Up the Yangtze

Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze examines the genesis of the Three Gorges Dam within China and its affects upon a family and various citizens. The ways in which the dam's ethical ends are contradicted by its constructed means are prominently highlighted as the not-so-well-off are bullied and forced to move without compensation. These bullies are contrasted by the administrators of a tourist organization who dismiss an employee for only looking out for himself, perhaps suggesting that only those in positions of power have the wherewithal to define. The cross-section of tourists presented is juxtaposed with the plight of the common people as they travel the catered results of a modern engineering marvel while searching for signs of ancient traditions. A well executed profound documentary which provides an insightful glimpse into the tectonic realm of the human factor, Up the Yangtze challenges the designers and implementors of massive public works projects to remember the present needs of their future benefactors while also illustrating the virtues of a social safety net.

Kung Fu Panda

Mark Osborne and John Stevenson's Kung Fu Panda kicks and chops and punches and blocks to the tune of the traditional comedic structure. Within we have Po (Jack Black), a tenderly rowdy Panda who dreams of becoming a revered warrior but spends his days working for his father as a culinary jack of all trades. A group of kung fu warriors lives on the mountain above and one day Master Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) has a vision that villain (and former student) Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will escape from prison (which holds 1000 guards exclusively for him), unleashing an unforgiving campaign of torment in his pursuit of the Dragon Scroll. To counter, he believes that the Dragon Warrior must be chosen and trained for it is predicted that only her or his power will be strong enough to overcome Tai Lung's. Through serendipitous circumstances, Po is chosen to be said Dragon Warrior although Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) holds sincere reservations. His training begins none to soon for after Tai Lung breaks free from his chains and defeats the Furious Five, only Po's ingenuous determination can save the citizens of Peace Valley below.

The film's funny and smart, its comedic timing stylistically aligned with its animated martial arts sequences. The structure's a bit haywire, however, which led to a bit of a crisis insofar as I was initially expecting a specific pattern which didn't coalesce yet was still disappointed with the unexpected results (what I was expecting would have required an additional 20 to 30 minutes which likely explains why it was cut). The problem lies with the Dragon Scroll. The Dragon Scroll can only be read by the Dragon Warrior yet when Po reads it he has not attained the heights of Dragon Warriosity. The Dragon Scroll holds the secrets to unlimited power and it makes more sense that the chosen one would refuse its gift, finding personal strength in the acknowledgements of their limitations (and the maintenance of the legend which supports them). Po certainly doesn't want to read it but he does much to the fury of rival Tai Lung. Tai Lung and Po both have father figures and their relationships are established in opposition: while Po generally supports his father, Tai Lung viciously subverts his. Due to Po's support, his father rewards him by letting him know his soup's secret ingredient; Tai Lung receives no such knowledge. That very same secret ingredient provides Po with the wisdom required to understand the Dragon Scroll and suddenly become a hero, even though he should have never been given the damn Scroll, but, in the tradition of Richard Lester's Superman II we find a hero that's just plain and simply a go**-d*&^ hero once she or he realizes it.

And then they kick ass (although it's unlikely that afterwards Po lives for an entire year off only the dew from one ginkgo biloba leaf and the energy of the universe).

Solaris

Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris depicts the lives of three scientists tasked with making first contact with an alien being. The alien is a conscious planet who manifests itself to their eyes in the form of a viscid sea. As they conduct several experiments to establish a dialogue the entity responds by replicating their worst fears and bringing them to life. Psychologist Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis) sees the reincarnation of his former lover Hari (Natalya Bondarchuk) presented idyllically. His first reaction is to kill the alien but she keeps returning. Her mortal death was caused by suicide and after Kelvin grows fond of her and she realizes she is not human, she consistently attempts suicide (slowly and painfully regaining consciousness each time) and his mortality fades away. The other scientists hide their horlas more cleverly and see their new companions as necessary torments or laboratory specimens. The omniscient sea flows beneath, eternally evanescent yet demanding and domineering.

The film can be viewed several ways. As one attempts to define God they are confronted with the deepest desires of their human heart as they realize their mortal shortcomings. In order to delineate the new one cannot avoid the pressures of the past. Some mysteries are best left unsolved as their unravelling unleashes compatriot enigmas. To understand the other one must understand themself and such understanding can be neither a walk on the beach nor a drive through the country. It took millennia before humankind invented the automobile.

The romantic Dr. Snaut (Jüri Järvet) turns materialist and believes the alien must be destroyed, having lost faith in the pursuits of his mission (and grown tired of the presence of his demons). Pragmatic Dr. Sartorius (Anatoli Solonitsyn) detaches himself completely as he conducts his callous yet shrewd research. But the psychologist, whose intellectual pursuits concern the human condition, becomes lost in the void as he cannot come to terms with the role he played in Hari's death, her innocence and beauty constantly encouraging madness as he confronts a representative of his life work's failure (while his thesis concerning the human condition was published his lover perished).

To understand that which cannot be comprehended is somewhat difficult and the alien from Solaris seems to be saying quit worrying about me and start concerning yourselves with each other. But the ambiguous ending suggests that the few possessing the tenacity to confront themselves should reasonably consider such quests, although in their pursuit they may become lost in the imagination as they attempt to quantify the unqualifiable.

Kabluey

Scott Prendergast's Kabluey argues that a down-on-their-luck can't-find-their-way brother-in-law can produce long-lasting ethical reverberations if given the opportunity to succeed. Salman (Prendergast) has no cash, no car, no charisma. He moves in with sister-in-law Leslie (Lisa Kudrow) to babysit her two children (his brother off fighting in Iraq). Shortly thereafter, he lands a job handing out fliers advertising office space on a lonely country road in a giant blue suit with an enormous blue head (the Kabluey Suit). Associated weirdoes drive by every day and engage in a variety of different gesticulations as they approach his absurd presence. He eventually discovers that Leslie is having an affair with her boss (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and about to leave his brother in order to secure more financial resources. But through an act of trickery most sneaky and diabolical he is able to catch her lecherous employer out and about with another fling, thereby saving his brother's marriage (all the while dressed in the giant blue suit).

Kabluey's form is absurdist: it doesn't make much sense, just a number of odd scenes with colourful characters making one bizarre decision after another with little rhyme nor reason. Hence, it's structure is situated within a comedic void whose characteristics are troubled and tragic. Within this void, Salman wonders to and fro listening to everything he hears. The surrounding people don't seem to notice him even though he stands out like a piece of chalk on a paper clip. Hence, he's able to compile a great deal of information in the short time he spends in his new town, information that he can then disseminate since he has nothing to lose. Hence, he uses global universal ideals to moderately transform his local community who were blinded by his ludicrous omnipresence and thought he didn't notice, thereby demonstrating that the not-so-well-off members of a community are indeed capable of instigating positive change.

Kabluey's content is hit or miss; you'll like Prendergast's scenes and situations or you won't, but, either way, he does unleash a remarkable degree of creativity within which demonstrates that he may craft an exceptional comedic piece or two in the years to come. A great date flick or solid holiday rental, Kabluey illustrates that heart within happenstance can equal serenity and solidarity; all it takes is something different to docilely stir things up.

Quantum of Solace

Marc Forster's Quantum of Solace is an excellent example of a film wherein the content does not skillfully match the form. There's a car chase followed by a foot race followed by a boat chase followed by a plane chase with lots of explosions and fighting and flesh. But I've come to expect more from a Bond film, Casino Royale having generated a strong desire to see their dimensions cohesively expand.

And these dimensions do slightly expand, it's just matter of the ways in which they unreel. There's a poignant scene where Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) and Bond (Daniel Craig) exchange chides regarding whose country has exploited impoverished nations more prominently, each drinking away their remorse; the villain (Dominic Greene played by Mathieu Almaric) seeks to control Bolivia's water supply as opposed to their oil, an acknowledgement of the hypothesis that water will be the most sought after resource of the 20th century (and a critique of the privatization of water); villainous Greene seeks the CIA's support in overthrowing the Bolivian Government and states that a pseudo-tyranny is better than having a Marxist distributing oil profits amongst the people, Hugo Chavez's critics placed within a somewhat vituperative frame (the CIA operative who does not support these goals eventually receiving a promotion); and Bond-Girl Camille (Olga Kurylenko) has a disfiguring burn mark on her back (a sign that perhaps Bond girls will slowly stop being played by super models) and valiantly defeats the misogynistic ghoul General Medrano (Joaquín Cosio) during the final battle. At the same time, Dominic Greene is posing as an environmentalist, meaning that while writers Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade are deconstructing Bondian motifs, they are still working within their established guidelines (and by doing so subtly promoting centrist politics).

Unfortunately, the film is basically a randy action movie, complete with the aforementioned chase scenes and pandering gratuitous sex (although the pandering nature of this scene may be ironically lampooning fans searching for this kind of thing). The dialogue is strict, reticent, and acute, but often full of clichés and implausible realizations (notably the scene where Greene is introduced and Camille doesn't become irate even though he admits he just tried to have her killed). Greene's introduction works well insofar as he's the film's villain and there's no pomp and circumstance, and his character isn't prominently developed within (meaning that villains perhaps should not receive the same amount of attention as Bond standouts Le Chiffre or Max Zorin). But Bond's character isn't developed either and a lot of the action just shows him having blunt conversations (or not) before he kills someone. True, within he seeks to avenge the death of Casino Royale love interest Vesper Lynd (Eva Green), and providing someone blinded by rage with eloquent, dainty dialogue could slightly diminish this reality. However, this form could mean that the film's uninspired content is meant to connote that if one finds their motivations through revenge, they resoundingly risk living in a quantum of solace.