Customer Reviews:
Mildly poignant gay coming-of-age movie.......2007-10-03
A pleasant film, detailing the travails of a Chinese teenager making his way in Canadian society following his family's relocation from Hong Kong. Whilst his parents cope with their own financial and relationship problems, and his sister seeks solace in religion, our guy seeks out the company of members of the local gay community. His attempts to seduce his Canadian schoolfriend go awry, leading to a fair amount of ostracism at school. Things look up though, when his mother's restaurant business takes on a young Chinese waiter seeking entry into the United States. The movie ends with both guys passing over the border into the promised land, but it is never explicitly related whether their relationship is more than platonic. I guess the film can be summed up as a mildly poignant coming-of-age movie.
The acting is good - but no more than good - and the story kept me interested for the full length of the movie. The concept has a very everyday quality, which makes the atmosphere of the film all the more real. There are no intensely dramatic moments, but nothing is clear-cut either, which makes for a certain amount of mystery in thought and perception of both actors and viewers.
The extras are interesting. They include short interviews with the director, Simon Chung, and the dishy lead, Timothy Lee. There are also two short movies by Simon Chung, "Life is Elsewhere" (14 minutes)and "Stanley Beloved" (20 minutes), both set in Hong Kong and dealing with young gay issues.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Sydney Pollack delivers megawatt star power, high gloss, and political passion to The Interpreter, his first thriller since The Firm. With Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn delivering smooth, understated performances, the film more closely recalls Pollack's 1975 Robert Redford/Faye Dunaway paranoid thriller Three Days of the Condor, trading conspiratorial politicians for potential assassination in the United Nations General Assembly (this being the first film ever granted permission to use actual U.N. locations). Kidman plays a U.N. interpreter who inadvertently overhears hints of a plot to kill the reviled, tyrannical leader of her (fictional) African homeland; Penn is the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her, or to determine her role (if any) in the assassination scenario. By distancing itself from real-life politics, The Interpreter softens its potential impact as a thriller about contemporary globalization and threats to international peace, but the Penn/Kidman personal drama (between two people who gain a deep appreciation for shared anguish, without being artificially forced into romance) adds a richly human dimension to Pollack's expert handling of the thriller elements of a complex yet easily-followed plot. Indie-film stalwart Catherine Keener shines in her supporting role as Penn's sarcastic by sympathetic Secret Service partner. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
very disappointed.......2008-03-02
I expected an unusual and gripping film. Instead, I was bitterly disappointed especially with the barely acting part of the the so-called heroine who simply could not be heard and muttered in a most monotonous voice with no real acting ability. I ask . " How on earth did she succeed in landing that part? " After about half an hour, I indexed the film forward bit by bit, but there she still was. muttering incomprehensively with a really sulky expression permanently graven on her face. Really the film may have some quite passable action shots, but if one is not in the least interested in any of the characters - however good the action might become, one remains unmoved and bored by this film which I hired out as a DVD rental. Just another disappointment and I am partly to blame for not researching it beforehand sufficiently !
Something has been lost in translation.......2007-09-29
I'd read other reviews of this film claiming it was an intelligent and stylish thriller and I remember regretting missing it at the cinema as it seemed to promise a happy change from the usual gun & gore fests that dominate Hollywood's output. However, I have to say this film left me cold and my prevailing thought at the end was "Is that it?"
The story starts well with a prologue involving a sinister double-cross in Madeupnameland in Africa followed by Kidman's character inadvertantly stumbling across a plot to kill a controversial African leader. After that it just disintegrates. If you watch this film you can look forward to a whole series of tiresome Hollywood clichés including tough but fragile heroine, cynical but sensitive cop, ruthless but incompitent hitman, corrupt and murderous African leader and twists and turns more predictable than a spiral staircase. The most jarring thing is the name of the invented African country and I'm in doubt the writers thought "We need something that sounds African... hmm... Umbongo... Bongobongoland... Umpalumpaloolaa...".
On the plus side there are creditable performances from Penn and Kidman with the latter never looking better, but the remainder of the cast are little more than moving wallpaper. The New York backdrop is familiar and used to completely unspectacular effect and, without wishing to spoil part of the plot, I was left wondering if anybody in the Big Apple ever closes their curtains.
