SUBMISSION: Richard Levine's timely and unsettling adaptation of a Francine Prose novel

Perfectly timed to the current Me2 movement, though not in quite the manner you might expect, the new film by director/adapter Richard Levine -- from the well-regarded novel, Blue Angel, by Francine Prose -- SUBMISSION tackles the idea of sexual harassment from a very different viewpoint. Though TrustMovies has not read this particular novel by Ms Prose, he has always found her writing strong, intelligent, thoughtful and often surprising in its choice of not just her subject but her attitude about that subject.

Here, the sexual harassment comes from both sides and in ways that are not so apparent early on. Motives are unclear, and sex itself seems maybe not nearly as important as things like fame, ego and that always problematic sense of self-worth. As director and adapter, Mr. Levine, shown at left, negotiates all this with remarkable ease and facility so that we are taken in, just as is the movie's protagonist, played with a simply wonderful combination of naivete and smarts by the always-good but here in that rare leading role that allows us to understand just how spectacular this actor can be: Stanley Tucci, below.

Mr. Tucci allows us to identify with and understand his character so thoroughly that, somewhere near the film's conclusion, my spouse murmured aloud, "Oh, this poor guy!" You'll feel the same way, and yet you will also understand exactly how he has managed to put himself in this unenviable position.

You may also feel a very odd combination of anger and admiration for his antagonist, portrayed with exactly the right mix of intelligence, neediness, ambition and a just-slightly-marred allure by Addison Timlin, above. The performances by these two actors could hardly be bettered, and the alternately sweet and naughty little dance they do together grows more complicated and unsettling as the movie progresses.

And, yes, sex is indeed involved, but the harassment portion of the equation is a lot more pliable and provocative than certain viewers might wish. The small liberal arts college that is the setting of the film is brought to satirical and mostly realistic life, while supporting roles  -- from our hero's wife, played by Kyra Sedgwick, below, and one of his faculty friends (Janeane Garafalo, shown at bottom, right) -- are very nicely limned, as well. While the novel was published back in 2000, the filmmaker has updated the content to include (and make some fun of) more current and problematic educational "tools" such as safe spaces and trigger warnings.

What happens to Tucci's character is awful but somehow expected, and the movie (as I imagine was the original novel) is not content to merely leave it there so that we and the characters can stew in our/their own juices. The ending -- which is abrupt yet just about perfect (the last line of dialog is heavenly) -- should put you in mind of something with which I suspect Ms Prose, Mr. Levine, the actors here and most of us writers, too, would all agree: In the end, it's the work that counts.

From Paladin and running 106 minutes, Submission opens theatrically this Friday, March 2, in New York City at the new Landmark 57 West. On Friday, March 9, look for it around the rest of the country in some 45 cities major and minor -- from Los Angeles (at various Laemmle theaters) to elsewhere, at locations including both the Regal and Landmark chains.  

The Latasters' MISS KIET'S CHILDREN: kids on film in a fine and helpful Netherlands school

The earlier documentary of which the new one, MISS KIET'S CHILDREN, should most remind you is probably that fine French kids-in-school doc, To Be and To Have, which let us spend some time in a one-room, mixed-grade schoolhouse in the French countryside.

Among the differences between that doc and this new one are the country we're in (The Netherlands), the larger size of the school, and the fact that most of the kids here are recent immigrants (several from Syria) -- which addresses a subject that has grown hugely in importance throughout the European Union over the fifteen years since the release of that earlier film.

The product of filmmakers Petra Lataster-Csisch and Peter Lataster (shown above, left and right, respectively), the film offers no narration -- written or voice-over -- nor any talking-head interviews, but is simply a you-are-there, let's-watch-these-kids-and-the-interaction-with-their-teacher approach. It works. The children, for the most part, seem either unaware of the camera or so used to it that it makes little difference to them. Only one of these -- a very funny young fellow named Jorj (shown below) -- occasionally seems to be playing to the camera. And, damned if he isn't very good at it!

That titular teacher, Miss Kiet (above and below), seems a font of inspiration and warmth, yet stern enough when more control is necessary. Early on in the film she makes the point that the differences between us all is something beautiful, and this idea is quietly carried on throughout, as we watch the kids learn mathematics, movement, spelling and even how to tie a shoelace.

More than merely teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, however, what Miss Kiet excels at most, it seems, is problem-solving. She is near constantly helping these kids learn how to solve their problems without resorting to anything that approaches fighting or violence. Later she will explain to them: "For every problem, there is a solution!" And, by god, she's there to demonstrate this fact.

From near the opening moment, when a little girl arrives at school having fallen down outside into what must have been a mud puddle and now has on wet and dirty pants, to the Christmas pageant, complete with song and dance, which the kids rehearse and then put on near the film's conclusion, various problems arise and are handled by Kiet and eventually by the children with understanding and a slowly acquired skill.

