Category Archives: Foreign Language

2014, Abduction, Car Chase, Clever Plot, Complicated, Corruption, Crime thriller, Detective, Father-son relations, Forensics, French, French Detective Series, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, Mental Illness, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Revenge, Serial Killer, Suspense, Thriller, TV Series, Violent

Witnesses (2014)

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From NetFlix:

A young female detective is put in charge of a case and must delve into her partner’s mysterious past in order to solve it.

Despite the similarity of one detective procedural to every other, some stand out from the crowd as at least a bit better. “Witnesses” is one such series. Accompanying the French dialog you may choose excellent English subtitles. Only one season was made and it consists of 6 episodes. Wikipedia offers very little information.

Many French towns were used for the filming but the story centers on Pas-de-Calais on the northern coast of France. If nothing else, the scenery is worth the viewing. Most interesting is the fact that the town is on two levels: Lower level is on the sea and butts up against the sheer rock cliffs that match the “white cliffs of dover.” Upper level is at the top of those cliffs. To get from lower to upper levels and back, there is a closed-in ski lift that ascends through the rock wall. This lift was built in 1901. Note also the new housing complex of very expensive and spacious homes which figure into the plot.

Personal relations among the characters, especially between Paul Maisonneuve and Sandra Winckler, are essential to the story. Basically the tale is their effort to catch an extremely clever serial killer who has escaped from prison.

Compared with an American detective procedural, this series is less violent. However, there are murders and gun fights.

Because I could stream this from NetFlix, I quickly became addicted.

2005, Abduction, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alzheimer's disease, Based on a Book, Bloody scenes, Clever Plot, Corruption, Crime, Dark, Depression, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drug Dealers, Father-daughter relations, Forensics, Gay theme, Interest in dogs, Kidnapping, Lesbian Theme, Made For TV, Marital Infidelity, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Police Corruption, Revenge, School Teacher, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Teenagers, Tragedy, Violent, Well developed plot

Swedish Wallander (2005-2012)

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From Netflix:

Detective Kurt Wallander is an intense, headstrong maverick who’s prone to eating poorly, sleeping irregularly and drinking too much. Wallander relies on instinct and experience and doesn’t shy away from using illegal means to solve crimes.

Kathy and I have just finished stream-bingeing on all the Swedish Wallander episodes of which there are many. Cable TV gets worse each day and we were grateful to have something well-written, well-acted, and gripping to watch in the evening. Thank you, Netflix. “Gripping” is an important keyword (picture Kathy leaving the room during violent encounters).

To be precise about numbers of episodes:

Season 1 comprises 13 episodes.
Season 2 comprises 13 episodes.
Season 3 comprises 6 episodes.

Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander is a dedicated (even better – obsessed) detective whose personal life is one of drinking, loneliness, and coldness to his family. In other words, he is a mess. To his credit, the Swedish actor Krister Henriksson portrays such a man to perfection. However, as in often the case in such types of TV series, as much time is spent exploring his relations with others as in solving murder cases. For example, “Dicta“, which I have strongly recommended is cast in the same mold.

Quite a bit of camera footage is devoted to leisurely scanning the Swedish landscape and waterways. Wallander and his beloved dog Jussi take many walks on the beach outside his house.

During the course of the three seasons, characters come and go, never to be seen again.

Season 3 ends tragically. But I will not say more because that would be a spoiler. If you want to know what I mean, then send me email.

Once again, if you enjoy intense detective procedurals DO NOT MISS either “Dicta” or “Wallander”.

Be aware that there is also the Kenneth Branagh “Wallander” English series from Masterpiece Mystery.

2013, Bloody scenes, Child abuse, Crime thriller, Detective, Divorce, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Forensics, Journalist, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Medical Theme, Melodrama, MHz Choice, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder Investigation, Netflix Streaming, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suicide, Suspense, Swedish, Swedish crime series, Teenagers, Thriller, TV Series, Unmarried mother, Violent

Dicte (2013)

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From Netflix:

A crime reporter starts a new life by returning to her hometown, where she finds herself at odds with the police when she tries to solve their cases.

UPDATE: From MHz Choice you can now stream 3 seasons of Dicte. The stories and writing continue to be captivating and suspense filled. Currently (January 2020) there is a new episode of season 3 released each Tuesday.

OLD REVIEW ————————————————————-

No doubt about it, streaming is taking over. Just today (Dec 9,2014) the papers echo complaints that Netflix streaming is threatening cable TV. No surprise there seeing how cable offerings continue to worsen.

From Netflix I streamed 10 wonderful episodes of the only season made of the Swedish thriller “Dicte”. If you loved the Swedish “Wallander” you will be ecstatic over “Dicte”. Dicte is the character name of the lead actress who is a newspaper crime reporter dedicated to uncovering the truth often by using methods not legally available to the police.

More than crime solving, the series is equally if not more concerned with the personal lives of Dicte and all the people surrounding her. In this respect you can call it a melodrama. Expect to see married couples break up, exchange partners, and so forth: today’s operative word is “blended”.

As with “Wallander” the sound track is in Swedish with English subtitles.

DO NOT MISS either “Wallander” or “Dicte”!

2013, Arab Culture, Arabic, Basically Sad, Hebrew, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Prison, Revenge, Suspense, Torture, Violent, Wonderful acting

Omar (2013)

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From Netflix:

With his girlfriend, Nadia, living on the other side of an Israeli-built boundary wall, young Palestinian Omar regularly scales it to visit her. But he faces even greater obstacles after a lethal confrontation with an Israeli soldier.

From a filmmaking viewpoint, “Omar” is well done. Emotionally, as is true for most films about the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it offers a sad, hopeless view of the lives of those unfortunately born into the situation.

If you are a history fan, you will realize that such an atmosphere of paranoia in which you can trust no-one: friends, lovers, or otherwise is nothing new. In the court of Henry VIII of England there were spies everywhere.

For a good review see what Roger Ebert has to say.

As yet I do not understand why there is a wall between Palestinians and Palestinians. Omar regularly jumps this wall to see Nadia. But Nadia is Palestinian.

Stay alert for the final few seconds of the story.

If you can stand the heartache, “Omar” is worth watching.

2013, Action Film, Amazon Prime, Based on true facts, Car Chase, Communists, Complicated, Conspiracy, DO NOT MISS, Ethical struggles, FBI, Love Story, Marital Infidelity, Revenge, Russian, Sex Scenes, Spy Theme, Suspense, Torture, TV Series, Violent

The Americans (2013)

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From Netflix:

Set during the Reagan presidency, this Cold War drama follows two married Soviet sleeper agents living discreetly near Washington, D.C. But tensions begin to mount for the couple when a spy-hunting FBI man moves in nearby.

Because we use Amazon Prime I was able to stream season 1 of “The Americans” for free.

In Cambridge Massachusetts a Russian husband and wife team of spies were disguised as a normal American family. This real-life incident motivated this TV series which offers the same kind of milieu as the British TV series “MI-5”. Possibly “MI-5” is a bit better, but the quality and human interest in “The Americans” is excellent. Needless to say, both series are violent.

By “human interest” I refer to the pseudo marriage between the spies who by this time have two children, thoroughly American boy and girl who have no idea of their parents’ spying activity. In addition a new neighbor moves in who just happens to be an FBI agent whose specialty is counter-intelligence but whose family life always takes the familiar backseat to his career.

Be sure to appreciate the effective personality disguises these two spies use as they play many deceptive roles in society. For one example, the disguised husband actually goes so far as to marry an unsuspecting American woman in order to get her to bring him information.

Season One ends abruptly and inconclusively. Season Two seems to not yet be available. If you like spy stories, then DO NOT MISS!

2013, Abduction, Action Film, Based on true facts, DO NOT MISS, Greed, Kidnapping, Military, Navy, Sea Rescue, Somail, Suspense, Violent

Captain Phillips (2013)

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From Netflix:

In this exciting adventure based on true events that made international headlines, Tom Hanks portrays Capt. Richard Phillips, who is taken hostage by Somali pirates after they hijack his cargo ship, and the U.S. Navy’s efforts to rescue him.

After watching “Gravity” I knew I never wanted to be an astronaut. After watching “Captain Phillips” I am not sure I will ever get on a boat again. Do pirates seize ferries?

If you can’t stand unrelenting tension, danger, suspense, and excitement, then do not watch this film. It never lets up. Every second is somehow a new development without there being any repetition.

Acting is superb on all parts. All the pirates are played by Somali actors who present their parts to perfection: naïve greed, bravado, fear, panic, desperation, anger, and the list goes on. Tom Hanks comes across as truly human, crafty at first but finally after almost being shot a man in shock.

While portrayed as villains, the Somali men are also presented as not only greedy, but also as desperately poor and underfed men forced by warlords into piracy.

Historical accuracy has been questioned and you should read that discussion in the Wikipedia article on the subject.

You cannot help but feel pride as you watch our US Navy come to the rescue. But no, I don’t think I want to be a Navy seal.

