December 24, 2002

TEN MOVIES THAT YOU DIDN’T SEE
... BUT SHOULD HAVE

This is a new list for the column.  It obviously has a certain degree of hyperbole, as if these films were out there to be seen by me … some of you will have seen some of them – maybe all of them, in a few cases.  But let’s get past the semantics. 

I’m not going to include such still-being-honored films as Spirited Away, which are sure to have a place in the pantheon, even if box office was dim.  Likewise, I will spare you the forecasting that a film like Morvern Callar will not be seen by enough people when it opens for Oscar consideration or when it goes wider.  Nor will I order this list, as each film is worthy and no film should be so lessened. 

Bloody Sunday.  Paul Greengrass’ intimate epic tells the story of one of the darkest days in U.K. history.  But this is not your typical biopic.  Greengrass does what so few filmmakers are willing to do.  He trusts the audience to join him for his journey. 

As the movie opens, you are thrust, with little explanation, into the British/Irish political struggles of 1972 and, as you watch, you figure out where you are and what’s going on.  You never quite get the feeling that the ground is directly under your feet.  But that would seem to be Greengrass’ intention.  He takes you into a world that is uncertain… any step could spell real danger or even death.  And right in the middle of it all is Ivan Cooper, played wonderfully by James Nesbit.  He is your doppelganger.  You are making this journey as this character.  And you feel his energy, his joy, his enthusiasm and his devastating pain. 

I’m not the first one to jump on board for a historical ride through someone else’s history.  And, honestly, I’m a little over the U2 song.  But don’t let those kinds of petty concerns stop you from seeing this film.  It is, in my eyes, imperfect.  But it is a movie experience that you rarely get a chance to have.  And for those of you who are in love with Gangs of New York or who are a little disappointed with Gangs of New York, this is a movie for you.  It  doesn’t fall into the history lesson trap at all and it is also a powerful visual experience. 

This is a film that you are likely to see on a lot of Top Ten lists, but critics groups steered away from it in their year-end awards because it was disqualified from Oscar consideration, and these groups don’t ever want to be that far out on the limb.  So far it has made just under $800,000 and will probably never make it to $1 million.  And that is just plain wrong.  It’s never been on more than 54 screens in a weekend, and was on just 19 last weekend … getting to it may be a challenge.  So when the DVD comes out, buy it instead of renting it and show that you’re willing to spend the cost of two theater tickets for this fine film.

The Grey Zone / Taking Sides.  Tim Blake Nelson’s deeply emotional look at Jews who worked in the concentration camps is devastating.  And no one went.  To date, the film has taken in less than $550,000 and, apparently, Lions Gate isn’t even spending the money to send the movie out to Oscar voters. 

But you should go out of your way to catch this movie. 

The cast is spectacular and often surprising.  Allan Corduner and David Chandler lead the way.  But better-known faces, like David Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne and Daniel Benzali take you to new places. 

But it’s the moral questions about this film that really challenges the audience.  When is your survival the most important thing?  When do you flee and when do you fight?  What do you owe your fellow human being? 

The horrors of this film are also reflected in The Pianist, Roman Polanski’s amazing film --  a film I expect to be nominated for Best Picture.  But these are two looks at one very terrible moment in history from very different perspectives.  Some will be turned off, but this is what the power of film is all about.

Heaven.  Is there a better actress working today than Cate Blanchett?  I think not.  And when he is in the right place, Giovanni Ribisi is one of our best young actors.  Take these two talents and hook them up with two writers of the most subtle and emotionally complex of films, Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz.  Then give the whole thing to a young, challenge-inspired director, Tom Tykwer.  And what you get is Heaven.

The film is, like Solaris, about a romance that somehow reaches beyond any logic.  And this film makes no effort to make it any easier for the audience.  But that is the magic of the experience.  I’ve only seen the film a couple of times and I’m still not sure what I feel about every one of its scenes and elements.  This is movie poetry on a high level… something you rarely get a chance to embrace. 

A Song for Martin.  Another painful film.  But its $27,983 domestic gross is even more painful. 

Directed and written for the screen by Billie August, this is the story of a high-profile, middle-aged, married conductor who falls in love with his fist violinist, a beautiful blonde just a few years younger than he.  The first act is the story of their romance and eventual marriage.  In the second act, Martin is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  The deterioration of this powerful, proud man and the test of the strength of this love is what this film is really about. 

This is probably not the movie you want to see on a first date.  But if you believe in the power of love and the miracle of human survival, this is a movie that you have to see.

Time Out.  Laurent Cantet takes us on the road on this film about moving forward when you are lost until you can find your way.   Vincent has lost his job.  And he just can’t tell his family.  So he drives.  And he drives.  And he drives.  He pretends that he is going to work, but all he is doing is wasting time and figuring out ways to raise money that isn’t his own.  But his secret stash is running dry and things are going to have to come to a head eventually. 

The further Vincent falls down the rabbit hole, the more he becomes part of his newly created world.  And that’s when you start to realize that Vincent may be finding a world that he never expected to find and that it might be to his liking. 

The film surprisingly reminded me of Local Hero, Bill Forsythe’s humanist classic.  This film doesn’t have Local Hero’s light agility and it is slow, slow, slow at times.  So don’t eat turkey before watching it.  Coffee.  Lots of coffee.  But the reward of it is well worth the effort.  If we can get the film back into release and generate $52,000, it will have made $500,0000 in America.  But we can’t. So go out and find the tape and give it a go.

The Trials of Henry Kissinger.  This quality documentary is chasing the $400,000 mark.   But it is an eye-opener, and you’ll find yourself talking about it for weeks after you’ve seen it. Eugene Jarecki’s film does what Christopher Hitchens can only dream… it puts Kissinger’s record on trial, just in time for him not to investigate 9/11.

The filmmaking is standard.  This is a documentary that asks the question, “What is a theatrical documentary these days?”   And while some, like Michael Moore and Errol Morris, have rethought the theatrical documentary as something more theatrical, Jarecki makes this one in the classic style.

But it is the content that makes it worth chasing down. 

Nine Queens.  Argentinean director Fabien Bielinsky made one of the finest cat & cat thrillers in recent decades.  More often than not, this film is compared to David Mamet and it is an appropriate connection.  Bielinsky is working the same seamy side of the street.  And he does it at a very high level.

There have been few art house releases whose box office failure have been more surprising.  $1.2 million is all they could squeeze out of this terrific movie-lover‘s movie.  Amazingly, its best weekend was up against the second weekend of Spider-Man.  But unfortunately, it really got lost in the summer shuffle.

A just plain damned good movie.

Roger Dodger.  In nine weekends, Dylan Kidd’s explosive debut into the ranks of writer/directors has managed just over $1 million.  Let’s hope that Campbell Scott gets a well-deserved Oscar nomination, so more people can find this film. Because it is one of the best dinner-after-the-movies chat flicks ever made. 

Roger is a guy who knows everything and feels nothing.  Well, that’s not fair.  He’s a man who wants to leave his life to one of two heads… the little one and the big one.  He’d like nothing better than to bypass the heart completely… if he could find his heart under all his bluster.  Enter his nephew, who wants to know how to handle women.  And then, the real fun begins.

You want to see Elizabeth Berkley and Jennifer Beals act?  See this film.  And they are both as sexy as ever.  You want to pick up some clever banter to use with your friends?  See this film.  You want to see the piano of human emotion played all the way up and all the way down the scales?  See this film. 

War Photographer.  It made all of $35,000!  Why is it on this list?!?!

The story of James Nachtway, Pulitzer-winning war photographer.  Some say he is the best ever.  And, looking at his photos, I wouldn’t even consider arguing.  But there is so much more.  How does this man, who follows worlds of agony and photographs the images of them, bringing otherwise forgotten realities to the world, get through his day?  What drives him?  How does he do this work?  What is the cost to him… to his heart?

Nacktway may be the most fascinating character to come to screens this year.  There is such a depth of emotion in his work and yet, he is so guarded and distant that one has to wonder how he can stand having documentarian Christian Frei following so closely.  This film was nominated for the Oscar last year… and still, no one saw it. 

It’s not on TV or video yet, but when you get the chance, take the time to experience something amazing.

The Way Home.  Perhaps my favorite family film of the year, this Korean film is still in release via Paramount Classics and if it is in a theater near you (it’s only on 19 screens), grab a young person that you love and make them go with you.  Even if they hate sub-titles, they will love The Way Home. 

This is the story of a young boy who is forced, by circumstance, to stay with his grandmother for a while.  His grandmother has no TV… no electricity… none of the stuff that modern life takes for granted.  Where will this take these two?  I’m not going to tell you.  But I will tell you that the way home is the way to your own heart… to your own place.  There couldn’t be a more beautiful film to share with your family this holiday season.

The total gross to date is just over $250,000 and that just isn’t right.  This goes right up on the list next to Children of Heaven as one of the great films about children made in this generation.

Thursday: Ten I Don’t Get
Friday: The Ten Worst Films of 2002
Monday: The Best of 2002
Tuesday: New Year’s Resolutions

READER OF THE DAY is here.

E ME:  What films have you loved that deserve a much bigger audience than it got?