NOISES ON: Can’t believe it, but they swear it’s true. The Frantics, the certifiably insane, oooh, oops, sorry, the mentally extrvagant comedy troupe

THE FRANTICS: Noises-makers

comprised of Paul Chatto, Rick Green, Dan Redican & Peter Wildman, are about to turn 30. (I know, I know, they don’t look a day over 29 .) To celebrate they’re launching a new Greatest Hits CD, Frantic Noises, and working on anniversary release dates for (1) The Very Best of Frantic Times (“more than 1,000 bits compiled from our CBC Radio show,”) (2) The Frantics Walk Upright

STOJKO: Red Door booster

(“the lost tapes of our final performance together in 1998,”) (3) an all-music CD that they’re recording now, and (4) the DVD of their Frantics Reunion Show, which aired on the Comedy Network. Big news is, they’re set to perform live at The Royal on College street — for one performance only, to launch their new CD — on Monday Dec. 7 at 7 pm. All proceeds from tickets ($10 +tax in advance, $15 +tax at the door) will go to PAL (the Performing Arts Lodge.) To order your tickets now, go to their website at www.thefrantics.com, or just click here.

GOING, GOING, GONE: Today is your last chance to bid on a unique online jewelry auction where all of the proceeds raised benefit the Red Door family

PINSENT & PINSENT: all about Uniti (photo: Zoomer magazine)

shelter. Called the Uniti Collection, the pieces are created by 18Karat Goldsmiths and inspired by celebnties partnered with designers. Sparklies adding their lustre to this cause include Leah & Gordon Pinsent, Elvis Stojko and Breakfast Television charmers Dina Pugliese and Jennifer Valentyne. To review the collection and get your bid in, click here … surfers are finding more and more treasures at on-line auctions, which is why they’ve become so popular. BID 2 BEAT AIDS, LIFEbeat’s fifth annual 10-day eBay Celebrity Memorabilia Auction honouring World AIDS Day starts December 1 at 12 noon, with proceeds going to ongoing AIDS/HIV programs in the U.S. Up for grabs are personal items from Michael Feinstein, Debbie Harry, Cheyenne Jackson, Lady Gaga, Cyndi

PUGLIESE: Breakfast jewel

Lauper, Patti LuPone, Madonna, Ricky Martin, Tim McGraw, Liza Minnelli, Stevie Nicks, Cynthia Nixon, Bernadette Peters, Joan Rivers, Henry Rollins, John Waters, Vanessa Williams and the late Bea Arthur, among others. For more information, including a complete list of participating artists and images of many of the items, click here … and  Julia Roberts is among the glitterati reportedly ready to act up for the Labyrinth Theater Company’s seventh annual gala benefit called Celebrity Charades 2009: Jackpot. Beginning

ROBERTS: charity charades

December 7, celeb teams do battle in charades competition, so in addition to Julia look for Eric Bogosian, Bobby Cannavale, Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni and more. And feel free to  follow the action online — where else?!? — at  www.LABtheater.org.

Like I said — not yer average rock band.

TOMORROW:

Why Liz Smith always makes me laugh.

Plus, Brangelina update, and more!

Saint Ralph (2004)
★★★ / ★★★★

Written and directed by Michael McGowan, “Saint Ralph” stars Adam Butcher, a boy who believes that if he can perform a miracle by winning the 1954 Boston Marathon, God will take his mother (Shauna MacDonald) out from her coma and everything will be okay again. What I loved about this movie was that it started off pretty funny. Ralph was not exactly the model student: he got into trouble by “accidentally” masturbating in the swimming pool (did I mention he attends a Catholic school?), his peers constantly made fun of him, made forgeries with his best friend (Michael Kanev), and lied about his dead grandparents. But as things started to get serious, the director slowly showed the audiences how Ralph forced himself to be more mature and eventually run the marathon. I liked that he had occassional slip-ups because it showed that he was still a fourteen-year-old and not someone who turned into a saint overnight. I usually don’t like movies that glorify religion because most of them are too preachy. However, although this film was set in a religious school and community, it was really more of an inspirational story about someone who desperately needed an outlet for his negative emotions and channel it into something good. I was touched by his relationship with Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), the teacher who helped him to get better at running, and was infuriated with Father Fitzpatrick’s (Gordon Pinsent) attempt to put Ralph in an orphanage. I also thought that Jennifer Tilly as Nurse Alice was pretty good; she became more like a mother figure to Ralph and I thought it was a nice that she was playing a different sort of character compared to her other movies. I have to admit that the end of the picture made me tear up in so many ways because I wanted Butcher’s character to succeed so badly. There’s just something about characters in movies who work really hard because they want to achieve something that gets me every single time. I guess I can easily relate because I used to feel like I always had to prove myself to people that I’m good enough. (Which reached its climax in my high school years.) After the movie, I was just overwhelmed with many different emotions and I was really happy that I saw it.

Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent look out onto an uncertain future.

(Lionsgate) Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Alberta Watson, Grace Lynn Kung, Stacey LaBerge. Directed by Sarah Polley.

One of the horrors of aging is Alzheimer’s disease. The effect of the disease on the afflicted person is devastating, but the effect on the loved ones can be even more harsh.

Grant Anderson (Pinsent) and his wife Fiona (Christie) have a good life. They’ve retired to a beautiful cabin in rural Ontario and live comfortably, surrounded by the accumulations of a long life together. However, there are some disturbing signs of change coming into their lives; Fiona is growing increasingly more forgetful, and has started to do some odd things, as when they are putting dishes away after a meal and she puts the frying pan into the freezer.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the practical Fiona has no desire to subject Grant to the agony of caring for her while she slowly and inevitably deteriorates. She makes the unilateral decision to check out a local nursing home. At first upset at his wife for acting on her own, he bows to her strong will and sensibility and drives her to the facility.

Once there, they find a pleasant environment with a caring staff but Grant balks when the facility’s director (Watson) informs him that he won’t be allowed to see his wife for 30 days while she adjusts to her new residence. He begs Fiona to reconsider, but she is firm and with a final sweet goodbye, sends him away. When he returns, the changes in her are pronounced. She’s developed a relationship with Aubrey (Murphy), a mute patient whom she cares for as a nurse for a patient. Whether the relationship is more than that isn’t clear; Grant wasn’t faithful to her early in their marriage and he wonders if she’s taking revenge for that. Some days she seems to recognize him, others it’s clear she has no clue who he is. Devastated, Grant takes advice from a sympathetic nurse (Thomson) and Aubrey’s wife (Dukakis), a practical, plain-spoken woman who sees the inevitable but can’t quite bring herself to let go.

Director Polley, best known as an actress in such films as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the “John Adams” miniseries as well as an impressive roster of indie movies, proves to be a director of enormous potential. She brings a deft touch to a subject matter that could easily become maudlin in less capable hands. Her gaze is unflinching and honest but never feels forced. The Andersons are robust and handsome in their age, but they aren’t archetypes; they’re real people with flaws and no clear direction of what to do. That’s a tribute to the original Alice Munro short story it was adapted from and also to Polley’s writing for which she was Oscar-nominated.

