Urbania | Dan Futterman, Scott Denny | URBANIA IS Hard To Follow At First But Eventually YOU GET...

Urbania | Dan Futterman, Scott Denny | Awesome movie

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Urbania

	Urbania Dan Futterman, Scott Denny Vidmark / Trimark, 2001 average customer review:based on 66 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Jon Shear's film, one of the overlooked gems of 2000, simmers under a tense, disturbing air of inevitability. Charlie (Dan Futterman) wanders the nighttime streets of the city, a mournful lost soul determinedly pursuing a mysterious stranger whom he is convinced holds the key to his redemption. He encounters chatty bartenders, pompous pickups, and dying friends (including a biting Alan Cumming), and before long you are treated to that rare, great surprise of realizing that you have no idea where any of it is headed. Some of Shear and Daniel Reitz's play-based dialogue is stagy, but the mercurial Futterman, both subtly sympathetic and unstable, is superlative. The film surrounds him with loopy urban legends (the poodle in the microwave, the AIDS-infected one-night-stand, etc.), then cunningly lifts the veil on such stories to reveal the fear motivating them. Uncertainty and isolation create the need for fantastic terrors. Shear hauntingly suggests here how much more horrifying and heartbreaking real life can be. --Steve Wiecking

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URBANIA IS Hard To Follow At First But Eventually YOU GET IT AND THEN SOME!

I always reveal early when a film I review has a gay theme to it. I feel it is the least I can do for the gentle folk who are not into watching DVD's with a positive or affirming gay message. Also Urbania also touches on elements gay life that are plenty violent. Urbania is not for the weak minded or those with weak stomachs. Urbania is more real than most gay stroies on film despite its sometimes etherial messages. That said lets get on with it.

First you must know I am autistic as such movies that tell stories in non-traditional ways like Urbania almost always go right over my head! The plot of Urbania was very hard for me to follow at first. Urbania unfolds in flashbacks and quick cuts that are vital to understanding the tone and message in the film. Urbania is a film where the sume of every small thing even those in the background all mean something important to the message of this awesome DVD. Unlike so many DVD's or movies there is often lots of waste and filler in the storyline. On the other hand rare work like Urbania wastes nothing, not a single shot not a single word is wasted. There are no long boring stupid pauses that happen for no good reason. All the characters are developed slowly in ways that are intricately interwoven like the finest lace.

There was nothing I found at all predictable about Urbania, even when it explored every odd ball stereotype imaginable. Even while having a far deeper message Urbania gave me some of the best laughs I have ever had. The DVD was worth its price for the Toothbrush scene alone!!!! Watching the toothbrush \ photo store scene made me cry tears I laughed so hard. The Poodle in the Microwave scene was wild too. I actually had to stop the movie until I could regain my composure after seeing the toothbrush scene. Now you have to be careful because, as the lady comes out of the photo store into the street, the revealing tooth brush scene pictures flash by very quickly. I almost missed the toothbrush scene entirely on first viewing of the DVD because it is shown so fast. I actually had to freeze frame the DVD to see exactly what got the camera store lady patron so upset. I was shocked, at how original and hallarious what I saw was.

Anyways Urbania moves on like I said not a moment wasted to a conclusion that really lets you give this tale the ending you feel is your personal idea of just! More than anything the classy way Urbania ends by letting the viewer determine for themselves which of two very different endings actually occured is a master stroke of the art! I honestly can not say enough good about Urbania. The subject matter was awesome. The characters were tight, well defined. The subplots were both funny and interesting. I loved near the end the character gave his jacket to the homeless gentleman he had worked toward befreinding during the entire film. That's the MAGic of Urbania it developed so many elements that came together making it such an awesome treat to enjoy! Urbania is not a film you watch once and forget. I know there is something about Urbania its richness its deepness and so much more that will force me to view it again and again. There are so many subtle and hidden messages in Urbania that I can not imagine watching it just once or twice. Urbania is on my A list of DVD's in my collection and I think it should be in yours as well!

