During an outing on the river , young James (Chris Cleary Miles) and his perspective adoptive father , Graham Holt (William Hurt) , become better acquainted in Warner Bros`s emotional drama, Second Best.
The writer David Cook was an enigmatic figure. He’s best remembered (albeit vaguely) for the 1990s BBC crime drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, although he admitted in interviews that this was not his finest creative hour. He was also the original presenter of the British children’s TV show Rainbow, first aired in 1972, although again his memory is overshadowed by his successor Geoffrey Hayes, who went on to host the UK’s answer to Sesame Street for what seemed like a lifetime to us ‘70s kids.
Ultimately, social drama won Cook critical acclaim, particularly his 1973 play Willy and his collaboration with Stephen Frears in the 1982 film Walter (based on Cook’s novel) both of which addressed issues of disability and mental health.
Pertinent to this site are Cook’s two novels that focus on childhood, adolescent development and intergenerational relationships: Happy Endings and Second Best. TheSkyKid.com aficionados will know that the latter was made into a 1996 film (the screenplay written by Cook himself) and was reviewed by Georgi some time ago.
During an outing on the river , young James (Chris Cleary Miles) and his perspective adoptive father, Graham Holt (William Hurt), become better acquainted in Warner Bros’s emotional drama, Second Best.
For those unfamiliar with either the film or the book, the story is about a middle-aged, single man called Graham who has never been able to form a lasting relationship with a woman. When he becomes the primary caregiver to his elderly father, he finds himself longing for a son of his own. On a whim, he applies to become an adoptive parent.
Second Best – Poster
That’s a great premise for a great story. Then enter James: a ten-year-old institutionalized boy whose mother is dead and whose father is a petty offender, in and out of jail. James loves and idolizes his absent father, and shuns the notion that anyone could take his place.
So James is put forward as Graham’s potential adoptive son. Over the course of Graham’s assessment for his suitability, we learn much about his own childhood – how he was well cared-for but starved of the emotional and physical affection that his parents reserved for each other. This has left Graham backward in his ability to be intimate with others.
Clearly, young James will have to decide whether he can trust this strange man, and Graham is going to have to face up to his own demons. But then, when Graham’s father dies…
Wo… Are we getting there yet?
Second Best – The Novel
The film’s great, but the novel was a more satisfying experience for me. Cook’s screenplay follows the original story closely but, like all films-of-books, it has to abridge and omit some of the more subtle aspects of the tale. Where the book really wins out, though, is in telling the story through two distinct voices: a first-person account by Graham and a third-person narrative from James’s perspective. This allowed Cook to develop the boy’s character in way that the film does not. Cook also used the technique as a vehicle for some touching humor that his screenplay lacks.
I know where you’ve gone. I know where you’re hiding. To have nothing, to feel nothing, to be nothing. It doesn’t work, I’ve tried it. Anything’s possible, Jamie, except feeling nothing. That’s never possible.
Graham in Second Best
The film shies away from a particularly contentious aspect of the book, in which Graham goes into the nature of his feelings for James. It’s explicit that Graham is neither gay nor minor-attracted in his orientation, but there are occasions on which the complexity of his emotional (and physiological) response to the boy disturb (even disgust) him. This is apt to resonate with all readers who have been close to kids, whether as surrogate carers or parents, whether they dare to admit it or not.
James (Chris Cleary Miles) and Graham Holt (William Hurt) in Second Best.
While the novel’s chronology and alternation in narrative voices can be a tad confusing in places, it is a well-constructed piece underpinned by a compelling honesty that has stood the test of time. I heartily recommend it to anyone who has brought up or worked with pre-teen children, particularly in a social care setting.
Happy Endings
I hadn’t heard of David Cook’s earlier novel Happy Endings until I read his obituary in The Guardian. There it’s described as being “about a 12-year-old boy’s relationship with a schoolteacher,” so I was expecting something along similar lines to Second Best. That it is not; in fact the boy and the teacher never meet (at least not in the conventional sense.)
It starts in the 1950s with the story of 12-year- old Morris, who is sent to a reform school after “interfering with” a neighbor’s five year old daughter. It then jumps forward a generation and introduces Stephen, a 33-year-old school teacher with a broken marriage behind him and an unhealthy interest in younger girls.
The novel (if one can call it that) consists of a series of vignettes and episodes from Morris’s troubled childhood and Stephen’s sordid adult life. It’s clear that there is a connection between these two individuals, but its nature is not made explicit until the end when the story comes together in a way that is all too predictable (you may have sussed it already) although I suspect that this was Cook’s intention.
Technically, it’s a disjointed work which lacks direction. But it’s written in a delightful punky tone with the pen of a poet, which kept me engaged despite its artistic flaws. Morris’s characterization is excellent; in some ways a prototype of Jamie in Second Best, he is, in other ways, even better crafted. Stephen is a complex and, regrettably, credible character who elicits sympathy while leaving one feeling physically sick. As with Second Best, Cook showed the rare talent of being able to create believable adults and children in equal measure. Most authors can only do one or the other.
Scene from Second Best (1994)
Happy Endings was published in 1974 and have to be read in that context. This was a pre-Savile-scandal age in which the notion of grown men harbouring desires for schoolgirls was regarded as a bit of a joke; when films like The Belles of St Trinian’s fell within the realms of social acceptability. Today, Cook’s frank portrayal of this ephebophile school teacher is liable to shock many readers, myself included.
