Jack Pierce
Two outsiders witness an onslaught of bloody Rwandan genocide in this fact-based drama from director Michael Caton-Jones (Scandal). In 1994, Joe Connor (Hugh Dancy) is a British schoolteacher who has volunteered to spend a year at the Ecole Technique Officielle, a school in the Rwandan capital of Kigali. Connor's arrival in Rwanda occurs after the nation's Civil War between the Tutsis and the Hutus has dissipated (c. August 1993). Yet despite the official end of this well-publicized struggle, political negotiations between the two groups have reached a stalemate, and the Hutus begin systematic preparation for a mass-genocide of the Tutsi people (who have assumed political power via the establishment of the RPF). Connor has already seen signs of the coming conflict in the abuse meted out to Marie (Clare-Hope Ashitey), a Tutsi student who was one of his star pupils, as well as the bitter hatred expressed by Francois (David Gyasi), a Hutu janitor at the school. As the genocide erupts, with extreme Hutu factions slaughtering Tutsis by the thousands, the Ecole Technique becomes a base of operations for Belgian peacekeeping forces from the United Nations. Most extended visitors from the West (especially America and Europe) flee Rwanda as the fighting broke out, but Connor decides to stay, and in fact strikes up a friendship with Father Christopher (John Hurt), a Catholic priest who has come to the nation as a missionary. As Father Christopher serves mass and strives to offer solace to the Tutsis and moderate Hutus caught in the fighting, he and Connor use the school as a safe haven for Tutsi refugees; however, after five days of genocidal killing, the U.N. troops move out, leaving little hope for the people they were supposed to protect. Beyond the Gates was produced by David Belton, who helped write the film's story; Belton was a correspondent with the BBC who was assigned to Rwanda when the fighting broke out. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, (more)
A remake of the 1989 British TV movie of the same name (which itself was based on a novel by Michelle Magorian), the 2001 production of Back Home starred Sarah Lancashire as Peggy Dickinson, the role essayed in the original film by Hayley Mills. At the outbreak of WWII, Peggy and her husband, Roger (Adrian Lukis), make certain that their daughter, Virginia (Jessica Fox), is safely evacuated to the U.S. while they busy themselves with war work. Serving in the WVS (Women's Voluntary Service), Peggy enjoys a degree of liberation hitherto unknown to her, billeted in a luxurious mansion and serving as driver for several urbane military officers; meanwhile, Roger trudges along as an ordinary soldier. At war's end, Peggy feels out of touch with her former life, Roger is unable to adjust to peacetime conditions, and Virginia has become far too "Americanized" to be satisfied with her parents' existence. Back Home was first televised in the U.K. on October 22, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Lancashire, Stephanie Cole, (more)
A man looking for love gets more than he bargained for when he chooses his prospective wife on the internet in this dark comedy. The manager of a bank in a small British community (Ben Chaplin) decides that he's in need of long-term companionship, and through an on-line marriage broker called From Russia With Love, he obtains a "mail order" bride (Nicole Kidman). While he's more than pleased that his new fiancée is so beautiful, she turns out to have a dangerous and mysterious side that he wasn't counting on, and things become quite complicated when two of her cousins (Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz) arrive from Russia and move into his tiny house in St. Albans. Though set in England, Birthday Girl was actually shot in Australia, which allowed leading lady Nicole Kidman to stay in touch with her then- husband, Tom Cruise, who was shooting Mission: Impossible II in Australia at the same time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, (more)
With a style and tone that wreaks of the late '60s, this cheap-looking adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story plays like an obvious reference to the battle between the establishment and the counterculture. The film stars Dean Stockwell as Wilbur Whateley, a brooding young man who makes a connection with a pretty librarian named Nancy (a very out-of-place Sandra Dee). Whateley wants to get his hands on the Necronomicon, a diabolical book that he believes will help him to open a doorway to a dimension inhabited by unspeakable creatures known as the "Old Ones." Hypnotized by Whateley's spell, Nancy accompanies the man back to his cursed home where he lives with his nutty grandfather (Sam Jaffe) and an unseen "thing" that is kept in an upstairs room. Meanwhile, the Necronomicon's owner, Dr. Armitage (Ed Begley), does some detective work on Whateley when he begins to fear for Nancy's safety. He quickly realizes that Whateley means to sacrifice Nancy in order to accomplish his diabolical plan. Whateley manages to steal the Necronomicon and begins the ritual to resurrect the Old Ones. As Armitage races to stop him, the thing from the upstairs room breaks out and beats a murderous path towards Whateley as well, leading to a final confrontation that leaves a lot to be desired. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Dee, Dean Stockwell, (more)
