Vulcano

I'd never heard of the director of this film, William Dieterle, and if it weren't for a free showing, I would still be in ignorance. But without the star, Anna Magnani, I would bet it would be left in obscurity. Never having seen her acting, I wasn't familiar with her status in Italian cinema, but now I get it. Her expressive face, her laugh, her use of physical comedy... She is the embodiment of realism on screen. As a former prostitute sent back home to the island of Vulcano, off the coast of Napoli, she battles the recriminations of the women on the island and the naiveté of her sister who has fallen in love with a shyster. Not a perfect film at all (golly, those underwater scenes are dull), especially the ending that arrives abruptly and leaves you hanging about the outcome of Magnani's sacrifices. Dieterle does a masterly job in framing shots (could volcanic ash look any more poisonous and HOT?) and builds on the natural beauty of Italy. But the main reason to see the film is Magnani. If you don't enjoy her duet with the man from the parade, then you've missed how gifted she was. One of the most natural actresses I've ever seen on screen, no question.

year: 1950
length: 106 min.
rating: 2.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042030/combined

A Very Long Engagement

Saying I had high expectations of this film is putting it mildly. After reading the book and falling in love with it, I would never have gone to see the film adaptation if it wasn't getting great reviews. Along comes the adaptation, with that bizarre, free-spirited director Jean-Pierre Jeunet at the helm, and starring his favorite actor (and all of France's favorite, as it seems) Audrey Tatou. Ever since 1991's Delicatessen, I knew I would wait and watch for Jeunet's films with as much anticipation as Hayao Miyazaki's. There's something child-like about his creations, as if he remembers a childhood full of love and hope and joy, not without traumas, but none that are insurmountable. He read Sébastien Japrisot's novel and teased out those aspects that work best with his style of filmmaking -- old videos used to illustrate a point, quick cuts that never let the admittedly complex story lag, gorgeous cinematography mimicking both the horror of war (in all its awful browns) and the golden luster of post-war France, humor where there was little in the book to create a more balanced tone... The story revolves around a French boy in WWI, executed for mutilating his hand in a bid to get sent home, and his fiance who refuses to believe he's dead. I'm tempted to give it my highest marks except that folks who haven't read the book may find themselves lost at times during the film. The book is full of characters, and the film mirrors that, yet doesn't have the time to delve deeply into each one. It doesn't help that the book/film takes a meandering course towards resolution. To be fair, I'm not sure what Jeunet could have done to make this better. All it means is that you should either watch the film many times, read the book before you go see the film, or read it afterwards to fully get its flavor. (Oh, and yes, Jodie Foster is in the movie, and yes, she does speak French fluently.)

original title: Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles
year: 2004
length: 134 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/combined

Velvet Goldmine

As hallucinations go, this is a good one. Your first clue is the UFO dropping the infant Oscar Wilde at the doorstep of his adopted parents. Don't run away! Roll your eyes at the first 7 or so minutes and then open them wide and hold onto your seat. As the introductory screen tells you -- this might be fiction, but it's based on reality, so turn it up. A thinly veiled account of the stars of glam rock in England in the 70s, with obvious references to David Bowie and Iggy Pop and the whole bi-sexual nature of that world. If you're turned off by men kissing or being overtly flamboyant, this isn't for you. But you'll be missing bizarre music videos, Ewan McGregor in his altogether, and one of the steamiest stage scenes ever filmed. Gives a whole new meaning to guitar licks... Anyway, it's too bad that the film loses its oomph towards the end, as the plot peters out and inconsistencies creep in. It's really a poor man's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which is interesting since it was filmed several years before that fabulous film. (Todd Haynes is, however, thanked in the credits to Hedwig, so perhaps John Cameron Mitchell was interested in Haynes' lessons learned.) The three main actors give it their all, with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as the stand-out. He's what I would label a scary actor because he consistently seems to be flirting on the edge of sanity (see him in Titus if you don't believe me). Christian Bale is his usual babe-li-cious self (sorry, I adore his acting, but there's no getting around the fact that he's a beautiful boy) and Ewan McGregor is fantastic in his stage scenes (although I wasn't completely convinced in his love scenes). See it not for the weak plotting, but for scenes that will be indelibly imprinted on your brain for days and days and days...

year: 1998
length: 124 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120879/combined

