the LAST FILM YOU'VE SEEN thread

Vital (2004)

Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto

Starring Tadanobu Asano, Nami Tsukamoto, Kazuyoshi Kushida

Film No4 in Tartan's Asia extreme tour 2005.

Hiroshi Takagi (Tadanobu Asano) wakes up in hospital after a car crash, his memory is gone but his parents take him home and hope for the best. Finding his old medical books he decides to enrol as a medical student, (his father is a doctor). During the training he has to do dissect a corpse which is unusual in that it is a young woman, suddenly memories come flooding back to him, but are they just memories?

Sounds macabre, depressing or gross but provided you can let yourself flow with it, it’s quite beautiful. Hiroshi slips from the present to the past and often into a higher plane of consciousness!

Tadanobu breezes through his role and just manages to keep his character interesting, Kazuyoshi Kushida excels as the father of Hiroshi’s ex girlfriend. The directing and editing are superb (as I’d expect) and Nami Tsukamoto (any relation?) is beautiful and I assume from her performance, a trained dancer.

The film asks many questions such as: How do we define love? What is waiting for us when we die? What is reality? And as one of the doctors asks, “Where is the soul?”

Provided you can just absorb it, you will find plenty to appreciate in this “strangely poetic love story” from Tsukamoto. I've often noticed a similarity between the work of Tsukamoto and Cronenberg, one line in this film feels like a definite reference to Cronenberg's Crash!

I loved it but have no doubt that it will not appeal to a great many people which is a shame.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated 15.

I'd like to see Vital but I can't find another version of its Japanese DVD, which ranges anywhere from $40 - $70.

It looks like the best option would be the Tartan U.K. disc which will be out in the first week of December.

Any other upcoming Asian releases from Tartan that seem interesting?

Recently ...

Kebab Connection (2005) (Germany)
http://p219.ezboard.com/fforeignfilm...icID=208.topic

Shade of Happiness (Onnen Varjot) (2005) (Finland)
http://p219.ezboard.com/fforeignfilm...icID=207.topic

Election (Hei She Hui) (2005) (Hong Kong)
http://p219.ezboard.com/fforeignfilm...icID=210.topic

;)

Alan Clarke's Made in Britain (1982)

Pornchai Hongrattanaporn's Bangkok Loco (TIFF)

It’s not surprising to learn that Roads to Koktebel, the debut feature of two young Russian filmmakers, Boris Khlebnikov and Alexei Popogrebsky, has played at numerous film festivals around the world since its premiere a couple of year ago, winning many awards during its run. While the film isn’t remarkable in any way, its straight-forward, understated approach is quite appealing. But I’m sure a few people have overstated their case after discovering some correlation between the bleak landscapes found in Roads to Koktebel and the ones omnipresent in the works of Tarkovsky and Sokurov.

The film deals with a father (Igor Csernyevics) and his precocious 11-year-old son (Gleb Puskepalis) trying to reach a town called Koktebel, which is in Crimea near the Black sea. We gradually discover that they’ve started from Moscow on foot because of necessity, and need to see the boy’s aunt once they reach their destination. Along the way, they come across individuals usually found in movie road trips: a good-hearted station master, a duplicitous old man, a lonely nurse etc. But interestingly enough, the father, who initially came across as a responsible individual, slowly succumbs to booze (his possible problem before the trip started), and gets smitten with a woman, forcing the boy to make his own decisions.

Along with being a well-acted and beautifully shot effort, Roads to Koktebel is also expertly crafted and sustained tonally, something not usually seen in debut features. There isn’t much dialogue; most of the action is interpreted from gestures and expressions. A couple of characters early on in the film could’ve been employed more meaningfully, including a teenage girl, however, the filmmakers do spend as much time as possible with their protagonists, allowing us to grasp their developing relationship. The metaphysical contortions in the narrative are extraneous, but the film makes up for them during the final sequence which is fierce and brazenly alive.

Grade: B

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*ROADS TO KOKTEBEL was released on DVD in August by Film Movement.

Adoption (1975) - Marta Meszaros

Rather simple in it's construction. Adoption is an intamte chamber drama much in the vein of Autumn Sonata or even Saraband from Bergman. The story focuses on two principle females. An older widow, and a young girl from adopted parents. The two bond, and in the process each help to free each other of the obstacles in their way. Rather than the frequent use of deep focus photography, this film has a blurry visual style. The camera gets so close on occasion, that it's almost impossible for things to be in focus. As usual for films of the country and time, the pace is slow and contemplative.

