L'homme de Sa Vie (The Man of My Life) (2006)

When Frédéric (Bernard Campan) invites his new neighbor, Hugo (Charles Berling) to join him, his wife Frédérique (Léa Drucker) and their extended family for dinner one summer evening, he gains a friend. Hugo announces to the crowd that he is gay. There's a moment of "oh-no-he-di-nt" but they're French and h are sophisticated. Soon, Hugo becomes part of the family. Hugo is a graphic artist and Frédéric owns a company. Both are avid runners and take to daily runs together. Frédéric seems happy as a husband and father. The two men engage in philosophical discussions about relationships and life. A physical attraction develops. It's subtle and intellectually based. A few subplots lead back to the central conflict, but this is mainly Frédéric's story as he realizes his attraction, the possibility of exploring it and what he stands to lose.

L'homme de Sa Vie is subdued--it's chatty and artsy, mostly a character development piece. There's something special about it, but I can't pinpoint it. I wasn't quite engaged but I also was never 100% bored. The ending is left to interpretation but may occur seems evident. The director is a woman and perhaps that adds to the singular story and ending.

Director: Zabou Breitman

Country: France

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  114 minutes

Scale: 2.5

W (2008)

I was chomping at the bit to see W. I expected controversial but encountered a slow and jumbled disappointment lacking a pulse. The cast was thoughtfully put together. Josh Brolin is super as an empathetic and witty W. You forget the actor and see only the character. James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn depict the opposing natures of George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Bush. Elizabeth Banks is a sultrier version of Laura Bush. Jeffrey Wright is entertaining as General Colin Powell against the axis of evil: Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton) and Karl Rove (Toby Jones).

The story begins in present day. It's told in flashbacks that begin at W's college days when he's rushing a fraternity at Yale. We learn about the drinking, the brushes with the law, the issues with Poppy, meeting Laura and the events leading to his political career and the Iraq Invasion.

The flashbacks jump back and forth too much. Knowing how it ends, what do we have to look forward to? It suffers from lack of build-up and surprise. I learned Bushie trivia but after the first hour, I was clock watching and hoping I'd seen the last of Thandie Newton as Condi Rice. I'm not a fan of Condi, but Newton is a caricature (social commentary perhaps?). Each time she spoke, I was taken out of the moment and reminded I was watching Newton delivering an imitation. Newton's body language as Rice was authentic but her voice was irksome. This sounds like the Hollywoodland review (there were similar issues; however, Hollywoodland was better).

Not knowing if some details were fact or fiction, I searched for the research/info Oliver Stone collected for the film. I found W. The Official Film Guide. Regretfully, the site was more compelling than the movie. If you insist, see a matinee. Better yet, wait for the DVD.

Director: Oliver Stone

Country: US

Genre: Drama/Bio

Minutes:  130 minutes (seemed much longer)

Scale: 2

Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) (2007)

The movie is based on the memoir written by the former director of French Elle, Jean-Dominique Bauby. Considered an icon, he was adored and living a charmed life when at the age of 43, he suffered a massive stroke. He went into a coma for weeks. When he awoke, he learned he was completely paralyzed. He could only move and blink his left eye. He was told he had Locked-in Syndrome--while mentally alert he couldn't move his body.

The movie is told through the perspective of Bauby's (Mathieu Amalric) left eye. The camera becomes his eye (first person). His ex-girlfriend, the mother of his children (Emmanuelle Seigner), is at his side. In his inert state, he revisits his life, formative experiences and those where he erred. Prior to the stroke, he had the idea (and contract) to write a modern-day version of The Count of Monte Cristo, but once he is locked-in, he shifts focus to the memoir.

In rehabilitation, his speech therapist works to help him communicate again since he cannot speak. The therapist recites the letters according to their frequency of use in the French alphabet. She reads them slowly so that each time a letter of the word he wants to spell out arrives, he blinks. To express no, he is to blink twice. This is how he re-learns to communicate.

At 5am, Bauby would awake and think about what he wanted to write that day. At 8am, the transcriber would arrive and they would begin the day's work. The book was entirely written by blinks. Each letter composed by a blink. His transcriber got credit in the book for her work assisting him.

The cinematography (Janus Kaminski) is full of lovely images and unusual angels. Some are photo ready. It's a visual treat. Director Julian Schnabel is an artist (painter) first, film maker second (he also directed Basquiat and Before Night Falls). He learned French to make this film in French and keep his vision accurate. Schnabel also wanted to be able to communicate with the folks at the hospital where Bauby lived and died in. This movie earned him two Golden Globes: Best Foreign Picture of the Year and Best Director. It was nominated for four Academy Awards and picked up several other awards and nominations. Every actor delivers. With a robust cast and a brilliant, unique story, perspective makes this movie what it is. You are rediscovering his life in his shell of a body and you feel it from the moment he awakes from his coma.

