Buried Treasures 2006: Make That an Even Dozen
by Pam Grady
If it's January, it must be time for Ten Best lists and award nominations. Drilled into everyone's heads are the titles of the films everybody must see before the Oscars bring the 2006 season to a close. With all the hype, it sometimes seems that those movies are the only ones anyone need really see. And that's a sad conclusion, because every year, for a variety of reasons, there are plenty of worthy movies that disappear almost as soon as they come out. Eventually they end up on DVD, where, if fate is smiling down, they might finally find an audience. In a way they are the Island of Misfit Toys of the movie world, films sometimes hard to categorize—or market—and so they get lost. We like to call them "buried treasures," and we've got an even dozen for your consideration. Not every one is to every taste, but they all have something to offer to the movie buff willing to look beyond box office returns and gaudy statuettes.
The Aura — Nine Queens director Fabian Bielinsky passed away before his crackerjack sophomore feature made its American debut, which may account for its ultra-limited theatrical release. Ricardo Darin plays an egocentric, epileptic taxidermist who finagles his way into a bank heist convinced he has the ability to plan the perfect crime. Bielinsky eschews the playful nature of Nine Queens in favor of building an occasionally brutal, but taut and irresistible thriller.
Duck Season — Alfonso Cuaron executive produced Fernando Eimbcke's debut film, which ought to give some indication of the quality of this Mexican import. The winner of 10 Ariels—Mexico's answer to the Oscars—including Best First Work, this loopy black-and-white comedy takes place in one afternoon in a Mexico City apartment where the power has gone out, leaving two adolescent boys, a 16-year-old neighbor girl, and the pizza delivery guy to find a way to pass the time. That they do, and as they get to know each other, all of their lives are changed forever.
Sleeping Dogs Lie (a.k.a. Stay) — A studio bought comedian-turned-filmmaker Bobcat Goldthwait's latest comedy, only to realize they were suddenly presented with a problem: how to sell a movie that begins with an inner-species sex act. But this is no mere a girl-and-her-dog movie. From its outrageous start, it transforms into an amiable, hilarious, and sometimes bittersweet romantic comedy that questions the wisdom of full disclosure in the arena of love and sex.
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America — A mockumentary with more than laughs on its mind, University of Kansas professor Kevin Willmott's second feature imagines what American life (and Ken Burns-style documentaries) might look like if the Confederacy had won the Civil War. This satire offers a unique, acerbic glimpse into the heart of racism in its rewrite of history that comes complete with ad breaks featuring some of the most outrageous commercials you will ever see—all based on actual products.
Brothers of the Head — Documentary filmmakers Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton, the partners behind the Terry Gilliam doc Lost in La Mancha, helm their first narrative feature, a faux documentary limning the rise of a '70s-era glam band and its Siamese twin frontmen. Making use of their formidable documentary arsenal, the pair have fashioned a dark drama of sibling rivalry, ruthless ambition, and showbiz excess. Newcomers Luke and Harry Treadaway are charismatic and heartbreaking as the conjoined siblings, but best of all is Clive Langer's soundtrack, which captures the '70s musical zeitgeist—and even improves upon it.
Cavite — San Diego-based filmmakers Neill Dela Llana and Ian Gamazon traveled to the Philippines with a consumer-grade DV camera and very little money and proved that a low-budget and other constraints are no barrier to quality filmmaking. Informed that his mother and sister have been kidnapped, a Filipino-American spends a horrifying day following the instructions of a terrorist in a desperate attempt to free them. With basically only one character and a voice on a cell phone, this small film manages to evoke the type of edgy suspense and horror that far bigger productions can only dream about.
Nearing Grace — Someday Everwood's Gregory Smith will start looking his 20-something years and age out of teenage parts. That will be a sad day, because no one plays smart, angst-ridden, sensitive adolescents better. In this coming-of-age drama, set in the late 1970s, he adds another fine performance as a high school senior caught between two girls, a distraction from his disintegrating home life as his family reels from his mother's death.
Conversations With Other Women — The conceit of Hans Canosa's relationship drama—stars Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter are filmed in split-screen—is occasionally irritating. But as this couple who meet at a wedding and proceed to spend the night together verbally joust and parry, the exact meaning of their exchanges only gradually becoming clear as the night wears on.
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey — Canadian Sam Dunn is an anthropologist by training, so when he and Scot McFadyen endeavored to make a documentary about the heavy metal music that Dunn has adored since his youth, they applied anthropological methodology to their work. The result is a fascinating survey that covers the music on both sides of the Atlantic, from Alice Cooper to Norwegian black metal, and includes interviews with the likes of Cooper, Motorhead's Lemmy, Motley Crue's Vince Neil, and Rob Zombie.
On a Clear Day — This low-key drama about an involuntarily retired Glaswegian shipbuilder who reclaims his self-confidence and reconciles with his estranged son by swimming the English Channel suffers from a surfeit of sentimentality. But the film's virtues outweigh it flaws, as characterizations are sharp, relationships are well-defined and resonant, and Peter Mullan as the determined swimmer is simply terrific.
Beowulf & Grendel — Brave Beowulf fights the evil (or is it misunderstood?) troll Grendel in Sturla Gunnarson's adaptation of the ancient epic poem. With a multinational cast and stabs at contemporary dialogue and motivation, the movie can be a trifle silly, but the gorgeous Icelandic locations; energetic, mayhem-filled action scenes; and Gerard Butler's commanding performance as the hero make for a winning combination.
Clean — Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung won the best actress award at Cannes for this atypical role of a junkie trying, as the title suggests, to get clean—and regain custody of her young son. Kind of a downbeat travelogue that spans the globe from Hamilton, Ontario, to London and Paris, it's a wrenching character portrait of a woman who feels at home nowhere, yet wants nothing more than to settle down with her boy. The drama gets an extra lift from Nick Nolte, who gives a graceful and uncommonly touching performance as a grandfather trying to do what's best for his beloved grandchild.