“I Dreamed of Africa” Starring Kim Basinger
and Vincent Perez Directed by Hugh Hudson
When Kuki Gallman shot her dog in the head after it was attacked
by a lion, some moviegoers might have hoped that the bullet would
jump out of the screen and claim them instead. “I Dreamed of
Africa” is not a movie one would crave on a Friday night. The
flick seems more suited for an older crowd. It is aimed more toward
people who are not looking to sit on the edge of their seats. Based
on a true story about a strong and curious woman, the film
chronicles Kuki Gallmann (Basinger), who ventures off with her
husband (Perez) from Italy to experience the hardships and beauty
of rural Kenya. The title itself sparks images of wild lions and
majestic elephants. But “I Dreamed of Africa” is purely
a story of hardships and experience. Kuki’s fairy tale dream
of Africa is stunted right from the beginning when her
husband’s frequent hunting trips leave her alone with her son
and servants, not knowing when or if he will return. Unfortunately,
the movie lacks a plot, except for the existence of man and nature.
The moviegoer is left to slump into his chair and wonder:
What’s going to happen? When is anything going to happen? Is
anything going to happen? Though nobody gets chased by hungry lions
or stomped on by monstrous elephants, the shots and background of
Africa are rather breathtaking. Aerial shots take the audience for
a ride along the Africa’s sandy hills with the waves crashing
on the nearby shore. The role of Kuki, however, seems perfect for
Basinger. Viewers can sympathize with her fears and frustrations in
an unknown land full of roaming wildlife, devastating storms, and
trespassers on her ranch. As a character, she grows into a very
self-sufficient and independent woman. After her move, Kuki is able
to take care of an entire ranch, grow her own garden and
communicate with local tribes who speak Swahili. Overall, the
movie’s pace is very slow and very boring. Audience members
will feel very distant from the characters unless they’ve had
the opportunity to move to a foreign land. LiLi Tan Rating: 3
“Gladiator” Starring Russell Crowe and
Joaquin Phoenix Directed by Ridley Scott
Each year, it seems like the summer movie season begins earlier
and earlier. With the arrival of “Gladiator,” however,
the best time of the year to be a mainstream movie fan seems to be
here once again. Within the film’s first five minutes, one
thing becomes evident: this is definitely a Ridley Scott film. The
massive size of the project resembles the sort of movies Scott used
to make, like “Alien” and “Blade Runner.”
Here, Scott has created a visionary ancient Rome, simultaneously
gritty and hyper-realistic. For this reason alone, Scott and his
crew are to be commended. But aside from eye candy,
“Gladiator” doesn’t have a terrible amount to
offer. The plot follows Flavius Maximus (Crowe), a Roman general
currently leading his troops in a war against the barbarians of
Germania. Before arriving home, he discovers that the Emperor
(Richard Harris) wants him to rule in place of his cowardly and
unlikable son, Commodus (Phoenix). Obviously, this rubs Commodus
the wrong way. As soon as the Emperor is out of the picture, he
sends Maximus to North Africa to be a slave. From there, Maximus
ends up as a gladiator back in his native Rome, where he must
mobilize the people against their emperor. This is fairly typical
Hollywood epic storytelling. Though it’s done well here,
there’s nothing terribly innovative or original about
Scott’s take on the politics of ancient Rome. Even a steely
performance by Crowe, who takes even this sort of spectacle-based
entertainment very seriously, can’t help but seem a trifle
overbearing and unnecessary. These are secondary complaints,
however, as no one goes to see a movie like “Gladiator”
for the dramatic interplay between characters. Rather, a good
summer movie should be appreciated for what it is: a fun,
entertaining ride. “Gladiator” satisfies this
requirement in spades. It’s a visually arresting,
action-packed piece of fluff, and as good as any American action
film that has graced the screen in recent memory. Lonnie Harris
Rating: 7
“Up at the Villa” Starring Kristin Scott
Thomas and Sean Penn Directed by Philip Haas It is always
a pleasure to watch the exquisitely angular, haughty beauty of a
character played by Kristin Scott Thomas struggle between love and
financial gain. It is even more of a pleasure when she is at last
revealed as a silly, upper-class twit. “Up at the
Villa” gives us this opportunity as Scott Thomas plays the
central character in a drama that surrounds her with four male
suitors, a rented Italian villa and the back-stabbing social milieu
of upper-crust ex-patriots living in Florence as World War II looms
imminently. Scott Thomas plays Mary Panton, a British divorcée
on holiday in Florence, looking to find a way out of her slowly
thinning financial situation by marrying Sir Edgar Swift (James
Fox), a wealthy government official old enough to be her father. As
she mulls his proposal, she has romantic, sexual and violent
dalliances with three other men, each offering her uncomfortable
alternatives to a privileged, safe life. Through the shocking
result of patronizing an immigrant servant, Karl (a shockingly
intense Jeremy Davies), Mary is thrown out of her bourgeois
passivity and romantic indecisiveness. She is forced to turn to
Rowley Flint (Penn), an American playboy, in order to turn the
tables on the hypocrisy of her own class. Based on a novella by W.
