AWCH Film Reviews -- August 2007

(Karen P) Opening August 2, 2007

Karen Leigh Hopkins and Jessie Nelson are two of Hollywood’s seasoned female screenwriters, who teamed up with director Michael Lehmann in Because I Said So. They address the age-old topic of the emotional strain a mother-daughter relationship encounters when authority and control dictate inappropriate actions in the name of love.

Daphne Wilders (Diane Keaton) has single-handedly raised three very cool daughters – beautiful, too. The Wilder foursome is dearly devoted to one another other, even though Daphne’s two eldest daughters, Maggie (Lauren Graham) and Mae (Piper Perabo), are happily married. Milly (Mandy Moore), the youngest Wilder, desires to wed, but her relationships end in shambles. Milly is discouraged that she is not marriage material but concedes that she too can end up like mom (single and alone) and be perfectly happy. Ouch! Daphne, the wise and loving mother that she is, bites her tongue and refuses to openly admit that her lifestyle is not exactly what she would wish for her beloved daughter. Daphne, a true romantic, longs for Milly to find the man of her dreams and secretly takes matters into her own hands by placing an internet Want Ad: Mother Seeking Lifetime Partner for Daughter. Before any of her daughters have time to become mortified with her secret project, she spends one whole day in the local upscale bar, interviewing potential suitors. As fate would have it, the last candidate, Jason (Tom Everett Scott), is Daphne’s ideal choice. He is given Milly’s business card and his job begins. Johnny (Gabriel Macht), the musician playing in the bar, observes Daphne’s interview process. He is impressed with her savvy, which spikes his own curiosity to meet her daughter. He applies for the job, but Daphne shuts him down, admitting that a starving artist is not her ideal match for Milly. He responds by asking if she is willing to allow her daughter to make her own decision. Daphne ignores his confrontation because as her mother, she knows what is best. Johnny sees Milly’s business card lying on the table and nonchalantly lifts it into his hand while politely telling Daphne goodbye, hoping it is not his last encounter with her. The choices Daphne and Milly make regarding love and honor come back to the reason Daphne’s girls adhere to her words: Because I Said So. A delightful comedy with food for thought!

(Becky T) Opening August 2, 2007

Imagine Clerks filmed in Oslo by Ingmar Bergman. The subject matter is the same: 20-year-old men fearfully searching for a place in life and adulthood, but here the ambience is Nordic, cold, minimal and quiet. Erik and Phllip hang out with their friends Lars, Henning, Morten and Geir. Erik and Phillip are budding writers. While Erik’s book is rejected by the publishing company, Phillip becomes an extraordinarily successful author and promptly suffers a nervous breakdown from stress. From then on, nothing really unusual happens, which is probably the strength of the film: everything is so normal. Phillip gives up writing and lives only for his girlfriend Kari. Erik’s girlfriend feels neglected and leaves him. The other characters also go through periods of disappointment, success, and wrong decisions.

In this first film by Norwegian director Joachim Trier, it’s often hard to discriminate reality and dreams, beginning and end. The photography (excellent and beautiful like a Scandinavian painting), the music (also wonderful), and the dialogue (sometimes through voice over) are sparse. Just as the film moves forward, there are flashbacks. In the end, the message (which I endorse) is that life between the ages of 20 and 30 is the hardest. It is not the enviable decade one might expect considering the beauty, good health, and opportunities available to young adults. This is what I would call a typical festival film, and indeed it has won prizes in ten festivals from Norway to Toronto to Sundance to Istanbul over the last year.

