DECOLONIZATION’S UGLINESS IS EXPOSED IN WHITE MATERIAL
White Material, directed by Claire Denis, follows the format of French realism (cinema verité), leaving filmviewers passive observers of unexplained if paradigmatic events. For Denis, who was born in Paris but as the daughter of a French diplomat grew up in Cameroon, Senegal, Somalia, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso), the fictional account displays how Black Africa treated White colonistes (“white material”) during the period before and immediately after independence in 1960. Although María Vial (played by Isabelle Huppert) wants to carry on as usual in the only country that she has ever known by harvesting coffee beans, the new government is at odds with rebels, complicating her routine. The resulting anarchy plays out inexorably, presenting a puzzle–whether the abrupt ending of colonialism in Africa might have had a smoother transition. The answer is in the negative. MH
THE COMPANY MEN DEPICTS THE ANGUISH OF GREED-DRIVEN CAPITALISM
When The Company Men begins, the soundtrack replays the audio from television coverage at the beginning of the economic crisis of September 2008. GTX Corporation, in response to a lack of sales, soon begins to downsize while its CEO (played by Craig T. Nelson) retains his $22 million salary as the 17th richest executive in the country. Following a “situation drama” storytelling mode, a top salesperson (played by Ben Affleck) and even division heads (played by Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones) are let go, one by one. How will they cope with insufficient funds to pay their mortgages and club memberships? How will the face their friends, neighbors, relatives, and spouses? None attempts a political solution. Most look for work again, even seeking counseling on how to prepare their résumés to avoid falling victim to age discrimination while applying for jobs. The Company Men, directed by John Wells, portrays much anomie, and tries to provide happy endings for most. An audio soundtrack ends with the suggestion that Barclays Bank bought Lehman Brothers for a song and that Wall Street continues to make money the old fashioned way—by “stealing it.” MH
JOHNNY DEPP IS A NERD AGAIN IN THE TOURIST
With magnificent cinematography in Venice, The Tourist takes filmviewers on a journey, with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck hoping to dupe us so that we will fall for the narrative and not grasp the convoluted plot. Elise Clifton-Ward (played Angelina Jolie), dolled up as usual, evades some sort of surveillance in Paris to take a train to Venice after receiving a mysterious note. When she walks through the train for a vacant seat, she sits opposite Frank Tupelo (played by Johnny Depp), a disheveled Community College math instructor from Wisconsin. Soon we learn that she is trying to meet her apparent boyfriend who stole a couple of billion pounds, as he kept the books for crimelord Reginald Shaw (played by Steven Berkoff) and then absconded with the cash. Scotland Yard is involved, as there are millions in unpaid taxes on the gambling earnings. She befriends Tupelo, whom she invites to stay with her in a suite at a posh hotel overlooking the Grand Canal, so the crimelord assumes that he is her boyfriend, having changed his identity, and his minions try to capture him. And the plot continues to thicken. Does that fact that Frank’s surname is Tupelo give away the plot or just add to the humor? MH