"Freedom."

This was one of those movies I wasn't sure I wanted to see. It's long at over 2 hours and 20 minutes... it's a drama, and from the previews it looked like it was on the 'gut-wrenching' side... but I love Djimon Hounsou and I hadn't seen Leo DiCaprio in anything in a while [and let's face it, he's a cutie]. I was actually surprised at how quickly I was hooked into the story and the characters, and along for the ride. Despite the subject matter, it wasn't too tough to watch and it was very well done from the story, to production down to the acting. I loved every minute. 

Blood Diamond takes place in Sierra Leone in the late 1990s and is the story of Solomon Vandy [Hounsou], and Danny Archer [DiCaprio] - both men are from Africa, but from very different backgrounds. Solomon is a Mende fisherman who's village is sacked by rebels and is kidnapped to work in the diamond fields, shattering his dreams of his son becoming a doctor some day. Archer is a ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe with incredible survival instincts, in jail for smuggling. When Archer finds out Solomon found a very large, pink diamond and hid it before the rebels could get it, he offers to get Solomon out of jail and help him find his family in exchange for the diamond - the ultimate ticket to freedom for both men. Aided by an American journalist [Jennifer Connelly], they go on an incredible journey through rebel territory during a time a civil war. 

For the depth of the characters, the suspenseful story and terrific acting, this movie is a solid 4 out of 5 and definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it yet. Leo DiCaprio's South African accent wasn't too awful either... [if you read my reviews regularly, you know that's a peeve of mine]. It did come and go, but it wasn't bad. ;)

Add'l Info: Released: Dec 8, 2006 • Runtime: 143 minutes • Rated R for strong violence and language

CAPTION:  Ghengis Khan is all up in this yurt.

So last week I saw that flick Mongol, you know, the new epic about Ghengis Khan made by a Russian director (Sergei Bodrov), starring a Japanese dude (Tadonubo Asano), nominated for an Oscar, and inexplicably released stateside in the middle of the summer movie season.  It was a pretty good movie that held my interest for two hours by exposing me to a culture I know little about and featuring a well played out historical epic story arc complete with requisite kick-ass battle scenes.  Sitting there getting frosty in the air-conditioned theater while the heat and humidity raged outside, I couldn't help thinking this was a movie better suited for the prestigious autumnal season.  With the most gluttonous of film seasons in full swing (is The Dark Knight out yet?), I decided to take a look ahead at my favorite season in film and weather. 

Here I present my list of most anticipated movies for Fall 2008:

___________________________________________________________________

1.  The Miracle at St. Anna  (scheduled release date:  9/26)

The Director:  Spike Lee

The Stars:  Derek Luke, John Leguizamo, James Gandolfini, Joseph Gordon Levitt, some cute Italian kid, Alexandra Maria Lara, and a boatload of other people and familiar faces

The Scoop:  Okay, so I will admit it right here, right now.  I love Spike Lee.  I even liked She Hate Me.  He's a cunning provocateur who's had numerous peaks and valleys in his career but just won't stop no matter what and always seems to get his name in the papers--witness Clint Eastwood telling him recently to "shut his face".  Spike is coming off the most commercially successful film of his long career with Inside Man.  With this adaptation of the novel by James McBride about a group of African-American soldiers trapped in Tuscany during WWII, he's giving us his first epic since Malcom X.    The trailer for this film is a smashing success that manages to sell the film as both a murder mystery and a searing Saving Private Ryan style WWII drama.  This latest Spike Lee Joint has so many great things going for it:  an auteur on the precipice of a personal artistic and commercial Renaissance (much like the one Scorsese recently went through with The Aviator and The Departed); a great storyline that has the potential to provoke discussions of history, race, religion and politics in a historic Presidential election year; and a multi-ethnic cast that includes a cute Italian kid, and as a special bonus for me, the devastatingly seductive Alexandra Maria Lara, whose beauty alone made Francis Ford Coppola's recent debacle Youth Without Youth worth watching.

Watch the trailer:  http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3941007641/

Official Site:  http://www.miraclemovie.com

________________________________________________________________

2.  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  (scheduled release date:  12/19)

The Director:  David Fincher

The Stars:  Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond

The Scoop:  This is the fantastic case of a gimmick film (it tells the not so simple story of a man who ages backwards, folks) with a literary pedigree (adapted from a story by F. Scott Fitzgerald).  I first saw the trailer for this in front of the latest Indiana Jones flick, and the packed house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Its epic scope appears to be a complete departure for director Fincher, and its unique story and images sweep over you in the masterfully crafted trailer-much kudos thus far to the marketing team.  This film has the potential to be monumentally huge or just another curiosity grabbing for Oscar gold at Christmastime.  Will Fincher (robbed of an Oscar nod for Zodiac last year) and uber-star Pitt (robbed last year for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) finally get their due?

CAPTION:  Two Oscars please, my good man!  Oscars for me and the Finch!

Watch the trailer:  http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thecuriouscaseofbenjaminbutton/

Official Site:  http://www.benjaminbutton.com/

___________________________________________________________

3.  Australia  (scheduled release date:  11/14)

The Director:  Baz Luhrmann

The Stars:  Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Australia!

The Scoop:  Baz the Spazz changes gears completely with this big historical epic depicting heroism and romance against the backdrop of a Japanese attack on Australia during WWII.  The trailer sells the imagery and scope of the film very well, making it look Gone with the Wind Down Under, though the frame story of Kidman telling a fairy tale to the Aborigine girl seems a bit strained (and remarkably similar to Tarsem's The Fall.)  Luhrmann appears to have abandoned his hyper kinetic style for the dreadful sumptuousness that always seems to sell tickets during the big holidays at the end of the year.  Kidman and Jackman certainly look the parts, and lord knows they could both use a big hit.   Will critics be eager to embrace the new Luhrmann after a seven year hiatus?  More than any other film, I think critics have the chance to make or break this one.

Watch the trailer:  http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2917663001/

Official Site:  http://www.australiamovie.com/

__________________________________________________________

4.  The Soloist  (scheduled release date:  11/21)

The Director:  Joe Wright

The Stars:  Robert Downey Jr., Catherine Keener, Jamie Foxx

The Scoop:  Brit Joe Wright atones for his period pieces by making this American set musical biopic.  Downey Jr. is back on the A-list, the director is taking on a genre held in high favor in recent years, and playing a schizophrenic musical genius seems right up Foxx's alley.  There are no trailers or official sites yet, but I can't wait to see what kind of tracking long shots Wright cooks up for this one--I'm picturing a shot the begins with an overhead dolly and travels down and through the crowd and orchestra at a grand concert hall.

________________________________________________________________

5.  Revolutionary Road  (scheduled release date:  12/26)

The Director:  Sam Mendes

The Stars:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

The Scoop:  I have to admit, the plot of this one (from a novel by Richard Yates) sounds like a snore-fest:  a young couple in 1950's Connecticut deal with problems and such.  However, Mendes has yet to make a bad film, suburban dystopia is his bread and butter (American Beauty, anyone?), and the reunion of Titanic stars Leo and Kate in a Christmastime release give this film some palpable buzz.  No trailers or official site have appeared yet. 

______________________________________________________________________

Other Films of Interest:

Changeling:  10/31.  The latest from Clint Eastwood has some mixed buzz coming from its Cannes' premier.  This 1920's set psychological thriller about a mother who begins to doubt the identity of her young son who has been returned to her after going missing will have a hard line to tow while it tries to convince people it's not a remake of a horror film with the same name and is instead a prestigious Oscar bid for its uber-star Angelina Jolie.

Defiance:  12/2.  Yet another WWII epic, this one is based on a true story and staring Daniel Craig.  Directed by Edward Zwick, the film of course reeks of quality, and the trailer has been getting some good buzz (at least amongst my friends and family), but it looks nobly cliched to me.  If that new Spike Lee Joint strikes a cord, this runs the risk of being overshadowed as the later release.

Watch the trailer for Defiance:  http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2008154393/

Oh, yeah, there's also a new James Bond flick (Craig again) idiotically entitled Quantum of Solace (11/7), and a wacky crime caper from Oscar darlings the Coen Brothers zanily called Burn After Reading (9/12) and staring, you guessed it, Brad Pitt.

