Bowling for Columbine
Directed by Michael Moore
Comedian Michael Moore attempts to find why there are over 11 thousand deaths by guns in the U.S. every year, while similar deaths in other developed nations number in the hundreds. Americans might find it hard to stomach his answers. In fact, after Bowling for Columbine premiered in Cannes, Regal Cinemas, the largest theatre chain in the U.S., refused to show the film. Moore believes that before anything can change, Americans have to recognize their country is “master and victim to a lot of violence.”
In one of the more powerful episodes in the film, he takes survivors of Columbine to the K-Mart headquarters to return the bullets that were lodged in their bodies during the shooting. He also talks his way into an interview with Charlton Heston, president of the NRA.
The Nugget
Directed by Bill Bennett
Starring Eric Bana, Belinda Emmett, Stephen Curry
The Nugget is a little more ordinary than most festival fare. The Aussie comedy is about three friends who find gold in the Outback and concoct a series of plans to enhance their wealth. Eventually they’re forced to consider what’s more important to them – friendship or wealth. The moral is a little too shopworn to engage an audience, and the characters and their friendships stay fairly one-dimensional. The comic element relies on characterization, and since that is weak, so is the comedy. Rent the video after a long day of work, when your most pressing concern is being entertained while employing as few grey cells as possible.
White Oleander
Directed by Peter Kosminsky
Starring Alison Lohman, Michelle Pfeiffer
Based on the novel by Janet Fitch, White Oleander tells the story of a young girl named Astrid (Lohman) forced to fend for herself when her mother Ingrid (Pfeiffer) is imprisoned for murdering her boyfriend. Bouncing from foster mother to foster mother, and constantly living under the shadow of her own mother’s dark past, Astrid must face not only the standard teenage dilemmas but repeated rejection, physical abuse, and the choice between loving and despising the woman who brought her into the world. Robin Wright Penn and Renée Zellweger also star as Astrid’s foster mothers.
What is most striking about this film is the complexity of its characters. Deep-seated fear and insecurity mark each one, creating fascinating yet tragic characters. “The character of Ingrid was really a mystery to me,” says Pfeiffer. “It took a lot of effort on my part…it wasn’t one of those parts that you innately understand. I think it was probably one of the hardest parts to step into.”
Discussing the film’s emphasis on female strength, she adds, “I don’t think we’ve quite broken through the glass ceiling, but I think we’re getting closer. It’s been proven more and more that women can just as easily carry films as men can…so we’re making progress.”
—Ashleigh Clarke and Ramona Zacharias
