Mexican Writer-Director Eimbcke Debuts With Offbeat Comedy ‘Duck Season’
by Ky N. Nguyen
For his first feature, “Duck Season,” Mexican writer-director Fernando Eimbcke largely sticks to the confinement of one apartment. He proves that it’s better to do one thing very well than be mediocre at several things. Inspired by Jim Jarmusch’s style, Eimbcke’s laid-back account of a lazy afternoon for two teenage boys turns out to be much more than the stock teen comedy that might first be expected. Then again, maybe the viewer should be tipped off by the black-and-white film that Eimbcke daringly uses.
|In a Mexico City high-rise building, 14-year-olds Moko (Diego Catano) and Flama (Daniel Miranda) waste away their afternoon playing video games. Their banal stasis is interrupted by Rita (Dann
y Perea), a pretty 16-year-old neighbor, who wishes to borrow the use of the oven to bake a cake. They’re joined by Ulises (Enrique Arreola), a pizza delivery man who—after climbing 11 flights of stairs due to a power failure—arrives 30 seconds after the delivery deadline for a free pizza.
He debates with Moko and Flama about whether he should be paid, resulting in an endless stalemate. After some squabbling, the quartet eventually gets philosophical. The carefree kids all have their own problems, as does the pizza delivery man. The natural characters bond with each other, expressing believable emotions. Eimbcke makes an impressive debut, making a lot out of a little.
Duck Season
(Temporada de Patos)
(Spanish with subtitles; 90 min.)
Cineplex Odeon Dupont Circle
Landmark’s Bethesda Row
Premiered at AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival
4 out of 5 stars
‘Black Orpheus’: Myth In the Richness of Rio
With 1959’s lyrical “Black Orpheus,” French director Marcel Camus won both the Palme D’Or at Cannes and the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. He audaciously adapted the Greek myth of Orpheus (Breno Mello) and Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) to Rio de Janeiro.
Camus jumps right into the thick of Carnival with all of its colorful sights, vibrant sounds and rich sensations. Camus’s cacophony of the senses is effectively an upscale travel ad for Brazil. The strength of “Black Orpheus” lies mainly in how it captures the energy of Carnival. In the pre-satellite age, the bossa nova soundtrack of Brazil’s samba beat was far more exotic.
Today, many more people have seen the images and music of Carnival, so the whole package is not quite as impressive anymore. Indeed, the translation of the myth is the film’s weak point—but maybe Camus’s whole point is that style is the substance.
Black Orpheus
(Orfeu Negro)
(Portuguese with subtitles; 100 min.)
April 14 to 20
AFI Silver Theatre
4 out of 5 stars
East Meets West on ‘The River
’
French impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir left his son Jean with big shoes to fill. Fortunately for cinephiles, Jean became a master artist himself in the 20th century’s new art form. Jean Renoir’s first color film, 1951’s “The River,” honors the richness of his father’s palette.
Adapted from Rumer Godden’s novel, the story focuses on a year in the life of three young English women who are growing up fast in Bengal, India. Suddenly, their quiet, everyday lives are jolted by the arrival of a very attractive, badly injured American pilot. This is definitely India from the viewpoint of the Westerners.
Meanwhile, the timeless Bengal River continues to flow, as it has always done for an eternity. Renoir takes full advantage of the vibrant Technicolor stock to capture the stunning images shot on location. At times, his film seems like a documentary in its own form of reality.
The River
(English; 99 min.)
April 22 to 27
AFI Silver Theatre
4.5 out of 5 stars
Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.
Repertory Notes
Filmfest DC
From April 19 to 30, the frequently sold-out Filmfest DC features international cinema from festivals around the world. There’s no need to leave the area, but get your tickets early! This year includes side topics on Brazil and hip-hop.
(202) 628-FILM, www.filmfestdc.org
World War I and Dada
From April 2 to 30, the National Gallery of Art complements its “Dada” exhibit with five films commenting on the World War I era, including works by Charlie Chaplin (“Shoulder Arms”), Abel Gance (“J’Accuse”), Lewis Milestone (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), and Stanley Kubrick (“Paths of Glory”).
(202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/filmworld.shtm
Billy Wilder at 100
The Austrian-born American writer-director’s retrospective continues through May 29 at the AFI Silver Theatre and the National Gallery of Art. A protégé of fellow German-speaking émigrés Ernst Lubitsch and Erich von Stroheim, Wilder developed into a great filmmaker in his own right.
(301) 495-6700, www.afi.com/Silver
(202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/filmbilly.shtm
Freer’s Fourth Annual Cherry Blossom Anime Marathon
On April 1, celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival with four anime films by legends Hayao Miyazaki and Katsuhiro Otomo. Author Patrick Drazen introduces the movies and signs his book: “Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation.” The DC Anime Club also presents live costume show all day long.
(202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp
Japanese Master Mikio Naruse
Treasured in Japan amid the likes of Kurosawa, Ozu and Mizoguchi, the films of Mikio Naruse continue through April 29 at the AFI Silver Theatre, the Freer Gallery of Art and the National Gallery of Art.
(301) 495-6700, www.afi.com/Silver
(202) 842-6799, www.nga.gov/programs/filmjapanese.shtm
(202) 357-2700, www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp
Facets Multimedia
Facet’s latest home-video roster continues the eclectic stream from Chicago. Check ou
t the post-war Hungarian neo-realism classic “Somewhere in Europe,” Czech director Jirí Menzel’s “Capricious Summer,” Hungarian Péter Bacsó’s “Stalin’s Bride,” Polish filmmaker Jan Lomnicki’s “Just Beyond This Forest,” and the Polish docudrama “Enigma Secret.” Then there’s Jill Godmilow’s international co-production “Waiting for the Moon,” “El Compadre Mendoza” from Mexico’s Fernando de Fuentes, and Iran’s “Twilight” by Ezzatollah Entezami.
(773) 281-9075, www.facetsvideo.com
— Ky N. Nguyen
