Who Wouldn't Want This Intern? The Intern Premieres

Robert DeNiro: Who Wouldn't Want this Intern? The Intern Premieres

You have to love Nancy Meyers for her happy endings, and her optimism about women's lives. In her latest film confection, The Intern, a laugh-out-loud, melt-in-your-mouth bonbon, the adorable Anne Hathaway plays Jules Ostin, a workaholic founder of a successful women's wear Internet business housed in a chic downtown loft. Launching a senior intern program for retirees, her company gets Robert DeNiro as Ben Whitaker to play her right hand man. He's good: patient, kind, understanding, confident, mature, requiring little maintenance except for a foot massage. He solves all her troubles both in and out of work. She learns, in the ultimate women's fantasy of our time, how to have it all.

A funny movie throughout, the highlights involve a white boy heist in the manner of the Oceans movies, and Celia Weston in the role of a fellow intern, Doris, taking over as chauffeur, not looking or signalling. Linda Lavin, a pushy spurned date, finds out at a funeral that she's lost her chance with Ben to Renee Russo, the company's dreamy masseuse with more than gifted hands.

At the movie's Ziegfeld premiere, Meyers thanked everyone involved, especially the producers for inviting Mariah Carey. At the after party at Tavern on the Green, Hathaway wearing Rodarte, silver and black off one shoulder, assured everyone, working with DeNiro is like he's the competent, old school, adorable "intern" all the time

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FILM REVIEW: COMING HOME

Dan Dan (Huiwen Zhang) in Coming Home. Photo Credit: Bai XiaoYan.

Frozen, forgotten and finished

By John Esther

Taking vulgar, ideological populism to its extreme, China's Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s and 1970s imprisoned thousands of intellectuals who were perceived as "counter-revolutionary" effete bourgeois elements who were trying to bring back capitalism to China.

This Cultural Revolution measure, along with thousands of other counterproductive ones, tore families and lives apart. Based on ending of Geling Yan's novel, The Criminal Lu Yanshi, the latest film by Yimou Zhang (Ju Dou; To Live; House of the Flying Daggers) cast two of China's finest actors to relay a story about two people who were sacrificed in the name of ideological purity.

One night, Feng Wanyu (Li Gong -- shedding her beauty as much as she can for the role), a teacher in a provinical town returns home where members of Red Guard surround her, asking if she knows the whereabouts of her recently escaped husband. Feng answers them honestly.

Recently escaped, her husband, Lu Yanshi (Daoming Chen), a professor with alleged counter-revolutionary sentiments is making his way back to their home, but he must do it in secret. Both will be in serious trouble if they are caught.

Meanwhile, their teenage daughter, Dan Dan (Huiwen Zhang) aspires to be the lead dancer in the ballet production of The Red Detachment of Women (Rise up, ye poor working women). Unfortunately, her father's escape threatens Dan Dan's chances. Dan Dan may be the best dancer in the class, but ideology trumps talent. If Dan Dan wants the role, she better do wrong to dad and mom.

In such a culture of despair and fear, the relentlessly ambitious and shortsighted ones are inclined to report whatever knowledge she or he possess if it pleases the powers that be. This can include a best friend or a daughter. 

Years later, Lu Yanshi returns home, again. However, family life has changed drastically. Family members no longer recognize their loved ones the way they used to -- literally and metaphorically.

The one who suffers the most is Feng Wanyu. The Cultural Revolution has taken her mind (in ways not intended) and she will never be the same. Lu Yanshi and Dan Dan work together to try and save her, but the damage may be too great.

The second half of the film deals with Feng Wanyu's "disease." Obviously, her condition is a metaphor for the masses of people of China, who would rather not, perhaps cannot, remember how gullible, raped and complacent they were for an ideology which never came near achievingwhat it pretended to promise.

While the film belabors its points, director Yimou, along with director of photography, Xiaoding Zhao, accomplishes its motives with serenity rather than intensity. The mise-en-scène focuses on details and atmosphere rather than demagoguery and action as it recreates a time of fear and collective denial. The acting conveys the pain of the family (and larger milieu) without resorting to wails of despair (although plenty of tears drop).

In other words, this is politically-fueled melodrama of a higher order.

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FILM REVIEW: DRAGON BLADE

Huo An (Jackie Chan) and Lucius (John Cusack) in Dragon Blade.

Can we all just get along?

By John Esther

Gosh darn it. It is such a big production; it means so well; it stars Jackie Chan -- who is so cool; and it has two likable American actors: Adrien Brody and John Cusack. Yet Dragon Blade barely passes the entertainment muster.

Inspired by, yet hardly accurately based on, historical events, writer-director-production designer Daniel Lee's film sets itself in 50 B.C. along the Silk Road. A significant road for trade between the Occident and the Orient, the protection of the road is headed by Huo An (Chan). A passionate, reasonable, and preferably peaceful man, Huo and his troop protect the land through negotiation and equality -- only resorting to violence when all other means have been resisted by members of the 36 warring nations roaming and occupying the northwestern territory.

