U.S. Blu-ray debut for Abdellatif Kechiche's stunning, if overlong BLACK VENUS

Tunisian-born filmmaker
Abdellatif Kechiche, who has lived in France since the age of six, has now written and directed eight (very) full-length films. One of his hallmarks, in fact, is length. The four of his films that TrustMovies has seen are too long. His shortest (Games of Love and Chance) runs just over two hours, and his longest (Blue is the Warmest Color) a three full hours. His latest, in fact (not yet seen in the USA), is so long that it had to be split into two parts, with the first one running nearly three hours all by itself.

While judicious editing anywhere from ten to thirty minutes would improve each Kechiche film mightily (the filmmaker is shown at left), still, I would not have wanted to miss any of them. BLACK VENUS (from 2010), which makes it U.S. Blu-ray debut this coming week via Arrow Academy, may be the best of the lot -- even though at the time of its international festival/theatrical debut, it was rather roundly panned for being exploitative and/or sleazy in terms of its handling of story and lead actress, the memorable Yahima Torres (shown below). Again, I suspect this stems as much from America's ever-prudish sensibilities as from the too-lengthy scenes of the degradation of the film's main character, a black woman known during the time frame of the film's setting -- 1810 through 1815 -- as the Hottentot Venus. Audiences quickly got the point M. Kechiche was making -- yes,  this is awful stuff! -- but the filmmaker's refusal to tighten his scenes comes off as though he's unduly rubbing it in.

And yet, in many ways this is Kechiche's most powerful movie: Stunningly beautiful and eye-poppingly gorgeous in its new Blu-ray transfer (Arrow offers some of the best transfers I've seen), it captures the time and place in all their despairing, often ugly glory. And the story it tells of the abuse of this woman, born Sarah Baartman in South Africa, is such a staggeringly amazing and ugly one that it practically becomes an instant and major historical marker for the Me Too movement. (In this sense the movie was nearly a decade ahead of its time -- as poor Ms Baartman was a couple of centuries ahead of hers.)

Performances from the entire cast  -- Kechiche's usual "unknowns" (here led by the amazing Ms Torres, who, sadly, has done no acting work at all since this, her debut role) mixed with some very "well-knowns" (Olivier Gourmet (above and below), Andre Jacobs (below, right), and the incomparable Elina Löwensohn).

M. Kechiche proves himself once again a born filmmaker, despite his love of length and overkill. How he tells his tale -- beginning with a lecture given by and to France's leading doctors and professors regarding the sexual organs of the Hottentot, then arriving full circle, once we've learned the history and current-day story of our black beauty -- could hardly be bettered, save for the occasional need of those editing scissors.

The costumes, sets, and ace cinematography (from Lubomir Bakchev) all conspire to make viewing the movie a consistent pleasure, even as we move from the "peep" show staged in London (below)...

to the British high court (below), where our little "theatrical troupe" is brought up on charges to the environs of French royalty, who at least act somewhat better toward our heroine than do England's hoi polloi.

All the while, and despite (sometimes because of) the despicable circumstances of our hottentot, we find ourselves, over and over again, entering her mind, soul and heart. And Ms Torres' remarkable performance enables us to do this so easily, thanks to her seeming innate ability to simply be this young woman: to bring us into her thoughts and desires, her abilities and her hopes.

Where Sarah Baartman goes and how she gets there will amaze and disturb, and the filmmaker sees to it that every jolt sinks in, along with the very occasional moment of kindness or delight.

Despite its flaws, Black Venus is an extremely powerful film. I believe it only received a minor limited theatrical release some years back, so I hope viewers will be able catch it in this current format.

From Arrow Academy and distributed in the USA via MVD Entertainment Group, the film hits Blu-ray this coming Tuesday, May 22 -- for purchase and (I would hope) rental.

