261. Suspense Movies – Part 1

 

The other day I came across a site which said 25 best suspense movies of all times (https://flickside.com/best-suspense-movies/).  Naturally I was interested😊!!  While going through the list, I found that I had seen 17 of them!  One story, I didn’t find interesting.  I then wanted to see the balance 7.  I can now say that I have seen all of them.     These are movies that are not to be missed😊!!

One of them was Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low.  Seeing this movie, made me want to see his Top 10 movies too.  High and Low is ranked 6.   Will write a separate blog on Akira Kurosawa’s Top 10 movies, once I finish seeing them😊!

So, here are more details on the balance 6 movies (spread across 2 blogs)…

Cache – Came out in 2005 and it means “Hidden”.  Set in France, Georges is a TV Literary Reviewer and lives in a small yet modern town house with his wife Ann, a publisher and his young son Pierrot. They begin to receive video tapes through the post of their house and family, along side obscure child-like drawings. They visit the police with hope of aid to find the stalker, but as there is no direct threat, they refuse to help. As the tapes become more personal, Georges takes it upon himself to figure out who is putting through his family through such horror. A true Michael Haneke Classic.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Michael Haneke's film begins as a clinical, psychological and social study of a respectable individual in European society. It ends as a study of a larger contemporary European segment of its population. It reminds one of the early works of Fassbinder, only Haneke's production values are more sophisticated. The camera becomes a character, a major one at that. This reminds the viewer that he is watching cinema at several junctures and that s/he is part of the communication/entertainment process. It makes you constantly ponder if the cinema you are watching is providing truth or lies (or something in between) 24 frames per second. The fixed-medium range shots that opens and closes the film indicate the view and mood of the director – clinical, somewhat distanced and unshaken by the story he unfolds. We also notice that what we are seeing, might not be what we think we are seeing. Antonioni did this to us in "Blow up" several decades ago.

After the screening at the on-going Dubai film festival, I was amused at the director carefully distancing himself from a situation where he could have resolved the issues; he prefers to leave it to the viewer to do so. In a way the entertainment continues after the screening if you choose to reflect on what you saw.

At the obvious level, it is a study of colonial guilt of Europe and race relations. At a deeper level, it probes complacency and bourgeois temperaments of the financially secure classes in society. Escape from reality comes from closing curtains, shutting off the outside world and consuming sleeping tablets. At another level, the film explores the attitudes of three distinct generations towards social relationships.

Haneke uses graphic shocking violent scenes to jolt the audiences when they least expect it. He seems to enjoy the process. His strength is not in his cinema (Kubrick, in comparison, was brilliant at this game). Hanneke's strength lies elsewhere, eliciting fascinating performances from his cast. Daniel Auteuil, Julliette Binoche, Maurice Benichou and Annie Girardot were simply fascinating to watch.

The strength of the film lies in the subject that will disturb anyone. Many of us have something in our past that we wish to hide or not discuss. Yet there is a conscience in us that nags us to believe that there was a witness to that wrongdoing – a witness who cannot be buttonholed. It is this psychological fact that makes the film tick, much less its cinematic flourish.

 

A Separation – Persian movie filmed in Iran. Came out in 2011.  Nader (Payman Maadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) argue about living abroad. Simin prefers to live abroad to provide better opportunities for their only daughter, Termeh. However, Nader refuses to go because he thinks he must stay in Iran and take care of his father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi), who suffers from Alzheimers. However, Simin is determined to get a divorce and leave the country with her daughter.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

Wow! I didn't have any expectation and that's what probably helped but A SEPARATION is a great drama. Foreign language film or not, this is just an excellent, excellent drama. You can't get a more Oscar worthy material than this. To me what makes A SEPARATION unique is that writer/director Asghar Farhadi takes conflict, secrets, relationships and other elements that we're familiar with and mixes them with the culture, religion and gender elements from that specific region. This film, to a certain extent, lets you in on how the justice system works in a place where some of us may be ignorant about. And it's really not about our way is better than theirs or vice versa, it's just how different some things are done.

