My weekend's off to a VERY stressful start.

So yesterday afternoon I took the bus to my parents' house 30 minutes out of town, to pet-sit for them while they're having this weekend away. But then when I arrive there, I found the usually unlocked back screen door locked and I had no key; I didn't take one with me because again, that door is usually left open for me to enter the house when necessary. I opened the lock there containing spare keys, only to find neither of those were for neither screen door. I then tried calling my parents but they had no reception and by now I was already stressed, so I had to swallow my pride and call my sister, who lives a few minutes away. When she arrived and I explained everything (all of which she took with a grain of salt, as she continued to do later), she then had to drive me home and back again just so I could retrieve my other set of keys, which turned out (to my genuine confusion) to also be the wrong ones; I also tripped over on the lawn once we returned to my parents' house because I hadn't realised one of my shoelaces was undone. So then we both had no alternative, as it was now past 6pm, but to go to her house for the night, where I had dinner, watched my team the Broncos lose by 48 points and sleep on a foldout bed (although that was easily preferable to the floor). I had an anxiety attack before I finally nodded off.

Then today I woke at 6:30am, and after 8am we all went (including my brother-in-law now) back to my parents' place to double-check the lock and the keys inside it per my sister's insistence. After she and he saw those really were also the wrong keys I tried not to be too snide or snarky when I said, "See, I told you they didn't work." They both then left, with my approval, and I stayed there to at least pet-sit like I was in town all along to do, albeit for much shorter than planned, and I helped myself to a beer there because I figured, 'Damn it, I deserve one after a shake-up like this.' I then planned to catch the bus home at 11:12am but as I left the service station toilet (just across the road from the bus stop) at that minute, the bus was departing so I stayed put and tried to hail the driver when they turned around and passed me, to no avail. By then I was fucking livid, so after seeing when the next bus was and learning it was over three hours away, I tried to think for a few minutes and then realised I had to call a taxi. So I did that, and once it arrived the ride was fine and the driver was a lovely lady who played great music and undoubtedly was about to get a big windfall from my 30-minute trip. Her company was a big bright spot, but everything culminating in it was confusing, guilt-inducing, embarrassing and incredibly stressful for me. Now I'm back home, but as soon as I got here, I hunched over with relief and almost cried. Hopefully, this weekend will improve for me.

Something Cult, Foreign-Language or Indie #306: Sword of the Stranger (2007).

 

It's the Sengoku period in Japan, and Kotaro is an orphaned young boy living in the countryside with his pet Shiba Inu dog, constantly on the run from violent pursuers. One day while sheltering in a disused temple, Kotaro meets Nanashi, a wandering swordsman who is actually a ronin: a Samurai without a current master. Nanashi quickly comes to dislike Kotaro (and, frankly, with some justification) but then they're attacked and pup Tobimaru needs medical attention, so Nanashi then reluctantly takes Kotaro and Tobimaru with him on his travels. En route, Kotaro turns out to be a prophesied child requiring training to fulfill his destiny.

This anime Samurai road movie was almost nominated for the 2008 Best Animated Feature Oscar; keyword: almost. Personally, though, I wouldn't have even submitted it for consideration. Its animation is faultless but its narrative is one hackneyed cliche after another, with bland dialogue and numerous ignored chances for humour. Plus, I found Kotaro really quite annoying. He goes from rude and bossy to overly cute and vibrant, and that contrasting change also imbalances his character arc quite jarringly. I understand the idea of making young protagonists work for our affection but here that bridge was just a bit too far to cross.

Naoki Sato's music score is actually genuinely beautiful, and with the animation it forms a rather and crisp and fresh pastry. But the filling - the narrative - was one I found so derivative and predictable, it resulted in a very insipid pie for me. I'm afraid I think Sword of the Stranger is in dire need of sharpening. 5/10.

Something Cult, Foreign-Language or Indie #305: The Lighthouse (2019).

 

In New England in the 1890s, Ephraim Winslow (Willem Dafoe) accepts a job as a "wickie," or a lighthouse keeper, with the island's longtime keeper Thomas Wake (Robert Pattinson) as his supervisor. Ephraim is contracted for a month, and the job entails more than just operating the controls. The lighthouse will be his home, with Wake, for the month and so in that time they will need to bond. But as the month progresses, and a massive storm seals them inside, Winslow and Wake each come to harbour very uncertain, even suspicious feelings about the other man.

This 2019 black-and-white sophomore feature from Robert Eggers, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Max, was one I was keen to see after his latest movie The Northman absolutely blew my mind, and I was correct to be interested in it. Eggers is quite obviously an art house filmmaker and he frequently incorporates German expressionistic motifs and natural atmospheres, but he seems to know those touches are (at least, I think) suitable and effective for storytelling reasons instead of aesthetic ones. He invokes those stylings merely to put viewers in the mood and mindset of the movie and its characters, and in this case that's why the expressionistic inflections (if that's the right word) work so well. Winslow and Wake are both increasingly unhinged, isolated and untrusting of each other and we won't feel any tension from the film if the specifics of their shared situation aren't driven home to us. Eggers drives this home to us with a consistently firm grip on the steering wheel.

But this effect isn't all Eggers' responsibility. His regular cinematographer Jarin Blaschke's unsettling photography was deservedly nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA, the production design is realistically intimate yet striking in details and Mark Korven contributes a chillingly minimalist score. The only flaw I noticed here was what I considered Dafoe's almost too hammy performance in one scene; by contrast Pattinson stays in control of his turn throughout. It didn't impress me quite as much as The Northman did, but The Lighthouse still stands as a disturbing, but shining beacon. 9/10.