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<p align=center style='text-align:center'><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:Arial'>NEW YORK</span></b></st1:place></st1:State><b><span
style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:Arial'> FILM FESTIVAL</span></b></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>2006 � 44<sup>th</sup> Festival</span></b></p>
<p>The just-concluded 2006 NYFF was surprisingly wonderful:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>for whatever reason, the lineup had not
sounded all that spectacular; but what we actually encountered was one
wonderful film after another!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As always,
the incredible joy of the NYFF is always that it provides the opportunity to
view films about which you know absolutely nothing and which you can have the
joy of discovering for yourself.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This
year�s Festival was extraordinary 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, as did this year�s <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman on the Beach</i>.</span><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Consequently, there are films in the Festival
that you will see nowhere else<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>.</i><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There are also films that have significant
commercial potential, like Stephen Frears� <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Queen</i> or Sofia Coppola�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Marie
Antoinette</i>.</p>
<p>Before the 2006 NYFF began, the <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>New
York Times</i> ran a series of articles singing the praises of the NYFF and the
films in it<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In one of them, Tony Scott
wrote that,</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.5in;mso-margin-bottom-alt:
auto;margin-left:.5in'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>the New York
Film Festival might be compared to an established, somewhat exclusive boutique
holding its own in a world of big box superstores, oversize shopping malls and
Internet retailers. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;margin-left:
.5in'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;color:black'>If you want quantity � racks
and shelves full of stuff to sort through in the hope of finding something that
might fit your taste � wait for Tribeca, with its grab-bag programs and
crowd-pleasing extras. The New York Film Festival, in contrast, prides itself
on quality, refinement and selectivity. It is not so much programmed as
curated. This selection is a form of criticism � it involves applying aesthetic
standards and deciding that some films are better than others.</span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p>(I include here a <a href="http://www.rlrubens.com/nyff06-scott.htm">link</a>
to that piece.)<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 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Lincoln</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>�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 a treat.<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�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!</p>
<p>We saw 14 of the 28 featured presentations in this year�s NYFF, and those I
have reviewed below.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(For those who are
interested, the entire 2006 NYFF program and the Film Society descriptions of
each film can be found at<a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyfffilm2004.htm"></a>
<span style='mso-bidi-font-size:8.5pt;color:black;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'><a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/program/films/films.html">www.filmlinc.com/nyff/program/films/films.html</a></span>.)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But we also saw �Looking at Jazz� (q.v.,
below),one of the special events of the NYFF, and six of the marvelous films
that were part of the �50 Years of Janus Films,� another special event
accompanying this year�s Festival (q.v., below) 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>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></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 align=left style='text-align:center'><!--[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 \p " " \h \z <span
style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></b><![endif]--><span
class=MsoHyperlink><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886865"><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mafioso</i></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886867"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Volver</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886869"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Woman on the Beach</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886871"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Private Fears in Public Places</i></a></span></span><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886872"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Pan�s Labyrinth</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886873"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>49 U</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886874"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Inland Empire</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886875"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Offside</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886876"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Queen</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886878"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Marie Antoinette</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886879"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>These Girls</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886880"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Belle Toujours</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886881"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Gardens in Autumn</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoToc1 align=left style='text-align:center'><span class=MsoHyperlink><span
style='mso-no-proof:yes'><a href="#_Toc148886882"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Insiang</i></a></span></span><span style='mso-no-proof:yes'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><!--[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'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>Mafioso</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:_Toc148886865'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mafioso</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="_Toc148886865"></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><!--[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:_Toc148886866'><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></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><a
name="_Toc148886866"></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, Rialto Pictures, 1962, to be
released in <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>Mid-January 2007 at the
Lincoln Plaza Cinemas</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This
movie�one of the two retrospectives of this year�s Festival�has to have been
its biggest surprise.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It was <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>fantastic</i>!<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is the story of an obsessive, fastidious
manager in an automobile factory in <st1:City w:st="on">Milan</st1:City> who
takes his blonde, northern Italian wife and two blonde children to meet his