Most of the movie takes place in the winter, but Polley resists the temptation to make the film overcast and gloomy. Instead, nearly everything takes place in bright winter sunlight reflecting off the snow that sparkles like diamonds. The winter metaphor works for that reason without becoming cliché.

Christie and Pinsent are in every scene, either separately or together, and they both deliver outstanding performances. While Christie was recognized with an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win, I found Pinsent’s performance more riveting as he captures the agony and desperation of a good man seeing the love of his life deteriorate before his eyes.

Despite the acclaim and Oscar buzz, this Canadian production didn’t receive widespread distribution here in the States. Nevertheless this is a movie worth seeking out not just for the subject matter, which may be off-putting for those with phobias about aging and the issues that the elderly face, but also for the on-screen performances which are as compelling as any you’ll see in a small film like this. You may also want to rent it if for no other reason, to mark the occasion of the emergence of a great director who is bound to release some wonderful movies as her career progresses.

WHY RENT THIS: Outstanding performances by the entire cast, particularly the two leads. Beautiful snow-covered exteriors in rural Ontario. An impressive script that never stoops to emotional manipulation or maudlin clichés.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Subject matter may be too age-centric for some. Some of the subplots are merely touched upon without satisfying resolutions.

FAMILY VALUES: The subject matter may be a bit too intense for kids wondering why grandpa is so forgetful.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Lionsgate paid $750,000 for the rights to distribute this film.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: Nothing notable on the American release; however Canadian readers might look into the 2-Disc special edition for a short film from Polley entitled I Shout Love as well as additional film commentary from Christie.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

TOMORROW: Strayed (Les Egares)

NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: New Emmy-owner Justin Timberlake has joined the cast of The Social Network, director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin’s take on the invention of Facebook …

TIMBERLAKE: Facebook friend

Heather Locklear, one of the stars of the original Melrose Place, will reprise her role on the current re-invented series … stage and screen favourite Eric Peterson, already slated to pick up an Earle Grey Award later this month at the Geminis, will receive the 2009 Gordon Pinsent Award Of Excellence this week when The Company Theatre fetes him Thursday night at the Windsor Arms. Seamus O’Regan and Allan Hawco will co-host the gala evening … and speaking of excellence, award namesake Pinsent plays the Archbishop in The Pillars of the Earth, the epic drama based on Ken Follett’s bestseller, currently shooting in Hungary and Austria. Also appearing

PETERSON: getting Gordon & Earle

in key roles are Ian McShane and Donald Sutherland.

FOOTLIGHTS: Mimi, or A Poisoner’s Comedy, the controversial new Allen Cole-Melody A. Johnson-Rick Roberts musical, continues its ribald run at the Tarragon Theatre … Bob Martin’s Tony-winning hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone tap-dances into Ottawa next week for a two-week run at the National Arts Centre … Carrie Fisher opened her one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, at Studio 54 last night. Sez Fisher: “Basically, I talk about myself behind my back.”
 Her Broadway stint will run ‘til January … and Monty Python alumni Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and John Cleese are set to appear in a rare reunion at the Ziegfeld Theater next week. Did you know that the Pythons have

FISHER: on stage

their own YouTube channel? Seriously! … and tickets are now on sale for the new National Ballet Of Canada season, which kicks off next month with the perennially lavish Sleeping Beauty. To check out the new NBOC season, just click here.

OUR TOWN: The 14th edition of Eat to the Beat, benefitting Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada, takes over Roy Thomson Hall tomorrow night with culinary creations from more than 60 chefs,  including the Food Network chef Anna Olson, Fiona Lim of George and Dufflet Rosenberg of Dufflet Pastries. And you can still buy a ticket! For more info, click here … also tomorrow night: Royson James moderates a Toronto Star panel discussion on what it takes to create a workable city, with Susan Eng, Kevin Stolarick, Sudz Sutherland and Rahul Bhardwaj, at the new Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library … Jack Rabinovitch and jurors Russell Banks, Victoria Glendinning and Alistair MacLeod will announce this year’s Giller Prize finalists tomorrow morning at the Four Seasons … and yes, those still-sensational Jersey Boys are still winning standing O’s every night at the Toronto Centre For The Arts.

This is terribly beautiful to me, and says something very important about being human over the last little while on Earth and, more broadly, on being alive.

Gordon Pinsent is an iconic Canadian actor and was amazing in this whole series. I highly recommend It.

William Marshall as Blacula

Blacula is a 1972 blaxploitation horror film produced for American International Pictures. It was directed by William Crain and stars William Marshall in the title role. Blacula was the first film to win the “Best Horror Film” award at the 1972 Saturn Awards. Also starring Vonetta McGee, Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala, Gordon Pinsent, and Charles Macaulay.

A sequel, Scream Blacula Scream, was released in 1973, in which Marshall resumed his role.

Tagline: Blacula! – Dracula’s Soul Brother!

Plot: Interior decorators buy the coffin of an African prince bitten by Dracula centuries before and bring it back to Los Angeles.

Blacula was a financial success when it was originally released. It was immediately followed by a sequel, Scream Blacula Scream (1973), in which the vampire is made corporeal again by a Voodoo practitioner. The success of the film also inspired the making of several other blaxploitation/horror crossovers in the mid-seventies, including Abby, Blackenstein, Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, Ganja and Hess, The House on Skull Mountain, J. D.’s Revenge and Sugar Hill, although none of these films were as successful commercially as Blacula. Rumors circulated that Brides of Blacula and Son of Blacula were to have been made as well. Some more recent horror films with predominantly black casts were Def by Temptation (1990), Vampire in Brooklyn (a 1995 film which shares many themes and source material with Blacula), the anthology Tales from the Hood (1995), and Bones (2001).

Blacula found a new audience in the early ’80s, when Elvira featured it on her syndicated TV series, Movie Macabre. It has since become a cult classic, and is now available on DVD and as a rental on iTunes, from MGM Home Entertainment, the current copyright owners of the AIP catalog.

Make Up Department
  Lola Kent … hair stylist
  Fred B. Phillips … makeup artist

Special Effects Department
  Roger George … special effects

References in Pop Culture:

• The Simpsons have referenced the character and film Blacula multiple times:
  • In Simpson Tide, Homer is watching TV, and hears an announcer’s voice say “Next, on Exploitation Theatre…Blacula, followed by Blackenstein, and The Blunchblack of Blotre Blame!”
  • In the “I’ve Grown a Costume on Your Face” segment of Treehouse of Horror XVI, Dr. Hibbert dresses as Dracula for Halloween, but Mayor Quimby confuses him for Blacula. When Hibbert appears offended by this, Quimby whispers to his bodyguard “Get him the standard racist remark apology letter. It’s in the middle drawer.”
  • In All’s Fair in Oven War, the Simpsons begin the episode by watching a clip from Blacula Meets Black Dracula, in which both Blacula and Black Dracula are dancing on a disco floor. A white authoritative figure appears, who then turns off the music and states his intent to turn it into a hockey rink. Blacula responds by calling it a “honkey rink” and sucking his blood. Homer then announces that the actor who played Black Dracula is now a congressman from Virginia.
• In the music video for “Adam’s Song” by blink-182, Tom Delonge wears a Blacula T-shirt.
• The music video for the Gnarls Barkley song “Who Cares” revolves around the misfortunes of a jaded black vampire character named Blacula.
• There is a pornographic spoof of Blacula titled, Lust of Blackula.
• In the novel Anno Dracula, Prince Mamuwalde is mentioned in passing as a notable non-Caucasian vampire.
• Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken made a reference to Blacula in one of their sketches, along with Blackenstein and the Black Mummy.
• The Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13 have a song entitled “Back in Blacula” on their album Songs from the Recently Deceased.
• In the illustrations of Andrew Craven,  Blacula is re-represented in Penny Dreadful and the Blacula Encounter where he is the subject of one of Penny’s decadent adventures.
• In The Venture Bros. series, Jefferson Twilight is an African-American character (and friend of Dr. Orpheus) who exclusively hunts vampires of any ‘black’ ethnicity (African, African-American, African-British, et cetera) which he refers to as Blaculas.
• On MADtv there is a parody of Blacula (Aries Spears) who is usually accompanied by the parody of Dr Funkenstein (Keegan-Michael Key).
• An episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air showed Will Smith going into a dank basement. When Will sees the door creak and the basement storage room is full of 1970s items, he comments, “the door is straight outta Blacula”.
• In “Billy and Mandy”, Dracula was portrayed as an African American similar to Blacula.

Movie Poster 27x40

2006: Away from her di Sarah Polley

Ottimi i giudizi della stampa: “…la regista sa mantenere l’equilibrio difficile della dedizione, la forza e delicatezza dei sentimenti” (L’Espresso), “Guardandosi dal mettere sotto sequestro le nostre emozioni, questa dolceamara storia di tramonto ha il coraggio di parlarci di cose come il tempo che passa e le sue ferite, l’amore e la solitudine…” (Repubblica), “Percorso da un dolore sommesso e composto, immerso come per contrasto in una luce accecante che sembra a sua volta sfumare i contorni delle cose, Away From Her lascia segni profondi nel cuore” (Ciak) .

La canadese Sarah Polley ha meno di trent’anni ma ha già un curriculum di tutto rispetto come attrice, sceneggiatrice, regista, produttrice…
Lontano da lei è l’ultimo lavoro da lei diretto ed ha fondamentalmente il pregio di essere doppiamente coraggioso: nell’essere un film più europeo (bergmaniano quasi) che hollywoodiano, nell’affrontare una tematica (l’Alzheimer) tutt’altro che accattivante (e infatti il botteghino americano non l’ha premiato).
Un’opera asciutta al massimo (i patetismi e i facili sentimentalismi sono rigorosamente evitati) che poco concede allo spettatore. Immediato è il paragone, nell’affrontare un argomento così angoscioso, con La famiglia Savage, anche questa diretto da una donna.
Alla Polley non riesce quello che ottiene la Jenkins: emozionare il pubblico, coinvolgerlo, interessarlo al dramma dei protagonisti. A mio parere Lontano da lei (lodato e apprezzato, come detto, dai maggiori critici) ha due sostanziali difetti: centra la sua attenzione quasi esclusivamente sulla coppia colpita dal dramma (il che genera poco movimento nella storia), ritrae figure in cui è difficile identificarsi. Julie Christie (candidata all’Oscar e premiata con il Golden Globe ) è bravissima ma il suo personaggio è piatto e monocorde: sempre uguale dall’inizio alla fine, mai un dubbio o una perplessità, mai un momento di sconforto o di disperazione…
Leggermente più variegato il personaggio interpretato da Gordon Pinsent ma l’unica figura che sembra  reale, e quindi avvicinabile a noi spettatori, è quella interpretata da Olympia Dukakis: una donna che ha delle certezze, delle debolezze, determinata e indecisa nelle sue scelte contraddittorie, che combatte, che cede … un vero essere umano.
Formalmente il film è perfetto (fotografia, movimento di macchina, inquadrature, taglio di immagini, colonna sonora, ambientazione… tutto è al meglio) ma nel complesso risulta pesante e non facilmente digeribile.

Da vedere comunque, per il difficile argomento che affronta seriamente e per l’ottima prestazione dell’intero cast.

scheda

This week I recommend *Away From Her*
Directed by: Sarah Polley
Starring: Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, and Olympia Dukakis

In General: Very touching, taking pauses to focus on expressions and subtlety precisely when needed.

What I Like: The fluid perspectives, marked by changing colours of the film, just slightly. The multiple use of one corridor is particularly strong. I love how the film deals with human error and sin in a lighthearted yet intense way. The karma that comes around and pokes you in the ribs is fierce-faced but also smiles like a Coyote Trickster. How you deal with guilt and regret can be a stake through your heart, or the beginning to something quite beautiful. You can build your own cage or release. The use of literature partially makes the film a tribute to words.

Isn’t it true however far we’ve wandered into our provinces of persecution, where our regrets accuse, we keep returning, back to the common faith from which we’ve all descended, back to the hands, the feet, the faces, children are always there and take the hands even when they’re most terrified. Those in love cannot make up their minds to go or stay. Artist and doctor return most often. Only the mad will never never come back. [...] Lovers have lived so long with giants and elves, they won’t believe again in their own size, and the artist prays ever so gently, ‘Let me find pure all that can happen…’. -from *Letters from Iceland” by W. H. Auden

Sarah Polley should continue to direct. She’s brilliant in so many ways.

Rating: VVVV

***
image from IMP Awards.

I’ve spent most of the last hour crying like a baby.  I’ve finally watched “Away from Her”, a movie based on “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”, a  short story by Alice Munro.  (One of my favorite authors, BTW)  Written and directed by Sarah Polley, this movie was so lovely and so heart-breaking.  The central relationship is pure Munro: passionate and profane, flawed and hopeful.  Starring a luminous Julie Christie and craggy Gordon Pinsent it is a beautiful, aching portrait of love lost to misfortune, and the idea that seeing the one you love happy is worth any personal pain.    I’m not sure that I’ve ever loved anyone that much, nor have been loved that way myself.  Watch it if you get the opportunity-but have tissues nearby.

Link to the short story: The Bear Came Over the Mountain

I photographed the 29th annual Genie Awards at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa on Saturday. This was my red carpet experience and my first awards show. When the nominee list came out, I only knew two names on the list, Christopher Plummer and Paul Gross, and neither of them showed up! Luckily the organizers would write the persons name on a white board for us as they arrived for the red carpet (which was actually grey). We quickly came to know and love the name Kristin Booth – Young People Fucking. She had more charisma than all the other nominees combined. She showed up in a clinging, nude and lace dress with bright red lipstick and fulfilled our every need. Later that night when the awards were handed out, she brandished her award like a strap-on and made my night.

