Father Geek here with Dr. SOTHA and another of his fine ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL special reports. This one contains a first (1st)! Our doctor instead of conducting an interview, has allowed himself to BE interviewed, and by a common festival worker to boot.

So folks, journalism history is being made right before your eyes today. What will this mean to the future? Roger Ebert led before the inquisition by his 87 year-old hairdresser? Leonard Maltin quizzed on Hollywood's darkest secrets by Betty Boop? Wolf Blitzer questioned by a pre-pubescence Palastine sniper? David Poland, or Chris Gore interviewed by Quint? I tell you there's NO stopping it once the wheels of progress begin to roll down hill.

Forward... into history...

International Rotterdam Film Festival

You'll be glad to know that PROJECT FLY has reportedly only wiped out one village in the South of Holland. Authorities are convinced they'll have 'the fly' contained in just a few weeks. If only the stubborn officers would listen to my methods of handling the problem. Afterall, I am the fly's father, and he'd listen to me. I needed to get my mind off things, so I decided to catch some films in the interim. Took another Taxis from my hotel. The guy wanting to make chit-chat says, 'You herrrd about dat fly on da loose'. 'Yeah, I've heard, he's so lonely and insecure out there' I replied. 'What d'ya mean, meneer?'. 'I mean you wouldn't understand, just take me to the Doele'. Got out and headed for the Pathe Building across the street. Thought I'd start out with the psychologically challenging 'Memento'. Instead of reviewing Nolan's film the practical way, I thought my conversation with one of the festival workers served the same purpose, and is probably more revealing. So just briefly I took off my Africa-AICN hat, and watched a film made in America by an English director.

Before I get on with it, please be aware that this review/conversation has some SPOILERS in it. Read at your own peril.

WORKER: So did you like Memento?

DR.SOTHA: Loved it, still do.

WORKER: I've heard amazing things, what's it about?

DR.SOTHA: Difficult to explain, but basically its about this guy played by the brilliant Guy Pearce who is looking for the guy who raped and murdered his wife. The thing is, ever since the incident, Pearce suffers from this form of memory loss, it's some type of condition. He remembers everything before his wife was murdered, but his short-term memory erases itself, like every fifteen minutes.

WORKER: So he forgets all recent stuff, but remembers his wife's death?

DR.SOTHA: Exactly.

WORKER: Then how does he work?

DR.SOTHA: He takes Polaroid pictures of people, and makes notes on each, so when his mind goes blank, and he comes to, he's able to understand who he can and can't trust. Oh, he also tattoos himself with vital bits of information.

WORKER: Tattoos himself?

DR.SOTHA: That way any vital bits of information can't be lost.

WORKER: Sounds interesting, what else?

DR.SOTHA: Well the thing is every time he goes blank, he has to re-brief himself about possible leads and suspects. So Christopher Nolan plays the film backwards, which lends itself to the subject.

WORKER: What do you mean backwards?

DR.SOTHA: I mean the whole film unfolds from the end to the beginning. Like that one Seinfeld episode.

WORKER: Seinfeld?

DR.SOTHA: Old American sitcom. Anyway, its told in episodes from back to front. We start with Pearce shooting Joe Pantoliano's character, and then work our way to the first sequence that led him to take this action.

WORKER: It sounds confusing.

DR.SOTHA: It really isn't, it actually lends itself to the structure and theme of memory loss. It's as if we're Pearce's character and are discovering things as he is. It's only about halfway through, that we discover that certain characters are playing him for a fool, because they're aware of his condition.

WORKER: Who is?

DR.SOTHA: Well for starters Carrie-Anne Moss's character. She has these deeper motivations linked to her boyfriend. She plays herself off to Pearce as this helpless victim, but wouldn't you know it, she's manipulating him. In fact, there's a sequence where all the pieces of the puzzle come together for Pierce and he realizes this, but he can't hang on to it for longer than a few minutes, and it all goes blank again. Carrie's character has got this routine all worked out, and she just waits a few minutes and puts on the act again.

