Miguel Albadalejo's
Bear Club
Reviewed By Armistead
Johnson
The story has been
told before; an unconventional person who has
no intention of ever having children, somehow
winds up with a child who changes his or her life.
Such is the story of Miguel Albadalejo's Bear
Club. But make no mistake about it; you have not
seen this movie before.
First, the child's
birth parent, Violeta (played by Elvira Lindo),
is not dead; she is just a drug addict who was
arrested on drug charges while traveling in India
and was thereupon incarcerated for an undisclosed
period of time. Her child, Bernardo (played by
David Castillo), was staying with his uncle Pedro
at the time of his mother's arrest. So the question
is: who does the child live with - his uncle or
his estranged grandmother?
The unconventional
parent is Pedro, played beautifully by Jose Luis
Garcia-Perez, the brother of the mother in question.
Pedro is a sexually active gay man, who tends
to be sympathetic to his sister's dilemma. And
as her brother, he certainly has more sympathy
for Violeta than her son Bernardo has.
The title Bear
Club comes from Pedro and his friend's "classification"
in the gay community. Bears are big, hairy men
who, like club kids, drag queens or leather daddies,
have entire bars dedicated to them. Bears are
usually known for being loving, cuddly and kind
and have a following of boys called (you guessed
it) cubs.
The "antagonist"
in the story is the child's paternal grandmother,
Dona Teresa, who we find out has not seen her
grandson in years. She has purposely been kept
out of her grandson's life since the day her son,
the boy's father, died. The grandmother, also
played beautifully by Empar Ferrer, is so convincing
in her love for Bernardo and her concerns are
so well intended, the audience is forced to question
who, in fact, would be a better parent for him.
There are no easy
answers provided for the audience in Bear Club,
no matter how hard the audience fights for a "good
guy" and a "bad guy." Bear Club
will make you question your own opinions (something
that seems to be forbidden in cinema today) and
helps illustrate the fact that, try as we might
to find them, sometimes there are no easy answers
when the welfare of a child is at stake.
For more
information, visit http://www.mangafilms.es/cachorro/#
The Pang Brother’s
The Eye
Mandarin with English Subtitles
Reviewed courtesy
of Lincoln Center Film Society Hong Kong Film
Series
Starring: Angelica
Lee, Lawrence Chou, Chutcha Rujinanon, Yut Lai
So and Candy Lo.
Reviewed by Wendy
R. Williams
The Thai-Born Pang
Brothers (of Bangkok Dangerous fame)
made a eerily haunting horror film with their
2002 film The Eye - the story of a young
woman named Mun (played by the talented Angelica
Lee) whose eyesight is restored when she receives
a corneal transplant from an anonymous donor.
Mun, who was blinded when she was two, then needs
counseling and training to deal with the over
stimulation of suddenly being able to see. An
example (shown in the film): Mun can tell what
a stapler is by touch, but not by sight. This
counseling is supplied by Dr. Wah, a handsome
young psychotherapist played by Lawrence Chou.
Dr. Wah also supplies the romantic interest.
The problem is
Mun (in Sixth Sense tradition) can see too much.
She almost immediately begins to see both the
living and the dead. She also see apparitions
of black hooded wraiths who arrive just before
someone is supposed to die (did you see Ghost?).
This of course terrifies Mun, but the fun part
is that it terrified me too.
Angelica Lee (Mun) won the Best Actress award
at the Hong Kong Film Festival and it was certainly
deserved. She gives a beautifully nuanced performance
as Mun, playing her as every woman. She is totally
believable and becomes the audience’s guide
into her world, so when she is scared, we are
scared too.
There is very little
in The Eye that is original. All the
plot points have been seen before - transplanted
body parts that transplant more than their expected
function, dead people who hang around because
they need to solve the conflicts of one world
before embarking for another, etc. etc. Anyone
who has watched a horror film knows the story.
The charm of The Eye is that although
the story is old, the telling is fresh and fun.
The art direction
and cinematography are well done and the directors
do a wonderful job of pacing the film. The only
problem that this reviewer saw was that they threw
in every horror film plot known to man. There
were so many points when it seemed that the movie
was over and then off we went to view another
horror film. But it does not matter. The Pang
Brothers pulled it off by their careful direction,
their choice of a haunting score and their brilliant
decision to cast Angelica Lee.
