Signs and Wonders

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="549" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="545"><div> Trapped in freedom</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Alec Fenton: Stellan Skarsgard</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Katherine: Deborah Kara Unger</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Marjorie Fenton: Charlotte Rampling</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Siri: Ashley Remy</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Andreas: Dimitris Katalifos</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Director: Jonathan Nossiter</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: A husband tries to find himself by having an affair; the wife is tolerant but will take only so much; and one of their children has her own ideas about how to reunite the family.  </div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Alec Fenton (Stellan Skarsgard), a self-described "voluntary American," lives in Athens with his American born wife Marjorie (Charlotte Rampling) and their two children. He is a commodities trader on assignment from the United States. He's particularly attached to their daughter Siri (Ashley Remy), with whom he shares an affinity for looking for signs and premonitions; finding them in odd places like the round shapes of man-hole covers or the number of covered cars and motorcycles they spot on the city's streets. From this mixed assortment of symbols Alec draws conclusions about life.  </div> <bR> <div> Alec has an affair with a co-worker, Katherine (Deborah Kara Unger), in part because she's beautiful and available, but also because she is young and generates a passion that he no longer feels with Marjorie. As we learn more about Marjorie, one might suspect that the lack of passion in the marriage is from his deficiency of imagination and effort rather than hers. Marjorie is content to do what she thinks he wants, even after he voluntarily admits to his affair, which seems to be a surprise; although we get the feeling it may not be the first time. Perhaps he has promised to change his ways in the past.</div> <bR> <div> What Alec really wants is to not "feel interchangeable." Katherine makes him feel special and unique. This somewhat airhead notion has him first leave Marjorie and move to the US with Katherine, only to want to reconcile with Marjorie a few months down the road.</div> <bR> <div> By that time, Marjorie has developed a relationship with political activist Andreas (Dimitris Katalifos) and she wants no part of Alec as a lover, although she does love him. She now also loves Andreas and this is the man that she sleeps with and may one day marry. Marjorie is of Greek ancestry and she connects with a man who is passionate both in bed as well as in his political ideals.</div> <bR> <div> When Katherine learns she is pregnant after Alec has left her, <I>Signs and Wonders</I> looks like it could become a 21<FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" >st</FONT> century version of <I>Fatal Attraction</I>, when Katherine appears potentially violent as she becomes paranoid with her desire to learn more about Marjorie and her family. Marjorie knows more than she lets on and Siri is a child whose dark eyes and quiet demeanor hide a mind that is thinking all the time.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Deborah Kara Unger adds a sexual dimension to the film that she hinted at in <I><B>Hurricane </B></I>and trumped all recent sexual performances in her role in <I><B>Sunshine.</B></I> This is the woman that should have been in <I><B>Center of the World.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> In some ways <I>Signs and Wonders</I> reminds me of <I><B>Memento,</B></I> in that I'd like to see it again. The difference is that I'd probably get more out of it in the second viewing than was the case with <I><B>Memento.</B></I> <I>Signs</I> is a little confusing in places with the quick cutting as you try to figure out the status of various relationships and who may have done certain things. For example, we see a sign on the window of a store that duplicates keys and it's not clear if one or more people, Alec, Katherine or Siri enter the store. </div> <bR> <div> The feel of the movie is surreal because it's <I>so</I> real. We see streets and locations in Athens that are not for the tourist, but the resident. In the latter part of the film, when Marjorie and the children are on a trip to meet Andreas' relatives, the scenery is reminiscent of Yosemite and Glacier National Parks. </div> <bR> <div> Much of what the film has to say speaks to the world in which we live. Everyplace seems the same, as we see the culture of the world dominated by product symbols such as McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Wendy's. Have military tanks been replaced by fast food containers as the symbol of real power? In this environment, can one truly express oneself as an individual and express complicated desires? Director Jonathan Nossiter believes that you cannot, because you are being manipulated. I see the signs and I wonder to what extent this is true. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="591" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> Not Rated (sex; nudity; violence; language)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> George O. Singleton © 2001</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="587"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Stellan Skarsgard: Dancer in the Dark</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Deborah Kara Unger: Sunshine</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Charlotte Rampling: The Wings of the Dove-TV</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Ashley Remy: One True Thing</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><div> Dimitris Katalifos: Safe Sex</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Jonathan Nossiter: Sunday</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>