(Becky T) Opening August 2, 2007

Nineteen-year-old American Dean Reed left Denver, Colorado, to live in Hollywood, Chile, Russia (where he was the “Soviet John Denver”) and finally the German Democratic Republic (where he was the “Red Elvis”). He was a David Hasselhof type: good build, nice looking, charming and friendly. He composed and sang pop songs in English and accompanied himself on the guitar. He had a knack for learning Spanish and German. He produced 13 LPs, played in 20 films, and performed in 32 countries. Especially in Eastern Germany, he was popular, not only as a musician, but because he rejected the American way of life and propagated Communism and world peace. At the same time, he enjoyed freedoms normal people lacked under that very same Communism. By the age of 44 he had acquired a wife, an ex-wife, girlfriends, and children in Germany, and his star was sinking. At this low point in his career in 1982, he was found dead in an East Berlin lake. Suicide was the professional opinion but murder made him more interesting. And nobody in the U.S. has ever heard of him.

In this documentary, which appeared at the 2007 Berlinale, German director Leopold Grün interviews contemporaries such as Isabel Allende, Armin Mueller-Stahl, a US radio host named Peter Boyles, and various female partners. His wife Renate was not on screen, because, according to Grün, she has signed over rights to Tom Hanks who intends to make a move on the same topic. It’s worth the attention, and I’ll anticipate another movie about a fellow expat named Dean Reed.

(Becky T) Opening August 2, 2007

Roger (Jon Heder) is your ultimate Mr. Milquetoast with zero self-esteem. He is a meter reader man who wouldn’t hesitate to give himself a parking ticket when faced with an angry motorist. Upon the advice of a friend, he enrols in a confidence-building class taught by Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton). His classmates are other grown men losers: a mama’s boy, a hen-pecked husband, a shy guy. Dr. P uses unconventional scary methods to unleash inhibitions, such as mock army battles with paint pistols. Roger learns quickly and becomes courageous enough to date Amanda (Jacinda Barrett). However, he is faced with unfair competition, namely none other than Dr. P, who also has a soft spot for Amanda. Roger wins out in the end, using a trick which is probably the most intelligent part of a silly film, full of slapstick and nonsense. It is based on a book by Stephen Potter, which became a play and a film, all in 1960 in Great Britain. Perhaps the original would be more worthwhile than this remake, where Heder and Thornton seem to be playing themselves in past roles, one frivolous-silly, and one mean-menacing. Good enough to watch while half asleep on a plane, since no brain power is required.

(Becky T) Opening August 9, 2007

Angel (Ramola Garai) lives behind her mother’s small shop. She daydreams herself out of her working class background and converts these dreams about a more exciting world into a manuscript which she sends to a publisher. He invites her to London for an interview. Her overbearing attitude alienates the publisher’s wife, but he takes a chance on her talent. Thousands of women relate and her book is a huge success. She goes on to write one bodice-ripper after the other, becomes rich, buys the neighborhood mansion where her aunt once worked as a maid, takes on Nora (Lucy Russell) as private secretary and marries Nora’s brother Esmé (Michael Fassbinder). The world is her oyster. She becomes more outrageous, bullies her mother (who soon dies), her staff, and the high society leeches who attach themselves. No one is more surprised than Angel when the outbreak of World War I touches her privately. She refuses to acknowledge the new situation, even after her staff and her husband leave for combat, and no one wants to read her books anymore. In the end she stands proudly among the shards of her life and says to Esmé, “You’ve lost your leg, but it’s not like you’re dead. You are here with me in paradise."

We all left the cinema thinking, “Scarlett O’Hara all over again,” although Esmé is no Rhett Butler, which is too bad because Angel needs someone stronger than herself. Director François Ozon wrote the script, based on a book from 1957 by the same name. This was the final film at the 2007 Berinale, and at the post-film press conference, the first impression of Ozon was: what a good-looking man he is, so young, just barely 40 and already the director of such acclaimed films as Swimming Pool or 8 Women. He said that he becomes easily bored and therefore likes to do something different. “Different” in this case meant leaving France to film in English in Great Britain. This isn’t his strongest film, although the photography and the costumes of 1905 are excellent.

