I have great respect for Mike Figgis. Leaving Las Vegas was a great movie, shot on 16mm on a limited budget.
It may come as a surprise but I liked his Hotel as well. Maybe it’s because it was set in Venice. Or maybe, it’s because he used Sony’s nightvision mode to make actors look like vampires.
Mike’s back on track with a new movie, The Nazi Officer’s Wife, based on a memoir by Edith Hahn Beer. It’s about a Jewish girl (duh!) who goes underground and finds her way to Munich. She meets a Nazi officer who marries her and keeps her background a secret.
The star attraction of the movie is Eva Green. She’s the new bond girl so even if you haven’t heard of her, you will in the near future.
On a more funny note, I thought Mike’s next movie will be something about a guy being left by his girlfriend who then starts dating a woman. Acording to feminist sites, Saffron Burrows (Mike’s ex-girlfriend), “embraces lesbian relationships on-screen and off.”
I guess a Nazi officer marring a Jewish girl has a better potential for drama. This lesbian thing happens every day now. Well, almost.
Saffron actually left Mike Figgis for Fiona Shaw, and the two have been together since!