Father Geek here in Central Texas with Robert Bernocchi in Rome, Grozilla in Paris, I was a teenage filmmaker out on the Spanish plains, and James Bartlett somewhere on the British Isles presenting you with another regular weekly edition of our Euro-AICN Report.

This time next week HARRY will be at the 35th SITGES FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CINEMA DE CATALUNYA, that Fantasy film festival in the south of Spain a few miles down the coast to the west of beautiful Barcelona. He'll be there from the 2nd till the 14th, so if your in the area look him up. He's one of the fest's judges so he should be easy to find. He likes nothing better that visiting with fans of the site around the world...

lots of Coolness below... soooo dig in...

Hi people. Before leaving you with this column (which features some great news for everyone who loves Dario Argento’s masterpiece Suspiria, a review of John Malkovich directing debut The Dancer Upstairs and the usual bunch of reviews by our great James Bartlett), I have some news.

First, I absolutely confirm the story Moriarty ran a few days ago about Mel Gibson's latest project "The Passion", about the last twelve hours of Jesus' mortal life. It could seem impossible, but Mel Gibson was in Rome on Friday for a press conference, where he described his movie as being shot ONLY in un-subtitled anicent(2000 year old)languages. Of course, just as probably everyone else, I believe that he will eventually be forced to add subtitles, even if he insisted that he’d prefer to leave it totally without them.

Second, I would like to spend a few words for the most stupid and presumptuous movie of the year so far:

Tom Tykwer’s Heaven

The first thing that surprised me was the fact that the preview I attended showed the international version of the moviet hat was screened at the Berlin Film Festival, while I expected the dubbed one (not that I’d prefer the dubbed versions, but unfortunately in Italy it’s very difficult to hear a movie spoken in original language). It was interesting (even if a bit strange to see english subtitles when the characters speak italian) because it was the first sign that Tom Tykwer lost his mind. As you probably know, the late polish director Kieslowki wrote the script for this movie, as the first part of a trilogy he would have directed before his sudden death. The movie is entirely set in Italy, so it could seem a very brave move to leave the actors speak our language and not shooting it all in english. But there is a big problem. While could be acceptable that the Cate Blanchett character (an english teacher) doesn’t speak a good italian, it’s absolutely crazy that Giovanni Ribisi (who in the movie IS an italian) speaks as a tourist who started learning italian since a few months. I mean, I can understand why Mel Gibson (for realism’s sake) want shooting The Passion in latin and aramaic, but what’s the sense to make an uncommercial move if this one is laughable for everyone (even people who just heard speaking italian sometimes) who knows my language?

Unfortunately, this is just the first huge flaw of Heaven. When the pic was presented in Berlin, it stirred a great controversy in Italy, because it presents the Carabinieri police as corrupted. I just would like to explain that I’m not offended as an italian for this. I saw so many american movies with corrupt cops, so I find absolutely acceptable it. The problem here is that the ENTIRE force of Carabinieri seem working to protect a drug seller, who was responsible for Cate Blanchett character’s husband death (not a spoiler, considering that we get this information after five minutes of the movie). What’s worst, the carabinieri are incredibly stupid, to the point that an english teacher and one of them are able to do everything (let’s see the last scene of the movie, unworth of a movie directed by Ed Wood). The acting is awful (Ribisi’s expressions are absolutely incredible), the plot is ridiculous (the first scene should be dramatic, but in fact results as unintentionally hilarious), the supporting characters make unbelievable things (let’s see the last scene with the father of Giovanni Ribisi’s character) and Tom Tykwer seems able just to spend a lot of money for a bunch of useless dollyes. I never was a great fan of this director (Lola run was very boring for me), but I suppose that even for his supporters will be difficult to find something interesting in Heaven.

Here’s Grozilla, with cool stuff for Dario Argento’s fans worldwide…

I'll have you some reports late in October from two very nice festivals i'll be covering : Auch (arthouse films) and Montpellier (Mediterannéan films) . But I have ready for you to print some very interesting things about the closing night screening from Montpellier on Nov. 2nd : a brand new print of Nosferatu will be screened with some former members of Goblin (Claudio Simonetti and others) playing live the score he wrote, and just after that will be shown an very very brand new restored print of Suspiria for the 25th birthday of the Argento masterpiece. The festival crew is in talks with Argento to be attending... One guy from this crew also told me that the Goblin's score will be on a Nosferatu Dvd coming early in 2003...

Grozilla

Jesus Alonso has seen The Dancer Upstairs, which was presented at the latest Venice Film festival

Hi, I'm a long time reader that have sent many reviews before (Intacto, The Devil's Backbone) and this is my review for a long awaited spanish - yeah, it's spanish, but english spoken - movie recently released...