(Becky T) Opening August 9, 2007

The Almighty in this case is God (Morgan Freeman), and yes, it is a sequel to Bruce Almighty by the same director, Tom Shadyac. New politician Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) moves to Virginia to be near his work in the U.S. Congress. He lives with his wife and three sons in a pretentious new house. God’s first sign to him comes through his alarm clock which always goes off at 6:14. Naturally, everyone knows that this refers to the Bible verse Genesis 6:14 which says, “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.” Soon long wooden planks are unloaded at his doorstep. Evan’s beard grows and grows, and he dons hand-woven robes. This is detrimental to his job, but he has no choice but to become Noah. The best part of the film is the actual ark. He builds it according to Genesis 15 and 16 “… the length 300 cubits, breadth 50 cubits, and height 30 cubits…a window… and the door of the ark …set in the side thereof with lower, second, and third stories.” His sons and thousands of animals in pairs hand him the tools.

The film is so lightweight that whole families could it watch together and nobody would be adversely affected for more than 95 minutes. The moral of the story is: one act of random kindness at a time will change the world. Here, the “Making Of” is probably more interesting than the actual film. According to the production notes, many real animals were on set and others were photographed and inserted via blue screen. Film carpenters made a real ark, set upon a concrete base like ones used for airport landing strips. The filmmakers consciously chose an environmental theme (the flood originates from misuse of the environment). In order to practice what they were preaching, they planted several thousand trees to counteract the effect of their carbon emissions during the shoot. How the film will influence the career of Steve Carell, who just successfully starred in The 40 Year Old Virgin, remains to be seen. Perhaps acting in a “biblical comedy tale” will help his rise into Hollywood’s firmament.

(Karen P) Opening August 9, 2007

Founder of New Line Cinema, American Bob Shaye, returns to the director’s chair after a ten-year absence for The Last Mimzy. This screenplay is adapted from the short story All Mimzy Were the Borogroves by Lewis Padgett (a title taken from Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky).

Noah Wilder (Chris O’Neal) and his little sister Emma (Rhiannon Leigh Wryn) are playing on the beach at their summer home. Suddenly, something strange falls from the sky and lands in the water near them. Curious, Noah drags a heavy black box to shore and frantically opens it. Emma anxiously hopes the viewing takes place before their mom calls them to dinner. The box is covered with strange symbols and with a gentle touch it unexpectedly opens. There are witty toys inside the black configuration, and the children are mesmerized by their brilliant colors. The noises, especially from the little antique stuffed rabbit, are anything but normal. Emma retrieves the rabbit from a special casing inside the box, and her whole body lights up like a light bulb, which terrifies Noah. The kids are shocked back into reality as their mom calls. After supper, the kids secretly take their findings to the bedroom and continue to investigate the toys. It seems that by just touching the playthings, an exchange of strange powers has been given to them which allows them to understand the little rabbit, whose name is Mimzy and who explains that she is a messenger from the future who needs their help to save future generations from extinction through disease and pollution. They agree to help Mimzy, and their unexpected adventure spins out of control and puts the lives of loved ones in danger.

This children’s film has the potential to be the modern E.T., especially with the endearing characters and strength of the cast. Young children will not be able to wade through the vast range of themes from New Age spiritualism to government intervention to global warming. But adults will understand it. As a children’s story, the script should have gone with the “less is more” theory to make it a real classic.

(Becky T) Opening August 9, 2007

This Australian film stars indigenous amateur actors who all looked under-nourished. They meet in the forest to cut bark and make canoes. While the men work, the chief tells his nephew the story of a man who desired his brother’s wife and the ensuing tragedy. The film is in English and Maoi dialect, both in black and white and color, and vividly depicts a superstitious native people who have a clear understanding of human nature. They believe that a stranger controls a certain magic to steal souls, that shaking a bone will prevent such actions, and that one should “never trust a man with a small prick” (which is easy enough to judge since they wear little clothing). Their language is vivid and sensible, for example “before I was born” translates to “when I was still a fish in a water hole” and “he decided to…” translates to “his mind wandered and his body followed.” If you are looking for something different and are the least bit interested in Australia, native people or folklore, then this film is well worth your time.

