Just saw this film at the PSIFF and was on the verge of sobbing. While I didn't forget how fortunate we have it in the U.S. compared to much of the world, this not-so-gentle reminder of just how bad things are in other parts wrenched my heart. Beautiful cinematography in such an otherwise ugly backdrop and overall "setting." Outstanding acting performances support a movie of consistent pace and passionate portrayals. As I'm trying not to provide spoilers, let me just say you might consider bringing a handkerchief and you will likely go home to hug your young kids (if you have any) once the movie is over. Should this win the best foreign picture Academy Award, it would be no surprise. Solid film making techniques with subject matter that will stir even the most stoic souls.
Reviews
6 Reviews
excellent transformation!
22 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Witnessing the transformation of the main character in this film, I felt as fortunate to be a part of the Desert Film Society's audience as Mr. Walburton stated in the subsequent Q&A he was to play the lead. Analagous to the Mr. Bright being civilized, transformed if you will, in this movie is the marvelous revelation of the viewer that the talent of Mr. Walburton is not limited to sitcoms and animation. Ms. Matiko modestly understated the chemistry that exists between herself and Mr. Walburton on camera during the ensuing questioning session as, in my opinion, a cohesive couple of this caliber is rare even in big production films. Every aspect of the film deserves high praise from the cast to the music, the editing to the makeup. All of these beautiful boughs branch from the tremendous trunk of the solid script designed specifically for Mr. Walburton by his former teacher, Mr. Beaird.
At the outset one might be prompted to depart the theater but, much like the example in the film, patience and understanding have their rewards. On the surface it may appear that a mail-order bride might be the cure for a former jock's jerky behavior, but the dialog and performances take the viewer for a trip through the spectrum of emotions. There are directing nuances that remind me of Kubrick, in particular the parallel of montages between Mr. Bright's "male bonding" near the beginning of the movie and the "personal closure" clips in the latter frames. One subtle observance is the relative shakiness of shots at the onset, perhaps analogous to the character's life, later balanced with images obtained from a sturdier camera as the lead role becomes more "grounded." In the end, one will be moved to e-mailing their address list to spread the word about this "indie" and hope one day a DVD copy will be available to share with their children.
At the outset one might be prompted to depart the theater but, much like the example in the film, patience and understanding have their rewards. On the surface it may appear that a mail-order bride might be the cure for a former jock's jerky behavior, but the dialog and performances take the viewer for a trip through the spectrum of emotions. There are directing nuances that remind me of Kubrick, in particular the parallel of montages between Mr. Bright's "male bonding" near the beginning of the movie and the "personal closure" clips in the latter frames. One subtle observance is the relative shakiness of shots at the onset, perhaps analogous to the character's life, later balanced with images obtained from a sturdier camera as the lead role becomes more "grounded." In the end, one will be moved to e-mailing their address list to spread the word about this "indie" and hope one day a DVD copy will be available to share with their children.
Lost Embrace
(2004)
meaningless motion
21 May 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This flick is like the Blair Witch Project meets an Argentinian Woody Allen.
The director uses hand held shots for most of the movie that, when combined with subtitles, brings one to the brink of emesis. The plot is all over the place and unsure of which identity the main character searches. The protagonist bounces from one shallow character to another looking for what? His father? His religion? His nationality? All of the above? Without clarity of motivation at the character's core, this movie does nothing but try to pull sentimental heart strings with the ultimate understanding and reuniting of father and son at the end. By the time this point is reached however, you just want to make sure you haven't puked on your shoes. All the motion, both of the camera shots and the characters, generates a story as dull, trite and depressing as the setting in which is was shot.
Your time is better spent standing in line at the post office to mail back decent Netflix movies. A 3 out of 10 is generous.
The director uses hand held shots for most of the movie that, when combined with subtitles, brings one to the brink of emesis. The plot is all over the place and unsure of which identity the main character searches. The protagonist bounces from one shallow character to another looking for what? His father? His religion? His nationality? All of the above? Without clarity of motivation at the character's core, this movie does nothing but try to pull sentimental heart strings with the ultimate understanding and reuniting of father and son at the end. By the time this point is reached however, you just want to make sure you haven't puked on your shoes. All the motion, both of the camera shots and the characters, generates a story as dull, trite and depressing as the setting in which is was shot.
