The Three Musketeers Part II: Milady

Technically, Twenty Years After was the sequel to The Three Musketeers. However, the previous film only told half the story of Dumas’s first D’Artagnan novel, even though both parts of the story were shot together, Lord of the Rings-style. War has broken out, but fighting is what the King’s Musketeers do best. For them, spycraft and courtly treason are more dangerous in Martin Bourboulon’s The Three Musketeers Part II: Milady, which opens today in theaters.

The Three Musketeers saved the King at the end of Part I: D’Artagnan, but Athos awkwardly suspects his Protestant brother was involved. More ominously, they conclude there must be a traitor in court, very near the King. D’Artagnan’s lover Constance Bonacieux discovered the conspirator’s identity, which is why she was kidnapped at the end of the first film.

Much to his shock, D’Artagnan is also abducted by the Comte de Chalais, whose position as the leader of the Catholic League had placed above reproach. His henchmen cannot hold a good Musketeer for long, but when D’Artagnan rescues the Comte’s other captive, he is shocked to find Milady instead of Bonacieux. Of course, he is disappointed, but maybe not as disappointed as he should be.

Even though Part I seemed to be headed in a Queen Margot direction, when seen in its entirety, Bourboulon’s Three Musketeers is surprisingly faithful to the Dumas novel. Part II delivers more rousing swordplay and musketry action, while Bourboulon and cinematographer Nicholas Bolduc make spectacular use of the Bordeaux scenery. The second film is even more dynamic than the first, so it would be preferable to see it on a bigger screen.

The Three Musketeers—Part I: D’Artagnan

The King's Musketeers and Cardinal Richelieu’s guards are all French, but they spent a lot time fighting and killing each other. That was the early 17^th Century for you. Life was cheap, but honor was dear. The Musketeers must scramble to save the reputation of the Queen in Martin Bourboulon’s The Three Musketeers-Part I: D’Artagnan, the first film in his two-part adaptation of Dumas, which releases this Friday in theaters and on-demand.

As in the novel, this is really the story of how the three musketeers became four. Initially, the provincial Charles de Batz de Castelmore D’Artagnan can only secure entry into the King’s military academy, making him a cadet. While pursuing one of the ruffians who attacked him on the road to Paris, D’Artagnan manages to offend Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, all of whom schedule duels with him. Of course, the trio all agree to be each other’s seconds, so all four are together when Richelieu’s guards try to arrest them for dueling. That will be the start of a beautiful friendship.

Soon after D’Artagnan buries the hatchet with the Musketeers (in several of Richelieu’s men), he finds himself racing to save his noble-born new friend from a murder frame-up. It turns out he is the perfect man to do it, because it involves the gang that left him for dead. Of course, their ringleader is literature’s greatest femme fatale, “Milady,” whose boss happens to be the Cardinal.

Her next assignment will be stealing the jeweled necklace Queen Anne gave as a keepsake to her secret English lover, the Duke of Buckingham. To quell the Cardinal’s malicious rumors, the Queen must wear it at the upcoming state wedding of the King’s brother. Fortunately, her servant, Constance Bonacieux, has D’Artagnan’s ear (and his heart), so she can recruit the Musketeers’ assistance.

Screenwriters Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patelliere stay reasonably faithful to Dumas pere, but they add a big climatic battle that looks like it could have been inspired by the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre scene in Queen Margot (also based on a Dumas pere novel). Regardless, they recreate lots of the fighting and scheming that still makes the book fun to read over 150 years after its initial serialization. The swordplay and musketry all look legit, which makes sense, considering French Olympic epee fencer Yannick Borel helped train the cast. (A sabre fencer might have been more appropriate for the props on hand, but Borel’s techniques are surely sound with even a basic foil.)

The casting is also terrific, starting with Vincent Cassel as the steely, righteous-in-a-hardboiled-kind-of-way Athos. Romain Duris is physically perfect as the devout ladies’ man, Aramis, but he has the least screen time out of the four heroes. Pio Marmai is appropriately bear-like as Porthos, without the clownishness shtick the character is often depicted with.

Of course, Eva Green seductive and just generally fab as Milady. Louis Garrel makes Louis XIII surprisingly thoughtful and complex, while Lyna Khoudri’s screen-illuminating charisma is also a real bonus as Bonacieux. Frankly, Francois Civil has his work cut out for him keeping up with his co-stars, but that rather fits his role as the naïve D’Artagnan. Arguably, the only real shortcoming among the ensemble is Eric Ruf not being sufficiently sinister as the dastardly Richelieu.

Default: They’re from the IMF and They’re Not Here to Help

Blame the central bank. That’s typically the prime (so to speak) suspect during most financial crises. In the case of South Korea’s near bankruptcy of 1997, the Bank of Korea (BOK) was pursuing a contradictory policy. They wanted to keep the won pegged to the dollar, requiring a tight money strategy, yet they also wanted to spur exports with loose money. On top of their Jekyll and Hyde monetary policy, the major banks kept turning over non-performing loans to large enterprises in industries “anointed” by the national government. That did not work either. However, the BOK gets off easy in Choi Kook-hee’s Default (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

It is a period of semi-wild exuberance, as the story of South Korea’s economic miracle continues to chug along. However, there is a liquidity crunch brewing beneath the surface and only BOK economist Han Shi-hyun sees it coming. At current burn rates, the bank will not have sufficient foreign reserves to maintain its peg and clear the necessary balance-of-payments involved in international trade. Unfortunately, most of her colleagues prefer to keep their heads buried in the sand. The Vice-Minister of Finance is the exception. He welcomes the crisis as a way to force through his package of economic reforms (several of which really were needed).

Nevertheless, the stringent conditions demanded by the IMF director represent some bitter, recessionary shock treatment. Accepting the bailout will also deal a devastating blow to national pride. Han is convinced they can manage the crisis with less invasive monetary policy, but if you know your history, you will not be in suspense regarding the outcome.

The fictional Han is a forceful character to reckon with, but the subplot involving an increasingly desperate small factory owner is just nakedly and clumsily manipulative. Those scenes are so openly propagandistic, they inspire eye-rolling rather than feelings of revolutionary solidarity. On the other hand, the villainous rogue trader Yoon Jung-hak is bit like the dog that never barks, since he never comes into direct conflict with Han and the rest of the emergency response team during the course of his short-selling and bargain-taking. The actual financial intrigue is pretty gripping, but screenwriter Eom Seong-min definitely takes liberties with the root causes and circumstances of the IMF bailout, for obvious political reasons (for the record, right-of-center think tanks like the Heritage Foundation opposed the agreement, on both economic and political grounds).

Regardless, superstar Kim Hye-soo is terrific as Han. It is a smart, compassionate portrayal of a smart, complicated economist (there are some out there). Vincent Cassel’s high-handed scenery-chewing as the IMF director is also jolly fun to watch. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast give broad, clichéd performances as stock-character villains and victims. This is particularly true of Jo Woo-jin’s compulsively sneering Vice-Minister. Seriously, why not give him a handlebar mustache to twirl, in case anyone somehow managed to miss the point?

There are legitimately cautionary aspects to the 1997 “bailout” that should be called out and scrutinized. However, it is always problematic to play it fast-and-loose with the historical record. Nevertheless, the film’s main point—that being the bailout was unnecessary and in many ways counter-productive—is convincingly established. Frankly, there is so much good stuff in Default, it makes us want to take it into an editing bay and unleash our inner Stephen Soderberghs. Its flaws are considerable, but it is still an impressive showcase for Kim. Earning a very conflicted mixed review, Default opens this Friday (11/30) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

Ulugh Beg: The Man Who Unlocked the Universe

He created one of the greatest observatories in history, over a century before Galileo crafted his telescope. Unfortunately, both the observatory and the Timurid ruler who built it were destroyed by Islamist fundamentalists. Toppled by his son and killed by the rabble, Ulugh Beg’s story is the stuff of Sophocles, but his writings and scholarship would inspire astronauts in both the Soviet and American space programs. Tribute is paid to the towering scholar and short-lived ruler in Bakhodir Yuldashev’s Ulugh Beg: The Man Who Unlocked the Universe (trailer here), which starts streaming tomorrow on Amazon Prime.

Ulugh Beg is a major reason why the Samarkand old town center is a UNESCO World Heritage site. He built the imposing Registan Madrassa as well as the Observatory. Under his influence (during his father’s rule), Samarkand became the center of Islamic scholarship, particularly with respects to astronomy and mathematics. Alas, Ulugh Beg’s ascendency only lasted two years, and the son who usurped him had an even shorter tenure.

