Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days

VIDEO VIPER for Oct. 24, 2008

‘Four Months’ difficult film to watch

“Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days” is one of those important but difficult films to watch.

It's sort of like “Hard Candy,” just less gratuitous.

It takes place in the final, repressive days of Communism in Romania in the 1980s.

Gabita ((Laura Vasiliu) is a college student who finds herself pregnant. She wants to end the pregnancy, but abortion is illegal.

So she sets out to have an illegal abortion, with the help of a friend, Otilia (Anamaria Marinca).

The pair, while having limited resources, get together the amount of money they think the abortionist will need. They are told to rent a room in one of two select hotels for three days. Unfortunately, there is no record of their reservation and they resort to a seedier hotel.

The seedier hotel may be a cost-cutting measure for the film. The film may be powerful, but it looks like it was put together on a shoe string. The hotel room looks much like the college dorm rooms.

Vlad Ivanov plays the slimey, matter-of-fact abortionist who describes the details of the procedure in a more thorough manner than I wanted to hear.

What's interesting too is director Cristian Mungiu leaves the camera static on these three people, the pregnant girl, her friend and the abortionist, for eternity.

I didn't get a stopwatch out, but in these days where scenes are sometimes measured in single seconds, this scene seems to go on for 10 or 15 minutes.

Nothing is spared in this film and it isn't easy to watch in many instances.

For example, the Ivanov character acts very calm and deliberate and sensible as he describes the actions. We find the girls haven't brought enough money and despite their begging and pleading, he won't agree to simply do the act and get the rest of the money later. They have already paid for the hotel for three days and can't afford that expense again.

The result is, well, you can guess how the girls must make up the difference.

After starting the procedure, the Ivanov character talks about how the fetus will eventually come out. Don't try to flush it down the toilet, the girls are told. Don't leave it in the trash where dogs can get to it.

Yeah, this is sad, sad stuff.

The friend leaves for awhile to attend a birthday party, but when she returns, the fetus has been aborted and sits on the bathroom floor. The camera shows the girl staring down in shock. My thoughts at the time, don't show the fetus. Don't show the fetus.

But of course, they do.

This film garnered lots of accolades and was nominated for best foreign film. There has been discussion the director is pro-choice. But I can see the film working at both levels.

These girls go through a special kind of hell and at the end of the film, agree never to speak of it again. That would seem to side with safe, legal abortions.

But showing the aborted fetus, talk of how to get rid of it will certainly be ammunition for those who are pro-choice.

If easily disturbed, this isn't for you to see. But sometimes films need to take on important subjects and not flinch when they do it.

Director Christian Mungui certainly accomplishes that. This is one film you won't forget. You may want to, but you won't.

Watching the Detectives

‘Watching the Detectives’ quirky comedy

WEEKENDER for Oct. 18, 2008:

CILLIAN MURPHY and Lucy Lieu in “Watching the Detectives.”

I just love Lucy Liu as the whacky girlfriend in the unconventional romantic comedy, "Watching the Detectives."

And no, after watching the film, I have no idea what the title means.

Cillian Murphy plays Neil, the owner of Gumshoe Video, one ugly video store.

Not sure when this is supposed to take place, but the big, fancy rival store has DVDs. Neil's hole-in-the-wall business seems filled with big, clunky VHS tapes.

There is a couch and TV in the middle of the store so Neil and friends can sit around watching B titles and debate what kind of anime is better.

Into the store comes the lovely, quirky Violet (Liu) who puts a $50 deposit down to rent a film because she doesn't have a driver's license or credit card.

Neil lives the safe life. How he can eke out a living in his store is open to debate, especially with two employees hanging around.

He lives his life through film noir. He loses girlfriends because they don't want to talk about Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal."

Liu's character likes to live create her own excitement. She converted her television into a fish tank.

When Neil arrives at the fancy restaurant for their first date, you would think he could never afford it. Violet has gathered all of the partially-filled wine glasses left on tables and acts drunk, to see if he'll take advantage of the situation and take her home to bed.

She's touched when he simply tries to get her home safe, but at the same time decides he owes her a $50 dinner. At the end of the meal, she pulls a massive adding machine out of her purse and tabulates how much he's spent so far, deciding how much dessert she needs to make up the difference. It's like something out of a Marx Brothers picture.

Later for fun, they go to the big, shiny, well-maintained big-box video store and hide in a closet. When it closes for the night, they spend time changing movies in the DVD jackets. The Disney animated features get the porn.

She is forever setting up dangerous situations for them to get out of and while he knows he should walk away from the relationship, there's something just too appealing about Liu's character.

Directed by Paul Soter, this isn't your normal romantic comedy. It starts out gangbusters, sags a bit in the middle but redeems itself.

