January 2008 Archives

Saw a digitally remastered "El Cid" on a big ArcLight Hollywood screen last night. It was part of the American Film Institute's valuable 100 Years screening series, and also a launch for the lavish DVD release of the 1961 epic that hits stores today.
Like most big, historical sprawlers of that era, this tale of the impossibly chivalric (yet, somehow, congenitally subversive), 11th Century Spanish knight has its share of dopey dialogue and dull stretches. But director Anthony Mann also brought to the party the keen eye for men against rugged, psychologically defining landscapes that made his series of James Stewart Westerns ("Winchester '73," "The Naked Spur," "The Man from Laramie," etc.) some of the genre's best. The climactic Battle of Valencia may well be the best medieval combat sequence of any preceding "Braveheart."
The general acting level of the Europudding cast makes star Charlton Heston seem like Laurence Olivier by comparison (Sophia Loren, who reportedly didn't get along with Heston at all, looks particularly unhappy). But he film's convoluted court and religious politics make it an unusually cerebral exercise for this kind of thing. How true it all may be is questionable, but the respectful way in which Cid forms a coalition of Iberian Moors and squabbling Christians to fend off a new wave of invading Muslims from Africa is actually kind of inspiring nowadays.
Which is why the disc is probably worth your money (it's the first release from Harvey and Bob Weinstein's new classics label, the Miriam Connection, which the former Miramax owners named after their mother). Well, that and a wealth of making-of extras and the inevitably spirited introduction from Martin Scorsese.

It's been a freakish little award season that people have been freaking out about too much.
And I don't care how it ends.

The “No Country For Old Men” win for ensemble was no surprise. It was the only one of SAG’s five nominees in the category to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.

Its win cements the perception that Oscar night -- whatever night that may be -- will be a “No Country” coronation, with wins for picture, screenplay, supporting actor and possibly director, though I’d like to think the Academy might want to spread the love and throw an award Paul Thomas Anderson’s way.

As for Josh Brolin’s acceptance speech … well, you can’t exactly blame the guy for taking his time to enjoy his “freakin’ moment,” since, as he humorously noted, “This is Javier Bardem's 497th award.”

And I loved his dig at the end of the speech: “The Coens are freaky little people, man. And we made a freaky little movie, whether you liked the ending or not.”

At that point, I thought I saw that SAG statuette’s bronze-colored “actor” drop its mask and extend a certain finger on that already extended hand. But it might have just been the cocktails kicking in. It was the last award of the night.

-- Glenn Whipp

The most moving words spoken about Heath Ledger came earlier this week when Daniel Day-Lewis brushed aside Oprah’s Oscar-nomination happy chat on Tuesday, and spoke eloquently about Ledger, an actor he had never met but greatly admired.

No surprise then that Day-Lewis dedicated his best actor award for “There Will Be Blood” to Ledger.

“It has always been the work of my fellow actors, including my fellow nominees, who have given me a sense of regeneration,” Day-Lewis said, his voice trembling with emotion. “Heath Ledger gave it to me. We wanted to follow him and yet we were afraid to follow him.”

“In ‘Brokeback Mountain,’ he was unique. He was perfect. The scene in the trailer at the end of the movie was as moving as anything we have ever seen. I’d like to dedicate this award to him.”

Speaking these words, which came from a place deep in his heart, Day-Lewis expressed the sadness and sense of loss many of us have been feeling this week.

Interesting contrast between this speech and the one delivered by Josh “This Is My Freakin’ Moment” Brolin. (And by the way, Josh, it wasn’t your freakin’ moment. You were accepting the ENSEMBLE AWARD.) Of courser, it was Day-Lewis’ moment, too, but he used his to shine the light on the work of a peer. True class.

-- Glenn Whipp

Julie Christie’s SAG win for best actress gives her a leg up on her main Oscar competitors -- Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. Given that the Academy matches SAG in three of the four acting categories, and given that Ruby Dee probably isn’t going to pull off another upset, it looks like might Christie might take home another Oscar 42 years after winning for “Darling.”

And, seeing her on stage Sunday night, you could be forgiven for rubbing your eyes and thinking it impossible that more than four decades have passed since that win. She’ll be 67 in April. Her beauty -- and talent -- have not diminished one bit since those Swinging London days way back when.

Hopefully all this attention will bring another great script or two her way. It has been nice seeing her again.