While it is debatable whether Ulugh Beg contributed any truly original theories to the astronomical field, his star charts, as well as his sin-and-co-sin tables remain voluminously extensive and incredibly accurate. He clearly had a genius-level intellect and was passionately committed to supporting the sciences, but the times he lived in were not as enlightened as he was.

Unlocked is a weird hybrid documentary that incorporates dramatic vignettes, as well as traditional talking head commentary. It is hosted by French actor Vincent Cassel, who looks like he is auditioning for a reboot of In Search of. The mature Sultan Ulugh Beg is played by Armand Assante, who has a big presence that suits his mostly dialogue-free scenes. Frankly, it is highly unlikely anyone else will amass a list of credits that includes Mike Hammer, John Gotti, Friedrich Nietzsche, Odysseus, and Ulugh Beg, so give the man all his due credit.

Granted, Yuldashev is more than a little bit inclined towards hagiography, but Ulugh Beg is a truly fascinating figure. There is also plenty of striking footage of Samarkand’s grand architecture and monuments. Most viewers will learn a good deal from the short doc, but it is also a rather notably odd curiosity piece. Worth thirty-eight minutes of your time, is available on Vimeo VOD and releases tomorrow on Amazon Prime.

Gans’ Beauty and the Beast

Disney dearly hopes you will not see this French adaptation of the fairy definitively penned by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, because just about any competitive live action film will suffer in comparison. Of course, there is already the Jean Cocteau masterpiece and Disney’s own exceptional animated feature. However, for pure visual spectacle, it will be hard to equal Christophe Gans’ Beauty and the Beast (trailer here), which opens this Friday in Los Angeles.

The story is still a fairy tale, suitable for a mother to tell as a bedtime story for her two rapt children in the film’s framing device. Belle is also still the beauty and consequently the apple of her merchant father’s eye. Sadly, all of the old man’s ships are lost at sea, forcing his family into provincial poverty. Yet, clean country living agrees with Belle (but not so much with her five entitled siblings).

Returning home from an ill-fated attempt to recoup his fortune, the merchant takes shelter in an ominous castle. He eats well before helping himself to some luxurious gifts for his shallow older daughters and finally a rose for Belle—the only gift she requested. His unseen host takes exception to this. That would be the Beast. As punishment for his desecration, the beast sentences the merchant to death, giving him one final day to make his farewells. However, the noble Belle returns in his place before the distraught father can stop her.

Of course, the Beast is not about to kill such a fair maiden. Instead, he provides some lovely gowns for her to wear at their awkward formal dinners. Viewers basically know where things go from here, but instead of the arrogant Gaston, it will be Perducas, her wastrel brother’s cutthroat underworld creditor, who will come barging in uninvited.

This time around, we also get more of the Beast’s backstory, which surprisingly pay-offs with third act call-backs. It is a richly archetypal narrative, but Belle’s love for the Beast blossoms way faster than Gans and co-screenwriter Sandra Vo-Anh duly establish. Of course, we know it will happen, so apparently they decided to let us fill in the blanks.

Regardless, this Beauty and the Beast is a majestic triumph of vision and art direction. The sets, trappings, and costumes are wonderfully lush and detailed. Although the vibe is suitably gothic, there is a touch of Dali in production designer Thierry Flamand’s work, especially when it comes to the giant statues. The visual effects are also first rate, as when those giant statues attack.

Vincent Cassel is appropriately fierce and feral as the beast, while Léa Seydoux scratches out some direct and engaging emotional moments, which is a challenge for a little miss perfect like Belle. The venerable André Dussollier does his thing once again, further classing up the joint as the merchant. However, Eduardo Noriega nearly steals the show masticating the scenery with villainous glee as Perducas. He also nicely plays with and off Myriam Charleins as Perducas’ mysterious tarot-reading lover and co-conspirator.

Some of Belle’s siblings are a bit shticky, but in general the ensemble acquits itself quite well. Nevertheless, the real star of this B&B is the arresting fantasy world Gans creates. He even gives us a passel of animation-augmented Beagles, so good luck topping that Bill Condon and the rest of the Disney team. Highly recommended for all fans of fairy tale and fantasy cinema, Gans’ Beauty and the Beast opens this Friday (9/23) in Los Angeles, at the Laemmle Monica Film Center.

