XX Cinema

In a Better World

2011-04-01T09:58:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: In a Better World, directed by Susanne Bier

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film!

Synopsis from the film's website:

Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness.

Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian's mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death.

Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy.

Queen to Play

2011-04-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Queen to Play, directed by Caroline Bottaro

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A middle-aged maid with few prospects before her finds a new lease on life via the game of chess, in this unusual tale that marked the first directorial go-round of acclaimed scriptwriter Caroline Bottaro (Les Aveux de l'innocent). French screen siren Sandrine Bonnaire (À Nos Amours) stars as Hélène, a Frenchwoman employed as a housekeeper in a posh Corsican hotel. Though devoted and diligent as a wife and mother, she lacks any real passion in her life. That changes in a single, defining instant when Helene espies a mysterious couple (the female played by Jennifer Beals) exchanging erotic glances and seductive gestures over a chessboard, on a nearby balcony. Feeling sexual arousal, Hélène misguidedly tries to parlay this into her own personal life by giving her boatworker husband an electronic chessboard, but the connection between this and a need for greater intimacy eludes him. Hélène's curiosity about chess nonetheless endures, and when she fails to teach herself to play sans assistance, she turns to an eccentric, reclusive American whose house she cleans, Dr. Kroger (Kevin Kline) and asks him to mentor her in the game. In time, her expertise outstrips Kroger's and she begins to live and breathe chess, but this very passion also threatens to alienate the woman's family, who perceive a form of infidelity in this new obsession.

Wretches & Jabberers

2011-04-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Wretches & Jabberers, directed by Gerardine Wurzburg

Synopsis from the movie's website:

In Wretches & Jabberers, two men with autism embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence. Determined to put a new face on autism, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland. At each stop, they dissect public attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future.

Growing up, Thresher and Bissonnette were presumed “retarded” and excluded from normal schooling. With limited speech, they both faced lives of social isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When they learned as adults to communicate by typing, their lives changed dramatically. Their world tour message is that the same possibility exists for others like themselves.

Between moving and transformative encounters with young men and women with autism, parents and students, Thresher and Bissonnette take time to explore local sights and culture; dipping and dodging through Sri Lankan traffic in motorized tuk-tuks, discussing the purpose of life with a Buddhist monk and finally relaxing in a traditional Finnish sauna. Along the way, they reunite with old friends, expand the isolated world of a talented young painter and make new allies in their cause.

From beginning to end, Thresher and Bissonnette inspire parents and young men and women with autism with a poignant narrative of personal struggle that always rings with intelligence, humor, hope and courage.

Netflix It: Innocence

2011-03-25T10:57:00.001-04:00

Available through Netflix: Innocence, written and directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A strange institution prepares young girls for their future in a manner they don't truly understand in this surreal drama laced with fantasy. Iris (Zoe Auclair) is a six-year-old girl who arrives in a coffin (though alive and well) at a remote boarding school, where she and a handful of other girls are looked after by teachers Mademoiselle Eva (Marion Cotillard) and Mademoiselle Edith (Hélène de Fougerolles). Handpicked for the school and taken away from their families at a young age, each girl's age and place in the school's hierarchy is identified by the color of ribbon they wear in their hair (the oldest students, about 12, get purple ribbons), and they are forbidden to leave the campus grounds. Violating the rules is dealt with harshly, and their lessons focus on little besides ballet and biology. Each evening, the older girls are taken away to a different program they are not allowed to discuss, and the students get the impression that they are somehow being trained for future responsibilities, though what and why both remain a mystery. The first feature film from writer and director Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Innocence was adapted from a short story by Franz Wedekind.

Netflix It: Going the Distance

2011-03-21T12:11:00.000-04:00

Available through Netflix: Going the Distance, directed by Nanette Burstein

I fully expected this to be terrible, but Going the Distance is that rarest of gems—a romantic comedy in which two appealing actors portray likable characters whom we want to end up together. Shocking concept, I know. And the guy isn't a total loser, and the gal isn't an uptight prig! And chemistry! And Bechdel test! And no pedicures!

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long star in this romantic comedy about a long-distance romance that may be worth fighting for. Garrett (Long) is still nursing the wounds from a recent breakup when he meets Erin (Barrymore), an unflinchingly honest girl with a big talent for bar trivia. Hitting it off immediately, the pair spend a romantic summer together in New York City. It was supposed to be a summer fling, but as fall approaches and Erin returns to San Francisco, the spark is still there. Subsequently dividing his days between working and hitting the bars with best friends Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day), Garrett drops everything whenever Erin calls. The more Garrett's phone rings, the more his pals begin to suspect that their drinking buddy is taking the relationship a little too seriously. And they're not the only ones; Erin's sister, Corrine (Christina Applegate), is keen to ensure that her smitten sibling doesn't repeat the mistakes of her past, and she makes no attempts to sugarcoat the fact that she disapproves of the coast-to-coast romance. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and as the texting becomes more intense, both Garrett and Erin start to suspect that their summer fling may just be the real thing.

Desert Flower

2011-03-18T11:34:00.000-04:00

Opening in theaters this weekend: Desert Flower, directed by Sherry Hormann

Cracks

2011-03-18T11:27:00.003-04:00

Opening this weekend: Cracks, directed by Jordan Scott

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A teacher who prides herself on being different meets a student who matches her nonconformist nature in this period drama. It's 1934, and Miss G (Eva Green) is a teacher at a private school for girls near the eastern coastline of England. While most of the teachers at the school are severe and strait-laced women who reinforce its reputation as a repressive environment, Miss G is more youthful and glamorous than her colleagues, and enjoys dropping hints of a free-spirited past to her young charges. Miss G encourages her students to challenge conventional norms of the day, and organizes a diving team at the school, which she oversees with great interest. Miss G also sees a danger in the cliques that dominate the school, and she tries to undermine them, much to the annoyance of Di (Juno Temple), who holds a high place in the school's pecking order. But things change for both Miss G and her students when Fiamma (Maria Valverde) enrolls at the school. Fiamma is from Spain and has a strong independent streak; she doesn't look to her peers for approval and insists on doing things her own way, which makes her all the more exotic and appealing to the other students. Fiamma also earns the approval of Miss G, but before long rumors begin to spread that the teacher's interest in her new student is more than academic.

Motherland

2011-03-18T11:16:00.001-04:00

Opening this weekend: Motherland, directed by Doris Yeung

Synopsis from the film's website:

After a long absence abroad, a young Asian American woman, Raffi Tang, is called home when her estranged mother is murdered. She becomes increasingly drawn into a web of deception and incompetence while at the same time dealing with her own grief. The ultimate betrayal leads to her confronting truths in her family that have been hidden for far too long. The American Dream can come at too high a price.

Confusingly, the film shares a title with a documentary by Jennifer Steinman about women who've lost children. Rotten Tomatoes, for one, can't seem to tell the difference.

Red Riding Hood

2011-03-11T09:57:00.000-05:00

Opening this weekend: Red Riding Hood, directed by Catherine Hardwicke

I am excited about this movie and will plunk down money to see it, not because I love Hardwicke (Twilight was a little too much plotless-meditation-on-the-beauty-of-R-Pattz for me), but because she is one of the few women out there directing potential blockbusters and I want her to succeed, damnit! Also, I love Amanda Seyfried.

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Amanda Seyfried stars in this dark retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood fable, set in a medieval village where a werewolf has been terrorizing the citizens. Though the night has become a more and more dangerous time for the villagers, who never know when the beast will leave more bodies strewn in its wake, Valerie is a girl on the brink of womanhood, and is so preoccupied with her love and lust for an orphaned woodcutter that she risks leaving herself vulnerable — both literally and figuratively. Meanwhile, the townspeople hire a werewolf hunter (Gary Oldman) to track down the monster and kill it before it wreaks more bloody havoc. But as suspicions brew, the people of the once peaceful town begin to turn on each other, letting the innocence of their formerly happy community fall further and further into the past.

The movie's official website is here.

Foreign Parts

2011-03-11T09:28:00.000-05:00

Showing at MoMA: Foreign Parts, directed by Véréna Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki

Synopsis from the MoMA website:

With the support of Harvard University’s Sensory Ethnography Lab, anthropologists Véréna Paravel and J. P. Sniadecki spent two years filming this intimate portrait of the auto repair shops and junkyards that lie in the shadow of the New York Mets’ Citi Field Stadium, in Willets Point, Queens, and the hardscrabble community of immigrants who work and live there. Once ignored and neglected by the city government, these residents recently became the target of a $3 billion redevelopment project of malls, offices, and high-rise condos. The rezoning and gentrification of the area, while perhaps less notorious in the annals of aesthetic crime than the destruction of Manhattan’s Penn Station, has been no less destructive to the vitality and diversity of New York City. Foreign Parts was awarded Best First Feature and a Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, and was a highlight of the 2010 New York Film Festival.

The Desert of Forbidden Art

2011-03-11T08:28:00.000-05:00

Opening today: The Desert of Forbidden Art, directed by Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev

Synopsis from the film's official website:

How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags.

Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artists’ works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian avant-garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions.

Ben Kingsley, Sally Field and Ed Asner voice the diaries and letters of Savitsky and the artists. Intercut with recollections of the artists’ children and rare archival footage, the film takes us on a dramatic journey of sacrifice for the sake of creative freedom. Described as “one of the most remarkable collections of 20th century Russian art” and located in one of the world's poorest regions, today these paintings are worth millions, a lucrative target for Islamic fundamentalists, corrupt bureaucrats and art profiteers. The collection remains as endangered as when Savitsky first created it, posing the question of whose responsibility is it to preserve this cultural treasure.

Dear Lemon Lima

2011-03-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

Opening today: Dear Lemon Lima, directed by Suzi Yoonessi

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Lovelorn and lonely, 13-year-old Vanessa Lemor (Savanah Wiltfong) plots to win back her popular ex-boyfriend Philip (Shayne Topp) by winning a minority scholarship to the private academy he attends, but finds her plan backfiring when she's immediately lumped in with the unpopular kids. Vanessa is a Yup'ik (Western Eskimo) with a major crush on Philip. Though they were dating for a while, Philip cut things off in order to spend the summer in Paris. Heartbroken, Vanessa pours her heart out to her imaginary friend, Lemon Lima. Then, just when it seems that all hope is lost, Vanessa hatches a brilliant plan to enroll in the same school as Philip and win back his heart. Upon arriving at her posh new school, however, the smitten student receives the brush-off from her former boyfriend and winds up in the company of the misfits known as the FUBARs. Later, when it's announced that the students will be participating in the annual Snowstorm Survivor competition, the unpopular new arrival rallies her reject friends in a concerted effort to take first place, and impress Philip in the process. But as the even gets under way and the competition heats up, Vanessa begins to reevaluate her priorities and question her devotion to the boy who rejects her at every opportunity.

The movie's official website is here.

