Vastly overblown-- due to the controversy-- dramaticization of the last days of Christ, with a decidedly Catholic bent (revealled in the fetishistic attention to blood and to Mary's role). Is it anti-semitic? I have some sympathy with those who defend it on the basis of the accuracy of the script-- the Pharisees and Scribes do plot against Jesus, and they are Jewish-- but it also seemed to me that the Romans were more charitably portrayed without rational explanation. Ultimately, the film is rather pointless- Gibson sees suffering as the true subject of the film and some of us see suffering as a function of narrative consequence. Since Gibson glories in the particular suffering of Christ in and of it self, and seems uninterested in the responses of Christ's disciples or the Romans or the Jews, the film seems, in an odd way, pornographic.
JAMES CAVIEZEL, MAIA MORGENSTERN, CHRISTO JIVKOV, FRANCESCO DE VITO, MONICA BELLUCCI, MATTIA SBRAGIA, TONI BERTORELLI, LUCA LIONELLO, ROSALINDA CELENTANO
Spooky but dissatisfying story about a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of a young widow's husband. There are flashes of inspiration here, and flashes of other films from which the spookiest elements are derived, like "6th Sense". There is a naturalistic, disturbing texture to the sequences in which the young Sean attempts to insinuate himself into the life of Anna (Nicole Kidman), and a shocking scene in which he enters her bathtub. It doesn't all make perfect sense at the end, but it's an enjoyable ride, and the film's atmospherics are occasionally a thrill.
NICOLE KIDMAN, CAMERON BRIGHT, LAUREN BACALL, DANNY HUSTON, ANNE HECHE, PETER STORMARE
Highly entertaining legendary first film by Robert Rodriguez, about a guitar player mistaken for a gangster. Shot for about $3,000 (allowing for exaggeration and Hollywood spin), the film is remarkably entertaining, paced well, and well-edited.
Sometimes intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying story about an escaped prisoner who hijacks a train, only to find it abandoned, and running at full steam towards a precipice. Kurasawa apparently planned to film this story in upstate New York, but huge snowstorms prevented him.
JON VOIGHT, ERIC ROBERTS, REBECCA DEMORNAY, KYLE T. HEFFNER
Sprawling, long biopic of Mohammed Ali-- approved by him-- from his triumph over Liston to capture the heavyweight crown for the first time, to his comeback victory over Joe Foreman in Zaire. Good performances all around, but not clear where the focus of this film is. Too wide to be personal, and too narrow to be historical. Therefore neither, therefore both.
WILL SMITH, JAMIE FOXX, JON VOIGHT, MARIO VAN PEEBLES, JADA PINKETT SMITH, JOE MORTON, GIANCARLO ESPOSITO
Disappointing parody of Christian culture, about a Christian high school in which cliques and outcasts play the same roles as in public high schools. When Mary decides that Jesus has instructed her to "cure" a friend of homosexuality by having sex with him-- a scene not milked very much--she gets pregnant and starts a sequence of events that allegedly exposes the rank hypocrisy of the school community. Ends up more preachy than the hypocritical Christians it is intended to parody.
MANDY MOORE, JENNA MALONE
Entertaining and sometimes sweet comedy about the Jewish family meeting the all-American wonderbread family in marriage. The characters are likeable and the director avoids the most obvious tempting excesses, and there are enough good jokes to make it entertaining and likeable if not particularly respectable.
Robert De Niro, BEN STILLER, DUSTIN HOFFMAN, BARBRA STREISAND, BLYTHE DANNER, OWEN WILSON
Deeply flawed film-- some sequences are utterly implausible-- about neo-Nazi skin head Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) and his influence on younger brotehr Danny (Terminator star Edward Furlong). Derek shoots three blacks who break into his car one evening and serves 3 years in jail. He comes out a changed man, but his history is still catching up to him. But why would we believe that, after attacking Cameron Alexander, his spiritual guru when he was a Neo-Nazi, that he would be willing to infiltrate them for the police? And wouldn't a condition of his parole be that he couldn't hang around with people with criminal records? Every line in this movie is delivered as if the actor just thought of it at that moment, as when Derek accuses Cameron of turning in some of his followers. And the reason supplied for Derek's change of heart-- a black prisoner helps keep him safe in prision-- is preposterously delivered. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible-- just that the way the movie presents it seems hokey.
EDWARD NORTON, EDWARD FURLONG, BEVERLY D'ANGELO, AVERY BROOKS, JENNIFER LIEN, STACEY KEACH, ELLIOT GOULD
Intriguing, challenging film about two men who create an odd device that apparently sends them back in time about six hours or so. They decide to use it to manipulate stock funds, but discover creepy dangers as they encounter the actions of their "doubles"-- themselves, left behind, as they go backwards in time. Instead of playful fantasy or action, we get the creepy awareness of potential unpleasant implications. Celebrated for it's budget of about $7,000, director/writer/producer Carruth apparently demanded one take for each scene, to stay within his budget. He chose to film it instead of using digital video, but the results are not much more "film-like" than a film like "The Anniversary Party" which was filmed in digital.
SHANE CARRUTH, DAVID SULLIVAN, CASEY GOODEN, ANAND UPADHYAYA, CARRIE CRAWFORD
This is precisely the kind of film that high-school english teachers and dilettant web-bloggers give their hightest ratings. A pretentious, ultimately phoney melange of contrived scenes and fake emotions, and the utterly implausible interactions of four distastefully selfish and shallow characters. There's no real plot to speak of, other than the coupling and uncoupling of the four principles. There is loads of dialogue all of it "arch" (as NY Times A.O. Scott incisively describes it), and little genuine feeling. This is a film that is far less psychologically profound than it thinks it is, or has a right to think it is. The other flaws are closer to surface. Jude Law is tiresome and seems intimidated by Clive Owen-- you almost expect him to rip off his own testicles and offer them to him at some point. And Natalie Portman really shouldn't have been called upon to fill a role that demands a lot more nuance. She is trying very hard to give what she thinks the audience expects to see from a sensitive stripper but it isn't fun to watch someone flounder like that. Julie Roberts is okay and succeeds in imbuing her part with some interest and curiousity-- if only because her attachment to the Jude Law character is so inexplicable otherwise. Mines some of the same emotional landscape as Nichol's much earlier "Carnal Knowlegdge", but not as powerfully or hauntingly.
