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<title>2005 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'>YORK FILM FESTIVAL</span></b></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>2005 � 43<sup>rd</sup> Festival</span></b></p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p>The just-concluded 2005 NYFF was of extremely high quality:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>there were some thoroughly wonderful films,
some very good films, and, even the film we liked the least was not bad.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(Of course, we knew not to go to Lars von
Trier�s new film, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Manderlay</i>, as I
have vowed never again to see any of his films�but I hear that even many of his
fans did not like this newest effort.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>As always, 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 no reason to expect would even
be good.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This year�s Festival was no
exception in this regard.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The NYFF is
unique among film festivals in that it is not a commercial or industry
event:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><span class=apple-style-span>there
are no prizes except the honor of being selected to be part of the Festival;
and it is not a marketplace for selling films, so there is no requirement that
films screened in it have any particular commercial potential�although some of
the films do find distributors after having been screened in the Festival.</span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Consequently, there are films in the Festival
that you will see nowhere else: films like Hong Sang-soo�s oddly complex <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale of Cinema</i>, or Hou Hsiao-hsien�s
languorously beautiful <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Three Times.</i><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There are also films that one hopes will be
enormous commercially successful, like George Clooney�s opening night excellent
and politically important <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Good Night and
Good Luck</i>�which is one I feel it is actually important for everyone to see,
as well as one everyone will enjoy.</p>
<p>Before the 2004 NYFF began, the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>New
York Times</i> ran an 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.</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 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>The short story is
this:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>you either take your chances on
being able to get scalped tickets (often available during the NYFF from people
selling them outside Alice Tully Hall) or returned tickets (at the Alice Tully
Box office) at the last minute, or you improve your chances by becoming a
member of the Film Society.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>But</i>
<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>N.B.</i></b>:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>membership only gives one a <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>relative</i> advantage (in that you get to
put in your requests before it is opened to the general public�which means you
are likely but not guaranteed to be able to get tickets to all but the most
sought-after films);<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>only</i> way to guarantee you will get
tickets to all of the films you want�particularly immensely popular ones like
this year�s Opening Night�is to become a donor.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Being a member does <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>not</i>
guarantee anything!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Naturally, the best
answer is to become a member of the Film Society of Lincoln Center�and this
Primer describes the best ways to do that to meet your needs and desires in
relation to getting tickets.</p>
<p>We 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 2005 NYFF program and the Film Society descriptions of each film can be
found at<a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004.htm"></a> <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm">www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm</a>.
My reviews of past years of the NYFF can be found at <a
href="http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff.html">www.rlrubens.com/nyff.html</a> . </p>
<p>[For films 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><!--[if supportFields]><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><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></b><![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 \p "
" \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><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094477"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Good Night and Good Luck</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094478"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094479"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Squid and the Whale</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094480"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Passenger</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094481"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Paradise Now</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094482"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Three Times</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094483"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale of Cinema</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094484"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Capote</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094485"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bubble</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094486"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Breakfast on Pluto</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094487"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sympathy for Lady Vengeance</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094488"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Cach�</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094489"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>L�Enfant</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094490"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The President�s Last Bang</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><span class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a
href="#_Toc117094491"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who�s Camus Anyway</i></b></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1><!--[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]--><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Good
Night and Good Luck</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:_Toc117094477'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117017741'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117017633'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Good Night and Good Luck</i></b></span></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="_Toc117017633"></a><a name="_Toc117017741"></a><a name="_Toc117094477"></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'>Opening
Night.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></b>USA, Warner Independent
