Hines' & Shelly's SERIOUS MOONLIGHT is smart -- and serious -- about love

SERIOUS MOON-
LIGHT is an impor-
tant film. What's so odd about this is that the movie doesn't look, sound or act important. It's cer-
tainly not "artistic," but is rather a simple little journeyman effort in terms of style -- this is actress Cheryl Hines' first turn as director (she is shown just below) -- with perfectly acceptable cinema-
tography, editing, sound and other technical credits, plus good performances from its quartet ensemble that are quite suitable to the subject at hand. What it does with its subject, however, is what rings the bell.

That subject is love, which is up there with the most-overused and little-understood themes that movies come back to again and again. But Serious Moonlight is not about the entry-level phase -- the limerence part of the equation -- that most films prefer to tackle. Instead it goes right to the heart of love in a long-term relationship and asks what this means and how it might be salvaged when in trouble. In short: What does it take to make a man realize what a long-term, loving relationship is worth? Except that the movie doesn't ask the question outright. And this will probably confound a lot of critics (but not, I hope, the mature audience for whom this film is intended) into taking it at face value as a "crazy" comedy about a woman who discovers her husband's been cheating on her and literally ties him down until he comes to his senses.

Hines is working from a screenplay by the late and increasingly lamented Adrienne Shelly (Waitress was a good film; this one's even better) that sets up the situation in rather simple terms. These work nicely as a comedy/shaggy-dog-story and Hines draws believable and funny performances from her two leads, Meg Ryan (shown above) and Timothy Hutton (shown below). Ryan in partic-
ular continues to grow as an actress, taking on challenging roles and doing a lot with them (Against the Ropes, In the Land of Wo-
men, My Mom's New Boyfriend and the remake of The Women) even if the films themselves have proven lackluster or worse. Don't miss her and William H. Macy in the very clever and funny Holly-
wood satire The Deal (click here and then scroll down for my review), the best of her recent films (until this one) which, of course, went straight to video. Hutton, too, has one of his better roles here, and he plays to a tee the initially shoddy, then long-suffering, and then increasingly thoughtful husband.

You can enjoy Serious Moonlight on a simple, situation-comedy level and leave the theater with a smile on your face. It's afterward, the more you think about the film, that it begins to deepen. Even if you glom onto what's actually happening early on, as I did, this should not spoil your enjoyment, for you can put this sudden understan-
ding to use as you watch the characters interacting. It will add yet another layer to the goings-on. To her everlasting credit, Ms Shelly refused to spell out her point. It's there, all right, big as life, as the Ryan character is faced with the knowledge that unless she does something huge and immediate, the relationship is going to dissolve. Yet this is an impossible situation for, really, how could anything, anyone save it?

What happens and how this changes and deepens the situation is interesting enough, but Shelly's screenplay also delves into -- again, never explicitly -- the differences between men and women, what they want and how they get it. Also on board are Justin Long (shown below) in a role that is better left un-described and Kristen Bell (shown above) as the "other woman." Both are fine, particu-
larly Mr. Long, who is given more -- and more bizarre -- screen time.

I'd like to think that Serious Moonlight will appeal to a wide audience, but perhaps only those old enough to have lived through a long-term relationship can best appreciate it. Maybe younger audiences can simply enjoy the comic situation and the hay the cast makes of it. Young or old, give it a try. The movie, distributed by Magnolia Pictures, opens theatrically on Friday, December 4, in several cities, and rolls out to other location in the weeks that follow. Click here for playdates. It is also available On-Demand, so check your local TV-reception provider for details.

Dave Foley and ensemble open in quasi-comedy THE STRIP from Jameel Khan

Call him a nitpicker if you must, but TrustMovies has long felt there was a difference be-
tween deadpan and dead, between the subtle and the comatose. Further, he admits that comedy -- perhaps more than most genres -- is hugely dependent upon individual taste. Which brings him to THE STRIP, a new, sort-of-comedy that has greatly enter-
tained a colleague of his (who's quoted in the film's ad) but that left TM, like Queen Victoria, not amused.

OK: I did chuckle a few times during the 90-minute slough, and believe me, I treasured those moments. Otherwise, this tale of three employees, their manager and the owner's son, all of whom labor at an off-brand, off-kilter, off-the-beaten-track electronics store located in a strip mall (hence the title: what -- you thought you were in for some T & A, or a movie about a certain area of Sunset Boulevard?) is a drab and fitful affair.

The press material assures us that this is character-driven comedy, and indeed all five of our fellows can be easily differentiated. But characters must be somewhat interesting to engage you. These guys have their character trait (maybe two) -- and that's it. They, and their movie, dawdle along, with quite typical troubles involving work, love and family (in particular, father). Lame is an adjective that comes quickly to mind.

And yet, individually, each actor is perfectly OK, including the several women on display. God knows, I've enjoyed the work of Dave Foley (who plays the store manager) ever since Kids in the Hall, and all the rest of the cast are fine, too. It's not that you groan at anything they do; they're professional and they handle their job like troupers. Instead you sit there, waiting for the comedy, which is so very small and unhurried that it evidently crept right by you while you had your eyes on the screen. Some may find this smooth; I thought it bordered on embarrassing.