I know it looks exactly as a plant review, but what the hell, I don't care. I loved the movie, so I rave it.

Here we go...

Pasos de Baile / The Dancer Upstairs

by John Malkovich written by Nicholas Shakespeare, from his novel with Javier Bardem, Laura Morante, Juan Diego Botto and Abel Folk Spain, 2002 (English Spoken)

Have you seen Ang Lee's "The Wedding Banquet"? What was it about? In a first layer, it was just a comedy about gay / straight pretendings. When you deep a little in the subtext, it is obvious that the movie has a second layer, the western / eastern culture crash... modernity against tradition. But there's still a third layer that not many people noticed... "The Wedding Banquet" was a metaphor of Taiwan's position in the world, trapped between its desire for democracy and capitalism (the american gay lover) and the obvious compromise with the continental comunist republic of China (the chinese bride). The screenplay - one of the best of the 90's - dealed with those matters in such a surreal but believable way that I can't help admire this movie beyond reasonable love.

Watching "The Dancer Upstairs", John Malkovich's directorial debut, "The Wedding Banquet" "popped" several times in my mind. I was noticing some simbolisms and subtle metaphors that had me engaged to the story and the movie much more than I expected at first. Nicholas Shakespeare's bright decission to leave this country - Peru - unnamed is one of these subtle elements that broads the significance of the plot. Of course, anyone that knows Peru's recent story with "Sendero Luminoso" knows that these bloody terrorists of the movie (you'll be shocked by some of the attacks) are the infamous and wild perovian guerrilla that has caused dozens thousands deaths all over Peru in the name of revolution.

Don't be fooled. The elected government of this unnamed country is corrupt beyond belief, and when the dirty war against terrorism starts, you'll see that horror can arrive from both sides. Actually, the only "good" side in the movie is the police.

And that's because everything is seen from Agustin Rejas (Javier Bardem) point of view, a policeman that will end leading the fight against terrorism and dealing with the dirty war promoted from the government and the army. Rejas' personal story also works as a parallel of the actual situation of democracy in Latin America. I won't spoil it for you, so check out the film and see what's all about for yourself (hint: I couldn't help but HATING Rejas' wife). So, let's stop about the plot, and let's begin with the technical achievements.

Is John Malkovich a good director? For sure. He handles the story in a very european way, avoiding any possible Hollywood cliché in order to give the movie a sense of realism and also surrealism that do wonders at several points of the movie (I specially loved his use of reflections and mirrors). The direction of actors is also very good, and it's no wonder why he has co-produced this movie with Spain... the actors are latin, and you can 100% believe them in their roles. There are no anglosaxons under a layer of make up here. And Hollywood executives would never have allowed Malkovich to do a movie like this... they would have demanded for bigger stars, more glamour, more "Hollywood" fare. Thanks, John, for chosing to make it away from L.A.

The stand out, of course, is Javier Bardem, the new Marlon Brando. Not just the spanish Brando. Watch this movie and you'll see what am I talking about. He disappears once more into a role, and his shaking in fear at one sequence alone should grant him a real shot at the Oscars... Laura Morante is also really good and deserves to gain attention. The rest of the cast does decent jobs and Abel Folk really takes profit of his very limited screen time in a key role.

Alberto Iglesias' score suits perfectly in the movie and José Luis Alcaine's cinematography beautifully captures the landscapes and the lights and the shadows of the story. The art direction is simply perfect... not a showy one, for sure, but the needed: this is the real latin-america, not a hollywoodized one.

To summarize, a brilliant debut for Malkovich and another Bardem performance to treasure in one of the best political films in a long time.

Did I find any flaws? Just one: this movie is not for mainstream audiences... it's "art-house" material, so not many people will engage and understand the movie in its integrity. I admire Malkovich for having the guts to make HIS movie in this way, and Andrés Vicente Gómez for taking the risk of producing it.

With this, I'm out.

I was a teenage filmmaker.

And, last but not least, 4 reviews of our incredibly prolific contributor James Bartlett…

Lovely and Amazing

d. Nicole Holofcener Catherine Keener, Emily Mortimer, Brenda Blethyn, Raven Goodwin

Michelle (Catherine Keener) and Elizabeth (Emily Mortimer) are the two grown-up children of Jane (Brenda Blethyn) - though the family doesn't stop there. The third sister is the adopted Annie, now 8 years old.

Annie being so much younger than her sisters does not seem to be such a problem. Nor the fact that people point out that she's black, but in a white family. No, this family's problem is self-doubt - they are all, in their own way, obsessed by themselves and the fact that they are not up to much (in their own eyes at least).

