The Legend of 1900 Review
by Michael Dequina (twotrey AT juno DOT com)December 6th, 1999
(out of ****)
_The_Legend_of_1900_ (R) *** 1/2
_The_War_Zone_ *** 1/2
_The_Legend_of_1900_ is, by every definition, a beautiful film: it's lovely to look at--and perhaps even moreso to listen to; and the acting is exquisite. Looks may not count for everything when it comes to movies, but in the case of Giuseppe Tornatore's old-fashioned cinematic fable, it is more than enough, creating an enchanting, emotional spell that is hard to resist.
Contrary to what the title may lead one to believe, _The_Legend_of_1900_ is not about one eventful year, but the many eventful years of a man born in and named for that year (played as an adult by Tim Roth). Abandoned by his birth parents as an infant, Nineteen Hundred is discovered and raised aboard the steam ship _The_Virginian_. A natural born pianist, his uncanny skill with the keys earns him a following among the many travelers who cross the Atlantic aboard the ship, even attracting the attention of the father of jazz himself, Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III). But Nineteen Hundred never sets foot off of his ship, and as he sees the world pass him fraction by fraction with each voyage, he wonders about a life on solid ground.
Tornatore's execution of the already sentimental story is as unabashedly manipulative as it sounds, and while it's understandable why some critics have thusly panned the film as being shameless claptrap, the broad execution fits. _The_Legend_of_1900_ is not a realistic story, but, as it is billed, a fable--a tale of larger-than-life characters and similarly exaggerated emotion. Ennio Morricone's grandiose score perfectly complements the atmosphere. The mechanisms do show a bit too clearly in the film's finale, which works too hard to get the audience to cry. The tear-wringing efforts may not work, but the fact that a palpable sense of sadness and loss lingers not only over the ending but the entire film shows how effectively Tornatore created his make-believe world.
A key factor in giving the fantasy world some grounding in reality are the actors. The versatile Roth is enormously sympathetic as the brilliant but lonely Nineteen Hundred; his tenderness may come as a shock to those more familar with the scuzzy characters he's known for playing. Just as critical to the film's success is the performance of Pruitt Taylor Vince, who is equally as touching as Max, Nineteen Hundred's trumpeteer best friend and the film's narrator.
For all the talk of the art behind the medium, film is all about transporting audiences to another place and time, removing them from their here-and-now into the world that is presented onscreen. _The_Legend_of_1900_ is not a perfect film--one is always acutely aware of the mechanics behind its manipulation--but for its intents and purposes, it doesn't have to be. One leaves the film reflecting on its beauty and special sense of magic--which is all that counts.
"Beauty" and "magic" are words that wouldn't come close to being used to describe the directorial debut of _1900_ star Roth, _The_War_Zone_. The film is not, as the title suggests, a war film, but emotional brutality of this grim tale is just as, if not more, disturbing as, say, the opening 20 minutes of _Saving_Private_Ryan_. The war zone in question is the modest four-person household in the countryside of Devon, England. The family appears to be nothing out of the ordinary, with the foibles of a modern unit, particularly one that has moved from the big city (London in this case) to the remote country. The father (Ray Winstone) is in the midst of ironing out business matters; the mother (Tilda Swinton) is due to give birth to her third child; the 15-year-old son, Tom (Freddie Cunliffe), misses his friends in London, and passes his spare time with his elder sister, the also-teenage Jessie (Lara Belmont).
But there's a dark truth bubbling under the surface, one that Tom stumbles upon one night, setting a course for disaster. I will not reveal what that truth is, but needless to say it's wholly unpleasant--and portrayed in a discomfiting, unflinching manner, for which Roth must be commended. He takes a great risk in confronting a sensitive subject with such brazen matter-of-factness, and the film's success does not come with the fact that he took the risk, but that he takes that risk without ever seeming exploitative. There is no sugarcoating nor glamorizing of the situation. He presents it as it is--raw and painfully real.
As is the case with many directorial projects by actors, the acting is uniformly solid in _The_War_Zone_; in fact, it's nothing short of extraordinary. Standing out among the impressive cast are the two gifted newcomers, Cunliffe and especially Belmont. The fact that these two are unfamiliar faces only heightens the realism, and, in turn, the film's devastating effect. A very rough sit, the uncompromising _The_War_Zone_ is by no stretch an enjoyable film, and for that reason, it is one to be greatly admired. (_The_War_Zone_ opens December 10)
Michael Dequina
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