceptional project will be upcoming.  The countdown will be concluding only a few days before Christmas, at which point we will have a comprehensive post-mortem on a future MMD.

Lucille and I (and Broadway Bob for a pair, and Sammy for the other two) managed four films this week, with three of those new releases:

The Life of Pi     *****       (Friday evening)          Chelsea Cinemas

Rust and Bone    ***              (Saturday night)          Landmark Cinemas

The Other Son  ****             (Sunday evening)          Montclair Claridge Cinemas

The Man in the White Suit (1951)    *****    (Tuesday night)        Film Forum

THE LIFE OF PI is an amazing work that is sublime, exhilarating and deeply-moving, and it features some of the most rapturous visuals seen in a film this year.  The director of “Brokeback Mountain,” “Sense and Sensibility” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” adapted a well-known but only modestly-regarded novel about a young Indian, a zookeeper’s son (wonderfully played by a non-professional, Suraj Sharma) who is the sole survivor of an ocean wreck, and must live for months on a lifeboat and raft with a Bengal tiger.  The pacific seascapes are stunning, and the use of 3D is astounding, especially in a flying fish showpieces, and one can only sit back and marvel at Claudio Miranda’s spellbindingly beautiful cinematography and 2012’s loveliest score by Mychael Danna, which rightly favors some awe-inspiring chorals.  David Magee’s screenplay is mysterious and immersive and the great Irrfan Kahn is wonderful as the grown up main character-narrator.

While I was rather disappointed by Jacques Audiard’s RUST AND BONE, which in any event does not remotely compare with the two masterful films by this talented French director that came before it (“The Prophet” and “The Beat That My Heart Skipped”) and the earlier gem “A Self-Made Hero”, I don’t deny the narrative in the last half-hour was moving and intense, and that it can’t be summarily dismissed.  Yet, I am mystified at all the praise for Marion Cotillard, an excellent actress who here is immersed in mood swings in a story that’s incredibly ludicrous.  It all comes down to her disability, and not in a good way.  Audiard’s stylistics are again noteworthy, but there’s an unsual sentimental intrusion, that seems at odds with the more serious matters at hand here.

The Isreali drama THE OTHER SON by Lorraine Levy is a call for unity amidst the violent divisions that are always threatening co-existence in the world’s worst trouble spot.  It’s a story about the accidental switching of a Palistian and Isreali baby that results in each being brought up in the opposite households.  It’s about love, tolerance and how bonding will usually trump blood ties, but theer are complications that include the search for identity and acceptance in long-standing traditions.  The message may seem a bit too forced, and the border crossings are unrealistically lenient, but there is a surprising swath of feeling in the various meetings between two households that holds dramatic intrigue.  The optimistic ending may be too much, but it matters little in this deeply affecting work.

Behind Ealing’s masterpiece “Kind Hearts and Coronets” the Alec Guiness/Joan Greenwood charmer THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT, directed by Alexander Mackendrick, would be the most exceptional of the studio’s output, I am still scratching my head for not including this brilliant satiric work on my comedy countdown ballot!  Douglas Slocombe’s luminous black and white was stunning negotiated in the DCP restoration on display for one week at the Film Forum.

Young men in Isreali film “The Other son” brought up in wrong households

I copied last week’s link scroll, and only managed to change a few:

Samuel Wilson at Mondo 70 is leading up with the latest installent in his ‘Pre-Code Parade’ series with a splendid essay on 1931’s little-seen “Son of India”:                                                                                                              http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2012/11/pre-code-parade-son-of-india-1931.html

At The Cooler Jason Bellamy has penned a terrific essay on Carax’s “Holy Motors”: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/song-of-self-holy-motors.html

At Twenty Four Frames John Greco has posted a fantastic review with author David Koenig:                                               http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/interview-with-author-david-koenig-2/

Judy Geater’s superlative musical countdown essay on “Royal Wedding” is now leading up at Movie Classics: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/royal-wedding-stanley-donen-1951/

At Ferdy on Films Roderick Heath is now leading up with a master class essay on Suzuki’s 1965 “Story of a Prostitute”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/story-of-a-prostitute-shunpu-den-1965/16711/

Laurie Buchanan’s latest meaningful post concerns the difficulties in some of the poorer sections of Mexico, where drinkable water and heat remain major concerns.  It is leading up at Speaking From The Heart: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/harvesting-water-harnessing-heat/

Tony d’Ambra leads the way at Films Noir.net for a terrific piece on the little-exposed Italian noir ‘La Bionda’: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/la-bionda-the-blonde-italy-1992.html

Jaimie Grijalba has officially launched his fantastic new site “Overlook’s Corner” with a buffo piece on Chilean cinema:                           http://overlookhotelfilm.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/chilean-cinema-2012-12-miguel-san-miguel/

At Cinemascope Shubhajit Laheri has authored a fabulous, thought-provoking capsule review on Leon carax’s masterful “Holy Motors”:                                                                      http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2012/11/holy-motors-2012.html

Murderous Ink at Vermillion and One Nights has written a wholly fascinating essay on anew volume about Japanese acting icon Setsuko Hara, who is still living at age 92 in relative seclusion:  http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-about-setsuko-hara.html

Dean Treadway’s new post “Cinema Gallery: 30 Scenes of Loneliness” is essential for all passionate film lovers.  It’s over at Filmicability: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post_6.html

At the magical Creativepotager’s blog Terrill Welch has a showcase of visual treasures up in her ravishing new post “New Homes for art and other studio musings”: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/new-homes-for-art-and-other-studio-musings/

Jon Warner leads the way at “Films Worth Watching” with his terrific WitD comedy countdown review of Lubitsch’s “To Be or Not to Be”: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2012/11/to-be-or-not-to-be-1942-directed-by.html

