Week of July 25 to 31, 2008

What’s On At The Tropic

By Phil Mann

I’ve been following movies at the Tropic for several years now, and I’ve never ceased to be amazed at the peculiarities of audience tastes. One dismal fact of life is that massive publicity does produce some results. Whether it’s an advertising blitz like that which accompanies the big Hollywood releases, or a popular buzz like the ones generated by Michael Moore’s documentaries, people are more likely to turn out for a film that they’ve heard about. No surprise there.

But one of the strengths of the Tropic, its raison d’être, is to help Key West discover movies that have not already been crammed into our collective conscious by external forces. Sometimes one of these movies succeeds beyond expectations. For the first two weeks in July the Tropic was showing the documentary Up the Yangtze which, without any publicity except the regular Tropic news bulletins and no movie stars, outdrew movies like Iron Man or Indiana Jones at several performances. Its environmental theme (the destruction of the Yangtze environment by the massive Three Gorges Dam) struck a sensitive Key West nerve. In past years titles like Mrs. Henderson Presents and What the #$*! Do We Know?!, have enjoyed good attendance largely through word of mouth. But then there are real gems that slip by without notice, like The Edge of Heaven, which opened and closed last week with hardly anyone noticing. What a shame! This is especially a problem during the summer in Key West, when the more-limited audience precludes the Tropic from holding a movie for several weeks just in the hope that someone will discover it.

The most important thing a columnist like me can do is to alert you to these special opportunities, which the Tropic’s programming manager Scot Hoard work hard to line up. There’s one this week that I hope will find a Key West audience. CHRIS AND DON: A LOVE STORY is a wonderful documentary about the lengthy relationship between Christopher Isherwood and his 30-year younger lover, Don Bachardy. It’s full of famous people, from Isherwood himself to friends like Tennessee Williams and Igor Stravinsky; clever wit and dialogue; and a moving true story of a gay romance.

The other very special event is the opening of the Tropic’s new cultural program, world-class ballet from the Bolshoi in hi def with surround sound. The ballet is Dimitri Shostakovich’s BOLT, a new interpretation of a 1931 ballet that was banned by the Soviets. I don’t know anything about ballet, but the reports on this say it is full of humor and even comic dances as well as superb classical ballet and a great score. If you’ve got Tuesday evening free, give it a shot.

Full info at TropicCinema.com. If you’d like to get on its list for free weekly movie bulletins, just send an email to comingattractions@keywestfilm.org with the subject line: Add Me.

Comments, please, to pmann99@gmail.com

[originally published in Key West, the newspaper - www.kwtn.com]

Week of July 18 to 24, 2008

What’s On At The Tropic
by Phil Mann

Now at the Tropic! The Superhero to top all Superheroes! Iron Man? Batman? Hellboy? No.... Genghis Kahn. Born in 1162 as simple Temudgin, the dude we know as Genghis Kahn came to dominate the largest contiguous empire in history, from China across Asia and into Europe. And, get this, he was a nice guy, and he didn’t even have a sidekick. Top that Bruce Wayne.

I know all this because I saw the movie MONGOL (and I did a little reseach on Wikipedia). This is an epic on the scale of Lawrence of Arabia, with vast hordes of mounted warriors surging into battle across the sweeping landscape of the Mongolian steppes. Told with reasonable historical accuracy, and filmed with an international cast of thousands, MONGOL swept the Russian Oscars this year and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the U.S. ceremonies.

It’s bold and it’s bloody. And this film, the first in a planned trilogy, covers only The Rise To Power. According to some interesting DNA research, 8% of the men in a section of Asia are descended from Genghis. Think of how many “Son of” sequels we could have. Anyhow, this one is quite a show. It’s in Mongolian with subtitles, but don’t be deterred.

The talking hardly matters. (I can’t resist the opportunity to note that the major battle scenes in IRON MAN (also running at the Tropic) are set in Afghanistan, a very small part of the Mongol Empire. How paltry indeed are the accomplishments of the Man of Iron compared to those of the Man from Mongolia.)



On a more sedate level, the EDGE OF HEAVEN, tells the story of an expatriate Turk widower living in Germany who invites a prostitute to live with him, only to assuage his loneliness. His son, a Professor of German Literature, is dismayed, and eventually becomes embroiled in a complex plot as he searches for the woman’s daughter back in Turkey. From Fatih Akin, a Turkish-German director, this film dominated the German Oscars and has been acclaimed as “a film to been seen, savored and thoughtfully appreciated” by Andrew Sarris in the New York Observer.



