2004 Foreign, Alternative and Independent Films - Page 4

Michael Reuben · 07-06-2004, 12:08 PM

All posts about Fahrenheit 9/11 belong in the official review and discussion threads.

M.

Lew Crippen · 07-06-2004, 02:21 PM

I spent some time Saturday (July 3) re-watching the current crop of controversial documentaries: Fahrenheit 9/11, Control Room and Super Size Me. Some overall thoughts:

Super Size Me pales in comparison to the other two movies. To be fair, I watched this last, and since it is not concerned with matters of national or international importance, it is at a bit of a disadvantage in comparison to the other two. Even so, I found the premise interesting, but the execution not particularly compelling. I was not looking for proof positive that eating a diet of nothing but fast-food is bad for you, but a bit more data than one person’s experience (that by all accounts appears to be exceptional and not representative) would have been helpful. Plus I found the overall presentation of the material was not really that interesting—I found myself looking at my watch, hoping that everything would be wrapped up soon.

Control Room, will not be seen by nearly so many people as either of the other two documentaries. But it should be seen by us all. Much more even handed than Moore, Jehane Noujaim gives Americans perhaps their first objective look at Al Jazerra. Here too, we are allowed to see the effects of the war on an individual. While Noujaim was not in a position to provide conclusive proof as to the US’s determination to wipe out Arab media’s ability to cover what was happening in Baghdad independently, there is no question in my mind that is exactly what happened.

The deer in the headlights moment here came on a very minor incident on the playing cards.

Lt. Rushing, as others have mentioned, was the most compelling as he was seen coming to an understanding of another side of the issue.

Ted Todorov · 07-06-2004, 03:15 PM

Seducing Doctor Lewis -- as a number of reviewers have pointed out it can be pitched as Local Hero meets Northern Exposure. This does have it's good points -- the filmmakers have imitated the best. The one area in which it improves on its sources is to make the Quebec fishing village where it takes place and its inhabitants real (which often translates to really ugly). Their lot is much less romanticized as well.

Otherwise, while a very enjoyable way to spend two hours, Seducing Doctor Lewis breaks no new ground.

Ted

Vickie_M · 07-08-2004, 12:37 AM

Quote:

Lew Crippen: I read or heard somewhere (but don’t remember where—possibly NPR) that Lt. Rushing had been ordered by his Marine Corps superiors to not discuss the movie with journalists.

That's true. Here's a good article about that, which quotes Rushing's wife:

Quote:

Muzzling a Marine
The Pentagon orders the military spokesman featured in the acclaimed documentary "Control Room" not to talk -- and now he plans to walk.

...
Shortly after Noujaim's MSNBC interview, according to a source close to the film, the Pentagon told Rushing he would be giving no more interviews.

Paige Rushing, Capt. Rushing's wife, said her husband is now trying to leave the Marines because of his treatment over the issue. Rushing enlisted when he was 17, and has been in the military ever since.

"I think he's been on the precipice of moving on with his life," Paige Rushing said. "He's been doing this his entire adult life, and he's looking for something that would allow him more creative freedom, and maybe more freedom in general. I think this is the straw that broke the camel's back for him, just feeling so muzzled and restricted."

She says she can't understand why her husband has been asked not to speak about his involvement with the documentary. "I can understand, perhaps, if he'd wanted to stage an anti-administration rally, but it wasn't anything like that. This was a personal experience, and I still don't understand why they have such a problem with him speaking."

Quote:

Jason: Kline's voice is still passable

Kline's voice is still fantastic. He purposely sang badly in the movie because Porter was a bad singer.

David Lawson · 07-09-2004, 08:21 AM

While it held my interest for majority of its running time, Control Room didn't fully work for me until the end. I couldn't help but reflect on Lt. Rushing's earlier musings on American vs. Iraqi war footage while watching

Spoiler:

As an American, I know which event "should" have had the greater impact on me, but it was exactly the opposite, and I felt the ending actually dragged a bit after hitting its true emotional high point several minutes before.

Excellent filmmaking, and likely my new favorite of 2004.

Jason Seaver · 07-10-2004, 04:24 PM

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead -

¾

Croupier was a movie that gained more notoriety for its release pattern than its actual merit; more ink was spilled over Clive Owen not being eligible for an Oscar than whether he really deserved one. Now, five years later, Owen reteams with his Croupier director (Mike Hodges) for another grimy, modestly entertaining flick.

This time, Owen plays Will Graham, who has been living out of the back of his van for three years, working odd jobs and keeping a low profile. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers plays his brother Davey, an affable young man who sells a few drugs at parties but is far from the hard man Will used to be. That's before a brutal attack, though, and in the aftermath, the Grahams' friend Mickser (Jamie Foreman) is unable to find Will, so thoroughly has he cut himself off from his old life. That's okay, though, because Will has been trying to call Davey, and comes to London to investigate. And once he's there, he's going to be looking for some explanations.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead has a great hard-boiled title which has very little to do with the movie. It's got a nifty noirish title sequence (there should be an Academy Award for those; call it the Saul Bass Award or something), and early on establishes a kind of modern noir atmosphere. There's some lip service given to whether Will can come back and not fall into his old ways, along with some decent scenes which reminded me why I like British gangster movies much more than American ones; the criminals in UK movies seem much nastier and less romanticized than the ones Hollywood (or even US indies) give us. The pieces for a fine tough-guy movie are all there.

