Jungle Fever (1991) or, Black and White Difficulties in New York, USA

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A powerful image of the interlocked white and black hands of a black man and a white female evocatively used on the poster for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever

Explores the struggles of an interracial young couple, an African-American architect and an Italian-American secretary in New York, a crack addict and their more or less understanding surroundings.

 

Jungle Fever is written, produced and directed by Georgian master filmmaker Spike Lee (She's Gotta Have It (1986)), whose 5th feature it is. He also co-stars as Cyrus.

Jungle Fever is a very good 'local' film, - 'local' meaning that it is very much an American and a New-Yorker film, which may seem superfluous to audiences not Americans or New-Yorkers, or at least to those uninterested in America and New York. But as someone who falls into this third group, I find it absolutely wonderful. 

The film puts a spotlight on modern, American racism, which is a favorite theme of Lee's, and he certainly doesn't make it easy for the characters of Wesley Snipes (The Fan (1996)) and Annabella Sciorra (Luke Cage (2018, TV-series)), who venture on the extra-marital, interracial affair at the film's core. Besides these two blazing stars, the film enjoys strong turns from Samuel L. Jackson (The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)) (as the crack addict), John Turturro (The Jesus Rolls (2019)), Ossie Davis (Philly (2002, TV-series)) and Lee himself. There are fresh songs from Stevie Wonder to enjoy along with the film, and the dialog is great. SPOILER Only the somewhat disappointing "NOOOOO!" ending weighs down on this great piece of filmmaking.

 

Related posts:
 
Spike Lee: The day after the day after ... the 2019 Oscars

Top 10: Best heist movies 

Inside Man (2006) - Lee's delicious heist thriller 

She Hate Me (2004) or, Champion of the Lesbians 

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Top 10: Best crime movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
25th Hour (2002) or, Taking a Second Chance 

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess  

He Got Game (1998) - Lee's basketball classic

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 14 mil. $

Box office: 43.8 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 3.12 times its cost)

[Jungle Fever premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 132 minutes. Jackson had left crack rehab two weeks before filming and his ravaged look was reportedly caused by this. Shooting took place from August - December 1990 in New York. Universal Pictures made Lee scrap a prologue with his views on racism from the film. It opened #3, behind fellow new release City Slickers and holdover hit Backdraft, to a 5.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#4), grossing 32.4 mil. $ (74 % of the total gross). The film won a National Board of Review award and was nominated for a Grammy, among other honors. It lost the Palme d'Or to Barton Fink. Roger Ebert gave it a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Lee returned with 9 music videos prior to his theatrical return with Malcolm X (1992). Snipes returned in The Waterdance (1992); Sciorra in The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992). Jungle Fever is certified fresh at 84 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Jungle Fever?

In Treatment - season 3 (2010) - García's psychiatrist drama reaches towering peak

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Identity soul-searching and four fresh patient faces are teased on this dark poster for Rodrigo García's In Treatment - season 3

An Indian-American married couple bring the husband's Indian father Sunil to Brooklyn-based psychotherapist Paul Weston, because they are worried about his despondent behavior 6 months after the death of his wife in Calcutta. A combative former TV star actress with symbolic razor blade elbows is having trouble remembering her lines, and Weston suspects Parkinson's Disease. Jesse is a gay 16 year-old boy, who is acting out in a passive-aggressive manner, in an identity crisis around his biological parents, who gave him up for adoption. Paul himself is still unhappy, having trouble sleeping and also worried that he might have Parkinson's. His new therapist Adele sees through his curtains.

Sunil opens up about his cultural issues with his son's marriage and Western culture in general. Paul digs into his Indian past, and Sunil's increasingly alarming behavior towards his daughter-in-law, whom he is sure is cheating on his son. This culminates with his arrest and deportation, which Sunil himself provoked consciously, using Paul as an instrument.

Jesse has unrealistic plans about an art school education and continually provokes his surroundings for effect. He brings his mother to one session and provides spectacularly crude behavior in an attempt to learn of his biological roots. He shows up on Paul's doorstep one evening after a visit at his bio-parents, while Paul's son Max starts a minor fire in their kitchen. Jesse later decides that all the blame for his problems stem from his mother and decides to end therapy.

