I am actually looking forward to the American remakes, but only because of David Fincher. He proved with movies like Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac that he possesses the necessary dark side.
There's some good movie inspiration in this thread. That Mississipi backwood's movie will go on my to-watch list, it looks very interesting.
Here's a trailer of "Soulkitchen" - an easy going movie indeed. Although, after having watched almost all Fatih Akin movies, it sort of felt as if he just got his buddies together to shoot just another movie.
For some reason, I was not able to bring myself to go and see "The Skin I Live In" which might be the very first Almodovar movie that I have not seen. But there must always be a first time, no?
I liked Soul Kitchen even though it was the weakest Fatih Akin movie that I have seen. I just don't think that he is comfortable with comedy.
Totally agree on Soulkitchen. It was entertaining, but I got a bit tired of seeing the same cast over and over again and most actors are assigned to their stereotypical characters they are known for.
I see that The Artist has won the award for "best film of the year" from the Oklahoma film critics association. I wonder how many other French silent black & white films have done that.
Since the 1970's, most "Eurosoup coproductions" have not been all that good, and it must be admitted that most of the reviews that I have read of the upcoming "Et si on vivait tous ensemble?" ("What if we all lived together?") have not been particularly kind.
Nevertheless, I am very much intrigued by a movie that unites Jane Fonda, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniel Brühl (the star of "Goodbye Lenin"), as well as some French stars like Pierre Richard or Claude Rich. It's about a group of old people who decide to live together rather then end up in hospitals or nursing homes. It is all the more topical because it is something I hear more and more from aging friends and acquaintances who are determined to maintain as much autonomy as possible even though they cannot (or don't want to) count on their family anymore.
I am a great fan of low budget movies, especially when they were filmed for an amount that I actually could have paid myself, in this case a grand total of $17,000. Really, since I am such a lover of cinema, some of these people should contact me, because I'm sure they could sucker me in to financing them.
So what I'm talking about is Bellflower, which I saw today.
Just check out this synopsis for a start:
Two friends spend all their free time building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang "Mother Medusa".
It is so much more than that. These two losers are quite loveable in their dead end lives, and they meet and hook up with dead end girls just like them, and their lives go absolutely nowhere, because they have no possibilities in their limited vision of the world. A giant bravo for the director himself playing the main role, because it is not very glorious and I sincerely hope that his real life is not like that at all, even if I read an interview that sort of said it was. I may have been a bit dismayed to learn that the movie was made in Oxnard, California, where I graduated from high school.
A budget of $17,000 and yet the film has been to 35 film festivals, starting with Sundance. Thank god there are still independent filmmakers who do not fear to go into new territory.
The French trailer hints at somewhat grittier events.
I've written more than once in the past that the main thing that interests me about movies is learning things about different cultures and seeing places that I have never seen. The plot and the quality of the acting or the direction often take back seat for me.
So, today I saw Viva Riva!, a Congolese movie by Djo Tunda Wa Munga. Probably most of you will agree that our access to Congolese movies is rather limited, although in this particular case, I must say that this movie was released in the U.S. more than 6 months ago, although it must also be admitted that it played on a grand total of 5 screens at the height of its American career. This week it came out in France, with excellent reviews, and it is the sort of 'mystery' film that I crave, no matter what the storyline.
Basically, it is a gangster movie -- Riva arrives in Kin(shasa) after being in Angola for about 10 years. He has managed to "divert" a whole boatload of drums of petrol, and the opening scenes of the movie show that finding fuel for cars is one of the prime obsessions in the Congo. So I already learned one thing that I did not know before.
He meets up with friends (?), family (?) and trouble is not far behind. I was looking at everything there was to see in the images. For example, in the poor sections, there is not even one ornamental plant or flower anywhere. The people do not give a flying fuck about such things -- it is all just mud and plastic trash everywhere and nobody cares. Once you see the walled villas of the wealthy, there are a few scraggly ornamental plants in the gardens but nothing that looks good.
