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September 10, 2008
TIFF - Mike Leigh Recommends...
I meant to put this up days ago, as I thought it would be nice for folks to get a recommendation from a great director who actually goes to see films at fests...
His pick, of 4 or 5 films he caught, was Tears For Sale, the Serbian film by Uros Stovanovic. Leigh was taken by the audacity and intellegence of the work. And when I see it later today, I hope to feel the same.
FOLLOW UP, 7:48p - Leigh's advice was well taken, as Stovanovic has the kind of visual muscle to make him one of the next hot candidates for a Hollywood slot. The film is, essentially, a fairy tale filled with dark jokes, estrogen, sex, and explosions. Simplifying the story is probably a mistake, but I will offer the broadest strokes...
All the men in a Serbian town are off to war or dead... the last man of a reasonable age mines the grape field, the town's only form of self-support, and dies in the process... this leaves the women drawing straws for the inevitably deadly task of gathering the day's grapes (movie explosions and great visuals ensue)... two sisters, about to become 21 and 22 - spinsters in this period - work as professional wailers, as their mother did... when the women of the town try to get the elder sister to lose her virginity to "Grandpa," her screams give him a heart attack and he dies... to avoid being burnt at the stake, the pair swears to find a man to bring to the women and their journey ensues.
And that doesn't even take us to the first act break.
Sex, violence, men being blown out of cannons, women swarming, romantic love, wild hallucinations, lots of spider brandy, acts of kindness, and acts of betrayal all follow... all in a style that reaches beyond Gilliam with a profoundly Eastern European sensibility and a fascinating approach to the idea of the feminine.
Of course, it's a specialty item, unlike the extraordinary (and also a visual feast) Slumdog Millionaire, which will speak to a much wider audience if Searchlight can find them. But this is a film that every American film fest should be chasing and should certainly get some form of domestic distribution. This is the kind of joyous foreign romp that film lovers should get a chance to see. I'm sure there will be some wrestling over whether it is politically correct... but it is filmicly thrilling... a rich dessert of imagery and ideas and pleasures which reminded me more that once, albeit with very different details, of Tom Jones... but with Angelina jolie and Gwynnie Paltrow as the sisters.
I don't want to oversell. It isn't the reinvention of the wheel. But it's great movie-movie making. And that is more than enough to get me happy.
Posted by dpoland at September 10, 2008 08:34 AM
Comments
It would be awesome if Mike Leigh's idea of a good recommendation was something that OWNED like SAW or TRANSPORTER or DEATH RACE -- ie, good movies that rule and aren't boring.
Posted by: LexG ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 10, 2008 12:56 PM
Statements like that make Cinema Baby Jesus cry.
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 10, 2008 01:28 PM
Actually TEARS FOR SALE runs out of steam after its first imaginative 45m and then meanders and becomes repetitive for its remaining running time. Well worth checking out for that first half but its a shame the story goes nowhere after that. And it had some very conflicting points it was trying to make... confused. Its a weird male fantasy masquerading as a womens perspective.
HURT LOCKER is riveting material but it feels like we've seen this film before. But it is the best Iraq film for a long time, mainly because its not really a war film per se. Strong performance from all the leads but Renner is simply outstanding. His best work since DAHMER and 12 AND HOLDING.
THE WRESTLER - A small intimate character study that would be one of those gems you recommend to folks to rent out. Some WWE fans behind me indicated though that this film could cross over and make some $$ with a domestic theatrical. It's a tweener at the moment - and in many ways is very much like a smarter brother of Rockys last outing, a film it shares many meta angles with.
45 films and still waiting for the one true knockout experience. Tick tick tick....
LexG would dig SEXY KILLER a lot.
Posted by: Jeffrey Boam's Doctor at September 10, 2008 05:29 PM
JBM, you think it runs out of steam after 45 minutes.
Why can't people learn to just throw a pronoun in there before they disagree with someone?
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at September 10, 2008 11:28 PM
I said that to David Poland once, and he said, "what am I, the Pope?"
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 10, 2008 11:46 PM
Kami are you the resident grammar bitch here or what?
I'm critiquing the film so why the fuck should I have to say "I think" before every statement. That might work on your blog mate but please don't force your redundant pronouns on the rest of the grown ups.
And the film does run out of steam whether I said it or not.
Posted by: Jeffrey Boam's Doctor at September 11, 2008 04:39 AM
The bear/bare thing does vex me... tough to grammar check while iphoning it in.
And the proper, in my opinion, phrasing for JBD is that he lost interest in the last 30. Why that is... a different, subjective issue.
Posted by: David Poland at September 11, 2008 09:41 AM
JBD, because the way you wrote it was rude. Like, "Actually, you're wrong." Ugh.
Posted by: KamikazeCamelV2.0 at September 12, 2008 03:11 AM
DPs a big boy and can look after himself. Last thing he needs is a drama queen causing a ruckus on his behalf.
Posted by: Jeffrey Boam's Doctor at September 12, 2008 10:02 AM
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