KinoSmith Inc. Film Review - Call Me Kuchu

The Ugandan Anti- Homosexuality bill is the central focus of the documentary film by Malika Zouhali Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright. Some of the elements of the bill would make homosexuality punishable by death and if a Ugandan Citizen knew of a homosexual and did not report it to the government they could be subject to 3 years in prison. In other words if your child came out to you your option are:  a) report them to the government where they might be executed or b) not report them a risk a personal three years imprisonment.

The films protagonist is David Kato a native Ugandan farmer who was unsure about his sexual preference until his late twenties.  He was living in South Africa at the time and found acceptance into the country's gay community. He returned to Uganda 6 years later determined to obtain similar rights for LGBT people in Uganda.  Kato became the first openly gay person in Uganda working for SMUG Sexual Minorities Uganda and closely with other activists who keep their status more guarded.

The film starts at a celebration for a 9th anniversary for two community locals in Kampala which is a low key affair due to the current anti-gay climate in the city.  Inter-placed with the gathering are shots of preaches stating that Uganda will say no homosexuality declaring that the behaviour is against gods law and a sin of that nature against god should be punished by death. A haunting melodic instrumental tune plays throughout the opening scene ending with the meaning of Kuchu a synonym of the Queer is here.

Naome Ruzindana who has two children and was married at nineteen tells her story to the directors while comfortably alternating between sitting on and lying on a bed noting that she was never interested in sex with her husband. She described their relationship as more of a friendship. Naome stayed for five years and then left with her kids. Her group the African coalition of Lesbians started in 2004.

Rolling Stone newspaper is introduced into the piece with low slow instrumental tones and shots of the newspapers anti -gay headlines and articles. The editor Giles Muhame is interviewed sitting on a wooden chair and has a habit of laughing un comfortably and inappropriate when he describes his attitude towards gay people, what should be done to them and justifies his newspapers practice of infiltrating gay groups through a technique called disguise, publishing their names and addresses in the paper and declaring that gays are praying on the youth of the country.

The directors shoot most of accounts of the main players in a first person one camera shoot setting.  They tell their stories intermixed with their current activity, cooking, shopping, or in Muhame's case leafing through his newspaper pointing at headlines and pictures.

Stosh tells her story of how her picture was put in the Rolling Stone newspaper and her family turned against her but not till after a male childhood friend forced himself on her to try to show she is not gay. Her friends saw the photo in the newspapers and grabbed stones to throw at her. Naome provided support stating that Stosh knows who she is and has friends that will support her.

News reports are a tools used by the directors.  They show the details of a post world cup attack in Kampala that is at first blamed on terrorist then linked to the LGBT community.

A common shooting element is handled cameras used for walkabouts around town following the activities they walk through the community and markets. The handheld style is also used when we meet the activists at their home or out at strategy meetings.

Activist Long Jones tells his story as he walks through the food market purchasing groceries. A group of activities discuss the terrorist article and how they should respond. They also discuss the need to use and distribute condoms for health reasons.

Pastor Malee opposed to homosexually taking root and luring young people into the lifestyle appears during the court case against Rolling Stone newspaper.

The goal of the court case is to force Rolling Stone to cease their practice of publishing names and addresses of community members which could lead to firings, personal attacks and treats from friends and family members.  During the court scenes in and around the court house the shooting style consists of lots of hand held cameras moving amongst the activities, religious leaders and rolling stone representatives.

Celebrity preachers led by American Lou Engle came to visit in March 2009 whipping up a religious fervour against homosexuals declaring that Uganda is ground zero. On the heels of the Spring Celebrity preacher visits a bill sponsored by M.P. David Bahati in October 2009 attempted to strengthen the countries laws against homosexual activity.  The Anti- Homosexual Bill called for life imprisonment for gay activities, death for aggravated homosexuality, a catch all term for repeat offenders that included a 7 year sentence for aiding and abetting,  3 years for arranging and participating in HIV testing, lastly  potentially 3 years in prison if you know of and do not report a homosexual within 24 hours.  The details of the bill are presented through cuts to and from news medial, television reports and newspaper headlines rolling across the screen.

