Movies and their industry -- Taiwanese-style -- in Midi Z/Ke-Xi Wu's based-on-life NINA WU

The casting couch evidently has its own peculiar incarnation just about everywhere, east and west, so long as a country has an "entertainment industry." In NINA WU, the new film from the prolific (14 films over the past 11 years) Myanmar-born/Taiwan-trained filmmaker known as Midi Z (shown below), that couch turns out to be the floor -- not merely degrading but fucking uncomfortable. With its story co-written by Mr. Z and his star (on whose life this tale is said to be based), Wu Ke-Xiu, the story is deliberately and extremely fractured so  

that viewers, just when we think we've got our bearings, must rearrange all over again, separating fantasy from reality, life from the movies, not to mention figuring who is who and what in hell they might have to do with this or that.

It's a challenge, all right, but whether or not it is worth all the work was a question I had to ask myself as Nina Wu concluded with a pivotal scene that very well could have begun the movie but instead brings it to a close with one of those ah-hah moments in which you'll murmur,  "So this is what it was all about!"

Because the movie is so constantly in flow -- back and forth, real and unreal -- I took many less notes than usual, not wanting to miss a thing by looking even briefly away from the screen. The odd notes I did jot and now refer to read something like: full-frontal sex scene, The Little Prince, movie-about-a-movie, the audition process, family debt, catfight and dog murder. And that's barely the half of it.

The story involves our heroine, Wu's Ke-Xi and the titular Nina (above and further above), being initially shamed/guilted/enticed by her agent (above, left) into taking a leading role in a movie that will require a full-frontal sex scene. Since she already has an online site in which she evidently does plenty of naughty stuff semi-publicly, anyway, I am not sure just how big a deal this scene would be. Yet it clearly somehow is.

Nina Wu certainly addresses our current Me Too times, as well as the usual industry sleaze, the ego-idiocy of film directors, the vulnerability of young (or not so) actresses, the alternately stupid and would-be-caring attitude of mainstream media, and lots more, but the film's fractured style barely gives us a chance to identify and hold on to something before we're whisked on to something new/else.

Ms Wu is striking and alternately appealing and confused in her role, but only a couple of supporting characters are given enough weight to actually involve us (one of which is another auditioning actress, played by Kimi Hsia. above, right). Recommending the movie means also warning your audience to expect a whole lot of jimmying to what is basically, in so many ways, a rather standard plot. But if you're a style-over-substance connoisseur, Nina Wu may be just your thing. (The visuals in this one are often impressive indeed!)

From Film Movement, in Mandarin with English subtitles, and running 103 minutes, Nina Wu hits theaters this Friday, March 26, (click here and scroll down for venues) while also making a special debut as part of a retrospective of the work of Midi Z taking place at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY, beginning March 26 and running through April 11. Click the retrospective link above to see the entire program and for information on how to purchase tickets to this -- and to the other five films of the celebrated Mr. Z.

Giuseppe Tornatore's CINEMA PARADISO hits Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD from Arrow/MVD

A wonderful Christmas present that checks off the whole list of boxes -- nostalgia, family, friendship, love of cinema, coming-of-age films, and movies-about-movies among these -- Arrow Academy's release this holiday month of 1990's Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film, CINEMA PARADISO, is cause for celebration. Written and directed by Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore, who has never made an uninteresting film and in fact has given us several terrific ones, the movie (which I had not seen since it's original release) holds up beautifully. 

Signore Tornatore (pictured at left), at this point in time, has offered up something doubly, maybe triply, nostalgic. The film begins as a remembrance via an aging adult male who has just been informed of someone's death in the small Sicilian village where he grew up.

As the past is relived, we're awash in marvelous old movie images from so many European and American movie classics, as we learn that the dear departed -- the projectionist at the local cinema -- was the man who helped this boy find his place in life as well as his career. 

That's right: a projectionist of film, a profession that today barely exists in our current age of digital. When was the last time you were in a theater in which a projectionist ran the film? For that matter, when was the last time you were even in a theater? Add another layer of nostalgia here. Proust would kvell.

