DVD Review - Brick

This film got some very positive reviews when it was theatrically released earlier this year. Writer/director Rian Johnson was hailed because he made a great "noir" film. I did not get to see the film in the theater but with all of the hoopla surrounding this film I couldn't wait to rent the DVD. After all, I love "noir" films and good detective stories.

All I can say that I was beyond disappointed. I can't believe that this film got such raves. I wanted to shut the film off after an hour but I felt obligated to see it through and write about it. It is about a murder and it tries to be a detective story but it fails miserably.

Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) wants to find out who killed his ex-girlfriend. When he finds her body he doesn't go to the police. He hides it and sets out on a quest for justice. What happens during his quest is ugly beyond belief. Brendan is beaten up several times. At first I had sympathy for him but after a while the whole thing got tired. All of this has to drugs (big surprise) and the head kingpin is named Pin (Lukas Haas). By the way, these students go to an upscale high school. But nobody ever seems to be in school. There is not one scene showing anyone in a classroom or doing any homework. And where are their parents? The truth is I couldn't care less. There is not one character of worth in the whole film. And the dialog is truly awful.

Gordon-Levitt is a talented actor. He was terrific in Mysterious Skin. But in this film you can't understand a word that he says because he is mumbling. As for Johnson, it is possible that he will make a good film in the future but I wouldn't hold my breath. Some people compared this film to Donnie Darko and I guess there is a similarity. They are both highly overrated films. Do you yourself a favor and skip this one. You will be happy that you did.

The Illusionist

Writer/Director Neil Burger has created an entertaining film that was made with adults in mind (Even though the film is rated PG-13 I didn't see any children or teens in the audience). And I thank him for doing that and I am pleased that this film was released in the dog days of summer (though there are a number of other good independent and foreign films out there as well).

The Illusionist is based on a short story written by Steven Milhauser. It takes place in turn of the century Vienna (it was actually filmed in Prague). Young Edward Abramovitz has a gift for magic. And when he and Sophie meet sparks fly. They try to run away together but they are caught. She is from a prestigious family and is forbidden to see Edward again because he is from a family of workers (it is obvious from his name that he is a Jew but that really isn't touched upon in the film - maybe it is in the short story). Edward (played as an adult by Edward Norton) reinvents himself and gives himself the name Eisenheim. He travels all over Europe with his magic show. He decides to return to Vienna and he and his manager Josef Fischer (Eddie Marsan) set up shop there. One night while performing his magic the evil Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) and his fiancee Sophie (yes, it is that Sophie and she is played by Jessica Biel) are in the audience. When Eisenheim asks for a volunteer from the audience Leopold offers Sophie. As soon as she hits the stage Eisenheim recognizes her. But it takes her a little longer to catch on (or so it seems). All of this is being taken in by Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti) who is loyal to Leopold and hopes to get a high position in the government when Leopold becomes King. Uhl also has a fascination with Eisenheim's illusions and magic in general. And that is all of the plot that I can reveal because saying anything more would spoil things.

While the film may not be a masterpiece it is thoroughly enjoyable. The story line from beginning to end is totally absorbing. The film is beautiful to look at thanks to cinematographer Dick Pope. The musical score, written by Philip Glass, is haunting. And the acting is all very good. Sewell is deliciously evil. Norton is at his intense best. Marsan, who was so good in Vera Drake, proves once again what a fine character actor he is. I was surprised at how good Biel is because she is usually in lighter films. And Giamatti, who has played a number of sad sacks in the past, is wonderful and very convincing in this completely different role as the bewildered inspector. So I urge you take yourself to the movies and fall under the spell of The Illusionist. You will not regret it.

Quinceanera

This charming little film won several awards at this year's Sundance film festival. A Quinceanera is a celebration (in the Latin community) for girls when they reach fifteen years of age. It is supposed to be spiritual but it many times becomes something very showy and materialistic (like many other celebrations these days).