The Eye was produced by Applause Pictures,
written by written by Jo JO Yuet-chun Hui, Oxide
Pang Chun and Danny Pang. It is available on DVD
though www.netflix.com
Zhang Yimou’s
The House of Flying Daggers
Reviewed by Evan Sung
After the international
success of “Hero” Zhang Yimou returns
to his special brand of poetic kung-fu cinema (wuxia,
if you please) with his follow-up “The House
of Flying Daggers.” The film premieres at the
42nd New York Film Festival and stars the Ziyi Zhang
(“Hero”, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon”) as Mei, a blind soldier of the rebel
outlaw army, the House of the Flying Daggers. Andy
Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (Chungking
Express) star as Leo and Jin, two police captains
of the weakening Tang Dynasty trying to break up
the House of Flying Daggers. The two captains plot
to trick Mei into leading them to outlaws, but are
soon caught up in competition for the heart of the
beautiful outlaw, and caught in a tangled net of
hidden loyalties, plots and counter-plots.
This is supposed to be a film review, but forgive
me if it veers into shameless love-letter territory
for the amazing Ziyi Zhang. Zhang Yimou was clearly
impressed by the young Zhang, having promoted her
from a supporting part in “Hero” to the
tragic central role of this new film. “House
of Flying Daggers” is a showcase of all of
Ziyi Zhang’s many attributes. Aside from her
remarkable beauty, Ziyi Zhang’s Mei is basically
the toughest chick East of the Yangtze, and in her
combat scenes Zhang makes Terminator’s Linda
Hamilton look like a demure wilting blossom. Though
small and fragile, Zhang commits to her battle scenes
with a combination of ferocity and elegance. We
take it on faith that this blind girl could naturally
take on an army of soldiers without breaking a sweat.
But her elegance is not only evident in battle,
and an early dancing scene in a brothel, showcases
a feline sensuality in her performance of traditional
Chinese dance. And in one scene where Mei has her
robe torn off her shoulders, the bare expanse of
her porcelain-white shoulder could well be considered
one of the more profound frames of World Cinema!
Her shoulder alone could have triggered a Trojan
War. If you haven’t gotten the point yet, the
movie’s ALL about Ziyi Zhang.
And how do we know its all about Ziyi Zhang? Because
we have two captains of the emperor driven to betraying
their own cause and their own friendship, ultimately
stabbing each other with swords on snowy mountaintops
in her name. Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro contrast
each other nicely, both believable as friends and
comrades, but utterly different in character. Kaneshiro’s
Captain Jin, is the free-spirited, skirt-chaser
who tries to seduce Mei to get her to divulge the
location of her rebel friends. Lau’s Captain
Leo is the by-the-book and responsible, but his
single-minded pursuit of the House of Flying Daggers
may not be solely motivated by loyalty to the kingdom.
In an amusing plot-development, one can imagine
Lau’s identity-conflicted Captain Leo to be
the 9th century ancestor to Lau’s role in this
year’s “Infernal Affairs.” Lau has
already proven himself to be a very subtle actor,
excellent in these roles where motivations are multiple
and unclear. Kaneshiro clearly has fun playing drunk
in the brothel scene, flashing the Eastern equivalent
of the Tom Cruise-patented mega-watt smile. Kaneshiro
is charming but also traces the tragic arc of his
character nicely, slowly building up layers of gravity
and sadness as the film goes on.
The film is truly brilliant and to say that, as
a film, “House of Flying Daggers” may
actually excel “Hero” is no small claim,
given that “Hero” had in its favor the
phenomenal Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Maggie Cheung
and the peerless cinematography of Christopher Doyle.
But here, Yimou takes the martial arts to yet another
level, and the effect on the viewer is so visceral
that you realize how rarely cinema moves us in that
way. The thrill of seeing people perform acts of
superhuman dexterity and power is completely unlike
the numbing effects of Hollywood’s exploding
computer-generated blockbusters.
This is not to say that the film is perfect. The
tragic lovers theme has become almost par for the
course in Asian wuxia cinema. And under the weight
of all this suppressed longing, slow-motion, and
plot twists and turns, the film itself starts to
bend like bamboo, threatening to break and splinter.
