ENGLISH SECTION Festival Daily SPECIAL EDITION OF THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 46TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 free • page 1 ENG day DIVÁCKÁ CENA / AUDIENCE AWARD Tomorrow’s program Midnight movies Monte Hellman go bump in the night returns to KVIFF DENÍKU Vote for the best film of the 46th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival! (Czech section: pages 6, 7, 8) page 2 6 page 4 (Czech section: page 2) THE LOWDOWN
If Sam said it, I’d go along with it One of the hottest events to crash at KVIFF is, of course, the master classes, held in Burt Young on ‘crazy genius’ of Peckinpah and getting Stallone on his knees the Jameson tent just up- stream of the Thermal. If Will Tizard you’re willing to wade into a corner area where your feet With some 130 films to his stick to the floor thanks to last name, Burt Young is one of Amer- night’s spilled mojitos, you’re invariably in for some great ica’s most favored character ac- craic tors, known for his tough, emi- , as the Irish would say. nently credible depictions of Tuesday’s session’s was hoods, grifters, cons and cranks, with Ted Hope, one of the and for making them somehow original producers of the Hal lovable. At 71, he’s now talking Hartley movies of the 1990s up his latest role in Tom Mc- and later Todd Solondz Win movies Dark Horse and Carthy’s infectious comedy American Splendor Win, about burned out lawyer . He’s also a renegade columnist for Indie Paul Giamatti who tries to save Wire the inept wrestling team he’s . It’s a platform from coaching, while also trying to save which he loves to launch mis- his practice by ripping off siles at Hollywood establish- a wealthy client (played by ment thinking, advocating all Young). manner of unconventional ap- proaches, from creating extra n So what are your impres- Facebook episodes to help sions of the festival so far? Is the build a fan base to making Grand Hotel Pupp ok? films into “an event” that’s Isn’t it beautiful? I mean not ok, much more than a movie. it’s like twice Disneyland – it’s like All without the help of dis- it’s built from the clouds. tributors – you know, those This is special. The people are big, powerful companies that wonderful. They’re earnest. So hopefully buy and market I’m pleased as hell. And I’m not your film. If you wait for them a good flyer you know. But my Hloušek Petr Photo: to come along these days, ar- daughter says ‘You must go, you’ll Veteran actor and former boxer Burt Young. gues Hope, you’re already see Europe like you never saw be- done. It was heady stuff and most fore.’ My kid told me. emphatic about it, you know, with No, no, not commanding. He I’m Sylvester Stallone. I wrote es, showing him, ‘cuz I fought in the audience were trans- n I don’t know anybody who kindness. was completely un-commanding, Rocky.” I says, “Oh, congratula- professionally. Well, I never was fixed by the mogul’s ma- likes flying, but you gotta do it, n Czechs are really fans of for me. He was rough on girls tions.” ‘Cuz it was beautiful, you making a career out of it, but chine-gun speaking style right? some of your road movies, such I think, on Ali MacGraw. But on know? It was like street presence, I used it almost like a psychiatrist, and his eagerness to toss out My girlfriend don’t mind. She as Convoy, which Sam Peckin- me, no. it was clean and to the point. It was when I was feeling dumpy and not dozens of ideas per minute. sleeps like a kangaroo. pah directed in Arizona. n When you did Rocky with beautiful, and I told him that. He secure, I’d book a couple of fights Just as he wrapped up a pitch n So the critics and audiences Peckinpah was a good friend of Sylvester Stallone, did you add says, “You gotta do the part. and have to shape up, get scared for building a movie brand in are responding warmly to Win mine, I think I did four, five something to the character of I thought of you, you gotta do it.” again. the way the Finnish filmmak- Win. And this is a nice, fully de- movies with him. But he called up Paulie to help him develop into And I says, “Shhh! I’m gonna do n And on Once Upon a Time ers behind the pending moon veloped character, which you – I think he was out in Hungary one of your best-known roles? it, but lemme twist their arm.” in America, working with Sergio Nazis sci-fi release Iron Sky haven’t always been given. filming – and he called me up (I’m With Rocky I was the only actor That’s when I first met him. Leone, was he up to some of have, a local film bizzer piped Well, I try my best to bring their in California) and he says, ‘’I got that didn’t audition. They audi- n So you had a lot of power to your input? in. life and my life to the forefront. the rights to the CB radio thing, we tioned Burgess Meredith, they au- shape characters; you could say Well, I did a thing where I had Isn’t it dangerous, he asked, I take what I do pretty seriously. can make the movie!’’ I didn’t ditioned Thalia Shire, but they did- he should do this, he wouldn’t De Niro and Pesci and Woods to give filmmakers “wrong ex- When you get a project like Win know what he was talking about. n’t audition me. The producers do that… around a table, and I made them pectations” of how big their Win, written and directed by [Tom] He said, ‘’It’s revolutionary!’’ came and my agent was dragging Oh yeah, I would. Sometimes give me a big hunk of pastrami, audiences can grow? It may McCarthy – he’s a very nice actor, I didn’t see it, but anything he said an anchor to get a couple of dol- I’d rewrite. Sometimes more than I think it was. ‘Cuz the speech be art movies, Hope respond- himself and he’s a painstakingly I would go along with. He was lars, you know. And all of a sud- rewrite. I always touched things I had to give there was very vulgar. ed, but “it’s also showbiz.” pain-in-the-ass director. I mean, he a crazy genius. A good friend. den Stallone was in some com- up. So I tried to break it up with life. Czech modesty or no, these was doing like 15 takes. Every- n Would he give you much missary somewhere. I’d never met He did all the fights, he choreo- And I was eating, mustard on my days you’ve just gotta sell thing I don’t like. But he had freedom as an actor, or was he him, and he comes in, kneels by graphed most of them. But yeah, face. It was quite a good piece of yourself, it seems. n a clear image in mind and he was very commanding? my table and says, “Mr. Young. I did help. I was throwing punch- work. At least I think so. n
SEE YOU THERE EXPLAINER The elixir of life – on sale in KV since 1807 Joshua Moore If you’ve got an hour the Czechs consume 60% of in your packed screening the seven million liters pro- Writer/Director, I Think It’s Raining schedule, pop over to duced annually, some people the Becherovka Museum are definitely exceeding the I’m excited to see Code Blue, which I’ve heard good on T.G. Masaryka 57 to recommended dose. There’s things about. I think the film looks interesting because it learn about the strange his- a long tradition of this; the sounds like a portrait of a character, not so plot-driven, tory of one of the Czechs’ Hapsburg imperial court had which is similar to my film. I think it’s a nice change to re- favorite drinks. Becherovka, a standing order of 50 liters ally get into the emotional complexities of a character, so the golden herbal bitter once a month. Outsiders have that one I’m excited to see. I’m also interested in Sunflower described by a friend as tast- been trying to get their hands Hour, which is another film in the Forum of Independents. ing “like Christmas in hospital,” is a blend of over 20 on the secret since the 1800s, with several famous It looks really fun and unique. It’s a mockumentary, appar- herbs and spices that’s kept top secret; we’re talking trademark trials going through the courts. Sadly, the ently, on puppeteers – and I can’t say I’ve ever seen a film handcuffed briefcases and vaults here. The original alchemical secret of turning Becherovka into gold about that. It looks really interesting, like a Christopher recipe was bequeathed to Josef Becher by English has been lost to the Czechs. In 1997 – promising that Guest-type mockumentary, and it looks great. alchemist Christian Frobrig in 1805 (inexplicably its ownership would remain in Czech hands – the voiced by an American in the museum’s excellent government decided to sell the company, which had Code Blue screens today at 11am and on July 9 at 5pm new documentary). Becher – whose name conve- been state-run since the Soviet era. Unsurprisingly, in the Karlovy Vary Municipal Theatre. Sunflower Hour niently means “shot” in German – then worked on the magical spirit is now wholly owned by French screens today at 9:30pm in the Čas Cinema and on July 7 the formula for two years before selling the result as drinks giant Pernod Ricard. at 4pm in the Espace Dorleans Cinema. You can catch Becher’s “Englisch Bitter” in his pharmacy. The pre- Book a 45min tour and tasting for 100 CZK Moore’s I Think It’s Raining today at 10pm in the Espace scribed dose is two shots a day (as the museum guide (half price for students), including a brochure. Dorleans Cinema. (McG) continually reminds us), which will ensure a long Tours are available in English, German, Russian and happy life free from stomach problems. Given and Czech. (PLC)
