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<title>2004 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL</title>
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<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL</span></b></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>2004 � 42<sup>nd</sup> Festival</span></b></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>The just concluded 2004 NYFF was simply the best I can remember:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it seemed like one film after another was
terrific and beautiful and exciting, and that there was an unending parade of
films that turned out to be surprisingly wonderful.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The incredible joy of the NYFF is always that
it provides the opportunity to view films you know absolutely nothing about and
to have the excitement of discovering amazing films you had to no reason to
expect would even be good.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This year�s
Festival was a truly magnificent example of this tradition, in that it was full
of surprises and great films from all over the globe .<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This year�s selections were particularly
rich. complex, and powerful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>Whereas
the 2003 NYFF had been noteworthy for how unremittingly dark and angry its
films were, the closest thing to a unifying theme in this year�s selections was
that the dark sides of human nature that were portrayed seemed invariably to be
treated with a level of psychological complexity and emotional nuance, and a
sensitivity to the humanity of the characters and situations that at times
verged on the tender, but usually seemed at least to be understanding in some
deeply empathic way.</p>
<p>Before the 2004 NYFF began, the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>New
York Times</i> ran and article singing the praises of the NYFF, calling it, �a
New York cultural institution.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Of the
incredible diversity of the 25 feature films in the NYFF, the <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Times</i> writes, �What you see may not be
to your taste, but it also may change your taste and with it your idea of what
movies can do.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(I include here a <a
href="http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff-nytimes-article-04.htm">link</a> to that
piece for your edification and enjoyment.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>I also thought I might mention, for those of you who may never have been
to a NYFF screening, that the main features at the Festival are screened in
Lincoln Center�s Alice Tully Hall�which has to be one of the most comfortable
places imaginable to see a film. (The only exceptions to this are Opening and
Closing Nights, which are screened in Avery Fisher Hall, which is almost as
wonderful, and far grander.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>So, not
only are the films great,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the physical
experience of viewing them is marvelous.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Finally, an added treat of most screenings is the presence of the
directors from the films, and often the actors as well, who then stay after the
screening for Question and Answer sessions.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>This year, directors Agn�s Jaoui, Mike Leigh, Pedro Almod�var, Ousmane
Sembene, Lucretia Martel, Todd Solondz, Hong Sangsoo�only to mention some of
the ones I was most interested in�were in attendance. (No, Eric Rohmer was <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> there�but we knew <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>that</i> wouldn�t happen.)</p>
<p>I once again strongly urge all of you in the NYC area to join the <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/"><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>Film
Society of Lincoln Center</a> and attend the NYFF next Fall.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As noted in <a
href="http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff-nytimes-article-04.htm">the <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Times</i> article</a> mentioned above, and,
as some of you may know from personal experience, getting tickets for this
incredibly popular NYC event can be <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>extremely</i>
difficult�and, once one has realized how wonderful the Festival is, it can be
extremely frustrating not be able to obtain tickets .<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I have, therefore, put together a short <a
href="http://www.rlrubens.com/primer.htm">Primer on Membership in the Film
Society of Lincoln Center and Obtaining Tickets for the New York Film Festival</a>
that discusses strategies of how successfully to get tickets for the NYFF.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Naturally, the best answer is to become a
member if the Film Society of Lincoln Center�and this Primer describes the best
ways to do that to meet you needs and desires in relation to getting tickets.</p>
<p>We only saw 15 of the 25 feature presentations, and those are the ones
reviewed below.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>For those who are
interested, the entire 2004 NYFF program and the Film Society descriptions of
each film can be found at<a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004.htm">
http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004.htm</a>. My reviews of
past years of the NYFF can be found at <a
href="http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff.html">http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff.html</a>
. </p>
<p>[For film whose release dates have been set, the dates are given <b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>underlined and in bold</u></b> after
identifying information.]</p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>THE
FEATURE FILMS IN THE FESTIVAL<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>TOC \f \n \h \z <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>TOC \f \n \h \z <span
style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span></span><![endif]--><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093871"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bad
Education</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093872"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sideways</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093873"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Holy Girl</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093874"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Vera
Drake</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093875"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Triple
Agent</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093876"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Saraband</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093877"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Moolaade</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093878"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093879"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Look
at Me</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093880"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman
is the Future of Man</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093881"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Notre
Musique</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093882"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Caf�
Lumi�re</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093883"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
10<sup>th</sup> District Court: Moments of Trial</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093884"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tropical