Partisan: Vincent Cassel’s Li’l Assassins

They say it takes a village to raise a child-assassin. In the case, it is more of a utopian commune, which is even better. Alexander is the oldest among the dozens of children training under the charismatic Gregori. Rather logically, that makes him the first to question the Svengali-like father-figure’s authority in Ariel Kleiman’s Partisan (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

Gregori “picked up” Susanna at the least likely of times—right after the single mother had given birth to Alexander. It is safe to assume she was feeling somewhat vulnerable at the time. Since then, Gregori has provided for all her material needs. Susanna is content to dote on the somewhat unruly Alexander, sharing Gregori with the half dozen or so women he subsequently invited into their fortified compound. The world outside is scarred by war and post-industrial malaise, but their cloistered oasis has an almost hippyish vibe. Nevertheless, everyone fully understands the lethal nature of the errands the children are periodically tasked with.

When it comes to completing errands, none of the children is as efficient as Alexander. In fact, it is starting to give him a bit of status around the compound. However, the carefully balanced equilibrium will be upset by the arrival of Leo, a difficult eleven year-old who is clearly somewhere on the spectrum. Although he does not mean to be rebellious, Leo’s willfulness and bluntness clearly rattles Gregori. Their conflict sets in motion an inevitable chain of events that will reveal Gregori’s true nature to Alexander.

Conceived and executed (so to speak) as a dark fable, Partisan has a distinctive vibe that is hard to define, but it is very potent. The compound interiors could pass for a post-apocalyptic bunker designed by Wes Anderson, while the world outside looks like a demilitarized zone, consisting mostly of mammoth bombed-out housing complexes. Those outdoor shots were filmed in Georgia, so part of the credit for the eerie atmosphere is probably due to Vladimir Putin (thanks, but you really shouldn’t have).

Vincent Cassel has played plenty of “intense” characters in the past, but the scariest thing about Gregori is not his mania, but how well he keeps it together. His portrayal suggests equal parts Jim Jones and Dr. Spock. While you could say he chews a good deal of scenery, Cassel still refrains from a lot of screaming and arm-waving, so when he raises his voice, you know its serious.

Jeremy Chabriel is a bit inconsistent as Alexander, but he projects the appropriate rodent-like ruthlessness when he needs to. He also develops some believably affectionate chemistry with the Isabella Rossellini-esque Florence Mezzara. Both happen to be French transplants living in Australia, so they obviously shared a connection. They also reinforce the film’s ambiguous national identity.

It is similarly difficult to pigeonhole Partisan in terms of genre. There are plenty of guns laying about, but it is far moodier than conventional thrillers. Regardless, Kleiman takes you someplace you have never visited in movies, where he then unleashes karma to do its thing. Rather unsettling but also quite sly, Partisan is recommended for adventurous cult film fans when it opens today (10/2) in New York, at the Village East.

Our Day Will Come: Gingers See Red

They are the most unstable redheads since Ginger Baker, but they have no conspicuous talents.  One poorly socialized youth and perhaps the world’s worst psychologist express their anger with the world through an extemporaneous crime spree in Romain Gavras’s Our Day Will Come (trailer here), which releases on VOD today.

Rémy does not have a happy home life.  When not violently arguing with his mother and sister, he fights with the members of his unsportsmanlike football club and unknowingly flirts with his fake catfish girlfriend online. He also sees Patrick in some sort of professional capacity, but that turns out to be rather counter-productive. When a particularly ugly family quarrel ends in a call to the cops, Patrick whisks the boy off a criminal road trip.

There is no plan per se, but the older man is generally inclined to pursue extreme sexual encounters.  Confused about his own orientation, Rémy latches onto the fantasy of seeking red-headed sanctuary in Ireland.  However, as their violent behavior escalates, tragedy becomes inevitable.  The real question is whether we should care.

Viewers will be hard pressed to find two less appealing co-leads than Rémy and his shrink.  Their Ginger victimization grievances in no way justify their crude and thuggish conduct.  Frankly, it is rather unclear whether Gavras (the music video director son of Costa-Gavras) is endorsing or subverting their persecution complex.

As Patrick, Vincent Cassel is a convincingly malevolent brooder.  Even though the film fails to fully click, he is always an interesting looking presence, given that Ian Anderson thing he has going on.  Olivier Barthelemy is also appropriately petulant and erratic.  However, it is hard to buy into any of the situations their characters put themselves in.

Gavras nicely capitalizes on the bleak post-industrial landscape near Calais, but his attempt to blend gritty naturalism with the feverishly surreal never really comes together.  At least it is a distinctive failure.  For red-headed Francophiles, it is now available for home viewing via Oscilloscope Laboratories VOD platforms.