Wojaczek

 “Wojaczek (1999)” is an irreverent and wickedly funny film that can be roughly classified as an absurdist biopic. It will be play at the Gene Siskel Center on Saturday September 29 at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday October 4 at 8:15 p.m. 

It’s part of “Landscape of Dreams,” a series spotlighting the cinematic works of the inventive poet/painter/film maker/producer, Lech Majewski . The series will be running at the Gene Siskel Center from September 8 through October 4. 

In the US, Majewski is best known for writing the screenplay for Julian Schnabel’s visually arresting art biopic, “Basquait.” But he also made his own series of austere, abstract, and highly idiosyncratic films such as The Knight (1980), Angelus (2000), and Glass Lips (2007), all of which will be screened this month (“Glass Lips” is so strange that it’s worthy of Cocteau) . 

Lech Majewski himself will be present for a discussion with the audience after the Sept. 29 screening of “Wojaczek.” 

“Wojaczek” has some of the most artful black and white photography since “The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001),” and the abrupt transition shots are often accompanied by loud booming noises which serve to decenter the viewer even more than the story.  

“Wojacek” is about a mentally unstable and self destructive poet. The film is based on the life of Rafal Wojaczek, the great Polish poet who took his own life in 1971 at the age of 26. Wojaczek inspired future generations of Polish poets who struggled against the shackles of communism. 

Interestingly enough, instead of using an experienced actor, the film stars a modern poet, Kryzystof Siwczyk, who is utterly convincing in the title role. In his debut, he even managed to get nominated for  best actor at the European film awards. 

Rafal Wojaczek, is depicted as an iconoclastic rebel in the film. When he isn’t writing great poetry or making profound statements, he is creating chaos or trying to kill himself. The only three people who seem to be able to tolerate any prolonged exposure to him are Mala, a caring nurse and  Wiktor, an old drunk. 

In a very early scene, Rafal gets caught by a family member with his head in the oven-trying to kill himself in a Sylvia Plath like manner. His sense of hunor is also morbid, and  he tells a grave digger, “Bury me. I’m dead already.” 

The utterly spontaneous Rafal does anything he wants at all times-- like having passionate sex standing up with his nurse girlfriend, Mala, in the hospital. This happens right after she berates him for not going to church with her. 

Rafal’s erratic behavior seems to be in part a response to communist oppression and repression, and there is some sly political commentary in the film. At one point, we see a sign which reads “The Party Steers All Energy,” and the film jumps to an ironically placed scene with a couple pushing a car. 

The make- it-up-as-you-go-along aesthetic and the grainy look of the film reminded me of Vincent Gallo’s works, but “Wojaczek” has a decidedly original vision.  In today’s world of cookie cutter films, it’s increasingly rare to see a film that is so startlingly unconventional and boldly infomercial.  

Goya's Ghosts

 Set in Madrid in 1792, Goya’s Ghosts is exquisite in its artistic production, thanks to the cinematography of Javier Aguirresarobe and set design by Emilio Ardura.

The well to do seem to be doing quite well until young and beautiful Ines Bilbatua (Natalie Portman) is at a gathering at a tavern where she declines to dine on a small roasted pig. Word gets back to the Catholic Church that she may be a Jew. She’s brought before a flock of red robed monks and after little civility her interrogation turns to horror. Ines is subjected to the tortures of the Inquisitors. Her naked body is hung from a rope, her arms stretched to the breaking point, as she is asked the same questions repeatedly. In great pain and confusion, Ines “confesses” to her “sins.” For this she is imprisoned in a fetid dungeon. 

Ines’s face and form was often an inspiration to the painter Francisco Goya (Stellan Skarsgard), as he painted his angels. Goya also enjoyed the patronage of the royal family and the Catholic Church. For this reason Ines’s father Tomas (Jose Luis Gomez) asks Goya to help secure Ines’s release. Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), one of the sycophant monks of the church, has commissioned Goya to paint his portrait, and he does intervene but rather than helping Ines, he helps himself to her. Ines remains locked up and Brother Lorenzo repeatedly rapes her. Tomas Bilbatua does carry out a revenge on Lorenzo.

