“Experience has shown, and a true philosophy will always show, that a vast, perhaps the larger portion of the truth arises from the seemingly irrelevant” -Edgar Allan Poe
Written and Directed by Abbas Kiarostami Starring: Juliette Binoche and William Shimell Released May 2010 (France) and January 2011 (USA)
C'est un beau film. Critically acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has painted a story that is as real as the audience perceives it to be. Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, Bleu, Dan in Real Life) brings vibrance to the screen as an antique shop owner named Elle. William Shimell plays James Miller, a brainy British author who is in Tuscany to promote his latest book. Elle befriends James and insists on taking him on a tour of rural Italy.While sipping espresso in a cafe, Elle and James are mistaken for a married couple. They continue the illusion like actors in a play.
Miller's book is about copies. He makes the argument that something is only as real as the viewer perceives it to be, therefore a copy is no less worthy than an original. Elle takes him to a museum and she translates the plaque under a painting, saying it is only a copy of the original. Miller questions why the viewers need know this, why not just let them believe it is the original? After all, it looks identical.
Elle and James act just like a married couple. Every nuance and mannerism seems to confirm the assumption made in the cafe. In the end, the audience is left to translate the plaque under the painting.
Binoche won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance. As a British opera star, this is the first major film for Shimell, but he carries the film with shrewd competence. The cinematography is stunning and the dialogue between Elle and James is much more notable than the IMDb would have you believe. Using Elle's description, the film seems "intentionally aimless," letting the viewer interpret the truth: is the marriage real or only a quip-ful copy? And if the truth is in the eye of the beholder, why does it matter?
Cast: Will Ferrel, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson
"And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.” -Kay Eiffel
Will Ferrel is Harold Crick, a taxman who lives his carefully calculated life in accordance to the routine dictates of his wristwatch. Emma Thompson is Kay Eiffel, a famous novelist who relies on cigarettes and infirmaries to inspire her writing. She is famous in fact, for cleverly killing off her heros. It’s the only path to a true masterpiece: “The hero dies, and the story goes on forever.” So when Harold Crick discovers that he is the main character of Eiffel’s newest novel, he begins to fear the inevitable. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast as the very un-calculated Ana Pascal, who forces Harold to eat cookies and dream bigger. Dustin Hoffman is the well-read and logical professor Jules Hilbert, who among other things, convinces Harold that he is not a golem.
Ferrel and Thompson carry the story with a confident whimsy that is both delightful andsincere. It is a funny movie, but it is by no means light. In keeping with Eiffel’s sardonically witty narration, director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Quantum of Solace) has created a film that feels like a novel. Every glance is believable, every word drenched in wisdom.Stranger Than Fiction is about waking up to the big things in life, such as self-sacrifice, and finding joy in the little things like Bavarian sugar cookies.
Written and Directed by Roland Joffe Cast: Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott
There Be Dragons follows the story of two childhood friends who choose radically different paths in life. Josémaria (Charlie Cox) is a priest who is content and happy in his role. Manolo (Wes Bentley) defies his friend’s religion and joins the Spanish civil war as a fascist spy. Josémaria continues his priestly duty amid all kinds of persecution, even when it means praying for enemies or hearing confessions in a zoo. The film gets to the heart of the Christian’s calling, which is unfortunate considering how poorly it is done.
At least four people left mid-movie in my East Village theatre. When I wasn’t counting the bored dissenters, I was cringing at the number of times Josémaria’s internal revelations corresponded with the streams of digital sunlight dramatically augmenting against the stirring soundtrack. The acting felt painfully scripted. At times the characters’ conversations resembled something between a high school play and an old Disney film. As stylistic clichés continued to rear their ugly heads, I found myself fiddling with my iPhone and wondering if there was going to be wine with that cheese.
Its intriguing historical setting, pleasant cinematography, and exaltation of a life spent for God make Dragons a movie you hate to dislike, but let’s not beat around the bush–it’s nothing new, nothing innovative. My friend (the one who didn’t walk out early) and I agreed afterward that “it was just kinda blah.”
It’s nice to see a film with such an authentic view of Christianity, but if you’re looking for a good movie, beware: there be dragons.
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans.
“I'm somebody now, Harry. Everybody likes me. Soon, millions of people will see me and they'll all like me....It's a reason to get up in the morning....It's a reason to smile. It makes tomorrow all right.” (Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb)
Requiem for a Dream is director Darron Aronofsky’s telescope into the world of drug addiction. Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto) and girlfriend Marion (Jennifer Connelly) share a spontaneous, carefree world. Along with Harry’s longtime friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans), the threesome decide drug dealing is the quickest way to “make it big.” Business is good until the drugs start to consume them. Harry’s widowed mother (Ellen Burstyn) is lonely. As she wonders if her life has meaning, she gets an offer to be on TV. Looking at the size of her prized red dress and the size of her aging body, Sara Goldfarb decides diet pills will do the trick.
True to its title, the film follows four lives, four addictions, four dead ambitions.
Requiem is hard to watch. It vividly portrays the darkness and utter hopelessness of drug addiction. It is likely to leave the viewer cringing but unable to turn away. Aronofsky doesn’t just tell the story, he shows it in a roller coaster ride of stunning artistry. It is disturbing and realistic. Like the jarring, repetitive soundtrack, the addicts go through the same cycle again and again. Farther and farther into the darkness they spiral, until the only way to break the cycle is death.
All four characters begin with big ambitions. Marion dreams of opening her own clothing boutique. Sara is going to be on her favorite TV show. In the beginning, the drugs are a way to reach their goals. But the characters become so consumed that they forget all their dreams, desires, and their very humanity. We see this loss of humanity in the ways the characters debase themselves to obtain the drugs. Life for Harry, Marion, Tyrone, and Sara becomes all about getting the next fix, whatever the price. The drugs destroy not only dreams and potential, but also relationships, physical health, and mental stability.
A look at his films will reveal Aronofsky’s deep interest in failed potential induced by obsession. His latest film, the Academy Award nominated Black Swan, deals with a ballerina’s twisted dedication to her craft. In The Fountain, a scientist’s obsession with curing his wife leads him to abandon his most important discovery. But with all their realism and grit, Aronofsky’s films are not gratuitous. We get the sense that he his communicating something that cannot be said enough. Requiem should do for drug usage what Jaws did for swimming alone at night. Death lies in the dark waters of drug usage, and you can never know when it will destroy you.
Binoche won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance. As a British opera star, this is the first major film for Shimell, but he carries the film with shrewd competence. The cinematography is stunning and the dialogue between Elle and James is much more notable than the IMDb would have you believe. Using Elle's description, the film seems "intentionally aimless," letting the viewer interpret the truth: is the marriage real or only a quip-ful copy? And if the truth is in the eye of the beholder, why does it matter? 