Magdelena (Emily Rios) is almost fifteen and is anticipating her Quinceanera. She would love to have an elaborate celebration like her cousin but her religious father wants something more simple. But before her celebration she finds out that she is pregnant. She can't understand how this has happened since she and her boyfriend fooled around but didn't go all the way. Technically she is a virgin. You can only imagine what her father thinks of this. She goes to live with her uncle Tomas (Chalo Gonzalez) who also houses her cousin Carlos (Jesse Garcia). Carlos was thrown out of his house by his father because he is gay.

Tomas has lived in this house with his two dogs for 28 years and eeks out a living by selling food from a stand. He is an open and accepting man (and my favorite character in the film). Carlos befriends an upscale gay couple who bought the neighboring house and the land that Tomas's house is on (perhaps a little to friendly with one of them). However, after a while the landlords give Tomas notice and tell him that he has to clear out in 30 days.

The film is written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland. They do a nice job of showing us this Latino community in Los Angeles (Echo Park to be exact) and introducing us to the Quinceanera celebration. The film also deals (though not as much as I would have liked) with the effects of gentrification which is an epidemic in most major cities in the US. I would love to see a film where the effects of gentrification is the main theme.

Although I liked this film (and it is hard not to like it) I feel that it is another film that was overpraised by the critics (91 % on Rotten Tomatoes!). The acting is okay but, with the exception of Gonzalez, none of it really stands out. In the end I found Quinceanera a pleasant and enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes and it is no doubt better than the majority of films coming out of Hollywood studios.

Half Nelson

Ryan Fleck directs this original story from a screenplay written by him and Anna Boden. I call it original because it is not one of those feel-good films where the teacher helps rescue a student in trouble.

Ryan Gosling is amazing as Dan Dunne who is a teacher of history as well as the school's basketball coach. He teaches eighth graders in a predominately minority school. He doesn't like to follow rules so his method of teaching is a bit off the straight and narrow. This does not sit well with the school's principal. Dan likes to think that he is helping the kids but he needs a lot of help himself. He smokes crack and snorts cocaine.

Dan befriends one of his students, a young girl named Drey (splendidly played by Shareeka Epps). No, there is nothing sexual about their relationship. He just takes a special interest in her. Her mother has to work hard to make ends meet and Drey has a brother in prison who is taking the fall for the local dealer named Frank (played by a very good Anthony Mackie). Dan doesn't want Drey to get too close to Frank. But since Drey has found out Dan's secret she feels that he isn't anyone who should be preaching to people about how to live.

There really isn't a whole lot of plot in this film. We just see Dan trying to go about his day to day life as best he can. But it is difficult for him to cope with even ordinary things and he has to use dope to get him through. As the film progresses we watch Dan spiraling downward. Something that I really liked about Half Nelson is that throughout the film "lessons" - which tell of important events as chronicled by the left - are interspersed. There is more of that during the part in the film in which Dan joins his family for dinner. I commend Fleck for putting this into his film.

Half Nelson is a good film but it is not a great one. I think that the critics have overpraised it. It felt like something was missing and for that I fault the writers. But the young Ms. Epps is a very promising talent. And I cannot say enough about Gosling. Just watching his face in some of the scenes made me uncomfortable because you can really feel his pain. At this point in the year he has given the best performance by any actor. I am sure that will change because we are heading into "Oscar season" but I am certain that his will definitely be one of the best and I can see him winning an Independent Spirit award next year. I was mesmerized by Gosling when I first saw him in The Believer and he keeps growing as an actor. I look forward to seeing what he does next.

DVD Review - Land of the Blind

Writer/director Robert Edwards' film is a quirky political fable that is set in an unknown county. It borrows from 1984 but it is totally unique in its take on politics. In other words, it takes shots at everyone.

Ralph Fiennes plays Joe, a guard at a high security prison. Joe is loyal to Maximilian Jr. (Tom Hollander) who is not only a dictator but a filmmaker as well. As bad as his father was Junior is a hundred times worse (sound familiar?). However, Joe's loyalties change after he meets Thorne (Donald Sutherland) a writer who is in jail for being a revolutionary. Thorne would like nothing more than to rid his country and the world of the maniacal Junior and restore democracy for all.

