Elise is a young woman 19 years old who return home after having spent a school year in Spain. She meets again her parents and is surprised not to see her twin brother, Loïc. Her parents explain to her that her brother has left home after a violent quarrel with their father. But, she is astonished not to have received phone calls from him. She suspects that something arrived to her brother, but she has no means to get news from him. Then she decides to stop to eat. Her parents are obliged to send her to an hospital and it's only when she receives post cards from her brother that she stop her hunger strike. But things are not simple and she shall discover later truth about his brother disappearing. The movie is a very dramatic painting both on conflict between parents and child, but also on love that ties twin brother and sister. Acting is very good, specially for Mélanie Laurent and Kad Merad and I consider this movie as a great one.
Reviews
25 Reviews
Quelques jours en septembre
(2006)
A spy thriller well build and acted.
19 September 2006
An American spy, named Elliot who possesses very secret pieces of information, give an appointment in Paris to three people that are his daughter Orlando that he has not seen since ten years, his adopted child, David and a female faithful friend who has formerly worked with him, Irene. But an implacable killer, William Pound, is pursuing him, and the meeting has to be deleted and transferred to Venice where will be the dramatic ending. This movie is very well acted, particularly by Juliette Binoche and the atmosphere is very interesting. The only reproach I can do is that the director uses too much the same proceeding for the photographic effects, such blurred image. It seems that the movie will not be seen on television set or CD.
In My Country
(2004)
A dark drama about murders and torture perpetuated during Apartheid in South Africa.
19 July 2006
A black journalist of Washington Post, Langton Whitfield; is sent by provocation by his boss to South Africa in order to "cover" the auditions of proceedings named Truth and Reconciliation Commission, that must decide if murders and torture authors can be amnestied if they say truth on act that they have made and express regrets in face of their victims. Langston encounters a young Afrikaner woman who follows also for South African radio the same sessions. She discovers the horror of Apartheid politics and she is bowled over by these facts. In these circumstances, Langston and Anna bring closer together. It is the story of the deep of human cruelty and also of the power of love and forgetting. The movie is dramatic and well played by Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche, but seems to be a little too oriented and melodramatic.
Joyeux Noel
(2005)
A dramatic Christmas tale against a backdrop of war at the beginning of WW1.
26 May 2006
The war is declared during summer 1914. Millions of men, German, French, English, etc. are put together in a very big storm. At the end of the year, Christmas arrives with his snow and the family presents for soldiers of different nationalities. But, another unthinkable event will change all the lives of four men: a French lieutenant who is the son of a general, a Scottish pastor, a German opera tenor and a female Danish soprano. Christmas songs and music will be the cement of an incredible fraternization between soldiers of divers nations, German, French, British. During one night and the day after, they are all friends to said "good Christmas" to each other. After that, their different armies for this unbelievable act of friendship will punish them. The movie is a hymn to the friendship between men and a denunciation of the absurdity of war and is very well acted and directed.
A magnificent tale for children.
26 May 2006
Charlie Bucket is the son of a very poor family, but he is full of hope and each day, he falls asleep with the dream of the chocolate factory near his poor house, the Willy Wonka's factory, the factory of a man full of genius. Charlie's father was a worker in this factory, but now he is unemployed since the day the factory has closed his doors and fired all his workers. Nevertheless, each day many trucks leave the factory with goods for the whole world and nobody knows how the shop is be able to produce these goods. But, on day, Willy Wonka decides to open his workshop for a visit to five children, each of them that have found a golden ticket in a chocolate tablet. Charlie is one of the winners. During the visit of the factory, the four other children that are bad ones encountered problems and Charlie remains the only one to win the final reward: the property of the chocolate factory. But for that, he might leave his family and he refuses the reward to remain with his parents and grandparents
The movie is a brilliant and amusing tale, full of inventiveness and of special effects that is refreshing movie for children, but also for all adults who have preserved their childhood soul.
V for Vendetta
(2005)
Impressive movie!
