Movie Reviews
By Kam Williams

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Catch A Fire
*
South African Bio-Pic Chronicles The Radicalization Of Anti-Apartheid Freedom Fighter

William Shakespeare once said, “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” It looks like we’re dealing with the last type, a rather reluctant hero, here, in Catch a Fire.
Patrick Chamusso (Derek Luke) was born poor in 1949 in a rural village in Mozambique. Not formally educated, as a teenager, he followed his father to South Africa to find work. After a series of odd jobs as a miner, house painter, street vendor and migrant laborer, he eventually found gainful employment at a coal-to-oil refinery in Secunda, a town located several hours east of Johannesburg.    
By the age of 28, Patrick was married with children and also a popular figure in his community where he coached the local kids’ traveling soccer team. Meanwhile, the country was being brought to the brink of civil war by the gradually escalating efforts of the outlawed African National Congress (ANC) which was spearheading the people’s movement to topple the apartheid regime.
However Patrick, by now promoted to foreman with a promising career to protect, and a family to support, was not inclined to join the revolution. But that all changed in 1980 when he was arrested and then beaten by the secret police while being interrogated about an act of sabotage he hadn’t participated in.
Upon his release from jail, however, the formerly mild-mannered middle-manager did belatedly catch the spirit for independence which had already been sweeping across much of the populace. Now willing to join the revolt, he temporarily left the country for his native Mozambique, there to be trained as a rebel by the ANC, in order to return to blow-up the power plant he knew inside and out.
This is the trajectory of Catch a Fire, a surprisingly listless historical epic which examines the South African struggle for independence from the perspective of an unlikely protagonist, who never manages to muster much in the way of charisma. Unlike the arc of the relatively-uplifting documentary Amandla (2003), which effectively captured the Black masses’ passion in the pursuit of freedom, this picture never quite conveys the same urgent sense of a destiny that would not be denied. Instead, we have an almost apolitical tale overshadowing the backdrop of South Africa’s burgeoning, bloody coup d’etat.
The film’s fatal failing rests with its ill-conceived, emotionally-detached juxtaposition of Chamusso and his antagonist, Nic Vos (Tim Robbins), as moral equivalents. Presumably in the interest of even-handedness, Vos, the colonel presiding over one of the government’s sadistic goon squads, is painted as a benign, almost unwilling oppressor, rather than as the monster a man in his position must have been.
For example, at one juncture he confides in his prisoner, “Between you and me, Patrick, apartheid can’t last.” Even more ludicrous is the scene where Vos is humanized as a devoted family man. In this case, he brings his suspect home to the strictly-segregated suburbs to share a sumptuous meal with his wife (Michele Burgers) and two young daughters (Jessica Anstey and Charlotte Savage).
By contrast, Patrick, who also just happens to have a spouse (Bonnie Mbuli) and two little girls (Onthatile Ramasodi and Ziizi Mahlati) is portrayed as a womanizer who had better blame himself for his detention, because he was only tortured after he didn’t ‘fess up that he had been with a mistress at the time of the terrorist attack in question. This scenario serves to vindicate Vos who, by implication, would never have resorted to such tactics had his morally-compromised prisoner simply shared his ironclad alibi.
Apartheid revisited, less as a repugnant racist ideology, than as an ethically-ambivalent philosophy.
Rated: PG-13 for violence, torture, profanity, ethnic slurs, and mature themes.
In English, Afrikaans, and Zulu with subtitles.
Running time: 101 minutes
Studio Focus Features

Wondrous Oblivion
****
Jamaican Family Integrates Lily-White London Enclave In Cross-Cultural Melodrama

