DVD Reviews: Eastern Promises, Sunshine, Shoot 'Em Up, Dragon Wars, and Star Wars: Clone War

Eastern Promises (DV4864, 4865)

This is David Cronenberg’s new film, and, as usual, Cronenberg puts together an amazing and stellar, thinking person’s movie. In Cronenberg’s three decade plus career, he has really evolved as a director (from surreal slasher-horror to well-paced drama) and Eastern Promises could easily be described as his best effort to date. Cronenberg works with visual symbols like no other director and Eastern Promises is full of imagery that solidifes the libertine script. For those out there who may be expecting a usual gangster film, you must be warned, Eastern Promises is cerebral and beautiful, the ultra-violent fight sequences book-ended by a heavily plotted script and a microscopic focus on the characters. There are no crazy shoot 'em up sequences, only hand-to-hand, close-up, brutal and believable mob violence. Cronenberg chooses to look as closely on his main character as we want to look at Viggo Mortensen’s tattoos – tattoos that tell the story of the man wearing them, if you know how to read them. Mortensen and Cronenberg are a match made in film nerd heaven and I hope they make more movies together; they both have a focus and commitment to their work that raises it past pop-corn movies and into the realm of narrative art.

Mortensen knows as much about the life of the character he plays as would the real man -- if he existed. Before the film, Mortensen traveled Russia, hanging out with the same type of mobsters he portrays, you can see and feel it in every move Mortensen makes and every word Mortensen speaks. By far, this is some of the best work by both auteurs, and, as a result, Eastern Promises is one of the best films released this year. It a criminal shame that the Academy almost completely ignored it, Eastern Promises should have been nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Picture and Best Director. Although Mortensen did gain a nod for his lead role, there is no guarantee that his amazing performance will garner anything in the face of perennial political favorite Daniel Day-Lewis. Eastern Promises is a keeper, and one that will be on my shelf soon, better than A History of Violence (DV2741) with different and ground-breaking scenes, like the fully nude fight sequence that will leave you shaking in shock (only Mortensen is nude ladies, and nothing is left to the imagination). Where most movies of the past year were made for unthinking couch potatoes, Eastern Promises is a well-crafted movie for people who love to be inspired and challenged during a filme. Amazing writing, acting and directing all around, Eastern Promises is heavily recommended.

Sunshine (DV4852, 4897)

Sunshine is the type of movie where you should not listen to what anyone else says about it -- you will have to watch it and make up your own mind. For me, Sunshine is a really smart, really engaging science-fiction film. It’s only downfall comes with its frame story -- the sun isn’t going to dim and die for (at least) another few billion years, but that huge issue does not detract from this well-crafted film. The ensemble cast plays together believably, due to very tight casting, and the director insistence on comradely. The claustrophobic atmosphere works great for the plot and the bad guy (as such) is truly freaky. Directed by someone I consider to be one of the more ignored but talented filmmakers in the world, Danny Boyle – he also directed Shallow Grave, Trainspotting (DV4130-4131) and 28 Days Later (DV457) (Boyle also produced the sequel, 28 Weeks Later [DV 4431]) – in Sunshine, Boyle’s imagery is as memorable and creepy as 28 Days Later, but where 28 was dark and scary from what it only represented, Sunshine shows us the break down and horror of the ship’s mission in full, blinding light, making us, as an audience, wish for the darkness gifted to the psychotic bad guy that terrorizes the crew towards the end of the film. Boyle uses outer space in a believable way staging some very suspenseful sequences. If you are expecting blood and guts (like 28 Weeks Later), this isn’t the film – although there is quite a bit of both – this film is psychological in its presentation and intelligent in its writing. I can understand why Sunshine fared so poorly in the US, most American audiences have lost all interest in thinking during a film and would rather stare open mouthed and drooling at whatever may be on the screen. Boyle doesn’t allow that in Sunshine, and if you do, you will miss a lot and probably think the movie stinks, but it is not Sunshine that stinks – just your lazy brain -- and it’s stinking up the whole internet. Whew! Another highly recommended flick, this is a good one to watch in a darkened room with your cutie pie sitting next to you.

