MOVIE CLIPS | VIDEO RELEASES | THEATER INFO Murky Melodrama Von Trier's off-beat musical raises eyebrows. By Lois Wadsworth Dancer in the Dark: Written and directed by Lars Von Trier. Produced by Vibeke Windeløv. Executive produced by Peter A. Jensen. Cinematography, Robby Müller. Music composed by Björk. Lyrics by Lars Von Trier and Sjón Sigurdsson. Choreographer and dance director, Vincent Paterson. Starring Björk, with Catherine Deneuve, David Morse and Peter Stormare. Also with Vladica Kostic, Cara Seymour, Joel Grey and Siobhan Fallon. Fine Line Features, 2000. 139 minutes. R.   Bill (David Morse) and Selma (Björk) in an intense scene. .   Everywhere Danish director Lars Von Trier's (Breaking the Waves) new film Dancer in the Dark has opened, critics and audience alike are polarized. For some, the innovative, melodramatic musical set in a factory and courtroom has an offbeat charm; for others, it is vacuous and emotionally manipulative dreck. After the screening last weekend, I was repulsed, bored and fascinated by it. Despite my conflicted feelings, the movie is too important to dismiss. It won the Golden Palm at Cannes 2000 and best actress for Björk. When respected critics such as Film Comment's Gavin Smith and A.O. Scott of The New York Tmes are genuinely ambivalent about the film -- Scott calls it "both stupefyingly bad and utterly overpowering" -- who would dare predict what a smart Eugene audience will think? Some people will come to see Björk, the Icelandic pop queen, who stars in the film and composed the music. Except for the musical scenes where she is in her element, the character she plays is so degraded, pitiful and emotionally stingy as to seem more than visually impaired. How difficult such a role must have been for this self-confident woman and gifted musician. Cineastes will come to see what Von Trier, the enfant terrible of the new European film set, has wrought. But Von Trier has abandoned the best of the Dogma principles he espoused a few years ago. That back-to-basics filmmaking approach was brilliantly used by Thomas Vinterberg in The Celebration. But Von Trier betrays Dogma's most important story-telling tenet here: "no guns." Gun violence in movies is the ubiquitous cheap-fix for bad drama, and Von Trier gleefully hurtles headlong down that path in a plot twist so lame it's unforgivable. The plot is already flimsy, contrived. Selma is a Czech immigrant living with her son Gene (Vladica Kostic) in a fictitious 1960s Washington state, which is supposed to account for her frumpy wardrobe. They live in a trailer, next door to Bill (David Morse) and Linda (Cara Seymour). A man friend, Jeff (Peter Stormare), offers her a ride home every afternoon. A woman friend, Kathy (Catherine Deneuve), covers for her failing eyesight at work and supports her in a community theater production of The Sound of Music. Selma is irritatingly vague about her impending blindness. "It's a family thing," she demurs, adding that Gene will get it and must have an operation before his 13th birthday to be cured. She saves every smidgeon of money she gets, and when her stash is stolen, she goes looking to get it back. Von Trier's directorial bullying of Björk left me angry. The film's mood swings require a greater suspension of belief than I could muster -- from Selma's (Björk) exhausting life working in a sink factory to the tedium of carding hairpins for extra pay to the manic song-and-dance numbers. Technically, the extreme close-ups and wobbly camera movements make me dizzy, and the result of shooting the choreographed dance sequences with 100 digital video cameras is a visual muddle. Vinterberg's use of hand-held camerawork in The Celebration is unsettling because it is so emotionally explosive, but Von Trier's camera aggression is purely for effect here. Deneuve told The New York Times' Rick Lyman that today's filmmakers "are always trying to play on the emotion in the audience, to make them scared or happy or frightened, all the time. I think perhaps I would prefer a story." Amen, sister. Dancer in the Dark opens Friday Nov. 10 at the Bijou. You have to see it. It's the new thing. Surrealistic Fantasy Groovy Brits made their mark on pop culture. By Lois Wadsworth Wonderwall (1968, 2000): Directed by Joe Massot. Written by Guillermo Carbrera Infante. Based on a story by Gerard Brach. Produced by Andrew Braumsberg. Executive producer director's cut, J. David Bertram. Cinematographer, Harry Waxman. Production design, Assheton Gorton. Costumes, Jocelyn Rickards. Music by George Harrison; remixed 1997. Starring Jane Birkin, Jack MacGowran, Iain Quarrier, with Irene Handl and Richard Wattis. Vitagraph Films, 2000. Not rated. 92 minutes.   Jane Birkin as a bird on the wing in Wonderwall. .   