film

Film listings are edited by Cheryl Eddy. Reviewers are Robert Avila, Meryl Cohen, David Fear, Dina Gachman, Susan Gerhard, Dennis Harvey, Johnny Ray Huston, Patrick Macias, and Chuck Stephens. See Rep Clock and Movie Clock, for theater information.
Opening

L'auberge espagnole A sheltered French youth (Romain Duris) heeds the advice to "go southwest, young man" and becomes an economics exchange student in Barcelona. He ends up in an apartment with six other twentysomething Euro-expatriates and steps into a whole new world of liberating drinking, loving, and touchy-feely dorm room epiphanies. Director Cédric Klapisch (When the Cat's Away...) peppers this Candide-lite comedy with so much postcard photography and "This was the semester that changed my life" narration that any bigger picture musings are buried underneath a cringe-worthy sense of schmaltz. There's a certain naive undergrad charm in the film's view of pan-Europeanism as nothing more than a hostel takeover, where nations of all stripes would get along if they all just chilled out, smoked a doob, and sang along to Bob Marley. After two hours of clichéd soul-searching amongst the college sophomore set, however, the movie's title (slang for "euro pudding") takes the culinary metaphor to the extreme: It goes from slightly delectable to a little too sweet, far too sticky, and hardly worthy of being considered a full meal. (1:56) Act I and II, Bridge. (Fear)

Blue Car Blue Car begins promisingly, as a narrative refreshingly focused on the creative process of a young woman who is neither insane nor suffering some other catastrophe. Too bad writer-director Karen Moncrieff lets it all hit the fan later on, in unusually large amounts. Eighteen-year-old Meg (Agnes Bruckner) expresses frustrations about a neglectful mother, absentee father, and unstable younger sister through some not terrible poetry. An English teacher (David Straitharn) steps up to play creative mentor, espousing weak nuggets like "You can go deeper" – which do serve to inspire Meg. However, what starts as an earnest teacher-student relationship is ruined by creepy betrayal; Montcrieff also places enough obstacles in young Meg's life to fuel three other movies. Bruckner's honest and believable performance is Blue Car's highlight. (1:28) Embarcadero. (Koh)

Down with Love See Movie Clock, page 103. (1:42) Jack London, Oaks, Orinda.

House of Fools Inspired by an actual incident in which asylum inmates were briefly abandoned by staff, Andrei Konchalovsky's movie is much less a realistic drama than an antiwar whimsy à la The King of Hearts. It's at its least when hewing closest to that '60s-grounded belief in the superior wisdom of crazy people in a world gone mad, with speech-defected but otherwise waif-perfect Janna (Julia Vysotsky), the accordion-playing sweetest little lunatic in the whole wacky bunch. Her big delusion is that aging MOR hunk Bryan Adams is her fiancé – as visualized in several music video-like sequences where the somewhat ravaged-looking Adams himself croons to her. Konchalovsky (mis-)spent several years abroad directing English-language films (Tango and Cash, Shy People, Runaway Train), so you'd think he would know that Adams isn't a gently retro-amusing choice but a merely shlocky one. Once the skittish doctors and nurses flee their psychiatric hospital, leaving the residents to greet successive Chechen, then Russian occupying forces, House of Fools does frequently transcend its more banal ideas to provide striking, poignant scenes that crystallize the absurdity of institutionalized warfare – not to mention the mordant, never-ending human disaster zone that is Mother Russia herself. (1:44) Opera Plaza, Shattuck. (Harvey)

*In the Mirror of Maya Deren Still best known for her first film, the stunning 1943 psychodrama Meshes of the Afternoon, Deren was possibly the most important single figure in the post-World War II creation of an American underground cinema. A child refugee from Russia, and a dancer, poet, and active socialist before she turned to filmmaking, Deren chose her medium because "In film I can make the whole world dance." Generous excerpts here from Mesh, At Land, her actual dance films, and the numerous unfinished titles left behind bear that statement out. But even beyond her remarkable talent, Deren continues to fascinate as an enigmatic figure, one equally shaped by Greenwich Village bohemia and involvement in Haitian voodoo practices; by martial arts and experimental theater; by her own startling beauty and the damaging amphetamine use that helped end her life prematurely, broke and creatively frustrated at age 44 in 1961. A number of contemporaries and artistic collaborators offer their reminiscences in Martina Kudlacek's excellent documentary portrait, among them Living Theatre founder Judith Malina, Haitian artist Jean-Leon Destine, and fellow film avant-gardist Stan Brakhage. If the very complex, emotionally volatile "burning person" Deren remains somewhat elusive, this feature proves her art is more immediate than ever. (1:44) Red Vic. (Harvey)

The Matrix Reloaded The gang in black are back for more bullet time, kung fu, and supposedly deep philosophical musings. Only this time, the adventure is shapeless, overlong, and dangerously incoherent. Now fully strapped with the "superman thing," Neo, a.k.a. "the One" (Keanu Reeves), races through both real and unreal worlds in order to find the Oracle, the Keymaker, and the Architect (presumably, the Butcher and the Baker will pop up in November's Matrix Revolutions), all of whom must be confronted in order to save the last remnant of humanity. Unfortunately, what they've got to say doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense, nor does the relentless exposition qualify as a fun time at the movies. Happily, some of these problems are mitigated by the requisite jaw-on-the-floor action scenes, at least one of which (Neo versus an army of Agent Smiths), has to rank as one of the finest ever filmed. (2:18) Century Plaza, Century 20, Grand Lake, Jack London, Orinda. (Macias)

*Northwest Far from the bling-bling, handrail-packed films overpopulating shelves at local skate shops, Northwest takes a mature look into skateboarding and its apostles. The latest from Coan Nichols and Rick Charnoski (Fruit of the Vine) focuses on a group of skateboarders who are "creating their own reality" in the form of mammoth skate parks, built by skaters for skaters. The doc follows park builders Mark "Red" Scott and Mark "Munk" Hubbard to nowhere towns throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The grainy, black-and-white film stock simplifies the parks' flowing and curved perfection – they resemble huge roller-coaster rides that would leave California city planners scrambling to get the kids in the house. Northwest's unhurried pace further complements the characters of the men who are producing their dream landscapes; the initiative they take to build on their own terms (14-foot bowls, fullpipes, cradles) provokes an inspiring sentiment I haven't felt in a long time. Northwest, which made its debut at the New York Underground Film Festival, has its S.F. premiere at an event featuring Bay Area bands Clay Wheels, Backyard Damage (featuring film subject Pete the Ox's band), and the Future Now Dee-Jays. Club Galia. (Jonathan Schaub)

Owning Mahowny Dan Mahowny (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a mild-mannered bank manager by day and an equally straight-faced gambling fiend by night. He begins skimming from his work to play the tables and pay off his betting debts, but his obsession takes over as his colorless girlfriend (Minnie Driver) tries in vain to coax him from the cards. Though director Richard Kwietniowski applies a nice, austere touch to the true-life material, which is based on Gary Ross's book Stung, Owning Mahowny only seems like the latest portrait in the rogue's gallery of pale, hunched thinking-person's losers in which Hoffman specializes. Like the high-rolling Mahowny, Hoffman is a victim of his own success, riding a wave of these acting showcases. Let's hope this elegant yet ultimately sterile film is the last in that streak – for the actor's sake. (1:47) Shattuck. (Kimberly Chun)

Pokemon Heroes The animated critters return for their fifth big-screen adventure. (1:15) Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Waiting for Happiness See "Time and Place," page 56. (1:35) Roxie.