Frances' sessions revolve around her sister, their mother's favorite, in Frances' words, her own alienated daughter Izzy and her lacking sense of self-worth and extreme self-absorption. Paul urges her to see her sister, who is fatally ill.

Paul's sessions with Adele have his innate self-pity at the center, and his dissatisfaction with his former therapist and mentor Gina, which Adele cuts effectively through. He soon grows enamored with her, and her competent competence and clarity is sorely needed in Paul's dark world.

Paul ends up after the season's mostly unsatisfactory patient relations making the drastic decision, - a late midlife crisis? - to shut down his practice to start, instead, living in the 'real world'. Adele, professional to the very end, when he also ends his sessions with her, resists any direct reaction to his obvious attraction to her.

In Treatment - season 3 is created by Rodrigo García (Six Fee Under (2001-05)). While the two first seasons were close adaptations of the two seasons of Israeli TV-series Be Tipul (2005-08), the third is entirely original.

The complex adult drama peaks here in a thematically dense and highly rewarding third season, the last focusing on Gabriel Byrne's (Hereditary (2018)) Paul Weston character. Byrne is still fully on point as the beleaguered psychotherapist. The three patients are interesting, with Irrfan Khan's (Hindi Medium (2017)) riveting performance as Sunil the jewel of the three. Several of their sessions make for downright masterly television. Debra Winger (Legal Eagles (1986)) is outstanding in the moving portrait of Frances, an evocative portrayal of a woman caught in the particular hell of extreme self-absorption. And Dane DeHaan (The Kid (2019)) is good as the sometimes frightening Jesse, a struggling young man with sociopathic tendencies.

Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone (2007)) is exactly the unaffected, uninvolved remedy of clarity that Weston seems to be missing, and she, too, is terrific here. The show is photographed to reflect the intense psycho-dramatic shifts, both written, acted and directed without blemishes. A smash of a season.

Best episodes:

1: Sunil: Week One - Written by Adam Rapp (Vinyl (2016, TV-series)), Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake (2006)), García; directed by Paris Barclay (Monsters (2022-24))

Sunil is introduced to Western therapy by his son and daughter-in-law in the season's promising and intriguing opening episode.

4. Adele - Week One - Written by Anya Epstein (The Beat (2000, TV-series)), Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher (2014)), Garcìa; directed by Barclay

The arrogant veteran psychiatrist meets a critical younger expertise. Paul's first session with his new therapist Adele is phenomenal.

Related posts:

Rodrigo García: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Albert Nobbs (2011) - Glenn Close's triumphant, tender tranformation in García's great film

In Treatment - season 2 (2009) - Advanced character drama 

In Treatment - season 1 (2008) - Red-hot performances fuel heavy therapy drama 
Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show

 

Watch a trailer for the season here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: None - TV-series

= Uncertain

[In Treatment - season 3 debuted 25 October - 7 December (HBO) and runs 28 episodes of an average 25 minutes each, coming to approximately 700 minutes. Shooting took place in New York. The viewer ratings are regrettably not public information. The show was rebooted for a 4th and final season at HBO in 2021 with Uzu Aduba portraying the new therapist. García returned with Albert Nobbs (2011). Byrne returned in I, Anna (2012). In Treatment - season 3 is certified fresh at 85 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of In Treatment - season 3?

The Immigrant (2013) - Cotillard scintillates in Gray's classical New-York storytelling

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Three mysteriously looking stars veiled in seriousness adorn this poster for James Gray's The Immigrant

Ewa and her sister arrive to the US from Poland in 1921 but are split up on Ellis Island, and Ewa winds up with a dubious man, hidden from the watchful eye of the law.

 

The Immigrant is written by Ric Menello (Tougher Than Leather (1988)) and co-writer/co-producer/director James Gray (Little Odessa (1994)).

Gray again here shows his gift as a sublime storyteller with a classical film and a story that could have been told 80 years ago as well. The Immigrant has beautiful cinematography (by Darius Khondji (Okja (2017))), production design and costumes. Fine performances from Joaquin Phoenix (Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker (2008)), - but it is Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises (2012)) who once again astounds the viewer with a fully authentic turn as the Polish Ewa, a cowed but not beaten woman, who fights for her sister and her own life.

The Immigrant may seem only distantly relevant to some. For me it was a pure pleasure.

