Wayne Wang's COMING HOME AGAIN: Life and death in the Korean-American community

For those of us who've wondered why the career of Wayne Wang (Chan Is Missing, The Joy Luck Club) has never taken off the way we imagined it might (his two films preceding this one were never released theatrically here in the USA), look no further than his latest and, for my money, one of his worst, a tiresome downer entitled COMING HOME AGAIN. If that moniker sounds a tad generic, it's part and parcel of this slow-moving and obvious "art" film. 

Wang is said to prefer quiet films (hey, TrustMovies does, too!) but that is hardly an excuse for making one that seems to revel in the predictable, giving us a tale taking place in the Korean-American community of San Francisco that deals with biggies such as family dynamics, death, religion and, yes, food and cooking.

As a director, Mr. Wang (shown at left) has usually proven serviceable enough, though one might occasionally question, as here, his use choice of long shots, medium shots and close-ups. It's as a writer (with Chang-rae Lee, based on Mr. Lee's article for The New Yorker magazine) that Wang stumbles badly, offering up little more than a series of cliched incidents with dialog to match that give us the usual -- over and over again: distanced and angry mother, son, and daughter; barely-there father; and the usual death-and-dying routine (complete with vomiting, of course) that we've experienced on film time and again. The fact that these are Korean-Americans does not add much to the overall deal. Worst of all is the incredibly ridiculous exposition consistently ladled into the dialog.

Really: Would this son only now, at death's doorstep for his mom, be questioning her Korean history. Give us a break. Even given that the son was absent from the family for schooling, would he never have seen nor asked about those basketball trophies? Everything here seems too easy, too "planned." There is practically no character, let alone character development. After being with this "family" awhile, you really feel you need to introduce these people to each other. All is artsy/fartsy long takes with much staring sadly/angrily/meaningfully into the distance (by both the characters and the camera), until you just want to goose this movie into something, anything. 

The single surprising scene arrives as a kind of climax, and it is creepy, crazy and near-hilarious. It certainly gives, at last, an outlet for what seems to be the unending, everlasting guilt with which these folk are evidently dealing. I am certain I am being way too hard on this little film which, given its depressing subject matter, won't be packing in the crowds (even virtually). But as a near-perfect example of a bad movie trying for some kind of art, Coming Home Again shines. 

From Outsider Pictures, in English and Korean with English subtitles, and running 86 minutes, the movie premieres October 23 through Virtual Cinema and theater bookings in the U.S. and Canada, in partnership with Strand Releasing. Coming Home Again will not be on other streaming platforms until 2021.  

Death done with humor, intelligence and sadness in Amy Jo Johnson/Joanne Sarazen's Canadian indie, TAMMY'S ALWAYS DYING

TrustMovies has long felt that films from Canada often get short shrifted by critics, not to mention audiences, here in the USA. Canadian movies tend to come at their subject more obliquely, and they don't hammer home their points in the usual "unmissable" fashion. They can also tackle darker subjects more fearlessly, if often more quietly. And so I rather sense that a new film from up north -- TAMMY'S ALWAYS DYING, written by Joanne Sarazen and directed by Amy Jo Johnson -- will end up as yet another example of this rather long-standing trend.

Ms Johnson and Ms Sarazen (shown, respectively, at right and left in the photo, right, at last year's Toronto International Film Festival) have collaborated quite well in terms of finding the correct tone for this oddball family film about an alcoholic, semi-suicidal mother and her sadly under-appreciated and consequently closed-off daughter and the precarious, though still precious bond that connects them.

The filmmakers find plenty of low-key humor in their characters' situation, but as the movie unfolds, the humor recedes and sadness takes over, as we learn more about this duo's history.

The leading performances -- from Felicity Huffman (above) as mom and Anatasia Phillips (below) as daughter -- are as fine as you could ask for: moment to moment real, with many of those moments filled with the kind of specificity of both writing and performance that helps make movies occasionally memorable. While I have long loved the versatile work of Ms Huffman (from TransAmerica to Trust Me and Rudderless), Ms Phillips is new to me, but her performance here is as rich and encompassing as you could want.

The supporting cast is strong, as well, with Clark Johnson (below, right) playing the kindly best friend of both mother and daughter, and Kristian Bruun especially good as a local bartender who's there for the daughter, too. Kindness, as I have often discovered in Canadian movies, is an odd constant, running maybe below the surface and sometimes unreciprocated. But simply there, maybe part of the national character, along with, yes, a lot of negative stuff, too. But you find kindness cropping up in things Canadian, again and again.