Malady</i></b></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc117093885"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Or (My Treasure)</b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=center style='text-align:center;tab-stops:right dotted 431.5pt'><!--[if supportFields]><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><span style='mso-element:
field-end'></span></span></span><![endif]--><!--[if supportFields]><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span><![endif]--><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bad
Education</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093871'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089313'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Bad Education</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089313"></a><a name="_Toc117093871"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></i></b>(<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>La Mala Educac�on<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></i>Centerpiece.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></b>Spain, 2004, Sony Pictures Classics, to
be released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>November 19</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>My vote for the best film in this<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>year�s NYFF, this new movie from Pedro
Almod�var is a complete masterpiece!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Essentially a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>film noir</i>�with
suspense and crime and intrigue and evil, and with nods and references to some
of the great past examples of that genre�<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bad
Education</i> represents a major departure for Almod�var, yet it retains much
of the underlying sensibility that wonderfully characterizes his past
works.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>The film centers on two young
men who as children were in a passionate, pre-adolescent, loving relationship
in the Catholic boys school they attended together.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film opens with Enrique, a rising film
director played by Fele Martinez (who had a supporting role in Almod�var�s
marvelous last film, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Talk to Her</i>),
receiving an unannounced visit from an unsuccessful actor, played by Gael
Garcia Bernal (new to Almod�var�s films, but a veteran of<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Y Tu
Mam� Tamb�en</i><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and I��rritu�s <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Amores Perros</i>), who announces that he is
Ignacio, his former schoolmate.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>He is
looking for work, and he also leaves<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Enrique, who is looking for ideas for a new film,<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>with the copy of<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>a story he has written.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In one of many flashbacks, we learn that both
of the boys were mistreated at the school by Father Manolo (played by Daniel
Gim�nez-Cacho)� Ignacio in a way that, while loving and adoring, was sexually
abusive; and Enrique in a jealous fashion that was both cruel and aggressive.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The short story turns out to be about their
childhood experiences together and their effects on Ignacio.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In addition to the historical flashbacks, we
are also shown scenes which turn out to be from Ignacio�s story, including
scenes of how he had become a transsexual carbaret performer and had decided to
blackmail the priest to pay for further cosmetic surgery.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But the story has layer upon layer, and the
unfolding reality and the passions contained within it make for a riveting and
totally engaging film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Moreover, in true
Almod�var fashion, even the blackest of the dark souls that populate this film
is treated with a loving sensitivity.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>These are not one-dimensional caricatures, but rather complex human
beings whose love is just as important to the story as is their hatred,
avarice, and conniving.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The directing is
perfection, the cinematography is exquisite, the music by Alberto Iglesias is
totally effective in a true <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>film noir</i>
way, and the acting is superb (including a marvelous brief supporting
appearance by Almod�var regular Javier C�mara).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>This one is an <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>absolute</i> <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>must see</i>!</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sideways</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b> TC "<span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093872'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117089314'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sideways</i></b></span></span>"
\f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089314"></a><a name="_Toc117093872"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></i></b>(<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Closing
Night</b>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>USA, 2004, Fox Seachlight, to
be released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>October 20</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Another extraordinarily successful film, this
new movie from Alexander Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor (the team did <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>About Schmidt</i>, Opening Night of 2002
NYFF) was something of an anomaly in this year�s NYFF:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it is a wildly funny comedy. Starring the
extremely talented and versatile Paul Giamatti as Miles, the depressed,
divorced, dysphoric, oenophile (I was going to go for continuing the
alliteration and write �drunk,� but that word, while also true, would not have
captured the more specifically defining character of Miles) and Thomas Hayden
Church as Jack, his womanizing, uncultured, plodding friend, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sideways</i> is essentially a very
sophisticated version of an old fashioned buddy picture.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Jack is a minimally employed actor (in the
past had a role on a soap opera and is getting the occasional voice-over ad)
who<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>is getting married in a week; and
Miles, a middle school English teacher who is trying to get a novel published,
is taking Jack on a week-long trip through California wine country for a great
time together before Jack�s weeding.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Miles, who is obsessed with wine�and wines made from pinot noir, in particular
(although the only great wine that is drunk during the film is a Bordeaux, and <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>definitely</i> French), views the trip as
wine drinking extravaganza; Jack views it as a last minute fling and an
opportunity to get both of them laid.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In
the process, they end up spending time with two friends�Jack with a woman who
works in a winery (Sandra Oh), and Miles with a waitress who loves wine
(Virginia Madsen).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This film is an
absolute joy:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the beauty of the
California wine country and the way it has been filmed, the wit and
laugh-out-loud humor of the script, the emotional complexity of what might have
been stock characters and situations,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>the excellent direction, and the great acting all combine to make this a
