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Cure
for Loneliness TALK TO HER (Hable con Ella): Written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. Executive producer, Agustin Almodóvar. Cinematography, Javier Aguirresarobe. Editor, José Salcedo. Music, Alberto Iglesias. Artistic design, Antxon Gómez. Costumes, Sonia Grande. Choreography, Pina Bausch. Starring Javier Camara, Dario Grandinetti, Leonor Watling and Rosario Flores. With Geraldine Chaplin, Caetano Veloso, Pina Bausch, Malou Airaudo. Sony Pictures Classics, 2002. R. 112 minutes. "Subtle" is not a word you would see connected with any of Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar's earlier films (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, 1987) or even his later, less explosive work (The Flower of my Secret, 1995) But his latest film not only deserves attention for its subtlety — in one sense it is a meditation on loneliness — but also for its maturity. Always, Almodóvar is a generous, warm director, who remembers how to please an audience
Much of Talk to Her's magic comes in its quieter moments, beginning with the wordless opening sequence. Two men sitting next to each other but unacquainted watch a ballet onstage. Pina Bausch, choreographer of Cafe Müller, and Malou Airaudo give eloquent performances as sightless women moving through a space cluttered with chairs and tables. A male dancer removes the objects from the dancers' way, while Purcell's The Fairy Queen plays. The younger man in the audience, Benigno (Javier Camara), observes a tear trickling down Marco's (Dario Grandinetti) cheek, and wishes to talk with the man. But he is gone. They meet again at a private clinic, where Benigno takes care of a young, comatose dancer named Alicia (Leonor Watling). Also at the clinic is Marco's lover, Lydia (Rosario Flores), who has been injured in a bullfight and is in a coma. The two men begin a tentative friendship, but they care for the women in quite different ways. Benigno talks to Alicia as if she were present, telling her about the ballet, the latest fashions or just the weather. He is very tender with her, lavishing attention on keeping her beautiful as well as comfortable. Marco does not talk to Lydia, but he tries to be attentive. Pragmatically, Marco believes the doctors who say Lydia is in a persistent vegetative state, while Benigno ignores the docs and treats Alicia as if she could wake up any minute. Benigno and Marco are more complicated than they seem at first. As the film fills in the back stories for each of the four characters, we find ourselves drawn more deeply into the unfolding drama. Almodóvar has a couple of tricks up his sleeve, also, in case we become complacent. He uses one in a flashback to a fancy affair Marco and Lydia attend, where the incomparable Spanish singer Caetano Veloso sings "Cucurrucucu paloma." You will not soon forget this delicate, stirring rendition. But the centerpiece of the film is a black-and-white, seven-minute silent film, Shrinking Lover, shot by Almodóvar. Benigno watches the movie and describes it to Alicia, who told him before her accident that she loved silent films. It's a story about a beautiful scientist and the man who loves her. What happens to the characters in Shrinking Lovers is a dark little joke designed to slip the audience an encoded, funny message about characters in Talk to Her. Likewise, the final scene in the film returns to the same theater and a different ballet, Bausch's Masurca Fogo. This is where a number of dancing couples move across the stage in a delightful line of wiggling bottoms, as promised in the movie's trailer. No matter what you think this multi-layered film is going to be about, you will be wrong. To point out its most idiosyncratic feature — and one that may well offend some viewers — would spoil the film. If you can simply give it your attention, the film will reward you with its resonance. Talk to Her appears on many respected film critic's top ten best films of 2002 and is at the top of A.O. Scott's list (The New York Times). It will surely be on mine. Talk to Her opens at the Bijou on Feb. 14. Very highly recommended.
Razzamataaazzz! CHICAGO: Directed and choreographed by Rob Marshall. Written by Bill Condon; based on the play (book by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb) by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Produced by Marty Richards and Bob Weinstein. Executive producers, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Sam Crothers, Harvey Weinstein, Meryl Poster, Julie Goldstein, Jennifer Berman. Cinematography, Dion Beebe. Editor, Martin Walsh. Costumes, Colleen Atwood. Music, John Kander; lyrics, Fred Ebb. Original score, Danny Elfman. Production design, John Myhre. Starring Renée Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, with Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly. Also, Lucy Liu, Taye Diggs, Colm Feore. Miramax Films, 2002. PG-13. 108 minutes.
