Hey folks and how fitting is it that Capone send in his Wrap-up of the Chicago International Film Festival on the eve of my trip to Chicago to do the EBERT show once again. For those of you in Chi-town that want to hook up with me while I'm there... Know this... Today (Monday the 25th) is going to be impossible, I have at least two screenings to catch and alot of writing to get done and little rest. Then... Tuesday looks much better. Give me a ring at my room at the Four Seasons on Delaware, ask for Harry Knowles... I don't travel with psuedonyms... though that would be fun methinks. I can't promise to return every phone call, last time there were a ton, but use this talk back to coordinate, and I will also be checking email this time, unlike last time. If time permits and I can find some good geek guides I'd love to check-out an area collectible shop or two as well as typical Windy City food and drink. Also it would be cooool to work in a visit to some of the local historic spots like Bugs Moran's Garage, Richard Speck's Apartment, Mrs. O'Leary's Barn, Capone's Furniture Store, the site of the 1968 Democratic Convention riots, BLUES BROTHERS locations, etc... So... There ya have it. Oh... And Wednesday is 100% taping the two "EBERT AND THE MOVIES" shows I'm doing this season (one for broadcast over Halloween weekend and one on our favorite cult films for viewing later in the season), and then I'll be getting on a plane, and then jetting down to Austin in time to meet Father Geek and see Del Toro's presentation of James Whale's THE OLD DARK HOUSE on the big screen at the Alamo. Heh...

The official Chicago International Film Festival Wrap-up

Hey, Harry. Capone here in Chicago eagerly awaiting your triumphant return to the Windy City for your second appearance with Mr. Ebert. (How about another drink? Let me know what you're plans are and if you're free.) Anyway, here's my report from the 35th Annual Chicago Festival. I'm afraid I was traveling for work during much of the first week of the festival, but I tried to make up for it in Week 2. Overall I've been a bit disappointed with the lack of higher- profile films. I realize the point of these festivals is to screen movies that may never be seen again in any given city, but throw us a frickin' bone. Where's DOGMA or the new Woody Allen movie or CRADLE WILL ROCK. We did get CIDER HOUSE RULES and SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, but come on! I actaully liked nearly every film I did attend, but you like to feel special as a city. Here's the wrap up.

LOVERS--This French number tells the story of a single woman letting her guard down enough to fall in love with a man from Yugoslavia. Like most contemporary French films, there is not a smidge of melodrama. Every fight, emotion, and resulting action feels real and devastating. I don't know when or if this movie is opening in Chicago, but it's worth seeking out when it does.

DREAMING OF JOSEPH LEES--An interesting mix of fairy tale and Harold Robbins. British farm girl Eva want nothing more than to be in love. She keeps house for her elderly father, while quietly lusting after a long-lost cousin (the title character), who is hiding out in Italy after a freak accident amputated his foot. Just as Eva decides to stop her pining and get married to the best available nearby husband, guess what happens? The lead actors (especially my new favorite Brit actress Samantha Morton) are very good, and the emotions hold true, but we've seen this before and done better. I still watch enjoy those Merchant-Ivory movies from a few year's back (ROOM WITH A VIEW, HOWARD'S END, REMAINS OF THE DAY), and JOSEPH LEES is a grittier, working-class version of those films. Good, but not great.

LOVE WILL TEAR US APART--From Hong Kong comes a rare ensemble piece that captures mood but falls apart somewhat with its story. The film explores the underbelly of Hong Kong life well and isn't really trying to tell a single story per se, but more trying to capture the ugliness of a city that thought it would somehow be rejuvenated by the China changeover and wasn't. There's a lot of disappoint express here, and a little by me as well. Good idea, but the execution was flawed.

RATCATCHER--Of all of the places in the world that I never want to visit, Scotland is at the top of my list (no offense to any Scots in the audience). Every film that I see from this nation (and there have been quite a few lately) portrays Scotland as dirty, crime-ridden, and just generally awful. This film may take the cake though. Set during a garbage collectors strike, RATCATCHER is a slice of life look at a grungy Glasgow family wallowing in filth. If this had been a comedy, maybe I would have laughed, but this is serious stuff. You can almost smell this film. And the rats....Ugh. I loved the effect this film had on me; the documentary-like elements are particularly powerful, but I can't get it out of my head that if I were put on a plane to Scotland I'd slit my wrists before I got there. I hope everyone gets to see this one.

