JIM reviews film "NIGHT BUS" [ + details FREE film to show 09-09-09 ]

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“NIGHT BUS” – A Wild Ride to a violent & Uncertain Future =

Rating: 7.5 of 10 stars.

This was the 13th in the FREE every-Wednesday Summer series of foreign films hosted by the CHICAGO INT’L. FILM FESTIVAL at the Cultural Center, introduced by a lady representative of the Instituto Italiano di Cultural di Chicago.

Italian Director David Marengo has concocted an interesting & energetic caper film. Leila is a long-time crook who doesn’t realize she’s gotten an item with a hidden Microchip inside. A politician has contracted with an ex-policeman to try to privately recover the potentially-damaging chip, causing him & some current policemen to violently pursue pretty Leila while at cross-purposes. As she’s trying to escape those guys, she chances to get on a Night Bus driven by normally-mild-mannered Franz, & little-by-little involves HIM in the attempt to get away: she needs a safe place to stay while she’s trying to retrieve some fake passports the police confiscated from her during one of the chases, wanting to sell them for money that’d allow her to leave the country. Meanwhile, Franz is being pursued by Titti who’s trying to recover some gambling debts he owes, & thus the various competing forces keep getting involved with each other in the blackmail, deceits, chases around town, & attempts to get money to escape. There’s periodic humor, some well-drawn characters & enjoyable noir-ish struggles.

[ Next week, on 09-09-09, a film from the Netherlands called “TWIN SISTERS” will be shown, dealing with their tries to get back together after being torn apart before World War II. As usual, if you want to see this, you’d be wise to arrive EARLY — before 6 PM – for this free film, since around 80 late-arriving people had to be turned away today due to space limitations in the theater that seats around 300 ].