AWCH Film Reviews -- January 2007

(Becky T) Opening January 4, 2007

Wally Stark (Sean Penn) is a simple travelling salesman for the Fuller brush company until he is set up to run for public office. He breaks from his handlers to pursue his own populist platform promising schools, jobs, and streets for everyone because God is on his side. He reaches the hearts of the hick voters who flock to his speeches at factories, wharfs, and farms throughout the state. He becomes governor in the biggest win in state history and is a powerful man, who soon succumbs to the adage, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He resorts to criminal activity to avoid an impeachment by conservative senators. Journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law) tells the story and in flashbacks, we also learn about Jack: his wealthy boyhood, Judge Irwin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) who raised him, his best friend Adam (Mark Ruffalo) and his love for Adam’s sister Anne (Kate Winslet). In the end, figuratively speaking, the swamp rises from the bayou to suffocate all it touches.

There is much to praise in this film taken from Robert Penn Warren’s 1946 Pulitzer-prize-winning book, which is based on the life of Huey B. Long (1893-1935), former governor of Louisiana, USA. Anyone familiar with this state will love the original locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Algiers, Donaldsonville, Morgan City, and Bayou and Cajun country, as well as the art deco state capitol and other real landmarks like plantations, Spanish moss, and jazz clubs. Although the original story played in the 1930s, director Steven Zaillian has moved it to the 1950s, with vintage cars, trains, and costumes. However the universal story about corruption, love, hate, and betrayal could play in any decade. All the actors have been expertly cast and it’s interesting to watch British actors such as Law, Winslet, and Hopkins convince as southern types.

(Becky T) Opening January 4, 2007

Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are magicians in Victorian London. This was a heyday for magicians including Harry Houdini. It was the beginning of the industrial revolution, or, for that matter, of film, when any invention seemed like magic. Although different in personality, Robert and Alfred respect each other until a horrible accident occurs and they become bitter enemies and competitors. Their tricks outside the theater don’t stop at adultery, spying or maiming a hand. One man develops an impossible trick and the other visits Nikola Tesla (Davie Bowie) in Colorado Springs to investigate electricity. (Teslas, a contemporary of Thomas Edison, is the only real historical figure.) Generally, tricks consist of three parts: the theme (the handkerchief is rolled into a ball), the effect (it disappears), and then the trick or prestige (it reappears in a different color).

Director Christopher Nolan has made an interesting film based on the book by Christopher Priest. He says, “I think that the two main characters are just two parts of one person.” Jackman and Bale work well together, especially Bale as a poor, haggard magician. Luckily, Bale has recovered from losing 60 pounds for The Machinist, but you knew that if you saw him in Batman Begins. Scarlett Johansson controls the market on being a magician’s helper, having just had a similar role in Scoop. Michael Caine plays a sensible engineer who develops tricks. The Prestige requires unlimited concentration; don’t even blink and don’t dare arrive late. Consider watching it twice, because the flashbacks are tricky, however, even a second viewing would be a pleasure.

(Coppelia HB) Opening January 4, 2007

Even the world of prostitution offers opportunities for friendship and solidarity between women to flourish. This drama portrays Caye (Candela Pena) as a prostitute who lives a double life in the presence of her middle-class family with whom she lunches on Sundays. Her mother, Pilar (Mariana Cordero), still lives with the fantasy that her husband, who died three years before, may still be alive. This fantasy world is repeated when Caye meets Manuel (Luis Callejo), a computer specialist, who just laughs when she tells him that she works as a whore. In her building, Caye befriends Zulema (Micaela Nevarez), a Dominican who has come to Madrid in order to earn a living to send money back home to her son and mother. Through daily activities such as shopping and hair styling, they share their dreams and hopes and bond in friendship. One night, they go out on the town and decide to be princesses instead of hookers. However, there is also the harsh reality of their profession. Zulema, illegal, has fallen prey to a corrupt government official who entices her to give free “services” in exchange for papers that will give her legal status but maintains her hanging on the edge of hope. She learns that when she does not give in, he becomes physically abusive. Even though Caye warns her to get out of this relationship, Zulema is caught and pays the price. Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa uses scenes to convey information without the need of words. Through merely watching, we are able to understand what transpires although there is nothing that is really new. This is particularly so when Zulema learns of her condition at the hospital and decides to get even. Both leading female actresses have won Goya awards for their performances and the musical score by Manu Chao is befitting for the movie. Zulema's decision to return to her son brings her back home. In a heartening act of generosity and compassion, Caye gives her the money she has been saving for her breast implants. Some dreams are more urgent than others.