BOYS DON'T CRY--An absolute classic that opens in many cities this weekend. The true story of Teena Brandon, who passed as a boy (named Brandon Teena) and was raped and assassinated for doing so by small-minded white trash. I probably won't see a more compelling performance this year than the one Hillary Swank gives as Teena/Brandon. This film yanks the lid off the violent underside of small-town America the same way THE EXECUTIONER'S SONG, BADLANDS, and IN COLD BLOOD did. For those of you who tend to stay away from "gay films," this ain't that. There's no swelling speech from Teena about being a woman trapped in a man's body. This is the tale of a confused, scared, but excitable young man who just wants love and is cut down violently trying to find it. Powerful stuff.

BEING JOHN MALKOVICH--Not part of the fest, but I saw it anyway so I figured I'd throw it in here. Sounds like a boring ol' documentary about Chicago's favorite acting son, but in fact it's one of the single most original movies I've ever seen. The story involves a New York puppeteer (John Cusack) who's not very successful despite his talent. At the behest of his wife (Cameron Diaz, almost unrecognizably ugly), he gets a filing job at a company that could be the subject of a movie of its own. In his office, he finds a hole in the wall that leads behind the eyes of actor Malkovich, played by...well...the famed star of stage and screen. At first all he can do is see through Malkovich's eyes, but being a brilliant puppetmaster, Cusack figures out how to control Johnny boy. I won't reveal what this leads to, but it's not all fun and games. Some of it is downright dark and sinister. My hat goes off to Malkovich; this was a gutsy choice he made being in this movie (despite it's title, John had nothing to do with the making of this film). And I give the biggest credit to first-time director Spike Jonze, whose vision is so distinct and original that it practically defies description. I can't wait to see what his next eight films are.

MAN OF THE CENTURY--This clever and entertaining send-up of the 1930's and '40's films is fun because it never takes itself too seriously. Newspaper reporter Johnny Twenties seems to be stuck in a time warp. He lives in the late 1990s, but his mentality, style of dress, vocabulary are all indicative of the way reporters were portrayed in pre-WWII Hollywood films. No cliche is left unused. He has a girlfriend who is frustrated because, much like old movies, the leading man thinks "making love" is a health kiss at the door. It's as if he hasn't got a clue what sex is. No explanation is given as to why Johnny acts the way he does, which makes it even funnier. Characters around him swear and commit acts of violence but none of this phases Johnny. Filmed in black-and-white, MAN OF THE CENTURY is a face-paced farce that made me ask, would movie be better today with Johnny's level of innocence being the norm.

TUMBLEWEEDS--Described as a coming-of-age, mother-daughter, road movie, the heartbreaker is a real winner. The real star of this show is Kimberly Brown, who plays the daughter. She has to be the grown-up to mother Janet McTeer, whose idea of breaking up with a husband or boyfriend always involves movies halfway across the country. There's no in between for this woman. The daughter, having been uprooted so many times, is scarred and shy, but when we meet them they've just settled down in California. The performances are so convincing and the situations are believable. There are no bad guys in this movie, no wicked stepfathers or mean bosses. Just two characters that care about each other and try to live together and find a home. This film opens in early December. There's another film coming out in November called ANYWHERE BUT HERE with Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman that bares a striking resemblance to TUMBLEWEEDS. I haven't seen the Sarandon movie, but don't get them confused and don't miss this one.

AMERICAN MOVIE--This is a documentary about the making of an ultra-low budget short horror film, and it's one of the funniest films of the year. But even scarier than the horror film itself was the fact that all the people in this film live just outside of Milwaukee. You could not write characters this pathetic, and yet they have a drive and a spirit and a love of film that makes you cheer them on and wish them well. The ringmaster of the short film (called COVEN) is its writer-director Mark Borchardt, a film lover and partyer and lover of all things gory. We never actually get to see the final film (although many clips are provided), but we are able to watch a three-year process as Mark struggles personally, financially, and mentally to finish his film. Sometimes you feel bad that you're laughing at all of his difficulties, but not often. His best friend Mike steals the show. I don't know when this is opening wide, but look for it.

