By Ed Koch
L’Enfant (+)
Unlike the average, big-budget Hollywood films that I have seen recently, this simple story, probably made on a shoestring, far outclasses those made with fortunes. If you miss this sensational movie, which is playing at the Quad Cinema in Manhattan, you will be sorry.
The story opens with Sonia (Deborah Francois) exiting the hospital with her newborn son, Jimmy, looking for her boyfriend, Bruno (Jeremie Renier). The couple, in their early 20’s, appears to be very sweet and in love with life. We soon learn that Bruno earns his living as a criminal, however, and like a modern Fagin, he uses an adolescent, Steve (Jeremie Segard), to assist him. In the beginning, Steve assists Bruno with small capers, but by the end of the film, he is involved in an extended criminal incident.
Sonia searches for a way to take care of her son, and Bruno lives from day to day, thinking of his last crime and how to plan the next one. The ups and downs of Bruno’s criminal career and his rocky relationship with Sonia and son are what this film is all about. Your heart will break as you watch the degrading cruelty and horror occurring before your eyes as well as a moment of redemption. The script is intelligent and the acting superb. The film, set in a Belgian city, is a product of the Belgian movie industry. Don’t miss it. (In French, with English subtitles.)
“Inside Man” (+)
This hyped Spike Lee film is passable, but it had far better possibilities than those he created, and the talented cast is in part wasted.
We learn that New York City Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington) has problems regarding an earlier case and missing contraband money. He is suddenly thrust into a new investigation involving an apparent robbery of a major bank on Exchange Place near Wall Street. His specialty is negotiating for the release of hostages.
Madeline White (Jodie Foster) is a mysterious figure hired by the head of the bank, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), to deal with the robbers led by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and to secure evidence of an earlier crime. Case stole Jewish property during World War II, the evidence of which lies in the vaults of the bank under siege. (A scene takes place at the Four Seasons Restaurant, during which one of its proprietors, Julian Niccolini, has a cameo role that he performs very well. The current best dishes at that restaurant — but not for much longer — are Shad and Shad Roe.)
This is not a run-of-the-mill bank holdup. In my opinion, all of the unbelievable tangents aspects injure the script and reduce the suspense. In this film, Lee not only engages in racist rhetoric directed at whites, but he uses his prejudices to defame blacks and Jews as well.
In her New York Times review, Manohla Dargis wrote,
“This is the least overtly personal of Mr. Lee’s films, but it’s also his most polished and satisfying work in years, with none of the raggedness that sometimes mars even his best intentions. Taking his cue from the surprising, witty screenplay by the newcomer Russell Gewirtz, the filmmaker frames the heist and subsequent standoff as a really big show — namedropping ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ along the way — then cuts his actors loose and lets them play.”
“Dog Day Afternoon,” an earlier, brilliant movie, was far superior to this flick, and they shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath. I gave “Inside Man” a plus, because I’m tired of giving out so many minuses. To be fair, a number of my friends enjoyed it, in part, one said, because of its absurdity. It is not one of Lee’s best films, but it is acceptable.