Per Questi Stretti Morire (Cartografia de una Passione)

2010-09-16T10:33:00.000-04:00

At the Venice Film Festival: Per Questi Stretti Morire (Cartografia de una Passione), directed by Isabella Sandri and Giuseppe Gaudrino

Synopsis from the festival's website:

The perseverance, excess and suffering in the life and works of the explorer, filmmaker and photographer Alberto Maria De Agostini (1883-1960) are arbitrarily reinvented. Having left his village in Piemonte at the age of 26 to become a missionary, he reached Patagonia and the Tierra del Fuego in 1910. He scaled mountains, discovered fjords and explored glaciers, naming them all. On encountering the anguish and pain of the destruction of the last Indio natives, he expressed these feelings eloquently through the photo plates and frames of his beautiful film Terre Magellaniche. All of this ends up as an imaginary and chaotic repository of memories, amongst the sad, hoarded remains of “white civilization.”

La belle endormie

2010-09-16T10:24:00.000-04:00

At the Venice International Film Festival: La belle endormie, directed by Catherine Breillat

I really liked her Bluebeard, so I'm curious to see what Breillat does with a slightly less weird fairy tale. Although I've heard that earlier versions of Sleeping Beauty had the princess awakening from the suckling of the baby that was conceived and born while she was in her coma. That makes it weirder.

Synopsis from the festival's website:

Once upon a time... In a castle somewhere in a bygone age... The fairy Carabosse cuts the umbilical cord of a newborn babe, a little girl called Anastasia. Three young scatterbrained fairies appear, their cheeks red from running... Too late, says Carabosse, at sixteen the child’s hand will be pierced and she’ll die.

The young fairies burst into tears! Their tardiness didn’t deserve that. Now they must ward off the fatal curse... They just manage to predict that instead of dying, Anastasia will fall asleep for 100 years.

Sleeping for a century is very boring, so they bestow on her the possibility of wandering far and wide in her dreams during those 100 years of sleep...

Somewhere

2010-09-16T10:16:00.000-04:00

At the Venice International Film Festival: Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola

Synopsis from the festival's website:

You have probably seen him in the tabloids: Johnny Marco drives around in a Ferrari and has a constant stream of girls and pills when he feels like having a night in. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts along. Then, his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau Hotel and he is forced to confront his life.

This film won the Golden Lion, which means that Coppola basically won the whole festival. Huzzah!

Attenberg

2010-09-16T10:12:00.000-04:00

At the Venice International Film Festival: Attenberg, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari

Synopsis from the festival's website:

Marina, a twenty-three year-old girl, lives with her architect father in a prototype factory town by the sea. Finding the human species strange and repellent, she keeps her distance. Instead she stubbornly observes it through songs of suicide, the mammal documentaries of Sir David Attenborough and the sex education lessons she receives from her only friend, Bella. A stranger comes to town and challenges her to a table football duel, on her own table. Meanwhile, her father ritualistically prepares for his exit from the 20th century, which he considers to be “overrated.” Caught between the two men and her collaborator Bella, Marina investigates the wondrous mystery of human fauna.

Meek's Cutoff

2010-09-16T10:08:00.000-04:00

At the Venice International Film Festival*: Meek's Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt

Synopsis from the festival's website:

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high desert plain, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the ensuing days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other’s instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.

*And yes, I realize the festival is over, but somehow I don't think any of us actually went, so the end result is basically the same, right?

Race to Nowhere

2010-09-10T16:42:00.000-04:00

Opening in theaters: Race to Nowhere, directed by Vicki Abeles and Jessica Congdon

Synopsis from the film's website:

Director Vicki Abeles turns the personal political, igniting a national conversation in her new documentary about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in a system and culture obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

In Theaters: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould

2010-09-10T16:34:00.001-04:00

Opening in theaters: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, directed by Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont

The Romantics

2010-09-10T16:31:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: The Romantics, directed by Galt Niederhoffer

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Wedding bells are bringing together a group of old friends as well as reawakening some old rivalries in this comedy-drama. Lila Hayes (Anna Paquin) and Tom McDevon (Josh Duhamel) first met when they were attending the same Ivy League college, and they became part of a circle of close friends who called themselves The Romantics. Six years after graduating, Lila and Tom are getting married, and their friends are seeing each other for the first time in years as they come together for the wedding. Laura Rosen (Katie Holmes), Lila's college roommate, has been invited to be the Maid of Honor, but while they're close friends, Laura has a secret -- she had a fling with Tom while he was dating Lila and she knows they still have feelings for one another. As the wedding day arrives, the occasion (and an open bar) brings some old skeletons out of the closet, especially as Lila's brother Chip (Elijah Wood) confesses his attraction to Laura. Also starring Candice Bergen and Malin Akerman, The Romantics was written and directed by Galt Niederhoffer, who adapted the screenplay from her own novel; the film received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

The movie's website is here.

In Theaters: Bran Nue Dae

2010-09-10T16:22:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Bran Nue Dae, directed by Rachel Perkins

Patrik, Age 1.5

2010-08-06T15:37:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Patrik, Age 1.5, directed by Ella Lemhagen

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A married pair of ex-urbanites relocates to a small village in hopes of starting a family, only to receive an unexpected surprise thanks to a mix-up at the adoption agency. Sven and Göran are finally set to realize their shared dream of becoming parents. In preparation, the happy couple even decides to leave city life behind in favor of moving to a quaint village in the country. Unfortunately, the local villagers don't exactly extend a warm welcome to the optimistic couple; while some greet them with outright hostility, most are content simply to shun them. Upon receiving news that the adoption agency was unable to locate a suitable international baby, Sven and Göran agree to take in a local orphan. On paper, Patrik was listed as being age 1.5, though upon meeting their new adopted child it quickly becomes apparent to Sven and Göran that someone misplaced a decimal point. In reality, Patrik is a homophobic 15-year-old juvenile delinquent who's none too happy about being taken in by a pair of aging gay men. Still, Göran recognizes that Patrik needs a home, and agrees to put the openly hostile boy up until he and Sven can find a more suitable place for him to live. But former street punk Sven isn't quite as accommodating due to the fact that he knows well what a young ruffian such as Patrik may be capable of. Over time, Sven's trepidation about Patrik prompts him to confront not only his own misgivings about marriage and suburban living, but his long-buried feelings about his own estranged son from a previous marriage as well.

Quest for Honor

2010-08-06T15:27:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Quest for Honor, directed by Mary Ann Smothers Bruni

Synopsis from AllMovie:

In a small village in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, a woman dressed in Western-style clothes — jeans and high heels — is found shot to death by the side of the road, and the preliminary investigation suggests that the victim knew her killers ... and that whoever pulled the trigger several times took no chances on the victim surviving. Before long, police have come to suspect that this was an "honor killing," in which a woman is murdered by a relative who believes she's brought shame in some way to the family name. "Honor killings" are still considered acceptable in many parts of the Middle East, and while they may be against the law, police rarely spend much time and energy on such cases. Filmmaker Mary Ann Smothers Bruni uses this murder as a springboard for examining the grim phenomena of "honor killings" in the documentary Quest For Honor, which features interviews with members of Sulaimaniyah's Women's Media and Education Center, police officers who investigate honor killings, family members of honor killing victims (and some suspected killers) and others who have become a part of this grim abuse of justice. Quest For Honor was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The film's website is here.

In Theaters: Cairo Time

2010-08-06T15:09:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Cairo Time, written and directed by Ruba Nadda

Lucky Days

2010-08-06T14:55:00.000-04:00

Opening in Brooklyn this weekend: Lucky Days, directed by Angelica Torn and Anthony Torn

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A young woman seeking freedom from her abusive boyfriend, her embarrassing family, and her own self-constructed cage encounters a long lost childhood sweetheart who taps into her inner turmoil during the course of an explosive weekend at the Coney Island amusement park. All Virginia wants is to live life on her own terms, but something deep within is preventing her from truly striking out on her own. Now, as Virginia reaches a crucial turning point, life as she knows it is about to end. The only choice for Virginia now is whether to resign herself to the fact that the greedy developers intent on tearing down the boardwalk will accomplish their goal regardless of what she does, or allow herself to disappear right along with the only world she ever knew.

In Theaters: The Parking Lot Movie

2010-08-06T14:42:00.000-04:00

Opening in New York this weekend: The Parking Lot Movie, directed by Meghan Eckman

Helen

2010-07-30T14:02:00.000-04:00

Opening in New York this weekend: Helen, written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck

Synopsis from the film's Facebook page:

In the heartwrenching new film Helen, Ashley Judd portrays a beautiful, intelligent university professor who is happily married to David (Goran Visnjic) and enjoys a loving relationship with her teenage daughter (Alexia Fast) from a previous marriage. Despite all her good fortunes, Helen is hiding a secret; and a sudden, unexpected breakdown sends her spiraling into severe depression. Helen’s profound love for her family, which once kept them inseparable, now is tearing them apart. Amid the desperate battle for her life, her love and her sanity, Helen finds herself pulling away from David and seeking comfort from a fierce yet fragile, enigmatic and troubled young woman, Mathilda (Lauren Lee Smith), who is also struggling with a mental disorder – and whose extraordinary spirit and devotion shines like a flickering light inside Helen’s darkness.

In Theaters: The Extra Man

2010-07-30T13:53:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: The Extra Man, written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

In Theaters: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

2010-07-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, directed by Brigitte Berman

Jean-Michael Basquiat: The Radiant Child

2010-07-23T09:27:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, directed by Tamra Davis

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Basquiat over twenty years ago, this definitive documentary chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the young artist. In the crime-ridden NYC of the 1970s, he covers the city with the graffiti tag SAMO. In 1981 he puts paint on canvas for the first time, and by 1983 he is an artist with “rock star status.” He achieves critical and commercial success, though he is constantly confronted by racism from his peers. In 1985 he and Andy Warhol become close friends and painting collaborators, but they part ways and Warhol dies suddenly in 1987. Basquiat’s heroin addiction worsens, and he dies of an overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. The artist was 25 years old at the height of his career, and today his canvases sell for more than a million dollars. With compassion and psychological insight, Tamra Davis details the mysteries that surround this charismatic young man, an artist of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the rollercoaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody.

Featuring interviews with Julian Schnabel, Larry Gagosian, Bruno Bischofberger, Tony Shafrazi, Fab 5 Freddy, Jeffrey Deitch, Glenn O'Brien, Maripol, Kai Eric, Nicholas Taylor, Fred Hoffmann, Michael Holman, Diego Cortez, Annina Nosei, Suzanne Mallouk, Rene Ricard, Kenny Scharf, among many others.

Ramona and Beezus

2010-07-22T15:44:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Ramona and Beezus, directed by Elizabeth Allen

I don't think I'm the target audience for this movie, but I loved the books so much I ordered Honey Nut Cheerio pencils that said, "Athena, Age 8." ("Athena" was what I wanted people to call me, as the goddess was my personal role model. Good thing I didn't know about sacrificing goats.)