JULIA ROBERTS, NATALIE PORTMAN, JUDE LAW, CLIVE OWEN
The classic, seminal film of teen rebellion, starring the icon of mumbling teen angst, James Dean, as Jim Stark, and Natalie Wood as Judy. Sal Mineo is better than either of them as John "Plato" Crawford. All three are outsiders, loners, struggling with identify and morality as parents and peers grope mindlessly for momentary gratification or escape. Jim wants to do the right things, but his weak, weasily parents can't support, and urge him to take the easy route. Judy looks for acceptance from a gang, but one of their members is killed in a wreckless game of chicken. Distinquished by the it's utter faithlessness in conventional morality, "Rebel" marked the beginning of the 1960's. It unconsciously draws forth the vaccuum filled by rebellion and counter-culture values.
JAMES DEAN, NATALIE WOOD, SAL MINEO, JIM BACKUS, ANN DORAN, DENNIS HOPPER, EDWARD PLATT, WILLIAM HOPPER, RACHELLE HUDSON
Moderately entertaining "true" (ha ha ha) story about Jimmy Morris (Quaid), a pitcher who blew out his arm and then, years later, made a comeback and actually made it to the major leagues briefly. The appeal of the story is the remarkable way his arm came back. The downside is that the fact that he didn't stick with any major league team makes the story really rather less remarkable than everyone thinks it is.
DENNIS QUAID, RACHEL GRIFFITHS, JAY HERNANDEZ, RICH GONZALEZ
In "Decline of the American Empire", Arcand explored the meaning of human relationships in the materialistic world of post-modern American materialism. With the dissolution of traditional values, can love and marriage survive? What is the meaning of fidelity? Is it even important? In "Barbarian Invasions", Arcand reunites the same cast of intellectual, philosophical men and women, and plays out some of the issues raised in "Decline...", but this time the stakes are higher. Remy is dying of cancer. His son, Sebastien, has come back to Montreal to make his peace with the old man, and see to his care. His old friends gather warmly, to celebrate friendship, and honor his life. It is a bitter sweet passage, filled with even more ambivalence than "Empire...". Utterly intriguing.
REMY GIRARD, STEPHANE ROUSSEAU, DOROTHEE BERRYMAN, LOUISE PORTAL, DOMINIQUE MICHEL, YVES JACQUES, MARIE-JOSEE CROZE, MICHELINE LANCTOT, MITSOU GELINAS
Elegant but sometimes uninteresting story about a warrior who claims to have prevented the assassination of a king and appears before the monarch to describe his honorable activities. But his tellings of the confrontations give clues to the wise king about his true intentions. Very beautiful film, and stately, but not completely satisfying.
JET LI, TONY LEUNG WAI, MAGGIE CHEUNG, ZIYI ZHANG, DAOMING CHEN
In the early 1920's, the Newton boys robbed banks. They didn't become as famous as Bonnie and Clyde, but that's probably because they didn't die in a blaze of glory. In fact, they all lived to ripe old ages, and appear to be rather unrepentent about their sensational activities. For one thing, as Willis Newton put it, the banks robbed the farmers and we robbed the banks. Slow-moving movie, at least partly because it respects some of the facts and takes it's time building a sense of momentum. Remarkable story. Not one of Linklater's most striking films, but charming enough. Interesting note: Willis Newton justifies robbing banks to brother Joe by pointing out that insurance companies will cover their losses, and both the insurance companies and the banks rob farmers and other folk. However, insurance for banks did not, apparently, exist in 1924, at the time of the events in the film. Joe Newton appears on Carson, and excerpt of which is shown during the closing credits.
ETHAN HAWKE, MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, SKEET ULRICH, GAIL CRONAUER, VINCENT D'ONOFRIO, JENA KARAM, JULIANNE MARGULIES
Sequel to the intriguing "Before Sunrise", in which Ethan Hawke and July Delpy play cross-cultural lovers. In this installment, they are reunited as Jesse tours Europe promoting a book he has written on the events covered in "Before Sunrise". Celine comes to the book-signing in Paris. They had lost contact because he never did get her address, and one of the suspenseful factors here is -- who did or didn't show up for the six-month promised rendevous? As in "Before Sunrise", most of the movie consists of talk between two intelligent, thoughtful, passionate individuals, who reflect on their lives, on what they look for in relationships, on the meaning of love. If the story is a trifle contrived-- they are both "available"-- the discussions are so interesting you don't mind.
ETHAN HAWKE, JULIE DELPY
Entertaining if your keep your expectations in check. Better than expected, even. Stiller plays a refreshingly different character from his usual whiney schtick, and the supporting cast is colorful and energetic. We saw this on east coast, in Campbellton.
BEN STILLER, VINCE VAUGHN, CHRISTINE TAYLOR, RIP TORN, JUSTIN LONG
I will be shocked if Imelda Staunton does not win an Oscar for this role. Not only is her performance absolutely stellar, compelling, and heart-breaking-- but it comes in an important film that deals with a controversial issue. Vera is a kindly middle-aged woman who works as a maid at several homes, pays visits to the elderly and shut-ins, and looks after her amiable husband, son Sid, and daughter Ethel. And she also performs abortions for those who know about her and are in desperate need, using a syringe and lye soap. She does pretty well, apparently, until one girl continues to bleed and is hospitalized. Her family is utterly stunned when the police turn up. And up until this point, the movie was not merely excellent-- it was absolutely outstanding. The detailed, meticulous recreation of life in Britain in the 1950's, and the recreation of family life by the actors, was head and shoulders above anything else I've seen this year. Every character was believable, and interesting, and fully realized. Then... and then. I don't know what came over Mike Leigh. The last half hours of the film is one long scene of Vera Drake weeping. And something miraculous happens. All the accumulated believe in the credibility of this character deflates. Instead of respecting Vera has a good woman, we are urged to pity her as a victim of a heartless system. Even the police officers that arrest and process her, at first sympathetic (obviously responding to the obvious fact that Vera isn't really a felon), start to get tiresome as they look so profoundly sensitive to Vera. You finally ask yourself if they have never arrests a woman before, never seen someone weep at their predicament. There are still moments, but the film sinks under the weight of Vera's martyrdom. There are still a few flashes of inspiration. Reg, the bachelor who courts Vera's daughter Ethel, is more supportive than Vera's own son (and the subplot of their courtship is charming). Vera Drake is still an amazing film, and inspiring at times. It just could have been perfect.
IMELDA STAUNTON, PHILIP DAVIS, PETER WIGHT, RICHARD GRAHAM, EDDIE MARSAN, ANNA KEAVENEY, ALEX KELLY, LESLEY MANVILLE, HEATHER CRANEY, SALLY HAWKINS, RUTH SHEEN
Sometimes powerful drama about a young girl who dreams of a better life-- and is willing to take risks to achieve it. She agrees to be a "mule", to carry pellets of cocaine in her stomach to New York. The drug dealer isn't evil incarnate. Like her, he's just trying to make some money. But the two men waiting for her and her friend and another girl in New York are not as reasonable. When one of the girls doesn't readily regurgitate or pass the pellets, there are dire consquences. When Maria flees, she ends up getting help from a Columbian expatriate, Orlando Tobin, who does the same in real life.