Fast forward 15 years and we find that things have gotten worse for many rather than better. The Inquisition meant torture and death as the norm of the day.

We see the Roman Catholic Church lose its power when the French become conquerors. Later, England joins forces with Spain and they are able to throw out the French. The head of the Church, who had been in prison, is back on the throne. Ines has been set free, with many others taken by the Inquisition, and she has the faint memory of a child that was taken away from her. Unfortunately, she is on a well-worn path of insanity, never to be the charming young woman of 15 years ago.

There is, however, a beautiful young woman of 15 named Alicia (also played by Portman), who works as a prostitute. This is who Ines and Lorenzo’s daughter has turned out to be.

Now Brother Lorenzo wants nothing to do with Ines, as she would ruin his charmed life with his wife and family. Unlike most biopics about an artist (e.g., Pollock), this film is not really about Goya. It’s about the people around him. Artists capture observations on society and that is the main role of Goya. We see the world through his eyes.

Milos Forman’s film Amadeus (winner of eight Oscars) carries through better on closer inspection than Goya’s Ghosts. There are pits and falls in casting and story here.

George’s Take: The plot holes in the film did not distract me because of how strong the history was about the Inquisition, Spain, England and France. The dual role played by Portman was to me an unnecessary part that did not add anything to the film, other than to show that Portman is an excellent actor. Having a true teenager play that dual role would have been more realistic.

Pam’s Take: I was with the film until the 15 year jump. Then it was all over the place and I was not as engaged in the characters as I had come to expect. By the way, though Natalie Portman is usually a favorite of mine, I disagree strongly with George on her performance here. I felt she did little more than contort her face to the side and slur her speech a bit.

Overall, the acting is good and the attention to period detail is exceptional. Possibly the film was overly ambitious, yet for anyone interested in the topic, it’s well worth seeing. 

 L'Iceberg

Fiona (Fiona Gordon) is the manager of a fast food restaurant, and she and her husband and two children are bored stiff with their suburban routine, though they seem content. That is, until she accidentally gets locked in the store freezer in the process of closing one night. 

The tone of the film is set with the slapstick that begins with the entrapment into the freezer. After a night where she’s almost as frozen as a hamburger, Fiona’s hypothermia causes her to first become irrational, followed soon after by an obsession with things that are cold, such as snow, polar bears, refrigerators and icebergs. 

Encouraging Fiona’s irrational behavior is the fact that after not coming in until her husband and children have gotten up the next morning, dressed, and left the house, they have not noticed that she never came home. Her family is deep into each of their own “me, myself and I” attitudes. 

For reasons we might not want to admit we understand, Fiona climbs into the back of a frozen goods delivery truck and heads off for the iceberg of her dreams. Soon her husband follows, when he realizes what he’s missing. When he becomes jealous of the deaf, lovesick sailor Fiona has hired to sail her to the iceberg the film has the possibility of becoming very dark. Everyone is passionate about getting what they want. 

Throughout, this quirky comedy delves into the psyche of how we think and what makes us tick. Using satire from the film Titanic, the movie retains its lighthearted tone. 

At some time we have all dreamed of walking out on the life of today for the greener grass (or, in this case, the frozen tundra) on the other side of the world. Fiona does it with no regrets. Tying everything together are a man and a woman looking for love that they find in the strangest of places.  

With the feel of a theatrical production at times, the scenes at sea capture the risks that each character takes to find the meaning of life.

 Trade

Preview

Adriana (Paulina Gaitan) is a 13-year-old girl from Mexico City whose kidnapping by sex traffickers sets in motion a desperate mission by her 17-year-old brother, Jorge (Cesar Ramos), to save her.

Trapped and terrified by an underground network of international thugs who earn millions exploiting their human cargo, Adriana's only friend and protector throughout her ordeal is Veronica (Alicja Bachleda), a young Polish woman tricked into the trade by the same criminal gang.