[email protected] FESTIVAL DAILY PAGE 2 THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 46TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011 Midnight Screenings FACES go bump in the night
Laura McGinnis
The trolls of Norwegian legend are lumbering beasts that lurk in the wilderness – but those are sim- ply fairy tales, right? Troll Hunter is a Blair Witch-style documentary in which an investigative report on John Malkovich Birgitte Stærmose bear poaching leads three film stu- Keep your eyes peeled for ac- mar and Joseph Bou Nassar, dents to a gruff stranger who tor, director and now couturier joining producer Paul Barbeau seems to know more than he lets John Malkovich who’s expect- who arrived yesterday. on. They follow the suspected ed today. And so is Anna Competing in the East of the poacher down an unmarked road Kowalewska-Onaszkiewicz, West section is writer/direc- into the heart of a dark Nordic for- commissioning editor at tor/producer Murad Ibragim- est. You will never guess what Poland’s TVP, arriving as a guest bekov (There Was Never a Bet- comes next – unless, of course, with both Heritage and Marcin ter Brother), who arrives with you’ve ever seen a horror movie. Koszałka’s competing doc Dec- co-producer David Shufutin- In that case, you know exactly laration of Immortality. Also sky today. Also here to compete
what’s coming next. KVIFF Photo: competing are documentary are producer Svetlana Kum- And isn’t that the point, really? A deadly secret lurks in the Norwegian wilderness in Troll Hunter. makers Fernando Vílchez Ro- chaeva and lead Alexander Horror films are so deeply sat- dríguez (The Calm), Jani Pelto- Yatsenko from Heart’s isfying because they deliver so re- says KVIFF Senior Programmer a gleefully un-PC romp to defend the nice; he’s not that picky. This nen (A Tall Man), and Andrea Boomerang, actor Ivan Trojan liably. We know there will be Ivana Novotná. their town against the extraterres- is a cheeky film that gives Blaugrund Nevins (The Other (Visible World), and Keti mayhem and minor chords and “This year we decided to go trial evil in what will surely be- a whole new meaning to the F Word), who’s here with pro- Machavariani, the writer/direc- things going bump in the night. back to individual films, instead of come a Shaun of the Dead-type warning Santa Claus is coming to ducer Cristan Crocker Reilly. tor behind Salt White. We know terrible things are going focusing on a specific country or cult favorite. town. We’ve got some Official Se- Here for the Forum of Inde- to happen to attractive young peo- time period,” she says. “Also, we Pretty much everything you And then there’s Underwater lection competitors getting in to- pendents sidebar are writer/di- ple who investigate mysterious were looking for films that were need to know about the plot of Love – not so much a horror film day. Look for director Birgitte rector Sameh Zoabi, and lead noises in darkened rooms. That’s entertaining and fun and not nec- Hobo with a Shotgun is as a silly, steamy tale about the Stærmose, producer Jesper Razi Shawahdeh Man Without why we buy the tickets. ( essarily scary. The Midnight telegraphed in the title. Vigilante erotic adventures of a cucumber- Morthorst and actor Stine a Cell Phone), along with KVIFF’s Midnight Screenings Screenings sidebar isn’t just for justice takes to the streets when loving Japanese water sprite. In Stengade (Room 304), and have been entertaining audiences writer/director Xiongjie Gao horrors.” a homeless man wreaks havoc on tone, it represents a dramatic shift Romeo Eleven actors Ali Am- and producer Xuemei Wang for six years, providing spooky, Using those guidelines, the staff a modern day Gomorrah. Based from the other films in the section, campy, gory fun for the witching (Wangliang's Ideal). From An- selected six films for the late-night on a fake trailer made for Grind- but it’s no less appealing for that. other View, we’ve got writer/di- hour crowd. The sidebar is a com- crowd. While Hanna has already house, Hobo is garish, irreverent, This flick, which Sound on Sight paratively new addition to the fes- rectors Braden King (Here) and run, there’s still plenty of time to violent and totally over-the-top. described as a “soft-porn musical Alejandro Chomski (Asleep in tival, arising in response to the catch the other five, all recent While Americans embrace with heart,” is about a factory popularity of a late-night screen- the Sun), and here for Out of the works in the early stages of devel- Saint Nick as a jolly, apple- worker whose marriage plans are Past, Robert Fischer (Starting ing of Canadian documentary oping a devoted following. cheeked old man, many European interrupted by her encounter with Midnight Movies in 2005. In re- Out: The Making of Jerzy Attack the Block starts out like traditions involve more sinister the mythical sprite. Erotic Skolimowski's “Deep End”). cent years, the sidebar has includ- Saint a British drama on troubled legends. The at the heart of shenanigans and choreographed Locals arriving today include ed a mix of cult and horror flicks, youths, but quickly morphs into this Dutch tale isn’t interested in dance numbers ensue. producer Jaromír Kallista and both established classics and those something quite different when giving presents to children so On their own, each of the Mid- actor Zuzana Kronerová (Sur- that seem destined to become so. a gang of hoodlums finds their much as throwing them into sacks night Screenings is a quirky, fun viving Life), writer/director This year’s selections are slight- late-night mayhem interrupted by and hauling them off to Spain – flick with a totally unique voice. Tomáš Řehořek and co-produc- ly different from those of previous an alien invasion. With no one else the ones he doesn’t disembowel It’s easy to see why these films er David Prudký (One Way years when the festival has run willing to defend London, the with his miter, that is. And forget have no trouble filling a cinema, Ticket). (PLC) retrospectives, as in 2008 or 2010, council flat gang sets out on about dividing the naughty from long after the sun has set. n Sameh Zoabi
OFFICIAL SELECTION OFFICIAL SELECTION Bedouin – gritty Lollipop Monster – realism with a hint exploring urges, of redemption lust and instincts Zdeněk Bělohlávek Tereza Šimůnková
Like his first feature, Nirvana, Ari is a highschool student with which explored the St. Petersburg miniskirts and platinum braids, drug scene, Igor Voloshin‘s Offi- and her family is living a life cial Selection entry, Bedouin, cov- straight out of a catalog. Her moth- ers some equally gritty ground. It er micromanages the home with follows the plight of Rita, a duster in her hand and a smile a Ukrainian woman with a grave- glued to her face. Nobody does ly ill daughter who moves to Rus- that in the self-destructive Oona’s sia in the hope of earning money family. That freefalling household as a surrogate mother to pay for has been plunged into further tur- Photo: KVIFF medical bills. Things don’t quite KVIFF Photo: moil since Oona’s father hanged work out as she planned, however, Serafima Migay is a haunting presence in Bedouin. himself on a tree outside his Teenage thrills and spills abound in Lollipop Monster. and Rita has to overcome a series daughter’s school. of demoralizing complications be- The lead character is changing We were told about it in Jordan. “Oona is looking for structure, pressed Oona and the “lollipop” Riemann is primarily a graphic fore a surprising denouement of- throughout the film and comes to The Bedouin family that was act- Ari for freedom,” says Lollipop Ari have a lot in common. They novelist, but is happy to take fers some hope of redemption. a revelation that changes her ing in our movie gives camel’s Monster’s German writer/director are both running away from life by a break from that for the more so- Voloshin is at KVIFF this week to whole personality. Her small milk to those suffering from can- Ziska Riemann of her protago- harming themselves: Ari has sex ciable pursuit of filmmaking. present his movie in person. daughter reveals the truth to her. cer. Sick people’s relatives travel nists, played by actresses Jella with strangers, while Oona “Drawing is a very lonesome job,” n Is the script based on a true A new feeling that Rita and the to the desert for it. The milk does Haase and Sarah Horváth. “Nei- scratches her forearm till it bleeds. she says.“You sit at your desk, lis- story? viewer are experiencing is gaining not help because, if it did, the ther of them is being taken seri- Ari’s parents ignore her because of ten to music and daydream. In the Bedouin is based on a real story. renewed momentum and leading medicine would be produced on ously at home and both come from her brother’s feigned seizures; end you have a pile of drawings The idea sprang out of my inter- them out of a circle of misfortunes an industrial scale. But camel’s dysfunctional families.” Oona’s parents ignore their daugh- but no one to throw a party for est in what is happening not only – giving them hope. milk is one of those few products Their distressed home life helps ter on