(Mary W) Opening August 16, 2007

The Dixie Chicks? Never heard of them, even though back in 2003 they held the record for top-selling female recording group of all time? Their first album, Wide Open Spaces, has sold more albums on the country music charts than any other group and ranks in the top 100 selling albums of all time. Each of their first three albums won the Grammy for Best Country Album of the Year. Country music? No wonder I had not heard of them until lead singer Natalie Maines, a Texas native, commented at a live concert in England that “…we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” The offhand remark to her English audience after telling everyone she was against violence and a war in Iraq that began just ten days later was published by a British tabloid and while the group continued their tour throughout Europe, they were unaware that the comment had been picked up by a neoconservative group in the U.S. as a patriotic cause – ban those Bush-bashing babes!

Within days, Dixie Chicks music vanished from the charts and radio, apoplectic rednecks used tractors to smash their CDs and death threats were made against them. In the documentary, the naiveté of Maines is so obvious that it’s painful as she tries to clarify not just her remarks but her own inner convictions. As the group, led by their outstanding manager, Simon Renshaw, struggles with the political storm they are inadvertently whirling in, they spend life on the road with their children in tow and husbands back stage. This documentary is a true life coming of age story where the group finds its real voice and they are Not Ready to Make Nice with the country music community as they return to road for their 2006 tour. I Like It!

(Birgit S) Opening August 16, 2007

Aristocratic Philibert (Laurent Stocker) is a polite, well-mannered and always helpful young man but with more than one tick and a heavy stutter. When his neighbour Camille (Audrey Tautou) becomes ill, he takes her under his wing, literally carrying her down from the unheated room under the roof to his luxurious 300-square-meter apartment. He already gave shelter to the homeless gourmet cook Franck (Guillaume Canet), a boisterous macho who does not fancy sharing their comfortable set-up with an undernourished, pale, sick female. Franck enjoys his noisy music and voluptuous girls for entertainment. The only person he really seems to love and care about is his grandmother Paulette (Francoise Bertin), living in an old age home after a bad fall. The three people could not be different: Philibert, the meticulously dressed would-be historian; Franck, the stressed and overworked cook; Camille, the talented artist, working as a cleaning lady.

It takes some effort for the three to come to terms with each other and with their own little quirks and insecurities. Only grandma Paulette is grumpy, unhappy and complaining until Camille decides to take care of her – and she too comes on board. By accepting and helping each other they find loving companionship and in the end dare to hold on to happiness.

The development of the characters may be predictable and the end not a big surprise, but Claude Berri directs his film with an unpretentious, refreshing humour. He also wrote the script based on the bestseller by Anna Gavalda. The result is nearly 100 minutes of pure entertainment with wonderfully light-hearted acting, fun music and sharp dialogues. Audrey Tautou (Amelie) fascinates with her expressive face, but also with convincing acting, supported by a perfectly cast team. Sit back and enjoy this very French comedy.

(Becky T) Opening August 23, 2007

Every year thousands of people travel to the Serbian town of Gucha to listen to the World Brass Championships. Here musicians compete in combos and solo for the Golden Trumpet award. Against this authentic background is a little love story about Juliana, the daughter of a leading trumpet player, and Romeo from the competition. The story is unoriginal and unimportant. Breathtaking is the fantastic music called Balkan fusion and foremost the gypsies who seem to have been born with trumpets in their tiny fists. One gypsy ensemble under the leadership of Boban Markovic has won this competition five consecutive years. Boban’s real-life 19-year-old son Marco, soloist and arranger, plays Romeo. This was my last film of the 2007 Berlinale film festival and was a perfect way to return to Hamburg – full of high upbeat notes, which are still hovering over me. By director Dusan Milic.

