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American Women's Club of Hamburg  Film Reviews -- August 2005Reviews by members of the AWC Film Group of films slated to open in Hamburg in August 2005.
(Osanna V) Opening August 4, 2005 Paul Haggis (screenwriter of Million Dollar Baby) wrote, produced and directed this multiple-tale film set in Los Angeles and starring a cast that includes Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Thandie Newton and many more. The film opens with detective Graham Waters (Cheadle) commenting on the fact that there is little contact between people in the city. They are separated by metal and glass. Sometimes crashes are needed to establish a connection. The characters in the story are as varied as the circumstances under which their paths cross, clash and – in the extreme case – crash. Their reactions are both predictable and unpredictable. Prejudice is frequently at the forefront when given time to manifest itself, yet, as often as not, disappears in an emergency. Fear is the energy driving most of the characters’ behaviour, yet the source of the fear can be anything: the fear of being considered a racist; fear for loved ones; fear of death; fear of pain; fear that everyone is out to rip you off. The emotional smorgasbord is heavily laden. At first, the focus does seem to be on prejudice based on race or nationality. In the end, however, one could consider it a focus on behavioural reactions that apply across the board. We see our own patterns reflected in the characters and realise that we too are often unaware of why we do what we do. There is plenty of meat for discussion after seeing this movie. As with the critics, the public will probably either love it or hate it. Few could remain indifferent. The performances all round are very good and the script excellent.
(Becky T) Opening August 4, 2005 Mei, a recent arrival in Hong Kong, is famous for her dim sum (stuffed dumplings) which, when eaten, promise eternal youth. This is just the ticket for Qing Li, who is desperate to regain the attention of her errant husband. The potency recipe is hard-boiled eggs with unborn birds still in the yolk, a symbol of what is to come. Later, fifteen-year-old Kate and her mother arrive in need of Mei’s other line of work as a Chinese Vera Drake. Kate is five months pregnant with her father’s child, a very special embryo indeed. When things go badly, Mei disappears, leaving Qing Li with the words, “You are rich, but I am free.” Now without a supplier of special dim sum, Li learns that her husband’s girlfriend is five months pregnant with his child. According to director Fruit Chan (what a name!), the film reflects the extremes people will go for beauty. What are the ethical limits in Eastern (and perhaps Western) culture where “cannibalism has gone through periods of acceptability,” not to mention a 1400-year tradition of dim sum. What begins as a harmless mixing of dough in the kitchen reminiscent of Eat Drink Man Woman ends in macabre blood-letting. Bai Ling (Mei) grew up in China and, since filming Red Corner with Richard Gere, is at home in China, Hong Kong and the U.S. She was part of the jury at this year’s Berlinale where journalists made fun of her skimpy wardrobe, crediting her ability to withstand, half nude, Berlin’s February weather to experiences in the People’s Army in Tibet. Her acting, as well as a terrific bird’s nest hairdo, in this film should put her above such future comments. Miriam Yeung (Li) is a popular, talented actress and singer from Hong Kong. Christopher Doyle’s photography is fine, as he already demonstrated in recent films 2046, Rabbit Proof Fence, and Hero. This realistic Chinese film might strain the sensibilities of some viewers (stomping a baby bird to death, hemorrhaging on a bus seat). No subtle symbolism of tigers and dragons, but still much hiding and crouching.