CATALINO SAND MORENO, YENNY PAOLO VEGA, JOHN ALEX TORO, PATRICIA RAE
Tedious and under-developed--- not as if it was worth developing--farce about a guy who pledges not to have sex for 40 days and 40 nights. This ends up, predictably, being tied to his devotion to a special girl. Why, when a film is so boldly pagan and voyeuristic, does it also seems so utterly conventional? The other problem with the essence of this film is that the idea of going 40 days without sex is not particularly compelling since most men spend most of their lives going without sex for much longer periods. Although-- that said-- it includes masturbation. They do deal with the problem of how would his friends, who are betting on when he breaks his vow, going to know if he jerks off (his room-mate and brother-- a priest). Intriguing aspect is that his brother, John, the priest, is almost sadistically against the vow-- as if it threatens his own sense of self-worth. The love interest-- Erica-- has a job searching for porn web sites to add them to a blocker. His friends are right-- two dates with Erica-- why hasn't he kissed her? Is he gay? The issue obviously arises. The view from her office is unbelievable. Logical problem: he gets really upset about the betting and the website-- why not just lie and tell everyone he did it? Who cares who knows whether he is really abstinent or not, given the values of the film? The scene at his parent's house is gratuitous. Marred by a preposterous last fifteen minutes with fake crisis and pyschologically unbelievable developments. Almost redeemed by Ryan making a bet. Okay if it retains a farcical tone, but it doesn't.
JOSH HARTNETT, SHANNYN SOSSAMON, VINESSA SHAW, PAULO COSTANZO, ADAM TRESE, EMMANUELLE VAUGIER, MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL
iN 1985, two young climbers set out to ascend the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes, a climb never before successfully completed. They succeeded, but, on the way down, Joe Simpson fell and shattered his right leg. He knew his prospects of survival were exceedingly grim, and almost expected fellow climber Simon Yates to abandon him and save himself. Instead, Simon and Joe rigged up 300 feet of rope and attempted to make the descent by having Simon brace himself and lower Joe the extent of the rope. Joe would then brace himself, release some slack, and wait for Simon to descend to his level. However, Joe was inadvertantly lowered over a sheer cliff. After an hour of dangling in the open, Simon, with no way of knowing what had happened (and probably no recourse regardless), cut the rope. Joe dropped about 100 feet into a crevice. The film documents his remarkable survival, his escape from the crevice, and excruciating journey back to camp. So how do you film it? With interviews of Simon and Joe (who are not really friends anymore), and re-enactments. But the renactments of the excruciating crawl back to camp are over-the-top and melodramatic. The story was good enough without the embellishments. And though Joe is articulate and thoughtful about the experience, Simon is disconcertingly reserved and sometimes deliberate about his role. Both agree that he did the right thing, but you almost expect a bit more of a cavalier attitude considering that they were both knowingly engaged in high-risk adventures, and both had to accept a certain degree of serious risk. Compelling story but not always convincing.
NICHOLAS AARON, RICHARD HAWKING, BRENDAN MACKEY
Over-rated first feature by Todd Solondz who displayed much better command of the medium in "Happiness" and "Storytelling". Concerns a girl in grade seven, Dawn Wiener, who is the victim of relentless ridicule and scorn by her classmates and family. But Dawn is not remarkably smart or gifted or a passive victim. She sometimes brings misfortune down upon herself, as when she deliberately engineers the disappearance of her spiteful little sister, Missy, or shows up on time to be "raped" by classmate Brendan. Uneven mixture of humour and pathos, but Dawn is not an appealling protagonist. She doesn't have any remarkable insights into her situation, nor the resources to cope with her problems or her family. Heather Matarazzo is committed to the part but not skilled enough to bring it off with any kind of grace or innate dignity. The sudden development of a kidsnapping subplot is discomfiting: it's not exactly black comedy, and it's not compelling as drama.
HEATHER MATARAZZO, VICTORIA DAVIS, CHRISTINA BRUCATO, CHRISTINA VIDAL, SIRI HOWARD, BRENDAN SEXTON III, DIMITRI DEFRESCO
This is a Dogme 95 film: no special effects, no objects or views not found in the setting of the action, etc. And it is absolutely rivetting. The Klingenfeldt family gathers at the family-owned inn for the 60th birthday of the patriarch, Helge. In the middle of the festivities, eldest son Christian stands up to propose a toast, in memory of his late twin sister, who had committed suicide only a few months before. He blithely informs everyone that his father had sexually abused him and his sister from the time they were young children. The reaction of the gathered family and friends is amazing. Half the room pretends they didn't hear anything, and many didn't, and others do what they can to hustle the obviously demented Christian away from the party. When Christian seems to regain his senses and offers to make an apology, instead, he elaborates on his allegations and accuses his father of murder. Celebration is fresh, exuberant, outrageous, and provocative.
ULRICH THOMSEN, HENNING MORITZEN, THOMAS BO LARSON, PAPRIKA STEEN, BIRTHE NEUMANN, TRINE DYRHOLM, HELLE DOLLERIS, THERESE GLAHN
Catherine Breillat is becoming known for controversial films about sex and identify. What's controversial about it all is not just the fact that she films some of the most explict sexual interactions in mainstream cinema (if you could call her "mainstream"), but that she is so intent on being honest about her subject matter. She is the very definition of "unflinching". In this case, her subject is adolescent sexuality, from a female perspective. From Anais' perspective. Anais is 12 years old and fat. She is graceless and homely and unromantic. Her sister, Elena, is the opposite: beautiful, slim, and romantic. They meet a boy, Fernando, who is interested in Elena, of course, and this sets off a chain of events that end in tragedy and irony. Elena wants her first lover to be a man she truly loves. She wants to offer the gift of her body to someone worthy and deserving of it. Anais, more cynical, says she wants her first experience to be with someone she hardly even knows, because it would be so awful to find out you were used by someone you thought loved you. And so we watch Fernando, versed well in all the tricks of the trade, ply Elena with sweet promises and expressions of feelings, which she surely knows are not sincere, but which she wants to believe are real. The seduction takes place in her bedroom, with the lumpy Anais watching, with mixed emotions. She scorns Fernando, and envies Elena, and weeps with jealousy. When mother finds out that Elena has accepted a valuable ring from Fernando, she knows exactly what's up and the vacation is cut short and they are on their way back to Paris. And that's when the shocker comes. Anias gets her wish, unexpectedly, and makes a last enigmatic statement to the police, to the camera, to us. "I don't care if you believe me or not." Outstanding, original film, though a bit stately at times.
ROXANE MESQUIDA, ANAIS REBOUX, LIBERO DE RIENZO, ARSINEE KHANJIAN, ROMAIN GOUPIL, LAURA BETTI
Bad, boring, and uninteresting, other than the fact that a young Jennifer Connelly is cast in the film. But she doesn't get much to do here, and the rest of the film is charmlessly adolescent that makes Sponge Bob look deep.
BILL CAMPBELL, JENNIFER CONNELLY, ALAN ARKIN, TIMOTHY DALTON, PAUL SORVINO
Strong film featuring one of the earliest performances of Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts, both of whom are very good. Essentially, a story about life in a boarding school in Australia in the early 1960's, though the plot is driven by the relationship of Danny (Noah Taylor) and Thandiwe Adjewa (Thandie Newton) a coloured student whose father is a high ranking official in the Ugandan government. There is a bit of racism, and a bit of Victorian repression, but, to the credit of director/writer Duigan, neither becomes the dominant motif of the film. It really is about flirting, about connecting someone at an awkward age in which the roles of the peers can be unhelpful, to say the least. Danny is a misfit, and intellectual who isn't a geek or wimp-- just different, and not very popular. Thandiwe is smart, liberated, and daring, and she intuits that Danny is about the only boy in the school likely to find her appealling for more than physical reasons. Charming-- but the ending is a let-down. They had something good going here and I suspect the makers lost their courage or ran out of ideas. Still worthwhile and enjoyable.
THANDIE NEWTON, NOAH TAYLOR, NICOLE KIDMAN, BARTHOWLOMEW ROSE, FELIX NOBIS, NAOMI WATTS
Entertaining and enjoyable film about how a rather humble satellite monitoring operation in Australia played a critical role in communications with the first moon landing, due to happenstance.
SAM NEILL, KEVIN HARRINGTON, TOM LONG
Mediocre and trivial film about a female tennis star who falls for a struggling American player (Paul Bettany). His game goes up, hers goes down. In true snivelling British fashion, there must be an extraordinarily public declaration of love at the end that moves everyone to applause and makes me cringe, much like "Love Actually". A peculiar kind of emotional exhibitionism that I haven't decoded yet.
KIRSTEN DUNST, PAUL BETTANY, KYLE HYDE, SAM NEILL
Above average comedy-drama about a philanderer who gets caught. His wife walks out on him and goes home to daddy who has his own issues. Reads abit like a sitcom at times, yet clearly better acted, better directed, and better written than any sitcom. Julia Roberts as the victim of adultery is about as good as she ever will be, and Dennis Quaid is fine, even if this is very familiar territory for him. He's reliably smirkish yet fundamentally decent. Gena Rowlands as Grace's mother is particularly good, as is Robert Duvall, who makes something of his character. Kyra Sedgewick as Grace's sister, Emma Rae, is the niece of '60's Warholian superstar, Edie Sedgewick.
JULIA ROBERTS, DENNIS QUAID, ROBERT DUVALL, GENA ROWLANDS, KYRA SEDGEWICK, BRETT CULLEN, REBECCA KOON
Other than as a vehicle for a very young Jennfier Connelly, this film is utterly and completely un-noteworthy. Bad acting, bad writing, and bad special effects.
JENNIFER CONNELLY, DONALD PLEASANCE, FIORE ARGENTO
Morgan Spurlock, after investigating American obesity, decides to try to live for one month on nothing but McDonald's food. He immediately begins to grain weight, go through depression and mood-swings, and ends up endangering his own life. along the way, he tooks an interesting and provocative look at the state of nutrition in the U.S., the complicity of the media and the education system, and discusses who is responsibe.
Very quiet, low-key film about a holy fool, Colin, whose wife leaves him for a cop. Colin sets out on his motorcyle to catch up with them at a dart tournament in Blackpool. Along the way he encounters various fellow travellers, including a likeable hip couple who cut his hair, and a girl-guide troupe. Very nice, honest film, if almost too low-key at times.
MICHAEL SHEEN, MARK ADDY, JIM CARTER, JANE ROBBINS
Very earnest but sometimes amateurish film about a young girl forced to dress as a boy to get work to provide for her family in Afghanistan during the reign of the Taliban. All good intentions, and it is a pleasure to a film made by Afghans about Afghanistan. The girl, Marina Golbahari, is very good as is the beggar boy who blackmails her, Arif Herati.
MARINA GOLBAHARI, ZUBAIDA SAHAR, ARIF HERATI, KHWAJA NADER, HAMIDA REFAH
Jesse is travelling by train to Vienna, from whence to depart back to America, after an unsatisfying and broken trip through Europe. His girlfriend dumped him in Spain. Celine is on her way to school. They mneet, begin talking, take a liking to each other. Jesse proposes that Celine get off the train with him in Vienna and spend one day together. No obligations, no weighty involvement. Just an extraordinary day together in Vienna, and a night, and then... never see each other again? The film consists almost entirely of their dialogue, along with some sparkling encounters with others, some rich experiences, and the tension of the building relationship. Though at times you wish for a more mature hand at the director's wheel, the film is so rich with personal meaning and emotional interplay that it becomes riveting and satisfying.
JULIE ELPY, ETHAN HAWKE, KARL BRUCKSHWAIGER, ERNI MANGOLD, KURTI
Truly amazing, technically amateurish, striking debut by Richard Linklater, depicting a bleak and amazing day among a subculture of outcasts and misfits in Dallas. Most of the performers are amateurs, and not particularly brilliant, but some scenes are amazing because of Linklater's demended conspiracy-theory obsessions and the unexpected charm of a move that relies so purely on dialogue for the advancement of the non-story. The version we saw at home was a VHS copy with bad soundtrack. I would presume that a better copy would improve in that area, but the sound is probably originally recorded with some technical flaws. For example, footsteps in an apartment keep drowning out the voices.
RICHARD LINKLATER, RUDY BASQUEZ, BOB BOYD
Marred by the weirdness of Allen making Helen Hunt his love interest, in spite of the 80 year difference in their ages (all right- more like 30), this is a homage to film noire. Allen plays CW Briggs, an investigator for an insurance company. One night, he is hypnotized by an entertainer, and becomes and unwitting pawn in a clever robbery scheme. In the meantime, he also gets to play off Betty Ann's (Helen Hunt) efficiency expert antagonisms, until they fall in love, of course, and Briggs solves the case.