Both the writing and direction come via Jameel Khan (shown just below the movie's poster, at top), whose first film this is. (I do not hold grudges; I shall watch his second, as well.) Mr. Khan is dealing here mainly in clichés -- the young man under the thumb of his dad, the oversexed loser, the Hindi and his arranged marriage, etc. -- which he embraces completely and then piles more cliché on top.

The Strip opens this Friday, December 4, in nine major metropolises across the country, with two more hosting the film the following week. Check here for cities, theaters and showtimes. While I always like to encourage my readers to watch a movie on the big screen, imagining myself forking over $11 seems excessive.
Surely the DVD will be here soon.

Hoffman's THE LAST STATION, from Parini's novel of Tolstoy, opens limited run

A lot of traveling goes on in THE LAST STATION -- via choo-choo train, horseback and sometimes mere feet -- yet the characters never seem to get where they want to go. (Well, we are in Russia, after all.) Unfortunately the movie has the same problem.

Adapted (from the generally well-regarded novel by Jay Parini, unread by me) and directed by Michael

Hoffman (shown left), it tells the story of Leo Tolstoy's last days, as relatives and "disciples" fight over the right to his body of work (and eventually his body itself), watched over at all times by the press, ever eager to have another nibble of celebrity news to feed its slavering constituency. Sounds like fun, at the very least. And though Hoffman sets things up fairly well, the plodding and repetitious series of incidents he shows us, not to mention the lumbering dialog -- journeyman at best and often lacking the specificity and urgency of real life despite the efforts of a very good cast -- render this entire enterprise, well, stationary.

In his day, the deservedly famous Russian writer attracted the kind of attention most recently lavished upon Michael Jackson. The press screening I attended some months back took place soon after Mr. Jackson's demise, so the comparison of these two celebrities -- their work and their lives -- along with the concomitant devaluation of culture that has taken place over the last century came to mind rather strongly. Back to the movie in question: That good cast mentioned above includes Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy (above left), who proves a pretty good match, looks-wise, for the real guy (above right). Helen Mirren (below) plays his wife Sofya, and Ms Mirren can emote with the best of them. Unfortu-
nately emoting is just about all that is called upon from the actress here, and it grows tiresome after a time.

The young lovers -- what historical movie is complete with these? -- are essayed by James McAvoy (below right) and Kerry Condon (below left) and the two provide some energy to the proceedings as they spar and elide in the "commune for believers" that has sprung up near Tolstoy's estate. Ms Condon seems somewhat modern for the time, but perhaps that is the point, as her character is meant to express the change from serfdom to liberation. Paul Giamatti is here, as well, as the great man's leading (and somewhat avaricious) disciple, though he, too, begins to blend with the wallpaper after a time. Blending is not anything we have seen Mr. Giammati do previously, but like the rest of this distinguished cast, he is wasted by Mr. Hoffman's endeavor.

The cinematography (by Sebastian Edschmid of Adam Resurrected) is appropriate and lush, particularly when it captures a lovely vista (below) or a colorful prop-and-costume-heavy setting (further below). But the screenplay simply stinks, spelling everything out in CAPS until the point is made and made again. Thank you, Mr. Hoffman. We get it. What results, despite all the emoting on display, is simply flat. One of -- perhaps the greatest writer who ever lived deserves better.

The Last Station opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, December 4, for one week only, to qualify for Academy Award consideration -- wishful thinking if ever I encountered it, although heavy-duty emoting often impresses Academy members. The film will reopen in both cities on January 15 for its regular theatrical run.

Adrián Biniez's GIGANTE is a little movie with a big scope

An almost model “small film” -- writ-
ten and directed by a first-time film-
maker who casts his leading roles with novice actors and tells a story so slight it threatens to float away – GIGANTE nonetheless delivers the goods. It never seems less than real as it takes us be-
hind the scene at a large supermarket in Montevideo, Uru-
guay, that looks something like a Latin American Walmart. Here, a burly guard work-
ing the night shift notices one of the young cleaning women, and the chase is on.
Or not.

You can’t really call this a "chase." Nor even a “stalk.” More like a “showing some interest,” due to the guard’s extreme shyness and difficulty with the opposite sex. We viewers assume the role of a kind of camera, watching Jara, the guard, watch Julia the cleaner. We go with Jara to work, follow him home and meet his family. Then back to work where he takes his place watching multitudinous video cameras and begins to spy on Julia. All this would be creepy were he not such a likable, decent guy. About Julia, we learn precious little but enough to keep us, like Jara, on the hook. The girl has possibilities.

As does the writer/director Adrián Biniez (shown above), whose first full-length film this is. At only 84 minutes, the film’s pacing moves nicely, and its incidents involve us in various small work-related hassles -- some suspenseful, some funny, and one which has quite the surprising outcome -- yet keep us on track regarding this budding non-relationship. There is little exposition; everything we learn flows naturally out of what we see and hear. And Biniez gets wonderful performances from his two leads, Horacio Camandule and Leonor Svarcas, and from each of his supporting players.

