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To watch or not to watch? I will tour around Amsterdam’s cinemas and answer this crucial question every Friday. Without mercy, of course. Sucky movies will be slaughtered, cinematographic pearls will be appreciated as such. Or the other way around. After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder.
Woody Allen: A Documentary
I probably wrote this before; Woody Allen (1935!) is one of my favorite film makers. Bananas, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Matchpoint, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, I love them all. After all the films Allen made, there is finally a film about him. In ‘Woody Allen: A Documentary’ we walk with Allen through his old neighberhoud (Brooklyn, NY), we listen to his friends and (former) colleagues and see him working on the set of You’ll Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. This documentary, made by the persistent Robert B. Weide, contains a lot of talking heads. Normally that doesn’t make a very exciting documentary, but in this case the ‘talking heads’ (Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Allen’s sister) have very interesting things to say. The film is not only about Allen’s work, it’s also about his turbulent private life. He married the adopted daughter of his second wife Mia Farrow, for instance. To put it in a nutshell: this documentary is a must see for every fan.
Watch this film in Cineville’s Cinecenter and EYE.
Volcano
Wanna get depressed? Go see Volcano. This Icelandic film about an old guy who doesn’t know what to do with his life after his pension, is anything but ‘light’. Hannes never was a jolly man, but without his work he makes the lives of his wife and childeren even more gloomy. The only thing that makes Hannes a bit more happy, is when he is fishing in his small boat. Alone, of course. But – hells no!- the boat has got a hole in it. Things seem to go a little better when Hannes realizes he is kind of a dick. Suddenly he is much kinder to his wife Anna. But – hells no again!- Anna suffers a stroke. Now Hannes has to take care of her. And because he’s unable to talk to anyone, he can determine about life and death. The debuting director Rúnar Rúnarsson tried to win some sympathy for Hannes. He failed. He’s an angry, scary old man.
Watch this film in Cineville’s EYE.
Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro
An elderly couple recieve a great present from their kids and friends. They get enough money to make a journey to the Kilimandjaro in Tanzania. Too bad, the money get’s stolen the same night during a home robbery. Michel, the husband, finds out who the thief is. It appears to be an ex-collegue who lost his job and has to take care of his two younger brothers. Michel already went to the police, but he starts getting some doubts. Michel is a former union activist, so isn’t he supposed to care about the less fortunate? His wife get’s his point, but his childeren want to thief locked up. An interesting film about morale, compassion and social justice.
Watch this film in Cineville’s Kriterion and The Movies.
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