Reviews

This film is so bad - dialogues, story, actors and actresses - everything! - that it's hard to imagine that we'll see a worse movie this year or in the following years. "Love's Brother" (set in Australia among Italian immigrants) has nothing but shallow clichés about Italian culture to offer, and it is quite telling that even the Italians from and in Italy speak ENGLISH in the film. The message of the film - ugly people have to marry ugly people, beautiful people have to marry beautiful people - is truly discomforting. Giovanni Ribisi is quite good in films like 'Suburbia' or 'Lost in Translation', but here his pseudo-Italian accent is hard to bear. See this film at your own risk. Trash as trash can!

This is the story of two German bank robbers who left Germany in 1934, only to create more gangster style mayhem in Basel and fall in love with two girls in Basel, Switzerland. Unlike say "Bonnie and Clyde" it's pure entertainment, although there are a few boring bits (unless you want to see the Basel zoo and other sights) and some rather shallow dialogue). Nevertheless quite funny and mostly entertaining. Violence and some nudity! And lots of laughs, actually.

The pulpier elements in contemporary Argentinian cinema (eg, the brilliant "Nueve reinas" with its Mametesque antics) meet more kitchen sink oriented films such as "La ciénaga" and "Mundo grúa" - and the effect is quite smashing. Director Israel Adrían Caetano tells us the story of a man who lost everything - but after seven years of prison, Oso ('bear') wants to come back to his wife and their young daughter Alicia. However, Natalia, his wife, is now living with a new man... what does Oso, the criminal, do? The answer is surprising, and no spoilers shall be contained in this short review. With its postmodernist mix of action genres (western especially) and kitchen sink drama, Caetano and his brilliant actors and actresses have created a film that is both socially aware and entertaining.

"The Ragu Incident" is a brilliant comedy about 33-year old shoe salesman Paulie who just refuses to grow up and still lives at his parent's place. He meets beautiful Victoria, Italian American like him and definitely his soulmate. But then he discovers that she uses "Ragu" sauce instead of making home-made sauce. He breaks up with her... all his friends tell him he made the right thing. But somehow it just doesn't feel right.... warmly recommended!

Samir strikes again! In "Babylon 2" he was asking sons and daughters of immigrants about their experiences - he came to Switzerland as a young child, his parents are from Iraq. His father always told him about his Jewish colleagues in the Communist Party of Iraq. Samir wanted to talk to some of them - he didn't find them, but he found other former members of the Iraqi Communist Party, among them Samir Naqqash who still writes literature in Arabic and is viewed by Nagib Mahfuz as one of the best writers of literature in Arabic. He also talked to Sami Michael, beststelling author in Israel, also a Jew from Iraq. Last but not least, he asked Professor Ella Shohat from the City University of NY what it means to be an Oriental Jew in Israel. She wrote a book about the image of Oriental Jews in Israeli films - Samir quotes from Ephraim Kishon's "Sallah Sabati". He juxtaposes other cliches: Paul Newman in "Exodus", evil Jews and Arabs in "Jud Suess" and "True Lies".

This is a very funny mockumentary about a Swiss artist named Urs Vogelaug who went to the US and became a legend...Sheriff Nolan Sharpless (Fred Ward) is convinced, that Vogelaug was killed by a Mickey and Mallory style couple. In order to prove his theory, he's willing to end his career. But unlike boxers, legends always come back...

This is probably how documentary features should be in the new millennium. Voice-over in many languages (also German and English, Portuguese, and some languages I don't know at all, well, Arabic probably among them), a post-colonial experience that you don't wanna miss. One of the parts I understood was an African-American woman talking about how she experienced her stay in Sub-Saharan Africa - very interesting. On the visual side of things there is obviously some found footage; very interesting in any case. This film is not like other documentaries who already tell you how to interpret things, there are no common-place elements in this film either (compare "Megacities" also by an Austrian film maker: you get what you expect). Here you're on your own, seeing things you've (probably) never seen before and not quite sure how to interpret things...

"À l'attaque" is one of the best french films i've seen this year, and it will stay one of the best if not the best of 'em all. The films tells the story of two screenwriters - the younger guy mostly writing, the older guy mostly critizising the younger guy. They tell us - meta film y'all! - the story of an Italian French clan striving to survive in the city that's ruled by ruthless globalizing capitalists who want to ruin their business. A very funny comedy as well as a parody and strong social criticism - all in one!

In this film, Marcello Mastroianni plays a rich guy who wants to spend a well "Dirty Weekend" with his young girlfriend. He gets kidnapped by a gang of communists (led by a guy with a heavy German accent) who just robbed a bank. What's gonna happen now? Is his family gonna give the communists (called "terrorists" by the media) the ransom? Is the rich guy gonna play hero and succeed? "Dirty Weekend" is a very funny comedy with an attitude, a comedy that has something to say about the role the media play, about the state and last but not least about capitalism. Check it out!