-- Glenn Whipp

Judging from the standing ovation, Ruby Dee’s win for supporting actress is a popular choice. It’s certainly a surprise. Amy Ryan (“Gone Baby Gone”) and Cate Blanchett (“I’m Not There”) have won all the major critics prizes -- and with good reason.

Dee? Yes, she had a nice scene or two playing Denzel’s mom, but the cumulative effect (and there really wasn’t much to accumulate, was there?) was a tad overwrought. Giving her an award for this thin piece of work proves that SAG -- like the Academy -- isn’t above giving a pat on the back for a career of quality acting and, in Dee’s case, exemplary civil rights work.

If the category was weak, that wouldn’t stick in my craw. But Blanchett nailed both the mannerisms and the spirit of Dylan’s mid-Sixties Cosmic Trickster. This was no mere impersonation. This was inhabitation.

And you’re going to ignore that just because the 83-year-old Dee is … well, OK, she’s an American treasure. That’s what lifetime achievement awards are for. This just seems misguided.

-- Glenn Whipp

Javier Bardem’s supporting actor win for “No Country For Old Men” doesn’t guarantee him the Oscar for that category. There’s still some sentiment for Hal Holbrook’s heartbreaking work in “Into the Wild.” Tom Wilkinson could win, too, if the Academy decides to hold a parade for “Michael Clayton.”

But by giving the award to Bardem, members of the Screen Actors Guild have done the right thing, rewarding a performance that is so fully realized that it is destined to become one of the greatest portraits of evil in movie history.

One publicist for a rival studio griped that Bardem should be put in the lead category. Too much screen time. Not so. It just feels that way. You cannot take your eyes off of Bardem whenever he is present. His creepy stillness is fascinating. And “No Country” coming from the Coen Brothers, the character’s humorlessness turns into something that is bleakly funny.

Bardem thanked the Coens for “ignoring the takes that … sucked.” Hard to believe Bardem delivered more than a few clunkers. This is the actor who made “Love in the Time of Cholera” almost bearable. Hell … he deserves some kind of special award for that alone.

-- Glenn Whipp

While doing interviews today for the upcoming Kate Hudson-Matthew McConaughey romantic treasure hunt movie "Fool's Gold," veteran actor Donald Sutherland just couldn't contain his delight over seeing his son, "24" star Kiefer, for the first time since the younger Sutherland entered the Glendale City Jail to serve a 48-day drunk driving sentence on December 5.
"I had dinner with Kiefer last night," Donald, 72, said. "He's fantastic. Fan-tas-tic. I could not be more proud of a son and a man and an actor than I am of him. He just, God, blew me away last night.
"His sensibility is so balanced and measured and deliberate. The use that he made of his time . . . And 48 days, that's a long time, in solitary confinement 23 hours a day. The only thing he could do to get out was to do the laundry of the other inmates. I was able to put a deposit on the telephone so that he could call me collect, like, every third day, and then we would have 14 minutes - no more, they'd cut you off - to speak. You've never seen 14 minutes go so quickly in your life.
"Anyway, he was saying that it was so cold in there. And then last night, he came into the restaurant and he said, 'Man, I thought it was cold in there. It's freezing outside!' He just got released on Monday. My God, I couldn't believe how much he ate! He was wonderful."

The title of the next James Bond movie leaves me with only two questions, really.
Gin or vodka?
Shaken, not stirred?

