"And The Winner Is..."

Unknown White Male: An Interview with Director Rupert Murray

By James McCaskill, DC Film Society Member

It is like being in darkness, feeling around for something to clutch onto and you can't. [Quote from Doug Bruce, subject of Unknown White Male].

If you lost your past, would you want it back? The facts seem to speak for themselves in Rupert Murray's documentary, Unknown White Male. Some time between 8pm on July 1 and 7am on July 2, 2002, Doug Bruce lost his past. The British man woke up on a New York City subway train in Coney Island. He could not remember anything about his past--name, friends, family. Nothing. Murray is a long time friend of Bruce and has documented his journey to regain his past from the rarest form of amnesia, psychogenic retrograde amnesia.

Unknown White Male is Murray's sixth documentary for UK's Channel 4 television. C4 has commissioned some of the best TV documentaries around, Nick Broomfield's Aileen: Life and Death of as Serial Killer and The Hamburg Cell, pulled from the life of the 9/11 hijackers.

Prior to amnesia Doug was a highly successful stockbroker who retired at the age of 30. Handsome, successful, popular, living in a loft in the East Village. All that came to a sudden end. Using a pastiche of family films, reunions with old friends, trips to meet family in Europe, and Doug's video diaries, Murray takes us on a incredible journey in this documentary.

Or does he?

In recent months doubt has been raised about this. Some have said it is an outright hoax. A fake.

When unspooled at Sundance 2005, questions were raised about the film's authenticity. HBO was interested but backed off allegedly when their research showed some inconsistencies.

What's not to hate? In some ways it is too good to be true. Good looking, multi-millionaire, dates models, ex-girl friend's mother's phone number only link to the past. Some doubters have not minced words. Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the the Spotless Mind) said, "I didn't believe him. But I don't want to confront him, and have always avoided the subject. Maybe the idea came from Eternal Sunshine. Oops, I didn't say that."

Murray has attacked that head on, "It's not a hoax. People find it too incredible to be true. It's more incredible, actually."

At the films's UK premiere in the 2005 London Film Festival, the catalogue description was, "Murray has fashioned a striking documentary, one that not only tells an extraordinary story but also serves as an exploration of memory itself."

The UK press reviews had not a hint of doubt about the authenticity of the film. The London Times said, "This is an extraordinary film that poses some universal and profound questions about ourselves and what exactly made us who we are." The Evening Standard, in a long article, called it, "The astonishing story of a young British man who suffered total memory loss is to be told for the first time."

I asked Murray how he responds to the skeptics. "What they think about the film tells something about who they are. The vast majority of people react to it very well. About the insights on amnesia and how it transfers to their own life. It is a difficult world. If you are a cynical person then you will prefer to question and judge everything you see. You won't be inspired by Doug's unique situation. I've never doubted it for one second so I never felt a need to justify or probe the film beyond a reasonable doubt. I could have filled it with doctor after doctor. If you are a skeptic no amount of evidence would satisfy you. Retrograde amnesia is incredibly rare. His type is exceedingly rare. I did not make the film with the idea that I would have to prove whether or not he is a fake. I made it for Channel 4, for Doug, and for his friends."

I wanted to know if Bruce could have conned him. "No. I am a good judge of character and I could tell."

I asked what he might have added or left out. "There's nothing in there that was not needed. Many things I wish I had done different, from a technical point. My voice over was recorded at two different times of the day and the timbre is different. I wish I had gone to Panama and captured memories from there that he is carrying forward. [Doug owns farm land in Panama that was not mentioned in the film.] Lots of people wish I had expanded parts of it, had more detail. Amnesia affected every aspect of his life."

"You get the general picture of Doug I," he responded to my question about more information on Doug before the onset of amnesia. You sense early on that Doug I was a forceful personality. Would there be a battle inside his head between Doug I and Doug II? Might he gain insight into his personality that Doug I might not like? The moment you get your memory back you no longer talk about two different people. They merge into one. It is only language that he will cease to use when his memory returns."

When I asked about the current status of Bruce, he said, "He has not remembered anything. He is a very contented person, very relaxed. I see him all the time."

I wanted to know if Bruce would be out promoting the film. "He has agreed to do a limited number of appearances and interviews. He has learned that he cannot trust some people who will pretend to be his friend. I thought the GQ article was nasty and poorly written. Doug looks at everything as something he can learn from."