terrific two hours of movie going.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Perhaps the strongest endorsement I can give it is that somewhere fairly
early on I ceased to be bothered by the fact that the wines they were drinking
and talking incessantly about were California pinot noirs�which is quite a
indication (for those of you who know my distaste for all California red
wines�and my absolute abhorrence of their pinot noirs in particular) of how
successful and absorbing this film is!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>(FYI:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the two <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>good</i> wines that appear in the film are a
bottle of Cheval Blanc �61 and a bottle of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Sassicaia�88, the former of which is drunk in the film, the latter only
mentioned.)</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Holy Girl</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093873'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089315'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Holy Girl</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089315"></a><a name="_Toc117093873"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>La Ni�a Santa</i></b>, Argentina, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Had I noticed in advance that the executive
producers of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Holy Girl</i> were Pedro
Almod�var, his brother August�n, Ester Garc�a, and Almod�var�s production
company El Deseo (the same team that produced Pedro�s<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bad
Education</i>), I would have been somewhat more prepared for how wonderful and
unusual this film is.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I don�t know
whether Pedro had a big hand in making this film, or whether it is just that he
chose its talented director and writer Lucretia Martel because her aesthetic
and worldview is so similar to his own; but, one way or the other, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Holy Girl</i> has a beauty, a
sensitivity, and a subtlety of vision that cannot help but remind one of the
master himself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The difficult subject
matter involves an adolescent girl, Amalia (played incredibly by the lovely and
expressive Mar�a Alche), who is living in a hotel with her mother Helena
(Mercedes Mor�n) and Helena�s brother, and who we see in religion class with
her girlfriends�who are being indoctrinated in Catholic theory in a manner that
is too simple-minded and na�ve for them to swallow, particularly the notion
that they will receive a �call� from God about what is to be their
�vocation.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Dr. Jano (Carlos Belloso), a
married physician attending a medical convention being held at the hotel, sees
Amalia in a group of people listening to music on the street, positions himself
directly behind her in the crowd, and then proceeds to press himself against
her.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While the two stand there without
moving, we are presented with an incredibly complex series of emotions that
play across Amalia�s face�from distress and shock, through awakening and
arousal, and ending in wonderment and religious rapture.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The doctor runs off, leaving the bewildered
child.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>We later see Amalia watching Dr.
Jano in the hotel pool, obsessively reciting religious passages; and eventually
she reveals that she has received her �calling� and<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>found her �vocation�: it is this doctor.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The plot thickens as many of the characters
develop and/or reveal the strange and twisted relationships they have with each
other; but, in true Almod�var fashion, the film allows us to feel the love and
tenderness in situations of which it and we cannot approve, and understand the
complexity of motivations for which it and<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>we can not find justification.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The tensions and pace mount, but, in a wonderfully fulfilling way, there
is no simple answer on either a moral or plot development level.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>That Lucretia Martel was able to treats these
issues and emotions with such complexity, subtlety, and power while
simultaneously creating a visual experience that is so beautiful and engaging
suggests that she is an amazingly talented and accomplished artist�and <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Holy Girl</i> is an unbelievably good
film.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Vera
Drake</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093874'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089316'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Vera Drake</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089316"></a><a name="_Toc117093874"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(UK, 2000, Fine Line, released<b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>October 10</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Having given us his unusual and fascinating <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Topsy-Turvy</i> in the 1999 NYFF, Mike Leigh
returns this year with an even<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>more
generally successful and truly fine film, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Vera
Drake</i>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The title role, played to
perfection by Imelda Staunton (among whose credits is the role of Nurse White
in wonderful the BBC television production of Dennis Potter�s <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Singing Detective</i>), is a loving
wife, an encouraging and supportively devoted mother, and generally a
completely up-beat human being who has a smile and a pleasant greeting for all
whom she meets.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Vera is an<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>incredibly stoic, hard working cleaning woman
in the houses of wealthy Londoners.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>She
and her husband and their two adult children live in a carefully
well-maintained but incredibly poor flat; but the home she creates there is
happy and joyous.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>She cares for her
aging mother, her ailing neighbor, and invites lonely people into her home for
dinner and refreshment of soul�and, oh yes, she also helps out young women who
are �in trouble.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Set in the early 50s,
this paragon of virtue and empathy is�for those same reasons�performing illegal
abortions on women too poor to have the resources and connections necessary to
circumvent the system and obtain them from the medical establishment.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Predictably, she runs afoul of the law at the
most inopportune possible time for her family.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Although this film treads dangerously close to the line of becoming
melodrama (for which I have <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>zero</i>
tolerance), it never actually crosses it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Perhaps only a great filmmaker like Mike Leigh could tell such a story
without crossing that line, but the fact that he manages is essential to what
gives this film its great power and makes it as totally absorbing as it
is:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>where it could have been a<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>simplistic morality play, it instead has
moral complexity; where it could have been sickeningly full of<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>pathos, it is imbued with tension and
tenderness; where it could have been self-indulgent melodrama, it demonstrates
