YOUTH *** A clever parody of getting old, this tongue-in-cheek study of various clients in a posh Swiss spa features a superb Michael Caine and a mellowed Harvey Keitel. It is by Paolo Sorrentino, who last made La Grande Bellezza, with its multiple awards including an Oscar and BAFTA for best foreign film. With its […]
Meet well-known authors at Morges Literary Festival 4-6 September, 2015
Rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most renowned French-English language book festivals, the Swiss lakeside town of Morges will host its 6th annual event, or Le Livre sur les Quais, at the end of this week featuring some 300 writers from all over the world. Held in tents along the waterfront overlooking Lake Geneva and the […]
Floride; Victoria; Dheepan; Southpaw; We Are Your Friends
Floride **** (vo French) Jean Rochefort, the veteran French actor, is probably one of the most charming men anywhere. Growing more attractive with age, his elegance of manner, his abundant grey mane, chic attire and naughty humor make one laugh along with him. In this film he plays a man quite like himself, one in […]
Comme un avion; Amy; Mad Max – Fury Road; Une seconde mère; Love and Mercy; While We’re Young
Love and Mercy – one and a half stars So Brian Wilson, the musician, is a genius? And the Beach Boys?? This minor biopic, produced by Mr. Wilson himself, makes them sound terribly important, using two completely different-looking actors – Paul Dano and John Cusack – to portray the troubled Wilson’s early and later years. […]
Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément ; Le Talent de mes amis
Here are two delightful French releases: one a romantic comedy that takes quite a different look at relationships, and the other, a comic buddy-movie with social undertones. UN PEU, BEAUCOUP, AVEUGLEMENT *** (vo French) The talented, attractive Clovis Cornillac is back, this time in a film by and with him, with a surprising twist on a budding romance. […]
The Farewell Party ; A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
THE FAREWELL PARTY (Fin de partie) ***1/2 (vo Hebrew) Here’s an upscale Israeli senior home with a group of old friends, now in the twilight of their lives. They share leisure moments, meals, sports and care for and know each other intimately. So when one of them is suffering from an incurable illness, the group hesitantly agrees to […]
Voyage en Chine; Big Hero 6 ; Child 44
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 […]
The Water Diviner / La promesse d’une vie; Tehran Taxi
THE WATER DIVINER/ LA PROMESSE D’UNE VIE *** In 1919, four years after the infamous battle of Gallipoli, an Australian father goes to Turkey to retrieve the bodies of his missing sons. Russell Crowe has taken up quite a task for his directorial debut – a story of contrasting cultures, family ties and love against a […]
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT **** (vo Farsi) Thrilling, tender and tongue-in-cheek, this B-movie is simply a work of art. Even if you’re not into vampire movies, this sumptuous black-and-white tale will pull you into its dark, mysterious world of lonely people living in a ghost town named Bad City. A sort of Sin City […]
Cinderella
CINDERELLA ***1/2 “Always have courage and be kind”. What better advice could be given to a loved one, especially from a parent to a child? That is the delicate thread that winds through this latest version of the classic fairytale Cinderella, directed by the multi-talented Kenneth Branagh (the man who brought Shakespeare to the masses) […]