28 April 2006
In a near future, a filthy dictator, Adam Sutler, reigns by terror on British Empire. But, a mysterious masked avenger who spelled him "V" has decided to fight again dictator's power. By chance, he saves a young pretty woman working in a TV chain, Evey Hammond, from an aggression by a group of Sutler's pigs. Evey becomes gradually V's best ally for his fight against Sutler. She shall realize, after V's death, what he has planed to liberate British people from Sutler's dictatorship, the British parliament destruction. In spite of the fact that V his a true terrorist, it's impossible not to find him sympathetic. His fight against the dictatorship gives us an impression of justice and calls our minds past and actual situations. The movie realization is very impressive as well as the special effects. The only reproach I can do will be about sound level that is at times too strong.
Capote
(2005)
Manipulation of a writer to have matter for a new reality novel.
29 March 2006
Truman Capote, a newspaper's writer, who has also published successful novels (particularly "Breakfast at Tiffany's", learns one day that an horrible crime has been perpetuated in a remote farm in Kansas. Capote decides that this macabre news item must give to him the opportunity of a new novel that he wants to be written on a very innovative style near reality. For that, he goes to encounter the young murderers in the Kansas prison where they are kept before their judgment. Capote develops special relations with one of these two murderers, Perry Smith, which seems to be friendship in order to conquer his thrust and accumulate matter for his novel. But this relation is, in fact, full of duplicity, lies and shams, for the two parties. And Capote will pursue that relation with Perry until his execution to have final end to his work. This movie reveals a new promising and talented director and the performance of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote is very impressive. Nevertheless the movie leaves a sentiment of discomfort about the character of Capote and about his creative process that sacrifice all human sentiments for the benefit of his own creation.
A charming teenager love story in China during time of Cultural Revolution.
3 March 2006
In China, in times of Mao Tse Tung cultural revolution, two young university students, Luo and Ma are sent in a retired mountain village to be rehabilitated et purged of their old western education. They are placed under the control of a communist little chief without any background and they had to work hardly as peasants. But they have contact with beautiful young women and especially with a young granddaughter of the local village tailor. A love story rapidly develops between Luo and the young seamstress at the same time they read together forbidden books such as works of Honore de Balzac that they have stolen to another student under Maoist rehabilitation. They also enjoyed themselves with classical occidental music such as Mozart and they teach the little illiterate seamstress, improving their lives. The movie is full of fresh feelings and gives us a very good relation of what has been this dramatic period for Chinese population. The landscape where the movie was realized is also particularly beautiful. It's a very great movie, very well acted.
Comedy of Power
(2006)
The implication of examining magistrate in corrupt business.
28 February 2006
An examining magistrate, Jeanne Charmant Killman, has been charged to investigate a very delicate affair touching political and industrial circles. She puts in examination Humeau, the president of a very large French consortium, which works on foreign affairs. The judge pushes the president and many others personalities in order to clarify all the traffic implications of the affair. She will be bound to numerous influences and his life will be put into danger, also his family life. The film is centred both on large traffics and corruption, which exist on international business, and also on powers (sometimes too big) that exist for examining magistrate. Isabelle Huppert very well acts the movie, but it seams to me that it is not a very great Chabrol's movie.
Après la vie
(2002)
The 3rd part of a fascinating trilogy.
23 February 2006
Pascal Manise is a police inspector whose wife, a schoolteacher, is under the influence of morphine. Pascal, who loves too much his wife, buys the drug for her with Jacquillat, a local godfather who formerly has given money to left-winger terrorist organization. Pascal, on other hand, search Bruno le Roux, a terrorist of that organization who escaped recently from prison and who search the man who has denounced him to police. That man is Jacquillat and Jacquillat wants that Pascal gives information about Bruno le Roux and for that, refuses drug for Pascal's wife until Pascal accept this deal. Pascal's refusal has for consequences serious withdrawal symptoms for his wife, Agnes. This movie use the same characters that the two former parts of the trilogy and also some sequences, but the lightning of the movie is centred essentially on the problem of drug dependence and its consequences on the loving husband's comportment. The movie is very well acted especially by Dominique Blanc (Agnes, Pascal's wife) and by Gilbert Melki (Pascal).
The Age of Potential
(1995)
The problems, joys and difficulties of young people in their twenties ages.