Then the film is over. The final scene, all visuals, with lips moving but no dialog heard, drove me up the wall. Appearing to deliberately withhold information we could just as well learn, after an arbitrary change of POV, the scene goes on and on past endurance and left me angry. Yet I very much enjoyed Gigante and recommend it highly. (In the interview below, I talk with the director about this ending, so there is a major spoiler ahead. I’d suggest seeing the film first and only then perusing the interview.)

The estimable Film Movement (will it ever release an out-and-out loser? Doubtful. The company is coming up on film # 84, and while I've not seen them all, I've seen most) is releasing Gigante theatrically, first in New York City, this Friday, December 4 at the IFC Center, and then the following month at the Nuart Theater in Los Angeles. Watch for other eventual playdates, and of course being a Film Movement movie, it will find its way to DVD, as well.

***********

Speaking with Adrián Biniez, Gigante’s writer/director (also on hand is Film Movement's lovely Rebecca Conget for translation purposes, if necessary), is a little bit like being with his leading character, though Adrián, while perhaps just a tad on the beefy side, is nowhere hear the XXL size of his character Jara. Yet both have a directness and a sweetness about them that is charming indeed. I explain to Señor Biniez that, while I liked his movie very much, I did find the ending pretty annoying. He smiles and waits, expectantly, and so I charge ahead:

TrustMovies: I really, really liked the film right up until the very end. And then I found, as I sat there watching the two of them converse on the beach, him seeming to talk a mile a minute when, until this time, he has not talked much at all thru the entire film, I really wanted to know what the two of them were saying. We had his POV for the entire more the suddenly we’re pulled back and into another POV. So I want to ask you, Why did you decide to do it this way?

Adrián Biniez: For me the end of the movie is when they say hello on the beach .From there starts a new movie. The movie is about this guy trying to approach her, and the movie is from the POV of him, you know? For me when he starts to talk with her, we have a new… a new…

Chapter?

Yes, a new chapter, a new equilibrium for the characters, For me it’s about the intimacy of the characters, and from the beginning, I feel it is a very sentimental shot, so I knew it was a risk to go in that direction for the last shot.

What if you had simply gone to black after he say hello?

If I cut the movie in that moment, it would have made it a very “conscious” art-house, festival movie. Yeah—I believe that then I would have had a perfect ending, without risk. A very neat, perfect art-house film.

So then your ending makes it a little more mainstream?

Not really. Not for the audience, or for me. With this ending I felt I was taking more of a risk.

You’re right, because I sat there getting angrier and angrier. Unless you do a sequel, of course, which I usually don’t ask for. I was really interested in these characters. Even her, which is interesting because we really know so little about this woman.

For me it was, I knew from the beginning that if I cut in this place I would have a perfect history. But by going one stop more, I take more risk.

Did you ever consider letting us hear what they are saying?

No. I never did. Because there is something about the ethics of the situation. With the characters and with me. For me, it is a shot, it is not relevant what they are saying. Maybe it is only small talk.

Probably. But we’ve never seen Jara make much small talk at all. We don’t even know that he knows how to do small talk. You know what I mean? What a treat it would be to have that chance. Sorry: Trust me, I don’t do this very often. I never argue with the filmmaker or tell them, Oh, you should have done it this way. But I was so with the movie until this point. But then I sat there getting annoyed. So you’re right: Your ending was risky. My companion, he didn’t like the ending either, although he, too, enjoyed the movie as a whole very much.

Rebecca Conget: I really liked it, too, but I’m not part of this conversation.

TM: No, you are -- you are!

RC: I thought that if we had heard them, we were almost…. It was a private moment, and we would have been voyeurs

TM: But we’ve been voyeurs all along.

RC: But not for both of them. We are suddenly there for both, and so we are suddenly breaking that wall. So we are not given that satisfaction.

AB: Yes! Yes, she said it better than me!

RC: That’s how I interpreted it. We are now the ones looking at the story from a distance, and we are not allowed to go further.

TM: That makes sense to me.

AB: But it is a little risky, maybe often sentimental. Maybe it is a little kitsch.

TM: The movie does border on something like that all the way through, but it never crashes through to kitsch. Anyway, I just wanted to find out about that ending. So thank you. And it is about POV -- which is always important in a movie, but not always as important in the way that it is here. So thank you for exploring this with me. What was your budget for this film?

$500,000.

Wow—that’s pretty high. Is that more of less the budget for most film in Uruguay? That seems high compared to some of the small independent films I’ve covered, even here in the USA.

Well, because if the producers don’t have the money to pay everybody who has worked on the film, then they will not make the film.

So everybody involved in the film got paid for their work? That’s great!

It is part of the ethics of being a filmmaker. Maybe you can make a lot of movies without paying anybody, but it is difficult.

RC: Did you get money from Argentina?

AB: Yes, we did. And from Germany, too. It is impossible to finance a movie just from money from Uruguay. In Argentina, it is easier, But not in Uruguay.

TM: How did you cast your film? Where did that leading actress come from?

She’s my ex-girl-friend.

RC: You didn’t tell me that: You said she was just a friend!

(Laughter all around.)

AB: Yes. I started to write the movie with her in mind from the very beginning. But during pre-production, we broke up.

TM: But she still stayed in the film? Good. What about the actor who plays the lead?

