CynthiaMargaretWebb

I have just completed viewing all 10 episodes of Series Five, in French language with English Subtitles, done by the always excellent SBS TV(Australia) subtitling lab. Once I began, I had to watch about three or four episodes per night, and they seem to run for about an hour, although it certainly doesn't 'feel long'. Far from it! It is riveting viewing that puts you in danger of an all-night binge and not making it to work tomorrow! I notice that most reviews here are from people who've watched series one and two or up to series three. Well I am glad to be able to assure you that Series Four and Five are still as good, if not better! In series five the two final episodes are directed by Jacques Audiard, whose films "The Prophet" and "Rust and Bone" were major award winners. Some others by the brilliant writer, Eric Rochant himself, and by Mathieu Kassovitz, (also playing Malotru) and who is famous for his direction of the 1995 knock-out film "La Haine", which is still highly relevant now, in 2020.

There are lot of things to say about this great drama series, but in other reviews many people have explained it all fully, so please read some of the other comments too, about earlier series. However, be assured, it just gets better, so keep going.

In series five we see the quite recently developed "de-ageing" computer technology in use... when they need Mathieu Amalric to be young again. The technology is much talked about lately because it was used in Scorsese's "The Irishman". I think it can still be improved.

All of the cast are still superb. Kassovitz is the maestro of understated acting. Aleksey Gorbunov who was seen in the previous series, is very effective in his role as the FSB spy master. When he's on the screen you are captive! Another favorite screen presence, Zineb Triki, as Malotru's one true love, is still very convincing. An interesting character played by Louis Garrel has appeared in Egypt and Jordan, playing a very dangerous game, as an arms dealer to all sides. Members of the aristocracy of French cinema are involved here, and the series is as good as it gets.

"The Bureau" is one of the two best series-dramas I have ever seen from any country. (My other special favorite is "Berlin Babylon", in case you are wondering.) Both have ultra-realism, avoiding glamorizing their subject matter and the times and places where they are set.

In "The Bureau" we see a lot of the daily grind, research and pondering that is a big part of the profession of working in your national spy agency's office. It's where they are 'handling' the agents who are working in the field, and trying at all times to remain totally unsentimental and keep in mind the one and only aim - what's best for our country? If they have to sacrifice a few, so be it. It's the total opposite of the fanciful James Bond series of films.

Infused with respect and an under-current of regret, to the people of Indonesia from a Dutch female film-maker, this documentary by Sandra Beerends is a very valuable work, a gift. Ms Beerends (writer/director) and her collaborators talked with many women who had been nannies to Dutch families... called Babu by the families they worked for. They must have also spent a huge amount of time viewing archival footage and creating this artful concept for a beautiful documentary, which plays almost like a feature film. Ms Beerends has said that her own mother used to tell her stories of the babu Javanese women she remembered. Ms Beerends has written the story of Alima, a fictitious young Javanese girl/ a Babu who was embedded in a Dutch family, living and working with them for several years until 1942. That's when the Japanese invaded Indonesia, causing upheaval for the Dutch, and promising the Indonesians "liberation"/merdeka, a promise they did not fulfil. Things got worse, not better. Alima suddenly found herself alone again when all of her Dutch family were suddenly taken to prison camps and their house seized by the Japanese. Babu Alima had even returned to Holland with them during her time working for the family...On the journey she learned a lot about the world beyond Java, and marveled at how the Dutch family 'behaved the same everywhere, as if the world belonged to them.' She also learned that servants in Holland were entitled to one day off a week, something which was denied to her by the same family, when in Java - "Different rules apply here," she was told curtly upon their return. They had arrived in the Netherlands in winter, and she wore a winter coat over her batik kain (sarong) as she walked Jantje in his pram around the snowy streets, and stared in wonder at ice skaters on the canals. When they all returned to Java, she saw her homeland with new eyes. After the Japanese took control, Alima worked for a while with a wealthy Chinese family whom she found cheerful and kind, but difficult to get used to, as they had such different ways than the Dutch family. She loved little Jantje and always missed him. She left and went to Jakarta. She meets and falls in love with a young man, Ribut ( meaning noisy) who has freedom on his mind and is a follower of Sukarno. Just to see the footage of the young Sukarno speaking to his people, rousing their desire for independence, and other historic moments, including his arrival in Bogor at the Palace, to take his place as first president of Indonesia, is inspiring and worth the price of the ticket to view this wonderful film at home as part of the "all online" Sydney Film Festival of 2020. The young couple return to his (and her) hometown Yogyakarta in Central Java, when the War of Independence begins after the Japanese surrender and departure, which was followed soon after by the return of the Dutch. Just imagine the immense dismay in the hearts of the Indonesians. It's heartbreaking. Although the Dutch homeland had been occupied by the Nazis, they still hadn't understood that they were doing the same thing in Java....for 350 years. But this time the Indonesians were adamant and determined, and led by Sukarno, fought for and gained their independence in 1949, after having actually declared Indonesia a free nation on August 18th 1945. This story told with compilation footage has a very moving ending and contains some magical moments of joy for Alima and Ribut, although they lived through so much turmoil. Alima's fictious life is a blend of the lives of many young Javanese women who worked as a 'babu' but is true to the facts and rings very 'true'. The story of Alima, whose young life straddles the birth of a nation. It tells one woman's story, a part of the colonialism that was no doubt also happening in many other countries in the era of colonialism by European countries of lands in the south. The archival film is beautifully edited to complement the story and the pace is gentle and quiet in spite of the enormous historical events. It has the same 'energy' of calm and softness that is typical of the Javanese culture, so refined and delicate. The voice of the narrator and the words that Ms Beerends has written are perfect and feel 'right' to me, as someone who for 25 years has been close to the Javanese in modern times. I very much hope that Indonesians will be offered the opportunity to see this beautiful film. I think they will appreciate the recognition of their story and the empathetic and respectful way in which it has been told.

At the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, (November 2018) I had the opportunity to view this film, which was in the nominations and finally won the award as Best Animated Feature film. I loved the film, and watched it a second time the following day. The structure is that an old man is being interviewed on camera by his son, and telling his childhood memories of growing up in rural Georgia USSR at the end of World War Two or The Great Patriotic War. From time to time we see the old gentle man on screen, smiling affectionately and telling with such immense charm and humour, the story of his youth, until he left to go to Moscow, where he later became famous in the creative arts. The animation is particularly unique in style, charming and the story is told always as though time were 'wound back' ---observations and interpretations of a very young child, then a teenager, then young man. The director of the film is his own son. What a superb tribute to a great and beautiful man. I cannot praise this film enough