Best Foreign Language Film nominees: The Class, Revanche, Un Prophete, Ajami

This entry completes all of the foreign film nominees from 2008 through 2017 (my goal to watch all nominated films goes back to 2008). Thanks again to the Minnesota Library System and inter-library loan, because it enabled me to get the films I wanted, when I wanted them. And for FREE. Libraries are a tremendous resource. 

9/14/17 The Class, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2008

The Class reminded me of an American book I read not too long ago called The Way It Spozed to Be by James Herndon, a former teacher, and in fact, The Class was based on the semi-autobiographical book by Francois Begaudeau, who also starred in the movie. The movie is set in a middle school in a Paris arrondissement which is made up of a large immigrant community. This brings its own set of challenges, from different cultural backgrounds, 'rivalries' between different home countries (Morocco, Mali, etc.), parents who may not understand the school requirements or expectations. I wanted to like the movie, but there were parts that just seemed shrill to me, and I found myself not caring, and I wanted to care about someone. There was a young girl at the end, and I thought, she would have been a good focal point, but it came too late; she walked up to the teacher after he went through the class to ask what they had learned over the school year, and she said she didn't feel like she learned as much as the other students. There was something in her disappointment and shame that made me want to know more about her. I did not particularly like the teacher either, again, that doesn't help. I think it was interesting, maybe bold, not to cast professional actors (if they were there, they were supporting cast and not noticeable), because it definitely added to the sense of chaos, but, I don't know, it just didn't click with me.

9/23/17 Revanche, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2008

Out of all the films here, this was probably my favorite: it actually had a story that I didn't need to follow on Wikipedia, characters that were interesting and that I cared about and it was not black or white/right or wrong. Revanche is set in Vienna and the Austrian countryside, and it starts with Tamara and Alex, who are lovers, but also co-workers in a Vienna brothel (Tamara is a prostitute and Alex is handyman, driver, protection). They have a dream of getting away, but they have no money; Alex decides to rob a bank, and he wants to leave Tamara at home, but she insists on going with him. That doesn't end well. The other storyline involves Susanne and Robert, a couple that live out in the countryside, near Alex's grandfather Hausner; Robert is a police officer who happens to be in the area when Alex robs the bank. The two men are forever intertwined, especially when Alex goes to his grandfather's farm to hide out. Alex resents Susanne's attention towards his grandfather, and orders her to stay away; that doesn't go according to plan either. Revanche is French for retaliation, and Alex spends a lot of time thinking about retaliating against the man who killed Tamara. Will he or won't he? He certainly has the opportunity. I liked the twists and turns that the movie took; nothing went quite as you might think, and even though Alex is not the most likeable character, I did care about him and Tamara, and I was interested in what happened to him, as well as the other characters. The winner from 2008 was Departures, a movie that I liked a lot and heartily recommend.

9/23/17 Ajami, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2009

This entry from Israel has me scratching my head a day later; did I like it, was it good, would I recommend it? I honestly do not know. The story is actually five stories and five different perspectives, told in a non-linear order, focusing on a two families in Jaffa, Israel. The occasional narrator is Nasri, a young Arab Israeli who likes to draw, and loves and looks up to his older brother, Omar. The movie opens with Nasri's young neighbor being shot by a Bedouin gang after being mistaken for Omar. We learn that there is a feud between the gang and Nasri's uncle, which has been extended to Nasri and his family. The feud is mediated by a local leader, Abu Elias, and the leader of the Bedouin's. Different members of the community come in and out of the other chapters of the film, including Malek, a young Palestinian who works illegally in Jaffa for Abu Elias, trying to save money for his mother's cancer treatment; Binj, the cook in Abu Elias's restaurant, who is fun-loving, drug-smoking and a friend to Malek, Omar and others; Dando is an Israeli police officer who is caught up in trying to find his brother who is in the Israeli army, but has gone missing. The characters are interesting: Malek is a likeable kid, Nasri could have been used better for his perspective, Omar is likeable if not a little frustrating, like most twenty year old boys. The narrative is what was frustrating; I was fine with the narrative being non-sequential and bits of the story being unraveled slowly, but I think there was chance lost to really get into the lives of the characters, especially because there aren't a lot of movies that show this perspective.

9/22/17 Un Prophete, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2009

I may be imagining it, but it seemed that the theme for the Foreign Language nominees was about retaliation and retribution in some way. Malik is a young Algerian who has spent his young life in correctional institutions and now in prison. He is among Corsicans and Muslims, two groups who do not like or trust one another (I was not sure exactly where the movie was set, but I'm pretty sure it was France). He is taken in by the leader of the Corsicans, Luciani, at first as an assassin (reluctantly on Malik's part), then a low level errand boy/house boy who is regularly disrespected by Luciani and his men as a dirty Arab. Malik doesn't like being treated like this, but he keeps a lot of his thoughts to himself, secretly learning Corsican, so he can understand what Luciani and his men discuss when they're not speaking French. Eventually, Malik becomes Luciani's most trusted 'employee', especially when Malik gets a special work release and he can carry on Luciani's business outside. Luciani realizes too late that Malik is not the scared kid who needed his protection a few years earlier, and the tide turns. It is a prison movie, but I think the character of Malik makes it a little different. The Oscar winner for this year was The Secret in Their Eyes from Argentina.

9/24/17 Hors la Loi, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2010

I was interested in the story of Hors la Loi, which followed a family of three brothers, born and raised in Algeria who lost their family land to French colonials, to the 1945 Setif massacre (with which I was unfamiliar), participation of Algerian forces in World War II with the Allies, to the fight for independence. The Setif massacre is early on in the movie, and it took me by surprise with its ferocity and seemingly indiscriminate killing of civilians. The three brothers, Messaoud,, Abdelkader and Said find themselves in the middle of the story, and they represent different points of view: Messaoud is the oldest, and was a soldier during the war; Abdelkader is the middle son, and a political intellectual, caught up in the Setif massacre and sent to prison in France; Said is the youngest son, trying to take care of his mother and reunite his family in France. The movie covers territory unfamiliar to most Americans, and I think the topic is interesting, but something about the movie didn't quite grab me like I thought it would. In a Better World won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but I also thought Incendies was a powerful film.

9/19/17 Footnote, nominated Best Foreign Language Film, 2011

Netflix describes Footnote, Israel's nominee for 2011's Best Foreign Film, as a 'witty' drama; I beg to disagree. Like most of the movies in this particular blog entry, this movie left me not caring, but thinking the writer/director missed an opportunity for an engaging movie. I would imagine that not many movie goers would find Talmudic research a particularly hot topic for a film, especially the philological aspects. However, parent-child rivalry is very relatable, and it can be funny and poignant. Unfortunately, I think Footnote got lost in the weeds somewhere along the way. I didn't care about either of the main characters, Eliezer, the father who has toiled away in relative obscurity, but he has annoyed most of his colleagues and rivals over the years; and his son, Uriel, described in Wikipedia as a 'charismatic' academic (I think they used that word wrong, because he was as charismatic as a loaf of wet bread), who is in the same field as his father, but well-liked and respected, and he has recently put up for the prestigious Israel Prize. The problem begins when Eliezer is called and congratulated for the award and it turns out that there was a mistake of bureaucratic proportions, because it was meant for Uriel. We learn there is a lot of jealousy and resentment from Eliezer towards Uriel, and I didn't think it was entirely clear why there was such bitterness (or I could have dozed off, I suppose). A Separation was the winner for 2011.

Travel the world without leaving your chair: nominated foreign films Incendies, In a Better World

I got a bug up my butt to finish the foreign film nominees from the past 8 years or so, all in one week (or maybe two). I'm not sure if that was the best idea I've ever had, but I'm running with it, and the rest of the foreign films from the nominated films going back to 2008, should be wrapped up by next week. I don't think it's a bad thing, but it's really heavy. And if you don't believe me, I suggest you watch Dogtooth and Bullhead right in a row, and get back to me.

9/1/17 Incendies, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2010

Not too long ago, I was talking with a friend about the use of flashbacks in movies and how I hate when they are used as a gimmick. That is not the case with Incendies, the French Canadian film directed by Denis Villeneuve, where flashbacks are used to unravel the mystery that Nawal Marwan left behind after her death. As the movie opens, we meet her twin children, Simon and Jeanne, as notary and Nawal's employee reads her will and last requests. It's painfully clear early on that the twins' relationship with their mother was distant at best and full of secrets and strange behaviors, and Simon isn't interested in fulfilling his mother's wishes, which include finding their father and the brother they never knew existed. The movie starts in Canada and in an unnamed Middle Eastern country that has faced civil war between Muslims and Christians; Nawal's is from a Christian family, but she is in love with a young Palestinian Muslim refugee, which causes severe problems for Nawal. I'm not really sure how to give you any more information without ruining the plot twists, and I really hope you watch this. There are no winners in a war like this (and the wars that continue to be waged); it's not just soldiers on one side or the other, it's both sides, it's non-combatants, and it's people born after the conflict. Lubna Azabal plays Nawal, and I hope she was under consideration for Best Actress, she was that good (Natalie Portman won for Black Swan, and other nominees included Jennifer Lawrence, Annette Benning, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams). The rest of the cast is really good as well; I kind of liked Remy Girard as Jean Lebel, the notary and kindly father figure, who shepherds the twins through their journey, refusing to break the trust their mother placed in him.  I was not sure how I would like this movie because I have been hit and miss on Villeneuve's other movies I have seen, Arrival and Sicario (miss) and Prisoners (sort of hit). This is a definite 'hit' for me. 

