By Dave Montalbano
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
You can add Whiplash to the list of Oscar-nominated films that may be better than the actual winner [Birdman]. This is a very simple film in which young Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is a first year drummer at a prestigious New York musical conservatory. The John Houseman of all educators, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons) is a scary influence who wants gifted drummers to be great. Thus, the road to hell is paved with misguided intentions between a student and his mentor.
The intensity of Neiman’s drive and the darkness of Fletcher’s motivation provide an epic quality to this simple story. Whiplash forces you to rethink what it means to be successful. Young people might sympathize with young Andrew’s drive, while a former teacher might agree with mastermind Fletcher’s methods of developing talent.
Paul Reiser portrays Neiman’s loving, but ineffectual father. Reiser’s few scenes emphasize the importance of family values over ephemeral success. When accepting his Oscar for his role as Fletcher, Simmons ignited social media with his acceptance speech that supported this subtle theme of Whiplash.
He said, “Call your mom, call your dad. If you’re lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call ‘em. Don’t text. Don’t email. Call them on the phone. Tell ‘em you love ‘em, and thank them, and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you.”
Mr. Kaplan opens tomorrow. This film was the official submission of Uruguay to the best foreign language film category of the 87th Academy Awards. Told in Spanish with English subtitles, this film provides serious themes about aging, the Holocaust and deadbeat dads, while creating some humorous moments.
Jacob Kaplan (Héctor Noguera) is the aging oddball of his community. Concerned that he might hurt himself, the family provides an assistant to drive Mr. Kaplan around town. While listening to the news, he learns that former Nazis have settled in his community. A child of the holocaust, Mr. Kaplan believes he has spotted a Nazi tormentor. With his befuddled assistant Contreras (Néstor Guzzini), Mr. Kaplan decides to kidnap the Nazi and send his tormentor to Israel.
Taking a cue from Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Mr. Kaplan walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy. Not until the final scene does one realize that Mr. Kaplan is either heroic or delusional, but at least he managed to enjoy another adventure with his Sancho Panza.
[Note: Speaking of Don Quixote, the play Man of La Mancha is currently showing at The Wick Theatre in Boca Raton through March 28. Info: www.thewick.org.]