The movie deals mostly with those children from Syria, though one young boy (above) hails from Macedonia. As we watch the little girl Liane (or Leeann, as it is sometimes spelled here) on the playground, and see her flinch again and again and look up into the sky when any loud noise is heard, we can't help but wonder if she is remembering the bombs and violence of her native land. Finally the teacher talks with Jorj about why he has trouble sleeping, and, sure enough, this started back in Syria. "There is no 'bang bang' here, is there?" he is asked. No, but his sleep remains troubled.

Miss Kiet's Children will appeal most, I suspect, to teachers and/or anyone who harbors the instinct for teaching, and then to those who love watching the faces of children for all the unbridled emotions these can show. The faces here are marvels indeed, and the filmmakers have captured them in all their troubled glory. Finally though, the documentary seems to TrustMovies not quite as accomplished a To Be and To Have. The fact that it sticks mostly with only four or five of these kids made me wish I had seen more of the rest of the class and how the others interacted with these five. You can't have it all, of course, not even within a two-hour framework of this film's two-hour running time.

On the same bill with the full-length documentary is a seven-minute animated short entitled WHEN I HEAR THE BIRDS SING by Trine Vallevik Håbjørg, with animation by Øyvind Tangseth and Ms Håbjørg. Using simple animation that suddenly turns gorgeous, colorful and inspired, the soundtrack offers up snippets of interviews with children of the Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa who were left homeless and/or nearly killed during the violence that followed the 2010 election. They talk of their ambitions, as well as of their travails. In its simplicity, style and beauty, the film is a small but sublime accomplishment.

From Icarus Films and in Dutch with English subtitles, Miss Kiet's Children opens tomorrow, Wednesday, December 13, at Film Forum in New York City for its U.S. theatrical premiere, and then on Friday, December 15, at Laemmle's Music Hall 3 in Los Angeles. 

DVD/VOD/Digital debut: Sarah Spillane's tale of class/race/crime/education AROUND THE BLOCK

TrustMovies first visited Australia back in the 1970s, writing an article about the re-emergence of the Aussie film industry on the international scene, while simultaneously realizing how much like America was our brother country down under -- from its interests and economy to its sports mania, racism (including how it treated, historically, its own indigenous population) and so much more. It seemed perhaps a decade behind us on topics such as women's rights but was sure to catch up eventually. Watching the 2012 film AROUND THE BLOCK -- making its America debut this coming Tuesday via DVD, VOD and Digital -- it struck me how much has changed (a far greater amount of inter-marriage between aboriginals and Caucasians), even as so much has remained the same (race, class and a huge economic division).

The movie, efficiently written and directed by Sarah Spillane (shown at right), stars Christina Ricci (above and below, right) as a young woman who has taken a teaching job in Redfern, an inner-city area of Sydney, where she meets the usual challenges of this kind of environment: restless, often disinterested, kids; parents who are poor and/or maybe in prison; and an administration, the best hope of which is that everyone will just get through the school year intact (education in Australia and the U.S. seems rather similar, too).

The main characters are Ricci's teacher and a certain, very special student, Liam Wood, played memorably by the beautiful mixed-race actor, Hunter Page Lochard, (above, left, and below) seen previously in Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires but viewed to best advantage here. Around these two circle relatives and friends, along with former, present (and maybe future) lovers; teachers & administrators; criminals & prisoners.

Ms Spillane has bitten off quite a load here -- so many subsidiary characters and a lot of mini-plots to accompany them --  but she manages to service them all pretty well. We understand the points being made and the feelings expressed. The dialog and direction are sound, though not often much more than that.

Parent-child divisions, sexual preference waffling (above), the mounting of a Shakespeare production in the school and -- most tellingly -- a possible revenge killing load up the movie's event roster to overflow. That Spillane manages to handle all this without embarrassing herself or her cast is an accomplishment. But that is not quite the same thing as making the movie resonate and sparkle.

The filmmaker draws fine performances from her entire cast -- which includes the lovely Ursula Yovich (above, right) as mama Chrissie, Jack Thompson (who also doubled as Executive Producer on the film) as the school's chief administrator, Damian Walshe-Howling (below, left) as one of the teaching staff,  Mark Coles Smith as Liam's hot-blooded brother; and Matt Nable as their prisoner dad.

The movie single strongest  scene involves Liam telling his dad that he does not want to grow up to be anything like him -- even as he hugs his father as close as he can. The combination of words that mean one thing and emotions that contradict makes for one extraordinarily moving scene.

The film's use of Shakespeare's Hamlet -- as both the play the class must perform and for some of the themes found in Liam's and his family's own lives -- is smart and effective. In the Making of... extra on the DVD, we learn that the movie had but a 20-day shooting schedule. That's minimal for a tale this involved and a cast this large, and it may account for why the movie, though acceptable, never quite takes off into wonderful.

Around the Block -- from Random Media and Cinedigm and running 104 minutes -- is worth seeing, however, and you can do that this Tuesday, August 5, when the film arrives on DVD, VOD and digital outlets.