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Awesome movie

Outstanding DVD. All the actors give superior performances. Very well directed and filmed the story line is riviting and keeps a fast pace.
This is a must own for any collector who enjoys a strong plot and great acting.

Story will stay with you

Very engaging story thanks to the good looks of the main character Charlie who engages with several people throughout the movie. At times sad, at times scary, this is a movie that will have you frustrated as well as enthralled. The acting is superb and the situations unique.

Urban Legends and Harsh Realities

"Urbania"

Urban Legends and Harsh Realities

Amos Lassen

Charlie (Dan Futterman) is spending a lonely night in New York City and is privy to a series of bizarre events all of which lead to the redemption he has been seeking. His stay in New York is an odyssey of grief. Some of the things that happened to him are planned and some happen by chance. He is in a city full of violence and legends and stories and he lives and tells these stories.
This is a unique gay-themed film. It is unsentimental and does not give that feel good feeling that so many do. This is a film that challenges the viewer and even though the theme is gay, it is not overt. It is also a film that cannot be easily spoken about without giving the plot away but it does take its characters seriously and assumes that the audience will also take them that way. The characterizations are complex as they explore the darker side of human nature especially those issues that have to do with being gay.
I am not sure that I can say that I enjoyed this movie as it is difficult. Perhaps that is a plus when we consider how many gay films that are made are totally silly. This is a film that provides a lot to think about and is quite a leap forward for gay film. It does not deal with our sexual orientation or coming out issues. Sexuality is here but it is not the core of the film. Directed in a non-linear style, we learn only gradually about Charlie and the climax is breath taking. Disjointed flashbacks mean it is absolutely necessary to pay attention and the use of a stylish and dark cinematic style makes the film cinematically intriguing. Dealing with tough issues in a complex way, director Jon Shear (in his directorial debut), allows us to know
Charlie and see how disillusioned he is with society. As he searches for love and redemption, we find that we do also. It's a simple story that deals with hard issues.
As Charlie, Dan Futterman is a heartbreaker who works with his role with action and feeling. Even when the direction is moody, atmospheric, suspenseful and scary, we maintain our sympathy for him. Incidentally, when the movie gets too serious, the director throws in something to relieve the tension.
"Urbania" grabs you and holds you hostage until the final credits roll. We are forced to examine some of the disturbing sides of life. When the movie ended, I found myself in tears even though there is a happy ending.

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Ok, I got one and this really happened. I sware.......

Heard any good stories lately? Based on the play "Urban Folk Tales", This film is a bit bizarre and hard to follow. It is the story of a man who's life is unravelling at the seams after a tragedy left him alone and trying to find a way to survive the horror in his mind, which haunts him with every passing minute. We've all heard the horror stories that circulate in email. Those stories, called "urban legends", boast horrendous things that supposedly happened to "a friend of my friends cousin" or whatever, but are never actual facts. Only in someone's sick mind. "URBANIA" spoofs several of these throughout the film and leaves you to wonder from start until almost ending if there is ever going to be a plot to this story. When it finally hits, and the theme of the movie is revealed, you realize that the whole movie made sense after all. As I viewed Urbania, I realized I had to review this film and give it a low mark for psycho babble, and expose it for what it was, pure trash. BUT THEN something happened right before my eyes and my view on this film changed dramatically.

It is a hard film to follow, but if you will watch it and stay with it to the end, you are in for one major surprise. The raw emotion this film reveals in the ending will blow you away. Many movies are good throughout and the ending sucks. With URBANIA, you get just the reverse, and walk away feeling like all that crap in the beginning was pure art. Dan Futterman stars as "charlie", and has all the appeal of a major sex symbol. A riveting performance on his part as he portrays a character so filled with both gentle love and violent hatred, that his life has become a drama constantly teetering on the line between reality and insanity.

The film quality is great, with both audio and video. Casting is pretty good overall and the acting is quite convincing. The story is original and packs a powerful punch right in the gut. (or the kidney that someone stole from you while you slept, and left you in a bathtub full of ice to recuperate.) This film just re-enforces the notion that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and that no healing comes without price. I think you will enjoy this movie. I know I did when it was all said and done and I recommend it for your viewing.

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