subtly, control, and realism.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Triple
Agent</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093875'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089317'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Triple Agent</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089317"></a><a name="_Toc117093875"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span></i><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span></b>(France,
2004)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>�A thriller,� �a spy story,� �a
psychological period-piece mystery� �this is a film by Eric Rohmer?<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>One wouldn�t believe it, except that by the
end one can feel the Nouvelle Vague master�s sensibility very much in evidence
in the nuances and intricacies of the personal interactions.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Triple
Agent</i> is, indeed, all the aforementioned things.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Set in Paris in the period from 1936-40, the
story revolves around Fiodor, a White Russian general, in exile in Paris, ably
played by Serge Renko.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Using newsreel
clips from the period, Rohmer masterfully sets his story against the complex
backdrop of various political worlds that were intersecting at that time:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the internal politics of France; those of the
various Russian factions�White and Red, in Russia and in exile, the various
communist factions, and those opposed to it altogether; and the larger European
political context�including the rise of Nazi Germany, and the Spanish Civil
War.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Fiodor is clearly involved in the
major intrigues of all these arenas, but at what level and in what capacity is
powerfully and importantly unclear.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Of
equal importance in the film is Fiodor�s wife, Arsino�, and in many ways, the
complexity of how he represents himself to her is every bit as convoluted and
ambiguous as how he represents himself to the outside world.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Ultimately this excellent and riveting film
turns out to be as much an exploration of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>relationship and self-representation as it does to be a mystery�and a
quite elegant and effective one at that.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Saraband</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093876'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089318'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Saraband</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089318"></a><a name="_Toc117093876"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></i></b>(Sweden, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This excellent film is virtually certain to
be Igmar Bergman�s last, as the 86 year old master has left Stockholm and
retired to an isolated island retreat.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>In <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Saraband, </i>the 63 year old
Marianne<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(Liv Ullmann, who, herself at
66, retains all of the beauty of soul and much of the physical beauty for which
she has always been famous) returns after a 30 year absence to visit her 86
year old ex husband Johan (Erland Josephson, who remains an actor of such skill
and intensity that he can capture the nuances in the soul of even the darkest
character in a way that cannot fail to elicit our empathy), who, like Bergman
himself, has retired to a sylvan isolation.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Marianne, who in the opening sequence of the film is reminiscing to the
audience about what is to come in the body of the film, decides with much
hesitation and ambivalence to visit Johan; she later in the film says to him
that he �had not reacted enthusiastically to the proposal,� to which he
replies, ��Enthusiastically�? You asked if you could come, and I said no!�<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The stormy and troubled relationship between
these two was the subject of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Bergman�s
1973 <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Scenes from a Marriage</i>, and
these two Bergman regulars play their current roles with the same incredible
emotional intensity, subtlety, and success that they did then.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>They interact with Henrik (extremely
well-played by B�rje Ahistedt), Johan�s son from one of his other marriages,
and Karin (wonderfully portrayed by Julia Dufvenius), the beautiful daughter
of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Henrik and the lovely Anna�who,
although she has been dead for two years and never actually appears in the
film, is an intense presence throughout.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Johan and Marianne attempt<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>to
realize the elements of intense emotions that still connect them in the face of
all that has always pushed them apart, while Henrik and Karin attempt to
achieve a rudimentary separation in the face of all that seems inextricably to
lock them together; and, as always in Bergman, while there is love (of some
form) on every side, whatever redemptive tenderness there is resides in the
women.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The relationships, though at
times tender, are not pretty; and the infantile elements of the men�s
personalities in particular lead them to be needy and narcissistic while
rejecting and cruel, and inappropriate in ways it is hard to know the limit of.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��� </span>(When father and son interact, there is no
one who can provide even the most distant hint of tenderness, and things become
particularly ugly.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Henrik and Karin
both play the cello (in the roles of teacher and student), and the film�s title
refers to the sarabands from the �Unaccomppanied Cello Suites� by Bach�which
provide a musical background that is subtly beautiful but mournful, with a
structural level of internal separateness and integrated interaction that both
reflects the emotional tenor of the action and stands for what is missing from
it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(The score for the film is, in
general, exceptionally beautiful and powerfully effective.)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film was shot on video (for a 2003
television version), and Bergman�s dislike for the quality of video to film
transfer had made him reluctant to release this as a film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Fortunately, he has relented, and the film
will be released at some future date. The film, in fact, is exceptionally
beautiful in its cinematography, and this beauty adds a marvelous sort of
counterpoint to the darkness of much of what is transpiring.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The acting is superb throughout, the insight
into the intensity and depth of human emotion is vintage Bergman, the film is
visually stunning, and the fact that Bergman has been able to make it all work
as a movie means that he has created a late-life masterpiece that is truly
extraordinary.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Moolaade</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093877'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089319'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Moolaade</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089319"></a><a name="_Toc117093877"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(Senegal/France, 2004, New Yorker Films,
released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>Oct. 15 � Lincoln Plaza
& Cinema Village</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Ousmane
