Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I’d love to go to this fest in New York, but it ain’t gonna happen. The last night of the fest is my birthday, too. *Sigh* Oh, well... if any of you go, you have to write me and tell me what you think:
SUBWAY CINEMA PRESENTS Asian Films Are Go!!! 2003 New York Asian Film Festival
May 15-May 26, 2003 at the Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue, @ Second St.)
New York’s best contemporary Asian film festival erupts like a volcano with 21 of the latest and greatest from India, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan.
21 movies from 6 countries
12 days of non-stop motion picture madness
2 International premieres
5 North American premieres
2 US premieres
6 New York premieres
WHY PAY $10 FOR A MOVIE THAT SUCKS WHEN YOU COULD PAY $8 FOR A MOVIE THAT ROCKS!
That’s right! All movies are only $8! Is your head exploding yet? No? Then how about this: there will be special admission deals that we’ll be announcing over the next couple of weeks! Is your head still intact? Still on the end of your neck? Then read our line-up and see if your fragile skull can retain your enormous, pulsating, dancing brain by the time you reach the end!
KOREA!
Break Out (Korea - 2002)
103 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
International Premiere
Directed by: Jang Hang-Jun
Starring: Kim Seung-Woo, Cha Seung-Won, Park Yeong-Kyu
The writer of Attack the Gas Station, the star of Kick the Moon, the train from Akira Kurosawa’s Runaway Train. One of life’s little losers goes up against a fading gangster who steals his one and only possession: a disposable cigarette lighter. With a plot like a diabolical Rube Goldberg machine designed to slam characters into each other at their points of maximum resistance, this flick shines a spotlight on the most undignified moment in all our lives: when we’re fighting the hardest for our dignity.
Double Agent (Korea - 2003)
120 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
International Premiere
Directed by: Kim Hyun-Jeong
Starring: Han Suk-Kyu, Ko So-Young, Cheon Ho-Jin
Han Suk-Kyu (Shiri, Christmas in August) returns to the screen after a three-year absence to give the performance of his career as a North Korean defector who becomes a South Korean spy. Or is he a North Korean spy pretending to be a South Korean spy? Or a North Korean spy pretending to be a South Korean spy pretending to be...
My Beautiful Days (Korea - 2002)
91 minutes, 35 mm, in Korean with English subtitles
US Premiere
Directed by: Im Jong-Jae
Starring: Kim Hyung-Sung, Pang Eun-Jin, Boyun Eun-Jung, Kim Min-Sun
Overlooked on its release, but already being rapidly re-evaluated, MY BEAUTIFUL DAYS is all about those years between leaving college and starting life when nothing seems to be happening but time keeps slipping away. A quietly powerful call to stop standing on the sidelines and to start living, this flick dissects a moment in time, laying out its internal organs in heart-aching detail.
Over the Rainbow (Korea 2002)
106 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Directed by: Ahn Jin-Woo
Starring: Lee Jung-Jae, Chang Jin-Young, Kong Hyung-Jin
Unashamed of being a crowd-pleasing romantic comedy, OVER THE RAINBOW throws caution to the wind and spews shameless love confetti all over the audience. Local weatherman, Lee Jung-Jae, has a car accident and wakes up with some minor holes in his memory, like who he was in love with before he got flattened by a truck. Lots of people want to help him, and you just know that his quest for his forgotten dream girl will end happily, but isn’t this the world we’d all like to live in?
The Phone (Korea 2002)
102 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Directed by: Ahn Byung-ki
Starring: Kim Jang-Hoon, Hong Kyung-Min, Eun Seo-woo
And you thought your cell phone plan was bad? Korea’s highest-grossing horror movie is a consumerist nightmare unfolding in sterile, over-designed homes that turn into gothic graveyards. Not another clone of Japan’s The Ring, this character-driven movie is a very Korean nightmare where all those yuppie status symbols are just a cheap bandaid on a festering wound. Featuring the most insane, scenery-chewing five year old in Korea. French kissing daddy, trying to break her own neck, and hissing like a cat with its tail on fire, this kid deserves an Oscar.
Resurrection of the Little Match Girl (Korea 2002)
124 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
US Premiere
Directed by: Jang Sun-Woo
Starring: Yim Eun-Kyung, Kim Hyung-Sung, Kim Jin-Pyo, Jin Xing
Headtrip masterpiece? Bloated hunk of junk? Arthouse badboy Jang Sun-Woo (Lies) made the biggest Korean action movie ever and critics and audiences threw eggs now come judge it for yourself. A break-on-through-to-the-other-side meditation on a video game whose characters think they’re real people, or real people who think they’re video game characters, this movie is a test case for how much we’ve lost our nerve as a film culture: can we tolerate wild experimentation anymore?