The international partners put pressure on the Ugandan president to move slow with the bill or risk international backlash. In an eerily foreshadowing of later tragic events David is alone at home with very little light watching the report on a flickering television that is part picture and part snow. Cheering for himself and fellow activities on the screen and jeering the opponents that are part of the report.  The camera then follows David around the farm at night as he moves by flashlight speaking to the residence and barley identifiable workers at his farm to see if they saw the report.

The movement win the court case against the RollingStone newspaper for invasion of privacy inciting violence and discrimination. The case against Rolling stone was successful but the Anti- Homosexual Bill remains a possibility. The post victory celebrations lead to a tragic event hinted at earlier that would have a lasting effect on the movement itself.

Call Me Kuchu is a powerful film that presents it material though several first hand accounts on both sides of the issue.  The directors give the viewer all of the information and leave it up to them to form their opinion on the issues presented. It's a film that I can definitely recommend.

*** 1/2  Out of 4.

Call Me Kuchu | Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali- Worrall | USA- Uganda| 2011|  87 Minutes.

KinoSmith  Productions.

Tags: LGBT, Activism, Sexual Rights, Uganda, Kampala, Anti- Homosexual Bill, David Kato, Ugandan Rolling Stone Newspaper,  Religion.

Film Review - Elysium

Director Neill Blomkamp makes his long anticipated return to the screen with his second feature Elysium. Sci-Fi fans have waited not so patiently for a follow up to his first feature the visually stunning  and unique District 9.

Blomkamp a graduate of Vancouver Film schools 3D Animation and Visual Effects program has a seamless method of combining special effects and live acting that continues in Elysium. Blomkamp eye for robot construction is unmatched. In 2154 robots are the police on earth, homeland security on Elysium, parole officers and conduct most of the manual labour tasks. They show no favouritism,  cannot be influenced or corrupted.  They follow the law to the letter. If a law or rule changes they follow that new rule regardless if that rule changes the status of someone from a target to a citizen in a matter of moments.

Dystopian earth in the year 2154 is overrun by population, disease and lawlessness. The rich build a space station in the sky and leave taking all of the top technological and scientific achievements with them to a paradise orbiting a 19 minute shuttle ride away above the earth. They have devices that are cross between a tanning bed and a MRI machine that if you have a citizen implant detects your disease then eliminate it within a couple of minutes.  The integration of the construction of the station the lush green fields, beautiful homes, ample lakes and rivers on Elysium are visually stunning.

The story centers around Max (Matt Damon) a former car their who is on parole and working on the line in a plant that makes robots. After an accident in the plant Max takes a job from his old underworld contacts in exchange for a ticket to Elysium to cure the malady he contracted at the plant.  Max is reunited with his childhood soulmate Frey (Alice Braga) who has a daughter in the last stages of leukemia and also requires treatment on Elysium. The job does not go as planned the strike team is intercepted by an earth based team of disavowed agents. Max does get information from the target that turns out to be more important than his sponsors could have expected.

The best part and worst part of the film are interrelated.  All scenes are essential to the plot.  A good example is the sequence that starts with Max confronting a police robot while lining up for a bus.  The confrontation ends with a broken wrist which leads to a reunion with Frey at the hospital, his job being threatened on the line and the decision to take a risk at work that causes his illness and nothing to loose attitude. The fact that the scenes work to move the film along takes something away from character development.  There are no arcs, the cast do not grow from the first time you see them on screen until the last act. This hurts the audience ability to develop a rooting interest for any of the actors  which is essential to making a memorable film that will stick with the viewer.

Visually dazzling in scope depth and detail quickly paced but suffering from a lack of character   advancement Elysium is a film that will appeal to Sci-fi fans that have a love for the ongoing integration between humans and robots in a future society. But if it's a strong story featuring participants that change, grow and fall as the story progresses it's not a film that I can recommend.