(Becky T) Opening August 4, 2005 John XXIII, born 1881 as Angelo Giusepe Roncalli in Sotto il Monte, Italy, became Pope of the Catholic Church in 1958 upon the death of Pius XII. The film begins with Pope John’s imminent death in 1963 and in flashbacks traces his life from childhood to the seminary to posts in Bergamo (near his home), Athens, Paris, Venice, and finally the Vatican. In order to make the case that this Pope was special, we watch him talk to laborers on strike and, with the aid of German ambassador Franz von Patten, he saves 600 Jewish children on a Romanian boat bound for Auschwitz. As Pope, he visits prisons, telling one prisoner, “I am your shepherd and will always be there,” as well as children’s hospitals. He convened a Vatican Council, the first in almost one hundred years; churchmen streamed into Rome. There is no doubt that he encouraged the celebration of Mass in local languages, in spite of resisting cardinals who preferred Latin. He sought communication with communists and was Man of the Year in Time Magazine. But do you really believe that his letters and prayers were instrumental in bringing about a peaceful settlement between the USA and Russia during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis? Woven into this docu-drama of facts portrayed by actors (Bob Hoskins as John XXIII) is a human interest story of three friends who meet at the seminary in 1904. Besides short, round, and interminably sweet Angelo, there is Mattia, ambitious to the point of denying his friend when it serves his purpose, who becomes Cardinal Mattia Carcano, and Nicola, too “modern” for the priesthood, who is excommunicated. It’s unfortunate for the film that the recently deceased Pope John Paul II is fresh in our memories after a long service of 27 years. Scenes in the film seem very familiar simply because we saw the same ones on television just some weeks ago. Italian director Ricky Tognazzi’s motive for making the film is a mystery: it is too simple, dogmatic and unconvincing. It comes across as church propaganda à la Mel Gibson, preaching to the devout. The only highlight for non-believers is an astonishing fashion show of papal robes.
(Becky T) Opening August 4, 2005 This new version about Herbie, the 1960s original Volkswagen beetle, begins in a California junk yard where Maggie (Lindsay Lohan) selects a used car, a graduation gift from her father Ray (Michael Keaton). Naturally the car is Herbie, who actually chooses Maggie. She drives him to Justin’s garage for a face lift. Race driver Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon) comes to town and brags about his achievements behind the wheel. Herbie can not resist the challenge of a race and Trip says, “What can I lose? It’s a Beetle.” Maggie, incognito as a guy named Max, climbs through the car window to take the wheel and wins. Maggie, being mere flesh and blood, succumbs to the charms of Trip, loses Herbie and later rediscovers him as the underdog in a demolition derby. This, too, he survives to reemerge in full glory as a contender in a NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) race. Although this is the fourth sequel to follow the original 1968 Love Bug film, as well as a TV series, and although the storyline follows the old struggle-success-struggle-greater success pattern, the film is still fast-moving and fun. Maggie’s father disapproves of her car racing; Maggie and Justin are tenderly in love; Herbie has a crush on a new model VW. There are valid messages about struggling under adversity, empowerment of girls, and recognizing true friends. Product placements abound, e.g., DuPont, Home Depot, and Goodyear. The soundtrack is fine with old and new songs, e.g., Lionel Ritchie and Van Halen. Lohan, looking a lot like Demi Moore, does well. Thirty-six cars were necessary for Herbie’s “costume changes” with everything from a junkyard- to a NASCAR-look. My cinema was full of children who were happiest when personified Herbie was lovesick, jealous, defensive, insulted, angry, unforgiving, depressed, resigned, aggressive, happy, sad, afraid, stubborn and wistful to become a Ferrari. Not so easy, when your sole means of expression are your headlights. Angela Robinson (D.E.B.S.) directs.
