The likeable Tony Hawks as our guide through a tale so strange that it only seems to emerge through this particular sub-genre of travelogue.
He and his friend Arthur Smith bet during an England-Moldova football qualifier that Tony cannot meet and beat all of the Moldovan national football team at Tennis. Tony takes on the challenge such as it is and shortly finds himself, via a bizarre interlude with a Beatles tribute band, in Moldova attempting to commence his bet.
What follows is an account of Moldovan life often startling for its honesty and adherence to reality despite the way these harsh truths contrast with Hawks' own cheery positivity.
He finds a reserved, reluctant people, emerging from an era of totalitarian rule and at first, this is reflected in his lack of success at getting access to his chosen footballers.
Among the best of those he meets are his adoptive family, a young girl called Elena and her elder brother Adrian provide him with inspiration as he struggles to even play a few games of tennis. These difficulties in convincing the Moldovan authorities to allow him access to its footballers seems indicative of the corruption that is endemic in societies which struggle economically.
Despite these difficulties, the emerging theme is one of the decency of most of the people Tony encounters. One of his strengths as a writer is his ability to convey the best in people and to show that even beneath the masks we all wear as adults, most of us are able to be touched by the people that surround us.
As the book ends, in predictably hilarious circumstances, Tony shows that even in emerging from his bet, he is unchanged in his views about Moldova and the experiences he had there. His charity work since writing the book bears testament to the relationship he built with the place.
Time well spent I would say.
Tuesday 20 November 2012
Sunday 11 November 2012
'Argo' dir. Ben Affleck
After a patchy early career ('Pearl Harbour' anyone?) and some lean years where he virtually disappeared from our screens, Ben Affleck is in the process of carving out a new niche for himself as an actor/director. In this well constructed action film, he does a very fine job of both.
Based on a true story, 'Argo' is the tale of how Tony Mendez (Affleck) of the CIA was given a brief to retrieve six US Embassy staff who escaped capture when their building was routed in Tehran in 1979. The method suggested to achieve this goal was unconventional to say the least.
The government comissioned Hollywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) to begin publicity for their their latest blockbuster - 'Argo' - a science fiction in the late 70's mould. The promotional work for this non-existent film was a ruse to get Mendez permission to enter Iran posing as a Canadian film maker.
Upon arrival, he informs the embassy staff that they must also pretend to be part of the 'Argo' film crew. They are given false Canadian passports and are told to learn their new identities inside out.
There is some understandable reluctance among the group to tell such a tall tale in the hope of escaping Iran but they soon recognise that there are few alternatives. A scene follows in which Affleck expertly ratchets up the tension as the Westerners face the full hostility of The Iranian Revolution in the main bazaar.
This is where the film is at its best as the chaos and mistrust of those fateful months is rendered in vivid detail. The embassy staff come to realise that they have litle control over their own fate in such an unpredictable place.
Back home in the US, the interested parties at the CIA, the White House and in Hollywood can only watch and wait as Mendez does his job. We are given glimpses of how those unfortunate enough not to escape the embassy were treated and how this was felt deeply among Americans.
Meanwhile, Mendez is characterised as a man with a strong sense of right and wrong but a chaotic personal life. The people he is helping to escape likewise seem like believable human beings - just as any of us would be they are terrified by the situation they find themselves in and just want to get home.
And this is the strongest aspect of the film - it's message about how good, intelligent people can overcome fear and mistrust if they work together, even under pressure of unimaginable magnitude.
The film also recognises that America's relationship with Iran at that time was characterised by morally grey double dealing as well as taking on the gritty subject of the violent chaos instigated by the Islamic Revolution, but it is always clear about the divide between those who do good and those that embrace such chaos.
Bizarrely, the non-existent science fiction film 'Argo' carries the same message in a camp, kitsch 70's way that appeals to various parties who are chasing Mendez and his fugitives. In one especially memorable scene, the would-be film crew give a copy of the story board to an interrogator to placate him.
Yet, despite these moments of intensity, a seam of humour runs throughout, recognising that people under such difficult circumstances have to keep laughing in order to get through. It is this that shows 'Argo' its best with its warm sense of humanity amidst harsh circumstances.
Based on a true story, 'Argo' is the tale of how Tony Mendez (Affleck) of the CIA was given a brief to retrieve six US Embassy staff who escaped capture when their building was routed in Tehran in 1979. The method suggested to achieve this goal was unconventional to say the least.
