ëHotelí Opens New Doors Director Figgis Pushes Limits With Daring Experiments by Ky N. Nguyen Since the mainstream success of ìLeaving Las Vegas,ì maverick British director Mike Figgis has reverted to pushing film boundaries with daring experiments: ìThe Loss of Sexual Innocence,î ìTimecodeî and ìHotel.î The latter finally reaches a Washington-area theater after being pulled at the last minute as the closing night selection of Filmfest DC 2002. ìHotelî takes place, appropriately enough, in a Venice hotel, where a U.K. crew is shooting ìThe Duchess of Malfiî following Dogme 95ís guidelines to simplified filmmaking. All havoc breaks loose, including the movie staples of secret meetings, sex, homicide, tabloid press, disloyalty, impersonation and coma. The famous ensemble cast includes Salma Hayek, Lucy Liu, Julian Sands and Saffron Burrowsóplus cameos by Burt Reynolds and John Malkovich. Beyond the swiftly moving, handheld camera style typical of Dogme films, Figgis employs all sorts of dazzling tricks from the history of cinema: inverted negative shots (ìNosferatuì), infrared nocturnal scenes and synchronized split screen (ìTimecodeî). His techniques reinforce the chaos happening on screen. The challengin g ìHotelî is not for the meek and wonít please everyone, but the adventurous viewer may discover new cinematic exhilaration. ìHotelî (English; 93 min.) plays Oct. 3 to 13 at the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre. ëRevolutioní Restored The restored version of ìDuck, You Sucker!î receives its U.S. premiere more than 30 years following its initial butchered American release. The U.S. distributor then dubbed Italian filmmaker Sergio Leoneís final spaghetti Western as ìA Fistful of Dynamite,î an attempt to take advantage of the name recognition of ìA Fistful of Dollarsîóthe first of Leoneís trilogy (which includes ìFor a Few Dollars Moreî and ìThe Good, the Bad, and the Uglyî) that made Clint Eastwood an international star. Leone really considered his last Western, originally titled ìOnce Upon a Time Ö the Revolution,î as the second part of a trilogy beginning with ìOnce Upon a Time in the Westî and ending with ìOnce Upon a Time in America.î In revolutionary Mexico, Irish explosives expert and rebel Sean (James Coburn) forms an uneasy alliance with experienced Mexican bandito Juan (Rod Steiger), each seeking to achieve their individual goals. Leoneís trademark element of friendship develops between the odd couple. In the wake of the 1968 revolutions, Leone makes pointed social and political commentary, including the effects of revolution upon the people who are supposed to benefit from it. After the first hour of comedy, the film transitions to a drama, which Leone directs smoothly. As usual, his excellent action sequences are reinforced by a fine score from Ennio Morricone. Although not quite Leoneís best work, ìDuck, You Sucker!î is still the product of a master craftsman. ìDuck, You Sucker! (Gi la Testa)î (English; 160 min.; scope) plays Oct. 17 to 29 at the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre. Modern-Day English Western By adopting the classic dramatic showdown between good and evil, filmmaker Shane Meadowsís ìOnce Upon a Time in the Midlandsî pays homage to Sergio Leone (as it does to Mexican-American Robert Rodriguezës current ìOnce Upon a Time in Mexicoî). Meadows continues his unique though definitely British style of idiosyncratic humor and societal observations in ìMidlands,î following his previous two films set in the Nottingham area: ìTwentyFourSevenî and ìA Room for Romeo Brass.î Good-intentioned, never-do-well Dek (Rhys Ifans of ìNotting Hillî) proposes on a national reality television show to his stunned girlfriend Shirley (Shirley Henderson), who refuses him. The disaster catches the attention of her ex-lover Jimmy (Robert Carlyle of ìThe Full Montyî), a petty criminal whoís the father of her daughter Marlene (Finn Atkins). Jimmy comes to town to compete with Dek for Shirley and Marleneís affections. Without resorting to saccharine sentimentality, Meadows never fails to show the basic decency of his gritty, working-class characters. Despite its title suggestive of a shoot-íem-up epic with sweeping landscapes, the