TOP ELEVEN: ED RAMPELL'S BEST FILMS OF 2011

Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) in A Dangerous Method.

Exit stage lefty

By Ed Rampell

The criteria for my favorite films are progressive political and cultural content, plus artistic excellence in terms of using the uniquely cinematic attributes of the movie medium. Astute readers may observe that half of the motion pictures on my Top 10 list for 2011 were shot and/or set in France. And while it’s true that your erstwhile cinephile actually did return to France last August, and that I do indeed speak French, it would be a mistake to assume that I am a Francophile. In fact, I did lots of reporting on the nuclear free and independent Pacific movement that was highly critical of French colonialism in New Caledonia and French-occupied Polynesia. But that is a flashback to another life; so suffice it to say that the land of the Lumiere Brothers, Georges Melies and the New Wave remains a vital cinematic force and center, so -- in no particular order –my Top 10 films of 2011 are:

Hugo – And speaking of Georges Melies (Ben Kingsley), Martin Scorsese’s optically opulent, loving tribute (with an antiwar subtext) to that movie master of illusion in sumptuous 3D is a delightful tribute to a motion picture pioneer and the art form we are so besotted with: Cinema.

The Artist – French auteur Michel Hazanavicius’ film, set in Hollywood in the 1920s as the talkie emerged, is likewise an adoring ode to the silent screen that reminds us silence truly is golden.

The Iron Lady – Meryl Streep uncannily depicts Britain’s dictatorial Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom husband Denis (Jim Broadbent) nicknames “M.T.” (Get it? As in “empty.”)

The Conquest – Xavier Durringer’s biopic about reactionary pig Nicholas Sarkozy’s (Denis Podalydes) rise to the presidency of France, and his miserable relationship with wife Cecilia (and with just about everybody else), is a rightwing bookend to The Iron Lady about another conservative tyrant. 

Coriolanus & The Flowers of War – Both Ralph Fiennes’ modern dress version of Shakespeare’s drama about a Roman general co-starring Vanessa Redgrave and Zhang Yimou’s epic about the rape of Nanking co-starring Christian Bale are both historically set antiwar films that tied for a space on my Top 10 list. 

Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – This documentary about Civil Rights activists, nationalists and revolutionaries perfectly captures what one of its interview subjects, Stokely Carmichael, once said (and I paraphrase): “Molotov cocktails and ghetto riots – ahhh, that’s the stuff dreams are made of.” With Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Louis Farrakhan, and other luminaries of the Black liberation struggle during the sizzling sixties and seventies.

Potiche – This 1970s-set French feminist farce and musical comedy stars the ever radiant Catherine Deneuve, whose factory owner husband (Fabrice Luchini) vies with the town’s Communist mayor (Gerard Depardieu) in the class struggle and for his wife’s affections. Deneuve delightfully turns the tables on these Frenchmen when she enters politics as a matriarchal candidate.

A Dangerous Method – The psychological ménage a trois of patient-turned-shrink Sabina Spielrein (poetically portrayed by Keira Kinightley), Carl Jung (Michael Fassbinder) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortenson) is anything but comic as the founders of psychoanalysis clash. This historical drama is spellbinding, and poor Spielrein’s offscreen fate is absolutely heart rending.   

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen’s wonderfully witty time traveling comedy is a laugh a minute romp that takes a contemporary emotionally lost scriptwriter (a droll Owen Wilson) back to the Lost Generation of American and other expatriates who inhabited the City of Light in the 1920s. Full of insights about the creative process (not to mention human longings, in and out of bed), this is the Woodman’s funniest comedy in years, as well as reportedly Allen’s highest grossing film ever. And you haven’t lived until you see Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, the role she was born to play!

The Names of Love – I’ve saved the best for last, as this very sexy, very funny French farce is my favorite film of 2011, one of those movies that makes you feel glad to be alive. What can I say? – I’m in love. Sensuous Sara Forestier deservedly won the Best Actress César (the French counterpart to the Oscar) for her role as the Reichian dream girl incarnate, a lefty woman who (pardon my French) fucks for freedom. Viva la revolucion!

AFI 2011: GREEN



A scene from Green.

The second sex

By Don Simpson

Sebastian (Lawrence Michael Levine) and Genevieve (Kate Lyn Sheil) rent a secluded country house in rural West Virginia because Sebastian has been commissioned to work on a sustainable agriculture blog. Does Sebastian have a background in agriculture? No, but he is a bookish, hyper-intelligent fellow who is wholeheartedly confident that he can hoe with the best of them.

