Hey folks, Harry here at SXSW. Just woke up, about to start my day 1 at the festival, but before that, gotta post some stuff for you - and lookee... Capone has seen a couple of films of interest to all of you. Here ya go...
Hey, Harry. Capone in Chicago here with a couple of films that will be making the art house rounds in the next couple of weeks.
DOT THE I
File this film under “Near Miss.” The only thing that keeps it from being a total miss is a dead-on performance by Gabriel Garcia Bernal in his first English-language role. In my estimation, Bernal has never given a poor performance, but he has managed to insert himself into some less-than-stellar movies; DOT THE I (which the distributor wants referred to as “dot the i”) falls into this category. Actually, let me revise that statement: the element that truly sinks DOT THE I is a tacked on ending that takes a barely plausible story to begin with and turns it into something absurd. Usually I’m able to partially forgive a film if the ending doesn’t quite live up to the expectations the rest of the film, but in this case, I can’t. The smirky, smarmy conclusion is just plain awful. You’re almost guaranteed a collective grown from the audience if you bother to see this film. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
DOT THE I starts off strong. Beautiful bride-to-be Carmen (Spanish hottie Natalia Verbeke) is out on her bachelorette night with girlfriends at a posh French restaurant. The waiter informs the entire restaurant that it is tradition that the guest of honor picks one stranger at the restaurant to kiss passionately before she gets married. She looks across the room full of mostly ugly men and spots Kit (Garcia Bernal), who is sitting with a couple of filmmaker friends. The two kiss and find it difficult to stop. Latin passions are aroused, fires are stoked, loins are set ablaze, etc. Kit becomes obsessed with Carmen. As any self-respecting, good-looking stalker would do, he tracks her down at her job in a cafe and begs her to meet with him just once. She agrees. But each time they meet, the heat gets turned up, and Carmen’s British fiance, Barnaby (James D’Arcy, best known for his work in MASTER AND COMMANDER), begins to suspect that something is amiss. Verbeke’s character is probably the most honestly explored. Carmen is hot-tempered and host lost many a job because of it. Because Barnaby comes from a rich family, she doesn’t need to work, but she wants to feel like she’s contributing and isn’t entirely dependent on her man. She’s in London because she escaped a dangerous relationship back in Spain. When she begins to suspect that someone is following her when she’s walking around London streets at night, she suspect that the ex-boyfriend has somehow found her. Barnaby seems like a stand-up guy, a little snooty and uptight, but someone certainly worthy of trust and devotion. Carmen is truly torn between men. In fact Barnaby may have the advantage, since Carmen has experienced the ugly side of a relationship based solely on passion. Trust me when I say that me telling you she does end up marrying Barnaby does in no way ruin this film. That event happens about half-way through the film, and it’s at about this point where the nonsense begins.
It’s as an examination of a woman struggling to balance two very nice men that DOT THE I works best. Clearly, Carmen and Kit would make an ideal couple, but she is devoted to Barnaby, who provides security and comfort. Scattered throughout the film are cutaway shots (usually of Carmen) that appear to be shot with a video camera. This truly annoying device actually does turn out to mean something, but getting there is painful on the eyes. When the truth about Carmen and Kit’s relationship is finally revealed to Barnaby...well, he does something awful and truthfully, something I did not see coming. But that’s no necessary a good thing. The final act of DOT THE I features its weakest elements. It’s one of those “nothing is quite what it seems” moments that you either buy into or shake your head is utter frustration. I was leaning toward buying into it because Garcia Bernal made me want to. But the abysmal epilogue pushed me too far. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the film because it’s way too clever for its own good. I’ll give points to writer-director Matthew Parkhill for attempting something bold, but sometimes going out on a limb mean you’re going to come crashing down and land on your nervy head. The lesson Parkhill should learn is to leave well enough alone. Having said that, I’m actually quite eager to see what he’s got in store for us next. His direction is solid, and all the clues are there but he still succeeded at keeping me in the dark about the true nature of the beast. Without saying too much, Parkhill also creates a remarkable screen villain in the span of just a couple of minutes. The guy has talent, and DOT THE I demonstrates that to a degree. A worthy effort, but not worthy enough to spend your money on.