Junior has a number of aides but his number one confidant is his wife (Laura Flynn Boyle) who very much resembles Lady Macbeth. Because pressure is mounting from the masses Junior is forced to release Thorne (who was elected to Parliament while imprisoned). Joe helps Thorne stage a coup in which Junior and his first lady are killed. But as time goes on Joe realizes that Thorne's new regime is just as bad as the previous one. That is all I am going to say about the plot because I don't want to spoil things.

I really enjoyed watching Fiennes and Sutherland play off of each other. Hollander is wonderful as Junior. You can tell that he is having a great deal of fun with this role. Once in a while the screenplay gets a bit muddled but for the most part the writing and the directing are very intelligent. A lot of the film focuses on Joe's inner thoughts and we sometimes have to wonder what is real and what is not. That is part of the challenge with this film which is a good thing. It makes us use our brains.

Most of the critics did not like this film. In fact, this is the third film in a row that I have rented from Netflix that the critics did not like. It makes me wonder if they actually stay until the end of some of the films they see (especially these small films). In any case, I do recommend Land of the Blind if you want to see a film that will make you think about the world that we live in.

DVD Review - Don't Tell

Don't Tell was the one Foreign Film Oscar nominee from last year that I didn't get to see in the theater. It only played for one week which is too bad. Apparently many critics didn't like the film (the same thing happened to one of my previously reviewed DVDs Sorry, Haters). But I don't take much stock in what a lot of the critics say because I have a mind of my own. And I can say that I really liked this film.

Director Cristina Comencini adapts the film from her novel entitled The Beast in the Heart with the help of screenwriter Giulia Calenda. The story focuses on a woman named Sabina (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) who dubs television programs into Italian. Sabina lives with her actor boyfriend Franco(Alessio Boni) and at first glance everything seems to be normal. But Sabina is having some very bad dreams that indicate something terrible happened to her in the past. Sabina has a longtime friend named Emilia (Stefania Rocco) who is blind. They are very close but Emilia is in love with Sabina and wishes that they were even closer. Maria (Angela Finocchiaro), who is also a good friend of Sabina's and works with her, is bitter because her husband left her for a younger woman. Another interesting character in the film is Andrea Negri (Giusseppe Battiston) the colorful director of the television program that Franco stars in. Throughout the film we get to know more about all of these characters.

At the center of this film are Sabina's feelings about her past. Her dream conveys that when she was a child she was abused by her father. As Sabina has just learned that she is pregnant she feels it imperative that she somehow resolves this matter. The only way that she can do that is to discuss it with her brother Daniele (Luigi Lo Cascio) who lives with his family in the United States where he teaches college. So Sabina decides to pay him a visit over the Christmas holidays.

The film is very sensitive in its portrayal of child abuse. It also does a splendid job of exploring romantic relationships (including a lesbian relationship) and how complicated they can be. All of the acting is terrific. Boni and Lo Cascio will look familiar if you saw the remarkable The Best of Youth. They played brothers in that film. Mezzogiorno won a Best Actress award at last year's Venice Film Festival and she deserved it. She knows how to show real emotion without going over the top. One look into her eyes and you know how she feels.

I take my hats off to the filmmakers for making this honest film. I can only imagine what a mess it would be if it came out of a Hollywood studio. So critics be damned - I am recommending Don't Tell. I hope that people will see it now that it is out on DVD.

Family Values - Little Miss Sunshine

I must say that I was very reluctant to see this film. I had seen two trailers and I thought that this film looked too sitcomish for my taste. But the reviews for this film were excellent and few people told me that they really liked the film so I decided to take a chance. And boy am I glad that I did.

Little Miss Sunshine is the story of a dysfunctional family. Richard Greg Kinnear) is the head of the household and earns his living by being a motivational speaker. But he doesn't seem to be too successful at his vocation. His wife Sheryl (Toni Colette) is the one who appears to be the strongest and tries to keep things together. Their son Dwayne (Paul Dano) wants to become a pilot and has taken a vow of silence. Their daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin) is obsessed with beauty contests and hopes to eventually win one. Richard's heroin sniffing, foul mouthed father (Alan Arkin) lives with them. Also joining them is Sheryl's gay brother Frank (Steve Carrell) who was just released from the hospital after a suicide attempt. I think that you get a clear picture of the family.

Some time ago Olive was the runner up in a preliminary Little Miss Sunshine contest. Sheryl and Frank's sister Cindy calls to tell them that the winner of the contest had to bow out and Olive can now participate in the finals. This is what Olive has been waiting for. She has been practicing with a routine with the assistance of her Grandpa and is ready to roll. The problem is how to get there as the family lives in New Mexico and the contest is in California. Despite lack of funds and other obstacles the family decides that all of them should go and everyone piles into their dilapidated van.

On their way to California many things happen that could deter them from their goal. But they somehow overcome each and every one of them and make it to the contest. I was very surprised at something that happens on their journey and you will be too. But the family handled it with a great deal of dignity.

Many people are singling out one actor or another as a possible awards contender. I don't agree with this assessment. Each and every one of the actors was wonderful and they work as a unit. So if this film would get any acting consideration it would be as an ensemble. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris do a great job of directing as they knew how to get terrific performances out of all of the actors. Michael Arndt's screenplay is very well written and smoothly blends humor and sadness.

In the end Little Miss Sunshine is about family values. This is a family that sticks together through thick and thin. It also has a few lessons for us. One is that our view of beauty is out of whack (during the contest just compare the fresh faced Olive to the other contestants who are all variations on JonBenet Ramsey). Another lesson is on the way we measure success and failure. Failure makes us stronger and there can be no success without it. And what is real success? Giving things a try and not giving up easily. While it is true that the family in this film may be a little over the top I would venture to say they are closer to what real people are like than the rich and famous who are constantly shoved down our throats every day. I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants a lift.

DVD Review - Sorry, Haters

This is the most dark and disturbing film I have seen in a long time. Sorry, Haters tries to be a psychological thriller and make a political statement at the same time. And while it doesn't succeed all the time (especially in the political sense) it is fascinating to watch.

Ashade (Abdel Kechiche) is a hard working taxi driver in New York City and he is also a religious Muslim. Back home in Syria he was a chemist but in this country he cannot work in his profession. Ashade's sister-in-law Eloise (who is not Muslim) and her child also live in NYC. Ashade is trying to find ways to get his brother (who is Eloise's husband) to come to the US. His brother was arrested and sent to Guantanamo. Ashade fears that he may have been sent back to Syria where he would be tortured.

One night Ashade picks up a woman named Phoebe (Robin Wright Penn). Right from the start you can tell that there is something wrong with her. She is beyond unhappy. She asks Ashade to drive her to New Jersey and it is there that she scratches the car that belongs to the woman (named Phyllis and played by Sandra Oh) who is responsible for all of her woes. On the way back to the city Phoebe learns about the plight of Ashade's brother and offers to help. I cannot tell you anything else without giving away a piece of the plot. There are a number of twists that I found shocking but I will leave them for you to see for yourselves.

Considering that this film was made on a shoestring budget it looks pretty good. We have writer/director Jeff Stanzler to thank for that as well as the original (but not always credible) screenplay. Wright Penn is outstanding as a woman who is so full of rage against the world as well as herself. This is an awards worthy performance and I hope that she gets an Independent Spirit nomination (because this is a small film and the reviews were not great any Oscar talk is out of the question). Kechiche is also excellent Ashade. He is a really decent human being who just wants to do the right thing.

This is one of the few American films that I have seen that does not portray a Muslim man as a terrorist. My hats off to Stanzler for that. The ending is shocking and I had to sit and think about it for a few minutes. It took me a while to figure out how I felt about this film. What helped me was a special feature on the DVD. There is a round table discussion (which takes place at the Waverly restaurant in NYC) that includes Tim Robbins, Julian Schnabel and Mary Louis Parker among others. After listening to them talk about the film I was more certain about my feelings. Yes, Sorry, Haters is a flawed film but the pluses outweigh the minuses so I recommend this film to those people who want to see something a bit daring.

DVD Review - C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America

This film is a satire (and mockumentary) and uses director Kevin Willmott's imagination to tell us what would have happened if the South won the Civil War.

