Archive for the ‘Foreign Language’ Category
Filed under: Documentary, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Awards, Lionsgate Films, Sony Classics, Oscar Watch, Cinematical Indie
The 25th Independent Spirit Awards were held in Los Angeles last night, and our friends at indieWIRE were there to celebrate the big night for the little guys. They covered the ceremony minute by minute, so whether you missed the broadcast of the awards on IFC or just want some excellent first-hand commentary from independent film experts, check out the complete live-blogged report here.
The big story of the evening was that Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire swept the major categories and won every award it was nominated for, including Best Feature, Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best First Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher), Best Supporting Actress (Mo’Nique) and Best Actress (Gabourey Sidibe). Sidibe made me smile when she cited Welcome to the Dollhouse as a major influence on her decision to pursue acting. As for Daniels, he somewhat acknowledged that he didn’t have to compete with Oscar favorite Kathryn Bigelow, as The Hurt Locker was a nominee at last year’s Spirit Awards (though not for Best Director).
Filed under: Foreign Language, Independent, Newsstand, Politics, Cinematical Indie
Not that filmmakers should get special treatment, but when it’s somebody you’ve met, however briefly, and who seems to be a decent, dedicated family man, it’s hard not to take a personal interest in a news story. Sorry, let me back up: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was arrested on Monday night, along with his wife and daughter, and as of this writing he’s still detained, according to Reuters. Panahi’s son says he doesn’t know where his father has been taken. Panahi wasn’t locked up for drunk driving or assaulting a photographer: he’s in jail because of the political movement that he supports.
A prosecutor in Tehran denies that Panahi’s arrest was politically motivated, although he’s not revealing why Panahi and his family members were picked up. Panahi vocally supported the opposition party in protesting the presidential election results last June, and he was arrested the following month at a ceremony to honor a murdered anti-government protester. Panahi was denied permission to attend the Berlin Film Festival last month, as detailed by indieWIRE. International protests of his most recent arrest have begun, says Times Online.
Offside, Panahi’s last film, dramatized a teenaged girl’s determined efforts to watch an important soccer match in person, even though women in Iran are not allowed to attend men’s sporting events. It’s a terrific, all-ages film, subtle yet powerful in delineating the everyday frustrations that arise from the simplest desires when an oppressive regime is in power. Offside played the festival circuit in 2006, and I attended an AFI Fest screening in Los Angeles with Panahi in person.
Continue reading Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Still Detained
Filed under: Documentary, Foreign Language, Independent, Thrillers, Deals, SXSW, Box Office, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured clockwise, from upper left: Dr. Portnoy: Provacateur, Erasing David, Crying With Laughter, Centurion.
Online / On Demand Viewing. Have you had your fill of Jay Leno and late night TV programming fiascos? Me too! Still, the premise of Dr. Portnoy: Provacateur sounds refreshing. Debuting exclusively on Hulu, the new web series revolves around artist Michael Portnoy, who, as a talk show host, promises to ‘get down to the bottom of what makes his guests tick.’ Actor Alan Cumming, musician Melissa Auf Der Maur (Smashing Pumpkins), and John Cooper (Director of the Sundance Film Festival) are among the guests who subject themselves to scrutiny in the six-episode series.
Austin, Texas will become the center of the independent film world when South by Southwest (SXSW) gets underway next week, and you can share in the festivities without leaving the comfort of your own home. Two SXSW titles, David Bond’s documentary Erasing David (a man tries to disappear and is hounded by private investigators) and Justin Molotnikov’s thriller Crying With Laughter, will be available via iTunes and Amazon VOD during SXSW, according to indieWIRE, and will then be available on demand via multiple cable systems on April 1.
Deals. Our friends at indieWIRE also reported on two acquisitions this week. Heading for the big screen is Neil Marshall’s sword and sandal thriller Centurion, courtesy of Magnet (read further observations by Elisabeth Rappe and watch the exciting trailer right here at Cinematical), while Leon Gast’s celebrity photog doc Smash His Camera heads to the small screen on HBO.
After the jump: a ghost, a prophet, and a steal at the box office.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Dr. Portnoy,’ SXSW On Demand
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Magnolia, Trailers and Clips
There’s no predicting when international films will find their way to American audiences. It really doesn’t matter if it’s the next film from a high profile director like Zhang Yimou or a nasty horror title from an unknown director in Thailand, they can arrive six months or six years after their domestic releases. Take The Warlords, for example. One would think that a large scale, historical war epic from mainland China starring Jet Li, Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers) would be a shoe-in for a prompt release in the United States.
But hey, since the roughly two-year gap could have been a lot worse, I suppose stateside fans of Asian cinema should be grateful it’s even getting a release. Magnolia films will be putting the film, co-directed by Peter Chan (Perhaps Love) and Wai Man Yip (Anna in Kung-Fu Land), in theaters April 2nd following an On-Demand release platform. Starting tomorrow, March 4th, you’ll be able to see The Warlords via various VOD cable services, as well as online outfits thanks to Amazon On-Demand, Playstation On Demand and the XBOX Live Video Marketplace.
