ROME -- The kitsch value is high in The Hideout, the fourth English-language, U.S.-set film by Pupi Avati, a director with over 30 features to his name. More suspense than horror film (which is what it's being marketed as), unless its campiness inspires audiences, this is the kind of straight-to-video fare meant to entertain late-late night television viewers.
During a snowstorm in 1957, in an isolated boarding house outside of Davenport, Iowa, young novice Lyuba Marin Jo Finerty) begs her friend Egle (Chiara Tortorella) to "do whatever it takes" to keep the doctor arriving in the morning from checking on the state of her virginity. The swelling violins during their teary conversation are foreboding.
In 2007, an Italian woman (Laura Morante) is released from a psychiatric hospital after 15 years of treatment for the voices she began hearing following her husband's suicide. In what must be the world's friendliest mental institution, she's thrown a goodbye party complete with a bug-eyed patient crooning a lullaby.
She (Morante's character is never named) immediately heads to Davenport to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening up an Italian restaurant. There, a real estate agent (Burt Young) finds her the ideal location "in a neighborhood where all the young and rich go to spend their money." This is an abandoned four-story mansion named Snakes Hall, hidden in the middle of the woods.
In the best schlock tradition, the emotionally vulnerable woman just re-entering society ignores her intuition and moves in. Soon, She starts to hear a hair-raising voice calling out a name from her past and discovers she's living in an old boarding house in which multiple gruesome murders took place over 50 years ago.
She stays on, deciding to investigate a case that certain townspeople don't want reopened, "if she knows what's good for her." These include Father Amy (an entirely wasted Treat Williams), who claims to fear for her safety, and millionaire Las Shields (Peter Soderberg, whose dastardliness can be ascertained from a sinisterly quivering lip), Lyuba's lover from half a century ago.
Violin music punctuates every nominally dramatic scene. Late night searches in the house for the ghoulish owner of the voice cut anti-climactically to the next day. And the only person who believes Morante is an elderly woman (Tushingham) writing a book on the crime, who has been dying to enter the house for decades -- never mind that it was never boarded up.
Had Avati given in fully to the campy urges underlying the story he could have had a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the B-level psychological thrillers of the 1970s. Instead, the plot twists meant to confuse us as to whether or not She is experiencing something real or being haunted by her demons are simply implausible and illogical.
THE HIDEOUT
DueA Film/RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Pupi Avati
Writer: Avati
Producer: Antonio Avati
Directors of photography: Pasquale Rachini, Cesare Bastelli
Production designer: Giuliano Pannuti
Music: Riz Ortolani
Costume designer: Bettina Bimbi
Editor: Amedeo Salfa
Cast:
She: Laura Morante
Muller: Burt Young
Paula Hardyn: Rita Tushingham
Father Amy: Treat William
Lyuba (old): Angela Pagano
Lyuba: Marin Jo Finerty
Egle: Chiara Tortorella
Ella Murray: Yvonne Brulatour Scio
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
During a snowstorm in 1957, in an isolated boarding house outside of Davenport, Iowa, young novice Lyuba Marin Jo Finerty) begs her friend Egle (Chiara Tortorella) to "do whatever it takes" to keep the doctor arriving in the morning from checking on the state of her virginity. The swelling violins during their teary conversation are foreboding.
In 2007, an Italian woman (Laura Morante) is released from a psychiatric hospital after 15 years of treatment for the voices she began hearing following her husband's suicide. In what must be the world's friendliest mental institution, she's thrown a goodbye party complete with a bug-eyed patient crooning a lullaby.
She (Morante's character is never named) immediately heads to Davenport to fulfill a lifelong dream of opening up an Italian restaurant. There, a real estate agent (Burt Young) finds her the ideal location "in a neighborhood where all the young and rich go to spend their money." This is an abandoned four-story mansion named Snakes Hall, hidden in the middle of the woods.
In the best schlock tradition, the emotionally vulnerable woman just re-entering society ignores her intuition and moves in. Soon, She starts to hear a hair-raising voice calling out a name from her past and discovers she's living in an old boarding house in which multiple gruesome murders took place over 50 years ago.
She stays on, deciding to investigate a case that certain townspeople don't want reopened, "if she knows what's good for her." These include Father Amy (an entirely wasted Treat Williams), who claims to fear for her safety, and millionaire Las Shields (Peter Soderberg, whose dastardliness can be ascertained from a sinisterly quivering lip), Lyuba's lover from half a century ago.
Violin music punctuates every nominally dramatic scene. Late night searches in the house for the ghoulish owner of the voice cut anti-climactically to the next day. And the only person who believes Morante is an elderly woman (Tushingham) writing a book on the crime, who has been dying to enter the house for decades -- never mind that it was never boarded up.
