The Broken Circle Breakdown-Movie Review *** 05/15/2015
Posted by Films to consider in Academy Awards, César Awards, Drama, Emotional Drama, Flemish language film, Movies, Norwegian Int'l Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival.add a comment
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Flemish) 2012 ***
Directed by Felix Van Groeningen
Starring Veerle Baetens and Johan Heldenbergh
Among many other awards and nominations:
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, Academy Awards
WINNER, Best Foreign Film (van Groeningen), César Awards
WINNER, Audience Award (van Groeningen ), Norwegian International Film Festival
WINNER, Best Motion Picture-International, Satellite Awards
WINNER, Best Actress-Narrative Feature (Baetens); Best Screenplay (Carl Joos and Felix Van Groeningen); NOMINATED, Best Narrative Feature (Van Groeningen),Tribeca Film Festival
In Belgium, Elise (Baetens) and Didier (Heldenbergh) meet and fall in love. Elise is a tattoo artist; Didier is a singer with a band that plays American country music. They marry and have a daughter, but soon the couple must face a heartbreaking tragedy that strikes their family.
Highly recommended.
111 minutes. Not rated (adult themes).
When We Leave-Movie Review*** 12/05/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Action/Thriller, Drama, Emotional Drama, European Film Awards, German Film Critics Association Awards, German language film, Ghent International Film Festival, Movies, Tribeca Film Festival, Turkish language film.add a comment
When We Leave (German/Turkish) 2010 ***
Die Fremde
Written and directed by Feo Aladag
Starring Sibel Kekilli and Nizam Schiller
Among many wins and nominations:
NOMINATED, European Discovery of the Year (Aladag); Best Actress (Kekilli), European Film Awards
WINNER, Best Actress (Kekilli); Best Cinematography; Best Editing; Best Feature Film Debut (Aladag); Best Film; Best Film Score; Best Screenplay, German Film Critics Association Awards
WINNER, Audience Award-Best Film; Grand Prix-Best Film, Ghent International Film Festival
WINNER, Best Narrative Feature (Aladag); Best Actress (Kekilli), Tribeca Film Festival
Umay (Kekilli), a young Turkish woman, is in a loveless and physically abusive marriage. She leaves home with her young son Cem (Schiller) to return to Germany where she was raised. But Umay finds that she is not welcomed back into her family because of traditional beliefs about a woman’s role.
Highly recommended, but with the caveat that this is not a movie with a happy ending (understatement). Winner of many awards, When We Leave is the first feature film for director Feo Aladag, who is also a German actress.
119 min. Unrated. Adult themes and violence.
Lady Chatterley-Movie Review 04/29/2012
Posted by Films to consider in Étoiles d'Or, César Awards, France, Independent Spirit Awards, Lumière Awards, Pascale Ferran, Tribeca Film Festival.Tags: independent spirit awards, pascale ferran
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Lady Chatterley (French) 2006
Based on the D.H. Lawrence novel, John Thomas and Lady Jane
Directed by Pascale Ferran
Starring Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coullo’ch, Hippolyte Girardot, Hélène Alexandridis and Hélène Fillières
Among several other awards and nominations:
WINNER, Best Actress (Hands); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Film (Ferran); Best Cinematography; NOMINATED, Best Director (Ferran); Best Sound, César Awards
NOMINATED, Best Foreign Film (Ferran), Independent Spirit Awards
WINNER, Best Actress (Hands); Best Director (Ferran), Lumière Awards, France
WINNER, Best Actress (Hands), Tribeca Film Festival
WINNER, Best Film (Ferran); Best Female Newcomer (Hands), Étoiles d’Or
As only the French can do, a very long but still entertaining story about the sensual awakening of a young woman in a repressed marriage. This film is based on a lesser-known version of D.H. Lawrence’s well-known story.
Faced with her husband’s paralysis due to a war injury, the young Lady Constance Chatterley (Hands) finds an unlikely connection with Parkin (Coullo’ch), the rough-hewn, somewhat oafish gamekeeper on the Chatterley’s idyllic country estate. As noted in the awards above, both the cinematography and the sound contribute much to the sensuality of the story, and make the couple’s tender love for each other more believable.
160 min. Nudity; sexual content and adult themes.
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