family in <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sicily</st1:place></st1:State>
for the first time.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Directed by Alberto
Lattuada, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Mafioso</i> is hard to
classify:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it is outrageously funny (we
all spent a large part of the movie laughing out loud), while at other times
movingly tragic;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it is a hilarious look
at domestic life in Sicily, while at times a deeply troubling, suspenseful
adventure.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The main character is played
to perfection by the great Alberto Sordi, who turns in one of the best
performances ever captured on film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This
film has been completely unavailable for decades:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it is not on tape or DVD, although I suspect
that this will change after its limited commercial release, and it<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>is quite simply a film you <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>must</i> see!<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Do not miss it!<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'>Volver</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:_Toc148886867'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Volver</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="_Toc148886867"></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]--><!--[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:_Toc148886868'><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></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><a name="_Toc148886868"></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>(<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Centerpiece</b></st1:City>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Sony Classics Pictures,
2006, to be released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>3 November</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Pedro Almod�var has done it again!<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Volver</i>
is a fabulous film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>While it may not be
quite the profoundly sublime creation that <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>All
About My Mother</i> or <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Talk to Her</i>
was, with <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Volver</i><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Almod�var has created a completely
successful, funny, moving, and totally entrancing work of art.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The acting is superb:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the jury at the Cannes Film Festival decided
to bestow the Best Actress Award to "a family of actresses", to all
six of the women in the film: Pen�lope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Due�as, Chus
Lampreave, Yohana Cobo and Blanca Portillo.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>As Almod�var put it after winning prize for Best Screenplay at <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cannes</st1:place></st1:City>,</p>
<p style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:.5in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;margin-left:
.5in'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Volver</i> is the story of family,
a family of women. Before, I used to write on my own, but this time I was
surrounded by my sisters who reminded me of all those childhood memories of <st1:place
w:st="on">La Mancha</st1:place> that I had forgotten. � I don't have the
impression of being the director of these tremendous actresses but rather a
relative of the family. Each of them wrote half the script without realizing
it...</p>
<p>It is the story of three generations of women.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Penelope Cruz is as effective as she is
beautiful in the starring role of Raimunda, who is trying to cope with the many
problems and tensions in her life�including those relating to her teenage
daughter, Paula (played by Yohana Cobo); Carmen Maura plays to perfection the
role of her dead mother, who returns to work out some of the issues that
remained unresolved in her life.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In his
inimitable way, Almod�var weaves a fabric of plot and emotional texture into
which we readily immerse ourselves, despite the dark elements and weirdness
that we find therein�and from which we emerge entertained, moved, and
uplifted.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Viva Pedro!</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman
on the Beach</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:_Toc148886869'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman on the Beach</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="_Toc148886869"></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><!--[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:_Toc148886870'><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tristram
Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story</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="_Toc148886870"></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>(<strong><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'><span style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Haebyonui yoin</span></i></strong><strong><span
style='font-weight:normal'>, </span></strong><st1:place w:st="on">S. Korea</st1:place>,
New Yorker Films, 2006)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I have
thoroughly enjoyed all of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the films written
and directed by Hong Sang-soo (this is the fourth to be shown in the NYFF),
last year�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale of Cinema</i> having
been completely wonderful and a particular favorite.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Tale
of Cinema,</i> Hong has created in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Woman
on the Beach</i> a complex, multi-layered film, full of his characteristic
twists and layers, and repetitions and reversals.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The subject is a director, Chang, who is
struggling to finish the script for his film, and who invites a friend to come
to an almost deserted seaside resort with him.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The friend invites his girlfriend to come along, and the threesome
engenders an interaction that is subsequently re-enacted between Chang and
another woman.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As with many of Hong�s
films, this one offers profound�and sometimes comical�insights into the psyche
of the Korean male, with all of its willfulness, anger, and self-contempt; but,
in this film, he also offers a much richer exploration of the female characters
as well.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a delight for its
psychological sophistication and refined sensitivity.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is a totally satisfying and
enjoyable film experience on every level.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Private
Fears in Public Places</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:_Toc148886871'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Private Fears in Public Places</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="_Toc148886871"></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>(<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><b
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Coeurs</i></b></st1:City>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region></st1:place>, IFC,