From the Broadway stage comes Chicago, the movie, as shamelessly superficial an excuse for all-out singing and dancing as I've ever seen. Five active, entertaining stars — Renée Zellwegger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly — knock themselves out to keep the audience happy (and prevent you folks from noticing that there's no there there). But it doesn't resonate. Once it's over, it's over. I prefer films that linger, giving up their layered meanings over time. The slender thread of a plot involves the ambitious Roxie (Renée Zellwegger) with a Goodtime Charley (Dominc West), who has promised to support her career. When he turns out to be a dud, she shoots him. Roxie then persuades her simplistic husband, Amos (John C. Reilly), to take the rap for her. That's about as complicated as the plot gets. Meanwhile, across town (and offscreen), one-half of a sister duo, Velma Kelley (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has just caught her husband and her sister in flagrante delicto and dispatched their adulterous souls. Soon enough, Roxie and Velma are sharing a cell block in prison, where the only way out is through the good graces of the matron, Mama Morton (Queen Latifah) — if she takes a shine to you, if you can come up with the money, and if you are sexy fodder for the tabloids' eager, corrupt reporters and photographers. But as the show biz pro Velma knows and Roxie learns, the real deal is lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a smooth-talking fella who's only in it for the fame and the money. It isn't fair to call Chicago an old-fashioned movie musical — think Showboat or The Sound of Music for that — but neither is it a new musical artform like Baz Lurhman's Moulin Rouge. I've seen Moulin Rouge about seven times, and I'm not tired of it yet, but I couldn't sit through another showing of Chicago. For one thing, there's precious little actual dancing by the main stars, with Zeta-Jones the notable exception. There's no doubt that Zeta-Jones has real talent, and Richard Gere surprises with his performance. But neither of them (nor anyone else) is warm enough or complicated enough to give Chicago a little soul. Not even Queen Latifah can save its honky ass. The musical numbers are over-produced and cluttered, with the added distraction of confetti or sequins that fall from above. Zellwegger never loses a certain tension that keeps you at a distance. Since hers is the main story, that's fatal. Traditionally, in times of war and domestic problems, moviegoers flock to the theater. American taste at such times runs toward melodramas about poor but hard-working young women or smart young men who marry up or become successful on their own. While Chicago fits the description — it touches on Roxie and Velma's real troubles but doesn't bog down there — an upbeat if deluded vision permeates their actions. If these two dames are not ultimately successful, it isn't for lack of trying. Chicago received 13 Academy Award nominations in 12 categories: best picture, Marshall for director, Zellwegger for leading actress, Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah for supporting actress, Reilly for supporting actor, Condon for adapted screenplay, "I Move On" for original song, art direction, cinematography, costumes, sound and film editing. Now playing at Cinema World and Cinemark, Chicago hits the spot for lots.
Ambition
and Tradition REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES: Directed by Patricia Cardoso. Written by George LaVoo and Josefina Lopez, from Lopez' play. Produced by LaVoo, Marilyn Attas and Effie Brown. Cinematographer, Jim Denault. Production design, Brigitte Broch. Costumes, Elaine Montalvo. Editor, Sloane Kevin. Music, Heitor Pereira. Starring Lupe Ontiveros and America Ferrera, with Ingrid Oliu, George Lopez and Jorge Cervera Jr. Also, Brian Sites, Soledad St. Hilarie, Lourdes Perez and Felipe de Alba. HBO Films. Newmarket Films, 2002. PG-13. 93 minutes. This coming-of-age family drama directed by former Colombian Patricia Cardoso celebrates the debut of an exciting new star, America Ferrera as Ana, and the first really meaty role for the talented film veteran, Lupe Ontiveros, as her mother, Carmen. They live in East L.A.'s Boyle Heights, a house-proud, working class neighborhood of neat homes. The family includes Ana's father, Raul (Jorge Cervera), who owns a gardening business; her older sister, Estela (Ingrid Oliu), who owns a sewing business; and her beloved grandfather (Felipe de Alba), who loves her unconditionally. But the closer Ana gets to graduating from Beverly Hills High School, the more anxious and critical Carmen grows.
