Journey to the End of the Nightby Anonymous
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April 25, 2007:
If Mos Def isn’t careful, people will begin to call him an actor before they consider his music. In another stand- out supporting role, Mos Def used his gifts of subtlety, facial expressions, and his ear for dialects to literally carry a sometimes shaky Journey to the End of the Night. Journey to the End of the Night was the brain-child of writer/director Eric Eason "Manito". Eason, who won critical acclaim for ‘Manito’ attempts to bring the same qualities of unique camera angles and a visceral story to bear in Journey. Eason, who traveled extensively throughout South America, draws from his experiences to tell a compelling story with the backdrop of a seedy section of the Sao Paulo megalopolis. But the seedy location is necessary for the plot of Journey to the End of the Night - which is ultimately a journey into the darkness of the human heart. The story is about a father and a son, their sins, and their desperation to begin anew – for a salvific new beginning. Scott Glenn "Training Day" plays Rosso the father of Brendan Fraser’s "Crash" character Paul. Scott Glenn, who plays stoic better than Shakespeare’s Brutus could ever have imagined, manages a brothel. Rosso "Glenn" is a man surrounded by mystery. He has owned and managed his brothel for almost twenty-years and is unable to return to the United States for some unknown reason. But Rosso is ready to retire and move to a more relaxed life in northern Brazil with his wife, Angie "Catalina Moreno, Maria Full of Grace", a former prostitute in his brothel, and their son. The brothel will then belong to Rosso’s son Paul "Fraser", a junkie and gambler with crippling debts, an entrenched hatred of his father, and a passion for his father’s wife, Angie. But Paul, like his father, is also trapped, chained to the brothel for a meager income that is a perpetual reminder to both men of their own fetid souls. It is this desperation that drives the men, father and son, into a one-time drug deal, a deal with the potential to set both men free. However when the movie opens, we see fate toying with Rosso and Paul’s dreams like a cat with a mouse. The drug mule for their deal is hilt-deep in a tantric tussle with a transvestite when he suddenly dies. When news of the drug mule’s demise reaches the brothel, both men are concerned, but they handle the situation in very different ways. Paul "Fraser" begins his slow descent into madness. Paul calls Angie, his sometimes lover and actual father of the son Rosso believes to be his own, and wails that the drug deal is their only chance to leave Brazil together. For you see, Paul intends to rob Rosso of his money, and leave the country with both his family and money. Rosso "Glenn" proves his stoicism when he learns of the drug mule’s death. While he understands that the drug money is the only way out the brothel and Sao Paulo for him and his family, Rosso takes action. He goes to the brothel kitchen and asks Wemba "Mos Def", a Nigerian immigrant, for a favor. Wemba, a true innocent, is the perfect replacement because he can speak Yoruba, a requirement of their African drug contact, and his honesty. And the movie revolves around this one night, a night...
Journey to the End of the Nightby Anonymous
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April 21, 2007:
Journey to the End of the Night Review by Thomas Spurlin To be straight to the point, Journey to the End of the Night is a much better film than expected. Sure, the cast is superb. However, the convoluted, brash nature of the story sets an excessively exploitative tone at first glance. Once the film starts rolling from its dilapidated, exotic starting gate, the brimming talent of director Eric Eason starts to gradually lift this film above such a claim. Though not a perfect film and still possessing a few plot eccentricities that felt both easy and a bit overzealous for some tastes, Journey to the End of the Night is a surprisingly taut drama benchmarked by fine, natural performances. The Film: Money, sex, and crime plague the urban streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The town seems collapsed upon this epidemic, though also firmly supported by the same vices. Everyone amidst the tortuous, winding streets seems to be running from something. Journey to the End of the Night is a tale firmly laced within the fabric of a dangerous series of events that span a full evening. Entangled within this web of chaos is Paul "Brendan Fraser", son to one of the town's weathered, premiere pimps Sinatra "Scott Glenn". Though both involved within an industry marred by malignance, each man seems bent on fleeing the town to provide a better life for ex-prostitute Maria "Catalina Sandino Moreno" and her child. Both lost in this labyrinth seeking a way out, corruption isn't beside either man - even amidst their own family. Amazing things happen in this corrupt underbelly, such as inexplicable deaths during sex acts and immense loads of unclaimed narcotics abandoned due to murderous activity. Though already down a path of malignant reprise, this father-son pair manages to get entangled within a scenario that involves everything this anarchistic maze has to offer. Forced to make a split decision regarding a "delivery", Sinatra procures the help of Wemba "Mos Def", a Nigerian dishwasher that so happens to speak the tongue needed by the gentlemen later that evening. What ensues is a tangled web of chaos within the Brazilian night that seems to have no end in plain vision. Reflective of the gritty cinematography and narrative that's become richly effective with many modern films, Journey to the End of the Night is quite a treat to behold. A blinding palette of reds and yellows pours through the film like cautionary stoplights. While numerous crime films glorify and romanticize the lives of such corrupt people, this film makes certain to convey the grit and brashly unpleasant nature of such an environment. Such a life will not appear desirable, nor should it. What's truly surprising is the intent, bubbling hunger within each character. Though scraping to make the best of the situation, the denizens of Sao Paulo equally display their fervent, absorbed rage to escape their transitional stay in this network of filth. Both Glenn's Sinatra and Mos Def's Wemba rely heavily on the fusion between each actor's effortlessly gripping charisma and the lost nature of the character. These guys need to escape towards a better life, and this point is well conveyed by their potent demeanor. Alongside many other finely assembled characters, like Moreno's retired woman of the night, these fine performances craft a terrific support structure for this story of tumultuous collapse. The star of the show, however,...
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