At the beginning, I have this idea about an overweight guard who is attracted to one of the cleaning women in the supermarket. But I don't know what to do with this. So I start to write, and use my friend who is a very large, tall guy. So we began to rehearse. But my friend, he is a terrible actor. Very bad! So I start casting people, and the actor who ended up with the role was the first to come to audition. Seeing him was like getting some fresh air. This was his first film. He is a teacher of primary school in his regular job!

Well, he sure was good! Are you originally from Uruguay?

No, I am from Argentina but have lived since six years ago in Uruguay, in Montevideo.

We don’t hear that much about Uruguay – which is the nicer of the two “guays,” right? Is Paraguay still very dictatorial?

No, they have a democratic government right now. More or less. But, yes, maybe we are the nicer one….

When you’re as old as I am, so much of your life is in the past, and often the bad things you hear about a country stick in your mind. So, always, when I would think about Uruguay and Paraguay, I would have to think, now—which is which? I never had to be confused about Argentina, though! So you’ve lived there for six years. How long have you been making films?

This is my first.

Wow. You haven’t made any short films.

Oh, yes, I have made two short films. But the thing is, I already have wrote the script for this movie first. But the producers tell me, you never go to film school, and you have no training in film. So they say, OK: Maybe we can make this thing. If we produce for you first a short film, and if it is good, then we can produce your movie. So I made a short film called 8 Horas, 8 Hours, and when they saw it, they said, OK: Go ahead and make the movie.

Good. I guess things like that can happen in a small movie-making environment. And Uruguay is pretty small, movie-wise, right?

It only 3-1/2 million inhabitants – just like three neighborhoods of New York. So yes, it is very small: A small group of friends who make films. Even the producer is a friend of mine.

Do you have anything planned for your next project?

I am working on two new scripts, but I have only some ideas, and I have not yet the structure of the film.

You wrote and directed Gigante, right?

Yes.

RC: And he did the music, too.

The music!

RC: Yes, he’s almost like Chaplin! (Adrián does a little Charlie imitation)

How did Film Movement come to pick this up?

RC: We saw it in Berlin at its first screening. So it was the first film that we liked in Berlin. We only liked three films

What were the other two?

Storm, which we bought, And The Maid.

I loved both of those, particularly The Maid!

So we bought Gigante: We made the offer and were able to close the deal in Berlin before it won the award there.

Which Award?

The Silver Bear.

(To Biniez) Well, you’re in very good hands with Film Movement. So you have been living in Montevideo for six years doing films for all that time?

No, I wrote the script in 2004, and we released the movie in 2009 in Berlin. But I am working in regular jobs like bartender, things like that.

Oh, right, don't all young filmmakers do that?

RC: But you worked on other people’s films, too?

I also worked on a film called Acne.

TM: Yes, that was at the recent FSLC's LatinBeat fest.

That was my first time on a set. So in 2005 was my first short film was made.

RC: It is pretty amazing. And then he makes this film that wins three awards!

TM: How old are you?

35.

There really does seem to be a resurgence, or maybe just a “surgence” in Latin American film-making. Argentina and Chile have been making good movies for quite awhile now. It was funny, seeing The Maid, a Chilean movie that does not bring up Allende or Pinochet or anything that’s overtly political!

Yeah, yeah! This was a big problem for Latin American films in the 80s and 90s.

RC: And it was a big problem for Spanish filmmakers, too.

TM: Yes, with the Spanish Civil War. I remember that Félix Viscarret, the director of Under the Stars -- the film the opened the Spanish Cinema Now festival two years ago -- said something similar to me about Spanish filmmakers and the Civil War. “Yes, the war was horrible, and yes it needs to be addressed. But we don’t have to do this all the time, when there are so many other things to talk about.” But maybe for the older generation, there isn’t so much to talk about because the Civil War still festers. But then of course, when you see something like Gigante or The Maid, even we older folk realize that, yes, there are other things to talk about.

When I was a child, it was hard because in the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, it was a horrible time in Argentina. There were a lot of movies being made – political and artistic but mostly all bullshit: just pretentious movies. I was afraid to even go. Except to maybe one film a year -- they were all so bad. Oh my god- -pretentious movies but without a sense of filmmaking. Then started a new wave of film-making in Argentina. So now we fell there is something happening in the rest of Latin America, too.

I saw recently an Argentine film called Green Waters about a family that goes to the beach -- a father, who has a 13 year old daughter -- and they bump into a motorcyclist during the vacation. The guy is a very nice fellow, but the father starts to become jealous of his daughter. It a wonderful comedy with sort of thriller themes. Really good!

Our time is up, so we thank Senor Biniez for his time
-- and Ms Conget for hers.

EVERYBODY'S FINE? DeNiro and cast are at least OK in Kirk Jones' holiday remake

It's been 18 years since TrustMovies has seen the origi-
nal Everybody's Fine, co-writer/dir-
ector Giuseppi Tornatore's follow
-up to his wildly successful Cinema Paradiso. I remem-
ber enjoying the film and being moved and amused by it, yet it seemed notic-
eably less "special" than the filmmaker's earlier success. Ah: the curse of the sophomore effort,

many of us decided at the time. I suspect now that the film holds up better than some of us may remember because its American remake, coming nearly two decades later and despite a rather clunky scenario that spells things out when it should simply let them unfold -- the new EVERYBODY'S FINE -- directed by Kirk Jones (Waking Ned Devine, and the under-rated, little-seen Nanny McPhee) has many good moments along the way, and, yes, some others that should make you grimace.