SNOW FALLING ON CEDAR--Man, I wanted to like this but ultimately it left me enormously disappointed. From the director of SHINE, comes SNOW FALLING ON CEDAR. Essentially, this is a courtroom drama wrapped in layer upon layer of overcompensation. It's as if director Scott Hicks wasn't sure the story would hold your interest so he piles on spastic camerawork, overlapping soundtracks, and editing so complicated it gives you a headache. The story involves the death of a fisherman off the coast of Washington in post-WWII America. Bad feelings about the Japanese have not quite be shed in America, especially not in Washington where many Asians live. There is enough evidence, it seems, that a Japanese man may have killed the fisherman and tried to cover it up. It just so happens the man's wife used to be the secret love of town reporter Ethan Hawke. Hawke uncovers evidence early in the trial that would acquit the accused man, but he holds onto it, hoping he'll be convicted and that Ethan can move in on the wife. The film shows us multiple time lines in the lives of Hawke and the Japanese woman, but they rush by like fleeting moments and we never get a clear sense of what brought them together (other than proximity) and what tore them apart. I didn't even realize until halfway through the film that Hawke's character only had one arm (which he lost during WWII). There's a lot of fog in SNOW FALLING ON CEDAR, and I felt as thought I was right in the middle of during this whole film. After the screening I attended, Hicks and Hawke did a Q&A session. The audience had a lot of great questions, but there was definitely an underlying tension in the air that we were talking about a movie that had a lot going for it stylistically, but not much in the way of storytelling. I wish I had seen the film the director and actor were discussing with us afterwards because it sounded much better than the one I actually saw. Opens in December.

THE CIDER HOUSE RULES--I know it's too soon to make this call, but THE CIDER HOUSE RULES may end up being one of my favorite movies of the year. Adapted by the author John Irving from his own book, the story revolves around Homer Wells (THE ICE STORM's Tobey Maguire), who has been raised in a Maine orphanage/family planning clinic by Dr. Larch (Michael Caine with an unflappable New England accent) and two nurses (Jane Alexander and Kathy Baker). Because Homer is never adopted, the doctor decides to make use of him and teach him the ways of doctoring (everything from delivering babies to abortions). The scenes in the orphanage are heartbreaking. These are no cutsie "Annie-like" orphans; these kids feel like the world has no place for them. When prospective parents arrive, the children are presented like used cars for inspection and, ultimately, rejection. Homer, being the oldest of the rejected, is the one they all turn to to help them cope with their pain. When a young couple (Charlize Theron and Paul Rudd) arrives for an abortion, Homer decides spontaneously that he'd like to leave with them. The film continues from there following Homer on his journey of self-worth. He ends up joining a group of migrant farmers who pick apples for a living. The foreman, Mr. Rose, (Delroy Lindo) takes Homer in and teaches him the subtleties of his trade. One of the most remarkable performances is that of singer Erykah Badu, playing the foreman's daughter Rose. Homer finds romance in the arms of an engaged woman, is forced to call upon his skills as an abortionist when Rose gets pregnant, and takes great pleasure in attending as many movies as he can get to. (At the orphanage, the children only ever saw one film, KING KONG). The story is set during WWII and it plays much like a Charles Dickens novel; there's a fable-like quality to everything. The key to a movie like CIDER HOUSE RULES is in its cast. This is an immensely popular novel (which I've never read), so people probably have their own ideas of how characters should act and look. Each and every performance is note perfect. Maguire's wide- eyed look at all things new is absolutely convincing; Michael Caine is in top form as the ether-sniffing doctor; Delroy Lindo is both tender and frightening at times; and Badu's Rose is the launching of a new exceptional talent. Although the films deals with abortion, this is in no way an "issue" story; the procedures are dealt with and discussed but not in judgmental terms. CIDER HOUSE RULES opens in December; get to it ASAP.

That's all from Chicago. Hopefully we'll see you next week, Harry.