SIFF 2002 Films: R-Z
Published 7:00 am Monday, October 9, 2006
*recommended
RAIN U.S.A./Spain, 2000. Director: Katherine Lindberg Cast: Melora Walters, Jamey Sheridan Sat., June 8, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sun., June 9, 11:30 a.m., Harvard Exit
Sex! Murder! Redemption!
*READ MY LIPS France, 2001. Director: Jacques Audiard Cast: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos Fri., May 24, 7:00 p.m., Egyptian Sat., May 25, 4:00 p.m., Egyptian
This deliciously sinister thriller concerns a frumpy, partially deaf secretary (Emmanuelle Devos) who turns down her hearing aid when the world becomes too much of a problem. One day Paul (Vincent Cassel), a worn ex-con, shows up at her office looking for a job; for him, she turns up the volume. Yet love is the last thing on anyone’s mind as these two hardened outsiders gradually make use of each other to serve their thwarted ambitions. With a clever script and suspenseful camera work, Audiard and his two stars (both cast against type) put a new spin on the old tango between straight and underworld society. Leslie Cahmi
THE RED SQUIRREL Spain, 1993. Director: Julio Medem Sat., June 1, 1:45 p.m., Pacific Place
A suicidal man sweeps an amnesiac off her feet, finds love at the Red Squirrel resort.
THE REUNION Sweden, 2002. Directors: Mans Herngren, Hannes Holm Wed., June 12, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Sat., June 15, 11:30 a.m., Egyptian
Stockholm family man searches out high-school sweetheart. U.S. premiere.
RISOTTO Greece, 2001. Director: Olga Malea Tues., June 11, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Wed., June 12, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
Marriage sucks when you’re a sexy, working mother. Solution: Take the husband out of the equation.
LA ROUTE Kazakhstan/France/Netherlands, 2001. Director: Darazhan Omirbaev Mon., June 10, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Tues., June 11, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
A Kazak filmmaker with filmmaker’s block goes on a journey to see his dying mother.
THE RULE OF THE GAME Taiwan, 2001. Director: Ho Ping Fri., June 14, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sat., June 15, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
A cast of shifty men duke it out in the seedy underbelly of Taiwan. U.S. premiere.
RUNNING OUT OF TIME 2 Hong Kong, 2002. Directors: Johnnie To, Law Wingcheung Thurs., June 13, 7:00 p.m., Pacific Place Sat., June 15, 4:00 p.m., Cinerama
This comedy-thriller outdoes the original, which you might have seen at SIFF 2000. U.S. premiere.
RUTHIE & CONNIE: EVERY ROOM IN THE HOUSE U.S.A., 2002. Director: Deborah Dickson Mon., June 3, 7:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Wed., June 5, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
Two married women fall in love in 1950s Brooklyn, give up their families, and live happily ever after. (Shows with Swimming Upstream.)
THE SAFETY OF OBJECTS U.S.A., 2001. Director: Rose Troche Cast: Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Jessica Campbell Sat., June 1, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Mon., June 3, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place
From Go Fish director Troche, this is an ambitious, overlong look at the intertwining lives of four nice white suburban families that unsurprisingly turn out to harbor not very nice secrets. Close is believably stunned as a mother whose most intimate relationship is with her comatose son, who lies in his room symbolizing various things to various characters. Meanwhile, her teenage daughter (the lovely, round-faced Campbell) struggles with guilt about the night of the car wreck that left her brother a vegetable. Elsewhere, a lawyer hides the fact that he’s quit his job; the pool boy makes his innuendo-filled rounds; kids smoke cigarettes and play doctor, etc. The humming of lawn mowers underscores some interesting montages, and a boy’s obsession with his sister’s doll is very funny. But Objects doesn’t live up to its sweep, fails to attain any depth, and deploys a couple of cheap devices (saving the car wreck for the end, for one). B.J.C.
SASS Germany, 2001. Director: Carlo Rola Thurs., June 13, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Sat., June 15, 11:30 a.m., Harvard Exit
Set during Germany’s desperate, decadent Weimar period of poverty, hyperinflation, and political unrest, Sass builds squarely and unimaginatively upon our own Depression-era gangster folklore (ࠬa Bonnie and Clyde) as two burglar brothers become celebrated Robin Hood figures in Berlin. Given the Cabaret-like setting, Sass is surprisingly free of smut, although we do enjoy glimpses of sex, nudity, and topless mud wrestling in a swank nightclub. Violence is also tame by Coppola and De Palma standards, which keeps the tone of Sass PG-13 light. Elder brother Franz Sass is the brains of the outfit, while naive Erich is an ingenious safecracker, a demon with the acetylene torch. On their trail, a dogged-but-kindly cop eventually comes to respect the dutiful sons (who continue to live with their parents despite their ill-gotten riches). Meanwhile, Communists and Nazis are in the streets, romantic subplots abound, but it’s not enough to make Sass more than stolid entertainment. U.S. premiere. B.R.M.
