VOYAGE EN CHINE ***1/2 (vo French and Mandarin) This tender tale of a French mother who goes to China to find the body of her dead son is a revelation due to Yolande Moreau’s delicate portrayal. But also for the minimalist technique of Hungarian director Zoltan Mayer, as he takes us on this journey through both urban and rural China. Along with the bewildered but persistent mother, we discover gentle people in intimate glimpses, with their great respect for the life and death of an individual. It’s a sad but also satisfying voyage, made more human due to actions rather than words illuminating the way.
BIG HERO 6 (Les nouveaux héros) ***
How would it feel to have a robot that looks like a big marshmallow and takes better care of you than a best friend? The answer is in this brilliantly animated film from Disney Studios that is exciting but also touching, about a boy-genius who has just lost his brother. There are also evil forces working to steal his ideas, his pals are there to help and there’s the budding robot relationship. Here’s a movie that’s entrancing both for kids and parents due to its intelligence and spunk. We need more such positive entertainment – Thanks, Disney!
(Photos – Disney)
CHILD 44 (Enfant 44) **
This film is somewhat reminiscent of Nikita Mikhalkov’s great Burnt by the Sun, about the paranoia of the Stalin years, when no one in power knew when they’d be the next to be sent off to Siberia. Tom Brady (excellent in Locke) is convincing as the good Russian officer, but the plot changes course and gets bogged down in a sordid cat-and-mouse chase with a serial child killer. It simply doesn’t work with the two themes – one important, the other just titillating.
(Photos – Elite Films)
AVENGERS – AGE OF ULTRON
MISS THIS because it has taken all the fun and pizazz out of Ironman and gang, and is just incessant, ridiculous destruction and mayhem – poised to reap blockbuster profits. Truly tiresome. Shame on these studios for warping young minds – strangely enough, it’s also Disney…
ROBIN DES BOIS – VERITABLE HISTOIRE (vo French)
MISS THIS because it’s vulgar garbage in the guise of French comedy.
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Germany and Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers
