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MaryamTavatav
Reviews
King Richard (2021)
Be the hero of your own life
By Maryam Tavatav (Critic)
"King Richard" is an American biographical drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, which follows the lives of famed tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, and their father and coach Richard Williams.
Since 2021 the film has won numerous awards and accolades, yet let us not forget to admire the amazing cast and their eye-catching group acting. Although the plot and setting of sports films are mostly predefined, predictable, and repetitive, the brilliant acting of "Will Smith" in this film succeeds in depicting the love of parents and the power of dreaming in a distinct way. Throughout the film, the emphasis put on effort and hope can be noticed and these concepts, along with the focus on the expression of family relationships, portray these heroes' pathways in life.
When it comes to retelling a life story based on truth, the determining factor in the fate of a film would be the distinctive storytelling delicacies and the attention to detail about the truth of the subject in question. These details would be the savior of a story so as not to subject it to stereotyping in the form of a biography. In fact, biographical films require such elements to go beyond mere reporting and evoke a sense of empathy in the audience. From this perspective, King Richard tries its best to retell the life story of two outstanding tennis players and their efforts, while to a large extent, it uses narrative elements in the storyline so that it is not just a narrator about people's past and leave a more lasting impact on the viewer.
The image that King Richard portrays of the father's character is a resemblance of a unique character who does not intend to be disappointed with his daughters' success. Will Smith, acting in this role, never seems to be giving up on the dream that his daughters are going to be distinguished even for a moment. This unconditional love and the atmosphere resulting from it fill the audience with feelings and emotions until the very end of the film and causes the role to develop in a way that the viewer would be facing a drama beyond a biographical sports film.
Based on a family theme, King Richard builds up a sense to the story to create a sports drama that brings concepts forward such as "effort" and "love of the children" in a comprehensible way. On the other hand, the sequences and shots displaying sports activities lead to the injection of excitement and, consequently, increase the tempo of the film, and along with the good editing that has been done, the film has been able to chronicle the main time and place of the film's events.
The film is not just about recounting the story of becoming a star, rather it tries to present a broader view of a hero's life in the context of family and society and tells about those who keep pushing the limits to gain honor. To this end, even the experience of being black and the issue of racism have been addressed. In fact, the film does not aim to seem intellectual and convey the message that there is neither trace of judgment based on skin color nor racial discrimination in today's world. On the contrary, the film enjoys a more realistic and believable form by depicting some scenes of these issues.
In spite of the film trying to take a fairly comprehensive look at the process of the characters rising, some side stories are added to the main plot which were not a part of the main story in the first place. Some of these sub-plots were left abandoned and could not properly serve the purpose of the film.
King Richard is a film that illustrates how dreams may come true. A process that holds on to willingness and hard work to deny the view that success is random and based on luck. The film retells the story of those who, despite the obstacles of life, draw their swords and start fighting for their dreams and resort to the love of family in the face of hardships and ebbs and flows. Rather than focusing on the protagonist, King Richard - as the title suggests - focuses on the helping hands that have made the hero gain fame, fortune, and success; the hands of parents who have seen their dreams in the future of their children.
Madres paralelas (2021)
In Pursuit of Originality
By Maryam Tavatav (Critic)
The depiction of the female world in cinema is unforgettably appealing. Especially during modern times when women go through different experiences in playing the role of a mother considering their changing social conditions and new economic roles they take on. As these problems of the modern era emerge, these experiences turn out to be sometimes very unique and put one in unprecedented situations where one discovers newer layers of oneself in the face of crisis.
The Spanish film "Parallel Mothers" directed by Pedro Almodóvar depicts the female world of two mothers, played by Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit, who face problems and challenges after the birth of their children. Without a shadow of a doubt, the love of both mothers for their children is indescribable, however, the motherhood of these two women is not the only storyline narrated in this film.
Parallel with the main plot, Almodóvar proceeds with a narrative of mass graves and their offspring long waiting to bury the bodies of their ancestors; a storyline that adds an anti-war theme to the main idea, which at the first glance seems to be irrelevant. Just like that, the film, despite having a simple main theme, gets entangled with political concepts and portrays the wait of generations for victims of the Spanish Civil War.