Sembene been called the best African filmmaker of all time; and, if <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Moolaade</i> is any indication, he certainly
has earned that title.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The 81 year old
writer-director from Senegal not only presents important social ideas in a
powerful and compelling way, he also tells stories in an emotionally engaging
and intellectually riveting fashion.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Moreover, he creates visual images that are as rich and absorbing as his
ideas and stories.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Moolaade</i>, four young girls run away from
their �purification� ceremony (genital mutilation) and come to Coll�a woman
they know years earlier had refused to have her own daughter �cut��for
protection.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And that is what �moolaade�
means��protection.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a religiously
enforced notion of �sanctuary� that even the outraged elders of this completely
male-dominated society fear to transgress, though they try desperately to
circumvent it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The story involves the
playing out of this one woman�s defiance of this traditional practice, and her
resistance against priestesses who perform this ritual and<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the male village authorities who support it
(and who generally seek to control the lives and minds of the women in their
society), within the extended family structure of her compound and the larger
society of her village.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>What ensues is
at times painful and at times funny, at times shameful and at times heroic, but
ultimately transformative.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>To say that
Sembene has created a powerfully effective indictment of the practice of female
genital mutilation is at once an understatement and at the same time totally
misleading: <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>he has created a human drama
rooted in a terribly real issue and concerning enormously important structural
societal problems, that is emotionally transfixing, unbelievably entertaining,
and ultimately uplifting.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Many of those
I spoke with about going to see this film were hesitant because of the content,
and I encourage you <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i> to make the
same mistake:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>this is a film you will <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>enjoy</i> seeing�and see it you should!<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It was not perfect�there were some simplistic
elements woven into the generally sophisticated complexity of the
film�nevertheless, I thought <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Moolaade</i>
was terrific.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b> TC "<span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093878'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117089320'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i></b></span></span>"
\f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089320"></a><a name="_Toc117093878"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></i></b>(USA, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Now here was a surprise:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I am someone who has never really liked the
films of Todd Solondz, and I hated <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Happiness</i>
(1998 NYFF); <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes<b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> </b></i>is a film that has received
scathingly negative reviews in the press; but I <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>loved</i> it!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is funny,
satirical, interesting, absorbing, distinctive, and bizarre in a way that
really worked for me.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Admittedly, the
content is difficult:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'> </b></i>is the story of a twelve year old girl, from an upper middle
class New Jersey Jewish family, who decides she wants to get pregnant and does
so.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(The film actually begins with a
funeral following the suicide of �Dawn Wiener,� the central character in
Solondz�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Welcome to the Dollhouse</i>
(1995), and this film is �dedicated to the memory of Dawn Wiener�; and the main
character in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i> is Dawn�s
cousin.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And every other part of the
plot�from the reactions of her parents (Ellen Barkin and Stephen Adly Guirgis),
through the themes relating to abortion� is similarly presented without a
reductivist recourse to simple answers and therefore difficult to be at peace
with.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But there is a successful texture
to all this that has more sense of potential and possibility than is typical of
his films:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Happiness</i>, for example, presented us with an unremittingly negative
succession of unsympathetic characters and events that left me with a feeling
of emptiness and despair; <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i>,
while certainly not presenting us with anyone with whom positively to identify,
still conveys some sense of humanity and the world as a whole that does not
feel so nihilistic�and, while it may not be directly be contained within the
characters and actions themselves, there is nothing that, as in <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Happiness</i>, undercuts the possibility
that something positive may exist in the world and that growth and change may
be possible.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(I am tempted to write a
separate essay on all this, and I may; but suffice it for the moment to say
that, from what he said in the Q&A after the film, Solondz apparently
believes in a kind of genetically mandated determinism that means people cannot
change.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I suspect that this is precisely
what has left me cold about his other movies.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>I believe that in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Palindromes</i><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>, </b>he has created something that is
quite different�<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>although he does not
understand or acknowledge it!</i><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I know
how presumptuous this claim is, but it does often happen that artists do not
fully intellectually comprehend their own artistic creations.)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>An interesting and ultimately very success
conceit that Solondz uses (I suppose its really a technique, but if feels to be
much more than that) is to use an entire series of several different actors to
play to lead role of the young girl, each of whom takes over in the role
multiple times as the plot progresses.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>One of the results of this is to lend a sense of universality to the
character�which at one and the same time deepens our reactions and, perhaps,
allows us not to be too upset by what is happening to an actual, specific12
year old.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>The title of the film most
directly refers to the fact that the young girl�s name, Aviva, is a palindrome
(<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>i.e.</i>, it reads the same in either
direction)�but there is definitely also something �palindromic� about the fact
that different actors are playing the same person from different directions,
and that issues and people can be understood in differing directions, and,