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (Korea - 2002)
124 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Park Chan-Wook
Starring: Shin Ha-Kyun, Song Kang-Ho, Bae Doo-Na
The director of Korea’s 2000 smash hit, Joint Security Area, returns with that film’s stars, Song Kang-Ho and Shin Ha-Kyun, to participate in the bleak and bloody birth of one of the greatest hardboiled epics ever made. Deaf-mute factory worker, Ryu, is hunting for a donor kidney for his sister. But when the organ slated for her turns out to be the wrong blood type he begins a long walk into hell. A nearly-silent, almost unbearable dissection of what we can do to each other out of love, this is the movie Film Comment calls "a remarkable masterpiece" and Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool news picks as the best of 2002.
Too Young To Die (Korea - 2002)
67 minutes, 35mm, in Korean with English subtitles
Directed by: Park Jin-Pyo
Starring: Park Chi-Gyu, Lee Soon-Ye
A digital video molotov cocktail that tracks the ups and downs of the relationship between Park Chi-gyu and Lee Soon-ye. They flirt, start dating, move in together, bicker, go to karaoke, and have sex (lots and lots of sex) just like new couples everywhere. The only difference is that our lovers (who play themselves in this movie based on their real life relationship) are in their mid-70’s. Korean censors feared this earthy depiction of healthy sex between consenting adults would warp morals and banned this film. A flipped bird to a world that thinks people over 65 should crawl off in a corner and die, this flick is a slice of life that’s vigorously, uncompromisingly alive.
NOTE: Senior citizens (65 and over, with ID) who arrive as a date will be given free admission to TOO YOUNG TO DIE.
JAPAN!
Bounce Ko Gals (Japan - 1997)
109 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Masato Harada
Starring: Hitomi Sato, Yasue Sato, Yukiko Okamoto, Koji Yakusho
Japanese filmmakers understand the teenage wasteland the way most of us haven’t since we were 16, and director Masato Harada wears his heart on his sleeve in this flick about kogyaru: schoolgirl hookers who sell their underwear and their bodies for spending money. One of the best films about friendship ever made, this movie is a perfect complement to OUT.
ICHI THE KILLER (Japan - 2001)
124 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Starring: Nao Omori, Tadanobu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto
(A) It's based on a comic book that is completely banned in parts of Japan.
(B) Thirteen minutes were censored for its Hong Kong release.
(C) The British Board of Film Classification recommended more cuts in ICHI than in any other film in almost a decade.
(D) The Toronto Film Festival handed out barf bags when they screened it.
We’ve all heard of the notorious ICHI THE KILLER, now come and see it uncut before it starts a week-long run at the Anthology Film Archives.
This movie will make you storm out of the theater in disgust only to return minutes later for more, More, MORE!
MORE Yakuza bondage torture sessions!
MORE human tongues cut out before your very eyes!
MORE corrupt cops dressed as teddy bears!
ICHI THE KILLER: you won't be able to tear your eyes off the screen... so let Ichi do it for you.
Out (Japan - 2002)
119 minutes, 35mm, Japanese with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Hideyuki Hirayama
Starring: Mieko Harada, Shigeru Muroi, Naomi Nishida, Teruyuki Kagawa
If you ever suspected that women were better than men, this movie puts that theory in the lab and proves it. Four friends are clock-punchers at the local box lunch factory and their home lives are just as drab: downsized husbands, sullen children, senile in-laws, mountains of debt and maxed-out credit cards. And then, suddenly, there's a dead body that has to be dealt with. Hilariously unexpected, dealing out genuine doses of "what happens next?" suspense, this flick gets its charge from the electrifying performances by its four female leads who put their younger colleagues on both sides of the Pacific to shame. It's like the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, only good and with corpse disposal.
Ping Pong (Japan - 2002)
114 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Masuri Fumihiko
Starring: Yôsuke Kubozuka, Arata, Nakamura Shido
A techno fever dream about table tennis champions growing up and becoming heroes, PING PONG is the greatest eXtreme sports movie ever made... and the sport is table tennis?!? Sho nuff. By the time the last plastic ball has been smacked into dust you’ll believe that a ping pong player can fly. PING PONG races through your veins at the speed of adrenaline, beating America’s weepy old baseball movies to their creaky old knees, while leaving your heart thudding and your synapses shooting sparks.
