It’s easy to distinguish that the rugby player on the right is Matt Damon, but who is he shaking hands with?  Is that Nelson Mandela or Morgan Freeman?

Don’t  miss the film Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood.  Morgan Freeman is exceptional in the role of Nelson Mandela.  Freeman had known for a long time that he would some day play the role of Mandela.   When Nelson Mandela’s autobiography was published in 1995, Mandela was asked who he thought could play him on screen.  He cited the name of Morgan Freeman.

In a recent interview in Switzerland published in Migros Magazine, his interviewer said, “Mandela is a wise man; he’s 91 years old.  You are also getting older and therefore also becoming wise?”   Freeman’s response was, “Careful.  I am getting older, but I am not becoming old.”

Age is an attitude.  Nelson Mandela, Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood share the fact that they are getting older – as are we!  They also share age-esteem with a positive attitude toward age that will keep them from ever becoming “old”.

Bonnie Fatio, AgeEsteem

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Movies – Films

Superb  ****     Very Good  ***      Good **     Mediocre  *     Forget It   -

WHY NOT ?

I Love You Phillip Morris *1/2     Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor play two men who fall in love in prison, when Carrey’s character is incarcerated for all sorts of embezzlements to keep up his high lifestyle. Based on a true story, the film loses us when it can’t decide if it’s a love story, a comic/thriller or an argument for a gay lifestyle. It’s neither fish nor fowl…

A Serious Man *1/2      The Coen brothers have perfected quirky, intelligent comedy with a twist of irreverence and violence in such films as Fargo, The Big Lebowski or O Brother, Where Art Thou? Here they seem to have gone back to the grim days of Barton Fink. This film should actually have been called A Stupid Man. For that is what their hero is, a simpleton who is not only bamboozled by his wife and children, but also by his colleagues, students, his synagogue and its rabbis. This looks like a bitter satire of the Cohn brothers’ own mid-American/Jewish background. It’s certainly frustrating and claustrophobic in its negativity.

AT YOUR OWN RISK

Verso *1/2   (vo French)     Seeing this Swiss film noir will have you believing that Geneva is a den of drug addicts, prostitutes and rampant crime. Dark, harsh and relentless, what is its raison d’être?

Whip It – Bliss *     Cute Drew Barrymore should stick to acting rather than directing. This roller derby flick is not worthy of your time or money.

Did you Hear about the Morgans? -     Hugh Grant announced a while ago that he wanted to give up acting; could be after he saw the end result of this film. It’s painful watching him as a caricature of himself – fawning, too obliging, with a constant frown and shoulders so scrunched, as though he’s trying to disappear into himself. Probably one of the worst films of any year. Make sure you don’t get sucked in by the ads and the fact that he and Sarah Jessica Parker (who has never looked so meager and charmless) make up the silly couple transplanted from Manhattan to Wyoming. It really all boils down to an embarrassing, formulaic script and hopeless direction. Just run the other way.

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Movies – Films

Superb  ****     Very Good  ***      Good **     Mediocre  *     Forget It  -

WORTH YOUR WHILE

Mr. Nobody ***     This poetic, complex film by the Belgian Jaco Van Dormael is about the infinite possibilities of choices and consequences. It’s about a little boy having to decide between his divorcing parents and then having to choose between future partners. It’s about the certainty of love and the illusion of existence, about growing terribly old and about a surrealistic future where everything is planned for you. It is so full of imagination, sadness and humor that you are entranced while watching it, but might not recall its many wonders because of their very multitude… It’s simply a singular, almost hallucinatory experience.

Le Refuge ***  (vo French)     If you know François Ozon’s work, you wait for his next film like you wait for the latest Woody Allen. From his earliest success, Gouttes d’eau sur Pierres Brûlantes with Bernard Giraudeau to Sous le Sable (with Charlotte Rampling) or the joyous and quirky 8 Femmes (with most of France’s grandes dames) or the melancholy 5×2 and the naïve and surrealistic Ricky, they are all unique yet similar in their aesthetic quality, their intelligent scenarios and a certain thread of elegance. This latest does not disappoint. It’s an interlaced story of an addicted couple, an overdose death, a pregnant survivor and the gay brother who comes to stay with her in her idyllic refuge. But it’s also about possibilities that do not seem obvious. Ozon is a great actor’s director, studying their faces with fascination. Be on the lookout for his work.

