Film Talk, December 9

Bobby kick-starts the third edition of the Dubai International Film Festival tonight - and a whole lot of people are going to want to see it.

Not because it's based on a true story, but because it's a politically charged drama that revolves around the assassination of Robert Kennedy on June 6, 1968. It's also interesting because it reminds us of the type of films Oliver Stone used to make back in the 1990s.

Stone directed two excellent films of the same ilk: JFK (1991) and Nixon (1995). They were not about Robert Kennedy as Bobby is, but were about the presidency, the White House and the ups and downs of individuals and politics.

The tale of two levels

It's June 1968 and the election race is on: Robert Kennedy vs Eugene McCarthy. The team planning the campaign chose the busy and elegant Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles as a base, thus allowing the hotel guests to witness the man at work.

The film moves from one piece of the story to the next by using its many characters. They include the hotel manager (played by William H. Macy), his wife, a beauty salon manager (Sharon Stone), and a nightclub singer (Demi Moore) who drinks the night away.

Meanwhile, receptionist Angela (Heather Graham) has an on-going relationship with the manager of the hotel, while Timmons (Christian Slater) runs the restaurant, making racist remarks about the Latino and African-American employees who work there.
The diverse characters are all part of the mosaic this film manages to create without getting confused or losing focus on the core event.

Bobby is a drama that unfolds on two tiers. The 22 witnesses who were in the Ambassador Hotel when the assassination took place provide one level as they talk, reflect, see and discuss. The other level regards the politician himself (played by Dave Fraunces).

The movie's director and writer Emilio Estevez also stars in the film alongside Anthony Hopkins, Elijah Wood, Demi Moore, Freddy Rodriguez, Martin Sheen, Sharon Stone, Lindsay Lohan and Helen Hunt.

A younger Estevez

Now, I don't know how Estevez managed to secure all this A-list support, but I do know that he nearly didn't make this film. He spent more than five years playing with the idea and wrote a few pages of the script and then stopped. It took a lot of persuasion from his brother Charlie Sheen before Estevez resumed working.

I remember when Estevez was in the 1983 Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders. He played one of the poor ghetto gang (along with C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio and Matt Dillon) in dispute with the richer gang of the neighbourhood (including Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise among others). I enjoyed it tremendously and should we one day decide to celebrate the cinema of Coppola, I will strongly suggest that this movie, full of youth and gracefully shot, be one of the films shown in this salute.

Bobby before

Getting back to Robert Kennedy, the American politician is portrayed, or at least mentioned, in a number of other films including Oliver Stone's JFK and Nixon, as previously mentioned; Abby Mann's King: The Martin Luther King Story (1978); and Spike Lee's bio-drama Malcolm X (1992).

He was also a dominating figure in Errol Morris' historical documentary The Fog of War (2003). But the last time Hollywood really presented the man in a drama was in 2000 when Steven Culp played the assassinated chief in Thirteen Days.
Although not many liked this Roger Donaldson film, I did. It was packed with tension and facts, and rang true all the way.

Who's cheating who?

The film set to open the Arabian Nights Gala tomorrow couldn't be more of a contrast. Khiyana Shariah (Justified Cheating) is not only different to Bobby, but also to all the other films Khaled Youssef has made since he started directing a few years ago. And it stands out from any other Egyptian film in recent history. It's created like a puzzle and played out like a police investigation.

Akira Kurosawa did it before. In Rashomon (1950), he convincingly presented a tale told in segments with each revealing a different side of the story. The husband was killed, his wife raped and a number of people then gave their version of what happened, including the estranged vagabond who committed it.

Elements of this method are used here as Egyptian star Hani Salama is seen shooting his wife and his own brother after catching them in the act. While I won't be tempted to say more, rest assured all is not as it seems in this intriguing film.

A perfect villain

When the film's leading actor Hani Salama was here, just a few weeks ago, I asked him why he accepted the role of a villain in Justified Cheating at such a young age, (not that I know his exact age, but the guy is still young!).
He said: “I just liked the script so much and decided to explore a new side of me. In fact, if you look deep enough, he is not a 100-per-cent-bad guy.

“He starts very bad, then realises what's needed to be done towards a situation that requires his help. At this moment, he is more of a hero to some.''

Making his own mark

Its director Khaled Youssef was an assistant to the famous Youssef Chahine. Like many in Egypt's film industry, you would think he'd be influenced by the 80-year-old director. But this is not the case here.

Youssef ensures all the talk regarding the film's author is left behind.

“I just want to make good films regardless the genre,'' he said. “If it's a thriller like this one, let it be. If it's a drama drawn from a personal experience... and I like it, that's also fine.''