PTU
One of the few personal filmmakers still at work in the commercial Hong Kong cinema, Johnnie To specializes in street-level cop films, shot with a no-nonsense authority that recalls the work of Don Siegel and Phil Karlson. PTU—the initials stand for "police tactical unit"—is To's variation on a classic film noir theme, the corrupt cop who finds he must finally take a stand. Played by the marvelous character actor Lam Suet, Lo is a tubby, chain-smoking sergeant who loses his gun in a fight with a street gang and goes to extraordinary lengths to get it back. 85 min. Hong Kong, 2003.
Raja
Jacques Doillon’s unpredictable, multi-layered RAJA addresses the difficult subject of two individuals trying to correct an imbalance of power. Fredérique (Pascal Greggory, in a wonderfully intricate performance) is a wealthy Frenchman who lives the life of a libertine pasha in Morocco. Raja (Najat Benssallem) is one of the fetching local girls who comes to work in his garden. They set their sights on one another, and a battle of wits, libidos and cultural perspectives ensues. Fred, the pampered, carefree imperialist, slowly begins to comprehend the hard pragmatism of Raja’s life. Raja, the cunning, tough-minded journeywoman, who has learned to use her sexuality as the ultimate bartering tool, comes to understand Fred’s seriousness and sense of rectitude. And the closer they get, the further away they are from one another. 112 min. France/Morocco, 2003.
The Barbarian Invasions
The characters who populated Denys Arcand’s lively 1986 hit The Decline of the American Empire (NYFF 1986) are back in THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS—still contentious and still obsessed with sex, but forced to confront other issues. Rémy (Rémy Girard), the promiscuous academic who dominated the earlier proceedings, is dying, but he has no intention of going out tamely. In short order he’s surrounded by a sometimes disorderly crew of family and friends, quarreling with his businessman son, and forging a friendship with the young junkie who helps him ease the pain of his passing. 95 min. Canada, 2003.
Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Sixties scenemaker, impresario of glitter rock, cutting-edge DJ in the era of punk and post-punk, Rodney Bingenheimer has been at the center of LA’s pop music life for four decades. But what does it really mean to be at the center of a swirling and nebulous world of celebrity and publicity? George Hickenlooper’s remarkable portrait of Rodney, MAYOR OF THE SUNSET STRIP, takes us on a comic and heartbreaking tour inside the rock biz. Rodney was always the person you had to see in order to see the stars, and we get flying visits here from an extraordinarily mixed bag of celebs including David Bowie, Cher, Mick Jagger, Joan Jett, Brian Wilson, Ray Manzarek, Debbie Harry, and dozens more—not to mention groupie legends Pamela Des Barres, the G.T.O.’s and notorious record producer Kim Fowley. But finally, and unforgettably, Hickenlooper leaves us with what’s left after the party’s over and everyone’s gone home. 94 min. USA, 2003.