It’s unsurprising that Cook felt empathy with sexual difference. He was an openly gay man whose 50-year partnership with playwright John Bowen pre-dated social acceptance and was still a criminal offence when they first met. Personally, I have no issue with his telling Stephen’s story in a sympathetic way (in fact I see it as a noble endeavor), but this character does more than harbour desires: he acts on them in an act of blatant abuse of both his victim and his position of professional trust. Many would agree that Morris’s transgression was forgivable, but Cook (to say the least) comes close to excusing Stephen’s behaviour too.
Nevertheless, he does so in a way that addresses several issues in a remarkably forward-looking way; that the seeds of predatory behaviour are often sown before puberty; that the justice system can be as manipulative as the offenders it deals with; that outwardly respectable people can be far from what they seem. For that, David Cook deserves commendation.
Happy Endings is a fascinating book which, subject to the caveats above, I also recommend. I managed to bag the first edition for a few quid on Amazon shortly after Cook’s death last year. Since then, demand for and consequently the price of the title has rocketed. It’s still possible to find good-to-fair copies for under £20 on Amazon UK, but with collectible editions now fetching three-figure sums, procrastination in the purchase would be ill-advised.
Second Best is widely available with used copies often going for little more than the price of shipping. It’s also available in a Kindle edition on Amazon, with a preview so you can try before you buy.
There is a certain appeal in listening to music in a foreign language (in this case French). One gets to imagine the lyrics and, if the music is catchy, this doesn’t prevent the yearning to sing along. That’s exactly the case with Max & Mango – 12 and 13-year-old French boys who have been in the spotlight ever since 2014 when they published their first hit-single Tout va bien (All is Well) which, at the time of writing, has more than 3 million views.
Tout va bien (All is Well)
It’s unfortunate that the online information in English about Max & Mango is extremely scarce, but given the global nature of the internet and their obvious talent it doesn’t come as a surprise that the boys have managed to acquire a significant fan base despite the language barrier. For the purpose of this article, I have researched French publications and the excellent French language blog Kids Vocal, which is a great resource for presentations of CD, DVD or VCD of young singers and pop groups.
Mango Marlin and Maximilian Jendrzezak
The music of the talented French duo (whose full names are Maximilian Jendrzezak and Mango Marlin) is energetic and vibrant, filled with positive vibes that appeal to audiences of all ages. Its catchy and upbeat, reminding one of the Belgium boy band ZaBoyZ (who also sang in French), and who also released an album in collaboration with Warner Music France.
As expected, the biggest fan base of these charismatic boys is comprised of young girls but, in all honestly, it takes a real horrible person not to be moved by their animated pop vibes (literally moved as in singing and dancing along).
Max & Mango – Faire le tour du monde
One could not help but notice how extremely well Max & Mango handle themselves in front of the camera. This, in addition to the professionalism of the people working with them (Warner Music France), is likely attributed to the extensive modeling experience they have acquired from participating in photoshoots for various fashion brands (such as John Galliano) and retail chains (Carrefour). The boys actually met on one of those photoshoots at the age of five and discovered that they shared a passion for music (Max took singing lessons at the school of music of Saint-Amand-les-Eaux while Mango Marlin is passionate about traditional Caribbean percussions). They’ve remained best friends ever since.
Max & Mango – Capitaine Abandonné
Max&Mango have already released two albums. The first is All is Well, released in July 2014 with Warner Music and featuring ten songs). The second album is Abandoned Capitan, which contains 12 songs under Three 8Management and was released only a month ago (24-Jun-2016).
The boys seem to favor the summer months for the release of their albums and that makes sense, as the bouncing electro-pop that characterizes their music is refreshing and definitely contains summer hit material.
Ivan Noel is known as a controversial writer/director whose work is finally gaining wider recognition, the rights to his film Limbo having recently been purchased by Sony Pictures.
Five years ago, in June 2011, we published an exclusive interview with Ivan Noel. Recently, British freelance writer and journalist Will Emslie contacted Ivan on behalf of TheSkyKid.com and we have the pleasure to publish yet another insightful and far ranging interview with a prominent filmmaker for the fans of the Coming-of-Age genre.
Intriguingly, he appears to have gone into limbo himself in recent months. So it was a great pleasure to catch up with him at his home in Argentina recently, when he spoke candidly about his background, his films, his frustration with the industry and his hopes for the future.
Use the tabs below to follow along with the audio interview. The following time points can be used as pointers: The Films (07:20), Becoming a Filmmaker (13:16), The Novels (17:24), Controversial? (20:03), The Future (25:00).
Introduction
Will, my deepest condolences.
What? For the leaving of the European Union? Yes, that was absolutely terrible.
It’s lovely to speak to you anyway.
Thanks. I guess you’re surprised from the start as to how I’m speaking English.
Yes. How do you speak English?
Ivan Noel
I was brunged up in a boarding school in England. A place called Lancing College between Worthing and Brighton. So they kicked the accent out of me!
Do you define yourself as Spanish?
Ivan Noel
Well, that’s kind of a complicated thing. No, not really. My father, he’s dead now but he was Egyptian/French and a nationalized Italian and my mother is Australian. I lived in about twelve different countries and we travelled constantly. We don’t really have a specific nationality. I speak three and a half languages fluently…
Which is the half that you speak fluently?
I spent many years in India, so I learned one of the languages there called Tamil.
I read somewhere – I think it was on Wikipedia – that you were born in Beirut?
Well, yes, exactly…
So it’s one of the few correct “facts” on Wikipedia. That’s good!
Ivan Noel
My parents were mostly based in the middle east around that time. We just kept moving and moving, and I’ve seemed to continue the trend myself.
So you ended up in Spain?