quietly accomplished ìMidlandsî is really an intimate character study and family dramatic comedy. ìOnce Upon a Time in the Midlandsî (English; 104 min.) is now playing at the Avalon Theatre and Landmarkës Bethesda Row. Rosemary and Time Novice French director Delphine Gleize bursts audaciously onto the international film scene with the ambitious ìCarnage,î winner of the Prix de la Jeunesse award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. Following the legacy of Spaniard Luis BuÒuel and Welshman Peter Greenaway, ìCarnageî is a heady mix of black humor, surrealism, semiotics, and melodrama. Its assured visual style can be truly described as cinematic poetry. An Andalusian bull named Romero (ìRosemaryî) forms the centerpiece of the story. Romero is killed in a bullfight in which the matador is gored. Parts of the bullís remains (horns, bone, eyes and meat) are dispersed to various characters in France, Belgium and Spain. As time progresses, ìCarnageî tracks pieces of Romero around Europe, cleverly demonstrating how seemingly unrelated people are linked. Beyond the smooth flow of the plot elements, Gleize adroitly handles themes of redemption, life and death, parent and child, and more. The impressive ìCarnageî deserves to be compared favorably to the best of films with a similar small-world conceit, such as Americans Robert Altmanís ìShort Cutsî and Paul Thomas Andersonís ìMagnolia.î ìCarnage (Carnages)î (Spanish, French and Italian with subtitles; 130 min.; scope) opens Fri., Oct. 17 at Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge. Repertory Notes The American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theatre plays Sergio Leoneís final masterpiece ìOnce Upon a Time in Americaî from Oct. 3 to 13. Jacques Beckerís French crime caper ìTouchez Pas Au Grisbi (Donít Touch the Loot)î screens Oct. 17 to 28. Films on the Czech Republicís first 10 years are featured Oct. 10 to 12 ((301) 495-6700, www.afi.com/Silver). The highly popular European Union (EU) Film Showcase, sponsored by Washington embassies, features the best of European cinema from recent leading international festivals. It returns Oct. 29 through Nov. 9 at the AFI Silver Theatre and the AFI National Film Theater at the Kennedy Center ((202) 833-AFIT, www.afi.com/nft). The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardenís October films include Mabel Cheungís documentary ìTraces of a Dragon: Jackie Chan and His Lost Familyî and Guy Maddinís ìDracula: Pages From a Virginís Diary.î On Oct. 16, British director Peter Greenaway presents The Tulse Luper Suitcases Project: Screenings of ìThe Moab Storyî (the first film in his multimedia epic trilogy) and ìVaux to the Seaî (the second partís work-in-progress) ((202) 357-2700, www.hirshhorn.si.edu/programs/films.asp). Spiritual Adventures: The Himalayas on Film series is playing at the Freer Gallery of Art ((202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/programs/film.htm). The Young Turks of the German Cinema continues at the Goethe-Forum ((202) 289-1200, www.goethe.de/uk/was/3_2003/enpfilm.htm). The Jean Cocteau Series features films from the French poet, artist and filmmaker at the National Gallery of Art ((202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm). Festival Philibert celebrates the work of French documentarian Nicolas Philibert with screenings at the National Gallery of Art and La Maison FranÁaise ((202) 944-6091, www.la-maison-francaise.org/en_cinejav.htm). Two evenings of the program French Animation in All Its Glory screen on Oct. 3 at the Smithsonian Associates S. Dillon Ripley Center ((202) 357-3030, www.residentassociates.org) and on Oct. 6 at La Maison FranÁaise. Reel Affirmations XII, Washington D.C.ís International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, runs Oct. 16 to 26 at the Lincoln Theatre, the D.C. Jewish Community Center, Goethe-Forum and Visions Cinema/Bistro/Lounge ((202) 986-1119, www.reelaffirmations.org). The D.C. Asian Pacific American Film Festival takes place from Oct. 9 to 18 at venues around town, including the Freer Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Goethe-Forum (www.apafilm.org). Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.