9/4/17 In a Better World, Best Foreign Film, 2010

In a Better World is a Danish film, directed by award-winning director Susanne Bier, and it's set in Denmark and a Sudanese village. Anton is a Swedish doctor who goes back and forth between the Sudan and his home and family in Denmark, he has two boys, Elias and Morton with his wife Marianne, but they are having some marital difficulties. The other family is Claus and his son, Christian, who have just moved back to Denmark after Claus's wife (and Christian's mother) has died in London after a long illness; Christian and his father have a strained relationship. Elias gets teased at school, partly because he is Swedish, he looks different, and kids can just be cruel asshats; Christian starts at his new school and is seated next to Elias, with whom he shares a birthday. Christian is quiet, but upset about the teasing and abuse Elias gets from his classmates, and tries to stick up for him. This protective attitude gets taken a little too far as Christian beats the head bully bloody and is chastised by the school. Anton tries to tell Elias that responding with violence to violence never works and you never win; in fact, he gets into an altercation with another parent when he tries to break up a mild skirmish between his youngest son, Morton, and another boy, but he lets the other parent push him around, and later hit him in the face, to show he's not scared and it didn't hurt. Christian thinks his friend's father is a wimp and a coward, and sets out to teach the other parent a very harsh lesson. There is also the storyline in the Sudan, where a cruel warlord viciously cuts open pregnant girls as a game; the girls are brought to the camp for medical attention by Anton and his team. The warlord comes to the camp for medical attention and against the wishes of the village and the medical team, Anton agrees to treat him, but no guns are allowed and only two of his men can stay. The warlord takes his gloating and crude attitude too far, and Anton snaps, and kicks the warlord's men out and leaves him to the wrath of the people. It's a decision that can't be taken back, even if Anton wanted to. Bier is not afraid of conflict and making people uncomfortable, and she does this on so many levels in this movie, but she also lets the characters and the viewers have a sense of closure and resolution. I liked the movie, I thought it was a different type of story, and the actors were wonderful, but I didn't love it. Out of the nominees for 2010, I have one left to see (Outside the Law), and I kind of think Incendies was the best foreign film, and Biutiful was also very powerful with Javier Bardem (I saw this a while ago). 

9/4/17 Dogtooth, nominated Best Foreign Film 2010

It has been a while since I had a WTF moment when watching a movie. Well, the dam done finally burst, and it is a massive WTF for Dogtooth, a movie that was hailed by the Greek government after its Oscar nomination (to be fair, it had been a rough couple of years for Greece). I can't give you a plot summary because I don't know what the hell was going on except there was sex, bizarre violence, and a type of dystopian environment. I watched director's Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster, which was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 2016, and didn't hate it, I actually thought that was interesting. The Lobster also had sex, bizarre violence and a dystopian environment, but a little more of a story. If I didn't like you, I would tell you to watch Dogtooth. Netflix predicted that I would give it 1 1/2 stars. I so appreciate their optimism, but I'm afraid it gets 1 star. File this under 'pretentious' and 'shock value'.

9/5/17 Bullhead, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2011

Great, another WTF movie. Two in a row. At least this one tried to have a plot, one that draws on a real life incident, although that seems so unimportant for most of the movie. There is: a brutal castration of a young boy, cattle doping, cattle doping mafia, characters losing their minds in incredible violence, double dealing, and Belgians who can't understand or stand one another. Yeah, I'm sorry, I just can't. As of yet, I have only not seen one entry from 2011 (it's coming later this week), but so far, out of all the nominees, this has been the worst film. I mean, yay Belgium for getting nominated, but you can do better. See the other nominees, including winner, A Separation, or In Darkness, or my favorite that was one of those gut punchers, Monsieur Lazahr.

More 2017 nominated films: Nocturnal Animals, Moana, Passengers, Elle

4/3/17 Nocturnal Animals, Nominated Best Supporting Actor, 2016

I don't even know what to do here. I've tried explaining the movie to a couple different people, and while I agree the premise is unusual and original, I couldn't get past the opening sequence, hell, I can't even talk about the opening sequence without getting uncomfortable, and then I just wanted the movie to be over. AND, even after watching the special features, which explained a lot, nothing made those first five to seven minutes relevant. Anyway, the movie is told from two points of view, one is 'the real world' with Amy Adams as Susan Morrow, an art gallery owner, currently married to Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer, although, truth be told, it could have been anyone) who has received a manuscript from her ex-husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal). The 'real world' story is told in flashbacks, so we see Susan in current time, but also go back to her relationship with Edward. As Susan reads the book called Nocturnal Animals, the story is portrayed in the movie, with Jake Gyllenhaal taking on the male lead, Tony Hastings, who is driving with his wife and daughter (Isla Fisher and Ellie Bamber), who look a LOT like Susan Morrow, when they are harassed and practically driven off the road by a few rough looking guys, who have bad intentions. Tony's family is taken from him, and he needs the help of Detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon in an Oscar-nominated role) to find out what happened. The men become partners of sorts as they try to find out what happened and also bring the bad guys to justice. The film goes back and forth between reality and the novel, showing us Susan in her pretty unhappy life, seeming to think about Edward and 'what if?'. I thought the whole premise was very clever, and to me, whether you see it or not comes down to your personal taste; if I would have skipped the first 10 minutes, I would have liked the movie a lot more I think. Gyllenhaal was really good in dual roles; Adams, who I love, was okay, but it was Gyllenhaal's movie. Shannon was good as well, and lately, he has been great in so many different films, but the Supporting Actor category was tough this year. Director Tom Ford has thought out every detail, with all the little hints carried from the real world to the story world; the lighting to differentiate the two worlds. I don't know if I have ever done this before, but I am going to walk back my initial reluctance to like this movie and to recommend it (with my previous caveat). That's what happens when you wait a week to write a review.

4/8/17 Moana, Nominated Best Animated Feature Film, Best Original Song, 2016

I enjoyed Moana, I didn't love it, but I did laugh out loud at some parts, and I did love the Oscar-nominated song "How Far I'll Go", and I'm partial to stories that have strong female leads, and I don't think we've had anyone from the Pacific Islands. Instead of the more familiar Greek or Roman myths, Moana is the story of Polynesian gods and demigods and how the islands were created by Maui, a demigod, voiced by The Rock/Duane Johnson; as many gods and demigods from different mythologies, he loses his mojo and has to wait for an unsuspecting human to rescue him. Moana is that human, defying her father to go farther out to sea than is considered safe. Some of the funniest moments are Moana and Maui bickering with each other. They face adventures fighting off coconut pirates (true story), a giant coconut crab, voiced by Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) who seems to be aware of his Jamaican counterpart from The Little Mermaid, Sebastian. His few minutes on screen are pretty hilarious. Johnson's personality really came through even though it was an animated persona and Auli'i Cravalho was terrific both as an actress and singer, in fact, it was her singing on Oscar night that got me excited about watching the movie; she did a spectacular job. I just noticed that I didn't mention her until almost the end, and I apologize for that, it's probably due to the fact that I've written this particular review over three separate days, which plays hell with any train of thought. One thing that I did find annoying was the character of Heihei, Moana's pet rooster, who just seemed like the director/writer checking a box: cute, but dumb pet sidekick. If you're looking for a family movie, I suggest getting this from the library or buy it, if you're so inclined, and if you're really adventurous, perhaps you can find the sing-a-long version.

4/8/17 Passengers, Nominated Best Original Score, Best Production Design, 2016

My feeling after watching Passengers starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt was, meh. It was another movie with an interesting concept, suspended animation gone awry, but only for a few people, the rest are blissfully unaware, but I don't think it could decide if it wanted to be a comedy, a drama, a science fiction action movie or all of the above. A brief synopsis: 5,000 passengers (colonists) are traveling for 120 years to a new planet and they are in a state of suspended animation; Jim Preston (Pratt) is awakened by a mechanical error, and finds himself alone on the ship, well, alone except for Arthur, the robot bartender (Michael Sheen) and other android or virtual characters. In his loneliness, Jim comes across a fellow passenger, Aurora Lane (Lawrence) and he falls in love with her through her video profile, and has a debate with himself and Arthur about waking her up, and pretty much shortening her lifespan and guaranteeing she won't see the new colony. After a year of being alone, Jim wakes her up, although he pretends her capsule had a mechanical failure as well. So, no real surprise that they fall in love, it wasn't even that hard. They spend a year together, when Arthur decides that he needs to tell Aurora that Jim woke her up on purpose. This does not go over well at all, but their spat is interrupted by another pod malfunctioning, and Gus (Laurence Fishburne), a crew member waking up; the three discover that there are some major issues happening with the ship. Up to this point we've had a little comedy, a little romance, and now we get into the science fiction/action bit, when the ship is in danger of exploding, Preston is willing to sacrifice himself to save the ship, and Aurora. After watching movies like Interstellar and The Martian, my expectations are pretty high, and the few minutes of action/suspense, didn't do anything for me. I was disappointed with Jennifer Lawrence; maybe it was the script, but I did not for one minute believe she was Aurora Lane. Chris Pratt was Chris Pratt, smart alecky, brash, nothing terribly new.

