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EURO AICN

Edgard here... Funny stuff I read this week on the web... First I read that French President Jacques Chiras has called Jean-Pierre Jeunet (directly on his mobile phone) to ask for a special screening of LE FABULEUX DESTIN D'AMELIE POULAIN at the ElysÃ©e... Don't know why but I thought it was cute... cute because the movie is just so wonderful and positive that I wish all the leaders of our world were taking some time to watch Jeunet's new movie... call me a dreamer, but maybe it would make the world a better place if all our leaders were falling for AmÃ©lie... and suddenly I had hope about politicians again !! Unfortunately it didn't last as I read a second article on another President : George W. Bush... the article said that, in order "to preserve the American family values", all films show to the President's staff on Air Force One would be cut - no violence, no sex. And here we're back with censorship and "family values"...In my mind the Kyoto treaty or the question of nuclear power seem more important, but I must be wrong. Or I watched too much AMELIE. Please Mr Jeunet, sent a tape to the White House too, they need your film badly...

But let's get back to our column... what's new this week ? Well Ethan's back with some ideas on the James Bond serie and he's certainly waiting for your reactions on the Talk-Backs (here's my reaction : for once I agree with you Ethan; except I still think Brosnan could have been a good Bond with more freedom... damn MGM !!... I love the Bond films but I really hated the last one - The World is not enough - so please make Bond 20 a great one... surprise us, amaze us... do something good !!); also you will get 3 good reviews from Cafeman; and a bunch of news from France, UK (watch out, call for extra's !), Ireland, Spain and Denmark (hi Honey !). So here it is...

FESTIVAL DE CANNES

Just to remind you that on Wednesday, the Festival of Cannes will start with MOULIN ROUGE. A list of films from the selection with cast, synopsis, pictures and extracts of dialogues (to read, not to hear... which is a bit weird, especially try to read the one about the new Lynch movie, MULHOLLAND DRIVE or about THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, the new Coen flick) is available on the newly updated official website at : This Location.

Hopefully EURO AICN will cover some films (not me unfortunately... but in case you too are going over there, don't forget to drop us a line of the films or the stars, or the parties... any Cannes story is good !

IRELAND

* From ShowbizIreland :

- The publicly shy and very private Irish actor Stephen Rae star of Michael Collins and The Crying Game has been forced to move to Luxembourg for the next few months due to the film industry strike in the US. Speaking exclusively to ShowBizIreland.com last night in Dublin Stephen said that the strike meant that his new film was now going to be shot in Luxembourg because of the strike in the states which is putting the industry over there on hold. "My next film will be called Fear.com and in it I will star with Stephen Dorff. It is about murder over the Internet and it will be directed by Billy Malone. Due to the strike in the US we have now got to film to movie between Luxembourg and Montreal." He went on "I've just finished a film called D'Artagnan which is a musketeers thing in which I play Cardinal Richelieu. In it I star with Tim Roth, It's very action packed because we brought in these Hong Kong stunt guys for the fight scenes. So, it looks great." The actor was in Dublin to launch the new Commons restaurant in Dublin National Concert Hall which opened all day and is owned by friends of the actor.

- Artemis Fowl going to the Silver Screen... : Irish school teacher Eoin Colfer has been meeting Miramax executives to discuss turning his children's book Artemis Fowl into a film he hopes will be made near his home in Wexford. Portions of two previous hit films, Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart, were filmed there, reports Daily Variety. Artemis Fowl, which is being described as Die Hard for children, has earned Colfer the largest advance in history for an unknown children's author. It made him an instant millionaire after the Frankfurt Book Fair led to 17 international book deals. He has now taken a two-year sabbatical from teaching to write an Artemis Fowl sequel.

pics & full story: Just Click Here

SPAIN

* Still from Screendaily, some news on two Spanish Festival coming your way in June :

