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Remembering
Ray Charles RAY: Directed by Taylor Hackford. Written by James L. White, based on a story by Hackford and White. Produced by Stuart Benjamin, Taylor Hackford, Howard Baldwin, Karen Baldwin. Cinematographer, Pawel Edelman. Production design, Stephen Altman. Editor, Paul Hirsch. Music composer, Craig Armstrong. Music supervisor, Curt Sobel. Costumes, Sharen Davis. Starring Jamie Foxx. With Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Dashon Howard, Regina King, Larenz Tate, Richard Schiff, Aunjanue Ellis, Bokeem Woodbine, Sharon Warren and Curtis Armstrong. Universal Pictures, 2004. PG-13. 152 minutes.
Ray Charles is an authentic American musical genius, a popular singer born into the poverty and segregation of north Florida in 1930 and recognized as an icon for the ages upon his death last June. Taylor Hackford's traditional biography of Charles's early years in music fills in his story with interesting characters and situations. In a series of flashbacks, we learn about Ray's amazing mother, Aretha Robinson (Sharon Warren), who adopted a harsh but loving approach to her boy's disability. Ray lost both his sight and his brother at an early age, and these life-altering events merged in his memories and haunted him for many years. When the film opens, Ray is a grown man, leaving the South for Seattle, the hip musical sensibilities of the left coast and a chance to start a career as a pianist and later a singer. From this time in the late 1940s until the mid-1960s, Charles's life was an emotional and professional roller coaster. He overcame numerous obstacles — poor pay, cheating agents and racist handlers — but he was vulnerable to women and heroin. Loyal to his wife, Bea (Kerry Washington), in his own way, Ray also had meaningful affairs with the band's singer, Mary Ann (Aunjanue Ellis), and one of the Raelettes, Margie (Regina King). Ray became a savvy businessman, producing his own records and owning his masters, as well as a formidable singer and songwriter. Other people played important roles in Ray's early career. They include Jeff Brown (Clifton Powell), who drove him and took care of him on the road; young jazz great Quincy Jones (Lorenz Tate); and Atlantic Record producers Ahmet Ertegun (Curtis Armstrong) and Jerry Wexler (Richard Schiff, "The West Wing"), who encouraged Ray to find his own voice. The film's greatest achievement is Jamie Foxx's performance, so flawless that for long stretches of time I would completely forget I wasn't watching the young Ray Charles himself. It's an uncanny likeness, one that still gives me goosebumps. The film's second outstanding feature is its music. Director Taylor Hackford recognizes we need to hear the great music Ray wrote and sang. Using his music as a popular culture calendar, I remember who I was when I first heard "What I Say" or "Georgia." Showing Ray's life at that time lets me draw connections between his large life and my small one. It helps me understand again what a terrible price celebrity demands of the talented, and the connections allows me to forgive him — and all of us — for being human. A generous artistic expression of life such as Ray's helps many of us appreciate our own lives more deeply, while his gospel roots, like those of the country and western music, the blues and rock and roll, all point to redemption. At the end of the film, we see Ray choosing life, although we don't get to spend the next 40 music-filled years with him. If a sequel to this movie is made, I hope Jamie Foxx will star, because he knows Ray's joy-struck personality from the inside out and could show us how this remarkable man moved into the mellower, later years of his life. Now playing at Cinema World and Cinemark, Ray receives my very highest recommendations. (Note the length of the show: two-and-a half hours. It goes fast.)
Solidarity ZELARY: (Czech Republlic, 2003) Directed by Ondrej Trojan. Written by Petr Jarchovsky, based on the autobiographical novella Jozova Hanule by Kveta Legatova. Produced by Ondrej Trojan and Helena Uldrichova. Cinematography, Asen Sopov. Editor, Vladimir Barak. Music, Petr Ostrouchov. Production design, Milan Byeek. Starring Ana Geislerova and Gyorgy Cserhalmi. Sony Pictures Classics, 2004. R. 150 minutes. Nominated 2003 Academy Award, Best Foreign Language Film. Winner of Czech Lion, Best Actress, Ana Geislerova.
