| Here's the latest update from the great guys at Aint It Cool News as to what's happening, what might be happening, and what probably will never happen in the Euro film scene. If you know about any films rumoured, in development hell, pre-production or post, let Edgard and Darth Bond know on this email address: euroaicn@yahoo.com Its Monday morning and time once again for Father Geek to post the Euro-AICN regular column from Paris. This week Edgard has put together a lengthy one for all you fans. Of course he didn't do it alone, Ozymandias and the rest of the Euro-crew turned in their usual fine work to keep us all informed as to what is currently happening cinematically on their side of the Atlantic. Now to the latest from our editor in France... EURO AICN Woaw !! Edgard here with a long long edition of Euro AICN. This week, two words : Ozymandias and Reviews... First, Ozymandias didn't sleep much last week so he kept sending news after news after news... so Ozy fans, enjoy a long Ozymandias corner. Then we have 5 different film reviews to share with you : Ozymandias (him again) will review the Irish film SALTWATER; then Jareth, one of Ozy's friend, reviews BILLY ELLIOT from UK; the eternal Ethan got a glimpse on Wesley Snipes THE ART OF WAR (I know it was released in the States already, but not yet here so Ethan thought it was maybe nice to come back on that one... I haven't seen it so I can't comment much); then me, myself, moi... will review two films I saw this week-end : French thriller CRIMSON RIVERS and French/Colombian drama LA VIRGEN DE LOS SICARIOS (from Barbet Schroeder)... So a big Ozymandias corner and tons of review didn't leave much space for my usual list of news from Europe... sorry about that, we'll get back on that next week. But before going on into business, I just would like to give Euro AICN's support to our friends in ex-Yugoslavia. As you know, we received many times news and critics from Dima and others from over there, today the political situation there is critical. Hopefully things could go very well and a new era of freedom could start for them, but things are not done yet... there's still a long way to go. So, folks, we're with you... Good luck to all the film fans there from everyone at all AICN's offices worldwide! UK * If you want to learn tons of stuff on UK film industry (and more), check the NETRIBUTION news at Their Site : this week...interviews with Mark Herman and Stephen Daldry...Ridley Scott and Terry Gilliam on script hunt...Bite the Mango...Man-United hit the big screen...35mm Projector for sale at £200 BELGIUM * From Screendaily : Julie Taymor’s Titus will open the Flanders International Film Festival in Ghent (October 11-22) where it is screening out of competition. Terence Davies’ The House Of Mirth, starring Gillian Anderson, will open the competitive section. Morgan Freeman will be guest of honour at the festival, which is dedicated to exploring the impact of music on film. The US star will be the subject of a homage featuring such films as Seven and his current title, Under Suspicion. Also honoured is exploitation king Roger Corman. Also competing are Denmark’s The Bench (Per Fly); Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Liv Ullmann’s Faithless; Amos Kollek’s Fast Food, Fast Women; Karyn Kusama’s Girlfight; Jung Ji Woo’s Happy End; Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood For Love; Denis Dercourt’s Lise Et Andre; Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s Amores Perros; Alain de Halleux’s Pleure Pas Germaine; Lukas Moodysson’s Together; and Alex Stockman’s Verboden Te Zuchten. US producer Mace Neufeld presides over the jury which also includes composer Elia Cmiral, writer-director Christopher Hampton, producer Sally Hibbin, writer Bart Moeyaert, actress Molly Ringwald, director-producer Roland Verhavert and composer Henny Vrienten Rounding out the festival are non-competition screenings for such films as The King Is Alive, Billy Elliot, Chicken Run and Topsy-Turvy. Side-bars and events include a Lars von Trier-laden section dedicated to Danish cinema and a concert by Hans Zimmer. Belgians AICN Readers... we're counting on your reports !!! Send them to the Euro AICN offices in Paris ... and Edgard will be a happy man... ************************ OZYMANDIAS CORNER * Looks like our friends at Empire Online have gotten the scoop that everyone wanted - the first (albeit without the stars!) shots from the filming of the Harry Potter movie... Check them out at Their Site * This story comes from the PA - one of the papers here today has suggested that it'll be filmed at Ardmore Studios just outside Dublin: Christian Bale is being lined up to play the hero in new £50 million dragon slaying Walt Disney adventure Reign of Fire, which will be directed by Rob Bowman who masterminded the big screen version of the X-Files. The story is described as a Mad Max-like tale set in England involving a brood of fire breathing dragons that invade Earth and systematically blaze a horrific path of conquest. Bale plays a young Briton whose mother is slaughtered by the dragons and seeks revenge., while Dennis Quaid is strongly tipped to play an American who becomes his mentor. * The PA also have this great story about a movie I've reviewed on AICN a while back Click Here and I think it's an excellent one!! : Film fans who go to see Dancer in the Dark this Friday and don't enjoy it will be given back the price of their ticket. FilmFour, the film's distributors, have made the unusual move after the film received some bad reviews from media critics. Peter Buckingham, FilmFour's Deputy Chief Executive, said: "If you go see Dancer in the Dark on September 29 and decide, having watched the film to its conclusion, that the experience was not worth the price of your ticket, the cinema manager will refund your money to you." Dancer in the Dark is directed by Lars Van Trier and stars Bjork who won Best Actress at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It is already on general release in Scotland and the West End and opens across the rest of the UK on Friday. * The next story relates to a movie I saw a couple of months back in an archive screening at the IFC here in Dublin - fascinating in many ways... The print they had was the "approved by the Irish censor" one and anything he didn't like at the time was bleeped out just like Jerry Springer!! : DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - The film version of James Joyce's ``Ulysses'' has been cleared by the official censor, 33 years after it was banned and long after Ireland embraced the book as a cause for annual celebration. The novel was adapted for the screen by Fred Haines and Joseph Strick, but the movie was refused a certificate by Irish censors and the Film Appeals Board in 1967, apparently because of its sometimes vulgar language. Sheamus Smith, the current censor, last week awarded the film a certificate restricting showings to viewers at least 15 years old, his office confirmed Wednesday. No date for a showing has been announced. ``It was humiliating for me to have this film banned in Ireland,'' The Irish Times quoted Strick as saying. ``I shot the film with absolute fidelity to the book. There isn't a word in the film that isn't taken from the book,'' said Strick, an American now based in Paris. Strick said he recently visited Ireland for the first time in 25 years. ``That's how I found out how much Ireland had changed after all those years, and I decided to ask the film censor to reconsider the banning of Ulysses,'' he said ``Ulysses'' was nominated for an Academy Award in 1968 for best screenplay. The book, published in Paris in 1922, is set on a single day, June 16, 1904. The date is now the occasion for annual ``Bloomsday'' celebrations in Dublin, with pilgrims retracing the wanderings of the fictional Leopold Bloom through the streets of the city. * And we're in on Harry Potter too!!!! Whay hey! : A young Irish actor has been confirmed to play the role of Seamus in the much hyped Harry Potter and the The Sorcerer's Stone blockbuster movie. Devon Murray, an 11 year old from Co Kildare has just landed the part as Harry's friend Seamus in the film which starts shooting in October in England and will continue until next March. Speaking to the Sunday Tribune newspaper Devon told of his excitment but admitted he hadn't even read one of the books. "I was very excited to get the part. But, I haven't even read any the books yet. I'm actually only half way through the first one now," Devon said. Devon will also be traveling to Rome to star in Martin Scorese's The Gangs of New York with fellow Irish actor Liam Neeson, Irish resident Daniel Day Lewis and Leoardo Di Caprio. "It's really good of the Harry Potter people to film around me," Devon said.The young actor has also made appearance's in the Irish made movies Anglela's Ashes with Robert Carlyle, This is My Father with James Caan and Aidan Quinn and Yesterday's Children with Jane Seymour. * This one today from showbizireland.com has made quite a stir on a lot of sites..... My own take on this is that Strong has a new album to plug at the moment and what better way to get his name in the press than to drag up this old chestnut? Having said that I wait to be proved wrong! : The biggest Irish music film of all time The Commitments may have all it's cast back for the movie return. The lead singer in the band Andrew Strong who played the rebellious rude singer Deco Cuffe in the 1991 hit movie has spoken for the first time and said that he may now return to the second film. "I got a phone call from Miramax who said they were making a Commitments 2. And they said we'd like to talk to you. "I said I didn't know why they were talking to me because I wasn't interested. But, they said OK will you just met the guy. So, I met this guy