Maria Ripoll Tagged Articles at Cinematical

She might not get the chance to shine as Pope Joan, but it looks like Run Lola Run star Franka Potente is getting a different dramatic chance to shine. Variety reports that she is going to headline a new lost-at-sea film called Wave -- joining the likes of Dougray Scott and Marianne Faithful.

Based on Louise Longo's Let Me Survive, the film will focus on an English family -- mom (Potente) plus husband and 5-year-old daughter -- who set out for a three-week cruise on the Bay of Biscay. But a storm rushes in as they're just 40 miles from the Spanish coast, and the family decide that they'd be safer in the life raft, waiting to be rescued. But Bernard is injured getting into the liferaft and dies, as does the young girl. And that's not the end of the story -- after being rescued two weeks later, "she's then alleged to have killer her husband."

Basically, this is really meaty fare that I think Potente can excel at. She's got the chops, and just needs a chance to showcase them. Maria Ripoll (Tortilla Soup) will direct, from an adaptation penned by Marie-Laure Bertehlin and Greg Latter. And while I'm usually against similar, or repetitive competing pictures, this would be excellently matched with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor -- one outlining the loss of family while the other deals with isolated, inner turmoil. Any takers?

A quick glance at DVD Journal's handy "Release Calendar" and it's easy to see that David Lynch's Inland Empire is the indie pick of the week. Cinematical will have more on the film later today, but let me draw your attention to other worthy titles. Your Life in 65 begins on a lazy Sunday. A young man named Dani (Javier Pereira) and his friends meet in a park and while away the time until a newspaper obituary catches Dani's eye. Someone with the same name as an old schoolmate has passed away, prompting speculation that begins with bemusement and turns more serious when the gang decides to stop by the memorial service. Albert Espinosa's script, based on his own play, is exceptionally well-written, and director Maria Ripoll is smart enough to allow breathing space for words and actions. Look for the DVD from Strand Releasing.

Another Spanish-language film based on a play, The Method might remind you of David Mamet, circa House of Cards, in the intricacy and speed of its silver-tongued characters and the gamesmanship on display in the twisting plot. A small group of job applicants gathers in a conference room. They are the finalists in the cutthroat competition for an executive position, but will they do anything to get the job? Highly entertaining with a distinctly amoral perspective, The Method features an excellent cast, with the great Eduardo Noriega headlining; Marcelo Piñeyro directed. Palm Pictures is the distributor. Cinematical's Matt Bradshaw wrote about the trailer in May and included it in his post.

Doc fans have a well-recommended trio of new releases to consider. When Jette Kernion saw Doug Block's 51 Birch Street at South by Southwest in 2006, she noted that "the film had an emotional effect on many audience members." God Grew Tired of Us won the Grand Jury Documentary Prize at Sundance in 2006, while Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars focuses on musicians in a refugee camp who play music while awaiting possible repatriation to their native land. I saw it at AFI Fest in 2005; it's a fine, inspiring showcase for the infectious rhythms of the group's music.