An unlikely romantic tale set during WWII in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, Zelary opens in an unnamed city. Eliska (Ana Geislerova) and her lover, a doctor, meet after a day of work at the hospital, where she is a medical student. When he is called back to work, Eliska goes with him. The military roadblock they have to pass through on the way to the hospital is the only evidence of a warzone. Elilska's presence turns out well for the patient, who has been injured in an accident at a remote sawmill and needs a transfusion, because she's a blood match for him. A few days later, the transparency of occupation is shredded. On a courier mission for the resistance, Eliska eludes a man following her, but she is shaken. The group she has been working with, which includes her lover and another doctor, has been discovered by the Gestapo. Overnight, Eliska's life turns upside down. Her lover has left the country, and she must flee to the countryside with, of all people, the hospital patient she helped, Joza (Gyorgy Cserhalmi). These scenes take place in a short time at the beginning of a long (150 minutes) film, which effectively means we are as baffled by the turn of events as the main characters, Eliska and Joza. She is in complete denial, riding out of a village in an open, horse-drawn cart, her red curls bobbing, wearing a skimpy, city dress and fashionable shoes. For his part, Joza is dazzled by her beauty. But fortunately for Eliska, Joza is a patient, kind man, a partisan who's respected in his community. Joza takes Eliska to the unpopulated high country, where the rest of the film unfolds. While the storyline follows the maturing relationship between the couple, which provides the viewer with emotional value, a variety of memorable characters are introduced. These include a darling, precocious goat girl and a wild boy, her playmate, both of whom are suitably anti-school rebels. The girl sings delightful, dirty ditties to her goat. Neighbor women — a bawdy, hard-drinking lot — have their own sorrows, but they try to help Eliska feel comfortable with them. An older woman, the area midwife and herbalist, has a great, crackling laugh. She recognizes Eliska's special talents after watching her sew up Joza's injured arm. A heroic dog completes the picture. These people are uneducated and coarse compared to Eliska, but the solidarity they live by is something she's never known. The film's tension arises out of the human passions of those living in the isolated beauty of the mountains near the village of Zelary. But the threat from the Nazi practice of rewarding those who turn in their neighbors and executing those who protect them is always with them — a psychological warfare with exacting physical reprisals. As a people who have never fought a war at home against foreign enemies, we can learn a lot about how people live through wartime deprivations yet still find a way to love and help one another. Knowing this may make us more compassionate toward those on whom our country inflicts harm. And it may be one more good reason to build community with our neighbors here and now. Zelary opens Nov. 5 at the Bijou, with high recommendations. Despite narrative flaws that sometimes feel choppy, the film resonates with human possibility. Warm, naturalistic performances and stunning cinematography add to viewing pleasure.
OPENING
OR RETURNING: After the Sunset: Just one more heist and he'll retire, master thief Pierce Brosnan promises his girlfriend (Salma Hayek). But a pesky FBI agent (Woody Harrelson) comes to his island paradise. Bret Ratner directs; also stars the great Don Cheadle. Sneak at 7:30 pm 11/6. PG-13. Cinemark. Alfie: One of the true playboys of the movies, Alfie (Jude Law) plows through a swarm of women never thinking of commitment until he lets the love in. Alfie's beauties include Marisa Tomei, Susan Sarandon, Nia Long, Jane Krakowski. R. Cinema World. Cinemark. Bride With White Hair: 1993 Hong Kong martial arts cult classic, an operatic tale of warrior lovers who take on evil Siamese twins, stars the incomparable Brigitte Lin (Chunking Express) and Tony Leung (Farewell My Concubine). NR. Bijou LateNite. Chekist: 1992 film by Aleksandr Rogozhkin about the daily business of an officer in Cheka, precursor to the KGB, during the Bolsheviks' bloody campaign to annihilate those opposed to Communism. At 7 pm 11/9 in 115 Pacific, UO campus. In Russian with English subtitles. Free. Freaks: Tod Browning's infamous 1932 cult horror classic is about a band of circus freaks who take revenge after repeated humiliations from a beautiful trapeze artist and her strongman. At 6 pm on 11/7 at DIVA. Henry VIII: Because he wanted a male heir, King Henry VIII (Ray Winstone) lets nothing stand in his way — the church, his wives, his personal advisor, Cardinal Wolsey (David Suchet). Among his six wives: Anne Boleyn (Helena Bonham Carter) and Jane Symour (Emilia Fox). At 9 pm on 11/7 and 11/14 on "Masterpiece Theatre" PBS/OPB. Check listings for correct time. Incredibles, The: Writer, director Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios create an action-adventure story set in suburbia where a former top crime fighter, Mr. Incredible, gets the call to jump back into actions. PG. Cinemark. Cinema World. Insomnia: (Norway, 1997) Director Erik Skjoldbjaerg's original policier is about the murder of a young girl and the two detectives who are called in to find the killer, with the help of a local woman cop. Stellan Skarsgaard stars in the role Al Pacino played in the American remake (Insomnia, 2002). At 7 pm on 11/9 in EMU International Resource Center, UO Campus. Free. Millennium Actress: (Japan, 2001) The New York Times called Satoshi Kon's animé a "beautifully drawn melange of fantasy and history." About the mythic career of a determined young actress in early post-WWII Japan. At 6:30 pm 11/5 in International Lounge (above UO Post Office). Free. Polar Express, The: Robert Zemeckis (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) directs a wholly CG animation adventure, starring Tom Hanks in an adaptation of children's book by Chris Van Allsburg. Called "performance capture," the technique uses actors' live-action performances to drive the emotions and movements of the digital characters. Sneak at 4 pm 11/6. G. Cinemark. Raise Your Voice: Sean McNamara this predictable coming of age movie about a talented girl (Hilary Duff) who runs away from her hometown to attend an LA performing arts school. Also stars Oliver James, John Corbett and Rebecca De Mornay. PG. Movies 12. She Hate Me: Critic Stephen Holden (NY Times) opened his review with: "Spike Lee carries his political exasperation beyond outrage into chaos," which is not encouraging. Bijou LateNite. Zelary: The story of an unlikely couple brought together by war and the necessity to survive. Set in occupied Czechoslovakia during WWII, both medical student, Eliska (Ana Geislerova, and her peasant husband Joza (Gyorgy Cserhalmi), are members of the resistance, living in a remote mountain cabin. Recommended because it resonates with human possibility. R. Bijou. See review this issue. Films open the Friday following EW publication date unless otherwise noted. See archived reviews at www.eugeneweekly.com
CONTINUING: Anacondas: Hunt for the Blood Orchid: Horror thriller set in a jungle in Borneo where scientists travel down a river looking for a rare orchid said to the be the source of a youth-preserving serum. PG-13. Movies 12. Bourne Supremacy, The: Paul Greengrass (writer, director of Bloody Sunday) directs Matt Damon as assassin Jason Bourne in the second installment of Robert Ludlum's espionage thrillers Also stars Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Kurt Urban and Franka Potente. One of the summer's best films. Highly recommended. PG-13. Cinemark. Online archives. Cellular: This Phone Booth-like thriller stars Kim Basinger, William H. Macy, Chris Evans and Jason Statham. A carefree young man (Evans) receives a phone call from a woman (Basinger) imploring him to save her life. She's been kidnapped, and he's her only chance. PG-13. Movies 12. Collateral: Michael Mann's thriller stars Tom Cruise as an LA hitman and Jamie Foxx as his taxi driver, who's surprised to discover he's a hostage. Together, they're like fire and ice, feeling and nothingness. A character study in action, the film is one of the best movies of the year. Very highest recommendations. Don't miss. R. Movies 12. Online archives. First Daughter: Presidential daughter (Katie Holmes) just wants a normal college life. When she falls for her dorm's resident advisor, she finds out what it's like to fit in. PG. Movies 12. Friday Night Lights: High-school football is a big deal in 1988 Odessa, Texas, and director Peter Berg has fun with the fictional locals played by Tim McGraw, Billy Bob Thornton and Jay Hernandez. PG-13. Cinemark. Grudge, The: The curse of one who dies in the grip of a powerful rage kills and is passed like a virus from victim to victim. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. I Heart Huckabees: The delirious, new laugh-out-loud comedy from David O. Russell (Three Kings, Flirting with Disaster) stars Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts and Jude Law. One of 2004's top films, it gets my very highest recommendations. R. Bijou. Online archives. Ladder 49: When Fire Chief Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) takes rookie firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) under his wing, the probationary firefighter matures into a seasoned, veteran at a Baltimore fire station. But after years of risking his life and watching his relationship with his wife and kids deteriorate, Jack is at a crossroads and questions whether or not it's worth it. PG. Cinemark. Manchurian