called Warren Light from New York who's won some Tony award" Strong said. "Then I agreed if the script was very very good I'd get involved again, maybe." Strong has said before that he would never have anything to do with the remake. The rest of the cast have been secretly meeting in Dublin over the past few months and they seem extra interested in retaking their roles. Andrew Strong was only 16 when he appeared in the original movie. * I've also got some news from one of my top spies on the new flick from Peter Cattaneo (he of The Full Monty) being shot here: Thought I'd drop a line about a movie being shot right now - Lucky break. Written by Ireland's own Ronan Bennet no less, it sounds like it could be aninteresting movie... with Olivia Williams (6th Sense) and Jimmy Nesbitt (only know him off the telly) (Oz's note: And also from Peter Chelsom's excellent Hear my Song and Waking Ned Devine!) thats an interesting casting, with ChrisPlummer playing a prison governer? The scripts about an escape (hence the title) from a prison, with the love story with some possible small musical numbers. An insider tells me its going along nicely - Some impressively intense performances from all. Call me Rocket from the Script. * From the site of the Irish Film And Television Net Visit Here Glenn Hogarty gives u a taster as to what's going down in Cork this year : A welcome refurbishment of the Cork Opera House will herald the opening of the Murphy's Cork International Film Festival 2000 on Sunday, October 15th. A much loved and impressive venue, it can boast one of the largest, if not THE largest, seating capacities of any cinema (during the festival) in the country. Such a huge crowd can add greatly to an audiences appreciation of a film, one such memory which comes to fore being the Irish premiere of THE CRYING GAME several years ago, and the collective, very audible, and almost spine-chilling gasp at THAT scene. The Opera House is the key venue for the Cork International Film Festival, which also takes in screenings at the Kino Cinema, and the Triskel Cinematheque. One of the most impressive aspects of the Cork festival are the prestigious awards which take place each year, particularly the Short Film Award which boasts a sizeable cash prize and is widely seen as a solid stepping stone to future projects. Aside from the awards, Cork has always been renowned for it's impressive guest list, and of course, its incomparable social angle. This year should see the Opera House Bar packed to capacity most nights, but none more so than following the opening film, the Irish premiere of a highly anticipated Irish film. ABOUT ADAM, the directorial debut of writer Gerry Stembridge, is guaranteed to bring the house down, and is an impressive coup for the festival. Reviewers world-wide have raved about the film, which is due to open here in December. One of the more high profile Irish films due to hit cinemas this year, it is set in contemporary Dublin and tells the story of a young man (played by up-and-comer Stuart Townsend, who is due to start work on the second installment of Anne Rice's vampire novels) who works his way into a middle-class family, and proceeds to have relationships with almost every member of same. A black comedy, beautifully shot, with an original screenplay by Stembridge, it looks like it may kick off a new era for Irish film. Also premiering at the festival this year is GIRLFIGHT, the highly acclaimed Sundance Film Festival award-winner which tells of a young female kick-boxer and her battles against adversity. Karyn Kusama's directorial debut was picked up at Sundance by Sony Pictures, and is due to be released in Ireland in November. Another much anticipated title to screen at the festival is WOMAN ON TOP, starring Penelope Cruz, who looks to be next in line for the title of 'it' girl, following her appearance in the upcoming ALL THE PRETTY HORSES opposite Matt Damon. Fina Torres' directs this apparently 'steamy' tale of love and food, which is also due to be released at the end of the year. And to finish off my bit this week I'm asking again for any AICNers who'll be attending the upcoming Cork or Foyle Film Festivals and who'd be interested in covering them for Euro AICN to mail me at my Dublin address below...... Oh and if you are heading to the Cork Festival they have sent me some details over the last couple of days: Booking office opens on Thursday 5th October, 17 Academy Street/6 French Church Street. Phone 021 4278518 or online booking at our web site below. Cork Film Festival - October 15 - 22, 2000 10 Washington Street, Cork, Ireland Tel: + 353 21 4271711 Fax: +353 21 4275945 Information: Mail Here Web Site: Just Click Here L8r, Ozymandias Euro AICN Ireland/UK Office, Penthouse Suite, Ozymandias Towers, Dublin, Ireland. If you're involved in the Irish or UK movie industries I want to hear from you! Mail me at My Penthouse Offices in