(Isabel S) Opening August 4, 2005 During a ten-year marriage, Pilar (Laia Marull) hopes for the best and gives her violent husband Antonio (Luis Tosar) more than one second chance. Finally, at the end of her strength, Pilar leaves in the dark of a winter night, taking her small son Juan, and finds refuge with her younger sister. Things are looking up in her new life with family support and the promise of a new job. Then, Antonio seeks therapy for his problem, and Pilar still dreams of a “normal” life as a couple. This is the classic story of a battered wife, although in this case the wounds are more emotional and psychological than physical. The film is a very intense drama about emotional abuse and lack of respect, which is universal, not limited to macho Spanish men. There are no really violent scenes, but still, emotions run high and watching the film is a challenge, but very much worth the effort due to the strong message and excellent acting. Filmed in Toledo, Spain, this third film by woman director Icíar Bollaín won seven Goyas (the equivalent of an Academy Award in Spain) including best director and best film, as well as best male and female actors. (Becky T) Opening August 11, 2005 Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) is the illusive owner of a chocolate factory, which he hasn’t left for 15 years. Charlie (Freddie Highmore) is a small boy who lives in a crooked house with his poor, loving parents and his four grandparents who share a bed to keep warm. Wonka has a warped relationship to any kind of family, but still needs an heir to the factory. Five children win golden lottery tickets and gather for a factory tour, not knowing that this is a test. One by one the spoiled brats and their accompanying parents literally fall by the wayside, leaving Charlie the winner. But, lo and behold, he refuses the prize because he would lose his family. Directed by Tim Burton, this is a very visual film. The factory runs like clockwork similar to the factory in Metropolis. The interior is bathed in pastel colors with a chocolate waterfall, chocolate river, sugar boat, gum drops hanging from the trees, candy canes, edible grass, etc. (Over 265,000 gallons or a million liters of real chocolate were manufactured right on the set in Great Britain.) The small ant-like, industrious factory workers called Oompa Loompas wear colourful jumpsuits. Willy Wonka looks like a piece of marzipan himself with his pale skin and plastic teeth (which made Depp initially unrecognizable on the film posters). Charlie’s house is a contrast of darkness, lit by a warm candle and the love within. Watching this film is like turning the pages of a storybook, which it is, of course, written in 1964 by Roald Dahl. Normally, I don’t read reviews before writing my own, but in this case, I couldn’t help it. My impression is that there is an east-west divide: reviews are lukewarm in the U.S. and glowing in Germany and Great Britain. Anthony Lane, New Yorker magazine critic, described the first child to win a golden lottery ticket: “August Gloop is still pneumatically plump, but now he hails from Germany where we see him posing in a sausage shop. This is so unjust, outdated and downright obvious….with not so much as a nod to political correctness.” Actually, in the film he hails from Düsseldorf, which isn’t “Germany” and in my Hamburg audience everyone howled with laughter at the German boy. Matthias Heine of Die Welt even compared the shot of the sausage shop to a famous 1928 August Sanders photo and said, “…anyway, we Germans can’t complain because the other kids are much worse.” The dwarf actors’ lobby complained that only one dwarf (Deep Roy) was multiplied by digital engineering to play all the Oompa Loompas, thus causing huge unemployment among dwarf actors. Others compared Willy Wonka’s attire and mannerisms to Michael Jackson. Yes, with his heart-shaped lips, top hat, tails, gloves, oversized glasses, and man-behind-the-mask mysteriousness, there is a likeness – and it wasn’t just by chance. A Michael Jackson type fits well into the story. Even he was once loved by someone – millions of fans in fact – before falling from grace. Purists moan that it isn’t “like the book” nor “like the 1971 Gene Wilder film version.” They miss the old songs. Naturally, it’s difficult for four new songs to compete against an evergreen such as “The Candy Man,” even though the new texts originated 90% from the book with one song to herald each child’s demise. See the film with an open mind and enjoy it for its own well-deserved artistic excellence. Enjoy the flying glass elevator, the squirrels cracking nuts, the rejuvenated grandpa, the terrible parents, and, if you will, the politically correct ending. I saw the film in a cinema full of families, and the fathers laughed the most. Considering Willy Wonka’s abnormal teeth and the father-son conflict to make them that way, perhaps they can relate.