Genevieve, who is Sebastian’s intellectual equal, is just along for the ride. She finds herself having to be entirely reliant upon Sebastian — a demeaning and degrading position for any person to be in. The backwoods of West Virginia offer no possibilities for work or entertainment; Genevieve’s only hope is that her books will keep her company while Sebastian is off toiling in the dirt.

Then, Robin (Sophia Takal) stumbles into the picture. Her primitive intellectual naiveté is no match for the patronizing couple from New York City, but Genevieve befriends Robin despite her uneducatedness. Then again, what other choice does she have? To say that Robin is gregarious and eager is an understatement; she is like a stray dog that has find found the owners that she always desired.

Genevieve and Sebastian possess a burning desire to out-smart each other — repeatedly challenging each other’s knowledge of literature, art and philosophy. The couple begins to struggle with problems in the bedroom which excites Genevieve’s imagination, prompting thoughts that Sebastian is screwing Robin.

Green comes from a uniquely feminine perspective as writer-director Sophia Takal takes on female jealousy and discusses the effect said jealousy has on personal relationships and one’s own grasp on reality. Insecurity, anxiety, and madness fester in Genevieve’s mind due to paranoia and miscommunication, and we discover that even though Genevieve’s hatred and aggression seems to be directed towards Robin, the situation really unearths Genevieve’s true feelings for Sebastian.

Takal has cited my favorite Robert Altman film — 3 Women — as an influence on Green. Both films approach female relationships — specifically female jealousy — with a certain level of obliqueness. Atmosphere and environment play an important factor in both films too. Specifically for Green, the densely forested environs are not only suffocating and ostracizing but they also lend Green a spooky and menacing horror film aesthetic. Something always appears to be lurking in the woods.

AUSTIN 2011: SOME GUY WHO KILLS PEOPLE

Ken (Kevin Corrigan) in Some Guy Who Kills People.

That Crazy Ken

     

By Don Simpson

Will Kevin Corrigan -- the indie film darling who was rivaled only by Steve Buscemi in his near-infinite number of quirky supporting roles clocked in during the 1990s -- ever live down "that ugly guy" (Walking and Talking) moniker? Probably not, because as Some Guy Who Kills People's Ken, Corrigan becomes one of the ugliest characters of them all.

A 34-year old, socially awkward, sad-sack loser -- oh, and former mental patient -- Ken works at a local ice cream parlor and lives with his disapproving mom (Karen Black). Otherwise, Ken just keeps to himself and sketches fantastical images of himself murdering the high school bullies who tortured him as a teenager, made him suicidal and essentially got him away in the loony bin for god knows how long.

One fateful day, Ken discovers that he has an 11-year-old daughter, Amy (Ariel Gade); he also stumbles upon a potential love interest, Stephanie (Lucy Davis). Add a sprinkling of some off-beat cops (Eric Price and Barry Bostwick), and you have a witty black comedy about some guy who is a mysterious serial killer. Some Guy Who Kills People might have a moral about bullies buried somewhere in the story, but does it really matter? Are you really going to watch a film titled Some Guy Who Kills People for its strong moral fiber? Oh, and keep any eye out for a humorously placed lens flare a little over an hour into the film. It is absolutely priceless.

AGLIFF 2011: LULU SESSIONS

Dr. Louise Nutter in LuLu Sessions.

Close to the heart

By Don Simpson

A hard-drinking, chain-smoking, world-renowned cancer researcher with a tender heart and a mouth like a sailor, Dr. Louise Nutter -- a.k.a. LuLu -- discovered a new anti-cancer drug right around the same time that she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. The LuLu Sessions' writer-director (plus, to mention producer and cinematographer) S. Casper Wong was on her way to videotape a friend’s wedding in San Francisco when LuLu asked her to accompany her to her biopsy in Minneapolis. As fate would have it, the wedding was canceled and Wong opted to stay in Minneapolis with Lulu.

Turning the camera toward LuLu, Wong documents the last 15 months of LuLu’s life. The camera documents as LuLu receives the dreaded diagnosis from her oncologist -- judging by Lulu's reaction this is not a reenactment. We observe several key moments during LuLu's treatments, but we also witness the ebbs and flows of Wong's intense relationship with LuLu. Shooting in the cinema verite tradition, Wong suddenly becomes one of the primary subjects in her own documentary.

Not only does The LuLu Sessions explore the transformations in a person while they anticipate a rapidly approaching death, but Wong's film also blurs the definition of same sex relationships. LuLu and Wong share emotions that transcend most platonic relationships. Wong shares an intense bond with LuLu, but it remains unclear if their relationship ever becomes sexual. Then again -- who cares? Why does our society always need to define people and their relationships?

LAFF 2011: THE DYNAMITER

Robbie (Patrick Ruffin) and Fess (John Alex Nunnery) in The Dynamiter.

Stealing time

By Don Simpson

The ramshackle old cottage in the back woods of Mississippi where Fess (John Alex Nunnery) and Robbie (William Patrick Ruffin) live with their aged grandmother is almost identical to the homes in Winter’s Bone and Two Gates of Sleep.

Twenty-plus miles from town, we meet 14-year-old Robbie as he frolics in a field near his home teaching his younger half-brother, Fess, how to battle hay bales with hand-carved spears and knives. Left to their own devices, things do not seem all that bad for the two footloose and fancy-free young lads. The boys lack any adult supervision, their absentee mother is reportedly in California nursing some sort of mental breakdown while their seemingly senile grandmother (Joyce Baldwin) utters nary a syllable as her glassy-eyes stare blankly; and who knows or cares where their fathers are. Robbie is not adverse to thievery when he and Fess need something to eat and the brothers have mastered the manipulation of small change in order to coax Cokes from a gas station vending machine.

Robbie stands out at school as a sweaty and smelly white trash kid and he has a difficult time staying out of trouble. It is the end of his eighth grade term and he is hauled into office of the Principal (Layne Rodgers) for stealing. Plagued by failing grades, the principal offers Robbie a ticket to high school: Robbie must write an essay over the summer; if the essay is deemed well-written, he will graduate eighth grade and proceed to high school. In turn, Robbie pens a series of letters which he reads aloud via voiceovers throughout the remainder of the film.

Out of the blue, Lucas (Patrick Rutherford), a sibling ten years Robbie’s senior, appears back at home. In his prime, Lucas was a star high school quarterback; he has since de-evolved into low-life parasite who dates women who are naive enough to support him. Whenever Lucas is unable to find a willing female host to suck dry, he goes home to clear his mind. Robbie worships his older brother, so when Lucas instructs Robbie to find a job in order to support their family, Robbie jumps to task. Robbie thus begins waking up at the (ass)crack of dawn in order to work a shit-job at a local gas station for a measly wage.

Robbie eventually discovers that Lucas is not worth idolizing. It also becomes increasingly obvious that the boys’ mother is never coming home. Worst of all, there is an ever-looming threat that social services will become cognizant of the lack of adequate adult supervision in the household. Forced to grow up much earlier than most boys, Robbie must take these burdens and responsibilities by the horns in a last-ditch attempt to retain his and Fess’ freedom.

Writer-director Matthew Gordon’s The Dynamiter personifies the struggles of the poor as they attempt to claw their way up from their non-existent income bracket. Robbie is destined to remain poor because of his failure in the education system, his family history and lack of a support structure at home. His only chance to escape this poverty is to leave town and start over somewhere else. The inherent class conflict becomes most apparent during Kissy’s (Sarah Fortner) graduation party. Just like at school, Robbie stands out like a sore thumb. Kissy has a crush on Robbie but he seems to recognize that the caste system would never allow them to come together. Instead, Robbie befriends a poor black girl, Mamie (Ciara McMillan) -- it is worth noting that her race never factors into the equation. Both kids have been beaten down and have the bruises to prove it; together they are looking for a way out of their current predicament.

LAFF 2011: FAMILIAR GROUND

A scene from Familiar Ground.

Non-Firma future

By Don Simpson  

Familiar Ground takes the LAFF 2011 cinema-goers who have seen The Salesman to very familiar territory -- the wintry snow-blanketed environs of Quebec -- but Familiar Ground abides by a far more quirkier and absurd approach to cinema. Additionally, The Salesman and Familiar Ground both feature a lead character named Maryse and a car crash plays prominently in both stories.

Benoit (Francis La Haye) is frozen in a perpetual state of adolescence residing with his father (Michel Daigle) -- his mother died five years ago -- in his suburban childhood home. One possibility of snapping Benoit out of his stagnant situation: Nathalie (Suzanne Lemoine), a single mother with whom Benoit is smitten (though his “I Like Girls Who Like Girls” t-shirt sends a different message) and hopes to cohabitate. The main hurdle for this endeavor is Nathalie's son, who strongly disapproves of Benoit's presence.

A dinner accented with wayward shards of glass ends in a heated argument with Nathalie. Benoit then takes out his aggression on an unsuspecting snowman and winds up with frostbite. Chapped hands soon become the least of Benoit's concerns, as a mysterious car salesman (Denis Houle) from the not-so-distant future (September, to be precise) delivers a chilling prophesy of Benoit's next few months: a blizzard, the death of a relative and a pleasant summer.

All the while, Benoit's sister, Maryse (Fanny Mallette), and her husband, Alain (Sylvain Marcel), are desperate to sell a backhoe. Winter is not the season for backhoes, so it sits unused in their suburban front yard. Already on edge as the result of a co-worker's accident at the local paper factory (prompting Maryse's strange fascination with the preservation of dismembered appendages), Maryse is frustrated by the constant sight of the machine and irrationally decides to rent a car to pick-up a trailer from her family's cabin in order to haul the backhoe away.

The news received by Benoit from the future leaves him concerned about Maryse taking the trip to the cabin on her own. Maryse and Benoit have historically not gotten along with each other -- they have never even had coffee together -- so the sibling road trip will certainly test their familiar bonds and is destined to change the trajectory of their lives.

Once at the cabin, Benoit is incapable of getting the heater to function or find suitable firewood. Benoit's foibles with his father's snowmobile provide us with another glimpse of Benoit's emasculating inadequacies. The siblings venture to a party next door; it is someone's birthday and fireworks are anticipated, yet Benoit dislikes fireworks almost as much as he hates watching his married sister flirt with guys who use shovels to open their beer bottles.

Writer-director Stéphane Lafleur's Familiar Ground is a stylistic mash-up of science fiction, absurdly off-kilter humor and the mundanity of everyday reality. The complexity of the tone is exaggerated even further by the eerie electronic score (by Sagor & Swing and We Are Wolves) and it is Lafleur's knack for odd comedic timing that truly drives the borderline surreal narrative structure of Familiar Ground.

Lafleur's comedic ingenuity is sublimely highlighted in the opening and closing of Familiar Ground. By listing the character name “L'Homme du futur” (Man from the future) in the film's opening credits, Lafleur thus spurs our anticipation of the revealing of this ambiguously named character. The closing image of a towering blue blow-up stick figure blowing in the wind while synchronized with an inspired musical choice (“The Bells of the Night” by The Red Army Choirs) spreads a finishing coat of quirkiness on Familiar Ground.

LAFF 2011: YOU HURT MY FEELINGS

A scene from You Hurt My Feelings.

Unknown pleasures


By Don Simpson


Writer-director Steve Collins’ (Gretchen) You Hurt My Feelings begins in the winter as John (John Merriman) takes care of two young girls -- Lily (Lily Collins) and Violet (Violet Collins). John’s rapport with the toddlers is not quite fatherly. It is more like that of a favorite uncle -- someone with whom the girls can climb all over and play doctor, someone who is willing to make compromises with the girls in the hope that they will listen to his commands when necessary. As it turns out, John is a male nanny, a job that serves two purposes for him: a source of income in a dire economic environment and a desperate ploy to win his ex-girlfriend Courtney (Courtney Davis) back.

Courtney -- a disgruntled waitress with some seemingly hefty emotional baggage -- has already moved on to Macon (Macon Blair). Though Macon comments to John that they are similar enough to be brothers, there is nothing further from the truth. John is a walking blob of somberness and gentle tranquility; Macon is a playful yet irresponsible drunk, eternally happy and boyishly charming. After jump-starting John’s awkwardly stalled vehicle (a metaphor for John’s life), Macon begins man-crushing on John. The two men get wasted together at a local bar and John ends up having to babysit Macon just like he does Lily and Violet. A bizzare love triangle commences with John and Macon lackadaisically competing for Courtney and Macon vying for John’s friendship.

John repeatedly tries and fails to wrangle Lily and Violet, just as he seems unable to gather control of his life in general. Happiness (and the kids) is always just out of his reach and unresponsive to his pleading calls. Brief spurts of happiness -- a fun day at the beach, a drunken late-night swim in a random backyard pool, watching Courtney choose a wedding dress -- are random hiccups in the overall downward trajectory of John’s life. Seasons may change as the world turns, but it seems John’s hopes for change have been flattened. We often watch John -- perpetually riddled with worry, guilt and inadequacy -- as he lays flat on the ground, staring hopelessly at the ceiling or into space.

