hubiestubert Reviews

Sueño (2005)

Understated and elegant

[8/10 · 2 February 2007]

This is a film that is understated and while it's billed as a comedy, it ain't. It's about music, it's about people, and how music brings folks together.

For fans of John Leguizamo's past films, this is going to be a surprise. It's not laugh out loud funny. It's a tale about a musician who comes from Mexico to LA, and the star in this film isn't John, it's not Elizabeth Pena, or any of the other very capable actors who lent their time to the film, but the music. And their passion for the music.

And the nice thing is the stars in the film take a back seat to the music, they deliver a vehicle to let the sounds of the LA Latin music scene come forward.

It's not a film for everyone. Some folks demand a plot that is a bit more driven, but this film slopes toward its conclusion, not with any haste, and gently. The characters are a framework to deliver the sounds of the scene, and that sort of structure is anathema to some film goers, but very familiar to folks who loved the classics, and this is a film that loves the classics as well as the new voices. It's a great homage to the great old vehicles that let bands and artists get notice, that championed their music.

If you're looking for The Pest or something akin to Leguizamo's fantastic monologues, you might want to pass on it. This ain't them. But if you're looking for a film that is full of music, for just a sweet story, this might be the ticket.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

One of Eastwood's best...

[8/10 · 27 September 2006]

I am a sucker for films that capture the flavor of the South.

Not the pictures that give you that down home-spun country feel, but those shades of dark and light, the pastiche of cultures that roiled around, the flavor of corruption and the personal honor that most Southerners hold dear.

That being said, this film just plain shone with capturing the feel of the city of Savannah. The oddities that pervade the city, and the people.

While not a commercially huge film, this is one of my favorite films about the South. Spacey's performance is spot on, and beautiful to watch. Lady Chablis lends an air of authenticity for the quirky city.

The tale unfolds well--Eastwood becomes very much a teller of tales with how he lets the story roll out. It's natural, it flows well. Different than a number of his previous films, and far different than his later films, it's probably my favorite of his films--not because Eastwood isn't in it, but because he is focused on telling a good yarn.

The film illustrates why I love the South. It's a tale that focuses on the dual nature of the South. The innocence, the corruption, the gentility and crassness, the pleasantness of conversation, and the daggers that those conversations contain. A lot of films about the South like to hide the ugly side of the land. Try to ignore it. And being a Southerner, I can understand that drive, because when you want to show off the land you love, you want to put forth its best face--but this film is about revealing the face of Savannah, and it is a city of many colors and flavors, and that richness of history is what makes her a grand city. To fully appreciate her, you have to understand her fully, and in that sense, Lady Chablis makes a grand metaphor for how complicated a lady like Savannah can be.

It's not a typical murder mystery. It's not really a comedy. But this is one of best films that Eastwood directed.

For those who loved the book, it may be disappointing, in that its focus is narrow--and it has to be, considering the breadth that the book covers, but it preserves the feel of the wonder of the city, and her people, and in that, I think that it does the book a service. If you've only seen the film, by all means, go and read John Berendt's wonderful book, and you'll not be disappointed. If you've held off from watching the film because you don't think it will hold a candle the gentle and majestic sweep of language that Berendt treated the city with, I don't think you'll be disappointed.