"The perfect date movie ... if you're dating a nun!"

That is my official 'blurb' for the German documentary "Into Great Silence," a behind-the-scenes look at the daily lives of a group of cloistered Carthusian monks living on a hillside monastery in the French Alps. I welcome any publicist to use my quote to promote this film to a wider audience.

(It was either that or "A must-see movie for anyone considering joining a monastery!"--but I didn't think that would apply to as many in the movie-going public).

It's a hard sell to begin with: imagine spending 162-minutes with a bunch of Frenchmen who pray all day. That's what's in store for you when you buy a ticket to Philip Groning's work -- no narrator, no interviews, no musical soundtrack -- but I do recommend it as a tonic to both modern life and modern (i.e. Hollywood) movies. Every time I watched a novice kneeling in prayer on a wooden pew in his 'cell', I couldn't help but think how many CGI-laden shots Imust be missing in a comparable length of celluloid in 'Spiderman 3.'

The movie has a simple-enough structure: intercutting scenes of daily chores around the monastery with scenes of solitary prayer and group services. So a chapel service illuminated only by candlelight precedes scenes of chopping wood, shoveling snow, and feeding a group of feral, and in their own way, cloistered cats. (Even they don't make a sound).

The deliberate pace of these monks as they carry-out their mundane chores (I had had enough the second time the monks had their heads shaved) slowly reveals that even in these simple acts they reveal devotion and commitment to the lives of service they have chosen. The film's beauty lies in the details: chopping celery on front of a magnificently sunlit window; cutting fabric for vestments that will clothe the novices who are about to enter into this strange world; the snow; the stars; the Alps. The cinematography renders these scenes into something more profound

But the camera angles and lighting are sometimes too conspicuous by their artistry. At the same time, Groning's unyielding commitment to stay at a respectful distance, even in the rare glimpse of what these monks do to 'unwind' (sliding down a snow-covered hillside, still in their vestments); the camera stays a good quarter-mile away, rendering inaudible their shouts of joy. This detachment ultimately undermines the filmmaker's intention: we never gain an understanding of why these men have chosen to renounce modern society; what goes on in their minds day after day; what are they praying-reflecting-thinking about these countless hours, while the rest of humanity continues on with their lives, literally just beyond the walls of the monastery?

Groning doesn't allow the audience to learn more about these men by not engaging with them in any way -- an interview with the blind monk nearing the end of his life is too short, and arrives much too late -- by not even sharing with us the moments where they do interact (they have not taken a vow of silence, so they must communicate with each other). In spite of the length of time you spend with these remarkable men (and throughout the film, you get to stare directly at each one of them for a nice, Warholian moment), you walk out of the theater wishing your last 3 hours of observation provided more insight into the men you were observing.

The state of world cinema -- Part Trois!

I've been promising this post for the last six months--but now is the perfect time to blog about French Cinema! Mas oui! My brother tried to boost the stature of Latin cinema by denigrating the recent contributions of the French. To that I answer: Le cinema francais--c'est magnifique!

[This post is dedicated to the two best French speakers currently residing in the great state of Oklahoma: my nephew, Blaine Palmer, and Marie-Luce!!]

True, I will be the first to admit that the French entry into the Academy Award sweepstakes was a disappointment: Daniele Thompson's Fauteuils d'orchestre (that's Avenue Montaigne to us Americans -- because the distributor apparently doesn't trust us to want to see a movie called "Orchestra seats"). When the best attributes of a movie are the street scenes of Paris--well, then it's simply a travelogue. The charming lead performance by the slightly androgynous (I mean that in a good way!) gamine Cecile de France cannot save this far-fetched, too-cute snapshot of Parisian life. Are we supposed to care about the scary-looking theater usher who listens to bad French pop music (is there any other kind?) on her iPod during classical music concerts? I sure didn't! And what is Sydney Pollack doing in this movie!?!? He looks more uncomfortable here than he did in Eyes Wide Shut!