(Becky T) Opening August 11, 2005 Stories from three “graphic novels” (why not just say “comics” or even “mangas”) by Frank Miller (Sin City, The Big Fat Kill and That Yellow Bastard) are interwoven. Sometimes I lost the thread, but no matter; the subject matter is interchangeable: revenge, escape, fast cars, sultry women, men quick with the fists or the trigger and someone always “looking for Goldie.” Texts were, “Bastard you’re going to pay for what you did,” or “Kill ‘em for me.” The soundtrack featured Grrrr, Wam and Pow. Contrary to recently filmed comics such as Batman or Lucky Luke, Sin City actually looks like a comic while still featuring a big cast of real actors like Bruce Willis and Benicio del Toro (my favorites), Mickey Rourke and Elijah Wood (both made up to be unrecognizable), as well as Josh Hartnett, Brittany Murphy and Jessica Alba, etc. In black and white, it is always dark or raining with rare splashes of color such as red (blood) or yellow (hair). These are the comics that you hid from your parents: full of exaggerated violence of slit throats, severed limbs, torture, psychopaths and disembowelment. Real comic fans will love the film as the underdogs in Basin City move through the tar pits, sewers, night clubs, back alleys, and cheap hotels. Real Miller fans will recognize clues such as the logo of Kadie’s Bar, a picture on a matchbook, Chango beer, white blood, or specific license plate numbers. Real film fans will appreciate young Texan director Robert Rodriquez for making something unique which showed at the Cannes film festival this year. Miller, Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino have cameo appearances. The 124 minutes should have been divided into six 20-minute short films because the repetition was tiring in the long haul. Sadly there is no commercial audience for short films. This is highly recommended for comic or film freaks. Everyone else will not appreciate the art and can check out Desperate Housewives instead.
(Isabel S) Opening August 11, 2005 In this German satire, whose title roughly translates to “solutions for a better world”, people discuss problems and how to solve them. They complain about traffic, fresh air, health insurance and single children. In good German Grundlichkeit (thoroughness), they establish eingetragende Vereine (clubs), which meet, analyze, and map out plans. Filmed in documentary style, each scene presents a problem and a solution. After much debate and soul-searching, the group members decide that cars must start from a red light simultaneously; jobless people can hire out as siblings to single children; neighbors will learn basic medical skills to operate on each other, offices are moved outside and everyone can wear special shoes. The Germans poke fun at themselves in a rare flash of hilarious humor – at least the directors Jörn Hintzer and Jakob Hüfner had fun making the film and I laughed throughout. Highly recommended to non-Germans as well as to Germans, it’s not often that we can laugh about typical local eccentricities and chronic complaining, highly exaggerated. Most of us will be able to understand the relatively easy German spoken. I must admit some of it has rubbed off on me and as a long-term foreigner in this country, I’ve also learned to speak up and assert myself in the German way. (Jenny M) Opening August 18, 2005 Jane Austen would have enjoyed Gurinder Chadha’s adaption of her novel Pride and Prejudice. As this is one of Britain’s best-loved classics, it must have taken courage and imagination to contemplate turning it into a Bollywood movie. Ms. Chadha explored human prejudices in her best-known film, Bend It Like Beckham, and here she has transferred eighteenth century concerns about class status to present day ones about money. In the novel, Mrs. Bennet knew that she had to marry off her daughters to wealthy men because women were entirely dependent on them; the rigid strictures of upper and middle class life forbid women to work and earn money themselves. In the movie, Mrs. Bakshi (Nadine Babbar) is faced with the task of marrying off her daughters to rich men who will keep them in the wealthy manner to which they are accustomed. Mr. Darcy (Martin Henderson) is a wealthy Englishman whose friend – the rather silly Mr. Bingley in the novel – is now a rich Indian called Balraj (Naveen Andrews). Balraj falls in love with the eldest Bakshi daughter, and this leads to much dancing and singing in the streets of Amritsar, where the Bakshi family lives. The second daughter, Lalita (the beauty Aishwarya Raj), captures Mr. Darcy’s attention and also that of Mr. Kholi, a buffoon who has made it big in L.A. The audience is treated to wonderful views of the USA when he settles for second best and marries Lalita’s friend Chandra there, amidst more singing and dancing. Wickham, the bounder, is now Johnny Wickham (Daniel Gillies). He catches Lalita’s eye first but his attention is soon taken up by the next sister, Lakhi (Reeya Rai Chodhuri). Lakhi doesn’t suffer the same fate as Lydia Bennet and is brought to her senses by Darcy and Lalita after a picturesque chase through London’s leading tourist attractions. This chase is the catalyst which unites Darcy and Lalita and leads to a lot of romantic singing and dancing. In the novel, the fourth sister, Mary, embarrassed the Bennet family with her amateurish piano playing and singing; here Mary becomes Maya (Meghnaa Rai Chodhuri), who performs a frenetic cobra dance for Darcy, Balraj and his sister with similar results. The movie is based on Bollywood principles which forbid any contact between the sexes, so instead of kissing there’s lots of vigorous dancing, which gives the movie a charming air of old-fashioned innocence. The actors’ habit of breaking into song and dance now and then could be tedious to modern audiences, but it’s saved by the lively choreography and the colourful costumes which everybody changes into every five minutes. Ms. Chadha has given us a perfect piece of escapism to enjoy on a cold, grey, rainy afternoon at any time of the year, even if you haven’t read the book.