As Jorge dodges immigration officers and incredible obstacles to track the girls' abductors, he meets Ray (Kevin Kline), a Texas cop whose own family loss to sex trafficking leads him to become an ally in the boy's quest. Fighting with courage and hard-tested faith, the characters of Trade negotiate their way through the unspeakable terrain of the sex trade "tunnels" between Mexico and the United States.

From the barrios of Mexico City and the treacherous Rio Grande border, to a secret internet sex slave auction and the final climactic confrontation at a stash house in suburban New Jersey, Ray and Jorge forge a close bond as they give desperate chase to Adriana's kidnappers before she is sold and disappears forever into this brutal global underworld, a place from which few victims ever return.   

Roadside Attractions is partnering with David Batstone’s Not –For-Sale Campaign as part of their promotion for the upcoming film release, TRADE.

Not-For-Sale Campaign is a national faith-based event taking place across the country with the hopes of raising awareness and mobilizing faith communities about the problem of human trafficking in the United States. This multi-media presentation will feature speaking, music, action-oriented content, footage and commentary, and clips and information about TRADE. TRADE, starring Academy®Award winner Kevin Kline, is set to open on September 21, 2007.

The film, inspired by “The Girls Next Door,” Peter Landesman’s chilling NY Times Magazine expose on the U.S. sex trade industry. TRADE’s involvement in Batstone’s presentation will only further represent the point that human trafficking continues to be the “moral battle of our time” that we must do something about.

The Invasion

 

Psychiatrist, Dr. Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) is a single mother raising her young son. After some of her patients and her ex-husband begin to act strangely, she knows that something is more than just a little amiss. 

Not long before these bizarre events begin to take place, a disastrous space shuttle re-entry results in widespread wreckage and a foreign organism is released on Earth. It becomes effective in people after they’ve been exposed, often by mouth to mouth vomiting (uuh!), and the person falls into a deep sleep. When the body is most at rest, the immune defenses are at their weakest. Once the organism takes hold, people still look to be themselves, except that they show no emotion. The only upside to this is that people become docile and non- aggressive. War and killing might become passé, but that won’t happen until any people that resist the invasion are converted or eliminated. 

With Carol’s boyfriend Ben (Daniel Craig, the new James Bond), along with genius scientist Dr. Galeano (Jeffrey Wright), the ingredients are assembled for a taut horror film with a lot of drama. The Galeano role was on point. Ben’s role was underwritten (not underacted). He has an edge that if not utilized, detracts from the film. The good guys do win, but with the outcome never being in doubt, a part of you wishes the alien spores really had been an invasion rather than an infection that gave you a slight fever (28 Weeks Later this is not).  

It was probably with the success of horror films Birth and The Others that made Nicole Kidman think that a remake of the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers would resonate with audiences.  

With a decidedly tepid weekend opening of $6 million dollars, the interest level was quite low. Although well acted, the story was only partially engaging. While we are not sticklers on trying to find production errors in films, we take issue with major productions such as this that have sloppy editing. When Carol is running away in the tree-lined suburbs one moment, she’s crossing a busy city intersection the next. The message sent is that if you are trying to pay attention to the fantasy, why bother, as it does not make any sense. At this point, it was mental tune out time (e.g., The Contract). Add this to the perpetual state of beauty by Kidman regardless of how many rough and tumble escapes she makes, and horror never quite invades this frightfest. 

December Boys 

December Boys is a bittersweet coming of age film in the tradition of Stand by Me. The film takes place in Australia in the 1960s, and was mostly shot in the outback. 

This satisfying little treasure was directed by Rod Hardy, which is somewhat surprising. Hardy previously directed the ludicrously over-the top Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, one of the very worse spy movies ever. 

December Boys tells the story of four orphans who are very close friends. They are called the December boys because all of them were born in December. As the years go by, the boys watch other orphans become adopted, while their own chances for finding foster parents keep diminishing (most people want to adopt younger kids). 

The Reverend Mother in charge gives the boys a gift, and sends them off on a vacation by the sea. They meet Fearless (an ex motorcycle stuntman), and his lovely wife, Teresa. They seem like they would make perfect parents. The couple can’t have kids of their own due to a bike accident, and they consider adopting one of the boys. 