4/11/17 Elle, Nominated Best Actress, 2016

I am not going to give too much away because you really have to watch this movie unfold, and I don't want to ruin it. What I will say is that with all due respect to Emma Stone and La La Land, Isabelle Huppert, nominated for Best Actress, was robbed, absolutely, no question in my mind. Huppert is Michele LeBlanc, an executive of a video game company, which if you know anything about video gaming (and I know very little), it's a pretty male dominated industry. Michele comes off as an angry, bitter, vindictive and controlling woman towards her son, her lover, her ex-husband, mother, really almost anyone. Honestly, I usually hate those types of women (people) and movies that feature them, which is probably why Netflix thought I would rate it 2 stars, but the Paul Verhoeven-directed movie is more complex and so is Huppert's portrayal of a very resilient woman. Michele has a dark past, although not a secret one, and it clearly affects her forty years later, especially in her relationships with men. Michele enters into relationships with men that at best are ill-advised and at worst, dangerous, but it's almost like she does it knowingly, taking herself to the edge, seeing if she can pull herself back. I haven't seen most of Huppert's films, but even if I didn't like the film, I usually appreciated her role in it (I have seen Heaven's Gate, Madame Bovary, 8 Women, Amour). The movie is graphic, violent and occasionally difficult to watch, but Huppert is really good, but the total flipside to Emma Stone's character in La La Land, that's for sure. So, it's not much of a synopsis, but if you like foreign films and the work of Paul Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert, and a tense, unconventional story, I recommend this. But this won't be for everyone, and I won't be offended if you don't watch it.

Two Days, One Night; God and Elvis; a visit to Chernobyl, Spy and the Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - a cinematic hotdish

There was actually going to be a plan to this entry, but that kind of  went out the window pretty quickly as the movies piled up. There are one foreign film and three documentary shorts and then to throw you off balance, two comedies. It's a grab bag of cinema.

11/21/15 Two Days, One Night, nominated Best Actress, 2014

Several posts ago I mentioned that I had watched all but one of the nominees for last year. I lied. And I'm sorry. I had Two Days, One Night at home, but couldn't fit it in to my busy schedule. I finally did a couple of weeks ago and it was an interesting premise and I would like to state for the record now that I believe within five years this will be remade as an American film. The movie was a joint Belgian/French/Italian production set in Belgium. Marion Cotillard was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, losing out to Julianne Moore in Still Alice. Marion is Sandra, a worker in a small solar panel factory in Seraing, a city near Liege, Belgium. When the movie starts Sandra is hoping to return to work after being gone for an unspecified reason (we are given clues along the way); unfortunately, the manager and owner learned that the the team could still meet all production demands being short one person. They are given the option of having Sandra back or getting a bonus; for some of the workers the bonus will have a huge impact on their quality of life. Sandra's friend, Juliette, has convinced the owner to hold a secret ballot after the weekend. This reprieve gives Sandra time to speak with everyone one on one and plead her case. She is reluctant, but her husband, Manu, tries to encourage her and support her. It's an emotional roller coaster as Sandra suffers rejection but also makes some conversions. I worried about her state of mind and tensed up as she made her plea. It didn't end like I thought it would, but I think it was better and more real. One thing I do want to say is that some of the workers made their decision based on the fact they would lose this bonus; but were they in such dire straits before Sandra left? And what makes them think they are safe and that management wouldn't see if they could do with one less person in six months? And (I guess that's three things) how come there was no union intervention? On that matter, I'm guessing because it was a small shop. I love Cotillard, I totally believed she was Sandra, the pain and angst and the love of her kids. She is amazing, although I think she is much better in French films, but perhaps I'm being a snob.

11/22/15 The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2015

Movies are funny things. When you see a really good movie, you walk out and say, ooh, I hope they make a sequel. I loved The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, it featured some of the best British actors and actresses and it was on a beautiful location. Who wouldn't want a second movie? Most of the original cast returns: Dame Maggie Smith as Muriel Donnelly who now helps to run the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; Dame Judi Dench as Evelyn Greenslade who works sourcing original Indian cloths; Bill Nighy is Douglas Ainslie a sweet, fumbling guide who has unrequited feelings for Evelyn; Dev Patel returns as Sonny Kapoor, the ambitious and over the top entrepreneur who is preparing for his wedding; Richard Gere is the new face and he is a guest at the hotel and also very interested in Sonny's mother. You kind of need a scorecard to keep track of who is with whom and who does what. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is doing so well that guests never leave (until they permanently check out) so Sonny and Mrs. Donnelly set off to America to make a deal to start a Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  As with any ensemble film, there's a lot going on and some of it is more interesting or funny than other bits, and you find there are characters you would rather watch. Maggie Smith as Mrs. Donnelly is that person for me. In some ways she is like her curmudgeony character on Downton Abbey, dropping acerbic comments as effortlessly as rain falls in Seattle. There is a great Bollywood dance at the end, and other than that, the movie was okay, but not great, and I really hope they don't make a third best exotic marigold hotel.

11/26/15 Chernobyl Heart, winner Best Documentary Short, 2003

I may have to come up with a ratings system for documentaries; I think this would be five tear drops. I remember when the Chernobyl disaster happened; I had friends living in Sweden at the time and the news said that the radiation was blowing towards Sweden and the children were not supposed to play in the sand. It was crazy. It was in the news for a while and occasionally news would come out about what was happening, especially to the children. Seventeen years after the disaster, director Maryann DeLeo takes us to Chernobyl and surrounding villages and cities, to hospitals and orphanages. The number of birth defects has increased dramatically since the disaster, as has the number of cases of thyroid cancer and other diseases. The impacts on this generation of children is unfathomable. Our 'guide' for this visit is Adi Roche, a most amazing woman who founded Chernobyl Children International. The film was difficult to watch, frustrating and infuriating and yet Adi and her team and the doctors who come to perform surgeries for free give that ray of hope. The video is available on youtube and I strongly encourage you to watch it. 

11/26/15 Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work Of Mark O'Brien, Best Documentary Short, 1996

Mark O'Brien was a poet who UC Berkeley, wrote several volumes of poetry and articles, all while being in an iron lung. O'Brien was stricken with polio when he was 6 years old. His parents didn't want to put him in a nursing home, so they kept him at home as long as they could, but then he went out on his own, attending college and graduate school. He has the help of attendants, but he uses a tool to type with his mouth. There are times he seems very lonely, but he still has a sense of humor and a sense of indignation when it comes to equal access and opportunity for disabled. His story was dramatized in Sessions which focused on his desire to experience sex. O'Brien died in 1999. The documentary is available on youtube and Sessions is available through the library or Netflix. I suggest seeing both.

11/26/15 God is the Bigger Elvis, nominated Best Documentary Short, 2011

I had no idea what this documentary was about until I watched it, I thought it was something to do with religion, but other than that, nada. Well, it has to do with God and Elvis. You movie buffs out there may know the name 'Dolores Hart' (I have to admit it didn't ring any bells with me, I'm sorry) from the 1950s, particularly Loving You with Elvis Presley. Dolores did not find the Hollywood lifestyle suitable to her and left to join a Benedictine order in Connecticut. The (now) Mother Prioress talks about her choice and others from the abbey about why they joined and what the Mother Prioress gives to them. I liked the documentary, it had a certain joie de vivre, but this was the year that Saving Face won and that was a hard one to beat, I think.

11/27/15 Spy, 2015

I really needed this movie after two days of intense movies (Secret in Their Eyes and Spotlight). There is no question that Melissa McCarthy has been in some hit or miss movies, but even if it's a 'miss', I almost always find something to laugh at; she is one funny lady. Spy isn't exactly a miss, but I didn't laugh as hard as I did during Bridesmaids, but I think that was a pretty rare occasion for me. 
Spy is a comedic take on James Bond, featuring Jude Law as agent Bradley Fine; Jason Statham as his interdepartmental rival, Rick Ford; Rose Byrne as baddie Rayna Boyanov; Allison Janney as Director Elaine Crocker. The casting is pretty spot on: Statham shows he has a sense of humor about himself and his tough guy image by being the consummate 'top the topper', escaping death more times than it's possible to imagine; Janney is just so good in everything she does, she could teach a master class in line delivery and McCarthy is smooth moving from physical comedy to playing off of her co-stars (she and Byrne have this down to a science). McCarthy plays Susan Cooper a behind the scenes type of agent, providing the field agent, Fine, with escape routes and intel on the bad guys. Cooper and the rest of the agency are led to believe that Fine has been killed by Boyanov and that all of the field agents have been compromised, so they need someone unknown to the other side, and that would be Susan Cooper now Penny Morgan. Susan goes to Europe to stop the bad guys selling nuclear weapons (actually I wasn't really following the plot all that closely). Cooper proves to be lot more capable than anyone gave her credit for and she is assisted by Nancy (English actress Miranda Hart who has a great scene with 50 Cent). I think when Melissa McCarthy has a good script and a good director (Paul Feig, he directed Bridesmaids and Heat) good times can be had by all. McCarthy is one of the best comedic actresses and it's fun watching her do her thing.

