By Ed Koch
“Children of Men” (-)
The coming attraction for this film, based on a P.D. James novel, had great appeal and the buzz about the movie after it opened was quite good. I was looking forward to seeing it but was very disappointed once I did. It turns out that the preview of this picture, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, contained the only interesting footage.
A child has not been born in the world for 18 years — we never learn why — and we soon learn that somehow Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) is pregnant. An employee of the Ministry of Energy, Theo (Clive Owen), ends up in the position of protecting her. Julian (Julianne Moore), a former lover of Theo’s, plays a revolutionary leader, and Michael Caine portrays an aging hippie by the name of Jasper. Clive Owen is excellent, but no one else in the cast is particularly outstanding.
The scene is England, which resembles the destruction depicted in “Mad Max,” a truly great picture which took place in Australia. An apparent revolution is ongoing, and the Army seems to be involved in providing internment camps for refugees. It is not clear whether the rebels, some wearing Arab-language headbands, are the good or bad guys. Much of the battle involves English troops against illegal immigrants.
When Kee appears with her child, both Army troops and revolutionaries drop to their knees in prayerful appreciation, and some make the sign of the cross. The film, which contains lots of shooting, violence and bloodshed, leaves many unanswered questions. I found the entire exercise unbelievable and the unending battle scenes between the Army and the revolutionaries finally became boring. This is a sci-fi film and the pictorials are fine, but the script and dialogue leave much to be desired. I don’t recommend it to you.
H.S. said, “The theme is so fascinating that you overlook some flaws, like the incomprehensible plot. It is another terrifying glimpse into the future.”
“Perfume: The Story of A Murderer” (-)
The performances in this film are very good and the 18th century French locales are well depicted. Nevertheless, you would have to be a masochist and maybe a sadist to really enjoy it.
A child, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, is born of a prostitute mother who after abandoning him is lynched by a crowd. I didn’t realize that 18th century France was so caring of children in poverty.
The child is raised in an orphanage. When he reaches adulthood, Jean-Baptiste (Ben Whishaw) is sold to a brutal tannery owner. Realizing that he has an extraordinary sense of smell, Jean-Baptiste goes to work for a perfume-maker, Baldini (Dustin Hoffman). He learns everything about the creation of scents and decides to create his own perfume that would capture the essence of women.
So begins the history of a serial killer. Jean-Baptiste, who wants to create his intoxicating perfume from the bodies of beautiful women, murders them in order to capture their essence. A town nobleman, Antoine Richis (Alan Rickman), worries about the safety of his daughter, Laura (Rachel Hurd-Wood). John Hurt is the unseen narrator who explains what is happening throughout the film.
The sadism is displayed by the pain Jean-Baptist inflicts on the young women, and the belief that he is a masochist is only intuition on my part. To me he looked as though he enjoyed his own pain. I did not enjoy this film. Some will. You know who you are.