Pictures, 2005, released in NYC and LA on <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>7
October</u></b>, with an increasingly broad general release to follow)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>George Clooney has co-written (with Grant
Heslov) and directed a film that not only is well made, powerful, entertaining,
but also politically important. Set in the �50s, it tells the story of Edward
R. Murrow�s decision to take a stand against the abuses being perpetrated by
Joe McCarthy and against the political intimidation of the American public in
general and of the media in particular.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The acting is superb:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>David
Strathairn gives a riveting performance, convincingly and powerfully recreating
the unique character of Ed Murrow�and if it is not in Oscar contention, I shall
attribute it to the cowardice of the Academy, rather even than to its lack of
taste;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Clooney gives an superb portrayal
of Murrow�s partner and producer, Fred Friendly;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Frank Langella very powerfully plays the role
of William Paley, the highly conflicted president of CBS; and the supporting
cast�including the likes of Robert Downey, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, and Jeff
Daniels�all deliver solid and effective performances.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The role of Joe McCarthy is wonderfully
provided by the Senator himself, via Clooney�s decision to use actual newsreel
footage of him instead of having an actor play him.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The stark, gritty black-and-white cinematography
of Robert Elswit (<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Boogie Night</i>, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Magnolia</i>) visually contributes enormous
strength and impact to the emotional experience.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film accurately recreates the tension and
flavor of a real news room, which provides the perfect backdrop for the tension
of the struggles going on within CBS, within the media in general, and
ultimately the within the country at large�all replete with the agonizing
personal struggles of those deciding to risk going against the tide of the
governmental<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>pressures of repression.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While the film is totally effective in
recreating the issues and struggles�personal as well as societal�facing the
country in the early 50s, its real importance lies in the issues it raises
about the current situation in our country:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>it examines the need for a free press and reporters and organizations
courageous enough to question government policies and actions�often in the face
of overwhelmingly repressive forces, societal and commercial, as well as
governmental.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It deals with the tendency
of many in power to capitalize on people�s fears and insecurities in order to
manipulate them for their own ends, and the essential role the fourth estate
potentially can play in counterbalancing these forces�when it does not succumb
to its own lack of courage to do so.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>At
the Opening Night Party, I said to George Clooney�s father, Nick (who had a
career as a TV news anchorman and was part of the inspiration in George�s
decision to make<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>this movie), that I
believe this is a film everyone in the country should see; and he replied that
he especially hoped every journalist and every journalism student in the
country sees it�and I concur.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a
must-see for many reasons, but not least among them that it is a thoroughly engaging
and enjoyable viewing experience.</p>
<p>A side note:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Opening Night was a
particularly joyful and electrifying experience this year, largely due to the
personality and style of George Clooney himself.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While it did not hurt that the film itself
was so powerful and enjoyable an experience, the warmth, intelligence, humor,
and approachability of Clooney set an excitingly positive tone for the
evening.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It even included a performance
by Diane Reeves, whose singing provides much of the score for the film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>It was the best Opening Night in my recent
memory.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram
Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story </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><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117094478'><span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117017742'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117017634'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram
Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story</i></b></span></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="_Toc117017634"></a><a name="_Toc117017742"></a><a name="_Toc117094478"></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>(UK, Picture House, 2005, to be
released in <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>November 2005</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>For those not already familiar with Laurence
Sterne�s amazing novel, let me begin by explaining that it is a post-modern
masterpiece:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>narrated by the main
character, Tristram Shandy�who is describing<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>the process of writing the book we are reading�the book is famous for
its extensive, far-ranging tangents of association and flights of ideas, its
speaking directly to the reader on a meta-level [<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>e.g</i>., its chapter in which Tristram offers to sell the dedication
of future editions of the book to the highest bidder; the ten missing pages
Tristram tells us he removed because they were so well-written that he feared
they would make the writing in the rest of the book seem bad by comparison],
its blank pages, its two completely black pages, its bawdy licentiousness mixed
with philosophical erudition, its page and a half left blank so we can follow Tristram�s
instructions to write in our own fantasized description of the Widow Wadman,
�as like your mistress as you can ---- as unlike your wife as your conscience
will let you.�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The strangest part is
that Sterne wrote it in the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>mid-18<sup>th</sup>
Century</i>!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In Michael<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Winterbottom�s rollicking adaptation of it to
the screen, the cast is making a movie about making a movie about Tristram
Shandy�s writing a book about writing a book.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Steve Coogan is rather perfect in the roles of both Tristram and
Tristram�s father, and Rob Brydon does a wonderful job portraying Tristram�s
Uncle Toby�although both men spend the greater proportion of their time on
screen playing themselves, often engaged with each other in very funny verbal