(Becky T) Opening January 11, 2007

This scary movie by Courtney Solomon relies on conventional props which are neither original nor frightening. It’s the year 1818 in Red River, Tennessee, and John Bell (Donald Sutherland) is guilty of usury according to church law, i.e., he collected 20% interest from Kate Batts. From then on he and his family, especially daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), see ghosts in the night. Batts has the repetition of being a witch, but denies having anything to do with the horrors in the house. The local teacher (James d’Arcy) tries to help and keeps a written record of the spooking for future generations. This supposedly true story is based on the book by Brent Monahan. Most of the film unravels by candle light with the main characters (including Sissy Spacek as the mother) in their nightgowns. Doors shake and windows blow out. A wolf and a small child appear to John and Betsy. All this comes to an end when a family member dies. The old mansion is adequate, as are the actors, who do their best with a weak script which calls for them to look worried and hug each other and say, “It must have been a bad dream.”

(Birgit S) Opening January 11, 2007

In December 1944 the Allied Forces are heavily bombing Berlin. Hitler (Helge Schneider) suffers from depression and shies away from the public. But the war must go on and propaganda minister Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) has a crazy idea. Professor Adolf Grünberg (Ulrich Mühe, Das Leben der Anderen), Hitler’s former speech therapist, and his family are dragged from concentration camp to help with the important New Year’s speech. Sure enough, the professor dreams of killing his pupil but is not quite up to it. Instead he keeps teaching relaxation methods and listens to Hitler’s story of a sad childhood. Brave and hands-on Mrs Grünberg (Adriana Altaras) tries her luck with suffocating Hitler but fails as well. There are witty and comical situations - even if few and far apart - supported by good actors like Stefan Kurt, Ulrich Noethen and Lambert Hamel. As guest actors appear well known names like Katja Riemann, Maret Becker and Tim Fischer.

The casting of Helge Schneider, known for his funny films, is very misleading as his comical talent is very much subdued if not ignored by director/script writer Dani Levy (Alles auf Zucker). Instead he surprises as a serious actor, portraying the troubled, demure and unhappy Führer. Can one make fun of Hitler? Yes. Why not show the arrogant, ambitious, ridiculous and weak side of the man who was craving for recognition whilst terrorising his surroundings and losing touch with reality? Why not knock this myth off the pedestal? We will never know the absolute truth about this German phenomenon. To make fun of it may be the best safeguard against any future hero building.

(Birgit S) Opening January 11, 2007

It is daring to make a feature film involving such a public figure as the Queen, choosing a subject already covered extensively by the press. But one of Britain’s most distinctive directors Stephan Frears (My Beautiful Laundrette) did not shy away from provocation. As this film was first shown in London about 20 attorneys were sitting in the audience.

The news of Princess Diana’s tragic death after a car crash in Paris shocks not only the British Nation but the whole world on September 1, 1997. We take a glimpse behind the curtain, namely learning about the Queen (Helen Mirren) and her family in their private surroundings as they are woken up in the middle of the night to be told about the accident and watch the TV news huddled up in their nightgowns. I loved the scene with James Cromwell as Prince Philip when he mumbles: “Move over cabbage…” swinging into bed with his sleeping wife, the Queen.

Despite the seriousness of events, this film is hugely entertaining and the characters are very convincingly portrayed. The tragic death of Diana throws the Queen into a family crisis. The developments around her are confusing and she is unable to comprehend the public’s emotional response for the lost princess. Tony Blair (Michael Sheen), the up and coming Prime Minister, is voicing his opinion in a rather “modern” way. His household on Downing Street with young children and refreshing Cherie (Helen McCrory) add another humorous touch and are contrasting with the stiff atmosphere at Buckingham Palace where tradition and rigid protocol seem to keep everyone in a time warp. Blair, gaining in popularity, urges the Queen to take action in order to avoid constitutional damage. Reluctantly she agrees to a public appearance and finally agrees to a state funeral. To her absolute horror the mourning guests will not be Heads of State but Diana’s friends from all walks of life, in particular from show business.

Helen Mirren as Queen is superb. She even looks a bit like the Queen but it is her acting, her body language, her attention to small gestures that are totally convincing. In 1995 she received the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her performance as Queen Charlotte (The Madness of King George).

(Becky T) Opening January 11, 2007

Geum-ja (Lee Young-Ae) goes to prison for 13 years for murdering a five-year-old boy. She is innocent, but confesses to the crime to save her own child. In prison she is a real Mother Theresa who helps her fellow inmates, even reverting to drastic methods such as slowly poisoning a fiend or donating a kidney. She becomes an expert prison baker and is a shining example of remorse and sainthood: the church’s own cover girl. Upon her release she sheds this saintly façade and visits her former fellow convicts, as well as the prison baker, who now owe her, big time. She engages their help in a long-planned, detailed revenge against her former kindergarten teacher Mr. Baek (Choi Sihn-Mik) who is the real culprit.

Korean director Park Chan-Wook calls this Part III in a trilogy which consists of Sympathy for Mr. Vengenace and Oldboy (which won first prize in Cannes 2004). Lee is a beautiful Korean actress who carries the film. Just the expression on her face immediately upon her release from prison tells volumes. Choi (who was the lead in Oldboy) is equally expert in his role as a man who teaches small children by day and kidnaps and murders them after hours. Some scenes did not seem to be related to the plot, although you might have no problem with this. Sometimes I thought that perhaps I am missing some Korean symbolism which would heighten my appreciation or a flashback didn’t quite jell. The photography and camera work (Chung Cung-Hoon) is excellent. For more of Park see his newest film I am a Cyborg but that’s OK which is in competition at the 2007 Berlinale.

(Becky T) Opening January 18, 2007

This is the true story of Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) and his fight against apartheid in 1980’s South Africa when there were three millions white people in charge and 25 million disinherited blacks. Chamusso worked his way up to a better job at an oil refinery in Secunda. He lived quietly with his wife and daughters, and coached a boys’ soccer team. He had no interest in terrorist antiapartheid strikes, although he was aware of them as shown in the first scene, when his family is searched brutally by South African security, upon returning from a wedding in the country. When his refinery explodes, he is arrested and tortured in spite of being innocent. No longer able to be neutral, he leaves his family and joins the exiled African National Congress terrorist group in Mozambique. He returns under a false name and single-handedly blows up parts of his old oil refinery. He is arrested, sentenced to 24 years on Robben Island (where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and which reminds me of pictures of Quantanamo), serves 10 years, and is released under an amnesty when South Africa bans apartheid.

Australian director Phillip Noyce (The Quiet American, Long Way Home) researched the historical background for many months. He was aided by the Slovo sisters, Shawn (script) and Robyn (production), daughers of Joe Slovo, who was a leading member of the ANC and later a member of Mandela’s cabinet. The real Patrick Chamusso was on set daily. He lives with his wife and three children and 80 orphans in an orphanage he founded. For details see www.twosisters.org.za. This is just a small slice of South African history, well worth your time and interest, as Tim Robbins confirms after staying there to perfect his role as the ultimate South African Boer, Nic Vos. It’s interesting that some Bob Marley music is used between all the African rhythms.

(Becky T) Opening January 18, 2007

One war photo from World War II told a thousand words. It depicts six brave soldiers raising an American flag over a pile of rocks and they look as if they are risking death under the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air. Not true. The film tells the real story.

The initial surge onto the Japanese island of Iwo Jima by 33,000, and later 73,000, American soldiers was temporarily over. There was a lull in the fighting when soldiers leisurely raised a flag. It was so peaceful that a politician visited the battle field. Seeing Old Glory flapping from the highest point called Mount Suribachi, he desired it for a souvenir. The soldiers agreed to keep it themselves (who knows where it is today) and raised a second flag to fly “for the politician’s den back home.” This event was photographed by Joe Rosenthal for the Associated Press. The fighting continued 30 more days and three of the six died. The remaining three were sent back to the U.S. to sell war bonds to supplement the American treasury which had a $14 billion deficit. People cheered the heroes in huge football stadiums, heroes who became more and more uncomfortable in the role forced upon them.

The story, told in flashbacks, is too long and confusing. Perhaps readers of the bestseller of the same name by James Bradley will find it easier to follow. It is filmed in grey, white, and black to look like an old 1950s film, with endless scenes of yet one more soldier’s eyelids fluttering closed as he sinks into merciful death, his intestines oozing onto the ground. In spite of the weaknesses, director Clint Eastwood is to be admired for slaving away at yet another blockbuster (the scenes of thousands of ships is impressive; an old-fashioned war is a relief from the current terrorist conflicts). He’ll probably be up for some more Oscars for this one, after Million Dollar Baby, as it patriotically declares “a hero is somebody we create, who does it not for his country but for his buddies.” Europeans will decide it is rah-rah Americana, but you can’t please everyone. Ryan Phillippe is a sight for sore gay eyes in his little sailor suit, looking like he came straight off the stage with the Village People; at least you can differentiate him while all the others soldiers, Japanese and American, look alike.

(Osanna V) Opening January 18, 2007

Written and directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) and starring Hugh Jackman (X Men) and Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), The Fountain is an unusual mixture of adventure, drama and metaphysical experience.

Three stories, with the same protagonists but set in different eras, interweave through this visually stunning movie: the 16 th century tale of Queen Isabella of Spain and the conquistador Tomas, whom she sends off to the Americas to find the legendary Tree of Life; the contemporary story of scientist Tommy Creo and his dying wife Izzi, for whom he searches for a cure, discovering that a bark from a rare South American tree carries stunning properties of rejuvenation; and the mystical experiences of two beings in another dimension, beyond physical reality and the threat of mortality.

The realization of The Fountain is amazing, with interesting camera angles, breathtaking special effects and all round solid acting performances. Aronofsky is obviously trying to convey his personal understanding of inner and outer life and how we are caught up in on-going, evolutionary experiences across space and time. To have the courage to make this attempt is truly praiseworthy – especially in this age of high-speed entertainment. While some may find his vision confusing, controversial or downright blasphemous, others will certainly appreciate if not necessarily agree with it. For many, however, his ideas will ring true and inspiring.

(Becky T) Opening January 18, 2007

This American high school comedy says that one should be true to one’s beliefs and look beyond the superficial and sincere friendships will blossom, maybe. John Tucker (Jesse Metcalfe) is the high school, basketball-star darling. He can have any girl and he does – mainly at dinner in a restaurant where Kate (Brittany Snow) works as waitress. Three of his girlfriends are Carrie (school paper reporter), Heather (cheerleader) and Beth (environmentalist). Once they discover John’s philosophy about monogamy (namely none), they swear to turn the tables and break his cheating little heart. They groom Kate to become the femme fatale to do the job. She is grateful for the attention, having just moved to the school and being thus far friendless. John falls in love, Kate chooses John’s nerdy brother Scott and Kate and her mother reach an understanding. Director Betty Thomas shows one cliché after another: skinny high school students and one token fat boy, who is the team’s mascot; popular cheerleaders; a moment of truth on a public stage during a school party. Best is the beautiful Vancouver skyline and bay where the film was made over one summer in a new, local high school. The film crew redecorated the school and left all kinds of props behind for the drama department, much to the delight of the students – who may see one or two of their friends in the film. Young viewers of MTV, Desperate Housewives, American Dreams, or other TV series might recognize the cast, especially Metcalfe, singer Ashanti, or Snow who is a knock off of Reese Witherspoon.

(Shauna K) Opening January 18, 2007

Not a word of dialog, commentary, or interview is spoken as disturbing images of slaughterhouses (graphic enough to turn one vegetarian), food processing plants, pesticides on huge high-tech farms, and the machines, both mechanical and human, that run them unfold. All this is contrasted with occasional scenes of people at lunch. Our Daily Bread is a radical documentary on industrial food production in which the viewer is left to form his or her own judgment.

(Nancy T) Opening January 18, 2007

Alain Moreau (Gérard Depardieu) is a middle-aged, overweight, worn-out ballroom singer in the provincial town of Clermont-Ferrand. His ex-wife Michéle (Christine Citti) is his business manager, who organizes everything so he need only focus on his performance...and periodic romantic affairs. Then he really falls in love with the tormented real-estate agent Marion (Cécile De France), half his age, who is also the love interest of a good client. The chemistry between them is noticed by the ex-wife, who makes one last plea then announces she will marry someone else. This comes at a time when Alain and Michele are trying some new musical venues, and the results are devastating. The very real atmosphere of the cocktail club and the wonderful performances make this simple classic story a terrific film.

(Coppelia HB) Opening January 25, 2007

“The future is in your hands” takes on a new meaning after viewing this action drama built around conflict diamonds smuggled out of Sierra Leone to finance the civil war of the 1990s. Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe who trades diamonds for arms. Caught by government officials while smuggling diamonds across the border into Liberia, he lands in jail where he hears of Solomon Vandy’s (Djimon Hounsou) secret. Vandy is a Mende fisherman who wants his son, Dia (Kagiso Kuypers), to become a doctor when he grows up so he will not end up mending fishing nets as his father. The rebels attack his village and take Vandy away to work in the diamond fields which they control. While digging, he finds a pink diamond, the size of a bird egg, and hides it but not before one of the rebels sees him. A government raid sends them all to jail. It is here that Archer envisions his plan. He is determined to find the pink diamond which has the power to change lives, both his and Vandy’s. In the meantime, Dia is abducted by the rebels and turned into a child soldier of the Revolutionary United Front while the rest of Vandy’s family has become refugees. Vandy’s sole aim is to find his son and get his family together again. Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an idealistic photojournalist as well as an “action junkie”, needs the information Archer is privy to in order to break the real story about the conflict diamond trade. She joins forces in their quest, albeit each has a different motive. This powerful film depicts the ugly realities of war zones and shows some violent scenes of killing and mutilation. But at the same time, it shows that people are people, and it is their actions that determine them to be either good or bad.

Director Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai) has done a superb job of creating an entertaining as well as informative film which tells a fascinating story and carries both a social and political message. DiCaprio delivers a powerful performance of a man’s tenacious search for riches to change his life with while Hounsou performs an impressive role in his uncompromising search for his son. The film is a thoughtful portrayal of a socially important issue that highlights the need for the public to become ethical consumers by demanding conflict free diamonds in the future.

(Adele R) Opening January 25, 2007

The smartest of them all, Jeff Skilling, was just sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison—at his age (52) this amounts to life. It sounds excessive for what they call a white-collar crime, but Skilling’s sentence seemed fitting to a lot of people around the country, as well as the judge who said “As the many victims have testified, his crimes have imposed on hundreds, if not thousands, a life sentence of poverty.”

Enron’s bankruptcy in December 2001, the cancellation of pensions and health care and loss of millions of dollars for thousands of workers and investors who had faithfully followed the lead of the chairman, Ken Lay, and his CEO Skilling and put their money into Enron stock even after it had begun its downward spiral, sent shock waves around the globe. As the facts slowly filtered out and it became clear that the executives had paid themselves bonuses just before the crash; that at least ten prestigious banks and brokers had known Enron was in serious trouble but continued to promote the stock; and that Ken Lay, Jeff Skillling and Andrew Fastow (the CFO) had sold their stock before it started its slide, the rage and disbelief became overwhelming.

The film traces the rise and fall of Enron and the brilliant Skilling, brimming with ideas and a genius at marketing them and convincing the banks and Wall Street that Enron was the most successful energy company in the world. It is fascinating to hear former senior executives and the journalists who uncovered the disaster tell the tale and to watch Skilling and Lay at work, schmoozing their employees and Wall Street and whipping them up to more and more excess. The outright fraud which was perpetrated on California by Enron during the energy crunch was clearly carried out with the hubris of greed and arrogance and in the film it is obvious that it was deliberate skulduggery.

