'Prisoner Of
The Mountains'
'Sling Blade'
Not Yet Rated
p
risoner of the Mountains is
The vessels for this message
set somewhere along the — the actors — are the highlight
modem-day border of Rus- ofPrisoner of the Mountains. Bo-
sia at the Caucasus Moun- drov, known for screen-testing
tains, where two Russian soldiers thousands of candidates for a sin-
are captured by local rebels. Tak- gle role, instinctively chose one
en back to the rebels' village as of Russia's most popular actors,
prisoners of war, the soldiers soon Oleg Menshikov (Burnt by the
become valuable property — bar- Sun), for the part of the ruthless
tering material — to a father soldier, Sacha, and in the role of
whose own son is being held in a Vania (a somewhat naive drifter
Russian jail.
confused by duties of war), is the
Sergei Bodrov, director ofPris- director's own son, Sergei Bodrov
oner of the Mountains, based the Jr., in his first, stunning screen
screenplay for his film on
role.
"Prisoner of the Cauca-
Hoping for authentic-
MOVIES
sus," a short story by Leo
ity and pleasant surpris-
Tolstoy. Set against Rus-
es, many of the smaller
sia's conflict with what is now roles in the film were filled by vil-
Chechnya, the story was written lagers from the shooting location.
over a century and a half ago. None of these is more surprising
The passing of 150 years and the or effective than the performance
freeing of Russia from dictator- of Susanna Mekhralieva, a young
ship hasn't eased its ancient trou- girl chosen from a local school to
bles with its neighbors, but it has play_the pivotal role of Dina, the
inspired Bodrov to drop Tolstoy's emotional link between captor
pro-Russian bias and instead and captives.
concentrate on the humans
Prisoner of the Mountains is a
caught in the circumstances of a thoughtful and effective film that
ceaseless war.
searches beyond the cold imper-
Before becoming a director, sonalized nature of war, and
Sergei Bodrov was a successful finds the strength and value of
screenwriter in Russia with individuals.
dozens of films to his credit, many
of them comedies. Seemingly
Ueb 40'
more drawn to the lives of the
— Jeffrey Hermann
characters than the emotional
distance of politics, Bodrov in-
Prisoner of the MOlattaira will
fuses that comedic spirit through-
be
shown 7 and 9:30 p.m. Fri-
out this dramatic story and
day; 4, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Satur-
effectively accentuates his hu-
day; 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb.
manistic, but ambiguous, mes-
21-23. $5.50; $4.50/seniors/stu-
sage.
dents. The DIA's Detroit Filna
Theatre, 5200,,Woodward, De-
troit. (313) 833-2323.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
00
opening monologue, Childers explains
how he killed his mother and the town
bully after witnessing them commit
adultery.
Following a 25-year commitment
to the "nervous hospital," Childers has
reluctantly earned release back into
the society that could never properly
accommodate him.
This time around, things have to
be different. Initially, all goes well as
Karl finds work as a repairman in his
small hometown and is befriended by
a young boy, Frank Wheatley, and his
single mother, Linda. Indifferent to
his background, the family welcomes
Karl into its home. Without much
ad the script for Sling Blade fallen
time for settling, Karl soon finds that
into the hands of mainstream Holly- the Wheatley home is far from happy.
wood, it would have been eviscerat-
No, whatever peace exists in the house-
ed, lobotomized and spruced up with hold is regularly shattered by Linda's
a radio-friendly soundtrack. No one would boyfriend, Doyle (Dwight Yoakum), a
have recognized the end product from its snarling, cowardly racist with a violent tem-
deep, disturbing beginnings.
per and a fondness for booze. Like most bul-
Fortunately, the script stayed right where lies, Doyle has little tolerance for the weak,
it belonged, in the hands of Billy Bob
the handicapped or anyone who is dif-
Thornton, who not only wrote the
ferent. That pretty much encom-
screenplay but also directed himself
MOVIES
passes Linda's sphere of friends, also
in the leading role.
including a gay storekeeper named
For a time, Thornton was a regular on Vaughn (John Ritter). Unavoidably, Karl
television's "Hearts Afire" and "Evening observes Doyle destroy the fabric of the
Shade," and also appeared in such films as Wheatley existence until he can't stand to
Indecent Proposal and Tombstone.
watch any more.
While he's co-written several movie
Thornton directs his story at a soft, de-
scripts, Sling Blade marks Thornton's fea- liberate pace, increasing the drama slowly
ture-length directorial debut, and some in but surely, like a pot of water coming to an
the film industry have dubbed him "the red- inevitable boil. He has created such rich,
neck Orson Welles." Not bad for a rookie.
multidimensional characters that the cast
Like Welles, Thornton's first endeavor is can't help but thrive, particularly Yoakum,
a showcase for filmmaking of a most mature who practically steals the show from Thorn-
nature. The story focuses on Karl Childers ton.
(Thornton), a mildly retarded man who
Sling Blade is a treat for anyone who likes
was raised by abusive parents in a per- to fish outside the mainstream.
versely religious household. In a chilling
H
COURTESY OF ORI ON CLASSICS
Jeffrey Hermann is former co-
editor of Film Threat.
Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed and
starred in Sling Blade, and has been
nominated for two Academy Awards:
Best Actor and Best Screenplay.
Rick Halprin is an attorney with a love of
the movies.
— Rick Halprin
Bagel Barometer
IGQ•,-)
1
0(k)
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',Os°
Sergei Bodrov Jr., son of the film's director, and Oleg Menshikov in Prisoner of the Mountains,
nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
No Bagels
44ffilifiewilitaapitarisw".
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