The Awakening (Cohen Media/Kino Lorber Blu-ray)
Florence (Rebecca Hall) is out to expose spiritualists and psychics as frauds—it’s 1921, post-World War I and the “Spanish flu,” and there are millions of people who want to hear from the loved ones they lost. Problem: she’s arrogant, a little too self-righteous in her skepticism. The 2011 production (elegantly furnished as only the English can do) takes some unexpected turns as Florence investigates the haunting of a boarding school. She finds bullying boys, a sadistic teacher and a staff troubled by their experience of the war—and maybe a ghost (or several, or …)? The metaphor is stated plainly by the school’s history master: “It’s hard to separate the past from the present.” (David Luhrssen)
Legend (Arrow Video Blu-ray)
Ridley Scott had already directed a pair of extraordinary films, Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982), before Legend (1985). With Legend, Scott and screenwriter William Hjortsberg stepped back from science-fiction and into fantasy. Legend can be read as a Taoist epic, dressed up like a Northern European fairyland of forests and unicorns, with its emphasis on balancing light and dark.
The special effects remain impressive, conjuring the German Expressionism of F.W. Murnau’s Faust (1926) in scenes of darkness, and Maxfield Parrish’s vibrantly hued fantasies in scenes of light. Tom Cruise bends his persona, slightly, as Jack, a nature boy. Mia Sara costars as innocent fetching Princess Lili, with Tim Curry as the Lord of Darkness. Fun fact from the booklet in the lavish new Blu-ray set: applying Curry’s makeup—horns and all—required five hours.
Legend bombed upon release but, as with many unusual films, eventually attracted its cult through home viewing. In his booklet essay, producer-critic Nicholas Clement writes that despite some superficial similarities with Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Legend is “more organic, evocative, and tangible.” He’s right. (David Luhrssen)
No Time to Die (In theaters Oct. 8)
Daniel Craig’s final Bond entry is two hours, 45 minutes long. Penned and filmed in 2019, prior to the pandemic, this timely screenplay features the threat of an extinction-level bioweapon. The series introduces two new agents. Black actress Lashana Lynch shows up as Nomi. She’s saucy, capable; Ana de Armas portrays gorgeous Agent Paloma, but there’s more to her wispy cocktail dress than meets the eye.
Christoph Waltz is evil criminal mastermind Blofeld, an ongoing menace despite his incarceration at a prison for the criminally insane. Blofeld’s psychiatrist, Madeleine (Lea Seydoux), is Bond’s love interest. Rami Malek appears as lunatic Safin, adapting a biological weapon, intended for use in targeted assassinations, into a means of killing whole nations. Scarred by loss and betrayal, Bond nonetheless attempts to save humanity and those he loves. Receiving high praise, one seasoned critic confessed the film’s ending made him cry. (Lisa Miller)
The Universality of It All (IndiePix DVD)
Despite his arty tics, filmmaker Andres Bronnimann has many interesting things to say about our era. He builds his documentary around his friendship with Emad. Andres is from Costa Rica, “the Switzerland of Latin America,” and Emad is from Yemen, perhaps the world’s poorest nation before the civil war erupted. Both grew up on American pop culture broadcast on the worldwide web and dreamed of “progress”—until Trump and a host of other catastrophes shattered the dream.
Bronnimann correctly identifies migration as the defining issue of our time as millions of people flee from economically unsustainable nations. The problems in their homelands often resulted from neo-liberal economics and proxy wars fought on their soil by outside powers. Bronnimann is too smart to be suckered by propaganda. Commenting on Nicaragua, he recalls the Sandinastas as winning a positive revolution against a kleptocracy—only to turn into the thing they once fought against. (David Luhrssen)