sparring.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a hilarious endeavor,
which succeeds in capturing some of the wild flavor of the book�with Tristram
speaking directly to the audience as well as participating in the ongoing
story�which, as in the book, is broken up and discontinuous, moving forward and
backward in time; and the in-character parts are interspersed with the goings
on of the cast in their interactions around making the film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It must be said, however, that it will be
something of a disappointment for those who love Sterne�s masterpiece:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>not because it is such a loose and
freewheeling takeoff�which is something one easily could imagine Sterne having
loved; nor because it spends more time in off beat tangents totally outside of
the narrative flow than in the actual development of the plot�as that is very
much what Sterne himself did; nor because it is at times silly, lewd, and even
slapstick�since that is consistent with the wildness of Sterne�s own writing;
but rather because the humor and the antics of the characters takes place
against a backdrop that lacks all of the literary excellence, philosophical
sophistication, and general erudition of Sterne�s novel�even given that some of
those things are being parodied or falsified in the novel.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The movie, despite its being quite successful
in its basic undertaking of adapting what could easily be adjudged one of the
most unfilmable novels of all time and its being a thoroughly enjoyable film
experience, missed many opportunities to be a far more elegant and humorous
version of what it is.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Nevertheless, it
is totally worth seeing, as it is an excellent, funny, and deeply enjoyable
movie.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I only hope it will encourage
people to take the next step and read the book itself, <i>The Life and Opinions
of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman</i><span style='mso-bidi-font-style:italic'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Squid and the Whale </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><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>TC "<span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117094479'><span
style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117017743'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Toc117017635'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Squid
and the Whale</i></b></span></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="_Toc117017635"></a><a name="_Toc117017743"></a><a name="_Toc117094479"></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, Samuel Goldwyn Films/Sony
Pictures Entertainment, 2005, limited release in NYC [Angelika and Lincoln
Plaza Cinemas] on <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>5 October</u></b>, with a broader general
release hopefully to follow)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This film
is about a horrible divorce in which two completely pathological and quite
unlikable parents split up in a way that is terrible for their two teenage
sons, who themselves are enormously screwed up and not altogether that
sympathetic.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Would you believe that it
is a wonderfully funny, engaging, and appealing film?<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Well, that<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>most certainly is the case!...and that is enormously to the credit of
the rather strange but wonderful sense of humor and view of human interactions
of Noah Baumbach, who wrote and directed this fabulous film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(Baumbach co-wrote <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Life Aquati</i>c with Wes Anderson, who is one of the producers of
this film�and this fact may provide you with some hint as to the flavor of its
special qualities.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is brilliantly
done and masterfully acted.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The main
characters are played to perfection:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Jeff Daniels creates a totally unlikable father, Bernard, who is a
pompous, self-righteous author whose earlier success seems to be diminishing as
time goes on�and it is incredible how one can find his incessantly given, haughty
literary opinions so distasteful to hear, even when one realizes that one
actually agrees with them; Laura Linney does a terrific job as the increasingly
successful but unremittingly flaky mother, Joan, who seems in some ways more
sympathetic due to the presence in her of at least some emotional availability,
but who ultimately remains deeply self-centered and twisted;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Jesse Eisenberg completely convincingly plays
the 16 year old son, Walt, as he wrestles with his identification with his
father�with all of its distressing distastefulness�and eventually rediscovers
the importance of aspects of his emotional connection to his mother; and Owen
Kline (son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) does a very impressive job of
acting<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the complicated younger son, Frank,
who in his youth is the most emotionally present and real of any of them, yet
who therefore is also experiencing the most disorienting effects of the trauma
that is occurring.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The cast also
includes Anna Paquin, William Baldwin, and Halley Feiffer.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Baumbach presents his characters in a way
that is on the one hand caricatured and satirical and on the other deeply
insightful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While the film is
essentially comic, it explores and reveals through its humor a deep and complex
understanding of the humanity of the characters which only slowly unfolds as
the viewer integrates his own reaction to what has gone on in what he has
seen.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As became clear in the
conversation with Baumbach moderated by Phillip Lopate, this is a quirky,
exciting film that could only have been made utilizing the freedom that comes
from being a low-budget production, made outside of the control of the studio
system.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It also was made clear that this
film is heavily autobiographical, which may account for why it is able to be
loving in a way that one would not immediately expect from so otherwise acerbic
a presentation of a family�s pathological dynamics.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This was undoubtedly one of the finest films
of this year�s Festival, and well-worth seeing.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>I only hope its title (a reference to something that is probably
familiar to any New Yorker who has raised a young boy<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>in the City) is not too misleadingly
off-putting to the general public.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(I
have never been able to shake my conviction that it was the title of the <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Shawshank Redemption</i> that limited its
commercial success.)</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Passenger</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:_Toc117094480'><span style='mso-bookmark:
_Toc117017744'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Passenger</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="_Toc117017744"></a><a name="_Toc117094480"></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>(Italy/USA/France, 1973, Sony
Pictures Classics, to be re-released on <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>28
October</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Unavailable for many
years, this beautiful and gripping film by Michelangelo Antonioni is being
re-released by Sony Pictures classics this month.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It stars Jack Nicholson at a time in his
career when he was at the peak of his young, powerful, handsome and sexy
presence�and before his ferocious anger became his dominant onscreen
emotion.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>He plays David Locke, a world
weary reporter on assignment in the desert of North Africa, who is presented
with the death of a man named Robertson whom he has met there in his run down
motel.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In a decision which is not explained
at all at the time, and we never fully understand at any point, Locke decides
to set it up to appear that it had be he who died and to take on the identity
of the dead man�who we eventually learn was an illegal arms dealer supplying
weapons to the rebels that Locke was doing a story about. <span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>In his travels as Robertson, he moves through
London to Spain, and eventually hooks up with a young woman played by Maria
Schneider at the height of her sultry sexual beauty.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Their relationship is unclear, and they
exchange extremely little information. <span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>(She asks him well into their travels, �Who
are you?� and he tells he only, �I used to be someone else, but I traded him
in.�)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Like Antonioni�s 1966 <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Blow-Up</i>, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Passenger</i> approaches in ways being a gripping thriller; but it
is at the same time a leisurely artistic journey through magnificent visual
vistas of Antonio�s cinematographic vision.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>With a pacing more like Antoniono�s 1964 <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Red Desert</i>, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Passenger</i>
is a lusciously rich visual experience, with marvelous panoramas of the North
African desert and the Spanish countryside.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>But<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>as a thriller it is more of
an avant-garde existential statement on the ambiguity of finding meaning in
life, and as an art film it has far more of an emotionally engaging,
psychologically provocative storyline than one would expect.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a wonderful film�albeit a perplexing
one; and you definitely should see it if you have the opportunity.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Paradise
Now</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:_Toc117094481'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Paradise Now</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="_Toc117094481"></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>(Netherlands/Germany/France, 2005, Warner
Independent Pictures, to be released on a limited basis in NY [Lincoln Plaza
and Landmark Sunshine] and LA [Sunset and New Wilshire] on <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><u>28 October</u></b> and we should sincerely hope it gets a wider
general release thereafter)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This was
definitely one of the major positive surprises of the Festival�even though we
were alerted by our friend at Human Rights Watch to expect it to be
wonderful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Director and co-writer Hany
Abu-Assad�s film tells the story of two suicide bombers and the mission they
are sent off on.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I don�t know what
exactly I was expecting, but a sensitive, intelligent, balanced, insightful,
and sympathetic exploration was more than I was willing to hope for�but it was
what we got!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is not overly
politicized; it is not overly simplistic; it is not even too one-sided.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It in no way romanticizes or justifies
suicide bombings, but it also does not attempt a reductivist dismissal of the
personal psychology of those who decide to engage in it.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The story is about 48 hours in the lives of
two young Palestinian friends, Khaled (Ali Suiman) and Said (Kais Nashef), who
are notified by their handlers that the time has come to put into action the
pair�s decision to become martyrs together.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Their handlers take them, bombs irrevocably attached to their bodies, to
their insertion point for their suicide bombing raid on Tel Aviv.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is only after their entry into Tel Aviv
goes awry, and the two are separated, that we begin to learn about the personal
histories of each man.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As they become
more differentiated in our knowledge of them as individuals, their struggles,
their motivations, and their actions begin to become more understandable.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is a masterpiece of filmmaking,
psychological exploration, and political wisdom, and I recommend most highly
that you find a way to see it�it is a wonderful and<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>profoundly important film.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Three
Times</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:_Toc117094482'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Three Times</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="_Toc117094482"></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'>Zuihaode shiguang</i></b>,<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Taiwan, 2005)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Hou Hsiao-hsien, who brought the beautiful <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Caf� Lumi�re<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'> </b></i>to the 2004
NYFF, has with this new film written and directed one of the most beautiful
cinematographic experiences I have ever seen.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The structure of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Three Times</i>
consists of three love stories, each set in a different time and place:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the first in a pool hall in 1966, the second
in an elegant brothel in 1911, and the third in urban Taipei in 2005.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The two lead characters in each piece are
played by the same actors, Chang Chen and the beautiful<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Shu Qi..<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>In the first segment, Chang falls in love with Shu and goes to great
