nycterr Reviews

Film socialisme (2010)

Very important movie: Great Godard, must you must be familiar with his work

[10/10 · 6 October 2010]

FILM SOCIALISME is very important movie, for what it is and for it says.

FILM SOCIALISME deals with: Europe, democracy, money, capitalism, information, generations, myths, water and the sun.

It is interesting to see it because of (1) the technical aspect of it for those who understand that cinema is not only content but also the shape, and (2) images+words because it basically shows us the state of the civilization (minus américa, but be aware Americans, Godard does not like you).

Of course, as any post-1970 Godard, it is complicated, there are more questions than answers, and if you try to digest the movie while watching it you will end up frustrated. Try to be relaxed when you watch it, and do not fall in the trap of "modern art", because Godard is not modern art. Godard is way more straightforward than what it looks like. When Godard shows a word on screen, the word is what it is, and that's it.

JLG has said in a recent interview (with Telerama) that Cinéma is actually dead, that there is nothing to do with it anymore, that he gives up. He might be right.

Skirt Day (2008)

Interesting subject, but too much clichés and issues

[6/10 · 30 March 2009]

A high school teacher loses it and ends up holding hostages half her class, turning the situation into a reflexive introspection on the various crisis of modern youths.

Isabelle Adjani, very pretty in her white skirt and blazer, and rolled-up sleeve holding "caids" at gunpoint, is unpredictable and convincing - the rest of the cast, amateur or not, is very weak.

The subject (education and equality) is strong, very relevant and more to-the-point than the very flat and bland take of the last Palmes d'Or "Entre les Murs".

La Journée de la Jupe takes it to another level, more brutal, more real and less entertaining. Less humor and more critical analysis.

The two weakness of the movie are the very feeble and bad acting on almost all the characters. And the overuse of Issues. During the hour and half, the movie feels obliged to tackle every single issues possible: from gang rape to condoms, from Islam to immigration, from respect to racism ... Too much. I was almost waiting to hear about Finance or the Ozone layer ....

Interesting subject but awkward construction.

Khamsa (2008)

Powerful acting + realistic plot + Discovering an original them = Very good film.

[9/10 · 27 October 2008]

Khamsa is the story of a young gypsy, "Marco" 11 years old, who comes back to his camp after an umpteenth runaway. Marco then re-bonds with his long time friends and cousins. You will then follow him in his plunge into the fragile world of thefts, scams and violence. The main actors are young kid, most of them non-professional and they deliver a striking performance. You also cross the path of the living magma which defines the camp life and the clear reality: we do not live in the same world. This kind of "social cinema", terminology refused by the director, signifies the breaks, the junction between those who and those who have not. Marco and his friends make money out of the financial system. Marco and his friends are not protected by the police. Marco and his friends do not go to school. They dream of dogfights and burning caravans.

Amazing movie. Beautiful setting, imagery and editing.

Lemon Tree (2008)

The concrete truth about colonization and Israel policies

[10/10 · 13 May 2008]

Etz Limon is a very good movie which tell the story of a Palestinian widow (Salma Zidane) in the West Bank, living in her father's house for decades - she is around 45 years old, her dad was also in this house, therefore her family was there for more than 100 years. Her son and daughters are either somewhere else in Palestine, or even in the USA studying. She takes care of the Lemon Tree field with an old man (a friend of her dad).

All of the sudden: noise and dust. Someone is moving into a big fancy new house build right next to her field ... on the Israeli occupied land side. The Defense minister of Israel is moving in. And of course, following the advices of Security, plans are made to made the "area" safer. The Lemon Tree have to go. They could offer protection and hideouts for terrorists. The decade old field of beautiful trees must be torn down.

The movie then follows Salma's legal struggle against the almighty Israeli state, helped by a young local lawyer (Ziad Daud). An ethereal tensed relationship starts between Salma and the lawyer, which is not well received by the local men (this side of the story is barely approached). At the same time, an heretic and distant relationship appears between Salma (the Palestinian woman) and Mira Navon (the Israeli wife of the minister).

From local court to the supreme court, Salma fights for the right of Palestinian to enjoy their land, the land where their parents have built houses and lived for decades.

The movie is sometime over dramatic. Israeli are majorly painted as the evil doers in the area. And in the end, the Palestinian lose all but their dignity.

This is a striking case, inspired by a real story. It shows you, meters by meters, Colons and Settlers can gain land, gain power and put down local people, as it happened in History in many part of the world.

A good movie.

Ten (2002)

Beautiful film and simple Lesson of cinema.

[10/10 · 26 November 2007]

The film shows ten rides of a female cab-driver in modern Teheran. The protagonist (a sunglasses-wearing beautiful woman) share a ride with her son, her sister, an old faithful lady, a prostitute and a female stranger. She discuss life and social issues, and repeatedly argue with her son about her recent divorce with the boy's dad.

The movie is technically interesting and well shaped.

---- Structure The film rolls the 10 sequences introduced by a a classic old school countdown which creates a sense of formal structure, giving the film an apparent "rigid" putting the audience as "analyst".

---- Camera and Sound Only two camera angles are used in the film (beside an odd little part where we see the prostitute outside of the car ...). And the sound is very basically real and full (city's life and traffic).

---- Content But above all, despise what some will say about the apparent boringness of the film, the content is amazingly absorbing. The issues raised are universal (divorce, women's position in society, love, despair, faith ...) and perfectly rendered by these non-actors.

One last point, the female protagonist is BEAUTIFUL !