For one thing, instead of the stars and stripes our flag would be the Confederate flag. Abe
Lincoln would have been imprisoned and liberals would have to move to Canada (which might be the case for present day liberals if this country keeps moving to the right). Willmott (who is an assistant professor at the University of Kansas) shows that the this country would have been in agreement with Hitler, eliminated all Native America Indians and have Jews confined to their reservation of Long Island.

As the film is pretending to be a British made television show there are "commercials" interspersed throughout. These (as in the film) show how great it is to be white and Christian as well as different ways to make your slaves (also known as property) toe the line. There is much more to the film and I suggest that they show it in schools because I think that it is a good educational tool.

Besides directing the film Willmott also wrote it. He knows how to take a serious subject and interject humor into it. Despite being upset about what was going on I found myself laughing a number of times. Cinematographer Matt Jacobson gives the film a nice look and I especially liked the black & white segments. I was not familiar with any of the actors but that didn't matter because this film was not about acting. Of note - the film is a Spike Lee presentation.

I highly recommend that people see this film not only because it shows us what might have happened if things turned out differently regarding the Civil War. It also shows us a few things that might happen if things to continue to go in the direction they have been going in for the last few years.

World Trade Center

It isn't easy for me to write about this film. And it wasn't easy watching parts of it on the big screen either. World Trade Center (WTC) takes a different approach than United 93. Director Paul Greengrass made a film that felt almost like a documentary and was a well made, tight, lower budget film. Although we know that there was a struggle on the flight we do not know exactly what happened. We can only use our imagination regarding those events. In WTC we know that the events are real because the men who are portrayed in the film lived to talk about them. Director Oliver Stone has made a sweeping film that looks great but is not overblown.

WTC is the story of John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena). McLoughlin was a veteran with the New York Port Authority Police and Jimeno was a rookie. When a plane goes into the first tower McLoughlin and some of his men head downtown to lend a helping hand. By the time they arrive another plane has crashed into the second tower. The men want to help evacuate people but the towers come crashing down and they are all buried under the rubble. Most of the men perish. But both McLoughlin and Jimeno are alive as is Officer Dominick Pezzolo (Jay Hernandez). But after more debris falls he is gone.

We also witness the anguish that their families are going through. Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) is a mother of four with a certain toughness about her. But she crumbles when she finds out that her husband is missing. Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a mother of one and has another child on the way. She is a woman with an edge and she starts to fall to pieces when she hears the news about Will.

For me the rescue scenes are the best in the film. Scott Strauss (Stephen Dorff) knows that he could die trying to get these men out but he feels that it is his duty to try. Anyone who doesn't have tears in their eyes during these scenes is made of stone.

WTC is above all of film that touches the emotions. The film is a bit too long and I think that it should have been trimmed. There is a sequence in the film that I think should have been eliminated but I don't want to say which one it is. See for yourself. But it is to Cage's and Pena's credit that the long middle section worked. These men kept each other alive and both actors are up to the task of bringing great emotion to their roles. Bello and Gyllenhaal give good performances. But despite these four actors giving solid, performances I don't see anyone getting acting an nomination for this film. Of course, I could be wrong about this. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey does a marvelous job of recreating that awful day. Andrea Berkoff has written a screenplay that sometimes feels a bit overwrought but is, for the most part, well written (with the exception of above mentioned sequence). And then there is Stone. I cannot say that this is Stone's best film because it is not. I can think of several films of his that I liked better. But it is a good film. Stone is to be commended for making this an apolitical film because the story of these two men have nothing to do with politics. There are many conspiracy theories around and perhaps someone else will want to make a film about that one day (which is fine by me). It is possible that Stone and the film will get nominated for awards but it is way too early to say for sure.

The far right crowd has decided that this film belongs to them. That is nonsense. September 11, 2001 affected everyone. Certainly those of us on the left can embrace the working class heroes in this film. More than anything else this is a story of friendship, heroism and doing the right thing. Now we have the neverending war in Iraq and the Israeli-Hezzbollah war just keeps on escalating. And just today we found out that terrorists were getting ready to explode liquid bombs on planes traveling from the UK to the US. This film reminds us that even though there is a lot of evil in the world there is also still a lot of good. And that is something that gives us hope in these dark days.

