The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is a scathing and funny look at the world of fashion as told through the eyes of the once innocent Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway). The film is based on a book by Lauren Weisberger and it is supposed to be about her former boss Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Andy lives with her boyfriend Nate (Adrien Grenier) in New York City. They are far from well off but they love each other and enjoy hanging out with their friends Lilly (Tracie Thomas) and Doug (Rich Sommer). Andy would like to work as a journalist for a magazine and when the human resources department of Runway magazine calls her for an interview she jumps at the chance. The position is for the second assistant to Runway editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). Before the interview with Miranda she meets the first assistant Emily (Emily Blunt) who doesn't think much of Andy. There is reason for that - Andy couldn't care less about fashion and she is considered too heavy (a size six!). But Miranda hires Andy because she seems different from her previous assistants.

Miranda is really the boss from hell. She thinks that she is the Queen of the World and everyone else are her underlings. Try as she may Andy just can't get Miranda's respect. Things start to change when fashion expert Nigel (Stanley Tucci) takes Andy under his wing and helps her change her image. Everyone loves her new look except Nate who prefers the old Andy. But after the makeover things start to happen and Andy is more determined then ever to win over Miranda and work her way up the ladder. During an event Andy meets a smooth talking writer named Christian Thompson who tells her that perhaps he can help her get a writing position (in her current position she certainly isn't doing any writing).

There is no point in telling you any more. Despite the fact that the film is somewhat predictable I enjoyed it. This is because director David Frankel gets good or great performances out of his actors and Aline Brosh McKenna has written some very sharp dialog for them to speak. Tucci is funny but also very sympathetic as a man who wants to do better but is held back by circumstances. Hathaway, who showed great potential in Brokeback Mountain, perfectly captures Andy's dilemma of a young woman who wants to succeed but doesn't want to hurt people in the process. Blunt, who was wonderful in last year's My Summer of Love, is terrific as the catty Emily. And best of all is Streep who is as bitchy as can be. In the old days there were plenty of great movie bitches (think Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck) but these days there aren't many real bitchy roles out there. It makes me think that the studios are afraid of something. In any case, with this film and A Prairie Home Companion Streep could be looking for a nomination in the supporting actress category next awards season.

The film poses an important question - how much do you want power and money and what would you give up to get it? It is something to think about and I certainly know what my answer to that question would be. And what if Miranda were a man - would that make any difference? I don't believe in a double standard and to me it wouldn't. I don't like ruthless, cut throat people no matter what sex they are and I wish that there were less of them in this world.
And this film reinforces my feelings.

DVD Review - Disco Pigs

I had wanted to see this little Irish film for quite some time and I finally saw it today. Disco Pigs is based on play and is very dark and strange love story.

Darren aka Pig (Cillian Murphy) and Sinead aka Runt are born just a few minutes apart in a Dublin hospital. They live next store to each other and are almost attached at the hip. You might say that they are soul twins. They are approaching their seventeenth birthday and it is apparent that their relationship is growing unhealthier by the day. In flashbacks we see that Runt's father (Brendan O'Byrne) is a brutal alcoholic but we also see that Pig displays some very violent behavior of his own. The two of them just continue to do one bad thing after another. This leads Runt's parents to send her away to a school so that she will be far from Pig. This does not sit well with Pig as Runt is the only thing in his life. He manages to track her down. You will have to see the film to find out what happens next.

I thought that up to this point the film was good but Enda Walsh's script takes a predictable turn when there might have been other options. Kirsten Sheridan (daughter of Jim and an Oscar nominee for In America) does a nice job of directing her actors and I look forward to seeing what she does next (many years ago I saw a short that she directed at an Irish Film Festival and it was also quite good). Elaine Cassidy is a wonderful young actress (she was in Felicia's Journey and The Others) and I hope that we get see more of her soon. She has an expressive and beautiful face. But it is Cillian Murphy's mesmerizing performance that makes this film especially worthwhile. He manages to capture all of Pig's madness and anxiety. I have seen many of his recent films and I know that he is one of the most talented young actors around. He is very versatile and can be equally scary (Red Eye) and heartbreaking (Breakfast on Pluto). He certainly has a good future ahead of him.

