Hey folks, Harry here with Minority Reporter's latest update from the wonderful world of.... you guessed it... Chicago. This time though he has two very promising films that I am very interested in. The first is MOLOCH, we had one cursory look at it the other day that got me very interested in it, but this time out... Minority Reporter has me really pulling that this film picks up some sort of distribution. Meanwhile, the second film is a movie many of you are going to be seeing a trailer for attached to prints of FIGHT CLUB.... BOYS DON'T CRY. The people that have seen it seem to be quite excited by the film. The story is an incredible one. Once again... keep your fingers crossed... more good stuff is on the way...

Hi Harry,

As promised, here is the report on "Moloch". And also a report on another wonderful movie "Boys don't cry". The latter
should get fairly widespread release.

Moloch (Russia/Germany) Grade : A+

Dir : Aleksandr Sokurov

German with English subtitles

What is the nature of evil? As we mature and learn to see the world in shades of gray, some things and some people still
remain the very essence of evil. Adolf Hitler is probably one of them- after all, he contributed to only the largest genocide in the
history of the world. And here comes along this movie that tells us that Hitler was a man, just like the rest of us. A buffoon and
almost totally insane, to be sure, but very human. And so were the others in his coterie- Goebbels and Bormann fought like
two school kids competing for the class teacher’s favors. And you wonder, these were the people who presided over millions
of deaths and the destinies of continents?

“Moloch”, the latest and sure to be controversial movie by Alexsandr Sokurov (director of the brilliant “Mother and Son”)
details the events spread over 24 hours at a mountain resort in the days before the Siege of Leningrad. The German army
seemed invincible and the spirit was high. The events unfold from Hitler’s mistress Eva Braun’s point of view. Shot in soft
focus and on grainy stock, the film has a dreamy look (as pointed out in Chi-Town Charlie’s excellent report). It is all fog and
shadows. The movie feels almost like a documentary, especially because of the painstaking amount of detail that went into
making this movie. The portrait it paints is almost banal- this was a slightly insane man who liked to tease his underlings, had
vegetarian fetishes (his ramblings about nettles are hysterical), had fears of death, yet thought he could conquer death; in short
was eccentric like your old and beloved grandfather. Only this guy happens to have some radical ideas regarding race. And in
a position of incredible power to do something about it.

As I was filling out the ballot for the audience choice award, a guy I briefly met earlier remarked “What a pile of
garbage”. When I said that I liked it, he shouted “ What are you, a Nazi?”.. The vehemence with which he spoke rattled me.
Yet, I can see how this movie can be misconstrued. There are some people whom we would not like to see as being human-
they personify evil to us. It is easier for us to believe that Adolf Hitler was personally responsible for all those deaths so that we
can focus out anger, hatred and disgust at one personality. It is happening now with Slobodan Milosevic. That however
excuses all other factors which contributed- like what were the reasons so many ordinary Germans were ready to hand over
their neighbors, why Serbs today see themselves as victims in spite of committing genocide all around. By attributing all evil to
one person, however demented such a person is, we choose to absolve others of responsibility. By aggressively focusing on
24 hours, Sokurov gives a portrait of Hitler that is chilling. Let us never put such an insane person in charge ever again so that
he may appeal to our basest motives and cause irreparable damage.

Those are just a few thoughts that the film incited in me. Everyone is going to respond in a different manner. By remaining
carefully neutral and telling it from Eva’s and not Hitler’s point of view, Sokurov has made a masterpiece that will give rise to a
lot of debate. This should find distribution in the US.

Boys Don’t Cry (US) Grade : A-

Dir : Kimberly Pierce

Briefly, the facts are these: Teena Brandon, born female and undergoing sexual identity crisis, moves to Falls City,
Nebraska on the eve of her 21st birthday and assumes a male identity and goes by the name Brandon Teena. He befriends a
couple of rednecks and woos a nice girl who wants to escape from the town where she sees no future. His identity is blown,
he is raped and subsequently murdered. Last year’s festival entry in the documentary section “The Brandon Teena Story” was
based on these real life happenings. This is the fictional version of it.

Kimberly Pierce impressive debut tells the story in a simple manner. The director knows that she has a very powerful
story and never tries to jack up the melodrama quotient. There are no shrill speeches about how unfair the world is- for a 21
year old undergoing sexual identity crisis in the conservative Midwest, life is harsh. Especially if your friends are bunch of
macho loser hicks. Brandon was playing with fire, knew it, but there was not much he could do about it in Falls City,
Nebraska. He was murdered for trying to be who he was- born female, but at heart a man.

Eschewing stylistic flourishes except for a few visuals, the director completely relies on her cast. And what a superb cast
it is. Brendon Sexton III and Peter Saarsgard do a wonderful job of portraying the violent country boys. Chloe Sevigny is as
mesmerizing as always, bringing to her role a combination of world-weariness and sweetness that is just right. But it is to Hilary
Swank (of Beverly Hills 90210 fame) that the movie belongs. Here is a performance that is so utterly original that it defies any
comparison. This is not some cutie playing a man so she can get a role (like Gwyneth Palthrow in “Shakespeare in love”,
another wonderful performance) or so she can do some seduction (Marlene Dietrich in “Morocco”). Here is someone who
believes that she is a man. To the outside world, it may be a pretense (and he acknowledges it by calling himself an asshole in
front of the mirror in a brilliantly played scene), but to him, that is the only way he can live with himself. Ms. Swank gives a
performance that is likely to be a benchmark for ages to come. There is talk of her getting an Oscar nomination and hopefully,
she will get it. No one would deserve it more.

Fox Searchlight is releasing the movie in November- I believe it has already opened in NY and LA. See it when it comes
out- it is one of the most powerful movies of the year.
[In the above review, I have consistently tried to use the male pronoun for Brandon Teena, as I believe he would have wanted
it that way]

Until next time, here is Minority Reporter signing off.