Reel 73: More John LeCarré

With this episode we conclude our mini-series on spy films, with a second set of films based on the novels of John LeCarré.

We start with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a 2011 film directed by Tomas Alfredson and starring more high-power talent than you can shake a stick at. They spent so much money on big-name actors that they couldn’t afford punctuation for the title. (Ha! I’m pretty sure Sean hates jokes like that.) This film, set in 1973, is a Cold War thriller involving a mole near the top of British Intelligence. It’s one of those wheels-within-wheels kinds of tales that will pull you in, maybe confuse you for a while, but it all pulls together in the end.

From there we move beyond the Cold War for A Most Wanted Man, directed by Anton Corbijn and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in his last starring role (he would appear in the last two Hunger Games films, but we’d argue that those aren’t “starring” roles for him). Hoffman plays Gunther Bachmann, the head of a covert German team that’s hoping to root out Islamic terrorists. Bachmann finds himself at odds with both German and American officials regarding their ultimate goal, which leads to an ending you may not expect. Again, lots of pieces are in motion, but it’s an intriguing tale that will have you wondering who’s on what side.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

Next time around we take a look at the wages of greed. We start off with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and then move on to a film made much later but whose timeline is nearly contemporary to the first one, There Will Be Blood. Join us, won’t you?

Reel 68: More Modern Fairy Tales

In this episode we continue our theme of Modern-Day Fairy Tales, even though in one case it’s not necessarily set in the present day. So let’s just call it a present-day telling of a fairy tale and leave it at that.

And that’s where we start this time around, with 1993’s The Bride With White Hair,  directed by Ronny Yu. This is a Wuxia film with a kind of Romeo and Juliet overlay, as our main characters find themselves trying to balance fate, duty and love. In addition, it’s a film that definitely has overtones from Western film sensibilities. It might be a little hard to follow at first, but if you stick with it, you’ll be well rewarded.

From there we move to 2011 and Hanna, directed by Joe Wright and starring Saoirse Ronan in the title role. This film is lodged in the present, with some of the fairy-tale elements coming from its overall structure. There are also a couple of scenes which explore it a little more overtly.

This film was the basis for the Amazon Prime TV series of the same name.  The TV show, of course, had to run a slightly different story arc, because it has to sustain the basic setup over several years. I think the series did manage to do it while remaining faithful to the basic premise. Some characters had to naturally change to make this possible. But I do think it works. What say you?

COMING ATTRACTIONS: 

In our next episode, we look at a pair of films where, for lack of a better term, Alternate History is going on. In those histories, a few iconic people get to meet one another. First is Insignificance, from 1985 and directed by Nicholas Roeg. From there it’s on to One Night in Miami… a 2020 film directed by Regina King. By the end of these films, you wish all of the events depicted had actually happened! Join us, won’t you?