“1989, the number, another summer,” so goes Public Enemy’s renowned rap anthem. But it wasn’t just another summer for American cinema. Twenty years ago this week, the year that “Do the Right Thing” exploded onto the screen was a pivotal one. Not only was Spike Lee’s American masterpiece about boiling racial tensions on a Brooklyn block released in U.S. theaters, but so was Steven Soderbergh’s “sex, lies and videotape,” Michael Moore’s “Roger and Me,” Gus Van Sant’s “Drugstore Cowboy,” and Jim Sheridan’s “My Left Foot”—all sophisticated, daring movies that received both significant critical and box-office success, and in a few cases, studio support. In a sense, 1989 was the year that American independent cinema first came of age. Read the article in indieWIRE today.
Most interesting to filmmakers may be John Pierson’s observations that “Do the Right Thing” signaled an important key moment for America’s next generation of maverick directors, “because it paved the way for studios to think they could get involved with somebody like Spike, and for filmmakers to think it was a good option for them.”
I’d love to see the faces of the teenagers looking for movie thrills who unwittingly stumble upon Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” when it gets its U.S. release on Oct. 23.
IFC Films has set the date of reckoning for the Danish maverick’s latest cinematic provocation a week before All Hollow’s Eve. As I wrote in a review from Cannes, the movie “certainly has its moments of shock and suspense—and a notable dose of body horror, specifically. But it would be wrong to liken the film to an “Exorcist” or some strange spin on the rape-revenge narrative (i.e. “I Spit on Your Grave”).... [Rather,] Von Trier’s sense of foreboding recalls David Lynch, as trees, bushes and images of animal flesh take on a similar sense of uncanny dread.”
I guess it comes as no surprise that IFC Films is marketing the film as a horror picture, but there probably should be some extra warning for viewers that the gore on display is a form of torture that even the makers of “Hostel’ and “Saw” wouldn’t touch.
This site has three new clips from the film, prepared for the movie’s French release. Ignore the French subtitles. And here’s the Danish trailer below.
Iranian filmmakers—both in Iran and exiled—have taken an outspoken and central role in the protests against the reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now they may be facing some pushback. After Marjane Satrapi and Mohsen Makhmalbaf presented a document that claimed Ahmadinejad received only 12% of the vote, not 65%, and today in Rome, Mohsen Makhmalbaf reiterated his accusations, calling the election a coup d’etat, news comes this afternoon that 17-year-old Amin Maher, an actor who appeared in Abbas Kiarostami’s “Ten”—and the son of painter and filmmaker Mania Akbari, who also appears in “Ten”—has been arrested in the recent police sweeps in the country.
Below, find excerpts from an email from Akbari that goes into some detail about her son’s arrest:
“I had no idea where they had taken my son to, therefore I stared looking in every ambulance, every police station and every hospital in town. I came face to face with other parents looking for
their children as well. Mothers screaming and calling the names of their sons and daughters. Fathers weeping silently. Terrified kids in police stations awaiting their faith…it was a total nightmare.”
“It was early Wednesday morning when I finally found my son at the Pasdaran’s police station. The reasons for his arrest were that he was wearing a green band to show his support for Mr. Moussavi and also that he had been identified as an active participant during the presidential campaign. Finally on Wednesday he was released with the intervention of some friends, artists and some related police authorities.”
“Amin had been subjected to serious beatings and emotional disturbance. I felt ashamed of seeing him in his condition. I had created a false illusion for him regarding the country he had been born in, about prevailing humanism and democratic atmosphere. I had always encouraged him to consider going to top universities in Iran, instead of opting for studying abroad.”
“I remember talking to the press a while ago, mentioning humanity, the love for people, patriotism and the positive way of thinking towards a democratic society. Unfortunately now I have to express my disagreement with the ever-increasing violence in our society today. Violence is not the answer and freedom will only be attained through respecting the democratic rights of each and every human being.”
“Today I would like to take this opportunity to ask my fellow artists, friends and family to participate in promoting a peaceful approach and strongly condemn any kind of violence.
Therefore I hope to be able to live in my country Iran, where I will never have to see another club nor another whip.”
DF Indie Studios—named for its founders Mary Dickinson and Charlene Fisher—made a splash in indie circles today, with the announcement of their new venture, the production of 12 movies per year, with budgets of less than $10 million each, and a self-supported distribution pipeline. All sounds good, but one thing the indieWIRE report omitted was the specific types of films the company will be supporting. For the details, let’s take a look at the Variety story, which reported the company’s aims are to make films such as “the ‘Saw’ franchise, ‘Juno,’ ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ and ‘Little Miss Sunshine.’” I’m sure that list sounds nice to equity investors, but it doesn’t offer much hope to cineastes (with the exception, perhaps, of “Good Night”). Despite the involvement of indie stalwarts Ted Hope and Anne Carey, I am (as always) entirely skeptical about how “indie” DF “Indie Studios” will turn out to be.
‘Where’s your love for movies?’ someone asked me when I expressed a lack of excitement for the next Cannes screening. Clearly waning. Judging from the paltry number of movies I watched in their entirety over the course of four days and nights in Cannes (only about eight), I can surmise that if a film didn’t grip me in the first 30 minutes, I was done with it. I even walked out of some perfectly good movies, either because they didn’t fit my desire for something different (“Father of My Children”) or felt too mainstream for my tastes (“Vengeance”).
I can always blame daily deadlines for two publications, a delayed flight (thank you British Airways) and a particularly backloaded festival for what felt to me like an uninspired Cannes. And poor judgement, too. I probably should have seen Marco Bellochio’s “Vincere” instead of going out to dinner on Monday night. But damn, I was hungry. Such is Cannes. I guess being at the world premiere shockfest of “Antichrist” alone made the trip worthwhile, especially since who knows what version of the film will end up Stateside, but I just wish I saw more better movies.
Here’s a rundown:
Worth Seeing (in vague order of interest):
“Police, Adjective”—read review here.
“Antichrist”—read review here.
“A Prophet”—read review here.
“Bright Star”
“Looking for Eric—read review here.
“The King of Escape”
Muddled, But Flashes of Brilliance
“Mother”
Enjoyed, But Had to Leave Early for Flight
“Broken Embraces”
Shut Out
“Taking Woodstock”
Walk Outs
“Kinatay”
“Vengeance”
“Tsar”
“Irene”
Avoided Based on Bad Word of Mouth
“Agora”
New films from Marina de Van and Michel Gondry
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