BY LOIS WADSWORTH
Films open the Friday following date
of E W publication unless otherwise
noted. See archived reviews at
www.eugeneweekly.com.
CONTINUING:
Alex & Emma: Rob Reiner directs Kate
Hudson and Luke Wilson in a comedy
romance based on a short story by
Dostoyevsky. Wilson plays a writer who
has to finish a book on deadline or deal
with gambling debts to the mob.
Hudson is a secretary with ideas about
his book. Also stars, Sophie Marceau,
Cloris Leachman and David Paymer. PG-
13. Movies 12.
Anger Management: Adam Sandler
plays a man who must undergo anger
management. His shrink, played by Jack
Nicholson, moves in with him. Also stars
Marisa Tomei. PG-13. Movies 12.
Bad Boys II: Martin Lawrence and Will
Smith reunite with producer Jerry
Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay
for another in this summer of sequels.
Smith plays Mike Lowrey and Lawrence
plays Marcus Burnett, two Miami nar-
cotics detectives assigned to stem the
flood of designer ecstasy into Miami. R.
Cinemark.
Bruce Almighty: Jim Carrey, Morgan
Freeman and Jennifer Aniston star in
this tale of a at TV reporter, who has a
really bad day, rages against God and
receives more than he expected. PG-13.
Movies 12.
Chicago: Broadway spectacular direct-
ed by Rob Marshall stars Renee
Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones as
killer dames behind bars who compete
for tabloid coverage. With Queen
Latifah, John C. Reilly and Richard Gere.
2002 Academy Awards for best picture,
supporting actress Zeta-Jones, art
direction, sound, editing and costumes.
PG 13. Movies 12. Online archives.
Daddy Day Care: Eddie Murphy and
Jeff Garlin lose their jobs and can’t
afford day care for their sons, so they
open their own facility. Comedy directed
by Steve Carr also stars Anjelica
Huston, Steve Zahn and Regina King.
PG. Movies 12.
Finding Nemo: Computer-animated
fantasy of two Clownfish, Marlin and his
son Nemo separated in the Great
Barrier Reef. Written and directed by
Andrew Stanton (A Bug’s Life), with
voices by Albert Brooks, Ellen
DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe, Geoffrey
Rush, Allison Janney. Very highly rec-
ommended. G. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Online archives.
Holes: Adventures digging holes at
Camp Green Lake for Stanley, who
comes from a strange family that’s been
cursed for generations. Embarrassingly,
Jon Voight, Sigourney Weaver and Tim
Blake Nelson co-star. PG. Movies 12.
Online archives.
How to Deal: Directed by Clare Kilner.
Stars pop singer turned actress Mandy
Moore. Laura Sinagra of The Village Voice
writes, “Moore’s … spunky resolve still
brands like honesty.” PG-13. Movies 12.
22 JULY 31, 2003
Hulk, The: Director Ang Lee’s action-
adventure adaptation of the Marvel
Comics series hits darker notes than the
usual superhero comics. Scientist’s (Eric
Bana) inner demons change him after a
catastrophic experiment. Written by
James Schamus, it also stars Jennifer
Connelly, Nick Nolte, Josh Lucas and
Sam Elliott. PG-13. Movies 12. Online
archives.
Italian Job, The: Mark Wahlberg leads
a heist that’s double-crossed by one of
his crew. Charlize Theron plays a safe-
cracker in this cool revenge movie. Also
stars Edward Norton, Mos Def and
Donald Sutherland. Highly recommend-
ed for its pure entertainment value. PG-
13. Cinemark. Online archives.
Johnny English: When all but one of
MI5’s top agents are killed in an explo-
sion, it is left to the inept Johnny
English (Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean
fame) to try and solve who has stolen
the crown jewels from the Tower of
London. Accompanied by his assistant
Bough (Ben Miller), Johnny bungles his
way through one scrape after another.
Directed by Peter Howett. PG.
Cinemark.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle
of Life: Second in the franchise again
stars Angelina Jolie as action heroine
Lara Croft who saves the world, again,
from unspeakable evil. Directed by Jan
De Bont, also stars Gerard Butler and
Noah Taylor. PG-13. Cinema World.