2006)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This new gem from the New Wave
master, Alain Resnais, is based on a play by Alan Ayckbourn.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In it we follow the lives of the six main
characters, as they converge and diverge in a movement that eventually circles
back upon itself:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Andr� Dussollier is
the earnest but retiring real estate agent smitten with his religious and apparently
repressed assistant (Sabine Az�ma), who selflessly moonlights as a home-care
attendant for the abusive, demented, bedridden<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>father (the off-screen voice of Claude Rich) of a quiet, widowed
bartender (Pierre Arditi), who dutifully works at a stylish modern hotel bar
frequented by an embittered army vet (Lambert Wilson), who, with his fianc�e
(Laura Morante), is using the real-estate agent to buy an apartment, and who
meets and courts a shy, desperate young woman (Isabel Carr�), who lives with her
brother, the real-estate agent.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is an
delicate dance of loneliness and longing, repression and wild excess,
connection and disconnection�all against the cold, snowy backdrop of the
Parisian winter.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is funny and sad,
poignant and surprising, and it makes for an extremely rich and absorbing film
experience.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pan�s
Labyrinth</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:_Toc148886872'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pan�s Labyrinth</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="_Toc148886872"></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'>Closing
Night.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span></b>Spain/Mexico, 2006,
Picturehouse, to be released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>29
December</u></b>)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Now <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>this</i> was a very difficult film for
me:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I have an intense dislike for
violence in the movies I see, and<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'> Pan�s
Labyrinth</i> is <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>very</i> explicitly
violent�so much so that I was tempted at moments to walk out of the movie.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>On the other hand, it is a profoundly
wonderful film�and the violence in it is, for the most part, justified by the
point it is making, and I was very glad that I stayed.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Guillermo del Toro has written and directed
an intense, powerful, and important story set in 1944 in the post Civil War
world of Franco�s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Spain</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In it, the wonderful 12 year old actor, Ivana
Banquero, plays a young girl, Ofelia, who is traveling with her mother to live
in a military outpost with the mother�s new husband, the monstrously cruel and
sadistic Captain Vidal, played to horrible perfection by Sergi L�pez.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The mother is pregnant with Captain Vidal�s
child, and the film seems to be addressing the question of what sort of world
this child will be born into.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Ofelia
goes off into the world of fairies, fauns, and monsters, while the heroes and
monsters of the real world contend with each other and with her in the external
world of fascist <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Spain</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The themes raised by the movie are
profound:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>the violence of the fairytale
world of childhood inner processes is juxtaposed with the violence of human
cruelty in the adult world; the heroic feats of children trying to do the right
thing in fantasy are juxtaposed to the heroics of individuals trying to advance
the cause of humanity in political reality; and throughout, there is the
question of obedience and following orders, which is contrasted with individual
acts of righteousness and personal responsibility.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Did it have to be this violent?<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Certainly Philippe de Broca�s marvelous <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The King of Hearts</i> was an exploration of
similar issues that succeeded spectacularly in exploring these questions of
insane violence and cruelty without directly being so graphically violent on
screen.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In its defense, this is a
different movie�set, as it is, against the intense violence so common in the
world of fairytales.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But, in the end, I
don�t think it had to be as graphically violent as it was.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a cinematographic tour de force,
beautifully filmed, effectively directed, and marvelously well-acted.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(In this last regard, I have to mention one
other actor who turned in a fabulous performance�the beautiful and talented
Maribel Verd� [Luisa, in Cuar�n�s 2001 <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Y
tu mam� tambi�n</i>], who here plays Mercedes, who is, among other things,
Captain Vidal�s housekeeper, but, more importantly, the one who is most there
for Ofelia in an emotional way.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I left
the theater at the end of the movie feeling shaken and depleted; but the themes
of the film just kept becoming more meaningful and profound for me as the time
has past since watching it.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is an
important film.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>49
U</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:_Toc148886873'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>49 U</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="_Toc148886873"></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'>p </i></b><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>(<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region>, 2006, First Run Features,
released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>6 October</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I had never seen any of Michael Apted�s �UP�
series,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and from its description, I
probably would not have bothered to see this seventh installment, either.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But Kent Jones told me I had to see it�and I
am ecstatic that I followed his directive:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>it was terrific!<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>For those of you
who are, as I was, unfamiliar with the project, allow me to explain:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>beginning with a documentary done in the 60s
for British television that interviewed several seven year old children from
different classes of British society, Apted subsequently decided to follow up
by interviewing these same individuals throughout their lives, at seven year
intervals.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is a <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>14 Up</i>, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>21 UP</i>, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>28 UP</i>, etc.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>What is so surprisingly wonderful, however,
is the way these people come alive, in all the richness of their individuality.
