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Friendship's Death

UK 1987
produced by
Rebecca O'Brien, Colin MacCabe (executive) for BFI/Channel 4
directed by Peter Wollen
starring Bill Paterson, Tilda Swinton, Ruby Baker, Patrick Bauchau, Joumana Gill
written by Peter Wollen, music by Barrington Pheloung

review by
Mike Haberfelner

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Amman, Jordan, September 1970, also known as the Black September, when the Palestinians led by PLO leader Arafat tried to overthrow King Hussein of Jordan.

Here, war journalist Sullivan (Bill Paterson) meets a woman (Tilda Swinton) with no papers whatsoever, and he promises to help her. However, when she relates her story to him, he finds it at first hard to believe: She claims she's an extraterrestrial android called Friendship sent to earth as a peace emmissary, and she was actually to land at the MIT in Massachusetts, USA, to bring her message to earth people, but lost direction somewhee along the way. 

Of course, Sullivan doesn't believe a word at first, but by and by he finds more and more evidence that might suggest she is telling the truth. Soon, in their respective hotelrooms, they start talking about everything, from the conflict at hand to her life on her planet to typewriters to vacuum cleaners, and they start to develop feelings for each other.

Then finally, Sullivan has acquired (forged) papers for Friendship so she can leave the country with him ... but by now, she has started to identify with the Palestinians, who she claims are as opressed on earth as machines (like herself) are, and rather than finally make it to MIT, where she reckons she will only be disassembled for studying, she joins the PLO in their fight.

Many years later, Sullivan and his daughter (Ruby Baker), a whiz kid on the best way to become a robotics expert, get to see what's on one of Friendship's memory chips, her only present for him.

 

A blend of political commentary and science fiction, filmed against the backdrop of the Black September, but  being almost entirely confined to a couple of hotel rooms - an interesting concept, but also one that is bound to fail ... and ultimately, Friendship's Death does fail indeed, its political metaphors are heavy-handed while its sci-fi concepts are a bit silly in the context, and since the film is confined to a hotel, the conflict it is based on remains weirdly unreal and theoretical. And the very stagey directorial effort doesn't help too much either.

Having said that, Friendship's Death isn't all bad, Tilda Swinton and Bill Paterson are capable enough actors to carry the movie despite its shortcomings, and despie all its historical and political subtext, the film at least doesn't try to hard to hammer a message across and at least tries to remain fairly entertaining throughout. That of course doesn't say that Friendship's Death is a good movie ... it just could have been way worse.

 

 

 

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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In times of uncertainty of a possible zombie outbreak, a woman has to decide between two men - only one of them's one of the undead.

 

There's No Such Thing as Zombies
starring
Luana Ribeira, Rudy Barrow and Rami Hilmi
special appearances by
Debra Lamb and Lynn Lowry

 

directed by
Eddie Bammeke

written by
Michael Haberfelner

produced by
Michael Haberfelner, Luana Ribeira and Eddie Bammeke

 

now streaming at

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Robots and rats,
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Tales to Chill
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Tales to Chill
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