Cast: Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz
On vacation in Rome, an Italian housewife and mother of two grown up sons, Rosalba (Lucia Maglietta), gets left behind on accident by her tour bus ferrying her large family back home. She calls her husband who in turn rants in a typical irate husbnd's fashion. While awaiting their return Rosalba quite uncharacteristically, yet giddily as one on a secret road of discovery, embarks on a hitchhike. Not knowing where at first but headed in the general direction back home, she halts in Venice. Instincts her only guide, she comes alive renewing life for herself, her senses awake. Her extended stay for a couple of days stretch on to weeks and then more. Meanwhile her husband who with a habit of seeking extramarital pleasures cannot fathom this change in his predictable, familiar wife sets a detective on her trail. He does so more to assuage his ego than any attempt to salvage their relationship.
A movie embodying hope, redemption, and the kind of fulfilment one eternally seeks through life.
Rating: Four stars.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Damage (1992)
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Jeremy Irons
Stephen (Jeremy Irons) is a high-ranking British government official who at a party meets his son's girlfriend Anna (Juliette Binoche) for the first time by chance. This meeting evokes in him strong feelings of attraction for Anna (Juliette Binoche) who we find is equally drawn to him. Although she makes the first move to reach out to him, all restraints break loose for Stephen. After their first intimate encounter, so consumed of their passion he proceeds to haunt her when she's not with his son, Martin, a news media editor. Even on their holiday weekend in Paris, Stephen though tormented by his feelings is driven by his desire to see her and be with her. Anna and Martin get engaged and wedding plans follow. After Anna's mother warns Stephen to give her up, and he decides to, Anna assures him she's marrying Martin to only be with Stephen. Will their secret liaison break the fragility of other bonds? What is it about Anna that gets Stephen so besotted or drives Martin to his fate?
Stephen's voiceover sums it up well. You never can know what lies ahead in the unknown except to succumb to the force of love.
Rating: Four stars.
Stephen (Jeremy Irons) is a high-ranking British government official who at a party meets his son's girlfriend Anna (Juliette Binoche) for the first time by chance. This meeting evokes in him strong feelings of attraction for Anna (Juliette Binoche) who we find is equally drawn to him. Although she makes the first move to reach out to him, all restraints break loose for Stephen. After their first intimate encounter, so consumed of their passion he proceeds to haunt her when she's not with his son, Martin, a news media editor. Even on their holiday weekend in Paris, Stephen though tormented by his feelings is driven by his desire to see her and be with her. Anna and Martin get engaged and wedding plans follow. After Anna's mother warns Stephen to give her up, and he decides to, Anna assures him she's marrying Martin to only be with Stephen. Will their secret liaison break the fragility of other bonds? What is it about Anna that gets Stephen so besotted or drives Martin to his fate?
Stephen's voiceover sums it up well. You never can know what lies ahead in the unknown except to succumb to the force of love.
Rating: Four stars.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Dabangg (Hindi, 2010)
Cast: Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Mahi Gill, Malaika Arora
If you've missed seeing a huge masala blockbuster with the oft beaten to death plot of a rift between brothers, the customary inconsolably sobbing mother (played by Dimple Kapadia), and the hero/villain facing off with unrivalled action sequences only possible on bollywood silver screens, this movie is what you've been waiting for. Chulbul (Salman Khan) and Makki (Arbaaz Khan) are blood brothers of different fathers. While their mother dotes on them equally, their father (Vinod Khanna) clearly favors Makki. This leads to a caustic relationship between Chulbul and the step-father. Becuase Chulbul is smarter than Makki, he gets ahead in life. Then there's the handsome hunk Sonu Sood who plays the bad guy. Other than his obvious dramatic skills and gravitas, I say good-looking because he rivals Salman in the barechested fight sequence in the end. The only difference being that Sonu tears his shirt off while Salman's is ripped automagically when his muscles bulge. LOL.
It's a given that any movie starring Salman Khan must include trying song/dance sequences. Our superstar does not fail to disappoint here and his latest fad with casting damsels barely out of their teens is on full burst. Sonakshi Sinha, his latest find, plays his love interest not unremarkably.
Rating: Three stars (A third star for good camera work and cinematography).
