Foreign Films Not To Miss
A wonderful mental exercise to keep your mind alive and active is to watch foreign films in their original language.
Micmacs à Tire-Larigot **** (vo French)
Ah, to be transported into a sepia world of magical realism, nostalgia and loveable characters – each one unique and wondrous. Isn’t that what good movies are all about? Jean-Pierre Jeunet is back to enchant again after his huge hit, Amélie Poulain. This time it’s about Bazil, a whimsical fellow who ends up with a bullet in his head, which could kill him at any moment. Jeunet’s art is so rich that he can convey thirty years in the first five minutes of the film, juggling and editing until you know all about his characters, yet long to know more. Dany Boon is marvelous as the hero – pure, street-wise and delightfully funny – who wreaks sweet revenge on a couple of arms industrialists. All the while, he’s aided by some quirky homeless types who take him in as part of their “family”. There are touches of vintage Hollywood, Buster Keaton, Bourvil, Tarantino and the Coen Brothers (especially from The Hudsucker Proxy). It’s really all about the little man against the big bosses of this world – arrogant, exploitive and greedy. And guess who you’ll be rooting for?
Le Ruban Blanc ***1/2 (vo German)
As much as you walk out of Micmacs with a big smile, this one will leave you with a long face and much to ponder. But then the theme is as grim as you will be – the austere, harsh upbringing that spawned the cold ambivalence of character that may have contributed to forming a nation of Hitler followers. It’s pre-WWI in a small hamlet in northern Germany. Among the families of the clergyman, the Baron, the doctor and the farmers, strange things are happening. Who is responsible for these random, cruel acts? Could it possibly be the children, so burdened under relentless punishment? The mood and the stark black and white cinematography hark back to the works of Ingmar Bergman. By Austrian director Michael Haneke, the film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year. One of his least physically violent, it is nevertheless violent emotionally, which can be even more traumatic. But then so were the times. Simply brilliant.
Eyes Wide Open (Tu n’aimeras point) ***1/2 (vo Hebrew)
This moving film from Israel concerns an Orthodox butcher who is happily married with small children, but falls hopelessly in love with a young man who comes to help him in his shop. The atmosphere, the seriousness of both his religious beliefs and his deep new love make for a powerful tale of torn commitments and sensibilities. By 34-year-old Haim Tabakman, this first feature film has astounding discretion and wisdom .
Neptune Ingwersen, Movie Critic
