Rien sur Robert (Pascal Bonnitzer) [C, with a caveat]
First, the caveat. I saw Rien sur Robert in what has got to
be the single worst seat in Alice Tully Hall, Box Seat B021, where I had the
"privilege" of paying $14 to see Robert in approximately Academy
ratio, as I had to strain my neck in an attempt to catch enough subtitles so
I could get a rough idea of what was going on.[1] (Yes, I'm just a wee bit bitter.)
What was going on was a bad French imitation of a Woody Allen comedy; one
where an immensely attractive (if highly neurotic) French brunette throws
herself at the feet of the shy, hangdog, and equally neurotic film critic
who's the film's "hero". This, I'm certain, happens all the time in real
life.
License to Live (Kiyoshi "Not-Akira" Kurosawa) [C+]
A film that plays far better in the mind than on the screen, since its
thematic thrust only becomes apparent near the end culminating in a
low-key but surprisingly poignant final scene. Until then, most of the film
is a crashing bore as our Rip Van Winkle's behavior is just as somnolent out
of a coma as in it. Of course, that may be part of Kurosawa's point; only
when he decides to stop recreating his past and go into the bold unknown future
does our protagonist show signs of life.
Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki) [B]
"The greatest animated film of all time?" Um, no. Don't get
me wrong; despite a lot of flaws, Mononoke is a good film.
But I get the strong suspicion that a lot of ludicrous claims are
going to be made for it by zealous anime fans; any claims about
its "adult" nature, in particular, are nuts since the film is only
marginally more sophisticated than Star Wars. Like that
film, Mononoke is rich in spectacle and setting; the opening
scene where our hero, Prince Ashitaka, saves his village from a
rampaging boar demon covered in writhing worms is a stunner, and
the other action set pieces that follow are equally thrilling.
However, its characterization (with one exception) is bland
and generic and not helped in the Americanized version by generally
terrible voice acting (Billy Bob Thornton, in particular, is
atrocious). The exception is Lady Eboshi, the boss of Irontown,
whose aims seems more misguided than evil, and oddly enough, strikes
me as the most sympathetic character in the movie.
Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze) [A-]
Arguably the weirdest American film ever made featuring
major actors. Unlike many wannabe cult films (such as the awful
Buckaroo Banzai), however, there's an actual point to
its weirdness besides hipsterism. I found the last reel weak as the
film tries to provide an explanation (lunacy needs no explanation)
for its strange goings-on, but I'll save further thoughts for when
I see it again.
Rosetta (Jean and Luc-Pierre Dardenne) [C+]
The Woman Chaser (Robinson Devor) [B]
[1]Judging from the rest of my tickets, my seat for Holy Smoke looks equally bad. I may wait for theatrical release on that one.