The film aimed to boldly picture the female world, and it was successful indeed. In the meantime, the film even addresses the relationship between the mother of one of these two women and her child; Ana's mother is an actress who has been in pursuit of fame and fortune late in her life and is searching for her dreams; she wants to be seen on the stage, and live her unlived life. She symbolizes women who have long struggled to make a balance between motherhood and their profession that are somehow in contradiction.
The film succeeded in portraying a believable picture of a mother's efforts and weariness. However, perhaps it can be said that although the image of women in this film is more of a negotiable and supportive savior, the image of men in "Parallel Mothers" is not so justified and balanced. The notable absence of men in the development of the narrative is felt in the film, and it seems there is no fair balance in terms of characterization.
Some parts of the film resemble a theater scene, with a slower rhythm and focus on the details of the scene, making it more fascinating and engaging. Despite having a simple and somewhat tattered idea on the surface, from the very beginning, the film puts forth an important narrative; a narrative that makes the two mothers encounter at one point and get into a conversation about the importance of originality and what happened to their ancestors.
This long wait and horror of what had happened to the people in the past as a result of political issues seem to be passed down from generation to generation and now has reached a generation that is on a quest to find the remains of their ancestor's bodies and bury them in a decent funeral. It is as if finding their fathers and burying them would directly contribute to their own tranquility. Allegedly, their destiny deems to be tied to a past in which their fathers had been treated unfairly and kept deprived of their families, and now another generation is craving for bringing them back to the family.
The story underscores the undeniable importance of genetics and being a biological mother, and this has made the concept of searching for the graves of fathers more practical. Although several questions remain unanswered at the end of the film, it can be argued that perhaps "Parallel Mothers" would have lacked a deep ending, if it were not tied to the consequences of war and had it not been for the glorious end of the film where mass graves were found. It seems in order to survive from the simplicity of the original idea, the film has resorted to the concept of pursuing originality that deals with identity and roots, and it has been successful.
The victims of wars and those who were buried alive innocently with their hands tied in every period are an inerasable part of history that will not be forgotten in the minds of their loved ones, and their history of presence must be renounced loud and clear so as to put a stop to this vicious circle of oppression and occupation. The value that "Parallel Mothers" places on human life is evident through its dialogues. The story brings different concepts to attention to finally say that history does not remain silent and there are people whose fingers are pointing toward a certain part of history that is over in time but its wounds remain fresh and must be taken care of. This care, in addition to the femininity in "Parallel Mothers", has turned into a symbolic concept to make the image of history and motherhood even more lasting.
Turning Red (2022)
A colorful window toward puberty
By Maryam Tavatav (Critic)
"Turning Red" is a 2022 American animated fantasy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. The story is about Mei Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who, as she begins to show signs of puberty, learns that when expressing strong emotions like anger or stress, she transforms into a giant red panda due to a hereditary curse. The carefully-chosen title of the film is also taken from Mei Lee's father's quotation saying "Red is the color of luck."
Directed by a Chinese-born Canadian female director, the animated film features detailed images of puberty thanks to the creativity of Domee Shi's team of writers. This film, with its colorful and flamboyant illustrations in various scenes, demonstrates a surreal image of the reality and concerns of the characters involved in the issue of puberty. In fact, this animation tries to exaggerate reality in a way to create a more attractive output with its brilliant ideas.
Turning Red devotes meticulous attention to details to articulate the main point of the film with lasting delicacy. Neither does the film opt for a simplistic portrayal of puberty, nor does it tend to make a terrible tragedy out of the various complexities and consequences of this period. It just attempts to accompany a teenager during this transition time and brings forward topics like femininity, dynamism, and growth; on the other hand, in this way, it did not go towards one-sided narratives but rather depicts a world of logic and displays the audience an unimpeded view of stress and identity crisis along with physical changes in the life of a teenage girl in order to create a sense of credibility.
