Fascinating as the first ’serious’ attempt to contract with Freudian psychoanalysis on the cloak, Pabst’s blur is also important for bringing a solid intellectual prospect to the ‘expressionist’ idiom of contemporary German movies. It’s essentially a bourgeois melodrama, about a chemistry professor whose frustrated desire to father a child meshes with his jealousy of his wife’s childhood sweetheart. The professor’s fantasies are, of course, generously illustrated in the remarkable dream sequences, awash with sexual symbols. The deciphering of these dreams as he consults a psychoanalyst is to be sure too pat, but Pabst’s aims soundless look as bold and daring as they necessity contain done in 1926.

State of Play movie bluray

 

Cary Grant was arguably the most trendy star
of Hollywood’s lustrous era.  He was suave and sophisticated but at
the yet time down to earth and real.  He exuded rank and nobility,
but was also uproariously funny.  Born in 1904 in Bristol, England
and given the unlikely moniker Archibald Leach, he ran away from home to
join a traveling affectation when he was 14.  Trained in acrobatics, juggling,
and as an all enveloping song and dance man, Give up eventually made it to America
and signed with Principal in 1931.  He steadily made his go to pieces b yield up the
ladder and by the modern 30’s he was a dominating star.  When his contract
with Paramount expired, he made an out of the ordinary resolving and decided to freelance. 
From then on, he could work for any guests he chose to, and the strength
of his baptize and acting skill ensured that he had constant exploit. 
He stared in all sorts of films, from wage war with movies to serious dramas, but
he is superior known for his sentimentalist and madcap comedies.  Warner Brothers
has released five of the star’s pictures in the boxed put in writing “Cary Grant: 
The Signature Collection.”  This stay contains some of the great pictures
that Present made at a jolly suitable assay.  The films in this collection
are Mr. Blandings Builds
his Dream House, Destination Tokyo,
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer,
My Favorite Wife, and Night
and Day. 

Jim Blandings (Cary Grant) is an advertising executive living with his
family in a small apartment in Manhattan.  Tired of cramped city living
Jim and his wife Muriel (Myrna Loy) decide to move to the country where
they can build their perfect home.  They soon find out that it is
easier said than done.  With cost overruns, feuding contractors, water
wells that are dry but a basement that floods Jim has his hands full. 
Not only is the construction going wrong, but Mr. Blandings is also under
pressure from work to come up with a new ad campaign for Wham Ham.  
How can he think of a new way to sell ham when he’s trapped in a small
room in his ‘dream house?’

If you’ve ever built a home, or even contracted for some work to be
done you’ll relate poor Jim Blandings.  Everything that can go wrong
on this project does, and with hilarious results.  Mryna Loy is hysterical
as the proper housewife who seems oblivious to all the trouble most of
the time.  She’s more interesting in the colors of the walls than
the problems getting the wall erected in the first place.  I loved
the scene where she gives her opinion about the floor plan of the house: 
“I refuse to endanger the lives of my children in a house with less than
four bathrooms.” To which Grant replies “For 1,300 dollars they can live
in a house with three bathrooms and rough it!”

Cary Grant made many classic comedies, and this is one of the best. 
His aggravation and frustration with every aspect of the project is laugh
out loud funny.  A great movie to include in this “signature collection.”

The DVD:
Audio:

The mono soundtrack fit the movie well.  Like all movies from this
era, there weren’t a lot of impressive sound effects, but the dialog was
easy to understand and the music was clear.  There was only a very
light amount of hiss.  Subtitles were available in English, French,
and Spanish.

Video:

This movie had very nice image quality.  The full frame video had
very few digital defects and was generally clean with good contrast and
detail.

The Extras:

The disc features the great Tex Avery cartoon The House of Tomorrow,
and two radio shows both staring Cary Grant:  Lux Radio Theater
from 10-10-49 and The Screen Director’s Playhouse from 06-09-50.

Destination
Tokyo:

This film is different from the other movies in this collection. 
It’s a straight war movie.  Grant plays Captain Cassidy of the submarine
USS Copperfin.  His mission is to sneak his sub hundreds of miles
into enemy territory and through Tokyo Bay itself to land a group of Marines
on the Japanese mainland.