Macky Alston discovered that lots of Black kids seem to have his last name when his father, a fighter for civic rights and Reverend like Run, sent him to a black school. Now, as a grown up (gay) man, he goes on to discover the roots of his family and why lots of black people have the same last name that he has. - "Family Name" is a nice documentary on a topic that lots of people, including Alston's grandma, don't wanna talk about.

One gangster, one policeman, one private eye and a Jean-Seberg-lookalike are the main characters in this surreal almost Monty-Python-esque film from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, the Romandie. The film, that actually ends tragically like A bout de souffle - but only for the villain! - , succeeds probably exactly because it hasn't got Swiss written all over it. While Pas de cafe, pas de tele pas de sexe is both funny and political, this one is strictly for the lovers of the strange and the intertextual - although the film should not be underestimated, either. In any case, it's a very funny film.

'Bowfinger' is a superb satire on Hollywood. Extremely funny, while at the same time serious issues like racism, sexism, exploitation, the nature of Hollywood films and others are addressed. Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) is a wannabe-Hollywood-producer. His accountant Afrim wrote a screenplay: "Chubby Rain". Alien rain falls on the earth and turns people into pods. (Sounds familiar? Check out the Body Snatcher films!)To make the film, Bobby needs a star. Kit Ramson (Eddie Murphy)is the man, Hollywood's No.1 action star -- after Schwarzie and Sly, of course. But Kit doesn't want to. So they're shooting the film without him.... but with Daisy (Heather Graham)who goes to bed with anyone if it serves her career and Kit's brother Jiff (Eddie Murphy)... who looks exactly like Kit. But for some scenes, they have to follow Kit in order to film him -- good thing Kit is the guy who put the p into paranoia. At the same time he's a member of a powerful brain-wash pseudo-religious organization (the names have been changed to protect the film-makers from being sued -- big time!).... one of the year's funniest films!

Not only is the story of two brothers who love the same woman extremely boring, it is also very reactionary: the film basically sez that women ruin men's lives, it also sez "thou shalt not go to bed with your brother's wife"... certainly, a good piece of advice, but sit two hours in the cinema just to hear that? .... it's like the moralistic ending of _Cruel intentions_ blown up into a whole movie! beware! why do some film makers like Robert Zemeckis (_Contact_)or Smith and Stark fail to realize that the audience consists of intelligent human beings?

Aldo, Giacomo and Giovanni have to deliver an original Garpetz to a Maffia boss who is gonna be the father-in-law of one of the guys. A Garpetz? Garpetz is a famous sculptor...a VERY funny road movie with several intermezzi develops. At one time, Aldo, the Southern Italian, has a hilarious dream in which he is Dracula and the other guys are Northern Italian Leghisti (separatists). In the beginning, there is a meta-film in which Pulp Fiction is satirized. And there's also a love story in the mix: Giacomo falls in love with Chiara, who sees the Garpetz (it's a leg out of wood, the boss says: "My carpenter could've made it better!")and says: "Ma questo e' un Garpetz!" ("But this is a Garpetz!")The guys wonder: how did she find out? Until Giovanni comes up with the solution: "Se e' un Garpetz, e' una merda!" Don't miss this movie....neo-realism, too, is burlesqued in another meta-film....

The boy Khorshid has to earn a living tuning instruments. He's blind. He does an excellent job, but his boss doesn't think so. Khorshid's mother won't be able to pay the rent if her son gets fired. What can be done? This film both shows the hard life of a blind boy and his mother in Azerbaijan as well as beautiful images -- and lots of music, of course! if you wanna hear Beethoven's 5th, recently spiced up inna hip hop stylee by A+, in a Oriental style, then you gotta check out this beautiful film by Iran's leading filmmaker Mohsen Mahmalbaf. Additionally, _Sokhout_ is social commentary both on life in Eastern countries as well as the relationship between East and West...it is not a coincidence that Makhmalbaf chose Beethoven instead of Classical Persian music.

Imma and Teresa are best friends. They have to take lousy jobs in order to earn a living (e.g. dressing up as "Dutch girls" with yellow hair,waitresses in a dubious nite club etc.) and sometimes they go to the supermarket in order to acquire goods in a non-legal way. Teresa is in love with a Jazz musician, until she goes to Paris to visit him -- she then falls in love with the man who drives her to the capital of France. Imma, too, who is the main character and who has some childhood flashbacks during the film, is on a constant quest for love. First she encounters a guy who turns out to be a sexist, then she goes to bed with a man who tells as many lies as she does -- but in fact, she knows all along the way that she actually loves someone else, namely the fireman who saved her from drowning and/or suffocating. After witnessing the rather nasty and brutal fight between an obviously unmarried couple -- she tried to sell the wife a set of "How to learn English without actually learning"-tools -- she finally finds the man of her dreams who saved her. They immediately become a couple, but when she tells him that she's pregnant, he panics and leaves for Sicily. But in the end....well, it's a COMMEDIA! Not a TRAGEDIA, DRAMMA, or anything of that sort. Yes, there are a few rather sad moments in _In principio erano le mutande_, because it's also a film about "a slice of life", but there's also a good dose of "piece of cake" in it. Enjoy!

