Dear Under Southern Eyes Readers and Followers,
So 2019 is already upon us – which means a Round-up of the films that I believe are significant for viewers is in order!
I certainly saw far more films in 2018 than I did in 2017 – perhaps I saw more films last year than the previous two years’ combined total! – so my list will very large indeed. As you already know, the films I consider significant won’t necessarily be films the general public or even those deemed expert film critics will consider good. They may even be films that fall far short of what they intended to say.I
Of the many dramas, comedies and other films falling between these two categories that had their first release in 2018, one of the most impressive of these was the very last film I saw in 2018 and this is Adam McKay’s “Vice”, as a study of evil at its most cynical and hollow, even though it was significantly compromised by its obvious anti-Trump / anti-Republican and pro-Democratic stance and the lack of depth in its study of former US vice-president Dick Cheney’s character. Another excellent film was J van der Welde’s “An Act of Defiance”, though I did note its treatment of black people as rather passive actors or bystanders in their own defence and in supporting the central character of Bram Fischer and how that treatment could be construed (ironically perhaps) as discriminatory and demeaning.
I saw many good documentaries and those I would most recommend include Diljana Gaytandzhieva’s “Diplomatic Viruses” for its focus on US bioweapons research in Georgia as part of the general Western drive towards war against Russia; Clayton Swisher’s four-part series “The Lobby” for its analysis of the Israeli government’s insidious reach into the British political establishment, extending well into both the major political parties and their structures; Michael Oswald’s “The Spider’s Web: Britain’s Second Empire” on the transformation of British imperialism transformed into a financially based global network that continues to dominate the world, impoverish and enslave nations, and threaten the very survival of the planet itself; Jenan Moussa’s “Undercover in Idlib”; Hernando Calvo Ospina’s “Venezuela, the Hidden Agenda”; and Alexander Korobko’s “NYC to Donetsk & back”. (Since the last mentioned documentary was made, Donetsk head of state Alexander Zakharchenko died in a terrorist attack in August; he will be sadly missed by his people and many others around the world.)
Of course there were many disappointing films and films that should never have left Development Hell: those in the latter category include Bryan Singer’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” for its prudish and homophobic treatment of the life of British rock star Freddie Mercury; and Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World” for being a typically hack Ridley Scott film. Andrei Zvyagintsev (“Loveless”) continues to plough ever deeper in his circular rut making films portraying Russian society under Vladimir Putin as materialistic, greedy and self-obsessed, and increasingly fascistic, as though such characteristics are unique only to Russia and not to Western societies as well. As for disappointing films, I single out Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” (for portraying a passive view of Mexican society in the early 1970s, not explaining or attempting to understand the various incidents that occur in the film); Bjorn Runge’s “The Wife” (just plain over-rated by film critics); and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” (another very over-rated flick).
As for what 2019 will bring, I expect that the quality of Hollywood product will continue to decline, and foreign directors and actors will dominate as film industries in their own countries dwindle under austerity programs or commercial and government pressure to make bland propaganda films, and they are forced to go to wherever the opportunities exist. The British film industry will concentrate more and more on producing historical propaganda mush that idealise a 1930s Britain that never existed, in which a small upper class elite dominates and everyone else knows their place in the hierarchical pecking order, as part of its role in prodding and pushing Western publics towards supporting war against Russia and China that will enrich arms manufacturers and their shareholders (some of which are the very individuals and corporations mentioned in Michael Oswald’s documentary I mentioned above).
Whatever happens in world film in 2019, I wish you all a Happy New Year and Happy Viewing!
Regards, Nausika.