The Samuels aren’t exactly welcomed when they move into a working-class London neighborhood. In fact, the only folks on the block who aren’t inhospitable are the Wisemans, an empathetic Jewish family who have already endured more than their share of suffering, being Holocaust survivors.
Victor Wiseman (Stanley Townsend) is a workaholic who spends long hours at his drapery store downtown, leaving his younger, attractive wife (Emily Woof), and their 11-year-old son (Sam Smith) feeling a little neglected. Shy and retiring Ruth is longing for a little excitement in her life, while David needs help with practice to reach his dreams of becoming a cricket star.
When the Samuels arrive on the block, the mother and son both find, in patriarch Dennis, a person with the potential for filling their emotional voids. For, after the muscular laborer erects a cricket cage in his backyard, he immediately invites curious David over for free lessons to improve his game. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wiseman is prone to fantasizing about her exotic and alluring new next-door neighbor. And soon, she’s finding any excuse to interact with him while her hubby’s not around, which is most of the time.
However, Dennis does have a spouse of his own and three daughters, one of whom, Judy (Leonie Elliott), is an adorable tomboy who just happens to be about David’s age. So, we’re treated to a couple of parallel romances, one borne of innocent puppy love, the other illicit, and taboo for more than one reason.
Wondrous Oblivion is one of those multi-layered, cross-cultural soap operas (ala Secrets and Lies, My Beautiful Launderette, A Fond Kiss and Bend It Like Beckham) which, for some reason, the British seem to have perfected. The story is set in the Sixties, where the incestuous Wiseman/Samuel melodrama unfolds against the dual backdrop of cricket and the ever-escalating intolerance on the part of narrow-minded Neanderthals.
Featuring a quartet of quality performances (by Delroy Lindo, Sam Smith, Emily Woof, and adorable Leonie Elliott) Wondrous Oblivion is, at heart, a touching rite-of-passage flick which simultaneously sends several valuable messages about friendship, fidelity, tolerance, and reaching for the stars.
Unrated, with racial epithets and sexual situations.
Running time: 101 minutes
Studio: Palm Pictures

