By: Henry J. Fromage –
This week we compare an unassailable classic and it’s recent remake, plus a couple of tales of the effects of teenage violence.
272. The Wedding Banquet
Andrew Ahn’s remake of the Ang Lee classic also updates its portrayal of the adversities gay people face. While we’re certainly not in some sort of fully enlightened society at present, in Ahn’s story two gay couples played by Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran and Bowen Yang and secret comedic weapon Han Gi-chan respectively have already found their family with each other. That saps a lot of the conflict that drove its predecessor, leaving us with a rather gentle domestic drama that also downplays the interesting cultural aspects of the original. Three Beers.
273. The Wedding Banquet
While I’m not going to tell you the politics of this 1993 film have survived the decades since unscathed, it’s a funnier, livelier movie than its remake, and a fascinating snapshot of the culture of its time, both gay culture and in general. The journey here is towards that found family, between the Taiwanese protagonist and his American boyfriend and the Chinese immigrant girl who makes the green card marriage deal that propels the plot of both films, but also his parents who know and accept more than they can say. It also doesn’t skimp on the traditional wedding banquet and the attendant marriage traditions suffuse the film with interest. Two Beers.
274. Adolescence
This British Netflix production is incredibly ambitious, consisting of four hour-long one-shot episodes set at different periods of time in an investigation in which a 13 year old boy is accused of stabbing a classmate to death. The technical and performance complexity to bring this off is staggering, but it’s a success due to the perceptive way in which it interrogates the things that drive human behavior, what makes us do the unconscionable, and how does everyone affected by it live with it having been, irreparably, done. Two Beers.
275. Eric LaRue
Michael Shannon’s directorial debut centers on Judy Greer in a rare leading dramatic role as the mother of a teenager who shot and killed three other boys in his class. It examines how she and others in her orbit, including a husband seeking comfort in evangelical pastures (Alexander Skarsgard, extremely normcore), her extremely Tim Robinson pastor, the three grieving mothers he tries to bring into conversation with her, and finally her son himself. This is foremost an actor’s showcase, culminating in a character-complicating mother/son conversation that casts a new light on the very choice of centering her perspective. Two Beers.
276. Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna
This Hulu documentary tells the tragic story of Halyna Hutchins, the Ukrainian-American cinematographer who tragically lost her life to an accidental gun discharge on the set of the Western film Rust. It draws from primary footage, in particular police cams from the officers that responded, to make clear how devastating and unexpected this was. It’s difficult to place blame at the feet of just one person considering the many involved personal and institutional failures combined with sheer bad luck (she never would have been holding the camera that day if the monitors she and also hit director Joel Souza usually observed from were functioning). Two Beers.
277. ithaka
This documentary follows John Shipton, father of the controversial Julian Assange, as he travels the world to campaign for the release of his son, who had just been removed from the Ecuadorian embassy in London to be imprisoned and slated for trial and likely extradition to the United States. While we have the benefit of hindsight giving us some degree of comfort that Shipton here’s not afforded, the film’s overarching point remains true- Assange’s treatment, in which no other reporter involved joined him, was a warning by the powers that be to any that would dare follow in his footsteps. One that continues to prove effective. Two Beers.
278. Oklahoma City Bombing: American Terror
This documentary retells the events of the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing in Netflix house style- professionally compiled contemporary footage, an array of interviewers of investigators an survivors, all chronologically deployed. It’s odd that many subjects get the 3-4 episode treatment but this one runs a scant 80 minutes. All-in-all, though, this is an informative primer lent heart by those recounting that terrible day. Three Beers.