**1/2 out of 4.

Elysium | Neill Blomkamp | U.S.A. | 2013 | 109 Minutes.

Tags: Utopia, Dystopia, Los Angeles, Robots, Elite, Masses, Disease, Agents, 1% vs. 99%

Repeater Film Review - Gone in 60 Seconds

A big trend in the blogging world are blindspot reviews.  Classic films on universal top ten lists or all time lists that one may have missed such as Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind or Serpico. A repeater film is the opposite, little or no critical acclaim, obvious flaws but a film that hits home. Multiple views later it's probably in your possession. Pop that film into your DVD/Blue Ray player or catch it again on another source then write a repeater review.

Gone in 60 Seconds is part of what I like to call the Jerry Bruckheimer : Nicholas Cage Action Trilogy along side Con Air and The Rock.  The opening sequence sets the stage for the film. It's edited perfectly to Moby's Flower and shows various shots of Memphis Raines (Cage) his younger brother Kip  (Giovanni Ribisi) growing up around cars, working in their late father's dealership plus a sprinkling of  car parts, mechanic's tools then ending with a stopwatch.

The films is based on a 1974 feature of the same name. Kip Raines takes a job from an underworld crime lord Raymond Calitiri (Christopher Eccleston) He is reckless and brings the police lead by Detective's Castlebeck and Drycoff (Delroy Lindo & Timothy Olyphant) to their warehouse headquarters. The job unfulfilled Calitiri threatens to kill Kip unless his older brother and legendary South Bay car thief Randal Raines comes out of retirement to fill the order on Kip's behalf.

The film has a prolonged recruiting scene where Raines gathers several members of his former crew and set up at his old chop shop now a restoring garage run by Otto Halliwell (Robert Duval).  Angelina Jolie plays another member of the crew mechanic by day, bartender by night and the girl that Raines left behind when he moves up state on his mothers bequest to keep Kip from following into his footsteps causing a 47% reduction in Auto theft in the L.A. / Long Beach area. The combined multi generation crew begin the tasks of sealing 50 cars in 12 hours.

Each member of the large cast gets their moment to shine. Chi McBride has several funny moments as former Raines crew member turned driving Instructor Donny Astricky.Vinnie Jones as the Sphinx is also memorable in a non speaking role. Second generation actors Scott Caan as Tumbler and James Duval (Fred) play members of Kip's crew. Caan symbolizes the generational gap between the two eras in the second scene of the film as he explains a new found method of self love to the delight of Kip crew member Toby (William Lee Scott) and the chagrin of Atlee Jackson (Will Patton) former Memphis Raines crew member and Calitri employee.

The cars and the skill of the Raines crew are the stars of the film. From the first raid of the Porsche warehouse where four vintage cars rev and roll out in moments with The Chemical Brothers Leave Home blasting in the background to the 11 minute chase with Randal Raines at the wheel of Eleanor a 67 Shelby Mustang GT 500 with Castlebeck and what appears to be the entire South Bay police force in pursuit.  The precision of the vehicles and the ability of the crew to jimmy, clone, copy, cajole, hot-wire, charm and start each and every vehicle as if they were handed the key by the dealer in the showroom and driving the vehicle home off of the lot are sights to behold.

It's a film that I have screened many times and the next viewing is only a rainy Sunday afternoon away.

Gone in 60 Seconds | Dominic Senna | U.S.A. | 2000 | 118 Minutes.

Repeater Review.

Tags: 67 Mustang G.T 500, Porsche, car theft, boost, brothers, Folsom Prison, sibling rivalry, crew recruitment,  Retirement, chop shop, Moby, Chemical Brothers, DMX.

