Reviews by members of the AWC Film Group of films slated to open in Hamburg in February 2004

Samba in Mettmann

(Becky T) Opening February 5, 2004

Mettmann is a small German town, representative of small towns and small-town mentality worldwide. The major industry is a brewery owned by the leading family comprised of a matronly mother and her grown son. She has successfully catapulted all her son’s prospective brides from the premises, including most recently a Brazilian woman and her two maids of honor. They land on the doorstep of Olaf Kischewski, who runs a dry cleaner’s called Fleck Weg (spot gone) with his father Benno (Sky Du Mont who once graced the red carpet of Hamburg’s Cinemaxx for the opening of the film Eyes Wide Shut). Olaf‘s own bride has joined a sect which propagates abstinence before the wedding. As you would expect in a film starring Hape Kerkeling, probably Germany’s foremost comedian, this is fast-paced slapstick, farce and general silliness, which nobody takes seriously and was probably released now especially for Fasching (carnival season). The final scene is a never-ending parade of brides.

Hape Kerkeling has enjoyed a successful carer, considering his youth (born 1964). He has appeared often on television in a series of comedy shows, e.g., Darüber Lacht die Welt (As the World Laughs) or Hapes Halbe Stunde (Hape’s Half Hour) in which he is famous for his sketches and various costumes, including a funny parody of the queen of The Netherlands. He has his own production firm called “Cheese,” which he founded in 1993 with Italian Angelo Colagrossi as well as Amo Müller, director and producer of this film, respectively.

 

School of Rock

(Osanna V) Opening February 5, 2004

Dewey Finn (Jack Black) is a passionate defender of pure rock ‘n roll who has just been kicked out of his band. Faced with mounting debts, he manipulates an unexpected opportunity to land himself a temporary teaching job at an exclusive private school, in spite of the fact that he has no qualifications, nor the slightest interest. One day, however, he discovers unsuspected musical talent among the kids in his class and jumps at the idea of setting up the project of both their and his lifetime: a rock ‘n roll band worthy of competing in and winning the famous “Battle of the Bands” event.

With such a premise, this movie could have gone either way, but Jack Black is so convincing in his dedication to rock ‘n roll and Joan Cusack so amusing as the prim, everything-to-the-letter headmistress, that the result is thoroughly entertaining.

If you too are a lover of rock ‘n roll who finds it hard to understand the music of today, or if you want to spend an entertaining couple of hours introducing your own kids to real music, then this could be the movie for you!

 

ll est plus facile pour un chameau (It’s Easier for a Camel)

(Becky T) Opening February 12, 2004

The title of this French film should be a clue to the story. It’s a Biblical reference to a camel and a rich man, whereby one goes through the eye of a needle easier than the other goes to heaven. Federica (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) is rich, as are her mother and sister. All three take turns sitting at a hospital bed nursing the head of this household who will soon start his own trip through the eye of the needle. Otherwise, Federica has a lot of time on her hands to worry about wealth and the consequences, e.g., not having to work for a living. She expects sympathy from the local priest and her present and former boyfriends. She runs from one to the next and nobody cares, least of all anyone in the cinema, although it is nice to see Chiara Mastroianni again, that love child of Marcello Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve, who plays the sister. Considering that Tedeschi was writer, director, and leading actress, I wonder if perhaps she has her own problem with being rich and needed to throw some money at a tax write off.

The Missing

(Osanna V) Opening February 12, 2004

Starring Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth, The Lord of the Rings) and Tommy Lee Jones (JFK, The Fugitive), this drama is directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer.

Back in 1885, Maggie Gilkeson (Blanchett) and her two daughters Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and Dot (Jenna Boyd) lead a tough life out on their small cattle ranch in northern New Mexico, supported by their foreman Brake (Aaron Eckhart) and the cattle hand Emiliano (Sergio Calderón). The two daughters are very different types: Lilly longs for a life in the city with fancy clothes and lots of people around, while the younger Dot takes after her mother, dedicated to the land and their home.

