Tom Fudge: The first new movie we'll talk about today is called Mongol . Mongol is the story of the early life of the great leader and warrior Genghis Kahn. The question of whether Genghis Kahn was a great man, in any kind of moral sense, is certainly debatable. The movie Mongol does present a sympathetic view of his life... at least when he was young.
We first meet Kahn when he is the nine-year-old son of a Mongol tribal leader. He was named Temudgin prior to becoming Genghis Kahn. As was the custom, Temudgin rides with his father to a nearby village to choose a girl to be his wife. He does choose a mate, whom he will go back to claim several years later. But prior to that he sees his father killed, and he's tormented and hunted by members of a rival clan. The movie draws a clear picture of the harsh life and the violence of the time and place.
Eventually, the man destined to be Genghis Kahn gets married, his wife is captured then rescued by her husband. Temudgin forms a fast friendship with a boy from another tribe who also becomes a great warrior and, later, his greatest rival. The movie is directed by Russian film maker, Sergei Bodrov. It stars Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano as Temudgin, the young Genghis Kahn.
Mongol is currently playing in area theaters.
The next movie we'll discuss is a documentary called Up the Yangtze . This film is about the people and the places that will eventually be flooded when China finishes building the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. Canadian director Yung Chang tell his story by following a high-class tourist boat that flows along the river. The boat provides a sort-of Upstairs-Downstairs situation. Wealthy Western tourists are waited on by Chinese youngsters who need jobs, many of whom are from the cities and villages along the river. One primary character is a teenage girl who works on the boat. Her parents eke out a very meager living, growing crops along the Yangtze.
Up the Yangtze is about the coming of the Three Gorges Dam, but its approach is more impressionistic than graphic. In the movie you get to know a lot of people who must come to terms with the fact that their lives will change and their homes will be washed away. It's a look at modern China and how it's changing, for better or worse.
Up the Yangtze is currently playing at Landmark's Ken Cinema. It only has one night left.... so get out there and see this one.
The next movie we'll talk about is Savage Grace , starring Julianne Moore and directed by Tom Kalin. This film is an adaption of a book that tells the story of a family that became rich in previous generations, thanks to Bakelite plastics. Set in the post WWII period, it tells of Brooks Baekeland, his wife Barbara, who's an actress, and their son Tony. They live in New York but spend their time and their large sums of money travelling to Majorca, Paris and London. They're not much good to the world, these three. Aside from being idly rich, they pass their time by having parties and having affairs. Eventually, Tony grows up, is attracted to both men and women and eventually has a fling with his dear old mom.
Savage Grace opens on July 4 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas.
Our next new movie is called The Wackness . It's directed and written by Jonathan Levin and stars Ben Kingsley, among others. Set in New York, it tells the coming-of-age story of Luke Shapiro, who's graduating from high school in 1994. Socially isolated and a bit of a loser, he deals marijuana out of an ice cream cart in Manhattan. His parents are constantly at each other's throats.
Luke develops a relationship with a psychiatrist, to whom he sells dope, and later with the shrink's daughter. In the end, the story is about the boy's relationship with his elder friend, the psychiatrist, who is played by Ben Kingsley.
The Wackness opens on July 11 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas.
The next movie we're going to see is Mother of Tears , directed by Dario Argento.
Mother of Tears opens this weekend at the Landmark's Ken Cinema.
Guests
- Beth Accomando , KPBS film critic and author of the KPBS Movie Reviews .
- Scott Marks, author of the film blog Emulsion Compulsion .