- The 16th annual Cinema Jove International Film Festival (June 16-23) will dedicate a retrospective to the early films of French director Claude Chabrol. The retrospective, set to cover the director’s films from the late 1950s and early 1960s, is dubbed "The young… Chabrol." It follows last year’s debut of a section dedicated to films made by veteran directors before they turned 35. According to a festival statement, these are films which – had the festival then existed – could have competed at Cinema Jove, an event dedicated to the work of under-35 filmmakers. This year’s Cinema Jove will also feature a tribute to "the great renovator of the American comedy," Blake Edwards, including screenings of classic films such as Breakfast At Tiffany’s, The Pink Panther and Victor/Victoria. Spanish actress Lucia Jimenez (The Art Of Dying) will receive the festival’s "future of cinema" award dedicated to up-and-coming talents. Finally, a sidebar titled "2001: Utopia’s Reverse" will screen film adaptations of the futuristic visions of authors such as Clarke, Huxley, Orwell and Kafka.

- Bigas Luna's much anticipated Sound of the Sea(Son De Mar) will inaugurate the fourth annual edition of the Spanish Film Festival of Malaga (June 1-9). Based on the award-winning novel by Manuel Vicent, Sound Of The Sea stars Jordi Molla, Leonor Watling and Eduard Fernandez in the story of a woman whose long-missing husband reappears soon after she remarries. Sound Of The Sea was produced by Lolafilms' Andres Vicente Gomez, also the subject of a retrospective at the festival. Other highlights at this year's event include a tribute to veteran actor Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez and the Ricardo Franco award to cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe. The festival will also inaugurate a sales office and documentary film market, both of which are expected to attract more international guests than in previous years. Top winners at Malaga last year were Laura Mana for best film (Compassionate Sex) and Cesc Gay for best director (Krampack).

ETHAN'S COLUMN

Special James Bond

Strenght equals the courage to face the truth. Now, it`s time to face the truth about the Bond series.

Recent casting rumors and the upcoming shoot of the twentieth installment bring Bond back into the focus. Roger Moore`s senile rumbling about casting Cuba Gooding Junior and the anticipated Brosnan`s retirement form the series open the hot issue of casting. Even though I think that the more important thing about Bond is where actually do we stand in terms of mythology.

Contemporary Bond movies are soft, corporate, gadget-driven commando movie that betray Bond`s urban origins. These movies have no future and the only reason they have good box-office is the fact that the fans let MGM to feed them shit and even pay for the inconvenience. If you look back at the 007 heritage you`ll see that the most of those movies were actually pretty poor but they worked because the creators turned the cliches into a fetish. On the other hand great Bond movies were truly great and they weren`t too dependent on the casting. Look at ON HER MAJESTY`S SECRET SERVICE. It is a great movie with doubtful casting. Yet I praise Lazenby because his Bond movie worked. Thus, let`s face it- 007 series is character driven franchise in which each movie must contain certain landmark situations. Where do we stand in terms of character? Well, Bond is a womanizing, drinking, chain-smoking secret agent that is involved in bloodless over-the-top stunts. It is obvious that authors always tend to be torn between Bond`s hard-boiled persona and the ambitious stunts. Bad writers that were usually involved in contemporary Bond simply can`t figure out how to integrate the hard-boiled Bond`s grit and fairytale stunts. This problem is typical but with smart writing you can combine hard-boiled realism with phyisical over-the-topness. Look at FACE/OFF. This movie lacks bloodshed but it has believable characters that do spectacular things. But there is one difference between FACE/OFF and the 007 series. FACE/OFF shows us action while 007 movies show the stunts. This is why FACE/OFF is the cinematic experience while 007 movies feel like circus. So, 007 producers could try putting some energetic action that can be made without blood. Don`t take me wrong, I like gory action scenes but if the franchise policy doesn`t include blood we must respect that. Also we have to tackle the problem of the story. Bond desperately needs some rthinking like Batman had in Frank Miller`s comic books. It must have both YEAR ONE and DARK KNIGHT. We must know where it begins and how it ends. Only with those cornerstones we can have the true understanding for the character and the series. Personally I don`t believe in franchise continuity. It was broken for so many times. We simply must move away from the problem of the next pitch and try assessing the whole picture.