Below you can find the official Warlords synopsis as well as a clip from one of the film’s battles. Things in this particular scene don’t get too graphic, but keep in mind this is about a rebellious uprising in the 1860s; so if you have any small children (or bosses) around who might wonder why that guy just shoved a spear through the other guy’s chest, you might want to watch this one while they’re not around.
Continue reading Exclusive Action-Packed Clip from Jet Li’s ‘The Warlords’
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Sony Classics, Theatrical Reviews
By Eric Snider — reprinted from 2/18/10 — Portland Film Festival
In A Prophet (Un prophète), Malik El Djebena is a 19-year-old semi-delinquent who has just been sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a police officer, an offense he vehemently denies at first, until he realizes no one cares whether he did it or not. Malik enters the prison nervous, quiet, scared, his eyes conveying his fear. When the film ends, 2 1/2 hours later, that fear is gone.
Directed by the highly regarded French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped), A Prophet might have been just another movie about what prison does to a person, were it not for the elements suggested by the title. Malik has what you might call a religious awakening while he’s incarcerated — not uncommon in itself, but Malik’s prophetic calling takes it a bit further.
Born in Morocco, Malik (played by Tahar Rahim) speaks French and Arabic. He’s not a practicing Muslim, but his Arab ethnicity leads people to assume otherwise, and he can pass between Muslim and non-Muslim groups in the prison. He doesn’t completely belong in either society, though, until he is claimed by the Corsicans.
Filed under: Foreign Language, Fandom
Although hearing isn’t the sense that moves quickest and deepest into our emotional memory, a favorite movie soundtrack can definitely dash almost as quickly to the center of your brain as a smell when it comes to recalling a certain scene, the memory of listening to it driving in the car, or smooching in the theater. A lot of the time, these are actual compilations of songs – Pump Up the Volume and Pretty in Pink are the first that spring to mind for me – but sometimes they’re scores from an iconic composer.
David Lynch movies like Blue Velvet or Wild at Heart would still, for better or for worse, be David Lynch movies without Angelo Badalamenti’s scores, but they’d be absolutely lacking, whether we knew it or not. Ennio Morricone is another unmistakable composer, most famously perhaps for his work on Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns – who doesn’t feel like they’re about to do battle in a gun duel to the death when they hear the theme from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly? And I’m proud to say I was a bridesmaid at a wedding where the newlyweds entered to the Imperial March.
One of my absolute favorite scores to listen to while I work is the soundtrack to Amélie by Yann Tiersen. I spent about a month churning out 50,000+ words for National Novel Writing Month listening to the dancey accordions in “La Valse d’Amélie” and “La Valse Des Monstres,” the old-timey songs with record static like “Guilty” and “Si tu n’étais pas là,” the gypsy-flavored “Le Banquet,” the purely joyous “La Redecouverte” and all the rest that made me feel like drinking espressos with a perfect, tiny spoon. (Which I probably was, since I had to write an entire novel in a month.) I don’t know why I picked up the CD, but I’m so glad I did. It just makes me happy. I also really enjoy the score to MirrorMask by Iain Ballamy.
Do you enjoy listening to movie scores? Who are your favorites?
Filed under: Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Mystery & Suspense, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Other Festivals
Is there a sweeter word than “mother”? It (or a simplified version of it) is usually one of the first words a baby learns to say. In every language it suggests love and nurturing, as well as fierce protection. You do not get between a mother and her young. You do not threaten a mother’s children, nor do you threaten a child’s mother. You have no problem identifying your dad as something of a bastard if that’s the case, but your mom — she is revered and honored, no matter what faults she may have.
This natural respect for motherhood is at the root of Mother (Madeo), a fantastically unsettling mystery-thriller by Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho (whose The Host, from 2006, was one of the more entertaining monster movies of the decade). Bong starts with the basic premise that a mother will do anything to protect her child, then takes that premise to its logical — yet somehow also completely insane — conclusion.
The mother in question is Yoon Hye-ja (Kim Hye-ja), an herbalist and unlicensed acupuncturist who lives in a small South Korean town with her son, Do-joon (Won Bin), as her only companion. Do-joon, in his mid 20s, is somewhat developmentally disabled, probably about 7 years old in terms of emotional maturity. He’s able to get along OK, though, requiring just a little extra attention from his vigilant mother.
Mrs. Yoon is only too happy to provide it, too. Protective by nature, she has a worried, Meryl Streep-y face, and expresses concern about Do-joon’s friend, Jin-tae (Jin Goo), whom she considers a bad influence. Do-joon and Jin-tae get into a bit of trouble with some local rich dudes at the town’s country club after a minor hit-and-run accident … and then the movie kicks in to high gear.