This taut thriller is still as gripping today as it was at the height
of the war when it was made.  Though some of the plot lines and characterization
seem clichéd today, but they assuredly weren’t back in 1943.  
This film was produced under the eye of the US Navy, who gave it their
seal of approval, so there is a lot of propaganda and flag waving. 
Even so it is a rousing wartime drama.  There’s a good amount of action
for a submarine film.  Attacks by Japanese planes, mines, unexploded
ordinance and sneaking through antisubmarine nets are just some of the
hazards that the crew faces on their way to the enemy’s homeland. 
All of these threats keep the tension high.

This film was finely crafted film.  While it is no Das Boot,
and gets a little too patriotic in parts, it is one of the better war films
that Hollywood created during WWII.

 

The DVD:
Audio:

Like the other movies in this set, this film has a mono soundtrack that
sounds fine.  The dialog was easy to understand and the music was
clear.  There was only a very light amount of hiss.  Subtitles
were available in English, French, and Spanish.

Video:

The full frame B&W picture looked good.  There was a good amount
of detail, though some things did get lost in the shadows.  A very
acceptable picture for a fine movie.

The Extras:

This DVD also has a rare short, Gem of the
Sea.  This 21-minute musical short start the French actress Jeanne
Aubert in one of her few motion picture appearances.  The singing
and dancing aboard an ocean liner sailing for Europe doesn’t really fit
with the feature film, but it’s a nice addition to the disc in any case.

The
Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer:

Richard Nugent (Cary Grant) is a notorious playboy about town. 
He makes a living as an artist, and lectures about art on the side. 
One afternoon he gives a talk to a high school class, and a young girl
in the audience, Susan Turner (Shirley Temple,) falls for him hard. 
She fakes being on the school newspaper to get an interview with the artist
to learn more about him.  Susan’s sister and guardian Judge Margaret
Turner (Myrna Loy) isn’t as impressed with Richard Nugent.  
He’s appeared before her court, and she knows what a womanizer he is.

When Susan turns up missing that night, Margaret correctly deduces that
she’s gone to see Nugent.  Susan has snuck into his room, unbeknownst
to the artist, and fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him to return
from a night of carousing.  He does return it is just in time to have
the DA pound on his door and discover the underage high school student
in his room.  It looks bad for poor Richard, but Susan’s uncle, a
psychiatrist, convinces everyone that if Nugent goes to jail, Susan will
look at him as a martyr and never get over her crush.  So instead
of serving time in jail, Richard has to date Susan!

This is a very amusing comedy from the late 40’s.  While it is
not as well known as other films that the cast appeared in, it is still
an excellent movie.  Cary Grant is at his straight man best here,
being suave and smooth while still being able to get laughs with his reactions. 
The look on his face when he finds Temple in his room is priceless, as
is his impersonation of a young hep-cat.  Grant is able to pull of
wild farce better than any other actor of the time.

Shirley Temple does a good job as the love struck teenager, and Myrna
Loy is wonderful as the protective older sister.  I wish Loy’s part
had been bigger.  She shines in the scenes she has with Grant, but
they are too few.

The plot may seem a little contrived, but the comedy more than makes
up for it.  There’s a lot of humorous rapid-fire dialog such as when
Grant is trying to talk his way out of jail, and a good amount of slapstick,
the races at the picnic stand out.  This is a classic comedy that
the whole family should enjoy.

The DVD:
Audio:

This movie has a mono soundtrack that is acceptable.  There was
a little hiss, but it wasn’t distracting.  Subtitles were available
in English, French, and Spanish.

Video:

The black and white full frame picture looked very good.  There
was a good amount of contrast and the details were clear.  There was
a good amount of digital noise in the picture, but it wasn’t distracting. 
The print that was used had some very light emulsion damage in a few areas,
but this was minor, just some discoloration in a few frames.

The Extras:

This DVD has a great screwball Tex Avery cartoon
The Little Tinker in which a malodorous skunk has problems getting
a girl.    There is also an edition of Lux Radio Theater
from 06-14-49 in which Cary Grant and Shirley Temple reprise their roles
from this film.