YEAR ONE series could be great. Moving Bond back to sixties could be great because his habits can work in that period. How can you be a womanizer today when you have to go through tons of Cameron Crowesque bullshit to get laid on the big screen. In the time when AIDS rules and cool Belgian tapes with kid molesters in action get available in high schools there is no room for classy womanizers. Also, Bond`s smoking habit is scaring the shit out of PC America. Man who smokes can`t work today even as the undercover narcotics officer. I mean who would let a smoker on some fancy party these days. Sixties also have great aesthetic potential since I`d like to see some action scenes happening in that period but made with contemporary technology. Of course there is a lack of suspense since obviously sixties villains din`t change the world. Or did they? Imagine the evil sixties Bond vilain that succeeds? Imagine how many cool and subversive ideas can be put in the retro context? The pic about devious Oregon sneakers-maker? Or some Austin kids that watch too many movies and try to perform Frankenheimer`s SEVEN DAYS OF MAY? Weezer could record the title song for the credits. Way too cool!!!!!

DARK KNIGHT series could also be great. Brian Cox could star as the aging Bond that manipulates the crew of young MI6 agents. This could be the story of death and decay. I don`t think that anyone would make this. I don`t even think that anyone would watch this. But I deeply believe that there is an audince for this if it`s made cheap and gritty like a spin-off. Elvis Costello could record the title song.

Contemporary Bond can still be made. The franchise needs smart writers that can make it feel like LETHAL WEAPON 2 sans blood. TRUE LIES and MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE are way ahead of 007 and Danjaq must reinforce in order to compete with them. 007 can get swallowed by modern action fare like it happened when Cameron, McTiernan and Verhoeven ruled the Earth.

New Bond must return the urban setting. 007 must be hip, athletic and elegant. Stories must have strong twists. Action must be breathtaking and really involving. Producers must lay off the tired hackers and get some hip and energetic directors. McTiernan is the too perfect solution for the director`s chair. He has flair, easily combines grit and action mayhem, his style is impressive, he is close to MGM. I really wonder how McTiernan never got contacted again after refusing to do Bond in Brosnan`s REMINGTON STEEL phase.

The idea about black Bond sounds realistic since Great Britain has great colonial tradition and a large colored community. Denzel Washington had great Brit roles and his 007 could be elegant and stylish. Still, ethnic characters don`t have the British aristocratic background and this is why it is too early for the colored Bond. The murder of Lady D. showed us that Britain isn`t ready yet to mix its` aristiocratic blood with people of other religion. This is why Bond should remain white for now. I regard Brosnan as a bad Bond. he is simply too depersonalized for my taste. His best roles are in McTiernan`s movies (because McTiernan is a genius) and in John Mackenzie`s THE FOURTH PROTOCOL where he plays the unremarkable Russian agent whose greatest ability is to switch identities. If you ask me I`d cast Guy Pearce. He can do the accent and he can fit every requirement of the role. Christian Bale isn`t the right solution. We have yet to discover what happened during the EMPIRE OF THE SUN shoot and how Bale got initiated into the circle of power that brings him different leading roles while he still remains modestly talented supporting actor material at best. I have no information about Wells and Owen, though I pretty much think that Aussie villain Vernon Wells and FC Liverpool forward Michael Own don`t fit the role.

On the filmmaking front producers must decide whether they want craftsmen or aurhjors for their movies. If they want craftsmen then Victor Armstrong and Tsui Hark are obvious choices. But if they look for authors and McTiernan declines then they should hire De Palma or Harlin. For now maybe Christian Duguay may be the right and the most realistic solution.

Let`s hope for the best. As a devoted Bond fan I just hope they`ll make me enjoy 007 again like they did before.

