TWICE UPON A TIME
A film review by Shane R. Burridge
Copyright 1997 Shane R. Burridge
Twice Upon a Time (1983) 77m.
Inventive animated tale produced by George Lucas and directed by John Korty and Charles Swenson. The minds of sleeping Rushers (humans) are being influenced by the dream-dispensing land of Frivoli and the nightmare-inducing Murkworks. The key to their power struggle is the mainspring from the Cosmic clock, which controls all time. Fast, witty story isn't for all children, especially those who won't have patience for its unique look and flippant, incidental storyline. Visually, film is a combination of rainbow-hued watercolors, pen and ink, live action, and still photographs. Its endearingly scrappy look is matched by its throwaway dialogue - I can imagine this being the kind of cartoon Robert Altman might produce.
Hip characters provide many laughs, especially overenthusiastic superhero Rod Rescueman (James Crenna), and a nonchalant fairy godmother (Judith Kahan Kampmann). There's also the nominal lead character Ralph, a thing that looks like an extra from YELLOW SUBMARINE (voice actor Lorenzo Music). Film's main basis for characterization is to play against stereotype - an idea we're overly familiar with now, but don't mind in this case because the whole production has such an easygoing feel about it. The animators slip in many visual gags, mostly to do with film and television - one of the characters is an aspiring actress, another an aspiring writer, another an aspiring heroic lead. Consequently, story treats the manufacture of dreams and nightmares as being akin to the movie-making industry. Most interesting visual effects occur when we see a nightmare activated in the world of the Rushers.
From berardin@bc.cybernex.net Mon Feb 24 15:54:20 EST 1997 Article: 5332 of rec.arts.movies.reviews Path: nntphub.cb.lucent.com!not-for-mail From: berardin@bc.cybernex.net (James Berardinelli) Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies.reviews Subject: REVIEW: ANGEL BABY (1995) Followup-To: rec.arts.movies.current-films Date: 24 Feb 1997 20:39:11 GMT Organization: - Lines: 93 Sender: eleeper@lucent.com (Evelyn C. Leeper) Approved: eleeper@lucent.com Message-ID: <5esu9f$2tq@nntpa.cb.lucent.com> Reply-To: berardin@bc.cybernex.net (James Berardinelli) NNTP-Posting-Host: mtvoyager.mt.lucent.com Summary: r.a.m.r. #07011 Keywords: author=Berardinelli Originator: ecl@mtvoyager Xref: nntphub.cb.lucent.com rec.arts.movies.reviews:5332 X-Status: Status: O
ANGEL BABY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1997 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0 Alternative Scale: ***1/2 out of ****
Australia, 1995 U.S. Release Date: 2/97 (limited) Running Length: 1:45 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Sex, nudity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: John Lynch, Jacqueline McKenzie, Colin Friels, Deborra-Lee Furness, Daniel Daperis Director: Michael Rymer Producers: Timothy White and Jonathan Shteinman Screenplay: Michael Rymer Cinematography: Ellery Ryan Music: John Clifford White U.S. Distributor: Cinepix Film Properties
ANGEL BABY, a tale of love, loss, and mental illness from Michael Rymer, swept through the 1995 Australian Film Awards, winning seven, including best picture, best director, best actor (John Lynch), and best actress (Jacqueline McKenzie). However, unlike SHINE, which was similarly lauded at the 1996 AFIs, no overseas distributor rushed to pick up ANGEL BABY. The reason? Despite certain thematic similarities, SHINE is an upper; ANGEL BABY is a downer.
Depressing or not (I suppose it depends on your point-of-view), there's no denying ANGEL BABY's emotional power. This is the sort of film that lays it all on the line, and requires the kind of intense commitment from its lead actors that few motion pictures demand. John Lynch (SOME MOTHER'S SON) and Jacqueline McKenzie (ROMPER STOMPER) deliver intense, passionate portrayals that obliterate the barrier of the screen. In large part, ANGEL BABY succeeds because of their work.
Lynch plays Harry, a schizophrenic who, thanks to medication, is able to move through society in a relatively normal fashion. Harry, who lives with his brother (Colin Friels), sister-in-law (Deborra-Lee Furness), and nephew (Daniel Daperis), is an outpatient at a psychiatric clinic called "the Club House". One day, while there, he catches sight of Kate (Jacqueline McKenzie), a new client. She ignores him, but, shy and smitten, Harry decides to follow her as she makes her way from the clinic to the halfway house where she lives. Realizing that she's being shadowed, Kate confronts Harry, and, after a few tender getting-to-know- each-other scenes, they are frantically in love. The sheer intensity of their emotion has disastrous consequences, for, although Harry and Kate believe their love is strong enough to overcome anything -- even insanity -- the reality is far less romantic or forgiving.
Watching this film, I was reminded strongly of a couple of recent motion pictures: JUDE (which is based on Thomas Hardy's JUDE THE OBSCURE) and BREAKING THE WAVES. Both of those films, like ANGEL BABY, deal with the effects of a powerful, all-consuming love. JUDE ends in tragedy, disproving the cliche that love conquers all. BREAKING THE WAVES centers on a potentially-schizophrenic young woman who clings desperately to both her husband and her sanity. In one way or another, both of these threads are echoed in ANGEL BABY, which explores not only the transcendent power of love, but its limitations, as well.
Writer/director Michael Rymer's imperfect narrative contains a few contrived missteps, but the characters and their relationships are so effectively conceived and expertly realized that it's difficult to fault the film much for this. ANGEL BABY is well-focused on an emotional level, and I found myself unexpectedly touched by this unconventional love story. There's far more than mental illness and its attendant pain to Harry and Kate's relationship. The tenderness, eroticism, and ecstasy of their interaction leaves the most forceful impression. We can't help becoming involved as they walk an uncertain mental tightrope, clutching at each other all the way.
For those watching the film in the United States, it's worth acknowledging an unusal bit of cross-cultural trivia. Kate is a WHEEL OF FORTUNE addict (she believes the words in the puzzles are actually private messages from a mystical spirit), and it's a rather curious experience to note just how similar, yet different, the Australian version of the game show is from its North American counterpart.
Having seen ANGEL BABY, it's easy for me to understand why major distributors like Fine Line and Miramax stayed away. Much like BREAKING THE WAVES, it's a raw, intense, carnal film that will appeal most strongly to adventurous movie-goers. Actually, it's ironic that the very qualities which scared off everyone except Cinepix Film Properties are those that give ANGEL BABY its unique identity and make it such a compelling viewing experience.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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