Elena-DVD Review 04/20/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Andrey Zvyagintsev, Cannes Film Festival, Drama, European Film Awards, Ghent International Film Festival, Moscow International Film Festival, Movies, Psychological Suspense, Russian language film, Suspense, Thriller.Tags: cannes film festival, european film awards, moscow international film festival
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ELENA (Russian) 2011
Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring Nadezhda Markina, Andrey Smirnov, and Elena Lyadova
Among other awards and nominations:
WINNER, Un Certain Regard-Special Jury Prize; NOMINATED, Un Certain Regard Award (both Zvyagintsev), Cannes Film Festival
NOMINATED, Best Actress (Markina), European Film Awards
WINNER, Grand Prix-Best Film, Ghent International Film Festival
WINNER, Russian Film Clubs Federation Award (Zvyagintsev), Moscow International Film Festival
Elena (Markina), a middle-aged woman, marries for a second time, and her husband Vladimir (Smirnov) turns out to be a domineering man who is wealthy but tight-fisted. Even after Vladimir has a heart attack and comes close to death, he refuses to help Elena’s son financially.
The director makes good use of striking images and outstandingly suspenseful music (Philip Glass). The film is labelled a thriller on the DVD case, but I’d consider it more of a psychological suspense.
109 min. Not rated. Adult themes.
For more info:
Elena
Wild Grass-DVD Review 03/08/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Alain Resnais, Cannes Film Festival, César Awards, Comedy, French language film, Light Drama, Movies, Romance, Romantic comedy, Sant Jordi Awards, Suspense.Tags: alain resnais, cannes film festival, entertainment, sabine azéma
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Wild Grass (French) 2009
Les herbes folles
Directed by Alain Resnais
Starring André Dussollier, Sabine Azéma, and Anne Cosigny
WINNER, Special Award to Alain Resnais for all his works; NOMINATED, Palme D’Or (Resnais), Cannes Film Festival
NOMINATED, Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Cinematography; Best Editing; Best Film, César Awards
WINNER, Best Foreign Actor (Dussollier), Sant Jordi Awards
When dentist Marguerite Muir (Azéma) has a purse stolen, retired Georges Palet (Dussollier) eventually comes across the wallet from it. Although Georges delivers the wallet to the police, he remains intrigued with what he knows about its owner.
For those who like a quirky story and don’t need to understand where it’s going at all times, this one should fit the bill. There’s a bit of suspense, a bit of comedy, and a bit of romance (I think).
While this particular film was not a big award winner, director Alain Resnais has been making critically acclaimed films since the 1930s. He has released yet another, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, in 2012. I’ll be on the lookout for that, and for some of his earlier films.
104 min. Rated PG.
For more info:
Wild Grass
The Princess of Montpensier-DVD Review 02/12/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Based on a novella, Bertrand Tavernier, Cannes Film Festival, César Awards, Emotional Drama, French language film, Movies, Philadelphia Film Festival, Romance.Tags: bertrand tavernier, cannes film festival, drama, entertainment, philadelphia film festival
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The Princess of Montpensier (French) 2011
La princesse de Montpensier
Based on a novella by Madame de Lafayette
Directed by Bertrand Tavernier
Starring Mélanie Thierry, Lambert Wilson, Gaspard Ulliel, Raphael Personnaz, and Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet
NOMINATED, Palme d’Or (Tavernier), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, Best Costume Design, NOMINATED, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music for a Film, Best Production Design, Most Promising Actor (Leprince-Ringuet), Most Promising Actor (Personnaz), César Awards, France
WINNER, Audience Award-Honorable Mention, New French Films, Philadelphia Film Festival
A lavishly filmed story about duty, desire, and social customs, set in violently religious 16th century France. Marie (Thierry) is a beautiful young woman who must obey her father’s command and marry the Prince of Montpensier (the aptly named Leprince-Ringuet) against her wishes, denying her obvious sexual attraction to Henri de Guise (Ulliel). Also attracted to Marie, and presenting her with lessons about what true love is, are her much older tutor (Wilson) and the eccentric Duc d’Anjou (Personnaz). As the plot unfolds amidst backgrounds of battle scenes and court scenes, Marie develops an unexpectedly modern approach to love and matters of the heart.
The movie is over two hours, and will hold the attention of those who like such movies (as I do), but might seem overly long to those who don’t.
140 min. Not rated. Adult themes and content.
For more info:
Princess of Montpensier
Biutiful-DVD Review 01/27/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Academy Awards, Action/Thriller, Cannes Film Festival, Drama, Emotional Drama, Golden Globes, Goya Awards, Image Awards, Javier Bardem, Movies, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Spanish language film, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards.Tags: cannes film festival, entertainment, javier bardem, oscars, palm springs international film festival, washington dc area film critics association
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Biutiful (Spanish) 2010
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
Starring Javier Bardem, Maricel Alvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib, and Guillermo Estrella
Among many other awards and nominations:
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Leading Actor (Bardem), Academy Awards
WINNER, Best Actor (Bardem); NOMINATED, Palme d’Or (Iñárritu), Cannes Film Festival
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film, Golden Globes
WINNER, Best Actor (Bardem); NOMINATED, Best Cinematography; Best Score; Best Production Design; Best Original Screenplay; Best Supporting Actor (Eduard Fernández); Best Supporting Actress (Ana Wagener), Goya Awards
WINNER, Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture, Image Awards
WINNER, International Star Award (Bardem), Palm Springs International Film Festival
WINNER, Best Foreign Language Film, Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards
In Barcelona, Uxbal (Bardem) is steeped in the world of corrupt cops, drug dealing, and illegal immigrant labor. Since his ex-wife Marambra (Alvarez) suffers from bipolar disorder, he raises their two children, Ana (Bouchaib) and Mateo (Estrella) as best he can. When he learns that he has terminal cancer, Uxbal lovingly tries to do his best to provide for their future, in increasingly negative circumstances.
Not an uplifting subject, and sometimes tough to watch, but it is well worth it for the very admirable performance from Javier Bardem (one of my favorite actors).
148 min. Not rated. Adult themes and language.
For more info:
Biutiful
Le Havre-DVD Review *** 01/19/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Aki Kaurismäki, Cannes Film Festival, César Awards, Chicago International Film Festival, Comedy, David di Donatello Awards, French language film, Light Drama, Munich Film Festival, National Board of Review.Tags: cannes film festival, chicago international film festival
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Le Havre (French) 2011 ***
From the Criterion Collection
Directed by Aki Kaurismäki
Starring Andre Wilms, Blondin Miguel, Kati Outinen, and Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Among many other wins and nominations:
WINNER, FIPRESCI Prize; Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Special Mention; NOMINATED, Palme d’Or (all Kaurismäki), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, Gold Hugo-Best International Feature (Kaurismäki), Chicago International Film Festival
NOMINATED, Best Director; Best Film; Best Production Design, César Awards, France
NOMINATED, Best European Film, David di Donatello Awards
WINNER, Arri-Zeiss-Award (Kaurismäki), Munich Film Festival
WINNER, Top Five Foreign Films Award, National Board of Review
In the harbor city of LeHavre, Marcel Marx (Wilms) is an older man who shines shoes for a living. When his wife Arletty (Outinen), who is seriously ill, goes to the hospital for treatment, Marcel accidentally meets Idrissa (Miguel), a boy who has immigrated illegally with his family. Idrissa managed to run away when authorities caught up with them, but he is actively being sought. With the help of friends and neighbors, Marcel harbors the boy in his home.
Winner of, or nominated for, many awards (see above), Le Havre’s story is touching and quietly funny at times. Prolific Finnish director Kaurismäki has boldly taken on a film in French, which is not a language he speaks or even understands fluently. Likewise, Kati Outinen, who plays Marcel’s ailing wife, is also Finnish and speaks French somewhat haltingly. Kaurismäki has chosen his French actors wisely, as you would never know they were receiving their direction either non-verbally or through a translator.
Highly recommended.
93 min. Not rated. Suitable for teens+ because of subject matter.