Movies to see: The Intouchables and Waste Land; skip Interstellar

6/23/15 Interstellar, Best Visual Effects, 2015

Normally I don't write the review as I am watching a movie, however, I am in such pain and agony from watching this movie, Interstellar, that I just want to be done with it. all I hear from the dialog is "blah, blah, blah", and I could care less about the characters, this is all so pretentious. It won for Best Visual Effects and so far, one hour and fifty minutes in, with another 50 minutes to go, I'm thinking Guardians of the Galaxy got robbed, absolutely robbed. Basically the Earth is a dying planet, and Matthew McConaughey is Cooper, a pilot but he is forced to farm. Oh, I'm sorry, I don't care enough to recap the plot. I wanted to turn off the movie forty minutes ago, I'm missing tonight's episode of "Rizzoli and Isles". If you want a recap synopsis of the plot and all of the science, you should check out the Wikipedia article. The set up to the more climactic scenes (I think I'm watching one now) was way too long; when are directors going to learn (in my opinion) that making a movie longer does not make it better, it just makes it longer. I'm not a huge fan of science fiction anyway, so maybe I should stop. I did enjoy Gravity however. So, this may be the lamest review in quite a while - I do not like this movie, I would not recommend and I hope it ends soon.

Good night.

6/24/15 The Intouchables, 2012

As much as I complained about not caring about the characters in Interstellar, I hope to convey how invested I felt in Philippe (Francois Cluzet) and Driss (Omar Sy) in the French film, The Intouchables. The movie is based on a true story. Philippe is a wealthy quadriplegic who is looking for a new caregiver; Driss is a African immigrant currently looking to get a signature proving he applied for a job, even though he had not planned on taking it. Against any of the logic that his other assistants and friends provide, Philippe hires Driss. They are quite the odd couple, that's for sure; Philippe is an aristocrat who has private planes at his disposal and Driss's family struggles to eke out a living. Despite the economic chasm between them, Driss and Philippe make a connection; Philippe loves that Driss forgets about his disability and treats him and talks to him like a regular, fully functioning person. Driss loves music, especially the American band, Earth, Wind & Fire and breaks out some dance moves at Philippe's historically boring birthday party. A movie like this could go sappy very quickly and easily, but it doesn't. Cluzet has to act with just his face and voice, his character is unable to stomp off in anger, jump for joy, embrace his daughter or friends, and he is wonderful. Sy is joyful as Driss helps Philippe enjoy life again. They bring out the best in one another. I'm often asked what's the best movie I've seen recently, what would I recommend. Sometimes I draw a total blank because I see so many movies, they become a blur. But since I have your attention, you should see The Intouchables and Waste Land.


6/27/15 Waste Land, nominated Best Documentary, 2010

Waste Land works on so many levels: it's a film about an art project, an environmental film and an anthropological film.  Vik Muniz is a Brazilian artist now living in America who decides to go back home for a big project: photographing the workers (catadores) of the world's largest garbage dump and making portraits incorporating a variety of recyclable materials. I hadn't researched this movie or really knew what it was about, but I had seen the other 2010 nominees (including Gasland, Restrepo and the winner Inside Job) and they were all strong contenders, but I wasn't sure about this movie. It took about 15 minutes for me to get into the movie and the teeny tiny subtitles didn't help, but once I got into it, I couldn't tear myself away. Muniz goes to Jardim Gramacho to see how the work is done, meet some of the workers and get some ideas; we meet just a handful of the catadores and hear their stories. We learn how they think that this is hard, but honest work, and more than one of them comments that they would rather be here than doing drugs or working in prostitution. Some workers have been picking recyclables since they were children, helping their parents or working because their parents died; a few of the women worked beside their husbands or had nowhere else to turn after their husbands left them or other tragedies befell them. In spite of that, they still have hopes and dreams, either for themselves or their children. Tiao is the President of the Association of Recycling Pickers, and he's young and thoughtful and has great plans to help his community; Zumbi collects books that he finds in the dump and he has read Machiavelli's The Prince; Valter is a philosophical about the work they do and the role it plays in the environment, and he tries to educate his neighbors who do not work at the dump but add their garbage to the ever-growing pile; Irma is the cook and she is resourceful and the mother-figure to them. I was very moved by the different men and women and their stories, but also how they defied any stereotype or preconceived notion I may have had. The grace and humanity that they had, but also the very real understanding of the importance of their work. The pickers manually extracted tons of recyclable materials that were then made into new products.

Even as we learn about how the pickers go about their arduous job, Vik is going about his project, involving the catadores in gathering material and posing for the photographs. These are not just regular portraits either; Vik projects the images (including one of Taio as Marat in "The Death of Marat" by David) onto a the floor of this large warehouse he is working in and he has Tiao, Zumbi and the others add recyclables to the photos and then he takes another photograph. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but the pictures were incredible. As the catadores spend more time working on this project, Vik, his wife and his assistant (?) talk about the effect that this change could have on them and would they go back to the dump, what would happen to them, etc. It's an interesting discussion and in this case, not purely theoretical. Vik and Taio go to London to auction off a large print of the "Marat" portrait, and Taio feels like a rock star, and the portrait goes for over $40,000. Muniz's goal was to put that money back into the catadore community and the pickers' association. This is a fabulous movie that should not be missed.

6/27/15 Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders, Park Square Theater, St. Paul, MN

 In the 1990s, Twin Cities native and author, Larry Millett started writing a series of Sherlock Holmes mysteries set in Minnesota, several focusing on the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Twenty years later, Jeffrey Hatcher adapted Millett's second novel into a play. I enjoyed the books, learning about Minneapolis and St. Paul in the early days of Swede Hollow, Pig's Eye Landing, the railways and other ventures of JJ Hill, so I was thrilled to see that new life was being given to Millett's story. For reasons of practicality, I'm sure, the story was condensed as was the list of characters. It has been years since I read the books, but from what I recall, the play was still pretty faithful to the plot. Holmes and Watson are in America for a tour and they are in Chicago when they learn of a mysterious disappearance in St. Paul; instead of heading east to New York, they catch the next train to St. Paul, where they are greeted by the freezing cold of a Minnesota winter. It's 1896 and St. Paul is preparing for the Winter Carnival (we still have a version of the Winter Carnival) and the son of one of the city's civic leaders is missing, and Holmes, Watson and rival, Shadwell Rafferty embark on solving the mystery. The cast was wonderful, and a few of the actors played multiple roles. We had one twist, the lead actor playing Holmes, Steve Hendrickson, was unexpectedly hospitalized, so director, Peter Moore stepped in for him. He still needed the script, but it wasn't as distracting as it could have been, and the show must go on; I thought it was quite brave to do. I had never been to the Park Square Theater before, it was on the smaller side, around 350 capacity, but there's not a bad seat in the house. The theater is located on a pedestrian mall surrounded by restaurants like Great Waters Brewing Co., Kincaid's and several others; it's also walking distance to the light rail and Union Depot. It was a beautiful summer night in St. Paul and we enjoyed the walk back to car, as the Jazz Pub Crawl was wrapping up. It will be a great memory when it's February and freezing.

A little drama, a little science fiction, some high flying with Dog Day Afternoon, Terminator 2 and Top Gun

Oh, and the fair. You really have to love those four day weekends (I had Friday off). In addition to watching six movies, a television series, a Law and Order: Criminal Intent marathon, I managed to squeeze in a few hours at the great Minnesota Get Together, aka The State Fair (one of the best in the country). For me the fair is about the food: deep fried pickles, lots of cheese, new foods and old favorites. The animals are cute, but I just want to eat. I hate crowds, so I'm glad my pal and I missed the 250,000 people that went on Saturday (yes, that is like the cities of Akron, Green Bay or Des Moines invaded St. Paul). People who have not attended the Fair are always interested in the food. This wasn't a great picture taking day due to the rain, but here is the walleye mac and cheese and s'mores beer (my friend tried it; meh, okay if you like dark beer); and a butter head.

Okay, enough of that until next year. You probably want to know about the movies. There was a lot of variety, sometimes that works against me because it's hard to find a rhythm or I get retina burnout or my brain can't process everything. That was not the case this weekend, at least I don't think so. Maybe I paced myself better, or the movies were pretty good overall. So, allons-nous (using my French).