Ivan Noel
From various places before, I ended up in Spain because I’m actually a musician, a guitarist. I was a professional guitarist to begin with, playing concerts from the age of 13. A classical guitarist but I’ve always wanted to deal with flamenco guitar, which was really my calling. So back in around 2000, just before the change to the Euro (sorry!), I moved to Spain to learn flamenco. I ended up with a recording studio there, and that’s where I started my film thing — really on a whim.
I was in Spain for about 15 years, so I guess that people started identifying me as Spanish. So if you ask me… I could have said I was pretty much European (oops, sorry again!) but I’ve been, for six or seven years now, in Argentina so that’s kind of taken the European out of me. So I really don’t know how to answer as far as my roots are or what nationality you might call me.
What are you doing in Argentina? Can you fill us in on what your present mission is?
Ivan Noel
Sure. It’s not much different from what I was doing in Spain. That was fine so long as I was living in the countryside and doing my own little thing, making the most of being, you know, in almost a third-world country within Europe. But when I started getting involved with films and getting involved with professionals and high-level artists, that’s when I realized that the Spanish have the cultural level of a dead fish. And I was hitting my head against a wall constantly.
A good example is that none of the films that I’ve made in Spain have ever been shown in Spain. Not a festival, not on television – nothing. A complete blockade of my films.
Why is that?
Ivan Noel
It’s the nepotistic system in place in Spain. The system is such that it shuts everyone out that isn’t part of that little cinema clique. There’s no independent cinema in Spain. It’s all run and funded by the government.
A good example would be the Malaga film festival where I presented what I consider my best film, Brecha, and it was immediately refused. And when I looked at the list of the films that were in competition, two of them had not even started shooting yet. But they were automatically in competition at the festival, because they were friends with the director. In Seville, where my film was shot, for five years in a row I presented my film and for five years in a row it was rejected – in the Seville section!
Oh, that’s ridiculous!
In Your Absence and Brecha (07:20)
In Your Absence (2008)
I don’t want to dwell too much on your early work, but what got me into your films was being recommended to watch In Your Absence when it first came out. I’ve seen so many low-budget films by amateur directors that I was a bit cynical about it. But when I clicked on it (when you kindly put it on YouTube) I was completely bowled over. It’s an amazing film!
Ivan Noel
Well, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. But it was when the Director of the Vancouver Film Festival called me and said, “You have to come immediately, this is our greatest discovery,” that I started thinking that there must be something in it. But I honestly didn’t think… I didn’t even know… if it was going to show in my own village.
Well, what was in it for me was the courageous subject matter for a start: this weirdo who turns up in a small Andalusian village. But it’s also the way in which it was made, which is reminiscent of what Mike Leigh, the British writer/director, does: that it wasn’t scripted.
Ivan Noel
Well, I didn’t mind scripting it, but I realized that if I was going to have anything less than great actors, then there’s no point in asking them to read a text out. Only great actors can do that.
But on the other hand, Mike Leigh takes experienced actors – experienced adult actors – gets them to improvise, and develops the dialogue from there. You took a cast of largely amateurs, and two of those amateurs were young teenagers. And you managed to get them, as a director, to do some amazing stuff. The scenes between the two young people in that film are so moving. How did you do that? There aren’t many directors who could have managed it.
It’s funny you should ask me that because I often wonder the same about other directors – I think it’s so amazing and secret and I don’t understand how they could possibly do it. So it’s funny for me to feel that it’s such a natural thing to do and then you come along and tell me that you don’t understand how I did it!
I seriously don’t understand, Ivan! But then you went on to Brecha, your second film, which had very similar themes: single parents, boys who have guilt about having killed their parents…
IN: Well, to answer the first question about how I do it, obviously it’s not a secret, but I think there are a couple of things that are important. One is that you have to know the people. I make films with friends. I loathe working in a professional way in the sense that you call on people, they show up and you rehearse for a couple of weeks and then you shoot. I need to know these people absolutely. So all the people involved in the film were friends of mine. So there’s a basis of trust, everything’s easy-going, there’s no tension in the moment of the shoot.
The few times that I’ve not done that, I’ve lived to regret it. My last film, which hasn’t come out yet, Burned Knees (being re-titled to The Tutor) is a good example. It almost fell through because I didn’t know the people well, at least two of the actors, and it was disastrous!
José Ramón – Brecha (2009)
As far as the improvisation is concerned, the thing is I’m talking constantly. All the time as they’re talking. And we take out my voice from the final sound. So I kind of play with them. So say the girl says something, I’ll answer for the boy. So I’m improvising and all the kid does is get into the scene and follow my lead.
The kids seem to react to it brilliantly. The children that you’ve had in your films have played immaculate parts.
Ivan Noel
I think especially in Brecha, yeah.
Becoming a Filmmaker (13:16)
Something I have to ask you about, Ivan, is that you say you’re not a film-maker. Not naturally.
No. What I did have was that I was a very hyperactive child. From the age of seven or eight I was already painting, sculpting, playing the piano, anything that was available… building things… and when I was about 10 or 11 I wanted to make a film. I wanted to make a cartoon, because I used to draw a lot. So I went off to buy my first 8mm camera when I was about 11. I was living in Brussels at the time. I just got the bus into town, bought the camera with my own money, came back and started making a cartoon. Unfortunately, it hasn’t survived, but it was relatively good. I did it with my best friend, a Finnish boy.
Then I made a short movie when I was 11, which was (maybe with Limbo), one of the biggest projects I’ve done so far. It had over 200 extras. It was a pretty strange story, dealing with social injustice and the gap between the rich and the poor. I used my best friend for the lead role, my brother for another role and the entire school for certain scenes. Again it hasn’t survived but thinking back it was all pretty insane.
