Movie Openings

Murder at 1600*M

<\p><\p><\p><\p>(Century 16, Century 12) A by-the-numbers thriller for people who have difficulty adding two and two, "Murder at 1600" is the story of an investigation into a homicide that occurs at the White House. Unless you have been living on one of the UFOs up there behind the comet, you know that in our current popular culture nothing occurs at the White House that is not the result of a conspiracy; hence the challenge to the viewer in films like this is to figure out who's conspiring against whom and why.

In the case of "Murder at 1600," it is not much of a challenge. Indeed, the story line is so conventional (evidence linking the first family to the victim is being suppressed), the characters so cliched (the politicians plot, lie and consult the polls while their attendants obstruct justice), the moral calculus so politically correct (white males are bad, blacks and women are good) and the plot twists so predictable (people are not whom they appear to be) that the film offers the unintended pleasure of allowing you to feel smarter than everyone in it. Thus even though the Washington, D.C., detective who is investigating the homicide doesn't know whom to trust in the White House or when his apartment has been bugged or when a chase is about to begin, you do--unless of course you have been living on the far side of Hale-Bopp.

In that case, you need only listen to the investigating detective, who finds an excuse to explain the plot to someone every five minutes or so with comic regularity ("They wanted us to think the diary mattered, but that was just to throw us off.") As the detective, Wesley Snipes has the thankless task of delivering these lines and looking earnest, and he neither distinguishes nor disgraces himself in the process. As a Secret Service agent who risks her career by deciding to assist him, Diane Lane is called upon mostly to nod or frown each time Snipes explains the plot of the movie to her--a task for which she shows embarrassingly little aptitude. As the National Security Advisor to the president, Alan Alda poses with his presence the most interesting mystery of the film, namely: What is an actor of distinction, who presumably can choose his roles, doing in this thoroughly undistinguished thriller? Could it be he has mistaken for insight the cheap cynicism toward contemporary politics that is at the film's core? Rated: R for a bit of bloodshed and a very brief sex scene. 1 hour, 42 minutes

Paradise Road**M

<\p><\p><\p><\p>(Park) Of all the World War II prisoner-of-war movies you can think of ("The Great Escape," "Bridge on the River Kwai," "King Rat," "Stalag 17"), common themes arise, e.g. the perseverance of the prisoners amidst dire conditions, the cruelty of their captors, people from various countries and social strata unified in captivity, etc. The quality of the prisoners' music, though, was not generally a common concern.

"Paradise Road" is based on the true stories of hundreds of English, Australian and American women imprisoned in Sumatra by the Japanese as they swept through South East Asia in 1942. Fleeing from Singapore, their ship is attacked and sunk by Japanese fighter planes, in a scene that shocks with its clarity and immediacy. Sequences like this are usually in fuzzy black and white, softened with the passage of time.

The women prisoners, facing extreme cruelty and hardship, seek any means for survival. Adrienne Partier (Glenn Close) hits on the idea of forming a choir in a discussion with Margaret Drummond (Pauline Collins). They are both trained musicians, and Margaret has many scores of orchestrations memorized. She writes them down in children's notebooks, and dozens of women, risking constant danger of extreme punishment or even execution, conspire to practice surreptitiously. No glee club, this, but a vocal orchestra, whose first performance is the Largo from Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Some of the joy in this film is this "Sound of Music" moment, when Close raises her hands and the vocal orchestra transforms the dense tropical air with sweet, haunting strains. The savage beast calmed, the guards, who came to break up the illegal gathering, sit and listen with awe.

The trouble is where to go from there. Plenty of inspirational close-ups later, we are convinced that there's no music like vocal-orchestra music. But following the women through three years of increasing difficulty--where disease is rampant and sporadic and irrational violence from the camp guards or commander is routine, and death is a regular event--gives the last third of the film a melancholy, nearly maudlin feel. The loyal poodle at the grave of her mistress being but one chilling example.

