A R O U N D T O W N 發光的城市 17 TAIPEI TIMES • FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2008 OTHER RELEASES COMPILED BY MARTIN WILLIAms Meet Dave Loud and proud Eddie Murphy has struggled a little of late. Missing out on a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Dreamgirls, some say, because of the immense crudity BY HO YI of his characters in Norbit, Murphy STAFF REPORTER has chosen a better vehicle in Meet Dave. This is entirely appropriate because “Dave,” a strangely dressed man who turns up in New York one Zero Chou delivers day, is a vehicle, too — a spaceship, a realist portrait of in fact, containing tiny aliens. This is a fun movie for all ages that makes much better use of Murphy’s prodigious lesbian life in talent and without the flatulent humor and rubber suits Taiwan with the that have marked his films over the last decade or so. latest installation The Violin of her ongoing An unusual mixture of black- Rainbow Colors While all actors are fittingly cast, Chao Yi-lan and-white photography, music is Drifting Flowers’ most striking presence as and radicalism, The Violin project, which an attractive young tomboy. stars a real-life violinist, the 81-year-old Don Angel Tavira, comprises six films PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE 3RD VISION FILMS as a farmer and wandering about homosexuality couples, discrimination and AIDS musician who gets involved are addressed with sincerity and in the movement that attempted to oust a Mexican empathy. Both veteran actress Lu government 30 years ago. Scenes of brutality mix with a fter her 2007 movie Spider Yi-ching and the talented amateur subtle tale of cunning as the old violinist and his family Lilies (刺青), which won Sam Wang, a regular cast member attempt to turn the tables on the military. A last year’s Berlinale Teddy in Chou’s films, turn in affecting Award for Best Feature Film, performances that make audiences Zero Chou (周美玲) returns to the laugh and move them to tears at Memory big screen with Drifting Flowers the same time. In this Thai thriller, an (漂浪青春). Diego’s story articulates the overworked psychiatrist In contrast to the surrealistic life of a tomboy, a term used for at a Chiang Mai hospital is and metaphorical tones of Spider butch lesbians, through tracking referred a case of a little girl Lilies, Chou’s latest work is a the panic and confusion that an who appears to have been realistic and earnest portrait of alternative sexuality and identity abused. When he investigates, lesbian life in Taiwan, told through lesbian showgirl, prompts Diego and consequent familial and he discovers things are more three loosely connected stories. to embark on her life journey with societal pressures can cause. sinister than even that, with something supernatural The first story opens with two courage and a sense of hope. The plot may sound like an possibly preying on the child. There may be something deeply attached sisters, 8-year- 漂浪青春 In terms of storytelling, overused coming-of-age formula, even more sinister in store, too, given that the shrink old Meigo (Pai Chih-ying, 白芝 DRIFTING FLOWERS ( ) Drifting Flowers sees a but here it is part of the lesbian fails to stop himself from getting it on with the little 穎) and the beautiful, blind Jing significant improvement over community’s collective memory girl’s mother. Some viewers may sense The Sixth Sense (Serena Fang, 房思瑜), who works DIRECTED BY: ZERO CHOU (周美玲) Splendid Float (豔光四射歌舞團, that is rarely, if ever, given a in all of this, but at least Bruce Willis didn’t seduce as a nightclub singer, struggling to 2004) and Spider Lilies and is realistic cinematic representation. anyone (even if he was a ghost). make ends meet. STARRING: CHAO YI-LAN (趙逸嵐) AS DIEGO, SERENA FANG (房思瑜) AS JING, Chou’s strongest feature film A student at Taipei National When the butch accordionist PAI CHIH-YING (白芝穎) AS MEIGO, LU YI-CHING (陸奕靜) AS LILY, SAM WANG to date. Though melodramatic University of the Arts’ (國立台北藝術 Diego (Chao Yi-lan, 趙逸嵐) (王學仁) AS YEN, HERB HSU (徐麗雯) AS YOUNG LILY cliches sometimes dominate the 大學) theater department, newcomer The Room comes into their lives, Meigo first segment, the film’s overall Chao Yi-lan (趙逸嵐) is the film’s RUNNING TIME: 97 MINUTES A struggling family goes from bad to experiences her first lesbian pace is smooth, and the garbled most striking presence and creates worse when a strange room appears in crush. But as Jing embarks on a LANGUAGE: IN MANDARIN AND TAIWANESE WITH CHINESE narrative construction of the a believable portrait of tomboys for their house in this Belgian flick from lesbian relationship with Diego, AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES director’s previous works has Taiwanese queer cinema. 2006. With a failed composer father, Meigo’s affections quickly turn morphed into a focused and Chou uses a plebeian language his mistreated wife, a handicapped son into jealousy, which leads to the concise approach. to tell her protagonists’ stories, and an unhappy pregnant daughter sisters’ painful separation. to visit, Lily mistakes him for her rediscover the will to live. The film touches on various which belong to the pasts, vying for the most-dysfunctional- Chapter two belongs to Lily (Lu deceased lover Ocean. The final segment follows a aspects of homosexual life in presents and futures of countless family-member title, audiences will Yi-ching, 陸奕靜), an Alzheimer’s Yen, who is living with AIDS, younger Diego, who is confused, Taiwan and ingeniously weaves male and female homosexuals wonder if the mysterious room of the patient who struggles to cope has given up on life after leaving binds her breasts and struggles them together in a fluent narrative in Taiwan. The inhabitants of title is doing one victim a favor when with her disintegrating memory. his unfaithful boyfriend. Little by to accept her changing body and flow. In the second segment, Drifting Flowers are not rootless he disappears through its door. This film made appearances When Yen (Sam Wang, 王學仁), her little, the two wounded friends homosexuality. An encounter with issues such as gay marriage, abstractions, but real people who at various genre film festivals but has failed to stir up much husband of convenience, comes form a companionship and a young Lily, who is a self-assured welfare provision for elderly gay have hometowns and histories. interest since then. Starts tomorrow. Keroro the Movie 3 Keroro, better known to English- speaking manga/anime fans as “Sgt City cinema weekend box office takings Frog,” is one of the more bizarre (Aug. 9 and Aug. 10) Japanese animated characters to gain Source: Group Power Entertainment Corp a following. The slovenly leader of a failed invasion force from a faraway planet, Sergeant Keroro makes do with wasting his time in between errands for a nice, ordinary Japanese family, despite having a team of crack soldiers at his call. In Part 3, Keroro and the gang end up at the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu on holiday, only to encounter strange forces that produce an “evil” Keroro who also wants to conquer Earth and kidnaps the “good” Keroro’s hosts. Now there’s a dilemma for The Mummy: Tomb of the The Dark Knight WALL-E Wanted Made of Honor the “good” Keroro. Screens with a Keroro short entitled Dragon Emperor (神鬼傳奇3) (黑暗騎士) (瓦力) (刺客聯盟) (新郎不是我) Warrior Kero’s Announcement! The Battle of the Warring NT$31,174,348 NT$4,591,730 NT$2,383,288 NT$1,731,163 NT$867,680 State Pekopon. coalition of disability “continuation of the horrifying Variety reported that the film Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler, groups blasted Ben Stiller’s portrayal of disabled characters in version would be a romantic featuring Mickey Rourke as a A latest movie Tropic entertainment.” comedy about the boss of a washed-up pro wrestler, are Thunder on Tuesday, slamming “AAPD is also disgusted at champagne company. among the highlights at this year’s the spoof war film’s repeated use the use of the word ‘retard’ George Clooney has snapped New York Film Festival. of the word “retard” as “disgusting numerous times in the movie and up the film rights for a book based The festival announced its and appalling.” promotional items for the film,” on the detention and trial of 28-film lineup on Wednesday, The American Association of the group said. Osama bin Laden’s driver, it was including a restored print of People with Disabilities (AAPD) AAPD president Andrew reported on Wednesday. Max Ophuls’ 1955 classic Lola said in a statement it had rallied Imparato, who met with studio Daily Variety said it was not Montes. The 46th annual event, disability groups urging a boycott backers Dreamworks last week to clear what role Oscar-winning run by the Film Society of of the film, which is released in discuss the movie, slammed the actor-director Clooney would take Lincoln Center, will be held Sept. North America theaters later film after viewing it on Monday. in the project, which will be based George Clooney has bought the book rights 26 to Oct. 12. this week. “Both the use of this word on book The for a film about the detention and trial of Jonathan Mahler’s The opening-night film is Protesters demonstrated and the appalling portrayal of an Challenge. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, above, a former The Class, Laurent Cantet’s at the Los Angeles intellectually disabled character in The story spotlights the efforts documentary-like drama about driver for Osama bin Laden. PHOTO: AP premiere of the film this movie are incredibly damaging of US Navy lawyer Charles Swift a year at a rough French high on Monday, which to people with intellectual on Wednesday.