Cinemark.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen:
Based on the comic book miniseries by
Alan Moore. Matthew Tobey in All Movie
Guide writes movie “takes place in an
alternate universe, where the charac-
ters of several literary classics exist in
reality. If that wasn’t enough, they’ve
been assembled together in 1900 by
Queen Victoria as a team of evil-fight-
ing heroes.” Directed by Steve
Norrington. Stars Sean Connery, Peta
Wilson, Shane West, Stuart Townsend,
Naseeruddin Shah, and Tony Curran.
PG-13. Cinemark.
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and
Blonde: Reese Witherspoon is back as
Elle Woods, Harvard Law, class of 2001,
now in DC on behalf of pet animal’s
rights. Luke Wilson is still her
boyfriend, as is her manicure person,
Jennifer Coolidge. Sally Field and Bob
Newhart join the cast. Charles Herman-
Wurmfeld directs. PG-13. Movies 12.
Lizzie McGuire, The Movie: Disney
comedy about a girl on a class trip to
Italy who is mistaken for an Italian pop
star. Stars Hillary Duff, directed by Jim
Fall. PG. Movies 12.
Nowhere in Africa: Caroline Link’s film
follows a family through the transition
from Hitler’s Germany in 1938 to colo-
nial Kenya. Based on a best selling auto-
biographical novel by Stefanie Zweig, it
is a tender look at a marriage under
stress, a child who embraces Africa, and
a Kenyan man who looks after them all.
Winner of the 2002 Academy Award
winner Best Foreign Film. R. Bijou.
Online archives.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Non-stop
adventure directed by Gore Verbinski
stars Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush,
Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley.
Depp sashays, Rush dissembles, Bloom
fences and Knightley swashbuckles -
mid-summer’s great escape movie.
Recommended especially for Depp and
Rush’s over the top performances and
the good time had by all. PG-13.
Cinemark. Cinema World. Online
archives..
Quiet American, The: Directed by
Phillip Noyce (Rabbit-Proof Fence), this
adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel is
set in 1952 Saigon during the French
Indochina War. Michael Caine plays an
English journalist; also stars Brendan
Fraser. 2002 Academy Award nomina-
tion for Caine. Underrated, excellent
movie. Highly recommended. Movies 12.
R. Online archives.
Seabiscuit: Story of a has-been race-
horse who became America’s
Depression-era success story.
Seabiscuit, the original down-and-outer
who makes it big, is supported by Tobey
Maguire as his jockey, Chris Cooper as
his trainer and Jeff Bridges as his
owner. Written, directed by Gary Ross
and based on Laura Hillenbrand’s best-
selling non-fiction book, it also stars
Elizabeth Banks, William H. Macy. All the
marks of a winning film. Highest recom-
mendations. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema
World. See review this issue.
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over: Alexa Vega
and Daryl Sabara continue to embrace
the family business — spying — but this
time the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone)
may be their nemesis. Also stars
Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino.
Special 3-D viewing glasses required.
Written and directed by Robert
Rodriguez, who’s on a roll. PG.
Cinemark. Cinema World.
Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines:
Jonathan Mostow directs, and Arnold
Schwarzenegger comes back to save
the world from annihilation once again.
John Connor (Nick Stahl), is 18 now, and
he’s fighting off a female killer cyborg
from the future, (Kristanna Loken). R.
Cinemark. Online archives..
Twenty-eight Days Later: Danny
Boyle (Trainspotting) directs this really
scary horror film set in a post-cata-
clysmic future, where a deadly virus
sweeps through earth’s population in a
few weeks, and leaves people in a
chronic state of killer rage. Stars
Christopher Eccleston, Cillian Murphy,
Naomie Harris, Megan Burns and
Brendan Gleeson. New possible ending.
R. Cinemark.
Two Fast Two Furious: John Singleton
directs this sequel action adventure
about street racing. Stars Paul Walker,
Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva
Mendes. PG-13. Movies 12.
Whale Rider: Winner of the World
Cinema award at Sundance 2003, Niki
Caro’s Maori drama about a spunky girl,
played by Keisha Castle-Hughes), who
decides to show her beloved but
authoritarian grandfather that she is
able to lead the tribe, despite being a
girl. A wonderful, inspiring drama that
features the exquisite New Zealand
coast. A don’t-miss movie. PG-13. Bijou.
Online archives.
X-Men 2: The next link in the evolu-
tionary chain? Directed by Bryan Singer,
stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman,
Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke
Janssen, James Marsden and more, lots
more. PG-13. Movies 12.
