Foxcatcher **** The cast of Foxcatcher deserves an ensemble acting award, especially the usually-comedic Steve Carell, playing against type here, plus Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo as two close brothers. The film is based on the true story of the eccentric John duPont, from the fabled industrial family, who became a patron to the 1988 US Olympic wrestling team. He developed a strong fascination for the two wrestling brothers while he slowly descended into a solitary hell. Director Bennett Miller (Capote) has created a gripping tragedy that is also an eye-opener into the lives of the rich and the less-rich…
(photos – Ascot-Elite)
Durak (The Fool/L’Idiot) **** (vo Russian) Russian director Yuriy Bikov, of the powerful film The Major, about police corruption that arose from the cover-up of a tragic accident, continues here in the same vein with this riveting critique of the unscrupulous bureaucracy in a small town somewhere in Russia. Young Artyom Bystrov (a Heath Ledger look-alike) plays an honest, responsible plumber who discovers a flaw in a large building that endangers the lives of its countless inhabitants. He comes up against a brick wall when he tries to warn the town’s mayor and other dignitaries. This is a painful but important and brilliantly made tale of an honest man struggling against the system.
(photos – Trigon films)
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Germany and Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