22 February 2006
Ten young people live in Strasbourg. They are about twenty years old. It is the age where all things are possible: love, work, and politics. They have all the life in front of them. They are still free of disillusion. But each of them has his problem for his own. One cry, other has difficulties with his lover
All live an active life and believe in life. Between them, real relations full of love or distrust exist and their life seethe. The movie is full of optimism and all the actors give a very good view of the relations and the problems of the actual young people. The theme of the movie is very near of those of Cedric Klapisch's movies : l'Auberge espagnole (2002) and Les Poupées russes (The Russian dolls 2005).
Un couple épatant
(2002)
The 1st part of a fascinating trilogy.
22 February 2006
Alain is the manager of a small company. He is on the way to be have a surgical heart operation and he his convinced that he is on the point to die. He hides his disease to his wife and records his testament. His wife who perfectly knows him has suspicion and asks herself if he has relations with other women as Claire, his secretary, for example. In order to be sure, she asks to Pascal, the husband of his friend Agnes, to conduct a survey on Alain comportment. But Pascal has also another most serious inquiry about a gangster escape, Bruno Le Roux. All these characters will be mixed in various situations. This first episode pf the trilogy is very interesting and well realised and it is a good beginning for the entire story, but can be seen independently.
Cavale
(2002)
The 2nd part of a fascinating trilogy.
22 February 2006
Bruno le Roux, a former terrorist, has escaped from prison and he rediscovers his former hiding places where are his explosive and foods reserves. He returns to visits his former wife, Jeanne, who is now remarried and has a chid and works as schoolteacher. She has now abandoned the fight that she has done formerly with Bruno. Bruno contacts also Jacquillat, a local godfather who was before put up the money for the attacks. In fact, Bruno searches after the man who denounces the organization to the police to kill it. But, a policeman is searching him and Bruno is obliged to run away all the time and to kill all men that chase him. The movie is a captivating thriller and very well acted by Lucas Belvaux as are the first part (An amazing couple - "Un couple épatant") and the third part (After the life - "Après la vie"). The entire trilogy seems to me to be big movies.
Minority Report
(2002)
A very good police science fiction thriller.
22 February 2006
In a near future, in 2054, a very new police division, named Pre-Crime, is able to detect a criminal before he does his crime, and a special section is at that time sent in order to avoid the crime to be done. For that, le Pre-Crime division used the supernatural powers of a trilogy of clairvoyants named "Precogs" who are human being which brains were damaged in foetal stage by synthetic drugs absorbed by their parents. These Precogs are able to read in the future when it is of criminal nature. Detective John Anderton is a chief member of the division. One day, he learns that he is the next detected killer and he decides to discover the secret working of the division in order to prove his innocence. The movie is very fascinating and very well realised with a great amount of special effects and devices. But the movie is perhaps a little too complicate at its beginning and difficult to follow. It remains nevertheless a great realization.
Munich
(2005)
The story of Israeli's reaction to Palestinian 's attack in Munich again Jewish's athletes during Olympic games in 1972.
9 February 2006
After the murder of eleven Jewish's athletes during 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Israeli government decides to build a secret vengeance against the murderers. For that, a secret commando composed of five men was placed under the order of a young leader, Aver. Their mission was to search and kill each member of the Palestinian commando who has participate to hostage seizure, wherever they were in the world. During several years, the Jewish commando kills nine among Palestinian terrorists. But several members of Israeli's commando will be killed. It is a magnificent movie full of humanity. Steven Spielberg shows the diverse reactions of the commando members, especially Avner's one and insists on the vanity of violence to solve conflicts between human communities.
Jackie Brown
(1997)
A great black movie on the theme of cat and mice.
9 February 2006
The gunrunner Ordell Robbie use Jackie Brown's services for transferring the money that he has in Mexico for his traffics to his residence at L.A. Jackie Brown is an air hostess who works in a shabby aircraft company because she was formerly condemned for drug traffic. An Ordell's accomplice denounces Jackie Brown to police and she is arrested, but Ray Nicolette, the federal policeman suggests to her to works for the police in order to trap Ordell. This one discovers the trap and thinks to murder Jackie, but she reacts with a gun she had stolen to Max, another Ordell's accomplice. She negotiates a new plan with Ordell in order to do the transfer of his money. But, in fact, she has in mind to steal Ordell'dollars with Max's complicity to go away in foreign country. The movie is very well made and acted and is very pleasant to see.
