A Tough Decision

No, that is not the name of a film I saw. I have decided that, at least for the time being, I am going to stop writing about the films I see. I just don't have the time to really make this a good blog. I still love cinema and see many films but I have really lost interest in writing in depth about each film. And I don't think that many people read this anyway. From time to time I might right a quick and strong recommendation of certain films.

The films I last saw - The Eclipse (MOD), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, City Island, 24 City (DVD) are all good to very good.

The fact that I haven't even posted my best of 2009 shows that I want to move on. I will say that I thought that The White Ribbon was the best film of 2009. I was happy that Jeff Bridges won his Oscar. The Best Actresses of 2009 were Catalina Saavedra (The Maid), Yolande Moreau (Seraphine), and Hiam Abbass (Lemon Tree). However, none of them got even close to a nomination. What can I say?

Well, as I said, I will post things from time to time (probably the Cannes FF competition films which we should know about on April 15th). But for now no more extensive reviews.

Ciao for now.

DVD Mini Review - The Wedding Song

A (very) few words about The Wedding Song. Karin Albou directs this film with great love. It takes place in Tunisia in 1942. It is the story of two girls who are best friends. Myriam (Lizzie Brochere) is Jewish and Nour (Olympe Borval) is Muslim. But that does not come in the way of their friendship. They live on the same street and their families are friendly too.

But the Nazi invasion changes things. Nour is supposed to marry Khaled (Najib Oudghiri) but since he isn't working her father keeps postponing the wedding. Because of all of the bad things that start happening to the Jews Myriam is forced to marry a man just to help out financially. Raoul (Simon Abkarian) certainly looks a lot older than her so it makes sense that she is not interested. But her mother Tita (played by the director) insists.

I really enjoyed watching this film because we can see that friendship is more important than any cultural differences. Yes, the two girls have many ups and downs - and it is due to the war. But deep down inside they share more similarities than differences. And if we only realized this truth then the world would be a better place. I recommend that you check this film out on DVD or Movies on Demand.

Greenberg and Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suss

A (very) few words on two films that I saw today. I just don't have much time to write. But I do hope to have my best (favorites) of 2009 posted within the next week.

Greenberg is a good film about a lost soul named Roger Greenberg (a subdued Ben Stiller). He has just gotten out of a mental hospital because of a nervous breakdown. He arrives in LA from NYC and is staying at his vacationing brother's house. He gets involved with his brother's assistant Florence (Greta Gerwig) who is another lost soul. He also tries to mend things with his friend Ivan (Rhys Ifans) and his old girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Jason Leigh).

Writer/Director Noah Baumbach does a good job of making his characters feel real. This must be Stiller's best performance. And Gerwig is a real find. I look forward to seeing what she does in the future. I also liked Ifans. However, Jason Leigh (who is married to Baumbach and who co-wrote the story for the film) has very little to do in an underwritten role - which is too bad because she is a very good actress.

All in all, while not up to the standard of Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale Greenberg deserves to be seen.

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Suss is a very interesting documentary directed by Felix Moeller. It tells a story that I knew nothing about. German director Viet Harlan was one of Germany's most celebrated filmmakers back in the 30s and 40s. At the beginning he made mostly melodramas. However, with the rise of Nazism he was asked to make Jew Suss, which is one of the most anti-Semitic films ever made.

During the film we see clips from Harlan's films. There are interviews with Harlan's children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. The big question is did he want to make Jew Suss or was he forced into it with threats? You can draw your own conclusions. In any case, I do recommend this film because it gives us one more piece of history from the darkest period of the 20th century.

Mother and Vincere

Today I had the opportunity to see two excellent foreign films. Although these two films are very different they have in common fantastic female lead performances.

Mother is directed by Joon-ho Bong and is from Korea. The story seems to be a simple one but it is anything but. The unnamed Mother (Hye-Ja Kim) owns a flower/herb shop and she does acupuncture. That is how she makes her modest living. She is always worried about her son Yoon Do-joon (Bin Won). He is a little simple. Mother and son have an abnormally close relationship. When a young schoolgirl is murdered Yoon is immediately convicted as the murderer. Mother does not believe this and she will go all out to prove that he is innocent. Oh, and she really does.

Mother is a most intriguing thriller. It has many twists and turns and it keeps you guessing until the end. And Ms. Kim is just amazing as the Mother.

Vincere (which means win) is completely different but just as good. It is from Italy and directed by Marco Bellocchio (I have see a few of his films and like his style). This film is the story of Ida Dalser (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) who many said was Benito Mussolini's (Filippo Timi) first wife. It was obvious from the start that she was more in love than he was. She got him on his feet. They were supposedly married and she later gave birth to his son Benito Albino. But at some point things fell apart and he married another woman. Ida did not take this sitting down. She let everybody know that she was Mussolini's wife. But there were never any papers found that stated that fact. Eventually she is sent to a mental institution. And when Benito Albino is older he is sent to one as well.

Vincere is a beautifully shot, old fashioned type of sweeping foreign film. I love the way Bellocchio intersperses old footage into the film. Mezzogiorno is outstanding as Ida. And Timo is terrific as Mussolini and Benito Albino as an adult. This film gives us a real sense of history and shows how Mussolini went to believing in one thing (Socialism) and then turning his back on that for Fascism).

Both Kim and Mezzogiorno give performances that are worthy of Oscar nominations. But we know that will not happen. It is too bad because these are two of the best performances of the year so far. I highly recommend that you see these two films. If you can't see them at the theater then rent them or see them on cable (or movies on demand).

Chloe

Chloe, directed by Atom Egoyan, is based on Anne Fontaine's film Nathalie. And, yes, there are many similarities but it is not the same film.

Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) is a successful gynecologist. Her husband David (Liam Needson) is a successful professor. They seem to have a good marriage. Or do they? Catherine thinks that David is cheating. So she decides to hire a prostitute named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to lure him and see if he accepts the bait. And boy does he ever. But there is much more to this then meets the eye. I had an idea about what to expect because I saw Nathalie. But the film goes into a different directions as it moves along.

Egoyan is an interesting director and I generally like his films (I loved The Sweet Hereafter). Moore is just wonderful as Catherine and Seyfried is terrific as Chloe. And the two of them have terrific chemistry. I liked Neeson but I thought that he was underused (as was Gerard Depardieu in Nathalie). And I loved the way Toronto was filmed.

Many critics have put this film down but take my word for it - it is a good film. It is erotic and suspenseful and I don't understand the critics. But I don't have to listen to them. I can make up my own mind about what films I see. And so shouldyou.

DVD Mini Review - Captian Abu Raed

I want to say a few words about the wonderful film Captain Abu Raed. It is directed and written by first time filmmaker Amin Matalga. It is a simple story that carries a big punch.

Abu Raed (a marvelous Nadim Sawalha) is a janitor at the Amman, Jordan airport. He is also a lonely widower who greets the picture of his wife every time he comes. At the beginning of the film he keeps to himself. But a strange things happens. He finds an airline pilot's hat in the garbage and takes it home. When he wears it the children of the village think he is a captain (hence the name of the film). He tries to deny it but when the kids insist he gives in. He enchants them with stories of far away places (some of which he got from the books that he reads). But things happen and he finds that some of the children have serious problems - especially in one case. Abu Raed goes out of himself and tries to do what he can to help.

There are some very disturbing things in this film. But it is, in some ways, a very uplifting. It is a very humanistic film. Matalga did a great job for a first time filmmaker. And the shots of Amman are breathtaking. This is a must see.

The Runaways

The Runaways is written and directed by Floria Sigismondi. It is based on the book Neon Angel by former Runaway Cherie Currie.

The Runaways was a group of teenage girls who hit it big in the mid 1970s. And, yes, they were very young (15, 16). Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) always wanted to play rock and roll. She formed a group and got connected to producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). He found their lead singer in the angelic looking Currie (Dakota Fanning).

The film is quite conventional. It follows what happens as the group becomes famous. And, of course, there is all the drug and alcohol use. Just remember how young these girls were. Currie gets most of the attention and some of the other band members are not too pleased with that. But she always had a special bond with Jett.

Stewart, Fanning and Shannon are all good in their roles. Tatum o'Neal turns up in a very small cameo as Currie's mother. Eventually, Currie has a meltdown and leaves the group. Jett went on to become a famous rock and roll singer. And that is that.

The Runaways is not a bad film. Sigismondi manages to capture the feel of the era. But it is just not that special. But I had fun watching how things used to be back in the good old days.