CIFF: Sparrow, Julia

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2008 4:03PM

This is part of Chicagoist's coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival.

Sparrow (screens 10/18 and 10/26)
Everything is going swimmingly for a quartet of thieves, picking the pockets of tourists and locals alike on the streets on Hong Kong. Then one day a sparrow flies into the apartment of the ringleader, Kei -- a bad omen. A mysterious, beautiful woman who lives across the way enters the pickpockets' lives and disrupts their routine. She just might be connected to Mr. Fu, a master pickpocket who aims to teach the upstarts a thing or two. Director Johnny To blends deftly-timed action and sleight of hand into a lively, bubbly comedy that's a delight from start to finish. Vivid, ultra-widescreen cinematography plugs you directly into the vibrancy of Hong Kong; and the bouncy soundtrack, straddling the musical divide between 1962 and 1982, is a lot of fun. The climax involves a sort of pickpocket ballet on a rainy street, where the thieves parry and thrust using umbrellas. It's thrilling as well as artful. Sparrow is an enjoyable as anything we've seen all year. We have a feeling this'll be a strong contender for one of the festival's audience awards.

Julia (screens 10/24)

Tilda Swinton, whose portrayal of a cold-blooded attorney in Michael Clayton won her an Oscar last year, is shockingly convincing as a brassy, vulgar alcoholic in Julia. In desperate straits, she kidnaps the eight-year-old grandson of a billionaire electronics kingpin for ransom. And you know that's not going to solve anything. Her bad decisions, aggravated by her inability to stay sober, reach their apex when they accidentally cross the border and end up in Tijuana. Swinton is the main attraction here, creating a full-bore characterization that grabs you by the throat. She's like a cross between Eddy & Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous and Gena Rowlands in Gloria (in fact, Julia's plotline plays like an inversion of that Cassavetes film). Her performance galvanizes the movie and helps make up for story's lack of credibility. Just when you think you know where things are headed, you realize you don't. The uneasy dark comedy of the first half evaporates by the time the story gets to Mexico, when some harrowing twists turns the movie into a violent suspense thriller. It's tough to say what it all adds up to but it's certainly gripping.