From the movie's website:

The adventures of young Ramona Quimby (newcomer Joey King) and her big sister Beezus (Selena Gomez) come to life in this all new film based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary. Ramona's vivid imagination, boundless energy, and accident-prone antics keep everyone she meets on their toes. But her irrepressible sense of fun, adventure and mischief come in handy when she puts her mind to helping save her family's home.

In Theaters: Mugabe and the White African

2010-07-22T15:37:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Mugabe and the White African, directed by Lucy Bailey

In Theaters: Countdown to Zero

2010-07-22T15:33:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Countdown to Zero, directed by Lucy Walker

The Contenders

2010-07-20T10:09:00.000-04:00

In theaters: The Contenders, directed by Marta Mondelli

Synopsis from the film's website:

Nora and her husband Ken host a birthday party in their vacation house by the sea. The guest of honor arrives first but, due to some inexplicable ailment, retires upstairs. The other guests, Veronica (returning from an eight-year-spell in Europe) and Marc (an unfaithful married man) complete the party.
As the night unravels, one of the guests inexplicably dies.

Will the marriage of Ken and Nora, marred by Ken’s repressed subservience and Nora’s obsessive jealousies, last the evening? And will the nostalgic Veronica, and the childish Marc will find peace? Before dawn, the remaining friends indulge in sex and slices of cake, as they grapple with their own relationships, their friend's death, and the secret of happiness.

When the sun appears, who of these "contenders" will ultimately find what they are looking for?

Viscera Film Festival

2010-07-14T15:34:00.000-04:00

Showing on July 17 in Los Angeles: The Viscera Film Festival, featuring short horror films directed by women

If I lived anywhere near LA, I think I would have to go, despite the risk of nightmares...

Netflix It: Titus

2010-07-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

Available on Netflix: Titus, directed by Julie Taymor

Thematically dark but visually dazzling. Who knew Shakespeare was this gruesome? This is a totally different level than the usual murders and suicides...

Synopsis from AllMovie:

One of William Shakespeare's lesser-known plays, Titus Andronicus was staged in New York by award-winning theatrical director Julie Taymor in an acclaimed 1995 production, before her widely praised Broadway version of The Lion King. Taymor revisits that production for her first motion picture, with the addition of a star-studded cast. Roman General Titus Andronicus (Anthony Hopkins) has returned from defeating the Goths in a bloody battle, but the victory has left him with mixed feelings, as the war took the lives of several of his sons. Titus is reminded by his first-born son Lucius (Angus Macfadyen) that their faith demands the sacrifice of an enemy prisoner as a gift to the gods for their victory. Titus chooses the eldest son of Tamora (Jessica Lange), the Queen of the Goths, who has since been taken hostage by Titus's troops. Tamora pleads for her son's life, but Titus goes ahead with the sacrifice. She then becomes the lover of the new emperor of Rome, Saturninus (Alan Cumming), a weak-willed and corrupt man. Tamora uses her connection to the throne for her own ends: in retaliation for the death of her son, Tamora and her surviving sons, Chiron (Jonathan Rhys Myers) and Demetrius (Matthew Rhys), brutally rape Titus's beloved daughter, Lavinia (Laura Fraser). This act sets in motion an ever-tightening spiral of revenge and retaliation that leaves few of the participants unscathed. The supporting cast includes Colm Feore as Marcus, Harry Lennix as Aaron, and James Frain as Bassianus.

Lost Persons Area

2010-07-11T09:58:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Lost Persons Area, directed by Caroline Strubbe

Synopsis from the KVIFF website:

The story, located for the most part in an industrial no-man’s land, between tall electricity pylons on which the leading male characters are working, is not easy to sum up. This reflective, highly personal debut by writer-director Caroline Strubbe doesn’t rely on a strict narrative line. It offers reflections of solitude, feelings of disquiet and longings, all observed through a searching, roving camera. The film is an intimate and mysterious chronicle of relationships in general and family relations in particular. The young daughter Tessa is more or less left to her own devices, but manages to fill her days with rangy rambles and a strange passion for collecting things. For her part, her mother Bettina appears to dream of another life: a more normal one or, perhaps, on the contrary, a more adventurous one. Lost Persons Area is a subtle drama about restless people’s search for happiness.

Love, Lust & Lies

2010-07-11T09:57:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Love, Lust & Lies, directed by Gillian Armstrong

Synopsis from the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival website:

In 1976 renowned Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong met three 14-year-old friends, Kerry, Josie, and Diana, at a youth center in Adelaide. A portrait of their adolescence makes up the core of the film Smokes and Lollies, the first of five documentaries capturing the lives of the three ordinary working-class girls (and later women). With breaks of several years, the filmmaker regularly returned to her heroines, and in 1996, when each has an adult daughter, she released Not Fourteen Again, winning the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Documentary. Despite her original plan, in 2009 Armstrong decided to contact her heroines for the last time in order to find out to what extent they had fulfilled their dreams and desires, and whether they can be as honest with the camera and, above all, with themselves as they all once promised. This unique long-term documentary project superbly charts the seemingly ordinary lives of three women, offering a singular look at Australian society from the mid-70s till today.

In Theaters: The Kids Are All Right

2010-07-09T12:04:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: The Kids Are All Right, directed by Lisa Cholodenko

Finally! I feel like I've been hearing about this movie forever.

The Hedgehog

2010-07-07T10:21:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival: The Hedgehog, directed by Mona Achache

Synopsis from the Karlovy Vary Film Festival website:

An intellectual concierge, a precocious 11-year-old and a refined Japanese gentleman are the strange trio at the heart of the sometimes uplifting, sometimes cynical The Hedgehog, based on Muriel Barbery’s bestselling novel. Making audiences feel clever while also delivering an old-fashioned fairy tale of unexpected love (and even a dose of social critique), Mona Achache’s helming debut unashamedly has it all ways. But the result is a basically touching, engaging parable about the importance of unconventionality. Performances are strong, with Josiane Balasko in particular suggesting a wealth of simmering emotion beneath her impassive features.

Unsubtitled trailer:

Netflix It: Whale Rider

2010-07-07T10:00:00.000-04:00

Available from Netflix: Whale Rider, directed by Niki Caro

This is one of those movies where you just want to scream at the mean grandpa to stop being such a mean grandpa. Go ahead. But he won't hear you.

(Somewhat spoiler-y) synopsis from the movie's website:

In a small New Zealand coastal village, Maori claim descent from Paikea, the Whale Rider. In every generation for more than 1000 years, a male heir born to the Chief succeeds to the title.

The time is now. The Chief's eldest son, Porourangi, fathers twins - a boy and a girl. But the boy and his mother die in childbirth. The surviving girl is named Pai.

Grief-stricken, her father leaves her to be raised by her grandparents. Koro, her grandfather who is the Chief, refuses to acknowledge Pai as the inheritor of the tradition and claims she is of no use to him. But her grandmother, Flowers, sees more than a broken line, she sees a child in desperate need of love.

And Koro learns to love the child. When Pai's father, Porourangi, now a feted international artist, returns home after twelve years, Koro hopes everything is resolved and Porourangi will to accept destiny and become his successor.

But Porourangi has no intention of becoming Chief. He has moved away from his people both physically and emotionally. After a bitter argument with Koro he leaves, suggesting to Pai that she come with him. She starts the journey but quickly returns, claiming her grandfather needs her.

Koro is blinded by prejudice and even Flowers cannot convince him that Pai is the natural heir. The old Chief is convinced that the tribe's misfortunes began at Pai's birth and calls for his people to bring their 12-year-old boys to him for training.
He is certain that through a gruelling process of teaching the ancient chants, tribal lore and warrior techniques, the future leader of their tribe will be revealed to him.

Meanwhile, deep within the ocean, a massive herd of whales is responding, drawn towards Pai and their twin destinies.

When the whales become stranded on the beach, Koro is sure this signals an apocalyptic end to his tribe. Until one person prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the people. The Whale Rider.

Great Directors

2010-07-02T13:06:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Great Directors, directed by Angela Ismailos

Synopsis from the film's website:

A deeply personal and intimate look at the art of cinema and the artists who create it, Great Directors is a celebration of films and film-making starring ten of the world’s most acclaimed, provocative, and individualistic living directors, featuring original, in-depth conversations with Bernado Bertolucci, David Lynch, Stephen Frears, Agnes Varda, Ken Loach, Liliana Cavani, Todd Haynes, Catherine Breillat, Richard Linklater and John Sayles. These interviews more than just chronicle Ismailos’ encounters with ten remarkable men and women. Extensively illuminated by clips and historical archives from the subjects’ works, they also reveal the distinctive personalities who created the timeless images that have long inspired Ismailos-and all of us. Intercutting among the filmmakers in a freely associative way, Ismailos explores each director’s artistic evolution; the role of politics and history on their work; their feelings about the other great directors who inspired them (with Bertolucci paying homage to Pasolini, Breillat to Bergman, and Haynes to Fassbinder, etc); and the agony and ecstasy of being an artist in a medium that is, paradoxically, also an industry.

Beautiful Islands

2010-07-02T13:00:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Beautiful Islands, directed by Tomoko Kana

Synopsis from the movie's website:

This movie looks at three beautiful islands, shaken by climate change: Tuvalu in the South Pacific, Venice in Italy, and Shishmaref in Alaska.

The islands all have different climates and cultures, but the people all love their native lands. The film, which took three years to shoot, focuses on their daily lives. It portrays festivals that foster ties among the people, traditional crafts which have been passed on for generations, and peaceful lives by the water. They are all disappearing by climate change.

When these people lose their homelands, their cultures and histories face “death.” Their lives in the midst of all the changes suggest where our future leads..

Director, Kana Tomoko purposely decided not to put any narration or music in this film. It is a two-hour trip around the world, listening to the sounds of waters and winds, accompanied by the children’s smiles. She wants you to sharpen your minds and feel what we are going to lose as climate change really (threatens) hits our planet.

Only When I Dance

2010-07-02T12:55:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Only When I Dance, directed by Beadie Finzi

Synopsis from the movie's blog:

This feel-good documentary follows Irlan and Isabela, two teenagers from the violent favelas of Rio de Janeiro, as they pursue their dreams of becoming professional ballet dancers. This inspiring story takes us from Rio - where their communities must raise the funds to support their ambitions - to exhilarating ballet competitions in New York and Switzerland. It's a film about their determination to dance, and the price one must pay for talent, ambition and success.

Ripley's Game

2010-06-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

Available from Netflix: Ripley's Game, directed by Liliana Cavani

Though I don't think I would wholeheartedly recommend this movie (Ripley's motivations are a little too opaque for the plot to totally make sense, and it fails the Bechdel Test), it's not a bad little thriller, and it's got Ray Winstone who was once, shockingly, voted Britain's fifth sexiest actor. So there's that.

Synopsis from AllMovie:

The cool and mannered sociopath Tom Ripley returns to the big screen in director Liliana Cavani's 2002 crime thriller Ripley's Game, adapted from the 1974 novel by Patricia Highsmith. Living a life of luxury as an art dealer in northern Italy with his musician wife Luisa (Chiara Caselli), Ripley (John Malkovich) attends a party thrown by Jonathan Trevanny (Dougray Scott) and overhears the host making critical comments about Ripley's fashion sense. Enraged, Ripley immediately plots his retaliation for this slight, which comes via a reunion with his former business partner Reeves (Ray Winstone). Reeves seeks out Ripley's help in finding an unrecognized assassin to kill a Russian gangster, and Ripley suggests he talk to Trevanny — whom Ripley knows has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and is also desperately strapped for cash. Trevanny reluctantly accepts the offer, in order to insure his family's security — but is pressured into a repeat performance, which draws the ire of Ripley. The situation quickly spirals out of control to the point of drawing the attention — and anger — of the Russian mob, forcing Ripley to intervene. But the master criminal also develops a respect for his unwitting victim, forming an unlikely friendship under the most dire of circumstances.

Other Movies at the Edinburgh Film Festival

2010-06-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

Some other films screening at the Edinburgh Film Festival:

A Small Act, directed by Jennifer Arnold

Foxes, directed by Mira Fornay

Hotel Atlantico, directed by Suzana Amaral

Les Signes Vitaux, directed by Sophie Deraspe

Nothing Personal, directed by Urszula Antoniak

Obselidia, directed by Diane Bell

The Extra Man, directed by Shari Springer Berman

The Oath, directed by Laura Poitras

Third Star

2010-06-23T10:17:00.001-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Third Star, directed by Hattie Dalton

Synopsis from the EIFF website:

BAFTA-winning short filmmaker Hattie Dalton makes an auspicious feature debut with this poignant but still screamingly funny paean to making the most of life – while you still can. James (Benedict Cumberbatch) invites his three closest friends to join him on a road trip to his favourite place in the world. Like many an impulsive group holiday, however, the undertaking proves fraught with practical difficulties, surreal encounters and emotionally ravaging revelations... With a vibrant, witty and insightful script by Vaughan Sivell, and a quartet of excellent lead performances from the UK’s finest young actors, this is a moving, pertinent and unpredictable film, and a fantastic showcase of new and promising British film talent.

The Edge of Dreaming

2010-06-22T09:37:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: The Edge of Dreaming, directed by Amy Hardie

Synopsis from the film's website:

This is the story of a rational, sceptical woman, a mother and wife, who does not remember her dreams. Except once, when she dreamt her horse was dying. She woke so scared she went outside in the night. She found him dead. The next dream told her she would die herself, when she was 48.

The Edge of Dreaming charts every step of that year. The film explores life and death in the context of a warm and loving family, whose happiness is increasingly threatened as the dream seems to be proving true. From the kids reaction to their horses' death (they taught the dog a new trick – called 'dead dog'), the film mixes humour, science and married life as Amy attempts to understand what is happening to her.

Everyone wrestles with the concept of their own mortality, but few so directly explore and confront the subject. When Amy fell seriously ill, as her dream predicted, she went on a search to change that dream, leading her to eminent neuroscientist Mark Solms, and to new understanding of the complexity of our brains. The final confrontation takes us back into her dream with the help of a shaman, revealing a surprising twist to the tale.

The Black Panther

2010-06-22T09:32:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: The Black Panther, directed by Iyari Wertta

Synopsis from the EIFF website:

Disheveled private eye Nico Beamonte’s latest case comes from God himself … possibly. He wants Nico to find the mysterious Black Panther. But who, or what, is the Black Panther? And what has this got to do with a cryogenically frozen Mariachi singer and a 1950s flying saucer? Surrealism, Mexican-style – as if film noir had collided with props left over from a Ray Harryhausen film.

Perestroika

2010-06-21T10:18:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh FIlm Festival: Perestroika, directed by Sarah Turner

Synopsis from the EIFF website:

Blurring the boundary between reality and fiction, Perestroika retraces a journey made exactly 20 years previously, in an attempt to come to terms with the death of a close friend. Hypnotic and haunting imagery and evocative soundscapes draw the viewer into a mysterious space of reflection, caught between past and present. The journey itself – which interweaves footage from the original trip – becomes a metaphor for the process of remembering and reexperiencing.

Soul Boy

2010-06-21T10:17:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh Film Festival: Soul Boy, directed by Hawa Essuman

Synopsis from the film's website:

Nairobi, Kenya. 14 year-old Abila lives with his parents in Kibera, one of the largest slums in East Africa. One morning the teenager discovers his father ill and delirious. Someone has stolen his soul, mumbles the father as he sits huddled in a corner. Abila is shocked and confused but wants to help his father and goes in search of a suitable cure. Supported by his friend Shiku who is the same age as him, he learns that his father has gambled his soul away in the company of a spiritual woman. The teenager doesn’t want to believe it and sets about looking for the witch. When he finally discovers her in the darkest corner of the ghetto, she gives him seven challenging tasks to save his father’s lost soul. Abila embarks on an adventurous journey which leads him right through the microcosm of his home town.

Netflix It: Point Break

2010-06-21T09:46:00.000-04:00

Available from Netflix: Point Break, directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Kathryn Bigelow's fourth action film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as he goes undercover to infiltrate a cache of Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. Utah, a former football player, is assigned to Los Angeles. There, four bank robbers, who wear rubber masks and call themselves "Ex-Presidents," have executed a series of successful robberies which embarrassingly have the FBI stumped. Utah, and his partner Pappas (Gary Busey) suspect that the robbers are surfers and hatch a plan for catching them.

Let It Rain

2010-06-18T10:37:00.001-04:00

Opening this weekend: Let It Rain, directed by Agnès Jaoui

Synopsis from the film's website:

Agathe Villanova, féministe nouvellement engagée en politique, revient pour dix jours dans la maison de son enfance, dans le sud de la France, aider sa soeur Florence à ranger les affaires de leur mère, décédée il y a un an. Agathe n'aime pas cette région, elle en est partie dès qu'elle a pu. Les impératifs de la parité l'ont parachutée ici à l'occasion des prochaines échéances électorales. Dans cette maison vivent Florence, son mari, et ses enfants. Mais aussi Mimouna, femme de ménage que les Villanova ont ramenée avec eux d'Algérie, au moment de l'indépendance.

Le fils de Mimouna, Karim, et son ami Michel Ronsard entreprennent de tourner un documentaire sur Agathe Villanova, dans le cadre d'une collection sur «les femmes qui ont réussi».

On est au mois d'août. Il fait gris, il pleut. Ce n'est pas normal. Mais rien ne va se passer normalement.

Or in other words:

Agathe Villanova, a feminist who has just entered politics, returns to her childhood home in the south of France for ten day to help her sister Florence go through their deceased mother's possessions. Agathe never liked the area; she left as soon as she could. However, the demands of women's equality in the legislature have brought her here for the next election. This is the house where Florence, her husband, and her children all live, as well as Mimouna, the housekeeper that the Villanovas brought with them from Algeria when that country gained its independence.

Karim, Mimouna's son, and his friend Michel Ronsard are filming a documentary about Agathe, as part of a collection about "successful women."

It's August, but the weather is gray and rainy. That's not normal... but nothing is going to be normal.

Stonewall Uprising

2010-06-18T10:23:00.000-04:00

Opening at the Film Forum this weekend: Stonewall Uprising, directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Filmmakers Kate Davis and David Heilbroner team up to explore the Stonewall riots, an event that served as a sharp turning point for gay rights in the United States. The setting was a Greenwich Village gay bar called the Stonewall Inn; the date was June 28, 1969. It was a time when homosexuality was still seen as a dangerous mental illness, and raids on gay gathering spots were commonplace. When New York City police raided the mafia-run establishment, they figured the patrons could be herded into paddy wagons without a fight – they were wrong. Over the course of the next three days, gay protestors clashed with police in an uprising that made headlines across the world. In this film, participants from both sides of the conflict offer firsthand testimony about the social climate of the era, and the riots that sparked a revolution.

Out of the Ashes

2010-06-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh Film Festival: Out of the Ashes, directed by Lucy Martens and Timothy Albone

Synopsis from the film's website:

Along the way the Afghan cricket team won three tournaments to make it to South Africa and the World Cup qualifier. They were the first nation ever to rise from cricket's lowest league to this level. That a nation riven by war, marred by corruption and fractured by poverty could achieve this makes the story all the more remarkable. Out of the Ashes is the ultimate David and Goliath film.

The team, with very little funding, no facilities and a lack of infrastructure, have achieved what no one else has managed. At a time when Afghanistan is in the news for suicide bombers, drugs and rigged elections, this film shows a more human side to a country too often associated with tragedy.

We were there when the team swam in the sea for the first time, ate fish and chips, watched the samba and gate crashed an English wedding. We were there when they faced their greatest challenge in South Africa and filmed their return to Afghanistan.

Mundane History

2010-06-17T10:56:00.001-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Mundane History, directed by Anocha Suwichakornpong

Synopsis from the EIFF website:

Thai cinema continues to come of age with this exciting debut. Pun is a home nurse, tending to the recently paralysed and angry Ake, who has a fractious relationship with his father. As tensions boil, a mundane day trip reveals how fragile the universe is, and a life-affirming change takes place. Featuring an astounding planetarium scene, this deeply felt cry for change is simply spellbinding.

Girl with Black Balloons

2010-06-15T10:14:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Girl with Black Balloons, directed by Corinne van der Borch

Synopsis from the film's website:

Bettina is said to be the most beautiful woman to have ever lived in the legendary Chelsea Hotel in New York City, according to residents, yet has hidden herself away in her studio for over 40 years. She sleeps on a lawn-chair and surrounds herself with boxes stacked from floor to ceiling, filled with works of her art that have never seen the light of day. These boxes hide a stunning body of work - but it's come at a huge cost. Her life as a reclusive guardian over her creativity and artwork inspires us to think about the world that we have each chosen for ourselves, how we are captive of it or freed by it.

During humorous, intimate and provocative moments, first-time director Corinne van der Borch develops a delicate friendship with Bettina and gradually unveils the life of one of New York's last true eccentrics.

No trailer on YouTube yet, but you can watch the trailer on the EIFF website, on the film's website or on the film's KickStarter page. (About KickStarter—van der Borch needs a few more grand to finish technical stuff on the movie before the EIFF. Looks like a worthy cause to me!)

Donkeys

2010-06-14T15:49:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Donkeys, directed by Morag McKinnon

Synopsis from the film's website:

Donkeys is a bittersweet, tragicomic tale. When Alfred learns of his impending death he realises it’s time to make amends with his estranged family. However before things get better they get a whole lot worse and a blast from the past injects calamity, comedy and confusion into Alfred’s efforts.

The Lottery

2010-06-11T11:56:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: The Lottery, directed by Madeleine Sackler

Synopsis from the movie's website:

In a country where 58% of African American 4th graders are functionally illiterate, The Lottery uncovers the failures of the traditional public school system and reveals that hundreds of thousands of parents attempt to flee the system every year. The Lottery follows four of these families from Harlem and the Bronx who have entered their children in a charter school lottery. Out of thousands of hopefuls, only a small minority will win the chance of a better future.

Directed by Madeleine Sackler and shot by award-winning cinematographer Wolfgang Held, The Lottery uncovers a ferocious debate surrounding the education reform movement. Interviews with politicians and educators explain not only the crisis in public education, but also why it is fixable. A call to action to avert a catastrophe in the education of American children, The Lottery makes the case that any child can succeed.

In Theaters: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

2010-06-11T11:49:00.000-04:00

Opening in theaters this weekend: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg

In Theaters: Winter's Bone

2010-06-11T11:45:00.000-04:00

Opening in theaters today: Winter's Bone, directed by Debra Granik

Act of Dishonour

2010-06-10T10:48:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Act of Dishonour, directed by Nelofar Pazira

Synopsis from the National Film Board of Canada:

In a land beset by endless strife, honour can come at a high price – even for the innocent.

Mena, a young, beautiful bride-to-be, lives in a small, remote village in northern Afghanistan, a harsh landscape that still shimmers with breathtaking colours. Respecting the deeply conservative local customs, she and her fiancé, Rahmat, have little contact yet cherish a special bond. The arrival of a Canadian film crew briefly opens a window on a new world for Mena, a foray beyond the boundaries of convention that leads her inexorably down a dangerous road.

Directed by Nelofer Pazira, the star of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s acclaimed Kandahar and co-director of the documentary Return to Kandahar, Act of Dishonour is a compelling drama in which East and West, love and honour, modernity and custom clash with tragic consequences. In this rich microcosm of a fractured society, many stories intertwine, including those of Mejgan (played by Pazira), the Afghan-Canadian translator who befriends Mena, and thoughtful Ali, a member of an ethnic minority who wrestles with the prospect of eternal exile from his childhood home.

Act of Dishonour shuns easy answers, challenging rigid moral paradigms and preconceptions on both sides of the cultural divide. This eloquent, nuanced portrait of life in Afghanistan is part lament against injustice, part testament to the spirit of a people who have survived decades of war.

Au voleur (A Real Life)

2010-06-08T16:45:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Edinburgh International Film Festival: Au voleur, directed by Sarah Petit

Synopsis from the EIFF website:

Reacting impulsively to an inappropriate crush, a respectable young teacher lays her safety on the line for a grubby petty thief. Before she knows it, she's on the run — Bonnie to his Clyde, appropriately accompanied by Depression-era American folk tunes. Wayward, warm and genuinely unpredictable, this is a beautifully directed film, and a worthy vehicle for its late lead's idiosyncratic talents.

Short Film: The Banker

2010-06-07T16:26:00.000-04:00

Available for viewing online: "The Banker," directed by Hattie Dalton

Starring an unrecognizable Michael Sheen, "The Banker" won the 2005 BAFTA for best short. Just in case watching short films is A-OK at your place of employment, you probably won't want to watch this one within earshot of your boss.

"The Banker" and a couple of Dalton's other short films ("Just One of those Days" and "Internal Turmoil of the Plastic Kind") are available for viewing here.

Netflix It: Strange Days

2010-06-07T12:49:00.000-04:00

Available on Netflix: Strange Days, directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Confession: I haven't seen this movie since I was a teenager, and the rape scene made me too uncomfortable to focus on anything else about the movie (though I think the sharing-senses technology would make a handy diagnostic tool for out-of-touch doctors if someone would go ahead and invent it already), but this essay from the Bitch Magazine website makes me want to give it another chance. What say you?

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Set in Los Angeles two days before the end of 1999, Strange Days introduces us to Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), an ex-cop turned sleazy hustler who hawks the newest underground thrill on the black market: a "squid," a headpiece that allows one to transmit digital recordings of other people's thoughts, feelings, and memories into their brain; as Lenny describes it, "this is real life, pure and uncut, straight from the cerebral cortex." Lenny deals "clips" (the software) as well as "squids" (the hardware) for this new and illegal entertainment system, and while sex and violence are the most popular themes, Lenny refuses to deal in "blackjack" — slang for snuff clips. Lenny is nursing a broken heart after his girlfriend, punk singer Faith Justin (Juliette Lewis), left him, and he spends a lot of time with clips he recorded when they were together. Faith is now involved with Philo Grant (Michael Wincott), a music business tycoon who once managed Jeriko One (Glenn Plummer), a hip-hop musician and political activist whose murder has sent L.A. into a state of chaos. When a clip emerges that shows that Jeriko was killed by L.A. police officers, Lenny finds his life in danger, and he tries to escape possible death on both sides of the law with the help of his friend Mace Mason (Angela Bassett).

Actually, I like this trailer better:

Finding Bliss

2010-06-04T10:03:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend at City Cinemas Village East: Finding Bliss, directed by Julie Davis

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Finding Bliss is a cutting-edge romantic comedy that explores the adult film industry through the eyes of an idealistic 25 year-old award-winning film school grad, Jody Balaban (Leelee Sobieski), new to Los Angeles.

After a long humbling year temping as a traffic cop on a studio lot, Jody is faced with the hard decision of taking the only well-paying industry job she has yet been offered – editing porn at Grind Productions, a profitable X-rated company run by former porn star and shrewd business-woman Irene Fox (Kristen Johnson). Irene explains that Grind is embarking on their first “real” movie, which they plan to release in art-house theaters across the country. The consummate saleswoman, she attempts to seduce the desperate Jody to edit the film by challenging her to bring a smart female point of view to the sexual content in the movie, which is the crucial element needed for the film to cross over into the mainstream.

At first horrified by the prospect of exposing herself to the cockroaches of the film industry, not to mention the effect it would have on her strict Jewish parents, Jody has a remarkable change of heart when she realizes that Grind has all the facilities she needs to make her own low budget movie – on the sly of course. Jody rationalizes taking the job on the grounds that “the means justify the ends” – by editing porn during the day, she’ll be able to make meaningful art at night.

At first, Jody’s plan seems to be working out – she prepares to shoot her film after hours and her parents happily think she has a respectable job - but things get complicated when Jody meets Jeff Drake (Matt Davis), the charming Herr Director of porn. Jeff, also an award-winning filmmaker, once had his own dreams of making ‘real’ films, but now is a hard-worn cynic who masks his disappointment behind a façade of irony. In Jody, he sees the idealism he once had, while Jody starts to face her own sexual hang-ups as she begins to get aroused by the porn she so harshly judges.
When Jody starts making her own low-budget romantic comedy at night, she hires Laura (Denise Richards), a sweet ingénue who questions Jody’s preconceptions about love and sex as and gradually inspires Jody to embrace her growing attraction towards Jeff, not to mention her unexpected affection for the lowlifes of porn, including the dimwitted but lovable porn star Richard “Dick” Harder (Jamie Kennedy).

In Theaters: Cropsey

2010-06-04T09:46:00.000-04:00

Showing at the IFC Center this week: Cropsey, directed by Barbara Brancaccio & Joshua Zeman

Mellodrama

2010-06-03T10:44:00.000-04:00

Available to buy on DVD: Mellodrama: The Mellotron Documentary, directed by Dianna Dilworth

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Mellodrama, a documentary by Dianna Dilworth, explores the rising and falling fortunes of the Mellotron — the first musical keyboard to "sample" the sounds of other instruments — from its birth in a California garage in the 1950s, through its dominance on concert stages in the 1970s, through its almost religious cult of followers in the 2000s. From the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" to Black Sabbath to Kanye West, Mellodrama is a 50-year odyssey of musical invention, revolution, betrayal, and rediscovery.

The Mellotron is a keyboard instrument that plays prerecorded strips of magnetic tape. It was invented as the Chamberlin organ in Harry Chamberlin's Southern California backyard in the late 1940s. Harry wanted to sell his "orchestra at your fingertips" to every Aunt Mabel in America, and drove his motor home across America doing so. But his trusted salesman Bill Franson took two instruments to England, and found manufacturers to replicate the Chamberlin. Under this dubious pretense, the Mellotron was born.

Soon, through the music of the Beatles, the Zombies, and the Moody Blues, the Mellotron became the "instant magic sound." In the 1970s, the Mellotron defined the sound of progressive rock bands like King Crimson, Roxy Music, and Genesis. Though forgotten during the 1980s, when digital synthesizers hijacked pop music, the Mellotron is today again a highly desired and sought-after device, a connection for artists like Radiohead and Kanye West to the mystical lost world of invention and possibility.

Mellodrama chronicles the fascinating fifty-year history using interviews with Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), Rod Argent (The Zombies), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Ian McDonald (King Crimson), Brian Kehew (Author "Recording the Beatles"), Jon Brion [Producer—Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann], Patrick Moraz (Yes), Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5), Matthew Sweet (Recording Artist), Michael Penn (Recording Artist), Richard Chamberlin (The Chamberlin Company), David Kean (Mellotron Archives) Markus Retch (Mellotron Archives), Geoff Unwinn (Former Employee, Mellotronics Ltd), Tom Rhea (Berklee School of Music), Pea Hicks (Optiganally Yours), among many others.

Thanks to Mike Segretto at Psychobabble for letting me know about this movie!

Netflix It: Desperately Seeking Susan

2010-06-02T11:23:00.000-04:00

Available on Netflix: Desperately Seeking Susan, directed by Susan Seidelman

If you haven't ever seen Desperately Seeking Susan... why have you never seen Desperately Seeking Susan? Are you a child? Please rent it right now, and bask in a vanished New York City.

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A petite New Jersey housewife finds self-fulfillment through amnesia in this new wave comedy of errors set in New York's hip '80s downtown scene. Rosanna Arquette stars as Roberta, who turns to the personals for vicarious thrills after her four-year marriage to staid hot tub salesman Gary (Mark Blum) grows stale. Her favorite classified ads trace the romance of Jim (Robert Joy), a struggling musician, and Susan (Madonna), a Soho vamp who's just narrowly escaped being murdered alongside one of her other boyfriends — a gangster who recently stole some Egyptian jewelry. Through a series of complicated missteps, Roberta ends up losing her memory and convincing both herself and a broodingly handsome young man named Dez (Aidan Quinn) that she's the elusive, adventurous Susan. Soon, Roberta finds herself being romanced by Dez and pursued separately by her husband, Jim, Susan, and by a murderous mobster who's looking for the stolen jewels. For her second feature outing, which was partially inspired by Jacques Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating, director Susan Seidelman filled her cast with hipster extras, downtown personalities, and New York thespians. Notable faces include comedian Steven Wright; future indie mainstay John Turturro; future TV stars Michael Badalucco and Laurie Metcalf; punk singer Richard Hell, who also starred in Seidelman's Smithereens; and performance artist Ann Magnuson, who would star in the director's Making Mr. Right. The big dance-club sequence was filmed at Danceteria, the disco that helped launch Madonna's career. The scene, and the film, helped propel "Into the Groove," one of the singer's all-time club classics, into the charts even though it was actually a b-side to the single "Angel."