My Favorite
Wife: 

This is a comic masterpiece, one of the great romantic comedies of the
era.  Cary Grant really shines as Nick, a lawyer who was married to
Ellen (Irene Dunne.)  But Ellen has been missing at sea for seven
years and Nick has her legally declared dead so they he may marry Bianca
(Gail Patrick.)  As luck would have it, Ellen has been living on an
island all this time and is rescued just after Nick marries Bianca. 
She wants to find out if he still has feelings for her so she follows him
to the hotel where he will be staying on his honeymoon.  Nick is astounded
at finding the wife he thought was dead is still alive, and tries to hide
the fact from his new wife.  Bianca in turn wants to start their married
life, but finds it hard to do with her husband running off at odd moments.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Ellen wasn’t alone on
the island; she was stranded with the very handsome Burkett (Randolph Scott.)
Ellen swears that nothing happened between them, but Nick isn’t sure if
he should believe her and gets very jealous.  Burkett in the meantime
wants has fallen for Ellen and wants her to run away with him.  Comedy
ensues as each person comes up with their own plan for snaring the mate
they want.

This is a very funny film.  Every time I watch it I seem to enjoy
it more.  Cary Grant can get a laugh with a simple facial expression
easier than any other actor of his time.  Just watch the scene where
he spots his missing wife for the first time in the hotel lobby as the
elevator doors are closing.   It is a classic scene.

The script is excellent, with a lot of jokes and plot points flying
about in typical madcap fashion.  Both Grant and Dunne gave brilliant
performances, and the supporting actors did a great job too.  This
was a great movie to include in this set, one of Grant’s best comedies.

The DVD:
Audio:

This DVD has a nice mono soundtrack, with optional subtitles in English,
French, and Spanish.  A little background hiss, but nothing major.

Video:

The black and white video was presented with its original aspect ratio
of 1.33:1.  The image quality was very good for a film this old. There
was good contrast and detail, and the picture was generally clean.

The Extras:

The DVD includes an amusing Robert Benchley short
Home Movies, and the 12-07-50 Screen Director’s Playhouse
radio show staring Cary Grant.

Night and Day:

This heavily fictionalized 1946 biopic of songwriter Cole Porter isn’t
one of Grant’s best efforts and was a surprising choice to include in this
’signature series’ collection.  Grant plays the writer of such classic
tunes as “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love),” and “Anything Goes,” not to
mention the title song.

The story starts at Yale in 1914 when Cole was studying law.  He
is more interested in hanging out at the music hall writing tunes than
learning the intricacies of the justice system.  When he returns home
for Christmas he informs his family that he’s dropping out of school and
wants to pursue a career in music.  Along with his old college professor,
Monty Woolly, Porter goes about raising money for his first musical play. 
The movie follows Porter through World War I and his lean years to becoming
one of the most popular songwriters of his day.

This movie has a lot going for it.  It was Grant’s first color
film, has a lot of great music and a superb supporting cast including Jane
Wyman, Eve Arden, and Alan Hale. It is filmed in glorious Technicolor,
and has many big production numbers.  But when all is said and done,
the movie comes across as flat and lifeless.  Cary Grant is uncharacteristically
wooden as the famous song writer.  His costar Alexis Smith, who plays
the Porter’s love interest, just doesn’t have any screen presence. 
She’s beautiful and a talented actress, but just doesn’t seem to have any
chemistry with Grant.

The musical numbers are very good, the film features 27 of Porter’s
songs, but they can’t save this movie from being a mediocre effort.

The DVD:
Audio:

The mono soundtrack had a little hiss in the background, but the level
was low.  The dialog was clear, and the music sounded nice. 
There are subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Video:

The full frame Technicolor image preserves the movie’s original aspect
ratio.  The print is in good condition for being so old, but the image
hasn’t been restored.  The picture quality is fairly good, although
there were specks and spots present on the print, along with a couple of
torn frames.  There is a good amount of edge enhancement but it isn’t
too heavy handed.  This is an above average picture for a movie this
old.

The Extras:

Musical Movieland: 
A 20-minute Technicolor short that takes you on a tour of a studio lot. 
A guide leads a group of visitors through a back lot and while there they
see musical numbers from various movies that are in production.

Dezi Arnaz and his Orchestra: 
A 10 minute black and white short where the future costar of I Love
Lucy plays some songs with his band in a Latin setting.