VSC Presentation Film Review- A Hijacking (Kapringen)

A Danish cargo ship the MV Rozen is in the Indian Ocean heading for Mumbai with a sparse collection of sailors. The ships cook Mikkel (Pilou Asbaek) is on the ship to shore radio speaking to his wife and daughter explaining that he will be home a couple of days later than expected as he has to train the new cook that is coming on board.  Director Tobias Lindholm who's last year's The Hunt garnered a best actor nod for Mads Mikkelsen at the Cannes Film Festival uses Mikkel to introduce the audience to the ship, its scale and her crew. The camera follows Mikkel as he makes breakfast and delivers coffee his mates on all three decks.

The scene shifts to company headquarters in Copenhagen where CEO Peter Ludvissen (Soren Mallin) leaves a board meeting then is brought in at the last minute to sway a difficult negotiation with the Japanese. He assists his colleague Lars Vestergaard (Dar Salim) with the negotiation bringing in the deal for under their target number. Soon after a message comes in that Somali pirates have hijacked the MV Rozen.

Writer/Director Tobias Lindholm switches the dialogue back and forth between Danish and English.  Lindholm does not provide subtitles for the Somali pirates when they speak to each other or bark out orders to the crew at gunpoint, which heightens the tension and the fear amongst the crew of a potential violent act by their captors. The hijackers bring Mikkel to the captain's quarters that are now occupied by their translator Omar (Abdihakin Asgar).  The abductors use Mikkel to call his bosses and make their first ransom demand.

Cinematographer Magnus Nordenhof Jonck uses a natural light especially coming through windows as a device to frame the action. Characters at windows, looking outward or fixing curtains is a constant theme in the piece. One excellent sequence early on in the film shows Mikkel leaning over the railing at sunset the sun is at distance over his right shoulder as it sets the sun continues to grow in the background to produce an eclipse like shadow.

A Hijacking is an intense psychological production. The hostages experience a multitude of emotions from the initial fear and disbelief of the event to periods where they are friendly and even playful with the pirates. They are overly thankful when they are granted small favours such as the ability to use a bathroom as apposed to going in the corner of the ships galley where they are housed. The mentally taxing situation is ramped up when a crew member is offered the opportunity to call home by the captors then it is immediately interrupted at gunpoint with the loved one still on the other end of the line. The living conditions of the men continue to deteriorate as the days drag on. They are not allowed fresh air, a chance to shower or to maintain proper hygiene. The captain is ill and his colleagues swat flies away from him. Food begins to run out and the pirates bagger the crew to find more to cook meals.

 C.E.O Ludvisgen takes all the correct steps to handle the case. He is a top negotiator in business but realizes that he knows nothing of this world so he brings in a specialist Connor Julian (Skjoldmorse Porter). They work through each step of the process taking their time not being put off or rattled by the psychological ploys used by the pirates such as using the beaten crew and even family members of the men to put pressure on the company to pay.

Ludvisgen shows his skills in one particular scene when the crews loved ones come to the company offices. Lars is giving the briefing and Ludvisgen sensing more empathy is needed jumps in personally to put the family members minds at ease.

The movie is a high stakes game of poker between a western corporation and a band of pirates that appear to have nothing to loose.  As Connor Julian remarked when Ludvisgen wanted the case resolved now: We can't rush these people. Time is a Western thing. It means nothing to them. In Julian's initial address to the company's executive team he set the tone for the negotiations explaining that this could take a week or it could take a year.

The film is well paced and full of offbeat plot devices.  The actual pirate boarding is not shown but heard when the Executive team rebroadcast the event from the ship's recordings. The screenplay occasionally uses a day count as a point of reference to let the viewer know how much time had passed since last visiting the ship. Depth of character development actually works against the director in the third act. Lindholm has set up the two main characters so well throughout the piece that Peter and Mikkel make some choices to drive the action that does not seem true to either character. Overall the material and story are presented very well and A Hijacking is a film that I can recommend.

*** out of 4

A Hijacking( Kapringen) | Tobias Lindholm | Denmark| 2012 | 103 Minutes.

