Zelary
REVIEWED 12/04, © STEPHEN BOURNE
www.ofrb.gov.on.ca | www.rcq.gouv.qc.ca


REVIEW:

By 1943, Hitler's malevolent invasion had already spread across most of Europe. So, when the Gestapo's suspicions force Prague-based surgeon and Resistance cell leader Richard Littner (Ivan Trojan) to flee for his life, his rather naive and confused young strawberry blonde nurse/lover/courier Eliska (Anna Geislerová; 'Návrat idiota' (1999)) is quickly secreted out of the city in the middle of the night by train with a fifty-five year-old man, Joza Janda (György Cserhalmi; 'Mephisto' (1981), 'Pevnost' (1994)). A stranger, who she's only briefly known as a gruff rural patient recuperating from a lumber mill accident, cared for at the hospital where she worked. Eliska - still reeling from shock and Richard's abandonment - tries to make sense of what her co-conspirator friend Slávek (Jan Hrusínský) hurriedly gave her mere hours earlier. Money, vouchers for food, new identity papers and a passport containing her new name: Hana Hofmanova. She's now destined to live out the war deep in the pristine forest mountainside of Czechoslovakia. As Joza's new bride, in the small cluster of poor log cabins known to nearby villagers as Zelary. However, not everyone is comfortable with this strange woman living within their simple midst during these troubling times, and simmering fears that her presence will bring the Nazis back to their untouched wooded valley soon threaten to reveal her daring escape and cause the summary execution of all those who have helped her.

Adapted for the big screen from Czech writer Kveta Legátová's fact-based 2001 novel, director Ondrej Trojan's ('Pelísky' (1999), 'Horem pádem' (2004)) Oscar-nominated wartime drama about this one woman's uneasy experiences acclimatizing to oftentimes grueling country living after being suddenly plucked from her comfortable urban surroundings is immediately captivating and wonderfully presented. How Geislerová and Cserhalmi handle the dynamics between them, slowly shifting from broad unspoken emotions to more subtly articulated nuances as their characters become accustomed to - and in love with - each other, truly is a rare treat to see. Eliska is completely lost and frightened, finding that nothing familiar to her fits with her new identity - and could possibly jeopardize her life if she doesn't learn to trust her new husband and his friends. Marvelous. Unfortunately, Petr Jarchovský's screenplay tends to drag on halfway through this hundred and fifty-minute, subtitled 2003 film, as it attempts to pack in several sub plots featuring a beaten and ostracized little boy (Tomás Zatecka as Lipka) and his sweetly precocious little friend (Anna Vertelárová), his drunken Hillbilly father (Ondrej Koval), their pregnant young neighbour, and the eventual appearance of the Russian Army that brings both liberation and disaster to this huddled community. Each tale is obviously necessary here, but the way in which they're added to the over-all story feels surprisingly clumsy and disjointed, seriously interrupting this movie's pacing throughout. As though an overwhelming amount of information and too many relevant supporting players crept up on Trojan, his editor Vladimír Barák, and cinematographer Asen Sopov for them to capably handle it all within one complete offering. These numerous asides do appear stuck in as plot important afterthoughts. As a result, Eliska and Joza end up offering the only real oasis of richly enjoyable scenes for a paying audience.

'Zelary' is definitely a fascinating and entertaining study of its two main characters, but more as a worthwhile rental that you can easily skip through some of the plodding moments that deflate this small epic's otherwise impressive impact.

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Zathura
REVIEWED 11/05, © STEPHEN BOURNE
www.ofrb.gov.on.ca | www.rcq.gouv.qc.ca


REVIEW:

There's a malfunctioning giant robot in the basement. A spaceship full of blood thirsty, scavenging lizard men called Zorgons are blasting holes in the living room walls. Big brother Walter (Josh Hutcherson) has been promoted to Fleet Admiral, and big sister Lisa (Kristen Stewart) is upstairs in her bathroom, frozen solid where she stands, in cryogenic sleep. And, a wayward astronaut (Dax Shepard) has just emptied out the kitchen fridge. It's been a busy afternoon for young Danny (Jonah Bobo), who just wanted to play the space adventure board game meant for two players that he'd found under the stairs of his father's (Tim Robbins) new house. Dad had to go to work this weekend, leaving Lisa in charge. So, there's nothing else to do but play. Walter said the game looked dumb and old, but his snarky attitude quickly changed after Danny cranked the metal key and pressed the red GO button that activated the panel's Space Travel Indicator dial, sending his small enamelled toy rocket along the board's winding track, and a playing card popped out of the board game's slot. The meteor shower wrecked everything. And, their house was nearly ripped apart when it flew too close to the gravity field of Tsouris-3. Nothing on the box said anything about everything really happening, but they're now really lost in outer space. The house, such as it is after the robot and Zorgon attack, is their space ship. They're really floating through the galaxy. This is not a good thing. The boys are left with no alternative but to keep taking turns playing Zathura until one of them wins and the game is over, and they can all go home to Earth. Problem is, the robot's repairing itself and it's only a matter of time before it bursts up the basement stairs and resumes chasing after Walter, who it thinks is an alien life form that must be destroyed. However, the bigger problem is that the Zorgons are back with reinforcements and are trying to board the house...

If it seems like this rollicking fun kid's flick from sometimes actor ('Daredevil' (2003), 'Wimbledon' (2004)), sometimes director ('Made' (2001), 'Elf' (2003)) Jon Favreau looks like "Jumanji in Space", it's probably because much of the same premise of a fantasy board game magically bringing its wild adventure to life in the home of unwitting siblings does play itself out here just as it did a decade ago in 'Jumanji' (1995). 'Zathura' is actually based on Jumanji and The Polar Express author Chris Van Allsburg's 2002 children's book, wonderfully adapted by David Koepp's and John Kamps' screenplay about young brothers Danny (Jonah Bobo; 'Around the Bend' (2004)) and Walter (Josh Hutcherson; 'Motocross Kids' (2004), 'Kicking & Screaming' (2005)) stuck playing with clockwork driven spaceships on dual rusted tracks that transform their old rural house into a galaxy-faring vessel at the mercy of what ever Monopoly-like card the board game spits out after each turn. It's clever, and if not for much of the basic premise feeling completely swiped and vaguely retooled from that other movie, this hundred and one-minute romp would definitely feel extremely original and fresh. Thankfully, the unfair responsibility of keeping a paying audience motivated to follow along is almost effortlessly carried by this film's impressively talented child co-stars. Bobo and Hutcherson are astounding throughout, and Favreau clearly isn't afraid to simply let them be believable little boys vying for pecking order rights while reacting to all of the mayhem that's dumped on and blasted at them. The pacing is incredibly good, too. Dax Shepard ('Without a Paddle' (2004)) and Kristen Stewart ('Panic Room' (2002), 'Catch That Kid' (2004)) also do a great job in their supporting roles, but what really makes 'Zathura' such a memorably entertaining time at the movies is its extraordinary special effects. They're seamless, even when you know that the eight foot tall malfunctioning robot (voiced by Miss Piggy and Yoda mouthpiece Frank Oz) and those merciless Zorgon lizard men are all computer animated. Sure, the surprise is fairly sappy and a few loose ends - such as where the one character's gear came from - are left dangling. But, it's a fantasy. They can breathe air without having to wear oxygen masks, for instance. Reality doesn't matter. This is still a high quality piece of movie making intended for slightly older kids (it might be too noisy and intense for toddlers) and kids at heart from beginning to closing credits, well worth checking out at the big screen for the oftentimes jaw-dropping visuals.

'Zathura' is easily a very cool runaway hit that will likely leave you breathless and wanting more.

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