An example of in medias res, Collins’ film begins and ends almost mid-thought and the scenes in between appear to be aimless and random; but Collins aptly binds the narrative together as a cohesive whole by emotion and imagery alone. Impressionistically lensed by Putty Hill cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier, You Hurt My Feelings takes its audience through the emotional kaleidoscope of the four seasons; though visually stunning, the images are just as economically restrained as the wallets of the characters. Collins has developed a narrative that circumvents all dramatic plot points -- an injury that results in a neck brace, a wedding engagement, an illness and death, countless arguments and break-ups -- assuming that the audience will fill in the blanks. Only the emotional aftermath remains. You Hurt My Feelings internally portrays its characters’ senses of despair and isolation; like a silent film (Merriman probably has less than a page of dialogue, Davis and Blair have significantly less), feelings are never expressed verbally, only via the actors’ rich expressions.

LAFF 2011: THE FATHERLESS

A scene from The Fatherless.

Paternal disfigures

By Ed Rampell 

Written and directed by Marie Kreutzer, Austria's The Fatherless is sort of a cross between John Sayles’ 1980 Return of the Scaucus Seven, Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 The Big Chill, Mike Leigh’s stellar 1996 Secrets & Lies, the 2000 Swedish commune movie, Together, and the recently concluded HBO plural marriage series, Big Love. 

The story opens with the death of the enigmatic Hans (Johanness Krisch), who owned the house where a very extended family lived collectively during the 1980s. His scattered children converge for the occasion, including Kyra (Andrea Wenzl, giving a standout performance in her film debut), who was mysteriously banished 23 years ago when she was still a child.

At this rather odd family reunion, Mizzi (Emily Cox), who has a strange disability, discovers for the first time that she has an older sister, Kyra. In the wake of their father’s death, they, and the rest of the tribe, try to come to terms with one another and to unravel the many mysteries.

One of the more talked about films at LAFF 2011, The Fatherless is a superbly well acted ensemble film that’s also quite well crafted, as it shifts from the present back to the past. It also probes the nature of communal living in a consumer society where materialism and ultra-individualism are accentuated and valued. With The Fatherless, Kreuzer's debut is the mother of an insightful, thought provoking, family drama squared.    

LAFF 2011: WISH ME AWAY

Chely Wright in Wish Me Away.

Wrightright

By Miranda Inganni

When singer-songwriter Chely Wright decided to come out as the first openly gay country music star, she did so in a big way -- by making the announcement on Oprah. Not only did her fans not know about this aspect of her life, but neither did some family members, most notably her mother.

Making its world premiere tonight at the Los Angeles Film Festival 2011 (although there was a "sneak peak" at the Nashville Film Festival in April),  Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf's documentary, Wish Me Away, chronicles Wright's rise to fame and her coming to grips with those predictable reactions of what many in her country community considered shamefully behavioral choices.

With one-on-one interviews, archival footage and lots of confessional camera time, the film has an intimate home video feel. Wright's tribulations are heartfelt and raw, and full of tears. Make no mistake about it, this is a woman whose strength is obvious, despite her doubts. 

In addition to the film, Wright has her latest book, Like Me, and most recent album, Lifted Off the Ground to further her message of hope and understanding, especially for the LGBT youth she hopes to inspire and comfort. With the help of her sister, father and her spiritual guide, Wright and the film prove that no amount of wishing something away will make it so. And thank goodness for that.

LAFF 2011: TOMBOY

Laure (Zoé Héran) in Tomboy.

Gender bend-her

By Don Simpson

Upon returning from a summer retreat, Laure (Zoé Héran) joins her parents (Sophie Cattani and Mathieu Demy) and six-year-old sister, Jeanne (Malonn Lévana), at their new home. The new neighborhood means many things to Laure, including new friends, a new school, and a new identity.

From first glance, Laure’s gender is inconclusive. With her prepubescent, 10-year-old frame and short haircut, Laure can easily pass for a boy. From what we can gather, Laure has been a tomboy for quite a while. Laure prefers to dress like a boy and play with boys and her parents seem too distracted to notice -- Laure’s father is away at work for most of the film and her mother is practically bedridden by pregnancy.