Languages: English, Danish, Swedish, Somali, Japanese

Video Service Corp. Presentation.

Tags: Cook, C.E.O. Somali Pirates, Cargo Ship, Negotiation, Hostage, Brinkmanship, Ransom, Prisoners, Stockholm Syndrome.

Film Review - Pacific Rim

Present day, a fissure opens in the earth core in the Pacific Ocean. Out from the fissure comes a monster that goes straight for the heart of San Francisco. Continuing the trend of San Francisco replacing New York as the city that movie makers most want to destroy. The government fights back but it takes too long and requires too many resources to take down the monster. All is quiet then another appears after 6 months, then another and another in shorter periods of time. To fight the monsters called Kaiju the world unites to build 250 foot robots named Jaegers. The Jaegers are effective and begin to turn the fight against the Kaiju.  In 2020 Alaska we meet a brother team that run a Jaeger, they make an error and loose a fight as it is clear that the Kaiju are adapting. They are learning the strengths,weaknesses, fighting style and capabilities of the Jaeger Robots.  More defeats follow and the Jaeger program falls out of favour with the world leaders. Instead the new plan is to build a wall to protect cities on the Pacific coast.  The Jaeger program will have a little more funding for the hong Kong base after which it wil be decomissioned.  The remaining robots are moved to Hong Kong where the program goes underground for 5 years until the wall plan fails and the Jaegers become the last line of defense.  

Director Guillermo Del Toro takes us into his vision of apocalypse on earth along with screenplay writer Travis Beacham.  The governments of the world put aside their differences when faced from a threat from outside. They are able to work together, share technology and create weapons in all regions of the planet to fight the enemy. The alien presence does not come from outer space as one would expect but through a portal from another dimension through the crust of the sea. Del Toro's creative eye for monsters produced several different multi layered creatures all with different characteristics ready to inflict as much destruction as possible on earth's cities.

The action picks up again in 2025. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) the surviving brother of team from Alaska is brought back into the fold by project director Staker Pentercost (Idris Elba).  Beckett meets the rest of the Hong Kong team. Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) who works with each team of pilots and on the Jaegers,  along with the pilots of the other three teams. Triplets who pilot the Hong Kong entry, a brother and sister team that pilot the Russian entry and a father and son duo that guide the Australian Jaeger who were the last successful robot to defeat a Kajiu that broke through the wall in Sydney. The thread thorugh these and most of the prior successful pilots is a close family relationship. The neuroload to pilot the machines proved to be too much for one pilot. The solution was to employ two. One to control the right and the other the left side of the Jaegar in a process called drifting that accessed the corresponding hemisphere of each pilots brain. The shared memories and experiences between family members melded the pilots into one to operate the robot. Mako's other task was to locate a co pilot for Raleigh to replace his brother. She assembled a list of candidates but in the end the best match was Mako herself.

Visual and special effects are superior. The film has several fight scenes between the Kajiu and Jaegars.  Perhaps the best is the battle between two Kajiu that attack simultaneously that eventually involves all for of the remaining Jaegars. It's an extended battle in nigh-time Hong Kong.  The neon look of the city skyline is breathtaking. The battle between the monsters and robots harkens back to the best Godzilla battles from the 60's and 70's classic films. Del Toro does an excellent job of showing the scale of these creatures as they pick up oil tankers and storage containers to use as projectiles and tanker ships as baseball bats during attacks on their foes. The story even manages to infuse a bit of comic relief in the middle of the battle as a punch delivered by a jaeger goes right through the floor of skyscraper destroying everything in its path the robotic fist extents the left of the floor to a desk with a Newton's Cradle touching it just enough for the balls to start moving then retreats out of the building. The fight really shows how the Kajiu learn, adapt, change as they use new weaponry to defeat the strategy and defenses of the Jaegers.

The sound department did an admirable job with the material. This is the loudest Del Toro film that one is ever likely to hear which is fitting for a titanic monster robot battle. The sound hits the right level it acentuates the action on the screen and does not over power it. A departure from the normal earsplitting films that populate the summer.

