Virunga
(UK, 92 min.)
Dir. Orlando von Einsiedel
Virunga is a brave documentary that takes audiences inside Congo’s Virunga National Park and invites them to witness the efforts of conservationists who protect the land and animals housed within the park’s borders. The film focuses on one Belgian biologist and his passion to protect the endangered mountain gorillas at the park, so Virunga skillfully humanizes the primates who share the land with their human counterparts as it explores the relationships between the conservationists and the wards in their care. Director Orlando von Einsiedel captures some truly astonishing footage as Virunga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, comes under siege from rebel forces and an aggressive oil company eager to exploit the riches that lie under the ground. The sumptuous cinematography is frequently marked by unnatural horrors and violence. These violations of the land come on top of the many poachers who devastate the animals despite the best efforts of the staff to protect them—Virunga includes some genuinely upsetting imagery of animals killed senselessly for trade—and the conflict gives the film a thrilling tension as it plunks the viewer deep within an escalating conflict.
The film rings of urgency thanks to how closely von
Einsiedel and his subjects, including one brave investigative reporter, get
close to the action and capture the faces of their adversaries who devastate
the land in the name of commerce. What rings clearest of all, however, is the
genuine passion for the natural wonder of the park and the sense of duty that
resides in Virunga’s caretakers as they put their own lives on the line to
protect the gorillas. The film captures the inherent philosophical difference
that divides die-hard capitalists from citizens united by their obligations to
the earth and to each other, and Virunga
extends the battle of this one beautiful camp to a larger global call to action
to protect the natural wonders that remain.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Virunga is now available on Netflix.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
(USA, 102 min.)
Written and directed by Dean DeBlois
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig
Ferguson, Gerard Butler, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou
Hiccup and Toothless are back! This rousing return to the
world of How to Train Your Dragon is
magical escapism. Soar high with the dragons as Hiccup and Toothless reach new
heights in animation, for this latest Dreamworks adventure has some of the most
beautiful animation you’ll see this year. There’s so much life and personality
to the film with all characters both human and non-human being frisky and fun,
both in terms of their animated renderings and with how buoyantly the actors bring
them to life. Cate Blanchett is an especially fine addition to the cast as
Hiccup’s heroic mother, while Canuck comic Jay Baruchel is just as much a
delight in the lead as he was in the first Dragon.
The animated wizardry is a marvel as this film by director
Dean DeBlois makes the dragons as personable and as affectionate on the fat
little cats snoozing away on one’s lap whilst marvelling at the vibrant colours,
textures, and palettes on the screen. Toothless is one of the cutest and
funniest characters of the year, so How
to Train Your Dragon 2 is a delight from beginning to end as it whisks
audiences on a rollicking—and unexpectedly moving—journey on land, air, and
sea. Watch out Lego Movie: there be
dragons in the air!
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is now available on home video.
And, of course, one entry from the screener bag during this
chapter of the screener pile:
We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!)
(Sweden, 102 min.)
Written and directed by Lukas Moodysson
Starring: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne
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Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. |
The trio of actresses who form the band—Bobo and Klara also
pick up the square but talented Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne)—offer three winning
performances as We Are the Best!
celebrates the innocent recklessness of youth by letting these three young
actresses play their age and have a ball in this tale of self-discovery. The
music might be shrill and the songs might be naïve, but the roughness of We Are the Best! is exactly the point. This
merry band of misfits leaps into the scene simply for the pure pleasure of it,
and their spirited enthusiasm jumps right off the screen.
Rating: ★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
We Are the Best! is now available on home video.