Art HouseThe Girl on the Bridge
Rated R2000, ParamountFrench Pop star Vanessa Paradis and veteran French actor Daniel Auteuil make a compelling pair of outcast lovers in director Patrice Leconte's frenetic tale of sexual obsession. In The Girl on the Bridge, Auteuil plays a knife thrower who rescues a suicidal girl (Paradis), only to later hire her as his human target in the circus. Dazzling black-and-white photography gives the film a poetic quality. For Leconte, the director of other sexually charged dramas like The Hairdresser's Husband (1990), Monsieur Hire (1988) and the recent The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2001), his unlikely pairing of Auteuil and Paradis makes The Girl on the Bridge all the more surreal. While Leconte's magical camera work has become the film's signature, its soulful portrait of human passion is what ultimately drives a timeless love story. (Grade: A)
Cast Away
Rated PG-132000, FoxA transcendent middle act where Tom Hank's workaholic FedEx troubleshooter Chuck Noland finds himself stranded alone on a Pacific island is the saving grace of director Robert Zemeckis' Robinson Crusoe-inspired tale. Before his island arrival, Hanks' earnest performance fails to capture the psyche of a man ruled by delivery schedules. But a series of dialogue-free scenes in the center of the film captures the life-changing essence of Noland's newfound seclusion.
Helen Hunt offers little dramatic support as Noland's love interest. In fact, Hunt is upstaged by a soccer ball named Wilson. During Noland's island adventure, it's Wilson who ultimately gives him a reason to live.
Despite some melodramatic fumbling, Cast Away recaptures its transcendental spirit with an ambiguous finale that recognizes Noland's life-changing experience on the faraway island. While most Hollywood movies feel the need to explain everything, Cast Away distinguishes itself with a more thoughtful alternative. (Grade: B)
Fists of Fury
The Duel
Unrated2000, Tai SengCostume pageantry, comic slapstick, high-wire stunt effects and acrobatic kung fu action are the driving forces behind director Andrew Lau's (The Storm Raiders) swordplay epic. Trouble begins to brew in the Forbidden City after the mysterious Sword Saint (Andy Lau) requests a public duel with the God of Sword (Ekin Cheng).
Lau flashes plenty of his trademark charisma as the gravity-defying Sword Saint. But the film's best moments belong to Cheng's self-effacing comedy as one of the emperor's bumbling secret agents. When a villain turns himself into a giant snowball, it becomes clear The Duel is a Hong Kong actioner that doesn't take itself too seriously. Political espionage and royal intrigue play a supporting role in this high-spirited popcorn adventure. But whirling sword fights are the main draw for Lau's freewheeling film. (Grade: B)
And the restIn O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Touchstone), filmmaking brothers Joel and Ethan Coen tweak Homer's The Odyssey into a meandering farce about three escaped convicts (George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson and John Turturro) and their misadventures in 1930s Mississippi. Stunning photography and a hip, Bluegrass soundtrack give the film an arty sheen. Still, the Coens' satirical comic style fails to hold the film together. ... Director Hector Babenco's riveting 1980 drama, Pixote (New Yorker), finally enjoys a slick DVD debut. As the film's 10-year-old, homeless protagonist, Fernando Ramos de Silva is unforgettable: It's his lifelike lead performance that makes Babenco's film so heartbreaking.