Murphy, who had a more famous role as the Scarecrow in "The Dark Knight," does an effective job living life with Liu with his jaw dropped. Liu's Violet is like no other female character I've run into.

It's the kind of character Claudette Colbert or perhaps Katherine Hepburn could have played in the 1930s.

This has "The Clerks" feel to it, but less gross-out.

OK, so it's difficult to describe. It certainly isn't your common romantic comedy plot outline.

It may not be the perfect date film. But then, it will probably give you plenty to talk about later.

WATCHING THE DETECTIVES

• Directed by Paul Soter

• Runtime: 90 minutes

• Not rated, but has some bedroom scenes and language

• 3 stars out of 4

“C.R.A.Z.Y., Ma Vie En Rose

Two films deal with sexual identities
GEORGE Du FRESNO (under veil) in “Ma Vie En Rose.”
MARC-ANDRE Grondin in “C.R.A.Z.Y."

From Star Beacon WEEKENDER, Oct. 10, 2008

They might make for a good double feature, which is the way the Viper watched them, but frankly, when they are over, you might find yourself tired of the topic.

In “C.R.A.Z.Y.,” Emile Vallee and later Marc-Andre Grondin play Zac Beaulieu. He and his four brothers grow up in Montreal in the 1950s to 70s.

Zac feels he is gay but tries to suppress his emotions, especially because of his emotionally distant father, played by Michel Cote.

Zac finds himself relating to David Bowie’s glam period. He’s not a fan of the Catholic Church and in one great scene, imagines himself in the sanctuary as he listens to the Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil.”

He imagines the choir, the congregation, the stuffy priest all chanting “hoo hoo” as he ascends Christ-like to the roof of the sanctuary.

But the song reprised through the entire picture is Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” which probably summarizes the characters in this picture.

The eldest brother, Raymond, played by Pierre-Luc Brillant, is a drug addict who has been to prison. But Dad fawns over him despite his destructive ways, while being repelled by next-youngest Zac. The rest of the brothers pretty much are sidelined for most of the picture.

There’s lots of smoking, there’s lots of drugs.

The second film, “Ma Vie En Rose,” opens with 6-year-old Ludovic Fabre, played by Georges Du Fresne, a perceptive youngster who at an early age decides he is a girl in a boy’s body.

He dreams an ‘X’ chromoscone that was supposed to go to him accidentally ended up in the trash.

Ludovic looks like a girl, enjoys female clothing probably more than little girls his age and plans on becoming a girl and marrying the boy next door.

The trouble with Ludovic is he’s just plain annoying. When he goes to a contemporary’s party, he insists on wearing a dress.

At Show-and-Tell, he drags out his favorite dolls he likes to play with. Hey, is this kid cruisin for a bruising or what?

In both films, the adults are horrified and think a little more testosterine-laden activities with father and other boys will set the kids straight. Ludovic gets his page-boy hairstyle sheered. Hey, that’s going to change his attitude.

We see Ludovic vying to play Snow White in the school play while being forced into a rough-and-tumble game of soccer.

That’s what grows so tiring about this film, the reaction of adults.

In “Ma Vie En Rose,” the father ends up losing his job and is forced to move.

I’m not certain what we learn from these films, except maybe that people should speak in French and listen to music in English.

If you see these movies, you might want to divide them into two viewing nights. A Marx Brothers film in between might be a good idea.

Ma Vie En Rose

• Runtime: 88 minutes

• Language: French

• Rated R for strong language

• 2 1/2 stars out of 4

C.R.A.Z.Y.

• Runtime: 127 minutes

• Language: French, filmed in Canada

• Not rated

• 2 stars out of 4

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Television Under the Swastika

Film documents television under the Nazis

BENITO MUSSOLINI'S visit with Adolph Hitler was chronicled in "Television Under the Swastika."

When you think of the early days of television, images of Uncle Miltie Berle and the “U.S. Steel Hour,” Edward R. Murrow and “I Love Lucy” come to mind.

Ah, but there was television better than a decade before that. It was in Nazi Germany.

This fascinating fact makes for a less than fascinating documentary, “Television Under the Swastika.”

The Nazis were early pioneers in the world of broadcast television, dating to March 1935.

Nazi television quality was pretty crude at first, but within a few months the picture quality improved greatly.

The documentary proves less interesting than you would anticipate, probably because there just isn’t that much material surviving.

It’s hard for us to fathom in these days of camcorders and digital video recorders, but archiving programs was technologically difficult back them.

The result is most of the programming went out over the airwaves and was lost forever.

What is left often is films of the making of programs.

It remains a historically interesting find.