principle. Shared depriva- you. What I like about film is the in Russia, but also in modern so- n Do you think your film is that are assimilated by a sick per- ensure that these girls of seeming- tions bring people closer together permanent exchange of opinions ciety in general and around the very specific to the Russian mi- son’s body at the final stage of ly-irreconcilable natures are drawn until Lucas, Oona’s dashing uncle, from which you can learn a lot.” globe. My main goal was to tell lieu, or could the story also res- their illness. It prolongs their to each other. In some ways, this casts a shadow over their lives. Lollipop has already screened at the story of something that hap- onate with Western audiences? life… instinctive attraction is perhaps Having written screenplays for the Berlinale and the director says pens around us, here and now. To a certain extent, Bedouin is n What are you planning to do a symptom of adolescence, with others, this is Riemann’s first out- she has no further expectations. “I This feature film is like a public a “tuning tone” or a mirror of in future? its heady mix of hormones and an ing as a director, and she drew on was excited by the invitation to execution, and this is always in- modern society in all civilized The next project I plan to take intuitive desire to break out and her own experiences of adoles- Karlovy Vary and I don’t know teresting. After watching this countries. We believe that the fea- part in as a director will be explore new horizons. cence for her debut movie. “Co- where this will propel us. The film movie people will immediately ture will be a box-office success a [Russian-European] co-produc- “Growing up is always diffi- writer Luci van Org and I grew up had its own objectives from the start calling their kids, parents and both in Europe and the U.S. tion with the participation of Eu- cult,” says Riemann. “But every- in the same neighborhood, in the start and I simply followed. We’ll loved ones. I paint a portrait of n Towards the end of the film, ropean actors. body has urges, lust and instincts... same gang; we even kissed the see where it takes me.” a modern society that sucks the Rita and her daughter set off for Regardless of your age, if you re- same guy for the first time. Luck- blood out of miserable people. Jordan in search of camel’s milk, Bedouin screens today at 8pm ly on your instincts, you learn ily, in adolescence we lost sight of Lollipop Monster screens to- n Do you think your film which might offer some hope of in the Thermal’s Grand Hall and much more about what is really each other. Lollipop Monster de- day at 5pm in the Grand Hall and might be a bit bleak for some curing the child’s leukemia. tomorrow at 10am in the Espace going on around you.” scribes what would have happened tomorrow at 1pm in the Espace- viewers? Where did you get this idea? Dorleans Cinema. n It soon turns out that the de- if we had stayed together.” Dorleans Cinema. n
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MASTER CLASSES An infusion of courage The new “New Greek Cinema” KVIFF collaboration aims to support distinctive short film medium
Laura McGinnis
Many filmmakers start out with short films, whose small scale makes them ideal for manageable experimentation. Because of this, short films can provide an excel- Today’s master class at 11am in of the 70s, seems to thrive amid lent opportunity for identifying the Jameson Festival Lounge fo- adversity. The work of the late rising talent. cuses on the rise of Young Greek 1960s and early 1970s was pro- Before 2006, KVIFF ran Cinema. Dimitris Kerkinos duced during “The Regime of the a sidebar for short films, but (Balkan Survey Programmer) Colonels,” and after the reign of many programmers felt the films hosts a panel discussion with pro- the right-wing Greek junta came deserved more attention and sug- ducer Maria Drandaki and direc- to an end in 1974, a new cinemat- gested setting up a separate venue tors Syllas Tzoumerkas, Alexis ic movement flourished. Today’s specifically to support shorter Alexiou and Argyris Papadim- Greek filmmakers work in a time works. itropoulos to discuss the recent of extreme economic depression, “For many years at Karlovy surge in Greek cinema. While and have again begun to produce Vary we had a section with short there’s no central movement or es- exciting new forms of expression films, but we could only screen thetic behind the work of these di- on film. Perhaps the one unifying a limited number,” says KVIFF KVIFF Photo: rectors, there’s no doubt they rep- attitude both then and now is a de- programmer Lenka Tyrpáková. The