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Show ,..,.. lUl'U' UUU JM.JlHimJCTiaJJBM-IJL- JJIMIWBJJ.M-.llll- I'll UIUIM l J fJMUM " " en ram re rates "Minority Report" 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks Pictures Directed by Steven Spielberg Written by Scott Frank and Jon Cohen, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick Produced by Gerald R. Molen, Bonnie Curtis, Walter F. Parkes and Jan De Bont Starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Lois Smith, Tim Blake Nelson, Peter Stormare and MaxVonSydow Rated PG-1- 3 Opens in theaters everywhere Friday (out offour) by Jeremy Mathews hp future is vprvJ Wfll lit There are shadowed areas and some shady alleys, but it's hard to find a comer to hide in when you really need one. The year is 2054, and eye scanners aren't only used to monitor who's on a subway train, they also exist so that billboards can shout out someone's name to get : his or her attention and sell that' f a -- t t Uj person something. Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report" takes place in Washington, D.C., where the murder rate has been zero for the past e techsix years due to Three hairless psychic nology. who are people called hooked up to a computer, stay immersed underwater in a pool, coming up to gasp a word when they sense a murder. pre-crim- pre-cog- s, in 'Minority Elep Tom Cruise plays Detective John Anderton, who looks for s clues in the visions the transmit so he can pin point the murder locations. Anderton son Sean went missing in a kidnapping years ago, and the depressed father has devoted his life to stopping crimes before they're committed. His off time is limited to watching old home movies and getting high. Cruise's career has shown that he can be effective in both action and dramatic roles, and here he establishes empathy for a sad, desperate man who is eventually caught between the side he advocated and its opposition. But in the beginning he doesn't doubt the system and hopes people will decide to continue and e expand the program on a national level in an upcoming pre-cog- pre-crim- election. An inspector from the Justice Department named Danny Witwer (Colin Farrell) expresses skepticism when looking for flaws in the system. "It's not the future if you stop it," he says. The film is based on a 1956 short story by Philip K. Dick, an author who was fascinated by the moral ramifications of advancing technology. Here we find the paradox of punishing people for crimes that were never committed, but were "going to happen" s before the intervened. The issue, then, is one of free will. The people can't choose whether or not to commit the murder because their actions are pre-cop- . Quo rescuers Be& Out Po lilacs Stroinsp" "Baran" Miramax Films Written and directed by Majid Majidi Produced by Majid Majidi and FouadNaha Starring Hossein Abedini, Mohammad Amir Naji, Zahra Bahrami and Hossein Mahjoob Rated PC Opens Friday at the Tower Theatre TOWER CORNER OGQ (out offour) by Jeremy Mathews E""3he young boy is carrying a 1! heavy bag of plaster up U the construction site's stairs. He tries to make it up the first flight, but keeps slowing down until he finally collapses. The boy, Rahmat (Zahra Bahrami), is a second generation Afghan refugee born in Iran, and he. is working because his father broke his leg on the job. Afghan refugees, who left their country during 0 Soviet occupation from or fled in fear of the Taliban and other conflicts in 1979-199- the 1990s, aren't legally allowed to work in Iran, so they find only low wage, employment such as -- hard-labo- r con- struction. The Iranian film "Baran" uses this issue to fuel its story, look a sweet, character-driven at love. The hero is an Iranian young man named Lateef (Hossein Abedini). He is a jolly, mischievous smartass who shows little fear of losing his job as the construction site's caretaker and cook because his father was a friend of the boss, Memar (Mohammed Amir Naji). Also, Memar is quite stingy and probably doesn't want to pay Lateef all the money he's saving for him from his wages (Memar saves it to protect Lateef from doing something foolish with the money). But after Rahmat's fall, Memar gives him Lateef 's job and makes Lateef work hard d labor. This infuriates the makes he and Lateef, it his business to make Rahmat's job hell by sabotaging the boy in various ways, including destroying the kitchen. Writerdirector Majid Majidi ("Children of Heaven," "The short-tempere- judged beforehand. Spielberg and his collaborators wisely avoid the future found in many sci-f- i This land, filled with advertisements and consumerism, could easily be the United States in 50 years, and it makes the story hit closer to home. Janusz Kaminski's gritty cinematography shows off every detail of this world, but also creates deep, sinister shadows when needed. The action sequences are also including one set on the city's magnetic traffic system, on which futuristic cars drive down 100 percent vertical drops. Spielberg creates a strong level of suspense and tension not only in the progression of the action, but also in the dynamics between Anderton and the other characters. The impressive supporting cast includes the excellent Farrell, the legendary Max Von Sydow as an older advocate of the program, Samantha Morton as the most Tim Blake gifted of the Nelson as an prison guard and Peter Stormare as a surprisingly sleazy and sinister character. They fill this fantastically convincing land with fascinating characters. The end result is a stunning film made with the striking direcimagination of a whiz-ki- d tor. It's a reminder of why people love Spielberg films so much. super-depressin- neo-noir- x g s. 5 ' - CI top-notc- pre-cog- : O gloves like modern-daSteven Spielberg's "Minority Report." Tom Cruise uses cool s, organ-playin- rsI " folk use computer mice in y g . ieremyred-mag.co- of Paradise") uses skillful visual storytelling with little dialogue. The photography is beautiful in many scenes, including the key moment in which the wind blows the kitchen's curtain up to reveal not Rahmat, but a beautiful girl brushing her hair. Lateef is immediately under a spell and begins to look at things from a different perspective. s of the In the last film, he comes to realize the great challenges people take on to further their family's quality of life. The story avoids overt politics and concentrates instead on its mysterious romance. Abedini, who is 18 years old, energetically establishes himself as a young man with a lot to learn. He often overestimates Ids cleverness, like when he pretends to have a broken leg so a car will stop and give him a ride, but runs to the car that stops. Majidi cast Bahrami, an actual Afghan refugee, as Rahmat because her face was what he was looking for, and the decision pays off when Lateef watches her from a distance, looking at the suffering she goes through. The film truly has an urgent spirit that progresses with deliberate pacing. Both film lovers and people worried about seeing an overly pretentious Iranian film will enjoy Color I ' Lovt Tht IGtirvcUd - ( two-third- ' m V't'i L f tU r . J ,V K 7 f A I 7 I, - . . - m mm onm i "Baran." jeremyred-mag.co- TYr: S); - Do i t 1 RED Magazine June 19, 2002 Rj |