Protest Update

2 pm walkabout in downtown DC revealed---nothing. Zip. Zero. How boring. How disappointing. Nothing going on in front of the World Bank. One middle-aged guy in a t-shirt and clown pants wearing a football helmet was being interviewed by a Japanese tv crew and said that the police were overreacting. But there was nothing to react to. The cops--and there were a lot of them--were just standing around. Except for the Japanese, the tv crews weren't doing much of anything either. And there were a few gawkers, like me. So I walked over to the White House. Same thing. Lots of police, no protestors. I did talk to three young women from Long Island University who were holding anti-war signs, but they were pretty much the whole thing. They said that most of the action had taken place in Freedom Plaza earlier in the day, as this WaPo article reported. Almost 600 people were arrested, so maybe that cut down on the fun by the time I got out there. A protest was planned for the afternoon in front of the Gap in G-town. (Apparently, it's going to be a "nude-in," with demonstrators taking their clothes off. I'll try to get some photos.) So, that was about it. Downtown is quiet, but other than that it's pretty much same as always: tourists, businessmen, bike messengers hanging out in the squares, homeless people talking to themselves. Only difference was, a lot more police. That was, I admit, somewhat intimidating, especially the heavily armed Park Police, who were not at all like Ranger Smith. I think Satufday will be more active.

So Should I See This Movie or Not?

Moonlight Mile, staring Dustin Hoffman as Ben and Susan Sarandon as JoJo, the parents of a murdered woman and Jake Gyllenhaal as Joe, the woman's fiancee.

Salon: Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Jake Gyllenhaal anchor a dazzling true-life comedy that might be the funniest movie about grief ever made.

Slate: Death Takes a Quaalude: Moonlight Mile is the worst film of the year

A few comparisons:

Salon: "Moonlight Mile" is a blessed relief because it doesn't treat grieving as a cottage industry, recognizing that although grief has certain universal attributes, everyone's sorrow also has its own complex, fine-grained texture.

Slate: I'm at a loss to account for how off this film is—how a movie can seem so conscientiously earnest yet so creepily exploitive. It's like a Christmas stocking over a crematory.

Salon: "Moonlight Mile" is a prime example of a picture that survives (and maybe even thrives on) the whole brutal Hollywood moviemaking process and doesn't leave its heart at the door.

Slate: Yuck. It's not the touches of comedy in a story framed by grief. It's the combination of the maudlin and the arch. Joe [the main character] is like a Woody Allen character amid the Gentiles, and in this context his eye-rolling higher consciousness is repellent. And when Silberling [the director] turns him into a fount of truth, his candor inspiring the parents to face up to their past and move on, the movie becomes an affront to the living and the dead.

Salon: [O]ne of the most surprising qualities of "Moonlight Mile" is how strangely energizing it is.

Slate: Moonlight Mile is like In the Bedroom (2001) made sweet and uplifting. It's even more vomitous than what Silberling did to Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire (1988), which he remade as City of Angels (1998) with Nicolas Cage as an angel who becomes fully human only when the woman he loves (Meg Ryan) celebrates their impending nuptials by bicycling into a truck.

Almighty Kofi

Today's Journal points out that some Christian leaders have apothesized the UN:

The Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, expressed the Holy See's view that any decision to use force "must come about through a decision taken within the framework of the United Nations." This is the same U.N. that the Catholic Church challenges (rightly, we think) when it pushes for population control and a world-wide right to abortion.

Protestant clerics have also found a higher moral authority in Kofi Annan. General Secretary Jim Winkler of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society -- the denomination to which both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney belong -- has stated flatly that "no member nation has the right to take unilateral military action without the approval of the U.N. Security Council."

Ditto for 37 British, Canadian and American members of the World Council of Churches Central Committee...

Whatever one thinks about Mr. Bush's alleged "unilateralism," at least he's democratically elected, which is more than you can say about much of the General Assembly. Any institution that hails Yasser Arafat, who built a career on terror, is nobody's moral exemplar.

As for the Security Council, one of its permanent members is China. Leave aside the murders in Tiananmen Square and Buddhist Tibet. In China, many of the co-religionists of those clerics who now place so much trust in the Security Council are harassed, jailed and sometimes killed. Catholics loyal to the Pope remain persecuted, as are Protestants whose only crime is reading the Bible, without official authorization, in their own homes. Last December five members of an evangelical sect were sentenced to death in secret trials. This persecution goes well beyond Christians, as members of the outlawed Falun Gong can grimly attest.

Russia, another Security Council member, has its own issues with religion: Non-Russian-Orthodox from Pentecostals to the Salvation Army have faced restrictive registration laws against the exercise of their faiths.

Who's a Jew?

This report from the JTA on a new census of American Jews shows the tenuous nature of Jewish identification. The compiler of the census claims that there are

6.7 million Jews out of 288 million Americans, far higher than the closest, most recent estimate of 6.1 million American Jews... and that 2.5 million Americans are a subgroup “socially or psychologically connected” with Judaism, though they are not Jews themselves. This group includes people who are practice Judaism “as a secondary religion,” or aspects of Judaism in addition to their primary religion; who were raised Jews or have a Jewish parent but now practice another religion; call Judaism their ethnicity or culture but practice another religion; or have a Jewish partner or spouse... and that 4.1 million more Americans have at least one ancestor — “a grandparent or beyond” — who is Jewish.

What is practicing Judaism as a "secondary" religion mean? Or practicing "aspects" of Judaism"? Or practicing another religion to the exclusion of Judaism, but considering oneself still ethnically Jewish? Where does that leave people--i.e., converts--who practice Judaism but aren't ethnically Jewish? And did the author include Jews for Jesus? Why, or why not?

I can see an argument that including these people in a larger, sociological definition of the Jewish community might have some benefit when trying to work to reduce anti-Semitism or increase support for Israel. But that people see the definition of "Jewish" as malleable and open to individual interpretation is alarming. Halakha is the only sure guide to Jewish identity and continuity.

The article does make this point:

Jonathan Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, said both Tobin’s study and the upcoming [National Jewish Popluation Survey] NJPS will show that, in fact, the numbers of “strictly halachic” Jews are declining. If nothing else, that raises troubling questions about the future of American Jewish political influence, Sarna said. While Sarna said Tobin’s rosier portrait is not based on “utter nonsense,” since “vast numbers” of Americans today are indeed tied in some way to Jews, that does not say much about the future of American Jewry...20 million American also have ties to French Huegenots, a culture that died out, he added. “Many of these people who have a piece of Jewish heritage” aren’t selecting that piece and “see no reason why Judaism should be central to them or their children,” he said.

Report on the Toronto Film Festival

From a friend, Alidog. Hey, the description of this blog does include "pop culture." But I have to be somewhat political--Alidog apparently didn't see the anti-American 9-11 movie,which I've noted(top of page), a couple of times (middle of the page, 8/28). Also, Bruce Campbell (middle of page, post entitled "Who Wants Some!") was there:

Mediocre or one of the best ever; reports varied on the quality of this
year's slate of movies at the Toronto International Film Festival. My festival
experience this year was just ok, the first time ever that I did not
see something truly mindblowing - no masterpieces. However, I did see a lot
of good films that may or may not be released within the next year or so. So
here it is, your annual report - this year very skimpy on content - for film
details - check imdb.com.

Note: One update from previous fests: Spring Forward (1999), a small
indie by Tom Gilroy starring Ned Beatty and Liev Schrieber, has just come out
on DVD. Make a point of renting this dialogue-driven gem about two men, one at
the end of his career, one just starting out, who bond over the course of a
year on the job. Production credits are very good and the acting is excellent.


Bubba Ho-Tep - directed by don coscarelli, who gave us phantasm IV,
comes this fun romp with the inimitable Bruce Campbell(!!!) playing a geriatric
elvis (the true king baby!) who teams up with Ossie Davis (who believes that he is
JFK) to defeat a soul-sucking mummy that is preying on nursing home residents.
Although the climax was lacking, this is a tour-de-force for Campbell, he is the
KING! If this comes within 50 miles of you (or more) go see it (still seeking
distributor). A must for Campbell fans (which all of you should be. else, shame!
and learn grasshoppers).

The Eye - made by the Pang Brothers, Hong Kong's answer to the
Wachowski Bros, moody suspenser follows a blind woman who, after having cornea
transplants, see the dead. Fine fun, with a kicky opening credit sequence. Word on the
street (could be bs) is that Tom Cruise has optioned this for remake. Other
than a hokey love interest that appears shoehorned into the script with a
ballpeen hammer, this is a solid work.

Spun - Jonas Akerlund of music videodom, brings quick, slap dash
video-editing and style to Jason Schwartzman's(Rushmore) lost weekend methamphetamine
binge. Film contains lots of lewdness, requisite drug use, nudity, bondage,
etc etc, and animation. Cast is top notch, including John Leguizamo (who of
course has some of the best scenes), mena suvari, brittany murphy, an arquette,
debbie harry(!), eric roberts and others of note, and features Mickey Rourke
as the cook! Not for the squeamish, but good adult fun.

Auto Focus - dir by Paul schrader (Affliction, writer of several
classics) starring Greg Kinnear as Bob Crane and Willem Dafoe as his swinging
partner in crime. This film is filthy! Chock full o' porn! You kiddies won't see
the unrated version I got a gander at, but never fear, there is more than
enuf that will pass the censors. Biopic abt the downfall of family man bob crane,
who after starting on Hogan's heroes goes on a downward spiral of sex
addiction. Kinnear is fantastic and dafoe is creepy (as usual). Again NOT FOR THE
SQUEAMISH. Do not go see this with your parents, inlaws or children.
But do see it. Naughty!