Prague Short Film Festival promotes features that are brief but sweet. resent the beginnings of termination to use film as a medi- “Some people suggested that it a re-awakening. Greek cinematic um of social critique, though now might be worthwhile to have an niche here,” he says. “In the petitive films which can run as Audience Award recipient ILove talent, previously defined abroad – as Kerkinos says – “they are in- entire festival just for them. There Czech Republic short films con- long as 45 minutes. All selections Luci; and the Czech film Symp- by the work of Theo Angelopou- terested in a micro- rather than were no other festivals that fea- tinue to be shot mainly at film are fiction shorts, chosen by toms, which was the most highly los and the “New Greek Cinema” a macro-history.” (PLC) tured shorts in the Czech Repub- schools, and thus those typical a commission led by Spěšný. awarded film of 2010’s Famufest, lic, so we decided to organize the first projects by nascent filmmak- PSFF films compete for three the festival of Prague’s Film festival in Prague.” ers, or distinctive films whose main awards. An international ju- Academy. The Prague Short Film Festival creators wish to avoid bloated ry awards a grand prize of 5000 Ultimately, KVIFF and PSFF PRÁVO Audience Award (PSFF) was organized in 2006 as budgets, are still more or less ab- Euro to the best short film and hope that providing a venue for a competitive festival with the sent from the local film industry.” two special jury mentions. Festi- short films will encourage film- Here are the latest results for that organizes the competition. goal of promoting the production The festival is organized by val attendants may also vote for makers to experiment with differ- the Top 5 Films as selected by The votes will be counted each of these films. Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary a film to receive an audience ent styles and genres. you, the audience! If you want evening so we can provide regu- Even though the festival is and hosted by Prague’s Světozor award. “An infusion of the courage to participate in this competition, lar updates. pick up your voting cards when- open to an international field, pro- cinema in January, a convenient Each year, KVIFF presents the necessary to be different will Current Standings gram director Karel Spěšný be- mid-year mark in between PSFF award winners in a special greatly support Czech film,” ever you see a film, and on the way out, tear the card at your lieves the PSFF is of particular KVIFF’s July festivals. Tyr- sidebar. This year’s selections Spěšný says. 1. Incendies benefit for short films made in the páková is one of several KVIFF screened on July 1 and 5, and in- chosen place – 1 for Excellent, 2 host country. staffers who contribute to the cluded five films: Colivia, a Ro- The seventh annual Prague for Good, 3 for Average and 4 2. Collaborator “Although short films are en- PSFF as well. manian-Dutch film, which re- Short Film Festival is scheduled for Poor. Then hand the card to 3. Cracks in the Shell thusiastically greeted in other The annual program includes ceived the Main Jury Prize; Jenny for January 18-22, 2012. The a collector, or drop it into one of Prá- 4. Punk’s Not Dead parts of the world, for some rea- both competitive films of up to 25 & the Worm and In Space, which deadline for film submissions is the ballot boxes provided by vo 5. Tyrannosaurus son they have yet to find a solid minutes in length, and non-com- received Special Jury Mentions; October 15, 2011. n , the Czech daily newspaper
REVIEWERS RECOMMEND Mark Adams Chief Film Critic, Screen International
The Turin Horse Director: Béla Tarr, Hungary/France/Germany/Switzerland/US, 2011, 146 min July 6, 9.30am, Small Hall Acclaimed Hungarian director Béla Tarr has declared that The Turin Horse is to be his last film… and what a way to wrap up an astonish- ing film career with a measured and elegant film with barely any dia- logue and full of beautifully composed shots, the film has delighted Tarr fans who embrace his idiosyn- cratic style and intellectual rigor.
Life in a Day Director: Kevin Macdonald, UK, 2011, 95 min July 6, 11.30am, Grand Hall Life-affirming and exhilarating, Life in a Day is a stunning mon- tage of filmed contributions – some 80,000 in total, from 197 countries and culled down from 5000 hours of material – distilled by director Kevin Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott to offer an evocative snapshot of life on Earth during one day… July 24, 2010. Moving, amusing and at times majestic, it is a stunning cinematic experience.