For more info:
Le Havre
Tokyo Sonata-DVD Review 01/01/2013
Posted by Films to consider in Asian Film Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Drama, Emotional Drama, Japanese language film, Kinema Junpo Awards, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Movies.Tags: cannes film festival, chicago international film festival
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Tokyo Sonata (Japanese) 2008
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Starring Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Yu Koyanagi, and Kai Inowaki
Among other awards and nominations:
WINNER, Best Film; Best Screenwriter, Asian Film Awards
WINNER, Un Certain Regard Jury Prize (Kurosawa), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, Silver Hugo, Grand Jury Prize (Kurosawa), Chicago International Film Festival
WINNER, Best Actress (Koizumi); Best New Actor (Inowaki), Kinema Junpo Awards
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is usually known for horror films (which I don’t usually watch), but here he provides his version of modern life in Tokyo. The four members of the Sasaki family deal with problems separately. The father Ryuhei (Kagawa) loses his job but chooses to conceal his loss of honor from his wife and sons when he can’t find suitable employment. Megumi (Koizumi), the wife and mother, appears to be happy performing her domestic duties but feels close to suicide. Older son Takashi (Koyanagi) wants to escape his troubled past by joining the American army. Younger son Kenji (Inowaki) secretly uses his lunch money to take piano lessons against the wishes of his parents.
As we watch the family structure slowly begin to disintegrate, all is not totally bleak, however, and moments of humor do appear. And Kai Inowaki is perfectly suited for the role of the younger son: his piano playing is superb.
120 min. Rated PG-13.
For more info:
Tokyo Sonata
Il Divo-DVD Review 12/16/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Academy Awards, Based on true events, British Independent Film Awards, Cannes Film Festival, David di Donatello Awards, European Film Awards, Golden Globes, Italian language film, Italy, Movies, Paolo Sorrentino, Toni Servillo.Tags: cannes film festival, european film awards, oscars
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Il Divo (Italian) 2008
Il Divo: La spettacolare vita di Giulio Andreotti
Based on true events
Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Starring Toni Servillo, Anna Bonaiuto, and Giulio Bosetti
Among other awards and nominations:
NOMINATED, Best Achievement in Makeup, Academy Awards
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Film, British Independent Film Awards
WINNER, Jury Prize (Sorrentino), NOMINATED, Palme D’Or (Sorrentino), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, David Award, Best Actor (Servillo); Best Cinematography; and five other awards; NOMINATED, Best Director; Best Film; Best Screenplay; and five others, David di Donatello Awards
WINNER, Best Actor (Servillo); NOMINATED, Best Cinematographer; Best Director; Best Film; Best Screenwriter, European Film Awards
WINNER, Best Screenplay; NOMINATED, Best Director, Golden Globes, Italy
Please note that this is not a music DVD!
Among other government posts, Giulio Andreotti (Servillo) served as Prime Minister of Italy for several terms during the 1970s and early 90s. Il Divo (the star) was one of the many nicknames associated with him.
Via a compelling performance by actor Toni Servillo, director Sorrentino delivers a sense of the personality behind the man, keeping the controversies that surrounded him as a series of montages in the background.
In 2003, Andreotti was in the news when he was cleared of a murder charge.
110 min. Not rated. Violence.
For more info:
Il Divo
Michael-DVD Review 08/25/2012
Posted by Films to consider in British Film Institute Awards, Cannes Film Festival, Drama, Dublin International Film Festival, European Film Awards, German language film, Markus Schleinzer, Michael Fuith, Movies, Psychological Suspense.Tags: british film institute, cannes film festival, dublin international film festival
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Michael (Austrian/German) 2011
Directed by Markus Schleinzer
Starring Michael Fuith and David Rauchenberger
WINNER, Best Actor (Fuith), Dublin Film Critics Award, Dublin International Film Festival
WINNER, Vienna Film Award-Best Feature (Schleinzer), Viennale
NOMINATED, Sutherland Trophy (Schleinzer), British Film Institute Awards
NOMINATED, Palme d’Or (Schleinzer), Cannes Film Festival
NOMINATED, European Discovery of the Year (Schleinzer), European Film Awards
Don’t mistake this for the 1996 movie starring John Travolta as the archangel Michael!
