Posts with the tag 'Foreign'
DAS FRAULEIN- 2006. Premise by Netflix. “Three women in Zurich have one thing in common: a life they left behind in Yugoslavia. Reza has spent 30 years reinventing herself as a single businesswoman. Mila, her employee, longs to return home. Ana, new to Switzerland, comes to Reza looking for work — and maybe to shake things up at the café Reza runs. The resulting relationship makes each of them reflect on the war-torn landscape of their past.” Mixed reviews, mostly good.
I enjoyed this movie very much. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
February 2nd, 2011
INCENDIES- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “When their mother’s (Lubna Azabal) will implores them to deliver letters to the father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew about, twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) journey to the Middle East and attempt to reconstruct their family’s hidden history. Adapted from a Wajdi Mouawad play, director Denis Villeneuve’s drama flashes back to intense scenes set during the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s.” Showed at HIFF 2010. Great professional reviews and very good audience response as well. TRDB.
5/15/11- This movie was done in a most realistic fashion with great acting and superb direction. While it was often difficult to watch I thought that it was a great movie. TRDB. At the Theater.
Tags: drama, Foreign
February 1st, 2011
IN A BETTER WORLD- (Haevnen) 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Danish director Susanne Bier delves into the realm of fathers, sons and their perceived burden of male responsibility with this Golden Globe-winning drama about the interplay between two dysfunctional families. With his father (Mikael Persbrandt) working abroad, bullied Elias (Markus Rygaard) finds solace in a budding friendship with a volatile new student (William Jøhnk Nielsen). But the boys’ shared revenge only seems to invite more violence.” Won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. TRDB.
4/11- A wonderful movie, difficult to watch at times, with several important messages. In particular about the different ways of handling conflict and the limits of each manner. TRDB. At the Theater.
Tags: drama, Foreign
February 1st, 2011
KINYARWANDA- 2011. Premise by Netflix. “In this first-ever dramatic feature produced by Rwandans, the events of the horrific 1994 genocide are personalized through six intertwined stories. As the violence rages, mosques become a haven for Rwandans of all affiliations seeking protection. Director and writer Alrick Brown seeks the gray areas in this dark period of history, finding all-too-human motivations and resilience in the face of unimaginable catastrophe.” At Sundance 2011. Excellent reviews. TRDB.
6/17/12- One more of the Rwanda genocide movies but this one presents a complex question when it examines forgiveness. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 30th, 2011
HIDEAWAY- 2009. Premise by Netflix. “When Louis (Melvil Poupaud) dies of a drug overdose in Paris, his wealthy mother instructs his strung-out but pregnant girlfriend, Mousse (Isabelle Carré), to get an abortion. Determined to keep her child, Mousse flees Paris for a country home. Louis’s brother (Louis-Ronan Choisy) visits, and she develops a fascination with him that is both erotic and angry. François Ozon crafts an intimate portrait of an enigmatic woman seeking a purpose.” Good reviews.
2/11- Very well done and I enjoyed the movie very much. TRDB. Netflix Streaming and also on DVD.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 29th, 2011
BE WITH ME- 2005. By Eric Khoo. Premise by Netflix. “This poetic film weaves together three stories of human connection with a minimalist flair. In “Meant to Be,” an elderly shopkeeper experiences intense loneliness until he reads the autobiography of an extraordinary blind and deaf woman. “So in Love” explores the bittersweet relationship between two teenage girls, and “Finding Love” tells the story of a security guard who has twin passions: for food and for a woman who works in his building.”
1/11- Slow beginning but I advise you to stay with it and reap the rewards. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 28th, 2011
C.R.A.Z.Y.- 2005. Premise by Netflix. “There are five boys in the Beaulieu family — Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan. But Zac (played by Emile Vallee and Marc-Andre Grondin) is the only one who’s gay. That’s why growing up in Montreal alongside his heterosexual brothers and his strict, emotionally distant father (Michel Cote) proves especially challenging for the blossoming outsider, who finds solace in the music of Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.”
1/11- I enjoyed this movie a lot although a bit too long. Good depiction of what it’s like to be different in general and gay in particular. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 24th, 2011
HERE- 2011. Premise by Netflix. “When he travels to Armenia to make a set of hyperaccurate, satellite-based maps of the country, professional cartographer Will Shepard (Ben Foster) falls in with Gadarine Najarian (Lubna Azabal), a disaffected photographer trying to reconnect with her roots. Deciding to travel the country together, the pair embark on an unsettling journey of discovery into the Armenian landscape and into their solitary lives. Braden King directs this drama.” Mentioned in NY Times on 1/22/11 re Sundance.
4/13/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times. OK reviews by other critics and only fair audience response. TRDB.
8/10/12- I found this movie interesting if a little pretentious with some of the extra voice-overs by Peter Coyote. Good acting and a good story however. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 23rd, 2011
CIRCUMSTANCE- 2011. Premise by Netflix. “Iranian teens Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri) and Shireen (Sarah Kazemy) explore their forbidden attraction to one another against the backdrop of modern-day Tehran’s subcultures. Atafeh’s brother, Mehran (Reza Sixo Safai), returns home after drug rehab and is soon dismayed by his sister’s newfound sense of liberation. Giving up on his dreams to become a classical musician, Mehran joins the morality police, causing deeper rifts in the family.” Mentioned in NY Times on 1/22/11 re Sundance.
8/27/11- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
9/19/11- A very good drama that clearly depicts the dangers of living in such a repressive society. Good acting and the movie seemed real. TRDB. At the Theater.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 23rd, 2011
WHEN WE LEAVE- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Umay, 25, is torn between two cultures when she leaves her abusive husband and takes their young son, Cem, from Istanbul to her family home in Germany. Seeking refuge with her parents, Umay hopes to start anew, but her family disapproves. She finds work in a restaurant and falls in love with a German co-worker, Stipe, who happily welcomes her and Cem into his life, but turmoil erupts when Umay’s family decides to return Cem to his father.” Article about this movie in NY Times on 1/23/11 – Mostly very good reviews. TRDB.
1/11- OK review in NY Times on 1/28/11. TRDB.
6/20/11- I did like this film but it was way too long and the ending left me wondering what the director was thinking what with the melodrama. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 22nd, 2011
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