The Big Snooze: 
A Looney Tunes short featuring Bugs Bunny.  Elmer Fudd gets tired
of the fact that Bugs always gets the better of him in the cartoons, so
he rips up his contract and quits.  But he can’t get away from bugs
that easily.

Cole Porter Trailer Gallery: 
Trailers to five films featureing music by Cole Porter.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed these movies.  Cary Grant was a wonderful comedian
and actor, and these are a good selection of his films.  These are
not his very best works, Bringing Up Baby is one comedy that I would
have wanted to be included, and his best dramatic work was in the pictures
he made with Hitchcock, but these are still great films.  One nice
thing about this set is that all these movies (with the possible exception
of Night and Day) stand up to repeat viewing very well.  The extras,
while not copious are fun to have.  It is easy to give this set of
movies a Highly Recommended rating.

Made to out of kilter destined for Chinese New Year remission, this charmless action-comedy would like to be Mockery but hasn’t a clue how to traffic in plot structure, characterisation or confidential matter-accord twists. Hong Kong heiress Macy (Chen) flies to Tokyo to track down the Japanese fiancé who jilted her on associating day; local decorator Yung (Cheng) tags along to get a bill settled. They immediately whizz into Lin (Leung), a Chinese privileged scrutinize with a gaggle of Charlie’s Angels-type assistants, and find themselves in one dangerous status quo after another until it emerges that no one is who they say they are. The McGuffin is a microchip file containing details of a plot to devalue the yen by flooding the market with forged notes. Feeble, gimmicky sortie choreography, routine check work and utterly witless dialogue leave it stuck in first gear. Woebegone that Tony Leung has to do this stuff to pay the bills.

Harry Walker (Freaks and Geeks alum James Franco) thinks he has The Large American Novel™ in him, but a noisy life in the suburbs

and the tedium of a human resource gig at the phone company keep his inner Faulkner from clacking away at his keyboard. So, he moves into an apartment in the New Zealand urban area an eye to a insufficient months, hoping some together by himself devise defrost the creative juices. Sounds not unlike a plan, sure, but the “by himself” routine doesn’t really work out of order so much ’cause the apartment comes with an ape. Anyway, this walking, talking, Hawaiian shirt-clad ape eggs Harry on, finally getting him to put digital-pen to paper but in the transform costs him his family…his job…his sanity. Upgrade ensues. Well, at least hilarity should ensue, but it doesn’t, and that’s kinda the puzzler.

Okay, so The Ape is wide a struggling writer whose roommate-slash-best-colleague-slash-arch-nemesis is an ape in a dime store pretence and a Hawaiian shirt. “Great idea” doesn’t necessarily rewrite to “great movie”, and The Ape mostly squanders its endearingly quirky concept. To pick a completely arbitrary number, 80% of the comedy falls flat. The ape shouts “gorilla wet willies!” and sticks his fingers in Harry’s ears. Okay. The ape throws poop all as a remainder Harry. Gotcha. Harry dry-humps a framed portrait of Dostoyevsky. Duly celebrated. The ape’s masturbating to the Determining Canal. Calm nod. Hey, look, Harry and the ape are snuggling! If I could quickly think of another dryly sarcastic way of indicating that I don’t mull over this is funny, I’d be writing it down right now.

Still, even though 80% of

the comedy sputters and flounders, that residual 20% redeems it enough that The Ape doesn’t seem like a waste. I’m purposes supposed to be too snotty and elitist to laugh at “hey, you must be gay” jokes, but coming up with a phrase equal “delicatessen of dick”? That’s artistry. A Jewish-centric singles website called Rendez-Jew.com? A deadpanned struggle for breath about “monkey business”? Maybe I’m too easy as pie won over by corny wordplay. It’s my wanting both as an amateur movie reviewer and as a human being, and I discern no apologies.

But hey, there’s more to The Ape than puns and dick jokes. There’s…well, lots of filler set at the offices of Brooklyn Bell, where Harry works in HR. Reams and reams of dialogue that’s neither unusual nor insightful. A really awkward morality and a frustratingly clumsy ending where Franco attempts to steer things in a more moment directing. With some heavy trimming and a lot more of the funny, The Ape could’ve been a resplendent sparse, but it’s too meandering, unfocused, and uneven to sufficiency antiquated an hour-and-a-half runtime, and it’s much less surreal and farther more routine than you’d expect from its fascinatingly off-kilter premise.

