CONTENTS Page 3 4-7
Editorial Rules Don’t Apply
An aspiring young actress and her ambitious young driver Frank (Alden Ehrenreich) struggle hopefully with the absurd eccentricities of the wildly unpredictable billionaire, Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) for whom they work. Its Hollywood, 1958. Small town beauty queen, songwriter, and devout Baptist virgin Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), under contract to the infamous Hughes, arrives in Los Angeles.
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The Zookeeper’s Wife
12-15
The Secret Scripture
16-19
Vince Giordano: There’s a Future in the Past
20-23
Neruda
24-29
FilmFest Follower
30 31 32
The Zookeeper’s wife, Antonia (Jessica Chastain) tells account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonia and Jan Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion. Based on Sebastian Barry’s novel, which follows an aged Rose McNulty (Vanessa Redgrave), who retells in the diary she had written from the beginning of her journey until she ends up in hospital. It begins with a young Rose (Rooney Mara) in 1942, who with a stone kills a new-born child. Bandleader Vince Giordano keeps the Jazz Age alive with his 11-member band The Nighthawks, vintage musical instruments, and a collection of more than 60,000 original arrangements from the 1920s and 30s. An inspector played by Gael Garcia Bernal hunts down Nobel Prize Prize-Winning Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) who becomes a fugitive in his home country in the late 1940s for joining the Communist Party.
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Cannes.
Extras DVD: OLD FASHIONED The Zookeepers Wife (Poster) Rules Don’t Apply (Poster) PHOTO CREDITS: 20th CENTURY FOX:1,4,6,7,32 UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL:8,10,11,31 VERTIGO RELEASING:12,14,15 FIRST RUN FEATURES: 16,18,19 AZ FILMS:20,22,23
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We would like to thank the following people for their help in providing images for this magazine: Rebecca Cherry @ ar-pr.co.uk Alex Rowley @ ar-pr.co.uk Olivia Davenport @ Think Jam Kelly Hargraves @ First Run Features Lydia Dunkley @ Vertigo Films Sophie Hunt @ Vertigo Films 2
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EDITORIAL This month’s cover feature review is Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply and its star Lily Collins adorns our cover. The film has been a dream project of Warren Beatty because of his fascination with the eccentric billionaire aviator and Hollywood mogul Howard Hughes who began producing films as a young man; one of these being Scarface, starring Paul Muni as Al Capone. He gave Jane Russell her film debut in The Outlaw which he produced and directed. Hughes also bought and later sold RKO film studios, consequently one can see the rich pickings that such a man would have for Warren Beatty to play him and direct the film. Beatty touches on some, but not all of Hughes’ pursuits and characteristics, but manages to capture his strange behaviour and obsessions. But it is Lily Collins who plays the aspiring actress who gets to work for the ‘great man’ and steals the focus of attention. She made her feature debut in The Blind Side and will soon be seen in To the Bone, in which she plays a young woman suffering from anorexia. Her performance won exemplary praise from audience and critics at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January and will certainly be repeated in the UK when it is released. In this issue, there are reviews of The Zookeepers ’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain, Rooney Mara in The Secret Scripture, Neruda, a biopic of the man who challenged the political system in his country by supporting communism. Further we have a documentary about a man who passionately fronts an eleven-piece jazz band named The Nighthawks. Vince Giordano: There’s a Future in the Past. A wonderful foot-tapping documentary and a must-see for jazz lovers. Our regular feature FilmFest Follower looks at the Cannes Film Festival and lists the films in its extensive programme. It is of course the one festival in the world that filmmakers want to present their films at. Just browse at the titles, their directors and stars…and you will see why Cannes impresses so many. Michel Hazanvicius, who made The Artist,is back with a film about French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard and how he fell in love with a 17-yesr-old actress and later married her. There is Sofia Coppola’s drama The Beguiled, starring Colin Farrell who plays a wounded Union soldier during the Civil War and is taken in by pupils at a girl’s school. And there is Rodin which examines the life and behaviour of the famous sculptor. And there is, I could on…but just see the list for yourselves. Some of these films will be chosen for this year’s London Film Festival in October, which MbM will be reporting and reviewing for our readers. For DVD and Blu-Ray collectors, we have DVD of the Month, which this month is really a scoop. The film has never had a theatrical screening outside of the USA, and even that was a limited screening. The film is for romantics and is called Old Fashioned. It is beautifully filmed and acted and watching it will be an unforgettable viewing experience. Once again, thank you for supporting Movies by Mills. Enjoy the read. NB: Next month’s issue will be our 50th Anniversary and coincides with Sundance London, so it will, because we are trying to cover as much as we can, include the review of the th closing night film at Sundance, A Ghost Story, screening on Sunday 4 June, which means our publishing day will be on Monday June 5th.