In the original, no less than Marcello Mastroianni played the lead; here it's Robert De Niro (above). What a surprise-- and a pleasure-- it is to see this guy being nice and relatively normal. No heavy drama (Raging Bull), no over-the-top (and not all that funny) comedy (Meet the Parents), just a regular working stiff who, widowed and with his four kids spread around the country, each of whom has reneged on the promise of the holiday reunion, decides to make an impromptu visit to them instead.

Jones has adapted his screenplay from the original (credited to Massimo De Rita, Tonino Guerra and Signore Tornatore) and he appears to have stuck pretty closely to it, while setting his lead char- acter's adventures in the USA rather than Italy. What this Everyman discovers -- about his kids and himself -- as he visits first one child then another is what leads the film to its happy/sad, feel-good -with-reservations conclusion. Early on the De Niro character imagines his children's present lives while still seeing them in his own mind as young kids. This "trick" is repeated often enough to become tiresome and yet there are mo- ments along the way when it packs a punch. What it means to be a "success" in the eyes of your parents and how this effects your adult life is always a theme worth exploring, as are the inevitable disappointments inherent in the lives of adults of whatever age.

While it's difficult to get too excited over Everybody's Fine, it is just as hard not to recommend it: for Mr. DeNiro's good work and that of the the crisp-unto-breakability Kate Beckinsale (shown two photos up), the goofy/loveable Drew Barrymore (above) and the slightly seedy Sam Rockwell (below), all of whom are as good as the script permits. The tear or two you shed by movie's end might as easily be for the better film this could have been as for the modicum of humor, good will and genuine emotion it's been able to generate.

Everybody's Fine, distributed by Miramax, opens wide across the country on Friday, December 4.

LOOT opens at IFC and a World War II treasure trove of jewels proves elusive

Two young soldiers in Germany during WWII discover a cache of jewels and and samurai swords then hide them prior to leaving for home back in the USA. Sixty years later the hunt is on to find these treasures, even though the soldiers are aged and decrepit and can't quite remember where in hell they are. If the scenario of LOOT sounds enticing, the finished documentary made from it turns out -- something on the order of the treasures themselves -- to be paste.

Director/editor/co-producer Darius Marder (above, right, who also handles part of the cinematography) has a fascinating story to tell, and does so for the most part in fits and starts. He must first bring us the stories (or a good part of them) not just of the two soldiers involved but also of a family man named Lance Larson (at left, below and top), into whose hands comes this odd tale, and his troubled son -- and then make sense of it all. Shot on three continents (one of which isn't terribly important to the tale) over nearly three years, the movie fills us in fleetingly on the problems between Lance and his son, and of the soldiers (one of whom us now blind, while the other has turned into a kind of crazy pack rat who hordes not just objects but secrets: see photo at bottom).

Nothing quite co- heres here, yet all of it holds inter- est. In a post- viewing discussion of the film with a friend who accom- panied me to the screening, it turned out we had divergent opinions on two impor- tant points. While my friend was right about one of these and I the other, the amount of confusion generated by our misunderstanding of the film was unsettling. Who is it who dies at film's end? Is Lance's father ever visible here? How did director Marder become involved in the project? How did he connect with Lance? It's not that these questions are as important as the ones raised by the search for war-crime loot, but the fact that they keep surfacing while watching the movie does not bode well.

As much as we get to know about the two old soldiers and about Lance and his son, what we're left with at the finale seems paltry. As much time as we spend with the characters on view, we really don't get to know them much at all. While they and their story provide enough information to slightly engross and/or concern us, basically we're kept at such a remove from the whole twisty, multi-character tale that everything -- looting, lies, death and even murder -- takes on equal importance and finally proves so lightweight that the whole movie simply blows away with the wind. The scene in the field in Germany toward the end is undeniably moving -- but more for the big picture of reconciliation it provides than for the specific characters we are watching.

Loot, which opens at NYC's IFC Center on Friday, December 4, does not appear to be available from IFC On-Demand. Perhaps the HBO logo I noticed at the film's beginning means that it will eventually be (or has been) shown on one of that company's cable channels.

(All photos are courtesy of the film itself, except that
of Mr. Marder, which is cribbed from his Facebook page.)

Gustav Deutsch's FILM IST. a girl & a gun: Composed found-footage makes AFA debut

TrustMovies wants to take this moment to admit to his readers that he is not the brightest bulb on the block (if you've read me for any length of time, this will come as no surprise), especially where experimental cinema is concerned. While he is aware of his limita-
tions (some of them, at least), he nonetheless feels a need to test himself occasionally by viewing experimental work in place of a mainstream, indie or foreign-language film. We all need a challenge.

