16 發光的城市 A R O U N D T O W N FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2009 • TAIPEI TIMES been an exceptionally long as the master wizard who makes It’s wait for Potter fans for this, the ultimate sacrifice for the greater the sixth and penultimate installment good. Broadbent, who plays the of the series, but fans are unlikely to minor but pivotal character of be disappointed. David Yates, who Professor Slughorn, is perhaps the did such a splendid job with Harry most enjoyable character to watch, Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and in his relatively short screen (2007), is back at the helm to good time makes an enduring impression. effect as the mood of the series A new arrival on the scene is continues to darken. Bonnie Wright, who plays Ginny As with previous installments, Weasley, Harry’s love interest. there is once again simply too much Previously she had been very story to cram into the two and a much in the background, but with half hour running time. Those not Half-Blood Prince she emerges as Harry Potter is back in his penultimate film, with limited but familiar with the books, or who a strong and potentially interesting have not at least been following character who is likely to blossom special effects-laden action and large doses of teen love the films, are left to flounder in the final installment. She helps without the slightest compunction. provide the young love aspects BY IAN BartHOLOmeW Yates dives directly into this new of this film with a little gravity, in STAFF REPORTER adventure with no preamble, giving contrast to Grint’s playing his own up any pretense that this is a stand- romantic predicament for laughs, alone feature. not always with complete success. The last two years have seen the principle cast grow up a good deal, and Half-Blood Prince has a significant high school romance sub-plot that contributes much of the action and most of the HARRY POTTER AND humor of this installment. The romantic comedy elements are not THE HALF-BLOOD particularly slick and are aimed PRINCE very much at the younger teen crowd with tentative maneuvering, DIRECTED BY: DAVID YATES hypersensitivity and arch references to snogging. Nevertheless, while STARRING: DANIEL RADCLIFFE young love is portrayed in broad (HARRY POTTER), MIchAEL GAMBON brushstrokes, Yates has enough (PROFESSOR ALBUS DUMBLEDORE), JIM BROADBENT (PROFESSOR HORACE real sympathy for his young stars SLUghORN), BONNIE WRIghT and the tribulations of adolescent (GINNY WEASLEY), JULIE WALTERS romance to pull off this rather (MOLLY WEASLEY), RUPERT GRINT difficult act without embarrassing (RON WEASLEY), EMMA WATSON himself or the audience. (HERMIONE GRANGER), HELENA Moreover, stars Daniel Radcliffe BONHAM CARTER (BELLATRIX (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron LESTRANGE), ALAN RICKMAN Weasley) and Emma Watson (PROFESSOR SEVERUS SNAPE) (Hermione Granger) have managed to maintain a level of continuity RUNNING TIME: 153 MINUTES in their characters, giving the TAIWAN RELEASE: IN GENERAL audience more of an investment RELEASE in them than would normally be possible within the relatively short The climactic set piece in which span of a feature film so crammed Harry and Dumbledore delve deep with other material. into an enchanted cave in search Unfortunately, the teen romance of a secret treasure, might all too takes up a good deal of time, so easily be part of the footage for a that the magical machinations of video game and produced a lack the wizard world can only be given of visceral, as opposed to purely rather cursory treatment, and the visual, thrills. Yates, who has clearly assembled adult cast, with a few worked hard to tell a good story, notable exceptions, are left with allows himself to get caught up very little to do. Maggie Smith in the special effects and at this (Minerva McGonagall) is all but crucial moment leaves his dramatic ignored, and Helena Bonham Carter sensibility behind. Having dawdled (Bellatrix Lestrange) swans around over the romance, he has to rush in a caricature of being mad, bad through the heroics, giving this and dangerous to know. highly elaborate set piece a rather PHOTOS: REUTERS AND BLOOMBERG While the heroic trio of Radcliffe, cursory and unsatisfactory quality. Grint and Watson do a more than For all its faults and unevenness, adequate job, it is Michael Gambon Half-Blood Prince is good to look (Professor Albus Dumbledore) and at, but Yates is clearly putting the Jim Broadbent (Professor Horace pieces in place for Harry Potter Slughorn) who give Half-Blood and the Deathly Hollows, which is Prince its depth, and Yates lingers scheduled for release in two parts perhaps a little too lovingly on these next year and in 2011. At the end two old men of the theater. Gambon of two and a half hours, one has has settled into his role as principal the feeling of having sat through an of Hogwarts and Harry’s mentor