The Milwaukee Post

September 6, 2013 • Milwaukee Post • 17 'Blue Jasmine' merits bouquet of red roses By TOM JOZWIK Special to The Post MILWAUKEE – Anne Bancroft in "The Miracle Worker." Maggie Smith in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music." Career-defining performances, all. And Woody Allen, as director of "Blue Jasmine," has elicited exactly that kind of performance from Cate Blanchett, star of the recently released film. Indeed, Blanchett's Jasmine merits the biggest bouquet of roses imaginable. It's a most demanding role, and not just because the five-time Oscar nominee (and one-time winner, for her supporting role in 2004's "The Aviator"), playing a transplanted New Yorker in the Allen film, negotiates it without a trace of the accent of her native Australia. Blanchett's character's name is an assumed one; her given handle, Jeanette, lost its appeal for the film's protagonist somewhere along the way Also adopted – . from different birth families – are Jasmine and her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins). The movie's adoption motif underscores the unreality that is Jasmine's life: her haughty and judgmental ways while ironically depending on the barely-has-a-pot Ginger's charity, the pill popping and boozing that cause Jasmine to view the world through one bottle or another, the sequence of lies she tells her prospective second husband in her effort to return to the regal lifestyle she once knew with the Submitted photo Cate Blanchett heads a group of Hollywood stars in Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine." first. Blanchett handles the haughtiness brilliantly and likewise the brokenness that has forced her to associate with what she feels are inferior individuals in shabby settings. Per Ginger's assessment, Jasmine is "not just broke (financially, but) all screwed up." Jasmine refuses to act in accordance with her newfound poverty or to acknowledge the severity of her mental and physical frailties, however. She seems to hold that all her problems stem from philandering spouse Hal (Alec Baldwin), who wound up in prison after apparently basing his business practices on the Ponzi playbook. Hal was "up to his (expletive) in phony real estate," recalls one character, while another labels him "a cheap crook." When rich King Hal was toppled from his throne, his queen had to vacate hers as well. But Jasmine acts as though she's still sitting aloft. The cast, including wide-eyed youngsters Daniel Jenks and Max Rutherford in bit parts as Jasmine's nephews, is universally good. Joining Baldwin and Hawkins as "Blue Jasmine's" pivotal role players are Bobby Cannavale, who looks like a young Chazz Palminteri (another star in the ever widening Allen firmament), and Peter Sarsgaard. Portraying the adoptive sisters' significant others, Cannavale and Sarsgaard certainly fill the bill, but equally watchable, in smaller turns, are Max Casella as Cannavale's pal, Andrew Dice Clay as Hawkins' former husband and Michael Stuhlbarg as a nerdy but lecherous dentist. Ingeniously, Allen has light music accompany some of the more serious sequences, such as one in which Cannavale as the love-deprived Chili goes ballistic inside Ginger's apartment. The filmmaker is always careful not to plunge the viewer into distasteful darkness, never mind that his characters may be, simultaneously, taking the plunge. The script, just the sort of document fans have come to expect from the gifted, iconoclastic Allen, reflects realistic (sometimes realistically zany) speech. Dr. Flicker's dental office, where Jasmine briefly holds a "menial" receptionist's job, is the venue for some of 'Blue Jasmine' ★★★★ Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Peter Saarsgard, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andrew Dice Clay, Max Casella, Daniel Jenks, Max Rutherford Director: Woody Allen Running time: 98 minutes Rating: PG-13 Showings: www.marcustheatres.com the funnier quips. "You can tell an awful lot about people when you look in their mouths," the doc insists, while a grandmotherly patient rejects an appointment date Jasmine proposes because "That's my colonoscopy prep day That's always very . special." The irony of "Blue Jasmine," if not exactly the message, is that its less-gifted characters – those who lack the sophistication and wealth and attendant creature comforts Jasmine considers so vitally important – are actually happier and healthier than the protagonist, far more skilled at playing the game of life. Nothing seems extraneous in this movie – none of the dialogue, none of the actions. The main regret and only criticism you'll hear from this quarter is that "Blue Jasmine" ends as quickly as it does, after less than 100 minutes. Too bad most contemporary films can't hold a candle to its quality . Milwaukee Film Festival offers much for many By TOM JOZWIK Special to The Post MILWAUKEE – The upcoming Milwaukee Film Festival may not literally have movies for everybody, but it will offer flicks for fans of German culture, cult and genre aficionados, enthusiasts of music documentaries and preteens. Additionally, the fifth annual running of the cinematic event will showcase the efforts of local moviemakers, as well as dozens of short films from around the globe. A mixture of new and traditional movies will be screened at the MFF, to be held from Sept. 26 through Oct. 10. Last year's 15-day festival drew more than 50,000 people, and 77 of its screenings were sold out, according to information provided by Milwaukee Film, the nonprofit organization that hosts the MFF. The event's Passport: Germany segment will consist of eight movies with German settings and Germany-connected themes. Among them are "Hannah Arendt," a biopic focusing on a philosopher who covered the notorious Adolf Eichmann's trial in 1961; "Oh Boy," described by MFF personnel as a "day-in- the-life slacker comedy" somewhat reminiscent of Woody Allen's work; and Wim Wenders' 1987 fantasy "Wings of Desire." MFF's late-night Cinema Hooligante roster, according to a press release, "features all the raunchy, gory, scary, fun, bizarre and possibly offensive midnight, cult and genre films you could possibly cram into one film festival program." Six Cinema Hooligante movies will be screened, including the 1973 Bruce Lee flick "Enter the Dragon" and Stanley Kubrick's celebrated "2001: a Space Odyssey" from 1968. The Rated K: For Kids program, previously called the Milwaukee Children's Film Festival, is geared for youngsters ages 3 through 12. The program will include four feature films – highlighted by a silver anniversary showing of "The Land Before Time" – as well as three sequences of short films geared to three age groups within the aforementioned range. Sound Vision, the music documentary phase of the festival, will offer 14 nights of live music at The Hotel Foster, 2028 E. North Ave., during the MFF, besides eight documentaries – most of them from 2012 and 2013, and two from the works of At a glance An opening night party at Discovery World on Milwaukee's lakefront will mark the beginning of the 2013 Milwaukee Film Festival.The party begins at 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and will be open to the public. Foremost among the event's entertainers will be the New York-based Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, whose story will be told in a documentary shown at the festival. Partygoers will be given two free drinks, as well as light appetizers and popcorn, and will have the chance to win prizes. For the general public, party tickets will go on sale Sept. 12 for $35. More extensive party packages are available, as well. For more information, visit www.mkefilm.org. Oscar winner Jonathan Demme. The soundtrack shows at the Foster will be free for patrons possessing MFF passes or ticket stubs. Regular admission is $5. The festival's Cream City Cinema lineup of new movies by Milwaukee-based artists (one of whom will be awarded a Filmmaker-in-Residence prize carrying a remuneration valued in excess of $25,000) will consist of five feature-length movies, as well as short films. Among the fea- tures: "Billy Club," directed by Nick Sommer and Drew Rosas, a brand-new baseball motif picture evoking the slasher films of 30 years ago, and a Bob Murray-Amy Neuenschwander-directed work dealing with online dating, "Date America." Supplementing the five features and the shorts will be the second annual Milwaukee Youth Show, highlighting the works of area moviemakers under age 18. The MFF's "Shorter Is Better" segment will consist of 60 shorts from throughout the world. Among the countries represented, in addition to the United States, will be Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Ireland, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Spain and Sweden. The general public will be able to purchase tickets for individual screenings starting Thursday. Booklets containing the full MFF schedule will be available as of Saturday at the East Town Market in Milwaukee's Cathedral Square Park and at a number of area locations the following day. Passes and "6-day packs" have been available online. Go to www.mkefilm.org/tickets.

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