Russian call girl Irina (Elena Panova) is used and abused by everybody, but it takes some time until she realizes that. She enjoys Switzerland and wants to become a Swiss citizen. Several people promise to help her, but in fact they're only interested either in her services, information-wise (her customers include some v.i.p. people in Swiss politics and gov.t) or sex-wise (including her charming, angel-like naivete). Even the General (Martin Benrath), who promised to marry her in case she'd have otherwise to leave Switzerland, is in fact married and would never dream of marrying his as he calls her, "little Swiss girl". After having to deal with the harsh truth, she decides to pay the General a visit. He's not at home -- and she knows that he is chief of the subversive right-wing organization Cobra .. so it's payback time for Irina.... This is a very funny comedy, and one of the best Swiss films ... of the Nineties, in any case!

Jim Hacker is England's Prime Minister. He does have some good ideas, but Sir Humphrey -- played by Nigel Hawthorne -- always makes sure that none of Jim's ideas are realized. Jim Hacker is a Tory, alright, but he is in fact more of a liberal man -- that keeps Sir Humphrey busy, who would do anything to keep the UK from adopting progressive politics. Of course, Jim himself does have some serious flaws himself, not so much on the political, but rather on the personal side -- this makes Sir Humphrey's "job" a lot easier.

Nigel Hawthorne spreads the same kind of Tory charm that he does in _Her Majesty Mrs Brown_, where he interprets D'Israeli. _Yes PM_ is for those who like a bit of politics and LOTS of humour: the eternal fight between progress (Jim, his wife, Dorothy) and reaction (Sir Humphrey and Bernard, Hacker's secretary, who's always driving the others mad with his speeches on Latin and Greek grammar...)

Mr Gordon Brittas is chief of Whitbury Newtown Leisure center. He thinks he's brilliant, but in fact everything he does turns into a disaster. The only person in his staff who thinks he's brilliant too, Colin, who's cleaning toilets all the time, is an absolute failure. Brittas's wife is depressed all the time - guess why. No one's coming to the leisure center - guess why. Gordon Brittas has a dream, but it never quite turns out the way he planned it. THE BRITTAS EMPIRE does have its surrealist moments (Carol "Whitbury Newtown Leisure Center how may I help you?" is keeping her children in drawers), it has its "thrilling" moments (like when Santa Claus tries to kill the whole staff during a survival course)... but everything is always funny, like Gordon Brittas when he tells his own dad "don't you SON me" -- or when he tells his wife about a "magical moment" he spent with her but she doesn't know what he's talking about....or the Christian fundamentalists from the U.S. who pronounce Brittas's name as "bright-ass" and want to re-baptize him... THE BRITTAS EMPIRE is, as the man himself, Gordon Brittas, would say, "eeeeeexcellent"....

Pastry Pain and Politics is one of the best Swiss film of the 1990s. Stina Werenfels has created a comedy that deals with the holocaust, racism and the suffering of the Palestinian people. Fritzleben and Chayele Weinstein, American citizens, are staying in Switzerland -- holidays. They meet a German couple, and Fritz chokes on a piece of Schwarzwaelder cake: he has to go to the hospital. He is shocked when he finds out that nurse Khaya is Palestinian. Then Chayele and Khaya go out on a trip; but when Chayele realizes that they passed the German border Chayele panics: Khaya stops the car. The two women now have to go back to Switzerland: on the way a rough dispute on Israel and Palestine develops. Chayele, who survived the holocaust, is afraid because they didn't let her in during W.W. II, Khaya is afraid because she hasn't got a passport.

In the meantime, Fritzleben has to deal with his racist Swiss neighbour in the hospital -- he hates both Jews and Arabs -- like Khaya has to deal with her racist boss.

Yes it's true - Greece is not only country of origin of the excellent, but rather hard core art movies made by the auteur par excellence, Theo Angelopoulos: Valkanizater by Sotiris Goritsa is a very funny comedy that also has something to say about the chauvinism of both Greeks and Swiss people. But in the end, reason triumphs over nationalism. But even nationalism, horrible though it is, is funny in this film when one of the main characters complains about the lousy work that the monks Kyrillos and Methodios performed in Bulgaria. He also asks a Bulgarian guy named Vasili whether he's Greek, and he thoroughly misinterprets his answer: "ne" means NO in Bulgarian, but YES in Greek. But in the end, unity triumphs over nationalism: in Switzerland, a Turk helps the main characters. In the next village, two brothers argue about whether to help them, one wants to help them but take money from them, but in the end the more xenophile brother helps them for free.

certainly, if you're looking for entertainment and nothing else, then this isn't your movie. but if you want to have several insights concerning issues like authorship, patriarchy, literacy, the entertainment industry (hey, this is a Golan-Globus production!), the mafia, crime (anyone read Albert Fried's Rise and fall of the Jewish gangster in America?).....don't miss Godard's King Lear!