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

Radio (Sie nennen ihn Radio)

(Becky T) Opening May 6, 2004

Cuba Gooding Jr. plays a mentally handicapped man who touches the lives of people in South Carolina (filmed in Walterboro, an hour from Charleston where Tom Hanks filmed Forrest Gump). Gooding is James Robert Kennedy, nicknamed Radio because of his collection of transistor radios. Harold Jones, the local football coach (Ed Harris), coaxes Radio out of his lonely, non-verbal world. Radio becomes a water boy, carrying towels and equipment, for the team, the Yellow Jackets. He is a glorified mascot and leads the team onto the playing field. He collects clippings of the team’s progress (unusual since Radio never learned to read and write) and finally begins janitorial work at T.H. Hanna High School.

This true story originally appeared in an article by Gary Smith in Sports Illustrated Magazine in 1996. Once he had broken out of his isolation, Radio’s unrestrained joy and exuberant zest for living was infectious, although in some sub-plots we see that not everyone was happy. The local banker feared that the coach was wasting time on an idiot instead of helping his son win a sports scholarship. The coach’s own daughter, Mary Helen (Sara Drew), resented the ease with which Radio and her father communicated. The townsmen replayed the games at the local barber shop and criticized Coach Jones. The film covers a year in the life of Radio, although his actual true story goes back over four decades. The film ends with shots of the real Radio, and it is amazing how perfectly Gooding became this man in looks and actions. This is a feel-good film with a message and proceeds have already been used to establish a benefit fund for emotionally needy children in the area.

Since Otar Left (Seit Otar fort ist...; Depuis qu’Otar est parti...)

(Becky T) Opening May 6, 2004

Three women live together in Tiflis, Georgia: Eka the grandmother (Esther Gorintin), Marina the mother (Nino Khomassouridze) and Ada the grown-up granddaughter (Dinara Droukarova). Eka lives for news of her son Otar who is working in Paris. He dies unexpectedly and Ada, unable to break the bad news, writes letters in his name, thus creating a fictitious Otar and a trail of lies. All attention focuses on the three women and their care for each other within the family, their frustrations working badly paid jobs, and their interest in France and speaking French, which is not unusual for people in Georgia, according to director Julie Bertuccelli. She said, “This could be three aspects of one and the same person.” Otar, obviously, can not come to his mother’s birthday party. There are clues to his former existence in the family dacha (that summer home which everyone in a Russian county has, no matter how poor). The women hang pieces of string on a wishing tree according to an old Georgian custom. Finally, all three travel to Paris, Eka with determination and Marina and Ada with trepidation; there is an optimistic surprise ending. It is a small miracle that these three actresses (Polish, Georgian, and Russian respectively) came together (Gorintin is 90 years old) and an opportunity to experience them shouldn’t be missed. Bertuccelli won a French Oscar, called Caesar, for best first feature film, 2004.

 

The Soul of a Man

(Mary W) Opening May 6, 2004

Wim Wenders pays homage to three legends of the blues in this part docu-drama, part documentary film. Willie Johnson, blinded by an abusive mother at an early age, wrote and sang religious songs on the dirt roads of Texas, creating gospel blues. In 1927 he recorded two songs for Columbia Records that became classics. He died a poor man. But his music lived on to be played over and over again, and his rasping voice is being spirited out of our world on the Voyager which was launched in 1977 with his recording of The Soul of a Man.

Since there were no films made of Johnson, Wenders convincingly recreated Johnson by filming Chris Thomas King in black and white, using a hand-cranked camera. Nor were any films made of Nehemiah 'Skip' James (played by Keith B. Brown), born in Betonia, Mississippi in 1902, who developed his own unparalleled "Betonia Sound." For twenty years James played in clubs and then in 1931 he won a contest with Paramount and recorded eighteen songs in one amazing session. All he received for his original works was expense money back home (about $40). Disillusioned, he became a Baptist preacher for more than thirty years. Then in 1964, a promoter for the Newport Folk Festival found James in a hospital and brought him to play. An incredible success, James was then able to pay for an operation that gave him a few more years to perform. He died in 1969 of cancer.

