Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 03:12
(A review of
The Wages of Fear)
Since this movie has a really impressive reputation, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Eventually, even though some old classics sometimes donât really live up to their reputation, this one certainly didnât disappoint me. Indeed, even though the damned thing is almost 70 years old, it has aged very well and it is considered as one of the greasted classics produced in France. Well, it was definitely a fascinating picture. Back then, obviously, there was no CGI, no expensive special effects but still, it really succeeded in being completely suspensful, in fact, it was much more exciting to watch than many recent Hollywood productions. Indeed, the directing by Henri-Georges Clouzot, probably one of the best French directors that ever lived, was really impressive and Yves Montand, who was just starting at the time, delivered a really solid performance. A the end of the 70âs, William Friedkin who just had some massice success directing back-to-back âThe French Connectionâ and âThe Exorcistâ decided to remake this but even though it might sound misguided and even though it turned out to be a flop, it still managed to have a decent reputation, especially for a remake.Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, it is pretty much a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.Â
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 03:03
(A review of
Bob le Flambeur)
Since this movie is considered a huge classic of the French cinema, I was definitely eager to check it out. Of course, at first, this flick might seem really old (it is actually pretty old indeed), there was still a very modern feeling about it which is something always inherent to the great classics. Indeed, they are timeless and remains relevant even decades after they have been made. I'm pretty sure Steven Soderbergh saw this one before making Ocean's eleven and it must have been an inspiration. Anyway, it is definitely a great mesmerizing picture. Indeed, the directing was quite amazing and the story was completely entertaining from the beginning until the end. Personally, I always had a weak spot for heist movies, but this one is just definitely from another league than the typical Hollywood features in this genre. In 2002, they did make a decent remake with Nick Nolte, called 'The Good Thief', a remake which was directed by Neil Jordan, another fine director. Of course, the original was better but, for a remake, it was not that bad at all. Anyway, I really loved this flick, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:52
(A review of
Hiroshima Mon amour)
To be honest, it has been ages since I have this movie and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Anyway, even though I was very young or maybe it was in fact because I was so young but I thought that this movie was just quite mesmerizing to behold. Basically, in my opinion, this movie is all about mood and either youâll be hypnotized by this mood (what happened in my case) or Iâm afraid the whole thing might bore you to death. Indeed, there is no real plot, there is definitely no action scenes, in fact, nothing much really happened during the whole thing. And, yet, I thought it was quite mesmerizing. We basically follow this 2 characters and their fascinating conversation filled with some beautiful dialogues. Indeed, in my opinion, this movie is the closest thing you will get of watching a poem instead of reading it. Alain Resnais did deliver a really impressive directing debut here but even though he always had a stellar reputation in France, I canât say I really ever cared for the rest of his work (I still have to watch âL'annĂ©e derniĂšre Ă Marienbadâ though). To conclude, I think it is a great movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:48
(A review of
The Beat That My Heart Skipped)
Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, I discovered afterwards the fact that it was actually a remake which was really surprising. Indeed, most of the time, French movies are remade in some (very average) American versions. This time, we have a French movie which is actually a remake of a rather unknown American movie ('Fingers' by James Tobak with Harvey Keitel). It was really quite surprising. Even more surprising was that that this âremakeâ turned out to be a great movie! Indeed, the directing was great, the acting was awesome and the story was, in my opinion, just fascinating. Indeed, it is a rather odd mix between the life of a piano virtuoso and the life of a small time thug and though it shouldnât work, it really does, especially thanks to a strong performance by Romain Duris, one of the best French actors around nowadays. By now, Jacques Audiard has also turned out to be one of the most interesting French directors at work nowadays and his following movies (âDe Rouille et dâosâ et âUn ProphĂšteâ) were also massively critically heralded. To conclude, it was a very good movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you're interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:45
(A review of
Belle de Jour (1967))
To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it at some point. Even though I did give a try with Luis Buñuelâs work and even though I did like his surrealist work, I actually preferred this movie and I think it is the only one I have seen so far coming from this director that really blew me away. Indeed, the great thing about this flick is that it manages to combine Buñuelâs surrealist vibe with a tale somewhat more straightforward and realistic. Concerning Catherine Deneuve, I always thought that she was quite a fascinating actrice and she probably delivered one of her best performances in this movie, at least, among the movies I have seen starring this actress so far. Eventually, I really liked the directing and, above all, this story was just fascinating. Indeed, it is one of the very few (almost) mainstream movies managing to deal with sex and eroticism without being exploitative. This movie was also a neat critic about the middle-class life style which can be so boring that it could drive a woman to do something so drastic with her life. Anyway, to conclude, I think it is a great classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:42
(A review of
Caché)