Shoot ‘em Up (DV4832)

This film is a roller coaster -- a fast, wind-blowing carriage that will send you flying through the movie at the fastest speed. As a result, and just like a coaster, most of the movie is forgotten right after you finish it, days afterward you will remember a scene and go, “Oh yeah, that WAS in the movie.” Shoot ‘Em Up is exactly what the title implies and it makes no apologies about it. It is all style and no substance, the film rolls right over you like a fast train which you never truly get a good look at it, instead you just let it pass as you try to take in as much as you can. Not to say this film isn’t fun, but that is all it is, a mindless movie for a night when you may need mindless entertainment. Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti do a good job in the film, when they actually deliver lines and are not running around shooting and screaming. Monica Bellucci ends up just being the titties of the film – so much attention are brought to her milk-filled mammaries that you get really thirsty every time Monica is on the screen. So, don’t expect anything smart with this one, just a very amusing sex scene/fight/shoot ‘em up sequence between Owen, Bellucci and the guys trying to kill them (one of the high points of this film), lots of shooting, lots of death and lots of running around with no clear idea of what to do. Yes, this movie is a chicken with its head removed. There are times that the writer and director Michael Davis comes up with some pretty original ideas, but since they are all hidden in a very common plot, the original parts fly by faster than the bullets shot out of the main character's guns. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of fun in this film, I throughly enjoyed Clive Owen's carrot eating, Bugs Bunny-esque shooter and some of the gun scenes are extremely well-structured, but if you are looking for Shakespeare, do not look here if, instead if you are looking to sit on your couch blank-faced, mouth open, with drool oozing over your exposed tongue -- than Shoot 'em Up is the thorazine for you!

Dragon Wars (DV )

Do not be confused about what may be one of the most sexually propagandic films I have ever seen. Upon first watching, one may think it is just a silly B-movie giant monster film that harkens back to the nuclear scare films of the 50’s. Well, I wish it was that easy, instead Dragon Wars proves itself to be a film denigrating black men and their sexual role in society. In Dragon Wars, a black and a white serpent are both vying for the same white woman -- whichever gets to the hot chick first will be rewarded by being turned into an immortal and all powerful dragon. Possibly, a metaphor for how a guy feels after having succeeded, at love, where his friends have only failed. During the entire running time of this film two men, one young and one old (the young one also wants to serpent the girl, but the old man no longer worries about sex, I hear Vigara usually fixes that), cakeblock the black serpent at every turn, each worrying excessively about what would come of society if the black serpent got the white chick. “It would be the end of all civilization!” says the old racist man. And to nail that point home, the makers of the film stage a huge CG riot in downtown L.A., then link the property damaged to the black serpent’s misunderstood posse. There hasn't been a travesty of justice this bad since OJ was arrested. The overt, sexual racism of this film made it really hard to watch, but I did get through it and -- other than the sexual politics that date back to the 20’s -- I enjoyed this silly giant monster movie. Just be very aware that the filmmakers are trying to brainwash you into thinking interracial relationships will be the end of our civilization, to which I say: if the world is still going strong after Michael Jackson married the Presley daughter then the world should also make it through giant black serpents dating white chicks.

Stars Wars: Clone Wars (DV)

This cartoon was originally broadcast on the Cartoon Network in 5 min sections just a few months before the release of the third Lucas film. It is directed by the ultra-talented Genndy Tartakovsky, who also brought us Dexter’s Laboratory, episodes of Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack. Clone Wars is awesome, and watching it makes you wonder why George Lucas didn’t make the new movies as cool as this cartoon. It must have gotten Lucas wondering too, because he is currently working on a film version of this cartoon series, however; Tartakovsky is not directing – he is busy bringing the Dark Crystal (VH7725) back to the screen as The Power of the Dark Crystal (and here and here). May the force be with him on that project because Genndy could single-handedly resurrect the Henson Company like he helped Lucas inject some much needed hipness into Lucas’ own propped up Star Wars uber-franchise. Clone Wars exhibit some absolute great work by Yartakovsky and any true fan of the original Star Wars trilogy will love this cartoon since it has the cool fight sequences that the new Star Wars trilogy should have had.

A personal note from me to George Lucas: PLEASE RETIRE, you senile little Ewok, you are totally destroying your own legacy! You are so damn rich now you do not have to ever make another movie again (thank God!), so please DO NOT MAKE ANOTHER MOVIE EVER AGAIN! I would have wished for you to disappear before you ruined the Indiana Jones franchise (trailer for number 4), but alas, it is too late for that, isn’t it? Harrison Ford is 66! That would have Indy fighting Nazis in the late 1960’s – c’mon, give me a friggen’ break already! Could someone please lock Lucas in his room so he will stop screwing up my childhood? What is next, Indiana Jones and the Nazi Botox of Everlasting Profits? Seriously Lucas, enuff is enuff!