Left – Canadian actress Kirsten Booth (C) poses with Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Chrissie Lapointe (L) and Constable Alexander Young on the red carpet at the 29th annual Genie Awards in Ottawa April 5, 2009. REUTERS/Blair Gable (CANADA)
Right - Canadian Actress Kristin Booth poses for photographers after receiving the award for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for the movie Young People Fucking at the 29th annual Genie Awards in Ottawa April 4, 2009.     REUTERS/Blair Gable       (CANADA)

Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent (C) dances with Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Chrissie Lapointe (L) as Constable Alexander Young watches on the red carpet at the 29th annual Genie Awards in Ottawa April 5, 2009. REUTERS/Blair Gable (CANADA) 

Canadian film director Sarah Polley sticks her tongue out at photographers on the red carpet at the 29th annual Genie Awards in Ottawa April 5, 2009. REUTERS/Blair Gable (CANADA)

The presenters on the red carpet had more star power than the nominees, Polley, Pinsent,George  Strombo-alphabets, David Foley, Kevin Newman and a handful of politicians. I was worried when the photo use on Sunday was very low, but come Monday’s paper photo use was huge.

Bg 

ENTER THE ACTRESS: Tony & Emmy collector Andrea Martin, fresh from her stage triumph in Mel Brooks’ musical version of Young Frankenstein, returns to Broadway tonight with Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Oscar winners Geoffrey Rush and Susan Sarandon in a rare revival of Eugene Ionesco’s Exit The King. Rush is making his debut on the Great White Way in the absurdist comedy, playing a monarch who has only 90 minutes to live. Sarandon and Ambrose play two of his queens, and the indefatigable Ms. Martin plays the maid. Any bets as to who’s gonna get the most laughs?

* * *

NORMAN CONQUESTS: The Canadian Film Centre and Film Independent are co-hosting a tribute to CFC founder Norman Jewison next month at the Los Angeles County Museum Of Art. Veteran film critic Leonard Maltin will

host the on-stage tribute, which will be followed by one of Jewison’s several classics, In The Heat Of The Night. The saga of a black detective trying to survive in a racist southern town, Jewison’s1967 drama with Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger and Lee Grant won five Oscars, including Best Picture. It also won a much-coveted Best Actor award for Steiger, who had been nominated for The Pawnbroker but lost to Cat Ballou’s Lee Marvin. Poitier, who already owned an Oscar for Lilies Of The Field, followed up with Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, and three years later his great success as Detective Virgil Tibbs in Jewison’s hit film inspired a so-so sequel, They Call Me Mr. Tibbs, directed by Rat Pack favourite Gordon Douglas.

Sadly Rod Steiger won’t be there to toast his buddy Norman. But lots of Jewison’s admirers will be.

Stay tuned.

* * *

TONIGHT, TONIGHT: I predict T.O. taxis will do boffo business tonight. Ron James is opening his Mental As Anything tour at the Winter Garden; TIFF is presenting a free screening of Hollis Frampton’s magnum opus Hapax Legomena, which will be Introduced by York cinema prof Michael Zryd at Cinemateque Ontario; and artistic director Ken Gass is hosting the Factory Theatre spring gala –“great food, great atmosphere, and a great show.”  The show? The world premiere of Florence Gibson’s Missing, directed by David Ferry. Call Michelle at 416-504-4473 for last-minute tickets.

* * *

STARS IN OUR EYES: Add stage & screen charmer Cara Pifko, award-winning actor/director Sarah Polley, freshman MP Peter Kent, newspaper columnist and novelist Linwood Barclay and broadcaster Jane Hawtin to

PIFKO: Star Scrabbler

the Scrabble With The Stars celebrity roster this year. Previously announced luminaries set to participate in the April 6 event at The King Suites include Graham Abbey, Jaymz Bee, Mark Breslin, Dave Broadfoot, Michael Burgess, Dinah Christie, Jayne Eastwood, Don Harron, Marilyn Lightstone, Sheila McCarthy, Deb McGrath, Colin Mochrie, Gordon Pinsent, Leah Pinsent, Paul Quarrington, Jackie Richardson, Zaib Shaikh, Dione Taylor, R.H. Thomson and hosts Jeanne Beker & Barry Flatman. Call 416-777-9674 for tickets, but don’t delay – the popular fundraising Gala is almost sold out … director Larry Weinstein’s much anticipated opus, Inside Hana’s Suitcase, will premiere here April 30 at Hot Docs … and B.C. soul rocker Alex Cuba has launched a new artist-branded web-browser. Based on the Firefox platform and developed by Canadian software companies Adevia Software and Brand Thunder, the browser can be downloaded from www.alexcuba.com and www.brandthunder.com/alexcuba.

Two friends, Dave and Andrew, are about to have the worst day of their lives. Suddenly they open their front door to find that everything is gone and the only thing left is their house surrounded by an endless amount of white. Is it possible that they wished everything and everyone away?

Directed by – Vincenzo Natali

Written by – Vincenzo Natali, David Hewlett, Andrew Lowery, Andrew Miller

Starring – David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Gordon Pinsent, Mari-Josee Croze, Andrew Lowery, Dlana Shilling, Soo Garay, Martin Roach, Angelo Tsarouchas, Rick Parker, Maurice Dean Wint

Writer/director Vincenzo Natali is fast becoming one of my favorites. His film, Cube, blew my mind with its intelligent story and Nothing didn’t disappoint either. While Cube was more along the lines of thriller/horror, Nothing is straight up comedy with some seriously deep and intelligent story behind it.

Basically two guys end up wishing the world away. I mean everything, leaving just them and their house. You’d think it would be a challenge to make a movie about two guys standing in white but it works so well. There’s plenty to think about here such as what exactly has happened to them or how they can affect things around them. At one point they liken their situation to characters in a video game on pause, living in one moment forever. Once they begin to realize that they are the ones who have wished the world away they start to wish bad memories away thereby making themselves different people.

That’s where it really starts to get interesting and had my brain working overtime. What would happen to you as a person if you could just erase bad habits or embarrassing memories away? Would you still be the same person as before? The movie is really interesting as it has you thinking but at the same time is a pure comedy. They aren’t trying to delve deep into the hidden meanings or anything like that. They provide an interesting concept and leave it up to you to decide while you’re entertained by these two guys who have found themselves in this very odd place.

It’s a great flick on so many levels and I think most people would really enjoy it.

Under the marquee – Will

One of the year’s most star-laden events is exactly one month away – and you’re invited to bring your camera.

BEKER: H-o-s-t-i-n-g

Everyone’s fave fashionista Jeanne Beker and her steady fella Barry Flatman will host the fifth annual Scrabble® With The Stars, the annual showbiz fund-raiser for Toronto’s Performing Arts Lodge (a.k.a. PAL) is set for April 6, 2009 at The Suites at 1 King West, with more than 40 stage, screen and literary celebs participating.

Public relations pro Vivienne Muhling, a primary PAL booster, devised the all-star evening five years ago, luring star-gazers and Scrabble fans alike by promising AND delivering a star at every table. So while patrons rub shoulders and match wits with some of Canada’s premiere sparklies, this year’s proceeds will fund the first steps towards providing assisted living for those PAL residents who are no longer well enough to fully care for themselves.

