‘RESPIRO’
Drama. Starring Valeria Golino and Francesco Casisa. Directed by Emanuele
Crialese. (PG-13. 90 minutes. In Italian and Sicilian with English subtitles.
At Bay Area theaters.)
“Respiro” is partly of interest for what it doesn’t do. It’s set on an
Italian island south of Sicily, but it doesn’t try to imbue the setting with
romance. It’s about a sexy young wife and mother who doesn’t fit in with her
neighbors, but the movie is not an indictment of village provinciality. She
may be the prettiest and liveliest person on her island, but she is also a bit
crazy.
“Respiro” is a diffuse film, suggesting several plot directions without
following through on them. But director Emanuele Crialese is trying not to
make a statement but to conjure a feeling — or perhaps a vague awareness —
of a mystical undertone at work in this world of bleached earth and blue
waters. On its own terms, the movie succeeds. Like a fable, its meanings are
unspecific but haunting.
Valeria Golino, a Greek-Italian actress who has played mainly delicate
women in her American films (”Rain Man”), comes into her womanly glory in
“Respiro,” evoking a kind of barefoot, fiery sensuality most often associated
with Golino’s fellow Neapolitan, Sophia Loren. Crialese photographs her in a
way that makes her look positively mythic, with the kind of beauty and
alertness of expression one might see on a classical sculpture.
Island living is not easy in “Respiro.” The terrain is rocky, and the whole
economy revolves around the sea. Golino plays Grazia, a mother of three who,
like every other woman she knows, is married to a fisherman and works in a
factory, cleaning fish. Maybe it’s the confinement of the life, or maybe a
genetic time bomb has gone off in her head, but by the start of the film, she
has already become increasingly erratic.
The more she becomes ostracized, the more she bonds with her 12-year-old
son, and that relationship becomes the heart of the movie. For all its
aspiration to a kind of mysticism, “Respiro” effortlessly captures an
elemental truth about Italian sons and mothers — the ease, the particular
familiarity and (Hollywood stereotypes aside) the lack of hysteria of that
connection.
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This film contains brief nudity and some strong language in subtitle.
– Mick LaSalle
‘MANITO’
Urban drama. Directed and written by Eric Eason. (Not rated. 78 minutes. At
the Roxie.)
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“Manito,” the story of two Hispanic brothers in the Washington Heights
neighborhood of Manhattan, is a low-budget wonder: rough and gritty around the
edges, filmed for what looks like a budget of $1.98, but bristling with energy,
passion and intimacy.
Sometimes, lack of polish comes across as affectation or simply reveals the
filmmaker’s incompetence. In the case of “Manito,” the movie debut of writer-
director Eric Eason, the roughness suits the material and the milieu. Using
untrained actors, Eason tells the story of Junior (Frankie G.), a released
convict trying to make good, and his gifted kid brother Manny (Leo Minaya).
College-bound Manny is graduating from high school and Junior, bursting
with pride, wants to honor him with a big celebration. In a beautiful scene of
sweet, soaring emotion, Manny’s homeboys, family and tearful brother stand up
to salute his spirit and promise. Their father, estranged ever since Junior
took the fall for him in a drug bust, is tossed out when he shows up at the
party.
Eason is so good at establishing Manny’s levelheadedness — and creates
such an exultant high with the graduation party — that the events that follow
seem doubly tragic. After the graduation party, Manny takes his girlfriend
home, runs into trouble with two thugs in a subway train and makes a poor
decision. Junior, struggling to break a cycle of violence (and yet conditioned
by it), steps up to defend him.
“Manito,” which won an ensemble acting award at the 2002 Sundance Film
Festival, is performed by actors who come from the world that Eason portrays –
and in each case seem incapable of a false or extraneous note. Seasoned
actors study for years to attain the honesty and freshness that these first-
timers deliver.
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This film contains raw language, violence and sexual situations.
– Edward Guthmann
‘RUGRATS GO WILD’
Animated comedy. Voiced by Bruce Willis, Tim Curry and Chrissie Hynde.
Directed by Norton Virgien and John Eng. Written by Kate Boutilier. (PG. 81
minutes. At Bay Area theaters.)
