November 2007
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

Foreign films are my best picks this month. All of them get the highest ratings from me, although they are reviewed in my order of preference.

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AFTER THE WEDDING

I was kept fascinated and guessing all the way in this 2006 Oscar-nominated (best foreign language film) drama from Denmark, and after seeing it almost a month ago with my master, it remains with me still. The manager of a poverty-level orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen on a fund-raising mission that changes not only his life but the lives of many others. Two remarkable actors stand out even in an extraordinary cast. Mads Mikkelson, a young Danish actor, plays the orphanage manager who attends the wedding of the daughter of a multi-millionaire played by Swedish superstar Rolf Lassgard. The guest soon discovers the daughter should be no stranger to him. What happens at the wedding would be the climax of most movies, but is just the beginning of this one. I won’t reveal more of the plot because it is a story that unfolds wonderfully and full of surprises from the outstanding screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen and Susanne Bier who also directed. In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles. An IFC release from Zentropa Entertainments. Miss this film and you’re missing one of the best of the year.

SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE

This drama from Spain was the 1973 debut film of Victor Erice, one of the great but lesser-known European directors, at least in this country. It is a remarkable study of the dark side of childhood and its innocence that sometimes can turn to terror. The film takes place in 1940, shortly after the Spanish Civil War, and centers around two little girls who live with their parents in a farmhouse. The girls see a village theater showing of the horror classic “Frankenstein” and it changes their lives. We see the world as a sensitive child might see it, full of possibilities and danger. Besides being a fascinating story, it is beautifully photographed by Luis Cuadrado in the golden but desolate Castilian plains. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this movie is the acting of the two girls, but especially 6-year-old Ana Torrent. She should have won an Oscar for her performance. Restored from its 1973 print, in Spanish with new English subtitles, it is released by Janus Films.

OVERLORD

World War II, and particularly the Normandy Invasion of Europe, whose code name gives the movie its title, is seen through the eyes and experiences of a young British soldier. Originally released in 1975, this British docudrama interweaves actual black and white war footage as we follow the soldier from draftee to the Normandy landing. Directed and co-written by Stuart Cooper, an American, in a low-key style. Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington said, “Watching it gives you a harsh chill of recognition. War is often this bleak, this cold, this terrible -- even when it’s a ‘good war,’ and a heroic endeavor, like D-Day.”
A Janus Films release.

EVERY WOMAN KNOWS A SECRET

A British drama in which a middle-aged woman befriends a young man who was involved in the auto-crash death of her adored son. Based on the novel by Rosie Thomas, it is a compelling story of compassion that turns into love, well-played by Siobhan Redmond as the grieving mother and Paul Bettany as her son’s charismatic friend. Highly recommended, from BFS Entertainment.

TRAPPED

For laughs in this otherwise heavy drama month, this is a comedy trilogy from three writers, Jonathan Harvey, Simon Nye, and Tim Firth. VON TRAPPED is about a woman obsessed with THE SOUND OF MUSIC who goes to Salzburg and makes a discovery that changes her life. BEAUTY has an aristocrat with a deformed face whose life as a recluse is upset when a beautiful young woman plumber enters his mansion and heart. KING OF FRIDGES is a comedy involving an assistant store manager who must deal with an obnoxious elderly trainee. Good humor from BFS Entertainment.

EVENING

This drama is the only American film I’ve seen this month that comes up anywhere near what I’ve seen from other countries. It follows the life of a dying woman, played by Vanessa Redgrave, one of my very favorite actresses, as she recalls her younger days. It is often hard to follow as the story moves from present to past and back again, and often I didn’t know who was who, but if you stick with it to the end, as I did, you’ll understand and be satisfied. The high-powered supporting cast is a who’s who of great actresses today including Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Natasha Richardson, Claire Danes, and Toni Collette. Streep’s appearance is only in one scene near the end, but it is with Redgrave and wonderful to watch them together. Streep’s real-life daughter, Mamie Gummer, also is excellent playing her daughter in the film. And Natasha Richardson plays the daughter of her real-life mother, Vanessa Redgrave. Two young men also are in the film. Patrick Wilson, a fine rising star, has a thankless role as an over-rated lover that he plays well. A much meatier part is played very well by Hugh Dancy who proves with his strong performance that he is much more than just a pretty face. It’s probably what most men call a “chick flick,” but some more sensitive will appreciate its understanding of the bonds that form between mothers and daughters and family and friends. Based on the novel by Susan Minot and adapted for the screen by Michael Cunningham. From Focus Features and Universal Studios.

ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES

At long last, George Lucas’ exciting and educational television series is on DVD. The first collection of 12 discs follows Indy’s adventures from boyhood into college age as he travels with and without his parents to exotic places in seven feature-length episodes. Sean Patrick Flanery plays Indy as a young man and Corey Carrier is Indy the boy. Both are perfect in their roles, with fine support from guest stars including Vanessa Redgrave and Max von Sydow. Filmed on locations from England to Egypt and Africa, Indy’s life and education are enriched by meeting some of history’s most famous men and women including Albert Schweitzer, Sigmund Freud, Mata Hari, Thomas Edison, and Pablo Picasso. The extras are 38 newly-made documentaries about the famous people Indy meets in the fictional dramas. A second collection of the series will be released next month and a final collection early next year, all from Paramount Pictures.

