French Film

Because it is Bastille Day I'm going to talk about some small gems from France.

Isn't Netflix the greatest? I've been a fan of French cinema for years, but it has always meant driving to small, out-of-the way theaters, with blink-and-you've-missed-it show times. Assuming they come to Houston at all. But now if I get a craving to see life in a foreign language all I have to do is find a strong wi-fi connection and a comfy chair. 

Aside: It is a matter of extreme frustration that even though I live in the 4th largest city in the US, many films (particularly art, independent, or foreign films) simply aren't released here. Hey film distributors! The people in the center of the country want to see things other than Transformers and Glenn Beck being a loon.

One of the things I appreciate about French Cinema, is that there are real roles for women over 40. They are even (gasp) the lead! In this vein I give you Haute Cuisine and Queen to Play.

Haute Cuisine [Les Saveurs du Palais] is about the personal chef of the François Mitterrand. There is no real plot, almost nothing happens. It's basically a character study of a strong-minded and talented woman practicing her art. Sometimes she has to deal with people who don't (or can't) appreciate her work, dietitians don't know anything about food so they just make blanket decrees (no sauces!), and other chefs whose focus is on competition and not on the food. But the ones who do get it, these people make up for the idiots she has to deal with along the way. I loved this movie. I loved her style, her steeliness, her obvious pleasure in what she does, and her refusal to let idiots stop her. 

Queen to Play (Joueuse) has a chewier storyline and the always charming Kevin Kline. It's about a working class woman who, on a whim, takes up chess, and the consequences of her growing obsession with the game. I, personally, do not play, but it's movies like this and novels like The Flanders Panel (great read!) that make me want to learn.

Both are in French, with subtitles, so if reading dialogue bothers you, then you will have to find other movies. But I really hope you give them a chance. A show does not have to feature killer alien robots to be a good time. That being said, I am looking forward to Guardians of the Galaxy, because it looks like my kind of silly. 

Been to the movies lately?

I love going to the movies. I can immerse myself in the story and forget about the world for 90 minutes. Therapy for 8 bucks (20 if you include popcorn), not a bad deal.

 

I most recently say Now You See Me, which is about a group of magicians pulling off a bank heist (among other things).  All I can say is I was confused the whole time and I definitly did not see the end coming.  Great turns by Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Woody Harrelson. David Copperfield was a consultant on the film, so the illusions are top notch. It was fun, but after you leave the theater, you realize the story doesn't make much sense, but that didn't stop The Matrix did it?

 

The latest Star Trek, Star Trek: Into Darkness is a lot of fun. All the Trekkie geeks can talk about how it compares to a previous movie (I won't say which one, because I don't want to spoil it for anybody) and Benedict Cumberbatch (the villain) gets to chew the scenery and have a grand old time.

 

 

However, if you are the type who will get all upset about the physics not being correct, then don't go. It will only infuriate you, because the physics is completely improbable. But if you can let that go, it's one heck of a ride.

 

As much as I love a good space opera, I'm also a fan of French film, and I recently stumbled on My Afternoons with Margueritte. It's available on Amazon Prime, and YouTube (And probably Netflix, but I was having trouble logging on so I couldn't check.)  And it's too good not to share.

 

 

It's not dubbed, so you will have to read subtitles (désolé), but the characters will warm your heart. It's about kindnes and the transformative power of literature. If this sounds stuffy, I promise you it's not. It's actually a good film if you want to learn how to swear in French, because there is a whole lot of it.

 

But this is all just killing time until the movie I'm waiting for comes out:

 

 

Despicable Me 2!

Oscar Season Movies

It's Oscar season, and I love movies. I have a Netflix queue that will take me a couple of years to watch. I have DVDs at home, I even watch old movies on YouTube (Spring Parade - circa 1940 - very sweet.)

But oddly enough, I haven't been to the movies in about 6 weeks. True, the snacks are overpriced, and a lot of directors seem to think what viewers really want is length, but it's mostly because everything is either hyper-violent (Django Unchained, Gangster Squad), depressing (Anna Karenina, Les Miserables), or worst of all: important and/or uplifting (Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook). I'm sure these are all wonderful movies, with deep and important truths about life, love and foreign policy but I can't face them.
 

What I really want to see is this.
 

Obviously, I'm seven.

Movie Culture

I just finished an excellent biography of Audrey Hepburn, and conicidentally, two of her films were on television yesterday: The Nun's Story and Charade.  Charade is a caper film with multiple identities, missing money, witty banter, and a fabulous Givenchy wardroble.  It's a lot of fun and how can you not love Cary Grant? But The Nun's Story suprised me.

I knew it was based on the story of a real woman, Marie Louise Habets, and that is is considered one of Audrey Hepburn's best films. What I didn't know was that it was a box office smash, a blockbuster that had people lining up down the street and around the corner to see it. Can you imagine, in this day and age, a movie about a single woman, that has no sex, no explosions, no special effects, and is completely concerned with the internal struggle of concience being a hit?  

I can't either.

But people have not changed all that much since 1959. We are still concerned with living a 'good' life, and trying to define what that means. What is due to others? What do we owe ourselves? If we live for others, are we shortchanging ourselves? Is our help actually helpful, or a way of imposing what we think is right?

These are questions for which everyone has to find their own answers, but I think our popular culture is short-changing us. I love action movies as much as anybody else, but I've noticed lately the action sequences getting longer and longer at the expense of the most interesting part of the movie, the story. I remember sitting through a movie just waiting for a character to die, because until he died, the fight scene wouldn't end. If all I wanted to do was see things blow up, I could watch Mythbusters, (which is a great show) and get a decent practical physics lesson thrown in for free.

I have no patience for sermons, but a compelling story about something other than sex, money or killer alien robots would be an interesting change of pace. Or am I just being naive?