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johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (2020's) list
Notes: I have to admit that Rebecca Hall really impressed me with her directorial debut. Indeed, she gave such a heartfelt and fascinating look on the complexity and the hardship it might entail to be black or Mixed-race in the US back in the 20’s (but you could say that it still does apply for today I’m afraid). Of course, at first, you would be inclined to blame Clare for the choices she made but it is actually fairly easily to judge her if you (like myself) are white and have enjoyed all the privileges of the white middle-class through your whole life. Furthermore, even though Irene made a more moral choice, she hardly seemed to be happier than her friend. And that’s the heart-breaking conclusion made by this movie, the fact that every black and woman are stuck in some jail, no matter the choices they might make on how to live their lives. Indeed, what choices do they have? Since they are black, they always will be at best marginalized, bullied, discriminated and, in the worst-case scenarios, they might even get killed by some angry mob or some average cop just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. By pretending to be white, even it might seem to be morally wrong, there would be some clear advantages to be part of the ruling class. However, as displayed in this movie, by making this choice, they would just end up in another kind of cage. Another option might be to actually leave the country, an option argued a couple of times by Brian, Irene’s husband. The only thing I was missing was that I never really understood why Irene and Brian were so obsessed by Clare though but it was definitely not a deal-breaker. 3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: I have to admit that Rebecca Hall really impressed me with her directorial debut. Indeed, she gave such a heartfelt and fascinating look on the complexity and the hardship it might entail to be black or Mixed-race in the US back in the 20’s (but you could say that it still does apply for today I’m afraid). Of course, at first, you would be inclined to blame Clare for the choices she made but it is actually fairly easily to judge her if you (like myself) are white and have enjoyed all the privileges of the white middle-class through your whole life. Furthermore, even though Irene made a more moral choice, she hardly seemed to be happier than her friend. And that’s the heart-breaking conclusion made by this movie, the fact that every black and woman are stuck in some jail, no matter the choices they might make on how to live their lives. Indeed, what choices do they have? Since they are black, they always will be at best marginalized, bullied, discriminated and, in the worst-case scenarios, they might even get killed by some angry mob or some average cop just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. By pretending to be white, even it might seem to be morally wrong, there would be some clear advantages to be part of the ruling class. However, as displayed in this movie, by making this choice, they would just end up in another kind of cage. Another option might be to actually leave the country, an option argued a couple of times by Brian, Irene’s husband. The only thing I was missing was that I never really understood why Irene and Brian were so obsessed by Clare though but it was definitely not a deal-breaker. 3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Top 10 best movies 2021 list
Notes: I have to admit that Rebecca Hall really impressed me with her directorial debut. Indeed, she gave such a heartfelt and fascinating look on the complexity and the hardship it might entail to be black or Mixed-race in the US back in the 20’s (but you could say that it still does apply for today I’m afraid). Of course, at first, you would be inclined to blame Clare for the choices she made but it is actually fairly easily to judge her if you (like myself) are white and have enjoyed all the privileges of the white middle-class through your whole life. Furthermore, even though Irene made a more moral choice, she hardly seemed to be happier than her friend. And that’s the heart-breaking conclusion made by this movie, the fact that every black and woman are stuck in some jail, no matter the choices they might make on how to live their lives. Indeed, what choices do they have? Since they are black, they always will be at best marginalized, bullied, discriminated and, in the worst-case scenarios, they might even get killed by some angry mob or some average cop just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. By pretending to be white, even it might seem to be morally wrong, there would be some clear advantages to be part of the ruling class. However, as displayed in this movie, by making this choice, they would just end up in another kind of cage. Another option might be to actually leave the country, an option argued a couple of times by Brian, Irene’s husband. The only thing I was missing was that I never really understood why Irene and Brian were so obsessed by Clare though but it was definitely not a deal-breaker. 3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 11 items to 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2023) list
3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
“Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. The last 20 years, I have tried to follow Atom Egoyan's work but everything he made recently turned out to be rather underwhelming ('The Captive' being an all-time low for the Canadian director). Well, ” read more
3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies ... my own version (1990's) list