<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>49
UP</i> presents a retrospective overview of where each person�s life has been
over the previous six installments (so it is in no way necessary to have seen
the earlier ones in order to appreciate the current one), and interweaves these
retrospectives with interviews of where each one is now at age 49.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is funny, insightful, engaging,
moving, full of vitality, and a delight to watch. </p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Inland
Empire</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:_Toc148886874'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Inland Empire</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="_Toc148886874"></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><span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�</span>(France/USA, 2006)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>David Lynch�s latest creation is a marvelous
layering of multiple realities and multiple story lines, which at times seem
inter-related or understandably embedded within each other, but which in general
defy any such logic.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is a lonely,
tearful woman watching television�and some of the other story lines and
realities sometimes seem to be part of what she is watching, although at times
clearly are not;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>there are the multiply
played versions of the story of an actress�brilliantly portrayed by Laura
Dern�who is being cast for the lead in a movie�and at times it is very
specifically unclear as to what is within the world of the movie, what is part
of the making of it, and what belongs to the off-screen lives of the actors;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>there is a dark, snowy world in Poland in
which multiple story lines are also taking place�and some of the characters
seem to interpenetrate the world of Hollywood and the realities within the film
relating to it;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and there is a sort of
sitcom world of a rabbit-headed family�stiffly and solemnly acting on a stage
set, replete with an eerily out of place, canned laugh track;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and, ultimately, there are subtle and
not-so-subtle interpenetrations of these worlds�intrusions from one into
another, recursive replayings of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>scenes
and themes from the one in another, or just reworkings of scenes within the
same world using different characters.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><st1:place
w:st="on"><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Inland Empire</i></st1:place>
has an intensity and complexity that is completely riveting throughout the
entirety of its almost three hour length.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>In addition to the unbelievable one by Laura Dern, there are wonderful
performances turned in by Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, and Harry Dean
Stanton.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I could not help feeling,
however, that it would be a more satisfying experience�for me, at least�were one
able to find a defining reality or idea within this complex array;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>but it is completely clear that Lynch felt
otherwise, and that he quite purposely chose not to work with any such
restraint or goal.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Offside</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:_Toc148886875'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Offside</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="_Toc148886875"></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>(Iran, Sony Classics Pictures, 2006, to be
released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>2 March �07</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>One of the joys of attending the NYFF over
the years is getting to know the work of filmmakers like Jafar Panahi (<i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Crimson Gold</i>, �03; <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>The Circle</i>, 2000; <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The White
Balloon</i>, �95).<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>His current entry in
the Festival, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Offside</i>, is a
delightful look at some girls who sneak in to a soccer stadium in Teheran to
see a game and cheer <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>�s
team on to qualify for the World Cup.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>They are promptly arrested, since women are banned from such �profane�
male activities.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(The reason given by
the soldiers that are holding them in a detention are at the stadium is that if
things go badly for the team, they may be forced to hear cursing and other bad
language from the male fans.)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The interactions
between these young women and the young soldiers assigned to guard them are as
amusing as they are revealing�and the whole of it is very illustrative of the
tensions that exist in Iranian society between the modernity and western
affinities of much of the population on the one hand and, on the other hand,
the repressive and fundamentalist beliefs of other segments of the
country.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The very existence of a film
industry in Iran that can produce such films (and Panahi is not the only
representative of such filmmakers whose works repeatedly appear in the NYFF)
ought to serve as an important reminder that this is a country that has an
extremely significant, educated, and successful middle class, which makes Iran
potentially the best candidate in the region for a Western-style democracy�a reality
and an opportunity that have been consistently overlooked and trampled on by
our consistently wrong-headed foreign policy toward Iran.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is very disheartening to realize that our
actions actually end up allowing the government of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region> to be <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>more</i> repressive and fundamentalist than otherwise would be
possible, given the internal balance of forces between the country�s modern
middle class and its proponents of radical political Islam.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Offside</i>
