SUNDANCE 2013: THE NECESSARY DEATH OF CHARLIE COUNTRYMAN

Charlie (Shia Lebeouf) and Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood) in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.

Romance in Romania

By John Esther

Drugged and melancholic, Charlie Countryman (Shia LeBeouf), receives advice from his recently departed mother (Melissa Leo) that he should leave Chicago and go and visit Bucharest (she meant Budapest).

 

Upon arrival in Romania's capital, Charlie is thrust into a romantic adventure in a foreign land. Charlie meets the love of his life, Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood).  In mourning, the cellist in the local symphony happens to be fluent in English, and would be perfect, except her estranged husband, Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen), a ruthless mobster, still wants her. Nigel also wants a highly incriminating tape floating around.

Directed by Frederik Bond, written by Matt Drake, narrated by John Hurt and consisting of a score composed by Moby, The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman has its moments, but essentially it is a sheepishly Hollywood film in indie clothing.

The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman builds itself up as some edgy, gritty love story where our hero, we are told, will die. Charlie keeps getting pummelled, chased by both cops and mobsters, before being shot at point blank range yet love conquers all. If Charlie had actually died for love that would have been made the film slightly subversive, but that is not, necessarily, the case. In fact, the film sets itself for a sequel as one very bad villain remains alive.  LeBeouf in another franchise?

SUNDANCE 2013: THE FUTURE

Maciste (Rutger Hauer) in The Future.

Looking ahead

By Don Simpson

The Future (Il Futuro) had me at the opening homage to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, with a yellow Fiat taking the place of the iconic Volkswagen Beetle. As it turns out, that Fiat is the very vessel in which Bianca (Manuela Martelli) and Tomas' (Luigi Ciardo) parents die, leaving Bianca and Tomas to manage their
home in Rome.

Bianca is old enough to become Tomas' guardian and they are able to get money from their father's trust while their mother's funds are inexplicably tied up. Bianca is still forced to find a job to supplement the trust funds and Tomas willingly volunteers at the gym in exchange for being able to work out there. It is at the gym that Tomas meets two strange friends (Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta). Soon Bianca and Tomas are entwined in a risky scheme that involves a former Mr. Universe-cum-actor who goes by the name of his most famous character, Maciste (Rutger Hauer).

As Chilean director Alicia Scherson's title soon suggests, Bianca and Tomas' present is quite grim; it is only their future that holds promise. The Future exists in a surreal fugue state in which strange events are explained by the siblings' damaged psychological state after their parents' catastrophic accident. Time has become blurred and they see things much differently -- bright lights blast through their windows all night long and their parents' crushed yellow Fiat is now grey.

SUNDANCE 2013: THE STUART HALL PROJECT

Stuart Hall in The Stuart Hall Project.

Left behind

By Don Simpson

I am not quite sure how I did not know of Stuart Hall's work until John Akonfrah's documentary, The Stuart Hall Project. As it turns out, the Jamaican-born, Oxford-educated cultural theorist is one of the founding figures in British Cultural Studies and co-founder of New Left Review. Hall was very involved in introducing discussions of class, race and gender into the realms of Media Studies and Cinema Studies. Hall was fascinated by the complexity of identity, and the notions of cultural acceptance and assimilation of immigrants and minorities.

This is precisely why I am shocked that I have never heard of him, because I consider myself to be fairly well-versed in British Cultural Studies and the New Left movement. So, you might say that the most important thing that I learned anything from The Stuart Hall Project is that I have a lot more learning to do.

Akonfrah impressively assembles an entire film about Hall utilizing only archival footage. Other than occasional inter-titles, there is nary a directorial stamp in this documentary. Most of the film is comprised of television interviews with Hall, allowing him to essentially serve as the narrator. We listen to Hall's various theories on race, class, gender and culture while observing relevant b-roll
footage. Consuming all of this footage decades after it was originally recorded opens the subject up to a more unbiased interpretation by the audience.

Other than an overtly reverential conclusion, The Stuart Hall Project respectfully avoids telling us what to think about Hall's theories and opinions; instead, we
are able to take in the information through our own lens in the present. Additionally, since Hall's favorite musician is Miles Davis, Akonfrah cleverly uses tracks from Davis's long and varied career to set the mood and tone for the images. It's quite an effective soundtrack that only falters on the rare occasions that Akonfrah confusingly uses filler music that has absolutely nothing to do with Davis.

