Dogs Bark

Story Without A Plot - - River Of Grass (1994, USA) - - 24 July 2014

Recommended.  Anyone that reads this blog religiously - - as opposed to reading it, say, profanely - - knows that I’m a Kelly Reichardt fan. I loved Wendy And Lucy and liked Old Joy and Meek’s Cutoff, three completely different movies. River Of Grass was her first feature-length film and you can see her stretching for the first rung. She called this a "road movie without the road . . . a crime story without the crime;"  for some, this might be a bit too minimalist.  Reichardt revels in turning the Antonioni gaze on her world and the movie drips with ennui, perfect for south Florida. The humor, however, is as dry as Arizona, mostly delivered in the flat acting and voice-over of Lisa Bowman (Dead Above Ground). Indy horror producer Larry Fessenden (Windego) plays her living-dead boyfriend and most of the other actors are local non-professionals. River Of Grass is unique but probably not for everyone.

Sibling Virally - - L'enfant D'en Haut [Sister](2012, France/ Switzerland) - - 17 July 2014

Recommended. Simon (Kacey Mottet Klein, Home) is a 12-year old hustler and thief who ascends each day to the posh ski resort perched above his bleak Swiss apartment complex and steals from the rich. Sister presents him as a Truffautian street urchin, charming and resourceful, supporting his indolent older sister, Louise (Léa Seydoux, Blue Is the Warmest Color). We think we get these kids until halfway into the story a revelatory plot twist throws everything into a snowbank. I screened this based on Ms. Seydoux’s talented  blue-headed performance and was not disappointed. Both leads create complex and fascinating characters under director Ursula Meier’s (Home) nuanced eye, suggesting that highly risky families can also share love. Gillian Anderson has a small but crucial part, which she aces, possibly representing the viewer’s eye. Sister was Switzerland’s submission for the 2013 Foreign Language Oscar. It made the short list, but was not nominated.

Poison Ivy - - The Seven Year Itch (1955, USA) - - 12 July 2014

Not recommended. I hadn’t seen this movie in many years but since I could summon no particular opinion, I thought I’d give it a scratch.  I should have stuck with the Calamine lotion as I was not aroused by The Seven Year Itch. The dialogue seemed silly and unsophisticated, bereft of wit and the characters largely unlikable. Tom Ewell (Adam's Rib) was spectacularly dull. Marilyn Monroe dealt frequently in self-parody but this time she doesn’t even have a funny name, simply The Girl.  She seemed bored to me, the famous subway grate gag, notwithstanding.  But considering the fact that this scene probably ended her marriage over this film, it seems kind of sad . I’m not sure director Billy Wilder had yet found the joyful character they created in Some Like It Hot and maybe Marilyn was struggling, too.   But not too worry; I had Lorelei Lee cleanse my palate.

It’s A Small Nightmare - - "L'image Manquante" [The Missing Picture](2013, Cambodia/France) - - 10 July 2014

Strongly recommended. Apparently, there is a website that sells anatomically correct dolls for use in sexual trauma counseling of young children. I suppose, unfortunately, there’s a market for such things.  The dolls look remarkably like the clay figurines that Cambodian director Rithy Panh (Rice People) uses to represent his childhood under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. Earlier this year, The Missing Picture was the third Cambodian film nominated for a best foreign film Oscar. Mr. Panh’s film, Rice People, was the first one, almost twenty years ago. The use of the clay dolls could represent Mr. Panh’s sense of violation, as they alternate, and sometimes merge, with actual Khmer Rouge footage . . . perhaps representing the lost ‘picture’ that’s been edited out everywhere but in the memory of the survivors. What emerges is a deeply sad story - - told with unrepressed emotion - - of the horror that toxic ideology can spawn.

A Time For Anyone But Us - - Omar (2013, Palestine) - - 5 July 2014

Recommended. One of the few positives in the tedious horror of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the good movies it inspires. Predictably, the underdog provides most of the talent. In the case of Omar, this talent emerges in its representation of the deep sadness of the endless strife and pointlessness of the violence - - from one side of the battle line - - without addressing the blame. Omar (Adam Bakri) and his friends initiate several attacks on their Israeli overloads minus any political backstory. This allows Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad (Paradise Now) to emphasize the impact on Omar’s romance with Nadia (the radiant Leem Lubany) . . . not exactly Romeo and Juliet but with equal tragedy.  The film lost out to The Great Beauty at this year’s Oscar ceremony, which is a valid but arguable result, and did well at Cannes. Talented Waleed Zuaiter (The Men Who Stare at Goats) creates a manipulative Israeli special agent.