Brian Mills Magazine Editor
Paul Ridler Magazine Designer
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RULES DON’T APPLY Directed by Warren Beatty Starring: Warren Beatty, Lily Collins, Aidan Ehrenreich, Annette Bening. Mr Hughes, I like to thank you for my acting classes, thank you for my ballet classes, and thank you for the chance to become a star. - Marla Mabrey The long-awaited dream of Warren Beatty to make a film about Howard Hughes has finally been realized. Was it worth the wait? Yes, it was. The film is bathed in nostalgia, beginning in 1964. A man has written a biography of Howard Hughes, claiming to have been in contact with the eccentric billionaire. A news conference is quickly convened, with reporters waiting to hear from Hughes by 4:30pm, not even sure of his current location. Hughes’s aide, Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich), is monitoring the situation in an opulent hotel and talking to a curtain, asking Hughes to respond. Suddenly we are back to the 1950s, Frank is a new driver, just employed two weeks by Hughes (Warren Beatty). He has been sent to pick up a small town beauty queen and songwriter named Marla Mabrey (Lily Collins), naively mistaking her mother, Lucy (Annette Bening), for the starlet at first. The Mabreys are devout Baptists, and Lucy has already lectured her daughter about the intentions of Mr Hughes if he asks her up to his room.
Frank is a Methodist from Fresno (a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Hollywood). Raised by his grandparents, Frank is engaged to his seventh -grade sweetheart and because they’ve gone all the way, it’s like they’re married. Veteran chauffeur Levar (Matthew Broderick) warns Frank that drivers mustn’t fool around with the bored and attractive contract actresses. At first, this rule doesn’t seem to apply to Frank. Marla isn’t your typical young starlet. She doesn’t have a big bosom, she isn’t sexy, nor a good singer or dancer. She expresses her doubts to Frank. She’s not sure what she’s doing in Hollywood as one of 26 women under contract by Hughes. Frank tells her, she’s an exception. “The rules don’t apply to you.” Their ambitions tie them to Hughes. Marla’s mother is suspicious and demanding but Marla isn’t ready to leave. Alone in her beautiful house above the Hollywood Bowl, Marla grows closer to Frank whom reveals his hopes to convince Hughes to invest in a land development deal of 4
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Mulholland Drive. Eventually, Marla finally gets a screen test and meets with Hughes in a darkened bungalow of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Despite the questionable nature of that night, in a room where a queen-sized bed dimly lit by four candles dominate, Marla stays. Her style changes. Inspired by Frank, Marla sings a song she wrote that gives the film its title. Warren Beatty is as legendary as the subject of his film. The project has taken over 50 years to get made and it has happened as Beatty approaches his eightieth year. And as he walked onto the stage for a conversation on Rules Don’t Apply, following the preview at the Picturehouse Central, the years have treated him well and I’m sure he would agree. Many of the questions he was asked by the interviewer were about how he went about getting an idea and then making the film from that idea. Despite pursuing the question, Beatty answered each time with “I don’t know.” He explained that it works from the subconscious and then into the conscious state of mind. He was much more forthcoming about getting into movies and his great respect for Elia Kazan who directed him in his film debut Splendour in the Grass, opposite Natalie Wood. To Beatty, Kazan was a teacher and taught him so much about acting and directing, consequently he looked up to him and it helped him a lot when he co-directed Heaven Can Wait with Buck Henry. Of the films, he has acted in, Bonnie and Clyde is still one of the most popular though he said, it was not successful on its initial release, mainly due to its seemingly glorifying violence. Warren Beatty’s filmography is remarkably short compared to his love life. Among the galaxy of female stars and starlets he has purportedly had relationships with on a love-or-leave-them basis has been: Isabelle Adjani, Brigitte Bardot, Candice Bergen, Maria Callas, Claudia Cardinale, Leslie Caron, Cher, Julie Christie, Joan Collins, Samantha Eggar, Britt Ekland, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, Morgan Fairchild, Jane Fonda, Germaine Greer, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Margaux Hemmingway, Barbara Hershey, Iman, Bianca Jagger, Diane Keaton, Christine Keeler, Jacqueline Kennedy, Carole King, Diane Ladd, Elle Macpherson, Madonna, Princess Margaret, Linda McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Mary Tyler Moore, Christina Onassis, Bernadette Peters, Michelle Phillips, Juliet Prowse, Vanessa Redgrave, Diana Ross, Jean Seberg, Carly Simon (who is rumoured to have written “You’re So Vain” about him), Inger Stevens, Stella Stevens, Susan Strasberg, Barbra Streisand, Twiggy, Liv Ullmann, Mamie Van Doren, Diane von Furstenberg, Raquel Welch, Lana Wood and Natalie Wood. After supermodel Stephanie Seymour dropped Warren to pursue Axl Rose of the rock band Guns N’ Roses. Shortly after that, he settled down with Annette Bening and they’ve been together ever since, and have four children. Beatty had told his friends he had asked Julie Christie to marry him, but she refused because she did not want children. While filming Shampoo in 1974, Beatty bought his dream house and brought Christie over to view it. When she realized, he had already assigned several rooms as nurseries, it dawned on her that their ideas for the future were too far apart to be able to maintain their relationship. If there is ever a film biopic on Warren Beatty, he has stated that he would like Colin Farrell to play him. Meanwhile Rules Don’t Apply will not be his last film.
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Frank (Alden Ehrenreich) in Rules Don't Apply.
Marla (Lily Collins) and Frank (Alden Ehrenreich) in Rules Don't Apply.
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Howard Hughes (Warren Beatty) in Rules Don't Apply.
Marla (Lily Collins) and Lucy (Annette Bening) in Rules Don't Apply.
