Sonrisas de New Jersey

I rented this because of Daniel-Day Lewis, who stars as a traveling dentist. All I can say is that it is so bizarre you should not watch it alone. You might find yourself going insane. It's not that the movie has any strange or bizarre effects, it's completely straightforward. To find out what I'm talking about you'll have to see for yourself. I'll also add the Day-Lewis was incredible, and he is the best actor I have ever seen.

So there's probably no chance at all anyone would know about this movie if it hadn't starred Daniel Day-Lewis. Even with Day-Lewis in the lead role, it's still super obscure, and it honestly doesn't surprise me that this isn't well-known. That being said, it's so odd that I think it almost qualifies as something that deserves cult status... but I do have to emphasize the "almost" there, because it's pretty boring in parts, and definitely not a riot from start to finish.

But it is odd in a compelling way, and though I think it was supposed to be a comedy, I'm not sure it was always funny for the reasons it wanted to be. Plot-wise, it concerns a very "passionate" dentist riding across Argentina on a motorcycle, generally yelling at people who don't look after their teeth while ranting about cavities. Day-Lewis commits as he always does, and when his performance is coupled with the odd screenplay, the results are uncomfortable, confusing, and sometimes hilarious.

The dialogue needs to be heard to be believed, but some highlights include Day-Lewis saying things like:

• "Ignorance is not the enemy. Tooth decay is the enemy."
• "I had a wonderful dream... Everybody had their teeth removed."
• "The lord made tooth decay, but he also made dentists like me."
• "The world is collapsing outside, and I have an erection."

The whole thing is kind of unhinged, and though there are some really slow moments, it might be almost worth slogging through to uncover some of the particularly funny (and strange) moments. Eversmile New Jersey is probably Day-Lewis's weirdest film, and I'm sure he's happy that it's also probably his most obscure (but here I am, doing my part to unearth it and the bizarre stuff it contains within).

Well, it is indeed about a traveling dentist, and it is played totally straight in spite of its amazing plot. So I found myself at the end of the film asking whether the film-makers and cast could possibly be serious or if it was a clever dry comedy. Was it a spoof of other too serious films about a man with a mission who falls into depression when others fail to see his vision, or was it honestly trying to be one of those serious films? Well, I have no answer to these questions, so my review divides here. Comedy - cute spoof of some the sort of movies Day-Lewis might well be in from time to time. Drama - stupid movie about a traveling dentist in Patagonia.

The film is very slow, and the main character seems to make more enemies than friends. He may be a good dentist but he doesn't seem to be a people person. I admire a film about such a non mainstream topic, but it doesn't evoke much interest or empathy from me.

Played with a deadpan sincerity, this charming, gentle, dreamlike film may not strike the casual viewer as anything special at first. But Fergus O'Connell stands in the great picaresque tradition of Don Quijote: a man intensely focussed on doing good in a world that urgently needs it, baffled by that world's failure to acknowledge the need, and so devoted to his cause that he ignores that world's reality in favor of the surreal world that we see here through his idealistic eyes. Witty, sophisticated in its understanding of its literary roots, and brilliantly played by a perfect cast, this is one that you shouldn't miss. Unfortunate problems with the sound--from the endless winds in Patagonia--and other troubles kept it from theatrical release in the U.S. But Day-Lewis, as always, deserves an Oscar for this characterization. At least.