The Ice Harvest
(2005)
A black movie without surprise, but not unpleasant.
2 February 2006
In the small town of Wichita, Kansas, Charlie, a shady barrister, has stolen with his partner Vic Cavanaugh, two millions dollars to the local mafia godfather of Kansas City. In addition, Charlie looks for a better reward: the beautiful Renata, the boss of a striptease nightclub. After that, Charlie and Vic want to leave the town but the snow and ice storm prevent them to go out. It is the beginning for them during the twelve hours before Christmas Eve of tumultuous and bloody succession of events where each of these false friends try to eliminate the others. The movie is well made and well played, but the subject is conventional. It contains too much sequences of drinking sessions, too much violence, hard language and using of images of nudity and sexuality. On the other hand, the movie shows many very good sequences, particularly that of sinking the trunk, which contains the body of the mafia godfather where Vic dies.
Marie-Jo et ses 2 amours
(2002)
The tragedy of a woman who is unable to choose between two men.
22 January 2006
Marie-Jo is a woman who lives a perfect and happy couple's life with his husband, Daniel, and his daughter Julie. Daniel has a small building company and Marie-Jo works as ambulance driver. But Marie-Jo also loves Marco, a pilot of Marseille's harbour. Equally loving the two men, Marie-Jo shall face a very difficult situation and she lives this double love as a curse in spite of happiness that she has with it. She particularly suffers to be lying to her husband and not be able to share his love for Marco with him. One day, she makes a choice and goes away from his house to live with Marco. But, she can't accept the distress she has herself given to her husband and, after some days, she returns home. Nevertheless, Marie-Jo will return once a time with Marco and that will be the cause of the final drama. During a sea excursion aboard their boat, Marco and Marie-Jo will die by drowning. Suicide or accident? The movie perhaps a little too long is valuable by the actors' performance in this tragic love story, the sensibility of the telling of this adultery situation, the well-painted ambiance of human relationship in this Marseille district called "L'Estaque" and the magnificent Renato Berta's cinematography.
Brokeback Mountain
(2005)
A magnificent movie on friendship and love between two men.
20 January 2006
Two young broke men are hired by a farmer to tend a sheep flock on rugged meadows of Brokeback Mountain in the Wyoming. The living conditions in the mountain are mot very simples and give opportunities of connection between the two men. One evening, after drinking too much, they sleep together and have homosexual relations. This is the beginning of a love story between them. But they don't wish these relations to be regular, only one time a year and only on this mountain. Several years later, both of them are married. Ennis is always a cowboy and his wife, Alma, works into a supermarket and they have two children. Jack has married Cassie, the daughter of a rich farm equipment seller, and they have a boy. Nevertheless, Ennis and Jack continue once a year to spend some time together under the pretext of fishing parties. This relationship will be the reason of rupture of Ennis' couple and perturbation of Jack's sexual life. But both men must not ever forget love, which has tied them, and that even Jack's death cannot destroys. The filming of that movie is very beautiful with splendid landscapes and the acting of the two major actors, Jake Gillenhaal and Heath Ledger, is remarkable, true and touching. With such a difficult subject put on the screen, Ang Lee' movie is full of correctness and simplicity.
In My Skin
(2002)
Very disturbing movie about obsessions.
18 January 2006
The subject of this movie is the report of the obsession that put one young woman to have very special relationship with her own body. Esther is a thirty years old executive who works in an opinion poll. She is on a good way to have very good responsibilities in her job. She has an affair with a young man, Vincent, who loves her, and they are on the point of be married together. One day, Esther goes with her friend Sandrine to a dance party, and she severely injured herself one of her legs, but she don't perceive that immediately. Later, when she sees her leg's injury, the wounds fascinate her. Then she begins a very strange game with her body and her blood that leads her into self-mutilation. That pushes this young woman into a physical and social downfall with more and more mutilations that leads her toward madness. This movie is very fascinating, but almost at the limit of tolerable. Very well acted by actor-director Marina de Van, the movie seems to me to be very interesting in spite of his theme's difficulty.
The Station Agent
(2003)
Good movie about friendship between men and women that marked by life difficulties.