(Becky T) Opening August 18, 2005 This German comedy is road movie, coming of age story, and Three Men and a Baby. Wong (short for Wolfgang), Schilcher and Hunter stand at the grave of their friend Ralf, who died in a tractor crash in their small Bavarian village. At 16, they realize that life is short and they are still virgins. They cross the border to the Czech Republic on their motorbikes in search of affordable, available sex, which is in short supply at home. (Grenz = border, Verkehr = traffic, but also means sex.) They visit some prostitutes, pick up pregnant Alice from the Ukraine, flee an angry whorehouse pimp, and fall into the arms of their worried parents, older, wiser and still virgins (except for one). The pace is fast and funny; the text is well thought-out but might be difficult in German, both standard and Bavarian dialect. Director Stefan Betz filmed in Bavaria, partly because he received funding from Bavaria’s film industry; also, he grew up in the area. Many residents of his immaculately clean village worked as extras. The actors, perhaps unknown to you, make all the difference. Besides the three boys (Andreas Buntscheck, Ferdinand Schmidt-Modrow, and Joseph M’Barek), there is Wong’s mother (Saskia Vester), who worries when she sees him dressed in thong underwear for a camping weekend. Helena (Dana Vávrovà) is a prostitute with a heart who shudders when they describe her as “mother.” The lowlife Smetana brothers (Oliver Korritke and Götz Otto) reminded me of Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare in Fargo – one small and talkative, one tall and silent. The music doesn’t detract, and Wong even breaks out in song, although this is no musical. If you take it as it is: light and ironic with a grain of truth, and don’t question how the group made it back over the border, it’s definitely worth seeing, especially for young people and those of you interested in the progress of German cinema today. For your information, Götz Otto is one of the lead actors this summer at Bad Segeberg’s Karl May festival near Hamburg.
(Shauna K) Opening August 18, 2005 Holy Lola, a French film directed by Bertrand Tavernier starring Jacques Gamblin and Isabelle Carré, is the story of a couple’s struggle to adopt a child. The film opens with Pierre and Geraldine traveling to Cambodia in the hope of making this dream reality. What they expect will be a short journey turns out to be a long struggle not only with adoption agencies and Cambodian bureaucracy, but also with themselves. On their first night in Phnom Penh they meet many other couples who have been in Cambodia for months trying to adopt a child. This turns out to be an omen for Pierre and Geraldine as there are in fact many more childless couples than children to adopt in Phnom Penh. Pierre and Geraldine quickly learn the ropes of getting around in Cambodia and search far and wide for a child to make their dream come true. In the countryside a child is thrust into their arms. After an initial feeling of euphoria they reject the child as that they fear the baby had been stolen and that the deal was corrupt. Finally, after months of searching, waiting, rejection, bureaucracy, and even bribes, Pierre and Geraldine are successful in adopting a baby girl. Holy Lola is not only an excellent view of the difficulties and emotions couples face when they are unable to have children of their own and decide to adopt, but also an insightful look at the international adoption process. In addition to that, the film gives viewers an amazing view of the landscape and culture of Cambodia, which alone are enough to make this film worth viewing.