THE BRONTE COLLECTION

Emily Bronte’s JANE EYRE and her sister Charlotte Bronte’s WUTHERING HEIGHTS get two new movie treatments from WGBH Boston Video. Toby Stephens, Ruth Wilson, and Francesca Annis star in JANE EYRE, and Orla Brady and Robert Cavanah are Cathy and Heathcliff in WUTHERING HEIGHTS. You’ve probably seen other versions of the stories but I find these new outings well worth seeing for their special perspectives in the two classic Gothic romances.

THE AMAZING MRS. PRITCHARD

This five-part Masterpiece Theatre comedy-drama stars Jane Horrocks as a grocery store manager and middle-class wife and mother whose social activism leads her to win an election as prime minister. It’s part fairy tale and real-life wish fulfillment and very entertaining, taking a look at how politicos try to juggle both public and private lives. >From BBC and Acorn Media Group.

BODY AND SOUL

Kristin Scott Thomas plays a nun who has been shut away in a convent in the Welsh hills for 16 years. When her brother dies tragically, she leaves her life of seclusion to help her pregnant sister-in-law and save her late brother’s struggling textile mill from bankruptcy. That’s a lot on the plate of the plucky nun who is faced with temptations she has never known. The miniseries is on two discs from Questar Entertainment which has been known primarily for excellent travel and nature DVDs but now is expanding into also offering quality feature-length films.

CRACKER: A NEW TERROR

Robbie Coltrane, who is in the Harry Potter films, plays Dr. Edward “Fitz” Fitzgerald, a “deeply flawed forensic psychologist” who helps the Manchester police hunt for a murderer with no apparent motive. It may be Coltrane’s last turn in the role that made him famous, as he becomes busy with movie work. This new drama involves politics and post-9/11 terrorism. The award-winning crime series is written by Jimmy McGovern and directed by Antonia Bird. Among the fine supporting players are Christopher Eccleston. From BBC Television and Acorn Media Group.

NO END IN SIGHT

A documentary narrated by Campbell Scott that reportedly is the first of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality, and anarchy. Based on more than 200 hours of filmed interviews it reveals insiders’ accounts of wholesale incompetence, recklessness, and corruption following the U.S. instigated invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Its producers say they examine “the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.” Richard Schickel of Time magazine says “Without question the most important movie you are likely to see this year.” From Magnolia Home Entertainment.

IRAQ: BATTLE PLAN UNDER FIRE

A set of three DVDs that offer a detailed understanding of the current situation in Iraq and the challenges that military staff are facing in eradicating terrorism and attempting to establish a foundation of democracy. Are either goals still possible in Iraq? You be the judge after these looks at hospitals treating the wounded, the differences between modern military weapons and tactics fighting non-tech guerrilla insurgents who play by their own rules, and pilot-less flying spy jets that seek out enemy targets. From WGBH Boston Video.

CHRISTOPHER REEVE: HOPE IN MOTION
A very worthy tribute to the actor who personified Superman both in the movies and real life, tracing his heroic efforts to survive after his fall from a horse that broke his neck and left him a quadriplegic. His son, Matthew, tells of his admiration for his father and mother, Dana, whose love together gave Reeve courage to keep trying to regain his health. Inspirational without being maudlin, from Arts Alliance America. You might also like to read the book
my master, Walter Oleksy, wrote on the life and career of the tragic actor, Christopher Reeve, from Lucent Books.

MONARCHY WITH DAVID STARKEY, SET 2

The eminent historian-storyteller gives us a second set of fascinating looks into English royal rule that often includes dirty tricks to gain the crown and notorious infidelities. All that good stuff that makes British royal history so entertaining. The five new episodes cover almost 250 years from 1660 to the start of the 20th Century, delving into the public and private lives of monarchs including lustful Charles II who sired 17 illegitimate children, Anne whose reign expanded the empire, and Victoria who brought about a new age that became the model for Middle-class morality. Starkey keeps things lively with his entertaining narrative taking us from bedrooms to battle-fields. The history that often can also be fun is in a two-DVD boxed set from British television and Acorn Media Group.

CLIVE CUSSLER’S THE SEA HUNTERS

Some of the most significant shipwrecks of World War II are visited in this exciting 3-DVD boxed set. Eight shipwrecks are explored by author Clive Cussler, marine archaeologist James Delgado, and a team of divers. Their adventures using the latest underwater technology such as 3-D imaging sonar includes visiting the remnants of a huge aircraft carrier made entirely of ice and ships sunk in the D-Day invasion. From Acorn Media Group.

THE SECOND CITY: FIRST FAMILY OF COMEDY

On the lighter side, this DVD is a retrospective documentary into Chicago’s famed comedy kindergarten that became a springboard to fame for comics such as John Beluchi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Tina Fey, and others. My master said he used to go to the Second City often and loved this nostalgic look back that rubbed his funny bone again. From Acorn Media Group.

