Friday, April 24, 1998 | 9:19 a.m.
* Grades: Jeff, A; Dave, B.
* Starring: Federico Luppi, Damian Delgado, Dan Rivera Gonzalez and Damian Alcazar.
* Screenplay: John Sayles.
* Director: John Sayles.
* Unrated: Contains adult situations, violence and profanity.
* Running time: 127 minutes.
* Playing at: ACT III Sunset Station.
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* Synopsis: Humberto Fuentes, a wealthy doctor who is approaching retirement, has never paid attention to the political realities of his country. He considers his greatest achievement to be his contribution to, and participation in an international health program in which he trained students to work as doctors in the poorest villages. Fuentes decides to visit his students in the mountains, against the advice of his children and closest friends, and experiences first-hand the poverty, injustice and political unrest that has plagued his country.
Dave: Writer/director John Sayles has been able to remain outside of the Hollywood mainstream for his entire career. His critically acclaimed filmography crosses over a variety of subjects with such films as "Eight Men Out," "City of Hope" and his most recent film, 1996's "Lone Star." So why take on a political drama - with subtitles -- set in Latin America? Well, because he is John Sayles, and as the sole definition of the quintessential American independent filmmaker, this is just the kind of thing that interests him. As far as an American audience -- that is a different story.
Jeff: One would agree that the function of a mainstream Hollywood film is to entertain. The purpose of an independent film is to use its unbiased ability to educate, and to expose injustice to a mass audience. It should transcend weekend box office grosses and studio marketing ploys to deliver an important message about social conscience. "Men with Guns" is such a film.
Dave: Loosely based on Guatemala's civil war and the peasant uprising in the Chiapas region of Mexico, Sayles' film exposes the poverty, political upheaval and desire for salvation through the characters that our protagonist, Dr. Fuentes (a sincere performance by Federico Luppi), encounters. What really hits close to home are the American tourists who are exploring the country's ruins. They stay oblivious to the horrible elements that surround them, and are instead preoccupied with the archeological and cultural history.
Jeff: The disturbing personal journey of Dr. Fuentes takes many paths throughout this unknown Latin American country, and the doctor, at first, refuses to believe the horrors he encounters. What he finds throughout his hellish voyage is the quiet extermination of a race of natives. It is a well-kept secret, a secret of genocide.
It is his inner turmoil that Sayles focuses on as the doctor meets the doomed cultures of the coffee, sugar and banana people, villagers who scrape by on a meager existence, harvesting one commodity for the marketplace. Along the way, the good doctor meets a priest, a child and a soldier who has deserted his unit. With their help, he searches for his students and, in return, offers them security from the soldiers terrorizing the countryside.
Dave: As in all his movies, this is Sayles' film. Granted, it is nowhere near as intriguing as "Lone Star," but his naturalistic style of direction and storytelling are ever-present. Even the cinematography by Slawomir Idziak (who supplied the visual aesthetics for "Gattaca") lends itself to the realism of the tragic story. Sayles continues to impress his fans and prosper as an icon for indie filmmakers.
Jeff: If you haven't guessed by now, this is an art film, a movie that requires patience and understanding as it reveals hidden truths of terrible crimes against humanity. Most of the situations in "Guns" will appear foreign to American audiences. The fact that the film is Spanish, with English subtitles, might persuade you to avoid it, but it's that element that adds to the realism of what could be any Latin American country torn apart by civil war, and the struggle for power.
Immersed in a strange land, you become an observer of crimes that, at home in America, we have had to struggle to accept from the last century. "Men With Guns" is captivating, overwhelming and yet, sorrowful, because it can expose and preserve the truth long after the people have gone. And their story cannot be silenced, nor forgotten.
MOVIE BUZZ
* Suit up for Stone: Oliver Stone's upcoming expose of the National Football League, "On Any Given Sunday," will star Dennis Quaid as an aging quarterback who is pushed by his coach (Al Pacino is said to be close to taking the role) to play while injured in order to retain his starting job. An A-list of actors is apparently being assembled, including David Duchovny, James Woods, Cameron Diaz and Ving Rahmes. A trade paper also reveals that "Puff Daddy" Sean Combs will play the young hot-shot QB threatening to take Quaid's job.
* The Dark Knight Returns: Now that "Superman Lives" has been postponed indefinitely, Warner Bros. has a super-sized hole in their 1999 summer line-up. Who's going to fill it? It could be the Caped Crusader. Production on a fifth "Batman" film may start as soon as November. The question remains, who will don the cape and cowl this time? Rumor has it that Kurt Russell may be the next "Batman" after finishing work on a sci-fi movie called "Soldier." Russell apparently has not committed to any other projects so he can make room for the next "Batman" movie.
* British Oscars: "The Full Monty" won best film honors at the 50th annual British Academy Awards, held earlier this week. Two of the film's Sheffield strippers, Robert Carlyle and Tom Wilkinson, were named best actor and best supporting actor, respectively. Dame Judi Dench was named best actress for "Mrs. Brown," and Sigourney Weaver won as best supporting actress for "The Ice Storm." Baz Luhrmann won as best director and screenwriter for "William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet." The American Oscar champ, "Titanic," went home empty-handed.
NAME THAT FLICK
We had only one caller for last week's quote: "You Americans, you are all the same. Always over-dressing for the wrong occasions." And, our one and only caller, Vivian Yarr, correctly guessed that those words were muttered by the Nazi torturer, named Toht, from Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Vivian -- throw us the idol and we'll throw you the whip! Way to go, Vivian!
As for the rest of you, pay close attention to this week's quote; Who said this and in what film: "That's my theme music. Every good hero should have some. See you around." Does it sound familiar? If it does, do what every red-blooded, patriotic American would do and call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at movieguys5@ aol.com. (In stereo, where available).
Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column, with absolutely no obligation or promise of future compensation. And you can take that to the bank.
See you next week.
THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears every Friday in the SUN (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Scope magazine and watch their reviews every Friday on Channel 3's 11 p.m. newscast. Plus, check them out online at: www.lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies.
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