Surviving Picasso: Sterling (late night)PABLO Picasso, one of the most outstanding artists of the 20th century, is today a household name. But how was he as a human being? Did he have a major ego problem? And how did he treat the women (how many of them?) in his life? Surviving Picasso explores and answers these questions because it is his mistress (she had the strength to leave him after having two children) who narrates the story. And what a powerful, no-holds-barred account it is of that renowned artist.Francoise Gilot (Natasha McElhone) is an aspiring painter fascinated by the presence of the great artist. And when she goes to live with Picasso (Anthony Hopkins) everyone thinks "there goes another woman consumed by the Picasso fire". But Francoise is made of sterner stuff. It does not take her much time to get straight to his soul. "Do you really think I'll let myself be destroyed by a man, even if he is Picasso?" she tells a friend. Like any other celebrity, Picasso loves adulation. He speaks ofhimself in the third person, makes empty promises and shows little humanity to his subordinates. But leaving all that behind, Pablo the painter the man who creates those wonderful images is supreme. This unhappy mix is graphically captured by director James Ivory who is aided by an excellent screenplay by Ruth Praber Jhabwala. The film brings out the contradictions in a man who espouses freedom but is a slave-driver and a male chauvinist. May be the film could have done with a bit of dramatic relief but even so, it is an absorbing drama.Breakdown: RegalWHEN Jeff (Kurt Russel) and Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are on the road from Boston to San Diego after changing jobs, they hope they are driving towards a new beginning. But that is not to be. Breakdown is about the chaos that arises from a simple complication. Their car conks out and Amy takes a lift with a trucker to make a phone call. All hell breaks loose and soon Jeff finds himself in the middle of a nightmare.Director-scriptwriter Jonathan Mostow hasan intricate plot and he deals with interestingly. The ensuing events are both credible and endowed with a good deal of suspense. For instance, the trucker (J T Walsh) denies ever meeting the couple. Another acquaintance, on the road, suddenly turns tough. Poor Jeff finds himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. After getting little help from the cops he decides to take the law in his hands.There are substantial doses of action but at no time is the narrative sacrificed. It may not be a classy, sophisticated production but it serves its purpose as good, exciting entertainment.The Assignment: SterlingInspired by Frederick Forsy the's best-selling novel The Day of the Jackal (Fred Zinnemann made it into a classic film in 1973), The Assignment deals with the life of an elusive but ruthless terrorist named The Jackal. In this film however the target is no celebrity, but The Jackal himself. He is being pursued by a group of high-level anti-terrorist personnel. Henry Fields alias Jack Shaw (DonaldSutherland) is a CIA operative present at a Parisian cafe devastated by The Jackal. He vows to get even with him. Aiding him in this task is a Mosad agent, Amos (Ben Kingsley). Amos arrests an American naval officer Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn), thinking he is The Jackal. When they find out their mistake they are struck with the idea of using Ramirez to draw out The Jackal. Fields and Amos have a whale of a time training Ramirez but the exercise is some what drawn out. Director Christian Duguay's cerebral approach to the issue gives the film a new dimension and Quinn brings out the conflict rather convincingly.The action is confined to the last quarter but that doesn't make the film any less exciting. Suspense there is in large doses and the undercurrents of terrorism are always palpable. The story also steers clear of the predictable without, in any way, reducing the weightage due to terrorism.The Assignment is an absorbing drama, not to be missed.
