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NEWS OF ATHENS' CINEMA SCENE
Looking at Love: The last two films I've seen
have dealt with the subject of romantic love
in about as differently as can be imagined.
One is a well-oiled, smoothly functioning and
highly effective quasi-Hollywood tearjerker-
romance. The other is a much grittier, wholly
unsentimental independent film that examines
the workings of its central relationship with
often uncomfortable intimacy.
The virtues of Never Let Me Go, a scar-
studded, achingly tragic British production
still playing at Cin£ at least through Dec. 2,
are completely legitimate, if not exactly earth-
shattering; I'm puzzled by Drew Wheeler's
assessment in last week's Flagpole that it's
remote, uninterested in the audience's emo
tional connection with its characters and
lacking in heart. True, the film's color palette
is foggy and glum, as befits its dour settings
and subject matter, and its engagement with
the confused, often violent emotional lives
of its main characters is stoic, though no
more so than, say, most mainstream French
comedies'.
as the couple's intense, precarious relationship
reaches a point of crisis that is both deeply
personal and hilariously mundane during an
"idyllic" vacation in Sardinia. It's a brilliant
film, full of incisive observations about the
mystery, mistrust, irrationality and horror of
being two people in love. If Cine's going to
have another German film festival, and I hope
it will, this should be on a very short list for
consideration.
Ah, Yes. Cine: If you've been into the first
two installments of the "Millennium trilogy,"
based on the internationally successful novels
by Stieg Larsson, be sure to catch the final
one, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest,
currently playing at the downtown art house.
Also at Cine now is Waiting for "Superman",
the new documentary by Davis Guggenheim,
who directed An Inconvenient Truth, not Al
Gore. The film takes a hard look at the enor
mous challenges facing American public edu
cation, and some of its conclusions have been
met with sharp criticism by education scholars
Michael Apted’s 49 Up is showing at the ACC Public Library Dec. 9 as part of the ifilms series.
But I think director Mark Romanek and his
young cast do a fine job of slogging through
the impotence and frustration inherent in
the characters' situation—especially Keira
Knightley, who wears her raw hurt and des
peration like a mask long before the painful
wonderful scene of her bitterly frank confes
sion to her two best friends, which sends them
on a brief, futile quest for hope and justice
in a cold utopia where neither is available to
them. Far from a film with no heart, this is
one whose heart is broken almost into silence.
I think Drew should see it again.
Everyone Else, a thrillingly difficult roman
tic comedy by the German writer-director
Maren Ade, is a film Tve waited to see since I
read the first few paragraphs (didn't want to
spoil it!) of Kent Jones' essay about it in Film
Comment over a year ago, just before it was
shown at the New York Film Festival It played
a few more festivals in the U.S., got a the
atrical run in New York last April, and wasn't
available to rubes like me until its U.S. release
on DVD a few weeks ago. Another instance,
sadly, of a small film being greeted with criti
cal excitement yet still getting interminably
suspended in the shitty tangle of 21st cen
tury "alternative" distribution.
As for the movie itself, it simply has to be
seen. Ade burrows into the gaping insecurities
of her main characters (played with terrifying
honesty by Birgit Minkhayr and tars Hidinger)
and professionals. Some of those, presumably
representing a variety of perspectives on the
film, will be present for what should be a fas
cinating and lively panel discussion follow
ing the 7:15 screening Wednesday, Dec. 1
presented by Teach for America, CinSClub and
"Aderhold," which I assume means the UGA
College of Education. Conviction, with Hilary
Swank, and Cairo Time, a romantic drama
featuring the marvelous Patricia Clarkson, are
both scheduled to open Dec. 10. Go to www.
athensdne.com to leam more.
Don't Miss This: Neil Rosenbaum has com
pleted his documentary Sing My Troubles By:
Visits with Georgia Women Carrying Their
Musical Traditions into the 21st Century.
Those filmed visits are carried out by Neil's
father, Athens artist folklorist and musirian
Art Rosenbaum. Both men will be present for
a pair of evening screenings at Cine Monday,
Dec. 6, and will hold a Q&A session with audi
ence members. The event will also include live
performances by musirians featured in the
film. Check Cinq's website for more details.
A Upcoming iFilms screenings at the ACC
Library are The Calling on Dec, 2 and 49 Up
Dec. 9. See www.clarke.public.lib,ga.us for
more info. Happy hoUdays, everybody!
Daw Mart film&tfiagpoie com
14 FLAGPOLE.COM • DECEMBER 1,2010