Berlinale Forum, 2/8.

It was a snowy and rainy day here in Berlin, perfect for taking in four movies. The day began with a light and breezy Italian romantic comedy from director Davide Ferrario, Dopo mezzanotte (After Midnight). A woman sets off running from the law (for a very comical reason) and ends up hiding out in a film museum where she meets the Buster Keaton-obsessed caretaker who lives and works there. He is so obsessed with Keaton, in fact, he models his entire living quarters after Keaton's homes in his films. Naturally, while hiding out there, the woman and the Keaton fanatic grow close, prompting questions in the woman's mind about her relationship with her boyfriend. Thanks to the ghost of Keaton, the film features heavy dollops of slapstick in addition to a barbed jab at Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. All in all, it's nothing more than fluff, but it is well-made, entertaining fluff.

Niwatori Wa Hadashi Da, (Barefoot Chicken) sports a plot so hokey it would make the Apple Dumpling Gang blush. What starts as a goofy comic drama about a family of separated parents and their disabled son soon turns into a ridiculous caper about stolen cars and police espionage. Since the child is disabled, of course, he can remember every number he ever sees, (just like Rain Man!) especially license plates. He gets wrapped up in the stolen car scheme, there're a lot of shouting and poop and pee jokes, I couldn't take any more and left early. A film to avoid.

The pain continued with Zwölf Stühle (Twelve Chairs) from German director Ulrike Ottinger. I think the intent was madcap fun, but it was neither madcap nor fun. Zwölf Stühle begins with a mother using her last breath to tell her son that she had secretly sewn all of her precious gems into the upholstery of one of the family chairs, which, of course, they no longer own. Thus begins nearly three-and-a-half hours (and oh, it felt longer) of the son searching high and low for the chairs and subsequently ripping them apart. Most distracting to me was the way the film lacked any sort of commitment to any time period. At one point, there's an earthquake, which is referred to as the "Great Quake of 1927," but all of the clothing, furniture, houses and manners suggest the late 1800s. The problem is multiplied by the appearance of modern cars and trains, telephones and graffiti (of Batman, no less!). I can't help thinking that this film should half been half the length, but even then, it would still have been incredibly dull.

The day ended on a high note, with a screening of Infernal Affairs II. Having never seen the original, I have nothing to compare it to, but II is a tense, taut cops and gangsters story from Hong Kong directing team Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. There is a brief introduction before the deceit and double-crossing start flying fast and heavy. It seems everyone is playing both sides of the game, pitting even husbands against wives. This is a stylish, violent thriller with spider-web story lines twisting and spinning all the way to the last second. Not to mention that it features one of the most surprising murder scenes I can remember, causing me and the rest of the audience to actually gasp audibly and flinch in our seats. I'm sure the bloody, back-stabbing fun will continue tomorrow, when I see III.

Til then, Cory.

Posted by dwhudson at February 9, 2004 12:50 PM