But this movie is The Sorrow and the Pity compared to Francis Veber's latest French 'comedy' La Doublure ("The Valet.") In spite of its clever opening credits and a great cast -- with a cameo by Karl Lagerfeld hisownself-- this movie has all the weightlessness of Pret-A-Porter, which also tried to slide by on its mise-en-scene (might as well use all my French expressions while I have the chance). It reminded me of the cute Fifties-throwback "Down with Love", only I don't think Veber was aiming for nostalgia here. Veber is clearly running out of ideas, as this movie limps to a conclusion without ever mining its comic potential, in spite of the star-studded contributions of Daniel Auteuil ("Cache"), Virginie Ledoyen, and Kristin-Scott Thomas ("The English Patient"). I say comic, yet I only got one of its in-jokes: a mistaken identification of a young hot model of today to the Eighties model Ines de-la-Fressange (I remember her!) by a clueless middle-aged character. And the contribution of that same pianist-(not model)-turned-actress, Alice Taglioni, proves once and for all that the most beautiful French model can have all the personality of your typical American model; i.e, none! Sacre bleu!

Even the latest French import to generate a buzz -- the lamely-titled "The Page Turner" -- is a major disappointment: all set-up, without a satisfying payoff! I'm not wishing the creepy young girl go all 'Fatal Attraction' on her nemesis (even though the filmmaker practically leaves a breadcrumb trail for that scenario) but to have it end with such an unsatisfying, wimpy conclusion is such a sucker-punch to the audience, you have to think the director deliberately set you up for a Hollywood ending, then pulled the rug out from under you, you silly Americans!

But I am here to praise French cinema -- not bury it! This past year we saw the triumphant return to US screens of both the restored Rules of the Game and Army of Shadows: two supreme classics by Jean Renoir and Jean-Pierre Melville, respectively. Sure, forty years is a long time between classics, but the list of promising French directors with the potential to create a classic is long: Francois Ozon, Cedric Klapisch, Andre Techine, Lucas Belvaux, Laurent Cantet, Bruno Dumont, Claire Denis, Cedric Kahn, Claude Miller, Patrice Leconte, Arnaud Desplechin, even enfant terrible Gaspar Noe. I won't deny that the most-compelling movies in French of late are not by Frenchmen: Micheal Haneke's Cache and La pianiste; Indigenes; the Dardennes brothers of Belgium. But the old timers still have some life in them: Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer (all admittedly past their prime), and my favorite, Patrice Chereau.

So I stick by my conclusion: The State of French Cinema? C'est si bon!

Volver was robbed!

That is my last word on the Best Foreign Film Oscar race of 2006. After having seen all five nominated movies, I can now say that Almodovar's latest is at least the equal of two of the nominees -- the excellent "Pan's Labyrinth" from Mexico, and the eventual winner from Germany, "The Lives of Others" -- and is clearly superior to the other three: Denmark's Efter Brylluppet ("After the Wedding"); Algeria's Indigenes ("Days of Glory"); and 'Canada's' "Water" (which is about as Canadian as the Blue Jays starting lineup!).

I found Indigenes to be the best of the three (I will discuss it in more detail in a later post entitled "Fighting the Good Fight"). Like Water, Efter begins in the subcontinent of India, leaving the audience off-balance momentarily. Not to worry: when the action shifts to Kobnhavn (Copenhagen) the movie slides into familiar Dogma territory: emotionally intense scenes of angst and anger, scripted by the sure hand of Lars von Trier-acolyte Anders Thomas Jensen, whose string of hits begins with 1999's Mifune, and extends to 2004's Brothers and the upcoming Red Road (premiered U.S. in the at the AFI-Dallas Film Fest in 2007). Only this film has a musical soundtrack (thankfully); one of the strange charms of the movie is being introduced to the Donald Trump-like character of listening to "It's Raining Men" on his car radio--then later dancing to it at his birthday party! [Picture a bunch of straight, white Europeans getting down with the gay anthem in the land of the midnight sun!]

There are fine performances all around, especially by the lead actor, (a Danish Viggo Mortensen!) and the actress who plays his daughter. That cannot mask the flaws in the movie's structure and technique, including an unnecessary, too-pat ending. In Volver, you know from the start you are in the hands of a master: so you sit back and let him take you wherever he wants to go.

