LFM Reviews SK1 @ The 2015 Chicago French Film Festival

From "SK1."

By Joe Bendel. In two recent film versions of high profile French criminal investigations, justice is eventually served, but at a terrible cost of human life. In both cases, the guilty parties were apprehended, but the French police and legal system still take an embarrassing PR hit. Political correctness and anti-Jewish biases caused the police to tragically misjudge the kidnapping of Ilan Halimi dramatized in 24 Days, whereas turf consciousness and bureaucracy needlessly slowed down the hunt “Serial Killer 1 (SK1),” France’s first serial killer of the DNA era. Catching him is the hardest part, but trying him also presents challenges in Frédéric Tellier’s SK1, which screens as part of the 2015 Chicago French Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre.

Charlie Magne thinks he has made it when he is transferred to the anti-crime task force at the storied 36 Quai des Orfèvres, but he immediately inherits a brutal rape-and-murder case that has haunted his teammates. He immediately proves his mettle by discovering a possible link to a similar cold case in Lyon, but all the subsequent lines of inquiry fizzle out. Frustratingly, a sex murderer with a not dissimilar m.o. starts stalking Paris a few years later, but they happened during the watch of the glory-hungry, turf-conscious rival team leader, who effectively freezes Magne’s squad out of the picture.

Much to Magne’s frustration, the parallels continue to mount, until the sheer volume of murders forces the commissioner to mobilize the entire 36th Precinct. In between the killings and bureaucratic skirmishes, SK1 flashes forward from the early 1990s to 2001, when Guy Georges, the alleged “Beast of the Bastille,” faces numerous murder charges. Ordinarily, the split narrative would rather kill the suspense, but Tellier and editor Mickael Dumontier cut to and fro at places that strategically raise doubts and suspicions.

From "SK1."

The result is a pretty tight and realistic procedural that will have you pulling your hair out in frustration over the kind of intelligence firewalls and rigid day-to-day regulations that hampered the capture of their suspect. This is particularly true with regards to DNA sample testing, because there were nearly no laws telling the CYA-ers how to handle it before the SK1 Affair.

Sort of like an epic Parisian Law & Order episode, SK1 gives scant attention to the private lives of its characters, aside from a bit of fretting from Magne’s wife. It is just as well. Tellier and screenwriter David Oelhoffen (director of the loose Camus adaptation, Far from Men) recreate the decade spanning investigation with tick-tock precision. It is the sort of film that resists showcasing anyone, but the often underwhelming Raphaël Personnaz does career-best work as Magne. Oliver Gourmet also adds some rumpled world-weary flavor as his early mentor, Bougon, while Adama Niane is suitably fierce as the sociopathic Georges.

The sort of legalistic roadblocks that hindered Magne’s efforts may be peculiarly French, but they are not exclusively so. Regardless, they give the film a distinctive edge. Tense and gritty, SK1 is recommended for fans of true crime and policers, when it screens Friday (7/31) and Saturday (8/1), as part of this year’s Chicago French Film Festival.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on July 27th, 2015 at 6:59pm.

LFM Reviews The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor @ New York’s 2015 Asian American International Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. Dr. Haing S. Ngor had a reasonable productive film career, but he never landed a role that equaled his Oscar winning debut in Roland Jaffe’s The Killing Fields (although Oliver Stone’s Heaven & Earth will have its champions). Yet, the platform it provided Ngor to keep the memory of the Khmer Rouge genocide alive and to criticize the current undemocratic regime was far more important. It might have even been the reason why the actor and activist was murdered in 1996. The late Ngor will offer his survivor’s testimony once again in The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, which screens as part of a sidebar tribute to documentarian Arthur Dong at the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival in New York.

Rarely is an actor so closely identified with a film as Dr. Ngor and The Killing Fields. He was not a professional actor when he was cast to play Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, but he could identify with the role only too well. Ngor barely survived the Communist re-education camps, but his pregnant common law (formal marriage having been abolished) wife did not. In an environment of horrific deaths, hers was particularly haunting.

You might think you understand the Communist massacre, chapter and verse, but the experiences Ngor describes in his autobiography (extracts of which are read by his nephew, Wayne Ngor) will shock you nonetheless. For instance, even table utensils were banned (on pain of death) as the decadent tools of western capitalism. To illustrate his experiences during the genocide, Dong often relies on Wilson Wu’s dramatic black-and-white animation that starkly reflects the tenor of the times. These are not things we want to see, but they are necessary to understand Ngor’s life and the utopian ideology he fled.

From "The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor."

Dong is an experienced filmmaker, who crafts Ngor’s story with great sensitivity, but also with an eye towards the needs of history. Fortunately, Ngor’s life in America was quite well documented. He assembles quite a bit of primary footage of Ngor, including some unusually heavy commencement speeches. The close participation of Ngor’s surrogate daughter-niece Sophia Ngor and his friend, Iron Triangle co-star, and non-profit foundation executive director Jack Ong also inspire confidence. Of course, high level Khmer Rouge officials were not available for comment, but the allegations of Kaing Guek Eav (a.k.a. “Comrade Duch”) that Ngor was assassinated by the Khmer Rouge are given due consideration.

Dong’s film is both inspiring and horrifying, showing both sides of an incredible life cut short under mysterious circumstances. It never peddles in conspiracy theories, but it makes one wonder nonetheless. It is also something of a wake-up call, especially when it addresses Ngor’s opinions on the not-so untainted regime of today. Timely, moving, and even infuriating, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor is a truly important film, highly recommended for the socially and historically conscious when it screens this Saturday (7/25) at the Village East, as part of this year’s AAIFF.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:43pm.

LFM Reviews The Outrageous Sophie Tucker

By Joe Bendel. Sophie Tucker once called up JFK in the Oval Office, was immediately connected, and successful convinced him to veto pending stock dividend taxation legislation. If that does not duly impress you, keep in mind she also sang—for decades, as one of the top speakeasy and night club attractions in the country. Filmmaker William Gazecki and producer-Tucker biographers Susan & Lloyd Ecker chronicle her bawdy, trailblazing career in The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, which opens this Friday in New York.

Tucker’s career spanned six decades and just about every Twentieth Century form of media. She was tough and shrewd, but also loyal and generous. She made her debut in the Ziegfeld Follies at twenty-two, but she was too much of a smashing success, at least from the star diva’s vantage point. Before Mae West, she became a sensation suggestively interpreting double entendre-laden lyrics. She was still a household name well into the 1960s, thanks in part to her old crony, Ed Sullivan, but she has largely slipped into the memory hole of a collective cultural memory that barely reaches back to Madonna.

Fortunately, this is where the Eckers come in, burnishing her legacy and promoting awareness. For their books, website, and work on this film, the Eckers were invaluably assisted by the exhaustive multi-volume scrapbooks Tucker maintained, recording her career almost day-for-day. They also serve as time-capsules, capturing the state of show business from 1907 to 1964.

Tucker had such a strong sense of syncopation and a flair for giving lyrics her own unique twist, she could have easily billed herself as a jazz artist, if she had wanted to be paid less. Yet, what is most striking is how far ahead of the curve she was when it came fan outreach. She probably had a MySpace page ready to go, just waiting for the internet to get created.

From "The Outrageous Sophie Tucker."

Tucker’s music and her tart-tongued Horatio Alger story are wildly entertaining. However, despite some creative use of graphics, Outrageous does not look very cinematic. In fact, many of the talking head segments (featuring 1st class artists like Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, and Michael Feinstein) feel very TV-ish. The Eckers (especially Lloyd) are clearly determined to explain just how much Tucker means to them, whether we are interested or not. Nevertheless, it must be granted, they have become the definitive authorities on all things Tucker.

Even if it is not as aesthetically polished as top-notch music docs, like This is Gary McFarland and Searching for Sugar Man, Outrageous does right by its subject and star. Gazecki and company maintain a high energy level and display a deep understanding of Tucker’s many complicated relationships. Recommended for fans of Tucker and the Great American Songbook, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker opens this Friday (7/24) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:43pm.

LFM Reviews Dark was the Night

By Joe Bendel. Cloven hoof tracks are traditionally a bad sign, at least when they were made by a two-legged creature. That was no deer striding through Sheriff Paul Shields’ logging hamlet. Something sinister is definitely lurking in those woods and it is getting increasingly aggressive in Jack Heller’s Dark was the Night, which opens this Friday in New York.

Lately, horses and dogs have mysteriously disappeared, but Shields really doesn’t care. He is too busy blaming himself for the death of his youngest son. Although he has separated from his wife Susan, he still tries to be a proactive father to their remaining son Adam. However, he has to start sheriffing in earnest when the town wakes up to find unusually large and apparently upright cloven hoof prints snaking their way from one end of town to the other. Having absorbed scores of Native American legends about vengeful natural spirits, everyone basically freaks—and they’re not wrong.

Unfortunately, the awkward and pretentious syntax of Dark’s title evokes the cheesy, overwrought horror novels of the early 1980s. However, for a film about a big evil thing making dodo in the woods, it is remarkably restrained. Probably more time is allotted to seriously addressing Shields’ grief and guilt than monster attacks. While that might not sit well with genre fans, it is actually not a bad thing, thanks largely due to the strength of Kevin Durand’s performance. He is a big guy, but as Sheriff Shields, he looks drawn and haggard, like he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep since Johnny Carson retired. Even in a non-genre film, the honesty and commitment of his work would be impressive.

From "Dark was the Night."

Dark is indeed an unusually character-driven horror film, offering up a tortured sidekick to its angst ridden protagonist. Lukas Haas (yes, that Witness Haas) is also quite down-to-earth and flinty as Donny Saunders, a former NYPD officer wounded in the line of duty, now serving as Shields’ deputy. They play off each other nicely, navigating the territory just in-between friends and colleagues. Budding cult superstar Nick Damici also gets to chew some scenery as the spooky trash-talking saloon-keeper.

Frankly, Dark is one of the few films that is better at interpersonal relationships than at going about its horror business. Still, Heller and screenwriter Tyler Hisel give the standard “gotcha” monster movie ending a bit of a half twist. Far better than you would expect, especially given the eye-rolling title, Dark was the Night (it sounds like something Yoda might say) is recommended for fans of small town supernatural fare when it opens today (7/24) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:43pm.