SLAMDANCE 2013: DIAMOND ON VINYL

Charlie (Sonja Kinski) in Diamond on Vinyl.

Sexy talk

By Don Simpson

Henry (Brian McGuire) is addicted to collecting audio recordings of conversations no matter if they are albums from the 1950s or conversations clandestinely recorded on his portable recorder. This is all research and practice because Henry strives to record the perfect conversation.

It sounds innocent enough, right? Yeah, but the habit gets him in trouble when his fiancée (Nina Millin) discovers that he has been recording their lovemaking -- so much trouble that Henry is promptly kicked out of the house.

Enter Charlie (Sonja Kinski -- Klaus Kinski's granddaughter), an attractive, young, voyeuristic photographer who is excited by the possibility of creating audio recordings with Henry; except when Charlie says that she wants to "record something" her words drip with sexual innuendo.

Charlie and Henry begin to play make believe, recording improvised conversations together. Sometimes they develop new characters for their role
playing, other times they attempt to mimic various people they have met. To further their "research," they begin to engage unsuspecting strangers, secretly recording the resulting conversations. Charlie and Henry approach their lives as if performing a series of acting roles, attempting to achieve a greater level of realism by pretending they are someone else. It seems as though we never see the real Charlie or Henry, we only see whichever characters that they choose to play. The problem is that they do not always know when and where to draw the line. Boundaries are repeatedly crossed as voyeurism mutates into obsession.

Writer-director J.R. Hughto's cinematic chamber piece questions the authenticity of our selves -- specifically, what we say. Are we all just playing roles in this world? Do we sometimes adopt false personas in order to fit into certain situations? Do we sometimes over-think (mentally rehearse) what we are going to say? Do we, like Henry, strive to have the perfect conversation?

SUNDANCE 2013: BLACK METAL

Ian (Jonny Mars) in Black Metal

Murder and music

By Don Simpson

While on stage, Ian (Jonny Mars) dons creepy corpse paint as the lead singer of a black metal band; otherwise, he is just a normal, thirty-something husband to Rose (Heather Kafka) and father to Lily (Addisyn Stevenson). Like most performers, Ian's stage persona is merely a fictional character and he does his best to keep the two distinct personalities of his Jekyll and Hyde lifestyle quite separate.

On the fateful night that we meet Ian, it is revealed that one of his fans has murdered a high school teacher and tagged the crime scene with the logo of Ian's band. Ian instantly faces the hateful disdain of the media and surrounding community. Like any normal human being, he wrestles with the guilt and blame associated with the murder.

Mars plays the lead singer of the black metal band with blood-curdling authenticity, while also being incredibly tender and empathetic as a loving family man. In other words, Mars goes from being someone I would not want to run across in a dark alley to someone I would love to have as a close friend. Ian is sculpted into a real person, thus putting a human face on the discussion about the entertainment industry's role in perpetuating violence. Not to get all meta on you, but Mars' performance in Black Metal serves as a reminder that the members of black metal bands are merely acting a part -- this is something that rabid black metal fans should keep in mind when worshiping the fictional stage personas of their pale-faced heroes.

Writer-director Kat Candler's Black Metal comes from the rarely portrayed perspective of an artist who is blamed by proxy for a murder. Regardless, Black Metal does not take sides, the film prompts many of the right questions while purposefully leaving them all unanswered. Of course, with only a nine-minute running time, Black Metal does not have the time to delve deeper into the issues; instead, Black Metal plays like a succinctly edited teaser for a feature-length film that leaves us wanting a whole lot more.

SUNDANCE 2013: BLUE CAPRICE

John (Isaiah Washington) in Blue Caprice.

System of a dad down

By John Esther

Inspired by the Beltway sniper attacks of October, 2002, writer-director Alexandre Moor's feature debut premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Saturday night.

Lee (Tequan Richmond) is a teenage boy living on the Antigua Islands by himself. Abandoned, he is drawn to John (Isaiah Washington), a father of three young children. After saving Lee's life, John takes Lee under his wings, providing the father figure Lee never had. After John's three children return to his mother, Lee fills a void for John, too.

Months later John and Lee arrive in John's hometown of Washington, USA, in search of John's kids. It turns out, there is a restraining order on John. He is not to contact his wife or kids.

