Tuesday, June 16, 2009

CASHBACK and CARAMEL

Today two movies at once, two different movies that we'd like to talk about:

"Cashback" from Sean Ellis from 2006 and "Caramel" from Nadine Labaki 2007




Cashback is set in a london and it's about an insomniac that start working on a night shift on the local supermarket in order to forget a hard break up and Caramel is about 4 lebanese women and their life in beiruth in the search for love.

Two films, two cities, two different visions but a same subject in common how we manage our lives in respect to love.

In cashback, the main character dreams he has the power to stop the time, to put the world on a "pause" mode as he says where he could then wonder and make the moments last for as long as he wanted. This escaping from reality is what helps him trhoughout the movie to cope with his sadness from the breakup from his girlfriend.

While in Caramel, the absence of dream and the crude reality brought by a hard city full of costumes and traditions is what makes these women go own, one of the main character for isntance dreams of a relationship with her married lover, and slowly she will meet his wife and kid and come to the sense that the relationship is just impossible. But everything quitte in touch with reality as if there were no place for dreaming in their lives.

It's interesting how the same subject can be treated by two different aspects and yet give the audiences the same result in the end. Both films have their own style and great choice of actors and both films leaves you with the feeling of wanting more.

We recommend these two films if you get the chance just let yourself be transported by them to their own reality. So our final words: to be absolutely seen!


Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Los Abrazos Rotos

Today one comment about the last Almodovar.

LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS



It premiered in spain and in the Cannes Film Festival Competition. It was destroyed by the critic and the public didn't enjoy it very much, i guess the fault is Almodovars! Just his. He got his audience to be used to soap opera like drama, sad spanish songs and more and more drama that i undesrtand people were dissapointed with this one. and yet all the elements were there, it's still a almodovar film! He is the only director i know that has the power of making strange crazy drama stories into these amazing films.

This last film tells the story of a blind movie writer who will tell his past to the son of his partner and in tell us how and why he got blind.

In my opinion it's a good movie, very well written (as usual) a little less dramatic if we compared with the others (which for me is a good thing) and using less drama music to creat atmosphere which I guess is also good. I undesrtand it bothered a lot of fans of his because the story is kind of déjà vu and much less dramatic or funny with the "movie in the movie" plot.

But Penelope Cruz and all the actors are really good. The film has a slow rythm and carried by calm music, beautiful images and many references to many other directors such as Hitchcock.

So in short, if you like Almodovar's style and drama you might be dissapointed with this one because it's really far from the usual Almodovar. But if instead you are curious and like to see different films from good directors then like me you will enjoy it.

Final words: do as you feel like. I liked it and recommend but don't say I didn't warn you!

Films to be seeing before you die: LES VACANCES DE M. HULOT from Jacques TATI

Today I'll talk about a movie I saw for the first time last week in spite of being a major classic.

LES VACANCES DE M. HULOT (Jacques TATI - 1953)


This black and white movie from 1953 has just been restaured by two french fondations fo cinema: The thomson fondation (The thomsom group owns Technicolor among other companies) and The fondation Gan pour le cinema.

I was invited to the premier of the film in Paris with the people who worked on the restoration and the actors that are still alive. I Know Tati's work from other films like "Playtime"and "My oncle" (which i highly recomend.

But Monsieur Hulot's Holiday I have never seen before and yet the great about discovering this old movie is the possibility to watch it on the big screen. The film is like a ballet, every movement or scene is programmed and works like a clock, the jokes are funny and the audiences laughs a lot during the whole film.

There's, like in all Tati's movies, almost no dialogues and yet you don't miss them, that's the beauty of Tati.

The story tells the holidays at a small seaside french city in the 50ies, it's amazing to see how summer holidays went by at those times, Mr. Hulot one very clumsy man comes to spend his holidays at the beach hotel and from the beggining to the end is responsible for all the problems and quiprocos happening in the small town. But he does that by pure innocence and clumsyness.

The film is fresh, funny and makes you feel like going right away on holidays but in the 50ies where time seems to pass much slower. The film will be re-lauched around the world in theathers again. DON'T MISS IT!

Final words: Check when it will be showing near you and go see it!