Get ready for movies and popcorn

The Vancouver International Film Festival starts Sept. 25 with 500 screenings of 324 films from 50 countries. It all takes place over 15 days on 10 screens around the city. Many films this year, including the special presentation of Broken Wings, have connections to Israel, Jewish themes and Jewish directors or actors.

The labor black market

In James' Journey to Jerusalem, James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe), the son of a Zulu pastor, travels to the Holy Land on behalf of his congregation. On his way to Jerusalem, he is apprehended by suspicious border police and is taken to jail. "Rescued" by Shimi (Salim Daw), James is hustled off to a crowded, run-down Tel-Aviv apartment shared by a group of illegal immigrant workers. He is given two choices by Shimi: work for Shimi or return to jail. James picks the first option and thereby begins a personal struggle with evil.

Described in the Vancouver Film Festival guide as a "dark satire that confronts the labor black market and moral bankruptcy of the once idealistic Israeli society," James' Journey is really more about relationships and James' personal journey, having to choose between his spiritual pilgrimage and the allure of material wealth. It is an interesting journey – at times cruel, at times humorous – to witness.

– Cynthia Ramsay

Forgetting not an option

There's something really pretentious about a filmmaker who uses one name as his moniker – in this case "Samir" – but it can be forgiven if his work turns out to be of exceptional quality. Unfortunately, Forget Baghdad is not.

Forget Baghdad focuses on four Arab Jews who were forced to flee Iraq after Israel's founding and who immigrated to Israel. At the centre of most of their discussions are little anecdotes – lovely stories that evoke fond memories of growing up in Iraq.

But tales of the past give way to current issues of alienation as the four discuss how they felt being strangers in Israel and how they feel being Arabs in the Jewish state.

For some, the move meant more freedom. "For the first time, I saw a communist paper in daylight," says one. To others, it has meant constant derision, including being called a "stinky Arab" for bringing a typical Iraqi lunch to school that contained a cooked egg.

Ostensibly to make the film more interesting, the filmmaker uses split-screen and montage techniques, showing images of the interviewee talking on one side of the screen, with a collage of images and words on the other. For the most part the mix is boring but, at its worst, the images are incredibly inane and distracting. Like little magnetic affirmations that you stick on your refrigerator, words pop up on the right side of the screen, as if being typed by a typewriter, and the words are often moronic. When a person says the word "freedom," for example, the letters "f-r-e-e-d-o-m" are typed across the right hand side of the screen and then fade out. Unfortunatley, this adds nothing to the movie and, as you're trying to read them, you miss the subtitles. If you can get past this headache, this is still a worthy film to see.

– Baila Lazarus

Door to another world

Marius is an arrogant self-help instructor. Jorg is one of his slower students. Through unexplained circumstances, they end up stranded in an alternate reality together, where nothing they had before – family, house, etc. – exists. This is the dubious premise of the German film Science Fiction, but it works.

Marius (Arved Birnbaum) soon figures out that, in this new reality, people forget about him and Jorg (Jan Henrik Stahlberg) whenever a door closes between the pair and the other people. He encourages Jorg to join him in several illicit ventures (stealing clothes, cigarettes and a car, for example). He also uses it to point out, in unsettling ways, the weaknesses and faults of other human beings.

Jorg, for his part, attempts to form a relationship with a hotel desk clerk. And, as the movie progresses, he also manages to form a relationship with the darkly cynical Marius. In essence, the student becomes the teacher.

Birnbaum and Stahlberg turn in excellent performances in Science Fiction and the movie is clever, funny and, ultimately, heartwarming.

– Cynthia Ramsay

No magic on this bus

The Who wasn't thinking of this vehicle when they wrote "Magic Bus" and neither is there any magic in the creating of this rather benign film, Ford Transit. Filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad simply sticks a camera on one of the many Ford mini-vans that taxi Palestinians between checkpoints in the West Bank and into Jerusalem.

But while magic may be in short supply, there's plenty of politics as Assad uses the location to ask the average Palestinian what they think about the situation in the Middle East.

The driver, a young man who is "not afraid of anyone" stays mostly out of the way, preferring to concentrate on driving, finding alternate routes around checkpoints, fixing flat tires and delivering counterfeit CDs.

But opinions on the bus are numerous and, in a credit to the film, varied. Opinions about George Bush, range from "He's trying his best" to "I can't stand his face." And many have harsh things to say about the suicide bombers,
as well.

The little snippets of interviews are interspersed, unfortunately boringly, with long shots of the passengers just sitting in the vehicle being bounced around on the rocky roads; and, expectedly, with long shots of people waiting in line-ups at checkpoints.

Amid the man-on-the-street interviews, however, we also see ubiquitous Palestinian spokes-person Hanan Ashrawi give her two cents. (Although her name is conspicuously left out of the film.) She first makes a comment about how Israelis are dehumanizing Palestinians but then, amazingly, reproaches the Palestinian leadership saying, "Our politicians fail in their politics.... If I were them, I'd resign."

For the most part, this film does not come across as overtly pro- or anti-Israel and the filmmaker does ask what people think about the fact that Israelis are suffering, too. But the end of the film focuses on several anti-Israel sentiments.
One woman states an unfortunate truth that seems to sum up the situation bleakly, "In our hearts we know that it's time for Arafat to step down," she says, "but Bush and Sharon are against him so we defiantly keep on supporting him."

– Baila Lazarus

Relationship trouble

Ben Ratner once again takes on the role of neurotic ex-boyfriend in Moving Malcolm, a film he also wrote and directed. Ratner fares well in his directorial debut and, even though there are some weaknesses in the script, the movie is enjoyable, lighthearted fare.

Stranded at the altar, Gene Maxwell (Ratner) can't get over his feelings for his ex-fiancée and, more than a year after the ill-fated wedding, he still pines for a reconciliation. When Liz (Elizabeth Berkley) approaches him to help her grumpy father, Malcolm, (played wonderfully by John Neville) move into a new apartment, Gene says yes, much to the worry of his parents (Jay Brazeau and Babz Chula) and friend (Nicholas Lea).

The main shortfall of Moving Malcolm is the relationship between Gene and Liz. Even after the movie is over, it is hard to say why they were ever going out in the first place, let alone why they were planning to get married or why Gene laments her departure to such a degree.

But there are some very amusing situations in this movie, such as when Gene gets thrown out of a copy shop by a female security guard and when he returns later, bearing flowers, to apologize for his rudeness. As well, Ratner is not afraid of poking fun at himself; his smaller stature is the basis for one funny scene, both visually and through the dialogue. The better moments are when Gene is with his semi-crazy, kvetchy – but caring – parents. Luckily, there are enough of these scenes to keep the audience engaged and laughing for much of the movie.

– Cynthia Ramsay

Film festival schedule

Bastards
Canada, 99 min.
A wild, barefoot and homeless activist forces herself into the life of a retired man, Sam, to teach him about the Revolution. It plays Friday, Oct. 3, 4 p.m., and Tuesday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m., at the Granville 7.

Broken Wings
Israel, 87 min.
Nir Bergman's film is a portrait of an Israeli family thrown into chaos by the loss, nine months earlier of an adored father and husband. As mother Daphna and her four children try to pick up the pieces, another traumatic event brings the dysfuntional clan together. It runs Monday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., at the Vogue.

The Death of Klinghoffer
Great Britain, Israel, Palestine, 120 min.
Based on the 1985 hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro by Palestinian terrorists who, before surrending, killed the wheelchair-bound American Jewish passenger Leon Klinghoffer, this film is a rendering of a 1991 opera of the same name. It screens Wednesday, Oct. 1, 9:30 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 5, 1 p.m., at the Granville 7.