Psychedelic, man. This British-made film fantasy is set during the 1960s flowering of London hip chic -- wispy baby-doll dresses, men's wild-colored jackets, bellbottom trousers half-a-mile wide and blouses with humongous sleeves. Even rabid retromania will not bring back these fashions, I predict with some confidence. Only George Harrison's music escapes the dread "dated" label, although it is definitely Harrison lite. The story, such as it is, is about a voyeur. Professor Collins (Jack MacGowran), is a forgetful, eccentric, bachelor recluse. But Collins lives next door to a beautiful London model, Penny Lane (Jane Birkin), and her boyfriend (Iain Quarrier), a fashion photographer. With flowers in her hair, this un-emancipated bird (a "chick" on this side of the Atlantic) probably won't leave any contemporary woman longing for the good old days, but I don't know about the men. Penny and her man hang out with the "beautiful people" who set the fashion standards of the time, and Professor Collins is as interested in studying them as any lifeform under his microscope at work. When the dotty professor discovers that he can see through chinks in the wall separating his apartment from theirs -- the "wonder" wall of the title -- he risks everything to watch Penny pose in costume or undressed twentyfourseven. Even when Collins isn't looking through one of the many peep-holes he has strategically chiseled in the wall, he fantasizes about her, dreamlets that always feature him as her savior. The funniest of these shows the pajama-clad professor lunging with a oversize phallic fountain pen at the boyfriend in his Superman costume, while later defending himself from attack by a giant pink lipstick. Director Joe Massot has put together Wonderwall The Film (Pilar (UK) Ltd, 2000), a softcover book about the making of the film, recollections of the period, and tales of its re-release with an extensive restoration of the negative and soundtrack. You can find out more about the book at www.wonderwallfilm.com It's easy to look back at a such a slice of history and draw conclusions that may or may not be warranted. But one thing seems right to me: People outside the hip happenings in the next room in the '60s did want to look. And we could do worse today than briefly revisit the era of the Beatle's animated joyship, The Yellow Submarine. While Wonderwall does not reach Submarine's level of daffy psychedelic perfection, it does afford a glimps of that idealistic moment when all you needed was love. Opens Friday, Nov. 10 at the Bijou for late night showings. OPENING OR RETURNING: Films open the Friday following date of EW publication unless otherwise noted. Bait: Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday, Booty Call) plays a petty thief caught in a sting in this action thriller comedy directed by Antoine Fuqua. Also stars Doug Hutchison, David Morse, Mike Epps, David Paymer, Tia Texada, Robert Pastorelli and Kimberly Elise. R. Movies 12. Beautiful: First-run showing of beauty pageant comic drama directed by Sally Fields. It stars Minnie Driver, Hallie Kate Eisenberg and Joey Lauren Adams. Critics didn't love it. PG-13. Movies 12. Dancer in the Dark: Cannes 2000 sensation, Lars Von Trier's new movie -- he directed Breaking the Waves -- is a musical drama starring Iceland's pop sensation, Björk. Film is very polarizing; critics and audiences love it or hate it. Find out for yourself. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Excalibur: John Boorman's 1981 flawed but brilliantly re-imagined tale of King Arthur stars Nigel Terry, Nicol Williamson, Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Colin Richardson and Cherie Lunghi. Alex Thomson's Academy Award-winning cinematography is fabulous. UO, 180 PLC, Nov. 14, 7 pm. Free. Little Nicky: Adam Sandler plays the shy, awkward son of the Devil who loves heavy metal but has two older brothers who are bullies. When they make trouble in New York, Nicky and a foul-mouthed talking dog go to the city to restore the balance between Good and Evil. Okay. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8. Movieland 6. Men of Honor: Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the first black man in the Navy to try to be a SEAL. Robert De Niro plays the racist officer who tries to break him. Directed by George Tillman Jr. (Soul Food). Cinema World 8. Cinemark 17. Movieland 6. Nurse Betty: In Neil LaBute's latest and most accessible satire, a comic crime story, a small-town waitress played by Renée Zellweger escapes an abusive husband (Aaron Eckhart) for soap opera land. She's followed by two hit men (Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock). R. Movies 12. Red Planet: Val Kilmer is an American astronaut on the first manned flight to Mars, where the team hopes to find a place for Earth to colonize. With Benjamin Bratt ("Law and Order"), Tom Sizemore, Terence Stamp and Carrie-Anne Moss. Directed by Anthony Hoffman. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8. Movieland 6. That's a Family: Family diversity as seen from perspective of the kids is directed by the creator of It's Elementary. Eugene premiere. Amazon Community Center, Nov. 14, 6:30 pm. Free. Urban Legends: Final Cut: Student filmmakers (Jennifer Morrison, Matthew Davis and Joseph Lawrence) make a psychological thriller about urban legends in a competitive film school where someone is killing off other students. R. Movies 12. Wonderwall: Joe Massot's 1969 surrealistic fantasy with music by George Harrison returns in a newly restored print and remixed stereo soundtrack. Nostalgic period piece stars Jane Birkin, Jack MacGowran and Iain Quarrier. A glimpse back to that idealistic moment when all you needed was love. Not rated. Bijou. See review this issue. Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl: Joan Chen's stunning directorial debut spins the tale of a young city girl victimized by the male bureaucrats in the remote region of the country she's sent to as part of Mao's flawed Youth Cultural Revolution. Lu Lu plays the girl, Lopsang is her protector, a simple Tibetan horse trainer. Relevant, beautiful film; great performances, gorgeous scenery. Very sad. Highly recommended. R. UO, 122 Pacific Hall, Nov. 14, 7 pm. Free. CONTINUING: Almost Famous: Cameron Crowe's critically acclaimed ode to rock and roll music stars Patrick Fugit as a 15-year old music writer for Rolling Stone magazine sent on tour with a rock band. Also stars Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Fabulous movie, wonderful performances. One of the year's best. R. Movieland 6. Bedazzled: Remake by Harold Ramis (Analyze This) of a late '60's Dudley Moore chestnut, the movie stars a lovesick Brendan Fraser selling his soul to the devil (Elizabeth Hurley) to win the woman of his dreams (Frances O'Connor). PG-13. Cinemark 17. Best in Show: Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman) directs and stars in this faux docu about dog-lovers whose goal is to win the annual kennel club show. Michael Hitchcock and Parker Posey are hilarious as a neurotic couple who're afraid they've traumatized their Weimaraner. Also stars Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara. Very funny movie. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Blair Witch 2 Book of Shadows: Directed by documentary filmmaker Joe Berlinger, this sequel has a docu-feel as young people in Birkittsville, MD, lead tourists into the woods looking for. R. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8. Charlie's Angels: Elite private investigators Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), and Alex (Lucy Liu), work for Bosley (Bill Murray), Charlie's lieutenant. These gals can handle anything on land, sea or air with up-to-the-minute martial arts skills, futuristic vehicles, high-tech tools and toys, and a raft of crafty disguises. PG-13. Cinema World 8. Cinemark 17. Movieland 6. Contender, The: Three big stars -- Joan Allen, Gary Oldman and Jeff Bridges -- star in this political drama directed by Rod Lurie. Allen's character is a senator in line to be Vice President, but Oldman plays an old enemy who remembers a sex scandal from the past. Highly recommended. R. Cinema World 8. Coyote Ugly: David McNally comedy about cocktail waitresses who perform juggling acts with bottles in a rowdy New York bar. Stars Piper Perabo, Maria Bello, Melanie Lynskey, Adam Garcia and John Goodman. PG-13. Movies 12. Dinosaur: Disney gets a little risqué with a PG rating, no songs and computer-generated dinos against live-action backgrounds. Stars the voices of D.B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies and Della Reese. PG. Movies 12. Exorcist (2000), The: Classic 1973 horror tale of a young girl possessed by the devil raises fascinating questions about the nature of evil and fate. Director- (William Friedkin) and writer's- (William Peter Blatty) cut features outstanding performances by Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller and Max von Sydow and excellent digital sountdtrack. An A+ movie. R. Late night Bijou. Girlfight: Sundance 2000 smash hit, this movie about a young woman boxer (Michelle Rodriguez) who becomes attached to her sparring partner (Santiago Douglas) in and out of the ring is directed by Karyn Kusama. One of the very best movies of the year, it has a natural winner in Rodriguez. Don't miss this excellent film. R. Bijou. Gone in 60 Seconds: Angelina Jolie, Nicolas Cage, Robert Duvall, Delroy Lindo and Giovanni Ribisi star in Dominic Sena's car-thief drama. Cage and Ribisi play siblings. Surprisingly entertaining. R. Movies 12. Hollow Man: Director Paul Verhoeven's (Basic Instinct) rape fantasy stars Kevin Bacon as an experimental scientist who becomes invisible and runs amok. With Elisabeth Shue, Josh Brolin and Kim Dickens. Avoid it like the plague. R. Movies 12. Kid, Disney's The: Played by Spencer Breslin, a child meets himself at 40, a man played by Bruce Willis. Is he impressed? Find out in Jon Turteltaub's comedy. PG. Movies 12. Legend of Bagger Vance, The: A down-and-out former golf star (Matt Damon) finds the girl of his dreams, again, (Charlize Theron). A guardian-angel (Will Patton) helps him remembers his "authentic swing." Directed by Robert Redford. PG. McDonald. Cinemark 17. Legend of Drunken Master (2000): Re-release of Jackie Chan's 1994 Hong Kong action flick directed by Chia-Liang Liu with a new title. Chan's father has taught him how to fight in the style called Drunken Master, which requires unbelievable, ballet-like movements. Cinemark 17. Movieland 6. Little Vampire, The: Cute kid from Jerry Maguire Jonathan Lipnicki has a vampire friend he shares adventures with. Based on books by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg; directed by Ulrich Edel. PG. Cinemark 17. Meet the Parents: Ben Stiller plays the unfortunate prospective son-in-law to Robert Di Niro's overly protective father. Directed by Jay Roach, the film also stars Teri Polo and Blythe Danner as the engaged daughter and her mother. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8. Nutty Professor II: The Klumps: The oversize family Eddie Murphy introduced in Nutty I is back, and they're having a wedding for Sherman aka Buddy Love. Janet Jackson's the bride. PG-13. Movies 12. Pay It Forward: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) star in this drama about a boy whose class project turns into phenomenon taken up by lots of people. Directed by Mimi Leder. PG-13. Cinema World 8. Cinemark 17. Perfect Storm, The: Wolfgang Petersen directs this true action adventure based on Sebastian Junger's nonfiction bestseller. Six fishermen out of Gloucester, Mass. run into a killer storm on the high seas. Stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and William Fichtner. PG-13. Movies 12 Remember the Titans: Football movie based on the true story of a 1971 Virginia high school falling apart from racial conflict until a black coach (Denzel Washington) from out of town pulls them together. Directed by Boaz Yakin, it also stars Will Patton and Kip Pardue. PG. Cinemark 17. Cinema World 8. Replacements, The: During an NFL players' strike, coach Gene Hackman brings in a bunch of misfits and has-beens to take his team to the play-offs. Howard Deutch's comedy stars Keanu Reeves, with Jon Favreau, Brooke Langton and Orlando Jones. PG-13. Movies 12. Scary Movie: Parody of Scream teen horror directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans stars Carmen Electra in the Drew Barrymore role, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. Look for lots of improvisations in this spoof. R. Movies 12. MOVIE THEATERS Use the links provided below for specific show times. Bijou Art Cinemas Bijou Theater | 686-2458 | 492 E. 13th Regal Cinemas Cinema World | 342-6536 | Valley River Center McDonald | 344-4343 | 10th and Willamette Movieland | 342-4142 | W. 11th and Seneca Springfield Quad | 726-9073 | Cinemark Theaters Movies 12 | 741-1231 | Gateway Mall Movies before 12:30 are Sat. Sun. only. $1.50 all shows all days. Cinemark 17 | 741-1231 | Gateway Mall NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO: Releases subject to change. Available the Tuesday following date of EW publication, sometimes sooner: Attention Shoppers: Rival soap opera stars vie for spots at Houston Super K-Mart opening. Comedy never played Eugene theatrically. Directed by Philip Charles MacKenzie. R. Big Momma's House: Martin Lawrence plays an FBI agent assigned to protect a single mom, played by Nia Long. He goes to Georgia dressed as her grandmother, Big Momma. Directed by Raja Gosnell. PG-13. Boys and Girls: Freddie Prinze Jr. in a romantic comedy with Claire Forlani. Directed by Robert Iscove, who directed Prinze in She's All That. PG-13. Fantasia 2000: Disney created seven new segments in the vein of the studio's 1940 classic favorite. Millennial version includes the original Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and a new Stravinsky Firebird Suite said to be fabulous. G. Hamlet: One of the most interesting movies of 2000, this Hamlet played Eugene for one week. Broad strokes of Shakespeare's play set in contemporary L.A. amid corporate power struggles. Ethan Hawke is Hamlet -- a slacker with a video camera. Also Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius, Diane Venora as Gertrude, Bill Murray as Polonius, Liev Schreiber as Laertes, Sam Shepard as the Ghost and Julia Stiles as Ophelia. Played Eugene for a week. R. Perfect Storm, The: Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot) directs this perfectly scary, true action adventure based on Sebastian Junger's nonfiction bestseller. Six fishermen out of Gloucester, Mass. run into a killer storm with 100 foot waves at sea. Stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and William Fichtner. Highly recommended. PG-13. Pokemon the Movie 2000: Animated sequel about the popular creatures and Ash, their trainer, also introduces new characters. G. Price of Glory, The: Boxing drama stars Jimmy Smitts ("NYPD Blue") as an ex-boxer raising three sons to fight. Jon Seda ("Homicide") co-stars; directed by Carlos Avila. PG-13. Running Free: Talking horse movie stars Lukas Haas as the boy in an African mining village who befriends Lucky, a horse born in captivity but now running free with other wild desert horses. 1999 movie directed by Sergei Bodrow (Prisoner of the Mountains). G. Secrets of the Heart: A 1997 Spanish film about a nine-year old boy in a small town who wants to learn stories of people who are dead, such as his father. NR. Next week: Chicken Run, Dirty Picture, Don't Drink the Water, Fever Pitch, Gladiator, No Code of Conduct, Octopus and X-Men. Back to Top Table of Contents | News & Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive