All About My Mother by Pedro Almodovar:
I thought it was an enjoyable film about a depressed mother and hysterical transvestites. Each character was problematic and it either ended in a humorous pause or a dramatic and tedious fit. So overall Mr. Almodovar definitely deserved the oscar for this dramedy which was superbly acted and directed. Recommended...

Sophie Scholl : The Final Days (Marc Rothemund, 2005, Grade: B+)

iMAGE

This film is suspenseful, powerful, harrowing, spiritual, and should leave you crying, probably several times. This is a based-on-fact film about some young German patriots during WW II who dared to fight the Nazis through published, peaceful means. This is also one of those films which is an awesome recommendation of why you shouldn't leave the theatre when the credits roll. Over poignant period music, we see photos of all the real protagonists of this tragedy, which although is obviously sad, is also uplifting. One other reason I liked this film is because of the character of the interrogator (Gerald Alexander Held) of Sophie (Julia Jentsch). He really wants to save her because she's honest, intelligent, strong and confident. She also reminds him of his own son, who he may will fear will die from Nazi "laws". All the acting in the movie is top-notch, but Sophie and Robert Mohr (the interrogator) are powerful characters which need to more often be illumined in film. I may think there are better movies about WWII, Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust, but this is one which everyone should avail themselves to. Just be prepared to be shattered, again.

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I finally saw The Son and The Child by the Dardenne Brothers last night and was blown away. The performances by the male leads in both are incredible. I love the use of handheld cameras and how there are no artificial sounds used in either film. There is a natural quality to the Dardenne Brother's work that is severely lacking in most films today. I'd highly recommend these two to anyone who's a fan of contemporary french filmmaking -- especially if you're a fan of Haneke or Ozon.

i saw a tale of two sisters a while back. i was quite impressed with it. i thought it was quite creepy and the plot was well thought out. i did find it a bit confusing though!

I took a second look at Chan-Wook Park's SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE for a second time, via video, and it held up very well. It was the first film in a trilogy of films from this S. Korean director and in my opinion best of the three. The others are OLD BOY, which is also a terrific film, and SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, which doesn't work as well as the first two films in the trilogy.

SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE is about a kidnapping gone array. A deaf mute, with this wacky girlfriend who is an anarchist, kidnaps the son of wealthy businessman so he can pay for a kidney transplant for his sister. The protagonist -- the deaf mute -- is forced into kidnapping the kid in the first place because he paid some organ trafficers money (and one of his kidneys) in exchange for a kidney for his sister. They cheat him so he is forced to kidnap the kid to get the money to pay for his sister's operation. When the sister learns of the kidnapping and why the kidnapping takes place, she offs herself. The deaf mute tracks down the organ trafficers who ripped him off while the guy whose daughter he kidnpapped tracks him and his wacky girlfriend. Just real memorable characters. This was the first Korean film I'd seen and I've been addicted to Korean film since. I think Korean is the most vibrant cinema going now.

I took another look, via DVD, of another Korean flick that I caught on first-run a few years back and loved called OASIS directed by Chang-dong Lee.

This is one of the most improbable love stories ever put on film between a learning disabled guy who meets a woman who had MS or some sort of debilitating disease. In addition to the fully drawn characters mentioned above, the film ingeniously releases information so by the end of the film you are 180 degrees away from where you were at the start of the film. I was blown away when I caught it on its brief theatrical run back in '94 and blown away again last night.

Babette's Feast is an amazing feat of cinematography. With the mysterious arrival of Babette, a refugee from France's civil war, life for two pious sisters and their tiny hamlet in Denmark begins to change. Babette suddenly has the opportunity to prepare a gourmet French meal. Her feast scandalizes the elders, except for the visiting General. The ending is surprising and It won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in the 80's and is a must see. It's best with subtitles. I loved it!

I loved Babette's Feast! It was wonderful. When it came out, there were a number of restaurants in DC that made the entire dinner. Of course I was a poor student back then, and couldn't dream of spending that kind of money on a meal!

Two other great "food" movies: Like Water for Chocolate, and Eat, Drink, Man, Woman.

Fanny and Alexander.

What is there to say? It's Bergman tweaking at the ears of conventional Swedish society, and the church in particular, conducted with immaculate framing, design and acting.

Get some Swede in ya!

Couldn't agree more about Fanny and Alexander. Just a lovely movie. He out-Dickens'd Dickens.

Saw Volver by Almodovar this weekend. It was terrific. Every bit as good as it's critical buzz. Penelope Cruz has been criminally underused in her US features. She has wonderful range. And, more importly, while still looking quite beautiful, she does a great job of suggesting an 'everywoman.' She remains human and approachable, in a way that she didn't in Vanilla Sky, or Corelli's Mandolin.

Almodovar, again, proves that he's most interested in societies of women. The men are quite marginal and, literally, disposable.

A definite recommend.

I have to remember to post my appropriate reviews here. Next up will be Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring.

The Virgin Spring (1960, Ingmar Bergman, Grade: B))

This is a stark, simple and very violent allegory about man's relationship with a God which allows evil to exist. Ultimately, that's what it's about, but it's a very short and mostly-quiet film which includes extreme bursts of violence and asks tough questions.

It's set during the Middle Ages and paints a vivid world where both the old Norse gods and the newer Christian ones coexist. Basically, it's about a farmer and his family who send their only, virginal daughter to the church to deliver candles for a ceremony. On her journey, she meets up with poor herdsmen, and things don't turn out well for any of them.

I'm sorry I've said as much as I have, but it's a beautifully-photographed film, much of it set in the Swedish countryside. It truly is a tragedy of personal and epic proportions, yet it does have something resembling a fairy tale ending. Whatever anyone else thinks of it, I find it to be among the Master's benchmarks.

Trivia note for those who don't know: Wes Craven remade this film as Last House on the Left. "And that's all I have to say about that"---Forrest Gump.

My daughter and I watched Les Parapluies de Cherbourg tonight. What a lovely film. Sad and beautiful, with music that recalls mid 20th c. France. It makes me think of Jacques Brel and Absolute Beginners at the same time. And the colors! With a 19 year old Catherine Deneuve. C'est magnifique!

Rating: B+

Aparajito
Double Suicide
Dekalog (Parts 1,4-6)

Jean de Florette. I've got Manon of the Spring teed up and ready to go. Tomorrow. Tonight is Monday Night Football!


Is that incongruous or what?

Watched:

Persona
The Passion of Anna
The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
The Virgin Spring
Cries and Whispers
Through a Glass Darkly
Winter's Light
The Silence

I cannot get enough of Bergman films...in a quest to watch all his movies!

I'd suggest Smiles of a Summer Night, The Magician and Fanny and Alexander next. Excellent start!

Thanks Mark F !!!

Yesterday watched, Hour of the Wolf, today, Crisis.

Crisis actually had sort of a happy ending which surprised me. More Bergman movies on the way via Netflix.

So, did Hour of the Wolf creep you out?

I saw The Beautiful Boxer (from Thailand)-a true to life story of Parinya Charoenphol, famous Muaythai boxer and
Shutter - a horror film from Thailand