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FADING GIGOLO Woody Allen has made plenty of great movies, but apart from Annie Hall (1977), I’ve never been taken by him as an actor. Whining Woody is more of a standup comedian who, playing himself all the time, usually appears as a narrative guide, not unlike a neurotic Shakespearean fool. In John Turturro’s delicately balanced, gently iconoclastic romantic comedy he gets rather too much screen time doing his usual shtick as Murray, seller of rare books, who manages to persuade his friend Fioravante (Turturro) to become a male prostitute. If you can live with the wild male fantasy that a couple of posh New York dames such as Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara would be happy to fork out big bucks for the pleasure, you’ll be fine – personally, I nearly found it a bridge too far. Fortunately for all concerned, Woody’s presence diminishes somewhat as Fioravante becomes more emotionally connected to the beautiful widow Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), which is a relief, for the comic scenes are lame but the romance is tender and insightful. Avigal, still mourning, is only ready for the touch of Fiaravante’s hands as a masseur, allowing us to feel sympathy for her admirer Dovi (Liev Schrieber) while at the same time knowing that his amour might yet not be crushed. The location of red-brick, middleclass Brooklyn resembles nothing so much as a cosy
Woody Allen and John Turturro in Fading Gigolo (2013)
Norman Rockwell painting and is in stark contrast to the highrise apartment decorated with contemporary art of married client Dr Parker (Stone), and the subterranean star chamber of the Hassidic rabbis who would judge Murray for his sinful behaviour – it is a running gag that Murray has been pimping Fioavante as a Jew. The subject of sexual mores, in this case specifically related to strict religious custom, is taken to task without bombast by Turturro (also responsible for the screenplay), who is more interested in bringing to the surface the deep desire that all of us harbour for the comfort of physical embrace and the door it opens to the heart’s fulfilment. John Campbell
OPENING NIGHT FILM AND PARTY Embrace this year's festival opening with the Byron Bay Premiere of
LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED
TICKETS NOW ON SALE
VIVIR ES FÁCIL CON LOS OJOS CERRADOS
Followed by after party with Estrella Beer and Torres wines, tapas and live entertainment. PALACE BYRON BAY - THU 8 MAY 6.30pm Lonia Cava bubbles on arrival for 7.00pm screening Palace Movie Club - $40 General Admission - $45
May 8 - 14 at Palace Byron Bay www.spanishfilmfestival.com
*All special events are restricted to persons 18 years and over
TUESDAY
TRANSCENDENCE Is it just my imagination, or are there a lot of movies being made at present that are set in a future that is close enough for us to touch, to instinctively recognise in a cold sweat? This one treads the same path as Divergent and The Hunger Games in its fearful depiction of how society might soon (if it has not done so already) become manipulated by the protectors it has entrusted to improve its lot. Though it anticipates tomorrow, Wally Pfister’s gripping and disturbingly conceivable tragedy harks back to the old chestnut of the Frankenstein theme. In this case, the man who would create an artificial life form is Will Caster (Johnny Depp), and the Johnny Depp in Transcendence (2014) monster he produces turns out to be himself. An IT a satisfying climax, but it genius, Caster has been working for years with his wife might have been honed to a Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) on a project designed to program finer edge by the deletion of a computer with a human brain’s self-awareness and capacity for independent thought. Exploring this coming scenes that feel superfluous, and casting Morgan phenomenon, Pfister goes a sinister step further in the Freeman as the venerable virtual world explored recently in Her. scientist in a grey cardigan Caster’s success has alarmed many, among them a group is too cheesy for words, but of ‘new Luddites’ who are committed to the cause of otherwise this is a serious shutting down our wired, online society. It is a fascinating and possibly prescient scenario – how far can we let our technological addition to the genre of breakthroughs go before we lose that which makes us speculative fiction. real, organic, individual creatures? When will we decide, John Campbell if ever, that the peril of what we are dabbling in might outweigh its promise? Caster gives an early indication of his mindset when, at a conference, he shocks his audience by coolly and calmly asserting that God has only ever been a concoction of Man’s. Jack Paglen’s script builds with veiled suspense to
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6 MAY to
WEDNESDAY
14 MAY
OPENS THIS THU!
OPENS MAY 8!
OPENS MAY 8!
SPANISH FILM FESTIVAL (No free tix) Thu 8: 7:00 - LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED (18+) Fri 9: 6:30 - THE AMAZING CATFISH (18+) Sat 10: 1:30 - ZIP & ZAP & THE MARBLE GANG (ALL AGES) Sat 10: 4:15pm - FAMILY UNITED (18+) Sat 10: 6:30pm - TASTING MENU (M) Sun 11: 1:30 - THREE MANY WEDDINGS (18+) Sun 11: 4:15 - TO FOOL A THIEF (18+) Sun 11: 6:30pm - COMBUSTION (MA15+) Mon 12: 6:30 - SCORPION IN LOVE (18+) Tue 13: 6:30pm - 7TH FLOOR (18+) Wed 14: 7:00 - WITCHING & BITCHING (18+) CHEF (M) (No free tix) Thu 8, Wed 14: 11:45, 2:10, 6:30 Fri 9, Mon 12, Tue 13: 11:30, 1:55, 6:20 Sat 10: 10:00, 12:20, 6:50 Sun 11: 12:20, 5:00, 6:50pm BAD NEIGHOURS (MA15+) (No free tix) Thu 8, Fri 9, Mon 12-Wed 14: 12:40, 2:50, 7:15, 9:25 Sat 10: 10:50, 4:15, 6:30, 8:45 Sun 11: 12:40, 2:50, 7:20, 9:30pm Bolshoi Ballet - MARCO SPADA (CTC) Sat 10: 1:00pm 2D THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN 2 (M) Tue 6-Wed 7: 9:30am, 4:10, 9:05pm DIVERGENT (M) Tue 6-Wed 7: 1:40, 9:00pm Enjoy our licensed bar
Lavazza Espresso Coffee
SHOWING SAT ONLY!
2D THE LEGO MOVIE (PG) Tue 6-Wed 7: 9:30, 11:40am Thu 8, Fri 9, Mon 12-Wed 14: 10:30am Sun 11: 9:10am FADING GIGOLO (M) (No free tix) Tue 6-Wed 7: 11:40am, 4:40, 7:00pm Thu 8, Wed 14: 12:20, 4:30, 9:20pm Fri 9: 11:50am, 4:20, 8:45pm Sat 10, Sun 11: 11:20am, 2:40, 9:15pm Mon 12, Tue 13: 11:50am, 4:20, 8:50pm THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (M) Tue 6-Wed 7: 1:50 Thu 8, Wed 14: 10:00am Fri 9, Mon 12, Tue 13: 9:30am THE OTHER WOMAN (M) Tue 6-Wed 7: 9:20am, 4:30, 6:45pm Thu 8, Fri 9, Mon 12-Wed 14: 5:00pm Sun 11: 10:00am THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (M) Tue 6-Wed 7: 12:20, 2:30, 6:40, 8:50pm Thu 8, Wed 14: 9:40am, 2:20, 4:30, 8:50pm Fri 9, Mon 12, Tue 13: 9:25, 1:50, 4:00, 8:40 Sat 10: 9:15am, 4:40, 8:30pm Sun 11: 10:30am, 4:40, 8:40pm All sessions are correct at the time of publication. Current session times at: www.palacecinemas.com.au
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108-110 Jonson Street, Byron Bay 6680 8555 | www.palacecinemas.com.au
The Byron Shire Echo May 6, 2014 29