TUK screens creme of European Films
TUK screens creme of European Films
Paul F. Agusta, Contributor, Jakarta
PFA0109@yahoo.com
The nominees and winners at the 2003 European Film Academy
Awards will light up the screen at Teater Utan Kayu (TUK) on Jl.
Utan Kayu 68 H, East Jakarta this weekend.
With the announcement of the Academy Award nominations this
week, this timely presentation offers Jakartans a chance to see a
bevy of European cinematic beauties ranging in themes from the
macabre to the political, from the heart-wrenching to the
downright groundbreaking.
Unconventional ideas, creative flights of fancy and
entertaining, if not slightly unusual, premises dominate this
selection of films.
Although they would give the Oscar nominees a run for their
money, these cinematic offerings are not your standard Hollywood
fare. These are not "movies", but "films". They clearly reflect
the European Film Academy's emphasis on the artistic value of
cinema produced in Europe.
Most of this weekend's selections are a fascinating blend of
art-for-art's-sake cinema with good old-fashioned storytelling,
which is the essence of Hollywood.
While they're entertaining, these are also "films" in the core
sense of the word. They focus on the medium of cinema and it's
ability to carry statements, evoke emotions, provoke intellectual
responses and expand as an art form. Yet, like "movies", many
tell solid, enjoyable stories that engross you, entertain you and
make you feel you've got your money's worth.
On Saturday, Jan. 1, at 3 p.m., TUK will present In This
World from acclaimed British director Michael Winterbottom, a
stylistic chameleon famous for letting the story dictate the look
of his films. More about the story than the telling,
In This World tells of the struggle of two young Afghani boys
who flee the harshness of a refugee camp for what they hope to be
better circumstances in London.
Next, at 5p.m., is the Iceland-German-UK-Denmark
collaboration Noi Albinoi (Noi the Albino) from director Dagur
Kari. This film tells the tale of a young man who dreams of
finding a way to sunnier places faraway from his snowbound fjord
in northern Iceland.
At 7 p.m., the same day is German director Wolfgang Becker's
brilliant and heart-warming rendition of social upheaval, Goodbye
Lenin!.
Against the backdrop of the volatile transition sweeping
Germany at the fall of the Berlin Wall, Goodbye Lenin! avoids the
obvious political pitfalls inherent in most "historical" dramas
to reveal the human side of tumultuous world events. The film
tells of Alex whose socialist mother falls into a coma just as
East Germany awakes from the long sleep of the socialist dream.
When she awakes eight months later, Alex is confronted with
the dilemma of how to keep his mother alive in a world she would
no longer understand.
On Sunday, at 3 p.m. is the Spanish-Canadian film from
director Isabel Coixet, My Life Without Me. This subtly moving
film tracks the journey towards death of a young mother whose
most passionate desire is to continue to be a part of her
family's life long after her own is cut short by a tumor.
Independent film goddess Sarah Polley stars as Ann, the woman
who wraps up her life as a gift to give to her family.
At 5 p.m., is a discussion on contemporary European cinema
with Panji Wibowo, a respected expert on film and the philosophy
of cinema.
Ending this wonderful weekend excursion into the world of
European films is French director Francois Ozon's Swimming Pool,
a tension-charged thriller about a prim Englishwoman, a wild
French girl and a potential murder.