September 2004 Indie Preview
By Dan Krovich
While September tends to be a dumping ground for major studio releases, there can often be several gems as September and October tends to be the time of year when smaller films with Oscar hopes begin slipping into theaters. These are the films that may not have the most obvious award pedigree so they must try to gain some momentum in the autumn months before the big holiday behemoths hit the multiplexes. Over the past five years Lost in Translation, Spirited Away, Almost Famous, and American Beauty have used the September launching pad to varying degrees of success. There’s more than just the Oscar hopefuls, though. Even if you often have to sift through the garbage a bit more in September, here are ten films you might want to check out.
1) The Motorcycle Diaries
You want to see it if you are interested in the September release most likely to make noise come awards season. Director Walter Salles has already directed an Oscar nominated film (Central Station, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film and added a Best Actress nomination for Fernanda Montenegro) and The Motorcycle Diaries has been garnering praise throughout the year at the major film festivals. The story of a pre-Revolutionary Che Guevera will likely be appealing to award voters, giving it a chance in the Foreign Film, Screenplay, Director, Acting, and even Best Picture categories if it can catch a wave and then hold off the heavy hitters that will open in December.
2) Silver City
You want to see it if you are a John Sayles fan. After having his biggest success with Lone Star in 1996, John Sayles’ follow up films haven’t received the same notoriety. Silver City re-teams Sayles with Chris Cooper (now an Oscar winner) in the story of a not-too-bright Conservative from a political powerful family who is running for Governor of Colorado. Sayles stays close to his political and social roots as it’s not too hard to figure who his thinly veiled target is in this political satire.
3) A Dirty Shame
You want to see it if you have been waiting for John Waters to get really raunchy again. After making a few films that could be considered a bit more mainstream and having one of his films turned into a runaway Broadway hit, perhaps John Waters could be accused of going a little soft. His latest film about a Baltimore housewife who turns into a sex addict after receiving a blow to the head aims to counter those claims by receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA.
4) Remember Me, My Love
You want to see it if you are a fan of The Last Kiss. Okay, so you probably didn’t see The Last Kiss, but it was one of my favorite films of 2002, which makes me interested in director Gabriele Muccino’s follow up. He again takes a look at the modern upper middle class Italian family with the story of a husband and father who meets up with his long lost high school sweetheart and begins an affair, a theme also covered in The Last Kiss. Of course, the “other woman” is played by Monica Bellucci, so it’s hard to blame him.
5) The Yes Men
You want to see it if you’re up for an entertaining political documentary that is not aimed squarely at the United States presidential election. The filmmaking team that brought you American Movie returns with a film about a group of activist/pranksters, The Yes Men; in particular, two men who impersonated members of the World Trade Organization. They appeared at numerous conferences and even in a televised interview on CNBC posing as representatives of the group they opposed, bringing a sense of humor to their deadly serious activism.
6) Head in the Clouds
You want to see it unless you’re the lead singer of Third Eye Blind. Real life couple Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend (Theron started the relationship after breaking up with Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins) play lovers in this period romantic drama that takes place in the time leading up to and during the Second World War. Australian director has had mixed results in the past (see Flirting and Lawn Dogs for successes), and teaming him with a talented cast, including Oscar’s current leading lady, Theron, looks promising.
7) Reconstruction
You want to see it if you like Cannes Award winners. Dutch filmmaker, Christoffer Boe’s film was the winner of the Best Debut Film award at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. When Alex, who is in a seemingly happy relationship, is drawn to a woman he meets by chance, their romantic interlude causes a seeming rift in space and time, removing all memory of Alex from his loved ones and everything about his life ceases to exist. Alex must reconstruct his previous life or move forward with his new one.
8) Testosterone
You want to see it if you are interested in seeing former Calvin Klein model Antonio Sabato, Jr.’s penis. A successful graphic novelist (David Sutcliffe) has been suffering from writer’s block ever since his Argentine lover (Sabato Jr.) went out to buy some cigarettes and never came back, so he sets off to Buenos Aires to find him and gain some closure. Of course, the main draw for a large portion of the audience will be a curiosity to see what’s under Sabato Jr.’s Calvins.
9) When Will I Be Loved
You want to see it if you’re feeling nostalgic for Indecent Proposal. In a plot that sounds reminiscent to the 1993 Demi Moore/Robert Redford/Woody Harrelson film, Neve Campbell plays a young woman whose boyfriend pimps her out for one night to a wealthy businessman. She’s not so naïve, however, and turns femme fatale on the two gentlemen who think they are using her. Director James Toback is no stranger to films about sexual politics, having directed a film with a variation on the romantic geometry in Two Girls and a Guy in 1997.
10) Zelary
You want to see it if you are looking for a guaranteed Oscar nominee. That’s because this Czech film has already received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film earlier this year. Now getting a U.S. release, the film is a romance set against the anti-Nazi Czech resistance in the 1940s.
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