By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Set in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in October, 1944, the powerful, poignant “Son of Saul” revolves around a Hungarian Jewish prisoner named Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig). He’s a member of the Sonderkommando, a group of prisoners assigned the grim task of carrying corpses from the gas chamber to the crematorium, then carting away the ashes to be discarded.
As Allied Forces draw closer to the camp, the pace of killing is accelerated. Among the dead, Saul finds the body of a young boy he claims as his son, and he becomes obsessed with finding a rabbi among the prisoners to say Kaddish (the prayer for the dead) and give the child a proper burial.
Inspired by “Voices from Beneath the Ashes,” true tales from Auschwitz which was published in Jean-Paul Sartre’s periodical “Les Temps Modernes,” Hungarian-born writer/director Laszlo Nemes noted: “The story of the Holocaust is not the story of the exceptions who survived. It is the story of the dead.”
Co-scripting with Clara Royer, first-time feature film director Nemes reveals the agony solely through Saul’s perception, as cinematographer Matyas Erdely consigns violence and nudity into the un-focused background, along with the desperate wailing and persistent screaming.
As a former watchmaker-turned locksmith, Saul’s urgency is further heightened by plans for an upcoming Sonderkommando rebellion and their interaction with SS guards and Oberkapos (superior officers).
“You’ve failed the living to help the dead,” he’s told.
Add “Son of Saul” to the pantheon of visceral, visually striking Holocaust films that includes “Schindler’s List,” “Shoah,” “The Grey Zone” and “Life is Beautiful.”
In Hungarian, Yiddish, German and Polish with English subtitles, “Son of Saul” is an intense, engrossing 8, an existential warning from history. I predict this will win the Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film.
As “Kung Fu Panda 2” ended, Po’s long-lost biological father Li realizes, “My son is alive.”
So “Kung Fu Panda 3” is about Po (voiced by Jack Black) reuniting with Li (voiced by Bryan Cranston) and discovering his roots in their ancestral panda village, while coping with Kai (voiced by J.K. Simmons), a self-righteous, power-hungry spirit that’s risen from the dead, leading zombie-like warriors.
Villainous Kai resembles a huge, horned yak bull – and could terrify very young tots, especially in 3D, since he possesses the power to freeze his enemies into stone.
Po’s wise master, the red panda Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), tells him to become a martial arts master, coaching the Furious Five (voiced by Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen and David Cross), saying, “If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now.”
Predictably, there’s a natural rivalry between Li and Po’s adoptive father, the goose named Mr. Ping (voiced by James Hong). The resolution indicates there’s room for Po’s relationship with both to grow and flourish. And a love interest for Po is introduced by the inclusion of ribbon-dancing Mei Mei (voiced by Kate Hudson).
Scripted by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Burger, directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni, the landscapes and calligraphy are superbly rendered. This is DreamWorks Animation’s first co-production with their partner Oriental, and the first American animated feature to be co-produced by a Chinese studio.
On the Granger Gauge, “Kung Fu Panda 3” is a supernaturally sweet 6, revolving around the concept of forgiveness and family, recommended for children over the age of six.
“Dirty Grandpa” is one of the worst films Robert De Niro’s ever made. And the scene in which the two-time Oscar-winner masturbates to porn has got to be the most humiliating of his career.
De Niro plays a recently bereaved widower who cajoles his uptight lawyer grandson, Jason (Zac Efron), into driving him from Atlanta to Boca Raton. It’s the week before Jason’s scheduled to marry demanding, obsessively-controlling Meredith (Julianne Hough), but he reluctantly agrees.
As soon as they hit the road, Grandpa confesses that he’s been celibate for 15 years and is determined to get laid. Not surprisingly, they meet up with three college students.
Shadia (Zoey Deutch) knew Jason from photography class and Lenore (Aubrey Plaza) has a yen for older men, meaning Grandpa’s ‘in like Flynn,’ as they used to say, referring to Errol Flynn’s legendary prowess with women. Bradley (Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman), their gay African-American buddy, becomes the target of Grandpa’s racist, homophobic insults.
After a brief detour to visit Grandpa’s old Army buddy (Danny Glover), they all hook up in Daytona Beach, where drugs and bikini-clad babes reign supreme.
When Jason inadvertently smokes crack and collapses on the beach, he awakens with penises shaped like a Nazi swastika inked on his forehead and naked except for a plush toy on his genitals.
Adding to the embarrassment, Dermot Mulrony plays Jason’s lawyer father, Adam Pally’s his idotic cousin, and Jason Mantzoukas is a zany drug dealer, working alongside a couple of complicit, corrupt Florida cops (Henry Zebrowski, Mo Collins).
Screenwriter John M. Phillip, who writes skits for Sacha Baron Cohen, contributes relentlessly filthy vulgarity, sketchily directed by Dan Mazer. The primary gag involves Grandpa sticking his finger in Jason’s butt. And don’t confuse the title with Johnny Knoxville’s mischievous “Bad Grandpa.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Dirty Grandpa” is a tedious, testosterone-propelled 2 – raunchy, repellent and desperately un- funny.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