Capturing the lower-middle-class on film truthfully, without judgment or special pleading, is never easy, but this film manages it surprisingly well. The movie dawdles along the way, and some may find this annoying. Yet even the dawdling is full of humor and depth -- maybe the most marvelous moment comes as mom and child recall an earlier dance performance, but from very different angles --  leading to a conclusion that nears the transcendent, as well as the transgressive. Of course: It's Canadian. (This funny/sad moment is then, sort-of, given a reprise during the one-of-a-kind end credits.)

From Quiver Distribution and running 87 minutes, Tammy's Always Dying was to have opened theatrcially but, as with every just about every other movie these days, is making its debut digitally and via VOD instead. Check your favorite or usual source, and go to it!

Daniel Schechter's AFTER CLASS (aka Safe Spaces) makes good on a 13-year-old promise

If there's a better ensemble dramedy this year than AFTER CLASS -- the new film from writer/director Daniel Schechter -- I haven't yet seen it. Beginning with a scene in a college classroom in which a professor goads a student into speaking more truthfully about a short story she's written, and in the process spilling the beans regarding some of her sexual activity, the movie starts out fast, fresh and full of energy and keeps its delightful pace going for all of its 93 minutes.

The "promise" TrustMovies refers to in his headline above is that of a wonderful movie -- the embodiment of what a true piece of American independent cinema can be -- entitled The Big Bad Swim that came out in 2006, the terrific screenplay for which was written by Mr. Schechter, who went on the adapt and direct the under-rated Life of Crime and now this new little gem. Schechter, shown at right, has a real gift for witty, fast-paced and utterly believable dialog and also for storytelling using ensemble casts.

The filmmaker gives everyone in his ensembles the chance to shine by making even the smaller roles full and resonant. He also has the smarts to give his characters just about as many annoying traits as charming ones, and he scrupulously shows us various sides to the many different characters and situations he creates. And, boy, does he create a bunch of them.

Beginning with a crash course in political correctness that of course crashes down on our chief protagonist -- played to perfection by the near-consistently marvelous actor Justin Long, above, left, in what may be his best role so far (and, no, it's not Tusk) -- the movie moves on to family matters. And what a family we have here.

There's Long and his rival brother (Michael Godere), sweet/sour sister (Kate Berlant, above, right), dying grandmother (the grand Lynn Cohen, below, right) and his mom and dad (played so very well by Fran Drescher , shown at bottom, center, and Richard Schiff). This is one of the best conceived, four-generation movie families to be seen in some time: They're funny, witty, sad, smart and always real, and best of all, while their Jewishness is alive and well, it is never beaten into the ground. It's simply a part of them, and so it eventually becomes part of us, as well.

After Class (which was initially called Safe Spaces, a better title, I think) bubbles along in high gear for its entirety. There's not a low point in the whole film, and its high points are so many they tend to simply run together, keeping us smiling -- and thinking -- throughout. Who's right and who's wrong are never crystal clear, not in matters of family, political correctness or sexuality. This, along with splendid performances, dialog and direction, makes After Class one of the most entertaining and surprising movies of the entire year.

From Gravitas Ventures, the film opens this Friday, December 6, at 16 theaters around the country. Here in South Florida, it will play the Cinema Paradiso, Hollywood, and in the Los Angeles area at Arena Cinelounge and Galaxy Mission Grove; Orlando - Old Mill Playhouse; Cleveland - Tower City Cinemas; Boston - Entertainment Cinemas Leominster; Minneapolis - Emagine Rogers 18, East Bethel 10 and Lakeville; Seattle - Galaxy Monroe; Dallas - La Gran Plaza 8; Reno - Galaxy Victorian; Las Vegas - Galaxy Theaters Luxury and Galaxy Cannery; San Francisco - 4 Star Theater; and Santa Barbara - Galaxy Colony Square. If you don't happen to live in any of these locations, good news: After Class will simultaneously be available on VOD via iTunes. 

