king of escape

le roi...



armand (ludovic berthillot) is a gay, middle-aged tractor salesman who has hit a bit of a mid-life rut. after saving a rival salesman's, sixteen year old, daughter, curly (hafsia herzi), from bunch of nasty young men, the two find a strange spark of passion between them, resulting in them going on the run from both curly's parents and the police...

this is a film that promised a lot more than it delivered. as a comedic drama, it does it's best to tick both boxes and it does explore some interesting territory, but it's execution is so clunky that, ultimately, it fails. an awkwardly placed dream sequence works only to throw the pacing and viewers into a state of confusion when subsequent events transpire and appear to also be a dream, only they aren't.

a missed opportunity.

french dvd in january, not sure about anything beyond that.

if you are the one

better to kill a thousand innocents than let one guilty man go free...



qin fen (ge you) is a bachelor in his forties. deciding he'd like to settle down, he writes an honest, straight-forward ad on a personals website, looking for a wife. he then begins to meet a selection of women who are also looking for a husband. the only one who piques his interest is smiley (shu qi), but he soon realises that she is in love with a married man and her heart would never be in any relationship. still, their paths keep crossing and a relationship begins to develop...

feng xiaogang is an interesting character, with an interesting cinematic output. following 'a world without thieves' an unintentionally comedic drama, the much under-rated, hamlet inspired, 'the banquet' and the rather super, war and peace epic, 'the assembly', comes 'if you are the one'; another solid, mature slice of cinema.

the film is, in essence, a selection of scenes and conversations between the dry-humoured ge you and the jaded, emotionally damaged shu qi - both of whom are incredibly watchable. ge you has always been an amazing screen presence and shu qi has always been incredibly beautiful, which has occasionally masked the fact that she can act too; something she needs to do, and does, when pitted against ge you for over two hours. still, the film itself does not simply rest on the shoulders of its two charismatic leads. the narrative is very well constructed and the script is filled with humour and emotion.

very good...

the dvd is hk$54 frombuyoyo.com

small crime

an angel in the morning...



leonidas (aris servetalis) is a cop on a tiny greek island; he has very, very little to do and dreams of a transfer to athens. however, when zaharias (antonis katsaris) is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, leonidas rejects the assumption that it was an accident and starts to investigate, forming a rel;relationship with angeliki (picky papadopoulou), the island's favourite daughter, who has returned from athens, where she presents a morning tv show...

a thoroughly charming and fun little tale. nothing spectacular, apart from the beautiful island scenery (which made me want to make another trip to greece), but just solid, nicely executed fun. a good cast of characters, solid performances and an amusing script.

good stuff...

the dvd is currently €17.99 from amazon.de, although a uk dvd may follow.

cracks

you set the standard...



miss g (eva green) runs the swimming team at an exclusive, rural boarding school. her girls are a tight-knit bunch, who love miss g's maverick attitude and are inspired by her progressive attitudes and tales of her journeys to the far flung corners of the world. however, when fiamma (maria valverde), the daughter of a spanish aristocrat, arrives, as well as threatening di's (juno temple) position, as captain of the team and miss g's favourite, she starts to undermine miss g herself...

hmmm... a reasonable dramatic narrative, which loses its way with the heavy handed nature of the direction. the film also suffers from employing characters with annoying traits that just end up annoying the viewer, rather than coming across as keen observations. i suppose i could critique miss g(reen)'s performance, as it suffers from the same phenomenon: she is, essentially, playing a bad actress but, as the film takes a while to reveal that this is the case, she just comes across as being a bit poor. something that doesn't change when you realise what her game is. i suppose it just depends on whether you can forgive her for being poor, because she's rather pretty...

on the other side of the coin, maria valverde does manage to transmit an exotic, engaging and charismatic air, she could well be one to watch for the future, unlike juno temple and the majority of the team, who are all just a bit 'st trinians'...

reasonably watchable, but not very good...

the film is out on general release in a couple of weeks.

trash humpers

make it, don't fake it...



made very swiftly, shot on vhs and edited on two whs players, 'trash humpers' is a return to harmony korine's 'gummo'-esque roots. the film has no narrative, instead it simply chooses to follow round three figures, including mr and mrs korine, who are donning grotesque latex masks that make them look like aged, ugly figures. the three characters masturbate tree branches, torture plastic dolls, smash tvs and strip lights and hump wheelie bins... cackling as they go...

the positives... i like the look of vhs and there are a couple of moments of reeves and mortimer-esque comedic gold.