lengths to pursue a connection with her; and Shu eventually reciprocates, if
only barely.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In the second, Shu loves
Chang, and there is a muted but intense connection between them, although Chang
is unable to reciprocate it in any caring or authentic way.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In the third, there is intense sexual passion
in both directions, but little connection, and no love.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But the real movement of the film is not in
its plot so much as it is in the characters� repeated movement back and forth
across water�directly on boats in the first, implicitly in Chang�s unseen
travel back and forth to Japan in the second, and on a motorcycle over bridges
in the third�and in and out of connection in their personal relationships.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is a languorously beautiful work,
full of Hou�s signature long, sustained shots, each of which is crafted like a
painting developing in time�with there being more development in the changes of
the nuance of the lighting than in the plot, and more expression in the faces
of the actors than in the dialogue<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is
not a movie for everyone, and, unfortunately, it does not yet have
distribution; but it is a thing of beauty, and I loved it.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale
of Cinema</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:_Toc117094483'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale of Cinema</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="_Toc117094483"></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'>Keuk Jang Jeon</i></b>, S. Korea/France,
2005)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This is Hong Song-soo�s third NYFF
film (<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Turning Gate</i> in the 2002 NYFF,
and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman is the Future of Man</i> in
last year�s Festival).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I have liked all
three, but <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale of Cinema</i> is by far
the best.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a complex,
multi-layered, embedded story about sex, competition, relationships, and
desires that engages, confuses, misleads, and turns repeatedly back on itself,
and which only has its full impact long after viewing it.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is full of repetitions, recreations,
inversions�all in a story that keeps turning recursively back on itself in ever
increasing complexity, and with ever expanding levels of meaning.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I cannot think how more fully to describe
this most unique piece of filmmaking without giving away more of the plot than
I am comfortable doing, so I�ll just have to hope it finds distribution so that
you�ll be able to see it for yourself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>While it is a not an easy film experience, it is a deeply rewarding and
unusually thought-provoking one.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Capote</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:_Toc117094484'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Capote</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="_Toc117094484"></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>(USA, Sony Pictures Classics, 2005, released <b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>30 September</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Bennett Miller has masterfully directed Dan
Futterman�s compellingly written script and created a beautifully visual,
dramatically powerful work about Truman Capote and the researching and writing
of his incredibly successful book, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>In
Cold Blood</i>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Philip Seymour Hoffman
gives what is probably the best performance of his already amazingly
accomplished acting career�and one that ought to provide the leading
competition to David Strathairn�s Best Actor Oscar possibilities, assuming the
world�and the Academy�is a more rational place than we have any right to assume
it is; and Catherine Keener gives a totally convincing performance as Capote�s
childhood friend, assistant, and �bodyguard,� (Nellie) Harper Lee, who
eventually wrote <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>To Kill A Mockingbird</i>�particularly
impressive since the lovely Ms. Keener succeeds in acting the role of a less
than attractive, older-looking woman.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>All the acting (including Bob Balaban as William Shawn) is marvelous. So
here we have an exquisitely done, beautifully photographed, incredibly
well-acted, riveting film about Truman Capote, an unsettlingly weird writer who
chooses to research and write a book about two weird criminals who wantonly and
psychopathically commit ruthless, meaningless murders.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>We learn that in the process he identifies
with one of the killers, befriends him�and perhaps even falls in love with
him�misleads and lies to him, uses his emotional connection to him to get him
to reveal the details of his story, and ultimately abandons him, unable to
contain his eagerness for the pair to be executed because their appeals have
been delaying the completion and publication of his book.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The twisted parallels are obvious.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>My problem is that I am not really interested
in these people�neither in the killers nor in Capote; nor I am I particularly
interested in the twisted realities of either of their stories.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I was not interested in reading <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>In Cold Blood</i>�regardless of how
well-written it may have been; and I ultimately was not really interested in
seeing <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Capote</i>�regardless of how
wonderfully done the film was.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I was
completely entranced while watching the film, but I felt almost dirty and used
when it was over.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>You may disagree:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>many people thoroughly appreciated and
enjoyed<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'> In Cold Blood</i>, too.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The movie may turn out to be a major success,
and it is unarguably excellently done.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Chacun � son go�t.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bubble</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:_Toc117094485'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bubble</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="_Toc117094485"></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>(USA, Magnolia Pictures, 2005, to be released
in <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>January 2006</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>loved</i>
Steven Soderergh�s new low-budget film�right up to, but definitely not
including, its end, which I rather disliked.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>���
</span>Using non-professional actors, Soderbergh gives us an intense,
penetrating look into the lives of three limited and�to varying
