Married Life

Director Ira Sachs (he also co-wrote the script with Oren Moverman) has created a suspense film/comedy that keeps you guessing, is funny, sexy, great to look at and well acted.

The story revolves around Harry (Chris Cooper) and Pat (Patricia Clarkson). They are middle aged and have been married for a long time. But Harry is not fulfilled. He longs to be really loved and he has met a woman that is able to do so. Her name is Kay (Rachel McAdams) and she is a war widow. Oh, I should say that the story takes place in the late 1940s. He wants to leave Pat but doesn't know how. Harry's best friend is Richard (Pierce Brosnan) who is not the marrying kind. He has many different women. But Harry knows that he can confide in him. He even introduces Kay to Richard. Richard takes a fancy to Kay. Harry comes up with a scheme of how to get rid of Pat. And Pat has a secret of her own. And that is all I will tell you.

The film captures the feeling of that time period to a tee. The story is very engrossing. And all of the actors a great. Cooper and Clarkson are totally believable as a long time married couple. And I give Brosnan a lot of credit for finding interesting projects to work on post-Bond.

All in all, this is a terrific little film and I urge you to see it while it is in theaters. If you can't do so then definitely rent it on DVD. You won't be sorry that you did.

Under the Same Moon

Director Patricia Riggen has created a sweet, heartwarming film about a mother and a son with the issue of immigration in the background.

Nine year old Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) lives with his grandmother in Mexico. His mother Rosario (Kate del Castillo) lives in Los Angeles and works in several jobs as a maid. You see, Rosario is an illegal immigrant. She send money home and works in the US so that Carlitos has a better life. But she hasn't seen him for four years.

After his grandma dies Carlitos decides to got to LA to see his mother. But his journey isn't an easy one. It is filled with a number of obstacles. Along the way he meets several people who help him in his plight. Most notable is another illegal named Enrique (Eugenio Derbez).

The film is very well acted. But it doesn't delve deep enough into the problem of illegal immigration. Ken Loach's Bread and Roses does a better job of this. However, we still see the problems of that these poor folks face. On one hand, we can't just let everyone into the US without there being some kind of documentation.
But you really have to feel sorry for these people because all they want is a better life. On the other hand, why aren't their countries giving them better lives? I wonder what the answer to that question might be. This certainly is a very tough issue. And when people come to this country it doesn't mean that their lives will be that much better either. They can be treated like dirt but they can't complain to anyone.

Another note - I recently saw another film involving a mother and child theme (of sorts). It is a Brazilian film entitled The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (nothing to do about immigration). And while Moon is a good film Vacation is a better one.

DVD Mini Review - Strange Culture

Strange Culture is a fascinating and disturbing documentary directed by Lynn Herschman Leeson. It is the story of the arrest of Steve Kurtz. And for legal reasons actors Thomas Jay Ryan, Tilda Swinton and Peter Coyote play some of the real life characters.

Kurtz was a professor at Buffalo University. He was also a part of a performance group. Part of his artistic media were petri dishes with gentically modified foods.
Kurtz's wife dies suddenly of heart failure. The medics who arrive are suspicious and soon the Feds are brought. And Kurtz is arrested! Yes, I said arrested!! He is charged with possessing weapons of mass destruction. Also arrested was Robert Ferrell who supplied him with some of his materials. As of this date, Ferrell pleaded guilty and got minimum sentencing. He has been quite ill during this ordeal.
Kurtz is trying to clear his name.

This is a must see film. What is lacks in technical prowess it makes up for with being an informative document on how life is in America since 9/11. It is an absolute outrage that these men were arrested. People should speak out against this.
I highly recommend this film to all of you who believe in freedom and democracy. I intend to follow his case and see what happens to him.

The Girl of Your Dreams

Fernando Trueba's The Girl of Your Dreams was made about ten years ago. But it never had a proper release in the US. But you can see this terrific film on DVD.

A troupe of Spanish actors leave Spain beause Franco will not allow film production to flourish. So where do they wind up - Nazi Germany. The film they are making is a co-production with Germany. At first things were great but they soon find out what is really going on and they are appalled by it.

The film is at times humourous, which works even though the subject a dark one. Penelope Cruz is great at the leading lady Marcarena. I also liked Antonio Resinos as the producer Blas. And playing the leading man is the marvelous Jorge Sanz (I wish we had more info about him over here). A real treat was seeing Hanna Schygulla as Frau Gobbels.

The film shows just how close the Spanish and the Germans were. They spouted the same propaganda in different suits. I highly recommend this film for those of you who like to think about (and talk about) what they see.

The Counterfeiters

Just when you thought that you heard all of the Holocaust stories Stefan Ruzowitzy comes along with his Oscar winning film The Counterfeiters (and, yes, it deserved to win).