It never comes together as a thriller, though. There are some machinations by local tough Frank Turner (Ken Stott) that, by the end, seem rather disconnected from the rest of the movie. And what kind of hardcase takes a moment in the middle of his movie to talk with a kindly grief counselor, whose purprose is basically to tell the audience what was going through the minds of Davey and his attacker. It's not something we can't figure out, and in the end gives Malcolm MacDowell much less to do as Boad, the villain in question. That's probably deliberate, as getting to really see what makes Boad tick would probably divert attention from Owen's Will, but it might have also given the audience someone to compare Will to.

Clive Owen inhabits Will nicely. For most of the movie, Will is shaggy and unshaven, and it's only Owen's strong, harsh voice that really clues the audience into his past history as a thug. when he emerges as a sleek-looking killer later, it's a nifty transformation, almost like a different character emerging from the first. It's necessary, since his confrontation with Boad would have had a completely different vibe if he still looked like a pikey.

Advertising I'll Sleep When I'm Dead as "the new thriller from the director and star of Croupier" is somewhat disingenous. Don't get me wrong; the low-key stuff works, for the most part. I wonder if perhaps Trevor Preston's script was a fairly standard, Get Carter-style revenge flick, with Hodges deciding at some point while shooting or in the editing room that watching Will deal with how Boad attacked Davey was more interesting. The end result is a fine little crime movie, if not an exceptional one.

Adam_S · 07-13-2004, 03:02 AM

America's Heart and Soul -

½

This film is like a trip to Silver Dollar City!*

I almost hate to rank this down, this was such a joyous cinematic experience, but I have a few issues with the film that prevent me from giving it a full four stars.

The biggest problem is simply that the film is too short. Oh not the segments, most of those are beautifully put together. However a few feel way too abrupt and there a two or three clumsy compilation scene transistions. Not only the compilations whet our appetites for what's ultimately not in the film, but they break the overall rhythm of the film, of it's storytelling.

My other major complaint is that they seem to have forgotten stories about America's asian communities, gay communities, hispanic communities, arab/middle easter communities, East Asian communities and the whole muslim faith.

I also think the premise of the film should have been carefully rethought and mapped out to give it a bit of more oomph. The ordinary people doing incredible things is lovely, but I think a stronger premise would have focused on people and communities who have deliberately set their head against the wind--against the status quo of mainstream life, in the greatest American fashion of pig-headed determination and ornery stubbornness.

Show us stories where instead of just seeing the incredibly touching relationship between the son and father on a dairy farm but we also see why he decided to produce hormone free raw milk, and what he's had to struggle to achieve these results. (and I don't know if the milk he produces is, but finding someone that's done so might be interesting). Look into organic farming, holistic medicine, etc etc and give the documentary a bit more punch--but then that'd be a different movie entirely so the suggestions are really valid because they wouldn't help this film.

Salt of the Earth people full of life and charm, incredibly enjoyable experience, one I'll highly recommend to my family.

THe photography is absolutely incredible, STUNNING wonderful work. I've never seen the Appalachian/Ozark mountains look that good on film, still not quite as stunning as in person, but damn if it didn't arouse a huge swell of emotion from me to see that beauty so lovingly displayed.

*Silver Dollar City in Branson Missouri is the Disneyland of the midwest. Like Disneyland, it is a theme park--it is not a soulless amusepark like six flags--with 1890s America as the key theme. My reasons for returning every year are food, crafts, shopping, and rides, in that order; favorite crafts are watching the glassblowers and the damascus steel knife smith. A great place to go, and I'll be there Wednesday, I can't wait!

Brook K · 07-13-2004, 02:06 PM

I have no comment on the film, I'm just stunned that you're so enthusiastic about Silver Dollar City that you go every year.

Of course it's been over 20 years since I've been so I would think they've improved the experience in that time.

I thought the first part of Lucas Belvaux's Trilogy I've had the chance to see - On The Run was a fine, thought provoking film, though not really the "thriller" it is billed as. But since all the reviews say that the trilogy has a cumulative effect and the films can't really be evaluated separately, I'll wait until I've seen the other 2 in the coming weeks before commenting further. I'll have to go back and look at Jason's reviews as well.

Jason Seaver · 07-13-2004, 02:30 PM

Calling On The Run the "first" film is kind of arbitrary; it was released second in France, a week after An Amazing Couple (which also played first during the series in which I saw them). It is unfortunately impossible to experience viewing them for the first time in more than one order, because I'd be interested in how it plays if you see After The Life first.

Or did like Coppola did with the Godfather movies and edited them into one five-hour chronological presentation. That would be interesting, especially considering that all three come from different genres.

Brook K · 07-13-2004, 02:55 PM

Yes, you are right Jason about the order.

I'm pretty sure that each is playing for one week here, so I'll see The Amazing Couple this weekend. One day towards the end of July they are going to show all 3 in one day, but I can't spend that much time at a theater.

David Lawson · 07-13-2004, 09:37 PM

I agree with Adam on the cinematography of America's Heart and Soul, but I'm afraid that's the only praise I can give the film. The scenery is, more often than not, the only thing of interest on the screen. San Francisco and the Appalachian mountains, as mentioned earlier, are particularly gorgeous.

However, the storytelling is lifeless for the most part, on par with any given program on The Travel Channel. Whether it's the fault of the individuals or the editor, I cannot say. Did additional details that flesh out the individual stories end up on the cutting room floor, or were there no additional details to divulge? Some of the traditionally inspiring stories (like the blind climber and the marathoners) stand on their own quite well, some stories (like the salsa dancers and the acrobatic pilot) are saved by the cinematography and choreography, and some (like Ben Cohen and the Cajun musicians) fall flat because they're given no time to tell their stories.

It's a disappointingly uneven effort with some inexcusably stale musical selections, but the camerawork prevents me from giving it a thumbs down.