Archive for the ‘Documentary’ Category

Roman Polanski A Film Memoir (2011)

Director: Laurent Bouzereau | Music: Alexandre Desplat | With:  Roman Polanski, Andrew Braunsberg | 90mins  Doc UK/Italy/Germany

Roman Polanski is possibly still the most controversial figure in the world of film. The mere mention of his name is apt to unleash a torrent of accusatorial abuse even from those who have little knowledge of his work or any interest in it. After the more sensational 2008 biopic Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Laurent Bouzereau’s watchable and well-put-together documentary is a far mellower affair: a portrait of 79 year-old-man who has suffered and succeeded more than many in his cinematic career and here looks back to accentuate the positive from his cosy armchair, or, as he puts it, the amplitude of his life from his own unique perspective.

Bouzereau opts for an interview format accompanied by an original score from Alexandre Desplat, and graced by a melodious introduction from Polanski’s friend and producer Andrew Braunsberg. It works well and has them relaxing in the comfortable surroundings of the Gstaad chalet where Polanski was detained after arrest at the Zurich Film Festival, bizarrely, while receiving a lifetime achievement award. They fall into a convivial conversational style reminiscing over Polanski’s life from his birth in Paris in 1933, intercut with family photographs and archive footage of his childhood during the war years in Paris and Poland; sometimes indistinguishable, intriguingly, from that of The Pianist, his largely autobiographical work and the one closest to his heart.

Braunsberg is an easy-going almost fawning interviewer but, in his defence, one gets the impression that Polanski is a man who has a powerful affect on those around him with the ability to charm and seduce not only women but also men, into his way of thinking.

For cineastes and fans, what follows is a fascinating and engaging insight into the filmmaker’s early career in Warsaw, Krakow and Lodz, showing how his experiences lead him into the world of acting and filmmaking in Poland and eventually to Hollywood to court controversy and commercial success.  Occasionally overcome by emotion, he interlaces the story of his private life with that of his struggle for professional acclaim; his love affairs with Sharon Tate and Emmanuelle Seigner; the mix-up surrounding the Manson murders and alludes to the Geimer affair giving a strong impression that closure has been reached for all concerned backed by archive footage of Geimer herself.

The skill of A Film Memoir is that it shows Polanski to be not only a man of considerable passion and allure but also the master storyteller that we see in his films, with the ability to  overcome adversity and focus on the positive. But there also a strong sense of enigma about the man. This is how he has chosen to present himself to the World but is it the real story? That is for you to decide. @MeredithTaylor

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_w4KQ4Dc8M

 

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)

Dir: David Gelb | Cast: Jiro One, Yoshikazu One, Masuhiro Yamamoto,  Daisuke Nakazawa, Hachiro Mizutani, Hiroki Fujita, Toichiro Iida, Akihiro Oyama, Shizuo Oyama | Doc 82′

For any self-professed sushi nut, this film is a must see. Jiro One is a legend in his own lifetime; a man devoted to the creation and serving of sushi for 75 years from the basement of a faceless Tokyo office building in a restaurant that only seats ten. The sushi is served up in specific order and you are expected to demolish it piece by piece, under his rather intimidating gaze in about 15minutes flat, shelling-out something like £300 for the privilege. That makes this one of the most expensive restaurants in the world.

What is remarkable though is the skill, dedication and thought that has gone into a meal. And the rest of the world has recognised this: Jiro’s tiny, unassuming Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi bar has garnered all three Michelin Stars and, as the makers of this film attest, global recognition.

Jiro One is one of the old school; a believer in hard work, total commitment and dedication to a chosen field, whatever it may be. To serve an apprenticeship under Jiro is to spend ten years of dedicated to the most gruelling, repetitive, thankless work in the kitchen, learning the trade. And all this against the prevailing tide of today’s theme of growing fat doing the minimum with little application or indeed mastery in any field, all the while aspiring to coin maximum cash.

 

The title alludes to Jiro as a young man dreaming of making not just sushi but the best sushi. This film illustrates how Jiro never believes he has arrived, and that there is always room for improvement be it in the choice of the fish, the preparation of the rice, or the serving of the sushi. In doing so it opens out the film as an allegory or lesson in life and how best to live it. But also demonstrates how hard it must be for his sons to live under the shadow of a man who has truly reached the pinnacle of his profession, even if he himself doesn’t see it as so.

Food and film often make for successful lovers and any gourmand who truly appreciates the subtleties and depth of haute cuisine will relish this one. Make sure to eat beforehand or you will find yourself scrambling to a sushi bar straight after, only to feel all but affronted that it isn’t Jiro’s hand that serves up a concerto in seafood for, hereafter, nothing else will do. AT

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