Bruno Bettati

Jesse Eisenberg, star of Adventureland and The Squid and the Whale, stars in Kevin Asch's film Holy Rollers, which opened in select theaters this weekend.

Holy Rollers is inspired by actual events in the late nineties when Hasidic Jews were recruited as mules to smuggle ecstasy from Europe into the United States. Sam Gold (Eisenberg), a young Hasid from an Orthodox Brooklyn community reluctantly follows the path his family has chosen for him, awaiting a pending arranged marriage and studying to become a Rabbi. A charming neighbor, Yosef Zimmerman (Justin Bartha), senses Sam’s resistance and propositions him to transport ‘medicine’ for Jackie (Danny A. Abeckaser), an Israeli dealer, and his girlfriend, Rachel (Ari Graynor).Sam quickly demonstrates his business skill to his bosses, who instantly take Sam under their wing. Now exposed to the exciting and gritty worlds of Manhattan and Amsterdam nightlife, Sam begins to spiral deeper into their detrimental lifestyle, experimenting with ecstasy and then falling for Rachel. As the business grows, Sam’s double life begins to rip his family apart and the community becomes suspicious of his illegal activities. Sam slowly comes to realize the façade behind the easy money and parties. Caught between life as a smuggler and the path back to God, Sam goes on the run, forced to make a fatal decision that could bring the entire operation crashing down.

I talked with Eisenberg about the illusion of "based on a true story," acting with his sister onscreen, his busy month ahead (Don't miss The Living Wake!), and the Zombieland sequel that's in the works.

To listen to the podcast, click here. (17:40)

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(Karim on Jun 23, 2010 10:16 AM) I think this movie is going to turn out really well. I am a big fan of Jessie Eisenberg, I think he is on the rise. I am intrigued by the entire idea of High Rollers, I did not know that there was even a story like that. You learned something new everyday.

If the fact that DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus recently directed a live webcast of a performance by The National at Brooklyn's BAM Theater is notable to you, you're probably interested in at least one (and possibly all three) of the following things: The National, the general idea of the concert movie and/or the work of Pennebaker and Hegedus.

The National are the Brooklyn-based band who've spent the past decade building up a fanatically loyal fanbase and critical army for their anthemically mopey music; Pennebaker is the man who's built an entire career upon the admitted coup of being able to follow Bob Dylan around during 1965 and giving the world Don't Look Back. And the concert movie is the hardest to evaluate with any kind of critical distance.

Continued reading DA Pennebaker and The National...

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(Rob Leickner on May 21, 2010 9:05 AM) What about Heima the film about Sigur Ros? This truly transcends the tropes of the concert movie and makes it a stand alone experience. Just ask the 75 year old guy beside me who stumbled into this film not knowing a thing about the band. Afterwards he turned to me and said "that was incredible". I was only mildy interested in the band before I saw that movie. Now I can say I'm a fan. Of course we saw it on the big screen in dolby surround played very loud. I'm sure it wouldn't be as good on an iphone.

If the fact that D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus recently directed a live webcast of a performance by The National at Brooklyn's BAM Theater is notable to you, you're probably interested in at least one (and possibly all three) of the following things: The National, the general idea of the concert movie and/or the work of Pennebaker and Hegedus.

The National are the Brooklyn-based band who've spent the past decade building up a fanatically loyal fanbase and critical army for their anthemically mopey music; Pennebaker is the man who's built an entire career upon the admitted coup of being able to follow Bob Dylan around during 1965 and giving the world Don't Look Back. And the concert movie is the hardest to evaluate with any kind of critical distance.

Continued reading D.A. Pennebaker and The National...

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In a career that has taken him from the heights of French cinema to the honors of the Academy Awards, director Patrice Leconte has always followed his own remarkable muse. For his most personal film yet, Dogora (now out on DVD), Leconte now travels to Cambodia to create a sound and image symphony of a land and its people. From the city streets to rural villages, from factories to farmlands and beyond, discover the men, women and children of this ever-surprising Southeast Asia nation at work, play and peace, all moving at the speed of life.--Aaron Hillis

When was your first trip to Cambodia, what did you discover, and why were you inspired to film your discoveries?

Patrice Leconte: The true source of Dogora was French composer Étienne Perruchon's music. I knew his suite for orchestra and choirs. He had sent it to me to introduce me to his work. When he saw how enthusiastic I was, he just gave it to me: 'Take it,' he said. 'I hope one day this Dogora will be an inspiration for a film.' And I kept that in mind. A few months later, I went to Cambodia to visit my brother, who was working there then. No other country ever moved me as much as Cambodia. All of a sudden, Perruchon's music resurfaced, and I decided to make a film through which I would express those emotions, with just images and sound. I had the guts to make Dogora thanks to Godfrey Reggio's films (Powaqqatsi and Koyaanisqatsi), built upon Philip Glass's splendid scores, and which I had liked so much.

Continued reading INTERVIEW: Patrice Leconte...

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By Steve Dollar

There’s every reason to revisit Walkabout and expect it to look like a period piece. Newly reissued by Criterion, in their usual gorgeous restored high-def makeover edition, Nicolas Roeg’s first full-fledged outing as a director (after collaborating on Performance with Donald Cammell), was shot in 1968, and finally released theatrically three years later. At once packed with blunt symbolism and left open to wide interpretation by the narrative’s purposeful ambiguities, the movie’s dynamic evoked a sense of pop mysticism and social critique that was pure Sixties.