THE MAGNIFICENT VOYAGE OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

This documentary focuses on Columbus’ first voyage, re-created with replicas of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. The ships took him and his crews across the Atlantic to the Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, and back to Europe with news of a “beautiful land and gentle people.” Sadly, he died never reaching China which was his dream, and without realizing he had discovered two vast new continents. From WGBH Boston Video.

RETIRE SMART, RETIRE HAPPY

Transition into retirement can be a daunting experience for those who don’t prepare both financially and mentally. This DVD from WGBH Boston Video helps with information necessary to make the life change easier. Hosted by Dr. Nancy K. Schlossberg, a retired college professor who specializes in mid-life, aging, transitions, and coping.

THE ESSENTIAL OZZIE & HARRIET

Your home life may not be as goody-two-shoes as the Nelson family’s from the 1950s, but it can be fun to see how it never was. All 100 episodes of the popular television series are on 12 DVDs in a boxed set from Mill Creek Entertainment. You see how bandleader Ozzie Nelson and his singer wife Harriet raise their two sons, David and Ricky, through the years and how Ricky became one of the founding singers of rock-n-roll. A television series that ran 14 years, from 1952 until 1966, is a reminder of kinder and gentler times the whole family can enjoy revisiting.

THE SIGN OF THE BEAVER

A family in colonial America seeks a new life in the uncharted wilderness of Maine. A harrowing adventure begins when the father must leave his 13-year-old son alone to protect the family’s claim. The boy meets a young Penobscot Indian and their mutual distrust develops into a friendship that teaches the boy about surviving, caring, and loyalty. Keith Carradine and Annette O’Toole star in this excellent film based on Elizabeth George Speare’s Newberry Honor Book.
Another excellent family feature from Questar Entertainment. Three other new family adventures from Questar are THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BLACK BEAUTY, and two DVDs with four new feature-length movies in THE ADVENTURES OF SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.

RALPH S. MOUSE

Beverly Cleary’s best-selling story is one of the picture books that come to life on DVD in this newest entry in the Scholastic Video Collection, RALPH S. MOUSE AND MORE EXCITING ANIMAL ADVENTURE STORIES. Ralph goes to a humans’ school and puts his mouse intelligence to a test. Also on the DVD is Syd Hoff’s STANLEY AND THE DINOSAURS which is a story of friendship and sharing; and Arnold Lobel’s UNCLE ELEPHANT is a warm lesson in caring.

POCKET SNAILS AQUAPHONIC ADVENTURE is an entertaining learning DVD taking children ages 3 and up to adventures both above and under the sea with upbeat music and amusing animation. From Soaring Star Productions.

BABY ROAD TRIP CIRCUS takes young children on a trip to the magical and dazzling world of a circus featuring acrobats, animals, and children clowning around. LEARNING WITH BABY ROAD TRIP introduces children to the shape-filled world under the big top. From Arts Alliance America.

ANGELINA BALLERINA: THE SILVER LOCKET is a DVD for little girls in which the mouse aspires to become a ballerina. Along the way she learns about telling the truth and being responsible. From HIT Entertainment.

POTTY ADVENTURE is a DVD with easy-to-follow steps to help children in potty training. A Pocket Snails educational adventure from Soaring Star Productions. Also from them is another Pocket Snails entry: LETTER ADVENTURE AND OTHER SNAILY SONGS in which youngsters learn the ABC’s.

Another Halloween has past and one of the best ghost movies ever is still not on DVD: THE UNINVITED, the 1944 movie with Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey buying an old house that is haunted. Too bad, Paramount. You have a classic and potential big money-making DVD in your vaults, but you must not even know it.

MGM HD, showing MGM movies in high definition, is a new channel on DirecTV, but a look at their first month’s offerings is very disappointing. Not a classic in the bunch. Could it be because Turner owns all the old MGM classics and shows them on Turner Classic Movies?

For shame, Walter Scott. In a recent Personality Parade in Parade, the Sunday newspaper supplement, you replied to a letter saying Hollywood stars of the past were even more scandalous than the present crop. Wrong. Two of the three cases you sited were unfair. “Fatty” Arbuckle was acquitted of a charge of manslaughter, and Errol Flynn was also acquitted of allegedly raping two teenage girls. They framed Flynn, the greatest adventure star the movies has ever had, and it cost him his career, his self-respect, and eventually his life. Get the facts straight, Scott, before you continue to publish myths maligning past stars. And by the way, where is the special Oscar Flynn deserves posthumously?

It was sad to read about the death of Deborah Kerr, one of the last of the great ladies of movies. In one obit she summed up how my master and I and many others feel about the movies today, when she said, about her film with Cary Grant, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER: “I think I understand what women see in the movie. There is a sweetness that is appealing and far removed from today’s crudities. It makes them realize that the world has lost something delightful.” It sure has, and in its place Hollywood gives us mindless movies with graphic sex and violence or juvenile toilet humor.