Versus (Japan - 2000)
119 minutes, 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakakai, Chieko Misaka, Minoru Matsumoto
NON-STOP, FREE-FALL ULTRAVIOLENCE ACTION ENTERTAINMENT!
Five Yakuza thugs, two escaped convicts, one evil wizard, and a forest full of gun-toting zombies. Mix with gasoline and serve. High on style, low on budget, delivering non-stop, blood-spurting fun, it’s Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD for a new millennium. HONG KONG!
Just One Look (Hong Kong - 2002) 97 minutes, 35mm, in Cantonese with English subtitles North American premiere
Directed by: Riley Ip
Starring: Shawn Yu, Wong You-nam, Charlene Choi & Gillian Chung (The Twins!), Anthony Wong, Sam Lee, Eric Kot
If JUST ONE LOOK was an American movie here’s what would be different. It would have been hailed in the US as a gently bittersweet film about growing up. Its rapturous worship of old Chinese movies would have earned it comparisons to Cinema Paradiso. The star performances of Canto-pop idols, The Twins, would have been lauded as stunning proof that the bubblegum duo could act. Anthony Wong’s performance as a two-bit gangster would have been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Award, and he would have won. JUST ONE LOOK would have toured independent theaters and run forever. But it’s Chinese, so none of this happened.
Don’t miss out on an understated, undiscovered classic. Two screenings only - and it’ll never come this way again.
Runaway Pistol (Hong Kong - 2002)
86 minutes, 35mm, in Cantonese with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Directed by: Lam Wah-chuen
Starring: Wilson Yip, Crystal Lui, Wong Chun-chun, Kenneth Bi
Some people think "Hong Kong movie" means "heroic action movie". RUNAWAY PISTOL is a bullet in the face to that idea. Directed by Fruit Chan’s cinematographer, Lam Wah-chuen, this is a convention-defying, synapse-frying, anti-gun, anti-humanity, anti-everything flick that follows a hapless handgun from one back-against-the-wall owner to another across Hong Kong’s blasted cityscape. The bleakest and bravest independent movie of the year.
So Close (Hong Kong - 2002)
110 minutes, 35mm, in Mandarin and English with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Corey Yuen
Starring: Shu Qi, Vicky Zhao Wei, Karen Mok, Yasuaki Kurata
Hong Kong director Corey Yuen delivers a radically fun punch to the guts with this surprisingly moving, big budget, action wedding cake. Two assassin sisters, Shu Qi (The Transporter) and Vicky Zhao (Shaolin Soccer), versus one cop, Karen Mok, in a flick that’s not only an upgrade of the Hong Kong "Girls with Guns" genre, but a lesbian date movie, as well.
TAIWAN!
Double Vision (Taiwan - 2002)
113 minutes, 35mm, in Mandarin and English with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Chen Kuo-fu
Starring: Tony Leung Kar-fai, David Morse, Rene Liu
Like a clinically depressed Rush Hour, this flick pairs an American and a Chinese cop and sets them loose in Taiwan. Tony Leung Kar-fai (The Lover) plays a disgraced cop, demoted to the do-nothing Foreign Affairs division. David Morse (The Green Mile, Proof of Life) plays one of those cookie cutter FBI serial killer profiler guys who’s sent to Taiwan to help investigate that country’s first serial killer case. YAWN.
Except it’s all different. One of the most relentless visions of a burnt-out world since Se7en, unfolding in the miasmal hell-swamp of Taipei’s scorching summer, and directed by one of Taiwan’s most respected arthouse auteurs (The Personals), this is a film that puts science and religion at each others’ throats and then films the carnage. A grim literalization of the five Taoist hells featuring more than one jaw-dropping sucker punch to the nerve endings, DOUBLE VISION is a cultural autopsy that dives deep into stagnant waters and doesn’t come back up.
THAILAND!