Refusing to take responsibility for his numerous shortcomings, John gets it into his head that the whole system is against him. But since it is a system built on a house of cards, it needs a push if father and son want to see the whole thing come tumbling down. John needs Lee's help to give it that little push. Push comes to blood.

Stranded in a foreign land without resources, the already vulnerable Lee sees no other option than to help his father go on a vicious murdering spree. Typical to character, John makes sure Lee does the real dirty work.

A solid debut featuring strong acting, Blue Caprice delves into America's familiar consequences when insecurity, anger and high profile weapons come together.

In the wake of the numerous acts of violence, it is interesting to note that Blue Caprice does not attribute the violence to big guns and mental illness. John and Lee are essentially a couple of losers.

That they are black is also besides the point. This is never about getting revenge for 400 years of slavery. John simply fantasizes that this type of violence would make a difference.

Ten years later, the Beltway sniper spree did not change the system.

TOP TEN OF 2012: DON SIMPSON'S PICKS

A scene from Attenberg.

Grouch the Oscar

By Don Simpson

Attenberg -- One might say that Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenbergis like the mellow chaser used to calm the crazy rush after experiencing the sheer frenzy of Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth(which Tsangari produced), but it is certainly no less meaningful and pervasive. Attenberg may not be quite as fantastically absurd as Dogtooth, but the two Greek films do share a certain cinematic kinship in farcically discussing the aftereffects of overly restrictive parenting, specifically the social and sexual repression of the offspring.

 

Bad Fever -- The dark and intimate mood that writer-director Dustin Guy Defa is able to develop during the 77 minute-long Bad Feveris intoxicating. Defa’s timid approach to his characters — and the narrative as a whole — forces the audience to observe the world from Eddie’s (Kentucker Audley) perspective. Eddie carefully flirts with adjectives such as creepy and deranged, yet he always seems deserving of our sympathy and affection; occasionally he hints of a slight mental handicap, but refrains from utilizing such a “burden” to tug at our heartstrings.

 

Beasts of the Southern Wild --A masterful blend of neo-realism, magic realism, Southern Gothic and children’s fantasy, Benh Zeitlin’s Beasts of the Southern Wild is told from the childlike perspective of Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) with wandering eyes wide open engulfing the natural magnificence of the world. Beasts of the Southern Wild never once purports to exist in our world; instead, like any good fantasy or science fiction story, it functions as an otherworldly critique of our reality.

 

Cosmopolis -- I cannot imagine a better writer-director to adapt Don DeLillo’s dense-yet-dreamily-poetic dialogue. David Cronenberg nails DeLillo’s token tone, rhythm and pacing that has differentiated him from his peers. DeLillo and Cronenberg saturate every single word, sound and image with significance creating a presumably impossible-to-crack puzzle, not unlike some of Cronenberg’s most challenging films: Existenz, Crash, and Videodrome.

 

Green -- Writer-director Sophia Takal’s Green approaches female relationships and jealousy with a dreamy haze of obliqueness. The densely forested environs are not only suffocating and ostracizing but they also lend Green the spooky and menacing air of a horror film. Greenis a purely psychological horror film — the violence is all in the mind -- and one of the best I have seen in ages.

 

Holy Motors -- Like David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, Leos Carax’s Holy Motors shuttles us through its narrative in a white limousine, allowing us a tour of the decaying moral fiber of our post modern world. Holy Motors might be a film about playing roles and fulfilling the fantasies of others, but there is so much more to it than that.

 

Only the Young --Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet’s film is kind of like a punk rock Real World but more gritty and authentic; and like Real World, authenticity is in the eye of the beholder. Some viewers will accept Only the Young as fact, while others will probably believe that it is fiction. Regardless, Only the Young works extremely well as a visual essay on post-suburbia, contemplating the effects that regional economic downturns have on teenagers that are left floundering in the wake.

 

Oslo, August 31 -- With the visual poeticism of Robert Bresson, Joachim Trier creates an incredibly complex 24-hour character study with the intellectually insightful panache of Camus and Sartre. In this modern day example of existentialism, Trier avoids the Hollywood cliche of drug addiction — which informs us that drug addiction is perpetuated by financial woes and unstable families — revealing that wealthy, intelligent and resourceful people can become addicts too.

 

Tchoupitoulas -- The Ross brothers’ Tchoupitoulas functions as both a documentary that borrows from narrative storytelling techniques and a narrative film that paints a realistic portrait of its protagonists by utilizing documentary devices. The narrative unfolds like an improvised jazz album with various tangents that flow seamlessly away from and towards the forward-moving primary thread. Tchoupitoulasis a cerebral experience that continues to reverberate in my subconscious like a fading childhood memory.

