crankyhanke
theaterlistings Friday, MarCh 2 - Thursday, MarCh 8
Due to possible last-minute scheduling changes, moviegoers may want to confirm showtimes with theaters.
movie reviews & listings by ken hanke
JJJJJ max rating
n ASheville pizzA & BrewinG Co. (254-1281)
additional reviews by justin souther contact xpressmovies@aol.com
pickoftheweek
Please call the info line for updated showtimes. the Girl with the Dragon tattoo (r) 7:00, 10:00 we Bought a zoo (pG) 1:00, 4:00
A SepArAtion
JJJJJ
Director: AsghAr FArhADi PlAyers: PeymAn mAADi, leilA hAtAmi, sAreh BAyAt, shAhAB hosseini, sArinA FArhADi DrAmA
n CArmike CinemA 10 (298-4452)
rAteD pG-13
The Story: When an Iranian couple separates, it sets in motion a series of events that will have far-reaching implications. The Lowdown: This year’s biggest deal in foreign-language films — and the Oscar winner — is a solid, fascinating, sometimes quite disturbing look at characters and a society fractured by money, religion and socialization. Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation is one of those movies that has been so acclaimed — with every award you can think of, including the Oscar, falling into its lap — that you’re almost dared not to love it. (Just look at the harsh remarks the consensus-lovers directed at the poor sap on Rotten Tomatoes who dared to ruin the film’s 100-percent approval rating.) I’d also been told by people whose opinions I respect (though don’t always agree with) that it was “amazing” and that it lived up to the hype. And having seen it, I have to say that I think A Separation is very good indeed, if not quite as amazing as I’d been told. If I’d come upon it cold, I might feel differently, but I’ll never know. I’ll settle on very good and, yes, a mustsee. I tend to think that the film has been done something of a disservice by intimations that it contains a mystery worthy of Hitchcock, because I don’t think that’s true on any level. The only mystery in the film is actually an unresolved one, while mystery that’s generally being referred to is pretty clear — or ought to be — to anyone paying attention. (Without giving away too much, I’ll just say it’s a basic rule of film that there’s a reason when a film cuts away from an unresolved scene.) I don’t think Fahradi was out to make a mystery, though he had to know that A Separation was plot-driven — even though the plot is almost a hook for his broader concerns. (And it’s not impossible that the complexity of the plot is in part there to distract the Iran government from other aspects of the film.) The film is called A Separation and it does focus on the separation of the two main characters, Nader (Peyman Maadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami). (For that matter, the Iranian title includes the characters’ names.) The film even opens with a long take of the two addressing an unseen judge to whom they’re applying for a divorce — a tricky undertaking in Iran. The
Leila Hatami and Peyman Maadi in Asghar Farhadi’s powerful — and Oscarwinning — A Separation. case here is that they have applied for — and received — visas for themselves and their daughter, Termeh (Sarina Farhadi, the director’s daughter), to leave Iran. But Nader has backed out, saying he has to remain and care for his Alzheimer-afflicted father (Ali-Ashhar Shahbazi). His wife’s argument that his father doesn’t even know who his son is anymore is countered by Nader’s assertion that he knows who his father is. Her own rather ill-advised statement that she wants her daughter to have the benefit of growing up someplace other than Iran certainly cuts no ice with the judge, and he dismisses theirs as a “small problem,” denying the divorce. This prompts Simin to leave, moving back in with her parents. That move is what propels the rest of the film, since it compels Nader to hire a woman, Razieh (Sareh Bayat), as housekeeper charged with looking after Nader’s father, something that will require her do things that are not in keeping with her religious views. (At one point she has to call an adviser to see if it’s a sin to deal with the old man’s incontinence.) This opens up questions of even more separations — not just the religious differences between the basically secular family and Razieh’s fundamentalist religious views, but also between the wealthy and the poor. It is only Razieh’s poverty that forced her to take such a job — and to take it at substandard wages. It’s a situation that will fracture things even further as the story progresses. The less said about the specifics of the events, the better, I think. The events should be experienced with a minimum of foreknowledge (which, by the way, is how I saw it). These, however, are less important in themselves than the study of