And then you grew up a bit and went on to read music at York University?
Ivan Noel
Well, I wanted to study composition for films because above all I’m a musician. When I was 12, I started studying guitar and piano and very quickly I got a distinction at Grade 8 on guitar when I was 14. So I went on to York University, which was a natural continuation from Lancing [College], to study film music composition. In fact, I ended up making my own film as my main project. I couldn’t do it before because making films was very expensive.
Ivan Noel : …”above all I’m a musician.”
One of the people who saw my film happened to be a teacher at the British Film Institute, thought it was absolutely brilliant, and offered me a place there in London. But I had no intention of staying in England, so I went off to Paris to study film school there but it was far too expensive and I ended up just working. I did nothing more with film until 15 years later.
Then you leaped off and made In Your Absence with your own funding?
Yes, ‘cos by then I’d done a lot of photography, I was winning photo prizes, I was writing music, playing music, I’d written about three novels by then, so I guess I was ready to leap into film, which is basically those things put together. But I had no idea of what I was doing, I’d never made a serious film before.
I needed the money for it. Seeing as I’d made a very good deal [on a house] before the entrance into Europe, then the prices went up so I sold it for much more. That’s when I bought all my equipment, most of which I still have today.
The Novels (17:24)
Could I ask you about your novels? I didn’t know about those.
They’re unpublished. They’re in my boxes I have here. I write a lot, I never stop writing. It’s pretty harsh stuff, much harsher than my films.
One is called Sermons of a Child Murderer which is taking the story of Jürgen Bartsch, the famous German serial killer who was locked up when he was 16. I’ve worked him into a kind of Hannibal Lecter figure who talks intelligently about what he does and about society. It’s extremely brutal but it’s a kind of slap in the face back where he says, “I’m the visible face of criminality in this world. Don’t think that pointing the finger at me lets you off the hook. I’m here to show you up.” I’ve sent it to publishers and the usual response is just… real shock!
I wrote a comedy novel called Subliminal about someone who spends his life using subliminal words to influence the people he’s speaking to, with kind of funny results. I wrote an autobiographical novel, but just wrote it because I had to write it and just put it in a box afterwards.
Well, it needn’t stay in that box. Not only has film-making come within the budget and grasp of many people, so has publishing. You could publish an e-book, have you thought of that?
Ivan Noel
Well, it was a pre-digital age when I wrote it, and I have hundreds and hundreds of sheets written by hand, and it’s such a monumental daunting task. But it’s here in my boxes, I took it back from my mother’s house in France, so at least there’s an idea of trying to do something with it.
Controversial? (20:03)
Well, I hope you do, Ivan.
Can I move on to your films’ subject matter? Because it has been described as controversial…
Yeah. I don’t personally think it is. It’s become controversial because everyone’s become so socially and politically correct that you can’t be anything but controversial if you just talk a little bit of truth about youth.
Here in Argentina, where people are a little more honest about these things, they did a festival with a retrospective of all my films and one newspaper critic wrote, “Ivan Noel is by far the most controversial figure here, it’s a pity that his films aren’t at all.”
So I wouldn’t say controversial, I’d say against the moral grain of today. I find them quite soft, actually. I think they’re quite gentle.
Well, absolutely. If we go back to your early ones: the strange man who turns up in the Andalusian village, and the father who got drunk and ran over a kid, then we’re moving on to the primary school and what’s going on under the surface there… Adults’ reactions to young people and the relationships between the young people and the adults, and the way that you develop that…
There’s nothing sinister or nasty about it. But when you start doing that, people immediately go, “Oh my God! This is controversial!”
Well, they especially do in England. Funnily enough, more in England than they do in The States. I had a full walk-out when I showed In Your Absence in England. One of them called the police after we showed the film.
On what basis?
IN: Child abuse in a film.
And where was the child abuse?
Well, I’m not really sure…
But the guy who comes along proves himself to have far more personal integrity than any of the villagers…
Exactly!
But then he turns out to be a bit of a sad loser in the end who was leading the kid on in a way nobody expected. That’s the sad thing about it. But I can’t see that it’s in any way…
Ivan Noel
…Of course it isn’t. But the reason I wanted to make that story was to show up people’s perversion rather than anyone’s real perversion. So the story is perfectly innocent in itself and I wanted everyone to come to their own wicked conclusions, which they very much did.
I showed it in Spain just in a local hall to show it to my actors. There must have been about 100 people, nearly all Spanish, and there was one British woman there. And the British woman left in the middle saying she was feeling physically sick. So I think it’s more of a reflection of where British society is today. Not just British: Anglo-Saxon society. But I think it says far more about society than it does about my film.
But I am, to some degree provoking, because I do find the current situation so absurd. Only yesterday I came across this law in Australia: in film making, if you’re going to have a nude scene, be it in a porno film or a mainstream film, women need to have a minimum-size breast, in case someone confuses a woman with a slightly small-sized breast as being a 12-year-old girl.
You know, in this day and age, in 2016, when you’re being so Victorian, if not to say medieval, it really has taken off…
The Future (25:00)
Can we move on to the future, Ivan? I’ve been following you for a long time – being a bit of a stalker of yours, watching the progress in your creative work. You did sort of go on a moody a few years back. You said you were making no money out of your films, you were giving it up… Then you seem to have gone on to a bit of crowd-funding and you’ve now done Burned Knees, which I’m really looking forward to coming out…
Ivan Noel
…It’s weird that you should be looking forward to my version of A Turn of the Screw! It’s going to be very much my style!