Tragedy strikes the day Brake and Emiliano agree to let the girls accompany them on a day trip to the closest town. Brake promises to be back before sunset, but night falls and passes and the group has still not returned. When Dot’s horse gallops in alone, Maggie knows something has happened and sets off to search for the four. Not far away she finds both men dead and the girls nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Dot appears among the trees and, greatly distressed, explains that her sister has been taken by unknown men.

At first Maggie is convinced that the kidnapper is her estranged father Jones (Jones), who had appeared a few days earlier at the ranch after over twenty years of absence, only to be sent packing by his daughter. However, when she discovers he’d spent the night in jail for drunken disorder, she realises she has to look elsewhere for the culprits. It is soon clear that Lilly is not the first young girl to disappear and that a whole series of abductions are underway. The army has been alerted and the local officials assure Maggie that everything will be done to find and return Lilly. To her surprise, Jones turns up at the ranch again, telling Maggie that he’s off to track down the criminals because the army is headed in totally the wrong direction. In spite of her distaste, she doesn’t hesitate in deciding to go with him. The ten-year-old Dot also refuses to be left behind, so the unlikely trio set off on a desperate mission that will take them all the way to the Mexican border…

The Missing had me tense and absorbed for over two hours. The performances were excellent, including a truly impressive scene where little Dot tells her mother about the abduction. The stunning scenery only adds to the drama. However, this is not a film for the faint-hearted as it has some fairly hefty moments.

Rugrats Go Wild (Die Rugrats auf Achse)

(Alana L) Opening February 12, 2004

The Rugrats are back in their third movie, The Rugrats go Wild. Instead of going on a week-long luxury cruise (with daycare), the Rugrats and their parents end up on an old fishing boat. To make things even worse, a big storm leaves them shipwrecked on a supposedly deserted tropical island. While the parents argue about what to do and who should do it, the kids set out to find Nigel “Strawberry,” their TV adventure hero, who could surely save them all. Nigel “Strawberry” is actually Nigel Thornberry, the famous (cartoon) adventurer who stars with his own wacky family in The Wild Thornberrys. The rugrats run into various wild adventures and animals and manage, as only kids could, to come out without a scratch. My daughter says it is a movie for kids ages 6-8, but I think that parents may get more of a laugh out of it due to the many stereotypes, jokes, and references to other “grown up” movies such as Titanic and Planet of the Apes.

Something's Gotta Give (Was das Herz begehrt)

(Kirsten G) Opening February 12, 2004

In a refreshing twist on the usual formula, Something’s Gotta Give is a “coming-of-age” romantic comedy about two older adults. Diane Keaton plays divorced playwright Erica, whose daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) is dating hip record company owner Harry (Jack Nicholson). All three accidentally end up together at Erica’s second home in the Hamptons, and when Harry has a heart attack and is forced to recuperate there, what starts out as antagonism between Erica and Harry slowly turns to respect and possibly . . . love?

Give’s greatest strength is its cast, with all of the principal actors turning in strong performances, including Keanu Reeves as Erica’s younger love interest and Frances McDormand as Erica’s sister. Keaton is especially good; she looks great and is com-pletely convincing in her portrayal of a strong, independent woman who finally remembers how to let someone in. Writer/director Nancy Myers (What Women Want) may have gone a little overboard in the plot twists that bring Erica and Harry together but, overall, this is a good old-fashioned love story wrapped in a modern package. As in the song that was the inspiration for the film’s title, the 1955 Fred Astaire hit Something’s Gotta Give, there are two “immovable objects” here that finally succumb to “irresistible forces”, and for us viewers, it’s a very entertaining ride.

Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken?