Pat Perry has penned an excellent thought-provoking short piece on “Lincoln” at Doodad Kind of Town: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2012/11/just-few-words-about-lincoln.html

History teacher Hokahey has written a marvelous, thought-provoking review essay on “Lincoln” at Little Worlds:                                                                                                          http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-morning-of-vote-spielbergs-history.html

Joel Bocko offers up a fascinating conversation with Bob Clark on “Neon Genesis Evangelion, Episode 3” at his wonderful new site Lost it at the Movies: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2012/11/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-3.html

Ed Howard has penned a superlative piece on John Ford’s silent comedy “Lightnin” at Only the Cinema:                            http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/lightnin.html

Srikanth (Just Another Film Buff) has experienced an emotional epiphany while watching Vidor’s shattering silent masterpiece “The Crowd” at The Seventh Art: http://theseventhart.info/2012/10/03/the-snows-of-yesteryear/

Sachin Gandhi offers up a fabulous report on the Calgary Latin Wave Festival at Scribbles and Ramblings:                                                     http://likhna.blogspot.com/2012/11/calgary-latin-wave-festival.html

David Schleicher has authored a magnificent essay on the new James Bond movie “Skyfall” at The Schleicher Spin:                                             http://theschleicherspin.com/2012/11/15/i-fall-you-fall-we-all-fall-for-skyfall/

Weeping Sam offers up some thanks in his latest post Thanksgiving feature “Giving Thanks for Friday Music” at The Listening Ear:  http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2012/11/giving-thanks-for-friday-music.html

A treasure trove of priceless reviews and listings can be accessed on the pages of The Last Lullaby, director Jeffrey Goodman’s indispensible site:                    http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/

Dee Dee offers up petition co-founder Lori Moore’s own take on a John Garfield classic over at Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-garfield-in-nobody-lives-forever.html

Roderick Heath offers an excellent review of Oliver Stone’s latest film “Savages” at Ferdy on Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/savages-2012/16614/

R.D. Finch has written a splendid essay on 1965’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” at The Movie Projector: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-spy-who-came-in-from-cold-1965.html h

Kaleem Hasan offers an engaging post at Satyamshot titled “Shahrukh in Conversation with Yash Chopra”: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/shahrukh-in-conversation-with-yash-chopra/

One of the net’s finest writers, the exceedingly talented Jason Bellamy has written a fantastic essay on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/09/touching-void-master.html

At Patricia’s Wisdom our friendly host has penned a terrific book review of “Televenge”:                                                                                                                        http://patriciaswisdom.com/2012/11/televenge-pamela-king-cable/

The comment section under Kevin Olson’s superlative essay on “The Master” at Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies makes this presentation a must read for film fans: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master.html

At the Coffee Messiah’s blog the indominable Michael Harford features a collage on cultivation: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2012/09/cultivate.html

Craig Kennedy has penned at terrific review on “Frankenweenie” at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2012/10/05/frankenweenie-2012/

Stephen Russell-Gebbett has posted another thought-provoking piece, this time on ‘images inspired by paintings’ at Checking on My Sausages: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/11/images-inspired-by-paintings.html

David Lawrence, thjat erudite and personable educator from the U.K. features a poster of a Hammer classic at his new site Musings and Meanderings: http://1mouth2ears.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/movie-posters-1-dracula-has-risen-from-the-grave-1968/

Brandie Ashe happily announces a “Singin in the Rain” giveaway at True Classics: http://trueclassics.net/2012/08/10/singin-again-plus-a-giveaway/

Roderick Heath has posted a terrific new review of the reteaming of John Hillcoat and Nick Cave for this year’s “Lawless” at This Island Rod: thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2012/10/lawless-2012.html

J. D. LaFrance has penned a terrific piece on Tony Scott’s “The Last Boy Scout” at Radiator Heaven: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-last-boy-scout.html

The esteemed Film Doctor, a professor on Film Studies at a southern university, has written a fascinating piece on P.J. Anderson’s “The Master” at The Film Doctor: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master-s-whip-lash-8-notes.html

Adam Zanzie has posted a terrific “alternative Sight and Sound list at Icebox Movies: http://www.iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/my-alternative-sight-sound-list.html

Jason Marshall has continued his superb coverage of 1942 at Movies Over Matter with a wonderful post on his Best Actor choice for that year: Chishu Ryu: http://moviesovermatter.com/2012/08/09/chishu-ryu-in-there-was-a-father-best-actor-of-1942/

Peter Lenihan has written a superlative essay talking about two films: “Dredd” and “Savages” at The Long Voyage Home: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2012/09/double-feature-dredd-savages.html

At The Blue Vial Drew offers up “w/o” and some intriguing Fordian parallels: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2012/10/wo_5.html

At The Last Lullaby, the ever delightful filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman takes a look at part sixteen of his long running quartet series: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-four-part-sixteen.html

Stephen Russell-Gebbett at Checking on my Sausages again offers up a brillinatly-creative feature on ‘Sport as the Perfect Fiction”: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/08/sport-is-perfect-fiction.html

Tony Dayoub takes a look at the summer’s Barnes and Noble 50% off sale for Criterion collectots at Cinema Viewfinder: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2012/07/criterion-summer.html

Greg Ferrara at Cinema Styles talks about the Colorado shootings in a moving feature: http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-shooting-in-colorado.html

Jeopardy Girl talks about her “least favorite film” at her wonderful new series at “The Continuing Saga of Jeopardy Girl”: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/2-my-least-favourite-film/

Dave Van Poppel has a tremendous batch of short reviews up at Visions of Non Fiction on the Toronto Film Festival:

http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.co.uk/