For the week of September 4 - 10, 2002

Films of the fall

Magic Lantern puts on its 
14th annual film festival

---

By ADAM TANOUS
Express Arts Editor

Believe it or not there are some constants in our lives. Every first week of September the children are back in school, and the dust has settled again after the Big Hitch Parade. The week also heralds the Annual Magic Lantern Fall Film Festival. The festival celebrates the season’s independent, art and foreign films in a two-week event, opening Friday, that brings up to 10 provocative and entertaining films to Ketchum.

On the schedule for week one are five films: "Sunshine State," John Sayles’ new film; "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," by Jodie Foster; "Enigma," starring Kate Winslet; "Nine Queens," an Argentinean thriller; and "The Independent," a mock documentary about bad exploitation movies.

"Sunshine State" is a story about a clash between entrenched locals and developers in a small Florida community. The film starring Edie Falco and Angela Bassett, however, goes beyond the typical big, bad-guy corporation trouncing the underdog. Sayles inserts into the mix themes about dreams and how two generations may have very different aspirations.

Jodie Foster and Kieran Culkin in "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys." Courtesy photo

Jodie Foster produced the coming-of-age film "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys." It is a drama set in the ’70s about two irreverent Catholic high school kids (Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin). Foster plays Sister Assumpta, a nun who has become the authority figure in the boys’ lives. While the boys launch into misadventure after misadventure, they perceive her efforts as merely an attempt to subvert their fun rather than as a battle to save their souls. Viewers might note that Hirsch stars with Kevin Kline in the soon-to-be-released film "The Emperor’s Club," which was pre-screened at the recent Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.

Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet star in "Enigma," opening Friday at the Magic Lantern Fall Film Festival. Courtesy photo

"Enigma" is the true-life story of the British code breakers during World War II. Tom Stoppard adapted the screenplay from the Robert Harris best seller. Kate Winslet, Dougray Scott, Jeremy Northram and Saffron Burrows star in the romantic thriller set in Britain’s Bletchley Park in 1943. The code breakers were given the daunting task of breaking the code by which Nazi U boats communicated with each other and with the German High Command.

"Nine Queens," an Argentinean film, centers on two small-time swindlers who team up after meeting in a convenience store. The two take on a once-in-a-lifetime scheme to sell a forged set of valuable rare stamps, The Nine Queens.

To shore up the comedic end of the festival schedule is "The Independent," starring Jerry Stiller. The mock documentary is about a schlock film producer, Marty Fineman, who has written and directed over 427 films, among them "Twelve Angry Men and a Baby," "King Kong Christmas" and "Cage Full of Waitresses." Safe to say, just about everything to do with the film business is spoofed in this Mike Wilkins production.

The Magic Lantern has three more films confirmed for week two: "The Emperor’s New Clothes," "The Fast Runner" and "The Kids Stay in the Picture." Steve Bynum, manager of the theater hopes to have two surprises to boot. The latter have yet to be confirmed, but will likely be announced in next week’s paper.

The festival runs through Thursday, Sept. 19.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.