It speaks volumes to the lameness of the Hollywood Foreign Press that, with the wealth of good foreign films in competition, their lack of imagination led them to nominate two 'American' films: Letters from Iwo Jima and the execrable Apocalypto, in their Foreign Film category.

The State of World Cinema -- Part Deux!

It has been awhile since I picked up on this theme...but as Film Festival season kicks into high gear, this past week I have seen movies from Denmark, Turkey, Italy, Argentina, and Slovenia, and all I have to say is....The Slovenian Film Industry has a LOT of catching up to do!! OY!

I went to my first "WorldFest Houston 2007" film, offensively-titled -- for an ostensible 'comedy' -- "Labour Equals Freedom" (or 'Delo Osvobaja' for you Slovenian speakers) on the recommendation of IMDB-critic Matija from Ljubljana, who called it "The Best Slovenian Movie. EVER." Well, I am just glad that Matija is qualified to make that assessment, and not me! A very depressing look at life in a post-EU Balkan country, it bills itself as a comedy, without having a single laugh in it! That takes ___ (whatever the Slovenian word for 'balls' is). It has nothing to recommend it.

I could say the same thing about the Turkish and Argentine films I saw, but I will not: because "Climates" (IKLIMLER) and "Glue" do not totally suck..
The first, because it is the product of an accomplished, talented director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who can wring emotional truth out of characters and situations that are otherwise lifeless and unsympathetic. It helps that he is directing his stunning wife in a series of gut-wrenching scenes that only hint at her character's inner turmoil. It is a great performance; unfortunately, the movie is not 'about' her, but about the selfish, self-absorbed male character (played by the director himself), who asks for, and receives, Zero sympathy from the audience (remember the dude in his last film "Distant" (Uzak)? He's positively loveable compared to this loser!!) -- A prize to any of my readers who actually DO remember the dude from Uzak!!-- It also helps that several scenes are shot with the stunning backdrop of Turkiye in all its diverse and seasonal glory.

"Glue" is a first feature by a London-trained Patagonian filmmaker Alexis dos Santos, who succeeds in showing the world that his country's teenagers are as vacuous and uninteresting as teenagers everywhere. If you've seen Larry Clark's overrated "Kids", you've seen this movie. The blurb says it will "take you back to those awkward and excruciating teenage years" -- well, I'm sorry, I never sniffed glue while giving my best friend a hand job! (I guess I missed out). Seen as a totally-improvised home movie (that started out as a short), rather than as a fully-formed theatrical release, I guess it does have moments of artistry. I just don't see the humor in a jilted wife beating up her rival while calling her an "oily f**ing puta" (but again, I was in the minority in the audience).

Ever the glutton for punishment, stay tuned for more exciting film festival features!!

INLAND EMPIRE

"That was some fucked-up shit!"

That was the memorable, if coarse, one-sentence review of my friend, Goldie Heidi Gider, upon exiting a screening of "Memento" in Dupont Circle. I can only hope that Goldie never, EVER sees David Lynch's "Inland Empire" -- a film that will leave even die-hard fans of "Mulholland Drive" (like myself) 'puzzled,' if not totally 'f**ed-up. '

Make no mistake: "Inland Emprie" will "F*** You Up." The movie starts off promisingly enough: with a scene involving not one, but two "Seinfeld" alums -- Susan's mother, Mrs. Ross (affecting a thick Russian accent) and Mr. Pitt (!). But then it spends WAAY too much time setting up the premise: Laura Dern's actress character, Nikki, begins to shoot a movie with Justin Theroux and directed by Jeremy Irons (who, like a true British thespian, attacks his role like he's in a movie where it matters that he create a believable character -- bless his heart!). And he's working with a film crew that totals, by my count, four! Four people making a Hollywood studio release in a studio without lights? That's the most f-ed up part of this movie!

This section -- the first, interminable hour -- is dreadful: poorly, and cheaply, shot, without any of Lynch's trademark music score, and undone by the black hole of Harry Dean Stanton's "acting." I put that term in quotes because, if this man EVER had any acting talent (I still need to be convinced) he has most-certainly lost it in the intervening 20 years since he has appeared in anything of import. The man sucks the life out of every scene he is in!