George Lucas, on the set of his newest film "2010: An American Space Graffitti"

by Phoenix Mangus and the Search for the Last Decent Film of the Lucas Kingdom

(Ewok-Lucas photo shopped by Phoenix, too.)

The Bestest DVD Boxed Set of 2007 in the West

The Sergio Leone Anthology:

A Fistful of Dollars 1964 (DV4846-4847)

For a Few Dollars More 1965 (DV4848-4849)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 1966 (DV4850-4851)

Duck, You Sucker! 1971 (DV4876-4877)

…and four Special Features DVD’s, one for each film.

For the American film industry, and, in fact, for film history itself, the Western is one of the most important of all genres. Today that statement is a bit hard to understand, the Western has never had the type of popularity it enjoyed up until the 1970’s. Since the 80’s, Western movies come and go like a circular fad -- like jelly bracelets or Tamaguchi*. Every eight to ten years there is a small resurgence, some TV shows and movies are released, and then, after a year or so, the Western Genre rides away, into the sunset, until the next time it is profitable for it to be around.

It was not always like that, Westerns used to be a huge money maker for the American film and television industry. However; Westerns did not just stay in America, something almost archetypal in its subject matter had the ability to inspire the imaginations of filmmakers all over the world.

The first true narrative film: including cross-cut editing, a beginning, middle and end was a Western by the name of The Great Train Robbery. The Great Train Robbery (DV1761-1764) was also the first blockbuster made. Thomas Edison was able to open hundreds of “Nickelodeons,” on the back of that film, and, for a year and a half afterwards, continued to fill seats. The movie even started the career of many pioneers of the genre, Justus D. Barnes, Donald Gallaher and quite importantly Broncho Billy (here’s his career count: Director – 384 films, Actor – 356 films, Writer – 237 films, let’s see Spielberg beat that!). The Great Train Robbery began a cottage industry that remained a fan favorite for over 50 years.

For me, however, most of American Western’s from the 20’s through to the 60’s are cheesy and hard to watch. The genre labored under its own clichés for years. The good guy in the white hat against the bad guy in the black hat became a laughable convention along with the town drunk and the romantic interest in the beautiful owner of a bar/bordello – don’t forget Jews cast as Native Americans – people of Judaic blood usually have hawk noses and darker skin “like” the Native Americans. Westerns became irrelevant and after awhile turned into a parody of itself. That’s what happens when a genre goes decades without being revamped. Little of what was made then relates to our view of the west now, watching Bonanza! for more than ten minutes really snuffs out all interest in Westerns, the cheesiness and Hollywood style no longer translating to an audience that wants realism and dirt in their Western, a realism and grittiness that came from two sources, neither of them American.

One of the most interesting aspects of film is the evolution that happens to movies as they are seen throughout the world by millions of people. Young kids will fall in love with certain types of stories and when they grow up to become filmmakers themselves they revisit their childhood by recreating a genre of film they remembered. One young boy who became deeply infatuated with American Westerns was Akira Kurosawa. Arguably, the most influential Japanese director in the world, Kurosawa never forgot about the Western, for he saw a strong correlation between the American West and the Japanese Meiji period. For Kurosawa, his homeland Samurai** were like those cowboys in the white hats.

Kurosawa first experimented with the genre in 1954's Seven Samurai (VH7917-7918), a movie that went back to its home country when Sam Peckinah remade it as The Magnificent Seven in 1960, a film that effectively predicted the change that Westerns were about to undergo. But it was Kurosawa's Yojimbo, (VH768) in 1961, that became the most important movie to the evolution of the Western. It was during a run in a theatre in Rome that Sergio Leone, another boyhood lover of the American Western, first saw Kurosawa’s movie. Not knowing Kurosawa’s own influences, Leone thought Yojimbo would make a great Western and, excited, made all of his film crew friends go and watch Kurosawa’s black and white masterpiece. Sergio almost immediately set to work writing the script and finding the funding to remake Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars.

(A quick note about Italians films: since the European market is so varied, with many different countries speaking many languages and because no movie succeeds unless it succeeds in America (that's not egocentrism on my end -- seriously), Italian cinema long ago evolved a shooting style that is much different than American. They will shoot the entire film without sound***, allowing all the different actors to speak in their native languages during the takes. Then, in post-production, an amazingly rich soundscape would be created and voice actors would dub the dialogue into the many different languages. It is for this reason that, for most younger American audiences, the Sergio Leone films in this collection are going to be a bit challenging at first, but trust me; it doesn’t take long before you get used to audio dub and you don’t notice the difference. Making things easier, the Sergio Leone Anthology has a new 5.1 mix, these films never sounded so good -- the multi-layered soundtrack created by talented technicians can now be completely appreciated.)