(Becky T) Opening February 12, 2004

This German film (loosely translated to What’s the Thought of Love Worth?) is based on a true story in the 1920s. Günther (August Diehl) and Paul (Daniel Brühl), as well as Günther’s sister Hilde (Anna Maria Mühe), are determined to live life to the hilt. They invite their friends to a wild party in their summer house and the mixture of drink, drugs, love and jealousy careens out of control. One person does not survive. The trio of brother/ sister/friend experimenting beyond their limits is similar to another new film which opened on January 22: Bertolucci’s The Dreamers (click here for Adele R’s review). Young director Achim von Borries won awards for his film England, but in this case he has given actor Daniel Brühl little opportunity to display his acting talents as seen in his expert performance in Goodbye Lenin which just won the European Oscar. His weak role calls for little more than to peer at the excessive partying like a deer caught in the headlights.

Cold Mountain

(Becky T) Opening February 19, 2004

In this anti-war film the setting is the U.S. Civil War in the mid 1800s. Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Inman (Jude Law) experience a chaste love which cumulates in a single kiss before Inman joins his comrades on the Confederate side. (Both actors, from Australia and Great Britain respectively, have perfect southern accents.) Once their paths have separated, life tests them sorely with only each other’s memory to give them strength. At home Ada attempts to run her farm single-handedly, quite a task for someone whose perspiration level formerly rose in proportion to the fingering of a piano sonata. Also, she is hounded by the lecherous boss of the self-appointed homeland security forces, who avoided combat to reap personal gains from the war.

Inman is injured in battle and wends his way homeward, accompanied by the fear of being shot for desertion. Like in a Greek myth, along the way he meets colourful characters such as an unfaithful preacher, a house full of whores, a lonely young mother, and a female hermit. All of this is grim until Ruby (Renee Zellweger) moves in with Ada, inadvertently bringing along her no-good fiddling father. Zellweger is already being discussed as a potential Oscar winner. (The film received eight Golden Globe nominations.) Her refreshing and optimistic role as a boisterous hayseed uplifts the film’s mood so dramatically that anyone would feel called upon to thrust an award on her with a sigh of relief. Inman and Ada connect in the end for a romantic night, reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet or Leonardo and Kate in Titanic. That said, you can guess the ending if you didn’t know already from having read the book by Charles Frazier. Anthony Minghella is the capable director of a long, but worthwhile, film with a message for us today.

Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder (Nightsongs)

(Becky T) Opening February 19, 2004

In this cast of six people only the lover is given a name: Baste (Sebastian Schipper). The nameless young couple (Frank Giering and Anne Ratte-Polle) live with a nameless baby in a turn-of-the-century apartment in a German city. The blond wife declares, “I can’t stand it any longer,” which sounds so typically German in that language, “Ich halte es nicht mehr aus.” What she can’t stand is watching her husband lie on the sofa reading books, something unsuccessful writers like him do a lot. His nameless parents miss the apartment entrance on their first try at a visit to see the baby. In what other country would grandparents wait six weeks to see their grandchild and not even know exactly where their grown son lives? The young woman earns their keep, but now she is home on maternity leave which gives her much time to find fault with her life, go to a disco, introduce her lover to her husband, vacillate between the two men, and then decide to stay put (“I would really miss my pots and pans there in the kitchen.”). Too late: the young husband has already jumped from the balcony to his death.

The reason journalists fled this competition screening at the Berlinale was because this short story became really long over 95 minutes. The remaining members of the audience decided this must be a farce and laughed to the end. I was the “British” journalist quoted in the Hamburger Abendblatt who said at the press conference that this film resembles a Loriot sketch: funny with short sentences. The author of the original Norwegian drama, Jon Fosse, said that of all European countries, he feels most akin to Germany. The remainder of the press conference was a shouting match with director Romuald Karmarkar telling the press not to ask him to validate them whether to laugh or not. And anyway he’s used to people walking out or laughing at inappropriate places. He said it wasn’t possible to tell a German love story in Germany, Gering was one of Germany’s few “complete” actors (very true) and that film music should not blatantly tell the viewer what he should be feeling at any odd moment (also very true). This film is recommended to selected people who are neither tired nor in a hurry, who are interested in theater on screen and camera work done indoors in one apartment. The German text is understandable to almost anyone.