Even though the latter portion of the film is quite predictable the last scene is excellent. I found it a great way to end this film. Check out Disco Pigs if you want to see some of Ireland's best young talent on display.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man

I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen's for nearly 40 years. I first heard his song Suzanne sung by Judy Collins and that prompted me to buy his first album The Songs of Leonard Cohen, his books of poetry and his novel Beautiful Losers (which I would still love to see made into a film). His words are magical and the only songwriter that could rival him is Bob Dylan (I see them as two sides of the same coin). So you can imagine my excitement when I heard about this documentary.

A good part of the film comes from the 2005 concert Came So Far For Beauty: An Evening Of Songs By Leonard Cohen which was held in Sydney and produced by Hal Willner. The performers include Nick Cave, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Linda Thompson and Antony. Some of the songs performed were Hallelujah, Sisters of Mercy, I'm Your Man and Suzanne. At first I was a bit apprehensive about seeing a film with so many singers other than Cohen performing. But I found their renditions very moving and they served Cohen's words and music well.

The rest of the film contains interviews with some of the above mentioned artists as well as Bono and Edge of U2 and Cohen himself. Bono is right when he says that Leonard Cohen is with you during all the important and challenging times in your life. Cohen sheds quite a bit of info about his childhood (complete with pictures), his writing and his spirituality with us. He reveals just how vulnerable he is when he mentions that despite his reputation as a ladies man he has spent thousands of nights alone. His vulnerability comes through in his writing. The highlight of the film is at the end when Cohen, backed by U2, sings Tower of Song. It was quite a mesmerizing performance.

Lian Lunson does a very good job of directing the film. She makes the transition from music to interviews and back flow very smoothly. I was surprised to find out that one of the producers is Mel Gibson but he is a very big Leonard Cohen fan and his input can only help the film gain recognition. I love this film and I am heartened by the numbers of people who are going to see it.

This film reinforces something that I have known for a long time - there is no one like Leonard Cohen and it is privilege to have "known" him for all of these years.

DVD Review - Forty Shades of Blue

I have mixed feelings about this film. It won a dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and I am wondering why. However, I don't think that the film is a waste of time either.

From the minute we see Laura (Dina Korzun), who is Russian, we can see just how unhappy she is. She lives in Memphis with a much older man named Alan who is a music producer (Rip Torn) and they have a young son. Alan is very domineering and even though he is with a much younger woman he finds it necessary to sleep around. Things take a turn when Alan's son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) comes to visit them. Alan and Michael have not seen each other for many years and this is the first time that Michael and Laura meet. Michael's wife April is due to come in a few days but we learn that he is not happy in the marriage (it just so happens that April is pregnant). I am not going to say anything else because I don't want to give anything away. But things are so predictable that as the film moves along you will be able to guess what happens.

Ira Sachs does a decent but not great job of directing. His screenplay, co-written with Michael Rohatyn, is very simplistic and the characters could have been more developed. If the film had a better screenplay it would have made a world of difference. Torn gives a terrific performance as a man who finds it hard to see who he really is. Kurzon conveys a great deal of pain as Laura. Although I really felt her misery it remains a fact that she never changed her expression during the entire film. In the end, this is not a bad film. But the fact that I didn't really care about any of the characters means that it didn't work for me.

DVD Review - La Vida Que Te Espera (Your Next Life)

This is a seemingly simple tale that gets more complicated as the film goes on. The story takes place in Cantabria which is in northern Spain. This is a place that is isolated and where farmers known as pasiegos tend to their cattle and live in their own world. Rules imposed by the European Union penalize the farmers for producing more milk than is needed. Both Gildo (Juan Diego) and Severo (Celso Bugallo) are falling on hard times because of this. They are neighbors but they are also rivals. When Gildo goes to Severo's farm to retrieve his prize cow Vanessa Severo is very angry. Gildo promises Severo that he will get Vanessa's first calf.