Watch the Quantum of Solace trailer:  http://www.moviefone.com/movie/quantum-of-solace/26922/trailer?trailerId=2150289

Particularly the TV list. I don't know about you, but I can get invested in a television series to the point of clinical pathology. I know far more details, for example, about the life of Lorelei Gilmore from Gilmore Girls (no. 32 on the EW list) than I do about my closest female friends. Sad, but true. So when a series that I have given of my time - and my heart (sob) - ends its run, I grieve. To see so many of my departed friends on the EW "New Classics: TV" list makes me happy to see my friends again, while at the same time miss them all over again.

One of the series I miss most acutely is number 36 on the list, thirtysomething. This series, created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, ran from 1987 to 1991, and listed a small band of terrific writers including Paul Haggis and Jerry Stahl. What made the series so unique for the time, and therefore utterly addictive to me, was that this was a show not about doctors or police or private detectives - things I was never likely to see in my own personal adulthood - but about couples and families and kids and friendship. Their issues of work stress, faithfulness, illness, and disappointment in the daily minutiae were challenges I could either already relate to or envision myself addressing at some point in the near future.

Throughout its four seasons, though their hair stayed totally 80s, the characters all developed in engaging and surprising ways, except for Gary (Peter Horton), who basically stayed a likable pig, and Michael's boss Miles Drentell (David Clennon), who also remained unrepentently amoral. [Random cross-reference: When Peter Horton showed up as Sophie's wayward dad in In Treatment (not on EW's list, much to my horror), I praised the casting and resurrection of a character who was, essentially, Gary; the episode was, not to my surprise, directed by. . . Gary's old girlfriend, Melissa (i.e. Melanie Mayron)] And they all got to say the best lines. A few that I was able to find on the Internet:

"Sorry we can't answer the phone, 'cause Nancy has cancer." Elliot (Timothy Busfield) on the answering machine

"I always try to get complimentary cookies. In fact, these cookies are downright obsequious." Ellyn (Polly Draper) to a caterer

"Michael and I had just come out of this awful movie and were walking, we couldn't find the car. It as just starting to get dark and we were laughing about it, but we were getting tired. All of a sudden I - leaned on this car and looked at at him and I didn't see him, I just - heard him, like a pressure and a sound inside of me, in a a place so deep I didn't think anyone could ever reach..And I knew I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life... Hope (Mel Harris)

Michael, Hope, and the gang, I (for one) still miss you. Congrats on making EW's list.

The second thing I thought of was who on God's green earth ever thought this movie would make money? Who thought pouring [a reported] $250-300 million into producing and marketing a movie that numbed its audience quite like this? Who thought nearly two and a half hours of hyper color madness like this could appeal to a mass audience? Have the Wachowski's gone so far into madness that they thought their fluke success with the first Matrix movie would parlay into two Matrix sequels and Speed Racer being such stylistic cultural landmarks? Ok thats more than two things I thought, but its all on one center thread.

Let me therefore thank Speed Racer's knuckle-headed producers into torching so much money into making a massively budgeted indie-movie, one that could be appreciated by a smaller audience who appreciate mind-bending style-heaps like this. This is a rare treat to see something made so large for so few.

Incidentally, I had just finished a long awaited rewatching of Gone With the Wind before heading off to the theater. That is, I went from the greatest financial and critical success ever to what may end up being the largest financial disaster of all time. The core principal dividing the two? Gone with the Wind was driven by the Mad Producer (David O'Selznick) while Speed Racer was driven (not to mix puns) by the Mad Director (The Wachowski Brothers).

The Mad Director has a much higher disaster rate by bending the rules and allowing their “great” visions run amok,. Often convinced a previous success has been such an artistic and cultural breakthrough, they insist on being bolder and more wreckless with a new project that it spirals away from any practical sense of what will appeal to a mass audience. They begin to believe they're Stanley Kubrick working on 2001: A Space Odyssey. Not everyone can be Kubrick. Even Kubrick was barely able to be Kubrick. His madness ended up consuming his life and his work until they were only shadows of former greatness. Mad Directors are ones blessed with remarkable talent only to waste them by refusing to play by any rules whatsoever and cannot co-exist with any creative talent outside his own. Terry Gilliam is perhaps the best living example. Orson Welles was the all-time heavyweight champ.

The Mad Producer however has the kind of sense to know what audience's will like and, therefore, make money. Gone With the Wind has all the right pieces in a finely executed, lavish spectacle that's as easy on the eyes as much as it is on the ears. The script is well polished, the characters are rich and interesting, the actors are inspired casting choices with all the right movie star appeal. The sets, costumes, photography, music, all perfectly large and expensive and balanced so nothing overshadows anything else and the result is a movie that continues to enrapture audiences even after nearly 70 years.

That's not to say the Mad Producer can also swan-dive into disaster. Robert Evans burnt himself out after the 70's and continued to put together bloated, overweight period movies or uninteresting “concept movies.” Edward Zwick convinced himself he could also direct and has made dull, sappy movies for 20 years now, his biggest successes coming when he is listed only as producer (Traffic, Shakespeare In love, Dangerous Beauty). Martin and Michael Bregman saw their big league career end when they put together The Adventures of Pluto Nash which lost 95% of its very expensive cost. Nonetheless, any ambitious producer knows that the only way to see tomorrow is to make a picture that makes money. Follow certain rules and you're bound to at least recoup costs.

The Wachowskis have talent, that much can't be argued. They obviously have some sort of vision, but they need a leash. They're not changing the world quite yet and some producer who knows what he's doing should step in and slap them around a little. But then, when more than $200 million goes away and doesn't come back, they're likely not to have a job in the morning. Should the Wachowskis be allowed to make another film ever, it should prove interesting to see what they come up with. Then again, we're still waiting for the triumphant return of Michael Cimino.

CZYTAJ DALEJ TUTAJ

W Hollywood powstaje superprodukcja o przygodach żydowskiego partyzanta
Tewjego Bielskiego. Zagra go odtwórca roli Jamesa Bonda Daniel Craig. Z
filmu widzowie nie dowiedzą się jednak, że oddział Bielskiego oprócz tego,
że uratował wielu Żydów, jest współodpowiedzialny za śmierć ponad stu
Polaków

Tewje Bielski i jego partyzanci
Partyzanci z oddziału braci Bielskich
CANAL+/CYFRA

Tuwia Bielski
Tewje (Tuwia) Bielski

- Była 4.30, może 5 w nocy. Obudził mnie potężny huk. Długa seria z karabinu
maszynowego poszła po chałupie. Kule przebiły na wylot belki i przeleciały
nad naszymi łóżkami. Pocisk utkwił w ścianie, kilka centymetrów nad moją
głową. Usłyszałem wrzaski - opowiada Wacław Nowicki. 8 maja 1943 roku miał
18 lat. - Zabarykadowaliśmy się w domu, ale napastnicy pobiegli dalej, w
stronę centrum Naliboków. To nas uratowało.

Wkrótce Nowiccy, którzy mieszkali na obrzeżach miasteczka, zobaczyli przez
okno pierwsze płomienie. Z pobliża dobiegała gęsta kanonada. Do pogrążonych
we śnie Naliboków wdarli się sowieccy partyzanci. Około 120 - 150
uzbrojonych ludzi.

- Szli przed siebie, wpadali do chałup. Każdego, kogo napotkali na swojej
drodze, zabijali z zimną krwią. Dla nikogo nie było litości - opowiada inny
świadek wydarzeń, obecnie 83-letni Wacław Chilicki.

Bolesław Chmara miał wówczas 15 lat: - Wywołali mojego starszego o trzy lata
brata na ganek. Wyszedł. Wśród nich była kobieta. Podniosła karabin i
trafiła go prosto w pierś. To była rozrywająca kula dum-dum. Wyrwało mu całe
ramię. Ona wzruszyła ramionami, odwróciła się na pięcie i poszli dalej.
Zrabowali, co się dało, a chałupę puścili z dymem.

Zamordowano wówczas 128 albo 129 osób, głównie mężczyzn i wyrostków. Ale
również 10-letnie dziecko i kilka kobiet. Jedna z nich zginęła, broniąc
trzech synów. W kilku przypadkach zabito po siedmiu, ośmiu członków jednej
rodziny. Część ludzi zginęła w łóżkach, część wyprowadzono na podwórza i
rozstrzelano po kilkunastu, w zbiorowych egzekucjach. Od pocisków
zapalających zajęło się kilka chałup. Spalono kościelną wieżę, pocztę,
remizę. Zrabowano dużą ilość jedzenia, koni, bydła.