The Monday night classic movie series continues this week with DOUBLE INDEMNITY a 1944 noir mystery with a pedigree to die for. Directed by Billy Wilder, written by him and Raymond Chandler based on a novel by James M. Cain, and starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson, the movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Warning: Last week’s Monday night classic was sold out, so get there early if you want to see this one.

Quite a week. Academy Award films from three continents.

Comments, please to pmann99@gmail.com

[originally published in Key West, the newspaper - www.kwtn.com]

Week of July 11 to July 17, 2008

What's On At The Tropic
by Phil Mann

The Tropic is proud this week to bring IRON MAN to its screens. As James Berardinellli of ReelViews notes, “Iron Man is a different breed of superhero movie - a film that remembers it's possible to be outside the target demographic and still enjoy a tale set in this genre.... Over the years, there have been only a handful of exceptional superhero movies, and Iron Man is among them.”

It’s timely and topical. Iron Man is a techno hero, his powers based on futuristic power sources, incredible alloys and voice-controlled computers. His opponents are terrorists in Afghanistan seeking world domination. It’s got great acting from Robert Downey, Jr, who seamlessly makes the transition from a hair-covered man (as he was in Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus) to a metal-clad one; and Gwyneth Paltrow, who is alluring as ever as Pepper Potts (this super man’s Lois Lane).

They’re both nominated, as is the movie itself, for this year’s Teen Choice Awards. What’s that, you ask? Seventeen Magazine is trying to get the jump on the award season with a summer ceremony adding such award categories as Best Hissy Fit and Best Lip Lock to the usual actor/actress/movie stuff. The ceremony is coming up on August 4. I’ll give you a report. Indiana Jones, also running at the Tropic this week, is another of the nominees. Who said the Tropic was an elitist theater?

Not forgetting its core audience, however, they’re showing SANGRE DE MI SANGRE, winner of the 2008 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Goya Award (Spanish Oscar) for Best Spanish Foreign Film. This thriller from first-time director Christopher Zalla, follows two undocumented Mexican immigrant boys on the gritty, mean streets of New York. Pedro has come to find his father, who he thinks is a well-to-do restaurant owner. Juan is posing as Pedro to reap the supposed benefits, and finds the father first, but the tension builds as Pedro continues his quest.

This week’s Monday night classic is from Hitchcock, the 1950 film STAGE FRIGHT. Starring Jane Wyman, the newly ex-wife of Ronald Regan and Marlene Detrich, it’s one of the master’s lesser-known films, but there’s never a really bad Hitchcock.

For some real summer fun, check out the Tropic’s Friday night special event, Rick’s Movie Madness. At ten p.m. there will be a live taping of this new WGAY-TV show. Rick shows guaranteed, certified bad films accompanied by a sniping, informative and downright funny commentary. Check it out at http://www.pridenation.com/ricksmidnightmovies/ and come see the live taping of CHAINED FOR LIFE, the story of a Siamese twin who kills her husband, and the dilemma of how to treat her innocent sister.. It stars the real-life Siamese side-show performers Daisy and Violet Hilton. Where does Rick find this stuff?

Oh, and don’t miss UP THE YANGTZE, the documentary of the river environment soon to fall victim to the Three Gorges Dam. It’s held over for a second week by popular demand.

Full info at TropicCinema.com. Send me your comments at pmann99@gmail.com.
[Originally published in Key West, the Newspaper - www.kwtn.com]

Week of July 4 to July 10, 2008

What's On At The Tropic
by Phil Mann

The Tropic prides itself on showing “the best in new independent, foreign and documentary” films. That sounds pretty good. Sometimes people refer to them as “art” films, which I suppose can be taken as a compliment. But not Hollywood. The label out there is “specialty” films. Not “special,” which would imply something better or greater (as in “she's a very special person”). But “specialty,” which suggests something of limited or narrow interest (as in “her specialty was geriatric neurology). To put it bluntly, we're a niche market.

I've been around long enough to watch some profound changes in this market. When I was in college in the fifties, the movie theater world was divided into the downtown first-run theaters that we couldn't afford on a student budget, a mass of second-run (or neighborhood) theaters which offered cheap double features, and a few quirky little places showing Bergman, Fellini and Truffaut. I was hooked early on, and was proud to be challenged by The Seventh Seal, but when exam time came, the diversions of the the Hollywood double-features were the solace I needed. The world has changed a lot since then, and the niche market has expanded to almost a nook as American filmmakers have developed their skills.

