Lesson in idealism and lust

Daniel Bruhl, Stipe Erceg and Julia Jentsch star in The Edukators.
Metro10 April 2012

Activism and adrenalin make a great mix in The Edukators, Todd 'Happiness' Solondz tackles abortion in Palindromes, Jill Sprecher returns with 13 Conversations About One Thing and it's the fifth outing for that scary doll in Seed Of Chucky...

The Edukators

Activism and adrenalin make a great mix until Jule and Jan, fuelled by political rage, break into her tormentor's palace in a bid to get the message across to him. Of course, this venture goes badly wrong but there's nothing predictable about writer-director Hans Weingartner's film. It's a study in young love and adult disillusionment, in political and personal betrayal and the justifications that people dream up for mistreating each other. It's also terrifically acted and, unusually for a politically minded film, great fun.
Extras: None, annoyingly.

Palindromes

Is this an attempt to indicate Aviva's everygirl status, or is Solondz trying to distance the viewer from the paedophilic element of his story (not that he's afraid of paedophilia, as Happiness's many fans will know)? His attitude towards abortion remains stubbornly mysterious, but this is an intriguing and occasionally hilarious take on an old and contentious subject.
Extras: None.

  • 13 Conversations About One Thing**Jill Sprecher co-wrote and directed 1997's Clockwatchers, a charming drama about the angst-ridden lives of four young temps. And she and sister Karen still know how to write a cracking screenplay, as 13 Conversations About One Thing demonstrates. But eight years don't seem to have taught her much about directing and a fine, complex screenplay is mangled by amateurish pacing, camerawork and cutting. The life of Matthew McConaughey's brash lawyer weaves around that of an embittered boss, an adulterous professor and others in an absorbing, overlapping pattern that puts the human search for happiness on trial. Extras: Director commentary.
Seed Of Chucky
Extras:

Nina Caplan, with Seed Of Chucky by Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

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