Heavy

Depressing,darklovedramawiththinstoryline,thatmakesyouwonderwhetherthemakersbelieveinlifeatall.Themaleprotagonistisconstantlyrunningintoproblemsandgetsbeatenuptimeandtimeagain,somuchsothatafterawhileIcouldnothelplaughing,whichcannothavebeentheintentionofthemakers:theyarevèry,vèryserious.ThecruxofthefilmseemstobeasharpcommentonthemoneydrivenGermansociety,inwhichitisimpossibletoshowanyrealaffection;ofcoursethiscouldbeadilemmaofthemakersthemselves:moneyisnottheproblem,butwhatyoudowithit.Notforgottenistoincludeanextremerightwingmanwhoseself-proclaimedpurposeinlifeitistofreethestreetofsociallyundesirableelements.Itisallveryheavysymbolismwithnorelief,butitiscertainlywell-madewithascriptthat-asthefilmprogresses-becomeslessandlesssurprising.Thetwoactingleadsaregood;finecinematography.(janonderwater)

Tothestreets,“Raq”Thomasiscold,hardandfierce—asuccessfulanddeadlywomantakingnamesinaman’sworld.Sheistough,resolute,ruthless,butRaqstilliscapableoflove.Greatlove.Thesolerecipientofthataffectionisherson,Kanan;heiseverythingtoher.Asmuchasshecaresforhim,though,therearemanyinstanceswhereonewondersifsheloveshimforwhoheisorifsheloveshimmerelyasanextensionofherself.Themiddlechildofthree,Raqalsocarriestheheavyburdenastheearnerforhertwobrothers.Sheisthesun,andeveryoneelseinheruniverseexistsinherorbit.

Tothestreets,RaqThomasiscold,hardandfierce—asuccessfulanddeadlywomantakingnamesinaman’sworld.Sheistough,resolute,ruthless,butRaqstilliscapableoflove.Greatlove.Thesolerecipientofthataffectionisherson,Kanan;heiseverythingtoher.Asmuchasshecaresforhim,though,therearemanyinstanceswhereonewondersifsheloveshimforwhoheisorifsheloveshimmerelyasanextensionofherself.Themiddlechildofthree,Raqalsocarriestheheavyburdenastheearnerforhertwobrothers.Sheisthesun,andeveryoneelseinheruniverseexistsinherorbit.

Paris,France,1899.ThecorpseofanunknownwomanisfoundintheriverSeine.Theinvestigationwillpushayoungambitiousinspectortodiscoveraheavystatesecret.

Constantlyonthehuntandsufferingfromhallucinationsthatdrivehisviolentnature,anunnamedmaniscapturingwomenandsavagelybeatingthemtodeath.Meanwhile,awomanisluringmenintoaviolentend,bywayofherknife.Drivenbythesameforcetomaketheoppositesexsuffer,thekillers’fatesintertwine.Thetwomustfaceoffinabattletothedeath,inwhichtheyareforcedtorevealthehorribletruthbehindtheiraddictiontomurder.“Brutal”takesaninterestingapproachtoitsvisuals,drawingheavyinfluencefromWestern“Grindhouse”films,usingafiltertomakethefootageappeargrainy,damaged,andwithlightandcolorfluctuations.Unfortunately,thevisualstylingendsupfeelingmisguided,asotherthanapplyingthefilteritdoesnotimitateanyotheraspectsofthe“Grindhouse”genre.Despitetryingtodirtyupthefilm,itisapparentitwasshotondigital.Thecinematographyisalsoastepabovemost“Grindhouse”productions,withTakashiHiroseprovinghehastalentbehindthecamera.Exteriorshotstothosetakingplaceinsmallspacesareallcompetentlyframed,lit,andtransitionwell.Thedecisiontoaddaneffectontopoftheworkhurtsthefilm’simageryandevengivesasenseofdesperationtotrytocaptureacertaintypeofnostalgiawiththeaudience,insteadofrelyingonitsownstrengths.Itisunfortunatewhenonecreativechoicecanhurtaproductionsomuch.Thestoryof“Brutal”issimplebuteffective,itdoesattemptsomesortofsocialcommentaryabouttheviolentnatureofmenandwomen,butitdoesnotofferenoughdepthintothesubjecttojustifytheamountofviolenceondisplay.Thefilmdoesendonastrongnotewithaninterestingtwist,witharevealthatisboundtogrosssomeout,whilegivingothersachuckle.Inspiteofitssimplenature,thosewhoenjoyfilmsthatmakethemsomewhatuncomfortableandenjoythechallengeofgettingthroughsomeultra-violence,“Brutal”posesafunandentertainingchallengeinthatregard.