Had Avati given in fully to the campy urges underlying the story he could have had a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the B-level psychological thrillers of the 1970s. Instead, the plot twists meant to confuse us as to whether or not She is experiencing something real or being haunted by her demons are simply implausible and illogical.
THE HIDEOUT
DueA Film/RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Pupi Avati
Writer: Avati
Producer: Antonio Avati
Directors of photography: Pasquale Rachini, Cesare Bastelli
Production designer: Giuliano Pannuti
Music: Riz Ortolani
Costume designer: Bettina Bimbi
Editor: Amedeo Salfa
Cast:
She: Laura Morante
Muller: Burt Young
Paula Hardyn: Rita Tushingham
Father Amy: Treat William
Lyuba (old): Angela Pagano
Lyuba: Marin Jo Finerty
Egle: Chiara Tortorella
Ella Murray: Yvonne Brulatour Scio
Running time -- 102 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 12/3/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
VENICE -- Set in southern Italy two years after World War Two, Pupi Avati's atmospheric "The Second Wedding Night" is a likeable fable about kindness and bravery that just misses the magical touch that would have made it special.
The film, screened In Competition at the Venice International Film Festival, has an appealingly burnished look and amiable performances but the story lacks punch and is unlikely to register with audiences on a wide basis.
All the elements are there when the simple but affluent Giordano (Antonio Albanese) invites his late brother's widow Lillian (Katie Ricciarelli), on whom he had a crush as boy, and her ne'er-do-well son Nico (Neri Marcore) to live at his spacious home.
Giordano hasn't been the same since the electric shock treatment, but he has a going concern producing sugared almonds with his grumpy aunts Suntina (Angela Luce) and Eugenia (Marisa Merlini) and in his spare time he finds and disposes of bombs left over from the war.
Meanwhile, Lilliana and Nico have been struggling to make ends meet with increasing desperation. The mother gives herself to men who will provide even the meanest shelter while the thick-skinned son is a chancer always on the make.
When Giordano replies to Lilliana's pleading letter with a moony invitation to come and be his fiance, Nico blithely steals a car so they can make the trip. Dismayed by Giordano's mental state and shunned by the aunts, Lilliana is keen to leave but Nico conspires to keep them there with an unconvincing development involving a friendly movie star (Robert Madison).
All the players do well and Albanese is particularly affecting as the slightly addled romantic who destroys bombs so that children can play in the fields and forests even though he knows he has the job because he's also regarded as disposable.
Simona Miglioitti's production design and Pasquale Rachini's cinematography help writer/director Avati achieve a period resonance that makes the film a pleasure to watch even if it ultimately proves unsatisfying.
The film, screened In Competition at the Venice International Film Festival, has an appealingly burnished look and amiable performances but the story lacks punch and is unlikely to register with audiences on a wide basis.
All the elements are there when the simple but affluent Giordano (Antonio Albanese) invites his late brother's widow Lillian (Katie Ricciarelli), on whom he had a crush as boy, and her ne'er-do-well son Nico (Neri Marcore) to live at his spacious home.
Giordano hasn't been the same since the electric shock treatment, but he has a going concern producing sugared almonds with his grumpy aunts Suntina (Angela Luce) and Eugenia (Marisa Merlini) and in his spare time he finds and disposes of bombs left over from the war.
Meanwhile, Lilliana and Nico have been struggling to make ends meet with increasing desperation. The mother gives herself to men who will provide even the meanest shelter while the thick-skinned son is a chancer always on the make.
When Giordano replies to Lilliana's pleading letter with a moony invitation to come and be his fiance, Nico blithely steals a car so they can make the trip. Dismayed by Giordano's mental state and shunned by the aunts, Lilliana is keen to leave but Nico conspires to keep them there with an unconvincing development involving a friendly movie star (Robert Madison).
All the players do well and Albanese is particularly affecting as the slightly addled romantic who destroys bombs so that children can play in the fields and forests even though he knows he has the job because he's also regarded as disposable.
Simona Miglioitti's production design and Pasquale Rachini's cinematography help writer/director Avati achieve a period resonance that makes the film a pleasure to watch even if it ultimately proves unsatisfying.
CANNES -- The soundtrack is the main glory and selling point of ''Bix,'' an English-language but Italian-made biopic by the Avati family based on the life of famed musician Leon ''Bix'' Beiderbecke. This Iowa boy made an indelible mark on jazz in the roaring '20s but, because of booze and an appetite for self-destruction, he died in 1931 at the age of 28.
If the ''Bix'' saga falls far short of any intended bull's-eye, and it does, there'll be no squawking about the music that zings, struts and vibrates in the foreground and background as the story unfolds. Recycling a wealth of old jazz tunes from the 1920s, many of them actually Beiderbecke's own, ''Bix'' is worth a visit if only to listen to what transpires when the talking stops.