The audacity put in portraying the deep concept of puberty in this film carries the message that issues about which no one has talked publicly out of shame are not to be ignored forever. Especially since Mei Lee comes from a family with Chinese cultural background and, besides family traditions, undergoes strange experiences during puberty. This cultural context sets the stage for the use of mythological and metaphorical concepts in advancing the narrative of the animated film.
The film can be divided into two main halves, and realistically, the story declines in the second half in terms of engaging the viewer since its focus mainly shifts from Mei Lee to those around her. While during the first half, we are faced with Mei Lee's teenage world with all her rebelliousness, desires, and playfulness. It is as if from the middle of the animation onwards, the story separates from its original and main meaning and leaves behind the profoundness that was prevailing in the narrative. In the second half, the film shows the image of a new world and tries to make this unknown new world more familiar.
In the second half, perhaps, if the initial idea and focus of the film on the issue of puberty had progressed as deeply as in the first half, the animation would have been more distinguished and hard to forget. Simply put, in the second half of the narrative, the film builds up other seemingly deep themes, which do not have much of a logical function in the narrative of the main storyline; however, it is not yet possible to easily overlook the technicolor of vivid images and the details of a teenage life struggling with the consequences of puberty.
Turning Red tackles a topic that is considered taboo in some cultures. And indeed, cinema can play an effective role in changing this view. The fact is, however, that the later this issue is addressed, the later it would be possible to normalize it and move on to the deeper parts of adolescence.
Another important concept that is denounced in this film is the effort to satisfy everyone, and surely this struggle and the sense of not being enough and running after others to please them is a source of great suffering that would continue until the end of one's life. This unsuccessful attempt to keep others happy makes a man a slave who walks and lives to the wishes of those around him. Turning Red animation slams the judgment of others in one's life and puts value on personal growth and the effort to find one's best form in order to convey the message that one can love others and walk one's own way at the same time.
Depicting the intricacies of puberty in cinema in the form of animation, in modern times, and within the waves of cultural and social issues, is quite intriguing to the viewers, especially since Turning Red tackles mental independence. It can be said that such films are capable of filling the void of attention to many critical life events and pave the way for recognizing the mental characteristics of teenagers on the verge of puberty to help them succeed in this process of discovery and intuition to find their true identity.
El buen patrón (2021)
Beyond the Veil of Capitalism
By Maryam Tavatav (Critic)
Directed by Fernando Leon de Aranoa, "The Good Boss", as the representative of Spanish cinema at the 2021 Academy Awards, explores societies based on political-economic and capitalist systems and narrates becoming the number one in the workplace at any cost.
Blanco is the owner of a factory of industrial scales. This mere choice of scales connoting justice begins the chain of symbolism in this film. Throughout his speeches and interaction with others, Blanco manifests himself at the beginning of the story, as a compassionate, sympathetic boss who is willing to do anything for his factory workers. He keeps retelling this key phrase: "Every employee's problem is mine" and this is a fallacious statement that has been repeated over and over again throughout the organization's history causing all workers to believe in its legitimacy. However, another truth emerges as the film proceeds.
The film's main plot is based on this question: beyond this technicolor of slogans the capitalists chant in support of the workers, is their true face as sympathetic and benevolent as they look before the public and media? It remains to be seen to what extent these pretender capitalists adhere to moral statements when a tiny margin of their capital is jeopardized. This view does not contradict the concept of capital since the circulation of capital in society will certainly bring about economic prosperity that might be beneficial to the people. Meanwhile, the main point is how this benefit is to be distributed. Do people share in the benefits as much as they have contributed to the generation of wealth?
What elements must be in place in this cycle to achieve a higher level of assets? At this point, the main conflict is created; where various economic and political schools have made an attempt to come up with an answer. The script of a good boss also brings to light the extent of adherence to principles that are challenged in the face of a financial crisis and where the interest of employees comes into play. Simply put, when a problem occurs at the heart of the factory, despite Blanco's pretentious conduct favoring the workers, the manpower becomes the means to add just one more award to the wall of the owner's house at any cost. This comedic nature of the film, in a dark setting, mocks Blanco's superficial view of the fate of his workers. The film's final scene illustrates framed awards, with writings such as "Justice", here and there on the factory's walls, while its atmosphere is still filled with corruption and inequality.