If you've missed seeing a huge masala blockbuster with the oft beaten to death plot of a rift between brothers, the customary inconsolably sobbing mother (played by Dimple Kapadia), and the hero/villain facing off with unrivalled action sequences only possible on bollywood silver screens, this movie is what you've been waiting for. Chulbul (Salman Khan) and Makki (Arbaaz Khan) are blood brothers of different fathers. While their mother dotes on them equally, their father (Vinod Khanna) clearly favors Makki. This leads to a caustic relationship between Chulbul and the step-father. Becuase Chulbul is smarter than Makki, he gets ahead in life. Then there's the handsome hunk Sonu Sood who plays the bad guy. Other than his obvious dramatic skills and gravitas, I say good-looking because he rivals Salman in the barechested fight sequence in the end. The only difference being that Sonu tears his shirt off while Salman's is ripped automagically when his muscles bulge. LOL.
It's a given that any movie starring Salman Khan must include trying song/dance sequences. Our superstar does not fail to disappoint here and his latest fad with casting damsels barely out of their teens is on full burst. Sonakshi Sinha, his latest find, plays his love interest not unremarkably.
Rating: Three stars (A third star for good camera work and cinematography).
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Birthday Girl (2001)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin
John is a reserved bank teller but a true romantic deep down. As an escape from his dreary solitary routines, he decides to bring home a live-in girlfriend from Russia. Enter ravishing Nadia. Not expecting an non-English speaker, John is disappointed but his disappointment is shortlived when Nadia seduces him. Soon, as it happens, every wild sexual fantasy of his is fulfilled by Nadia and the silent communion they share suits the quiet John perfectly. Just when things are spicing up perfectly well, on Nadia's birthday two shifty characters from her past join the party. They invite themselves and proceed to live in John's home much to his dismay. One night after one of them gets too close to Nadia for comfort, John confronts asking them to leave. That's when matters take a different turn taking John on a journey he least suspected.
This sophisticated narrative keeps the twists coming and you're left with a love story not run-of-the-mill.
Rating: Four stars.
John is a reserved bank teller but a true romantic deep down. As an escape from his dreary solitary routines, he decides to bring home a live-in girlfriend from Russia. Enter ravishing Nadia. Not expecting an non-English speaker, John is disappointed but his disappointment is shortlived when Nadia seduces him. Soon, as it happens, every wild sexual fantasy of his is fulfilled by Nadia and the silent communion they share suits the quiet John perfectly. Just when things are spicing up perfectly well, on Nadia's birthday two shifty characters from her past join the party. They invite themselves and proceed to live in John's home much to his dismay. One night after one of them gets too close to Nadia for comfort, John confronts asking them to leave. That's when matters take a different turn taking John on a journey he least suspected.
This sophisticated narrative keeps the twists coming and you're left with a love story not run-of-the-mill.
Rating: Four stars.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
In a Day (2006, English)
Cast: Lorraine Pilkington, Finlay Robertson
When Ashley's (Lorraine Pilkington) deli where she works behind the counter making sandwiches shuts down for the day, she waits at her bus stop to return home. As she's waiting all alone that morning, some guy starts to chat her up then persists in soliciting her. Disgusted, she turns to leave the scene and he tosses his scalding cup of coffee at her hitting her on the head with his empty cup. Before she can react, he's gone. After this humiliating start to her day, Ashley runs into another stranger (Finlay Robertson) at the grocery store where she's buying napkins to wipe the coffee out. He's a regular customer at her deli and offers to take her to breakfast. Over a cuppa he tells her he wants her help with smoothening relations between him and his sour sister, asking if she'd help pick out something for his sister's birthday. She agrees and in the process, he has her try on a lot of clothing and then buys her her favorite dress. Flabbergasted by this generosity, Ashley bit by bit spends the entire day together with the stranger having a marvelous time.
This movie's a treat for those of us who've wished for that encounter with a handsome stranger turning into something truly special and wonderful.
Rating: Four stars.
When Ashley's (Lorraine Pilkington) deli where she works behind the counter making sandwiches shuts down for the day, she waits at her bus stop to return home. As she's waiting all alone that morning, some guy starts to chat her up then persists in soliciting her. Disgusted, she turns to leave the scene and he tosses his scalding cup of coffee at her hitting her on the head with his empty cup. Before she can react, he's gone. After this humiliating start to her day, Ashley runs into another stranger (Finlay Robertson) at the grocery store where she's buying napkins to wipe the coffee out. He's a regular customer at her deli and offers to take her to breakfast. Over a cuppa he tells her he wants her help with smoothening relations between him and his sour sister, asking if she'd help pick out something for his sister's birthday. She agrees and in the process, he has her try on a lot of clothing and then buys her her favorite dress. Flabbergasted by this generosity, Ashley bit by bit spends the entire day together with the stranger having a marvelous time.
This movie's a treat for those of us who've wished for that encounter with a handsome stranger turning into something truly special and wonderful.
