| FILTH AND WISDOM | ||||
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| Ragged,
uneven and potholed with some dire dialogue and performances, the
film's cockeyed optimism and likable leads conspire to bring a smile
by the time it's done. Barely feature length at 81 minutes, it will
likely appeal to Madonna's fans for its echoes of various threads
of her own life story and the grunge style of "Desperately Seeking
Susan." To many, however, it will remain an oddity. Focusing on three mismatched London flat-mates who accept dire jobs while waiting for their dreams to come true, the picture is a curious mix of TV sitcom, madcap raunchiness and rowdy gypsy music. The male of the trio, a heavily accented Ukrainian would-be pop singer named A.K. (Eugene Hutz), sets the mood speaking directly to the camera and espousing the general theme that the path to enlightenment is via the gutter. A.K. spends a lot of time in the bathtub, dressed or not, water or not, drinking brandy, smoking and pondering life's vicissitudes. He earns ready money by getting into costumes and beating up paying customers who get their jollies that way. He also runs errands for a blind poet (Richard E. Grant) who lives downstairs. A.K. has a crush on flat-mate Holly (Holly Weston), a beautiful ballerina who, being flat broke, resorts to stripping and pole-dancing at a local club, while equally lovely Juliette (Vicky Mclure) is putting in time at a drugstore while dreaming of going to Africa to help the starving children there. There are scenes involving A.K.'s clientele, Holly's fellow strippers and Juliette's lustful pharmacist boss and occasionally the two young women join in A.K.'s paid-for role-playing. Some sequences are jarring in their sudden shifts of tone, and a few simply fall flat. The further down the cast, the less Madonna, who co-scripted, demonstrates a firm grip as director. "Filth and Wisdom" is unexpectedly sentimental, too, but the three leads are sufficiently engaging that while chaotic and more than a bit silly, the film in the end conjures up a surprising amount of goodwill. |
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| Source:
Hollywood Reporter by Ray Bennett / Posted:
Feb 14, 2008 |
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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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