Dublin. *********************** REVIEWS * OZYMANDIAS reviews SALTWATER I was so glad to see someone already chiming in last week on the site about Saltwater! Father Geek you're right on the money - this is one to watch. I was talking to the cast and the director here in Dublin last week - his next script is called "The Actors" and is in development at Dreamworks! McPherson apparently originally wrote it at the behest of Neil Jordan who's since moved on to other things and the boys at SKG have yet to make a decision as to whether our boy is going to be their next Sam Mendes. (Hint from Ozy - like yeah!!!!!). If you're an AICNer in Chicago you'll be able to make up your own mind at the Chicago Film Festival as Saltwater gets three screenings there on the 7th, 8th and 9th of October (shame the festivals organisers have it listed as being from the UK but, hey we're used to that!) Maybe some of you guys attending will post your own reviews as I'd love to know what an American audience will make of it... Here's my take: Saltwater (IRELAND - 2000) Reviewing Conor McPherson’s directorial debut Saltwater has been the toughest task that I’ve been handed since I began writing for AICN so I’ll just come straight out with it. It’s not just one of the best films I’ve seen this year, it’s the best Irish film this year and undoubtedly the best Irish film in many, many years. I don’t even know where to start raving — it’s a simple story of a week in the life of an Irish-Italian family running a chip shop in an out of season unnamed North County Dublin seaside resort but it’s so much more than that. It’s a comedy, a family based drama, a coming of age tale and an action heist flick all rolled into one. The film’s ultimate strength lies in the whole production’s complete aversion to the clichés routinely trotted out in recent Irish big screen efforts — its one bad guy in the shape of moneylender/bookie Simple Simon wouldn’t harm a fly, the only gun for once is made out of two taped together pieces of pipe, no-one’s on drugs and the complex interrelationships of the characters is where the plot’s real focus is. Full credit too to writer/director McPherson for taking his original play This Lime Tree Bower and fleshing it out into a fully formed finished product that never betrays its stagy origins. Saltwater’s gorgeous imagery vies for attention with the Plague Monkeys scary, sexy, cool, evocative score and the screenplay’s incredibly lyrical yet down to earth dialogue. I’ve railed here so many times against movies set in Ireland with characters that talk unlike anyone any of us has ever met; Saltwater is the movie I’ve been waiting for — not a single line rings untrue. And don’t get me started on this film’s cast. For a start, with the exception of the seamless performance from Scot Brian Cox, McPherson has managed to populate his universe exclusively with Irish actors. You see I was under the impression in the last few years that there was some sort of cultural exchange in acting going on that I hadn’t gotten the memo about — all major parts in Irish movies to be played by Americans & Britons (Ewan McGregor’s James Joyce, Kevin Spacey’s General, Joan Allen’s Veronica Guerin, Brad Pitt’s turns in The Devil’s Own and Snatch, Richard Gere in The Jackal et al) and all of our lads to be sent abroad to play…… well pretty much any other nationality bar our own (Brendan Gleeson in Braveheart, Lake Placid and Mission Impossible 2, Liam Neeson in Leap Of Faith, Gabriel Byrne in Miller’s Crossing…) McPherson bucks the trend and deserves our gratitude for that alone. Peter McDonald pretty much holds the whole show together here as he did in the last McPherson script to make it to the big screen, I Went Down, teenager Lawrence Kinlan’s debut turn as the soft spoken Joe sets him out as a talent to watch, Conor Mullen is simply superb as university philosophy "lecherer" Ray and even the lovely Eva Birthistle, in an extended cameo in the role of Deborah, turns what could have been a two dimensional Monica Lewinsky-a-like into a fully blown (if you’ll pardon the unintentional pun) sexual equal for Ray to tango with. And then there’s Brendan Gleeson. He truly is our greatest national acting treasure — Simple Simon in Saltwater is as far away from Bunny in I Went Down as Bunny is from Hamish in Braveheart as Hamish is from his Martin Cahill or Michael Collins or Sweety Barrett… I could go on almost ad infinitum. He’s only on screen for 4 or 5 scenes yet he steals the show clean out from under the noses of a wonderful ensemble cast. He’ll burst even further onto the world stage next year with his parts in Steven Spielberg’s AI and Martin Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York and I’ll be cheering him on from the sidelines. Saltwater is the only movie in I don’t know how long that I’ve gone back to see twice at press screenings and with good reason. It sets Conor McPherson apart as the new