God bless, Ethan

REVIEWS

Cafeman from Serbia sent us three different reviews from three French films... so here there are :

Deep In The Woods (Promenons-nous dans les bois) ***** (out of *****) by Cafeman

Written by Annabelle Perrichon and Lionel Delplanque Directed by Lionel Delplanque

From France to America comes this lesson in horror filmmaking called “Deep In The Woods”(official but loose translation). USA, the country that has pretty much invented the genre of horror, very dear to my heart, has been producing weak horrors or no horrors at all. The best of the bunch were “Scream”, “Shadow Of The Vampire” and “The Cell” and yet none of them were real, serious, horrors. “Shadow” was a supernatural drama, “Scream” was more of an homage/parody of the genre and “The Cell” was scary in a different way...it was scary, but not horror-type scary. Sadly, it seems like America has forgotten how to make horrors. This movie creates the hope that all might not be lost and that horrors might get more support from European cinemas and this movie and the upcoming “Brotherhood of the Wolf” make it seem like the genre might get the necessary boost from Europe. What`s surprising is that the boost is coming from France, a country not too well known for its horrors, or maybe I just didn`t see the right ones.

Red Riding Hood has already been used as a motif in a great little indie movie “Freeway”. Here, the idea is used much more seriously and with more of a psychological than a referential connotation, which is an awesome way to approach the material. If you have any doubts about how scary the story of Red Riding Hood can sound and look, watch this movie-you`ll understand.

5 young people arrive at this rich guy`s mansion in order to put on their play “Red Riding Hood” for his grandson`s birthday. At the same time, a serial killer/rapist is at large. Now you see, there is no way I can do this movie justice on paper. Paper has no atmosphere. This movie has atmosphere. If this movie has anything, it`s atmosphere. From the moment the movie starts, you start feeling claustrophobic and feel strangely drawn into the movie. You feel uneasy. It`s like the feeling you get when you think somebody`s behind you, but you`re afraid to look and you just expect that somebody to grab you from behind or something along those lines. That is exactly the kind of feeling this movie gives you. For 90 minutes. Now, how awesome is that? The story moves slowly, which makes the suspense almost unbearable. You feel like a part of the story and you want it to end and stop upsetting you, but it just goes on and on and you have to appreciate it, because that is the hardest thing to achieve in horrors. You`re not at the edge of your seat, you`re sinking more and more into it...The horror is in the air, but you can`t see it, which again proves that sometimes what you don`t see can be scarier, as proven by “The Blair Witch Project” and now, “Promenons-nous dans les bois”.

This superb French flick show that the director, Delplanque, has really done his homework. You feel strong influences of Bunuel and Jeunet & Caro, but just influences. It does have parts that were somewhat surrealistic, but then again, most French movies do. The claustrophobic atmosphere is worthy of Jeunet & Caro. The score and cinematography are also right on the spot and add to the movie`s power immensely. This movie is truly a masterpiece of both modern French cinema and modern horror. The best horror I`ve seen in ages and definitely one of the best movies of whichever year it was released in.

Just Visiting ***1/2 (out of *****) By Cafeman

Written by Christian Clavier, Jean-Marie PoirÃ© and John Hughes Directed by Jean-Marie Gaubert

I abhor American English-language remakes of great foreign-language movies. The very idea of people being so anally retentive that they would rather see a bad English language movie than a great foreign language one is repulsive. “Just Visiting” stands out as one of the rare efforts of that kind that actually amount to something and give us enough good stuff to give it a good grade.

In case you didn`t know, “Just Visiting” is a remake of a 1991 French comedy “Les Visiteurs” that became a Europe wide sensation, earning bunches of money everywhere. Naturally an American studio, I believe Buena Vista, purchased the rights for distribution in USA. But then, all of a sudden, it didn`t seem like a good idea any more, because they didn`t think the subtitles worked right. So they paid Mel Brooks to supervise the dubbing, but reportedly, it just didn`t work out either. So they dumped it to art house theatre circles and decided they would make a remake one day. That was in about 1996, and that day has come.

