5 Films - The Many Lives Of Javier Bardem

The Sea Inside (2004)

This film saw the powerful Spanish contemporary filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar collaborate with the equally talented Javier Bardem in making one of the finest films based on a true story. The Sea Inside, or Mar Adentro (original title), was a film based on the life of Ramon Sampedro, a fisherman poet who, at a very young age had an accident while diving, which left him a bed-ridden quadriplegic. The film touched upon the controversial topic of euthanasia and received great critical acclaim, especially for Javier Bardem's graceful portrayal of a man who wanted nothing more than to control his own destiny.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

This contemporary-western-action-drama-thriller directed by the Coen brothers (Ethan and Joel) was easily one of the finest films of the decade. With a hauntingly quiet background score that consisted only of ambient sounds, the film explores universal themes like greed, wrath and other biblical sins in a very modern setting. Javier Bardem plays the role of Anton Chigurh, a killing machine void of human emotions who decides the fate of his victims by the flip of a coin. Portraying the character in all its cold-blooded brutality, Bardem ends up taking the entire cake of credit for the movie which also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin and Kelly Macdonald.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

An elegant romantic drama by Woody Allen is one of those rare dramedies featuring the gloomy-eyed, gruff-voiced actor. The film is about two friends Vicky and Cristina (Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson) who visit Barcelona on a trip so that Vicky can work on her degree. They meet the charming artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) who offers them a vacation where they could make love. Vicky refuses but Cristina is eager for a new experience. However, things get ugly when Antonio's passionate, tippy ex-lover Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) arrives at the scene after a failed suicide attempt.

Biutiful (2010)

This film saw the dreams of a lot of movie geeks come true as the director known for films like Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel collaborated with Javier Bardem. This Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu film casts Bardem in the role of Uxbal; a man torn between his many roles, struggling to make it work as a father and a lover, at the same time juggling his identities of spirituality, mortality and guilt. Set in the underbelly of modern Barcelona, Uxbal's fate encircles him and crosses lines to show us that life is cyclic and it all begins where it ends. The film is all about Bardem and his secret repertoire from which he procures the emotions for love, loss and many other things.

Skyfall (2012)

There are roles that define you and there are roles that are defined by you; and then there are roles that strike the balance between the character and the actor, and create a magnificent work of art. Skyfall was just one such film where the James Bond franchise in its 50-years of glory went on to cast Javier Bardem in the role of the negative character of Silva. Like he does with all his roles, Bardem quite willingly steps into the shoes of his character and brings to life a megalomaniac, who only has revenge on his mind. Although not the best of films, playing the bad guy in a 007 film is a big deal.

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on March 1, 2013

Covalent Bond

If there is one thing we have learnt in the past fifty years, it is that if you make a really good film in the same year as a James Bond film, the best you can hope is for you to end up making the second most awesome movie of that year. Sadly, it isn’t true about Skyfall. Yes, it is a great action thriller, and yes, the central character is secret agent 007, but this isn’t a Bond film in its truest sense. An expectation laden fan who enters the cinema hall hoping to witness the greatness of a cinematic legend, ends up coming out a tad bit disappointed.

Silver, a former secret agent that went rogue, returns to terminate M and has a grand plan that involves high-tech computer hacking and years of planning. James Bond, as usual, is in the service of the Majesty and is determined to foil the plan - a pursuit that takes him to a place in Scotland, Skyfall, where the final confrontation takes place. A relatively predictable plot that you just wait to unfold in an interesting manner takes some percentage of the thrill out of the experience, however, apart from a few moments in the middle third, the scenarios keep you on your toes.

What takes your attention away from an astonishingly boring storyline is the high octane action. The film opens with a chase sequence in Istanbul, which, FYI makers of Taken, is how you choreograph an action scene on the roof tops of houses in that city. The explosive finale and classy punch-lines that magnifies the impact of every gunshot, are what make it a better action film than many that we have recently watched. The end, once again, is a dampener as it brings down the graph unnecessarily. And no matter how excited the action gets us, what’s missing from the film is the (there is no better way to say this) Bondness of the thrill. Daniel Craig proves for the third time that he, and this is quite debatable, isn’t suave enough to pull off a Bond.

Although the latter films have been superior in terms of production quality, they have lacked substance as the fans of this series have always wanted something new. With Skyfall, comes another disappointment – the gadgets are not sophisticated enough, and as much as one may avoid saying, the Bond girls also lack (still no better way to say it) Bondness.

As far as the performances go, to his merit, this is Daniel Craig’s best Bond film. Judi Dench as M is charming and Ralph Fiennes in a short but significant role only adds value to the presentation. Javier Bardem, in his role as Silver, is a severely undercooked character that the actor has put his craft into. He is distinct in his ways and is a character that one will take some time to forget.

The animated opening credits to Adele’s track are the highlight of the film. In the years to come, this Bond film will probably be known as ‘The One with Adele’s Song in It’. That apart, the background score and the Bond theme is adapted quite brilliantly and keep up with the pace that the visuals create.

Cinema is in its hundredth year in India and Bond films have been there for fifty of those. The franchise is not only a series of movies but is now a part of our cultural existence. Whether or not it is the best Bond film ever is a judgment call for every individual, but the film is quite entertaining, if nothing else.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Published in DNA After Hrs (Pune) on November 3, 2012