 

Wuthering Heights --Writer-director Andrea Arnold de[con]structively whittles down Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights to its core elements of cruelty and violence. A strange Frankenstein-like creature that combines the distinct cinematic worlds of kitchen sink realism, art house and slow cinema, Wuthering Heights truly is a beautiful beast.

 

Honorable mentions: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry; Alps; America’s Parking Lot; Blancanieves; Cabin in the Woods; The Color Wheel; The Comedy; Girl Model; The Island President; Magic Mike; The Queen of Versailles; Turn Me on, Dammit!; You Hurt My Feelings

PSIFF 2013: CAUGHT IN THE WEB

Ye Lanqiu (Yuanyaun Gao) in Caught in the Web.

Spinning yarns

By Miranda Inganni

Caught in the Web tells the tale of a terminally ill woman’s online character assassination in director Chen Kaige’s (Farewell My Concubine) latest film.

One day, budding news reporter Yang Jiaqi (Luodan Wang) secretly records on her phone a seemingly rude and selfish woman on a bus. Through Jiaqi’s cousin’s girlfriend (and Jiaqi’s housemate), Chen Ruoxi (Chen Yao) -- a young woman establishing herself as a reporter -- the video goes viral and becomes the topic of the day. Unbeknown to them, the video’s subject, Ye Lanqiu (Yuanyuan Gao), has just learned that she has advanced lymphatic cancer.

Lanqiu becomes an Internet villain overnight. Known simply as “Sunglasses Girl,” until her jealous colleague identifies her online, the scandal sends Lanqiu into hiding, but not until Jiaqi and her cousin, Yang Shoucheng (Mark Chao) film Lanqiu’s sincere apology for the ordeal.

In the meantime, Lanqiu has asked her boss, company president Shen Liushu (Xuegi Wang) for a loan and time off from her executive assistant position. Unfortunately for all involved, Mr. Shen’s wife (Chen Hong) interrupts the tearful moment and misreads the situation.

Lanqiu ends up hiring Shoucheng to ostensibly protect her from herself and to experience as much as possible out of the time that she has left.

And that’s only the first part of this China's most recent Oscar submission for Best Film in a Foreign Language. Whew!

With more plot twists and turns than any historic (or histrionic) romance, Caught in the Web is entertaining and intriguing. Mrs. Shen finds herself in a loveless marriage to a husband who relishes his power more than his wife or wealth. Mr. Shen enjoys manipulating the lives of those who he believes have caused him some harm, including his wife. Ruoxi will stop at nothing to establish her career in the industry while Jiaqi merely wants to play ball in the big league. Shoucheng wants to be a loyal boyfriend to Ruoxi, but finds himself falling for Lanqiu. Lanqiu on the other hand, as the only one who knows that her time is limited, doesn’t want to allow herself to get too close to anyone, even at the cost of her own reputation.

The performances throughout this drama/comedy are equally as excellent as the levels of intrigue. The human capacity for a knee-jerk response to even perceived gossip is an overwhelming theme to Caught in the Web, as is the point that anyone at any time can be destroyed by the power of the inter-webs.

 

PSIFF 2013: KON-TIKI

A scene from Kon-Tiki.

No our way

ByMiranda Inganni

On the Academy’s short list for Best Film in a Foreign Language, Norway’s Kon-Tiki takes viewers back to 1947 when Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl (Pal Sverre Hagen) and five other men travelled 4300 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean on a balsawood raft.

A visionary who insisted Polynesia was first found by indigenous people from South America (namely, Peruvians) Heyerdahl could not convince anyone that the much-held notion that Asians from the East founded and populated the area was incorrect. If he wanted scientists, journalists and the world to take him seriously, he would have to make the journey they made some 1500 years ago using the same materials. Proving to the world that his theory was correct was worth risking everything to Heyerdahl and so they set sail from Peru.

Once on their way, the six men have to face the reality of their journey and the real possibility that they might not survive, or end up nowhere near their destination. Between fights, fending off sharks and men falling overboard, Heyerdahl documents the trip (the resulting documentary film won the Academy Award in 1950).

While there are a few overly dramatic moments and a few unnecessary CGI shots, co-directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Ronning’s Kon-Tikiis an extravagant, energetic and entertaining film depicting an epic historical journey.