is a small film, but an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable one.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The
Queen</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:_Toc148886876'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Queen</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="_Toc148886876"></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]--><!--[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:_Toc148886877'><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></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><a
name="_Toc148886877"></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, 2006, released in NYC and LA on <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>13
October</u></b>, with an increasingly broad general release to follow)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Before the screening, I was grousing to the
Film Society�s Nancy Kelly about how I was totally uninterested in the
characters and subject matter of this film�how I could not care less about
Queen Elizabeth, did not like Tony Blair, and, by the way, �Is Princess Diana still
dead?�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>She looked me in the eye and
said, �Get over it!�<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And I did.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(I <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>always</i>
listen to Nancy Kelly!)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I ended up
enjoying this incredibly well made and well acted film by Stephen Frears, even
though I could not care less about its subject matter.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is an in-depth look at the week following
the death of Diana, during which the new prime minister attempts to cajole the
Queen into responding reasonably to Diana�s death, when that is obviously the
last thing she wishes to do.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The royal
family is resoundingly lampooned�especially Prince Phillip, who comes off like
a contestant in Monty Python�s �Upper Class Twit of the Year Competition.�<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is not a great film by any stretch of the
imagination, but Helen Mirren�s portrayal of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Elizabeth</st1:place></st1:City> alone more than suffices to make
the film worth seeing.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And it was a good
choice for an Opening Night film, as it was engaging, entertaining, and a
crowd-pleaser. </p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Marie
Antoinette</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:_Toc148886878'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Marie Antoinette</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="_Toc148886878"></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>(<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place>, Columbia Pictures, 2006, to be
released <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><u>20 October</u></b>)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Sofia Coppola may be as effective as any
filmmaker in creating a beautiful aesthetic experience.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The magnificence and depth of the moods she
visually creates are truly masterful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In
<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Lost in Translation</i>, she made a
completely successful film, because the mood she created was satisfyingly to
the point of the story of the film�assisted, of course, by the fact that she
was able to direct an incredible performance from Bill Murray.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Marie
Antoinette</i>, she has also produced a rich tapestry of images and moods�but
unfortunately none that is able to support the entirety of the film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The juxtaposing of the grandeur of 18<sup>th</sup>
century costumes and the Court of Versailles with 80s rock and roll music was
an interesting, bold,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>and at times
successful decision�particularly in the opening sequence; but it ultimately
wears thin, as do many of the decisions behind the film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Kirsten Dunst is appealing and beautiful, and
she manages successfully to evoke an image of the beautiful young queen in her
opulent world; but her ability to deal with the few moments of more serious
dialogue later in the film leave us painfully aware of her acting
limitations.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Jason Schwartzman (so
wonderful in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Rushmore</i>), is very
successful in portraying the empty, vacuous young Louis;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>but, as in repeatedly watching the scenes of
the royal couple in their totally lifeless breakfast ritual, his emptiness is
not enough to satisfy the needs of the story.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>I mostly enjoyed the first hour of <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Marie
Antoinette</i>; but I had trouble with the second hour.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is possible that this was simply because
the aesthetics could not sustain me for that long;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>but I really suspect that it was because
those aesthetics were not up to the task of the rest of the story.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It was almost as though the intrusion of
history overwhelmed the director�s ability to make the film:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>it seemed like she did not know what to do
with it�and what she did do was woefully inadequate to the task.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As a slice of life, impressionistic
exploration of the young queen�s experience, played off against the
anachronistic modernity of music, dialogue, and world view that allude to
modern-day parallels, the film was resoundingly successful (whether one agrees
with Coppola�s conception of it or not);<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>but the second half of the film unavoidably began to deal with other
issues relating to this figure as she actually existed in the real world, and
that simply was not what the film was about or what it was successful in
treating.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Would that it had confined
