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It’s a surreal and inherently humorous situation, but handled with surprising realism that might have had more in common with any of Van Damme’s other violent action films -- except that Jean-Claude Van Damme is the most compelling character Van Damme has ever played. He has other things on his mind. His daughter. His legal fees. His fading career. He's getting old. Participating in real-life action is the last thing he needs today. (This is not to say the movie isn’t kick-ass and action-packed, however. IT’S ALSO GREAT IN THAT WAY.)
Before the film, one of the fest directors explained that he saw J.C.V.D. at Cannes and couldn’t believe his favorite movie of the festival starred Jean-Claude Van Damme. He promised we would see a new side of J.C.V.D., and we did. At one point he delivers a several-minute-long monologue that took the entire audience’s breath away. That’s the gift of a festival like TIFF: unexpected greatness can come from anywhere. Even Jean-Claude Van Damme.
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Adela was shot on grainy digital video, obviously among people actually living in these conditions. The style fits the subject matter well, as long takes (occasionally over-long) set us squarely within the reality of life on the dumpsite. Wordless for long stretches at a time, we accompany Adela as she travels to buy food, visit her husband’s grave, and wander the beach in solitude.
Adela is surrounded by new life -- in fact, she delivers a baby in the first scene. Airplanes constantly fly overhead, a subtle reminder of human beings moving from one place to another -- Adela cannot go anywhere. Her community is abound with new beginnings, as her life is coming to its end. And eventually it becomes clear that her grown children have forgotten her.
The director was in attendance for a Q&A, along with Anita Linda, the 83-year-old star who traveled all the way from the Philippines to be here in Toronto. There were tears in her eyes as all she could say was, “Thank you... thank you.” Afterwards, there were tears in the eyes of MANY Filipinos who lined up to greet Anita, kiss her on the cheek, and thank her for her extraordinary performance.
You see, you never, ever know where magic will strike at an international film festival.
5 comments:
What a sweet story about "Adela"!
But you know where magic WON'T strike at TIFF?
In the box office lines.
I love the fact that J.C.V.D. was awesome. How delightful and unexpected! Of course my co-worker, who is a sassy retiree working part-time as the company's secretary, will be very excited to hear about it. We often talk about movies, and she once told me, "Do you know who I like? That one with all the muscles... Jean Claude Van Damme! He is soooo HANDSOME! Oh... and I love his prison movies!!! Have you ever seen any of those? They're my favorite!"
That picture of J.C.V.D. is strangely hot...but leave it to me to find him attractive when he's all grizzled and old and miserable.
That picture of J.C.V.D. is strangely hot...but leave it to me to find him attractive when he's all grizzled and old and miserable.
How funny, I watched JCVD and will be watching Adela this coming Saturday. I was pleasantly surprised at how well JCVD turned out - maybe JC should do more films where he speaks French. :)
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