Killer Tattoo (Thailand - 2001)
111 minutes, 35mm, in Thai and English with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Directed by: Yuthlert Sippapak
Starring: Suthep Po-ngam, Somchai Kemglad, Sornsutha Klunmalee, Perttary Wongkamlao, Pongsak Pongsuwan An 80’s action movie dripping with double cheese and cranked up to maximum volume, this flick is a greasy, guilty treat. Thailand’s 2001 hit stars four of that country’s most popular comedians as crazed n’ cranky hitmen who get so tangled up in their own plotlines that the entire movie explodes around them into a surreal, amphetamine-tweaked fiesta. This picture swept the Thai film awards (winning Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Comic Actor, Most Promising Actress and Best Fight Scene Choreography) in 2001. It’s an anything-goes 24-hours-a-day midnight movie that runs faster than an athlete on ephedra and explodes in your gut like a sugar bomb.
INDIA!
Company (India - 2002)
155 minutes, 35mm, in Hindi with English subtitles
Directed by: Ram Gopal Varma Starring: Vivek Oberoi, Ajay Devgan, Manisha Koirala, Antara Mali, Mohanlal
Shouldering its way to the front of the crowd and demanding to be taken on its own terms, COMPANY is an epic saga about the rise and fall of a criminal cartel and the men and women who ran it. With Francis Ford Coppola’s panoramic sweep and Martin Scorsese’s delicate touch with actors, director Ram Gopal Varma delivers the greatest and grandest crime story to hit the screens since Goodfellas. Hailed as the best Bollywood film of 2002, this is crime as a capitalist enterprise: if they won’t buy what you’re selling, put a gun to their head; if they won’t sell what you’re buying, pull the trigger and pry it from their fingers.
Two more movies to be announced. Keep your eyes here for updates.
Meanwhile, I’m going to be taking in both the film noir festival (holy shit! BLAST OF SILENCE on the bigscreen!) and this festival of cinematography, both at the majestic Egyptian theater in Hollywood:
THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE AND THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS (ASC) PRESENTS THE ART OF VISUAL STORYTELLING:
THE 1st ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cinematographers Michael Chapman, William Fraker, Laszlo Kovacs, Ed Lachman, Haskell Wexler and Vilmos Zsigmond In Person
April 18 - 20, 2003
HOLLYWOOD - The American Cinematheque and the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) present THE ART OF VISUAL STORYTELLING: THE 1st ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF CINEMATOGRAPHY (April 18-20, 2003), is a rare opportunity to see beautiful 35 mm. film prints of some of the most visually stunning and influential films of the modern era, followed by in-depth conversation with the cinematographers who helped create them.
This three-day event leads off with a special Memorial Tribute to the late Conrad Hall, featuring a screening of one of his most acclaimed films, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID followed by a discussion with some of Hall's colleagues.
Appearances by some of the most acclaimed cinematographers of the last four decades will be combined with screenings of their work. Scheduled to appear in person to discuss their films, are cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC, with DELIVERANCE, director William Fraker, ASC and cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs, ASC, with a screening of A REFLECTION OF FEAR, cinematographer Michael Chapman, ASC, with TAXI DRIVER, cinematographer Ed Lachman, ASC, with THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and cinematographer Haskell Wexler, ASC, with MATEWAN.
There will also be a book boutique sponsored by the ASC and booksignings with some of the cinematographers. Guests appear subject to their availability. All screenings are at the newly renovated Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre, unless otherwise noted, at the historic Egyptian (6712 Hollywood Boulevard between Highland and Las Palmas) in Hollywood.
"Cinematography is an infinitely subtle language...even more so than music or words...contrast is what makes moving images interesting, and the possibilities for creating shades of light and darkness are endless...I light through the lens the way painters work. I start each day with a clean slate, and build each scene one element at a time. There are no masters, only good learners, because every picture is different. It's difficult explaining how I feel with words. I want my work to speak for me."
-- Conrad L. Hall, ASC
Artful cinematography defies description. It's like trying to describe the wind. It can be stunning images that take your breath away, or a subtle nuance, a twinkle in someone's eye, a fleeting shadow that temporarily conceals something beautiful or frightening. Cinematography is a language expressed with images rather than words. Maybe a texture gives you a tactile sense of a mood, or a subtle, indescribable use of colors or contrast that defines a sense of time and place. Mark Twain wrote that the difference between the right word and almost the right word is like the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. It's the same with cinematography. It's not just what you see...it's what the images makes you feel.