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THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE Directed by Niki Caro Starring: Jessica Chastain, Daniel Bruhl, Johan Heldenbergh. We have room. We could hide them. Bring as many as you can. - Antonia A story worth telling is not always well told, so it is with The Zookeeper’s wife. It is based on the book by Diane Ackerman with a screen adaptation by Angela Workman. The story is set in Poland immediately before the September 1939 invasion by Germany that launched the Second World War and tells of a righteous couple Antonia Zabinski (Jessica Chastain) and her husband Dr. Jan Zabinski (Johan Heldenbergh), who sheltered Jews from the Nazi death camps and along with her husband managed to save 300 of them. A heroic tale which shows Antonia’s amazing affinity to animals, caring for them, talking to them, and trusting them to the point that she even allows her young son (Timothy Radford) to sleep with the lion cubs. After the bombing raids and Nazi occupation, the brave couple risk their lives to sneak Jews out of the Warsaw ghetto in garbage trucks and hide them in cages in the underground tunnels of their abandoned zoo. They do this while the Nazi soldiers patrol the area, and while the Berlin’s head zoologist, Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) arrives in Warsaw to take the surviving animals back to Berlin for “selective breeding” experiments. His presence is unwelcome and always unexpected, so Antonia instructs those she is hiding to be quiet and listen carefully to her danger signal which she gives by playing a piano; and then when they hear it again, it will be a signal that all is clear and they can start acting normally again. Unfortunately, Heck’s visits become more frequent as he starts flirting with the wary Antonia. The story’s potential to be a memorable account of a frightening and tense ordeal of the Holocaust fails to ignite and lacks the impact and emotion that one would expect from such a story. There are irritating moments like Antonia’s accent drifting between Polish and American, which is surprising as Jessica Chastain is a good actress. When she is with the animals, which are the best scenes, because in reality, Jessica is a self-confessed animal lover, – it shows. Bruhl’s character, Lutz Heck, is the embodiment of evil: menacingly malevolent and cruel. It is a part that could so easily be overplayed, but Bruhl avoids that trap. The most powerfully emotional scene is when Antonia comforts a young Jewish girl named Magda Gross (Efrat Dor) who has been raped by two German soldiers. But in reality, the incident would never have happened as the Nuremberg Laws prohibited sex between Ayrans and Jews. NIKI CARO (Director) New Zealander, making her feature film in 1998: a romantic drama Memory & Desire. Gained fame with Whale Rider. A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfil a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
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Nicki has directed three actresses to Oscar nominations: Keisha Castle-Hughes – Best Actress – Whale Rider. Charlise Theron – Best Actress – North Country. Frances McDormand – Best Supporting Actress – North Country. In pre-production is Niki’s direction of Callas, a biopic about the operatic star Maria Callas with Noomi Rapace as Callas. JESSICA CHASTAIN (Antonia in The Zookeeper’s Wife) First Feature Jolene. 2008 (title role) A teenage orphan spends ten years travelling cross-country experiencing life, love and heartbreak. Take Shelter. 2011 (Samantha) Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself. The Tree of Life. 2011 (Mrs O’Brien) An epic yet intimate tale which follows the life journey of Jack O’Brien, the eldest son of a fractured Texas family. The Help. 2011 (Celia Foote) An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maid’s point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis. ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE FOR THE HELP. GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE FOR THE HELP. Zero Dark Thirty. 2012 (Maya) A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011. ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE FOR ZERO DARK THIRTY. GOLDEN GLOBES WINNER FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE FOR ZERO DARK THIRTY. BAFTA NOMINATED FOR BEST ACTRESS FOR ZERO DARK THIRTY. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. (Eleanor Rigby) Three films told from the female and male perspectives; and the final one from both. The story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone. Miss Julie. (title role) 2014 Over the course of a midsummer night in Fermanagh in 1890, an unsettled daughter of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy encourages her father’s valet to seduce her. A Most Violent Year. 2014 (Anna Morales) In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous years in the city’s history. GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE FOR A MOST VIOLENT YEAR. Miss Sloane. 2016 (Elizabeth Sloane) In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C., but when taking on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds winning may come at too high a price. GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE FOR MISS SLOANE. Molly’s Game. Post Production. (Molly Bloom) A young skier and former Olympic hopeful becomes a successful entrepreneur, and under FBI investigation, when she establishes a high stakes, international poker game.
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Antonia (Jessica Chastain) in The Zookeeper's Wife.
Jan (Johan Heldenbergh) in The Zookeeper's Wife. 10
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Antonia (Jessica Chastain) in The Zookeeper's Wife.
Antonia (Jessica Chastain) in The Zookeeper's Wife.