Andrew Berends' Nigeria doc DELTA BOYS gets a Netflix, Hulu and SnagFilms debut

Is there any place in the world drilled by Big Oil that doesn't damage the surrounding environment, together with the human and animal life that dwell there? To documentaries such as Fuel, Crude and others that indict the oil companies for their efforts in various parts of the world, we can now add DELTA BOYS, an anti-ode to the oil drawn from Nigeria -- the lode of which constitutes a large portion of what we here in the USA consume. It would be one thing if the citi-zens of these countries from which oil is taken were living some sort of decent life. Instead they are poor, with little access to health, education, and welfare facilities, while the environment in which they must live grows ever more polluted. Oh, yes: and the oil companies, and the governments of these countries that collude with those oil companies, grow ever richer.

While making Delta Boys in Nigeria, filmmaker Andrew Berends was arrested, detained for ten days, and expelled from the country by the Nigerian government in a bid to suppress media coverage of the Niger Delta conflict. Up to this time, it would seem, that suppression was evidently handled pretty well, as this was yet another area of the world that Big Oil despoils and manages to keep under wraps. Well, not anymore. Mr Berends deserves a lot of credit for going to Nigeria and and getting up close and personal with at least two different anti-oil/anti-government insurgent groups -- one that seems to have the country's good as its goal, the other, maybe not.

At just under one hour's running time, Berends' film seems a bit like an opening salvo. I would have rather seen a further fleshed-out version that offered more history of the region and the "work" of the oil companies, with specifics on how, why, when and where these firms have polluted, along with the results. The movie could easily, I think, have been expanded to a full-length running time, but most likely, since Berends has been expelled from the county, he's not going to easily get back in to continue his filming. Which, by the way, is quite good (the fellow quadruples as producer, director, cinematographer and co-editor of Delta Boys). The filmmaker spends most of his time in the camp of the "human rights activist" (as I believe he calls himself) Tom Ateke. (I might use the term "insur-gent," while the Nigerian government no doubt prefers "terrorist.")

As he enters the camp, the filmmaker is given a kind of verbal "test" (which he evidently passes with flying colors), along with the direc-tive to "Say only what you see. Don't add or subtract." Berends pretty much does just that, so what we see ranges from the lovely to the odd, fascinating and beautiful (one shot of birds and their nests is extraordinary). He concentrates most on some of the young men who have joined the camp -- fellows like Chima (on poster, top, and in photo at bottom), formerly in prison who has not seen his family for several years.

Other militant camps -- the Okoloma Ikpangi, for one -- may be concerned less with helping the poor, as some villagers tells us, than with feeding their own stomachs. Religion plays a big part of daily life here, and at one point when government troops come in to raid the camps, a priest prays to god to "make peace in Jesus' name." (It seemed to me that some of the men we see are Muslim, but I guess Christianity has also made inroads here.)

Certain questions go unanswered: If it was easy enough for Berends to find the insurgents' camps, why is the government so slow in this? Eventually, a meeting takes place between representatives of several militant groups and the government, and the outcome is... pretty much expected, I think. The result may help the leaders all around the table -- and the oil companies, of course -- while leaving the people as bereft as usual.

There appears to be a kind of eyes-wide-shut, or maybe a don't ask/don't tell policy throughout Nigeria -- in the government, the camps, the families, everywhere in fact, except probably the oil companies -- as to what is going on. (Does Chima's family, for instance, really not have a clue as to where he has been of late?)  If the film needs fleshing out and sorting out, it still proves quite worth seeing for anyone interested in the story of yet another oil-rich land being exploited while its people remain in poverty.

In addition to its debut this coming Tuesday, January 15, via Netflix (streaming only), Hulu and SnagFilms, Delta Boys is currently available for digital download to rent or own at the Sundance site, on iTunes, Vudu and Amazon.