great white hope of Irish filmmaking for the new millennium and deserves to be seen by every moviegoer in Ireland and far, far beyond. * Jareth reviews : BILLY ELLIOT And the very first EURO AICN review from my close personal friend Jareth on one of the most enthusiastically received British films of the year. Typical! Just like a bus, you wait absolutely AGES for a good dance based movie to come along (you know like back in the '80s, when we had "Dirty Dancing" and "Footloose") and what happens? Three come along at once! Last week we had the superb, if very surreal Bjork starring "Dancer in the Dark", coming soon is "Coyote Ugly", starring lots of lovely ladies and Adam "I starred in "Saturday Night Fever" on the West End" Garcia, but perhaps the best of the bunch is this week's new release "Billy Elliot". "Billy Elliot" is set in Northern England during the 1984 Miner's Strike. Title character Billy (newcomer Jamie Bell) is a shy, introverted 11-year-old who hasn't had a happy life. His mother has recently died, his dad and brother Tony are both on the front line of the strike, his gran's behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic and he's being forced to take boxing lessons! One thing he does have is rhythm! Billy might not be able to box but boy can he dance! Leaving a boxing lesson early, Billy accidentally comes across a ballet class being run by the chain smoking Mrs. Wilkinson (played by the wonderful Julie Walters) who encourages him to join her class. Here Billy learns to express his emotions and continues to go to classes while the rest of his family think he's boxing. Billy's dancing career is almost cut short when his dad discovers the truth. While he doesn't mind paying 50p for boxing lessons so his son can learn to take care of himself he has a serious problem with Billy's less than manly activities. Mrs. Wilkinson sees Billy's potential and the pair continue their dancing lessons in secret working towards a scholarship for a ballet school in London. During a particularly bleak Christmas, Billy gives his best friend Michael an impromptu performance and is accidentally caught by his dad who realises that his son has a very special gift and the possibility of a future away from the mines. Funny, heart warming and tissue-grabbing moving, "Billy Elliot" features some incredible performances, particularly from newcomer Bell, who bears his heart and soul on screen. And there's a top "period" soundtrack, which is only let down by the very 2000 Stephen Gately end credits tune. One of the best movies this year! * Ethan reviews THE ART OF WAR : `The Art of War` is one of this season`s hidden gems.It may sound crazy but the new Wesley Snipes vehicle offers more substance and philosophy than most of this year`s slate.This movie enters the streak of great Wesley Snipes movies that was initiated by Norrington`s `Blade`.This time around Mr.Snipes provides us with a sharp B-actioner that stimulates movie buff memories of the eighties.At the same time `The Art of War` opens a couple of important political issues. `The Art of War` is the refreshment for contemporary action fare.Of course only true action afficionados can understand its true poetry. Christian Duguay`s picture takes us back to the world of exploitation aestethics which means that all the cliches are employed.Most of the landmarks seen in the past actioners rampage all over the big screen here.Fans should be especially glad to see 80s cliches like heroes that risk their lives for no apparent reason,women that throw away their fancy clothes so they could fight comfortably and finally,the explicit scenes of violence performed agaist women and old people.Audience that can`t notice `hommage` to John Irvin`s `Eminent Domain` or people who don`t feel an urge to see Michael Biehn molesting civilians (like he did in James Cameron`s `The Abyss`) should skip this one.The refreshment comes in the form of edgy,violent and brutally simple story with no plot which is told in a competent way.This concept is miles away from the politically correct quasi-witted mainstream actioners. `The Art of War` is a valediction for `die-hard` action fans who loved Joel Silver movies before he became hip and legit with `The Matrix`. Let`s be real,people started noticing Silver because of The Wachowskis. His true fans were always regarded as supporters of rough,dirty and high-bodycount action fare.Well,`The Art of War` is a movie that was made for us,the faithful Joel Silver fans... `The Art of War` is well-directed by Christian Duguay,one of those rare contemporary authors that have a shaped body of work.Duguay should be crowned as the king of mid-budget movies that either enter the darkness of theatres near you or end up in the obscurity of videostores.His opus includes two `Scanners`-sequels and a couple of pretty good flicks- `Live Wire` (New Line release with Pierce Brosnan),Philip K.Dick`s `Screamers` and `The Assignement`(also a hidden gem).Duguay certainly lacks Frank Capra`s divinity but at the same time he has all the efficiency of Don Siegel.He also knows the genre by heart and his editing shapes the dramatic grammar of his features.For example,the action scenes in `The Art of War` are consisted of chases,shoot-outs nd minor martial arts duels.Each one of these situations is edited in a different way so that the same substance could fit the narrative blueprint of the modern cinema. Snipes` radical African-American involvement gives this movie a strong political point.Like every `Amen Ra` labeled feature (`Amen Ra` is Snipes` production company) this one also has a strong balck supremacist background.Unlike `Shaft`remake,`The Art of War` represents the true revival of `blaxploitation`.This movie is the ultimate proof of BLACK IS COOL tag-line that can`t belong to Singleton`s shameful `Shaft` remake.Politically `The Art of War` resembles Ridley Scott`s `Gladiator`.In both movies slaves (Russell Crowe`s Maximus) or ex-slaves (black heroes) shape the historical path of their homeland and choose between empire and republic.In `Gladiator` Maximus creates a new Roman republic while in `The Art of War` Neil Shaw establishes America as an empire. `The Art of War` is made for moviegoers that grinded their teeth on early McTiernan and everlasting Shane Black.So,go and see `The Art of War`, the true symbol of American genre cinema that can`t be faded by Singleton`s `Shaft` or McQuarrie`s `The Way of the Gun`... Others beware... * Edgard reviews CRIMSON RIVERS CRIMSON RIVERS (aka LES RIVIERES POURPRES) is this French film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz (LA HAINE), with Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel. It tells the story of two cops (Reno & Cassel) working on parallel cases that will lead them both on the trail of a serial killer who leaves mutilated corpses as the clues of a big mystery. Everything revolves around a strange and remote university situated in the mountains. Told like this, CRIMSON RIVERS doesn't sound that original of course. And there're two ways for me to approach the review of this film. First, the easy and obvious way : think of CRIMSON RIVERS as a French SEVEN. Let's say it right the way, SEVEN is better. But let's say also that Kassovitz is not trying to do better. Actually I don't even think he is trying to do a French SEVEN here. Still there're many common points between the two films : a serial killer (of course), a complex plot, mutilated bodies, two cops (a inexperienced one, and one who has seen it all)... CR even manages to do better in the gross description of the corpses (do not eat just before seing that film... the first 5 minutes are quite disturbing for your stomach !). CR succeeds also by taking place not in a big city - as it often happens with serial killers - but in the snow and ice (and a creepy university). This allows two or three spectacular and really beautiful sequences; this allows also for Kassovitz to play with the genre a bit. But where CR can't keep with the David Fincher masterpiece is in its plot. Way too complex here (CR is adapted from a big book, so cuts had to be made... you can feel it). It forces Kassovitz to literally stop his film, sit his actors around a table and make them explain to each other (and to us !) what's going on. If it's useful for us, it also slows down the film too much. The ending is also a bit "too much"... As much the first half of the film builds slowly a realistic tension (helped by the music of Bruno Coulais), Kassovitz seems to have some trouble keeping that tension until the end. And the last 15 minutes are unfortunately a bit over the top compared to the rest. Of course, this my opinion for CRIMSON RIVERS - a serial killer film. And my opinion is : don't go see it expecting a new SEVEN. Not that it's a bad serial killer flick (it's still much better than most of the films of that kind) but you will be ultimately dissapointed as CR doesn't bring anything new to the genre... that's why you should go see it with another approach. My second approach, and the one you should take to really enjoy that film as it deserves, is to see CRIMSON RIVERS as a very good entertaining French movie. Nothing more. You see, in the last 12 months, I haven't seen any good fun and entertaining French film. I didn't like JOAN OF ARC (I was hoping for something more "epic"); I didn't like TAXI 2 (too dumb and the action sequence were not that good either). That's about it... I did see good French movies (like LE GOUT DES AUTRES, HARRY UN AMI QUI VOUS VEUT DU BIEN) but these are not really "entertaining" films (in the pop-corn way)... and I was missing that a bit here in France. Then CR is a great entertaining film and I believe that it's just what Kassovitz was trying to do : entertain us. The good points are : Kassovitz - he directed that film extremly well, the