LFM Reviews Only You

By Joe Bendel. Whether you live in Pittsburgh or Shanghai, Italy still represents the land of romance. Evidently, in 1994, Venice was the place to be, but now Milan is the in romantic getaway. There are other differences, but this Chinese remake of the Norman Jewison romantic comedy is pretty faithful to its inspiration. Once again, a smitten man will fight against fate and his own name to win the woman he falls for in Zhang Hao’s Only You, which opens this Friday in New York.

On two separate occasions, fortune tellers predicted Fang Yuan would marry a man named Song Kunming. Such a specific prophecy would be great if she knew anyone named Song Kunming, but she doesn’t. After years of waiting for him to show up, she finally decides to settle for Xie  Wei, a boring dentist. However, tens days before their wedding, she happens to take a phone message from Xei Wei’s old school chum, Song Kunming, who is en route to Milan.

With her BFF in tow, Fang Yuan impulsively rushes off to Italy (conveniently having a couple soon-to-expire visas burning a hole in her pocket), to track down her man of destiny. On their first night, they follow the trail from their hotel to a man claiming to be Song Kunming. He is perfect her in every way, except he eventually admits he is not really Song Kunming. Attempting a Hail Mary, he offers to help her find the real Song, in hopes of besting him for her affections.

You hardly need to have seen the original Marisa Tomei-Robert Downey, Jr. vehicle to know how it will all end. Admittedly, Only You seems like a rather odd remake candidate, but it is apparently the sort of film that has grown in popular affection during its video and DVD life, following its ho-hum initial box-office. Of course, there are also probably a lot of us out there who can come to China Lion’s Only You unburdened with indelible images of Downey, Jr. in a gondola.

From "Only You."

There is no question the scenery is just as lovely this time around and the cast is even more attractive. There is a little bit of shtick, but it is decidedly mild compared to rom-com norms. Granted, nobody does a lot of heavy lifting here, but Tang Wei pouts quite effectively as Fang Yuan (if you want to see her in a deeper, darker romantic drama, check out the elegant Late Autumn). Liao Fan tries to keep his cool as best he can as someone not named Song Kunming, but Su Yan kind of steals the show as the tough but sensitive (and sultry) best friend.

Fully capitalizing on Milan’s picturesque public squares and the verdant surrounding countryside, the new Only You definitely makes you want to visit Italy—with Tang Wei—or Su Yan—or if you prefer, Liao Fan. Obviously the end is predetermined (unless you think both Liao and Downey, Jr. might come up empty romantically), but it is a pleasant, low stress trip. Recommended as a date movie, Only You opens this Friday (7/24) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

LFM GRADE: B-/C+

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:42pm.

LFM Reviews Forbidden City, USA @ New York’s 2015 Asian American International Film Festival

By Joe Bendel. San Francisco sure was fun in the 1940s. There was a thriving jazz scene in the Fillmore District, but for an elegant night out on the town, it was hard to beat the nightclubs of Chinatown. However, the iconic trail-blazing Asian American establishment was not in Chinatown proper. Nevertheless, it created a template for cross-over Asian-flavored supper club entertainment. Patrons and performers pay their respects to the nocturnal institution in Forbidden City, USA, which screens as part of a sidebar tribute to documentarian Arthur Dong at the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival in New York.

Frankly, it is rather baffling that there is not more of a memorabilia or market fascination for all things connected to Charlie Low’s Forbidden City and its competitors. Founded by Low in 1938, the club struggled to find its footing until Noel Toy’s “bubble dance” became a sensation. Many of Low’s early (less risqué) dancers started with more enthusiasm than experience, but several honed their art to a remarkably accomplished level. Of course, they were all incredibly photogenic, which harkens back to the question regarding collector interest.

Dong secured on-camera interviews with a number of veteran performers, including the aforementioned Toy (“the Chinese Sally Rand”), Paul Wing (“the Chinese Astaire”), Toy Yat Mar (“the Chinese Sophie Tucker”), and Larry Ching (“the Chinese Sinatra”). The “Chinese X” handle was something many were uncomfortable with, but as a marketing hook, it seemed to work, so they lived with it.

Indeed, Dong keeps viewers keenly aware of the tenor of the era by duly addressing topics such as the Japanese internment and racial segregation in the South (which was profoundly confusing for the Asian American artists when they were able to secure touring gigs). Yet, the film clips, audio selections, and glamourous still photos are so infectiously entertaining, the overall vibe of the film is nostalgic, but upbeat.

Although Forbidden City, USA was broadcast on PBS in 1989, Dong subsequently returned to the San Francisco nightclub milieu with a book and curated exhibition. It is easy to see why. The music swings, the performers are charismatic, and the vibe is welcoming. It all looks and sounds sharp thanks to the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s recent digital restoration. Highly recommended, the fifty-six minute Forbidden City, USA screens this Saturday (7/25, to be followed by a book signing with Dong) at the Village East, as part of this year’s AAIFF.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on July 22nd, 2015 at 7:38pm.