8/30/2014 Brick Lane, 2007, not nominated

I had heard about this movie, maybe through a trailer or maybe because it was based on a book (by Monica Ali), I don't know, but it stuck with me and it was added to my NetFlix queue a few years ago (don't judge, my list is very long). I finally decided to see if the library had it, and voila, they did. Brick Lane tells the story of a young girl from Bangladesh who is sent to England to be married to an older man, Chanu Ahmed, and they move to Brick Lane, a real street in London. Only a few minutes are spent on the girl's (Nazneen) life in Bangladesh where she witnessed her mother's suicide and was separate from her young sister. Nazneen and her sister never meet again (at least not in the film), but they share correspondence over the years which is read throughout the movie. Nazneen is very quiet and obedient, but in a move that temporarily angers her husband, she learns how to use a sewing machine and does piece work to earn extra money. Chanu comes off as very blustery, oafish and controlling, who seems to think he is indispensable at his workplace, only to find, he is not. He also finds that his two young daughters, especially his eldest, do not have a lot of respect for him either. He then decides the World Wide Web will lead him to his fortune, so he borrows money from a local money lender who charges him usurious rates; the catch with that is, usury is forbidden in Islam, so the woman makes it seem like it is a donation. Nazneen is unaware of this arrangement, and one of her few friends warns her to be careful. When Nazneen begins the piecework, the material is delivered by a young Bengali, Karim. As they get to know each other, they begin an affair. At first it does not seem that Karim is a particularly devout Muslim, although he chafes at the racism that he and his father (and others) encounter, and suffer through silently. 9/11 occurs during the movie, and we see how the backlash against foreigners, especially Muslims, radicalizes the young people, including Karim and his friends. This has a different impact on Chanu who decides he and his family will move home, to Bangladesh; for a long time, it seemed like this was something Nazneen wanted as well, but things have changed and she no longer yearns to return. For as blusterous as Chanu appears, he has a powerful scene at a community meeting led by Karim and his friends, who call for a more assertive response and demonstration to the anti-Muslim reaction they are experiencing. During this moment, Chanu, who is much older than the young people gathered, tried to remind them of the history of their country, Bangladesh, and how millions of Muslims have died from violence by other Muslims, and he tries to push for restraint, but they laugh at him (Bangladesh came to be after the partition of India and Bengal in 1947, which also lead to the creation of Pakistan, and there was much fighting during that time). Up until that point, I really did not have a lot of respect for his character, he seemed silly, but at that moment, he took on a different light, in my eyes and his wife, Nazneen. After this, she ends her relationship with Karim, and decides to stand up and become her own person. Chanu and Nazneen take a path I did not expect, and I wonder how it eventually works out for them. It took some time to get into the movie, and I wasn't sure about it, but I would have to say I did like it. After I finish the other books on my list, I may look into the book that inspired the movie.

8/31/2014 Dog Day Afternoon, 1975 Best Original Screenplay, National Film Registry

This was my second time trying to watch Dog Day Afternoon due to a faulty disk from the library, so I finally tried again with NetFlix. I wasn't sure what to expect because I have seen clips over the years and there was a weird element of comedy, but then Al Pacino going all hysterical, so I didn't know how it was going to go. I'm glad the disk worked this time, I really enjoyed the movie. The movie is based on events that occurred in New York City in August 1972; Pacino plays Sonny, one of the bank robbers and John Cazale is Sal, his partner. Sonny wants to rob a bank to get money for his boyfriend's sex change operation (he is also referred to as Sonny's 'wife' as they were 'married' in a ceremony some days earlier, never mind that Sonny is already married to Angela). Things go wrong right from the beginning when one of the guys that was supposed to help with the robbery gets cold feet after they enter the bank and start the robbery. It's all downhill from there for Sonny and Sal. Once Sonny realizes that the bank isn't holding more than a few thousand dollars and news of the robbery gets out, he tries to negotiate for a helicopter and plane and a way out, using the bank employees as collateral. The bank tellers, all women, have a variety of reactions as time goes on, and they establish a bond with Sonny, some seem to be enjoying this bit of adventure. The movie also features Chris Sarandon as Leon, Sonny's 'wife'; Charles Durning as Police Sergeant Moretti; a young Carol Kane (Taxi) plays one of the bank tellers. I didn't realize it when I watched it, and I don't know if this intent was there during the filming, but the Stonewall Riots that occurred in Greenwich Village just three years before the bank robbery, and when the public finds out that Sonny and Al are a gay couple, they receive support from the gay community, who appear at the site. It may not seem like a big deal now, when marriage can be written without quotations marks, but back in the 1970s, I would think it would be very groundbreaking. As I said, I really did enjoy the movie, the hint of comedy, great acting and interesting storyline tied together by Sonny's confidence that he's got the plan and Leon's vulnerability, and Moretti's desire to bring a peaceful end to the matter, although he is outmatched by the unruly crowd.

8/31/2014 Top Gun, 1985, Best Music, Original Song

I think I have mentioned this before, but in case you missed it, I have probably not seen some of the most popular movies of the 1980s and 1990s (Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, Sixteen Candles, Footloose, the list is endless); this always seems to amuse and amaze my friends. What can I say? They never interested me. That goes for Top Gun; I never really cared, although I listened to and liked a lot of the soundtrack, including the song that won the Oscar "Take My Breath Away" performed by Berlin, written by Georgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock. So, thanks to the list, I have now seen Top Gun. And, I liked it. I liked the flying, there are some great action scenes, which director Tony Scott was known for and the music really is great, from an era when soundtracks really made noise (sorry for the pun). The acting is okay, featuring young actors like Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan. The plot isn't very complicated: ace fighter pilots are sent to the Top Gun program in Miramar, California, to learn and see who is the best in their class. By nature, it seems, fight pilots have to possess a certain amount of self-confidence, ego and cockiness to do what they do, and Cruise's character "Maverick" has all of this plus a degree of recklessness that has gotten him into trouble, and gets him into trouble at Top Gun; Maverick's best friend and Radio Intercept Officer is Goose (Edwards). Maverick also starts up a relationship with Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) who is a civilian instructor at Top Gun. Maverick is good, but he may have met his match in Iceman (Kilmer) and they have an intense rivalry that leads Maverick to be more aggressive and perhaps even careless. The pilots have simulated dog fights and push each other to the limits; something happens on one of the training runs that changes Maverick's outlook and attitude (I'm not telling you). Maverick does graduate from the program, but he may not be the best pilot of the class. After graduation, some of the pilots are sent to a real encounter with unfriendlies (the movie was made before glasnost, so the Soviet Union still existed and was considered a threat), and Maverick has to prove his merit. It may have been somewhat predictable, but the action sequences totally make up for it. I really thought I would hate this movie, or at least meet it with indifference, and I was wrong. It was nice to see a Tom Cruise character evolve a little in a movie. If you haven't seen it (and you're probably rolling your eyes saying, duh, of course I've seen it already), and you're looking for a good action film, I would recommend this one. And, I'm kind of thinking about getting the soundtrack (on LP)!

8/31/2014 A Place beyond the Pines, not nominated 2013

If I would have liked or loved every movie I watched this long weekend, I would begin to doubt my judgment. Never fear. A Place beyond the Pines snapped me out of that slippery slope. I was going to try and see this in the theater when it came out, and in hindsight, I am glad I didn't pay money for the experience. Even as I write this a week later, I'm angry I lost over two hours of my life. The movie stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Dean DeHaan, Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne. Luke Glanton (Gosling) is a trick motorcycle rider who finds out he has a young son with Romina (Eva Mendes) and decides he needs more money, so after a time, he teams up with another guy to do some bank robberies. One robbery goes wrong and Gosling's character is killed by rookie cop, Avery Cross (Bradley Cooper), who has very big dreams for his career, although he does not revel in the shooting and feels worse because he learns Glanton had a young son, as does he. Cross soon finds he is a new celebrity and has some new friends on the police force of dubious character, including Liotta. Cross determines that his new friends are very corrupt and don't plan to leave him alone, so Cross turns the tables and begins climbing up the ladder. The last part of the movie shows Cross in a run for Attorney General of New York state and his son is now a troubled teenager; his son meets Luke's son, Jason (DeHaan) at school, but has no idea who he is, although Avery eventually finds out. I think this would have been interested if it would have been treated as a short film, focusing on the first act with Luke and Romina and the bank robberies and then ended with the shooting by Avery, leaving the viewer to wonder what happens. Instead we get a three act play, where quite frankly, I didn't care about any of the characters. We might have been intended to care about Avery, but he's too self-involved; Luke chooses a path of crime and has a chance to walk away from it, but doesn't; the two kids, sorry, but I didn't care about them either. I just kept begging for it to be over. I read an article online that said Gosling has taken a lot of roles where he doesn't say a whole lot, but just gives these serious looks and is glum and morose. I would agree. I think he can act when given the right material, but this was not it. I would say even if you can get it for free from the library, run the other way.