Based on an 18th-century classic [novel by Choderlos de Laclos], updated pic is a glossy study of an immoral three who get their comeuppance.

A young diplomat (Gerard Philipe) and his wife (Jeanne Moreau) have found a perfect harmony. He allows her to have all the affairs she wants and she helps him in his conquests. Both seem content until love comes into this completely immoral household to bring on tragedy.

Film has fine lensing, production dress and mounting, but takes on a literary sheen as tale is spun out via the couple’s letters to each other. She sets her husband onto his 17-year-old cousin because the latter has snagged her present lover. But then comes a pure, virtuous young mother (Annette Vadim) and the hero falls for her.

Film is somewhat long and tightening would help. Philipe plays the eternal Don Juan in a pasty way and rarely elicits an understanding of his character and drive. But Moreau is perfect as the cat-like, steely wife who lives mainly off the emotions of others. Annette Vadim lacks the expression to make her role taking.

Though done in a mixture of styles, via satire, comedy of manners and drama, the film rarely settles on one plane.

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis (”Zohar”/”The Syrian Bride”) directs
this lyrical anti-war film that covers the June, 1982, Israel invasion
of Lebanon. It uses soccer as a bridge between enemy soldiers that can
possibly bring them to recognize they might also have other things in common.
The even-handed political story is based on an idea by Mr. Riklis and written
by Eyal Halfon.

After their squad is ambushed in Lebanon, Lt. Gallili (Sharon Alexander)
and reservist army Sgt. Cohen (Moshe Ivgy) of the IDF are captured by eight
retreating PLO fighters. The PLO soldiers, led by Ziad (Mohammed Bakri),
plan to take the valuable captives back to Beirut through the war-torn
countryside where the strife is still going on and trade them for PLO prisoners.
At the same time, the World Cup soccer games begin in Spain, an event sports-nut
Cohen had tickets for to root for Italy–the same team Ziad roots for.
Along the way Gallili is killed, and the ‘everyman’ Cohen is left alone
to deal with the brutal situation. 

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The prisoner and the captors have a distrust for each other, but
after airing out their differences and talking about themselves things
get less hostile. But it also shows how complex is the long-standing Arab-Israeli
conflict and how far apart are the sides even if the enemies begin to share
a grudging respect for each other. As the hostage situation builds to its
climax and they reach Beirut, the war truths hit home and show how destructive
is the war. 

Breaking no new ground as it makes its way through a minefield of
bitternesss, menace, irony and human bonding, it at least holds out some
hope that there’s a dim light at the end of the tunnel if both sides can
only see the humanity in each other. Riklis bends over backwards to remain
neutral, letting each side say what’s on their mind. He also lets the story
play out as tragically as it must, reminding us throughout that a brutal
war is taking place even though on radio the announcements of the war don’t
sound any different from how the soccer game is reported. 

The first screen version of Hecht and MacArthur’s intemperate-talking ingratiate oneself with set in a cynical newspaper world is, not surprisingly, rather less hilarious than Hawks’ definitive His Fiancee Friday or Wilder’s ’70s vulgarisation. The main predicament is that O’Brien, as Hildy Johnson, torn between his obsession for journalism’s glamour and his desire to marry, not indeed looks very interested in committing himself to either life; thus the dilemma at the heart of the theatre arts only just seems to make a difference, and it’s left to Menjou, polite, hard and mendacious, to yield b set forth the murkiness vigorous during his regrettably curt appearances as Walter Burns, the editor lacking all human qualities except ambition. Milestone’s direction, veering between stagey two-shots and fanciful but purposeless camera movements, doesn’t help either. But it’s still worth seeing, if just to hear the jokes which the Hays Code later vex an uninterruptedly to.

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"The TV Set" (THINKfilm) is a lightly amusing — not to mention spot-on accurate — behind-the-scenes yarn about an idealistic writer, Mike Klein (David Duchovny), who's written a pilot for a network comedy-drama he plans to call "The Wexler Chronicles," inspired by his brother's suicide.

His innovative piece is gradually watered down by Lenny (Sigourney Weaver), the iron-fisted, velvet-gloved president of the fictional PDN network.