If properly promoted, album sales of the soundtrack, with arrangements by Bob Wilber, could ring up some impressive totals. The movie itself may not be so lucky.
For such a downbeat tale, the film (labeled ''an interpretation of a legend'') is painted with surprisingly rosy strokes, in a glossy manner reminiscent of Hollywood musical biopics of the 1940s.
(Curiously, although made 41 years ago, Warner Bros.' ''Young Man With a Horn, '' loosely based on Beiderbecke's life and starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, looks like a more contemporary rendition than this postcard-pretty version.)
The sunshine aspect may seem too old-fashioned for today's hipper moviegoers, and Beiderbecke devotees may find it all too lightweight a telling.
It's not to say that the film isn't entertaining; it is, although it is nowhere near a definitive inspection of the great cornetist Bix nor is it a realistic recreation of the Jazz Age in which he soared to fame before the fall.
The script by Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati and Lino Patruno fairly breezes along, hop-skipping backwards and forwards in time, but never digs lower than a chipper surface level to investigate what made the title character tick, then stop ticking.
The film opens after the premature death of Bix in 1931, then backspaces to 1924 to set up his pre-success days as an unreliable student, constantly perplexing to his small-town parents. In school he forms an alliance with Hoagy Carmichael (Romano Luccio Orzari) and Don Murray (Matthew Buzzell) that leads to the formation of a jazz band. From then on, it's a zoom to the big time, hampered only by Bix's own demons which eventually lead to his early demise.
He drinks but we're never told why. He's also unreliable, although constantly professing his desire to please both kin and friends. He's super-talented but can't hold a job. Next to blowing a horn, the most important thing in his life, he says, is to settle down, yet that seems beyond his realm. And whatever the reasons, the script keeps them secret.
He drinks but we're never told why. He's also unreliable, although constantly professing his desire to please both kin and friends. He's super-talented but can't hold a job. Next to blowing a horn, the most important thing in his life, he says, is to settle down, yet that seems beyond his realm. And whatever the reasons, the script keeps them secret., a factor that hampers ''Bix'' from flying anywhere as high as its music does.
Too bad, too, because there's much to like here in spite of the unfilled holes. The cast is fresh-faced and new, led by Bryant Weeks in the title role. He may not be quite up to the John Garfield-ish demands of this particular character, but he possesses a scrubbed likability and demeanor that should put him in good stead for other future roles.
Emile Levisetti is especially impressive as jazz violinist Joe Venuti, Bix's longtime buddy and himself a celebrated musician. He frames the story in a brief prologue and epilogue with Sally Groth, and makes his moments some of the best in the film. Orzari is also winning as Carmichael (with Carmichael's ''Stardust'' also getting a brief reprise on the soundtrack), and rest of the players are attractive and able.
Each has been given Rolls-Royce support by the art direction of Carlo Simi, the costumes of Graziella Virgili and Carla Seinera Bertoni, the editing by Amedeo Salfa and, especially, the cinematography by Pasquale Rachini, who makes the film a consistent visual treat.
Much of the film was shot in and around Davenport, Iowa, and captures much of the attractiveness of the state. Iowa, in fact, is involved in the production of the film, listed here as being produced by Antonio Avati for Duea Film and Union P.N. with the collaboration of Raiuno, Artisti Associati International, the state of Iowa, the city of Davenport and the Iowa Film Office, with Sacis handling international distribution.
Wide acceptance in the United States, a logical target since the film's in English with an American background, is iffy, but certainly worth a try.
If distributors and theater owners are wise, they'll also have CDs and tapes available for sale in the lobby. That's where the hefty sales will be.
BIX
(Italian)
Director Pupi Avati
Producer Antonio Avati
Writers Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati, Lino Patruno
Cinematographer Pasquale Rachini
Production designer Carlo Simi
Costume designers Graziella Virgili, Carla Seinera Bertonik
Music arranger Bob Wilber
Editor Amedeo Salfa
In English
Color
Cast:
''Bix'' Beiderbecke Bryant Weeks
Venuti Emile Levisetti
Beiderbecke Julia Ewing
Burnie Beiderbecke Mark Collver
Hoagy Carmichael Romano Luccio Orzari
Don Murray Matthew Buzzel
Bismark Ray Edelstein
Frankie Trumbauer Mark James Sovel
Marie-Louise Barbara Wilder
Lisa Sally Groth
Pee Wee Michael T. Henderson
Running time -- 111 minutes
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
If the ''Bix'' saga falls far short of any intended bull's-eye, and it does, there'll be no squawking about the music that zings, struts and vibrates in the foreground and background as the story unfolds. Recycling a wealth of old jazz tunes from the 1920s, many of them actually Beiderbecke's own, ''Bix'' is worth a visit if only to listen to what transpires when the talking stops.