Director: Julian Schnabel

Country: France

Genre: Drama/Bio

Minutes:  112 minutes

Scale: A mighty 6!

Snow Angels (2006)

A humble gem, Snow Angels kept me on edge for 110 minutes. The cast is an odd combo. Many of the actors are known for their roles in large films but have shined in indie films.

Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and Glenn (Sam Rockwell) are an estranged couple. Factors contributing to the estrangement: Glenn's drinking, Glenn's inability to hold down a job, Glenn's attempted suicide, Glenn's born-again preaching. He wants to see more of their daughter, but Annie is afraid he is still emotionally unstable. Their relationship is tense and volatile and, at times, familiar and close. Set in the '70s, the cinematography captures the visuals and the feeling of the era. Shot as if you were in the room with the characters, you feel the discomfort churning in many of the scenes.

Arthur (Michael Angarano) steals the movie. This trombone-playing teen possesses je ne sais quoi. He's a busboy at a Chinese restaurant. There, he works with Annie, his former babysitter, and Barb (Amy Sedaris). (Side note: It was hard watching Sedaris in a dramatic role and not waiting to laugh, expecting her to make that Strangers with Candy face.) Arthur's parents are separating and he's trying to feel his way through his own frustration and loss of innocence and balance it against the excitement of being discovered by a cool and cute classmate.

This is just the background for this tragic story. A psychologically extreme movie, you get tension, conflict and some lovely moments. Recommended!

Director: David Gordon Green

Country: US

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  110 minutes

Scale: 4

Nordic Heritage Museum (Ballard)

After years of wanting to explore this place, it has happened. I owe it to synchronicity, which began upon my return from Mexico. I took the bus home from the airport. At the bus stop, an Irish tourist, Daniel, asked me how to get to 4th/Pike. He was on his way to the Green Tortoise Hostel, a rock's throw from the Market. I had the same stop (to make my transfer to another bus), so we took the bus to Westlake Center and I walked him to the Green Tortoise. We discussed meeting a few days later to go the Olympic Sculpture Park and Nordic Heritage Museum.

We set off into the OSP, walking and chatting as strangers are wont to do. However, a problem developed--I had to find a toilet. We couldn't find the port-a-potty. I asked a few strangers walking in our direction if there were any beyond. Some were clueless; one man said yes, he believed there was one. Meanwhile, the bladder was filling at the quickened rate it does when you cannot find a WC. Suddenly (after dozens of minutes), I spotted the bathrooms. My gait increased and as I walked up to the oasis, the sign posted on the door almost brought tears (not happy ones) to my eyes: BATHROOM CLOSED. A friendly passer-by noted that they'd been open just yesterday (that's great...THX!). He suggested I relieve myself under the bridge. Let me explain: the bridge led to the pier where several folks were fishing. Daniel seconded the suggestion. I was reluctant for about 10 seconds. There wasn't enough time to walk to the front of the park where I was assured there was one, so I climbed off the bridge onto the craggy rocks. I may talk big about bravery in acts, such as public urination, but in reality, I am squeamish. When I got to the area under the bridge, I realized I was gonna have to go much deeper since the fishermen on the pier and folks on the trail could see me. I had to make my way around and through huge cobwebs and trash to finally find an obscured location. There was one guy on the pier I was unsure about but once I unbuckled, unzipped and started, it was instant relief. I happened to have a napkin in my purse. I made my way back out and we continued as if this occurrence was just a piece of a day-in-the-life. What is the point of my story? I'll tell you...what the hell is wrong with OSP not having more bathrooms for the peds? Come on! As we headed back out of the park, toward the entrance, there it was-the sole port-a-potty. It was near a construction area and I must have missed it on the way in. ARGH!

On to the Nordic Heritage Museum. Tucked away in Ballard, this former school has climate control issues and consequently isn't accredited. The building (which happens to have very nice bathrooms) is for sale. Within the next two years, the museum will be moving into a warehouse building near Habitude on Market street. Check it out. This museum is unique. The exhibits are  set up as dioramas. Who knows if they'll keep the integrity when they move.