Notes: To be honest, it wasn't an easy movie to decipher. Indeed, you had first some random chronology which is usually a useless gimmick but it did work very well here. Then, the motivations of Steven Mitchell were also rather obscure. Indeed, it seemed rather unlikely that he did it for the money but, then, why did he try to convince this community to get a trial? Anyway, eventually, it wasn't not a movie about greed, it was a movie about grief and the different ways you can deal with this emotion. Indeed, the people of this small community needed some closure, even deserved it but it was denied to them and you can't blame them for trying to find it by going through this judicial process. Unfortunately, they will probably never reach any kind of closure, their lives, for most of them, will be shattered for good and no lawsuit, no money settlement, would really alleviate their sorrow. It was all intertwined with the story of his lawyer who was also grieving in his own way, even if his daughter was not actually dead. Indeed, after death, drug addiction must be the most dreadful nightmare for any parent. However, even though most movies will sell you the idea that drug addicts can recover, it is not always the case. For Steven Mitchell, even if he still loved his daughter after all what happened, she basically completely disappeared and the only thing left was her addiction which must have been really heartbreaking for the poor guy. That they managed to show all this in just a few phone calls was just really impressive and Ian Holm definitely delivered here one of the best performances of his career.3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 3 items to their collection
have watched
7/10
have watched
5/10
7/10
3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe commented on a review of The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Sorry but this movie is not told through flashbacks... The chronology is actually much more random and the actual bus accident takes place around the middle of the running time.3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to 1001 Movies Chosen By Johanlefourbe list
Notes: To be honest, it wasn't an easy movie to decipher. Indeed, you had first some random chronology which is usually a useless gimmick but it did work very well here. Then, the motivations of Steven Mitchell were also rather obscure. Indeed, it seemed rather unlikely that he did it for the money but, then, why did he try to convince this community to get a trial? Anyway, eventually, it wasn't not a movie about greed, it was a movie about grief and the different ways you can deal with this emotion. Indeed, the people of this small community needed some closure, even deserved it but it was denied to them and you can't blame them for trying to find it by going through this judicial process. Unfortunately, they will probably never reach any kind of closure, their lives, for most of them, will be shattered for good and no lawsuit, no money settlement, would really alleviate their sorrow. It was all intertwined with the story of his lawyer who was also grieving in his own way, even if his daughter was not actually dead. Indeed, after death, drug addiction must be the most dreadful nightmare for any parent. However, even though most movies will sell you the idea that drug addicts can recover, it is not always the case. For Steven Mitchell, even if he still loved his daughter after all what happened, she basically completely disappeared and the only thing left was her addiction which must have been really heartbreaking for the poor guy. That they managed to show all this in just a few phone calls was just really impressive and Ian Holm definitely delivered here one of the best performances of his career.3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe added 1 item to Ronny's Dutch Film Club list
chosen by Bea
Notes: Eventually, even though everybody in the film club seemed to be really enthusiastic about the damned thing, I have to admit that I had a hard time to share their enthusiasm. I mean, I did appreciate the concept and the minimalist approach but, in my opinion, the lack of context was really a big issue. Indeed, what was going on with these soldiers? Was it their first mission? Was it their last mission? How long were they on the road? As a result, it was rather difficult for me to understand how such trained well-equipped soldiers could feel threatened by such a seemingly harmless young boy. Eventually, I think the director was aiming to display that, due to their lack of field experience and proper psychological training and, in this specific case, the lack of true leadership and because, for this job, they are required to be constantly on edge, such young soldiers are basically some ticking time-bomb who are likely to experience EVERY stressful situation as a potential threat. In this case, I believe it would have been more efficient to not translate what the Arabian boy was saying as it would have increased the sense of stress and alienation experienced by these soldiers. By the way, if the behavior and the decisions of the soldiers was hardly understandable, it was even more so for the Arabian boy. Indeed, the kid basically grew up in a war zone, he probably had more experience than the 3 soldiers combined so he should have been fully aware that hanging around some hostile isolated stressed-out soldiers who obviously didn’t want to have him around was probably not a great idea. Seriously, what was his deal? Eventually, I’m afraid his whole behavior was basically some plot device and I wish it was more properly developed. Anyway, even if this movie didn’t really work for me, it was still a decent watch.
(Nov. 2021)3 years, 4 months ago
johanlefourbe posted a review of Dolphin Tale 2
“I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out anyway. I did watch the first instalment (mostly because my stepson was so enthusiastic about it) but it was years ago and the only thing I could remember was how much it did ” read more
3 years, 4 months ago