WOODY ALLEN, JOHN TORMEY, ELIZABETH BERKLEY, HELEN HUNT, DAN AYKROYD, WALLACE SHAWN
The first twenty minutes of this film were so utterly derivative of other Woody Allen films-- especially Annie Hall and Manhattan-- that it was depressing. Not a single fresh joke or perception or neurosis. Then, slowly and gradually, Jason Biggs as Jerry Faulk and Christina Ricci as his girlfriend Amanda, built their characters into personalities you could care about, and the story developed off into a new direction. Though this still has to be regarded as sub-par Woody Allen, it became entertaining and interesting and even mildly funny at times.
WOODY ALLEN, JASON BIGGS, CHRISTINA RICCI, DANNY DEVITO, JIMMY FALLON, STOCKARD CHANNING, KADEE STRICKLAND
Sometimes bombastic but reliably left-wing. This entry flags a bit towards the end as Moore works more with emotion than facts (in an extended sequence with the mother of soldier who was killed in Iraq-- and had his pay docked for the last few days of the month when he was not available for war because he was dead).
Very low-key but likeable film about a dwarf who inherits a real train station from his boss, the owner of a hobby store. He moves to the station, in Newfoundland, New Jersey, but just wants to be left alone. However, friendly neighbors like Joe and Olivia insist on being his friends, and the three form an unlikely alliance against loneliness. Well-acted and charming at times, though so low-key as to almost become invisible at times. Peter Dinklage is very good, as Finbar McBride, the dwarf.
PETER DINKLAGE, PAUL BENJAMIN, BOBBY CANNAVALE, PATRICIA CLARKSON
Very amusing, oddly moving story about the celebrated nude calender put out by members of a Women's Institute in Knapely, England, after the husband of a member dies of cancer. They want to use the calender to raise enough money for a couch; the idea takes off, however, and they do a lot better than that. I'm not sure why-- well, yes I am-- but they invariably altered the story to try to generate more tension. Firstly, apparently the Women's Institute were not really very opposed to the idea, and the tension between Chris and Annie certainly looks contrived-- designed to help the film make 100 minutes, I suppose. But the story up to the trip to Hollywood is funny and compelling and rich and worth seeing.
HELEN MIRREN, JULIE WALTERS, JOHN ALDERTON, ANNETTE CROSBIE, CELIA IMRIE
Promising but ultimately disappointing film about a young woman with two children who chooses the "summer of love", Woodstock in 1969, to have a crisis of faith in her chosen life. She meets a salesman named Walker Jerome and begins a heated affair. It is clearly indicated that Walker introduces her to oral sex-- her reaction is exactly right: initial resistance, followed by reluctant acceptance, followed by delighted revelation. It's not a bad film. It's well-written and generally well-acted. But the resolution is inevitable, and the phoney crisis (Daniel, Pearl's son, being stung by hornets), and the heart-to-heart talks all eventually take their toll and defuse the dramatic tension that was so well worked up in the first half. Ends on a fizzle.
JULIE KAVNER, DIANE LANE, VIGGO MORTENSEN, ANNA PAQUIN, TOVAH FELDSHUH
William Holden is unpopular Sgt. J.J. Sefton, suspected of being an informant, in a German prisoner of war camp. The rest of the cast is stellar, including Peter Graves as the real informant, Otto Preminger as a German Colonel, and Harvey Lembeck as "Sugar Lips" Shapiro. Stalag 17 is funny with a bitter, satiric edge, and sufficient realism to give it some punch. The details of the prisoners' lives ring true-- in some cases, because of the weirdness of it all (like the dancing at the Christmas party). Incidentally, the makers of the film sued the makers of Hogan's Heroes for copyright infringement but lost, in spite of the obvious similarities.
WILLIAM HOLDEN, PETER GRAVES, HARVEY LEMBECK
Overblown but somewhat interesting comedy about a young man named Patrick and his eccentric and domineering flapper auntie Mame. Patrick is orphaned early on in life and Mame becomes his guardian, but is opposed by more conventional people around Patrick, who have some rights over him because his father was concerned that Mame was too unconventional for Patrick's good. Patrick becomes engaged to Gloria, whose gentile parents find Mame's crowd vulgar, which prompts Mame to sabatoge the relationship and set up Patrick with her secretary,
ROSALINE RUSSELL, FORREST TUCKER, FRED CLARK, ROGER SMITH
Very strange, weird, campy, and bizarre film about a bored, rich man who pays women to come to his mansion on the weekend for a series of S & M games. His plans go awry when he chooses a real journalist, instead of a prostitute, for one weekend, and the games take a more serious turn. Or do they? There is a rather predictable reversal, and some scenes are unintentionally funny, but it's fun as a relic of an era, and generally well-acted for it's type.
PHILIPPE LEROY, DAGMAR LASSANDER, LORENZO GUERRIERI
The second half of Taratino's masterful homage to martial arts films, film noire, and a thousand outher elements of American junk culture. Every frame of this film for the first hour or so is reveting. Highly original use of colour, motion, desaturation, and sound. Won't get consideration for it, but should be nominated for an oscar as best film and best director, wehn the time comes.
UMA THURMAN, DAVID CARRADINE, MICHAEL MADSEN, DARYL HANNAH, MICHAEL PARKS
Alex's mother is a party stallwart, a loyal devotee of the Socialist Party of East Germany. Her husband has fled to the west. Her children are Alex and Ariane. She suffers a heart attack just before the wall falls, and goes into a coma. When she comes out of the coma, the doctor advises Alex that she cannot have any more shocks. He decides to use all his ingenuity to make her believe that nothing has changed. This leads to some good comic moments as he stages newcasts (even using footage of the wall coming down ), but this is basically a clumsy, akward movie. The problem is that the film takes great paine to explain things that don't rally need that big of an explanation-- just more of a cool acceptance that, yes, there are strange things in the world, like Coca Cola signs, that don't always need explanation. Generally likeable but a bit slow-moving.
DANIEL BRUH, KATRIN SASS, CHULPAN KHAMATOVA, MARIA SIMON
Cyril and Shirley are leftist, working class folk living in a poor but not terrible neighborhood. They have a real rapport, but Shirely wants to have kids and Cyril does not. His mother lives on her own in public housing, and gets trapped outside her apartment. She calls on the neighbors, Laetitia and Rupert, for help-- they can hardly bear to delay their departure for an opera. Meanwhile, Cyril's sister uses the opportunity to see "what they've done with" their apartment. And so it goes. As always, with Leigh, real life at it's darkest and depressing, and yet, always with that hope generated by the pure humanity of his characters. Well acted. Poorly film, generally, but not annoyingly so.