The Village

I certainly liked this film better than Signs. Those dorky-looking aliens stretched the limits of plausibility and ruined the whole film for me. This film has nothing so tangibly out of sync, however, it is a Shyamalan film, so you can assume the surprise ending. If you listen very closely, there will be no surprise (hint: listen for what's not being said), but even if you figure it out (for me it came during the wedding party, as the issue of sister bonding is being discussed) it's clever enough and revealed slowly enough to be recognized as a decent plot device. What matters is that the surprise is not what the film is about, and it separates this film from the rest of the Shyamalan pack. One has to wonder if he wrote it during the mass despair following 9/11. To me, it channeled the zeitgeist of America then (as it is now), i.e., our culture of fear. The "village" of the title is a community living in a valley surrounded by woods populated by fearsome beasts, keeping the villagers content in the life they've built but constantly scared of what could take it all away. Sound familiar? Populated by able actors including William Hurt, Joaquin Phoenix and especially the marvelous Bryce Dallas Howard as a young brave blind woman. There are further themes in the film, but they are obvious only after the surprise is revealed, so I'll leave them for you to discover.

year: 2004
length: 107 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368447/combined

The Virgin Suicides

Such a pleasure to watch the freshman effort after the sophomore effort. If I'd seen the freshman effort first, I may not have seen the second film. Actually that's doubtful based on the hype surrounding Lost in Translation, and besides this first film has the glimmerings of that ambience that made people fall in love with the second film. While the story (all 5 girls in one family in 1970s Southeast Michigan kill themselves for no apparent reasons) doesn't have all the elements needed to make this a complete experience -- i.e., where are the "boys" now? exactly how are the parents strict to begin with? are all the girls virgins in the end? why does it matter if they are or are not? does Trip end up where he does because of his feelings for Lux? -- the mood of the film sucks you in. Part of that can be credited to Sofia's brother, Roman Coppola who was second unit director on the film. All those in-between shots that enhance the mood of the film are at least halfway due to his talent. However, the MVP award goes to James Woods, whom I have always admired but never liked as an actor. I've never seen him play a schlub before, in this case a spaced-out math teacher who has no idea how to raise 5 daughters, and he was as I've never seen him: funny! Another actor I've always admired but never loved on screen is Kirsten Dunst, but she is perfect as the sexy Lux, as perfect as Josh Hartnett is as Trip. In fact, probably my favorite scene in the entire movie is Trip's walk down the school corridor, not because he's gorgeous to look at, which he is, but because in most films you watch girls sashaying past guys. Sofia had the balls to perform a gender flip here and it's easily the most guffaw-inducing scene in the whole film.

year: 1999
length: 97 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159097/combined

Victor/Victoria

My, can you ever see Blake Edwards in this film. There are even pratfalls! (Reminiscent of Inspector Clouseau, natch.) And in a musical, no less. Julie Andrews and Robert Preston star as desperate singers who will do almost anything to get a gig. James Garner is the love interest. But, there's a catch. Robert Preston's character is gay and Julie Andrews' character is a woman playing a man playing a woman. So, as could be expected, lots of commentary on gender bias, differences, and attitudes, both societal and individual. You might claim that this is subtext in the film, but it's much too blatant to be subtext, I think. Dame Julie is eye-openingly different from her Mary Poppins or Sound of Music incarnations, but I found it difficult to completely remove those prior film roles from my mind as I was watching. It could be because her diction and bearing are as spotless as they ever were and I was expecting something a bit more grungy. It's a minor complaint, though, since we get to hear her sing, and was there ever a more perfect voice? The best stuff happens at the end (and everything is set up nicely from previous scenes), especially Andrews and Preston dancing and singing at Chez Lui, and the final Spanish tune. I laughed till my face hurt. Preston deserved his Oscar nomination just for that scene.

year: 1982
length: 132 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084865/combined

Voyage to the Moon

A lark! Yes, this is a short silent, but it's really fun to watch. For those who think that silents are in general too dreary need to watch this. It's purely fantastical -- a group of old tyme astronomers decide to visit the moon in a bullet-shaped rocket. They are shot out of a very lengthy cannon, walk around on the moon without benefit of spacesuits, and get attacked by a rollicking mob of aboriginal-looking aliens. You can find this short on a DVD called Landmarks of Early Film: Volume 1. (The disc includes some yawn-inducing shorts, but if you watch this, do not miss the Winsor McCay piece.)

original title: Le Voyage dans la Lune
year: 1902
length: 14 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000417/combined