AWCH Film Reviews -- October 2004

(Osanna V) Opening October 7, 2004

Warner Bros. presents a modern-day telling of the classic fairytale, starring Hilary Duff (from the Disney series Lizzie McGuire) and Chad Michael Murray (Freaky Friday). It was directed by Mark Rosman.

This light-hearted, teeny movie retells the story of Cinderella in a modern setting. Sam Montgomery (Duff) mourns her beloved father, a widower who remarried just before his own death. Now she is saddled with an obnoxious stepmother Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge) and two step-sisters who live off the profits of her father’s very popular diner, where Sam has to wait tables and scrub floors. Apart from a couple of good friends, the light on Sam’s horizon is an online chat relationship she has developed with an unknown stranger. Among other things, they both share the dream of going to Princeton University. They finally meet at the Halloween Ball, where Sam discovers that her prince charming is none other than the school football star Austin Ames (Murray). Sam, who is wearing a mask, dares not reveal the fact that she’s just the “diner” girl, as she can not believe he would have any interest in her if he knows who she is. When the alarm on her mobile goes off, reminding her to get back to the diner before Fiona turns up there, she leaves in a rush – but not without losing her mobile on the way . . .

A Cinderella Story is undoubtedly a film for teenagers. The two main characters are charming and the variety of supporting roles colourful and amusing. Unfortunately, the script is so simple and full of clichés that it’s rarely funny, falling far short of a film like Clueless – the excellent modern-day version of Jane Austin’s Emma.

(Adele R) Opening October 7, 2004

Wim Wenders, the German director of Paris, Texas, who has lived in Los Angeles for many years, has co-written and directed this politically-charged film. But this one is neither polemicized nor partisan like Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, although it is also a movie about the United States after that terrible September day. Without doubt, it is also a love poem to America. But it is America with all its warts showing, especially the deeply pervasive poverty which no politician or administration bothers to address (the desperately poor never make party contributions and rarely vote).

Balancing this is a vision of humanity, generosity and faith richly portrayed by Wendell Pierce as Henry, the pastor of a homeless mission in downtown LA, and Michelle Williams, in a moving performance as Lana, the 20 year-old daughter of an American missionary in Palestine. Lana has been sent to Los Angeles with a letter from her dead mother to her uncle, Sgt. Paul Jeffries (John Diehl). In Jeffries, a traumatized Vietnam vet, Wenders and his co-author Michael Meredith have created the perfect figure to embody America’s fears and paranoia after 9/11. Diehl, who has never had the lead in any major movie, gives an extraordinary, Oscar-worthy performance: full of contradictions, spewing insanity, deeply vulnerable, often unwittingly funny, and hiding a soft but damaged heart under a lead-lined shell.

In a surveillance van equipped with the latest technical marvels, Paul spends 20 hours a day spying on the world around him, relentlessly searching for the members of the Arab cell he knows is out there preparing their next terrorist strike on his beloved America. He finds a suspect and what he believes to be evidence. His niece, Lana, ends up helping him on the case, more out of concern for her uncle than conviction that he is right.

The photography is remarkable although the cameraman, Franz Lustig, used only digital hand-held cameras. (The entire film was shot in 16 days, which must be a record.)

Sadly, the last 10 minutes, tacked on after a moving scene which would have been the perfect ending, are too saccharine for words, but it doesn’t destroy the strength and fascination of the film.

(Thelma F) Opening October 7, 2004

Tom Hanks with an East European accent? Yes, very credible when you experience him as Viktor Navorski, the star of Steven Spielberg's airport comedy The Terminal. Navorski is unfortunate in that he lands in New York just as a coup is taking place in his country. His passport becomes temporarily invalid, and he is denied entry to the U.S. – that is, except for the confines of the international lounge of JFK airport. The trials and tribulations of not understanding spoken English, having to learn how to get along on a daily basis without enough money, etc., equal the problems of immigrant life in the real U.S., except that the ones in the film provide lots of laughs. Inside JFK for months, Navorski still manages to get a whiff of multi-cultural America and even to find a little romance with a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). In the end, everyone at the airport, including the strict airport supervisor Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), is in some way touched by having met Viktor Navorski.

