"Born into Brothels"
5 stars
Directed by Zana Briski and Ross KauffmanBorn into Brothels, the directorial debut of Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, follows the lives of children whose mothers work as prostitutes in Calcutta's red-light district. Video footage, still photographs and interviews with the children come together to create a visually stunning documentary.

To make the film, Briski, a photojournalist who had been living in the red-light district, started a photography class for ten children of prostitutes, giving each a point-and-shoot camera. The result is not only a heart wrenching portrait of life through their eyes, but also a revelation of the amount of talent, passion, intelligence and hope in these young children.

The film weaves together the children's histories, their present-day photography and Briski's frustrating struggle to get the kids out of the red light district and in school. These poignant interviews with the children are the heart of the film.

The insights these children reveal regarding not only their own situations, but also the impact photography has had on their lives, are extraordinary. The interviews are complemented by the composition of each child's photographs, which are so touching and full of spirit that they serve as windows into the soul of each child.

The cinematography of the film is also superb, illustrating the clutter and chaos in which these children live with the rare quality of being both stunningly beautiful and also extremely disturbing. The film's score is also outstanding; it gives the movie the intensity and passion that is important to a documentary.

This heart-filled film is an astonishing achievement for Briski and Kauffman, elevating the documentary film genre to a new level.
-Sam Shermann


"Bride and Prejudice"
2 stars
Directed by Gurinder Chadha
Starring Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson, Daniel Gillies and Naveen Andrews

The conventions of Bollywood are a bit alien to Western cinema. Its earnestness, vibrant and colorful choreography and penchant for melodrama can be disorienting to an audience accustomed to the self-aware irony of post-modern Western cinema. Gurinder Chadha's stylistic aim in Bride and Prejudice is to bridge the gap between the two styles, incorporating western themes and characters into what is at its core a simplistic Bollywood story. It is a less than successful attempt.

The Jane Austen connection is peripheral at best. The film's general plot follows the motions of Austen's novel, but is considerably dumbed down in the translation. The script is largely bland and uninteresting. The characters embody formulaic archetypes, and the actors who play them are certainly attractive, just not terribly talented. Mr. Bakshi (Anupam Kher, Banana Brothers) proves to be the exception, bringing a mannered, benevolent dignity to the role.

Of course, the movie is driven by its music, but Bride and Prejudice's score is still a mixed bag. Some numbers are excellent and full of a sincere enthusiasm. Others-usually the English songs-suffer from weak lyrics and lazy editing (lip synching is present and distractingly evident, for example.)

I really wanted Bride and Prejudice to work. When it hits its high notes, it is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, clumsy writing and simplistic execution keep it from living up to its global pedigree.
-Randolph Brickey

"Constantine"
no stars
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf and Djimon Hounsou

In the post-Lord of the Rings era, the prevailing cinematic craze appears to be the trend of turning every last comic book into a noisy, obnoxious, special effect-laden production.

Marvel, anchored by Spider-Man and X-Men, has enjoyed the genre's success while the other legendary comic book house, DC Comics, has languished in cinematic obscurity. (Granted, after the last two Batman features, DC Comics can be considered damaged goods.)

Constantine, a Warner Bros. production opening this Friday, is adapted from Hellblazer, a graphic novel from the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. But the film is further cause for DC titles to be left off-screen.

It is a tale of angels and demons fighting for dominion over humanity while Keanu Reeves tries to maintain the ethereal peace. Throughout the movie, Reeves and his costar, Rachel Weisz, visit hell and try to save Los Angeles from an unexplained plot device called the Spear of Destiny.

In his first role since the 2003 sequels to The Matrix, Reeves is as uninteresting as ever. By the end of Constantine, he seems to be playing Neo again, only torn between God and the devil rather than machines and Laurence Fishburne. After Reeves and Weisz, nearly all the significant characters serve little storytelling purpose at all.

Then again, Reeves has never been highly regarded for his acting chops, so why start now? At least from his Matrix experience he can throw a decent punch, but Constantine is otherwise an attempt to rehash Reeves' role as a downtrodden loner forced to save the world.

Constantine is another discredit to the comic-book adaptation genre, but there is at least some logic to the film: It's a movie from hell.
-Benjamin Freed