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DVD Death and the Maiden
Roman Polanski's film adaptation of Ariel Dorfman's stunning play about the legacy of torture has more in common with the director's first film, Knife in the Water (with all the latter's unnerving ambiguities about power, sexual transgression, and confused alliances among three people) than a straightforward political parable. Sigourney Weaver (a bit underwhelming in this role, but good overall) plays a former political prisoner in an unnamed South American country that has gone democratic. She is married to a government official (fine work by Stuart Wilson) heading up official inquiries into the practice of torture under the former regime. Still shattered by her experience, Weaver's character seeks safe haven in closets of the cliff-top house she shares with her husband. But when the latter comes home in the company of a seemingly nice fellow (a brilliant Ben Kingsley), she believes she recognizes the stranger as the interrogator who raped her repeatedly in prison. She violently takes him hostage, and what ensues is a hurricane of fury and confusion, as Kingsley's terrified character denies all accusations, Wilson's guilt-ridden spouse can't decide whom to defend, and Weaver turns her psychosexual rage into a weapon of humiliation. Dorfman adapted the screenplay himself, but there's no question that Polanski is leading us down a familiar path of human betrayal and terror that he crossed in such films as Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, and Bitter Moon. At times stunning in its bluntness and compelling to the last, Death and the Maiden literally takes us to the edge of oblivion, where--in Polanski's films--the hardest truths always seem to fall into a heretofore unknown perspective. --Tom Keogh
It's more than a bit ironic to note that Death and the Maiden, arguably the most compassionately told film dealing with the long-term psychological effects of rape since Ida Lupino's Outrage in 1950, is directed by Roman Polanski, himself a confessed rapist. Is this movie, made almost two decades after his fleeing America to avoid prosecution, meant to be some sort of an attempt at penance? Regardless of it's intent, the resulting film is clearly Polanski's most personal to date (at least until 2002's The Pianist), and a return to form after a long stretch of sketchy output.
Having helped to shape some of the best female performances of the last half century (Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion and Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby to name a few), Polanski continues to cement his reputation as an actor's director, this time showcasing Sigourney Weaver (who's ever been a stronger screen presence than she is here). An actor of remarkable versatility, she's finally given a role that's both deserving of her talents and doesn't include aliens. And unlike her previous career-high (Gorillas in the Mist), she's allowed to fully embody the character without the disadvantage of having a director and a script that condescends to her.
Starring as Paulina Escobar, a former member of a leftist resistance group in an unnamed South American country, the film finds her married to an inept, idealistic lawyer (Stuart Wilson) who has only a vague understanding of the skeletons in her closet. That is until one night when, waiting for him to return from a meeting with the newly appointed President, he's dropped off by a stranger who's voice sounds eerily familiar. He explains to her that he'd had a flat tire and man had given him a lift home, so she seems to drop it. They quarrel briefly, make love, then are interrupted in the middle of the night by a knock at the door.
It's the stranger (Ben Kingsley, playing to or against type, depending on who you believe) come to drop off a new tire, an act of curious generosity given that the two men barely know eachother. After a few awkward moments, he's invited in for a nightcap and begins asking oddly probing questions. It turns out that Gerardo (Wilson) is heading the prosecution of those guilty of torture under the previous regime and is anxious for a sympathetic ear. That's just what Dr. Miranda (Kingsley) offers him, and it's during this Q and A session that Paulina begins to suspect that she may have finally found her tormentor.
What ensues from there is a psychological game of cat and mouse that's as tense as anything Polanski's ever done, as Paulina bounds and gags the doctor while attempting to coax a confession from him, though his guilt or innocence is left unresolved until the bitter end. It's here that the casting proves so vital. After all, can the man who played Gandhi really be guilty of such insidious crimes? I won't give away the ending, but rest assured it's one not soon to be forgotten, and allows Kingsley one of the best scenes of his career.
All three actors have great moments for that matter. A favorite of mine is when Kingsley, begging to be freed from his bounds after briefly incompasitating Paulina, says to Gerardo, "You did nothing. You just stood there." And Weaver responds, "Of course he just stood there. He's the law." It's these small, seemingly insignificant scenes that reveal the film's subtle nuances and make it a must-see.
A passed over masterpiece
Without going into obscene detail, I only need to impart the following:
One of the best adapted-to-screen plays I have ever seen.
Polanski, as usual knows exactly when to execute with style, and when to leave things alone and not let directorial vanity obstruct the flow of storytelling. He balances this to perfection.
The acting is of course unbelievable from all three leads.
A fantastic story as well as resulting film, and a shame that it somehow went under the radar of the fickle critical community.
Good Acting, Good Sound, Good Images, and Heavy Story
One of what I consider the best movies. I just want to warn you that this movie deals with torturing a child sexually although the scene does not show it, in case you would like to avoid that topic.
The actors are acting so well that it feels almost real. What amazes me most is the fact that there are only three persons acting in the movie. With only three persons so much is going on, and story evolves, never letting me bored. This movie is very interesting, but I wouldn't watch it when I am in a gloomy mood. Also I would not show this movie to any child or young person.
This movie is about an intense anger/resentment and forgiveness. I do not know if it is realistic for a woman to be that courageous. The story itself, together with the excellent acting is quite intense, and I would not say it is entertaining, but it is a good movie.
No revenge can satisfy you, then what do you do? This movie is about forgiving unforgivable.
This movie got soundly trashed when it was released in 1986 but I really liked it for a couple reasons.
The first, I loved the Paul Theroux book on which it's based. In the book, there are actually two stories. The movie takes its story from "Dr. Slaughter." (The other story, "Doctor DeMarr", is about a twin who foolishly resumes his brother's medical practice after finding him dead from a drug overdose).
The second, I had been really wanting to see Sigourney Weaver in a sexy role after battling the ALIEN and evil spirits in GHOSTBUSTERS. (THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY, an excellent film from a few years before with Mel Gibson, was romantic(...)). HALF MOON STREET definitely turned more to the erotic and even scratched the surface of sordid. That's my only disappointment with the... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sigourney Weaver - Michael Caine Director(s): Bob Swaim DVD Release Date: Released the 03 June 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The beauty of the South American landscape and of Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) gives The Motorcycle Diaries a charisma that is decidedly apolitical. But this portrait of the young Che Guevara (later to become a militant revolutionary) is half buddy-movie, half social commentary--and while that may seem an unholy hybrid, under the guidance of Brazillian director Walter Salles (Central Station) the movie is quietly passionate. Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna, a lusty and engaging actor) set off from Buenos Aires, hoping to circumnavigate the continent on a leaky motorcycle. They end up travelling more by foot, hitchhiking, and raft, but their experience of the land and the people affects them profoundly. No... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Walter Salles DVD Release Date: Released the 15 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Unquestionably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Roman Polanski (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) turns his talents to the realm of sexual perversity and its emotional toll. While on a Mediterranean cruise, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas) find a young French woman named Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner) crying in a bathroom. Mimi's paraplegic American husband Oscar (Peter Coyote) forces Nigel to listen to how Oscar and Mimi fell in love--as well as how they discovered kinky erotic games and finally arrived at a curdled, mutual sadism. Bitter Moon veers erratically from salacious erotica to black comedy to clumsy psychodrama, but individual scenes have a definite punch. Coyote chews the scenery with glee, Seigner... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Hugh Grant - Kristin Scott Thomas - Emmanuelle Seigner - Peter Coyote Director(s): Roman Polanski DVD Release Date: Released the 03 June 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jeff Bridges demonstrates once again that he is one of the finest actors in film. Ted Cole (Bridges, Seabiscuit, The Big Lebowski), a successful writer/illustrator of children's books, invites a young student named Eddie (Jon Foster) to be his assistant for a summer. Eddie doesn't realize he's being drawn into the middle of a dissolving marriage until Ted's wife Marion (Kim Basinger, L. A. Confidential) invites him into an affair--which Ted both condones and resents. Slowly, Eddie comes to understand the secrets that are tearing the marriage apart. Bridges never shows off; everything he does seems simple, natural, almost unavoidable, but it's also utterly watchable. Whether you like the movie will depend on whether you like John Irving (The Door in the Floor is... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jeff Bridges - Kim Basinger - Jon Foster Director(s): Tod Williams DVD Release Date: Released the 14 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in Devil in a Blue Dress, Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally had to do, at... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Don Cheadle - Sophie Okonedo Director(s): Terry George DVD Release Date: Released the 12 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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