DIE UNBERUHRBARE
(No Place To Go)
2000

Bay Area Premiere
February 23, 2001

Cinequest San Jose Film Festival

-->Written and Directed by.....Oskar Rohler
-->Hanna Flanders.....Hannelore Elsner [In more than 120 films, none of which I've seen]

Not everyone was happy and joyful when the Berlin wall came down. This is the story of an author who isn't sure what to do with herself after the fall of communism.

Elsner provides an acting tour de force. She basically travels from one East German town to the next trying to take the pulse of the newly freed citizens. She had dozens of best-selling books published about the perfection of communism. She looks up her old friends to find them either changing careers or embracing the open border. All the while she chain smokes, wears Irma Vep type outfits, and dons a wig that juts out a foot or so in both directions. She is heartbreaking and wacky. A perfect combination.

Shot in black and white with a blue hue. Dreary and cold. Worth a look for Elsner's performance. Not particularly uplifting.


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NASTY NEIGHBOURS
1999

United States Premiere
February 23, 2001

Cinequest San Jose Film Festival

-->Written and Directed by.....Debbie Isitt
-->Harold Peach.....Ricky Tomlinson
-->Jean Peach.....Marion Bailey
-->Chapman.....Phil Daniels [Quadrophenia, Chicken Run]
-->Mrs. Chapman.....Rachel Fielding

The Peachs say goodbye to their beloved neighbors as they head off to Australia. The new duplex-sharing neighbors are the Chapmans who are younger and hipper and ruder than their predecesors. The Peachs take an instant dislike to them.

Creative camera work. Mock post-event interviews, split screen images. Good story about neighborly problems that get out of hand on a quiet cul-de-sac in England. All the roles are good, but something doesn't add up. They go way past the point of realism or humor. All of the characters are psychologically messed up. The version I saw had a fantastic soundtrack featuring the Sex Pistols, Lou Reed, Tom Waits. We were told that for the U.K. release all the music had to be changed. Funny slow motion and a fantastic 'my dick is bigger than yours' race through the streets of London.

The director was onhand and damn if she wasn't a doll and a half. She joked about having characters die, she mentioned she wanted the whole thing done in Victorian costumes. She appears as the pregnant daughter of the Peachs.


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THE YOUNG UNKNOWNS
2000

Bay Area Premiere
February 23, 2001

Cinequest San Jose Film Festival

-->Written and Directed by.....Catherine Jelski [To Sleep With Anger, Dazed And Confused]
-->Charlie.....Devon Gummersall [Krakow on My So Called Life, Felicity, Independence Day]
-->Joe.....Eion Bailey [Dawson's Creek, Fight Club, Almost Famous]

Charlie's mom is an alcoholic living in Vermont with her latest husband. His father is a famous British director who phones in from time to time. Charlie is a struggling commercial director sponging off his father and living in his father's Hollywood Hills home. They take drugs by night and sleep and swim by day.

Gummersall is good but this film didn't grab me. It's another 'my parents messed me up by getting divorced' sort of story. The fact that it takes place in Hollywood makes it a bit more interesting than it could have been. None of the characters deserve any sympathy from the long suffering girlfriend, to the completely idiotic friend, to the new in town model. I was disgusted by all of them. The film wants to be cool and edgy, but it's just brutal and vacant.


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YOUR GUARDIAN
2000

World Premiere
February 22, 2001

Cinequest San Jose Film Festival

-->Written and Directed by.....Kari Nevil
-->Kat.....Irene Bedard [Pocahontas, Smoke Signals]
-->Parker Smith.....Chad Lowe [brother of Rob, husband of Hilary]
-->Tanna.....Leann Hunley [the hot teacher who boffed Pacey on Dawson's Creek]

Woman whose mother never returned from a trip when she was a youngster drives from Reno to Half Moon Bay on a whim.

Fortunately for you, this will never see the light of day. It was a bad story, shot poorly, with bad acting. You know you're in trouble when Chad Lowe is the resident thespian in charge. Shot in and around Maverick's and Princeton and the Moss Beach Distillery. The locations were the only thing going for it. A terrible way to start the festival.


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LA VEUVE DE SAINT-PIERRE
(The Widow of Saint-Pierre)
2000

February 18, 2001

Camera Cinema Club

-->Directed by.....Patrice Leconte [Monsier Hire, Ridicule]
-->Written by.....Claude Faraldo
-->Cinematography by.....Eduardo Serra [Map Of The Human Heart, Jude, Unbreakable]
-->Madame La.....Juliette Binoche [The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, Damage, Three Colors: Blue, Three Colors: White, Three Colors: Red, The Horseman On The Roof, The English Patient, Chocolat]
-->Le Capitaine.....Daniel Auteuil [Jean de Florette, Manon des sources (Manon Of The Spring), Romuald et Juliette (Mama, There's A Man In Your Bed), Un coeur en hiver (A Heart In Winter), Ma saison preferee (My Favorite Season), La Reine Margot (Queen Margot)]
-->Neel Auguste.....Emir Kusturica
-->Le Gouverneur.....Michel Duchaussoy

Nominations: Cesar Award Best Actress Juliette Binoche, Cesar Award Best Supporting Actor Emir Kusturica, Golden Globe Best Foreign Language Film.

