| FILTH AND WISDOM | ||||
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| Critics
had already begun sharpening their pencils at the prospect of "Filth
and Wisdom" which revolves around a Ukrainian immigrant who finances
his dreams of rock stardom by moonlighting as a cross-dressing dominatrix,
and his two female flatmates. Madonna has been less than timid about her ambitions as a filmmaker, provoking smirks among the jaded corps of international reviewers at the Berlinale, which ranks among Europe's top three festivals. "I have always been inspired by the films of Godard, Visconti, Pasolini and Fellini and hope that I may one day make something that comes close to their genius," she said in a director's statement, ticking off some of cinema history's most iconic filmmakers. A London-based romp, "Filth and Wisdom" stars Eugene Hutz, the Ukrainian frontman for a real-life Gypsy punk rock band, Gogol Bordello, as well as British cult star Richard E. Grant. Hutz plays AK a self-proclaimed philosopher and poet, whose sideline career sees him assume characters ranging from a Marine drill instructor to former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher -- depending on the tastes of his clients. Grant plays a blind professor and frustrated writer who lives in the same building. And AK's flatmates are thinly drawn beauties: Juliette, a chemist with a drug problem who dreams of doing aid work in Africa, and Holly, a budding ballerina who becomes a pole dancer to make ends meet. The audience at a preview screening broke its stony silence only a few times, during Hutz's raucous stage shows with Gogol Bordello and stripteases to Madonna's steamy hit "Erotic" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears, whom the singer famously French kissed at an awards show in 2003. The sex scenes are vintage Madonna, involving kinky sadomasochism, outrageous costumes and a heavy dose of tongue-in-cheek humour. But the script's penny-ante philosophy left viewers shifting restlessly in their seats: "Without filth, there can be no wisdom, without darkness, there can be no light" Madonna's own acting career got off to a promising start with a starring role in 1985's "Desperately Seeking Susan," but then went into terminal decline with her appearances in major flops like 1986's "Shanghai Surprise" alongside first husband Sean Penn. Her last celluloid outing was in the widely derided "Swept Away" in 2002, which was directed by her current husband Guy Ritchie and involved, according to the New York Times, "a lot of swearing, a little nudity, a modicum of sex and an eternity of staring at your watch". For Madonna, however, directing seemed like the natural next step. "I have always admired the art of filmmaking and the ability to tell a good story," she said in her programme notes. "After almost three decades of being in front of a camera, I decided to put my money where my mouth is." The Material Girl, who will turn 50 in August, not only directs, but also co-wrote the screenplay and acted as executive producer. "'Filth and Wisdom' was essentially my way of putting myself through film school," she said. The project began life as a short, but Madonna said it grew into a feature as she became more involved in the lives of the three main characters. "When the film was finished, I realised that they were all aspects of me, so the whole experience was both artistic and therapeutic," she said. Madonna was to give a press conference later Wednesday ahead of the film's gala premiere. Her participation in the Berlinale is in keeping with the distinctly musical flavour of this year's festival, which opened last Thursday with the world premiere of Martin Scorsese's concert movie with The Rolling Stones, "Shine a Light". The godmother of punk, Patti Smith, attended the screening of a documentary on her career, while rock veteran Neil Young presented a film about Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 2006 Freedom of Speech Tour. |
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| Source:
AFP via Yahoo! News by Deborah Cole Wed Feb 13, 10:10 AM ET |
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| Source:
Berlinale.de by Deborah Cole Wed Feb 13, 10:10 AM ET |
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| Filming of "Filth and Wisdom" | ||||
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| Source: AFP | ||||
| Back to February 2008 Index | ||||
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Filth
And Wisdom Great Britain, 2008 Lenght: 81 min Format: 35 mm, 1:1:85 |
Premiere
Date February 13, 2008 at 58th Berlin International Film
Festival |
Written
by Madonna and Dan Cadan Director Madonna Studio Exposure/HSI Genre: Comedy / Drama / Music Plot the story features a Russian immigrant, ballet school, lap dancing, cultural revolution, poetry, night club, punk rock band, book writer, dominatrix and gypsy. |
Starring
Stephen Graham ... Harry Beechman Richard E. Grant ... Professor Flynn Eugene Hutz ... A.K. Vicky McClure ... Juliette Ade ... DJ Olegar Fedoro ... A.K.'s Father Gogol Bordello ... Themselves (also archive footage) Elena Buda ... Ballet Student Francesca Kingdon ... Francine Clare Wilkie ... Chloe Shobu Kapoor ... Sardeep's Wife Tim Wallers ... Mr. Frisk Elliot Levey ... Benjamin Goldfarb Holly Weston ... Holly Hannah Walters ... Mrs. Goldfarb Inder Manocha ... Sardeep George Keeler ... Frail Man |
Produced
by Nicola Doring Associate Producer: Angela Becker Cinematography: Tim Maurice-Jones Camera operator: Peter Wignall Edited: Simon Hayes Choreographies: Stephanie Roos, Tiffany Olson Production design: Gideon Ponte Art Director: Max Bellhouse Costumes by B Make up: Sinden Dean First assistant director: Tony Fernandes Casting: Dan Hubbard Production director: Sue Hiller Unit Production manager: Gavin Milligan |
Additional
Details Runtime: UK:81 min (PAL Version) Country: UK Language: English / Russian Color: Color Filming Locations: London, England |
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