(Shauna K) Opening August 18, 2005 Caroline Ellis (Kate Hudson), a young hospice worker in New Orleans, is disenchanted with her work and yearns for a change. She can’t remain detached from her patients and doesn’t understand how all those around her do. On a whim she answers an ad in a newspaper and finds herself in a job assisting an elderly woman, Violet Devereaux (Gena Rowlands), caring for her dying husband Ben (John Hurt) in their swamp-side mansion-home in rural Louisiana. Caroline immediately senses that this home is no ordinary home, though she refuses to be scared away by the typical "haunted house in the movie" happenings such as the empty, creaky chair rocking on the porch or mysterious slamming doors. After visiting the attic and learning the macabre history of the house, Caroline is tempted to leave, but is convinced to stay on by the elderly couple’s dashing lawyer Luke (Peter Sarsgaard). She soon becomes entangled in a bizarre web of hoodoo, a powerful form of African magic similar to voodoo. Secrets are revealed, suspense builds, and the mystery unfolds. With plenty of excitement, mystery, black magic, ghosts, and typical horror film scenes in which the picture dims and the music gets louder while the viewer predicting and waiting to jump from the edge of his chair says to himself "no, don’t go in there," The Skeleton Key has the elements of both a thriller and a horror film. The cinematography, story, and characters, with the exception of Kate Hudson’s light but strong Caroline (in comparison to the rest of the film’s characters), are all dark. This is very effective. Those who love horror films shouldn’t miss The Skeleton Key, but those easily prone to nightmares might be better off staying at home. (Becky T) Opening August 25, 2005 In this German film about dreams-come-true, country singer Helen (Heike Makatsch) from Cologne flies to Nashville for a gig in the Bluebird Café. Unfortunately, her cowboy hat, boots, and guitar are the wrong gear in the wrong place, because she lands in Jamaica, which is definitely reggae country. In her attempts to leave the island, she meets native Rosie (an excellent performance by Nikki Amuka-Bird), drives from Kingston to Portland and loses everything more than once. (Time out for the song Make me a Pallet on Your Floor.) There is no help from the German consul, “We can send you back to Germany, not to Nashville. If we bought every unhappy housewife a ticket to her dream place, there wouldn’t be any women left in Germany.” She meets interesting musicians and other island people, performs in a five-star hotel, and finally has her grand moment before 2000 guests including new arrivals: husband Carlo and his Russian employee Strike (a very good performance by Ivan Shvedoff). The story is simple and the ending is no surprise. The music is especially good, country or reggae or a combination of both, often performed by Makatsch herself. The islanders derisively call country “songs about a woman in her apron, crying into the soapy water because her husband is cheating with her best friend.” The film’s title is the first words of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads. Perhaps Hollywood will try a remake of the idea, in which case it would be good to drop the clichés. For example, Helen doesn’t have to look like Heidi in blond braids searching for her grandfather in the alpine pastures. Also, let her go to Nashville because she wants to and not because she is suffering a terminal disease with time running out, although after she said, “I need to get to Nashville” for the tenth time, I could have willingly propelled her there myself. Filmed on location, the beautiful landscape of this Caribbean island makes it all worth your time. The German text is easy; the songs are in English.
(Becky T) Opening August 25, 2005 A gorgeous man had to be found for the role of Beautiful Boxer Nong Toom, a Thai transvestite kick boxer. Director Ekachai Uekrongtham found kick boxer Asanee Suwan and after a year of acting training, he was perfect for the lead in this true story (which won him a Thai Oscar for best actor). This is a first film for both actor and director. The real Nong Toom grew up in a poor family of migrant workers. He began kick boxing in order to earn money for the family. He moved to a boxing training camp and after 20 local matches and only two losses went to the big ring in Bangkok. In spite of his muscular body he always felt like a girl. His successes and growing maturity gave him self-confidence to be himself, which meant feminine clothes, eyeliner and lipstick in the ring and privately. This didn’t square in kick boxing circles, but he gained respect by winning. He also helped his family to a comfortable life. In 1999 he decided on a sex-change operation which ended his career, because kick boxing is only open to men. She is now in her mid-20s and works in television. This film showed beautiful scenery in different locations in Thailand and had everyone sobbing with joy at one “woman’s” triumph.