A year has passed and we are introduced to Gildo's two daughters. His older daughter Val (Marta Etura) dropped out of school after her mother died so that she could help her father on the farm. Gildo's younger daughter Genia (Clara Lago) goes to school and wants no part of this type of life. The same is true of Severo's estranged son Rai (Luis Tosar) who has given up farm life to work as a hairdresser. As promised, Gildo sends over Vanessa's newborn calf to Severo. He wants Genia to bring the calf over to Severo but she doesn't want to because she has to go to school. Val rescues her and brings over the calf. Severo gets angry because he doesn't believe that the calf is the offspring of Vanessa. He ties Val up and locks her into a shed. Eventually Gildo goes to look for her and he and Severo have a confrontation in which Severo is killed. Val wants them to go to the police but Gildo says that they must not say anything. His philosophy is "what is unsaid is undone" and he truly seems to believe that.

Rai comes back to the community for his father's funeral and to settle up matters regarding the farm. Gildo wants Val to get to know Rai in order to see if he suspects anything. Val reluctantly goes to a dance where she knows Rai will be. There is an immediate attraction and much to Gildo's displeasure Val and Rai fall in love with each other. In the meantime Genia has a growing suspicion that her father killed Severo. When Rai disappears both sisters think that their father killed him as well. I will not say another word because the film takes some interesting twists and you will have to see it for yourself in order to find out what happens.

The film is nicely directed by Manuel Gutierrez Aragon. He co-wrote the intriguing screenplay with Angeles Gonzalez Sinde. All of the acting is very good and Diego and Etura are exceptional. The Spanish countryside is beautifully shot by cinematographer Gonzalo F. Berridi.

I understand that this film was shown at The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Spanish Cinema Now series at the end of 2004. That is one of the few places to see the many wonderful films that are being made in Spain. It is a real shame because these films are much more worthwhile than the over-budgeted spectacles that are coming out of Hollywood. In any case, if you want to see a good film that you won't see at your local multiplex check this one out.

El Perro

This is a lovely, simple film from Argentina. It is directed by Carlos Sorin with great care from a screenplay written by Santiago Calori and Salvador Roselli.

Juan Villegas, who is also known as Coco (and is played by an actor named Juan Villegas) has just lost his job of 20 years. He worked at a gas station (that has just been sold) out in the Patagonia region. He tries to eke out a living by selling hand-made knives and doing odd jobs. He lives with his daughter, her husband and her children but he is not very happy about it. One day he helps a young woman who is having trouble with her car. To thank him for his good deed her mother invites Coco to tea and gives him a beautiful white dog named Bonbon (also known as La Chien). Bonbon is from a very good blood line and although he looks ferocious he is as sweet as can be.

Things start picking up for Coco. His daughter wants no part of the dog but he gets an offer to work as a security guard (with Bonbon). However, after a few hours he decides that is not for him. On his way to the bank he meets an executive that is very impressed with Bonbon. The executive gives Coco the contact information for a dog trainer named Walter Donado (also played by an actor with the same name). Walter has a lot of experience with dogs and before you can bark he enters Bonbon in a contest. Bonbon wins a prize and there is a great celebration that night. There are other things that happen but I don't want to give away any more of the plot.

It is to Sorin's credit that he cast these two men in their roles. They are perfect. Donado is boisterous and loud but his heart is in the right place. And Coco has such a kind face that you are just hoping that no one will take advantage of him. You can see from his expression just how much this lonely man loves his canine companion. Another person in the film that I like is Susana (Rosa Valsecchi) who is a dancer in a nightclub. She radiates a great deal of warmth and compassion. But my favorite character is Bonbon (played to perfection by a handsome hound named Gregorio) who is as wonderful as can be.

This is a small film and it is only playing at one theater in New York City. But I hope that people who are not able to see it on the big screen will see it when it comes out on DVD. It is a very worthwhile film and gives one relief from all of the trash that Hollywood is putting out these days.

DVD Review - Funny Games

Prior to seeing this film I had seen three of Michael Haneke's films - Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher and Cache (Hidden). Each one of these films is excellent. This earlier film left me with mixed feelings.

