Shadows: Arthouse Films ’03
OSAMA| TAKING SIDES| WAITING FOR HAPPINESS
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More mainstream art films have their own pages.
Even more offbeat films are at the SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL.
last update
30.Sep.03
AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER
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dir Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill with Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Steve Glazer, Dawn Botkins, Danny Caldwell, Dennis Allen, Michelle Shovan, Diane Wuornos, Jeb Bush release UK 21.Nov.03; US 9.Jan.04 • HBO 03/UK 1h29  See also: MONSTER REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
The film is punctuated with key conversations with Wuornos from the appeal hearing to the day before her execution--each sets a different tone, and each features a moment when we witness her tipping over into raving lunacy. But underneath the wide-eyed ranting, a truth emerges that even Broomfield's slightly heavy-handed filming style can't water down. Wuornos wasn't innocent, but she also wasn't a serial killer by any definition; whether the seven killings were in self-defence, cold-blooded murder or a combination of the two is irrelevant. This is a woman who never had a chance in life. It's never suggested that she should have been released, but no one ever bothered to properly look into the irregularities in her case ... or in her personality. And since this was a capital case that bull-headed charge to execution is extremely disturbing. As usual, Broomfield centres the film on his own quest for the truth, and he never quite gets to the bottom of Wuornos' stories. But with his filmmaking partner Churchill, he does manage to create a scarily revealing look at the whole capital punishment industry, which has never been shown to deter crime (on the contrary!). This is a chilling, extremely insightful documentary--not so much for what it tells us about Aileen Wuornos as for what it says about our society. It also sets up Patty Jenkins' upcoming dramatic feature Monster (with Charlize Theron as Wuornos) for much deeper scrutiny. And rightly so. [15 themes, language] 26.Sep.03
BODYSONG
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dir-scr Simon Pummell music Jonny Greenwood release UK 5.Dec.03 • FilmFour 03/UK 1h23  REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
While it may sound indulgent or one-dimensional, the film has raw power in the imagery that forces us to think in intriguing new ways about ourselves and the people around us. Birthing scenarios come in every colour and position imaginable (and then some). Short glimpses of Nazi children are mixed in with toddlers from East, West and Africa. The sex segment combines grainy turn-of-the-century porn with contemporary love-in events and courtship rituals from around the world. Gruesome war imagery includes familiar scenes (from Vietnam and Tiananmen Square, for example) plus things we could never imagine. And the final clips of people who dream of making the world a better place has a real kick to it. The startling achievement is to show so vividly the vast diversity of the human experience ... and also the amazing commonality. This is a very adult film that should be required viewing for every 18-year-old. And if the stronger, more controversial images disturb you, it's about time to face the fact that all of this is what makes us alive. [18 strong physicality, themes, sex, violence] 4.Sep.03
OSAMA
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dir-scr Siddiq Barmak with Marina Golbahari, Zubaida Sahar, Mohammad Arif Herati, Mohammad Nadre Khwaja, Hamida Refah, Gul Rahaman Ghorbandi release release US 30.Jan.04, UK 13.Feb.04 • 03/Afghanistan 1h22 REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
"I wish God hadn't created women," the mother sighs in the film's opening scenes, which document a female protest that's brutally squashed by Taliban forces. Through this film, writer-director Barmak takes us deep into his home culture to experience the fear and tragedy firsthand. The script and camerawork are clever and extremely accomplished, giving us an intimate view of the characters and situations, while disarmingly natural performances make it feel almost like a documentary! This is a chilling examination of the imprisonment of women under fanatical Muslim rule as they are locked up in their burkhas, jail cells and harems. Not to mention being deprived of education and even basic freedoms. But more universally, this is a look at extremism gone mad, and here we in the West can learn a thing or two about a manipulative system that leads to deception and a rejection of even the most basic human rights. If we think this doesn't happen in our countries we are living in blind ignorance! While the film is extremely involving and believable, it's also a little too forcefully didactic; the story is often horrific, emotional and somewhat preachy. Yet there's such truth here that it can't be ignored. [12 some strong themes] 30.Sep.03
TAKING SIDES
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dir Istvan Szabo; scr Ronald Harwood with Harvey Keitel, Stellan Skarsgard, Moritz Bleibtreu, Birgit Minichmayr, Ulrich Tukur, Oleg Tabakov, Hanns Zischler, Armin Rohde, August Zirner, Daniel White, Thomas Thieme, R Lee Ermey release US 5.Sep.03; UK 21.Nov.03 • Canal+ 02/Germany 1h43  REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
Widened out of the interrogation room visually but not thematically, this is a claustrophobic film that goes from one confrontation to the next as incredibly strong words are exchanged, important ideas are batted back and forth and the actors go for the jugular. Keitel is in bulldog mode, greedily chewing scenery while Skarsgard, Bleibtreu and especially Minichmayr take a subtler, more emotional approach. The contrast is more than a little jarring, especially in the heated exchanges, which are too loud and abrasive to draw us in, and much too academic for this film to sustain. Still, the literate script cleverly weaves the various testimonies into a fascinating story that doesn't give clear answers and yet tells us everything we need to know about Furtwangler, and Szabo fills the film with telling details that add context without insulting our intelligence. Alas, the low budget shows, as does an oddly old-school style of over-lighting the sets, making everything look extremely stagey, even though the settings are fascinating--outside it's desolation and rubble while inside are empty and expansive rooms and hallways crossed shafts of golden light. Horrific (and heavy-handed) concentration camp footage is juxtaposed nicely with some truly creepy army training films, but awkward disparities fill the movie as a whole and badly weaken the overstated message. This is a shame since the issues are so relevant today. [15 themes, language, grisliness] 9.Sep.03
WAITING FOR HAPPINESS [Heremakono]
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dir-scr Abderrahmane Sissako with Khatra Ould Abder Kader, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamed, Maata Ould Mohamed Abeid, Nana Diakite, Makanfing Dabo Fatimetou Mint Ahmeda, Nema Mint Choueikh, Santha Leng release UK 24.Oct.03 • 02/Mauritania 1h36 REVIEW BY RICH CLINE |
All of this is observed by writer-director Sissako in minimalist style; this is a skilfully shot film, with startling images and a gentle pace that frequently comes to a full stop just to capture the rhythms of life in an earthbound purgatory where everyone's merely waiting for the next step. The vague, atmospheric style is mesmerising (and maybe sleep-inducing!), with constantly blowing sand and expanses of sea and desert stretching so far that it feels like a distant planet! Meanwhile the characters are vivid and fascinating, full of running jokes and clever sight gags. The small scenes tell us exactly what this life must be like--street vendors, a doctor's office, a karaoke bar, carefully orchestrated encounters between men and women and, most tellingly, an almost subliminal obsession with Western culture. While the film feels random and meandering, strong themes echo from start to finish, mostly concerning the quietly shifting sands of tradition and culture, as well as the emotional cost of leaving home for an unknown, possibly hopeless future. Images of ships wrecked and rusting off the shore and on sandbars are powerfully foreboding. And while the film as a whole is probably full of symbolism we can never understand, it still takes us with real artistry to a profoundly meaningful place. [U adult themes] 10.Sep.03