Well, Father Geek is happy to be posting our 6th daily report from the world famous Venice Film Festival. There are several reviews in this column including one of TIME AND TIDE the latest from an old classmate of mine at The University of Texas film school here in Austin... TSUI HARK... enjoy!
Hey Ozymandias here...
The latest from what is rapidly becoming our tireless team in the watery city! Here's Robert:
The latest from what is rapidly becoming our tireless team in the watery city! Here's Robert:
Hi Ozy. Sixth daily
A good new for the fans of Tsui Hark. After the disappointing movies with Van Damme, he's coming back in Hong Kong. And the result is.
Time and Tide, by Tsui Hark, in Sogni e Visioni (review by Francesco Alò)
Hong Kong, today. The young irresponsible Tyler finds a work as a bodyguard, not before making pregnant a sully policewoman. His dream is to make a lot of money and escape to a sunny beach in South America. The misterious Jack, instead, spent in South America a terrible childhood. He is an ex-mercenary who married the daughter of Mr. Hong, the boss of a Hong Kong's triad. After a brief meeting in a shop, Tyler and Jack become friends at a Mr. Hong's party. Jack has to present himself to Hong as a son-in-law, Tyler has to protect Hong making his duty. In the meanwhile, some very-very bad guys, who worked with Jack when he was a mercenary, come from South America to kill Hong. Obviously something very dangerous and adventorous will happen. Very funny kung fu action-thriller directed by the genius of Hong Kong tradition of the '80s Tsui Hark. Thanks God, Tsui escaped from United States, where he didn't find the feeling with american troupe and actors (especially with the ridicolous Van Damme) as the terrible Double Team and the mediocre Knock Off demonstrate. With the money of Sony chinese department, Tsui returns to Hong Kong to direct a good movie, maybe not exciting and complex like Once Upon a Time in China and The Blade, but rich of freshness and ideas in the many fight scenes. Some of the best? The exchange of shots in the popular complex where Jack lives. The scene ends with the explosion of Jack's apartment with Tyler refuging himself in the fridge, and, second, the very typical Hong Kong neverending fight scene (almost a quarter of Time and Tide) separated in two locations (train station and rock concert stadium). In this section of the movie the two leading characters fight the bad-guys with thier own abilities: the lethal fight technical for Jack; the clever improvisations for Tyler. With these two strange men we see also two pregnant women of great personality (one, unbelievably, will shoot with a gun while she's giving a birth). So.a brilliant movie, with a lot of humour indeed. The Tsui's fan will appreciate and take a sigh relief after the two american movies. Absolutely good acting from the two rockstars Nicholas Tse (Tyler) and Wu Bai (Jack). Cool soundtrack. Oh.I almost forget. The icon Anthony Wong plays Tyler's Uncle Ji, a very slimy person. Great as usual.
Small Time Crooks, by Woody Allen, in Sogni e Visioni (review by Francesco Alò)
Small Time Crooks is one of the american movies that many readers of AICN already know well, but as happened with U-571 or What Lies Beneath we see it for the first time in Venice. The adventures of Ray and French Winkler, a strange couple (he is a dishwasher that spended two years in prison and she is an housewife). They plan a bank robbery to change their life. Even if the robbery goes wrong, they become millionares. The first half an hour of this movie (that is inspired by I soliti ignoti of Mario Monicelli) is wonderful, Allen and Ullman are irresistible and the audience doesn't stop to laugh. But the rest of the movie is not at this level and Small Time Crooks becomes an usual comedy, even a bit stupid. That's the second time (after Sweet and Lowdown) that Allen works with the chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei. Does that mean we can say goodbye to Carlo Di Palma, his habitual cinematographer?
Liam, by Stephen Frears, in competition (review by Giovanni Colucci)
Liverpool, in the thirties. The irish and catholic Sullivan Family leads a modest, but happy, life. But a tragic fate will destroy them. The father loses his job and begins to come close to nazi organisations, the financial situation starts to be critical and the daughter has a terrible incident. Stephen Frears, after the charming High Fidelity, realises one of his most dramatic movies. Of course, there are funny moments (the school lessons or the arrive of the policeman in the pub where the Sullivan are celebrating the New Year), but the film remains very tough and critical toward english society. The direction is simply perfect and the actors are excellent (between them, the young Anthony Borrows as Liam and Ian Hart as his father). Liam demostrates that Frears is one of the most interesting directors nowadays and that the screenwriter Jimmy McGover can write great stories.
Our Lady of the Assassins, by Barbet Schroeder, in competition (review by Robert Bernocchi)
When i read the title of this movie, i thinked it could have some connection with the comic book The Preacher, by Garth Ennis. I was wrong. That's the story of a writer who comes back in his country (Colombia) after thirty years. He is a pederast and he falls in love with a sixteen year old killer. Our Lady of the Assasins reminded me two films. The first is Happiness. As Todd Solondz, Schroeder knows well that the pedophilia is an orrible crime, but he doesn't think that he needs to repeat that every five minutes that to an adult audience. The second is Vertigo (i don't tell you why, because it would be a spoiler). The most interesting thing is the character of the writer (played by German Jaramillo), a nihilist that hates god. So, this is not a film for a catholic audience, but is useful if you want to learn something more about South America.
Platform, by Jia Zhangke, in competition (review by Giovanni Colucci)
In 1979, when China starts to open to the world, in a small village a group of workers organizes a propagandistic show. So they begin a trip that will last ten years. Platform is one of the two chinese movies in competition at Venice and it lasts more than three hours. After the first twenty minutes even the most sado-comunist critic can't resist. The only reason of interest is the abitual refuse of chinese authorities to show the movie in the country (but it was already happened one year ago with the film by Zhang Yimou). We can see many moments of rural life, but that's very diffucult to be interested in this movie. The director said he wanted to explore the hidden strength of people. A strength so hidden to be invisible.
Robert Bernocchi - La Finestra sul Cortile