(Becky T) Opening August 25, 2005 French director Philippe Haïm presents a new version of the popular comic hero Lucky Luke. The illiterate Dalton brothers, Joe, William, Jack and Averell, escape from prison with the help of Ma Dalton, each digging his own tunnel, a small indication of their extreme stupidity. They leave the U.S. for Mexico where they confront the terrible El Tarlo. They steal his magic sombrero which is decorated with eyeballs and skulls, destroy the town with an old-fashioned machine gun, change their appearances with face-changing serum and attempt another bank robbery. Lucky Luke tracks them down with little effort and only one shoot-out. Capturing the Daltons is never a real challenge because Lucky Luke can move faster than his shadow. The film ends where it began, with the Daltons in jail. German Til Schweiger hardly needs to act. In real life he comes across as a slow child at loss for words, which makes him a perfect Lucky Luke, whose only friends are his talking horse Jolly Jumper and dog Rantanplan. Schweiger’s role here is small but very effective. Still, the Daltons are the stars. Identical except for size, they change costumes from yellow and black prison garb to green shirts and red bandanas to Amish black to colorful Mexican shirts. This film compares favorably with other comics filmed with real actors such as Bat-, Spider- or Superman, although, as a comedy, it comes closest to Asterix. The sharp, clear colors are most striking, as is the music, which always seems familiar (and some of it is). In 1946 Belgian Maurice De Bévère, pen name Morris, drew the first Lucky Luke figure for Spirou magazine. In 1948 he toured the U.S. for six years to gather material about the Wild West. He successfully collaborated with René Goscinny, who wrote the text (and the text for Asterix as well), to become very popular around the world. Morris died in 2002 (Goscinny earlier) but successive artists and directors keep the legend alive, The Daltons being the newest of five versions for cinema, not to mention countless TV series. Recommended especially for Lucky Luke fans, it’s fine for children, too.
(Patricia R) Opening August 25, 2005 Director Wim Wenders and actor Sam Shepard take us once again to the rugged western United States to deal with dysfunctional families and abandoned relationships, a la Paris, Texas (winner of the 1984 Cannes Golden Palm). Wenders is fascinated by the western landscapes, for him the most beautiful in the world. But that spirit of rugged individualism and cowboy mentality has a negative affect on family and relationships. Howard (Shepard) is a western cowboy film star getting a little long in the tooth. After barely surviving another party with women, drugs and booze in his star RV, he rides his horse off the movie set in search of his lost life. After trading his spiffy cowboy boots and hat for a bum’s shirt and vest, Howard visits his mother (Eva Marie Saint) in Elko, Nevada. He hasn’t seen her in thirty years but she has kept a photo album tracing his path from young movie star to drunken playboy to drug arrests and the fading of a former star. She tells him that a former girlfriend called her many years ago with the news that she was pregnant. After another drunken brawl and arrest at a nearby casino, Howard takes his father’s old car and drives up to Butte, Montana, hoping to find something to hang on to. There he finds Doreen (Jessica Lange), their son and her daughter from another former fling. Not emotionally able to process the complexity of the situation, Howard returns to the movie set where there is a script and directions to follow. His son and newly found half-sister drive in their grandfather’s car down the highway past “Wisdom,” happily connected and committed. Not a Cannes winner this time but a film definitely worth viewing, if only for the magnificent scenery.
