** of ****
A factually sound altho flat telling of her life's story. The early part with teen Audrey was the strongest part of the movie, and brings up the average. The screenplay was developed from books and produced by people who admire Ms. Hepburn, so the accuracy should be pretty good. The background framework is successful in showing her development as a person with individual strengths and motivations. The J.L.Hewitt scenes are rather postfunctory and they make up the bulk of the movie, so it ends up being more historical than inspirational. The scenes do create a sense of place, and the score does somewhat set up a framework for the viewer. Emmy Rossum really puts to shame most of the actors playing the other major characters in this story.
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Otomo (1999 Germany)
*1/2 of ****
An illegal immigrant resists the social support system causing dire consequences for many. Well filmed and acted even though the story is a bit forced, yet the slow pacing really sets off the conclusion. The feeling of being lost in the big city is effectively conveyed. The little person lost in the big society is something to which we can all relate, but I cannot endorse going out of your way to see this movie.
Plot Summary
Inspired by an illegal Black African immigrant named Otomo who struck a train conductor in Stuttgart in the morning after an argument about the validity of a train pass in a certain zone. Uncertainty about the pass and his past & future haunt the audience. He was caught on a bridge a few hours later. In this tale we first see him not get a temporary job because he does not have proper shoes. He moves on rather aimlessly when he encounters a train conductor who accuses him of having a ticket that is not valid past the next stop. They argue, and Otomo head butts the conductor and runs away. We never know if the ticket was valid. Now that the police are looking for him, he hides out for a while, then tries to make his way to Holland. He stumbles across a trucker who will take him there for 400 Deutsche Mark. He has little time to come up with that kind of money, but as luck would have it, his desperation leads to an opportunity which then leads him to the known end of the real story.