PHILIP DAVIS, RUTH SHEEN, EDNA DORE, PHILIP JACKSON, HEATHER TOBIAS, LESLEY MANVILLE
Badly miscalculated pompous treatment of a fictionalized relationship between Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and a servant girl, Griet. Michael Medved might recommend the movie-- that's how bad it is. Nothing happens. Even worse-- the director decided that he would communicate great, deep feelings and ideas through "looks", as in the meaningful look a wife gives her huusband while he is meaningfully staring at the servant girl who is meaningfully staring at the butcher's son. The only question is-- why did they bother? Sumptuous sets. Nice recreation of 18th century Delft. Boring.
COLIN FIRTH, SCARLETT JOHANSSON, TOM WILINSON, JUDY PARFITT
Likeable, low-key film about a dysfunctional family. April lives in New York and invites her skeptical family to Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment in a dangerous neighborhood. The mother is dying of cancer. Her sister and brother are jealous siblings. Father is a tolerant peace-maker. April struggles to find someone with an oven she can use to finish the turkey, while her boyfriend is out on some dubious possibly drug-related errand. The sceens of the family in the car are hilarious,and the residents of the apartment building are colourful without being too ethnically correct or cute.
KATIE HOLMES, PATRICIA CLARKSON, DEREK LUKE, ALICE DRUMMOND
Controversial, unpleasant, hostile but absolutely unique film about a small town in the Colorado mountains during the depression, and the way the citizens at first welcome then abuse a beautiful girl on the run from the law. Filmed entirely in a studio, using chalk markings to demarcate the individual houses and even pets. All actors are on stage at all times, visible through their transparent walls.
NICOLE KIDMAN, BEN GAZZARA, LAUREN BACALL, PATRICIA CLARKSON
Lesser Altman, but still Altman. A close-up look at the day-to-day lives of a group of ballet dancers in Chicago, members of the Joffrey Ballet Company, and their trials and tribulations. You must like ballet if you want to enjoy sitting through the entire movie-- I did and I did. And Neve Campbell gets a big thumbs up for accepting a relatively minor role even though she was the producer of the film. She seemed to accept that the film would be better with Altman judging the over-all balance of performance components.
NEVE CAMPBELL
Everything in this movie is really about Charlize Theron and her consciously courageous portrayal of Aileen Wurnos, who was sentenced to death for a series of murders committed in Florida. Wurnos is one amazing creature, a victim of abuse and neglect who became a prostitute, and then began to murder some of the men she encountered. At one time, she claimed that the murders were in self-defense, but at other times she seemed to concede a more sinister motive. This unflinching movie features a performance by Therson that is so good that you almost don't mind how sure she is that she is great.
CHARLIZE THERON, CHRISTINE RICCI
Tom Hanks generally did things right for this movie. He held a contest among real musicians for the title song, and he had the actors rehearse their instruments for 8 weeks. The details are right, and the film occasionally feels right, but just don't take off. The one thing that didn't work is that the actors still look like they're faking it when they play their instruments. And their "live" performances are virtually indistinquishable from each other. Nice try.
LIV TYLER, TOM EVERETT SCOTT, JOHNATHON SCHAECH, STEVE ZAHN, TOM HANKS, CHARLIZE THERON, GIOVANNI RIBISI
The Japanese original of the creepy "Ring". Unusually, this time the original is not as creepy or edgey as the Hollywood remake. The same basic storyline, even some of the same basic scenes, but doesn't build quite as intensely. A very, very clever story that hangs together well right up to the exceptionally rich twist at the end.
NANAKO MATSUSHIMA, MIKI NAKATANI, YUKO TAKEUCHI, HITOMI SATO
The wife of a businessman conspires-- or does she-- with a kidnapper to extort a ransom from him, but things go awray, inevitably, and it becomes unclear who is the victim. Clever and occasionally intriguing, and a little disappointing. But still clever.
MASATO HAGIWARA, MIKI NAKATANI, KEN MITSUISHI
There is a masterpiece hiding in there somewhere. But I can't find it and I don't think Michel Gondry found it. It must have been a frightening task to edit this film. Where do all the pieces go? Where is the framework? Jim Carrey is Joel Barish, a shy, nervous dweeb, who meets Clementine Kruczynski (Kate Winslet) at a beach party and falls in love. The relationship is a little bizarre, because Clementine is a little bizarre-- she is impulsive, extroverted, noisy, and fun-loving-- the opposite of Joel. When the relationship sours because Joel accuses her of using sex to make people like her, she has him erased from her memory, with a new technique created by Dr. Howard Mierzwiak. When Joel discovers what she has done, he attempts to undergo the same procedure. Part of the way through-- and here the fun begins-- he changes his mind and decides that some memories are too valuable. Within his memories, he tries to "hide" them from the technicians, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Mary (Kirsten Dunst). Meanwhile, Patrick (Elijah Wood), tries to take advantage of his knowledge of Kate's memories to start a relationship with her. This is fun and intriguing and there are serious issues at play here-- is it better to keep memories that have become bittersweet after a relationship ends-- or to get rid of the pain, and the memories. Of course-- you think-- it's better "to have loved and lost". So the fun is not in any kind of surprise, but in how Joel finds out that he'd really rather keep the memories, and how he tries to hide them, and how they begin to blend with his own childhood memories, and his purests desires and needs. Strange movie. Exotic and provocative. Doesn't entirely succeed, in the way that "Being John Malcovich" (also by Charlie Kaufman) succeeded. Carrey is trying, like Robin Williams before him, to become a serious actor. His comedy is muted and his performance restrained-- as if that is what makes a great actor out of a comedian. I found it weak, and I found that Kate Winslet, with nothing to play against, also diminished herself. Joel is such a vacuum of a character, that it's hard to believe that the relationship could ever have been painful enough for Clementine to want to have it excised from her memories.
JIM CARREY, KATE WINSLET, TOM WILKINSON, ELIJAH WOOD, KIRSTEN DUNST, MARK RUFFALO
This is a dysfunctional family. Phil is an overweight taxi-driver who sleeps in too late every day to make an serious money, and who can't seem to manage his own family, let alone the household budget. Penny is his wife, who works at a grocery check-out counter. She's the only one in the family who isn't fat, but she has begun to lose her feeling for Phil. Their son Rory lays on the couch and watches television and eats all day. When he plays soccer with some neighborhood kids, he gets into a fight and is accused of bullying. Rachel works in a nursing home, putting up with the sexualy insinuating conversations of a fellow worker, a war veteran. They live in something that looks like a housing project, though it's not nearly as run-down. They fight, scream, cry, and flail away at life, frustrated and depressed by how things have turned out for all of them. There is a crisis and a low-key resolution. This film is so bitingly real, that it is unlike anything else you will see this year. It is powerful, if a little slow-moving at times, and haunting. The acting is absolutely convincing, with the possible exception of the ending, when Penny must accept or reject Phil, and both devolve into copious tears. It's not jarring, but a bit broad, and bit more demonstrative than you will see in real life, which is odd for this film.
TIMOTHY SPALL, LESLEY MANVILLE, ALISON GARLAND, JAMES CORDEN, RUTH SHEEN, MARION BAILY
David Mamet has written some of the most intriguing and stimulating films of our era, including Oleana and Glengarry Glen Ross. Which is why Spartan is so disappointing. Make no mistake about it-- it is a superior thriller, and unusually well-constructed chase film. But that's about all it is. His powerful insights into the male ego, female empowerment, and greed, are absent from this film. It's as if he just wanted to make a thriller, fill the theatre with excited young male audiences, and fill up his pockets with cold, hard, cash. The basic plot is hokum: the president's daughter is kidnapped. Val Kimer plays the special agent brought into the rescue effort. That's important-- that's the superior part-- this movie doesn't give you that nonsense about only a single man who can save the world. Kilmer works with others and it's not always clear who answers to who. Nor is it always clear what's going on. Why was the girl kidnapped? Did the kidnappers even know who she was? What was the president's daughter doing in that place in the first place? The trouble is, the daughter craved her father's attention, the father was seeing a mistress, the girl was kidnapped not by terrorists (cliche of today) but by white slave traders (the cliche of yesterday). And they are Arabic. And Val Kilmer has to exercise the usual absurdity of beating a man up until the tells the truth. Except that in real life, the man would say anything to stop Kilmer from beating him up or killing him, and Kilmer has no way of knowing if what he was told really is the truth. (As it turns out, it appears to not be true, but this movie is not concerned with what happens to the victims of police brutality.) And then, surprise, what they said turns out to be true. Are there really white slave traders out there? I've never heard of a verified case. I'm surprised Mammet would make that such a central part of his story.
VAL KILMER, WILLIAM H. MACY, KRISTEN BELL, ED O'NEILL, TIA TEXADA, DEREK LUKE
Very stiff, almost life-less account of a young woman coming out. Politically correct in the worst possible way, none of the characters are fully developed or even interesting. Lianne is a thirtyish college professors's wife whose husband is rather predictably selfish, bland, and mildly abusive. When she catches him having sex with a student in someone's backyard sandbox, she is ready for a break. And Ruth, a lesbian professor at the same college, invites her over and draws her into a sexual relationship. After discovering that Ruth is still in another relationship, and that her husband wants a divorce, Lianna finds herself living alone and forced to come to terms with the consequences-- the price-- of her freedom to come out. This is an honest, sincere film. And boring. The script is read, and the camera seems to be locked on a tripod at the same angle. Sound is very uneven. Not a very accomplished film, even if you appreciate Sayles working-class perspective. John Sayles 2nd film.
LINDA GRIFFITH, JANE HALLAREN, JON DEVRIES, JO HENDERSON, JOHN SAYLES, MAGGIE RENZI
Very uneven, unexpectedly abrupt film about a man named Joe Gastineau who who takes a woman--a singer-- and her daughter up along the coast of Alaska only to end up stranded on an abandoned island. Their only potential rescuer is a pilot who may be in the backpocket of the drug dealers who murdered Joe's brother. The daughter, Noelle, reads from a diary that she found in an abandoned cabin that they have taken over, every night. That's the limbo. I suppose you could say the film is really about relationships, about Noelle's search for a good, reliable man, and Joe's willingness to face the water again after a disastrous outing many years before.
DAVID STRATHAIRN, MARY ELIZABETH MASTRANTONIO, VANESSA MARTINEZ, HERMINIO RAMOS, KRIS KRISTOFFERSON, CASEY SIEMASZKO
Pedestrian documentary which consists mainly of an utterly compelling conversation with Robert McNamara, about World War II, the bombings of Japan, and the Viet Nam War, and what he learned from his experiences. Disappointing footage shown, much of which isn't really all that directly related to McNamara's points. None of it really adds much to the ideas discussed. But McNamara is eloquent and honest and it's remarkable listening.
ROBERT MCNAMARA
Doesn't travel very well. Very nicely filmed and acted drama about four French fliers captured by the Germans and held in prison camps. The first half is about how honorable they all are to each other-- hosting dinners and treating each other with respect. Then the men try to escape and the story turns more serious as one of them is killed. But the film is really about the relationships between Boieldieu, the aristocrat (Pierre Fresnay) and Lt. Marechal, the proletariat, with no time for something as "deep" as a play-- only for bicycles. Boieldieu has more in common with Capt. von Rauffenstein (Von Stroheim), who is of his class, than he does with Marechal, or with the Jewish officer, Lt. Rosenthal. It's hard to place this film at times, because it is so quaintly theatrical at times. War barely seems more than an annoyance in the charmed lives of these protagonists, and without a powerful dramatization of the consequences of war (as in, say, the Pianist), the modern viewer may find it hard to absorb the anti-war sentiment of this film. Still, it is a landmark of it's era, and polished and well-acted.
JEAN GABIN, DITA PARLO, PIERRE FRESNAY, ERICH VON STROHEIM, MARCEL DALIO
Delicate and at times lyrical, "Grave of the Fireflies" (as it is known in U.S.) is the story of two children, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi) whose mother is killed during the fire bombings that preceded the use of the atomic bomb on Japan. Seita takes little Setsuko to an aunt's house to stay, where they are not welcomed; eventually they move into some kind of abandoned shelter near a small pond. Seita struggles to find enough food and Setsuko becomes ill. This movie is legendary for evoking tears even in viewers who are not inclined to sentimentality. And Hotaru no haka is never sentimental. It is unflinchingly sketches these two little lives during a period of great hardship in Japan, without assigning blame or polemicizing. It is moving, and a fine film, but I found the animation a little disappointingly conventional.
TSUTOMU TATSUMI, AYANO SHIRAISHI
If only Chadha hadn't pushed so many cliche buttons-- the triumph over adversity, the colourful ethnicity, the generation gap-- this might have been a very likeable, albeit not very original film. But by the end of the two hours, the cliches have gone on too long and even Kiera Knightly can't save this film from draining tension away like ...