Born in Mississippi in 1929, the third artist, J.B. Lenoir became interested in the guitar from his father. He spent time in New Orleans and Chicago and had his first hit single in 1951, "Korea Blues". He recorded for several labels and began to challenge political issues of the times with such songs as "Vietnam Blues", "Alabama March" and Eisenhower Blues." He died tragically in 1967 from lack of proper medical care after a car accident.

You may not recognize these artists, but no doubt you have heard their music or music influenced by them. Their music is introduced as it was played during their lifetimes, then played again by contemporary artists such as Los Lobos, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Eagel Eye Cherry, Lucinda Williams and Cassandra Wilson, just to name a few. Just try to sit through this entire film without tapping your toes!

 

Van Helsing 1/2

(Nancy T) Opening May 6, 2004

In the vein of Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man, our hero van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is the famed monster hunter who battles Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) and his three bride-furies, Frankenstein’s Monster (Shuler Hensley), and "Wolfman"/Velkan (Will Kemp) all in one film!

The van Helsing character appeared in the original 1897 Dracula and was played by Anthony Hopkins as a 60-year-old-man in the 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula (so titled with the author’s name because another studio held the film rights to the book). In this film, van Helsing is a 19th century version of James Bond, employed by a nameless organization to fight evil: his weapon of choice, a crossbow. Before his assignment, he’s guided through an arms laboratory by the monk Carl (David Wenham, Faramir in The Lord of the Rings). Carl is "Q"-like but comic, with a flipping bowl haircut, who also accompanies van Helsing to Transylvania. There they meet superwoman Anna (Kate Beckinsale), Velkan’s sister, who is trying to rid her town of its demons.

Billed as the first blockbuster action film of the year, this film was so speedy and filled with special effects there was no time for character development. I saw it in German and had no problem following it as it was all visual. Much was filmed in Prague, and the settings and flying sequences were amazing. Stephen Sommers (director of the very financially successful The Mummy films) produced, directed, and wrote the screenplay for Van Helsing. There must be similar earnings expectations as it is very similar in style.

 

Carolina

(Pat R) Opening May 13, 2004

Carolina is like a good country western song brought to life on the big picture screen, preferably at the drive-in. Carolina’s daddy was a beer guzzling truck driver who had a few female friends along his route. Eventually three babies born out of these friendships, named for the states of their conception, Carolina, Georgia and Maine, found their way home to Grandma Mirabeau. There they were raised with lots of love but not much else. Carolina longed for a “normal” life and moved away, but her heart always tugged her back home. With the help of Grandma Mirabeau’s good old-fashioned common sense, she learned that sometimes you don’t see what you have until it’s almost gone.

Julia Stiles plays Carolina and is credited with having saved this film. Selected in 1999 as one of the 21 hottest stars under 21 by Teen Magazine and as one of the 50 most beautiful people in 2001 by People Magazine, she is hot! She is now in Mona Lisa Smile, The Prince and Me and Romance and Cigarettes. There is even a Julia Stiles fan club and website.

Shirley MacLaine plays the eccentric southern Grandma Mirabeau superbly and tosses out many fine pearls of wisdom*. She has been known to have once said, “It is useless to hold a person to anything he says while he’s in love, drunk or running for office.” At first the film was called Carolina Torn Asunder with Kathy Bates as the Grandma, but she was replaced and now is supposedly suing.

Also starring is Alessandro Nivola (Mansfield Park, The Clearing), as the fictional romance writer/boyfriend, Azura Skye (Blue Crush) as her pregnant sister Georgia, Randy Quaid (Paper Moon) as the hopelessly drunk father, and Jennifer Coolidge, whom I loved in Best of Show, as Aunt Marylyn, a lady of the night. It’s a southern story which takes place in Los Angeles.

