The Imperialists Are Still Alive! (2010) Reviews

• interesting slice of New York life

  marvingardens242010-03-23

  I saw this film at Sundance, and after I stopped expecting a traditional plot, I was able to relax and enjoy the many wonderful moments that the filmmaker created. It opens with a naked Middle Eastern artist wearing only a head-scarf, discussing her bikini area with her assistant, a funny and direct take on the complexities of feminism and political radicalism in art that seems very much of this moment. In fact, the whole film seems to take place in a bubble of time that has since burst -- post 9/11, during the height of Bush-era paranoia, before the economic collapse and Obama, when jet-setting leftists gave voice to trendy ideologies at exclusive nightclubs and art galleries. It's unclear how much director Zeina Durra is lampooning her subjects, but that very ambiguity makes the film all the more interesting. The plot is relatively thin -- a friend of the main character, Asya, has disappeared in what may be a government rendition. He's engaged to a blonde model, Tatiana, who drinks herself into a stupor to cope. Asya meets and falls in love with a wealthy Mexican ex-pat. There's little overt drama to any of these scenes, and once you get used to that, they're fun. The actress Marianna Kulukundis is a real treat as Athena, providing much of the film's comic relief. The film doesn't say much politically -- war is bad, U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is bad, Israel should not bomb Lebanon, immigration is good. We agree, but that's besides the point. The film's lack of a strong political message mirrors Asya's own work -- she wants to say something political, but really she's just standing before us naked, with a nicely groomed Bush. Instead, what's interesting is the window Durra opens onto a very specific world of young New York elites -- not the boarding school WASPS of movies like Metropolitan, but a hodge-podge of the world's upper crust. The irony of their status -- politically disenfranchised but economically privileged -- lends a certain comedy to the whole movie. Asya sits in a limo, eating petit fours and discussing government surveillance. Later, her Mexican boyfriend "surveils" the conversation of her housekeeper, an altogether different class of immigrant. Now for the spoiler. In the end, we don't find out what happened to Asya's friend. There's no real ending per se, the movie just runs out of things it wants to show us, and stops. Considering this is Durra's first film, and she already has another one in the works, it seems like a great place to pause and take a breath.

  More

• Overrated

  hrdi22011-07-04

  This is a pseudo intellectual mess of that is way too pleased with its own perceived cleverness. Elodie Bouchez, despite her obvious physical beauty, is annoying as a pouty supposedly daring artist. The story is disjointed not because it is trying to make a stylistic point but because of the poor construct of the screenplay and the message it is trying to make is lost in all the pointless dialog and the bad acting. Ironically Zeina Durra makes fun of plays and artwork that are exactly like her own work. If you want proof that the imperialists are still alive just read the news and save the 91 minutes needed to watch this rambling film for something more fruitful, like watching paint dry.

  More

• Watch this very cool film!

  rollingthunder-26-4862492011-04-12

  Enough films have been made where the Middle-Eastern characters are portrayed either as sinister maniacs or down right primitives hell bent on disrupting the ways of the West. Forget the fact that they were very insulting- you'd hope most people watching them have enough intelligence to realise this. Worse was how lazy these films were. And indeed are! Which is just one of the reasons why Zeina Durra's film shines so brightly. I saw this film over a year ago at Sundance. Not only was it the strongest thing I saw at the festival, it was one of the most original films to come out of independent cinema in the US for a while. It focuses primarily on characters from the Middle-East but not like the ones we've previously had the misfortune of seeing on our cinema screens. These characters live, party, dream, worry and embarrass themselves just like the rest of us. Durra shows us their interactions with great poise and knowledge. The result being a very funny and intelligent film. The casting in a film such as this is crucial and the director has got it pretty much spot on. An important note- this is Durra's debut feature film and in my humble opinion signals the start of a promising and original career.

  More

• Saw this at Sundance...wish I didn't

  alanlight2010-01-28

  This is not a good movie. The script and direction are terrible and its supposed use of New York locations was pretty much a waste. It looks like the whole thing was shot within a limited set of blocks in the East Village and rarely ventured elsewhere. They pretty much could have shot this entire film in a warehouse in Toronto, saved themselves a bunch of money and been no worse off for it. The acting of the male roles was fair, but all the woman's roles were both written and acted terribly, leading me to believe that the director doesn't know how to direct or cast women. I gave this movie one star at Sundance. Summary: not good, skip it.

  More

• Not At All Compelling

  PottHed2012-08-26

  Oh my god, I truly hope this thing was not paid for by tax payers, namely the National Endowment for the Arts. When independent filmmakers go out of there way to make a non-Hollywood movie, they wind up making a disaster. This is a disaster. I saw this mess on the Sundance channel presented by Robert Redford. Apparently, old man Redford thought this movie was good enough to present himself. Poor misbegotten soul. They describe this movie as a: "Manhattan artist Asya (Elodie Bouchez) suspects that her friend has been abducted by the CIA in this compelling drama detailing the effects of the war on terror on the lives of average Americans. Meanwhile, her new beau dismisses her fears as paranoia." Not at all. There is no compelling drama, No war on terror, No CIA, No abduction. The only paranoia I can see in this movie is the investors who paid for it. This movie has the same importance as the controversial "Piss Christ." No merit of art can be seen anywhere in this movie. Characters meander around for 90 minutes doing absolutely nothing to involve the audience. You will not care what happens to the characters. Because the director gives the audience nothing to care about. An ingrown toe nail is more compelling than this. I will recommend this movie only so you can see why movies like these should never see the silver screen.

  More