Sex is the principal weapon and also the principal punishment. In our "civilised" movies, people get beaten up and/or killed. In this movie, there are of course a few face punches, but then it is the genitals that are attacked the most. The women don't have the physical force to fight the men, so they just use sex, offering it or refusing it as the situation requires -- and believe me, the iron bars for security across the windows might keep people in or out, but they leave plenty of gaps for sexual activity.
Another thing I saw was that all of the food looked absolutely disgusting -- usually just boiled meat stews mixed with rice fragments.
One of the main characters is a woman soldier, but she disguises herself as a nun for most of the movie, which shows how corrupt the church is in the Congo -- harbouring criminals if they can pay the price and also letting people be killed if it is convenient for everybody.
Anyway, this movie was absolutely fascinating to me even though it will never make any of my "best" lists. Naturally, I cannot vouch for its authencity either, but it was totally filled with visual information about life in Kin.
As usual, I invite you to look at two completely different trailers
The French trailer
The American trailer
If anybody is interested, the full movie is also available on YouTube and via the usual suspects.
Now that the Cannes festival has started, we are going to get some fabulous releases over the next two weeks. Tomorrow I'll go see Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom and also Jacques Audiard's De Rouille et d'Os (Rust and Bone).
I really enjoyed the German movie Almanya today. It goes between past and present showing a Turkish family that has become German (or not) over the years. From the first arrival in Germany, with the fear that Germans eat not only pork but human flesh (according to the rites of the Catholic church -- "this is my body, this is my blood") to the fully adapted children who think that Turkish food is too spicy, it covers all of the trials and tribulations of immigrants from a different culture. It was admirable.
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a trailer available yet with English subtitles, but the imagery gets most of the message across.
Thanks for the alternate trailer. For some reason, I've always believed I could understand German if I paid enough attention. This has never turned out to be true.
The movie looks fun & probably heartwarming in a non-yucky way besides.
Can I be dreadfully mainstream and say that I'm going to see Prometheus tomorrow...in daylight of course. Can't go late at night cos I'd be terrified....I am taking a cushion to hide behind in the scary bits...
Well, I saw it over the weekend. Don't worry -- they don't jump out of the screen at you. Scott uses the same method as Cameron -- the 3D is a window onto the other world and none of the horrible yuck splashes on the spectators.
It wasn't bad, about as scary as an especially scary Dr Who I enjoyed it, largely because it wasn't a Harry Potter film...which seems to be the only movies we to go to of late. Now looking forward to the next Star Trek (as you can tell I'm not an intellectual...)
The problem is the utility of movies made just as a joke. There is no point to them other than a few cheap laughs. But that is of course what a lot of people looking for -- unfortunately, the public did not really follow this time. The soap "Dark Shadows" was too far in the past for the moviegoing generations.
I'm not a fan of A.O. Scott's reviews, and this one did not keep me from thinking this might be a cloying movie. Nevertheless, the venue & the number of accolades made me check out the trailer. Has anyone seen this movie?
Yes, I saw it last month. I found it charming and totally forgettable. Strangely enough, and contrary to all of the other forgettable movies that I see, I completely remember just about every detail of the movie. Completely alternate universe.
I'm not a fan of A.O. Scott's reviews, and this one did not keep me from thinking this might be a cloying movie. Nevertheless, the venue & the number of accolades made me check out the trailer. Has anyone seen this movie?
It opens here In NOLA (there was a premiere in one of the old refurbished movie theaters on Canal Street a week or so ago) on Independence Day and will run for 2 weeks at 3 local theaters. I definitely plan on going to see it, I've heard so much about it.
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I enjoyed it, largely because it wasn't a Harry Potter film...which seems to be the only movies we to go to of late. Now looking forward to the next Star Trek (as you can tell I'm not an intellectual...)
Russia is the first country releasing it on July 5th.)