Gerry- dir by Gus Van Sant (good will hunting, to die for, but also
even cowgirls get the blues), "starring" casey affleck and matt damon.
Public Service Announcement!: whatever any smarty pants reviewer or film professor sez
(and I have one such, a friend, who calls it so) this is NOT a masterpiece,
this is torture. A film about how one wrong turn can change your life, film
tracks 2 friends on an idle hike who go off the path, get lost and wander the
desert for days. Sitting though this film felt like days.

Nada (Nothing More) - Cool spanish-cuban coprod that combines elements
of buster keaton, kafka, and various screwball comedies. Follows a young cuban
postal worker who takes to rewriting ho-hum letters passing through her office
into romantic or spiritual epics. Filmed in b&w with colored sequences.
Visually interesting and gives us a look at Cuba without the polemics. Well
worth a visit.

The Intended - dir by kristian levring, stars janet mcteer, olympia
dukakis, brenda fricker and jj field. A cross between Red Dust (if you haven't
seen this film, get on it - precode dazzler by v. fleming with Jean Harlow and
clark gable- hot!) and Conrad' Heart of Darkness, film follows a may december
couple (mcteer as the older woman) trying to make money in malaysia in the
1920's at a small english compound populated by a sinister group of people.
Mcteer's luminous eyes in the jungle night were frankly terrifying. This film is
not Dogme, but it sure seemed like it. Olympia Dukakis was beyond creepy.
A tough row to hoe, but a good film.

Lost in LaMancha - a blast. Documentary about the failed making of "The
man who killed don quixote" by Terry Gilliam (the man who brought you 12
monkeys, fisher king as well as baron munchausen etc). The problems with this film's
production are the problems of every production (cast issues, locations, sets,
money, etc) writ LARGE! The only thing that didn't happen appears to have been a
plague of locusts. If you are into Gilliam, the filmmaking process or seeing a
disaster occur, (or just want to see johnny depp wrestle with a fish) check this
film out. it is excellent.

The Quiet American - directed by phillip noyce (who also has this
year's "Rabbit-Proof Fence" a reported must see - i couldn't get a ticket) and
starring Michael Caine and Brendan Frazier. Based on g. greene's novel, film
focuses on the triangle relationship between the 2 white men and the beautiful
Vietnamese woman they both love/want to possess as an allegory for the western
presence in Vietnam in the context of growing American involvement in Vietnam
(early 1950s). This film garnered an array of reviews from sucks to fantastic. I've
never read the book or seen the previous film version which seems to underpin a
lot of the fuss. The film beautifully shot (in Ho Chi Minh) and Michael Caine
feels that it is the best work he has ever done. Go see if you agree. He is sure, at
this point, of an oscar nod for this role and a nom for cinematograhy is
likely.

Tuck Everlasting directed by Jay Russell (My Dog Skip) and starring
alexis Bleidel, sissy spacek, ben kingsley, william hurt, amy irving - i could
go on...Based on my dog skip, and the huge cast I had really high hopes
for this family film, that were mercilessly dashed by a cruel, excessive use of
slo-mo and treacly voiceovers. This film looked gorgeous exteriors and
costuming were excellent but it was utterly devoid of soul. Try and find the 1980
version that stars noone who ever did anything else and achieved much more. This
version is Disney Sunday night at best (since disney made it, i shouldn't be
surprised).

Welcome to Collinwood - starring a bevy a huge stars and first rate
character actors, including george clooney, sam rockwell and william h. macy,
this very little film has some really funny bits and gags, but is all over the
place, has too many characters that aren't developed or are overdeveloped at the
expense of those others, and ultimately doesn't pay-off. it is worth it for the
surreal, comedy aspects. Certainly not bad, but wait for the video - unless you
are looking for something frothy.

The Heart of Me - Period (1930s-40s) drawing room drama from the brits
(you know the type - wings of the dove, howard's end etc) starring helena bonham
carter, olivia williams and paul bettany. Women play 2 sisters in love with the
same man, who has married the one and has an affair with the other. It's all
so very serious, the acting is superb, production top-notch and story
overwrought melodrama. It didn't produce a sniffle from me (what, you think it has
a happy ending???), so it's a miss in my book. Good video rental.

Ma Vraie Vie a Rouen - small french film from the makers of Jeanne et
le garcon formidable (fantastic you must see this film) whose conceit is that the
film, shot in digital on a handycam, is the diary of the main character, who
you only see when someone else, or a tripod has the camera. Sweet coming of age
story runs a bit (20 min) too long but is really well done and really shows
how good tech credits can be using even home digital equipment.

The Last Great Wilderness - directed by first timer David MacKenzie and
written by him and his brother alastair (who stars, and is the yummy lead on
BBC's monarch of the glen - catch this on BBCAmerica - better stuff than this
fall's drivel). Film is an odd mishmash of roadtrip gone wrong, crazy people
in the woods...all reports indicate it is a typical weekend in scotland. This
is a little film and is mainly of interest because, MacKenzie is already
shooting a big budget star vehicle, so this will give insight on how it all
started.

Spirited Away- I didn't see this, but everyone else did and said -
terrific stuff! from the director of Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery
Service. This is out and you have seen the laudatory reviews. Get you to a theatre!