WORKER: You mean he forgets that he can't trust her, and she takes advantage?

DR.SOTHA: Right.

WORKER: Is there a twist in it.

DR.SOTHA: Sort of, actually yes there is. It concerns his wife.

WORKER: She's not really dead is she?

DR.SOTHA: No that's not it, but I'd rather not spoil it for you.

WORKER: Okay, but how's the acting and directing.

DR.SOTHA: Great work all round. I mean it. Guy Pierce is a star in the making. I thought after LA Confidential, he'd really break out like Russel Crowe, but he's made some strange career choices. Remember Ravenous.

WORKER: No

DR.SOTHA: Neither do I. What about Rules of Engagement.

WORKER: Actually I did see that, and I liked him.

DR.SOTHA: Yeah you're right, but he should be an A list actor. He's a lead. Maybe after The Time Machine, it'll really launch him.

WORKER: The Time Machine? DR.SOTHA: New film he's in, remake. Anyway, it's a pity Memento won't get a big release around the world, because it deserves one, but it'll probably be a cult video.

WORKER: What about the other actors?

DR.SOTHA: Carrie Anne Moss does solid work here. There's one scene in particular that really struck me. She loses her head in one scene with Pearce, and she tries to provoke him into doing what she wants him to do. It's her big scene, and she blows the trigger, and she nails it. We know she'll be great in the Matrix sequel, but I'm curious in seeing her in more intimate and independent films like this. And what can I say about Pantoliano.

WORKER: Pantoliano?

DR.SOTHA: Yeah, he was in Bound? No? he was the fall guy in the Matrix. The guy who sells out to the system.

WORKER: I think so.

DR.SOTHA: Anyway, he's always going to give you a good performance, though he is surprisingly subdued in this one. I'm just used to him playing the sinister over the top bad guy mobster, or variation on that, and I don't mean to say he doesn't have range as an actor, because he proves it in this. There are other characters, but for the most part its Pierce, Moss and Pantoliano that the narrative revolves around.

WORKER: Good director?

DR.SOTHA: On the evidence of this, Christopher Nolan is one of the most promising filmmakers to come out in a while. He's earlier film, which I haven't seen, called Following, and apparently is a haunting piece of work which he shot over the course of a year or something. More than anything, I think he's a great writer. A curious thing is that the film was based on a short story written by Jonathan Nolan, so I wonder if its his brother or cousin, or father, or something.

WORKER: Probably one of them.

DR.SOTHA: The direction is clever, well paced I thought, and ingeniously structured. Though I have heard of people who thought it was tiresome, not me though.

WORKER: So what's he doing next?

DR.SOTHA: I've heard its an adaptation of a novel which I've read called 'Keys to the Street'

WORKER: What's it about?

DR.SOTHA: Another twisty thriller about mistaken identity and lost love. From what I can remember it involves a woman who donates an organ to a dying patient, and then seeks to meet him afterward. It all goes awry after that.

WORKER: Is the structure mixed up again?

DR.SOTHA: As far as I can remember it's a straight narrative with several twists at the end.

WORKER: So I should see Memento then?

DR.SOTHA: Several times.

Took a minute, to call the emergency hotline in Rotterdam. Seems like my baby (the fly) had got as far as Utrecht, last anyone had seen him. Wracked with guilt, the only alternative was to watch more films. I tried to remain partial with my reviews, despite the emotional turmoil I was sinking into.

Here they are:

WALK THE TALK - European Premiere - Australia

Australian filmmaker Shirley Barret, riding high after the successful 'Love Serenade' takes us on a darkly satirical ride through the mind of one self-help guru Joe Grasso. There's more then a passing resemblance to Frank TJ Mackey as Grasso cruises through this film with a contagious 'take no prisoners' enthusiasm to convert all the pessimists into realizing their dream. His interaction with ailing nightclub singer, Nikki Raye (played by Nikki Bennett) is at turns hilarious and endearing. You can't help but get swept up by the film's tone of eternal optimism despite the bleak reality of its characters. Salvatore Coco as Grasso is a star in the making. Believe me when I say, he'll be invading our screens in the years to come. It's a wonderful, acerbic piece of acting dynamite. 'Walk the Talk' is a feel good comedy with bite. Highly recommended, and I look forward to anything Barret does in the future.

OMAR 2000 - International Premiere - Egypt

Written and Directed by Ahmed Atef, 'Omar 2000' tells the story of Omar, an angst ridden 30 year who can feel his youth slipping away from him. He decides to radically change his lifestyle by emigrating to America. To do this he needs to exact revenge on all the people that have used him as a doormat throughout his life. This leads him on a journey to the 'city of the dead' where he finds a motley crew of supporters who embrace his ideas to battle against the lynchpins of society. I'm surprised at the racy jokes that Ahmed spreads throughout the narrative. Fairly risque considering the conservative values that Egypt prizes itself on. There's a crack about viagra that I wasn't prepared for, and a few potshots taken at western values (particularly America.) The film is gorgeously shot, with a kaleidoscope of colors brimming from every frame. Apparently Atef modeled some sequences on the classical works of Kandinsky and Matisse, and it certainly shows. The film won numerous awards at the Alexandria film festival, and has been a critical hit in Africa. Despite all this, ultimately I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The performances were pleasing, the production design was magnificently executed, but the story left me unaffected and empty. Put it this way, how many times could you watch a Merchant/Ivory film before it drove you dangerously insane. I think I made my point.

DOLE - Gabon/France

Imunga Ivanga directs his first feature film, having come out of shorts and documentaries. It tells the story of 15 year old Mougler and his three friends who live in the capital of Gabon. We follow them as they roam the streets getting up to mischief and what not. They discover a game called 'dole'. Its a risky game of chance involving money. They decide to put everything on the line so they can buy medicine for Mougler's mother who is seriously ill. I found Dole had moments of charm and subtlety, but this is the kind of film that we have run ragged as Africans. Street children, poverty and urban depravation, can just about sum up half the films made in Africa in the 90's. It's not that I don't think these stories should be told, but can't we just hire a director to make the penultimate African poverty movie, and move on to more encouraging material (Kind of like what Coppola planned on doing with 'The Rainmaker' and John Grisham movies.)

BATTU - Senegal/France/UK

Directed by African film maestro Cheick Oumar Sissoko and set in a contemporary Dakar, Senegal. This is yet another poverty movie. A sub-genre that seems to flourish in African film. The Minister of Public Health wants to sweep up the homeless element off the streets. He orders a large-scale military operation to move these people out into the countryside and out of the city. The violence in this film hits you like a brick wall. It's unflinching in its portrayal of authoritarian resolve and political upheavel. The main character, Saar, manages to organize them in the ghettos, and mount a retaliation. It may sound dark and sinister, but there's a great deal of parody in the various sub-plots. There's also a superstitious subtext to the proceedings that reveals layer upon layer of political subterfuge. This is the point where you may want to gasp, that's right Danny Glover plays the corrupt president. If I could just take this moment to profusely thank Glover for being the one mainstream Hollywood star, to try and raise the profile of African film. This guy is relentless in helping our industry flourish, what with this, 'Boesman and Lena', and 'Bopha' I can only respond with 'you're not too old for this shit yet'. Rigobert Song has reviewed this film before on previous Africa-AICN's, so check out the archives if you want a more detailed critique.

That got my mind off things for a while. If you have any information related to a talking fly with a rapist wit, please e-mail me at the hospital HQS africaaicn@hotmail.com with your full name, address and medical history. I will see to it personally that you are handsomely rewarded.

More to come, interview, reviews and up to date coverage on the fly.

DR.SOTHA REVO & OUT