TiVoPlex
By John Seal
October 24, 2011
Wednesday 10/26/11
11:45 AM Showtime
Even the Rain (2009): Directed by Iciar Bollain, whose 2003 feature Te doy mis ojos (Take My Eyes) examined the literally tortuous relationship between a woman and her abusive husband, Even the Rain is similarly provocative stuff. The film reunites Bollain with Take My Eyes star Luis Tovar, here cast as Costa, a film mogul whose current production is an historical drama about the conquest and enslavement of indigenous South Americans by Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Empire. Costa is a cold-blooded realist: all he cares about is completing the film on time and for as little money as possible. Sebastian (Gael Garcia Bernal), the film within a film’s director, is an idealist: he hopes to create something that will be important both politically and artistically. The two have brought their crew to Cochabamba, an Andean city run by a racist mayor who tells them, “If we give one inch, the Indians will drag us back to the stone age.” It seems that the centuries old struggle between Anglos and Indians hasn’t quite ended yet! There is much here to savor, including scenes reminiscent of the best of Werner Herzog and Costa-Gavras, Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie, and Jorge Sanjines’ Yawar Maliku (Blood of the Condor). There’s also a superb performance by Karra Elejalde as Anton, the hard-drinking actor playing Christopher Columbus in the film within a film, and screenwriter Paul Laverty (who, I suspect, "appears" in an off-screen cameo as one of Costas’ investors) bravely negotiates some tricky narrative shoals. Also airs at 2:45 PM.
9:15 PM Encore Suspense
A Crime (2006 FRA-USA): Harvey Keitel headlines this solid if somewhat plodding suspenser that makes up with its cast what it lacks in full-throated action. Harvey plays Roger, a Big Apple cab driver assisting French ingénue Alice (Emmanuelle Beart) in her efforts to solve a crime. Alice’s motives, however, are not the purest: by discovering the party responsible for the murder of her neighbor, she hopes to win the affection of still grieving widower Vincent (Norman Reedus). Shot on location in Brooklyn during the winter months, A Crime looks great and features a spare but effective score by the legendary and still very busy Ennio Morricone.
Thursday 10/27/11
12:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Undercurrent (1949 USA): Here’s something you don’t see every day: a thriller where the beleaguered heroine is played by Katharine Hepburn! Now, don’t get me wrong - I enjoy those Hepburn-Tracy comedies as much as the next man - but Katie just doesn’t project the same vulnerability as, say, Gloria Grahame or Ingrid Bergman. That said, Undercurrent is surprisingly good, with Hepburn essaying the role of Ann Hamilton, a newlywed who suspects scientist hubby Alan (Robert Taylor) is planning to knock her off. Can Alan’s brother Michael (Robert Mitchum) dissuade her from her paranoid delusions - or is this one hysterical dame who’s actually on the right track? Co-starring Edmund Gwenn, Marjorie Main, and (in her first big-screen appearance) Jayne Meadows, Undercurrent also marks one of the all too rare occasions when director Vincente Minnelli eschewed colorful widescreen musicals in favor of something a little darker.
Friday 10/28/11
1:00 PM Fox Movie Channel
Le Metamorphose de Cloporte (1965 FRA-ITA): I was breathless with excitement when this film popped up on Fox a few weeks ago, but if you missed it then here’s another opportunity to scope it out. Lino Ventura is outstanding as Alphonse, a French crook who takes the fall for a robbery, allowing his colleagues in crime to escape with the ill-gotten gains. Upon completion of his prison term, Lino determines to track down his old chums and get his fair share of the loot—but it proves to be a tricky task indeed. Airing in widescreen and with subtitles, this outstanding black and white crime drama (roughly translated, The Change of the Sow Bugs) is essential viewing - and pay particular attention to its opening and closing shots!
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