9/1/2014 Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, 1991

Would you be surprised if I said I have not seen any of the Terminator movies? Nah, you know me by now. And then when I realized or remembered that it was directed by James Cameron, I thought I would be kissing away four hours of my life. Well, I did like the movie, but I still think it was too long (I was lucky enough to get the Director's Cut DVD from the library). I tried not to focus too much on the whole time travel aspect otherwise my head would pop like a like a balloon. I probably should have watched Terminator, but I discovered that it wasn't really necessary, there was enough time to explain, at a high level, what happened. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is the mother of John Connor (Edward Furlong) who will save humanity from the machines in the future, so the machines send a cyborg, model T-1000 (Robert Patrick) back in time to kill him (hear that, that's my head). Terminator model T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is also sent back, but to protect John. It's a chase movie, with the T-800, John and Sarah trying to escape the more advanced T-1000 while at the same time, destroying the technology that creates the cyborgs. The move is really about the action and the effects, the acting isn't all that fabulous (although not as horrible as some movies) and I think there are always inherent issues with time traveling movies, like losing the audience and trying to make it make sense. Special effects have come a long way in 20 years, but I think these still hold up here, and looking at the competition from that year for makeup and effects (Star Wars VI, Hook and Backdraft), T2 was just bigger and more impactful (although I really liked Backdraft). Stan Winston did some of the visual effects (Industrial Light and Magic worked on the effects as well) and the makeup. As much as Cameron bugs me, he does have a great way of featuring strong women in his movies, women who are not afraid to shoot a gun, tackle an alien or get shot (Ripley in the Alien franchise and Sarah Connor here; I suppose you could include Rose from Titanic, but she just falls off of a sinking ship). Sarah Connor is definitely a force to be reckoned with in this movie, although she is getting ready to pass the torch to her son, John, and she is portrayed as crazy because she knows of the future and the cyborgs. I'm glad I saw the movie, if for no other reason than to have some context to some of the cultural references, like the phrase "I'll be back".

9/1/2014 I've Loved You So Long, 2008

I've Loved You So Long is a French film starring Kristin Scott Thomas. This is a movie that takes some time to get going, as Thomas's character, Juliette, slowly reveals herself and her secrets to us and her sister, Lea (Elsa Zylberstein). We meet Juliette as she is released from prison after fifteen years; if you haven't seen the trailer or read a review, you may not know why she was in prison, and she's not talking, In fact, she really doesn't talk much at all, it's as if she doesn't trust herself to speak, or at the very least, doesn't trust those to whom she's speaking. Her brother-in-law, Luc, is less than thrilled to have her stay with his family, a family that includes two little girls who Luc and Lea adopted from Vietnam. There are many opportunities to compare the sisterly relationship between Lea and Juliette and P'tit Lys and her younger sister (the two girls are not biological sisters, and the older girl, P'tit Lys, often asks questions about her mother and aunt's relationship when they were younger). Juliette tries desperately to get a job, but her prison record is a deterrent for potential employers. In the meantime, Juliette has to meet regularly with her parole officer, who is as gregarious and open as she is reticent and guarded, although it seems she appreciates that he doesn't seem to judge her. Juliette meets one of Lea's colleagues (she is a professor of literature), Michel, who respects Juliette's privacy, but also shares some of his own life and experiences, and begins to build a trusting relationship with her. Michel taught at a prison and while he doesn't have the same experience, since he could leave every day, he does understand how it changes a person. Gradually, Juliette becomes a part of her sister's family, especially as P'tit Lys grows fond of her and trusts her and breaks down Juliette's cold reserve. Even Luc begins to trust her. As I said, this movie unfolds slowly, although I didn't find it boring or tiresome, the pace is necessary to see Juliette evolve from a cold, frigid person into someone who is willing to show her love for her nieces, her sister and herself. Things are not always as they appear. It is heartbreaking as the mystery reason behind Juliette's imprisonment is slowly uncovered by her younger sister, Lea, and the walls start to come down, and you feel that Juliette might yet find some redemption. I like seeing a character evolve, especially when they seem so very unlikeable and then you begin to understand their point of view, or at least empathize with their struggle. It's the age old lesson of not judging a book by its cover. This isn't a feel good movie by most definitions, but I did feel encouraged at the end. I hope I've told you enough to look into the movie, but not too much that it spoils it for you. While the movie didn't get any Oscar nominations, it was nominated for several BAFTA awards (the British equivalent of the Oscars) and for several Cesars (the French equivalent).

Not only did I watch a lot of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, but I also watched an ITV television series called "Vera" starring Brenda Blethyn as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope and it's set in Northumberland. The setting is as much a part of the series as the actors are, with many scenes taking place out on the moors and in the countryside. Blethyn is amazing to watch; she's been in many films, but I remember first seeing her in Secrets and Lies by Mike Leigh from 1996 which was really fabulous. You might think of DCI Jane Tennyson from "Prime Suspect", but I think one of the compelling things about Tennyson is we see how flawed she is from the beginning and see her struggle to get respect from the men in her team. Vera seems more established; she probably did face heckling and resentment from her male colleagues, but we don't see it here. She's in command of her squad and her gender is rarely mentioned, at least not in a derogatory way. She does have her flaws, and she constantly frustrates her right hand man, Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth. Some of the funny bits come in regards to the exchanges between his wife and Vera, or Joe and Celine about Vera, as well as when Vera gets information from the often inappropriate medical examiner, Billy. Celine refers to Vera as 'the other woman', but she does it with a smile and tries to include Vera in family things which makes Vera very uncomfortable. There are so many great series out there, but if you like British mysteries, this is a good one. Series four will be available on DVD in October 2014.

2013 Nominees including The Book Thief, Inside Llewyn Davis and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

This entry covers some more 2013 nominees and one Palme d'Or winner.

4/7/14 The Book Thief, nominated for Best Original Score, 2013

To be honest, I almost forgot I had watched this movie. It's a good thing I have my tracking spreadsheets (a day without spreadsheets is like a a day without sunshine). The Book Thief is based on the book of the same name and it is set in Germany during the Second World War. It stars Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson  as a German couple, the Hubermann's, who take in a young girl, Liesel, played by Sophie Nelisse. Liesel struggles with kids her age because she cannot read, but she is very tough and can hold her own. Emily Watson's Rosa is very hard and appears very cruel; Rush is Rosa's tender-hearted husband, Hans. Hans works with Liesel and helps her to learn to read and she becomes 'The Book Thief' of the title. Liesel also becomes friends with Rudy, although a little reluctantly, and they take on the neighborhood bully together. Live gets a little more complicated and challenging for the Hubermann's as they take in Max Vandenburg, a Jewish refugee hiding from being deported. The movie is narrated by Death, and I have to say that pretty much turned me off; I don't know, I get it, it's an interesting narrative tool, but I didn't like it. I have watched a lot of World War II movies involving holocaust plot lines, so this was different in that it didn't focus on the concentration camps, but a German town and the citizenry, including the Jews. I really don't know how I feel about the movie; I think I will say it's definitely worth a watch, but I don't think I will be reading the book. John Williams was nominated for an Oscar for his score which was really good, but it was up against Gravity and probably didn't have a chance. I love Geoffrey Rush and I think that Emily Watson is an extremely versatile actress who has taken on so many different roles, some that are not flattering or glamorous. The young actress who played Liesel, Sophie Nelisse, will probably be seen a lot in the future.

4/19/14 Inside Llewyn Davis, nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Cinematography, 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis is the latest effort from the Joel and Ethan Coen (Minnesota's own) and it is their homage to the Greenwich folk scene in 1961 (very intentionally set before Bob Dylan [another Minnesotan] came into the picture). Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) used to be part of a duo, but is now trying to make it as a solo act. Llewyn couch surfs before it became part of the 21st century vocabulary, going from apartment to apartment, uptown to downtown, trying not to wear out his welcome. We follow Llewyn as he encounters friends, family and various music characters. There's really not much of a story and usually that can be annoying to me, but I was so much more interested in the music, that it didn't bother me. The Coens also create these vignettes that kept my interest, it's almost like the different scenes would have held up as individual short films, tied together by Llewyn and the music (and the cat, but you'll have to see that for yourself). John Goodman, in one of his many appearances in a Coen Brothers movie, is great as a know-it-all obnoxious jazz musician who gives Llewyn a hard time for being a folkie. For some reason I really enjoy films about this period of folk music (I love Christopher Guest's A Mighty Wind) and T-Bone Burnett and Marcus Mumford create a great sound. Folk music doesn't get any play on MTV (although to be fair, music in general doesn't get much play on MTV anymore), but this is a great folk video compilation; the actors perform the songs; one of my favorite moments was when Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan and Stark Sands sing "500 Miles". Many Coen Brothers movies have been nominated for Best Cinematography Oscars (usually with the legendary Roger Deakins who was unavailable for this film) and Inside Llewyn Davis was no exception; this time, Bruno Delbonnel was nominated. The movie was wonderfully shot, using shadows of the Gaslight Club and the gray light of the winter sky to great effect, but lost both awards (Sound Mixing) to Gravity. At some point, I would like to have a Coen Brothers movie marathon (maybe over a really long weekend) to do some compare and contrast reviews among their filmography. Maybe 2017?