perhaps, too, that things can move similarly into the same center from opposite
directions.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is also something
�palindromic� in the structure of the film that is like the pediment of a Greek
Temple, building from the one side into the peak of the central apex, then
diminishing again to the other side (with some end-to-end reflection of themes
in the sculptural progression)�and this is enhanced by the fact that the film
begins and ends with the same, littlest Aviva.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The acting is very good, the directing excellent, and the end result is
a very good movie.</p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Look at Me</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093879'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089321'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Look at Me</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089321"></a><a name="_Toc117093879"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></b>(<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Comme une Image</i> Opening Night</b>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>, </b>France,
2004, Sony Pictures Classics, to be released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'> <u>February 2005</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>���
</span>Like Agn�s Jaoui�s directorial debut, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>A Taste of Others</i> (<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Le Gout
des Autres</i>, shown at the 2000 NYFF),<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>
Look at Me</i> is a wonderfully<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>entertaining movie.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is not a
perfect film, nor even an excellent one; but it is very well made and has a
style that is quite distinctive.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The
excellent screenplay is by Jaoui and her writing partner Jean-Pierre Bacri<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(who co-wrote the screenplays for both of her
films, as well as co-writing with Jaoui the marvelous homage to Dennis Potter
directed by the masterful Alain Renais, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Same old Song </i>[(<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>On Connait le Chanson</i>).<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The plot line of the film�not its strongest
asset� centers on an awkward, overweight young woman (wonderfully acted by
Marylou Berry) and her attempts to make a singing career and to have a romantic
relationship; but the meat of the film is found in the witty and sarcastic
repartee (hey...this is <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>definitely</i> a
French movie!) between the various people in her life�principally her voice
coach (played by the incredibly lovely and expressive Jaoui) and her family and
acquaintances,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and her self-absorbed,
novelist father (Bacri�whose performance rather steals the show in a completely
unlikable way).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>With the exception of
the too-simplistic denouement, the character of the young woman contains some
rather appropriately believable complexity.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The film is a comic look at the intricacies and hypocrisies of this
segment of the French artistic community; and what is so unusual is that the
film succeeds in making it truly laughable, but in a way that manages to
maintain some feeling of warmth and tenderness towards these figures who are
all so obviously flawed and unlikable.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman is the Future of Man</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b> TC "<span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093880'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117089322'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman
is the Future of Man</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089322"></a><a name="_Toc117093880"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(South Korea/France, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Korean filmmaker Hong Sangsoo, who brought
his interesting <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Turning Gate</i> to the
2002 NYFF, has written and directed a truly wonderful and multi-layered film in
this latest effort.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>At times funny and
at times disturbing, and absorbing and thought-provoking throughout, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman is the Future of Man</i> is the story
of two men�Hunjoon, a filmmaker who has returned from years of studying in the
United States, and Munho, his former college buddy, who is now a professor,
living with his wife (whom neither we nor Hunjoon are ever privileged to meet)
in an impressive house high on a hilltop overlooking the town�who meet in
Seoul.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>They spar, they connect, they
give each other a hard time�all for no apparent reason.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Eventually, while they are eating and
drinking at a local restaurant, each goes into a reverie in which we get to see
a flashback from his past.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Each reverie
begins the same way:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>in the present
moment, the one about to have the reverie gazes across the street at the same
attractive woman; and each reverie contains a similar content from their
college days:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>each of them had
exploitative sexual relationship with the same woman�Sunhwa, who was originally
Hunjoon�s girlfriend�only abruptly to abandon her afterwards.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In their drunkenness, they decide to go off
to visit her together.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>What ensues is an
exploration of yearning, selfishness, cruelty, and self-deception.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The woman involved is ultimately far from
innocent in all this:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>right from the
beginning, when we see Sunhwa decide to go off in a cab with a former boyfriend
who is being bizarrely abusive, a theme is sounded about women obeying the
demands put upon them by men, in a way that is powerfully reprised much later
by students of Munho.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There are very
complex themes here about the roles men and women play with each other,
particularly in their sexual interactions,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>and about the confusion and self-thwarting behavior that is so common in
all their strivings. <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>And the subtlety of
the character studies contributes to making <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman
is the Future of Man</i> the unusually interesting film that it is.</p>
<p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Notre Musique</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093881'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089323'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Notre Musique</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089323"></a><a name="_Toc117093881"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(France/Switzerland, 2004, Wellspring, to be
released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>November 24 � Film Forum</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This new film from Jean-Luc Godard is really
quite excellent�and a big improvement over his <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Eloge d�Amour </i>(<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>In Praise of
Love</i>), which was part of the 2001 NYFF.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Notre Musique </i>is divided into
three labeled �kingdoms�: �Hell� is a roiling caldron of violent emotions,