(Karen E) Opening August 23, 2007

Slacker Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) knocks up gorgeous Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) on a drunken first date, and so begins Ben's long journey to overcome his age-old enemy: maturity. Judd Apatow, the director who brought us the hilarious 2005 comic hit The 40 Year Old Virgin, is behind this very funny and at times tender look at how these two polar opposites choose to deal with the consequences of their drunken night.

Our story begins when we learn that Alison (bright, beautiful, and ambitious) has just been promoted from assistant producer to on-camera interviewer of the stars at E! Entertainment. To celebrate, she goes out on the town with her well-put-together sister (played wonderfully by Leslie Mann, Mrs. Apatow). Alison is drawn to Ben when, in an act of chivalry, he scores two beers for her and her sister from a rude, inattentive bartender. From the outset it is clear that Ben is just all wrong for Alison. He represents everything that she isn't: he's completely out of shape, lacks ambition and sports a permanent five o'clock shadow. However, in her drunken state, she has no problem taking him home for a celebratory roll in the hay. It's not until the next morning when looking down on his rather large naked derriere that she realizes how far she has strayed from her "type."

The movie jumps several months ahead as Alison learns about the consequences of her forgettable one-night stand. She is determined to do the right thing and have the baby, even if it means going it alone. However, Ben won't have that and announces he'is "on board." Slowly and somewhat painfully we watch as these two polar opposites take time to get to know one another after the fact.

This is where Judd Apatow's talent is truly evident. He makes the simple occurrences in the lives of human relationships important and funny. There are several moments that ring true but without being shallow or obvious. Alison's sister Debbie and her husband Pete (hysterically played by Paul Rudd) give the couple a jaded look at being married with children and the toll it takes on their relationship. Equally fitting are Ben's slacker friends: Jay, Johan, Jason, and Martin (played respectively by Seth Rogen's real-life best buddies Jay Baruchel, Johan Hill, Jason Segel, and Martin Star). This motley crew does an amazing job of re-creating the typical stoner party house (don't ask me how I know this.)

Knocked Up is a definite winner in my book!

(Shelly S) Opening August 23, 2007

Not only the winner of the Golden Bear in 2007, but the NetPac prize as well, and how could it be otherwise. Wang Quan’an manages to capture a part of the one of the vanishing ethnic cultures in Inner Mongolia in a wonderful and humorous tale of a hardworking sheep herder. Although Tuya (Yan Nan) raises two children with a disabled husband, she refuses to change her way of life since she loves the desert. She has an accident making her unable to do the hard work alone. She is given advice to divorce her husband and marry another. But will the new husband take care of the old one? After her divorce, many suitors come from out of nowhere, but in each case the men want the husband to go away. That seems to be logical to most people, but Tuya has a strong sense of who she is and is not willing to sacrifice her husband due to his illness. Tuya is constantly saving Senge, who is a clumsy farmer with a bossy wife who runs off with other men. He finally gets a divorce and sets his sights for Tuya, but first he has to convince her of his honorable intentions. The film is wonderful, and the smallest scenes are full of inner Mongolians' ways of life and the laughter which makes these people endearing.

This film won first prize (Golden Bear) at the 2007 Berlinale. At the press conference, Quan’an said his mother was born near the location where they filmed. What was interesting was to actually see the actress Yan Nan. She is not only a slight and small but a beautiful Chinese woman dressed in fancy modern clothes. It was hard to imagine her transformation into this strong-willed inner Mongolian sheep herder, riding camels and lugging buckets of water across this rough landscape. She said they had to live for months there and learn how to ride a camel; she tried to integrate in the way of life there. Some actual Mongolians from the area had to travel two days to get to the set each time. Quan'an was asked how he feels about the recognition that he gets abroad compared to China. His films are not popular in China, yet he often receives awards from foreign festivals. He considers himself a historian who captures this vanishing part of history which China tries to modernize. Most people focus on the future of China and do not look backwards as to what was wonderful about China. We are lucky that Quan’an has this foresight since China is changing so fast, and most likely all these traditions will be gone in the next ten years. His next film will take place in Xian, home to a Moslem community.

