Movies |
Movies for a summer weekend when there’s nothing new to see
By
Published: Jun 23, 2016
Category:
Drama
Going to the movies this weekend? To see what? The $200 million, DOA sequel to “Independence Day?” Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson in a film titled, surely ironically, “Central Intelligence?” Or, because it’s actually smart, the Disney smash for kids, “Finding Dory?”
Sorry. There’s nothing out there. This weekend is the absolute low point of the Hollywood summer offerings. A foreign film? I looked. Saw nothing of great interest. And it’s hot. If you want to see a movie, best to do it at home. (Going out? Sunscreen!)
Why not a great movie? A protein-filled movie that wakes you, shakes you, makes you think, makes you feel. When I look back on the first decade of this century, two are high on my list. One is foreign, interior, extremely emotional. One couldn’t be more domestic, exterior, physical, but just as emotional. As a double feature, I can’t imagine: I’d be a puddle of tears afterward. Not sorry about that. These are grown-up movies. For grown-ups.
AFTER THE WEDDING
The first time I saw “After the Wedding,” I didn’t see all of it — like just about everyone else in that theater, for the entire last half hour I was afflicted by a bout of silent sobbing that wouldn’t quit.
I cherish that amazing, unforgettable experience: several hundred people weeping together.
And then — I’m not spoiling the movie here — came a happy ending that is perhaps the most satisfying conclusion of any film I’ve seen in forever.
Satisfying because the characters earned it. There was a huge price for each of them to pay, and they stepped up to it. They earned the right to better. And, because you have lived their struggles with them, you leave the movie with the kind of satisfaction that no studio-financed, movie-by-committee-and-focus-group can give you. [To buy the DVD of “After the Wedding” from Amazon for the ridiculous price of $8.87, click here. To rent or buy the video stream, click here.]
On a low budget, with no-name actors and a less sensitive script, “After the Wedding” would be right at home on Lifetime. Consider the plot. Jacob, a Dane in his 30s, works in an orphanage in India. He hasn’t been home in 20 years, and that’s just fine with him. Bad news: The orphanage is running out of money. Good news: Jørgen, a philanthropist, wants to write the large check that will save it. On one condition: He wants to meet the recipient. The woman who runs the orphanage can’t go. Well, Jørgen is Danish, Jacob is Danish. Jacob should go.
Reluctantly, Jacob flies to Denmark. Jørgen listens to his pitch for only a few minutes before seeming to lose interest — it’s the weekend of his daughter’s wedding. To which Jacob should come. It’s not, after all, like he has anything else to do.
At the wedding, the first surprise… [Click on the title, above, for the preview and much more of me.]
My wife and I stumbled out of a Manhattan theater in stunned silence. So did my stepson. So did everyone I urged to see “Into the Wild.”
The film is the story of Christopher McCandless, who graduated from college (Emory, ’92), then left civilization behind to experience life without constraints. His death in Alaska few months later made him a worthy subject for Jon Krakauer. But the story he tells in his book, Into the Wild, is even better inspiration for a film, especially when the writer-director is Sean Penn.
Think what you will about Penn — the guy has guts to spare. He stands up for what he believes and he doesn’t mumble when he offers unpopular ideas. And he’s loyal to his ideas; it took him a decade to romance McCandless’s parents and get their blessing. The result is a film that’s never less than compelling. The music is by Eddie Vedder, who also did the soundtrack for “Dead Man Walking.” It’s nothing less than gorgeous.
Penn’s movie didn’t knock us out because we love raw Nature in Alaska — this really isn’t a movie about a kid who stepped out of civilization with just a bag of rice and a book about edible plants to get him through. Penn’s after bigger game. He’s asking questions about our own lives: freedom, identity, community. That is, the questions obsessing us just below the surface of our most ordinary days. [To rent the video stream from Amazon, click here.] For previews and more of me, click on the title, above.
Popcorn? For these movies? Why not. Kleenex? Definitely.