This month's hurdle comes via Anthology Film Archives, in collaboration with the Aust- rian Cultural Forum NY, which is presen- ting a week- long run of the composition of found footage by Gustav Deutsch titled FILM IST. a girl & a gun -- the latest (2oo9) work of this "composer" (shown above). The roughly 90-minute parade of silent-film images from the last century, many of them color-tinted, is full of war and sex (a bit of it hardcore), men and women, science and technology. There is constant music, often as florid as the images. And titles cards, too, from time to time. Beginning with a shot that nicely combines girl and gun -- it looks like Annie Oakley or someone of her ilk -- the film then offers up red and yellow-tinted images of chaos, moving on to boobs and bubbly lava, volcanoes and tongue kisses, before coming to rest in paradise (which resembles a lot more smoke) & then water -- and soldiers listening to flowers blooming. That's just for openers.

You've got to approach experimental film with an open mind or what's the point. Given the human condition, however, one tends to bring to one's viewing the usual baggage: the search for narrative, connection and what we already "know." You tell yourself to "let go and let it all wash over you," but still, your brain is ever at work, trying to connect. In the section called "I Long and seek after" a girl has a date with a see-through man, imbibing a bit and eating some cake (or not). Wow: fun! Plus there's probably no hangover, no calories, and she won't even get pregnant! Now these are thoughts that I suspect the filmmaker did not plan on my having, but there you are. Or maybe he'd be charmed by them, or even had them himself. Who knew?! Who knows?

Soon enough, I believe, there will be no way around realizing that you are viewing a kind of History of the World, though one with a very narrow vision -- it's all sex and war (and the war between the sexes) -- that is not without its charms and even bears comparison to the Mel Brooks version. Girls and guns are oft connected here but not always in the same manner. Jealousy rears its head, and a duel brings us back, in a roundabout way, to the opening shot. And those images just keep on connecting. One of my favorites is a safe in which... the male libido is stored? Nice!

Thanatos, too, get its licks in, as the movie mixes corpse-dissection and autopsies with sex and dancing, masked (above) and otherwise, with the choice of music sometimes alarming -- and meant to be. A little bestiality is tossed in for good measure, along with a wilting plant, torture by tickling and a raft of images from WWI. Connect as you will. Finally, though, we see that to conquer sexually is to court destruction. We knew that: Look at most marriages. But a timely reminder is always appreciated. As is the thought that to conquer another, even an entire country, is but to sublimate your erect, more likely limp penis into sword or missile.

Film ist. a girl & a gun is fun, no getting around that, even if it is a bit repetitive and glum. Just remember: It's good to be challenged -- and you can be -- starting Wednesday, December 2, through Tuesday, December 8, nightly at 7 and 9pm. Check out the AFA December schedule here.

BEFORE TOMORROW opens at Film Forum, concluding The Fast Runner Trilogy

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Probably the most popular Inuit movie in history (I realize there is not a lot of competition) The Fast Runner (Atanarjuat), released in 2001, became an interna-
tional hit. The 2006 follow-up, The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, shown almost exclusively at festivals around the globe, did not fare as well. Now comes the final segment of what is known as The Fast Runner Trilogy:

BEFORE TOMORROW (Le jour avant le lendemain)
made in 2008. Compared to the original Fast Runner (TrustMovies has not seen the middle chapter which was never released in the US), you might call this one The Slow Mover -- so quiet, concise and unhurried is almost everything about the trilogy's final film.

Of the three movies, Before Tomorrow is the only one with female filmmakers in control, so I don' think we should be surprised at the resulting difference. The concerns here -- survival among them -- are not so different, but the film techniques -- pace Kathryn Bigelow -- definitely are. But how could they, why should they, not be? Why should we not expect women to be concerned with things differently -- and with different things -- than are men? In this story of a grandmother and her grandson who, with another old women joining them at the last minute, head off in warm weather to dry and store the tribe's meat for winter use, survival has less to do with running fast than with keeping your fire forever lit.

Death hovers over the film from its beginning (the gorgeous credit sequence melds smoke wisps and faces into a beautiful black-and-white vision of what seem like ancestral spirits), and remains present and persistent until the end. Why do things happen, questions the grandson? The grandmother explains as best she can. The pacing here is very slow, and you must acclimate yourself to it. Help is provided by the spacious vistas with their bright colors captured with crisp, high-relief cinematography (there's certainly little pollution in these locations to muddy up sharpness), as well as by a few of the fraught incidents that occur along the way. One of these vistas looks for all the world like something intergalactic.

Interestingly, much of the camera-work is done in close-up. With all the vast expanse on view, the directors (Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu, shown left and right respectively in the photo second from top) keep their camera tight in on the faces (as in the shot above of Ms Ivalu, who also essays the leading role of the grandma). This works more often than not, failing only in a scene such as the wolf attack, when most of the close-ups call attention to a small budget rather than enhancing the action at hand.

Often, the movie seems simplicity itself and correctly so. The musical score, provided by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, is splendid, particu-
larly their final buoyant but quite moving song. Especially telling is the film's use of fire as the symbol for life. We see it from the be-
ginning and hear a parable/story that signifies its meaning. Fire is ever-present throughout, tamped down though it is at night. This tamping ritual is shown at length several times so that, when we view it at the finale, it carries more meaning & weight than do all the souped-up special effects you'll see in something like 2012.