The film opens on a morning when Carmen says she needs Ana to get breakfast for the men, because she is too sick to get up. Ana saucily refuses, reminding her mother that this is her last day of high school. She flounces off to school for a class taught by her favorite teacher, Mr. Guzman (George Lopez), who has tried all year to encourage this academically bright young woman to go on to college. But her answer is always the same: Her family doesn't have the money to send her to school. When Guzman turns up later at Ana's home to ask her father to reconsider letting the girl go, he inadvertently stirs up a hornet's nest. Carmen's lifetime of sacrifices has risen to the surface for her. She's been working since she was just 13, she says. When is it going to be her turn to rest? The family is united that Ana must go to work in her sister's shop, making beautiful evening dresses for upscale department stores to sell at inflated prices. Maybe she can go to college later. At Estela's, Ana reluctantly learns about the struggle the women in her family and the other women who work there go through every day. It's both sobering and depressing, but understanding helps Ana grow up. The other source of conflict between Carmen and Ana is the girl's ample body. "You're not fat," her secret, Anglo boyfriend, Jimmy, tells Ana with awe. You're just right, he reassures her. But at every opportunity, Carmen tells Ana that she is fat, that she'll never get married, and so on. Carmen is so good at this kind of nagging, you begin to feel she's personally hectoring you to loose weight. One of the movie's most satisfying scenes shows Ana and the other workers, including Estela, stand up to Carmen's bossiness and shed their clothes to work more comfortably in the shop. It's delightful to see these four women embracing their size wholeheartedly and dancing around their sewing machines to a Latin beat. Appropriately proud of its women and unsentimental about their contributions, Cardoso's film is respectful and even-handed with the men depicted as well. It seems right that an immigrant family would encounter unpleasant feelings and difficult memories when its youngest member is ready to leave home. But Ana is, after all, the future of the family and their hope for a better life. We in the audience feel certain that this spunky young woman will not disappoint their dreams. Now playing at the Bijou, Real Women Have Curves is highly recommended. It won the audience award at Sundance 2002 as well as a special jury acting prize for Ferrera and Ontiveros. It's a movie that will make you feel good. Bones of the Forest (Cascadia, 1997): "Interesting camera work and great interviews make this one about the B.C. forests and their humans stand out among eco-documentaries," according to presenters. NR. At 7:30 pm on 2/19 in 100 Willamette, UO. Free. Bread and Tulips (Italy, 2001): A sweet Italian love story played out in beautiful Venice is directed by Silvio Soldini and stars Licia Maglietta and Bruno Ganz. Highly recommended. Makes you long for more foreign films. PG-13. At 7:30 pm on 2/18 in 122 Pacific Hall, UO. Free. Online archives. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry star in this comedy/horror hybrid about a high school cheerleader who learns of her destiny as an unusual terminator. Donald Sutherland plays an authority on the fangy ones, and Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens (yes, Pee Wee) are 1,500-year-old specimens of the breed. Directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui. PG-13. LateNite Bijou. Daredevil: Marvel Comic's Man Without Fear is directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Stars Ben Affleck as the masked vigilante, Jennifer Graner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Joe Pantolliano, Jon Favreau and David Keith. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets: Again directed by Chris Columbus, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) try to uncover a dark force terrorizing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. G. Online archives. Movies 12. Hill, The (1965): The drill sergeant at this North African military post is your worst nightmare. Sean Connery bucks the system when he tries to get medical help for a prisoner in the stockade. Costars Ossie Davis, Michael Redgrave, Harry Andrews, Ian Bannen. Directed by Sidney Lumet. At 7 pm on 2/20 in 180 PLC. Free. Hot Chick: Verbally abusive cheerleader wakes up in the body of Rob Schneider. Yikes! Directed by Tom Brady. PG-13. Movies 12. Jungle Book 2: Same song, second verse from Disney. Mowgli now lives in the man village, but he misses his friends and runs away to the jungle to find them. But he may be found first: by Shere Khan the tiger, his old jungle pals, or his new family. Voices include John Goodman, Haley Joel Osment and Phil Collins. G. Cinema World. Cinemark. Old School: From Road Trip, Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn try to recapture the fun of their college years by starting their own off-campus frat house. R. Sneak at 7:30 on 2/16. Cinemark. Pokemon 4Ever: What do you need to know? More of the same. G. Movies 12. Seder Trek: Documentary by director Shachar Zefania is the finale at the UO Jewish Film Festival. Includes a personal trek to Gokio Peak in the Himalayas and the largest seder in the world, conducted for 1,000 young Israelis in Katmandu, Nepal. At 7 pm on 2/20 in 123 Pacific Hall, UO. Star Trek: Nemesis: Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise face an alien race, the Remans. Picard takes a diplomatic mission to the Romulans, but a surprisingly personal nemesis appears, and all is at stake. Stars Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Ron Perlman, Tom Hardy. Dir. by Stuart Baird. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Talk to Her: Pedro Almodóvar's film about two men who take care of two comatose women — and the complicated inter-relationships that develop — reaches beyond expectations to make it one of the most interesting and resonant films of the year. Very highest recommendations. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Tema (The Theme. Russia, 1979): Because it's about artistic freedom and immigration, this film directed by Gleb Paniflov languished unreleased for eight years. Winner Golden Bear at 1979 Berlin International Film Festival. NR. At 8:15 pm 115 Pacific Hall, UO. Free. Twenty Fifth Hour: Spike Lee directs Edward Norton as a man with only 24 hours before he's due in prison for the next seven years. Also with Rosario Dawson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. R. Highly recommended. LateNite Bijou. Online archives.
