The term "Brassed Off" is a bit of British slang. It means to be angry, and you can guess its vulgar American equivalent.
But in the case of the film with that title, it has a double meaning. The central characters - Yorkshire miners whose "pit" is about to be shut down, which will most certainly throw their village into economic turmoil - are angry. But they are also members of a brass band competing in a national contest, which helps lift the spirits of everyone in town."Brassed Off" is the opening night presentation of the Sundance Film Festival, to be held Thursday at Abravanel Hall. And festival director Geoffrey Gilmore braces himself for the obvious question: Why choose an English movie to kick off a film festival devoted to celebrating American independent cinema? Especially since it is the third British film to open the festival in the past four years (after "Into the West," "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and last year's "A Midwinter's Tale").
"It spoke to us because it was emotional and melodramatic," Gilmore says, "and because it actually had the ranges of quality that independent American cinema has.
"I don't have this categorical distinction between American independent cinema and world art cinema. I don't think that a lot of people do. I think people are willing to throw an `English Patient' or a `Shine' in with other films, and they don't make that distinction. They almost say to themselves, `Well, this is a film that fits into this generalized art/independent category.' And it's the way I see the festival."
Mark Herman, writer-director of "Brassed Off," agrees. And while the film is quite specifically British, Herman hopes it reaches out to universal concerns. "Everybody in Britain knows this story from beginning to end, the closure of the pits," Herman said by telephone from his home in northern England. "But there's another side that will appeal to people overseas. It's almost a true story - the plot is true. The closures by the government and the band - brass bands in England are a sort of symbol of the community. Each pit had its own brass band.
"But it's a different sort of brass band music than what you're used to in America. Marching bands are what you're used to. But they are much more in England. They're subtle, slower and more emotional than simply to serve as a march."
Herman said he has written scripts and sold them without attaching himself as a film's director, but with "Brassed Off," he felt "protective." "When I get a script that I feel that good about, I do get a bit selfish."
He admits that a bad experience in the Hollywood system - he directed the barely released Disney comedy "Blame it on the Bellboy" in 1991 - has instilled in him a desire to work independently and to develop his own material. "It was into the deep end, really. It just didn't work out - and it certainly didn't turn out at the box office. And as a result, work was hard to find. In fact, over here (in England), reviews were even worse - and work here was hard to get. So, I wrote a few things that didn't get made, and then I got into `Brassed Off.' "
The film has been a hit in Great Britain, but Herman says it's a bit of a gamble as to how well it will do when it is released in the United States later this year. "We don't know how this film will go down in America, so it's quite a test for us. It's a fairly British film, because of the subject matter. But we feel it's universal subject matter.
"It has been marketed as a comedy over here, and that brings people into the cinema. The rest is an emotional human story, and those who are just expecting a few laughs do get much more."
Gilmore came through Salt Lake City last week for interviews, and over lunch someone revealed that "Brassed Off" made Gilmore cry. Gilmore looked a bit sheepish at the comment and said he simply found the film to be quite touching. "It's a sophisticated film, both politically and in terms of its storytelling - and in terms of its performance. And it's also a film that just really works well emotionally.
"But I don't think it's overly melodramatic. I don't think it's trite. But it's a film that still touches a lot of people."
In fact, he adds, if "Brassed Off" had been an American film, "I probably would have shown it in competition.
"Of course, one reason I'll show a film like that as a premiere is because I won't show it in competition. The competition still remains committed only to American independent work. So, the question becomes, where to show it? Well, you show it as a premiere."
He added that the film's upbeat nature probably helped land it in the opening night slot. "A festival's opening is a festive occasion. You look for something that works in that atmosphere. I think it would be a mistake to show off something that was a serious or edgy work at that point, because I don't think it's the film that would work best with that audience.
"To say that it's festive doesn't mean anything derogatory. It simply means that it has qualities to it that people as a general audience can respond to."
For festival information, call 328-FILM (3456). To purchase tickets by phone, call 645-7280. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Main Box Office in Park City, located in the Gateway Building, 136 Heber Ave.; the Sundance General Store, at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon; and Crossroads Plaza, in downtown Salt Lake City. All theaters and auditoriums are in Park City, except the Tower Theater and Cineplex Odeon Trolley Square Cinemas, both in Salt Lake City; Peery's Egyptian Theater in Ogden; and the Sundance Screening Room at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon.
FRIDAY, JAN. 17
Egyptian Theater: "100 Proof," 9 a.m.; "Licensed to Kill," 11:30 a.m.; "Eye of God," 2 p.m.; "Black & White & Red All Over," 4:30 p.m.; "SubUrbia," 7 p.m.; "love jones," 10 p.m.; "Killers," 12:30 a.m.
Holiday Village Cinema I: "A Healthy Baby Girl," 9:30 a.m.; "Green Chimneys," noon; "My America . . . or, Honk If You Love Buddha," 2:30 p.m.; "Hide and Seek," 5:30 p.m.; "The Delta," 8 p.m.; "The Fight in the Fields," 10:30 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema II: "House of America," 10 a.m.; "Sunday," 12:30 p.m.; "Chronicle of a Disappearance," 3 p.m.; "Fistful of Flies," 6 p.m.; "Buddha Bless America," 8:30 p.m.; "Frantz Fanon," 11 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema III: "Riding the Rails," 10:30 a.m.; "John Henrik Clarke," 1 p.m.; "Love and Other Catastrophes," 3:30 p.m.; "Girls Like Us," 6:30 p.m.; "The Long Way Home," 9 p.m.; "Stella Does Tricks," 11:30 p.m.
Prospector Square Theatre: "The Salt in the Wound," 9 a.m.; "Ilona Arrives with the Rain," 11:30 a.m.; "All of Them Witches," 2 p.m.; "Going All the Way," 5 p.m.; "Love Walked in," 7:30 p.m.; "Six O'Clock News," 10 p.m.
Park City Library Center: "Little Angel," 9 a.m.; "When The Cat's Away," 11:30 a.m.; "The Clockwatchers," 2 p.m.; "New School Order," 4:30 p.m.; "In the Company of Men," 7 p.m.; "Brassed Off," 9:30 p.m.
Yarrow I: Shorts Program III, 9:30 a.m.; "Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore," noon; "Out at Work," 2:30 p.m.; "Star Maps," 5:30 p.m.; Shorts Program II, 8 p.m.; "Lewis & Clark & George," 10:30 p.m.
Yarrow II: "A True Story," 10 a.m.; "Running Against," 12:30 p.m.; "Black Circle Boys," 3 p.m.; "Blacks and Jews," 6 p.m.; "Wonderland," 8:30 p.m.; TBA, 11 p.m.
Tower Theatre: "The House of Yes," 6 p.m.; "Kissed," 9 p.m.
Trolley Square Cinemas: "Prisoner of the Mountains," 7 p.m.
Sundance Screening Room: "Puddle Cruiser," 4:30 p.m.; "Santa Fe," 8 p.m.