- To, co zobaczyliśmy, gdy odeszli partyzanci, przechodziło ludzkie pojęcie.
Wypalone budynki. Stosy trupów. Głównie rany postrzałowe, porozbijane głowy,
wytrzeszczone w przerażeniu, martwe oczy. Wśród zabitych dojrzałem szkolnego
kolegę. - opowiada Wacław Nowicki. - Dla młodego chłopaka, jakim wówczas
byłem, to był prawdziwy szok. Nie zapomnę tego widoku do końca życia.

Mieszkańcy Naliboków, którzy przeżyli, nie mają wątpliwości, że w sowieckim
oddziale, który dokonał masakry, duża część partyzantów pochodziła z
działającego w sąsiedniej Puszczy Nalibockiej żydowskiego oddziału Tewjego
Bielskiego. - To Żydzi, którzy przed wojną mieszkali wśród nas, brylowali
wśród napastników. Doskonale wiedzieli, kto, gdzie mieszka, kto jest kim -
wspomina Nowicki.

Jerozolima na bagnach

Reżyserem filmu, który ma nosić nazwę "Defiance" ("Opór"), jest znany
amerykański twórca kina akcji Edward Zwick ("Stan oblężenia", "Ostatni
samuraj", "Krwawy diament"). Tewjego Bielskiego zagra, obecny odtwórca roli
agenta 007, Daniel Craig. Film, który będzie kręcony w Europie Wschodniej i
Kanadzie, ma kosztować około 50 mln dolarów. Powinien być ukończony za
blisko rok.

O planach Zwicka poinformowała niedawno w entuzjastycznym artykule
zatytułowanym "Bond zagra w filmie o polskich partyzantach" "Gazeta
Wyborcza". Na portalu dziennika przeprowadzono nawet ankietę pod hasłem
"Czy Daniel Craig jest odpowiedni do roli polskiego bohatera?".

W firmie Grosvenor Park Productions, która finansuje kręcenie filmu, nikt
nie wie o Nalibokach.

- Coś takiego. Pierwsze słyszę. Scenariusz jest jednak sprawą Edwarda Zwicka
i jego firmy Bedford Falls Company z Santa Monica. Proszę porozmawiać z
nimi - mówi Jonathan McFadden z Grosvenor Park.

Edward Zwick nie chciał jednak rozmawiać. Nie odpowiedział również na
przesłanego mu e-maila.

Z informacji przekazanych przez producentów prasie można sobie wyobrazić, w
jaki sposób przedstawiona zostanie historia Tewjego Bielskiego. Film ma być
poruszającą, epicką opowieścią o odwadze, nadziei i walce ze złem. O
szlachetnym człowieku, który w obliczu zagłady postanawia uratować jak
największą liczbę ludzi, jednocześnie dzielnie stawiając czoła nazistom i
kolaborantom.

Odwzorowany ma zostać obóz, który Tewje Bielski założył na otoczonej bagnami
wyspie, położonej w dzikich ostępach Puszczy Nalibockiej. W osadzie,
nazywanej przez jej mieszkańców Jerozolimą, działały podobno zakłady
rzemieślnicze, szpital, a nawet bożnica.

- Bardzo się cieszę, że powstaje ten film. Niestety, postać Tewjego
Bielskiego, choć w pełni na to zasługuje, nie jest specjalnie znana na
świecie. Ponieważ kino ma wyjątkową moc oddziaływania, mam nadzieję, że
dzięki temu filmowi sytuacja się zmieni - mówi znana badaczka Holokaustu
prof. Nechama Tec. To właśnie na podstawie jej książki ("Defiance? The
Bielski Partisans", Nowy Jork 1993) powstał scenariusz filmu.

Pod sowieckim dowództwem

Dlaczego doszło do masakry w Nalibokach? Konflikt pomiędzy polskimi
mieszkańcami i ich żydowskimi sąsiadami - bo to właśnie miejscowi Żydzi w
dużej mierze weszli w skład oddziału Bielskiego - narastał od dawna.
Naliboki były małą miejscowością, położoną w Puszczy Nalibockiej, w
województwie nowogródzkim. Głównie drewniana, kresowa zabudowa. Kościół,
bożnica i kilka murowanych budynków urzędowych. Zamieszkiwało je około
trzech tysięcy ludzi, w tym kilkuset Żydów.

- Żyliśmy w pokoju. Nie wchodziliśmy sobie w drogę. W pewnym momencie
prowadzona była jedynie kampania, aby nie kupować w żydowskich sklepach,
tylko w chrześcijańskich - wspomina Wacław Chilicki. Działalność niewielkiej
grupki miejscowych narodowców ograniczała się do napisania w nocy kredą na
płocie "Żydzi precz!". - Nie było jednak mowy o żadnej przemocy, o tym, żeby
ktoś kogoś upokarzał - dodaje Chilicki.

Pierwszy poważny zgrzyt nastąpił we wrześniu 1939 roku. Miejscowi Żydzi
entuzjastycznie witali wkraczających Sowietów. Potem przyszedł luty 1940
roku. Zaczęły się masowe deportacje Polaków w głąb Związku Sowieckiego. -
Żydzi chodzili razem z NKWD i wskazywali im najznaczniejszych Polaków. Ten
był policjantem, ten pracował w urzędzie, ten był oficerem KOP, a ten służył
w Legionach. Ruscy pakowali ich z całymi rodzinami na furmanki i wywozili w
nieznane - opowiada Wacław Nowicki.

Zresztą większość Żydów wkrótce się rozczarowała nową władzą. Podczas
kampanii wymierzonej w wolny handel Sowieci likwidowali wszelkie małe
sklepiki i inne należące do Żydów interesy. Niemniej jednak, w pamięci
większości Polaków utrwalił się obraz Żyda-kolaboranta, z czerwoną opaską na
ramieniu i z sowieckim karabinem przewieszonym przez plecy.

Sytuację zmienił wybuch nowej wojny. Gdy w Nalibokach pojawili się Niemcy,
duża część Żydów uciekła do puszczy. Właśnie tam na przełomie 1941 i 1942
roku zaczął formować się oddział Tewjego Bielskiego - byłego kaprala WP - i
jego trzech braci pochodzących z jednej z pobliskich miejscowości. Oddział,
który początkowo liczył 40 ludzi, szybko urósł do kilkuset. W większości
kobiet i dzieci, które uciekały pod opiekę żydowskich partyzantów z
okolicznych gett.

- Po przejściu frontu na tyłach pędzących do przodu dywizji pancernych
Wehrmachtu, została masa sowieckich żołnierzy. Wielu z nich łączyło się w
oddziały partyzanckie. Puszcza Nalibocka znajdowała się pod ich całkowitą
kontrolą. Tewje Bielski szybko się z Sowietami porozumiał, wszedł pod ich
komendę. Miał się czym wkupić: kobietami, których krasnoarmiejcy byli
pozbawieni - mówi historyk, który badał zbrodnię w Nalibokach, Leszek
Żebrowski. - W masakrze brali udział zarówno ludzie Bielskiego, jak i
Sowieci.

Pomiędzy bandytyzmem i antysemityzmem

Od tego czasu stosunki na linii ludzie Bielskiego - mieszkańcy Naliboków
zaczęły się coraz bardziej zaostrzać.

- To była banda zwyrodniałych bandytów, a nie żadni partyzanci. Ich głównym
zajęciem były grabieże i mordy. Bardzo często dopuszczali się również
gwałtów. Zgwałcili jedną z moich sąsiadek. Ojcu, któremu pod pistoletem
kazali na to patrzeć, powiedzieli: "Nie martwcie się, po wojnie przyjdziemy
i się ożenimy". Brata mojego ojca chrzestnego Antoniego Korżenkę zastrzelili
podczas napadu, jak nie chciał oddać im swoich koni - opowiada Wacław
Nowicki.

Aby bronić się przed rekwizycjami i napadami, Polacy założyli samoobronę,
która jednocześnie była przykrywką dla lokalnego oddziału Armii Krajowej. -
Byliśmy doskonale uzbrojeni. Kilkadziesiąt karabinów, kilka rkm, dwa ckm,
moździerz. Oni nie tylko chcieli zemsty za to, że nie chcieliśmy się im
podporządkować. Chcieli położyć łapy na naszej broni - opowiada Wacław
Chilicki.