The Counterfeiters is a true story of the biggest counterfeiting ring in the world.
Master counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) is arrested in Berlin in 1936. Because he is a Jew he is sent to a concentration camp. But after several years the arresting officer comes to the rescue. He has Sorowitsch transeferred to a special unit where the men have bunks with linen to sleep on. All of the men in this unit have a special skill. And one day they are commanded to make up conterfeit pounds and dollars. Yes, they go along with this to survive (although one of them is willing to give up his life for his principles). And Sorowitsch, who on the outside seems only interested in survival, has his own ways. We get to know these men and care about them.

This is an amazing story and makes us ask ourselves "how far would we go to survive?"
Markovics is excellent as the lead and all of the other actors are terrific as well.
And Ruzowitzy is wonderful director and I remember just how much I liked his previous film The Inheritors (which was also nominated for an Oscar). I highly recommend this touching film to everyone.

DVD Mini Review - Lake of Fire

Tony Kaye's documentary Lake of Fire, about the abortion debate, is quite a feat. It is a little over two and a half hours long and shot in black and white. It is a bit too long but nonetheless it is quite impressive.

Both sides are given equal time. Among the interviewees are Alan Derschowitz, Noam Chomsky, Peter Singer, Nat Hentoff and Randall Terry (as well as others). Many who are against abortion are very religious Christians. Some of the leaders used to be members of white supremacist groups.

I am pro-choice but I don't think that making a decision to have an abortion is an easy one. It is not like having a cyst removed. I find the anti-abortion extremists very scary.

I really wanted to see this film and I am glad that I did. But I don't know if I learned anything that I didn't already know.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

This screwball type comedy is directed by Bharat Nalluri and written by David Magee and Simon Beaufoy. It takes place in pre-war London in the late 1930s.

Miss Gwen Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) is a governess who loses her job. When she goes to the agency that got her the job she is told that she is unemployable. She takes a card that she sees on a desk and goes to the address that appears on it. She thins that it is another governess job but it is really a job as a social secretary to Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams). And what a busy life Delysia has - she is pursued by three men (played by Lee Pace, Tom Payne and Mark Strong). But only one of them really loves her. To find out which one you will have to see the film.

Miss Pettigrew is a lovely, old fashioned style film. Both McDormand and Adams are terrific. And there are wonderful performances by two actors from across the pond - Ciaran Hinds and Shirley Henderson (as an on again, off again couple). The cinematography by John de Borman is outstanding and captures the look and feel of London back then. And the big band music adds so much. Although the film is a comedy you can see a bit seriousness in it due to the fact that the upcoming war is mentioned everywhere.

I liked this film and I liked how it ended. See it if you (like me) enjoy charming period pieces with good acting.

Taxi to the Dark Side & Paranoid Park

Due to time constraints (once again) and tiredness I am going to write just a few word about two very worthy films that I saw today.

Alex Gibney's Taxi to the Dark Side won this year's Oscar for Best Documentary. It is a film that everyone, especially Americans, should see. The film starts out with the arrest of an Afghani taxi driver named Dilawar. Dilawar is taken to Bagram prison on trumped up charges. He is tortured and five days later he is dead. The film moves onto the infamous prisons Abu Gharyb and Guantanamo. We learn that habeas corpus (or the right to a trial) is dead. Throughout the film there are interviews with a number of soldiers who participated in the torture of prisoners. Even when they are convicted it is for misconduct and never torture. Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and George Dubya Bush all went along with this. But they all deny that the US tortures people. It is proven that if someone is tortured and in enough pain they will confess to anything (I just watched the DVD of the wonderful Goya's Ghosts - my second viewing since I saw it in the theater last summer - and torture is explored in that film). Sadly, there were only two other people in the audience when I saw the film. The United States should be ashamed of itself and Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others (along with Henry Kissinger) should be tried in an international court of law for crimes against humanity. But people in general should also be ashamed because they are not seeing this important film.

Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park is his best film in quite some time. I have not liked his last few films. Gerry is interesting but messy. Elephant was okay but certainly not worthy of winning the top prize in Cannes. And I loathed The Last Days. But I really liked Paranoid Park. Van Sant adapted it from a book by Blake Nelson. It is the story of a young skateboarder named Alex (Gabe Nevins). Alex is obsessed with skateboarding and one day he goes to Paranoid Park - which is where some very grungy but but good skateboarders practice their sport. But things get sticky when Alex gets involved with an accidental murder. I won't say more but the film held my interest and is suspenseful. And the cinematography is outstanding. But that is no surprise since the film was shot by master cinematographer Christoper Doyle. I recommend this one to all of you who like small, quirky films about people who seem ordinary but are not.

It's a Free World

Any new Ken Loach movie is an event. At least to me it is. And his latest film, It's a Free World, is no exception. As usual the film is written by Paul Laverty and produced by Rebecca O'Brien.

