Femme infidèle (la)

English title: The Unfaithful Wife

Genre: marital drama  

With: Stéphane Audran (Hélène), Michel Bouquet (Charles Desvallées), Stephen Di Napolo (Michel), Maurice Ronet (Victor Pegala), Michel Duchaussoy (Duval), Guy Marly (Gobet)

Director: Claude Chabrol

Release: 1968

Studio: Cinegai S.p.A., Les Films de la Boétie

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.1/10    

A Living Room, a Statuette, a Fit of Anger  

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Story-line: Hélène and Charles live in a magnificent house, are happy together and dearly love their son Michel. But is their marriage as perfect as it seems?

Pluses: sparkling dialogues and acting, a fresh take on infidelity, excellent pacing, odd touches here and there (it’s a Chabrol, n’est-ce pas?).

Minuses: none really.

Comments: some movies waste no time in drawing you in… and this is exactly what LA FEMME INFIDÈLE manages to do. Marvel at Claude Chabrol’s measured, psychology-driven filmmaking. Quality entertainment for movie buffs!

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Fils (le)

English title: The Son

Genre: psychological drama

With: Olivier Gourmet (Olivier), Isabella Soupart (his ex-wife Magali), Morgan Marinne (Francis), Jimmy Deloof (Dany) and Anne Gérard (Dany’s mother).

Directors: Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Release: 2002

Studio: NewYorker Films

Rating: - 

MBiS score: 8.2/10

Too Young To Know Better. Too Old To Forget.

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Story-line: a quiet man who teaches woodworking to juvenile delinquents has trouble dealing with a new student.   

Pluses: a sober treatment well-suited to the subject matter (no music… not even during the opening credits!), a meticulous and sensible screenplay, tight editing and camera work (notice how Olivier is often filmed from behind… feel all that stiffness in his neck), a masterful buildup of tension.

Minuses: none whatsoever.

Comments: over the years, the Dardenne brothers have become Cannes Festival favourites for one simple reason: they make excellent movies. LE FILS, a compelling drama set in Belgium, showcases yet again their talent and storytelling prowess. This low-budget, high-value production is well worth your time. See it!  

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Husbands

Genre: comedy drama

With: Ben Gazzara (Harry), Peter Falk (Archie Black), John Cassavetes (Gus Dimitri), Jenny Runacre (Mary Tynan), Meta Shaw (Annie, Harry’s wife).

Director: John Cassavetes

Release: 1970

Studio: Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, Sony Pictures Releasing

Rating: PG-13

MBiS score: 8.4/10

Three Loons on a Lark

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Story-line: when Stuart passes away, his friends Harry, Archie and Gus take time off to reminisce and chase their blues away.

Pluses: amazingly natural performances by the three leads, an original and very talky screenplay by John Cassavetes, juicy dialogues, one unbelievable 12-minute scene in a toilet stall, splendid photography by Victor J. Kemper.

Minuses: the movie made me laugh so hard I was exhausted in the end.   

Comments: although it contains a few dramatic and even harrowing scenes, HUSBANDS has little in common with Lawrence Kasdan’s THE BIG CHILL. Cassavetes’ film is mostly a comedy… and one so hilarious the actors often crack up while delivering their lines. You’ll love HUSBANDS for its frank depiction of friendship, regret, personal tragedies and minor victories. As for those body odours… well… don’t ask!

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Grandes manœuvres (les)

Genre: romantic drama  

With: Michèle Morgan, Gérard Philipe, Jean Desailly

Director: René Clair

Release: 1955

Studio: Filmsonor, Rizzoli Film, S.E.C.A., Cinétel

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.3/10

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Story-line: as his garrison prepares for military exercises shortly before World War I, Lt. Armand de la Verne bets he can woo any woman coming his way.

Pluses: fine acting from illustrious French leads, a thoughtful screenplay, first-rate direction, lavish visuals and eye-popping production values. 

Minuses: none whatsoever.

Comments: either for laughs or for drama, many movies have featured a wager as romantic premise but LES GRANDES MANOEUVRES has done so in a mature and most sensible way. René Clair’s film is yet another gem in French cinema’s rich jewel box.

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© 2016 – All rights reserved

Antichrist

Genre: horror 

Director: Lars von Trier

Release: 2009

Studio: Zentropa Entertainments, Slot Machine, Memfis Film et al.

Rating: R (for graphic sexual situations)

MBiS score: 7.3 or 7.8/10, depending on your familiarity with the genre

Show Your Love With An Anklet, Darling!

Wintertime in the State of Washington. While his parents are making love, little Nic opens a window of their high-rise apartment, climbs out and falls to his death. Such a loss leaves both parents shattered and guilt-ridden; the father struggles to understand, the mother is hospitalized. Is there any way for these people to pull through? With Willem Dafoe (He), Charlotte Gainsbourg (She) and Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm (Nic).

Lars von Trier often stirs up controversy  with his movies but ANTICHRIST, despite a hair-raising title, didn’t seem very threatening to me; it deals much more with mental breakdown than religion, satanic doings or some rendering of the Apocalypse. It’s basically a slow-cooking horror flick (think MISERY, THE MUSIC OF CHANCE or THE SHINING) that also echoes TREE OF LIFE and MELANCHOLIA with its arty, intellectual bent. If you’ve already seen these other films, von Trier’s may feel like déjà vu (which explains the two scores above) but it does present original insights and is faithful to its intent ’til the very end. In the first act, I liked those long sequences without dialogue, the impressive use of Handel’s music and von Trier’s efforts to demonstrate the psychological aspects of grief. Then, as the movie builds tension, it does deliver healthy jolts and darkly funny moments… which was also fine by me. In the last act, however, the screenplay’s attempts at symbolism failed to convince me and, dare I say it, I was quite relieved when it all ended on an abrupt, merciful climax.  

As you can see, I wasn’t bowled over by ANTICHRIST, a well-acted and solidly produced film that offers shock value but modest enlightenment. Though Willem Dafoe’s character claims that ‟ thoughts distort reality”, I’d say reality does catch up at some point, especially toward the movie’s dénouement. In von Trier’s defence, I’d rather recommend MELANCHOLIA (if you’re not feeling too depressed) and especially BREAKING THE WAVES, his morally worthy and superior work from 1996.

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© 2016 - All rights reserved

The Chase

Genre: social drama

With: Marlon Brando, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Angie Dickinson

Director: Arthur Penn

Release: 1965

Studio: Horizon Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.6/10

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Story-line: panic spreads through a Texas town when locals learn that Charlie ‟Bubber” Reeves, a well-known convict, has just escaped from prison.

Pluses: fabulous performances by A-list actors, a powerful and violent story by Horton Foote and Lillian Hellman, Arthur Penn’s steady direction.

Minuses: the film’s nondescript title doesn’t reflect its high merit.   

Comments: THE CHASE spins an appalling tale about messy lives, powerful people, social ills and vigilante justice. By and large, this is what riveting, masterful cinema looks like.   

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© 2015 – All rights reserved

The Killers

Genre: crime drama (in black and white)

Director: Robert Siodmak

Release: 1946

Studio: Mark Hellinger Productions, Universal International (Universal Pictures)

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.5/10

Who Says Crime Doesn’t Pay?

When a friend warns him that two strangers are in town looking for him, Pete Lunn, a gas station attendant, barely registers a pulse. ‟I’m through with all that running around, Pete says blandly. I did something wrong once.Thanks for coming.” Later that day, Pete is found murdered in his room and the local sheriff won’t investigate for reasons of State jurisdiction. Enters Jim Reardon, an Atlantic Casualty man, who will try to find out just what happened. With Burt Lancaster (Pete Lunn), Edmond O'Brien (Jim Reardon), Ava Gardner (Kitty Collins), Albert Dekker (Big Jim Colfax), Sam Levene (Police Lt. Sam Lubinsky), Vince Barnett (Charleston), Virginia Christine (Lilly Harmon Lubinsky) and Jack Lambert (‟Dum-Dum” Clarke).

Though THE KILLERS shows its hand early on, it never ceases to stump and trump ’til the very end. In his quest for the truth, Reardon will criss-cross the States of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, visit a few joints not fit for your mother-in-law and meet several shady types. Yes, THE KILLERS is a film noir… and one that mixes all the right ingredients:

- a story so complex and twisty you’ll need some time to get into it (courtesy of Anthony Veiller, Richard Brooks and John Huston, from a story by Ernest Hemingway);

- snappy dialogues especially strong on vernacular;

- colourful, erratic characters and a fabulous femme fatale in Ava Gardner;

- impressive acting by a sturdy cast;

- expert direction, storytelling and editing that use flashbacks with rare intelligence;

- a fair amount of mayhem; and

- an emphatic, threatening score by Miklós Rózsa.

Concerning the story, there is one issue I’d like to address for your viewing benefit. When Reardon first meets Lubinsky and tells him about Pete’s murder, some Internet sources claim that Lubinsky couldn’t have known about it at the time and that the screenplay as such is defective. I beg to differ. An explanation is given for Lubinsky’s muted reaction and, considering he was a well-informed cop and a long-time friend of Pete’s, it does seem plausible. Case closed.

That’s all you need to know about THE KILLERS, a thriller so compelling and well-planned that it stands firmly on its own at the ripe old age of 69. Crime may not pay – as the cliché goes – but movie buffs will be amply rewarded this time around.  

MBiS

© 2015 – All rights reserved

Short Cuts 

Genre: slice-of-life drama 

With: Chris Penn, Andie MacDowell, Bruce Davison  

Director: Robert Altman

Release: 1993

Studio: Fine Line Features, Spelling Films International, Avenue Pictures Productions

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.3/10

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Story-line: SHORT CUTS spins many a tale of quiet desperation as it follows more than twenty characters struggling with life in a surreal metropolis named Los Angeles.

Pluses: a frank and realistic screenplay of almost epic proportions, fine performances by marquee names, a potent mix of dark comedy and personal tragedy.

Minuses: the film is rather long and features a very large cast but remains orderly and interesting throughout.  

Comments: SHORT CUTS mixes lives on the edge to deliver mesmerizing results. A major achievement for Robert Altman, the American master of ensemble films (NASHVILLE, PRÊT-À-PORTER, THE PLAYER).

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© 2015 – All rights reserved

Notorious

Genre: suspense

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Release: 1946

Studio: Vanguard Films, RKO Radio Pictures, Universal

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.5/10

Loves Me, Loves Me Not

Miami, August 1946. After Joe Huberman is sentenced to 20 years in jail for treason, his daughter Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) is approached by a Secret Service agent who believes she’s ideally suited to trap Joe’s associates in Brazil. Next thing you know, the poor girl’s on a plane to Rio… and she’s not going there for the Carnival. With Cary Grant (T.R. Devlin, the agent), Claude Rains (Alexander Sebastian), Louis Calhern (Captain Paul Prescott), Leopoldine Konstantin (Anna Sebastian), Reinhold Schǘnzel (Wilhelm Renzler), Ivan Triesault (Eric Mathis), Alex Minotis (Joseph) and Eberhard Krumschmidt (Emil Hupka).

NOTORIOUS revolves around nuclear energy but draws more on star power to propel its story of intrigue and romance. Ingrid Bergman wasn’t just a beautiful woman; she also possessed genuine talent and her performance here is both credible and very natural. As for Cary Grant, I wasn’t fond of him when I began watching movies but I’m learning to appreciate how great a thespian he really was. With such a combustible duo as Devlin and Alicia, you can expect their working relationship to be muddled by uneasiness and personal feelings… but let’s leave it at that. Claude Rains is also vital to NOTORIOUS for he provides that spark of danger the movie needed after a rather inauspicious start. The rest of the cast is quite commendable, especially Leopoldine Konstantin as one really mean mother.   

The movie also stands as a classic because of its overall direction – Hitchcock was a fine helmer, obviously – and brilliant screenplay by Ben Hecht, one of the best writers Hollywood has ever known. Hecht’s storytelling gets stronger and stronger as the drama builds towards an exciting climax and his dialogues are funny, intelligent and sarcastic. As a collective work, NOTORIOUS is exemplary, a movie to cherish much like CASABLANCA or GONE WITH THE WIND.

For those of you who haven’t seen Hitchcock’s monochrome marvel, you’re in for one hell of a treat. And when you’ll hear Devlin saying that Alicia ‟is first, last, and always not a lady”, don’t you believe him!

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© 2015 – All rights reserved

Giant

Genre: family saga

With: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean

Director: George Stevens

Release: 1956

Studio: Giant Productions (A George Stevens Production), Warner Bros.  

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.4/10

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Story-line: this sprawling movie tells the tale of the spirited Benedict clan and of its large cattle-ranching operation in Texas from the 1920s to the 1950s. Get ready for happy times, bad blood and family crises in loving, living WarnerColor! 

Pluses: glorious performances by our three leads, a gripping story based on a novel by Edna Ferber, splendid photography by William C. Mellor and vivid dialogues.

Minuses: none whatsoever. This film is pure entertainment!

Comments: like Tara in GONE WITH THE WIND, Reata Ranch is another mythical property of movie lore and the Benedicts certainly rival Scarlett and her O’Haras. GIANT depicts that time when ranchers and oilmen were struggling to coexist in the Lone Star state. Seeing a jubilant Jett Rink covered with crude will strike you as one legendary moment in Hollywood history.

  

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© 2015 – All rights reserved