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Who would have thought those bright minds at Nickelodeon would come up with
a stinker? With a sterling track record that runs from two “Rugrats” films to
“The Wild Thornberrys Movie” and the Oscar-nominated “Jimmy Neutron: Boy
Genius,” this new release would seem like a sure thing.
But somebody misplaced the fun compass for “Rugrats Go Wild.” The trouble
begins with a well-deserved PG rating. The ads call it “mild, crude humor,”
but this has more “yucks” than “yuks.” There are a succession of loaded-diaper
jokes, a huge snot bubble, bird poop in the face, vomiting and flatulence.
When he meets a new character, Spike the dog (voiced by Bruce Willis) turns
and says, “Want to smell my butt?”
Now, somewhere on the Nickelodeon studio lot someone is saying, “Kids love
that kind of stuff.” But only as a lowest common denominator. “Finding Nemo,”
to which “Rugrats Go Wild” is fated to endure comparisons, makes better jokes,
with more class and has a G rating to boot.
Sadly, it also must be reported that the much-touted “Odorama” card creates
barely a whiff of interest. The idea is that when numbers appear on the screen
(and you’d better be paying attention, they are on and off quickly) you
scratch your Odorama card and sniff the result. First, you have to really,
really scratch hard to get a smell, and second, a lot of the smells are pretty
similar — even the stinky feet.
Part of the problem is that by combining the entire “Rugrats” gang and the
whole zoo from “The Wild Thornberrys,” both popular TV shows, you’ve got way
too many characters. It doesn’t help that most of the time is spent with the
Rugrats babies although the Thornberrys are the more interesting family.
Except for a ripping run through the jungle while the kids are being chased
by a jaguar (Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, wasted in the part), this is
flat, dreary going. The songs seem tacked on to the action and the filmmakers
are so amused by their clever nods to “Titanic,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “I Love
Lucy” and “The Perfect Storm” that the plot lacks snap.
The exception is Willis as Spike. He’s got more energy than the rest of the
cast combined. And his duet with Hynde, “Big Bad Cat,” is one of the only
musical numbers that doesn’t stop the action dead. A wise-cracking dog, now
that’s funny — in case Nickelodeon needs a reminder.
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This film contains gross-out humor.
– C.W. Nevius
‘THE EYE’
Supernatural thriller. Starring Lee Sin-Je, Lawrence Chou and Chutcha
Rujinanon. Directed by Oxide Pang and Danny Pang. Written by the Pangs and
Jojo Hui. (Not rated. 98 minutes. In Cantonese with English subtitles. At Bay
Area theaters.)
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“The Eye” has an interesting premise. It ought to, it has been used often
enough. Once again a character has a “Sixth Sense” and can see dead people.
And, you guessed it, no one believes them.
The twist here is that the heroine Mun ( Lee Sin-Je) has gotten eye
transplants to cure her blindness. Slowly — really, really slowly — she
realizes that some of the visions she is seeing are channeled from the donor,
a young, psychic girl who died tragically.
It is pretty obvious what connection filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang are
hoping you will make. From the long, stringy hair hanging down in Mun’s face
to the black-and-white vignettes, this is an echo of the surprise hit shocker
“The Ring.”
Part of the strategy has already worked. Tom Cruise’s production company
has snapped up the rights for an English-language version. Just a piece of
advice, Tom: Speed it up.
It takes forever for Mun to figure out what is going on, and then she can’t
bring herself to do more than blink, gasp and gape. Lee is not an experienced
actress, and it shows. Whoever gets the part in the English version had better
work on her double takes. Unless the script gets some major revision, her
major challenge is to be shocked, shocked at the sight of ghostly figures no
one else can see.
The Pang brothers, who are twins, got their start doing commercials in
Thailand. Their gangster film “Bangkok Dangerous” created some buzz, but it is
hard to believe this plodding, predictable snoozer will raise anyone’s pulse
rate. Plot threads are introduced and then dropped, Mun and her love interest
Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou) pop their eyes and look horrified, and everyone is way
ahead of the “surprise” twists.
In the final, slam-bang finish, Mun runs through the streets trying to warn
the townsfolk of an impending disaster. But she pounds her fists on car
windows to no avail. “What is she saying?” one driver asks. Hey buddy, you
don’t have to be a psychic to roll down the window.
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This film contains violence, suicide and creepy characters.
– C.W. Nevius
Mary Allen