Netflix It: Laurel Canyon

2010-06-02T10:45:00.000-04:00

Available from Netflix: Laurel Canyon, directed by Lisa Cholodenko

Cholodenko's The Kids Are Alright will be released very very soon, but in the meantime you should check out Laurel Canyon. It went places I wasn't expecting it to, possibly because I didn't read the spoiler-y synopsis below...

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Writer/director Lisa Cholodenko follows up her much-acclaimed 1997 debut High Art with this examination of a young couple seduced into a hedonistic, left-coast lifestyle. Taking its title from its central locale, Laurel Canyon focuses on a pair of upper-middle class lovebirds from the East Coast who relocate to Los Angeles. Freshly minted from Harvard, Sam (Christian Bale) and Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are eager to continue their medical studies out West, but they need some lodging while they hunt for a home. Enter Jane (Frances McDormand), Sam's estranged, Age-of-Aquarius mom, who's more than willing to put the couple up in her lavish digs. Jane is a successful record producer whose latest charge — both in the studio and in her bedroom — is Ian (Alessandro Nivola), a brazen, libidinous twentysomething Brit-rocker. As Sam and Alex settle in at Jane's, they gradually lose their straight-and-narrow approach to life and begin to experiment. Alex takes to Ian and Jane, while Sam is wooed by co-worker Sara (Natascha McElhone). Laurel Canyon features a score by Shudder to Think's Craig Wedren; the music for Ian's band was provided by Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and indie-rockers Folk Implosion.

Short Film: The Commoners

2010-05-28T10:43:00.000-04:00

I'm going to start posting about interesting-looking short films, when the DVDs are somewhat easily available. This one is.

"The Commoners," directed by Jessica Anne Bardsley and Penny Lane
Synopsis:

In 1890, one man began his attempt to release every bird ever mentioned by William Shakespeare into Central Park. Almost all of the birds died, with the exception of the Starling. Today, the Starling is one of the commonest birds in America and its release is widely considered a major environmental disaster.

In the aftermath of this absurdly successful accident, "The Commoners" contemplates the purist rhetoric surrounding invasive species. Featuring beautiful murmuration footage, archival maps, and hand drawings, this film is also about the paths people forge through history, and the ways that people impact the natural world, intentionally or not.

DVD has a color insert designed by Penny Lane with drawings by Jessica Bardsley, and a screenprinted image on the DVD.

You can buy the DVD through either Jessica Bardsley's or Penny Lane's respective websites.

In Theaters: The Father of My Children

2010-05-28T09:38:00.000-04:00

Opening in theaters today: The Father of my Children, directed by Mia Hansen-Love

Just Wright

2010-05-13T12:44:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Just Wright, directed by Sanaa Hamri

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a straight-shooting physical therapist who gets the gig of a lifetime working with NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (Common). All is going well until Leslie finds herself falling for Scott, forcing her to choose between the gig and the tug-of-war inside her heart. Oblivious to her romantic overtures, McKnight is instead drawn to the affections of Leslie’s childhood friend Morgan (Paula Patton), who has her sights set on being an NBA trophy wife. Is Leslie destined to play the role of “best friend” forever or will Scott finally see that what he always wanted is right in front of him?

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

2010-05-12T15:29:00.000-04:00

Opening today at New York's Film Forum: Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, directed by Jessica Oreck

Synopsis from the film's website:

Imagine cramming 128 million people onto an island the size of Montana – you would be pretty close to replicating the density of Japan. Not surprisingly, space is at a premium and ergonomic design is right up there next to godliness.

Yet even in Tokyo, the pinnacle of this figurative "can of sardines," people of all ages still make room for a tiny bit of wilderness. It is only fitting that they have become captivated by nature’s most efficient invention in space, design and function – insects.

Sold live in vending machines and department stores, plastic replicas included as prizes in the equivalent of a McDonald’s Happy Meal and the subject of the No. 1 videogame, MushiKing, from the smallest backyard to the top of Mt. Fuji, insects inspire an enthusiasm in Japan seen nowhere else in this world. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo discovers why Japan developed this rich and enriching social relationship with insects.

Like a detective story, the film untangles the web of influences behind Japan’s captivation with insects. It opens in modern-day Tokyo where a single beetle recently sold for $90,000 then slips back to the early 1800s, to the first cricket-selling business and the development of haiku and other forms of insect literature and art. Through history and adventure, Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo travels all the way back in time to stories of the fabled first emperor who named Japan the "Isle of the Dragonflies."

Along the way the film takes side trips to Zen temples and Buddhist Shrines, nature preserves and art museums in its quest for the inspirations that moved Japan into this fascination while other cultures hurtled off towards an almost universal and profound fear of insects.

Interspersed with the philosophies of one of Japan’s best-selling authors and anatomists, Dr. Takeshi Yoro, and laced with poetry and art from Japan’s history, this film becomes about much more than insects. Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo is set to the rhythm of traditional Japanese values in its attention to detail, harmony, and the appreciation of the seemingly mundane. It quietly challenges the viewer to observe the world from an uncommon perspective that will shift the familiar to the fantastic and just might change not only the way we think about bugs, but the way we think about life.

The Minutes, the Hours

2010-05-11T13:07:00.000-04:00

Showing at Cannes: The Minutes, the Hours, directed by Janaína Marquéz Ribeiro

Synopsis from the Cannes website:

Yoli has always lived with her mother in a humble neighborhood of Havana. One day, a man invites her out and she decides to wait for him rejecting, for the first time, her mother’s company.

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow

2010-05-11T13:04:00.000-04:00

Showing at Cannes: Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, written and directed by Sophie Fiennes

Synopsis from the Cannes website:

The film bears witness to German artist Anselm Kiefer’s alchemical creative processes and renders as a film journey the personal universe he has built at his hill studio estate in the South of France. In 1993 Kiefer left Buchan, Germany for La Ribotte, a derelict silk factory near Barjac. From 2000 he began constructing a series of elaborate installations there, comprising 48 buildings, a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. Traversing this landscape, the film immerses the audience in the total world and creative process of one of today’s most significant artists. Shot in Cinemascope, the film constructs visual set pieces alongside observational footage to capture both the dramatic resonance of Kiefer’s art and the intimate process of creation. This polarity - in terms of scale, sensibility and time - animates the film, creating a multi-layered narrative through which to navigate the complex spaces of La Ribotte. Here creation and destruction are interdependent; the film enters into direct contact with the raw materials Kiefer employs to build his paintings and sculptures - lead, concrete, ash, acid, earth, glass and gold...

Draquila - Italy Trembles

2010-05-11T12:59:00.000-04:00

Showing at the Cannes Film Festival: Draquila - Italy Trembles, directed by Sabina Guzzanti

Synopsis from the Cannes website:

Why do Italians vote Berlusconi? The violence of propaganda, the impotence of citizens, questions of the economy, illicit power relationships...

And a catastrophe: the city of L'Aquila devastated by an earthquake... all these combine to show how the young Italian democracy has been subdued. The caricature of Berlusconi - one of the director’s most celebrated impersonations - strolls through Aquila’s refugee camp and wanders the deserted town like an emperor at the end of his reign. A town devastated by an earthquake - the perfect location from which to recount Italy’s drift into authoritarianism, the mess of blackmail, scandal, swindles and inertia of the political classes, the media and the citizens, that have paralysed the country. Why do the Italians vote for Berlusconi? Why do they consider democracy an unsuitable system of government? Aquila - this magnificent city laid low by an earthquake - will give us the answers. Why did the proud people of Aquila exchange their most precious commodity - their community, a dynamic town full of students and works of art - for a little apartment in a dormitory town, furnished by Berlusconi? Why did they believe TV propaganda rather than the evidence of their own eyes? And how did it happen to others too, as quickly and as deceitfully? Who was leaning on them? The days of Berlusconi’s reign seem numbered: it’s time to search through the rubble and draw what conclusions we can.

Guzzanti's website is here.

At Cannes: Countdown to Zero

2010-05-11T12:55:00.000-04:00

Showing at Cannes: Countdown to Zero, directed by Lucy Walker

Adrienn Pal

2010-05-11T12:50:00.000-04:00

Showing at Cannes: Adrienn Pal, written and directed by Agnes Kocsis

Synopsis from the Cannes website:

Piroska is an overweight, alienated nurse who can’t resist cream-filled pastries. She works in the terminal ward of a hospital; her life is surrounded by death. One day she sets off to find her long-lost childhood friend. While tracing her recollections, she embarks on a paradox-filled voyage within her own memory and the memory of those she encounters.

The Tree

2010-05-11T12:44:00.001-04:00

Showing at the Cannes Film Festival*: The Tree, directed by Julie Bertuccelli

*But not in competition, because among the films in competition, not one is directed by a woman. How... interesting. Feminism: totally unnecessary.

Synopsis from the Cannes website:

After the sudden loss of her father, 8-year-old Simone shares a secret with her mother Dawn: her father whispers to her through the leaves of the magnificient tree by their house. Simone is convinced that he’s come back to protect her family. Soon, Simone’s three brothers and Dawn also take comfort in the reassuring tree. But the new bond between mother and daughter is threatened when Dawn starts dating George. Simone moves into the treehouse and refuses to come down. With branches infiltrating the house and roots destroying the foundations, the tree seems to be siding with Simone. Dawn refuses to let the tree take control of her family...

The film's website is here.

Talentime

2010-05-07T16:16:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend in New York: Talentime, directed by Yasmin Ahmad

Synopsis from the movie's Facebook page (the website they list for the movie leads you to a wool clothing distributor...):

A music teacher, who is herself a great performer is organising an inter-school talentime. Through the days of auditions, rehearsals and preparations, running up to the big day of the contest, the characters get embroiled in a world of heightened emotions – ambition, jealousy, human comedy, romance, heartbreak – all of which culminate in a day of great music and performances.