SATIN ROUGE Tunisia/France, 2002. Director: Raja Amari Sat., June 15, 6:30 p.m., Pacific Place Sun., June 16, 11:30 a.m., Pacific Place
Repressed older woman finds passion in the cabaret. U.S. premiere.
A SAVAGE SOUL Chile/France/Belgium, 2001. Director: Raoul Ruiz Fri., May 24, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place Sun., May 26, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place
Based on Jean Giono’s novel, an adopted teenage sexpot rebels against her wealthy parents.
SECRET BALLOT Iran, 2001. Director: Babak Karimi Sat., June 8, 4:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Sun., June 9, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
Inspired by a short film by Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Afghan Alphabet, also at SIFF), Ballot begins with a scant premise in bleak island landscape out of Beckett. Two soldiers stand guard against unseen smugglers; then one reluctantly finds himself chauffeuring a woman (!) collecting ballots for election day. Like an eager door-to-door saleswoman, the unidentified city girl idealistically preaches the virtues of democracy to both the suspicious soldier and mostly indifferent populace. Yet rejection takes its toll over the course of a long, dusty day. (Our heroine is reproached, You ballots mean more to you than the people.) Fortunately, flashes of absurdist humor enliven Ballots often tedious pace. During their travels, the bickering twosome also gradually softens to each other. Noromance does not ensue (this is Iran, after all), but the movies sweet, sparse coda makes clear how much the soldier looks forward to the next election in four years time. B.R.M.
SEE YOU OFF TO THE EDGE OF TOWN U.S.A./Hong Kong, 2001. Director: Ching C. Ip Fri., June 14, 7:00 p.m., Cinerama Sun., June 16, 1:45 p.m., Cinerama
For a Hong Kong family, a trip to the Grand Canyon becomes a lesson in geography and life. World premiere.
*A SELF-MADE HERO France, 1996. Director: Jacques Audiard Cast: Mathieu Kassovitz, Jean-Louis Trintignant Sat., May 25, 1:45 p.m., Egyptian
The shy, undistinguished young protagonist of this slyly engrossing film spends WWII as a traveling linen salesman. When peace comes, Albert flees his own ignominy to Paris, where he confabulates the wartime exploits denied him. Diligently studying the papers and habits of real Resistance fighters, Albert begins an audaciously successful campaign to infiltrate their ranks, then is astonished to find how quickly they come to depend on his well-researched “memories.” Mixing contemporary mock-documentary interviews with Albert’s progress, director Audiard makes clear how easily the new political regime is duped by his prevarications. Played by Kassovitz as a young man and by Trintignant as a defiant old geezer, Albert is a hollow enigma to both the two women he eventually marries but also a buoyantly resourceful survivor (like the heroes of Zelig and Being There). Although the final outcome to Albert’s masquerade is a bit muddled, it doesn’t limit our enjoyment of his drolly amusing deceit. B.R.M.
SEX AND LUCIA Spain, 2001. Director: Julio Medem Fri., May 31, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Sat., June 8, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian
Woman investigates the past life of her deceased lover.
SHAG CARPET SUNSET U.S.A. (Seattle), 2002. Director: Andrew Mcallister Sun., May 26, 6:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Fri., June 14, 4:30 p.m., Cinerama
One of the inherent dangers in making a film about the boredom and lack of focus that plagues young, urban, creative types is, of course, that the end result will be boring and unfocused to watch. Sunset was clearly made with this awareness, and keeps things lively with plenty of diversions: public-access puppetry; medieval-themed roofing; Technicolor dream sequences; and lots of drunken shenanigans. McAllisters playfulness is good for a few solid laughs, yet its still not quite enough to rescue Sunset from its tedious pseudo-philosophical musings and hopelessly scattered final 30 minutes. (And there really could be a lot more puppetry.) The film was filmed locally, though, and makes excellent use of Seattles daunting graynessas well as some of its less-obvious icons. Ballards landmark Mikes Chili Parlor sign even gets some much-deserved screen time. World premiere. P.F.
SHERPA—UNSUNG HEROES U.S.A./India/Sikkim, 2001. Director: Win Whittaker Thurs., June 13, 4:30 p.m., Cinerama Sun., June 16, 11:30 a.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
We only saw the rough cut of this documentary, which has now presumably benefited from substantial tightening and polishing. It profiles the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, located in Darjeeling, India, and founded following the 1954 ascent of Everest by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay with Edmund Hillary. (The director’s uncle, Jim Whittaker, later made the first American ascent in 1963—also relying on Sherpa porters and guides.) Today the HMI serves as both an Outward Bound-style summer camp for soft urban kids and a training ground for a few ethnic Sherpas resettled in northern India since the Communist takeover of Tibet. We see routine footage of their boot camp-like immersion into the mountaineering life, which will mainly be of interest to trekkers and climbers. (The latter will snicker when one greenhorn loses her boot while attempting to prusik up a rope.) Sidestepped is how the HMI basically exists to train troops for India’s ongoing high-altitude border war with Pakistan. World premiere. B.R.M.