Lulu Wang's lovely family dramedy, THE FAREWELL, opens here in South Florida

Already lauded with near unanimous critical acclaim, coupled to positive audience ratings, THE FAREWELL, a new film from Lulu Wang, is all about a young Chinese-American woman and the family reunion in China that she has with her grandmother, who's just been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

If this sounds like a recipe for the maudlin "family" films we often get from television, do note that Ms Wang, pictured at left, has offered us a unique experience, during which a smile will rarely disappear from your face, nor a chuckle from your throat. The Farewell is a movie that gives that overused entertainment term "dramedy" a good name. Yes, it is moving -- but it is equally funny, charming and most of all surprising. And it ends with two quick scenes/moments -- the first on the streets of New York City, the second above a housing project in China -- that are so brilliant, so perfect, I hope they'll take your breath away, as they did mine.

The conflict in The Farewell has to do with whether or not to keep grandma's diagnosis a secret from her, letting her imagine that she is really doing OK, with little more necessary than to recover from her bad cold and cough. The Chinese branch is determined to do just that, while the Chinese-American group -- personified by the grand-daughter, Billi (a wonderful performance from Awkwafina, shown front row, center, above), and her parents -- are much less certain of what should happen here.

As writer/director, Ms Wang gives us culture clash served up with both a gimlet eye and a genuine feeling for how deep go the differences in Chinese and American culture. Little is easy here, save for the wonderful affection between grand-daughter and grandma (called Nai-Nai and played with a serenely dour comedic sense by an elderly newcomer named Shuzhen Zhou, above, right).

Over its maybe just slightly long 100 minutes, the movie fairly steeps you in Chinese culture. Even when you don't understand it all -- just like the Japanese bride of the family cousin, whose upcoming wedding is the supposed reason for this sudden get-together -- you will indeed understand that you damn well better watch and listen and figure out everything you can. And you will, as Ms Wang does not make things that difficult to understand. Along the way, as I say, that smile will rarely leave your face. By the finale, you will have partaken in the not just expected very moving and emotional scene but in so much more, as well.

I rather wish that, in addition to getting to know grand-daughter and grandmother, we might have learned more about that cousin and his bride (above), and a couple more of the extended family members. There was time for this, but instead it was spent somewhat repetitiously on Nai-Nai and Billi. But that's a small price to pay for so much else that works so splendidly here. And the two-moment ending, as I say, is sheer cinematic wonder.

From A24, in English, Mandarin and a little Japanese and Italian (all with English subtitles), The Farewell opens nationwide today. Here in South Florida, you can find the film in Broward County at the Paradise 24, Davie, and the Gateway 4, Fort Lauderdale. In Palm Beach County, look for it at at the Cinemark Palace, Living Room Theaters and Regal Shadowood, all in Boca Raton; at the Cinemark 14 in Boynton Beach; at the Movies of Delray, Delray Beach; and at Cobb's Downtown at the Mall 16 in Palm Beach Gardens. In Dade County, it's playing at the Aventura Mall 24, Aventura; The Landmark at Merrick Park 7, Coral Gables; the O Cinema, Miami Beach; the South Beach 18, Miami Beach; and the Sunset Place 24, South Miami. Wherever you live around the country, click here to find the theater(s) nearest you.

DVDebut for Russell Harbaugh's well-acted grief 'n gloom fiesta, LOVE AFTER LOVE

Reviews were generally so positive when LOVE AFTER LOVE opened theatrically this past March that TrustMovies made certain to stick it on his must-see list and/or perhaps cover it for its DVD release. That release is now, and sure enough, the movie -- co-written (with Eric Mendelsohn) and directed by Russell Harbaugh (shown below) -- proves to be the very well-acted and relatively insightful look at a family working through its grief during (but mostly after) the death of its husband/father.

Made up of quite a few "family gathering" scenes interspersed with some twosomes, often sexual encounters, the film moves forward in time without explicitly informing you of the where or when. If you pay attention, however, you can easily follow things. Tolstoi's famous-but-specious maxim that begins Anna Karenina (regarding how happy families are all alike but unhappy ones unhappy each in its specific way) comes to mind here, as the family we meet appears to be very unhappy indeed.

Further, this unhappiness does not appear to be stemming merely from grief: These folk were clearly fucked-up long before dad took to dying. Of the two sons, one (James Adomian) is a passive-aggressive alcoholic and the other (Chris O'Dowd) a narcissistic asshole and serial womanizer, and there is no indication that this has not long been the case.