Gainsbourg (vie Héroique) ***   (vo French)     The French have a knack for successful biopics, like La Môme, the two Chanel films and now this one about France’s bad boy, pre-grunge songwriter and musician, who had women falling all over him despite his less-than-attractive physique. Starting with his childhood, the film follows the precocious Lucien (he later changed his name to Serge) through his confrontation with anti-semeticism under German occupation, his early connection to women and his struggle to remain true to his artistic strain. All along, he is followed by a cartoonish alter-ego, who warns, guides and taunts him throughout his life. Eric Elmosnino is an amazing Gainsbourg look-alike, while Laetitia Casta becomes Brigitte Bardot, one of his many conquests, along with such lovelies as Juliette Gréco and his great love, Jane Birkin. A fascinating window into a controversial, bohemian character.

Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky ***  (vo French)     This is the third recent work about the life of Gabrielle Chanel, after a decent telefilm, with Shirley MacLaine as the older Chanel, then Coco avant Chanel by Anne Fontaine with Audrey Tautou and now this one about her little-known relationship with the avant-garde Russian composer. All are well done, showing different facets of her intense, productive life. This one by Jan Kounen, and starring Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen, zeroes in on her time as a successful designer, wealthy enough to be able to invite the proud Stravinsky and his family to stay at her grand home outside Paris when he was struggling to make ends meet in the early 20s among fashionable Russian artists and émigrés such as Diaghilev, Nijinsky and others of the Art Deco era. It’s a peek into a moment of high artistic energy and the meeting (both sensual and creative) of two giants in their respective fields. It shows Chanel as an independent soul and a forerunner of women’s liberation, in her clothing designs as well as her daring choices and lifestyle.

Tales from the Golden Age **1/2     Strange how one can get such warm-hearted humor from repressed societies, but then that must be their release-valve. Here are small vignettes of life in Romania under the dictator Ceaucescu, illustrating the survival tactics of ordinary citizens versus the tragicomic hypocrisy of the regime. Touching, human and intelligent, but it goes on a bit too long.

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Clint Eastwood

Isn’t it refreshing to see that this month’s top films include veteran actresses and actors? – And that they are starring in roles featuring their mature ages?

In these “Must See Films” we find Meryll Streep (60), Morgan Freeman (73),  Alec Baldwin (52), Steve Martin (65), with Colin Firth (50), and George Clooney who at 49 is bringing maturity to his charm.   Will he manage to cultivate the same charm that Clint Eastwood oozes at 80?

It takes AgeEsteem on the part of these icons of cinema to “act their age” on the screen, and to become real role models for us.  Thank you!

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Movies – Films

Superb  ****     Very Good  ***      Good **     Mediocre  *     Forget It   -

UNMISSABLES

Up In The Air ****     Suave, gliding through airports as though they were his home with his myriad privileged credit cards, George Clooney’s character flies around the country firing people for firms which don’t want to deal with the mess. He’s great at his job  and loves his unattached lifestyle.  Seamlessly directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking and Juno), this deceptively subtle film is a metaphor for today’s modern, empty world – from a charged beginning to an uncertain end. Clooney is excellent, once again proving he’s not just a gorgeous guy. This is Oscar material all the way…

Brothers ****     Brodre, the gripping 2004 Danish film by Suzanne Bier has been transformed here into an American work and quite fittingly, as it concerns family tensions and the war in Afghanistan. With a strong cast including Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire and Sam Shepard, directed by the Irish/American Jim Sheridan (of Oscar winners such as My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father), this has proven one fine import. The “good” brother goes off to war, while the bad-boy brother stays home and becomes close to the former’s wife and children. It’s austerely modern; it’s Greek tragedy and also Shakespearean. Won’t tell you more, just go see it. And rent the Danish film too.

A Single Man ***1/2     We’re terribly lucky this season – deluged with one fine film after the other. Here’s another one, amazingly polished by first-time director, Tom Ford, who is the highly successful men’s fashion designer. Being gay and stunning-looking himself, he has made a film about a teacher mourning the loss of his lover, set in the early 60s when homosexuality was still under wraps. The mood and look of the era are impeccably captured and Colin Firth, who has perfected the art of being contained and reserved, has never been so moving. And he’s never been so trim and well attired either, all due to Ford, of course. This is quite an aesthetic work of art by a newcomer to the field. But then the painter Julian Schnabel also traversed careers brilliantly, directing Basquiat, Before Night Falls and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Once an artist, always an artist.

