THE CONSTANT GARDENER
It’s such a pleasure to be able to recommend a film that is actually playing all across the US and is in English (with a great British and African cast). It is directed by the talented Brazilian director Fernando Mereilles who did a brilliant job with his film “City of God”. The reason it is being reviewed here is that “The Constant Gardener” is an engrossing film with a wonderful liberal sensibility that is beautifully made.
Moving from London to Kenya to Germany to the Sudan, the film tells the story of a low level diplomat assigned to Kenya who takes his paramour with him after a whirlwind courtship. It is a heady mix as she is a liberal activist and immediately runs afoul of the status quo, poking her nose into big business/government affairs that get her in hot water. This sets up the intrigue that runs through the film. What makes the film so interesting is Mereilles injects the issues of the region into the script in the form of AIDS and Big Pharma which brings a topicality and urgency to the proceedings. He is also extremely gifted at bringing humanity to the forefront in so many of the situations which is a rare thing indeed in most high budget films and most welcome here.
The film is very well cast and gives Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz as good a role as they have ever had and their chemistry helps make the film a joy to watch even when the film turns darker. Some of the cliches of this genre are avoided and some may wish for a few more plot twists a la Bourne Identity but I found it refreshing that it wasn’t at all Hollywood in style, it’s a beautiful melding of Europe/Africa and South America, which is to say much more humanist as opposed to plot heavy. Also Fiennes’ character isn’t a spy but an everyman and it makes you aware of how often Hollywood pushes the machismo angle as there is none of it in his performance, adversity does not turn us into the Hulk and it is wonderful to see him respond in character. It is also a joy as a liberal to see Big Pharmaceuticals exposed for their repugnant business dealings and the willful neglect of the world’s poor. After the past 10 days of the Gulf Coast tragedy, it is refreshing to see this subject on film treated with so much care.
cross-posted at Liberal Streetfighter