The project features a strong cast of actors that are non blockbuster or network names. Charlie Hunnam is strong as the narrator and lead Jaeger pilot. Rinko Kikuchi puts in a memorable performances as the conflicted Mako. Adris Elba is the rock at the centre of the film playing the project commander.  Elba delivers the speech ahead of the final mission including the line We are cancelling the apocalypse that is quoted in all of the trailers and promotion for the film. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman play the comic relief parts as two scientists Dr. Newton Geiszler and Gottleib diametrically opposed but come to work together at a critical part of the film.  Look for Del Toro muse Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau an underworld figure brandishing a switchblade and a short temper. Chau reports that he took his name from his favourite character in history and his second favourite chinese restaurant in Brooklyn movies.

Costume designer Kate Hawley had a hard task with the pilot suits. They had to look tough enough to protect the pilots as they absorb blows from the monsters while they also had to be flexible for the abundance of physical activity the pilots have to do in the cockpit.  The crowing wardrobe in the film belongs to Perlman's Hannibal Chau decked in a Hellraiser red and black velvet suit and welder cutter spectacles.  The signature piece of the attire are his gold plated shoes that are used as an importan plot device in the film. Ilba's Pentacrost  is clearly a military leader in his best Ranger dress blues with rows of stars lining each shoulder of his jacket and both collars of his shirt.

The set designers had an abundance of locations to create. Two stand out above the others. Hannibal Chau's lair featuring the passage way in and the various shapes and sizes of continues used to house the black market Kajiu finds. The other is the confined space below the city where a group of civilians including Day's Dr. Geiszler take refuge. The space is large enough for a large group of people but the ceiling is low to make the space claustrophobic. The ceiling is decorated with many hanging articles so when the Kajiu stops above and begins to stop the tension in the space is incredible.

Pacific Rim is a fast paced bigger than life original summer movie that stands out in a summer of sequels and reboots. Del Toro and Beacham created a world full of characters, robots and monsters that the viewer is happy to spend a couple of hours in. It's a film that I can highly recommend and one that should be seen on the big screen to appreciate the scale of the project.

**** out of 4

Pacific Rim | Guillermo Del Toro | U.S.A. | 2013 | 132 Minutes.

Tags: The ocean, apocalypse, Robots, Monsters, teamwork, Aliens, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Alaska, Sydney, Manilla,  World Government.

KinoSmith Inc. Film Review - Adriatico My Love

The feel of the Mediterranean is introduced with a fly in shot off the wing of a small commuter plane over top of the Island of Hvar. The screen is filled with the multi coloured images of the roofs of the houses below, green vegetation, rock formations and aqua blue water. The next sequence transitions to snow and cold on a frozen Lake Simcoe, Ontario. TV host Alex Gull (Valerie Buhagiar) is shooting her cooking show doing a feature on Ice Fishing and her take on how to defrost your haul.  Alex's show Cook on the Go is running out of ideas leading to low ratings and this current show outing is not successful as pointed out by Claude her boss at the network.

Now at a point with nothing to loose Alex badgers her daughter Lucy(Dorian Kolinas) into heading to their ancestral home on the Adriatic to revitalize the show with or without the blessing of her producers and to re-establish a closer relationship with her daughter.

Directory of Photography Antonin Lhotsky takes a different path to presenting a film about life on an island playground. The usual practice is to use a lot of light, make most of the daytime scenes bright and the landscape vibrant and easy to absorb. Instead Lhotsky has many instances where the setting is muted, dark and shadows are very prominent.  Director Nikola Curcin story works well with this style as a good part of the opening act on the island focuses on buildings and areas of the town Stari Grad that are in disrepair amongst a narrow labyrinth of roadways.

The beginning moments do not work out well for the pair. The Gull's homestead on the island is not as expected, a spot introduced to them by the local is different from new world standards but the duo do eventually find their island legs and get into a routine for gathering footage for the show.