*such as: “Your titties aren’t going to stay perky forever.” “You can’t kill Christ and then expect to have a sit-down conversation with him.” “God said ‘celebrate’, not ‘celibate.’” It’s marvellous to see MacLaine again. She looks youthful in spite of too many false eyelashes and wrinkled hands. (Becky T)

 

Music for Weddings and Funerals
(Musik für Hochzeiten und Begräbnisse)

(Becky T) Opening May 13, 2004

This slow film by Norwegian Unni Straume takes place in a bare modern house on a lake. An architect shoots himself in the house that he had designed for himself and his former wife and writer, Sara. This tragedy brings together Sara, the new wife and the mistress. They share memories and opinions about the deceased. (Never would I imagine three men sitting around, talking about their relationship to one dead woman.) A fourth woman seeks safety from her violent husband and moves in with two small children. In the basement lives a musician from Serbia. How practical that his band plays music for weddings and funerals, since a funeral is definitely on the agenda. There is an interesting contrast between slow, grey, northern mentality and the Eastern European one. This film comes to us via film festivals at Toronto and Sundance. Adele chose it as one of her three favorite films in the Hamburg film festival. Serious filmgoers should also see another currently running original Norwegian story Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder (Nightsongs) for comparison.

 

Troy (Troja)

(Osanna V) Opening May 13, 2004

German director Wolfgang Petersen (Oscar winner for Das Boot) directs a superb cast in this spectacular production, including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean and many more.

Princes Hector (Bana) and Paris (Bloom) of Troy are celebrating a peace settlement with King Menelaos (Brendan Gleeson), King of Sparta, when Paris meets and falls in love with Helen (Diana Kruger), the queen. Without his brother’s knowledge, Paris smuggles her on board their ship when they leave for home and thus, unwittingly, seals the fate of Troy.

King Menelaos’s brother, Agamemnon (Brian Cox), has managed to unite a number of minor kings and proclaimed himself High King of Greece. He sees the insult to his brother as the perfect excuse to go to war against Troy, but realises that he stands no chance unless he can convince Achilles (Pitt) to join the fight at his side. Achilles, who will bow to no king and whose sole aim is to set his name down in history as the mightiest warrior of all time, despises Agamemnon, but his good friend Odysseus (Bean), King of Ithaca and beholden to the High King, convinces him to join them. Troy, and its invincible walls, has withstood many attacks over the generations, and Odysseus knows that only with Achilles on their side can the offensive be successful.

And so it begins. One thousands Greek ships set sail for Troy and, within minutes of reaching the beach, Achilles captures the Temple of Jupiter that stands at some distance outside the city walls. However, he refuses to fight further for Agamemnon, so the Greeks first attack on the warriors of Troy turns into a fiasco and the invaders have to retreat. To try and avoid further bloodshed, Paris demands to take on Menelaos in single combat. Unfortunately, Paris is more of a poet than a highly trained warrior and no match for Menelaos. He only survives the encounter because Hector, who truly loves his brother, intervenes and kills Menelaos. Now the stage is set and there is no way of avoiding full scale war.

One tragedy leads to another, and then to another. In the end it is Odysseus’s idea of building a wooden horse that turns the tables that leads to the utter destruction of Troy. Few survive to tell the tale…

Troy is a full-blown, epic production with fantastic sets, costumes and visual effects. However, what I consider made it truly great was the excellent performances and the varied, insightful personalities of the various characters. In spite of the battles scenes, the movie has enough space for us to get to know the protagonists, and it seems to me that the variety of complex motivations and emotions was enough so that virtually every viewer will be able to identify with one of the players. I found Prince Hector to be the true hero of the saga and will look out for Eric Bana in other productions. It was also fun to see both Orlando Bloom and Sean Bean (Legolas and Boromir in The Lord of the Rings) adding their talent to the whole.

 

The Company - Das Ensemble

(Becky T) Opening May 20, 2004

Director Robert Altman has made a fictional film, interwoven with many documentary components, about a ballet troupe. Ry (Canadian dancer Neve Campbell) makes good in the ballet under the director Mr A. (Malcolm McDowell) who says, “If your boys want to be dancers, don’t give them a hard time.” She falls in love with Josh (James Franco). Around this loose story are the trials and tribulations of dancers, portrayed by the real Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The dancers work to exhaustion, keep going on raw energy, suffer injuries and jealousy, submit to keen competition, earn little money, and watch their biological clocks tick, all for a short stint in the limelight and the reward of a standing ovation (that over used custom which is slowly infecting audiences in Hamburg). Campbell and Barbara Turner (script) spent two years observing the Joffrey Ballet before they approached Altman.