(Becky T) Opening August 25, 2005 This marvelous Japanese fairy tale opens with Sophie falling helplessly in love with Hauro, a beautiful youth with gorgeous green earrings. A jealous witch puts a curse on her which ages Sophie to an old woman. Bent and arthritic, she wanders through the countryside, repeating the equivalent of Bette Davis "Old age ain’t for sissies,” finally to reach Hauro’s magic castle. It’s a mess and she becomes the housekeeper, cleaning and caring for the inhabitants: Calcifer the fire demon and Markl, a small boy. Hauro flies in and out occasionally, but takes little notice of Sophie, she looking like Maude to his Harold. Sophie tries to win Hauro’s non-existent heart. A vain boy, he sobs, “There’s no sense to life if you aren’t beautiful.” The castle has its own personality, much like an insect born after an atomic attack. Genetically impossible and huge, it lumbers along on thin chicken legs which balance the turrets, balconies, bay windows and chimneys sticking in all directions. The front door opens magically into different places, e.g., a town, a city or an open field. Lucky for us, early in his career director Hayao Miyazaki resisted offers from Walt Disney and kept to his own concept, giving us something unique. Based on the book of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, the fantastic goes down many paths and is a challenge to your imagination. Why is the scarecrow faithful? Where did the dog come from? Why are the nations bombing each other? Why does Hauro change his shape? Why is Sophie’s mother so superficial? Why does Sophie sometimes look younger and why does she adopt the old witch into the patchwork family? There is not a boring moment in this animated film for adults and children. Alone, the detailed, delicate hand-drawn pictures of people and places, not necessarily Japanese or even Asian, as well as the tasteful music, make it worth every minute. My colleague Thelma Freedman said, “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” and you haven’t either unless you are a fan and also saw Spirited Away, the 2001 prize-winning film by the same crew.
(Osanna V) Opening August 25, 2005 This dark thriller is based on the novel by Jean-Christophe Grangé. The movie is directed by Chris Nahon (Kiss of the Dragon) and stars Jean Reno (Mission Impossible, French Kiss), Arly Jover (Blade) and Jocelyn Quivrin (Elizabeth). Anna Heymes (Jover) wakes up in her Paris home one day to find she has no memory whatsoever of her husband and their life together. Despite his apparent sincerity and concern, she becomes suspicious of the pressure he and the doctors put on her to undergo invasive medical treatment. With the help of therapist Matilde Urano (Laura Morante), Anna starts trying to find out what might be the real reason for the memory loss. In parallel and in the Turkish area of the city, a series of murders bring together detective Paul Nerteaux (Quivrin) and Shiffer (Reno) – an ex-cop with a dubious past hanging over his head. The victims are all very similar looking – red headed females. As the onion layers are peeled back, new revelations gradually bring the two stories together, linking both to a mysterious organisation known as the “Grey wolves”... The Empire of Wolves is a well-crafted movie with interesting camera work and good acting. It is grimey and violent, so would not be everyone's idea of a good time. The story has an interesting way of taking the viewer both forward and back at the same time, building up the impression that it is going in one direction and then suddenly switching in another.
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Crash (L.A. Crash) 
Dumplings: Three Extremes (Dumplings – Delikate Versuchung, Gaudzi) 
The Good Pope: Pope John XXIII (Johannes der XXIII – Für eine Welt in Frieden, Il Papa buono) 
Herbie: Fully Loaded (Herbie Fully Loaded - Ein toller Käfer startet durch) 
Take My Eyes (Öffne meine Augen, Te doy mis ojos) 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik) 
Sin City 
Weltverbesserungsmaßnahmen 
Bride and Prejudice (Liebe Lieber Indisch) 
Grenzverkehr 
Holy Lola 
The Skeleton Key (Der Verbotene Schlüssel) 
Almost Heaven 
Beautiful Boxer 
The Daltons (Die Daltons gegen Lucky Luke, Les Dalton) 
Don't Come Knocking 
Howl's Moving Castle (Das Wandelnde Schloß, Hauru no ugoku shiro) 
The Empire of Wolves (Das Imperium der Wölfe, L'empire des Loupes) 
Questions?