NEW RELEASES ON VIDEO
Releases subject to change. Available
the Tuesday following date of EW publi-
cation, sometimes sooner. See archived
movie reviews at
www.eugeneweekly.com
drop wide open so often could exhaust
you.” R.
Omega Man (1971): Based on Richard
Matheson’s sci-fi thriller, Boris Sagal’s
film stars Charleton Heston in post-
Apocalyptic L.A, fighting albino victims
of biologically engineered plague.
Violent. PG.
Soylent Green (1973): Despite its rat-
ing, this one’s not for kids. Police detec-
tive Charleston Heston accidentally dis-
covers what soylent green — people’s
basic foodstuff — is really made of.
Directed by Richard Fleischer, it also
stars Joseph Cotton, Leigh Taylor-
Young, Chuck Connors, Edward G.
Robinson. PG.
What a Girl Wants: Teen Amanda
Bynes is “trying to fit in, born to stand
out.” She wants a fairy tale relationship
with her absent dad and is tired of living
with her unconventional mom, played by
Colin Firth and Kelly Preston. Oliver
James plays her love interest. PG.
Agent Cody Banks: Teen action
adventure stars Frankie Muniz as an
undercover CIA operative, Angie
Harmon as his boss, and Hilary Duff as
girlfriend. PG.
Bringing Down the House: Domestic
comedy starring Steve Martin and
Queen Latifa is directed by Adam
Shankman. PG-13.
Lost in La Mancha (2003): Keith
Fulton and Louis Pepe’s documentary
captures the spectacular failure of
Terry Gilliam’s efforts to film The Man
Who Killed Don Quixote. With Johnny
Depp as a contemporary man sent
back in time and French star Jean
Rochefort (Man on the Train) as Don
Quixote. After injuries claimed
Rochefort, and Gilliam had spent $30
million of mostly Euro money, the
French money guys pulled out. The NY
Times’ Elvis Mitchell wrote that after
seeing the movie “you may wish you’d
had your jaw wired shut, since having it
Bijou Art Cinemas (686-2458)
Cinema World 8 (342-6536)
Cinemark 17 (746-5202)
Movies 12 (741-1231)
Next week: Babylon 5, Cradle 2 the
Grave, Daisy Miller (1974), He Loves
Me, He Loves Me Not, Head of State,
Helen of Troy, the Hunted, Lizzie
McGuire movie, Once Upon a Time in
China trilogy, Paper Moon (1973).
Grazia (Valeria Golino)
and Pietro (Vincenzo Amato).
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS, 2002
OPENING OR RETURNING:
American Wedding: Jim (Jason Biggs)
and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are get-
ting married. Now if their friends and
family will just stay on their best behav-
ior. Right. American Pie’s crude humor
lives on. Also stars January Jones, Fred
Willard, Eugene Levy, Thomas Ian
Nicholas, Seann William Scott and Eddie
Kaye Thomas. R. Cinema World.
Cinemark.
Andre: True story of a baby seal adopt-
ed by a family that returns to them
after being set out to sea. Starring
Keith Carradine and Tina Majorino. PG.
Plays at 10 am on 8/5 only. Movies 12.
Bend It Like Beckham: Soccer-crazy
girls in London suburb drive their
respective families crazy because they’d
rather play soccer than think about
marriage and shopping. Warm-hearted,
generous hit film returns to Eugene.
Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark.
Cinema World. Online archives.
Freaky Friday: Jamie Lee Curtis and
Lindsay Lohan play a quarreling mother
and daughter who accidentally switch
bodies. Ooops! Mark Harmon plays the
mom’s fiancé. Directed by Mark Waters,
based on Mary Rodgers’ book. Opens
Wed. 8/6. Cinemark.
Gigli: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
star in what’s being called a “romantic
gangster comedy,” which doesn’t sound
good. Written and directed by Martin
Brest. R. Cinema World. Cinemark.
Respiro: Set on the Italian island of
Lampedusa, this uneven but gorgeous
film shows the difficulties of village life
for a vibrant, beautiful young mother,
played by Valeria Golino. Both stirring
and disturbing, the film is highly recom-
mended. PG-13. Bijou. See review this
issue.
The Clan
Flaws in paradise.