SHAIKH: Scrabbler

This year’s all-star cast of Scrabble players include – are you ready? — Jaymz Bee, Mark Breslin, Dave Broadfoot, Michael Burgess, Dinah Christie, Jayne Eastwood, Don Harron, Peter Kent, Colin Mochrie, Marilyn Lightstone, Gordon Pinsent, Leah Pinsent, Paul Quarrington, Jackie Richardson, Dione Taylor, R.H. Thomson, Teresa Tova and Little Mosque On The Prairie stars Sheila McCarthy, Zaib Shaikh and Deb McGrath, with more marquee names to be announced momentarily.

And no, you don’t have to mortgage your condo to pay for it. Single Gala tickets, which include the cocktail reception, buffet dinner AND Scrabbling with a Star, are only $125 each, and come with a tax receipt (!!) for the maximum amount allowable. Which is why this event tends to sell out fast. So don’t take too long to think it over. Call 416-777-9674 or go to www.scrabblewiththestars.ca, but don’t let this one get away.

* * * 

NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ:  Crowd-pleaser Ron James returns to Toronto to bring his Mental As Anything tour to the Winter Garden – but he’s here for six nights only, March 26-28 and April 2-4. So don’t say I didn’t warn you …

KAIN: Casting calls

best showbiz name I’ve heard this week: Underoath,  the Tampa-based heavy metal band who kick off their Canadian tour tomorrow night in Vancouver. Opening for the group: Norma Jean and Innerpartysystem, (I guess Sam Butera & The Witnesses weren’t available) … and although she’s clearly brilliant at nurturing show-stopping dancers, National Ballet chief Karen Kain is no slouch when it comes to off-stage casting either. Hosts for her series of Ballet Talks at the Four Seasons Centre For The Arts — those popular informal chats that begin 45 minutes before every show—for her current Innovation evenings are renowned dance critics Clement Crisp from the Financial Times in London and Michael Crabb from the National Post. And the host for the upcoming Romeo & Juliet ballet talks will be ex-Romeo Rex Harrington.

* * *

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH: Former CBC broadcaster Avril Benoît is now working for Médecins Sans Frontières Canada as the director of communications.  

BARRIE: Returning

Recently interviewed on Dispatches from Dungu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she said the United Nations is failing the people there. “The UN peacekeeping force with amandate to protect is not protecting,” Benoit said flatly. “There’s no one protecting them!”… CBC ear candy Andrew Craig joins Mike Downes, Anthony Michelli and David Mott in a jazz quartet for Canada’s first jazz oratorio, Creation, written and composed by acclaimed saxophonist David Mott. World premiere is set for May 3 at Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre. Also sharing the stage, which features photographs taken in space by astronaut and longtime Mott fan Steve MacLean: The 60+ voice Mississauga Choral Society and guest soloists Kathryn Domoney, Adi Braun, Martin Houtman, and Giles Tomkins … and much to the delight of his legions of fans, Andy Barrie is set to return to CBC Radio on Monday morning.

Por Alessandra Marcondes

Fazendo jus ao papel de participante feminina do blog, escrevo hoje sobre esse romance belíssimo de estréia de Sarah Polley (Minha Vida Sem Mim) na direção. Fiona (Julie Christie) e Grant (Gordon Pinsent) formam um casal maduro, que já passou por altos e baixos ao longo de vários anos, mas ainda é apaixonado. Assim, por cima, é só mais uma história de amor que resiste aos obstáculos da vida, satisfazendo o espírito de todos os espectadores que buscam finais felizes para seus próprios romances. Mas e se a pessoa amada é vítima de um mal como o Alzheimer, que não tira a vida, mas acaba com importantes lembranças referentes a ela?

O modo como essa doença pode afetar uma família inteira não está claro na mente de quem nunca a conheceu de perto. Porém, o filme dá uma noção desesperadora do que significa simplesmente esquecer em que gaveta ficam os talheres, qual suéter é o seu, ou qual foi a pessoa que presenciou seus momentos mais importantes nos últimos 40 anos.

Na trama, é justo Fiona que adoece. A mulher forte e decidida, que faz questão de se internar em uma clínica para não atrapalhar a vida de seu marido, enquanto ele pede que ela não vá – inverte-se o lugar comum em que o abandonado sempre é o doente. Grant, por sua vez, se mostra um homem mais interessante do que se imaginava: se contenta com o papel de amigo da esposa pelo fato de ela ter se esquecido quem ele é, e ainda observa respeitosamente o romance que ela passa a ter com um amigo de dentro da clínica.

Além da fotografia marcada por planos amplos e distantes que retratam a solidão das personagens, a trilha sonora delicada embala um filme que pode ser deseperadoramente triste sem perder a beleza que há em enxergar sempre o lado positivo da vida. A combinação do cenário gelado com a quantidade de luz que invade os corredores da clínica (quem assistiu, entenderá) combina com a personalidade de Fiona, que emana luz mesmo no meio da mais dolorosa situação. E Julie Christie, que foi muito bem escolhida para o papel (Sarah já havia trabalhado com ela antes, atuando em A Vida Secreta das Palavras) transmite toda essa mistura de sentimentos sem precisar pronunciar uma única palavra.

O filme é brilhante, e provoca uma melancolia boa depois que sobem os créditos. Para os menos sensíveis, vale a pena porque se destaca entre a multidão de romancezinhos feitos em cima de uma fórmula óbvia, existente no cenário atual. Já para aqueles que adoooram um dramalhão, confesso: chorei do começo ao fim.

“Não seria legal se a gente casasse”?
- e o que você disse? –
“Eu aceitei. Nunca quis ficar longe dela.”

Direção: Sarah Polley
Gênero: Drama
Duração: 110 minutos
Elenco: Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Thomas Hauff e Katie Boland.

Aviator, The
[ 4 stars out of 4 ]

Upon rewatching this film, I realized its greatness. Initially, I gave this a three out of four stars but now, I realized that this was a top-notch, four-star movie that deserved its Oscar nominations. Leonardo DiCaprio really came a long way from his “Growing Pains,” “Total Eclipse,” and “Titanic” days. His daring performance grabbed my attention from start to finish because he played his character with such charisma, grace and consistency. The fact that he didn’t win an Oscar for Best Actor for this film (or “The Departed”) still troubles me. As the picture went on, it gathered momentum and ended in an explosive and worthwhile manner. Another noteworthy acting came from Cate Blanchett as she played Katharine Hepburn. Every bit of neuroticism was spot on, to the point where they were eerily similar. This was expertly directed by Martin Scorsese, easily on my Top 3 Scorsese movies. The film is nicely paced for a two-and-a-half-hour film, well-casted, and an important gem that shouldn’t be missed by anyone interested in character studies.