(Becky T) Opening October 14, 2004

Erik grows up by the rod wielded by his sadistic stepfather, while his helpless mother plays the piano to muffle the blows. With this kind of background, he is prone to violence at school to the point that no school will have him. As a last resort, his mother sells her antiques to send him to an elite private school, his last chance to graduate with a diploma. His effort to keep his promise to his mother and stay out of fights is sorely tested. The school is run by rich boys in a strict hierarchy of corporal punishment; topmost is Otto Slverhielm (the excellent Gustaf Skarsgård). The teachers are happy that they have no discipline problems. Erik resists passively, even though the cruelties against him escalate after he sets a new school record in swimming. His only two friends, roommate Pierre and kitchen maid Marja, leave the school, primarily because of him.

I sat with clinched jaw throughout this film, not that there was so much actual violence, but the threat was always present which activated my imagination to the breaking point. Towards the end, when Erik abandons his Ghandi-like stance of non-violence and tells the school bullies and his stepfather just exactly how he plans to break their arms, crack their skulls and send them to the hospital, I cheered as excitedly as when Seabiscuit won the race or Germany won the soccer championship in Das Wunder von Bern. I was shocked at my own joy at the prospect of more violence. In the end, sweet revenge comes legally with the help of an adult, definitely not a teacher. German critics will probably compare this to Der Junge Torlöß, the film about boarding school which made the career of Volker Schlöndorff (director) and Mathieu Carrìere (actor) in 1966. I thought of Bill Clinton and his book about squaring off with his stepfather at age 14. Evil, based on the autobiographical book by Jan Guilllou, was Sweden’s biggest commercial success in 20 years. Andreas Wilson as Erik was elected Europe’s shooting star 2004 (sort of an overall Oscar for best actor), and the film was nominated for an Academy Award for best non-English film in 2004.

(Adele R) Opening October 14, 2004

Directed by E. Elias Merhige, with Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, Carrie-Ann Moss

Ben Kingsley is Benjamin O’Ryan, a murderer who kills three men seemingly at random, unrelated except for the gruesome M.O. of the killer, who is evidently hoping that FBI agent Tom Mackelway (Aaron Eckhart) will follow the clues and catch up with him. Among the clues are hundreds of faxes of missing children and drawings of apparently insane visions which appear inexplicably wherever Mackelway is to be found. Mackelway is having some psychological problems of his own. He suffers from constant, severe headaches, and his own visions relating to a botched apprehension of a serial killer in Dallas for which he has been demoted. But he follows the trail of O’Ryan and gradually comes to believe that O’Ryan is a former FBI agent who was part of a special unit trained to use Remote Viewing and parapsychological techniques to put themselves into the minds of serial killers. The connection between the first three murders becomes apparent. But Tom Mackelway’s credibility is under question because of his crazy, obsessive behavior. Even Fran Kulok (Carrie-Anne Moss), a special-agent and former girlfriend from the Dallas office sent to aid him (nanny him?) is sceptical.

It’s more complicated than this brief synopsis and considerably more suspenseful, in part because of an interesting script and in part because of Ben Kingsley’s masterful portrayal of a deranged murderer. I’d say it will hold your interest, but not keep you up all night.

(Adele R) Opening October 21, 2004

François Ozon, the young French director who gave us the superb Sous Le Sable (Under the Sand) and Swimming Pool (and the not so great Eight Women), has been awarded the tenth Douglas-Sirk-Prize by the Hamburg Film Festival for his work (other winners: Clint Eastwood, Stephen Frears, Jodie Foster, Isabelle Huppert). His new film, 5 x 2, certainly ranks among his best. It is the tale of five significant moments in a relationship, told in reverse. The film opens as the couple, Marion and Gilles (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and Stéphane Friess), are granted a divorce and scrolls back through a dinner with friends, the birth of their son, their marriage and their first meeting. Each incident holds a surprise, and the emotional portrayals by both actors are deeply moving. The script is both dryly intelligent and deeply engrossing, so much so that the end seems to come much too soon.

