Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews
Movie Resources
Concert Reviews
Book Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

The Gene Siskel Film Center has inaugurated a wonderful tradition in the last few years--the European Union Film Festival. The Film Center programs at least one and up to five movies from each country in the EU, from biggies like Great Britain and France and smaller countries such as Portugal and even Luxembourg. Some of the films are slated to be released in Chicago later in the year, while others are making their only appearance. Falling on the opposite side of the calendar from the Chicago International Film Festival, the EU slate brings a welcome festival-type atmosphere to the gray days of March.

This year's lineup is particularly rich, with major directors represented like Lars von Trier, Alain Berliner, and Marco Bellochio, and the star power of Colin Farrell, Peter O'Toole, and Isabelle Adjani. My favorite so far, though, is a little film from Britain with the appropriate title of This Little Life. An 80-minute drama, it centers on a husband and wife, whose baby is born fifteen weeks premature. The film chronicles their travails as they watch it struggle to survive. The movie is especially brilliant in how it captures the impact that sort of situation has on a marriage and on people's own view of themselves and their purpose in life. The acting is wonderfully naturalistic. Peter Mullan, one of my favorite actors, shows up as a doctor and gives another fantastic performance. Another reason I like the movie so much is that it can be appreciated on a number of levels. First, it works just on the level of story, with a riveting and emotionally powerful narrative . The film also raises some provocative moral questions and treats them with the respect they deserve. And it integrates documentary-style footage with some interesting fantasy sequences. It has one more screening on Wed., Mar. 10 at 6:15 p.m., and is worth rearranging your schedule for. four 1/2 (all ratings out of five stars)

Another strong entry is the Italian film I'm Not Scared. A hit in its native country, it's getting a release here in Chicago next month, but you can get a sneak preview this Thursday at 6 p.m. The movie features a family living in the farmlands of Italy in the late '70s. The protagonist, a 10-year-old boy named Michele, discovers a dark secret in his town, a secret that might involve his dad. The film makes wonderful use of child actors, particularly Giuseppe Cristiano as Michele and Mattia Di Pierro as another boy he meets. Their growing friendship rings true, even as the movie introduces some magical realist elements that don't quite do the same. The film is also a strong family drama, as Michele grows to realize who his parents really are.  three 1/2

Good Morning, Night is another worthwhile Italian drama set in the '70s. This one is based on the real-life kidnapping of Prime Minister Aldo Moro. The movie imagines the event from the view of the kidnappers, especially the one female involved (played by the radiant Maya Sansa). Taking place exclusively in one apartment, the film has a strikingly claustrophobic feel, even as it raises issues of international importance, and revisiting the days of the Red Brigade feels especially resonant in our terrorism-obsessed climate. The movie screens on Fri., Mar. 19 (6 p.m.) and Sun., Mar. 21 (3 p.m.). three 1/2

The primary Irish entry isn't as good, unfortunately, though it has a bang-up cast. Intermission stars Colin Farrell, Kelly MacDonald, Colm Meaney, Cillian Murphy, and others in a contemporary Irish setting. Modeled somewhat after Robert Altman's sprawling narratives, the movie tries to offer a slice-of-life look at Dublin life. Characters include a cop, a robber, a tv anchor, a bank manager, several couples, a few parents, and a quadriplegic. The film has some nice moments (any scene with Kelly MacDonald) , but it also has inexplicable inconsistencies in tone. A touching romantic scene is suddenly followed by mayhem, and characters ignore events that came before just to create more dramatic tension. Juggling a cast of a dozen is harder than Altman makes it look, and director John Crowley isn't up to the task. Still, fans of dark humor and anything Irish should enjoy this one. The festival screenings have already taken place, but it opens in Chicago on Mar. 26.   two 1/2

Another movie opening here soon is the lush, French wartime film Bon Voyage. Set just before the fall of Paris in 1940, it features an all-star line-up of Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu, Virginie Ledoyen, and Peter Coyote, along with spectacular production values. Mixing drama, romance, and comedy, director Jean-Paul Rappeneau creates a frothy mixture that will appeal to any fan of middlebrow art. There's not much to think about afterwards, but the ride is splendid. The one festival screening sold out, so the rest of us will have to wait until it opens on Apr. 16.  three 1/2

Every fest seems to have one movie that stinks, almost as a contrast to the rest of the films being shown (would I know what a good film was if there weren't bad ones?). Free Radicals is this year's stinker. An Austrian movie that tries to tell a whole series of inter-locking tales (ala Kieslowski), it instead ends up being a frightful mess. I suspect if the director Barbara Albert had focused on just three or four characters, the movie might've held up. But not the ten to twelve different stories we get. The soundtrack is fun, with a particularly nice use of contemporary music, and some of the acting is solid. But the script has no sense of pace, as major characters disappear for far too long. A little blonde girl is supposed to signify something, but that never takes shape. And the by now cliched airplane and car crashes (both of them!) are trotted out to offer some metaphor for destiny and chance. Unfortunately, the film itself exhibits too much evidence of blind chance and not enough destiny. If you must take a chance, it screens on Thurs., Mar. 11 at 8:15 p.m.  one 1/2

There are a number of other high-profile films coming up. The biggest, by far, is Lars von Trier's Dogville, starring Nicole Kidman. The film opens in Chicago in mid-April, but if you must see it early, it screens for the festival on Mar. 20 and 24. I highly recommend that you get your tickets early, however, as both screenings are certain sell-outs. If you're in the mood for lighter-than-air comedies, you can do worse than Bright Young Things, starring Peter O'Toole, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Broadbent, and Stockard Channing. It shows on Mar. 13 and 18. On the opposite end of the scale is Haute Tension, a high-concept slasher gore-fest (also Mar. 13 and 18--you can make it a double bill!). Alain Berliner, director of the delightful My Life in Pink, returns with The House by the Canal, another exploration of childhood, this one of an older and more sexual nature (Mar. 11). Focusing almost exclusively on sex, director Bruno Dumont follows a couple through the desert of the U.S. southwest in Twentynine Palms. The film inspired walkouts galore in Toronto, but it also has its champions among the cineastes. You can decide for yourself on Mar. 20 and 22.

There are a host of other fine movies showing in the next few weeks. Check out a schedule at www.artic.edu/webspaces/siskelfilmcenter/2004/march/eu.htm.

J. Robert Parks