We learn that Alex has a personal history on the island and her choice to bring her daughter with her was more that to have her handle the camera for her show. Lucy despite her initial protests and issues she is leaving behind in Toronto settles in well on the island and meets a group of young people that she can spend time with especially Jure who she begins to spend more time with as her connection to the Island deepens.

Curcin uses a lot of locals on the film. Their inclusion gives the movie a natural feel however on some of the group shot scenes they can get caught staring into the camera.  One aspect of the film that could be better is the close up shots.  They do not appear to flow naturally in a scene and appear that they were spliced in well after a scene was shot. When they do occur and they are used a lot it takes the viewer out of the regular pace of the film.

The star of the piece is the food and the cooking sequences. The natural items used to prepare the meals and the elements used to season and spice the dishes are really well presented. The main island staples of bread, cheese, figs, grapes and wine seem to appear at every meal.  The universal ingredient Olive Oil is prominently featured and Alex's refrain Don't Forget the Olive Oil is heard throughout the piece.

The soundtrack features many traditional songs most of which are instrumental. The main song with words Nek Zaplacu Mandoline a hearty Croatian piece is used over the closing credits. Curcin uses the natural sounds, the hum of the island, birds, boat motors or the water hitting the shoreline in many scenes.

Nikola Curcin has presented a very watchable film. If you every wanted to take a trip to the Adriatic this film gives a strong flavour of the region. Some of the plot lines are similar to other North American's abroad pieces but it has enough unique elements that it's a film I can recommend.


*** out of 4

Adriatico My Love | Nikola Curcin | Canada | 2011 | 83 Minutes.

KinoSmith Productions.

Tags: Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea, Cooking, Croatia, Lipi, Mother /Daughter, Summer Romance, Romance abroad, Island Life.

Film Review - The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola took the idea for this film from the Vanity Fair article The Suspects Wore Louboutins by Nancy Jo Sales about a group über rich high school kids from Calabasas, California that broke into celebrities houses in the Hollywood Hills and stole over 3 million of dollars worth of clothing, money, jewels and designer items.  The gang used celebrity news web sites to determine when their targets were at a premiere, out of town for an appearance or to shoot a film. Next they found the celebrities houses and layouts using google and google earth then headed to the homes preceded by their catch phrase "Let's Go Shopping."

Beginning with a shot of the teens in a home emptying jewellery boxes and grabbing clothes from closets. Followed by their departure unaware that their exit from the premises was being filmed on a security camera Coppola sets the tone for the Bling Rings method of pilfering and their general lack of awareness.  The scene shifts to outside of the courthouse as the media take pictures and ask questions of the ring members post arrest. One oblivious member of the group speaks to the cameras remarking that she is a firm believer in karma and this situation is a huge learning situation for me to grow and expand as a spiritual human being.

The story picks up again one year earlier where we meet two high school aged girls Nicki (Emma Watson) and her adopted sister Sam (Taissa Farmiga) being called by their mom Laurie (Leslie Mann)  both obviously showing signs of the morning after a late night on a school night. They head down to a breakfast of Adderall and Cereal to begin new age home schooling based on the The Secret from their mother along with Nicki's younger sister Emma (Georgia Rock) .

Next we meet Marc (Israel Broussard) starting day one at the dropout school Indian Hills. He meets Rebecca (Katie Chang) and they start up a friendship.  Marc is invited to a party at Rebecca as her mom and her husband are out of town. During the party the duo head out on the street to check cars one is open with a wallet containing money and a credit card easily at hand. A few days later Marc learns that Rebecca broke into a house and they head to an address of an acquaintance of Marc's who is away on vacation. The two go in and take some souvenirs. From there the pair are looking at a celebrity site and notice that Paris Hilton is out of town. They google her address, check the layout on google earth then head to her home for their first celebrity break in. The pair soon return with aspiring model Nicki, Sam and their pal Chole (Claire Julien).  Marc and Becca play tour guide to the newbies showing them where the best rooms are in the Hilton home to grab some loot.