Anna, Georg, their young son and dog arrive at their lake house for a few weeks of vacation. As they drive by their neighbors' house things seem a bit strange. The neighbors do not appear to be themselves and there are some young men with them that Anna and Georg do not recognize. As Anna starts to unpack their food father and son go to check out the boat. A few minutes later one of the young men from the neighbors' house (his name is Peter) knocks on the door and asks Anna if he could borrow some eggs as Anna's friend needs them. Anna gives him the eggs but they fall on the floor and break. He asks for more eggs. Anna is perplexed but she gives him four more eggs. While he is waiting for the eggs Anna's cell phone "accidentally" drops into the sink which is filled with water. As time goes on Peter's friend Paul comes to the house and asks if he could borrow one of the golf clubs for a few minutes. Anna says yes but after a few minutes Anna becomes suspicious. By that time Georg and their son come back and all hell starts to break loose. Before you know it Peter and Paul have taken the family hostage and start to play a series of sadistic games. I won't say any more because I don't want to give things away.

This is definitely one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen (note: This film is in German. Haneke is supposed to make an English language version of the film starring Naomi Watts but I wonder if that is really necessary). The film is very suspenseful and I wanted to see what happens to the family. But at the same time I couldn't wait for the film to end. Haneke does a very good job of directing the film as each detail is played out perfectly. All of the acting is good and Susanne Lothar is outstanding as Anna. But I was wondering what the actual purpose of the film was. That was answered by Haneke himself in an interview that is on the DVD. He said that he is making a statement about how we are all being manipulated by violence in films (as indeed we are). This film is not for everyone. But the fact that I still get the chills thinking about it (hours after seeing it) means that it worked.

DVD Review - Neil Young: Heart of Gold

Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme filmed two nights of Neil Young performing at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The final product is a beautiful and moving music documentary.

Many of the songs are from Young's Prairie Wind CD. Young recorded the album a few days before he was to undergo surgery to fix a brain aneurysm. Most of the songs that he sings are reflective and his older tunes take on a new meaning. There is a song about his father who had recently died as well as a song about his daughter growing up and finishing college. There are also favorites like Old Man and Heart of Gold.

Demme does an excellent job of capturing the mood and look of the concert. Young has rounded up a fine set of musicians to work with. Among those joining him is the wonderful Emmylou Harris as well as his wife Pegi.

Young comes across as a man with great integrity (since this film was made he has released an album that is anti-war and anti-Bush). He is dealing with a subject that many find hard to deal with - mortality. But he does it with warmth and humor. The people that will most appreciate this film are those who like this gentle, lovely music and/or those who are in a certain age group. I fall into both categories so this film is right up my alley and I hope that there are many people who feel the same way.

A Prairie Home Companion

I must say that I was not impressed with the trailer for this film but I wanted to see it anyway because of Robert Altman, Garrison Keillor and the cast. I was pleasantly surprised because the trailer doesn't do the film justice.

The story is based on Keillor's long running radio show of the same name. It is folksy, corny, old-fashioned and warm. Keillor plays himself and he is a man who (at least in the film) has trouble showing any emotion. The show is performed live every Saturday night at the Fitzgerald Theater but this is the last show. A huge corporation located in Texas has bought the theater and is going to make it into a parking lot.

The film is narrated by Guy Noir (Kevin Kline) who is the security guard at the theater. There are a number acts that perform this night and they include the Johnson Sisters (Yolanda played by Meryl Streep and Rhonda played by Lily Tomlin) as well as the cowboy duo of Dusty (Woody Harrelson) and Lefty (John C. Reilly). Yolanda's depressed daughter Lola (Lindsay Lohan) even takes to the microphone later on in the show. There is also a mysterious woman in white hanging out at the theater (Virginia Madsen) who appears to be an angel. Towards the end of the show the Axeman (Tommy Lee Jones), who represents the corporation, comes to the theater. He is anxious for the show to be over. The fact that he was religious, from Texas and not much of an intellectual (he didn't know who F. Scott Fitzgerald was) is not just a coincidence.