SHOPPING Belgium, 2002. Director: Philippe Boon Sat., June 15, 6:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sun., June 16, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
To her tightwad husband’s disdain, a woman learns the art of shopping. U.S. premiere.
SKIES SATELLITES Wed., May 29, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Sat., June 1, 11:30 a.m., Harvard Exit
Think Memento, but in postwar Croatia.
*SKINS U.S.A., 2002. Director: Chris Eyre Cast: Eric Schweig, Graham Greene, Gary Farmer Wed., May 29, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Thurs., May 30, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
Flash points of rage ignite two new films by Native American directors. In The Business of Fancydancing, a white motorist is randomly attacked by two Spokane Indians. In Skins, a liquor store catering to Indians from a dry reservation is torched by an Oglala Sioux who’s watched alcoholism destroy his family. After viewing the wrenching, essential Skins, you wonder why such acts aren’t everyday. Its rage simmers beneath a deceptively simple story of two Pine Ridge, S.D., reservation brothers: police investigator Rudy (Schweig) and the older, alcoholic Mogie (Greene), who’s father to a decent, neglected 17-year-old son. As Mogie’s drunken acts escalate, Rudy vents his anger and frustration in acts of vigilantism “for his people.” Yet ultimately this is a story of the most tender brotherhood. Far from perfect, Skins is something better: It’s unassailably real, brilliantly acted, and enough to crack the heart. S.B.
SMITH FAMILY U.S.A., 2001. Director: Tasha Oldham Fri., June 14, 2:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Sun., June 16, 1:45 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
AIDS brings a Mormon family closer together. World premiere.
*SMOKERS ONLY Argentina, 2001. Director: Ver�a Chen Sun., June 9, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sun., June 16, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian
Reni’s both jaded and idealistic in the way only 20-year-olds can be. The city (Buenos Aires) is a many-tentacled monster, the world breeds consumerism, and all she wants is to go far away. Luckily, her adolescent philosophizing is kept brief and delivered in Spanish—plus she’s beautiful in a brooding, indie-rock way. Smokers is the surreal chronicle of her descent into a nighttime underworld, impelled by a male prostitute she meets after watching him have sex in an ATM foyer. Their strange relationship gets stranger: He professes love is a commodity; she says she won’t pay for it. Seemingly overdone at first, Smokers‘ artistic camera work and slow pace work better as things get more and more foreboding. Both alluring and repellent, the movie is also improbably sexy, perversely gorgeous, weirdly soothing, and completely disturbing. The title, by the way, would be more aptly translated as “this train car for smokers,” which makes sense in the end. B.J.C.
SOFT FOR DIGGING U.S.A., 2002. Director: J.T. Petty Fri., May 24, 7:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Sat., May 25, 1:45 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
Much like Blair Witch (also filmed in the Maryland woods), Soft seeks an idiosyncratic take on the horror genre. In place of a shaky camera, a script that includes only three lines of dialogue—two of which are one word each—is employed here to set the mood. The story of a lonely old man who stumbles upon a gruesome scene while hunting for his runaway cat, Soft dispenses with big scares in favor of a slow haunt. Often, though, this no-budget flick shows a little too much restraint. It dawdles to its climax a bit too slowly, and the fine line between mesmerizing and tedious is hopscotched throughout. Soft screams film-school thesis from start to finish but at least shows there are things to learn at N.Y.U. P.F.
A SONG FOR MARTIN Denmark/Germany/Sweden, 2001. Director: Bille August Tues., June 4, 7:00 p.m., Pacific Place Wed., June 5, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
August’s latest is being correctly billed as “the Danish Iris,” since it’s also a tragic story of a love challenged and cut short by Alzheimer’s disease. Though the portrayal of losing your mind and dealing with someone who has is painfully realistic, August’s protagonists are so unlikable that it’s hard to summon the proper sympathy. Martin, a composer, meets Barbara, a violinist, while rehearsing his new music. They’re both married, but after their eyes lock over the music stands, they ditch their spouses with as much care as they flip the pages of their scores. Alas, their love is short-lived as Martin starts losing it and Barbara’s forced to become his nursemaid. Anyone who’s ever been cheated on shares a silent, vindictive cheer. Anyone who’s dealt with the nightmare of Alzheimer’s probably doesn’t want to relive it, leaving the potential audience limited to fans of the Danish countryside, which is lovingly depicted. A.V.B.
LA SPAGNOLA Argentina, 2001. Director: Steve Jacobs Mon., May 27, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian Tues., May 28, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian
An Italian family fights back when the patriarch runs off with an Australian temptress.
SPOOKY HOUSE Canada, 1999. Director: William Sachs Cast: Ben Kingsley Sat., June 8, 11:30 a.m., Pacific Place
Five kids sneak into a neighborhood house and make friends with its spooky inhabitant.
