Movie Review: Weathering With You (Tenki no ko)

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

Fantastic animated movie from Japan that is both extremely entertaining and very thought provoking.

The most obvious thing to say about this film is that it is simply lovely to look at. Anyone who knows even a tiny bit about the making of an animated film, will know that a movie like this is a very complex task to pull off. The rain throughout the movie and the way it is used would cause no end of challenges to even master animators. However when watching this movie the effect seems effortless. The design work of the characters and environment are fantastic and there is not a moment in this film that doesn't visually blow you away.

The story is one that is seemingly simple on paper, but much more complex when put into a film. It's on the surface simplicity makes the movie play as great entertainment. There is a lot to enjoy about this movie on this level. We really care about the characters and they always feel completely real. There is plenty of great humor throughout the movie and the audience I saw this with was laughing very hard at many of the jokes. The romance is just as great as you would except from director/writer Makoto Shinkai (after all this is the man who directed/wrote 5 Centimeters Per Second and Your Name). Our two lead characters truly do make an adorable and believable couple. At the same time the more complex themes will definitely give fans something to discuss after the film is over. There are many choices made over the course of the film that will leave you thinking about why the director made them, yet at the same time make it a better movie. This is especially true of the ending, which I will not give away here. I will say this ending will definitely leave you thinking about it long after the film is over. The fact that Shinkai would even attempt such an ending is very daring and admirable.

Makoto Shinkai has once again with this film proven himself to be one of the best modern day auteurs in animation. All fans of animated movies need to do themselves a favor and see this film.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Shoot The Piano Player (Tirez sur le pianiste) (1960)

After The 400 Blows, François Truffaut decided he wanted to do something quite different for his next feature. That something different was Shoot The Piano Player. Freely adapted from the novel Down There by David Goodis, Shoot The Piano Player is Truffaut’s most playful film. This movie is sometimes comic, sometimes tragic and sometimes suspenseful but always entertaining and mesmerizing. None of this feels forced and these elements fit together extremely well, a difficult feat for any film maker to accomplish.



Without a major studio backing the film, much of the shooting was done on the streets of Paris. Though the film was based off a book, much of the script was written as the movie was being filmed. Because of this and the crew being quite sure of themselves due to the success of The 400 Blows.  Many of the people working on this film considered this one of the most fun times they ever had making a movie. With all this it is no wonder that Shoot The Piano Player has a sense of freedom and spontaneity few films have.



Truffaut found casting to be one of the easier parts of making this movie. After seeing Charles Aznavour in Georges Franju’s Head Against the Wall, Truffaut wrote the lead of this film with him in mind. Richard Kanayan played one of the school children in The 400 Blows and everybody working on the film found him entertaining so he was given a bigger role here. Truffaut saw a woman named Claudine Huz’e on TV and decided she should be in this film. He suggested her screen name of Marie Dubois, because she reminded him of the main character in the book Marie Dubois.

François Truffaut and Marcel Moussy started writing the script together. However unlike on The 400 Blows, the two did not see eye to eye. Moussy saw this film as a straightforward story, but Truffaut saw a spontaneous exercise in cinematic freedom. Truffaut also felt the characters should be less heroic than in the novel, which Moussy disagreed with. Moussy would leave this film early in the writing and Truffaut would finish writing the script his way.

Shoot The Piano Player was not the hit The 400 Blows had been. In fact it was not a hit at all. It fared no better with critics. Despite this the film is a classic, Truffaut was for a while unhappy for this film, probably due to it’s reception. However today many movie-lovers have discovered just how great this film is and it has found the respect it deserves.

-Michael J. Ruhland

The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups) (1959)

François Truffaut’s first feature is not only one of his best but also one of his most personal films as well. Much of the story of Antoine Doniel comes from Truffaut’s own childhood. Like Antoine, young François didn’t have the happiest childhood. For both of them their major escape was the movies. Both of them would often skip school to see movies. Both grew a love a literature outside of school. Still much of Antoine Doniel’s character also came from the actor who played him, Jean Perrie-Leud. Truffaut put an ad in the newspaper stating that he was looking for a 13 year old boy to play a lead in a film, with no more information than that and where to audition. Jean Perrie-Leud, skipped school and took a bus to the audition. Truffaut instantly felt a kinship with this kid and knew he would play the part. This young boy brought much to the character, including dialog for the psychiatric examination scene. He would go on to become one of the main actors of the French New Wave, including appearing in many of Truffaut’s films. The child actors who didn’t get the role played the other students in the classroom.



Tough Truffaut did much of the writing for The 400 Blows, he did have a co-writer. That co-writer was Marcel Mousey, who was at the time who at the time was working as a television writer. One of the reasons he was hired was because he was a former school teacher, and that experience would come in handy during the classroom scenes. Despite working with Francois on the script Marcel Mousey was not aware just how autobiographical the film was. François made sure that Antione was the focus of the film, because of this there are very few scenes in which Antione does not appear and even in these small scenes, he is the center of the conversation.

The 400 Blows is an incredible movie. The character of Antione becomes so real to us when we watch this film. We feel sorry for him, but in some ways kind of admire the kid as well. He is as close to a real kid as any kid character in a movie can be. Unlike many kids in movies, the film never goes out of its way to make him overly cute. Yet the movie also never makes him an unlikable Hellraiser. He is a tough kid, yet also very venerable. He is very smart but can also be naïve. He does some bad things, but is never a bad kid. These traits that are seemingly contradictory written down are not at all so on the screen. They make up one of the most real and believable characters in the history of cinema. Truffaut also makes this film feel so real by keeping it from being the depressing tragedy it could have been. Life is not just one tragic moment after another. In between the tragedy is joy and fun. There are moments of great humor in this movie. The most famous being a fantastic scene where a PE teacher having the kids run through the streets only to have them keep disappearing two at time until the teacher is all by himself. One of the most joyous scenes in the film involves Antione in a spinning wheel ride. After seeing some brutally tragic scene before this the contrast makes this down right cathartic. As well as a joy for the character this scene is also joyous for the filmmakers. Truffaut was completely in love with cinema and still had much of his youthful energy and enthusiasm towards making movies. This is the type of scene that many filmmakers would have left out or shot in a more conventional way. However here Truffaut is excited about breaking the rules and truly seeing what can be done with this great artform. This joy and youthful excitement completely overcomes us as we watch this scene. The scene also serves as one of Truffaut's many love letters to the movies in his films, as the way it is shot and designed reminds one of a zoetrope, one of the precursors to movies.   

The 400 Blows was a huge hit and hailed as a master piece of cinema. The success of this film and the director’s closeness to it lead us to more Antione Doinel movies in the future.

-Michael J. Ruhland  

Movie Review: Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria)

Michael's Movie Grade: A+

A deeply personal and moving film.

This movie is an extremely autobiographical one for director/writer Pedro Almodóvar. It is rare to find any film as deeply personal as this. That is why it is so powerful though. Every emotion is real and completely heartfelt. Though this is technically a work of fiction there is not one false note in the entire movie. At one point a character states that art is one of the few occupations in which pain does not hinder but rather enhances your work. If we are to except this as fact, this film certainly serves as perfect evidence. This film may be the director's finest work and it almost feels as if all his art was leading up to this one film.

The movie has a true Fellini-esque quality to it, yet it never feels as if it is imitating that great director. Like almost all great art it is inspired by other art but never directly copies it. The Fellini influence can be felt in the use of childhood flashbacks interconnecting with present day. We see more and more with each flashback how our main character's childhood effected the artist he would become. Each flashback also becomes more emotional poignant as the film goes on as we begin to understand why this device is being used and how the story would not be as effective were it not told like this. These scenes are mixed in perfectly with the modern day story and there is never a moment where it feels forced or pointless. This is a work of a seasoned filmmaker who has truly mastered his craft and always maintains complete control over his art.