 

PSIFF 2013: JUST THE WIND

Birdy (Katalin Toldi) in Just the Wind.

Branded outsiders

By Miranda Inganni

A Romani neighborhood is the target of violent attacks in this year’s Oscar entry from Hungary.

Influenced by a real racist crime spree that occurred in a Romani (AKA gypsy) neighborhood in Hungary in 2008-2009, Just the Wind (Csak a szél) is a “day in the life of” tale of a family similar to the one that was brutally murdered. It focuses on hard working Birdy (Katalin Toldi) and her two children -- adolescent Anna (Gyöngyi Lendvai) and not-quite teenage son, Rio (Lajos Sarkany).

Anna is studious, dutiful and keeps her head down – sometimes to a fault. Rio is sinewy, defiant and breezy, skipping school to stock his secret emergency bunker. Just what he is expecting is unclear, but he is a boy prepared. He steals from nearby houses, including the one of the recently murdered family -- bloodstains still seemingly dripping on the walls -- but is thoughtful enough to include items, such as nail polish, for Anna. (It’s during this break-in that he overhears two policemen discussing what kind of Romani are the “right” ones to kill.) Brassy Birdy works two manual labor jobs and not only cares for her children, but also her father (Gyorgy Toldi), who is unable to care for himself. The four live together in close, dark quarters with no running water. With the tightknit community on high alert after the viscous attacks, Birdy and her family try to go about their day and night like nothing has changed. But it has.

Director Benedek Fliegauf’s Just the Windsinks its teeth into the true grit of this family’s life for one day, bouncing between each one’s activities for that day. The three main actors, each of who is making their movie debut, are remarkably adept at bringing their characters to life. Sadly, the plight of this family (as is true of so many Romani families) is a tragic one.

Just the Wind is as tense as it is intense. Its somber realism is jarring, but telling at least this tale of Hungary’s largest minority is a necessary one.

PSIFF 2013: THE DEEP

Gulli (Olafur Darri Olafsson) in The Deep.

Freeze fame

By Miranda Inganni

Based on actual events that occurred off the Westman Islands in Iceland in 1984, The Deep (Djœpi) tells the tale of one man’s survival against great odds.

In what seems willl be another working day, the fishing boat Gulli (Olafur Darri Olafsson) is working on capsizes in the frigid Atlantic Ocean. To his horror and grief, Gulli soon finds himself all alone in the freezing night surrounded by water -- with his only chance for survival swimming the few miles to shore. For at least six hours Gulli swims, all the while confessing to a seagull that he is not yet ready to die. And though there is little doubt he will not make it, we cannot help but cheer on the portly man wading in the vast cold ocean.

Upon returning, science is unable to explain how Gulli managed to live through the freezing temperatures and extreme conditions of his ordeal. Some people wonder if his survival was a miracle. Regardless of the reasoning for his survival, Gulli becomes a reluctant Icelandic hero, all the while missing his mates.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur (Contraband), The Deep is Iceland’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar in this year’s Academy Awards. (It made the short list of nine). Kormákur and cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson expertly depict the freezing, isolated conditions on both land and sea. From the claustrophobia-inducing tight spaces onboard the trawler to the isolation of the protagonist surrounded by the vast ocean, the imagery of The Deep is bone chilling. Olafsson is excellent as the affable, social screw-up Gulli and is surrounded by an excellent supporting cast.

The Deep looks and feels real. The clips from the actual interview Gulli participated in while recovering in hospital during the credits only help to contribute to its realism.

PSIFF 2013: LORE

Lore (Saskia Rosendahl) in Lore.

(N)eins kinderverhaal

By Miranda Inganni

Set at the end of World War II in Germany, Lore is the story of five siblings who must fend for themselves when their SS officer father (Hans-Jochen Wagner) and Nazi sympathizer mother (Ursina Lardi) are off to prison for war crimes.

The eldest child, 14-year-old Lore (Saskia Rosendahl), must lead younger sister Leisel (Nele Trebs), her twin brothers, Günter (André Frid) and Jürgen (Mika Seidel), along with baby Peter (Nick Leander Holaschke) through the forests and mountains from their home to Hamburg and their awaiting Grandmother (Eva-Maria Hagen). Along the way, they meet Thomas (Kai Malina), a mysterious man with Jewish papers. Lore knows they need Thomas’ help in order to survive, but she struggles with her hatred for the Jews.

