Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 18 August 2010 07:36
(A review of
Good Old Daze)
Basically, it is once again one of these really obscure French movies that almost no one has seen here on listal. Anyway, in fact, I remember it very well when I first saw it, I even saw it when it came out (for some strange reasons, it was first released on a French TV channel before it hit the movie theaters). Anyway, back in those days, I was just about 14-15 years old and I could completely identify with the characters. Indeed, basically, they were around the same age, rebellious, anxious about life, experiencing drugs and sex.... Concerning CĂ©dric Klapisch, it was only his 2nd directing effort and my first contact with him but I was really impressed and he would eventually become one of the most interesting French directors of his generation. Concerning Romain Duris, the guy had an impressive screen presence even though he was barely 20 years old with no acting experience. Apparently Klapisch discovered him in the street and, eventually, they would make 6 other movies together. To conclude, even though it is a rather obscure flick, I have a huge weak spot for this movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 04:01
(A review of
In This World)
Event though his track record is rather uneven (the guy is pretty much a workaholic, making very often 2 movies a year), I think Michael Winterbottom is quite a fascinating director and, in my opinion, He should get much more credit. Anyway, after his brilliant debut, âButterfly Kissâ, this movie is easily his best feature and it deservedly won the Golben Bear at the 2003 Berlin film festival. Basically, the plot is rather simple, it follows a young boy (14-15 years old, I think) who goes from Pakistan to England, illegally. Even though you pretty much know from the start that this journey will be pretty hazardous, it was seriously dangerous, harrowing and just plain horrible to behold. Honestly, after seeing this movie, I'll bet you will have some doubts about the anti-immigration laws. Indeed, do they have any purpose, considering that if people live in despair, they will risk anything, even their life to find a better place to live with hope of a brighter future? Since then, Winterbottom has directed many interesting movies but none of them have been so good. To conclude, I thought it was a great flick, it is a difficult watch but I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by this subject.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:51
(A review of
Baadasssss!)
In my opinion, it is one of those movies that came and disappeared pretty quickly without being noticed but I think it is a shame because it really deserved more love. Indeed, I thought it was a fascinating movie about how Mario van Peebles's father directed his most famous movie (âSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Songâ). Indeed, when you think about, it works on some many levels. On one hand, the making of the movie which was rather chaotic but also quite impressive, showing the determination of Melvin van Peebles to finish his movie. On the other hand, it displayed also the struggle of Mario van Peebles who, at the same time, had a deep respect for his father achievement but you can feel his resentment for his father because he went so far to finish his movie (for example, back then, Mario van Peebles was 13 years and had to play in a sex scene in this legendary picture which must have been rather traumatizing). Eventually, even though Mario van Peebles had quite a productive career as a director, this is by far his best movie. Anyway, in spite the fact that it is actually quite obscure, I thought it was an impressive movie and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:51
(A review of
Career Girls)
I wasnât sure what to expect from this flick since it was directed by Mike Leigh, I thought I might as well give it a try. Even though it seems to be one of his less known movies, it was actually really good and I think it is actually criminally underrated. I never noticed this before but Mike Leigh has made quite his share of movie dealing with women (âHappy-Go-Luckyâ, âVera Drakeâ and âSecret & Liesâ) and I think he makes some interesting portrayals of female characters. To be honest, I didnât care much for âHappy-Go-Luckyâ, even though I enjoyed it, I never understood why everybody was so raving about and I thought it was vastly overatted. On the other hand, this movie which doesnât deal with one woman but two, was also a typical Leigh movie about common people in a realistic social and economic world but the big difference is that I thought that they were captivating. Indeed, those two actresses, Katrin Cartlidge who already passed away more than a decade ago and Lynda Steadman who I havenât seen ever again, were quite brilliant and with the sober directing by Leigh, they had all the space to properly develop their characters. Anyway, to conclude, I really liked this flick a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:50
(A review of
Butterfly Kiss)
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To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie but I still remember it so well. Indeed, somehow, I saw the damned thing in the movie theater when it came out and I was just seriously blown away. Basically, I had absolutely never seen something similar before. It was the 1st movie directed by Michael Winterbottom that I saw and I have been following his career ever since. As a matter of fact, he has became one of the most prolific directors making at least one movie every year. Anyway, it is one of my favorite movies and it is definitely one of the most disturbing I have ever seen (and I have seen some weird sh*t...). I have to admit it, it is actually really difficult to describe the plot but the main character played by Amanda Plummer, in her best performance ever, was just electrifying to watch. So, the plot was not really important as the main focus was on those women who wandered through life like two lost souls. Even though it is an acquired taste as it is a very dark and grim picture, I thought the whole thing was just fascinating to behold and it is definitely worth a look.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:50
(A review of
The King and the Mockingbird)
