August 8, 2010
Potiche (2010) **
Catherine Deneuve plays the wife of a factory manager who takes his place and solves a major labor dispute.
L'Illusioniste (2010) **
An animated film directed by Sylvain Chomet, and based on an unproduced, semi-autobiographical script that Jacques Tati wrote in 1956. The main character is an animated caricature of Tati himself.
Korkoro (2010) **
French drama about the genocide of the Gypsies during World War II. Directed by Tony Gatlif, the film follows a Roma family travelling in three horse-drawn wagon trains across Vichy France in 1943.
Les Emotifs anonymes (2010) *
Lame French comedy about a romance between two emotionally immature chocolate makers. It's hard to believe that Isabelle Carre got a Cesar nomination as best actress for her abysmal performance in this film.
Les Petits mouchoirs (2010) **
A French melodrama about a circle of friends spending their summer vacation in Arcachon, while one of their friends is dying in a hospital.
Joseph et la fille (2010) **
Clearly inspired by "The Good Thief" (itself a remake of "Bob le flambeur"), it's an otherwise routine caper flick with a very original plan to rob a casino.
Rendez-vous avec un ange (2010) *
Very bizarre film about a nurse who loses her job and her opera-loving husband. The beginning is quite intriguing, but the film goes completely off the rails in the second half.
July 7, 2010
Beloved Berlin Wall (2010) **
Overly sweet romantic comedy about a love affair between a student from West Berlin and an East German border guard, in the fall of 1989 as the Berlin Wall is about to crumble. Very watchable (in a Hollywoodish sort of way), often quite screwball and unbelievably corny, but in a good, old-fashioned way.
Sigwa (2010) **
Interesting, but uneven political drama from the Philippines. It's a story of a group of left-wing revolutionaries from the 1970's who ultimately took very different paths in life (some left the movement, some left the country, some joined the government and others continued the struggle). Very thought-provoking, and while its left-wing bias is quite evident, the film allows competing points of view to be expressed.
Box The Hakamada Case (2010) *
A boxer is falsely convicted of murder. A Japanese "Hurricane". Unlike Banmei Takahashi's previous works, this is not an erotic film, but a "respectable" picture. So respectacle, in fact, that it's boring.
Wenecja (2010) **
Set in a remote rural estate in Poland during World War II, this is one of Jan Jakub Kolski's most depressing films. But unlike the equally depressing "Pornografia", it's also one of his weakest works.
Abacus And Sword (2010) *
Japanese film about a samurai accountant forced to sell all his possessions to pay his family's debts.
Der Grosse Kater (2010) *
Bruno Ganz is excellent as a Swiss president dealing with very serious difficulties in life.
Chantrapas (2010) *
One of Otar Iosseliani's worst films, a very tedious (and vaguely autobiographical) story about a Georgian filmmaker who comes to France.
Jaffa (2010) **
Israeli melodrama about a Palestinian who accidentaly kills the brother of his Jewish girlfriend.
The Belgrade Phantom (2010) **
Based on a true story that took place in Belgrade in 1979. While Yugoslav president Tito was visiting Cuba, a mysterious driver exhibited spectacular driving maneuvers using a stolen white Porsche car through the city streets, challenging the police to try and catch him.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) **
Visually stunning Thai film about death and the meaning of life.
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (2010) *
The third (and final) installement of the Lisbeth Salander's saga is extremely disappointing. In sharp contrast to its predecessors, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (2009) and "The Girl Who Played With Fire" (2009), this film is slow, boring, predictable and devoid of any sex (or nudity). It's basically a courtroom drama with very little action, because Lisbeth is behind bars (or in a hospital bed) the whole time.
Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame (2010) ***
The Red Spot (2010) *
Very tedious drama about a Japanese girl who travels to Germany to visit her parents' tomb. This very simple story would be told better in a short film. As is, the movie seems artificially stretched beyond a breaking point, with similar dialogue, situations and shots repeated several times for no reason. There is an unintentionally hilarious negative review of this film on imdb.com - hilarious because the author obviously takes this apolitical picture way too seriously ("this movie portrays a very very western, very very German, very very far-left standpoint on capitalism"), even though the film has absolutely nothing to say about capitalism (nor any other ideology).
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