Film Reviews Autumn 2020
BY THE FILM GROUP
Ooops! The Adventure
Continues
(Ooops! 2–Land in Sicht) ****
Germany/Ireland/Luxembourg
2020
Opening September 24, 2020
Directed by: Toby Genkel, Sean
McCormack
Writing credits: Richie Conroy,
Mark Hodkinson
Principal actors: German voices:
Christian Ulmen, Janin Ullman,
Tim Mälzer
In 2015 the animated film Ooops! Noah is Gone (Die Arche
ist Weg) entertained us with a story about animals boarding
Noah’s ark in order to escape the flood. Leonard the lion was
the boss with the difficult responsibility of controlling all of
the animals, some of which were “unusual.” We met Dave and
his son Finny, both Nestrians: brightly colored animals with an
elephant’s trunk and large ears and the ability to blow blue gas.
Hazel and her daughter Leah were Grymps and looked like a
cross between a cat and a raccoon.
Now they are back, still on the ark, where Dave is the ship’s
cook; his specialty is a gooey green sauce. However, food is
running low. They send out the seagull to search for land. In
the meantime, other problems arise. The children Finny and
Leah are washed overboard; they set off on a self-made raft,
hoping to make their way back to the ark. Along the way, they
pick up a new friend: a jellyfish named–you guessed it–Jelly.
Meanwhile, the parents realize that the kids are missing. The
search takes them on adventures where they discover an island
and a colony of hundreds of Nestrians who, having rejected the
idea of boarding an ark, live independently underwater in a
“fantasy colony.” Now the big threat is no longer a flood, but
fire, a volcano.
This sequel to the original Oops! continues to entertain with
imaginative animation of all sorts of animals in wonderful
color, some looking like your favorite stuffed toy. Once again,
Finny and Leah must learn to act “adult,” to take responsibility;
family ties are priceless. Also importantly, no matter one’s
provenance: one must cooperate for the well-being of the
group. A fun film for anyone five years or older. (Becky Tan)
Persian Lessons
(Persischstunden) *
Russian/Germany/Belarus
2020
Opening September 24, 2020
Directed by: Vadim Perelman
Writing credits: Ilja Zofin
Principal actors: Nahuel
Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger,
Jonas Nay, Leonie Benesch,
Alexander Beyer
In 1942, a young Belgian named Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart)
is rounded up with other Jewish prisoners by the SS and driven
to an empty area in the forest. They are split into groups and
gunned down, but Gilles manages to escape the bullets and in
desperation claims that he is not Jewish but, rather, Persian.
As it happens, the officer in charge of the kitchens at the local
concentration camp is looking for a Persian to teach him the
language. In order to survive, Gilles must invent and memorize
an entire language and somehow teach it to this officer. Tension
mounts as the difficulty of the task increases and Gilles is faced
with the morality of what he must do to survive.
With a quick pace and talented cast, Persian Lessons presents
a slick façade which is easy to market and consume. However,
even a moment’s reflection reveals that there is something
off-putting about this new entry into the genre of Holocaust
media. The circumstances feel too contrived, the images of
suffering too blatantly manipulative, the message too cookiecutter.
The Holocaust is one of the worst events of human
suffering in modern times, and films such as this one do little
to either further our understanding of the tragedy or express
much artistically; they are simply made to cash in on the odd
fascination that people have with tragic events. With some
more introspection and character development perhaps
Persian Lessons could have been something more than the
clichéd and calculated film it turned out to be. Unfortunately,
the result was a film with promise that never reached its
potential. (Rose Finlay)
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