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La Pelle Dell'Orso. (The Secret of The Bear). 2016 92 mins 8/10 I think something got lost in the translation from Italian, as there didn't appear to any secret attached to the bear. The bear in question is a loner that has returned after many years to terrorize the village of Coste, high in the mountains of Venetto. After its reappearance the local villagers are at a loss as to what to do next. In steps Pietro Sieff (Marco Paolini who also co-wrote the screenplay). Sieff, like the bear, is also a loner, a surly widower with a 14 year old son Domenico (Leonardo Mason). Or more correctly he can be seen as an outcast, part-time drunk and the villager loser. He takes on a bet to rid the village of the bear. He sets out alone, but his son soon decides to join him in the hunt. On the way to catch up to his father young Domenico meets Sara (Lucia Mascino) a friend of his dead mother. Their meeting has him wondering about his mother and how she died.

Pietro keeps mostly to himself, but as the pair climb higher into the mountains, they begin the process of getting to know each other better. The dialogue is sparse, as is the action. This is a movie about the development of a relationship that had looked strained when in the village. While life at the village level is harsh, the villages in the region are postcard pretty, and the towering mountain landscapes that dominate the area are stunning and memorable. Paolini is outstanding as Sieff, in a largely unsympathetic role, while Mason grows into his role more as the movie progresses. The direction is lyrical, unhurried and unobtrusive, allowing the small cast time and space in which to develop their roles. Overall, a commendable and different style of film.

Don't be confused, this is nothing like the old Jimmy Cliff movie of the same name. So what have we got here? I found this to be a rollicking and highly entertaining ride, from go to whoa. If you are looking for a dose of reality, look elsewhere, escapism doesn't get much purer than this. Grab some popcorn, start munching and settle down to a rollicking good ride. The opening sets not only the scene but also the prevailing mood, with deaths and violence that are swift and sudden. It is a clear signpost of what is to come. At the times the violence is way over the top, to the extent where it sometimes appears cartoonish, and when viewed from that angle it isn't too over the top at all.

The film has a nod towards Sergio Leone who rewrote the book on westerns, most notably l detected elements of Once Upon a Time in America, and the Trinity/My Name is Nobody series. There is also a nod or few to Tarantino, but this movie excels over his recent releases in the western genre, Django Unchained and the Hateful 8. This film is also an attempt to change the landscape of the western and it succeeds admirably, by acknowledging the presence of African Americans. Until now Hollywood has largely ignored their presence in Westerns, with the notable exception of the civil war epic, Glory. There are plenty of gritty characters, and what a memorable lot they are. Attention must be paid at the beginning to note who is who, bravado is in no short supply and trash talk abounds in the whip cracking smart script. At times some of the dialogue was a little hard to hear or decipher, but l am sure meaning would be rewarded with repeat viewings.

Then there are the characters, and what a memorable lot they are. Attention must be paid at the beginning to note who is who, there is plenty of bravado and trash talk abounds. Of the main characters the one who stands out above and beyond all others is Idris Elba as Rufus Buck. A large part of the action centres around him and he is more than capable of shouldering the attention. The other stand out performance is by the redoubtable Delroy Lindo as marshall Bass Reeves. It isn't only the men who turn in memorable performances, Zazie Beetz as Stagecoach Mary is resilient in a no nonsense kind of way, but she is overshadowed on screen by the menacing presence of Regina King as the lethal Trudy Smith. These are two women among others who are every bit as powerful and dangerous as any of the male characters they share the screen with. The only actor l found who lacked the necessary gravitas was Jonathon Majors as Nat Love, who didn't generate the sort of screen presence his character needed.

One other small example of this shift in the approach to the genre is through the creative use of song and music, from the opening music hall number, through to the final, lilting folk song and many stops in between. But there is also humour, as in the use of colour, and the inevitable climactic shoot out which is the main example of the cartoon style violence. Here one large gang of killers prove themselves to be totally incompetent at hitting targets, while the other side can hardly miss a kill shot. If you are looking for realism, look elsewhere, just enjoy this movie for what it is, a rip roaring 'shoot 'em up', and you won't be disappointed.

A made for TV drama. Two railway workers find the dead body of a prominent citizen in his car by the tracks. The local police officer is called I to investigate. Riding along with him is his friend, a star police investigator from Moscow, who coincidentily was invited to visit the family for the weekend. The search for the killer shifts into gear, as the identity is made known, a disturbed young woman, who had recently broken out of a mental institute, where she had been housed for three years.

A high degree of inevitability about the plot, sprinkled with a few too many coincidences and a couple of glaring plot holes spoil what might have been a better than average story. This is a pity as the as the basic concept is intriguing and the killer is the most interesting character in the film. The star investigator takes over more and more even though it is not his case and he appears to be three steps ahead of everyone else in solving the crime. The signposts are a little too obvious, and of course there is a degree of corruption and coercion involved, all too common in contemporary Russian films. The film would have benefited greatly from more development of the script, and it needed to be at least ten minutes longer as the ending is compacted and all too contrived.