Friday, October 10, 1997
Screenscene
"Seven Years in Tibet"
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud Starring Brad Pitt, David
Thewlis and B.D. Wong
On location in the Andes mountains, the producers of "Seven
Years in Tibet" were forced to build a 12-foot-high barbed-wire
fence to protect Brad Pitt from gazillions of little girls. This
amusing factoid reflects a not-so-amusing reality of the film: the
difficulty of taking Pitt, and certain parts of the film, seriously
enough.
With a droning mechanical accent, Pitt stars as Austrian
mountaineer Heinrich Harrer. Set in World War II, his egotistical
quest to plant the swastika on the Himalayas leads him to the Dalai
Lama. During seven years of political turmoil in Tibet, Harrer
befriends and tutors the young spiritual leader about the outside
world.
Is the film’s theme about Harrer’s emotional awakening? Or is it
about China’s barbaric conquest of Tibet? The movie tries to weave
both stories together and unfortunately ends up compromising a very
intriguing political message.
An extremely drawn-out beginning overemphasizes Harrer. He takes
up so much film time that his eventual meeting with the Dalai Lama
evokes an "It’s about time!" The film inches its way through
Harrer’s imprisonment in a British prisoner-of-war camp and his
two-year search for the forbidden city of Lhasa. It’s enough to
make a moviegoer fidget and wonder if he might be aging right along
with Harrer.
In attempting to penetrate Lhasa, Harrer and his climbing
partner Peter Aufschnaiter (Thewlis) commit shenanigans of Indiana
Jones-like proportions. These nearly slapstick scenes are out of
place in this serious, emotional film.
Although the film is primarily about Harrer, the conflict
between Tibet and China is just as compelling as Harrer’s spiritual
transformation. Background cello solos subtly heighten the haunting
tragedy of Tibet’s subjugation. Tibetan culture also exudes a charm
and innocence that is paradisiacal, almost exotic. However, a
poorly filmed battle scene, literally lit with a couple of flares
and full of faceless soldiers, leaves you wanting more.
Harrer’s story doesn’t exactly inspire a life-changing
"sunbeam-from-heaven" epiphany like the previews make it out to be.
And Pitt’s acting, however adequate at times, falls short of
conveying the necessary angst and gloom.
In spite of several ill-suited comedic scenes and a very long
beginning, the gorgeous scenery and provocative insight into a
little-known chapter of history make this film worthwhile.
William Li
Grade: B
"The House of Yes"
Directed by Mark Waters
Starring Parker Posey
and Josh Hamilton
Fans of twisted psychological tales, take note: This engrossing
adaptation of Wendy MacLeod’s jet-black comedy play centers around
the complex Pascal family, elite well-to-do’s who engage in every
taboo imaginable.
Twins Marty (Hamilton) and Jackie-O (Posey), along with their
perpetually bashful brother, Anthony (played with charming
innocence by Freddie Prinze Jr.), have spent their childhood under
the wildly overprotective wing of Mrs. Pascal (Genevieve Bujold),
who was widowed after Mr. Pascal mysteriously disappeared on the
day of JFK’s death.
Reenacting the 1963 JFK assassination turns out to be the twins’
favorite childhood game. Marty and Jackie-O, who dresses up in the
now-infamous pink dress and pillbox hat, make believe — that is,
really make believe– they are the first-couple.
The film starts in 1983, with Marty approaching 30 and
desperately wanting to declare his normalcy. After deciding to
introduce his plain-looking, working-class fiancee (Tori Spelling)
to the family, he returns the Pascal’s dark, other-worldly manion
in D.C., of all places. Despite his aspirations to be ordinary, his
family begins to suck him back into its strange, twisted world.
"House’s" clever, well-mounted plot reveals the Pascals’ family
skeletons gradually. First-time director Waters manages to keep the
plot from becoming a parody of itself by avoiding movie-of-the-week
cliches. He has not done the usual — a comedy with dark undertones
— but rather a serious, brooding film with some hilarious
moments.
Well-crafted as it all is, the real joy here is watching the
talented, energetic actors at work. Posey plays the twisted
Jackie-O to the hilt, bubbling with so much nervous energy that you
expect her to go over the edge at any moment.
Veteran actress Bujold, who usually works with more established
directors, takes her thanklessly cold mother character and adds a
surprising amount of depth to it. Even "90210" star Tori Spelling
shines in a good-girl role that seems to be created just for her —
balancing out the Pascals’ weirdness with a soft-spoken,
Pennsylvanian modesty.
Though "House of Yes" has occasional hilarious moments, it
spends a great deal of time exploring the angst and perverted
obsessions that seclusion has brought to the Pascals. Those who
think mainstream Hollywood plays it too safe will be refreshed by
this jolting look at taboos in an upper-class American family.
Ash Steffy
Grade: A-
"Washington Square"
Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney and Ben Chaplin
The Jane Austen movie fad is over. So now it’s on to Henry
James, the next dead Brit writer whom Hollywood will embrace,
turning anything he wrote into a movie.
While last year’s "Portrait of a Lady" didn’t inspire the same
flurry that "Sense and Sensibility" did for Austen, that didn’t
stop Hollywood from churning out more adaptations. Like James’
other novels, this week’s "Wasington Square" focuses on a young
American woman in the 19th century who is having a hell of a time
finding a decent guy to marry. And who can blame her?
It seems the only men available are either disgustingly
insensitive scoundrels or pathetic effeminate whiners. In "Square,"
Catherine Sloper (Jason Leigh) is the young woman who has been told
all her life by her father (Finney) that she has no brains and no
beauty and that the only thing she has going for her is her
inheritance. So with this encouragement, it is no wonder that poor
Catherine is shy and awkward. On the brink of spinsterhood,
Catherine meets Morris Townsend (Chaplin), who not only is
incredibly good-looking and charming, but he likes her as well. Too
bad he’s broke.
Nonetheless, Catherine begins to fall for Morris’ poetic charms
and he brings out her grace and wit. Of course, Daddy doesn’t like
this, and he tells his daughter bluntly that Morris only wants her
inheritance.
Catherine is now trapped between two men, the father she has
worshiped (God knows why!) and her beau who worships her. A re-make
of sorts ("The Heiress" starring Olivia de Havilland in 1949),
"Square" sets itself apart from the Oscar-winning classic with its
stronger characterization of the heroine.
Catherine is no doormat in this version. While Leigh may not
seem the right actress to play a plain Jane type, she bravely takes
on every awkward part of Catherine’s soul, making the audience
sympathize and cheer when her character finally develops a
backbone. Finney is gruffly convincing as the stubborn and
unaffectionate father. And Chaplin is so attractive and seductive
that the audience will have a hell of a time figuring out if he’s a
swindler or not.
While it is doubtful that "Square" will have as an affectionate
following as Austen’s cheery movies, James’s film does carry a more
heart-tugging message about the difficulties of true love in the
complicated 19th century society. Something Austen couldn’t always
accomplish with her hearts and flowers endings.
Aimee Phan
Grade: A-
"Love Always"
Directed by Jude Pauline
Starring Marisa Ryan
and Michael Reilly Burke
After an opening scene which includes a passionless Marisa Ryan
and a stiff (not in the amorous way) Michael Reilly Burke, "Love
Always"asks audiences to believe that the two characters, Julia and
Mark, can be meant for each other eternally. And, though it takes
90 minutes of screen time to reach the same conclusion which
film-goers know in the first three minutes, audiences still have to
bear the weight of experiencing a self-promoting Ryan flaunt her
less than free-wheeling attempts at being the "crazy drifter" while
she realizes that she really isn’t cut out for marriage. Oops. Did
that spoil it? If you’re the type to be miffed at the film’s
ending, you probably would still enjoy the flick even after a
scathing review. So there.
Essentially, "Love Always" takes a cliched route through a world
of road side adventures that never quite seem as adventurous as
they had endeavored to be, as Julia tries to make her way back to
an old flame who proposes marriage by postcard. She meets tons of
"wild" and "exciting" individuals along the way who show her that
she’s really just a "free spirit" at heart. Please.
First of all, each highway ride-giver only takes up about 5
minutes of film time at most, so that each character is more of a
one-dimensional caricature than a well-developed force who can
affect any real life decision that Julia could actually have.
Secondly, Ryan comes across as one of those people who you meet
in clubs who think they’re so "avant-garde" that they say things
like "Oh, I knew that artist when they were underground. He’s
totally sold out, now. So I’ve burned all of my records." Fabulous,
Sweetie. Regardless, she still finds herself wanting this lawyer
boyfriend for a husband, basically because her best friend gets
married and she’s jealous. At least, that’s what you come up with
once you do the Freudian psychology.
The actor who plays a photographer she meets on the road
provides the most believable performance in the entire work. Tracy
Fraim actually makes a good case for enacting the woods-wily
darling, though his role, once again, only manages to become a
miniscule aspect of the entire production.
Mostly, the work emphasizes Ryan’s over-the-top action, where
instead of providing subtle clues as to her personal growth and
steps toward self-realization, she merely gives blatant clues as to
when a moment becomes "important" to her final decision.
"Love Always" centers around time-honored themes: Love or
adventure? Someone else’s needs or your own? No new spins are
placed on these eternal questions and hence, the film slips into
the pile of forgettable flicks that aim low and fail.
Vanessa VanderZanden
Grade: C-
TriStar Pictures
The Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wangchuk) meets Heinrich Harrer (Brad
Pitt) for the first time on "Seven Years in Tibet."