Novo (2002)

Directed by Jean-Pierre Limosin

Starring Eduardo Noriega (The Devil's Backbone), Anna Mouglalis (Merci pour le chocolat), Paz Vega (Sex and Lucia)

Graham (Eduardo Noriega) has a slight memory problem, within 10 minutes he’s forgotten everything so he’s forever scribbling notes to remember names, places, just about everything. A temp Irene, (Anna Mouglalis) becomes attracted to him and his somewhat innocent idiosyncrasies and they end up together with her forever writing little notes just so he remembers who she is, (one of the reasons she enjoys their relationship so much is that everytime they make love it’s like the first time).

A man who regularly reports on his activities is also following Graham; it’s only after a while we find out that before the start of his memory loss he was his best friend. There’s also a young boy who regularly appears; again it’s a good while before we know whom he and the mysterious woman (Paz Vega) who pops up now and again are and how they are connected with Graham.

A twisted chain of events slowly reveal the truth about Graham and his memory problems until for some unclear reason his memory returns and the story is wrapped up quite nicely, or is it?

This uses a similar idea to “Memento” but without the reverse plot. It seems (and the dvd extras only add proof to this) that the sole reason is to make a slightly twisted romantic drama with nudity in abundance (especially Eduardo Noriega and Anna Mouglalis), fairly smart and erotic, a little too glossy maybe (the cast are certainly more attractive than the average Joe), entertaining but not groundbreaking.

An ideal movie for a relaxing night, but definitely only for adults.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated 18

Region 2 Pal dvd available from Tartan Video.

arsaib4 - Any other upcoming Asian releases from Tartan that seem interesting?

Tartan don’t appear to be up to much over the coming months apart from Vital, the other films on the Asia extreme tour and a few oldies.

They are releasing a series under the J-Horror banner but the 2 announced sound distinctly average:

Infection 2004 Masayuki Ochiai
Premonition 2004 Norio Tsuruta

Apart from those the only other film I could find was “A Bittersweet Life” 2005 Ji-woon Kim, hopefully a little more interesting.

What I’d like to know is why there are no releases of films by directors like Kiyoshi Kurosawa, after all the USA branch has Doppelganger on its schedule.

Cheers Trev.

A Bittersweet Life played at Cannes earlier this year. Looks like a typical K-thriller, but people seem to like it.

Yeah, I'm also a bit surprised by the lack of K. Kurosawa in the U.K., especially since you guys have so many Asian labels. Almost all of his recent work is available on DVD here. Bright Future and Doppelganger are quite good. Pulse is releasing theatrically next month, I think.

Wang Xiaoshuai's Drifters (2005)

Abel Ferrara's Mary (TIFF)

Sei Mong se Jun (2004) Ab-normal Beauty

Film Five (and the last for me) on the Tartan Asia extreme tour 2005.

Directed by Oxide Pang Chun

Starring Race Wong, Rosanne Wong, Anson Leung (One Night in Mongkok)

The Pang brothers are known for their flash and panache with their film directing and editing, they have also created a couple of really good films, “Bangkok Dangerous” and “The Eye”. Unfortunately their visual flair is often more impressive than the films they create, “The Eye 2” and others, for once the styling works perfectly for the subject matter.

Jiney is an art student, a decent painter but an excellent photographer. She often attains the highest scores but is unhappy with her work until one day she takes photos at a car crash, she is sickened, repulsed but also fascinated, when she sees the results of her work she feels that at last she has found something to satisfy and stimulate her.

She starts taking more pictures at the moment of death, whether people or animals and becomes more than a little obsessed. All the time she’s doing this she’s being stalked by a male admirer from her class, despite the fact that she has told him she’s a lesbian he continuously follows and films her. Her lover, Jas becomes distraught with Jiney’s obsessive behaviour and does her best to get her away from the subject of death.

For a while it works, Jiney appears to have realised how sick it was but she suddenly receives a video tape with what she assumes (and hopes) is a fake snuff movie. The video contains extremely violent scenes culminating in the death of the girl but both Jiney and Jas are convinced it’s just a fake that’s been made by Jiney’s stalker. It’s only when Jiney finds another snuff video outside her home that she takes it seriously, but what can or will she do?