Since I'm a huge fan of Michael Haneke's work, I was really eager to check this flick. And I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, I thought it was a great thriller but totally different from what you would get from a typical commercial thriller. There were no shootings, chases, explosions or anything, it was all about the characters and what they are going through and I thought it was quite fascinating to watch. I remember it very well, I got this DVD from a colleague who didn't like it at all but that didn't surprise me. Indeed, Haneke is the specialist of the enigmatic thriller and even though he always create a fascinating and unsettling set-up, he never gives some simple explanations or answers, as a matter of fact, usually he doesn't explain anything at all which can be frustrating for the casual viewers who are used to the dumbed down commercial features produced by Hollywood. Personally, I love this approach, it creates a mesmerizing atmosphere and you have to make up on your own what is actually going on. So, the directing by Haneke was really sober but as usual very effective and Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil both delivered some solid performances. To conclude, even though it might be an an acquired taste, I really loved this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Haneke's work.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:39
(A review of
Camille Claudel)
Even though I left France more than 10 years ago, I still try to catch a French movie once in a while and I'm especially interested in the winners of the CĂ©sar of the Best French movie. Fortunately, those are pretty often broadcasted on the Dutch and Belgium channels I have so that works actually pretty well. Eventually, I have to admit, I really loved this flick, probably one of the best French movies I have seen in the last 5 years. First of all, back in those days, Isabelle Adjani was probably the best French actress and, here, she worked with GĂ©rard Depardieu, the best French actor of the last 30 years so if you love French movies, it doesn't get much better than this. And indeed, the acting was just great and the story was also really spellbinding. It did help as well that I have a weak spot for true stories dealing with artists. Indeed, I like those movies because, in the good ones at least, they show you how differently the mind of an artist work than most of us and how often destructive the creation of Art can be. This movie is a good example of this, I thought it was really fascinating to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:36
(A review of
Amen. (2002))
To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie and I should probably re-watch it at some point. Still, I remember it very well and I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released. First of all, the poster was designed by Oliviero Toscani who became famous in the 90âs for the controversials ads he made for Benetto and the poster he made for this movie didnât please everybody but I thought it was just really awesome . Concerning the movie itself,it is not as well known as 'Schindler's list' or 'The Pianist' but I think it's a pity because it was a great and spellbinding picture. Back in the 80's-70's, Costa-Gavras was one of the most influential directors around, I think it was the first time I saw one of his movies and, right away, I became a huge fan of his work. Nowadays, he seems to be rather forgotten but this movie displayed that he didn't lose his directing skills at all. To conclude, I think it is a great movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Costa-Gavrasâs work.Â
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:34
(A review of
La Femme Nikita)
I have always been a fan of this movie but since I hadn't seen it for so many years, I was really eager to check it out again. First of all, to be honest, I always had a hard time with Luc Besson's work as a director (without mentioning the even more underwhelming movies he has produced during the last couple of decades). I mean, visually speaking, he is actually a fine director and, in this area, probably one of the most talented French directors of the last 30 years and indeed his directing is always really solid. Unfortuntaely, I always struggle with his stories which very often turn out to be rather pretentious (in the best cases) and even seriously underwhelming (in the worst cases). This movie is however a big exception. Indeed, as usual, it looked pretty awesome but this time, the story was actually really entertaining and even quite spellbinding to behold. I shouldn't forget Anne Parillaud who was great here and easily delivered the best performance you will ever see in a Besson production. Finally, the soundtrack by Eric Serra wat just really perfect and managed to immerse you even more in this fascinating world. Anyway, to conclude, it is easily my favorite movie directed by Luc Besson (I seriously don't understand why the vastly overrated 'Léon' gets so much more credit than this superior feature) and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in some action-packed French movies.
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Posted : 14 years ago on 30 December 2010 02:28
(A review of
The 400 Blows)
It has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely re-watch it whenever I have the opportunity. To be honest, in the same genre, I always preferred 'A bout de souffle' but this one is not far behind and it is definitely a huge masterpiece as well. By now, I have seen a bunch of the movies directed by François Truffautâs movies and even though he had a more satisfying career than Jean-Luc Godard, it is definitely Truffaut's best movie by far. Indeed, even though he made afterwards some impressive movies, none of them reached the level of awesomness provided by this directing debut. Of course, Jean-Pierre LĂ©aud was just really amazing and he easily gave one of the best child perfomances ever. Basically, nothing much really happen storywise but it doesn't matter as the whole thing is just spellbinding to behold. Indeed, even though this movie is more than 50 years old, it still has quite a modern perspective and I was really able to identify with the main character who was basically going through a rather messed-up puberty. To conclude, Iâm a huge fan of this movie, it is a great classic and a must-see for any movie fan.
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