The blog
Monday 02 June 2008
Heartbeat Detector
Heartbeat Detector (La Question humaine) is a French corporate thriller currently in cinemas. It’s a very slow paced film that seems to be going no where for a long time, but then small events in the film ripple out to reveal a deep plot underlying the whole movie. Heartbeat Detector tackles some very heavy themes, of which I will not spoil here. At first this movie looks like a dull uneventful art house movie, but by the end I was stunned by the revelations and the questions they raise about the corporate world. This is not a film for everyone, but if you’re patient with it you’ll see an intelligence in the plot and twists not seen very often in the cinema.
— Andy
Tags: 2007, drama, france, in cinemas, thriller
Monday 12 May 2008
Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis
A funny comedy from France about a Southerner being relocated to la nord where the sun never shines and the locals speak in a barely understandable dialect of French. The English subtitles do their best to translate the idea of the unintelligible words and accent of the ch’tis (the locals), and do help make the film enjoyable although I suspect it is a lot funnier if you are fluent in French (plus the muddled subtitles did begin to feel like hard work towards the end). I loved the scenes involving the mail round and the wife’s visit to Bergues. Overall a decent comedy providing an interesting insight into the French’s North-South divide (much like England in many ways).
— Andy
Tags: comedy, farce, france, in cinemas
Sunday 04 May 2008
Persepolis
A funny, and at times sad, true story of an Iranian girl growing up through the Revolution and wars in Tehran, and attending French school in Vienna. The animation, mostly in black-and-white, is beautiful and a refreshing change from the usual Disney/Pixar look of animated films these days. Persepolis challenges ones perceptions of life in Iran and highlights some of the unpleasant attitudes of religion, particularly towards women. It is well worth a trip to the cinema to see it (if it sounds too serious don’t fear as it really does have many laugh-out-loud moments).
— Andy
Tags: animation, france, in cinemas, iran, recommended
Monday 28 April 2008
Happy-Go-Lucky
Mike Leigh’s latest film is a feel good movie that takes the daring move to put a somewhat dislikeable character at first as the lead. There are plenty of laugh-loud-moments, particularly the first driving lesson and the Flamenco dance class. Happy-Go-Lucky lacks a clear plot, but makes up for it in the comic moments and well drawn characters.
— Andy
Tags: comedy, drama, in cinemas, recommended, uk
Saturday 26 April 2008
Mio fratello è figlio unico
Mio fratello è figlio unico (My Brother is an Only Child) is one of the best Italian films that I’ve seen in a while; beautifully acted and a compelling story of two brothers divided by politics but united by blood in the 60s/70s. Interestingly it is the Fascist brother that is easiest to warm to, highlighting the intelligence of the script of this film.
— Andy
Tags: drama, in cinemas, italy, recommended