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THE SECRET SCRIPTURE Directed by Jim Sheridan Starring: Rooney Mara, Aidan Turner, Theo James, Jack Reynor, Eric Bana, Vanessa Redgrave. When I met Michael McNulty, I knew that I would wait for him forever. - Lady Rose An old woman named Roseanne McNulty (Vanessa Redgrave) keeps her secret diary in an extended stay at a mental hospital. After many years, the hospital is about to be closed but Rose has no desire to leave saying that she must wait for her son to claim her, but how can he claim her when he was killed on the day he was born? Based on Sebastian Barry’s novel, “The Secret Scripture”, which follows an aged Rose who re-tells her story in the diary she had written from the beginning of her journey until she ends up in the hospital. It begins with a young Rose (Rooney Mara) in 1942, who with a stone kills a new-born child. Why she does that we’re yet to find out. But when we are taken back to the beginning of the story, you find that her natural beauty had attracted many men, including the Father Gaunt (Theo James) whose jealousy towards Rose had crossed all possible borders. As the story unfolds, young Rose meets Michael (Jack Reynor), a young pilot for whom she falls for. When they finally tie the knot, things turn ugly when her husband becomes a wanted man. Father Gaunt also follows Rose everywhere possible to use an opportunity to discreetly see her, because of his unrequited love for her. Back in 1968, an aged Rose continues telling her story to DR. William Greene, a young man that comes to re-evaluate her psychological condition. Rose hopes that, at least someone will believe her that she had not killed her son, even though the events occurring on the beach prove otherwise. The storyline does get a little confusing and having the protagonist as one who could have murdered her own child is difficult to sustain our empathy, but the performances of Vanessa Redgrave and Rooney Mara are quite excellent, as would be expected from such fine actresses. The weakness of the film lies in the screenplay which has an average storyline with a predictable denouement. Though the story is never boring, it is not one of Jim Sheridan’s best films, and will soon be forgotten JIM SHERIDAN (Director of The Secret Scripture) His first feature film as a director was My Left Foot in 1989.It starred Daniel Day Lewis who he also directed in In the Name of the Father, 1990 and The Boxer, 1997. He has directed seven actors into Oscar-nominated roles: Brenda Flicker, Samantha Morton, Djimon Hounsou, Pete Postlethwaite, Richard Harris, Emma Thompson, and Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis was nominated twice for Sheridan films, and won Best Actor for My Left Foot, Brenda Flicker won Best Supporting actress for the same film. Another notable film in his filmography is Brothers in 2009, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire. Tobey Maguire was nominated for a Golden Globe award for the film. Sheridan’s next film will be Lockerbie. ROONEY MARA (Rose McNulty in The Secret Scripture).
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First Feature film: Dream Boy. 2008. (credited as Tricia Mara) DREAM BOY. 2008 (Evelyn) Chronicles the relationship between two gay teenagers in the rural south in the late ‘70s. THE SOCIAL NETWORK. 2010. (Erica Albright) Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, but is later sued by two brothers who claimed he stole their idea, and the co-founder who was squeezed out of the business. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. 2011. (Lisbeth Salander) Journalist Mikael Blomkvist is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker. ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATED IN A LEADING ROLE FOR THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.2011. GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINATED: BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA, FOR THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS. 2013. (Ruth Guthrie) The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. SIDE EFFECTS. 2013. (Emily Taylor) A young woman’s world unravels when a drug prescribed by her psychiatrist has unexpected side effects. HER. 2013. (Catherine) A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet every need. CAROL. 2015. (Theresa Belivet) An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York. ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE FOR CAROL. BAFTA AWARDS 2016. NOMINATED BAFTA FILM AWARD FOR BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS FOR CAROL. CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2015. WON BEST ACTRESS FOR CAROL (TIED WITH EMMANUELLE BERCOT FOR MY KING). GOLDEN GLOBES 2016: NOMINATED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA, FOR CAROL. UNA. 2016. (Title role) When a young woman unexpectedly arrives at an older man’s workplace, looking for answers, the secrets of the past threaten to unravel his new life. Their confrontation will uncover buried memories and unspeakable desires. LION. 2016. (Lucy) A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometres from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family. A GHOST STORY. 2017. (M) In this singular exploration of legacy, love, loss, and the enormity of existence, a recently deceased, white sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try and reconnect with his bereft wife. UK Release dates: Sundance London 4 June 2017. General UK release: 18 August 2017. SONG TO SONG. 2017. (Faye) Post Production. Two intersecting love triangles. Obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas. MARY MAGDALENE. 2017. (Title Role) Post Production. The story of Mary Magdalene. DON’T WORRY HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT. 2018. (Annu) Post Prod. About John Callahan who became paralysed after a car accident at age 21, and turned to drawing as a form of therapy. VOX LUX. 2018. (Celeste) Pre-Production. An unusual set of circumstances brings unexpected success to a Pop Star.
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Rose (Rooney Mara) in The Secret Sculpture
Rose (Rooney Mara) in The Secret Sculpture 14
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Rose (Rooney Mara) and Michael (Jack Reynor) in The Secret Sculpture.
Rose (Rooney Mara) in The Secret Sculpture.