(Becky T) Opening August 30, 2007

Director David Mackenzie made this wonderful film about a 17-year-old boy in Scotland. Hallam Foe (Jamie Bell) keeps to himself, wears bizarre makeup and spies on his stepmother from the privacy of his treehouse. His own mother supposedly committed suicide by drowning, but he would rather suspect this intruder who married his father and makes him happy of murder. Certain conditions cause him to move to Edinburgh, where he picks locks in order to move into attics from where he clambers onto the roofs of the city at night like a homeless Spider Man. He is a lonely peeping tom until he spies a young woman who reminds him of his mother. In order to be near her, he takes a job washing dishes in the hotel where she also works. While spying on her, he is enraged to see that she is not perfect; in fact, she is having an affair with the married hotel manager. While watching the film I thought of Harold in Harold and Maude and Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye, and I wasn’t surprised to find these characters mentioned in the production notes. Hallam Foe treats his parents like Harold treats his mother: in a totally obnoxious way. In the end, he doesn’t find a Maude, but he does find Kate (Sophia Myles), who firmly sets him on the right track. The ending is optimistic as Hallem comes to terms with himself and his life.

Jamie Bell, who became famous as the ballet dancer Billy Elliott, shows that without performing one dance step, he is an excellent actor and perfect for this role. The film showed in competition at the 2007 Berlinale, and I would have given Bell the best actor award; he deserved it. The film did win best music, and the soundtrack is full of the most wonderful songs by pop groups, mostly under the label of Domino Recording Co: groups such as Psapp, Test Icicles, Movietone, The Pastels, Junior Boys, Clinic, etc. Check it out or buy the soundtrack for a treat. This was based on the book by Peter Jinks.

(Osanna V) Opening August 30, 2007

Starring Colin Firth (Bridget Jones' Diary), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi), Aishwarya Rai (Bride and Prejudice), and Thomas Sangster (Love Actually), The Last Legion is directed by Doug Lefler (Dragonheart 2). The screenplay is written by Jez and Tom Butterworth, based on the book by Valerio M. Manfredi.

The story is set in the year AD 476 when Rome has lost most of its influence in Europe. The 12-year-old Romulus Augustus (Sangster) is crowned emperor, yet within days the city is attacked and conquered by barbarians. The young Caesar and his elderly tutor – a Briton, versed in the art of magic, by the name of Ambrosinus (Kingsley) – are taken captive to the island of Capri. While imprisoned there, Ambrosinus comes to understand that this is where a fabled sword, Calibur, wrought in Britain for the Roman Emperors, has been hidden, awaiting its rightful heir. Ambrosinus guides Romulus to its hiding place. Aurelius (Firth), head of the emperor's guard, a few surviving soldiers, and the versatile Byzantine warrior Mira (Rai), make their way to Capri and manage to rescue the emperor and his tutor. As a return to Rome is out of the question, the only hope Aurelius sees is to go to Britain in search of the ninth legion and then return to retake the city.

Crossing the Alps and Gaul, travelling up through Britain, the weary travellers finally reach Hadrian's Wall and the outpost of the last Roman legion. They find the fort empty; the legionnaires – believing themselves abandoned by Rome – have intermarried with the local population and are dispersed around the vicinity, keeping a low profile and hiding from the eyes of the mysterious Lord Vortgyn who controls the country. With the appearance of the young emperor and his companions, the fealty of the legion is put to the test in a final showdown with Vortgyn and the Goths.

Produced by Rafaella and Martha de Laurentiis, respectively daughter and wife of Dino de Laurentiis, The Last Legion aims to be an epic production. Unfortunately it fails. The idea of linking the last Roman emperor to the Arthurian legend is an interesting one, but in a 102-minute film, there is simply not enough time to develop it adequately. The same can be said for the characters – with the possible exception of Ambrosinus. In the aftermath of The Lord of the Rings, viewers have been set a high standard for dialogue, costumes, sets and make-up; these also fall short... or in excess, if one considers the perfect eye and lip make-up of the leading lady, former Miss Universe Aishwarya Rai – even after a strenuous solo fight against a dozen Goth warriors. Even so, the movie is far from a total disaster and may be an alternative for a rainy autumn afternoon.