degrees�unappealing people working in a doll factory in a small town in
Ohio.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Kyle (Dustin James Ashley) is an
earnest young man who lives with his mother, diligently working hard at this
job at the doll factory as well as other jobs.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Although the only character in the film to be identified as having a
psychological<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>disorder, he is the one
who is clearly the healthiest�and perhaps therefore the saddest.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Martha (Debbie Doebrereiner, a real-life
cashier), plays an older, unattractive woman who is obviously interested in
Kyle, in an extremely aim-inhibited way, and who goes out of her way to do
favors for him, spend time with him at work, and take care of him.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The pathology of the twisted selflessness and
its underlying unacknowledged anger resounds throughout the fabric of the
film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Kyle is clearly responsive to the
nurturing aspects of Martha�s attention and reciprocates her friendship. Enter
the attractive, young woman, Rose (Misty Dawn Wilkins), whose interest in Kyle
is as obvious as is her willingness to take advantage of Martha�s tendency to
be unreasonably giving.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Rose is the
anti-Martha:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>her unreflective
selfishness and entitlement seems to parallel Martha�s sick martyr
complex.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The plot thickens as Martha
clearly becomes jealous of Kyle�s markedly un-Platonic interest in Rose.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The interactions of the three of them�with
the intensities and limitations of their aspirations and desires�create the
fabric of a small-town tragedy that plays out very successfully in extremely
comic as well as dramatic ways.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>That
Soderbergh manages to get such excellent performances out of non-professional
actors is truly amazing.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>For me,
however, the story takes two very unfortunate turns:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>first in becoming a kind of mystery rather
than a drama, and then, more importantly, in becoming rather trite in its
finale.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Nevertheless, it is still well
worth your seeing.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Breakfast
on Pluto</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:_Toc117094486'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Breakfast on Pluto</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="_Toc117094486"></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'>Centerpiece</b>,
Ireland, Sony Classics Pictures, 2005, to be released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><u>18 November</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Neil
Jordan (who wrote and directed <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Crying
Game</i>), who directed this film, also wrote the screenplay with Patrick McCabe
(who wrote the novel on which the movie is based; this is the same combination
that did <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Butcher Boy</i>).<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Set in the 60s and 70s, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Breakfast on Pluto</i> is the story of a beautiful boy with a
well-established feminine identification growing up in a small town in
Ireland.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Named Patrick Braden, and
wonderfully portrayed by Cillian Murphy, the boy takes the name Kitten and
determinedly sets out to live his chosen identity.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Kitten eventually moves from the stodgy
provincialism of his home town to the swinging urban existence of London, where
his life continues in a way not totally unlike the struggle it was back
home.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>His obsessively optimistic and
incessantly innocent self-assertion�which is sometimes met with understanding,
but most often met with of varying levels of rejection and abuse, which also at
times develops into positive and even loving engagement�creates a series of
interactions that at times are extremely funny, at times are painfully and
sometimes frighteningly sad, and at some times are even uplifting and
transformative.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In typical Neil Jordan
fashion, the personal struggles of the film all take place against the backdrop
of the madness of the political tensions of Irish society and its violent
struggles.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The acting is extremely
well-done, and the cast includes the magnificent Liam Neeson, Jordan regular
Stephen Rea, and Irish rock musician Gavin Friday.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is very unusual, extraordinary at
moments, but ultimately fairly uneven�and not as profound as Jordan would want
it to be.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sympathy
for Lady Vengeance</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:_Toc117094487'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sympathy for Lady Vengeance</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="_Toc117094487"></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'>Chin-Jeol-Han Geum-Ja-Ssi</i></b>, S. Korea,
Tartan Films, 2005, to be released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>early
in 2006</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I have not seen either
of the two reportedly wonderful earlier films (<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance</i> and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Oldboy</i>)
in this trilogy by director Park Chanwook, because I knew to expect that they
would be too violent for my tastes.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sympathy for Lady Vengeance</i>, however,
the violence, while extensive, is not overwhelming�and it has a quality that
renders is emotionally productive within the fabric of the film in a way I
could tolerate.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It reminded me of the
way the violence in Quentin Tarantino�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pulp
Fiction</i> was more acceptable to me than that of most movies.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Park has been compared to Tarantino, and there
is an almost comic book, stylized format to parts of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Sympathy for Lady Vengeance </i>that has been compared to the
exuberance of Tarantino�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Kill Bill</i>;
but I do not think that is what I am referring to here, as I was totally unable
to integrate and accept the violence in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Kill
Bill</i>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The main character, Geum-ja,
or �Lady Vengeance,� is played by the beautiful Lee Yeong-ae.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>She is being released from prison fourteen
years after having been convicted of the kidnapping and murder of a young boy
when she was nineteen.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The Park�s
incredible style of storytelling totally engages the viewer, despite the