The Good Boss can be introduced as the most allegoric and figurative film of the year considering its abundant use of meaningful symbols. The irony depicted in the film regarding the sense of justice and benevolence demonstrates that the director's preoccupation is way beyond a mere worker-employer incompatibility in the workplace. Behind Blanco's apparent good-naturedness in the guise of a spiritual father lives another human being: a man enjoying inheritance who is willing to do anything to preserve his capital so that he can add a framed award to those of others on the walls of his factory, lest a single penny be deducted from its capital; He somewhat represents a capitalist society that is willing to crush everything under the boots of power for the sake of achieving its material goals. Herein, the power relations are predefined and the authority is exclusively in the hands of a few and the others may enjoy a marginal benefit out of their vast fortune through deceitfulness. In fact, the concept of meritocracy and effort is the overlooked component of such thinking.
The element of surprise, which seems to be missing in almost all films these days, is well implemented in this film. The first impression that Blanco leaves on the audience is one sympathetic boss who follows the recent concepts in management science and perceives his workforce as the capital of his factory, while in the second half of the film, his true character is revealed once Blanco is put in a situation that his interests are at stake.
The brilliant performance of "Javier Bardem" in the leading role of this film must not be neglected. He shows such a dramatic personality change in his role that the viewer fully understands the nuances of his characteristics; his acting thoroughly serves the film's purposes and helps advance the narrative. The presence of influential supporting roles and sub-characters has also contributed to the completion of this puzzle and created an effective flow of transformation. The Good Boss possesses a professional cast of actors who have done well in their roles. The use of symbols and attention to detail have played a major role in expressing the main concept and theme of the film, especially when the seeds planted earlier are harvested and these symbols are used in the ending.
This film is a fine example of how deep political-economic concepts, whose presence is a grave concern in human life, can be sharply criticized with the correct and principled use of humor and comedy. Fierce criticism of political and economic structures does not necessarily require the production of serious films; rather one can voice the most serious criticisms by making a comedy film and force the viewer to contemplate.
Des (2020)
Killing with Company
On Des miniseries
Killing with Company
By Maryam Tavatav
In 1983, a serial killer named Dennis Nilsen, known as "Des", was arrested after discovering human remains that had blocked a drain near his London home. The Des miniseries tells the true story of his arrest and trial in three episodes. The story is regarded as one of the most complex criminal cases in the UK because of the way the victims, who were all young men, were hunted and killed. To everyone's surprise, Des cooperates with the police after his arrest and, with his cool composure, explains how he had committed murders. The miniseries is based on the book "Killing with Company" and the story is narrated from the point of view of the killer, the police, and a biographer who is writing Des' biography at his request.
The story takes place during the time when the police were less able to investigate the crime scene than they are today. The police efforts, aided with more basic systems in fingerprint matching and victim identification, led by Detective Chief Inspector Jay, reveal that even in such a horrific and sensitive case that caused social panic, the police faced serious setbacks with the administrative structure. Despite the pressure from his superiors to close the case sooner and issues about budget deficits, Jay made a sustained effort to uncover the truth of the crimes.
The information disclosure in these three episodes is in such a way that enables the audience to explore the story from the perspectives of Des, the police, and the author. This even distribution of information leads to an analysis of the emergence of Des or those like him. In case more episodes had been made, it might have been possible to focus more deeply on the sub-characters in the story. However, the miniseries per se has been able to recount the story with its time and place delicacies and advance the storyline so that the audience would not be confused.
Criminal psychology is at its most unexpectedly strange times, experiencing the case investigation of a wide range of crime-committers and murderers. Indeed, the death of even one human being will never be normal, but the diversity of serial killers and the behavioral similarities among them often demonstrate a recurring proposition in identifying criminal behavior patterns for criminologists. Meanwhile, there are killers of a different kind, sometimes with more savagery or more morbid conditions, who are distinguished after their victims' killing methods and the way they committed their crimes were put into the analysis; Des falls into the category of distinguished ones. He shows absolutely no resistance explaining his crimes to the police. He details the killings as if he was talking about a significant and beneficial project for the public that he had carried out with absolute perfection.