That this projectionist/mentor is played by that late, great and amazing French actor, Philippe Noiret (above, top) is another huge plus, along with the beautiful job done by Salvatore Cascio (below with Noiret and on poster, top), who plays the adorable, energetic, funny and altogether delightful child in what is one of the truly memorable performances by children in the history of film.

Early in the movie we're made aware how the village priest rather doubles as the town's censor, making certain that any scenes involving sex or even the idea of it -- kissing in particular -- are removed from the film before his parishioners can view them. One of the strengths of the film is how the culture, politics, religion and economics of this lively little village comes to life. The scenes set in the cinema itself are among the movie's best.  

Nearly half of Cinema Paradiso involves our hero as a child. Once he transitions to young adult, the character is played by the then-gorgeous young actor Marco Leonardi, (above, left, and below, right) in whose budding love life we (and the projectionist) become involved.

If Tornatore is not a particularly subtle filmmaker, neither is he heavy-handed. Cinema Paradiso is broad in both style and performance, but all of it works and at precisely the right level. (Only the not-so-great old-age make-up seen on some of the characters toward film's end stands out as too much.) The film also grows more beautiful visually as it moves along.

"Movies are finished," one character intones toward the finale, and soon our now-aged hero is walking through the old deserted and dilapidated movie house that once brought him such joy. The film has renewed resonance today, as we watch what might be the last gasp of movie theaters worldwide, due to this ongoing pandemic. Let's hope not.

From Arrow Academy, distributed here in the USA via MVD Entertainment Group, and full of terrific extras that include a nearly hour-long recap of Tornatore and his career (up until 2000, when the documentary was made) which will make you want to go back and watch every one of his films once again; another half-hour doc about the making of this film, its sudden withdrawal from the Berlin Film Fest, its subsequent wondrous Cannes debut, and who picked it up for U.S. distribution; and finally a recap of the famous kissing sequence, with each film and actors identified. Cinema Paradiso arrived on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD earlier this month. If you're already a fan, a revisit is in order. If you've never seen this lovely, award-winning film, what delight lies ahead!

Leitch/Reese/Wernick/Reynolds' DEADPOOL 2 proves every bit as much fun as you've hoped

So, is it as good -- funny, nasty, satirical, and ridiculous -- as the original? Yep. It is even better? Maybe. It depends. By the time you've reached the finale of DEADPOOL 2, which boasts, among other things, one of the funniest and lengthiest comedic death scenes on film (or digital), it you have not laughed yourself silly, TrustMovies will be very surprised. Manohla Dargis probably won't appreciate the sequel any more than she did the original, but that's OK. Many of us indeed will.

If you're old enough, or movie-fan enough, to recall those Mel Brooks comedies of a half-century ago, this is the experience of which Deadpool 2 may most remind you: joke after joke after joke, coming so fast and furious that even if half of them don't hit the mark, are too obvious/repetitive or simply deflate, the other half work. So you won't quite have finished laughing at one before the next bulls eye is hit.

As ably directed for pacing, action and fun by David Leitch (above, of Atomic Blond, which provided similar things, but not nearly to this level) and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (both of Zombieland and the under-rated Life), with some writing assistance from the film's star Ryan Reynolds (below), the movie is scattershot, all right, but so filled with delight at how much fun there is to be made of super-hero movies, that both the many folk who love 'em and the less number (like me) who hate 'em, will be able to fully enjoy it.

As for the plot, don't worry: there will be no spoilers here. In fact, it would almost impossible to spoil this movie, plot-wise, since it practically has none. Oh, there's something about an angry kid with super-powers, and the bad guy from the future who comes to kill him, but all this is simply a bone tossed to mainstream audiences so that the movie can get on with its real purpose: to make fun of super-heroes and the movies about them, as well as about the kind of culture -- political, social and otherwise -- in which we reside today.

I doubt you will have heard so many "in" jokes about movies since, well, the original Deadpool. And while some of these jokes are already past their sell-by date, some of them still draw laughs. More important, the satire of and comic references to the times we live in are often on the nose. Simply for the jokes about Jared Kushner and Fox and Friends (and, yes, Green Lantern: do stick around through the end credits to savor every one), I'd be willing to watch the movie all over again.

In the large and very game cast, in addition to Mr. Reynolds, who keeps proving himself worthy over and over again, we also have Josh Brolin (above, looking both beefy and buoyant and having the time of his life), the delectable Zazie Beetz (below, who plays a character named Domino with more pizazz and pleasure than just about anyone in the entire recent Black Panther nonsense. This character, whose superpower is simply being excessively lucky, is a keeper, and so is the luscious and lively Ms Beetz.

That angry super-powered kid is played with nasty relish by Julian Dennison (below, from the over-rated Hunt for the Wilderpeople), and the rest of the cast is game and fun, while the movie itself is fun and games.

Do watch for a terrific new character call the Vanisher (shown below, just left of center), and then pay attention to the actor who plays him (listed in the end credits), giving certainly the greatest, most moving performance of his entire career. Oh -- and, yes, the film is very violent, but in such a jokey, silly manner that I know my grandkids will be more than up for it.

There's less sexual references this time around, because our hero's girl friend, played by Morena Baccarin (below), is sidelined early on. A shame.

The audience with whom I viewed the movie (scattered press but mostly a typically mainstream crowd) seemed to relish every last joke, character and situation, most of them staying through the very long end-credit roll. Can't blame them. We did, too. Who'd want to miss that final laugh?

From 20th Century Fox and running one minute short of two full hours, Deadpool 2 opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, May 18. Click here to find the probably many theaters near you.

Bertrand Tavernier's MY JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA opens in L.A. and New York

As its title decrees, the trip that French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier takes in his new documentary, MY JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH CINEMA, is a very personal one. Some film buffs may quibble -- perhaps even become a bit appalled -- at what has been left out here, yet so enjoyable, rich and often quite moving is Tavernier's account of his own life and the ways in which film has filled it that I can't imagine anyone who appreciates this man's work not being immediately and continuously swept away by his movie.

The 76-year-old M. Tavernier, shown at right, was a "war baby," born during the occupation of France by Nazi Germany. From an early age, film was a kind of escape and, finally, a hugely important part of his teenage and adult life. He communicates all this via his remembrances in his thoughtful, moving narration, and with film clips of (by my count) just over 100 different movies! Granted, these are mostly snippets, but if you've seen many of the films (as most buffs will have) they'll resonate strongly, and even when you haven't, thanks to his fine narration, the reasons why they and their directors are important will shine through.

Our host begins (and devotes a good deal of time) to the work of Jacques Becker, a filmmaker -- Le trou, (below), Casque d'Or (above, with Simone Signoret), Touchez pas au grisbi -- not as well known to Americans as many other French directors but (in Tavernier's and my own view) just as important. After this segment, you'll definitely want to bone up on Becker. From there we move to another great filmmaker, Jean Renoir, about whom we learn, among other things, that he was, according to the great actor Jean Gabin: "As a filmmaker, a genius; as a person, a whore." You'll understand better just why, once you've experienced Tavernier's quietly thoughtful, honest and encompassing view.

Gabin (shown at bottom,with Jeanne Moreau) gets his own wonderful section, too, as does actor Eddie Constantine (below), who provides some of the doc's funniest, wittiest moments, before which we get a very interesting section devoted to Marcel Carné, a noted director about whom Tavernier tells us, "Few filmmakers have been attacked by their colleagues as much as has Carné."

Along the way composers such as Maurice Jaubert are given their due, as are much lesser known directors like Jean Sasha (though the IMDB spells it Sacha, it's Sasha in the doc's subtitles). We see and hear a bit from early Truffaut, and learn quite a lot about the work of an interesting journeyman director, Edmond Gréville, who made both French- and English-language films.

As Tavernier's adult life takes off, we're made privy to all sorts of fun and interesting anecdotes, especially regarding his time as an assistant to filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville. an asshole extraordinaire who was also supremely talented, about whom we learn a lot here, including Tavernier's assessment (correct, I think) of Melville's lesser capabilities as screenwriter. And did you know that Tavernier first encountered Melville's movie, Bob le flambeur, at a theater that offered a burlesque show between screenings? It's this sort of diversion that adds to the documentary's fun.

From the much-appreciated Melville, we move to the less-so Claude Sautet -- this section will make you want to take another look at Sautet's work,such as Max and the Junkmen, above -- and to Tavernier's time doing PR at Rome-Paris Films.

Here we encounter everyone from Chabrol to Varda (that's Corinne Marchand in Cleo from 5 to 7, above) to, yes, Godard, And we learn (very briefly) how our host then went on to a career as a writer and director. Mostly, though, it's other people's films that matter more to Tavernier. And once you've experienced this lovely documentary, they're going to matter more to you, too.

From Cohen Media Group, in French with English subtitles and running, yes, three hours and 20 minutes (not a one of them I would want to give up), the documentary opens tomorrow, Friday, June 23, in Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal) and New York City (at the Quad Cinema) and in the weeks to come in at least another half dozen cities. Click here and scroll down to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Thom Andersen's THE THOUGHTS THAT ONCE WE HAD debuts at Anthology Film Archives

Noted documentarian Thom Andersen calls his new work, THE THOUGHTS THAT ONCE WE HAD, "a personal history of cinema." Boy, is it ever. It is also, as will come as no surprise to those who love Andersen's work -- his Los Angeles Plays Itself, which I just watched for the second time in preparation for covering his new film, still holds up as the best documentary I've ever seen about my own home town -- so full of ideas, connections and sheer love of cinema that it should prove irresistible to any cinephile. Another terrific film of his, Red Hollywood, along with the rest of his work, will be shown during an Andersen retrospective that opens this Friday, June 3, at Anthology Film Archives in New York City.

Andersen, shown above, is smart and fast, bouncing around from film to film, period to period, in somewhat chronological order. He credits as his major inspiration (and quotes freely from) a French philosopher named Gilles Deleuze, whose work I do not know. (After seeing and enjoying Andersen's film, in which Deleuze is heavily used, I should find out more about this fellow and his writing.)

What, for TrustMovies, makes the documentary most unusual is that so many of the film clips used are new to me. They're not at all what I'm used to seeing. And even when they are sometimes better known, the way Andersen presents and juxtaposes them makes for thought-provoking, troubling and intellectually stimulating viewing.

From the silents, with their reflective faces (above and below), through talkies and into color (and finally a whiff or two of the musical), the filmmaker whisks us along. Suddenly we're seeing the bombing of North Korea ("No repentance. Not even an acknowledgment"), along with Hiroshima and Vietnam. "Did we have it in for the yellow race?" Andersen wonders. "The past," he notes, "must be redeemed." As always with this filmmaker, the sense of justice deferred comes across mightily.

We see Hitler visiting a conquered Paris and Maurice Chevalier singing Sweeping the Clouds Away. If only. There's a comparison of Hank Ballard and Chubby Checker and their Twists, and then a good portion devoted to the various types of comedy -- from Harry Langdon to Laurel & Hardy and The Marx Brothers.

Ah -- then we view some crime, which is so often "delivered up as a gift." And horror. And an odd-but-endearing tribute to a little know (by me, anyway) actor named Timothy Carey. And Brando, of course. Do you know who was Ludwig Wittgenstein's favorite actress? (I'm not telling: You'll have to see this film to find out.) We do see those amazing clips of Jack Smith's favorite star, Maria Montez.

Andersen himself owns up to loving Debra Paget (above) best of all. So did I, actually, along with early Joan Collins. (I thought Ms Paget was so gorgeous and sexy that I've often wondered why I didn't turn out a bit straighter.)  I'd also never seen the clip he uses of Paget dancing in a costume that seems awfully racy for its time.