Still from Burned Knees (2016)
So are you going to carry on doing this?
Ivan Noel
Oh God! Of course, it’s infuriating, the whole film business. I think if I’m still piddling about with my low-budget films and stuff like that it’s really only because of my subject matter because nobody wants to touch me, not with a barge-pole. It’s clear that I can make films for cheap and good quality but I never have a single call about any of my films, ever! So I guess there comes a time when you’re kind of tired of that and tired of repeating yourself. It’s infuriating that you can not get decent distribution, simply because of the subject matter, because nobody dares anymore.
Apart from that, I felt professionally at a dead end. There’s only so much you can do now without repeating yourself and doing exactly the same sort of thing. The same amount of money, not being able to benefit from a better budget. So I can’t progress, I can’t go one step further. It needs investment, it needs at least a big production company involved. It needs a story which is not mine for a change. It needs progress and progress was never coming.
But in many ways, Ivan, you have progressed. You’ve progressed from doing stories about childhood, adolescence and f****d-up families to doing what could vaguely be described as horror.
Ivan Noel
Genre films, yeah. That’s because I found a niche. I found a place where you can actually sell films. It’s really only a commercial decision. If you make a reasonably good-quality genre film, you know you’re going to find festivals, you know you’re going to sell at least to a few distributors. There’s a ready-made audience there for genre films. So I’ve dealt, in my last two or three films, with the genre niece. At least that way I get some money back.
Limbo Poster
On that subject, what is happening with Limbo or Children of the Night? I really wanted to make it to Piccadilly to see the première there but unfortunately couldn’t get there.
I’m glad you didn’t because it never ended up showing there. That was through the sheer incompetence of my sales agent, whom I have since sued and got my film back.
So it didn’t actually première in London?
No, it didn’t. It premièred in various locations in England which I was unaware of, in various festivals, but he would not even tell me. I mean, I was in Albuquerque in The States at exactly the same time as my film was showing at a big festival, and I didn’t know.
So what’s happening with it? Is it still being distributed by that company?
Ivan Noel
I don’t know. I sued them and I got my rights back, thankfully, because in no time Sony Pictures have now bought the rights for Limbo. We’ve been negotiating and we’re just waiting for the contract to sign. It’s going ahead, they’re doing a 10-episode series on my script. They’re in talks with Naomi Watts, I think, to do the lead. They’re putting $15M into it. Not that they’re paying me anything but a pathetic sum, $100,000…
You can’t expect them to! You’re a creative person. People expect you to do that for free!
And as for Burned Knees, which as I say, I’m dying to see, when’s that going to happen, Ivan?
Ivan Noel
It’s kind of already happened. I’ve been facing a lot of difficulties recently: a sick mother in France, I had to be there with her for three months so I was completely out of touch. My producer’s wife just got killed a week ago…
The thing is it’s there, it’s in front of me, it’s finished, it’s done. I just need that extra push to get it out there now.
And where does the push come from?
Me. My brain. That’s part of the problem, why I say I’m tired of making films. It’s just me, me and me. There’s nobody there helping me, ever.
I think the fact is, Ivan, you have a lot of people behind you. You have a lot of following. You have a lot of fans and we’re all rooting for you. So I’m very much hoping you’ll get your head together and do it.
Ivan Noel
I guess what I need is that but in the professional film sphere. I needed people to do the color correction for me. I needed people to do the subtitling for me. It’s so deeply, deeply exhausting. You sit down and you know you’re going to be in your seat for 14 hours a day for the next three months.
But the fact is, it’s finished. It just needs a little bit of a color-correction thing, it needs one or two shots re-edited there, it needs about five or six days work.
It’s a lot of emotional effort but it’s not an awful lot of practical effort.
Ivan Noel
No, it’s completely emotional. Yesterday, for the first time in weeks I opened the film up in my computer and I did work on it for about half an hour… Then I just switched it off and did something else. But I know I’m close to getting it done.
Whether it’s going to be any good or completely crap I have no idea. I don’t like my own films. The only film I like is Brecha.
Brecha
You don’t like your own films? Why not?
Ivan Noel
I think they’re shit. Honestly. I don’t enjoy them at all. All I can see is just failure everywhere. I think they fail at the script level. Not my first and second one. But I think the others fail terribly at the script level. I’m never happy with it. I’m extremely demanding with myself and there’s nothing I do which I feel proud of.
Well, the first one wasn’t scripted. Brecha, was that scripted?
Ivan Noel
Well, we talked about it for three months, me and Paco, and I put a structure to it, but it wasn’t actually written out, no.
But my films just don’t do anything for me. I just don’t see it.
They do things for other people, Ivan!
Ivan Noel
Thankfully people like you are there to see it and to reflect. If it hadn’t been for people like you, I would never have gone past my first film. It was only because people at the festivals said that they were good that I felt I may as well make another one.
My films make me squirm. The most unpleasant part of the film-making process for me is when I’m sitting in a festival with an audience of 500 and I don’t understand why they’re not standing up and leaving. I was even more shocked in Brussels, which is a particularly boisterous audience and there were 600 of them and I was showing They Returned and nobody left. I couldn’t understand it, because they normally leave in droves all the time. I’m in a constant state of tension and horror at my errors and blatant mistakes – some technical, some artistic – but they don’t seem to notice it.
When people make films, Ivan, there are blatant mistakes. And people just love them and forgive the mistakes.
I guess, yeah, I tend to forgive films too, if I like a film, so it must be the same sort of thing.