*Winged Migration Its unassuming title and topic (migratory birds) notwithstanding, Jacques Perrin's documentary Winged Migration is of a feather with the greatest of action movies: the only time the screen is not occupied with ambushes, crash landings, gunshots, daring escapes, murderous crustaceans, and crumbling icebergs, is when it follows the birds in pure, sensational flight. Five crews of more than 450 people, with 17 pilots and 14 cinematographers, were involved in filming these birds in flight, and still the resulting sequences are so close, so immediate, so lacking in artifice, that you would swear they were filmed by another bird. And it's a running theme that while the humans are so ingenious as to bring the film off – traveling across 40 countries in all seven continents, from the Eiffel Tower to Monument Valley, the Arctic to the Amazon – the indefatigable birds themselves are even more astounding. (1:29) Clay, Empire, Smith Rafael. (Amir Baghdachi)

Ongoing

Anger Management (1:41) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Bend It like Beckham With a witty screenplay, feel-good story, and kick-ass soundtrack, Gurinder Chadha's Bend It like Beckham (named, by the way, for the soccer star who's also known as Mr. Posh Spice) has already broken box-office records in the U.K. and arrives in the United States with a worldwide $50 million gross already under its belt. Jess, Beckham's protagonist, is a reluctant challenger who's driven by her passion for soccer to deviate from the expectations of her old-world family. Beckham pointedly punctures English, Indian, and immigrant foibles despite a few jokes that are broad enough to hit the side of a barn. But its pseudo-lesbian subplot is unlikely to ruffle viewers of any lifestyle. More satisfyingly, the film's climactic wedding scene erupts into high drama with mistaken-identity mischief delicious enough to ensure it won't be mistaken for Monsoon Wedding. (1:42) Embarcadero, Orinda, Piedmont, Shattuck. (B. Ruby Rich)

*Better Luck Tomorrow Ben (Parry Shen) is your archetypal Asian studyholic – but despite his academic prowess he's completely invisible. Ben's crew does its best to tweak the stereotypes: there's Virgil (Jason Tobin), the "other smart guy at school" and a goofy, squeaky spaz; Virgil's brother Han (Sung Kang), a cool would-be greaser with a muscle car; and Daric (Roger Fan), an obnoxious Max Fischer archetype who has his hand in every school club and, later, every scam. Director-cowriter-producer Justin Lin's Better Luck Tomorrow succeeds at infusing the secret life of the Asian nerd with an unprecedented level of sexiness and humor; we can all imagine what would happen if the culture's tenacity, skills, and pressure to excel were applied to crime instead of tests and study sessions. Like its characters, though, Better Luck Tomorrow comes off like an early acceptance-style academic overachiever. It makes all the right moves and is ready for the big leagues with MTV backing, yet is still a little too eager to please. (1:38) Century 20, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck. (Chun)*Bowling for Columbine (1:59) California, Lumiere.

Bulletproof Monk (1:43) Century 20, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness.

*Le cercle rouge Though still best known for 1955's Bob le flambeur (the source for Neil Jordan's current The Good Thief), French writer-director Jean-Pierre Melville honed his art to the perfect, minimalist endpoint only later on, in a series of almost antiaction films including cult magnet Le samouraï, starring Alain Delon as a tragic and spectral loner hit man. Delon is also the primary ghost in the machine of Le cercle rouge, made three years later and now getting a U.S. rerelease. He's Corey, a thief released early from the pen for good behavior and tipped to a new heist before he's even hit the street. Meanwhile, evidently dangerous suspect (of what, we're never told) Vogel (Gian-Maria Volonté) picks his way out of handcuffs and leaps from the moving train into the surrounding woods. The two are of course fated to meet, and Vogel is soon taken in as coconspirator in the planned heist at a high-security jeweler's. Taking place in a dreary winter of rain, mud, and snow (with famed cinematographer Henri Decae's images at once drab and beautiful), Le cercle rouge is almost metronomically even in pace for a full 140 minutes. Yet it's riveting in a fashion that makes such recent caper updates as Ocean's 11 and Confidence look like somewhat inept stabs at cheap flash. (2:20) California, Castro, Smith Rafael. (Harvey)

Charlotte Sometimes (1:28) Galaxy, Oaks.

*Chicago (1:47) Century 20, Galaxy, Metreon.

