1 January 2021. As French-speaking Switzerland is right next to France, I thought I would salute our neighbors with a few of their many superb films. After all, it was the Lumière brothers of nearby Lyon who gave us the beginnings of cinema way back in December 1895! And film has continued to be a […]
FILM: ANIMATION MAGIC!
17 December 2020. Let’s do these classics for the season, for the snow and the free, nothing-to-do days (once Christmas is over…). Sadly cinemas will remain closed through mid- to late January, as will all other cultural activities. Indeed tragic for the living arts. Animation may often be directed towards children, but so many are […]
FILM: ARAB BLUES – a Tunisian psychoanalyst moves come back home from Paris
14 February 2020. By Neptune. ARAB BLUES (Un Divan à Tunis) *** (vo French) First shown at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, this social comedy received the Audience Award there, mostly due to the radiant Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who plays Selma, a Tunisian psychoanalyst who has decided to come back home from Paris to […]
FILM: THE GENTLEMEN – a crazy yarn and top actors having a whale of a time
7 February 2020. By Neptune. THE GENTLEMEN *** Hugh Grant is unrecognisable, but such sleazy fun; the usually cool Colin Farrell looks like a geek here, but is razor sharp; handsome Charlie Hunnam is hidden behind glasses and a goatee as a loyal lieutenant, while Matthew McConaughey rules the roost as a smooth operator from […]
FILM: VITTORIO DESICA’s Italian classics
10 January 2020. By Neptune. THE VITTORIO DESICA RETROSPECTIVE at the GRUTLI The best thing in town this week, other than the films I have previously reviewed, is the exceptional Italian retrospective continuing at the GRUTLI CINEMAS until 16 January 2020. Some of the highlights of the great years of Italian cinema that remain are: […]
FILM: JOKER – This “Joker” is no joke
11 October 2019. By Neptune JOKER *** Arthur Fleck is a loser who lives with his mother and works part time as a clown. He becomes the Joker in this latest version of that character (played also by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger in previous Batman films) which was created by DC Comics in the […]
FILM – 5 franc movies across Switzerland this Sunday
30 August 2019. By Neptune CINEPHILES – ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, READY, GO! This SUNDAY, to the annual Allianz JOURNÉE DU CINÉMA for just 5 CHF. This deal happens once a year in our overpriced cities, so take advantage. Go for a double feature, or even a triple one, to see the films you […]
FILM: DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT – bittersweet film about a severe alcoholic.
6 April 2018. DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT *** The multifaceted director Gus Van Sant (among his 48 works – “My Own Private Idaho”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Milk”) is back, this time with an intimate, bittersweet film about a severe alcoholic. Through a wild night of too many drinks with a reckless […]
FILM: 6 you should probably avoid
17 November 2017. Not a great week, I’m afraid. Wait for next week when there will be some fine ones. TEHRAN TABOO **1/2 (vo Farsi) This is a film that is done in animation, atmospheric and politically-attuned, with quite an intriguing storyline. It is well-made, has been making the rounds of film festivals and audiences […]
Film picks this week: The big short, a Swiss film about an artist and a touching Japanese story
8 January 2016. If you haven’t seen a Swiss film for a while then Neptune has discovered just the thing for you this week. If this is not your cup of tea then there is the adrenaline of the stock market in The Big Short or cultural insights revealed in a Japanese film about a struggling […]
