Tom Hanks’ Latest a Tale of
War, Tragedy, and Booze

Review of Charlie Wilson’s War

Mark
Fisher

 
  
 

Movies about wars, especially
these days, typically fall into two main

camps: dramas about the horrors of
conflict, or heroic stories that do double
duty as advertisements for the American
military. This movie could have easily
been seen as either of those, as you could
take Charlie Wilson and show how his
efforts helped lead to the quagmire that
the US currently finds itself in, or you
could portray him as a heroic patriot who
helped crush communism.

Or, you could portray him as
a heavy drinking, cocaine snorting,
womanizer who was also a powerful
US congressman, which is probably
the most historically accurate option in
addition to being the most entertaining.

Charlie can’t get through his

morning without a stiff drink, and his
entire office staff consists of bubbly lolitas
in tight outfits. It’s a good life, and at the
start of the film Charlie seems perfectly
happy simply getting re-elected every
year, showing up for the occasional vote,
and continuing to party like it’s 1999. But
then one of his biggest donators, the right-
wing Texan millionaire Joanne Herring,
played by Julia Roberts, comes to cash
in on the elections she’s helped Charlie
win. As a fundamentalist Christian, she’s
upset that the US is allowing the Godless
communists to invade Afghanistan.

After being “convinced” by
Herring, Charlie is quickly on a plane
to Pakistan, and following a harrowing
trip to the refugee camps (the film’s first
true serious moment), Charlie puts his
southern charm to work convincing the
defense committee to covertly fund the
war.

Hanks and Roberts are both very
good in their roles, but while Roberts
truly becomes a character unlike anything
she’s ever done, Hanks’ performance is
derivative of several roles he’s had in the
past; Hanks’ Wilson is a mix of Forest
Gump and the southern gang leader he
played in The Ladykillers, and a result,

it’s hard to forget that you’re watching
Tom Hanks act.

Anyway, it’s fashionable to
shake our heads at how the US funded
the forces that would later rebel against
them, resulting in both the Gulf War and
the rise of the Taliban. But, as the movie
shows, at the time, all anyone could think
about was sticking it to the Russians.
Every time a Soviet helicopter is shot
down it’s a cause for celebration. No
one ever asks if all the money spent was
worth it, or what the will happen to the
ruined Afghanistan when the Russians
pack up and leave. Only on the night the
Russians surrender do Charlie and his
intelligence specialist, Gust Avrakotos —
played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman,
doing great work as always—start to
think about rebuilding the country. The
parallels to the current situation in Iraq
are obvious and striking. Unfortunately,
no one will listen to their requests.

In a scene that I found truly
heartbreaking, Charlie tries without
success to convince the spending
committee, the same one that approved
a war budget of hundreds of billions of
dollars, to approve spending one million
dollars to rebuild schools in Afghanistan.

January 7, 2007

 

With the enemy defeated, no one in
Washington wants to think about the
struggle to come, they just want to revel
in their victory.

And, as the film reminds you
in its last shot before the credits roll,
America would pay dearly for that
attitude.

 

Del Toro’s Labyrinthine Orphanage

Review of El Orfanato

By Jeff Hammersmark

O)cAreRe.

B eing a big fan of Pan’s Labyrinth, it
was with great anticipation that I walked
into Tinseltown theatres to watch El
Orfanato, or what is being billed here as

 

 

The Orphanage. This is
the second film that I’ve
seen advertised with
Guillermo Del Toro’s
name attached to it, and
after being absorbed into
the world of Labyrinth,
this is an honour that I
believe he deserves.

El —_ Orfanato
tells the story of Laura
(Belen Rueda), who,
with her husband Carlos
(Fernando Cayo) and
seven year old son
Simon (Roger Princep),
returns to the orphanage
she grew up in as a child
with ambitions to once
again open its doors to
needy children. Shortly
after moving into the
orphanage, Simon
befriends an_ invisible
boy, much to the chagrin
of his parents who
begrudgingly humour
their son in the hopes
that it is just a phase.
It only gets worse, and tensions build
between Simon and his parents as the
stories about his new friends become
more detailed and the games he plays

become less harmless. While Carlos
distances himself, Laura begins to
suspect there’s more to Simon’s fantasy
world than meets the eye. Soon, she
comes face to face with the reality of her
son’s fantasy.

The movie starts fairly slowly,
and combined with the subtitles, it may
put off some
less

the film is how different people will
experience it in a completely different
way. Are you watching powerful mental
turmoil, or something more? All will be
revealed, but people will take different

paths to get there.
The movie is billed as suspense/
horror/thriller, and in my opinion this is
a little misleading.

audi Lone “E very thing about slements of horror
members. But = and suspense,
rest assured, h ow Laur a deals with but rarely is the

El = Orfanato
coaxes you in

tragedy and succumbs

movie “thrilling”
in the traditional

as it develops. ° ° sense. I would
The character to temp tation LS p er- call this more of a
of Laura is °4) mystery/suspense,
perfectly fectly done, and ut Ss which ° borrows
played, and the * some tricks from
film — doesn’t a pleasure to see it the horror genre.

shy away from
using her as a
springboard to
ask some fairly serious philosophical
questions. Everything about how Laura
deals with tragedy and succumbs to
temptation is perfectly done, and it’s a
pleasure to see it pulled off so well. The
other characters are well cast, and you'll
never find yourself distracted from the
movie by awkward dialogue or cheesy
acting. One of the best things about

pulled off so well.”

One thing is for
sure though; E/
Orfanato will be
considered another one of Guillermo
Del Toro’s great successes. Be warned,
however, that the movie is not for
everyone. If subtitles don’t bother you,
and you’re not the type who minds
trading a non-stop ride at the movies
for a bit of a laid-back thinker, then do
yourself a favor and see E/ Orfanato.

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