Wersja żydowska jest diametralnie inna. To polscy antysemici prowokowali
konflikt, atakując oddzielających się od grupy Żydów.

Sulia Wolozhinska Rubin, której mąż brał udział w rzezi w Nalibokach,
wspominała: "Nieopodal (dworzeckiego) getta znajdowała się wioska. Żydzi
musieli przez nią przechodzić po drodze do lasu, a partyzanci (sowieccy) w
drodze z lasu. Ci wieśniacy ostrzegali biciem w dzwony i waleniem w
miedziane garnki o przemarszu takich osób, aby ostrzec pobliskie wioski.
Chłopi wybiegali z siekierami, sierpami - czymkolwiek, co może służyć do
zabijania - i rżnęli każdego, a potem rozdzielali między siebie cokolwiek ci
nieszczęśliwcy mieli". ("Against the Tide? The Story of an Unknown Partisan"
, Jerozolima 1980).

W nakręconym później filmie dokumentalnym dodała, że polscy chłopi.
ukrzyżowali na drzewie ojca jej męża, co się miało stać bezpośrednią
przyczyną dokonania masakry ("The Bielsky Brothers? The Unkown Partisans",
Soma Productions, 1993).

- Stek bzdur! - kwitują wspomnienia pani Rubin polscy świadkowie tamtych
wydarzeń.

- Czy partyzanci Bielskiego brali od ludzi jedzenie? Brali. Tak samo jak
brała AK i wszystkie inne partyzantki na świecie. To było wojsko i oni
musieli jeść, musieli jakoś żyć. Naturalnym źródłem zaopatrzenia jest w
takiej sytuacji lokalna ludność. Oni myśleli w taki sposób: chodzimy z
bronią po lasach, narażamy życie, bijemy się, a tu chłop leży z babą na
piecu, palcem nie ruszy i jeszcze nie chce się podzielić żarciem - tłumaczy
Marian Turski, historyk i dziennikarz "Polityki", który kilka lat temu
opisał okupacyjne dzieje Bielskiego.

Leszek Żebrowski podkreśla jednak, że żydowscy partyzanci byli podczas
swoich akcji ekspropriacyjnych wyjątkowo brutalni. W jednym z raportów z
Puszczy Nalibockiej Delegatura Rządu na Kraj informowała: "Ludność miejscowa
jest zmęczona i znękana ciągłymi rekwizycjami, a często i rabunkiem odzieży,
żywności i inwentarza. Najbardziej się dają we znaki, zwłaszcza w
odniesieniu do ludności polskiej, tzw. oddziały rodzinne (siemiejnyje),
składające się wyłącznie z Żydów i Żydówek w sile dwóch batalionów". (AAN,
202/III-193, k. 131)

Walka o przeżycie

Sprawa trudnego sąsiedztwa partyzantów Bielskiego i ludności Naliboków
wpisuje się w szerszy problem - na Zachodzie do dziś otoczony zmową
milczenia - jakim były różne aspekty aktywności żydowskich partyzantów
działających na terenie okupowanej Polski.

- Proszę sobie wyobrazić taką sytuację. Człowiek ucieka z transportu czy
getta. Znajduje się w całkowicie obcym środowisku. Często, pomimo że całe
życie mieszkał w Polsce, nie zna języka. Jest poza nawiasem prawa, jest
ścigany. Do tego dochodzi demoralizacja wojną, okrucieństwami, których był
świadkiem. Dla niego najważniejsze jest, żeby przeżyć. Tylko to się liczy -
tłumaczy historyk z IPN Piotr Gontarczyk.

Żydowskie grupy nie przebierały więc w środkach, kiedy trzeba było pozyskać
jedzenie. Dochodziło do rabunków, morderstw, gwałtów. Oddziały te w
naturalny sposób ciążyły ku Sowietom, co jeszcze pogłębiało łatwość
patologicznych zachowań.

- Większość bitew, w których brały udział żydowskie oddziały, była
całkowicie wyssana z palca. 90 proc. akcji, które potem w literaturze
przedmiotu zostały opisane jako boje z Niemcami, było w rzeczywistości
napaściami na ludność cywilną - podkreśla Gontarczyk. Nie inaczej było z
Nalibokami. W sowieckim meldunku z 10 maja 1943 r. masakrę w tej
miejscowości przedstawiono jako rozbicie silnego niemieckiego garnizonu.

Dla Żydów legenda żydowskiej partyzantki stawiającej z bronią w ręku czoła
nazistom jest jednak wyjątkowo ważna_. Jest elementem ich historycznej
tożsamości i powodem do dumy.

- Panuje powszechne przekonanie, że Żydzi zachowywali się biernie, jak owce
prowadzone na rzeź. Że nie stawiali oporu. Tymczasem partyzanci, na czele z
oddziałem Tewjego Bielskiego, są wspaniałym przykładem, że tak nie było. Że
byli Żydzi, którzy działali, którzy walczyli i ratowali swoich współbraci -
mówi Nechama Tec. - Pamiętam, jak rozmawiałam z Tewjem dwa tygodnie przed
jego śmiercią. Zapytałam: dlaczego zdecydowałeś się na ten heroiczny czyn? -
Widziałem, co robią Niemcy - odparł. Chciałem być inny. Zamiast zabijać,
chciałem ratować. Nie walczyłem z Niemcami, to prawda. Bo uważałem, że jeden
uratowany Żyd jest ważniejszy niż 10 zabitych Niemców.

Podobnego zdania o Bielskim jest Israel Gutman, profesor z jerozolimskiego
instytutu Yad Vashem. - Bielski to żydowski bohater. Takich jak on było
naprawdę niewielu. Ludzi, którzy z bronią w ręku wystąpili przeciwko
nazistom. Proszę zrozumieć, jak wielkie znaczenie ma dla nas ta postać.
Musimy rozliczać go z efektów działań. Najważniejsze jest to, że uratował
1200 ludzi.

Nie ma miejsca na szarość

Problem w tym, że dla jednych efektem działań Bielskiego jest 1,2 tysiąca
uratowanych, dla innych 130 zamordowanych. Zresztą, jeżeli chodzi o
postępowanie z Żydami, Bielski również nie jest postacią jednoznaczną. Z
relacji ludzi, którzy przewinęli się przez jego obóz wynika, że swoim
oddziałem zarządzał wyjątkowo twardą ręką.

Od przybyłych do puszczy uciekinierów pobierał haracz, z najładniejszych
kobiet stworzył prawdziwy harem. Sytuacja materialna mieszkających w jego
obozie Żydów była bardzo zła, ale on sam otaczał się luksusem. Znane są
także przypadki eliminowania niewygodnych lub zagrażających jego
niepodzielnej władzy podwładnych.

- Tak, to był dzierżymorda. Apodyktyczny, zadufany w sobie facet. Działał
jednak w warunkach wojennych. Był człowiekiem swoich czasów i przez pryzmat
tamtych, a nie dziesiejszych realiów, powinien być oceniany. Określiłbym go
jako skrzyżowanie Kmicica, Hubala i. Ognia. Ten ostatni również stosował
drastyczne metody, a przez tych samych ludzi, którzy potępiają dziś
Bielskiego, jest oceniany bardzo pozytywnie - tłumaczy Marian Turski.

Kim więc był Bielski: bohaterem czy zbrodniarzem?

- Zwykłym człowiekiem. Poza tym jedno nie wyklucza drugiego - mówi pracujący
w Waszyngtonie historyk Marek Chodakiewicz, autor monografii "Żydzi i Polacy
1918 - 1955. Współistnienie - Zagłada - Komunizm". - Bardzo często tak jest,
że gdy chodzi o dramatyczne wydarzenia czy postaci, które odegrały w nich
jakąś ważną rolę, ich oceny w zależności od tego, kto je formuje, są
diametralnie różne. Podstawowym błędem jest to, że ludzie oceniający Tewjego
Bielskiego, najczęściej patrzą na niego tylko przez pryzmat źródeł
pochodzących od jednej strony konfliktu.