The title Pain and Glory could not be more fitting. This film is truly about those two things and how glory, fame and success are unable to take away the pain. As our main character's glory fades the pain becomes all that is left for him. However this movie is far from being just a depressing dirge. This is not simply a movie about feeling pain, but also about learning to understand and deal with the pain you have. The message of this film is one of endurance and self-discovery. This is perfectly shown in an incredible ending, I will not give away here.

Pedro Almodóvar is not the only one responsible for this film being great. Antonio Banderas gives one of the finest performance of his career, and perhaps this is the culmination of all the great work he has done with this director. Alberto Iglesias' musical score and José Luis Alcaine's cinematography also deserve signaling out.

This movie represents cinematic art at its finest, and is definitely a must see for all film buffs.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Movie Review: Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood

Michael's Movie Grade: A-

Review: An affectionate (though not exactly uncritical) love letter to 60's cinema that is irresistible.

If I were to give you a description of this movie's story, you might wonder how this could possibly fill a 160 minute movie. However this film is hardly about the story. Instead it is about the atmosphere, the characters and the story. Not only does this movie take place in the 1960's but it truly feels like a 1960's movie. This is accomplished not only through how the film likes but how it made as a whole. This is not a fast paced movie by any means, but most 60's movies where much slower paced than Hollywood films of today. Because of this the movie feels more authentic. This movie is also a pure auteur film of the type that where in vouge in the 60's. Quentin Tarantino does not stay invisible behind the camera for a second. His direction is constantly making its presence known. In a lesser filmmakers hands this can be disastrous, but when the right director does it, the effect is incredible and Tarantino is definitely the right director. This is not to give all the credit to the director however.

The cast in this movie is perfect. Leonardo De Caprio puts his whole heart and soul into this role and it shows. He brings a sense of humanity to a character that could seem like just a caricature in a lesser actors hands. A scene in which his character plays the bad guy in a TV show, and finally nails the part, is an especially good example of this. A child actress working with his character (played marvelously by Julia Butters) says "That is the best acting I have ever seen in my life." That might be a tall statement but there is no doubt, that we are witnessing an incredible performance by that scene. Brad Pitt and him have perfect chemistry together and it is just a joy to watch them share the screen. Margot Robbie is a joy as she brings so much joyous energy to the part of Sharon Tate. The scene in which she is watching herself in the movie Wrecking Crew in a theater is a feat for both her acting and Tarantino's directing.

Tarantino loves movies, as all of you should know. This can be felt throughout this film. I have already mentioned the scene inside the theatre with Sharon Tate. As well as a feat for Margot Robbie's acting and Tarantino's directing, this scene also shows us the magic that movies will always have on audiences and why the cinema remains the best way to see a movie. There are also throw away lines, about a character (Al Pacino) watching Rick Dalton double features in which he even talks about watching these films on 35mm. Of course this line shows how deep Tarantino's love for movies being shown on film. The characters constantly talk about movies and TV and do so with an undying affection. There is also some good natured ribbing of movies of the era (in fact much of this movie is laugh out loud funny). This includes a joke about Rick Dalton appearing in an Italian James Bond ripoff, Rick's negative opinion of Spaghetti westerns and a fantastically hilarious scene about The Great Escape. This can also be seen by the great sights of the 1960's style movie theatres lighting up. In the way these scenes are shot there is something awe inspiring and magical about it, something that will certainly resonate with many of us movie lovers.

This film also has a great soundtrack. True to the 1960's period, the music is mostly from that era. Not only does this help the film match the time period, but the music also gives this movie a great energy. It always fits what is on screen and complements it perfectly. Of course the songs (from Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Mamas and the Papas, Neil Diamond, Roy Head & the Traits, Deep Purple, Buffy Sainte-Marie and others) are just great songs and a joy to hear in any context.

This is a fantastic movie on every level. One could argue that its length is longer than it needs to be, but despite this I never got bored. I found this movie a complete pleasure from beginning to end.

-Michael J. Ruhland