The Trip to Spain (2017) film review

Year: 2017
Running Time: 115 minutes
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Claire Keelan, Marta Barrio

The Trip to Spain will be released in Australia on August 3 (Madman Films) and the United States on August 11. 

As the third film in Michael Winterbottom's television-turned-film series, The Trip to Spain delivers exactly what it promises- more glorious food, stunning locations and hilarious celebrity impersonations.

The great thing about walking into The Trip to Spain is that you know exactly what you are expecting, as long as you have seen 2010's The Trip and 2014's The Trip to Italy. Britain's favourite comedy duo, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon once again set off on another culinary tour, which this time takes them to Spain. Their latest venture is an absolute delight in the same nature as it's predecessors, with the exception of it's extremely odd and disappointing finale.

The Coogan and Brydon films are all edited from their original form of a six episode series made for British television. The films have never really been about the plot and while this may be a monstrosity in most feature films, it is an accepted and celebrated part of Winterbottom's films. There are themes and sub-plots moulded into the film which are welcomed and push the film along, but they are not the focal point of the film.

That being said, it does not excuse the extremely bizarre ending to this film. The unexplained last scene is so left-field and far removed from the tone of the rest of the film that it gives a sour last impression. This is such a shame as for the other 110 minutes, The Trip to Spain is as much fun as Coogan and Brydon have over their enviable lunches.

The partnership of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon is, once again, comedic brilliance. The chemistry between the two is so natural and their conversational humour (which is largely improvised) is witty, smart, hilarious and completely unforced. As both The Trip and The Trip to Italy became infamous for the celebrity impressions Coogan and Brydon so frequently and accurately do, The Trip to Spain is stacked with these impressions. While many celebrities make appearances in the men's conversations that have previously been there (including Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins and Roger Moore), there are some new additions that are just as funny such as  Mick Jagger and Ian McKellen among others.

The culinary delights and stunning Spanish landscapes are also highlights of the film. The six restaurants the two men visit all have incredible cuisine which photograph so well that they easily induce hunger in the viewer. The beautiful urban and rural Spanish towns which they visit are also shot beautifully and capture the charm and intrigue of the country.

The Trip to Spain is incredible fun and a delight to the senses. The hilarious conversations are memorable and do not lose their amusement long after the film has been seen, but in the same way the confusion and distaste for the finale also lingers.

7.5/10

Sydney Film Festival: Shepherds and Butchers (2016)

Year: 2016
Running Time: 80 minutes
Director: Oliver Schmitz
Writer:  Chris Marnewick (novel), Brian Cox (screenplay)
Cast: Steve Coogan, Garion Dowds, Andrea Riseborough, Deon Lotz

Shepherds and Butchers is part of the 2016 Sydney Film Festival program and will be screening on Thursday June 9 and Friday June 10. For more information on times, venues and tickets, please see the official Sydney Film Festival website.

Based on the novel of the same name by Chris Marnewick, Shepherds and Butchers is an exceptionally powerful film that is extremely graphic and intense in a way that is needed in order to understand the complexity of it's story.

Set in South Africa in 1987, lawyer Johan Webber (Steve Coogan) is given the case that nobody else wanted to defend a young prison guard named Leon Labuschagne (Garion Dowds) who shot dead seven men. While the unwanted case seems completely hopeless to Webber, he soon realises that while there is no denying the fact that Labuschagne did commit this crime, he was not in sound mind when it occurred due to extremely unhealthy and traumatising working conditions he was made to partake in while still a teenager. The case soon turns to make Webber and the jury question not whether he was guilty or not, but whether Labuschagne was also one of the victims.

Shepherds and Butchers asks the boldest of questions in the most powerful of ways. Capital punishment was abolished in South Africa in 1995 by Nelson Mandela, but many of the questions asked by the characters openly and silently still ring true today. The obvious question is what justifies killing and who's hand is it by in such a situation as capital punishment, but the major question which is often subtely implied and other times not quite so is what makes a victim. The victims of the case are the seven men who will killed on the road that night by Labuschagne, but then Labuschagne is also seen to be a victim as he was thrust into an unforgiving and horrendous job when he was only 17 years old and as a result has suffered greatly from it. Then the same can be said for his lawyer, Johan Webber as he has here been made to take a case that he nor anybody else wanted and is judged harshly for doing his job and feels affected by it, so he is also a victim.

