16 February 2024.
By Neptune
ALL OF US STRANGERS (Sans jamais nous connaître) ***1/2
This is the type of film that will have each person who sees it come out with a different impression of what it is meant to be.
Adam, a 40ish solitary scriptwriter, lives in an almost deserted high rise in London. When a drunken neighbor, Harry, comes knocking at his door asking to spend the night, he turns him away, at first. They eventually become lovers. In the meantime, Adam has begun to take train rides to his old home in which he lived with his parents before they were killed in a car accident some thirty years previously. The thing is, they are now there – seemingly in the flesh. Adam is so happy to be able to finally tell them that he was always gay. Their reactions are solemn and precious. He keeps coming back to see them, together or separately.
And then there are the warm, loving moments with Harry, intimate conversations, meals together, hot nights at queer bars and more complicity. Something new and rare for Adam. But is it all real?
This haunting story of a lonely gay man searching for a raison-d’être is a moving riddle of a life not accomplished. It is for you to figure out what it’s all about.
Quite brilliantly acted by Andrew Scott as Adam, Clare Foy as his mother, Jamie Bell as his father and Paul Mescal as the mysterious Harry, it’s all created by director Andrew Haigh. It has been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs.
BOB MARLEY – ONE LOVE ***
There are more biopics around than ever before, especially if you have Netflix. But even there, it’s the documentaries on celebrities that really make their mark, as in the excellent ‘Arnold’ or ‘Quincy’, which reveal so much more about their subjects. Biopics certainly satisfy our voyeurism and curiosity about those who have lives memorable enough to be made into film. Some have been excellent, such as “Rocketman” or “Elvis”, others less so, by pandering too closely to their subject.
This one, about the Jamaican reggae star who became a worldwide phenomenon in the 1970s, is not exceptional in its genre and does tend to sugarcoat Marley’s short, turbulent life. At times it feels too much like a PR effort rather than a clear, balanced picture of the star. But the lilting, contagious reggae music makes it shine, as does Kingsley Ben-Adir who plays Marley with both conviction and great charisma. It’s directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, who last made the gripping biopic “King Richard” about the Williams family.
CHIEN ET CHAT (vo French)
Save your time and money, and spare the kids too…
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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