STAYING IN REVIEWS TV and DVDs to enjoy from the comfort of your sofa DVD BAISE-MOI (Arrow Video) ●●●●●
STAYING IN When it comes to splitting opinion straight down the midriff, few films from the last couple of decades have been quite so marmite as Baise-Moi. For some, this low-budget French movie from 2000 was simply a porno with a bit more story than usual. For others, it was social commentary par excellence, just with actual penetration and fellatio on screen.
Co-director Virginie Despentes wrote the original book (roughly translated as ‘Fuck Me’) based partly on her own experiences of rape and prostitution while the film’s main actors (Karen Bach and Raffaëla Anderson) plus Despentes’ partner behind the camera, Coralie Trinh Thi, were all survivors of the porn industry. Their response to the film’s critics is straightforward: having escaped that tawdry business would they simply go out and make porn under a different guise?
Despite protestations from the film-makers and anti-censorship groups, Baise-Moi was banned
in several countries (including their French homeland) and remains strictly prohibited in Australia where you could receive ten years in jail for simply owning a copy.
Stoked controversy and tragic aftermath aside (Bach committed suicide in 2005 leaving a note which said ‘too painful’), what of the film itself? It follows two troubled women (one a prostitute, the other a part-time porn star) as they embark on a vengeful road trip brutally slaying sleazy men and female sex workers, though any ‘innocent’ victim who gets in the way is given similarly short and murderous shrift. Shot on video, Baise-Moi has a raw look which certainly fits the harsh subject matter, but it only accentuates some of the movie’s clunkier and amateurish moments. Now available uncut in the UK for the first time, it’s an intriguing period piece for those with strong stomachs. (Brian Donaldson)
DVD MISSION TO LARS (Clear Vision) ●●●●● TV BOSS More4, Thu 21 Mar, 11pm ●●●●●
This isn’t really a film about Metallica. Even though the metal behemoth’s shadow looms large over the entire documentary, don’t expect the warts and all melodrama of Some Kind of Monster. However if you do love the mighty ‘tallica you might find even more to love in this quirky doc as journalist Katie Spicer and her sibling filmmaker William attempt to fulfil their brother’s ultimate dream. Tom suffers from Fragile X Syndrome (which shares many of the characteristics of autism), a common aspect of which is a fixation on a particular subject: Tom is obsessed with Metallica, in particular their drummer Lars Ulrich. Of course all the challenges thrown up travelling around the States trying to get backstage to meet said tub thumper (chaos, crowds) are the exact opposite of what Tom craves (routine, familiarity). However, this never feels exploitative even if Katie and William do face their own doubts as to this crazy plan. Ultimately this is a film about overcoming adversity, facing your fears, family bonding and the power of music to reach anybody and everybody. (Henry Northmore)
If you think of Kelsey Grammer as either Frasier Crane or Sideshow Bob, it might be tough to accept him as Tom Kane, the brutish mayor of Chicago. There isn’t a single laugh to be had in the opening episode of Boss, unless you have a Lynchian soft spot for severed ears. Nonetheless, it looks like being another fine addition to More4’s US drama roster, even if the whole thing has been cancelled back home after two series.
Having just been told he has a few years
left before a degenerative brain disorder takes full grip on him, Kane is determined to power on regardless while somehow keeping this devastating secret close to his chest. The biggest fight will be keeping an aloof wife, hard-nosed political advisors, a snooping reporter and estranged daughter out of the loop, no matter what it takes. The camera makes full use of Grammer’s
permanently crestfallen face as he tries to keep a handle on both his failing health, a divided city and his fractured family. Just don’t look for that face to crack a theatrical smile. (Brian Donaldson)
21 Mar–18 Apr 2013 THE LIST 33
‘When I read the script for season three I thought it was the best yet’
blood, guts and death.
‘Before I began, David Benioff and Dan Weiss spoke to my parents and made them aware of the type of show I was joining,’ explains Maisie Williams (who was just 14 when she joined the show as feisty tomboy Arya Stark). ‘When you’re filming, it’s very different from what you see on screen. I saw how the [Bean] beheading scene in season one was created, and most of the time it was just a guy swinging a sword near his head. So, for me, it wasn’t that graphic at all.’
Though don’t be fooled: this isn’t a dialogue led production in a medieval setting; there are dragons, monsters and witches while the men of The Wall protect the kingdoms from the horrors beyond in The North. With the Starks and Lannisters locked in bloody battle, we are poised to be thrown headlong into the action as Game of Thrones returns for a third series. ‘When I first read the script for season three I thought it was the best yet,’ says Fairley. ‘The stories are so layered, and the characters richly developed. Their dilemmas are even more pressured and the stakes even higher.’
Game of Thrones, season 3, premieres on Sky Atlantic HD, Mon 1 Apr, 9pm (seasons 1 and 2 will also be available On Demand).