Mom (Andie MacDowell) holds things together as best she can, and it is clear that she's something of a hedonist who was in an "open marriage" before the current husband and is soon involved with someone new afterward.

Mr. Harbaugh makes no excuses for these people. He simply presents them as they are, via their dialog and actions. And yet to make the claim, as many critics have done, that the movie is all about grief and how we manage it seems an oversimplification. It is hardly just grief that these folk are having to handle: It is their life -- past, present and future -- with which they are (barely) coming to terms.

In fact, you may feel -- as did I, my spouse and the friends with whom we viewed the film -- that the extended family (husbands, wives, significant others, friends) were more appealing than the family itself. Still, this is the family we're dealt, movie-wise, and Harbaugh, Mendelsohn and the fine cast bring them to life quite solidly. Mr. O'Dowd (above) is spectacularly good. If anyone else has better portrayed an impossibly narcissistic asshole, I'm at a loss to recall it.

Mr. Adomian has not as much to do here but certainly does it well. His oh-pity-me! less successful brother is a mountain of quiet-but-overbearing excess in every way. And Ms MacDowell (above) proves more than the equal of her on-screen sons. This is one of her most unusual roles -- written with more specificity and detail than the actress is often given -- and she does it full justice, in the process showing us just how much subtlety and understated strength she is capable of.

Nice supporting turns come from Dree Hemingway (above, as O'Dowd's current) and especially from Juliet Rylance (as O'Dowd's ex) -- two of that extended family you'll find yourself wishing were part of a more kindly crew.

From IFC Films and running 93 minutes, the movie hits DVD this coming Tuesday, July 24 -- for purchase and/or rental. It is (or soon will be) available via digital streaming, as well.

End-of-year don't-miss movie: Paul McGuigan's lovely FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL

Just how talented is Annette Bening? This actress -- who seems, so far as movies are concerned, about as good as it gets but has never yet won an Oscar, though she's been nominated four times -- keeps surprising us with each new role. Now, playing Gloria Grahame (an actress who did win an Oscar) in the new movie, FILM STARS DON'T DIE IN LIVERPOOL, she does it all over again, capturing not only Grahame's appearance but also that sweet, girlish quality that lent her performances, even as "bad girls," an extra oddball oomph.

As directed by Scotland's Paul McGuigan (shown at right), and adapted for the screen by Matt Greenhalgh from the memoir by Peter Turner (played in the film, and very well by Jamie Bell) that details his romantic relationship with Grahame during her last years, the movie manages quite surprisingly to be charming, funny, romantic and supremely moving -- even as it encompasses our heroine's terminal sickness and death.

McGuigan, TrustMovies believes, is an under-rated fiilmmaker whose skills are on display in quite a number of genres. His beginnings tended toward gangster/mystery films (the excellent Gangster #1 and Lucky Number Slevin) before moving on to a lot of TV and cable work, the under-appreciated "monster" movie, Victor Frankenstein, and now this little gem that's a wonderful combo of romance, nostalgia, joy and sadness.

Note, if nothing else, the lovely manner in which the filmmaker handles flashbacks -- opening them up into moments of surprise and often delight as the movie moves forward and backward, filling in so many of the details of this May/September affair between a still-glamorous American star touring in Britain and the young and smitten actor who becomes her paramour.

Along the way we meet his marvelous and generous family -- mom (Julie Walters, above), dad (Kenneth Cranham, below, left) and older brother (Stephen Graham) --

along with Gloria's mom (Vanessa Redgrave, below, right, and incandescent as ever) and her hurt and angry sister (Frances Barber).

At center and always present is the relationship between Grahame and Turner -- up, down, angry, joyful, hugely sexual and finally that of care-giving. In between times we come to understand both of these characters' feelings about performing (on stage and film) and, especially where Grahame is concerned, about fame. (The movie's ending is spot-on.)

There's a wonderful scene late in the film (shown below) involving the RSC and Romeo and Juliet that McGuigan and his actors render with such tender skill you'll be holding your breath.

Both Bening and Bell, the latter of whom most of us remember best as Billy Elliot, have rarely seemed more perfect, with Bell especially coming into his own as a marvelous leading man -- as kind & loving as he is sexy & manly.

Yet another film that seems to have gotten lost in the year-end, last-minute, would-be Oscar sweeps, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool should be on everyone's must-see list -- everyone, at least, who appreciates a first-rate love-and-family story.