Wes Anderson is without a doubt one of the most extraordinary directors working today. Not only are his films unpredicatable and wildly unusual-- they constantly raise questions about traditional expectations about what a character will or will not do. Not only does he shatter Hollywood cliches, but he turns around and inverts cliches about challenging Hollywood cliches. Max Fischer is a student at Rushmore. It's what he wants to do more than anything else, and he even says he'd like to be a student at Rushmore for all of his life. Unfortunately, he an academic failure, though he also writes plays and participates in almost every club imaginable. His best friend, Dirk, acts as a kind of retainer secretary. He befriends a wealthy businesman, Herman Blume (Bill Murray), who gives a cynical but franks speech at an assembly. But he is also smitten with Rosemary Cross, a teacher at a local elementary school, who wrote down a striking piece of wisdom in a Jacques Cousteau book that Max happened to check out of the library. In the course to pursuing Rosemary, Max creates ripples of disturbances, among his friends and classmates, and Rushmore itself, and he is expelled. Nothing flows as predicted. He is expelled but it's not an unjust expulsion, and the principal, Nelson Guggenheim (Brian Cox) rather likes him. Max's dad is reasonable and sweet. Rosemary tells Max frankly that she could never have a relationship with him-- it's on the table immediately, instead of skulking below the surface as you might expect. His rival for Rosemary (one of them), Peter, an intern, is rather nice and pleasant to Max even after he has been rude to him. Another example of how clever by half Anderson is, he uses cheesey songs from the '60's-- and some good ones-- to maximum effect by playing them loud. They aren't background. When Donovan's "Jersey Thursday" gets this kind of full frontal exposure, you think, for a moment, that it's a brilliant song-- but it isn't. It just works. As in "The Royal Tenebaums", characters in Rushmore seemed to have steered themselves into ruts and have trouble getting out, but they might, and things might go well, but then again, they might not. It's clear that Max at least does things-- he plunges in, with all his energy and passion, and that is what clearly keeps his circle of friends and acquaintances admiring and respectful, even as he sometimes alienates them with his demands. A remarkable, charming, delightful film.
JASON SCHWARTZMAN, BILL MURRAY, OLIVIA WILLIAMS, SEYMOUR CASSEL, BRIAN COX, LUKE WILSON, DIPAK PALLANA, STEPHEN MCCOLE, SARA TANAKA, MASON GAMBLE
Likeable but flawed movie from a director with a reputation for wildly imaginative concepts and images, but sentimental themes. Big Fish is about a father who tells tall tales, and the son who becomes a journalist-- concerned with the truth-- and the conflict between reality and fantasy. Predictably-- unfortunately-- Burton comes down on the side of fantasy, which isn't entirely unreasonable, but makes the film seem unsophisticated and contrived at times. We know where this is going to end, and Burton's finale is somewhat clumsy and unsatisfying. That said, the film is entertaining and likeable and charming at times, and most of the performances are very good.
ALBERT FINNEY, BILLY CRUDUP, EWAN MCGREGOR, JESSICA LANGE, HELENA BONHAM CARTER, LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III
Exuberant and spirited story about a young bride and her wedding, set in the Punjab, and filled with colorful and amusing characters, with a dramatic subplot that works because director Nair maintains a feel of authenticity and candor. Aditi Verma is engaged to Hemant, a computer programmer from Houston, who was selected for her by her parents. Aditi is having an affair with a married lover. Her parents Lalit (Naseeruddin Shah) and Pimmi (Lillete Dubey), are pretty typical of upper middle-class parents everywhere: they want the best for Aditi but they respect family and traditions and they are stressed about the impression they will make upon the groom's family and their own relatives and friends. Ebert rightly compares the film to Altman. The maid, Alice, draws the interest of the wedding planner, P.K. Dubay. Aditi's cousin is interested in an Australian friend.
Absolutely rivetting tragic documentary about a former street kid, Sandro De Nascimiento, who took passengers hostage on a bus he was trying to rob in June 12, 2000. Sandro has a gun and the police are disorganized and confused and generally incompetent. As the drama unfolds over about 4 hours, the film recounts Sandro's personal history, the murder of his mother when he was 8, his life on the streets, his incarcerations and escapes, his drug use, and his survival of the infamous Candelaria Massacre of street children in 1992 (he was sleeping among the group that was attacked probably by off-duty police). Builds to an inevitable but stunning climax. In Portugese with English subtitles.
Charlotte Rambling is crime-thriller novelist Sarah Morton. Bored and tired in London, she accepts her publisher's offer of a week or so at his cottage in France. But the publisher's daughter unexpectedly shows up and her brazen sexuality and flippant insouciance grates on Sarah. Improbably, they do begin to connect, just in time for Sarah to play a crucial role in extricating Julie from a tragic development. And then there is a twist, leaving you wondering how much of the experience was real and how much was imaginary. The problem is that the twist doesn't add any kind of revelation about Sarah to the story, at least, not one that is sufficiently developed to have the impact you think the film-makers expect you to feel. Well acted, and elegant, but unsatisfying.
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, LUDIVINE SAGNIER, CHARLES DANCE, JEAN-MARIE LAMOUR, MARC FAYOLLE, MIREILLE MOSSE
Talk about being in the wrong place and the wrong time. Not only is Berlin resident Felice Schragenheim Jewish, and female-- she's also a lesbian, who happens to fall for a sturdy German housewife, Lilly Wust, mother of four children, and husband of a soldier in the Wehrmacht. To call this affair "ill-fated" is to call the pope catholic. Based on a true story, by Lilly, who survived the war and lived into the late 1990's in Berlin, Aimee and Jaguar are the pet names Lilly and Felice gave each other. Felice, amazingly, is a secretary to the editor of a Nazi newspaper, while feeding information to the underground, and shoot pornographic photos for the troops. She is a party girl, a charmer, funny and witty and exuberant, you can see why Ilse, her lover, becomes jealous of Lilly's relationship with her. (Remarkably, the film does not conceal the fact that Lilly probably contributed to Felice's doom with a well-meant but thoughtlessly stupid act after Felice had been arrested.) You don't get the sense-- really odd here-- that the film presents any kind of romanticized or homogenized view of Lilly. It's pretty straight. Perhaps because she did far worse things that she continues to conceal, or, more likely, because as an aging, spirited woman, Lilly didn't care what people thought of her. Either way, the story is carefully balanced, beautifully unfolded, touching and compelling.
MARIA SCHRADER, JULIANE KOHLER, JOHANNA WOKALEK, ELISABETH DEGEN, HEIKE MAKATSCH, DETLEV BUCK
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