Michelle has never worked, insisting her tree chairs are "art" and that they will make her a fortune - an insistence her husband has got so fed up with that he is cheating on her. Elizabeth meanwhile is an actress and, for someone with low self-esteem, you couldn't have a worse profession. Despite being stick-thin, she still finds things wrong with her and is devastated when she fails an audition for the new movie starring Kevin (Dermot Mulroney) because she's not "sexy."

The mother of them all, Jane, is down-to-earth, but you can see where her kids problems have come from - in the course of the film she undergoes, has complications but eventually recovers from, liposuction - surgery to make her thinner and lighter.

And then there's Annie, who is beginning to want to be white, just so she can fit in at home - though God knows why, what with Michelle's foul-mouth and irritability and Elizabeth's neuroses. Not a happy bunch.

So, when Michelle takes the plunge and gets a job in the One Hour Photo, the last thing she expects is to begin an affair with her boss - the 17 years old son of the owner. The boys' furious mother calls the cops - and Michelle is arrested for statutory rape!

Elizabeth meanwhile, in pursuit of another stray puppy, gets bitten in the lip - the very same day that the vain Kevin calls her up to ask her out after their recent "I'm sorry you didn't get the part in my movie" fling.

Yet it is here that Lovely & Amazing ends. We don't see what happened to Michelle with her police charges or her marriage, nor do we see how Elizabeth will come to terms with herself now she, albeit possibly temporarily, facially scarred.

And as for Jane, she spends most of the movie unconscious or in hospital, so we don't even know their home life. One thing we do know is that Annie and Jane are very close - and perhaps there's hope there for them all in that.

Lovely & Amazing is an odd little film. It's kind of like a one snapshot, when you want to see the rest of the photos; it kind of finishes half way through and leaves you guessing.

Keener is bitchy but with a soft centre (though we don't get enough of the film to really see it,) Mortimer is charming (and brave too: she stands naked before Kevin - a great turn from Mulroney - and asks him to "point out all her faults". Woah). Blethyn has little to do, but Raven Goodwin stands out as a sweet and believable child in an unusual family.

All in all, a bit of a missed opportunity - there was a good story there but we came in to it too early.

James Bartlett

Road To Perdition

d. Sam Mendes Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin, Daniel Craig, Stanley Tucci

Already garnering Oscar talk as one of the movies of the year, the director of American Beauty returns with a story about gangster Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) who is forced to go on the run after his son Michael Jr (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses him "at work."

Based on a graphic novel, The Road To Perdition focuses on the aftermath of young Michael's curiosity; his mother and brother are executed by Connor (Daniel Craig) on the orders of his father John Rooney (Paul Newman).

Rooney is the tuto di capi in these parts and is torn apart when he finally puts a price on Sullivan's head, as he had brought him up like a son; treated his family like his own. But the unnecessary murder of another powerful gangster by Connor was what Michael Jr saw - and he cannot live to tell the story.

Fresh from finding the dead bodies of his wife and younger son, Sullivan has to take Michael Jr on the run. Sullivan no longer cares about the money or all the "jobs" he did for Rooney, he just knows he is a dead man, especially when he realises ruthless hitman Harlen Maguire (Jude Law) is on his tail. All Sullivan wants now is revenge on Connor - the man who killed his family.

To this end, desperate to keep his son from going the same way he did, he teaches Michael Jr to drive and robs bank after bank of Al Capone's dodgy Chicago money.

Unsurprisingly this gets him noticed and he goes to see Chicago big man Frank Nitti (Stanley Tucci,) offering his services in return for a blind eye as he pursues Connor. This Frank cannot do, as Connor is Rooney's son and heir apparent. It would cause a gang war.

But, Sullivan argues, does anybody really want such a dangerous hothead like Connor in charge when old man Rooney is dead? And besides, he has the right and honour of thieves on his side to take revenge, doesn't he?

One of the better films of the year, Road To Perdition (Perdition being the place Sullivan plans to hide out) is a dark, atmospheric and lush film. It is lit and shot with a fluidity and pace that makes it stand out. Mendes' direction too also is deft, careful and highly cinematic.

Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh (as Michael's wife) have little to do, but no doubt Hanks and Mendes will get a Nomination next year - and maybe Newman too, who brings dignity and gravitas to his role. Just think, he and Redford were THE idols of their time. Nowadays Newman picks his projects, yet Redford - Spy Games and Last Castle - say no more.

That said, the film seems to lack passion and only has a small heart - surprising really, when you know that Sullivan and Michael Jr 's formerly distant relationship is supposed to become a closer one in the course of their six weeks on the run.