"In the documentaries I have made, I love real experiences. I love real emotion and seek reality. Frankly I am too lazy, it's too much work to force something. Conning, tricking someone is abhorrent.

"Some people thought it was a hoax but when you meet Doug any ideas of fakery go out the window. When I went to New York to meet him again as a total stranger it was really quite frightening.

"I have had an amazing experience. I have seen the power of a good story to move an audience. I try to take a holistic view of the situation; medical, experiential. To see how the philosophical interlocks with other parts of him. This will affect what I do from now on."

How did you get the Harvard professor to appear on camera? "I just called him up. He no longer does clinical psych and talked in general terms as I explained Doug's situation."

Bruce was at the London Film Festival where he told the Evening Standard that, "What I've gained is probably freshness to my life and a sense of wonder. Everything is new. As Rupert says in the film, there are no clichés for me."

In quotes released by the distributor Wellspring, Doug Bruce says, "Who am I? I'm still trying to figure that out everyday. Dr. Daniel Schacter (the Harvard psychologist interviewed in the film) suggests that personal knowledge about the past forms a set of memories that mold the core of personal identity. Having less than two years of episodic memories, I think I am probably changing everyday as I experience different aspects of life."

"There's something built into all human beings: You want to have some sense of belonging, or familiarity, which I don't have."

Unknown White Male is scheduled to hit our screens on March 17 and will also be shown on Court TV in the summer.

The 14th Annual Environmental Film Festival:
The Amazon, Cuba, Capuchins and Jacques Perrin

Tsotsi: Q&A with Director Gavin Hood and Actor Presley Chweneyagae

By James McCaskill, DC Film Society Member

Tsotsi is not only South Africa's choice for the Academy Awards, but it is also among the five films making the nomination cut for Best Foreign Language Film. The following Q&A with director Gavin Hood and star Presley Chweneyagae took place at the Toronto Film Festival.

Question: The film seems to tap the soul of a country but why do we have such sympathy for David?
Gavin Hood: Sympathy for David? Throughout the film he was doing radical things. I'm glad that you found sympathy for him; you may be downplaying how violent he is. A really nasty little shit. Presley does such an amazing range of acting from full anger to vulnerability.
Presley Chweneyagae: It was difficult, very draining. I'm glad it all came together.

Q: How were you able to make such connections with people of the townships?
GH: I speak Zulu and spent a lot time there while I was growing up in Johannesburg. I worked first in educational TV, doing films such as World of HIV, a drama for the Department of Health. It was a story about a kid who has had a hell of a life. In Tsotsi both Presley and I had to work. He is not from the townships, but comes from north of Victoria.
PC: This is a young man from a tough background. Ever since I was a kid I wanted to act and be a football star. My mother kept me busy doing chores.
GH: When we came to make the film we had to make a decision about shooting in English or township language.

Q. The music is incredible. Where did it come from?
GH: The guy playing the gangster Zola who ran the auto chopshop did much of the music. A CD of the music has been released.

Q: The screen credits list an animation company. Where were they used?
GH: The ants on the baby were not real; they were 3-dimensional animation. When filming with the baby we used twins. It took endless hours to get what you saw.
PC: Working with the baby was fun. [He gets a dirty look from Hood.] In truth the babies were hell and took a lot of film.

Q: Has the film been released in South Africa? If so, how has it been received?
GH: As it is South Africa's entry into the Academy Awards it had to be released for a week in its home country. All the extras in the movie are from the streets. Some of the kids you see in the pipes actually sleep there at night. The film seems to be working all over the place. The theme of redemption has universal meaning. It is about reaching out across space to each other.

Q: What was the most difficult part of making Tsotsi?
GH: Taking the book to the screen was difficult. You did not want to be too sentimental nor to make him too tough. The author, by the way, likes the film.

The film won the audience award at Edinburgh and was the audience favorite in Toronto also. Tsotsi is scheduled to open in our area soon.

