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Reviews
Caché (2005)
A Disappointing Movie
I'm a fan of French movies that explore interpersonal and social conflicts and dilemmas. Many of these movies are heavily weighted with dialogue and a bit light on the action, which I can find enjoyable if the dialogue is clever and/or realistic, and especially if it is enlightening -- if the screenwriter has plumbed some depths of the human condition and given me some new insights.
Unfortunately, this movie didn't meet any of the above criteria particularly well. Juliette Binoche acted very realistically, but Daniel Auteuil sort of sleep-walked through the film, not that it was his fault. He just wasn't given much to say with any depth. His acting was adequate relative to what he was provided with.
I watched the movie to the end, but if there was supposed to be suspense, it eluded me, and whatever sadness we were supposed to feel for two of the other characters lacked sufficient depth or detail to make an emotional impact. Finally, the film just sort of dribbled to a close.
Pi (1998)
Boring, Overlong, and Pointless
The premise starts off interestingly and could be good if it were properly developed, but the story could have been told in 30 minutes maximum, probably less. The movie looks like a film student's attempt to create some MTV version of 1940s film noir.
After 10 minutes, you keep waiting for the story to develop, but it never goes anywhere. All you see is endless repetition, both visually and musically, if you can even call the score music. I watched it to the end only because a good friend recommended it, but so little actually took place, that I found I could read the Sunday Times at the same time.
While the film was made in 1998, the computer complex looks like something from the 1970s which just adds to the lack of any believability. There isn't a character you can take any interest in, other than Samia Shaoib who happens to be gorgeous, but she does no more than make a cameo appearance.
I like creative films and look for ones that are outside of the Hollywood mainstream, but this sure doesn't qualify. If you want to watch a thoughtful, unusual, intellectual, magnificently executed film, check out What the Bleep Do We Know.
Nightlife (1989)
Imagine a vampire comedy by Oscar Wilde. A real sleeper.
Nightlife has some of the most literate dialogue I've encountered in a movie in a long time. From beginning to end, the scenes are clever and funny. The writers have a very droll sense of humour and do a great job of spoofing the vampire genre. The casting was excellent, and Maryam d'Abo and Ben Cross with their British accents in a movie set in Mexico only adds to the funny quality of the film; Camille Saviola as Rosa the maid is hilarious.