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VINCE GIORDANO: THERE’S A FUTURE IN THE PAST Directed by Dave Davidson & Amber Edwards. Documentary. Vince is the experience that you would have heard if you were lucky enough to been alive to go and hear this music live at its inception. - Evan Palazzo - Hot Sardines Bandleader & Pianist Bandleader, historian, collector, singer and instrumentalist; playing string bass, tuba and bass saxophone, Vince Giordano has devoted his life to music created before he was born: early jazz of the 1920s and ‘30s. His 11-piece band The Nighthawks is known as the hottest in New York, if not the world; and Vince is Hollywood’s go-to source for authentic period soundtracks, with his collection of vintage musical instruments and 60,000 original band arrangements. Vince is responsible for the period music in Todd Haynes’ Carol, Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, Robert De Niro’s The Good Shepherd, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club, Gus Van Sant’s Finding Forrester, Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road, and Away We Go, Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite and Everyone Says I Love You. Also, he supplied the soundtrack for HBO’s Grammy winning Boardwalk Empire. Brooklyn-born Giordano’s passion for jazz and the people that made it, began at the age of five. He has amassed an amazing collection of band arrangements, 1920’s and 30’s films, 78 rpm recordings and jazz-age memorabilia. He sought out and studied with important survivors from the period; Paul Whiteman’s arranger Bill Challis and drummer Chauncey Morehouse, and bassist Joe Tarto. Giordano’s passion, commitment to authenticity, and knowledge led him to create a sensational band of like-minded players, the Nighthawks. Vince Giordano has single-handedly kept alive and amazing genre of American music that continues to spread the joy and pathos of an era that shaped a nation. Every Monday and Tuesday Giordano’s band played at Sofia’s, in the Edison Hotel, New York, before a $2 million rent increase closed them down forever. He had to find a new home and fortunately found an even better venue than Sofia’s. 16
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Iguana is located on West 54th Street, New York. Here every Monday and Tuesday nights Giordano and The Nighthawks play jazz of yesterday today like no other band. We see Giordano with his partner, Carol Hughes stoically lugging instruments onto buses, and the truth is brought home once again that there’s very little glamour in show business. But when the lights hit this band, making joyful, irresistible, deeply nostalgic sounds, and Vince sings with such delight, songs like “Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You,” “You Don’t Know What You’re Doing,” “Drop Me Off in Harlem,” “Shake That Thing,” “Dinah,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, there can be no doubt that all the sweat and worry is worth it. They do it for love. For a remarkable three decades, longevity rivalled only by Duke Ellington Orchestra, Gordano has headed up his band, The Nighthawks in New York City and for those who haven’t been able to see him live, here is your chance to see him in this excellent foot-tapping documentary.
The leader of the band grew up in Brooklyn and was considered to be “weird” and derided by his schoolmates as “cartoon music” which was familiar to them as it was from a TV kiddie programme. But Giordano was entranced by this sound from the age of two, when he first heard it on his grandma’s Victrola, learned to play different instruments, taught by legends like his idol Paul Whiteman’s arranger Bill Challis, drummer Chauncey Moorehouse and bassist Joe Tarto, and continued on his quest to unearth everything he could from that period, focusing on printed band arrangements which now fill his two adjacent houses in Brooklyn, stuffed to the attic with jazz memorabilia and file cabinets chock-a-bloc with over 60,000 scrupulously collected alphabetized music scores for each instrument in the band. Anyone who has heard big band music will be enthralled with this documentary, and it will be like turning the clock back to the era of The Squadronaires, Glenn Miller, Billy May, Ray Anthony, Ted Heath, Harry James, Johnny Dankworth et all. “There’s a Future in the Past” is a ground-level exploration of this historian at work, leading the Nighthawks or one of their satellite ensembles and travelling the country to examine and rescue old arrangements that have turned up in radio station archives and musician’s basements. What others would dismiss as trash is the equivalent of discovering gold to Mr Giordano. Playing for Vince I’m spoiled for life, Because I will probably never play with Another band that does this better. -Dan Levinson – Nighthawks reeds He is a very intense man. He’s a driven man. He’s totally consumed by his mission. -Jim Fryer - Nighthawks trombone And for those who have yet to see this film, you are in for a special treat. For awaiting you…there is a present in your future. But perhaps this film’s biggest influence will be Vince Giordano’s passion for jazz which is contagious and the germ of that idea is worth catching because it will lead you to search for other great jazz bands like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw…and Charlie Barnet and his unforgettable Skyliner, which is a must for any jazz collector.