I shared the general shock about Heath Ledger's apparently drug-related death. Unlike Brad Renfro, another fine young actor who died a week ago, Ledger had no real reputation for drug abuse and his life seemed to be pretty charmed - and even when it wasn't, he appeared to have the self-confidence and wherewithal to make things go the way he wanted.
But as reports surfaced that a friend or two may have seen this coming, I began thinking back to my encounters with Ledger. The first time I interviewed him was for "A Knight's Tale." He clearly wasn't too thrilled with that silly ass movie, and was also pretty obviously hung over when we spoke. I didn't think twice about that; the guy was what, 22?, Australian and had to talk about jousting with Bachman-Turner Overdrive on the soundtrack. I'd drink all night too if I were him.
I don't know what else he got into offscreen, but in short order Ledger turned his professional life around like few actors ever successfully have. By the end of that year he registered a small but crucial part in the drama "Monster's Ball." There were a few more bad, would-be commercial efforts - "The Four Feathers," "The Order," "Cassanova" - but he almost seemed to choose them out of disinterest while his real passion got spent on artful character work in "The Lords of Dogtown" and the Australian junkie romance "Candy."
The last time I saw Ledger in person, he was promoting Terry Gilliam's ambitious, if misfired, fantasia "The Brothers Grimm." He let co-star Matt Damon do most of the talking during a joint interview, but was noticeably more engaged and excited about the work than he was back in the "Knight's Tale" day. He also cracked some of the funniest, most self-deprecating jokes I've ever heard an actor known for his looks make.
And soon after that, "Brokeback Mountain." Believe me when I tell you that I love and admire Jake Gyllenhaal as much as the gay guys do (well, except in that way). But for us heteros who know what it's like to love someone obsessively, yet not always be able to articulate or commit to that paralyzing feeling, Heath gave the most empathetically shattering performance of the decade. It transcended preferences and achieved a purity of choked emotion that, I believe, everybody has experienced at some point in their lives, but the movies almost never get right.
Heath did. And he came close to it again from an entirely different angle in "I'm Not There," Todd Haynes' recent, multi-pronged cinematic speculation on Bob Dylan. Rather than one of the film's many Dylan stand-ins, Ledger played an actor whose challenged marriage can be said to mirror some of the rock star's troubles with women, or the relationship difficulties that generally come with being any kind of popular artist. (I won't presume to suggest that anything in the movie comments on Ledger and the mother of his two-year-old daughter, "Brokeback" co-star Michelle Williams, whom he broke up with last year).
I spoke with Ledger on the phone two months ago, and congratulated him on the his strategy to become one of our best serious actors.
He immediately took the piss out of any pretentious praise.
"So why'd you do Batman?" he laughingly, rhetorically asked himself (he was just finishing playing The Joker for the big superhero sequel, "The Dark Knight," scheduled for release in July).
"I guess the game plan is I'm trying not to be too conscious about decisions," he went on to say. "At the end of the day, I think it's just purely about the experience for me. The only part that I'm truly living within, and experiencing and feeling and touching and growing and learning from, is when I'm on the set, that experience between 'action' and 'cut.' Everything else after that is kind of out of your hands, whether it's a success or not. And success, of course, is relative. I've just tried to look at each movie as, like, not what it will or won't do to me, but what I'll gain from it as a person and as an actor.
"You know, I would play The Joker if the movie cost $50,000 to make," he added. "It was such a beautiful opportunity, character-wise. It's the most fun I've had with a character, probably, ever. It just happened to be smuggled within this monster machine. And it serves me right, whatever the consequences of it. But it was too enjoyable to turn down."
He certainly sounded pleased and content, at least over the phone from the opposite end of the continent. But then, as I listened to the tape of that conversation today, I heard something that floored me. I'd asked Heath about upcoming projects. He was looking forward to working with Gilliam again - I don't know how his death affects the status of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," currently in production - and was planning to go right after that into a film directed by mysterious genius Terrence Malick.
Following which, Ledger joked, "And then I, you know, kind of drop dead from exhaustion. And take some pills."
I played this over several times, just to make sure I heard it right. He wasn't laughing, but said it in a jocular Aussie tone that obviously indicated he was just fooling around. It was a weird thing to say, but it would be ridiculous to speculate that he really meant anything by it.
Chilling to listen to, though. I just wish that Heath Ledger would have been as happy on January 22 as he made out in November.