extended introduction to the main beautifully, and this installment event, not altogether a satisfactory allows him to pull out all the stops way to leave the cinema. OTHER RELEASES A world of woe and heavy blows COMPILED BY MARTIN WILLIAms Spot is showing films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, whose work is riddled with scandal, controversy and painful love About the Looking For and the Finding of Love A tension-ridden romance BY HO YI on the director’s birthday in 1978. Third Reich, represents the past between a composer and a STAFF REPORTER Fassbinder’s characters are often that some Germans try to bury, but singer ends in self-inflicted When audience members left desperate for love but condemned which easily resurfaces. tragedy, or so it seems, until … the theater after watching The to become victims of the powerful Also in the lineup are some of the latter follows her troubled Third Generation, Rainer Werner and corrupt. In The Bitter Tears of Fassbinder’s �������������������lesser-known works, beau to the other side. Fass- Fassbinder’s 1979 film about the Petra von Kant (1972), a tale of the including Love Is Colder Than binder, this ain’t. Curiously West German Red Army Faction lesbian love-triangle between fashion Death, the director’s feature debut, mixing chronically challenged terrorist group shown at Taipei designer Petra von Kant, a young Katzelmacher and Gods of the Plague, relationships with special effects, this German fantasy is Film Festival (台北電影節) earlier this model and her maid, each exploits all made in 1969. These early films are more than three years old, one among a miserly lineup of month, they were overheard by a the love of the others. The film, extensions of his work in the theater, films this week that suggests Taiwanese distributors have staff member grumbling about how which takes place solely in Petra’s characterized by static camera shots, elected not to put up any real product against the Harry terrible the flick was. room and bears no reference to the unnatural performances, stylized Potter juggernaut. Co-written by Perfume author Patrick Fassbinder’s films are known outside world, is a fine example of dialogue, and pale, shady characters Süskind, of all people. as being something of an acquired Fassbinder’s adept storytelling skills. played by actors who later became taste. After a decade-long absence Never before shown in Taiwan, regulars in his films. from the big screen in Taiwan, his Querelle (1982) is the enfant terrible The motifs Fassbinder returned Anamorph works return with a retrospective of New German Cinema’s last film, to again and again throughout his Willem Dafoe stars in this 2007 at Spot comprised of 25 feature- and arguably his most (in)famous. short yet extraordinary career horror mystery as a cop with length works, out of an oeuvre of 43 Based on Jean Genet’s novel — loneliness, alienation and a line in hunting serial killers, films the director made before he Querelle de Brest, the stylized film frustrated love — may not be for but his latest case proves died from a drug overdose in 1982, brims with archetypal gay imagery in the fainthearted, but they make for to be his most dangerous aged 37. Excepting the 15.5-hour AscenefromRainerWernerFassbinder’sDespair,oneof25oftheGermandirector’sfilms its portrait of an enclosed, decadent compelling cinema. yet. “Anamorph” refers to long Berlin Alexanderplatz, all of beingshownatSpot—TaipeiFilmHouse. PHOTO COURTESY OF SPOT realm inhabited by sailors, leather- “In each of his films, Fassbinder the shifting of an image as it is observed from specific his best-known and highly regarded clad men, criminals, prostitutes and talks about love. But for him, love is positions; the psycho version afflicting Detective Dafoe films are included in the lineup. and public revulsion an elderly homosexuality and relations based murderers. Fassbinder dedicated capricious and uncertain,” Wang said. sees scenes of carnage become works of art. This film’s “We wanted to do Fassbinder white cleaning lady’s marriage to on violence, exploitation and the film to one of his former lovers humdrum critical response shouldn’t be enough to turn three years ago,” said Wang Pai- a much younger black Moroccan control. In Fox and His Friends El Hedi ben Salem, who played Ali FESTIVAL NOTES: away horror fans who like a lot of blood and gristle with chang (王派彰), the festival’s curator. “guest worker” elicits. Martha (1974), the unsophisticated working- in Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and hung WHAT: Rainer Werner Fassbinder their artsy mood. Starts tomorrow. “But it was impossible to get our (1973) examines a marriage in which class Franz, a character based on himself in jail in 1982 while serving retrospective hands on copies of his films because the wealthy husband tries to re- Fassbinder’s then-lover, Armin Mier, time for killing three people.