the negatives... korine rams the vhs down your throat, deliberately flaunting his lo-fi credentials in his attempts to make it look like 'found footage'. the pudding is, well and truly, over-egged. it is also extremely dull, uninspiring and treads ground which has been well walked in the past. there's probably a thirty minute exercise which would have been a greater watch, but the desire to irk the audience and the trite guff which some of the characters come out with, instead of coming across as clever devices, just come across as boring and lame.

considering how well korine used similar devices in both 'gummo' and 'julian donkey boy', both films which i really like, 'trash humpers' is a massive faliure.

poor...

there will be a dvd. you should probably avoid it and get 'gummo' and 'julian donkey boy', if you haven't seen them.

can go through skin

marieke (rifka lodeizen) lives in amsterdam and has just split from her boyfriend, an act which is punctuated by a violent attack, by a pizza delivery man (chris borowski), in her flat. she moves to zeeland, to a isolated, country house, which can be generously described as a 'fixer upper'. hiding away, trying to keep warm, having panic attacks, marieke suffers greatly from the trauma she has suffered. only the friendly nature of her helpful neighbour, john (wim opbrouck), saves her from complete isolation...

first of all, it's a pretty great central performance from lodeizen and the portrayal of her stress, trauma and upset is communicated with aplomb. the atmosphere, helped by dan geesin's excellent sound design and score, is very powerful and one can't help but feel a sense of marieke's discomfort and turmoil.

on the whole, the film is powerful and a success, although there are a couple of elements, mainly the finale of a sub plot involving marieke's meeting with an online friend, which just let the film down a little. still, considering the film just made me want to go home, lock the door and finally get round to fixing up my cellar, means it must have had some effect.

good stuff.

a limited release and dvd is probably on the cards.

crush and blush

bigger bigger bigger bigger bigger bigger bigger bigger bigger...



yang mi-sook (kong hyo-jin) is teaching english at middle school, after losing her place teaching russian at middle school, due to a lack in it's popularity. she hasn't forgiven lee yoo-ri (hwang woo-seul-hye), a younger, prettier teacher for staying on teaching russian, although it is her affair with, fellow teacher, mr seo (lee jong-hyeok), that really gets her got. she's been in love with him for years. in an attempt to get what she wants, she teams up with mr seo's daughter, jong-hee (seo woo), to plot against yoo-ri and end her relationship with mr seo...

this is an off-kilter, comedy drama, co-written by park chan-wook. it is, at times, a little silly, at times. funny and always engaging and a fun watch. the performances of kong and seo, along with the chemistry they have as an on screen pairing really make this movie. personally, i thought it was pretty damn good and have already ordered the dvd.

good stuff, indeed...

the dvd is $25.99 from k2dvd.com

chaw

this is not the time or the place to perform some kind of a half-assed autopsy on a fish...



imagine 'jaws'. that should be quite easy. now, instead of a beach that is popular with the city folk, you have village which has fashionable, hillside, weekend allotments. and, instead roy scheider you have a cop from seoul, officer kim (tae-woong eom), who has just been moved to this village and a detective (josiah d lee). then, instead of richard dreyfuss and robert shaw, you have a female scientist (yu-mi jeong), and two hunters (yoon jae-moon and ?)...

and, of course, instead of a great white, you have a giant wild boar, which has a taste for human flesh...

and, there you go. the film is a fun watch, although not a great movie. there's quite a few laughs, a little bit of silliness and some slightly sketchy cgi-wild-boar-action.

a bit of fun.

the dvd is $24.99 from k2dvd.com

ander

omlette?



aah, a film about the homosexual awakening of a middle-aged basque farmer (joxean bengoetxea) and his relationship with a peruvian immigrant (christian esquivel) who is lending a hand on his farm, as he recovers from a broken leg. film festival fare indeed...

of course, i'm poking fun...

still, that pretty much sums the film up. despite the often predictable nature of the narrative, which is populated by archetype that verge on stereotypes, it is an enjoyable film. the sweet nature of the film, the scenery, the amusing script and fine performances save what could have been something pretty dreadful.

a sweet film.

there will probably be limited release and dvd release in the future.

wolfy

found in a bag in a cemetery...



a daughter (polina pluchek) is born after her mother (yana troyanova) is taken into custody after a violent attack on another woman. it is seven years before the daughter sees her mother again, falling in love with her, despite the string of "uncles" she spends her time with, increasingly away from her. how long can you love someone who doesn't love you?

an entertaining film, made all the more watchable by polina pluchek who pretty much carries the film on her back, despite her youth. the film looks and sounds very good, there's humour and drama, and it just kind of ticks along in an enjoyable fashion...

