DVD Releases for the Week of Dec. 30, 2008
The week of December 30th is transition time. The shopping season has come to an end, and the next day beckons a new year for film. On the DVD front, this means nearly zilch of interest this week. Most notably for Montrealers, Sebastien Rose’s Le Banquet, which premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival in August, gets a province-wide release. This high-intensity drama culminates in a fiery demonstration on issues of education funding. As one reviewer put it, it deals with matters “better discussed over dinner than on film” (source), though it does so in a technically engaging way. Read more »
Tags: Alan Ball, Kristi Jacobson, Le Banquet, S.R. Bindler, Sang-soo Hong, Sebastien Rose, Surfer Dude, Toots, Towelhead, Woman on the Beach
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December 29, 2008 | Comments Off
Suman Mukhopadhyay’s Four Chapters (Chaturanga) is a film that deals with timeless issues: religion vs. reason, the status of women, and the dichotomy of Western ideas vs. Eastern ideas. Based on a novel by Novel-prize winning Rabindranath Tagore, the film is about Sachish, a man wrestling with the numerous ideas and worldviews life has to offer, and ultimately the inability to really follow just one. What makes Chaturanga of such interest is its ability to act as heuristic device for discussion on such issues; much of this is credited to the original author. At a running time of over two hours, Suman Mukhopadhyay’s latest is a rare beast in that it is split into four chapters, the first two of which seem to lead nowhere, and the last two of which have some particularly potent and revelatory scenes that make sense of the first half of the film. 
Festival season has come to an end for both Montreal and most of the rest of the world. Now all eyes turn to the slew of critic association lists and the upcoming film award ceremonies in the new year. Airing on the 11th of January, the Golden Globes is the first major ceremony of 2009. For filmgoers with more than a passing interest in the awards (more than just red carpet glitz), take an active part by making your own decisions on the nominees with this handy viewing guide to catch the majority of films in the next few weeks. 
Part of the Montreal World Film Festival’s official selection in World Competition, Departures (Okuribito), directed by Yojiro Takita, is a picture of emotional beauty. Celloist Daigo Kobayashi departs from city life with his wife after the orchestra disbands and moves back to his home town in rural Japan. His job searching leads him to an ad in a newspaper advertising “departures” as the job description. Assuming work in a travel agency, Daigo is shocked to discover the work involves taking part in the Japanese death ritual of preparing the body of the dead for burial or incineration. Departures reveals to the world a heartfelt story through a cultural ritual that will feel alien to Western audiences. 
The announcement of the Golden Globes nominees earlier this week has all eyes to the films and stars of the night. The first film in one of the major categories (Best Comedy or Musical) is being released this week: Mamma Mia! starring Meryl Streep, based on the hit stage musical about a young girl to be wed who has never known her real father. By reading her mother’s diary, she discovers three possibilities and invites them all to sunny Greece. Featuring music by ABBA and a summer locale, this should be a good watch for a fun afternoon. 
In anticipation of Gus Van Sant’s Milk, Cinema du Parc will have a limited time screening of the 1984 Oscar-winning The Times of Harvey Milk, directed by Rob Epstein. Considered one of the greatest American documentaries, and told in a traditional biographical style, this audio-visual historical document is essential viewing before watching the new narrative film starring Sean Pean. It starts screening December 12th. 
How to look past the obvious choice this week? Acclaimed by critics and the second highest grossing film of all time in North America, The Dark Knight is ready to eclipse all other releases this week as top sell, top rental. Any attention for other films will likely be reduced to nil. And while this second outing directed by narrative time-bending Christopher Nolan should be the top of anyone’s lists, there are a few lesser known films worth the role of sidekick. 
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