Somerset Maugham, the film tells an intriguing tale of a woman
caught within the limiting confines of her class: marry rich or
marry for love. The tightly structured plot combines elements of
seriousness and comedy that poke fun at the self-absorption of the
privileged. With her whining about a need to marry money only to
make a pricey gift of her upper-crust culture, we come come to
despise her character. If it weren’t for the sympathetic
quality of Scott Thomas, one would be thoroughly disgusted with
Mary and wish that Italian fascists would soon drown her in a vat
of gin and tonic. If you’re expecting the golden Florence of
“A Room With A View,” be forewarned; “Up at the
Villa” reflects the cold grayness of encroaching fascism. But
good supporting performances by Anne Bancroft, looking aged and
beautiful as gossipy pal Princess San Ferdinando, Penn (perfect as
the Yankee womanizer) and Davies give the film a better view. Jun
Okada Rating: 7
“Human Traffic” Starring John Simm, Lorraine
Pilkington and Nicola Reynolds Directed by Justin Kerrigan
Just as “Trainspotting” took on heroin in 1996,
“Human Traffic” takes on the culture surrounding
ecstasy. Five Welsh friends with miserable lives and dead-end jobs
encounter the most wonderful of days: Friday. Jip (Simm) forgets
that his mum is a working girl, Lulu (Pilkington) ditches her
sleazy boyfriends, Nina (Reynolds) quits her mind-numbing McJob and
all prepare for a weekend of partying, E-dropping, philosophizing
and getting laid. Not necessarily in that order. The
adrenaline-packed first half of the film follows their preparatory
rituals: pep-talking each other into a state of frenzy, picking out
clubbing gear and pub-crawling. Then comes the partying, the
dropping, the bonding, the loving and the inevitable comedown. The
fantasy sequences scattered throughout are a little hard to swallow
at first. Nina’s growing horror with her job at a fast food
joint lapses into a fantasy of all the workers turning into
mindless robots. Jip, who suffers from impotence, brings in Lulu to
watch and analyze one of his past sexual defeats. But as the
characters start dropping ecstasy, the unreal frame of mind becomes
appropriate to the rave atmosphere. It feels appropriate that an
austere TV newsman should be giving a deadpan report amid the
clubbers. The fantasy technique is particularly effective as a
means of showing the drug’s power. Under the influence, the
friends float in a white cloud of contentment and give their take
on how the drug makes everyone lovelier and happier. Then the
drug-induced period of sublimity is jarringly ended by the return
of daylight and reality. This UK production is a welcome antidote,
both in terms of style and subject matter, to the recent explosion
of sappy teen movies. While it is arguable whether “Human
Traffic” captures the essence of the rave atmosphere, it at
least succeeds in capturing the thrill of being young. Laura Loh
Rating: 7