From the Nordic Heritage Museum site at http://www.nordicmuseum.org:

"The First Floor
The Dream of America is the story of immigration told in an exhibit of life-like dioramas. Travel with your family back to the nineteenth-century Scandinavian countryside to begin the journey to America, starting with the move to the city. The voyage continues as you board a ship to make the Atlantic crossing, and land at Ellis Island. The adventure goes on to experiences in New York, and the expansion to the Midwest, Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest, ending in Ballard. Here the growth and development of a typical small Northwest community is displayed, complete with a post office, church, drug store, blacksmith shop, and a family home."

 

You are welcomed by a Dalecarlian or Dala horse. This traditional wooden statuette originated in the Swedish province of Dalarna. It represents Sweden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Second Floor
The Promise of the Northwest exhibit includes two galleries that focus on the logging and fishing industries, which employed many immigrants who brought skills learned in the old country. These galleries show the contributions of the Nordic pioneers to the settlement of the Pacific Northwest. The Heritage Rooms display treasured and useful items the immigrants brought with them, including folk costumes, textiles, tools, and furniture."

"The Third Floor
The third floor exhibitions illustrate the differences and the common bonds among the Scandinavian people. There is one gallery for each of the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Each gallery highlights that group’s special achievements in the Pacific Northwest."

If you've read this far in this longest post ever, you will see why the Nordic Heritage Museum is a good time. If the batteries in my camera hadn't run out of juice, you'd have seen images of the beautiful furniture and boats on display. Also on display: huge Lego sculptures. Again, make sure to get there before museum is moved. You won't regret it.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

Not your typical happy-go-lucky rom-com, this twisted story begins as Eddie (Ben Stiller), the perpetual bachelor meets Lila (Malin Akerman) and they begin dating. They make out A LOT. Then, Lila learns that she will be transferred to Rotterdam for her work as an ecologist. She'll be gone for two years. However, if she's married, she won't be sent abroad. It's only been six weeks and he isn't sure. After his dad (real life dad Jerry Stiller) and buddy Mac (Daily Show" correspondent Rob Corddry) give him so much crap about his commitment phobias, Eddie and Lila jump the broom. Immediately (on the honeymoon), Eddie realizes it was a mistake. When he meets and falls for Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), a fellow vacationer at the same resort, he must figure out what to do.

Ben Stiller is hi·lar·i·ous. The movie is raunchy, Tito's character (Carlos Mencia) is tiresome and some jokes fall flat, but it has some pretty good LOL moments. When you think it's over, you get an epilogue. The ending is unexpected, but when it happens, I had to laugh (and roll my eyes). Go into it with no expectations and you will find some morsels of enjoyment.

Director: Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly

Country: US

Genre: Comedy

Minutes:  114 minutes

Scale: 3

Le Petit Lieutenant (2005)

This movie was on the shelf at the library. Knowing nothing about it, I grabbed it as an experiment in fate. In a few minutes, you meet Antoine (Jalil Lespert) as he graduates from the police academy, selects his assignment and joins a plainclothes homicide division in Paris to get away from Normandy and the ho-hum life he expects as a policeman there.

In Paris, he gets a room in a boarding house, meets his co-workers and gets to know his supervisor, Caroline (Nathalie Baye), a recovering alcoholic, as he awaits his first assignment. When a dead man is fished out of the Seine, Antoine gets the excitement he's anxiously been awaiting. As he and his partners are on the trail of two mysterious Russians that may hold the key to the dead man, you learn more about Antoine and Caroline. He's likeable and his character development is compelling. His relationship with Caroline is interesting because he is the age that her son would have been had he not died. This is subtle but it does affect the storyline; however, the director/writers missed a good opportunity to use this detail. The acting was pretty good but the story is missing an arc.

My gripes are a) an important sub-plot is that Antoine has a wife he's left behind in his home town of Le Havre. She isn't present at his graduation, but you suddenly see his wedding band when he's in Paris (it was a distracting detail as it seemed to appear out of the blue); b) the movie moves along fast to try and find the Russians but you don't really learn why the guy in the river was killed; and c) the movie starts with Antoine as the protagonist and then, 3/4 of the way in, becomes Caroline's movie. The reasons leading up to this are clear, but it becomes disjointed and many unknowns remain. The ending is abrupt; it made sense but left me unsatisfied.

Director: Xavier Beauvois

Country: France

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  110 minutes

Scale: 2

Les Jolies Choses (Pretty Things) (2001)

French actress Marion Cotillard took the 2008 Best Actress Academy Award for playing Édith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. She picked up several other prestigious awards for the role. Cotillard embodied the role so extremely that when I saw the actress outside the movie, I didn't recognize her.

Les Jolies Choses is one of her earlier movies. A humble film that wrestles with sibling rivalry. Marie and Lucie are twins who couldn't be different--Lucie is a friendly, sexual free-spirit to whom people are drawn. Marie is morose, quiet and austere. (Cotillard plays both roles.) When Lucie gets a shot at a possible recording contract, she faces the reality that she cannot sing. She calls in a favor with her twin, although they rarely speak. Talented singer, Marie, stands in for Lucie as Lucie and if they can pull this off, who knows what's next in this love-hate relationship.

Nicolas (Stomy Bugsy) is Lucie's best friend and later gets involved with Marie. The movie gets at the crux of the siblings' dilemma. The plot following what happens between the women, what happens with the record contract and how Nicolas interacts with the twins isn't action-packed. There are less than compelling sub-plots, but the movie holds interest and excels at character development--watching Cotillard develop Lucie's character is worth it.

Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Country: France

Genre: Drama

Minutes: 105 minutes

Scale: 3

The Dying Gaul (2005)

This has been on my list since the SIFF from years back. After watching this, I am in need of some comedic relief. These last three have been weighty and levity is the answer.

The Dying Gaul plays like a chess game with three players engaged in extreme psychic warfare. The background is Hollywood, which makes a lot of what happens seem suitably placed.

Robert (Peter Sarsgaard) is a screenwriter who has recently lost his partner/manager to AIDS. Jeffrey (Campbell Scott) is a film executive salivating over Robert's autobiographical script. He is trying to woo Robert to get the movie made. Robert stands to get paid a mighty buck; the caveat is that he must change his script to remove the gay theme and make the story heterosexual. This quandary gets settled relatively easily (again, Hollywood-sell-your-soul style).

In the meantime, an odd triangle forms between Robert, Jeff and Jeff's wife, Elaine (Patricia Clarkson). Elaine is quite curious about Robert. As a former screenplay writer, she reads his script and falls in love with it and perhaps that ignites her curiosity about Robert. Through her Internet stalking, Elaine learns something that threatens to destroy her marriage and seemingly happy life with Jeff and their kids. The ending is chaotic and culminates in TRAGEDY.

Director: Craig Lucas

Country: US

Genre: Drama

Minutes: 100 minutes

Scale: 3

Atonement (2007)

For some time now, I'd been resistant to Atonement due to all the hoopla surrounding it. I kept it on the radar but didn't entertain it until much later. When I started watching it yesterday, it was darker than I'd expected. It's a literary adaptation (from Ian McEwan's novel). Not having read the book, I can't compare the movie version to it but the movie was a success. There are tricky circumstances that the director was adept at putting to film. Atonement received a 2008 Golden Globe for Best Picture.

In short, the movie is about perception versus reality and how a moment of assured perception affects the lives of three individuals and breaks up a family. A 13-year-old Briony (Saoirse Ronan) is an unreliable witness to a crime on the grounds of the family home. This puts family friend and sister, Cecilia's (Keira Knightley) love interest, Robbie (James McAvoy) in serious trouble that sabotages his hard-worked-for future plans. The story is a tragedy that spans Briony's entire life and forever affects all there that fateful night when Briony thinks she sees Robbie attacking her cousin.

There is much more I can say about this movie but this is all that you really need to know going it.

Director: Joe Wright

Country: UK

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  123 minutes

Scale: 4

Nue Propriété (Private Property) (2006)

This French film opens with a dedication: To Our Boundaries. This statement says it all. Starring French favorite Isabelle Huppert as Pascale opposite Thierry (Jérémie Renier), as her son, and François (Yannick Renier), his twin brother (real-life brothers).

As the first scene rolls, you know the kind of trouble you're in for. Pascale is admiring herself in her new lingerie in front of the mirror. She calls her son François over to provide his assessment of what he thinks. It's a confusing viewer moment. It seemed out of line that a mother would ask her teenage son; what you are watching is in opposition to your belief, yet on-screen so normal for that situation that you can't help wonder if it's you and not the movie. Then, Thierry shows up and makes a remark that the lingerie looks nice if she's trying to look like whore. At that moment, I am jolted out of the twisted reality (it's them, not me). The rest of the movie follows similarly. Majority of the scenes are shot during meals.

I'm unclear about the age the boys are supposed to be. In real life, one is in 25 and the other is 31 and they look it, so when she refers to the 15 years she's been living for them, it's a moment of shock. The beauty is that they are man-boys and their brawn and strength lend themselves well to the story.

Pascale and the boys' father had a bitter divorce. The fallout is still evident and the brutal arguing is never shielded from the boys, who are clearly the pawns in the acrimony. The deeper conflict begins when Pascale wants to sell the house, move away and open a B&B with Jan (Kris Cuppens), her Flemish neighbor and clandestine boyfriend. Problem being not only is this the twin's childhood home, but it was left to them, not Pascale in the divorce. Thierry is outraged and a battle begins. The only sane character is Jan. He is the only one able to extricate himself from her web. I found those scenes rewarding and validating from the audience perspective.

I've seen Huppert in many movies. She is the queen of cold. I'm not sure I can name another actress who captures it quite the same severe way. This can be off-putting, but she's so effective. This cast is assembled well so that when the all-out war breaks out, it believably divides the family. It's especially aggressive between the two boys, which leads to the tragic ending.

Music is discernibly missing from the film, except for the final scene, when the mad, chaotic violining is fitting. Not for the weak-hearted.

Director: Joachim LaFosse

Country: France or Belgium (subtitles were FAST)

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  101 minutes

Scale: 3.5

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (1981)

A few weeks back, as I read my DailyCandy e-mail, I learned that an important movie from the annals of my youth and my discovery of punk of was playing (one night only) at the fabulous Grand Illusion Cinema. I was pumped for Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. I mentioned it to Carrie and Andy, who said, "Sign me up."

The thing is, I couldn't remember the movie. I remember my best friend Liz, for Halloween one year, dressing as Corinne "Third Degree" Burns (Diane Lane), an orphaned 14-year-old who goes on the road with her band--her cousin (Laura Dern) and sister (Marin Kanter). Corinne's mother has just died and her dead-end teenage life is heading nowhere fast. This is the way movies used to be--a girl barely in her teens hits the road with her punk band, The Stains, to play in bars and clubs. No CPS, no meddling family member trying to help capture her and bring her back home.

This is a movie ahead of its time. Written by a woman (Nancy Dowd), it's about women "not putting out," aka getting trampled. Corrine makes no excuses. The band is edgy, rebellious and unapologetic, but she also has a heart. She goes for what she wants, steals a song from another band after letting the lead singer seduce her. Female-empowered and unrepentant, especially for 1981. A cult classic, but it was only just recently released to DVD.

The music powers through the movie. Ex-Sex Pistols Paul Cook and Steve Jones join Ex-Clash Paul Simonon for the Looters. Ray Winstone plays the lead singer of the band.

See it!

Director: Lou Adler

Country: US (classic 70s Americana)

Genre: Drama

Minutes:  87 minutes

Scale: 4.5

Mexico

This was my fifth time to the beloved Mexico. Why do I love it there? The people, the energy (median age is 26), the beauty, the language and the economics. Haruna is there for a year learning Spanish. This is my visit to see her:

Grocery stores are excellent samples of cultures. Fun to see familiar products in their foreign language counterparts. Some groceries have interesting sections or focus on a certain product, such as soap. For some reason, I've noticed many Spanish speaking countries have a lot of soap--a lot in stock in a variety of brands.

Here is the bakery section of Soriana. There were six large shelves, all open, no covers of baked goods:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know how she did it but she managed to slip into a mini car ride for kids. I could barely stop laughing to take the picture:

 

 

At night, food stands crop up on the streets. The following taco stand is around the corner from Haruna's. I ordered chorizo and beef tacos and I'm salivating just recalling their deliciousness:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following are some Guadalajara sites. Some observations: no one wears shorts. It can be 90 but men, women, kids...all wearing pants. Sunglasses are not the norm. People STARE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a trip to Tlaquepaque. This town is artsy with many art galleries, art workshops and craft stores. Fun to look, big to pay. Please look:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a bus trip to the beach town of Manzanillo (4.5 hrs Southwest of Guad). It was HOT, HUMID and SUNNY. I'm recharged again...at least through October.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to Guad and I had to go home. Last day was spent scurrying through the chaotic streets of Guad, a bit infected with speed ourselves. The market was an incredible maze across 4-5 floors of shoes, electronics, purses and bags, counterfeit DVDs, food (and all its good and bad smells), mugs, shotglasses, instruments, clothes and their good and bad smells. Everything is a deal to be made. Fun to watch, exhausting to partake. Noticed a lot of spitting in the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There're sculptures and fountains all over:

 

Back in the day of my family travels, I remember the days of loading passengers from the tarmac. So, it always feels like a throw-back treat when you have to walk the hot pavement to climb the stairs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The End!