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Friday, May 15, 2009
‘Taking Woodstock’ rocks
If you’re planning your summer movie-going, take a note of this weekend. Aug. 15-18. That will be the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, and it’s also when director Ang Lee’s new comedy, ‘Taking Woodstock,’ will open in the States.
It’s yet another uplifting movie from Cannes, which isn’t usually known for its uplift and is more associated with edgy violence, sexuality and cutting-edge filmmaking.
Make no mistake. ‘Taking Woodstock’ isn’t a rehash of the music from the fantastic festival of 1969. Instead, it’s the story of the people behind the festival, mainly Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin) and his dysfunctional parents who run a dilapidated motel in the Catskills. When Tiber hears that a neighboring town has rejected having the music festival, he tells the organizers that his little burg would be the perfect place. And he puts the organizers in touch with dairy farmer Max Yasgur.
Most of the movie deals with the Tiber family dynamics. Elliot is a closeted gay who has not come out to his parents and has returned from Greenwich Village to help them run the motel for the summer. Henry Goodman plays his father Jake, and the wonderfully maddening Imelda Staunton plays his Russian Jewish immigrant mother, who is full of bossiness, as well as fear and loathing.
When Elliot starts the process that turns into one of the biggest free-love events of all time, the maelstrom of hippiedom transforms not only Elliot but also his parents. And it speaks to the power of a movement that has long since been in hibernation in America, regrettably.
Liev Schreiber has a great role as a cross-dressing former Marine who signs up to do security for Elliot and his family during the hippie invasion. And one of the greatest lines comes when Elliot asks him about his seemingly blossoming relationship with his parents. In particular, Elliot wants to know if his dad knows what kind of person has become his new friend. To which Schreiber’s character replies, “I know what I am, so that makes it easier for everyone.” Truer words never spoken.
The only sour note comes early, when a local Vietnam veteran played by Emile Hirsch starts having flashbacks. The scene seems false, and I’m not sure why, since Hirsch is a fine actor. But the rest of “Taking Woodstock” is a joy, although it might leave you wishing that those days had never ended. (Yes, I was a hippie, and I played the Woodstock album over and over in my teens.) It made me downright melancholic, but in a good way.
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A “Precious” moment; no really, no sarcasm
One of the best films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival isn’t even in the official competition.
It’s called “Precious,” directed by Lee Daniels, and it previously played at Sundance, which might explain its absence from the competition in Cannes. (The French want premieres, and don’t take festival leftovers for the competish.)
Still, it’s a fine movie, full of moving moments and excellent performances, mainly from Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe. Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire, “Precious” tells the harrowing story of a Harlem teen-ager who finally learns to read after being sent to an alternative school. The regular school kicked her out because she was pregnant with her second child. And it won’t be giving away anything to tell you that she had both babies not because she was promiscuous but because her father raped her repeatedly.
Her mother resents her, because she thinks Precious is taking away her Man. Never mind that her “Man”, if you can call him that, is a pedophile.
But the awakening of Precious after she learns to read keeps the movie from sinking into sorrow. Instead, it’s one of those great stories about someone who faces horrible odds but, through the force of will and help from others, manages to get her life in order and end up with hope.
Teachers, of course, play a big part. But so does a caring nurse (Lenny Kravitz) during the birth of her second child. And so does a therapist, played subtly by Mariah Carey. I know, that sounds weird to say. But Carey pulls off the role, and you hardly know it’s her.
The movie is laced with profanity, which is entirely suitable for the circumstances in which Precious finds herself. And it would be ridiculous to have it otherwise. So it’s bound to get an R rating. That’s too bad. It should be seen by nearly every high school student. It’s all about empathy and hope, and we could use more of both.
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New $30 mil movie to be shot in Texas
Los Angeles-based Entertainment 7 announced this week in Cannes that it will be shooting a $30 million action epic called “Waco” in Texas, starting Aug. 9.
The film will be directed by Rupert Wainwright and produced through A Plus Productions. Emilio Ferrari and Lee Nelson will be the producers.
Details on the story of the film were sketchy, as were the shooting locations. Entertainment 7’s most recent production was “Baby on Board” with John Corbett, Heather Graham and Jerry O’Connell.
If the Texas Film Commission has more details, please alert Chris Garcia at the Statesman.
Editor’s note: “Waco” screenwriter James Hibberd is a UT grad and a former entertainment writer at the Austin American-Statesman. He now writes about TV for The Hollywood Reporter.
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Campion in Cannes
Director Jane Campion, the only woman ever to win a Palme d’Or (for “The Piano”), made another appearance in the official competition Friday with the premiere of “Bright Star.”
The new pic is based primarily in the letters of John Keats and focuses on his relationship with Fanny Brawne, a woman of similar background whose family was financially insecure. In the Campion tradition, the movie is told from Fanny’s perspective, giving it a feminist vibe.
Abbie Cornish plays Fanny, while Ben Whishaw is Keats, who’s dying of consumption throughout most of the movie but nevertheless strikes up a passionate love with Fanny.
Campion said she was nervous about bringing the new film to Cannes, and that she had “butterflies” Thursday night when looking at the final edit. But she handles herself well in front of the media and made an impassioned statement about the neglect of Keats and his sense of humor and joyousness, even amid his illness.
The movie can seem like something of a romantic throwback, which is partly the point. After all, Keats was one of the Romantic poets. Campion, however, does not pretend that she was an expert on Keats before tackling the project. Instead, she says the making of the movie was like a discovery of his poetry.
Whishaw also said he was relatively clueless about Keats before playing him. “I didn’t really know much about him. I had a prejudice against the Romantics, preferring the modern poetry…. But I’ve grown to love the luxury and sensuality of his poetry.”
For American audiences, “Bright Star” may seem a bit slow. To cut to the chase, there’s a lot of sewing. And that’s just one step above watching paint dry, if you must know. But the sewing has a point. At the beginning, Fanny is sewing a white cotton dress, symbolizing the possibility of romance or a wedding. And at the end, she’s sewing a black funereal dress.
Campion defends all this sewing, saying bluntly, “Women of this period did two things. They sewed and they waited.” They obviously did a bit more than that, as Campion acknowledged, since they have borne everyone in the world. But the sewing metaphor takes precedence in “Bright Star.”
Cornish also stepped up to defend the sewing. “Sewing is the thread of the film,” she said.
For all you sewing enthusiasts out there, please note that I don’t hate sewing. My mother sewed — a lot. But I’m not sure it’s going to be a big box-office draw. That’s all I’m saying. Then again, sewers of the world might unite and surprise me. We’ll see.
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Scorsese in Cannes
Martin Scorsese, one of the few truly great auteurs without a film at Cannes this year, made an appearance anyway Friday, to promote the newly restored version of the 1948 classic “The Red Shoes.”
It has been restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, in cooperation with the British Film Institute, ITV Global Entertainment and Janus Films. And it’s showing tonight at a special screening, before it comes out in a special-edition Blu-ray at the end of June.
Scorsese, who’s a film restoration buff, took time out from his filming of :”Shutter Island” to come to Cannes and promote “The Red Shoes.”
After finishing “Shutter Island,” Scorsese plans to start work on a documentary about British cinema history, yet another of his passions. He’s a big fan of Jose[h Losey, Basil Dearden, Guy Hamilton and John Gilling.
Cannes always has a host of restored movies in its Cannes Classic sidebar, which gets little attention but is a gem of the fest.
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