Away from Her
[ 4 stars out of 4 ]

A whole new level of sadness pervades me whenever I watch movies about people who have Alzheimer’s disease. “The Notebook” was the epitome of that kind of film but this one definitely takes the cake. I love how this movie did not end up as cheesy, which “The Notebook” kind of did. The characters remained composed from beginning to end. I imagined myself in the male protagonist’s shoes and I can’t image keeping it together if someone I love volunteers to check herself in a home, let alone finding her being intimate with another man, not remembering that she is married to me. I found it admirable that the protagonist found the energy to remain loyal regardless of all the pain he had endured. I love the tone of the movie and everything that came with it. Hopefully, I won’t have to make the choice to send anyone to a home, specifically my parents. Imagining it shatters me inside and out. If you want a good cry, check this one out. It won’t disappoint.

Bad Santa
[ 4 stars out of 4 ]

Next to “Fargo,” this is one of my definitions of “Dark Comedy.” I originally wanted to see the film because of Lauren Graham since I’m a big fan of “Gilmore Girls.” Little did I know that I was in for something more. Billy Bob Thorton shines in this picture in so many ways: he was sarcastic, politically incorrect, mean without being ashamed, and sardonic. Despite all those negative qualities, I wanted to watch more because the picture’s humor is addicting. I wanted to see more characters to suffer, get hurt, and embarrassed. This film is definitely not for everyone, which is why I’m recommending it because at first I didn’t know that this was the humor I can relate to the best. This is a definite stand-out from your typical Christmas movies. A must-see for its daring screenplay and witty (if not offensive) script. I love it!

Canadá, 1954. Ralph Walker (Adam Butcher) es un chico de 15 años tan autónomo como listo que vive solo en casa mientras que su madre, quien padece una muy grave enfermedad, está hospitalizada; asiste todos los días al colegio católico, y su curiosidad lo lleva de problema en problema, hasta que, a modo de castigo, lo obligan a formar parte del equipo de cross-country. Su madre cae en coma y, según los doctores, sólo un milagro podrá despertarla. Un milagro, la palabra clave.

Es así como Ralph se interesa por el tema de los acontecimientos inexplicables y desea ponerse a prueba para otorgarle ese milagro a su madre. La tarea, correr el maratón de Boston. El problema: Ralph no tiene pasta de santo (pasa pensando en las cuestiones carnales propias de su edad) aun cuando su objetivo sea el más loable. Es así como Ralph se aventura en la drástica vida de estos personajes, a la vez que, a regañadientes, el joven Padre George Hibbert (un ex maratonista seguidor de Nietzche), interpretado por Campbell Scott,  decide entrenarlo.

Saint Ralph, película Canadiense de 2005, es todo lo que una típica película gringa de auto superación posee, excepto por el buen tratamiento de la historia, la picardía intrínseca del protagonista, los sacerdotes y el humor, por sobre todo, inteligente. Es así como esta peli se acerca más a la artesanía Inglesa que a la manufactura pirotécnica Hollywoodense. Y en lo que más denota esta brecha es en la actitud del protagonista, quien lo tiene todo, menos dinero y una familia constituida (su padre murió en la Segunda Guerra Mundial), cosa que dista de los estereotipos gringos en lo que para surgir se necesita de mucho dinero y un arrojo dispuesto a despellejar al otro.

Entonces, Saint Ralph, no nos habla de milagros, sino de los pasos que damos para llegar orgullosos a un objetivo… si es que lo logramos. Ahora bien, al final lo importante es el intentarlo, el mojarse las patitas.

Claro que un camino (claramente el del héroe) como el que seguirá Ralph para lograr su cometido, no está exento de obstáculos ni de enemigos. Pero lo más importante en la premisa es que dichas brechas están tratadas con el humor lógico de la situación, en la que el blanco y el negro no existen. Así apreciamos que dentro de todo lo extricto que puede ser el Padre Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), en contexto con la época de la diégesis, todo el aplomo de sus extremas desiciones no las hace en detrimento del osado alumno.

Saint Ralph no es una película que critique los dogmas de la religión católica, como menos de la actitud de sus fieles; sólo se aferra a ella como ayuda para narrar la historia de un chico utópico que no se deja amilanar por las opiniones de los cansados adultos que ya no creen en los sueños, o en los milagros.

Buena película, entretenida, ágil e inspiradora (¡lo podemos lograr!). Vale la pena dejar lo balazos de lado y reirse cada cinco minutos con esta película que nos llega tarde, pero en buenahora.

Otros plus son la actuación de Jennifer Tilly como la comprensiva enfermera Alice, para nada erótica como es su costumbre, y las alusiones a Nietzche (“The chinesse guy?”, “No, the philosopher guy.”), los comunistas y los cristianos. Imperdible.

“Quem sabe (n)a solidão… Eu possa me dizer do amor (que tive): Que não seja imortal, posto que é chama, Mas que seja infinito enquanto dure.” (Vinicius de Moraes)

Junto-me a Sarah Polley (A Vida Secreta das Palavras) para conhecerem essa linda história de amor. Acompanhando o desejo de um deles não querer ficar longe, mas nessa história seria no pensamento da mulher amada. Pois serão 44 anos juntos, que estão sendo apagados. E por conta de que para um desse casal, o Alzheimer chegou.

A história tem início quase no final do filme. Aos poucos, vamos conhecendo todo o drama. É Grant (Gordon Pinsent) quem nos conta. É ele que fará de tudo para não sair por completo dos pensamentos da sua amada, Fiona (Julie Christie). Por amor, apenas? Por querer provar a ela algo mais?

Já comentei outros filmes onde abordam essa doença. Um deles, talvez após ter visto esse, ao revê-lo, eu venha a me emocionar tanto quanto nesse. É “Diário de uma paixão“. Porque nesse, “Longe Dela”, nos apresenta uma mais detalhada radiografia dessa doença. Por ela ser mostrada quando se tem os primeiros sinais. Que para quem está ao lado… Assusta um pouco. Me fez lembrar de uma cena, eu uma adolescente, em presença de uma avó: ela voltara à época dos filhos ainda criança… Por não segurar as lágrimas, sai do quarto…

Fiona, traz um diferencial… Ela pede para ser internada. Ciente de que o marido não terá estrutura para lidar com ela. Que de um jeito… ela está indo embora aos poucos. Ele ainda reluta… Como desculpa, procurar por outras Clínicas… Até que ela diz: “Não acho que devamos procurar algo que nos agrade. Não acredito que encontraremos. A única coisa que podemos desejar nessa situação é um pouco de dignidade.” Aqui, me fez lembrar de uma frase de Virgínia Woolf no filme “As Horas“: “Mesmo o mais humilde dos pacientes pode expressar sua opinião sobre o tratamento que lhe é dado.”. Como também pelo padrão da Clínica. Ela não é acessível a todos. E para quem viu “As Invasões Bárbaras”, não dá para simplesmente dizer que é algo de primeiro mundo a Clínica para onde irá Fiona.

Para Grant qua acaba cedendo com o pensamento de que essa separação seria para algum tratamento novo… a Clínica ainda lhe traz uma regra para um martírio maior. A de que nos primeiros 30 dias o interno não pode receber nenhum tipo de contato. Nem mesmo de cônjuges. À caminho da Clínica, na estrada, Fiona o deixa aturdido. Por lembrar de uma conversa recente que tiveram num parque. E por algo do passado, mas nesse caso, eles nunca tocaram no assunto. Por conta de que, aquilo, a doença ainda não apagou de vez?