 

Related posts:

 

James Gray: 2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

The Lost City of Z (2016) - Gray's grand, adventurous Amazonia epic 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 16 mil. $

Box office: 5.9 mil. $

= Mega-flop (returned 0.36 times its cost)

[The Immigrant premiered 24 May (Cannes Film Festival, main competition) and runs 117 minutes. Gray based the story mainly on recollections from his own grandparents. Shooting took place from January - March 2012 in New York. When the film's investors sold the distribution rights to The Weinstein Company, against Gray's wishes, and when Harvey Weinstein demanded a different ending, which Gray refused to give him, the distribution was left in shambles, with the film only getting a very small and unsupported release in North America. The film opened #47 to a 44k $ first weekend in 3 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #18 and in 150 theaters, grossing 2 mil. $ (33.9 % of the total gross). The biggest market for the film was France with 2.2 mil. $ (37.3 %), with North America 2nd biggest and Spain 3rd with 464k $ (7.9 %). The film lost the Palme d'Or to Blue Is the Warmest Color. It was also nominated for 2 Independent Spirit awards, among other honors. Gray returned with The Red Road (2014, TV-series) and a Chanel commercial prior to his theatrical return with The Lost City of Z (2016). Cotillard returned in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013); Renner in American Hustle (2013); and Phoenix in Her (2013). The Immigrant is certified fresh at 86 % at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Immigrant?

And Then We Danced/და ჩვენ ვიცეკვეთ (Da chven vitsek'vet) (2019) - Swede strikes for LGBT rights in Georgia

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The fantastical emotion of unhindered freedom found in folk dance is encapsulated beautifully on this elegant poster for Levan Akin's And Then We Danced

Merab is a passionate dancer in the tradition of Georgian folk dance, who falls for a new, male dance colleague and competitor during a period leading up to a pivotal audition in the traditional and Conservative country.

And Then We Danced is written, directed and co-edited by Levan Akin (Katinkas Kalas (2011)). The original Georgian title translates to, 'and we danced'.

With a dedicated and strong performance by debuting Levan Gelbakhiani as Merab and a thrilling insight into a rarely seen nation and culture, And Then We Danced attracts its viewers.  But its secret taboo romance is seen many times before and is related in a very leisurely pace, which dramatically slows our investment in the film, which is lifted by the finishing audition dance scene.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 625k $

= Uncertain but likely a huge flop (projected return of 0.625 times its cost)

[And Then We Danced premiered 16 May (Cannes Film Festival, Director's Fortnight section) and runs 105 minutes. Akin, born in Sweden with Georgian ex-pat parents, decided to make the film after seeing footage of a Gay Pride parade in Georgia getting attacked by homophobes. 10 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Georgia, including in Tbilisi. The film was met with death threats, protests, dismissals and a refusal for support by official Georgia, including the Culture Ministry, the Church and the National Ballet, due to the country's homophobic culture. Hundreds protested the films cinema screenings in Georgia, with the police forcefully enforcing the peace and safety of cinema-goers. The Georgian gross is regrettably not reported online. The film opened #48 to a 13k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #43 and in 23 theaters (different weekends), grossing 177k $ (28.3 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 2nd biggest market. The biggest was Spain with 182k $ (29.1 %); 3rd biggest was the Netherlands with 142k $ (22.7 %). The cost of the film is unknown but is here projected to have been a low 1 mil. $. The film was nominated for a European Film award and won 4/7 Guldbagge award nominations, among other honors. It was chosen as Sweden's film for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar but did not get nominated. Akin returned with Deg (2021, TV-series) and theatrically with Crossing (2024). Gelbakhiani has not returned in a film yet but is slated to return in two films in post production, Don't Let the Sun (Catch You Crying) and Youri. And Then We Danced is certified fresh at 93 % with a 7.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of And Then We Danced?

Indochine (1992) - Magnificent Deneuve in Wargnier's picturesque colonial epic

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Co-star Catherine Deneuve marching in a red dress and a flowery hat in front of poor locals in South East Asia in front of a temple makes up this poster for Régis Wargnier's Indochine

A beautiful Frenchwoman with an enormous rubber plantation in colonial French Indochina (Vietnam today) gets drama in her life, when she falls for a French naval officer and starts to feel her colony falling apart around her.

Indochine is written by Catherine Cohen (The Woman of My Life/La Femme de Ma Vie (1986)), Louis Gardel (Himalaya (1999)), Erik Orsenna (La Dette (2000, TV movie)) and co-writer/director Régis Wargnier (The Woman of My Life/La Femme de Ma Vie (1986)).

Catherine Deneuve (Place Vendôme (1998)) is fabulously beautiful and her acting is an enormous pleasure in the lead, paired here with an almost equally photogenic Vincent Perez (Fanfan (2003)) as the officer, who starts out with setting fire to a boat with a heroin-smuggling father and his little boy, but who later gains understanding and sympathy for the hardships of the locals, - mainly because he also falls in love with Deneuve's adopted daughter!

The impressive production is enamored with the foreign landscapes and presents beautiful costumes, hair and faces and in this the Wargnier commits the crime of beautifying the story. Indochine is at times a compelling drama, though at others it is a bit static, and the film is overlong.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 120 mil. FRF, approximately 4.3 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 29.6 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.88 times its cost)

[Indochine was released 15 April (France) and runs 159 minutes. 14 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Deneuve was paid 2.7 mil. FRF (approximately 513k $) for her performance in the film). Shooting took place from April - August 1991 in Malaysia, Vietnam and in Paris, France. The film sold 3.1 mil. tickets in France, where it was the 6th highest attended of the year, and it made 5.6 mil. $ in North America. Wikipedia lists the impressive 29.6 mil. $ total gross, linking to JPBox-Office, but the figure is not visible on the link, although it is not unlikely. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Foreign Language Film. It lost Best Actress (Deneuve) to Emma Thompson for Howards End. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and won 5/12 César award nominations as well as a Goya, a Golden Globe and 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Wargnier returned with A French Woman/Une Femme Française (1995). Deneuve returned in My Favorite Season/Ma Saison Préférée (1993); Perez in Cendre d'Or (1992, short) and theatrically in Fanfan (1993). Indochine is fresh at 74 % with a 6.30/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Indochine?

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) - Gilliam's rambling mess

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An celestial array of surreal elements and many stars stand ready on this poster for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

In London a traveling group of weirdos attempt to entertain ungrateful, rude drunks from a wagon that includes the ancient Parnassus' imaginarium.

 

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is written by Charles McKeown (Brazil (1985)) and American-born British master filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)), whose 11th feature it is.

Despite a dragging beginning, this chaotic film flows out and becomes enormously testing to watch. This is less astonishing when considering that it is a Gilliam creation that was completed with three new stars cast in the lead, since the original suddenly passed away in real life, in a script that was already bonkers. (Heath Ledger (A Knight's Tale (2001)) died at age 28 from accidental prescription medication poisoning.) All involved do what they can, in ugly hair, beards and many layers of ugly costumes, often in ugly lighting, in ugly images, with many sequences also featuring ugly 'fantastical' CGI elements.

Ledger's Tony character, as a side note, is a man who is rescued from wanting to hang himself. Gilliam's messy procession is anything but uplifting. 

 

Related posts:

Terry Gilliam:  For No Good Reason (2012, documentary) or, Ralph Steadman, Artist (interview subject)

The Brothers Grimm (2005) - Gilliam's European misadventure sort-of entertains

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Top 10: Best drug-themed movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - Depp's Thompson lives and breathes in Gilliam's outrageous, drug-fueled masterpiece

12 Monkeys (1995) or, What's the Time?

1991 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

The Fisher King (1991) - Gilliam and Co. win with unpredictable story with major heart and amazing Williams 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 30 mil. $

Box office: 64.3 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.14 times its cost)

[The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus premiered 22 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 123 minutes. 12 companies and support bodies were involved in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from December 2007 - April 2008, with a month-long hiatus due to the demise of Ledger, in British Columbia and in England, including in London. Gilliam engaged friends and colleagues of Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to all overtake the actor's part following his tragic death, and the three decided to donate their (unknown) salaries to Ledger's daughter Matilda. The film went about 5 mil. $ over budget. Co-producer William Vince also passed away prior to release. The sensation surrounding Ledger's death meant that the film reportedly made back its budget through presales before even getting released. It opened #20 to a 415k $ first weekend in 48 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #11 and in 607 theaters, grossing 7.6 mil. $ (11.8 % of the total gross). This was the film's 3rd biggest market. The biggest two were Italy with 11.1 mil. $ (17.3 %) and Japan with 6.5 mil. $ (10.1 %). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Costume Design to The Young Victoria and Art Direction to Avatar. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, a British Independent Film award and other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 3 notches over this one. The film reportedly additionally made in excess of 11.7 mil. $ on the North-American home video market alone. Gilliam returned with The Legend of Hallowdega (2010, short) and The Wholly Family (2011, short) and theatrically with The Zero Theorem (2013). This was Ledger's final film; Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World (2017)) returned with voice performances in My Dog Tulip (2009) and 9 (2009) prior to his physical theatrical return in The Last Station (2009). The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is fresh at 64 % with a 6.0/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?

I Kill Giants (2017) - Dane debuts with balderdash B.O. disaster

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A girl wielding a huge weapon in front of a massive giant makes up this dramatic poster for Anders Walter's I Kill Giants

A small girl in a US coastal town rejects normal school life in favor of her hobby; hunting and killing in the forest along the ocean. - But does this curious interest cover over something else?

 

I Kill Giants is written by Joe Kelly (Monsuno (2011-12)), adapting his same-titled 2009 graphic novel co-created with Ken Nimura (Henshin (2015)), and directed by debuting Anders Walter (Helium (2013, short)).

A Monster Calls (2016) reminiscent story with an eternally supercilious, self-governing protagonist with a well-meaning, worried school councilor (Zoe Saldaña (Amsterdam (2022)) gives a dull sad-face performance), dumb brothers and a powerless bigger sister. An overly sweet new British schoolmate girl seems invented solely to get us closer to our little miss nonsense, who is given many a scene to elaborate her wacky nonsense universe. It is all gravely dull.

Humor, real suspense or dramatic development is missing in I Kill Giants. SPOILER The ending unsurprisingly shows that the fantastical elements are all self-invented in order for the girl to cope with her mother's cancer illness. She dies. The girl did not get to see her mother through her last time on earth due to her nonsense hunts in the wild. Nevertheless she thanks an imaginary giant in the film's last scene, wrapping up a story and film that is distant from actual reality and prone to hokum.

 

Related post:

 

Anders Walter: The day after ... The Oscars 2014

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Estimated 15.1 mil. $

Box office: In excess of 369k $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.02 times its cost)

[I Kill Giants premiered 9 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 106 minutes. 13 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place from September 2016 - ? in Belgium, Ireland and New York. The film was released day-and-date (online and in a few theaters) in North America with the gross numbers remaining secret (but likely being tiny). The film's reported gross comes from 7 markets, which, along with Denmark, where it sold just under 2,000 tickets, comes to 369k $. The three biggest markets were Russia with 165k $ (44.1 %), the UAE with 85k $ (23 %) and Portugal with 40k $ (10.8 %). The-Numbers.com allege that the film additionally made more than 1.7 mil. $ on domestic home video sales. Walter returned with Når Befrielsen Kommer (2023). Madison Wolfe (Keanu (2016)) returned in Trafficked (2017); Saldaña in a voice performance, a short and a music video prior to her theatrical return in Avengers: Infinity War (2018); and Imogen Poots (The Father (2020) in Age Out (2018). I Kill Giants is certified fresh at 78 % with a 6.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of I Kill Giants?

Ingen Tid til Kærtegn (1957) or, Children of the Working Families

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Several snapshots from the film are pasted together on a drawn and painted landscape on this poster for Annelise Hovmand's Ingen Tid til Kærtegn

Lene is the sweet little daughter of two successful, working parents, and her family do not encounter any material hardships, but they simply don't see enough of each other, and when her busy mother has to skip a planned trip to the country, Lene ventures out on her own.

 

Ingen Tid til Kærtegn is written by Finn Methling (Ung Vrede (1967, TV movie)) and debuting co-writer/director Annelise Hovmand (Hvorfor Stjæler Barnet? (1955, short)). The original Danish title translates to 'no time for caresses'.

It is a modern, moralistic and considerate film, which delves into the negative consequences of the increased gender equality with insight, as well as the increasing wealth, which were prevalent societal developments in Denmark and many other countries in the 1950s and onward. Eva Cohn (Krudt og Klunker (1958)) as Lene is very pretty, although her performance is not one for the history books. Implicitly and with skill the film also shows how such a privileged girl may fall into the wrong hands; but the film's finest part is a surrealist nightmare sequence on a beach.

