A long-married Parisian couple (Charlotte Rampling and
Bruno Cremer) takes a vacation at the beach. But Rampling’s
life is suddenly thrown into turmoil when Cremer goes for a swim
and never returns. A penetrating character study into the nature
of denial, Under the Sand showcases Rampling at her very best in a
role that most comparable American actresses would kill for in
Hollywood.
The NetFlix review can be believed. This is a film for adults who want
to see adults act well. I highly recommend this film.
Feeling overwhelmed and stuck in a dull marriage, Giovanna
begins refocusing her attention (or repressing her emotions)
by caring for the Jewish Holocaust survivor her husband brings
home one day. As Giovanna reflects on her life, she turns to
the man who lives across from her and whose window faces hers.
Stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Massimo Girotti, Raoul Bova,
Filippo Nigro and Serra Yilmaz. Directed by Verzan Ozpetek.
Once again I have stumbled onto a good film. This time it was a coming attraction on another disc from NetFlix.
“Facing Windows” is a warm Italian film with good acting, surprises, music, and human values. It has some discrete sexual scenes which is why I rated it “Feel-good possible not for children”. But the human values, especially the ending could provoke a great family discussion. I feel really lucky to have discovered this gem.
Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival,
this film tells the story of Beba, a spoiled member of the
Argentinean upper middle class, and Dora, the maid who’s
worked for her more than 30 years. When Beba’s wealth begins
to fade, the relationship between the two women undergoes
subtle and not -so-subtle changes, amplifying the cataclysmic
transformation occurring in Argentinean society. Norma
Aleandro and Norma Argentina star
This film in Spanish (subtitles) is not a feel-good. The ensemble acting between the two women is well-done, understated, but effective. The ending is a real kick. If anyone else sees this movie, I would like to do a sanity check about the ending. And did you by any chance choose sides ?
When an Egyptian police brass band travels to Israel to
play at the opening of an Arab arts center, they wind up
abandoned and lost in a remote desert town in this charming
cross -cultural comedy. Defying expectations, the tiny Israeli
community embraces the musicians, and both the Egyptians and
the locals learn a few things about one another — and
themselves — in this witty winner of the Cannes Film Festival
Un Certain Regard prize.
This movie is in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. There are subtitles. Wife Kathy loved this film (and that is really saying something!). It is a slow (should I say almost deadly) film with an indie flavor. But the slowness fits perfectly with the stark, and for me frightening, loneliness of the Israeli desert town. I could not imagine being in such a flat, hot, almost uninhabited place. Beneath the deadpan lifelessness of the members of the band (except for the new young recruit), lies some sorrow to be revealed. Kathy did not even fall asleep once. This film might not be for everyone. Some sex, possibly not for children.
Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano), a 10-year-old boy growing up
in a southern Italian village, discovers another youngster,
Filippo (Mattia Di Pierro), chained up inside a small hole dug
in the yard of an abandoned house. Michele soon learns from
watching the news that the boy has been kidnapped and things
take an even darker turn when he realizes his own parents may be
involved. Aitana Sanchez-Gijon co-stars. Gabriele Salvatores
directs.
Just watching this slow film of southern Italy just makes me hot and drowsy. It’s also as much of southern Italy as I want to see. Could those small towns really be that desolate ? The story is compelling, the ending a tad maudlin. I liked the film because of the Italian, although in real life they would be speaking some dialect of Italian instead. It’s not a bad movie, but you really need a firm desire to persevere.
As a child, pianist Melanie’s ( Déborah François) dream of
studying at a prestigious musical conservatory is shattered
when the chairwoman of the jury ( Catherine Frot) distracts
her during an audition. Years later, a coincidence leads to
Melanie’s employment in the woman’s household, and she
finds herself in the perfect position for revenge. Directed by
Denis Dercourt, this stylish psychological drama co-stars
Pascal Greggory.
Stephen King’s forte is revenge. But his revenge is usually
physically violent and just plain fun. On the other hand,
“The Page Turner” is French to the core. Subtle, quiet,
polite, it had me on the edge of my seat because I felt
that any minute something really awful was going to happen.
I strongly recommend this movie (NOT FOR CHILDREN)
and will only say “Don’t expect a happy ending”.
Years after fleeing the Taliban and immigrating to the
United States, an Afghan man (Khalid Abdalla) returns
to his war-ravaged homeland to try to repay his debt
to a childhood friend whose trust he betrayed. Marc
Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) directs this
touching story of family, friendship and bravery, based
on the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini.
The movie was faithful to the book. There are a lot of subtitles
because the languages are English, Dari, Pashtu, Urdu, and
Russian.
This movie is not for children. For the most part it is non-violent
but does include child rape, a beating, and the stoning of a woman
to death. The most difficult part to watch is one child betraying
another.
At the onset of the Spanish Civil War, a sheltered boy (Manuel Lozano) in rural northern Spain forms an indelible bond with his kindly leftist teacher (Fernando Fernán Gómez), who imparts his love for nature to the young student. Director Jose Luis Cuerda gentle and nostalgic drama, based on the short stories of Manuel Rivas, was nominated for 13 Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscar), winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Beautiful, sad story of friendship between young boy and devoted teacher at time of Spanish civil war. Inspired by a book called “La Lengua de las Mariposas” (Butterfly’s Tongue). Shows the destructive split in Spanish society during the Spanish Civil War. The ending could be hard to take. But I call this a “feel good” because the interplay between the boy and the teacher is beautiful. Really a masterpiece.
When Frédéric (Bernard Campan) and his family meet a gay man named Hugo (Charles Berling) while vacationing in the Provençal countryside, their lives are irrevocably changed, as the two men develop a strong yet unconventional friendship. Although Frédéric is happily married to his wife, Frédérique (Léa Drucker), his bond with Hugo challenges the strength of his marriage and ultimately inspires him to reevaluate his life.
This film is French in many ways: language, culture, beautiful photography,
symbols, ambivalence, ambivalence, and more ambivalence. Don’t expect
a definitive ending. You have to be in the mood for this one. And if you do
last through this dreamy, slow movie, please tell me how you interpreted the
relation between the straight husband (who truly loves his wife and family)
and the gay man when everyone meets on an extended summer holiday.
A pair of reformed crooks team up to pull one more heist. Their target? Master con artist Moctezuma Valdez (Saúl Lisazo), a popular television infomercial pitchman who’s gotten rich by swindling countless unsuspecting immigrants. The former thieves attempt to recruit some of their criminal cohorts to help pull off the plan, but when they refuse, the two turn to day laborers to participate in the elaborate robbery scheme
(Thieves robbing thieves). This is a C-film. When I was first learning
Spanish I watched telenovelas (Spanish soap operas) on Spanish TV.
Every different series featured the same set of actors and actresses
but in permutated roles. Here I am years later watching a film from CD
which again features many of those same actors (in more “mature”
roles). It is a Robin-Hood story in which a gang of people cooperate
to steal from a TV snake-oil saleman who deceives poor immigrants.
Bad robber keeps his cash in a vault in his palace. Good robbers
concoct an elaborate scheme (think “Oceans 17”) to tunnel into
his house, etc. But what is different is the Latino philosophy and
moralizing. It’s only C but I got a kick out of it. There are plot
twists, even in this wannabe.