And this is not just about a divorce or a separation of two individuals The film starts out that way and it ends on that note as well but what happens in between is more of a spin-off story or it stems from when the lead characters Nader and Simin stop being on the same page. A SEPARATION is a very dialogue-driven, a very character driven story, all the actors in this film are marvelous. When the tension is high, they're extremely convincing, I couldn't take my eyes off any of them, especially lead actress Leila Hatami who holds a certain photogenic beauty.

On one spectrum, you have Nader and Simin with their daughter, on the other end of the spectrum you have Hodjat and Razieh with their little adorable daughter. Because Simin takes time off from her marriage with the intent to divorce her husband, Nader has to hire Razieh to take care of his father who suffers from Alzheimer's. An incident occurs that escalates into a courtroom drama but there is actually another incident or a card that Asghar Farhadi hides until it's time to show it further on in the story and the way everything progresses and eventually unravels keeps you intrigued. A big part of what draws me in is the film's depiction of Iranian law and traditions when it comes to divorces and allegations. What may be considered murder, how important it is for an individual to see someone swear on a Koran, how a judge deals with opposing alibis. I don't know how accurate it is but it's nothing short of interesting. It would certainly cause debate and discussion among the audiences as to the fairness of it all. And the story goes through those problems and makes a full round circle back to the separation of Simin from Nader. A highly engrossing film.

 

The Wages of Fear – Came out in 1953.  Based on the book by George Arnaud. In the Central American jungle supplies of nitroglycerin are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four men to deliver the supplies in two trucks. A tense rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers and on the rough remote roads the slightest jolt can result in death.

One of the reviews from IMDB...

In The Wages of Fear, four men in a remote South American town have the enviable task of transporting a metric buttload (technical term) of nitroglycerin across mountainous roads in poor condition. It's a taut, superbly suspenseful thriller, guided with a steady hand by director Henri-Georges Clouzot, who would go on to direct the classic Diabolique in 1955.

Yves Montand, in a rare dramatic role, plays Mario, the ostensible protagonist of our tale. He's been stuck in this backwater for some time, but it costs a lot of money to get out – plane fares are through the roof, and there's no train, and there's no neighboring village. In short, you're stuck there until you can buy a ticket – and pay for a passport, of course.

Mario spends his days looking for work, wooing tavern worker Linda, and despairing about the lack of work. There's an American oil company in town, but they're no longer hiring. His monotonous lifestyle is interrupted by the arrival of fellow expat Jo (Charles Vanel), a tough-looking older man who quickly wins Mario's favor at the expense of the rest of the men in town.

The oil company, in fact, has its own problem – one of their large derricks has exploded, causing a huge oil fire. Company man Bill O'Brien decides to send two trucks loaded with nitro from the town up the mountain to the derrick. (The eventual idea is to set off charges, which will somehow contain or extinguish the fire.) O'Brien has no trouble scaring up volunteers for the task, since the men of the town are largely unemployed. Four men will be selected to take the two trucks. Only one truck is needed; the second is truly just in case there's an accident with the first one. The men will receive $2000 when the work is finished, more than enough to secure passage out of the backwater.

Mario and Jo are chosen, as are Mario's roommate Luigi (Folco Lulli) and German expat Bimba (Peter van Eyck). The two trucks depart early in the morning, full of gas and of nitro. Danger awaits.

Theirs is not an easy task. The road is full of ruts. In one place, the wooden deck that trucks use to make a sharp turn up the mountain has been damaged from disuse. It's hot and muggy. And one has to be very, very careful, as even the smallest bump might set the whole shebang off. There's also tension among the four drivers – Luigi is unhappy that Mario is spending more time with Jo than with him, Mario is unhappy with what he perceives as Jo's cowardice. Bimba seems to get along with everyone, though.

The whole time I was watching this movie, I was certain not all four were going to make it. I will not spoil what is now a sixty-three-year-old movie, but I was still genuinely surprised by the ending. This ain't no fairy tale or sitcom. This is a movie about desperation, redemption, sacrifice, and comeuppance. It's not necessarily about justice.

The Wages of Fear is a singularly terrific movie from start to finish, exquisitely shot and expertly written. Its money maker is its tension, something present here in spades. The writing is impeccable; even personality changes make perfect sense within the film's context. There are intricacies within a straightforward plot. This is a must see for lovers of thrillers.

Cheers till next time😊!!