As I said earlier, the main build up is ideal for the Pang’s filming and editing techniques, as the main subject is art and photography. Everything runs along very well, the idea is interesting and the characters believable but………..

Yes unfortunately once again there has to be a but! Once the snuff tape is received, the film changes tack and loses everything it’s carefully built up. You can maybe excuse the first one (although it is pretty gruesome) but when the second one appears, it’s just so bloody obvious where the film is going and you’ll be able to work out the rest of the story in about 5 seconds.

Why, why, why, why, why. What the hell were they thinking, the only thing I’ll say is that it turns from a well developed character study to a more gruesome and even more predictable version of “Saw “. What the f*%k happened? If this was a Hollywood film I wouldn’t have been surprised but!

Anyway you get the point, with “Audition” it works because it’s constantly building towards it but it does not work in this film, it’s as though they couldn’t decide where to take it so just decided to make it as brutal but predictable as possible, in my eyes it’s a film with a lot of promise but ultimately a failure, I’m sure it’ll do really well in the US and UK.

Another little problem but this is nothing really, the two main characters, Jiney and Jas (the lesbian lovers) are real life sisters, although there are no scenes of a sexual nature it is a little odd.

Cheers Trev.

BBFC rated 18.

The Island (1961) - Kaneto Shindo

A unique Japanese art film. One with no dialogue, and looking as well as feeling very much like a Flaherty film. Same harsh surroundings, the naturalistic lifestyle, the quiet surroundings, and of course a little drama to throw in there.

Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man (2005)

From various directors: All Souls (TIFF)

The Hidden Half (2001) - Tahmineh Milani

Well I began to wonder if I had peaked in Iranian film. All too often the films are merely stories of the poor and unfortunate, depressing tales of hardship and adversity. I was yet to see an Iranian film that showed anyone with a slight degree of wealth or even one that showed Iranian's as somewhat comparable to western citizens. That changed with The Hidden Half, a distinctly feminist film that shows an Iran not torn assunder by poverty and famine, but by ideology.

This is a daring film, one that makes political references rarely if ever shown in a film FROM Iran. It takes place during the cultural revolution of the late seventies and early eighties, and it shows women not just as capable of being independant thinkers, but even more so than men. It is comparable to the political films of Godard (minus the overt artiness) and socially consious American movies of the sixties. Because of that I believe the film works, but more than those films this happens to show the aftermath of ideology. It shows what happens when the idealism dies, and how it happens. This is the most important aspect of the film imo. All too often in those films of the time we see the idealist uncompromising, but we realize from history that those revolutionaries don't last.

The life of the film is from director Tahmineh Milani, who was arrested during the making of the film. True to the nature of the story, her crime was punishable by death. Luckily due to her popularity she was released and the film was able to be made. Like many Iranian films though, this seemed to find its audience outside of Iran. Like Milani's previous film Two Women, this stars Niki Karimi, who may very well be the most beautiful Iranian woman I've ever seen. There isn't a great deal of makeup here, and 17 years past, the characters basically look the same. I think it's more thematic than anything. Hard to show how ideas can't change, so instead lets show how people don't change. Sure there is a transition, but it is the essential person that remains the same. Karimi's Fereshteh (same name from Two Women) was made by her ideology. The person she is deep down inside was formed at this crucial time when she was still 19, even if her beliefs have remained internal.

I'd say The Hidden Half is a remarkable film. Sure there is something of a love story, that can offer melodrama, but for once I'd rather see romance be melodramatic than people starving and being exploited as so many Iranian films do. To me, this film represents a potential turning point for Iranian film, just as Rosellini's Voyage in Italy did for Italian film. The story of the poor and underprivalleged can only go so far, a different aspect of society needs to be examined in a national cinema, and with this film perhaps we can start to see a more idea driven Iranian film, rather than one so painfully immitating the Neorealist movement.

Grade A

As one of the final releases from the Miramax which belonged to the Weinsteins, The Brothers Grimm unfortunately has to bear the scars caused by them in an outwardly fashion: The film was not only delayed on a few occasions, but along the way, it had a new cinematographer and a lead actress, both personally chosen by the moguls. Director Terry Gilliam (Brazil [1985] / Twelve Monkeys [1995]) has certainly had his battles along the way with numerous studios, so perhaps this was nothing new -- at least this time he was able to finish the film unlike a few years back when his production of "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" had to be shutdown (remember the excellent 2002 doc Lost in La Mancha?).

The Brothers Grimm is a solid, if a more commercially calculated, effort from Gilliam starring Heath Ledger and Matt Damon as the titular brothers who, in circa 1796, travel from town-to-town duping poor German peasants into believing that they’re what protects them from mystical and demonic creatures. A local general of the Napoleon army (Jonathan Pryce) becomes aware of their shenanigans, and as punishment sends them along with his maniacal Italian officer (Peter Stormare) to a village in order to solve the mystery of a few young girls who’ve been reported missing.

If that sounds a bit too grim, then fear not. For the most part, the film is a Monty Python-esque adventure -- meaning it’s inventive, extravagant, and silly, all at once. And, of course, what makes it stand out is Gilliam’s visual prowess, even though the look at times is less enchanting than disorienting. The screenplay by the ubiquitous Ehren Kruger features some clever folklore gags, but it spends too much time with the Grimms’ love interest (Lena Headey) and not enough with their ultimate enemy, an evil queen seeking eternal beauty (the ravishingly bewitching Monica Bellucci). Both Pryce and Stormare are seemingly aware of the fact that they’re in a Terry Gilliam film, and so they act accordingly; Ledger is fine with his Brando-esque mumbling (in some Australian/British accent), but he required more support from Damon, who’s upstaged by his hairdo.

Grade: B-

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*THE BROTHERS GRIMM will be available on DVD on Dec 20th.

Come Back Little Sheba (1952) - Delbert Mann

Wow what were they thinking? How many times have you asked yourself that watching an Oscar favorite? Well it happens a lot with me, and this was the film that brought Shirley Booth (a somewhat known stage New York stage actress) her one and only Oscar for best actress. Booth is absolutely terrible here. Her character is irritating from the first few minutes and it doesn't let up. Someting is indeed disturbing about a wife referring to her husband as "daddy" and same goes for a husband calling his wife "mommy" I mean that's enough to make you shiver.

Burt Lancaster is rarely ever bad, and I think he does just fine here, in a rather quiet performance. Booth on the other hand just gets melodramatic, so by the time she finally has a chance to do some "acting" we've pretty much lost interest in the story. The plot is slow and almost completely uneventful. I thought my girlfriend occasionally asks questions that she shouldn't but Booth's character takes that to a new extreme. Which leads me to believe that she just might be retarded, but I haven't done enough research into the source material and I'm not going to.

There are some young characters and they help to motivate the story slightly, but as supporting parts they just can't work. Booth's role was originally offered to Bette Davis, and perhaps she could have handled this better. It's a shame too, because well we all know what I think about 1952, but I really don't think the year was fantastic for actresses. If you're wondering just who I would have given the trophy to, I'd vote for Maureen O'Hara for The Quiet Man, now that was a strong female role.

Grade D +

Come Back Little Sheeba. This was a stage play and Shirley Booth I believe was the star in it. Things that work well in theater often don't play so good onscreen. The current Proof is an example. Come Back Little Sheeba was also presented as a radio play. It was irressistible but a corny tear-jerker nonetheless.

Wow what were they thinking? How many times have you asked yourself that watching an Oscar favorite?

:) Great opening!

Did you know that Booth also won awards at Cannes and New York? Heck, it almost makes me wanna watch this to figure out what the hell you're talking about here, even though you're usually on the mark.

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Alan Clarke's The Firm (1989)

Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne's L'Enfant (TIFF)

Shirley Booth was considered a powerful stage actress in her day.

Doesn't detract from the fact that she's irritating in that film, and didn't deserve the Oscar.

I wouldn't doubt it. I never saw the film, I only heard the radio play. It was corny but a successful tearjerker. The point is that tastes change. She probably was't irritating to people then. But I don't know how the movie was received by critics or the public, do you?

It was pretty well liked at the time, although not exactly praised as a film. After all great films like Ivanhoe got best picture nominations that year.

The Weeping Meadow was the last film I saw, and it's in the Favorite Films section, so see that.

I guess as usual you can figure out something about Academy politics from this.