16 January 2006
Finbar is a dwarf that is mad about trains. He endures judgment and mockery of others and retreat himself into silence in order to escape this atmosphere of hostility. As a seller in a shop of train's models, he attends to the death of his boss who was his only friend. This one has bequeathed to him in his testament an old little closed down train station in a distant country of New Jersey. Finbar decides to go and live there. He makes acquaintance with Joe, a hot-dog seller who has put his selling car in front of the old little train station. Joe his a talkative guy on the contrary of Finbar. Nevertheless, the two make friends. Finbar meets also Olivia, a painter abandoned by her husband after the death of their child. Olivia has many troubles in her mind and needs support and consolation. The entire movie is about the relationship and friendship between these three characters and the warmness of the human relations between them. The actor's performance of Peter Dinklage is very impressive and I was very pleased with the whole movie.
Lord of War
(2005)
A great and courageous movie about weapons traffic all around the world
13 January 2006
Yuri is a young American man, emigrated from Ukraine, who decides to throw himself in the business of weapons traffic to make maximum amount of money to realize his dream to get marry with a beautiful young model, Ava. He is an ordinary man without unkindness but also without any moral sense. He sizes the opportunity of the end of the cold war between Western and Eastern nations to empty the ex-communist's arsenals and send all kind of weapons toward any potential clients, specially in Africa to arms as well official armies as rebels in the diverse countries were civil wars are active. At the beginning of his activities, he is helped by his brother and especially by a Ukrainian cousin, an ex-communist general. His business goes very well and he becomes rich and famous in spite of rivalry with another big gunrunner and the pursuit of a tenacious Interpol policeman, Jack Valentine. But, his relationship with the dictatorial and psychopathic president of Liberia will drag him into grave problems, causing the dead of his brother. The Interpol policeman, Jack Valentine, who have gathered evidences against him, succeed to arrest him. But, the political interests of the nations that maintain the international weapons traffic will be strongest and Yuri will be released. The movie is brilliantly made and very well played by Nicolas Cage. The description of the way of live in African countries is very impressive and the denunciation of the implication of politics in weapons traffic is very courageous. A very great film, indeed!
Monsieur Ibrahim
(2003)
One of the best movy I have recently seen
11 January 2006
What a refreshing movie that must contribute to a better understanding between men of diverse religious beliefs. And how great is Omar Sharif's interpretation. We are pleased with the amount of good sentiments. The kindness of this old man toward Momo, the teenager abandoned to himself by his father, who stoles goods to survive in Mr. Ibrahim's grocer's shop, this one closing their eyes on the act that he has well seen, is very moving. When Momo's father disappears, then dies, Mr. Ibrahim treats the young Momo as his child. It his a true hymn to the human fraternity. Overall, the realization is very sensitive and very light. The atmosphere of the district of Paris is particularly well described. It seems to me that this movie is a great one, on a theme very near of the one used on another very good movie: Madame Rosa (Moshe Mizrahi 1977) played by Simone Signoret.
The Constant Gardener
(2005)
One of the best movy I have recently seen
4 January 2006
This movie is one of the most impressive realization I have never seen as a political thriller. The description of the extreme poverty in Africa vs. the vision of richness in English clubs gives an uneasy feeling for our occidental consciousness. But, overall, the major theme of the exploitation of the extreme poverty situation of the African population by industrial trusts for sordid money objectives, is very impressive. In other respect, the movie is very well realized and very well played, especially by Ralph Fiennes (Justin Quayle) and Rachel Weisz (Tessa Quayle). Director Fernando Meirelles seems to me on the route to be one of the major directors of the present decade.
Time to Leave
(2005)
The diverse sentiments of a man whose death is very close.
15 December 2005
Well filmed and played, the film nevertheless give a permanent sentiment of uneasy feeling due to the antipathetic personality of Romain, in spite of diverse moments of human behavior, when he breaks down and cry thinking to his approaching death.. But people remains embarrassed by these tune paintings, where all the actual social drifts are present : homosexuality, drugs, alcoholism, until this sequence where the young woman, the husband of which is sterile, use Romain'service in order to have a child (face to face and with the contribution of the husband). It drag in this picture (as unfortunately in number of actual contemporary pictures), too much complaisance for sex sequences, to the detriment of a true emotion opposite to the drama of the very next death that is at his door for that man.
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