Friday April 18, 2003
The series begins on Friday, April 18th at 7:00 PM with A Tribute to Conrad Hall, ASC and a screening of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, (1969, 20th Century Fox, 110 min.). "Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?" drawls blue-eyed, laid back train robber Robert Redford to his equally charming partner-in-crime Paul Newman, in director George Roy Hill's soulful, hilarious and wildly romantic look at the infamous Hole in the Wall gang. Brilliantly scripted by William Goldman, and photographed in luminous, painterly beauty by the late, great master Conrad Hall (COOL HAND LUKE, AMERICAN BEAUTY), recipient of the 1993 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award and posthumous Oscar winner for THE ROAD TO PERDITION.
Conrad Hall became an ASC member in 1967 and won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. His film credits include IN COLD BLOOD, FAT CITY, COOL HAND LUKE, MORITURI, THE PROFESSIONALS, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, MARATHON MAN, THE WILD PALMS, BLACK WIDOW, TEQUILA SUNRISE, JENNIFER 8, HELL IN THE PACIFIC, DAY OF THE LOCUST, SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER, and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION. Hall won an Oscar(r) for BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID and Oscar(r) nominations for MORITURI, THE PROFESSIONALS, IN COLD BLOOD, DAY OF THE LOCUST. He also earned the Lifetime Achievement Award at CamerImage '95.
Following at 9:45 PM is A Tribute to William Fraker, ASC and Laszlo Kovacs, ASC and a screening of A REFLECTION OF FEAR, (1973, Columbia, 89 min). A true rarity for fans of great cinematography, A REFLECTION OF FEAR was directed by legendary d.p. William Fraker (who shot ROSEMARY'S BABY and HEAVEN CAN WAIT, and won the 1999 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award), and photographed by the equally-legendary Laszlo Kovacs (EASY RIDER, FIVE EASY PIECES, SHAMPOO, and winner of the 2001 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award). Disturbed teen Marguerite (Sondra Locke), looked after by a protective mom (Mary Ure) and grandmother (Signe Hasso), is sent over the edge when her estranged father, Michael (Robert Shaw) returns with new love, Anne (Sally Kellerman) in tow. Genuinely chilling, with one of the most unexpected twists in any 1970's thriller. Discussion following with director William Fraker and cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs.
William Fraker became an ASC Member in 1968 and won the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. His film credits include LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, BULLITT, ROSEMARY'S BABY, 1941, WARGAMES, MURPHY'S ROMANCE, TOWN AND COUNTRY and RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. Fraker received Oscar(r) nominations for LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR, HEAVEN CAN WAIT, 1941, MURPHY'S ROMANCE and WARGAMES.
Laszlo Kovacs became an ASC Member in 1975 and won the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. His film credits include EASY RIDER, FIVE EASY PIECES, THE KING OF MARVIN GARDENS, SLITHER, PAPER MOON, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, WHAT'S UP, DOC?, THE RUNNER STUMBLES, LITTLE NIKITA, GHOSTBUSTERS, THE LAST MOVIE, RADIO FLYER, MASK, LEGAL EAGLES, MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING, MISS CONGENIALITY and RETURN TO ME.
Saturday April 19, 2003
The Saturday April 19th program begins at 5:00 PM with A Tribute to Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC and DELIVERANCE, (1972, Warner Bros., 109 min.). Director John Boorman fashions an indescribable odyssey of unexpected violence, endurance and transcendence as Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty are stalked by a scruffy gang of backwoods Neanderthals. The cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond (MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, THE LONG GOODBYE, and winner of the 1998 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award) perfectly evokes an atmosphere of stark, pastoral beauty and mounting terror from novelist James Dickey's pitch perfect screenplay. Discussion following with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond.
Vilmos Zsigmond became an ASC Member in 1973 and won the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. His film credits include MCCABE & MRS. MILLER, DELIVERANCE, CINDERELLA LIBERTY, THE LONG GOODBYE, THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS, THE ROSE, THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, MAVERICK and THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS. Zsigmond earned a 1977 Oscar(r) for CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND and other nominations for THE DEERHUNTER and THE RIVER. He also earned the Lifetime Achievement Award at CamerImage '97.
Following at 8:15 PM is a Tribute to Michael Chapman, ASC and a brand new 35 mm. print of TAXI DRIVER, (1976, Columbia, 113 min.) Director Martin Scorsese, ably abetted by cinematographer Michael Chapman's (RAGING BULL, THE LAST DETAIL) beautifully gritty, neon drenched nightscapes, fashions one of the most disturbing neo-noir thrillers ever made. Robert DeNiro is mesmerizing as the loner taxi driver on the verge of madness who becomes obsessed with rescuing teen hooker Jodie Foster from sleazy pimp Harvey Keitel, even if it means slaughtering everyone in his path. Discussion following with cinematographer Michael Chapman.