Laure’s first friend in her new neighborhood is a girl named Lisa (Jeanne Disson). Laure introduces herself to Lisa as a boy -- Mikael -- totally naive to the fact that this charade cannot last forever. Lisa in turn introduces Mikael to the local kids and Mikael instantly blends right in with the other boys. We watch how Mikael learns by observing the other boys, co-opting their gender by mimicry. Soon, Mikael is playing soccer with her shirt off, getting into fisticuffs with other boys and kissing a girl. Mikael’s greatest hurdle is when she is invited to go swimming with the other kids because her makeshift pink swimsuit accentuates the fact that she does not have a penis. Luckily that is something a little green modeling clay can fix. As school registration approaches, it becomes increasingly obvious that Laure will not be able to maintain the facade of Mikael for much longer. The question remains: How badly is this going to end for Laure?

With Tomboy, writer-director Céline Sciamma delves much deeper into the taboo (at least on this side of the Atlantic) theme of childhood sexuality that she discussed all-so-eloquently in her 2007 feature-length debut, Water Lilies. Laure is five years younger than Water Lilies’ Marie (Pauline Acquart), Anne (Louise Blachère) and Floriane (Adèle Haenel); thus Laure is also significantly more innocent. The root of Laure’s deception is not about sexual attraction to girls -- though she does kiss a girl -- it is about wanting to play like a boy.

Tomboy thoughtfully discusses the prevailing pressure from society to conform to specific gender stereotypes -- even in acting like a boy, Laure abides by society’s predetermined definition of what a boy is. What is wrong with a 10-year old girl wanting to dress like a boy and play with boys? Why is that considered weird or abnormal? Is genitalia really the sole defining criteria for gender?

LAFF 2011: SPOTLIGHT ON CUBA

A scene from Ticket to Paradise.

The revolution shall be screened

By Ed Rampell

The Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) is currently taking place (mostly) in Downtown Los Angeles through June 26, and this year’s multitude of movies includes the program, International Spotlight: Cuba.

Featuring four features and documentaries, complementing, but actually separate from this year’s spotlight on Cuban cinema, is the world premiere of Unfinished Spaces, which is actually in the Documentary Competition and made by Yanqui filmmakers Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray.

Unfinished Spaces is the amazing true story of the ongoing struggle to build the Cuban National Arts Schools. According to the documentary, the idea for the schools emerged shortly after the revolution, when Commandantes Fidel Castro and Che Guevara showed up unannounced at Havana’s poshest country club to play a round of golf, a sport of the idle rich. While on the manicured links a light bulb was illuminated above Castro’s head, and full of revolutionary zeal, he decided that instead of being an aristocratic preserve for the high and mighty, the country club should be transformed into not one, but five schools for the arts – theatre, dance, painting, music, etc. – that would train a new generation of artists to give shape to and express the revolution. “Cuba will count as having the most beautiful academy of arts in the world,” Castro declared in 1961. 

Half a century later, that school dreamt up by Castro remains to be completed, and its trial and tribulations have been tied to the ebbs and flows of the Cuban Revolution. The three architects -- the Cuban Ricardo Porro and the Italian transplants Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi -- envisioned avante garde forms in order to literally give shape to Castro’s commission and to the Revolution itself. However, this emphasis on style fell out of favor as “formalism” was eschewed and Cuba grew increasingly allied with the Soviet Union, in favor of Stalinist style architecture that emphasized function instead of aesthetics. Of course, economics played a role, and during periods of hardship funding was cut for the schools. Most recently, hurricanes halted construction and restoration efforts.

Nevertheless, throughout its ups and downs the schools have trained generations of Cuban artists, even as the jungle threatened to reclaim the campuses and turn the site into something similar to ancient ruins. Castro’s personal role in the development of the schools is intriguing and late in the film Castro surprisingly reappears.

Unfinished Spaces examines the role of the revolutionary artist in the Revolution. It is something of a cautionary tale: In the heady early days of revolutions, flush with Promethean victory, anything seems possible. Toward the beginning of the documentary we see Castro, Guevara and the guerrillas triumphantly enter Havana, and there’s the sense that a new millennium will be ushered in. But revolutions, alas, have their Thermidors, their setbacks and even reversals. The saga of the schools and of the architects who designed them reflects this process.

At the world premiere of Unfinished Spaces in the Regal Cinemas at L.A. LIVE the three companeros were reunited, and after seeing the finished film for the first time the architects participated in a Q&A session in the packed theater. Although they are now senior citizens, they called to mind the Soviet poet Vladimir Mayakovsky’s saying: “There’s no grey hair in my soul." 

As part of its International Spotlight series, LAFF is also screening a feature about (and made on location in) Cuba, co-writer/director Fina Torres’ sexy comedy with liberal doses of magical realism, Habana Eva. The Venezuela-born Torres is quite an accomplished filmmaker, who previously made the 2000 Penelope Cruz pic, Woman on Top, 1995’s Celestial Clockwork and 1985’s Oriana. 