CONTINUING: About Schmidt: Jack Nicholson stars in Alexander Pain's (Election) film about a just-retired man who feels adrift. His only daughter, Jeannie (Hope Davis) is about to marry unwisely, and his wife of 42 years dies suddenly. He goes on the road to find himself. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Adaptation: Director Spike Jonze again teams with writer Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich) for a film that blurs the boundaries between reality and fictional representations of it, such as movies. Nicolas Cage plays Charlie Kaufman trying to hold back the terrors of writer's block while writing a screenplay of Susan Orlean's book, The Orchid Thief. Meryl Streep plays Orleans, and Chris Cooper's an avid orchid collector. R. Cinemark. Cinema World. Online archives. Analyze That: Sequel reunites crazy-as-a-fox Paul Vitti (Robert De Niro) and Dr. Ben Sobel (Billy Crystal), but Sobel's wife (Lisa Kudrow) is not happy about having Vitto around. Has he really lost his mind, or is it just a ruse to get out of the slammer? Directed by Harold Ramis. R. Movies 12. Antwone Fisher: Denzel Washington directs and stars in the true story of an alienated African American sailor (Derek Luke) and the Navy psychiatrist who helps him find himself. Critics say Washington and Luke overcome sentimentality to create an enduring work. PG-13. Movies 12. Biker Boyz: The world of underground motorcycle gangs is explored in this take on The Fast and the Furious genre. Laurence Fishburne plays the king, Derek Luke plays the kid trying to dethrone him. PG 13. Cinemark. Catch Me If You Can: Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio have fun in this chase movie about Frank Abagnale Jr., an actual con man of the 1960s who passed himself off as a pilot, a doctor, a lawyer and a college professor and forged millions in checks while still in his teens. Christopher Walken plays his father, and Tom Hanks plays the F.B.I. agent determined to capture him. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Chicago: Broadway spectacular directed by Rob Marshall stars Renee Zellweger as Roxie Hart and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Velma Kelley in this dark musical about killer dames behind bars who compete for the juiciest story from the tabloids. Queen Latifah's the harsh prison matron; Richard Gere is an attorney. Big winners of 2002 Golden Globes. PG 13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Deliver Us From Eva: Romantic comedy stars Gabrielle Union as the tough older sister who's run her younger sisters' lives for many years. Now they are married, and their husbands want Eva to chill and bring on LL Cool J to distract her. R. Cinemark 17. Die Another Day: Pierce Brosnan returns as James Bond for a new mission that takes him to Iceland in this action adventure yarn directed by Lee Tamahori. Costars Halle Berry, John Cleese and Judi Dench, with Rosamund Pike. Evil enemies played by Toby Stephens and Rick Yune. PG-13. Movies 12. Final Destination 2: More teenager with near-death experiences that end in actual death experiences. A.J. Cook stars as Kimberly, a car crash survivor who is stalked by Death. R. Cinemark. Friday After Next, The: In installment three of the Friday series, Ice Cube and Mike Epps are back in the neighborhood where it all began. Directorial debut of video director Marcus Raboy. R. Movies 12. Gangs of New York: Martin Scorsese's epic set in mid-1800s N.Y. stars Leonard DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis as rival gang leaders. The notorious Civil War draft riots also rock the city. Co-stars Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly and Jim Broadbent. One of the year's great films. Very highest recommendations. Guy Thing, A: Selma Blair, Julia Stiles and Jason Lee star in this film directed by Chris Koch. Lee's character has to iron out the truth to tell his fiancé (Blair), but doesn't seem to know himself. PG 13. Movies 12. Hours, The: Complex, critically acclaimed film stars Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and Meryl Streep in a story based around Virginia Woolf's life and her novel, Mrs. Dalloway. Based on Michael Cunningham's exquisite 2001 novel, the film reflects the inner lives and daily experiences of three strong women from different periods and places. Beautifully detailed, with strong supporting performances by Ed Harris, Stephen Dillane, Claire Danes, Miranda Richardson and John C. Reilly. Very highest recommendations. PG 13. Cinemark. Online archives. How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days: Magazine columnist Kate Hudson and ad agency professional Matthew McConaughey try to get the other to fall in love, but things go awry. High-energy romantic comedy. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. Just Married: This honeymoon from hell is directed by Shawn Levy and stars Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy and Christian Kane. PG-13. Movies 12. Kangaroo Jack: Taking mob money to Australia, two New York doofuses loose it to a kangaroo. Stars Jerry O'Connell, Anthony Anderson, Christopher Walken and Dyan Cannon. David McNally directs. PG. Cinemark. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Directed and re-imagined by Peter Jackson, part two of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy continues. New characters, a surprise return and great battles. Director Peter Jackson's second masterpiece. Very highest recommendations. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. My Big Fat Greek Wedding: It's about the 30-year old, unmarried daughter (Nia Vardalos) in a passionate but demanding Greek NY family, who meets the man she to marry (John Corbett), but he isn't Greek. This sweet romantic comedy entertains. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Pianist, The: Winner of the Cannes Best Picture award, this critically acclaimed film is based on the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew, composer and pianist. When the Nazis invade, he finds salvation in his art. Directed and produced by Roman Polanski and starring Adrien Brody as Szpilman. Highest recommendations. R. Bijou. Online archives. Real Women Have Curves: This long-awaited, simple, strong story is about the conflict between a strong-willed mother, Carmen (Lupe Ontiveros), and her equally determined daughter, Ana (America Ferrera). Ana is a Mexican-American teenager with a full figure and a chance to get an education, while her mother wants her to stay and work in the sweatshop. Directed by Patricia Cardoso. PG 13. Bijou. See review this issue. Recruit, The: Al Pacino and Colm Ferrell star in this story about the inner workings of the CIA. Also with Bridget Moynahan, and directed by Roger Donaldson. PG 13. Cinemark. Ring, The: Gore Verbinski finds a solid cast in Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive), Chris Cooper and Brian Cox for this remake of Hideo Nakata's 1998 Japanese horror film. PG-13. Movies 12. Shanghai Knights: Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are out to settle a score in Victorian London in this comedy directed by David Dobkin. PG-13. Cinemark 17. Cinema World. Sweet Home Alabama: Andy Tennant directs the fabulous Reese Witherspoon in this comedy about a hot fashion designer who returns to the South to get a divorce from scruffy hubby #1 (Josh Lucas) so she can marry rich Patrick Dempsey. PG-13. Movies 12. They, Wes Craven Presents: Nighttime terrors return in this pseudo-psychological thriller starring Laura Regan, directed by Robert Harmon. PG-13. Movies 12. MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
Theaters
All or Nothing: Mike Leigh's critically acclaimed film never played in Eugene. Starring Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville as a couple in a working class London neighborhood, surrounded by others like themselves, who are touched by tragedy. The new York Times' A.O. Scott writes, "Their climactic confrontation, in which years of bitterness and dashed expectations pour out, is one of the most moving scenes I've seen in a movie this year." R. City By the Sea: Robert De Niro plays a detective looking for his estranged son (James Franco). Also stars Frances McDormand. Tag: "When you're searching for a killer the last suspect you want to see is your son." Directed by Michael Caton-Jones, based on a true story from Esquire by Michael McAlary. R. Four Feathers, The: Surely the only reason to remake this old racist chestnut about the imperialistic Brits in the Sudan, 1898, is to give Hollywood hunk Heath Ledger something to do. Kate Hudson may help, as well as casting Wes Bentley and Djimon Hounsou. Directed by Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth). PG-13. Mostly Martha: Martina Gedeck, Maxime Foerste and Sergio Castellitto star in Sandra Nettlebeck's delightful romance, comedy, drama about the kitchen life and home life of a great chef. Highly recommended. G. Online archives. One-Hour Photo: The New York Times calls writer/director Mark Romanek's debut film "gripping but not wholly successful psychodrama." Focused performance by Robin Williams, who's a photo shop employee without a life of his own. When he falls in love with the "perfect family," he really needs them to be perfect. Chilling. Also stars Connie Nielson, Eric La Salle. R. Stealing Harvard: Tom Green, Jason Lee, Leslie Mann and Megan Mullaly star in this tale of a clean-living, hardworking guy who dabbles in crime and gets caught. PG-13. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1980) and Smiley's People (1982): New DVD releases to two BBC TV adaptations of John Le Carré novels starring Alec Guinness as the British super agent, George Smiley. 3-disc set from Acorn. Next week: The Blue Kite, Dr. Akagi, It All Starts Today, Knockaround Guys, The Road to Perdition, See the Sea and The Tuxedo.
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