Skilling’s sudden, unexplained resignation in August 2001 triggered the collapse - but it was going to happen soon in any case, which is undoubtedly why he left. To this day he still says he is so sorry about the terrible damage it caused, “But,” says Skilling, “I wasn’t there!” and that is essentially his defense - he wasn’t responsible. But the film makes it perfectly clear that yes, Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling and Andy Fastow were indeed responsible for one of the most enormous frauds in the history of white-collar crime.

(Mary W) Opening January 25, 2007

Set in New York City, playboy Eddie Shneider (Til Schweiger) is an egomaniacal advertising executive about to marry the boss’ daughter and become partner in the successful firm. He discusses his addiction to harmless humping with his buddy best friend Angelina Sable (Lauren Lee Smith) who counsels him about the necessity for fidelity in marriage. When Angelina returns to what she thought was their closed offices for keys she had forgotten, she is raped by a colleague. Eddie does not stand by his woman and gives the rapist an alibi, even hedging his words in court to protect the family of his intended bride along with his lucrative partnership. Overacting by Schweiger, lame plot with even worse dialogue, the only way for this film is out of the movie theaters.

(Birgit S) Opening January 25, 2007

If you have just come back from a week in Paris you can be sure to hear: Ohhhhh, Paris! – eyes full of admiration, accompanied by a deep-drawn sigh and a hint of sentimentality.

This film is not sentimental about Paris and avoids the usual postcard image. It is a kaleidoscope of 18 miniature films directed and/or written by 21 star directors, such as Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu (acting as well as directing), Christopher Doyle, and Isabel Coixet to name but a few. The idea for the film was born by director Tristan Carné whilst wandering through the streets of Paris. Directors from around the world tell their story about love in Paris. There is the love and longing of the young mother for her baby as she is rushing off for work to the other side of Paris, the desperate love of an elderly couple, the love of a wounded black man lying on Place des Fetes, a vampire falling in love on the steps of the Quartier de la Madeleine in the dark hours of midnight – and an American single on holiday discovers her love for herself and for Paris.

Each episode is told from a personal viewpoint, staged in different areas of Paris, from the graveyards of Père Lachaise to the red-light district of Pigalle. Some ideas are weird, eccentric, over the top, bloody (as in stabbing or vampire). Many famous names are among the actors/actresses, such as Marianne Faithful, Juliette Binoche, Nick Nolte, Fanny Ardant, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Gena Rowlands, Gérard Depardieu.

The stories are so varied that there is bound to be something for everyone if you like short films. Even though it is not supposed to be a picture book of Paris, I did enjoy the scenery of this multifaceted city.

(Karen P) Opening January 25, 2007

“It has been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon, my hometown …” were the opening words of Garrison Keillor, heard every Saturday night broadcasted live from the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. In the film, the cast and crew of the WLT radio variety show, A Prairie Home Companion, prepare for their last live performance. While the studio camera spies on the various variety show performers in their dressing rooms; the film audience is allowed to eavesdrop on them conversing about their lives, telling jokes discussing the latest town gossip. All conversations avoid one topic: the show being shut down after 30 years running because WLT is being sold to a Texas conglomerate run by Axeman (Tommy Lee Jones). The glue that holds the night together lies in the hands of grossly pregnant stagehand, Maya Rudolf.

Garrison Keillor, as himself, appears as one of the gang but in reality he is the silent “strength behind the wheel” that encourages each member of the show to give it his/her all, in spite of their last night acting together. The strained emotional energy connected with this evening is the catalyst to comical and mysterious mishaps. The Johnson Girls (Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin), Lola (Lindsey Lohan), Cowboys Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly) are a hoot and take their own liberties to add a little spice to their characters. The Dick-Tracy-style of story telling using a clumsy theater security guard, Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) and the appearance of a beautiful composed angel (Virginia Madsen) allowed realism to enter the storyline and symbolized a clever take on life.

Director Robert Altman with writer Keillor together produced a film with inspired imagery of a story-telling dream that was materialized. In reality, the dream lasted over a quarter of a century on live radio competing with the rise of television. It was and still is one of the most creative ideas produced in the history of radio. The story is an image of success, an image of an American dream! Even though the official Saturday evening radio broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion has come to an end, the stories of the folks from Lake Wobegon told by Garrison Keillor are still going strong today on over 500 public radio stations across America, because it’s the place, “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.”