depicted in a montage of actual news clips and created sequences of war and
destruction, their stark imagery often distorted into beautifully enhanced and
weirdly unrealistic colors; �Purgatory� (clearly the realm we all currently inhabit)
is a highly intellectualized presentation of the some of the forces that lie
behind wars, and some that seek to oppose them�the venue being a literary
conference in Sarajevo, and the themes being the juxtaposition of conqueror and
conquered, aggressor and victim, often in terms of the Middle East, with Godard
himself on screen providing some thoughts on the sameness of the two ends of
these apparent polarities while presenting photographs to the conference; and
finally, �Paradise� is a bucolic setting in which a woman martyred in the
earlier sequence (while trying to make some bridge in the Israel/Palestine
tensions) walks in the sunlight in a realm guarded by US servicemen.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As always, Godard�s visual imagery is astounding,
powerful, and evocative. The intellectualizations actually work more
effectively in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Notre Musique </i>than in
many of his works, although ultimately the philosophical point behind the third
�kingdom��assuming we know what it is�is far less compelling.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Setting �Purgatory� in the calm of post-war
Sarajevo�but with all of the carnage that is implicitly evoked by that
location� is a brilliantly powerful stroke of cinematic genius:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>like the genteel and at times even
affectionate intellectual interchange in the conference, it calmly and peacefully
alludes to all the terrible acts that mankind can be guilty of.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is, however, one of my ongoing
dissatisfactions with Godard that he takes himself more seriously as a
philosophical thinker than he should�and than I thinks he deserves to:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>he is an exquisite filmmaker, and only an
mediocre philosopher, I�m afraid.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Caf� Lumi�re</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093882'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089324'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Caf� Lumi�re</i></b></span></span>" \f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089324"></a><a name="_Toc117093882"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></i></b>(<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Kohi Jikou</i></b>, Japan/Taiwan, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Written and directed by the great Taiwanese
filmmaker, Hou Hsiao-hsien, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Caf� Lumi�re </i>is
dedicated to the centennial last year of the birth of legendary Japanese
filmmaker, Yasujiro Ozu, and it picks up on many of Ozu�s traditional themes,
particularly the effects of modernization on Japanese society and family
relationships.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Caf� Lumi�re</i> opens with a shot of a light rail train going over a
bridge, and it is in general the industrial forms of modern life�and
specifically trains and everything having to do with them�that embody all the
life and energy in the world that Hou is examining.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In contrast the lives and interactions of the
main characters are so emotionally controlled and contained that they seem
almost energy-less and plain compared to the vitality and beauty of the
trains.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is one often-repeated
scene of several different train lines crossing and intersecting on various
levels�some entering tunnels, others crossing bridges�outside some major Tokyo
station that is one of the most gorgeous and interactive of the film�s images;
and the only out-and-out joy that is expressed by any of the characters concerns
the two main characters� love for the trains.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The characters themselves, meanwhile, have a multitude of intense issues
with each other�all of them implicit, potential, covert, or only expressed
totally devoid of emotional content.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The
long, sustained shots Hou loves, combined with the sharply limited dialogue and
action and the lack of emotional interaction, create a feeling of isolation and
constriction that is almost soporific.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The main character, Yoko, is a young woman who lives alone in a cramped
apartment in Tokyo and who seems to drift dreamily through her life..<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>We learn she is pregnant by a man in Taiwan,
whom she has no intention of marrying.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Her aging parents are distressed by this and the general state of her
life, but can not bring themselves to say anything (although much is expressed
in the tenseness of the silences).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It
seems her main relationship�not acknowledged by either party as romantic in any
way�is with a young man, Hajime, who runs a bookstore, but who is engaged in a
computer graphics project about trains.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>They search together for a caf� in Tokyo that decades ago was frequented
by a Taiwanese composer.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The meet on
trains and in train stations (intentionally and by chance); they even end up on
separate trains with the audience seeing what they do not know�that they are
literally as well as figuratively on parallel courses that do not actually
touch and interact; and they ultimately end up together for a extended period
of time while Hajime records train noises for his project without any
interaction or words spoken between them.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>It is a beautifully and richly photographed film, which is all the more
amazing since there is almost no natural beauty depicted�save for a couple of
gorgeous landscapes in the countryside, which stand in sharp contradistinction
to the fact that within the city there is almost no plant life seen, except for
one beautiful willow tree by a train station, and a small flowering tree
outside Yoko�s apartment building.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The 10<sup>th</sup> District Court: Moments of Trial</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b> TC "<span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093883'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117089325'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
10<sup>th</sup> District Court: Moments of Trial</i></b></span></span>" \f
C \l "1" <![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089325"></a><a name="_Toc117093883"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(<a name=director2000><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>10<sup>e</sup> chambre - Instants
d'audience</i></b>, France, 2004)</a><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>This film had to be one of the most pleasant surprises of this year�s
NYFF.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>A documentary from Raymond
Depardon,<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'> </i></b><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The 10<sup>th</sup>
District Court </i>is comprised of a series of actual brief court appearances
and subsequent judgments before Judge Mich�le Bernard-Requin, in what must be
the French equivalent of night court.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The formidable judge hears pleadings from an array of defendants�from
various walks of life and various social and ethnic groups; and the
interactions are as amusing as they are revealing.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film would have profited had15 minutes
been edited out, reducing it to only 90 minutes.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Nevertheless, it is still an entertaining and