But the main problem with this movie is Lynch's insistence on using that oh-so-hip new invention -- 'digital video.' Someone please tell me what the advantage is of being able to shoot out-of-focus close-ups of the individual beads of sweat on the pockmarked face of a character actor?? This is progress? Digital video makes even the lovely British actress Julia Ormond look homely!

Yet Lynch has declared this is the ONLY medium he will use from now on. I guess that means this is the last David Lynch film I will ever see -- unless he decides to make "Mulholland Drive 2."

The story is basically this: while shooting the 'remake' of a Polish movie that was abandoned after the two leads were murdered, Nikki has a fling with her co-star, spies on her jealous husband (also Polish), gets trapped in a parallel universe, travels in and out of portals (or 'wormholes,' for the sci-fi inclined) that represent her subconscious (the 'Inland Empire' of the title), where the incidents surrounding the earlier Polish film seem eerily familiar, and eventually trades places with the young girl who's been watching the whole story unfold on her TV. (And that's just the part I understood!)

Of course, I could be totally wrong about all of this -- the Inland Empire could be somewhere in Poland, I'll have to check my atlas -- but it doesn't really matter. In fact, you could come and go at any point during the film, and you would not gain (or lose) any understanding whatsoever. I had to smile when Lynch subtitled the Polish actor's dialogue: what's the point, when nothing they say makes sense in any language? The scenes in Poland actually have a more professional look, making me wish we were watching the filming of THAT movie, instead.

The movie picks up when Nikki gets trapped in a house nicely appointed with Fifties-era furniture, no doubt bought at the "Blue Velvet" garage sale. It is also nicely appointed with young, hot babes -- a halfway house for jilted exes of Justin Theroux's character (or not). They bring some life to this moribund tale: dancing to 'The Lo-co-motion;' showing each other their breasts....it's all good stuff. But soon, Nikki gets trapped in a Southern, white-trash existence, with that same Polish husband, where she gets a house call from -- who else? -- Mary Steenbergen! At this point, I would not have been surprised had she brought Ted Danson with her, wearing a giant rabbit head!

I haven't mentioned the giant talking rabbits, have I? I actually looked forward to seeing these three, dressed in human clothes, on a stage delivering their lines to an appreciative (if easily amused) audience. You know you are watching a BAD David Lynch film when you want to see more of the talking rabbits!

And I haven't even gotten to the WEIRD part! That comes at about the 2-hour, 40-minute mark, when any sane moviegoer with a sense of the preciousness of time would have walked out of the theater. It starts when Nikki walks through another sinister-looking hallway (will she ever learn?) and shoots a guy who we've seen earlier with a light bulb stuck in his mouth.

All credit goes to the fearlessness of Laura Dern--Lynch doesn't ask her to give a performance as much as perform a series of acting exercises (playing a white trash Southerner in one scene, an abused hooker in another, and at the film's climax, vomiting and bleeding to death on the dirty streets of Hollywood & Vine after being stabbed in the stomach with a screwdriver by 'Sabrina' (Ms. Ormond). I guarantee there is no acting school in the world that has taught that scene! FYI: That scene turns out to be part of Jeremy Iron's movie (remember him?), so I'm not spoiling anything. The aforementioned babes turn up as hookers on the same street.

The film ties together nicely at the end...strange for a movie that is complete nonsense for its 179 minute running time, and there is a "sweet" payoff in the last scene that is a must-see for you 'Mulholland' fans: a scene so cheeky and self-referential (involving, as far as I can tell, actors from previous Lynch films, including Natassja Kinski, the lovely Laura Elena Harring, and a babe with a prosthetic leg ... they seem to be everywhere these days, don't they?) that blows away the much-discussed final shot in "The Departed." The final credits reveal that Naomi Watts contributed a 'special vocal performance'... one of the talking rabbits, I suspect... and include a fun, energetic music video, as well (out-of-focus, naturally) that makes you wish the rest of the film had at least half of that spirit and inventiveness.