STRANGE FRUIT U.S.A., 2001. Director: Joel Katz Mon., May 27, 4:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Thurs., May 30, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
A documentary on Billie’s Holiday’s classic song.
STREETERS Mexico, 2001. Director: Gerardo Tort Sun., June 2, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Mon., June 3, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
Young lovers try to break out of inner Mexico City.
SUNSHINE STATE U.S.A., 2002. Director: John Sayles Cast: Timothy Hutton, Angela Bassett, Jane Alexander Sat., June 1, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian Sun., June 2, 4:00 p.m., Egyptian
No matter how fine his latest ensemble effort, John Sayles still cant find the right balance between pedagogy and artor between edification and entertainment, which is also lacking in State. What we have instead is a superbly cast, finely observed, and everywhere intelligent study of family conflict and tangled territorial history on Floridas northern coast. Edie Falco and Bassett are the two prodigal daughters of their respective clans, each with issues with their parents and checkered love lives in their pasts; but will they sell their family homesteads? Real estate developers (buzzards) are swirling in the air, along with an often hilarious chorus of golfers led by King. Richard Edson also scores some laughs as Falcos ex (A curse on the lot of you, he declares as a parade-float pirate with stuffed parrot on his shoulder), but Sayles just cant bring himself to surrender his agenda to mirth or sex. Yet, again, you respect his impeccable abstemiousness. World premiere. B.R.M.
SUPER-8 STORIES Germany, 2001. Director: Emir Kusturica Sun., June 2, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian Tues., June 4, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
Those unfamiliar with the Yugoslav pop music scenethis writer includedmay wonder why theyd want to sit through an hour and a half of the No Smoking Orchestras tour-bus antics, epic concerts, and backstage wrestling matches. But the first sign of payoff in this Monty Python-meets-the Dave Matthews Band-meets-Meeting People is Easy narrative comes when singer/director Kusturica (Underground) utters the phrase, May Hitler fuck his mother. These Slavs are funny. And entertaining. And they seem so much more real than the stateside chumps who hawk hilarity like its a chord progression they ripped off from a Spinal Tap song. The reason you care is because they do. The members of NSO, one of Yugoslavias most popular bands, parade around Europe like their jazz-and-gypsy influenced pop folk is the only thing that matters. And clearly, so far as theyre concerned, it is. L.L.
THE SUPPLEMENT Poland, 2001. Director: Krzysztof Zanussi Wed., June 12, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Thurs., June 13, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
A medical student leaves a monastery to find himself. U.S. premiere.
SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS Slovenia, 2001. Director: Saso Podgorsek Fri., May 24, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Sat., May 25, 11:30 a.m., Egyptian
You thought Welcome to the Dollhouse was brutal? Well, at least they had trees and color TV in Dawn Wiener’s New Jersey. Coming of age in the concrete wasteland that is Slovenia circa 1973, beanpole teen-ager Egon (Janko Mandic) dreams of someday owning a record player. First he must overcome a host of oppressors—including a penny-pinching mother (Veronica Drolc) who’s modeled herself after Lana Turner in Madame X and dresses her offspring accordingly; a sadistic gym teacher; and a Holy Roller grandmother on loan from Almod�. Despite its time-worn coming-of-age storyline and a predictable array of characters (the benevolent teenage rebel, the aging hippie, etc.), Dreams is consistently engaging, thanks to a streak of black humor that makes Solondz’s oeuvre look like Disney. Kurt B. Reighley
*SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS U.S.A., 1957. Director: Alexander Mackendrick Cast: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis Sat., June 15, 1:45 p.m., Cinerama
Here’s a definite festival must-see. With the incalculable aid of James Wong Howe’s noir photography, which makes N.Y.C. itself a central character, Success slices into a brooding Big Apple to reveal the gristle beneath the glitter. At his career best, Curtis plays Sidney Falco, a sycophantic press agent so hungry for the American dream that he gladly hands over whatever morals he has left to kiss the tuckus of Lancaster’s malevolent J.J. Hunsecker, a newspaper columnist—modeled on the once mighty Walter Winchell—with intimidating pull and a destructive yen for his cowed sister. The hard-bitten, tough-talking screenplay has an ecstatic sting; Clifford Odets’ oddball notions of the vernacular and Ernest Lehman’s seamless professionalism met very well here. Success keeps things swinging with a propulsive energy that matches its famously kinetic jazz score by Elmer Bernstein. Free! S.W.
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE South Korea, 2002. Director: Park Chan-wook Fri., June 14, 9:30 p.m., Cinerama Sun., June 16, 1:45 p.m., Pacific Place
A child kidnapping goes awry in South Korea. U.S. premiere.
