Thursday, December 10, 1998
Film
Disclaimer: The Daily Bruin staff was unable to screen many
films released in December that might have otherwise made the top
10 list, including "The Thin Red Line," "A Simple Plan,"
"Shakespeare in Love" and "Prince of Egypt."
No. 1 – "Life is Beautiful"
Much has been made this year of a toned down Jim Carrey in the
highly praised, yet flawed, "Truman Show." An even bigger surprise
in 1998, however, came across the Atlantic from an actor who for
all intents and purposes is known as the Italian Jim Carrey –
Roberto Benigni.
A box office star in his native country with such films as
"Johnny Stecchino" and "The Monster," most Benigni imports have
failed to match his success abroad. Like Carrey, his previous films
were low-brow, low-common denominator, low-quality. Even when
working with indie icon Jim Jarmusch ("Down By Law," "Night on
Earth"), Benigni’s hyper-active and over-the-top performances were
irksome and often detracted from the films themselves.
Thus, everyone was shocked when Benigni wrote, directed and
acted in one of the most touching, bittersweet and romantic movies
of the year, "Life Is Beautiful" ("La Vita e Bella"). Already
taking the Grand Jury prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and
most recently Best Picture and Best Actor at the European Film
Awards, "Life Is Beautiful" is bound to be a sleeper in this year’s
Oscar race.
Italian cinema has had a long and successful history of
producing a bevy of films that leave audiences nostalgic. "Life Is
Beautiful" throws a monkey wrench into the mix by using the same
light-hearted, reminiscent tone seen in films ranging from
"Amarcord" to "Cinema Paradiso" and "Il Postino," but sets it
against the backdrop of the Holocaust. Some have criticized Benigni
for having the gall to satirize such a horrific event. Others have
worried about the historic liberties which the film has taken. But
those looking for a disturbing "cinema verite" account of the
Holocaust would do better watching Alain Resnais’ "Night and
Fog."
"Life Is Beautiful" does not purport itself to be a truthful
account of this century’s most horrific event. Instead, it is a
fable which centers around the lengths one man would go to in order
to shield his beloved son from the caustic environment surrounding
him. In doing so, Benigni does not detract from the tragedy of the
Holocaust, as some may argue, but makes the event even more painful
by highlighting a family threatened to be torn apart forever.
Nobody will ever confuse Benigni with a Fellini or a De Sica, but
in a year devoid of notable films, "Life Is Beautiful" is one gem
that has captured the hearts of audiences around the world.
Tristan Thai
No. 2 – "The Truman Show"
"The Truman Show" was an over-hyped movie that promised an
impressive performance by Jim Carrey sans the rubber mask and
cartoony premise. Inside-buzz went crazy for this film as it
garnered immense kudos for its originality. That got our attention
despite the uncharacteristically vague summary you wouldn’t expect
from a big summer film.
That was probably the point because you can’t describe "The
Truman Show" by some catchy tagline or a summary that takes one or
two lines like the hordes of lame disaster flicks this summer.
Instead, the film is a revelation, as biting and cynical as 1992’s
"The Player." Its satirical target is aimed at us, the duped public
who fall prey to the mass media, as demonstrated by Truman.
The movie, a re-creation of a TV setting within a film setting
has that deliberate copy-of-a-copy quality. Portrayed as the ideal
American dream with a nice house, picket fence and glowing wife,
Truman is living the life of a lovingly crafted ’60s family
sitcom.
Still, something isn’t quite right. Everyone is trying too hard
to make the setting right because they’re getting paid to do
that.
The more you look at it, the more you realize, "Hey, we’re
Truman!" We live in a country dictated by the suits on the
umpteenth floor deciding how we should feel about their products.
ABC and its ad campaign are telling us to watch TV because we have
a lot of brain cells to burn, and then it implies that TV is the
reason we haven’t had WWIII. (You could take it as a joke, but why
would they spend millions to make us laugh for a second?) It makes
you wonder how dumb Hollywood thinks the public is.
The performances were thankfully strong in "The Truman Show."
Carrey is primed to be a name in the betting pools come Oscar time.
But even if he doesn’t or the film gets no recognition for awards,
you can think that Hollywood doesn’t like to shoot itself in the
foot.
Sandy Yang
No. 3 – "There’s Something About Mary"
The sleeper hit of 1998, and perhaps the most raunchy mainstream
comedy ever to hit theaters, "Mary" dared to push film crudity to a
new high (or low).
No. 4 – "The Last Days of Disco"
Whit Stillman’s tale of twentysomething swingers ringing in the
1980s showed audiences some fresh faces and completed the
director’s self-titled "Bourgeosie in Love" trilogy.
No. 5 – "Saving Private Ryan"
Steven Spielberg’s film, perhaps the most impressive achievement
in technical film-making of the ’90s, introduced to the world not
only the harsh realities of combat but also a new crop of young
actors, including Barry Pepper, Jeremy Davies and some other actor
named Matt Damon.