Still, the final battle is treated with a ferocity
completely unlike the balletic wire-fu that we’ve
been treated to up to that point. The heroes pummel
each other, and cry out, and slash, and it reinjects
the film with a shot of adrenaline and emotional
intensity that refocuses everything.
This is only Zhang Yimou’s second wuxia film
but he has already created an indelible style with
two films that rely as much on story and character
as they do on kicking ass in high-style. With a
visual richness that becomes almost hallucinatory
at times, and a great sense of grand scale as well
as intimacy, Yimou sets the stage for the stuff
of legends, and fills it with great actors, great
action, and great romance. Oh, and did I mention
Ziyi Zhang is in it?
Wes Anderson's
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Reviewed by
Evan Sung
Put on your Zissou Adidas
and your AM/FM Scuba gear, its time to go deep-sea
diving into the whacked-out psyche of Wes Anderson.
In his new film, The Life Aquatic with Steve
Zissou, our underwater guide is the titular
Steve Zissou, played by Bill Murray. I would say
the "brilliant" Bill Murray, but in recent
films, he has done so much to establish a reputation
for nuanced, deeply funny/sad (Sanny? Funad? Let's
just say: "Murr-iffic") performances,
that his name has become practically synonymous
with "brilliant." Surrounded by a cast
of characters that redefines "motley,"
Zissou/Murray leads us intrepidly into a distinctly
Andersonian adventure populated with colorful sea-creatures,
Filipino pirates on the high seas, unpaid interns,
and a "part-gay" Jeff Goldblum. To say
nothing of a hilarious Willem Dafoe as an hypersensitive
German shipmate, Seu George singing early David
Bowie in Portuguese to the action of the film, and
Bud Cort as an insurance bondsman and unlikely ally
to Team Zissou.
Wes Anderson's film opens with…the opening of
a film. Steve Zissou, a media-obsessed, self-aggrandizing,
and rather past-his-prime Jacques Cousteau-type is
screening the latest episode of his ongoing series
of adventure "documentaries." In it we meet
the crew of the good ship Belafonte, exploring the
mysteries of the ocean. Only this time, Zissou and
his crew have the misfortune of crossing the path
of the deadly Jaguar-Shark, which takes the life of
his right-hand man, Esteban de Plantier. The loss
sets in motion Zissou's mission to track down the
Jaguar-Shark and kill it. After the screening, which
is greeted by silent incomprehension, one viewer asks
what possible scientific purpose killing such a rare
creature could serve. Zissou's succinct reply: "Revenge."
But Zissou does not embark on his quest alone. He
is joined by Jane Winslett-Richardson(a kewpie-voiced
Cate Blanchett), a pregnant reporter who may or may
not be writing up a hatchet job on Steve. He also
meets Ned Plimpton (long-time Anderson collaborator,
Owen Wilson), a man who may or may not be Zissou's
unknown son. What ensues is a series of encounters,
exchanges, and detours, which in their randomness
and absurdity seem meant to defy verbal description.
Anderson does his best to create a purely cinematic
experience, that is, one that must be lived through
to access and comprehend.
But Anderson has been aiming at this all along his
quirked-out career, and The Life Aquatic
(for short) is a crystallization of that attitude.
Although Anderson's version of crystallized is rather
sprawling and unfocused! After three uniquely crafted
films, Anderson established a firm cult status among
critics and fans, all the while gently expanding the
breadth of his appeal to a larger audience. The question
hung heavily in the air then: Was The Life Aquatic
going to be a sell-out? Would the larger budget, the
all-star cast, and the special effects corrupt Anderson's
unique voice? Happily, the answer is no, and if anything,
Anderson has managed to sidestep the pitfalls of Hollywood
filmmaking as well as any preconceptions of a "Wes
Anderson" formula. It was telling to hear one
audience-member laughing emphatically at innocuous
moments early on in the film. Like some sort of Pavlovian-Hipster
response, she seemed to feel compelled to audibly
demonstrate her appreciation of the Anderson look
and tone. As the film progressed however, viewers
seemed to release themselves to the odd charms of
the film, slowly recognizing that Anderson was up
to something subtly different.