Duck Season: An Interview with Director Fernando Eimbcke

By Annette Graham, DC Film Society Member

Fernando Eimbcke's debut feature film Duck Season "explores the loneliness of childhood, the effects of divorce, the exuberance of youth, and the curious power of love and friendship." It was first shown in our area at the AFI's 16th Annual Latin American Film Festival last September, one of three Mexican films. Of all the films in that festival this is the only one (or at least the first one) to have a commercial release. The film, shot in black and white, is deceptively simple: a 14 year old boy and his friend have the place to themselves on a Sunday after his mother leaves for the day. Planning to spend the day eating junk food and playing video games, they are thwarted by power outages and are soon joined by an older teen-aged neighbor wanting to use their oven to bake a cake and a pizza delivery man. The film has won 11 Ariels (Mexico's Oscar equivalent), more than Amores Perros, and numerous other awards. Fernando Eimbcke is definitely an up-and-coming director to watch.

Storyboard: Let's start with what has influenced your work. [Note: Eimbcke mentions Yasujiro Ozu and Jim Jarmusch in the credits].
Fernando Eimbcke: I loved Alfonso Cuaron's Love in the Time of Hysteria, (1991) and was influenced by its subtle comedy. An Argentinian film La Cienaga (2001) by Lucrecia Martel also influenced me; I learned a lot from that film. I was surprised what she could expose without having things happen. Also Y Tu Mama Tambien influenced me a lot.

SB: How did you get the idea for the film?
FE: I wanted to make a story about four characters trying to fight against Sunday boredom. Even in the most boring day something happens. You must just be aware of it.

SB: You wrote the script too, or just the treatment?
FE: I worked on a ten-page treatment then discussed some ideas with my collaborator Paula Markovitch. So, I did the script with a collaborator. Before writing the script I worked on biographies for the characters.
SB: We learn about the backstory of Ulises, the pizza man; we see flashbacks of some of his whiny customers and learn that he used to work in a dog pound. We discover that Rita's family has forgotten her birthday and that Flama's parents are divorcing. But we don't learn anything about Moko. Why not?
FE: I didn't work on Moko's backstory but concentrated instead on the relationship between Flama and Moko and Moko's admiration of Flama.
SB: Is he supposed to be gay?
FE: It's about the time of life when you are figuring out your sexuality. When I screened this for teenagers, a boy asked if he was gay and a girl said no it's normal at that age. All the kids laughed.

SB: Enrique Arreola who plays Ulises is mostly a stage actor. His credits mention that he appeared in a play at the Kennedy Center here in Washington. Do you know which one?
FE: No.
SB: Did he like working in film and will he work in film again?
FE: Yes, and he learned a lot. He really liked the freshness of it and had a good time on the set. He helped the teenagers, both of whom were first-time actors and they helped him also. It was mutually rewarding for him and them.

SB: How did you find the kids?
FE: Under a rock! It was really hard to find them. We tried the usual places, advertisements in newspapers, schools, etc., but it was very difficult. Eventually we hired a theater director and she helped me a lot in the casting process.

SB: How did that work?
FE: The main parameter was to choose the actors based on the chemistry between them. They didn't have experience, so we went by the chemistry. We chose three Mokos and three Flamas, then mixed and matched them. The vibe between Daniel Miranda and Diego Catano was amazing, really amazing and so they were chosen.

SB: How old were they at the time?
FE: Thirteen-fourteen.
SB: Same as the characters they were playing. How about Rita?
FE: We hard a hard time with Rita. We found a fantastic Rita but the kids weren't afraid of her.
SB: You mean they were afraid of her?
FE: No, they were not afraid of her; we wanted them to be afraid of her.
SB: Really? Oh, of course, for the story.
FE: We found another Rita and I saw Moko's hand shaking. He actually liked her a lot and said, "Hire her!" But later he was afraid, "I don't like her."
SB: Why?
FE: He was insecure and ashamed. Her attitude was you are just kids; she looked down on them and he didn't want to deal with it.

SB: You have won an amazing number of awards. Was the film a success in Mexico with the masses as well as the critics?
FE: It wasn't a big blockbuster in Mexico, but even though it's a small film in black and white with unknown actors, it had a good audience.

SB: Why did you decide to do the film in black and white?
FE: The script asked for it. The producers and director of photography were originally against it. We did some tests. The story is minimal and I wanted to concentrate on what was happening in the story. It helped the story because it gave us the chance to play with the volume and geometric forms; color would just get in the way.

SB: The film has been sold to 30 countries. Will you travel to any of them besides the U.S.?
FE: I've already been to Spain, the UK, and others, but I don't want to do any more traveling because it is interfering with my next project.
SB: Good luck on your next project. I can't wait to see it. Thank you!

