By Neptune CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? **** I just saw – belatedly, recommended by a kind friend – one of the BEST films of the year. RUN to it (at Cine17) before it’s gone! It’s not only English-language, but a true New York flick (somewhat in the vein of “Midnight Cowboy”), brilliantly directed by […]
FILM: ASH IS THE PUREST WHITE – an intriguing panorama of life in China
19 April 2019. By Neptune This is indeed an international week – there’s not a single English-language film in my reviews. But we’re in Geneva, and lucky to be so diversified! ASH IS THE PUREST WHITE (LES ETERNELS) ***1/2 (vo Chinese) One could call this a love story. A love story à la Chinoise, but […]
FILM: RBG – the exceptional documentary of Ruth Bader Ginsberg
5 April 2019. By Neptune A rich array of releases this week – do not miss them! RBG **** Ruth Bader Ginsberg has not only been a judge on the Supreme Court of the United States since 1993, but she has been a persistent ground-breaker in the struggle for equal rights between men and women […]
FILM: THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS – separated triplets who find each other at 19
29 March 2019. By Neptune Lots of films to cover, so these will be short reviews. Get out there and see the good ones. THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS **** This exceptional documentary by Tim Wardle, about separated triplets who find each other only at age 19, starts off as a heart-warming revelation but slowly turns into […]
FILM: FEMALE PLEASURE – the struggle for justice and equality in sexual matters
22 March 2019. By Neptune FEMALE PLEASURE *** (vo German, English, Japanese) The title is unfortunate – it seems like an unnecessary come-on for the public, for the film is actually about female pain and displeasure. Or rather the struggle for justice and equality in sexual matters by five women from five different cultures: An […]
FILM: THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER – a New York teacher who becomes obsessed by a pupil
15 March 2019. By Neptune Please take note, dear cinephiles – four out of five films this week are done by, with and about women. We’ve come a long way, baby… Also try to catch the last days of the important and ambitious FIFDH – the Human Rights film festival in its 17th year in […]
FILM: STAN AND OLLIE – a sweet tribute to the legendary duo Laurel and Hardy
8 March 2019. By Neptune STAN AND OLLIE **** Duos have always been popular for they are often made up of opposites and therefore make for varied possibilities. There’s always the repartee that livens up these acts, giving them both fun and pathos, as with Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Holmes and Watson, or […]
FILM: JUSQU’ICI TOUT VA BIEN – great French comedy
1 March 2019. By Neptune JUSQU’ICI TOUT VA BIEN *** (vo French) When they want to, the French can make great comedies, full of innovative ideas, often politically incorrect, with social connotations and above all hilarious. This is one of them. Directed by the French/Algerian Mohamed Hamidi and produced by the famous French/Arab comedian Jamel […]
FILM: BY THE GRACE OF GOD – it will shake you to the core
22 February 2019. By Neptune BY THE GRACE OF GOD (GRÂCE À DIEU) **** The prolific French director François Ozon is back with another masterwork – maybe his best and most sober film yet. In fact, it just won the Grand Jury prize at the Berlin film festival. Different from his other brilliant, versatile works […]
FILM: THE WIFE – Glenn Close is excellent
22 February 2019. By Neptune THE WIFE ***1/2 Glenn Close is excellent (received the Golden Globe for best actress) as a loving wife to a famous author, played by a superb Jonathan Pryce, who is traveling to Sweden to pick up his Nobel prize for literature. As they travel together to Stockholm, their many years […]