The Life Aquatic is Wes Anderson's Day For
Night,Truffaut's famous film about the behind-the-scenes
of the Seventh Art. For all the marine biology, The
Life Aquatic is really about filmmaking. And more
specifically, it is about Wes Anderson making a Wes
Anderson film. When Zissou's crew, most of whom occupy
roles like "boom operator" and "cameraman"
or "editor", steal cutting edge equipment
from their rival oceanographer's hi-tech underwater
research station, we can imagine Wes Anderson ransacking
the toys and technology of Hollywood to pursue his
own single-minded operation. All of Anderson's characters
have been dreamers and schemers, and now Anderson
is the dreamer and schemer to beat them all, because
he's been behind every single one of them all along.
In a confrontation between father and (possible) son,
Anderson gives us a self-deprecating wink when an
exasperated Ned says to Steve: "You never cared
about me! I'm just another character in your film!"
It's a possible response to critics who complain that
Anderson loses his characters among the obsessively
art-directed frames of his films.
The craziest and loosest
of all his films, The Life Aquatic is the
most autobiographical. Where his previous films
were more structured, The Life Aquatic buzzes
with unbridled imagination. It is the closest we
have seen so far to Mr. Anderson's imagination running
amok on the screen - and for many this can be viewed
as a good thing. Fans of the eccentric Anderson
will be reassured that the same quasi-pathological
passion for wide frames jam-packed with detail,
a pitch-perfect soundtrack, and surprising moments
of heartbreaking humanity are all there. The
Life Aquatic will surely test the patience of
some, but those who give themselves up to the ride
will be charmed by Anderson's generous and inventive
vision.
Taylor Hackford's
RAY
In Theaters Now
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington,
Regina King
Reviewed by Stephanie Alberico
Taylor Hackford wrote and directed
the new biopic of Ray Charles with "Georgia
on his mind." The movie was produced before
the June death of the singer/songwriter legend.
This picturesque film depicts Charles's life and
his rise to fame throughout the 1950's and 60's.
Ray's story unfolds to reveal
a life of drug addiction, womanizing, and life struggles.
There are numerous flashbacks to his childhood life
in rural Georgia, where he was born and raised.
As the story begins we see Ray's delicate childhood
memories through his eyes: He is haunted by the
tragic drowning of his younger brother, his mother's
struggle with work and oppression, and the loss
of his sight. We then follow Ray on a journey filled
only with darkness. Left with just the visions of
his mother sweating in the intense heat, soft white
linens blowing in the wind and colorful glass-blown
ornaments hanging in the trees, Ray dedicates his
life to his one passion--music. He begins playing
piano in nightclubs.
Ray is portrayed by Jamie Foxx,
who bears an uncanny resemblance to the singer.
Foxx's performance is definitely Oscar-worthy; he
is sure to leave audiences riveted by his amazing
ability to impersonate Ray. For Ray Charles is famous
not only for his brilliant music, but also for the
constant swaying of his upturned head and the jolting
of his body while he created his breathtaking songs
and music; Foxx hits this characterization dead
on. Two equally brilliant actresses join him, Kerry
Washington as Ray's wife, and Regina King as one
of his many mistresses.
We follow Ray through nightclubs
and gigs, until he is offered a record deal at Atlantic
Records. His first recording, "The Mess Around,"
is created instantaneously within the confines of
the studio, and becomes a chart-topping hit. Suddenly
Ray's fame erupts and he is plastered all over magazines,
radios, and newspapers.
Although Ray gets married and
has children, his life deteriorates out on the road.
As we glimpse a behind-the-scenes look at Ray's
travels, he struggles with anxiety, adultery and
finally discovers heroin. Even as Ray becomes increasingly
famous, his heroin addiction intensifies and his
marital life is destroyed.
Ray's musical genius grows but
his problems worsen. He becomes paranoid that he
is being cheated by his friends and managers: Determined
to receive everything due him, he insists he be
paid his entire salry in one-dollar bills. At a
climatic point in the plot, his favorite mistress
admits she is pregnant and Ray responds by inventing
the famous song, "Hit the Road Jack."
