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City
of God
DVD from Miramax Films
starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus
Nachtergaele
directed by Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
Amazon.com
Like cinematic dynamite, City of God lights a fuse under its squalid
Brazilian ghetto, and we're a captive audience to its violent explosion.
The titular favela is home to a seething army of impoverished children
who grow, over the film's ambitious 20-year timeframe, into cutthroat killers,
drug lords, and feral survivors. In the vortex of this maelstrom is L'il
Z (Leandro Firmino da Hora--like most of the cast, a nonprofessional actor),
self-appointed king of the dealers, determined to eliminate all competition
at the expense of his corrupted soul. With enough visual vitality and provocative
substance to spark heated debate (and box-office gold) in Brazil, codirectors
Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund tackle their subject head on,
creating a portrait of youthful anarchy so appalling--and so authentically
immediate--that City of God prompted reforms in socioeconomic policy. It's
a bracing feat of stylistic audacity, borrowing from a dozen other films
to form its own unique identity. You'll flinch, but you can't look away.
--Jeff Shannon - Amazon.com
Book Published: 08 June, 2004 |
| |
THE
CELEBRATION (FESTEN) DVD
Denmark
Director Thomas Vinterberg
Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1998.
Rising to the challenge of Dogma 95's self-imposed restrictions on
aesthetic freedom, Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration is a remarkable
example of the way limits can give rise to creative opportunity. (Dogma
95 is a Danish filmmakers collective that also includes Lars von Trier,
director of Breaking the Waves. The group crafted a manifesto in which
its members vow to eschew special lighting, optical effects, props, and
the visible imprint of a director's personality in order to attain higher
truths yielded by characters.) The Celebration, shot with a small video
camera and transferred to 35mm film, concerns a black-tie birthday gathering
for a family patriarch, Helge (Henning Moritzen), which erodes into a battle
after long-suppressed secrets are revealed and the chance to settle old
scores presents itself. Among the grievances are an accusation of incest
and the responsibility for the death of a child--gruesome stuff, but Vinterberg
doesn't characterize the partying crowd's reaction in quite the way one
might have expected. In fact, the whole of The Celebration is about unexpected
perspectives and vantage points emerging from out of nowhere, largely due
to Vinterberg's free hand at editing the film in such a way as to yank
truth from every corner. This is a strong work that belies skepticism over
Dogma 95's bare-bones trendiness, and is perhaps a harbinger of great work
to come from Vinterberg. --Tom Keogh - Amazon.com
Bandit
Queen
DVD from Pioneer Video
starring Seema Biswas
directed by Shekhar Kapur
Published: 11 January, 2000
Out of Print - Try Used
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Manon
of the Spring
Less a sequel than a seamless continuation of its predecessor, Jean
de Florette, Manon of the Spring brings with it a more epic scope as it
depicts the growth to womanhood of the daughter (Emmanuelle Béart)
of the doomed farmer of the first film. As she discovers the truth of what
happened to her father as a result of the scheming of their neighbor (Yves
Montand), who took the land for himself, she vows revenge, realizing that
the neighbor's deeds have irrevocably shaped the course of her life. Her
moves toward avenging her father's demise provide an ironic twist to this
harsh and thought-provoking saga, and French director Claude Berri perfectly
illustrates the lasting consequences of deceit, greed, and revenge. Manon
of the Spring is a very special foreign film choice, destined to be revered
for years to come. --Robert Lane - Amazon.com
DVD from Mgm/Ua Studios
starring Yves
Montand, Emmanuelle
Béart
directed by Claude
Berri
Published: 23 January, 2001
Out of Print - Try Used
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