French and Hungarian gems on DVD – Molière and Kontroll
I had the pleasure of watching Molière (France 2007) and Kontroll (Hungary 2003) in recent weeks.
The latter is directed by a Los Angeles-raised but Hungarian film-educated man by the name of Nimród Antal, who has subsequently directed the American films Vacancy with Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale and the recent Armored with Matt Dillon. Laurence Fishburne and Jean Reno. Of course, now I’m curious about the latest two though I haven’t seen them, but Kontroll is so visually fascinating and engrossing, it’s worth a watch.
Molière is a delight, with actors Romain Duris whom I wasn’t crazy about before now (in L’Auberge Espagnole, or The Spanish Apartment ), Fabrice Luchini, the perfect pitiable cuckold, and the graceful Laura Morante. Let’s just say it’s at times hilarious and at times very heartfelt, a lovely film in the spirit of Shakespeare in Love but funnier.
Screw ratings by Netflix users
I’ve been a member of Netflix for over six years. Let me tell you that’s a whole hell of a lot of movies, maybe 450. Anyway, Netflix has all sorts of cool features that make selecting a breeze. One thing I used to do was pick movies with a 3.5 star rating or higher. But judging by American movies I loved but which were poorly rated (like Original Sin with Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie), I decided to try films with lower ratings. What a payoff it’s been. Statistically, the number of films I’ve seen this way have sucked or been great at the same rate as highly rated films. So, before you accidentally skip a film you’d love, get off your high horse and try something that other people think are bad.
Film Reviews – from the last two weeks in Spain
I’ve just come back from two weeks of partying and chilling in Spain, and was also fortunate enough to see four films.
- Paris (50-50)
- New York, I Love You (thumbs up),
- El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret of His Eyes) (thumbs up)
- Anti-Christ (hell no).
New York, I Love You follows the same concept as Paris, Je T’aime, a series of slice-of-life shorts each focusing on a relationship and featuring well-known actors. However, I believe the Big Apple version is a more fluid whole versus a bunch of shorts plopped one behind the other. Bravo. Get past the abruptly unrealistic, full-on dialogue between strangers and cozy up to some clever story developments.
The Secret of His Eyes is a clever mix of comedy, thriller, and drama. Gripping, engaging, and emotionally powerful.
The Anti-Christ, though co-starring the powerful Willem Dafoe, was a disaster. The first half so boring I wanted to bore my eyes out, and the second half just slightly weird thus annoying, followed by an end-cap scene that comes out of a bad science fiction movie shot on your grandpa’s VHS camcorder but with modern special effects. Not to mention the no-titted co-star who conveyed a blandness not even a Catholic communion round could compete with.
Paris was just run-of-the-mill drama, not particularly depressing and not gripping, far-fetched with Juliette Binoche playing a pre-dowager – please, Juliette? Yeah, right. Like someone would believe that. You want us to believe it? Cast an unknown. It’s like Kim Basinger who was supposedly a downtrodden trailer park cast-off in 8 Mile. Um, pasty foundation does not make a drop-dead gorgeous woman someone’s hand-me-downs.
So I wasn’t able to see as many films as usual. Such is life. I will make up for it with the DVD’s I bought. Reporting soon. Signing off.
Indie American chick flick Women in Trouble coming soonish
I just went to themoviebox.net to see what’s coming up in American cinema. Here comes a delight – okay, so it’s a click flick – featuring the fabulous Carla Gugino. It’s called Women in Trouble and you can watch a trailer at either link. Only playing in a few theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 13, 2009, I hope it will come soon to a theater near me, perhaps at the SXSW Film Festival in March.
A movie you’ll never see in the States
I had the pleasure of seeing the uninhibited film Mentiras y Gordas (Sex, Party and Lies) in Madrid in the spring. It’s a gorgeous raw little film full of smoking hot young Spaniards f*ing, doing drugs, f*ing some more, and in general doing bad s*. There was also note-worthy drama so you do get pulled into these people’s lives as well. I enjoyed every sweaty minute of it. Unfortunately, you’ll likely not be able to see this in the States as it is not so-called artistic enough for general release. Or, you could say, foreign film aficionados in the States would be too high-brow to be so indulgent.
The brooding hottie at the middle top is Maxi Iglesias, who co-stars in a television series Física o Química.
My friend Javier Albarrán was art director for a Spanish GQ photo shoot that featured the angel-faced, naturally porn-bodied Ana de Armas and six other Spanish starlets. A lovely homage to vintage B films with lovely ladies.
Another film I’ve seen but far less controversial is the Chilean En la Cama (In Bed). There’s enough suspense that it doesn’t warrant a second viewing, as the virginal experience is spoiled, but it’s a simple, concentrated emotional look at a one-night-stand. For me, it was riveting and easy to identify with both characters – the only actors in the entire movie. This one you can get from Netflix.
Update October 30, 2009: I just bought this DVD in Madrid a few weeks ago. What luck! Now I can be the American expert on this oeuvre.
American-edged Germany in memorable film
I finally saw Inglourious Basterds today and I came out deeply satisfied. Lately, I’d been watching a series of war and post-war movies set in Germany or German-occupied countries. All were marvelous, including German films Der Tunnel (The Tunnel) and Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) – originally called Sonata for a Good Man, and the Dutch masterpiece Zwartboek (Black Book).
I was pleased to see some similar faces such as Daniel Brühl and Diane Kruger, both who played similar characters in Joyeux Noël, a fantastic multi-country co-production. And unforgettable was the smoking-hot Til Schweiger, who played basterd Hugo Stiglitz. But mostly, it was the flawless acting which allowed me to be surrounded by the scenes and not be put at arm’s length like many flashy Hollywood films prefer to do.
Kudos to you, Herr Director. If I ever see your towering presence again in Austin, I will salute you. Maybe a Heil Tarantino would be in order.
Other foreign actors I’d love to see more of in American films (and in meatier roles) are:
- Marion Cotillard
- Benno Fürmann
- Guillaume Canet (who is also a promising new director)
- Jason Statham
- Jean Reno
- Carice Van Houten
- Sebastian Koch, and others I’ll mention later.
Anyway, if you haven’t already seen it, do. It’s not a blood-fest. It’s a well-thought-out dramatic piece with plenty of bits of comedy to entertain.
A delight!
Foreign Films: Chile, Portugal
I thought I would mention a couple of films I rented last week worth recommending. April Captains (Capitães De Abril), a slice-of-life film set during a coup by a group of Portuguese army captains in 1974. Featuring a European star-studded cast with Italian Stefano Accorsi and French-raised, Portuguese-born Maria de Madeiros, Spaniard Fele Martínez, and a Portuguese actor I know best for playing evil guys in American action films. Not a war film but a character-driven, simple and elegant piece.
The other is a sexy Chilean thinker called In Bed (En La Cama). Easy to identify with the characters who hook up for a one-night stand only to slowly learn more about each other, perhaps more than they wanted. A nice combination of Wild Orchid-like sex (without slow-mo) and vulnerability.
Since I’ve watched so many foreign films already, I’m running out. A new trick is to purposely see films that are poorly-rated. This has been working out for me as long as the synopsis catches my interest.
