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Lar
Von Trier's
Dogville
Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams
Once upon a time (in March of 1995), Danish filmmaker
Lars Von Trier signed a vow of Chastity called
Dogma 95. The promise of Dogma 95 was naturalistic
film making - no artificial lighting, no music
that is not indigenous to the scene, no superficial
action, no murders, no weapons, etc. - and on
and on. Obviously he must have been in a bad mood
and has since recovered. Mr. Von Trier's new movie,
Dogville, breaks all of the tenets of
Dogma 95 with one exception - some of it is filmed
with a hand held camera.
Dogville
is a brilliant, deeply cynical movie about the
effect of purity and beauty, a story about how
an "angel" can walk into a town and
have absolutely no redeeming effect. Similar in
theme to stories about how a sudden windfall of
money can destroy the group of people who share
it, the movie tells the story of the total corruption
that ensues when a Depression era Colorado town,
named Dogville, is given the angelic presence
of Grace (beautifully played by Nicole Kidman).
Since Mr. Von Trier is Danish, many have thought
of Dogville as an anti-American movie.
But Dogville has such a bleak view of
humanity in general, I doubt Mr. Von Trier thinks
much more of the Danish people - although interestingly
enough, most of the incredible cast (Paul Bettany,
Lauren Bacall, Blair Brown, James Caan, Patricia
Clarkson Chloe Sivigny, Ben Gazzara and Stellan
Skarsgaard) are Americans. And since Mr. Von Tier
(according to new reports) will not fly and has
actually never been to America, they all flew
to Denmark to work with him.
Dogville is basically a play, shot as
a film in a huge sound stage in Denmark. The town
is delineated only by chalk drawings flanked by
darkness - a world that seemingly drops off at
the edges. The lighting and cinematography are
gorgeous and there is a wonderfully eerie sound
track (http://www.tvropa.com/Dogville)
that plays throughout the movie. There is also
a narrator, John Hurt, a completely inorganic
and artificial choice, which totally works in
the context of the film. Like I said, he got over
the Vow of Chastity.
The movie is very long (three hours) and at times
I felt that if I had to watch Nicole Kidman be
“tied to the railroad tracks” one
more time I would walk out. But I am very thankful
that I did not. The movie totally redeems itself
in the last ten minutes and my view of what I
saw totally changed. I have not been able to quit
thinking about it ever since.
Apolline
Traore's
Kounandi
A 49-minute film
In Dioula with English subtitles
Monday, April 12th & Wednesday, April 14th
African Film Festival
The Walter Reade Theater
Reviewed by Diedre Kilgore
Starring: Deborah Coty (Kounandi), Noufou Ouedraogo
(Karim), Aminata Dao (Awa), Olga Toe (Miriam)
and Adama Koné (Moussa)
The story of Kunandi opens with a married
couple amidst a domestic dispute in a village
in Burkina Faso. Their lives change when a stranger
appears from out of nowhere, gives birth to a
child, and then dies. The couple adopts this child
(Kounandi) who grows up as a dwarf, and is subsequently
teased and shunned. Through a tremendous amount
of hardship and heartbreak, Kounandi grows strong,
and eventually shows the village, through a symbolic
gesture, that the heart is the most valuable gift
we, as humans, can give.
I would like to give special mention to Deborah
Coty, who plays the title role of Kounandi. Pregnant
during the making of the film, and having never
acted a day in her life, this actress does a truly
remarkable job.
Director Apolline Traore's inspiration for this
film was from visiting a neighboring village that
was experiencing a severe drought. The people
of the village were blaming a resident dwarf,
for cursing them. This struck Apolline as incredibly
unfair, and began to write a screenplay based
on discrimination, love and jealousy, all keeping
in tact the unique traditions and culture of Burkina
Faso; a lifestyle that most of us could hardly
comprehend truly exists in today's modern world.
A simplistically inspiring film, set in a uniquely
exotic location, Kounandi was made despite
countless obstacles. Kounandi is set
in a West African village of Burkina Faso, one
of the poorest countries in the world with few
natural resources. The location alone makes it
quite an incredible film to see. The film in its’
entirety was shot in merely 10 days with no running
water or electricity, forcing the crew to travel
daily to bring enough water, batteries and food
for the cast and crew.