Zdaniem Chodakiewicza zjawisko to jest charakterystyczne szczególnie w
przypadku zachodniej historiografii Holokaustu:

- Ona musi być czarno-biała. Nie ma w niej miejsca na szarości. Pamiętam,
jakie było oburzenie, gdy Polański pokazał w "Pianiście" żydowskich
policjantów z getta. Żydzi z czasów wojny, występujący w kulturze masowej,
po prostu muszą być kryształowo czystymi postaciami. W rzeczywistości takie
podejście ich odczłowiecza. Właśnie dlatego myślę, że film o Tewjem Bielskim
będzie kiepski. Nie poznamy z niego prawdy o tym człowieku. Nie dowiemy się,
że, jak każdy z nas, był postacią wielowymiarową.

Epilog

Sprawcy rzezi w Nalibokach nigdy nie zostali ukarani. W marcu 2001 roku na
wniosek kanadyjskiej Polonii śledztwo w tej sprawie wszczął IPN.

- Zbadaliśmy wszystkie dostępne dokumenty, przesłuchaliśmy około 70
świadków. Na tyle, na ile było można, zrekonstruowaliśmy przebieg zdarzeń.
Przewiduję, że śledztwo zostanie zamknięte pod koniec tego roku, najdalej w
pierwszym kwartale przyszłego - mówi prokurator Anna Gałkiewicz, która
prowadzi sprawę.

Śledztwo zostanie zapewne umorzone ze względu na to, że większość sprawców
prawdopodobnie już nie żyje.

Na ławie oskarżonych zasiadł natomiast w komunistycznej Polsce Eugeniusz
Klimowicz, oficer AK i dowódca miejscowej samoobrony. Ponieważ podczas
masakry w Nalibokach broniącym się rozpaczliwie Polakom udało się zastrzelić
kilku napastników, został on oskarżony przez komunistyczną prokuraturę o
"zamordowanie radzieckich partyzantów". Jako zbrodniarza
faszystowsko-hitlerowskiego skazano go w 1951 roku na karę śmierci,
zamienioną na dożywocie. Wyrok został uchylony w 1957 roku.

Tewje Bielski zaraz po wojnie wyjechał do Palestyny. Tam w 1948 roku walczył
z Arabami o niepodległość Izraela. Szybko jednak przeprowadził się do Nowego
Jorku, gdzie do końca życia pracował jako taksówkarz na Brooklynie. Zmarł
niemal zupełnie zapomniany w tamtejszym szpitalu Brookdale, w 1987 roku.
Miał 81 lat.

Mieszkańców Naliboków, którym udało się przeżyć sowiecką pacyfikację,
wkrótce dotknęła kolejna tragedia. 6 sierpnia 1943 roku do miasteczka
wkroczyły niemieckie oddziały prowadzące w Puszczy Nalibockiej operację
antypartyzancką pod kryptonimem "Hermann". Ludność została wymordowana lub
wywieziona na roboty do Rzeszy, a wszystkie - ocalałe po pierwszej
pacyfikacji - zabudowania spalone i zrównane z ziemią. Takie były losy wielu
polskich kresowych miasteczek w XX wieku. |

"I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America."
                                                                                  Sarah Bernhardt

"You're Abe Froman... the sausage king of Chicago?"
                                                                                  Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"I give you Chicago. It is not London and Harvard. It is not Paris and buttermilk. It is American in every chitling and sparerib. It is alive from snout to tail.
                                                                                   H. L. Mencken 

"They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way, and that's how you get Capone!"
                                                                                   The Untouchables 

Last week a 5.4 earthquake hit Illinois and was felt in Indiana and as far away as Iowa. Just one more way the Midwest is following those California trends. You know, I'm doing my part to export screenwriting from the Midwest and other unlikely places where people are writing so it makes sense to make another road trip and head over the Iowa state line to the east and travel into Illinois.

The epicenter of last weeks earthquake was West Salem, but from a screenwriting and filmmaking perspective the epicenter for the Midwest is Chicago. It's the third largest city in the United States and sits with a commanding view of Lake Michigan and can rightly be called The Third Coast.

Everyone should have the opportunity once in their life to have their own version of Ferris Bueller's Day Off in the windy city. Here's my perfect Chicago day: The Art Institute in the morning, a walk and lunch at the Navy Pier, see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field, ride an architectural boat tour, a sunset dinner at the Signature Room high atop the John Hancock Center , a play at one of the zillions of theater options, a carriage ride around the Chicago Water Tower downtown and a nice room at The Drake Hotel on the Magnificent Mile with a room overlooking the Gold Coast (and where they welcome my golden retriever).

And if you have the weekend you can fit in a concert at Millennium Park  and a list that just gets longer and longer. Chicago is a great city. And it alone has produced a wealth of creative talent and shines bright as a city. (Maybe that's why Dan Quayle once said, "It is wonderful to be in the great state of Chicago...")  Here’s a list of writers from Illinois though I'm sure to leave out many people. (Feel free to email me additional writers with connections there.)

Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Sam Shepard (True West)
David Mamet (The Verdict)
Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451)
Preston Sturges (Sullivan’s Travels)
Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan)
Ernest Hemingway (The Old Man and the Sea)
Mark Brown (Barbershop)
John Hughes (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
Andy and Larry Wachowski (The Matrix)
Harold Ramis  (Groundhog Day)
Greg Glienna (Meet the Parents)
Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness)
John Logan (Gladiator)
Jon Favreau (Swingers)
Tina Fey (Mean Girls)
Michael Mann (The Insider)
Phil Vischer (VeggieTales movies)
Roger Rueff (The Big Kahuna)
Robert Zemeckis,  (Back to the Future)
Edward Zwick, (The Last Samurai)
Diablo Cody (Juno) 

From the odd connections category, Evangelist Billy Graham (who used to have a film studio in Burbank) and horror specialist Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Street) both graduated from Wheaton College about 30 miles from downtown Chicago. Blues Brother, and writer/actor, John Belushi graduated from Wheaton High School.

Film critic and produced screenwriter Roger Ebert (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) and screenwriter/Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman) are both are both graduates of the University of Illinois system.

Filmmaker and book publisher Michael Wiese is originally from Illinois. I have at least a dozen production books that Michael Wiese Productions has produced. If you're not familiar with their books three to check out are Save the Cat (Blake Snyder) , Shot by Shot (Steven D. Katz) and The Hero's Journey (Christopher Vogler). 

A special mention must be made to two pillars of writing from Chicago: Pulitzer Prize winner Saul Bellow (Humboldt’s Gift) and Studs Terkel (Hard Times).

The list of well known actors with Chicago ties is too long to list but here are a few;  Harrison Ford, Vince Vaugh, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, John and Joan Cusack, Virgina Madsen, Kim Novak, Bill Murray, Terrance Howard, Red Foxx, Bonnie Hunt, Patricia Arquette, Karl Malden and Gary Sinise.

Chicago is the kind of place where probably every night of the week you could attend a film related function between the various school, colleges and professional groups. There are plenty of ways to avoid writing if you live in the Chicago area.

But, of course, your goal is probably to write while living outside L.A., get sold and get produced. (I've said before you could live in West Africa or West Covina and feel like you're far from the Hollywood system.)

Let me tell you about a fellow I just found out about via the DVXuser.com forum. Kyle is a radiologist living in the suburbs of Chicago. He owns a DV camera package and writes screenplays. In other words he was like every other writer with a dream...until a couple weeks ago.

He wrote a screenplay called The Lemon Tree and had a lawyer he met in Chicago rep him in L.A. and earlier this month sold the script for $300,000 against $600,000. He has no plans to quit his job and move to L.A. The next step is seeing if the film gets made and then if it finds an audience. But as far as a writer outside the system Kyle has hit the jackpot, and proves it can be done.

(You can read the entire thread and download a well-informed screenwriting document Kyle has put together at DVXuser.com. Look under filmmaking--screenplay/writing/Sold it! The DVXuser forum is a wealth of info for the independent filmmaker and a supportive community. Here's a little poser shot of me with my DVX camera back in '05 when I was shooting a documentary in Chicago.) 

If you want further proof that screenplays can be sold by screenwriters outside L.A. here is a quote that screenwriter and author of Save the Cat! Blake Snyder sent me when I asked him about writers living outside L.A. selling their work:

“I have said often that geography is no longer an impediment to a career in screenwriting. I know of one woman who decided to be a screenwriter in Chicago, wrote 5 scripts, sold 2 and got an agent and manager, all while never leaving the confines of her condo.  It starts with a great concept! You have a great idea and a great poster, if you execute that well, you will get phone calls — and deals.  The key is: the great script!  And that starts with the step by step process I outline in Cat!  Go get ‘em!” 

On the footsteps of The Dark Knight (Batman) being filmed last summer in Illinois, the current big movie being shot there is Steven Soderbergh's The Informant starting Matt Damon with a funky mustache. The story takes place in Decatur and is based on Kurt Eichenwald's book about a scandal at Archer Daniels Midland's Company (ADM) that involved the FBI. Ultimately ADM was fine $100 million for a conspiracy involving replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup. Shades of Soderbergh's other film about corporate greed Erin Brockovich?

Other helpful sites about the filmmaking scene in Illinois here are a few recommended sites:

Reel Chicago 

Chicago Script Works 

Midwest FIlm 

Chicago Screenwriters

Illinois Film Biz  

So come on, if Abraham Lincoln can go from a one room log cabin to become the 16th President of the United States (via Illinois) certainly that should give you some motivation to overcome a few obstacles in your life to get your scripts written and sold. Or maybe to buy a camera and make your own films. Even if you live in Springfield or Kankakee.

Speaking of Kankakee, if Screenwriting from Iowa had a theme song it might be Chicago native Stevie Goodman's City of New Orleans because it captures a flavor of a life beyond Hollywood:

Riding on the City of New Orleans
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields
Passin' towns that have no names
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles

Chorus
Good morning, America, how are you
Don't you know me, I'm your native son
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

And if I can pick a B-side song I could  go with--just for the title--Ferras' Hollywood's Not America, or for more bite, Jim Croce's tribute to the South Side of 'ole Chicago Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.

Photographs & Text Copyright 2008 Scott W. Smith

Chapter 4 of my book, Faith, Film and Philosophy, is titled "Defining Love through the Eye of the Lens: Romance, Sex, and the Human Condition in Pretty Woman, Legends of the Fall, and The Bridges of Madison County." The author is Greg Jesson. Here are discussion questions for the film Legends of the Fall that I've used in conjunction with his chapter.

1. A native American named Stab, an elder of the Cree Nation, narrates the beginning of the film. How would you explain the director’s choice in beginning the film this way?
2. In a letter to his mother, Alfred writes, “I pray every night for the grace to forgive Tristan.” Do you agree that Tristan has sinned against his brother, Alfred? Explain your answer. Does Alfred ever forgive Tristan? Why or why not? If you believe he doesn’t, what would it have taken for him to forgive Tristan?
3. When visited by a committee of citizens who want Alfred to be elected to Congress, he shouts at them, “What do you want for yourselves if you get my son elected?” What does this say about his view of politics? What does it say about his view of people, in general?
4. Alfred says, in response to his father’s accusation that the U.S. government has yet to regain its wisdom, common sense, and humanity: “I will consider it my absolute duty to bring both wisdom and humanity to the United States Congress.” This may ring a bell. Compare Alfred’s vow with the similar promise made by Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane. How are they alike? Different?
5. Following his argument with the Colonel, Alfred says, tenderly, “Susanna, you deserve to be happy.” Is this true? What is Alfred’s conception of happiness? How does this compare with your conception of happiness?
6. Does the Colonel have a favorite son? If so, who is it? What accounts for this? How are the others affected?
7. What happens when Susanna’s name comes up, after Tristan returns home? Is Susanna over Tristan? Is Tristan over Susanna? What is your evidence?
8. What do you think of Anthony Hopkins’s performance as a stroke victim? Is his stroke supposed to mean anything that ties into the story line of the film? (Is it symbolic?)
9. One Stab repeatedly speaks of “the bear inside” of Tristan. What is the point of this metaphor? What does it say about Tristan and One Stab’s evaluation of him as a person?
10. At a public meeting, Alfred and Tristan meet. Alfred asks, “How’s father? Is he well?” Tristan answers, “As well as can be expected.” What does this mean? What can be expected? Why?
11. In explanation of the accidental death of Isabel, Alfred says to Tristan, “It was a terrible, tragic, accident.” What does this say about Alfred? Has he changed as a person?
12. Whose faults are greater? Tristan’s, or Susanna’s? Support your answer.
13. At Susanna’s grave, Alfred says to Tristan, “I followed all the rules . . . . And you, you followed none of them. And they all loved you more.” What does this say about Alfred’s view of love? What does it say about his view of doing the right thing? Is there a sense in which he isn’t any different than Tristan?
14. Tristan’s father says to him, “You are not damned, Tristan. I won’t allow that.” Any comments?
15. How are things resolved in the end? Does this change anything?

Daniel Craig about to act the shit out of Tom Cruise.

Like Valkyrie, Defiance is also based on a true story:
(From IMDB:) Three Jewish brothers escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger.
Once again, like Valkyrie it takes place during WWII and features some great names both behind and in front of the camera: (along with movies I've personally seen with them)
Edward Zwick - Director (Glory, Legends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire, The Last Samurai)
Actors:
Daniel Craig - Tuvia Bielski (Tomb Raider, Casino Royale, The Invasion)
Liev Schreiber - Zus Bielski (Kate & Leopold, Hamlet(Ethan Hawke), Sphere, Scream1, 2, 3, Ransom) NOTE: he's also going to play "Sabertooth" in the Wolverine movie. . .I shit you not!
Mark Margolis - The Ghetto Elder (The Fountain, Umney's Last Case, The Tailor of Panama, End of Days, The Thomas Crown Affair, Pi, Glory)

I realize they're two very different movies; Valkyrie being a conspiracy/paranoia film and Defiance being a drama/hero film. And that may work in both their favors when it comes down to it.  It may happen anyway that everyone will compare the movies together (like what happened between "The illusionist," and "The Prestige" even though "The Illusionist" has more of a political plot and features very little "magic" compared to the vendetta-filled "The Prestige")

Valkyrie comes out in October 2008
Defiance comes out in late December 2008
So far the reviews for Defiance are positive, unlike Valkyrie, but as I say in my previous post, this could be because of the Tom Cruise effect. (ie: people are tired of hearing about him, his scientology hijinks are overshadowing his actual work, The first film to come out of his ressurected United Artists company, "Lions for Lambs" flopped big time.)

Defiance doesn't seem to have an official site yet, but the trailer is everywhere.

Genres: Drama, Romance, Thriller and Crime/Gangster
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Arnold Vosloo, Michael Sheen
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Produced by: Len Amato, Benjamin Waisbren, Kevin De La Noy

Apa jadinya kalo berlian yang ada di toko-toko, yang ditaksir sama ibu-ibu, adalah berlian hasil dari kerja paksa dan perang yang terjadi di Afrika. Oh, yeah hal itu memang terjadi. Paling enggak itulah yang diceritain do Blood Diamond, garapan Edward Zwick.

Cerita ini bermula pada saat Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) dan keluarganya diserang oleh pemberontak. Keluarganya selamat tapi ia tertangkap dan harus bekerja di pertambangan berlian. Pemberontak nggak kenal ampun, kalo sampai ketahuan nyuri berlian, langsung DOR dan hey, selamat datang di alam baka. :)

Nah si Solomon ini tiba-tiba nemu berlian yang cukup besar, dan dia berniat mencurinya dari tambang. Setelah melewati pemeriksaan kepala RUF, ia berhasil mengubur berliannya di dekat penambangan. Tapi sial dia ketahuan, dan ditodong senjata.

Ehh, belum sempat ditembak, sutradara malah masukin tentara-tentara pemerintah yang mengobrak-abrik penambangan itu dengan mendadak. Solomon pun nggak jadi ditembak dan berliannya tetap aman, dan dia ditangkap pemerintah dan dipenjara. Begitu juga dengan kepala pemberontak yang mengetahui pencuriannya itu.

Mari kita break ke tempat lain....

Leonardo Di Caprio berperan sebagai tokoh utama yang ternyata adalah penyelundup berlian, Danny Archer. Ia bekerja di bawah perintah Kolonel Coetzee (Arnold Voseoo). Tugas Danny adalah mencari berlian dan menyerahkannya pada "pengasuhnya" itu.

Tapi apa daya saat menyelundupkan berlian yang dimasukkan ke kulit kambing ternak, ia ketahuan petugas pemerintah dan masuk penjara yang sama..... Dengan Solomon.

Di penjara, Danny Archer mendengar bahwa Solomon berhasil menemukan berlian terbesar yang pernah ada, dan ia tertarik untuk mencari berlian itu. Pertama-tama Danny dan koneksinya berhasil menebus jaminan untuk membebaskan dirinya sendiri sekaligus Solomon. Ia berniat untuk bernegosiasi.

Namun Solomon otomatis nggak langsung setuju. Ia memberi syarat pada Danny untuk mencari keluarga Solomon yang hilang, baru setelah itu mengambil berliannya yang terkubur di areal penambangan.

Ohya, FYI, film ini bersetting di Siera Leone, negara di Afrika, yang sedang berperang lawan pemberontak RUF, yang mempekerjakan anak-anak di bawah umur sebagai infanteri. Jadi pasukan mereka kebanyakan anak-anak yang pikirannya telah dicuci otak dan dicekoki hal-hal yang tidak manusiawi. Mereka jadi beriwa pembunuh dan nggak akan segan-segan menembakkan AK-47nya ke kepalamu.

Nah kasian banget si Solomon dan Danny yang lagi mencari keluarganya. Anak laki-laki Solomon, DIa Vandy (Kagiso Kuypers), diculik dan dijadikan tentara RUF.

Dan parahnya lagi, di tengah pencarian keluarga hilang itu, Danny ditempelin oleh wartawan cewek dari Amerika yang haus informasi akan penyelundupan. Ia membuntuti Danny dan berusaha untuk mendapatkan berita. Tentu aja Danny nggak segampang itu ngasi beritanya, tapi demi berlian, ia membocorkan operasinya sedikit demi sedikit.

Well, aku yakin Danny Archer nggak 100% gila harta. Dia hanya muak berada di negeri konflik, dan ingin segera lepas dari kekuasaan Kolonel Coetzee, lalu segera kabur ke luar negeri. Tiketnya? Ya berlian yang ditemukan Solomon itu.

Sedangkan Solomon sendiri sangat ingin bertemu dengan keluarganya, karena ia merasa bertanggung jawab sebagai kepala keluarga. Ditambah lagi Wartawan cewek Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connely) yang terobsesi dengan penyelundupan. Ia ingin mengungkap kasus yang telah membuat negeri itu sengsara. Ia ingin menyudahi perang, atau paling tidak, berbuat sesuatu tentangnya.

Jadi di balik adegan-adegannya yang keras diantara kekacauan, film ini memiliki sisi-sisi positif yang dapat kita ambil sebagai manusia. Misalnya saja walaupun Danny memiliki profesi jahat, ia ternyata juga mamiliki sedikit sifat yang manusiawi. Ia sebenarnya prihatin dengan perang, tapi tidak dapat melakukan apa-apa.

Maddy Bowen juga begitu. Sebelumnya, ia benci sekali dengan Danny yang bisaya cuma melakukan hal ilegal. Tapi setelah Maddy melihat sisi Danny yang rapuh, ia berbalik 180 derajat menjadi simpati.

Namun aku salut sama apa yang dilakukan oleh Danny. ia rela mengorbankan berliannya, tiketnya menuju kebebasan, dengan sesuatu yang lebih berharga. Saat ia tertembak dan tidak dapat meneruskan perjalannya, ia menyerahkan berliannya pada SOlomon untuk kebaikan yang lain. Pada akhirnya penyelundupan itu terungkap dan massa mengetahui semuanya.

Orang harus tahu kapan harus berhenti, atau kapan harus terus bejalan. Jika nggak mampu, apa salahnya sih melihat orang lain sukses? Toh mereka layak mendapatkannya. Saya menyebutnya sikap seorang yang tahu diri :)

Wkrótce na ekrany europejskie i amerykańskie wejdzie film "Defiance" (Opór). Jak podaje portal „Gildia filmu”  jest to „Opowieść o działającym na w Puszczy Nalibockiej partyzanckim oddziale Tewje Bielskiego - składającej się z Polaków pochodzenia żydowskiego kompanii, która stawiła zbrojny opór Niemcom. Żydowskim partyzantom udało się uratować ponad 1000 osób.” Okazuje się, że nawet w Polsce są dorośli ludzie, którzy nic nie wiedzą o działalności braci Bielskich i mordzie w Nalibokach .

quarterlife, a series developed for the internet generation, recently had its network broadcast premiere last week on NBC. I knew about the show when it first launched on Myspace, but avoided it, primarily because I wanted to do a serialized show that would broadcast online (although instead of quarterlife's 7-10 minute runtime, I wanted 20-30 minutes) and because it looked like the horrendous Roommates show that was also online-only. And I also never got into the whole 'lonelygirl15' thing. Anyway, last night I was on NBC's website and I decided to watch the pilot. And I enjoyed it. This isn't groundbreaking storytelling, and the characters would probably get on my nerves if they were real people, especially the artsy film brat kid who got all pissy when his friend.

Well, the ratings were apparently horrible, but there is a lot of hope for the series as it moves from NBC to Bravo. According to this article written for the 'Hollywood Reporter', the show may actually be better suited for broadcast television. I disagree. While I think the show could survive on TV with a better timeslot and a better marketing push toward the demographic (18-30 year-old tech savvy viewers), I think the way it tells it's story feels more like it should be meant for online. The 'Pilot' episode is told in 6 parts, each one about 8 minutes in length, which sounds like it was made for TV. However, each part does feel like it's own story. At the end of the hour-long broadcast 'Pilot', I felt like I just watched a third of the entire season. There was more character development and conflict than was needed for an hour-long primetime drama. Basically, I felt like I was watching the DVD of season 1 with the 'play all' feature turned on.

So what I'm trying to get at is that the way the the show is being told (and not necessarily the story itself) seems more suited for the internet crowd, those that wouldn't mind going to the website a couple of times a week to watch a new episode. Granted, the show was originally developed for ABC, but when Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (one of my favorite directors) picked it up and decided to reformat the show for the Myspace crowd, the style of storytelling changed. If they really wanted to do the show for primetime television, I believe it would give them greater creative freedom to grow each character slowly and let us take the time to like or dislike them. But, if they did that, then there wouldn't be a need for the internet show. Would I watch the primetime version if NBC decided to air all the episodes? Probably not, but since the pilot did get me hooked, I may just go ahead and watch the episodes online, the way it was meant to be seen.

(images found through Google)

Since I'm on the subject of quarterlife, I just want to continue to say that the character of Jed really really gets on me nerves. So far, he's everything I hate about film students, even though I am one. That whole thing with the car commercial he and Danny were trying to shoot? Dude, it's a friggin' commercial! You're trying to sell something, not win an Independent Spirit Award.

This show was originally created as a web cast available online at the web community quarterlife  and the social networking site myspace. Creators and Executive Producers Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, (My So-Called Life, thirtysomething, Legends of the Falls, and Blood Diamond) came together to examine the lives of a close knit group of post college 20 somethings. I love the show because it specifically follows the lives of young artists.

The main character Dylan is a writer who keeps a very honest - somewhat painfully so- video blog, but also in tow are a singer/actress, a philosopher, and two best friends fighting to make a break directing and producing their own films. This show is the very pulse of the new generation's up and coming artist. It examines the joys of the first big break and the growing pains of mistakes made on the journey. Honest and raw in a way that is empowering and endearing; I found myself picking out pieces of myself, my friends, and lovers past.

Episodes are still available for your viewing pleasure on quarterlife. Find yourself rewinding internally to the first time you turned in that article with all of faith and pride that goes hand and hand in with being invincible and green. Or when it was necessary to cut out the heart of your creative take only to go back to the same tired formula because that's what paid the rent. Or perhaps the first time you were so scared and you didn't know if you could do it, but you did and what you learned about yourself was even more rewarding than the reception from your piers, colleagues, parents, and the like. Give it a whirl if you have some time.

The quality of the film is not that of a regularly syndicated show, but this can be overlooked when considering this series started and continues as a web cast, and that the creators and producers hold creative rights over this production ongoing (3 cheers for that!).  I for one will definitely be coming back.

If you guys have seen it or do check it out, let me know what you think!

