The Nile Hilton Incident [2017] ★★★
A police officer in Cairo talking and investigating a murder like a character out of a 1940’s film noir starring Humphrey Bogart. It’s a daring move, but a damn good one, so it should be on your list of movies to see before the year is over. A spoof would have been enough for writer/director Tarek Saleh. Instead, he dives deep into the film noir genre, shaping his characters with grit and panache. Fares Fares is terrific as police office Noreddin, who is assigned to investigate the murder of a famous singer at the Nile Hilton hotel, just weeks before the 2011 Egyptian revolution. In true film noir fashion, the trail eventually leads to a web of deceit and danger. Kudos to director Tarek Saleh for keeping us guessing at every turn. And kudos to cinematographer Pierre Aim (who worked on “La Haine” back in 1995), who gives the movie a seductive atmosphere of danger, especially as it takes place on the eve of the Egyptian revolution. “The Nile Hilton Incident” truly is a film noir for our time.
Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini kicked off his so-called “war trilogy” with “Rome, Open City”, a harrowing look at Rome during the Nazi occupation of 1944. Though the events that take place in the movie are strictly fictional, Rossellini knows exactly how to deliver an authentic experience. The main character here is Don Pietro, an Italian priest who finds himself helping the leader of the resistance, Giorgio Manfredi, who is wanted by Nazis. Rossellini builds up tension as we follow these character’s journey into the unknown. The mood and atmosphere of the movie are reminiscent of American film noirs of the early 1940’s, and that’s probably one of the main reasons why I loved this movie so much. Rosselini does a fantastic job in capturing WWII Rome with a dreadful mood, keeping his audience on the edge of their seats from start to finish. If you want to watch a master at work, I highly recommend “Rome, Open City”.
People always mention “Metropolis” and “M” when they talk about German filmmaker Fritz Lang. While they’re both terrific, I personally vouch for “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse”, one of the best movies of the early talkies. Made in 1933, at a time when Nazism was on the rise, “Dr. Mabuse” was banned in Germany by Nazi propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and was not shown to the public until 1951. When it opens, we learn that there’s a new crime wave in Berlin and it’s up to inspector Lohmann (from “M”) to investigate. All clues lead to Dr. Mabuse, a crazy scientist who’s been in a mental hospital for a decade. How is it possible? That’s the question that eats at you as “Dr. Mabuse” holds you in its grip for two hours. It’s obvious that Lang is giving a sermon about the consequences of a Nazi-infested Germany. In the words of Mabuse himself: “When humanity, subjugated by the terror of crime, has been driven insane by fear and horror, and when chaos has become supreme law, then the time will have come for the empire of crime”. Lang squeezes us without mercy in a rollercoaster of tension and suspense, but only to force us to look at the bigger picture. In a post-9/11 world, “The Testament of Dr. Mabuse” couldn’t be more relevant. It’s a timeless masterpiece.
I’m ashamed to say that I’m a bit late coming to this movie, but having witnessed Amy Adams in one of the best performances of her career in Denis Villeneuve’s masterpiece “Arrival”, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into “Nocturnal Animals”. And I wasn’t wrong: this is a scary, stylish, and terrifically twisted film noir from the artist known as Tom Ford. Adams plays Susan Morrow, a gallery owner in Los Angeles who receives a mysterious manuscript from Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), the ex husband she dumped two decades ago for another man. The novel is dedicated to her, and tells the story of Tony (Gyllenhaal, once again) on a nightmare trip with his wife and daughter. This is terrifying stuff, and as both stories unfold, dark secrets are revealed, leading up to an ending that is open to interpretation (be my guest). But it isn’t merely the mystery that makes “Nocturnal Animals” so immersive: it’s the way that director Tom Ford sets up his story and peels away its secrets, one layer at a time. Another great aspect is the characters themselves: getting to know them one by one gives the movie its emotional force. Even when Ford is overreaching, his passion burns through. In only his second feature as a director, he has managed to craft one of the most unique films of 2016. You can’t possibly miss that.
You’d think a Mystery film starring Adrien Brody that looks and feels like a 1940’s film noir would be worth recommending. It isn’t. “Manhattan Night” follows Brody’s desperate search for the truth when a seductive woman asks him to investigate the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband. As far as atmosphere goes, the movie looks and flows well enough. On other levels- plot (overstuffed), acting (what’s up with Body’s weird voice?), sex (more like porn)- the movie is a misfire. Writer director Brian DeCubellis throws every mystery cliche on the screen, and naturally, nothing really sticks. Too bad.
The quintessential film noir. No other film of the genre can match the brilliance of Billy Wilder’s haunting tale of greed, murder and betrayal. Driven by its masterful techniques and perfect narrative, “Double Indemnity” tells the story of an insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) who falls for a beautiful but deadly oil tycoon’s wife (Barbara Stanwyck) and together they plot to kill off her husband for the insurance money. Sounds like an ordinary story. But there’s nothing quite ordinary about Wilder’s breathtakingly tense and suspenseful movie. If you’re just discovering film noir, “Double Indemnity” more than fits the bill. It’s easily one of the best movies of the 40’s and one of my all time favorites as well.
Fantastic drama/film noir based on Robert E.Burns’ autobiographical story about an innocent man (a fantastic Paul Muni) who accidentally gets mixed up in a robbery that lands him ten years on a chain gang where they treat prisoners like dirt. The story is so powerful and well told that you find yourself rooting for the poor bastard and actually hoping he’d find a way to get out of this hellish place. Not to mention Muni’s terrific Oscar nominated performance. Quite possibly one of the best films of the 30’s. It definitely packs a big punch.
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