The story of Shepherds and Butchers is an intriguing one to begin with as it makes one question so many things, but the film built around the story is what truly makes it so strong and powerful. Flashback scenes in cinema can often be problematic as they do not always achieve the desired effect and can often do more harm than support. Yet here they are employed in exactly the right way and are one of the reasons why the film is so strong. The flashbacks Labuschagne has are blended into his testimony in the courtroom with superb use of sound which intensifies an already stressful situation. These flashback scenes are graphically realistic and not for the faint-hearted as they do not allow one to believe that death (in this case capital punishment) was a clean business or that one could not be affected by witnessing and partaking in it.

Both Steve Coogan and newcomer, Garion Dowds give incredible performances which are as strong as the film around them. Dowds gives an emotional performance as Labuschagne and has the audience immediately feeling sorry for him as his torment is apparent right from the very first scene. His controlled performance is breathtaking and incredibly intense, especially when he is on the stand in the courtroom. Coogan's performance is also very strong in a role which is unlike his usual comedic persona. While he tries to get his client to break, he himself is getting closer to breaking point and the way his performance builds in strength during the film makes one feel as though he is a bomb ready to explode.

Shepherds and Butchers does not hold back in it's delivery of story which is psychologically and ethically challenging, but in doing so is unforgettable and wonderfully intense unlike many courtroom dramas.

8.5/10

The Trip to Italy (2014)

Year: 2014
Running Time: 108 minutes
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writer: Michael Winterbottom
Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon

There are some films that just don't need a follow up and these ones are usually the films that get a less than adequate sequel. The Trip was not one of these films. It was the type of film that begged for another as you just couldn't get enough of it's two leading men, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. The Trip To Italy is a wonderfully pleasing sequel that gives fans more of what they loved about the first film. The two friends may have changed in the past few years which in turn means the tone of the film differs slightly from the first, but there is plenty to love about The Trip to Italy including some fine cuisine and beautiful Italian landscape.

After 2010's trip of northern England, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are reunited to once again experience six culinary delights, but this time they are on a trip of Italy. The two travel through the country  and while dining at some of the best restaurants Italy has to offer, they discuss their lives and how things have changed since the first trip they took. However, their conversations are not all entirely deep and meaningful with there being plenty of comedic moments and no lack of impersonations.

What made The Trip successful is what makes The Trip to Italy successful, yet there are some elements which make it even more so. While the two actors play themselves, the screenplay is ultimately fictional and the dialogue brilliantly improvised. As one could expect from two comic actors such as Coogan and Brydon, the dialogue is extremely amusing and funny. Whilst on their Italian culinary road trip, the two have several memorable conversations including, but are not limited to Alanis Morrisette's album, "Jagged Little Pill" which is their soundtrack of choice and  poet's Byron and Shelley. The impersonations both Coogan and Brydon do throughout the film are just superb. Once again Michael Caine makes an appearance and other notable impersonations are of The Dark Knight Rises and The Godfather casts.

The Trip to Italy isn't your typical sequel and doesn't entirely feel as though it should be given the tag of being a sequel, yet it is a very welcome one. The large majority of sequels these days come from blockbusters which bring in the big dollars at the box office. Both The Trip and the Trip to Italy are films which are largely based on conversation and comedy and are unconventional in their storytelling. The chemistry between Coogan and Brydon and the brand of comedy they brought to the screen in The Trip was so brilliant that it is a real treat to see all this again in The Trip to Italy. There are some features of the first film which have been resurrected and expanded upon for the second film (eg. the Michael Caine impersonations) and ultimately the two are very similar films. However, The Trip to Italy is perhaps a little more of an emotional journey for the two leading men and takes on a greater back story than the first. While this is a good thing as it adds more to the storytelling aspect of the film and makes the characters more relatable, it doesn't give an ongoing commitment to this new depth and the ending leaves the audience feeling as if they should know more.

The aesthetics of this film are enviable in the best possible way. Coogan and Brydon's trip takes them to six restaurants in some amazing locations throughout Italy. These restaurants produce some amazing cuisine which are visually incredible and it doesn't take much of an imagination to admit that the food must taste as amazing as what it looks. Next to Coogan and Brydon the third star of the film is indeed Italy. The panoramic shots of the Italian countryside and seaside are exquisite. The shots taken in Pompeii during the daytrip there show the historical abandoned city in such an interesting and loving light.

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have terrific chemistry on screen. The two work together so well and their amusing conversations flow wonderfully. The Trip to Italy is perhaps a tad more Brydon's film than Coogan's, as Brydon holds the majority of the comedic spotlight. Coogan's performance is more of an emotional one and in the brief emotional scenes, he does do well in them. There is no denying that both Coogan and Brydon are wonderful comedy actors and both The Trip and The Trip to Italy showcase their extraordinary ability to successfully improvise some extremely funny material and make it relevant to the scenario at hand.

The Trip to Italy is tremendously funny and a film so aesthetically pleasing that it is completely enviable. It is a very good follow up to the first film, but also a wonderful stand alone film.

8/10

Philomena (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 98 minutes
Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: Martin Sixsmith (book "The Lost Child of Philomena Lee"), Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope (screenplay)
Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Michelle Fairley, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Barbara Jefford, Peter Hermann

Philomena is now showing everywhere and is distributed in Australia by Hopscotch Films.

The true story of Philomena Lee as told in Stephen Frear's Philomena is incredibly moving and although it is beautiful in it's execution, plays out every mother's worst nightmare on the big screen.

Judi Dench once again basks in the spotlight in Philomena and blows everyone away with her raw and emotional performance. Completely intriguing and riveting from beginning to end with a wonderful screenplay, yet also disturbing and absolutely heartbreaking. No mother will be able to watch Philomena and not be moved and be grateful for every moment they have had to spend with their child and watch them grow.

British journalist, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) decides that he should put the writing of his book on Russian history on hold and look towards embarking on a human interest story, an idea he is initially not overly keen on. He meets Philomena Lee (Judi Dench), a woman who has a remarkable story to tell. Decades ago, Philomena fell pregnant while a teenager and was sent to a convent to give birth and live and work there as repayment to the nuns for taking care of her and her son, Anthony. When he is four years old, Anthony is taken from Philomena without her consent and she never see's him again. Martin agrees to help Philomena find her son and they set off on a journey that will take them from Ireland to Washington, DC and take them from strangers to understanding.

Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan have constructed a wonderful screenplay. Philomena is not at any point in time dull or tedious. It consistently moves forward even when you least expect it to be doing so, and creates tension where you least expect it to. There is some truly wonderful dialogue spoken between the main characters and the dialogue spoken in the key scenes is so powerful and memorable. The spoken word is so very important in a film like this that challenges you to contemplate some hard issues. The characters have to say the right things in to make a scene as powerful as the issue itself. What is absolutely remarkable is that Philomena not only possesses some of the most moving, yet at the same time confronting scenes as a result if the exchange of words between the characters, but it also delivers some very funny scenes. Philomena is really a wonderful character as although she has been through so much, she still remains loyal to her faith and she is endearing as well as being unintentionally comical.

Although there are quite a few laughs, Philomena remains any parents worst nightmare, having your child taken away from you and never see them again. What it must be like to know that your child has progressed in the world and grown up without you knowing how or where is a terrible notion. They say when you have children it is like having your heart wander around outside your body and although Philomena did have other children, there must have been a great deal of feeling lost as she never knew where her heart was. While there is closure at the end of the film, there is still great sadness along the journey and you really feel for Philomena, It makes it even more heart breaking to know that Philomena is actually based on a true story and that this is not just a story made up for a film. This really did happen to many mothers and children. It makes you sad, but also makes you thankful for what you experience with your children and should never take for granted.

On top of this, the issues that are explored in the film are very thought provoking. Philomena doesn't quite paint these nuns in a very good light, but on the other hand it does show the strength and beauty in faith to forgive those who have done something to us which is usually deemed unforgivable. The film absolutely challenges you to not only think about what you would do in the same situation, but also how you would handle the situation.

Judi Dench is absolutely exquisite as Philomena. It is hard to imagine that anyone could have played this role other than the great Judi Dench. It seems to be role she was born to play and one can only imagine that the real Philomena Lee must be thrilled to have Dench portray her. Her performance is so moving and she is absolutely endearing and so likable, Dench captures Philomena's inner purity and her submerged pain so well. While she acts so strong, the moments in which she lets go are so powerful. The last scene when she is confronted with Sister Hildegarde is just brilliant.

Steve Coogan is also very, very good as Martin Sixsmith. Like Dench, his best scene is the final scene with Sister Hildegarde and the confrontation is perfect in every way as far as performance and dialogue go. The chemistry between Dench and Coogan is a highlight of the film. The two work exceptionally well together on screen and the work off each other so well. Sophie Kennedy Clark, who plays the young Philomena, is also very good.

Philomena is an absolute gem of a film which will make you both laugh and cry. Beautiful performances accompanied by perfect direction and a very well written script make this film really one of a kind.

8/10