itself to the former�</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>These
Girls</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:_Toc148886879'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>These Girls</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="_Toc148886879"></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>(<strong><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>El-Banate dol</span></i></strong><strong><span
style='font-weight:normal'>, </span></strong><st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>,
2006)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Egyptian director Tahani Rached
filmed this documentary about a band of teenage girls living on the streets in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cairo</st1:City></st1:place>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The girls are fleeing poverty and abusive
homes, but the troubles they encounter living on the street�rape, drug
addiction, prostitution, and pregnancy, in addition to the poverty and
abuse�seem at least as daunting.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is
an interesting look into this world.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>At
its best, it presents a sympathetic view of the bravado and posturing as well
as of the underlying fears and pain of these sad young women.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>I was left wondering, however, how much the
filmmaker herself realized the shallowness and fragility of their toughness and
apparent self-confidence.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In fact, in
listening to her speak at the Q&A afterwards, it became disappointingly
clear that she had completely bought into their posturing and was dangerously
unrealistic in her level of romanticizing of their lives.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The film is far better if one can view it as
a more sophisticated look at the unfortunate young women�and the fact that the
filmmaker actually lacks this sophistication ultimately diminishes its
value.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Fortunately, the power and
complexity of the underlying realities is there anyway for the sophisticated
viewer.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Belle
Toujours</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:_Toc148886880'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Belle Toujours</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="_Toc148886880"></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, New Yorker Films, 2006)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>In<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Belle Toujours</i>, the 98 year old
Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira revisits Bu�uel�s 1967 classic, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Belle du Jour</i>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Decades after the time of the Bu�uel film,
S�verine is spotted in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:City>
by Henri Husson, her now dead husband�s close friend, who had been the witness
to the sexual goings on of the original film.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Still entranced by her, he pursues her across the city.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In a cat and mouse ballet, the two see and
are seen by each other, as we the audience are treated to a lingering, elegant
montage of scenes of Paris at various times of day.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The two finally meet to discuss what each
wants.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This very slow-paced but equally
brief film (it running time is only 70 minutes) is full of scenes from and
references to the Bu�uel original; and the incomparable M. Husson (among his
many memorable roles have been that of<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Michel in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>La Grande Bouffe</i>,
and Lord Ariel Chatwick-West in <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Rien sur
Robert</i>) is played by Michel Piccoli, who created the role in the
original.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>S�verine, on the other hand,
is played by Bulle Ogier in this film instead of by Catherine Denueve�which
diminishes considerably the wonderful nostalgic value of this revisiting of the
original.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>It is a lovely tone piece,
but, unfortunately, not much more.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Gardens
in Autumn</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:_Toc148886881'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Gardens in Autumn</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="_Toc148886881"></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>(<strong><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><span
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Jardins en automne</span></i></strong><strong><span
style='font-weight:normal'>,</span></strong> <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region>,
2006)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The Georgian (<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>) filmmaker Otar Iosseliani
is a very accomplished craftsman:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>using
effective visual images, he is able to evoke a wonderful array of nuanced
emotions.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>Gardens In Autumn</i>,<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Iosseliani�s palate is primarily in the comic range, although tinged
with the sadness of autumn.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>The main
character, Vincent, is a government minister in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Paris</st1:City></st1:place>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>In perhaps the film�s funniest sequence, we are introduced to his
haughty wife�who is so devoid of taste that everything she does is off, whether
it be her atrociously off-key singing, her extravagant purchases of bad art, or
even her bad taste in the expensive clothing she buys.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>When Vincent is abruptly forced to resign his
post, he begins in earnest to chase women, drink with his buddies, and receive
advice from his elderly mother, hilariously played by Michel Piccoli (see <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Belle Toujours</i>) in drag.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>There is also a very funny�if uncomfortably racist�scene
in which he returns to a building in which he owns an apartment, only to find
it completely occupied by African squatters.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The slow, humorous mood of the film is elegantly created and at times
quite absorbing; but it does not adequately sustain the two hour length of the
movie, and the film ultimately seems to drag unpleasantly.</p>
<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Insiang</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:_Toc148886882'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Insiang</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="_Toc148886882"></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>(The
Philippines, 1976)<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>The Late Lino Bocka
is thought of as the giant of Filipino cinema, and his 1976 film <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Insiang</i>, the second retrospective of
this year�s NYFF, was the first Filipino film ever to receive international
recognition at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Cannes</st1:City></st1:place>.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As a period piece and a snapshot of the hard
life in the slums of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Manila</st1:place></st1:City>,
<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Insiang</i> is a worthwhile film.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>As a work of art, it treads far too close to
melodrama to be completely successful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>The young woman Insiang, played by the beautiful Hilda Koronel, lives
with her mother, Tonia�who is depicted as the most vile and self-centered
person ever to be one.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Tonia is angry
and hateful toward her daughter, apparently because Insiang reminds her of the
husband who deserted them;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�� </span>Tonia throws
her sister and her family out of her home, primarily to make room for her young
ruffian of a lover, Dado, to move in;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Dado proceeds to rape Insiang;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>when her mother discovers the sexual connection, she is easily talked
into blaming and punishing Insiang for having seduced Dado;<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Insiang, meanwhile, has a no-good boyfriend
who is using her and taking advantage of her�something obvious to everyone
except Insiang.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>For a while, one feels
like one is watching <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Perils of
Pauline</i>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But this film is much
darker and more disturbing than that;<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>and what little apparent redemption there <span style='color:black;
mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>appears</span> to be at the end seems to ring hollow
and untrue.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This is an interesting film,
but its pace is ponderous and slow, its tone moralistic and heavy.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>And it is no accident that it feels overly
long, even though in actuality it is just an hour and a half.</p>
<p><o:p> </o:p></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'>Every
year the NYFF has a rich array of <a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/program/special/specialevents.html">Special
Events</a>.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>This</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'> year there was a truly
extraordinary one, �<a
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/janus/program.html">50 Years of Janus
Films</a>,� a fabulous series of films, chosen by our good friend, Kent Jones,
from the awe-inspiring Janus collection.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Just seeing the Janus logo has always sent chills of excitement through
me�and set up enormous anticipation of excellence.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(See <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Kent</st1:place></st1:country-region>�s piece on Janus Films, below)<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>All of the films were screened using
pristine, new prints�some recently re-mastered.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>Jean Renoir's <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Rules of the Game</i>
and Truffaut�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>400 Blows</i> were shown
using brand new digital restorations.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>In
addition to those two, we saw Roman Polanski�s magnificent first feature, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Knife in the Water, </i>Makavejev�s
wonderfully bizarre film, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>WR: Mysteries
of the Organism, </i>Fellini�s 1954 masterpiece, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>La Strada, </i>and Hitchcock�s delightful film from 1938, <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Lady Vanishes</i></span><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>.</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'><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 three Directors Dialogues sponsored by HBO Films at the Kaplan
Penthouse, although we were unable to attend any:<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>Stephen Frears, who directed <i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Queen</i>, Michael Apted, the creator of
<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>49 UP</i>, and Guillermo del Toro, who
wrote and directed <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Pan�s Labyrinth</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>There
was also one thoroughly unsuccessful event�the only time we regretted spending
at this year�s Festival.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>�Looking at
Jazz� was supposed to include film clips of performances by a whole list of
legendary jazz greats, but ended up showing disappointingly little of what it
had promised, and replacing that with painfully uninteresting and irrelevant
chatter.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>(There was one 12 minute
segment of Louis Armstrong and Martha Rae�in which almost all of it was Martha
Rae�s banal vocalizing, with exactly 23 seconds [I counted] of Armstrong
