The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz
The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz |
| Polish gay priest drama launches Berlin film fest race Posted: 08 Feb 2013 07:45 AM PST  Director Malgoska Szumowska (2nd L), actors Maja Ostaszewska (L to R), Andrzej Chyra and Mateusz Kosciukiewicz pose during a photocall to promote the movie "In the name" at the 63rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin February 8, 2013. — Reuters pic "In the Name of" by Malgoska Szumowska, one of three women vying for the Berlinale's Golden Bear top prize, drew warm applause for the story of Adam (Andrzej Chyra), a man of the cloth assigned to a community in rural Poland. A charismatic and handsome man, he is popular with the residents of the village where he works with delinquent teenagers, including the eccentric loner Lukasz (Mateusz Kosciukiewicz). His strong feelings for the boy force him to confront the fact that his choice of the priesthood was in fact a flight from his own homosexuality. The thrill of his infatuation with Lukasz quickly gives way to a spiritual despair and a fear for his future in the Church as the villagers turn against him. The film presents a Church incapable of dealing with its members' human frailty, as all the villagers are seen wrestling with their own demons. "My first feeling was to make a film about longing and about love," the Krakow-born director said ahead of the keenly awaited world premiere of the film, which German media highlighted as a possible front-runner for the festival's prizes to be handed out on February 16. "I think it's hard to imagine a more lonely person than a priest," due to the vow of celibacy that precludes other kinds of human intimacy, she said. Szumowska said she knew the film, which uses imagery from Christ's passion to depict Adam's inner struggle, would be controversial in her predominantly Catholic home country. "Suddenly in the Polish newspapers now the topic of our film is very hot. We have a strong discussion in Poland about homosexuality, about the Church, about priests," she said. "It's very, very important for me to give a voice to certain discussions in Poland." She said she saw many of the most recent scandals in the Church as rooted in a suppression of desire imposed by Catholic doctrine, which she called "closed and intolerant". "It doesn't fit with the modern society. It doesn't fit with contemporary times. It's absolutely a paradox. Out of this conflict very bad things happen," she said. But she said she consciously avoided a story about paedophilia in the Church despite the enormity of the issue over the last several years, saying she wanted to tell a tale of love that is seen as a sin. Szumowska presented her movie "Elles" starring French actress Juliette Binoche as a reporter investigating female student prostitution last year in the Berlinale's Panorama sidebar section. Chyra, one of Poland's leading actors who co-starred in "Elles" and in Andrzej Wajda's 2007 "Katyn Story", said Szumowska made him feel comfortable making an explicit sex scene. "After one year, we shot the love scene," he said. "Finally we matured to touch each other." The 11-day event kicked off Thursday with a gala screening of the lush martial arts epic "The Grandmaster" by Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai, who is also leading the festival jury this year. Also in competition today is US director Gus Van Sant's anti-fracking feature "Promised Land" starring Matt Damon, who co-wrote the screenplay, and controversial Austrian film-maker Ulrich Seidl's "Paradise: Hope" about a 13-year-old girl who falls for a man four decades her senior. — AFP/Relaxnews |
| Day-Lewis carries hopes of home crowd at top British film awards Posted: 08 Feb 2013 05:49 AM PST  Daniel Day-Lewis expected to win best actor for his role in "Lincoln". — Reuters pic But there could be stiff competition at Britain's top movie awards ceremony from "Argo", a drama directed by Ben Affleck about the rescue of American hostages from Iran in 1979, which has just beaten Lincoln to a clutch of prestigious US prizes. Argo has seven BAFTA nominations including for best film. The other contenders for the top honour are "Lincoln", "Les Miserables", "Life of Pi" and "Zero Dark Thirty". Steven Spielberg's biopic of US President Abraham Lincoln leads the field with 10 nominations but a sweep of statuettes may not be a foregone conclusion. The film had a disappointing Golden Globes, winning just one award out of seven nominations. Briton Day-Lewis, hailed last year as "the world's greatest actor" on the front page of Time magazine, appears to be a safe bet for the best actor BAFTA after winning a string of US awards for his performance as Lincoln. Day-Lewis is nominated for what would be his third best actor Oscar for the role. Betting firm William Hill confirmed Day-Lewis as the runaway favourite for best actor with odds of 1/25, but in the best film category "Argo" was ahead with odds of 1/4, ahead of "Lincoln" on 9/2. Ang Lee's visually arresting "Life of Pi", about a man and a tiger lost at sea in a small boat, has a strong chance to shine with nine BAFTA nominations including best director for the eclectic Taiwanese veteran. "Les Miserables", the film version of a global hit stage musical, also has nine BAFTA nominations including best supporting actress for Anne Hathaway, who has been widely praised for her poignant portrayal of tragic heroine Fantine. The latest James Bond movie, "Skyfall", is nominated in eight categories including best supporting actress for Judi Dench as the spymaster M and best supporting actor for Spanish actor Javier Bardem as the creepy villain Silva. Despite becoming the most successful film in British box office history and winning rave reviews for its director Sam Mendes, "Skyfall" did not make the shortlist for best film or director. That was the latest in a long string of awards disappointments for the producers behind the franchise. William Hill predicted the Bond movie would lose out to "Les Miserables" in the outstanding British film category. ALAN PARKER HONOURED Showcasing a totally different vein of British cinema, director Joe Wright's experimental "Anna Karenina", an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel set against the backdrop of elaborate stage sets, is up for six BAFTAs. Quentin Tarantino's brutal slavery-era Western "Django Unchained" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty", a thriller about a young CIA agent's obsessive hunt for Osama bin Laden, have five nominations apiece. Tarantino and Bigelow, both heavy hitters among US filmmakers, are both up for the best director award. One of the other contenders for that award is Austria's Michael Haneke, nominated for "Amour", the harrowing tale of an elderly couple struggling to cope with the consequences of a stroke. The French-language film has four nominations, an unusually high number for a film not in the English language. French actress Emanuelle Riva, 85, is nominated for the best actress BAFTA for her role in "Amour". Her rivals for the award are Helen Mirren in "Hitchcock", Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook", Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty" and Marion Cotillard in "Rust and Bone". The contenders for best actor are Day-Lewis, Affleck in "Argo", Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook", Hugh Jackman in "Les Miserables" and Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master". Versatile British director Alan Parker, whose body of work ranges from child musical gangster film "Bugsy Malone" to Turkish-set prison thriller "Midnight Express" and Civil Rights drama "Mississippi Burning", will receive a BAFTA fellowship. — Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Showbiz To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan