This time our stellar stud, Anton Sirius, has seen two movies that I wish to God I could strangle the memories from his mind into mine. I have been dying to see THE BIG BRASS RING adapted from Orson Welles' unproduced script for quite some time now and man.... ARGH! Just to see this film, the idea it exists... ARGH! I'm dying and frothing to see it. Please oh Please be released soon. Yeah... I know they rewrote his script, changed it up quite a bit.. but you know what? I don't care. Through all their possible fumblings (if fumblings were indeed made) there is Welles... somewhere in there. And I want to be able to enjoy him. Hopefully a friend or someone will tape it when it hits Showtime... but I really hate the idea of not seeing this on the big screen (like during the Austin Film Festival). Well.. I've gone on long enough... Here's Anton...
Thursday the 16th
I'll be interviewing George Hickenlooper (Big Brass Ring, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse) sometime soon. Questions as always to robbie_dogstar@yahoo.com.
The second Thursday is always the beginning of the end of the festival. The parties get a little more insane and frantic, the speech centers of people's brains have long since stopped working, and the contest spots before each and every screening have become unbearable. This is when I do my best work, of course, as your puny human capabilities are ripe for exploiting. Bruce wants me to attend this thing Saturday morning but I don't know, they're holding it at Planet Hollywood and I'm not a big fan of the stench of death. Other invites and surprises litter my answering service. Perhaps I shall share some with you- if you're good.
End babble segment.
The Big Brass Ring (USA 1999, directed by George Hickenlooper)
Ah, Orson. I remember kicking back with you on Ibiza that week, toasting the sunrise every morning with as great a group of shallow jet-setting types as you are likely to meet…
Oh, sorry! Got lost for a minute there. Big Brass Ring is an adaptation of an unproduced Welles script. Hickenlooper and his writing partner FX Feeney have updated and reconstructed this piece of Welles apocrypha into an absorbing, moving story of corruption in high places.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? That's intentional. Like the best of Orson's work BBR works on many levels- if you've got no conception of Orson's career you can enjoy the film on its own merits, but the more you know of him and his work the more you'll appreciate the fantastic job done here. The themes, dialogue, humor, characters, all echo and amplify Orson's films and even his radio and TV efforts. At its heart Big Brass Ring is a big warm hug for arguably the most unappreciated genius in film history.
As I said, though, the film can stand on its own two feet as well. William Hurt in the lead leaves you wondering, yet again, why he doesn't get more work of this caliber. Both Nigel Hawthorne and Miranda Richardson prove once again that Brits play Americans better than Americans do. And Irene Jacob is… wow. She's starting to get noticed again, and is hopefully coming out of the shell her career seemed to slide into after Kieslowski's passing.
An outstanding film, and I won't do George the disservice of comparing him to Orson. This is his movie, and it's real good, so see it.
Rage (UK 1999, directed by Newton Aduaka)
Every year at the fest, no matter how carefully I peruse the bible and listen to the buzz, one crappy film always manages to slip under my radar and get on my 'to see' list. That that sentence leads off this review pretty much tells you all you need to know about Rage.
The film is set in London, among the hip hop crowd. Three young boys long for a crack at the big time, and try to cut a demo record. Unfortunately I never really cared whether they did or not. The three buds are not terribly well drawn, and the nominal lead is the least likeable of the bunch. A key element in teen rebellion films, no matter how exploitative and juvenile (read: French) they are, is that the lead rebel gives you the impression that he (or, rarely, she) has a good reason for rebelling, a reason that makes sense to him. In Rage the lead is just a whiner, and a particularly violent, vicious one at that. He has some redeeming qualities, but they just serve to make his other ones even more inexcusable. In fact all the younger characters seem shallow and uninteresting; only the older ones have any hints of depth.
