Like "City of God" and "Bus 174" before it, "Favela Rising" paints a
somber, shocking portrait of life in the Rio de Janeiro slums.
Sweeping overhead shots of the adjacent shanty-towns drape the
pic in a cloak of misery, doom, and entrapment that rarely lets up.
The challenging documentary traces the efforts of community
activist Anderson Sa, who turns his plight in the Vigario Geral district
into an outlet for the neighborhood's youngsters to escape the
roaming -- and ruling -- druglords. In most of the favelas it is not
a question of if, but when, these kids will turn to gang life. Perhaps
the film's most hopeless moment is when a boy of not more than
ten or twelve refuses to acknowledge the reckless path he will
undoubtedly be taking; as he walks away from Sa and the camera,
his stubborn denial of the gangs' dangerousness shows how difficult
it is to change perceptions in the volatile barrios.
Sa's work culminates in the spread of AfroReggae music -- a
combination of drum-heavy rhythms, beat poetry, and political
expression -- throughout Rio. He and his growing troupe attempt
to take their positive message to the streets, a few times coming
within a hair's breadth of disaster amid the warring thugs.
It is Sa himself who must make the ultimate recovery when
unexpected disaster strikes. The outcome of his ordeal is a
none-too-subtle allegory for the extreme hope that is needed for
those in the favelas to survive. Sa's unrelenting optimism is truly a
shining light for a region left in the dark for far too long.
My grade: B+
Screened: December 4
Well, this was the first Harry Potter movie I've ever seen, and the
verdict is...
It was much better than I thought it would be. Kids' movies have
an annoying tendency to slop on the cheese for the sake of small
fry, but this avoided it nearly 100% of the time. In fact, there were
a few highly suspenseful moments -- Lord Voldemort's return, the
undersea escape challenge -- that rivaled the "drama" of "Rent."
(Additionally, the unexpected death scene in "Goblet" was much
more emotional than Angel's funeral in the Broadway musical.)
Apparently the emerging hormones of Harry, Ron, and Hermione
were of great excitement to longtime Potter fans (I saw the movie
with several of 'em). I guess this means I'll have to go rent the
other three movies in order to fill in the backstory of this "classic
franchise" (friend's words).
Oh, and by the way, I've never seen a "Star Wars" movie, either.
My grade: B+
Screened: December 3
Where or where do I start with the frustrating paradox that is "The
Dying Gaul"?
Is it the A+ performances mingled in with a C+ plot? The stirring
vitality of some scenes (a post-coital breakdown) mixed in with the
utter ludicrousness of others (an e-mail sent to a dead person)?
The incisive dialogue contrasting the clumsy filmmaking? The
intriguing opening section leading to a curt, abrupt ending?
In this stage-to-screen adaptation of director Craig Lucas's own play,
Campbell Scott plays a closeted bi studio executive who takes a
fledgling screenwriter (Peter Sarsgaard) under his wing. The
Hollywood honcho's wife (Patricia Clarkson) takes an even more
commanding interest in him once she finds out that the two are
having an affair. In fact, it's downright morbid: She begins
impersonating the writer's dead lover in an online chat room in order
to punish him for betraying her trust.
"The Dying Gaul" calls to mind much better scandalous L.A.-based
dramas like "The Anniversary Party" and "Hurlyburly," in which the
blood of the spoiled is spilled in surprising, addictive fashion.
Lucas's film, with its emphasis on Sarsgaard and Clarkson typing
away the sins of the day, is more inert, less revealing than it thinks
it is, and increasingly less believable than its narrative can sustain.
A shame, because Clarkson, Campbell, and especially Sarsgaard
turn in some of the best work of their careers.
My grade: B-
Screened: November 26