Who inherits the guilt in the case of death penalty? That’s the question posed and rather obliquely addressed by Shadow Kill (Nizhalkkuthu), the latest film from Indian New Cinema pioneer Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Set in colonial India in the early-1940’s, the film examines the guilt-ridden life of a state-appointed hangman named Kaliyappan (Oduvil Unnikrishnan). While he works for the state of Travancore, he’s assigned to live outside its boundaries since the officials aren’t comfortable with him being around people he might have to hang one day. So, Kaliyappan and his family -- a wife, a pubescent daughter, a Gandhian, freedom fighter son -- reside in a small rural village whose inhabitants ironically believe that the ash from his rope contains healing powers. The beautifully paced and consistently engrossing first half, which promises more than what the film ultimately ends up delivering, features Kaliyappan in a state of despair due to his belief that the last man he hanged was innocent, and he’s taken to drinking to ease the pain. His son may not want to continue in his father’s footsteps, but he doesn’t get a say when a sick Kaliyappan is called in to perform an execution and he’s asked to accompany him. At this juncture, Gopalakrishnan veers to overlap his narrative threads that may or may not meet at the ends as Kaliyappan’s daughter and her sexuality become the focal point after a state official starts to tell a story about a young girl who was raped and murdered. The second half’s melodious images also undermine and distill some of the complexities the film established earlier on. However, Shadow Kill, which is possibly a minor work in the director’s much celebrated oeuvre, still has resonance because Gopalakrishnan with his trademark subtlety points toward pertinent issues surrounding the death penalty.

Grade: B
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*The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2002.

*SHADOW KILL was part of the GFI (Global Film Initiative): "A New York-based, nonprofit foundation working with leading American cultural institutions to promote cross-cultural understanding through cinema. Each year, The Initiative acquires ten narrative films from the developing world that tour the country for one year." GFI's partner First Run Features recently established a Global Lens Series, allowing them to release the features on DVD.

*A DVD is now available.

Seen in Rome:

Benigni's new one
Oliver Twist (English soundtrack, no subtitles)
Romanzo criminale/Criminal Romance (Michele Placido)

Last seen in New York:

New York Doll (documentary)
Late Chrysanthemums (Naruse retrospective, Film Forum)
Three Extremes (Chan, Park, Miike)
Jarhead (Mendes)

When I was leaving Jarhead, the theater was gearing up for the premiere of the new Pride and Prejudice film. I caught a glimpse of Donald Sutherland, who plays Mr Bennett. But I guess tonight he was playing himself.

I've seen a few Naruse films so far in Toronto (his retrospective is taking place over there also). Will see Oliver Twist tomorrow. What did you think?

Not sure if Jarhead has anything new to offer. Same for Three Extremes, although I believe Chris Doyle has shot one of the segments.

Alan Clarke's Elephant (1989)

Anders Thomas Jensen's Adam's Æbler (TIFF)

Comments:

Some images and scenes are breathtakingly beautiful.

Most of the voiceover work is campy, silly, and just plain juvenile.

There is no grace or fluidity to the narrative like there was in "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back"

The lack of logic and planning by the Jedi make them seem more like smugglers in the vein of Han Solo rather than zen sci-fi samurai.

Comments towards the end of the film annoy:

"Only the Sith deal in absolutes"? Isn't that, in itself, an "absolute" statement?

Let's imagine the Jedi in a slightly different way:

They are a mysterious, exclusive and elitist society that meddles in all aspects of society: a sort of a intergalactic Klu Klux Klan. Let's look at this phrase one more time:

"Only (insert derogatory racial epithet here) deal in absolutes."

Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman lend real class to the film.

George Lucas muddled story is matched only by his muddled understanding of government and politics.

The script spends far too much time in exposition:

Weird Jedi guy: "What about the droid attack on the Wookies?"

Mace Windu: "It is critical we send an attack group there immediately."

Obi Wan: "He's right. It's a system we cannot afford to lose."

Yoda: "Go I will. Good relations with the Wookies I have."

Mace Windu: "It's settled then. Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookies on Kashyyyk."

OK. WE GET IT! No need to repeat the point five times.

It's as if they are desperate to make it realistic that Yoda would be off Coruscant and "out of the way" so all the other plot lines can converge. Yoda's (and Obi-Wan's) mission gives them an "out" implying that Anakin would never have been turned to the Dark side had Yoda or Anakin been there.

Does anyone else feel as if these Jedi have been clueless and sitting around in councils while the galaxy falls apart around their ears?

I was a bit disappointed by the Naruse Late Chrysanthemums. I was expecting Mizoguchi or Ozu and this wasn't up to that level.

I hope other people will see Three Extremes if it's being distributed now so we can get reactions, and I might write a review.

I'm also looking forward to writing a review of Bellocchio's Buongiorno, notte/Good Morning, Night, which seems to be getting limited distribution, starting in NYC; I have a DVD of it and have watched it a number of times this year.

Forgot to mention that I also saw North Country. I don't think it's got a very good screenplay, but the material is important, Theron's acting is commited and believable, and I was stunned by the material -- till the Hollywood ending and skimpy followup.

Jarhead may or may not be a well made war film. I'm not sure Mendes et al. knew what they were doing. But for me this film has a profound meaning. I do not agree with the critics who said it falls apart toward the end or that there's no sense of structure. I plan to write a review.

Oliver Twist is involving and vivid, well worth seeing. I was especially impressed by how brilliantly Ben Kingsley disappeared into the role of Fagin and kept the performance from seeming caracatured or cliched -- despite Dicken's extreme conception of the character in the first place. But the story is very familiar -- Imdb lists twenty versions -- and I should think David Lean's 1948 version will remain the classic cinematic version, unchallenged by this one. One of the reasons Polanski's doesn't challenge it is his cast hasn't the same depth.

"Workmanlike" is the word that comes to mind while thinking of Oliver Twist. I was quite impressed with its faithfulness to the source material. Ben Kingsley was wonderful as always. Production/costume design deserve nominations at the end of the year. The young boy was also quite good. Perhaps the film never quite comes to "life," but I'm not sure if Polanski really wanted that to happen.

I hope other people will see Three Extremes if it's being distributed now so we can get reactions, and I might write a review.

I've had the dvd for quite a while now and I know wpqx has seen it as well, we differ on our preference for each of the episodes and I'd certainly like to hear your opinion Chris.

Cheers Trev.

P.S Also thought Buongiorno, notte/Good Morning, Night was an excellent film.

I think I do remember your alluding to Buongiorno notte but the title of Three Extremes slipped by me till I saw it showing at the Quad Cinema, though a friend has reminded me it was showing at this year's San Francisco Film Festival. I will put my thoughts on it down shortly, still regrouping after my long trip.

The fact that Après Vous ("After You"), a slight yet sweet-natured French rom-com, has done quite well at the U.S. box-office (about $1m, the benchmark for most foreign films) shouldn’t be surprising because European releases featuring pleasant, sitcom-ish characters/situations tend to "click" with the audiences here -- and I’m sure everywhere else too, for that matter. Ideally, of course, one would prefer more challenging fare to succeed. But on the other hand, it would also be a bit futile to damn a film for its fame, especially one like this which is aware of its limitations, and thus doesn’t attempt to insult anyone’s intelligence. In Après Vous, French star Daniel Auteuil plays Antoine, a selfless maitre d' at an upscale Parisian brasserie. One night after work, while scampering to meet his girlfriend (Marilyne Canto) for dinner, he ends up saving a man from committing suicide in a local park. Antoine’s monotonous life takes a dramatic turn with this act. First, much to the chagrin of his girlfriend, Antoine more or less ends up adopting Louis (José Garcia), the physical and emotional wreck he saved. And then after discovering Louis’ love (Sandrine Kiberlain), the cause of his problems, he ends up falling for her himself. Director Pierre Salvadori approaches this trivial premise as realistically as possible, a mistake because the film could’ve benefited from some inspired silliness. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its share of droll moments. It certainly does, but with heavily reliance on narrative contrivances. What makes Après Vous agreeable, however, is the work of its cast. The ubiquitous Auteuil (about 20 films in the last 5 years -- perhaps following Depardieu’s footsteps) is in form after duds like Petites Coupures (2003) and Rencontre avec le dragon (2003). Garcia and Kiberlain are also quite effective.

Grade: C+
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*APRES VOUS is now available on DVD.

Have not seen in spite of my desire to see lots of French films--due to reports of mediocrity. So your grade sounds right from what I've heard. Should I see it, and if so, why?

That’s a tough one, actually. I’d say that you’ll like the performances (like I did), and the fact that it’s pretty easygoing. Basically, if you’re looking for a film to simply enjoy without much effort, then go for it. (Après Vous is certainly superior to Ozon's 5x2, which I saw last week.)

You mentioned in an e-mail that overall the French selections weren't as good this year in Paris. What were some of the better ones, though?