According to Apolline Traore, they couldn’t
film Kounandi in an existing village,
because a camera crew would be too foreign a presence
for the villages and there was an overwhelming
fear that the extras in the film would not be
able to resist the temptation to stop and stare
into the cameras. Therefore, they had to find
a remote area to build a village for the making
of the film.
Many of these scenes are set against an ancient
Baobab tree, a sacred tree commonly used as a
spiritual place for worship, burials and healing.
The underlying cultural significance of the Baobab
is a fitting backdrop for the story of Kounandi.
In order to use this tree in the film, the Director
had to approach the chief of the village and ask
permission to speak to the family who owned it.
As if these obstacles weren’t enough for
Apolline, the casting of the film was equally
difficult, in that there are several dialects
within that region, and she needed to find not
only adept actors, but also a cast who could speak
the same dialect. Not an easy task. Apolline was
able to settle on a dialect, but unfortunately,
it was a dialect she did not understand and required
a translator.
To top this off, her crew consisted mainly of
elders. In Apolline's culture it is unheard of
to have a younger person be in charge and giving
orders. This is one persistent Director.
Kounandi,
as a story, is very simple, and allows the viewer
to be witness to a rare glimpse into a type of
culture that is extremely isolated. The cinematography
is quite lovely, with prevailing colors of amber
and red throughout the film.
Kounandi was shown at the Sundance Film
Festival in 2004 as part of the World Cinema program,
and also won the Eugene "Doboy" Williams
Short Film Award at the Pan African Film and Arts
Festival.
Visit www.filmlinc.com
or call 212-496-3809 for more information
The Walter Reade Theater
| 165 W 65th St.
( plaza level Lincoln Center)
The
Legend of Leigh Bowery
Reviewed by Diedre Kilgore
The Legend of Leigh Bowery is a wonderfully
informative and humorous look into the antics
of Leigh Bowery, 80's London Performance Artist,
Costume Designer and all around Shock Diva. The
film is peppered with commentary from fellow artists,
friends, and admirers. He also posed for, and
eventually became a muse of famous Painter Lucien
Freud, who became enamored by Leigh's own creative
visions, stamina and piercing stare.
In watching this film, I was most taken by Leigh
Bowery's fascination with the human contortion
of shape, form and line, using his somewhat rotund
body as a gelatinous fabric. Leigh even mentioned
in an interview about his designs that flesh was
his favorite material to work with.
The film is thoughtfully put together and pays
homage to a true artist. To Leigh, success in
the art world is not about how much money you
make, rather the complete, uncensored expression
that generates raw emotion. And raw emotion is
exactly what Leigh Bowery was able to pull out
of people, with the spectrum ranging from admiration
to disgust. He was equally banned from and worshipped
in several venues throughout London. He became
the brilliant mastermind behind the shock culture
movement that eventually, although tamely, filtered
its way into American mainstream new wave pop
music and pop art scenes in the mid 80's. This
collaborative information provides you with a
very intimate view of the way Leigh spent his
life trying to outdo himself at each turn. His
performances were increasingly shaped by various
ways he could frighten people. Kind of reminds
me of my Dad. Only my dad didn’t give birth
to a woman on stage through a giant vagina.
The Legend of Leigh Bowery is a work
of art in itself as a film, which wonderfully
captures the essence of Leigh Bowery's whimsically
shocking vision by illustrating Leigh's distaste
for symmetry along with his passion for the deconstruction
of what is perceived as “normal”.
I'd certainly see it again. So rush out there,
and go educate yourselves.
Juan
Alejandro Ramirez's
Solo un Cargador (Porter)
A 20 minute short film
New Directors/New Films series
at the
Museum of Modern Art.
“Hoy he vuelto a creer, que la gente con plata, si es mas feliz."
-"Today, I believed once again that people with money, are truly happier."