Altman does a terrific job of directing his large cast. He has a knack for being able to work with ensembles (Nashville and Gosford Park, which were also ensemble pieces, are among his best films). Keillor's screenplay is intelligent and has a great deal of wit and heart. The whole cast is good with special kudos going to Streep and Kline. And I loved the music. Some of it made me laugh (the bad joke song that Dusty and Lefty sang) and some brought tears to my eyes (Red River).

This film is not a masterpiece but it is very good. Some have called it "minor" Altman but even "minor" Altman is better than a great deal of what is out there today. In a recent interview Altman said that the film is about death. And it is. But not just physical death (although there is some of that in the film). It is about the death of a way of life that used to be but no longer exists. It is obvious that Altman does not like this modern, technologically driven, 24/7 world (neither do I) and in a scene at the end of the film he makes it very clear (watch Lindsay Lohan's character Lola). Altman is 81 and I know that he has had some health problems. I do hope that he still has a few more films left in him because there is no one else like him out there today. In his review in The New York Times A.O. Scott said that the film might not be great but that it was wonderful. And it truly is.

DVD Review - Bubble

Director Steven Soderbergh's Bubble is an interesting experiment but it can hardly be called a great film. I admire him for doing something different but the results are mixed.

The story is located in a poor town in Ohio. The main action in the film happens in a doll factory. I liked the way there was so much detail given in showing how the dolls were made. It was even a bit scary when you saw how the eyes popped out of the sockets when they were put into the dolls.

There are three main characters in the film (which is very short - it clocks in at just 73 minutes). Martha is a middle aged woman who has been working at the factory for a long time. She lives with her elderly father in a small house. Kyle is barely out of his teens and works two jobs just to make ends meet. He lives at home with his mother. Martha and Kyle are friends and she drives him back and forth to work every day. They even have breakfast and lunch together. Things get a bit sticky when the factory has a big order that needs to get out rather quickly. A new person named Rose is hired and she soon becomes friendly with Martha and Kyle and even joins them for lunch. Rose has a young daughter from a failed relationship and after only working at the factory for a few days she asks Martha if she could babysit for her daughter so she can go out for the evening. Martha says yes and when she is there she discovers (to her surprise) that Rose's date is Kyle.

I will not go any further except to say that there is a murder. Because it was easy to figure out I felt that the film suffered from a lack of suspense. Someone on imdb had a different point of view on what actually happened. I thought about it for a while and although there is a slight possibility that things happened that way I tend to think that what we see in the film is what actually happened. The DVD has a deleted scene and alternate ending that gives us greater clarity into what was really going on.

The camera work is interesting but not exceptional. Coleman Hough's screenplay is just average and the character development is greatly lacking. The "actors" in the film are all really non-actors and seem to have more interesting lives than the characters in the film (they are interviewed on the DVD). Dustin Ashly as Kyle is just okay and Misty Dawn Wilkens as Rose is a bit better. But Debbie Dobereiner was actually quite good as Martha. We can read her thoughts just by looking into her eyes and that is saying something for a woman who has never acted before.

I don't know what Soderbergh will come up with for the other experimental films that he is going to make. I just know that the promise he showed many years ago is not being lived up to.
Since he won the Oscar for Traffic he has been making one mediocre film after another. I hope that he comes back to form with The Good German and Guerrilla but until I see these films I will have my doubts.

DVD Review - The Syrian Bride

Director Eran Riklis does an excellent job of bringing this film to the screen. Riklis co-wrote the screenplay with Suha Arraf so both cultures (and religions) are represented. The story shows how the personal and the political intertwine for people living in the Middle East.

Mona(Clara Khoury), who is part of the Druze community in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, is getting ready for her wedding. She is marrying a man who is a big television star in Syria.
This is an arranged marriage and she has never met the man. She has a lot of fears and doubts about this arrangement. The wedding will take place on the Israel-Syrian border and once Mona crosses the border to enter Syria she will never be allowed back into Israel (the same thing happens in the reverse - if one crosses the border to enter Israel they will not be allowed back into Syria).