(Kirsten G) Opening October 21, 2004

Capitalizing on the success of 2002’s The Bourne Identity, Universal Pictures quickly put into production The Bourne Supremacy, also based on a book by Robert Ludlum. Luckily for Universal, Supremacy is just as good, if not better, than Identity. Matt Damon again plays amnesiac CIA-trained assassin Jason Bourne, who has tried to put his former life behind him by periodically moving from one exotic locale to another with girlfriend Marie (Franke Potente). Unfortunately, once again someone finds him, but this time it is a Russian assassin (Karl Urban from The Lord of the Rings). So Bourne is on the run again, pursued both by the Russians and the CIA.

Supremacy brings back all the things that were good about Identity: the explosive action, interesting camera angles, gritty locations, and driving score. But Supremacy also has a tighter story which actually makes sense at the end. Damon again brings the right mix of ordinary and extraordinary to Bourne, and Joan Allen is a great addition to the cast as a driven but principled CIA operative. But Supremacy may be too much of a good thing – although the story is more interesting, the rest has a bit of a “been there, done that” feeling. And the plot doesn’t allow Damon/Bourne to show as much emotional range in this film, which was a disappointment. But overall, Supremacy is a worthy next instalment in the Bourne franchise and an enjoyable, adrenaline-filled roller coaster ride.

(Becky T) Opening October 21, 2004

Ted and Marion Cole (Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger) live with their small daughter Ruth (Elle Fanning) in a beautiful old house on the beach in the Hamptons, the New York version of the island of Sylt. They owe their lifestyle to Ted’s success in writing children’s books, one of which is called The Door in the Floor. All day long Ted and Marion avoid each other’s tragic faces and empty eyes, even to the extent of living separately. Poor Ruth has her hands full with these hopeless adults. Young Eddie O’Hare (Jon Foster) arrives for the summer, ostensibly to help Ted retype pages where only one word has been changed. Computers are not on Ted’s horizon because then he might have to get his act together. Eddie eases the situation a bit because now Marion has a playmate to offset her husband’s many affairs. For some reason, all the women on the beach want to be Ted’s nude model and more. He’s not that cute in his Papa Hemingway/Daddy Picasso get-up, but there is no explanation for taste.

Perhaps parts of the film could be worth an Academy Award. For example, the acting is fine, although nobody is as good as five-year-old Fanning. A hallway, covered in photos of the couple’s two poor dead sons, cheated out of life in early manhood, is so important to the plot as to be an “actor” in its own right. The illustrations for the fictitious book The Door in the Floor are interesting simply because Bridges drew them. The title sounds very Dr. Seuss-like so that I wondered, why not expand to No More Door in the Floor, It’s a Bore, Been There Before. How about an award for director Tod Williams’ screenplay, which is based on the first third of John Irving’s book Widow for a Year? Another children’s book idea comes to Ted in the film: Sounds Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound. Strangely, it was first published in German as Ein Geräusch, wie wenn einer versucht, kein Geräusch zu machen before it appeared in English in September, also by John Irving. I have trouble with films about egotistical people who drown in their own sorrows to the detriment of a child. If you can empathize (or recommend a psychiatrist) then this is the film for you.

(Becky T) Opening October 28, 2004

This is the true story of Harvey Pekar (Paul Giamatti), an average man struggling to live in a confusing world as a hospital file clerk in Cleveland, USA. His friends are, like him, low-income workers on the fringes of society. He meets artist Robert Crumb, who illustrates a comic called Fritz the Cat, which Pekar collects. This inspires him to write texts based on his own life and Crumb illustrates them. Thus, the cult comic book American Splendor is born. He meets Joyce Brabner (Hope Davis), a female fan with the words, “I had a vasectomy.” She moves into his slovenly household and becomes his wife.

Director Shari Springer Berman’s film describes the comic’s origin and Pekar’s life to the present time. He never quits work at the hospital, although he probably could live from the income generated by the comic. His wife leaves him alone to investigate work with children overseas, as compensation for not having children of her own; they eventually adopt the daughter of an artist. With growing fame, non-conformist Pekar is invited many times to appear on the David Letterman TV show with varying success. The film ends with the real Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Pekar attending the showing of their film at film festivals, where it was well received. It’s interesting that such an average person could hit the nerve of millions of readers who see themselves reflected in the comics. The actors are almost mirror images of the real people as well, so often it’s hard to differentiate between fact and fiction.

