Reviews

Maudlin fantasy of being swept off your feet by 'exotic' India, which apparently consists of well-kept palace hotels and desert sunsets. Really, the Indian Tourist Board couldn't have put it better themselves. The plot is utterly contrived, the romance silly and unconvincing, the drama so overcooked it's as if someone left it out to bake for weeks in the Thar Desert sun.

How 22 year-old Samantha, shy as a bunny and totally clueless, ever got to India on her own is a challenge to the imagination. As is the reason her mother married a vain alcoholic with clear designs on her money. And this is only the beginning to the chain of illogic that runs throughout the film and governs every predictable turn. Shamelessly romantic view of India and human relations is likely to make your stomach turn. But for anyone who's a genuine fan of syrupy soap opera, I guess this cosmetically-enhanced version of Rajasthan actually fits the material quite well.

"Demon Pond" is an wonderfully and stylishy presented allegorical fantasy. Its sudden (conscious) transition to artifice will catch you off guard, and may ruin things for those who are accustomed to more realistic narrative. But those willing to drift into a world of crab-humans, "mud people," and other admittedly Roger Corman-esquire creatures will enjoy this film's lush images. When critics refer to Ang Lee's gravity-defying romance/fantasy "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" as "the reason we go to the movies," they could very well use "Demon Pond" as another example. Despite its theatrical nature at times, it's full of otherworldly sensual pleasure that you could only get from a film. The mise-en-scene is exquisite, the eerie soundtrack unlike anything you've heard in a movie. The special effects at the end are breathtaking if you've escaped from your seat and managed to float into the world of the film...and don't let the occasionally silly subtitling ruin this two-hour fantasy. On top of it all, there are metaphors and themes to be uncovered everywhere. See this one on 35mm if you can!

"Legacy" is a basic, well-made film documenting five years of the Collins family. After the shooting of the oldest son, the other family members try to overcome despair, pick up the pieces, then gain inspiration from their deceased loved one and use it to improve their lives. It's a very straightforward film that does an efficient job of presenting the subjects and telling their stories. Apart from the occasional shot of a family photo, we're seeing things in motion. The films covers a breadth of characters, from the motivated Nicole, who is under pressure to go to college and save the family, to her mother who can't commit to a job, to her aunt, struggling to kick a cocaine addiction, to her grandmother, a dedicated parent who has been trying all her life to get away from the projects.

The film makes up for its subjects' weak powers of verbal articulation both by capturing their physical language--facial expressions, hand and body movements, and vocal tones--and with a voiceover (delivered by Nicole) that is very effective but a bit overworked.

All in all, "Legacy" is full of drama, humor, and is simple understated documentary storytelling at its best. We do get a few accidental (and amusing) glimpses of the camera crew, but it's not nearly enough to endanger the reality of this compelling and moving drama.

There's very little, if anything, memorable about "Manhatta." Besides being one of the original "city symphony" films, paving the way for better works like "Berlin: die sinfonie der Grobstadt" (which I think translates into "Berlin: Symphony of a City)" and Pennebaker's "Daybreak Express," to name two, all it really offers to modern audiences is a reason to fall asleep. Manhatta is mainly made up of static, or at best, phlegmatic shots, and has inter-titles quoting Walt Whitman. The camera has a strange obsession with smoke billowing from chimneys of boats and factories. It's a pioneer of a new land that was soon in the hands of more skillful developers.