It has been a while since I have seen this movie and I would really like to watch it again at some point. In fact, I do have a DVD of this movie but itâs only dubbed in Dutch and I would rather re-watch it in the original French language. Anyway, itâs a movie I watched so many times as a kid and, back then, I thought it was just spellbinding to behold but itâs a movie that I can be appreciated by children and grown-ups alike. It was made when there was still no computer animation and I do believe itâs a shame that the hand-drawn animation has been dropped by most studios because such movies were also quite gorgeous to look at. On top of that, in this case, there was also some humour and adventure and it was probably the most poetic animated feature I have seen so far. Itâs such a pity that Paul Grimault  never managed to release another full length feature afterwards because I do believe that the guy was probably one of the best animation directors that ever lived. Anyway, I really loved the damned thing, it is one of my childhood favourites and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in animated features.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:50
(A review of
The Adversary)
I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it when it was released in the movie theaters, but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. It is basically an obscure French movie but I thought the whole thing was just spellbinding to behold. The main character was played by Daniel Auteuil, one of the most famous French actors (at least, in France...) and the movie was based on some rather amazing true story and, apparently, except for changing the names, Nicole Garcia mostly followed the actual facts of this case (especially how it ended). The first time around, I mostly focused on the story itself (which also inspired 'L'emploi du temps', another strong French movie) but, with this rewatch, I paid more attention to the rest of the movie. Indeed, it is such a dark and oppressive movie, I was actually surprised by how tough it was to (re)watch the damned thing. Still, the main character was so fascinating. Basically, it was about a guy who wanted to play the 'game' of life but didn't want to follow the rules and it is staggering that he managed to keep this up for almost 20 years. I have to admit that I have always been fascinated by con artists but this movie (and 'Kajillionaire' as well by the way) displayed how incredibly depressing this kind of lifestyle could be. In this case, the guy was so lonely, it seemed to be unbearable, even to me who is not actually really fond of people in general. Anyway, the whole thing was just so intense and I thought it was just fascinating to behold. To conclude, I thought it was one of the best French thrillers I have seen and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:49
(A review of
Simon)
Ever since I have been living in the Netherlands, I have been interested in Dutch movies and I try to watch one of those from time to time. After 10 years, I must admit, my views on the Dutch movie industry is rather mixed, Iâm afraid. Basically, it is a rather small industry, they donât make many movies every year and most of them are actually rather underwhelming. The fact that most of the Dutch population is mostly interested in US movies and donât care much about their domestic products (except if they are really successful at the box-office but it is rather marginal) is also rather disheartening. Still, there are some exceptions, some really great gems coming from Holland and this movie is definitely one of them. Basically, it is a rather unknown flick but this one was just really great, I really loved it and it is probably on my top 3 best Dutch movies ever. The whole concept is actually pretty simple, you follow the main character dying from cancer and we see his last days and some flashbacks showing his past. Even though the directing was nothing really flashy, it was still a very strong and emotional movie and, above all, I thought the characters were very well developed and quite fascinating to behold. To conclude, I think it is a great flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:39
(A review of
The King Is Alive)
I remember it very well, in the mid-90âs, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg started the Dogme movement. Right from the start, I thought it was quite a fascinating concept and I tried to watch most of these movies when they were released in the movie theater at the time. If I remember it correctly, I saw this one when it was released back then when I was living in England. Out of all the Dogme movies I have seen, it is probably the most oscure one but, in fact,  it turned out to be one of the best in this genre (my favorite will forever be 'Festen' which is, in my opinion, one of the best movies ever produced). Basically, this movie takes place in a desert in Africa where a group of tourists get stuck. From that point, they try to survive and most of them get eventually really nuts in the process. I really enjoyed the depth put in the characters and to see them evolving under such pressure was quite spellbinding. To conclude, even though it is completely forgotten nowadays, I think it is a great and fascinating movie  and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Scandinavian movies.
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Posted : 14 years, 9 months ago on 17 August 2010 03:39
(A review of
L.627)
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 so, I remember the damned thing very well, back then it really blew my mind and, in my opinion, it is easily one the best police movies I have ever seen. In fact, I would go even further, it is probably even the very best one. Basically, it was directed by Bertrand Tavernier (I have noticed that his movies are barely seen by listal users which is a real a shame. Indeed, he is in fact one of the best French director ever). Anyway, I love this flick a lot and the main reason was because it is actually so raw and realistic. Indeed, in this movie, there is no big action star like Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis or Wil Smith, some hero shooting bad guys and saving the day at the end of the movie. Indeed, instead, you just have some unknown actors who really looked like some actual cops and the whole thing felt almost like a documentary. Anyway, 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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