Went it came down to casting the lead role of the “Man without a name”****, Sergio had his own dream actors in mind. The first was Henry Fonda (he passed) and then came Charles Bronson, and James Coburn (they both passed). Finally, Leone was given an episode of Rawhide to watch, he never finished it – but, after seeing a photo of one of the ensemble actors Clint Eastwood, Leone decided to cast him. The young Eastwood had to bring most of his costume from the television show to Spain when he went to shoot A Fistful of Dollars. Leone’s production just did not have the costuming available that Hollywood does -- although Leone did buy the famous poncho. Eastwood, in the special features, mentions that he had to guard those clothes and take them home to the hotel with him everyday after shooting ended -- especially the poncho, which they had only one of-- that way no one would steal or (god forbid) wash his clothes, messing up the continuity of the film.

In Fistful, Eastwood did something that very little actors would even dream of doing – he purposely began to cut lines from the dialogue. Eastwood believed, rightly, that the mystery behind his character would be lessened if the cowboy spoke too much. Now Eastwood’s cold, strong, quiet gunslinger has become the genre norm.

After the worldwide success of A Fistful of Dollars (Fistful was not yet big in America, it took until The Good the Bad, and the Ugly, before Leone was to be a box office draw in the states), Leone followed up with For a Few Dollars More. Eastwood returns, playing a younger, slightly naïve bounty hunter to Lee Van Cleef’s colder and calculated, much more experienced gunslinger. Van Cleef is amazing in his two movie roles with Leone, his aquiline features and black eyes suite the iconic image of the fantastical Western Gunslinger better than any actor before or after him. Even Leone mentioned Van Cleef’s eyes resembling bullet holes that go straight through the film, the screen and into the viewer just as if they were shot in the heart. Van Cleef, however, was almost not cast, Leone went through another long list of actors with no luck, later he was in Los Angeles to meet with more actors and talent agents when he saw a trenchcoat clad Van Cleef walk across the road. Leone knew immediately who he was and that he had to have Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More. Van Cleef, at that time, was a studio stock cowboy, appearing in many Western movies and TV shows. Leone would already have seen a majority of Van Cleef’s work, so the traditional audition was not called for. Van Cleef was soon on a plane to Spain. He and Eastwood worked great together, each one has a steely look and long stare that creates sparks in the middle space, and as a result For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly crackle with dynamic tension.

Where A Fistful of Dollars is slightly awkward and rough, For A Few Dollars More is polished and engaging. Leone finds his voice with More, his signature blend of panoramic landscape and extreme close-up was first used here in a perfect ratio. Leone’s talent with casting gave his frame a thick texture indicative of a rough, violent life. The faces themselves become landscapes, telling a story in pot marks, crevices and mountain-like wrinkles. Leone’s visuals are always engaging, not only will he focus in on the smallest facial expression, but he will also pull the camera back to show literally miles and miles of the surroundings – sometimes the actor(s) are only an insignificant dot in all the painting-inspired scenery. In For A Few Dollars More, Leone polishes his style and finds his voice. It is in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that Leone’s directing, the actors acting, the crew cohesiveness and the writing peaks, creating what could be called the best movie Sergio Leone, Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach were ever associated with.

This new DVD version of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was carefully renovated, reconstructed and re-mixed. It is now close to Leone’s original cut of the film that he premiered in 1966 at the Coliseum in Rome. To bring the film back to Leone’s vision, the DVD producers found foreign cuts of the film that had the different sequences in it (each market had a slightly different cut of Leone’s films, they were often trimmed for time, content and/or cultural philosophies) which they remastered and recut back into the film. The producers even re-recorded new lines from Eastwood and Wallach -- forty years after the actors played the characters. The digital remaster is gorgeous, the colors are vibrant and the details are sharp. You can find as much detail in the close-ups as you can in the landscapes -- even the furtherest mountaintops are in focus and full of color.