the the characters and their reactions to it all — and how neither law or religion are capable of dealing with every situation in a cut-and-dry manner. You may also find that some aspects of this very foreign story seem disturbingly not all that foreign. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material. reviewed by Ken Hanke Starts Friday at Fine Arts Theatre
pAriAh
JJJJJ
Director: Dee rees PlAyers: ADePero oDuye, Pernell WAlker, AAshA DAvis, chArles PArnell, sAhrA mellesse, kim WAyAns DrAmA
rAteD r
The Story: A lesbian teenager is looking for a way to be herself with her parents and the world in general — and for a way to find romantic love. The Lowdown: A different kind of coming-of-age and coming-out story told from a fresh perspective by a new filmmaker. Catch it. Filmmaker Dee Rees (a protégé of Spike Lee) has expanded on and refashioned her quasiautobiographical 2007 short film Pariah for her feature debut — and a pretty terrific debut film it is. It’s smart, heartfelt, savvy, beautifully acted — and clever enough at 86 minutes not to overstay its welcome. It also has the good sense to inject a certain amount of (not always entirely comfortable) humor. And possibly the best thing about the film is that it feels at least a little bit like an independent film from the days when that label wasn’t interchangeable with
Big miracle (pG) 1:15, 4:05 Gone (pG-13) 2:05, 4:35, 7:00, 9:25 hugo 3D (pG) 2:55, 5:55, 8:55 project X (r) 1:00, 3:15, 5:30, 7:50, 10:05 red tails (pG-13) 6:40, 9:35 Star wars: episode one — the phantom menace 3D (pG) 12:50, 4:00, 6:50, 9:50 tyler perry’s Good Deeds (pG-13) 1:35, 4:15, 7:10, 9:40 Underworld: Awakening 2D (r) 7:45, 10:00 the woman in Black (pG-13) 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:30 war horse (pG-13) 1:25, 4:40
CArolinA ASheville CinemA 14 (274-9500) n
Act of valor (r) 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00 the Artist (pG-13) 12:05, 2:25, 4:45, 7:05, 9:40 the Descendants (r) 11:10, 1:55, 4:40, 7:25, 10:10 Dr. Seuss’ the lorax 3D (pG) 11:45, 2:15, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 Dr. Seuss’ the lorax 2D (pG) 12:15, 2:45, 4:55, 7:20, 9:50 Ghost rider: Spirit of vengeance (pG-13) 11:05, 1:35, 4:15, 7:10, 10:05 (sofa cinema) Gone (pG-13) 9:55 Journey 2: the mysterious island 3D (pG-13) 11:55, 2:15, 4:35, 7:45 pariah (r) 11:50, 2:10, 4:20, 7:55, 10:15 project X (r) 12:10, 2:30, 4:40, 8:00, 10:20
Safe house (r) 11:40, 2:20, 4:50, 7:15, 9:45 this means war (r) 11:25, 1:40, 4:00, 7:35, 10:15 (sofa cinema) tyler perry’s Good Deeds (pG-13) 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 the vow (pG-13) 11:15, 1:45, 4:10, 7:50, 10:20 (sofa cinema) wanderlust (r) 11:45, 2:05, 4:25, 7:40, 9:40 n CineBArre (665-7776)
the Adventures of tintin (pG) 10:25 (sun), 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 9:40 Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked (G) 10:55 (sun), 1:30, 4:30, 7:10, 9:20 extremely loud & incredibly Close (pG-13) 10:40 (sun), 1:25, 4:25, 7:30, 10:15 Joyful noise (pG-13) 10:30 (sun), 1:00, 4:05 Sherlock holmes: A Game of Shadows (pG-13) 7:35, 10:10 we Bought a zoo (pG) 10:35 (sun), 1:10, 4:10, 7:30, 10:00 n Co-eD CinemA BrevArD (883-2200)
Dr. Seuss’ the lorax (pG) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 n epiC of henDerSonville (693-1146) n fine ArtS theAtre (232-1536)
the Artist (pG-13) 4:20, 7:20 (no 7:20 show mon. march 5), late show Fri-sat 9:30 el Bulli (nr) 7:00 mon. march 5 only the Secret world of Arrietty (G) 1:20 A Separation (pG-13) 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, late show Fri-sat 9:20 n flAtroCk CinemA (697-2463)
the iron lady (pG-13) 4:00, 7:00 n reGAl Biltmore GrAnDe StADiUm 15 (684-1298) n UniteD ArtiStS BeAUCAtCher (2981234)
For some theaters movie listings were not available at press time. Please contact the theater or check mountainx.com for updated information.
mountainx.com • FEBRUARY 29 - MARCH 6, 2012 63