Thanks for reminding me to do this, arsaib. I can't say anything unique to French release was outstanding, but here is all that I saw. Paris is a wonderful movie city, but you can't expect great stuff to be opening every week. The trouble is there were few surprises and few standouts other than Caché (which I could have seen at the NYFF but just missed). I admit to finding Les poupées russes very enjoyable. Klapish is an inventive entertainer and he started with a good given context. I didn't get excited by anything otherwise; but look, in my month on the East Coast before this, I saw forty movies.....and some of them were great....so it really didn't matter. There are other things to do in Paris. I could have seen Café Lumière at a special one-time MK2 showing, as I mentioned before, and I'm sorry I forgot to show up for it that morning.

Last year I saw more films in slightly less time and they seemed more interesting. Maybe it was because that was in September and this was October. Due to my departure date this year I just missed the opening of Woody Allen's Match Point, a shame because it sounds promising and I'd have scooped you guys, since it doesn't open here till Christmas Day.

The French language films I saw in Paris this time were:

Klapisch , Les poupées russes (12 June release, but still showing)
Sequel to L'Auberge espagnole, popular, with the same actors and others, near the end of its French run. Enjoyable, though not as unified as the first one. Kevin Bishop (William) is featured, a good idea because he was one of the most interesting characters in L'Auberge.

Alain Cavalaier, Le Filmeur (21 September release)
Idiosyncratic "no-budget" self-portrait shot over an 11-year period by the cultish 74-year-old director, shown at Cannes. An admiring description appeared in Variety . I found the narration hard to follow at times and would like to see this again with subtitles.

Richard Dembo, La maison de Nina (12 October release)
WWII story about a French haven for young Jewish refugees, starring Agnès Jaoui. Average in quality I think, this is a bustling \ little footnote to the many chronicles about Jews protected during and after the Holocaust. Malle's Au revoir les enfants is more focused and emotionally powerful.

Stéphane Brizé, Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé (12 October release)
A bittersweet, rather downbeat romantic comedy in which the star, Patrick Chesnais, is very appealing as the depressed bailiff who finds romance and a love of tango at the same time.

Michael Haneke, Caché (5 October release)
You know about that one!

Other films I saw in Paris:

Shane Black, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (14 September release?)
Spoofy-noir with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, this has done pretty well in US reviews, released a bit later here I think. I was too jetlagged to appreciate it; the French subtitles distracted me. Really it seemed too frivolous and pleased with itself, but there are those who will love it.

Eric Khoo, Be With Me (12 October release), Singapoorean film with multiple plots, this has been discussed on FilmWurld, mostly shown only in festivals. I didn't altogether buy or like this, but the director showed some assurance.

Wim Wenders, Don't Come Knocking (12 October release) Though it's fun to watch Sam Shepherd and Jessica Lange and some of the visuals of the West are handsome, this is a bit slim, not Wenders' best. The young Gabriel Mann was strong, if a bit over the top, as the pair's forgotten son, now a singer. I don't think this is coming here till March 2006; I don't think it's going to do very well.

Ducastel/Martineau, Cote D'Azur/Crustacés et coquillages
Lexi Alexander, Green Street Hooligans
Michael Almareyda, William Eggleston in the Real World
Gaël Morel, Three Dancing Slaves
Sam Wood, Beyond the Rocks
Marcos Siega, Pretty Persuasion
Deborah Koons, The Future of Food
Mike Mills, Thumbsucker
Lionel Baier, Garçon Stupide
Shinya Tsukamoto, Haze
William Cameron Menzies, The Green Cockatoo
John Madden, Proof
Puiu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Stephen Soderbergh, Bubble
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes, L'Enfant
Hany Abu-Assad, Paradise Now
George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck
Dorota Kedzierzawska, I Am
Michel Negroponte , Methodonia
Bennett Miller, Capote
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Pierre Garrel, Regular Lovers/Les amants reguliers
David Cronenberg, A History of Violence
Mitsuo Yanagimachi, Who's Camus Anyway?
Bohdan Sláma, Something Like Happiness
Hong Sang-soo, Tale of Cinema
Lars von Trier, Mandarlay
Through the Forest/A travers la forêt
Paula Heil Fisher, Finding Eleazor
Park Chan-wook, Lady Vengeance
Hou Hsiau Hsien, Three Times
Neil Jordan, Breakfast on Pluto
Im Sangsoo, The President's Last Bang
Michaelangelo Antonioni, The Passenger/Professione: Reporter
Tennyson Bardwell, Dorian Blues
Aleksandr Sokurov, The Sun
Patrice Chéreau, Gabrielle

I also re-saw:

Jim Jarmusch, Broken Flowers
Jacques Audiard, The Beat That My Heart Skipped/De battre mon cœur s'est arrêté

Wow! Thanks for the lists.