STEAMBOY (Dubbed Version)
Aside from the utterly charming and imaginative works of Hayao Miyazaki, I’ve never really fiendishly dove into the world of anime. I’ve seen plenty of them, but usually just the ones that make it into art houses in America. If memory serves the first anime I ever saw (and to this day serves as my standard for great anime) was writer-director Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA. I suspect that many other red-blooded Americans can say the same thing. Since AKIRA was released in 1988 (although I think it first hit these shores closer to 1990), Katsuhiro has written several scripts for other animation directors, directed a non-animated film, directed an animated short, jumped in as an animator on other director’s films and continued his work as a comic book illustrator. If my research is correct, STEAMBOY marks the first animated feature with Katsuhiro as director since AKIRA, and it is a vision like no other.
Just a few technical notes: I know that, to many of your region-coded DVD enthusiasts, STEAMBOY isn’t “new.” However, the version of STEAMBOY that is being screened for critics and pushed by the U.S. distributor is dubbed and 15-20 minutes shorter than the Japanese version. These bothered me immensely when I heard this, but having watched it, I’m only really bothered by the editing aspect. Since all of the characters in STEAMBOY are British, I didn’t mind hearing British-accented voice actors do the voices. To a degree, it makes sense. But the shortening aspect is unforgivable. Still, all in not lost. At least in Chicago (and probably a few other larger cities), both versions of the film are being offered. In Chicago (where the film opens at the Landmark Century Centre Theatre on March 18), the uncut, subtitled Japanese version will play as the last show of each day. Thank goodness someone had some sense. Having gotten that out of me system (and having not seen the subtitled, uncut version, which I assume will be available when the DVD comes out), this version of STEAMBOY is still awe-inspiring.
Set in mid-1800s Victorian London (yes, Queen Victoria does have a cameo), during the Great Exhibition, STEAMBOY spotlights three generations of scientists, shockingly with the last name of Steam, whose field of study is...wait for it...Steam! Lloyd Steam (voiced by Patrick Stewart) is the wizened old grandfather, who wants to use steam power for the greater good. His son, Eddie Steam (Alfred Molina), is more interested in creating massive steam-powered weapons to sell to the highest bidder. Eddie’s son, Ray (Anna Paquin, whose voice I absolutely did not recognize), is torn between his father and grandfather, but ultimately, there’s no doubt he’s a good, smart kid who will do the right thing. So far, I realize, this all sounds very silly, but Katsuhiro makes it fascinating. The cityscapes of old London are breathtaking, the insanely complex war machines, battle armor, and other weapons of vapory construction, all powered by mega-doses of steam are wild and definitely warrant a frame-by-frame viewing of the film just to pick apart at all the intricate details of the artwork. Ray is saddled with the task of stealing and protecting a device known as a “steam ball,” which rests at the heart of “steam castle” where his father is scheming. The steam ball apparently magnifies the power of massive quantities of steam while controlling the massive pressure buildup so that things don’t start exploding. Well, with the ball out of place, things do start exploding, and we’ll all better for it.
The entire film leads up to a battle of such enormous proportions between the steam warriors and the British police and military that most of London is utterly destroyed, and Katsuhiro is clearly enjoying the hell out of flattening the classic architecture, presumably killing thousands of Londoners (although I’m pretty certain there isn’t a drop of blood in the whole film). STEAMBOY is a visual splendor and one I would absolutely see again (preferably in its full-length version). My only complaint (and it’s a small one) is the inclusion of an American little girl character names Scarlett (voiced by Kari Wahlgren), last name: O’Hara. You got it: a young Scarlett O’Hara somehow makes her way into this film as the head of the notorious O’Hara Foundation, which is in charge of the steam innovations pavilion at the Great Exhibition. Young Scarlett is just as spoiled and obnoxious as her grown, live-action counterpart. And yes, the timelines of this film and GONE WITH THE WIND work out so that this could be THE Scarlett O’Hara. She even insists that people call her “Ms. Scarlett.” I have no idea why she’s in this movie, but it’s an amusing aspect of STEAMBOY. The problem is, her character brings the proceedings to a grinding, grating half whenever she’s on screen. She adds nothing to the story (other than a cultural reference), and extracting her from this plot would have taken no effort. She’s no on screen enough to ruin the film, but it’s the only blemish in this otherwise perfect film. STEAMBOY is one of those works that impossible not to garner some level of enjoyment from whatever the primary language is.
Capone
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