Though Roeg’s usage of consciousness-fragmenting flash forwards would be more prevalent in later films, such as Don’t Look Now and Bad Timing, Walkabout provides plenty of sensory rush in its shock-cut juxtapositions between the raw and the cooked, between visceral necessities in the Australian Outback and the processed realities of the city, between animal logic and air-conditioned nightmare.

Continued reading DVD of the Week: Walkabout...

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By David Lowery

Two weeks ago, Walter Murch gave the annual State Of Cinema address at the San Francisco International Film Festival, which on paper seemed entirely appropriate. Who better than the preeminent “poet-philosopher of the cinema” (the festival's description of him) to, at least momentarily, rouse us out of the stupor of an art form that's currently all too focused on business?

And personally, it gave me opportunity to reflect on the admiration I, as a filmmaker, hold for Murch, who is best known as the editor of Apocalypse Now, and who has quietly and without ego exerted no small amount of influence upon an entire generation of cinema. He's worked as an editor, most frequently for Coppola and Anthony Minghella, and he's directed one film of his own (the fairly terrifying Return To Oz), but it's his early work as a sound designer on films like The Conversation and THX 1138 that revolutionized not just how films sound today but how those sounds function in concert with the picture. His subtle innovations altered the way in which we, as an audience, perceive motion pictures.

Continued reading Murch to a Different Drummer...

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From child actor to cinematographer to first-time feature filmmaker, Michael Paul Stephenson reflects back on a now notoriously awful (read: jaw-droppingly enjoyable) movie he starred in as a kid in his entertaining and offfbeat new doc, Best Worst Movie, which opens in NYC this weekend:

In 1989, when an Italian filmmaker and unwitting Utah actors shot the ultra-low budget horror film, Troll 2, they had no idea that twenty years later they would be celebrated worldwide for their legendary ineptitude. Two decades later, the film’s now-grown-up child star (Michael Paul Stephenson) unravels the improbable, heartfelt story of the Alabama dentist-turned-cult movie icon and the Italian filmmaker who come to terms with this genuine, internationally revered cinematic failure. Is Troll 2 really the worst movie ever made, as claimed by IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes? Or is it, as some claim, a misunderstood masterpiece that never fails to entertain… a work of genius? Best Worst Movie explores the phenomenon through the personal story of the cast of characters that took part in its creation and why it is celebrated by fans worldwide.

By phone, I spoke with Stephenson about his personal take on the 20-year incubation of Troll 2's fandom, the power of the collective audience, the cult of anti-celebrity, and parlaying a terrible stain on one's résumé into something positive.

To listen to the podcast, click here. (27:18)

Podcast Music
INTRO: The Shining Path: "Nilbog"
OUTRO: Prewar Yardsale: "Would Ed Wood"

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by Craig Phillips

Film producer and screenwriter James Schamus was in San Francisco to accept the Kanbar Award, a fairly recent prize SFIFF gives to writers who have had distinguished careers. (Other recent honorees include Paul Haggis, Robert Towne and Peter Morgan.) I attended the Q&A with Schamus that was then followed by a screening of the new director's cut of Ride With the Devil (now available on DVD from Criterion), which Schamus scripted for director Ang Lee. Like any good screenwriter, he answered with wit and steered himself back on point whenever he got off on a tangent, except when he knew said tangents were the real prize.

Continued reading Ride With the Schamus...

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[editor's note: Please seek out this film, which was my favorite doc feature at this year's SXSW.]

After nearly dying from a vicious attack that left him brain damaged, Mark Hogancamp had to learn to walk, talk and write again—only finding solace in the building of a small-scale WWII European village in his backyard. Named for this fictional, war-torn town, Marwencol is filmmaker Jeff Malmberg's four-year chronicle of Hogancamp's life and project, a film as much about the restoration of a human psyche as it is the story of an intricate art form rising out of tragedy.

It's both extraordinary and heartbreaking to see how fully Hogancamp lives in his constructed world. By piecing together WWII history for his town, he attempts to piece together the mystery of his former life before the attack. Malmberg has clearly built a trusting relationship with his subject, allowing him to reveal multiple sides of Hogancamp—fascinating shades of who he was and is now.

Continued reading SFIFF '10: Marwencol...

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(Miles on May 1, 2010 7:17 PM) Just caught this at IFFBoston, loved it too. A producer who spoke after the film screened mentioned that he hopes folks who review it before it's widely available will refrain from mentioning that other facet of Hogancamp's life, though I doubt that last sentence would give it away to most folks.

(Kathy Fennessy on May 2, 2010 6:29 PM) Good review, Craig. Happy to see that the film will be screening at this year's SIFF (5/20-6/13), where it's competing for best doc. Incidentally, I caught a short version via HBO's second season of "This American Life."

(Craig Phillips on May 2, 2010 7:23 PM) Thanks, folks. And fair point, Miles. I actually tweaked that last line so anyone who hadn't read this review and likes surprises can still be utterly surprised. Obviously, there's much more to the film than that reveal, but glad to keep it mum. Cheers. CP