The entire film takes place in one day and during the preparations leading up to the wedding we meet Mona's family. Her older sister Amal (Haim Abbass) is an intelligent, independent thinking woman who is married to an old fashioned man. Her daughters are also very modern. Mona's father (Makram J. Khoury) is very pro-Syrian and has spent time in jail for previous activities. One of Mona's brothers is a playboy who goes from country to country selling his wares. Another one of Mona's brothers lives in Russia and married a Russian woman who is a doctor. Because of this he is considered an outcast in the Druze village where most of his family lives. Mona's mother is old fashioned and still covers her hair (Mona and Amal do not).

As the wedding has been arranged months in advance you would think that things would go ahead without a hitch. That doesn't happen. Since this is the Middle East everything is complicated. I am not going to tell you why things don't go smoothly. You will have to see the film to find out. Most Druze who live in Israel consider themselves Arabs but they don't follow everything in the Muslim religion. Many Druze are loyal to Israel. However, the Druze who live in the Golan Heights consider themselves Syrian. This leaves them as a people without a national identity.

Riklis directs the film with a great deal of compassion and beauty. The screenplay is well written and the characters are real. All of the acting is good but the standout here is Abbass (she was also in Paradise Now and Munich). At the end of the film there is a scene in which we see her face convey many different emotions all at the same time. I look forward to seeing what this talented actress does in the future.

The film made me sad and angry at the same time. It is immoral not to allow people to go back and forth between Israel to Syria. Can you imagine the pain of those people who will not be allowed to see their loved ones again because of a political situation? The DVD contains an interview with Abbass. She is an Israeli Arab and she works with many Israeli Jews. She said that when they make a film together there is always cooperation and harmony between them. Let us hope that this feeling of goodwill extends to Israel and all of her Arab neighbors in the not too distant future.

Peace - Shalom - Salam

Al Gore Oscar Winner - An Inconvenient Truth

I must admit that I was not a big fan of Al Gore's when he ran for President back in 2000. I found him a bit of a bore. I also did not like his choice of running mate Joe Lieberman who happens to be as conservative as many Republicans (although they were both much better on the environment than almost all of the Republicans). I wound up voting for Ralph Nader and I do not take any blame for what happened because I live in a blue state and all of the electoral votes went to Gore. I do believe that Gore should have been President and that the election was stolen. That is a great shame for the United States but there is nothing that can be done about it now.

As time went on and Gore got over the pain of his loss (which is even more painful when it is really wasn't a legitimate loss). He became more progressive in his points of view and started criticizing the Bush administration regarding the war in Iraq. He also went back to his greatest passion which is the environment. He set up a slide show documenting the dangers of global warming and started to take it around the world. Davis Guggenheim's fine film follows Gore as he takes his show on the road and also tells us how Gore got the point where he felt that he had to speak out.

Most people know that Gore's son was critically hurt in a car accident and almost died. After his son recovered he decided he had to something to make the world a better place and that is when he started to speak out about the environment. Gore does a very good job of getting out the facts on global warming. For instance, I consider myself a pretty good student of geography but Gore said that a long time ago Africa and South America were joined together and one of the slides showed how they actually fit together. I never knew that I wondered how all of the water came to separate them. It was frightening to see what would happen if the ice keeps melting in either western Antarctica or Greenland. Let's just say that the areas that many of us live in would be under water. I am not going to get into any more facts because Gore explains it better than I ever could.

The film takes a few digs at the current administration and that is fine by me. Bush is so into religion that he seems to think that science is almost unnecessary. It is really a crime that the US did not sign the Kyoto treaty. The film is very frightening. It certainly is scarier than any horror film out there because this horror film could become a reality. But things can be reversed and we human beings are the only ones who can make this happen. I urge everyone, regardless if you are liberal or conservative to see this film. It may not be the best film of the year but I think that it will be the most important (and I do think that it is good enough to get an Oscar nomination in the documentary category).

Al Gore has repeatedly said that he will not run for public office again but if he should chose to make another run for the White House this time I will gladly vote for him.