SWIMMING UPSTREAM U.S.A., 2001. Director: Jennifer Freedman Mon., June 3, 7:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Wed., June 5, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
Karen and Jenny have it all: a lovely house, upward mobility, and a loving partnership. What’s missing? A little one to share it with. When Karen’s artificial insemination proves successful in this documentary, the two are then confronted with the pitfalls of pregnancy and their respective roles in the relationship. Girlie Karen, a Southern gal raised in a traditional Baptist family, makes dinner and does the dishes, while butch Jenny works in an office and wears overalls at home. Who will change the diapers? There’s not much new here, since the vast procession of gay-parenthood documentaries before Swimming have made the tribulations of same-sex parenthood more or less universal knowledge. But Karen and Jenny are a likeable enough pair, and their partnership raises interesting questions about the structure of families—and whether even “nontraditional” families can ever escape rigidly traditional roles. (Shows with Ruthie & Connie, see p. 17.) E.C.B.
TADPOLE U.S.A., 2002. Director: Gary Winick Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Stanford, John Ritter Tues., June 4, 7:00 p.m., Egyptian Thurs., June 6, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian
New York critics are being too hard on the short, sweet Tadpolea May-December romance and Sundance darlingbecause its not of greater Woody quality or Whit Stillman caliber, but this misses the appeal of its small charms. Woodys recent efforts have been awful and Stillmans MIA; its up to films like The Royal Tenenbaums, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tadpole, and Igby Goes Down (also at SIFF) to keep aloft the flag of proud, smart N.Y.C. self-absorption. And Tadpole, a.k.a. 15-year-old Oscar, is nothing if not self-absorbed. His unrequited love for his stepmother (Weaver) hints at a precocious nature that draws another Mrs. Robinson type (Bebe Neuwirth) and leads to sundry sexual complications during a Thanksgiving break from prep school. Pointedly comparing his hero to Voltaires Candide, director Winick never lets pretension get in the way of simple comedy (stolen kisses, missing sideburns, etc.). Oscars more innocent than he knows, and Tadpoles wiser than its cuteness implies. B.R.M.
TAKE CARE OF MY CAT South Korea, 2001. Director: Jeong Jae-Eun Sun., May 26, 6:30 p.m., Pacific Place Mon., May 27, 1:45 p.m., Pacific Place
Five twentysomething girlfriends meet adulthood.
TEENAGE HOOKER BECAME KILLING MACHINE IN DAEHAKROH South Korea, 2001. Director: Nam Gee-Woong Fri., May 24, midnight, Egyptian
A young prostitute is impregnated and killed, then brought back to life as a vengeful RoboHooker.
TEKNOLUST U.S.A., 2002. Director: Lynn Hershman-Leeson Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Davies Fri., May 24, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Tues., June 11, 7:00 p.m., Cinerama
Four times Tilda Swinton equals four times the fun, right? Well, the math isnt so simple or rewarding in this San Fran-set cloning comedy, in which Swinton number one, a well-meaning but dweebish scientist who looks like Joyce Carol Oates, replicates herself in three color-coded spinoffs. Clad in red, Ruby has most of the fun, cruising the city for anonymous sex (never shown) to collect the sperm her two cell-sisters require to live. Her green- and blue-costumed sibs spend most of their time whining to mommy via a microwave-TV set apparatus (you explain it), which also helps disguise Teknolusts no-budget special effects. (Only occasionally does one Swinton share the screen with another; three come together for a brief dance via blue-screen, not CGI). Haiku Tunnels Josh Kornbluth stands out among Rubys plague-infected victims, but no performer could redeem Teknolusts biotech buzz words and fizzled futurist satire. The future looks like Sleeper, only without being remotely funny. B.R.M.
TEMPTATIONS Hungary, 2001. Director: Zoltan Kamondi Thurs., June 6, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sat., June 8, 11:30 a.m., Harvard Exit
If you’re one of those tedious people who thinks foreign films are just so brilliant, hustle out to this piece of dreck, where you’ll waste 91 minutes of your life being bored out of your skull. You’ll also be tempted to drive nails into your eyes by such wildly creative cinematic techniques as only using color film stock during the intense emotional moments (wow!) and the bold, courageous move of having the 10-year-old act as sexual aggressor (shocking!). If you must know the plot of Temptations, it’s about a 19-year-old trying to connect with his real father, deal with his stupid girlfriend, help a young Gypsy girl, and a bunch of other crap. A.V.B.
13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING U.S.A., 2001. Director: Jill Sprecher Cast: Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Alan Arkin Sat., May 25, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Wed., May 29, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place Conversations trots out a plethora of characters in N.Y.C. who end up connecting in pointedly unlikely ways (a hit-and-run accident, etc.) in an all-too-overt exploration of the depressing nature of modern life. Intertitles offer pat concepts to ponder (“Ignorance is bliss”) as the script bludgeons you with declarations on luck, happiness or the lack thereof, and fate. Every scene is laden with blatant visual symbolism (a pen exploding in a breast pocket and the red stain subsequently spreading across someone’s heart, for example); then the camera lingers to make completely, absolutely sure that you get it. A strong cast, including John Turturro, Amy Irving, and Alan Arkin, does its best to get out from under the writing and leaden philosophizing, to only some avail. It’s an overambitious, over-self-conscious film—and way too damn long for what precious little it has to say. B.J.C.