It speaks to the power of Lynch's vision that the five minutes of brilliance contained in this movie had me exiting the theater -- 'Back to Planet Earth' as one patron said -- thinking "I'm glad I saw that." Now, that is truly fucked-up!!

The first TWO great movies of 2007

1) BREACH - a stellar performance by Chris Cooper as the real-life spy Robert Hanssen makes Billy Ray's latest expose on the dark side of Washington's power brokers (he did the compelling "Shattered Glass") a must-see. D.C. never looked so ... SNOWY! (It was filmed in Canada, except for some scenes with Laura Linney in the DC Metro). And the actress playing Ryan Phillippe's East-German hottie of a wife is a revelation, especially when you realize she is the very North American actress Caroline Dhavernas, star of Fox's all too-brief series 'Wonderland.'

2) ZODIAC -- another compelling film for intelligent filmgoers: more about the obsessiveness of solving a puzzle (in the great tradition of both 'All the President's Men' and 'J.F.K.') than about the real-life events that surround the story. As in "Breach," the film is propelled forward by a trio of riveting performances: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey, Jr. -- and actor who by all measures is at the top of his game. True to his previous films, David Fincher ("Se7en") films the Zodiac murders in agonizing, excruciating detail.

It is nice to see a movie that devotes so much attention to period details (from 1969-71): from the clothes to the music to the overhead shot of the downtown San Francisco construction site that was to become the Transamerica Tower. If the movie ends without resolution for any of the characters ... hey, reality bites!

Two movies in 2007

TWO! That is all I've had time to see so far this year, what with seeing all the Oscar movies in January, and now catching up on the 2006 Foreign Films that are now in wide release. (I will devote a future post to them), and the usual glut of slasher flicks this time of year.

1. "Factory Girl" -- Sienna Miller is brilliant! She really 'burns up the screen' and is utterly convincing. It is unfortunate that the movie around her doesn't live up to her performance. Sure, Guy Pearce is an eerily-accurate Andy Warhol (right down to his skin -- which makes him look like a burn victim); and the movie pulls no punches depicting his behavior in a negative light. But consider this:

Problem #1: Casting. As in Jimmy Fallon, as Edie's gay, blue-blooded sidekick. He's still Jimmy Fallon, (ready to mug for the camera as if he's on SNL) and he's got no business being in the Sixties, hangin' out at the factory!

Problem #2: Casting, As in "WTF is Hayden Christiansen doing in this movie??" I know what he is trying to do (God love him) -- but he is completely unequipped to carry it off. His scenes make you cringe.

Problem #3: The director (George Hickenlooper): he is a documentarian, and he makes up for his lack of imagination by digging up every camera trick from 'Easy Rider' to denote drug use and the Swinging Sixties. Forty years ago, it was cool. Now it is lame.

2. "Puccini for Beginners" -- I had to love this movie because it is an indie, filmed in Manhattan, with a good cast and lots of witty, intellectual banter, with a passing reference to Opera! And coincidentally, I saw a movie last year at the Houston Film Festival fitting that description exactly (the clever, but shoe-string budgeted and a bit amateurish "I Will Avenge You, Iago!").

"Puccini" is a better movie, but still light as a feather. And don't be fooled, Opera lovers: the references to opera are very fleeting--it's the mark of a lazy screenwriter to make the lead an opera fan (so she must be sensitive) yet drop the conceit after one scene. And if I criticize 'Factory Girl' for reverting to 'Easy Rider'-era imagery, then it's only fair to call this film out for its repeated Annie Hall references: the 'strangers who join in on the conversation' trick works two of the ten times it is employed here.

The movie uses the streets of the Villages as its backgound -- the bookstores, movie theaters, and cafes-- and savvy Manhattanites (like me) can pinpoint exactly where they filmed (Greenwich Village Cinema on W. 12th!).

The cast is first-rate: I confess to being a huge Elizabeth Reaser fan (she was in "Stay" "The Family Stone" and last year's ISA winner "The Sweet Land"--a prize for you if you've seen even ONE of these! If you haven't, she has a four-episode 'arc' on Grey's Anatomy this season), stage actor Justin Kirk, and the hard-working, never successful Gretchen Mol. What sets this movie apart is having an openly bisexual protagonist who (shock!) has an active and fulfilling sex life! Instead of pandering to what it thinks a straight audience will accept by stripping the gay character of any sexual desires (Hollywood), or relegating him/her to a sex-obsessed comic relief sidekick (Hollywood again).

