Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

 

Da 5 Bloods (Netflix)

This war drama is not in the league of The Deer Hunter or Hacksaw Ridge, but the narrative from black soldier’s perspective is compelling. The film has a talented ensemble, a breakout performance by Delroy Lindo and  innovative cinematic devices. Lee incorporates social commentary which is a hallmark of his films.

 Four black Vietnamese veterans return to Vietnam to ostensibly recover the body of their troop leader “Stormin Norman” played by Chadwick Bosman. They also want to recover lost gold bars the CIA  intended to pay local insurgents to fight the Vietcong. Delroy Lindo’s character, Paul, suffers from PTSD which becomes more acute from returning to Vietnam. Delroy Lindo is not a household name. He is a “character actor” usually playing the heavy as a thug or a special operations commando. Here he  gives a forceful  performance of a tormented solder slowly sinking into paranoia. He forcefully conveys his inner terror from his past.

The other solders are Otis played by Clarke Peters, Eddie played by Norm Lewis and Melvin played by Isaiah Whitlock Jr. With Bosman’s character they call themselves Da 5 Bloods. They all have personal stories interwoven in the plot. Jonathan Majors plays Paul’s  estrange son. Jean Reno (The Professional) is the fence who moves the gold. Ofcourse nothing goes right and the story gets complicated. There is also a land mind clearing team which demonstrate the continued peril to the  Vietnamese from the war.

In flashbacks Lee does not use younger versions of the solders, rather he uses the present day solders. This narrative device clearly links past transgressions to the soldiers. Bosman appeared intermittently in film as the dead Stormin Norman. It is prophetic his role is as a ghost.   

Lee pays homage to other seminal Vietnam movies in shape and form. The film has clips from infamous moments of the Vietnam war. Two old former Vietcong soldiers buy drinks for the Americans marking the change from the past and a bow from soldier to soldier.

Lee intersperses black history facts in the movie. Black soldiers made up 16% of those drafted and 23% of Vietnam combat troops, despite accounting for only roughly 11% of the civilian population. A poignant clip shows Muhammad Ali’s espousing  his opposition to the draft saying the Vietnamese never did anything to harm him.

All these parts rolled up make a good Joint.

Nomadland (Hulu)

 

Nomadland (Hulu)

This is a melancholic, if not at times a depressing movie. Frances McDormand gives a powerful nuanced performance as Fran. In Fargo she was resilient. In Three Billboards she was fierce. Here she is resolute in surviving tragedies late in life. After losing her job in a gypsum factory and her husband to cancer she sells her belongings and goes on the road.

She is not off the grid but is neither fully plugged in. She lives in a converted van and stays at  RV camp sites. There is a tribe of nomads traveling the roads and have a loose affiliation. She survives on minimal social security benefits and finds odd jobs working as a seasonal worker at an Amazon fulfillment center, an attendant at a state park and flipping burgers. When she is offered the hospitality to reside in a comfortable house she declines. The question of whether  she needs to be on the road or she wants to be on the road is equivocal. She says she is not homeless but does not have a house.

She is stoic and endures hardships of the road but also its pleasures. When she visits the Redwood Forest or  the Badlands it is it is the expression on her face that conveys her joy. She is a consummate actor. The film uses real life nomads; Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells. They befriend Fran and give her survival tips. She is encouraged by their journeys and inspired by their love of the road. They convey authenticity to the film.

The other actor of note is the veteran actor David Strathairn who is a fellow nomad. His character is  subdued and the years on the road wear on him. His awkward attempts to start a relationship with Fran are blocked by her noncommittal position.

The film is shot in some beautiful and somber locations. The vastness of some of the locations convey the solitude of the open road.

This film has received numerous accolades and a 95% from Rotten Tomatoes. Frances McDormand has been nominated for best actress for the 2021 Golden Globes, which she richly deserves.

 

The Handmaiden (Amazon Prime)

 

The Handmaiden (Amazon Prime)

This is a wonderful movie. It is a 2016 South Korean erotic psychological thriller by the director Park Chan-wook. It is a multi-layered  story of deception, betrayal, love and revenge. It is a story within a story with dramatic reversals. The story is told in three parts and some of the plot points are not obvious. Part 2 is  flash backs explaining part 1.You may wish to read the plot in Wikipedia before or after. It is in Korean and Japanese subtitles. The Japanese subtitles are shown in yellow and the Korean in white, this is important. Normally I do not like watching movies with subtitles but this is a worthwhile exception.

The movie takes place in Japanese occupied Korea and involves a noble Lady played by Kim Min-hee, her Uncle played by Cho Jin-woong , her maid played by Kim Tae-ri and a fake Count played by Ha Jung-woo. The story has numerous story elements which are cohesive but complex. The story is about an elaborate swindle with unexpected twists and turns. The intentions of the characters are not obvious and there are dark secrets. The acting is excellent especially with the two female leads transcending language and conveying the character’s purpose.  The film’s erotica (not pornography) is fashioned on Japanese Shunga art. It is an integral part of the main characters’ development. There are some graphic torture scenes.

This is a female centric movie. They are victims but eventually victorious. The two female actors are controlled and mistreated by the men  but prove to be more clever and resourceful. This is an exception for an Asian film.

Three cultures are represented in the film: Japanese, Korean and Anglo; they maintain their individuality. The film is set in an English manor attached to a traditional Japanese minka house, with sliding doors and tatami mates. The costumes  include  beautiful traditional Japanese kimono  and Korean handok dresses and English period formal clothing.

The film won numerous awards and received a Rotten Tomato rating of 95%.

 

Judas and the Black Messiah (HBO Max)

 

Judas and the Black Messiah (HBO Max)

This is a powerful and emotional movie. In part it is a violent movie, but the entire story is compelling. The film features some outstanding performances worth watching.  This is a true story of the Black Panther’s Chicago chapter in the 1960’s and its chairman Fred Hampton. The Panthers were a militant organization which were the antithesis of Dr. King’s nonviolent movement. The movie gives a  balanced view of the Panthers displaying their civic initiatives of providing lunches for school children and medical clinics for the local community.  They were also militant and had armed confrontations with police. 

The chairman of the Chicago chapter is Fred Hampton played by Danial Kaluuya (“Get Out” and “Black Panther”). Hampton was confronted with many challenges. Besides organizing the local chapter, he was seeking an alliance with local gangs and his organization was harassed and under surveillance by local authorities and the FBI. Kaluuya gives an impassioned outstanding performance as the Black Messiah. He displays many emotions as a driven revolutionary leader and as a vulnerable young man (he was only 21)  starting a relationship.

Lakeith Stanfield is Bill O’Neil the FBI informant who infiltrated the Panthers. Stanfield’s role is more complicated than Kaluuya’s since to infiltrate the Panthers he has to participate in their activity and at the same time act as an informer. His role is equivocal showing signs of empathy for the Panthers and the self-preservation of a low level hood cooperating with the FBI to stay out of prison.

Jesse Plemons plays Roy Michell the FBI handler of O’Neil.  He is pressured by Edgar Hoover to infiltrate the Panthers. Plemons plays O’Neil as a manipulative FBI agent but shows signs of disdain for the manipulation of O’Neil at the urging  of J. Edgar Hoover.  

Dominique Fishback is Hampton’s girlfriend. She played a strong role as a prostitute in the HBO series the “Duce”. She brings the same high level of acting to this role. She is shy but strong willed and forms a bond with Hampton humanizing his character.

This is a tough movie. It covers important social material of our history. I had no idea the level of carnage the Chicago police and the Panthers engaged in. See it for the history, see it for the acting.