At first full of praise and encouragement, she eventually comes to feel suicide is too depressing for the prime-time audience, and one by one all the elements so essential to Mike's original concept are whittled away. With pregnant wife Natalie (Justine Bateman) at home, Mike has little choice but to concede to every new demand.

His manager Alice (Judy Greer) and the empathetic but weak-willed British production head Richard (Ioan Gruffudd) are more concerned with pleasing Lenny than standing up for the beleaguered Mike. Adding to Mike's woes is an erratic leading man, Zach (Fran Kranz), whom Mike didn't want in the first place, whose idiosyncratic line readings drive Mike up the wall, and whose infatuation with leading lady Laurel (Lindsay Sloane) further sabotages the production.

Writer-director Jake Kasdan's perceptive satire on the television industry shows the lengths to which an artist is forced to compromise his vision, and that point is made in persuasive if low-key comic fashion, tinged with a genuine sadness.

Weaver's bravura turn avoids outright caricature but garners laughs in a role not far removed from reality. The same is true for the film itself. Lenny seems the soul of rationality but her decisions, like those of the other well-intentioned network executives, cheapen and undermine Mike's script at every turn.

"The TV Set" is small in scope, and its insider view may appeal most to those in the industry, but nonetheless it registers as a sharply perceptive gem.

The film contains repeated use of the f-word, in a satiric context to show the vacuity of the superficial characters, other crude words and expressions, and mild profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

certificate 18

Rating 9 evasion of 10

Shane Meadows' new film puts him firmly at the top of the pile of British filmmakers who are actually making films about Britain. Partly based on Meadows' own experiences as a skinhead in the Midlands backwater of Uttoxeter in the 1980s, This is England is an often hilarious and ultimately very moving indictment of the times seen through the eyes of a young teenager.

Thomas Turgoose stars - and stars is most definitely the right word - as Shaun, a cheeky thirteen-year-old grieving for the recent death of his father during the Falklands conflict. Living in a shabby council flat with a mother who dresses him in the fashions of the 1970s, Shaun befriends a group of skinheads at his school, and begins to find a new identity for himself.

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What Meadows is at pains to point out is that the original British skinheads were a multi-coloured mix of black and white, and Shaun finds himself under the wing of some of the gang's prominent members including the white Woody (Joe Gilgun) and the black Milky (Andrew Shin). Instead of terrorising the neighbourhood or seeking out racist victims, these skins are more likely to have a nice cup of tea while chilling out to some ska.

Shaun's brief idyll is shattered by the return to town of former gang-member Combo (Stephen Graham), who plays the outsider figure usually associated with Paddy Considine in earlier Meadows' films such as A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes. Combo is also a skin, but one who has been radicalised by the NF in his recent stay in prison, and he has one thing on his mind: to convert the rest of the group to his new all-white way of thinking.

The set and costume design, accompanied by a blistering soundtrack, are already enough to make this a highly enjoyable affair. But what lifts Meadows' work to the highest level are both his script and the extraordinary group of young actors he has found. Turgoose delivers one of the best debuts in recent times, while Stephen Graham provides an uneasy mix of charm and terror as the group's chief tormentor. One of the best films of the year and not to be missed.

Paul Hurley

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Polish Wedding

A Film Review by James Berardinelli

Synergetic States, 1998
U.S. Pass out Date: 7/17/98 (limited), 7/31/98 (wider)
Running Period: 1:48
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Profanity, sex)
Mannered Aspect Correspondence: 1.85:1

Cast: Lena Olin, Gabriel Byrne, Claire Danes, Adam Trese, Daniel Lapaine, Mili Avital, Rade
Serbedzija

Director: Theresa Connelly

Producers: Julia Chasman, Tom Rosenberg, Geoff Stier

Screenplay: Theresa Connelly

Cinematography: Guy Dufaux

Music: Luis Enríquez Bacalov

U.S. Distributor: Fox Searchlight

In an age during which the traditional family is disintegrating under the pressure of modern-day
existence, Theresa Connelly's debut feature,

Polish Wedding

, illustrates that there are still
some households in which blood-ties are the most important thing. The film opens a window into
the ongoing chaos that marks the day-to-day activities of the Pzoniaks, a lower middle class Polish
American clan living in Detroit. Like most people, the Pzoniaks lie, cheat, and scheme, but there
are two common, family-fracturing words not in their vocabulary: "divorce" and "abortion." A
woman can cheat on her husband without fear that he will leave her, and, when an unmarried girl
becomes pregnant, there will be a trip to the altar, not to a women's clinic.

