This Just In: DVD Releases

Chased (Perseguido), 1993, Mexico
After witnessing a murder, a teenage skateboarder becomes the target of a merciless gang. The thugs chase the boy all over town in an attempt to silence him forever, but somehow he keeps dodging their increasingly ridiculous schemes. Starring Roberto Trujillo, Nelly Godoy and Hernán Casariego, Leopoldo Laborde's comedy gives a nod to filmmaker Juan Orol (the Ed Wood of Mexican film).

A Good Death Beats a Dull Life (Hijas de Su Madre: Las Buenrostro), 2005, directed by Busi Cortés, Mexico
In the Buenenrostros family, the women are in charge. Facing life in their Mexico City apartment complex with romance and laughter, along with a little death, they interrupt their clandestine business deals only for the occasional love triangle. It's a good thing the neighbors are on their side. Pilar Ixquic Mata, Lumi Cavazos, Marta Zamora and Jesús Ochoa star in this wickedly dark comedy from director Busi Cortés.

A Dedicated Life (Zenshin Shosetsuka), 1994, directed by Kazou Hara, Japan
Venerated filmmaker Kazou Hara trains his lens on author Mitsuharu Inoue -- whose sociopolitical novel Chi No Mure earned high praise from literary critics -- in this compelling documentary filmed as he copes with terminal cancer. From Inoue's communist beliefs to his controversial works, Hara paints a double-edged portrait of a maverick writer admired by students and peers -- who was also a brazen liar and shameless skirt chaser.

Child Murders (Gyerekgyilkosságok), 1993, Hungary
Set in Budapest, this drama reveals the emotional and physical abuse endured by children including motherless Zsolt (Barnabás Tóth), who is the sole caretaker of his ill grandmother. For better and worse, Zsolt's entire world changes when he helps a gypsy woman. Co-starring Mari Balogh, Ildikó Szabó's stark black-and-white drama earned the Fipresci Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

Frankenstein Conquers the World (Frankenstein vs. Baragon), 1965, directed by Ishirô Honda, Japan
Wrongly accused of destroying the countryside, a 20-foot-tall mutant dukes it out with the true culprit -- the giant reptile Baragon -- in this classic 1964 Japanese monster movie from Ishirô Honda, director of the original Godzilla. When Frankenstein's heart gets a dose of radiation from the Hiroshima bomb, the organ grows into a giant monster-boy destined to battle nasty Baragon.

The Law and the Fist (Prawo I Piesc), 1964, directed by Jerzy Hoffman, German
At the end of World War II, a group of Poles move to what was once German-occupied territory and must defend their rights and property from opportunistic villains disguised as officials in this modern drama with a classic Western story line. In the end, a lone hero steps up to run the bad guys out of town and save the day. Filmmaker Jerzy Hoffman's drama stars Gustaw Holoubek, Wieslaw Golas and Zofia Mrozowska.

Paprika Showing, Free to New Members!

Join FWSCI Filmies for a showing of the Japanese anime film Paprika at 6 p.m., Friday, July 13, at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Tickets are $7 for adults and can be purchased through FWSCI offices at

New Members Attend Free
Anyone joining FWSCI through Filmies between now and July 13 will receive a free ticket to the movie.
Click here to join FWSCI online or here by mail. Remember to write/type Filmies in the “Recruited by” blank.

Reservations
For reservations, email Felecia Bouyer at felecia@fwsistercities.org or call 817.392.2650

Paprika
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a genius scientist by day, and a dream warrior named PAPRIKA by night. In this psychedelic sci-fi adventure, it will take the skills of both women to save the world...
In the near future, a revolutionary new psychotherapy treatment called PT has been invented. Through a device called the “DC Mini” it is able to act as a “dream detective” to enter into people’s dreams and explore their unconscious thoughts. Before the government can pass a bill authorizing the use of such advanced psychiatric technology, one of the prototypes is stolen, sending the research facility into an uproar.
In the wrong hands, the potential misuse of the devise could be devastating, allowing the user to completely annihilate a dreamer’s personality while they are asleep.
Renowned scientist, Dr. Atsuko Chiba, enters the dream world under her exotic alter-ego, code name “PAPRIKA,” in an attempt to discover who is behind the plot to undermine the new invention.
Paprika was directed by Satoshi Kon and is based on the literary works of Yasutaka Tsutsui. The film was an Official Selection of the New York Film Festival. The film opened in New York on May 25 and Los Angeles on June 1.