limited release and dvd to follow, me thinks.

north

i know a trick that a polish guy showed me...



jomar (anders baasmo christiansen) has suffered a breakdown and is now living and working in a pretty isolated ski station. after an old friend (?), who also happens to be the person who is not seeing jomar's ex, visits and tells him that he now has a four year old son, jomar sets off on an epic trek north, via snowmobile and skis, to see his son. along the way he suffers snow blindness, drinks a lot of booze and has a few encounters with people along the way. oh, and he seems to have a habit of accidental setting buildings on fire...

this was excellent. this is the debut feature film from rune denstad langlo, who looks like another norwegian director who i shall have to keep my eyes on. a great central performance from christiansen, an amusing, touching and engaging script, and wonderful scenery make this a winner.

great stuff...

i predict a limited cinematic release and a dvd in the future.

kimjongilia

love, wisdom, justice and peace?



a documentary about the internment camps in north korea, told by those who have managed to escape the regime, even though escaping from north korea wasn't the end of the ordeal for most of those involved.

a well made and interesting documentary, nothing really new for those who have a good knowledge of the nation but, nevertheless, a fascinating watch, due to the first hand testimonies. and, it goes without saying that it's a pretty harrowing and upsetting watch.

good stuff...

not sure this will get a wider release.

la tigra, chaco

you drink terere?



esteban (ezequiel tronconi) returns to his home town, la tigra, from buenos aries to see his father. his father is out on the road, he's a trucker, so esteban stays with his aunt (?), visits his younger half brother for the first time but, most of all, spends his time with vero (guadalupe docampo); and old flame, who he is trying to woo, despite the fact she is currently attached...

this was a nice surprise. an amusing, quietly observed and very well executed film. the performances are uniformly excellent, shunning melodrama and embracing a very nicely understated realism that makes it very easy to watch and enjoy. oh, and terere, according to wikipedia, "an infusion of yerba mate, similar to mate but prepared with cold water (rather than with hot water), and in a slightly larger vessel".

good stuff...

there's no dvd, but it would be nice if this got a wider release.

sun alley

once upon a time in the east...



sonnenalle (sun alley) is a street which runs through berlin. until the fall of the wall, it ran mainly through the west, terminating just over the wall in the east. the film tells the story of michael (alexander scheer), who lives on the ddr (east) side of the wall, on sonnenalle, in the 1970s. he hangs out with his friends, listens to banned western music and lusts after miriam (teresa weißbach)...

this film rode the crest of "ostalgie"; a nostalgic view of east germany that materialised around the then of the nineties. it is, in essence a coming of age comedy, set in this bygone world, poking as much fun as it it expresses affection. it's not a great film, but it is a fun watch and there are plenty of chuckles throughout.

pretty good...

the dvd is available from germany, but it doesn't have english subs.

natural born star

"tough apples", as the english say...



the story of fred robsahm who, as a young man, left noway to visit italy for a couple of months, was spotted by a movie producer, had a bit part in 'barbarella' and then went on to star in numerous spaghetti westerns, costume dramas and other movies, falling in love with and marrying italian starlet, agostina belli, travelling the oceans on a ship, having their relationship crumble and contracting aids whilst in a prison for a year, after being falsely accused of smuggling hash...

that was about twenty years ago and now fred lives by himself in his home town of lillestrom. the film's director, baltasar kormakur, visits fred and talks to him, now an old man, crippled with pain as a side-effect of hiv medication, about his highs and lows...

this is a fascinating film about someone who stumbled into fame, rode along the crest of the wave of celebrity, before being crushed by it. an interesting and tragic tale.

good stuff.

not sure it'll ever get a dvd release.

white night wedding

it's a white night, for a white wedding



set on the tiny, icelandic island of flatey, 'white night wedding tells the story of jon's (hilmir gudnason) two marriages. as we build up towards his wedding with thora (laufey eliasdottir); one of his former students, a resident of the island and eighteen years his junior, we see him take a career break, move to the island with anna (margret vilhjalmsdottir) and witness the continuing collapse of their marriage.

a nice mixture of drama and comedy; surprisingly the sad demise of one marriage depicted next to the almost farcical preparations of another actually gel together in a much more satisfying way than you'd imagine. thinking back to it, i'm even more impressed that this worked so well, myself...

the island and the cast of characters do a great job of pulling you into both narrative strands. although gudnason, eliasdottir and vilhjalmsdottir, do some good work, it's the supporting cast who flesh out the film that deserve a lot of credit too; olafia jonsdottir, johann siguroarson, throstur gunnarsson, ilmur kristjansdottir, olafur egilsson and olafur olafsson.