13 MOONS U.S.A., 2001. Director: Alexandre Rockwell Cast: Steve Buscemi Fri., June 7, 7:00 p.m., Egyptian Mon., June 10, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian
Just another L.A. night for two clowns, a crazy Santa, and a bail bondsman.
TOKYO NOISE Sweden, 2001. Directors: Kristian Petrik, Jan Roed Mon., June 10, 7:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Tues., June 11, 4:30 p.m., Cinerama
A documentary investigates Tokyo’s culture. World premiere.
THE TRIP U.S.A., 2002. Director: Miles Swain Sat., May 25, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Sun., May 26, 4:00 p.m., Harvard Exit
Homosexuals of America, rejoice! Yes, your long struggle for equality has finally resulted in a practically PG-rated tale of love, betrayal, and teary reconciliation that even the Disney Channel would consider too sappy for broadcast. Spanning some 14 years in an on-again/off-again relationship, Trip dares to offer heartfelt schmaltz, three-hankie melodrama, and completely desexualized romance without a hint of recognizably naughty—much less recognizably human—behavior. Republican closet-case Alan falls for dashing activist Tommy in ’73. Before long it’s “I hate you!” followed by passionate kisses (again, no sex). A committed relationship follows until ’77 when Alan’s old homophobic writing is discovered. Flash forward to ’84, when Alan’s now the activist and Tommy’s “ill” in Mexico (cough-cough like Camille)—can our boys get back together in time? Jill St. John is the sorriest gay icon available to play Alan’s lovable fun-drunk mother. (Was Liza so unaffordable?) To paraphrase Richard Pryor, this shit’s so bad it’ll turn you straight. B.R.M.
*LA TROPICAL U.S.A./Cuba, 2001. Director: David C. Turnley Sun., May 26, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Tues., May 28, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
A more sensual cousin to Buena Vista Social Club, this documentary tells the story of Havana’s dance club of choice for the city’s poor black population. Beautifully photographed in black-and-white by its photojournalist director, La Tropical is divided into vignettes revolving around the musicians, dancers, and patrons who give the eponymous club its flavor. Many of the portraits are affecting character studies, yet the structure is still loose enough to allow director Turnley to also address broader issues of racial, sexual, and class politics so central to Cuban life. Fortunately, though, music and dancing never recede from the fore. Whether you know a rumba from a salsa from a timba is irrelevant; the constant flow of hips and sweat is the big attraction here. The feast of limbs in motion will make you want to dance—or at least make you wish that you knew how. P.F.
TURNING PAIGE Canada, 2001. Director: Robert Cuffley Tues., May 28, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Fri., May 31, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
A young writer’s brother forces her to see things as they are.
24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE Great Britain, 2002. Director: Michael Winterbottom Fri., May 31, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Sat., June 15, 6:30 p.m., Egyptian
It’s not every day that a hagiography portrays its subject as a complete prick, but Michael Winterbottom’s frantic depiction of BBC television host Anthony Wilson (Steve Coogan), who ran influential English post-punk label Factory Records and Manchester nightclub the Hacienda, is a rare exception. Fond of bravado like, “Jesus didn’t hand out tickets for the Sermon on the Mount; people just showed up because they knew it was a good gig,” Wilson was an egomaniac with a talent-spotting knack (Factory’s Joy Division, and its later incarnation as New Order, are among the most influential bands of the past quarter-century). Yet he was an abysmal businessman whose dedication to art wound up costing him more than the considerable amount of money he earned. People is irritatingly scattershot, though studded with good performances. U.S. premiere. Michaelangelo Matos
*TWO TOWNS OF JASPER U.S.A., 2002. Directors: Whitney Dow, Marco Williams Mon., May 27, 6:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Sat., June 1, 6:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Fri., June 7, 2:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
Film crews divided into two teams—one white, one black—to shoot this soul-baring portrait of a small Texas town where the lingering wounds of Jim Crow are ripped open by the infamous 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr. The resulting documentary captures astonishing candor in coffee shops, beauty salons, and the homes of both the victim and his killers. The people of Jasper wrestle with their racist heritage in complex, poignant moments nearly impossible to script. Some viewers may be horrified to hear old-timers casually admit, “We called them niggers, but it didn’t mean anything.” Still, the residents’ quilt of racial attitudes defies easy stereotypes. We meet a tattooed Aryan who perceives the pointless grandstanding among both whites and blacks. There’s no explosion following an exchange between one killer’s brother and Byrd’s family because the guilt and confusion are real, not made for TV. Jasper is the rare documentary with scenes affecting enough to watch repeatedly. Kevin Fullerton
UZUMAKI Japan, 2000. Director: Higuchinsky Sat., June 1, midnight, Egyptian Mon., June 3, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian
Sex, paranoia, and the end of the world in a creepy, superficial town.
VERSUS Japan/U.S.A., 2001. Director: Ryuhei Kitamura Sat., May 25, midnight, Egyptian
Taking inspiration from samurai and sci-fi flicks, spaghetti westerns, horror movies, Jackie Chan, and smooth-camera blockbusters like The Matrix, Versus stylishly tells the tale of escaped prisoner KSC2-303. The subtitled film follows KSC2-303 and his cohorts as they travel through the Forest of Resurrection searching for a secret portal and staving off their former captors, random rivals, and a pack of gun-wielding corpses. And, of course, there’s a magical maiden awaiting the victors. Throughout, KSC2-303 is disarmingly handsome, ridiculously cool, and tough as nails. However, Versus‘ story is more video game than narrative. All too often the film’s imagery—bearing a cultish Tokyo Chainsaw Massacre vibe—is too over-the-top. When the copious killing and shock-value schlock slows down, the movie follows suit. Roughly translated: When KSC2-303 and company are not fighting, you’re not really entertained. Laura Learmonth
VIRGINIA’S RUN U.S.A., 2002. Director: Peter Markle Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Joanne Whalley Sat., May 25, 11:30 a.m., Pacific Place
Young girls like to ride horses.
WALKING ON WATER Australia, 2002. Director: Tony Ayres Wed., June 12, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sun., June 16, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
Three friends deal with change (that is to say, death).
WAR LIVE Serbia, 2001. Director: Darko Bajic Wed., June 5, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Thurs., June 6, 4:30 p.m., Pacific Place
Even as an incarcerated Milosevic continues to harangue and intimidate the World Court in the Hague, the former Yugoslavia is still coming to grips with its recent war-torn past. In this fictional work set in late ’99, a smooth Belgrade producer, Sergei, attempts to keep his fledgling private film studio afloat while shooting a movie as NATO bombs fall around him. A government thug hovers nearby to ensure that Sergei’s American star isn’t allowed to outshine this latest production, “a Balkan Romeo and Juliet,” which paradoxically becomes more and more jingoistic to protect the North Carolinian Harvey Jackson’s financial investment in the venture. “Film is a powerful weapon,” enthuses Sergei, but his physician wife wants to flee for Germany, and his fractured crew protests his cozening up to the fascist government agent Mileta, who’s policing the production. Caught in the middle, what can the Pontiac-driving Sergei do? Angry, despondent, and absurdist, Live provides no easy answers. B.R.M.
THE WAY WE LAUGHED Italy, 1998. Director: Gianni Amelio Thurs., May 30, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place Sat., June 1, 1:45 p.m., Egyptian
In postwar Italy, two brothers’ fates diverge.
WHAT ABOUT GOD? U.S.A., 2001. Director: WGBH Fri., June 7, 12:00 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
The final installment of Nova‘s eight-hour PBS series on human evolution addresses the really big questions: How can God exist if evolution is true? When did humans acquire a “soul”? Is there a God, or are we alone in the universe? Such issues are framed as a debate between so-called evolutionists and Christian “special creationists” who believe that, after Adam and Eve, the fossil record was subsequently created in a cataclysmic flood. The made-for-TV format sweeps aside some of the nuances of this discussion, and the focus on young Christians—at an Indiana high school and an Illinois Bible college—limits it to fairly elementary, science-vs.-Satan terms. Those seeking really big answers won’t find them here. E.C.B.
WHISPERING SANDS Indonesia/Japan, 2001. Director: Nan T. Achnas Wed., June 12, 4:30 p.m., Cinerama Thurs., June 13, 9:30 p.m., Pacific Place
A young woman awaits her absent father’s return. U.S. premiere.
WHO THE HELL IS BOBBY ROOS? U.S.A., 2001. Director: John Feldman Tues., June 11, 4:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall Wed., June 12, 9:30 p.m., Broadway Perf. Hall
A stand-up schizophrenic comedian, that’s who. World premiere.
THE WILD BEES Czech Republic, 2001. Director: Bohdan Sl᭡ Fri., May 24, 9:30 p.m., Harvard Exit Sat., May 25, 11:30 a.m., Harvard Exit
What happens to a remote Czech village once freed from the tedium-inducing strictures of the Communist regime? Sadly, the answer is still more tedium—only of a slightly more aimless variety. The tone of Wild Bees is intentionally bleak: Smiles are rare; booze is for breakfast; and monstrous middle-aged whores are the primary source of recreation. The unyielding gloom is intended as comedy, but unless people repeatedly calling one another “idiot” is hilarious to you, the laughs are spread awfully thin. Lada, a man obsessed with Michael Jackson, does a fine turn as the village, well, idiot. Yet, oddly, this joke isn’t stretched as far as it could be. Bozka (Tatiana Vilhelmova), Lada’s spectacularly bored girlfriend, is oddly compelling, but that’s probably because everyone else in Bees is so staggeringly unappealing. The clouds lift a bit towards the end of the picture, but by then we’re past caring. P.F.