Hungary & Korda Studio Get Raves

The opening of Korda Film Studio in Budapest at a former military installation is wowing Hollywood and the film world.

Variety touts the operation as top of the line. And with the opening late last year of the Stern Studio Film Studio and Media Center in Pomaz, north of Budapest, Hungary is attracting attention.

Now, California-based Raleigh Studios is opening of an office in Hungary offering production services. The studios offer local crews and craft, facilities and English-speaking keys, plus 24/7 connection to its North American operations.

Korda is currently host to Guiermo del Toro’s Hellboy II, which began shooting in early June.

Caboodle, a Hungaran website reports:

"We are very proud that one of the world's largest studios and most famed directors who recently won three Oscars with his movie 'Pan's Labyrinth' have chosen the Sándor Korda Film Studio as shooting location for their new movie," said László Krisán, director of Korda Filmstúdió Kft.

The filmmakers are currently building the film's large sets and plan to begin shooting in June. The first "Hellboy" was released in 2004. "Hellboy 2" is expected to be released at the end of next summer.

The "Hellboy 2" production team will use the four studios, and storage and workshop centers that were completed at the Etyek studio for the first phase of the investment.

The second phase of the investment, including a 21-meter-high water studio for shooting underwater scenes, will be finished by December. It also will be possible to open one of the studio walls to incorporate the Etyek landscape into films. The total area of the studios will be 6,500 square meters and cost €91 million to build.

Krisán said the production will be carefully separated from ongoing construction so work on the film is not disturbed.

The studio also acts as a community liaison for filmmakers, providing assistance with accommodation, opportunities for recreation in the area, and finding available manpower.

Thanks big brother!

Carlos Cuaron

Carlos Cuaron is directing the first film by Cha Cha Cha, the partnership recently created by Mexico’s film heavyweights Gonzalez Inarritu, Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro. The three directors struck a deal this year with Universal Studios to produce five films for $100 million.
The film Rudo y Cursi (Rough and Course) is a comedy starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, who were last paired in the 2001 breakout Mexican film Y Tu Mama Tambien. The storyline features two soccer-playing brothers in a life-long rivalry. Y Tu Mama Tambien was also written by Carlos Cuaron and directed by Alfonso.
Filming began three weeks ago in Cihuatlan. The movie also stars Guillermo Francella and Ivan Esquivel.

On a side note, I watched The King, starring Bernal and William Hurt last night. Great, creepy movie. Not sure why it never generated any buzz. Bernal is a really amazing actor. I have yet to see him in a bad movie.