Michael Chapman became an ASC Member in 1995. His film credits include RAGING BULL, THE LOST BOYS, PRIMAL FEAR, THE FUGITIVE, THE RISING SUN, THE STORY OF US and SIX DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS. He earned an Oscar(r) nomination for RAGING BULL and an Oscar(r) nomination and ASC Award nomination for THE FUGITIVE.
Sunday April 20, 2003
The Sunday, April 20th program begins at 4:30 PM with A Tribute to Ed Lachman, ASC and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, (1999, Paramount Classics, 97 min.) Director Sofia Coppola's debut feature is an intimate memory-piece about a group of teenaged boys who are mesmerized by the beauty of five blonde sisters in their neighborhood - without ever realizing the loneliness and despair behind the sisters' seemingly-perfect lives. The cinematography by Ed Lachman (FAR FROM HEAVEN, THE LIMEY) subtly evokes the isolation of the young girls within the womb of 1970's suburban America. With Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito. Adapted from the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. Discussion following with cinematographer Ed Lachman.
Ed Lachman became an ASC Member in 1994. His film credits include FAR FROM HEAVEN, KEN PARK, ERIN BROCKOVICH, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, THE LIMEY and LESS THAN ZERO. He earned an Oscar(r) nomination for FAR FROM HEAVEN, which also earned him a Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Individual Contribution at the Venice Film Festival. Lachman won the award for Best Cinematography at the 2003 IFP/Spirt Awards for FAR FROM HEAVEN. Lachman recently co-directed KEN PARK (2002, Vitagraph Films) with Larry Clark.
Following at 7:15 PM is a Tribute to Haskell Wexler, ASC and MATEWAN, (1987, IFC Films, 132 min.) Based on a true incident in the impoverished but coal-rich hills of West Virginia in the 1920's, writer/director John Sayles' masterpiece is an unforgettable portrait of a community struggling to assert itself under the crushing dominance of capitalist greed. Oscar winner Chris Cooper (ADAPTATION) turns in his finest performance as labor organizer Joe Kenehan, with tremendous support from a cast that includes James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, David Strathairn and Sayles himself. The cinematography by Haskell Wexler (WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, and winner of the 1992 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award) perfectly captures the haunted, bone-weary desperation of the miners and their families. One of the great American movies of the past two decades. Discussion following with cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
Haskell Wexler became an ASC Member in 1966 and won the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992. His film credits include MATEWAN, MEDIUM COOL, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT and BLAZE. Wexler won an Oscar(r) for producer for LIVING CITY and Oscar(r) nominations for MATEWAN and BLAZE. Both films were also nominated for ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards for cinematography. BLAZE won the award in 1988. Double features are one ticket price for both films.
Finally, there’s this one in Austin:
Cine Las Americas Media Arts Center Presents: 6th International Film Festival of the Americas, April 23-27 2003
Austin, TX - Cine Las Americas proudly presents the 6th International Film Festival of the Americas. In its sixth year, Cine will be presenting a selection of films highlighting the work of filmmakers from eleven countries in the Americas. The films will be presented at The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, the Millennium Theater and the Hideout.
Seven award-winning feature films from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Chile, Mexico and the US, will be screened, creating a unique opportunity for audiences in Austin and Central Texas to enjoy regional premieres of the best Latin American cinema. This selection includes works that have won top awards at international film festivals around the world. Most of these films are directed by young filmmakers who represent a new generation of talent in their countries.
The festival opens Wednesday, April 23, with Nada+ (Nothing More) by Cuban filmmaker Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti, a feature film that brings to mind the French hit Amelié, in which the filmmaker builds a poetic narrative on longing mixed with slapstick humor and animation in the style that takes from Jean Vigo, the Russian masters, and Buster Keaton. Director Juan Carlos Cremata will be in attendance. Other features include La Fiebre del Loco (Loco's Fever) directed by Chile's Andres Wood and produced by Guillermo del Toro's Tequila Gang and Pedro Almodovar's El Deseo, the team responsible for The Devil's Backbone; Japón (Japan) by Mexico's Carlos Reygadas and Bolivia by Argentina's Israel Adrian Caetano, both of whom have been noted as top filmmakers to watch by American and European critics.