We just seem to be missing one little bit about the future. I’m going to try to do casting now for a project which is going to be decided upon who I can find.
And who are you looking for?
I don’t know. I’m looking for anyone with talent.
Young? Old? Middle-aged or what?
Ivan Noel
Obviously, it usually tends to be young, but if I don’t find a kid, for instance, who’s got a clear talent, then I have four possible scripts, including a new one which is a meeting between a 37-year-old man and a 60-year-old man. The entire film is about that meeting. It’s called The Meeting. It’s a very, very edgy film when this man, who’s a world-famous composer, receives a visit from a man he doesn’t recognize, and the young one accuses him of having raped him when he was young. It’s very tense, it’s very intense and it goes in directions that we might not expect. I would just need two men for that, but they’d need to be very, very good.
But whatever talent I can find, I will go in that direction, as it were.
Exciting prospect. Look, Ivan, I hope you carry on doing it. So many people disagree with you!
Ivan Noel
I just wish I could do something at the level that I want to. I know what I want. I want it to be technically perfect. Now I’m getting money from Sony and I’m thinking of investing everything in a real decent camera and decent sound. And I have to have enough money for me to make the film over more than 20 days. I need to be able to take my time to do it over 30 or 40 days. The more time I have the less likely I’ll make mistakes.
What are you doing as a day job at the moment?
Ivan Noel
IN: I have two restaurants. Well, “restaurants” is a nice way of saying I have two burger joints.
Are you still teaching?
Ivan Noel
No. I’ve all but completely stopped teaching. My most recent thing was a rock school that I had. In fact, I built a studio on the land behind my house and about six months ago I stopped at the same time as the school year stopped and I haven’t taken it up again. So it’s kind of a lull.
It would be better if I could have professional support to find talent. But really I need somebody out there, a producer to say, OK, I’ve got a production company, we’re going to do the production side of things. Because it was fun in the beginning but it’s just not fun anymore for me to have to walk the street to find talent.
Have you ever wondered why some of my reviews seem so personal?
The answer would explain my addiction to Coming-of-Age movies, and it is as simple as saying that I have been through similar experiences to the characters in the movies I review. Or sometimes it’s not my personal experiences but an experience of someone I knew well – well enough to help me associate with the actors on screen and what they go through.
That being said, I’m going to tell you that my review of The Interrogation of Michael Crowe will be one of those personal reviews. The film is a true masterpiece based on real people and events. I have seen scenes with my own eyes that closely resemble the events shown in the film.
The Interrogation of Michael Crowe is the second feature film produced by Court TV. It focuses on the plight of 14-year-old Michael Crowe. One morning his younger sister is found murdered in her bed. The police officers decide to accuse Michael of his sister’s murder after seeing things in his room, such as the game Final Fantasy 7 and drawings from Dungeons and Dragons. Michael was cruelly interrogated for 11 straight hours. The police used various scare tactics to get a confession from the confused boy. They lied to him and got what they wanted …
If I were to categorize this film, I would say that it is an extremely heavy and hard to watch psychological drama. Numerous scenes of Michael’s interrogation features hard rhythm and dynamics of verbal pressure that will have an influence on its viewers.
The first thing one notices when watching this movie is the brilliant acting. I don’t recall another movie where the entire cast is so well selected and flawless on screen. Mark Rendall, who played the role of young Michael Crow, deserves special recognition as his portrayal of the intensity of emotions Crow felt in the interrogation room is next to perfect.
I want to quote a few excerpts from an interview transcript in which the real Michael Crow and Mark Rendall answered questions about the story and the movie itself:
Question from Respectful: Mark, was it frightening to be questioned so intensely even though it was just an acting role for you?
Mark Rendall: Yes it was. The people playing the interrogators, the police officers, were very believable. And it was really scary sitting in a room all by myself with just these people in the scene. It actually felt real, though I can never really know what it would be like.
Michael Crowe: You can see it in his acting. You can see that he has some of the real emotions going on inside of him.
Question from RUSTY: Michael, does Mark do a good job being you in the movie?
Michael Crowe: Yes. I think he did a great job. Going into this it was a big question whether they’d find an actor who could really capture this. And up until the point when I actually saw him act, say some of this lines, I didn’t think they’d be able to find anyone. I didn’t think anyone would be able to be that young and be able to act well enough to capture the role.“
Mark Rendall in The Interrogation of Michael Crowe Picture
Marc Rendall also appears in movies such as The Impossible Elephant, Tales From the Neverending Story, Touching Wild Horses, and Child Star. For his performance in TheInterrogation of Michael Crowe, he received a 2004 ACTRA nomination for Best Actor.
I suggest that you watch the clip (below) as it has actual footage from the interrogation, with the commentary of an expert. Be warned that these scenes are as harsh to watch as the movie itself. Perhaps even more so.
In another interview, to the question “How accurate does this film portray what actually happened?“, Michael answers: “Very accurately. All the stuff in the interrogation room is actually from the videotapes, from the transcripts.“(source) You can only imagine…
A few years ago, a boy I know well had to endure similar torture. I found out later from his relatives that he was questioned without their presence. At one point, the policeman threatened to throw him out of the window if he didn’t cooperate with them and tell them what they wanted to hear. Eventually, as in the movie, they got what they wanted and, as a result, the lives of several people became as miserable as they could get. Three years later, the parents proved that the content of the document that the boy signed was invented by the police and had nothing to do with the truth. The film resembled this similar situation so closely that I felt deeply distressed while watching it. That is why I related at the beginning of this review that it was going to be the kind of personal review I sometimes write.
