30 ARTS
THEWEEK2November 2019
Film
This“overpoweringlytenseanddeeplymadthriller”
fromColombianfilmmakerAlejandroLandesislike
acrossbetweenApocalypseNowandLordofthe
Flies,saidPeterBradshawinTheGuardian.The
“monos”ofthetitleareteenagesoldiers,ekingout
anexistenceinthemountainsofanunnamedSouth
Americancountry.Apartfromkeepingguardover
anAmericanhostageandherchild,theyoungmen
arelefttotheirowndevices,whichinpracticemeans
engaginginsuchpastimesasblindfoldedfootballand
hallucinogenicsex,andtheshiftingpowerdynamics
andreadyavailabilityofgunsmeanthesituationis
alwaysteeteringonthebrinkofmayhem.Althoughthere’spreciouslittleplottospeakof,this
“gorgeouslyatmospheric”Spanish-languagearthousemovieworksitswayunderyourskin,said
JoshuaRothkopfinTimeOut.There’snodenyingthattheperformancesofthelargelyunknown
castare“utterlycredible”,saidKevinMaherinTheTimes,butIstillfoundthevaguenessofthe
allegoricalsettingrathertrying.Withoutanyspecificsoftimeandplace,it’shardtoengagewith
thestory.That’spreciselywhatmakesLandes’svisionsocompelling,saidNigelAndrewsintheFT.
Thechaosandritualsoftheaction,combinedwith“wondrous”cameraworkbycinematographer
JasperWolf,conjuresaworldthathasthe“sinisterlybewitching”familiarityofarecurringdream.
Monos
Dir:AlejandroLandes
1hr42mins(15)
Bizarrebutbewitching
warfareallegory
★★★★
ThefirsttwoTerminatorfilmswereclassics,but
noneofthethreesubsequentsequelsliveduptothe
originals,saidHelenO’HarainEmpire.However,I’m
happytoreportthatthis,thesixthinstalment,does.
Boastingthrillingchases,chillingtensionandsturdy
performances, it“feelslike arealTerminatormovie
at last”.And asin thefirst film,saidPeter Bradshaw
inTheGuardian,the storyrevolvesaround arobot
sentfromthefuture tomurder adefencelesshuman:
it can onlybestoppedbyanothervisitorfromthe
future –anaugmentedhumanwithawesomefighting
skills.That’sright,folks –the lumberingTerminator
franchisedoesn’tjustrepeatitself,it “repeats therepetitions”.True,said RobbieCollininTheDaily
Telegraph, butthenew terminator(Gabriel Luna)is“genuinelyfearsome”,and the mixof practical
special effects andCGIgivestheaction “asatisfying20thcenturycrunch” –thisterminatorcan turn
its armsintospikesanddivideitselfintwo.It’salso apleasuretoseeArnoldSchwarzeneggerand
LindaHamiltonreprise their rolesasareformedkiller robotandarobot-mashingbadass
respectively.T6maybe aretread,butit stillhas“much torecommendit”.
Terminator:
Dark Fate
Dir:TimMiller
2hrs8mins(15)
Hesaidhe’dbeback
★★★
FrenchdirectorFrançoisOzonisbest knownfor his
eroticHitchcockian thrillers,said EdwardPorter in
The SundayTimes.But this sharply directedtrue
storyaboutpaedophilicabuse in theCatholic
Churchshowswhataversatile talentheis. Thefilm’s
narrativeis sh ared betweenthree men, whoasaltar
boys in Lyonwere abused by alocal catholicpriest,
FatherBernard Preynat.Grown to manhood, allthree
are horrified to find that thanksto the leniency of his
superiors, thepriest is stillactive in the Church and
still workingwith children. So they combine forces
in acampaigntohave himbroug ht toaccount.
By the GraceofGodis an “i ntel ligent,well-acted” movie that,I’m afraid,fails to come to life, said
Nigel Andrews intheFT. Thefirst act, during whichthe actuallettersofvictimsarereadout in
voice-over, is admittedly“hea vy weather”,agreed IanFreer in Empire,butthe fil mgrowsever more
compellingas it progresses.Released in France in February, it precededthe defrockingofFather
Preynat,andthisalmostmakesyou feel that you’re watching “a 24-hour-newstickertape”.
By the Grace
of God
Dir: François Ozon
2hrs 18mins (15)
Compelling docudrama
about an abusive priest
★★★
“They’re creepyand they’rekooky...” Thusbegan
the theme tune tothe 1960s TVshow–inspired bya
cartoonseriesintheNewYorker–aboutavampirish
HammerHorror-style familywhosememberswere at
the sametime ghoulish andendearinglyentertaining.
But the troublewiththisanimated versionisthat
despiteanimpressivelist ofvocal talents,which
includesCharlizeTheron,it ends upbeingneither
scarynor amusing,said Jamie East in The Sun. The
storyline is also wearily familiar, saidCathClarkein
TheGuardian.Agroup ofsoullessdevelopers,ledby
abossyrealityTVstar(voicedbyAllison Janney), try
to forcetheAdda mses outoftheir Gothicpile as its ruiningthe tone of theirnew town development;
but the familyfinds it hasmore in commonwiththe supposedlynarrow-minded townsfolkthan
anyonesupposed.The filmis meantto be heartwarming: thetrouble is,itl acks “a heartbeat”.
The Addams
Family
Dirs:GregTiernan
andConradVernon
1hr27mins(PG)
Neithercreepynor
kookyenough
★★