I hoped for stylish and intelligent. I got hackneyed and predictable. I won't be adding it to my shopping basket.
A professional, engrossing thriller.......2007-08-12
I thought this was a solid, adult suspense thriller, heavy on police procedure and light on romantic cliches. Silvia Broone (Nicole Kidman) is an interpreter at the U.N. Her speciality is African languages. One night, when she's in her booth alone overlooking the dark, empty General Assembly, she hears a brief whisper from a wall speaker that suggests a visiting African head of state, a man who has turned into an aged, bloody dictator, will be assassinated. (The opening of the movie establishes the kind of murderous reign he has instituted and is very effective.) Assigned to investigate is Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), a member of the Secret Service section that protects visiting dignitaries. Both have tragedies they're dealing with. Most of Broome's family was killed when the dictator repressed everyone who threatened his rule. Keller's wife has just died in a car accident.
Sydney Pollack takes us through the development of these two people's characters and lays out the bones of the plot. The race to find the assassins builds upon methodical police investigation, which is complicated by Broome's own ambivalence. There also are one or two red herrings. The settings add a lot of atmosphere and energy to the movie. Much was shot inside the U.N. building and a great deal was shot on New York City streets.
There are one or two times when coincidence seems to play a role, but the action happens fast enough that you don't notice this until the movie's over. The only unsatisfying part for me was the conclusion of the assassination plot. There were a few minutes of heavy melodrama involving Broome, Penn and the aged dictator which seemed to me was designed primarily to show that Kidman and Penn were "actors." That aside, I thought this was a fast-paced, professional film that was fun to watch. And there were some fine performances in the secondary roles, especially Catherine Keener as Keller's Secret Service partner and Jesper Christensen as the dictator's head of security.
Why do they they have to invent the name of the country?.......2007-07-12
"The Interpreter" would have more current-events clout if it dealt with specific issues in a real African country, rather than generic troubles in an imaginary nation. That said, the movie takes what amounts to a daring position in today's ideological climate, endorsing institutions like the UN as valuable tools for bringing order to our chronically unruly world. All of which makes "The Interpreter" engrossing to watch and stimulating to think about.
Dont' expect to be thrilled.......2007-06-23
There are not many movies that I would switch off or walk out of the room without first pausing but unfortunatley I did not have to worry about missing
any of the action in this film as it trudged along. The scenes inside the UN building were impressive but for the most part the polotics played out in this film were fairly mundane.
I like Nicole Kidman she is a mighty fine actress and played her part well but is by no means stretched in her performance in this film. Sean Penn plays yet another cop type figure with issues and an alcohol dependence and plays a dull and brooding figure.
I would honestly give this film a miss unless you have trouble sleeping at night.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Sydney Pollack delivers megawatt star power, high gloss, and political passion to The Interpreter, his first thriller since The Firm. With Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn delivering smooth, understated performances, the film more closely recalls Pollack's 1975 Robert Redford/Faye Dunaway paranoid thriller Three Days of the Condor, trading conspiratorial politicians for potential assassination in the United Nations General Assembly (this being the first film ever granted permission to use actual U.N. locations). Kidman plays a U.N. interpreter who inadvertently overhears hints of a plot to kill the reviled, tyrannical leader of her (fictional) African homeland; Penn is the Secret Service agent assigned to protect her, or to determine her role (if any) in the assassination scenario. By distancing itself from real-life politics, The Interpreter softens its potential impact as a thriller about contemporary globalization and threats to international peace, but the Penn/Kidman personal drama (between two people who gain a deep appreciation for shared anguish, without being artificially forced into romance) adds a richly human dimension to Pollack's expert handling of the thriller elements of a complex yet easily-followed plot. Indie-film stalwart Catherine Keener shines in her supporting role as Penn's sarcastic by sympathetic Secret Service partner. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Customer Reviews:
very disappointed.......2008-03-02
I expected an unusual and gripping film. Instead, I was bitterly disappointed especially with the barely acting part of the the so-called heroine who simply could not be heard and muttered in a most monotonous voice with no real acting ability. I ask . " How on earth did she succeed in landing that part? " After about half an hour, I indexed the film forward bit by bit, but there she still was. muttering incomprehensively with a really sulky expression permanently graven on her face. Really the film may have some quite passable action shots, but if one is not in the least interested in any of the characters - however good the action might become, one remains unmoved and bored by this film which I hired out as a DVD rental. Just another disappointment and I am partly to blame for not researching it beforehand sufficiently !