WILD FLOWERS Czech Republic, 2000. Director: F.A. Brabec Wed., June 5, 7:00 p.m., Harvard Exit Thurs., June 6, 4:30 p.m., Harvard Exit
Few can be expected to know the 19th-century Czech poet Karel Jaromir Erben, on whose works Flowers‘ seven episodes are based. Combining folklore with a certain surreal yet sexual morbidity, Erben’s stories suggest both Poe and Kafka. A lake-dwelling demon lover seduces a maiden, then won’t let her flee. A red-haired beauty’s jealous stepsister and mother chop her to bits, but magic saves the day. A young widow prays for the return of her dead soldier husband, then comes to regret her piety. Since these tales are spoken in verse and framed with a young flute-playing boy cavorting about, Flowers‘ never-never land quality can seem cloying and inscrutably foreign. But if you’re inclined to take the Brothers Grimm and Bruno Betelheim seriously, these odd fairy tales offer moments of beauty and bizarre portents of death. “I scoff at superstition,” one girl declares, not realizing the power of such enduring beliefs. B.R.M.
WINNING GIRLS THROUGH PSYCHIC MIND CONTROL U.S.A., 2001. Director: Barry Alexander Brown Cast: Bronson Pinchot, Amy Carlson Sun., June 9, 6:30 p.m., Pacific Place Sat., June 15, 1:45 p.m., Pacific Place
Serge has come a long way in the 18 years since Beverly Hills Cop. Unfortunately for Pinchot, its not far enough in this slim supernatural/showbiz comedy. He and Ruben Santiago-Hudson (a Tony winner in August Wilsons Seven Guitars) are likable as the down-on-their-luck lounge musicians who hit upon a psychic act when the latter, a Puerto Rican drummer, begins channeling voices from the beyond. That premise might sustain the low-budget, shot-on-video comedy, but Controls script unfortunately devolves into relationship psychodrama as Pinchots pianist pines for his torch singer ex (Third Watchs Carlson). Just help me get my life back, Pinchot implores the paranormal Conductor whose deep baritone abruptly emanates from the startled drummer. Forget the life or the girla wiser request wouldve been for a better movie. Its unclear if Pinchot or Carlson do their own singing; regardless, Control never finds its own voice. World premiere. B.R.M.
WRITTEN ON THE BODY OF NIGHT Mexico, 2000. Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo Mon., May 27, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian Wed., May 29, 4:30 p.m., Egyptian
A teenage boy’s hormones rage in a household crowded with women.
*YELLOW ASPHALT Israel, 2000. Director: Danny Veret鼯I> Sun., May 26, 4:00 p.m., Pacific Place Tues., May 28, 7:00 p.m., Pacific Place
The nomadic Bedouin tribes of Israel’s occupied West Bank populate the three vignettes in this searing anthology film. The triptych relates stories that are as stark, elemental, and powerful as the arid landscape of the Judean desert. In one chapter, terrified Israeli truckers negotiate with Bedouins after a traffic accident. In another, the German-born wife of a Bedouin seeks repeatedly to escape an unhappy marriage and take her daughters with her. In the third and longest segment, an Israeli farmer’s adultery with his Bedouin maid leads inexorably to blood and atonement, like a film noir in broad daylight. The Bedouins’ unforgiving moral code gives dignity to the tribe but keeps it obdurately apart in a fast-modernizing country. Asphalt depicts its Bedouin subjects—all played by nonprofessional actors—as being terribly stoic, principled, and aloof at the same time, an almost inscrutable yet admirable people. Says one elder, “To live in both worlds . . . that cannot be done.” B.R.M.
THE ZOOKEEPER Czech Republic/Denmark/U.K./Netherlands, 2001. Director: Ralph Ziman Cast: Sam Neill, Gina McKee, Om Puri Sun., June 9, 1:45 p.m., Pacific Place Tues., June 11, 9:30 p.m., Egyptian
There’s no denying the power of director Ziman’s images as his camera prowls a zoo caught by civil war in an unnamed Balkan city, nor of the forcefulness of Sam Neill’s presence as its world-weary zookeeper with a troubled past. Ludovic elects to stay at his dangerous post when the rest of the staff flees. When Ludovic’s loyal veterinarian (Puri) disappears, he finds two dangerous trespassers: a beautiful and violated refugee mother and her preteenage son, who’s turning into an assassin before her eyes. If visuals and good intentions were all, this solemn twist on man’s inhumanity to men and animals might work, but the characters are so heavily symbolic that they never get a chance to breathe. As for the primates and big animals, seemingly terrorized by fire and explosions, Ziman recently answered a worried film-festival questioner by explaining, “They were circus animals.” Ahhh. S.B.
