When, in '91, this wasn't nominated for a best foreign film Oscar, nearly every living German director signed a protest letter. Agnieszka Holland hasn't since matched the story of a Polish Jew who pretends to be a Nazi in order to survive. Suspenseful and sensitive, it avoids traps which even Polanski's The Pianist falls into.
Kathryn Bigelow's lavish direction can't keep this creaky adventure afloat. Catherine McCormack is Jean, a photo-journalist researching a century-old double murder while rekindling her relationship to Thomas (Sean Penn) on a sailing trip. A cliché-soaked script and Liz Hurley's wobbly acting lends a made-for-TV ambience.
Probably the most wistful music you'll hear this year is on this debut album by Casino Versus Japan, which takes us back to the good old days when electronica wasn't afraid to be beautiful. Tracks like "The Possible Light" and "Summer Clip" have the same kind of warped grandiloquence as the Aphex Twin and Global Communications a decade ago: delicate melodic flakes magnified through a cosmic amplifier. On tracks like "Moonlupe", Vangelis is even brought to mind—and there's nothing illegal about that.
Ill-starred, Badfinger's final album before guitarist/vocalist Pete Ham's suicide was designed to annoy. Made in 1975, it finally saw the light of day in 2000. Given the nature of "Hey, Mr Manager", "Rock'n'Roll Contract" and "Savile Row", the Welsh power poppers practically signed their own death warrant. Creatively, Head First reeks of insecurity and shifting tastes within, but its archly melodic, cynical elements could strike a chord with Super Furry Animals types. A period piece with added demos, this is the tarnished gilt on the '70s mirror.