Borat
****
Crude Kazakh Conquers America In Crass Docu-Comedy

Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen), a terminally-gullible TV reporter hailing from a primitive little village in Kazakhstan, harbors some rather naïve notions about the West. For example, because he apparently learned most of what he knows about American culture from television, he thinks it’s okay to shoot Indians on sight, and to refer to Blacks by the N-word. Besides these misguided misconceptions, he also happens to be a sexist, incestuous, homophobic, anti-Semite, though these deeply-ingrained prejudices are ostensibly pardonable, since they emanate from his presumably being raised in a backwards environment.
But none of this narrow-mindedness has prevented the clueless journalist from landing a plum assignment, namely, to shoot a documentary about the United States. So, packing little more than a live chicken and a hand-held camera into his weathered, leather valise, Borat bids his family and friends adieu to embark with wide-eyed wonder on one very eventful journey to what he expects to be the best country in the world.
This fish-out-of-water premise is the fulcrum for the non-stop nuttiness generated by Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The picture is the brainchild of British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who originally introduced this kooky character he created on HBO’s Da Ali G Show.
Fully fleshed-out for the big screen (literally and figuratively), and accompanied by his morbidly-obese producer, Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian), Borat enthusiastically careens across America in a rundown ice cream truck. Sporting a thick, Eastern bloc accent and clumsier than the proverbial bull in a china closet (again, literally and figuratively), the annoying Kazakh conducts a disconnected series of unscripted interviews at each port-of-call. Invariably, Borat leaves behind a trail of dumbfounded subjects who appear to be as baffled by the affable foreigner’s bizarre behavior as by the idea that they’ve might have just been had.
That’s because the bulk of Cohen’s co-stars are not actors but unsuspecting straight men duped into signing a release by a suggestion that they were about to be filmed for a serious documentary. So, most of the participants were utterly unaware that they’d unwittingly agreed to be unfavorably portrayed as prejudiced or as the butt of a mean-spirited joke.
Whether he’s getting an etiquette lesson, buying a used-car, getting his first driving lesson, singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at the rodeo, shopping for antiques, crashing a Gay Pride parade, or sitting-in on a feminist, consciousness-raising session, our provocative protagonist manages to get a rise out of everyone he encounters. Although there are side-splitting sequences galore in this cleverly-executed farce, still, there remain deeper ethical questions which ought to be addressed in the course of critiquing this new genre of guerilla cinema.
First, is it okay that so many people appearing in the movie, some now reportedly consulting attorneys, claim to have been hoodwinked into making fools of themselves? Second, assuming the ends does justify the means, is it ethical to mix the victims’ candid, offhand comments into a production featuring much more repugnant, deliberately-staged, over-the-top material?
Finally, if we pride ourselves as paragons of multi-cultural tolerance, why are we even inclined to celebrate a Neanderthal like Borat, as if bigotry is acceptable when advocated by an ignoramus? He openly advocates incest, rape, the hanging of gays and drinking the blood of Iraqis, though saving his most virulent hatred for Jews.
Only because Sacha Baron Cohen is Jewish is Borat able to vent his anti-Semitism in an unrelenting, unrepentant fashion, ranging from lines like, “Come on, make my day, Jew!” to a parody of Pamplona’s running of the bulls called Kazakhstan’s “Running of the Jew” during which a crowd kicks a pregnant woman in the stomach to cause a miscarriage.
Judging by the boorish behavior of Borat and his countrymen, one would never suspect that the real Kazakhstan is a developed nation with a higher literacy rate (99.5 percent) than that of the United States. Isn’t it curious that supposedly relatively-civilized audiences could be so readily entertained by such a misleading characterization, especially when they’re actually less-educated than the folks being satirized up on the screen?
Sadly, the prospects of our catching up in I.Q. or of clearing up any of the Kazakh confusion aren’t very good, as long as box office alone remains the bottom line for Hollywood. Borat’s success will undoubtedly be imitated, so expect an explosion of this sort of moronic, politically-incorrect slapstick as pabulum for the uncritical, degenerate demographic.
Horrifying, vulgar and exploitative, yet somehow simultaneously inspired, brilliant and convulsively hilarious, Borat is a Jackass-meets-60 Minutes masterpiece you’ll be ashamed to admit you loved every second of. Provided you don’t mind experiencing those conflicting emotions, this treat is also easily the funniest film of the year thus far.
Rated: R for pervasive profanity, ethnic slurs, crude sexuality, and frontal male nudity.
Running time: 84 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox

Iraq In Fragments
*** 1/2
Postwar Documentary Presents Portrait Of A Divided Iraq

In the wake of World War I, when the League of Nations granted Great Britain the area of the Middle East then known as Mesopotamia, a new nation was created by cobbling together lands containing a trio of incompatible ethnic groups: the Shiites, the Sunnis, and the Kurds. Now 90 years later, Irag appears to be on the brink of breaking back up into three separate entities, the Bush Administration’s self-congratulatory pronouncements about having brought democracy to the region notwithstanding.
Anyone wondering whether civil war is likely to break out in Baghdad need only check out Iraq in Fragments, a sobering documentary which delineates the dire prospects of a land rapidly losing any semblance of peace, patience, or hope for civilized discourse. Presented sequentially in three parts from the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish perspectives, respectively, the movie makes it clear that none of these groups considers themselves to be better off since the American invasion.
The subjects interviewed here may have some hostility for members of other minorities, but they all appear to hate America more, even the Kurds. They all want the occupiers to leave, because it has become clear to them that the United States’ only interest is in securing the oil, not the well-being of Iraqis.
Besides this political tug-of-war, each installment features an up close and personal vignette. The first revolves around an 11-year-old orphan who has been enslaved and exploited by the mentally and physically abusive owner of an auto repair garage. The second shows some of mullah Muqtada al-Sadr’s henchmen carting off, at gunpoint, a merchant they suspect of selling liquor, ignoring the pleas and protestations of the man’s wife. The final segment, shot in Kurdistan, is perhaps the most revealing, because, although the Coalition troops were originally welcomed there as liberators, the fed-up interviewees shown on screen now feel they were actually better off under Saddam.
A heartbreaking assessment of Iraq’s reconstruction from the point-of-view of its intended beneficiaries.   
Unrated
In Arabic, Kurdish and English with subtitles
Running time: 94 minutes
Studio: Typecast Pictures