When the three younger boys find out, they compete for the couple’s affection. The older boy has given up on the idea of adoption, but he has other things to occupy his thoughts. He begins a torrid love affair with a local teen girl who makes him feel like a man for the first time.  

The friendships of the boys become strained, and viewers can’t quite be sure that they will remain friends after the trip. We can only hope for the best. The boys occasionally see glimmering visions of the Virgin Mary, which help them get through their ordeals. 

December Boys does not quite rise to the heights of Summer of ’42, but it contains many special moments, and breath-taking landscape scenes that would make any one want to visit Australia. 

 The Jane Austen Book Club

 The ads will assure you that you don’t need to have read the six Jane Austen novels to enjoy this film.

Do not believe them.  Even a casual knowledge of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey will not give the viewer a full understanding of this dialogue-heavy relationship drama. You just need to know the books (or at least the movie versions) to really get it.  Otherwise this is a talky, self-conscious movie that will truly make you feel illiterate.

Six is the magic number here. Six California friends take the six Austen novels and over six months discuss them in their newly-formed book club. The idea began with Bernadette (Kathy Baker)—married and divorced six times—who starts the group as a diversion for her friend Jocelyn (Maria Bello) who is mourning the loss of her beloved dog.  The group expands with Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) who has discovered that hubby Daniel (Jimmy Smits) is having an affair. Bernadette meets and invites Prudie (Emily Blunt), an uptight (surprise!) French teacher who has never been to Paris.

Sylvia’s lesbian daughter, reeling from a disastrous break-up, joins the group, as well as the token male—Grigg, brought in by Jocelyn to soothe the bereft Sylvia. Of course, Grigg is smitten with Jocelyn, not Sylvia.

And so it goes. The film is divided into six parts, for each novel and each month it is being discussed.  It is no surprise that the 21^st century lives are paralleling the stuff of Jane Austen’s storylines. But clearly it would be much more satisfying to really comprehend how they align via a recent reading of this 18^th century literary titan’s works.

On its own, this is a chick flick at best, with rambling discussions of the novels taking place in parks, living rooms¾everywhere. As each character expounds, the audience assumes that life is imitating art somewhere along the way. It is just a wee bit fuzzy if you haven’t read the book and comes off as more of an inside joke between the actors (who, ironically, probably haven’t read the books either…).

Without a solid understanding of Austen’s works, the film is left with its present-day plotlines—the usual trauma of relationships that get tied neatly at the conclusion.  Nothing extraordinary here, but the addition of the book club can be seen as a unique plot device—even though it is somewhat of a conceit. 

Worth seeing for its stellar cast, The Jane Austen Book Club boasts genuinely heartfelt performances, with Kathy Baker’s Bernadette—the glue of the group—most notable.

Director Robin Swicord makes her major directorial debut here after scripting film versions of several famous female-driven novels: “Little Women,” “Matilda” (Roald Dahl) and “Memoirs of a Geisha,” as well as “The Jane Austen Book Club,” which is based on the hit chick lit novel by Karen Joy Fowler.

Not a date movie by a long shot, not a guy movie by a mile, The Jane Austen Book Club has limited appeal. Best seen by well-read women, this movie truly flies if you have done your homework.  

King of California

 An odd little film that fancies itself as an ode to Don Quixote, The King of California has Michael Douglas abandoning his usual GQ debonair for the scruffy disheveled look he sported in The Wonderboys. Absent from a quality film (I am not counting The Sentinel) since 2000 when he whammied audiences with both the aforementioned Wonderboys and the riveting Traffic, Douglas’ role here is somewhat befuddling, given the script's offbeat storyline.  

Douglas--all wide-eyed with long sandy hair and a beard and moustache to match--plays Charlie, the irresponsible father of 17 year-old Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood). Plagued with bipolar disorder and confined to the Santa Clarita Department of Behavioral Health for two years because of a suicide attempt, Charlie opens the film with his release from the mental institution to his daughter's care. Abandoned by her mother, Miranda has lived on her own since 15, quitting school and making ends meet by working at the local McDonald's. Her reunion with her pie-in-the-sky dad is bittersweet¾she has finally attained some normalcy to her life and her father's reappearance is akin to a cyclone hitting the living room.  