The Good Life Director: Eva Mulvad, Denmark, 2010, 87 min July 6, 3.30pm, Čas Cinema Discover a piece of the silver A delightfully insightful documentary – an updated European vari- ation on Grey Gardens if you will – from Eva Mulvad, who tracks the screen at each of our destinations misfortunes of two Danish women (a mother and daughter) who once lived the high-life and now live on just a few euros in their small Por- tuguese flat. As the pair bicker and dwell on the lifestyle they once had, the film offers a compelling por- trait of two women leading a deliciously strange coexistence. Whether you plan to enjoy La Dolce Vita, be enchanted by the Moulin Rouge, trace the footsteps of Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona, or touch the Himmel Wasted Youth über Berlin our direct flights from Prague and Bratislava take you there Directors: Argyris Papadimitropoulos, Jan Vogel, Greece, with ease and comfort. And to more than 60 other destinations as well. 2010, 100 min July 6, 7pm, Congress Hall Book your tickets now at czechairlines.com A vibrant and gripping Greek film – very much part of the new wave of cinema from that troubled country – which juxtaposes the life of two different men, both living a “wasted life” – 16 year-old skater Har- ris and a depressed middle-aged cop Vassilis. Though living very different existences they are destined to come together at the end of another hot Athenian night. Shot with energy and verve, the film is a styl- ish portrait of a city suffering its own breakdown and crisis. n
[email protected] FESTIVAL DAILY PAGE 4 THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH DAILY OF THE 46TH KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 2011
WHAT AM I Monte Hellman: the director DOING HERE? Delphine Mayele International press becomes the audience agent, Bedouin and Romeo Eleven Zbyněk Vlasák
A maestro of American cult film, Monte Hellman helped forge a bold new approach as part of the New Hollywood generation, creating raw, low-budget films that provoked baby boom audiences who had grown frustrated with tradition- al studio pictures and big stars. Films like Two-Lane Blacktop, The Shooting and Flight to Fury established him as a strong voice with a penchant for unpredictable, often obsessive characters, atmospheric locations, realism and soulful non-stars, n such as Warren Oates. Hellman later pro- What brings you to duced Quentin Tarantino’s debut, Reser- Karlovy Vary? voir Dogs. This week, the veteran direc- I have two movies in compe- tor is at KVIFF for the second time along tition that I’m doing the press with his latest film Road to Nowhere. for. They’re both in [the Official Selection] competition. Basical- n In Road to Nowhere, a character ly, I’m here to promote the observes that “casting is 90 percent of movies and make sure they’re filmmaking.” Does that statement rep- going to be exposed all over the resent your own attitudes? world. That’s my job. n I think so, yes. I cast [my actors] dif- Hloušek Petr Photo: How would you describe ferent ways. I used to cast them from still Raw, provocative and low-budget films are his trademark. the films? photos. Now I cast them from watching Well, they’re tough, really them on YouTube doing interviews. n And he also was selling your films will look. You learn ways to create rhythm wood generation of the 1970s. Were tough, but really interesting in I don’t look at their movies. Sometimes at the time, right? And promoting and timing and so forth, and those means you friends with the other people doing the sense that they bring some a still photograph can let you see inside them at Cannes... are not the same in cinema. You have dif- that? original content and they’re re- them better than a moving image, but the That’s right: in 1966 he took The ferent techniques. The result is the same. There were many of them I met be- ally very deep. That’s what other way I cast is just by talking to Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind. He When you make the move from theater to cause we all were working for Roger Cor- I found the most interesting. them... to see if they’re able to be relaxed was very good because he has a strong film you have to learn the different ways man. I was friends with Bogdanovich and They’re not like movies you see to do the same thing you always do. Coppola, I knew Jonathan Demme, every day. enough to let things happen to them. personality and he met a lot of people. He n n You cast Jack Nicholson when he met Goddard and some other people who I think the difference is, in theater, you I knew Scorsese, I don’t think it was the What’s your goal for the was quite unknown. What was he like? were influential in France, and so we sold have the audience as a guide to the actors. same in Europe where there was a kind of festival? He was always the same. He was not the movies in France. They were very They know if something is working or theoretical beginning. Many of the Euro- My goal for the festival is to someone who knew he was going to be well received, but not immediately be- not working because the audience is ei- pean New Wave, French New Wave di- expose the movies and try to get a star. He thought he already was a star. cause the company that bought them went ther attentive or restless, or they laugh or rectors were critics and they had a theory the most journalists to see them. From the