Invictus ***1/2     “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul”. This quotation exemplifies the grandeur of Nelson Mandela’s life and his legacy for Africa (and in a smaller sense, the trajectory of director Clint Eastwood’s career). The film dwells mainly on Mandela’s efforts to unite his country behind its rugby team during the World Cup in 1994 and his strength and wisdom in going against the current. Morgan Freeman becomes Mandela and Eastwood does them both honor. From White Hunter, Black Heart and Bird to Bridges of Madison County and Letters from Iwo Jima, and now this tribute, Eastwood keeps proving his mastery of many genres, his understanding of diverse worlds and the control of his audience.

2 Brothers ***1/2  (vo Hebrew and English)  I’ve written this up before, but now it is finally being released in our area after garnering quite a few prizes in various festivals. It’s about two opposing brothers, this time in Israel. One is a peace activist living there and the other is a fanatic Orthodox Jew, who has moved back from New York. Their differences and struggles highlight the grave threat posed by the Orthodox community to peace in that region. Powerful and important, it is directed by Geneva-based Igaal Nidam.

It’s Complicated ***     Ah, to have a bit of fun in this sad and serious world! So here’s a film not to miss. First because it’s a love story about mature adults, second because it’s got such super actors as Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin and third, because a good romantic comedy is a rare thing. But director Nancy Meyers is an expert at the entertaining ones – such as What Women Want and Something’s Gotta’ Give. It’s a delight for the eyes and for many a belly laugh and it all makes giddy sense until the ending, which I personally did not like. But that’s only me – you and others may well think it should end in such a modern, egalitarian way….

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Meryl Streep

It’s so refreshing to have an actress who is not afraid to act her age.   Meryl Streep is an icon of AgeEsteem.  She glows from the inside, plays roles that make her seem real rather than beautiful (though beautiful she is!), appears in public looking like someone we would like to meet and sit down for coffee and laugh with rather than Ms Perfection Celebrity.   Her laughter alone captures your heart.

In the film It’s Complicated, she plays the role of a woman who has been left for a younger woman only to have her former husband fall in love with her once again ten years later.   She doesn’t try to dress or act younger, but flaunts her mature femininity and sexuality that is so attractive and appealing.  Somehow we almost feel sorry for her old husband who is unable to keep up with his younger wife and her son.

Great AgeEsteem lessons come out of It’s Complicated :

• If life is complicated, it is because we make it so.
• When we are blind sided by circumstances we gather our own internal forces and move forward.
• You are not the same person today that you were yesterday.
• Social life with friends and family is important.
• We are responsible for our own actions.
• Humor is delicious and healing.
• Having a purpose and loving what we do keeps us focused on positives.
• Values need to be taken seriously.
• Love is real at all ages.

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**** Superb       *** Very Good       **  Good         *  Mediocre

UNMISSABLES

Océans ****   (vo French)  This spectacular documentary by Jacques Perrin (Le Peuple Migrateur) is absolute poetry in motion, and a visual gift depicting the beauties and peculiarities of the myriad marine species in our precious waters. It’s a must-see on the giant screen for the full effect of its glorious images and music. Simply breathtaking!

Sin Nombre ****  (vo Spanish)   Along with an incongruous love that develops atop a transport train, this violent and harrowing yet moving film shows the desperate ordeal of emigrants from Central America trying to reach the borders of the U.S. A powerful first film by Cary Joji Fukunaga, it has won awards at both the Sundance and Deauville festivals.

The Little Fugitive ****   This entrancing B&W, multi-awarded film from 1953 will be showing at the CAC Voltaire and should NOT be missed! It’s Brooklyn in the summer and boys will be naughty. When a widowed mother leaves to visit an ailing grandmother, her two sons are left alone for two days. And because little Joey is a pest for his older brother, they play a prank on him, turning Joey into a scared fugitive. A boy’s day out, the innocence yet gumption of a smart kid, and a holiday atmosphere on Coney Island – it’s all here in this independent American forerunner of the French Nouvelle Vague. Cunningly photographed and timeless in its simplicity and universality.