Some of the archives are downright funny, including a less-than-eloquent Nazi official who can’t seem to express himself too well, mumbling and stammering.

Another time we see a program about scientists studying the Aryan race. A scientist takes what looks like the old ice-carrying tongs to measure the superior head circumference of a German girl.

There’s live coverage of Adolph Hitler’s visit to Adolf Hitler Square. Since there weren’t multiple cameras available, they simply had a car driving along side Hitler’s. So Germans were treated to footage of Hitler riding down the road in his car, and riding and riding.

Actually, there weren’t too many Germans with television at the time. There were television salons where Germany’s elite sat and watched the single TV in the room. A man stood in the front of the room and was ready to make an adjustment if the picture started jumping.

It wasn’t all propaganda, although we see talking heads discussing the greatness of the Nazi plan called “Strength Through Joy.”

The programs originated at first from a tiny room, but eventually expanded into bigger quarters.

Programming aired three times a week at first, but it didn’t take long for it to expand to seven days.

There was intensive coverage of the 1936 National Socialist Party Convention, including a list of all of the food the members were eating.

We see the 1937 visit from Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

There were plays presented on a stage, old-fashioned type vaudeville acts. We see tap dancers, singers, comedy routines.

Another unintenionally funny program was aimed at German women, showing them how to be good wives. How to bring up proper German children. It was supposed to be real, but was definitely staged. A big part of learning to be a good German wife apparently included singing pro-Nazi songs.

This television division attempted to keep itself important and relevant because if it didn’t, the whole thing would close and staffers would be off to the front.

As the war worsened, we see footage of happy German soldiers who have lost their legs still being able to dance, just as good as ever.

Eventually, in 1944 when Germany’s defeat was inevitable, the broadcasts went black. The experiment was over.

History buffs will no doubt enjoy this documentary.

This appeared in the Star Beacon WEEKENDER Oct. 3, 2008.

Starting Out in the Evening

Great characters prevail in ‘Starting Out’

Roadside Attractions
FRANK LANGELLA and Lauren Ambrose in"Starting Out in the Evening."

Watching "Starting Out in the Evening," it's hard to imagine Frank Langella was once a menacing, handsome "Dracula."

In "Evening," he plays an aging, has-been of an author who wears a suit and tie all of the time, even late at night in his home. He is soft-spoken, intelligent and sad as he wrestles with his fifth novel.

He still pecks away at a typewriter, although this one appears to be electric, so he's only a generation behind.

Into his life comes the cute, perky Heather Wolfe, played by Lauren Ambrose of "Six Feet Under" fame.

She is a huge fan of his first two works. It appears everyone was. But his next two novels lacked the same bite and flair and this fifth offering, after years in the process, is going nowhere.

Heather wants to do her masters thesis on Langella's character, Leonard Schiller. She thinks she can somehow revive his career in his autumn years.

Langella, in his prim and proper way, cautiously lets this girl into his life.

She's smart. She knows her literature. Despite the age difference, they share the same interests when it comes to books. A sort of romance develops.

While most girls her age may be partying, Heather goes to book lectures with Leonard.

These are two deep, complex, fascinating characters. That is often enough for one movie, but there's the interesting subplot involving Leonard's daughter as a bonus. She's played by Lili Taylor. Nearing 40, she's had a difficult relationship with men but yearns for family and child. She thinks she can't have both, so she stops using birth control with her latest boyfriend, hoping to at least have the baby. When he asks her to marry him, she is scared and runs back to a previous relationship, that hadn't worked out.

Taylor's character can't make sense of her own life and wonders what this pretty young girl is doing at all hours with her father. It sort of all gets sorted out when Leonard has a stroke.

This is a marvelous, literate, compelling and enjoyable character study. I have to say they even get Langella's glasses design right. It's what my grandfather wore in the 60s and 70s.

"Starting Out in the Evening" was deserving of Oscar consideration. Why it wasn't, I don't know. Maybe the Academy was afraid a movie about books and thought would get people away from theatres and into the library.

That would turn into a horror picture, wouldn't it?

From WEEKENDER, Sept. 26, 2008.

Dan in Real Life

Dan’s life worth taking a look at in this film

Touchstone Pictures

STEVER CARELL and Alison Pill in “Dan in Real Life.”

