Chimp Empire 

A 4-part Netflix series

Season 1 released April 19, 2023

Directed by James Reed

Narrated by Mahershala Ali

It’s not for everyone. Some may find it a bit slow going. But Chimp Empire is a very good documentary about a very interesting subject: the lifestyle and behavior of Homo Sapiens’ closest relation. It explores the fascinating world of the largest chimpanzee society ever discovered as they navigate complex social politics, family dynamics, and dangerous territory disputes.

By a happy coincidence I’m reading (listening to) Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, in which Yuval Harari explores the past, present, and future development of man. Much of what he explores in Homo Deus (and his previous bestseller Sapiens) focuses on what separates Homo sapiens from other apes. Perhaps the most important thing, Harari argues, is man’s ability to enlist the cooperation of other members of his species. Not just a dozen or two but thousands and hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions.

As I said, the movie moves slowly, at a pace that seems to replicate the pace of life that chimpanzees enjoy. But it is beautifully filmed and perfectly narrated. No explanations or guesses about what any particular behavior means. The narration simply states the facts and points out the details, which allows the viewer to form his own interpretation of what is going on. (How, for example, does what we’re seeing fit in with – or contradict – Harari’s argument?)

Some of what is depicted in Chimp Empire are behaviors that I was aware of, such as the grooming chimps do to form bonds and keep each other healthy. But there were so many other things I learned (and saw) that startled and stirred me.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the production was something the documentary didn’t address: how physically and emotionally close the film crew got to the chimps, and how long this relationship must have lasted for them to be able to document all they did.

You can watch the trailer here. But be aware that it’s overly dramatized, highlighting the aggressive side of chimpanzee behavior, whereas the documentary itself spends more time on how the chimps cooperate and care for each other.

And click here to read a “Behind the Scenes” account of how difficult it was to make the documentary. (The knowledge of the native guides was amazing! Something I’ve experienced myself on a safari.)

Fauda 

A 4-part (so far) Netflix series

Season 1 premiered (US) Feb. 15, 2015

There are two series that I’ve been watching steadfastly for the last two years. Trailer Park Boys, a goofy comedy about ne’er-do-wells living in a trailer park somewhere in Canada, is my go-to when I need a laugh. Fauda is what I depend on for excitement.

The Plot: 

After retiring from the Israel Defense Force (IDF), Doron, a former commander of the special unit, gets roped back into active duty to hunt for a Palestinian fighter he thought he had killed. The plan goes awry when the team’s cover is blown, setting in motion a chaotic chain of events. (Fauda is an Arabic word meaning “chaos.”)

Currently in its fourth season, Fauda was developed by Lior Raz, its lead star, and Avi Issacharoff, an Israeli journalist, drawing on their experiences in the IDF. It is perhaps the hottest Netflix import from Israel. It’s also the first Hebrew-and Arab-language series to make it big overseas.

You can watch the trailer here.

West Beirut 

Written and directed by Ziad Doueiri

Starring Rami Doueiri

Released (US) Sept. 3, 1999

Available on Netflix

West Beirut was fed to me by Netflix’s algorithm. It was great from start to finish. Great in a way that only foreign films can be great.

It’s a movie about friendship, family, religion, politics, and war. It takes place in the mid 70s when a civil war broke out in Lebanon and the city was divided between Muslim-Christian West Beirut and quasi-Christian East Beirut.

There are so many things that are smart and effective in this movie. I liked, in particular, the way it moves in two parallel lines. One is a coming-of-age story of three high school mates, a Christian girl and two Muslim boys, that explores the complexities of sex and romance. The other is a look at how in times of conflict religion can play a major part, either in separating people or holding them together.

You can watch the trailer here.

Un Beau Matin (One Fine Morning)

Written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve

Starring Léa Seydoux, Pascal Greggory, Melvil Poupaud, and Nicole Garcia

Released (US) Jan. 27, 2023

Available on several streaming services, including Amazon Prime

K had heard or read good things about this film. “It’s French,” I said to her. “Get ready for a gut-wrenching domestic drama.”

It was gut-wrenching. It was dramatic. It was French… and it was very good.

The plot is humdrum: A woman that looks to be in her late 30s is raising a young daughter, tending to her blind and demented father, and working as a translator in Paris when she runs into an old friend. He’s married with a child. They connect. The rest of the story is grim, but it’s also gripping and wonderful in a way that only French films seem to be able to do it.

A standout is Léa Seydoux, the lead, who looks like Jean Seberg in Godard’s Breathless, and who makes every scene she’s in (which is almost every scene in the movie) work. She has a face that is at once common and beautiful.

The other cast members are good, too.

Critical Reception 

* “The film’s storytelling is deceptively straightforward, rooted in realistic dialogue and Mia Hansen-Løve’s light touch as a visual stylist.” (Pat Brown, Slant Magazine)

* “This is a big movie served up in a surprisingly small, intimate package.” (Stephanie Zacharek, Time Magazine)

* “An immensely satisfying collaboration that finds both auteur and star further solidifying their spots among the greats of their respective fields.” (Jon Frosch, Hollywood Reporter)

You can watch the trailer here.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn

Directed by Jim Hosking

Starring Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch, Jermaine Clement, Matt Berry, and Craig Robinson

Released (US) Oct. 19, 2018

Available on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

 I liked it.

