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Sunday 08/10/08

1:00 PM Sundance
Gone (2007 AUS-GB): This week's third film from the Land Down Under is Gone, a thriller about a pair of British backpackers who make an unfortunate acquaintance in the outback of Australia. The couple are Alex and Sophie (Shaun Evans and Amelia Warner), who meet American weirdo Taylor (Scott Mechlowicz) when he offers them a ride. Willing to overlook his odd behavior if it saves them a little shoe leather, the twosome soon find themselves the target of Taylor's fiendishly malevolent mind games. Not unlike the similarly themed Aussie shocker Wolf Creek, Gone will have you reconsidering your next backpacking trip in favor of something a little less challenging — like perhaps a trip to the Sydney Opera House.

4:15 PM IFC
The Bridge (2006 USA): This documentary about suicide attempts from atop the Golden Gate Bridge was a real audience and critic-divider when it debuted at the 2006 San Francisco Film Festival, but count me firmly in the pro camp. Utilizing footage shot over the course of an entire year by two cameras shooting from dusk to dawn, director Eric Steel's film crew recorded almost two dozen successful suicides — and prevented a further six, as they immediately reported any suspicious behavior to the California Highway Patrol. There are elements of horror, despair, and even grim beauty in this powerful and gut-wrenching film, which in my opinion was easily the best documentary of 2006.

Monday 08/11/08

9:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
A Prize of Gold (1955 GB): A rarely seen Richard Widmark vehicle, A Prize of Gold stars the recently deceased actor as Joe Lawrence, an Army M.P. stationed in post-war Berlin. Lawrence falls for German refugee Maria (Mai Zetterling), who's barely surviving thanks to the thieving efforts of her street urchin son (Andrew Ray). When a shipment of purloined Nazi gold hoves into sight — destination, London — Joe decides to lend Maria a helping hand by skimming a few bars off the top, but begins to have second thoughts about his plan when co-conspirator Brian Hammill (Nigel Patrick) decides he wants a hefty slice of the pie. Unwisely shot in Technicolor, A Prize of Gold is a minor entry in Widmark's filmography, but he's always a pleasure to watch, and Patrick delivers a devilishly fine performance, too.

6:30 PM Sundance
Who Needs Sleep? (2006 USA): Made by erstwhile director Haskell Wexler — not really a household name since 1969's Medium Cool — Who Needs Sleep? is a pointed polemic about the dangers of overwork and lack of rest in the go-go world of modern-day moviemaking. Inspired by the death of colleague Brent Hershman, victimized in a fatal car crash fueled by 19-hour work days on the set of the film Pleasantville, Wexler made Who Needs Sleep? to persuade union bosses and studio bigwigs to adopt maximum 12-hour work shifts. (Though the legal work week consists of 40 hours by federal law, overtime rules allow on-set film crew members to consistently broach those limits—in contrast to rules in Italy, where no more than four hours of overtime a week are permitted.) While we learn that some filmmakers — such as the Coen Brothers and Clint Eastwood — don't abuse their crews in this manner, they're the exceptions to the rule. We tend to think of Hollywood as a place where spoiled, pampered brats gets the kid glove treatment, and while that may be true for a select few, the truth is that most men and women consigned to the credit crawl are often treated worse than animal actors when it comes to time off. Not one for the Right-to-Work crowd.

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