Although, again, Van Cleef and Eastwood are great in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as Angel Eyes and Blondie respectively, it is Eli Wallach that stands out in this film. One of Hollywood’s early method actors, Wallach creates one of cinema’s most engaging characters with the almost stereotypical, dirty Mexican bandito, Tuco. His accent and body movements are all Tuco and nowhere does Wallach poke his head through. He does such a believable turn as a purely malevolent, greedy creature, that you honestly look right over him and half the time take his performance for granted. Wallach is so entertaining and over the top in a totally believable way that it is a pleasure to watch his antics opposite the minimalism contest between Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef.

Leone’s accuracy in portraying the West during the Civil War is almost creepy. This Italian had such an interest in our American culture that he is the first to re-envision the onscreen Civil War in a more realistic fashion. Often American members of his production crew would ask Leone how he came up with a certain idea – thinking Leone had just made stuff up -- Leone, on occasion, would pull out a book of old civil war photos and point to what he had painstakingly reconstructed in the film, effectively shocking the American. Who do you think put those long raincoats on the cowboys first? Yep, it was Leone, and he had the picture to prove that trenchcoats used to be the style. Leone even chose, as a backdrop to his plot in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, a little known Civil War campaign that took place in the American West. In the special features DVD there is a documentary which goes into great detail about that historical event, but rest assured that a lot of the action Leone’s characters run through are based upon actual happenings, including the destruction of a strategic bridge and the siege of a beautifully wrought and Expressionistic Western city.

Finishing off this must watch DVD collection is a little seen film called Duck, You Sucker! Although fun movie to watch, I was just not as impressed with this film as the others. For some reason the genre breaking ideas of Leone’s earlier works come across as formulaic convention in this one. Leone finally succeeds in hiring James Coburn, but his Irish accent is ridiculous and his presence much less engaging than Eastwood or Van Cleef. Rod Steiger, usually an amazing actor on the level of Wallach, does not make a believable bandito, he looks and acts way too Caucasian for the illusion to work, and the unfortunate make-up job does not help. As a rare classic, Duck, You Sucker! should be watched and will be enjoyed -- the explosions sequences are gigantic -- but it is the weakest film in the DVD collection.

The Sergio Leone Anthology is a most important addition to the TLC library, Leone is a master of his art and with this collection we are given the opportunity to rediscover his genius in fresh, beautifully restored prints that have extended scenes and a new audio mix (the gun shots and bullet ricochets will blow you out of your room!). Whether you remember your father watching these movies on television when you were a kid, whether you’re a fan of Leone students like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez or Guillermo Del Toro, or whether you have never watched any of these so-called “spaghetti westerns” – you owe it to yourself to check out these editions, they each are completely engrossing and the special features are way above average.

*What is the plural form of Tamaguchi? Tamagotcha? Tamagoatcheese? Dunno.

**More correctly -- the Ronin, which were unemployed Samurai who wandered the country looking for work and hiding from enemies.

***"Without sound" is abbreviated MOS in the film industry. MOS is an inside joke going back to the German filmmaker Erich Von Stronheim, who, working in the US, would scream out “Without sound!,” whenever a shot was silent. But, with his strong German accent it came out “Mit owt sownd!” Even now, on clapboards, smartass 2^nd AC’s will abbreviate “Without sound” as MOS)

****"The Man Without a Name" was a misnomer and purely an American marketing term. The films were released almost all together in America and in an effort to tie the first three films together Hollywood had the great idea of capitalizing on the mysterious nature of Eastwood’s cowboy by calling him “The Man Without A Name.” In each film, "The Man Without a Name," had a name and here they are in order: Joe, Manco and Blondie.

Trivia #1: Leone gave two clues as to the background of Clint Eastwood’s character in For a Few Dollars More – his name is Manco, which in Spainish and Italian means “thief” or “an injury that comes about from thievery,” that symbol is strenthed Manco’s leather wrist guard which might have something to do with a thieving injury.

Trivia #2: The bridge in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, blown up by Blondie and Tuco, was built by the Spanish army. Almost all of the Civil War soldiers in the scene were members of the Spanish Army too. In what must have been an enormously frustrating predicament, the first time they were ready to shoot the bridge explosion, an almost slapstick miscommunication between the Spanish Captain and the First Cameraman caused the Captain to blow up the bridge before the cameras were rolling! Leone was red in the face and so mad he almost had a heart attack. Feeling bad about a mistake that was all their fault, the army spent a few weeks rebuilding and rewiring the bridge for a second take, this time, however; the Captain put the fuse in the hands of someone who knew the lingo of filmmaking – the special effects man.