difficult nature of much of the content�and some of the content is <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>unbelievably</i> hard to bear, by the way,
especially when it concerns the young children�and carries him through the
enormous emotional progression of the exploration of revenge on multiple
levels.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The ending, while uncomfortably
dissonant for me in terms of its underlying philosophy and assumptions about
revenge, is rather incredible.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This is a
very difficult film, but one that is enormously well-done.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is interesting that while it is much more
overtly difficult than <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Capote</i>, and
while it is certainly more violent, and arguably more depraved, I found it
ultimately less objectionable.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Cach�</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:_Toc117094488'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Cach�</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="_Toc117094488"></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'>Hidden</i></b>, <b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Closing Night, </b>France, 2005, Sony
Pictures Classics, to be released in <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>23
December</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Michael Haneke (<i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Piano Teacher</i>) wrote and directed
this well-made, engrossing, and incredibly disturbing movie about a
sophisticated couple living in Paris who begin to receive anonymous
surveillance video tapes of their everyday lives.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>They are unsettled and frightened by the
intrusion into their rather humdrum lives of this increasingly ominous mystery
which they do not understand and the meaning and implications of which they
cannot comprehend�and, on another level, the audience is similarly anxiously
unsettled for the very same reasons.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>This disturbing tension rises and falls but generally increases
throughout the entire experience of the film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>It is well-acted:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Daniel Auteil
plays George, the husband; Juliette Binoche plays Anne, the wife.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is powerfully done.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>most</i>
unusual film, right from its opening credits to its closing scene.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film feels mostly like a straightforward
mystery�but is it?<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is a
disconcertingly unclear mixture of plot developments, flashbacks, and dream
sequences that add to the air of uncertainty.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��
</span>But, in the end, I remain unconvinced about whether there is anything
within the film that justifies the incredible intensity and emotion it
creates:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I am afraid that I feel that it
was essentially manipulative and unfulfilling�the ambiguities artificial, the
plot confusions red-herrings, the philosophical questions vapid, and the
meaning shallow.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And, while it was still
an interesting experience, I do not think it was a significant or good enough
film to be the choice for Closing Night.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>L�Enfant</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:_Toc117094489'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>L�Enfant</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="_Toc117094489"></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'>The Child</i></b>, Belgium/France, Sony
Pictures Classics, 2005, to be released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>early
in 2006</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It was only in the
wonderful conversation with Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (masterfully conducted
by the Film Society�s Kent Jones) that I finally realized what it is that the
Dardenne brothers do so effectively in their films�and what it is that I find
so unsatisfying about their films.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>They
are complete masters of presenting a phenomenological presence of the
personhood of the characters in their films (�<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>personne</i>� as opposed to �<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>personnage</i>,�
as they would put it), captured in the raw but complex context of the
moment:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the effective naturalism of
their visual presentation, the fact that they primarily use location sound and
never musical background, and even the fact that they film the scenes and takes
in chronological order, all combine to create an intense, deep, and powerful
immediacy of experience, almost unparalleled in filmmaking.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>On the other hand, they openly state their
disinterest in the more philosophical movement of story and character development;
and this actually becomes a repeated weak point in their films. <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>L�Enfant </i>is the story of a small-time
crook, Bruno (played by J�r�mie Renier), whose lack of moral fiber,
self-reflection, and empathic understanding leads him at a moment of financial
pressure to sell for adoption a newborn baby he with his young girlfriend,
Sonia (Deborah Fran�oise).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>He does it
without telling her (much as he earlier had sublet out her apartment without
her knowledge); and, when she is distraught to learn he has done it, he tries
to comfort her by telling her they can have another.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The Dardennes succeed in providing a riveting
and deep portrayal of these two unappealing characters in the intensity of
their incredibly immature interactions; but they are painfully unconvincing in
their presentation of the supposed transformation that Bruno undergoes at the
end.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is totally unbelievable,
although it is clear that the filmmakers themselves believe it�and perhaps that
is precisely the kind of weakness that has bothered me about all of their
previous films (and certainly in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Le Fils</i>,
their film in the 2002 NYFF).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It says
something interestingly positive, however, that, probably due to the excellence
and success of their phenomenological creation of the personhood of the
characters in the film, I feel I have the right to disagree with them about the
character�s possibilities.<b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><o:p></o:p></i></b></p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
President�s Last Bang</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:_Toc117094490'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The President�s Last Bang</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="_Toc117094490"></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'>Geuddae Geu Saramdeul</i></b>, S.