(Karen P) Opening August 30, 2007

Sakuran is a colorful first-time feature film endeavor sporting five of Japan’s most talented artists: Moyoco Anno (manga artist), Yuki Tanada (screenwriter), Mika Ninagawa (professional photographer/director), Tingo Shena (musician) and Anna Tsuchiya (rockstar/actress). The narrative is an adaptation based on the manga Sakuran from Moyoco Anno. A manga is the Japanese word for animation or comic, and it pertains to a certain style of art direction that is recognizable in many Asian cartoons. These daring women have made a pact to produce a product “their” way to avoid the trappings associated with Asian traditional filmmaking. Ironically, this is the attitude of survival of the film’s main character, Kiyoha/Higurashi (Anna Tscuchiya), after being sold into a life of prostitution.

In the 1720s, on an isolated, sixteen-acre piece of land was one brothel after another, altogether known as the Yoshiwara Edo, or the “Great Gate” of Edo. It attracted a wide range of male and female travelers due to the variety of entertainment. It was a modern red-light district because the existing Shogunate government respected the sport similar to that of a licensed gambling casino. The pleasure quarter functioned like an isolated city, therefore, making it easy for human trafficking to occur, as well as purchasing of exotic material goods. Children were often sold into prostitution at the Edo but, ironically, given a proper upbringing and schooled in many normal tasks. At the age of eight, they learned other trades just in case a rich man should buy them their freedom. The term Orian described the highest category of courtesans in the Yoshiwara Edos. To achieve this honor, the Orian could not count on her beauty alone but she needed to be accomplished in dance, music, chess, flower arranging and tea ceremonies. The Orian was both admired and envied by the inhabitants of Edo. There was a great deal of power connected with her placement. The position was also the only open door through which Kiyoha, a unique, nameless girl of the night, could visualize a change in her destiny.

(Birgit S) Opening August 30, 2007

Not having seen the film 28 Days Later, I was curious about the sequel. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo wrote the script and directs 28 Weeks Later. The main actors are Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Idris Elba and Catherine McCormack.

The story starts calmly enough. A U.S. army helicopter circles over the deserted streets of London; the silver band of the Thames reflects the morning sun. Six months after the outbreak of the “killer virus rage,” the U.S. army has opened a safe “green” zone for re-population. The war against the deadly disease has been won. Refugees return to the quarantined city, carefully monitored by U.S. staff. The calm and orderly situation is frequently disrupted by sudden flashbacks, which make you jumpy, as they show “rage” infected victims turned into mindless psychotics, screaming wildly, vomiting thick blood from distorted mouths, ready to chase and attack any other human. Nervous tension builds up. The worst fears are realised when the disease erupts once more, and all havoc breaks loose.

The whole movie screen seems to be filled with blood. A multitude of screams, shrieks and loud music emphasize the chaos. A hand-held camera brings the viewer even closer to the hectic action, right up to huge open mouths, throwing up violent-red blood. The U.S. commander changes zone “green” into zone “red”. Frightened, desperate people run and shout – and are even shot at by soldiers from the helicopter. Finally, the army declares the situation out of control. It gave me the creeps to see what zone “red” and loss of control by the authorities meant, namely: collateral damage is the order of the day. Innocent, normal people are pushed into hopeless circumstances by their fellow humans. It is a gripping, emotional and scary movie – not for the fainthearted.

I have to admit that I did not stay the full 96 minutes of the film but left the movie house early, mainly because I just cannot stomach so much on-screen violence, high-level noise and gory scenes. 28 Weeks Later belongs to the genre “horror, sci-fi, thriller” and has been raved about by hard-core movie goers as a true, adult-certified, horror film.