Obviously the big screen is the place to see a film such as Before Tomorrow, so a thank you is due NYC's Film Forum for providing the venue, beginning Wednesday, December 2. If you live outside New York, however, and wonder how you might catch this unusual movie, there's hope. To coincide with the theatrical debut of Before Tomorrow, the first two films in The Fast Runner Trilogy will launch worldwide with pay-what-you-can Video on Demand downloads at www.isuma.tv . And then, in early 2010, Before Tomorrow itself will be available for download at this same web location.

All photo are courtesy of Igloolik Isuma Productions.

InFrenchWithEnglishSubtitles: French fest at FIAF offers nine new mainstream films!

That's right, readers -- and this fest looks hot indeed! Why? Because it offers New York-
ers who love French film the opportunity to see a bunch of new and deci-
dedly more mainstream movies than usual. Aside from the very occasional thea-
trical release of a relatively new French film (cur-
rently it's the Anne Fontaine/Audrey Tatou Coco Before Chanel) or something fun from IFC On-Demand (check out French Gigolo!), for most Americans, even us "sophisticated" New Yorkers, the pickings are lean. Although we usually have to wait until March of each new year to revel in the FSLC's Rendez-vous with French Cinema series (this year saw 19 -- count 'em! -- movies), we did get a preview of things to come via a five-film French series at BAM earlier this month.

Now, out of the blue, comes something new quite different: A film fest offering nine recent movies that are current and not, shall we say, overly intellectual. In one case, even family friendly. What are the French themselves watching and enjoying these days?
We're about to find out.

Over the past month one of the biggest hits on French cin- ema screens was Le Petit Nicolas (above), based on a now classic French children's book. That one, part of this fest, proved so immediately popular that its sole screening sold out and another had to be added. The opening night film Tomorrow at Dawn (Demain dès l’aube, above) by Denis Dercourt (The Page Turner) tackles a current French societal phenomenon about people who, for a weekend, go and live another life. The film is set in contemporary France but its main character is drawn to follow his brother into another century, at the time of the Napoleonic wars. (Does this not sound a bit like certain folks in our country who spend their weekends re-fighting The Civil War.) TrustMovies is breaking his usual policy of covering only what he has actually seen because of the immediacy of this fest (one week from today), its short time span (one-time showings of nine films in only 2-1/2 days) and the fact that no press screenings or DVD screeners are available.

Consequently, he plans to attend as many of the films as possible and report on them soon after. Here's the link to the entire festival, which is very cleverly titled In French With English Subtitles and which begins its weekend run next Friday, December 4, through Sunday, December 6 at FIAF's (the French Institute Alliance Française) Florence Gould Hall, located in the center of Manhattan on 59th Street between Park and Madison (55 East 59th Street).

To learn how all this came about, TrustMovies had a lengthy inter- view with the two women in charge of the new festival, which they hope will become an annual event: Catherine Laleuf, festival director (shown above), and Alexandra Creteur, press officer. Since InFrenchWith EnglishSubtitles was the brain- child of Laleuf, we asked her most of the questions -- to which she very graciously responded: TrustMovies: How did this festival happen? What inspired it?

Catherine Laleuf: My first connection came through Alexandre Chemla , President of Altour. I used to work with him on another fest, one in a more suburban location. He kept asking me to come and do a festival of this type in Manhattan. I always said, “Well, I’ll think about it.” So this year, I decided not to do that fest in the suburbs anymore, and so he said, “Good, come with me and do the fest in Manhattan.”

I am also a friend of Patrick Gimenez, who distributes French films in the US and also produces films. He does a French film fest in Florida, where he lives, in two locations: Miami and Boca Raton. So I spoke to Patrick also and asked what he thought a new French ought to provide. Now, there is already a wonderful French festival in Manhattan -- the Rendez-vous with French Cinema, put on by the FSLC. So we thought, “Well, why don’t we try to do another festival at a different time of year, one that does not compete.”

I already had a group of people I work with, and I asked them about it, and they all said, “Yes, let try it.” So we decided to do it. This is our first year. I also wanted to do something for a good cause, and as I am already a member of entraide francaise NYC.com, which is an organiza- tion that helps French citizens and also people whose relatives are French. These people may be in a difficult situation – the loss of a job, sickness, death etc. So this group will now benefit from our festival.

Where did you get your title? It's very functional -- and funny.

At the time I was just not sleeping well at night – you know how it works when you are thinking about billions of things. What to name this festival was at the top of the list. The most frequent question we are asked by most people is, “Is this movie in French? And we answer, “Yes but there are English subtitles!” So we used this as our name. But you know what? People still ask: “Will there be English subtitles?”

Why this particular set of nine films?

Just today someone asked me if I could quickly describe these, and if they had a common theme so that they could choose among them. Actually, all have a common theme except one: Le Petit Nicolas. The films are all about some time in your life, when you must leave yourself, or change who you really are. Some are about changing your identity in order to escape something. Others are about inventing yourself and having another life in order to protect yourself or escape. When we selected these, this idea had nothing to do with our selection. But that is how things turned out. This kind of thing must be the flavor of the month in France

The Friday, opening night, film -- Demain dès l’aube -- deals with playing a role different from your own life. This is societal phenomenon studied by the director Denis Dercourt, who met with these people who, for a weekend, go and live another life. His film is set in contemporary France but main character is drawn to follow his brother into another century, the time of the Napoleonic wars. The movie was selected at Cannes for Un Certain Regard. Vincent Perez, the star, as well as the director, M. Dercourt, will be on hand for a Q&A following the film, led by Jerry Carlson of CUNY-TV.

