— by RON WILKINSON — A dozen residents of a French psychiatric hospital have one thing in common. None of them volunteered to be there. They have been adjudicated to be a danger to themselves or others. Therefore, they will stay in the lock-up until the authorities decide they can leave.[...]
Archive for March, 2018
Review: The Workshop (aka L’atelier)
— by RON WILKINSON — From the opening scene of the strikingly beautiful Marina Fois leading a sunny summer class of vibrant teens, we know there is going to be trouble. The trouble is the barely concealed sexual chemistry between her character, the teacher Olivia Dejazet, and her brillia[...]
Five iconic movie moments you can recreate
— by ED MITCHELL — When we watch movies, there are always little things which stand out and make us think just how much we would love to experience something like what we see. Riding a rocket over the far side of the solar system might not be an experience we can recreate, but there [&he[...]
Review: Number One (aka Numéro une)
— by RON WILKINSON — Emmanuelle Devos may be the one suffering the slings and arrows of powerful and spiteful male colleagues, but there is never any doubt as to who is in control. Her exotic and beautiful exterior masks a deliciously devious mind that is every bit as capable of mayhem a[...]
Review: Petit Paysan (aka Bloody Milk)
— by RON WILKINSON — If you are in doubt about the nastiness of dorsal hemorrhagic fever, look no further than this flick. If you think it is bad when it infects the cows, just wait. Director Hubert Charuel’s bovine version of “The Cabin in the Woods” is brought to you by the 23rd [...]
Review: The Lion Sleeps Tonight
— by RON WILKINSON — The 23rd Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, co-presented by Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance, brings you the 60th year of Jean-Pierre Leaud’s acting life. As the actor Jean, he finds it hard to play his own death. Understandably so, since, as one of the cr[...]
Review: Chronic Means Forever
— by BEV QUESTAD — This core-deep self-examination reveals a poetically insightful young woman who asks the big questions: Does my body have value? What do I do? How do I save myself now? Is life worth living? Filmmaker Kadazia Allen-Perry has taken the reality TV aside and made it into [...]
Review: Montparnasse Bienvenüe
— by RON WILKINSON — The 31-year-old woman screaming at the top of her lungs in front of the apartment door would not be remarkable. Especially in the context of cutting (or bleeding) edge French cinema as presented by the 23rd Rendez-Vous with French Cinema (co-presented by Film Society[...]
Review: The Death of Stalin
— by RON WILKINSON — From the moment the opening scenes flash to Adrian McLoughlin playing Josef Stalin you know this movie is going to be nuts. Like the rest of the actors, Mc Loughlin does not even try for an accent. He blurts out his lines as if he was calling his dog and […][...]
Review: The Sower (aka Le semeur)
— by RON WILKINSON — A luscious celebration of 19th century bucolic fertility splashes across the screen at the 23rd Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. Co-presented by Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance, this cautionary tale is directed by Marine Francen and based on the book by V[...]
Trailer: Miss Kiet’s Children
— by BEV QUESTAD — This film gets an A+ and an encore on March 4 at the Portland International Film Festival. A microcosm of the world is captured in Kiet Engels’ primary classroom in a Dutch village. Her focus is on order, getting along, work ethic and overcoming adversity. While the [...]
Trailer: Her Love Boils Bathwater
— by BEV QUESTAD — One of eight films chosen for an encore performance at the 2018 Portland International Film Festival (PIFF), “Her Love Boils Bathwater” is about resilience and fortitude in the face of great challenges. It is also about mothering. Futaba, a single mom, is surrounde[...]
Interview: Director Thomas Morgan
— by BEV QUESTAD — The Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) has chosen eight, from nearly 90 films it featured this year, for encore showings. Festival publicist Nick Bruno reports these films were chosen because they met two criteria: viewer popularity and distributor permission [...]