*City of Ghosts Matt Dillon's directorial debut is as surprising an announcement of an actual artistic sensibility as George Clooney's was with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Dillon also stars as Jimmy, a U.S. insurance executive pursuing an agent who's disappeared into southeast Asia after pocketing funds that should have gone to hurricane-devastated claimants. The trail to elusive Marvin (James Caan) leads Jimmy to Bangkok, then to Phnom Penh, where a bar-hotel run by a hilariously tantrum-prone Gerard Depardieu magnetizes all tourists, expatriate strays, drunks, and shady dealers. Multimillion-dollar investment scams, quicksilver violence, the military's heavy hand, and ghosts of the dread Khmer Rouge layer Dillon and East Bay author Barry Gifford's somewhat messy screenplay. But if it doesn't fully satisfy as an old-fashioned tale of exotic intrigue, Ghosts more than compensates with innumerable surprise observances, sweet ironies, and dense textural pleasures. (1:57) Lumiere. (Harvey)

*City of God (2:10) Four Star.

Confidence (1:38) Century 20, Kabuki, 1000 Van Ness.

Daddy Day Care A Mr. Mom for the 21st Century, Eddie Murphy's Daddy Day Care blends slapstick comedy with modern gender role reversal. Two advertising tycoons (Murphy and Jeff Garlin) get laid off and have to come up with new careers to keep their upper-middle-class lifestyles afloat. The solution: day care for their kids (who, since they're home all day, they're stuck with anyway) and their friends. With a formula reminiscent of '80s sitcoms like My Two Dads and Full House, the duo start without a clue but gradually become champions of child care. Together, they tackle the whip-wielding headmistress (Anjelica Huston) of a high-pressure preschool nearby. The cast of kids is adorable, and overall, this is Murphy's funniest film since he switched from R-rated stand-ups to family-style features. It almost makes you remember Beverly Hills Cop and forget flops like Pluto Nash – almost. (1:30) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck. (Sabrina Crawford)

The Dancer Upstairs John Malkovich finally gives directing a whirl with The Dancer Upstairs. Nicholas Shakespeare's screenplay (based on his novel) was inspired by the 1991 arrest of philosophy professor and Maoist Abimal Guzman, leader of Peru's Shining Path revolt – but Shakespeare removes context and dogma from the real life events, placing the story in an unnamed Latin American country. Violent acts are committed in devotion to a mysterious leader called Ezequiel, but where's the revolution? Javier Bardem (Before Night Falls) turns in a solid performance as the weary yet determined Detective Rejas obsessed with finding Ezequiel. Toward the end Malkovich shifts the narrative focus from Rejas's relentless hunt to a far less substantial subplot involving the detective's romance with his daughter's dance instructor. The move deflates an otherwise thoughtful directorial debut. (2:09) Act I and II, Empire, Galaxy. (Koh)

Forbidden Photographs: The Life and Work of Charles Gatewood (1:25) Roxie.

Ghosts of the Abyss (1:00) Metreon IMAX.

The Good Thief (1:49) Four Star.

Holes (1:51) Century Plaza, Century 20, Jack London, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck.

Identity (1:35) Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck.

*Lawless Heart Apart from sporting one of those all-purpose titles that sounds like a new perfume, this seriocomic step into the mostly heterosexual art-house mainstream by the makers of 1996's Brit gay comedy Boyfriends proves full-blooded and unexpectedly poignant. The sudden death of beloved restaurateur Stuart jolts all of his intimates, including younger lover Nick (Tom Hollander), sister Judy (Ellie Haddington), her staid husband, Dan (Bill Nighy), and increasingly pathetic party monster Tim (Douglas Henshell). Shaken by loss, Dan surprises himself by flirting with a French shopkeeper (Clementine Celaire); Nick is quite shocked by his own affair with – gasp! – a woman, and a disheveled punkette (Sukie Smith) at that. Tim tests his own rootlessness against the lure of a very likely Ms. Right (Josephine Butler). The film cleverly covers the same few days three times, from the viewpoint of each (surviving) man, enriching our overall understanding and character insights with each wind-back. It ends up an amusing yet thoughtful meditation on life's roads, especially the ones not taken. (1:54) Albany. (Harvey)

The Lizzie McGuire Movie (1:40) Century Plaza, Century 20, Grand Lake, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Shattuck.

*Malibu's Most Wanted (1:20) Century 20, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Piedmont.