(Shelly S) Opening October 28, 2004

This wonderful film by Bernd Sahling takes us into a world where young teenagers are attending a school for the blind. Maria (Ricarda Ramümke) is a typical 13-year-old girl. She wants to do well in school but also wants to be liked by her fellow classmates. She wants a boyfriend and she want to push beyond her normal boundaries so that she can grow a little. She and her best friend Inga (Maria Rother), who is a bit of a rebel in the school, decide to try to join a music band from the outside world. There is a big competition for money sponsored by a T.V. program and they would like to compete. The audition doesn’t go well, and afterwards, a gang of boys try to intimidate them, but despite their obvious disability the two girls stand their ground and are ready to put up a fight. Later one of the gang members, Herbert (Oleg Rabcuk), steals a car and crosses paths with Maria. He wants to return home to Russia and asks Maria to let him hide in the school for a couple of days. The three of them become friends. They also decide to form a band since they have music in common and try to raise money by playing on the street to help Herbert. As their friendship grows, the three take more risks, and consequently Herbert is found out by the police and the school master. The actors are wonderful and give the viewer insight to the feelings and inner thoughts to those who have never had the chance to see the world through their eyes but have the ability to see it through their hands.

(Becky T) Opening October 28, 2004

Kristoffer, Geir and Stig Inge are three young men who share an apartment in Oslo. Kris and Geir paste posters on billboards for a living. Stig Inge works at home and never goes out because he suffers from fear of open spaces. Kris makes videos of their cosy, little life together. By chance a hotshot TV producer finds one of these videos, and Kris is on the road to fame as author of a series called Kristoffer’s Video Diary. He becomes insufferable to his roommates, and they abandon him. He learns the value of friendship and modesty. There are sub-plots which revolve around two girlfriends, an illegitimate son of Geir and a boat about to set out on the high seas (this being Norway). Most of the actors, e.g., Nicolai Cleve Broch, Aksel Henni, and Anders Baasmo Christiansen are from Norwegian theater. This is a nice little fun comedy which won prizes at three film festivals. The only part which bothered me was the constant doors, being opened, closed, and knocked upon. I still haven’t decided why it is called Buddy, but it certainly isn’t because of Buddy Holly.

(Shelly S) Opening October 28, 2004

Director Christopher Smith’s Creep is a horror film that will make you want to puke, at least that is how Geysa and I felt as we escaped halfway through this film. The film starts with a party where Kate (Franka Potente) is planning to meet George Clooney through a friend; and since this is a horror film, she never makes it. Instead, she is trapped in the subway after hours where her freak ex-boyfriend tries to rape her, but then is killed off by a deformed man or monster-like thing. There are many scenes of running through tight and dark tunnels, as well as the sound of dripping water. Of course, there are a few homeless corpses scattered here and there. Sure I was scared, and I still think about this film when I enter the U-Bahn here in Hamburg. I also think Franka Potente and Vas Blackwood did a great job in acting, but somehow I did not really get the story line. I spent most of time wondering what is this all about, and do I really need to feel this sick to my stomach the entire time? I really don’t think so, but perhaps those with a tough stomach will be willing to check this one out for Halloween.

(Kirsten G) Opening October 28, 2004

Does knowledge set you free? This is the question that black comedy Little Black Book tries to answer. It tells the story of Stacy (Brittany Murphy), a twenty-something go-getter who has just gotten a job as an associate producer on Kippie Kann Do!, a trashy talk show, and who lives with her handsome boyfriend Derek (Ron Livingston), a recruiter for a professional hockey team. Everything seems to be going well, but when a Kippie staffer pitches a show idea about electronic “little black books” and the secrets they can hold, Stacy feels compelled to check out Derek’s Palm Pilot. With the help of fellow producer Barb (Holly Hunter), she starts investigating Derek’s exes but finds out more than she bargained for.