While the younger siblings can barely grasp the reality of what has caused them to be in this situation, Lore slowly comprehends her family’s new position and what it means. Once important and admired in Hitler's Germany, they are now the enemy.

All the children suffer, but it seems that only Lore is allowed to express it. While her character initially is unsympathetic, through her journey to save herself and her siblings, Lore's quest for survival brings out a sensitivity that can only be brought on through experiencing deep pain.

Lore looks at the toll of war from a perspective most audiences have not seen. Additionally, the cast does a remarkable job, especially considering their youth. Rosendahl is expertly cast as Lore and she strikingly captures her character’s physical and emotional journey. Kudos also goes Adam Arkapaw's lush, beautiful cinematography.

Based on “The Dark Room” by Rachel Seiffert, director and co-writer Cate Shortland’s Lore is Australia’s Official Selection for the 85^th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. (It did not make the short list.) The film is a co-production between Australia and Germany and the dialog is almost entirely in German.

 

Lore screens at the Palm Springs International Film Festival: Jan. 7, 7:30 p.m., Camelot Theatres; Jan. 9, 10:30 a.m., Camelot Theatres. For more information: PSIFF 2013.

 

PSIFF 2013: WHITE TIGER

A scene from White Tiger.

A roar of war

By Ed Rampell

I recently watched an episode of Oliver Stone’s The Untold History of the United States Showtime documentary series, which made a compelling case that the Red Amy won the war in Europe during WWII. I also saw Russian director Sergei Loznitsa’s feature, In The Fog, recently, wherein Soviet partisans battle Nazis in Belarus. So I was intrigued to see another Russian fiction film set during the Second World War and Karen Shakhnazarov’s White Tiger is as sharply exciting as In The Fog was foggily slow paced.

White Tiger is about tank warfare during WWII, but this is no Battle of the Bulge straightforward type of tale. As the Red Army inexorably marches across the Eastern Front towards Berlin, the USSR soldiers are stymied by the appearance on the battlefield by a sort of super tank, the eponymous White Tiger. Although the combat sequences are tautly directed and exhilarating to watch, Shakhnazarov does something off-kilter that makes film extremely exceptional. The director/co-writer bends and blends genres, adding a supernatural element to what is otherwise a realistic war movie. This creative concoction not only captivates audiences but confounds the high ranking Soviet characters, since otherworldliness is contrary to these atheists’ Marxist beliefs.

So White Tiger works at several levels: As a war movie; history lesson painted with lightning; a ghost story; and also a film with a philosophical subtext. The soundtrack is thunderous (you’ll see what I mean) and Wagnerian, as this very Russian picture uses a score by the most Germanic of composers. Often thrilling, White Tiger is at all times absorbing, well-direct and stirringly acted.

Alexey Vertikov is haunting in an understated performance as a Clint Eastwood-like tank commander with no name who seems to rise, zombie-like, from the dead to do battle with the Nazi hyper-tank. His spectral character comes to be called Naydyonov and the depiction by Vertikov may give you vertigo. Vitaly Kishchenko likewise delivers a stellar performance as Fedotov, the hardened officer who puts aside official Communist dogma to confront and embrace Naydyonov’s extraordinarily uncanny utterances, which strike the doctrinaire Marxists as mumbo jumbo. As the real life Marshal Gerogy Zhukov, Valery Grishko is properly skeptical of the paranormal elements. Vitaly Dordzhiev provides some comic relief as Berdyev, one of the “Dirty Dozen” elite tank crew members assembled to counter the White Tiger and he reminds us that the Red Army was multi-culti and included Asian soldiers. The Nazis are all played by German actors, with Karl Kranzkowski chilling in a cameo as Hitler, with an Inglourious Basterds type of historical twist, as well as a meditation on the nature of evil.

Unfortunately, some in-the-know distributor hasn’t picked White Tiger up for theatrical release yet. So don’t let the gods of the tanks prevent you from seeing Russia’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which -- like many important film festivals -- performs a valuable function as gateway and launching pad for offbeat cinema. Also, White Tiger did not make the Oscar shortlist, thus decreasing its chances of theatrical release in the U.S.

White Tiger screens at PSIFF Jan. 4, 1 p.m., Camelot Theatres; Jan. 7, 1 p.m. Camelot Theatres. For more PSIFF info: www.psfilmfest.org.