“Captain Phillips” is a page-turner of a film. If you can stand the suspense then DO NOT MISS and hold onto your seats!

2013, Italian, Italian culture, Not Recommended, Nudity, Possible a put-on, Possibly artsy fartsy, Possibly depressing, Unusual

The Great Beauty (2013)

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From Netflix:

As charming 65-year-old journalist Jep Gambardella writes about Rome’s culture and social life, he reflects with bitterness on the passions of his lost youth, even as he paints a complex portrait of the lovely and ancient city.

IS THIS FILM A TOTAL PUT-ON ?

If you can believe Wikipedia, this film is much acclaimed and has made a profit from worldwide screening. But then critics a paid to say something.

Supposedly this film is a metaphor about the current decline of Italian civilization, especially in the sad era of Berlusconi.

Kathy and I went expecting to see beautiful Rome and follow the life of an aging Italian journalist. We kept waiting for the good part to start, and waiting and waiting … Instead as far as we can tell we got the following:

  • Conversations that were superficial at best.
  • Social gatherings of strange, ugly, oddly dressed people dancing in circular conga lines that went nowhere.
  • Rather a lot of female strippers.
  • Overly long shots of the aging actor’s face (Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella).
  • Mother Teresa’s 105 year old twin crawling up a long set of stairs on her hands and knees.
  • Customers of all ages lined up to pay large sums for a BOTOX shot.
  • Impoverished nobles charging money to attend dinners while pretending to be someone important or royal.
  • Some aged cardinal that talked of nothing but cooking recipes.
  • And the list goes on.

Someone should tell the writer and directory Paolo Sorrentino that it is nearly impossible to out-Fellini Fellini.

If anyone out there sees and enjoys this film, please tell me why you enjoyed the film.

At least you have been warned.

2012, Arab Culture, Arabic, Basically Sad, Conspiracy, Disturbing Image, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Hebrew, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Jewish Culture, Medical Theme, Military, Nudity, Sex Scenes, Terrorist Attack, Violent, Well developed plot, Wonderful acting

The Attack (2012)

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From Netflix:

An Arab Israeli physician offers assistance at the scene of a gruesome suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and then learns that the bomber was his own wife. Stunned and furious, he sets out to confront the people who encouraged her deadly decision.

To paraphrase an old saying, “One good film is worth a thousand history books”. My guess is that as you watch this marvelous film in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles your attitude towards the events and the protagonists will change at least somewhat. Here is yet another film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that succeeds in not choosing sides, something that is very difficult to do in a film. If nothing else you will probably sympathize with the surgeon husband of the suicide bomber, a man caught in the middle of two cultures.

Superb acting, subtly developed plot, and a thought-provoking situation make for a must-see film.

1997, Based on true facts, Book Review, Conspiracy, Cuba, Explicit sex, Love Story, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Spanish

Cuba, La Noche de la Jinetera (1997) [Book Review]

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Recently I reviewed “El Peso del Silencio” written by Jordi Sierra I Fabra. That novel took place in Chile. An older novel by the same author “La Noche del la Jinetera” takes place in Castro’s Cuba. Both novels are in Spanish without an available translation. Both have audio versions from Audible.com.

“Jinetera” means a female almost-prostitute in Cuba who accompanies and sleeps with tourists to Cuba not so much for the money but to find a foreign husband as a means to escape the hardships of Cuba. Daniel Ros is the protagonist newspaper reporter in both novels. In “Jinetera” he is sent from his newspaper in Spain to Cuba to find out why his reporter friend Estanis was found dead in a hotel room in Cuba. Most of his adventure involves a jinetera named Anyelín with whom he falls in love (initially “in lust”). Secondary is an attempted assassination of Castro and a mass exodus of Cubans in flimsy boats.

Expect many detailed descriptions of sexual activity.

In order to appreciate the atmosphere of the story, a brief history of Cuban-American relations is in order. Here my source is chiefly the book “Overthrow” by Stephen Kinzer (Henry Holt and Company, 2006).

In 1898 the imperialist President McKinley, fearing that Cuba would free itself from Spain and become independent enough to not do Washington’s bidding, sent to Cuba the battleship Maine. For a reason never discovered that battleship exploded. For William Randolph Hearst, who had waged a campaign of newspaper lies against Spanish colonialists, that explosion was a godsend. To the delight of Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, Hearst, and Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, McKinley got Congress to declare war on Spain. In the skirmish in Santiago you may recall that Roosevelt led a charge up San Juan Hill dressed in a uniform he ordered from Brooks Brothers. Although Congress in the Teller amendment had promised independence to Cuba, Secretary of War Elihu Root and Senator Orville Platt broke that promise by authoring the Platt amendment which gave the U.S. control of Cuba. Cuban outrage was championed by the Communist party which in 1925 was outlawed by the Cuban dictator Gerado Machado. Franklin Roosevelt encouraged the Cuban army to rebel and the turmoil produced a new dictator Fulgencio Batista. Our Batista encouraged American investors, including prominent gangsters, to build an empire of prostitution and gambling. Batista fled Cuba in 1959, a few steps ahead of Castro’s rebels. President Eisenhower was baffled to learn that Cubans, for some reason or other, did not like the U.S.A. And the rest remains the history of the early 21st century. Stay tuned for further developments.

2002, Based on true facts, Basically Sad, Book Review, Conspiracy, Disturbing Image, Ethical struggles, Grim, Historical Fiction, Love Story, Murder Investigation, Revenge, Sadism, Spanish, Torture, Violent

El Peso del Silencio (2002) [Book Review]

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Written in Spanish with no English translation available, you can purchase this book for your kindle. Jordi Sierra I Fabra, the author who lives in Spain, wrote the book in 2002.

Brief summary: Agustín Serradell, a dying Spanish millionaire, proposes to pay a Spanish journalist, Daniel Ros, to travel to Chile in order to find the grave of Serradell’s son Santiago who was tortured and killed by Pinochet’s henchmen. Ros agrees. Many adventures await Daniel Ros in Chile as he tries to find the son, his only starting clues coming from a recently released CIA document. That document points to three men involved directly in the torture and murder. Ros will begin his effort by trying to locate those three men. Here I stop the summary so that I don’t present you with any “spoilers”. Rest assured there are many surprise twists and turns as the story progresses.

In order to appreciate the background of the Pinochet era in Chile a bit of history is in order. Here my source is chiefly the book “Overthrow” by Stephen Kinzer (Henry Holt and Company, 2006).

Beginning in 1964 the CIA spent $3 million in Chile to help Eduardo Frei win an election against the nationalist Salvador Allende. Because the U.S. also gave $163 million in American military aid, the U.S. felt it had earned legitimate control of Chile. Kennedy had promoted his Alliance for Progress in order to encourage Latin America’s “democratic left”. Nixon hated Kennedy and decided to counteract this Alliance for Progress by supporting instead the business elite and military. Allende wanted to nationalize industry and return to Chile control over its own resources such as copper and the telephone company. American ambassador Korry and the CIA, urged on by Kissinger and David Rockefeller, asked Nixon for permission to wage a “spoiling” campaign against Allende. “Spoiling” meant planting propaganda in newspapers, stirring up fear of Communism, and supporting rightist candidates. Despite such efforts Chileans elected Allende. Nixon then ordered CIA director Helms to prevent Allende from coming to power. Effort One was to encourage President Frei to deny the election. Frei refused. Effort Two was to foment a military coup. Kissinger directed this effort. Despite objections from members of the CIA and the State Department, Kissinger and Nixon were determined to use bloody chaos to achieve their ends. Part of the CIA’s standard methodology for overthrowing a government is to destroy the country’s economy and blame the failure on the targeted victim, even if this means bringing severe deprivation to the population. Another tactic is to defeat military supporters of the targeted victim. In fact the U.S. delivered weapons to Chilean conspirators who assassinated Allende’s loyal supporter General Schneider. Chilean citizens were outraged by the murder staged by America and determined to remain loyal to Chilean democratic principles despite such American interference. After Allende’s inauguration many leading American companies active in Chile (ITT, Anaconda, Firestone, Pfizer, Bank of America, etc) joined in the effort to unseat Allende. Washington columnist Jack Anderson exposed 24 ITT internal memos which brought the “ITT Papers” scandal against Nixon. Helms was convicted of perjury when he lied about CIA involvement. Schneider’s successor, General Prats was a strict constitutionalist and defeated a CIA tank coup against Allende. In retaliation the CIA stated public and violent demonstration against Prats who was forced to resign and hand over power to the CIA puppet General Augusto Pinochet. Ironically Pinochet chose 9/11 (September 11, 1973) to bring a military attack against Allende. Infantry units, British Hawker Hunter fighter planes, eighteen rockets moved against the presidential palace. Allende died. Our Pinochet (after all, we the U.S. created this monster) was then free to unleash his reign of imprisonment, exile, torture, and murder.

“El Peso del Silencio” makes this sad history all the more personal by centering on its effect on a few characters in the novel. Strong reading, reader beware!