Book has an interesting premise and is not as formulaic as you might think, but overall it just doesn’t work. Murphy does an OK job and Hunter is wonderful as always, but the film tries to combine too many disparate elements – black comedy, slapstick, morals, and characters that break out in Carly Simon songs – to be effective. Book tries to be a girl power film for the 21st century and references the 80s film Working Girl several times, but all it does is remind you how much better Working Girl was. In general, you may not be able to tell a book by its cover, but this Book is really not worth reading.

Opening October 28, 2004

Click here to see the review by Kirsten G in the Made in the USA article from the April 2004 Currents 54th Berlinale Special Issue.

(Stephan W) Opening October 28, 2004

Die sieben Zwerge sind: Bubi (Otto Waalkes), Tschakko (Mirko Nontschew), Cloudy (Boris Aljinovic), Cookie (Markus Majowski), Brummboss (Heinz Hoening), und Sunny (Ralf Schmitz). Die Elite der deutschen Comedy!

Dabei ist alles, bis auf einige Kleinigkeiten, die alte Geschichte. Die Königin (Nina Hagen) will die Schönste im Land sein. Sie hat ihren Zauberspiegel (Rüdiger Hoffmann), denn sie befragen kann. Als die Königin den Spiegel fragt, erfährt sie, dass ihre Tochter Schneewittchen (Cosma Shiva Hagen) die Schönste des Landes ist. Die sollte aber schon von ihrem Mörder, dem Jäger (Christian Tramitz), umgebracht worden sein. Der bekommt hierzu eine neue Chance. Schneewittchen flieht zu den sieben Zwergen.

Zum Schluss wird Schneewittchen nicht vom Prinzen geküsst.

Der Film ist nicht vergleichbar mit amerikanischen Komödien. Meine Befürchtungen wurden leider wahr, man hat gemerkt, dass die Witze von Otto schon etwas angestaubt sind. Der Film ist trotzdem amüsant und recht gut Umgesetzt.

Translation by Becky T

Six of the seven dwarfs are Bubi (Otto Waalkes), Tschakko (Mirko Nontschew), Cloudy (Boris Aljinovic), Cookie (Markus Majowski), Brummboss (Heinz Hoening), and Sunny (Ralf Schmitz). In other words: the best comedians Germany has to offer.

Except for a few minor changes, this is the familiar story of Snow White. The queen asks her magic mirror. “Who is the most beautiful in the land?” Not her, of course, but her daughter Snow White (played by Cosma Shiva Hagen, who is also her daughter in real life). Snow White is taken into the woods by the hunter and rescued by the dwarfs.

Contrary to the original, the prince never comes through with the kiss.

This is not to be compared with American comedies. My fears were confirmed, in that, sorry to say, Otto Walkes’ jokes have become old and dusty. Still, the film is amusing and the cast is quite good.

(Becky T) Opening October 28, 2004

Nashawn Wade sues the airlines for injuries suffered when his dog dies en flight and he gets stuck in the toilet following a bowel-challenging meal. The jury awards him one hundred million dollars with which he buys his dream airline composed of a single purple plane. Passengers board, and from then on it’s all stand-up comedy. NWA stands for Nashawn Wade Airlines, but also for Not Without Ass or No Whites Allowed. There is first class, business class and low class; the stewardesses are sexy; the pilot has never flown a plane; the on-board disco is larger than any jumbo jet. The language is African-American hop hop. Most jokes revolve around body fluids, and everyone is cheerful. This first film by Jessy Terrero, who formerly made music videos, allows a large cast of stand-up comedians to strut their stuff, e.g., Kevin Hart, Snoop Dogg, Method Man, Gary Anthony Williams, John Witherspoon, Mo’Nique, Tom Arnold, Missi Pyle, Ryan Pinkston, and Godfrey. The 42 songs on the soundtrack make up a complete collection of contemporary rap music by such musicians as Gary G., Mack Dalton, Styles, Salt n Pepa, Ying Yang Twins, Blaze, etc. Young boys will enjoy this movie, and their parents will wonder what the world is coming to.