A fishing island man, sentenced to death for murder, awaits the arrival of a guillotine and executioner from Paris.

To settle a drunken bet, two fisherman stab a man to death. They are ashamed, ostracized from the town, and sentenced to death. One man dies soon after trial. The other one, under the guidance of La Madame, the wife of the ranking military commander, begins his rehabilitation, first with flowers in the prison yard, later with chores around the village, and finally by marrying one of the town's many widows. The governer and his cronies are afraid that the longer it takes Paris to send them a guillotine and executioner, the more the village will be against the execution. The Captain, completely in love with his wife, faces ridicule from the town elders as his wife successfully changes most villagers' minds.

Never has an actress' face been more loved by a Panaflex camera, than Juliette Binoche. In each and every role, she somehow emerges with intelligence, kindness, and incredible beauty. She's not the most beautiful, or the sexiest, but she seems to be getting better and better looking as she gets older. She is magnificent in the role of the Captain's wife. It is clear she loves her husband deeply, but there is still room in her enormous heart for the prisoner. Speaking of the prisoner, he is played by Emir Kusturica, who is a director, with a great naturalness. He doesn't say much but his eyes tell you how he thinks of his past indiscretions. He is a good man who made one mistake. This film takes the two most famous french actors (Binoche and Auteuil), gives them deep characters to play, and sits back while they inhabit the roles. Auteuil is mostly quiet, his face expressionless, but when his wife is verbally threatened, his eyes light up and he becomes an attack dog.

The story is unique as a man did admit to murder, and in the waiting period between sentencing and execution, he becomes nothing short of the town leader. His subsequent rehabilitation to most popular villager doesn't erase the fact that someone is dead at his hand. An American version of this film would have gone in completely predictable ways, with ill-advised love affairs and unrealistic government decisions. This one was made the way it should have been.


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IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE
2000

February 15, 2001

Camera 1

-->Written and Directed by Kar-wai Wong [Chungking Express]
-->Mr. Chow.....Tony Leung Chiu Wai [Lashou Shentan (Hard Boiled), Chungking Express]
-->Mrs. Chan.....Maggie Cheung [goddess, Supercop, Irma Vep, Chinese Box]

Awards: Cannes Best Actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai.

Nominations: British Academy Award Best Foreign Film, Cannes Golden Palm Kar-wai Wong, Cesar Award Best Foreign Film, Independent Spirit Awards Best Foreign Film.

Next door neighbors discover that their spouses are having an affair.

I have an incredible weakness for Maggie Cheung. If there is a woman alive who could wear the high-collared, sleeveless, form-fitting dresses better than she does in this film, please forward her name to me immediately. This film takes place over a couple of years in the early 60s in Asia. The quiet realization that their respective spouses are not who they thought they are is heartbreaking. Director Wong Kar Wai plays musical interludes that move the story on from stage to stage. Nat King Cole is featured singing lounge songs in different languages. The photography is spectacular with rainy stairwells, smoky workspaces, a smile, a longing glance, red curtains. He likes to use slow motion and shots into reflections. The spouses are never seen, and barely heard. We must decide what they are like in our imagination. When long-suffering longing is continually stiffled because of honor or respect, the audience finds it hard to watch. When it seems like a simple kiss could be the magic a character's life has been waiting for. There were some sections where I wasn't sure what the director was trying to say, and the final 20 minutes seemed like it was done too quickly. But the performances by the two attractive leads (this is basically a two person cast) highlights the exoticness of Cheung and the old fashion smoky handsomeness of Leung. I thoroughly enjoyed it. More of a feeling than a story.


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JURASSIC PARK
1993

February 11, 2001

DVD

Still good and awe inspiring. This my fourth viewing still had me jumping out of my chair during some scenes. The DVD looks great and the menus are pretty cool. The 'trailer' for Jurassic 3 is nothing. Just watch the Dolby Digital trailer before your next feature and you'll get the gist of it. The rest of the extras were pretty cool. Speilberg at a production meeting playing with model dinosaurs.


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SWIMMING WITH SHARKS
1994

February 11, 2001

Independent Film Channel

-->Written and Directed by George Huang
-->Buddy Ackerman.....Kevin Spacey [L.A. Law, Tribeca, Working Girl, Dad, Henry & June, Glengarry Glen Ross, Consenting Adults, Outbreak, The Usual Suspects, Seven, Looking For Richard, A Time To Kill, Albino Alligator, L.A. Confidential, Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, The Negotiator, A Bug's Life, American Beauty, The Big Kahuna]
-->Guy.....Frank Whaley [Ironweed, Born On The Fourth Of July, Field Of Dreams, The Freshman, The Doors, Career Opportunities, JFK, Hoffa, Pulp Fiction, I.Q., Broken Arrow]
-->Dawn Lockard.....Michelle Forbes [Seinfeld, Kalifornia, The Best Damn Show On Television Homicide: Life On The Street]
-->Rex.....Benicio Del Toro [Drug Wars: The Camarena Story, Money For Nothing, Fearless, The Usual Suspects, Basquiat, The Fan, The Funeral, Traffic]

The Assistant to a top Hollywood Executive takes as much abuse has he can from his nightmare of a boss.