From Sony Pictures Classics and running a just-right 105 minutes, after opening on the coasts at the end of last year, it appears here in South Florida this Friday, February 9, in the Miami area at the AMC Aventura 24 and Regal's South Beach 18; in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theaters, Cinemark Palace 20 and Regal Shadowood 16; in Boynton Beach at the Cinemark 14; in Davie at the Cinemark Paradise 24; and at the Movies of Delray and Lake Worth.  Elsewhere around the country? Click here and then click on GET TICKETS to view all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Rejoice! Stephen Fry's THE HIPPOPOTAMUS adaptation arrives on screen via John Jencks

Attention, please: For anyone who savors the English language in all its succulent, incisive, trippingly-off-the-tongue glory, Stephen Fry -- one of the great humorists of our time -- is back with an adaptation of his comic novel THE HIPPOPOTAMUS, brought to the screen by director John Jencks and a quartet of writers that includes Blanche McIntyre, Tom Hodgson, John Finnemore, and Robin Hill. It is, from first scene onward, a non-stop delight, one that Mr. Fry himself calls, "Frankly terrific. In fact, probably better than the original source material."

Not having read the novel (TrustMovies knows Fry best from his film and television work), I can only say that Mr. Jencks (shown at right) and his crew have captured Fry's sense of humor -- quirky, mad, inclusive, smart, satirical, and hugely funny -- quite well, and have managed to tell a rather complicated tale of mystery and miracles, life and death, creativity and sensuality, desire and need extremely well, drawing fine performances from a cast that includes actors both known and not-so on these shores, and a great one from the movie's leading man, Roger Allam, below, who would immediately become an "Oscar" contender in any just universe.

Mr. Allam portrays a "blocked" poet named Ted who has now morphed into a slovenly, cynical theater critic. One of the movie's early and juiciest scenes discovers him, drunk (as near-usual), sitting in a London theater observing a truly awful performance of Shakespeare by a no-talent director and his cast (shown below, chosen clearly for its looks and maybe fame, certainly not for its talent) that Allam's character rightly, loudly and vociferously -- in the very best Queen's English -- boos off the stage. This scene is so funny, shocking, intelligent and deserved that it immediately becomes a "classic."

Then Ted is asked by a dying member (Emily Berrington, below) of a family with whom he has long been involved to look into the occurrence of miracles on the family's estate. This he does, for payment of course, and soon he is chock-a-block in plots and schemes, all of which allow Mr. Fry (together with his adapters) to explore everything from religion and science to language and desire, which he does in his own surprising and commanding manner, which is then brought to great life by the assembled crew and cast.

This would include some folk we've often seen, for instance the wonderful Fiona Shaw (below, right, with Allam) and John Standing, along with some actors new to us but sure to be seen again soon, such as

a young fellow by the name of Tommy Knight (below), who plays a relative who may be key to these "miracles," and a young actress named Emma Curtis, who just might become the new subject for our miracle worker.

Along for the ride are such fun actors as Tim McInnery (below, left), playing an over-the-top theater director with major health problems, and Lyne Renee (below, right), in the role of Ms Curtis' sexy mother. Everyone from Russell Tovey to Geraldine Somerville to Matthew Modine make appearances here, and they're all just fine.

But mostly it's Mr. Allam, with his spot-on delivery of Mr. Fry-and-adapters' delightful dialog, that makes this movie such an amazement. You, as were we, are likely to come away from The Hippopotamus with a renewed appreciation of the English language -- and what can be achieved with it by folk who really know and care about what they're doing.

From Lightyear Entertainment and running a lean 89 minutes, the movie -- after playing around the country on the theatrical and "special engagement" circuit (two of its final stops are here in Coconut Grove and Naples, Florida, this coming Monday, July 31 at the Silverspot Cinemas) -- will make its debut on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital this Tuesday, August 1, for purchase and rental. However you choose to view, do make sure you see it.

Note: Once you've viewed the film, be sure to watch the wonderful Q&A included in the Blu-ray's Special Features (and as part of the theatrical program, too). It features actor Allam, the film's director and lead writer, and Stephen Fry himself. What they all have to say about the filmmaking process, transforming a novel into a movie, creativity, and how things get done (or don't) 

is very nearly as delightful and edifying as the film itself.