Ali Essafi’s bitingly comic documentary is a portrait of a small Moroccan town whose economy is driven by the many movie crews drawn by its exotic desert scenery. Turning his camera on crabby casting directors for an Italian biblical epic, would-be extras in Astérix et Obélix and an old local hand who once carried Pasolini’s bags, Essafi cannily skewers the international film industry and the disparity between movie magic and economic reality.Read More »
To show solidarity with Palestinians, Amercian peace activist Rachel Corrie engaged in civil disobedience in a combat zone in the Gaza Strip; the circumstances that led to her death by bulldozer (or its debris) are still debated.Read More »
Sir Paul, a distinguished author, blinded in a horrific accident, advertises for an amanuensis, an assistant to help him with his writing. He employs the amiable Jane Ryder to be his eyes as he revisits scenes from his past and works on what he intends to be his final opus. Jane appears to be ideal: attractive, intelligent, unruffled by her employer’s abrupt eccentricities. But, gradually, we come aware that Jane has another agenda. Incrementally, Sir Paul’s familiar surroundings are altered. Strange things happen around the house and he becomes increasingly dependent on his new assistant. Jane plays increasingly sadistic games until their relationship breaks down.Read More »
This comedo-dramatic exploration of the human condition follows its characters through a single high stress day, coincidentally pitting issues of child abuse and serial homicide against those of loneliness and estrangement.Read More »
Kongo is writing a book on the subject of immigrants but while his editor wants a kind of traveler’s book in which ethnic exotic ingredients are offered to a European audience, Kongo has more ambitious ideas – he conceives of the idea of writing a book that follows the paths of Congolese history and its many ghosts. A brave and powerful film, made with single-mind integrity. Filmed mainly in the Congo, the film also provides a slice of life of the contemporary Congolese community in Brussels.Read More »
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New to Paris and looking for accommodation, French hornist David (Emmanuel Mouret) is approached in the street by Anne (Frederique Bel), and invited to inspect a share apartment for friend – which turns out to be herself. She seems attracted to David but she tells him she has a boyfriend. David starts tutoring the shy and silent Julia (Fanny Valette), daughter of bourgeoisie mum (Ariane Ascaride), and tells Anne he’s smitten. But as they exchange romantic confidances, they end up sleeping together, only to quickly apologise next morning. Anne even offers to help David woo Julia, starting with a weekend at her mum’s shack by the beach, where a chance meeting with restaurateur Julien (Dany Brillant) sets off a new round of romantic complications.Read More »
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Because it has no conventional action or schematic story, “Unrelated,” Joanna Hogg’s dyspeptic portrait of upper-middle-class Britons on a summer holiday in Tuscany, is the antithesis of popcorn entertainment. The guests, who span two generations, convene in a spacious rented villa equipped with a large swimming pool and caretakers. The movie observes their leisure activities with a chilly documentary objectivity.Read More »
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One of France’s most respected filmmakers, Claude Berri here brings viewers the story of Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) a middle-aged sound engineer whose wife has just left him. Living on his own for the first time in years, Jacques decides it’s high time to clean up his life, literally and figuratively. In short order he hires Laura (Emilie Dequenne, a bright, vivacious young housekeeper, to bring order to his apartment. Laura’s presence makes Jacques realize what has been missing from his life, and as their relationship evolves over the subsequent months, both Jacques and Laura gain uncomfortable knowledge of one another, and of themselves.Read More »
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A frumpy young woman vacations in Marseilles in the large, empty villa of her uncle. She eats at a cafe next to a much hipper woman who she is startled to see sobbing openly. That same young woman appears at her door several hours later – oddly they have switched their exact same, pink beaded bags back at the restaurant. A connection is made, and an adventure begins for ‘Vénus et Fleur.’Read More »