very beginning. I can’t remem- out of business and the movies were they don’t laugh. Or they cry or they about what they were going to be doing. You don’t necessarily have inter- ber when I first met him, but we first be- locked up in a lawsuit for three years be- don’t cry, whatever. So in cinema, in the I don’t think that was true in America, so views all the time because the came friends when he was doing a movie fore they could be distributed. process of creating the performance the I think everybody developed their own journalists have plenty of things to do... There’re no big names in called The Wild Ride and I was working n How did your roots in theater af- director has to replace the audience. Be- method independently and they didn’t these movies, but the movies are on it as a kind of associate producer. He fect your approach to film? sides casting, that’s the other thing that share their ideas with each other. good so you have to just... try to began acting when he was very young. There are many similarities and there the director does. He becomes the audi- We talked about other things; we talked do your best so that the journal- He’s very well educated, but he educated are many differences. In theater you learn ence for the actor. about wine or something. I don’t drink ists speak about them. (McG) himself, he didn’t go to university. certain ways to direct where the audience n You were part of the New Holly- wine, but Coppola drinks wine. n
ON THE TOWN walk along the river from the Karlovy Vary Art Gallery Na BLBÝM místě wild mushroom sauce (138 CZK). Thermal is a beautiful reconstruc- hosts a film-centric exhibition There’s also a nice range of steaks tion of a 19th Century Flemish from July 2-10 focusing on the Sokolovská 81 “Spiegeltent,” or Mirror Tent. ☎ 353 560 165 (258-338 CZK) and a decent burg- 80th anniversary of Barrandov er for 228 CZK. All of this can be These round, circus-style tents Film Studios. The exhibit in- Open Mon-Fri 11am-11pm, were once used as mobile dance Sat noon-11pm washed down with a glass of pil- cludes photographs, costumes sner beer (40 CZK) or a nice Ital- halls – lavishly decorated with and props from one of Europe’s As its name (“In an AWK- brocade, stained glass, velvet and, WARD place”) suggests, this ian house chardonnay or merlot oldest and largest film studios, (38 CZK). (COC) of course, mirrors – and that time where Czech cinema legends eatery is a bit off the beaten track. has come around again. Film Nonetheless, judging by the brisk Freedom Cafe such as Otakar Vávra and Miloš freaks can strut their funky stuff Forman have worked. The lunchtime trade yesterday, we sus- Jugoslávská 3 under the giant disco ball every pect this is where the locals eat ☎ gallery is open from 10am-7pm. 353 321 621 night at a different concert, party And if you simply can’t wait when they don’t want to fork out www.freedomcafe.cz Photo: KVIFF or DJ set. Enjoy wines by the glass for frequently overpriced food at for John Malkovich’s arrival to Open Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, The Magic Mirrors “Spiegeltent” near the Thermal. (60 CZK) or bottle (290-990 get your fashion fix, consider the Disney end of town. If you are Sat 11am-9pm CZK), or a 4 dl glass of Budvar up for a ten-minute walk from the a whopping 5 percent Java coupon sists of bruschetta-esque apps (59 heading over to the Mlýnská With modernist interiors (you (45 CZK). And if you visit earlier Kolonáda for an unconventional Thermal across the Ohře River, actually feel a bit like they’ve tak- on their web site. Hey, every CZK) and salads (69-79 CZK) in the day, Filip Sajler’s Perfect you’ll find a quirky but tastefully crown counts, these days. There plus the usual cakes and such (39 fashion show today at 3pm, fea- en over an office and covered the Catering provides a mouth-water- turing models in wheelchairs. furnished establishment that offers are fresh juices plus mint and gin- CZK). (WT) walls in psychedelic art) and a hip ing menu. For the meat lover, how Fans of Life in a Day won’t want plenty of good grub. Besides a list ger tea if you’re not of the caffeine waitstaff, this stylish little caffeine about grilled sirloin with to miss Aeroport’s salute to the of daily specials (128-178 CZK), school and the crowd is suitably Magic Mirrors refueling spot is a cut above. They dumplings (455 CZK), or – for film project, which includes Italian-oriented dishes are a staple youthful and arty, drawn in by the Nábřeží Jana Palacha book a live jazz program and pour people who don’t eat anything footage submitted by thousands here, and we particularly enjoyed a serious Illy coffee that comes in free WiFi and offer of Stella beer www.magicmirrors.cz with a face – there’s home-made (30 CZK) and Leffe Bruin (40 Open daily 10am-2am (or later…) of people around the world, the baked homemade tagliatelle vanilla, nut and caramel versions pasta with mushroom and chive tonight at 10pm. (McG) with pork tenderloin and creamy (33-47 CZK) – and even offer CZK) for Belgophiles. Chow con- Roll up, roll up! Five minutes’ sauce (180 CZK). (PLC)
DAILIES Photo: Jan Handrejch Photo: Photo: Jan Handrejch Photo: Photo: KVIFF Photo: Quick! Get this mutt a screen test for Spielberg’s new Tintin There’s more than one grand prix up for grabs at this year’s KVIFF artistic consultant Eva Zaoralová and Italian actor movie. festival. Remo Girone.