Luna & Bernal

Palm of Your Hand

White Palms (Fehér tenyér), a Hungarian film about the competitive lives of gymnasts, opens this week in New York.
The film tells the true stories of gymnasts ranging from behind the Iron Curtain in the ‘80s, to current-day Canada.
The interesting angle is the actors and director are all gymnasts, and the stories unfolding on screen were derived from interviews about their own personal lives.
Director Szabolcs Hajdu (photo below) relays the story of his life as a young gymnast and features a warts-and-all story about his family life as an athlete under communist rule. His brother, Miklós Zoltán Hajdu, is also a gymnast and stars as a modern-day trainer who arrives in Canada from a stint in Cirque du Soleil to train a self-absorbed gymnast, played by Olympic gymnast Kyle Shewfelt.
The New York Times describes the movie this way: “An athlete recalls his troubled youth while helping to coach a talented but headstrong youngster in this drama from Hungarian filmmaker Szabolcs Hajdu. Miklos Dongo (Miklos Zoltan Hajdu) is a world class gymnast who competed in the Olympics before taking on his current career as a performer with Cirque du Soleil. Miklos has been hired to help coach some contenders for the Canadian Olympic team, and finds himself working with Kyle Manjak (Kyle Shewfelt), an unusually talented young man whose mood swings make him difficult to work with. As Miklos tries to help Kyle focus his talents and come to terms with his demons, he finds himself frequently looking back on his own early career as a gymnast in Hungary.”
Director Hajdu said it was difficult to coax some of the rougher, unpleasant scenes out of his brother and Shewfelt. Hajdu said neither wanted to relive some of the scenes they told him about during the interview/writing process. Once he had his screenplay completed, he didn’t share upcoming scenes with the two actors/gymnasts, for fear of scaring them from the project.
In the end all sequences of the movie are juxtaposed throughout, rather than told in a chronological order. The harsh training methods of the communist program appear grim against the more coddling style of Western athlete training. Yet the prima donnas of the Western system don’t fair to well against the dedicated communist athletes.

Szabolcs Hajdu

This Just in: New DVDs

This week is a slow week for releases. In fact I couldn’t find anything from our seven Sister City countries. However, I’m posting info on a film from South Africa that might appeal to folks with interest in Mbabane, Swaziland. Films from Swaziland are few and far between, but the culture in surrounding South Africa can be similar.
Notice the difference in the two Max and Mona posters (above and below). The top one looks very Western and marketing driven, or like an indie film poster. At least that's my take.

Max and Mona, 2004, directed by Teddy Mattera, South Africa
Max (Mpho Lovinga) is a professional funeral mourner who wants to escape his small village and study medicine in the city. But when he suddenly finds himself responsible for some of his uncle's debts and Mona, the village's sacred goat, he must shelve his schooling and use his mourning talents to raise money. Max teams up with a shady funeral director, a transvestite and his uncle's beautiful neighbor to fend off the unsavory debt collectors.

Top German Films

What exactly does that mean? As in the United States the top grossing films aren’t necessarily the top artistic films. But just because a film is a top income producer, doesn’t mean the film is terrible either.

The Filmies met last night and watched a presentation on recent German films. Here’s a quick overview of the presentation.

Thanks to everyone who made it out to Rahr Brewery for our June Filmies meeting. Next month we’ll be gathering for a showing of the anime film Paprika at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Lives of Others
2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film
7 2005 Lolas, including Best Film & Director
No. 6 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muehe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme
Trailer/Website

Four Minutes (Vier Minuten)
2006 Gold Lola
2006 Best Actress Lola - MonicaBleibtreu
Directed by Chris Kraus II
Starring:Monica Bleibtreu, Hannah Herzsprung, Sven Pippig, Richy Mueller, Jasmin Tabatabai
Trailer/Website

Grave Decisions (Wer Wer früher stirbt ist länger tot)
2006 Best Director Lola
No. 7 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Marcus H. Rosenmueller
Starring: Fritz Karl, Jurgen Tonkel, Julie Ronstedt, Markus Kroier, Saskia Vester II
Trailer/Website

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006 Silver Lola
No. 1 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Tom Tykwer
Starring: Ben Whisaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Corinna Harfouch
Trailer/Website

The Thief Lord (Der Herr der Deibe)
No. 10 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Richard Claus
Starring:Vanessa Redgrave, Caroline Goodall, Alexei Savle, Aaron Johnson IV
Trailer/Website

Seven Dwarfs (7 Zwerge)
No. 3 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Sven Unterwaldt Jr.
Starring: Otto Waalkes, Boris Alijnovic, Gustav-Peter Wohler, Ralf Schmitz, Martin Schneider
Trailer/Website

Hui Buh
No. 5 Grossing Film 2006
Directed by Sebastian Niemann
Starring: Michael Herbig, Christoph Maria Herbst, Heike Makatsch, Ellenie Salvo Gonzalez, Nick Brimble
Trailer/Website