Trying to come up with a word to describe this film, I bow to so many other reviewers and use the word chilling. It’s definitely a case of caveat spector, with subject matter that is not easy to portray or to watch. But sometimes a reminder is needed that monsters such as the title character exist in this world.
Michael (Fuith) is a mild-mannered but decidedly odd insurance agent who is secretly holding a ten-year-old boy prisoner in his house. Michael leaves clues by his weird behavior but no one heeds them.
Director Schleinzer lets the viewer fill in many of the blanks along the way, which leads to a restrained telling of a difficult story and a very effective ending. The film includes what I thought was the scariest version of the song “Sunny” I can imagine.
96 min. Not rated (not suitable for children)
Moscow, Belgium-DVD Review 07/22/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Barbara Sarafian, Cannes Film Festival, Christopher Van Rompaey, Denver International Film Festival, European Film Awards, Flemish language film, Light Drama, Movies, Romantic comedy, Zurich Film Festival.Tags: cannes film festival, denver international film festival, european film awards
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Moscow, Belgium (Belgian) 2008
Directed by Christopher Van Rompaey
Starring Barbara Sarafian, Jurgen Delnaet, and Johan Heldenbergh
Among other awards and nominations:
WINNER, ACID Award (Van Rompaey); Grand Golden Rail (Van Rompaey); SACD Screenwriting Award (Van Rijckeghem and Van Beirs), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, Krzysztof Kieslowski Award: Best Feature Film and Best Film (Van Rompaey), Denver International Film Festival
NOMINATED, Best Composer (Tuur Florizoone), European Film Awards
WINNER, Jury Award-Best Actress (Sarafian); Youth Grand Prize-Best Film (Van Rompaey), Mediawave Hungary
WINNER, New Talent Award (Van Rompaey), Zurich Film Festival
An enjoyable romantic comedy, with the emphasis on comedy as the romance itself is funny (and unpredictable). Matty (Sarafian) is a harried mother of three whose husband Werner (Heldenbergh) has moved out as part of a midlife crisis. When Matty’s car backs into a truck owned by Johnny (Delnaet), the younger man becomes smitten with her. Although Johnny has a volatile temper and seems to be no big prize, Matty experiences something of a midlife crisis of her own.
As the awards indicate, many aspects of this film are worth noting, chief among them the fast-paced dialogue and Barbara Sarafian’s performance. Her facial expressions portray the complex range of emotions that Matty undergoes, making the decisions she makes more plausible.
106 min. Not rated. Suitable for older teens and adults.
For more info:
Check it out on Netflix
or
Amazon: Moscow Belgium
The Wind Journeys-DVD Review *** 02/17/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Bogota Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Cartagena Film Festival, Ciro Guerra, Emotional Drama, Film Movement, Movies, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, South American/Spanish language film.Tags: cannes film festival
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The Wind Journeys (South American/Spanish) 2009 ***
Los viajes del viento
WINNER, Golden Precolombian Circle, Best Colombian Film; Best Director (Guerra), Bogota Film Festival
WINNER, Award of the City of Rome (Guerra), Cannes Film Festival
WINNER, Colombian Cinema Award, Best Director (Guerra); Best Film; WINNER, Golden India Catalina, Best Colombian Film, Cartagena Film Festival
WINNER, Best Spanish Language Film, Santa Barbara International Film Festival
From Film Movement
Written and directed by Ciro Guerra
Starring Marciano Martinez
Ignacio (Martinez) feels cursed to spend his life as a wandering troubadour because he thinks that the accordion he plays is controlled by the devil. When he makes a last journey to return the instrument to his elderly teacher, he is followed by Fermin, a young man who envies the life Ignacio leads. The pair must travel a great distance, through beautifully sweeping and varying landscapes. Their stops at villages along the way provide opportunities for music and glimpses into other traditions of the region.
Ignacio is played by Marciano Martinez, composer of hit songs in the vallenato tradition. Vallenato is “born of the valley” folk music from the Caribbean region of Colombia. The spirited and emotional music originated as a means for farmers to deliver the news of the valley in song form.
Highly recommended.
Here’s a taste of Martinez’s music.
117 min. Not rated.
For more info about the film:
The Wind Journeys