action sequences are well made, the general atmosphere is creepy, there're a few personal touches that are quite original and there's no unnecessary jokes as it often the case in popular films (that doesn't mean you don't laugh either); Jean Reno and Vincent Cassel - they make a great duo, they go beyond the cliché of "young cop/old cop", probably thanks to the fact they don't meet before 45 minutes into the film, meaning they both have their own scenes to expose themselves to the viewer (it even works better for Cassel as a young inspector in a little village who has to deal a cemetery's profanation); the sets - between the dark halls of the university and the beautiful glacier where one of the body is found, CR takes you around and it's sometimes pure candy for the eyes. The main bad point is the story as I said earlier. A bit too confusing, it feels like the movie would have gained to be 20 minutes longer. The consequence is also that all the second characters (like the one played by Nadia Fares) are not developed enough; meaning you don't really suspect anyone because you don't get to know anyone well enough. But this should bot stop you seeing that film. It's fun and beautifully shot. It's two hours of entertainment. In French. With Jean Reno. It doesn't happen enough... so go and enjoy ! If you're interested by this film, read also Grozilla's review in a previous Euro AICN report at : This Location * Edgard reviews LA VIRGEN DE LOS SICARIOS Also known as LA VIERGE DES TUEURS, this co-production between France and Colombia has been directed in video HD by Barbet Schroeder (yes, him of SINGLE WHITE FEMALE, KISS OF DEATH and other films). The story ? After 30 years, Fernando, a writer comes home to Medellin, Colombia. As a "welcome gift" he receives Alexis, a 16 years old street boy. The two become lovers and start learning to know each other in a city ruled by guns, death and drugs. As you can read, this ain't fun material... you have to be in a certain mood to see that and do not repeat my mistake : I saw that film at 10.00 am on a Sunday... worst I saw just after VIRGIN SUICIDES.... I learn a good lesson : keep your sunday to walk around Paris and go to the movie like everyone else on Friday evening ! Anyway, back to LA VIRGEN.... I really liked that film, but it's the kind of film that makes you feel uncomfortable, and you try to forget about it afterwards (last time it happened to me was with BOY'S DON'T CRY). Two things make you uncomfortable here. First, there's this love story between a 50 years old man and a 16 years old boy. But while it could have been really shocking in the hands of another director, Schroeder manages to make you accept it. Because you feel there's a real love and complicity between the two characters. And mainly because everything surrounding Fernando and Alexis is worst. Everything around them makes you think about death, while their love is maybe the only sign of life in Medellin. The second uncomfortable thing is of course the violence. In Medellin you get killed for no reason, just because you looked at someone you should not have. Like Fernando, the viewer is stunned to see how easy it is for Alexis to kill 2, 3 or 4 persons a day without any remorse. And worst : at one point, after killing several persons in the street, Alexis can't kill a dog badly injured. The fact that this film was shot on video HD makes it even more realistic. Add also that it's a true fact that Medellin is one of the most dangerous place on earth (Schroeder had to be protected during the making of this film) and you just want to stay away from Colombia ! (I wonder though if, as they show it twice in the movie, there's a big firework above Medellin every time a drug cargo made it succesfully to the States !). The strength of this movie lay in the relationship between the two lovers. Fernando is a bitter man, who seems disgusted by his own hometown, but still he's very cynical about it and in one way takes full advantage of it. He also tries to give Alexis some taste for "good education" (you shall not kill, you will listen to opera,...) but without much conviction nor success. On the other hand Alexis, although being a murderer with no conscience, appears likeable because of his way of protecting Fernando. But also because he's just a kid in the middle of a terrible world, world where death is a way of living (on a hill above Medellin there's a sign that says : "Do not throw any corpses"... maybe it's just a joke from Schroeder, but it does seem real in such an environment). If you're curious and interested in seeing something different, I highly recommend that one... but be prepared : it's quite hard to be in a "happy happy" mood after that... Well that's it for this week's edition of Euro AICN.... Don't forget to send us also your reviews, news, scripts, festival passes, comments... to the Euro AICN offices in Paris at euroaicn@yahoo.com |