I took my little brother, who`s shaping up to be a movie buff thanks to me, and went to see this movie, looking forward to hating it. I was surprised, to say the least. This is a remake, but a very good one. The story has been changed severely, so the movie won`t be boring even to the people that have seen the old version. So what they did with the movie was strengthen the story, but cut on the comedy a little. Still, the movie ends up being very good and having more emotional depth than the first one, and just about as much as the second one (the sequel “Corridors of Time: The Visitors 2”).

Jean Reno is Count Thibault who, under the influence of a witch`s brew, kills his bride-to-be (in the original, he kills her father). A wizard tries sending him back in time before he kills her, so that he can avoid it, but screws up on the potion and sends him to 2001, where he meets his descendant, Julia, who`s a spitting image of his Dame Rosalind. They have to get back, but first they need a wizard. Then we have the whole fish-out-of-water thing, but a way better one than most American fish-out-of-water movies, mostly due to some elements that could never take place in an American production. Thibault has a servant, Andre. Thibault owns him. he is his possession. Now, here`s a main character that you`re supposed to identify with, and he supports the idea that if someone`s not noble, he`s a lower kind of people. In the original movie, he kept thinking like that. In the American version, he sees the wrongs of his ways.

What I missed in this movie is the insanity. In the original, Beatrice`s husband (Beatrice would be Julia in this one) was a very nervous guy and just seeing him was funny, let alone when two cooks are messing up his house. Also, the character of Dame Ginette was changed. In the original and its sequel, she was a bum, and the funniest bum I`ve ever seen. Her character was just priceless. in “Just Visiting”, she`s changed into a hot gardener, played by Tara Reid. I can tell they tried to make her poor-looking, but she just comes off punk-looking. I also missed the hilarious archaic French language. Archaic English is nowhere nearly as funny as archaic French. Thanks a lot, Shakespeare !

Crimson Rivers (Les Rivieres Pourpres) *** (out of *****) By Cafeman

Based on the book by Jean-Christophe Grange Written and Directed by Mathieu Kassowitz

After watching “Pulp Fiction” I have firmly believed that Quentin Tarantino has ruined me for other movies. Before watching the Fiction, I looked forward to such drecks as “Jurassic Park”. Two years or so later, a French movie came out titled “La Haine” or in English “The Hate”. I saw the movie and when it was over I knew I was forever changed. The movie was fresh and original and so damn real. In short, a revelation. It surpassed the Fiction in my book, by a lot. It was directed by a young French actor/director Mathieu Kassowitz with such force and styleless style, such originality. I knew at that very moment that he`s probably never going to outdo this movie. “La Haine” was and is the best movie I have ever seen, with not too many that even come close. The follow-up to “La Haine” was “Assassin(s)” which was very good, but showed a lack of originality, due to the striking likeness to an earlier French film “Max and JÃ©rÃ©mie“. After “Assassin(s)”, he laid low until now. I expected that his comeback will be worth the wait.

I was sadly mistaken. This movie, though well directed, shows little of Kassowitz`s biting social and moral satire and none of his art style. What we have is a “Se7en” clone with the blueprint visual style of Fincher and Jeunet. If they didn`t tell me Kassowitz directed this, I couldn`t have guessed in a million years. As a movie, this movie`s OK. As Kassowitz`s movie, this is horrible. In trying to keep coolheaded about this whole deal, I`ll try to pretend like it was Joe Blow directing it.