4/19/14 Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, nominated for Best Original Song, 2013

Nelson Mandela must be recognized as one of the most important civil rights icons of the 20th century, with Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., so perhaps it was a fitting ending to his incredible life that the movie based on his life was released a week before his death at 95. It would be unrealistic to think any movie could cover all of the events of his life in any great detail, and since Mandela was on Robben Island for over 25 years, the film used certain focal points for the scenes as well as showing Mandela's family, including the activities and the increasing politicization of his wife, Winnie Mandela. I think in some way, this is why I feel conflicted about this movie, not that I hated it, I didn't, but I wanted more. I think the story could have been given more depth and been allowed to develop more if it was done as a mini-series, something over 8-10 episodes. The history of South Africa, just going back 100 years to 1900-1902 and The Boer War, is complex and full of conflict (perhaps in one of those cosmic coincidences, Gandhi was an attorney in South Africa in the late 1890s through the early 1900s using non-violent civil disobedience to fight for Indian civil rights); and I think having that historical context adds to the understanding of the events in the movie. Idris Elba did an incredible job as Mandela (although sometimes I was creeped out at how much he sounded like Mandela) and Naomie Harris (Miss Moneypenney in Skyfall) as Winnie Mandela showed the evolution of Winnie from a partner of Nelson and prisoner subjected to torture and humiliation to a rival of Nelson's desire for a peaceful transition to equality in South Africa. I liked that the movie did show what Winnie was subjected to by the authorities, because that was not talked about as much int he news (at least not in the US), and her experience (I believe) was critical to the actions she took and that she supported, or at least did not actively discourage (the acts of violence and 'necklacing' putting tires around people and setting them on fire). These scenes highlight the complexity of her relationship with Nelson and how their relationship deteriorated. I remember when Mandela was still on Robben Island and the boycotts against South Africa and apartheid and the changes that began slowly but quickly gained momentum. It occurred to me watching this that there are people who don't know the history or don't remember it, so in that regard, this two-hour film can serve as a primer to the anti-apartheid movement. "No Ordinary Love" written and performed by U2 is played at the end of the movie and was nominated for Best Original Song. The song won the Golden Globe in the same category, but lost to Frozen's "Let It Go". I liked both songs, but in my opinion, "Let It Go" was a major point of the movie and really embodied the character and her strength, the fact that it continues to be popular (the movie and the song) gives the win to "Let It Go". I did really like U2's acoustic performance of "No Ordinary Love" at the Oscars.


4/5/14 Blue is the Warmest Colour, winner of Palme d'Or at Cannes 2013

There was so much buzz around this movie when it was shown at Cannes and the director (Abdellatif Kechiche) and two lead actresses (Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux) were all awarded the Palme d'Or and it was being talked about as as Academy Award film, but it was not nominated. Adele is a high school student dealing with the usual teenage stuff, including boys (or girls); Emma is a little older and studying art in college and has a girlfriend. Adele is the protagonist and we experience the story through her eyes. She has a brief relationship with a young man in her class, but it's not really what she wants, and she encounters Emma on the street and then later at a bar. They eventually connect and become a couple and move in together. The sex scenes were very explicit, so just be warned (it received an NC-17 rating in the US), and there were times it seemed gratuitous, don't misunderstand me, I think some scenes were necessary to depict the level of intimacy that they shared and the intensity of their relationship, I'm just glad I wasn't watching with my mom. There seems to be an inequality between the two young women, Emma seems very mature, certain in the direction she wants her life and career to go and her commitment to Adele; Adele is young and not as sophisticated as Emma and she doesn't have any great expectations of her life, even though Emma has tried to encourage her in her writing, and Adele cares about Emma, but may not be ready for a lifetime together. The movie is three hours long and I struggled through the first third, but I grew to care and be interested in these two women. The fallout of Adele's immaturity and infidelity was extremely difficult to watch and I the pain of Adele and Emma was palpable to me. The movie doesn't end with the break up of the relationship, it goes into Adele's life after Emma, whom she clearly misses. I had to reflect a lot about this movie afterward, was it worth the hype or was it overblown? Did it have to be three hours long? Was it too much? I also needed to get some of the critiques that I read (damn it) out of my head. I did like the movie, it was a little slow starting. It helps to think of the movie in three acts. It was important to set up Adele's character and her insecurity and what she was lacking in her world and how Emma totally broke through and pulled her into a different universe and also how she changed after the breakup. Both actresses were amazing, and considering that Adele Exarchopoulos, at 20 years old, was in almost every single scene, I cannot imagine how intense the experience was. I think one or both of them should have been nominated for an Oscar, but it received many other nominations around the world. It was worth the hype, just be patient.

A trip around the world: Argentina, Japan, Africa, - three foreign films for your review, including Ran

Sometimes I let a certain entropy take over the movie selections for the weekend, and other times, I like to think I'm planning and organized, maybe with a theme, an actor or director or something like that. This past weekend, I thought, hmm, perhaps Best Foreign Language Film would be a great category to tackle, and it was, except only one of the three films I watched actually won for Best Foreign Language Film. But, never fear, your intrepid movie review will explain all in a moment.

9/28/13 The Secret in Their Eyes, Best Foreign Language Film, 2009

The Secret in their Eyes was Argentina's winning entry from 2009. It tells the story of a brutal attack and murder of a young woman in 1974 and the investigation of her murder by Benjamin Esposito, a federal agent and his interest in writing a book on the case 25 years later. The movie goes back and forth between the two time periods. Esposito reconnects with Irene Menendez-Hastings, who is now a judge, but 25 years earlier, she was Esposito's department chief, and they discuss the case, take trips down memory lane, and ignite romantic feelings that seemed to be one-sided for Esposito in 1979. Esposito is spurred on in his pursuit of the killer by the love and single-minded dedication of the young girl's widower, Ricardo Morales. Morales cannot give up on finding the suspected killer and bringing him to justice, and his focus, perhaps myopia, rubs off on Esposito and his assistant, Sandoval. Providing any more information risks spoiling the fun of watching the story unravel and then come together, so I will leave you with a strong recommendation to get this movie from Netflix or the library. The storytelling, direction and acting are superb, it's suspenseful, and a great detective story. The movie was based on a novel, by Eduardo Sacheri called The Question in Their Eyes. The one thing that was a little confusing was the way the legal system works in Argentina and who is responsible for what; but don't let that detract from the story.

10/2/13 Ran, Best Costume Design, 1985

This is where my great plan started to go a little askew, I was under the assumption when I saw Ran on my Oscars list (it only lists the number of awards and nominations) that it won for Best Picture, I mean, come on, we're talking Akira Kurosawa and a film that is routinely recognized as one of the best ever. But from what I read on Wikipedia (also check out the article for much more detail and analysis) Kurosawa upset people in the Japanese film industry so it was not nominated as Japan's entry for Best Foreign Film, but it was nominated in several other categories, including Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design, which it did win. There is no way I am going to try to analyze and recap everything that happens in this movie, I think that is better left to longer forms like books and essays, but I'll try to give you a flavor (think of it like getting a little sample at the mall food court and then going back for the whole menu). Ran is a variation on the story of King Lear, substituting three sons for Lear's three daughters. Hidetora is a powerful warlord who is ready to pass on his lands and power to his three sons, but goes about it in a way that pretty much alienates everyone. As Hidetora moves from one disgruntled son to another, his enemies begin to make their moves on his family's territory. If you're familiar with the story of King Lear and his foibles, penchant for angry outbursts and brushes with hubris, you probably have some idea how this ends. And knowing (or suspecting) the ending, does not lessen the impact of the movie. The musical score is a mixture of Japanese drums (I think that's what they were) and an orchestral score, sometimes this score plays with the action and environmental background noise and at one point, you only here the music, no horses riding or arrows being shot, it's very different, but it works. The cinematography is stunning. The acting is at times melodramatic and at others, really melodramatic, but I think that was by design and not bad acting. As I was watching this movie, I tried to think of other attempts at versions or adaptations of King Lear in film, and I honestly could not think of too many, just one in fact, and that starred one of the greatest Shakespearean actors in history, Lord Laurence Olivier in an 1983 television version of King Lear. Once I remembered that, I tried to see the parallels between the two versions: Kurosawa and Olivier did their take on Lear towards the end of their careers and were recognized for their versions; they were done two years apart; the scene on the heath/mountains during the storm still seems pivotal to me and in both versions was gripping and the Fool grows in importance (the Fool in any story, if done well, is the truthsayer and should not be overlooked). If it is possible, I would recommend seeing both films, but probably not back to back, because that might be a lot to take in at one time. Also, if you are hesitant to see a foreign film, even though I have encouraged you to broaden your horizons, this is probably not the movie with which to start, it's very long, for one thing (160 minutes) and it may be easier to start with movies where the language is a little more familiar. However, if you do like foreign films, and just have not gotten around to seeing this, definitely add this to your list. The last 45 minutes are really powerful. Oh, and if you have no idea about the tragedy of King Lear, then you should send a note to your high school English teacher and ask for a summary, or read it yourself.

