Hey, everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Some truly outstanding films open up this week (I'll have a bunch of reviews for you tomorrow), but more importantly the 43rd Chicago International Film Festival begins today with the Opening Night screening of the haunting THE KITE RUNNER, the latest from director Marc Forster, who is always looking for new ways to surprise his audiences with films like FINDING NEVERLAND, STRANGER THAN FICTION, and MONSTER'S BALL. Forster will never be accused of repeating himself (don't forget, he's directing the next Bond movie), and his adaptation of the wildly popular novel by Khaled Hosseini is essential viewing. Telling the story of Amir from his childhood in Afghanistan to a new life in America (after fleeing his homeland when the Russians moved in) to his return to his Afghanistan during the height of Taliban rule to help an old friend, Forster does a remarkable job drawing us in to some of Amir's most private and painful memories. As a child and a man, Amir is far from flawless. In fact, he betrays his best friend Hassan at a pivotal time in their life. In many ways, THE KITE RUNNER reminded me of THE NAMESAKE, but Forster's work deals with far more weighty issues and life-or-death turmoil. Some people may have scratched their heads when this film was named Opening Night film of this festival, but once you've seen it, all will seem right.
Other big-ticket items playing during the festival's first week include: LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, starring the always great Ryan Gosling as an man nearly catatonic with shyness who purchase a Real Doll (a creepily lifelike sex doll) and has a very sweet, non-sexual relationship with her (she's religious, he says, so she stays in the guest bedroom of his brother and sister-in-law). I got a little worried in the first few minutes of this movie that it would a one-trick pony kind of gimmick, but Gosling absolutely makes us care about Lars and his girlfriend Bianca. To help Lars cope with what much surely be mental illness (or just a wild imagination), the townsfolk treat Bianca like a member of the community and form relationships with her independent of Lars. Director Craig Gillespie (yes, the same man who brought us MR. WOODCOCK a couple of weeks ago, but don't hold that against him) strikes a perfectly balanced tone with this work to bring us a moving work that will make you laugh, feel uneasy at times, and ultimately really care about everyone in the film. There are no villains here, and even those who don't like Bianca's presence in the town grow to accept her. I know it sounds wacky on paper, but LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is a film that manages to be sweet and innocent without sapping things up and ruining its delicate nature.
One of my favorite films of the festival and possibly the year is GONE BABY GONE, the feature film directing debut from Ben Affleck, with an absolutely riveting performance by his brother Casey. If you go out this weekend and see THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES (one of the films I'll be reviewing tomorrow), then you'll at least be somewhat prepared to witness how great an actor Casey Affleck has become. As much as I liked him in that film, he's better here. What you may not be prepared for is how sure-handed a filmmaker Ben Affleck is. In fact, if Ben Affleck never acted again, I'd be fine with that. That's not an insult to his talents as an actor; rather, it's a testament to his strength as a director as evidenced with GONE BABY GONE. Affleck's sense of place (his old stomping grounds in Boston) and people (the surly and tough-as-nails people that apparently make up the entire population of that city) is astonishing here. He takes what could have been a run-of-the-mill tale about the search for a missing child and turns it into a fascinating character study of an entire city and its citizens. The dialog flashes with danger and energy, while the performances from both well-knowns like Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Casey Affleck as well as total many unknown actors, crackle with authority. From it's morally ambiguous themes to its shadowy visuals, GONE BABY GONE is as compelling a piece of filmmaking as you're likely to see this year. I'll have much more to say on this one when it opens later this year.
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE concerns itself with a young widow (Halle Berry, who basically never stops crying) who takes comfort in the presence of her last husband's (David Duchovny) junkie best friend (Benicio del Toro). The film rides the fine line between a solid drama about loss and grief, and weepy melodrama. Thankfully Del Toro in on hand to plant this movie firmly in reality and give us a work that is grounded in honest emotions and depth. We go into the film believing it will be the story of Halle Barry, grieving over the loss of her murdered husband. But FIRE turns things around and makes the more interesting tale that of Del Toro's recovering junkie. Both characters were clearly stabilized in different ways by the victim, but it's Del Toro's struggle that makes us care about anything that happens in this film, no matter how many beautiful widows and cute kids the filmmakers throw at us. It saddens me further to criticize the film because it's from Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier, who made one of my favorite films of the year AFTER THE WEDDING. She has a true gift for portraying human suffering of many kinds, but Berry's performance undercuts the central themes of the movie by playing her character so predictably. It's a tough call, and if you find yourself unable to stay away from Del Toro because the guy is so damn good, I won't steer you clear. But THINGS WE LOST doesn't know when to dial it back to make itself more believable and honest.
Two of my favorite documentaries at this years' festival are CHICAGO 10--concerning the events in and around the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and the trial of those men accused of starting a riot during the event--and the AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, director Darryl Roberts sometimes disturbing look at this country's obsession with beauty and feminine perfection. If you want to read my full-length review of the latter, go to Ain't It Cool (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33464). CHICAGO 10 is a surprisingly entertaining work from director Brett Morgen (THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE), who uses animation to show us inside the courtroom proceedings and beautifully restored archival news and documentary footage to show us everything else. Obviously, living in Chicago, you hear a lot about these events, which actually happened just a few months after I was born. But I've never seen they mapped out so clearly and effectively. Seeing such known figures as Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale brought to life was exciting, thanks to some celebrity voices provided by the likes of Nick Nolte, Hank Azaria, Dylan Baker, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeffrey Wright. I don't believe the film opens until early next year (perhaps to coincide with 40-year anniversary of the events), so check it out during the festival and embrace your history. Also in the documentary category is HER NAME IS SABINE from French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. It's a devastating portrait of Bonnaire's autistic younger sister, who seemed fairly functional and a younger woman, but after five years in a psychiatric hospital, came out virtually catatonic. Bonnaire's difficult work shows the slow and painful process her family went through in pulling back her sister from the brink. You may have seen films about people with mental and physical illnesses, but you've never seen it handled this expertly.
Other films to look out for in the next two weeks (many of which I'll have reviews for in the coming days) include the Closing Night film THE SAVAGES (with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman); the Australian thriller NOISE; Anton Corbijn's Joy Division feature CONTROL; Juliet Binoche in FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON; John Cusack in GRACE IS GONE; John Sayles latest HONEYDRIPPER; the Anthony Hopkins-directed SLIPSTREAM; director Denys (THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS) Arcand's THE AGE OF IGNORANCE; Sidney Lumet's BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOUR DEAD; Julian Schnabel's THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY; Catherine Breillat's THE LAST MISTRESS, starring Asia Argento; the Hong Kong surveillance-oriented thriller EYE IN THE SKY; Alison Eastwood's RAILS AND TIES; and Stuart Gordon's STUCK.
And finally, of the four Shorts programs this year, I'd ask you to pay special attention to "Shorts 2: Animation Nations" and "Shorts 4: Love and Loss," which features the Gold Hugo winner HESITATION and the Silver Hugo winner PARTUS, as well as my favorite doc short THE LADIES. I'm partial to the shorts program, since I was one of three jury members who watched every single one of them for nine hours on a Saturday not too long ago. Head out and support this film festival (the oldest in North America). There's a lot here to love this year, even if the titles aren't as familiar to you. The entire point of any film festival aren't the gala events and celebrity guests; the point is to discover films and directors you've never heard of before, and there are many opportunities to do that this year. Go to the festival web site and start making your schedule.
I've got about 40-45 movies to see in the next 13 days, and I'll have reviews for you on all of them.
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