Ray sinks deeper into addiction,
becoming prone to panic attacks and continuously
haunted by eerie hallucinations of flooding water.
We empathize with Ray as he seems to become lost
in his own darkness. But Ray's stubborn attitude
and relentlessness keep him standing alone, no matter
the amount of people or love that surrounds him.
As much as we might love to hate him, Ray wins us
over as he did the women who loved him so dearly.
As with so many musical legends
before him, Ray comes to the realization that life
on the road is killing him. When he is caught with
drugs at U.S. customs, he is forced to face his
addition. He also learns that his mistress has died
of a drug overdose. He goes to rehab and cleans
up his act.
The last half-hour of the film
ties up the loose ends and somewhat glorifies the
singer's difficult life. Hackford picks up a more
documentary feel in the end of the film. We are
left watching a clip of a moving live performance
of Ray in his old age. We also see Ray receiving
recognition and awards for refusing to play music
in Jim Crow states during segregation. Finally,
we see clips of the real-life legend and are forced
to remember a man who will never be forgotten.
I was blown away by the heart
and soul of this emotional film. With his knack
for jazz, rhythm and blues, Ray is definitely a
musical icon whose life not only taught us lessons
about life and love, but also is an inspiration
to us all. Just listen to his throaty rendition
of "Georgia on my Mind," or watch a clip
of one of his live performances, and it is easy
to experience this man's heavenly contribution to
music. It may just bring tears to your eyes.
TILL SCHAUDER (a.k.a. Till
Terror) & Chris Valentien's
SANTA SMOKES
OPENED DECEMBER 15th 2004
Pioneer Theater
SANTA SMOKES is on FIRE!
Starring: Till Terror, Kristy
Jean Hulslander, Richard Glover, Melissa Friedman,
Rynel Johnson
Reviewed by Troy Tolley
Grabbing 4 prestigious awards
from around the world (Best Director and Best Actress
in Tokyo; Audience Award in Berlin; and Studio Hamburg
Newcomers Award), SANTA SMOKES is already
being touted as a cult classic.
Set on the streets of Brooklyn
and Manhattan, Johnny Jones (Till Terror) is struggling
to find a break as an actor in the film industry.
His persistence has him enduring lame auditions,
sidestepping financial troubles, deflecting the
cynicism of his girlfriend (Melissa Friedman), and
half-accepting the nurturing from his gay roommate
(Richard Glover). The difficulties of maintaining
life with a dream is made even more complicated
by the slick, sexy, and bullying Mr. Johnson (Rynel
Johnson) who either wants his money owed to him
or a one-time showdown at a Bowling Alley.
Johnny's belief in himself as
a creative being, along with his mismanaged choices,
leaves a trail of unfortunate effects in his life,
showcasing an all-too-familiar descent from possibilities
and potential to the isolation and anger inherent
under the pressure of near-resignation.
In an act of humility and as an
act of responsibility, Johnny succumbs to the "Actors
Needed" ads seeking anyone who would put on
a Santa suit and hand out flyers to passersby in
Times Square. As Johnny's life seems to crumble
around him, solace is found in the angry anonymity
of the Santa suit and hope is found through the
chiding Angel (Kristy Jean Hulslander) who befriends
him.
Till Terror's portrayal of Johnny
is tremendously adorable and frustrating, truly
eliciting the maternal instincts for the character,
even in the most hardnosed of us. Melissa Friedman's
Molly Ringwald-esque expression of the whiny, bitchy,
jealous, manipulative, overbearing girlfriend was
perfect as these qualities were cloaked as "concerns"
for Johnny. Richard Glover as the gay roommate is
endearingly subtle and tasteful, even as his pitiful
longing for Johnny escalates. Rynel Johnson's Mr.
Johnson is mysteriously gentle and darkly appealing
in demeanor and speech, even as he beats Johnny
and nonchalantly hunts him down.
Santa Smokes takes you
from the mediocre world of a good guy with a dream
and into the darker lands that can be found through
the choices and reactions forced under the weight
of carrying that dream.
Official website for the
movie: http://santa-smokes.de
Official website for Two Boots: Pioneer Theater:
http://www.twoboots.com/pioneer/
See January ABOUT TOWN for details of OPENING NIGHT
and an interview with the cast and director of Santa
Smokes!