What sets Des apart from other killers is his frankness in telling the story. He narrates the tale of his murders with no secrecy; he sits relaxed on a chair in front of the detective inspector, asks the police for a cigarette, and then, as he calmly tries to inhale the smoke deeper, explains how he met the victims in the first place to the very moment he finishes the job in utter surprise. He does not feel sorry for what he has done and blatantly unfolds the violence of his actions to the police, unbothered by this scene that a few hours ago a police officer accidentally took the lid off the pot on the Des' kitchen stove and found the boiled head of one of the victims. David Tennant, as Des, who is likely to win numerous awards for his outstanding performance in the miniseries, has played the role of a monster who is not ashamed to recount his actions, and surprisingly his biggest concerns are asking about his dog or getting a tie prior to his first trial court. His acting, with all those pauses, silences, gazes, and even the way he walks, leaves a vivid mark of a professional killer on the viewers' memories.
There is a shared interest among the majority of serial killers in the world to control death. In other words, most of these people have experienced some kind of loss or void during their childhood, and this void becomes problematically great and to fill it, they opt for intended killings of others, so as to make themselves believe they can bring death under control in their minds, even subconsciously. In fact, there exists a kind of fear within them that is rooted in the deeper layers of their existence. To elaborate on this, as an instance, at that very moment when Des is describing his actions in an ideally calm situation, deep down he has a kind of fear that is mixed with other feelings. These feelings together with the events in the course of life, the process of upbringing, and considering the impact of genes, can move an individual towards becoming an anti-social.
Des' arrogance and self-eccentricity added a heavy yet believable aspect to his character. At court trials, he acted as if he were the judge in the case. It was as if he regarded himself as the most important man of the century. One of the psychologists in his case provides a smart and intriguing description of Des: "His character was like his house... Both looked perfectly well from the outside, but you could feel there's something not just right; once you removed the hardwood floor of his house, you'd find fear..."
The stink of mutilated corpses in his hell-like house is represented so deeply impressive throughout the episodes that the audience could even smell it by merely seeing the walls of the building and "Lewis Arnold", as the director, is to be recognized for this deep lasting impact on the audience to this extent of clarity who managed to lead the cast and crew successfully to convey this feeling. There is a sorrowful feeling made of truth that is spread in the world of civilization; in the age of technological advances and progress when humans have a brighter horizon ahead of them filled with chances and opportunities. However, this progress couldn't stop humans from committing crimes. It seems that the parade of civilized man in the battlefields and murder scenes creates a more realistic picture of the true modern world; where violence is flowing fluid and free in the world, and every now and then its accumulation somewhere brings humans under the spotlight that try to reach out to the life and privacy of their fellow men and has insatiable greed to torture those of their own species. Even in 2020 when this miniseries was made, which is years away from the time the real Des story took place, the rate of killing, whether serial killings or murder, is still rising rapidly. It seems as if the murder monster within humans has progressed hand in hand with their progress in humanity; sometimes he gave a different look to the murders, and at times, killed others in the usual way, but this time minus emotions and humanity, multiplied by infinite hatred.
Getting to grips with such horrible stories in a context that can alleviate the disgusting feeling of facing bitter truths and address deeper dimensions, including the reasons for the emergence of such killers, is a great achievement that the Des miniseries has accomplished. All recurring stories of serial killers have one thing in common, that identifying each killer is an alarm; a loud and clear alarm to a society that, through education dynamics, culture, and economic and social factors, can become a setting stage for the emergence of those who kill, and if they are not stopped, and if they'd be in power, they may bring about the destruction of all human beings on earth. That is why whenever a human being is killed it is as if a world has been buried with him. This is the nature of hatred; its flames grow and burn to the point it can lick. Perhaps art and literature may put out this burning fire by as much as a flame.