The government comissioned Hollywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) to begin publicity for their their latest blockbuster - 'Argo' - a science fiction in the late 70's mould. The promotional work for this non-existent film was a ruse to get Mendez permission to enter Iran posing as a Canadian film maker.
Upon arrival, he informs the embassy staff that they must also pretend to be part of the 'Argo' film crew. They are given false Canadian passports and are told to learn their new identities inside out.
There is some understandable reluctance among the group to tell such a tall tale in the hope of escaping Iran but they soon recognise that there are few alternatives. A scene follows in which Affleck expertly ratchets up the tension as the Westerners face the full hostility of The Iranian Revolution in the main bazaar.
This is where the film is at its best as the chaos and mistrust of those fateful months is rendered in vivid detail. The embassy staff come to realise that they have litle control over their own fate in such an unpredictable place.
Back home in the US, the interested parties at the CIA, the White House and in Hollywood can only watch and wait as Mendez does his job. We are given glimpses of how those unfortunate enough not to escape the embassy were treated and how this was felt deeply among Americans.
Meanwhile, Mendez is characterised as a man with a strong sense of right and wrong but a chaotic personal life. The people he is helping to escape likewise seem like believable human beings - just as any of us would be they are terrified by the situation they find themselves in and just want to get home.
And this is the strongest aspect of the film - it's message about how good, intelligent people can overcome fear and mistrust if they work together, even under pressure of unimaginable magnitude.
The film also recognises that America's relationship with Iran at that time was characterised by morally grey double dealing as well as taking on the gritty subject of the violent chaos instigated by the Islamic Revolution, but it is always clear about the divide between those who do good and those that embrace such chaos.
Bizarrely, the non-existent science fiction film 'Argo' carries the same message in a camp, kitsch 70's way that appeals to various parties who are chasing Mendez and his fugitives. In one especially memorable scene, the would-be film crew give a copy of the story board to an interrogator to placate him.
Yet, despite these moments of intensity, a seam of humour runs throughout, recognising that people under such difficult circumstances have to keep laughing in order to get through. It is this that shows 'Argo' its best with its warm sense of humanity amidst harsh circumstances.
Sunday 4 November 2012
'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' dir. Stephen Chbosky
An inexplicable dread filled me when I entered the cinema to watch this one. It may have had something to do with the faux Indie premise or the prospect of an angsty teenage film but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
Logan Lerman is charming as the shy, socially awkward Charlie, the hero of the film who holds a deep unrequited love for Sam (Emma Watson). The story is about growing up and about the contradictions of our later teenage years as well as those mistakes that we all make in our initial romantic stumblings.
What follows is a tale of deep poignancy as Sam and Charlie feel they way around through one failed relationship to another, never quite crossing one another at the right time. What binds them both is a shared past that neither realise until late in the tale.
Around these two are the rest of the group - the charismatic Patrick (Ezra Miller) whose extreme flamboyance hides a sensitive inner self. Mae Whitman plays Mary-Elizabeth, Charlie's girlfriend, who seems destined for great things but is yet to realise her potential. All roads lead to the Ivy League for these bright young things but none of them have sufficient control over their personal lives for comfort.
In this no man's land, a strange bipolar mix of delight and sadness compete from scene to scene which encapsulates the elusiveness of those short teenage years.
However, much like this review, the film is prone to moments of pretention. Too many Smith's tracks for my liking and too much self-involved teenage angst.
Nonetheless, worth a watch for its interesting message about the perils of growing up.
Logan Lerman is charming as the shy, socially awkward Charlie, the hero of the film who holds a deep unrequited love for Sam (Emma Watson). The story is about growing up and about the contradictions of our later teenage years as well as those mistakes that we all make in our initial romantic stumblings.
What follows is a tale of deep poignancy as Sam and Charlie feel they way around through one failed relationship to another, never quite crossing one another at the right time. What binds them both is a shared past that neither realise until late in the tale.
Around these two are the rest of the group - the charismatic Patrick (Ezra Miller) whose extreme flamboyance hides a sensitive inner self. Mae Whitman plays Mary-Elizabeth, Charlie's girlfriend, who seems destined for great things but is yet to realise her potential. All roads lead to the Ivy League for these bright young things but none of them have sufficient control over their personal lives for comfort.
In this no man's land, a strange bipolar mix of delight and sadness compete from scene to scene which encapsulates the elusiveness of those short teenage years.
However, much like this review, the film is prone to moments of pretention. Too many Smith's tracks for my liking and too much self-involved teenage angst.
Nonetheless, worth a watch for its interesting message about the perils of growing up.
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