Coppola filmed many sequences amongst the friends and in the homes by hand held camera. There is a great shot as Marc and Rebecca head up the stairs in the Hilton home (Hilton gave Coppola permission to shoot there) that is originally focused on the framed magazine covers on the circular wall then they blur and the camera switches to a razor sharp image of Marc and Becca as they ascend to Paris' bedroom. The cinematographers Harris Savides and Christopher Blauvelt used a lot of natural light for framing scenes in the movie as illustrated in the interview with Nicki and her mom for the Vanity Fair article.

One of the film's highlights is the break in at Audrina Partridge (of the the Hills fame) home. There are no inside scenes of the break in; instead its filmed outside, above and at distance. Because the Partridge house is all glass the scene is voyeuristic as Marc and Becca go from room to room up and down levels, inside and outside, opening doors going through drawers and closets in each room of the two story hillside home.

The piece is well written as a narrative. The linear story is interspaced with the ring members interviews for Vanity Fair as they recount how they became involved and their interrelationships. Nancy Jo Sales earns a co-writing credit for the movie. Its fast moving and the court case is handled by a particular unique technique setting up the beginning of the court proceedings and to signal the end and verdict.

The story does lack in character development. We meet the main characters see them commit the break ins first as a pair and eventually branching out to 6 or 7 participants. The script does not provide insight on why each member choose to get involved and no depth on Becca the Ringleader. Why was she driven to start this behaviour or why does she has no inkling that what she was did was wrong.  We learn that she is in the dropout school due to illegal substances and that she lives with her mom in L.A. while her father lives in Las Vegas.  Marc has the most in depth development, he has a confidence problem doubts about his looks and difficulty fitting in. He remarks that Rebecca is the first best friend that he ever had. He in the delinquent school because he was kicked out of his former school due to absences.

The gang treat these homes as stores in a mall shopping for items, trying things on gushing about brand name clothing, handbags, sunglasses, shoes and watches and taking what they want including prescription pills, carpets off the floor and pictures off the walls. Their need to be near and part of the celebrity culture often referring to their targets by their first name gave them notoriety in their own right. After the arrest Marc brags that he received 800 friend request on Facebook and accepted them all!  Perhaps the most telling line in the film is that of Becca when she learns in custody that the police have talked to the celebrities that were robbed and her only thought is to ask what her fashion idol Lindsay Lohan had to say about the group.

Music is a key part of the piece. The friends hang out in a popular L.A. club that features house and dance music. They have a regular table, bottle services and every legal and illegal stimulant that their fenced goods and stolen cash could buy. Rap is the preference as they drive around town; Coppola choice to have no music at all during the burglaries is very effective. The only sounds are communication between the group. Its silence other than the sounds of opening and closing door, drawers and closets plus the jingling of jewellery.

Costume designer Stacey Battat is an important contributor to the film. The cast spend the majority of their time in famous peoples closets going through there clothes, pulling designer label outfits off the racks, trying on pieces in full lengths mirrors then digging through multiple accessories from jewellery to sunglasses to expensive watches.  As important is the work of set decorator Sara Parks as the film had to recreate the interior of the celebrity homes, rooms and apartment sized closets where the treasures are found.

Coppola does comment on the cult of celebrity and the obsession with fame and famous people but there was a real opportunity to go into the psyche of the parties involved that was missed.  The film has some good points but it does not go deep enough below the surface into the subject matter to warrant a recommendation.

** out of 4.

The Bling Ring | Sofia Coppola | USA/UK/ France/Germany/Japan | 2013| 90 Minutes.

Teens, Celebrity, juveniles, Google Earth, Paris Hilton, Audrina Partridge, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr,  Megan Fox, Rachel Bison  Lindsay Lohan, Home schooling, Facebook, TMZ.