Still, director Bruce Beresford ("Driving Miss Daisy") tells a story of true courage and inspiration. His cast is top notch, including a teutonic Frances McDormand as a German-Jewish doctor, Cate Blanchett as an Australian nurse and Jennifer Ehle (BBC's "Pride and Prejudice") as a British fashion model brought low by unthinkable circumstances. While in danger of being yet another prisoner-of-war film, this picture ultimately delivers some satisfying and touching twists on the well-worn genre. Rated: R for violence. 2 hours

Chasing Amy***1/2

<\p><\p><\p><\p>(Palo Alto Square) Director Kevin Smith began his illustrious career with the convenience store cult hit "Clerks," and moved on to the less celebrated, and some say misunderstood, "Mallrats." This is the third in Smith's New Jersey trilogy, a hip look at love and loss in the no-man's land of post-high-school pre-adulthood. Kevin Smith has come of age. Well, sort of.

Holden (Ben Affleck) is a cool, sensitive, goateed comic book artist living in a shabby-chic loft with his less cool and less sensitive best friend, Banky (Jason Lee). Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) is beautiful, sensitive and relationship-savvy, and also a comic book artist. They share the same work and the same hometown, and they are instantly attracted. A friendship blossoms, the attraction deepens. Holden is ready to take the commitment plunge, but there's a hitch. Or two. Alyssa likes sleeping exclusively with girls. Banky is threatened by Alyssa and afraid of losing his oldest friend to love. Alyssa is fearful of her lesbian friends' reaction. Holden pursues, will Alyssa succumb?

It is evident that Kevin Smith is maturing both as a writer and a human being. His oft-dominant slacker tone has taken a back seat to the more grown-up themes of contemporary sexual politics and social taboos. The dialogue is fresh and funny and the sexual repartee is bold. The ramifications of gay-straight coupling and past formative experiences is fascinating. When the controversial subject matter threatens to overwhelm the story, emphasis on the surrounding relationships keeps it on an even keel. By making a more accomplished film, an edge of originality is lost to polish, but it does not diminish the entertainment value. Affleck and Adams have convincing chemistry, and Adams possesses astonishing on-camera charisma. Cameo by director Smith establishes his slacker roots, lest we forget from whence he came. Rated: R for language, adult situations. 1 hour, 45 minutes

Kissed**M

<\p><\p><\p><\p>(Aquarius) Most movies operate in familiar territory, simply reworking formulaic plots within different settings and with different sets of characters.

"Kissed" is not one of them. Lynne Stopkewich's controversial first feature, like fellow Canadian David Cronenberg's "Crash," breaks new ground by daring to deal with taboo subject matter that explores the relationship between sexual fantasy and death. Whereas Cronenberg's disturbing film causes audience discomfort, Stopkewich seduces the viewer into a sympathetic stance toward Sandra, the main character. She is a necrophile.

Through the use of voice-over narration, the film makes us privy to Sandra's innermost thoughts from the opening scene. We hear and see how she has always been fascinated by death, creating burial rituals for dead animals as an adolescent and taking a job at a funeral parlor as an adult. Molly Parker's assured performance is so convincing that one accepts her character's point of view without casting judgment on her. She approaches corpses with such reverence and in such a quasi-spiritual state--"I've seen bodies shining like stars . . ."--that the blinding flashes of white light during her own le petite mort, the little death of orgasm, include the viewer in an erotic, transcendental experience rather than a deeply revolting one.

"Kissed" succeeds as a fascinating character study. Although the psychology of sexual perversion is never explained, you do come to understand and, to a certain degree, experience Sandra's obsession. Not only does this force you to consider provocative issues on a personal level, but also to marvel at the power of filmmaking to manipulate you into a state of identification, voyeurism and desire. Not rated but contains a graphic scene of the embalming process, frontal nudity and sex with corpses. 1 hour, 28 minutes