The Road ****   Not for the faint-hearted, here’s yet another end-of-the-world story, but one which is done with a sobriety and depth of feeling that will shake you to the core. The grayness of the desolate earth is given life through the overpowering acting of Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a father and son trying to survive in the barren wasteland that is left of the world. This tour-de-force which deals with the struggle between brutal survival and remaining “one of the good ones” is based on the celebrated novel by Cormac McCarthy (of No Country for Old Men) and directed by Australian/Canadian John Hillcoat.

Where the Wild Things Are  (Max et les Maximonstres) ***1/2   Based on the beloved children’s book, this Spike Jonze film is about a boy who feels no one really listens to him, so he creates his own strange kingdom with quirky and delightful creatures where he can rule and be heard. Superbly played by little Max Records and Catherine Keener as his mother, this charming tale is for those with heart, from 5 to 95.

Le Concert ***1/2 (vo Russian/French)   A renowned but politically-damaged Russian conductor gets a chance after 30 years to reunite his orchestra and give an impromptu concert in Paris. Can he manage against all odds, and get to perform with the young violin virtuoso with whom he has a connection from long ago? This delightfully constructed adventure by the Romanian Radu Mihaileanu has some silly and unnecessary moments, but as an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser it is saved by its heartwarming story and characters, and especially the lovely Melanie Laurent (last in Inglourious Basterds) as the violin soloist. The rousing concert finale will have you wanting an encore!

It’s Complicated (Pas si simple) **1/2   Here’s a film not to miss – first because it’s a love story about mature adults, second because it’s got such super actors as Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin and third, because a good romantic comedy is a rare thing. But director Nancy Meyers is an expert at the entertaining ones – such as What Women Want and Something’s Gotta’ Give. It’s a delight for the eyes and for many a belly laugh and it all makes giddy sense until the ending, which I personally did not like. But that’s only me – you and others may think it should end in such an American, equalitarian way…

WORTH YOUR WHILE

Bright Star ***   This beautifully-filmed period piece by Australia’s Jane Campion (The Piano) is about the difficult love story between the poet John Keats and his muse, Fanny Brawne. It truly conveys its era and the delicacy and discretion of feelings back then, when emotions hung on rapturous words and silences..

Loup **1/2 (vo Russian)   Nicolas Vanier (Le Dernier trappeur) takes us once again into the wild, this time to oriental Siberia. This saga of a young man, who has to take care of his troop of reindeer and also protect the family of wolves with whom he has become entranced, is an amazing feat of animal and nature photography.

Kérity, la maison des contes **1/2  (vo French)   Here’s a beautifully animated tale of a little boy who can’t read but is bequeathed a precious collection of books by his late auntie, narrated by Jeanne Moreau. Watch the classics come alive.

Mères et Filles **1/2  (vo French)   The tension between three generations of mothers and daughters is magnified by some dark family secrets. This melodrama is enhanced by the fine acting of Catherine Deneuve, Marina Hinds and Marie-Josée Croze.

WHY NOT ?

Le Siffleur **  (vo French)   What makes this film is its setting – the marvelous Côte d’Azur, and the light touch with which it presents its crooked cast of characters, played by the likes of Thierry Lhermitte, Alain Chabat and the indefatigable François Berléand, doubling as his own twin. They all seem to be having such fun down there, in that radiant climate and all the luxury….

Baba’s Song *1/2  (vo English and German)   This uneven mishmash about musicians in Africa, destitute orphans and a shady adoption deal even grapples with Aids. Wolfgang Panzer of the brilliant Broken Silence just can’t seem to recapture the magic of his earlier film. Some of the acting and dialogue is painfully amateur, but the saving grace is Baba and his wily little side-kick.

AT YOUR OWN RISK

Le père de mes enfants *1/2  (vo French)   This is a story that ends tragically about a film producer burdened by bankruptcy and depression. None of the drama will make a dent in your emotions, methinks. (One wonders if those intellos would feel better if they washed their hair…)

Le Dernier vol *1/2 (vo French)   Don’t bother with this endless search through the dunes of the Sahara. Even though it tries to emulate The English Patient, it doesn’t come close to the latter’s quality or intensity. And neither Marion Cotillard nor Guillaume Canet can save the dull scenario.