A bizarre murder happens in a small mountain community built around a prestigious French college. Sent to investigate it is a police legend Pierre Niemans. In a town relatively nearby, a young cop is investigating two petty crimes – desecration and an elementary school break-in where only some files on a student are stolen. Eventually the two investigations intersect and two strong characters and good police officers are forced to cooperate, much to their dismay. As I said, this movie is well directed. It has AN atmosphere, but not THE atmosphere I wanted it to have. After all, it just seems as a sellout, especially because of the end. Of all the stupid endings, this one takes the crown. Despite my bitterness over Kassowitz losing his artistic identity, he did nail that mystery thing because, he doesn`t let you tie any ends until the last 15 minutes. It`s like being given some puzzle pieces, but none that are next to each other. Sadly, when all pieces fit and you get the picture all you can think is “What the fuck?” and “Why?”. I hate stupid endings of good mysteries. Kassowitz, go back to your roots, man.

(Note from Edgard on CRIMSON RIVERS : one of the good thing of this movie is probably Bruno Coulais' music... Coulais being probably ojne of the best movie composer in France today, his work on BELPHEGOR is brilliant; also the Zone 2 DVD of CRIMSON RIVERS has just been released and should be excellent - a 2 disc edition - we will get back on this in the following weeks).

That's it for this week... we should be back very soon with news on the Cannes Film Festival... in case you have any news, reviews, comments you want to share with us, please send your mail to the EURO AICN office in Paris at euroaicn@yahoo.com

But Bond DOESN'T smoke! by MaxCalifornia.	May 7th, 2001 11:40:59 AM
yesterday I caught TWINE on Cable and noticed... by Wee Willie	May 7th, 2001 12:34:01 PM
Tsui Hark is a craftsman, but Harlin and Duguay are auteurs??!!! by Wesley Snipes	May 7th, 2001 01:34:33 PM
Snipes, I kinda liked... by Wee Willie	May 7th, 2001 01:58:54 PM
Edison's Frankenstein. by Wee Willie	May 7th, 2001 02:15:54 PM
I stand corrected...somewhat by Cafeman	May 7th, 2001 03:05:20 PM
Origins of Horror Film?????? by fathergeek	May 7th, 2001 03:05:42 PM
What was that Bond thing about? by epitone	May 7th, 2001 03:20:21 PM
Cafeman is on drugs! Rave on Serbia! by dima	May 7th, 2001 03:40:47 PM
Bond ALWAYS smoked, why the Bond series sucks, Danjaq is fishing by Uncapie	May 7th, 2001 04:20:40 PM
Lady Di's murder? by Kurg1	May 7th, 2001 04:23:04 PM
More on who invented the HORROR film! by fathergeek	May 7th, 2001 04:31:02 PM
never gets hurt? by MaxCalifornia.	May 7th, 2001 04:33:02 PM
Wrong, wrong, WRONG!! by Hardyboy	May 7th, 2001 05:35:10 PM
I'm going slightly mad by TheGinger Twit	May 7th, 2001 08:31:19 PM
Over cynical, MaxCalifornia, not hardly...Krug1, you must have b by Uncapie	May 7th, 2001 09:39:49 PM
This Guy Knows Nothing About Bond by solstiss	May 8th, 2001 01:05:46 AM
owen and wells by alex eberlin	May 8th, 2001 03:05:15 AM
dima, I said I didn`t like Crimson Rivers by Cafeman	May 8th, 2001 03:56:17 AM
PENIS ENVY by Cafeman	May 8th, 2001 04:16:54 AM
This guy doesn't know shit about Bond! by RAVAGE	May 8th, 2001 09:52:45 AM
Uncapie, one correction by epitone	May 8th, 2001 10:00:04 AM
CRIMSON RIVERS sucks major ass. It is a disgrace for French cine by dima	May 8th, 2001 10:08:19 AM
Who invented horror? by All Thumbs	May 8th, 2001 12:50:07 PM
You know nothing! by Jack Daniels	May 8th, 2001 01:07:34 PM
Good point, epitone... by Uncapie	May 8th, 2001 03:57:12 PM
The Croupier with the Golden Gun by bizarro	May 8th, 2001 08:48:10 PM