The Pzoniaks all live together in two adjoining single-family units. The walls are paper thin and
there's no privacy. Space is at such a premium that the four unmarried children (three boys and
one girl) must all sleep in the same room. For a moment's peace or a quick smoke, the only places
to go are the basement or the pickle closet. The matriarch and patriarch of the clan are Jadzia
(Lena Olin) and Bolek (Gabriel Byrne), who have been married for more than twenty years. Over
the span of their union, they have had five children (four boys), the oldest of which is now married
and has his own son. There are nine members of the Pzoniak family, and it's about to get even
more crowded.

Over the years, Jadzia and Bolek's marriage has become a thing of dull-but-comfortable
familiarity. She works days as a cleaning woman; he works nights as a baker. They rarely interact
and never have sex. He suspects that she's having an affair, and he's right. Jadzia has taken up
with a wealthy businessman, Roman (Rade Serbedzija), who treats her like a queen and satisfies
her physical needs. She wants nothing more from him, however, and when he offers, she refuses.

Jadzia and Bolek's only daughter is Chala (Claire Danes), a carefree and sensual teenager who
finds subtle ways of rebelling — smoking when she's not supposed to, sneaking out of the house at
nights, and flirting with any number of older boys. She's very close to her father, but there's an
emotional gulf between her and her mother. This year, Chala has been selected to lead the annual
procession for the Feast of the Virgin, an honor reserved for girls of the highest moral caliber.
Ironically, it's around this time that Chala elects to lose her virginity with Russell (Adam Trese), a
local policeman. The brief tryst, which begins with smoldering looks, results in a pregnancy.

Theresa Connelly, who clearly has a great deal of affinity for these characters, presents them in
warts-and-all fashion, rightfully certain that we will sympathize with them in spite of (or perhaps
because of) their faults. Connelly displays the skill of a veteran in the unforced manner in which
she weds comedy and pathos throughout the film. There are a few occasions when she strikes a
jarring note, such as a when Jadzia and her sons storm Russell's house, but these are exceptions.
For the most part, the whimsical and dramatic elements are seamlessly fused. Connelly also
understands the unique dynamics of a large family. Often, as we see with Jadzia and Bolek, it's not
love that keeps couples together, but loyalty and a sense of duty.

Nothing is simple in

Polish Wedding

, not even Jadzia's infidelity. She considers Bolek to
be a good man and a suitable "catch" (at one point, she relates the story of how, by becoming
pregnant, she trapped him into marrying her), but he feels unworthy and unloved. His lack of
sexual attention drives Jadzia into Roman's arms, but her unfaithfulness stings him deeply. Every
night when he suspects she's out with her lover, he sits by the window, gazing into the darkness.
Chala comments that he waits for her "like a dog," and he sadly agrees that we all wait for
someone in that fashion.

The major parts are all well-acted. Lena Olin brings both a sensuality and a haughtiness to her
role as Jadzia, one of the most forceful female characters to grace the screen this year. Gabriel
Byrne, abandoning his regular accent for an unsteady Polish one, plays Bolek as a likable (albeit
somewhat thick) sad-sack. Claire Danes, borrowing a page from Christina Ricci's "how to be a
teenage seductress" book, exudes a sexuality that, despite the occasional appearance of
coquettishness, is never innocent. Although Olin and Byrne have the most screen time, Danes'
character may be the most interesting.

Certainly, the American film industry has produced a large number of first- and second-generation
immigrant family stories. This is only natural, considering the ethnic diversity of our society.

Polish Wedding

uses the Pzoniaks' cultural heritage as more than a colorful backdrop —
it's an integral part of the plot, and that's one of the things that makes the film enjoyable. By
offering a slightly different flavor of the immigrant experience,

Polish Wedding

carves out
its own small niche in a crowded genre, and manages to entertain in the process.

© 1998 James Berardinelli