“For everything in life there is a replacement. …but not for first love.”
It’s not every day that one stumbles upon a refreshingly funny and poignant film like Viviane Andereggen’s film Simon Says Goodbye To His Foreskin (Original title: Simon sagt ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ zu seiner Vorhaut). Nor is it common to have a movie with a story in which one’s foreskin (to be precise — the process of its removal also known as circumcision) is such a pivotal plot element. Intriguingly enough, a few days after the trailer of the 2015 German film boosted my expectations, I stumbled upon a series of messages on Twitter that were anti-circumcision, while others advocated the procedure. That made me realize its become a big issue and made me even more anxious to watch the film itself.
When I did, it blew me away …
Love isn’t a fair game.
Twelve-year-old Simon Grünberg (Maximilian Ehrenreich) is facing a real dilemma. His Bar Mitzvah (a Jewish Coming-of-Age ceremony) is fast approaching. To obey the religious law and commandments, he is expected to be circumcised before thirteen, which Simon has not been. To make things even more complicated, he lives alternately with his overly religious Jewish father (Florian Setter), who is keen on strictly following the Jewish law, and his mother (Lavinia Wilson), a free-spirited author of erotic literature who won’t have her son undergo a potentially dangerous operation for the sake of compliance with religious statutes.
Simon’s parents already live separately, and still, when the subject of circumcision is introduced, they get into heated arguments. It becomes so insane that, at one point, the poor pre-teen interrupts them with:
“I can decide for myself. It’s my penis.”
Hard Decisions
But to make sure their son makes the right choice, each parent employs a different strategy — ranging from calm yet insistent talks — to bringing Simon to a support group session with the peculiar title “victims of genital mutilation.” To complicate things even further, Simon falls in love – for the very first time — with his new Rabbi, a beautiful woman called Rebecca (Catherine De Léan).
My exposure to the Jewish culture is somewhat limited; a great pal on Twitter, a former classmate and the music of The Yeshiva Boys Choir constitutes all of my knowledge about being Jewish, outside of knowledge gathered from books and movies. In a way, Simon Says Goodbye To His Foreskin was a real eye-opener, and I’m positive one can learn a lot from it while, at the same time, being wholesomely entertained.
I can say quite a few good things about the film, starting with editing (flashback and cut scenes are present in abundance), which introduces a whole new level of dynamic to the story, making it both engaging and funky. Simon Says Goodbye To His Foreskin is a movie that will bring a guaranteed smile to your face. No, that’s stating it too mildly. The happenings in this film are so funny you will laugh your hearts out.
Maximilian Ehrenreich as Simon
The score is suitable while not imposing. But what impressed me most was the incredible acting performance of the young Maximilian Ehrenreich in the role of Simon. While the entire cast performed well, Maximilian’s expressions, ease and sincerity resulted in a poignant portrayal of a confused youngster. As much of the story is told from the viewpoint of Simon, its young protagonist, one comes to appreciate the talent of an actor who makes associating with and caring about the hero a real easy task.
Favourite scene: the recitation of a love poem in Hebrew.
Simon (Maximilian Ehrenreich) and His best friend Ben (Yuri Völsch)
An undisputed Coming-of-Age movie, Simon Says Goodbye To His Foreskin, has a plot featuring a lot of motifs common in other films belonging to the genre: first love, a dysfunctional family, boastful friends, confusion, self-discovery and a desire to belong. The young protagonist struggles to make sense of it all and make things right. Yet, for all that, the story remains devoid of clichés.
I find this movie ingenious in so many ways: from its original narrative, how it addresses the tribulations of Coming-of-Age without pretence, the incredible cast, the superb directing, and precise editing. It’s engaging, inspiring, and so much more. I loved this film and so will you.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4568934/
Simon says goodbye to his foreskin (2015)
In short
A Coming-of-Age film without false pretense, with an incredible cast, great directing, and precise editing. It's engaging, inspiring and so much more.
“This is not a film about childhood, it’s a film about a different kind of childhood” Daniel Grou: Director
It’s not every day that one stumble upon a movie such as Dix et demi. When it comes to powerful, realistic dramas that don’t spare anything to the viewer, you can count yourself lucky to discover one. They are rare, with most directors simply preferring to play it on the safe side, sacrificing honesty and objectivity in return for creating a more commercial product that is likely to appeal to a wider audience group. Of course, there are notable exceptions such as: El Niño Que Gritó Puta, The Interrogation of Michael Crowe, and, to some extent, The Butcher Boy). Personally, I always prefer an independent film with real meaning over many of those that flood the cinemas nowadays.
Before I continue the review of the film, I want to note that Dix et demi is not suitable for viewers under the age of sixteen. (Note: I don’t like this type of disclaimer as many of the issues addressed in this film are universal and could be assessed by viewers of any age. Yet they are necessary for some of the more conservative readers of my reviews).
From Actor/Director Bouli Lanners comes this new Coming-of-Age drama centred on three boys — two brothers (Zak, 13 and Seth, 15) and their friend (Danny, 15) — all of whom have been brought up in unfortunate circumstances. Zak and Seth’s mother has abandoned them to fend for themselves. They live in their grandfather’s old house and make do with what they have. Danny has been brought up in a rough family with an abusive brother and parents that do not care.
When Zak and Seth run out of money, the three conjure up a plan to make some cash, renting out their grandfather’s house to a drug dealer to grow his batch of weed in secrecy. But when things don’t quite go according to plan, the three end up stranded and must defend and support each other to survive.