With so many belligerent people (primarily men) in the area, a peaceful dude like Huo is bound to be framed for a violent act committed by someone else. This setup leads him to the Wild Geese Gate.

A trading post in the middle of the desert, Wild Geese Gate is currently under construction. If the construction is not done on time, the slave labors, along with their masters, Captain (Xiao Yang) and Rat (Wang Taili), will be killed by the higher echelon.

As the construction completion deadline approaches, matters are complicated when Roman soldiers attack. Led by Lucius (Cusack), the Roman soldiers are in dire need of water. They are many. They are strong. Fortunately, Huo will teach their leader humility through martial arts superiority and generosity.

In return for the compassion the occupants of the trading post have shown the Romans, the Romans will teach the east how to build the post much sooner through the use of cement and newer construction techniques. This collaboration brings east and west together, furthering the film's message about the value, peace and, even self preservation, through multiculturalism. United (nations) we stand.

Naturally, this multiculturalism will be challenged by those who seek power at the expense of others. Divide and conquer.

Led by their ruthless leader, Tiberius (Brody), the Roman soldiers -- those who did not split and follow Lucius -- intend to take over the trading post and steal its treasure. While these Roman soldiers do not have the overall martial arts expertise of the current occupants of Wild Geese Gate, they are far greater in numbers.

A massive hit in China, and one of the most expensive films ever made there, Dragon Blade is indeed a grand production with thousands of soldiers fighting and dieing. The spectacle is quite impressive. People and horses seem to be forever charging ahead. Bodies upon bodies fall to the ground. Masses of men stain the desert with their demise.

On the smaller, more personal levels is where Dragon Blade suffers. Everyone speaks English (and their "native" language -- at least while singing), which was hardly the international language of the time. And the much of the dialogue does not necessarily serve the language well.

The acting is bit sub par for the likes of the main players, too, as if the weight of the spectacle makes any serious thespian effort futile in the grand scope of the film's things. Brody's accent seems to change over the course of the film. And I would mention the actor who plays Publius, but I am not sure his performance is his fault or Lee's. At any rate, I do not like to pick on children.

Having written that, Dragon Blade is still worth the experience. There is a lot going on here, and the glaring anti-xenophobic message of peace, cooperation and understanding is a potent antidote to the trumped up poisonous fears of our times.










 

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FILM REVIEW: THE SECOND MOTHER

Val (Regina Casé) in The Second Mother.

Ma and order

By John Esther

In one of the nice neighborhoods of São Paulo, an upper-middle class family lives a life of monotonous order where everyone knows her or his place.

The official matriarch of the family, Bárbara (Karine Teles), seems to be of some importance to the fashion world. It is never exactly disclosed what she does, but we know it keeps her away from home during the week. Her husband, Carlos (Lourenco Mutarelli), was once an artist, but now just hangs around the house all day. He inherited money from his hardworking father so why labor? Their son, Fabinho (Michel Joelsas), is a teenage kid with all the advantages and none of the discipline to carve much of an identity for himself. He likes to swim and smoke pot. 

Holding the three in check is Val (Regina Casé), one of those quintessential domestic helpers who keeps everything in the house running on time and on target. She is there to see the casa of "Dona" Barbara make an impression to all that enter, wake up "Don" Carlos every morning at 11:00 a.m. to start another pointless day, and keep "her treasure" Fabinho out of trouble.

While it is clear the family is highly dependent on Val to assure the order of things, deep down they see Val as a second class citizen. They are nice and generous to her, but Val may not use the pool, sit with them at their dinner table, and she must always make sure she has done her chores before any she makes any personal requests.

Val is more than happy to accept this master/slave arrangement.

This longstanding modus operandi is disrupted with the arrival of Jéssica (Camila Márdila). Jessica has come from the northeast of Brazil to the most populous city in the Western and Southern hemisphere to study architecture. Raised by a person called Sandra, but financially supported by Val, Jessica is Val's daughter who she has not seen in 10 years.

The idea that someone of Jessica's social class would want to pursue a career in architecture is amusing to the Dona, but she takes it in kind stride. The Don takes it in a much kinder stride, clearly infatuated with the young woman who has just arrived in his home. (Click, click.)

While Val is proud of her daughter, she finds it very upsetting that Val does not know her place in the home. "She walks around with that expression likes she's a president," says Val -- who Jessica never refers to as "mom."

Soon enough, tensions accumulate in the household. There is a new element upsetting the natural order of life along class lines. Something has to give.

Written and directed by Anna Muylaert, The Second Mother maintains its charm and amusement during its nearly two-hour running time thanks to some fine performances by the cast, the notable art direction by Marquinho Pedroso, and superb cinematography by Barbara Alvarez.

The story about a young woman coming from "the outside" entering a particular milieu and shaking things up is not entirely new, but there is enough skill in The Second Mother to make this film worth viewing. The last 10 minutes of the film or so will raise a few questions about stability in the future, but out of a little chaos must rise a little (bit of) new order.

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