Candidate, The: Psychological thriller stars Denzel Washington as an ex-career officer disturbed by his experiences in Desert Storm. Liev Schreiber plays a former squad sergeant, now a vice-presidential candidate and son of a powerful senator (Meryl Streep). An especially fine performance from Jeffrey Wright as a damaged vet suffering hallucinations. Very highest recommendations. R. Movies 12. Online archives. Motorcycle Diaries: In 1952, Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (Gael García Bernal) and pal Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) take a motorcycle trip through the poverty and natural wonder of Latin America. Che Guevara, who had become famous from his association with Fidel Castro, was murdered at the hands of Bolivians in the pay of the CIA a few years later. Highly recommended. R. Bijou. Online archives. Napoleon Dynamite: Jared Hess' indie comedy stars Jon Heder as a high schooler, who lives in Idaho with his grandmother. The Village Voice says, "the film is an epic, magisterially observed pastiche on all-American geekhood, flooring the competition with a petulant shove." PG. Cinema World. Ray: Jamie Foxx plays late, great Ray Charles in this musical, biographical drama, directed by Taylor Hackford. Co-stars Kerry Washington, Regina King, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Dashon Howard, Richard Schiff, Aunjanue Ellis and Sharon Warren. PG-13. Cinema World. Cinemark. See review this issue. Saw: James Wan's bloodthirsty horror tale about a serial killer who commits suicide, leaving would-be victims chained up, stars Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter and Leigh Whannell. R. Cinemark. Shall We Dance: American remake of the sublime Japanese film of the same title. Sorry to report it, but Jennifer Lopez plays the dance teacher and Richard Gere the shy man who learns to dance. See the original to compare to this all-Hollywood effort. PG-13. Cinemark. Cinema World. Shark Tale: In this computer-animated feature, a lovable tropical fish with the voice of Will Smith takes on the underwater Mafia when he assumes responsibility for killing the godfather of the Great White Sharks. Other voices include those of Jack Black, Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie and Martin Scorsese; Eric Bergeron. Directed by Vicky Jenson. PG. Cinemark. Shrek 2: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy return. The newlyweds face Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) and King Harold (John Cleese). Fairy godmother (Jennifer Saunders), Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) and the ferocious Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). Sequel is so-so. PG. Movies 12. Online archives. Spider Man 2: Peter Parker aka Spidey (Tobey Maguire) returns as a college student by day who still loves Kirsten Dunst and a superhero when needed against his new nemesis, Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Sam Raimi directs. Excellent film! See it. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Surviving Christmas: Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara star in this holiday comedy, in which Ben wants so badly to spend Christmas with a family, he goes to his boyhood home, meets the people now living in the house, and buys Christmas with them. PG-13. Cinemark. Taxi: If you've seen the trailer for Tim Story's movie, you'll recognize the inept police detective (Jimmy Fallon) who takes a taxi to work on his cases. Of course, with Queen Latifah behind the wheel, anything can happen. PG-13. Movies 12. Team America: World Police: With animated wooden marionettes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) create an action adventure film about an international police force devoted to global stability and battling bad guys. R. Cinemark. Online archives. Terminal: Steven Spielberg directs Tom Hanks as a tourist who has to live at Kennedy airport because his homeland disappeared in a civil war. He falls in love with Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose comic talent is wasted in a dumb-dame role, while Hanks only works part-time. Too long and too cute. PG-13. Movies 12. Online archives. Therèsé: Inspirational film about Saint Therèsé of Lisieux (1873-1897), who wrote: "Good deeds count as nothing, if done without love." Directed by Leonardo Defilippis and made on a limited budget. PG. Cinema World. Village, The: M. Night Shyamalan's new suspenseful film stars Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, Adrien Brody, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver. PG-13. Movies 12. Wimbledon: Tennis champ (Paul Bettany) is about to retire from the game when he meets American tennis star (Kirsten Dunst), who encourages him to compete at Wimbledon. PG-13. Movies 12.
MOVIE
THEATERS Bijou
Art Cinemas Regal
Cinemas Cinemark
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