Screened during last year's Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival, Habana Eva is the tale of Eva (Prakriti Maduro), a Cuban seamstress who has her designs on becoming a haute couture fashion designer, but her entrepreneurial flair and initiative is stifled by a factory bureaucrat in this parable of the dilemmas facing contemporary Cuba under Raul, not Fidel, Castro. Eva is wooed by two lovers – one of them representing Cuban socialism, the other, a Cuban born photographer who lives in Venezuela, symbolizing bourgeois values. Eva’s amusing choice is a prophecy of Cuba’s current move away from socialist economic orthodoxy and a far cry from the revolutionary zeal of Humberto Solas’ famed 1968 Cuban feminist film, Lucia.

Like Polynesian vahines (women), Cuban muchachas were famed for their beauty and sensuality, and Cuban women epitomized the silver screen stereotypes of those “hot Latin lovers.” In Habana Eva Torres seems to be toying with these torrid tropical tropes. But, ideology aside, the problem with this movie is that Eva’s friend, Teresa (Yuliet Cruz), outshines her in all of the scenes they appear in together. Teresa is simply sexier, prettier, funnier and more likable and vivacious than Eva (even when she’s dead and becomes a Fellini-esque Yuliet of the spirits!). Cruz simply steals every scene she graces. When she’s offscreen viewers may make that Shakespearian pleading: “Wherefore art thou Yuliet?” To top matters off, Yuliet is actually Cuban, while Prakriti Maduro is Venezuelan. The comparison between the two is similar to comparing Natalie Wood as Maria and Rita Moreno as Anita in West Side Story. But this is a quibble; Habana Eva is a rollicking sex farce with great location shooting in Cuba, charmingly sprinkled with magical realist (not socialist realist!) motion picture pixie dust.

The other films in the series spotlighting Cuba are the documentary Operation Peter Pan: Flying Back To Cuba; the 2003 film, Suite Habana, and the feature, Ticket To Paradise, set during Cuba’s “special period” following the collapse the Soviet Union.

For more information on LAFF 2011's International Spotlight on Cuba: Cuba Spotlight.

LAFF 2011: RENÉE

Dr. Renée Richards in Renée.

Out of bounds

By Miranda Inganni

Born in 1934, Richard Raskind grew up with a domineering mother, patient father and protective older sister in New York. Following in his parent's footsteps, he went on to become a doctor, in his case, of ophthalmology. As a child and young man, Raskind excelled at sports, especially tennis and baseball -- he was even scouted by the New York Yankees.

After establishing himself in the medical and tennis world in New York, Raskind married and fathered a son, Nicholas. Shortly thereafter, he had a sex change operation, abandoned his family and friends and moved out to California -- as a woman. Fittingly choosing the name Renée (French for reborn), Dr. Richard Raskind became Dr. Renée Richards, continuing with her medical profession and passion for tennis.

Director Eric Drath's documentary examines Richard's remarkable story, how as a woman she fled New York to try and find herself in Californian anonymity, but instead found controversy and notoriety as a transsexual vanguard when she entered the world of women's professional tennis. Consisting of archival footage, plus interviews with Renée's friends, tennis players, sports commentators, former girlfriends and her unhappy son, the documentary, for the most part, pays loving homage to a truly remarkable human.

LAFF 2011: SEX CRIMES UNIT

Natasha Alexenko in Sex Crimes Unit.

Victimized and victorious 

By John Esther

Two days and one day before the HBO premiere on June 20, the Los Angeles Film Film Festival screens Sex Crimes Unit, an insightful yet flawed look at a group of dedicated city employees working to bring rapists and other sexually violent perpetrators to justice. 

Before the Sex Crimes Protection Unit was formed in 1974 by Manhattan District Attorney and father of five daughters, Robert M. Morgenthau, victims of rape had very little legal recourse. Marital rape was not considered a crime (and good luck with prosecuting acquaintance rape or date rape cases). It was subject to statues of limitations. And more importantly, it was, and still is to a considerable degree, a victim-precipitated crime. In other words, a woman had it coming to her -- even if she was married, at home, sober, in bed asleep and the assailant broke into the house and sexually violated her. (Some of the reasoning behind this latter part, especially when it came to women holding this point of view, are some of the more interesting moments in the documentary.)