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NERUDA Directed by Pablo Larrain Starring: Luis Gnecco, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mercedes Moran, Diego Munoz. They say that Neruda is the most important communist in the world. This man would pull a piece of paper out of his pocket and ten thousand workers would go silent to hear him recite poetry. - Gabriel Gonzalez Videla
In 1948, the Cold War had reached Chile. In congress, Senator Pablo Neruda (Luis Gnecco) accused the government of betraying the Communist Party and was swiftly impeached by President Gonzalez Videla (Alfredo Castro). Police Prefect Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal) is assigned to arrest the poet. Neruda tries to flee the country with his wife, the painter Delia del Carril (Mercedes Moran), but they are forced into hiding. Inspired by the dramatic events of his new life as a fugitive, Neruda writes his epic collection of poems, “Canto General”. Meanwhile, in Europe, the legend of the poet hounded by the policeman grows, and artists led by Pablo Picasso clamour for Neruda’s freedom. Neruda, however, sees the struggle with his nemesis Peluchonneaus as an opportunity to reinvent himself. He plays with the inspector, leaving clues designed to make their game of cat-and-mouse more dangerous, more intimate. In this story of a persecuted poet and his implacable adversary, Neruda recognises his own heroic possibilities: a chance to become both a symbol for liberty and a literary legend. Director Pablo Larrain sees and feels Pablo Neruda as a creator who is so complex and extensive, practically infinite, that it is impossible to put him into a single category, to make a single film purporting to establish or define his personality or his work in a hard and fast way. Larrain chose the story of the escape, the investigation and the literary legend. It is a false biopic that isn’t really a biopic because he didn’t really take the task of making a portrait of the poet that seriously, simply because that’s impossible. Instead, he decided to make a film from elements of invention and playfulness. That way, the audience can soar alongside him in his poetry, his memory, and his Cold War communist idealogy. 20
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Neruda liked crime stories – that’s why the film turns out to be a road movie with a police investigation element – genres which involve changes and evolving characters and, in this case, elements of farce and the absurd as well. We see the landscape and all the movements within it as a transformative and illuminating process. No one ends up as he began – neither the hunter nor the prey. PABLO LARRAIN (Director) During his escape, Neruda wrote a good part of Conto General which is perhaps his most massive, complete and risky book, inspired as it was by everything he saw and everything he went through during his escape. The writing is full of fury and flights of fancy, full of terrible dreams and full of a cosmic description of Latin America in crisis – angry and desperate. Neruda constructed a political tome about war, rage and poetry while on the run, which opened the door for us to a wildly imaginary investigation, because – like the poet and his work – the film constructs an intersection between art and politics from a cinematic and literary point of view. LUIS GNECCO (Neruda) He (Neruda), was always a paradox, as sensitive as a person can be, sensual, hedonistic, and at the same time politically committed and active; brilliant and determined from childhood, weak at times, even superficial, categorical, valiant, adventurous and elegant. Always shining, blessed by the light of genius and inspired by the muse of passion which, it really existed would, in his case be blind and stubborn. Pablo Larrain is one of the directors and artists who understands and is really familiar with how his actors dive into a script and approach a story, even knowing or guessing where they’re going to dive underwater and where they will emerge. Every day when you show up on the set you’re paired with a tireless worker who invites you to weave a fabric with the materials you have bought, and then you weave and reweave, until you have a fabric where the loops are not those you were expecting and not where you had chosen to put them. GAEL GARCIA BERNAL (Peluchonneau) He previously worked with Pablo Larrain on No. What was this new experience like? The first time was like being parachuted into a very well-informed movie family. This time, with Neruda, the family – still cinematic, orgiastic, swarming, and highly professional – came together to make this new carnival inspired by Neruda’s works. Peluchonneau’s desire was to be a “great policeman” though he’s a bastard, the film noir character with no past and no future, the policeman who can sleep standing up, the character who is always dressed the same, that character with one eye half closed and who doesn’t observe the conventions of “Hello, how are you?” and customary answers. MbM’S Conclusion: As a cinematic experience Neruda’s strength is in capturing the poetry of a political leader, but it runs out of breath when the wild goose-chase turns into a farcical pratfall.
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Neruda (Luis Gnecco) in Neruda.
Peluchonneau (Gael Garcia Bernal) in Neruda. 22
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Neruda (Luis Gnecco) in Neruda.
Neruda (Luis Gnecco) in Neruda.
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FilmFest Follower CANNES 2017 May 17-28
Opening Film Ismael’s Ghost Directed by Arnaud Deplechin Starring: Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Louis Garrel. The story follows a filmmaker whose life is sent into a tailspin by the return of a former lover just as he is about to embark on the shoot of a new film.
Competition Wonderstruck Directed by Todd Haynes Starring: Amy Hargreaves, Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore.
A Gentle Creature Directed by Sergei Loznitsa A road-movie about Russia and a woman searching for her incarcerated husband.
Jupiter’s Moon
The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.
Directed by Kornel Mundruczo Starring: Merab Ninidze, Gyorgy Cserhairi, Monica Balsai.
Geu-Hu (The Day After)
L’amant Double
A young migrant, Aryan, is shot while crossing the border illegally. Under the Le Redoubtable blow of his wound, he now has the power to levitate. Thrown into a refugee camp, Directed by Michel Hazanavicius he escapes with the help of a Doctor Stern, who fed the project to exploit Starring: Bérénice Béjo, his extraordinary secret. The two men Stacy Martin, Louis Garrel. flee in search of money and security, During the making of one of his films, pursued by the camp director. Fascinated by the incredible gift of Aryan, Stern French film director Jean-Luc Godard decides to focus on a world where falls in love with a 17 year-old actress miracles are bought. Anne Wiazemsky and later get married.
Directed by Hong Sangsoo Starring:Min-hee Kim, Hae-yo Kwon.
Hikari (Radiance) Directed by Naomi Kawase Starring: Masatoshi Nagase, Noemie Nakai,Tatsuy Fuji.
The Killing of The Sacred Deer Directed Yorgos Lanthimos Starring: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell,Alicia Silverstone. A teenager’s attempts to bring a brilliant surgeon into his dysfunctional family takes an unexpected turn.
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Directed by François Ozon Starring:Jacqueline Bisset, Marine Vath, Jérémie Renier. A dramatic thriller.
You Were Never Really Here Directed by Lynne Ramsey Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola. A war veteran’s attempt to save a young girl from sex trafficking ring goes horribly wrong.