Check out the website: www.climatecrisis.net

DVD Review - El Faro (The Lighthouse)

Two Argentine sisters are orphaned after a terrible traffic accident takes the lives of their parents and younger brother. The older sister Meme (Ingrid Rubio) is left with a lame leg and a big scar. Younger Ane shows no physical scarring but is filled with inner pain as she carries around a family photo album that she frequently looks at.

The sisters go to Uruguay to live with their aunt. That doesn't work out so they move on. Meme gets a job working at a restaurant owned by Andy (Ricardo Darin) who takes the girls under his wing. The very lonely Meme tries to have a relationship with a young man but he cannot bring himself to be with her because of her disability. This prompts her to leave and before you know it the girls find another place to live.

This time they meet Dolores (Norma Alejandro) who was a friend of their mother's. Neme shows a flair for designing clothing and helps Dolores sell things in a market. Neme also starts an affair with a married man who also sells his wares at the market. Things don't go her way and she finds herself and Ane moving on once again. Andy comes to the rescue and invites them to stay at his house on the beach (which happens to be near a lighthouse). But, things turn sour there as well and the girls are once again on the move. They go back to the city where Dolores and her brother Fernando live. Much more happens but I will not say anything else because I do not want to things for those who decide to see this film.

This is above all a story of pain and loss. It is also a story of new beginnings and trying to put your life back together after tragedy strikes. Eduardo Mignogna beautifully and sensitively directs the film from a script written by Graciela Aguirre and Jose Antonio Felez. Ingrid Rubio is a marvel as the depressed, high strung Meme. Jimena Baron is a real discovery as the child Ane and Florencia Betotti is very good as the young adult Ane. Also wonderful are Norberto Diazas Fernando, Norma Alejandro as Dolores and the great Argentine actor Ricardo Darin as Andy. This film won a Goya in 1999 for the best Spanish language foreign film. I rented the DVD mainly because I like Darin but I was surprised at how good it is. If you want to see a film that touches your heart I highly recommend this one.

The King

James Marsh has created a strange and interesting ride with his film The King. Young Elvis Valderez (Gael Garcia Bernal) is discharged from the Navy and decides to go to Texas and reunite with his father. The fact that he doesn't really know his father makes the prospect of meeting with him all the more important. We don't learn much about his mother except that she was Hispanic, had an illicit affair with his father (perhaps she was a prostitute) and that she is dead.

Upon his arrival in Texas Elvis decides to visit the Church where his father is now the spiritual leader. Pastor David Sandow (William Hurt) is a Born Again Christian and he has a wife named Twyla (Laura Harring), a son Paul (Paul Dano) and a daughter Malerie (Pell James). After the services are finished Elvis confronts David and even follows him home by car but David is not interested in getting to know his eldest son. Twyla, who knows about David's past, tells him that she always knew something like this would happen.

Not willing to give up, Elvis seduces the curious Malerie and they embark on an incestuous affair. He definitely has a plan. In the meantime the fanatically religious Paul teams up with some other religious students in his school in an effort to ban the teachings of Charles Darwin and introduce Intelligent Design into the curriculum. This idea goes nowhere fast as the science department in the school rejects it.

I cannot say another thing about the plot because that would be giving away too much. I will say that the film takes a good number of twists and turns that I didn't expect. There are some things in the story that I found to be not that believable but once I barred disbelief I really got into the story. Marsh wrote the screenplay with Milo Addica (Monster's Ball) and it is for the most part clever. The direction is pretty good but sometimes I felt that the film was a bit too stagnant and needed some air flowing through it. There is quite a bit of religious symbolism in the film. There is a white horse that appears from time to time but I haven't figured out what, if anything, that meant.

All of the acting is good. Bernal gives a fine performance as Elvis (who is not what he appears to be) and all of his emotions can be read through his eyes. But the real standout in the film is Hurt. His turmoil is so raw that it is sometimes painful to watch. He is truly one of our finest actors.

The film depicts Evangelical Christianity in a negative light. I don't have a problem with that because I feel that these people want to tell the rest of us how to live our lives (bringing religion into a public school is one example). Overall The King is a good but not great film. It may not be for every taste but for those who like dark, complex films that make them think this one will be right up their alley.