French and French-language Films
Belle de Jour: Bunuel turns a trashy soap opera plot into rich satire
Luis Buñuel, “Belle de Jour” (1967) It’s got a trashy premise – a rich doctor’s wife “plays” at being a prostitute for a few hours each…
nausika
Let Me In: Reeves “lets the right one in” to smother his version’s potential
Matt Reeves, “Let Me In”, Hammer Films / Overture Films (2010) Once upon a time about 25 years ago in a small town somewhere in Reagan-era America, there was…
Buried: film just manages to avoid burying itself with gimmicks and diversions
Rodrigo Cortes, “Buried” (2010) For a one-trick pony in which the trick is one man stuck in a wooden box buried 2 metres underground, this is…
The Life of Oharu: unsentimental historical drama of one woman’s downfall
Kenzo Mizoguchi, “The Life of Oharu”, Shintoho (1952) This is an excellent film about a depressing subject: I only wish colour film had been available to…
Mother (by Bong Joonho): force of nature that can’t be pigeon-holed
Bong Joonho, “Mother” (2008) There aren’t many good movies these days where the central character is a middle-aged woman. Of course she’s a mother – most…
The Housemaid (dir. Im Sang-soo) delivers high-gloss soap opera entertainment
Im Sang-soo “The Housemaid” (2010) How do you remake an old film regarded as a classic and made by a director who’s not only influenced you…
Rosemary’s Baby: does it reflect women’s oppression by modern life?
Roman Polanski, “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) Who doesn’t envy young couples these days who dream of having a nice 3-bedroom house or apartment in the city close to…
Let the Right One In: first, the Swedish version is allowed in
Tomas Alfredsson, “Let the Right One In” (2008) Often when a novel is translated to the screen, the result is a superficial imitation of the printed word:…
Eyes Wide Shut: style wins over substance
Stanley Kubrick, “Eyes Wide Shut”, (1999) I saw this movie ten years ago as there’d been a lot of hype about it featuring Tom Cruise and Nicole…
Miss Mend, Part One: silent film is a real blast from the Soviet past
Boris Barnet and Fyodor Otsep, “Miss Mend, Part One”, (1926) I saw this film together with “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” at the Australia’s Silent…