Today, sexually-violent crimes still persist but now there are 53 people handling sex crimes in Manhattan. Not only do they go after fresh cases, thanks to the removal of the statue of limitations on rape, they go after cold cases such as Natasha Alexenko. 

On the eve of her first anniversary in her New York apartment, Alexenko was raped at gunpoint in her apartment hallway by Victor Rondon (a particularly cowardly young man who has no idea what it takes to be a man in any legitimate or dignified sense.)

As Sex Crimes Unit follows new cases, as well as Alexenko's, we get a sense of not only the challenges incurred getting justice but also the victimization and victories between the time of the assault and actual sentencing. 

However, on a couple of occasions, the documentary takes a bit of an ironic tone, as it feeds right into those who are prone to be dismissive of women crying rape. The Zambrano case discussed early in the film is one example. Based on the information provided in documentary, it seems any decent defendant attorney should have been able to fight that one. In another scene a DA has a talk with a group of medical examiners that borderlines on coaching a witness -- albeit before the fact(s). 

And what about those times when the DA fails to prosecute a guilty defendant? The documentary leaves the impression that the accused, at least those who are arraigned (40 percent of rapes go unreported), will be sent to prison for a very long time. 

Yet despite these editorial/directorial flaws, Sex Crime Unit is an inspirational piece of filmmaking about a group of individuals addressing a prevalent problem in American society.

LAFF 2011: POSITION AMONG THE STARS

A scene from Position Among the Stars.

Wrinkles beneath the twinkles

By Miranda Inganni

The third part of filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich's trilogy about the Shamsuddin family -- which chronicles 12 years of their lives beginning with Eye of the Day (2001) and followed by Shape of the Moon (2004) -- eventually culminated in the award -winning documentary, Position Among the Stars.

Set in the tightly packed slums of Jakarta, Indonesia, Bakti Shamsuddin and his wife, Sriwyati, are trying to raise their niece, Tari. Eventually requiring assistance, Bakti brings in his mother, Rumidjah, from her quiet, almost desolate village to help out with Tari during her final year of high school.

Jockeying for position in her teenaged world, Tari seems to want to spend more time with her girlfriends -- hanging out at the mall, watching boys do bike tricks, texting on her cellphone -- than she does applying herself to school. This simply will not do. Since Tari could be the first family member to attend university, the whole family is involved in her academic career with her grandmother going so far as to pawn her house to finance Tari's future.

Full of conflict and tension, Position Among the Stars could rival the best reality television show, except that it far surpasses any of them with it's beauty and charm. Using technology that allows him and his crew to shoot in confined spaces and extreme close-ups, Retel Helmrich's cinema verité style conveys the family's saga through Tari's transition. 

As we watch her come of age, Christian family members argue with their Muslim counterparts, husband and wife fight about money, holy water and Siamese fighting fish (to the grim end) while Bakti takes advantage of the same government which employs him and an aging grandmother tries to adjust to modern life in a big city where no one can see the stars.

HOLLYWOOD BRAZILIAN 2011: BOLLYWOOD DREAM

A scene from Bollywood Dream.

Open up

By Don Simpson

Sofia (Nataly Cabanas), Ana (Paula Braun), Luna (Lorena Lobato) are unemployed Brazilian actresses with families whom they need to support. They travel to India to work in cinema...but, as far as airport customs knows, this trip is purely a spiritual journey. Upon arrival, Sofia, Ana and Luna discover that their hotel reservation has been cancelled; so they haggle the price of another hotel so low that it is difficult not to wonder if karma will come back to bite them.

The three Brazilian actresses are in search of a Bollywood producer, but he is not at the address listed on his business card. Not ones to give up very easily, they recruit a young dance instructor (Mohana Krishna) and an actress (Geetha Satish) to coach them until their big Bollywood break comes along. Sofia, Ana and Luna are prone to arguing and haggling and find themselves repeatedly clashing with Indian culture. Their difficult struggle to find their way commences, but their way does not follow the same meandering path as their destiny. No matter how hard they fight it, their destiny always prevails over their way. Maybe they should not have lied to airport customs after all -- perhaps this is a spiritual awakening?

Writer-director Beatriz Seigner’s Bollywood Dream is a colorful and musical meditation on three Brazilian women who find themselves far away from their native land. Seigner showcases the drastic cultural differences between Brazilians and Indians, but there does appear to be one similarity: the exploitation of women in the entertainment industry. It seems as though actresses are viewed as sexual objects even in Bollywood. What on earth would Radha have to say about that?