Dan is a widower with three daughters, two who are hormonal-raged teen-agers.
He writes an advice columnist, although he seems to be in need of advice himself.
That's the backdrop to “Dan in Real Life,” starring Steve Carell.
Dan must drag his daughters, including Cara, played by Brittany Robertson, to a long weekend get-together. Cara is so in love she can't stand it and she can't stand her father.
And what a family Dan has, with scads and scads of siblings, siblings-in-law and nieces and nephews.
His parents (Dianne Wiest and John Mahoney) have a rustic Rhode Island home with enough room to accommodate them. Dan is stuck sleeping in the laundry room off the kitchen. The first night, mom throws wet clothes in the dryer and turns it on as he readies for a night of sleep. He must drift off to the thump, thump, thump of the dryer.
Dan has a lot on his mind, his rebel daughters, his loneliness over the loss of his wife and his anxiety over possibly getting his column syndicated.
Mom suggests Dan go to his favorite book store to relax. She even gives him a dollar to buy a newspaper.
There Dan meets and falls for a sparkling woman played by Juliette Binoche. (Remember when she was French?)
After a day of pouring out his soul to this woman, he goes home excitedly to tell the great mass of relatives about his newfound friend and new outlook on life.
His euphoria lasts about two minutes, because brother Mitch (Dane Cook) arrives with his new girlfriend. Yep, it's the Binoche character.
Dan fades into the background while the family takes to the newcomer, during their days of eating, crossword puzzle competition, family football and the like.
There's a funny scene in which one daughter, played by Alison Pill, slips into the bathroom to talk to the Binoche character about life's problems. Unfortunately Dan happens to be in there talking to her. He is forced to hide in the running shower . It gets worse.
There's also another great screne with the pair going bowling.
You can't help but feel sorry for Dan. You also get a sense this is a real family, active and funloving and supportive, no matter what.
Also, the film is family-friendly. No nudity, no obscenities, no violence.
So bring “Dan” into your real life.

DAN IN REAL LIFE
• Directed by Peter Hedges, written by Hedges and Pierce Gardner
• Runtime: 98 minutes
• Rated PG-13 for innuendo
• 4 stars out of 5
From WEEKENDER, Sept. 19, 2008

Something the Lord Made

‘Something the Lord Made’ a devine film

HBO
MOS DEF and Alan Rickman in “Something the Lord Made.”

“Something the Lord Made” is an absolutely riveting film about a black man whose vocation was expected to be a carpenter and an eminent doctor and how the pair changed the world.

This film was released for HBO four years ago and recently returned to the premium channel. It is also available on DVD.

Mos Def plays Vivien Thomas, a black man in the Great Depression who yearns to be a doctor. Fat chance, given the era. That's especially true after he loses seven years of savings in a failed bank.

So he does the next best thing, he gets a job sweeping floors and doing other maintenance for surgeon and researcher Alfred Blalock (Alan Rickman.)

Except Thomas is drawn to Blalock's library and is engrossed in books on anatomy. He is a natural in research and fast becomes Blalock's assistant.

Using dogs in their experiments, they try to figure out how to save patients who are in shock because of traumatic injuries. Blood is leaving important parts of the body and people are dying, at least in the 1930s.

The acceptable solution at the time is to constrict blood vessels, forcing blood to needed areas. But Blalock and Thomas discover that supplementing the body with more blood is a better solution.

A dozen years later, Blalock is accepted as chief surgeon at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Thomas and his wife (played by Gabrielle Union), tag along. They are forced to live in a bad section of town. Thomas is doing important research, but his job classification is Grade 3 maintenance worker, earning $16 a week. To make ends meet, he does odd jobs for his landlord to get a $7 reduction in rent.

Blalock depends on Thomas, especially when they start researching blue babies, those with blue lips because their hearts are defective and they can't get sufficient blood pumped through their bodies. But when Thomas complains about his pay, Blalock fails to see the importance. They work together each day, but come from other worlds.

The story of discrimination against Thomas is fascinating. He must use the back entrance to the hospital, even when he's with the chief surgeon. We see a doctor throw money at him and tell him to get coffee. There's the look of horror on a staff person's face when Thomas uses the white restroom. You can't help but think of the progress we have made, with a black man a major party contender for president today.

We learn in the 1940s, trying to correct defective hearts was unheard of. God made the babies that way and they were expected to die in a few months. Blalock had a vision that it didn't have to be that way.

There is a wonderful scene in which Blalock is about to do the first surgery on a dying baby, after Thomas has done all of the research. But when it comes time to do the surgery, Blalock runs out of the operating room to get Thomas to assist. The nurse refuses to page Thomas because he isn't a doctor.

Later, when Blalock is honored for his work, Thomas can only watch from the back because he is there as a servant.

This is one of those small films but it is well acted and authentic to its time period. It is compelling as it is educational. You will remember “Something the Lord Made” for a long time.

SOMETHING THE LORD MADE

Directed by Joseph Sargent, written by Peter Silverman

Runtime: 110 minutes

Not rated, but brief periods of foul language

4 stars out of 4

PUBLISHED IN WEEKENDER, Sept. 12, 2008.