Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501100003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Lina Wertmuller's "Ciao, Professore!" is an updated "To Sir, With Love" with a distinct Italian flavor. Loosely based on a best-selling book of elementary-school student essays, the film is about Marco Sperelli (Paolo Villaggio), a teacher who's sent to Corzano, a small town in southern Italy.
He finds an empty classroom. The kids are all out working; the principal doesn't care; and effective control of the whole school has been turned over to a janitor who charges students for toilet paper. In short, Marco's work is cut out for him.
His education and urban background don't count for much as he does whatever he can to get the kids - a gang of cute, foul-mouthed ragamuffins - into their seats and teach them something. The episodic plot moves slowly as Marco comes to understand his charges' situation.
Much of the conflict is based on the deep-seated mistrust and suspicion that exist between the prosperous northern part of the country and the poorer and less sophisticated south. It's a problem that's been receiving some attention in the news recently, and even though it's similar to regional differences in this country, it's not likely to translate easily to American viewers.
The key to the film is the winning performance by Villaggio, a popular equivalent of Tim Allen on Italian television and film. He's a thoroughly engaging hero, a rotund teddy-bear who holds his own even when surrounded by his pint-sized co-stars. The lack of a strong plot gives director/co-writer Wertmuller time to make the setting more than a backdrop for the action. The place becomes the key to the human characters, and the characters are a delight.
"White" is the second film in Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy. The first, "Blue," is also available on video; the third, "Red," has just opened in limited theatrical release.
It's such an ambitious project that a full review will have to wait until all three have appeared on tape, but that shouldn't keep anyone from seeing "White." Each of the three films stands on its own. This one is an enigmatic story of a man and a country trying to discover what they want.
Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is a Polish expatriate living in Paris until his beautiful French wife, Dominique (Julie Delphy), divorces him. He is completely devastated - financially and emotionally ruined. When he realizes that things can get no worse, he decides to return to Poland, via unconventional means, and finds that he was wrong. Things can and do get worse.
In part, Kieslowksi's film is a comedy, a political satire about capitalism and socialism. But it's much more enjoyable as a character study, and again, the star is the key. Zamachowski is a Chaplinesque Everyman who struggles mightily against society. In the end, he comes away victorious, sort of, in a way that's impossible to describe.
Clearly, "White" is not to all tastes, but Kieslowski is such an accomplished filmmaker that I recommend it to anyone looking for an intellectual, imaginative challenge.
"Dream Lover" is more conventional fare. It's a thriller that takes a fairly standard premise and gives it some unexpected twists.
As the film opens, Ray Reardon (James Spader) has just been taken to the cleaners in a divorce. Actually, he lets it happen; that's the kind of passive fellow he is. Then he meets Lena Mathers (Madchen Amick), a provocative, seductive young woman who might be perfect for him. He certainly wants to believe so. But what about the contradictions in her stories about her past and other unexplained curiosities?
It wouldn't be fair to reveal the answers. First-time director Nicholas Kazan handles the material with a soft touch, dodging cliches and telling the story through the characters. He got fine performances from his leads, two of the most attractive actors in the business these days. He gave this mystery the same cynical edge that made his script for "Reversal of Fortune" so unnerving. That quality is nowhere more apparent than at the end, which will strike some as a step too far and others as just right.
All in all, "Dream Lover" is so neatly put together that it really shouldn't be shelved with all the other "erotic thrillers" in the video stores.
Despite an equally talented cast, "Golden Gate" is not as successful. This American Playhouse production is an intergenerational mystery with a strong political side. Matt Dillon plays Kevin Walker, an FBI agent who becomes so caught up in the anti-communism of the 1950s that he persecutes a Chinese immigrant. Years later, he falls for the man's daughter, Marilyn Song (Joan Chen).
The central conflict between his professional and personal lives is effectively set out, but writer David Henry Hwang and director John Madden let the tone vary from scene to scene, and sometimes try to do too much with a limited budget.
Again, strong well-drawn characters overcome some of the flaws, but not all of them.
Next week: Guilty Pleasures 1995 - the return of cinema Sidaris!
New release this week
True Lies **
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold. Directed by James Cameron. FoxVideo. 135 min. Rated R for graphic violence, strong language, very strong sexual content. Not for children.
It's tempting to dismiss this one as "The Last Action Hero, Part 2," but this budget-buster manages to be both better and worse. The action sequences are louder and more ridiculous; the humor is sharper. The boring scenes are really flat and the sexual material - too strong for kids - is embarrassing. The team that was so successful with "The Terminator" and "T2" seems to have forgot that the formula requires a fast, relentless pace and a good villain. Both are missing here.
THE ESSENTIALS
Ciao, Professore! ***HHH Buena Vista. 91 min. Rated R for strong language, subject matter.
White *** Buena Vista. 92 min. Rated R for strong language, subject matter, brief nudity.
Dream Lover *** PolyGram Video. 103 and 108 min. Unrated and R-rated for nudity, strong sexual content, language, violence.
Golden Gate ** Buena Vista. 101 min. Rated R for strong language, sexual content, violence.
by CNB