very good...

the dvd is $17.95 from dvdpacific.com

slovenian girl

i have a lot of time...



aleksandra (nina ivanisin) or sascha, is a student from a small town, who is living and studying in ljubljana. she is also 'slovenka' (slovenian girl); a call girl. when one of her clients has a viagra induced heart attack, the press and police begin to search for her, but she seems to be avoiding any nasty entanglements, until she has a run in with a couple of men who want her to "work" for them. with the threat to her now becoming more immediate, life and keeping up payments on her new apartment become a struggle. luckily, she still has a father (peter musevski), who is always pleased to see her...

now, this was better than i expected. it could've just been one of those films where lots and lots and lots of bad things happen to someone; their life spiralling out of control in a over-blown and melodramatic fashion. now, there's a couple of moments like this, which make one feel rather anxious, but the pudding is never really over-egged. and, the depiction of the relationship between sascha and her father, is so strong that it really raises the whole film.

pretty good.

there may be a dvd and a limited cinematic release in the future.

tales from the golden age

well, almost...



'tales from the golden age' is a a collection of urban legends from the latter days of communism in romania. five directors tackle a legend each. unfortunately, due to an error at the screening, the end of 'the legend of the chicken driver' and all of 'the legend of the party activist' were missed out... a shame...

any hoo... 'legend of the official visit' was a fun, little romp, about the lengths a village goes to in order to prepare for said visit. 'legend of the air sellers' was, again, fun; telling of a scam developed by a bloke and his student protege. 'legend of the party photographer' was a nice little farce about making sure ceausescu looked ideologically sound in newspaper photographs. and, finally, 'the legend of the greedy policeman' was the amusing tale of a family getting a black market pig to eat, which just happens to still be alive.

this was a very nice little collection of tales, poking fun at life in the, so called, "golden age", which was made with a healthy dose of fun and retrospective affection. it's a shame i didn't get to see all of it, although i imagine it'll end up on dvd before too long.

good stuff...

my girlfriend is an agent

captain, spacebar, asshole...



jae-jun (kang ji-hwan) is sick of the lies and the secrecy and he's leaving korea and his girlfriend soo-ji (kim ha-neul), who just happens to be a special agent. she is upset by this, but gets on with her life. then, three years later, whilst investigating a professor who has stolen a deadly bio-weapon, she bumps into jae-jun. they fight, but there's still a spark between them. and, now that jae-jun is also (again secretly) a special agent, investigating the russians who are on the other side deal to buy the bio-weapon, they seem to be bumping into each other more and more...

this should very much be considered a rom-com, with the backdrop of an action thriller and, it that respect, it is a great success. the action thriller elements are a touch weak, at times, but the characterisation and the humour of the film is what makes it a winner and very enjoyable to watch. there are plenty of laughs, which keep up throughout the film, even if a lot of the humour is based up on the fact that neither jae-jun or soo-ji are aware of each others' secret lives.

still, a lot of fun and lots of giggles.

the dvd is $24.99 from k2dvd.com

pomegranates and myrrh

in every pomegranate there is one seed that comes from heaven...



kamar (yasmine elmasri) and zaid (ashraf farah) have just gotten married. they live in palestine; kamar is a dancer and zaid owns and runs a small farm which produces olives and olive oil. when, during an evening of celebration the harvest, israeli troops wander on to their land, claiming they have a confiscation order, a small scuffle ensues. zaid is arrested and taken away, to "administrative detention".

now, kamar must struggle with trying to keep the farm and gain freedom for zaid, but also with the distraction of a new choreographer from beiruit, kais (ali suliman), who takes a shine to her.

well, this is an interesting enough story, but it ultimately left me a touch cold. i just felt my usual level of annoyance and displeasure directed towards the israeli administration and their nazi-esque behaviour. and, i also felt for kamar; having a husband who seems to ignore her feelings from the minute they are wed, to having to cope with the childish behaviour that kais exhibits as he makes his advances.

watchable, but not a great film.

not sure of plans for future releases.

west of pluto

celestial body 134340



a patch-work quilt, day in the life tale of a dozen teenagers in quebec. in school, at home, partying and walking the streets. there's fun, fighting, friendship, poutain, love, sex and arguments.

however, in the end, it's just a bit dull, as it treads well worn ground. that's not to say that it isn't, at times well observed and well acted, it's just a pretty fruitless exercise with nothing really interesting to say.

okay... ish...

i suppose there will probably be a dvd sometime.