The Aura (El Aura)
** 1/2
Taxidermist Plans The Perfect Crime In Psychological Thriller

Esteban Espinosa (Ricardo Darin) is an unassuming taxidermist who dreams about trying a more daring line of work. Specifically, he’s obsessed with the idea of planning the perfect crime. Then, while on a hunting trip far away from home, the repressed introvert gets his chance after he accidentally shoots a man about to participate in the robbery of an armored car.
Assuming the crook’s identity, Esteban tricks the dead guys’ gang into allowing him to join the conspiracy. But what he doesn’t reveal is that he suffers from epilepsy, and suffers from seizures, especially when under stress.
This set of developments introduces the audience to The Aura, a psychological thriller set primarily in the Patagonian forest. The film was written and directed by the late Fabian Bielinsky (Nine Queens), who passed away prematurely of a heart attack just this past June.
Here, Bielinsky posthumously proves himself a master at maintaining tension after establishing an intriguing premise by presenting his paradoxical protagonist as a bundle of contradictions whose bravado begins to crumble the closer he comes to D-Day. For when Esteban realizes he’s in over his head, it’s too late to back out, since murder and betrayal has already come into play.
The Aura appears to have been inspired by a multi-layered French mystery, Man on a Train (2002), a quirky character study from Patrice Leconte about a nerdy, retired teacher who befriends a bank robber about to pull off a heist. Still, this flick easily stands on its own, between Esteban’s unique idiosyncrasies and the distinctly Argentine locations. The film’s only flaw lies with its editing, as it includes about 30 minutes of inconsequential footage which could have hit the cutting room floor without compromising the quality of the cinematic experience.   
A wannabe gangster with overwhelming regret enveloped in a whirlwind of terror.     
Unrated
In Spanish with subtitles.
Running time: 133 minutes
Studio: IFC First Take

Deja Vu
***
Denzel Travels Back in Time to Undo Disaster and Find Love in Dizzying Sci-Fi Thriller

ATF Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is one of the first feds on the scene following an explosion aboard a ferry shuttling members of the military and their families between New Orleans’ Algiers and Canal Street piers. Over five hundred passengers perish in the fiery inferno, and Doug suspects it to be the work of a terrorist as soon as he discovers traces of a weapon of mass destruction amidst the charred bodies bobbing in the water and washing up along the banks of the Mississippi River.
In fact, he has an uncanny knack for identifying material evidence, since everything he touches seems to fill in another piece of a puzzle which is totally baffling the local police. Then, Carlin’s already admirable efforts are augmented immeasurably when he is joined in the investigation by FBI Agent Andrew Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer). For Pryzwarra is privy to a top secret project at headquarters which enables the government to observe anyone anywhere via a complex series of interconnected satellites.
For some reason, the tape-delayed system always shows events on the screen which transpired precisely four days and six hours ago. This means that all the authorities have to do to crack the case is point their time machine at the pier from which the ferry embarked and watch until the mastermind (Jim Caviezel) appears.
But the plot thickens when Doug posthumously becomes obsessed with one of the victims, a pretty young woman named Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton). Upon closer inspection, not only does he discern that she was dead before the bombing, but that she probably had contact of some sort with the perpetrator. He also becomes smitten with the curvy cutie after watching her undress and take a shower courtesy of this marvel of modern technology.
So, instead of waiting four days to figure it all out, Agent Carlin comes up with the bright idea of teleporting himself back in time to try to prevent the attack from ever happening. Of course, the FBI scientists all object, but capitulate after warning Doug that he’s risking his life, because the process is yet to be perfected.
This preposterous premise is the point of departure of Déjà Vu, a dialogue-driven, sci-fi adventure directed by Tony Scott. Heavy-laden with pretentious, pseudo-scientific jargon about “worm holes” and “space folding in upon itself,” the movie marks the third collaboration between Scott and star Denzel Washington, following earlier outings in Crimson Tide (1995) and Man on Fire (2004).
Best described as a cross between Minority Report (2002) and Frequency (2000), this slight variation on the time travel theme will engage you to the extent that you are able to forgive a script which repeatedly relies on cartoon physics to explain away every improbable plot development. The movie cleverly mixes the former’s “catch a crook before he commits a crime” idea with the latter’s more sentimental notion of “going back in order to save a loved one.”
The film was shot in The Big Easy post Katrina, but generally avoids exploiting the devastation as a backdrop except for an extended scene through the Lower Ninth Ward. The supporting cast includes Elle Fanning (sister of Dakota) who makes a couple of cameo appearances in an insignificant wraparound role.
Aptly titled, Déjà Vu is an edge of your seat roller coaster ride, but one you’ll be convinced you’ve been on before.
Rated PG-13 for sensuality, disturbing images, female frontal nudity, and intense terror violence.
Running time: 128 minutes
Studio: Touchstone Pictures

Denzel Washington:The Deja Vu Interview
With Kam Williams
Denzel Vu

Here, two-time Oscar-winner Denzel Washington, an icon who needs no introduction, talks about his latest movie, Déjà Vu, where he plays Doug Carlin, an ATF Agent who travels back in time to prevent a crime and ends up falling in love with a beautiful woman (Paula Patton) he’s trying to save. 

KW: How does it feel to still be a sex symbol at 50?
DW: [Fakes snoring] I don’t know anything about that. I’ll be 52 in December. Turning 50 made me realize that this is not the dress rehearsal. I was already sort of in that mind set before that, but it really hit home to enjoy every day, to try to lead and live a good life, a healthy life, and to keep things simple. Sex symbol? I don’t think about it. I don’t even know what any of that stuff means.
KW: What about generating screen chemistry with your co-star, Paula Patton?
DW: What about it? [laughs]
KW: How did a virtual unknown come to be your co-star?
DW: Well, [director] Tony Scott said, “I got this girl. You don’t know her. She hasn’t done anything, but she’s right for the part. After I read with her, I wasn’t nervous, but I was just like, “Well, she hasn’t done anything.” But he was right. She’s a lovely girl, a sweetheart. And she has that quality that you want to care about her, or take care of her.
KW: Have you ever had premonitions in real life like your character in Deja Vu?
DW: You know what? I had an odd one today. I’m going to get the mail out of the mailbox, and I’m standing out on the street by my front gate when I had a feeling somebody’s going to drive by. So I just stood out there. I just had a feeling somebody was coming, so I decided to stand there for a minute. And it wasn’t ten seconds before a white truck goes by. Then it stops, and backs up. And it’s Eddie Murphy, and he gave me the whole scoop on Dreamgirls.  
KW: What’d he say about it?
DW: He said that Jennifer Hudson is stealing the movie. Have you seen it yet?
KW: Yep.
DW: Does she steal it?
KW: She sure does, even though he and Beyonce’ and Jamie Foxx certainly hold their own.
DW: He said she stops the movie. And they applaud. As was the case with Jennifer Holliday, like I saw on Broadway. That was an amazing moment in the theater.
KW: The same thing happened at my screening. A standing ovation during the movie. What was it like filming Déjà Vu in New Orleans?
DW: I’m glad to have been a part of getting the film community back in there. I went all around the city. I saw tremendous devastation, and there was a lot of listening to people’s stories of what they’ve been through. There’s a long way to go there, so I was happy to play a part, in some way, of helping by spending a little money down there and putting people to work.
KW: Why is it that you only do dramatic roles? Are you just that serious a person?
DW: There’s a clown in me that’s waiting to get out. [Laughs] A lot of people have said to me, “Why don’t you do more comedies? You’re real funny. People don’t get to see that side of you.” I think it’s been eking out in my films more and more, especially Inside Man where I improvised a lot, and there were some funny lines that came out that weren’t written.