E ao voltar, após os 30 dias, Fiona não o reconhece… Então, acompanhamos Grant fazendo de tudo para ainda fazer parte das memórias da Fiona.

Eu amei esse filme! Nota máxima em tudo! E a trilha sonora embala a todos nós nessa linda história de amor! Preparem os lencinhos!

Por: Valéria Miguez (LELLA).

Longe Dela (Away from her). 2007. Canadá. Direção e Roteiro: Sarah Polley. Elenco: Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Grace Lynn Kung, Wendy Crewson. Gênero: Drama. Duração: 110 minutos. Baseado em história de Alice Munro.

Em minhas apostas para o Oscar 2007/2008, minha favorita absoluta para o Oscar de Melhor Atriz era Marion Cotillard. Mas deixei de ser premiado em alguns bolões justamente porque apostei em Julie Christie: mesmo não tendo visto Longe Dela, que só estreou somente em maio de 2008 no Brasil, a veterana e já oscarizada Christie tinha sido a mais premiada das cinco concorrentes tendo, entre os prêmios, dois dos mais importantes: o Screen Actors Guild Awards e o Globo de Ouro de Melhor Atriz Dramática.

Vencedora do Oscar, continuo achando Cotillard a melhor atriz de 2007 por sua magnífica atuação em Piaf – Um Hino ao Amor. Mas ontem pude constatar que todos os prêmios que Julie Christie levou pra casa foram igualmente merecidos.

“Away From Her” (título original) é um filme mais que emocionante: tristíssimo. Olympia Dukakis e Kristen Thomson merecem ser citadas por suas ótimas atuações como coadjuvantes deste filme que tem uma trilha sonora delicada, discreta, sublime, com direito a Johann Sebastian Bach e Neil Young, autor da música dos créditos, brilhantemente interpretada por k.d. Lang.

O texto é primoroso, da própria diretora Sarah Polley, que foi indicada ao Oscar pelo roteiro mas ganhou mais prêmios pela excelente direção, pela qual não foi indicada à estatueta. Curiosidade: a intenção inicial de Polley, atriz canadense que com este filme faz sua estréia na direção de um longa metragem aos 28 anos, era filmar um roteiro que tinha como protagonista uma adolescente que atuava numa série de televisão. Por não ter conseguido financiamento para o projeto, acabou decidindo adaptar um de seus contos favoritos, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”, de Alice Munro, e o orçamento do filme foi de apenas US$ 3,4 milhões. Polley declarou que escreveu a personagem Fiona para que fosse interpretada por Julie Christie. Valeu a pena.

Alzheimer é um tema que por motivos pessoais me comove muito, mas o filme é tão bem construído que guardei todas as lágrimas para o final, impressionantemente hipnotizado por Julie Christie e Gordon Pinsent (canadense que recebeu prêmios em seu país natal por esta atuação). Vai ser muito difícil esquecer estas interpretações arrebatadoras. Vale destacar que o filme tem um mérito importante e cada vez mais raro nas produções atuais: termina na hora certa. Recomendo, e leve seu lenço.

Confira aqui os filmes que estrearão nos cinemas do Brasil e suas sinopses.

.

- O MELHOR AMIGO DA NOIVA

Título original: Made Of Honor

Gênero: Comédia; Romance

Ano: 2008

País: EUA

Duração: 101 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 12 anos

Diretor: Paul Weiland

Elenco: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Kadeem Hardison, Chris Messina, Richmond Arquette, Busy Philipps

Sinopse: A história gira em torno de Tom e Claire, que mantém um amor platônico por mais de dez anos. Ele é um namorador inveterado, enquanto ela pensa em se casar. E quando ela finalmente anuncia seu casamento, ainda o convida para ser seu padrinho. Tom, ainda que relutante, acaba aceitando apenas para colocar em prática seu plano de atrapalhar tudo e poder ficar com ela.

.

.

- EFEITO DOMINÓ

Título original: The Bank Job

Gênero: Suspense

Ano: 2008

País: EUA

Duração: 117 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 16 anos

Diretor: Roger Donaldson

Elenco: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore

Sinopse: A trama se baseia no lendário roubo a banco na Baker Street, rua do centro comercial londrino, em 1971. Por uma determinação do governo, a história permaneceu sigilosa por 35 anos. Trata-se do maior assalto da Inglaterra – ninguém foi preso nem o dinheiro foi recuperado. A história gira em torno principalmente dos segredos de um cofre, os escândalos que se seguiram ao caso e as vidas que se perderam na tentativa de manter o caso em segredo.

.

.

- LONGE DELA

Título original: Away From Her

Gênero: Romance; Drama

Ano: 2006

País:Canadá

Duração: 110 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 12 anos

Diretor: Sarah Polley

Elenco: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Deanna Dezmari, Alberta Watson, Grace Lynn Kung

Sinopse: Fiona e Grant são casados há mais de 40 anos e vivem um sólido relacionamento. A rotina do casal se transforma quando ela começa a sofrer com o Mal de Alzheimer e decide que é momento de ir para um asilo.

.

.

- 5 FRAÇÕES DE UMA QUASE HISTÓRIA

Gênero: Drama

Ano: 2008

País: Brasil

Duração: 96 minutos

Língua: Inglês

Classificação: 16 anos

Diretor: Armando Mendz, Cristiano Abud, Cris Azzi, Guilherme Fiúza, Lucas Gontijo e Thales Bahia

Elenco: Luiz Arthur, Gero Camilo e Cynthia Falabella, Cláudio Jaborandy, Jece Valadão

Sinopse: Um fotógrafo obcecado por pés femininos; um homem que se projeta em situações vistas na TV; um apático funcionário público que recebe uma proposta de um juiz corrupto; um trabalhador de um matadouro com o casamento em crise; e uma secretária desiludida no amor que sonha em se casar. Estas cinco personagens terão suas vidas modificadas a partir de um quente final de semana.

.

.

.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Veja mais:

Cannes aplaude filme de Fernando Meirelles por cinco minutos.

——————————————————————————————————————–

Es nerakstu šo atčotu uzreiz pēc, uz sitiena, bet tomēr aizvien īsti nezinu kā iesākt.

Par ko mēs varam runāt? Kas man nāk galvā – “Lost In Translation” (un ne tikai tāpēc, ka Gordons Pinsents reizēm tik ļoti līdzinas Bilam Mjurejam pazudušajā translācijā, ka mati ceļas stāvus) un “Closer”, bet, kā vienmēr, ne jau par to ir runa. Viss ir pavisam savādāk. Īstenībā, filma ir ļoti biedējoša. Tāpēc, ka vecums un vientulība ir ļoti biedējošas lietas

Par ko vēl mēs varam runāt? Par prāta, jūtu un dzīves pieredzes ķīmiju un ķirurģiju. Bet vai vajag?

Vēl par ko? Ir filmas, kas atrodas kinolenšu dzelzs bundžās, un es varu tās atvērt ar konservu nazi. Bet ko lai es iesāku ar Mina dinastijas porcelāna vāzi?

in 2008 martcore says
afigkino

 

Sarah Polley -  Lejos de Ella (Away From Her, 2007)

A causa del Alzheimer, Grant Andersson (Gordon Pinsent) deberá verse obligado a internar a su amada esposa Fiona (Julie Chistie) en Meadowlake, un centro de asistencia médica para ancianos, una suerte de fusión entre asilo y manicomio, donde ella deberá separarse del hombre con quien compartió, ininterrumpidamente, 44 años. Lejos de ella, interesante y conmovedor drama sobre el sentido del amor y la persistencia, es la ópera prima de Sarah Polley, escrita, además, por ella misma.

El paisaje de la nieve fundiéndose al calor de la luz del crepúsculo es como el telón de fondo que envuelve la larga vida que Grant y Fiona han compartido juntos, amándose, y ahora, por la fatalidad del destino, ella mentalmente empieza a dejar de estar con él. Lejos de ella es la descripción de la declinación mental de una mujer que empieza a perder la memoria; es también el retrato palpitante de la desesperanza e impotencia del hombre que la ama, pero que, como el agua del río, debe dejarla ir. Lejos de ella, además, es la confirmación de que nuestras emociones íntimas se fijan imborrables en el fondo de nuestras almas, huellas que ni el tiempo ni la pérdida de las facultades mentales logran disolver.

Lejos de ella propone muchos temas, pues presenta además un paralelo entre los que son internados y el drama de las parejas de éstos, que están fuera pero que pareciera tuvieran una vida más dolorosa al ser testigos de la decadencia de sus seres queridos. Por otra parte, es una cruel ironía sobre la paulatina, pero absoluta, irreversible y dolorosa partida hacia la nada. Por eso, en un momento, Fiona le dice a su marido: «Aún no me he ido, pero me estoy yendo.»

Lejos de ella conmueve más de una vez. Cuando llega el momento de internar a Fiona, la escena de la despedida entre los esposos tiene una virtud interesante, y lejos de sucumbir en la sensiblería, es un conmovedor retrato del amor en su faceta más triste. Gran escena.

Lo mismo ocurre cuando Grant, leal y tenaz amante, visita diariamente a su mujer que está internada, mientras ella va olvidando quién es su marido. El sufrimiento de Grant viendo cómo todos sus esfuerzos por ir a verla, llevándole flores o libros, son inútiles pues ella parece tener otra vida, se hace patente en las charlas con una de las asistentes, en las interrogantes que se hace sobre por qué, en el fondo, su amada lo ha olvidado, en hallar la forma de ayudarla a salir adelante. Grant nunca desmayará en su propósito.

Ahora bien, una película como Lejos de ella, donde una mujer pierde la memoria y el esposo debe hacerse cargo de ella, internarla, cuidarla y pasar por la terrible experiencia de ver cómo frente a sus ojos está perdiendo a su amada, implica un trabajo magistral de parte del actor que hace de Grant, es decir, Gordon Pinsent. Él está bien y su actuación convence, pero en medio de todo el drama, salvo las breves sonrisas que se permite, nunca cambia de rostro. Siempre, desde que empieza a notarse la enfermedad de Fiona hasta cuando la va perdiendo y es víctima de una desolación terrible, luce sombrío pero imperturbable, sin los altibajos emocionales que de hecho exigen su papel, sin que su postura se agrave, se contraiga o desfallezca.

La película, desde el comienzo, nos plantea dos situaciones en su estructura narrativo temporal. En una se va detallando el avance de la enfermedad de Fiona, su posterior internamiento y la aceptación de la nueva realidad; en el otro —es la primera escena de la cinta— Grant se acerca a una mujer cuyo marido estuvo también internado, y con quien Fiona tuvo un acercamiento muy especial. De ambas situaciones se desprende un paralelismo entre la vida de las dos parejas, que desnuda conflictos, remordimientos, pasiones, confusiones, encariñamiento.

Y aquí está quizás el mayor tropezón de la cinta, al convenir un totalmente arbitrario idilio entre las parejas de los que padecen la enfermedad y son internados, pues el ritmo en que transcurría la cinta se trastoca por completo y se desvirtúan las intenciones.

De cuño clásico

En Lejos de ella encontramos a una Julie Christie de avanzada edad, de rostro consumido, pero con una sobriedad y una elegancia dignas de su mejor época, con su mirada azul diáfana e intacta y sus formas corporales inmarcesibles. El retrato que encarna Julie Christie es, pues, muy complejo, y ella está a la altura de lo que se le exige. No hubiera sido nada injusto que su nominación al Oscar este año como mejor actriz principal le signifique la obtención de la estatuilla dorada —sin por ello estar descontentos con quien se la llevó, Marion Cotillard.

Con sus 66 años bien llevados, Julie Chistie, una de las grandes proezas del cine británico de los años 60 y 70, sigue sorprendiendo, pues desde que se estrenó Billy, el embustero, en 1963, su figura no ha dejado de inspirar respeto. Darling, en 1965, le valió un Oscar, y Doctor Zhivago, ese mismo año, fue una cinta por la que hoy en día más se le recuerda. Además, Julie Chistie trabajó con directores de la talla de François Truffaut, en Fahrenheit 451, o Robert Altman, en Los vividores, película que le valió una nominación al Oscar.

La belleza y carisma de Julie Chistie, una actriz de cuño clásico, la ha hecho inolvidable, y es un referente para muchas actrices del cine contemporáneo que admiran su filmografía, que sigue creciendo pues aparece ocasionalmente encarnando roles secundarios en cintas muy variadas. Con Lejos de ella, esta vez Julie vuelve al estrellato, haciéndose del protagonismo de un film que realmente conmueve y provoca reflexiones sobre si vale o no la pena amar y esperar por la persona amada.

Un acertado debut

A mediados de los años 90, una adolescente canadiense abandona sus estudios, se involucra en los ideales políticos de la izquierda y apoya a un partido socialista de su país. Años más tarde, esta misma adolescente, de nombre Sarah Polley, terminaría protagonizando películas independientes de grandes directores como David Cronenberg o Isabel Coixet; Mi vida sin mí, de esta última, en el 2003, es el film por el que más se le recuerda. Pero Sarah ya antes había dirigido cortos, y es Lejos de ella el proyecto con el que se anima al largometraje, una película regada de lo que aprendió con los numerosos directores con quienes trabajó, y acaso más con Isabel Coixet. Y vaya que le fue bien: para una directora primeriza, que además escribe la película, tener dos nominaciones al Oscar —mejor actriz principal y mejor guion adaptado— no es poca cosa.

Es saludable que una joven con el talento y la mirada que Sarah Polley tiene del mundo ingrese al universo de la dirección de largometrajes por la puerta grande. Pues Lejos de ella, además de todo lo que se ha dicho, es una cinta que ofrece una mirada femenina sobre las relaciones entre hombres y mujeres. Una película marcada con el sello final de la auténtica lealtad.-

Tito Jiménez