The Thoughts That Once We Had grows ever better, crazier and more rapturous as it goes along. That search for justice continues, too. I think we even view, toward the end, Austrian journalist/novelist Joseph Roth reading in German? (No, it's not: See the welcome comment below this post.) And Christina Rossetti gets one of the last words -- if not the last visual.  Just as with Los Angeles Plays Itself and my favorite Demy, The Young Girls of Rochefort, I'll want to see this film again in a few years. Probably every few years. What a movie documentarian Mr. Andersen is!

His newest work, along with a retrospective of his other films, opens this Friday, June 3 and runs through Sunday, June 12, in New York City at Anthology Film Archives. You can find the complete schedule by clicking here. Los Angeles Plays Itself, by the way, is also available for DVD rental at Netflix. For awhile you could even stream it, though that option is no longer currently open. Maybe it'll come back again at some point. Meanwhile, get to AFA for a very good time in an intelligent, thought-provoking movieland. 

DREAMS REWIRED: Luksch, Reinhart & Tode's poetic & amusing look at communication and technology down the decades

The talk seems all about "now," and yet the visuals of DREAMS REWIRED offer up the past in all its bizarre splendor. The movie in question is a new documentary that wittily combines mankind's need for communication and entertainment with poetry, technology, philosophy, history and marketing. Add to this a splendid narration from none other than Tilda Swinton, who reads the cleverly allusive script with her usual panache, and you have a recipe for very smart art-house entertainment.

As written and directed by the trio of Manu Luksch (shown at right), Martin Reinhart (below, left) and Thomas Tode (further below, right) -- with some help in the writing department from Mukul Patel -- the documentary is immediately charming and challenging, as it plies you with information -- along with funny, unusual visuals -- so fast that you dare not blink. A collaboration of Austria, Germany and the UK, the doc's visuals -- even though they have most to do with movies, television, telephones, wireless and the like -- come

not from the usual Hollywood-laden archives of most American documentaries. No, these arrive in large part via Europe and the UK and so offer us Americans a distinctly different look at a subject we thought we knew all too well. All of this is also quite different in ways too varied and bizarre to describe in detail (which would ruin their surprise, in any case), and they impart not only a smart visual sense to the film, but a lot of humor and even occasional grace, as well. They also make quite a good match for the sometimes odd but always on-target narration, as voiced by Ms Swinton, whose

lustrous yet highly intelligent voice lends itself well to the often telling, wide-ranging implications of this tale of communication, entertainment, marketing and societal behavior. Dreams Rewired, you see, is not content to simply offer up a little history and a lot of fun, along with reams of archival photos coupled to a smart narrative that manages to be both thoughtful and poetic. It also wants to challenge us rather fiercely to put all this together and run with it to a genuine conclusion.  Unfortunately, it does not always make this so easy to manage.

For whatever reason (perhaps because some or even much of the archival material was itself undated?) , the filmmaker have seen fit to leave out any dates entirely. Consequently, my spouse and I found ourselves too often wondering (aloud or to ourselves), "What year was this?" Also, the film seems to go back and forth in time, covering the same technology but in perhaps different eras. (Television seems to rear its head as a "new" attraction multiple times.)

And yet, so unusual and imaginative are the visuals (and the use of these) and the ideas that constantly bubble up throughout the 85-minute movie, that I suspect you'll be happy to give it a pass regarding its odd time-line.

If only for the chance to see that early "cell" phone whose wires evidently had to be wrapped around a fire hydrant (something metal, at least), or the chic woman's garters that concealed an early form of radio, or a scene from an early (probably Russian) sci-fi movie (above), the wealth of fun to be found here -- and then somehow dealt with -- is extraordinary. (Snippets of over 200 films are said to have been used throughout the documentary!)

Dreams Rewired, released by Icarus Films, opens for its world theatrical premiere in New York City at Film Forum on Wednesday, December 16, for a one-week run; in Houston at 14 Pews on December 17, and in Chicago (at Facets Cinémathèque), Los Angeles, (at Laemmle's NoHo 7) and Santa Fe (at The Screen) on Friday, December 18. Click here, then scroll down to the correct movie to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.