Rating: Four stars.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009, Swedish)
Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube
A crime, psychological thriller of epic proportions has every theme (serial killer, abusive tendencies, relationship trauma, murder mystery) rolled into a saga that's part of the Swedish author Steign Larsson's popular trilogy. Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) a brooding, withdrawn misanthrope of a young woman when asked to dig up research on defamed reporter Micke's (Michael Nyqvist) life, she finds his records clean and long after her job's done, she keeps a hacker's trail on him. She learns he's investigating the disappearance of a 16-yr old girl forty years ago from a very wealthy business family. Henrik Vanger the tycoon of the business empire funds this investigation but there are others in the Vanger family who could be prime suspects and are not quite in favor of Micke's prying into the past.
Thrilling in every sense, the film carries forward deftly maintaining an evenly paced mystery reminding me of the well made Run Lola Run. This femme--dark, destructive, vulnerable, yet oddly powerful--cuts a raw, likeable figure.
Rating: Four stars.
A crime, psychological thriller of epic proportions has every theme (serial killer, abusive tendencies, relationship trauma, murder mystery) rolled into a saga that's part of the Swedish author Steign Larsson's popular trilogy. Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) a brooding, withdrawn misanthrope of a young woman when asked to dig up research on defamed reporter Micke's (Michael Nyqvist) life, she finds his records clean and long after her job's done, she keeps a hacker's trail on him. She learns he's investigating the disappearance of a 16-yr old girl forty years ago from a very wealthy business family. Henrik Vanger the tycoon of the business empire funds this investigation but there are others in the Vanger family who could be prime suspects and are not quite in favor of Micke's prying into the past.
Thrilling in every sense, the film carries forward deftly maintaining an evenly paced mystery reminding me of the well made Run Lola Run. This femme--dark, destructive, vulnerable, yet oddly powerful--cuts a raw, likeable figure.
Rating: Four stars.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Bed and Board: French Movie Review (1970)
Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Claude Jade, Hiroko Berghauer.
Although a 70s film, director Francois Truffaut keeps the theme and pace of the film fresh with exploring the regular rhythm of life and building upon the main and peripheral characters integral to the story. Antoine Doniel (Jean-PierreLeaud) is married to Christine (Claude Jade) who in the relationship brings more stability both emotionally and financially. Antoine flits from one job onto another until he finally manages to keep a corporate job which he lands quite by accident. At the interview, when the loud American asks him if he drove cars, Antoine replies, 'I'm in no hury to get anywhere' much to the chagrin of the former. When Antoine approaches the mantle fatherhood a wedge is driven between the young couple. Expecting no less than to be overjoyed by this turn of events Antoine appears lost. At this time he crosses paths with a Japanese girl (Hiroko Berghauer) whose demeanour and beauty intrigue and captivate him. Upon learning of their affair by accident, Christine separates from Antoine. Their baby keeps them in regular contact and they settle into a comfortable, open friendship that was missing when they were together. An exchange between them sums it up in a scene where Antoine leans in to kiss Christine and remarks, 'You're like my little sister, my daughter, my mother' to which Christine says, 'I'd hoped to also be your wife.'
This is one among a series of films the director made about the character Antoine Doniel. Hardly dramatic, the movie courses through Antoine's life without making him the epic focus.
Rating: A 3.5 out of 5.
Although a 70s film, director Francois Truffaut keeps the theme and pace of the film fresh with exploring the regular rhythm of life and building upon the main and peripheral characters integral to the story. Antoine Doniel (Jean-PierreLeaud) is married to Christine (Claude Jade) who in the relationship brings more stability both emotionally and financially. Antoine flits from one job onto another until he finally manages to keep a corporate job which he lands quite by accident. At the interview, when the loud American asks him if he drove cars, Antoine replies, 'I'm in no hury to get anywhere' much to the chagrin of the former. When Antoine approaches the mantle fatherhood a wedge is driven between the young couple. Expecting no less than to be overjoyed by this turn of events Antoine appears lost. At this time he crosses paths with a Japanese girl (Hiroko Berghauer) whose demeanour and beauty intrigue and captivate him. Upon learning of their affair by accident, Christine separates from Antoine. Their baby keeps them in regular contact and they settle into a comfortable, open friendship that was missing when they were together. An exchange between them sums it up in a scene where Antoine leans in to kiss Christine and remarks, 'You're like my little sister, my daughter, my mother' to which Christine says, 'I'd hoped to also be your wife.'
This is one among a series of films the director made about the character Antoine Doniel. Hardly dramatic, the movie courses through Antoine's life without making him the epic focus.
Rating: A 3.5 out of 5.
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