Michael Fassbender in Steve McQueen’s Shame
Shame is Steve McQueen’s second feature, but it’s a film which could go either way. For one, it’s got Carey Mulligan in it and everybody knows she’s next to useless in everything but An Education. Plus, the whole sex addict narrative looks rather pretentious, with lingering shots of Fassbender looking pensive, honestly, I hope I’m wrong but I think it has the potential to be, absolutely ridiculous.
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A projectionist adjusts after losing his job in the Spanish film A Useful Life
A Useful Life is a Spanish language film, about a cinema employee who has to adjust to his new life, after the cinema he has worked at for over 25 years is instructed to close. It’s an apt tale considering the number of projectionists that were ‘let-go’ in 2011, a trend which is sadly, very likely to continue into 2012, as cinema chains continue to make the change to digital-projection – rendering many employees obsolete. It’s a B&W film, shot in 4:3 (Andrea Arnold’s preferred aspect ratio) and the trailer makes the film look rather sumptuous.
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The life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi in Tatsumi – which will screen at Animated Exeter
This alternative Japanese animation, Tatsumi, is based upon the life and short stories of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, a Mangaka (cartoonist) known for his Gekiga (dramatic pictures), an alternate style of Japanese Manga. The animation looks outstanding, if reminiscent of the work of American cartoonist Harvey Pekar, but it’s difficult to gage much about the film’s narrative from the trailer – except it’s obviously semi-biographical. It’s part of the Animated Exeter film festival and I for one will be checking it out, when it arrives in February.
My top pick of the week is Tatsumi, but all three films deserve to be watched, even Shame, despite my reservations.
• Catch more previews on The Misanthropic Monkey’s Movie Preview at The Electronic Farmyard