Korea, 2005, Kino International, to be released in <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><u>Fall 2005</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Im
Sang-soo�s film about the assassination in 1979 of South Korea�s president,
General Park Chung-hee, who had a repressive reign for two decades as the
dictatorial�and womanizing�leader of the country, is a mad, wild, black
comedy.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The movie keeps one constantly
off balance, and it is impossible to know what to expect:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it is basically dark, and ominous, but it is
interspersed with everything from scenes at the beginning of the movie of
bare-breasted young women frolicking in the President�s pool, to the farcical
treatment of the assassination itself, in which the head of the Korean Central
Intelligence Agency runs out of bullets in the midst of shooting General Park
and proceeds to run around the courtyard of the building screaming �I need a
gun! Can�t somebody lend me a gun?� <span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>��</span>It
is a particularly bizarre touch when one of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>South Korea�s cabinet ministers, when they have solemnly assembled
around the naked body of General Park on a slab at the morgue to ascertain that
the president is in fact dead, places a military hat over the naked president�s
genitals.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a raucous, funny, and
exceedingly strange film about a rather serious moment in the history of South
Korea; but it works in all of its irreverent splendor.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who�s
Camus Anyway</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:_Toc117094491'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who�s Camus Anyway</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="_Toc117094491"></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'>Camus nante shiranai</i></b>, Japan,
2005)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span></i></b>Written and directed by Mitsuo
Yanagimachi, this was the film in this year�s festival I liked the least�it was
not a bad movie, just not a particularly good one.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>A story about a group of young, student
filmmakers doing a film about a senseless murder, it riffs on their obsession
with the details of film history, their shallow understanding of philosophy,
the cruelty and immaturity of their interpersonal relationships, and the
sterile, inhibited longings of their film professor�a former filmmaker who no
longer makes films, but only teaches.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Perhaps the wittiest moment in the film is when the professor, who is
referred to among the students as �Aschenbach,� shows up for a dinner that has
been arranged for him with a female student he has been leering at on campus
dressed in a white three-piece suit�� la <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Death
in Venice</i>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While the film attempts
to be clever and innovative, it actually ends up being rather shallow and
unsophisticated�as if it actually had been made by unseasoned film students
rather than by an established hand like Yanagimachi.</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>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>There
was an unusually rich array of <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyffse/nyffse.htm">Special Events</a> that
were part of this year�s Festival, some of them clearly wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>There
was a series of four Directors Dialogues sponsored by HBO Films at the Kaplan
Penthouse, including the three we attended:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who wrote and directed <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>L�Efant</i> (with the Film Society�s Kent
Jones), Neil Jordan, director and co-writer of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Breakfast on Pluto </i>(with Entertainment weekly�s Lisa Schwarzbaum),
and Michael Winterbottom, director of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram
Shandy: A cock and Bull Story</i> (with Stuart Klawans from <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Nation</i>).<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There were also two other dialogues at the Kaplan
Penthouse:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>one a special co-presentation
by the NYFF and <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Bomb Magazine</i> of a
conversation with Noah Baumbach, writer and director of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Squid and the Whale</i><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>(with Phillip Lopate, author and Selection Committee member for the
NYFF) and the first event, a conversation with Steve Coogan, who played the
title role in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram Shandy</i> (with
Gavin Smith, editor of<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'> Film Comment</i>).<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The format for these conversations is
wonderful and tremendously successful:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>the combination of their being longer discussions, before a smaller
group, and their being assertively and expertly led by insightful interviewers
before eventually being opened to the audience for questions makes them
everything one would wish the Q&As could be but are not.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>There
was also what is reported to have been a marvelous series of Japanese films,
entitled �The Beauty of The Everyday: Japan�s Shochiku Company at 110,�<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>at the Walter Reade Theater.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The Shochiku Company has led a campaign to
make great contemporary kabuki productions more widely available to
audiences.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The series of 32 films,
dating from 1931 to the present,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>began
with Nodu Hideki�s new film<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'> Nezumi Nozo:
Noda Version.</i>, <o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>We
were also unable to attend any of the annual <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/programs/avantgarde05.htm">Views from the
Avant-Garde</a> series, which is always so wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><img border=0 width=573 height=6
id="_x0000_i1025" src=line1.gif></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="nyff.html"><i>Return to NYFF
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