Ingen Tid til Kærtegn is modern for its period and impressionistic, told mainly from Lene's point of view, but is also very obvious in its message and a bit dated.

 

Related post:

 

Annelise Hovmand: Høfeber (1991) - Some rough spots in Hovmand's amusing relationship comedy adaptation

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Unknown

= Uncertain

[Ingen Tid til Kærtegn was released 1 March (Denmark) and runs 101 minutes. Shooting took place in Denmark. The film was also released in one other market, Finland. Regrettably the budget and box office details are not available online. Hovmand returned with Krudt og Klunker (1958). Lily Weiding (The Green Butchers/De Grønne Slagtere (2003)), who plays Lene's mother, returned in De Røde Tjørne (1957, TV movie) and theatrically in Tre Må Man Være (1959). 78 IMDb users have given Ingen Tid til Kærtegn a 6.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Ingen Tid til Kærtegn?

It's All About Love (2003) - Young turk Vinterberg returns with Hindenburg-like disaster

[ZERO]

 

Steamy 'amour' in a pitch black and stylized space are teased on this poster for Thomas Vinterberg's It's All About Love

In the year 2021, John lands in New York, where people perish of poor hearts on a daily basis and are simply left in the streets. He goes there to finish his divorce from his celebrated, rich figure skating wife. The two still seem to love each other.

It's All About Love is written and directed by Danish master filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg (Sneblind (1990)), whose 4th film it is. Mogens Rukov (The Inheritance/Arven (2003)) contributed to the script.

More elements of the plot in It's All About Love: The figure skater has been cloned. Both her and her husband come from Poland. In Kenya people float. And Sean Penn (Hurlyburly (1998)) flies around (in airplanes) and philosophizes about life. There is a theme of snails and laboriously photographed scenes with many actors, who speak but say nothing. The close relationship at the heart of the film is suddenly disturbed by some Bergmanesque shouting arguments - and violence.

Everything rings false and seems static, fatally boring and utterly, horribly self-indulgent and pretentious, as if this was the grand, uncontrolled epic creation of a 17 year-old art cinema student. Joaquin Phoenix (Ladder 49 (2004)) and Claire Danes (The Flock (2007)) turn in jolting efforts, but they cannot change the fact that this if one of the most disastrous follow-ups to a global breakout success (Vinterberg's Dogme masterpiece sensation The Celebration/Festen (1998)) by a newly minted, celebrated filmmaker. Outrageously overrated locally (in Denmark's infamously self-congratulatory and nepotistic film and media industry), It's All About Love is a pure blood catastrophe.

 

Related posts:

 
Thomas Vinterberg: 2020 in films - according to Film Excess 

Another Round/Druk (2020) - A perfect gem, a wonderful film, Vinterberg's true celebration 

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) - Vinterberg's plush but grating English adaptation

The Hunt/Jagten (2012) - Vinterberg's strongest film since 1998 is a reversed Celebration  

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Submarino (2010) - Vinterberg's elegant, downbeat Copenhagen-set social realism drama
Dear Wendy (2004) - Vinterberg and Von Trier's unpopular, gun-themed mega-flop  

1998 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

The Celebration/Festen (1998) - Vinterberg's charged, stirring Dogme drama masterpiece

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil. $

Box office: 1 mil. $

= Box office disaster (returned 0.1 times its cost)

[It's All About Love was released 10 January (Denmark) and runs 106 minutes. Vinterberg reportedly spent 2½ years writing the script. A stunning 23 companies and support bodies collaborated in the financing and production of the film. Shooting took place in Italy, Paris, France, Kenya, Sweden, Vancouver, British Columbia, New York, Copenhagen, Denmark, England and in Oslo, Norway. The film opened #110 to a 2k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, its peak there where it grossed just 6k $ (0.006 % of the total gross). The film's biggest markets were its home market Denmark, where it sold 50k tickets, grossing 530k $ (53 %), Greece with 149k $ (14.9 %) and France with 123k $ (12.3 %). The film won 3 Robert awards, Denmark's Oscar. Vinterberg returned with Dear Wendy (2005). Phoenix returned with a voice performance in Brother Bear (2003) and a physical performance in The Village (2004); Danes in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003). It's All About Love is rotten at 19 % with a 3.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of It's All About Love?