*The Man Without a Past In the dark and in the park, a solitary, silent man – the title character – is viciously beaten by strangers. He seems dead, but no, he's just deadpan, and thus at home in the Finland of Aki Kaurismäki, where comedy and poverty are married whether they like it or not, yet are still capable of a fine romance. The Grand Prize winner at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, this film is dramatically expansive and stylistically extroverted by Kaurismäki standards – invoking melodrama in particular – but a Salvation Army-style DIY sensibility is still in effect. Along with cosmic twin Jim Jarmusch, Kaurismäki has a silent-film sensibility: he's fond of sight gags (the anti-antics of an allegedly vicious dog are this movie's comic highlight), and his camera has never met a droll face it didn't want to have a love-laced staring war with. (1:37) Albany, Opera Plaza, Smith Rafael. (Huston)

*A Mighty Wind The latest from Christopher Guest (Best in Show) and his ensemble of comics and character actors is another high-concept parody: when the legendary folk music impresario Irving Steinbloom passes away, his son organizes a tribute show featuring the crème de la crème of the 1960s Bleecker Street scene. The event heralds the return of such seminal acts as the Folksmen (Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer) and the reunited Mitch and Mickey (Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara). Wind features the genius comic turns (Levy's shell-shocked Brian Wilson impersonation vies with Fred Willard's unctuous band manager for the show-stealing throne) and deadpan shtick that's become synonymous with the all-star collective. But although Wind is still far funnier and more inventive than most of what passes for yukfests these days, this experiment in without-a-net creative comedy never quite gels; one senses that not even the editing room could turn what's essentially a number of disparate, fragmented laugh-riot ideas into the cohesive tour de force their legacy demands. (1:27) California, Century 20, Embarcadero, Empire. (Fear)

Nowhere in Africa (2:18) Albany, Opera Plaza, Smith Rafael.

*Only the Strong Survive In the short-attention-span world of popular music, what happens to talent once it's fallen out of Top 40 fashion? Longtime documentary team D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus provide a few answers with this present-tense valentine to some golden oldies from the 1950s and '60s R&B golden era. Spotlighted on and offstage are Wilson Pickett, still a heart-fluttering dandy; Sam (of Sam and Dave) Moore, rescued from a long drug period to deliver a showstopping "Something Is Wrong"' the late Rufus Thomas (seen doing his hilarious Memphis radio show with Jay Michael Davis) and daughter Carla; Mary Wilson, a Supreme all by herself; plus Isaac Hayes, Jerry Butler, the Chi-Lites, Ann Peebles and more. Though all were cheated by the record industry they made millions for, they're remarkably sanguine about it now and demonstrate an easygoing camaraderie that's hard to imagine among today's singing divas and vocal groups. While some pipes have gone rusty with age, for the most part Only the Strong Survive portrays these figures of nostalgia still disarmingly, sometimes dynamically alive and kicking. (1:35) 1000 Van Ness. (Harvey)

Onmyoji (1:56) Kabuki.

*The Pianist (2:28) Opera Plaza.

*The Quiet American (1:52) Four Star, Galaxy.

*Raising Victor Vargas Set in the Latino blocks of New York City's Lower East Side one hot summer, Peter Sollett's film at first blush looks like a classic tale of teenage stud-male hubris taken down a few pegs by innate female superiority – the usual lesson in humility ending with the usual conciliatory kiss. Which indeed is part of the agenda here, but only part. Victor (Victor Rasuk) is a 16-or-so-year-old with a smile like melting butter and a body whose muscles he's wont to flex, even if they're not much more than a figment of his overconfident imagination. Caught about to boink "Fat Donna" (Donna Maldonado) upstairs, he seizes on the conquest of model-looking, wildly uninterested Judy (Judy Marte) as the ticket to salvage his temporarily tainted reputation as a high-end ladies' man. Toeing a line between high comedy and near tragedy that's utterly natural throughout, Raising Victor Vargas is a tiny yet well-crafted story. With its warm photography, exceptional nonpro actors, and frequent hilarity, this very small movie is an almost perfectly realized joy. (1:40) Embarcadero, Piedmont, Shattuck. (Harvey)

