Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose (2023)
Based on real events
Snow and cold weather makes me even more lethargic than I usually am, and that says something. To perfectly reflect this, I’ve chosen a movie with a bit of a slower pacing - more of a mystery sort of flick. If I’m being honest, it’s way more just because I’ve meant to watch it for a while and not gotten around to it yet, and would like to do so before it goes away from the wonderful “Free with Ads” category on Amazon - I only get paid so much for my actual job after all, and holiday season usually takes little nibbles out for gifting and such. So brace yourself for a mouthful of a title that promises intrigue and potentially wacky antics that you probably wouldn’t have guessed was based on some real events - tonight we are watching Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.
It’s such a mouthful! So this movie is a bit slower, and if you didn’t guess already sets it up for a three-pointer or some other sports jargon that’s totally beyond me with the thinking types. At it’s base, we have a guy in the field of paranormal science back in the day where people hardly ever stopped smoking, and he ends up being drawn towards a colleagues letter about a family on the Isle of Man who happen to have a frequent visitor that’s a bit abnormal. How abnormal you ask? It’s a talking mongoose that claims to be an earth spirit. His colleague never actually saw the mongoose, but did in fact hear him talk - but with a daughter skilled in ventriloquism there’s a lot to be suspicious about when it comes to this never-seen critter named Gef. Our lead decides to go out there and do an investigation of his own to try and find proof of or against Gef’s existence, but what he finds might end up being a lot more profound.
It’s pretty much all actors here. It’s got some good ones - including a nice little appearance by Christopher Lloyd - but anyone that’s on screen does a great job with what they have, even if it’s just delivering a single line about getting a phone call from a mongoose. Interactions between people are pretty good as well, with everything playing off as quite reasonable despite the entire goal being a talking mongoose. When he does get around to talking, little old Gef seems to spout out all manner of rhymes and rather roundabout philosophical ramblings rather then getting straight to the punch, which does allow for furthering layers of mystery thanks to how it’s being delivered. They overall do a pretty good job with emoting and coming off as intended.
Characters are here in handfuls, but the main two are the lead and his assistant. They are the only ones who really have something akin to arcs to them - with the main getting the brunt of it and the assistant getting more of a “views changed because of an event that challenged those views.” Our want’s to believe but constantly has to disprove lead doesn’t necessarily come out feeling like a totally different person, but does however end the movie in a spot of far more understanding (at least philosophically) than where he started, and that’s probably a far larger change that in most the movies I end watching what with my penchant for horror and action flicks. There’s also some pretty entertaining side characters - but for a few of them I imagine mileage will vary as it comes hand in hand with the comedy of the movie.
Reminding you just how smoke-covered the old days used to be.
Yeah, that’s right this is a comedy as well. Some of it is subtle stuff that’s not going to come across - or maybe it’s more of a British sense of humor perhaps - to everyone. Sometimes it’s pretty obvious. Sometimes even the characters are laughing at it gets a little infectious. All of that said, it’s not going to hit everyone the same way because of the way comedy works and being so personal from person to person, but it has at least a few spots where a person can fit a chuckle in and it does help lighten the movie up from some of the more serious or drab bits. A lot of it comes into the actors selling the comedy of the scene or how the visual elements butt up against the audio elements - like a man talking about going around the corner of a church to pee and the visual showing him literally just a few steps away from the rest of the crowd.
Costumes are a bit more period, but honestly it’s period in the sense of everyone always being dressed to the nines with their vests and hats and overcoats. It’s fun to look at since it’s a bit of a contrast to the fact we are out in a very rural country spot looking for a talking mongoose while dressed so nicely with ties and all that - but it also isn’t so far that you’ll necessarily break free from the curse of normal modern attire in a movie either - it looks believable and like it fits, but in turn it doesn’t stand out as much as a crazy outfit or space suit or something. Even Gef, what little we see of any kind of mongoose in here, doesn’t end up being more than just a bunch of little teases most the time, leaving even the effects side of things to be pretty pulled back. The acting is good enough if your in the mindset to not get bored while watching however, even if there isn’t a lot of flashy things going on, and the camera work does plenty with the editing to not make you feel like things are too static. Probably helps at least some what that the countryside is gorgeous.
The audio is balanced well and I’ve already mentioned line deliveries are done well. I think more than anything else, the movie is oriented towards folks who like to think about things. The entire concept plays with what is real and perception, scientific proof and belief, and how sometimes maybe it’s just better to be simple and happy. There’s a through line with the main character about life and death and the theoretical blank space that is “what happens to us after we die” and the likes as well. I feel that for the most part it handles it pretty well in balancing it out without feeling too overly pushy about it - even though it can be a point of tension for the characters or the main thing they are talking about at times. It feels far less like preaching to the audience and more like an actual thought out interaction between characters - and sometimes it’s' a little funny, and sometimes it’s a bit serious as things like that can be.
Snacks before hiking
It was a pretty decent movie overall. I had a good time watching it - even if there isn’t a whole ton that necessarily feels like goes on at a surface level. The idea is intriguing, and it carries a lot of thinking-folk stuff along with it as it goes, showing it’s not all just a laughing goof of a movie. Actors do good, audio is balanced nicely, things all feel like they fit and it plays out well. Editing and cinematography also did wonderful here, so the only thing to really not like about it is just if you aren’t the kind of person that wants an action-light, thinking undercurrent of a movie that feels a bit like an investigation into the unknown would probably feel. I suppose you could also complain at how little talking mongoose is actually in the movie, but when Gef does come around to say things it’s usually something a bit deep, but that’s part of what keeps it a mystery is not getting hit over the head by animal lip service right?