FEATURE REVIEW

"Riding Solo to the Top of the World"
Three and a Half Stars
B+

Filmed on an estimated $30,000 budget, "Riding Solo to the Top of the World" is a remarkable, awe-inspiring film from an Indian filmmaker and, in this case, one-man filmmaking team.

Setting off alone on his Enfield motorcycle, Gaurav Jani braved temperatures that dipped to -40 degrees centigrade and terrain that is unfit for walking or biking as he took his motorbike on a journey across an India that very few of us will ever know.

From the city streets of Bombay to the icy, mountainous Changthang Plateau on the Chinese border, Jani doesn't so much make a film as he does inhabit it.

You will see far more technically proficient films than "Riding Solo to the Top of the World," but you're not going to see too many films with the heart, inspiration and jaw-dropping gutsiness as this one.

Along the way, Jani befriends the isolated Chang Pa nomads and, in a rather stunning accomplishment, manages to film inside the Chumur Monastery (where even a Discovery Channel crew with the blessing of the Dalai Lama had been turned away). On an ironic note, it appears that Jani will be signing an exclusive deal with the Discovery channel for the rights to this film.

Film connoisseurs who embrace daring and innovative filmmaking will marvel at Jani's dedication to the craft and ingenuity in the face of insurmountable odds. Capturing the beauty and wonder of the magnificent nation of India, Gaurav Jani's "Riding Solo to the Top of the World" is, for filmmaker and audience, an unforgettable journey.

CAPSULE REVIEWS

"Little Red Flowers"
Two Stars
C

As written and directed by Yuan Zhang, "Kan shang qu hen mei (Little Red Flowers"), is the story of young Quiang (Dong Bowen), a young boy who has been dropped off at a boarding school to begin kindergarten by his too busy father.

Almost instantaneously, Quiang becomes an outcast within the school having, even at such a young age, an individualist streak frowned upon in a school and society that stresses conformity and community above all else.

Outwardly, this residential school filled with dozens of children seems a happy place despite its obvious uniformity. Inside its walls, however, it becomes quickly apparent that virtually every aspect of the children's lives is being dictated down to how and when bowel movements occur.

"Little Red Flowers," the title comes from the little red flowers the children received as rewards for positive behavior, is an often beautiful film that does, in fact, show a refreshing balance to life within such a residential school rather than the often portrayed one-sided lambasting. Yet, as beautiful as "Little Red Flowers" can be, the film's effectiveness was greatly hindered by a distractingly weak sound mix, an irritating repetitiveness within the children's behaviors and, finally, the film's hero becoming so uncomfortably mean by the film's end.

"Ghosts of Cite Soleil"
Three and a Half Stars
B+

Cité Soleil has been labeled by the United Nations as "the most dangerous place on Earth."

"Ghosts of Cité Soleil" shows us why.

This documentary, directed by Asger Leth (son of Danish filmmaker Jorgen Leth), is a frightening, almost unbearable look at the disintegration of Haitian society during the year in which former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide lost power of this island nation.

Whereas the recent "Hip Hop Project" took a stylized approach in documenting an often unseen counterculture, Cité Soleil simply takes a hardcore approach to looking at a definitely hardcore culture. Given access and safety during filming by the "chimeres" (translates as "ghosts"), who largely supported Aristide and lorded themselves over Cité Soleil with an iron first, Leth's film is an intensely graphic, raw and no-holds-barred look at the heart of rebellion and violence within a culture.

Production design, as could be expected, is less than stellar. Shot largely on 16mm, "Ghosts of Cité Soleil" is a difficult to watch, impossible to ignore documentary about a nation that has been too long ignored and the even more powerful nations that far too often take advantage of the situation.

"Broken English"
Two and a Half Stars
B-

There's nothing particularly fresh or original about "Broken English," the feature film debut of yet another Cassavetes family member, this time Zoe Cassavetes.

"Broken English," the story of Nora (Parker Posey), a 35ish-year-old hotel guest services manager who has a remarkable knack for choosing the right guy and spends most of her days bitching about life with her best friend (Drea de Matteo) and fending off spinster cracks from her worried mother (Gena Rowlands). Suddenly, out of the blue, she meets Julian (Melvin Poupaud), a handsome and sweet Frenchman who seems as taken by her as she is by him.

Admit it. As I've described "Broken English," several other similarly themed films have popped into mind including, most obviously, "Before Sunset." Yet, what "Broken English" lacks in originality it makes up for with a remarkably sweet, funny and sensitive performance from the always dependable Parker Posey.

While Posey often seems typecast in the role of the quirky, outsider chick, twice during the Indianapolis International Film Festival, Posey's had stellar opportunities to showcase her gift for more subtle, dramatic acting. While other leading ladies are off becoming celebrities, Parker Posey's become one the best actresses working in Hollywood today.