*The Shape of Things Those who've missed the old, bitter Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Your Friends and Neighbors) during his semisweet (Nurse Betty) and downright marshmellowy (Possession) recent screen phases can rest uneasy once again: this latest is a full-on return to evil psychological experimentation on heterosexual lab rats. Dork Adam (Paul Rudd) can't believe his luck when stylish, cute, very "artistic" fellow university student Evelyn (Rachel Weisz) decides to make him her boyfriend – and make him over, starting with clothes and going all the way to, well, you'll find out. Is she just allowing the hitherto shy guy to blossom? Or does she have something more insidious in mind? Are her manipulations conscious, particularly as they extend to the relationship between Adam's very uncool best friends Philip (Frederick Weller) and Jenny (Gretchen Mol)? You might or might not guess where all of this is headed, but regardless, the writer-director and his exemplary cast have devised a chillingly memorable exercise in art, manners, social pressure, and extreme cruelty. (1:37) Presidio, Shattuck. (Harvey)

*Ten Abbas Kiarostami has taken wry pleasure in the love/hate relationship audiences have had with his movies, noting on many occasions that the greatest films divide, rather than unite. Kiarostami uncorks Ten's questions from a different bottle. The car that so frequently takes his characters from one gorgeous landscape or plot point to the next doesn't really go anywhere. It circles the faceless highways of urban Tehran, Iran, with an engagingly burdened female driver (Mania Akbari), pinballing from errand to errand, with a series of riders who alternately tease, argue, nag, or cry their way through the journey. Kiarostami has put minimalism on max setting, removing himself from the scene by coaching the actors beforehand and affixing a digicam to the dash to capture what they create without him. The scenes often feel too real to be acted; one particularly vérité moment features a woman simply looking in the rearview mirror as she picks her scab. The universals Kiarostami gives us in all of this aren't just the unexpected thoughts on sex and love; they're in the traffic. The film's car culture – punctuated by lane changes, missed exits, and road rages – could be the quality that makes this film the most commercially viable of his features. (1:34) Opera Plaza. (Gerhard)

*X-Men 2: X-Men United Everyone's favorite mutants are back, with the same director (Bryan Singer), cast (Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen), and thankfully, a sequel that's far more satisfying and action-packed than the first X-Men installment. Brian Cox joins the fray as the sinister Stryker, an antimutant crusader hellbent on using Professor X (Stewart) as a pawn in his scheme to make Earth a humans-only environment; as the title suggests, X-Men (and women) good and bad must join forces to protect their kind. This go-round, we get plenty of scenes where individuals get to display their awesome powers (including new face Alan Cumming, as the teleporting Nightcrawler) and more attention to character development than you'd expect from a comic book-based movie with a huge ensemble cast – not to mention a meatier plot that's pretty much nonstop action. Good stuff, and an auspicious start to the summer movie season. (2:15) Century Plaza, Century 20, Grand Lake, Jack London, Kabuki, Metreon, 1000 Van Ness, Orinda. (Eddy)

*XX/XY (1:31) Lumiere.

Rep Picks

'Asian American Documentary Showcase' See 8 Days a Week. Kabuki.

*Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan Possibly the most lurid, and certainly the most female entry in the Pacific Film Archive's retrospective of Chinese martial arts cinema, this 1972 melodrama is far from the naughty soft-core package its title suggests. Instead, Chu Yan's wide-screen period piece is more of a rape revenge flick, with its heroine proving as steely an avenging angel as the one in I Spit on Your Grave – albeit one much more adept at both kung fu and courtly manners. Poor teacher's daughter Ainu (Lily Ho) is in the latest batch of innocent young women abducted by hooligans and forced to become high-end prostitutes by lesbian brothel mistress Lady Chan (Yue Hua). The latter finally breaks the former's considerable resistance – so it seems – and even takes on Ainu as her lover. But several years later the establishment's wealthiest, most loutish clients begin dying off, and despite a lack of conclusive proof, all circumstances point to Ainu. This ShawScope wonder in watery pastels has nary a narrative surprise, but the hot-cold emotions (and martial motions) between its protagonists make Confessions that fairly rare thing, a feminist sexploitation classic. (1:30) PFA Theater. (Harvey)