Reviewed by Diedre Kilgore
Literally, Solo un Cargador translates as “Only
a Porter”, which, in my opinion, gives much
more meaning to the title of this film. But that's
just me…..
Porter is a heartbreakingly beautiful
meditation about the life, hopes and dreams of
a fictional Peruvian Porter named Chuqui Orozco.
Porter is a series of visually stunning
scenes primarily taken from the streets in Cuzco
and the footpaths through the Andes Mountains
to Macchu Picchu; a rare visual treat. This amazing
scenery is merely a backdrop for a collection
of close-ups of anonymous real-life porters at
work, through the city streets and up the perilous
paths of the Andes, all the while, using a first
person narrative of Chuqui Orozco's innermost
feelings. Juan Alejandro Ramirez has built a work
of art in this poetic journey of his concept of
a self-loathing Porter.
Porter tells the story of a friendless
Chuqui Orozco, who embarks on his daily trip up
the mountains, in essence, as a human pack-mule,
occasionally blaming himself for his wife's unhappiness.
Along the way, we hear and feel the pain and sorrow
through the words and images of a broken spirit.
With Chuqui's dignity stripped daily by tourists
as well as other villagers, it seems to be a struggle
for him to find any sort of meaning, hope, or
pride in his daily existence through a dizzying
loop of despair. The poetry in this film sends
the viewer pummeling with Chuqui into his own
personal feeling of inferiority.
I had the unique opportunity to listen to Director
Juan Alejandro Ramirez speak, after the film.
Juan's inspiration came from the striking dichotomy
he witnessed between the always smiling Porters
he has personally met, versus the alarmingly painful
folk songs so prevalent in Peru, about sadness,
longing and regret. Believing their smiles and
good nature are not reflections of their true
feelings; Juan Alejandro Ramirez was inspired
to create Porter.
What's interesting to me about this piece, is
that, while the concept of a porter is somewhat
foreign to many cultures, it is not a foreign
concept to us as a race of humans to feel unworthy,
unloved or alone. Visually, this is a gorgeous
film and the poetry is incredibly moving, both
literally and metaphorically. I walked away from
Porter with a completely different understanding
of an aspect of Peruvian culture that is rarely
seen, or understood. The film at times resonates
like a suicide note, and as such makes the viewer
feel deeply for the injustice of the porter.
Porter has won
the following awards:
GRAND PRIX COURTOUJOURS - Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latine
de Toulouse
GRAND JURY HONORABLE DISTINCTION - International Film Festival in Drama
BEST DIRECTOR AWARD - Jornada Internacional de Cinema da Bahia
BEST SHORT FEATURE - San Diego Latino International Film Festival
David Mamet's
Spartan
Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams
David Mamet’s Spartan is a dark
spy thriller set in the world of political conspiracies
and white slavery. The coed daughter of the President
bleaches her hair blonde and is promptly kidnapped
by a group of white slavers who have no idea who
they have. It is then Marine Special Operations
Officer Robert Scott's (the wonderful Val Kilmer)
job to get her back. And that is where the fun
begins.
Mr. Kilmer does a great job of simultaneously
playing the hero and delivering Mr. Mamet's super
stylized dialogue. Mr. Kilmer is aptly aided by
Derek Luke, his protégé, who supplies
the heart and conscience of the film. They both
do an amazing job of pushing the plot along and
giving the audience a ticket to ride.
All political cynicism aside, Spartan
is a smart, fun carnival ride with just a few
turns that are too coincidental. Spartan
is your classic Western with your good guy (Kilmer),
your loyal sidekick (Luke) and the President's
daughter, our damsel in distress (a great turn
by Kristen Bell). And this movie is also blessed
with the talents of a group of the usual Mamet
suspects - William H. Macy, Ed O’Neill and
David Paymer, all of whom do an admirable job
of supplying menace.
There is one evocative scene where Kilmer is asked
why he came alone, and he talks about the Spartans
who went singly to war, and then tells the story
of the Texas Ranger who is sent alone to a town
to quell a riot. When asked why the Rangers sent
only one man, he replies, “One riot, one
ranger.” And that says it all.