DVD Review - Cavite

This film is a testament to the fact that you can make a gripping film with no budget. Ian Gamazon stars in, directed, wrote, produced and edited this film (Neill Dela Llana assists him in every aspect except the acting).

Adam (Gamazon) is a Filipino-American who works as a security guard in San Diego. He seems to be an ordinary person who leads an ordinary life. He has what appears to be a dead end job and a relationship with his girlfriend which is problematic. When he gets a call from his mother
telling him that his father has passed away he immediately makes arrangements to leave for Manilla. He cannot imagine what is waiting for him when he gets there.

His mother was supposed to pick him at the airport but she never shows up. Adam places several calls to her but all he gets in an answering machine. After a while Adam gets a call telling him to look at a package in his bag. The voice on the phone also tells him that his mother and sister are being held hostage and unless Adam does what he is told his mother and sister will die. It turns out that the person on the phone is part of a Muslim extremist group and has a whole agenda laid out for Adam (Adam happens to be a lapsed Muslim). There was a sequence that featured animal abuse which is something that I deplore and find totally unnecessary.

That is all I will say about the plot. But I will tell you that this a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Yes, the film looks very indie. It is a bit rough at the edges. And Gamazon is not a great actor. But none of this matters. This film really makes your nerves jangle. And it also makes statements about extremism, poverty and the West taking over the world. This film had a very limited release a few months ago but it is now available on DVD so there is no excuse not to see it.

Princesas

I was lucky to be invited to a press screening of this terrific little film. And I say little because, unfortunately, this film will have a very limited release.

The film tells the story of the close friendship between two prostitutes. Caye (Candela Pena) is from a middle class family in Madrid. Her family have no idea that her line of work is prostitution. She and her friends hang out in a a beauty salon and complain that women from third world countries are taking away their clients because they offer them lower rates. Caye notices that one of the foreign born prostitutes, Zulema (Michaela Nevarez), lives in her neighborhood. One day Caye finds Zule beaten to a pulp and takes her to a hospital. They soon become good friends. We find out that Zule has a young son who lives with her mother back home in the Dominican Republic. She sends whatever money she can to them.

In the meantime, Caye meets a nice man named Manuel (Luis Callejo) and starts a relationship with him. He finds it hard to believe that she is a prostitute. This seems to be the first real bit of kindness Caye has gotten from a man in some time. But given her line of work one can only wonder if this relationship will last.

The film is not plot heavy but focuses more on the audience getting to know the characters. And by the time the film ends we find ourselves caring a great deal about Caye and Zule. They are both women with broken dreams. Caye does not think that the worst thing is to die and find that there is nothing afterward. She thinks that the worst think is dying and coming back to the same life she has now. In the case of Zule I can see that she didn't have many opportunities being that she is from the Dominican Republic. She must have felt that this was the only work she could get. But I was wondering how and why Caye got into this line of work. We never find this out and I wish that the film would have given us a hint as to why Caye became a prostitute. Both women would love, even if for just a day, to be a princess.

Director Fernando Leon de Aranoa directs this film with great skill and compassion. His characters are not some stereotypes but real flesh and blood people. Some have compared Pretty Woman to this film. Except for the fact that they are both about prostitutes they have little in common. There is no Richard Gere to rescue any of these women. All of the
acting is first rate and Pena gets to show us what an outstanding actress she is. She won a Goya award for Best Lead Actress this past year. Nevarez is also great as the heartbreaking Zule and she won a Goya for Best New Actress. The film has a wonderful sound track and won a third Goya for Best Song.

This is the second film by de Aranoa that I have seen. While I found Mondays in the Sun (which is about laid off dock workers and also focuses on friendship - this time between several men) to be a somewhat better film this one is still a very good one and is definitely worth seeing. Since the release will be so limited I hope that many people will catch it on DVD. As for de Aranoa, I look forward to seeing more films made by him in the future. He is not only talented but he puts heart and consciousness into his work and that is something very important to me.

The Bridesmaid

From the minute it starts you know something bad is going to happen in Claude Chabrol's latest film (released in the US). The foreboding music says it all and it is, after all, based on a book by suspense writer Ruth Rendell.

