Dances with the Arthouse : May 1st / May 8th releases

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fantaverse, hello to you. My schedule prevented me from offering you a column last week, so I promise I will make it up to you. Today I will chronicle two weeks of arthouse releases. The first two weeks of the summer. The season Hollywood and blockbuster fans are drooling for every year. But behind the big guns of Tinseltown are also a few independent films waiting to be discovered and possibly liked. Let’s see if there is anything interesting in our good old Fantasy Moguls perspective…

The Limits of Control (May 1st)
Let’s start with a warning. A few weeks ago, it seemed to me that Jim Jarmusch’s new film was a sure winner to add some prestige to an Ultimate slate. Jarmusch’s films are always arthouse events, and they are almost always great films, so there was no reason this one would be different. Well, it seems this one is different after all… The story of a mysterious man who might be a hitman travelling through Spain is preceded by, let’s face it, a terrible buzz. It should have been considered a troubling sign that the film had not had a World Premiere in a Festival. Jarmusch is an auteur that generally deserves a prestigious launch, even if not in Cannes, Venice or Berlin, another important festival. But The Limits of Control comes fresh in theaters.
And now the reviews coming in are almost all unanimously destroying the film, generally calling it very pretentious. Now, if a Hollywood blockbuster can be released without fearing negative press as long as it’s got star power or a strong premise, arthouse films can’t survive long without the support of the critics, or at least a strong audience buzz (generally built on festival circuit).
The fact the Focus Features release is directed by Jarmusch and stars some of his regulars (Isaach de Bankolé, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt) or newbie Gael Garcia Bernal will probably help get a respectable PTA on opening week-end, but don’t expect it to have lasting legs. For $8 in Ultimate, it is risky. For the same price, I am more inclined to trust Japanese Oscar Winner Departures, opening in June.

The Skeptic (May 1st)
I will not spend much time on this indie thriller by Tennyson Bardwell. The man may have earned a lot of awards and applause with his first feature film, Dorian Blues, but his sophomore effort honestly look so lame that I can’t even imagine the New York City cinephiles (it only opens there for now) having their interest piqued by The Skeptic. Plus it never really helps a film’s release when it is at the same time available by Video On Demand, like this one is. Add to that a cast headlined by Tim Daly and Tom Arnold (I know, right ?), and you will understand that this haunted house tale is not even worth $2 (even if it is getting a 1 theater launch). It is a shame, because Zoe Saldana is in it too, and I would watch any film that beautiful woman appears in (thank God this one will never ever be released in France, I will not have to force myself for Zoe !).

The Merry Gentleman (May 1st)
Another actress I would gladly watch in pretty much anything is Kelly McDonald. It is strange because the Scottish actress does not really look like my type of women (Gong, you know you are still number one in my heart !), but there is something strangely attractive in Kelly McDonald. The fact she is such a terrific actress also adds to the appeal, probably. Anyway, the actress stars in Michael Keaton’s directorial debut, about the unlikely friendship between an abused woman and a suicidal hitman (portrayed by Beetle Juice himself).
Contrary to the other two indie releases of the week, The Merry Gentleman finds grace in the critics’ papers. It was premiered last January at the Sundance Film Festival, where audiences embraced it. I am still not sure this will be enough to propel this little film distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Pictures into a strong PTA earner (it should be released in a dozen theaters), but honestly, out of the three May 1st releases, this one is the closest it comes to being worthy, thanks to a cheap price of $3, and what should be a strong IMDb User Rating, in the mid-7s I would say.

Adoration (May 8th)
Every year, at the Cannes Film Festival, there are a couple of films (sometimes more, I know) you can’t help but wonder how the hell they ended up on the coveted list of the films competing for the Golden Palm, the most prestigious film prize there is (oh yes, much more prestigious than an Oscar). Well, out of last year’s competing films, Atom Egoyan’s new movie definitely makes that list for me. I think the Canadian filmmaker has not made a feature film worthy of his talent in a few years, his best being the riveting The Sweet Hereafter.
But Egoyan, like a handful of directors, is a friend of Cannes, and I can only suggest that his status of “old-timer” allowed him to enter the competition with such a weak film. Because Adoration really is one of the weakest films I have seen come out of Cannes’ competition in the past few years. Not necessarily a bad film, but a weak one. A character puzzle much too predictable to really be of any interest. I can’t believe it won a Prize at Toronto.
Besides its artistic failure, I don’t really see Adoration being a serious asset on your May/July slates. Its User Rating will not be strong (it’s currently only 6.6 with almost 300 votes), and Egoyan’s name is not one that will attract film buffs without a good word of mouth. $6 is too much in Ultimate Leagues.

Rudo y Cursi (May 8th)
The other May 8th is also priced at $6. And I will tell you immediately that between Adoration and Rudo y Cursi, I would take the Mexican comedy about two friends playing soccer without hesitation. And there are plenty of reasons why : because it premiered with success at Sundance ; because reviews and audiences are both charmed by the film ; because it is directed by Carlos Cuaron, brother of Mexican maestro Alfonso, and co-writer of Mexican success Y tu mama tambien ; because it reunites Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna a few years after… yes, the same Y tu mama tambien ; because the User Rating is at 7.2 with 770 votes.
And last but not least, because the past few months (years ?) have proven that a strong Latin film can do terrific business as an arthouse release. I am sure that by launching the film in New York City and Los Angeles first, Sony Pictures Classics expects strong PTA numbers with Rudo y Cursi. Maybe not as high as Star Trek, but I’d say enough to grab a few PTA points on opening weekend, and possibly the following weekend as well. It could be worth its $6 price tag.

22% on RT for Limits. Ouch! Hopefully it doesn't pull an Informers and bomb out and hopefully the people disagree with the critics.

Man it is good to have our craszy frenchie's column on some of these. Usually we are picking blind. Thanks Ghost.

JackO wrote:22% on RT for Limits. Ouch! Hopefully it doesn't pull an Informers and bomb out and hopefully the people disagree with the critics.

I highly doubt it wll be released in the same number of theaters as The Informers was, JackO, so it has a better shot at grabbing a small handful of PTA points on opening weekend. But I don't think it'll be enough to be worth $8

Donte77 wrote:Man it is good to have our craszy frenchie's column on some of these. Usually we are picking blind. Thanks Ghost.

THe pleasure is mine Donte

sad month for smaller releases

Well then I will be dropping Limits from my slates posthaste!

I think it's safer Shryke...

I heard good things about Adoration, but I may have to rethink it.

Just to point something out: Along with winning an award at T.I.F.F., Adoration also won an award at Cannes, some lesser something or other. At least, that is what I read.

Indeed it won a Prize at Cannes J-Man, it won the "Prix du Jury Oecuménique"., a very unmediatized Prize, but it did.