Pioneer
Theater |155 East
3rd Street (at Avenue A)
Alexander Payne's
Sideways
Reviewed by Evan Sung
The 42nd New York Film
Festival closed October 17th with a screening
of Alexander Payne's wine-soaked "Sideways."
Payne, who has made his name with comic but cutting
satires of abortion ("Citizen Ruth"),
politics ("Election"), and the obsolescence
of the aging ("About Schmidt"), returns
with his most successful film so far.
Paul Giamatti plays Miles Raymond, an oenophile,
Middle school English teacher and unpublished
novelist, whose two years of divorce have slowly
turned him from plain neurotic to full-blown neurotic
sad-sack. His only consolation now are his unopened
bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc and his regular trips
through wine country. Miles' best friend Jack
(Thomas Haden Church) is getting married in one
week. As a gift to Jack and while awaiting word
from his agent on his latest manuscript, Miles
plans a week-long tour of California wine country,
for sun, golf, and wine. Where Miles sees an opportunity
for some good old-fashioned male bonding, Jack
sees one week of getting laid as much as possible
before the slow-death of marriage.
On their way, they meet up with Maya, a regular
waitress at the Hitching Post, Miles' favorite
local restaurant, and her friend Stephanie, to
whom Jack is instantly attracted. As the week
progresses, a delicate dance unfolds between Miles
and Maya, both wine lovers, while Stephanie and
Jack share days and nights of simple carnal pleasure.
But things start to unravel for both couples when
Miles lets slip mention of Jack's nuptials.
Wine country serves as the backdrop of this film,
and wine itself suffuses every aspect of the film
itself. In one painful scene, Miles gets himself
drunk at dinner after learning that his ex-wife
has remarried. As he staggers to the back of the
restaurant to "drink and dial" as Jack
puts it, the camera shifts in and out of focus,
perhaps the most accurate cinematic representation
of the feeling of inebriation I have seen. Wine
is a powerful metaphor for these characters, all
of them maturing, aging, on the verge of really
becoming themselves, complicated, sometimes bitter.
In one of the more moving monologues in the film,
Miles explains to Maya his near-obsessive love
for Pinot Noir. When Miles talks to Maya about
the notoriously fickle and thin-skinned grape,
we understand of course that he could easily be
talking about himself as well. And Giamatti plays
the scene with a disarming vulnerability that
hints at the depths of Miles' terror to be with
this woman he admires as well as his quiet wish
that Maya tend to him with care and attention.
Naturally Jack is the robust Cabernet in this
equation, the jovial overgrown frat boy who goes
with the flow and thrives in any situation. But
Payne is not interested in simple dichotomies.
All the characters have tangled pasts, and are
doing what they can to survive, even if it means
occasional self-sabotage. They are human, and
Payne pulls no punches in showing us just how
human they can be.
Thomas Haden Church is a rollicking surprise as
Jack in "Sideways," considering his
sitcom-heavy resume. He is boorish and likable
and gives just enough signs of humanity so that
we understand why this Odd Couple would have remained
friends for so long. But, special attention must
be paid to the nuanced portrayal of Miles by Paul
Giamatti. Giamatti, widely acclaimed in American
Splendor, does even better work here because he
is not reined in by the rather one-note glumness
of Harvey Pekar. Giamatti has room to move here,
and gets to display all his talents, showing us
why he is one of American cinema's most valuable
character actors. When his heart is breaking we
see a torrent of emotions ripple almost imperceptibly
across his round fleshy face. His comic talents
are on show as well, from wine-spurred flip-outs
to a bizarre, stiff-armed "girly" run,
that Giamatti confesses to be his own, and not
some actor's invention. Payne has found in Giamatti
the ideal embodiment of all the funny yet sometimes
cruel truths that all of his films have spoken
about America, our fears and foibles and doubts.
"Sideways" is a darkly sparkling gem
of a film. Add to the brilliant Paul Giamatti,
a uniformly excellent supporting cast, the beautifully
photographed landscapes of Northern California
wine country, and a jazzy score by Rolfe Kent
that keeps the action buoyant and floating along,
and you get a film of superior vintage: complex,
mature, delicious.
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