Here are the trailers:

written by Phoenix Mangus, all complaints will be dealt with at high noon in the middle of a deserted street.

The Winner of the Resident Evil: Extinction Poster

After employees and friends of the TLC voted on the Double Feature Game, the title that received the largest amount of votes was:

FREDDY VS. JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS

This combines Freddy vs Jason (VH11561) with Jason and the Argonauts (VH9596).

The winner who left the comment is "Blane." Blane has won the nicely framed picture of "Resident Evil: Extinction." Great Job!

"Blane," Come into the TLC anytime during open hours to pick up your poster -- we will be taking a picture of you for the Movie Blog, so take a bath beforehand.

We would also like to mention the two titles that got the second and third most votes:

CANNONBALL RUN LOLA RUN posted by "Sally" (Cannonball Run, and Run Lola Run VH8o35)

and

THERE WILL BE BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE posted by "Randomjunkie23" (There Will Be Blood and Blood and Chocolate DV4128)

Thanks everyone who played the game, the entries were hilarious!

Everyone try this month's contest for a chance to win!!!

Recent Soviet Film Festival

Everyday Passions: Imagining Central Asia and the Caucasus

Recent Cinema from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Georgia.

Free and open to the public!!!

Movies are screened on Tuesdays in the HHRA building, room 1215. All films begin at 7.30pm unless otherwise noted.

Refreshments and discussion follows the movie. All films are in their native language with English subtitles.

Febraury 12: Beshkempir (Adopted Son) 1998, 80 minutes

Introduced by Dr. Johnathan Tudge, Department of Human Development and Family Studies

Aktan Abdykalykov made his directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical French-Kyrgyz drama set in a rural Kyrgyz village where young Adyr plays in the brick mudpits, takes an interest in a girl and attends outdoor movie showings. However, Adyr's pals reject him when it is learned he is adopted, and more dark clouds hover over Adyr after a death in the family. Filmed in Black and White with color inserts, this film played in several 1998 film festivals (Locarno, Montreal, Toronto.) In Kyrgyz with English subtitles.


Febraury 26: Killer (aka Tueur A Gages) 1998, 89 minutes

Introduced by Dr. Julie Brown, Department of Sociology

Darezhan Omirbaev (Kairat, Kardiogramma) directed this French-Kazakh film about a young man driven to the precipice in an uncaring world. Marat (Talgat Assetov) works as a chauffer for a well-known scientist. Driving home from the maternity hospital with his wife Aijan (Roksana Abouova) and their new baby boy, Marat is at fault during a minor traffic accident. The damage payments on both cars put him in debt. Unable to cover costs when the baby gets sick, Marat finds it necessary to follow a gangster's bidding to murder a journalist. Shown in the Certain Regard Section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. In Russian with English Subtitles.


March 18: Angel on the Right (directed by J. Usmonov) 2002, 89 minutes

Introduced by Dr. Joan Titus, School of music

Hamro (Maruf Pulodzoda) is a thug. When he hears that his elderly mother, Halima (Uktamoi Miyasarova), is sick, he returns to his hometown of Asht in Tajikistan. He is not greeted with any jy by the townspeople, and then the doctor gives him the bad news: Halima will be dead in a few days. As Savri (Malkqat Maqsumova), his mother's pretty nurse, explains Halima's dying wish, Hamro's abbandoned young son Yatim (Kova Tilavpur), is brought to him by the family of the boy's mother, who forcefully demand that Hamro take him in. the Director set this film in his hometown and cast his mother and brother in the lead roles. Selected for Un Certain Regard at the 2002 Cannes FIlm Fest and the 2003 installment of new Directors/New Films. In tajik with English subtitles.


April 1: Brigands, Chapter VII (directed by O. Iosseliani) 1996, 129 minutes

Introduced by David Cook, Department of Broadcasting and Cinema

In this satiric comedy/drama from Georgian director Otar Iosseliani, a group of censors gather to pass judgment on a new film. But because the reels are shown out of order, instead they are treated to a parade of sex, violence, and bitterly ironic humor as the story jumps between historical eras. A group of modern-day snipers perched on a rooftop fire on unknowing passers-by down below. The ruler of an ancient kingdom leads his troops into battle after putting his wife in a chastity belt -- not knowing that she has a key and revenge on her mind. And a Soviet-era policeman treats his son to a day of watching father beat and torture innocent people. In Georgian and Russian with English subtitles. ~by Mark Demming

For more info email: dacook2@uncg.edu