Duck Season is scheduled to open in theaters on March 17.

Ask the Dust: Audience Q&A with Director Robert Towne

By James McCaskill, DC Film Society Member

DC Film Society members were invited to attend the Smithsonian Associates' screening of Ask the Dust after which director Robert Towne took questions from the audience. DC Film Society's director Michael Kyrioglou moderated.

Michael Kyrioglou: Everyone wants to know where it was filmed. I was fascinated to find out it was filmed in South Africa with sets created to look like 1930s Los Angeles.
Robert Towne: It sounded like it was recorded in a bathtub. I rage at the screening. I apologize.

MK: Why was the location chosen?
RT: We could not afford to shoot it in LA. No one--actors, producers, me--took money for the filming. We found 2 football pitches [soccer fields] and made arrangements with a high school. The producer and designer found it was a surprising choice because the beach, desert and everything was like LA 75 years ago.

MK: I went to South Africa several years ago and found film sets still there. I understand you found the book when you were researching Chinatown.
RT: That was in 1971. I was writing a detective story set in 1930s. My friendship with the author goes back that far. This book is wonderful. I liked everything from the book. It made me realize how much I missed it--the story of a writer, a manic depressive, who lost control.

MK: That's not you.
RT: That's every writer. A writer writing about LA is hard for me not to identify with. Between Francis Coppola and me there began to be a revival of John Fante. "Who the hell are you and what makes you think you can judge my book?," he said to me. I promised I would make it into a film.

Question: What do you think the author was trying to tell us?
RT: I would not say the dregs of LA but this was the place of people trying to stay on this planet. The Bunker Hill area of LA was a home of mansions that in time were allowed to run down and were turned into boarding houses. It has as strange beauty about it. LA has been called the Forgotten City. Everything has been imported from somewhere else. The City of Illusions. Illusions of people who came there. My father came from Indianapolis where it was very cold. One day he went to wash his hands and the bowl was frozen. Over and over he said, "I'm going to LA."

Q: there seems to be a theme of freedom in this film.
RT: At this moment Arturo Bandini (Colin Farrell) is very poor. It is the high point of his life. The passion he had for this woman (played by Salma Hayek). The leitmotif of racial prejudice of that time was almost hilarious. The names people called each other. Major movie stars had sexual freedom. You have a freedom to dramatize violence. Freedom is something you have to use responsibly. Prejudice then was out in the open. You could deal with things. People could go toe to toe. "I'm just as American as you are." That was something to aspire to. No one would ever call me a flag waver. That's an idea that was aspirational to them and I find that touching. And sad. Trying to belong to something that does not exist.

Q: A casting question. It was something everyone did not get money for. How did you get this cast?
RT: Colin's agent called and said he had the perfect actor. The part had been turned down by everyone in Hollywood. Colin was an unknown. One night I was looking at the photos and a girl friend of my wife said, "What ever he wants give it to him." Salma was first offered the part and turned it down. "I'm trying to get work in this town." She was afraid she would be typecast. After she made Frida she decided to do this film. Eileen Atkins is a friend of mine and I got down on my knees and said I want you to do it. [Donald] Sutherland is also a friend and he said, "I'll do anything for you."

Q: How were you limited by your budget?
RT: The budget was $15 million. Not a lot to make a film in South Africa. I think we did a good job. Something I would have liked would be a front entrance to the hotel. I could spend money for a car or for the entrance.

Q: Which do you prefer, writing or directing?
RT: Writing is something I am certain of. Directing is something you have to like. You have to like the movies and the movies I've done I've really liked. A lot of directors were something else prior to directing. Bob Fosse was a choreographer, Billy Wilder was a writer. My field is writing. I have the ability to work on a film with the same degree of intensity. I am obsessed with films I make.

Q: Is happiness a blessing or a curse?
RT: Happiness is a blessing. When I reflect back on this time I realize that people did not have much. They were worried about feeding their family. You could live cheaply in LA. Just get in your car and drive to the beach. People in Southern California did not need a lot of clothes. People were happy with less material things. Over time we have become materialistic. It is difficult to be happy today.

Adam’s Rib Picks the Oscars

Thank You For Smoking: Audience Q&A with Director Jason Reitman and Author Christopher Buckley

Mikio Naruse: A Retrospective

We Need to Hear From YOU

Calendar of Events