But based on last night's pilot, I will not be among those who stick around to find out what happens 6 weeks from now, as the pilot was absolutely awful.  As a rule, I always give a show at least one more episode past the pilot (I discussed this rule extensively in some posts earlier this fall) before I pull the plug, but this show couldn't look less promising.  Here's why:

1. Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz are in their 50's.  No matter how in touch they think they are with life as a twenty-something, they aren't, at least not in this day and age.  The script for this pilot has been written 1000 times before-- every word is about as cliched as you can possibly get, except they throw the words "blog," "twenties" and "film school" into the mix.  There is no truth here, no revelations.  This is the same angsty bullshit we've been seeing on television for decades.  Plus, everyone knows that when you open a sleeping laptop, it takes a second to load.  You can't just open it in a parking lot and be immediately connected to the internet and ready to watch an already loaded streaming vlog (yeah-- its a video blog, not even an actual blog!  You're giving bloggers like me a bad name, Zwick!  I don't videotape myself talking about my stupid problems and share them with the world!)

2. The show is basically Dawson's Creek, but the actors play people their own age instead of pretending they're in high school, and they all live together in a giant house with an enormous basement and several large, nice bedrooms.  The dialogue irritatingly self-important, as if every conversation and occurrence is a life or death matter.  Maybe Dawson and his buddies acted that way, but I don't know any 25-year-olds who are this lame and so, well, teenager-esque.

3 . The characters are boring.  It'd be one thing if the show was contrived and sappy, but you loved the characters, right?  Well, not the case here.  These characters couldn't be more run-of-the-mill.  They look average, sound average--they're straight up boring.  If you get a bunch of twenty-five year olds together for an hour, you'd think you might laugh or gasp or sigh at least once right?  Well, these are the most unfunny, uninteresting people you'll ever meet.  The situations are unamusing, the chatter is unamusing, and the relationships are incredibly unamusing.

4. The plot is ridiculous.  In the pilot, we find out that, surprise!, everyone is in love with everyone else.  Sweet.  So now we get to watch as they all love/don't love each other in a tangled web of trite romantic horse manure.  The only characters seemingly uninvolved in these love affairs are the weird dude in the glasses who I guess lives in basement (?) and Lisa, the actress who sucks at acting, is scared of performing in front of others, and doesn't know why she wants to be an actress.  Wow.  What an interesting and believable character.  Do you know any twenty-somethings who are pursuing a job they a)stink at  b)are fundamentally afraid of  and c)don't even have a passion for?  Maybe two of the three, but all three?

5. Who's the target audience here?  You're not going to fool anyone between 18-30-- they will see right through this bullshit, as they always do.  And who above the age of 30 wants to watch a show about whiny twentysomethings?  The only people I can see watching this are 10-17 year olds who think this is what it must be like when you're older.  But they're probably all watching Family Guy on Sunday's when this show is on anyways.

Here's the bottom line: Just because you take a run-of-the-mill relationship-centric show about young singles and call it hip doesn't make it hip.  This show adds absolutely nothing new to the television canon aside from the way in which the series was acquired and developed.   It's an excellent first step towards a new television paradigm.  We've got a series about a blog, based on an internet series, with actors playing people their own age, but the voice of this show, its essence, is nothing new and has nothing new to say.  There is no point for this show to exist, as it contributes absolutely nothing that hasn't already been said or done before in the exact same scenario, likely using the exact same choice of words.  Until an actual twentysomething writes a series about twentysomethings, we'll be stuck with terrible Dawson Redux crap like quarterlife.

I'm going to watch the next episode, just in case the pilot is a fluke, but I already hate absolutely everything about this show, so I can't myself lasting beyond this Sunday's episode.

Grade: D

“Quarterlife” was created to air online in segments from about seven minutes long to about twice that. You can watch all 25 episodes so far– and create a profile, post video blog entries, interact with other users and more like the characters on the show– on the show’s Web site. Beginning Feb. 26, you can watch the episodes repackaged for NBC.

I’m glad I watched online, so I could see as many as I wanted at once. The first couple episodes were OK, but I watched about 10 before I was hooked. At first, the show seemed to be trying a little too hard to be authentic. People were saying each other’s names too often during conversation (I think almost all shows and movies do this and it’s really distracting to me; how many times when you’re talking to your best friend or boyfriend do you say their names?). There was a lot of forced emotion and making faces into a video camera. Moreover, some of the character types– the girl who uses sex and alcohol to hide her lack of self-esteem and the guy who cheats on his girlfriend because he’s terrified of commitment– are recycled from countless other shows. The main character, “Dylan,” like many of her counterparts, including “Meredith” from “Grey’s Anatomy,” annoys when she sums up what everyone feels or thinks during the episode.

But, as “Quarterlife” unravels, the way it’s different from other shows becomes clear: it takes the problems of being at that stage of life seriously. Screwing up at a job or having a fight with your boyfriend is a huge deal when you don’t know if you can find another job, because this is only your second one, or if you haven’t ruled out spending the rest of your life with the person you’re dating. It’s painful. And scary. The show doesn’t try to romanticize that. The way the characters dress and keep their apartment is realistic, which sounds unimportant, but is not. Lots of television shows, if not most of them, glamorize being 25 or so with much older actors in impressive apartments. I can identify with the characters of “Quarterlife,” because I’ve lived with them or worked with them. Sometimes, in scenes where all the friends are together, it reminds me of “Felicity,” one of my very favorite shows. Everyone is so easy with each other. It’s like hanging out at a friend’s house.

Of course, realism doesn’t make a show good. I would argue, though, that in a show like this, where the goal is to capture the essence of a universal experience– in this case a time of life when everything is within your grasp and unattainable all at once– it’s paramount. As a viewer, it feels good somehow to have people understand a piece of what you feel, have felt or will feel as a 20-something.

DESCARGA DIRECTA ALTA DEFINICIÓN

The Savages (Jenkins) 5 stars

Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas (Henson) 2 stars

The Science of Sleep (Gondry) 2 stars

Who Killed the Electric Car? (Sheen, Horton) 3 stars

1408 (Hafstrom) 2 stars

The Number 23 (Schumacher) 2 stars

Legends of the Fall (Zwick) 3 stars

I Am Legend (Lawrence) 3 stars

Last Exit to Brooklyn (Edel) 4 stars

Noticeable absence from this list is There Will Be Blood. I didn't see it until 2008 so it's not included in this post.

Coming soon: Top Movies of 2007 List

Esta película me sorprendió puesto que esperaba bastante menos. Al fin y al cabo, ¿qué se puede esperar de una película de producción estadounidense sobre algo caído en desgracia tras la industrialización y la imposición del modo de vida occidental? Pues no pensaba que fuera a dar algo más que algunas dosis de moralina y autocomplacencia bajo la dialéctica de buenos (los yanquis o los "occidentales", por extensión) y malos (los salvajes incivilizados), de lo que tantas muestras hemos tenido ya.

Pero no, a pesar de fallos que toda película puede tener, es bastante respetuosa con los samuráis. En ella, un curtido capitán que ha participado en la conquista del Oeste, acepta marchar al Japón de la era Meiji para ayudar a sofocar a los samuráis de Katsumoto, rebelados contra el emperador, que pretende modernizar el país al estilo occidental. Pero el capitán, desencantado ya del rumbo que ha tomado su país, encuentra en sus nuevos enemigos de encargo lo que él echa de menos: el valor, el honor y la honestidad. Ello le hará cambiar de bando para luchar, esta vez no por dinero, sino por lo que siente.

Aquella época terminó prácticamente con la tradición samurái, cuyo código principal, el bushidō, recomiendo leer.

In honour of everyone's favourite winker, we're dedicating our linking puns to Anthony Hopkins this week. Oh the possibilities...

The man, the legend - Rhydian put in another stonking, touching performance in this week's X Factor - taking it back to basics.

Future. Movie. Of The Year. - Not a clue what it's about, but the Hopkins makes it... Second time of linking, but it doesn't get old.

Quarterlife - the new show from the makers of My So Called Life and thirtysomething has begun online. Watch the first webisodes here!

Find out why Malcolm McLaren quit I'm A Celeb, and why Janice hasn't enjoyed her intro into camp at ITV. And don't forget to tune in to see last year's King Of The Jungle Matt Willis presenting on ITV2's ...Get Me Out Of Here Now!

Craig 'Craig Daavid' David is back, currently meeting 'her', and is profile on The Independent.

Barack Obama got in the ring in Iowa and threw some 'hurtin' bombs' at Hillary.

PopMatters undertakes some misguided revisionism and praises Lou Reed's abominable Metal Machine Music.

It's I'm A Celeb night. The Guardian wonders whether we'll watch.

The New York Times profiles another awkward, gallows comedy from Noah Baumbach.