Toshirô Mifune and Yoshiko Yamaguchi battle the tabloids in Kurosawa melodram
SCANDAL (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
Sunday, January 24, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
(Kurosawa Festival continues through February 18)
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
When two famous people are caught together at a hotel in the mountains, a scandal breaks out as a lurid gossip magazine prints their picture and makes up a sordid romance that is not true. With their reputations tainted, they consider suing the publication, but they run into problems with their ragtag lawyer, who has a bit of a gambling problem. Akira Kurosawa regular Toshirô Mifune stars as Ichiro Aoye, a well-known painter who likes smoking pipes and riding his flashy motorcycle. Yoshiko Yamaguchi is Miyaka Saijo, a timid pop singer who is terrified of the unwanted publicity. And Takashi Shimura is Hiruta, the struggling lawyer devoted to his young daughter, who is dying of TB. The first half of the movie is involving right from the roaring opening-titles sequence, with good characterization and an alluring story line. Unfortunately, the film bogs down in the second half, especially during the hard-to-believe courtroom scenes, the only ones of Kurosawa’s career. And the Christmas bit is tired and cliché-ridden, even if might have been unique at the time for a film made in postwar Japan. But Kurosawa’s attack on the media is still valid today, even if he did fill it with sappy melodrama.
For everyone who thought Lyme disease was a minor little annoyance that is going away, Andy Abrahams Wilson is about to open your eyes. In UNDER OUR SKIN, the director-cinematographer details horrifying stories of men, women, and children stricken with the tic-borne illness who have often been misdiagnosed for years by doctors and health-care companies that believe their symptoms are all in their head — or that they are actually suffering from fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, or other diseases. Wilson, who refused to believe that his twin sister had contracted the potentially debilitating illness many years ago, speaks with people battling Lyme disease — which affects the neurological system, causing both physical and psychological problems — as well as family members dealing with difficult situations, doctors who are finding it harder to get funding to do research into the causes of the disease, and even one physician who seems to be on a personal mission to prove that most people who claim to have Lyme disease do not — and that they should not be covered by insurance companies. Unsurprisingly, as with so many health-related issues, it’s always best to follow the money, which Wilson does, uncovering some fascinating and infuriating information. UNDER OUR SKIN is a powerful, important film, one that will leave you scratching your head — in addition to other parts of your body.
Louis Malle’s first feature-length fiction film, following THE SILENT WORLD (made with Jacques Cousteau), is a classic French noir that comes with all the trimmings — and can now be seen in an excellent 35mm print with new subtitles. Jeanne Moreau stars as Florence Carala, who is married to ruthless business tycoon Simon (Jean Wall) but is carrying on an affair with Simon’s right-hand man, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet). Julien plans the perfect murder — or so he thinks, until he has to go back to retrieve a crucial piece of evidence and gets trapped on the elevator. While he struggles to find a way out and Florence waits for him anxiously at a neighborhood bistro, young couple Louis (Georges Poujouly) and Veronique (Yori Bertin) take off in Julien’s convertible and get into some serious trouble of their own. Mistaken identity, cold-blooded killings, jealousy, and one of the greatest film scores ever — by Miles Davis, recorded in one overnight session — make ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS a splendid debut from one of the world’s finest filmmakers. The screening is part of the IFC Center’s twelve-film series of classic French crime thrillers, which continues on weekend nights at 11:00 through April 4; the upcoming lineup includes Jean-Luc Godard’s PIERROT LE FOU, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s QUAI DES ORFEVRES, and Jules Dassin’s RIFIFI, and that’s just January. Keep watching this space for more select reviews.