But it's still a struggling little segment. The numbers are hard to pin down, but the best estimates are that maybe 10% of movie box office dollars go to specialty films. The future of that market is in flux as major studios have begun to close down their specialty divisions (arrivederci, Warner Independent; sayonara, Picture House). The independent films are still being made, in alarming numbers now that digital filming and home computers have chopped the costs, but without the marketing muscle of the studios it's hard to catch the public's attention.

The Tropic is up to this challenge. It is developing new sources of films and making sure it has the latest equipment to show digital media. But, in an adjustment that reminds me of my fifties exam-time slumming, they're showing a few major releases this summer. So kick back and enjoy the work of legendary filmmaker Stephen Spielberg (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) or TV's beloved femmes (Sex and the City), both showing this week.

If you'd like more meat on your cinema bones, the amazing documentary Up the Yangtze, picks up where last year's Manufactured Landscapes left off, taking you on a tour of the river and its environment that will disappear before the Three Gorges dam. Or check out the excellent new Monday night classics series. This week it's Orson Welles' The Stranger, about a sinister secret in a picture-perfect small town. Or, if you haven't seen it yet, catch an encore performance of The Return of the Key West Picture Show on Tuesday afternoon.

Full info at TropicCinema.com. Comments always welcome at pmann99@gmail.com.
[Originally published in Key West, the Newspaper -- www.KWTN.com]

Week of June 27 to July 3

What's On At The Tropic
by Phil Mann

There's a little summer experiment starting at the Tropic this week. It'll be showing a selection of “Hollywood” films to go along with the independent, documentary and foreign fare that usually graces its screens. This week it's SEX AND THE CITY, the great new feature film adaptation of the hit HBO series. Unless you've been a full-time spelunker for the past month, you'll know that this movie brings together all the elements that beguiled television audiences for six years: Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Catrall and Kristin Davis as Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte; Chris Noth as Big, Dave Eigenberg as Steve, and Evan Handler as Harry; and even the gay counterpoints, Willie Garson as Stanford and Mario Cantone as Anthony, plus Jennifer Hudson for some newly-found racial seasoning. Writer-director Michael Patrick King is in charge to keep everything true to the classic,.

The film has been a worldwide hit, already grossing over $300 million since its opening on May 30, and it remains in the box office top ten as it draws back old viewers for repeat fixes and new viewers through word-of-mouth. There are some reviewers who don't get it, dare I say men, but for those who had their DVR's staked onto Sundays at nine, the movie is a brilliant extension of the basic girl-power theme. They're all older now... into their forties and even 5-0, but the female bonding still carries them through the trials and tribulations of relationships.

Hey, if the Tropic can show endless adaptations of Jane Austen, why can't they give a little equal time to Candace Bushnell?

That's not the only new development. As a summer project, the Tropic is going to stage a talent show, TROPIC'S GOT TALENT. It's open to all Tropic Cinema/KWFS members and volunteers. There will be an open audition on Sunday, June 29 from noon to 4:00pm. Bring your talent down to the theater... singing, dancing, skit performance, comedy, whatever. Non-members can join on the spot for only $35, so don't let that get in your way. Oh, and mark your calendars for the show on Sunday, July 20. For more info, email Ed@keywestfilm.org.

Back to the movies. The George Digital theater is showing the new film from Harmony Korine, the bad-boy filmmaker behind Gummo and Julien Donkey-Boy. Korine is definitely an acquired taste. The reactions to Gummo, which in some ways presaged Jackass in its extreme antics, ran from “worst film of the year” (Janet Maslin in the NY Times) to “this movie is destined to live forever” (Werner Herzog). The new film MISTER LONELY is from a kinder, gentler Korine, who has bounced back from some life-bottoming experiences. Two of his houses burned down, and he reportedly worked on a film project involving goading strangers to beat him up. (That landed him in the hospital.) But MISTER LONELY is a sweet film about a Michael Jackson impersonator who winds up in an impersonators' commune, along with Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin, among others. Maybe too sweet, but see for yourself.

More info at TropicCinema.com. Send your comments to pmann99@gmail.com

Week of June 20 to June 26

What's On At The Tropic

By Phil Mann

With India looming as a 21st century economic power, it behooves us to understand more of the country's history and culture. And what better way to learn it than from the comfort of a seat at the Tropic. Last summer the theater featured Deepa Metha's "elements" trilogy, Earth, Fire and Water, and now we have BEFORE THE RAINS. Beautifully photographed in the lush south Indian province of Kerala, and set in the waning days of colonialism (1937), the film tells the story of Henry Moores, a married white plantation owner; his servant girl Sanjani (also married) with whom he has an affair; and the Indian plantation foreman who is drawn into a cover-up of the affair. The director Santosh Sivan has spent his career mostly as a cinematographer on Indian films, including the moderately notorious Bride and Prejudice, a blend of Bollywood and BritLit. But his primary claim to fame is the fascinating 2000 film The Terrorist, which plumbs the mind of a woman suicide bomber.

Before the Rain doesn't have the political weight of that earlier film, but it has been called a "sneakily feminist film" by one critic: "Hey, Henry loves Sajani, he says, but not enough to, you know, actually risk anything for her. He loves her as long as it's
convenient for him, just as he's willing to respect the native workers building his road, and the customs of this land he has invaded, just as long as it's convenient for him. Just as long as none of it infringes upon his needs and his desires." It's worth your time to read this whole review by MaryAnn Johanson at http://www.flickfilosopher.com/blog/2008/05/tribeca_08_before_the_rains_re.html.

Also opening this week is THE FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON. This isn't a remake of the 1956 classic The Red Balloon, but it's inspired by the original and stars the same floating red orb, along with Juliette Binoche. The Musée d'Orsay commissioned Taiwanese director Hsiao-hsien Hou to make this film in Paris. He doesn't speak French, had never made a movie in the West, and had never seen the earlier film until he got the commission, which I suppose is what the museum wanted: a fresh take. They got "one of the most beautiful films ever….a work of art on the order of a poem by Yeats or a painting by Rothko" (Washington Post), which has both been hailed as "a movie of genius" (Village Voice) and condemned as "pointless, with endless scenes of pure nothingness" by some viewers. No one questions its charm and beauty, however.

While you're at the Tropic, look around and consider whether there might be a program or event that your favorite non-profit might want to hold there. If so, the theater has an outstanding summer proposition. The use of the theater is being offered free from now until November to non-profit organizations. They have to show a worthwhile use for the space, but otherwise the doors are open. If interested contact the Managing Director Mark Slater
(mark@keywestfilm.org).

Your comments welcome to pmann99@gmail.com
[originally published in Key West, the Newspaper: kwtn.com]

Week of June 13-June 19

What’s On at the Tropic
By Phil Mann

The winsome Audrey Tautou burst on the scene in the quirky 2001 comedy Amelie, a film that remains one of the most popular foreign imports in recent memory. Even today this movie remains #439 on IMBD’s Movie Meter, which measures the status of movies based on frequency of web searches, and Audrey is forever fixed in our minds as a somewhat goofy charmer.

She has since tried to break the image, playing a poor immigrant maid in the thriller Dirty Pretty Things, a handicapped orphan trying to track her battlefield-lost lover in A Very Long Engagement, and even a policewoman-sleuth in The Da Vinci Code. But the original Audrey was too good to be forgotten, and she’s back now as Irène in PRICELESS, a romantic comedy with that inimitable French style.

Irène is a gold-digger who attaches herself to the wrong guy because of mistaken identity. As the plot unfurls, they trade roles and get further mixed up. It’s farce and fun, in a gorgeous Cote D’Azur setting. And oh yes, it won the Meilleur Baiser Award at the NRJ Cine Ceremonies. That’s “Best Kiss.”

The plot in Priceless may be too farcical to be believable, but SURFWISE is also hard to believe, even though it’s a documentary. As described in the Village Voice, it’s “a mesmerizingly ambivalent documentary about an itinerant family of Jewish surfer-dude health nuts.” Doc Paskowitz became something of a legend in surfer circles for living on the beaches in a 24-foot RV with his wife and eight children. It’s all there, from the idealistic quest to the reality of his children’s rebellion at the weird life -- no sugars, no fats and no schooling -- thrust upon them.

The Tropic has been attracting a nice crowd every Monday night for its new classic film series. This week it’s DETOUR, a 1945 B noir movie that has become a paradigm of its type, and been inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. The actor Tom Neal is a down-on-his luck piano player hitchhiking across the country to join his girlfriend. Things go downhill when a guy giving him a ride dies, he assumes the man’s identity, and then is blackmailed by a femme fatale, played by Ann Savage. Savage’s role won her recognition as one of the Top 10 All-Time Villains in a 2007 Time Magazine listing. Watch for the latest on-screen role of this 87-year-old evergreen actress in Guy Maddin’s new indie film My Winnipeg, due at the Tropic later this year.

This week also brings another showing of THE RETURN OF THE KEY WEST PICTURE SHOW (on Tuesday), and continuing runs of the hit Brit comedy SON OF RAMBOW and Helen Hunt’s THEN SHE FOUND ME.

There’s something for everyone at the Tropic, your cool summer haven.

Pmann99@gmail.com