The film starts out with the straigtlaced Phillipe (Benoit Magimel) and his sisters (the soon to be married) Sophie (Solene Bouton) and Patricia (Anna Mihalcea) getting ready to go out for the evening with their mother Christine (Aurore Clement). They are going to meet Christine's new love interest Gerard (Bernard Le Coq). It is important to note that while they are getting ready to leave the siblings are watching a news report on television about a missing woman. Phillipe doesn't want to hear about it and shuts off the television.

Before they leave for Gerard's Christine decides that she wants to give him a statue of a woman they call Flora. She asks Phillipe if it is okay to do so and he says yes but we can see that he has reservations. I was wondering why a young man with a successful career would live at home with his mother and sisters but it is quite apparent that Phillipe's relationship with his mother has Oedipal overtones.

A few days later the people in Sophie's bridal party come to the house to try on their gowns and tuxedos. Senta (Laura Smet), who is one of Sophie's bridesmaids and her soon to be husband's cousin, catches Phillipe's eye. When they next meet at the wedding sparks really fly. Although they think that it is love at first sight I would say that it is more likely lust at first sight. Within a short amount of time they embark on a torrid affair and proclaim that they cannot live without each other. They really are opposites in so many ways ( Phillipe is overly neat and Senta seems like a slob) but they say opposites attract.

But there is much more to Senta than meets the eye and we don't know how much of what she tells Phillipe is actually true (she is supposedly an actress). She insists that in order to prove you really love someone there are four things you must do. One of those things is that you must kill someone.

To say anything else about the film would be giving too much away. The film is very well directed and written and all of the acting is good. Magimel really captures a man in the throes of despair. And Smet (who is the daughter of Nathalie Baye and Johnny Hallyday) sizzles on the screen. Chabrol is a master when it comes to making dark, psychological thrillers and this one is no exception. When I left the theater I thought about the ending and decided that it meant that things turned out a certain way. When I started to think about it more I thought that maybe they turned out another way. But I finally decided that my first interpretation was right. I would like to discuss the film with other people who have seen it to see what they think. But it doesn't matter because any film that makes you think (like this one does) is worth seeing.

DVD Review - Kasbah

This is an interesting little film from Spanish director Mariano Barroso. It takes place in Morocco where Mario (Ernesto Alterio) works in a Spanish-Moroccan business. He is quite successful but after five years he feels the need to return to Spain. He has made arrangements to leave the next day but something happens to change his plans.

He receives a fax from his boss saying that his daughter Laura (Elena Ballesteros) is coming to Morocco and he wants Mario to show her around the city. Even though he has his mind on other things Mario has to comply. He picks Laura up at noon but finds out that her boat arrived two hours earlier. Before he gets to Laura he meets a woman named Alix (Natalia Verbeke) who was on the same boat. Alix will figure into the story later on. Laura has her own car so she follows Mario to his home. During the drive Mario accidentally kills a sheep that belonged to a local shepherd. Mario later finds out that a person who kills a sheep is considered cursed.

The next day Mario and Laura go to a local market. While Mario buys a souvenir to take back to Spain Laura disappears. Needless to say Mario is frantic. Laura's mother and father arrive the next day and they implicate him in Laura's disappearance. Mario is determined to clear his name and embarks on a dangerous road trip in order to find Laura. What he doesn't know is that Laura's father has hired a viscous man named Rodrigo (the great Jose Sancho) to follow him.

The movie held my interest even though some of what happens is predictable. Early on we find out the "secret" of Mario's relationship with his family. I think that it would have been wise for Barosso to wait until later in the film to share that information with us. It would have made the film more intriguing. There is some exploration of the West's disdain for Arabs but the film doesn't go deep enough. All of the acting is fine and Sancho in particular stands out. The scenery is lovely to look at and the music is terrific. I have seen a number of Barroso's films and I have to say that this is the one that I liked the least. But all in all I am happy that I saw it. When someone interests me (actor, actress, director, etc.) I want to see as much of their work as possible. And I can certainly think of worse ways to spend 90 minutes.