The story is a deceptively simple one. Angie (Kierston Wareing) works for a London based agency which recruits immigrants for various jobs back in the UK. When the film starts Angie is working in Poland. Because of an incident that was not her fault Angie is let go from her job. Needless to say, she is fuming. She decides to start her own agency and enlists the help of her friend and roommate Rose (Juliet Ellis). Her agency tries to get jobs for both legal and illegal immigrants. But the sensible Rose does not want to get mixed up with illegals.

Angie has a son named Jamie (Joe Siffleet) who lives with her parents. He wants to live with her but it is not possible. Along the way Angie meets a Polish immigrant named Karel (Leslaw Zurek). They like each other but because of their circumstances a relationship is out of the question.

I will not say more about the plot. The film raises some questions. Why do these immigrants go to Western countries for opportunities? They are made poverty wages and are treated poorly. Why don't their countries provide decent jobs for them? How can we be compassionate to immigrants and at the same time save the jobs of home grown workers? The performances are all good and Kierston Wareing is just wonderful.

I saw this fim on IFC Festivals on demand on Time Warner Cable. I suggest that you check it out. Hopefully, you will feel the same about it as I did.

DVD Mini Review - Slipstream

Slipstream is a most unusual film. It is written and directed by Anthony Hopkins and he stars in it as well. Hopkins plays screenwriter Felix Bonhoeffer who is in the middle of writing a screenplay. But somehow the characters in the screenplay and people in Bonhoeffer's life are becoming one and the same. Sometimes you don't know what is real and what is not. The film is a bit of a puzzle.

Slipstream is also a satire on the film industry and Hollywood. At times it is quite funny. For instance, John Turturro plays a mad, power hungry producer named Harvey Bricman (Harvey Weinstein anyone?). There are a number of well known actors in the film including Turturro, Christian Slater, Michael Clarke Duncan, S. Epatha Merkerson, Camryn Manheim, Jeffrey Tambor, Fionnula Flanagan and Hopkins' wife Stella
Arroyave.

The film is very trippy (Lynchian) and great to watch. I really liked it. But it is not for everyone. Slipstream did not get good reviews and it only played in the theaters for a week or two. But it is a film that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The Other Boleyn Girl, The Band's Visit, The Duchess of Langeais

I saw three films this weekend and because of time constraints I am putting my thoughts on them (a few sentences each) in one post.

The first film I saw was The Other Boleyn Girl. The film is based on a novel by Philippa Gregory (which I must read). The film is directed by Justin Chadwick and the script was written by Peter Morgan. It is about the well known Anne (Natalie Portman) and her lesser known sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson). The Boleyn family needs a boost so Anne is elected to charm King Henry (Eric Bana). But when he comes to visit the family he falls for her recently married sister Mary. And that is when things get sticky. Henry has given up having a male heir with his wife Katherine (Ana Torrent) so he is looking for someone else to give him one. Ah the treachery of it all. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I am a sucker for period pieces. Both Portman and Johansson were very good. Torrent was wonderful in her small role. But the best acting in the film is done by Kristin Scott Thomas as their mother Elizabeth and Mark Rylance as their father Thomas. Jim Sturgess was also fine in the small role of their brother George. There are two main problems with the film. First, Bana is not charismatic enough to play Henry. They should have cast someone else (I would have to think about who that might be). And second, the film is rated PG-13. I think an R rated film would have been much better. A bit more passion would have been great. But the film is very interesting and the costumes and sets are beautiful. I do recommend it.

The second film I saw it the Israeli film The Band's Visit. This is a gentle, low key comedy about a police band from Egypt that is supposed to play at an Arab cultural center. The band loses its way is given some wonderful hospitality by some Israeli folks they meet along the way. The film was written and directed by Eran Kolirin and has won numerous awards at festivals around the world. Although the film is primarily a comedy there are hints of sadness and loneliness throughout. We see that no matter where people live and no matter what culture they are from they have all suffered heartache at one time or another. The acting by the two leads - Sasson Gabai as bandleader Tawfiq and Ronit Elkabetz as Dina - is marvelous. They both have very expressive faces. The film does not mention politics at all and to me it is beautiful way to bridge some of the differences that the two people have. Hopefully, this film will show that people are more alike than different. Highly recommended.

The last film I saw is The Duchess of Langeais based the novel by Honore Balzac. I saw it on Movies on Demand and I must say that I did not like it. It is directed by Jacues Rivette and I liked his previous film Va Saviour. But this one was not up to par. The story is about Antoinette(Jeanne Balibar) who is a Duchess. She meets the General Armond (Guillaume Depardieu) and he falls for her. They have some kind of relationship but the film doesn't give us much to go on. And that is a major problem. Rivette got good performances out of both actors but there isn't any chemistry between them. And talk about the lack of passion. The film doesn't have any. I understand the book (which I want to read) is filled with passion. So what happened to the film? I was waiting for a display of some sort but none was to be found. You never saw the Duchess's husband the Duke. Did he even exist. All of the actors, including the wonderful Michel Piccoli and Bulle Ogier, are wasted in the film. And the pace is glacial. Not recommended.