Filed under: Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, Deals, Distribution, Cinematical Indie
Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured from left to right: Animal Kingdom, No One Knows About the Persian Cats, Holy Rollers.
Deals. Five more indies will be seeking your support (and theatrical dollars) in the coming months. Highlights below; hit the links for details, as reported by our friends at indieWIRE.
Animal Kingdom takes a peek inside the criminal underworld in Melbourne, Australia. “Director David Michod has created a well-paced, dark and moody thriller,” opined our own Kevin Kelly when the film debuted at Sundance last month. Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all US and Latin American rights; release plans have not yet been announced.
No One Knows About the Persian Cats examines the youth and underground music scene in Tehran, Iran. Directed by Bahman Ghobadi, the film gained buzz after debuting at Cannes last year, and will be playing at SXSW next month. Release via IFC in Theaters, (on demand simultaneous with theatrical release), is expected sometime this year.
Holy Rollers features Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland) as “a devoted yet wayward Hasidic Jew in late 1990’s New York City who somehow becomes involved in an international ecstasy ring.” Look for the Sundance premiere to hit theaters in early to mid summer, with distribution to be handled by First Independent Pictures.
Other pickups: Army of Crime (immigrant French Resistance fighters in Paris; Lorber Films expects to release this spring or summer) and Puzzle (Argentine housewife discovers a new gift which may change her life; IFC Films will send it on the fall festival rounds, followed by a theatrical release).
After the jump: Roman Polanski at the box office, and the festival scene.
Continue reading Indie Roundup: ‘Animal Kingdom,’ ‘Persian Cats,’ ‘Holy Rollers’
Filed under: Foreign Language, Magnolia, Columns, 400 Screens, 400 Blows, War
When I saw John Woo’s Red Cliff (5 screens) a couple of months back, I could barely contain my enthusiasm. I thought it was a true return to form for Woo, who came from an exemplary career in Hong Kong to a rather spotty (if underrated) one in Hollywood. It managed to be a personal project for Woo, full of his own themes and touches, but also a mammoth epic of the kind that usually goes on to stun the world and win a dozen Oscars; it was the best such epic since Braveheart or Gladiator, but even better than those films. It was more modest and emotional, more poetic and intimate, faster and cleaner in its action sequences, but no less spectacular. It was apparently the most expensive movie ever produced in China, and also its biggest hit. I had visions of John Woo meeting Oscar for the first time.
But to date, in the US, it has earned a paltry $600,000, which is roughly one thousand times less than Avatar. It placed on a tiny handful of critics’ ten best lists, and has barely made a ripple since. I’m sure people did not stay away because of the subtitles; after all, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge hit, and Red Cliff is every bit as good, every bit as crowd-pleasing. Perhaps the advertising and release pattern were a mistake. Perhaps it never opened wide enough when it still had some momentum. But I think the main problem was the plan of releasing a “U.S. cut,” which ran 148 minutes, whereas the original cut ran 280 minutes. The length did not stop it from becoming a huge hit in China, but somehow, somebody decided that Americans could not take length and subtitles.
Continue reading 400 Screens, 400 Blows – Seeing ‘Red Cliff’
Filed under: Action, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Festival Reports, Oscar Watch
In A Prophet (Un prophète), Malik El Djebena is a 19-year-old semi-delinquent who has just been sentenced to six years in prison for assaulting a police officer, an offense he vehemently denies at first, until he realizes no one cares whether he did it or not. Malik enters the prison nervous, quiet, scared, his eyes conveying his fear. When the film ends, 2 1/2 hours later, that fear is gone.
Directed by the highly regarded French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (Read My Lips, The Beat That My Heart Skipped), A Prophet might have been just another movie about what prison does to a person, were it not for the elements suggested by the title. Malik has what you might call a religious awakening while he’s incarcerated — not uncommon in itself, but Malik’s prophetic calling takes it a bit further.
Born in Morocco, Malik (played by Tahar Rahim) speaks French and Arabic. He’s not a practicing Muslim, but his Arab ethnicity leads people to assume otherwise, and he can pass between Muslim and non-Muslim groups in the prison. He doesn’t completely belong in either society, though, until he is claimed by the Corsicans.
Yes, Corsicans! From the island of Corsica, between France and Italy. In this case, the Corsicans are Mafiosi, led by Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), who’s in prison with a couple dozen of his associates for goodness knows what crimes. Luciani needs to whack a witness who happens to be a fellow prisoner, and who also happens to be an Arab. The witness, Reyeb (Hichem Yacoubi), knows he’s a wanted man and has been very cautious, so Luciani recruits Malik to get close enough to him to do the job. Malik, heretofore a petty criminal at best, has no experience with witness-whacking, but Luciani doesn’t give him a lot of options. The scene in which Malik and Reyeb face off is alarmingly tense and horrific.