Something has been lost in translation.......2007-09-29
I'd read other reviews of this film claiming it was an intelligent and stylish thriller and I remember regretting missing it at the cinema as it seemed to promise a happy change from the usual gun & gore fests that dominate Hollywood's output. However, I have to say this film left me cold and my prevailing thought at the end was "Is that it?"
The story starts well with a prologue involving a sinister double-cross in Madeupnameland in Africa followed by Kidman's character inadvertantly stumbling across a plot to kill a controversial African leader. After that it just disintegrates. If you watch this film you can look forward to a whole series of tiresome Hollywood clichés including tough but fragile heroine, cynical but sensitive cop, ruthless but incompitent hitman, corrupt and murderous African leader and twists and turns more predictable than a spiral staircase. The most jarring thing is the name of the invented African country and I'm in doubt the writers thought "We need something that sounds African... hmm... Umbongo... Bongobongoland... Umpalumpaloolaa...".
On the plus side there are creditable performances from Penn and Kidman with the latter never looking better, but the remainder of the cast are little more than moving wallpaper. The New York backdrop is familiar and used to completely unspectacular effect and, without wishing to spoil part of the plot, I was left wondering if anybody in the Big Apple ever closes their curtains.
I hoped for stylish and intelligent. I got hackneyed and predictable. I won't be adding it to my shopping basket.
A professional, engrossing thriller.......2007-08-12
I thought this was a solid, adult suspense thriller, heavy on police procedure and light on romantic cliches. Silvia Broone (Nicole Kidman) is an interpreter at the U.N. Her speciality is African languages. One night, when she's in her booth alone overlooking the dark, empty General Assembly, she hears a brief whisper from a wall speaker that suggests a visiting African head of state, a man who has turned into an aged, bloody dictator, will be assassinated. (The opening of the movie establishes the kind of murderous reign he has instituted and is very effective.) Assigned to investigate is Tobin Keller (Sean Penn), a member of the Secret Service section that protects visiting dignitaries. Both have tragedies they're dealing with. Most of Broome's family was killed when the dictator repressed everyone who threatened his rule. Keller's wife has just died in a car accident.
Sydney Pollack takes us through the development of these two people's characters and lays out the bones of the plot. The race to find the assassins builds upon methodical police investigation, which is complicated by Broome's own ambivalence. There also are one or two red herrings. The settings add a lot of atmosphere and energy to the movie. Much was shot inside the U.N. building and a great deal was shot on New York City streets.
There are one or two times when coincidence seems to play a role, but the action happens fast enough that you don't notice this until the movie's over. The only unsatisfying part for me was the conclusion of the assassination plot. There were a few minutes of heavy melodrama involving Broome, Penn and the aged dictator which seemed to me was designed primarily to show that Kidman and Penn were "actors." That aside, I thought this was a fast-paced, professional film that was fun to watch. And there were some fine performances in the secondary roles, especially Catherine Keener as Keller's Secret Service partner and Jesper Christensen as the dictator's head of security.
Why do they they have to invent the name of the country?.......2007-07-12
"The Interpreter" would have more current-events clout if it dealt with specific issues in a real African country, rather than generic troubles in an imaginary nation. That said, the movie takes what amounts to a daring position in today's ideological climate, endorsing institutions like the UN as valuable tools for bringing order to our chronically unruly world. All of which makes "The Interpreter" engrossing to watch and stimulating to think about.
Dont' expect to be thrilled.......2007-06-23
There are not many movies that I would switch off or walk out of the room without first pausing but unfortunatley I did not have to worry about missing
any of the action in this film as it trudged along. The scenes inside the UN building were impressive but for the most part the polotics played out in this film were fairly mundane.
I like Nicole Kidman she is a mighty fine actress and played her part well but is by no means stretched in her performance in this film. Sean Penn plays yet another cop type figure with issues and an alcohol dependence and plays a dull and brooding figure.
I would honestly give this film a miss unless you have trouble sleeping at night.
UK DVD:
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- Jari Love: Get Ripped [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Joe Pasquale: Bubble and Squeak Live! [2007]
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UK DVD List
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