The Event
Canada, United States, 110 min.
The story of friends and family caring for a 30-something jewish gay man diagnosed with AIDS and the many emotions and allegiances evoked by his assisted suicide. It plays Sunday, Sept. 28, 9:30 p.m., Visa Screening Room at the Vogue; and Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1 p.m., at the Granville 7.

Ford Transit
Israel, Netherlands, Palestine, 81 min.
Screens Thursday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., at the Pacific Cinémathèque; and Sunday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m., and Thursday, Oct. 2, 8:45 p.m., at the Granville 7.

Forget Baghdad: Jews and Arabs – The Iraqi Connection
Iraq, Israel, Switzerland 110 min.
Shows Tuesday, Sept. 30, 6:40 p.m., and Friday, Oct. 3, noon, at the Granville 7.

James' Journey to Jerusalem
Israel, Palestine, 90 min.
Runs Monday, Sept. 29, 7:30 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 2, 1 p.m., at the Granville 7; and Saturday, Oct. 4, 9:30 p.m., at the Ridge Theatre.

Moving Malcolm
Canada, 96 min.
Screens Wednesday, Oct. 8, 7 p.m., at the Ridge Theatre; and Friday, Oct. 10, 11 a.m., at the Granville 7.

Prisoner of Paradise
Canada, Germany, United States, 93 min. Sponsored by the Jewish Bulletin.
Kurt Gerron was one of the most famous actor-directors in Berlin prior to the Second World War, appearing in many films, including The Blue Angel with Marlene Dietrich. During the war, the Jewish Gerron was captured by the Nazis and sent to Theresienstadt, where he was forced to make the film The Fuhrur Gives a City to the Jews, in which the concentration camps are made out to be luxurious and happy.
Shows are Thursday, Sept. 25, 6:20 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 11:30 a.m., and Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2:20 p.m., at the Granville 7.

Rana's Wedding
Israel, Palestine, 90 min.
Rana, a young Palestinian, who would like to make her own way in the world, must move to Egypt with her wealthy father ... unless she marries first. While there are many suitors, Rana loves Khalill and wants to marry him but she faces many difficulties – security checks, roadblocks, home demolitions and angry demonstrations – finding him.
Screenings are Monday, Oct. 6, 9:30 p.m., at the Ridge Theatre; and Friday, Oct. 10, 11:30 a.m., at the Granville 7.

Science Fiction
Germany, 113 min.
Shows Sunday, Sept. 28, 4 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m., at the Granville 7.

Short presentations

50 Questions with actress Jennifer Silverman (Canada, 11 min.) plays in Hitting Zero, which screens Tuesday, Oct. 7, 9:45 p.m., at the Granville 7; and Thursday, Oct. 9, 4 p.m., at the Pacific Cinémathèque.

DNA, directed by Jack Blum (Canada, 27 min.), plays in Song of Wreckage, which screens Friday, Sept. 26, 9:45 p.m., and Monday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m., at the Pacific Cinémathèque.

Friend Good, directed by Jay Rosenblatt (United States, 5 min.), precedes The Odds of Recovery, showing Thursday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., and Wednesday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m., at the Pacific Cinémathèque.

I Used to be a Filmmaker, directed by Jay Rosenblatt (United States, 10 min.), precedes The Odds of Recovery, which runs Thursday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., and Wednesday, Oct. 1, 1 p.m., at the Pacific Cinémathèque.

Full program details are online at www.viff.org and tickets can be bought online (VISA sales exclusively). The information hotline, 604-683-FILM (3456), is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and the VISA charge-by-phone line, 604-685-8297, is open noon to 7 p.m. daily.

Advance ticket outlets are open noon to 7 p.m. daily until Oct. 9: Pacific Centre kiosk; Georgia and Granville (cash and VISA); and City Square, 12th and Cambie (cash and VISA). Tickets are $7 for daytime screenings and $9 for evening shows.

Program guides are also on sale, for $5, at many locations, including the advance ticket outlets listed above, Chapters bookstores in the Lower Mainland, Book Warehouse, Videomatica, Global News and many others.

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