No sooner has he re-entered her life than he is ranting about naked Chinese men emerging from the Pacific. And within a short time, Charlie has embroiled her in a plot to uncover a Spanish treasure (circa the 15th century) that is supposedly buried under the local Costco, which, according to Charlie, "has everything!"    

Okay, so that's the Don Quixote connection¾delivered with sledgehammer delicacy by newbie writer/director Mike Cahill. To Cahill's credit, his screenplay was a finalist in the 2004 American Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest. Clearly, there was something of value on the paper. Obviously, something was lost in the transfer to the screen.  

Actually, it is the addition of numerous product placements (something I doubt was written in the lauded script) that detracts from this character-driven saga about the troubled relationship between a father and daughter.  

Really, did the treasure have to be buried beneath the rocking horse section  (more Don Quixote) of Costco?  Do we really need Charlie's tirade on the reason Applebees is so popular, with its neon sign blazing in the background? (Apparently it soothes the public's fear of the unknown). Petco gets more-than-usual airtime, as well as Chunkee Cheese, not to mention the numerous shots of McDonald's (with Miranda in uniform as well) since Miranda is a McD employee. 

Call me hypersensitive, but this crass commercialism distracts from the movie big-time.   

Dissecting the nuances of the relationship between an estranged father and his daughter certainly is not the fodder of original storylines. But throwing in Charlie's lunacy and his daughter's attempt at an adult life in spite of him does make for some interesting interplay. It is too bad that the plot gets tangled in this Spanish treasure thing¾a bit too unbelievable for my tastes—with a melodramatic ending that belongs on daytime television.  

The real treasure here, however, is Douglas' performance as the eternal optimist with a dream. It is easy to see how he got lured into this project. It is a one-man show with Oscar written all over it. Evan Rachel Wood—usually a stellar performer--cannot match the adrenaline level of her co-star and seems comatose by comparison. But I guess Don Quixote's sidekick seemed pretty boring by comparison as well.   

This Michael Douglas showcase is not worthy of your ten bucks and a big screen but it is worth a look. Save this one for your DVD rental list.  

 Good Luck Chuck

Chuck (Dane Cook, Dan in Real Life) is a dentist, who never quite made it past frat pack maturity. And he just can’t seem to make a commitment to a woman with those three little words, “I love you.” At the wedding of a former lover, the bride toasts Chuck, saying that he was her good luck charm to finding her soul mate. Word soon gets around that if a woman lets Chuck bed her the next man in her life will be the right one to marry. 

At that same wedding, Chuck is seated next to Cam (Jessica Alba), a penguin biologist at the local zoo. He wants to ask her out for dinner but she’s not emotionally available at the moment. Part of her charm, in addition to her beauty, is her clumsiness. 

For Chuck the story runs on a double rail. He’s gradually making progress with Cam and he’s taking advantage of his good luck. Suddenly his waiting room is filled with beauties, looking for that spark of good fortune that he can bring. But when he’s about to get where he wants to be with Cam, Chuck realizes that her good luck will be his bad luck, as he wants to be the guy for her. 

George is almost ashamed to admit that he wasn’t as put off as he thought he’d be by this gross out movie about not so young adults trying to find their way in the world of sex and love. The physical comedy by Alba continued to surprise in a good way. The subtext of obesity was admirable in how it was shown, especially with Reba (Ellia English who appeared in 97 episodes of The Jamie Foxx Show). 

Cook and Alba were funny on their own but with Dan Fogler’s total political incorrectness and great timing, one couldn’t help but laugh. Like Superbad, this is a pretty good movie. 

 Sydney White

Amanda Bynes (of What a Girl Wants) is overly cute in her role as Sydney White, in this updated version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Sydney’s a college freshman trying to fit in, by pledging her mother’s sorority, and making a run for Student Body President against Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton). Rachel’s last name tells you all you need to know about her. Of course, she’s a beautiful blond. 

Sydney and Sara vie for the eye of hot man on campus, Tyler (Matt Long of Ghost Rider). Things work out much as one would expect in the end, after the usual series of hurdles along the way.  

In the ilk of Nancy Drew, this teen chick flick has enough bad characters to flood central casting. Sara, along with the nerds that Sydney shares housing with, plunges this puppy to a level of lame that puts it in the direct to TV mode.  

The political correctness in the movie is almost enough to make you gag. That said, the thing that most hampered the film was that Sydney White was just far too cute for college 2007, even a freshman from small town USA.  

 License to Wed

Sadie and Ben (Mandy Moore & John Krasinski) are the perfect couple and they want to be married by Reverend Frank (Robin Williams). He’s booked for the next two years, except for a space of time during the next three weeks. However, before he marries a couple, they must pass his pre-marriage counseling course. Hence, the title License to Wed. 

In the first counseling session, which seems more like a 12 step meeting than a light hearted talk about marriage, Sadie and Ben don’t know how to pursue conflict resolution because they’ve never had an argument. In looking at other couples, where arguing is the norm rather than the exception, we know things are about to change. The other challenge is that Sadie and Ben now live together and part of the course requires abstinence.  

Most of the gags are on par with a good TV sit-com, in that the plot never gets out of second gear. One-liners are the norm. To our surprise, we liked the chemistry between Moore and Krasinski but thought that the creep factor from Williams and choirboy (Josh Flitter of Nancy Drew) put a chill on the film. 

The eavesdropping done by Reverend Frank and his sidekick choirboy added a feeling of Big Brother to this comedy, which significantly detracted from the comedic elements. Add a host of other situations that are meant to be funny (but unfortunately are not), such as Sadie driving blindfolded, while being directed by Ben, per the instruction of Reverend Frank, and you have a lame movie. 

 Ocean's 13

Double crossing casino owner Willy Banks (Al Pacino) figuratively stabs Rueben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) in the back on the deal for his new Las Vegas casino. Rueben is devastated financially and his old friend Danny Ocean (George Clooney) decides to use all his resources, his smarts and the old gang of contacts to break the new casino’s bank on opening night. Ocean’s eleven is back in business. 

Danny also convinces another sting victim and competing casino operator Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) to help bankroll his master plan. The plan includes rigging games and simulating an earthquake at just the right moment, so that after the guests become huge winners, the quake drives them from the casino with their pockets bulging. 

Director Steven Soderbergh orchestrates the plot and his team of operatives from Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve, into an entertaining heist film, with some great special effects. Danny Ocean and his crew pull off near Mission Impossible tasks, and offer a number of small laughs along the way.   

The franchise may be tapped out, however. As the saying goes, ‘know when to hold, and know when to fold.”   

 The Mist

Based upon a Stephen King story, the mist rolls down the mountain (from the general direction of a mysterious military installation), creating a devastating storm and a black out. Bad things happen in the blink of an eye. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his young son Billy (Nathan Gamble) drive into their small hometown in Maine to buy emergency supplies at the supermarket.  

Tagging along with them is a city weekender, Brent (the eloquently intense Andre Braugher), who is condescending to the locals. Although he and David have never liked each other, things may be on the mend because the storm allows them to see the things they have in common.  

While they’re in the store the haze thickens, making it impossible to see beyond the glass doors. A local bursts in, bloodied and shouting that there’s something horrible in the mist. Some think they are trapped by a supernatural threat, while others treat that notion with disdain. Doubts disappear when a young store clerk is dragged off by montrous probing tentacles when he volunteers to clear an air duct from outside the loading dock. Marcia Gay Harden, a fanatical evangelical wannabe, known as Mother Carmody, finds this a perfect opportunity to preach about the end of the world and God’s retribution. She alludes to the “locusts” of the bible as huge insect-like creatures crash through the windows.   

The religious zealots, whipped up by Carmody, and the pragmatists, who seek an ethical and hopefully practical solution (and escape) go at each other. Questions of morality, pure intention and pure faith are posed at the end of this powerful Stephen King story.   