Limits of Control *1/2   What’s happened to the brilliant Jim Jarmusch (Night on Earth, Ghost Dog) here? A hit-man goes from locale to locale and meets some strange characters. To what end? And who cares finally?  It should be called The Limits of Patience.

Bazar * (vo French)   This tale of an autumn/spring romance between an older woman and her new young beau, filmed here in Geneva, would have been more interesting if it hadn’t succumbed to clichés and superficial solutions. A pity.

Paranormal Activity *   You and I could also make such a home movie, with slamming doors and moving sheets, about a possible entity in a young couple’s home. It’s not scary, just a creepy wool-over-your-eyes stunt. Don’t fall for the hype from the U.S.

Neptune Ingwersen

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Here we are again, ready to tackle the test of quality. Put in a nutshell, a great film leaves you with an unforgettable experience. Here’s my yearly list, in categories and in alphabetical order. If you missed any, rent the DVD.  Happy and healthy 2010, dear cinéphiles!

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INTERNATIONAL
About Elly – Iran
Cheri - GB
Le Concert - Romania/Russia/£France
Departures - Japan
Eden à l’ouest – Greece/Franc
Eyes Wide Open – Israel
New York, I Love You – France/U.S
The Road -  Australia/Canada/U.S.
Le Ruban Blanc – Austria
Sin Nombre – Mexico/U.S.
Tokyo Sonata – Japan
Vratne Lahve (Empties) - Czech

U.S.A.
Doubt
Inglourious Basterds
Julie and Julia
Last Chance Harvey
Revolutionary Road
Whatever Works
Where the Wild Things Are
The Wrestler
FRANCE
Coco avant Chanel
Le Hérisson
Je l’aimais
Je suis heureux que ma mère soit vivante
Mademoiselle Chambon
Micmacs à Tire-Larigot
Welcome

FUN, THRILLS or ANIMATION
Avatar – U.S.
The Boat that Rocked – GB
Bolt – U.S.
Envoyés très spéciaux – France
Erreur de la banque en votre faveur – France
StarTrek – U.S.
2012 – U.S.
Up – U.S.

DOCUMENTARY
Capitalism – A Love Story – U.S.
L’Enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot – France
Let’s Make Money – Austria
Man on Wire – France/U.S.
Max Bill- The Master’s Vision – Swiss
Michael Jackson’s This Is It – U.S.
Océans – France
Roman Polanski – Wanted and Desired – France/U.S.

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Why Not?

These may not be first choice, but why not see them anyway?

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus   **

Terry Gilliam is a bit of an untethered genius. Even in brilliant films such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or The Brothers Grimm. He’s basically a huge talent who tends towards overload. Here, having had the privilege of directing Heath Ledger (whom he worked with in Grimm) in his last film, he had the dilemma of having to substitute his character when Ledger passed away so prematurely and tragically. So he replaced this immense talent with no fewer than three actors: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. The film is a magical mishmash with Faustian undertones though it ends up quite frustrating, without any real form. But it’s still a must-see thanks to all these top talents and what Gilliam managed in the aftermath of tragedy.

Panique au Village **  (vo French)
In the same animated style as Wallace and Gromit, this Belgian tale of Cowboy and Indian is a hectic, wild ride that’s naïve, inventive and funny.

Neptune Ingwersen, Film Critic

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Films Worth Your While

L’Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot   ***   (vo French)

If you are a cinephile, an admirer of Romy Schneider or fascinated by the creative process, do not miss this study of French director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s filming of L’Enfer (with the gloriously young Schneider), never finished due to various circumstances which you will discover. Having become a legendary auteur after such works as Le Salaire de la Peur, Les Diaboliques, or his ground-breaking documentary, Le Mystère Picasso, Clouzot had become more and more demanding and difficult to work with. This documentary takes us into his world and back to the mood of the 60s, with all its novelties and excesses.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Tempète de boulettes géants)   **1/2

What do they say about being careful what you wish for? Here’s a fun animated story for all ages about a fanatic inventor, who from childhood has fiddled with new-fangled ideas. When his dream of a machine that creates whatever food he orders comes to fruition, all hell breaks loose, literally. Good fun and some fine moral lessons.

Neptune Ingwersen, Film Critic

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