Screen Scenes

“The Royal Tenenbaums”
Starring: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller,
Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray, and Owen
Wilson Directed by Wes Anderson

Kelly Haigh

God, as they say, is in the details. Perhaps the meticulous
intricacy of director Wes Anderson’s latest effort ““
intricacy which can be appreciated in everything from wallpaper
patterns and costume designs to character quirks and plot points
““ should render “The Royal Tenenbaums” divine by
default. The film opens with a compelling fable about three young
prodigies whose glory faded as they outgrew their childhoods and
their parents’ marriage dissolved. These adult-children find
themselves drawn to the house that made them and broke them, just
as their estranged, subversive father returns to make amends and
weasel his way back into the fold. Anderson paints a fascinating
portrait of these refreshingly idiosyncratic characters and nestles
them in a fanciful version of Manhattan, a dream-vision that simply
bursts with verisimilitude and appeal. There’s always some
tiny, brilliant detail just lying around, casually planted and
perfectly designed for offhand observation. The film works in
mysterious ways. Anderson also takes a surprising and somehow
appropriately hands-off approach to the actual task of
storytelling. Once he establishes the characters within the
film’s self-contained world and sets them in motion, he seems
to sit back. Very little is offered in the way of commentary as the
characters collide with one another. This means that there is no
emotional imposition on the audience, no tugging at heart strings,
no promotion of dippy, sentimental messages. The events of the film
are obviously strong enough to command attention and prompt
reflection on their own merit. Add to this the fact that the film
is undeniably hilarious. Gene Hackman and Danny Glover’s
childish squabble in the family kitchen is one of the most riotous
moments captured on film in recent memory. And Hackman’s
lighthearted adventures with his grandchildren in the city are
funny in an uplifting, nostalgic sort of way. The characters
themselves are pure, elemental composites of the things which
happen to them. They are historic beings, as absorbing and
entertaining as their varied experiences. And as for those
experiences, Anderson only troubles himself with the facts; he
never interrupts events to dwell on how or why they occur. This
allows the events to have maximum impact and a pricelessly
understated significance. It’s honest, forthright
storytelling. The thematic punch of the film is never diffused
through any unnecessary explication. The ensemble cast only
confirms that “The Royal Tenenbaums” is a film of
superlatives. It may be frustrating to realize that it’s not
humanly possible to catch every exquisite nuance which Anderson
presents, but remember, only God is perfect.

“No Man’s Land”
Starring: Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac Directed By: Danis
Tanovic

Kelsey McConnell

Tension hangs like fog as two enemies are stranded in the same
trench. A Bosnian soldier and a Serbian soldier stand, faces
contorted by the passions of war, facing a third soldier who is
lying rigidly below them. He, another Bosnian soldier, lies on the
ground with a spring-loaded bomb planted beneath him, threatening
to go off as soon as he moves. In Danis Tanovic’s “No
Man’s Land,” getting this fallen soldier off of the
bomb motivates the movie’s action and works as a metaphor for
the restrained but diabolic conflict in that region of the world.
The film’s content tries to make several serious statements.
The way the theme explores expectation of death captures the
atmosphere of irresolution pervading the Bosnian war. Involvement
by the UN forces, whom Ciki calls “the Smurfs,”
condemns the UN chain of command as virtually useless. The media is
selfish, wanting only the good story and none of the aftermath. The
filming style is dry ““ likely derivative of Tanovic’s
earlier success as a documentary filmmaker. The camera simply
watches as the soldiers interact without guiding the audience
response in any specific direction. One thing the movie does
accomplish visually is an intriguing grasp of texture. The dirt,
the rocks and bloody wounds are presented with an attention to
sound and prolonged sight that makes them seem tangible. “No
Man’s Land’s” barbarity and humor make it a
compelling film. None of the politics ““ the UN, the media,
the debate over who started the war ““ overrun the desperate
humanity of the man trapped, alive, on top of the bomb. As a
semi-comedic interpretation of a war film, it blends the
entertaining and the informative with no major faults, making
“No Man’s Land” a fine way to spend a night.