Andre Braugher delivers a standout cameo performance. He is one of the finest actors around, and not seen nearly enough on screen. Marcia Gay Harden’s (Into the Wild) role as an evangelical is absurdly realistic.   

Even if The Mist does not do gangbusters at the box office in 2007, look for this to be a cult horror hit.  

The Savages

Director and writer Tamara Jenkins once again nibbles down to the quick of a family dynamic that leaves a sore, pulsing bruise that needs to heal, just as she did in her 1998 hit Slums of Beverly Hills. 

It’s no coincidence that the suffering siblings here are named Wendy and Jon (Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman), reminiscent of the sister and brother flying somnambulists in Peter Pan. Wendy and Jon Savage, however, have been asleep in their lives, each involved in dead-end relationships and unsatisfying jobs.  

Jon is 42, teaches theater arts at a college in Buffalo, has devoted years to writing a book about Bertolt Brecht, and could be in love with a woman who is about to return to Poland. Wendy is a New York playwright, who has not been produced, and who pilfers loads of office supplies from her temporary job assignments. She is 39, and in a long-term sexual affair with her married neighbor that’s going nowhere, very slowly.  

Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) is a mean spirited old man, who revels in making life as miserable for everyone around him, as it obviously is for him. He’s left homeless when his octogenarian girlfriend drops dead as she has her nails done. Lenny lived with the woman for 20 years but they never married, and her family is tired of Lenny’s freeloading. Wendy and Jon are summoned to come to Sun City to get the old guy. They haven’t seen each other for some time, and neither has seen their father for nearly an entire lifetime. He abandoned the family when they were youngsters. The two have tried to recover from the childhood neglect Lenny heaped on them. Now they are expected to rescue him. 

Wendy and Jon witness their father’s increasing dementia, and Jon returns to Buffalo to find a nursing home for him, as Wendy navigates the harrowing journey back aboard a flight with an uncooperative, angry old man. 

Jon signs Lenny into a comfortable enough, Medicare-friendly facility, with attentive staff, and close to his home. Wendy decorates the space with plump velvet pillows and a lava lamp. That’s still not good enough for Wendy, so she finds a hilltop senior retreat with rolling lawns and, unfortunately, an intake questionnaire for prospective residents. Lenny’s too far gone to know exactly where he is, so his application is not accepted. The rejection leads to one of the best scenes in the film; an argument between Jon and Wendy about guilt and death being a messy business, and a few other things that constitute the hallmarks of life. 

A wonderful love story on the subject of growing older and away from those we’ve known and loved came out earlier this year. Its title is Away From Her and it stars the glorious Julie Christie. It is available on DVD.  

The Savages is an intelligent, witty, and welcome story in this time of an increasingly aging population. Though it might not be for the fainthearted.  

P.S. I Love You 

Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler) fell in love at first sight, when they met in Ireland. Now, they’re a cute New York couple in need of a larger apartment. Footloose Gerry develops a brain tumor and dies, and leaves practical Holly hapless and holed up in that apartment for a few weeks, mourning him.

On her 30^th birthday Holly gets a big surprise from Gerry, a letter, encouraging her to enjoy life. He signed it “P.S. I love you.” He also lets Holly know that nine other messages will arrive over time. Each will set a task for Holly to achieve, something that will push her. 

This lackluster attempt at a zany romantic comedy fizzles, like a flat Irish beer. That’s amazing, given the star power behind this vehicle; Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Kathy Bates, Oscar nominee LaGravenese, Emmy nominee (several times) Lisa Kudrow, and Emmy winner Harry Connick, Jr. But the story lacks humor and the romantic chemistry isn’t combustible until Jeffrey Dean Morgan arrives on the scene…when the film is nearly over.    

This is definitely a movie you can catch on DVD at home. 

Man in the Chair 

 Man in the Chair is a solid, well acted little drama about a boy who is constantly picked on. He begins an unusual friendship with another loner, a temperamental older man who becomes his mentor.  The film will play at the Gene Siskel Center on December 21--January 3.  It will show on Fri., Wed. and
Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm;  Sat. at 3:00 pm, 5:15 pm, and
7:45 pm;  and Sun.-Mon. at 3:00 pm and 5:15 pm.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               and
The story follows the same basic template as My Bodyguard
Karate Kid, but it is not quite as thrilling or inspiring as those films.
The film’s script has very few surprises, but the humanistic story is still
pleasurable to watch—perhaps because the characters are so likeable.

The film does have a first rate performance by Christopher Plummer.
Plummer plays a retired filmmaker named Flash who is apparently
suffering from either dementia or alcoholism (perhaps both). At a film
screening of A Touch of Evil he screams at Orson Welles when he
comes on the screen as if he knew him personally.  

It turns out that Flash had actually worked with Welles, and he got
his nickname from Orson himself when he worked on the film Citizen
Kane (we see this episode in a flashback). Flash claims to be the
last surviving person who worked on the film. 

The impoverished wanna be film student, Cameron, witnesses
Flash’s outburst. He finds out about Flash’s illustrious past and
pesters him until he agrees to help him make a movie.  

But first they recruit a screen writer (played by E. Emmett Walsh)
who hasn’t worked on a film in 30 years.  Cameron needs all the help
he can get because he is competing against a rich kid who has
unlimited resources. 

Man in the Chair is a minor triumph in terms of acting, and
Christopher Plummer’s Flash is a memorable curmudgeon with
a hidden heart of gold.  

Despite the fact that the story never ignites the way it should,
the film is still recommended to old movie buffs and viewers
interested in cinema history. 

Eastern Promises

Anna (Naomi Watts) is a second generation Russian, born in London, where she and her mother, Helen (Sinead Cusack), share a comfortable home and Anna works as a midwife. She becomes emotionally involved with a 14-year-old girl who dies giving birth to a baby. The dead girl leaves behind a journal, written in Russian. Anna’s Uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) begins to help her interpret the diary, then he warns Anna to stop trying to uncover the secrets that it may reveal. Secrets that involve the trafficking of young prostitutes brought from Eastern Europe and the import of drugs.

Of course she doesn’t stop. Anna’s search leads her to Semyon, played by Armin Mueller-Stahl, who has the talent for being, at the same time, both affable and menacing. He is a seemingly well mannered, fatherly man who owns an upscale restaurant, and is curious about the book and insists that Anna bring it to him. Semyon’s real money comes from his connection with a deadly arm the Russian mob, whose methods are bizarre and completely merciless.

 Spoiler Alert Ahead:

Semyon is not bashful about raping young women, killing a friend if it serves
his purpose, or trading virgins to get vintage wine on the cheap.Nikolai
(the always stern-jawed Viggo Mortensen) is Semyon’s trusted driver, who
is immediately takes notice of Anna and obviously likes her. Nikolai is also
the handler for Semyon’s loose cannon son Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who
kills without provocation. Kirill also has a sexual identity issue, for which
he overcompensates, in a most unusual way. 

Nikolai is not quite who he seems to be. Though protective of Anna,
and savvy when dealing with Kirill and Semyon, he calmly cuts off the
fingers of a dead man to help Kirill kill and get away with it, at least from
the authorities. 

Duality is a watchword here. Graphic violence is also key, though we
never felt that it was gratuitous. The violent acts were always completely
in character.

This crime thriller has modern day similarities to The Godfather trilogy,
condensed into a single picture. In London, Russians have a world of their own to such an extent that you feel you are in the former USSR.

Writer Steven Knight takes viewers into the web of necessary secrecy that is the world of the undocumented immigrant, just as he did in Dirty Pretty Things. The complexity of the story, the character relationships, and the actors involved, elevates the film far beyond most thrillers. The old cliché
of “blood is thicker than water” can only be trumped by power.

Naomi Watts provides a strong, understated characterization of Anna. There is no glamour in this role for Watts. Stahl, Cassel and Mortensen offer standout performances. Mortensen has a fight scene that makes his action in A History of Violence look tame by comparison. David Cronenberg also directed Mortensen in that film. It could be argued that the R rating should have been an NC-17 for violence and/or nudity, so be warned. Though the violence might not sit well with you, again, we feel that it was appropriate. More films of this
quality need to be made for mature audiences.