The Bumblebee Flies Anyway (1999/Umbrella Entertainment DVD/Region Zero/0/PAL
Format)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C Extras: C- Film: C+
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD can only be operated on
machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Zero/0/PAL format
software, and can be ordered from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment at the
website address provided at the end of the review.
A few
years before leaving his permanent mark on film with his work in The Lord Of The Rings films, Elijah
Wood was making mostly independent films with occasional dabblings in higher
profile releases. Now that he is one of
the more well-known actors of his generation, there will be curiosity for
almost anything he does and hits like Sin
City do not hurt. Director Martin
Duffy’s The Bumblebee Flies Anyway
(1999) is a decent adaptation of the Robert Cormier novel that is about on part
with I Am The Cheese, but no match
for The Chocolate War.
With an
adaptive screenplay by Jennifer Sarja, Wood plays a young man who has been in a
car accident and can barely remember anything, thanks to some serious amnesia
that is causing havoc with the flashbacks he is experiencing. He wakes up at an institute for terminally
ill patients and though he is not one of them, there is a procedure that would
stop the flashbacks, but would likely cause total memory loss.
As he
deals with that, he meets the various child patients there and the main doctor
on his case (Janeane Garofalo) is doing her sincere best to help out. There is also his interest in a local young
lady (Rachel Leigh Cook in one of her best early roles) and general issues with
integrating into society. Though not a
biog hit in its time, with mixed reviews to boot, it is actually not bad
overall and the performances help where the directing and script have
lulls. If interested, you’ll probably
like it.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is not bad for a resent film, yet could
be a bit clearer, more detailed and have some more depth. Still it is consistent and Director of
Photography Stephan Kazmierski does a decent job lensing the whole thing. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is transferred
too low and is difficult to hear at times throughout for whatever reason,
despite being a Dolby release. Until I
hear another version, it will be uncertain as to whether it is the original
sound master or this disc, but it can be trying. Extras only include a trailer for this and a few
other Umbrella DVD releases.
As noted
above, you can order this import exclusively from Umbrella at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
- Nicholas Sheffo