Your time is better spent standing in line at the post office to mail back decent Netflix movies. A 3 out of 10 is generous.
Land of Plenty
(2004)
Plenty of what?
16 January 2005
The hysterical thing about this movie is that, according to the director, it has difficulty finding a distributor in the U.S. because most of them that viewed it couldn't reconcile the seemingly conflicting messages of Christianity and American angst. The thought of anyone seeing this as a religious film in anyway is laughable.
Because a minister at a mission prays with the homeless or wishes someone "Godspeed" this makes it a "Christian" movie? One could interpret that it is actually mocking religion for in the "Land of Plenty" with all of its material excess, the best an organized mission can do is hand out a bowl of soup and a bible verse. Plenty of unfortunate or downtrodden maybe? Plenty of useless homeless missions? How about plenty of psycho Vietnam vets? As a pill-popping delusional survivor of agent "pink" are we to think America is a "Land of Plenty" of paranoid patriots? Maybe we have plenty of psychiatric patients? Certainly we don't have plenty of people concerned about Palestine politics based on the main characters phone conversation in the film. Of course if you worked in a German homeless shelter the unfortunate there would be much more concerned about peace in a distant land than their own personal survival as the world knows how Europe is the "Continent of Plenty" when it comes to sophistication.
Indeed I agreed with the title in the end as the United States is the "Land of Plenty" and in this particular case it refers to the abundance of poor scripts, amateur acting and dispassionately directed films. Life is too short and one, even an American, doesn't have "plenty" of time to waste watching this piece.
Because a minister at a mission prays with the homeless or wishes someone "Godspeed" this makes it a "Christian" movie? One could interpret that it is actually mocking religion for in the "Land of Plenty" with all of its material excess, the best an organized mission can do is hand out a bowl of soup and a bible verse. Plenty of unfortunate or downtrodden maybe? Plenty of useless homeless missions? How about plenty of psycho Vietnam vets? As a pill-popping delusional survivor of agent "pink" are we to think America is a "Land of Plenty" of paranoid patriots? Maybe we have plenty of psychiatric patients? Certainly we don't have plenty of people concerned about Palestine politics based on the main characters phone conversation in the film. Of course if you worked in a German homeless shelter the unfortunate there would be much more concerned about peace in a distant land than their own personal survival as the world knows how Europe is the "Continent of Plenty" when it comes to sophistication.
Indeed I agreed with the title in the end as the United States is the "Land of Plenty" and in this particular case it refers to the abundance of poor scripts, amateur acting and dispassionately directed films. Life is too short and one, even an American, doesn't have "plenty" of time to waste watching this piece.
Duck Season
(2004)
Terrific Film!
14 January 2005
I just saw Duck Season today at the Palm Springs Film Festival and loved this film. People of all ages were in the theater and we all were laughing throughout the film. This film was great on all levels. I liked that it was filmed in black and white which was a nice touch. The actors were great. The story was fantastic! The director did a great job with the creativity of this film. I marked "Superb" on my ballot. This film needs to be released!!! It would be very popular due to its artistic flare, and people want to see movies that move them in all directions which this film does. A funny, creative, playful, thoughtful film!
Thanks to all who made this film and shared it with us!
Roxie Roco :)
Thanks to all who made this film and shared it with us!
Roxie Roco :)
The Thing About My Folks
(2005)
Superb festival entry!
10 January 2005
So fortunate were we to see this fantastic film at the Palm Springs International Film festival. Upon entering the theater we were handed a small opinion card that would be used for our personal rating of the film. Looking at the card I turned to my wife and said, "How many movies in your life do you think you can rate as superb? Only about 5 for me." But then watching the interaction between Peter Falk and Paul Reiser while viewing the spectacular scenery in the film's setting of New York state, I slowly starting bumping the movie up a category at a time. Certainly it was good but the totally natural repoire of the actors and an award winning performance by a man who will unfortunately probably be remembered for a raincoat wearing detective rather than this film, the movie jumped to the excellent level.
By the end of the film there were few dry eyes in the house and my usually stoic and callous heart melted just like the Grinch's and I ended up giving this a superb.
This picture is a must for anyone who has parents. No violence or nudity but some strong language.
By the end of the film there were few dry eyes in the house and my usually stoic and callous heart melted just like the Grinch's and I ended up giving this a superb.
This picture is a must for anyone who has parents. No violence or nudity but some strong language.
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