Confidences trop intimes

English title: Intimate Strangers

Genre: psychological drama

With: Fabrice Luchini (William Faber), Sandrine Bonnaire (Anna), Michel Duchaussoy (Dr. Monnier), Anne Brochet (Jeanne), Laurent Gamelon (Luc, Jeanne’s friend), Hélène Surgère (Mrs. Mulon), Gilbert Melki (Marc), Urbain Cancelier (Chatel, Dr. Monnier’s patient)

Director: Patrice Leconte

Screenplay: Jérôme Tonnerre and Patrice Leconte

Release: 2004

Studio: Les Films Alain Sarde et al.

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.2/10

‟You see… I need to know where she lives.”

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Story-line: on her way to see a psychiatrist, Anna mistakenly enters William Faber’s tax office and begins explaining her personal problems to him. If you were Faber, what would you do?

Pluses: excellent acting by Fabrice Luchini (a staid and sentimental William), Sandrine Bonnaire (the bewitching Anna) and Anne Brochet (William’s saucy ex), an intelligent screenplay tinged with psychological insights, eroticism and a dash of suspense à la Hitchcock, fine direction and solid production values.

Minuses: none I can think of.  

Comments: starting with a very simple premise, Patrice Leconte and crew have whipped up a healthy serving of movie magic. CONFIDENCES TROP INTIMES (roughly translated as ‟Secrets Too Personal”) supplies a foxy story, several deliciously ambiguous moments, one incredible dance scene (you’ve got company, John Travolta!) and a wonderful ending. Who could ask for anything more?

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Barbara

Genre: personal and political drama  

With: Nina Hoss (Barbara Wolff), Ronald Zehrfeld (André Reiser, the hospital director), Rainer Bock (Klaus Schütz, the Stasi operative), Christina Hecke (Schulze), Claudia Geisler (Schlösser), Jasna Fritzi Bauer (Stella), Jannik Schümann (Mario)

Director: Christian Petzold

Screenplay: Christian Petzold (with Harun Farocki)

Release: 2012

Studio: Schramm Film Koerner & Weber, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), ARTE

Rating: for all

MBiS score: 8.3/10

Sometimes a Bike is All the Freedom You Can Settle For

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Story-line: East Germany, circa 1980. When Doctor Barbara Wolff filed a request to travel abroad, it didn’t occur to her that her career at a renowned Berlin medical center would be jeopardized by it. Now, she finds herself in a small-town hospital, with people she doesn’t trust and under Stasi surveillance.

Pluses: fine acting by Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld and Rainer Bock as the unsympathetic Schütz, a methodical screenplay that develops intriguing character interactions, a strong sense of dread and a fabulous final act, faultless helming, appropriate production values and that glorious closing song by Chic (Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards).

Minuses: none whatsoever.

Comments: BARBARA, a taut little thriller reminiscent of the PRISONER TV series with Patrick McGoohan, feels like a penitentiary movie where cells and guards have been replaced by long work shifts, political harassment, lack of privacy and incessant pressure. Yes, life is full of unpleasant surprises… but some people can rise above adversity and show heartwarming humanity. A fine time for movie buffs!

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