NYFF50: Lee Daniels gets it just right with THE PAPERBOY, playing the festival tonight and opening theatrically this Friday

One of the most "fun" times I've ever had at the movies came from watching a new director named Lee Daniels go so far over the top in a movie called Shadowboxer that he very nearly ended up coming back through the bottom. This classic (of sorts) film, if you haven't seen it already, is a must. It stars Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding, as a pair of mother/(step)son assassins who are also lovers (you're probably beginning to get the point already) and boasts an every-bit-as-terrific group of actors in supporting roles. This is must-see camp, whether intentional or unintentional, I haven't quite figured out.

Mr. Daniels, shown at left, then went on to a little movie called Precious, which Oprah got hold of and the rest is tinkered-with history. Precious, too, was over-the-top, but because it had an oh-so-needy protagonist at its center, the film came off as more "serious," even though many of us had some trouble accepting it quite like that. It was also filled with good performances (no doubt about it, Daniels corrals top actors and lets them strut their stuff), but whether the filmmaker was more interested in shocking us than entertaining and/or edifying us was up for grabs.

Now comes THE PAPERBOY, a new melodrama/mystery/
memory film, which plays tonight at 8:30 at the New York Film Film Festival (as part of its Tribute to Nicole Kidman: The actress, one of the film's stars, is shown at right) and then opens theatrically on Friday. Finally, I believe, Daniels has hit his mark almost perfectly. His new film is as shocking, sleazy, sexy, ugly and, yes, entertaining, as you could want. And when the filmmaker deals with subjects such as race, class, "otherness" and sexuality, he nails these, as well, deeply and beautifully.

The Paperboy is one of those non-judgmental movies that will drive some people crazy (all of Daniels films are and do, I think). Set in the 1960s American South, it offers a look at an entitled, white, small-town newspaper-owning family led by Scott Glenn (above), whose two sons -- played by Zac Efron (below, right, as a young man still trying to discover what he wants and needs) and Matthew McConaughey (below, left, who has moved to larger, more sophisticated surroundings as a noted reporter in Miami).

Into their lives comes one of the town's sluts (a particularly fine performance by Miss Kidman), who appears to have a predilection for prisoner lovers. Just now she's fixated on a man found guilty of murder (a commanding, shocking turn by John Cusak, below), whom she and McConaughey believe is innocent.

Stir these elements, as Daniels has done (he also co-adapted the screenplay from a Pete Dexter novel, with the help of Mr. Dexter), and you have one hell of a rip-roaring and equally unsettling film. On the envelope-pushing side, the filmmaker gives you one of the most shocking sex scenes I've yet to witness on film -- one that we, as well as the other characters present, can't take our eyes off. Later there's a post-sex scene that is equally shocking.

What gives the film its peculiar oompf is its consistent refusal to judge the behavior of its characters. It sees this behavior fully, understands it and allows us to do the same, and this goes miles toward helping us identify to some extent with everyone we see (including the character played by Cusack, who proves the most difficult of all).

Race is personified via Macy Gray (above), who is fast becoming one of my favorite actresses. Playing the maid (and kind of big sister/nanny to Efron) in the household, she captures the intimacy of her role, as well as its difficulties in navigating the rest of the family. Efron himself may have his best role yet, which he handles with the proper mix of youthful insistence and charm, along with a very normal need to rebel. His relationship to Kidman's character proves particularly painful and fulfilling.

McConaughey has already hit three home runs this year: Bernie, Killer Joe and now this (which makes Killer Joe look tame). As the brother with his own baggage and secrets, the actor is marvelous, giving a quiet, deeply felt performance. Also in the cast is David Oyelowo (at left, above and below), who is quite good as the "British" newsman working with McConaughey.  

I suppose I should not credit the movie as being great, and yet it seems to me that everything it tries to do, it achieves. At the very least The Paperboy is a great exploitation movie. From Millennium Films and running 107 minutes, the film screen at the NYFF this evening, and then opens across the country this Friday -- in New York City, the Los Angeles area, San Francisco, DC, Chicago and Fairfax, VA -- and in many more cities the following week. Click here (and then click TICKETS on the choice bar at top right) to see the complete listing of playdates, cities and theaters.

GIRL MODEL:David Redmon/Ashley Sabin's years-in-gestation doc hits theaters at last

When TrustMovies first met David Redmon, co-direc-tor/producer/editor and cinematog-rapher (with Ashley Sabin) of the new documentary GIRL MODEL, it was the summer of 2008 and -- even though the interview was primarily about their film Mardi Gras: Made in China, which was about to make its DVD debut -- the two were already hard at work on their upcoming movie about very young Russian girls, 13-15, who want to becomes models. At the time of our interview (for Greencine.com: you can read it here, with our talk about the upcoming Girl Model appearing on page two), it was clear that the film -- having to do with underage girls, "agents," photographers, and what sounded like a certain criminal element involved in the whole thing -- was a very tricky proposition. Before I sent the final interview to my editor, in fact, I had to delete certain portions for fear of getting the filmmakers or their subjects into trouble.

All this is by way of saying that the finished product, 77 minutes long, is perhaps the single most "gray area" documentary that I have yet seen. That the film-making duo has managed to make the film intelligible, meaningful and moving- -- given this necessity to fudge -- makes it all the more impressive.

Initially, at least according to what Redmon told me back in 2008, the film was to be about a former model from the U.S. (presumably Ashley Arbaugh, shown above) who now scouts new models -- girls 13-15 in rural Russia -- and brings them to Brooklyn, New York. As Redmon put it at the time, "She recruits these models, and they'll come over and stay in the Brooklyn location under the guidance of a man who is one of her business partners." That's our sort-of lead-ing lady, a young woman named Nadya (from Siberia) shown below.

Well, as the movie now has it, these girls don't come to the U.S. at all but head instead for Japan, where the scout and her crew -- a fellow who goes by the name of Messiah (make of that what you will) uses and abuses them, dishonoring their initial contract (under which they are supposed to be paid, whether or not they find work in Japan), leaving them in horrendous debt by the time they arrive back home. In order to pay this debt off, they return to Japan and maybe model -- but more likely serve as prostitutes.  Nice, huh? Oh, well, think of it as just another nasty piece of the globalization puzzle.

In Japan, where nothing works put as expected, we meet that mess of a Messiah (whom you really do want to see dead by film's end) and another young girl (above, left), who ends up as Nadya's slightly more aware roommate in Tokyo.

Early on, we meet Nadya's family: her mom (above, left), dad, and grandmother (below, right). Dad is planning on enlarging the house from the money that young Nadya will soon be earning. Good luck.

We also meet the Russian man -- Tigran, I think, is his name -- who is seemingly one of the "bosses" of the whole operation. His little rant about all the good he is doing for Russia and for these girls in particular should make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. By the finale, when prostitution has been mentioned in passing, you'll understand more about that "good" -- and for whom it is meant.

And through everything, we have our scout, Ashley, looking pretty forlorn, as well as she should, given what she earns her living doing. (It's a pretty good living, too: she can afford a very nice house in Connecticut.) I don't know that we ever once see this woman smile genuinely. If "karma" exists, however, she does get her comeuppance -- though the late Susan Sontag (Illness as Metaphor) would never agree.

Nothing, however, is stated here. The filmmakers generally keep themselves quite out of the way. (Only once, I think, do we hear David Redmond's name mentioned.) Even the rare questions to any of the principals are politely put and never insisted upon. All is suggested, and that, but barely. Yet Redmon and Sabin capture enough telling moments -- our girl, limping across a street in her high heels -- to score their points and still keep everything as "gray" as possible.

This is the kind of movie which, after viewing you'll want to shower, douche (if appropriate) and gargle with some heavy-duty mouthwash.  Girl Model, from First Run Features, opens Wednesday, September 5, in New York City at the IFC Center. It'll be opening in the weeks and months to come in another dozen cities, as well. Click here to see all currently scheduled playdates.

All photo are from the film, except for 

that of Redmon and Sabin, 

which comes courtesy of Vogue, Italy.