_LeoTheMaster's Talk

Whale Rider

An aura of enchanting beauty, this film is as poignant and as powerful as the Maori Legend. This is the story of 12-year-old Paikea "Pai" Apirana who, although a girl, is the spiritual heir to her Ngati Porou tribe.

Yet her grandfather Koro, the local custodian of his people's centuries and-old- culture, cannot see the truth that dances magically infront of him. He can't see how blessed he is to have such an extraordinary granddaughter. He, instead bequeaths his leadership to the son of another.

Pai however, finds the strength to challenge her family and embraces a thousand years of tradition in order to fulfill her destiny--her calling for her Ngati Porou tribe--and hence, trains herself in the ways and customs of her people.

Filmed quite naturally in and around the seaside village of Whangara, Whale Rider captures the very essence of the clash between traditional values and the modern world without ever using a heavy hand. Keisha Castle-Hughes as Pai is mesmerizing. Rawiri Paratene as Koro seems to personify the film's entire conflict in his weathered face.

One of the most touching scene is when tears stream down Pai cheeks as she chokes trying to get all the words out correctly of the ancient Maori songs to impress her grandfather, as well as her songs of encouragement to the whales. She was so sure that he would be there, that he would come, but he hasn't...

This is a brilliant film through and through.

Yentl

This is La Streisand's show from opening to end credits. If you love Barbara, you'll love this flick, especially when she sings 'Papa, Can You Hear Me?' with full emotive expression. This film is her long-cherished adaptation of Isaac Basheviis Singer's short story, 'Yentl, The Yeshiva Boy.' As well as directing and starring, she produced, and she is the only person who gets to sing, despite the presence of renowned musical star Patinkin.

Yentl (Streisand) is a young woman who wants nothing more than to study the Talmud, something forbidden to women. When her father dies, she cuts off her hair and convinces a Jewish school that she is a man so she can satisfy her hunger for knowledge. Things get complicated, however, when she becomes close to fellow student Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), eventually falling in love with him, although she can not reveal her true self as she would then be expelled. Avigdor is in love with Hadass (Amy Irving), but religious law forbids him from marrying her.

Granted, this flick is not everyone's cup of tea, and many of my Flixster friends have avoided to watch it. Yet, looking at the other side of a coin, this story of a woman who yearns to study, who lives in a culture that says study is only for men then disguises herself as a man in order to get that education is a story of a strong woman who breaks the gender roles of her time, and a tangled love story. What was typically the male role has been blurred and practically obliterated as well as captures the essence of the Jewish woman's eternal struggle. It describes a woman's search for freedom and her discovery not only of love but of herself. My dear Barbra captures the character beautifully, the songs and the expression in her eyes and voice displaying clearly the feelings of a woman struggling for knowledge and love but torn between her desire to learn and the tradition of her religion.

As expected, the music and songs in Yentl received four Academy Award nominations, including two Best Songs. While David Watkin's photography is evocatively poetic, the film's pacing is overly reverential. Still, Streisand's voice very much remains her trademark.

Cheri

Cheri is set in pre World War 1 France and aging courtesan Lea (Michelle Pfeiffer) and pampered dandy Cheri (Rupert Friend) form an unlikely romance. What begins as a fascination soon develops into a passionate, yet clandestine love affair that lasts six years.

Charlotte (Kathy Bates) plays Cheri's mother, who surmises to Lea that there is only one thing missing from her life of luxurious hotels, dutiful servants and opulent surrounding -- grandchildren. Charlotte plans a wedding for Cheri and a lovely 18-year-old daughter of another courtesan rival, tearing Cheri and Lea apart.

Cheri is a beautiful, lavish film that is touching, yet understated. Lea is a woman in the throes of a once-in-a-lifetime passion - but underlying all that is the sense of someone who really knows herself. It's a virtue of maturity wholly lacking in Cheri, as a young man in no position to know his own heart, because he doesn't know himself.

There's something in this film--anyone who has ever fallen in love with someone they just could not have is something poignant and deeply moving, and even a sign of perhaps defeat?

I read the book many years ago, and I appreciate both the film and the book but there were some distinct differences and I found merit in those differences. The film is more lyrical and emotional while the book was a lot more restrained, subtle and made you consider the issues more. My theory is that when you read the book and watch the film you get everything you can out of that story, the intellectual part and the human emotional part.

Also if you have read the book first it is sometimes hard not to be disappointed by the film. Sometimes it is hard to break that down. But books and films are different artforms and you have to expect different things to happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCUdEXqiNZ0

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

There are more emotional punches delivered in this drama than in a heavyweight boxing championship match.

Elizabeth was a decade or so too young for her role as the foulmouthed yet seductive wife, and Richard, the perpetual weakling husband, gets revenge on her. For Taylor, it's a brave try for playing the shrewish and vulgar Martha, yet Burton was better as George, the vitriolic and defeated husband with whom Martha shares a night of invective and bitter revelation.

The film is Edward Albee's dissection of a turbulent marriage, and how it is mercilessly exposed. It is quite the indictment against marriage, especially after the love has died. It's far from the whole story of marriage. There are many who stay married longer than George and Martha and happily. But it wasn't in Edward Albee's life experience to draw from.

Some memorable quotes:

Martha: Is that a threat George, huh?
George: It's a threat, Martha.
Martha: You're gonna get it, baby.
George: Be careful Martha. I'll rip you to pieces.
Martha: You're not man enough. You haven't the guts.
George: Total war.
Martha: Total.

I guess the theory is almost true to itself: the late night and the liquor bring out the worst in everybody. A whole lot of ugly truths get told.

Seven Sinners

In Seven Sinners, Marlene plays a second rate singer called Bijou Blance who appears in various Pacific Island bars, with a drunken ship's doctor, a pickpocket and devoted sailor called Little Ned(Broderick Crawford) in tow. The four of them are deported regularly and go in search of another island.

In one of the islands, Bijou finally meets navy lieutenant Bruce (John Wayne), who falls hopelessly in love with her and who, for her sake, would give up his navy job. To prevent that, she involves him in a brawl and then disappears with her hangers-on.

The film is an action-packed, two-fisted melodrama and Dietrich's role as Bijou Blanche is a tasteful satire on the Sadie Thompsons of the world. You'll find the tough, glamorous, eloquent demi-mondaine Dietrich. And forgetting all the svelte mannerisms which made her one of the screen's most wooden actresses for a number of years, she cuts loose in this film with a perfect impersonation of a high-class slattern. Her throaty voice gave the song 'I've Been In Love Before (Haven't You?)' just the interpretation it needed.

Of course, John Wayne and the entire supporting cast played with verve. The production sets, photography and musical score are typical of Universal. And for it's era, the flick is a fine and stunning example of romantic melodrama that can be enjoyed once more in today's modern generation.