Les poupées russes. This was a big hit during the Summer. It comes out on DVD next month, so I'll give it a try.

Caché. I passed on it in Toronto knowing that it's getting distributed. If it turns out to be anywhere close to Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher, and Time of the Wolf, then Haneke deserves consideration as the best filmmaker in Europe today. (A friend of mine has it on DVD and I must say that I've been tempted.)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Probably the most hyped film in Toronto. Haven't seen it yet. It's said to be a subversive version of Shane Black's previous endeavors. I thought this might be something you'll like.


*I guess most of the films on the list are NYFF selections. It's funny that I also re-watched Broken Flowers (for free). Can't say that I liked it any more or less than the first time around.

Any comments on Haze and Three Dancing Slaves?

Do see Les poupées russes; it's fun. As I said, I was too jetlagged to appreciate Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; in an alert state I might like it. A friend of mine said they would like anything with Val Kilmer as a gay detective. Robert Downey Jr. goes at it with his usual enthusiasm, and he provides a glibness to his role that I guess is what's wanted. It just tired me out.

I definitely think Caché is up to the other work, and yes, Haneke is possibly the most important director working in Europe, at least of his generation.

Eleven on that list were not part of the NYFF which, remember, was only 25 official selections, plus one or two special showings I caught. I loathed the tasteless and unfunny Pretty Persuasion, was underwhelmed by the somewhat original but uneven Garcon Stupide, I found The Future of Food very worthwhile, I really liked Thumbsucker, was disappointed in the filmed play Proof, enjoyed Cote D'Azur but don't think it's memorable, got a kick out of Charlie Hunnam paired with Elijah Wood in Green Street Hooligans (if you like gangfighting it's your thing, and Charlie rules in the movie); Dorian Blues is forgettable gay coming-of-age stuff...Broken Flowers dragged a bit the second time but I still love parts of it, and The Beat That My Heart Skippedis a movie I will never get tired of watching--it may be the best French film of the year (not counting Haneke as French), the second half of the year, anyway.

Haze: didn't really grab me, it's so claustrophobic that you can't really see anything, and that doesn't work very well, but it's interesting that Tsukamoto is the creator of Tetsuo/The Iron Man (1988), which is one of the most amazing hallucinatory sci-fi films I have ever seen. If you haven't seen it find it and watch it.

Morel's 3 Dancing Slaves/Le Clan is full of gratuitous homoeroticism. I thought it a bad sign that it was coauthored by Christophe Honoré who made the terrible Ma mère released earlier this year. Le Clan is moody, meandering, and not very believable, but it has gay audience appeal for sure. As Dennis Lim wrote in the Voice, "Like so many films that target a gay male audience, Three Dancing Slaves transpires in an abstract parallel universe where half the population has mysteriously disappeared and the other half works out a lot and often goes unclothed." Right. The guys are built, hot, and often unclothed.

I forgot to mention seeing Late Chrysanthemums in the Film Forum Naruse festival. It was instructive but I wasn't very moved by it. I was looking for Ozu or Mizoguchi--they all seem to have films with "chrysanthemums" in the titles. But I think I spotted Armond White in the back taking notes, and that was cool; I admire him for contradicting all the other critics, even though he's a bit nuts.

The Devil's Rejects



Woo-eee what a movie.
Saw it 2 nights ago at my buddy Brent's.

It kicked ass.
A neo-horror film that pulls absolutely NO punches.

Several times Brent and I looked at each other, big shit-eating grins on our faces: "What the fuck is this?!?!"


Blood, gore?
A little.

Sex, violence?
A wee bit.

Dark subject matter?
A tad.

Killer soundrack and awesome shots (some are "frozen" for major cinematic effect), The ZOMBIE has really arrived.

The movie is a quasi-sequel to his well-received House of 1000 Corpses apparently, and I give it a HUGE "thumbs up".

sample line:

A "Reject" is owly in "the motel room", says (paraphrasing):

"The next thing you say had better be some Mark Twain shit, 'cuz it's gonna be on your tombstone."