James Bartlett

Van Wilder: Party Liaison

d. Walt Becker Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, Kal Penn

From National Lampoon, Van Wilder: Party Liaison, is the tale of Van (Ryan Reynolds,) an eternal student at Coolidge College. With his fees and expenses always paid unquestioningly by his distant father (Tim Matheson), he lives high on the hog and has got the reputation of being a top man. A cool, all round nice guy. And boy, can he organise a cracking bash! Why would he want to graduate?

So when his dad finally puts his foot down, Van turns to party organising for a serious reason: to pay his fees. With his new assistant, wet-behind-the-ears Indian exchange student Taj (Kal Penn,) he finds himself massively in demand - which is why serious student newspaper journo Gwen (Tara Reid) is sent to interview him and find out what his story is.

As they spend more and more time together, the inevitable happens - but how can she fall for a man who seems to want to stay at college forever? Having said that, he is far more interesting than her boyfriend Richard ("Dick" as Van calls him) who has a strict schedule for everything.

The jealous Richard eventually sets Van up to be expelled, but Van strikes a deal with the school; let him take his exams and, finally, graduate. Will they agree - and can he actually attend more than one lesson without falling asleep?

An updating of National Lampoon's Animal House, it goes to show that times and attitudes have changed in the 00's. Gone is alcohol abuse - diet coke and water often seem to be the drink of choice in the student halls - but still there are the gross-out gags (this film including the latest and grossest use of the sticky white stuff - truly inspired).

Van Wilder is no debauched student though; he uses his skills for raising funds for school teams and groups; doesn't discriminate or take the piss of anyone and generally helps people out - in this new age, he is a boy with mis-directed potential, not a slacker student.

Also, sadly, there is not a rebellious bone in his body - no pranks at the Principal's expense here (which may explain why Matheson, who was in Animal House himself, plays the sleek, rich, distant businessman dad - he too graduated and settled down).

This sounds like it could be trite and preachy but it isn't. The National Lampoon brand isn't always a guarantee of quality; it's a very American thing for a start, but Van Wilder: Party Liaison has plenty of laughs, eases off the teen clichés and actually is a fine piece of work all round, walking a fine line with a steady and restrained balance.

Reynolds is a new star and clearly being lined up as the next Jim Carrey, Reid is as good as she usually is (time for something new Tara; you're the Van Wilder of gross-out teen comedies) and on the whole it's good, clean(ish) fun.

James Bartlett

The Lawless Heart

d. Tom Hunsinger & Neil Hunter Bill Nighy, Douglas Henshall, Tom Hollander, Sukie Smith, Stuart Laing

The Lawless Heart looks at a short period in the lives of Dan, Tim and Nick, all of whom are linked together and that meet at the funeral of Stuart, who was Nick's boyfriend, Dan's brother in law and Tim's friend.

Dan (Bill Nighy) is uncomfortable with the fact that Stuart's estate may go to Nick, as he thinks Nick will move back to London ASAP, leaving him and his family with a debt-ridden farm. Dan has found life tough in this small country town and when he starts talking to the glamorous French florist at the funeral, he has his first ever thought that perhaps this life is not the one that he wants after all.

Tim (Douglas Henshall) is the one who escaped small-town life and went travelling the world. But now he is back for the funeral and utterly broke to boot. He has missed a lot of news in the last few years, such as the marriage - and subsequent divorce - of his brother David (Stuart Laing). But things are looking up for him, as he then meets someone and utterly falls for her.

Meanwhile, Nick is devastated at the loss of Stuart and retreats into his ordered, quiet - and slightly dull - life. He agrees to put up Tim for a few days, but soon regrets the decision when he throws parties and takes the place for granted. Then Nick meets manic Charlie (Sukie Smith,) a party hangover victim, and an unlikely friendship develops.

We follows these characters - and the people they meet - in a Magnolia/Short Cuts kind of way, watching one character's story then going to the next, following their story up to the same point.

As time goes on we see that they are linked in ways that they didn't know about; an overheard conversation, a glimpse across the street, a coincidence here and there. As the three stories get told, we get drawn expertly and totally into their lives and that of their nearest and dearest.

Utterly compelling and beautifully acted, it is in turn moving and amusing, funny and sad. It also makes great use of the Isle of Man location.

One of the best British films of the year and one of the better ones in recent times, it may seem fairly slow and dialogue-heavy, but it comes across as so utterly believable and everyday that it makes sense and therefore you care about all the characters, both minor and major.

Writer/producer/director team of Tom Hunsinger & Neil Hunter have done an amazing job and I look forward to their next film.

James Bartlett

That’s all for today See you next week

Robert Bernocchi

My Day Job