With a few notable exceptions, the nominees for the 80th Academy Awards look pretty much like what the critical consensus has been telling us for nearly two months.
This raises some questions.
Have the academy fogeys finally gotten past their militantly middlebrow taste threshold? Or have the critical ranks’, swelled in recent years with Internet bloggers with limited film-watching experience, standards been collectively lowered?
If all of the other film judging groups came to more or less the same conclusions weeks before the Oscar voters, do we really need the academy to tell people which quality movies they should see anymore? Or, vice versa, are critics the superfluous ones? As much as some would like to argue the latter, I’m pretty sure that a lot of the stronger, less conventionally likable stuff that made this year’s academy cut wouldn’t have without a month or more of loud critical drumbeating. And the fact that the big story this year is whether or not the Academy Awards show will go on in its usual, money-making format indicates that everybody fundamentally understands that film art isn’t Oscar’s primary concern.
But perhaps the most haunting question posed by this general agreement among movie watching orgs is: Were there really that few great films to choose from in 2007? I mean, wasn’t it supposed to be the decade’s best movie year? If true, you’d think that the love would be spread a little wider.
Maybe it’s just reality settling in. For a long time now, in any given year, there are really only about a dozen titles that approach greatness. Anybody who watches most of the stuff that’s deemed worthwhile eventually develops some kind of discernment for the most outstanding work - even most members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, I’d reckon. So, AMPAS members and critics come closer together (as long as they’re not judging foreign films, anyway), because interesting movie culture is contracting.
Hmm. Maybe that shouldn’t be celebrated with a glitzy, high-rated TV show. Just spitballin’ here.
But let’s look at the positive comparisons for awhile.
“No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood,” the prohibitive winners of critics group best picture prizes and runaway toppers of every mass critics poll, are also the leading Oscar contenders with eight nominations each.
Close-behinds “Atonement” and “Michael Clayton,” with seven noms each, have also received much year-end praise, if not as intense as that for the two men-behaving-badly-without-many-women-around favorites. And although fifth best picture entry “Juno” has been both overhyped and backlashed against, it’s by many measures the smartest runaway hit that could reasonably join the four underseen art films.
Er, make that three art films and whatever this pack’s one big studio release, “Michael Clayton,” is trying to be.
The always-one-different-director-from-best-picture rule went a little oddly this year. It was generally believed that “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’s” Julian Schanbel would be the spoiler, but he was supposed to knock “Juno’s” Jason Reitman out of the helming category. I know that “Atonement” generates more grudging admiration than real love - otherwise, it wouldn’t have been blanked in this and the lead acting races - but if Joe Wright did anything, he directed the hell out of it with all those sonic and camera and editing tricks. Of course, while Reitman may have only seemed to direct traffic in the dialogue- and actor-dominated “Juno,” he did maintain that wonderfully accepting and forgiving tone that, more than anything, makes up for any of the film’s faults. And that’s something only a director can do, so maybe the academy made a decent call there.
One real surprise in the best actor category: Tommy Lee Jones’ fine work in the critically forgotten “In the Valley of Elah.” One semi-surprise on the lead actress list: Cate Blanchett’s shrill reprise of her virgin queen in the instant camp classic “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” It’s nice that they love Cate, but really, anything that distracts from her brilliant, also nominated Dylan cloning in “I’m Not There” isn’t welcome, expecially when it comes from a movie as bad as the Liz sequel. Some dumb academy habits, like falling for anyone who plays a British monarch, obviously die hard. They’re not all Helen Mirren, y’know.
In those supporting categories, the shootout between Casey Affleck and Javier Bardem continues with a recognizable trio of seconds. Blanchett and “Gone Baby Gone’s” Amy Ryan have been leading the ladies’ tournament, and still do over the “How Nice They Got Their First Nominations” variety pack of veteran Ruby Dee, unnerving kid Saoirse Ronan and arthouse provocateuse Tilda Swinton. No big disconnects with the critics here.
Other stuff we probably approve of: double cinematography nominations for Roger Deakins (“No Country,” “Assassination of Jesse James”) along with a fine field of colleagues (“Atonement’s” Seamus McGarvey, “Diving Bell’s” Janusz Kaminski and “Blood’s” Robert Elswit); the unique “Persepolis” making the animated feature cut (if not the foreign language film shortlist); a pretty strong slate of documentary features, three of which (“No End in Sight,” “Operation Homecoming” and “Taxi to the Dark Side”) boldly and meticulously address the box office poison subject of the War on Terror, and all of which (Michael Moore’s “Sicko” and the Uganda-set “War/Dance” are the other two) are as exceptionally well-made as they are disturbing; and a not entirely expected, original screenplay nod for the quirky, delicate and very judiciously crafted “Lars and the Real Girl.”
And thanks to the academy for the biggest laugh of the morning: “La Vie en Rose” and “Norbit” competing in the same category, makeup.
Also nice:
Five of the six directors are first-time nominees, although Ethan Coen probably helped previously nominated brother Joel direct a lot of “Fargo” uncredited.
In a year that seemed dominated by movies about men with little interest in females, a record four nominated screenplays (“Away from Her,” “Juno,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “The Savages”) were credited solely to women.
One year after “Borat,” Kazakhstan gets its first legitimate foreign language film nomination - for a movie entitled “Mongol.”
That’s just funny. But as for the one thing Oscar almost never seems to get right, yes, there is a difference between real critics and whoever those people are on the foreign language film filtering committee. To be honest, I haven’t seen any of their nominees - Israel’s “Beaufort,” Austria’s “The Counterfeiters,” Poland’s “Katyn,” “Mongol” and Russia’s “12.” But the disinclusion of the most acclaimed international movie of the year, Romania’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” - the Cannes Film Festival and European Film Awards’ best picture, eligible in this category and seen by most members of the FLF nominating committee - proves that many AMPAS members will never understand film the way serious critics do.
But, y’know, whatever enlightenment they manage to achieve is appreciated. Good luck with your TV show, guys.

There are reasons why the Los Angeles Film Critics Association doesn't broadcast its awards ceremony.
For one, we're not the most technically adept group in Hollywood. At Saturday night’s dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel in Century City, microphones went out, glasses fell off presenters' noses and video montages failed to load.
But it's also because our gatherings are all about the love of cinema, which was celebrated all the way from the evening's big and bold best picture winner, "There Will Be Blood," to the work the UCLA Film Archive and partner organizations have done to restore low-budget, little seen indie masterpieces such as "Killer of Sheep" and "Parting Glances." Those who are just into awards season crap simply wouldn’t get it.
Not that the event suffered for glamour. Since our reason for existence isn't to put on a TV show, the Writers Guild had no beef with us. Ergo, "Blood" star and universally hailed best actor of the year Daniel Day-Lewis showed up. So did LAFCA's best actress winner Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en rose"), all the way from France, yet, in a slinky black gown with a sparkly heart appliqué on the left breast.
Also present were Sissy Spacek (husband Jack Fisk received the production design plaque for his “Blood” work), Christine Lahti (introducing the career achievement honoree, 83-year-old director Sidney Lumet, with a speech containing a remarkable number of references to penile erections) and supporting actor winner Vlad Ivanov who, being Romanian, probably would have found any strike-related activity that didn’t result in beatings and prison sentences refreshingly amusing .
Ivanov plays the abortionist in the brilliant, as-universally-acclaimed-as-Daniel-Day thriller “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” and had one of the night’s better acceptance speeches: “Sometimes, it is good to be a bad guy. One of the best comments I got after this movie was, ‘I want to kill you.’ ”
Some other choice quotes:
Brad Bird, director of animation co-winner (with “Persepolis“) “Ratatouille,” who asked the voice of the film’s lead rat, comedian Patton Oswalt, to write some lines for him: “What do you do when God hands you a miracle? That’s what I felt when I first heard Patton Oswalt’s voice . . .”
Lumet, who’s made a lot of movies, not all of which were quite up there with “Serpico,” “Dog Day Afternoon” and “Network,” addressing the critics who haven’t always chosen to honor him: “This is so lovely, because the normal relationship is one of hostility, right?”
“The Savages” writer-director Tamara Jenkins, echoing Lumet’s wariness of us opinion-slinging types, on her screenplay awards plaque: “As soon as I get back home to New York, I’m going to show this to my therapist!”
Daniel Day, definitely out of “Blood” character and in his humble, soft-spoken British guy mode: “In a year when so much significant work was done by so many people, thank you for wholeheartedly appreciating our film.”
But towering above them all, speech-wise, was the creator of “There Will Be Blood,” our own local golden boy, Paul Thomas Anderson. In accepting his directing award, PTA waxed nostalgic about all of the newspaper reviews that inspired him to watch great movies during his San Fernando Valley childhood (for some reason - wonder why? - I especially liked when he said “My father was reluctant to get the Daily News at first, but he came around”). And he seemed genuinely moved when he noted that the reviews of his latest work seemed to “have as much enthusiasm as we had making the film.”
But it was when Anderson came back to accept LAFCA’s best picture prize that his true, foul-mouthed genius came out: “This is a hell of a lot better than going to the goddamn Golden Globes!”
Especially this year. Yeah, the LAFCA awards are kinda inbred. But no one thanks their agents at them, which is good.
For a full list of winners and maybe, eventually, a picture or two from inside the ceremony (like I said, not the most technically gifted bunch), go to www.lafca.net.

This is a pretty good film festival in the west Valley; Hey, it opened with the beloved "Waitress" last year.
So if you've got something that fits the specs and can spare the submission fee, here's the press release with contact information:

Call for Entries

10th ANNUAL THE METHOD FEST SEEKS STRONG ACTING FILMS

• January 31 is Late Submission Deadline
• Indie fest slated for March 27 - April 3 in Calabasas, Calif.