actually playing jazz!)<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>The
only other negative about this year�s NYFF was the inclusion of what many of us
considered to be totally inappropriate short films before the main ones.<span
style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>To be fair, some were OK, and two that we
saw�Elisabeth Subrin�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>The Caretakers</i>
and Dentz Gamze Erguven�s <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>A Drop of Water</i>�were
quite wonderful.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>But there were three�<i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Jimmy Blue</i>, <i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'>In the Tradition of My Family</i>, and<i style='mso-bidi-font-style:
normal'> Lump</i>�that were cruel, violent, and disturbing in ways which seemed
pointless and gratuitous�and the fact that they were technically well done
almost exacerbated how bad their content was.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>�
</span>They are not up to the high standards of the NYFF feature films, and
they are not worthy of having been included in the Festival.<i
style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'><o:p></o:p></i></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/nyff/program/avantgarde/avantgarde.html">Views
from the Avant-Garde</a> series, which is always so wonderful.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>Kent
Jones piece on �50 Years of Janus Films�:<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<h2 style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:.4in;margin-bottom:5.0pt;margin-left:
.4in'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt;color:black;
mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Janus Films: An Incomparable Collection</span><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'><br>
<br>
</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>After the
war, many of the American films that had been forbidden in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">France</st1:country-region></st1:place> throughout the occupation
flooded into the country. This torrent of �foreign cinema� was one of the major
factors contributing to the birth of the French New Wave. By the same token,
the films from Europe and <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> that were
unveiled to curious American eyes in the 50s and 60s had an incalculable effect
on our movies. At the moment that the studio system was dissolving and lighter
equipment was making genuinely independent filmmaking a reality, artists like
Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, Michelangelo Antonioni and Fran�ois Truffaut
were committing art in the first degree, without shame or qualification, and
inspiring a new generation of future directors in the process. And filmgoers,
too. </span><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Times;color:black;
font-weight:normal'>The Seventh Seal</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black;font-weight:normal'>, </span><i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'>The 400 Blows</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>, </span><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'>Viridiana</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>, </span><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'>L�Avventura</span></i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:normal'>, </span><i><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'>The
Seven Samurai</span></i><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:
normal'> � epochal events all, from what is now considered the Golden Age of
art cinema. They were the building blocks of a new American film culture, and
they changed the way movies were seen, the way they were discussed and, most
certainly, the way they were made.</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Times;color:black;font-weight:normal'><br>
<br>
When the bulk of these films debuted in this country, they were accompanied by
a curious logo, a coin of the two-faced Janus: Roman god of open doors and
transitions, celebrated at harvests, weddings and births, and, appropriately,
herald of the coming of the Golden Age. Janus Films was founded in 1956 by
Bryant Haliday and Cyrus Harvey, owners of <st1:City w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:City>�s
Brattle Theater and the <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">55th
Street</st1:address></st1:Street> Playhouse in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Manhattan</st1:place></st1:City>. When they founded their new distribution
company, they were already building on a solid foundation laid by curators like
Ed Landberg (and his wife Pauline Kael) on the West Coast, Amos and Marcia
Vogel in the East, and distributors like Walter Reade, Thomas Brandon and
Charles Cooper. But Haliday and Harvey�s company quickly became synonomous with
the best in foreign cinema. In 1965, after the filmmakers Janus made famous in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> had
become too rich for their blood, Haliday and Harvey sold to their friends
William Becker and Saul Turrell. Who had a brilliant idea. Instead of acquiring
new films, they decided to concentrate on old ones, consolidating a library of
the finest in international cinema and booking titles on the repertory and
college circuits. Becker and Turrell did something extraordinary: they merged
past and present, giving film history an ongoing life and presence in the
cultural life of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Their successors, Peter Becker and Jonathan Turrell, have maintained tradition
by continuing to acquire the very best films available from around the world
and providing the best prints available to the repertory houses still standing.
They have also brought Janus into the future and created, with The Criterion
Collection, the finest line of DVDs on the market.<br>
<br>
American film culture without Janus Films is unthinkable. We�re celebrating
their 50th birthday with a selection of titles from their extraordinary
collection, all in brand-new or pristine 35mm prints. Janus Films is truly one
of our national treasures. Here�s your chance to celebrate their achievements,
and to be dazzled all over again by highlights from their incomparable
collection.<br>
<br>
<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>���������������������������� </span>� Kent Jones</span><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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