Bor, with which movie tip do we start this week?
‘I want The Velvet Queen recommend. Yes, another nature film: last week we watched Silence of the Tides to the beauty of the flat Dutch landscape, this week we will go up into the height of the Himalayas. There, award-winning wildlife photographer Vincent Munier and writer Sylvain Tesson search for the snow leopard, an animal in danger of extinction and of which there are about 4,000 left.
‘In previous BBC films and nature documentaries you sometimes see the snow leopard flash by, often at a distance, but in The Velvet Queen an attempt is really made to get the animal in front of the camera. Munier does this by lying in the mountains for months – even at temperatures of minus twenty. Although Munier does everything he can to find a snow leopard with the help of camera traps and maps, just waiting makes the film exciting.
‘Munier shows on the one hand how powerful nature is, and on the other hand the calming effect that nature has on people. We see awe-inspiring landscapes, wild, vast and barren in which oxen, yak and wolves have free rein. His strong preference for prehistoric fauna is reflected in this. Munier and Tesson together form an interesting duo: the writer carries a notebook with him and tries to capture the atmosphere in words.’
On to the latest Pixar film, Turning Red† Why do we need to see it?
“If superhero movies are the kids movies for adults, Pixar movies are adult movies for kids. Pixar films are not only highly animated, they are often well put together and manage to convey children’s emotions.
†Turning Red is about a girl of about 13, who changes into a red panda overnight when her emotions run high. At first she tries to hide that and suppress her emotions, which of course doesn’t work when you are 13. That’s what director Domee Shi does so cleverly: she makes a cheerful film about a girl and her friends, but at the same time addresses themes that you don’t often see in children’s films, such as periods.
The film is also about growing up in a Chinese-Canadian family, with a somewhat overprotective and domineering mother who tells her daughter to control her emotions. In Turning Red on the other hand, the girl learns that it’s okay to show them and that she doesn’t have to suppress feelings.’
Finally: the very British The Duke†
‘That’s right, the last film from director Roger Michell, who died in September. The Duke is a dramatic comedy based on a painting heist in the 1960s. The investigative services initially think that the painting was stolen by an experienced thief, until the canvas is returned by the man Kempton Bunton. He claims to have only ‘borrowed’ the painting and to use it as collateral, and in exchange demands that the elderly no longer have to pay viewing or listening fees – tax on the possession of radio and TV.
For decades, the British have excelled at making films that are comical on the one hand, and which capture poignant class differences on the other. For example, Bunton’s wife toils as a household help and his sons struggle against the petty criminal environment. The weaknesses of Bunton, who, while standing for his principles, have also made a mess of his life, are also highlighted. The ideal casting does the rest: Jim Broadbent plays Kempton Burton, Helen Mirren plays his wife Dorothy.’