The Giants is a simple, yet stunningly gorgeous film, in both story and visuals. The acting, directing, cinematography and storyline all combine to make this a film which is highly recommended to all.
At TheSKyKid.com we are devoted to the promotion of young talent from across the globe. We were recently contacted by Sara Martin, an inspiring young actress from Spain and, as a result of our research on her, it’s a privilege to introduce her to our readers.
Sara Martin
Sara Martin is a 14-year-old actress from Barcelona, Spain. She really likes acting and sharing her passion for performing in front of others.
This interest came to her when she was only seven-years-old and she immediately decided to explore this world by beginning to take drama lessons. She especially likes comedy and making people laugh, smile and have a good time as she believes that finding happiness should be important in everyone’s life.
Sara Martin & The Fandinos – Fears
Together with the Fandino twins, Jacob and Nolan, who were first introduced to the readers of TheSkyKid.com in February, 2016, Sara has released an inspiring video highlighting the importance of believing in one’s dreams.
She likes to consider herself a future motivation speaker, since she’d love to inspire others and make them see the bright side of life. Sara started to post videos on YouTube in May 2015.
She has also taken part in some professional projects: Sopa De Cabra – Cercles a music video, Big Band Clan – ep.2 (as an extra character), and short films for cinema schools around Catalonia…
Sopa de Cabra – Cercles
Recently, having discovered a love for music, she’s hoping to be able to sing in public soon.
To continue growing as an artist and to take part in different projects are her future plans and hopes.
When she is not acting, Sara’s many interests include listening to music (she’s a huge fan of many musicians), singing, dancing, watching TV shows, traveling, drawing, surfing on the internet, ice skating, playing the guitar, and cooking.
” When the times comes for your confession , there is nothing to be frightened of …”
It all starts with an idea. And if the idea is good enough, and has the potential to replicate itself into more ideas in the mind of the viewers, than the filmmaker has truly achieved his goals.
Do we always make the right choices?
That’s what you will keep wondering when you see the 2010 British short film The Confession. Its protagonists are Sam and Jacob, two young schoolboys who are just about to make their first confessions. Even in the very first moments of the film, one can see that although the boys are best friends, their personalities are not exactly the same. While Jacob is an outgoing troublemaker, Sam is shy and worried that he can’t think of anything to confess.
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet is a fascinating story. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the film follows the adventures of a charming and ingenious young inventor: 10-year-old T.S. Spivet.
T.S. narrates his own story in a pictorial manner allowing the viewer to
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet is a film that can be enjoyed on many different levels: serious or playful, full of meaning or meaningless – yet at all-times entertaining.
That’s somewhat of a weird request coming as it is from 10-year-old Fetus (Lucian Maisel), the young protagonist of Jacob Medjuck’s 2013 film Age of Summerhood (originaly released in 2008 as Summerhood).
I hadn’t heard of David Cook’s earlier novel Happy Endings until I read his obituary in The Guardian. There it’s described as being “about a 12-year-old boy’s relationship with a schoolteacher,” so I was expecting something along similar lines to Second Best. That it is not; in fact the boy and the teacher never meet (at least not in the conventional sense.)
Max & Mango have already released two albums. The first is All is Well, released in July 2014 with Warner Music and featuring ten songs). The second album is Abandoned Capitan, which contains 12 songs under Three 8 Management and was released only a month ago (24-Jun-2016).
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot
What? For the leaving of the European Union? Yes, that was absolutely terrible.
IN: Well, to answer the first question about how I do it, obviously it’s not a secret, but I think there are a couple of things that are important. One is that you have to know the people. I make films with friends. I loathe working in a professional way in the sense that you call on people, they show up and you rehearse for a couple of weeks and then you shoot. I need to know these people absolutely. So all the people involved in the film were friends of mine. So there’s a basis of trust, everything’s easy-going, there’s no tension in the moment of the shoot.
The Interrogation of Michael Crowe is the second feature film produced by Court TV. It focuses on the plight of 14-year-old Michael Crowe. One morning his younger sister is found murdered in her bed. The police officers decide to accuse Michael of his sister’s murder after seeing things in his room, such as the game Final Fantasy 7 and drawings from Dungeons and Dragons. Michael was cruelly interrogated for 11 straight hours. The police used various scare tactics to get a confession from the confused boy. They lied to him and got what they wanted …
It’s not every day that one stumbles upon a refreshingly funny and poignant film like Viviane Andereggen’s film Simon Says Goodbye To His Foreskin (Original title: Simon sagt ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ zu seiner Vorhaut). Nor is it common to have a movie with a story in which one’s foreskin (to be precise — the process of its removal also known as circumcision) is such a pivotal plot element. Intriguingly enough, a few days after the trailer of the 2015 German film boosted my expectations, I stumbled upon a series of messages on Twitter that were anti-circumcision, while others advocated the procedure. That made me realize its become a big issue and made me even more anxious to watch the film itself.
“This is not a film about childhood, it’s a film about a different kind of childhood” 
From Actor/Director 
She has also taken part in some professional projects: Sopa De Cabra – Cercles a music video, Big Band Clan – ep.2 (as an extra character), and short films for cinema schools around Catalonia…
” When the times comes for your confession , there is nothing to be frightened of …”
The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet is a fascinating story. Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the film follows the adventures of a charming and ingenious young inventor: 10-year-old T.S. Spivet.
That’s somewhat of a weird request coming as it is from 10-year-old Fetus (Lucian Maisel), the young protagonist of Jacob Medjuck’s 2013 film Age of Summerhood (originaly released in 2008 as Summerhood).