I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman to talk about new movies in theatres including the music doc “Nash the Slash Rises Again!,” the audio horror of “undertone” and the romantic melodrama of “Reminders of Him.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 14:50)
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to tune a violin. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the music doc “Nash the Slash Rises Again!,” the audio horror of “undertone” and the romantic melodrama of “Reminders of Him.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “Nash the Slash Rises Again!,” a new documentary now playing at Hot Docs, unwraps the story of an enigmatic musical pioneer who borrowed his name from a Laurel and Hardy silent film and hid his face but not his talent behind surgical bandages.
CAST: Jeff Plewman, Iggy Pop, Gary Numan, Youth, Gary Topp, Owen Pallett, Paul Myers, Valerie Buhagiar, Don McKellar, Danielle Dax, Steve Hillage, Nathanael Chadwick, Jaymz Bee, Jeanne Beker, Marilyn Burns, Corpusse, Michael Dent, Rodrigo Gudiño, Gunnar Hansen, Oliver Hardy, Cameron Hawkins, Randy Johnston, Stan Laurel, Tony Malone, Ron Mann, David Marsden, Paul A. Partain, Tom Plewman, Stephen Pollard. Directed by Tim Kowalski.
REVIEW: Nash the Slash, a.k.a. Jeff Plewman, is one of the most singular musical acts to ever emerge from Toronto, or anywhere. A multi-instrumentalist with a focus on electric violin and electric mandolin, he wrapped his face in surgical bandages, à la The Invisible Man, wore dark glasses, and a tuxedo finished off by a top hat.
His theatrical music, usually performed solo when he wasn’t touring with the band FM, was an unholy blend of prog rock, new wave, experimental electronic influenced by everything from Beethoven and Krautrock to Hawkwind and old horror movies. His music, often augmented by synths, drum machines, harmonica, glockenspiel and other sounds, was unclassifiable, groundbreaking and destined for cult status.
A new documentary, “Nash the Slash Rises Again!,” fondly remembers the man behind the mystery, the musician Iggy Pop called “unusual and brilliant.”
Director Tim Kowalski understands that to get to know Nash, you first must understand where he came from. He paints a picture of Toronto, circa 1970s and 80s, as an outwardly staid city, unfriendly to outsiders, particularly the LGBTQ+ community, but with a vibrant underground art scene.
It was from this incubator of rebellion that Nash emerged, a product of classical training, rock ‘n roll and an artistic temperament. Through archival footage, interviews with the man himself and exciting performance footage, Kowalski places Nash in context as a musician who walked his own path, strove for fame but never at the cost of his artistic integrity.
It’s a loving portrait that doesn’t shy away from the darker details, like Nash’s bad temper and an arrest for domestic incident, but it succeeds best as a nostalgic celebration of a trailblazer who didn’t get his due during his lifetime.
“Youth,” the second English language film from “The Great Beauty” director Paolo Sorrentino, takes on some of life’s great questions, life and death stuff painted with remorse, hope and, most importantly, a large helping of whimsy.
Set in a chic hotel in alpine Switzerland, retired composer Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine) and his childhood friend, film director Mick (Harvey Keitel) are plotting the next moves in their careers and lives.
Ballinger wants to disappear, fade away from public life and live quietly. He refuses repeated requests to perform his best known work at a command performance from Queen Elizabeth’s envoy (Alex Macqueen) and tells his assistant, Lena (Rachel Weisz) who also happens to be his daughter, to turn down a French publisher who desperately wants him to write a memoir.
Mick is in a different place. After a string of flops he’s writing a new film to feature his greatest star, Brenda Morel (Jane Fonda). They’ve made a dozen films together but he sees the new movie, “Life’s Last Day,” as a comeback and their greatest collaboration.
“Youth” is a study of these two men. Other things happen of course; Lena’s husband leaves her for a pop star—in a po-mo twist real life singer Paloma Faith plays herself as the home wrecker—a movie star (Paul Dano) researches a new role at the hotel and Miss Universe (Madalina Diana Ghenea) makes a memorable appearance, but the attention is focussed on Fred and Mick and their divergent paths to happiness.
Their journeys are bathed in Sorrentino’s impeccable images. The film is a lush tapestry of beautifully composed frames and optical delight. Ornate and elegant, the visuals are as complex as the film’s multilayered look at life’s rich pageant. Fred and Mick have lived life, and now in their final years try and assess the value of their experience. Sounds heavy but its not. It’s fleet footed, taking time only to luxuriate in the details of their lives and surroundings.
“Youth” is a mediation on life and age that succeeds by the director’s craft. Talking to a young colleague Mick demonstrates the effects of age by having her look at the distant mountains through a telescope. The mountains appear to be close. Then he flips the scope around and changes the perspective. “Being young makes everything close,” he says. “Being old makes everything far away.” Like the rest of the film it’s simple and subtle but is perfectly realized by Sorrentino’s mastery of blending story, ideas and images.