The 10th annual The Method Fest independent film festival, scheduled
for March 27 - April 3 in Calabasas, is looking for character and
story-driven films featuring strong acting performances. The Method
Fest features American and foreign feature films and short films and is
named after "The Method" school of acting, which revolutionized the
approach in acting, particularly in film.

The late registration deadline for the 10th annual The Method Fest is
January 31. (postmarked). Entry fees are $50 for feature films and $40
for short films; student entries are $25. For film submission
information call (310) 535-9230 or visit the festival web site at
www.methodfest.com Films can also be submitted through
www.withoutabox.com

The Method Fest, the only film festival in the U.S. that puts its
focus on acting, features American and international feature films and
short films and is named after "The Method" school of acting, which
revolutionized the approach in acting, particularly in film.

The Method Fest takes great pride in being a Discovery Festival,
looking to help launch the works of young fresh filmmakers and to
discover breakthrough performances by young, bold new actors. The
festival has also taken great delight in sharing career-defining
performances of established performers and in showcasing outstanding
independent projects of well-known directors to screen at the festival.
"We've prided ourselves on not just following other festivals’
lineups. We screen world premieres and true discoveries, mixed with a
few larger films, " said Don Franken, executive director of the Method
Fest.

The 10th Method Fest will feature tributes to actors and top
filmmakers, acting and filmmaking seminars, workshops and panels,
daily/nightly parties and receptions, industry events, a variety of
Indie Music events, Lifetime Achievement Tribute, and the Awards
Ceremony. The Method Fest’s traditional Youth Outreach Program includes
a short film and screenplay competition for middle school and high
school students.

In its first nine years The Method Fest has launched more than 85
films into the marketplace (theatrical distribution, DVD/video release,
TV deals), and brought to attention actors like Naomi Watts, Jeremy
Sisto, Jena Malone, Tamara Hope, Hill Harper, Ari Larter, Jorge Garcia,
Cameron Richardson and Eugene Byrd. Method Fest gems include The
Waitress, Black Irish, Man in the Chair, Jindabyne, Dreamland,
Brothers, Lonely Hearts, Julie Walking Home, The Navigators, Steal Me,
It’s All Gone Pete Tong, Seven Times Lucky, December Ends, I Love Your
Work, Three Days of Rain, Close Your Eyes, Finder's Fee, Flickering
Lights, The Visit, To End All Wars, Way Off Broadway, Jump Tomorrow,
Man of the Year, Sobrevivire, ABCD, The Restless, Hard Luck, I Love
Budapest, Lucinda's Spell, Poor White Trash, My Sweet Killer, Sweet
Thing, Dumbarton Bridge, The Corndog Man, Jimmy Zip, Night Orchid, and
The Scottish Tale.

The Method Fest is presented by the City of Calabasas and presenting
media partners, Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, and the L.A.
Daily News. Lead sponsors include Corona, Modern VideoFilm, Christie
Digital, Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, and Wexler. Festival
supporters include Leonis Adobe Museum, D2 Development and
Construction, Motion Picture and Television Fund, Bernards,
FilmFinders, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and IBC. Media sponsors include
Variety and Indie 103.1. The Method Fest is an official Valley of the
Stars event, supported by the San Fernando Valley Economic Alliance.

Four features by the surging South Korean cinema's impressive new master Lee Chang-Dong screen at the L.A. County Museum over the next three days. A former novelist and government Minister of Culture, Lee creates brilliantly unapologetic characters whose fraught, fascinating relationships reflect on both the nation's culture and larger life issues like faith, exploitation and love. His perspective is completely fresh and often alarming, the emotional depth and intelligence of his films sometimes unpleasant but always exhilarating.
Lee's most recent work, Secret Sunshine, about a young widow who moves to her husband's provincial hometown, won Jeon Do-Yeon the best actress prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival and is South Korea's candidate for the foreign language Academy Award.

Here's the schedule:

Thurs Jan 3 - 7:30 PEPPERMINT CANDY (1999)
Friday Jan 4 - 7:30 OASIS (2002)
Saturday Jan 5 - 5:00 GREEN FISH (1996)
Saturday Jan 5 - 7:30 SECRET SUNSHINE (2007)

Secret Sunshine screens with director Lee Chang-Dong, hosted by Quentin Tarantino.
For tickets or more info on LACMA go to www.lacma.org