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SNOW
CAKE
Alex (Alan Rickman), a dry Brit with a past, becomes stuck
in a snowy nowhere town in Canada after a hitchhiker he picks
up dies next to him in a car crash. He ends up looking after
the dead girl's autistic mother, Linda (Sigourney Weaver),
with whom he develops an unlikely friendship, and excites
the rest of the local women, particularly pretty neighbor
Maggie (Carrie-Ann Moss). Welsh director Marc Evans, best
known for thrillers My Little Eye and Trauma, directs this
emotive drama with impressive subtlety, while the script by
debutant Angela Pell, herself the mother of an autistic child,
is incisive and moving. Audiences enjoyment of the movie,
however, will probably rest on their feelings about Weaver's
performance which has divided critics, some calling it masterful
and moving, and others labored and over-the-top.
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JINDABYNE
In 2001, 16 years after making his first film, Bliss, Australian
director Ray Lawrence returned with his sophomore effort,
Lantana, a dark ensemble drama starring Geoffrey Rush and
Anthony LaPaglia, which reminded the film world of Lawrence's
immense, untapped talent. Jindabyne, his comparatively speedy
follow-up to Lantana, transposes a Raymond Carver short story
to the Australian outback to tell the tale of four men whose
discovery of a young girl's body on a fishing trip creates
a rupture in their small town. Juxtaposing the beauty of the
scenery with the intense emotional resonance, Lawrence creates
a subtle yet compelling film which asks questions about male-female
and white-aboriginal divisions, and boasts superb performances
from an ensemble cast led by Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney.
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PATRICK
MCGUINN'S DOUBLE WHAMMY
It was nice to see underground filmmaker Patrick McGuinn get
theatrical distribution for his feature Sunkissed last year;
despite mixed reviews the psychological thriller found fans
with it's striking visuals and story of homosexual obsession.
Something of a festival darling, McGuinn has steadfastly continued
to make his very personal, very weird films over the years,
with barely any concession to commercial parameters... yet
the work itself is, oddly enough, quite accessible and fun.
We dare-say this is a young filmmaker we'll be hearing a lot
more of in the next few years... |
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CHECK
OUT THE SPRING ISSUE
For those who bookmark the blog, head over to the main page
where you can see select stories from the Spring issue of
Filmmaker, which hits newstands today. Some of the features
you can view on the site include an in-depth look by Alicia
Van Couvering on the twentysomething filmmakers who’ve
been dubbed “Mumblecore,” and James Ponsoldt talks
to Charles Burnett on his masterpiece Killer of Sheep, which
has finally gotten a theatrical release after 30 years. Enjoy.
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ROUGH
CUT WISDOM FROM THE BOOK OF CALEB
Below I posted about the upcoming IFP Rough Cut Lab I'm teaching
with Gretchen McGowan and a group of fantastic advisors in
June. The deadline is April 27 (find more info here) so we're
in the final rounds of accepting and looking at material.
But if you have a project and have been on the fence about
submitting it, here's an email I received from Matt Manahan,
who went through the lab last year with his feature The Book
of Caleb (pictured). It might help you decide if the process
is one that can help you and your film...
Read
the complete stories at Filmmakermagazine's Blog... |
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EDGAR
WRIGHT, HOT FUZZ - By Nick Dawson
Andrea Arnold’s beautifully crafted first feature, Red
Road, the follow-up to her Oscar-winning short film, Wasp,
was shot on digital video and exploits a fresh, bold palette
in telling the story of Jackie (Kate Dickie), an alienated
Glasgow policewoman whose job is to watch Glasgow’s
banks on surveillance monitors. One day, she notices a man
behaving unusually and, becoming fixated on him, crosses a
line. Stepping out from behind her monitors, she follows him
towards the dangerous housing project called Red Road...
Click
here for the rest of the article
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