It is especially interesting to compare the Joffrey with the Hamburg ballet which is now celebrating its 30th anniversary. The Joffrey is almost 50 years old (founded in 1956) and has a repertoire of 225 ballets from 85 choreographers (in this film you’ll see My Funny Valentine by Lar Lubovitch, The Blue Snake by Robert Desrosiers, as well as Tensile Involvement, Trinity and Strange Prisoners). They dance on an open-air stage while the director sits in the audience, both events hard to imagine in Hamburg. The dancers gallop across the stage and make active use of props, i.e., long ribbons, a swing hanging from the ceiling and extravagant costumes. No conservative grey Armani suits for them. Anyone interested in dance will find something to enjoy here, although it is a small film for Altman after his successful Gosford Park.

 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Vergiß Mein Nicht)

(Becky T) Opening May 20, 2004

Clementine (Kate Winslet) ignores her boyfriend Joel (Jim Carrey) as if they had never met. This is more than a minor irritation for Joel until he learns that Clementine has erased him from her memory. He accepts the inevitable and visits Dr. Mierzwiak in order to have his own memory cleansed of her. During the procedure, in which he lies in his own bed at home attached to an old-fashioned-looking space helmet and monitored by Stan and Patrick, his memories are erased in reverse chronological order. Naturally, the further the memories recede, the happier they are, until Joel unconsciously rebels and attempts to hold on to them.

In this romantic film made in New York City and Long Island, mind triumphs over matter and emotions over plain common sense. The actors play reversed roles compared to their former films, i.e., Carrey is straight and dependable while Winslet is spontaneous and flighty. Still, both are completely convincing. Director Michel Gondry approached scriptwriter Charlie Kaufmann with an idea from a friend and artist Pierre Bismuth and three years later this is the result. It has been rated especially valuable by the German film academy. If you have seen Kaufmann’s Adaptation or Being John Malkovich, then you know that you are in for a film you will either love or hate. It takes concentration to follow who is where and in which time zone and sometimes Clementine’s constantly new hair color is the only clue.

 

The Day After Tomorrow

(Nancy T) Opening May 27, 2004

Dennis Quaid plays Professor Jack Hall, a renown paleoclimatologist (scientist who studies weather patterns of the past) who, in devotion to his work, lives a separate life from his ex-wife, medical doctor Lucy Hall (Sela Ward), and son Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who goes to New York City as a team member for a scholastic competition. Roland Emmerich, writer, director and screenplay author, makes the point, albeit a bit heavy handedly, that this is an intelligent family.

The film opens in the Antarctic with Jack heroically saving cores of ice samples as his research site is destroyed by a piece of ice the size of Rhode Island separating from the polar icecap (a fantastic scene, reminiscent of Gandalf falling with the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Ian Holm has a small but memorable part as an ill-fated scientist.). This polar melting disrupts the North Atlantic current, which depends on a balance of salt and fresh water to keep warm, causing an immediate 13º drop in temperature across the Atlantic Ocean. Inclement weather sets in all over the world. Three major storms over Scotland, Siberia and Canada pull cold air from the upper atmosphere causing temperatures to drop quickly, reminiscent of the quick frozen mastodon in the New York City Museum of Natural History. As the country people flee south to warmer climates, Jake moves north to rescue his son trapped in the Manhattan Public Library on 44th St.

There are incredible scenes of NYC overcome by more disasters as the storms move toward it: first tsunamis, then a quick freeze. The film has fantastic special effects but just a bit too familiar story -- the journey father takes to saving his son. Quaid has one harried expression on his face throughout the film: the Harrison Ford-like strained, stressed hero look. Perhaps the Hall "family" was supposed to be considered a unit, as if the stereotypes put together would reveal one rounded person.

Despite this sacrifice, which may be endemic to movies with rollercoaster special effects, The Day After Tomorrow is a fine action film which also has become quite controversial among environmentalists.

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