Having witnessed his junkie father killed Russell Stevens grows up to become a policeman and make a difference. When he is offered an undercover job by Gerald Carver he accepts and begins to build a relationship with David Jason in order to get to the main dealers. However as he is forced to deal drugs and kill to keep his cover he finds the lines between cop and criminal being lost – is he a cop pretending to be a dealer or a dealer pretending to be a cop　　Larry (as he was then) Fishburne's first lead role was a typically dark vehicle. The story is the usual one of cop losing himself when undercover, however it manages to be more than that for most of the time. Co-written by Tolkin, who wrote The Player, this naturally has a nice cynical edge to it when it looks at the US's hypocritical approach to drug control and the political links between the street hustlers and the political high rollers who court respectability. The story does eventually settle into a traditional setting but even then it works well as a thriller.　　The multi-talented Bill Duke directs well with a gritty feel and a few nice touches. However several things are a bit iffy. For most of the film Fishburne's narrationvoice over is a bit like a cross between Apocalypse Now and Blade Runner – it comes across as a little too dark and heavy and also explains things like we can't figure it out ourselves. However once you get into the film it's not as big a deal. My main problem lies with the characters.　　Fishburne is excellent, a real model of underlying anger and violence, Goldblum is good but perhaps a little OTT on the yuppieviolence thing, but there's good support from Smith and Spin City's beautiful (and often underused – but not here) Victoria Dillard. However the two main white characters (Goldblum and Smith) are both smeared with racist insinuations – Smith appears to insult his black officers and doesn't care about the junkies, while Goldblum is fascinated about all things black and talks about them as wild beautiful beasts and loves having sex with black'. These things aren't a major problem, but with basically only two white characters in it, it's a little worrying that both are given that edge.　　However these are minor complaints that get lost with a good thriller. Fishburne excels and Duke delivers a story that is a good thriller but also has a jaded, subversive edge.

　　A heavy summer storm brings a touring horse circus to Kaltenbach, the stud farm where Ari now calls home. Ari finds friendship in the circus boy Carlo and gets introduced to the fascinating world of trick riding. Soon Ari notices that the show horse Hurricane, aging and injured, is still being forced to perform by the cruel circus director Yiri. Ari and Carlo enlist Ari’s faithful black stallion Windstorm in a plan to save Hurricane, but Yiri has other plans which will endanger Windstorm. It will require some last minute help from Mika to save both magnificent creatures.

On a remote island off the west coast of Scotland in 1846 - a heavy storm hits, causing a ship to sink. Three survivors row through a thick early morning mist, lost and disorientated. The mist begins to clear and The Isle appears before them. They soon discover that it is almost abandoned except for four sole residents: an old harbour man, a farmer, his niece and a young mad woman. Once rested and recovered the sailors are desperate to leave and return to the mainland, but the promised boat never appears. One of them starts to investigate and learns of a tragedy at sea that occurred five years previously causing several young men from the island to perish. When his two shipmates meet with accidents, the myth of a ghostly siren haunting the island leads him to uncover the truth whilst he battles to save his own life.

　　The story revolves around Luisa Palmeira, born in France from Portuguese immigrants. In 1979, Luisa is eight years old. Almost a grown-up in the eyes of her illiterate mother, she remains just a little girl to her hard-drinking father. One day, he trusts her with a heavy secret: he suffers from a serious illness. But she refuses to believe him and thinks instead that he is hiding something else from her…