Political ëPalindromesí Director Solondz Explores Complexity of Abortion Through Teen by Ky N. Nguyen Embracing a refined geek aesthetic, provocative American director Todd Solondz (ìWelcome to the Dollhouse,î ìHappiness,î ìStorytellingî) hits town for the Filmfest DC premiere of his new film ìPalindromes,î now playing at Landmarkís E Street Cinema. ìCertainly this one has much more of a political dimension, certainly a morally complicated one,î Solondz said of his film, a rumination on abortion that follows a 13-year-old girl, desperate to get pregnant, who runs away from the safety of home and becomes lost in a less sensible world. ìWe live in a peculiar country. People bomb clinics and assassinate abortionists. To be an abortionist is to be like a policeman or firemanóto take on a heroic profession,î Solondz observed. ìWhen they captured one of these murderers, it struck me immediately: ëHow could someone do such a terrible thing?í But to that person, theyíre saving a million unborn babies. Everyone thinks he is fighting the good fight. ìIím not out to dispute that but to explore some of the realities and truths about ourselves. I am out to provoke an d prod an audience to re-evaluate and to reassess some of the prejudices and biases that we all have, that we cannot be fully conscious of as we go to the movies or engage in life,î the director explained. ìTake, for example, ëFahrenheit 911íócertainly a movie designed to change the course of an election or of history. And you have to question: ëDid it in fact change anyoneís mind?í Liberals who went were confirmed in their convictionís righteousness and so forth. And those of a conservative stripe, theyíd see [Bush] reading ëMy Pet Goatí and theyíd say, ëOh, he's deliberate. Heís not being too rash, too impetuous.í ìSo while one may find this amusing, if you did an illustration of the dramatic ways in which we are so shaped and defined by these biasesóthese prejudicesóthat we grow up with and that we surround ourselves by, we are very insulated and live in parallel universes: the red and the blue. This divide is only exacerbated by the media and by the politicians in power.î Solondz added: ìI think film can effect change, but I think it has to happen more obliquely, more slyly in ways that the audience isnít even quite aware.î ëMondovinoí: Workings of Wine ìWine is such a weird thing. It can be so unbearable and pretentiousóa world that makes me want to drink beer for the rest of my life. It can also be so beautiful and human and magical,î said filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter (ìSunday,î 1997 Sundance Grand Jury Prize). Nossiter combines his passions with the documentary ìMondovino,î scheduled to open May 14 at Landmarkís E Street Cinema. He profiles the worldís winemakers and reveals how they operate, often in unexpected ways. ìI felt like I was living inside of a vast international soap opera: ëRich Man, Poor Maní among the vines.î He inherited his investigative instincts from his father, a correspondent for the Washington Post and the New York Times. Born in D.C., Nossiter grew up in France, India and Greece. Degreed as a sommelier, he worked in Paris and New York restaurants. ìSuddenly, in blind tastings, it was really hard for my fellow sommeliers to tell the difference between a Californian cab, a Chilean cab and a Bordeauxóeven when one would cost 5 [dollars], the other 20, and one 100.î Nossiter discovered Michel Rolland, the worldís leading wine consultant, in Bordeaux, France. ìRolland is like the [Steven] Spielberg of the wine world. He instinctively understands the trends and aspirations of his time and knows how to capture them in a product that anticipates what consumers will accept. ìWhile I was deep in the heart of Argentina finishing up the film, I never imagined Iíd hear someone say, ëMichel Rolland completely transformed Argentinean wine and now, thanks to him, itís completely different from what itís been since the Jesuits first introduced wine here in the 17th century,íî the director recalled. ìIn the í80s, with the arrival of the Reagan era, wine immediately began to change. Overnight this previously raw and unpredictable liquid became polished and media-savvyóeasy drinking wines in fancy packages. ìThe terrible irony is that at exactly the same time Americans were getting turned onto wine was exactly the moment when the wine world was shifting toward this homogenization and consolidation. As we get turned onto this beautiful thing, itís like the beautiful thing is getting taken away from us.î Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.