On Saturday we're showing Adieu Gary: a drama that won Cannes' Critics Week award. The leading role is played by Jean- Pierre Bacri. It’s about the sad- ness of being in a town with factory workers who have no aims or goals, so one character invents himself as the son of the late American actor Gary Cooper. Incognito is a comedy about a young artist who a has roommate who disappears. When the artist finds some music of his that is very good, he sells it as his own. The actor who plays the thief is a famous popular singer in France.

In Romaine par moins 30, a young woman (Sandrine Kiberlain) who always wants to please people and never shows who she is goes to Canada with her fiancé. While there, she blows a fuse and decides to live. The comedy mixes the French with the French Canadians. Pascale Elbé, one of the actors, will do Q&A, and he is also presenting closing night.

Tellement proches is a comedy as well, but with a dramatic angle that asks the question: When you marry, do you also marry your wife’s family? Vincent Elbaz with be present for Q&A, which John Farr will moderate. The festival ends Sunday with four films: Une semaine sur deux (Alternate Weeks), which is a typical French rom-com about a divorce, but this time seen from the point of view of the young children. Then we have Le Petit Nicolas, at two showings, which is currently the biggest hit in France. Based on a very famous cartoon book by Sempé from the story by Goscinny This is a classic that all little boys love, with everything happening back in the 50s. It deals with a gang of young friends, in the center is Nicolas. The style of film is very of-the-minute, just like the book. This was a huge popular hit. Sandrine Kiberlaine also stars in this one.

Le Dernier pour la route (One for the Road) is based on a book that was huge success in France: the true story of someone who realizes that his alcohol addiction is so bad that it’s destroying him. This drama stars François Cluzet, who won a Best Actor César for Tell No One. Quelque Chose a te dire is about a family secret that you think will never come out – but does, and it's a comedy offering some drama, too, along with satire and philosophy. It’s very French. The mother is played by Charlotte Rampling, in an amazing role, with Patrick Chesnais and Pascale Elbé -- the latter of whom will do a Q&A with Jerry Carlson. What’s the goal of the fest?

We want to bring even more French films to America. We believe that the French cinema is the most prolific movie industry in Europe. Each year we have over 200 movies released – which is a lot. But very few of these are seen abroad, especially in US. The ideal thing for us is to bring more popular films over here. We don’t want to bring in movies that are too intellectual. These are more of what you might call the flavor of the month in France.

Who is paying for the festival? You, its spon- sors, FIAF…? We go and see our possible sponsors, and though we are very frustrated, we believe in what we do, so our sponsors follow us in the adventure. Our major sponsors are Altour, American Airlines, LVMH, American Express and Michael Page International. We also have a big party after the screening and Q&A, which is hosted by Maitres Cuisiniers de France. We are also partly sponsored by the FIAF -- and each screening will be taking place in the Florence Gould Hall of the FIAF at 55 E 59th Street. Finally, we are under the high patronage of the CNC the Centre National de la Cinematographie.

How do get ticket for the festival?

Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster: just type in the name of our festival. Or click on the link at our festival’s own site. You can also purchase tickets in person at the FIAF box office. The original showing of Le Petit Nicolas is already sold out, and a new screening has been added on Sunday morning, Dec. 5, at 10am. Other films may follow suit fast, so if you want to be sure of getting tickets, order ASAP!

Happy Thanksgiving: See a movie but keep your turkeys for the table

Since so many of us are talking turkey, I was going to use today's post to point out some of the year's biggest birds, movie-wise. But I feel I've already said enough about Anti Christ.

So, before I retire to the kitchen (or rather, head for Manhattan to pick up from Whole Foods what used to be prepared -- well, more or less -- in our home), I'll use my brief time left to offer you links to a few of TrustMovies' reviews "elsewhere."

Because there have been a number of excellent DVDs released lately (and one of the below not so lately), here are a few I'd recommend, each with a link to one of my recent posts at GreenCine, where I cover a new DVD weekly at GC's Guru site.

Among my favorites -- and a big surprise -- is one that's been hanging out on my Netflix and Greencine queues for what seems like ages. I couldn't even remember what had induced me to queue the movie in the first place. Now, having seen PROTEUS (a still from which is shown above), I am so glad I did. You can learn more here about this documentary that manages, in but one hour, to combine science and art to beautiful, intelligent effect.

If you can't seem to get enough movies about immigrants to America, you might want to take in PARAISO TRAVEL, a kind of Sin Nombre-lite that's enjoyable and lively, if not quite memorable. A more complete review is here.

Are you aware of the amazing "design" that's all around you? Watch OBJECTIFIED, and you will be. This smart and expansive documentary will be a must see for anyone who loved Helvetica, and if you haven't watched that one, either (about a typeface, yet!), then you've got two fine Gary Hustwit films to look forward to. The complete Objectified review is here.

That's it, folks. Got to go pick up the dinner. Happy turkey-ing to all!