Remake of a Clint Eastwood movie set in Virginia during the Civil War. Originally a novel, this version would have been better as a play and does nothing but cast more doubts in my mind about the abilities of Sofia Coppola.
Awarded best director at Cannes for this, she gives us little context and little real tension in this movie. It is supposed to be a tale of the sexual tension in a girl’s school when a wounded soldier is brought in to recover,
in this case a handsome Irish soldier played by Colin Farrell.
I personally found the film an exercise in paint by numbers rather than a hot chamber piece. Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst
and Elle Fanning go through the motions and while their sexual tension is apparent, it is hardly subtle. Pacing is erratic and there is an overdependence on ill-lit interiors
and languid sunsets for exteriors.
And then there are plot goofs like the poisoning by mushrooms that point to a lack of careful research. All in all, a disappointing result with materials and actors that could have produced much more!
★★
and his first steps in inventing stories with a particular emphasis on his mother who suffered acute depression.
Nathalie Portman writes, directs and stars as the mother and despite her talent it is all a bit too much.
She manages a couple of very moving images and scenes but mostly the direction is uninspiring and the script gets rather too heavy and literary in places.
An interesting project that just fails to achieve lift off. Amir Tessler as the young Amos does his best to hold the film together.
It is the story of a man who is dredging up his past, the what ifs and might have beens of distant relationships, all triggered by him being bequeathed a diary that belonged to his best friend
who ended up with his girlfriend. There is a sense of detective intrigue in the movie as in the book but mostly it is a reflection of a man wondering where he went wrong and how to salvage something of the magic moments of youth
that he now finds hard to locate in his rather routine life. The interesting thing is that Tony, the main character played by Broadbent is really quite pathetic
and while he has his sympathetic moments, he is not that likeable. And he has that childish sense of sticking with resentment. Veronica, his ex-girlfriend has moved on and has had her challenges in life and is suitably icy when Tony asks to meet.
And then there is Tony’s ex-wife and daughter who try to support him through this stage.
It is an interesting work on memories, expectations and the empty spaces in our relationships but I felt it dragged in parts and then ended abruptly. More suitable for a couple of TV episodes in my opinion.
is coached through various interpretations of the facts to see which will best appeal to judge and jury. So we end up never quite knowing what is the truth
until some late twists. Not a foolproof movie but entertaining enough. Mario Casas
is the lead but Ana Wagener as the coach/lawyer does a very reasonable job.
Oriol Paulo sharp in direction and script.
You can see a lot worse than this even though it is largely a talk movie.
Mother (Evgenia Dodina) 
grinds on with her life trying to return to work early and then going about her dental appointments with grim determination not to let the tears show.
So, while not much happens and there could have been some editing, the film functions very well on the level of displaying how each of us cope with the loss of a loved one. New director Asaph Polonsky handles this prickly subject with plenty of humour and wisdom and as the film goes on we get to feel more for this couple.
When Eyal and Zooler gatecrash another funeral we hear a very moving speech that ends up unblocking everyone there including our protagonists.
So, you may not find it that wow but for me the film has its hidden gems.
where it starts all over again and finally end up in Haute Savoie. In fact, we follow the story of the two youngest boys, Maurice (Batyste Fleurial) and the angelical Jo (Dorian Le Clech)
as they cross the country, 
spend time in a boarding school of a dubious nature and escape the Germans more than once.
The film, directed by Christian Duguay, is relatively straightforward in its telling, it starts as a flashback but then progresses fairly normally and recreates aspects of that era pretty well. The acting is good, the kids supported by Patrick Bruel
and Elsa Zylberstein as their parents. I am a little surprised that it hasn’t done better at the box office but maybe this type of escape movie from the past
is indeed out of fashion now.
Life in this place is excellently conveyed in the movie, the hovels of the locals living basically in the open air and the residences of the Spaniards which are little better, damp and unprivate. Many small details of daily life are portrayed plus moments of more existential like the appearance of a boy who is like a seer and the scene of a llama walking through a government office.
decides to join a ragbag group of men heading off to try to catch a local bandit and get the bounty for him. This ill-founded expedition
is at once beautiful as it goes through amazing scenery and encounters the natives
and harrowing as they get more and more embroiled in violence. Martel does handle it beautifully though.
and with the governors are probably the best because we get to see the machinations of the society and of how this colony was ruled. I’d like to give it more but the pace and the distance we felt from the film distracted me. Nonetheless she has real talent as a director and there are several unforgettable scenes.
as the poet and believable as she descends into illness of a somewhat psychosomatic nature one suspects
. She is ably supported by a fine cast
including Jennifer Ehle, Keith Carradine
as her father and Annette Badland as her aunt. The staging is correct, 
the screenplay works very well with voiceovers of her poetry throughout the film and some good camerawork.
In all, a good example of a period piece, carefully done
and my main point against was that it got a bit long in places.
passionfilm 