Sure, we've seen the lesbian romantic comedy before--"Kissing Jessica Stein"--but that was rather chaste, as I recall. And the genre can use another one or two--it has a lot of catching up to do.

Elizabeth Reaser

And the winner is . . . .

The best thing about the long, boring, unfunny Oscar telecast!

OSCAR Want / Think

Category* / Want (to win) / Think (will win) / Winner
[* excluding the 3 shorts categories, since I didn't see any of them.]

Make-Up: Pan's Labyrinth / Pan's Labyrinth / Pan's L.
Visual Effects: [none] / Pirates of the Caribbean 2 / Pirates2
Costume Design: Dreamgirls / Dreamgirls / Marie Antoinette
Sound Mixing: Flags of our Fathers / Dreamgirls / D-girls
Sound Editing: Flags of our Fathers / Letters From Iwo Jima / Letters
Film Editing: Children of Men / The Departed / Departed
Cinematography: Children of Men / Children-Men / Pan's L.
Art Direction: Pan's Labyrinth / Pan's Labyrinth / Pan's L.
Original Score*: The Queen / The Queen / Babel
* best category: all nominees deserving
Original Song: "Love You I Do" (Dreamgirls) / "Listen" (Dreamgirls) / An Inconvenient Truth
Original Screenplay: The Queen / Little Miss Sunshine / LMS
Adapted Screenplay: Notes on a Scandal / The Departed / Departed

Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth/ Iraq in Fragments/ Truth
Animated Film: Happy Feet / Cars / Happy Feet
Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth / Pan's L / The Lives of Others

DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese / Martin Scorsese / Marty
SUPP. ACTRESS: Rinko Kikuchi / Jennifer Hudson / J.Hud
SUPP. ACTOR: Jackie Earle Haley / Alan Arkin / A.Ark.
ACTRESS: Helen Mirren / Helen Mirren / Helen Mirren
ACTOR: Forest Whitaker / Forest Whitaker / Forest Whitaker
PICTURE: The Queen / Little Miss Sunshine / The Departed

Score: 13 (out of 21)

OSCAR tidbits

To whet your appetite for the Big Night (1996) here is a list of your favorites stars (and mine) who will be presenting awards during Sunday's telecast:

"The list of presenters includes Ben Affleck, Jessica Biel, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, George Clooney, Daniel Craig, Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kirsten Dunst, Will Ferrell, Jodie Foster, Eva Green, Tom Hanks, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Tobey Maguire, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, John Travolta, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet, and Reese Witherspoon. As per the above list, no one who began working in films prior to 1970 will be giving out any awards. The veteran-est of the presenters is Diane Keaton, whose first film, Lovers and Other Strangers, came out in 1970."

And to help you fill-out those Oscar ballots, two IMPORTANT awards were handed out recently, news that may have flown under your radar:

1)
"Mexican-born Emmanuel Lubezki, one of filmdom’s top cinematographers, became the third non-American in a row to win the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) feature-film award for his work in the Anglo-American production Children of Men.
According to Variety, Lubezki’s win "further establish[es] the internationalization of a body that started doling out its own kudos partly in response to the large number of overseas cinematographers, many British, who were winning Oscars."
The trade magazine also names Mexico "as a hotbed of cinematic talent." Both Rodrigo Prieto (whose work on Babel has been highly praised) and Guillermo Navarro (who’s up for an Academy Award, along with Lubezki, for El Laberinto del fauno / Pan’s Labyrinth) also hail from Mexico."

¡Que Viva México! (1932)

2)
"This past Sunday, the American Cinema Editors (ACE) picked two films — it was a tie — to receive the Eddie Award in the dramatic feature film category: Babel (Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise) and The Departed (Thelma Schoonmaker – her fourth Eddie). [Both are nominated for Oscars.]

Way to go, Thelma! ... & Louise (1991)