The Brazilian film Lavoura Arcaica (To the Left of the father) offers a different taste of that country's impressive recent film production, presenting a period piece about a Lebanese family in the 19th century "in an extremely Brazilian atmosphere, but one that is dominated by a universal current of classical Mediterranean tradition." El Sueño del Caimán (Caiman's Dream) by Mexican independent filmmaker Beto Gómez closes the festival April 27, with a good dose of humor reminiscent of the golden era of Mexican films in the 1940s and '50s.
A festival highlight is the screening of Promises, a documentary that follows seven Israeli and Palestinian children as they cope with their war-torn reality in Jerusalem. The screening will be presented by the film's co-director Carlos Bolado, a Mexican filmmaker better known for his film editing work on Mexican blockbusters Like Water for Chocolate and Amores Perros, and director of the multi-award winning feature Bajo California: El Limite del Tiempo. Carlos Bolado will be in attendance for Q&A after the screening of Promises.
Three short film programs will also be showcased in this year's festival, including new films like The Mexican Dream by Venezuelan-born Gustavo Hernández Pérez, Silencio by Peruvian-born Alonso Filomeno Mayo and Things Never Said in Playa Perdida by Colombian-native Diego Briceño Orduz, all of whom are Latin American filmmakers working in the US and Canada. A third short-film showcase features award-winning films from Cuba, Brazil and Mexico. Video de Familia by Cuban filmmaker Humberto Padrón, presents a humorous home video letter gone awry when family secrets are spilled; De Mesmer, con Amor ó Té para Dos (From Mesmer, with Love or Tea for Two), one of three Mexican shorts included, is directed by Alejandro Lubezki and photographed by brother Emmanuel Lubezki, better known for achieving the looks of Ali, Sleepy Hollow and Y tu Mamá También. Brazilian director Eduardo Valente brings to the screen Um Sol Alaranjado (Four Days), a meditation on family relationships in the classic style of the Japanese masters Yasujiro Ozu and Nagisa Oshima.
A special feature in this year's program is the Native American Showcase, featuring films made by or about native peoples of the Americas. The showcase includes documentaries and animation produced in Brazil, Canada and the US, that bring up environmental awareness as well as the stories, beliefs and current struggles of native populations. Navajo filmmaker Bennie Klain will be present at the screening of his documentary The Return of the Navajo Boy.
The documentary section of the festival offers a diverse array of cultural perspectives. Some of the harsh realities of Latin America are shown in films like Señorita Extraviada (Missing Young Woman) by Lourdes Portillo, the multi-award winning investigative documentary about the unsolved murders of hundreds of young women in Ciudad Juárez, México; and Nascendo no Brazil (Born in Brazil), which links the extremely high rates of caesarean use in Brazil's hospitals to social class and economics.
The intricate politics of Latin America are unveiled as an organic part of the whole continent, be it because of immigration, foreign policy, or globalization. Discovering Dominga by Patricia Flynn, brings the amazing tale of a Guatemalan woman, adopted by American parents, who travels from the plains of Iowa back to the Mayan highlands where her family and village were massacred by the Guatemalan army; and Resistencia: Hip Hop in Colombia by UK filmmaker Tom Feiling, which explores the struggle of Colombian youth who fight for their freedom and self-expression through hip-hop music, surviving the effects of poverty, drug-trafficking and civil war. To Live with Terror: The Unsolved Attacks in Buenos Aires by Ton Virens, sheds light on the 1992 terrorist attacks on the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires.
Selected screenings of this year's festival will be free for AISD students and faculty. Some of these include the youth feature Runnin’ at Midnite and short films Today I Found Out and From an Objective Point of View, presented by Scenarios USA, a non-profit organization which produces stories written by youth ages 12-22 that are directed by established, well-known filmmakers such as Griffin Dunne. Also featured are films made by filmmakers 19 years old or younger.
This year's venues include the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown (409 Colorado St. / 476-1320), The Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex (1154 Hargrave St. / 472-6932) and the Hideout Theatre (617 Congress Ave. (512) H-I-D-E-O-U-T). All access festival passes are available for $50. Passes go on sale April 4th at www.cinelasamericas.org. Tickets for each screening and passes will be available at the box office.
The full festival program will be available on-line at www.cinelasamericas.org by April 4th. The printed program will be distributed free-of-charge a few days before the festival at selected locations and at the festival venues.
Whew!! Lots of stuff to see in this article, so get to it everyone, and then write us to tell us aaaaaaall about it.
"Moriarty" out.