9/28/13 War Witch, Best Foreign Language Film nominee, 2012

Okay, here it is, the movie everyone should watch, but most people will not. It wasn't an easy movie to watch, and I was fairly convinced I was going to have nightmares. Not slasher movie nightmares, but holy shit, 'this stuff really happens' nightmares. War Witch was Canada's entry for 2012 (it was in French and Lingala) and tells the story of civil war in an unnamed country in sub-Saharan Africa and the use of child soldiers. At the beginning of the movie, Komona is a 12 year old girl whose village is attacked by soldiers and everyone is killed except for her, she is forced to kill her parents. She is then taken away and forced to be a soldier. She later befriends an older albino boy, called 'Magician' (there is a reason I mention he's an albino, it's relevant later), and he asks her to marry him and takes her back to his family (it's not quite that easy, it's all a journey). Unfortunately, things don't quite end there, and if possible, it gets harder to watch. The movie ends on a hopeful note, but it's not easy. This movie should be watched, it's a real issue and it's told in a way that does not shy away from the harsh reality. I'm not sure how the kids in the movie were able to do the things they were asked, but they deserve a lot of credit, in fact, the young girl who played Komona, Rachel Mwanza, had never acted before, but she won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival, among other honors. War Witch was going up against some strong competition at the Oscars in 2012 and lost to Amour. I hope you give this one a try, but maybe watch an episode of Big Bang Theory afterward just to take the edge off.

Winner of Best Foreign Film 2012 - Amour

9/14/13 Amour, Best Foreign Language Film, 2012

Amour is one of those movies you want to see because you've heard great reviews, but you don't want to see because of the story line, so you hem and haw, and then jump in so you can cross it off your list. So, it is off my list, and it is very good. So it's in French, that's what subtitles are for, get over it. It was nominated in five major categories, including Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film, winning for Best Foreign Film. Amour is the story of Anne and Georges, an elderly couple in Paris. Anne suffers a stroke and the movie follows her gradual decline, and how Georges struggles to take care of her. There are no real surprises in the movie, but it doesn't pretend to be full of suspense, it simply tells the story of two people, still in love, dealing with the eventuality that is old age. Having seen first hand how devastating a stroke can be to the patient and the family, the movie was hard to watch, and yet it was somehow comforting to have it represented with honesty and love. Emmanuelle Riva was nominated for Best Actress, and she certainly gave an incredible performance, especially considering that for a lot of the movie she was really immobile and communicating with very few words. She lost to Jennifer Lawrence, and now having seen all the nominees, I think Jessica Chastain should have won for Zero Dark Thirty. From a film perspective, it was hard to believe that Amour was directed by Michael Haneke, the same man who directed The White Ribbon (2009 nominee for Best Foreign Language Film for Germany). The White Ribbon is dark, and eerie and taps into the darker side of human nature. Then again, maybe the fact the Haneke can tap into the very best and the very worst of human relationships is the link, and it's not so hard to believe.

I have also seen all the Foreign Language nominees except one (War Witch and that should arrive next week), and I think this was the best out of the four I saw, although I did like the Danish entry A Royal Affair which is based on the romance between Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (wife of King Christian VII) and Streunsee, the royal physician. We don't get a lot of Danish history in American movie theaters and I liked the novelty of that, and it's a great story. Kon-Tiki is about the 1947 voyage led by Thor Heyerdahl (not to be confused with the actually documentary about the same journey which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1951). Heyerdahl is trying to prove his theory that people from South America could have settled in Polynesia. Considering that this trip really happened, it was interesting to see how it might have transpired, although there were some changes for dramatic effect. My only complaint is the version of the movie I saw was almost all in English, when I thought it would be (or had to be for this category) in Norwegian. That aside, the film was beautifully shot. If you have any kind of interest in adventures of this kind and appreciate the spirit of the adventurer, I totally recommend this movie. No was the Chilean entry about the campaign to oust General Augusto Pinochet in 1988. I thought the topic was interesting, but I could not get into the movie, which is a shame. The events in the 1970s and 1980s in South America (Chile, Argentina, and other countries) were in part directed by or contributed to by the US government, and depending on what else is going on in history class, we don't learn a lot about them.

Back to school with Monsieur Lazhar

8/23/13, Monsieur Lazhar, Best Foreign Film nominee, 2011

This movie is about the things we say, the things we don't say, what we know, what we think we know and what we don't know. Monsieur Lazhar is set in Montreal, Canada, primarily in an elementary school and tells the story of a class of ten and eleven year olds after the suicide of their beloved teacher in the classroom. Two of the kids actually see her, but the incident affects all of the kids as well as the teachers. The school brings in a psychologist to meet with the kids; we never see what those meetings look like, but you get the distinct impression that nothing is really discussed. Bashir Lazhar, an Algerian immigrant, walks into the school to apply for the job; nobody else has applied and he convinces the principal to give him the job. Monsieur Lazhar has very different methods from Martine Lachance, including making the kids sit in straight rows and take dictation from Balzac (not exactly third grade material). Even though things are not quite the same, the kids do well and get used to Bashir's methods. We only get brief glimpses into Bashir's personal life, but we learn that he is a refugee and that his wife was killed in Algeria by people less than happy with her book; she was the teacher, Bashir ran a cafe. He does not share this information with anyone at the school. Bashir bonds with Alice, one of the students who found Martine, and is having trouble coping; Alice writes an essay talking about her feelings of loss, which is very expressive and provocative. Bashir wants to share it with the school, to help them in the grieving process, but Madame Vaillancourt, the principal, wants nothing to do with it, better to leave the discussion of feelings to the psychologist. Simon is the other student who found Martine and he shows his grief with violent outbursts, and is very misunderstood. Bashir and the principal clash at various times, and the final disagreement and the fact that Bashir is not actually a teacher, he has to leave the school. Because he has such an intimate understanding of what it is like to lose someone without having the chance to say goodbye, he begs for to have one more day to say goodbye to his students, and he does it in a beautiful and subtle way. The movie is only 94 minutes long, and as I was watching the time and it was coming to an end, I wanted fifteen more minutes, I wanted to know how things turn out with Bashir and the kids. But it ended. I would not necessarily recommend this movie for young kids, besides the subtitles might be too hard for them to follow, but I think older kids, thirteen and older, might be able to relate to this. This might be a good conversation starter about death, suicide and loss. It's a gentle movie and you can tell there was a lot of love in the creative process. It was taken from a play which is what contributes to the intimate feeling. Monsieur Lazhar was the Canadian entry for Best Foreign Film from 2011; A Separation was the winning film that year and it was very good. There were also a couple other films that looked very good (I have not yet been able to see them), and I think this would have been a hard vote to cast. The good thing is, you can actually watch them all and decide for yourself.

A trip to an exotic land with 'Indochine'

8/18/13 Indochine, Best Foreign Film, 1992

What better way to spend a day off than to get new tires on your car? Well, you can top it off with writing a review on a beautiful movie and then heading off to St. Cloud to hear Dar Williams. Let me say this first, I think that Catherine Deneuve is terribly under-appreciated in the US. Most people may know her from her makeup commercials or The Hunger (which I have never seen, or not yet, anyway); I haven't seen most of her movies either, but when I do, I always want more. Indochine is set in French Indochina and tells the story of a rubber plantation owner, Eliane Devries (Deneuve) and her relationship with her adopted Vietnamese daughter, Camille. Camille was orphaned after her parents, who were royalty, were killed in a plane crash. It is a sweeping story that covers several decades (1910s through the 1950s) and over that time examines the impacts of French colonialism on the region, as well as the swirl of Communism coming over from neighboring China. Oh, and there is Devries's relationships with her workers, the opium den, Jean-Baptiste Le Guen, a French naval officer, much younger than Devries. As you can tell from my few sentences, there is a lot happening in this movie and you really have to watch it unfold to appreciate it. It helps to have a little understanding of the regional history (FYI, the war in Vietnam did not start in the 1960s with the United States). I think it is interesting to see movies or read stories that examine another country's imperial and colonial history (I am not using those terms pejoratively, so I hope they are not taken that way) since I am much more familiar with the colonial past of the United States. Always looking for the teachable moment. The settings are beautiful, with great vista views, as well as scenes filmed in 1930s/1940s Saigon. This movie is very patient and deliberate with its pacing to let the narrative unfold (this is code for it is a long film), but I did like it very much. Catherine Deneuve owns her role, and goes through a variety of emotions and there were a few moments I did not like her very much, but she definitely played a very strong female character. Indochine won for Best Foreign film and Deneuve was nominated as Best Actress (similar to Amour in 2012). She lost out to Emma Thompson in Howards End, and I saw that movie when it first came out; Emma Thompson is good in just about everything, but I just don't know if she beat out Deneuve here. The movies are polar opposites, so it may not be a fair comparison, but there you go.