Anything with Kevin Spacey is going to be great, but this seemed a lot longer than it's running time. Whaley starts out naive and eager to please, but ends up just as cold-hearted as his boss. Basically a three-person interior film. The performances are all great, but the ending had me scratching my head until I realized I didn't care that much about it.




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JOHNNY BAGPIPES
1999

February 11, 2001

DVD (Film Fest 6)

Written, Directed, and Starring.....Todd Korgan and Liz Rosenthal and John Johnston

Twelve minute short about rock n roll bagpiper who never really fits in the band scene in Portland Oregon.

Hilarious, Spinal Tapish. Johnston really can play the pipes and to hear him play AC/DC and Metallica is something you won't forget. Its supposed to be released as a full-length feature later on.


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JORGE
1998

February 11, 2001

DVD (Film Fest 4)

-->Directed and Written by Joel Hopkins
-->George.....Tunde Adebimpe
-->Alicia.....Loreni Delgado

Short film about extremely shy man in office and how the Latina temp worker gives him romantic hope.

Black and white. Good, natural performances. Delgado's smile could light up a room.


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CHOCOLAT
2000

February 4, 2001

Century Union City

-->Directed by Lasse Hallstrom [The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Once Around, My Life As A Dog]
-->Written by Joanne Harris and Robert Nelson Jacobs
-->Vianne Rocher.....Juliette Binoche [The English Patient, The Horseman On The Roof, Three Colors: Red, Three Colors: White, Three Colors: Blue, Damage, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being]
-->Josephine Muscat.....Lena Olin [The Cider House Rules, Romeo Is Bleeding, Havana, Enemies: A Love Story, The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, Fanny And Alexander]
-->Roux.....Johnny Depp [Sleepy Hollow, Donnie Brasco, Nick Of Time, Dead Man, Don Juan DeMarco, Ed Wood, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Benny & Joon, Edward Scissorhands, 21 Jump Street, Platoon, A Nightmare On Elm Street]
-->Amande Voizin.....Judi Dench [Shakespeare In Love, Mrs. Brown, Henry V, A Room With A View]
-->Comte de Reynaud.....Alfred Molina [Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Dead Man, The Perez Family, Maverick, Enchanted April, Raiders Of The Lost Ark]
-->Serge Muscat.....Peter Stormare [Armageddon, Mercury Rising, The Big Lebowski, Playing God, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Fargo, Damage, Awakenings]
-->Caroline Claimont.....Carrie-Anne Moss [The Matrix]

Quaint French village is turned upside down by unconventional woman who opens a chocolate shop.

This film is very light and sweet, much like its namesake. With the exception of the shop owner played by Binoche, every other character is pretty much a cardboard cutout. The mayor is a traditionalist. The priest is a bumbling kid. There is the drunk guy, the battered wife, the crusty old grandmother. In spite of this, it is fun to watch and is full of attractive people. Binoche seems to get more good-looking with age and Johnny Depp is definitely not hard to look at. Depp plays an Irish gypsy who floats down the river to the village and is even more ostracized than Binoche is. The fact that a town would consider a chocolate shop owned by a non-churchgoer as the epitome of evil is something you have to look past to enjoy this movie. Standouts include Carrie-Anne Moss who proves she's more than just the vinyl-clad Matrix ass-kicker and Victoire Thivisol who plays Binoche's daughter who was the 4-year-old Ponette in that great film. We all know everything is going to work out at the end, so just sit back and enjoy it. See if the crowd you see it with is as idiotic as mine. Films like this make everyone feel smart. Every twist is telegraphed. I heard people shouting things that a blind man would have seen coming miles away. But people are dumb all over. Have fun at this one.


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YI YI
(A One And A Two)
2000

February 3, 2001

Towne Theater

-->Directed by Edward Yang
-->N.J.....Nien-Jen Wu
-->Min-Min.....Elaine Jin
-->Ota.....Issey Ogata
-->Ting-Ting.....Kelly Lee
-->Yang-Yang.....Jonathan Chang
-->Ah-Di.....Hsi-Sheng Chen

An extended family in China goes through death, birth, first love, and second chances.

In nearly three hours, we are taken into a family and introduced to each member in great detail. The pace is slow, the photography beautiful, and the individual stories both exciting and heartbreaking. There are weddings, funerals, first dates, first crushes, and long ago lovers never forgotten. There are shots that last well longer than we as an audience are used to. In one, the crying lasts longer than we are comfortable with. In others, characters take their time before speaking or walking towards someone, just like we take our time in real life. There are reflections off glass and mirrors and water. There are funny scenes with the young boy in school and nervous, warmhearted ones with the high school daughter. We see romantic hand-holding and pathetic business deals. The cast was extremely believable. For many of them it was their first film. The kids were especially good. It was more of a feeling than a film. It wasn't a single minute too long. I loved it.


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