If properly promoted, album sales of the soundtrack, with arrangements by Bob Wilber, could ring up some impressive totals. The movie itself may not be so lucky.
For such a downbeat tale, the film (labeled ''an interpretation of a legend'') is painted with surprisingly rosy strokes, in a glossy manner reminiscent of Hollywood musical biopics of the 1940s.
(Curiously, although made 41 years ago, Warner Bros.' ''Young Man With a Horn, '' loosely based on Beiderbecke's life and starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall and Doris Day, looks like a more contemporary rendition than this postcard-pretty version.)
The sunshine aspect may seem too old-fashioned for today's hipper moviegoers, and Beiderbecke devotees may find it all too lightweight a telling.
It's not to say that the film isn't entertaining; it is, although it is nowhere near a definitive inspection of the great cornetist Bix nor is it a realistic recreation of the Jazz Age in which he soared to fame before the fall.
The script by Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati and Lino Patruno fairly breezes along, hop-skipping backwards and forwards in time, but never digs lower than a chipper surface level to investigate what made the title character tick, then stop ticking.
The film opens after the premature death of Bix in 1931, then backspaces to 1924 to set up his pre-success days as an unreliable student, constantly perplexing to his small-town parents. In school he forms an alliance with Hoagy Carmichael (Romano Luccio Orzari) and Don Murray (Matthew Buzzell) that leads to the formation of a jazz band. From then on, it's a zoom to the big time, hampered only by Bix's own demons which eventually lead to his early demise.
He drinks but we're never told why. He's also unreliable, although constantly professing his desire to please both kin and friends. He's super-talented but can't hold a job. Next to blowing a horn, the most important thing in his life, he says, is to settle down, yet that seems beyond his realm. And whatever the reasons, the script keeps them secret.
He drinks but we're never told why. He's also unreliable, although constantly professing his desire to please both kin and friends. He's super-talented but can't hold a job. Next to blowing a horn, the most important thing in his life, he says, is to settle down, yet that seems beyond his realm. And whatever the reasons, the script keeps them secret., a factor that hampers ''Bix'' from flying anywhere as high as its music does.
Too bad, too, because there's much to like here in spite of the unfilled holes. The cast is fresh-faced and new, led by Bryant Weeks in the title role. He may not be quite up to the John Garfield-ish demands of this particular character, but he possesses a scrubbed likability and demeanor that should put him in good stead for other future roles.
Emile Levisetti is especially impressive as jazz violinist Joe Venuti, Bix's longtime buddy and himself a celebrated musician. He frames the story in a brief prologue and epilogue with Sally Groth, and makes his moments some of the best in the film. Orzari is also winning as Carmichael (with Carmichael's ''Stardust'' also getting a brief reprise on the soundtrack), and rest of the players are attractive and able.
Each has been given Rolls-Royce support by the art direction of Carlo Simi, the costumes of Graziella Virgili and Carla Seinera Bertoni, the editing by Amedeo Salfa and, especially, the cinematography by Pasquale Rachini, who makes the film a consistent visual treat.
Much of the film was shot in and around Davenport, Iowa, and captures much of the attractiveness of the state. Iowa, in fact, is involved in the production of the film, listed here as being produced by Antonio Avati for Duea Film and Union P.N. with the collaboration of Raiuno, Artisti Associati International, the state of Iowa, the city of Davenport and the Iowa Film Office, with Sacis handling international distribution.
Wide acceptance in the United States, a logical target since the film's in English with an American background, is iffy, but certainly worth a try.
If distributors and theater owners are wise, they'll also have CDs and tapes available for sale in the lobby. That's where the hefty sales will be.
BIX
(Italian)
Director Pupi Avati
Producer Antonio Avati
Writers Pupi Avati, Antonio Avati, Lino Patruno
Cinematographer Pasquale Rachini
Production designer Carlo Simi
Costume designers Graziella Virgili, Carla Seinera Bertonik
Music arranger Bob Wilber
Editor Amedeo Salfa
In English
Color
Cast:
''Bix'' Beiderbecke Bryant Weeks
Venuti Emile Levisetti
Beiderbecke Julia Ewing
Burnie Beiderbecke Mark Collver
Hoagy Carmichael Romano Luccio Orzari
Don Murray Matthew Buzzel
Bismark Ray Edelstein
Frankie Trumbauer Mark James Sovel
Marie-Louise Barbara Wilder
Lisa Sally Groth
Pee Wee Michael T. Henderson
Running time -- 111 minutes
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 5/16/1991
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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