Worst of all is the pay-off- the picture has a happy ending. If someone can explain the logic of having that lead character (who so lacks judgement or self-control that he nearly kills a man who he THINKS he recognizes as a cop who harassed him once) finally achieve his goals after only a perfunctory 'soul-searching' sequence to redeem him- a sequence which apparently involves him NARCING OUT TO THE COPS- I'd really like to hear it. I have no problem with a film avoiding morals entirely (see my review of the much better film Human Traffic) but that kind of blatant hypocrisy when you do include a message bugs me. And if that was the point- that the world is unjust and hypocritical- then why didn't they… aw, skip it. A film this sloppy just isn't worth analyzing.
Cool music, though- fairly ninjalicious. Even then, though, it's just thrown in there for the most part, not used to any great effect. Oh well. At least I'm in the clear, and can look forward to two whole days of kick-ass films.
Possessed (Denmark 1999, directed by Anders Ronnow-Klarlund)
The Danish medical thriller. Such a unique pop culture phenomenon. Possessed is a more than welcome addition to it, standing alongside the Kingdom and Nightwatch as films to leave you praying you never, ever become unwell again. (Personally, I'm waiting for a Danish psychiatry thriller, set in an institution or something. It seems the obvious next step.)
Possessed can best be described as Carpenter's Prince of Darkness meets Outbreak meets Fallen. An apocalyptic viral outbreak on the eve of the millennium. Is it coincidence, or something more? One doctor will stop at nothing to get answers, and like all driven investigators in horror movies he doesn't stop to consider the price. The film starts slowly, adding pieces to its puzzles, but once the third act revs up hang on to your armrest (or loved one's forearm); because it's taking you straight to hell. Grave-robbing, fire-bombing and a totally kick-ass death scene for a steely-eyed Udo Kier add up to quality entertainment in my book. How about yours?
See it if you get a chance, unless you've got some germ phobia or something.
Gemini (Japan 1999, directed by Shinya Tsukamoto)
How Noah scooped this one for the Contemporary World Cinema program, and kept it out of Colin's grubby little Midnight Madness paws, I'll never know. A twisted take on the old good twin/evil twin chestnut, Gemini is perhaps unique in the history of film for this reason- I've seen reverent takes on genres, po-mo twists, deconstructions and spoofs. But never in my entire life have I seen a director actually go to war with a genre before. (Somehow not surprisingly Shinya wins the fight, too.)
Gemini is in theory a period piece, a costume drama, set in post-war Japan. (Which war? Haven't the foggiest.) But constant shots are taken at the genre- with music, dialogue, editing, art direction… Every time the film seems to settle into a gentle, structured vibe Tsukamoto launches another strike and threatens it with mortal peril. The rhythm of the fight picks up speed as the film goes on, until finally it peaks in an orgy of moral crises and long-repressed emotions, and the historical drama lies at Tsukamoto's feet. Death to the stodgy! There can be no compromise!
Under no circumstances watch this film before any Merchant-Ivory product. I will not be responsible for the consequences.
Kikujiro (Japan 1999, directed by Takeshi Kitano)
Takeshi Kitano has developed a distinctive style and reputation internationally over the last few years. Through the efforts of people such as Quentin Tarantino he has been recognized as a dark poet of cinematic violence, who brings lyrical beauty to brutal lives. Therefore it is fitting that his newest film, Kikujiro, is a light family-oriented comedy.
What, you say? A comedy? Family-oriented? Then you must be unfamiliar with the OTHER career of 'Beat' Takeshi- the stand-up comic, the accomplished actor, the 'national treasure' in just the way Roberto Benigni was a few years ago. And it's about time international audiences started getting used to this other guy, because he's just as talented as the first one.
Kikujiro is the story of a young boy, and the relationship he develops with an older family friend. The story is allowed to develop slowly, gathering emotional punch, and Takeshi has no problems portraying himself as a clown, a role at which he is gifted. By the time the duo have returned home I can guarantee you'll never again see him in the same light.
Special note has to go to Joe Hisaishi's score, which I want RIGHT NOW! Very much on a par with Horner's Searching For Bobby Fischer score, which I'm sure you've noticed cropping up in about a dozen or so trailers in the last year.
Sony Classics has this one, so you should be seeing it soon, you lucky people you!
