She's a queen of the desert

Transamerica: acclaimed turn
Metro10 April 2012

This week sees top films from around the world released. From America, there is the acclaimed Transamerica and an explosive documentary about American superstore Wal-Mart. These are joined by the lauded South African film Tsotsi, and a dish of wonderful Chinese satire.

Transamerica
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 15, £19.99
Review: Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

****

Though Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman's astonishing, Oscar-nominated turn as a male-to-female trannie is the big draw in Transamerica, there's a lot else to enjoy about this bizarre, yet accessible, family drama. A week before the big snip, transsexual Bree suddenly finds (s)he has a teenage rent-boy son as the result of a long-forgotten college fumble ('the whole thing was so tragically lesbian I thought it didn't count'). This prompts the inevitable bumpy/poignant road trip, where Bree pretends to be a female church worker - and eventually everyone learns it's best just to be yourself. It's actually far less fuzzy than that sounds thanks to a wonderfully acerbic script and a fantastic final act that makes you laugh out loud - for all the right reasons.

Extras: Director commentary, making-of documentary.

Tsotsi
Momentum, 15, £19.99
Review: Siobhan Murphy

*****

The battle for the soul of Sowetan street thug Tsotsi is played out with moving intensity in Gavin Hood's Oscar-winning film. Hood brings Athol Fugard's original story, set in 1950s apartheid South Africa, bang up to date: here, runaway Tsotsi acquires the baby that changes his life when he accidentally kidnaps it during the car-jacking of a wealthy black woman. As Tsotsi, Presley Chweneyagae is magnetic: as the baby's vulnerability unlocks the emotions he's suppressed for so long, Tsotsi's conflicting feelings are writ large across his face, making the ending all the more devastating. He's backed up by an excellent cast, which includes kwaito superstar Zola in a cameo role, a blistering soundtrack (Zola again) and Lance Gewer's gorgeous cinematography. With impressive extras, this is essential viewing.

Extras: Director commentary, trailer, deleted scenes, alternate endings, three music videos, two docs and a Gavin Hood short film.

Dumplings
Tartan Video Asia Extreme, 18, £19.99
Review: Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

****

Fruit Chan's queasy satire on female vanity, Dumplings, is one of the most original morsels of recent Asia Extreme. A fading Hong Kong soap star (Miriam Yeung) is so desperate to halt wrinkles and stop her husband straying, she'll try anything. Even the fabled youth-giving dumplings cooked up by 'Auntie' (Bai Ling). The result is a delectable mix of smart script and shock sensationalism. Superstylish eye candy on the surface - as you'd expect from Wong-Kar Wai's fave cinematographer Christopher Doyle - but with plenty to chew on, too.

Extras: Making-of documentary; interview with Bai Ling.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost Of Low Prices
Tartan Video, PG, £19.99
Review: Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

****

That the 'pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap' business comes at a cost is scarcely news. But Robert Greenwald's thoughtful propaganda piece against America's billion-dollar superstore, Wal-Mart: The High Cost Of Low Prices, still proves revelatory by allowing Wal-Mart to dig its own grave. It juxtaposes CEO Lee Scott's declaration that his firm is a shining example of global citizenship against the reality of sweatshop workers in China. Glossy advertorial offsets the workers' claims of racism, sexism and inadequate worker care. It's a stirring call that every consumer should hear.

Extras: Director interview, anti-Wal-Mart UK featurette.

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