FilthAndWisdom Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Here at the Indie Spotlight, we treat your multiplex woes with a healthy dose of limited-release independent flicks. Being an indie film doesn't automatically make it better than a mainstream movie -- but if it's bad, at least you know it didn't cost $100 million to make. Frugality is important in these trying economic times.

It's a rather light week for indies, with just four for our perusal: The Elephant King, Filth and Wisdom, Tru Loved, and What Just Happened. There's also Morning Light, a documentary about competitive open-sea sailing, which, while not an indie (it's from Disney), is opening on a limited number of screens. Cinematical's Jeffrey M. Anderson has a review here.

And now, the rundown!

What Just Happened
What it is: Barry Levinson directs an all-star cast (Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro) in this Hollywood satire about a fading producer.
What they're saying: Cinematical's Scott Weinberg gave it a lukewarm review at Sundance, basically saying that if you're a big movie buff who already knows how Hollywood works, there won't be much new to laugh at. At Rotten Tomatoes, the reviews are 2-to-1 in favor of the flick.
Where it's playing: A few dozen screens in several major markets: New York, L.A., San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, and Phoenix.
More info: The official site has a complete list of theaters, as well as where it's opening next.

The Elephant King
What it is: A drama about two American brothers sexing their way through Thailand one summer.
What they're saying: All four reviews at Rotten Tomatoes are scathing, calling it naive and desperate. But Variety's review, for some reason not yet posted at RT, has high praise for the acting and says the movie "deserves to find an audience."
Where it's playing: New York City (Angelika Film Center).
More info: The official site.

The most obvious thing one can say about Filth and Wisdom is that it's the directorial debut of Madonna. And the most surprising thing one can say about it is that, for all its narrative and aesthetic shortcomings, it's not half-bad. Certainly, Madonna tackles what she knows, which in this case is a collection of related stories linked by the overriding message that no profound knowledge can be attained without degradation first being experienced, a sentiment the Material Girl has been pushing in one form or another at least since 1992's Erotica and its infamous companion tome Sex. If embracing your inner skank is the path to enlightenment, then Madonna must now be the Dalai Lama. And yet despite the juvenile maxims spouted by Eugene Hutz - the lead singer of gypsy-punk outfit Gogol Bordello (which provides much of the soundtrack), here playing a variation of himself named A.K. - and the sometimes blandly functional cinematography by Tim Maurice-Jones, there's raggedy charm to this misshapen film, a genuine, enticing verve that helps overshadow the dull leadenness of Hutz-spouted platitudes like his title-explaining gem, "Without filth, there is no wisdom."