2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

reviewedthismonth

110 • UNCUT • JULY 2019

Birds oF PAssAGe Before cocaine, the

indigenous people of Colombia did a roaring

trade in marijuana. Birds Of Passage is an

extraordinary account of that crazy time,

broadly covering a period dating from the

late ’60s to the mid-’70s, when the Wayuu

clan decided to move into the market.

From its opening setup, the film’s lush

cinematography, colourful depiction of tribal

rites and reverential depiction of superstitions

suggest a National Geographic-style journey

into the unknown, but when the bodies start

to pile up it becomes clear that this is The

Godfather, in a very different kind of plumage.

Populated by actors and non-professionals,

Birds Of Passage stars José Acosta as

Rapayet, an outsider who comes to the

town of Guajira and meets the Wayuu.

Rapayet makes it clear to village elder Ursula

(Carmiña Martínez) that he is interested

in marrying her young daughter. After an

elaborate courtship ritual, he sets about

raising the dowry, which is what takes him

into the drug-running trade, initially selling

modest amounts to visiting Americans

working with the Peace Corps, then moving

into full-blown export.

Pulling off an incredible balancing

act, this stunning follow-up to the trippy

2015 arthouse hit Embrace Of The Serpent

perfectly pitches the real against the

mythical: the Wayuu communicate with

the dead, take direction from nature (and

birds in particular), but their spiritual

inclinations can’t save them from their own

human greed. When the bullets start to fly,

Birds Of Passage is every bit as satisfying as

a Hollywood crime thriller, but it also serves

as a kind of origin story for Netflix’s Narcos

series, a visually dizzying and sensual look

at the landscape of Colombia before Pablo

Escobar was king.

thUnder roAd This refreshingly

unpredictable indie sets out its stall in the

opening scene. We meet police officer Jim

Arnaud (writer/director Jim Cummings)

officiating at his mother’s funeral.

Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” was his

mother’s favourite song, but alas Arnaud

never gets to play it at the ceremony since

his daughter’s Hello Kitty boombox isn’t

working. Instead he performs an interpretive

dance – much to the horror of the mourners.

B

e Ats Previous attempts

to document the late-’80s/

early-’90s acid-house scene

have not proved entirely

satisfactory. For every

24 Hour Party People

there has been a Spike

Island. Beats is a coming-of-age story set

in Glasgow’s illegal rave scene during the

’90s, where Scottish director Brian Welsh

meticulously re-creates the days when

kids in tie-dye would play motorway tag

with fugitive sound systems, descending

on warehouse raves with the police in hot

pursuit. Welsh – whose credits include

the 2011 Black Mirror episode The Entire

History Of You – draws from his own

experiences to create a film that explores

universal ideas and themes while remaining

pleasingly culturally specific.

Adapted from a stage play by Kieran

Hurley, Welsh’s film depicts the friendship

between two teenage boys – Johnno

(Cristian Ortega) and Spanner (Lorn

Macdonald). Johnno stacks shelves for a

living and his mother’s new boyfriend is

moving the family to a soulless new housing

estate. The move will take Johnno away from

his mate Spanner, a likeable but gormless

loser from a bad family, and while Johnno’s

family can only think that’s a good thing,

Johnno has mixed feelings about giving up

on his closest friend.

The only hope on the horizon is a huge

pirate radio station bash that’s being

advertised on air, and after Spanner comes

into a wedge of cash via dubious means,

Colin follows him there, hoping for a heady

night of EDM and ecstasy. For the film, Welsh

put on an actual rave, invited 1,500 people

and shot on the fly – bringing an authenticity

and immediately to these sequences. Early

on, Welsh shoots in stark black and white,

with just the occasional glimpse of colour

• the glow of a cigarette, the LED lights on
  a radio – to help enhance the psychedelic
  paradise Johnno and Spanner find
  themselves lost in, temporarily at least.

Acid-house flashback,

The Godfather meets

Narcos, Emma

Thompson channels

Letterman, and more

Don’t flock

with us:

Birds of

Passage

alights on

the secret

history of

Colombia’s

drug trade

B e Ats

Directed by

Brian Welsh

Starring

Cristian

Ortega, Lorn

Macdonald

Opens May 17

Cert 18

9/10

Birds oF

PAssAGe

Directed by

Ciro Guerra,

Cristina

Gallego

Starring

Carmiña

Martínez,

José Acosta

Opens May 17

Cert 15

9/10

thUnder

roAd

Directed by

Jim Cummings

Starring Jim

Cummings,

Nican

Robinson

Opens May 31

Cert 15

8/10

hALston

Directed by

Frédéric

Tcheng

Starring

Liza Minnelli,

Marisa

Berenson

Opens June 7

Cert

Unconfirmed

8/10

LAte niGht

Directed by

Nisha Ganatra

Starring Emma

Thompson,

Mindy Kaling

Opens June 7

Cert 15

7/10