DDR/DDR

2010-05-07T16:11:00.000-04:00

Opening at New York's Anthology Film Archives this weekend: DDR/DDR, directed by Amie Siegel

From the Anthology Film Archives website:

“The films of artist Amie Siegel deftly transform heady philosophical musings – about history, psychoanalysis, voyeurism, modernist design, cinematic narrative – into elegantly playful and provocative mosaics of carefully loaded images and pointed associations. … The restrained self-reflexivity and deadpan humor that unite Siegel’s films lend them a rich meta-cinematic dimension that actively questions the limits of traditional nonfiction cinema.” –HARVARD FILM ARCHIVE

DDR/DDR, the latest feature by Amie Siegel, is a multi-layered and disarmingly beautiful essay on the German Democratic Republic and its dissolution, which left many of its former citizens adrift in their newfound freedom. Featured at the 2008 Whitney Biennial, the film weaves together mundane Stasi surveillance footage, interviews with psychoanalysts, East German “Indian hobbyists”, and lolling shots of derelict state radio stations into an extended and self-conscious assemblage to meditate on history, memory, and the shared technologies of state control and art.

“Siegel’s ‘ciné-constellation’ DDR/DDR combines vérité interviews with staged dialogue to excavate East German traumas associated with both the Socialist state and reunification. Siegel’s lens finds filmic lessons, too, in her analysis of Stasi information operations and her inquiries into the suppression of psychoanalysis in the DDR. Lying on a daybed in what was formerly a Stasi director’s office, Siegel intones a series of equivalencies into the camera: ‘Psychoanalyst as Stasi; Stasi as psychoanalyst; filmmaker as psychoanalyst; filmmaker as Stasi; Stasi as filmmaker.’” –Michael Wang, ARTFORUM

“[Siegel’s] polymathic style recalls Countdown (1990), Ulrike Ottinger’s account of the two Germanys uniting their currencies. DDR/DDR also evokes Godard’s SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (1968), a provocative essay mixing a Rolling Stones session, Black Panther rhetoric, and Native Americans… DDR/DDR is an alluring and allusive dossier.” –Bill Stamets, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES

In Theaters: The Oath

2010-05-07T16:06:00.000-04:00

Opening at New York's IFC Center this weekend: The Oath, directed by Laura Poitras

Netflix It: The Hitch-Hiker

2010-05-04T15:28:00.000-04:00

Available from Netflix: The Hitch-Hiker, directed by Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino was the only woman director working in the 1950s. Mad props, Ida! Two things struck me about this movie: all the characters are men, which seems like an odd choice for a woman director, but maybe Lupino just really wanted to avoid a femme fatale cliché. The other is that there are sizable chunks of unsubtitled Spanish, which in movies of the time is even more unusual than an all-male cast.

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Daniel Mainwaring took this story right out of the headlines of the day, penning this true story of a mass murderer who was eventually executed in San Quentin's gas chamber. Released during McCarthy's witch-hunt, Mainwaring was not given credit because Howard R. Hughes, who produced it under RKO, refused to give credit to any "radicals." The story is that of two men on a fishing trip who pick up a hitchhiker. He turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who has committed multiple murders, a sociopath who hates humanity because of his own abuse as a child. He also has an affliction which terrifies these two men: an eye which is permanently open, thereby never allowing them to know if he is really asleep or just faking it--something which he does with regularity to scare them...letting them take off and then meeting up with them just as they feel they have escaped from him. A tense thriller skillfully directed by the only female director of the time, Ida Lupino, it is a suspenseful tale of terror on the highways.

Please Give in Theaters

2010-04-30T14:22:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Please Give, directed by Nicole Holofcener

Animal Heart

2010-04-26T16:20:00.002-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Animal Heart, directed by Séverine Cornamusaz

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Paul and Rosine live deep and isolated in the craggy, breathtaking Swiss Alps where they have a small dairy farm. The day-to-day work attendant on this rustic if somewhat modernized two-person operation is punishing and relentless. Life is made no easier by the fact that Paul is an emotionally stunted brute. While treating his cows as tenderly as family pets, he bullies Rosine mercilessly, both physically and verbally. She finds a few moments of pleasure when left alone to milk the cows or shimmy to the radio while making goat cheese—reveries more often than not interrupted by Paul’s crude appetites. Hints of backstory suggest what these two used to see in each other, and though Rosine remains fearful of Paul, their bond is obviously deep, melancholy and forbearing. Paul’s softer side finally surfaces when he takes the pain in Rosine’s belly as a sign she’s pregnant with what he presumes is his son. He immediately hires a Spanish laborer to take over for her on the farm. The man’s scruffy charm and insouciance slowly alter the couple’s lives in unforeseen ways, dragging Rosine into an act of defiance and Paul into confrontation with his own malevolent heart. Séverine Cornamusaz’s potent first feature is a courageously clear-eyed and forgiving look at a dysfunctional Old World marriage running headlong into the 21st century. —Tod Booth

Cracks

2010-04-26T16:20:00.001-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Cracks, directed by Jordan Scott

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

The cracks aren’t hard to find within the imposing stone walls of St. Mathilda’s boarding school for girls. At first they appear in the familiar form of elitist cliques, petty jealousies and bitchy bids for popularity. Girls will be girls, after all, and even in 1930s England, mean girls prevail. At St. Mathilda’s, diving team captain Di Radfield (Juno Temple) presides over her small band of snobs and also holds special favor with their stylish and provocative coach and teacher, Miss G. Draped in flowing silk, cigarettes smoldering, Eva Green (Casino Royale) brings some of her sultry Bond-girl style to an otherwise repressed, gray world of drab uniforms, stern-faced matrons and Sunday hymns. Di and her teammates are entranced by Miss G’s glamour and tales of international adventure, faithfully following her every word (“The most important thing in life is desire,” she avers breathlessly) and every move (a naked nighttime dip into frigid English waters, anyone?). The arrival of a new girl, the beautiful daughter of Spanish royalty, gradually splits the fine cracks into dangerous fissures. Fiamma’s pubescent sensuality and exoticism are both a threat and a lure for the girls and an increasingly unsettled Miss G. Adapted from Sheila Kohler’s 1999 novel, Cracks gradually reveals the darker inclinations of a secluded, self-monitored society in which obsession, rivalry and sexual awakening collide. In her feature debut, director Jordan Scott draws superb performances from her all-female cast, making her mark as the next generation of the Scott (as in Ridley and Tony) filmmaking family. —Joanne Parsont

Empire of Silver

2010-04-26T16:20:00.000-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International FIlm Festival: Empire of Silver, directed by Christina Yao

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

With this lush epic Palo Alto–based filmmaker Christina Yao tells a story both timely and timeless: a tale of love, succession and compromised ideals that chronicles the lives of a powerful family of Shanxi bankers during the waning years of the Qing Dynasty. Downright Shakespearean in theme, the film details a little-known piece of Chinese history while offering parallels to the current financial crisis with its shadowy world of unscrupulous market fixing and backroom deals. In the northeastern Chinese province of 19th-century Shanxi, a group of bankers amassed extensive wealth and power that allowed them considerable independence from the state. The fictional Kang family is one such clan, whose fortunes take a sudden turn for the worse when several of the family’s heirs meet tragic fates and civil unrest threatens the nation’s stability. Third Master (played by Hong Kong heartthrob Aaron Kwok), a hedonist and the Kang patriarch’s least favorite son, is now called upon to carry on their lineage. Torn between familial obligation and his own desire for love and happiness, he sets out to reform his father’s unethical business practices while shepherding the family through the country’s growing unrest. Full of swooping crane shots, monumental sets and massive landscapes, Yao’s debut recalls the opulent historical sagas of Chinese Fifth Generation filmmakers like Zhang Yimou as it combines a passionate tale of unrequited love and a fascinating glimpse of a rarely related episode in Chinese history. —Jesse Dubus

Linha de Passe

2010-04-26T16:19:00.001-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Linha de Passe, directed by Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

In a city of more than 20 million people, São Paulo presents many challenges and too few opportunities. For a mother and her four fatherless sons, it’s a confusing metropolis of many temptations and few clear guidelines. Directors Walter Salles (recipient of this year’s Founder’s Directing Award) and Daniela Thomas masterfully show, however, that the city does offer choices besides gangs and drugs. Dario pins his hopes on soccer. Dênis is a motorcycle courier, forced to consider crime in order to support his child. Dinho, working in a gas station, finds hope and meaning attending an evangelical church. Finally, Reginaldo, the youngest, is obsessed with finding his father, knowing only that he’s one of the city’s countless bus drivers. Cleuza, the mother of this difficult brood, is a loving parent but at somewhat of a loss when it comes to giving her boys the support and skills they need. The foundation for this rich familial drama is Salles and Thomas’s probing style, which gets under the surface of São Paulo to show life as it is lived, adding to the film’s astonishing verisimilitude with a cast of largely nonprofessional actors. Sandra Corveloni brings an affecting world-weariness to the part of Cleuza, and deservedly won the Best Actress Prize at Cannes. And those who remember Vinícius de Oliveira, the charming little boy Josué from Salles’s Central Station, will thrill to see him a decade later as the hopeful athlete Dario. Memorable and moving, Linha de Passe is a triumph of neorealist storytelling. —Rod Armstrong

Mugabe and the White African

2010-04-26T16:19:00.000-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Mugabe and the White African, directed by Lucy Bailey and Andrew Thompson

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Michael Campbell, the white African of the title, charges President Robert Mugabe with a racist land reform policy and takes him to court. Once the largest mango producer in Zimbabwe, Campbell—one of a dwindling number of white farmers—takes this bold, unprecedented step in an attempt to keep his farm from distribution to government ministers and cronies. Says codirector Lucy Bailey, “It’s an intimate story of a family, but through their case you get the bigger picture of what is going on inside Zimbabwe.” The seasoned documentary team makes the most of that focus, putting the lives and convictions of the engaging Campbell and his English son-in-law, Ben Freeth, at the unabashed center of the film—Freeth and Campbell even filmed critical scenes themselves with a tiny A1 camera. It’s Freeth who poses the central question: If a white man can be American or Australian, why not African? Andrew Thompson’s cinematography, shot with a large-format camera he smuggled into the country, conveys the lush vastness and visual beauty of Campbell’s Mount Carmel farm and its black workers’ daily labor. Mugabe, a menacing shadow, is present only in news clips and voiceovers, while the musical score conveys a palpable sense of dread. Despite successive government stall tactics and a brutal attack on the family, the outcome of the case is uncertain until the end. Who will win? And what would that mean? —Kathleen Denny

Paper Man

2010-04-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend: Paper Man, written and directed by Michele and Kieran Mulroney

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Jeff Daniels, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Lisa Kudrow headline co-writer/directors Michele and Kieran Mulroney's affectionate comedy drama detailing the unlikely friendship between a failed writer (Daniels) and the Long Island high school girl (Stone) who teaches him what it really means to take responsibility in life. Meanwhile, the author's long-suffering wife casts a disapproving gaze, and an imaginary superhero weighs in with his own take on the unusual bond.

Behind the Burly Q

2010-04-23T10:11:00.000-04:00

Opening at the Quad Cinema this weekend: Behind the Burly Q, directed by Leslie Zemeckis

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Behind the Burly Q is the behind-the-scenes stories of these men and women as told by the performers
themselves. For the first time ever, the performers from the golden age of burlesque relate their heartbreaking, triumphant stories of life on the road performing in the burly circuit. Many were ashamed of their past and had never talked about their experiences. Just as many had never been asked.