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Good Time
Rodin
Directed by Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie. Starring: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Pattinson.
Directed by Jacques Doillon Starring: Vincent Lindon, Izia Higelin, Sévering Caneele.
A bank robber finds himself unable to evade those who are looking for him.
Abut the famous sculptor and his relationship with a young Camille Claudet.
Happy End
Loveless Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev No cast credited.
Directed by Michael Haneke Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Toby Jones, Mathieu Kassovitz.
A couple going through a divorce must team up to find their son who has disappeared during one of their bitter arguments.
A drama about a family set in Calais with the European refugee crisis as the backdrop.
The Mayerowitz Stories Directed by Noah Baumbach Starring: Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson, Ben Stiller.
Wind River Directed by Taylor Sheridan Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Jon Bernthal, Jeremy Renner.
An estranged family gathers together in New York for an evening celebrating the artistic work of their father.
An FBI agent teams up with the town veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American Reservation.
In The Fade
Apres La Guerre (After the War)
Directed by Faith Akin Starring: Diane Kruger, Numer Acar, Ulrich Tukar. Plot not disclosed.
Directed by Annarita Zambrano Starring: Barbora Bobulova, Giuseppe Basttiston, Fabrizio Ferracane. Plot not disclosed
Okja Directed by Bong Joon-Ho Starring: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, See-Hyun Ahn.
Out of Competition
Mija, a young girl who risks everything to prevent a powerful, multi-national company kidnapping her best friend – a massve animal named Okja.
Blade of the Immortal
120 Beats Per Minute Directed by Robin Campilco Set in the early nineties about AIDS activist group ACT UP.
The Beguiled
Directed by Takashi Mike Starring: Takuya Kimuro, Hana Sugisaki, Sota Fukushi. A young girl enlists an immortal warrior for help to avenge her parents’ slaughter at the hand of a group of bandits.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Directed by Sofia Coppola Starring: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell.
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell Starring: Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson.
At a girls’ school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been shielded from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tension and an unexpected turn of events.
An alien touring the galaxy breaks away from her group and meets two young inhabitants of the most dangerous place in the universe: the London suburb of Croydon.
Visages,Visages Directed by Agnés Varda JR Documentary.
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Un Certain Regard Barbara Directed by Mathieu Amalric Starring: Jeanne Balibar.
Posoki (Directions) Directed by Stephen Komandarev Starring: Ivan Barnev, Georgi Kadurin. Events that happen over 24 hours in Sofia, with several taxi drivers as the protagonists of six related stories revolving around a heart transplant.
A director wants to make a biopic about the female singer Barbara.
La Novia del Desierto (The Desert Bride) Directed by Cecilia Atán, Valeria Pivato Starring: Paulina Garcia, Claudio Rissi.
Western Directed by Valeska Grisebach Starring: Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Waldemar Zang. A group of German construction workers start a tough job a remote site in the Bulgarian countryside. The foreign land awakens the men’s sense of adventure.
Plot not disclosed
Jeune Femme
Las Hijas De Abril (April’s Daughter)
Directed by Léonor Sérraille Starring: Laetitia Dosch, Souleymane Seye Nidiaye.
Directed by Michel Franco Starring: Emma Suárez, Hernán Mendoza, Joanna Larequi.
Plot not disclosed
A woman returns to Mexico to reconnect with her youngest daughter Valeria, when she learns the teen girl is pregnant.
Lerd (Dregs) Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof Plot and cast not disclosed
En Attendant Les Hirondelles (The Nature of Time) Directed by Karim Moussaul Starring: Aure Atika. Algeria today. Past and present collide in the lives of a new wealthy property developer, a young woman torn between the path of reason and sentiment and an ambitious neurologist impeded by wartime wrong doings.
Anpo Suru Shinryakusha (Before we Vanish) Directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi Starring: Masami Nagasawa, Ryûhel Matsuda, Hiroki Hasegawa. Three aliens travel to Earth in preparation for a mass invasion, taking possession of human bodies.
Out
Fortunata (Lucky) Directed by Sergio Castellitto Starring: Jasmine Trinca,Hanna Schygulla, Stefano Accorsi. The story of a young mother (Jasmine Trinca) with a failed marriage behind her, who fights daily for her dream to open a hair salon, challenging her fate in an effort to free herself and gain independence and right to happiness.
L’atelier (The Workshop) Directed by Laurent Cantet Starring: Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci. Antoine has agreed to take part in a writing workshop where several young people are being integrated into the world of work by penning a noir fiction with the help of a widely respected novelist.
Aala Kaf Ifrit (Beauty and the Dogs)
Directed by Gyorgy Kristof Starring: Judit Baidos, Eva Bander.
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
An odyssey about a 50-year-old family man Agoston wandering through East Europe after losing his lifelong job in a power plant of a small Slovak village. Agoston takes the shady but alluring opportunity to work as a welder in a shipyard in Latvia. The journey, in hope of a new job, in reality, turns into an accelerating whirlwind of absurd events of short encounters.
Tesnota (Closeness)
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Plot and cast not disclosed
Directed by Kantemir Balagov Plot and cast not disclosed
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SPECIAL SCREENING Claire’s Camera Directed by Sang-soo Hong Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Shahira Fahmy, Min-hee Kim. About a part-time high school teacher and writer.
DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT OPENING FILM Un Beau Soleil Intérieur Directed by Claire Denis Starring: Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu A collection of comedic musings about what it means to be a lover.
A Ciambra Directed by Jonas Carpignano A street-wise young Roma boy called Pio and set in a Roma encampment. Featuring amateur actors from that community.
Bushwick Directed by Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott Starring: Christian Navarro, Dave Beautista, Bittany Snow. When a Texas military force invades their Brooklyn neighbourhood, 20-year-old Lucy and war veteran Stupe must depend on each other to survive.
Alive in France Directed by Abel Ferrara Starring: Abel Ferrara. Follows a music tour undertaken by Ferrara in France last year.
L’amant d’un Jour Directed by Philippe Garrel Starring: Éric Caravaca, Esther Garrel, Louise Chevillotte A woman in her early 20s returns home after the breakdown of a relationship to discover her father is dating a woman the same age as her.
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Curio Puri Directed by Roberto De Paolis Starring: Selene Caramazza, Simone Liberati, Barbara Bobulova A relationship between a chaste teenage girl and a young parking attendant from a tough background.
The Florida Project Directed by Sean Baker Starring: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Valeria Cotto About a six-year-old girl and her carefree existence with a rag-tag bunch of friends which contrasts with the travails of her struggling parents.
Frost Directed by Sharunas Bartas Starring: Vanessa Paradis, Weronika Rosati, Andrzej Chyra Set against the backdrop of the recent war in Ukraine.
I Am Not a Witch Directed by Rungano Nyoni Starring: Gloria Huwiler, Maggie Mulubwa. Following a banal incident in her local village, 8-year-old girl Sula is accused of witchcraft. After a short trial she is found guilty, taken into state custody and exiled to a witch camp.
Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc Directed by Bruno Dumont Starring: Amateur actors How Joan of Arc grew up in the village of Domremy. Musical.
L’intrust (The Interval) Directed by Leonardo Di Costanzo Starring: Salvatore Ruocco, Francesca Riso, Alessio Gallo. A beautifully rendered rites-of-passage tale about the awkward progression from childhood to adulthood far too early.
La Defensa del Dragon Directed by Natalia Santa Revolving around the players at an old-style chess club in downtown Bogota.
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Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts Directed by Mouly Surya Starring: Marsha Timothy, Yoga Pratama. A young woman who goes on an empowering search for justice after she is attacked by a gang.
Mobile Homes Directed by Vladimir de Fontenay Starring: Imogen Poots, Callum Turner, Callum Keith Rennie A young mother looks to make a new life for her son in a mobile home community.
Nothingwood Directed by Sonia Kronlund Starring: Salim Shaheen. Neither Hollywood, nor Hollywood.
Otez-moi d’un Doute Directed by Carine Tardieu Starring: François Damiens, Cécile de France. When 45-year-old widower Erwan discovered by accident that the man who raised him isn’t his real dad, he begins to search for his biological father. He soon locates the mischievous 70 something Joseph whom his mother knew briefly.
The Rider Directed by Chloé Zhao Starring: Barry Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lily Jandreau. After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America..
West of the Jordan River (Field Diary Revisited) Directed by Amos Gitel Plot and cast not disclosed
Closing Film Patti Cakes Directed by Geremy Jasper Starring: Danielle MacDonald, Bridget Everett. Centred on aspiring rapper Patti Cake$ who is fighting an unlikely quest for glory in her downtrodden hometown in New Jersey.
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EXTRAS DVD OF THE MONTH
OLD FASHIONED Directed by Rik Swartzwelder. Starring: Elizabeth Ann Roberts and Rik Swartzwelder Former frat boy, Clay Walsh (Rik Swartzwelder), has given his reckless carousing and now runs an antique shop in a small Midwestern town. There, he has become notorious for his theories on love and romance as well as his devout beliefs. When Amber Hewson (Elizabeth Ann Roberts), a free-spirited young woman with a restless soul decides that she will drive until she runs out of gas and that will be where she will stay; which happens to be in an apartment above Clay’s shop. At first, she cannot figure him out with all his ideas and cosseted dreams, but she surprisingly finds herself drawn to his strong faith and noble ethics. Together, they attempt the impossible: an old-fashioned courtship in contemporary America. To court Amber, he learns the old-fashioned way of courtship: sending her flowers, telling her how lovely she looks, taking her out to a favourite restaurant, buying her a beautiful dress, listening to her, treating her like she is the most important person in the whole world, which to him, she will be. How come you haven’t asked me out yet? When are you going to kiss me? She probes. Amber breaks things or disconnects appliances in her apartment as an excuse to get Clay to come and be with her. At one time, when things are getting tough to reach him she still does not give up trying: I came here to forgive you, no matter what. You make it sound so easy, Clay replies. And you make it sound impossible. This is a film that you may not have heard about until now. It has had only one theatrical screening in America and then went straight to DVD. Here is your chance to get it then and see a beautiful love story that lets you into the heart of a woman and how to treat her. It is a love story that Hollywood has been lacking for decades. And as Amber says to Clay: All I want is you to tell me how I make you feel. For incurable romantics, this film will make you believe that films of this calibre can still be made.
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