No. 6 – "The Opposite of Sex"
A tale of greed, insensitivity and homophobia told through the
perspective of juvenile delinquent Christina Ricci, "Sex" delighted
audiences with its raw, yet undeniably human, take on life.
No. 7 – "Bulworth"
With a re-release just before Oscar voting, it looks like
Twentieth Century Fox had faith in "Bulworth". Despite earning only
$26.4 million in the box office – and failing to find an audience –
it was an amusing movie and worth the discounted student ticket
price to go see it.
It seems that the American public expects corruption in the
government and is not fazed by amoral politicians. Note the high
public approval rating by Bill Clinton, and lack of public support
for impeachment hearings. That’s probably why few went to see this
bitterly funny movie – no one seems to care about dishonest
politicians these days.
Warren Beatty is excellent in his role as the incumbent state
Sen. Jay Bulworth, struggling to win the election during the final
campaign weekend of the 1996 California primary. From beginning to
end, the movie is fast-paced, mixing comedic moments with a
political message.
While undergoing a nervous breakdown, Bulworth arranges his own
suicide, hires an assassin, and negotiates a large life insurance
plan with a corrupt lobbyist to benefit his daughter.
Along the way, Bulworth finds out about the redeeming qualities
that come from speaking honestly, and meets the beautiful Nina
(Halle Berry) whose presence helps him see the oversights and
mistakes he has made. Because of his newfound love of life, he
doubts whether he really wants to go through with the suicide or
make up for the wrongs he committed in life.
As he develops his political rapping abilities that Public Enemy
might have once admired, Bulworth chooses honesty as his favorite
policy, and the movie ends with a bang. You can’t ask for much more
than that.
A.J. Harwin
No. 8 – "Zero Effect"
If the title "Zero Effect" draws a blank among American
audiences, blame Castle Rock Pictures. This film, hidden in
theaters way back in February, was one of the most original
American movies of the year, introducing the world of cinema to
great new talent Jake Kasdan.
Unfortunately, lack of publicity from its parent studio caused
"Zero Effect" to remain in obscurity, and only the most astute
filmgoer even got a chance to see this fun, fresh and amusing
comedy-mystery.
The film opens as Steve Arlo (Ben Stiller) explains to a
potential client that his employer, private detective Daryl Zero
(Bill Pullman, in the best performance of his career), is indeed
the greatest private investigator the world has ever known. Able to
solve any crime with a minimum of facts, Zero achieves his unique
abilities through total detachment with the outside world. He
remains a recluse in his snazzy Los Angeles apartment, leaving Arlo
to carry out all of his affairs. Naturally, the prospective client
(Ryan O’Neil) takes the case, and thus begins the most difficult
and eye-opening case of Zero’s career.
Though the plot is highly intricate and leads toward a
satisfying conclusion, "Zero Effect" is that rare movie about
people instead of story. By the time all the pieces have fallen in
to place and the crime has been solved, we not only know
who-dunnit, but we know Daryl Zero and understand how these events
have changed his life.
The credit for bringing the film to life is split between
Kasdan’s wonderfully clever screenplay and the great performances
of Stiller and Pullman, both proving (possibly for the first time)
that they have considerable acting talent and could be trusted with
more complex roles.
"Zero Effect" is the kind of movie that could have launched a
franchise, had only Castle Rock had a bit more faith in it. It
deserves to find its audience now on home video, as it was one of
the best films of 1998.
Lonnie Harris
No. 9 – "The Big Lebowski"
The new film from the Coen Brothers certainly wasn’t as
ambitious as the duo’s "Fargo" but did deliver some of the year’s
best comic performances from Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and
especially John Turturro as a sexually confused bowler named
Jesus.
No. 10 – "Mulan"
While Snow White, Cinderella and the Sleeping Beauty spent their
days twirling around in ball gowns, Mulan sheds the fairy tale
cliche for a soldier’s uniform.
Despite the unamusing, jive-talking dragon voiced by Eddie
Murphy, last summer’s animated feature from the Mouse House stands
on its own with a brave heroine of realistic body proportions who
uses her wits to lead an entire army of men to victory.
Between the heartache that drives Mulan to fight in her father’s
place and the humor of her masquerade in drag, one forgets that the
characters are simply hand-painted images.
A refreshing change of pace, "Mulan" also moves further away
from narrative norms by not finding romance until the end with her
beef-cake commanding officer Shang – one of few animated males to
catch the eye of adult women, as well as little girls.
As a piece of visual art, the film showcases Disney’s deft-touch
with sweeping animation scenes such as the avalanche that buries
alive hundreds of villainous Huns.
More importantly, Disney reaches beyond the mainstream European
classics and ventures into new cultural territory by retelling a
popular Chinese bedtime story which puts a new twist on
feminism.
Terry Tang
Some film reviews compiled by Lonnie Harris
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