I watched it because, like ten million other folks in America, I’m a fan of Aubrey Plaza. But I’m also a big fan of Jermaine Clement (from Flight of the Conchords). So that, and the poster featuring Craig Robinson with a golf cap on his head, was enough to get me interested.

Before deciding to watch a movie, though, I usually want to know who’s directing it. In this case, I didn’t recognize the name. Jim Hosking. I looked him up. He’s a British film director, writer (he co-wrote this script), and composer of half a dozen short films and only three features. His prior features had titles like The ABCs of Death 2 (2014) and The Greasy Strangler (2016).

That intrigued me.

So, I watched it, thinking I might shut it off after five minutes. But it brought me in and held my attention. It’s funny. And it’s clever. Ultimately, it’s charming. Maybe this will help: Imagine if Napoleon Dynamite was directed by David Lynch.

If that that sounds like fun to you, I can recommend it. If it makes you feel uncomfortable… well, don’t bother.

A Certain Morning (Un Certain Matin) 

This is a short film (15 minutes) written and directed by Fanta Régina Nacro. It was the first dramatic film made by a woman from Burkina Faso.

The scenery reminded me of Chad. The story may seem far-fetched to anyone that knows Africa only from being on a trek or staying in a hunting lodge. But to anyone that has lived in the rural lands of Africa’s center, it will make good sense.

In any case, I thought it was well done. I’m going to check out some other of her movies.

You can watch A Certain Morning here on the Criterion Channel.

About Fanta Régina Nacro…

Since the release of A Certain Morning in 1992, Fanta Régina Nacro has made a number of short films that tackle issues like the AIDS epidemic in Africa. They have won many international awards and have been hailed as representing the “African New Wave.”

Click here to watch an interview with Necro (in French) about The Night of Truth (La Nuit de la Vérité), her first feature film.

Tetris 

Directed by Jon S. Baird

Starring Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, and Toby Jones

Released by Apple TV+ Mar. 31, 2023

K had read a positive review of Tetris in the NYT. I lowered my expectations, braced myself for an attack of woke, and watched it. It was quite different and quite a lot better than I expected.

Tetris is the story of Hank Rogers, a creator, and broker of computer games, who, in 1988, discovers an early version of a digital computer game at a trade show. He plays it for five minutes, decides that it’s the next best thing, and then sets out on a monomaniacal adventure to get the rights to market it. It takes him all over the world and, finally, to the Soviet Union, where he meets Alexey Pajitnov, the inventor, and, against all odds, secures the rights to the game and then, along with Pajitnov and family, escapes to the US.

Here’s where the woke comes in: The film has been criticized by some for the casting of Egerton, a Welsh actor of English descent, as Rogers, who is of partial Indonesian descent.

Critical Reception 

Critics weren’t crazy about Tetris. My feelings were captured by one of the comments I read: “While it’s nowhere near as addictive or fast-paced as the game, Tetris offers a fun, fizzy account of the story behind an 8-bit classic.”

Interesting 

Hank Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov reviewed the script, made suggestions, and were able to keep many of the core elements of the story in the movie. However, Rogers noted, “It’s a Hollywood script; it’s a movie. It’s not about history, so a lot of [what’’s in the movie] never happened.”

You can watch the trailer here.

And click here for an article from Yahoo Entertainment comparing the movie to the reality.

Follow-up to My Review of The Banshees of Inisherin 

A friend and I got into a debate about the ending of The Banshees of Inisherin after I reviewed it in the Feb. 3 issue. When I came across an essay in Far Out magazine claiming to explain it (though not doing an especially good job of it, in my opinion), I sent it off to him.

My view is that the screenwriter decided that an ambiguous ending would be more artsy, and so went with that. But ambiguity is not always a plus, especially in a story that is based on improbable actions and behaviors. If you present improbable actions and behaviors, and don’t resolve them, what you have is clever-at-best pretentiousness.

Click here to read the essay in Far Out… and decide for yourself.

Or Not…? 

After giving you my picks for the worst Oscar-winning Best Picture movies of the 21st century in the March 17 issue, I came across a similar list in FarOut magazine. But rather than their picks for the worst Oscar-winning movies, they presented their choices for the absolute worst of the century.

Worst of the worst? Sure, I wanted to see what they had to say. I began by watching the trailer for their pick for the absolute worst: The Emoji Movie. It was, undeniably, very, very bad.

However, I disagreed with their selection for the next-to-the-worst movie: The Human Centipede 3. The Human Centipede movies are truly horrific. But they belong to a class of cult films whose intention is to be horrific in every possible way. So, including this classic of purposefully bad movie making in a list of movies that were trying to be good is simply not fair.

I can’t recommend FarOut’s picks. But if you’d like to take a look at them, click here.