Director Leslie Zemeckis and producer Sheri Hellard traveled extensively across the country from the
Bayous of post-Katrina Mississippi, to New Jersey, Florida and all points between. The duo tracked down and recorded dozens of interviews with little-known performers to the last of the living legends of burlesque. They spoke with relatives of many deceased stars. The men and women in this documentary opened their scrapbooks as well as their hearts, relating memories they had all but forgotten.

Amongst those interviewed were former musicians, strippers, novelty acts, club owners, funny men and women, authors and historians assembled together for the first time ever to tell you just what really happened in a burlesque show. Sadly, many of the performers have since passed away, making this their last, and often times only interview. We dedicate this film to their memory.

Behind the Burly Q is the definitive history of burlesque during its heyday. Funny, shocking, unbelievable and heartbreaking, their stories will touch your hearts. Hear the performers in their own words. See the performers in action. We invite you to peek behind the curtain at the burly show.

The Peddler

2010-04-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: The Peddler, directed by Adriana Yurcovich, Lucas Marcheggiano and Eduardo de la Serna

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Daniel Burmeister putts into the village in a beat-up red four-door, looking for the mayor. More prolific than Steven Soderbergh, more resourceful than Orson Welles, the avuncular seventysomething is both a filmmaker for hire and the definitive auteur. In exchange for food and lodging, Burmeister offers to make a movie in less than a month, using local residents as his cast. No contracts, no red tape, no grant proposals in triplicate—just a pitch and a handshake and he’s ready to roll. Choosing one of the half-dozen trusty genre scripts he’s been using for years, Burmeister sets about scouting locations, recruiting “actors” and spreading the word about his project. An act of community as much as a creative venture, the filmmaking process elicits varying degrees of curiosity and commitment. Some of the amateur thespians display remarkable natural ability, while the children are enticed by the lure of reflected glamour (and any escape from the boredom of backwater life). But Burmeister doesn’t trade in false hopes and empty promises; likewise, this endearing, generous portrait is uninterested in the tired clichés of deluded small-town dreams and fleeting fame. We are treated to the start-from-scratch optimism and on-the-fly problem solving that define filmmakers the world over, with Burmeister’s pushed-to-the-limit DIY credo generating delicious moments of inspired absurdity. There truly is nothing like the magic of movies, and as the lights dim in the makeshift theater for the premiere of Let's Kill the Uncles, our anticipation is as keen as if it were opening night at Cannes. —Michael Fox

Pianomania

2010-04-23T10:03:00.001-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Pianomania, directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Concert pianists can be a fussy bunch, but they’re nothing compared to the temperamental demands of a Steinway grand piano. Pianomania gets up close and personal with a group of world famous virtuosos—Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel, Rudolf Buchbinder, Till Fellner and Pierre-Laurent Aimard—but the real stars of this penetrating documentary are Stefan Knüpfer, the earnest piano tuner doubling as physician and voice coach, and the beautiful instruments themselves. The film observes Knüpfer over the course of a year as he assembles, tightens and fine-tunes a series of magnificent grand pianos, bringing a rare spirit of ingenuity, knowledge and extraordinary competence to his work. Knüpfer’s yearlong collaboration with Pierre-Laurent Aimard is at the center of the film as the pianist prepares to record his interpretation of Bach’s contrapuntal masterpiece, The Art of the Fugue. Together the two sit at the chosen instrument as Knüpfer handles his tools with a surgeon’s precision and adjusts the 230 strings of the piano to refine its voice and tonal color. Pianomania also takes viewers into the Hamburg headquarters of Steinway & Sons, where we glimpse pianos being made and overhear fascinating conversations between Knüpfer and company representatives, many of whom descend from generations of piano makers. With an attentive, languorous pace, the film allows Knüpfer and associates the space to think, ponder and hold forth on camera, providing an inside look into a rarefied world of time-honored culture, exquisite artistry and, of course, astonishingly executed classical music. —Michael Read

Seducing Charlie Barker

2010-04-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Seducing Charlie Barker, directed by Amy Glazer

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Charlie Barker has been having a real tough time of things lately. Sure, everybody seems to agree that he is an immensely talented performer of a higher pedigree than most, yet that doesn’t seem to be helping him land any roles. In fact, his days of regular work have slowly withered since moving back to New York to pursue a purer artistic sensibility in his chosen craft. Meanwhile, his mediocre acquaintances have achieved unprecedented success despite the abysmal lack of values and aptitude that Charlie possesses, a horrifying fact of show business that has only made him more bitter as he ages. Luckily, his no-nonsense and somewhat demanding wife Stella has allowed him to enjoy luxurious comfort by toiling vigilantly in a career as a producer for a high-rated talk show. The couple even has planned to adopt a Chinese baby and start a family. Then one evening, at an industry party to which he’s been unceremoniously dragged, Charlie meets Clea, a vapid young twentysomething whose prime achievement appears to be the ability to fill out a tight dress. Her insipid delirium instantly frustrates him, but little does Charlie Barker know that this ambitious blonde temptress has set him in her sights. Amy Glazer’s second feature wryly dissects the vacuous nature of the New York entertainment scene with salacious zeal and dark wit, mercilessly skewering the ruthless politics, spirit-crushing resentment and utter loss of dignity that goes hand in hand with art. —Landon Zakheim

Susa

2010-04-23T10:02:00.001-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Susa, directed by Rusudan Pirveli

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Susa is a 12-year-old boy. Like any other boy, he likes to collect stickers with images of cars and puts pieces of colorful stained glass to creative use. But with his father away, Susa is forced to navigate the adult world. To help make ends meet, he delivers vodka from the illegal distillery where his mother works. Making his way into town from the outskirts of Tbilisi, he contends with both local thugs and the police as he traverses markets stalls and cheap cafes, supplying a regular clientele of shop owners, prostitutes and drunks. Only the imminent return of his father promises some kind of hope of a return to a life that Susa can barely remember. In this deceptively simple first feature, director Rusudan Pirveli shows a fine eye for atmosphere and detail, the run-down buildings and muddy roads silently setting the tone for Susa’s hardscrabble life and each character cast with evocative precision. Avtandil Tetradze gives a remarkably natural performance in his first role, small glimmers of vulnerability and yearning barely tamped down beneath the toughening surface of a child forced to grow up too soon. In its understated neorealist approach, this examination of the necessity and treachery of hope in a drab existence avoids pathos for a more genuine and wrenching catharsis.

Way of Nature

2010-04-23T10:02:00.000-04:00

Showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival: Way of Nature, directed by Nina Hedenius

Synopsis from the SFIFF website:

Sit back and let the daily grind and digital blur of our modern predicament wash away before this mostly wordless meditation on the seasonal ebb and flow of life on a remote Swedish farm. Sights and sounds build to create an elegantly subtle drama of daily chores seamlessly interspersed with beautifully understated shots of falling snow, snoozing dogs and goats, blooming spring flowers, roaming livestock, dense forests, lush pastures and birthing cows and horses. Immersed in, and treated to, images that nourish, relax and, at times, astonish, one begins to appreciate the subtleties and trials of a life outside of our own. Time-honed tasks are observed as rituals that seem to pull us back to a primal past, as hand-bound and hard-won repetitions become the dialogue of the film and the diverse animals its main mesmerizing characters. At certain points, the film’s languid pace slows a beat more to dwell exquisitely on animal bodies. Revealing magnificent patterns and textures upon their hides, fur and feathers, they become visuals that might make a fiber artist dream or an abstract expressionist weep. Even the construction of fences takes on an ancient quality that seems to speak to us of Nordic roots when we view the distinct beauty of the final creation. Here, on but one farm, far from the hype of “green” marketing, it is—and always has been—a generational necessity to nourish biodiversity and sustainability. Here the “way of nature” is simply the way of life. —Sean Diggins

Handsome Harry

2010-04-16T15:22:00.000-04:00

Opening this weekend at the IFC Center: Handsome Harry, directed by Bette Gordon

Synopsis from the film's website:

They call him “Handsome” Harry Sweeney (Jamey Sheridan). At 52, the Vietnam veteran has kept his rugged good looks. Everyone likes Harry, an electrician by trade who loves to sing—but for some reason he never lets anyone get too close.

One day, Harry gets a call from a former Navy buddy, Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi), whom he hasn’t seen in some thirty years. On his deathbed and terrified of going to Hell, Kelly convinces Harry to seek forgiveness on his behalf from a comrade they betrayed long ago, David Kagan (Campbell Scott).

At first, Harry wants nothing to do with Kelly, Kagan or the remnants of his murky past. But guilt and memories have a mysterious grasp on Harry, and he finally relents, driving down the East Coast to call on his old comrades. One by one he confronts the rugged Rheems, (John Savage) the intellectual Porter, (Aidan Quinn) and the soft-spoken Gephardt, (Titus Welliver) about the long ago crime. Though they’ve all grown older, it is clear they are haunted by their past.

Handsome Harry is a psychological mystery about lost love, forgiveness, and the stifling effect the “code of silence” has over men and their relationships. Each encounter both clarifies and further clouds the truth that haunts Harry. But can Harry confront that truth? Can he ever attain forgiveness and regain a love he believes he has already destroyed?

Other Films at Hot Docs

2010-04-15T12:11:00.000-04:00

Other women-directed films at the Hot Docs Film Festival include:

The Parking Lot Movie, directed by Meghan Eckman

The Oath, directed by Laura Poitras

My Perestroika, directed by Robin Hessman

Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg

Budrus, directed by Julia Bacha

A Small Act, directed by Jennifer Arnold

12th and Delaware, directed by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing

These Girls

2010-04-14T09:29:00.003-04:00

Showing at the Hot Docs Film Festival: These Girls, directed by Tahani Rached

Synopsis from the Hot Docs website:

A girl rides a galloping horse through the middle of heavy traffic—a striking metaphor for the chaotic lives of homeless teenage girls in Cairo. Meet Tata, Reda, Maryam, Dunya, and Abeer (whose father wants to kill her because she is pregnant). Surrounded by a circus of activity, the girls fight, laugh, brag, sniff glue and pop pills to help them deal with assaults and danger. They confront the cops, argue with guys hanging out on the streets, nurse their babies, and sleep in derelict cars and alleyways to escape being beaten, kidnapped, or raped. Fiercely protective of each other, they confide in “big sister” Hind, a middle-class religious woman who visits them to provide non-judgmental love and advice. Rached’s respect for the girls’ courage and sassiness shines throughout the film. Alternately rowdy and tender, joyous and terrifying, the dangerous carnival of these girls’ lives resonates palpably in this masterful and compassionate film. - Lynne Fernie

Interview with Tahani Rached:

Interview With Tahani Rached - These Girls via Noolmusic.com