September 2009
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

Autumn is in the air in the Chicago area and the cooler weather feels good. I have more
energy to run in the parks my master takes me to. Last night we enjoyed a foreign film together and it’s my pick of the month.

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Vodka Lemon

Winner of the best film award at the Venice Film Festival in 2003, Vodka Lemon, a joint film venture by France, Italy, Switzerland, and Armenia, is a bittersweet concoction with a kick. In the snowy hinterlands of post-Soviet Armenia, village life is nearing subsistence level. As one villager laments, the only thing the Russians have left them is the one thing they didn't have before - their freedom. Hamo, a former Red Army officer, is now forced to sell off his few possessions while fruitlessly awaiting money from his son living in Paris. He can only count on one thing: daily trips to the cemetery to commune with his late wife. There, Nina, a beautiful widow, tends her husband's grave. On the bus back to the village, a tender romance gradually blossoms. The miracle of Vodka Lemon, the third feature by exiled Iraqi Kurd director Hiner Saleem, is that this portrait of an abandoned community is so magically upbeat. With its stunning, blinding-white vistas, its lovely Armenian music score, and its flights into whimsy, the film celebrates its quirky characters and, at its heart, is a Chagall-like vision of love among the ruins. The Armenian stars are wonderful: Romen Avinan as Hamo, and Lala Sarkissian as Nina, from a script by Lei Dinety. Hollywood actors, directors, and writers could take lessons from them in how to make a meaningful, often beautiful film. It rambles, sometimes seems to go nowhere, but stay with it to the very end for a surprise that will make you smile. From New Yorker films.      Max’s rating: Two paws up.

Also recommended this month:

Easy Virtue

Noel Coward’s witty 1924 play, a comedy of British manners, is reprised with modern touches starring Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, and Kristin Scott Thomas. Director Stephen Elliot returns from a 10-year break from films after the delightful Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, to helm this comedy. It’s a culture shock story about a British playboy who brings his new wife, an American race car-driving feminist, to meet the family at their country estate. The mother-in-law, as expected, does not find the
newcomer to the family exactly her cup of tea, while the father-in-law relishes the breath of fresh air that has entered the stuffy house. And of course it’s always good to see Colin Firth again. The old story is well-told and there are some great old Cole Porter songs and new ones played in a 1920s style. Lots of fun from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

O’Horten

The title of this delightful Norwegian comedy refers to Old Horten, a train engineer who is forced to retire after 40 years guiding passengers on the rails. After his life on trains passes him by, he sets out on an adventure of discovery hat includes an odd assortment of characters and standing in a pair of women’s red high-heeled shoes. It’s too much fun to give away more of the story, but I believe you will find warmth, humor, and meaning in it and its players, led by Bard Owe who is perfectly cast. Take this 90-minute movie vacation to Norway and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the trip. In Norwegian with English subtitles, a joint production of Norway, Germany, and France, released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Newcastle

A coming-of-age story set in Australia that has a wonderful tag line: “You’re only young forever once.” Three teenage mates live mainly for surfing, until they take a week camping trip with two pretty girls and the gay brother of one of the guys. Mix in those two boys’ older brother, a former surf champ who muddies the water for everyone, and the blend is more than interesting. Surfers will love the beautiful scenes both above and under water. From Wolfe Video.

Ghost Cat

Some pre-Halloween fun is in this ghost-comedy about a girl whose mother dies and she
starts a new life with her father in the country. They look for a new house and decide they like a cottage occupied by a strange woman and her even more strange cat. Ellen Page, of Juno, stars in this quirky comedy that is good family entertainment, from North American Motion Pictures.

Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader traces Barack Obama’s life from boyhood to President, covering experiences that inspired his principles and philosophy. Included is a never-before-seen interview with Obama when he was 32 and worked in Chicago’s inner-city neighborhoods and a professor teaching law at the University of Chicago. From Little Dizzy Home Video.

The da Vinci Detective explores the mysteries of the art world, following the work of Dr. Maurizio Seracini, a pioneering forensic scientist who studies a long-lost da Vinci mural unseen since the 1540s and a series of the master’s drawings also hidden for years.
Has he solved two great art mysteries? It’s a documentary worth watching to find out.
From Smithsonian Networks and Infinity Entertainment Group.

Smithsonian Channel’s War Stories contains three documentaries harkening back to World War II. One is about the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, another a retrospective on the atomic bomb droppings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that brought the war with Japan to an end, and a visit to Arlington National Cemetery where rest those who lost their lives in battles from the Revolutionary War to the present war in Iraq. From Smithsonian Networks and Infinity Entertainment Group.

Breaking the Bank, a Frontline documentary shown on PBS television, tells the “inside story” of how some billion-dollar U.S. banks faltered during the housing market crisis.
Superbanks reaped billions of dollars and gobbled up competitors, then the bottom dropped out and massive Wall Street losses nearly broke the banks, with many on the brink of failure. It’s a study of some of the reasons why the super rich are super richer and the rest of us are economically chopped liver. From WGBH Boston Video.

Heart Healthy Yoga is a new Peggy Cappy exercise DVD in which the yoga expert shows how to build healthier hearts and stronger bodies. From WGBH Boston Video.

The Mama Cass Television Program brings the beloved Cass Elliot back in a reprise of her long-lost 1969 ABC Television special. How great it is to see and hear again the soulful lady who captivated us with Both Sides Now, Dream a Little Dream of Me, and Monday, Monday. Guests include Mary Travers, Joni Mitchell, and John Sebastian.
Return to a kinder, gentler, tuneful age before “Boom Boom” took over our ears.
From Infinity Entertainment Group.

Scholastic Storybook Treasures returns with 28 more classic children’s picture books shown on DVD with captions so kids can read-along as actors narrate the animated stories. It’s a 4 and a half hour treat for kids aged 2 to 8 including Curious George Rides a Bike, Corduroy and more stories about caring, Good night, Gorilla and other bedtime stories, and Harold and the Purple Crayon. Always welcome educational entertainment from Scholastic.

A Very Brave Witch and More Great Halloween Stories for Kids is a new Scholastic Storybook Treasures collection of spooky picture books shown on DVD with read-along subtitles to augment narration by various actors. Good spooky fun for kids aged 3 to 9 from Scholastic.

The Berenstain Bears: Halloween Treats features the beloved bear family in seven new spooky tales that also have some good life lessons. Kids should enjoy these charming ghost stories with Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister Bear. From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Old favorites are back as Lionsgate and Hit Entertainment offer some new adventures of many kids’ favorites: Bob the Builder: Call in the Crew!; Fireman Sam: Help Is Here!; Barney: Sharing Is Caring and also Halloween Party and Jungle Friends; Shaun the Sheep: Little Sheep of Horrors; Tomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails, the Movie; and Trick or Treat Tales.

I howl unhappily when new movies are released with titles that could give some sickos ideas that could lead to real-life violence. New case in point: Assassination of a High School President and (a few years ago) How to Kill Your Neghbor’s Dog. The titles must be intentionally sensational and inflammatory because the movies themselves are so bad that the producers feel they have to get our attention.
Maybe they ought to try making movies worth watching. Shame on the Sundance Film Festival (and Robert Redford) for making Assassination its official 2008 selection.
Redford, by the way, also was a producer of the Dog movie. What’s with this guy, anyway? Doesn’t he know that the titles of films he backs or promotes can add to the culture of violence that is making America sick?