successful piece.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Tropical Malady</i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></i></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093884'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tropical Malady</i></b></span>"
\f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117093884"></a><![endif]></i></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-element:field-end'></span></i></b><![endif]--><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>(Thailand/France, 2004, Strand Releasing, to
be released<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> <u>Spring 2005</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This was a most unusual film: at the outset,
it is a tender and touching story of two young men, a soldier and a man from
the countryside, falling in love and dealing with the upsurge of their erotic
passions toward each other�that is abruptly interrupted just short of
consummation, as the one fades away into the night; but then the film virtually
starts over in the realm of myth, wherein a soldier and a mystical man-beast
stalk each other in the forest; and, all throughout it is an absolute delight
of cinematographic beauty�with breathtakingly gorgeous scenes of the
countryside that have an almost unearthly aesthetic.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is too long, and the talented
director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, has a tendency to hold shots too long for
either comfort or effectiveness (except the aforementioned landscape shots,
that support their own length by their sublime beauty), but it is still a treat
to see and well-worth watching.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>My
biggest complaint is that I simply don�t accept the philosophical stance that
underlies the film in a very heavy-handed way right from the opening
sequence:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>we are explicitly told that
man is essentially a beast, and they we all need to become �trainers� to
harness and control the beastly forces that exist within us.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In many wonderful ways the mythical tale
recapitulates (and, at worst, potentially explains some of the details of) the
original real-world one, in that they both involve two beings looking to
express their inner nature to each other in a way that will profoundly alter
each other�or perhaps devour and destroy each other.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(And there is even another sense in which the
mystical version can be interpreted realistically; but this is not really an
asset.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The richness of this is
stunning; but the specifics are hard to for me comfortably to accept.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Or (My Treasure)</b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-begin'></span></b>
TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117093885'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117089326'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Or (My Treasure)</b></span></span>"
\f C \l "1" <![endif]--><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><![if !supportNestedAnchors]><a
name="_Toc117089326"></a><a name="_Toc117093885"></a><![endif]></b><!--[if supportFields]><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='mso-element:field-end'></span></b><![endif]--><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span></b>(<b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Or (Mon Tr�sor)</b>, Israel, 2004)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Keren Yedaya�s interesting first feature
concerns an 18 tear old girl, Or (sympathetically portrayed by Dana Ivgy), and
her mother, Ruthie (Ronit Elkabetz), a Tel Aviv street walker. Or is an
unbelievably earnest and likable young woman�attending school during the day,
working long hours as a dish washer after school, and waking up early in the
morning to collect empty bottles on the beach to return for extra money�who is
trying desperately to keep her mother off the street: she tries everything from
getting her mother a job as a cleaning woman, through begging her and crying
hysterically, up to and including locking her mother into their apartment when
Or leaves for the day.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In what is
potentially the most interesting level of the film, it slowly is revealed that
there is an unfortunate but believably dark complexity to Or�s character, which
tragically becomes more pronounced as her mother slips more irretrievably into
her degrading existence.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Sadly, the film
itself is not able to sustain the intense emotions of the situations it is
exploring without going way over the edge into melodrama�and the overall
experience of the film suffers accordingly.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><u>SPECIAL EVENTS<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>On 7 October 2004, as part of the NYFF, there was a special
evening in Alice Tully Hall entitled <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Viva
Pedro!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></b><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>It was a tribute to Pedro Almod�var, the
amazing Spanish director who has long been a NYFF favorite.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Clips were shown from many of his
magnificent<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>films; and Javier C�mara,
Fele Martinez, and Gael Garcia Bernal gave brief tributes to the master whose
films they have acted in.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Pedro then
gave a brief speech and then entered into a conversation with Richard Pe�a,
Program Director for the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and head of the
Selection Committee for the NYFF.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>He
then fielded questions from the audience.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>It was a joyous and truly spectacular event.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>Since,
including an evening of </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Viva Pedro</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>!, we
went to 16 NYFF presentations during the 17 days of its run, we were not able
to get to any of the other <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004se.htm">Special Events</a>, some
of them clearly wonderful�including directors dialogues with Agn�s Jaoui and
Mike Leigh, a screening of the restored version of the 1969 <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Macunaima</i> from Brazil, </span><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:
normal'>Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'>, a film of</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'> Miles
Davis�s performance at the Isle of Wight (to be released on DVD November 16), </span><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:
normal'>Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'>, Ken Burn�s documentary on the
first black world heavyweight champion boxer, and, perhaps most spectacular of
all, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Infernal Affairs Trilogy</i>
directed by </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:
bold'>Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Nor were
we able to get to any of the annual <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004avantgarde.htm">Views from the
Avant-Garde</a> series, which is always so wonderful.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Also, mostly because it is not our sort of
thing, we did not see any of the <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004shaw.htm">Elegance, Passion, and
Cold Hard Steel: A Tribute to Shaw Brothers Studios</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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id="_x0000_i1025" src=line1.gif></p>
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