RESPIRO: Written and directed by Emanuele Crialese. Produced by
Domenico Procacci, Anne-Dominique Toussaint. Cinematography, Fabio
Zamarion. Editor, Didier Ranz. Music, John Surman. Art direction Beatrice
Scarpato. Costumes, Eva Coen. Starring Valeria Golino, with Vincenzo
Amato, Francesco Casisa, Veronica D’Agostino, Filippo Pucillo. Also Emma
Loffredo, Elio Germano, Avy Marciano. Sony Pictures Classics, 2002. PG-13.
95 minutes. Cannes 2002 Critics Week Award.
T
he film begins abruptly, in media res,
as they say. And I had trouble just that
fast. The early sequences picture bru-
tal, mean-spirited battles between savage,
rival boy gangs set on rocky, dry sea cliffs,
where empty, half-built cement-block struc-
tures further blight the landscape. If writer,
director Emanuele Crialese wanted to shock
me, he did. But his assumption that contem-
porary audiences would welcome this cruel,
neo-realistic introduction to the island of
Lampedusa feels like a gamble. During the
film’s first 15-20 minutes it was all I could do
to stay in the room.
I’m actually glad I stayed with it, because
once the film’s main character, Grazia
(Valeria Golino), appears, a different energy
slowly takes over. Grazia is the mother of
three wild children: precocious teenager
Marinella (Veronica D’Agostino); 13-year
old Pasquale (Francesco Casisa), who’s
always in trouble with his dad; and youngest
bro, Filippo (Filippo Pucillo), who’s tougher
than all the rest of them.
Grazia is a force of nature: lulled by the
ocean, gentle and loving with her kids, stirred
by sexual longings, and angry as a hornet
when her super-macho, fisherman husband,
Pietro (Vincenzo Amato), treats her badly. In
a tight community like this, the villagers hold
against her for being at odds with her fellow
women workers at the fish factory or dislik-
ing her meddling mother-in-law (Emma
Loffredo). And when the women conspire
against her, she flips out, crazy as a loon, and
has to be medicated, which reinforces their
resolve to send her away for treatment.
But Pietro loves Grazia in his own way
and tries to protect her from the villagers. Her
boys, especially the indomitable Filippo,
keep their eyes on her so that she doesn’t
transgress the hidebound rules that govern
behavior on this island off the Italian coast
near western Sicily. Her son Pasquale helps
her hide out when she needs to get away from
everyone, with consequences he can’t fore-
see. And Filippo is fiercely loyal.
By the film’s ambiguous and not entirely
persuasive ending, I was quite taken by the
beautiful, lively Grazia but annoyed because
I couldn’t remember where I had seen the
actress Valeria Golino recently. Ah, yes, she
was the persistent first wife of Diego Rivera
in Frida, the one who lived upstairs with his
children and cooked mole every morning
even after he married Frida Kahlo. Golino is
the strongest reason to see this film. With her
naturalistic performance she brings the emo-
tionally vulnerable Grazia to life as an inde-
pendent woman living in a closed society.
As Grazia’s daughter Marinella,
D’Agostino creates a young woman who
knows what she wants and how to get it. And
who she wants is a young policeman new to
the island. He acts tough at first, but he’s
really just shy, and that’s what she likes
about him. D’Agostino’s performance is
fluid and flawless.
Both of the young actors who play
Grazia’s sons, Casisa and Pucillo, bring
meaningful nuance to their portraits of young
men as straitjacketed as their beautiful moth-
er in terms of the roles open to them. All the
village men, their father included, are fisher-
man working a fished-out ocean. But the kids
are wily. One way or another, they find food
from the ocean to bring home or to barter.
They are, as the delightful, no-nonsense
Filippo puts it, “bored shitless,” but also
inventive and full of the optimism of youth.
Pietro has a different battle to fight.
Although he finds a few tender moments
with his wife, whom he loves, his days are
filled with hard work that is no longer fruit-
ful, and that’s tough on a man’s ego. Amato
gives depth and resonance to Pietro’s loss
and grief when Grazia disappears, especially
during his vigil at the ocean, where the vil-
lagers, feeling guilty, join him.
A rare glimpse of a lifestyle foreign to our
urban American experience, the director and
actors have created a film that is both stirring
and disturbing. Highly recommended,
Respiro starts Friday, August 1, at the Bijou.
Cast your vote by catching it early.
ew