August, Bille

Les Miserables

Frenchman Jean Valjean (Liam Neeson), imprisoned for stealing bread, is paroled after nearly two decades of hard labor. A gift of silver candlesticks from a kindly priest helps him begin anew. Forging a decent and profitable existence, he finds success as a businessman and as the mayor of a small town. He even takes in a pregnant young woman (Uma Thurman) and raises her daughter as his own. When a former prison guard (Geoffrey Rush) recognizes Valjean, his past catches up to him. Director Bille August culls mesmerizing performances from his cast, but loses us with an ending that panders to teen audiences. The focus shifts dramatically, and uncomfortably, from the haunted Neeson and his hawk-like pursuer, to his daughter (Claire Danes) and her romance with a handsome revolutionary. After this narrative shift, the script leaves behind the Victor Hugo classic's themes of revenge and redemption to focus improbably on teen angst--hardly what Hugo had on his mind. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Smilla's Sense of Snow

Based on a much-praised 1992 bestseller by Peter Hoeg, Smilla's Sense of Snow is a film of moody power and boundless mystery in its first half, but it becomes an overblown, conspiracy-laden schlock thriller in its second. Julia Ormond stars as the half-Inuit, Greenland native of Hoeg's book, a loner who is supported by an emotionally ambivalent father (Robert Loggia) in Copenhagen. Apparently perceived as a troublemaker who sees secret plots everywhere, Smilla finds herself largely alone in an effort to discover what really happened to a six-year-old Inuit boy who fell (or jumped) off the roof of her apartment building. Somewhat aided by an ambiguous neighbor (Gabriel Byrne), Smilla investigates a connection between the child's death and the misdeeds of a mining company, a story hook that conveniently ratchets up the action but quickly dissipates the more compelling, introspective intrigue of the film's beginning. Ormond is fascinating, somehow more beautiful than usual through her emphasis of her character's destabilizing conflicts (isolation and a possibly unhinged intelligence). But she isn't done any favors by an unreliable script or by the usually superb Danish director Bille August's chronic problems working in English-language films (including his disastrous The House of the Spirits). The DVD edition of this film includes an original theatrical trailer and a short feature on the making of the production. --Tom Keogh

Based on the best-selling novel this gripping, suspenseful thriller about a headstrong woman who uses her uncanny knowledge of ice and snow to unravel a taut web of lies and intrigue. When her six-year old neighbor falls from a snow covered roof, Smilla suspects the boys death was no accident. Together with a mysterious lover, who holds secrets of his own, she defies local authorities and begins a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in an effort to uncover the truth.

The Color of Freedom

Joseph Fiennes (Running with Scissors, Shakespeare in Love) and Dennis Haysbert (TV's 24) star in the incredible true story of the deep bond that develops between political prisoner Nelson Mandela and James Gregory, the racist white South African who was Mandela's prison guard for more than 20 years. Based on Gregory's controversial memoir, Goodbye Bafana, The Color Of Freedom powerfully chronicles the life-changing journey both men experience during Mandela's imprisonment - as one man confronts the racism he has always known, the other's struggle for freedom makes him a worldwide symbol of South Africa's heroic fight for democracy.

Inspired by James Gregory's memoir, Goodbye Bafana, The Color of Freedom offers an inside look at the 27-year incarceration of future South African President Nelson Mandela (24's Dennis Haysbert). Apartheid-friendly guard Gregory (Shakespeare in Love's Joseph Fiennes), social-climbing spouse Gloria (National Treasure's Diane Kruger), and their two children move to Robben Island, home of the infamous political prison, in 1968. Because he speaks Xhosa, Gregory's superior charges the warder with censoring correspondence and supervising visits between the African National Congress (ANC) leader and his wife, Winnie (Faith Ndukwana). As it transpires, the guard had a black childhood friend named Bafana, and his relationship with Mandela rekindles Gregory's long-lost belief in racial equality. Directed by Denmark's Bille August (The Best Intentions), The Color of Freedom captures the natural beauty of South Africa and the unnatural fashions of yesteryear (including Kruger's '60s-era foundation garments). The actors also give it their all, particularly Fiennes, who nails the Afrikaner dialect, but predictability and underdeveloped personalities dilute the drama (it's also worth noting that Mandela hasn't corroborated the facts in Gregory's book, contributing to its controversial reputation). The six-foot-four Haysbert's dissimilarity to the Nobel Peace Prize winner also proves distracting. Like Blood Diamond and other recent motion pictures concerning African history, August's effort means well, but fails to register as more than a made-for-TV movie with superior production values. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits is a generational tale of life among the ruling class in a South American country, as adapted from the Isabel Allende novel, but the political realities coexist very uneasily with the magical realism in this Bille August film. The star power alone (Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Vanessa Redgrave, and Armin Mueller-Stahl) should have cranked it up a few notches, but that's not the case. Irons is appropriately cruel as the ambitious man who achieves wealth and makes everyone around him miserable and Streep is luminous, but it's slow and ponderous all the way. --Marshall Fine

A Song for Martin

In midlife, two soul mates finally meet and their passion is fueled by their love of music. Martin is a famous composer-conductor and Barbara a gifted violinist. Abandoning their lackluster lives, together they plunge into a new and exciting world, filled with creative energy. When their blissful existence is suddenly threatened, Barbara is courageously determined to prove that love conquers all. With time and with Martin's help, Barbara comes to understand the true meaning of deeply life-affirming love in this poignant and inspiring story.

Convicted

Charlotte Cory (Connie Nielsen) is a convicted murderer spending her final days on Death Row. Her hopes and dreams are as lifeless as the grey walls that imprison her, until the letters of a stranger, Frank Nitzche (Aiden Quinn), awakens passion in her she thought had died long ago. While her attorney (Kelly Preston) desperately tries to appeal the verdict, Frank realizes he has fallen in love with Charlotte, and discovers that there are untold secrets behind the tragic circumstances of her imprisonment. Her life is in his hands as Frank races to find the truth that can save Charlotte before it's too late.

Pelle the Conqueror

Twist and Shout / Zappa

In the timeless genre of coming-of-age dramas, Twist and Shout and Zappa are enduring classics with universal appeal. Danish writer-director Bille August had made only one film before Zappa in 1983, but demonstrated a master's skill with his plain, unobtrusive camera style and impeccable guidance of a well-chosen cast. Zappa takes place in or about 1959 and introduces us to Bjorn, a typical 13-year-old with raging hormones and a healthy suspicion of Sten, his friend, leader of their clubhouse "gang," and a bullying rebel whose bad influence will lead, ultimately, to Bjorn's violent act of defiance. Taking its title from the name of Sten's voracious pet fish, Zappa addresses the fact that 13-year-olds are themselves little monsters, one way or another, assuming their place in the social food chain while testing the waters of their own tenuous independence.

Filmed less than a year later but reflecting rapid growth among its recurring cast and characters, Twist and Shout unfolds at the height of European Beatlemania in the early '60s, and this time Bjorn is 17 and verging on uneasy adulthood, falling in love, losing his virginity, and showing unexpected compassion for a troubled friend with a sickly mother and domineering father. In both films, August presents a teenage world that anyone could recognize, full of humor, awkwardness, and exploration of moral boundaries as the harshness of adulthood interrupts the fading innocence of youth. The performances are so natural that they don't seem like performances at all; August's directorial touch is so light and graceful that he seems directly tapped into his own teenage memories. Watching both of these films together is a rare treat, entertaining, substantial, and honest to the joy and pain of teenagers around the world. --Jeff Shannon

Bille August's Twist and Shout is a gripping, sexy coming-of-age story in which four teenagers find love and heartbreak during the height of Beatlemania in 1960s Sweden. As their sexual passions explode, the teenagers find themselves caught up in a tangle of conflicting emotions, and learn first-hand the hypocrisy of the "adult" world. Both exuberantly joyful and heart-wrenching, Twist and Shout is August's smart, stylish, and deeply moving follow-up to Zappa

Pelle the Conqueror

The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits is a generational tale of life among the ruling class in a South American country, as adapted from the Isabel Allende novel, but the political realities coexist very uneasily with the magical realism in this Bille August film. The star power alone (Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Vanessa Redgrave, and Armin Mueller-Stahl) should have cranked it up a few notches, but that's not the case. Irons is appropriately cruel as the ambitious man who achieves wealth and makes everyone around him miserable and Streep is luminous, but it's slow and ponderous all the way. --Marshall Fine